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Wink Wink 2011 - A bit of a change this year

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KurtMcAllister:

--- Quote from: KvP on 06 Mar 2011, 01:45 ---I'm gonna roll the dice and say you read SA... I asked where to start with Branca and those were the two albums suggested. Lesson 1 is pretty awesome so far.

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No, actually. I do read the SA forums often, but I didn't see that post until just now. I've just been on a Branca kick lately and thought I should share. Glad you enjoy it, though!

Now time for some more Raster-Noton.

Alva Noto - Unitxt (2008)


--- Quote from: Tiny Mix Tapes ---A curious dichotomy exists in Unitxt, the latest album from Carsten Nicolai, a.k.a. Alva Noto. Nicolai’s work relies on mathematical processes to govern rhythm (rather than traditional sequencers), utilizing machine noises — modems, telephones, and fax tones — for most of its sounds. On Unitxt, Alva Noto applies these frigid clicks and blips to an innate form of human expression: each track is about 120 bpm, and the rhythms, though often heavily obscured or syncopated, are entirely in 4/4 time — the basic ingredients for a dance album.

Clearly, Unitxt plays differently from Nicolai's previous efforts. It lacks the spacious ambience that characterized For (2006) and Xerrox (2007), and while these albums harbor clear melodies (or at least the semblance of them), the melodic passages on Unitxt are almost entirely absent. Consequently, it sounds more like an extension of the ideas Nicolai explored on his earlier, rhythmically-oriented Trans- EPs, with the droning, granular clouds replaced with pummeling bass, short beeps, and atonal static. It’s all a little colder, more sterile.

Which is ironic, as the album is one of the few (if not the only) Alva Noto releases that feature vocals. French sound poet Anne-James Chaton intones in a robotic manner on two tracks, including opener “U_07.” He reads the contents of Nicolai’s wallet (credit cards, driver’s license, receipts, etc.) in a constant outpour. This only furthers the album’s harshness, reducing personal information about the man to mere information, data to be processed.

None of this is to say that Unitxt doesn’t deliver musically. The rhythms are complex and engaging, and the sound sources he uses are refreshing, especially considering the ever-prevalent 808 and 909-ish software sounds of the dance world. But without significant variation, the album ultimately sounds redundant. Had Nicolai included more melodic elements or varied the structures, this could have been a great release. He has indeed provided a fascinating, innovative approach to dance music — one that I would like to see him develop — but it’s just not quite compelling enough to garner full-fledged attention.
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Byetone - Death Of A Typographer (2008)


--- Quote from: Resident Advisor ---It turns out Byetone’s recent Plastic Star EP (Raster-Noton) was only a prelude to another big event — the release of a solo album. Though he’s part of Raster Noton’s pre-history and has been involved in electronic music since the early 90s, a solo release from Byetone (Olaf Bender) is a rare event indeed. Byetone is a member of live performance group Signal with Carsten Nicolai and Frank Bretschneider, and has appeared on various compilations over the years, but his primary contribution to Raster-Noton thus far has been as the mastermind behind the label’s striking visual identity. A graphic designer by profession, Bender’s been responsible for the minimalist, understated graphics and packaging from the earliest days of Rastermusic.

Byetone’s first solo release was the May installment of the 20” to 2000 series on Raster Noton in 1999. His minimalist aesthetic was translated into twenty minutes of static, sine tones and rhythmic clicks that were extremely austere. It was followed by a similarly stark production for Bine Music in 2003. Structural reductions continue to occupy Bender on his new album, but his method has changed dramatically. Noise and depth now play an integral role. He’s broken with the hermetic, clinical laboratory aesthetic and begun to allow something of the real world in: not just environmental noise, but layers of tone with sounds that sometimes resemble real instruments and make reference to rock and other music. In parallel with label mate Alva Noto’s recent work, Bender plunges deeply into an immersive, textured world on the fantastically titled Death of a Typographer.

