Stage 06, Spain

Spain is regarded as probably the most decentralized State in Europe at the present moment, with all of its different territories managing locally their Health and Education systems (just to mention some aspects of the public budget) and with some other territories (the Basque Country and Navarre) even managing their own public finances without hardly any presence of the Spanish central government in this regard or, in the case of Catalonia and the Basque Country, equipped with their own, fully operative and completely autonomous, police corps which widely replaces the State police functions in these territories. Currently Spain resides in the top 10 of best countries to live. It has transformed itself again with help of the EU, after decades of dictator Franco rule. There's much to tell about Spains very rich history i would suggest a lookin @ Wiki

In Spain several very different cultural streams came together in the first centuries of the Christian era: the Roman culture, which was dominant for several hundred years, and which brought with it the music and ideas of Ancient Greece; early Christians, who had their own version of the Roman Rite; the Visigoths, a Germanic tribe that overran the Iberian peninsula in the fifth century; Jews of the diaspora; and eventually the Arabs, or the Moors as the group was sometimes known. Determining exactly which spices flavored the stew, and in what proportion, is difficult after almost two thousand years, but the result was a musical style and tradition considerably different from what developed in the rest of Europe.

For many people, Spanish music is virtually synonymous with flamenco, an Andalusian genre of music. However, regional styles of folk music abound, and these days pop, rock and hip hop are also popular, nevertheless the flamenco guitar seems never far away. Flamenco is an Andalusian traditional folk music. It consists of three forms: the song (cante), the dance (baile) and the guitar (guitarra). First reference dates back to 1774, from Cadalso's "Cartas Marruecas". Flamenco probably originated in Cádiz, Jérez de la Frontera and Triana regions.
Time now to start with the sixth leg of my euro tour, crossing the mediterranean from French Corsica my last stop , towards Spanish Ibiza.

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

B-Tribe - Suave Suave * 334mb

Well B-Tribe (flamenco-dance-new age) was initially thought as an chill out Ibiza introduction to Spain, B-Tribe previously known as the Barcelona Tribe of Soulsters set the standard for world fusion, with its unique mix of Gypsy wailing, flamenco guitar, breathy female vocals, Germanic techno/house beats, and brain-cooling keyboard ambiance. Now when Wiki confirmed B -Tribe to be a spanish band i thought nothing of it , certainly when looking at the cover/info. However when researching for this post it turned out that the main man is a german living in Ibiza for 20 years, Claus Zundel, here he's accompanied by Brazilian diva Deborah Blando and Antonio Machadol (spoken/ vocals). Enigma and flamenco music, a great cover of Fleetwood Macs Albatross and what do you get ? A laidback and enjoy the sunset /rise album, with a cool drink around feeling content with the world. Moodmusic.

Alas currently the northern hemisphere has to make do with Xmas muzak and chills of the other kind, so to those enjoying summer now pick this up, northerners will have to wait 6 months to get intouch with it. Well this is a copy of the original euro-release in 1995 with a completely different cover than the subsequent US release which does have an extra track.



01. Suave Suave
02. Que Mala Vida
03. Sensual
04. Ahoy
05. Hablando
06. Interlude
07. Albatross
08. Te Siento
09. Nanita (A Spanish Lullaby)
10. Poesia (Poem By Antonio Machado)
11. Yo Quiero Todo

B-Tribe @ Amazon

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Ojos De Brujo - Bari  (flac 326mb)

Ojos de Brujo ("Wizard's eyes" in Spanish) is an eight-piece band from Barcelona, who describe their style as "hiphop flamenkillo" (hip-hop with a little flamenco) The band sold over 100,000 copies of their self-produced Barí album, and has received several awards, among these the BBC Radio 3 World Music Award for Europe in 2004 Their success is also notable for being achieved without the aid of label backing; they set up their own label, La Fábrica de Colores, to get complete artistic freedom for Barí, away from the pressure they perceived from their record company Edel for their debut Vengue

Flamenco is clearly central to their sound; Ramón Giménez observed "the magic lies in the flamenco... that is the heartbeat of Ojos de Brujo's songs" However, they are definitely not pure flamenco. Xavi Turull said: "...we don't pretend to do flamenco. What we are doing is using the richness of flamenco and the richness of other music to build up something different. Maybe sometimes I would say that flamenco is the strongest ingredient, but we don't pretend to be doing flamenco." Flamenco is combined in their music with other influences including Afro-Cuban, the rap and scratching / turntablism of hip-hop, and Indian music.



01 - Intro (0:43)
02 - Tiempo De Soleá (Soleá Time) (3:07)
03 - Ventilaor Rumba (Ventilator Rumba) (3:22)
04 - Naita (Nothing) (3:46)
05 - Quien Engaña No Gana (Cheats Will Never Win) (3:20)
06 - Zambra (Gypsy Party) (6:47)
07 - Ley De Gravidad (Law of Gravity) (3:51)
08 - Memorias Perdías (Lost Memories) (3:22)
09 - Tanguillo De María (Marijuana Tanguillo) (3:29)
10 - Bulería Del Ay! (Ay Buleria!) (3:28)
11 - Calé Barí (Barî Gypsy) (5:17)
12 - Acción Reacción Repercusión (3:24)
13 - Rememorix (8:59)

Ojos de Brujo @ Home
Ojos de Brujo @ Wiki
Ojos de Brujo @ Amazon

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Schwarz - Arty party * (flac    322mb)

After having a ibiza german pretending to be spanish we have a spanish band from Murcia confusing the public with a german name like Schwarz (=black), the first big brake they got was when they managed to sell the cover painting for some 500,000 euro (apparently ). This album has no presence outside continental europe and is as such testament to UK/US musicimperialism, im sure it would have made a splash had these guys come from New York or Manchester but Murcia ?

To the music now, is the music of Schwarz Arty'? Well, let me think. Pretentious, not really, but it ís 'arty' like Kraftwerk or Velvet Underground. Party then ? Late night ones, when the head moves but the legs folded. Confused ? Well its arty and party it starts off with an OMD/Kraftwerk with a droning organ title track It continues with songs vaguely reminiscing of Jesus and Mary Chain/Stereolab but then there's shoegazer Stooges droning aswell. Can all these two elements co-exist on a record without getting schizophrenic or, in the best case, slightly confused? Answer: yes, if life is full of contradictions, why shouldn't this record be?

Februari 2007 will see the release of "Heavengazer" on the BlueNoise label.



01 - Arty Party
02 - Hipnohimno
03 - Nouvelle Vague
04 - Beauty Must Die
05 - Specimen 3
06 - Droning Forever
07 - Raining Stars
08 - 100% Fun-Free
09 - Psychotic Hypnotic

Schwarz @ Home
Schwarz @ Myspace

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Ketama - Songhai * (flac 189mb)

A trio, featuring brothers Antonio and Juan Miguel Carmona and their cousin, Juan Carmona, Ketama is one of the leading groups of the "new flamenco" movement. Since releasing their self-titled debut album in 1985, the trio has directed the evolution of flamenco as a world-savvy music. In addition to their own albums, which fuse flamenco with salsa, Brazilian, reggae, pop, funk, jazz, and hip-hop influences, Ketama has collaborated on two albums -- Songhai 1 and 2 -- with Malian multi-instrumentalist Toumani Diabate. Describing Ketama's sound, Folk Roots wrote, "harmonies masterful....melodies exquisite....pace and timing deeply satisfying....reaching points of the brain/body most music snoozes past.

A chance meeting at a London house party led to this melodious collaboration between Mali kora virtuoso Diabate and the young, flamenco-based Spanish group Ketama. While Diabate's dazzling runs often give the impression of several instruments being played at once, Ketama is a group with the focus of a single mind. Together, their music drifts up and down the African continent, ranging from the relatively relaxed, repetitious groove-oriented music of West Africa to the occasionally blistering, speed-clapping, and Islam-tinged sound of Iberia.



01 - Jarabi
02 - Mani Mani Kuru
03 - Caramelo
04 - A Toumani
05 - Vente Pa Madrid
06 - Africa
07 - A Mi Tia Marina
08 - Ne Ne Koitaa

Ketama @ Casa
Ketama @ Wiki
Ketama @ Amazon

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

* All downloads are in * ogg-7 (224k) or ^ ogg-9(320k), artwork is included , if in need get the nifty ogg encoder/decoder here !


***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Some of you may have read about the Velvet Undergrounds first albums pre lacque master had been sold at ebay for 155,000 dollar. Meanwhile the seller of the rare Velvet Underground record has revealed that the final bid by a person known only as mechadaddy has turned out to be fake. The seller of the unique acetate, Warren Hill, has said that the sale didn't work out as planned, he added that despite the setback he was "still interested in selling the acetate, for those interested in how it sounds there's a 320k quality download available @ Ape Shall Never Kill Ape , first link is dead, has been upped again see their comments.

Stage 05, France

Vive la France, home to revolutionairies and poets and one of the most centralised countries in europe. France is known around the world as a diverse country in its people, architectures and landscapes. About 9.6% of the French population is foreign either by nationality or by origin as of the 1999 Census [1] , which makes France one of the most diverse countries on the continent with old and more recent immigrants coming mainly from Europe and the former French colonies. xtensive highway network (for example: France has a great infrastructure highways, (hi-speed) trains) and it has the fastest average internet connection speed and in 2004, for the 3rd time in a row, the French healthcare system has been ranked number one in the world by the World Health Organisation. Viva la republic indeed. France @ Wiki

Paris sucks in artists and ideas for breakfast, lunch and diner, no wonder then that Paris's nightlife is so famous. 10CC sang in 76 "One night in Paris is like a year in any other place", yes things move fast in this melting pot (tumbler ). For my first visit to France i decided to stay away from Ile de France (Paris region) , not to worry we'll get to Paris soon enough.

