NEW MUSIC: New Electric Ride
New Electric Ride hail from Sunderland, a metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England, situated at the mouth of the River Wear. It was here that these lads came to form their shared love of “tampuras, leslie speakers and making sounds,” and, more recently, recorded their debut self-titled EP. Sounding more like early West Coast bands than the music of their fellow countrymen, New Electric Ride recall a more refined Jeffertitti’s Nile and would bed nicely with Dead Meadow and their contemporaries. Stream “Lovers” below or visit their Bandcamp page to hear all five songs.
Popol Vuh – ‘Letzte Tage – Letzte Nächte’ (1976)
Popol Vuh seems to be like the Skull & Bones of the krautrock world—once you’ve succeeded in passing a series of entry level tests, you are suddenly granted access to this magical well of musical greatness. Their name, taken from the Popol Vuh (a manuscript containing the mythology of the Post-Classic Quiché Maya people of highland Guatemala and south east Mexico) coincidentially translates to “meeting place.” Understandably, as a measure of protecting this divine secret, Popol Vuh is one of those bands you really don’t hear much about. But bring up their name to an individual who is properly enlightened and it will elicit a response similar to a holy man hearing the lord’s true name. Formed in ’69, the group released albums up until the early aughts touching on all sorts of genres from space rock to world to electronic avant-garde. In 1976, they released their most rock-aligned album, Letzte Tage – Letzte Nächte, which presents a cosmic journey from start to finish highlighted by Daniel Fischlescher’s soaring lead guitar. Discovering this band and this album was like a lifelong search coming to an end. I hope to offer the same experience to some of you.
The following songs come from Popol Vuh’s 1976 album Letzte Tage – Letzte Nächte.
Popol Vuh - ”Oh Wie Nah Ist Der Weg Hinab”
Popol Vuh – “Letzte Tage – Letzte Nächte”
The Holydrug Couple – “Je t’aime Non Plus”
Tomorrow we embark on the great journey to Austin Psych Fest where we will be surrounded by many of our favorite bands, including upcoming Chilean psych rockers The Holydrug Couple. The band played our show at Mercury Lounge with Follakzoid last month and all reports, and some guy named Harold, heralded them as one of the best new acts on the scene. They’ve just put out a cover of the French pop classic “Je t’aime Non Plus,” which means “I Love You No More.” The cover comes off the Sacred Bones compilation Todo Muere Volume 3. See ya’ll in Texas.
Woods – “Gods’ Children” (The Kinks)
Behind a nondescript East Williamsburg tenement at 229 Bushwick Avenue in Brooklyn, NY lies Woods‘ home, recording studio, creative refuge and beloved shithole–Rear House. But after 10 long years the band will say farewell to the former live-in practice space turned ramshackle recording studio, which has also housed bands like Real Estate, Ducktails, The Babies and other members of the Woodsist family. To mark the occasion, Woods are releasing a new single on July 9 featuring a cover of The Kinks’ tune “Gods’ Children,” along with a re-recorded version of “Be All Easy.” “God’s Children” comes from the soundtrack to the 1971 British film Percy, while “Be All Be Easy,” originally from 2011′s Sun and Shade, was re-recorded to capture the live form the song has taken since it’s original release. Both are the first to feature new drummer, Aaron Neveu, formerly of Mmoss.
Woods hits the road next month for a tour that includes stops with Parquet Courts and Alex Bleeker & the Freaks. Full dates below.
Alex Bleeker & The Freaks – “Leave On The Light”
Adding pedal steel to a track almost always makes things sound better. This track is no exception. “Leave on the Light” is Bleeker & co.’ first true foray into alt-country domain, although they’ve beat around the metaphorical bush for quite some time, and it’s a doozy. As Bleeker tells us, “the name is sort of a pun, a tribute to Levon Helm.”
The song comes from their new LP “How Far Away” out May 28, 2013 on Woodsist.
