Utility Fog

Sunday, 31st of May, 2009

Tonight we started with something utterly insane but really amazing from Rice Corpse, a trio that Sydney's Lucas Abela (head honcho of dual plover) with two incredibly talented Chinese musicians. Combining his patented sheet of glass smashed against his face to produce the most extreme distorte noise, combined with jabbing piano and jazz-punk drumming, this is unique stuff, and worth a listen. They're playing at the Annandale Hotel this coming Saturday, the 6th of June.
Playing on Friday at the Opera House on Friday night is Kronos Quartet, whose track with Ramallah Underground comes from their new album Floodplain (of which hopefully more next week). Plus we had their excellent "remix" of Nine Inch Nails from a couple of years ago.
Jon Hopkins is also playing Saturday night, as well as Sunday, ans it should be a great show.
I got hold of Kettel's new album this week, and played one nice IDM tune and one of his always excellent collaborations with cellist Sietse-Jan Weijenberg.
More from the Sweet Billy Pilgrim album, which I'm thinking is secure in the top N albums of the year for me (right up in top 5 right now). Incredible stuff, detailed glitchy production, banjos, gorgeous vocals and melodies...
Quite a few tracks from the wonderful Greg Davis tonight, including an amazing collaboration with singer/songwriter Chris Weisman, combining lovely idiosyncratic songs with Greg's varied exploratory production - it's a winner, and will no doubt be featured in the next few shows.
Arbouse Recordings have put out a double CD compilation called Musique Pour Statues-Menhirs - not surprisingly mostly ambient stuff, considering it's music about rocks ;) Greg's track is a highlight, as is Mira Calix's, which is in her recent quasi-classical style. More Also from Greg is a collaboration between three touring artists from a couple of years ago, Akron/Family + Megafaun + Greg Davis. Crazy stuff.
Finally Nicholas French has sent me a CD version of his polyfox and the union of the most ghosts album, and it's brilliant stuff, quite unlike anything else, as befits a member of Crab Smasher. Much free music is available at his SkyHut blog.
Two tracks from jasper tx's 3" CD closet ghosts from last year, which in my opinion is his best work so far - from strummed acoustic guitar to shoegazey dynamics and drone.
More drone from c.s.k.a., which is Shoeb Ahmad of hellosQuare taking Bangladeshi radio broadcasts and turning them into spectral ambience.
Carousell is one of the many aliases of Richard Skelton, who releases astonishingly beautiful limited editions on his Sustain-Release Private Press, of which I purchased about 5 CDs a couple of weeks ago. More of his music will be creeping out over the next few weeks - scraping strings, guitars and other sounds, at once ancient and folky and contemporary and droney.
Featuring the double bass of Werner Daffeldecker (I think - unfortunately Staubgold have conspired to make the credits entirely unreadable on this packaging), Ekkehard Ehlers's latest, in collaboration with Paul Wirkus, is a beautiful work of acoustic instruments and glitchy textures.
We have more from Nicola Ratti, whose album debuted on the show last week and is really growing on me.
New sound&fury artist Pefkin I know little of, but the last track on their album is fantastic, a folk song that's interrupted with arcane synthesisers...
Apse's debut album impressed many when it was re-released by ATP Recordings last year. I finally got hold of their debut EP (almost an album really) and it's awesome - postrock meets prog I guess.
Scanner's new album has crunchy beats and lovely ambience - I'm still getting a hold on it, but it's definitely very impressive. Also played a track from Githead, who Scanner plays with.
And Terminal Dusk have finally released their 4-track dubstep compilation Azure, so tonight we had Komonazmuk's remix of his St Etienne-sampling track "Love".
And finished with a remix of Underlapper, whose new album can't come soon enough (but won't be with us till early next year, sadly).

Rice Corpse - mountain [dual plover/Subjam]
Kronos Quartet - Tashweesh (with Ramallah Underground) [Nonesuch]
Jon Hopkins - Vessel [Domino]
Kettel - Pers Patrys (feat. Sietse-Jan Weijenberg, cello) [Sending Orbs]
Nine Inch Nails - Another Version of the Truth (Kronos Quartet & Enrique Gonzalez Müller)
[Interscope]
Kettel - Begging for a Herring [Sending Orbs]
Jon Hopkins - Second Sense [Just Music]
Sweet Billy Pilgrim - Kalypso [SamadhiSound]
chris weisman & greg davis - the nine times [autumn records]
rist - morning (eternal travelers remix by greg davis) [mü-nest]
Greg Davis - All things change [Arbouse Recordings]
Mira Calix - In a stony place [Arbouse Recordings]
Akron/Family + Megafaun + Greg Davis - kukatonga [self-released tour cd; from autumn records]
Akron/Family - Many Ghosts [Dead Oceans/Spunk]
polyfox and the union of the most ghosts - all the living musicians fighting over thin air [Monstera Deliciosa]
jasper tx - i'm asleep on the floor while sunbeams grace my tired head [fenêtre records]
polyfox and the union of the most ghosts - expanding ghost contained by 3 crocodiles [Monstera Deliciosa]
jasper tx - and when we die, god makes angels of us all [fenêtre records]
c.s.k.a. - morsel 1 [low point]
Carousell - Of Old Enchantments [Sustain-Release]
Ekkehard Ehlers & Paul Wirkus - Guma [Staubgold]
Nicola Ratti - White Morning [Preservation]
Pefkin - Remember the Words [sound&fury]
Apse - Balat [Acuarela]
Scanner - Sans Soleil (feat. Michael Gira, guitar) [BineMusic]
Githead - Darkest Star [Swim~]
Komonazmuk - Love (Remix) [Terminal Dusk]
Underlapper - Meanderthal (Cleptoclectics remix) [Feral Media]

2 Responses to “Playlist 31.05.09”

1. Lauren Says:
   June 4th, 2009 at 1:33 am

   Hi. Forgive me for being such a fool when you've been awesome enough to keep a playlist for the show but I just cannot find the song I am looking for and I've been researching the list for the last hour! It was played about 10.30pm and consisted of the most insane crunchy beats and electo-computer-game noises ever interspersed with ballady/classical piano music. I had to get out of the car before the artist was announced and have been wanting to get my hands on it since! Thanks.

2. Peter Says:
   June 4th, 2009 at 1:39 am

   Hey Lauren,
   No worries, if I was really awesome I'd figure out the time I play each track and stick it on the playlist. (And if the world was awesome you'd be able to podcast the show but I'm a little worried about the legal logistics. Thinking about it anyway)

   So... The track HAS to have been the wonderful Jon Hopkins, and it was the first one of his, "Vessel". From his new album Insides.

   He's playing at the Opera House for the Luminous fest, this Saturday & Sunday! Go on Saturday & I'll be somewhere in the audience :) Here's the event page.

   Oh, and I interviewed him recently for Cyclic Defrost - check it.