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Miss Kitty - Electroclash (Berlin is burning )

Miss Kittin (real name Caroline Hervé) is an electronica vocalist and DJ. She was born in Grenoble, France in 1973. Caroline studied both contemporary and graphic arts. As time progressed, however, she found herself developing an interest in musical genres ranging from classic, jazz, funk, and disco to english pop. Finally finding her sweet spot in electronic music in 1991, she raved all around the country before doing her first mix in april of 1993. .In pursuit of other opportunities, after she and The Hacker recorded "Frank Sinatra" for DJ Hell's label, Kittin left France in 1996 and relocated to Geneva, Switzerland where she would join the Mental Groove Record Posse. More and more dj gigs and some EP's with the hacker until they released their first album on gigolo. In 2002 miss K moved to Berlin where she was requested to do an electroclash mix album for MUZIK magazine, august's 2002-bonus disc, thus not for sale but you can get it here. Since she released a solo album "I Com", mix sets and albums, i'd advise a visit to her website , where she speaks all out (just like a woman).



Miss Kitten - Electroclash  (flac 443mb)

01 - Miss Kittin - Who Am I (Vocal Intro)
02 - Arpanet - Wireless Internet
03 - System 01 - Drugs Work
04 - TGV - Fools Gold (Vocals - Miss Kittin)
05 - M. Mayer - Love Is Stronger Than Pride
05 - David Carretta - Vicious Game
06 - DHS - House Of God (2000 DHS Remix)
07 - Dot Allison - Substance (Felix Da Housecat Remix)
08 - T.Raumschmiere - Energiekriese
09 - Audible - Estress Audio
10 - Panasonic - Teurastamo
11 - Golden Boy With Miss Kittin - Rippin Kittin (Ellen Allien Remix)
12 - A Number Of Names - Shari Vari (Ectomorph Remix)
13 - Miss Kittin & The Hacker - Frank Sinatra 2001
14 - Carsten Jost - A Certain Kind
15 - Ellen Allien - Stadtkind (Barbara Morgenstern Remix)
16 - Ultra-Red - A16
17 - Zoot Woman - Living In A Magazine (Paper Faces Remix)
18 - Thomas Brinkmann - Klicks
19 - Miss Kittin - Berlin Is Burning (Vocal Outro)

Miss Kitten @ Home
Miss Kitten @ Wiki
Miss Kitten @ Amazon
Miss Kitten @ YouTube

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Lizzy Mercier Descloux - Press Color extended    ( flac 302mb)

Born in Paris, after a brief stay at art school drawn by the big apple, where she met Michael Estaban who'd become a life long friend and who introduced her to the New York '76 underground scene. Lizzy published "Desiderata" illustrated by Patti -Horses- Smith, bought a guitar, did the rounds around the NY art scene, and in 1979 she recorded Press Color with Estaban. Not being one to stay too long in one place she started travelling , recording Mambo Nassau in the west indies, a world promo tour, followed by travels thru Africa, there's an extensive bio and more Lizzy Mercier Descloux albums @ not-rock-on

Beginning of this century she moved to Corsica where she would die of cancer april 2004, i'd like to think that one of the reasons she settled there, besides the beautiful rugged nature, was the emotional, local polyphonic music posted elsewhere here.

Press Color is a late seventies NY timepiece, it clocks in at 23 min, by that time we've moved thru some wide ranging moods , the percussive mission impossible still hits as hard as it did 27 years ago. This is a vinyl rip, meanwhile remastered versions are available @ Amazon

Lizzy Mercier was the kind of woman feminists can only aspire to become, i end with a quote from her "Why live down on earth when the sky is so vast and so blue and all is pointless but desire."



01 - Jim On The Move (2:29)
02 - Aya Mood 3.5 (2:50)
03 - Torso Corso (1:48)
04 - Wawa (2:18)
05 - Fire (5:11)
06 - Mission Impossible (2:35)
07 - No Golden Throat (2:38)
08 - Tumour (2:57)
Bonus Track
09 Lizzy Mercier Descloux Mission Impossible 2.0 2:22
Rosa Yemen
10 Rosa Vertov 1:40
11 Decryptated 1:19
12 Herpes Simplex 2:01
13 Larousse Baron Bic 1:33
14 Tso Xin Yu Xin 1:20
15 Nina Con Un Tercer Ojo 0:55
Bonus Tracks
16 Birdy Num-num3:33
17 Hard Boiled Babe 4:25
18 Morning High (With Patti Smith) 3:03
Lizzy @ ZE rec
Lizzy @ Answers

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Penumbra - Seclusion (flac  334mb)

Gothic metal makes heavy use of atmospheres in its music, which are commonly tailored to fit the song; warm and energetic, empty and enclosing. The experience of hearing this record is something out of this world, the choirs, the intricate compositions. On their third album Penumbra has matured as a band, the compositions are more diverse, the bombastic choirs has been replaced by less frequent Gregorian chants. The four voices, the female, the male, the Black and the Death one intertwine in perfect harmony all through the record. On the album the tale is told of a love story between an angel and a mortal. (as if ordinairy relationships arent inspiring/hard enough.). Penumbra finally found their way here, excellent songs some "timeless" elements like bagpipes in the title track "Seclusion" , in short one of the best goth albums from 2003.



o1 - Tragical Memories
02 - Cursed Destiny
03 - Seclusion
04 - Prophetess
05 - Hope
06 - Crimson Tail
07 - Conception
08 - Enclosed

their website http://www.penumbra-band.com/ is unavailable , but their label 'season of mist' is worth a look

Season of Mist
Penumbra @ Wiki
Penumbra @ Amazon

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

M83 - Dead Cities, Red Seas and Lost Ghosts +bonus   (flac  599mb)

M83 originate from Antibes at the Cote d'Azur, the french duo Nicolas Fromageau and Anthony Gonzalez farm lush expanses of synthesizer and electronic foliage with assured, emotive precision and care. Although at times M83 evoke Jean Michel Jarre or Air, this is far from being an album of Franco-synth by numbers. No they recall the best moments of Boards of Canada without all of the hip-hop beats. M83’s melodies take time to develop and unfurl into stately crescendos of sonic bliss and dense walls of white noise and melody using only old synthesizers and minimal but well-employed guitar, not unlike those of Slowdive and Sigur Ros. The ambient qualities owe a debt to Brian Eno’s Music for Airports. M83 takes all of these elements and blends them into a perfect example of how electronic music influenced shoegaze and now shoegaze is influencing electronica.



01 Birds (0:53)
02 Unrecorded (4:11)
03 Run Into Flowers (4:09)
04 In Church (3:58)
05 America (3:06)
06 On A White Lake, Near A Green Mountain (4:43)
07 Noise (3:54)
08 Be Wild (3:19)
09 Cyborg (3:48)
10 0078h (4:01
11 Gone (6:07)
12 Beauties Can Die 11:20)
bonus
13 Tsubasa 4:09
14 God Of Thunder 5:54
15 In Church (Cyann & Ben Version) 7:05
16 Gone (Live) 5:50
17 Dead Cities, Red Seas and Lost Ghosts 17:43


M83 @ Home
M83 @ Wiki
M83 @ Amazon

***** ***** ***** ***** *****
"If music cannot change the world, what use does it have?"

This is the question raised by Hector Zazou, one of the most innovative and unpredictable French composers, as the versatility of his career demonstrates: rock music (the band Barricades), French impressionist music (the duet ZNR) or traditional African music (three albums with Bony Bikaye)... Hector Zazou has a surprise waiting with each new composition. Whether it be for string quartet, wind instruments, classical voices or synthesizers, all illustrate his passion for the most unexpected inventions.Born of a French father and Spanish mother in pre-independence Algeria, Hector Zazou first recorded in the mid-'70s under the name ZNR.Throughout the rest of the 1970s and into the early '80s, Zazou's musical efforts (whatever they might have been), are not represented by any readily available recordings, but some experiments in musical erotica were conducted under the name La Perversita...! In the 80's he made three albums with electronic African music with Bony Bikaye..



