The Chocolate Watch Band - No Way Out

Edit: This was actually one of the very first albums I uploaded for Digital Meltd0wn almost 4 years ago. I'm in the process of uploading several albums which no longer have working download links. If you happen across any albums that you would like to see reuploaded, now would be a good time to report the dead links. You can find the link to "report a dead link" in the main menu. For those who haven't heard it, I hope you all enjoy this little gem from the DM vaults.

The Chocolate Watchband's debut album, No Way Out was also their most heavily Rolling Stones-influenced album, but appreciating the album and what's on it (and what's not) requires some explanation -- especially as an original vinyl copy could set you back $100 or more. Released in September of 1967, No Way Out came at the end of the band's first 15 months of existence, a period that encompassed the recording and release of four singles of generally extraordinary quality, and as good as anything heard from any garage band anywhere during that period. Just two of those single tracks, "Are You Gonna Be There (At the Love-In)" and "No Way Out," ended up on the original ten-track LP, but even they could (and should) have been the core of an immensely powerful LP. Instead, out of the remaining songs, only two -- the group's nicely cranked-up version of Chuck Berry's "Come On" (obviously influenced by the Rolling Stones' debut single, which was, itself, a good trick, since the latter had never seen a U.S. release in any form) and the psychedelic Bo Diddley-based "Gone and Passes By" -- were recorded by the entire group and released in the form intended. The other six tracks included Watchband recordings, such as "Let's Talk About Girls," "In the Midnight Hour," and "Hot Dusty Road," on which lead singer David Aguilar's vocals had been replaced by those of session singer Don Bennett (co-author of the band's single "Are You Gonna Be There (At the Love-In)") and also embellished with extra instrumental overdubs; two instrumentals, "Expo 2000" and "Dark Side of the Mushroom," recorded by a group of studio musicians put together by engineer Richie Podolor; and, finally, the bizarre "Gossamer Wings," a psychedelic digression by Bennett and company that used the band's basic track from the 1966 single B-side "Loose Lip Sync Ship" as its jumping-off point. So what's here is not really representative of the Chocolate Watchband that was seen in the movie Riot on Sunset Strip, or heard on those four killer singles in 1966 and early 1967. All of that said, No Way Out is still an extremely impressive and enduring album that nicely straddles the garage punk and psychedelic genres; the Watchband's "Come On" still gets this reviewer's pulse bouncing to Chuck Berry's beat, and it and the other three finished band cuts are still highly potent, slashing, exciting, clever pieces of music. "Gone and Passes By" and "No Way Out" are sharp works of psychedelic punk music, the former mixing sitar music with a shimmering Bo Diddley beat to superbly seductive effect, while the latter is built on a twisting, jagged blues- and raga-based lead guitar line that recalls the late-1966 vintage Jefferson Airplane's work. And "Are You Gonna Be There (At the Love-In)" is a stirring, even threatening anthem to youthful defiance. The record is still an essential '60s album in any collection.

Year of Release: 1967
Label: Tower
Genre: Psychedelic, Garage Rock
Bitrate: 256kbps

Track List:
1. Let's Talk About Girls
2. In the Midnight Hour
3. Come On
4. Dark Side of the Mushroom
5. Hot Dusty Road
6. Are You Gonna Be There (At the Love-In)
7. Gone and Passes By
8. No Way Out
9. Expo 2000
10. Gossamer Wings
11. In the Midnight Hour
12. Milk Cow Blues
13. Psychedelic Trip

Download: Chocolate Watch Band - No Way Out
Download Size: 68.6 MB

Bram Tchaikovsky - Funland

All this bullshit about the Tea Party is making me thirsty. I guess it's T Time.

Bram Tchaikovsky is the stage name of one Peter Bramall from Lincolnshire, England as well as the name of the group he fronted in the late 70s & early 80s. Peter had joined the Motors in 1977, a group headed up by songwriters Andy McMaster & Nick Garvey. Bram wanted a larger role in the overall musickal creation, so while waiting on pre-production work for the second Motors album, Tchaikovsky took the opportunity to do some recording of his own. The resulting single, "Sarah Smiles" gave him the confidence to leave the Motors & form his own band.

Bram Tchaikovsky, the band, consisted of: Bram, the man, on guitar & vocals; along with Mike Broadbent on bass & keyboards; & Keith Boyce on drums. They signed to the new Radar label in 1978 along with Stiff expatriates Nick Lowe & Elvis Costello. The band showed a great deal of promise with their first album, Strange Man Changed Man, fitting in nicely with the growing power pop movement. The unforgettable "Girl of My Dreams," a true high point of the time, became a minor hit on both sides of the Atlantic. Tchaikovsky continued on through rapid personnel changes for two more albums. Following the release of The Russians Are Coming (released in the U.S. as Pressure) in 1980, Broadbent left the band due to personal conflict with Bram. The band moved from Radar to sign with Arista. They recorded Funland in 1981.

Funland was produced by Nick Garvey & recorded at Rockfield studios in 1981 with a brand new line-up: Tchaikovsky; Denis Forbes; Lord Richard Itchingham; & Derek Ballard. These personnel changes had left the band without a suitable writing partner for Bramall or the vocal harmony that he desired. Although Funland may not be considered the bands best album, it is a very important piece in the journey of Bram Tchaikovsky. If you don't dig the vocals & guitar work on a song like "Egyptian Mummies", then you're deader than one. After Funland, the thrill was gone, & Tchaikovsky decided to dissolve the band & retire from the music business.

