This month we have Charles and I with Ben, who will be playing Flute. Created a bunch of new loops from some analog gear and am prepped to have a great time. Stop by, 5-7pm on 5/7.
Sunday Slow-Down – May Edition
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Category Archives: Music
Sunday Slow-Down – April 9th
We’ve been invited back for another Sunday Slow-Down hosted by the Chill Out Enforcement Crew. Join us?
Sunday Slow-Down improv set
Sunday Slow-Down picture taken by @Nix_Morton.
Charles
COEC @ SSD-1
I will be doing a live, ambient/electronic improv set with Charles Ballas in Denver on Sunday March 5th, 2017. Conveniently located off of the central light rail line at Alameda Station, should be no reason for you not to slow-down your Sunday and join us. 4-6pm. White Whale Room is the venue; looks like a ultra hip place to spend the afternoon!
The theme of this event will be simplicity. No car needed, I’ll just have focus on one piece of gear, likewise Charles will bring a guitar and looper pedal. We’re going as Chill Out Enforcement Crew and do take our jobs seriously! LOL.
The flyer is turntable illusion art. Print it and stick it on your LP player for some optical illusions! Then you’ll fully understand the vibe we’re looking forward too!
KGNU Electronic Air #1
I’ve always been a fan of Electronic Air over its 21 year history, and I was invited in late 2016 to become part of the crew. I will be a substitute DJ and fill in for the regulars when they need a break from the action.
I have been away from radio DJing for over 20 years and am really excited to be part of this amazing crew, and to DJ again. Tune in, it will be great!
Here is the teaser I pushed out with one day to go…
KGNU Debut DJ Set
As part of becoming a KGNU Community Radio volunteer DJ one must create a demo and then do one of the late night shows. My first late night show was Sleepless Nights on the morning of January 22, 2017 from midnight to 3am.
It was a very fun show, I was pretty tired as I don’t stay up this late usually, but fun. I broadcast out of the Santa Fe Arts District in Denver Colorado. Hour one was post-punk and cold-wave, hour two was Acid, and hour three was a little bit of everything electronic.
Here is the streaming show.
Here is the playlist:
- Anthony Rother – Protektor – Hacker
- Depeche Mode – Oberkorn (Its A Small Down) Development Mix – Meaning Of Love 12″
- Konstruktivist – Lone Groover – Destiny Drive
- Kline Coma Xero – Left Behind – Kline Coma Xero
- – voicebreak –
- Schonwald – Inland – Between Parallel Lights
- Clan Of Xymox – A Day – Clan Of Xymox
- Manika Girgir – ?????? ?????/Sang Tiede – Torment
- Momentform – Momentform Is Fake – S/T – EP
- Solvent – My Radio (Legowelt’s RMX) – My Radio 12″
- Dynarec – All Automatic – Exomove EP (Elektronische Werke Part 1) – EP
- – voicebreak –
- Illustration Sonore – Flying Lights – Circuit D’actes
- Ausgang Verboten – Joy And Ease – Entertainment
- – voicebreak –
- Morph – Stormwatch – Stormwatch
- Disintegrator – Dark Black Ominous Clouds – Disintegrator
- Mike Dred – Macrocosm – Macrocosm
- E621 & Link – Antacid II (Jedi Knights Remix) – Antacid
- – voicebreak –
- Aire Liquide – Unser Elektronischer Mikrokosmos – Neue Frankfurter Elektronik Schule
- F.U.S.E. – Substance Abuse – Dimension Intrusion
- Underground Resistance – Moor Horseman On Bolarus 5 – Interstellar Fugitives
- – voicebreak –
- Perc & Passarella Death Squad – Temperature’s Rising – Temperature’s Rising
- Multicast – Gurrr – Multicaster
- R.Rose – Purge – Vanishing Pools
- – voicebreak –
- Scala – Hold Me Down – Beauty Nowhere
- Luigi Tozzi – Epipelagic – Deep Blue: Volume 2
- Application – Front End (Remixed By Pye Corner Audio) – Applied Remixes
- Electronic Dub – Electronic Dub 3 – Electronic Dub
- – voicebreak
Top Music of 2016
A holiday tradition is to create a top music list for the year. A group of old DJ friends and I push around our favorites and then rate each other on stuff we’ve never heard. The rule is 10 albums, so I added 20 releases. Typically its the hipster millennials that have all the “cool” obscuro stuff no-one has ever heard of, but sometimes us old guys punch in a surprise or two…
Here’s 2015’s list for those that missed it, or for those just wanting to hear some more classic tunes!