Zazou / Bikaye - Guilty * (1988 flac 313mb)

01 - Guilty (4:16)
02 - No Secret (4:27)
03 - Binagwe (4:32)
04 - Ba Wela (5:56)
05 - Kinshasa (4:19)
06 - My Shoes (5:43)
07 - Sans Musik (6:56)
08 - It's A Man's Man's World (4:44)
09 - Zuwa (6:14)
10 - Na Kenda (5:34)

Hector Zazou has a surprise waiting with each new composition. Whether it be for string quartet, wind instruments, classical voices or synthesizers, all illustrate his passion for the most unexpected inventions. The album "Les Nouvelles Polyphonies Corses" (1991- is yet another successful experiment blending century-old a-cappella songs with shades of contemporary music. The following year Hector's "Sahara Blue" was released: the album, based on the work of the French poet Arthur Rimbaud and performed by the Sahara Blue Orchestra stars David Sylvian, Bill Laswell, Khaled, Dead Can Dance, Gérard Depardieu among other guests. Inspired by the musical folk traditions of the Northern Hemisphere, Hector's next adventure was "Songs From The Cold Seas" (1995), a literal journey through Siberian Shamanism, Scandinavian folk songs, Japanese ballads and Greenland mythology featuring an impressive cast of musicians including Värttina, Tokiko Kako, Suzanne Vega, Björk, Siouxsie and Jane Siberry. Released in 1998, "Lights In The Dark" – an exploration of ancient sacred Celtic music from the XIIth century featured some of the most beautiful Irish voices (Katie Mc Mahon, Breda Mayock and Lasairfhiona Ni Chonaola), a gospel choir and guest appearances by Mark Isham, Carlos Nuñez, Caroline Lavelle or Peter Gabriel. A successful tour followed in France, Italy and Switzerland. Recorded with American singer Sandy Dillon, "Las Vegas Is Cursed" (2001) a baroque opera, mixing electronic rock and altered chamber music, saw the return of Hector Zazou to electricity and experimentation.



Hector Zazou - Sahara Blue  (92 flac 320mb)

01 - I'll Strangle You (5:12)
02 - First Evening (6:31)
03 - Ophélie (6:20)
04 - Lines (3:33)
05 - Youth (5:34)
06 - Hapolot Kenym (4:59)
07 - Hunger (4:38)
08 - Sahara Blue (Brussels) (6:05)
09 - Amdyaz (5:31)
10 - Black Stream (3:57)
11 - Harar et les Gallas (4:28)
12 - Lettre au Directeur des Messageries Maritimes (4:41)

In 2003 Hector Zazou composed an original soundtrack for Carl-Théodor Dreyer’s “la Passion de Jeanne d’Arc” while his new album “Strong Currents” was released, a collection of acoustic songs that was the fruit of several years of work (with Jane Birkin, Lisa Germano, Laurie Anderson…). Spring 2004 saw the release of “L’Absence”; an electronic twin of “Strong Currents”. He was then commissionned (by ciné-mix and Le Forum Des images in Paris)to compose another original soundtrack, this time for Robert Flaherty documentary “Nanouk Of The North”.
Hector Zazou has proven himself as a creative force behind several unsual projects, as a unique musical arranger and producer called upon for his constant capacity of innovétion. He has been commissionned to write pieces for strings ensembles (By the Balanescu Quartet), contemporary dance performances or for the opening night festivities of the 1998 football world cup.
Zazou’s inventiveness as a producer has lead him to work with numerous artists among them Tibetan singer Yungchen Lhamo (Real World Records), Galician bagpipes player Carlos Nuñez,, Uzbek singer Sevara Nazarkhan (Yol Bolsin, Real World Records) , Italian band PGR (“Per Grazia Ricevuta”, released by Universal, was hailed as a masterpiece by the Italian press) and among others. His latest project, a CD/DVD titled Quadri [+] Chromies, result of a two years collaboration with French digital painter Bernard Caillaud was released early 2006...

This amazingly rich and eclectic career brings to light the pioneering aspect of Zazou's unique approach and confirms his position in the foreground of the world music scene.“In England they have Peter Gabriel, in America they have David Byrne, in France we have Hector Zazou” (Jean-françois Bizot)

Zazou @ Wiki
Zazou @ Amazon

^^^^^^
Les Nouvelles Polyphonies Corses avec H Zazou * (flac 355mb)

The album "Les Nouvelles Polyphonies Corses" (1991- is yet another successful experiment blending century-old a-cappella songs with shades of contemporary music performed by Zazou and occasional collaborators such as Jon Hassell, Manu Di Bango, Richard Horowitz, Ryuichi Sakamoto and John Cale. This is based on traditional Corsican choral music, influenced by the sea and solitary island life. Beautiful, quality, haunting, - good listening when you want to chill out or be thoughtful.



01 - Giramondu
02 - Eramu In Campu
03 - Onda
04 - Acqua Chi Balla
05 - Chi Lu Tempu
06 - Moita
07 - Terra Brusgiata
08 - Nanna
09 - Anima
10 - Memoria
11 - Veni
12 - Lettera A'Mamma
13 - Bambinellu
14 - In La Piazza
15 - Serinatu
16 - Rosula D'Orienti
17 - Notte

Les Nouvelles Polyphonies Corses @ Amazon

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Stage 04, Switserland

Here's my 4th stop of my trip around europe . Switserland has a strong economy in finance and banking, and a long and strong tradition of political and military neutrality. This background allows Switzerland to host various international co-operations and organizations. Famous swiss, Wilhelm Tell (@ Wiki), 60% of the swiss believe this tale of the man who shot the apple from his sons head, and later the man who made him do it dead. Thereby triggering the swiss revolt against the habsburgs control and ultimately their independance. Fact is there are more like stories this one however stuck in popular culture-specially during and after the french revolution, even Booth, the assassin of Abraham Lincoln claimed he was inspired by Tell. Then there's the swiss garde protecting popes for 500 years now, thanks to their fierce reputation gained in these independance battles.

More famous swiss include C.G.Jung, Rorschach, founder of the red Cross H.Dunant and numerous (nobel) scientists, artists like Le Corbusier(architect), Paul Klee and perhaps better known here Giger (alien), talk about aliens, Erich von Däniken must rank among the widest known swiss alive, ever since he started writing about ancient astronauts. As for musicians...the list is short, somehow it doesnt seem to fit the 'good ol'boys ' machoculture that has dominated switserland for so long. Women were granted the right to vote in the first cantons in 1959, at the federal level in 1971, and in the last canton, Appenzell Innerrhoden, in 1990. I don't know if there's a correlation but fact is, the swiss have the highest intake of choclate per capita in the world. Talk about sex, my first presentation has gained a reputation in the wonderrfull world of Fetish-Elektro-Music

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Carlos Peron - Impersonator II 110mb

Together with Boris Blank he formed "Tranceonic Studio" in 1977 In 1978 they released 12" "I.T. Splash & Glue Head". As a consequence of the positive feedback they formed a band - YELLO, when bon vivant Dieter Meier joined they became a trio. Following the release of YELLO's third album, "You Gotta Say Yes to Another Excess"(1983), he left in 1984 in order to pursue a number of adventurous solo projects. The same year he composed and recorded the soundtrack for the movie "Die Schwarze Spinne" (The Black Spider). Between 1985 and 1992 he was commissioned to create two new works: "Die Schöpfung der Welt" (The Creation of the World) and "The Gold Project".

"Impersonator 2" Vols. 1-3 were released during this period and showcased Peron's style at its most experimental.

In 1992 he developed the music for the fetish performance "Terminatrix" This huge success motivated him to create a fetish mix called "La Salle Blanche". His label Strange Ways Records brought this erotic soundtrack immediately to the market. It sold in the thousands worldwide and became a cult item. (anyone post it yet ?) From then on Carlos Peron was hailed as the "pope of fetish music".

^^^
Originally released in 1988, ''Impersonator II'' was one of the most successful releases by Peron ever and included 3 singles, of which ''A Dirty Song'' was a massive EBM hit. Before it became an official release, ''Impersonator II'' was in limbo, stuck in the archives of Per¢ns old record label ( the album was recorded about the same time as the ''Gold For Iron'' album ) - with the label unsure and incomprehensive of the hard EBM approach of the record. Finally the album was release through Play It Again Sam records in 1988 and turned out to be a massive success.



Carlos Peron - Impersonator II   (flac 361mb

01 - A Dirty Song (Ft Jaymz Bee) 5:07
02 - The Hate Song (Ft Jaymz Bee) 5:14
03 - 10.000 Zippers (Ft Jaymz Bee) 5:51
04 - Commando IV ( Ft Anthony Moore, Video Mix ) 3:23
05 - Here We Go Folks (STP Version) (6:35)
06 - Galadiner With Boris The Vampyr (Ft Bela Lugosi ) 6:29
07 - Popt In Riga (Vodka Mix) (5:28)
08 - Happy New Year ( Ft Dieter Meier) 3:33
09 - Massacre In Frankfurt (Suite) 18:15
10 - An Now A Word... 0:06

Peron @ Home
Lots to see and buy at his site, (music at 10c per minute)
Peron @ Amazon
***** ***** ***** ***** *****.   

The Young Gods - Only Heaven * (' 95, 337mb)

This record is an excellent introduction to the crushing futuristic, TYG escape boundaries and styles with a mixture of industrial, psychedelic rock and ambient textures.There are a couple of pseudo-industrial guitar based songs ('Strangel', 'Speed of Night', 'Kissing the Sun') which are very energetic, but never as raw as for example Skinny Puppy or Ministry. They usually have ambient passages which make an interesting contrast with the guitars. 'Kissing the Sun' is very catchy actually, a very good song. Other songs are more electronic ('Donnez Les esprits', 'The dreamhouse', 'Lontaine') and are probably some of the best, since the electronics are innovative enough to delight us but not so cold as to kill the emotion transmitted by the melody. In fact, The Young Gods aer very good at melodies, and their songs sound to me very emotional. The most emotional of all is 'Child in a Tree', an acoustic guitar ballad full of melancholy.

