June 2011
Moonpump “Joypopping” (England, 1997)
This UK band was headed up by singer/songwriter, Pete Long and combined folk rock setups with pop exuberance for a good time.Hear Call You Friend from 1997.
Herzilyya’s Boardwalk String Sextet “Tap Dancing In Six Easy Lessons” ( Israel, 1990)
This was the project of Joseph Copolovich from Israel. This 1990 cassette delivered some unusual texture and droney atmosphere as he did on a few tapes he released. Hear “an excerpt of Lessons 1-2
David Zax “That Hideous Colliers Hole” ( Taiwan, 1995)
I don’t know what the title means but this home taper from Taiwan ( from Australia originally?) produced some cool indie grunge with his guitar, drum machine, bass and distinctive voice. This tape from 1995 followed on the heels aof a few other tapes he also released. Hear Mainstreet Franchise
The Inspectors “ Theg Avathi” ( England, 1992)
A 1992 release by this psych folk exotica unit from the UK which featured Stream Angel ( who also did bizarre sound collage and drawings) and Dylan Bates who handles the vocals. Hear Pagan Beauty
Don Stander “Poeten des Abgrunds” ( Germany, 1989)
There is something I always liked about this guys stuff. I never knew what direction he was going to go whether it be Sonic Youth style noise rock, hokey drum machine home taper splat, fanciful fits of sound weirdness…he was almost like a German version of Steve Tetzloff but higher fidelity. Hear Bis Im Des Frohes Morgen from 1989.
Yximallooo “Independent Religion” ( Japan, 1979)
The super prolific Naofumi Ishimaru has been at the home taping thing forever. This tape was from 1979, even before the rise of Cassette Culture. The bizarre and wondrous world of kiddie noise, naive percussive delights, screaming and bedroom intoning all done in super lo fi sound. Hear the short piece, autoGod#1
Lieutenant Caramel “L’Odysee du Lieutenant Caramel” ( France, 1989)
This release on audiofile from 1989 is not that far from what you might expect from a collaboration between Costes and the above mentioned Yximallooo. However, there is more and better sound quality and this tape is sort of an aural adventure with the tracks running into each other. Phillipe Blanchard was the guy behind Lt. Caramel. Hear an excerpt here
King Steve and MC Nameless “European Answer” ( Germany, 1990)
This lo fi hip hop EP always cracked me up quite a bit. The hip hop scene really exploded in Germany in the early 90s and these guys have all the slang of the time, the cheap scratching sound, and a looping beat that no one would be caught dead with today. Hear Quizmaster G
Dust That Collects “Black Water Delirium” ( Canada, 1991)
The project of Ron McFarlan featured sound collage, field recording experimentation and lots of drone. Exemplified nicely by an excerpt here
Sack “Dubblegum Bubbledub” ( Germany, 1987)
Sack was ( and is) Harald Ziegler from Koln, a highly iconoclastic, humorous and entertaining multi instrumentalist and live performer. Many of his songs are lo fi pop masterpieces and others are joyful excursions into an alternate universe of fractured song and sound manipulation. Hear Pot Pot Pot
