Category Archives: Music

2017’s Music Highlights

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First, mad respect to ourselves!  Here is new music from our crews…

Chillout Enforcement Crew’s “Acid LuAu” 7”.  Obliq Recordings #17

2017 was tremendous fun with this new project.  The crew has an open door policy to spark collaboration and creativity; with the foundation upon bringing just enough gear to get by, and imrpov is the core virtue.  We had 6 great shows and twice as many studio sessions to get this project rolling.  We’re celebrating the Earth’s wobble with four 7” releases packaged in retro 8” floppy diskettes.  #1 is a Polynesian party track, on acid.  The tracks are free digitally, so it would be pretty damn old-man style lame if we don’t have 5 more downloads before Xmas.

 

_entrancer’s “No Borders” cassette.  Obsolete Future #14

Great acid record.  Think Recondite style, but not so formulized, and much more chill.  Great for Sundays!

 

The Howling Hex’s lathe cut 7”.  White label

Contact me for more information on getting this release.

Great track!  Enjoying the amazing packaging and release over the last month, it’s a late-comer to 2017; get it while you can, ultra-limited.

 

Multicast’s “Multicaster” CD+Zine.  Obliq Recordings #16


IFJ stenciled artwork

Front covers, both multi-color stenciled artwork!Multicast’s best work to date, included is an amazing little Iron Feather Journal magazine from Japan.  Cross-Pacific collaboration.  Zine features Multicast’s Phonographic Toys collection, don’t miss it if you are a vinyl freak; there’s some serious history for you waiting!  Ambient, Acid, Experimental!

Can’t be that bad, we’ve had about 15k views on YouTube.

 

Now on to some other favs of 2017!

Dopplereffekt’s “Cellular Automata”.  Leisure System.

Cinematic robot tunes.  This is an amazing collection of electro, sci-fi, cinematic tunes.  Their early Eps all were dancefloor driven; but their albums are more ambient and melodic!  Think Blade Runner 2049 caliber sci-fi and you’re on the right track.

 

Raymond Scott’s “THREE WILLOW PARK: Electronic Music from Inner Space, 1961-1971”.  Basta.

http://www.raymondscott.net/three-willow-park/

This year brought the re-release of the outstanding “Manhattan Research Inc” on colored wax (if you don’t have this, hurry).  But Three Willow Park tops my top pick list!  It has 61 unreleased gems across 3 slabs of wax.  Each wax is in its own gatefold sleeve with tons of great photos and information.  This release explores a very exciting and innovative time for pioneer Raymond Scott, and electronic music in general.  He had already invented the machines for electronic music composition (long before Moog and Buchla) and was mastering his craft during this period—as others were just getting started.  By this time he was self-employed and had full creative and innovative freedom to explore the future!  This release includes works using the Electronium—the machine using “programmed intelligence”.   Amazing stuff here.

 

Raymond Scott’s “Soothing Sounds For Baby”.  Basta.

http://www.musiconvinyl.com/catalog/raymond-scott/soothing-sounds-for-baby-vols-1-3#.WjZSzkqnGUl

This is a re-release, remastered on heavy-weight colored wax, but another amazing electronic music gem.  Raymond was a heavy influence on heroes, just to name a few, Froese, Eno, Fripp, Kraftwerk, Glass, Multicast…  These records were intended to be played by the mother to the baby at three critical phases of life.  0-6 months, 6-12 months, and 12-18 months.  If you change “months” to “decades”, they still work as intended!

 

Aphex Twin’s “3 Gerald Remix / 24 TSIM 2”.  Technical Equipment Supply.

https://www.discogs.com/Aphex-Twin-3-Gerald-Remix-24-TSIM-2/release/10452636

Vinyl is going through a renaissance, with LED lights inside of records, colored wax becoming an artform, animated records coming back into style, and new and crazy distribution tactics.  Richard James is a man of ideas, and in 2017 he released two singles that are difficult for the collector.  His new tactic is to have limited releases from small, independent record stores to help keep the passionate entrepreneurs thriving!  This release was only available from the small store in Ypsilanti, Michigan and cannot be sold mail-order.  You either have to visit the store, or find an expensive one second hand.  The tracks are good, making this release worth the effort!

