it must be thoroughly ambiguous / in view of the circumstances : the music of peter and graeme jefferies, part 1

For the AG team, this is something of a christmas special: a lovingly detailed, in depth night spent with two of NZ's most important musicians, Peter and Graeme Jefferies. From early provincial post-punk days together as Nocturnal Projections, to a moment of 'crossing the Rubicon' away from the industry into home recording as This Kind of Punishment, and then to solo divergences solo and with other musicians, their respective canons are a critical part of NZ underground's history, even though large chunks are out of print and have been for years.

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Playlist:

1. Nocturnal Projections, 'Nerve Ends in Power Lines' from s/t 7"(1982)
2. Nocturnal Projections, 'In Purgatory' from s/t 7" (1982)
3. Nocturnal Projections, 'Walk in a Straight Line' from Nerve Ends in Power Lines compilation (rec 1982, compilation1995)
4. Nocturnal Projections, 'Another Year' from Another Year EP (1982)
5. Nocturnal Projections, 'You'll Never Know' from Another Year EP (1982)
6. Nocturnal Projections, 'Isn't That Strange' from Another Year EP (1982)
7. Nocturnal Projections, 'Difficult Days' from Another Year EP (1982)
8. Nocturnal Projections, 'Out Of My Hands' from Another Year EP (1982)
9. Nocturnal Projections, In Darkness from Understanding Another Year in Darkness EP (1983)
10. Nocturnal Projections, 'The Down Song' from Nerve Ends in Power Lines compilation (1995)
11. Nocturnal Projections, 'My Neighbours' from Hate Your Neighbours compilation (rec 1981, rel 1997)
12. Nocturnal Projections, 'Worldview' from  Worldview 7" (rec 1981, rel 1998)
13. Nocturnal Projections, 'Non-Event' from  Worldview 7" (rec 1981, rel 1998)
14. Nocturnal Projections, 'Words Fail Me' from Biding My Time compilation (rec 1982, rel 1986)
15. Nocturnal Projections, 'People Who Told Me' from Nerve Ends in Power Lines compilation (rec 1982, rel 1995)
16. Nocturnal Projections, 'Moving Forward' from Nerve Ends in Power Lines compilation (rec 1982, rel 1995)
17. Nocturnal Projections, 'Restoration' from Nerve Ends in Power Lines compilation (rec 1983, rel 1995)
18. This Kind of Punishment, 'After the Fact; from This Kind of Punishment (1983)
19. This Kind of Punishment, 'Instrumental' from This Kind of Punishment (1983)
20. This Kind of Punishment, 'In View of the Circumstances' from This Kind of Punishment (1983)
21. This Kind of Punishment, 'If An Axe is An Arm' from This Kind of Punishment (1983)
22. This Kind of Punishment, 'Ahead of Their Time' from This Kind of Punishment (1983)
23. This Kind of Punishment, 'Prelude' from A Beard of Bees (1984)
24. This Kind of Punishment, 'From The Diary Of Hermann Doubt' from A Beard of Bees (1984)
25. This Kind of Punishment, 'East Meets West' from A Beard of Bees (1984)
26. This Kind of Punishment, 'Although They Appear' from A Beard of Bees (1984)
27. This Kind of Punishment, 'The Sleepwalker' from A Beard of Bees (1984)
28. This Kind of Punishment, 'An Open Denial' from A Beard of Bees (1984)
29. This Kind of Punishment, 'After The Fact' from Live 85 (1988)
30. This Kind of Punishment, 'Two Minutes Drowning' from Live 85 (1988)
31. This Kind of Punishment, 'Flipper Go Home' from Live 85 (1988)
32. This Kind of Punishment, 'Some More Than Others' from Live 85 (1988)
33. This Kind of Punishment, 'North Head' from 5 by Four (1985)
34. This Kind of Punishment, 'Out Of My Hands' from Live 85 (1988)
35. This Kind of Punishment, 'Immigration Song' from In The Same Room (1986)
36. This Kind of Punishment, 'Overground In China' from In The Same Room (1986)
37. This Kind of Punishment, 'On Various Days' from In The Same Room (1986)
38. This Kind of Punishment, 'Don't Go' from In The Same Room (1986)
39. This Kind of Punishment, 'Words Fail Me' from In The Same Room (1986)
40. This Kind of Punishment, 'Reaching an End' from Killing Capitalism With Kindness Box Set (rec 1986, rel 1992)
41. Peter Jefferies & Jono Lonie, 'Thief With The Silver' from At Swim Two Birds (1987)
42. Peter Jefferies & Jono Lonie, 'Where The Flies Sleep' from At Swim Two Birds (1987)
43. Peter Jefferies & Jono Lonie, 'Piano (two)' from At Swim Two Birds (1987)
44. Graeme Jefferies, 'All The Colours Run Dry' from Messages for the Cakekitchen (1987)
45. Graeme Jefferies, 'Prisoner Of A Single Passion' from Messages for the Cakekitchen (1987)
46. Graeme Jefferies, 'Nothing That's New' from Messages for the Cakekitchen (1987)
47. Graeme Jefferies, 'The Simple Tapestry Of Fate' from Messages for the Cakekitchen (1987)
48. Graeme Jefferies, 'The Cardhouse' from Messages for the Cakekitchen (1987)
49. Graeme Jefferies, 'Is The Timing Wrong?' from Messages for the Cakekitchen (1987)

50. Shayne Carter & Peter Jefferies, 'Randolph's Going Home' from 7" (1987)
51. Jay Clarkson & Breathing Cage, 'Raise The Glass' from Spilt Milk (rec 1987, rel 2006)
52. Plagal Grind, 'Vincent' from S/T EP (1990)
53. Plagal Grin, 'Starless Road' from S/T EP (1990)
54. Alastair Galbraith & Graeme Jefferies, 'Timebomb' from Timebomb 7" (1989)
55. Alastair Galbraith & Graeme Jefferies, 'Bravely Bravely' from Timebomb 7" (1989)
56. Peter Jefferies & Robbie Muir, 'Catapult' from Catapult/ Carbine 7" (1989)
57.Peter Jefferies & Robbie Muir, 'The Fate of the Human Carbine' from Catapult/ Carbine 7" (1989)
58. The Cakekitchen, 'Dave the Pimp' from s/t EP (1990)
59. The Cakekitchen, 'Silence of the Sirens', from s/t EP (1990)
60. The Cakekitchen, 'Airships' from Xpressway Pileup comp (rec 1988, rel 1990)
61. Peter Jefferies, 'Chain or Reaction' from The Last Great Challenge in a Dull World (1990)
62. Peter Jefferies, 'Domesticia' from The Last Great Challenge in a Dull World (1990)
63. Peter Jefferies, 'On an Unknown Beach' from The Last Great Challenge in a Dull World (1990)
64. Peter Jefferies, 'Guided Tour of a Well Known Street' from The Last Great Challenge in a Dull World (1990)
65. Peter Jefferies, 'The Last Great Challenge in a Dull World' from The Last Great Challenge in a Dull World (1990)
66. Peter Jefferies, 'While I've Been Waiting' from The Last Great Challenge in a Dull World (1990)
67. Peter Jefferies, 'Neither Do I' from The Last Great Challenge in a Dull World (1990)
68. Peter Jefferies, 'The Other Side of Reason' from The Last Great Challenge in a Dull World (1990)
69. Peter Jefferies, 'Listening In'  from The Last Great Challenge in a Dull World (1990)

