irrlicht KLAUS SCHULZE

occasionally i'll stop by Breakaway Records here in austin. though they tend to focus on rare soul/R&B and old 45's you can still find a wide variety of great vinyl. and on even better occasions like the other day I stumbled upon two really amazing original Klaus Schulze LP's and Can's "I Want More" 45 12" single. quite a score indeed.

"Irrlicht," released on Brain Records back in 1971 was his very first solo LP (the same year Tangerine Dream (with Schulze on drums) released "Electronic Meditations"). yes you could draw many parallels between the two LP's, and both hold up amazingly well over time, but Schulze's "Irrlicht" (translates as "erring light") is a real monster. Schulze was originally known as a drummer and founding member of Ash Ra Tempel and then went on to play with Tangerine Dream but this is the first solo LP and would kinda pave the way for the work for which he is most commonly known.

what's even more appealing and baffling about this particular LP is that it features no synthesizers whatsoever! All sounds are produced from organs, oscillators and electronically processed orchestral passages. the LP starts with a very intense and full on drone but slowly builds up the drama with grandiose organ chords and then really starts blowing you away with the phasing effects which at times sound almost Steve Reich-esque. it can be a bit dramatic at times but totally mindblowing all the same. unrelenting, pulsating, beautiful space music. highly highly recommended! Listen to it here.

the other side FRODE GJERSTAD TRIO

so incredibly excited to see the Frode Gjerstad Trio tonight in Austin at the Carousel Lounge (in my neighborhood!!). the show is being put on by one of my favorite non-profit austin organizations Epistrophy Arts. A big thanks to PG and Epistrophy Arts once again for bringing more amazing free jazz to Austin. Frode tonight will be joined by the one and only Paal Nilssen-Love on drums and Jon Rune Strom on bass.

Gjerstad has been a fixture on the European free jazz scene for 30 years playing with so many amazing people like John Stevens, Peter Brotzmann, Derek Bailey, Han Bennink, Evan Parker and more.

to get a little taste here is a trio album from 2000 featuring the amazing duo of William Parker on bass and Hamid Drake on drums. great stuff. can't wait for this evening! Listen to it here!

...and I await the resurrction of the pedal steel guitar SUSAN ALCORN

i've wanted to post this LP for a while now but keep forgetting. it's truly a thing of beauty from the music to the absolutely stunning LP gatefold artwork. this was released way back when in 2006 by the always wonderful Olde English Spelling Bee. i'm still surprised this hasn't gotten much attention to this day.

this LP was Alcorn's 5th solo LP, and I haven't heard much from her recording-wise since. I saw her perform in various improv groupings at the No Idea Festival here in Austin a few years ago. but unfortunately have never seen her solo. considering she makes a living playing mostly country & western gigs is a testament to her very different solo music and how unique and heartfelt it is.

about this LP in particular....Alcorn talks in the liner notes about how a lot of this music was inspired by hearing Olivier Messiaen's "Et Exspecto Resurrectionum Mortuorum" while she was driving down the freeway in Houston. the track "and I await...." even shares the first three notes with said Messiaen piece. her playing on that track and throughout the entire album shows a sense of Messiaen's tonal cluster floating chords mixed with a more contemporary free-improv aesthetic. the music moves sometimes at a very slow pace, but patience is rewarded greatly throughout the LP.

this is great improv music and exceptionally beautiful and moving. Alcorn turns the pedal steel into a much richer instrument than just country & western music. physical LP copies still exist at Mimaroglu and I highly recommend getting one because the artwork adds a whole other dimension to the music. listen to it here and then go buy one!

last vacuum demos vol. 1 OUTER SPACE

just got home from work and was so stoked to find this LP waiting at the door for me -- luckily it wasn't warped (considering it's been so goddamn hot here in Austin). listening to it now and it sounds so great on vinyl. from john elliot himself:

“the first in what hopefully could be a long line of low run vinyl documenting underground outsider music, "Last Vacuum Demos" are essentially volumes of previously released low run cassette jams w/unreleased recordings from the sessions. Tracks from the c60 series a while back and the unreleased material from that. Jeff Hatfield on his Moog and John Elliott on various synthesizers and electronics. Clouded out, space music..if you like "Lightyear Demonstrations" or "Pyramids on Mars" era Outer Space styles, you will surely enjoy this album. Limited to 200 hand-numbered, hand stamped, white label, "no test press, just bust" lps in thick recycled chipboard jackets. No repress for any of the upcoming ltd series lps. LPs from Watchword, Headboggle, Lilypad, and more coming later.”

if you like this kind of synth exploration hurry up and get a copy here at Mimaroglu. they still have copies available. Experimedia is sold out (but is still a great place to find small run limited stuff like this and lots of great experimental music). Get it quick it's gonna be gone in a heartbeat!!

for a little taste of similar sounds to this LP check out Outer Space -- Pyramids on Mars


here

this was part of a trio of Outer Space C60 cassettes that also included "Eastern Veil" & "Timespace Projection." completely essential listening.

an empty bliss beyond this world THE CARETAKER

i discovered this record via blogs myself. i kept seeing it at some really great blogs (Dayvan Zombear among others) that I frequent and eventually took a chance on it. The Caretaker is one James Leyland Kirby who has been around for a while under the moniker V/VM doing all sorts of electronic mash-up and sound collage work throughout the late 90's and early 2000's. Kirby created his alter ego The Caretaker throughout this entire time with his first album in 1999. he's been well know in the UK and Europe for some time now but is just kinda getting attention here in the US. supposedly The Caretaker project was inspired by the haunted ballroom scene in Kubrick's "The Shining." this is especially apt once you listen to his music.

honestly listening to this record can make you feel like you're in the middle of a 50's black and white movie. kirby takes old recordings of random classical/orchestral/big band music that always seems oddly familiar but completely new and piles on effects...and not noisy, bombastic effects....simple, lush, unobtrusive effects. a little delay here, a little static to make it hazier here. the record is at once completely beautiful but in that sorta archaic, romantic vision of a lost love or lost time. and even sonically sometimes it sounds like it's coming from an old victrola, the actual sound has this dusty and forgotten feel to it.

regardless of my attempts to sound erudite and explain all this. the LP is incredible. so hautingly beautiful. when this LP is playing it's hard to ignore it and that is a great compliment. very highly recommended! get it here.