 

“Evil Dead 2 OST”.  Waxwork Records.

https://waxworkrecords.com/products/evil-dead-2?variant=30413229125

This movie started me down a one-way path.  Thinking we were just going to see a slasher style movie on the silver screen, well, our minds were expanded, quickly!  This movie likely has the entire dialog sampled in one industrial song or another, but the music was great too, even though you didn’t notice it.  This is a wonderful package including some psychedelic colored vinyl.  A trip down memory lane.

 

Guerilla Toss’s “G T Ultra”.  DFA.

“I’ve driving a car, but I’m not the owner”.  The other 1/2 of Multicast, Jeff, can relate!  With an album cover featuring a sheet of acid, this was worth checking out.  This NYC band reminds me of a cross between Chicks on Speed and The B-52s without Fred Schnider; with a funkier core.  This was my soundtrack to my European journey this summer.  This could be my top pick of the year, still a couple of tabs left on this release…saving them for friends.

 

J Dubular’s “View from the Summit”. 

My buddy here in the hood has an amazing view from his porch, and we often just decompress gazing 50 miles down the front range onto Lookout Mountain.  My buddy Jim is a reggae aficionado (see soundcloud’s ReggaeDispensory) so we constantly search out Dub for the porch.  This was one of those records from Colorado band (Idaho Springs) J dubular.  Warm breeze, sunset, porch, relaxation, stunning view soundtrack!

 

UHF’s “Strange days of Happiness” EP.  Borg Recordings.

This hails from Spain on UK’s Borg Recordings label.  Those that know me know I love electro (not that house crap, real electro with its roots in the early 80s hip-hop culture), and this is a melodic foray into heavy bass.  I can’t count the number of sunrises I’ve seen this year to this soundtrack.  Perfect for the commute!

 

N-TER’s “Falling Apart” EP.  Crobot Muzik.

Another electro slasher, this time out of London.  The label is amazing, found it on bandcamp this last year.  Melodies on top of BASS breaks.  This one is more for sunsets, or maybe just the deepest darkness of night as the sliver of crescent moon arises!

 

Recondite’s “Theater II” EP.  Dystopian.

One of the top acts in techno, travelling the world from festival to festival.  This is a stray from his typical Plastikman legato acid style, and a trip into deeper techno.  I described it as “Intense Sci-fi soundtrack intertwined with deliberate driving beats.  Excellent mood and production.”  I will someday hear this on a large sound system, and that will make me very happy!

 

Ceephax Acid Crew’s “Acid Fourniture” & “Byron’s Ballads” EPs.  Weme Records.

Someone once said “This is not a mind trip, it is a body journey”.  These EPs falls within that realm.  London’s Mr Ceephax released two Eps the same day this winter, and both are great!  Worth checking out!

 

1NC1N’s “Praying Mantis” EP.  Zodiak Commune Records.

Another latecomer to 2017, this is a rock solid acidic dancefloor EP.  High quality production, both in the sound and the vibe, demonstrating that Acid music is still on a plateau overlooking the vast spaces of other dance music.

 

Human League’s “Travelogue”.  Virgin

https://www.discogs.com/The-Human-League-Travelogue/master/643

Had to mention this amazing album has been re-issued on heavy-weight vinyl and remastered.  The band’s 2nd record was released in early 1980 and has stood the test of time.  This was before they ditched half of the band for two female vocalists and a contract with the devil; back when they were pushing the experimental boundaries of early synth-pop!  A classic!

 

This year’s bootlegs worth noting…

The Cure.  Period.  This year has been an amazing year for demos and live sets being released (or re-released) on vinyl.  What’s up with Discogs not allowing “Fan Club Vinyl” to be sold anymore?  Does every cool website have to sell out to the MPAA and RIAA still, in this day and age?  Well, there is still a distribution channel or two, once again it heads underground!

The Cure – Forever. 

https://www.discogs.com/The-Cure-Forever/master/1086713

Demos and Unreleased material from 1980-1983.  Killer!

 

The Cure – The Wailing Demos. 

https://www.discogs.com/The-Cure-The-Wailing-Demos/master/1203041

More demos from their golden era.  Killer!

