Continuing to revive some posts from the archives, especially from the bestof category which gets frequented a lot, now that the end of year season is upon us.

TLOBF reports :

All Tomorrow’s Parties announced Mr. Matt Groening, that guy behind the Simpsons and Futurama, as a curator for ATP UK Weekend 1 at Butlins, Minehead on May 7th – 9th 2010, some time back, but had yet to confirm which acts he’d chosen to play. Well, the wait is over as he’s picked the first acts for his weekend:

BOREDOMS performing Boadrum – 9 Drummer Show
The Raincoats
Toumani Diabate
Danielson (formerly Danielson Family)
James Blackshaw
Anni Rossi
Viv Albertine’s Limerence (formerly of The Slits)

No wonder Simpsons and Futurama are the best cartoons ever created the guy has a rock solid & diverse musical taste, James Blackshaw and Toumani Diabate on the same lineup, WIN! Big ups to Matt Groening!. Also on Guardian.

It’s like a full moon madness when one of your favourite bands has a new release on your favourite label. Asheville, NC power trio Ahleuchatistas‘ (pronounciation tip : the name comes from the Charlie Parker song “Ah-leu-cha”) fifth full length called Of the Body Prone is hands down the best mathcore/improv album this year to grace your speakers, and it might be the most balanced of their full buffet. Ahleuchatistas takes math rock’s erratic features to extreme levels while retaining melody and musicality, only to destroy it a few bars later and found something new. For the untrained ear it might be hard to follow, because of the hectic pace, but repeat listens put forth the complexity and compositional power. There’s a whole bunch of intellectualism on reviews, name dropping Gödel, Deleuze and Adorno, you might head to their myspace if you want to delve further into theory, but these two lines are enough talk about the music, say I.

Our fifth album mixes improvisation and tightly controlled jump cut composition, and is the debut album for drummer Ryan Oslance. Tight looseness, loose tightness, fresh sounds, fresh directions. Progress. Our richest recording to date.

Icy dark-ambient and drones from Beard Closet a mysterious artist from the North of Canada. Free download on the The Vegetable Kingdom netlabel. Glacial.

Kanada’dan drone,dark-ambient. Pocahaunted,Barn Owl severlerin keyifle dinleyebileceği az bilinen yeni bir sanatçı, TVK netlabel’ından çıkma Amputated Orchestra albümünden.

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Born in February 1994 when Xavier Demerliac (guitar and brass) and Jean Stéphane Brosse (piano and accordion) met and transformed into a quintet in 1996, L’Attirail takes Balkan folk & klezmer into new & cinematic territories with their 2007 album Kara Deniz, and continues to do so on their recently released “Wilderness”. And it’s exactly their progressive tone and soundtrackist mentality that sets them apart from traditional Eastern European folklore/ klezmer bands. There’s a distinct Spaghetti Western influence on Wilderness (as the name suggests) with sliding guitars and galloping rhythms; I may not be correct but I sense an instrumental Calexico in there. 15 tracks of quality balkan-jazz-pop that unfortunately lacks in a bit in the memorable pieces department. Out on Les Chantiers Sonores

“Every album is conceived as a musical road-movie between Paris, Moscow and Istanbul. ‘L’Attirail’ band ‘s music throws a bridge between two opposite worlds : country life and big cities, trip and slow progress, the Eastern and Western European countries, tradition and modernity, reality and dream…”

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ED : Debut post by our new recruit Utku who specializes in drone, sludge, ambient, doom jazz.

Krzysztof Orluk (b. 1986) is a young talent from Poland composing in minimal, ambient and drone styles. Two songs off his latest album Blurred Reflection on Databloem.

Incredibly rich, minimal ambient/glitch in the vein of Off The Sky, Blamstrain, Biosphere, Shuttle358.
Krzysztof’s sound is a compromise between digital machines and field recordings. Apart from this he uses orchestral sounds, opera recordings, different pianos and synthesizers, bells, old vinyl’s and artificial cracks and noises.

Krzysztof Orluk Polonya’dan 1986 doğumlu genç bir müzisyen. Yaptığı müzik ise, dinlendirici, minimal, ambient ve yer yer drone etkisi görülen hissiyatı yüksek bir müzik. Dinleyici oldukça etkileyebilen Blurred Reflection isimli güzel albümden iki parça sizlerle. Albümden üçüncü parça Broken Symmetries ve albümün kapanış parçası the girl with the melody in the head.

A seamless blend of exotic jungle rhythms, easy listening, jazz, space pop, burlesque, japanese music from hawaii. One of our best shows, music that is too precious to be forgotten!

gene rains – harbor lights
douglas wood – moon nightclub
stringtronics – dawn mists
ted auletta – taboo
club nisei – ringo oiwake
burlesque music – depression
tak shindo – skylark
lesiman – confronto
minnie riperton – only when i’m dreaming
milt raskin – koko head
teddy randazzo – the girl from uncle
xavier cugat – daiquiri
hermeto pascoal – carinhoso
stolen idols – black orchid
horst jankowski – magali
augie colon – jungle drums
roger roger – coconut coast
the moog beatles – good night
michiko hamumura – banana boat song

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For our precious friend Emre Yerlikhan aka babel, whom we lost today at the ripe age of 34. A devout literary fanatic and a bright mind, his place won’t be filled. May his ideas & ideals live on through his friends and may he rest in peace.

