Available Tapes

Peter Lamborn Wilson - Ec(o)logues
Hands of Hydra & Janina Angel Bath Duo - Stargazer
The Lone Garage Massacre - Nag-Khung-Sa-Cha
Eddie Woods - The Faerie Princess & Other Poems

LISTEN
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contact:
sloowtapes 'at' gmail 'dot' com

Peter Lamborn Wilson

Peter Lamborn Wilson
Ec(o)logues
CS 60

During the seventies writer/poet/essayist Peter Lamborn Wilson traveled extensively in the Middle East, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Nepal. He spent several years in Iran where he translated Persian Sufi poetry and worked for the Shiraz Festival of Arts. In the early eighties Wilson went to Southeast Asia studying Javanese mysticism, Kebatinan. He published numerous books on topics as pirate utopia’s, Irish soma and Islamic heresy and his philosophy is influenced by anarchism, situationism, heterodox Sufism and neo-paganism.

Wilson’s ‘Ec(o)logues’ is a collection of bucolic poetry proposing an anarcho-surrealist Temporary Pastoral Zone abolishing monetary, electrical and other mediations in favor of a direct experiencing of Paracelsan tantra practices with sylphs and faeries. Visions of vibrant Neolithic pastures in company of Charles Fourier, William Blake, Edmund Spencer, Swedenborg, Erasmus Darwin and others. Poetic swamps dense with arcane references, alchemy and celtic lore. These readings were recorded at various in- and outdoor locations around the Hudson Valley. Handpainted covers, each one different. 100 copies.

Hands of Hydra and Janina Angel Bath Duo

Hands of Hydra and Janina Angel Bath Duo
Stargazer
CS 30

Janina Angel Bath’s voice feels like celestial nectar dripping from astral spheres ready to awaken the inner kundalini serpent from its slumber. With Hands of Hydra on sitar this is a deep eastern psychedelic meditation with slow motion tambura strings unfolding universal consciousness. 100 copies.

The Lone Garage Massacre

The Lone Garage Massacre
Nag-Khung-Sa-Cha
CS 54

Healing music to change your head space by way of trance induced astral traveling and devic beings. Ethereal psychedelic folk music channeling spirits from the dark land and influenced by Native American rituals, shamanism and Americana. 80 copies.

Eddie Woods

Eddie Woods
The Faerie Princess & Other Poems
Sloow Tapes – CS 50

Eddie Woods (aka 'the Gangster Poet') was born and raised in New York City. In 1960 he joined the US Air Force for a four-year stint in order to see Europe and experience an earthier way of life than was possible in America. Throughout the 1960s and 70s he lived and traveled in various parts of the world, East and West. Since 1978 he has resided mainly in Amsterdam. That same year, together with Jane Harvey, he started the literary magazine Ins & Outs and later founded Ins & Outs Press. Among the many writers and artists they published were Allen Ginsberg, William Levy, Ira Cohen, Rachel Pollack, Jack Micheline, Diana Blok & Marlo Broekmans, Mel Clay, Jan Kerouac, Harold Norse, Heathcote Williams, Hans Plomp and Simon Vinkenoog.

Inspired by both Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and the Shakti power of the Hindu goddess Maha Kali, in 1977 (in London) Eddie wrote "The Faerie Princess," an erotic fairy tale in verse depicting the fantastical adventures of a lovely wood nymph in a future primeval setting. By contrast, his "The Second Coming of Kali" is a quasi-surrealistic sexual autobiography until age 37. Begun in Kathmandu in early 1976, worked on in San Francisco later that year, it was completed in London in 1977. Wholly dedicated to Divine Mother, it also portrays an intense spiritual journey and awakening. This is its first-ever public recitation. The other 11 poems are equally sensual. Edition of 100 copies.

Another fantastic addition to Sloow Tapes on-going documentation of fringe/counter-cultural poets that sits nicely on the shelf alongside the Louise Landes Levi and Simon Vinkenoog cassettes. Eddie Woods aka “The Gangster Poet” is a world traveller, poet and publisher now based in Amsterdam, best known for his 70s journal Ins & Outs and his Ins & Outs Press that published works by Jack Micheline, Jan Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Ira Cohen, Simon Vinkenoog, William Levy and more. This cassette consist of a series of readings – he still has the voice of a Soprano – of variously dated poems, kicking off with his amazing fantasy/fable of enlightenment and sexual gnosis The Faerie Princess which combines Tolkein-esque imagery with a libidinous commitment to the joys of fuck. Indeed, the bulk of his poetry is centered around a sensual reengagement with the world on its own terms and it feels so completely liberated, so Babalon-ian, it’s enough t make you wanna quit your dumb job yesterday and tickle your asshole with knee-high grass. The flip side of the cassette features “The Second Coming Of Kali”, a “surrealist sexual autobiography until age 37” begun in Kathmandu in 1976 and dedicated to Divine Mother. Fantastic and highly recommended. (Volcanic Tongue)

Há-Zá-Má

Há-Zá-Má
Under The Radioactive Fallout
Sloow Tapes – CS 54

Japanese Deadheads who have been tripping since the late eighties. Back in the day Michio Kurihara used to jam with these guys, but in recent years the band has been orbiting around the mellow guitarsolos of Yukotopia's Roku. Outraged by the Fukushima accident in march this year, this tape is a collection of protest songs against nuclear energy. 100 copies.

