Sounds Are Active » Various Artists http://soundsareactive.com Making Noise Beautiful Since 1999 Fri, 18 Jun 2010 05:00:02 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 Next To Last Songs Vol. 2 (SAA1152) http://soundsareactive.com/next-to-last-songs-vol-2-saa1152/ http://soundsareactive.com/next-to-last-songs-vol-2-saa1152/#comments Thu, 18 Jun 2009 05:00:40 +0000 Chris Schlarb http://soundsareactive.com/?p=285 In a pastoral field, Will Donaldson's Next To Last Fest brought together iconic hip-hop duo Themselves, beat-maestro Daedelus and transcendent singer-songwriter Diane Cluck with psychedelic rock collective Dark Meat, Elephant Six's Circulatory System and three Asthmatic Kitty artists: Jookabox, Liz Janes and Chris Schlarb.]]> saa1152.jpg
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In the winter of 2007, musician Will Donaldson assembled a music festival so ambitious the rest of the country has yet to catch up. In a pastoral field, on the weekend of December 8th and 9th, Donaldson’s Next To Last Fest brought together iconic hip-hop duo Themselves, beat-maestro Daedelus and transcendent singer-songwriter Diane Cluck with psychedelic rock collective Dark Meat, Elephant Six’s Circulatory System and three Asthmatic Kitty artists: Jookabox, Liz Janes and Chris Schlarb.

Highlights include Themselves‘ “Poison Pit” (with DoseOne’s hilarious stand-up banter), Hope For Agoldensummer’s beautiful and delicate “Love Like A Sailor” and former Dirty Projectors guitarist Spenking’s “Bad Blood Bubble-Up”. Daedelus masterfully mixes disparate elements into a massive 10 minute live mix, “Jerusalem” finds Liz Janes in fine voice accompanied only by her acoustic guitar and both Daedelus, Liz and others join Chris Schlarb for a live interpretation of Twilight & Ghost Stories.

Diane Cluck performs three songs (two from her masterful album, Oh Vanille / Ova Nil) while Circulatory System and Long Legged Woman provide fascinating demos recordings. All together, the album features over an hour and half of live recordings, radio performances and unreleased demos.

The recordings on Next To Last Songs Vol. 2 are smudged with distortion, cracked with wind and alive with the electricity of a unrepeatable moment in time.

Track Listing

01. I’m Not Who You Think I Am (Live at the Next To Last Festival)
Artist: Diane Cluck

02. Ponta (Live at the Next To Last Festival)
Artist: Grampall Jookabox

03. Night Court (Live at the Next To Last Festival)
Artist: Deaf Judges

04. Love Like A Sailor (Live at the Next To Last Festival)
Artist: Hope for Agoldensummer

05. Boy Moses (Viking Moses cover, live at the Next To Last Festival)
Artist: Spenking

06. (untitled) (Unreleased demo)
Artist: Circulatory System

07. Live at the Next To Last Festival [mp3]
Artist: Daedelus

08. (excerpt) (Live at the Next To Last Festival)
Artist: Geoff Reacher

09. The Southern Suite (Unreleased demo)
Artist: Here Comes A Big Black Cloud

10. You Devil You (Live at the Next To Last Festival)
Artist: themselves

11. Sandy Ree (Live at the Next To Last Festival)
Artist: Diane Cluck

12. Bad Blood Bubble-Up (Live at WUGA, Athens) [mp3]
Artist: Spenking

13. Home of the Brave
Artist: Ishues

14. Poison Pit (Live at the Next To Last Festival) [mp3]
Artist: themselves

15. Jerusalem (Live at WUGA, Athens)
Artist: Liz Janes

16. My Ghost (Unreleased)
Artist: Long Legged Woman

17. Fourth Night (Live at the Next To Last Festival)
Artist: Hope for Agoldensummer

18. 1/2 A Million Miles From Home (Live at the Next To Last Festival)
Artist: Diane Cluck