Top Album of the Year
Multicast – Multicaster + Iron Feather Journal #21
Out comes the collective work of Multicast from the last 10 years. Released as a limited edition with the Iron Feather Journal #21 produced in Japan. Starts off Chill, then gets tense and Acidic, and ends in Chill. Just when you thought the genre had played out since every hipster has a 303 knock off, acid techno with the real vintage machines as only Multicast can pull off!
Check out the article I wrote for the zine describing my collection of Vintage Phonographic Toys! I’m sure not complete, but pretty comprehensive if you’re into dropping needles!
Ambient :: Acid :: Psychedelic :: Acid :: Dub :: Electronic
Top Music Video of the Year
Multicast – Faster and Faster
World famous material-disco-man Peter Brown puts together an amazing sci-fi adventure to the acid beats of Multicast’s Faster and Faster off of the newest album Multicaster. Entertainment beyond the borders of Earth! Check it in HD!
Top Single of the Year
Room 506 – Red Embers / Drop Out
Someone put some cool old footage in these videos, kudos. The popular track is Drop Out, which is an industrial and techno dance floor smasher! Love it, but I prefer the flip side, Red Embers, which to me is a spell! That is probably my top track of the year. The vinyl was limited to 500 gorgeous orange marbled vinyl with a straight black repress. Shipped from Germany for $5, not sure how the seller figured that out! I got one of both! 🙂
Top EP Of The Year
Etapp Kyle – Lyrae
I love the melodic lines through these moderate dance tracks. The b-side is my favorite but both sides are great! Etapp Kyle has some great podcasts and other EPs out that are good; but not great like this release on Klockworks.
Top Remix of the Year
The Soft Moon – Without (Codex Empire Remix)
The Soft Moon album Deeper is a great concept cyberpunk album. Vocals on Electronic Body Music. Definitely a highlight find from last year. The remix album is great; almost every track is a cold warehouse dancefloor killer. Alternative. Wear your black!
Top Package of the Year
Twin Peaks Original Score by Angelo Badalamenti
Check out a great review with pictures here. Been 25 years and this soundtrack stands the test of time! All year rumors on and off about a new season; we’ll see if it ever happens! The packaging is nice. Die cut cover with a gatefold album that slips out. The die cut shows the zigzag pattern of the famous carpet. Inside the gatefold is a heavyweight multicolor-marbled brown vinyl that sounds delightful as it looks.
The owls are not what they seem!
Top Local Band of the Year
Sister Grotto – You Don’t Have to Be A House To Be Haunted
I first saw our sister of the underground labyrinths when she opened for Mark McGuire several years back. Her soft-gaze sound put me under a spell and I would have probably robbed a bank if she commanded it. This limited cassette release has three deeply emotional and beautiful tracks. As the title states, quite Haunting! The choir on the opener is a great production!
Bootleg of the Year
Love this show, had it on MP3 for a long time and found this vinyl in 2016. I often wonder how many midnight runs go through the record plants unchecked. Thank you record pressing plant dudes that actually care deeply about collectors! Grey Marbled Vinyl!
Israel, Halloween, Spellbound, Arabian Knights, Placebo Effect, Headcut, Sin In My Heart, Voodoo Dolly, Happy House. A great era for the band!
