aeSOTERIC Sounds

Solah - "Eternal Humm"

2009-10-31T13:34:00.000-07:00

Artist: Solah

Album: Eternal Humm
Year: 2009
Label: Aether Everywhere
Genre: Doom/Ambient/Noise

1 - Divot
2 - Ivory Drift
3 - Eternal Humm
4 - Innumerable Suns
5 - Pavor Nocturnas

"Eternal Humm" is the doom ambient side project of Jay Blanchard (VIKOMT, Yellowknife) and JB LeDoux (the le duo). A Snake In the Garden, makes a blistering guest appearance on the epic track "Innumerable Suns". This album is highly recommended for fans of Sunn O))), Lustmord, Bobby Beausoleil, fog covered mountains and endless despair.

Bruce Haack - The Electric Lucifer

2009-07-26T14:45:00.000-07:00

Artist: Bruce Haack

Album: The Electric Lucifer
Label: Omni

1 - Electric to Me Turn
2 - Word, The (Narration)
3 - Cherubic Hymn
4 - Program Me
5 - War
6 - National Anthem to the Moon
7 - Chant of the Unborn
8 - Incantation
9 - Angel Child
10 - Word Game
11 - Song of the Death Machine
12 - Super Nova
13 - Requiem

After hearing late-'60s rock & roll from his friend Chris Kachulis, Bruce Haack added acid rock to his already diverse sonic palette. The result was 1970s "Electric Lucifer", a psychedelic, anti-war song cycle about the battle between heaven and hell. The underlying concept of this concept album is "Powerlove," a divine force that not only unites humanity but forgives Lucifer his transgressions as well. But though this album extols the healing powers of peace and love, "Electric Lucifer" uses often menacing music and lyrics to get its point across. "War" depicts the battle royale between good and evil with a martial beat and salvos from dueling synthesizers; a child's voice murmurs "I don't want to play anymore," and a funereal synth melody replaces the electronic battle march. Haack's marriage of rock rhythms and his unique electronics creates a sound unlike either his previous work or the era's psychedelic rock, but songs like "Incantation" and "Word Game," with their percolating beats, buzzing synths and vocoders, are much trippier than most acid rock. The strangely forlorn "Song of the Death Machine" sounds a bit like a short-circuiting HAL singing "My Darling Clementine," while "Word Game" features cool, dark electro-rock and brain-teasing lyrics like "Ray of sun/Reason/Knowledge/No legends." Kachulis sings on both of these tracks, and his deadpan vocals complement the weirdness going on around him nicely. His involvement with "Electric Lucifer" also includes aiding the album's release on Columbia Records; though it was Haack's only major-label release, "Electric Lucifer" remains musically innovative and subversive. [Source: AMG]

Johnny Thunders - So Alone

2009-07-13T19:25:00.000-07:00

Artist: Johnny Thunders

Album: So Alone
Label: Sire/London/Rhino
Year: 1978
Genre: Rock

01 - Pipeline
02 - You Can't Put Your Arms Around A Memory
03 - Great Big Kiss
04 - Ask Me No Questions
05 - Leave Me Alone
06 - Daddy Rollin' Stone
07 - London Boys
08 - (She's So) Untouchable
09 - Subway Train
10 - Downtown
11 - Dead Or Alive
12 - Hurtin'
13 - So Alone
14 - The Wizard

Probably best known for his stint as the founding lead guitarist of the glam-punk innovators the New York Dolls, Johnny Thunders also was a prolific solo artist as well as a member of the first "all-junkie band" Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers.

So Alone is Thunders' strongest solo offering, featuring some fierce guitar licks and bratty, bleating vocal styles that wouldn't have sounded out of place had they been recorded ten years later during the heyday of butt-rock. The only difference--Thunders knew his history, and the illusions to early rockabilly and R&B shine through on every track. About as raw, ugly and unpretentious as rock music gets, So Alone is a must own for any fan of late '70s protopunk or just plain dirty rock n' roll.

