|
\
listen.camp / episode 014 / 06.10.21
I do not know why- but this little one hour music thing became overly complicated. As a result, I did not sleep for 24 hours before it was broadcast. Editing a field recording of volcanic steam at 03:00 was interesting.
The intro music is the count-in to Mr Suit by Wire.
01. Seazoo (2013)
I cannot believe that it was eight years ago I wrote a review of Ken and Uncle Ken, a post-punk dub-like EP of remixes by a (then) new band called Seazoo, from Wrexham, UK.
You can read the full review here. Their songs are usually crisp, smart, and twitchy. This collection of remixes is slow, smart, and glitchy. When I tweeted that Little Boy Seazoo was playing, Mr Seazoo, Ben Trow replied, "Wow- that's an oldie." To which I replied, "Some of your best work!"
02. work in progress (2021)
This is a recent iteration of a looped guitar piece in progress.
03. Emperor X (2004)
Bashling is a wonderfully lo-fi slow jam. That's it. That's the tweet.
04. MJ (2021)
Martin went to a football match. He sent me some additional meta-data (date, location, teams, score) - but I do not have it on hand. I blended several tracks of crowd sounds from the match. There was one person who shouted, Get off the gate! Get off the gate, Fuckers"- so I looped that a few times. Maybe more than a few times.
05. John Vanderslice (2013)
In previous episodes, I have included loops and/or cutups of a couple of pieces written, performed, and recorded by John Vanderslice. I have often found his music instructive- from a technical perspective. This piece, Song for the Landlords of Tiny Telephone, from the album Dagger Beach is a sparse, guitar-based, composition. Vanderslice often does interesting things with small sounds. That's his thing. This is a beautiful piece. It sounds like a post-punk chamber orchestra.
06. Glenn Gould (1955)
The Bach Goldberg Variations was first released in 1955. Solo piano. Short chapters. A deeply personalized approach to Bach. Some people like it. Some people don't. This piece, Variation 21, varies in tempo. For some reason I time-stretched one track way out (right channel) and added a heavy tape echo on the other (left) channel. It sounds a little more atmospheric at 02:00. And it was 02:00.
07. William S. Burroughs (1981)
This piece is based on a collection of samples of Burroughs reading from his novel, The Place of Dead Roads. It's a western.
08. SARN (2013)
SARN's music draws influences from folk, punk, noise, and hip-hop (and feel free to include your own favorite genre/influence). The result of the SARN equation is a very distinctive form of experimental pop. The 2017 release, Postmodern Trash covers some pretty heavy contemporary issues. The music is extremely well designed and perfectly fits the emotional lyrics. You will have to listen this album and make up your own mind. And you should. This song, No Shade, is one of the stand-out tracks from Postmodern Trash. Dig it.
09. Marion Belanger (2015?)
This is a field recording made in Iceland, while Belanger was photographing geolgical formations. She emailed me several recordings of volcanic steam. The original was very monophonic, just a steady A#. I pitched shifted the first half of the sample up two ocataves, then pitched the second half the the sample two octaves down. I think this maneuver happened around 03:30.
10. MJ (2021)
Recently, Martin took a short holiday to the Lakes Region of Cumbria. On at least one day it rained. And occasionally a crow turned up. What more can you say about that? I call it, Martin goes to Cumbria.
11. John Vanderslice (2005)
The album Pixel Revolt is just one brilliant piece of the John Vanderslice catalogue. On this song, New Zealand Pines, a simple line on an electric piano and the vocals carry the melody. There is a soft synth drone. As the song progresses, a very fluid elecric guitar and organ enter the picture. Very simple parts. Very simple arrrangement. The whole of the song is greater than any single part.
12. work in progress (2021)
Another guitar loop ambient piece. Trying to figure out where to put this.
13. Emperor X (2011)
Western Teleport was sort of a breakthrough album for Emperor X. A collection of songs from an early stage dystopia. Erica Western Teleport, the title track of the album is very much in the Burroughs vein- near future punks, near future rebels, near future romanticism. THIS version, Erica Western Teleport Geiger Counter is the closing track. It has a lo-fi vibe. Drum machine. Droning acoustic guitar sounds. Same lyrics. Great track to close an album.
14. Roxy Music (1973)
Stranded was the first post-Eno Roxy Music album. That being said- the influence and techniques are still evident. Ok- it was 04:00, and I still had some time to fill. Mother of Pearl is a nearly 7-minute long track- but it's the final line, delivered a cappella that grabs me. So, I wanted to study it a little more. The line, "mother of pearl, I wouldn't change you for another girl," sounds simple. But as I listened to it about 50 times in a row, I start to hear some of the psycho-acoustics. I'm thinking that perhaps a copy of the track was run through some heavy reverb, and mixed at a low, almost imperceptible, level. There is some very delicate tape delay as well. I found this interesting and just wanted to share it.
And then I went to sleep.
|
