For today, I have an avant/ambient treat directly from Constellation Records . In anticipation of three new debut releases from Jason Sharpe , Off World , and Automatisme , the good people at Constellation saw fit to compile and share two tracks from each release.  I gave the tracks a listen earlier today and very much enjoyed the lengthy, dystopian chill of Automatisme's "Simultanéité 1," and the infestation of plucked strings that carry Jason Sharpe's "A Boat Upon Its Blood (Part 1)."  I was also taken by the very loose "Wonder Farm" from Off World, its frontier-ist twang strange against the seesaw tumble of artificial swats of percussion.   You can sample the tracks below: Release information and links were provided by Rarely Unable.  If you like what you hear, please head over to Constellation and spend a couple bucks. CONSTELLATION SHARE NEW MUSIC FROM THREE DEBUT ALBUMS; INCLUDING NEW RELEASES FROM OFF WORLD, AUTOMATISME & JASO...

A little over a month ago, I received a package in the mail from Jason Deagan of Sweaters and Pearls Records , a label that specializes mostly in 7" single and EPs.  This specific area of interest connects directly to Deagan's other passion, which is his 7 Inches [Every Day] blog that reviews new 7" releases daily.   The contents of the package were as follows with a few words regarding each release: Harpoon Forever American Flag EP There's a resigned tone to much of Harpoon Fever 's 4-song EP American Flag , itself packed with Malkmus -laden slack rock that fully embraces the melodic persuasion of its 90s jump off.  While I wouldn't call the music lackadaisical, there's a charm or preciousness to it that enables my college flashbacks to surface with every strum of a guitar, especially true with the somber stride of "Slag Away" that's occasionally interrupted by a shift in tempo.  It's like a mild slap to the face, the recip...

MoonJune Records is releasing two progressively positioned jazz albums from Indonesia's I Know You Well Miss Clara ( Chapter One ) and simakDialog (The 6th Story) .  I spent some time today listening to snippets of each album and really enjoyed what I heard.  IKYWMC is playing Mahavishu Orchestra straight up, but it sounds great. All info comes courtesy of MoonJune Records. TWO EXTRAORDINARY PROGRESSIVE JAZZ BANDS FROM INDONESIA, RELEASING TWO OUTSTANDING STUDIO ALBUMS I KNOW YOU WELL MISS CLARA – "Chapter One" simakDIALOG – "The 6th Story" The Sixth Story is the exhilarating, full-throttle follow-up to 2009's critically-acclaimed Demi Masa and 2007's Patahan (one of Mr. MoonJune's favorite album on the label), from the Indonesian progressive gamelan-jazz band simakDialog . Raising the benchmark in a genre known for its brilliant artists is no easy feat, but this album is up to the task: each composition is an exquisite master-class ...

Another independent label goes defunct: Baltimore's Public Guilt, after a two-year run of silence, is shutting down. One of the more eclectic and strange labels I'd come across, Public Guilt rep'd an abundantly odd roster of experimental bands that I thought cultivated some of the more art-bred, "thinking" music I'd heard. I really got into Zu 's The Way of the Animal Powers , (which I reviewed for No Ripcord in 2010) and Aluk Todolo 's Finsternis (also reviewed ). I picked up a couple Aluk Todolo releases from the label a few years ago, so I'm happy I was able to help support Public Guilt to some extent, both through coverage and patronage. The good people at Public Guilt are, of course, cleaning house and offering some very good discounts on a lot of their merchandise, so I'd recommend hitting up their site as soon as you can. Items are being picked through quickly. As is always the case when commercially antithetic entities like...

"There is no way to sum up nearly 20 years of incredibly important music, experiences, and evolution other than to say a big heart felt 'thank you', and that we hope this closing will provide an opening into other even more positive and rewarding experiences for all of us and all of you who have been a part of our shared experience. For now we bid you all a very fond farewell...."   — Aaron Turner It's likely that those who work to enrich our lives will continue to do so at their own financial peril. Aaron Turner, best known as the frontman for the now defunct post-metal band Isis , had been running Hydra Head Records for almost two decades.  Citing mounting debt, Turner announced yesterday that, as of this December, the label would no longer sell or distribute new music.  Instead, Hydra Head will function purely to sell off its back catalogue.  It can be surmised that label supporters and fans of Turner's dug into their pockets after the announcement a...

As formats have evolved over the years and listeners have grown accustomed to new methods of listening, absorbing and consuming music, it's been remarkable how physical formats have fought to maintain relevancy while the trends have been pushing mightily to cancel them out.  Compact discs are not gone yet.  Vinyl?  A resilient presence in the market that's been enjoying a high level of collector appreciation.  And cassettes.  I've been seeing more and more cassettes. Based on assumption, purely assumption as I've not delved fully into the reasoning behind any cassette renaissance, (which owes itself to such a small population of music lovers anyway, I'm not even sure a cassette resurgence could even as a "renaissance"), cassettes seem to be where vinyl was in the 90s.  Remember when Pearl Jam appealed to nostalgia with "Spin the Black Circle?"   The market was driven mostly by CD buyers and, though they didn't hush the vinyl market comp...