Solid bass and tight percussion pin down weighty textures with the precision of an entomologist on the album’s eight variations. Could it be that each track infected Bender, keeping him from his graphic design work — earworms that made it impossible to for him to concentrate? Maybe this album is his surrender; the designer in him supplanted by the musician. Death of a Typographer is informed more by his work with laptop group Signal than his earlier solo work — ‘Grand Style’ is driven by Bretschneider funkiness and the degraded remains of reggae tropes. In other places Bender takes obvious cues from rock and pop. On ‘Straight’, his flattened percussion is draped with lush synths, while the truncated ‘Black is Black’ surprises with a Bender-esque drilling rhythm holding up a warm bassline and a synth melody that sound almost new wave. ‘Capture This (I)’ drones Phill Niblock style into ‘Capture This (II)’ where swooping Fennesz-like guitar drone/feedback affirm the rock intentions.

The one oddly weak point is the intro/outro bookending. Environmental sound recordings frame the album: the intro – a person’s footsteps walking into a club where ‘Plastic Star’ is being played; the outro – the sounds of someone, probably the artist, stepping outside to smoke. They are distracting and intrusive. But interesting. They fit thematically with Bender’s new inclinations to let the world in, and also hook in to the grand rock music tradition of staged-drama intro/outros from Pink Floyd to David Bowie to Kraftwerk.

For fans of Signal and Alva Noto’s recent work, Death of a Typographer is a fascinating insight into developments at Raster Noton HQ.
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Kangding Ray - Automne Fold (2008)


--- Quote from: Resident Advisor ---On Stabil, his 2006 debut for Raster-Noton, Kangding Ray (David Letellier) took the label's signature high-end frequencies and precise digital rhythms, and added traces of acoustic tones and melodies. The album largely retained the label's cool austerity, but touched on something warm beneath the surface. Automne Fold, the Berlin-based artist's sophomore effort, goes further in exploring this combination of digital and organic sounds, incorporating more acoustic instrumentation (such as violins and a detuned piano) and even vocals, creating what is one of the label's warmest and most openly emotional releases.

Perhaps reflecting Letellier's background as a guitarist and drummer, there's a pop sensibility at work here, with the longest tracks clocking in at a little over five minutes. "Idle," one of the album's many highlights, is actually a song, complete with verses and a chorus. Other tracks also have a song structure, such as "A Protest Song" (where the warm wall of hiss is reminiscent of what some bands do with guitars) and "World Within Words." The CD case even includes lyrics.

Readers concerned that this all sounds like too much of a departure from the Raster-Noton aesthetic needn't worry. Letellier still uses many of the hallmarks of the label's sound, deploying crisp digital beats and flickering rhythmic bursts of hiss and static to create an album that feels clean and pristine, yet also warm and organic. It's this contrast that makes Automne Fold so engaging and compelling, with the acoustic tones softening the edges of the sharp digital rhythms. And it's here, where these seemingly opposing sounds meet, that real feeling is found. For Letellier the heart of the machine is not cold and analytical, but is instead human and emotional.

Automne Fold is largely introspective (although not melancholic) in mood, despite its pop leanings. This is due to Letellier's sombre melodies and choice of organic instruments, such as the sonorous bowed guitar on "Apnée," the violins on "Parallel" and the contrabass on "Palisades." That Letellier can so deftly and consistently merge these sounds with a digital palette is impressive; in fact the album has only a single misstep, "Apnée. Part II," which features a spoken word monologue about eyeballs and ice cube trays that tries a little too hard to say something profound. (In Letellier's defense, somebody else wrote the lyrics in question.)

Of course, melodies and organic instruments are no strangers to Raster-Noton, having most notably appeared on Alva Noto and Ryuichi Sakamoto's collaborations. Yet the extreme restraint of those releases made them difficult for some listeners to approach. With Automne Fold Letellier has crafted an album that is extremely moving, expressive, and accessible from beginning to end. Highly recommended.
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TheClickOfALight:

--- Quote ---Rules:

The first rule of this thread is you do not mention MF.  I am doing this because we are currently the first hit for the full version of "MF thread" on Google, so y'know, that's bad n' shit.