Henry Tree – “Mr. Fear” (1969)
Henry Tree were a band from the land of Cleveland, Ohio who released a single album, titled Electric Holy Man, in 1969. Consisting of Leroy Markish on guitar and lead vocals, Carmen Castaldi on drums, Charles McLauughlin on bass, the group also featured an un-credited, jazz wizard guitarist named Bill DeArango. Combining Traffic style bluesy numbers and fuzzed out jams with DeArango’s jazz guided odysseys, this is a highly impressive psych LP with terrific guitar work.
Mazhar & Fuat – “Adimiz Miskindir Bizim” (1974)
I recently stumbled across the incredible 1974 album by Turkish psych-folk duo Mazhar & Fuat, titled Türküz Türkü Çağırırız (which translates to “We are Turks, we sing Turkish folk songs”). The duo, formed in 1973, released this one album before joining up with bass guitar player Özkan Uğur to become the famous pop trio MFÖ. But before their foray into the world of Turkish pop, these fine musicians left behind what is considered to be one of the crown jewels of the Turkish psych era. The album, sung almost entirely in Turkish (as you may have gathered from the title), blends various ’60s rock and folk influences with flowing Eastern melodies referencing the traditional music of Arabia, India and beyond. The song chosen for you today is titled “Adimiz Miskindir Bizim,” which translates loosely to “Our Mix of Step.”
Mazhar ve Fuat – “Adımız Miskindir Bizim”
Nuggets: Antipodean Interpolations of the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968
In the mid-to-late 1960s, guitarist Lenny Kaye (Patti Smith Group) and Jac Holzman (founder of Elektra Records) assembled the groundbreaking compilation Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era—a double album containing a collection of pioneering psychdelic sounds and liner notes that included one of the first uses of the term “punk rock.” In honor of its 40th anniversary, Kaye has teamed up with journalist David Fricke to compile Nuggets: Antipodean Interpolations, which features the latest generation of Aussie bands paying tribute with covers of the original Nuggets tracks. In addition, the original collection is being re-released along with a couple of local compilations, featuring Australian artists from the same era and with a similar attitude as what was on the original Nuggets.
The collection of covers features contributions from the likes of Pond, Straight Arrows, Gooch Palms, King Gizzard & the Wizard Lizard, Frowning Clouds, Laurels and Eagle & The Worm. Check out one of our favorites, Baptism of Uzi’s “Baby Please Don’t Go” along with Pond’s cover of “Hey Joe.”
NEW MUSIC: Kiki Pau
As Scandinavia continues to emerge as one of today’s most fertile psychedelic breeding grounds, here we have the first single off Helsinki-based outfit Kiki Pau‘s forthcoming album on Beyond Beyond is Beyond records. Pines, the group’s third album, was mixed by Dungen’s Gustav Ejstes and comes out Feburary 5. Hear the 9+ minute “Tomte Mars” below.
Kaipa – “Inget Nytt Under Solen” (1976)
As we prepare to venture to the great northern lands of Sweden in just one week’s time, we’ve decided to share this astral journey by Swedish prog rock band Kaipa. “Inget Nytt Under Solen” is the title track of the band’s 1976 sophomore album, which translates to “Nothing New Under the Sun,” from the much-quoted bible verse “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.”
(will upload downloadable mp3 shortly)
NEW MUSIC: Holy Wave
Imagine the ideal soundtrack to one of those retro 70s surf films shot on an old Super 8. What you conjure up will likely sound something like Austin-based psych band Holy Wave. Just listen to the jam “Albuquerque Freakout”, which takes on that classic wobbly Texas psych sound with layers of surf riffs, tambourines and howling echoes beneath the stoney vocal lines. This imagery carries throughout Holy Wave’s Evil Hits, out now on Burger Records, with vinyl coming February 2013 in conjunction with the Reverberation Appreciation Society. The release compiles 5 tracks from their 2011 release Knife Hits with 5 tracks from this year’s The Evil Has Landed EP. Picture those gnarly waves and tune in.