If this is goodbye I just know I'm going to cry / If I jerk the handle you'll die in your dreams : scott walker

The astonishing nature of the progression of Scott Walker's work from the singer's early teen-idol days to the bracing singular sounds of the most recent work is well noted. But the release of a new Scott album is a great opportunity to run through it once more... so here's the traditional Avant Gardening dense rundown through the whole career, in a "fun pop time" Dunedin-summer celebration of Scott which runs, as is traditional, a bit... er... longer than the requisite couple of hours...

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Playlist:

1. The Walker Brothers, 'Make it Easy on Yourself' (single, 1965)
2. The Walker Brothers, 'The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore' (single, 1966)
3. Scott Walker, 'Montague Terrace (in Blue)', from Scott (1967)
4. Scott Walker, 'My Death', from Scott (1967)
5. Scott Walker, 'Always Coming Back to You', from Scott (1967)
6. Scott Walker, 'Amsterdam', from Scott (1967)
7. Scott Walker, 'Jackie', from Scott 2 (1968)
8. Scott Walker, 'Best of Both Worlds', from Scott 2 (1968)
9. Scott Walker, 'Next', from Scott 2 (1968)
10. Scott Walker, 'Plastic Palace People', from Scott 2 (1968)
11. Scott Walker, 'Windows of the World', from Scott 2 (1968)
12. Scott Walker, 'It's Raining Today', from Scott 3 (1969)
13. Scott Walker, 'Copenhagen', from Scott 3 (1969)
14. Scott Walker, 'Two Ragged Soldiers', from Scott 3 (1969)
15. Scott Walker, '30 Century Man', from Scott 3 (1969)
16. Scott Walker, 'Sons Of', from Scott 3 (1969)
17. Scott Walker, 'Funeral Tango', from Scott 3 (1969)
18. Scott Walker, 'If You Go Away', from Scott 3 (1969)
19. Scott Walker, 'The Seventh Seal', from Scott 4 (1969)
20. Scott Walker, 'On Your Own Again', from Scott 4 (1969)
22. Scott Walker, 'Boy Child', from Scott 4 (1969)
21. Scott Walker, 'The World's Strongest Man', from Scott 4 (1969)
23. Scott Walker, 'The Old Man's Back Again', from Scott 4 (1969)
24. Scott Walker, 'Duchess', from Scott 4 (1969)
25. Scott Walker, 'Little Things That Keep Us Together', from Til The Band Comes In (1970)
26. Scott Walker, 'Time Operator', from Til The Band Comes In (1970)
27. Scott Walker, 'The War is Over (Epilogue)', from Til The Band Comes In (1970)
28. Scott Walker, 'Long About Now',  from Til The Band Comes In (1970)
29. The Walker Brothers, 'Orpheus' from Images (1967)
30. Scott Walker, 'Mrs Murphy' from Solo John/ Solo Scott split 7" (1966)
31. Scott Walker, 'The Plague' B-side from Jackie 7" (1967)
32. Scott Walker, 'The Ballad of Sacco and Vanzetti' from The Moviegoer (1972)
33. Scott Walker, 'The Rope and The Colt' from The Rope and the Colt OST (1969)
34. The Walker Brothers, 'Lines' from Lines (1976)
35. The Walker Brothers, 'No Regrets' from No Regrets (1975)
36. The Walker Brothers, 'Shutout' from Nite Flights (1978)
37. The Walker Brothers, 'Fat Mama Kicks' from Nite Flights (1978)
38. The Walker Brothers, 'Nite Flights' from Nite Flights (1978)
39. The Walker Brothers, 'The Electrician' from Nite Flights (1978) 
40. Scott Walker, 'Rawhide' from Climate of Hunter (1984)
41. Scott Walker, 'Three' from Climate of Hunter (1984)
42. Scott Walker, 'Sleepwalker's Woman' from Climate of Hunter (1984)
43. Scott Walker, 'Blanket Roll Blues'from Climate of Hunter (1984)
44. Scott Walker, 'Farmer in the City' from Tilt (1995)
45. Scott Walker, 'Cockfighter'from Tilt (1995)
46. Scott Walker, 'Bouncer See Bouncer' from Tilt (1995)
47. Scott Walker, 'Patriot (A Single)'from Tilt (1995)
48. Scott Walker, 'Rosary' from Tilt (1995)
49. Ute Lemper, 'Lullably (by-by-by) from Scott Walker compilation Five Easy Pieces (rec 2000)
50. Scott Walker, 'River of Blood' from Pola X OST (1999)
51. Scott Walker, 'The Darkest Forest' from Pola X OST (1999)
52. Scott Walker, 'Cossacks Are' from The Drift (2006)
53. Scott Walker, 'Clara' from The Drift (2006)
54. Scott Walker, 'Jolson and Jones' from The Drift (2006)
55. Scott Walker, 'Psiroatic' from The Drift (2006)
56. Scott Walker, 'A Lover Loves' from The Drift (2006)
57. Scott Walker, 'Part 1' from And Who Shall Go To The Ball? And What Shall Go To The Ball? (2007)
58. Scott Walker, ' 'See You Don't Bump His Head' ' from Bish Bosch (2012)
59. Scott Walker, 'SDSS14+3B (Zircon, A Flagpole Sitter)' from Bish Bosch (2012)
60. Scott Walker, 'Dimple' from Bish Bosch (2012)
61. Scott Walker, 'The Day The "Conducator" Died (An Xmas Song)' from Bish Bosch (2012)

too hot to be cool / psych thing: the puddle, george and ian henderson, part #1

"The words and the music/ don't mean a thing/ listen to the rhythm/ listen to us singing"
- Lacsydaisical

"We were trying to impress god and the devil at the same time - hardly the epitome of cool"
- Too Hot to be Cool

Over the almost 30 years they've been in (somewhat irregular) existence, George D. Henderson and his band The Puddle have presented a rich array of different identities, to the extent that taking a genre-perspective on the work is comprehensively confounding. From mid-80s origins as a kind of orchestral-psychedelic band through to a current active life as a likeably ramshackle but precise indie pop band (organised with efficiency and care by Henderson's younger brother Ian, making an international and parallel name for himself with his curation of the Fishrider label), the band has generally followed a set of ideals and ideas all their own. The unifying line-through might be the combination of George's acutely intelligent songwriting and a capacity to re-invent and revive the band within both the usual and some quite novel constraints, be they financial, technical, emotional or intellectual.