Joyful Noise is beginning a subscription service in 2012, patrons of which will receive single-sided, limited edition, clear Flexi-Disc releases by artists like Of Montreal , Deerhoof , Richard Swift and some others.  Responsible also for a number of cassette reissues this year by Dinosaur Jr. and Of Montreal, give Joyful Noise credit not only for digging long gone music formats out of obscurity, but for trying to reinvigorate the physical music market with these oddities.  They play on a normal turntable, too, so it's not like you need to find a specialty item to play the music, (I imagine some people are still struggling to find tape decks for many of the cassette releases that have emerged over the last couple years).  As far as my personal connection to Flexi Disc vinyl?  Years ago, when I was a child, McDonald's had a contest requiring you buy some food, which then awarded you a chance at a million dollars.  You were given a small, square, super-flimsy ...

My good friend Dan Goldin of Exploding In Sound recently made a significant leap, building EIS into a record label from its beginnings as a well-maintained and very informative music blog. Goldin’s maiden acquisition, the Boston trio PILE , will be recording the label’s first release. Being a fan of Exploding In Sound, I’m very happy and excited for Goldin and his partners, Ty Griffin of Escaping The Ordinary and Dave Spak of Stereo Typing .  In the meantime, here’s some info about PILE courtesy of the newly minted Exploding In Sound Records. PILE sign with new label Exploding In Sound Records Entering the studio in the spring to record their highly anticipated follow up to last year’s Magic Isn’t Real .  Exploding In Sound Records is beyond thrilled to announce that the first band signed to the freshly launched label is none other than Boston favorites PILE . The label will release the band’s next album on vinyl, CD, and digital formats in the summer of 2012. ...

The new Factory Records compilation, Fac. Dance , is out and a couple more songs have been made available as pre-purchase appetizers.  I posted about Fac. Dance months ago, but you can find info on the release below along with some music via Force Field PR. Do some dancin.'  Away with you.    A Certain Radio- Wild Party (from Fac. Dance) by Strut Hear a track from A Certain Ratio from FAC. DANCE, a new Factory Records collection of 12" mixes & rarities from 1980 - 87 STREAM: A Certain Ratio - "Wild Party" - http://soundcloud.com/strut/a-certain-radio-wild-party STREAM: FAC. DANCE Bill Brewster Factory Records Mini Mix - http://soundcloud.com/strut/fac-dance-bill-brewster/ A Certain Ratio Strut presents FAC. DANCE , an essential new retrospective covering the dance output of Factory Records, the seminal Manchester record label founded by Tony Wilson , Alan Erasmus and designer Peter Saville . The album turns the spotlight on some...

If you don’t already, you should follow I Heart Noise because the very well-informed and musically well-versed individuals running that blog often feature the best information, like news of this upcoming documentary about Amphetamine Reptile Records and their founder Tom Hazelmeyer dubbed, The Color Of Noise . And if it weren’t already enough that they reported this, they’ve also compiled a very comprehensive list of AmRep bands/musicians. You can find that here . The benefit to the once-burgeoning independent music scene having grown into antiquity has been that the music mostly seen as irrelevant thanks to being forever cast in the shadow of Woodstock can now be appreciated for its importance.  While those of us affected by this music have always been aware of how vibrant and critical it's been, and how essential certain labels have been for giving independent music its platform, it is a pity that a scene has to be well past its prime for it to be considered "worthy...

Amid news of the band’s signing with Neurosis label, Neurot Recordings, myself being somewhat of a label loyalist I went over to Ides Of Gemini ’s Bandcamp page so as to sample the mayhem of their EP, The Disruption Writ . Very minimal and ghostly, but absolutely entrancing. Singer Sera Timms (also of Black Math Horseman ) carries a perfect mixture of drone and melody to enhance the brooding sounds behind her, which consist mostly of rapid and repetitive chord play via film/music journalist J. Bennett and Kelly Johnston 's very spare percussion. <a href="http://idesofgemini.bandcamp.com/album/the-disruption-writ">The Disruption Writ by Ides Of Gemini</a> All info comes courtesy of Earsplit PR. IDES OF GEMINI Sign With Neurot Recordings Band Make Bay Area debut at Blood, Sweat + Vinyl Music & Film Festival on Oct 15th IDES OF GEMINI is a collusion of musical forces precipitated by the haunting and inimitable vocal prowess of singer/bassist ...

Fans of New Order re-motherfuckin’-joice! Or not. Just know that a new Factory Records retrospective is being released, two LPs or CDs worth of compiled tracks, remixes and obscurities, dance music from the post-punk era.  The comp will feature the aforementioned New Order , Swamp Children , A Certain Ratio and other Factory-related synth bands and dance meisters.   Any upcoming parties? Now you have a soundtrack. I'm not even a fan of most dance-related music and even I think this would be a good purchase. Fac. Dance is being released by Strut Records . All info is courtesy of Force Field PR. FAC. DANCE , a new Factory Records collection of 12" mixes & rarities from 1980 - 87 due this October via Strut 2xCD / 2xLP set will feature tracks from New Order, A Certain Ratio, Section 25, Quando Quango, The Durutti Column, Swamp Children, 52nd St. & more 52nd St. photographed in 1982 The Strut label presents an essential new retrospe...

