Guts Pie Earshot - Distorted Wonderland (1997)

Guts Pie Earshot was formed in 1991 as an experimental noise-punk ensemble in Cologne, Germany. They are associated with the DIY and squatter punk communities and often play at tiny venues with a more intimate setting. They released two LPs with singer a.Punkt, her voice adding even more to their unusual sound, before GPE became the drum-n-cello instrumental duo that they remain today.

The first LP, Distorted Wonderland, I sought for some time before finally I found a copy in decent condition. This album is a smorgasbord of noise and grooves at times ringing out with a punk fury and other times a frenetic and cinematic adventure that is never dull. The synthesis of keyboard with the cello makes for a sort of magical realism in the realm of sound. This LP is brimming over with creativity and energy that always inspires me. I'm really happy to share it with you all today. Enjoy.

Year of Release: 1997
Label: Revolution Inside
Catalog #: RI 031
Genre: Punk, Avantgarde, Experimental
Media: Vinyl
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 320 kbps

Track List:
A1 Reflection
A2 Sonic You
A3 Several Parts Of Life
A4 Sum
B1 Clean
B2 Feedback
B3 Me Grain
B4 Enemy Today
B5 Run From The Shadow (Live)

Download: Guts Pie Earshot - Distorted Wonderland (1997)
Download Size: 92 MB

Premature Ejaculation- Assertive Discipline (Now 320Kbps)

Here is another Premature Ejaculation release by request and my personal favorite Premature Ejaculation release. Originally released on cassette from the label, "The Happiest Place on Earth" in 1988, "Assertive Discipline" is one of the most pleasurable trips to a dark, isolated hell one can take. Assertive Discipline opens with "Bottling Room Part I & II," dark ambient pieces spliced with screams, horrifying gasps for air, and coughing samples. It leaves one with the feeling of being in a claustrophobe's nightmare. The creepy factor does not let up as the album moves on into "Dolls Theater," a chilling track featuring baby wails and an eerily placed rendition of "Rockabye Baby." And the track, "The Worst Hell," lives up to its title. I hope you enjoy this shared Rozz side project as much as I do, because sharing is caring!

Year of Release: 1988
Genre: Noise, Experimental, Industrial, Dark Ambient
Label: The Happiest Place on Earth

Track List

1. Bottling Room Part I (5:30)
2. Bottling Room Part II (5:45)
3. Dolls Theater (9:45)
4. Intermission (1:33)
5. Claws Of The Cat (6:52)
6. Succumb To The Struggle (1:30)
7. Did The Doctor Give You A Pill (2:15)
8. Assertive Discipline (4:45)
9. Valley Of Himiliations (5:45)
10. The Worst Hell (6:18)
11. Lame From His Mother's Womb (7:30)
12. Blind (4:25)

Download: Premature Ejaculation- Assertive Discipline
Download Size: 137.52MB
Download Size: 103 MB

M. Zalla (aka Piero Umiliani) - Problemi D'Oggi (Liuoto Records - LRS 0056) (1973 - 192kbps)

February 4, 2013 Update: For those who aren't aware, we here at Digital Meltd0wn are in the process of re-uploading a ton of albums that were removed when Megaupload was taken down last year, followed by the massive file purge that took place when Mediafire adopted a ridiculously strict new policy late last year. We weren't the only blog affected by these events. A truly massive amount of albums were lost, and nearly every music blog took a tough blow because of this. I consider it to be a true tragedy that hundreds of bloggers decided to call it quits following these two incidents. A blogger that many of you will hopefully be familiar with, øשlqæda, was kind enough to help me out by informing me of the source behind this particular rip. It pains me to see his name in the comments section, as he was the admin of a legendary blog, Holy Warbles, which was removed by Blogger last year. Fortunately, there are still hundreds of amazing blogs which managed to weather the storm, and new blogs popping up each day. This particular album was originally posted by Gianni almost four years ago on one of those amazing blogs that did manage to survive, The Growing Bin (http://thegrowingbin.blogspot.com). The download link has been inactive for a very long time though, and with this being so very rare, I feel obligated to ensure that it remains available to download for anyone who is curious enough to listen. Fortunately, there are plenty of new albums being regularly shared over at the Bin. If you haven't had a chance to stop by the The Growing Bin, do yourself a favor and get your ass over there.

Continuing with our library music marathon, I present to you an extremely rare and obscure album released on the Liuto library label in 1973. The artist credited on this release, M. Zalla, is actually one of the numerous aliases of another prolific composer of production music, Italian composer Piero Umiliani. I was surprised to discover that this was not posted on either The Library Hunt, or 36-15 Moog, two blogs ran by library music enthusiast Paul Durango, which both contained a massive amount of early electronic and library music albums. I plan to post a few more Umiliani albums either this month, or some time in January. I have two important research papers to work on for school tonight and tomorrow, so I don't have the time to write my own review. There isn't much information floating around about this album. This excerpt from Delirious Music contains some basic info about Umiliani, his M. Zaa alias, and the concept of the album.

"A rare and obscure concept Library on the problems of modern life, released on the Liuto label and produced by the master of Italian soundtracks himself, Piero Umiliani, here under his alias M. Zalla. 'Problemi D'Oggi' falls into Umiliani's highly experimental, psychedelic / electronic phase and was recorded in 1973 in the legendary Sound Workshop studio in Rome. the music presented here deeply reflects the pessimistic nature of the issues in charge (social problems, terrorism, world crisis, industrial production, conflicts, mafia), a dark and disturbing listening experience from start to finish with some tracks reproducing the same progressive type of vibe, which Umiliani's Braen project / collaboration with Alessandro Alessandroni got cult status for. while the B-Side is loaded with abstract, minimal electronic soundscapes, the highlights are concentrated on Side A: the weird opener 'Produzione' has a trance-like progressive ambient sound style, a futuristic groover way ahead of its time with a hyperfast bass driven beat, excessive conga percussion and really amazing synthisizer effects. 'Mondo In Crisi' respectively 'Non Mollare' reveal strong dramatic undertones produced by an impressive exchange between trippy Hammond waves and droning fuzz guitar chords over hard drums. very progressive and imaginative, this is delirious Italian Production Music and a feast for the sophisticated, openminded ear! - Delirious Music"

Year of Release: 1973
Label: Liuto
Catalog #: LRS 0056
Genres: Psychedelic, Electronic, Musique Concrète, Experimental
Bitrate: 192kbps

Track List:

A1. Produzione
A2. Mondo In Crisi
A3. Attivita'
A4. Attivita'
A5. Problemi Sociali
A6. Non Mollare
A7. Azione Sindacale
A8. Programmazione