Funland:
Bram Tchaikovsky sings lead vocals, plays lead guitar on tracks 6 & 7; all guitars on tracks 3 & 8; bass & rhythm guitar on track 2, 6, & 8; & sings backing vocals on all tracks but track 5;
Denis Forbes plays lead guitar on tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 11 & 12; acoustic guitar on tracks 7 & 9; & slide guitar on track 9; & sings backing vocals on tracks 4 & 5;
Lord Richard Itchington plays bass on all but tracks 2, 6, & 8;
Derek Ballard plays drums on all tracks;
Bernie Clarke plays keyboard on tracks 1, 2, 7, 9, & 12;
Lew Soloff plays trumpet solo on track 6;
Nick Garvey plays piano & acoustic guitar on track 8 & adds additional backing vocals on tracks 4, 5, & 8;
additional backing vocals by Andy McMaster on track 4:
& additional percussion by Jimmy Maelen

Year of Release: 1981
Label: Arista Records AB 4292
Genre: Power pop

Tracklist:
Side One -
Stand & Deliver
Shall We Dance
Heart of Stone
Breaking Down the Walls of Heartache
Model Girl
Side Two -
Why Does My Mother ‘phone Me
Used to Be My Used to Be
Soul Surrender
Together My Love
Miracle Cure
Egyptian Mummies

Download: Bram Tchaikovsky - Funland
Download Size: 84.6MB (ripped from vinyl at 320Kbps)

Soft Cell - Down in the Subway 12" 45 rpm

Since I mentioned some other things I had in mind to post for S, I can’t help but give a little taste of Marc Almond & Dave Ball. I was thinking of Soft Cell - The Singles 1981-1985 on Some Bizarre, but you can find that if you look hard enough. I decided I’d just add this great 12“ 45 rpm disc. That should satisfy any craving brought on by the mention of Soft Cell without resorting to “Tainted Love”ness.

Year of Release: 1984
Label: Some Bizzare BZS 2212
Genre: Synth-pop

Tracklist:
Side 1
Down In The Subway
Side 2
Disease & Desire
Born To Lose (Johnny Thunders cover)

Download: Soft Cell - Down in the Subway 12“ 45 rpm
Download Size: 24.8MB (ripped at 320 Kbps)

Anton Pann - Zaharicale (2006)

Since I am a great lover of medieval music, i thought it might be interesting posting a little something very rare. The Balkans had a very strange history and music is the dimension where this becomes most visible. Starting from the mongolian invasions and so many other cultures that passed through these territories and all the way to the russian "domination" (I'm not talking about communism here, but about the byzantine style that flourished centuries ago, especially in music and painting).
Since 2004, the Vocal-Instrumental Orchestra “Anton Pann” has been laboring to discover and reveal to the public around the world the long-forgotten, but unique musical tradition of the Balkans. The conductor Constantin Raileanu, along with a giant group of musicians, research old manuscripts, hidden in Romania’s libraries or monasteries. They transpose these findings into sounds of ancient medieval instruments and play them as close as possible to the musical ethos of the time.
The band developed its repertoire starting from one of the pioneers of Balkan and Byzantine music, Anton Pann.  However, it now includes musical pieces of Gheorghe Ucenescu and Dimitrie Cantemir –a representative of Renaissance in the Balkans – and other inspired by the Codexes: Moldavae, Valahae, Caioni and Anonymous.

Year of Release: 2006
Label: Culture and Tradition Association "Anton Pann"
Genres: Medieval, Byzantine
Bitrate: 192kbps

Tracklist:
 01. Lelita Saftita
02. Nu mai poci de ostenit 
03. Inima mi-e plina
04. Codex caioni
05. Mircea cel Batran
06. Pesrev adiem yegiani
07.  Intr-o verde gradinita
08. Bordeias, bordei, bordei
09. Bat-o sfantu de lupoaie
10.  Scoala, puiculita, scoala
11. Colaj de dansuri romanesti
12. Mugurel mugurel
13.  Urare

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?nkitammwzt2
Download Size: 80.1 MB

The Cramps - Bad Music For Bad People

Here is yet another fine album by the Cramps. I have posted a few more albums in the past, which you will find if you use the search bar above. This collection of B-sides and rarities was seen by many as an attempt to cash in on the band's departure by I.R.S. records. This one is far from being a long player also, with "Bad Music" clocking in at only 31 minutes long. Don't let that deter you though, as each song is packed with energy and a performance that only The Cramps can deliver. The most well known song on the album is "New Kind of Kick", a song which has plenty of attitude to burn, with Interior getting lyrically rude more than once and Ivy turning in some fierce, screeching guitar. Another winner is the sleazy "Drug Train," originally the B-side to "Garbageman," which celebrates debauchery with the expected gusto. Knox gets to show his command for steady but right drumming on this one, while Interior and Ivy go crazy with the usual enthusiasm.

The usual selection of covers of rockabilly and garage rarities also surfaces, most memorably with a ripping cover of Hasil Adkins' "She Said." More semi-hits like "Human Fly" and "Goo Goo Muck" surface as well, making the whole release a fine if overly short overview of the Cramps' vision. Production at points ventures into the totally primitive, which is all the more appropriate for the band in question, admittedly giving everything the necessarily rough-and-ready atmosphere for the group's own brand of scummy sleaze. The artwork is notable in its own right, with the fleshless big-haired ghoul on the cover having turned into an icon for the Cramps and psychobilly music worldwide.

Year of Release: 1984
Label: I.R.S. Records
Genres: Psychobilly, Punk
Bitrate: 320kbps

Track List
1. Garbageman
2. New Kind Of Kick
3. Love Me
4. I Can't Hardly Stand It
5. She Said
6. Goo Goo Muck
7. Save It
8. Human Fly
9. Drug Train
10. TV Set
11. Uranium Rock

Download: The Cramps - Bad Music For Bad People
Download Size: 68MB

Edit: I re-uploaded this as requested. I also increased the bitrate to 320kbps. Enjoy!

Comment Approval Enabled

I have decided to enable comment moderation and word verification due to a large increase in spam comments on the blog. I realize that it is a bit of an incovenience, and the last thing I want to do is discourage people from commenting, but the amount of spam comments being left on the blog has almost tripled during recent months. I barely have enough time on my hands to even be able to read the legitimate comments and respond to them due to the majority of my time being taken up by work and school. It can be very frustrating to look forward to reading your comments only to discover that more than half of the comments are viagra spam. I plan to see how effective the word verification is against spammers, and if it makes no difference I will disable it so that I don't inconvenience any of you more than absolutely necessary. I apologize for the inconvenience, and I will try to make it up to you by delivering quality music, and perhaps even a major surprise in the future ;)

Igor Wakhévitch - Docteur Faust

I prefer to wait until I have enough time to write an adequate review of an album before I post it here on DM; however, I don't have much time on my hands due to work and school. There are a few amazing albums that I would really like to share with you all, despite the fact that I don't have time to write reviews for them. The first is an album by Igor Wakhévitch, an electronic avant-garde composer from France. I downloaded this from a now defunct blog a couple of years ago, and I've been meaning to share this one for a while. This is far and away my favorite album by Wakhévitch, mostly because there is a higher degree of fun experimentation, as well as an eclectic approach, which can't be matched by his other albums. Here is some more information about Wakhévitch courtesy of Wikipedia, along with a few reviews which will give you a better idea of what to expect from this marvelous album:

Wikipedia:
Igor Wakhévitch (born May 12, 1948, Provence, France), son of the art director Georges Wakhévitch, is an avant-garde French composer who released a series of studio albums in the 1970s and composed the music for the Salvador Dalí opera Être Dieu. He was a contemporary of similar avant-garde electronic composers, such as Pierre Henry, who was also born and based in Paris.