Stereolab and Nurse w/ Wound - Simple Headphone Mind

2009-05-17T14:54:00.000-07:00

Artist: Stereolab and Nurse With Wound

Album: Simple Headphone Mind
Label: Duophonic (uk)
Year: 1997
Genre: Post-rock / psych / kraut-rock

01 - Simple Headphone Mind
02 - Trippin' With The Birds

Simple Headphone Mind is the second collaboration between Stereolab and Nurse With Wound. As with their first release, Crumb Duck, Stereolab recorded the basic track and then handed it over to Steven Stapleton to do with as he pleased. Unlike with Crumb Duck, listeners can hear the original Stereolab recording, as it was issued under the title The Long Hair Of Death on a split single with Yo La Tengo; this version was also featured on Stereolab's Aluminum Tunes compilation album.

Again, as with Crumb Duck, the release was a limited edition. There were between 800 and 1000 compact discs (the NWW and Stereolab websites disagree on numbers) and 4000 vinyl records, around 1000 of which were on yellow vinyl. All copies came in a sealed metallic sleeve. via wikipedia

Sun Araw - Boat Trip EP

2009-05-06T21:06:00.000-07:00

Artist: Sun Araw

Album: Boat Trip EP
Label: Woodsist Records
Year: 2008
Genre: No-Fi; Dub

01 - In The Trees
02 - Canopy

Summertime jamz......really wanted to post "Horse Steppin'", but the album it's on is still in print on vinyl and you should buy it. Now.

Kate Bush - TV Christmas Special (1979)

2009-04-27T16:13:00.001-07:00

Artist: Kate Bush

Album: BBC Christmas Special
Format: .AVI from TV rip
Year: 1979
Genre: Pop/Experimental

01. Violin
02. Symphony In Blue
03. Them Heavy People
04. intro to peter gabriel
05. Here Comes The Flood
06. Ran Tan Waltz
07. December Will Be Magic Again
08. The Wedding List
09. Another Day
10. Egypt
11. The Man With The Child In His Eyes
12. Don't Push Your Foot On The Heart Brake

Rating: n/a
Runtime: 44 minutes
Language: English
Country: UK
Color: Color
IMDb Link: n/a

Director: Roy Ronnie
Cast:
Kate Bush
Peter Gabriel
+
Dancers + performers

Description: KATE BUSH - KATE: Kate Bush Christmas 1979 "New Broadcast: April 25th 2009" "DVD"

KATE
Kate Bush Christmas Special
with Peter Gabriel
BBC TV
December 28th 1979

This Broadcast: April 25th 2009

Kevin Drumm - "Imperial Distortion" (2008)

2009-04-26T16:52:00.001-07:00

Artist: Kevin Drumm

Album: Imperial Distortion
Label: Hospital Productions
Year: 2008
Genre: Dark Ambient/Drone

01 - Guillain-Barre
02 - More Blood and Guts

03 - Snow
04 - Snow
05 - Romantic Sores
06 - We All Get It In the End

Imperial Distortion may not signal a wholesale shift in aesthetic, but it's safe to say that it features a side of Drumm rarely heard before now (though, to be fair, "Snow," a two-parter, made an appearance on a limited edition cassette on Hospital last year). The album is heavy on drone, but the drone isn't always heavy. Much of "More Blood and Guts" drifts by in celestial bliss, and "Romantic Sores" even dispels with the drone to close with a beautiful mingling of bell-like synth tones. Drumm doesn't opt for the simple and overbearing, instead working in a more subtle integration of multiple voices, with careful listening revealing that there's often more at work in a track than the ear might initially notice. Each has a particular timbre that tends to dominate its trajectory, but Drumm isn't content to simply put his creations in motion and watch from afar. Climates shift, tones grow and ebb, and voices intermingle: Imperial Distortion might be minimalist, but like any good drone, that doesn't mean it's stagnant.

