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Artist: CALE, ZACHARY Title: Walking Papers Format: LP Label: All Hands Electric Country: USA Price: $13.00 |
| "WALKING PAPERS, the sophomore album by Zachary Cale, marks the artists leap from a four-track-bedroom-folkie to a songwriter of visionary scope. Recorded in 2005 in the legendary Bearsville Sound Studios by Marcata engineer, Kevin Mcmahon (The Walkmen, Titus Andronicus), WALKING PAPERS was granted a belated release in December 2008 on the burgeoning Brooklyn-based label, All Hands Electric. Ghostly in sound, the album evokes the austere finger-style guitar work of John Fahey and the poetic couplets of Townes Van Zandt. Moving away from the lo-fi intimacy of his debut album, OUTLANDER SESSIONS (released on New World of Sound in 2005), Cale is accompanied by an array of musicians. Though at times classically inspired, and at others roots-based, the instrumentation is always understated, providing a focus on lyric and melody. Fittingly, the singers voice has gracefully matured into the road-weary rasp that his story-based lyrics require. WALKING PAPERS exhibits a genuine craft of American tradition; the songs are bona fide gems with every note and lyrical phrase informed by a quiet beauty, both familiar and timeless." - All Hands Electric. ⿿Zachary Cale is a songwriters songwriter, as prolific as he is original. His voice can be delicate for love or wry for satire. The ability to hear what is in a song has guided him well in the making of his own. While the influence of traditional American music is always present in his compositions, he is able to infuse something fresh and new to the form." - John Allen (WFMU). |
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Artist: ILLUMINATIONS Title: See-Saw Format: LP Label: All Hands Electric Country: USA Price: $13.00 |
| "Incorporating elements of blues, country, punk and pop, and with an emphasis on traditional songs, SEE-SAW falls into what Gram Parsons had called ⿿cosmic American music. Accordingly, it lies somewhere between the country-soul of Big Star and the punk spirit of The Wipers. Recorded in a basement on an 8 track reel to reel, and later mixed at Seaside Lounge in Brooklyn, its anthemic yet warmly modest. The drums, though straightforward and minimal, are a solid rallying cry. The bass is both warm and soulful. The guitars are twisted American hybrids, shifting from a bluesy jangle to a dark sound-fix, like Chuck Berry or Tom Verlaine playing to the sound of a jet crashing, or the springs of a clock snapping apart. The piano and organ add cool melodic counterpoints, bringing calm to chaos. The lyrics are spun out of rich phrases, crowded with protagonists that rise and fall on opposite ends of the great fulcrum of luck. Zachary Cales vocal delivery is wrenching, both crooner-like and raw. The end result is an enigmatic album that is both familiar and foreign; one that wears the suit of American rock & roll, but broadcasts anthems from another universe." - All Hands Electric. Edition of 600 w/CDR. |
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Artist: DUNCAN, JOHN/MIKA VAINIO/ILPO VÿISÿNEN Title: Nine Suggestions Format: CD Label: All Questions Country: Italy Price: $22.00 |
| John Duncan: shortwave, processing; Mika Vainio: oscillators, processing; Ilpo Väisänen: oscillators, processing. |
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Artist: HATRED Title: S/T Format: 7" Label: Alleypiss Country: USA Price: $8.00 |
| "A rhythm awash under waves of strong sonic fumes. These old sounds ebb and flow as youre lured deep into the high tide. Death by irresistible nausea. Crystal clear vinyl/pro printed jackets. All sounds and wretched cover art by NATE YOUNG. (Wolf Eyes)" -Alleypiss |
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Artist: KOJO, HITOSHI Title: Ezo Format: 10" Label: Alluvial Country: USA Price: $13.00 |
| "The title of the pieces of this record, Hiruko and Ebisu, are the two names of one mythical being in Japanese mythology. Hiruko is a firstborn child of the god, who was deserted in the sea, because he could not stand up by three years old. He drifted ashore to the land of human beings, and was cherished by the people. Then he was brought up as a god, and was worshipped by the people as Ebisu. Somehow I was haunted by the story all the time during the working period. Therefore the names naturally became the titles. Afterwards I knew that Ebisu is also an alias of Ezo which was the old name of northern part of Japan. So it was adopted as the album title. Although the theory that Ezo equate with Ainu seems to be disputed sometime, I chose the name as a tribute to my favorite Ainu mythologies, and to the folks. The image on the cover is Ebisu which has visited in my mind at the time. Although its quite different from the traditional image, the sound source of the pieces were all produced by found-object which were mostly found from daily commodities. The resonance of the inside of objects and the resonance of the recorded spaces were also treated as the material. The process to find an object which is usually not used as a musical instrument was considered as a part of the execution. Therefore the founders name of some of the objects were mentioned in the cover. Also the vinyl record was fatally chosen for the album as an object which must be worn and be degraded by the condition and the frequency of the use. The noises by dusts and surface scratches on the disk should be listened as a part of the piece". -Hitoshi Kojo |
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Artist: TONIUTTI, GIANCARLO Title: (And Now He Almost Did Make Himself Into Hemlock Needles, It Is Said) Sound-Field For Rattle-Harp Format: CD Label: Alluvial Country: USA Price: $13.00 |
| "Comes in an LP-style sleeve with a 16-page booklet. A single, hour-long work. Recorded on January 18, 2001 in Udine, the Red Room [Sound-source: Rattle-harp (drift metal, string, wire, bells, bone, wood)]. Treated & composed on February 9-12, 2002 in Udine, the Black Room. All photos have been taken at Caneo natural reserve, Fossalon di Grado, Isonzo River Mouth, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy, 0 m. asl. The very occasional faint crackles are digital faults from the original recording; as part of the document, they have not been erased." -Alluvial |