Although Wakhévitch is a relatively unknown composer, he gained a small cult following in the late 1990s after praise circulated by Nurse with Wound (on the list of influences in their first album, from 1979), Michael Gira of Swans and a review of one of his studio albums by Dominique Leone for a feature entitled "It Was the Strangest Record I Had Ever Heard" on Pitchfork Media.

From the age of eight, Wakhévitch learned to play piano under the tutelage of Louise Clavius-Marius and Lucette Descaves. Between the ages of 12 to 17, he studied at the Conservatoire de Paris. During this time, he was auditioned by Herbert von Karajan for a concert at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, and in 1965 he won the Jury's First Prize for Piano by a unanimous vote. In 1967, studying under Olivier Messiaen, Wakhévitch won the first prize in Musical Analysis. In 1968, he worked for the GRM in the Office de Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française, under the direction of Pierre Schaeffer.

Review by John Coulthart:
This is the most obscure album of the lot. I’d never hit it before this release. Aptly in tune with the title, it is also one of the strangest. Docteur Faust was created for a festival in Avignon, and was later choreographed. Though, the mind boggles as to how anyone could dance to this. “Full of fury and energy” to quote a reviewer at the Avignon festival, it certainly is!

On one hand this is a more balanced blending of classical and dramatic musics, yet also it is much more extreme. There’s a wealth of sonic collage, dense musique-concrète, and bizarre musics that collide and fragment against rock structures. There’s also moments of pure classical avant-garde moving into ensemble pieces feeling like Henze meets Ligeti or Xenakis. The use of electronics is really vivid too. There are no rules or boundaries in what makes up a Wakhévitch composition! The rock elements return throughout this album and, although not credited, I would guess that again Triangle members are featured. The guitar reminds of Alain Renaud, and percussion is quite distinctive, backed-up with weirdly treated organ. Although a short album, it is so engrossing and weird that it would be too-much if it were much longer.

Review from Astral Injections (Now Defunct Blog)
On Docteur Faust you will hear a very eclectic approach to music. Strange electronic effects, choir-like vocal arrangements, snippets of orchestral music, and rock music are combined with fragments of musique-concrete like the voice of (most likely) the pope, and on top the sound of a whip, a spoken voice reciting over weird electronic sounds, gun fire, a neighing horse, etc.

Year of Release: 1971
Country of Origin: France
Label: Pathé
Genre: Electronic, Avant-Garde, Experimental
Bitrate: 224kbps

Track List:
1. Aimantation
2. Materia Prima
3. Eau Ardente
4. Tenebres (Walpurgis)
5. Licornes
6. Sang Pourpe

Download: Igor Wakhévitch - Docteur Faust
Download Size: 49MB

Edit: I just realized how low the bitrate is on this album. I realize 128kbps isn't good enough for many of you, so I will try my best to replace this with a higher quality rip soon.

Edit 2: The album with the improved bitrate is now up. Thank you for your patience.

Digital Meltd0wn last.fm Group - February 2010 Recommendations

Some of you may or may not already know that I started a last.fm group for Digital Meltd0wn - http://last.fm/group/digital+meltd0wn a few years ago. Due to various personal issues, and my recent move, the group had been inactive for far too long. I have been making an effort to devote more time to the group, and fortunately activity has picked up once again. I have also made the group open, rather than requiring approval, so please join up if you haven't already. In the past we shared our monthly music recommendations with each other, then I would share them here on the blog; however, due to my absence, a recommendation thread hadn't been posted for several months. The idea was resurrected once again, and several people took part in sharing their recommendations with the group. There was a nice selection posted this month, ranging from Italian doom metal to French electropop. So without further ado, I present to you the Digital Meltd0wn last.fm group's recommendations for the month of February 2010:

Down - Sludge
DJ Chaos X - Turntablism, Punk Rock
DJ Pica Pica Pica - Turntablism, Sound Collage
Karp - Grunge
Fall of the Idols - Doom Metal
Sahg - Doom Metal
Kylsea - Doom Metal, Sludge
Ras G - Instrumental Hip-Hop
Bile - Industrial Metal
Terror Visions - SynthPunk
The Walruz - Doom Metal
Trippy Wicked & The Cosmic Children of the Knight - Stoner Rock
Venomin James - Doom Metal
Kitchen & The Plastic Spoons - Post-Punk, Deathrock
The Almighty Defenders - Gospel, Garage Rock
Antipop Consortium - Abstract Hip-Hop
The Meters - Funk
The Ex - Post-Punk
Electric Wizard - Doom Metal
16 Horsepower - Alt-Country, Gothic Country
Woven Hand - Alt-Country, Gothic Country
Haydamaky - Ukranian, Ska, Folk Rock
Metallic Falcons - Experimental, Freak Folk
Jelonek - Violin, Instrumental Metal
CocoRosie Freak Folk
Koenjihyakkei - Japan, Experimental, Progressive Rock
Achillea - New Age, Ambient
Jenson Rhodes - Accoustic, Psychedelic
The Coconut Monkeyrocket - Experimental, Electronic
Nick Cave & Warren Ellis - Soundtrack
Rheostatics - Indie Rock
Giraffe Incognito - Electronic, Experimental
Munly & the Lee Lewis Harlots - Alt-Country, Gothic Country
The Yellow Dogs - Iran, Post-Punk
The Graham Bond Organisation - Blues Rock, Jazz Fusion
Chromeo - Electronica, Funk
Anoraak - France, Synthpop
Yelle - France, Synthpop
James Chance - No Wave, Jazz Punk
Puzique - France, House
The Abyssinian Baptist Gospel Choir - Gospel

I hope some of you discover a few artists that you like among the list.