SOLD OUT

It’s no secret that around these parts we rate Sloow Tapes as perhaps the premier underground cassette label and you gotta hand it to them, their recent form has been completely off the chain. This latest release from Japanese underground psych legends Ha-Za-Ma represents another amazing turn-up, a new studio set from these Deadheads who at one time boasted Michio Kurihara (White Heaven/Ghost et al) as lead guitarist. It’s easy to imagine Kurihara’s endless, rippling style coasting over these amazing jams but current guitarist Roku Yukotopia ain’t no slouch and he peels off beautiful, clean post-Garcia ecstasies with alla the force and feeling of your favourite west coast pilot. The songs are simply gorgeous, with that perfect lost-in-translation feel of Rob Jo Star Band or even Brush and a vocalist who sings with such feeling – mostly raging against nuclear power in the fallout from the Japanese earthquake – that it’s enough to make you crease and comes over as wide-eyed as anything on Ainigma’s equally stupe Diluvium LP. This is quite simply a classic and timeless Japanese psych release and one that would sit equally well alongside first generation bombs by Flower Travellin’ Band, Rallizes et al as it would with the whole Tokyo Flashback scene. Somebody has to re-do this in a swank vinyl edition but in the meantime, here’s the original pressing in a run of only 100 copies. Can’t stop spinning this. Highly recommended! (Volcanic Tongue)

Kohn

Kohn
Stay Away From The Towers
Sloow Tapes – CS 84

Two long synth hallucinations by Jurgen De Blonde, Belgium’s premier Cosmic Courier. Projecting Klaus Schulze and Jean-Michel Jarre through multi-dimensional molecular clouds and spiraling black holes, these broadcasts from beyond turn the brain on to deep space circuits. 100 copies.

SOLD OUT

Two long synth navigations from Belgium’s Jurgen De Blonde: heavy overloaded circuitry feel here, with planet bombing analogue overload married to busy, bubbling 20th century electronics, monolithic slow-moving melodies ala Conrad Schnitzler and even some of the synth violence of Hiroshi Hasegawa/Astro. Edition of 100 copies on our favourite tape label. (Volcanic Tongue)

One thing I was wrong about when reviewing M. Geddes Gengras’ massive The Empty Space was the assumption that the whole lot was recorded during one or two live performances. It was not, and as Ged Gengras himself jokingly noted on his Facebook, if that cassette was a documentary of one performance, he probably wouldn’t have left the venue alive. The case is different with Belgium’s synthesist Jurgen de Blonge, who’s been crafting electronic soundscapes since the 1990’s. Stay Away From the Towers is a documentary of two live performances conducted in clubs in Belgium and the Netherlands. No edits, no overdubs, no post-production. Final destination.
The comparison between MGG and Kohn is not accidental: both tapes are equally massive and stunning – both clock at around 90 minutes and both take quite liberal cues at the previous eras of electronic music. While for Ged Gengras it was the raw, glitchy electronics of Morton Subotnick, Fifty Foot Hose (minus the psych rock element) or even Karlheinz Stockhausen, Jurgen de Blonde looks at the Berlin School era and progressive electronic masters of the 1970’s and the 1980’s. Each side of the red, unlabeled tape is a lengthy, ever-changing jam of rhythmic electronics and snakelike melodies treated with a pinch of outsider synth weirdness. De Blonde crafts intense cosmic voyages of the best kind: the ones in which the listener gets truly lost and loses the track of time, where seconds stretch into hours and hours into seconds, where the change in the ever-flowing rhythm or melody can be noticed only after several minutes, where one gets zoned out even with deeply focused listening. Once one gets over the slightly abrasive drones that de Blonde likes to put in certain places of the recordings, the world of emotions, images and scenes unfolds as a reward.
One of the best elements of this cassette (apart from its head-spinning length) is the perfect balance de Blonde keeps between the Berlin School worship and the more abrasive, abstract experimentation. The melodic, progressive parts and the reverbed hiss, crackles and drones are kept in equal proportions, serving as interludes or, in a great prog fashion, “movements” of one track. I can almost imagine a projection screen behind Jurgen while giving performances with various animations as he enters different phases: abstract, psychedelic animations of non-defined shapes or oscilloscope going haywire during the non-melodic sonic bricolage and fragments of films like “Fantastic Planet” or “The Holy Mountain” during the melodic, proggy parts. A great record of two great performances by a somewhat overlooked European synth wizard.
Copies still available at Sloow Tapes, but knowing their stuff is all killer no filler, they might be gone in no time. Be quick! (Weed Temple)

This is a tape of dark synth explorations that are on the more abstract side of cosmic. On the first side we’ve got drippy type sounds at different pitches which echo around until they’re accompanied by a synth drone and a low pulse and some lasery noises. This is headphone music, I think. Yet more late night headphone music. It’s bleak but not particularly abrasive, and it takes its time to evolve. At one point during the second side there’s some kind of repetitive klaxon/alarm type noise that’s actually strangely hypnotic. If you’re into that kind of thing, this is more of it. Fill your boots. (Norman Records)

