Recently local music weekly Seven Days published a review of The Le Duo’s latest offering snwstrm saying:

“The surround instrumentation is too cacophonous for the listener to make out any kind of harmonic phrasing, experimental or otherwise. Whatever interesting improvisational creations might be happening here, they’re hard to grasp.”

“Even in the widely cast, anything-goes spectrum of experimental noise, this snwstrm never truly develops from the percussive din of its “Pt. 1.” A few scant clarinet phrases pipe up, and there are sometimes audible tape loops and seconds of barely discernable electric guitar.”

In his response SD’s staff blogger Will came out strongly in favor of The Le Duo (and Burlington’s flourishing experimental scene) stating in his article “The Art of Noise”

“To me, the le duo is the current genuine voice of whatever scene Burlington experimental music has created. The ever-evolving free-improv group could be seen as more of a collective. Started in 2006 by former Nest Material drummer and percussionist JB Ledoux, it has since comprised a fluid cast of folks from the area. The group’s forte is an elementary sense of musical freedom focused into a shifting complexity of textures and sounds, fused and scattered by JB’s percussion.”

“The solidified direction of the album’s two tracks weave different emotional tones throughout the whole piece as its slight, yet dramatic shifts carry the experience along at a meditative pace. It’s a soundtrack to someone on the verge of dreams, running through the confusion of vertigo.”

Quite differing opinions wouldn’t you agree?
Care to take the pepsi challenge?

Ok, this is a tough one to classify. So i limited it to the brits and to the 1980’s – and came up with a mix that skims the surface of some of the more inspirational artists to emerge from this often unreconizedly furtile period for psychedelia, what started w/ post-jangle dream pop, splinted out rapidly into various club sounds, goth-rock, Madchester, and later into shoegaze and modern brit-pop, but those are podcasts for another day.

Summer’s coming to an end, with what we hope is the beginning of a long and glorious fall season. I can’t think of a better mix to usher in a new season than this emotive mix by Britains favorite melecholic romantics. So download it, Ipod it, and take it with you for your next cool evening walk.

The Cure – Plainsong / Cocteau Twins – Blue Bell Knoll / Echo & The Bunnymen – The Yo-Yo Man / The Chameleons UK – P.S. Goodbye / The Stone Roses – I wanna be adored / The Psychedelic Furs – Pretty in Pink / New Order – Perfect Kiss / Echo & the Bunnymen – Porcupine / The Chameleons UK – Perfume Garden / Kate Bush – The Big Sky (Meteorogical Mix) / The Cure – Pornography

 

 Ae #9: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This weeks episode of the Ae radioshow consisted of another mega-mix, but this time not of a particular band as we did last time with Stereolab, but instead with the illustrious and prolific Kompakt Label. Started by GAS’s Wolfgang Voigt and couple fellow compatriots with a love of, and desire to marry gaussy drifting ambience to 4×4 german techno. Kompakt has grown exponentially in the 10 years since it’s creation thanks to it’s incredible standard of quality, and as the last couple years has managed to break through to listeners not as comfortable on the late night dancefloors as they are in headphones.

Infact as per-usual with the knee jerking indie-critics, many are saying Kompakt has reached some percieved “saturation point” and many of these critics have been claiming a “Kompakt backlash” is in order or underway – which given the last years amazing and varied output by label artists such as The Field, Pluxus, and Gui Boratto, would seem to us to be absolute hogwash and bandwagon jumping.

It’s our opinion that Kompakt remain supremely relevent, engaged and still on the forefront of a genre they themselves pioneered more than a decade ago. Regardless, we’ve taken it upon ourselves to compile a seemless two hour mixtape of some of Kompakts more recent triumphs to let you decide. Enjoy.

Transient – Pluxus / Beautiful Life – Gui Boratto / Intershop 6 – Dettinger / Brutalga Square – DJ Koze / Der Westenplanet – Markus Guentner / Heroes – Hug / Nitsa Is 11 – Ferenc / Closer Dance – Closer Musik / Align – Mikkel Metal / Estella – DJ Koze / Sandia – Ferenc / Phanto & ghost – Michael Mayer / Gate 7 – Gui Boratto / Tactic without Practice – Hug / Chromophobia – Gui Boratto / Kinoton – Pluxus / Wenn Musik der Liebe Nahrung Ist – Markus Guentner / Kappsta 2 – The Field

 

 Aether Everywhere #17: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Due to the request of our attendance at a recent Snake in the Garden show this week Aether Everywhere Radio show (and subsequent podcast) has been delayed for two more weeks. But thanks to a healthy back stock of unreleased AE Podcasts from previous shows along with a personal request from a regular reader I’ve decided to go back to the vault and pull out our show from Last winter focusing on one of my favorite genres – Japanese Psych. What follows is a reprinting of the original post as it appeared on highgatecenter.blogspot.com, enjoy.