The Abyssinian Baptist Gospel Choir - Shakin' The Rafters

Choosing which albums I would like to share with those of you who visit here can often be a difficult process. I've tried to offer a rather eclectic selection of music here, which makes it difficult at times to pin down exactly what type of music some of you would prefer to see posted here. Often times, albums that I think will receive a lot of attention fail to get a single comment, while albums that I think are risky choices are the ones that receive the most attention. When I first started the blog I had intended to primarily focus on sharing albums from my punk rock collection, but I eventually decided I would rather post whichever weird or obscure album I happened to be digging at the time, while trying to cover a wide variety of genres. I have yet to test the waters here with a gospel album, but hopefully this one will satisfy the uninitiated, as well as those who are familiar with it.

I am not a Christian, and I'll be the first to admit that I despise most aspects of organized religion; however, I'm a sucker for energetic and soulful music such as this, regardless of the religious message the music carries. I don't have much time on my hands to go into depth about the various songs on the album, but I will try to give a somewhat adequate overview of the album as a whole.

I picked this album up because it was on Tom Waits' list of favorite albums, and it has received a number of favorable reviews describing it as one of the greatest gospel albums to ever be recorded. I did expect the music to be much rawer than it turned out due to the hype of a few reviews, yet it still satisfies the need for energetic and exciting gospel music. This was recorded in 1960 at the Abyssinian Baptist Church, and features a massive 120 member choir, led by Professor Alex Bradford, performing a number of energetic and soulful gospel songs. During the 1950's, the Abyssinian Baptist Gospel Choir started out as a small local church, but rapidly expanded into the largest Baptist gospel group in the area, largely due to Bradford's gifts for writing and arranging in the classic call-and-response gospel style.

One thing is certain, while this album might not be as wild and raw as some claim it to be, it remains a very energetic and soulful album throughout. At times the choir slows down the pace, but you can still feel the tension of numerous souls waiting to let loose at any moment. If you're a fan of gospel music then you should love this, and if you've never given it a chance, I can't think of too many albums that would serve as a better introduction.

Year of Release: 1960
Genre: Gospel
Bitrate: 160kbps

Track List:
1. I Want To Ride That Glory Train
2. You've Got To Bear The Consequence
3. Heaven Belongs To You
4. Said I Wasn't Gonna Tell Nobody
5. He Stays In My Room
6. Sweet Jesus
7. You Can't Make Me Doubt Him
8. He Is Such An Understanding God
9. I Can Call Him
10. Restore Unto Me
11. The Lord's Prayer
12. The Lord Will Make A Way

Download: The Abyssnian Baptist Gospel Choir - Shakin' The Rafters
Download Size: 75MB

Learning the 3 Rs: The San Francisco way

RHYTHM

Rhythm Pigs - Rhythm Pigs

After they moved from El Paso, where they formed in 1983, to San Francisco, I used to see the Rhythm Pigs everywhere, they played out all the time. Being ‘the only punk band in El Paso’ & wanting more musickally, they garnered attention nationally by touring heavily & building their musickal chops live on-stage. Great straight-ahead punk rock & Ed Ivey was a really nice guy. This is their first, self-titled lp & then-fledgling Mordam Records second ever release.

Year of Release: 1986
Label: Mordam Records MDR 2
Genre: Punk

Tracklist:
Side 1 -
Conditional Love
Dr. Harley
Break New Ground
Human Drama
Six
Machines are In
Peanuts
Break or We’ll Break Your Face
Side 2 -
Taxi Cab
Searching for Myself
Conscience Song
Electric World
Road Machine

Download: Rhythm Pigs - Rhythm Pigs
Download Size: 84.2MB (ripped from pristine vinyl at 320Kbps)


RESIDENTS

Various Artists - Eyesore: A Stab at The Residents

I just saw The Residents in Santa Cruz (January 23rd at the Rio). As Resident shows always are (my 6th), it was a wonder-filled, entertaining, & thought-provoking event. I could think of nothing else for days. I was going to start this R thang out with these intentionally obscured musickians, even thought about posting up part of the Rio show, but then decided on this winner, but since it's not technically an R, more a V (for Various Artists), it is a Tribute to R(esidents), I posted the Rhythm Pigs first.

This cd features numerous bands doing covers of Residents tunes, a tribute to the Residents, if you can believe it...sounds like an ill-advised idea but actually it is a really excellent release. It gets a bit confusing in places, as some of the tracks are actually different songs running into each other. But it is a tribute the The Residents, so...

The final track, “Benny The Bouncing Bump” is a previously-unreleased live recording of the Residents themselves. & The Rez are on percussion for their cohort, Snakefinger’s take on “Smelly Tongues”.

This collection features reworks & covers by artists who faithfully follow the spirit of Residents' weird wackiness. It's a who's-who cast of underground, indie, & all-around under-appreciated eclectic artists, such as Only a Mother, Thinking Fellers Union Local 282, Snakefinger, Shakin Ray Levis, Splatter Trio, Idiot Flesh, & Amy Denio, as well as better known acts like Cracker & Primus. Fans of the Residents & their genre of irreverent musick should enjoy this entertaining & varied set of loving renditions.

Year of Release: 1996
Label: Vaccination Records VAC006
Genre: Cover songs, avantgarde

Tracklist:
Only a Mother - Mahogany Wood
Unknown Artist (*) - Untitled
Idiot Flesh - Bach is Dead
Heavy Vegetable - Time's Up
Frank Pahl - Everyone Comes to the Freak Show
Borgia Popes - Constantinople
UBZUB (*) - What Could the Matter Be?
Thinking Fellers Union Local #282 - Electrocutioner
Mooseheart Faith - Firefly / Vinegar
Splatter Trio - 6 Things to a Cycle, Pt 1 (Chew Chew Gum)
Amy Denio - Act of Being Polite
UBZUB (*) - N-ER-GEE (Crisis Blues)
Utotem (10a) - Sinister Exaggerator
Greg Roe (10b) - Hell No!
Giant Ant Farm - Eva's Warning
Charming Hostess - Won't You Keep Us Working?
Richie West & Bomb Factory - Voices in the Air
Silica Gel - Shut Up! Shut Up!
Mommyheads - Moisture
Supercollider - Walrus Hunt
UBZUB (*) - Lord it's Lonely
Snakefinger - Smelly Tongues
Fibulator - You Yes Yes Yes You
Dramagold - You Yes Yes Yes You (reprise)
Shakin Ray Levis - Red Rider
Poxy Boggards - Santa Dog
Splatter Trio - 6 Things to a Cycle, Pt 2 (Good Good Coffee)
Big Butter - Their Early Years
Cracker - Blue Rosebuds
Pink Floyd The Barber - Boo Who?
Non Credo - Nice Skinny Sinister Old Man
Lungpigs - Nobody Laughs When They Leave
Eskimo - Happy Home
Primus - Hello Skinny medley
Stan Ridgway & J.E.D. (30a) - Excuse / The Booker Tease
Greg Roe (30b) - Gingerbread Man
The Residents (*) - Benny the Bouncing Bump (live)
Unknown Artist (*) - Untitled