And not to forget 'Moon evolutions', a more than 15 minute suit where they remind me of U2 and Pink Floyd with an industrial feeling, very interesting indeed, a song divided into 3 parts with a long ambient beatless passage in the middle, combining dub, hiphop, avantgarde and metal into a hairraising masterpiece..



01 - Outside
02 - Strangel
03 - Speed Of Night
04 - Donnez Les Esprits
05 - Moon Revolutions
06 - Kissing The Sun
07 - The Dreamhouse
08 - Lointaine
09 - Gardez Les Esprits
10 - Child In The Tree
***** Bonustrack
11 - Kissing The Sun (orange mix)


***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Young Gods - Heaven Deconstruction (' 96, 357mb)

The Young Gods have won a small but impassioned group of admirers for their emotionally angular, hypercerebral, and poetically experimental rock permutations. For this effort, however, founder F. Treichler ventures far into a synthetic landscape without any of the comforting signposts (rousing vocals, squalling guitars) that could help to orient people into the terrain occupied by this Swiss group. Apart from a recognizable remix of Strangel, now given a new electro skin and almost danceable, structure is largely absent or hiding on this album. The emphasis here is on mood, specifically a kind that is sleepily celestial to the point of losing sight of the ground entirely . The dream state is occasionally lightened-see the chanting children on the brief 'nano pata.' But on the whole, what really shows the mark of TYG on this effort is the fixation on the irreal, fantastic, suddenly violent, unlikely poetic that Treichler and company so memorably evoke in their albums. An interesting one-off that in many ways surpasses the other studio efforts.




Young Gods - Heaven Deconstruction  (flac  357mb)

01. December
02. Acid Strangel
03. Improper
04. Drun
05. Aoaçu
06. Riversky
07. F
08. Borfa
09. Scories
10. Nano Data
11. Landing
12. Messages
13. Lova
14. Residus II
15. Under
16. Numière
17. Windklang

excellent website
TYG @ Home
TYG @ Wiki
TYG @ Amazon

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Zurich-based Golden Boy is at the forefront of the European synth-electro renaissance. Stefan Altenburger is his given name, but he reserves that for his visual arts endeavors, which have earned him considerable acclaim in his native Switzerland. Altenburger first ventured into the realm of electronic music under the pseudonym Klettermax, releasing an album of sleek techno for Source Records in '98. Sometime after that Altenburger wandered into a Berlin party where French-born, Geneva-based electro chanteuse Miss Kittin was working the decks. When Miss Kittin mixed one of his Klettermax tunes together with a New Order classic, his heart skipped a beat and he knew he had to collaborate with the neo-disco diva.

Golden Boy constructed the frameworks for the tracks on the duo's debut, Or, which generally consist of nonstop thumping house beats and layers of glossy synthesizers. This elegant dance music provides the perfect musical bed for Miss Kittin's detached, silky, often rather silly Vocoded musings. Or first appeared on the German label Ladomat, before Los Angeles-based Emperor Norton gave it a U.S. release with several additional tracks. Its hour-plus of playful, quirky Eurodisco transports you into the alternately glamorous and goofy world of Northern European nightlife. As Miss Kittin breathily intones at the album's outset: "Relax, and enjoy with us this wonderful journey into the Swiss way of life."



Golden Boy with Miss Kitten - Or  (flac 309mb)

01 - Autopilot (5:55)
02 - It's Good For You To Meet People Like Us (6:41)
03 - Campari Soda (4:48)
04 - Nix (6:01)
05 - Rippin Kittin (4:47)
06 - Kuckucksuhr (6:14)
07 - 1234 (4:43)
08 - Kopfstand (10:00)

Golden Boy with Miss Kitten - Or  (ogg 125mb)

Golden Boy @ Amazon

Next friday, just across the swiss-french border we'll meet Miss Kitten again.


***** ***** ***** ***** *****

* All downloads are in * ogg-7 (224k) or ^ ogg-9(320k), artwork is included , if in need get the nifty ogg encoder/decoder here !

Stage 03, Southern Germany

The third stage of my trip brings me north of Austria to southern Germany, first of 3 stages pipelined for europe's biggest country. For now we be looking at germany's wealthiest part, Mercedes and BMW ring a bell ? Together with that other well to do bastion, Switserland (stage 4) i note that all that comfyness doesnt do much for the music scene, it seems stuck in "Volksmusic" and consuption of large quantities of top class beer. Still, i managed to get some great music out of the regions. The first stop is Munich, one of the best places to live on this planet (ranked 7th). It's most famous musical prodigy managed to confuse the nazi's when in 1937, a celebration of the triumph of the human spirit through sexual and holistic balance, based on thirteenth-century poetry found in a manuscript dubbed the Codex latinus monacensis, was performed for the first time, Carl Orf's Camina Burana * . Some nazi's branded it degenerate , others applauded, in any case Orf got away with it, and remained a music teacher all his life, he died 1982.


Fast-forward to 2002, and a pair of classically trained drummers are making genre-defying tracks drawing from drum and bass, techno, jazz, and Latin alike.

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Fauna Flash - Fusion 94mb

The Munich-based duo of Christian Prommer and Roland Appel are representatives of an approach to electronic music that owes as much to jazz and dub as house and techno, and which draws equally from them all. Although this kind of cosmopolitan eclecticism may seem slightly out-of-date when compared against the current mainstream of electronic music, Fauna Flash are a living rebuttal to the notion that tasteful down- and mid-tempo music has to be dead-boring.

With their debut "Aquarius" they achieved and established a reputation as an essential part of the royal European drum & bass family during the last half of the 90s, the unlikely German kings of said genre! "Probably the best drum & bass album from Germany so far" opined Kruder & Dorfmeister and British NME (NewMusicalExress) rhapsodized "Fauna Flash have solved one of the great puzzles of the late 20th century:

On the follow-up of 2001, "Fusion", Prommer and Appel extended their musical focus on downtempo / dance soul in all its colors and variations. Through combining elements of house, dub, jazz, latin, brazil, hip-hop and soul, they created a new musical tight as tight can be unit, an identity stamped by urban club music.

The two Munich-based producers are busy as ever with a zillion remixes and side projects: in 2003 they released the highly-praised Voom:Voom, their project along with G-Stone Peter Kruder as well as Trüby Trio debut "Elevator Music" (see stage 2) Their remixes are pretty much sought after, demands en masse and both of them are kinky/dinky club filler DJs, regularly booked for the most notorious clubs around the world.



01 - Mother Nature (6:42) ( ft Sugar B )
02 - Percussion (6:27)
03 - Free (6:35) (ft Deidra Jones)
04 - Tel Aviv (5:36) ( ft Johannes Enders)
05 - Alone Again (6:08)
06 - Referee (6:35)
07 - Ten (6:06) (ft Deidra Jones)
08 - Morning (6:34)
09 - Sunday At The Getty (6:32)
10 - Question (5:36) ( ft Aphrodelics)

Fauna Flash @ Amazon

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

FunkStorung - Disconnected* ( ^ 99mb)

South a Munich we find the provincial town of Rosenheim home to another duo, Funkstörung.Their diverse musical backgrounds (hip hop and Heavy Metal) notwithstanding, they initially produced straight minimalist techno After a problematic time with the label they signed to, they started Funkstörung. Some high profile remixes got them noticed and signed to the K7 label. After a remix album followed 'Disconnected", its marked by their imposing production style, where the very fabric of the digital space they work in is stretched, scratched into a brand of crunchy computer beats, scratchy glitch-hop, stressed sub-rhythms and sounds.

In the beginning of August 2006, a statement was published that the duo had officially broken up due to musical, personal and practical differences. Both Michael Fakesch and Christian de Luca will continue making music with their respective solo projects. ..Disconnected.



01 - Cement Shoes ( Ft - Enik 5:01)
02 - Dirt Empire ( Ft - Nils Petter Molvær 1:37)
03 - Chopping Heads (Ft - Tes 3:47)
04 - Habitual Citizens ( Ft - Mark Boombastic 0:53)
05 - Disconnected ( Ft - Enik 4:56)
06 - The Zoo (1:04
07 - Sleeping Beauty (Ft - Louise Rhodes 4:12)
08 - Like A Poet ( Ft - Enik 4:05)
09 - Play Pause (0:14)
10 - Fat Camp Feva ( Ft - Tes 4:18)
11 - Sleep Walking (1:00)
12 - Moon Addicted ( Ft - Enik 4:29)
13 - Mr. Important ( Ft - Rob Sonic 5:01)
14 - Captured In Tones (Ft - Sara Jay 5:39)

Funkstörung @ Home
Funkstörung @ Wiki

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Notwist - Shrink* ( ^ 98mb)

We stay south of Munich , the little town of Weilheim-(pop 34,000) boasts a very healthy music scene. Notwist, what's in a name, ( i added the 'twist to the cover because of its ambiguity), formed 1989 In 1990 they recorded their self-titled debut, 1992 Nook, which has an indie rock sound, while their 1995 album 12 contains their first flirtation with electronics. 1997 "Console" Martin Gretschmann joins the group which results in a shift towards jazz electro rock on Shrink (1998), with hindsight a crucial step. 2002 saw Neon Golden which finally put them on the map with emotional minimalist rock and soulful electronics. In 2005 they joined with Themselves as 13 & God to release the eponymous debutalbum.

