the of mirror eye

* Weasel Walter Quintet: weasel_walter-01-I-(excerpt) (3.5 mb) | Weasel_Walter_MP3 (47.0 mb) | Weasel_Walter_Flac (162.5 mb)
From Live At 21 Grand : July 31st, 2008 : Oakland, CA

Every time I listen to Weasel Walter, I marvel at how he consistently puts out some of the highest intensity, least compromising musics out there. Starting out in the amazing free jazz/metal group The Flying Luttenbachers, he’s since brought his considerable drumming talents to tons of other groups, ensembles and as a solo project.

Weasel Walter is a man on a quest. He is on a search for that elusive mix of extreme musical sound that will heighten existence. “What I am interested in,” he told Contemporary Musicians, “is creating an abstract music with superhuman qualities. I’m trying to realize a medium in which I can attempt to transcend the mediocrity of the human condition that surrounds me.” The vehicle for that quest is the Flying Luttenbachers. Along the way the band has morphed repeatedly from free jazz to no wave, punk jazz, industrial sound collage, and death metal. The Flying Luttenbachers have also passed through a series of band line-ups that have included the cream of Chicago’s recent improv scene, including Ken Vandermark, Jeb Bishop, and Hal Russell. Walter provides the only constant, and the history of the band is the story of his demanding musical nature. (Contemporary Musicians Bio)

What we have here is an incendiary performance by the Weasel Walter Quintet, featuring the line-up of Aaron Bennett (tenor saxophone), Jorrit Dijkstra (alto saxophone), Damon Smith (contra-bass) and Darren Johnston (trumpet). Aside from Damon Smith, a relatively constant bass player for Weasel Walter, I’m not too familiar with the rest of the group. Although judging from this display of free jazz prowess, I’ll be looking out for more of their stuff. Hopefully you enjoy this as much as I do.

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* Parliament Funkadelic: One Nation Under A Groove (7.5 mb) | PFunk_MP3 (94.0 mb) | PFunk_Flac (398.0 mb)
From Afrolicious & The Electric Pussy : Big ‘Fro Discs : BF-006

Well, I was feeling kinda funky today, so what better band to post than the kings of the funky stuff, Parliament Funkadelic! George Clinton, leader of these groove masters has been directing the band for over 40 years now. Melding psychedelic, rock, soul, doo-wop, space and funk into one incredible whole, Parliament Funkadelic has been one of my favorite bands for the longest time.

Under the guiding hand of mastermind George Clinton, the affiliated groups Parliament and Funkadelic established funk as an heir to and outgrowth of soul. If James Brown is funk’s founding father, Clinton has been its chief architect and tactician. Over the decades, he’s presided over a musical empire that’s included Parliament and Funkadelic, plus numerous offshoots (such as the Brides of Funkenstein and Parlet), solo careers (Clinton’s and bassist Bootsy Collins’ being the notable) and aggregates (the P-Funk All-Stars). The pioneering work of Parliament and Funkadelic in the Seventies—driven by Clinton’s conceptually inventive mind and the band members’ tight ensemble playing and stretched-out jamming—prefigured everything from rap and hip-hop to techno and alternative. Clinton’s latter-day disciples include Prince and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Between them, Parliament and Funkadelic virtually defined the melting pot known as funk: a melding of rhythm & blues, jazz, gospel and psychedelic rock. With them, Clinton has purveyed larger-than-life characters and concepts from the stage, culminating in such theatrical milestones as the Mothership, a mock flying saucer from which the black space “aliens” of Clinton’s musical entourage alighted onstage. Though his musical productions have been typified by danceable grooves and driven by a laser-sharp sociological wit, Clinton’s ultimate goal is serious: “I am intent on making the word funk as legitimate as jazz and rock and roll.” (Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame)

What we have here is an amazing live show put out by master bootleggers, Big ‘Fro Discs. While my preferences lie more towards the Funkadelic side of the equation, this is a totally smokin’ show, with the band firing on all cylinders.

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* Sanhedolin: 01-I-I-(excerpt) (4.5 mb) | Sanhedolin_MP3_Part2 (83.5 mb) | Sanhedolin_Flac_Part2 (293.0 mb)
From Live At SuperDeluxe : Feb 26th, 2008 : Tokyo, Japan

As promised, here’s the second part to this wild ride. On a super disappointed note, I went to go see Keiji Haino the other day as part of The Wire festival in the Windy City, only to find out that he had canceled due to botched travel plans. Super big bummer, especially since it’s been probably 10 years since he’s played here. Well, at least we have these recordings, so we can enjoy their live shows vicariously.

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* Sanhedolin: 01-I-I-(excerpt) (4.5 mb) | Sanhedolin_MP3_Part1 (94.5 mb) | Sanhedolin_Flac_Part1 (355.0 mb)
From Live At SuperDeluxe : Feb 26th, 2008 : Tokyo, Japan

Well, with a line up consisting of Keiji Haino (look here), the Ruins (look here) and violinist Yuji Katsui, what else should you expect except for total and complete craziness. And that’s exactly what you get. After a somewhat slow start where it seems like the quartet is trying to feel each other out, they blast off into the stratosphere and don’t ever come back down.

