taylor price
Show & Tell
PR's Tumblrdome
Origami Around
Product Placement
No title available
blake kathryn
YOU ARE THE REASON
No title available
★
No title available
Keni
Claire Keane
RMH
祝日 / Permanent Vacation
Sade Olutola
#extradirty
will byers stan first human second
No title available
Three Goblin Art
seen from Singapore
seen from Singapore
seen from Poland
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Germany
seen from Türkiye
seen from China
seen from Finland
seen from United States
seen from Syria
seen from United States
seen from Netherlands
seen from United States
seen from Netherlands
seen from Honduras
seen from Russia
seen from United States
seen from Netherlands
seen from Philippines
@nowrongnotes-blog
Well, the list of albums that delighted me last year, in one way or another, was way longer than anticipated. And I guess I’m just a poor editor but, after the first year-in-review-show (on the 1st) didn’t represent nearly enough, it was probably inevitable that a 3rd week of favorites might...
12 for 2012.
I made this list of records as an all-encompassing kind of thing -- a list across genres and styles that represented what most excited me in 2012. I thought I'd come on here and whittle it down to the most avant-garde choices, in keeping with the spirit of No Wrong Notes, but the more I think about it, the more I realize that even my pop choices have the whiff of avant-garde -- whether it's Jesca Hoop's loopy, Kate Bush-esque moments, or the electronics that jut into the folk of Hundred Waters. So here it is, then, just a list, an everything list of 2012. (Along with sample videos to whet your appetite, which I'll just post as links so as not to lengthen and clutter this entry more than necessary.)
Neneh Cherry & The Thing – The Cherry Thing. Not to get all cheesy or anything, but this pairing is like a dream come true for me: the powerful, sassy voice I knew as a teen listening to her pop solo records, teaming up with the loud rock n' roll free jazz of The Thing, a later-in-life love of mine...It's perfect in its seamless blending of the hook and skronk I crave, it sounds like it was always meant to be this way, and it's hands-down the best thing I heard all year. The separate album of remixes is also kind of awesome.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jovsxh8FeYo
Matthew Dear – Beams. It's embarrassing how much I danced around my apartment to this record this year. I'm enjoying listening to the evolution in Dear's sound – from lighter poppy dance, to extremely dark, sleazy dance, and then to this year's mix of both those things plus some glam-rock influences as well. He delivers it with a slinky, confident swagger that I find irresistible.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7GB8IJs6ic
El-P – Cancer 4 Cure. Probably one of the most paranoid, anti-social albums I heard all year, where the “love song” has El-P accusing his suitor of being a spy. I still love his dense production, the harshness of his sound and delivery, and the way it all coalesces into something almost too intense across the span of a record.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZptOs8Gu9k
A Tribe Called Red – A Tribe Called Red. I'm so excited to see these local (Ottawa) guys blow up big all over the place. And they had the most exciting start to a record in 2012 – first that pow wow drum setting the tone, then the tap-tapping of the percussive electronic melody over top, and THEN the slam of the singers' chants and the low-end synth growl hitting at the same time...It's a calling card, all right, and it had me and a lot of people worldwide snapping our heads and ears to attention within the first 30 seconds, the dancing following only a few seconds behind.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8KFmArXzzU
Jesca Hoop – The House that Jack Built. This is actually a really uneven album, with songs jumping from style to style in a somewhat erratic way, and some songs sounding downright annoying to my ears. But I include it here because when Jesca hits it, she really knocks it out of the park with her slightly-strange pop songs. Like, why wasn't “Hospital” as popular as “Call Me Maybe” this summer?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqXSfHO-7f0
Dirty Projectors – Swing Lo Megellan. Perhaps this is the band embracing a bit more simplicity, a bit more pop, a bit less willful weirdness? I'm not sure. But I do think it's an awfully pretty album.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlvKLNghq6Y
Kevin Drumm – Relief. The album starts, and immediately you run to turn down your speakers because the sudden start of feedback and white noise is too harsh. And for an album called “Relief,” there really isn't any of that until the whole thing ends. But lose yourself in its flow – and there IS a flow, one that slowly reveals itself – and it becomes almost a thing of beauty.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmiAVdRTaQg
Hundred Waters – Hundred Waters. It starts with an old-sounding folk song called "Sonnet", but after that begins to weave in some woozy electronics and little flourishes. It's all so darn seamless though, that by the time the full-on electronic-pop song “Thistle” is halfway through, you've only just realized how much the sound has changed since the record started. It's a lovely listen from start to finish from a very assured band.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRDKLMw87Uk