Tonight Avant Gardening presents the first of a comprehensive two-episode trip through the musical history of the Henderson brothers, ranging from art-rock home experiments (as Crazy Ole and the Panthers) in Invercargill in the early 70s through George's days in Wellington and Christchurch with the And Band and Spies, to the various lineups of the Dunedin-based Puddle, from the 80s big psychedelic band, through 90s pop versions, through to the current day stable line-up featuring the two Hendersons along with Gavin Shaw and Alan Starret.

The first part concentrates on the 70s and 80s, featuring copious rare and unreleased recordings.

Part 1.
 
Part 2.
 

Part 3.
 

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Playlist:

1. The Puddle, 'Let's Go' from Live at the Teddy Bear Club (rec 1986, rel 1991)
2. The Puddle, 'Into the Moon' from Into the Moon (1992)
3. Crazy Ole and the Panthers, 'Science Fiction' (rec 1975)
4. Crazy Ole and the Panthers, 'This For You' (rec 1975)
5. Crazy Ole and the Panthers, 'Guitar Thing' (rec 1975)
6. Crazy Ole and the Panthers, 'Rattlesnake Jive' (rec 1975)
7. Spies, 'Birdsong' (rec 1979)
8. Spies, 'Cats Keep Falling' (rec 1979)
9. Spies, 'Lacsydaisical' (rec 1979)
10. The And Band, 'Dr Brill' (rec 1981)
11. The And Band, 'Lollipop Man' (rec 1981)
12. The And Band, 'We Are Right' (rec 1981)
13. The And Band, 'Interstellar Gothic' from spilt 7" with Perfect Strangers (1981)
14. The And Band, 'Go Through Hell' (rec 1981)
15. The And Band, 'Cloudy Old Day' (rec 1981)
16. George and Ian Henderson, 'Weight of the Stars' (rec 1983)
17. The Puddle, 'Billie and Franz' (rec live 1985)
18. The Puddle, 'Interstellar Gothic' (rec live 1985)

[plus bonus tracks.]

fragments of a broken glass / endless descent: suishou no fune

Fusing the classic japanese psych sound with an almost shoe-gaze fuzzy introversion, Suishou no Fune are based around Pirako Kurenui and Kageo, often as a duo, sometimes with the addition of a drummer. Moving slowly between glacial drifts and dense swells of noise with an unusual ability in the genre to generate pretty vocal melodies to ride through lengthy passages. Active since the early 2000s - and frequent world travellers, like many of the newer generations of Japanese psych musicians - and with a large body of recorded output, both self-released and through the international psych underground. Generally tending towards a moderately lengthy duration of build up of sound and emotion, Avant Gardening could go on for a while tonight...

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Playlist:

1. Suishou No Fune - 'Your Tears Drop From The Sky' from The Shining Star (2007)
2. Suishou No Fune - 'Entrance to the Labyrinth' from The Gold Labyrinth (2008)
3. Suishou No Fune - 'Fragments of a Broken Glass' from The Gold Labyrinth (2008)
4. Suishou No Fune - 'Endless Descent' from I Throw A Stone into Endless Depths (2007)
5. Suishou No Fune - 'Uzume' from Mystic Atmosphere (2008)
6. Suishou No Fune - 'A Midnight Ode - Like the Wind' from Writhing Underground Flowers (2007)
7. Suishou No Fune - 'Go Go Go' from Live 2002 - 2003 (2003)
8. Suishou No Fune - 'Black Phantom' from Suishou No Fune (2005)
9. Suishou No Fune - 'The Storm of Light - Cherry' from The Shining Star (2007)
10. Suishou No Fune - 'Resurrection Night' from Prayer For Chibi (2008)
11. Suishou No Fune - 'I Descend into the Oasis of Your Eyes' from I Throw A Stone into Endless Depths (2007)
12. Suishou No Fune - 'A Rose Bloomed' from Where The Spirits Are (2006)

journey through an elemental kingdom / i'm gonna take you home: father yod / yahowa and the source

"Periodically there appears in ten year cycles a musical phenomenon that best the age and times we live. YAHOWHA 13 is a culmination, a peaking of meaningful musical expression that occurred in the past two decades. Our music cannot be related, however, to anything that has sounded in the past.
The intensity and life within the sound YAHOWHA is beyond imagination and, foremost, beyond assimilation (for now). There is no in-between ground, you either love it or hate it. You might say it's something like a Picasso painting… well, that's not a good comparison either, for this music makes sense. , in fact, almost  too much sense. It's so far ahead of its time that its intensity is jarring to the senses. It is this very fact which makes it so unforgettable. There is a saying among those who have listened to YAHOWHA 13's "PENETRATION" three times --- that the listener finds it impossible to listen to any other sound after that.
All other sound pales into insignificant expression of what should be vital expression. YAHOWHA 13 points up dramatically the lack in our music today. In a very short time now YAHOWHA 13 will be the last note to be sounded on the Planet Goddess Earth.
Hearing is Believing.
In Cosmic Harmony."
- Yahowha 13/ Higher Key Records press release


Tonight we dip a tentative toe into the deep, murky waters of one of the foremost bodies of work in the "religious cult music" category, with a visit to the Source led by self proclaimed manifestation of god, Yahowa or Father Yod, an LA based community centred around a wholefood restaurant and commune, preaching a (surprisingly media savvy) version of Aquarian bliss with a striking soundtrack... ranging from tribal outsider bursts and rushes through solid west coast garage rock (featuring Sky Saxon from the Seeds of Pushing Too Far fame) to some gorgeously wracked chant and roll exorcisms.  Despite the diverse array of music and the whole project's outsider/ cult vibe, this is surprisingly full, emotional and impressively consistent body of work...

"The story of Father Yod begins sometime in 1969. Tom Baker was a middle aged follower of the Yogi Bhajan  a kundali yoga master and health food prophet who came to the U.S. on the heels of the Maharishi. Mr. Baker became disenchanted when Mr. Bhajan declared that he was not god, so Mr. Baker decided to assume the mantle. He soon gathered a group of acolytes named "The Source" and opened a health food restaurant in the Laurel Canyon section of Hollywood called The Aware Inn.

Dubbing himself Father Yod (later changed to Yahowha), Mr. Baker espoused a philosophy based on kindness to animals, a fruit heavy diet, the wearing of cotton clothes, and sex without orgasm.