Meanwhile they explored other avenues in Lali Puna and the Tied & Tickled Trio ( a trio ?-- they boast anywhere from six to 12 members depending on the day) , with which they rank in the world’s most celebrated jazz/electronc fusionists. Releasing 2 albums before the suberb live album Electric Avenue Tapes* (65mb), a bridge between 1950s' cool jazz and 1990s' post-rock. Followed by Observing Systems (03) and ARC('06)



01 - Day 7 (5:55)
02 - Chemicals (5:15)
03 - Another Planet (4:30)
04 - Moron (4:46)
05 - Electric Bear (4:28)
06 - No Encores (4:25)
07 - N.L. (5:36)
08 - Shrink (4:24)
09 - Your Signs (6:46)
10 - 0-4 (2:20)

Notwist @ Home
Nowist @ Wiki
Notwist @ Amazon

Tied & Tickled Tio @ Amazon

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Kammerflimmer Kollektief - Cicadae* ( ^99mb)

When the heart beats 300-times a minute, it is known in german as "Kammerflimmern", it's the main cause of sudden cardiac arrest-in case you wondered.
The Kammerflimmer Kollektief are from Karlsruhe and with Cicadae they added another gem to the contemporary electro-jazz crown.Cicadidae's ten tracks comprise most beautiful music, unique quality to the production, instrumentation, and arrangement of each tune . An exquisite, all too short reading of Annette Peacock's "Blood" is the album's highlight. Vibraphone and bass sketch the hymnal melody, joined by lush violin figures and soft digital crackle. It's exqusitely lovely. Having said that, there's little here that's not beautiful; there's much that's mysterious and opaque too, which gives the music its power, meditative music for a society gone mad. I can say first hand, there not to be missed live either.



01 - Neumond Inselhin (6:08)
02 - Sie Tranken Regen (0:51)
03 - Über Die Wasserscheide (4:31)
04 - Blood (1:20)
05 - ... Denn Nacht Ist Jetzt Schon Bald! (4:57)
06 - Sie Tranken Regen (Version) (5:12)
07 - Mantra (4:52)
08 - Eierdaunen (Gerupft) (6:22)
09 - Irgendwann: Frühling (6:51)
10 - There's A Weight On You, But You Can't Feel It (1:30)

Kammerflimmer Kollektief @ Home
Kammerflimmer Kollektief @ Amazon

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Bergheim 34 - It's Not For You, As It Is For Us* 98mb

Meanwhile, light years away from the former living room combo of Bergheimer Str. 34, Heidelberg, they have all moved to different cities, and rehearsing together has become a rare exception. Instead, Bergheim 34 have adopted a process of file sharing. Ideas are transmitted, passages added, sounds changed until a track evolves that is then circulated on each of the four hard disks. In the classic sense, the band has thus perhaps become an ingenuous fake but in the modern sense they could also be pioneers.
Unlike many of their German counterparts, who have opted for a more minimalistic glitch-tech approach, Bergheim 34, four individual artists apparently linked over peer-to-peer networks, has decided to channel its efforts toward sunny, danceable electronics. In addition, their Casio synths, electro beats and harmonizing vocals reek of ’80s nostalgia. Singer Anne Vortisch with her calm, ethereal voice brings together the funky beats, glitches, and spooky cinematic sound effects



01 - Baustelle (4:39)
02 - Random Access Memory (6:03)
03 - Us Key (4:25)
04 - Nasty Girl (5:10)
05 - Sucker Pt. 2 (4:05)
06 - System (3:53)
07 - Frogs On Grills (6:13)
08 - Rababa (6:01)
09 - Coding Stains (6:08)
10 - Sucker Pt. 1 (3:46)

***** ***** ***** ***** *****
* All downloads are in * ogg-7 (224k) or ^ ogg-9(320k), artwork is included , if in need get the nifty ogg encoder/decoder here !
 

Stage 02, Austria

Hello,

Time now for the second stage of my eurotour, more austrian recordings centered in and around Vienna.

***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Tosca -Delhi 9

While Richard Dorfmeister & Peter Kruder are best known for the now-classic 1998 The K&D Sessions, both Kruder and Dorfmeister have been busy with Peace Orchestra and Tosca, their respective "side projects." Dehli9 is hypnotically impressive, using cyclic beats, lazy electronics, spliff tunes with lyrical extravagance, & piano-pieces in a dub style . "Rolf Royce," featuring Stephan Graf Hadik Wildner's druggy vocal swoops, pits long melodic phrases against a staccato bassline to create a nice flow, while Earl Zinger's laconic style matches up well with the jazzier textures of "Wonderful."

Fans of minimalism will want to investigate the bonus CD included from Tosca's other member, fellow Austrian and like-minded beathead Rupert Huper. Based on an earlier piece from Huper titled "12 Easy-to-Play Piano Pieces," it's a somber, icily beautiful song cycle. Like late afternoon sunshine on a hazy winter's day, Dehli9's elegant and haunting mixture lingers in the background, barely holding onto the day as whatever light seeps through slowly fades to shadow. -




Tosca - Delhi9   (flac 395mb)

01.- Oscar
02.- Me and Yoko Ono
03.- Gute Laune
04.- Mango Di Bango
05.- Wonderful
06.- Every Day & Every Night
07.- Dave Dudley
08.- Rolf Royce
09.- Sperl
10.- La Vendeuse Des Chaussures Des Femmes Part 1
11.- La Vendeuse Des Chaussures Des Femmes Part 2

Tosca - Delhi9 Etheric (flac 175mb)

01.- D-Moll. Session 1
02.- Einschlaf. Session 2
03.- Wien In E. Session 3
04.- Schwimmer. Session 4
05.- 1504/7. Session 5
06.- Slow Hell. Session 6
07.- Song. Session 7
08.- Romanze In Es. Session 8
09.- FluB. Session 9
10.- Ping. Session 10
11.- 2504/1. Session 11
12.- Piano 1. Session 12

Discography
Tosca @ Wiki
Tosca @ Amazon

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Truby Trio - Elevator Music (450mb)

Elevator Music" offers a trip around the world through Latin and African groove, funk, disco, electro rhythms from 70s and 80s American soul music and poly-rhythmic dance music from London's west side. Don't let the name fool you, MUSAK this is not, essential dancefloor jazz bizness this is.

Compost label mogul Rainer Trüby formed Trüby Trio in 1997, along with Roland Appel and Christian Prommer, who also work together on the Fauna Flash and Voom projects. They became widely known for their Latin-influenced sound and were among the first to integrate bossa nova and flamenco into what is now known as "nu-jazz". Since their formation, the Trio have spread the gospel of Latin-based dancefloor jazz through remix projects with Frederic Galliano, Bobby Matos, and Nitin Sawhney, and stunning DJ sets at some of the best-known venues in the world.

 

Truby Trio - Elevator Music    (450mb)

01 - The Rhythm (Part One) 1:09
02 - Universal Love (ft - Marcus Begg ) 5:39
03 - New Music 6:03
04 - Runnin' (ft Wunmi ) 5:46
05 - Jaleo (ft Concha Buika) 6:27
06 - Alegre 2003 (ft Marcia Montez) 6:11
07 - A Festa 6:50
08 - Make A Move (ft Wunmi ) 5:03
09 - A Go Go (3:32)
10 - Bad Luck (ft Joseph Malik) 6:50
11 - Lover Underground (ft Marcus Begg) 5:49
12 - The Swingin' Feel 1:03
13 - Cruisin' 5:43
14 - Satisfaction 4:52
15 - The Rhythm (Part Two) 0:51

Truby Trio @ Amazon
Interview with Christian Prommer of Truby Trio

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Fennesz - Endless Summer   (234mb)

An obvious homage to the Beach Boys already in the title of the record, the cover art features beaches and rolling waves onto the shoreline of an unidentified coast. This cd is melodic in the sense that a Viennese avant garde composer who digitally distorts every tiny piece of information that is included in his compositions can be melodic. Once the theme has been fleshed out during the song, the listener can only concentrate on the digital mastery that Fennesz has created. Only at key points do melodic phrases appear to the listener unscathed by digital processed bed of sound.
The abstract quality of this release is going to be the ultimate turn off to most listeners. This is unfortunate because Fennesz has, once again, crafted an album of shimmering beauty that demands to be listened to with your full concentration. This is a demand that only important art can make.

 

01 - Made In Hong Kong (4:20)
02 - Endless Summer (8:33)
03 - A Year In A Minute (5:59)
04 - Caecilia (3:51)
05 - Got To Move On (3:49)
06 - Shisheido (2:56)
07 - Before I Leave (4:04)
08 - Happy Audio (10:56)

Fennesz @ Home
Fennesz @ Wiki
Fennesz @ Amazon

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

  VA - Vienna Scientists II, More Puffs From Our Laboratories  (449mb)

This is the second expedition into the regions of relaxed sounds and retarding rhythms - to Venna, where sonic scientists refined beats and extracted fresh strains in their laboratories. Along with already familiar names this album presents talents out of the Viennese DJ and producers guild and their creative output. It allows a closer look on the musical produce of the city, where side by side with internationally renowned acts plenty of hidden talents are to be found. This album was put together by 'First Scientist' Jürgen Drimal, who acclaimed plenty of media attention with part one of the compilation. The cover painting comes from Vienese artist Mario Huber, whose "pictures with no name for music with no name" already graced the preceding product. The artwork for "Vienna Scientists Vol. II" was done by O/R/E/L.

