GULTSKRA ARTIKLER / LANTERNS, Berezka/Monkey Lament (2008, psychedelic tones)

"In the woods" again with a very good surprise. The GULTSKRA... side is good, but nothing good prepare to this outstanding side of psych folk tones recorded by LANTERNS. A fascinating fog of sounds, sometimes with melody.
Strongly recommended. And it's here (192 kbps).

BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB, The Effects of 333 (2008, drone)

Dead and re-burried
and born again.
With the surprising and excellent drone album by BRMC (don't believe the fans who's rated it 1.88 on RateYourMusic). Certainly not for their fans, who won't find here any melody nor guitar riff. No, you'd better look for some Experimental Audio Research / drone rock influence, and then you may love the dark mood of "The effects of 333".
Unfortunately, it's been released only in digital format ) what a piety considering the promissing artwork.
here it is.

MASTER MUSICIANS OF BUKKAKE, Totem One (2009, psychedelic tones)

Back "in the woods"...

From RateYourMusic :
"Cool shit. Pleasant listen overall, with a sound of its own - and it has a couple standout tracks ("Schism Prism" and "Eaglewolf"). It's like they gave the Sun City Girls a jungle of instruments and top-notch production and told them to be less bizarre, more focused and more "tantric"; so it's a good starting point. Ideal for communal dope-smokin' reunions."

And I could not say it better - the trip is quite fascinating.

Try it here, then try to buy it (as I did).
(waiting for "Totem 2", to be released in May).

AFTER DINNER, S/T + Editions + Paradise of Replica (1983 / 1990, Japanese "avant-folk")

By request (at last...).
2 albums + bonus (live session). No particular comments, sometimes I like them sometimes I don't. "Paradise of Replica" may be better composed, but the production choices are weird sometimes, like if 2 versions of some tracks were recorded one after the other...
Sorry for being so long to repost...
Link on Mediafire

DER NEBEL NUR IN KLARER LUFT, Gezeiten des Lebens (?, dark folk)

What's this? If someone has any information about the band... The only thing I've found is the artwork, on a japanese web site.
I don't remember where I have downloaded this, but from time to time I listen to it as a curiosity and let's say each time is surprising. A kind of very dark electric folk, with voices that seem to be posessed. The production is not far better than a demo but is clean, it's well composed but certainly too repetitive in the style. But believe me : you should really try! If you don't find it ridiculous you may adore it!

ADD N TO (X), Loud like nature (2002, electro rock)

Last recording and last post for this essential electro-rock band. This is probably the most "punk" oriented album they've made (not especially for the music, more for the attitude), I wonder what they would have become if they hadn't split. Some excellent tracks here, though most of them seem to be composed in 3 minutes (does it matter?).
Try it here (before buying?)

ADD N TO (X), Add insult to injury (2000, electro rock)

There's probably some hits missing to like this 4th album more, but whereas almost half tracks from "Avant Hard" were really disappointing, there's nothing bad here. "B.P Perino and "Death of the Black Regent" are the highlights in my opinion - they were absolutely magic played live!
Here is the album - if you buy it, there's a surprise if you smell it, And of course you should buy!

ADD N TO (X), Avant Hard, (1999, electro rock)

Problems with Sharebee, I've decided to move on MediaFire.
Here is the next album (the 3rd one) recorded by ADD N TO (X). You'll find here sharp contrasts between some of their best hits (the singles "Metal Fingers in my body" and "Return of the Black Regent" and some very repetitive and useless tunes. Nevertheless, It sounds like the electronic orgy that every basic vintage electronic fan should know. I prefer the retro-futurist "On the wire...", but I must admit that the "electro-punk rock" orientation they've tried with "Avant Hard" is quite interesting.
Check it here and tell me.