Then, on August 25, 1975, Yahowa decided he wanted to go hang gliding. He'd never done it before, but he was adamant, so the family went along with it. He took a short flight, landed badly and broke his back. He refused medication, asking instead for massages and salt packs. He died after about nine hours. Following his instructions, the family gave him an enema, lit incense, and chanted for three days before they called authorities to remove his heat bloated corpse. Another rumor has persisted that Yahowa was stuffed and mounted in the family's house, but it seems more likely that he was cremated." - Byron Coley

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Playlist:

1. Ya Ho Wha 13 - 'Yod He Vau He' from Penetration an Aquarian Symphony (1974)
2. 'Sky Sunlight Saxon Speaking Directly to the Earth Aquarian Family' from God and Hair CD Box (1998)
3. Ya Ho Wa 13 - 'Little Doggie' from Ya Ho Wha 13 (1974)
4. Ya Ho Wa 13 - 'Kind of Depressing' from Ya Ho Wha 13 (1974)
5. Ya Ho Wa 13 - 'A Thousand Sighs' from Savage Sons of Ya Ho Wa (1974)
6. Ya Ho Wa 13 - 'Making a Dollar' from Savage Sons of Ya Ho Wa (1974)
7. Ya Ho Wa 13 - First side (untitled) from To the Principles for the Children (1975)
8. Ya Ho Wa 13 - 'Four' from I'm Gonna Take You Home (1974)
9. Ya Ho Wa 13 - 'Five' from I'm Gonna Take You Home (1974)
10. Fire, Water, Air - 'Wolf Pack' from Golden Sunrise (1977)
11. Yodship - 'Suite Two' from Yodship (1979)
12. Father Yod and the Spirit of 76 - Untitled second side from Kohoutek (1973)
13. Fire, Water, Air - 'We Are Atlanteans' from God and Hair CD Box (1998)
14. Fire, Water, Air - 'Chant/ Chant/ Don't Give Up The Ship/ Chant' from God and  Hair CD Box (1998)
15. Ya Ho Wha 13 - 'Ya Ho Wha' from Penetration an Aquarian Symphony (1974)
16. Yodship - 'Suite One' from Yodship (1979)
17. Fire, Water, Air - 'Celebration' from Golden Sunrise (1977)
18.  Ya Ho Wha 13 - 'Journey Through an Elemental Kingdom' from Penetration an Aquarian Symphony (1974)
19. Ya Ho Wa 13 - Second side (untitled) from To the Principles for the Children (1975)

networks of foam / i want more: can's 'the lost tapes' and beyond...

2012 has seen the first comprehensive and official trawl through one of the most legendary bodies of lost musical work in recent history: the supposed "mountain of tapes" recorded by Can at their rehearsal/ living space at Weilerswurst between 1968 and 1977 and still presumably buried away somewhere... Well it turned out to be four filing cabinets full, from which keyboardist Irmin Schmidt and and his son in law Jono Podmore assembled a pretty stellar collection of unheard tracks, most of which have never been heard before.
But Can were always a pretty comprehensively and interestingly bootlegged band. Tonight Avant Gardening takes a trip through both the recently rediscovered and some of the still grey-area-only corners of this most stellar and organic of bands.

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Playlist:

1. Can, 'Waiting for the Streetcar' from the Lost Tapes (2012)
2. Can, 'Abra Cada Braxas' from the Lost Tapes (2012)
3. Can, 'Networks of Foam' from the Lost Tapes (2012)
4. Can, 'Midnight Sky' from the Lost Tapes (2012)
5. Can, 'Millionspiel' from the Lost Tapes (2012)
6. Can, 'E.F.S 108'' from the Lost Tapes (2012)
7. Can, 'Private Nocturnal' from the Lost Tapes (2012)
8. Can, 'Dead Pigeon Suite' from the Lost Tapes (2012)
9. Can, 'Tape Kebab' from The Peel Sessions 73-75 (1995)
10. Can, 'Kama Sutra 1' from Unopened (date unknown)
11. Can, 'Kama Sutra 2' from Unopened (date unknown)
12. Can, 'Outside my Door' from Unopened (date unknown)
13. Can with Tim Hardin, 'Soundcheck' from Outtake Edition (date unknown)
14. Can with Phew, 'I'm Your Doll' from Outtake Edition (date unknown)
15. Can with Phew, 'Hot Day in Koln' from Outtake Edition (date unknown)
16. Can, 'Up The Bakerloo Line With Anne' from The Peel Sessions 73-75 (1995)
17. Can, '15:40 (side 1)' from Prehistoric Future (date unknown)
18. Can, 'Moving Slowly' from Unopened (date unknown)
19. Can, 'When Darkness Comes from the Lost Tapes (2012)
20. Can, 'Midnight Men' from the Lost Tapes (2012)
21. Can, 'Messer Scissors Fork and Light' from the Lost Tapes (2012)
22. Can, 'Blind Mirror Surf' from the Lost Tapes (2012)
23. Can, 'On the way to Mother Sky' from the Lost Tapes (2012)
24. Can, 'One More Saturday Night' from the Lost Tapes (2012)
25. Can, 'Graublau' from the Lost Tapes (2012)
26. Can, 'True Story' from the Lost Tapes (2012)
27. Can, 'Bubble Rap' from the Lost Tapes (2012)
28. Can, 'Your Friendly Neighbourhood Whore' from the Lost Tapes (2012)
29. Can, 'Obscura Primavera' from the Lost Tapes (2012)

lie still, sleep becalmed / and yet the sea is not full: the lost domain

"The greatest rock and roll group in Australia" - Jon Dale

"The Lost Domain were and are one of Australia’s best kept secrets, the centre of gravity for a whole scene... who re-wrote the free rock manifesto as radically as The Dead C. " - David Keenan, Volcanic Tongue

Brisbane's The Lost Domain (and the sometimes confusing circle of bands around them, especially their earlier 90s iteration,  Invisible Empire) represent one of the more fertile and dense canons in Antipodean music, but its not exactly as well known a story as it would otherwise be.
A comparison to what  (along with David Keenan above) I'd peg as their closest contemporaries at the time, the Dead C - who were glibly speaking, noise rock in the same way that the Lost Domain could be glibly described as noise blues, and had a similar longevity - is interesting in so far as it demonstrates the startling range of the Domain (and also perhaps the networking and positioning skill of the Dead C's Bruce Russell.)
Over the twenty year lifespan of the band - or more precisely perhaps the core creative relationship of mainstays guitarist John Henry Calvinist (David MacKinnon) and singer Ragtime Frank (Simon Ellaby) - they created essentially a new idiom for dealing with their view of the history of music, applying a combination of an intense and scholarly study of music history filtered through post punk performance and what the band describe as "mood disorders".
David MacKinnon died this week after a two year battle with cancer. 