19. Twilight and Ghost Stories (Live at the Next To Last Festival)
Artist: Chris Schlarb

20. Pony Express
Artist: Daniel Clay

]]> http://soundsareactive.com/next-to-last-songs-vol-2-saa1152/feed/ 0 Nichole and the Dreamcatchers + Various Artists- Krismus Karuls (KK01) http://soundsareactive.com/nichole-and-the-dreamcatchers-various-artists-krismus-karuls-kk01/ http://soundsareactive.com/nichole-and-the-dreamcatchers-various-artists-krismus-karuls-kk01/#comments Wed, 03 Oct 2007 16:04:59 +0000 Chris Schlarb http://soundsareactive.com/nichole-and-the-dreamcatchers-various-artists-krismus-karuls-kk01/ Originally released in 2003 on Konstrictor Productions this fantastically bizzare record features both a 7 song Christmas EP from Nichole & The Dreamcatchers, whose lead singer, Nichole, is in full command of her twelve year old voice shaped at the hands of Gary Gooper. Amazing stuff. Then the full on extravaganza. Two tracks from Half-Handed Cloud, The Mary Hamhocks (Liz Janes and husband- erstwhile Slowly Rotating Fan- Michael Kaufmann) and Mary Krismus. Probably the prettiest thing Create (!) has ever recorded ("Hymn for St. John of Shanghai"- bonus points if you know what he is the patron saint of...), a great lo-fi, fun instrumental from elusive My Marathon and a simply astounding piece of music from Joel Pickell (drummer and musician in the travelling Half-Handed Cloud circus). What is Christmas without kids!?? Childhood tape recordings from 1978 and 87 bookend the tracks and the album tops off with "Red & Green" from themorningcall featuring some sweet baby chatter. ]]> 5AB83900-4A5A-4ECA-9EE8-F19A346AFF4B.jpg
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Originally released in 2003 on Konstrictor Productions this fantastically bizzare record features both a 7 song Christmas EP from Nichole & The Dreamcatchers, whose lead singer, Nichole, is in full command of her twelve year old voice shaped at the hands of Gary Gooper. Amazing stuff. Then the full on extravaganza. Two tracks from Half-Handed Cloud, The Mary Hamhocks (Liz Janes and husband- erstwhile Slowly Rotating Fan- Michael Kaufmann) and Mary Krismus. Probably the prettiest thing Create (!) has ever recorded (”Hymn for St. John of Shanghai”- bonus points if you know what he is the patron saint of…), a great lo-fi, fun instrumental from elusive My Marathon and a simply astounding piece of music from Joel Pickell (drummer and musician in the travelling Half-Handed Cloud circus). What is Christmas without kids!?? Childhood tape recordings from 1978 and 87 bookend the tracks and the album tops off with “Red & Green” from themorningcall featuring some sweet baby chatter.

Track Listing
01. Nichole & The Dreamcatchers- Santa is the Greatest [mp3]
02. Nichole & The Dreamcatchers- Santa-Santa [mp3]
03. Nichole & The Dreamcatchers- Time To Rejoice [mp3]
04. Nichole & The Dreamcatchers- What a Day for a Dog of Gold [mp3]
05. Nichole & The Dreamcatchers- Santa’s on his Way [mp3]
06. Nichole & The Dreamcatchers- Santa is the Greatest (surf-rap) [mp3]
07. Nichole & The Dreamcatchers- Chocolate Stars (I’ll be home) [mp3]
08. The Mary Hamhocks- Christmas Kiss [mp3]
09. Joel Pickell- Don’t be Scared There is a Savior [mp3]
10. Christmas 1978- Jingle Bells [mp3]
11. My Marathon- A Sleigh Ride Through the Streets of San Francisco [mp3]
12. Campfire Kids- It’s Jesus’ Birthday so He Should Get the Toys [mp3]
13. Half-Handed Cloud- Asian Meteorologists Predicted the Heavens to Snow-down a Child a Child to Us (Plant a little Fir Tree) [mp3]
14. Mary Krismus- Ah-ooh-nee-oh [mp3]
15. Create (!)- Hymn for St. John of Shanghai [mp3]
16. Bastille Day- It’s Christmas Time in D.C. [mp3]
17. Philip Fawn- Ode to Gandolf and Ye Ole Christmas Spirit [mp3]
18. The Mary Hamhocks- Sweet Baby Jesus [mp3]
19. Christmas 1987- Little St. Nick [mp3]
20. The Switched-Off Promise Book- Electrical Coloured Lights [mp3]
21. Mary Krismus- Go Tell it on the Mountain (for Cousin Paul) [mp3]
22. Half-Handed Cloud- The * That Moved-around the Night [mp3]
23. themorningcall- Red & Green [mp3]