No hot-linking images or albums. You can re-host images at http://imageshack.us.

Ensure your tags are correct and that you have specified both Artist/Album in your post.

Upload your files in either a .zip or a .rar archive to MF, in multiple parts if the album is over 200mb. The reason for this is that we know MF is safe and efficient and allows multiple downloads. The ads on other sites, such as Sendspace, are known to contain viruses on the page. Get yourself checked out.

Post your link using code tags. It's the # icon above the policeman emoticon. This prevents the links from being traced back to the forums, lowering the chance that the wrong people notice the thread, potentially threatening Jeph with legal action.

Also, please do NOT request albums. This includes requests for re-uploads; if you miss it, try looking for it somewhere else.

Repost the rules at the top of each new page.
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Nas – Illmatic (1994)



Not only is this one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time, I also think it is one of the most important albums of the past fifteen years, regardless of genre. It marked a transition in the popular perception of hip hop in the early 90s, from the West coast gangsta rap to the East coast’s more artistic style, that also saw acts like the Wu-Tang Clan (who else?!) and Gang Starr emerge as well.


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Vuk:
Everyone should have Illmatic.

Algernon:
Here's a bunch of stuff.  Most of it is old stuff that I found from samples in more recent music.  There's also a decent soundtrack EP from the FX show Sons of Anarchy (which I found surprisingly awesome once I got over my initial doubts about a show heavily focused on the exploits of an outlaw motorcycle club), and another album I found due to use in the show as well.  I'll let you figure out which are the biker tunes and which are the oldies.



Aphrodite's Child - 666 (1972)



Babylon
Loud, Loud, Loud


--- Quote from: Allmusic ---An amazingly bombastic concept album about the Apocalypse of St. John seen as a rock spectacle. Demis Roussos wails the lyrics in a frantically operatic falsetto, while the band pound fiercely through Vangelis' furiously complex music.
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Black 47 - Home of the Brave (1994)



The Big Fellah


--- Quote from: Allmusic ---Larry Kirwan devotes himself to a strange mixture of Irish nationalism, American civil rights advocacy, and working-class infidelity on New York's Lower East Side. He sings with equal passion about 1920s Irish patriots and lovers' triangles, and when he loses his girlfriends to better-employed sanitation workers and dentists, he buries his misery in six-packs. It's a worldview of sorts, especially because Kirwan sees it in such heroic terms, and because he adopts music that reinforces those terms: an earnest, if slightly self-mocking singer emotes over martial rhythms, traditional Celtic folk instruments, a horn section, and dabs of rock guitar.
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Christine McVie (as Christine Perfect) - Christine Perfect (1970)



Crazy 'Bout You
And That's Saying A Lot


--- Quote from: Rock Around the World ---1969 was a magic year for music. The Beatles in their prime, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, and the Stones embarking on mammoth tours, the rise of new wave bands like Yes and King Crimson; and '69 also witnessed the first steady solo steps of one of the most incredible female performers to ever grace a studio, Christine Perfect.

Christine, who's earlier stint with the near legendary Chicken Shack had already gathered her a sizeable following in Britain, as evidenced by her back to back #1 female vocalist,honors in Melody Maker, penned five of the twelve selections found on the LP, and covers considerable musical ground in the process.

From "Crazy 'Bout You Baby", the up-tempo classic which opens side one, Ms. Perfect maintains strong control over a varied selection of tunes, including: "Close To Me" a soft rocker evocative of the US west coast sound, "Wait and See", a blues ballad, and "I'd Rather Go Blind", the Jordan/Foster classic which catapulted Chris to the top of the charts. Also contained on the album is the fine, orchestrated "When You Say", written by Danny Kirwan, guitarist for Fleetwood Mac.

Her powerful delivery on each cut makes this LP striking a full seven years past its original issue, and her career with Fleetwood Mac has shown Christine as a woman who has lived up to her name.
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Galt MacDermot - Shapes of Rhythm (late 60's?)