B1. Conflitti
B2. Maffia Oggi
B3. Pendolo Ed Angoscia
B4. Cuore E Raffiche
B5. Metronomo E Cuore
B6. Marcia Ambigua
B7. Terrorista
B8. L'Ultima Raffica
B9. Sowersione
B10. Abbandono Dei Campi

Download: M. Zalla (aka Piero Ulimiani) - Problemi D'Oggi (1973 - 192kbps)
Download Size: 58MB

Egisto Macchi - Sei Composizioni (Gemelli - GG.ST 10.036) (1975 - 320kbps)

One problem with having a rather large collection of music is that you tend to lose track of a few otherwise unforgettable and amazing albums. While I was focusing on my dark and twisted library music theme in November, I somehow managed to overlook this twisted gem from the dark Italian maestro, Egisto Macchi. "Sei Composizioni" (Catalog # GG.ST 10.036) was released on the Italian label, Gemelli, in 1975, and was Egisto Macchi's 10th full-length library music LP. His typically dark and discordant approach can be compared to some of fellow Italian composer Piero Umiliani's own library music efforts. Egisto Macchi was also known as an avid promoter of music and theatre, and was actually much more active in this role than he was as a composer. Not only did belong to a number of organizations which promoted the study, advancement and appreciation of music and the arts, but he also founded several of his own. You can read more about his personal life and evolution as a composer here.

"Sei Composizioni" consists only of 6 tracks, though two of these are long-players, approaching and exceeding 10 minutes in length. Macchi manages to make a powerful statement in a relatively short amount of time with his hauntingly effective compositions, which rival even the most legendary of horror film scores. This is music designed to infect your mind with paranoia and nightmares, and it succeeds masterfully. While I don't have time to thoroughly review each track, I would like to focus on the two tracks which stand high above the rest contained on this album.

"Sei Composizioni" begins with the strange and disturbing "Per Cembalo", which is dominated by unsettling and discordant harpsichord sounds, which are accompanied by a variety of unsettling sounds. Macchi pounds on the harpsichord in a most savage manner, and bombards the keys with various objects. The sounds of footsteps running across the floor, objects being dropped and glass being broken help construct and maintain the tense atmosphere. "Per Cembalo" would be my favorite track on the album were it not for the track that follows it.

The second track, "Kleines Dachauer Requiem", is an absolute masterpiece of dark and experimental music. The vocals, which are utilized as musical instruments in his composition, are the highlight of the track. Choral chants, menacing hisses and haunting whispers are brilliantly used throughout . The sound of glass breaking and unidentified items clashing together make up the abstract percussionary sounds. At first the atmosphere is sparse, as the vocals and sound effects are used rather sparingly. Layers of sound are subsequently introduced, and the tension begins to gradually build toward the latter half of the track. The choral chanting becomes more frantic and urgent, eventually reaching a nearly overwhelming atmosphere of suspense and dread. The cacophony of overlapping voices creates a deliciously sinister sound. If you could make a recording of the descent into the mind of a psychotic individual, I would imagine that it would sound something like this, as each layer of the subconscious is explored before finally emerging upon the chaotic source that lies at the heart of the disturbed mind.

"Lamento" and Quintetto Seriale" are dominated by stringed instruments and piano, with melodies that are more traditional in structure in comparison to the abstract and experimental sound heard in the preceding tracks. At certain points the mood becomes noticeably lighter, as Macchi parts the atmosphere of impending doom, allowing moments of beauty to emerge, if only for an instant. "Computers" recaptures Macchi's more experimental side. It begins with a solo of clicking percussion sounds, which sound somewhat like hooves on a cobblestone road. New layers of sound are gradually added, as strings, flute and chimes are subsequently introduced. "Computers" culminates in a tense atmosphere that stops short of the frenzied atmosphere of "Kleines Dachauer Requiem". "Allunage" rounds out the album strongly. It begins with yet another sparse percussion intro before reintroducing the choral arrangements once again. The piece begin rather grimly, however, the latter half introduces a more uplifting and otherwordly sound to close out the album.

I honestly can't recommend this album enough. It is worth downloading simply for the rewarding experience of listening to "Kleines Dachauer Requiem", but the rest of the album is very impressive. Those of you who enjoy experimental and contemporary classical should especially enjoy this masterpiece of library music.

Year of Release: 1975
Label: Gemelli
Catalog #: GG.ST 10.036
Genres: Library Music, Experimental, Avant-Garde, Musique Concrete, Contemporary Classical
Bitrate: 320kbps

Track List:
A1. Per Cembalo
A2. Kleines Dachauer Requiem
A3. Lamento
B1. Computers
B2. Quintetto Seriale
B3. Allunage

Download: Egisto Macchi - Sei Composizioni (Gemelli - GG.ST 10.036)
Download Mirror: Egisto Macchi - Sei Composizioni (Gemelli - GG.ST 10.036)
Download Size: 77MB

Egisto Macchi - Futurissimo (St Germain Des Prés - St GDP 117) (1971 - 256kbps)

To be honest I'm a little burnt out on writing at the moment, so this post is going to be a bit shorter than usual. I just finished five 500 word essays for school, along with a 5 page report, which I have been working on since I woke up this morning.

In case you're just now tuning in, I have been running with a dark and twisted library music series the last couple of weeks. One of the first I shared was Egisto Macchi's amazing 1976 library music album, Sei Composizioni, released on the Gemelli label as GG.ST 10.036 in 1976. Now I would like to share my personal favorite from Macchi, Futurrismo. Futurrismo was released on the French label, St Germain Des Prés in 1971. St Germain Des Prés was a sub-label of one of my favorite production music libraries, Montparnasse 2000.

For those unfamiliar with his work, Egisto Macchi was a legendary Italian composer of dark avant-garde and musique concrète library music. Macchi once again brilliantly combines dark, unnerving and broken electronic sounds with abstract traditional musical instrumentation. Foreboding violins, droning electric guitars, Disturbing sounds effects, such as knocking upon a wall, screeching metal, howling winds, shrieking animalistic sounds and strange voices are implemented to enhance the unnerving atmosphere. Macchi takes you on a trip, to a dark, hellish future, one which I will be returning to often.

Year of Release: 1971
Label: St Germain Des Prés
Catalog: St GDP 117
Genres: Library Music, Avant-garde, Experimental
Bitrate: 256kbps

Track List:
A1. Chambre Anachronique
A2. Nouvelles Planètes
A3. Appel Spatial
A4. Moduule Lunaire
B1. Capsule en Panne
B2. Forme Planétaire
B3. Gare Spatiale
B4. Extra-Terrestre
B5. Limite Extrême
B6. Nébuleuses
B7. Bande Radioactive

Download: Egisto Macchi - Futurissimo (St Germain Des Prés - St GDP 117)
Download Size: 61MB

Egisto Macchi - Voix (Gemelli - GG.ST.10.031) (1970 - 320kbps)

Here is yet another amazing dark avant-garde library music LP from Italian composer Egisto Macchi. Many people consider Voix to be his masterpiece. While it is an amazing record in its own right, I personally prefer both Futurissimo and Sei Composizioni, both of which I recently shared on the blog. You can find Futurissimo here and Sei Composizioni here.