So, “Duality of Deathening” is about three years old, but news of post-rock duo Talkdemonic , a post-rock duo from Portland, and their transition to the Glacial Pace Recordings , (the home of Modest Mouse , don’tcha know?), led me to find this video, which I very much enjoyed. The news comes via PMA PR. Enjoy. TALKDEMONIC JOINS MODEST MOUSE, MORNING TELEPORTATION AND THE MIMICKING BIRDS AT GLACIAL PACE RECORDINGS Portland's post-rock duo Talkdemonic has signed with Modest Mouse singer Isaac Brock 's label, Glacial Pace Recordings. The band joins Morning Teleportation , Marcellus Hall , Mimicking Birds and Modest Mouse at the label. The twosome is coming off a tour with Modest Mouse and a coveted spot at the 2011 Sasquatch Festival in Washington State with the likes of Foo Fighters , Wilco , and Death Cab for Cutie . The band began in 2003 as a side project for Kevin O'Connor , who, at the time, was experimenting with eclectic electric percussion and no-vox melo...

So, without gathering any information about “Out And In” before I listened to it, I figured Sonic Youth was just treating us to another spacey, dissonant rock jam that’s evocative of most of their past output. “Out And In” was actually recorded in 2000 with their Jim O’Rourke line-up while the band was contributing soundtrack music for the film Demonlover , (which was pretty awful). This track is part of a new four-LP box set by Three Lobed Recordings , which documents the label’s last ten years. You can find the track at NPR and information on the box set, Not the Spaces You Know, But Between Them can be found here .   Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Ripple Music is auctioning off a rare 7" test pressing of their recent Heavy Ripples compilation.  The money is meant to donate to the victims of the recent tornadoes in Joplin, Missouri.  All information is courtesy of Ripple Music. Charity Auction of Rare Test Pressing of Heavy Ripples Double 7": Proceeds to Benefit Joplin Tornado Vicitms FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Continuing with the company tradition of giving back to the community, Ripple Music will auction an extremely rare original test pressing of Heavy Ripples: vol 1 , featuring Stone Axe , Sun Gods in Exile , Grifter and Mighty High , with proceeds going to benefit Joplin Tornado Victims. The auction will take place on eBay at the Ripple store, starting Tuesday, May 31st, and run for 7 days only. Only 5 of these test pressings exist, and this is the only one made available to the public. You can jump into the auction, win a cool heavy rock collectible and benefit disaster relief at the Ripple Music Ebay S...

Various Artists First Impulse — The Creed Taylor Collection Box Set Hip-O Select Released: 4.19.11 In 2006, I picked up Ashley Kahn ’s in-depth book, The House That Trane Built: The Story of Impulse! Records . It was a dangerous book for me to read, simply because the albums, (and there are MANY), spotlighted became essentials for my record collection. As a somewhat economical alternative, or as a temporary teething ring to chew on while I acquired the Impulse! releases I wanted, was the book’s accompanying 4-disc compilation. A single disc version was released as well, but spending money on a paired down colossus wasn’t really an option. Why spend money to get blue-balled? Seemed counterproductive. For 2011, a 4-disc commemorative box set named for the label’s founder, Creed Taylor , was released in recognition of Impulse! Records’ fiftieth anniversary. For those of you like me that invested in the Ashley Kahn compilation, you might feel as though the Creed Taylor versi...

The Give Praise label has released a couple grindcore 7" albums from the bands Beer Corpse , Backslider and Nimbus Terrifix .  However you feel about grindcore, I was both amused and intrigued by the cover art of each release. Give Praise is a vinyl-only label and they pay close attention to the cores of grind, speed and violence. &lt;p&gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://givepraiserecords.bandcamp.com/album/keg-nuts"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Keg Nuts by Give Praise Records&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&lt;/p&gt; Sincerely, Letters From A Tapehead

Post- ISIS Aaron Turner 's project, Mamiffer , is releasing a new album dubbed, Mare Decendrii .  Fellow Mamiffer, Faith Coloccia , has partnered with Turner in development of their new label, SIGE.  All news regarding Mare Decendrii and SIGE is courtesy of Speakeasy PR. A preview track can be found at the SIGE Records site here .  Check it out: I think it's going to be really good. FAITH COLOCCIA (MAMIFFER) AND AARON TURNER (EX-ISIS, OLD MAN GLOOM, MAMIFFER) CREATE SIGE; NEW FULL LENGTH FROM MAMIFFER ON MARCH 15 Coloccia and Turner comprise core of Mamiffer, joined by members of Earth, Circle, Thrones and others for recording of Mare Decendrii . Feb. 28 -- Faith Coloccia (Mamiffer) and Aaron Turner (co-owner of Hydra Head, ex-ISIS, Mamiffer) have formed a new label partnership dubbed SIGE, with the label's latest release, Mamiffer's Mare Decendrii , set for a Mar. 15 street date. "SIGE was formed as an outlet for projects that Faith and I ...