 

VA - Vienna Scientists II    (flac 449mb)

01 FREEDOM SATELLITE - Easy 99
With the project FREEDOM SATELLITE Gernot Ebenlechner and Jürgen Drimal have created a platform for the realization of their musical universe, influenced by 40 years of recorded history, driven by an affinity for phat beats. "Easy '99" came into being with energetically support from Liz "Fuzz" Neumayr (voc), Michael Pint (bass) and designer Gerald Tomez (git).
02 VIENNA D.C. - Smoke
The impression that Gregor Ugovsek and Michael Konrad (VIENNA DC) want to leave their listeners with is, in their own definition, "non-spectacular, unconcepted and floating music - snapshots instead of perfect arrangements." "Smoke" was developed along with MC E-Mix from London. Meanwhile, VIENNA DC are working on their first EP, which will be released by the end of the year.
03 ROMEO - Sparky's Joint
One of the longest serving DJ's he played many sets in famous clubs all over the country and stirred up the dancefloors with his unique blend of percussive grooves and bass grinding beats. Together with producer and engineer Georg O. Luksch he converted his musical delights for floorfriendly monsterfunk into this tune.
04 FAMILIE SEELIG - Morning Mist
Founded 1995 in Linz by Alexander Kellas and Daniel Sack. They are recording together with changing guests, their style is best described as "Living Room Music": From the living room, for the living room for the accomplishment of every day routine and as a catalyst of moods.
05 STEREOTYP - Port Blue
Stefan Moerth is a man with many different musical faces: With this project he worships chased rhythmical works with dark, jazzy undertones. He made his debut with the EP "Stash It" under the name STEREOTYP last autumn on G-Stone Recordings, the imprint of Peter Kruder and Richard Dorfmeister.
06 SUPER NOVA - 23. Juli
This young Austrian band, that was awarded first price in a band contest in 1997. Urban, cosmopolitan and very esperanto is what they call themselves. Plastikpop origins in the synthetic chewinggum-like music which is typical for them - Plastikland, there it is, the musical topic mall of SUPER NOVA.
07 AROMABAR - Where's Your Moon
Formed in 1996, Aromabar are Roland Hackl and Andreas "DJ Scott" Kinzl, two young gentlemen in search of the ultimate pop song. "Pop Couture" is what they call their style, and they're definetly on the melodic tip, but that doesn't mean that the beats aren't rocking. Aromabar have released two singles on the German 'Infracom' label with another one on the way and a brand new album, "One", out on 30/08/99. They also teamed up with Frankfurt's Marschmellows for a collaboration 12", out now.
08 THE WAZ EXP. - Malaysian Guy
DJ Martin "Waz" Wazac and Producer Alex Mayer both influenced by "Afro-Cosmic-Sound", which is quite popular within Western Austria and the South of Germany. With "Malaysian Guy" they are once again delivering a fluffy, mellow tune with a reggae flavour for you to enjoy.
09 THE MENHEADS - K.u.s.h.
Marcello Armetta and Michael Hirschler, already featured on part one of VIENNA SCIENTISTS, come up again with "K.u.s.h.", a deep and atmospheric moody piece from their forge. Vocals on this track by Denise Fontura.
10 SYNCOPE - Sky
Brought to life in 1998 by two brothers: While Philipp Thomasberger received a classical musical education, Max was soon engaged with computers and synthesizers. SYNCOPE want to cover all styles of electronic music, with strong influences being brought in by guest musicians.
11 UKO - Sun Beams
With their unmistakable aesthetic of sounds UKO already made a big impression with "Do Yourself Some Good" on part one of VIENNA SCIENTISTS - their latest strike is "Sun Beams", a easy going and lightweight roller written by Jürgen Nussbaum. Vocal contributions come from Liz "Fuzz" Neumayr.
12 CRUISER - Love Me
DJ Jochen Reiter, a man who can look back on a illustrous catalogue of records and remixes on various labels worldwide, and musician Michael Reimann form Cruiser. With "Love Me" they are fusing ruff 70's funk with contemporary electronic sounds.
13 SMOKE SIGNAL - Peace
DJ Gü-Mix, founder of Vienna's Dub Club, and Stefan Moerth (a man with many different musical faces, as you can see) are Smoke Signal. With their track "Peace" they are on a journey through dark, smoke-filled chambers in slow motion.
14 PATRICK PULSINGER - Can't Stay Away (Clip Dub)
A passionate soundcraftsman with international credibiltiy, gained from his work as a DJ as well as for his releases on CHEAP ENTERTAINMENT, a well known outlet of experimental electronic music. As one of the most innovative producers in Austria, we are very proud to present PATRICK PULSINGER on this album!
15 GRISU 2000 - Forget About Miami
A project of Martin "Sugar B" Forster, well known for his sataurday night radio show "Silly Solid Swound System" together with DJ Makossa on Austriain radio station FM 4, and Gringo, the bass player of FREAKY FUKIN' WEIRDOZ. "Forget About Miami" melts various musical influences to a homogenous mixture of sounds.

Vienna Scientists @ Base
Vienna Scientists @ Amazon

***** ***** ***** ***** *****
* All downloads are in * ogg-7 (224k) or ^ ogg-9(320k), artwork is included , if in need get the nifty ogg encoder/decoder here !

Stage 01, Austria

Links in comments

Hello,
It's not allways easy to decide what to post, i'm not interested in swamping you with albums, I've got a wide ranging collection so plenty of possible themes. For the coming months i'll be going on a 30 stage euro tour, i note that my collection of music from south of the alps is too limited to spend a stage there, but i hope you'll bare with me as i tour austria, swiss/s.germany france, iberia, france again, belgium, netherlands, germany, denmark, sweden, finland, norway, scotland, iceland and ireland. Most countries will have 2 stages i.e. 4 or 5 titles. In all some 120+ albums from places that until the internet where kept isolated by the music industry, that heavily concentrated on UK/US artists and basically drained the locals from funds to develop a music scene themselves, in short music imperialism.
As music is an essential expression of humanity it can not be stopped , it grows regardless of funds or acclaim. Therefore i hope you'll bare with me as i'll post a euro stage every friday and tuesdaynight for the coming months.

^^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^^

Where to start ? Where else than in the heart of Europe, Austria, birthplace of many famous composers.
The territory of Austria, originally known as the Celtic kingdom of Noricum, was a long time ally of Rome. It was occupied rather than conquered by the Romans during the reign of Augustus and made the province Noricum in 16 BC. Later it was conquered by Huns, Rugii, Lombards, Ostrogoths, Slavs, Bavarii, Avars (until c. 800), and Franks (in that order).... After Frederick II, Duke of Austria died in 1246 and left no successor, Rudolf I of Habsburg gave the lands to his sons marking the beginning of the line of the Habsburgs, who continued to govern Austria until the 20th century.
Austria's population was estimated in October, 2006 as 8,292,322 persons. The population of the capital, Vienna, exceeds 1.6 million (2.2 million with suburbs), representing about a quarter of the country's population, and is said to constitute a melting pot of citizens from all over Central and Eastern Europe.
Though Austria is a small country, its history as a European power and its cultural environment have generated a broad contribution to art and science. It has been the professional birthplace of many famous composers such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Joseph Haydn, Franz Schubert, Anton Bruckner, Johann Strauss, Sr & Jr.and Gustav Mahler. Notably, Ludwig van Beethoven spent the better part of his life in Vienna. Austria

***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Dargaard - In Nomine Aeternitatis

Dargaard consists of two artists Tharen (one name) and Elisabeth Toriser. Tharen is apparently the composer and musician, while Elisabeth is the vocalist and lyricist on her vocals. Their music is dark, symphonic and melancholy and even though there are only two of them, their sound is big and lush. Tharen himself describes their music as classical, medieval-influenced ritual music. " In Nomine Aeternitatis (In the Name of Eternity) evokes a dark ethereal mood, the listener is saved from the abyss because the atmosphere isn't too insistent and the melodies have an uplifting aura to them.





Dargaard - In Nomine Aeternitatis  (291mb)

01 - Dark Horizons
02 - Underworld Domain
03 - Pantheon in Flames
04 - The Infinite
05 - Temple of the Morning Star
06 - Caverna Obscura
07 - Only the Blind Can See
08 - In Signo Mortis
09 - The March of Shadows
10 - In Nomine Aeternitatis
11 - The Seas of Oblivion


Dargaard @ Home
Dargaard @ Wiki
Dargaard @ Amazon

***** ***** ***** ***** *****
GD Luxxe - The 21st door

GD Luxxe exists in a very hard to define electronic artists that experiment within recognizable rhythmic structures. The music speaks all at once to your body, mind and emotions and often directed them in differing directions. "The 21st Door" challenges all concepts of electronic dance music by being provocatively experimental and defies the rhythmic industrial world by often-invoking nostalgic vocal deliveries or simplistic synth or drum lines that evoke the dark wave rock of the 1980’s. Drawing upon such diverse influences makes for a unique and original album.



