Sep 30, 2015

RhoDeo 1539 Aetix

Hello,

Today the last US Aetix, a split post No Wave Funkers smothered with praise but never got anywhere as orinairy as a career, they left us this collection to enjoy, they are coupled here with another group that forgot to go places with the acclaim they got, they left us two extended albums to  N'Joy

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The minimalistic funk of New York's Liquid Liquid consisted almost entirely of percussion grooves with a smattering of bass, plus congas, marimba, and the occasional vocal thrown in. The quartet consisted of Scott Hartley (drums, percussion, talking drum), Richard McGuire (bass, percussion, piano, guitar), Salvatore Principato (percussion, vocals), and Dennis Young (percussion, marimba, roto toms). The band released three EPs during its existence -- 1981's Liquid Liquid and Successive Reflexes, and 1983's Optimo. The latter contained the track "Cavern," which became the basis for Grandmaster Flash's "White Lines (Don't Do It)." In 1997, Grand Royal Records released a collection of those three EPs, plus a 1982 performance, Live from Berkley Square.

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The core of this 2008 set is essentially the same as that of the crucial self-titled comp, released over a decade prior through Grand Royal (Mo' Wax in the U.K.): the 12" EPs Liquid Liquid, Successive Reflexes, and Optimo, though "Lub Dupe" from the first 12" appears in alternate form. While the Grand Royal comp added four tracks from a 1982 performance at Berkley Square, this disc features a handful of outtakes, as well as roughly 15 minutes from a 1980 gig. There are no real revelations for those who have known the original releases for decades, but those tracks remain as relevant in the 2000s as they did in the '80s . They contain some of the most progressive rhythms you will hear in your lifetime -- including the creeping/crawling "Lock Groove," the jaw-droppingly intense "Optimo," and, of course, "White Lines" template "Cavern" -- and they simply cannot be worn out.



Liquid Liquid - Slip In And Out Of Phenomenon  (flac 422mb)

Liquid Liquid 
01 Groupmegroup 3:20
02 New Walk 2:08
03 Lub Dupe 2:24
04 Bellhead 2:20
05 Rubbermiro 3:36
06 Spearbox 2:00
Successive Reflexes
07 Lock Groove (In) 4:00
08 Lock Groove (Out) 4:04
09 Push 1:57
10 Zero Leg 2:33
11 Eyes Sharp 2:15
12 Where's Al? 2:32
Optimo 
13 Optimo 2:43
14 Cavern 5:21
15 Scraper 3:41
16 Out 2:08
17 Sank Into The Chair 1:46
18 Outer 1:23
Recorded Live 12/5/80 
19 Groupmegroup 3:27
20 Sank Into The Chair 2:12
21 Elephant Walk 3:35
22 Setmeonmyown 2:56
23 Not Again 2:22

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Though the B-52's had already lit the spark that eventually turned Athens, GA, into '80s college rock ground zero, it was Pylon who truly first established the formerly sleepy Southern town as an artistic center and hipster haven. With an often surreal sound that paired the same sort of serpentine, angular instrumental work and emotive, off-kilter vocals characteristic of Television and Gang of Four with a disco-informed rhythmic bounce, Pylon came off like an even weirder, artier, yet somehow less pretentious Talking Heads. One of only two full-length albums released during the group's original early-'80s run (Pylon would eventually disband and re-form a number of times as the members' moods and lifestyles dictated), Chomp was just as taught, exciting, and spooky as its classic predecessor, Gyrate, but benefited from a step-up in production values. Kicking off with the throbbing, guitar noise-infused "K" (a strangely unsettling tribute to the board game Scrabble), the record inhabits a murky alternate universe dance party where Gloria Gaynor and Donna Summer's melodic R&B vocals have been replaced by lead singer Vanessa Briscoe's Yoko Ono/Patti Smith-style growls and yelps, and Studio 54 has set up shop in Andy Warhol's Factory. Considering how challenging this music remained decades after its release, Chomp is surprisingly accessible. Laced with undeniable hooks, it also includes the band's best-known song, "Crazy," which was famously covered by R.E.M. as the B-side of the "Driver 8" single and later included as the leadoff track on the Dead Letter Office rarities compilation. The members of Pylon always considered themselves less a traditional rock band and more a collective of artists who happened to work in the medium of music; Chomp showcases the unit at the peak of its craft, painting musical abstractions in bold and influential strokes.