-- excerpt from Dusted review by Adam Strohm

Skyramps - "Days of Thunder"

2009-04-22T20:36:00.000-07:00

Artist: Skyramps

Album: Days of Thunder
Label: Wagon
Year: 2009
Genre: Progressive Synth/New Age

01 - Flight Simulator
02 - Dripping Water Hollows Out a Stone

03 - Sky Ramping
04 - Last Time I Saw You

Skyramps is a collaborative project between synthesist Daniel Lopatin (Oneohtrix Point Never; Infinity Window) and guitarist Mark McGuire (Emeralds).

Doktor Kettu - I Really Like Diamonds

2009-04-21T22:27:00.000-07:00

Artist: Doktor Kettu

Album: I Really Like Diamonds
Label: limited self pressed CD-R
Year: 2003
Genre: Psych - Drone

1. I Really Like Diamonds / Severed Minds

via fakejazz.com - If one release is a stand-out, it is I Really Like Diamonds, the only disc to feature only one song, the 43 minute "Severed Minds," which brings to mind early Stars of the Lid or the spacier side of Acid Mothers Temple. The song is a big, menacing maelstrom of sound, casting long dark shadows across the room from the speakers.

Pep Laguarda & Tapineria - Brossa d'ahir

2009-04-21T22:01:00.000-07:00

Artist: Pep Laguarda & Tapineria

Album: Brossa d'ahir
Label: Discmedi Blau
Year: 1976
Genre: Spanish Acid Folk

1. Alceu-vos, xe, que ja es de dia
2. Cims i abismes
3. Caseta del plater
4. Una Paura
5. Milanta anys-llum blues
6. Balada de l angel bru

Via Aquarius Records: Wow! What a dreamy Spanish psych-folk gem this is! A gorgeous sonic gem from the late 70's only making it to our eager ears nearly 30 years later. Turns out this is the only album that Pep Laguarda released, but what a timeless record left for future generations to enjoy. With production and assistance from Daevid Allen of Gong and Soft Machine, Brossa d'Ahir is the kind of record you put on and then just drift away and get lost with. So breezy and well crafted, these are songs designed for long daydreams, windows down as the wind comes rushing in and the scenery breezes by. Pep Laguarda & Tapineria is reminding us of the Chilean cosmic psych-folk of Congregacion, the tender touch of Caetano Veloso and the sprawling beauty of Neil Young albums like On The Beach or Comes A Time. We can imagine that if they aren't already, current day folks like Brightblack Morning Light, Devendra Banhart, Will Oldham and Vetiver would be drooling over the beautiful melodies and flowing ambience of this three decade old document of psych-folk perfection! buy it

Marble Sky - "Low God/Lady" (2008)

2009-04-17T21:34:00.000-07:00

Artist: Marble Sky

Album: Low God/Lady
Label: Callow God
Year: 2008
Genre: Ambient/Drone

01 - Side A
02 - Side B

Due to popular demand, more Marble Sky....

Treetops - "Eternal Sky" (2009)

2009-04-17T21:11:00.000-07:00

Artist: Treetops

Album: Eternal Sky
Label: Monorail Trespassing
Year: 2009
Genre: Ambient/Drone

01 - Side A
02 - Side B

This limited release of 100 cassettes sold out quickly & for good reason. Beautiful lo-fi tones from Treetops.

Conway Twitty - "The Collection" (2007)

2009-04-12T19:34:00.000-07:00

Artist: Conway Twitty

Album: The Collection
Label: ???
Year: 2007
Genre: Awesome

Disc 1
01 - Cry Baby Heart
02 - Maybellene
03 - Rock House
04 - I Need Your Lovin'
05 - It's Only Make Believe
06 - The Story Of My Love
07 - Lonely Blue Boy
08 - What Am I Living For
09 - Unchained Melody
10 - The Next Kiss (Is The Last Goodbye)
11 - Such A Night
12 - Walk Me To The Door
13 - Funny (But I'm Not Laughing)
14 - Together Forever
15 - Guess My Eyes Were Bigger Than My Heart
16 - The Image Of Me
17 - Next In Line
18 - Darling, You Know I Wouldn't Lie
19 - To See My Angel Cry
20 - That's When She Started To Stop Loving You
21 - Hello Darlin'
22 - Fifteen Years Ago
23 - How Much More Can She Stand
24 - After The Fire Is Gone