 

The Cure – Grinding Halt & 10:15 Saturday Night.

https://www.discogs.com/Cure-Grinding-Halt/master/765075

https://www.discogs.com/Cure-1015-Saturday-Night/master/765074

Live show from 10 June 1981, Mensa Morgenstelle, Tübingen, Germany.  Two vinyl set released separately.  Man what a great set!  Raw!  Soundboard!  Picked this up in Belfast.

 

The Cure – Disintegration in Cokeland. 

https://www.discogs.com/The-Cure-Disintegration-In-Cokeland/master/1187158

Another pickup from Belfast.   This is the pink vinyl version.  Soundboard from their second golden period 9/9/89 in Oakland’s Coliseum.

 

The Cure – World War.

https://www.discogs.com/The-Cure-World-War-Rare-Demos/master/1174763

These are some rare demos across their first couple of years.  Great stuff!

 

The Cure – Pillbox Tales.

https://www.discogs.com/Cure-Pillbox-Tales-1977-1979/release/2594094

This is really early stuff, from when they were “Easy Cure”.  This is more rock oriented before Robert came into his own.  But still worth hearing where they came from.  That said, glad they went down a one-way road!

The Making of Acid LuAu

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On December 12th we released the latest Obliq Recordings record.  This was the inaugural 7″ in a series of four celebrating the Earth’s wobble by my latest project, Chillout Enforcement Crew.  We have been wanting to release  a flexible record or lathe cut for a while, and so this idea hit me.  Why not do another floppy diskette release?

For those not in the know, back in 2000 my other project Multicast released Sympathen, a limited edition of 300 7″ records in a retro floppy diskette–the single from our forthcoming LP Rural Sessions.  That time was the height of electronic music distribution, and the unique packaging sold this release out immediately; mostly to Europe.  We really had fun with the design of that release, so I decided to research to see if we could pull that off again, this time in a very limited run.

I looked around for the contact information from the manufacturer of the 8″ floppy diskettes (they were new from a firm still making them for mainframes, but they were trash from being tested for Quality Assurance, so I worked a discount!), but I couldn’t get a hold of that firm anymore.  I ended up finding a vintage computer collector on Etsy that had some for sale.  Luckily he was cool as I told him about our project and he sent me four different manufacturers in quantity of 25 each!  Perfect for our “Earth’s Wobble” four seasons theme.  They also came with cool original blank sleeves so I could print upon them!

For the design, I downloaded some free fonts with an arcade style vibe.  I ordered some small labels and laser printed the design on them.  I used one label for the diskette label (like old-school diskettes had) and then another for the back of the picture disk record.  I used a rubber stamp that we made for the original floppy release so we could have some consistency between the 17 years between releases on our label.  I decided to stamp on the sleeve and also on the back of the record.  Finally I found a nice gold outlined sticker tab at a local craft shop for the write protection, which will seal the record inside the floppy and retain the 80s vibe I was looking for.

Looking forward to the next three releases, all earmarked for 2018!

Construction begins. Cutting out the download code coupons.

Started assembling, but haven’t stamped the sleeves.

Letting the stamp dry.

Closeup of the drying records

Stamping the sleeves!

Package with all the sides showing

The finished stack. Ultra limited to 25 copies!

Vintage Phonographic Toys

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Originally published in the Iron Feather Journal 2016 by Dave Alexander.

If you are a Millennial then you are at least two generations too old to remember most of these toys, but for those born in the 1950’s through 1980’s you will probably remember many of these toys during your formative years.  What you may not realize is that these toys made their sounds, unlike today via computer chips, through a mechanical means using built in records and phonographs!

The phonograph-based toy started in the late 1950’s when the fastest growing toy company, Mattel, started to produce dolls that interact with their owners.  Barbie was a huge seller for Mattel but it lacked interaction which left a lot to the girl’s imagination.  The Chatty series of dolls solved this problem and started a new era of dolls.  In 1959 the idea of pulling a string on your doll would and having her speak one of 11 phrases at random to you was ingenious!  Later models towards the mid-1960s would speak 18 different phrases.  This was accomplished by dropping a needle on a small 3 inch record in random locations—the player was installed in the doll’s abdomen and was a wonder of engineering at the time.  These dolls was an instant success and their underlying phonograph technology was used over and over in many toys by Mattel and other companies through the 1980s.

