FLOWER TRAVELLIN' BAND, Satori (1971, JapRock)

I'm in a JapRock mood.
My favourite JapRock band (including the more most recent ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE, GHOST etc...), far better than most japanese band from the 70s - I think of the bands described in Julian Cope's book "JapRockSampler", some of which are ok but not so many...

For those who don't know them, THE FLOWER TRAVELLIN' BAND is a sort of Japanese AMON DÜÜL II, in my opinion. They share this idea of creating their own legend in their music, with killer riffs, very specific guitar playing and charisma in the singing. A difference is their sound, much more minimalist than A.D's and more heavy psych too maybe.

Even if "Satori" is not my favourite album, it's their best known and the album that the fans remember first, maybe thanks to its strong unity. Obviously it's a very good entry into the band's dark and menacing world. A must have.
So here it is.

ps : I've just read that it's in the top30 of the best albums of 1971 on rateyourmusic.com - it seems you won't be that many to discover it on my blog...

BLAGO BUNG, Kärleken & Döden (1981, indie pop)

I know absolutely nothing about this obscure swedish band, except that "Kärleken & Döden" seems to be their only album.
To say the truth : I've found it on another blog (Mutant sounds maybe?) and I just want to share it on mine now, because it's simply very surprising, naive and melancholic at once. It's composed of short songs with M or F vocals, it sounds like a mixture of 70s pastoral folk and 80s early dark electronics. Well, once more my english doesn't allow a good description, but believe me, it's very special and quite exceptionnal. You should try as I did last year.
And it's here .

AND ALSO THE TREES, The house of the heart EP (1988, dark pop)

The reason why I post this 14' long EP is that I've been looking for it for months on various blogs, as it's never been released in CD. At last, the best way to get it was to buy a used LP on the web! So here it is.
I knew nothing about the band when a friend of mine made me discover this EP, many years ago. We were fascinating by the 3rd track, the haunting "Count Jefferey", one of the darkest song I know. The obsessive synth sequence as a basis, the layers of strongly echoed guitars and synths on it, everything was perfect. Magic!
Another really good song is the almost instrumental "Anchor Yard" - I'm not sure you can find it on CD neither. Same mood as "Count Jefferey".
On the contrary, forget the title track on side A, not really bad but certainly not as interesting as side B.
Find this EP ripped at 192kbps here.

CHRISTIAN DEATH, The Scriptures (1987, death rock)

A concept album that confirms Valor Kand's taste for psychedelia, "The Scriptures" is also the 1st to contain many "not dark at all" songs. Many genres of music are explored, from horror film music (or sounds?) to cabaret songs to basic rock'n roll near classics - the cover of Hendrix "1984" is certainly too long but almost moving. The dark side is more in the tribal songs you'll find here too. I would say, after 50 krautrock albums post, that it's almost a kind of kraut from the 80s! In my opinion, a very good album - maybe because this is the one I've discovered the band with (on the contrary, it's not well rated on "rateyourmusic.com").
Let's say here that it's the last good album the band made - but i'll post the other albums recorded in the 80s, "Sex drugs and Jesus Christ" and the double concept "All the love all the hate" (an absolute failure that you've found earlier on this blog).
My rate for this one : 4/5
And it's here.

CHRISTIAN DEATH, Atrocities (1986, death rock)

After 2 albums that (for various reasons) were maybe not absolutely convinving, Valor - after Rozz Williams had gone - has probably produced the best album of his own CHRISTIAN DEATH. Even if it probably doesn't contain only good tracks, it's very tense, the work on guitars is really outstanding - sometimes it sounds like some analog synths or organs - and can remind the way it sounded in "Only theatre of pain". The general impression again is "death rock meets psychedelia", and there are some really moving tunes too : "Stranger Fortune" is a classic song to me, "Danzig Waltz" or "Chimère de-si de-là" are really convincing. The main problem, listening to this album 23 years after it's been released, is the way snare drums sound : much too loud and very 80s indeed! And the end of the album, with the cover of "Gloomy Sunday" and the dark ambient "Death of Joseph", is a bit too long.
My rate : 4,5/5
And here it is (at 192kbps).
ps : I couldn't find the almost black original artwork, so here is the copy of a re-release edition - same picture but very different and awful treatment.