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Pylon's first album, although it doesn't contain masterworks on the level of the first single "Dub" or the later single "Crazy," is considerably more consistent than the comparatively spotty Pylon!! and Chomp. This is Pylon at their purest, mixing the spartan angularity of Gang of Four with a playfulness missing from similar U.K. bands like the Au Pairs or the early Mekons (or indeed from Gang of Four themselves) as well as the irresistible danceability of their Athens, GA, compatriots the B-52's. Yet Pylon never quite sounded like anyone except Pylon; their naïve instrumental style -- guitarist Randy Bewley claimed that he didn't even know the names of any notes or chords -- and singer Vanessa Briscoe's inimitable voice (moving from a flirtatious coo to a Meredith Monk shriek in the space of a line) and inscrutable lyrics are so idiosyncratic that they probably couldn't sound like anyone else any more than another band could tackle a Pylon song. (Remember the botch R.E.M. made of "Crazy"?) Highlights here include the spirited opener "Volume," the evocative instrumental "Weather Radio" (probably the prettiest song on the record), and Briscoe's impassioned "Feast on My Heart." Later pressings of this album replace the first track on side two, "Driving School," with "Recent Title." Both tracks are available on the 1989 compilation Hits.



Pylon - Gyrate (Plus)  (flac 402mb)

Cool / Dub
01 Cool 3:21
02 Dub 4:42
Gyrate
03 Volume 4:17
04 Feast On My Heart 3:34
05 Precaution 2:52
06 Weather Radio 2:15
07 Human Body 3:07
08 Read A Book 2:00
09 Driving School 3:54
10 Recent Title 2:27
11 Gravity 2:39
12 Danger 5:39
13 Working Is No Problem 3:32
14 Stop It 3:05
10" Inch 45 RPM
15 Danger!! 5:40
Pylon Studio Demos
16 Functionality 4:29
Recorded By [Recorded On Casset

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Though the B-52's had already lit the spark that eventually turned Athens, GA, into '80s college rock ground zero, it was Pylon who truly first established the formerly sleepy Southern town as an artistic center and hipster haven. With an often surreal sound that paired the same sort of serpentine, angular instrumental work and emotive, off-kilter vocals characteristic of Television and Gang of Four with a disco-informed rhythmic bounce, Pylon came off like an even weirder, artier, yet somehow less pretentious Talking Heads. One of only two full-length albums released during the group's original early-'80s run (Pylon would eventually disband and re-form a number of times as the members' moods and lifestyles dictated), Chomp was just as taught, exciting, and spooky as its classic predecessor, Gyrate, but benefited from a step-up in production values. Kicking off with the throbbing, guitar noise-infused "K" (a strangely unsettling tribute to the board game Scrabble), the record inhabits a murky alternate universe dance party where Gloria Gaynor and Donna Summer's melodic R&B vocals have been replaced by lead singer Vanessa Briscoe's Yoko Ono/Patti Smith-style growls and yelps, and Studio 54 has set up shop in Andy Warhol's Factory. Considering how challenging this music remained decades after its release, Chomp is surprisingly accessible. Laced with undeniable hooks, it also includes the band's best-known song, "Crazy," which was famously covered by R.E.M. as the B-side of the "Driver 8" single and later included as the leadoff track on the Dead Letter Office rarities compilation. The members of Pylon always considered themselves less a traditional rock band and more a collective of artists who happened to work in the medium of music; Chomp showcases the unit at the peak of its craft, painting musical abstractions in bold and influential strokes.



Pylon - Chomp (More)  (flac 414mb)

01 K 4:33
02 Yo-Yo 4:14
03 Beep 3:24
04 Italian Movie Theme 2:00
05 Crazy 3:13
06 M-Train 3:46
07 Buzz 2:59
08 No Clocks 2:58
09 Reptiles 3:56
10 Spider 3:54
11 Gyrate 4:06
12 Altitude 3:19
13 Crazy (Original) 3:12
14 Yo-Yo (Pylon Mix) 5:53
15 Gyrate (Pylon Mix) 4:57
16 Four Minutes 6:04

Pylon - Chomp (More)   (ogg 153mb)

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13 comments:

Sander said...

Thank you SO MUCH for these!

Anonymous said...

Good stuff. Question: why is track 9 on Chomp (Reptiles) an mp3?

Anonymous said...

Is there any chance to Re-up Pylon - Gyrate (Plus)?

Anonymous said...

Gyrate Plus is verifiable as lossless with AccurateRip, but I when compared the spectral analysis of Chomp-Reptiles (mp3 & flac) they were identical. In fact, Chomp appears to be half lossless (tracks 1-8) and half mp3 (tracks 9-16). Any chance of a true lossless post for the whole album?

The spectral analysis can be seen at https://s4.postimg.io/3tfz25jfh/Spek_Pylon_Chomp_More_83_rem_09_m4a.png

Anonymous said...

Thank you A LOT for Liquid Liquid!!

Anonymous said...

thank you very much for Pylon and Liquid Liquid.
Robert

Anonymous said...

Please re-up Liquid Liquid - many thanks!!

Anonymous said...

Please re-up Pylon- Chomp (more)

Stephen V said...

Hoping you can re-up Pylon's Chomp please.

Stephen said...

thank you for the Pylon!

El Greco said...

Many thanks for the Pylon goodness!

Anonymous said...

Huge thanks for "Chomp (More)", I look forward to hearing the bonus tracks.

Logcat said...

Hello there from outta space
is there any chance for a re-up of Pylon's "Chomp More" ?

A huge thx, sent in the black hole of the lost music blogs