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UK producer Dom Stanton aka Domu announces that he has quit making music :

The point is that I am no longer Domu. He is a character, always has been, and as of Friday 13th November 2009, he no longer exists. Neither does Umod, Sonar Circle, Bakura, Yotoko, Rima, Zoltar, Blue Monkeys, Realside or any of the other names I put out music under. I am cancelling all my gigs and not taking any more. My hotmail is closed, my Twitter is closed and my Facebook is closed. If any of you want to talk to me and know me well enough to have my mobile number then that is still the same, and please feel free to call any time. My other email address I mail from occasionally is still open to tie up any loose ends.

The urban dance community is shaken with this emotional final letter from Domu :

I have had an amazing time. I’ve travelled the world, drank and partied and made a decent living out of entertaining people throughout all of my 20’s. I met some incredible people in cities I never dreamed I would visit, shared my thoughts and collected wisdom from a huge range of deeply profound and lovely people. But I have also met some real arseholes, and I could feel I was becoming one.

We thank him for all the music. Hope he sorts everything up in his life.

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Just came home and not in the mood to write a lot, so enjoy th’s cute little nugget from Japenese singer/songwriter Shugo Tokumaru. Off 2007’s Exit, folktronica?

+ Julian Lynch presents a wildly eclectic mixtape for Cool Tapes, feat. none other than Indian sax god Kadri Gopalnath alongside George Clinton and Frank Sinatra. (Space Mountain)

+ The Black Dog presents a sophisticated ambient electronica set with Intrusion, Robin Rimbaud (aka Scanner), Stars of the Lid & Terry Riley. (tracklist & download)

+ Cosmopolyphonic mix by Onur Engin, who’s also responsible for the Turkish Jazz Mix a few weeks ago.

Cosmopolyphonic Radio Guest Mix by Onur Engin

+ We’ve found another person who loves Piero Umiliani as much as us, Brian Gossett has done two mixes from Umiliani songs and takes you to sightseeing in Toscany and Lake Como.

Tuscany, one of the most beautiful places I have visited, reeks of richly textured walls, exotic wild game cuisine, and some of the best gelato you can ever imagine. Many of the cities maintain their medieval charm and nearly all of them have museums dedicated to torture. All darkness aside, it could be a great setting for a caper flick. It could be to steal one of the most treasured vintages of Amarone. It could be to lift the coveted real David in Firenze. Whatever it may be, it will most certainly have the most lush landscape wide shots and charming cobblestone streets from Siena to San Gimignano.

+Karriem Diggins (Kabus Kerim) with Samples are Forever 4

+ … and don’t forget to follow Quiet Music boss Nick Francis on Mixcloud

Akron, Ohio soundcrafter Samuel Goldberg’s Wanderjahr is the soundtrack to a hostile exoplanet where nature seems only subtly different than what we have here on earth yet one misstep and you’re strangled by iron oxide tentacles. Out on his own Pizza Night tape label.

Catch him live at @ the smell in LA w/ sun araw, wet hair, and sean mccann this saturday.

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Can someone transcribe this hypnotic piece from German easy listening könig Horst Jankowski. A fine anomaly from space age era 50s. I bet its pretty easy to transcribe for a German friend, but I forgot to brush my German skills after high school.

ED : Thanks to our friend Bruce Ballaberg, full song is transcribed now.

Lass mir meine Träume, Magali
Ich kenn’ die Wirklichkeit
Lass mir meine Träume, Magali
Noch für kurze Zeit

Mach dir keine Sorgen, Magali
Ich weiß, es ist vorbei
Doch sag es mir bis morgen, Magali
Morgen bist du frei

Schenk mir diesen letzten Tag
Als wäre nichts gescheh’n
Als wolltest du nicht von mir geh’n
Und es wird ein herrlicher Tag
So hell und unbeschwert
Als ob die Zukunft uns gehört

Nie wirst du erfahren, Magali,
Wie ich den Abschied trag
Dank für all die Jahre, Magali
und für den letzten Tag.

Schenk mir diesen letzten Tag.

Und es wird ein herrlicher Tag.

Nie wirst du erfahren, Magali
Wie ich den Abschied trag
Dank für all die Jahre, Magali
Und für den letzten Tag.

Mostly new jazzy beats & breaks from :

Opener from Ann Arbor Michigan beatmaker and occasional FlyLo collaborator Sam Baker aka SAMIYAM’s new EP Man and Machine, with clanky slack beats. Buy from Boomkat.