CHRISTIAN DEATH, Catastrophe ballet / Ashes (1983 / 1985, "death pop")

Despite the lack of interest of my readers about CHRISTIAN DEATH' 1st (less than 60 downloads for such a masterpiece!!), I keep on posting their essentials recordings from the 80s.

About "Catastrophe Ballet" : second album and first major shifts in the line up, alas. Tell me if I'm wrong, but only the singer Rozz Williams is still there (with a completely different singing though)! A major change is the arrival of guitarist and singer Valor Kand, who would soon lead the band through the 80s until now. It's not a surprise that "Catastrophe Ballet" sounds so different from "Only theatre of pain" : not punk agression, no feedbacks in the guitar, no echo is the drums and organs etc... on the contrary, the sound seems dangerously monotone and polite. And what about the compositions? Well, one on two is good, the other is often too simple and boring (like the 1st track). But I confess that the overall ambience is quite coherent and intriguing.
I remember that those who liked C.D. were considering this album their best, maybe thanks to the lyrics that seemed mysterious and beautiful. I don't know, I don't try to understand the lyrics. But you probably speak english better than me...
My rate : 3/5
Highlights : The Drowning, Sleepwalk, As evening falls, Electra Descending.

About "Ashes" : roughly the same line-up for a more accomplished album in my opinion. Better produced and spacier than "Catastrophe Ballet", it doesn't work as a series of singles but should really be heard as a whole instead. The 1st side obviously is better composed, the 2nd side may be boring, to say the truth (the too long "Luxury of tears" and the spoken words "Of the wound" that don't really work...). You'll note that it's the 1st album where all the songs are not basic rocks tunes (the ambient "Ashes Part II", the cabaret "Lament" and the spoken words "Of the wound"), what would become a kinf of tradition for the next albums from the 80s.

My rate : 3,5/5.
Highlights : Ashes, Ashes part II, Lament.

After "Ashes", Valor Kand, who was invited to play the guitar at first, would lead the band alone, after founding member Rozz Williams had quit (at this time, he was told to have committed suicide... what he's finally done, but 15 years later).
Here are this 2 albums, in a single file.

CHRISTIAN DEATH, Only theatre of pain / Deathwish EP (1981 / 82, death rock)

It's cold outside, so it's time for a little goth cliched (more or less) music period. I don't know how long nor for how many abums it will be. Not too much...

Let's start with the ultimate "death rock" (american "batcave"? - anyway, nothing in common with "death metal") album, CHRISTIAN DEATH's 1rst. I love it, there's absolutely no humour here, nevertheless I don't feel there is so many cliches either. Well... The guitar is fantastic (a kind of early SONIC YOUTH's distortion and feedback style), the voice is very similar to Robert Smith's around "Pornography" era but even more desperate, the music is tense, well composed, a kind of "punk meets psychedelia in a cave". Many great songs, nothing useless.
Well, I won't tell better than this comment picked on rateyourmusic.com :"The beginning of everything we like is right here: heavy guitars, amazing bass lines, harmfull moods, desperate vocals which you really can get whatever Rozz is saying."

In the file you'll find C.D.'s 1st EP, recorded in 81 but released in 84 only. It sounds more like a demo, but a good one, and it features 3 songs that won't be on the album, particularly one of the darkest songs I have, "Desperate hell". Almost frightening! Great!!
Again, a right comment on rateyourmusic.com :
"Deathwish", "Desperate Hell" and "Cavity" suggest psychedelia, distorted hard rock riffs, existential terror and a horrifying intensity. "Romeo's Distress" adds romantic elements to the recipe, "Dogs" displays doom synths and electronic effects, while "Spiritual Cramp" is a punk maelstrom.
It demonstrates the formidable power of the first Christian Death line-up, and features excellent guitar and vocal work by Rikk Agnew (ex Adolescents) and Rozz Williams respectively."