Swans – The Seer. Michael Gira is always my go-to source for noisy, apocalyptic, near-industrial rock, and I certainly get my fill from The Seer, which is ridiculously long by today's standards (somewhere around 2 hours!) but somehow doesn't wear out its welcome. I'm exhausted by the time it's over, though. I like visiting Gira's world but I wouldn't want to live there.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sdOvQjtUrg
Black to Comm – Earth. Ambient, dark, slow-moving music with some spooky-sounding vocals (in a crooning, out-of-place kind of way). I like the darkness of this but also how it moves across the five pieces to bring us someplace else by the end – perhaps a place of faint hope?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IM9mQxf_oxk
Cactus Truck – Brand New for China! This album, in its noisiness, makes me smile every time I put it on. And I like what this Dutch sax/drums/guitar trio has to say about itself, so I'll let them take it from here: “Cactus Truck creates startlingly intense music, not merely in terms of volume or velocity but through complete physical/psychological surrender. One can find hints of delta blues, early free jazz, Japanese noise, and no wave in the music.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfUjl6hGqnE
Dan Deacon – America. I find this hard to listen to from start to end, because it has only one level, and that level is WAY UP HERE. It's relentless and busy and chirpy but also never less than compelling and beautiful. Busy electronics and dense build-ups of percussive sound become a meditative kind of thing, after a while.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnXiXlF7olo
Special mention: Scott Walker – Bish Bosch. OK, so I've only listened to this twice, because a Scott Walker record is really not the kind of thing you just throw on to do the dishes to. And I can't say that I “like” this record in the same kind of way I like the 12 records above. He's really the only songwriter out there who genuinely terrifies me. I'm pretty sure he's a genius, but he could also be pulling our collective leg. Either way, this is uncompromising and difficult but completely compelling.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ih7KzKLLWA
--Caitlin
Indeed, [Peter] Brötzmann has recently been diagnosed as having literally blown out his lungs to the point that they have become seriously enlarged, a condition that's more commonly associated with people who have spent a lifetime working as glassblowers. Although it doesn't affect his ability to play, it has restricted his mobility and now even climbing stairs or sharp inclines can be problematic.
Keenan, David. “Last Man Standing.” The Wire. 345 (2012): 39-44. Print.
Instead of opening the senses to everything, art has become much more controlling and narrowed. I like art where the blood is streaming and the flowers are blooming like hell.
Peter Brötzmann qtd. in Keenan, David. “Last Man Standing.” The Wire. 345 (2012): 39-44. Print.
I push things quite a bit, I push my playing, I push my lungs. My lungs are fucked up because I push too much air through the mouthpiece.
Peter Brötzmann qtd. in Dick, Ronald. “Last Man Standing.” The Wire. 345 (2012): 39-44. Print.
Sex is a big part of jazz. It's nothing to hide. Look at the blues guys, how they jumped all over the stage. What is rock 'n' roll except, let's fuck?
Peter Brötzmann qtd. in Keenan, David. “Last Man Standing.” The Wire. 345 (2012): 39-44. Print.
This Week’s Playlist/Podcast at CKCU 93.1 FM
No Wrong Notes: Dewey Redman, The Tuba Trio, New York Art Quartet, Leroi Jones, The Clarinet Summit, Kingdom Shore, Cecil Taylor.
Playlist / Podcast
- an eclectic mix of avant jazz this week.
Find the Others / Pressed Cafe / Gladstone Avenue / Ottawa, ON. Fujifilm Finepix X100. 8 November 2012.
Kingdom Shore / Pressed Cafe / Gladstone Avenue / Ottawa, ON. Fujifilm Finepix X100. 8 November 2012.
This Week’s Playlist/Podcast at CKCU 93.1 FM
No Wrong Notes: Record Show Finds: Archie Shepp, Jasper Van't Hof, Dave Burrell, Lester Bowie (Brass Fanstasy), Gato Barbieri, Don Cherry.
Podcast / Playlist
First, I've changed the show name to correspond with a domain name that a few folks and myself already own, which has served as a platform to promote local and independent avant-garde music (www.nowrongnotes.com). I'll now post playlists and updates on this site, but you'll find other material written and posted by some wonderful fans of out sounds.
Today, I'll be playing music from albums I found at the Ottawa Community Record Show, which is held twice a year at St. Anthony's Hall, sponsered by Birdman Sound and CKCU 93.1 FM.
Théan - Instrumental / Electronic 01
Check out Théan's Instrumental / Electronic 01 on Bandcamp!
<a href="http://thean.bandcamp.com/album/instrumental-electronic-01" data-mce-href="http://thean.bandcamp.com/album/instrumental-electronic-01">Instrumental/Electronic 01 by théan</a>
Experimental Music on Wednesdays - Season 2 at Pressed 750 Gladstone Ave (Ottawa, ON). October 3 - November 14 8pm - 11pm $5
Oct 3: Adam Saikaley / Alexis O'Hara / Matty McGovern
Oct 10: Mark Molnar / David Jackson / Taline Bedrossian
Oct 17: Gary Franks & Alex Maltby / Raas / Eric Roberts
Oct 24: Linsey Wellman / Christian Richer / Lamb Rabbit
Oct 31: Hard Science / Deccomposing Pianos / Matt Morel
Nov 7: Find The Others / Kingdom Shore / Sacha Gabriel
Nov 14: Rolf Klausener / Jesse Stewart / Lidija Rozitis