(*) There are several hidden tracks on this disc (at the beginning of 02, tacked on the end of tracks 05, 09, 16, & 30). I have left them as they are on the cd, unseparated (part 1 download) but have also included the split tracks (along with the cover artwork - part 2 download), so do with them as you like (the split tracks are marked A for alternate).

Tracks 10 & 30 actually have two songs indexed within the same track.

"Benny The Bouncing Bump" was recorded live on November 17th, 1991 as part of a one-off performance that is commonly referred to as 'Ty's Freak Show'.

Download: Various Artists - Eyesore: A Stab at The Residents pt 1
Download Size: 183MB (ripped at 320Kbps)

Download: Various Artists - Eyesore: A Stab at The Residents pt 2
Download Size: 38.7MB (ripped at 320Kbps)


ROMEO

Romeo Void - Nvr Say Nvr 12" ep

Romeo Void was a New Wave/post-punk band from San Francisco, California active from 1979 to 1985. They are best known for the song "Never Say Never". The best version of the song is from the four-song 12“ ep released on 415 (San Francisco’s telephone area code) Records. Their popularity was primarily in alternative & college radio. Because of extensive radio play, say ‘Romeo Void’ & the name almost always conjures up the phrase "I might like you better if we slept together" to most people...that unforgettable chorus of their best-known song, 1981's "Never Say Never". But the rest of the lyrics referencing incest, murder, homelessness, & other dark subjects, makes plain that singer/lyricist Debora Iyall has more on her mind than titillation.

The combination of Iyall's powerful vocals & graphic imagery along with the band's blend of Joy Division-style atmospherics & Gang of Four pacing, propelled by Benjamin Bossi's wall-of-sound free jazz saxophone skronking, elevated Romeo Void above their contemporary New Wave acts, proving them to be a strong American post-punk band.

Debora Iyall, a Native American of the Cowlitz tribe was born in rural Washington, was raised in Fresno, CA, then moved to San Francisco in the mid-'70s to attend the San Francisco Art Institute. While there she met fellow students Peter Woods & Jay Derrah, who had formed a pseudo-60s revival band called The Mummers & the Poppers. Iyall became the group's singer & also began incorporating music into her own poetry & performance art projects. Intrigued by the growing San Francisco punk scene, which included fellow Art Institute students like Avengers singer Penelope Houston & members of the Mutants as well as Pearl Harbor & the Explosions, Iyall, sculptor & visual artist Frank Zincavage, Woods, & Derrah formed Romeo Void on Valentine's Day 1979. The name was inspired by a headline on the cover of a local magazine’s Valentine’s issue that read "Romeo Void - Why single women can't get laid in San Francisco." Shortly after the group's formation, original saxophonist Bobby Martin & another local reedsman, Benjamin Bossi, swapped bands, with Martin joining art punk extremists the Offs while Bossi teamed up with Romeo Void.

The revised lineup recorded their debut single, "White Sweater," b/w a cover of Jorgen Ingmann's atmospheric 1961 twang-guitar instrumental hit "Apache," for the new local indie 415 Records in 1980. Before sessions commenced for their first album, 1981's It's a Condition, founding member Derrah left the group & was replaced by ex-Explosions drummer John "Stench" Haines. One of the masterpieces of American post-punk, It's a Condition received rave reviews upon its release. Perhaps even more importantly, Cars leader Ric Ocasek heard the album when a roadie played it on the Cars' tour bus. He invited the group to his Synchro Sound studio in Boston. The result was this Ocasek-produced record, the Never Say Never ep.

Year of Release: 1981
Label: 415 Records 415A-0007
Genre: New Wave, post-punk

Tracklist:
Side one -
Never Say Never
In the Dark
Side two -
Present Tense
Not Safe

Download: Romeo Void - Nvr Say Nvr 12“ ep
Download Size: 45.8MB (ripped from 415 heavy vinyl at 320Kbps)

DJ Pica Pica - Planetary Natural Love Gas Webbin' 199999

By request, this post was re-uploaded 01/18/2015. Enjoy.

It isn't too often that I find myself completely incapable of writing a worthy description to sum up an artist/album's sound; however, this is definitely one of those occasions. DJ Pica Pica is one of over a dozen aliases of Japanese musician, Yamantaka Eye, who is perhaps more well known as one of the founders and frontman of the noise rock group, Bordedoms.

To mistake this for "just another danceable DJ mix" would be a crime, as this album is a masterpiece of sound collage, encompassing numerous different genres, and consisting of a wide variety of source material. Pica's inclusion of genres run the gamut, stirring up a little bit of rock, blues, hip-hop, funk, techno, and even music from indigenous Pacific tribes into a brew that at times threatens to descend into pure chaos, yet manages to retain it's groove throughout. A wide variety of instruments can be heard throughout, as he seasons the mix with piano, synths, electric and accoustic guitar, african djembe drums, flute and much more.Yamantaka controls the tempo perfectly, often whipping the music up into a frenzied tribal state, only to bring it down to a tranquil pace at just the right moments.

This is one of those albums that just needs to be heard, and as I stated before, I am incapable of accurately describing the sound contained within. I don't have enough time on my hands to put up a track list at the moment, but I'll try to remember to put one up tomorrow.