My rates :
> Only theatre... : 5/5
> Deathwish : 3,5/5

No prejudice, try it here (ripped at 192)
Be warned : I will post most of the albums the various incarnations of CHRISTIAN DEATH have released, as they've really made some good albums.

SIGNAL, Waves+Lines (1997)

RE-UP BY REQUEST
Good EP released by Raster-Noton in the 1995 / 2000 minimal wave - a very accessible entry for those who are afraid by "minimalism".
Find it here.

ELLI & JACNO, Boomerang (pop, 1982)

RE-UP BY REQUEST.
As all the old links (on the shitty MassMirror server!) are dead, here's a new link for this LP-Rip of a french pop classic album that has never been released on CD (am I wrong?).
Here it is.

ZWEISTEIN, Trip - Flipout -Meditation (krautrock, 1970)

"Krautrock" electronic soundscapes / experimentations in the same mood as SCHNITZLER / early CLUSTER. Only for the fans of this kind of music, the others may find this double LP really boring... I confess now that I'm not sure I should have posed it any more, but as I've made the job, here it is!

CONRAD SCHNITZLER, Rot (1972, Experimental Krautrock)

By request.
Not my favourite kind of krautrock. It's basically two long drone-like pieces based on early synths radical experimentations. Obviously, it's not the best way to discover krautrock, but it's interesting for all those who like early (or pre-) industrial music.
Maybe, some of you know the first CLUSTER (and KLUSTER) albums, SCHNITZLER had just left the band in 1972 so "Rot" is not far from these albums.
And it's here.

KRAUTROCK TOP#50 : BRAINTICKET, Celestial Ocean (1973)

At last...
After a much too crazy (and overrated - who's able to listen to side A at once??) first album, BRAINTICKET added some pop in their craziness, and became more accessible though they kept on experimenting. It's especially true on the 3rd album, "Celestial Ocean", even if some tracks may appear a bit too pretentious (in the typical 70s too serious style). It's hard to describe : not far from AMON DÜÜL II, with plenty of eastern instruments but more electronic, with vintage synths and organs, and softer too. Well, I'm happy to end this selection with such an abum, because actually it's really good.
As it's short, you'll find on this link the 2nd album "Psychonaut" too, it's less adventurous and less surprising, but good too.

Thanks to all the readers who've been following this basic krautrock selection for so many weeks (sorry for those who are not interested in it!). Of course, I could have posted many more albums, but it was not my goal. Nevertheless, if you've heard about one album you'd like to discover, just ask, if I have it I'll try to post it.

KRAUTROCK TOP#49 : IBLISS, S/T (1972)

Not far from KOLLEKTIV you've found here last week or from ORGANISATION / early KRAFTWERK. Probably a little more repetitive and sometimes tiring, it's a really good album for all the fans of this kind of repetitive and motorik krautrock. It seems they made only one album.
Sorry, it's only a 128 kbps CD rip, and it's here.

KRAUTROCK TOP#48 : TEMPLE, S/T (1976)

One may think that the only album of this minor band doesn't deserve to be part of this selection. It's a very underground band from the second (and last?) wave of krautrock, and, like PATER NOSTER, SIDDHARTA etc..., let's consider them a "pre-gothic rock" band, as they sound dark and spacey at once.
The music, full of mellotron, moog and organ, + the classic bass / guitar / drums trio, could habe been much better if the male singer "Poseidon" (with such a name...) had sounded better, it's totally shitty. Why couldn't F. singer Pauline Fund sing more? She's really ok and even sometimes moving! Instrumental versions would have been much more interesting, and I'm afraid that most of you won't have the courage to hear more than 1 or 2 minutes. It would be a mistake!
Anyway, you should try, and it's here. (ripped at 192 kbps).