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Playlist:

1. The Lost Domain, 'At Sea The Storm' from Sailor Home From The Sea (2004)
2. John Henry Calvinist, 'In The Rigging' from King Solomon Hill (2006)
3. The Lost Domain, 'And Yet The Sea Is Not Full (excerpt)' from And Yet The Sea Is Not Full (2003)
4. The Lost Domain, 'Lie Still, Sleep Becalmed (excerpt)' from Lie Still, Sleep Becalmed (2007)
5. The Lost Domain (Invisible Empire), 'Requiem For The Slow Drag' from Blondes Chew More Gum (1995, re released 2011)
6. The Lost Domain (Invisible Empire), 'Indian Pacific' from Blondes Chew More Gum (1995, re released 2011)
7. The Lost Domain, 'Sun House ii' from An Unnatural Act (1990, re released 2006)
8. The Lost Domain, 'Fuck the White Race' from An Unnatural Act (1990, re released 2006)
9. The Lost Domain, 'Suicide Drive' from An Unnatural Act (1990, re released 2006)
10. The Lost Domain, 'Death Funk' from Wayouthere (2006)
11. The Lost Domain, 'Guilty' from From Son to Sun (2002)
12. The Lost Domain, 'Two Trains Running' from White Man At The Door (2006)
13. Two Poor Boys, 'Casey Jones' from The Dead Set (2006)
14. The Lost Domain, 'Stack O'Lee' from The Empire Never Ended (1999)
15. John Henry Calvinist, 'Broken on the Wheel' from Shackles First To Fit (1993, re released 2000)
16. John Henry Calvinist, 'Hospital' from Shackles First To Fit (1993, re released 2000)
17. The Lost Domain, 'Pearline' from White Man At The Door (2006)
18. The Lost Domain, 'In My Time of Dying' from White Man At The Door (2006)
19. The Lost Domain, 'Alain Fournier's Dream' from Alain Fournier's Dream (2002)
20. Grubbage, 'Chicken Wire' from Pie-Eyed and Mulish (1995)
21. Neil Armstrong Experience, 'Down in the Hole (excerpt)' from Now Wait For Last Year (2000)
22. The Lost Domain, 'The New South' from Blondes Chew More Gum (1995, re released 2011)
23. The Lost Domain, 'Pearline' from The Empire Never Ended (1999)
24. The Lost Domain, 'Prayer of Death' from Blondes Chew More Gum (1995, re released 2011)
25. The Lost Domain, 'Indian War Whoop II' from Blondes Chew More Gum (1995, re released 2011)
26. The Lost Domain, 'Air' from Blondes Chew More Gum (1995, re released 2011)
27. The Lost Domain, 'Memorium' from The Dead Set (1995)
28. The Lost Domain, 'Second Mystery' from The Mystery of the Lost Domain (2008)
29. The Lost Domain, '(On) The Waterfront' from Sailor Home From The Sea (2004)
30. The Lost Domain, 'Night Boat' from Sailor Home From The Sea (2004)
31. The Lost Domain, 'Boll Weevil' from White Man At The Door (2006)
32. The Lost Domain, 'Funeral March for Charley Patton' from An Unnatural Act (1990, re released 2006)
33. The Lost Domain, 'Last Go Round' from Blondes Chew More Gum (1995, re released 2011)
34. The Lost Domain, 'Sun Zoom Stomp' from The Empire Never Ended (1999)
35. The Lost Domain, 'The Wall in the Window' from An Unnatural Act (1990, re released 2006)
36. The Lost Domain, 'Indian War Whoop I' from Blondes Chew More Gum (1995, re released 2011)
37. The Lost Domain, 'Frankie and Albert' from White Man At The Door (2006)
38. The Lost Domain, '(I Walk a) Lonely Avenue' from Blondes Chew More Gum (1995, re released 2011)

'your typos leak wisdom' / sound poetry #3 : cris cheek, orchid tierney

tonight Dunedin-based appropriative poet Orchid Tierney joins us in the studio, to give us an insight into her practice and research, which has included twitterbot textual appropriative works, translating the Treaty of Waitangi into morse code, and Bracchiation, her chapbook with Gumtree Press. Orchid will treat us to a reading of recent sound / text works, and associated speculations on poetic practice.

while on a recent holiday in New Zealand, renowned British live artist and sound poetry practitioner cris cheek talked to Avant Gardening about everything from the Baltimore scene of the 70s and 80s, DIY aesthetics, artist book making, concrete poetry using live crabs, the vibrant sound poetics scene and associated interdisciplinary cross-pollinations, the tape recorder vs. live voice and physical presence, how he came to be involved with Bob Cobbing’s famous Writers Forum Workshop, thoughts on the ‘Poesie Sonore’ of Henri Chopin, performance art, his disinclination toward British male pub poetry, and the New York Occupy movement’s use of media. we also replay a poetry reading cris gave at the Circadian Rhythm café in Dunedin, introduced by Otago University English department academic Jacob Edmond.

we end the show with a polyvocal perfomance by Avant Gardening co-hosts Sally Ann McIntyre and Campbell Walker, of a concrete poetry text / artist book by Campbell Walker, The Crime LINKS in the Smoke. The book is a reworking of burnt pages of destroyed detective fiction collected from the floor of Princes St. second-hand bookstore Raven Books, where both McIntyre and Walker once worked, on the 1st anniversary of the fire that destroyed both the bookstore and its c.1870s building. The Crime LINKS in the Smoke is a work made for The Rose Collection, Scott Flanagan’s artist book project forming part of his exhibition Do You Remember Me Like I Do? exhibited at the Christchurch Art Gallery’s offsite space, in the NG building, Christchurch, until 23 September 2012.

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Playlist :

1. reading by Orchid Tierney, of 4 poems : Se -Or Sy : In, Going with the Flashy, Emily Dickinson 1., and Full., live in the Radio One studio.
2. reading by cris cheek at Circadian Rhythm cafe, Dunedin, 18 July 2012.
3. interview with cris cheek, 20 July 2012, conducted at 1/367 High St., Dunedin.
4. Campbell Walker and Sally Ann McIntyre, The Crime LINKS in the Smoke, recorded august 2012.

a long losing battle with eloquence and intimance/ once i was not: the music of dredd foole

"The terms used for experimental folk music in recent years-- "free folk," "psych folk," "freak folk"-- have been stretched so thin, they've lost a lot of their meaning. But one, "New Weird America," has held some water. That's because when David Keenan coined the phrase in the August 2003 issue of The Wire, he meant it less as a style than a region-- a specific collective of Northeastern artists centered around the Brattleboro Free Folk Festival in Vermont. Getting even more specific, Keenan noted that most of this group were influenced by one particular record: Dredd Foole's 1994 classic In Quest of Tense." - Marc Masters

Dredd Foole aka Dan Ireton has been making increasingly singular noises at the periphery of American music since the late 1960s. His recorded output starts with the furious punk energy of his early 80s band, Dredd Foole and the Din, who released two albums featuring members of Mission of Burma and Volcano Suns. Those records - fierce electric cathartic exorcisms driven along by Ireton's shouts, screams and gurgles -  still stand out as extremes of the US post punk period, but the subsequent album, In Quest of Tense, released more than a decade later, is the one that Foole is most remembered for now. Never a big seller, but an album as dense in influence as it is in sound, Tense is a cloudy thicket of reverb, extended vocal techniques played for extended periods, long drifting and deeply emotional improvised song structures built from invisible and often inscrutable sources. It wasn't awfully like anything before it - if pushed you could cite the emotional cathartic explorations of Jandek, the vocal explorations of Tim Buckley or Simon Finn along with a lot of swirling psychedelic murk. At the time, it fell into something of a hole, but the people who picked up on it obviously kept it, because by the early 2000s Foole was one of the central figures of what has become know - as Masters cites above - as the New Weird America - a form combining explorations of sound that are decidedly experimental with elements of Americana and an outdoors/ ritualistic focus.