Simon Vinkenoog

Simon Vinkenoog
Kunst Is De Liefde In Elke Daad
Sloow Tapes – CS 60


Official reissue of a cassette recorded in Antwerp and originally released by De Goddaert in 1984. Simon Vinkenoog (1928-2009) was a Dutch poet, social critic and literary innovator, a key figure in the international poetry underground of the 1950s and onwards. He participated in the legendary International Poetry Reading at the Royal Albert Hall in London, One World Poetry (Amsterdam), Poetry International (Rotterdam) and dozens of others literary showcases. With Jules Deelder & Johnny Van Doorn he introduced poetry as high performance art to the Lowlands. Influenced by the Beats, psychedelic experiences (he took part in LSD experiments in the late fifties/early sixties), the philosophy of non-violence and the mystic tradition, he was involved with hundreds of titles and translated works by Allen Ginsberg, Timothy Leary, Aldous Huxley, Carlos Castaneda, Antonin Artaud et al into Dutch. On this cassette, Vinkenoog's readings (in Dutch) are accompanied by Louise Landes Levi, a founding member of The Floating Lotus Magic Opera Company, the first fusion orchestra in the USA. She went on to study Indian music, was part of the Dreamweapon diaspora and worked with both Angus MacLise and Ira Cohen, its major proponents. Front cover by Eddie Woods. Edition of 100 copies.

SOLD OUT

Latest instalment in Sloow Tapes excellent documentation of fringe poetry and avant garde thought comes from the Dutch poet and social critic Simon Vinkenoog. Kunst Is De... was originally issued on cassette in 1984 and features his readings – in Dutch – accompanied by the always amazing Louise Landis Levi, a key player in the Dreamweapon Diaspora and a member of The Floating Lotus Magic Company alongside Angus MacLise. She illuminates Vinkenoog personal, gnomic style with singing sarangi drones and recorder, situating the session in some fourth world interzone where avant garde thought meets folk ritual. Another great public service from Sloow Tapes, edition of 100 copies. (Volcanic Tongue)

Ralph White

Ralph White
The Hanged Man
Sloow Tapes – CS 40

Ralph White’s home-made Americana internalizes old folk, proto-blues and country music into meditative, psychedelic textures transcended by a high-lonesome drawl. Drone-like banjo, reminiscent of Dock Bogg’s, fiddle, button accordion and African kalimba. Edition of 100 copies.

SOLD OUT

Edition of 100 copies cassette from American Primitive banjo player, fiddler, accordionist and homemade marimba stylist and psychedelic Texan balladeer Ralph White. Some full group settings here that see Ralph detourning country swing with dark drones and weird world music polyglots, resituating the music of Dock Boggs and The Stanley Brothers in the context of DIY Southern psych, with sudden wormholes of reverb and echo working to give the tracks a feeling of infinite depth. White’s style is as laidback and gloriously stoned as Michael Hurley, even when he’s taking “Gallows Melody” at a galloping, transcontinental pace. (Volcanic Tongue)

April In The Orange

April In The Orange
When a River Meets The Sea
Sloow Tapes - CS 40

This is pure psychfolk nectar reflecting its alchemical light on sunbeams floating home! April In The Orange drift in and out hypnotic meditative passages of dreamtime magic, ageless folksongs with soft male/female vocals and drugged drones reverberating in diamond inner circles. Edition of 100 copies.

SOLD OUT

Edition of 100 copies cassette from this Michigan-based pastoral drone unit, with heavy/primitive beams of crunch dotted with singing percussion and tumbling acoustic reveries that would unite early American avant blues ala Loren Connors’ playing on the sides he cut with Kath Bloom and the baroque, circuitous acid folk of The Incredible String Band, Dr Strangely Strange, Roy Harper etc... April In The Orange take Flying Saucer Attack’s concept of ‘rural psychedelia’ and confuse it with drone settings and some great, lucid songwriting. (Volcanic Tongue)

When a River Meets The Sea, from Michigan-based April in The Orange, is a cassette containing celestial drones and reflective folk songs. Sloow Tapes from Belgium put this one out and it aligns nicely with their other releases. Also, the artwork is stellar. Sloow has some of the best artwork in the tape scene.


Throughout this c40, the listener becomes ensconced in the heady drones and folk nugget reveries. The arsenal for this tape is heavy: Andrew Barrett on acoustic/electric guitars, mandolin, wrench chimes and vocals; Samantha Linn on acoustic guitar and vocals; Michael Collino on violin. The playing and songwriting of Linn and Barrett is strong. Linn's vocals on the title track, B2, are very impressive - soothing and reflective. There are some beautiful moments on this cassette, such as the interplay of acoustic and electric guitar on B1 - things get pretty heavy and the tension propels the listener to the zenith.

According to their website, When a River Meets The Sea is somewhat of a departure. The web site describes the music as something new: "long-drift textured drones interwoven with acoustic melodies sharp and true -- all recorded under the hazy July sun.". The Volcanic Tongue review mentions Roy Harper, the spirit of which is present on When a River Meets The Sea. Aside from this Sloow release, everything else appears to be self-released.