GD Luxxe - The 21st door (flac 385mb)

01 - Minds
02 - Hydrolic Buildings
03 - My Guiding Ghost
04 - Changed Body
05 - Angels
06 - New Definition
07 - Pain & Love
08 - Future On DVD
09 - Keep Me
10 - Cold Mines
11 - Busy
12 - Which Side Are You On


Luxxe @ Wiki
GD Luxxe @ Home

***** ***** ***** ***** *****


Peace Orchestra - Reset

In 1999 Kruder released his first solo record, "Peace Orchestra," a down-tempo album on which he smoothly combined jazz, dub and bossa. Here, on "Reset," Kruder's contemporaries revisit the tracks from "Peace Orchestra," and deliver 11 diverse remixes. It is a remix album, but it isnt. This is the more jaunty, housey, funky twin, the original more sparce, moody, loaded.
The remixes are so far removed from the original, that these end up giving a new and fresh appreciation for the original.



Peace Orchestra - Reset  (flac 470mb)

01 - The Man - Gotan Project El Hombre de la Pampa Mix
02 - Meister Petz - Beanfield Remix
03 - Double Drums - DJ DSL Remix
04 - Domination - Raw Deal Remix
05 - Marakesch - Meitz Remix
06 - Henry - Zero dB Remix
07 - Domination - Guilliaume Boulard Remix
08 - Who Am I - Chateau Flight Remix
09 - Henry - SoulPatrol Remix
10 - Shining - Truby Trio Treatment
11 - The Man - Kosma Deep Gratitude Interpretation


Peace Orch @ Wiki
Peace Orch @ Amazon

***** ***** ***** ***** *****
There must be something in the Vienna water engendering the populace towards creating exquisite electronic and dub music; like both Kruder & Dorfmeister and Fennesz, Sofa Surfers are highly accomplished sound-manipulators. They merge beats and sonics into a seamless whole, veering between electronica, hip/trip hop, dub and reggae and taking in an expansive palette of sounds, brooding strings and sarcastic applause laid-up with church bells and ominous clatter and drone.

Sofa Surfers - Encounters

Encounters is a collaborative concept album, Sofa Surfers taking their paranoid dub-hop into brave new worlds with the help of an eclectic slew of vocalists including hip hoppers Sensational and Dalek, bruised On U Sound veteran Mark Stewart, reggae king Junior Delgado, buzzing dancehall haunter DJ Collage and folk-blues figure Jeb Loy Nichols, each adding a different spin and layer to the politically uneasy soundscapes, psychedelic encounters in a dark wave / glam rock way. Sofa Surfers’ third album is a great work of post-millennial tension.



Sofa Surfers - Encounters   (flac  385mb

01 - Formula (feat. Sensational)
02 - 21st Century Army (feat. Oddatee)
03 - River Blues (feat. Jeb Loy Nichols)
04 - Babylon Tymes (feat. DJ Collage)
05 - Twisted Tongue (feat. DJ Collage)
06 - Elusive Scripts (feat. Daelek and Dev1)
07 - What Kind Of World (feat. Lil Desmond Levy)
08 - See The Light (feat. Junior Delgado)
09 - Can I Get A Witness (feat. Dawna Lee)
10 - Home Truths (feat. Mark Stewart)
11 - Passin 'Tru (feat. DJ Collage)
12 - Selling Souls (feat. MC Santana)
13 - Gamelan


Sofa surfers @ Home
Sofa surfers @ Wiki DE
Sofa surfers @ Amazon

***** ***** ***** ***** *****
VA - G-Stone (Kruder and Dorfmeister)

Having revolutionized the sophisticated chill-out funk/dub scene with their K&D Sessions, well-blunted Vienna production duo Kruder & Dorfmeister returned with this elaborate label retrospective. G-Stone Book is part label showcase, part fashion guide, part manifesto. The lavish set, complete with a 300-plus-page book, chronicles the duo's world tour, mixing in bizarre fashion layouts with snapshots from Tokyo and Brighton as well as a K&D interview and an e-mail exchange on the nature of the Vienna sound.
So here's the accompanying cd, featuring slo-mo club funk from Kruder & Dorfmeister and their various offshoots, including Tosca and Peace Orchestra.. While this compilation is not for the punters looking for some rare grooves, it nevertheless is an adequate compilation of some excellent trip-hop and acid jazz from two of the masters of the genre.



VA - G-Stone (Kruder and Dorfmeister)  (457mb)

01.- High Noon - Kruder & Dorfmeister
02. -Chocolate Elvis - Tosca
03.- Fuck Dub/Haaksman Version - Tosca
04.- Shades - Walkner-Moestl
05.- From Babylon To Vienna Voiceover - Farda P
06.- Chocolate Elvis (Boozoo Bajou Mix) - Tosca
07.- Dubolition - Kieser-Velten
08.- Domination - Peace Orchestra
09.- Busenfreund - Tosca
10.- Dub Club - Stereotyp+Soothsayer
11.- Little Irie - Sugar B
12.- Heaven Or Hell - Walkner Moestl
13.- Orozco (Dubphonic Mix) - Tosca
14.- Deep Shit - Kruder & Dorfmeister


G-Stoned Label
K&D @ Wiki

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Sherwoods Forest

In support of Are Friends Electric effort to bring to you the work of Adrian Sherwood as mixer/producer besides his work for his On U sound label i post here some of his work, so excellently gathered @ Skysaw.org , take it.


An interview with Adrian Sherwood


"I take advantage of an ensuing period of relative calm to begin the interview, and I ask, what led Adrian to reggae in the first place. What started his journey that led to the On-U Sound experience?

When I was pretty young, I was heavily into soul music. I loved that, but I was really carried away by early reggae music and ska tunes. Those were pretty eccentric, freaky tunes, stuff like U Roy's Wear you to the Ball… I was soaking up all that energy, even when I was at school, and when I heard reggae music at the local black clubs I went to, that was when I got really into it.

What was your next stage after your initial fascination with reggae I asked?

Well, I was still in my late teens when I started working for the Carib Gems label people… I was a junior director… I loved roots music, and the tunes we were putting out on that label, tracks like Observe Life by Michael Rose, and Babylon Won't Sleep Tonight/Sleepers by Wayne Jarrett and the Righteous Flames were strong, strong tracks, they really were. Especially I loved the Sleepers track. The Tubby's version is a heavy dub. It's sad, I don't even have copies of those 45's myself anymore. I wish I'd held on to my copies! You know of course we cut our own On-U version of Observe Life with Creation Rebel on the rhythm, and Ari on the vocal, then there was a dub too."
Read the whole interview at uncarved.org here !

^^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^^
Some trees, and branches from Sherwoods Forest

Medium Medium - 'The Glitterhouse & Plus'

Best known for the 1981 single that is this compilation's namesake, Medium Medium cobbled together the decadent regurgitant of mainstream disco and fed it through a filter of Gang of Four's knotty funk and the Pop Group's acerbic, clawing production. Great bass lines make me weak at the knees, and Hungry, So Angry has so many: check the popping glides of the title track, the shimmy-cum-melody of "Nadsat Dream", and the scores of cinder block kicks, thumps and thuds found throughout. Most impressive, perhaps, is the stylistic and aesthetic variety-- something Medium Medium's more "important" contemporaries neither achieved nor, frankly, cared about-- seen in the album's descent from hard boxy funk to glittering atmospheric jams.



 Medium Medium - 'The Glitterhouse ( flac 271mb)

01 - Hungry, So Angry
02 - Serbian Village
03 - The Glitterhouse
04 - Guru Maharaj
05 - Further Than Funk Dream
06 - Mice Or Monsters
07 - hat Haiku
08 - Nadsat Dream
09 - Hungry, So Angry (Adrian Sherwood mix)

Produced by AMS and Graham Spink.

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Ministry - Twitch (' 86 flac 343mb)

The second CD i ever bought and one of my favourite records that year. Jourgensen performed mostly solo for Ministry's Twitch (1986), The music was danceable electronic music, but wasn't pop music, and the sound was harsher and more aggressive than what Ministry had recorded before. Twitch sold well, and was considered to be "underground" as such this album was quintessential in asserting industrial music's importance in new-wave dance clubs. Twitch would also prove to be a pivotal move in the course of Ministry. Much of the new sound was created with the use of digital sampling and the input of producer Adrian Sherwood.





Ministry-Twitch 343mb

01 - Just Like You
02 - We Believe
03 - All Day Remix
04 - The Angel ||
05 - Over The Shoulder
06 - My Possession
07 - Where You At Now
08 - Crash & Burn (prod by Jourgensen)
09 - Twitch (Version II)
10 - Over The Shoulder (12" version)
11 - Isle Of Man (Version II)

* Produced by AMS.

Ministry @ Wiki
Ministry @ Amazon

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Primal Scream - Echodek

The release is a dub version of Primal Scream's 'Vanishing Point' album and the corresponding titles on that release are given in (brackets). Primal Scream - 'Echodek' (Remix and additional production by Sherwood. )



Primal Scream - Echodek ( flac 284mb)

01 - Living Dub (Long Life)
02 - Duffed Up (Get Duffy)
03 - Revolutionary (Star)
04 - JU-87 || (Stuka)
05 - First Name Unknown (Kowalski)
06 - Vanishing Dub (Out Of The Void)
07 - Last Train (Trainspotting)
08 - Wise Blood (Stuka)
09 - Dub In Vain (Medication)

Primal Scream @ Wiki
Primal Scream @ Amazon

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Looplizard - Into the Sun ('97 -418mb)

This is a belgian band and hasnt had an international release, nvertheless they managed to bring in Sherwood to mix and postproduce their album.Into the sun sounds like ambient or techno, but actually the band is guitars, bass, drums and a few samples. They folded in 2003.