Year of Release: 1999
Label: Comma
Genre: Experimental, Sound Collage, Turntablism
Bitrate: 320Kbps

Download: DJ Pica Pica Pica - Planetary Natural Love Gas
Download Size: 173 MB

The 60's Choice Collection of Scarcest Garage Records

I downloaded this gem of an album on DC++; however, since obtaining it, information regarding this album has proven to very scarce. What I do know is that it was released in 1992 by EVA Records, and it contains a great selection of tracks which were recorded between 1965 to (967 by various underground garage acts. I was very impressed upon hearing this compilation for the first time. It's a solid collection of songs, and I don't think there's a bad track on the album. I highly recommend this for anyone who is into 60's garage or psychedelic rock. Unfortunately the person I was downloading this from went offline before I was able to get the last track. I'll keep checking back..hopefully I'll be able to catch that person online again, download the last track, and add it here.

Track List:
1. The French Church - Slapneck 1943
2. The Olivers - I Saw What You Did (1966)
3. Evil Enc. Group - The Point Is
4. London & The Bridges - It Just Ain't Right (1966)
5. Loved Ones - Surprise, Surprise (For You) (1966)
6. The Executioners - I Want The Rain (1966)
7. The Heathens - Problems (1967)
8. The Hangmen - Faces (1966)
9. The Romancers - Love's The Thing (1965)
10. The Jagged Edge - How Many Times (1966)
11. Don & Jerry With The Fugitives - In The Cover Of Night (1965)
12. The Deepest Blue - Somebody's Girl (1966)
13. The Kings Ransom - Shame (1966)
14. Evil - Always Running Around (1967)
15. The New Dawn - Slave Of Desire
16. The Bit A Sweet - Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind (1967)
17. The Todds - I Want Her Back (1967)
18. Art Guy - Where You Gonna Go
19. The Tears - Weatherman (1966)
20. Loved Ones - Together, Together
21. Other Side - Walking Down The Road (1966)
22. The Gentlemen - Wild You Gotta Leave (1967)
23. The Nervous Breakdowns - I Dig Your Mind (1967)
24. The Echoes Of Carnaby Street - Baby Doesn't Know (1966)
25. The Spats - She Done Moved (1966)
26. The Bush - Feeling Sad And Lonely (1966)
27. The Lost - Back Door Blues (1965)
28. The Love Ins - That's All She Wrote (1966)

Download: The 60's Choice Collection
Download Size: 71.4MB

Note: I fixed the download link for those who wanted this. Apparently I pasted a link to the album cover rather than the download link.

Gaë Bolg And The Church Of Fand - Tintagel (2001)

Anyone of you who knows Sol Invictus, surely know this already! Nevertheless, little info: Gaë Bolg is the solo project of Sol Invictus trumpet player and Seven Pines project founder Eric Roger. The music is an incredible mixture of medieval music, martial drumming, drunk ballads and lots and lots of sarcasm!
Interview on Heathen Harvest: link

Tracklist:
Tintagel
Pendant l'apocalypse
Hymne
Offertorio
Avant l'apocalypse
Le chant de la rainette
Danse des nains
Rite

Label: Le Cluricaun
Year: 2001

Download: link
Download Size: 68.8 Mb

The Lime Spiders - 25th Hour EP

This was the debut release by the Lime Spiders, issued as a double 7" by Green Records in 1983, and produced by Rob Younger of Radio Birdman fame. The Lime Spiders were the wildest of the Australian garage and punk rock bands, which is no small claim. Jello Biafra once said they were a "psychedelic slime band more hardcore than the Green Fuz" (who I think you'll find on one of the Pebbles compilation). After the release of this album they signed with the Citadel label and released the monumental hit single "Slave Girl". There isn't a bad track on this EP. It's non-stop frenzied rock and roll from start to finish, reminiscent of the MC5, mixed with a small dose of psychedelia ala Chocolate Watch Band. This album comes highly recommended.

Track List:
1. 1-2-5
2. Can't Wait Long
3. That's How It Will Be
4. 25th Hour

Download: Lime Spiders 25th Hour EP
Download Size: 11.4MB

Quicksilver Messenger Service - What About Me

Q is a tough one. Not that many bands with Q names in my collection (I’ve got one Queens of the Stone Age album that I’ll sell to someone for a buck). I was going to post up something by The Queers, but most of their stuff is re-released or still available, so I fell back on ole faithful Quicksilver...but which album?

Back in 1971, I had just been released from jail after serving time for possession of mescaline & as a condition of my parole had taken a job at a summer camp for mentally challenged youth. I was a Senior Camp Counselor & had to be with my campers day & night 23 hours. The only time off I got each day was from 2pm - 3pm when they had swimming, as they were supervised by the Junior Counselors & watched over by the swimming coaches & lifeguards. Every two weeks on payday, my friend Mole would come up to the camp. I would sign over my paycheck to him & he would leave me my two week supply of hashish. I made a hash pipe out of some unneeded plumbing supplies & drain screen. Between 2pm - 3pm I would hide out undisturbed in our cabin, listen to one of the two albums I had with me on the cabin’s portable stereo, & smoke as much hashish as I could smoke in one hour. I would play one album one day & the other the next, continuing this alternation every day. The two albums I had were two recently released platters, The Guess Who’s American Woman & Quicksilver’s What About Me. So the choice of Quicksilver album’s was obvious. What About Me! What about me?

Quicksilver Messenger Service was one of San Francisco 's original psychedelic bands of the late '60s . Essentially a jam band, they were popular around the Bay Area & achieved international recognition among devotees of psychedelic rock, though they never gained the broader popularity enjoyed by their San Francisco contemporaries Jefferson Airplane or The Grateful Dead.

What About Me is their fifth album, released in December 1970 & recorded partly at the same sessions that produced Just For Love , their previous album. What About Me is the last Quicksilver album to feature pianist Nicky Hopkins, who had joined the group when one of the original guitarists, Gary Duncan left the band after Shady Grove. Although the fiery guitar duels between John Cipollina & Gary Duncan are missing, Dino Valenti (born Chester [Chet] William Powers Jr., aka Dino Valente, aka Jackie Powers, aka Jesse Orris Farrow, here under his ‘Jesse Oris Farrow’ pseudonym), experiments with R'n'B, Latin, & even contemporary art-rock while never abandoning psychedelia, so it is still a great trip.