—

Hey everyone. Sorry that it’s taken until now to post the latest Aether Everywhere set and download (Jenny’s been checking her computer every couple of hours, folding her arms, and stomping away), but both Tanner and I had pretty hectic weekends. OK, so mine wasn’t really all that hectic, but since I was recently informed by my supervisor that, no, a hot pink Marc Bolan t-shirt (and the like) is not acceptable attire for work, I had to go get me some new threads.

Aaanyway, this past Thursday, we featured Ghost’s Snuffbox Immanence from 1999. A lot of people consider this to be their “classic” album, and I’d agree with that (although depending on the day, Lama Rabi Rabi gives it a run). We then spun a bunch of like-minded Japanese psych tracks, ranging from Ghost’s side work with Damon and Naomi (the rhythm section of Galaxie 500) to Nobuzaku Takemura, whose Steve Reich-meets-Markus Popp “Kepler” is reminiscent of Snuffbox’s “Daggma.” Hope you enjoy, and tune in Aether Everywhere this Thursday at 10 for some Elephant 6 action! – JOSH

(ps. This is one of my favorite setlists, i love all of these songs, and some of the artists are some of my all time favorite players, do yourself a favor, download this one, pop it into your ipod for that ride on the train, walk in the winter woods, or drive down the coast – also check out my mad photoshop p0Wnage! -tanner)

1) Damon & Naomi w/ Ghost – “I Dreamed of the Caucasus”
2) Keiji Haino – “I Don’t Want To Know”
3) L – “Troll”
4) LSD March – “Kimi Wa Tengoku”
5) Maher Salal Hash Baz – “What’s Your Business Here Elijah?”
6) Susumu Yokota – “Sleepy Eye”
7) Nagisa Ni Te – “Me On The Beach”
8 ) Boredoms – “(two circles)”
9) Nobukazu Takemura – “Kepler”
10) Boris w/ Michio Kurihara – “Fuzzy Reactor”
11) Masaki Batoh – “Spooky”
12) High Rise – “Outside Gentiles”

 

 AE Podcast #4 - Jap-Psych: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Due to the request of our attendance at a recent Snake in the Garden show this week Aether Everywhere Radio show (and subsequent podcast) has been delayed for two more weeks. But thanks to a healthy back stock of unreleased AE Podcasts from previous shows along with a personal request from a regular reader I’ve decided to go back to the vault and pull out our show from Last winter focusing on one of my favorite genres – Japanese Psych. What follows is a reprinting of the original post as it appeared on highgatecenter.blogspot.com, enjoy.

—

Hey everyone. Sorry that it’s taken until now to post the latest Aether Everywhere set and download (Jenny’s been checking her computer every couple of hours, folding her arms, and stomping away), but both Tanner and I had pretty hectic weekends. OK, so mine wasn’t really all that hectic, but since I was recently informed by my supervisor that, no, a hot pink Marc Bolan t-shirt (and the like) is not acceptable attire for work, I had to go get me some new threads.

Aaanyway, this past Thursday, we featured Ghost’s Snuffbox Immanence from 1999. A lot of people consider this to be their “classic” album, and I’d agree with that (although depending on the day, Lama Rabi Rabi gives it a run). We then spun a bunch of like-minded Japanese psych tracks, ranging from Ghost’s side work with Damon and Naomi (the rhythm section of Galaxie 500) to Nobuzaku Takemura, whose Steve Reich-meets-Markus Popp “Kepler” is reminiscent of Snuffbox’s “Daggma.” Hope you enjoy, and tune in Aether Everywhere this Thursday at 10 for some Elephant 6 action! – JOSH

(ps. This is one of my favorite setlists, i love all of these songs, and some of the artists are some of my all time favorite players, do yourself a favor, download this one, pop it into your ipod for that ride on the train, walk in the winter woods, or drive down the coast – also check out my mad photoshop p0Wnage! -tanner)