Other Great Albums of 2016
Schonwald – Between Parallel Lights
I find I listen to this album weekly over the course of the year. It is definitely modern post-punk. Definitely for fans of early Clan of Xymox, Cocteau Twins, The Cure and Siouxsie in the Banshees. The first track “Inland” is the favorite; but one of those albums that lacks a filler track. I love all of their albums and singles; a very solid band who I’m hoping comes to play Colorado soon!
mitra mitra – self titled
Luscious synth and great female vocals on this post-punk, a coldwave classic! Fans of Chris & Cosey and The Normal take note!
Trentemoller – Fixion
His last 4 albums have been all great; saw him in concert in 2015 and that was great. He’s coming to Denver again in March, I’ll be there with you? This album has great melody, post-punk basslines and great female vocal collaborations. A variety of styles mixed in on this overall great record!
Uskmatu – Whisper in a Dream
One of my favorite ex-local producers, Roy England, planted this album on us in 2016! It is a dub tech excursion with female vocals courtesy of Fatima Lily. Great vibe on this album, excellent sounds and wonderful mastering. Remember to Make Mistakes, formally Dope!
Memorex – Tape Two
What a solid release, excellent synth melodies and counter-melodies throughout, hard to pick a single favorite track! Killer limited cassette release! For fans of post-punk and cold wave!
PERSON:A – Matters
This year’s been great for alternative post-punk albums, and this is a great one. I’d call the style Cyberpunk. Dark, Cold Beats.
Great EPs and Singles I found in 2016
Univac – Voltage EP
Simple electro beats from the soundtrack of aliens invading the planet. Classic detroit style electro funk on this French label classic! I believe all the classic old school computers are now used for techno band names!
Application – Front End (Remixed by Pye Corner Audio)
This is what happens when Black Dog meets Pye Corner Audio. I love this electronica remix for its emotion and melodies full of delay and cheer! Great melodies throughout, a classic!
Rrose – Vanishing Pools
Was turned onto Rrose in 2016. Sound design is the theme for all tracks, some drone and some minimal tech. Wonderful sounds and mastering on these tension tracks!
Drvg Cvltvre & Umvelt – Rave or Die 03
Found the Rave or Die, and its sister label, New Flesh in 2016. Both have amazing releases! I have some Umwelt records which targeted me to this. If you like Clone or Carl Finlow style electro, and acid, then you should give these tracks your mind. He also has a cool limited vinyl release company he works with…wish I knew more about them! Both tracks are great, but Guts of the City b-side resonates hard! The beat box is simple and pure electro funk. The track is very dark acid, just how I like it!
Perc & Passarella Death Squad – Temperature’s Rising
Great dancefloor haunting track. Great simple vocal sample! Would work any dance floor in the middle of the night. Go pagan or go home!
Radere – I Can’t Sleep, I Can’t Wake Up
Colorado’s own Carl Ritger puts out a lush drone record! Thank you!
Culprit – Initial Beatdown
The sounds of this album are so fresh they can’t be linked to on the internet. You’ll have to contact Denver’s Culprit directly to hear this amazing record. A journey…from one side to the other…literally. Follow the leader.
//not hiphop//not bass//not glitch//not mental//
Top Record Of The Year
Luigi Tozzi – Deep Blue Volume 2
Well, you made it this far and if so I’m impressed, you actually are interested in new music. So I added this bonus, saving the best for last. This is an album I discovered while watching the amazing Perseids meteorite shower. The dark ambient lush skyscapes are perfect for watching star shows, driving, dark places and camping. My favorite album of 2016! From Sweden with Love! Enjoy!
Here’s a fun timelapse video I did of some star gazing…an added bonus while listening to Luigi above. Thanks for reading, let me know in the comments if you have new albums or tunes I should check out!
Limited Edition Multicaster / Iron Feather Journal 21 available
We finally have Multicast’s 2016 album Multicaster available for sale at our bandcamp site.
There is a limited number of hand stenciled Iron Feather Journal #21 magazines available with our CD. Don’t delay on this as this is a one-time run and no other magazines will be produced once these are gone.