Year of Release: 1971
Label: Capitol Records SMAS-630
Genre: Psychedelic Rock
Tracklist:
Side A -
What About Me
Local Color
Baby Baby
Won't Kill Me
Long Haired Lady
Side B -
Subway
Spindrifter
Good Old Rock And Roll
All In My Mind
Call On Me

Download: Quicksilver Messenger Service - What About Me
Download Size: 105 MB(ripped at 320Kbps)

SPK - Leichenschrei

Before Graeme Revell became a very successful Hollywood movie composer, he was a founding member of the early industrial act SPK, one of the bands responsible for helping to usher in what would eventually come to be known as the first wave of industrial Music. Revell met up with Neil Hill while they were both working at a psychiatric hospital. They were both inspired by the manifesto of the German radical Marxist group known as the Sozialistisches Patientenkollektiv, hence the group's name. They would later bring teenagers David Virgin and Danny Rumour into the fold, which would serve as the first lineup of SPK.

They recorded and released their debut album, Information Overload Unit in 1981, and followed up Leichenschrei (Translation: The Corpse Screams) the following year. Of all the most influential and historically important first wave industrial acts, SPK has increasingly become one of the most overlooked and underrated. This may be due to the change in style which would accompany their later releases, as their music became significantly lighter in mood than their earlier efforts. Unfortunately, SPK would not release another album of this caliber again.

Leichenschrei still stands as one of early industrial's finest moments. Heart-pounding percussion, mind-bending electronic sounds, and voices that sound like they are from beyond the grave all come together to emerse the listener in a nightmarish world, and made their contemporaries stand up and take notice. Leichenschrei was no doubt one of the most delightfully disturbing albums of industrial's first wave, and still evokes a sense of dread to this day to the uninitiated without sounding dated.

Year of Release: 1982
Label: Thermidor
Genre: Industrial, Noise
Bitrate: 320kbps

Download: SPK - Leichenschrei
Download Size: 99MB

Two Peas from Ohio

Pere Ubu - Waiting For Mary 12" 45rpm ep

Coming off the Ohio Players, I don’t feel like moving far afield for the letter P. Here’s a band from Ohio, from Cleveland to be more precise, that needs no introduction...Pere Ubu.

Year of Release:1989
Label: Fontana UBU DJX 212
Genre: Avant-garage

Tracklist:
Side A -
Waiting For Mary (What Are We Doing Here?)
Side B -
Wine Dark Sparks
Flat

Download: Pere Ubu - Waiting for Mary 12“ 45rpm ep
Download Size: 20MB (ripped from vinyl at 320Kbps)

Penny's Scar - Pleasures

Penny Moorhed was born in Seville,Spain. She is of French/American descent. She is based out of Cincinnati, Ohio. She has been in the bands Penny Moorhed & EOS. She is currently primarily a solo artists. Her musick is haunting, sexy, experimental. Much of her newer musick is on her Soundclick site, but Pleasures is no longer available.

The last time I went back to Pennsylvania, to see my mother shortly before she died, I saw Penny Moorhed in a small club in Ohio. That must have been in 2004. I got a CDR from her that I have always associated with that journey. Her unique blend of sounds & her haunting storytelling technique is what really lifts this up.

Penny has appeared as guest vocalist on Visible Breath’s Degrees of Light singing the song “Frightened Whisper" & Brooklyn Brawler’s Only the Dead Know Brooklyn:The Prelude on the track “Name of God”. You may not have heard this artist before, but give her a try. I don’t think you will be disappointed.

Year of Release: 2004?
Label: Penny’s Scar CDR
Genre: Acoustic

Tracklist:
Take Me Tonight
Wake Up
For Love
Frightened
Take Your Time
Follow the Devil
Tumbling All the Way
Feels So Good
Please,(Please)
Dream
No More Crying
I Want More
Hold On (original version)
(This is) My Story
It’s Almost Time

Download: Penny’s Scar - Pleasures
Download Size: 169MB

Old School Hardcore & Punk

Oh, you said PUNK...I thought you said FUNK. Here's another entry under the letter O...as in Old School.

This is a set of bootleg cds I got from my friend Fudgie D. back around the turn of the century. It’s just a crazy compilation of a bunch of hardcore & punk bands (hence the name) from around the world. These two cds comprise Volume I. There were supposed to be further volumes, but I’ve never seen them??? If you’re into punk at all, there has to be a few favorites here, maybe some tunes you haven’t heard for a while or kinda forgot, or some stuff that maybe you never heard before at all. The Ojorojo post had me digging through my punk musick & when I saw this, I just had to upload it. It was always good for slamming into the player & jumping around to while I was doing things around the crib. The first cd is Bands A - M, the second N - Z.

Year of Release: 2001 or 2002???
Label: Bootleg
Genre: Hardcore & Punk
Tracklist:
CD 1
Articles of Faith - Up Against a Wall
Attitude Adjustment - Grey World
BGK - Pencil Pusher
Black Flag - Nervous Breakdown
Bold - Looking Back
Boskops - Skorbut
Breakdown - Kickback
Broken Bones - Wealth Rules
Buttocks - BGS
Canalterror - Staatsfeind
Cock Sparrer - Last Train to Dagenham
Condemned to Death - Gatlands Pit
Cro-Mags - We Gotta Know
Crumbsuckers - Just Sit There
Dayglo Abortions - Stupid Songs
Dead Kennedys - Holiday in Cambodia
DI - Pervert Nurse
DRI - Couch Slouch
English Dogs - Psycho Killer
Extreme Noise Terror - Murder
FUs - Daisy Chain
Inferno - Ram it Up
Infest - Screwed
Intent to Injure - Silly Putty
Jerrys Kids - Crucify Me
Judge - New York Crew
Los Violadores - Viejos Pateticos
Ludichrist - Green Eggs & Ham
Maniacs - Hardcore Punk
Mass Appeal - Fun Again
Minor Threat - Filler
Mob 47 - Nuclear Attack

CD2
Negative FX - Feel Like a Man
Offenders - Face Down in the Dirt
Point Blank - We Won’t Be Silenced
Poison Idea - Laughing Boy
Raw Power - State Oppression
Razzia - Arsch im Sarge
Ripcord - Abuse
Septic Death - Disinfect
Slapshot - I’ve Had Enough
Spermbirds - My God Rides a Skateboard
Spux - Hasejagd
State of Alert - Gang Fight
The Accused - Martha Splatterhead
The Blood - Stark Raving Normal
The Exploited - Dead Cities
The Freeze - Broken Bones
Toxoplasma - 1981
Uniform Choice - Use Your Head
Upright Citizens - Swastika Rats
Vorkriegsjugend - Aufstand im Ghetto
Youth Brigade - Full Force
Youth of Today - Together
Zero Boys - Positive Change
Zyklome A - People Die

Download cd 1: Various Artists - Old School Hardcore & Punk A-M
Download Size: 150MB (ripped at 320Kbps)

Download cd 2: Various Artists - Old School Hardcore & Punk N-Z
Download Size: 108MB (ripped at 320Kbps)

Ohio Players - Skin Tight

All right, it a new year. Let’s get back to the ol’ alphabet game. I’m up to letter O & counting down. So representing the round letter, what better than those round on both ends & hi in the middle Ohio Players.