Holy Wave – “Albuquerque Freakout”
Also check out the song in the recent trailer for the 2012 Austin Psych Fest concert film below.
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NEW MUSIC: The Non Travellin’ Band
A couple months back, we told you about Dead Luke and his impressive new LP, God Takes LSD, released on Oakland-based label Moon Glyph. As it happens, Mr. Luke also performs in The Non Travellin’ Band, which seems to have formerly been an extension of Dead Luke but is now venturing off on its own. Or something. The group has yet to put out an official release, but you can check out a bunch of tunes up on Soundcloud, which have a similar, yet jammier, acid-drenched rock sound as Dead Luke. Dig the 8 minute jammer “A Midnight Ride” and the folkier “Mother Mary Jane” below.
The Cairo Gang – “Now You Are One Of Us”
Since 2006, guitarist Emmet Kelley and a roving band of musicians have been creating some of the more interesting contemporary folk music as The Cairo Gang (a name taken from a group of slain anti-IRA British spies). Best known as a collaborator, Kelley has worked with artists such as Beth Orton and, most notably, Bonnie “Prince” Billy, with whom he made the 2010 album, The Wonder Show of the World. Following last year’s largely overlooked 7″, Kelley and the Gang returned with a new album, titled The Corner Man, last month on Empty Cellar, and, as the saying goes, it may just be their finest to date. Listen to album track “Now You Are One Of Us” below.
MMOSS – “Spoiled Sun”
Following 2011′s release on Burger Records, New Hampshire-based psych band MMOSS have returned with a new album, titled Only Children, released earlier this week on Trouble in Mind. Only Children is a more cohesive sampling of the talents of these woodland folk and their lengthy kraut-inspired sound quests, filled with shimmering vocal harmonies and astral excursions. Below you can hear the lead track “Spoiled Sun” or check out the full album on Bandcamp.
Order Only Children from Trouble in Mind.
Dando Shaft – “Coming Home To Me” (1971)
With artists like Devandra Banhart and Joanna Newsom, and more recently, Laura Marling and Jessica Pratt gaining increasing attention, it seems traditional styles of British-inspired folk music are working their way back into somewhat of a revival. Through these artists, a resurgence of interest in the genre has blossomed, and names that had seemingly become artifacts are coming out of the woodwork in the form of new reissues and, in some cases, renewed careers.
In the late 1960s and early 70s, a similar revival took place in Britain when acoustic players like Davey Graham, and John Martyn inspired groups like Pentangle, Fairport Convention, The Incredible String Band and so on to cross the styles of folk, blues and rock into a new scene, much of which was centered around the London club Les Cousins.
Among the groups to emerge from this scene was a little known group of players by the name of Dando Shaft, a nod to Dan Calhoun’s 1968 novel by the same name. Kevin Dempsey (acoustic guitar, vocals), Martin Jenkins (vocals, mandolin, fiddle, guitar), Ted Kay (tabla, percussion), Roger Bullen (upright bass), and Dave Cooper (guitar, vocals) formed the group around the West Midland towns of Coventry in 1968, and later added second vocalist Polly Bolton to help fill out their multi-layered vocal harmonies.
While all of the performers that existed around the Les Cousins scene drew from various traditional and outside influences, Dando’s sound relied on a wide array of styles that included Middle Eastern (hence the presence of the tabla) as well as Western styles like bluegrass. Between the years 1968-1973, Dando Shaft released three albums, a debut self-titled album (later titled An Evening With Dando Shaft) in 1970, followed by a second self-titled album in 1971, along with the more ambitiously named Lantaloon in 1972. Some members of the group rejoined in 1977 with guests including Pentangle bassist Danny Thompson to record the final album under the Dando Shaft name, Kingdom.
Dando Shaft’s second album is largely regarded as the group’s finest work and can be found in some of the better record stores thanks to a fine reissue by Sommor Records in 2011. Seek it out and I assure you will be rewarded. Below listen to the opening track, “Coming Home To Me,” and discover the magic that is Dando Shaft.