KRAUTROCK TOP#47 : KOLLEKTIV, SWF Sessions (1973)

KOLLEKTIV made only one album, but this is a live recording for the radio SWF, it is very similar to the album but sounds even better in my opinion, with longer and spacier tracks.
To describe the music, let's say that it's a kind of groovy KRAFTWERK in their early days (K1, 2 or ORGANISATION), it's fully instrumental and very well produced. A bit too repetitive maybe?
Those who love KRAFTWERK (until 74), CAN and even NEU will probably like it, though KOLLEKTIV is probably not as inventive as them. And here it is (192kbps).
If you like it, check also the S/T album of course - its artwork is far better than this one!!

KRAUTROCK TOP#46 : COSMIC JOKERS, Galactic Supermarket (1973)

Second release of the ultimate cosmic band featuring members of ASH RA TEMPEL, WALLENSTEIN, KLAUS SCHULZE and friends, produced by Dieter Dierks. And it's really the ultra cosmic trip you could expect from a band with such a name. The direction of the music is less obvious than in the 1st album, it's more experimental but not too hard to listen to if you know krautrock. What I love particularly here is the adventurous electronic trickery and the tremendous mix by Dierks, one of his most extreme work I think.
By the way, it's hard to describe it better for a non english speaking (and even in french!!), I propose you try it here, ripped at 192kbps.

KRAUTROCK TOP#45 : EMBRYO, Rock Session (1973)

Well, the track named "Warm Canto" (3rd track) is by itself a reason to get this early EMBRYO's album, a band that some of you may find too much "jazz-rock" oriented - I think they're often right (listen to the much too long 2nd track here). I would also say that if you don't like this album, don't try the other EMBRYO's recordings (except "Opal", posted sooner), contrarily to what some say, they are not so different, at least in their 1971 / 76 period - I don't mean they're not good though, it's a very interesting band with a sound typically of their own.
Find it here, ripped at 192kbps.

ps : don't you find that the artwork is quite extraordinary? The 2nd part gives it all its meaning and is really funny.

PROMO : CARBONE LIVE à Paris

CARBONE, c'est votre serviteur et son comparse Guillaume, pour un petit set 100% synth analo, quelque part entre Add N to X et WhiteHouse - juste à titre indicatif, parce que les références écrasantes, hein...
Le tout en cloture d'une soirée orientée punk "alla early Wire".

KRAUTROCK TOP#44 : VINEGAR, S/T (1971)

Sorry for being so long in completing this top 50 list, I've lost many MP3s in my hard-drive problems.
VINEGAR made this only album, and probably they could have been better if they had kept on recording, as the main problem of this album is obviously a lack of charisma. The music is good, it's much darker than the sleeve, I don't have the words to describe it because it's basically a bass / guitar / drums / organ combo, nothing more, but nothing less. With a little more personnality, it would have been higher in my top 50.
Only ripped at 128kbps, I'm sorry for this, I don't have the original CD...
Try it " here.

KRAUTROCK TOP#43 : SIDDHARTA, Weltschmerz (1975)

To say the truth, this is probably one of my favoutite krautrock albums these days, but I wouldn't admit it until now.
It's one of the later bands of what I consider the "classic period" of krautrock (AMON DÜÜL 2, AGITATION FREE etc...), they released one album only, and the least you may notice is its weirdness! Why?
1. It's absolutely dark and "pre-gothic" in the tone (extraordinary series of minor chords to awake the dead and scare your gand-ma!)
2. I don't know another album where there are so many breaks and changes in rythm, sometimes several times in 10 seconds, as if it was a problem for the band to keep the same tempo for one minute or more.
3. It's very rich in the instruments, but doesn't sound like a demonstration.
4. You'll hear plenty of harmonies and melodies, alternating with some more improvised moments, in an almost prog style, but typically german and kraut.
5. the band seems to have great technical skills, I wish I saw them playing live, were they able to play their music as well as in the album? Their weakness is probably the voices, that may be surprising at first glance (listen to the female voice that appears in the first second? Surprising no?), but I love them now.
For all those reasons, and because the production is (unfortunately) rather amateurish, I suggest you listen to the album many times and carefully if you want to appreciate it. Finally, I would compare it to a dark early NEKTAR, to a prog PATER NOSTER, to a dark PINK FLOYD in its 70/72 era.
here's is the link.