Sunday, May 30, 2010

I'm in the middle of a big reorganization of the distro -- taking stock, figuring out the next step. Here are some Night-People tapes:


Dead Luke - Cosmic Meltdown - Night-People
Dead Luke - Cosmic Meltdown - Night-People
I was expecting something goth-y and synth-y, so this tape was a real surprise and treat. Very realized work of space-y, lo-fi psychedelia that seems informed by almost every psychedelic movement of the last fifty years. Strong doses of Spacemen 3/'80s/'90s British psych and mellow/weird krautrocking. And IT IS pretty goth-y and synth-y actually, though the drum machines are of the klunky, Cluster variety and the synths are usually accompanied by some gritty, fuzzed-out organ. Very nice tape, I'm a little surprised this wasn't pressed up on vinyl. Maybe when it goes out-of-print it will float up to LP heaven. $5

The Pheromoans - s/t - Night-People
The Pheromoans - s/t - Night-People
Magnetically indolent, inscrutably British, the bracing charms of this tape are abundant. Would it be have been possible for them to try less hard? Probably not; any less and they wouldn't have pressed record. Kind of like a sneering, punk-rock Shadow Ring. $5

Pink Priest - Gulls Diving Into the Ocean - Night-People
Pink Priest - Gulls Diving Into the Ocean - Night-People
I don't know a whole lot about this guy other than that he's a very prolific member of the cassette tape underground. The last tape I got, from the Australian label Albert's Basement, was synthesizer based, but actually kind of harsh, and, uniquely, made up of one or two minute "songs." (I still have one or two copies of that tape, by the way). "Gulls Diving Into the Ocean," although synthesizer based, is definitely in a different vein, and is very placid drone music that makes me think of slow-motion footage of volcanoes erupting or of flying over a glacier. The faintest wisps of dissonant tones drift through the sonic landscape, and I'm really digging that. Definitely some weight and substance here, though in a very underhanded way. B-side is a little more assertive, features some lightly fuzzed organ and more overt tonal movement. $5

Sewn Leather - Self-Titled - NP083
Sewn Leather - s/t - Night-People
If you're thinking Warm Leatherette by the Normal, you're on the right track, but the appeal of Sewn Leather has a lot to do with thick layer of electric grime coating what are ultimately slinky synth pop tracks. Very raw and sparse, with just enough abrasive sonics to keep it interesting. $5

Ryan Garbes - Born Under the Sun - NP089
Ryan Garbes - Born Under the Sun - Night-People
I've had this tape forever but it never got a proper write-up, not totally sure why, but Ryan seems to be picking up steam right now, with a new 7" on Arbor, a tape on the way from Nu New Age and an LP in the works. Four gritty, psychedelic droners from half of Iowa City stalwarts Wet Hair. Two feature Ryan's rolling, hypnotic drumming, which is always a treat. Krautrock keyboards and trippy stereo effects abound, but all-in-all the feel is more terrestrial than kosmisch. Seems like a good tape for summer driving. $5

Hochman & Hopkins - Live NYE - NP077
Hochman and Hopkins - Live NYE - Night-People
I've had this tape for a long time, I've never really pushed it cause I wasn't crazy about it but it definitely has some things going for it. First off, it's one of my favorite looking tapes in the NP catalog, which is saying something cause they're all pretty beautiful. Blue on blue, nice Edward Gorey looking pitcher, swans on the tape decal, lots of circles. Second, I'm a big fan of Hopkins (first name Matthew), who does Naked On the Vague, Vincent Over the Sink and the Near Tapes label. Third, although things get pretty goofy by the end of the tape, the synth sludge that starts things off is nice -- rhythmic and weird. $5

Monday, May 24, 2010

Super Selection tape
My friend Lizi asked me to digitalize a tape for her the other day, titled simply "Super Selection Vol. 1 1989." It's a mysterious collection of over-produced pop-traditional music of most likely Indian origin. I have no more information to offer.

Super Selection Vol. 1 1989 Side A







Super Selection Vol. 1 1989 Side B








Download zip.
Thanks, Lizi!

Which reminds me, Eggy tapes are now available at Container Corps a great new arts press run by my friend Gary up on N Killingsworth. They've done really beautiful work already in their rookie year, with lots more to come, no doubt. Keep em on your radar!

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Two new Eggy tapes for early summer:

The Polyps - Twenty Colored Circle - Eggy Fifteen
The Polyps - Twenty Colored Circle - Eggy Number Fifteen







"Twenty Colored Circle Parts 2 and 3" by the Polyps

This tape was conceived of as the sister tape to last year's The Gong Is the Moon on Night-People, further exploring the use of tape loops, synthesizer and homemade electronics in combination with simple song-form, but incorporating field recordings and a more pronounced audio-collage aesthetic. Three tracks; one ten-minute, side-length piece of '60s leaning pop fragments backed by Idea Fire Company-inspired synth drift, and two on the flip using mellow, electronic warble and some noisy crows. $5

A lot of the Polyps back catalog is listenable here:
http://freemusicarchive.org/music/The_Polyps/
And The Gong Is the Moon, which came out on Night-People, is still in print, but I can't imagine it will be for long:
http://www.raccoo-oo-oon.org/np/index.html

Street Gnar - Street Gnar EP - Eggy Fourteen
Street Gnar - Street Gnar EP - Eggy Number Fourteen







"Soux Bee" by Street Gnar

Totally breezy, effortless pop. You just slip into it like talking to an old friend. This is the latest missive from the Void Skateshop crew who are ripping it up in Kentucky, totally on a roll right now. Check out the Jovontaes tape if you haven't yet. Street Gnar is hitting the road next month, North-East and Mid-West in early June if you are lucky enough to live in those parts. $5

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Bro of the Woolen Men Danny Moore made some posters for the show Sunday:
danny poster 2
danny poster 1
(That one was too big for the scanner. Sorry, Danny!)
danny poster 3

Monday, May 3, 2010

The Polyps at Valentine's May 10th

Also going on this week:

Thursday May 6th, the Woolen Men at the Artistery with And And And and the Archers.

Sunday May 9th, the Woolen Men at Ella Street Social Club with White Fang and Height.

Sunday, May 2, 2010


I wanted to rep a good cause here. The kickstarter banner above is for a film being made in Australia this summer by Sacred Bones Records with Naked On the Vague and Night-People Records. This project is particularly exciting because Matthew Hopkins of NOTV and Shawn Reed of NP both have such impressive bodies of visual and audio work behind them -- Hopkins' Near Tapes and Reed's Night-People stand out for their totality of vision and are two of my favorite tape labels. Further, the incentives to pledge are great -- 20 bucks gets you a copy of the DVD, etc.
R.I.P. Half & Half. Boooooo!
(video stills from the Woolen Men's set. Thanks, Mr. Gary Wiseman!)
Half and Half Party
Half and Half closing party
The Woolen Men, Dennis and Yoni
The Woolen Men Half and Half Closing Party