1) Damon & Naomi w/ Ghost – “I Dreamed of the Caucasus”
2) Keiji Haino – “I Don’t Want To Know”
3) L – “Troll”
4) LSD March – “Kimi Wa Tengoku”
5) Maher Salal Hash Baz – “What’s Your Business Here Elijah?”
6) Susumu Yokota – “Sleepy Eye”
7) Nagisa Ni Te – “Me On The Beach”
Boredoms – “(two circles)”
9) Nobukazu Takemura – “Kepler”
10) Boris w/ Michio Kurihara – “Fuzzy Reactor”
11) Masaki Batoh – “Spooky”
12) High Rise – “Outside Gentiles”

 

 AE Podcast #4 - Jap-Psych: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This weeks AE is a special tribute to one of our all-time favorite music makers, Stereolab – whether they’re kraut-rocking, bossanova-ing, or french-popping they’ve always brought their A-games and a sense of playful experimentation and dedication.

Stereolab have never been a band to shy away from one off singles, bonus disc, limited EPs and tour only offerings. While i’m no completist (and thankfully so) i’ve found myself always out the lookout for another stereolab offering, namely because of the quality of their output and their willingness to experiment (listen to their tracks with Nurse w/ Wound)

I won’t go into all that detail, i’ll let the music speak for me, but rest assured if you enjoy anything you hear on this seamless two hour mix, there is plenty more to be found. As always AE podcasts are free to listen to, download and share, but if you like it, go buy the albums.

DISCUSS IT HERE

1) Trippin’ with the birds [w Nurse w/ wound] 2) Golden Ball 3) Pain et Spectacles 4) I was a sunny rainphase 5)Young Lungs 6) The Free Design 7) Symbolic Logic of Now! K-Stars 9) Allures 10) Margerine Rock 11)Nihilist Assault Group [parts 1-3] 12) Escape Pod (from the world of men) 13) The Black Arts 14) …Sudden Stars 15) Steel drum march of the metal men [with Nurse with Wound] 16) Animal or Vegitable 17) Fench Disko 18) Simple Headphone Mind [with Nurse with Wound] 19) Les Bons Bons Des Raisons 20) Narco Martenot

 

 Aether Everywhere #16: Stereolab [1:53:56m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This weeks AE podcast is one long mix (divided into convenient hour long sets)  covering music from some of Sweden’s greatest psychedelic music makers, all not coincidentally appearing to varying degree, in three seminal outfits spanning from the mid 60’s to the early 70’s.

Starting around 1966 “Parson Sound” came out on the scene – easily the heaviest of the three, the group played huge, revolving walls of sound – thundering drum patterns, shreiking electric violins and guitars, ghostly moans and super blown production. Tracks would shamble in and after 10 minutes of building tension, crumble away.

allmusic described their one (compiled from various sessions 30 years later…) album as “mind-bending music that draws on the Velvet Underground, West Coast psychedelic bands, and Terry Riley and 1960’s minimalism, as filtered through a Krautrock-like angst and with some Swedish folk influences thrown in.”

Next followed (international) Harvester – The lineup remained mostly the same but this time they decided to abandon some of the more alienating elements of Parson sound and focus more on swedish folk roots and a more progressive psychedelic sound, described by someone in the know as “mastodon waltz-drone / acid soaked free jam psychedelia.” pretty apt – very stoned, very hippy – but so very heavy.

After a few years of this arangment the band reformed into their most successful arangment as “Trad Gras Och Stenar” translating to “Trees Grass and Stones”. Stripping back some of the heaviness and distortion Trad Gras opted instead for a more measured sound drawing more from the ongoing west coast psychedelic sound including the extended guitar interplay that bands like the Grateful Dead were popularizing. Though the volume has been dialed down to just under 10, the band still remained true to their vision of anarchic music making, playing at illegal festivals, staging shows at protests and writing their music to incorporate crowd participation.

SET 1: Harvester – Nar Lingonen Mognar // Trad Gras Och Stenar – Dansa Jord // Harvester – Och solen Gar Upp // Trad Gras Och Stenar – Rochtrall // Harvester – Kristallen Den Fina // Harvester – Hemat // Trad Gras Och Stenar – Sommarlaten (previously unreleased extended version) // Parson Sound – Tio Minuter // Trad Gras Och Stenar – Kangbron

SET2: Trad Gras Och Stenar – Halsa Ulla // Parson Sound – India (slight return) // Trad Gras Och Stenar – Chrisboogie // Trad Gras Och Stenar – Drammen export – Sommarlaten // Parson Sound – One Quiet Afternoon (in the king’s Court) // Harvester – Nepal Boogie

COMMENT HERE

 

 Aether Everywhere #15 Set #1: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Aether Everywhere #15 Set #2: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

For this week’s edition of Aether Everywhere, we played Grm: Concert Imaginaire, an album featuring some of the very first musique concrete recordings from the late ’40s through ’50s.  Probably the most well known of the artists is Pierre Schaeffer, who is considered a pioneer of the musique concrete genre.  Listening to these amazing and sometimes jarring recordings, it’s easy to detect the marked influence they’ve had on the various strains of electronica, right up through to the present day.  To illustrate this, we rounded out the second hour of the show with a mix of songs by Christian Fennesz and Tim Hecker, two juggernauts of the current experimental electronica scene.

Our decision to feature Fennesz and Hecker was calculated, as Tanner and I had the pleasure of watching the two perform back-to-back in a tiny Montreal theater during last weekend’s Mutek Festival.  If you’d like to hear a thorough run-down of our experience, you can check out the thread in the “general” branch of the discussion section.  Needless to say, it did not disappoint, and we left the venue with our jaws on the floor.  This is stating the obvious, but a big part of what makes these two artists so special is their ability to meld the harsher elements of musique concrete with some of the most awe-inspiring melodies you’ll hear in any genre.  Enjoy the download of this set–it’s equally suited for sunny afternoons and early morning comedowns…well, most of it anyway.   For those of you who are new to these artists, we strongly advise you to check out Fennesz’s Endless Summer (universally regarded as a ground-breaking masterpiece) and Venice, and Tim Hecker’s Haunt Me, Haunt Me, Do it Again and Harmony in Ultraviolet.  Don’t expect all of it to click on first listen, but trust us–once you put in the time and locate the buried melodies, you won’t be listening to much else for the rest of the summer…

Hecker – Incurably Optimistic! // Fennesz – Caecilia // Fennesz – Instrument 4 // Hecker – Balkanize You // Fennesz – Circassian // Fennesz – Happy Audio // Fennesz A Year in a Minute // Hecker – Chimeras // Hecker – 7000 Miles // Fennesz – Laguna // Hecker – Whitecaps of White Noise I & II // Hecker – Blood Rainbow

DISCUSS IT HERE

 

 Aether Everywhere #14: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Welcome to another installment of the Aether Everywhere Radio show & Podcast – This weeks show Features the entirety of Ride’s now classic Shoegaze barn burner “Nowhere”. While it would seem logical that any show highlighting Shoegaze would focus mainly on that Colossal 900lbs gorilla of Shoegaze “Loveless” I assume anyone who’s interested in the genre has already spent umpteen hours in headphones pouring themselves over Mr. Shield’s genius megablown masterpiece.

So where do you go from there?

Might I suggest, Nowhere. No quite the boiled down wall of sound that the genre would later be defined by – Ride prefer instead to keep the instruments separated in the mix, taking painstaking steps to keep everything apparent even in the midst of some of the greatest psych freakouts this side of the 1980s (Spacemen 3, put your hands down…) – The Melodies are strong and anthemic, and the energy is in the same deep breath airy, driving and Lysergic.

Nowhere is an album as comfortable to be your secret soundtrack in headphones as it is charging out of your car stereo. One tip though – if you’re listening to Nowhere out on the open road, roll down the windows, turn it up – and take it all in. As the title suggests this is music for the moment, fuck the destination. – Tanner

Aether Everywhere #13: Shoegazing

Add your comments here.

1.Chapterhouse – Breather // 2.Jesus & Mary Chain – Sugar Ray // 3.Seefeel – Filter Dub (1-01 Mix) // 4.Slowdive – Souvlaki Space Station // 5.Galaxie 500 – Another Day // 6.Pale Saints – Sight of You // 7.Spiritualized – Sway // 8.Seefeel – Climactic Phase No. 3 // 9.Swervedriver – Duress // 10.My Bloody Valentine – Soon // 11.Ride – Leave them all Behind

Download Aether Everywhere #13