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Playlist :

1. Dredd Foole and the Din, 'It All Ends Here' from Eat my Dust and Cleanse My Soul (1985)
2. Dredd Foole and the Din, 'Sanctuary' from Songs in Heat EP  (1982)
3. Dredd Foole and the Din, 'I'm Crying' from Eat my Dust and Cleanse My Soul (1985)
4. Dredd Foole and the Din, 'So Strange' from Take Your Skin Off (1987)
5. Dredd Foole, 'Glory' from In Quest of Tense (1995)
6. Dredd Foole, 'Turn Turn (Turn)' from In Quest of Tense (1995)
7. Dredd Foole, 'Dog Star Waltz' from Kissing the Contemporary Bliss (2004)
8. Dredd Foole, 'Stones in my Passway' from Kissing the Contemporary Bliss (2004)
9. Dredd Foole, 'It's Ugly(But Its Free)' from A Long Losing Battle with Eloquence and Intimance (2005)
10. Dredd Foole, 'A Feeble Light' from A Long Losing Battle with Eloquence and Intimance (2005)
11. Dredd Foole, 'Freedom' from Daze on the Mounts(2004)
12. Dredd Foole, 'Signed D.C.' from Daze on the Mounts(2004)
13. Dredd Foole, 'Sister Ray (featuring Dr E'Weerd Yijji)'  from Blues Sermon With Congregation/ Heroine Celestial Architecture Vol 2 "digital 78" (2004)
14. Dredd Foole and the Din, 'People are Strange' from Eat my Dust and Cleanse My Soul (1985)
15. Dredd Foole and the Din, 'Ghost Rider' from Ghost Rider/ Frankie Teardrop cs (2006) 
16. Dredd Foole and the Din, 'Frankie Teardrop' from Ghost Rider/ Frankie Teardrop cs (2006)

sound poetry #2 : some avant gardes

For programme no.#2 of our four part sound poetry series, Avant Gardening traces a wandering path through the wider expanded field of experimental sound/voice in 20th century avant garde artistic practices and speculates on their effect on the forms of noise and voice found in poetic sound work, and poetries that emphasise the corporeality of reading and performativity. such 20th century historic avant garde language experiments include early dadaist experiments in language cut ups and explorations in destroying the linear sense of language via the public performance of 'nonsense' sounds, through john cage and jackson maclow's interest in re-composing (or "writing through") other texts via the i ching and mesostics, to the fluxus interest in language as 'prose score'. Along the way we listen to such singularly uncompromising audio pieces as Yoko Ono's 'Cough Piece', Kurt Schwitters' 'Ursonate (as read toward a somewhat airless perfection by Jaap Blonk), Joseph Beuys' c.1968 mantric tape piece Ja Ja Ja Nee Nee Nee (in its entirety), and the 1963 radio play by Swedish artist Öyvind Fahlström, 'Fåglar i Sverige' ('Birds in Sweden'), the most sustained foregrounding of his experiments in creating new languages: 'birdo', based on American bird sounds, and 'fåglo', based on Swedish bird sounds.

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Playlist :

1. Hugo Ball, 'Karawane', from Dada for Now
2. Hugo Ball 'Wolken', from Dada for Now
3. Raoul Hausmann, 'Scoundrel', from Dada for Now
4. Kurt Schwitters 'Ursonate (Dritter Teil)', from Ursonate
5. Jaap Blonk, 'Ursonate (Erster Teil)', from Ursonate
6. John Cage, 'Mureau'
7. John Cage, 'Song, Derived from the Journals of Henri David Thoreau'
8. John Cage, Writing for the Second Time Through Finnegan's Wake'
9. Jackson Mac Low, from Open Secrets
10. Jackson Mac Low, from Open Secrets
11. Dick Higgins, 'Omnia Gallia', from Fluxus Anthology 30th Anniversary 1962-1992 
12. Yoko Ono, 'Lennon',
13. Yoko Ono, 'Cough Piece', taken from UbuWeb/Penn Sound Archive
14. Takehisa Kosugi, '75 Letters and Improvisation', from A Chance Operation, the John Cage Tribute (Disc 2)
15. William S Burroughs, 'Present Time Exercises', from Break Through in Grey Room
16. William S Burroughs, 'Origin and Theory of the Tape Cut Up', from Break Through in Grey Room
17. bpNichol, 'The Alphabet Game', from Ear Rational : Sound Poems 1966 - 1980
18. bpNichol, 'White Text Sure: Version 1', from Ear Rational : Sound Poems 1966 - 1980
19. Maurizio Nanucci, 'Cut Music - number 9', from Sound Poetry Today
20. Valeri Scherstjanoi, 'Trecho de Improvisation', from Sound Poetry Today
21. Arrigo Lora-Totino, 'Chiacchere', from Fylkingen Text-Sound Festivals - 10 Years
22. Charles Amirkhanian, 'Dzarim Bess Ga Korim', from Fylkingen Text-Sound Festivals - 10 Years
23. Ake Hodell, 'The Voyage to Labrador', from Fylkingen Text-Sound Festivals - 10 Years
24. Sten Hanson 'Au', from Fylkingen Text-Sound Festivals - 10 Years
25. Öyvind Fahlström, 'Fåglar i Sverige'
26. Joseph Beuys,  'Ja Ja Ja Nee Nee Nee'

sound poetry #1 : henri chopin, bob cobbing

"When I put the microphone into the mouth I have simultaneously five sounds: the air and the liquid in the mouth, the respiration in the nose, the air between each tooth and the respiration in the lungs … In 1974 I put into my stomach a very small microphone and it was a discovery – the body is always like a factory! It never stops – there’s no silence!" 
- Henri Chopin

Part one of Avant Gardening's exploration of the roots of audio poetry takes in aspects of the oevres of two prolific giants of the genre, Henri Chopin and Bob Cobbing, placing them within the context of the great flourishing of interest in intermedia, performance, the body and the associated topographic and sonic poetry explorations of the mid 20th century.

