Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Scott Slimm and aRCHIVE recordings

Scott Slimm is putting out some incredible limited works with some of the most amazing and detailed packaging by the likes of Sunn 0))), Khanate, Earth, James Plotkin, Boris, Keiji Haino 灰野 敬 (which I was able to get a hold of and features mastering by Plotkin and design by Steve O'Malley), LSD March and others. You can easily see that this guy's taste in music is as impressive as his back catalog and he takes care to package the music with the care that each of the artists featured deserves. I have yet to see a design that hasn't floored me. He also happens to be a hell of a nice guy and very easy to do business with. For examples, visit Slimm at the aRCHIVE recordings webpage and see for yourself.

(((03)))

Monday, October 30, 2006

Merzbow (メルツバウ)

Frog Remixed And Revisited is a 2xCD remix album by Masami Akita (秋田昌美), under the name Merzbow. This album contains reworkings of tracks from Merzbow's previous album Frog by artists such as Sunn 0))), Boris, Ulver and House of Low Culture and is the most recent addition to my ever-growing library.

CD1
"Amphibia Salientia" remixed by Hrvatski – 4:02
"Merzfrog473" remixed by Pita – 5:02
"Advancing Hordes" remixed by House of Low Culture
– 7:02
"Gekihatsu" remixed by Never Presence Forever – 4:22
"Catch 22 (Surrender or Die)" remixed by Sunn 0)))
– 9:51
"Frog Inside Hypercube" remixed by Gerritt – 7:50
"Necrostuprum" remixed by Terror Organ – 3:06
"Frog Remix" remixed by John Wiese – 2:28
"Frog Variation 2" remixed by Merzbow
– 15:20
CD2
"Frog Remix" remixed by Fennesz – 4:09
"Denki No Numa (Frog Voice Remix)" remixed by Ulver – 7:29
"Masamifrogmaster (edit)" remixed by Russell Haswell – 7:02
"Cloned Frog Master (Segmented Edit And Micro Arcs)" remixed by Hecker – 10:31
"Dark Side Of The Pink Frog" remixed by When – 8:01
"Froggie Bee-Baa" remixed by Boris
– 20:30

(((03)))

Thursday, October 26, 2006

McGovern News Vol. II (Equimanthorn in the studio)

I recently got to spend time in the studio with Proscriptor to sample some tracks from the forthcoming album by Equimanthorn for which I also performed some guest vocals. The album is true to the design of their last opus Second Sephira Cella while exploring still broader soundscapes and rituals making even the unfinished product an epic in and of itself. More news and details in the coming weeks.

Equimanthorn

(((03)))

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

McGovern News Vol. I (Proscriptor to deliver Vocal Magic(k))


From Proscriptor as of 1:39 pm:

I will be (guest) singing for a band called The Firstborn (as a sort of co-vocalist). They are an avant-garde/experimental Black Metal outfit from Portugal and will be recording an album in Chicago in May, 2007. They want me to contribute my vociferous harkings in a very Sigh/Ved Buens Ende/Voivod/DHG type of fashion, but with the hateful cries similar to "Highland Tyrant Attack." They're exceptionally good and I am SO fucking thrilled to be asked to be a singer for once instead of (only as) a drummer. (More details forthcoming).

Proscriptor

Firstborn homepage (under construction) and
Firstborn on Myspace.

(((03)))

A Nod to (the) Earth


I remember hearing about Earth many years back when the Seattle scene was starting to wear thin on everyone and people started to look for the darker, heavier side of the far North West's Music. Along with The Melvins, Earth carved it's path, influencing many and taking in little or none of the tainted "Grunge" cup that had long since soured. Earth's drone, while tortured and simple, comes from a hurt place, a place of loneliness and despair not captured by other drone bands with their countless electronics and untouchable atmospheres. I am 4 albums into discovering Earth (not counting the "cover" album Legacy of Dissolution) starting with the latest Hex:or Printing in the Infernal Method, and my most recent find, Earth 2: Special Low Frequency Version. Subpop has re-issued most titles on CD and Wax so you can now see what everyone is talking about...Or...At least what I am talking about. As an adamant but very picky fan of drone, I can say without question that Earth are the fathers of the genre, and what a damn good father Dylan Carlson has become.

Thrones and Dominions

(((03)))