As a listening experience, this is a versatile release: I often find myself taking long walks with this music or sitting in the sun. The experience of listening to this under the sun is stunning - the sun radiates energy, which warms the soul and this music reciprocates, serenading the sun with heartfelt hymns. (Honest Bag)

GRAAG TRAAG FESTIVAL #2 - 22 oktober 2011 Zaal België/Hasselt

Bart De Paepe van het 'Sloow Tapes' label en kunstencentrum BELGIE presenteren, na de geslaagde eerste editie van 2010, voor de tweede keer verrassende geluiden en beelden uit de ondergrond. Graag Traag #2 schakelt voor deze gelegenheid nog een versnelling lager en biedt u meer tijd om het palet van psychedelica, hypnotische drones, kraut, acidfolk, improv en pure Belgische folklore ten volle te ontdekken. De aftrap van de expo ‘Dreamweapon: The Art and Life of Angus MacLise 1938-1979’ is tevens een unieke gelegenheid om het werk van deze veelzijdige en invloedrijke New Yorkse muzikant, dichter, beeldend kunstenaar, shamaan en wereldreiziger voor het eerst in Europa gebundeld te zien. Kunstencentrum BELGIE gaat hiervoor een samenwerking aan met het Hasseltse CIAP, een postume erkenning voor de grote invloed van MacLise binnen de Actuele Kunst. Op de websites van Sloow Tapes, kunstencentrum BELGIE en CIAP kan u terecht voor updates en extra's die het festival en de expo zullen kleuren !

sloowtapes.blogspot.com | www.kunstencentrumbelgie.com | www.ciap.be


GRAAG TRAAG FESTIVAL #2

CHARLEMAGNE PALESTINE & TONY CONRAD : Tony Conrad (muzikant, filmmaker) maakte in het New York van de jaren zestig samen met John Cale, Angus MacLise, Marian Zazeela en La Monte Young deel uit van het legendarische Theatre of Eternal Music en stond, net als vriend en stadsgenoot Charlemagne Palestine (muzikant, performer, beeldend kunstenaar) mee aan de wieg van de minimale muziek. Conrad noemt zijn aangehouden viooltonen liever ‘dream music’ en voor Palestine mogen zijn pianodrones evengoed als ‘maximalisme’ worden geklasseerd. Hoe dan ook, hun 'maximale droommuziek' bezorgt het Graag Traag Festival een ultiem muzikaal hoogtepunt. Deze twee vrienden en medewerkers van wijlen Angus MacLise bundelen voor deze bijzondere gelegenheid graag hun meer dan veertig jaar ervaring als muzikale buitenbeentjes.

- Charalambides maakt verstilde songs, doordrenkt van tijdloze dromerige psychedelica, en is verantwoordelijk voor enkele van de meest bezielde concerten ooit in kunstencentrum BELGIE. Met de gloednieuwe release ‘Exile’ voor Kranky in de aanslag zijn Tom en Christina Carter klaar om 'Graag Traag' enkele magische momenten te schenken.

- Steve Gunn's (GHQ) gitaarspel laat zich inspireren door het 'American Primitivism' van John Fahey en Robbie Basho, Oosterse raga tot psychedelische blues.
Samen met drummer John Truscinski(GHQ, X.O.4) verliest hij zich in een dronefolk trance die bij vlagen herinneringen oproept aan het legendarische Sandy Bull / Billy Higgins duo.




- Dreampsychfolk, heftige fuzzsolo’s, acid blues of psyched out jams, het kan alle kanten op met notoir relschopper en gitarist Junzo Suzuki(Miminokoto, Astral Travelling Unit, 20 Guilders). En zo hebben we ze graag natuurlijk. Vergeet je LSD en oordopjes niet.

- Tonton Macoutesitueert zich in een lange lijn van Franse weirdness waarin we ook bands als Fille Qui Mousse, Red Noise en Catalogue terugvinden. Een elektronische hypnose van aftandse instrumenten en motorische soundscapes met 'basement feel'.
















- Ralph White speelt banjo, accordeon, viool, kalimba en stem. Diepe 'homemade Americana' met 'loner feel', waarin blues, country en traditionals op een hoogst psychedelische manier met elkaar samensmelten. White laaft zich aan hetzelfde kaleidoscopische vaatje waaruit ook een Matt Valentine, Joshua, Dredd Foole of Willie Lane tappen.














- Wat het Franse Chanson en het traditionele carnaval van Binche gemeenschappelijk hebben wordt duidelijk tijdens het concert van Gangalai & Gourabai(Buffle, ROT). Meer dan gember, gitaar, casio en stem heeft dit duo er niet voor nodig... en aanstekelijke danspasjes uiteraard.

- Head of Wantastiquet
Paul Labrecque maakt deel uit van het psychedelisch zootje ongeregeld Sunburned Hand Of The Man, die enkele jaren terug een alternatieve soundtrack maakten voor Ira Cohen's Invasion Of Thunderbolt Pagoda (de originele werd ingespeeld door Angus Maclise). Met zijn solo project spint Labrecque een web van donkere dronefolk over sjamanistische energetische kruidenvelden verscholen in donkere wouden.











- Cian Nugent
Deze jonge Ierse gitarist haalde de mosterd bij oude countryblues en fingerpickers als John Fahey en Robbie Basho maar voegt er ook invloeden van hedendaagse klassieke componisten, Japans minimalisme en free jazz aan toe. Hij toerde in het verleden onder meer met Jack Rose, Glen Jones en Jozef van Wissem.

- City Hands
Manuel Padding (Helbaart, SilverGhosts) orchestreert met diverse elektronica, tapes, en percussie een regenboog van huis-, tuin- en keukenmeditaties naar inner space.