Dog Gone Blog November Mix
Art by: Sean Metcalf
Download or stream the November 2012 DGB Mix below.
01. Camera – Ausland
02. The Brian Jonestown Massacre – Viholliseni Maalla
03. Goat – Let It Bleed
04. Prince Rupert’s Drops – Plague Ride
05. Jefferson Airplane – Wild Tyme
06. The Zodiac – Aries – The Fire-Fighter
07. The West Coat Pop Art Experimental Band – Eighteen Is Over The Hill
08. Tjutjuna – Desert Song
09. The UFO Club – July
10. The Smoking Trees – See
11. Mmoss – Hedge Creeper
12. The Karovas Milkshake – Factory
13. Joe Byrd & The Field Hippies – Invisible Man
14. Abstract Truth – It’s Alright With Me
15. Ultimate Spinach – Visions Of Your Reality
16. Woodsman – All Tangled Up
17. Jeffertitti’s Nile – Upside
NEW MUSIC: Tjutjuna
We first came across the name Tjutjuna when they released their split tour cassette with Woodsman in the spring of 2011. But for unexplainable reasons, the challenging name slipped our minds and may have fallen into the abyss were it not for the keen ears of DGB contributor Johanna Andersson and our good pal Marc “Mike” Norman “Newman.” The group charts a similar neo-kraut course as labelmates Woodsman, with droning, transportive sound odysseys, totemic drum circles and shimmering guitars. Earlier this week, they released their new cassingle, “Desert Song” b/w “Schulze and Shaffner” on Fire Talk and you can now hear/download both tracks below. Also be sure to check out Tjutjuna’s recent Beyond Beyond is Beyond session on East Village Radio.
Purchase the cassette single via Fire Talk.
Woods – “I Was Gone” 11/3/12 Music Hall of Williamsburg
After the treacherous week that followed in the wake of hurricane Sandy, Woods returned to Brooklyn’s Music Hall of Williamsburg to shed a bit of light on their old home place. Temporarily freeing the city from its apocalyptic embrace, Woods once again proved why they are Brooklyn’s preeminent psych folk band. Their new album, Bend Beyond—their seventh in six years—is another step forward for the band with what is surely their most accessible collection of songs yet. But on stage, Woods still embody the creep side of their looser early years with extended noise jams and transcendent improvisational journeys. Listen below to the 15 minute “I Was Gone” from Saturday’s show or download the entire recording from NYC Taper.
Purchase Bend Beyond via Woodsist.
NEW MUSIC: Jessica Pratt
With the arrival of each autumn season, it seems natural for one’s musical taste to migrate towards a folkier sound. And so the release of San Francisco singer/songwriter Jessica Pratt’s debut self-titled LP comes at a most perfect time for those of us who abide by this seasonal ritual. Pratt’s music is steeped in the sounds of 1960s folk, recalling the vocal styles of iconic figures such as Anne Briggs and Sandy Denny with poetic, finger-picked tunes that could have been included on the Gather in the Mushrooms compilation. Fellow San Franciscan Tim Presley (White Fence, Darker My Love) launched his own imprint, Birth Records, solely to release Pratt’s debut LP, which he describes as sounding like “Stevie Nicks singing over David Crosby demos, with the intimacy of a Sibylle Baier.” Listen to album track “Night Faces” below and check out a couple additional songs here.
Order the album via Birth Records.
NEW MUSIC: Gap Dream
For those of you living in New York City, one of the groups you will certainly want to check out during this week’s CMJ festivities is Cleveland band Gap Dream. The lo-fi rockers put out their debut album on Burger Records earlier this year, a collection of droning, 60s paisley pop tunes that recalls contemporaries like Woods and Ducktails. A couple weeks back, they released a follow-up single on Suicide Squeeze, “Generator” b/w “A Little Past Midnight.” Stream “Generator” along with the debut self-titled album below.
