Harald Grosskopf: Synthesist (RVNG Intl)

Now Harald Grosskopf sounds like another pseudonym but, i promise you, this one really exists. Ex Krautrock drummer with the brilliant Ash Ra Temple & Cosmic Jokers, this album originally came out in 1980 and is as close to what Steve Moore has been trying to conjure up as humanly possible - not that there's a single human to be heard on this one, save the sound of buttons being pushed. Very European sounding and has as much in common with early Kraftwerk as it does with the obvious Vangelis/Giorgio Moroder/Conny Plank associations. It also shows remarkable foresight into future techno as tracks like '1847-Earth' have an amazing coming up vibe amongst the spiral repetitions and would not have sounded out of place amongst some of the choicest Acid House tunes. Yep, you could dance to a lot of the stuff on here, which is not something i could say for a lot of my purchases. I'd have a go at gyrating to it if only my hip wasn't playing up.... Oh, and there's also a free CD with it, containing 'reinterpretations' by Oneohtrix Point Never and lots of people I've never heard of. But i haven't listened to it yet and it probably aint as good as the original album, so i can't comment at present.

I Am David Sparkle: This is the New (Kitty Wu)

A rare CD purchase but one totally justified by the amazing artwork and construction of the piece. It comes as a small handstitched booklet, with each of the pages folded over and then stitched in again so as you can see inside the fold. The pages (and folded-in pages as well) are covered in delicate line patterns that appear to be computer created and the CD is actually stitched into one of the folds. Avoiding my normal cack-handed manner, i gently unpicked the stitches in order to slide the CD out and finally managed to get it in the player.....only to find that this Singapore band do a very good impression of early Mogwai with an extra twist being that they've got a better ear for a melody and can control their instruments a lot better - the songs are relatively brief and never outstay their welcome. Actually, the Mogwai comparison is a bit lazy and obvious - when really they are so much more than the sum of their influences, the wobbly guitar sound at the beginning of 'Do you cry while you sleep?' is particularly lovely (as is the piano in the background later on in the song). The glitch electronica elsewhere on the album is another welcome surprise. Maybe Singapore is an untapped resource for instrumental post-rock.......and maybe Mogwai should invite them to support them on their next Asian stadium tour.......................................

Gianni Rossi: Star Vehicle OST (Permanent Vacation)

I'm not 100% sure that the film 'Star Vehicle' actually exists, but im sure as hell that Gianni Rossi doesn't. Rossi is the non-de-plume of Steve Moore, who i've already written about a couple of times this year, and he has set up this pseudonym (and excellently written false biography) to release soundtracks like this and another film (Gutterballs). In some ways this is standard Moore fare - cycling synth waves and Moroder-esq moodswings, but here he adds guitars and there's an amazing bass rumble all over the main theme that creates a devastating effect. The music is a perfect tribute to the similar work done in the time this was supposed to have been recorded (there's a 'copyright MCMLXXXII' note on the back) and it works well as both a period piece and also a standalone album of 2011. I'm really falling back in love with this style of music and it's probably only a matter of time before i'm searching out rare John Carpenter soundtracks.....

Blowhole: A love extreme (Zabriskie Point)

I must admit that i mistakenly bought this from the Norman sale thinking it was electro free jazzers Blowpipe. On playing it i was immediately knocked backwards by the extreme ferocity of the music and that sort of reaction always makes me want to find out more and dive in. I love it when something kicks me in the balls, musically speaking, and the mix of free improv and free jazz here keeps me constantly metaphorically protecting my gonads. A rush of sound bursts out of the four sides here and, even at it's most coherent (the seven tracks on side c) it still sounds like an explosion in a jazz factory. The short bursts of noise contained here occasionally bring to mind John Zorn's Torture Garden/Painkiller records and, though it's certainly an album that you have to prepare yourself for before playing, it rewards with each listen. On reading the sleevenotes i see that the drummer is none other than Jeph Jerman - of the earlier driftwood record, but here he's taking out his frustration on a more traditional set up than the aforementioned sticks 'n' stairs routine.