Voix was released in 1970, and was the first library music album that Macchi composed. It was the first of many he composed for the amazing Italian library label, Gemelli. Gemelli released several avant-garde library music LPs. It was owned and operated by legendary Italian composer, Bruno Nicolai, up until his death in 1991. Unfortunately Gemelli releases are extremely difficult to come by. Only 500 copies of each release were pressed.

As with all of Macchi's work, Voix is an absolute masterpiece of dark avant-garde music. The majority of the tracks have an ominous tone, with a mechanical or industrial feel to them. The percussion work is absolutely amazing, with small handheld percussion instruments at the forefront, backed by powerful tribal rhythms. There is also plenty of hauntingly, beautiful piano work throughout. In contrast, there are also some more brutal moments, as Macchi relentlessly pounds upon the keys in a frantic manner. Vocals play a prominent role in the arrangements, with haunting choral vocals appearing on several tracks, as well as strange muffled voices, menacing hisses and disturbing laughter. Piano keys are frantically pounded upon. Ominous strings feature prominently throughout, often used in in a rhythmical, percussive manner. Ambient electronics provide a textured backdrop to several of the tracks.

The B-side marks a change in tone, with many of the tracks having a whimsical, dreamlike feel to them, while still retaining a a slightly sinister undertone. There is a distinct theme present on the B-side, featuring a common melody which can be heard on "La Memoire", "Chanson De La Nuit" and "Chanson Du Matin". This will be one of the last albums I share for my dark and twisted library music series. I plan to move out of the shadows soon, and showcase some of the more upbeat library music gems.

Year of Release: 1970
Label: Gemelli
Catalog #: GG.ST. 10.031
Genres: Library Music, Avant-Garde, Contemporary Classical,
Bitrate: 320kbps

Track List:
A1. Pensée
A2. Phonèmes
A3. Diaphragme
A4. Voix
A5. Moonsong
A6. Timbres
A7. À Plein Gosier
B1. La Mémoire
B2. La Calme
B3. Le Cauchemar
B4. Chanson De La Nuit
B5. Chanson Du Matin
B6. Reflexions
B7. Gouttes
B8. Inquiètude

Download: Egisto Macchi - Voix (Gemelli - GG.ST. 10.031)
Download Size: 74MB

The Dream Syndicate - Inside The Dream Syndicate Volume I: Day Of Niagara

Thought this might be a nice companion piece to Sab’s first post. "Day of Niagara" was recorded in New York City on April 25,1965. It features: La Monte Young - vocals; Marian Zazeela - vocals; John Cale - viola; Tony Conrad - violin; & Angus MacLise - percussion.

Year of Release: 2000
Label: Table Of The Elements W 74
Genre: Experimental, Minimal

Tracklist:
Day Of Niagara

Download: The Dream Syndicate - Inside the Dream Syndicate Vol. 1: Day of Niagara
Download Size: 70.8MB

Video: Delia Derbyshire, Loop Composer

Watch in high-definition on Youtube

January 22, 2013 Update: I posted this back in 2010. This music-video collage is still just as impressive as the first time I had the pleasure of watching it. I'm sure there were plenty of people who missed this post the first time around, and since we're in the process of re-uploading content for the blog, I thought I would bump this post to the top of the blog so that it can be shared with an entirely different group of visitors. Unfortunately AK_Alias seems to have disappeared since then. I last heard from him back in 2010, a few months after this was posted. I have yet to see him appear on the internet under this alias. AK if you happen to see this, or anyone who knows him, please contact me.

While searching for Delia Derbyshire videos, I recently stumbled across this amazing video, "Delia Derbyshire, Loop Composer". AK_Alias is the artist behind this project. He likes to refer to his creations as 'sync|sound' music videos, stating "the audio and video are treated as a single chunk of media." Upon watching his first video, I was immediately reminded of Negativland, the infamous plunderphonics group which have made a few appearances here on Meltd0wn in the past. AKA's videos are a form of visual plunderphonics, as he cuts up various scenes, images, sounds, and samples, and then arranges them into a collage that entices both the visual and aural senses.

AKA goes on to further describe his videos as being the result of taking a hip-hop approach to music and video. This thought also crossed my mind while watching his videos, as "video scratching" is made use of in much the same way a DJ would use turntables to manipulate the sound of a vinyl record. Clips are often brought forth throughout, accompanied by music and spoken word samples, then promptly altered by being "scratched", expanded, shrunk, thrown in reverse and rearranged. Each small clips helps to build the collage, whether it is incorporated into the beat, or to introduce various sound effects.

While AKA prefers to describe his creations in a nutshell as "instrumental hip-hop using videos as samples", he doesn't spare any genre from being sucked into his cacophony of visual and aural delights. The hip-hop element is present, but it is also subtle, as AKA brings so many other elements into the fold. Classical, jazz, rock, library music, tv show clips, spoken word bits, standup comedy and many other types of samples are used extensively throughout his videos.

The subject of this video is Delia Derbyshire, a member of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop who pioneered several magnetic audio tape editing techniques. She is another artist who has appeared on Meltd0wn in the past, and her albums can be found here. I believe the footage of Derbyshire seen in this video is taken from the amazing documentary "Alchemists of Sound". Others sampled include: Tristram Cary, Milton Babbitt, Chuck D, Aretha Franklin, Dennis Chambers, Jaco Pastorius, Joy Division, James Brown, Bernard Herrmann, David Lynch, Piano Tooners, Jimmy Page, Charlie Parker, Elastica, Homer Simpson, and Richard Pryor.

I hope you enjoy AK_Alias' work. Please be sure to check out the links below to his profile and channel on Vimeo, and take the time to leave him a comment regarding his work. He is taking a break at the moment to work on other projects, but I have a feeling you will be seeing his work again on Meltd0wn in the future.

AKA_Alias on Vimeo:
http://vimeo.com/aka
Sync|Sound Music Channel:
http://vimeo.com/channels/syncsound

With this video I plan to start sharing at least one video a month, if not more, here on Digital Meltd0wn. Some of you may remember that at one time I regularly posted videos here. It wasn't a concept that I purposely abandoned, but one that I was forced to slowly filter out as the amount of free time I had available to me dwindled to a virtually nonexistent level. I have also created a Youtube channel for Digital Meltd0wn, which you can find here: http://youtube.com/digitalmeltd0wn I haven't uploaded many videos yet, but I will host the majority of the videos featured here, as well as a few that I have yet to share. If any of you would be interested in contributing to the Digital Meltd0wn Youtube channel, please leave a comment and let me know. I'm just looking for someone who would be willing to upload a couple of videos a month.

