Week in Review #12

Our twelfth installment of the Week in Review, the closest thing I’ve ever had to a regular journal… I still incline toward beginning with things we missed from the prior week; though we don’t want anyone to think our eyes aren’t on the real prize, yessir, next week, nothing better. Digging back not one, but two whole weeks, two gradations of importance down the ladder from our current, emerging reality (tacked to the coat-tails of the ‘present’ by straining human consciousness), into the primordial miasma of 3/9/2014 to 3/15, we see mountains erode and volcanoes erupt, alongside Berry Cleveland’s Joe Meek primer for Tape Op Magazine, published Saturday (3/15/2014). His essay (partially hidden by pay-wall) dives head-long into Meek’s less well known studio career, now just a year after Glasgow imprint PoppyDisc reissued his seminal odd-pop album I Hear A New World. Though unreleased in his lifetime, the album has long hinted at his inventiveness, and the story of his studio career bears it out. Check out Tape Op for more and if you’re interested in more information, consider reading Cleveland’s biography of Meek, Creative Music Production: Joe Meek’s Bold Techniques.

You’ll see a tidbit below about new stirrings at the Athens imprint of Elephant Six torch-bearer J. Fernandes; Pitchfork recently shared a new Circulatory System track and announced a new album, and the label is reportedly planning a series of new, unrelated releases to help it occupy a larger 2014 catalog. Though they’ve been around for more than a decade, Cloud Recordings has often been sporadic. After 2013 though, they’ve never seemed better situated for a stronger showing, and we can’t wait to hear and see the outcome.

Thanks as always for reading along with us.

#1 – 3/23/2014 – Catching up with Smithsonian Folkways, thanks to whatever web or social media factotum operates their SoundCloud, on Sunday I came across an offering from one of their ‘albums,’ a wide-ranging recorded interview with pioneering cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead, a specialist in primitive societies often remembered for her work in Samoa and somewhat more broadly for her exploration of gender roles in similar societies. Stream a segment, “Advice to Young People,” below and check out Folkways’ page for the full recording (a truly compelling document from another mid-century American who, if alive, would probably be disappointed with humanity’s progress in space). -DP

#2 – 3/24/2014 – Following up on one of our previous reviews, Vice’s electronic focused Thump sub-site prepared a lengthy feature on SPF420 in the wake of their tremendous SXSW streaming showcase, diving into the collective’s origins and raison d’etre (they also chose to head their coverage with a still of Tony Hawk Pro DJ, because he was the perfect hook into the whole event). Check out the feature here. -DP

#3 – 3/24/2014 – Weirdos everywhere (or… at least weirdos located in Seattle) rejoiced when Debacle Records dropped some dirty details as to the happenings of their seventh annual Debacle Fest event, which takes place no sooner nor later than May 30th and 31st. They dumped a load of info off to The Stranger, so head that direction for the full line-up, timing and specific location. There’s also going to be a Record Label Fair as part of the program this year, featuring some amazing imprints like Medical Records, Eidertown and more. RSVP for that puppy here and scope the wicked (as usual) poster artwork below. -CP

#4 – 3/24/2014 – Pitchfork announced a new tape from Geographic North, the imprint of Decoder Blogs Editor Bobby Power; two instrumental guitar improvisations from Lotus Plaza, Deerhunter guitarist Lockett Pundt, kicked to cassette and packaged up beautifully by the label. Spellbinding is the word. If any of these are still left, they’ll be gone soon. -DP

#5 – 3/24/2014 – David Byrne continued an ongoing push via his new website, commenting at length on the cognitive dissonance inherent in today’s internet, meditating on the reflective behaviors of US intelligence gathers and cyber hackers, the centrality of the internet as a human technology and how it can fail us, as well as speculating toward a revised notion of “security” for the next generation frameworks. Read Byrne’s new blog entry here and spend some time elsewhere on the site if you know what’s good for you. -DP

#6 – 3/24/2014 – Earlier this month I shared a cassette collection of LA musician Seth Kasselman’s solo clarinet recordings, in which I briefly mentioned his Warm Climate project with collaborators M. Geddes Gengres and Caitlin Mitchell. Facebook’s new paid advertising scheme was unable to prevent me discovering that he’d recently uploaded two albums from the projects back catalog to Bandcamp; I immediately gravitated toward the blown out psych acoustics of the more recent Camouflage on the River Wretched, though Edible Homes is an equally gratifying slow-burn with different sorts of audio trickery in evidence. They were released in 2010 and 2009 respectively, and can be gotten via the Warm Climate Bandcamp. -DP