- Louise Landes Levi maakte in de jaren 60 samen met Angus Maclise en Terry Riley deel uit van Daniel Moore's Floating Lotus Magic Opera Company. Ze studeerde sarangi onder Annapurna Devi, Ali Akbar Khan en La Monte Young. John Giorno over haar poezie: "Her poems sing in the mind and dance through the heart and throat, and arms & legs, w. great clarity and bliss. Louise is Saranswati, goddess of poetry"



















- Sylvester Anfang II
Occulte, surrealistische en bovenal psychedelische soundtrack voor Ira Cohen's cult film 'Invasion Of Thunderbolt Pagoda'.

DREAMWEAPON: "The Art and Life of Angus MacLise 1938-1979"
















Angus MacLise was niet alleen de eerste drummer van The Velvet Underground, de toonaangevende New Yorkse band met Lou Reed en John Cale in de rangen, waar hij bewust vroegtijdig uitstapte. Hij was een artistiek polyglot, een dichter, muzikant, uitgever en beeldend kunstenaar, een avant-garde performer, multimediapionier, downtown shamaan en wereldburger van wie het belang en de invloed op de hedendaagse muziek-, literatuur- en kunstwereld slechts mondjesmaat duidelijk wordt. Een recent ontdekte koffer met unieke documenten, foto’s, tekeningen, tijdschriften, gedichten en tapes van Angus MacLise - geschonken door Hetty MacLise (vrouw van... ) aan componist LaMonte Young - was de rechtstreekse aanleiding en kans voor de New Yorkse curatoren John Kugelberg en Will Cameron om met de expo ‘Dreamweapon’ het publiek een blik te gunnen op het werk en het leven van deze bijzondere kunstenaar. Graag Traag, kunstencentrum BELGIE en CIAP zijn dan ook niet weinig trots om na New York, deze unieke overzichtstentoonstelling voor het eerst in Europa te kunnen presenteren.

De expo 'Dreamweapon' loopt na het festival verder in CIAP, Armand Hertzstraat 21 Hasselt
> zondag 23 oktober 2011: opening vanaf 15.00 u.
> t.e.m. zo 20 november 2011: di - vr 11.00 u. - 18.00 u. // za - zo 13.00 u. - 17.00 u.
Gratis toegang !

boo-hooray.com
blastitude.com/13/ETERNITY/angus_maclise.htm

http://www.kunstencentrumbelgie.com/programma/concert/graagtraag2.htm

Up-Tight

Up-Tight
The Night Is Yours
LP
Sloowax 001

New studio album by these Japanese heads, this one is sure to place your third eye right onto the eternal cosmic plane. Feels like spacing out in a hammock set between massively fucked-up, stripped-down mantra rhythms licking that sweet essence of crazed fuzz guitars and beautifully mellow acid ballads. A classic nocturnal journey into deep Tokyo psychedelica. Full-color artwork by Bart De Paepe, edition of 300 copies.

Sold Out

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpBjRV-Wetc

Tokyo psych monsters Up-Tight come out of the classically wasted/drug-damaged school of excessive fuzz and reverb, giving the nod to the endless jam style of Les Rallizes Denudes while spiking their sound with dark downer ballads that owe as much to The Jacks as they do to The Velvet Underground. The Night Is Yours is an edition of 300 copies LP that functions as the absolute apex of their catalogue to date, crossing beautiful comedown folk-psych moves with whole sides of extended scorch. Indeed, there’s a new focus on psychedelic ritual here, especially apparent on the staggering “She’s So Heavy” with choirs of disembodied monks chanting in the background while the bass – played w/all of the thunderous power of Mik from Kousokuya – marches the group ever forward and vocalist Tomoyuki hovers over the track like a wraith. If you can picture Spacemen 3 circa The Perfect Prescription produced by Ghost circa Temple Stone then you’re close to the outrageous levels of psychedelic excess captured here. Tomoyuki’s guitar tone has to be heard to be believed, with tactile garage punk crunch put to the service of endlessly euphoric orbits of three droning chords. Up-Tight have been responsible for a buncha the most memorable releases to come out of the post-PSF underground but this has to be their recorded pinnacle, the perfect balance of two chord Velvet downers and strung-out post-Rallizes string violence. One of our records of the year so far! Sloow Tapes are on a roll right now – highly recommended! (Tip Of The Tongue 2 July 2011, Volcanic Tongue)