In 1963, after many successful years with the various Chatty dolls, Mattel introduced Charmin’ Chatty.  This doll was a bit different than the others because the records were interchangeable through a slot on the doll’s side.  The 3 inch records were double-sided, so you had twice as many phrases per record.  Records and clothing were sold as accessories, including the ultra-collectable “Let’s Talk ‘n Travel in Foreign Lands” which included a cute “travel” outfit accompanied by 4 records speaking in 7 different languages—instantly giving the doll and her owner world culture!  Since the phonograph played random tracks when the string was pulled, Mattel released the “Chatty Games” accessories.  Each box included two games; with 4 total games where a random move was spoken by Charmin’ Chatty, kids could play up to 8 different games with their dolls.  In 1965 Mattel discontinued production of these dolls, but continued to innovate with their phonograph-based interactive toys.

Chatty Games, this one includes “At The Fair” and “Skate N Slide”

Chatty Games "Animal Roundup" and "Animal Friends"

This Chatty Games includes “Animal Roundup” and “Animal Friends” board games

Here is Chatty at the Fair game. The reverse side has the Skate N Slide game. Each game set comes with records to insert into the doll, all board game pieces and reversible board.

Chatty brochure

From the brochure, with instructions on how to change records, and details all the different fun you can have with Chatty including what needs come out of the piggy bank.

After the success with the Chatty dolls, in 1965 Mattel created the See‘N Say toys line of toys providing similar interaction with the toy, but this time the child had control over which audio track would play using a dial.  The kid would point the arrow at a picture and pull the string, and the phonograph player would have its needle dropped on the specific track based on the slot the dial was placed.  It was the same mechanism inside the toy as the previous Chatty dolls, but with a user chosen groove instead of a random groove on the record.  The initial toys were the Bee Says toy that spoke the alphabet and the Farmer Says toy that spoke farm/animal sounds.  After the success of these, new variations were produced, the only difference was the sticker on the toy showing the available choices, and the phonograph record within; a clever way to sell new variations in the brand using the same manufacturing line!  These toys continued popularity into the 90s where the phonographs were replaced by digital sound reproduction.

Of course, all this success didn’t go unnoticed, and other toy manufacturers joined in the dream of huge profits with their own mechanical phonograph-based toys.  In 1964 General Electric joined in with a toy television with a record player on top.  Inserted filmstrips were backlit to project 16mm images onto the toy television screen while the record provided audio.  Picturesound programs were sold individually including a filmstrip with 15 films and a 4 minute record.  At fixed intervals on the record the filmstrip would mechanically be moved to provide the next image in the story.

Meanwhile, Mattel was not done with their line of dolls and in 1971 Cynthia My Best Friend was built based on the Charmin’ Chatty technology except the doll was much smaller.  She played 2 inch interchangeable records that were inserted in her side.  To repeat their successful business model, Cynthia fashion kits were sold each with a new record full of phrases.

In addition to dolls, Mattel produced two different interactive phone toys.  Alongside the See’N Say toys, 1965 saw the Mattel-o-Phone with interchangeable 4 inch records.  Kids could have conversations with their dolls (or just by themselves) with this phone, which sported many popular cartoon characters and dolls of the day that would talk to you.  Later, their 1971 Fun Phone Alphabet Phone toy was aimed at education, teaching kids using sporting colorful 2 ½ inch picture discs with the alphabet and other important things for young kids to learn over the phone.  By this time, Mattel had the mechanical phonograph dialed in and they were using it in all sorts of ways to add interactive speech long before computer chips would take over!

In 1970 Ohio Art produced the “World’s Smallest Record Player” called the Mighty Tiny.  This small coffin looking player opened up and the kid would insert a 2 inch plastic record.  Upon closing the toy the needle on the top of the player would track on the record and would reproduce its sound through the small internal speaker powered by AA batteries.  Records came in 4-packs grouped by music styles, which included “Foreign”, “Rock’n Roll”, “Country and Western”, “Novelty”, etc.  Of course they encouraged people to “collect them all”.

Mattel continued the interactive experience with Live Drive in 1970.  This toy has a steering wheel and gear shifter and was aimed to allow the driver to imagine driving.  To help that imagination, there are cardboard backdrops attached to the “windshield” area for the visuals and records for the audio.  The experiences include Racecar, Submarine, Spaceship, Airplane, Fire Engine, and Speedboat.  “You can drive ‘em all!!”  The battery operated interchangeable record player is very similar to the Instant Replay player mentioned below; probably the same one given they were released the same year.