Gap Dream plays the Panache showcase at Public Assembly on October 19 with Twerps, Turbo Fruits, Violent Bullshit, Xray Eyeballs, Levek, Dent May, Dignan Porch, Mac Demarco, and Vockah Redu as well as at Big Snow on October 20 with MV & EE, Paperhead, Herbcraft.
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Woodsman ~ “Sonic Tomb”
Brooklyn-via-Denver astral travelers Woodsman put out their new “All Tangled Up” cassette single last week, and have now shared the B-side to that single, titled “Sonic Tomb.” The track opens with the group’s signature totemic percussion crashing below a current of drone with a side of noodle-y kraut. Download/stream it below.
Download the the “All Tangled Up” single via iTunes.
Woodsman – “Sonic Tomb”"
NEW MUSIC: Lord Huron
Last night I had the great pleasure of catching Los Angeles-via-Michigan group Lord Huron’s return to NYC. Celebrating the release of their debut LP, Lonesome Dreams, the band performed their stunning new material infront of dimly lit silhouette of a mountainscape and proved why they’re one of the best emerging indie-folk acts on the scene today. Lord Huron’s new album is a dream-like journey, recalling contemporaries like the Fleet Foxes, while harkening back to the days of yore with tales of growing up on the lake, river crossings, undying loves and stories of the American heartland. It’s an album for autumn. Listen to album tracks “Ends of the Earth” and “Time to Run” below and then head over to IAMSOUND to purchase the record.
Jeffertitti’s Nile ~ “Upside”
Our pals in Jeffertitti’s Nile have emerged from their lengthy period of hibernation to bring to us the new single, “Upside,” from their forthcoming album The Electric Hour. You may remember Jeffertitti’s Nile from our very first DGB event last summer, or from their highly impressive debut release Hypnotic River of Sound. But if not, now is your time to discover this great band.
The new single from these West Coast psychsters, recorded by Jonny Bell from Crystal Antlers, heads in a more cinematic direction and is set to be released later this month on New York’s Better Breakfast label. Jeffertitti’s Nile have also cut four additional songs with ex-Fleet Foxes drummer Josh Tillman, and will hit the road with his group Father John Misty for a run of shows this fall (see below for the tour poster). Interesting factoid: Jeffertitti also plays bass and sings in Father John Misty.
Jeffertitti’s Nile’s upcoming 10” EP entitled The Electric Hour, was recorded in Ojai, California at Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zero’s studio and is due for a release in early 2013. Check out “Upside” below.
Abstract Truth ~ Silver Trees (1970)
Late 1960s South Africa might be the last place you’d expect a progressive psych-folk band to have emerged from. But amid racist and nationalist tensions, a small, yet fertile scene did exist, which included a little-known band by the name of Abstract Truth.
Guitarist Kenneth E. Henson formed Abstract Truth in Durban, South Africa around 1969, going on to release two studio albums with the group during 1970. However, the band was short-lived and disbanded after numerous line-up changes in 1971.
Abstract Truth’s first album, titled Totum, is a collection of covers that includes takes on everything from jazz standards like “Summertime” and “Comin’ Home Baby,” Donovan and Dylan tunes and more. The vastly improved second album, titled Silver Trees, consists entirely of originals, blending elements of prog, folk and psych that, at times, recalls Caravan, Fairport Convention and early King Crimson. Silver Trees, in particular, is worth seeking out. The album covers a lot of ground, and sees Saxophonist/flutist Sean Bergin and Henson dueling throughout over jazzy time signatures and complex compositions.
For years after their release, these two Abstract Truth records existed as extreme rarities, known and heard only by die-hard collectors and few others. But in 2009, both albums were reissued with extensive liner notes, bringing these two lost classics to the ears of many more.
Below you can hear the folky opener “Pollution” and the epic eight-minute title track from the group’s second LP, Silver Trees.
Abstract Truth – “Silver Trees”