Radio Berlin: The Selection Drone (Ache)

Radio Berlin are Canadian and this came out in 2001 but they sound like they are British and that this should've come out in 1981. Their singer is called Jack Duckworth but i sincerely doubt that it is the Jack Duckworth. They have firmly taken the postpunk/goth sound of Pornography-era Cure and the otherwordly nature of Magazine and crafted something that it is often dangerously close to a tribute bad ('Green Teeth' is so close to the cures 'Siamese Twins' to be a near cover) but equally often becomes something quite unique. This is down to some fantastic drumming that tends to drive each song, especially as it's so high in the mix. I am guessing that the heavy drumming comes from a hardcore influence from the same time period and i like this meshing of two distinct styles. I gather that they've since broken up - which is a shame as it would probably sit very well with the post punk revival that came to a head about 5 years after this came out. So i would class these as dreadfully unlucky in both being 20 years behind the times and 5 years ahead of their time.

Talkingmakesnosense: Cloudcroft mirror (Benbecula)

Excellent little 7" that weighs a ton. Ambient guitar fuzz that drifts nicely when played at low volume but punishes you when turned up. Similar to some of the more ambient Nadja releases in that it evokes a mood of decay and obsolescence. I found it extremely sad but i really don't know why. And i really like the fact that i don't know why.

Jeph Jerman/Jon Mueller: Solopercussionfortwo (no information)

Another cheapy - i bought this because i've got 'The Whole' by Jon Mueller which is a really good bit of music with both ambient and rhythmic qualities (i know, a contradiction in terms, but that's pretty much what it is). The Jeph Jerman (no, me neither....) is called 'Four track recording using driftwood' and sounds like he has picked up a load of driftwood and recorded himself throwing it down some stairs. I can only guess that he used the other 3 tracks for recording the residual silence. The Jon Mueller side sounds like a kettle drum hit once, slowed down and then repeated a couple of times. Unlikely to win the mercury music prize but i'm glad i've got this - if only to say "look, i've got a recording of someone throwing driftwood down some stairs" and then pretending that i really rate it. That sort of thing really pisses people off.

The Sentinels: Memoirs of a cunt (Rotodisc)

Fey indie types Ooberman decided to release this record (actually a strangely Kurt Weill-esq smoocher called 'Where did i go wrong') under an assumed name/title to see if they were only being ignored by the music press because they were Ooberman and thus score big kudos when they were hailed as the new conquering heroes as The Sentinels. Unfortunately, it didnt work and they were just as ignored and subsequently broke up. Oh well, such is life - but at least it meant that this record was going for only 50p when i picked it up and i like it a lot better than the other cunts i have records by - anal and selfish. Hey - that's a really good name for a band : 'Anal & Selfish', maybe if Ooberman had used that name they would be hailed as the new pop saviours!

Capitol K: New York (Faith & Industry)

I used to have the debut Capitol K album (don't know what happened to it) and it was a mess of techno noise with occasional stabs of melody and structure amid the bleeps and beats. Anyway; i bought this as it was really cheap, featured the rather wonderful Leafcutter John and came in a handmade hand numbered cloth bag. On first playing it (at 45rpm), it was all going well until a high pitched noise came in that took me a few seconds to recognise as a female vocal. On second playing (at 33) i found it to be a pleasant guitar & keyboard lead techno romp until the vocal came in. Although no longer as painfully pitched as before, it irritated the tits off me - as it took the tune firmly backwards into a bland poppy nowheresville, Shame. Anyway, on turning it over i was delighted to find 'Playground' hitting all the right spots -  a dub inflected 8 minute job with melodica, violin, guitar and drums cranking out a lovely mood piece that took me to the places that i wanted to go. Absolutely worth the £1.80 i paid for this track alone.

Mr Lif: Home of the brave (Def Jux)

Great 2002 12" from the finest talent in Hip Hop. 3 mixes of this and 3 of 'The Unorthodox' make up for a very pleasurable half hour. Mr Lif is lyrically spot on as he raps about the inevitable future financial crisis and the evilness of George W. The beats behind him are relentless and the repetitive sample that makes up the melody just gets in your head and pushes you into paying attention - this is not hip hop to play in the background, this is hip hop that insists that you pay attention and LISTEN. In short, this is intelligent to the max - and that is probably why Lif will never be a household name.