#7 – 3/25/2014 – Patient Sounds shared packaging designs for their next LP, further demonstrating the imprint’s intention for a vigorous year, announcing plans to follow up past cassette releases by preparing records with prolific Tokyo based experimentalist Hakobune and LA producer/composer The Cliff Dweller. From my perspective the transition is an exciting one considering the imprint’s more modest history. Check out the LP packaging below and click through to Patient Sounds to place a preorder. -DP

#8 – 3/25/2014 – WORKING, the sullen jangle-rock quartet headed by Catherine and John “High Aura’d” Kolodij, released its first demo via Bandcamp after a mere four months of being a band. The three songs shy away from Mr. Kolodij’s deeply haunting guitar pieces for a more C86-happy, Black Tambourine-obsessed take on noise pop perfectly suited for anyone looking for Teenbeat-soundtracked frills. -BP

#9 – 3/25/2014 – Canadian producer Teen Daze embarked on an extensive European tour and celebrated the occasion by releasing a free digital EP via XLR8R (and Mediafire) entitled Paradiso. The EP includes three tracks in total, including “Tokyo Winter,” which was previously released a couple weeks back to tease the EP. Check out XLR8R’s site for the full list of tour dates.  -BP

 #10 – 3/25/2014 – Seminal gothic-industrial rockers Swans launched their own YouTube channel to serve as a central resource of sweetly pummeling noise. M. Gira & Co. plan to host various new videos of live recordings and new tracks from To Be Kind, the band’s upcoming thirteenth album due out 5/12/14 (5/13/14 in the U.S.) on Young God. -BP

#11 3/25/2014 – One of our favorite crossover/slipstream sites Turntable Kitchen recently unveiled the culmination of their longstanding tradition of interesting one-off projects and a further outgrowth of their beloved Pairings Box series; a so called ‘Cookbook in a Box,’ with a custom wood container (made in West Virginia, I might add) filled with recipe cards. Though their Pairings Box series had the site pressing 7″s and bundling them with themed recipes and ingredients, this is the first soiree with just one or the other, and the coolest bit is: “Pairings Box subscribers can continue adding new recipes . . . and separate ‘favorite’ and ‘to-cook’ recipes behind the [a] divider.” If you can afford to splurge on the kitchen soon, this might be the way to do it. -DP

#12 – 3/25/2014 – A Closer Listen posted a mix from Joe McKay of Spring Break Tapes, offering a good cross-section of the musical influences underpinning his catalog. Stream below and click through here to read a short accompanying interview. -DP

#13 – 3/26/2014 – Word came down that Cloud Recordings, the spiritual home of the Elephant Six mandate for some time now in spite of periodic dormant spells, was preparing for a new Circulatory System album. Slated for a release June 24th, they’ve even stepped out with a new track, the percussive “If You Think About It,” which seems to gather the whole ensemble together for a sort of shambolic riff on Balkan folk dances or an imagined psychedelic, guitar driven form of Qawwali. Take a listen to the track over at Pitchfork. -DP

#14 – 3/27/2014 – Ad Hoc ran a tremendous essay on breakbeats and their description in different genre frameworks, particularly the evolution of house, juke, and footwork, etc; Well worth a read! -DP

#15 – 3/27/2014 – I mentioned the Public Domain Review last week for Benjamin Breen’s look at some British theosophists, so I can’t help but single out a recent guest post on their site from Thomas Henry, a musicologist and 78 collection who writes about international finds at his blog Ceints de Bakélite. For his guest post, Henry shared an extensive collection of Pygmy music, recorded in 1946 during a French expedition by “ethnomusicologist Gilbert Rouget, audio engineer André Didier and filmmaker Pierre-Dominique Gaisseau for the ‘Musée de l’Homme’ in Paris.” Listen to the complete collection here. -DP

#16 – 3/28/2014 – Cameron Potter, aka Little Spoon, released his full Spring tour schedule as he embarks across our great nation with Seattle’s up-and-coming folkster Julie Byrne, as well as Atlanta’s Suno Deko in tow; check out the dates on Facebook. -CP

#17 – 3/28/2014 – Neo-Classical/jazz composer Chris Schlarb gave us the best Friday distraction ever by passing around word that NightSky, an iOS platform game involving a glowing sphere you guide through beautiful obstacle-laden levels, and for which he wrote a lovely musical score, was available for free for a limited time. It’s still hanging out at the iTunes store there at exactly zero dollars per download, so iPhone and iPad users should go ahead and “tap that app” (eww..) by clicking here. -CP

#18 – 3/28/2014 – Jerry Paper shared this appetizing j-card design, putting a face to his upcoming split with Tonstartssbandht’s Andy Boay for Hausu Mountain (of all people). I should say, I’m highly suspicious that this will be my favorite tape of the year. If you’re a European reader and caught my interview with Jerry last month, you may wisely be considering a stop to see him live with Tonstartssbandht this May; take a look at his Facebook for dates. -DP