Press
“The comp, now free for the downloadin’, also features music from Liz Janes (disguised as Mary Hamhocks) and Create (!), as well as seven songs by a 12-year-old named Nichole. Does she sound like Daniel Smith of the Danielson Famile? You’ll just have to download to find out.”- Pitchforkmedia.com

“a somewhat deranged holiday album”- Tofuhut

“some of the best Christmas music you’ll hear all year”- Gorilla Vs. Bear

]]> http://soundsareactive.com/nichole-and-the-dreamcatchers-various-artists-krismus-karuls-kk01/feed/ 0 Strata- A Young Person’s Guide To Experimental Music (SAA1125) http://soundsareactive.com/strata-a-young-persons-guide-to-experimental-music-saa1125/ http://soundsareactive.com/strata-a-young-persons-guide-to-experimental-music-saa1125/#comments Wed, 03 Oct 2007 15:43:47 +0000 Chris Schlarb http://soundsareactive.com/strata-a-young-persons-guide-to-experimental-music-saa1125/ An ambitious compilation of noise, electronic, hip-hop, free jazz, prog and experimental music, Strata- A Young Person's Guide To Experimental Music is a primer for those of any age. Featuring rare, new and unreleased tracks from: Create (!), Bizzart, Melk The G6-49, Lafcadio, Soul-Junk, MakeShift:Shelter, Manners For Husbands, Receptor Sight, Electric iLL and others. Collected from the Sounds Are Active and Joyful Noise record labels, Strata- A Young Person's Guide To Experimental Music, presents both previously unreleased and downloadable tracks with album cuts.]]> 3379F1D0-05C4-49BE-94BA-B9A6AB1299BB.jpg
An ambitious compilation of noise, electronic, hip-hop, free jazz, prog and experimental music, Strata- A Young Person’s Guide To Experimental Music is a primer for those of any age. Featuring rare, new and unreleased tracks from: Create (!), Bizzart, Melk The G6-49, Lafcadio, Soul-Junk, MakeShift:Shelter, Manners For Husbands, Receptor Sight, Electric iLL and others.

Collected from the Sounds Are Active and Joyful Noise record labels, Strata- A Young Person’s Guide To Experimental Music, presents both previously unreleased and downloadable tracks with album cuts.

Produced by Chris Schlarb and Karl Hofstetter
Artwork by Tim McMullen

Track Listing
01. Philippians- New Inspiration
02. Melk The G6-49- The Instantaneous Mobilization of All the Resources in the BURROW and All the Forces of My Body and Soul
03. Deneir- Charting Oblivion
04. Soul-Junk- Genesis 15
05. MakeShift:Shelter- Faux Hawk
06. Lafcadio- Noticing Drastic Changes in Individuality and Enlightenment at Such a Young Age
07. Bizzart- Nivek (outputmessage remix)
08. Patagonian- Cage
09. Create (!)- Durindana
10. Electric iLL- Funaise
11. Gratis- Means and Ends (instrumental version)
12. Abner Trio- One
13. Manners for Husbands- Lions
14. I Heart Lung- Moving Through Colour (excerpt)
15. Receptor Sight- Bagel & Green