For those that don’t know, Keiji Haino has been a dark, magical presence in the Japanese underground since the mid ’70’s. Everything he touches is immediately imbued with a sense of mystery and his own inimitable style. From drums to guitar to the air synth, Keiji Haino is a true sorcerer of sound. The Ruins have been, since the mid ’80’s, plumbing the depths of drum and bass. They play in incredibly precise, yet groovy style of rock that has been likened to prog-rock. If prog-rock were good, that is. Yuji Katsui is someone I’m not too familiar with, but if his other music is anything like this, I’ll definitely be on the lookout for more of his work. Watch for part 2 of this magnificent show very soon.

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You gotta check out this video of Keiji Haino with John Zorn, Yamatsuka Eye and Christian Marclay (look here). Totally awesome!!!

* John Zorn: II (5.0 mb) | John_Zorn_MP3 (109.5 mb) | John_Zorn_Flac (350.5 mb)
From Live At The Cooler : Dec 20th, 1997 : New York City, NY

I first started getting into John Zorn all the way back in my college days. Starting with the Naked City stuff and moving on to Masada and more, he never ceased to amaze. Not having heard very much in the way of free jazz/improv, I couldn’t believe some of the sounds that were being created. And my life hasn’t been the same since. Now that I’m really thinking about it, I think Mr. Zorn was my very first introduction into this brave new world. Other artists certainly followed after in my musical education, but he will always hold a special place in my heart.

The degree to which John Zorn - composer, saxophonist, jazz musician, label organiser, conceptualiser - has polarised opinion is remarkable even in a field where polarised opinions are hardly rare. For over 20 years he has been writing and performing music of astonishing breadth, with various areas of interest (to name some: film music, free jazz, hardcore thrash, Yiddish folk music) explored almost obsessively. The records recorded under his own name or by groups he has led and co-led number at least 50, and records to which he has contributed at least three times that. In addition, the two record labels he has headed through the 90s - Tokyo-based Avant and New York’s Tzadik - have been responsible for always interesting and often indispensable releases, their eclecticism naturally reflecting Zorn’s own tastes, mapping the occult lines from Japanese noise to contemporary composition to Ambient atmospherics to sampling collage to thrash pop… At a time when the musical underground prides itself on an openness of attitude which so infrequently bears fruit, Zorn’s labels provide a remarkable and genuinely all-embracing fund of new music. (They have also been the source of some of the most stunning cover art and graphics of recent years.) (The Wire)

What we have here is an amazing concert of improv from some of the genre’s masters. Along with John Zorn on alto saxophone, for the first half of the concert we have Elliot Sharp and Marc Ribot on guitars, as well as Rashied Ali on drums for one of the songs. The second half has Rashied Ali back on drums as well as Thurston Moore on guitar.

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* The Music Tapes: The Television Tells Us (9.5 mb) | Music_Tapes_MP3 (113.5 mb)| Music_Tapes_Flac (327.0 mb)
From Live At Athens Popfest : Aug 16th, 2008 : Athens, GA

One of the best shows I’ve ever seen (and I’ve seen a lot of them) was this band, The Music Tapes. I first heard about them because of their connection to one of my favorite bands, Neutral Milk Hotel. Lead guy Julian Koster had a completely idiosyncratic musical vision that, upon first listen, completely blew me away. I loved his choice of instrumentation and the loosely based plot line involving televisions and aliens. In a world of cookie cutter music, his was utterly unique and incredibly compelling.

And then I got to see them play. They had put a call out in the liner notes to contact them if you wanted them to play your barn, yard or field. And luckily, someone in Maine did just that. Pulling up to the show, I had a sense that something special was about to happen, but little did I know just how special it would be. Walking into the barn, I saw these wooden clapping hands, a television and a 7 foot tall metronome, along with the regular assortment of instruments. Needless to say, the show was absolutely stunning and I’ve been entranced ever since.

I hadn’t really kept up with The Music Tapes though, and thought they’d stopped recording music because it’d been almost nine years since their first album. But, luckily for us, they haven’t. I was a little worried that the magic might be gone, but one quick listen to their new album quickly dispelled that silly notion.

The new album spotlights Julian Koster’s songcraft and distinctive vocals, his almost religious devotion to the singing saw, and numerous contributions from other musicians in the Elephant 6 orbit. As on previous efforts, recording was done using an array of antique hardware, giving Music Tapes for Clouds and Tornadoes a timeless, texturally rich sonic palette. It is the sound of Julian’s world poking through the curtain surrounding objective reality. In his words, “I just find the imaginary more real than the physical. Magic, the way we find things beautiful, the light behind eyes, kindness, and how we want to serve and protect the things we care about, these things seem like the real foundation of the world to me. I hope that the songs on this record can be more that just postcards from a world, but an invitation to it, to anyone at all who may find such a place comforting and nice.” (Merge Records)

This recent show at the Athens Popfest just serves as a reminder to me of how excellent this band is. I wish I could’ve been their as they’re absolutely on fire throughout the whole show. Big thanks to the taper who captured this wonderful moment. It’s a great recording of an incredible show.

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