The Blues Astronauts - No Sanctuary

From the very first note to the final fade-out, this is one wonderful slab of vinyl here, folks. If you're into trying new musick that you've never heard before, then this one gets five stars. First before you get to the vinyl, the cover grabs you. A hand-made cut & paste cover on a blank white record sleeve. There's no printing on this sucker. The album title & band name, the cover photo - the band photo & tracklist & song info on the back, all pasted on by hand. Inside is some of the greatest crazy Beatnik jazz blues from outer space, at times verging on No Wave. Songs like "Tabor" & "Second Coming" remind of James Chance & the Contortions while songs like "In this Life" are dub-influenced a la The Ruts. Even on the only non-original cuts, two traditional blues songs arranged by The Blues Astronauts, they are anything but traditional. "Help Me" ventures into the blues explosions of Jon Spencer while the other, "Wake Up" is more of the seeds gone bad of Nick Cave. The only thing I find disheartening about this band is the lack of information about them or about individual members. Given the early 80s time frame & the Brighton, Massachusetts locale, it is possible that one on the members is a Harvard grad PhD. in Conservation Biology & perhaps one has gone into the visual arts field. The only member I'm sure is still in musick is the trombonist Boo Elmer, who plays with the world renowned Le Nouvel Ensemble Moderne & appears on the avant garde electronic chamber musick production Bang on a Can Live Vol. 1. Other than the Boo Elmer crediting, all the rest of the info on the band is conjecture. If anyone knows more about this great last wonder, please let me/us know.

The Blues Astronauts are: Paul Bloodgood - vocals; Michael Albrecht - guitars & bass on "Wake Up"; Jodie Myers - bass; guitar & vocals on "Wake Up"; Dan Perlman - drums & percussion; Boo Elmer - trombone; Willy MacMullen - harmonica.

All words by Bloodgood, all musick by Blues Astronauts except "Help Me" & "Wake Up" are traditional, arranged by Blues Astronauts. Recorded at Real Art Ways, Hartford,CT.


Year of Release: 1982
Label: Windsor Records BSAS-10
Genre: Experimental Blues, No Wave



Track List:
Side A
1. Tela
2. Sanctuary
3. Tabor
4. Marlboro

Side B
1. In this Life
2. Second Coming
3. Help Me
4. Wake Up
5. Joseph

Download: The Blues Astronauts - No Sanctuary

Download Size: 81.5MB

Ripped from surprisingly immaculate vinyl at glorious 320Kbps

Ween featuring The Shit Creek Boys - Live in Toronto Canada (2001)

I received an email today informing me that Ween is coming to St. Petersburg, FL in October, two hours from where I live, so I knew it was a sign that I had to post this. It will be the second time I see them live and I am so psyched about it.

This disc was a limited run and of course goes for prices that are more absurd than the music contained here. The recording was made during the now legendary tour with The Shit Creek Boys. This may not be the best place to start for those that are new to the irreverent genius that is Ween, but I can't listen to this album and stay in a bad mood. My absolute favorite track is the album closer "Fluffy". Ween reveal their sentimental side here and turn this silly song into a sprawling dirge of an anthem. It really must be heard, my friends.

I decided to reproduce an excerpt of the liner notes written by Dean Ween:

In November of 1995, we went to Nashville to record our 5th album “12 Golden Country Greats” with an all-star lineup of veteran Nashville session players. With the help of our producer and longtime friend Ben Vaughn, we put together a backing band of the best players from the golden age of country music to record 10 country flavored tunes we had written that year.

This posed a problem upon the release of the record in the summer of the next year. Most of that band had long since retired from touring and we ruled out the possibility of playing shows to support the release of the album. Instead, we planned on playing two shows in one night at Tramp’s on July 17, 1996 in New York City and tried to see if the musicians would make the trip for a long weekend.

The person who seemed the most interested in the project from the beginning was Bobby Ogdin, who played piano on most of the record, and he assured us that he could put together an incredible Nashville band for the shows, so he became our “musical director” so to speak. I sent him CDs of all of our records and he wrote charts for the band. We had only two days to rehearse tor the gig and I was completely terrified... I don’t think I slept a minute the night before.

As it turns out, the shows were a great success, the music was completely over the top and the crowd basically freaked out. Everyone in the band wanted to do more so we decided on a 3 week American tour starting in October that same year. It turned out to be the most rewarding experience of our musical career. I don’t think we played a bad show the whole tour—the 8 piece band sounded like a 747 landing on your house.

Year of Release: 2001
Year of Recording: 1996
Label: Chocodog Records
Catalog #: CDR-1001
Genre: Experimental Rock
Media: CD
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 320 kbps

Track List:
1. Pretty Girl 2:55
2. What Deaner Was Talkin' About 2:13
3. Japanese Cowboy 4:26
4. Pumpin' 4 the Man 2:17
5. Mister Richard Smoker 3:15
6. Spinal Meningitis (Got Me Down) 3:34
7. Help Me Scrape the Mucus off My Brain 2:56
8. Waving My Dick in the Wind 3:06
9. Push th' Little Daisies 2:48
10. Buenas Tardes Amigo 10:37
11. Poop Ship Destroyer 5:58
12. I'm Holding You 6:55
13. Doctor Rock 5:15
14. The HIV Song 3:14
15. Piano Man 2:05
16. Fluffy 14:20

Download: Ween - Live In Toronto Canada (2001)
Download Size: 177 MB

Hox Vox - Marcel Duchamp (2010)

I'm long overdue for a video post, so I thought I would share this unique tribute to Marcel Duchamp with you all. This video video was submitted to me by Hox Vox, a multimedia, avant-garde artist out of Italy. Hox has given me permission to share his music here, and I plan to share a real masterpiece of an album in my next post, along with a more detailed description of Hox and his music. The video above is for a track found on Hox's 2010 album, Dada (Cabaret Voltaire), which pays tribute to many early 20th century avant-garde artists. You can find a download link to a high-definition version of the video at the bottom of this post, as well as a link to the video on Digital Meltd0wn's fledgling Youtube channel.

Marcel Duchamp was an important figure in the early 20th century avant-garde art movement, particularly his contributions to Dada. His ideas were extremely controversial at the time, and he challenged many people to reconsider the very definition of art with his works. Duchamp was highly influenced by Post Impressionist artists at a young age. His early work primarily consisted of paintings and multimedia works in the avant-garde styles of cubism and fauvism. From the very beginning of his career there was controversy attached to Duchamp's name. His first major cubist painting, "Nude Descending a Starcase No. 2," caused quite a stir at a 1913 exhibit in New York. Americans, who were unfamiliar with Parisian avant-garde and futurist movements, were equally intrigued and dismayed. Many people claimed that it wasn't art, since they found it to be lacking elements of realism, nor did it appear to require a great degree of technical ability to produce.