Disc 2
01 - I Wonder What She'll Think About Me Leaving
02 - Lead Me On
03 - (Lost Her Love) On Our Last Date
04 - I Can't Stop Loving You
05 - She Needs Someone To Hold Her (When She Cries)
06 - Baby's Gone
07 - Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man
08 - You've Never Been This Far Before
09 - There's A Honky Tonk Angel (Who'll Take Me Back In)
10 - I'm Not Through Loving You Yet
11 - As Soon As I Hang Up The Phone
12 - I See The Want To In Your Eyes
13 - Linda On My Mind
14 - Touch The Hand
15 - Feelins'
16 - I Just Had You On My Mind
17 - Hello Darlin' (In Russian)
18 - This Time I've Hurt Her More Than She Loves Me
19 - After All The Good Is Gone
20 - The Games That Daddies Play
21 - (I Can't Believe) She Gives It All To Me
22 - Play Guitar Play
23 - No Relief In Sight

Disc 3
01 - I've Already Loved You In My Mind
02 - The Grandest Lady Of Them All
03 - Your Love Had Taken Me That High
04 - Boogie Grass Band
05 - Don't Take It Away
06 - I May Never Get To Heaven
07 - You Know Just What I'd Do
08 - Happy Birthday Darlin'
09 - I'd Love To Lay You Down
10 - It's True Love
11 - A Bridge That Just Won't Burn
12 - Lovin' What Your Lovin' Does To Me
13 - Rest Your Love On Me
14 - Tight Fittin' Jeans
15 - Red Neckin' Love Makin' Night
16 - We Had It All
17 - The Clown
18 - Slow Hand
19 - The Rose
20 - Somebody's Needin' Somebody
21 - I Don't Know A Thing About Love
22 - Julia

Disc 4
01 - I Want To Know You Before We Make Love
02 - That's My Job
03 - Goodbye Time
04 - Saturday Night Special
05 - (I Wish I Was) Still In Your Dreams
06 - I Can't Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You)
07 - She's Got A Single Thing In Mind
08 - House On Old Lonesome Road
09 - Who's Gonna Know
10 - Crazy In Love
11 - I Couldn't See You Leavin'
12 - She's Got A Man On Her Mind
13 - Who Did They Think He Was
14 - I'm The Only Thing (I'll Hold Against You)
15 - Don't It Make You Lonely
16 - Rainy Night In Georgia
17 - I Will Always Find My Way To You
18 - Sweet Sweet Spirit
19 - Clinging To A Saving Hand
20 - Why Me Lord (Live Version)

You're welcome.

Marble Sky - "Some Laughing Afterwards" (2009)

2009-04-11T14:29:00.000-07:00

Artist: Marble Sky

Album: Some Laughing Afterwards
Label: Agents of Chaos (Callow God)
Year: 2009
Genre: Ambient/Drone

01 - Side A ("11:13 am"/"Sunday")
02 - Side B ("Sunburned Walking Most of the Day"/"The Slouching Pole")

Please note: I typically wouldn't post an album that is so new (just came out this month), but it was a limited release of only 20 copies with no distro & sold out within hours of being offered for sale. Due to this (and the fact that the music is gorgeous), I feel justified in sharing it. If you like the album, please show your appreciation by ordering other albums from the Callow God/Agents of Chaos label. You won't regret it.

available now, in limited fashion.