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Playlist :

1. Henri Chopin, 'Rouge', from Audiopoems
2. Henri Chopin, 'Extrême Tension' from Futura : Poesia Sonora compilation (1978)
3. Henri Chopin, 'La Civilisation Du Papier' from Futura : Poesia Sonora compilation (1978)
4. Henri Chopin, 'Hoppa Bock' from Audiopoems
5. Henri Chopin, 'Pêche De Nuit', from Audiopoems
6. Henri Chopin, 'Tête À Tête' from Audiopoems
7. Henri Chopin, 'L'Agrippe Des Droits', from Audiopoems
8. Henry Chopin & Bob Cobbing, 'Refreshment Break', from Miniatures compilation (1980)
9. Bob Cobbing, 'Blotting Music' from Oral Complex at the L.M.C. (Writers Forum Cassette No. 4) (1983)
10. Bob Cobbing, 'Trigram' from Oral Complex at the L.M.C. (Writers Forum Cassette No. 4) (1983)
11. Birdyak (Bob Cobbing & Hugh Metcalfe), 'Destruction in Art (Glasgow)', from Aberration (1988)
12. Birdyak (Bob Cobbing & Hugh Metcalfe), 'Destruction in Art (Aberystwyth)', from Aberration (1988)
13. Bob Cobbing, 'A Sandwich Poem, Consisting Of A Poem For Voice And Mandolin And Poem For Gillian', from Experiments In Disintegrating Language / Konkrete Canticle (1971)
14. Bob Cobbing, 'As Easy', from Text-Sound Compositions: A Stockholm Festival (1970)
15. Bob Cobbing, 'Hymn to the Sacred Mushroom', from Experiments In Disintegrating Language / Konkrete Canticle (1971)
16. Bob Cobbing, 'Ga(il s)o(ng)', from Experiments In Disintegrating Language / Konkrete Canticle (1971)
17. Bob Cobbing, 'Whisper Piece No. 4 "Whississippi"', from Text-Sound Compositions: A Stockholm Festival 
18. Bob Cobbing, 'Suesequence', from Experiments In Disintegrating Language / Konkrete Canticle (1971)
19. Bob Cobbing, 'Chamber Music', from Text-Sound Compositions: A Stockholm Festival
20. Bob Cobbing, 'Spontaneous Appealinair Contemprate Apollinaire', from Review OU: Cinquième Saison No 34/35 (1969)
21. Bob Cobbing, from ABC in sound (d - p - t), from Phonetische Poesie (1971)
22. Henri Chopin, '2500, les Grenouilles d'Aristophane', from Review OU: Cinquième Saison No 36/37  (1967)
23. Henri Chopin, 'Le Corps, Second Part, Brisure du Corps', from Review OU: Cinquième Saison No 30/31 
24. Henri Chopin, 'Le Corps, Third Part, Chant du Corps', from Review OU: Cinquième Saison No 30/31
25. Henri Chopin, 'Indicatif 1', from Review OU: Cinquième Saison No 26/27
26. Henri Chopin, 'La Fusée Interplanetaire' from Review OU: Cinquième Saison No 26/27
27. Henri Chopin 'Dynamisme Intégral' from Audiopoems
28. Henri Chopin, 'French Lesson' from Audiopoems
29. Henri Chopin, 'Double Extension', from Audiopoems

studies for player piano : the work of conlon nancarrow

"The expatriate American experimentalist composer Conlon Nancarrow is increasingly recognized as having one of the most innovative musical minds of this century. His music, almost all written for player piano, is the most rhythmically complex ever written, couched in intricate contrapuntal systems using up to twelve different tempos at the same time. Yet despite its complexity, Nancarrow's music drew its early influence from the jazz pianism of Art Tatum and Earl Hines and from the rhythms of Indian music; Nancarrow's whirlwinds of notes are joyously physical in their energy. Composed in almost complete isolation from 1940, this music has achieved international fame only in the last few years."
- Kyle Gann, author of The Music of Conlon Nancarrow

On the 100 year anniversary of his birth, Avant Gardening explores the work of this breathtakingly innovative, largely self taught 20th Century American composer, who lived most of his life in Mexico and famously stated he couldn't himself play the piano. The show includes excepts from a lively conversation between Nancarrow and his friend and supporter Charles Amirkhanian (himself a fascinating composer and radio-maker, who will no doubt be a subject of a future AG show), discussing the player piano as instrument, and associated musings on the connection to jazz rhythms, record collecting, mechanisation, getting rid of the performer, and "out-noting Weburn".

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Playlist:

1. Conlon Nancarrow, Contraption no.1 (1993)
2. Conlon Nancarrow, Study no. 30 for prepared piano (undated)
3. Conversation with Charles Amirkhanian (excerpt 1)
4. Conlon Nancarrow, Sonatina for Piano (1941) - Presto
5. Conlon Nancarrow, Sonatina for Piano (1941) - Moderato
6. Conlon Nancarrow, Sonatina for Piano (1941) - Allegro
7. Conversation with Charles Amirkhanian (excerpt 2)
8. Conlon Nancarrow, Study for Player Piano no. 14
9. Conlon Nancarrow, Study for Player Piano no. 18
10. Conlon Nancarrow, Study for Player Piano no. 19
11. Conversation with Charles Amirkhanian (excerpt 3)
12. Conlon Nancarrow, Para Yoko (1990)
13. Conlon Nancarrow, Study no. 50 (1991)
14. Conlon Nancarrow, Study no. 51 ("3750") (1992)
15. Conversation with Charles Amirkhanian (excerpt 4)
16. Conlon Nancarrow, Blues for Piano (1935)
17. Conlon Nancarrow, Tango?
18. Conlon Nancarrow, Piece for Tape (undated)
19. Conversation with Charles Amirkhanian (excerpt 5)
20. Conlon Nancarrow, Two-part Studies for Piano I. Presto
21. Conlon Nancarrow, Two-part Studies for Piano II. Andantino
22. Conlon Nancarrow, Two-part Studies for Piano III. Allegro
23. Conversation with Charles Amirkhanian (excerpt 6)
24. Conlon Nancarrow, Canons for Ursula I
25. Conlon Nancarrow, Canons for Ursula II
26. Conlon Nancarrow, Canons for Ursula III
27. Conversation with Charles Amirkhanian (excerpt 7)
28. Conlon Nancarrow, Study for Player Piano no. 3b
29. Conlon Nancarrow, Study for Player Piano no. 3c
30. Conlon Nancarrow, Study for Player Piano no. 3d
31. Conversation with Charles Amirkhanian (excerpt 8)
32. Conlon Nancarrow, String Quartet no. 1 (1945) - 1 - Allegro Molto
33. Conlon Nancarrow, String Quartet no. 1 (1945) - 2 - Adante Moderato
34. Conlon Nancarrow, Study for Player Piano no. 9
35. Conlon Nancarrow, Study for Player Piano no. 6
36. Conlon Nancarrow, Study for Player Piano no. 4

my hands don't sleep / forever low man : the music of jim shepard, vertical slit and v-3

"I don't watch the news. I don't read the papers. I'm not really in touch with society. I was born. I'm here, but I don't believe any of it." - Jim Shepard

Caught somewhere between the pre-punk songwriter's dream of reaching an audience, and a post-punk depressive nihilism that isn't sure whether it's worth it, the prolific output of perennial underground figure Jim Shepard oscillates between bracingly acerbic songwriting, harshly corrosive psych-rock, slow drifting drone exploration and seriously lo-fi collage. Tonight Avant Gardening strikes sparks from a 20-year career that ranges from a solitary bedroom practice in mid-70s Florida to a regular touring and membership in the lively Columbus, Ohio scene, and includes the bands Vertical Slit and V-3.