Ancient Greeks: The song is you (Flameshovel)

Bought as a punt and, yet again, Norman Records have come through. I read a few online reviews earlier  and found one person complaining that there were more than 3 chords in each song and it sounded like "if Kenny G had formed Stereolab". What an amazing description....shit, you should buy it on that recommendation alone. Apparently this lot play 'math pop' - as if there aren't enough bloody genres out there, when they really play is enjoyable and  non-threatening jazz tinged melodic guitar music overlaid with the occasional higher pitched vocal. They come from Chicago and belong firmly in the same school as fellow second-city residents Tortoise and The Sea & the Cake, intelligent music for smoky bars filled with chin-stroking head-nodders. Like me.

Freedom, Rhythm & Sound Vols 1 & 2 (Soul Jazz)

Massive 4LP collection spread over 2 volumes, bought for the bargain price of £7.99 each from Rise in Bristol. If i needed anything to reaffirm my love of jazz  then this would do it. The lineup is amazing - Sun Ra, Archie Shepp, Art Ensemble, Joe Henderson, Edward Larry Gordon, Errol Parker etc etc etc. I tend to listen to a lot of free/experimental jazz but this stuff is far more funky and far more enjoyable as opposed to the cerebral qualities of my normal stuff. Hell, it's goddamn funky at times and had me shimmying all over the music room in a completely uncoordinated fashion - all this and being heavily political as well. Who could ask for more? It's like if Crass had been black, funky, instrumentally competent and cool then this would be what they would've sounded like. Perfect music to bring back the old white liberal guilt.

Shameless self promotion Pt 1

Ive just listed a shitload of vinyl on ebay and discogs:

http://shop.ebay.co.uk/potfp23/m.html


http://www.discogs.com/sell/list?seller=spacemag

Tangerine Dream: In the beginning (Jive)

6LP box set of the first 4 albums and the previously unreleased 'Green Desert'. I've bought quite a few Tangerine Dream albums in my time (and have already got a few of the albums here) but the mint condition vinyl and cheap price, coupled with my re-interest in modular synth music, made this too good to resist. Listening to 'Electronic meditation' again for the first time in years, i was surprised at how heavy it got towards the end of side one - like a teutonic Hawkwind (which is pretty much how a lot of the best Krautrock can be described) and it rocked out like a bad MF. The other 4 albums here are pretty much what you'd expect from  Tangerine Dream - synths cycling up and down, occasional rat-at-at percussion flourishes and, well, soundtracking your life (as long as your life is the life of a cyborg). I was walking up Barnstaple High St yesterday and i could hear the melody from the  title track of 'Alpha Centauri' in my head and i felt........metallic. This is what great music should do to you, infect your life.

Peter Broderick: Home (Bella Union)

Cheap 2CD job bought from HMV from the vouchers they give me for fucking up a vinyl order. This is Peter Broderick in his solo folky mode, sort of a cheerful Nick Drake in the way that songs fall out of him apologetically. I like that though and always appreciate someone crafting music  subtly - a welcome gift in a world of music whereby most artists thrust their stuff in your face like a cheap stripper after your $£$s.  It's beautiful in some places but forgettable in others and some of the tracks are interchangeable but i'm gonna leave it in the car for an undemanding listen whilst i'm cruising the, errrrrrrr, highways of the World. The second CD is a live disc and i promise i'll get onto that one soon.

Tricky: Mixed Race (Domino)

Maybe it's the amount of long winded post rock or ambient tracks i listen to but I'm having trouble with this album as all the tracks seem too bloody short. Average length is just under 3 minutes which don't really give the tracks time to stretch and breathe. This is ironic, as i was just celebrating the brevity of the OFF! album where the average track length is about 58 seconds - but this is tricky for gods sake, where you expect to climb within the song to enjoy its claustrophobic intent rather than these short glimpses of darkness. Anyway, i think its ok but nothing has really grabbed me yet and so I'm gonna have to spend a bit more time with it. Back later.