Up-Tight are a three-piece from Tokyo who, from the evidence of this LP, play ponderous, overblown psych rock, of which this record contains five examples. Opener 'Blow Away' fades in with some insistent, repetitive bass and drums (the bass tone on this track is really enviably nasty) and then a load of noisy, squalling guitar over the top taking us to some pretty far-out places before everything fades out and we're onto the next song, 'She's So Heavy'. No, this isn't a Beatles cover, it's actually a really quiet and mysterious piece where the lead vocal is largely backed by chanting, with really minimal bass and keyboards adding a little depth, it's quite blissful and hypnotic, this one, but towards the end it gradually gets overtaken by all manner of strange noises...I was expecting it to be building into another freakout like the first track but actually it's gone in the exact opposite direction! 'After My Dream' is a totally restrained and beautiful ballad. Man, I don't know if it's my weird love of people singing in foreign accents or what but the Japanese totally know how to do ballads. There's even a dead tasteful guitar solo here. The second side is almost entirely taken up by a giant piece called 'So Alone'. Once again we're treated to that pummelling bass tone I loved so much in the first track, but this one's slower and more coherent. The rhythm section is totally locked into a slow, pounding, Melvins-esque groove while guitarist Aoki Tomoyuki gets another chance to explore. He's got some totally searing tones in his arsenal, too. I love how this band's tone palette is so organic. We've had so much synth-heavy stuff coming through here lately that it's great to hear a band that sounds like a bunch of guys battering the fuck out of some wood and wire, '70s style. As the aforementioned Fab Four used to say, "All you need is gain". I'm pretty sure that's what they said. Once that riff marathon is over there's just time for one spooky little ballad, 'The Night Is Yours', which sees everything stripped back to really minimal strummed acoustic guitar, practically inaudible bass, and a vocal line that's got so much reverb on it that every note sticks around for a good second or two after it's sung. I'm totally impressed with this whole record, and if you like your rock slow and psychedelic I don't see why you wouldn't be too. (Norman Records)

Overheerlijke psychrock van Up-Tight, het Japanse trio dat al voor aardig wat trips heeft gezorgd in het verleden. Opener Blow Away doet precies wat de titel je vertelt: fuzzy, krakende riffs in een hypnotiserend ritme zijn ervoor gemaakt om je speakers tot het uiterste te testen, terwijl de in echo’s verdrinkende (en nagenoeg onverstaanbare) zang je naar hogere sferen brengen. Ik hoor The Melvins, Spacemen 3 en The Velvet Underground, plus een heleboel vage shit uit de jaren ’70. Gek genoeg gaat de plaat op de A-kant daarna richting kosmische acid ballads, wat een nog grotere waas over de muziek van Up-Tight legt. Op de bijna 20 minuten durende B-kant gaan ze weer verder waar ze waren begonnen, met die stompende ritmesectie en bezwerende riffs die door feedback naar eenzame hoogten worden getild. Geweldig! (De Subjectivisten)

Beter Traag Dan Nooit

Various Artistis
Beter Traag Dan Nooit
Sloow Tapes - CS 120

Follow-up to ‘Graag Traag’ compilation (Sloow Tapes, 2006). Two hours of Belgian bands: psych, acid-folk, post-punk, synth and general weirdness. Featuring: Vom Grill, Floris Vanhoof, La Danse Du Sperme, Edgar Wappenhalter, Kosmische Keuterboeren, JB Donaldo, Cosmic Trip Machine, Bear Bones Lay Low, Kohn, Kiss The Anus Of A Black Cat, Innercity, Sylvester Anfang II, Dolphins Into The Future, Eekhoorn X, Etherik, Shifter, W. Ravenveer, Acid Child, Ping Pong Tactics, Ludo Mich/Maarten Tibos/Maximilliam I, Huur Is Duur, Gangalai & Gourabai, Hellvete, Gerard Herman, Witchbikers, The Beez. 100 copies.

SOLD OUT

Regular VT readers will know the esteem in which we hold the Belgian underground, both in its contemporary and historical manifestation. So Beter Traag Dan Nooit comes as a real treat, a compilation by Bart De Paepe that takes your hand and leads you through 120 minutes of the most beautifully fucked examples of middle-European madmanism, with exclusive tracks from Vom Grill, Floris Vanhoof, La Danse Du Sperme, Edgar Wappenhalter, Kosmische Keuterboeren, JB Donaldo, Cosmic Trip Machine, Bear Bones Lay Low, Kohn, Kiss The Anus Of A Black Cat, Innercity, Sylvester Anfang II, Dolphins Into The Future, Eekhoorn X, Etherik, Shifter, W. Ravenveer, Acid Child, Ping Pong Tactics, Ludo Mich/Maarten Tibos/Maximilliam I, Huur Is Duur, Gangalai & Gourabai, Hellvete, Gerard Herman, Witchbikers, The Beez. Edition of 100 copies: recommended (Volcanic Tongue)

Dire Wolves

Dire Wolves
The Creator Has A Faster Van
Sloow Tapes – CS 42

This one hits the spot alright. Dire Wolves, currently based in Pittsburgh PA, has a loose membershipwhich often includes Jeffrey Alexander (Black Forest/Black Sea,Avarus, Secret Eye Records), Matt McDowell (Sagas, Dark Yoga, ArcoFlute Foundation), Ian Bonnet, Jennifer Myers, Dan Letson, Davide Manbeard Lifrieri, Joshua Kretzmann and Kenny "K-Doh" Donut. Dudes are on an endless trip of burned-out guitar riffs, stoned basslines, wasted vocals howling at the moon…fuck, I wanna jam! “In the back-wash of Fennario, the black and bloody mire/The dire wolf collects his due while the boys sing round the fire”. 80 copies.