Press
“A co-release between the Sounds Are Active and Joyful Noise labels, Strata: A Young Person’s Guide to Experimental Music lives up to its title pretty well — even if not a kid’s album in a classic sense, there’s often a gentle, merry playfulness about this 15-track selection which gives a number of creative groups a chance to show what they can do in a post-indie/IDM/everything else vein. The most well-known would doubtless be Soul-Junk, whose pursuit of any number of musical muses over the years has turned out to be a quiet triumph of dedication and art — their retelling of “Genesis 15″ makes most attempts at indie rap seem like the lazy mess it is; lead man Glen’s voice sounds like he’s broadcasting from the outer planets. But things are hardly limited to that, as everything from grinding feedback freneticism into haunted drone from Melk the G6-49 to Lafcadio’s semi-math/rap rock and I Heart Lung’s Mogwai-leaning instrumental mini-epic “Moving Through Colour.” Track times are all over the map as well — Deneir’s brief tone/beat collage “Charting Oblivion” is under a minute, Receptor Sight’s own take on post-rock reach and majesty, “Bagel & Green,” is almost a quarter-of-an-hour. The slyest track — Patagonian’s “Cage (Reenactment of More Encores)” — sounds about like what one would expect.”- All Music Guide

]]> http://soundsareactive.com/strata-a-young-persons-guide-to-experimental-music-saa1125/feed/ 0 Sounds Are Active/Asthmatic Kitty Sampler (AS001) http://soundsareactive.com/sounds-are-activeasthmatic-kitty-sampler-as001/ http://soundsareactive.com/sounds-are-activeasthmatic-kitty-sampler-as001/#comments Wed, 03 Oct 2007 07:53:10 +0000 Chris Schlarb http://soundsareactive.com/sounds-are-activeasthmatic-kitty-sampler-as001/ Sounds Are Active and sister label Asthmatic Kitty have pooled their collective talents to put something beautiful into the world: the 2004 Sampler. Over over 74 minutes of music from these two unceasingly original record labels. The Asthmatic Kitty “Side” features songs from Sufjan Stevens’ first three albums, as well as three tracks from the unrelentingly joyous Half-Handed Cloud. Songs by Liz Janes, Castanets and Viva Voce round out the 11 tracks- 3 heretofore unreleased. The Sounds Are Active “Side” teems with spastic new work from Melk The G6-49, Bizzart and Deneir. New and unreleased tracks from Soul-Junk, Vla Hemia and Create (!). Softer pieces contributed by Xn. (featuring a slick remix from hip-hop producer supreme Omid) and the brooding “Two Planes for Elliott Smith” by the Constantine/Levin/Phillips/Schlarb/Shadduck quintet.]]> B7EB3DC1-F4D7-43D1-BA86-6E45BAAFFF2E.jpg
Sounds Are Active and sister label Asthmatic Kitty have pooled their collective talents to put something beautiful into the world: the 2004 Sampler. Over over 74 minutes of music from these two unceasingly original record labels. The Asthmatic Kitty “Side” features songs from Sufjan Stevens’ first three albums, as well as three tracks from the unrelentingly joyous Half-Handed Cloud. Songs by Liz Janes, Castanets and Viva Voce round out the 11 tracks- 3 heretofore unreleased.

The Sounds Are Active “Side” teems with spastic new work from Melk The G6-49, Bizzart and Deneir. New and unreleased tracks from Soul-Junk, Vla Hemia and Create (!). Softer pieces contributed by Xn. (featuring a slick remix from hip-hop producer supreme Omid) and the brooding “Two Planes for Elliott Smith” by the Constantine/Levin/Phillips/Schlarb/Shadduck quintet.

Track Listing
Asthmatic Kitty Side
01. Sufjan Stevens – All Good Naysayers, Speak Up! Or Forever Hold Your Peace!
02. Half-Handed Cloud – Let’s Build A Planet
03. Viva Voce – Red D-Lish
04. Liz Janes – Guitar Guitar
05. Castanets – I’ll Be Just Where You Are
06. Sufjan Stevens – Happy Birthday
07. Half-Handed Cloud – Pressing Into It
08. Liz Janes – Vine
09. Viva Voce – Welcome Mat
10. Half-Handed Cloud – Here’s A List
11. Sufjan Stevens – Year of the Tiger
Sounds Are Active Side
12. Deneir – Random Object Subject
13. Patagonian – Hands in the Face of Time
14. Xn. – gone home early (Omid Remix)
15. Vla Hemia – Break Loose
16. Soul-Junk – Nova (Evig Poesi Remix)
17. Bizzart – Pink Summer in Hell
18. Melk the G6-49 – Henry
19. Create(!) – Three Butterflies, Seven Mockingbirds
20. Constantine/Levin/Phillips/Schlarb/Shadduck – Two Planes for Elliot Smith