Coffee Cold
Field of Sorrow


--- Quote from: Allmusic ---MacDermot's best remembered for the faux funk he delivered via the soundtrack to Hair. This record is a sterling example of what he does, or did best. The effect is a lot like what the Ramsey Lewis Trio might have sounded like if they stayed up all night listening to Slim Whitman records. This is some seriously unfunky music. That being said, is that necessarily a bad thing? Not at all. This music is so earnest and so heartfelt it's impossible not to be taken in by its charm. If you like soundtrack music, this is the perfect album to throw on while jogging. It'll make you feel tough.
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Galt MacDermot - Up From the Basement Unreleased Tracks Vol. 1 & 2 (Recorded 1967-1973, released 2003)



Ripped Open by Metal Explosion
Come Away Death


--- Quote from: Allmusic ---While known mostly for his work on the '60s Broadway sensation Hair, accomplished jazz pianist/composer Galt MacDermot was far more prolific than a one-hit wonder. Proof positive is this collection of some of the progressive musician's funkier leanings, culled literally from the maestro's extensive cache of basement recordings. None of the album's 24 cuts (circa late '60s/early '70s) was originally meant for commercial consumption, but the final six tracks were lifted wholly from reel-less acetates (hence the lack of post-production polish). MacDermot's ivory tickling is aided by a host of relatively unheralded sessionaires (including funky drummers Idris Muhammad and Bernard "Pretty" Purdie, guitarists Charlie Brown and Billy Butler, and bassist Jimmy Lewis). Various soulful corners are explored throughout, from straight-ahead funky jazz ("Ripped Open By Metal Explosions," "Prison Life") to Age of Aquarius aesthetics ("Never Die, Desire Not," "Lost Dreams") to more frenetic flourishes ("Ghetto Suite Melody," "Flurry"). Tempos and vibes are shifted with regularity, giving the collection a herky-jerky feel, but the overall strength of the music generally overrides the haphazard sequencing. The album reaches its pinnacle with an alternate take of "Let the Sunshine In," one of Hair's more memorable overtures. MacDermot's revival was likely influenced by the new-school vinyl generation's interest in his music's sample-friendly elements.
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Galt MacDermot - Woman Is Sweeter (?)



Cathedral


--- Quote from: Allmusic ---(talking about both this album and Shapes of Rhythm)

Remember the musical Hair? Remember the groovy rhythm tracks on "Let the Sunshine In" and "Where Do I Go?" Yeah, well, this guy here, Galt MacDermot, expatriate Canadian funk meister, is the cat who composed those jams -- and in fact the music to the entire play. This CD brings together two of MacDermot's original LPs, both of them released in the '60s -- one pre- and one post-Hair, one a session album and one a soundtrack, and both greasy in the future funk with cats like Idris Muhammad and Bernard Purdie laying down the beats behind the band. MacDermot is a driven pianist and organ grinder who sought one thing on these records: funky grooves. And he got them. Here's what's scary though: "Coffee Cold" (from Shapes of Rhythm) was recorded in 1966 -- prefiguring the rhythmic changes of James Brown's "Cold Sweat" in sequence and in key a full two years before Brown laid down his track. The feel of "Coffee Cold" is a bit whiter and smoother, but the jam is still an anthem, even with its cheese factor. MacDermot was a prophet of the groove that would overtake the late '60s and early '70s, and, were he a proud man, could have argued that more young musicians heard and took to heart the grooves he laid down in Hair than heard Allen Toussaint and Red Allen or Eddie Bo. The true feel of Shapes of Rhythm is like Vince Guaraldi's Schroeder laying out the piano funk, seeking the groove inside the rhythm section and laying it out there. It's tough if ornate and it shimmers with real heat. The other disc, a soundtrack for Martine Barrat's movie Woman Is Sweeter, is a much dirtier, rawer affair altogether, and would have been worth the price of the CD alone. Here guitars chunk up in the cut with the bass, and the piano floats in the accents as drums and bass reign supreme. This was recorded immediately after Hair, and MacDermot wasn't in the mood to simply lay out some incidental music to a hippie flick. He took it down to its essence: rhythm, polyrhythm, drums, bass, and filthy nasty funk at insanely fast -- for the time -- tempos that were in fact symbolic of the orgiastic nature of his compositions. This wasn't just sex music, this was group sex symphonic music made with only a handful of instruments. These two albums comprise 26 tracks of pure groove-driven genius, with a bonus vocal version of "Coffee Cold" that the producers go hog-wild over in their notes, but it pretty much sucks compared to the rest of this -- thank the gods they left it until the end. Yeah, you need this if you care about the influence of '60s groove at all. After all, Busta Rhymes did -- check out the sample of MacDermot's "Space" on the rapper's "Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check."
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Sons of Anarchy: North Country - EP (2009)