Although Duchamp's paintings were scandalous for their time, outside of the Parisian Avant-Garde movement, the medium he was working with was still one people were intimately familiar with. Eventually Duchamp's artistic ideology evolved a great deal. He would go on to be a pioneering figure in a few avant-garde styles, and he began to produce works that were unlike anything many people had ever conceived as art. He achieved notoriety for his controversial submission, "The Fountain," to an art exhibit. The fountain was simply a urinal that Duchamp had inverted and signed R. Mutt. Duchamp's "found art," or readymades as he preferred to call them, consisted of inconspicuous everyday items, such as the urinal; yet despite their mundane nature, these pieces became more radical within an artistic context, and proved to be polarizing within many artistic circles. The majority of people dismissed Duchamp's readymade pieces outright, and determined that they had no redeeming qualities, and therefore were were void of artistic value. However, many others, including many prominent artists of the era, believed that he was attempting to replace the image and idea associated with the urinal, and frame it within a different perspective, thus creating a new and unique personal association with the item in question. You can read more about Duchamp and his life on this website.

There was a time in my life when I also dismissed such art as simply pranks, or art for pseudo-intellectual hipsters; however, as I grew older I began to acknowledge the possibility that it could be created for a different purpose. Even if it was submitted by Duchamp as simply a gag, or or to prove a point, I finally managed to find some redeeming value in such artistic "statements." As for "Fountain" in particular, some might call me a sucker, but I like to think of it as a blank, urinal-shaped canvas for the mind, allowing each individual to create a new "thought" associated with it upon viewing it. It can be anything your mind has a natural inclination to associate it with, and the same concept applies to many other pieces of "found art." If some of you wouldn't mind taking the time to share your opinion with me, I would like to read your interpretation of Duchamp's ideas also.

If you could, please provide Hox with some feedback on the video. I'm sure that Hox will view this post, and he would greatly appreciate any comments you have to offer.

Download: Hox Vox - Marcel Duchamp
Download Size: 101MB

Youtube URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcjdI10W0V8

芸能山城組 Geinō Yamashirogumi - 恐山／銅之剣舞 Osorezan / Dou No Kenbai (1976)

The aftermath of the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami has been simultaneously excruciating and inspiring to witness. With disasters of this magnitude there is so much tragedy, and so much heroism. I've been undoubtedly feeling that "Japanese Blues" mental state so eloquently described by NØ.

When Zer0_II asked for a post out of respect for Japan and their current struggle, I immediately thought of this album. This is not the first time Geinō Yamashirogumi has made an appearance @ DM. Zer0_II posted their marvelous score for Akira in August of last year. Osorezan (Mountain of Fear) / Dou No Kenbai (Copper Sword Dance) was released in 1976 as two LP sidelong tracks of mega-intensity. This album is a startling and beautiful demonstration of the creative possibilities of a collective. The experimental atmospherics, vocal freak-outs, and prog/space rock crossed with world folk thing has been executed many times, but in my opinion this album, as with all work by Geinō Yamashirogumi, stands as an incomparable experience. Every time I listen to this recording all the way through, I feel completely cleansed and reinvigorated.

Year of Original Release: 1976
Year of Reissue: 1994
Label: Victor Japan
Catalog #: VICL-23084
Genre: Experimental, World Fusion, World Music
Media: CD
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 320 kbps

Track List:
1. 恐山 (20:00)
2. 銅之剣舞 (18:47)

Download: Geinō Yamashirogumi - 恐山／銅之剣舞 Osorezan / Dou No Kenbai
Download Size: 87 MB

World's End Girlfriend - Dream's End Come True (2002 - 320kbps)

I would like to express my deepest sympathy to the people of Japan during this very difficult time for their nation. I wanted to dedicate a post to Japan the day after the earthquake and tsunami struck. However, I have found it rather difficult to put my thoughts and feelings into words the day after the disaster, and didn't have enough free time at my disposal in the days that followed to be able to dedicate a post until now.

I was up watching Al Jazeera Live late at night when the news broke that an earthquake had struck off the coast of Japan. Although a tsunami warning was issued, I didn't expect one to form. The earthquake was first described as only being a 7.8, in contrast to the upgraded 9.0 it would eventually be categorized as. A few minutes later I watched in disbelief and horror as the massive debris-filled wave destroyed everything in its path - images which I'm sure have been burned into the minds of all who watched the widely circulated footage. My first thought was of how the destruction I was witnessing was undoubtedly occurring all along Japan's coastline, and would result in a massive loss of life.

I know what it is like to lose everything and be forced to start your life completely from scratch, although my past circumstances do not begin to compare with the loss that many people are experiencing in Japan. With that in mind, the disaster in Japan affected me in a way which I never would have imagined. I feel a great deal of empathy and sympathy for the millions in Japan who have been directly and indirectly affected by this disaster. I can't even begin to imagine witnessing such a horrifyingly surreal monstrosity swallow up everything you hold near and dear to you in person, and what it must be like to attempt to pick up the pieces after you have lost everything in such a horrifying manner. It has been difficult enough to experience vicariously. To make matters worse, the rescue efforts have been hampered by countless aftershocks, a blizzard, and the ongoing nuclear crisis, thus extinguishing the possibility of being rescued for many.

As difficult as it was for me to find the words required to express my sympathy, it was even more difficult to select which album would be the most appropriate for the situation. In the end, I decided that this album by World's End Girlfriend best captured the complex range of thoughts and emotions presented by this series of disasters. World's End Girlfriend is actually the solo project of Katsuhiko Maeda, a mysterious Japanese artist who combines neoclassical elements with experimental electronic sounds. "Dream's End Come True" was the third full length album released by World's End Girlfriend, and marks a transition toward more dark and experimental music for Maeda. The dark synths and dissonant, chaotic electronic glitches remind me of the horror and confusion that no doubt invaded the minds of the Japanese people when the earthquake and tsunami decimated a great deal of the East Coast of Japan.

However, the album is not without its lighter moments, and features beautiful string movements and piano melodies throughout, which reminds me of the hope I feel for the future of Japan. Like the mythical Phoenix, Japan has risen from the ashes of destruction once before, and I have no doubt that the Japanese people have the willpower and resolve to do so again. The songs are lengthy, with each one clocking in at more than eight minutes in length, culminating in the 25 minute epic, "Imperfect Love Song," which closes out the album in dramatic fashion.