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Heavy Winged-esque riffology with a heavy kosmische vibe. (Boa Melody Bar)

Louise Landes Levi

Louise Landes Levi
City Of Delirium
Sloow Tapes – CS 40

LLL, NYC, world traveler and poet, years in No. India, Holland /Amsterdam & No. Italy/Arcidoso where she still lives, in stone tower, at least half the year. Publishing numerous books, chaps and broadsides, she also translated Rene Daumal Henri Michaux and great tantric poet, 16th century Mira Bai. 'Her poems sing in the mind and dance through the heart and throat, and arms & legs, w. great clarity and bliss. Louise is Saranswati, goddess of poetry (John Giorno). This tape collects poems from the late sixties to the present. In addition to writing, Louise is also a player (sarangi and flute). In these recordings, the spoken word is set to music drawn from two of her cassettes ‘Kinnari’ and ‘Padma’, recorded in Munich and West Hurley, NY, respectively and produced, in mid and late eighties, by Felix Mensingh. Louise played in the Floating Lotus Magic Opera Compnay (Daniel Moore, Angus Maclise, Terry Riley) and studied Indian music w. Annapurna Devi, Ali Akbar Khan and La Monte Young. 100 copies

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Wow: this is a real archival discovery. Shamanist, poetist, street musician, tramp, Louise Landes Levi was a member of the Floating Lotus Magic Opera Company alongside Angus MacLise, Terry Riley and Daniel Moore as well as a student of Indian music with Annapurna Devi, Ali Akbar Khan and La Monte Young. She travelled extensively during the second half of the century, residing in North India, Holland and Northern Italy, where she still spends half the year in a stone tower. She has published numerous chapbooks, broadsides and pamphlets as well as important translations of Henri Michaux, Rene Daumal and the 16th century tantric poet Mira Bai. According to John Giorno, “Her poems sing in the mind and dance through the heart and throat, and arms & legs, w. great clarity and bliss. Louise is Saranswati, goddess of poetry.” This amazing 40 minute cassette compiles the best of her visionary poetry from the mid-60s to the present day accompanied by zoned string drones, sarangi, hand percussion, bells, acoustic ragas and floating flowers in a way that is directly comparable to The Cosmic Couriers’ classic account of their own trip, Gilles Zeitschiff, right down to the starmaiden cover art, documenting a specific moment in the history of 20th century occulture complete w/tales and memories of Angus MacLise’s “anarchist/sacred art” (who she met while busking on the tube in London), Ira Cohen (who the cassette is dedicated to) and the whole dreamweapon diaspora. This is an absolute trip - just thick with atmosphere – and Levi’s poetic recollections succeed in taking you right there, from MacLise’s smoking skull through 1970s Afghanistan and Henri Michaux’s Parisian pad to the sound of The Dream Syndicate and beyond. A major historical excavation, with tracks lifted from two impossibly obscure cassettes – 1985’s Kinnari and 1988’s Padma – originally released by Felix Mensingh in Amsterdam. Congratulations to Sloow Tapes for what might just be the historical find of the year. Edition of only 100 copies. Highly recommended.
(Volcanic Tongue)

Poet, world traveller and ex-member of the Floating Lotus Magic Opera Company alongside Terry Riley and Angus Maclise. This is a spoken word collection of her poems from the late 60s onwards, accompanied by sarangi and flute (Boa Melody Bar)

Dans Van Alpha

Various Artists
Dans Van Alpha
Sloow Ley Lines

Catalog of ‘Dans Van Alpha’ exhibition at Kunstencentrum België 12/11 -27/11/2010. Featuring b&w drawings by Abel Auer, Nemo Bidstrup, Cybele Collins, Eva De Leener, Bart De Paepe, Jaakko Pallasvuo, Adam Higton, Solange Gularte, Colleen Kinsella, Jason Leinwand, Eva Van Deuren. A5 size, 25 pages. Some remaining copies.

Bear Bones Lay Low

Bear Bones Lay Low
Smoked The Whole Thing
Sloow Tapes – CS 40

Dark spaced-out basement hash jams courtesy of Bear Bones Lay Low, Sylvester Anfang II’s greatest stoner. About high fucking time. All synth on this one, and it all sounds pretty wasted too. Think wobbly slowmo melodies oozing green day-glo aura’s over demented kraut tapestries. 90 copies.

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Kosmische synth lava from Brussels-based Venezualan Ernesto Gonzalez, who is also in the current Silvester Anfang line-up. Has some of the stoner vibe of that band as well as hints of Ash Ra Tempel (Boa Melody Bar)

Great Society Mind Destroyers

Great Society Mind Destroyers
Spirit Smoke
Sloow Tapes – CS 55

Great Society Mind Destroyers is a band out of Chicago consisting of heavy pysch Temple Lurkers. Dip into some exceptional manna of fuzz and wahwah gardens while you continue higher journeys. As the band states: “As bodies we mimic the ancients and dance at the fire of ruinous civilization. As minds we realize our oneness with the Divine Void and strive to destroy the barriers that prevent us from the perpetual mystic plane.” 90 copies.

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Billowing clouds of smoke, a neon-lit cast of tie-dye colors, and various voodoo references help define The Great Society Mind Destroyers. Chaos is an all-encompassing description once the opening track on the Chicago-based quartet’s new album, Spirit Smoke, gets underway. “Temple Lurker” sounds nearly half-ironic in its title; its whirlwind of heavily distorted psych-rock is bizarre and wonderfully convoluted enough to deserve the mythological enigma of a temple, but the song does the opposite of “lurk”. It thunderously clamors instead, like rain on a straw roof during a storm that Poseidon deems worthy. Reflective of the band’s aggressively ambitious style, this in-your-face album is one of relentlessness and drug-fueled mysticism. Lost behind the rumbling distortion, gauzy rhythmic swipes, and fiercely energetic drumming there are some phenomenal pieces of songwriting to be found. With Spirit Smoke, The Great Society Mind Destroyers join a short list of contemporary psych/noise-rock artists that are too talented of songwriters to become examples of audible over-indulgence.