The first Poo-Bah release of ‘09 is given over to the excellent Samiyam under the coordination of cosmic trooper Ras G. ‘Man vs. Machine’ follows up his recent Hyperdub killer with one of the best examples of the LA beat scene we’ve heard this year, featuring Samiyam in a purely esoteric mode, shaping seven woozy analog bumpers with a blend of stop-starting 8-bit edit techniques, booming bass drops and that skunked-out LA slacker character that defines so much of his work.

London beatmakers Obba Supa’s To:AM Free:AM, which went largely unnoticed until I gave them a second chance yesterday and clicked with it.

The diabolical rhyme dynamics of Teknical Developments lyrics paired with beats cloaked in a blue cheese fog of THTC from Hey!zeus dwell and celebrate in the time of A.M. A time which reveals the full existence of the human cypher in its entirety, From the crooked corrupt cloaked by its shadows to the optimism of dreams and a new days break. TO.AM is a dedication to the time FREE.AM is an experiment in the freedoms of the infant hours Two separate organism from the same body of concept naturally evolved from late night studio sessions all past the hour of midnight.

Hull City producer Pat D’s new full length on A Bridge Too Far Recordings called “Soulscapes & Jazz Breaks“. Collaboration with Lady Paradox as the MC, crisp jazzy beats and oldschool breaks on this one.

And an alltime classic from AFTA-1’s 2008 release Aftathoughts Vol. 1 “Quest”

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Stones Throw has just announced a once-a-month, twelve CD, six LP release by Madlib, which will be a combination of his new hip-hop productions, remixes, beat tapes, and jazz, as well as mixtapes of funk, soul, Brazilian, psych, jazz and other undefined forms of music. He is absolutely unbelievable. More info

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Miasmah and 12rec artist and an undomondo favourite Muhr aka Vincent Fugère releases his final (?) full length on Soft Phase netlabel aptly titled “Farewell Anthology”. Subtle clicky soundscapes + melancholic piano.

“Vincent Fugère, the man behind the influential Camomille netlabel and also the record label Apegenine. Sadly, some months ago he made the decision of focusing his efforts to other areas and the labels closed down. The new album carries the title “Farewell Anthology”, which might signal something that could be interpreted as being the last Muhr album”

Portuguese glitch & ambient electronica artist João Ricardo aka Ocp also has a new EP on Bypass netlabel.

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This might alienate some of our softer friends, but our interest in harder stuff is well-documented through what we’ve shared in the past. Bay Area guitar/drums duo Black Cobra is another one of them sludgy power trios and stoner duos like Om, Big Business, Weedeater & High on Fire. Chronomega, their third and the first one on Southern Lord since their inception in 2002, sees them perfect their “bulldozer” metal at last.

First off, the gigantic sound is undoubtedly due, at least in part, to the production on “Chronomega”, which is exceedingly thick. So thick, in fact, that Black Cobra are still able to deliver a devastatingly heavy album without a bassist. Metal flows in my veins

Experienced sludgeroos and born critics may not like the straightforward nonstop crush of Chronomega, but personally I think it’s an obvious step forward for the guys. Herein lies the soundtrack for a harsh madmaxian future, an era of war with machines etc. with thunderous drive and perpetual bonebreaking riffs. With the absence of a new High on Fire album and a relatively weaker Big Business album, Black Cobra reigns supreme in this department. Punishing & one of the best metal albums this year. 4/5

Black Cobra

-dave | MySpace Video

It can be said that there’s now a distinct breed of Aussie funk, perhaps iconized by The Bamboos, with less afro caribbean influence than their counterparts. Cookin on 3 burners is a relatively new trio specializing in organ led jam & funk, featuring guitarist Lance Ferguson of The Bamboos, organist Jake Mason and drummer Ivan Khatchoyan. It’s basically the classic organ trio sound of Dr. Lonnie Smith, fed more funk and less jazz. A solid effort with good mixing sometimes sounding as powerful as an 8 piece orchestra, vocal help is by another rising Aussie star Kylie Auldist. Includes an au naturel cover of Gary Numan’s Cars. Nothing ground breaking here, but a highly enjoyable well-polished album if you’re into this sound. 3.5/5

Perhaps the “new sound of suburbia” is a bit far fetched, but Colin Kavanagh’s one man show The Council Flats of Kingsbury has managed to adapt bossanova to the electronic age, with hints of 50s suburbia innocence and 60s psychedelic pop brightness. Bright colors, chirping birds, swirling synths, acoustic guitar and an ear for sweet exotic melodies, this 35 minute journey is surprisingly compact and captivating. Don’t miss this out if you’re into folktronica, hauntology, Ghost Box, Moon Wiring Club etc. 3.5/5

“Influenced by the golden age of bossa nova, sophisticated soundtracks, classic psychological thrillers, and the subtle horrors of suburban life, the once enlightened Council Flats of Kingsbury make extreme efforts to hold it together for circa 35 minutes on this delicate home production.”

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Decided to revive some of the dead links as a weekend treat. Here’s a collection of mp3s with pointers to original posts. Enjoy.

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