Mattel Live Drive Box Mattel Live Drive Box

In 1977 Mattel released the ABC Monday Night Football game.  The game came with a football field and some plastic accessories to aid in gameplay; the main component was a record player with 2.5 inch discs, some single sided, some grooved on both sides.  These discs had different offensive, defensive and penalty called plays that were recorded by the original ABC Monday Night Football commentators.  Using the random needle dropping technology, the records were perfect for a football game!

ABC Monday Night Football

Disney got in the action and produced the Mickey Mouse World Series Baseball Game in 1984.  They used a special “Trick-Track” process that dropped the needle on one of 15 tracks of a 6 inch flexi-disc record.  Each track played about 15 seconds of commentators that called the gameplay.  The sleeve’s gatefold was used as the diamond, and small punch-out discs were used by each player to mark their progress and score.  You’d play for 9 innings, or however long it would keep your attention!

Sports trading cards have been popular for a long time, and Mattel decided to use their phonograph toy technology to make sports cards interactive.  In 1971 they released the Instant Reply toy, which played small 2.5 inch records that had different players talking to you.  Most records were single sided with a sticker of the athlete on the front side, but there are highly collectible double-sided cardboard picture discs available as well.  The proprietary record player was battery powered with a built-in speaker and used a switch for turning the player on and off.  Discs were sold in either 4-packs based on sport, or 8-packs folders with small informational booklets.  It was said the basketball series was the most popular, and the double-sided basketball stars can fetch hundreds of dollars in collector’s circles!

Mattel Instant Replay

In 1989, Topps cards produced the Sports Talk player and cards.  Topps released 164 talking baseball cards for that year’s popular major league athletes, and also included cards for all-time favorite players and important historical baseball events.  The cards were full color with a picture of the athlete on the cover and statistics on the back, just as you’d expect; but additionally there was an embossed plastic record on the back.  Once inserted and closed into the proprietary phonograph player’s transparent plastic window, the record would play and you’d hear the athlete tell you something funny or cool about their career while you looked the front of the card, or re-live important baseball history!Sport Talk

Fisher Price and Yes! companies realized there was a market for read-to-me style books for kids just learnings to read.  They took popular books like Bernstein Bears and television shows like Sesame Street and added embossed 3 inch records to each page.  Their record players would lay on top of the page, registered to the center of the record, then when pressing play, if properly aligned, the needle would drop and the story would be narrated.  The players and books were interchangeable, no clue if this was intentional.

Perhaps the most serious attempt at a record-based educational toy was Mattel’s Teach & Learn Computer in 1981.  The computer was battery powered and contained a slot for the 5 inch record and a generic touch panel.  Overlays and records were purchased separately and the record and touch panel were programmed to work together interacting with the child and hopefully teaching a thing or two in the process.

Mattel Teach and Learn Computer

Finally, my personal favorite was the Cosmic Clash arcade game released in 1982 by Tomy.  This entirely mechanical game provided mechanical visuals based on back-lit cellophane film strips for aliens that you’d shoot, and the rotating back-lit cellophane cylinder laser beam you’d fire, and the op-art style explosions.  The audio was played on the record where the needle was dropped in certain locations based on the sound effects that needed played.  This game was a wonderfully engineered toy providing a home arcade alternative before video games entered the home.

Cosmic Clash Cosmic Clash

The mechanical phonograph record used in toys lasted for well over three decades when they were finally replaced by electronics.  The creative use of phonograph records allowed for interactive toys that were state of the art for the time; captivating children’s hearts and piling up wish lists at the North Pole that were mailed to Santa each year!

Sunday Slow-Down improv set

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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!

Sunday Slow-Down live electronic music

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

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electronic air - dj davealexI’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…

Electronic Air dj davealex

KGNU Debut DJ Set

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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.  

Sleepless Nights - Jan 22, 2017

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

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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!

Iron Feather Journal 21

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! 🙂

Room 506

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

Twin Peaks Soundtrack

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

Siouxsie And The Banshees ‎– Live At De Nieuwe Kade, The Netherlands July 7, 1981

Siouxsie - Live

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!

Luigi Tozzi

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

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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: