Imagine the cracked surface of an uninhabited planet. Imagine the red sky. Imagine that the wind there carries sounds along with bits of celestial dust — dreamy sounds, haunted sounds, maybe even tragic sounds. Surreal? Absolutely, and so are the soundscapes of Imbogodom, the ambient/experimental collaboration between Daniel Beban (New Zealand sound artist/musician who has participated in a variety of musical projects and runs The Frederick Street Sound and Light Exploration Society in Wellington) and Alexander Tucker (a London-based musician/artist who has released four albums on ATP/Recordings). Imbogodom released their debut album, The Metallic Year (TMT Review), back in 2010, and come January 24 they’ll release their second album, And They Turned Not When They Went.
Tracklisting:
01. Borogmong’s Clock
02. Slate Gray Light
03. Etchum Body
04. Window Faces
05. Heir Looms
06. Welcome Away
07. Red Brick Roundhouse
08. The Passing Presence
09. Nuclear Wind
10. I Am Here, I Am Gone
11. Rubbings
12. Pillars of Ash
Aside from his proud Italian and Russian heritage, there’s a lot that people don’t know about legendary Jazz trumpeter Maximilian “Miles Davis” Davidovich. I mean, the man’s prodigious horn-blowing and ensemble-leading career spanned over five decades… and, you know, at least one-and-a-half of those decades were pretty alright (no small feat for even the least drug-addled of 20th-century musicians)! But still, can you really blame anyone for not digging any deeper into the Miles Davis story when that person has probably permanently associated all things Davis with that pomade dude on their floor in the Freshman dorms whose only other posters besides Birth of the Cool were all of Lamborghinis against black backgrounds? The answer is no. You can’t. Luckily, though, director George Tillman Jr. can.
Wolves! Why are they so beloved? They will eat your children and gnaw on your ankles. And once they’re done gnawing on your ankles, they’ll eat you. Because you can’t run. Because of your gnawed-up ankles.
Alexander Moskos is in AIDS Wolf, making people think that he really likes wolves. He doesn’t; he thinks they smell. Nate Young is in Wolf Eyes, making people think that he really likes wolves. He doesn’t; he is actually extremely allergic. Due to their hidden hatreds, Moskos and Young formed the respective solo projects Drainolith and Regression. Now, the two are going on tour together, fueled by lupine hate.
The pair will carve a trail through the West Coast and Midwest this November/December. On their travels, they will slay every single wolf they come upon. Just kidding. They’d just as well avoid the filthy creatures. “Yuck,” the two have been quoted as saying. They also have been known to mention that Drainolith put out the You Paid For It 7-inch through Psychic Handshake recently and has an LP on the celebrated Spectrum Spools label due out in early 2012. For Nate Young’s part, he is putting out a record called Stay Asleep (Regression Vol.2) through NNA Records right about now. Assuming “now” is very close to “November 15.” It may be in the past, but it is in the future for me right now. Tiny Time Travel Mix Tapes Dot Com.
Drainolith and Regression dates:
11.17.11 - Iowa, City, IA - 731 E. Washington St.
11.18.11 - St. Louis, MO - Floating Laboratories
11.19.11 - Denver, CO - Rhinoceropolis
11.20.11 - Albuquerque, NM - Small Engine Gallery
11.21.11 - Phoenix, AZ - Yellow Canary Dance Hall
11.22.11 - San Diego, CA - Keva Lounge
11.23.11 - Van Nuys, CA - Take Off
11.25.11 - Los Angeles, CA - Dem Passwords
11.26.11 - Los Angeles, CA - AA Art Show @ Exilo Studio
11.27.11 - San Francisco, CA - The Lab
11.28.11 - Sacramento, CA - 1902 28th St. (House Show)
11.29.11 - Portland, OR - Ella St. Social Club
11.30.11 - Seattle, WA - The Josephine
12.01.11 - Missoula, MT - Zombie Tools
12.03.11 - Minneapolis, MN - The Hexagon
12.04.11 - Madison, WI - The Project Lodge
12.05.11 - Chicago, IL - Enemy
12.06.11 - Detroit, MI - MUG
Laura Kennedy, original bassist for no wave group Bush Tetras, passed away today in Minneapolis after a long battle with liver disease. For over 25 years, Kennedy had struggled with Hepatitis C, which had caused her liver to begin failing. She received a liver transplant in November 2008, but things took a turn for the worse earlier this year, putting her back on the waiting list for another transplant.
Our sincere condolences and sympathies to Kennedy’s family and friends.
Planet Mu’s promotional description of Ital’s upcoming album Hive Mind (due out February 13) begins as follows, “If you’ve heard Daniel Martin-McCormick’s name recently…” Well, I haven’t! In fact, as the title of this article suggests, I briefly thought that fellow Planet Mu signee iTAL tEK had finally chosen to renounce his affinity for haphazard capitalization and go with a more mature moniker. Obviously that’s not the case, but no matter! Having just sampled a few of his tracks, I can say with a degree of certainty that Ital’s brand of haunting and contorted dance music will serve his new label, as well as its associated audience, quite well.
Martin-McCormick’s curriculum vitae seems to epitomize musical bipolarity. Growing up in Washington, DC, he was actively involved in the city’s hardcore scene, at one point signing to the renowned Dischord Records with his band Black Eyes. More recently, as Sex Worker (note: not as one), he’s released LPs through the eminently Southern Californian label Not Not Fun. Both outfits are a remarkable departure in style from Martin-McCormick’s work as Ital, where the casual 4/4 structure of his songs is redeemed by swelling synths, delayed rhythms, and an occasionally ominous use of distorted vocal samples. I’m no expert, and we’ll see for sure when the album’s released, but it seems he made the right decision by pursuing this aspect of his musical repertoire.
Hive Mind tracklisting:
01. Doesn’t Matter (If You Love Him)
02. Floridian Void
03. Privacy Settings
04. Israel
05. First Wave
The EMI roulette wheel has stopped spinning and Universal Music Group (UMG) and Sony are the lucky winners! In a surprise turn of events, Citigroup (the current owner of EMI) announced that UMG will purchase its recorded music division for $1.9 billion, while Sony (leading a larger consortium of investors) will acquire EMI’s publishing rights for $2.2 billion. Prior to the announcement, it was believed that Russian billionaire-helmed Warner Music Group would score the recorded music division, while a partnership between private-equity firm KKR and German media group Bertelsmann AG would nab the publishing rights.
The announcement was also surprising because no one expected Citigroup to get what they were asking for EMI. The final figures came to be after Citigroup agreed to keep EMI’s pension liabilities on their books instead of passing them along to the new owners. The pension liabilities have been estimated at upwards of $600 million. UMG has also announced that they will be selling off over $600 million in “noncore” assets, most likely a small handful of catalogs, to raise more capital for the deal and reduce the amount of assets it currently holds.
Even with the upcoming sale, UMG’s purchase of EMI’s catalog will bring their market share of distributed music up to about 36% in some countries. This has lead to speculation that the deal could prove difficult to finalize, due to anti-trust issues. UMG seems confident in the face of these concerns, though, announcing that they’ll take on the liability. If the deal ultimately fails to go through, UMG would be responsible for finding a new buyer and would have to eat any costs incurred as a result.
A few notable EMI artists and managers have submitted sound bites supporting the deal, including Mick Jagger who noted that the sale to UMG was a “positive development.” There had been growing concern among some industry types about the eventual owner of EMI, as the company had up until recently been a British mainstay of the music world, having been in business for 114 years. The purchase of the company by similarly large music groups should maintain the status quo, even if ownership has switched from British to French hands via UMG’s parent company, Vivendi.