AOC7011: marble sky "some laughing afterwards" c20 cs; edition of 20.

this release contains: for side a, two 'outakes' for live radio performance, recorded in studio, from the frigid winter of 2008. pacing slowly, rich tones, that draw and settle, ascension but not reaching the top. the b side presents two pieces, recently recorded: the first is dinstinct tonal shifts, opening and closing, minimal and warm. secondly some fumbling around on a not-so-well-tuned piano at the chapel. - press release

Synergy - "Games" (1979)

2009-04-10T13:21:00.000-07:00

Artist: Synergy
Album: Games
Label: Passport Records
Year: 1979
Genre: Progressive Electronic

01 - Side A ("Delta Two"/"Delta Four"/"Delta One")
02 - Side B ("Soundcheck: Delta 3"/"Delta 3/A"/"Delta 3/B"/"Delta 3/C"/"Delta 3/D"/"Delta 3/E")

"Games certainly is playful, starting off with complex melodies and syncopated percussion on "Delta Two." "Delta Four" is a mix of swiftly running melody and slower, lower-key atmosphere, while "Delta One" and "Delta 3/F" (notice a pattern here?) sound like they might have started the techno movement all by themselves. Synergy seems to have a certain common thread running through each album; with Games that thread is very nearly out-and-out rock & roll. But there is a moment here and there for Larry Fast's more orchestral, cinematic work to come through, notably on "Delta 3/C." Synergy was a pioneer of electronic music, and with recordings like Games, it's easy to see why. Unlike many of its successors, this music has heart." --Genevieve Williams

Found this one at the new Burlington Records store. Definitely pretty cheesy in parts, but it has its moments. Definitely for the analog synth freaks only.

Silbernacht - "Liebe Und Verfall" (2008)

2009-04-07T19:58:00.000-07:00

Artist: Silbernacht
Album: Liebe Und Verfall
Label: Ajna Offensive
Year: 2008
Genre: Ambient

01 - Das Erwachen (The Awaking)
02 - Liebe und Verfall (Love and Decay)
03 - Unter den Sternen (Under the Stars)
04 - Wenn der Tod nur Sehnsucht weckt (When Death only creates Longing)

"This haunting testament of filmic soundtrack inspires authentic antiquity, its etherious organs float a never-ending tribute to bygone days, and while the intimacy of the night abounds it is not the caul of darkness. A half hour cascade is Frank Esser’s opus here in ‘Liebe and Verfall’ and for the purveyors of the avant-ambient, who have an ear for Les Joyaux de la Princesse, you are encouraged to seek out this dappled outpouring.

Muted organs unfurl like nocturnal flowers, uncoiling spirals seeking out the silvered light of a moon before an empty chateau, layering a sweet and lingering scent of eerie yet uplifting scenery. Esser assiduously sticks to the use of the organs which he casts into an open air cathedral of infinite but subtle reverberation and while drones echo into escalades breaching the crumbled walls, sprinkled rills of melody dew the parapets of this vaulted structure, the welkin above as mysterious as the tenant below noting out the dulcet and elusive melodies. The polyphony is superb and while there is little room to breathe, the music does so itself, it inhales and exhales with each hand, each foot (as one does with an organ) independent but cognizant of the other. The constant conveyance is otherworldly and cinematic, less a journey than a state of entrancement as the drones slide a warm blanket about the shoulders.

The production could be considered low-fi, yet here Esser has done a delightful mix by ceding modern production with a skilfully twined ball of sound to compliment his elegiac composition that accentuates more than it detracts from its cinematic dream.

‘Liebe und Verfall’ legates us a recycled and pulped cardboard digipak, of gatefold design, sturdy and silk-screened tastefully and simply. The black and white photography is stark, silhouettes of man and nature, forest and structure." -- Heathen Harvest

This was one of my favorite releases of last year. If you're a fan of the Eraserhead soundtrack or creepy, atmospheric organ tones in general, you'll love this.

