Tonstartssbandh – An When

“They opening track to the debut album from Tonstartssbandht is a self conscious recognition of the ridiculous unpronounceability of the band name. For just over a minute there is a question and answer session between a guy and a girl in which the band name is repeated 18 times. It’s somewhat silly but necessary seeing as how after listening to An When you are going to be repeating these guys’s name a lot…because it’s really good. I think the most wonderful thing I’ve noticed about the band is that while I should be able to pin down some good comparisons of Tonstartssbandht’s sound to other similar bands on the market right now, Tonstartssbandht defies easy associations. There is definitely elements of lo fidelity infused in the songs on An When, but I’m very hesitant to define the group by this aspect of their sound. The lo fidelity here is used as a tool rather than applied as an adornment leaving the songs with a wonderful waterlogged haze rather than an ear puncturing skree. Most simply put, Tonstartssbandht are a pop band, albeit a pop band from way out of left field. The songs are just way catchy, great harmonies, super delicious weird sounds and analog blisters rising all over the place. I don’t know how to categorize them really. The RIYLs up top are pretty misleading I think because Tonstartssbandht straddles the arena of hipster lo-fi with a heavy dose of neo tropical underwater new wave resurrection (wait, is that the same thing?). Right, that makes about as much sense as the band’s name. I can see that I am getting nowhere fast with this attempt at a critique. Regardless, An When is filled with murkily enjoyable pop that simply pleases to no foreseeable end. This is the type of music that will stick with you for a long time, demanding you to shut off other music in order to get a quick Tonstartssbandht fix. An When contains several of my favourite tracks I’ve heard this year and is sure to be a staple of my future mixtapes to friends. Lovely stuff that I think I like a lot more than I’m willing to exasperate about now. I don’t know why I haven’t seen this posted all over the blogosphere because this stuff is easy to gush about. Check it hard.”

-Thistle

http://www.mediafire.com/?mzjym4mm2gn

Fantastic Magic – Witch Choir

“Lilting in the haziest of ways, and filled with trilling falsetto vocals, lightly plucked guitar and the shimmering of exotic percussion, this brief (25 minute) clear purple cassette from San Diego trio Fantastic Magic captures both the shamanistic vibes of free-folk, while keeping the delirious bliss quotient pushed to the max. However, a subdued creeping menace lurks throughout the tape, almost unexplainably, but perhaps best understood as that eerie mood music occasionally found in horror movies meant to both soothe and terrorize. Oh boy.

Just to get this out of the way, people are going to think this sounds like Devendra Banhart. No doubt about it. Well at least when for him it was music before his outr?-photogenic image (if that time ever existed). But with the message machine lo-fidelity recording style, the approximations of melody, and at least one extremity planted in the spirit world, they?ve done themselves no favors (or maybe they have, who knows?). But, let?s attempt to get past that. First of all, layers abound as the album progresses. By the time I’ve Covered The Halls, With Glitter and Awe? surfaces, hugging the end of the A-side, trumpets, mariachi jangle and nylon-string guitar coalesce into one seriously ragged funeral procession. Here the freak masterfully becomes the genuinely macabre as if the seemingly amateur proceedings were only some sort of musician?s joke. Outstanding.

For those that stick to it, things only get better on the flipside. “Gazi Tiger” offers dosed throwaway Beach Boys (in my world, that?s the best kind)?meandering slide guitar and molasses bizarre vocal harmonies. That nagging D.B. ghost appears again on “Moat Island,” but at least in that refracted-old-world, pre-electric vein, all a-twitter with simple folk strumming and positively demonic double caterwauling. “Jam & Yima” proves they save their surefire stunners for side-closers, tempos slow as a disarming guitar progression plays host to gentle refrains of “goodbye” and a twinkling lead.”

-foxy digitalis

http://www.mediafire.com/?gttmijmiyjn

Emeralds – What Happened

One of my favorites right now

“Last years ‘Solar Bridge’ EP was a (third) eye opening experience and the entry level opener to their self created world of synthesized pschedelia. The group, consisting of members John Elliot, Mark McGuire and Steve Hauschildt, have some 20 odd releases to their name since 2006, generally produced on the deliberatly lo-fi cassette and CDr formats for a number of tiny boutique imprints like Hanson Records, Wagon and Fag Tapes. Their distinct brand of freeform deep space emotions found them on many end-of-year charts for 2009 and more recently picked up a huge fan in Thurston Moore, who released their split LP with Tusco Terror last year, and now Carlos Giffoni who aligns the group with his label’s motley array of noise technicians on No Fun Productions. ‘What Happened’ is an aural flashback to the midsts of a powerfully affecting and overwhelming reverie that you never had, recorded to tape from improvised sessions between 2007-8. Utilising an array of guitars, effects pedals and vintage analogue synthseizers in an improvisational manner, the group manipulate a sound of heart wrenching intensity and mind blowing potential that often comes in at long over the 10 minute mark, but requires such a long duration to reach that point. Opener ‘Alive In The Sea Of Information’ is the shortest track here, but in it’s 8min lifespan, manages to soar between the elevated electronics of Tangerine Dream and the religious effect of Popol Vuh in one succinct sweep of synths, rising to a spine melting crescendo after 6 minutes and opening your soul for the rest of the session. ‘Damaged Kids’ is initially part Wolf Eyes horror ambient and part Delia Derbyshire radiophonics, exploring the outer limits of their gears spooking capabilities before turning into a lush swell of krautrock optimism worthy of Ashra. Field recordings are prominently employed on ‘Up In The Air’ to add a wonderous sense of spatial dislocation to the drifting synth washes, cleansing the palette for ‘Living Room’ with more Gottsching esque mid-distance guitar stares and cosmic plumes of sinewaves shooting like sonic spermatozoa into the ether, fertilizing your surroundings with an unpredictable tranquility and brooding intent. Trust us, if you reach this far, you’ll be left in a hollowed mess by the last 5 minutes. Like any strong psychedelic drugs, care and caution should always be applied for the trip, and we’d compare this to DMT, meaning listeners should savour the trip for special occasions with enough time and mental energy to apply to the intricacies and tactility of the substance. If you’ve not tried Emeralds before, prepare yourself, it’s going to be special. Recommended for fans of everyone from Coil to Deathprod to Terry Riley – just immense.”