Here are the videos associated with the new album (some soundtracks to my adventures, some music videos):
Faster and Faster:
Andromeda Strain:
Gurrr:
Interlude:
State:
Multicast Rural Sessions feature
We got a great review of or first full length album, Rural Sessions, in an Italian webzine specializing in electronic music, Electronique.It. The timing was great as we are doing the final work in preparation for our new album to be released very soon! Special thanks to Ivo D’Antoni for the wonderful and kind words! I still listen to this album, a lot, and enjoy it after all these years. It was a fruitful time for Multicast and for electronic music in general. That said, our new album is likely my favorite so far…hard to judge, we’ll stand them up side-by-side in another 15 years and see what’s what!
We released 3 different versions of Rural Sessions. The limited run of 500 marbled vinyl as seen above, then 1000 150g 2LPs and finally 500 CDs. The CD has the extended version of Laura where the LP has a reprise version. The reprise LP version was played on the late John Peel’s Radio One radio show.
Multicast’s Multicaster OBQ-16 debut in Japan!
Well, it is official, our new album is released! July 18th, 2016! The initial release is limited to Japan as an insert to the Iron Feather Journal magazine for the opening of the Sapporo Zine Festival in Hokkaido. We will be receiving a limited amount of magazines and will have a USA/World release in early September, the exact date is still to be determined.
As you wait for the next 6 weeks, you can preview the entire album here…
Front covers, both multi-color stenciled artwork!
IFJ / Multicaster back covers!
As the typical Multicast / Obliq Recordings way, we created each of the covers by hand. They are hand stenciled with recycled spray paint in multicolor! The Iron Feather Journal inserts are limited edition to 200, all hand-numbered. 100 will be released in Japan, 100 outside of Japan.
Multicaster album sleeves drying on the manufacturing line, by the river!
Here is what a spindle of 170 looks like!
Stack of Multicaster CDs.
Luckily my partner in crime, Cryptographics, is well versed at silk-screening and has the mass production process down! He first created a registration piece that was offset for the thickness of the cover. Then he created multiple stencils out of plastic to handle the ink. This project requires many stencils, one for each image on the cover that will have its own separate color. Thus, multiple iterations of paint and wait are required for the final cover to be complete!
Stencil registered with the first cover ready to go, as you can see all we do is move the left registration to the right side and we’re ready for the next image and colors.
Tasty ultra limited black cover gettings its second image sprayed
Stay tuned to our Facebook and Instagram pages, or stay tuned to this site or Obliq Recordings for release date information. Don’t sit on getting the limited IFJ magazine or it will be gone!
New Multicast Album forthcoming – Iron Feather Journal Collaboration
I received an email from an old friend who nows lives in Northern Japan asking if my band Multicast would be interested in another collaboration project with the Iron Feather Journal cyberpunk zine. Rewind back to 1999, the year the late Prince sings about, where we did our first collaborative project with the Zine. We produced a 10″ 4-track EP vinyl, silk-screened cover and included the Iron Feather Journal #17 magazine. Not only was this a fun project, but it was successful selling a 1000 copies worldwide.
The magazine has a really old-school feel as the pages are laid out by hand and then photocopied. None of this modern computer layout stuff for this zine! Content varies, but is cyber-culture and music related.
Multicast’s Iron Feather Journal #17, limited colored vinyl
The entire Iron Feather Journal #17 package, with record, magazine and 2-color silkscreened cover.
The Iron Feather Journal has moved to northern Japan and is planning the next zine to premiere at the Sapporo Zine Festival in mid-July. This time we’ll do a CD, a 10-track full length Multicast project. The number of magazines will be limited with some available here in the USA from Obliq Recordings after the festival. We plan to do 4-color stenciled cover art, each one will be hand created so they will likely all be unique.
Track selection and sequencing was completed in late April 2016. Mastering is scheduled for May 10th and we’ll send to press shortly after. Then they will be shipped to Japan and incorporated with the magazine which will be created there.