GRM - Concert Imaginaire (1984)

2009-04-05T22:34:00.000-07:00

Artist: The GRM
Album: Concert Imaginaire
Label: INA GRM
Year: 1984
Genre: Music Concrete

1 Jean Schwarz Entrée (0:27)
Saxophone - Charles Austin (2)
2 Bernard Parmegiani La Roue Ferris (10:44)
3 Pierre Schaeffer Symphonie Pour Un Homme Seul. Erotica (1:18)
4 Michel Chion La Ronde... L'été... Jardin Jadis (3:39)
5 Jacques Lejeune L'invitation Au Départ. Deux Aperçus Du Jardin Qui S'éveille (6:40)
6 Ivo Malec Reflets (2:32)
7 Jean Schwarz Entr'acte (2:26)
Saxophone - Charles Austin (2)
8 Jean Schwarz Suite N (7:04)
9 Christian Zanési D'un Jardin À L'autre (2:38)
10 Denis Dufour Bocalises: 5ème Bocalise (3:27)
11 Philippe Mion Puzzlasept. Soupçon-Délice (3:56)
12 François Bayle Erosphère. Toupie Dans Le Ciel (9:46)

An early compilation from Music Concrete pioneers.

Grasslung/Pulse Emitter - Split EP (2008)

2009-04-05T10:32:00.001-07:00

Artist: Grasslung & Pulse Emitter
Album: Split EP
Label: Phaserprone
Year: Drone
Genre: Ambient/Drone

01 - Pulse Emitter "Untitled" (13:33)
02 - Grasslung "Untitled" (9:02)
03 - Grasslung "Untitled" (6:50)

"Three long tracks of Analog Modular synth, made in accordance with the winged eye of the oval."

Gorgeous album of analog synth drones. Originally released in January in a limited run of 200 beautifully packaged CD's, this album is now sadly out of print and not available to order from Phaserprone. If you are able to come across a copy, I highly suggest buying it.

(RS Link in comments)

Wendy Carlos - "A Clockwork Orange" Complete Original Score (1972)

2009-04-04T21:58:00.000-07:00

Artist: Wendy (Walter) Carlos
Album: "A Clockwork Orange" Complete Original Score
Label: Columbia Records
Year: 1972
Genre: Progressive Synth

01 - Timesteps
02 - March From A Clockwork Orange
03 - Title Music From A Clockwork Orange
04 - La Gazza Ladra
05 - Theme From A Clockwork Orange
06 - Scherzo, Ninth Symphony Second Movement
07 - William Tell Overture [Abridged]
08 - Orange Minuet
09 - Biblical Daydreams
10 - Country Lane

While most are familiar with the original Warner Brothers soundtrack release from Stanley Kubrick's groundbreaking adaptation of Anthony Burgess' "A Clockwork Orange", many have not heard the Columbia release. This is the complete original score for the film created by Walter (later to become Wendy, after sex-reassignment surgery) Carlos, removing the vocal and natural orchestral flourishes added in the film. This is just the straight Moog goodness, along with vocoded vocals and an epic 14-minute version of "Timesteps", which was cut down to just a four-minute excerpt for the Warner Bros. release.

(RS link in comments)

Steven Halpern - "Study Suite" (1983)

2009-04-04T20:38:00.001-07:00

Artist: Steven Halpern
Album: "Study Suite"
Label: Soundwave 2000
Year: 1983
Genre: New Age/Ambient

01 - Side A
02 - Side B

I found this tape by the Good Doctor recently while rummaging through the cassette bin at a local secondhand store. I'm pretty sure it was a cassette-only release and hasn't been reissued on CD. It's a combination of very pretty acoustic and electric piano, along with subliminal messages, or "Harmonic Affirmations". I recommend playing this on a stereo rather than listening through headphones, as the messages are not quite so subliminal when you do the latter.

(Megaupload link in comments)

WELCOME TO aeSOTERIC SOUNDS

2009-04-04T20:14:00.001-07:00

Welcome to aeSOTERIC Sounds, a blog created by the crew from Aether Everywhere records to share our favorite rare and out-of-print albums. As the name suggests, you'll find an esoteric mix of music from all genres, ranging from drone to noise to psych to free jazz to new age and beyond.