-boomkat

 

mediafire.com/?mzjym4mm2gn

Fantastic Magic – Witch Choir

“Freaky and folky, Witch Choir is nothing if not whimsical. A ten track album in twenty-three minutes probably sounds pretty fragmented, and indeed it is. But that is integral to the fun – it sounds as if Fantastic Magic recorded this record around a campfire, bringing songs to fruition mere minutes after their conceptualization. As such, the songs share a weirdo folk theme, but are quite stylistically quixotic. This makes it a difficult record to digest, let alone describe.

With that said, the most notable aspect of Witch Choir is its straightforwardness – despite its whimsical nature, most of these tracks are unarguably SONGS. The most accessible, “songlike” moment on this ten track record is “Moat Island,” which combines tinny falsetto vocals with an acoustic guitar part. A tad more eerie is the outsider folk-pop of “Flowerbeds,” but it is the especially polished “I’ve Covered the Halls, With Glitter and Awe…” that earns top marks here, laying a filtered vocal melody over trumpet, guitar, and a punchy rhythm section. Aside from its more accessible side, Witch Choir is also littered with a sprinkling of avant-garde excursions – be it the discordant improv of “Balloons” or the insane psychedelic freeformery of “Etains Whirlwind.” “

- Indieville

“Before Wavves, Nathan Williams dwelled in the more mellow, droney sound which he projected into the music of Fantastic Magic. This band’s sound is total tropical psych pop.”

- Static Fuzz

http://www.mediafire.com/?gttmijmiyjn

Serge Gainsbourg – Anna OST

“This is the soundtrack of a TV musical made in the 60s featuring New Wave screen star Anna Karina and Jean Claude Brialy. Gainsbourg’s songs are catchy and they are wonderfully interpreted by Ms. Karina, whose sensual singing voice is a revelation.”

-Amazon

http://www.mediafire.com/?givntjmud1j

Various – Shadow Music of Thailand

“Shadow Music was a broad term given to the Thai guitar pop movement of the 1960s and the groups that came out of it — all under the profound influence of early Western rock and roll. British instrumental wonders The Shadows (as in Cliff Richards & The Shadows) were the origin of the genre’s title — also coined “Wong Shadow” or early Thai “string” music. Shadow records were often marketed as “Thai Modernized Music” which it was in the truest sense. Traditional Thai melodies were given the Shadow treatment — incorporating rock, surf, a-go-go, exotica, soul, blues, Latin and otherworldly styles of the times. Inventive compositions and instrumental genius meet the occasional odd vocal arrangement and the results range from plaintive guitar and organ-driven lullabies to full-blown electric garage folk-psychedelia! Featured on this collection are a handful of the leading recorded artists from the time; P.M. Pocket Music, The Son of P.M., P.M.7, Jupiter and Johnny Guitar. Throughout the 1960s, these groups forged a unique and highly self-referential Thai sound.”

-boomkat

http://www.mediafire.com/?zqmj4qmz2z2

Various – London Is the Place for Me, Vol. 2

“A wonderful follow up to one of our favorite compilations in recent years! London Is The Place For Me compiles the stylistically varied music coming from the emergent West Indian and African communities of 50s and 60s London — far more than just the topical, and often quite whimsical calypso tunes of the era! Calypso is well represented, but the set includes strains of jazz, percussive instrumentals that veer towards native Tridad and Nigeria, and loads of Caribbean grooves! It’s all exceptionally bright — with some lovingly, and knowingly, naive vocals that are as sweet as they are wise. A truly wonderful compilation.”

-dustygrooveamerica

http://www.mediafire.com/?dmdxvx2mqqj

Lipa Kodi Ya – City Council

“As usual there is little or no information online about the record, but what we are told (from the back cover) is that this is a collection of African music recorded between 1967 & 1972, and all of it is rare as hens teeth, no doubt unheard by most of the known world. We’ve got all sorts of styles covered too, from Zambia, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Somalia and Uganda, we’re treated to funk, R+B, pop, juju and choral music, each track representing a different facet of the rich African culture. In fact this doesn’t even feel like a compilation, rather a relic of another era. The final track on Side A sums up the record for me, sung by Yesy Ka Mkwebaze it’s a choral piece and sounds something like a distant, reverberating choir of angels singing a final song before death, hopeful yet deeply melancholy. This track alone is easily worth the asking price, but bundled along with so many other treats – from Moussa Doumbi’s jangling funk-rock to the deeply moving traditional music of Yaseen Mohammed & Saada this is probably Mississippi’s best collection yet, and those of you who know the others will realise what a powerful statement that is to make. Totally essential and as usual, very very limited.”

-boomkat

http://www.mediafire.com/?z0wimggrj13

Mississippi Records Tape Series, Vol. 12 – A Little Bit Of Hurt

new mississippi records releases always make me happy

http://www.mediafire.com/?2g0rammmubw

Oneohtrix Point Never – A Pact Between Strangers

-rottenmeats

“A cathedral of slipping harmonies and infinite spiralling tongues – DNA for closed eyes. Three tracks levering you into a space between – iris/isis totem coloured trips – impressionist keyboards of the highest order…”

http://www.mediafire.com/?h1mmzmnztym