I want to close this post out by saying that I would like to extend my deepest condolences to everyone who has experienced loss of any type due to this tragic disaster. I wish the Japanese people the best of luck in the near future and far beyond.

Year of Release: 2002
Label: Midi Creative/Noble
Catalog # CXCA-1118
Genres: Experimental, Avant-Garde, Post-Rock
Bitrate: 320kbps

Tracklist:
1. Singing Under The Rainbow
2. Caroling Hellwalker
3. All Imperfect Love Song
4. Wonderland Falling Tomorrow

Download: World's End Girlfriend - Dream's End Come True
Download Size: 99MB

Muslimgauze - Port Said EP (1999 - 320kbps)

What could be a better excuse for me to post up something by my favorite band Muslimgauze, the non de guerre of Bryn Jones.


Bryn used his musick to paint a statement about the conditions in the Arab world. He used the artwork of his covers to paint a picture of rebellion. We are featuring musick from the countries affected by or involved in the current popular resurgence in the Middle East but I find that Jones, an outsider from Manchester, England faithfully & honestly presented those same feeling of unrest.

The ultra-prolific Bryn Jones was infatuated with the politics, music, sound, & feel of the Middle East. Almost every single release of his has sampled Middle Eastern speech, percussion, instruments, etc. to make some of the most incredible music out there, ranging from noise to dub to hip hop to ambient to.. well, whatever Port Said is.

Since this is a very limited release, long out of print, I thought it would be excellent to post here. Although it is named after Egypt’s famous port, Port Said is unique among Jones’ releases in that it's one of few Muslimgauze release with absolutely NO Middle Eastern influence.

Year of Release: 1999
Label: Audio.NL 004
Genre: Trance

Tracklist:
Port Said 1
Port Said 2

Download: Muslimgauze - Port Said ep
Download Size: 46.2MB (ripped at 320Kbps)

Patrice Sciortino - Les Cyclopes (1967 - 320kbps)

Update:

maestro898 has been kind enough to translate the original notes in French to English. You can find both the original notes, as well as the English translation below the download link at the bottom of this post. Thank you for your generosity maestro898.

As I mentioned in my last post, I plan to start sharing a few of my favorite library music LPs over the next couple of weeks. I hope to cover a wide array of musical styles, as well as the artists and labels that I enjoy the most. I hope to be able to strike a balance between the essential, for those who are unfamliar with library music, and the obscure, for those who are. Those of you who are unfamiliar with library music, or have only had the opportunity to listen to a few releases, are in for a real treat. First up is one of my favorite French composers, Patrice Sciortino.

I recently posted the compilation "Espace Et Actualité" from the Musique Pour L'Image label, the highlight of which was the seven amazing tracks composed by Patrice Sciortino which appeared on the B-side.. Patrice Sciortino has released several essential library music albums. Many people consider "Chronoradial" to be his Magnus Opus. Chronoradial was released on the Musique Pour L'Image sublabel, PSI, in 1970. It is an amazing piece of work, and will probably appear here in the near future; however, I personally prefer his debut album, "Les Cyclopes". Les Cyclopes was released on the French audiophile label, Disques André Charlin, in 1967. Les Cyclopes seeks to capture the spirit and character of five different continents by using a vast array of percussion instruments, performed by eight different percussionists, along with one bass player. The number of percussion instruments implemented by Sciortino truly is staggering. While there are too many to list here, you can get an idea of the sheer number of instruments used by looking at the back cover.

I provided some background info regarding Patrice Sciortino in the Espace Et Actualité post, which I linked to above. I have taken the liberty of typing out the liner notes from the back of the album, and I have included those notes as a text file with the download. (Edit: I forgot to include the text file in the download. There is an additional link below the download link which will direct you to the text file.) I should point out that those notes are in French, since I typed them exactly as they appeared on the back of the album. I used Google Translate to translate some of the information to English. Unfortunately the intended meaning behind some of the passages isn't very clear. I chalk this up to the inherant limitations of the Google translation service. Perhaps someone from France would be willing to provide a more accurate translation? I was able to pull some relevant and insightful information from the translated text though. The following excerpt is taken from the aforementioned liner notes that I translated into English:

"Cyclops / Panorama Of Percussion
directed by the author
Recorded in Paris by André Charlin / Art Direction - Carl de Nys

Patrice Sciortino is a unique and diverse musical figure. In spite of his youth (he was born in Paris in 1922) he already has an extremely imposing catalogue of compositions and extremely various activities. Patrice Sciortino does not

All systems of musical language, rhythms, scales, styles, all means of expressing them, instruments and techniques have been (at some point in their history) representative of a country and a people, that is say "typical."

Some of them stayed, others have followed the course of universal exchange, teaching us that the ownership and authenticity are relative and nuanced.

The purpose of this disc is to travel the vast panorama of percussion instruments in the five continents, using them in a context where the pace is connected with their nature and thus open the door to immigration .

Without pretending to paint a perfect image of each of each of these regions, we hope to capture part of the character of each region.


Composer: Patrice Sciortino

Double Bass: Willy Lockwood

Percussionists:
Serge Depannemacker
Yves Lestang
Bernard Lubat
Michel Lorin
Gerard Perotin
Diego Masson
J.-Ch. François
R. Sola

Year of Release: 1967
Label: Disques André Charlin
Catalog #: CL-34
Bitrate: 320kbps

Track List:
A1. Etincelle
A2. Berceuse du Soleil
A3. Mythes et Masques
A4. Ventre et Seigneur
A5. Noces de l'eau et du feu
A6. Grande Chasse
B1. Struction
B2. Cristaux
B3. Odeur d'ombre
B4. Rythmétis
B5. Black U.S.
B6. Lumières de la nuit
B7. Cosmophonie

Download: Patrice Sciortino - Les Cyclopes
Download Size: 90MB

Album Notes (French): http://freetexthost.com/gz0dcdkdo0

Album Notes (English Translation): http://freetexthost.com/ufpapg0o65

Ennio Morricone - Controfase (Gemelli - GG.ST. 10.019) (1972 - 320kbps)

Ennio Morricone was one of, if not the, most prolific composers of the 20th century. While most people are familiar with his scores for countless films and television series, it is a lesser known fact that he also composed a handful of albums for production music libraries. Continuing with our dark and twisted library series, I'm pleased to present one of the legendary Italian maestro's darkest efforts, rivaling even some of the great giallo soundtracks he composed throughout the 1970s. "Controfase" was released on the Gemelli label in 1972. Gemelli was an Italian music library label formed in the mid 1960s, which was owned and operated by Morricone's friend and frequent collaborator, Bruno Nicolai. Ordinarily such composer-owned library labels folded upon the death of the composer. However, after Nicolai's death in 1991, Nicolai's daughter took over the Gemelli label and subsequently re-released a handful of his recordings.