Looplizard - Into the Sun   flac 418mb

01 Burn 3:29
02 Party Time 6:17
03 Mental Rape 3:56
04 Dear Marlena 5:00
05 Tekno 4:23
06 Sunny Side Up 1:10
07 Walkman 5:22
08 Teknoid 5:07
09 Rubberman 3:52
10 Into The Sun 2:33
11 Vertigo 4:12
12 Indy 5:03
13 Monster 5:47
14 Joe's Freakshow 4:50

Produced and mixed by AMS and Harvey Birrell

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Suns of Arqa - Revenge of the Mozabites (1979 * 207 mb)

Suns of Arqa creator and mentor Michael Wadada has been continuously investigating the supernatural potential hidden in the Classical Raga structure of the music of India. His mission – to mix the cerebral and illusive cosmological vibrations of Raga, with the mother earth rhythms of Niyabinghi drumming that were surfacing in England in the guise of Dub Reggae.

In 1979 Wadada set about recording the ground breaking Suns of Arqa album 'Revenge of the Mozabites' with his friend Adrian Sherwood. Together they formed the ‘4D Rhythm’ label – the world was not ready! Wadada retreated to the Pennine mountain range in Lancashire, Adrian Sherwood went on to create the formidable ‘On-U Sound’ label. Next came the legendary collaborations with Prince Far-I, which can be heard on ‘A Brief History of SOA’ . 7th December 1982 Prince Far-I did one last show in Manchester with Suns of Arqa; on his return to Jamaica he was murdered by an unidentified gunman. This last performance can be heard on ‘Suns of Arqa Live with Prince Far-I’. In 1982 a very curious Peter Gabriel came across a rare copy of that first Suns of Arqa album; he was putting together the very first World of Music and Dance festival (WOMAD), and asked Suns of Arqa to come and perform.

Produced by Michel Maffia and Adran Ridims (Sherwood)




------Light Side-----
01 - Acid Tablas ( 3;49)
02 - World Peace, A Dream ? (2;10)
03 - Scully's Reel (1;30)
04 - Bali Sitra (3;39)
05 - Scullys Jig (1;47)
06 - Piece of the World (1;08)
07 - Acid Tabla Dub (3;00)
------Dark Side-----
08 - Ananta Snake Dance (7;19)
09 - Return of the Mozabites (3;38)
10 - Sanaiscara Return (6;18)
11 - Paintings of a Cave (1;21)
Bonus
12 - Acid Tabla Re-Mix (3;37)

Suns of Arqa @ Base
Suns of Arqa @ Amazon

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Some new trees for Sherwoods forest, one even grown from green vinyl.


Voice of Authority - Very Big in America Right Now (1984 * 93mb)

Voice of Authority, alias Adrian Sherwood
Voice Of Authority were yet another of those non-bands whose name roamed the corridors of On-U HQ in the 1982-4 period in the same ilk as Playgroup. In truth, these labels were more like working titles for particular collaborations of recording musicians in a world that insisted on hanging a name on any group of people who happen to release a record.

Dubbed "Science Fiction Dancehall Classic" at the time, spinning the album today, it still sounds as off-beat and timeless as it did when it first came out. As for the giant roasted peanut adorning the cover of the original vinyl edition - you'll just have to give it a listen if it doesn't make sense!



1 - (Short Intro) Knock The House Down (1:47)
2 - Very Big In America Right Now (6:46)
3 - Middle East Power Station (4:35)
4 - In Another World, Ft - Shara Nelson (7:12)
5 - Stopping And Starting Ft - Lizard (5:56)
6 - Technical Miracle (5:08)
7 - Slipped Disco (1:57)
8 - Grand Prix (2:47)
9 - Feeling Wild (4:56)

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Friedman & Friends

As promised Friedman part 2, collaborations with Atomz- Flanger, Jaki Liebezeit (ex-Can) and David Sylvian, Nine Horses aswell as the excellent Nonplace sampler "Difficult easy listening".

***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Flanger - Outer Space/Inner Space

The Flanger project was founded in 1998 by Uwe Schmidt (aka Atom™)and Burnt Friedman).The two musicians met up to program their first album "Templates" in Santiago de Chile in 1998.Their musical goal was to generate their own vision of non-repetitive,organic and extremely complex music that is far removed from the well-trodden paths of techno and other established styles of so-called contemporary music...

Inner Space/Outer Space covers the most territory of the three records, opening with convincing electro and touching on lounge-y vibes solos, Latino rhythms, and a bit o' clicky electronic percussion. These two can really tweak a studio in a subtly psychedelic way, turning congas into stuttering chirps and cutting up a drum solo to sound like the drummer's playing during an earthquake. Very entertaining ..



 Flanger..Outer Space   (flac 296mb)

1. Outer Space/Inner Space
2. Galak
3. The Men Who Fell From Earth
4. Inner Spacesuit
5. Le Dernier Combat
6. Unosietecero
7. It Ain't Rocket Science
8. Hirnflug

Flanger @ Amazon

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Friedman & Liebezeit - Secret Rhytms 1 (2002)

If you are looking for a slow, cool chilling sound this album is a must buy. Matching the complex improvisational elements of electronic music with accessibly warm acoustic instruments. The German guru Burnt Friedman is becoming one of the most respected musicians of his generation across Europe. On each project Burnt gets some of the bests to work with. For this album, he's teamed up with legendary Can drummer Jaki Liebezeit.Praised and admired for his unique cyclical beats, Liebezeit offers here a rather subdued performance compared to some of his previous work. Always remaining slightly in the background of Friedman’s deceptively simple melodies, he however injects complex rhythmic structures on each track, providing a healthy balance to Burnt’s Latin inspired electronic composition. The mood on Secret Rhythms is definitely laid back and hypnotic, ranging from languorous dub style moments (Rastafahndung) to exotic impressions (Gulli Verreisen). If the work is by essence electronic, the result has the intensity of live music, establishing an interesting parallel with Flanger’s outer space jazz excursions. Here though, the jazz element is not as predominant as on some of Friedman’s previous releases, concentrating on more colourful ambiences instead. By using ambitious polyrhythms and complex arrangements, the duo manages to unlock a great wealth of possibilities, matching the complex improvisational elements of electronic music with accessibly warm acoustic instruments.



 Friedman and Liebezeit..Secret Rhythms I   (Flac 311mb)

01 - Rhein rauf
02 - Rechter winkl
03 - Royal roost
04 - Shades of soddin' Orion
05 - Rasta fahndung
06 - Gulli verreisen
07 - Wirklich
08 - Obscured by 5
09 - Obscured by 5 (Nonplace rmx)
10 - Obscured by 5 (extended)

pre listen
Secret Rhythms @ Amazon

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

Nine Horses - Snow Born Sorrow (2005)

This record combines songs that Sylvian wrote up to six years ago with his brother and long-time collaborator, drummer Steve Jansen, with newer material that he developed with electronica artist Burnt Friedman.

On Nine Horses' first effort they adopt a cinematic jazz-pop pose for Snow Borne Sorrow. Sylvian's romantic baritone takes center stage in front of Nine Horses' spare arrangements for stand-up bass, chiming vibraphones, in-the-mood-for-love atmospheres, sporadic percussive skitter, and noirish saxophone solos that pop up wheneven Sylvain steps away from the microphone. Snow Borne Sorrow also features guest appearances from Stina Nordenstam, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and Arve Henriksen. In spite of its long history, Snow Borne Sorrow is consistent, cohesive, and polished to a shine.



Nine Horses..Snow Born Sorrow  (Flac 353mb)

1. Wonderful World
2. Darkest Birds
3. The Banality of Evil
4. Atom and Cell
5. A History of Holes
6. Snow Borne Sorrow
7. The Day the Earth Stole Heaven
8. Serotonin
9. The Librarian

Nine Horses @ Amazon

***** ***** ***** ***** *****

VA -Nonplace - Difficult Easy Listening

This is a great compilation of different pieces remixed, live, never heard or segments, developed by german's own master of electronics burnt friedman & his nonplace urban field records. All artists team up for this concept record, it's not only a wild mixture of various exotic quality grooves, but a stunning assembly of tunes from extremely different sources. You'll hear compassion and anger, vulnerability and strength, and sadness transformed, somehow, into beauty.



 Difficult Easy Listening   (Flac 266mb)

01. Shank - Oust
02. Swaai - Cosmopartisan
03. Lycheelassi - Shades Of Mosley (rmx Friedman )
04. Burnt Friedman & Jaki Liebezeit - 5 live
05. B.F.&The Nu Dub Players - Worth A Dub
06. Replicant Rumba Rockers - Space Bossa, feat. Swaai, guitars
07. Beige - Explosions= AE in b.e.i.g.e. (nothing has changed)
08. B.F.& The Nu Dub Players - Designer Groove (version)
09. Replicant Rumba Rockers - La Vida Es Llena De Cables
10. Beige - Schmonked Starlet (uh baby ! ... ah! ah! ah!)
11. Burnt Friedman - Busy
12. Shank - Ocker Space
13. B.F.&The Nu Dub Players - Paternoster (version)
14. Swaai - Dwell

Nonplace @ Home
Nonplace @ Amazon

***** ***** ***** ***** *****
* All downloads are in * ogg-7 (224k) or ^ ogg-9(320k), artwork is included , if in need get the nifty ogg encoder/decoder here !