This Life
John the Revelator


--- Quote from: iTunes ---The North Country EP kickstarts with the infectious theme song by Curtis Stigers & The Forest Rangers, who balance hard Americana with twangy Southern rock that's wrapped in all the warmth and familiarity of vintage guitar tones culled from those bygone ‘70s AM radio jams. Anvil & Franky Perez’s “Slip Kid” sparks new life into old-school biker rock with some boozy, rootsy, Leslie West-inspired singing under heavy cheeseburger-chomping riffs played loud through new amps. Curtis Stigers & The Forest Rangers return with a haunting take on the old blues standard “John the Revelator,” and a couple of solid Dylan covers bookend the EP. Audra Mae loans her endearing farmer’s-daughter voice to the Rangers on a beautifully sparse country-folk version of “Forever Young,” though Lions’ ambitious reworking of “Girl from the North Country” is surprisingly tasteful even though it sounds squeezed through a commercial indie-rock filter somewhere in between the Shins and Rogue Wave, sounding maybe more appropriate for the soundtrack to Garden State or Juno.
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The Poppy Family - Which Way You Goin' Billy? (1969)



Of Cities and Escapes
Which Way You Goin' Billy?


--- Quote from: Allmusic ---While in recent years dozens of would-be hipsters have written about the dark undercurrents to be found in the music of the Carpenters, anyone looking for a truly great bummed-out soft rock experience needs to dig up the long out of print debut LP from Vancouver's Poppy Family. While producer, arranger, songwriter, and general straw boss Terry Jacks later found fame for his hit adaptation of Jacques Brel's "Seasons in the Sun," his greatest work was with his then-wife Susan Jacks and their group, the Poppy Family. Blending moody soft pop with light psychedelia, the group hit a rich vein of gorgeous melancholy that made sadness sound positively sensual (the album's token "upbeat" tune, "Happy Island," is significantly also one of the set's weakest moments). The album's two international hit singles, "Which Way You Goin' Billy?" and "That's Where I Went Wrong," are both tales of lovers on the run that sound as desperate as Del Shannon and as lonesome as Brian Wilson's worst nightmare, and such lost classics as "You Took My Moonlight Away" and "Beyond the Clouds" are every bit as strong, boasting clear but emotive vocals from Susan Jacks, brilliant if oddball Indian percussion from Satwan Singh, and melodramatic string arrangements from Graeme Hall. And the two side-closing "freakouts," "There's No Blood in Bone" and "Of Cities and Escapes," manage to be cheesy and powerfully effective at the same time. If the '70s were supposed to be about having a nice day, Which Way You Goin' Billy? shows the Poppy Family were one band waiting for a cloud to blot out all that annoying sunshine; at once kitschy and marvelously sincere, it's a great record worthy of rediscovery.
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William Sheller - Lux Aeterna (1970)



Introit


--- Quote from: RFIMusique ---In 1970, for a friend's wedding, William Sheller wrote a psychedelic mass for orchestra, rock and choir which he called "Lux Aeterna". This work was brought out in 1972 and was therefore his first album. But it is an instrumental album, since song was still not his target.
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gospel:


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Couldn't find the bonus track from Amazon's release, "Skeleton Swoon".  I'm sure this link will be down by the time I wake up.

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