I recently started a new semester at school, and have picked up an additional course. I am swamped with assignments at the moment, due in part to a mistake which forced me to start the course a day late, so I'm going to have to keep my writing to a minimum for the time being. I will attempt to put up at least two to three posts a week though. Hopefully I'll be able to find my groove with the assignments within a couple of weeks, which will free up a bit more time for me. When possible I will provide an online review to provide you with more info on the release in question.

Unfortunately information surrounding this release is scarce. In fact, I couldn't even find a single review of the album online, which I find strange considering Ennio Morricone's huge following. "Controfase" was released in extremely limited numbers, with Gemelli releasing only 500 copies, making it extremely difficult to find this release on vinyl. I consider this to be a masterpiece of dark avant-garde library music. Morricone implements mysterious and dissonant jazz percussion, ominous string arpeggios, and atonal ambient electronic sounds, all in his trademark style, creating a brilliantly dark statement in the process. You can find more Morricone albums previously posted on the blog here.

Year of Release: 1972
Label: Gemelli
Catalog #: GG.ST. 10.019
Genres: Library Music, Avant-Garde, Contemporary Classical
Bitrate: 320kbps

Track List:
A1. Controfase
A2. Tempo
A3. Soli
A4. Come Sommersi
B1. Con Ferma Ostinazione
B2. Follia
B3. Degenerazione
B4. Eclissi Seconda

Download: Ennio Morricone - Controfase (Gemelli - GG.ST 10.019)
Download Size: 67MB

VA - Espace Et Actualité (Musique Pour L'Image - MPI 505) (1967 - 320kbps)

When January rolled around I had originally planned to offer up an eclection selection of library music, however, once I started going through my collection I couldn't resist continuing my dark and twisted library music series. As a visitor recently pointed out, the majority of people who collect and share library music often focus on the releases containing funky breaks, which have been sampled by DJs to create hip-hop beats since the genre first emerged. I wanted to focus on the dark corners of the library music world, and concentrate on a few masterpieces which are all too often passed over for the more upbeat library LPs featuring funky beats and cheerful moog synthesizers. Don't get me wrong, I love those type of library music LPs just as much as the next person, and they helped to introduce me to the amazing world of library music. However, as far as library music goes, those beat-heavy LPs make up the more mainstream side of production music, and I'm all about exploring the more obscure and unsung albums. For those interested, I fully intend to share some of my favorite upbeat library LPs once I finish with my series of dark & twisted library music. After that I plan to share a few releases from each of my favorite library labels.

"Espace Et Actualité" (MP 505) was released on the French label, Musique Pour L'Image" in 1967. The A side contains music from three different artists, while side B consists of music from Patrice Sciortino. Claude Vasori, Robert Hermel and François Bayle comprise the composers featured on side A. Of these three composers Claude Vasori is the only one I'm really familiar with. He released the majority of his music on the Musique Pour L'Image label. I have a few of these releases, including Energie - MPI 541 (1972), Musique Pop Pour Images En Mouvement - MPI 529 (1971), and Action, Charme, Espace - MPI 502 (1967) if anyone would be interested in seeing them posted in the future. The music on this side consists of mysterious and mildly ominous spaced-out ambient tunes. While the music isn't bad, it is overshadowed by the selection of music presented by Patrice Sciortino on the B side, which is much more engaging and unique.

Side B alone makes this library LP worth downloading in my opinion. French composer Patrice Sciortino is responsible for all of the tracks on the B-Side. Sciortino studied at Pierre Schaeffer's GRM (Groupe de Recherche Musicale), along with the aforementioned Claude Vasori. He went on to compose music for theatre and production libraries in the 1960s. Sciortino is often remembered among library music collectors for releasing several amazing percussion themed LPs, including Percupulsions (Neuilly - MC 8002) and Percussion Power (Mondiophone - 46.503). The majority of his work was released on the Neuilly label, and sublabels Crea Sound and Mondiophone.

Espace Et Actualité contains some of the earliest library music that Scioritini composed. It is a bit more constrained than some of his wilder efforts in subsequent years. Sciortino's avant-garde approach to library music, with an emphasis on percussion, brings to mind Camille Sauvage (aka Eric Framond), particularly Fantasmagories, albeit much more reserved in nature. Sciortino manages to strike a wonderful balance with his music. The music manages to be rather sparse, yet engaging at the same time. The inclusion of bells and harps gives the music a delicate sound, while powerful and discordant piano melodies bring some harshness to the compositions. The music is primarily dark in nature, yet light undertones emerge through the darkness, if only for brief moments.

I wouldn't say this release is as strong as some of the previously dark and twisted library LPs I have shared, as it is a bit more reserved in nature than my previous selections. However, this is a solid album in its own right, particulary the music found on the B-Side by Patrice Sciortino. Those of you who enjoyed the previous selections in my dark and twisted library series should find this one quite enjoyable as well.

Year of Release: 1967
Label: Musique Pour L'Image
Catalog #: MPI 505
Genres: Library Music, Ambient, Avant-Garde, Experimental
Bitrate: 320kbps

Track List:
A1. Claude Vasori - De´part Fuse´e
A2. Robert Hermel - Industrie Spatiale
A3. François Bayle - Titan
A4. Claude Vasori - Espace Chromatique
A5. François Bayle - Andromede
A6. Robert Hermel - Apesanteur
B1. Patrice Sciortino - Alchimie Rythmique
B2. Patrice Sciortino - Ville Sanse Vie
B3. Patrice Sciortino - Abimes Souterrains
B4. Patrice Sciortino - Danger Sous Roche
B5. Patrice Sciortino - Approache Dramatique
B6. Patrice Sciortino - Hostilite´
B7. Patrice Sciortino - Tumulte

Download: VA - Espace Et Actualité (Musique Pour L'Image - MPI 505)
Download Size: 68MB

A Murder of Angels - While You Sleep (1999)

A Murder of Angels is a side project of Bryin Dall and Derek Rush. Bryin is known for his work with Loretta's Doll, his solo project Fourth Sign of the Apocalypse and, also Thee Majesty, with Genesis P-Orridge. He sometimes contributes to Derek's main project, Dream into Dust. The two have previously collaborated together under the name Of Unknown Origin.

Middle Pillar, their record company states that "While You Sleep evokes a universe of disturbing worlds. The duo have created a sound that faintly evokes the low-key moments of their other work, yet succeeds in creating an entirely new atmosphere. Listening to While You Sleep is similar to slipping off into a peaceful slumber that sucks you in like quicksand before it slowly melts into the more disturbing territories of your psyche." I couldn't agree more. This album is one of my long time favorites, although i must admit my opinion is quite a subjective one (since this is one of the first albums of this kind i found, long way back). This album walks around many genres of music and soundscape; just for a general image though, I see this somewhere in the dark ambient atmosphere (but that's a very diverse category, nevertheless).