Press
“Proving that sisterhood is powerful, sibling labels Sounds Are Active and Asthmatic Kitty cram a grab bag of sounds- everything from hip-hop to free jazz to folky weirdness- onto one sampler. The Sounds Are Active half buzzes with new tracks from Soul-Junk, Bizzart, Vla Hemia and others.”- XLR8R

]]> http://soundsareactive.com/sounds-are-activeasthmatic-kitty-sampler-as001/feed/ 0 Jazz- A Compilation (PS001) http://soundsareactive.com/jazz-a-compilation-ps001/ http://soundsareactive.com/jazz-a-compilation-ps001/#comments Wed, 03 Oct 2007 07:07:16 +0000 Chris Schlarb http://soundsareactive.com/jazz-a-compilation-ps001/ The best music from an invisible scene, Jazz is a vital collection of new and progressive sounds coming out of the Long Beach/Los Angeles area. Five groups contributed 2-4 songs each, from the eccentric and highly melodic pop of Sidecar, produced by Ubiquity recording artist Nobody, leading of the album to the slick and thick fusion/funk of The Slippers. CrankCase (a recent 12” with Ugly Duckling’s Andy Cooper has given them international attention) provides three piece stripped down jamsof pure funk with Ramones aesthetic with the lumbering echoes of the aptly titled Dub Kinetics. Winding up with perhaps the strangest affair of the album, three tracks from the avant-garde free-jazz, world-thrash of Create (!).]]> BDB43278-6671-49ED-B6BF-5AB2B330BDCF.jpg
The best music from an invisible scene, Jazz is a vital collection of new and progressive sounds coming out of the Long Beach/Los Angeles area. Five groups contributed 2-4 songs each, from the eccentric and highly melodic pop of Sidecar, produced by Ubiquity recording artist Nobody, leading of the album to the slick and thick fusion/funk of The Slippers. CrankCase (a recent 12” with Ugly Duckling’s Andy Cooper has given them international attention) provides three piece stripped down jamsof pure funk with Ramones aesthetic with the lumbering echoes of the aptly titled ;strong>Dub Kinetics. Winding up with perhaps the strangest affair of the album, three tracks from the avant-garde free-jazz, world-thrash of Create (!).

Initially released on CD and 12” vinyl only for local listening and consumption Pete Records and Sounds Are Active teamed up to put out an album of real music regardless of genre and style, Jazz is all music and no scene or pretense.

Jazz has been released on both CD and vinyl. The CD contains 71 minutes of music. Vol. 1 on vinyl contains non-CD tracks from CrankCase, The Slippers and Dub Kinetics, and clocks in at around 37 minutes.

Credits
Produced by Pete Deeble and Chris Schlarb
Mastered by Nick Burgh
Additional editing and mastering by Accident
Cover artwork done by Joel Heflin
CD and vinyl label art by Tim McMullen
Layout and design done by Catherine Nguyen

Track Listing
01. Sidecar- Man From Manchester
02. Sidecar- Quadrant 7
03. The Slippers- Oui
04. The Slippers- 2490
05. CrankCase- Keedo [mp3]
06. CrankCase- Spy No.8
07. CrankCase- OFR Superlative
08. Dub Kinetics- Return of the Congo
09. Dub Kinetics- Rougher Version Pt.2
10. Dub Kinetics- Ital Dub
11. Create(!)- Age of Entanglement [mp3]
12. Create(!)- Create(!) vs. Technology
13. Create(!)- Angry Elephant and the Silly Circus

Press
“This is one of the dopest records ever.”- Below The Surface

“…people need to be freaked out every now and then, grabbed by the neck and jerked around until they’re made aware there are aural alternatives to what they’re hearing on the radio and seeing in clubs. And that, ultimately, is what Jazz is all about.”- OC WEEKLY

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