As one of two tracks on Spirit Smoke not in the 7+ minute range, “Kamsara Drag” is the best entry point for listeners. Explosions in the Sky, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and Mogwai are all great acts that help defined modern conventions for (semi)-instrumental post-rock, and this track does justice in showing The Great Society Mind Destroyers’ stylistic separation from such artists. This is a band that could easily pursue full-on instrumentals and still leave many tracks feeling over-stuffed. The instrumentation alone is well beyond most contemporary post-rockers today, but TGSMD’s addition of vocals lends an ambitious acid-rock feel reminiscent of late ‘60s/early ’70s acts like The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Jefferson Airplane, and The Great Society (the latter a mid-‘60s San Fran rock collective whose name similarity points to a very probable influence). Add to such influences a more forward-leaning percussive method, more akin to the thrashing of metal and grunge with heavy uses of hi-hat and cymbals, and you have The Great Society Mind Destroyers, a band combining the best aspects of psych-rock’s past and present.

Fortunately for descriptive purposes, there has been a recent insurgence the past few years in psych-rock acts cross-breeding into both throwback and contemporary styles of post-rock, grunge, and acid-rock. Dungen has been doing it for some time and has touched on each of these styles with separate interpretations at some point. Names like Tame Impala, Dead Meadow, and The Warlocks are also noteworthy for their smart and generally infectious acknowledgement of such sounds. Unlike some work – like The Brian Jonestown Massacre’s most recent offerings – that rely wholly on their influences to produce anything worthwhile, TGSMD’s creativity arises from original songwriting simply designed for remnants of nostalgia; the anachronistic elements do not serve as the plot, but merely the setting. The production of artists like Dungen, Tame Impala, and The Great Society Mind Destroyers may intentionally invoke something from the past, but its reliance on it is minimal at best. There are no gimmicks or shticks at hand to disguise a lack of innovation.

Back to “Kamsara Drag”, it is exemplary of such feats. A sliding bass and restrained percussion helm the first moments, followed then by an extended bass line with subtle electric guitar harmonics panned to the left. The vocals enter in an unenthusiastic drawl, the lyrics indistinguishable but the melody itself asserting a dominance that needs no words. Once it is revealed that the verse’s intentions were to set up an explosive raucous of guitars, the song’s structure begins to take shape. A yelp at 01:26 signals the shift; the dynamic that takes here is astonishing, as flexible guitar and bass lines collide into one another with a seamless whimsy reminiscent of only the best psych-rockers. This is a remarkably brief track by The Great Society Mind Destroyers’ standards, but they do not waste a moment. The other shorter effort, “Equation of Time”, is in somewhat of a contrast. The feel there is certainly more spaced-out, with the guitars focusing on droning solos and repeating rhythms. The LSD-inspired vein of acid-rock is more prevalent here, from the subdued collective chants (which resemble a cross between a somber funeral and over-drugged concert in the woods) in the intro to the roaring assortment of guitars throughout the conclusion.
When tackling TGSMD’s lengthier and often more experimental efforts, like “Higher Bodies” and “Divinorum”, listeners should ready themselves for movement. These are predictably developmental, which for the band’s consistently nostalgic sound can be a risky venture. “Higher Bodies” does an extraordinary job of maintaining the listener’s interest though; the vocal involvement here is the most melodic and diverse on the album, while the relationship between twangy guitar solos and a deafening rhythm section is unpredictably defiant. They alternate leads while furthering the same initial melody, never letting dull improvisation take control of a surprisingly focused track. During the final three minutes, the band implements several scratching/production techniques to diversify the guitars’ tonal frequencies. You can even hear a touch of keys toward the conclusion. The fascinating versatility helps keep “Higher Bodies” afloat for its ten-minute duration, both for fans accustomed to post-rock and those who consider a track over four minutes to be “too long”. Spirit Smoke should be a widely appealing album in that sense though; any fan of post-rock, grunge, OR any variant of psych-rock (from acid-rock to space-rock and even stoner-rock) will enjoy it. A job well done. (Obscure Sound)

This is pretty much the soundtrack to you dropping a ton of blotters and having the sweetest trip ever. Great Society Mind Destroyers is pumping out some epically heavy psychedelic music and there's no excuse for you not to have this. It's wahwah peddles and fuzz everywhere. Recommended. (Gerauschkrieg)

Great Society Mind Destroyers provide the world with a killer new cassette on the label Sloow Tapes. This Chicago outfit unloads some top notch psych jams in full throttle fashion. The guitars slay, layering it on thick with wahwah and distorted overload, drums and bass pound away mercilessly, and the dreamy vocals blend in nicely. Recorded live. (Permanent Records)

This comes blazing in like some live Zappa or Mahavishnu Orchestra force, then forms into extended psychedelic rock songs, with freeform freakout moments cutting across riffs the Groundhogs would be proud of. It doesn't surprise me that these Chicagoans profess a liking for the likes of their own local Art Ensemble as well as the Stooges. This is a first class example of what so many bands attempt, but fail to achieve with any real spirit. It deserves to be played loud and often! (Boa Melody Bar)