Year of Release: 1999
Label: Middle Pillar
Genres: Dark Ambient, Experimental, Industrial
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 192kbps

Track List:
1. Necrosis Reversal
2. Manuscript
3. Wandering Soul
4. Lurking Gentlemen
5. Melting Across The Night
6. Tribunal
7. Suspended In Frozen Misery
8. Opaque Atmosphere
9. The Ninth Circle

Download: A Murder Of Angels - While You Sleep
Download Size: 85MB

Camille Sauvage - Fantasmagories (Montparnasse 2000 - MP 33) (320kbps)

With our upcoming "Nightmare Before Christmas" project beginning on December 1st, I wanted to transition into the project by sharing a couple of dark and twisted library music lps. First up is the one that immediately came to mind, and also happens to be one of my favorite library music albums - "Fantasmagories" by French Composer Camille Sauvage, released on the legendary Montparnasse 2000 library. He also released a handful of albums on Montparnasse 2000 using the alias Eric Framond, which people often mistakenely cite as his real name. I couldn't find any concrete information regarding the year this was released, but I am certain that it was released some time in the 1970s.

While Fantasmagories is a horror themed album, it isn't as horrifying as people often like to make it out to be. However, for a library music lp this is certainly a twisted album that does have its darker side. This is very abstract music, perhaps best categorized as musique concrete or avant-garde depending on who you ask. In many ways this reminds me of a cross between Wayne Bell and Tobe Hooper's soundtrack to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Japanese duo Haruomi Hosono and Tadanori Yokoo's soundtrack to Cochin Moon. Sauvage masterfully incorporates screeching out-of-tune saxophones, menacing basslines, a plethora of percussion instruments, finger-snaps, strange electronic sounds, ghostly voices, Jews harp, horns and flutes to create this dark masterpiece.

There is also a distinct jazz sound which can be heard on tracks such as "Magma", "Enfirissimo", and "Pavillon Des Agités". Although they retain the sparse and disonant mood created by the other tracks, they also sharply contrast with them in several ways. Aside from the jazz flavor, the most obvious difference is that they are lighter in mood. They also loosly adhere to a rhythmic meter, as opposed to the complete abandonment displayed on the more abstract tracks.

On a side note, this is the only Camille Sauvage album that I have had the pleasure of listening to. I have searched for the album "7 Drums Concerto" for years to no avail. If any of you could help me out I would greatly appreciate the gesture.

Year of Release: 197x
Label: Montparnasse 2000
Catalog #: MP 33
Genres: Library Music, Experimental, Musique Concrete...
Bitrate: 320kbps

Track List:
A1. Terrifical Night
A2. Musique De L'Au-Delà
A3. Magma
A4. Vivisection
A5. Ectoplasme
A6. Enferissimo
B1. Charette Fantôme
B2. Le Jugement Dernier
B3. Pavillon Des Agités
B4. Rapacité Nocturne
B5. Requiem Pour Satan
B6. Rhapsodie Pour Belphégor

Download: Camille Sauvage - Fantasmagories
Download Size: 77MB

Roger Roger - Sounds Industrial (L'Illustration Musicale - IM 25) (1976 - 320kbps)

Despite possessing a rather large library music collection, I have neglected to share many albums here for one reason or another. During the next two weeks I plan to share a few of my favorite library music albums, better known to some people as production music. If you are unfamiliar with library music then you should check out this Wikipedia article, which provides a decent overview of the genre. In the coming weeks you can expect to see a mixture of albums that any library music enthusiast will be familiar with, along with a few very rare and obscure albums, which hopefully haven't already been posted elsewhere.

First up we Roger Roger's Sounds Industrial (IM 25), which was released on vinyl in 1976 by the L'Illustration Musicale library label. Although Roger Roger happens to be one of my favorite library music composers, I had intended to share a more accessible album here first. The other album I was uploading canceled due to an error, so I just decided to run with it. Roger Roger was a French composer who was born in 1911 and died in 1995. As strange as it seems, his real name was actually Roger Roger. He also released several albums using the aliases Cecil Leuter, which he primarily used for his electronic output, and Eric Swan. Roger Roger was one of the most prolific of all the library music composers during his career, having composed music for dozens of production libraries, television shows and radio. He is well known among library music enthusiasts, although because he preferred to compose music for the more obscure library labels, he never achieved the recognition that many prolific film score composers do. He released albums on several different labels, although is best remembered for the work he did for the Mood Music series on the Chappell label. He was also one of the earliest composers to use the Moog synthesizer, releasing Pop Electronique in 1969, only five years after Bob Moog released his first synthesizer. While his early electronic output tends to be his most popular work, he dabbled in a diverse range of styles, including jazz, classical, psychedelic, experimental and exotica.

Sounds Industrial is one of Roger Roger's earliest albums of electronic music. One thing I love about many library music LPs is that you get the opportunity to hear classicaly trained musicians have fun and experiment, and I get the feeling that Roger Roger was doing just that with this album. At the core of this album is some excellent minimalistic synthesizer music. While each track is short, often averaging roughly a minute each, Roger Roger is able to create very dynamic pieces of music within a very short period of time. What I love about this album is the way each track progressively builds in complexity and atmosphere, yet manages to retain a certain level of simplicity. Most of tracks begin with a very sparse minimalist sound, usually just a simply synth melody, or perhaps a bleep here and a blip there. Then various instruments, sound effects and textured ambient sounds are incorporated one by one, and each track takes a life of its own as it becomes progressively more complex.

I can see this appealing to a variety of people,especially those of you who enjoy experimental, minimal synth, ambient, space-age pop, early electronic music, or just electronic music in general. Hopefully this will serve as an introduction to both library music, as well as Roger Roger, for a few of you. As I mentioned before, you can expect to see more of his albums here on DM in the near future, including those he released under his aliases.

Year of Release: 1976
Label: L'Illustration Musicale
Genres: Library Music, Early Electronic, Experimental
Bitrate: 320kbps

Track List:
01. Sounds Industrial N°1
02. Sounds Industrial N°2
03. Sounds Industrial N°3
04. Sounds Industrial N°4
05. Sounds Industrial N°5
06. Sounds Industrial N°6
07. Sounds Industrial N°7
08. Sounds Industrial N°8
09. Sounds Industrial N°9
10. Sounds Industrial N°10
11. Sounds Industrial N°11
12. Sounds Industrial N°12
13. Sounds Industrial N°13
14. Sounds Industrial N°14
15. Sounds Industrial N°15
16. Sounds Industrial N°16

Download: Roger Roger - Sounds Industrial (L'Illustration Musicale - IM 25)
Download Size: 59MB