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Playlist:


1.V-3, 'Photograph Burns' from Photograph Burns (1996)
2.V-3, 'Horse Kicks' from Photograph Burns (1996)
3.Vertical Slit, 'Metal or Meat'' from Under the Blood Red Lava Lamp (1986)
4.Vertical Slit, 'Smudge' from Under the Blood Red Lava Lamp (1986)
5. Vertical Slit, 'The Dangling Thread Wraps Around My Neck' from Vertical Slit and Beyond (1990)
6. V-3, 'Bristol Girl'' from Photograph Burns (1996)
7. Jim Shepard, 'Messages from Central Cocoon' from Matter Dominates Spirit (2001)
8. V-3, 'Negotiate Nothing' from Negotiate Nothing (1992)
9. V-3, 'Forever Low Man' from Negotiate Nothing (1992)
10. V-3, 'Guitar Workout/ Treena's Strobe Light Party' from Matter Dominates Spirit (2001)
11. Vertical Slit, '6x4 F#3' from Basement 2215 (1986)
12. Vertical Slit, 'Bag of Whistle' from Basement 2215 (1986)
13. Vertical Slit, 'Cans and Chains' from Basement 2215 (1986)
14. Vertical Slit, 'Doctor Q' from Basement 2215 (1986)
15. Vertical Slit, 'New Thrill New Pill' from Basement 2215 (1986)
16. V-3, 'Russian Roulette Chinese Style' from Russian Roulette (Chinese Style) 7" (1986)
17. V-3, 'V-3 Radio (German Style)' from Russian Roulette (Chinese Style) 7" (1986)
18. V-3, 'The Process and the Details' from Russian Roulette (Chinese Style) 7" (1986)
19. V-3, 'Funky Dance Band' from Russian Roulette (Chinese Style) 7" (1986)
20. V-3, 'Russian Roulette Chinese Style (2)' from Russian Roulette (Chinese Style) 7" (1986)21. V-3, 'Radio Show Fragment from Big Wattage Station that used to play us but now they play the Indigo Grlz' from Russian Roulette (Chinese Style) 7" (1986)
22. V-3, 'Homburg' from Russian Roulette (Chinese Style) 7" (1986)
23. Vertical Slit, '6x4' from Slit and Pre-Slit (1977)
24. Vertical Slit, 'Siren Intro' from Slit and Pre-Slit (1977)
25. Vertical Slit, '6x4 F#1' from Slit and Pre-Slit (1977)
26. Vertical Slit, 'A Day at the Factory' from Slit and Pre-Slit (1977)
27. Vertical Slit, 'Greensleeves' from Slit and Pre-Slit (1977)
28. Vertical Slit, 'Canyon Girl' from Twisted Steel and the Tits of Angels (1997)
29. Vertical Slit, 'Aerial Inventory' from Twisted Steel and the Tits of Angels (1997)
30. Vertical Slit, 'Your move, China man' from Twisted Steel and the Tits of Angels (1997)
31. Vertical Slit, 'In the Shadow of Teena' from Twisted Steel and the Tits of Angels (1997)
32. Jim Shepard, 'A Streetcar Named Depression' from Picking Through the Wreckage With A Stick (1994)
33. Laquer, 'Your Leader' from Evil Love Deeper (1995)
34. V-3, 'Illogical' from Matter Dominates Spirit (2001)
35. Vertical Slit, 'I Remember Nothing' from Under the Blood Red Lava Lamp (1986)
36. Jim Shepard, 'Birthplace of Aviation' from Motorcycle Movie (1998)
37. Jim Shepard, 'Cruel Universe' from Motorcycle Movie (1998)

a lonely rough sketch / I become a lonely wind with you : morita doji

The acid folk torch songs of unlikely 70s Japanese popstar Morita Doji combine luridly, fantastically melodramatic tones with a limpid, glacial elegance, to produce a highly stylised, alarmingly beautiful songworld dominated by a mood of overwhelming, florid, dense sadness. 

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Playlist

1. Morita Doji, 'Horizon' (live version) from Tokyo Cathedral (1978)
2. Morita Doji, 'Our Failure' from Mother Sky (1976)
3. Morita Doji, 'Rainy Crawl Swimming' from Good-Bye (1975)
4. Morita Doji, 'In Early Spring' from Good-Bye (1975)
5. Morita Doji, 'Dazzling Summer' from Good-Bye (1975)
6. Morita Doji, 'Tango no Sekku "The Boy's Festival"' from Good-Bye (1975)
7. Morita Doji, 'Goodbye My Friend' from Good-Bye (1975)
8. Morita Doji, 'Back Light' from Mother Sky (1976)
9. Morita Doji, 'He Weeped For Me' from Mother Sky (1976)
10. Morita Doji, 'Letter from NY' from Mother Sky (1976)
11. Morita Doji, 'Best Spring' from Mother Sky (1976)
12. Morita Doji, 'Today is the Miracle Morning' from Mother Sky (1976)
13. Morita Doji, 'Blue Night' from A Boy (1977)
14. Morita Doji, 'I Become A Lonely Wind With You' from A Boy (1977)
15. Morita Doji, 'You Are Trembling' from A Boy (1977)
16. Morita Doji, 'The Girl of Celluloid' from A Boy (1977)
17. Morita Doji, 'A Lonely Rough Sketch' from A Boy (1977)
18. Morita Doji, 'No. 3 Finale 'Letter For My Friend''  from A Boy (1977)
19. Morita Doji, 'Rape Blossom's Light' from Last Waltz (1980)
20. Morita Doji, 'Please Answer, Green Colonel' from Last Waltz (1980)
21. Morita Doji, 'Last Waltz' from Last Waltz (1980)
22. Morita Doji, 'I Am 16 Square Shapes' from Nocturne (1982)
23. Morita Doji, 'Sympathy Night Song' from Nocturne (1982)
24. Morita Doji, 'Wolf Boy' from Wolf Boy (1983)