ADD N TO (X), On the wire of our nerves, (1998, electro rock)

Those who've been reading this blog for a long time know how fan I am. In the late 90s, they were one of my 3 or 4 favorite bands, I've probably seen them each time they've come in Paris (I had posted their last live show here before the band broke up).
Reading some reviews and seeing the ratings on RateYourMusic, I was surprised they don't seem so famous as I thought. Their exciting formula - electro rock played with a vintage synths army and a vigorous drummer - was probably not new (see the classic THE UNITS, who have just released a compilation of interesting material from the early 80s). But a kind of charisma, in the music, the artworks, the live shows, make me regret they couldn't last more. Recently you have LADYTRON with more pop oriented songs, but the charisma is obviously not the same.
It's the reason why I've decided to share their albums (except their first release, I don't have the digital material), though I don't like to propose albums you find so easilly. So please be kind to play the rule "you like it you buy it"!

I've discovered the band with this album (the second they've recorded), at this time the artwork was quite entertaining and exciting ; B-movies culture mixed with electronic music! And the music was (and still is) absolutely fascinating. I've listened to it hundreds of times. I hope you'll enjoy it. Most of you probably have it, but if not, here it is (192kbps).

RAMASES, Space Hymns (1971, cosmic psych rock)

En lisant le blog de Joseph Ghosn, ces derniers temps on trouve un lien YouTube pour écouter un titre de de "Space Hymns". ça m'a immédiatement rappelé que j'avais eu un bon flash en découvrant l'album un peu au hasard, suite au téléchargement sur un blog psyché. Certainement pas parfait, l'album détonne plutôt au milieu du psyché anglais plutôt convenu et souvent trop prog à mon goût (pour ce que j'en connais), et ne dépareillerait parmi les bons albums kraut qu'on aime ici (Amon Düül 2 ou Brainticket surtout).

Bref, on va se passer dans commentaire in english et se contenter des notes de RateYourMusic, qui sont du genre à forger une micro légende qui n'est pas pour nous déplaire...

From www.rateyourmusic.com :
"Ramases (born Martin Raphael, sometime in the 1930s) was a central heating salesman until he was allegedly visited by the spirit of the Egyptian pharoah Ramses, who apparently informed Raphael that he was the reincarnation of Ramases and gave him the cosmic secret of the universe. Martin promptly changed his name to Ramases, and with his wife Dorothy, who renamed herself Selket, he began writing songs and working toward a record contract in order to spread his cosmic message. He got one with noted progressive rock record company Vertigo in 1970 and recorded Space Hymns in Strawberry Studios in England. Strawberry Studios was run by a group of musicians who would later become 10cc, and in essence 10cc provides the music on Space Hymns, although Ramases' album sounds absolutely nothing like 10cc. Ramases' music could best be described as a kind of spiritual, psychedelic space-folk with references to his own mythological beliefs. In spite of an impressive cover by Roger Dean, Space Hymns did not sell well. Ramases resurfaced in 1975 with the far more folkish Glass Top Coffin. He and Selket then dropped out of the music business, and Ramses moved to Felixstowe to care for his aging mother. He then dropped completely from sight. Sadly, he was reported to have died by his own hand sometime in the early 1990's."
Find this curiosity here.

EDWARD KA-SPEL, Inferno / Illusion (1993, dark ambient)

Hard to define this recording by LEGENDARY PINK DOTS member Edward Ka-Spell. I'm afraid many things he's made is really underated, maybe because he's made too many recordings. If you like dark experimental ambient, mixed with a foggy sound (that some could compare to early TANGERINE DREAM / ASH RA TEMPEL), this one is certainly for you.
2 tracks, 20 minutes, LP Rip.
And it's here.

THE ONES, Music for Hippies (1966, psych pop)

THE ONES is the band just before TANGERINE DREAM (created by Edgar Froese), a kind of "sunshine pop" immitating the american bands of the 60s. 2 short tracks only, side A is good, side B is so so... A very short post, and it's a LP Rip.
Try it here.

AND : thanks very much for your comments, I'm sorry not to come more often on this blog, but each I read and appreciate them.

Turzi - Buenos Aires

From the outstanding "B" album by TURZI.
An absolute hit for sure!!!

Et puis le LP, mes amis, vaut son pesant de cacahuètes : 2 galettes, vinyl brun opaque (mais légèrement transparent à la lumière, marbré!), beau carton avec verni sélectif pour la pochette, bref, un pur objet de collection en plus de la zique qui est à mon goût ce qu'on fait de mieux ces derniers temps.
Et un bon tube pour commencer l'année.