By 1974, the Ohio Players had been together as a band for fifteen years. That was before funk per se even existed. James Brown was still doing ballads. But by 1974 bands like Parliament-Funkadelic were starting to blow the roof off R&B with the sounds of FUNK. The Ohio Players were already there to help.

Starting with their 1971 album Pain, the Players garnered a reputation for their hot cover art, usually being so S&M-inspired, that many music stores refused to carry their albums. Albums like Pleasure, Ecstasy, Climax, & Orgasm continued the tradition, but the hits came at a slower rate. Finally, "Funky Worm" became a left-field hit in 1973 & the Players left their original record label Westbound Records for the bigger Mercury Records. Their first album for the new company was 1974's Skin Tight.

Skin tight it is. On the surface, with only six songs, this new album might not seem like a great deal, but with songs that all clock in at over 5 minutes, there is plenty here to like. & unless you’re brain-dead & rigor mortis has set in, you won’t be able to hold still.

Recorded at Paragon Studios in Chicago. The Ohio Players are: Leroy ‘Sugarfoot’ Bonner - guitar, percussion, lead vocals & backing vocals; Marshall Jones - bass; James ‘Diamond’ Williams - drums, percussion, lead vocals, & backing vocals; Billy Beck - piano, organ, electric piano, clavinet, synthesizer, percussion, lead vocals & backing vocals; Clarence Satchell - saxophones, flute, percussion, lead vocals & backing vocals; Marvin ‘Merv’ Pierce - trumpet, flugelhorn, trombone, & backing vocals; & Ralph ‘Pee Wee’ Middlebrooks - trumpet, trombone, & backing vocals.

Year of Release: 1974
Label: Mercury SRM-1-705
Genre: Funk

Tracklist:
Side 1 -
Skin Tight
Streakin' Cheek o Cheek
It's Your Night / Words of Love
Side 2 -
Jive Turkey
Heaven Must Be Like This
Anybody Gonna Be Saved?

Download: Ohio Players - Skin Tight
Download Size: 92.8MB (ripped from funked-up vinyl at 320Kbps)

Purple Image - Purple Image

An outstanding example of psychedelic rock and funk fusion that shouldn't be missed.Though African-American and raised in the predominantly black 105th Superior area of Cleveland where jazz, funk, and soul were the dominant musical styles. Purple Image played rock... psychedelic, mind-bending, pass-the-bong, strobe-light, head music. This obscure album recorded on Map Records has risen to the status of cult because of its scarcity and the musical orientation of Warren Adams (vocals, piano, organ), Kenneth Roberts (vocals, rhythm), William Adams (vocals, conga), Frank Smith (lead guitar), Del Moran (bass), Richard Payne (drums), and lone female Diane Dunlap (vocals); Edward Snodgrass, a non-member, augmented P.I. on sax. Purple Image wrote everything except the LP's masterpiece, the 15-minute, 24-second rendition of Bob Craig's "Marching to a Different Drummer." As with all six selections, Purple Image sounds better when the volume is cranked. "Drummer" is an energetic, powerful blend of acid rock and fusion; Snodgrass blows a frantic Coltrane-ish sax, and Dunlap wails like she slammed her hand in a door. "We Got to Pull Together" is an airy, charming, socially significant ballad that urges us to become color-blind, forget the past, and get along. Snodgrass plays a tender horn while a male does a convincing lead wallpapered by some arresting, swooping harmonies. On "Living In the Ghetto," they sing about the woes of poverty. This album is an outstanding example of psychedelic rock and funk fusion that shouldn't be missed. Unfortunately, this was the only album that Purple Image ever released.

Year of Release: 1970
Label: Map City
Genre: Funk/Psychedelic
Bitrate: 256kbps

Track List:
1. Living In The Ghetto
2. Why
3. Lady
4. We Got To Pull Together
5. What You Do To Me
6. Marching To A Different Drummer

Download: Purple Image - Purple Image
Download Size: 74MB

Bush Tetras - Boom in the Night (2003 - 320kbps)

Twenty years after they were recorded, this release compiles the Tetras studio recording from 1980 to 1983. Everything from the Bush Tetras' Rituals EP, & much more. You can download a vinyl rip of the Rituals 12" EP in 320kbps MP3 here: http://digitalmeltd0wn.blogspot.com/2009/10/bush-tetras-rituals-12-ep.html

Year of Release: 2003
Label: ROIR (Reachout International Records)
Catalog #:RUSLP 8218
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 320kbps
Genre: No Wave, Post-Punk, Funk

Tracklist:

A Side:
A1. - Cowboys in Africa
A2. - Things that Go Boom in the Night
A3. - You Can't Be Funky
A4. - Snakes Crawl
A5. - Rituals
A6. - Moonlite
A7. - Das ah Riot

B Side:
B1. - You Taste Like the Tropics
B2. - Too Many Creeps
B3. - Dum Dum
B4. - Stand Up & Fight
B5. - Who's Gonna Pay
B6. - It's so Weird
B7. - Funky (Instrumental)

Download: Bush Tetras - Boom in the Night
Download Size: 113MB (ripped at 320Kbps)

Rudimentary Peni - Cacophony LP

 

 

This was Rudimentary Peni - Cacophony.

 

We had it surgically removed.

 

If ya wanna know why, read the comments below.

Chris & Cosey - Exotika

Since Sab started guesting here & Zer0 has interweb again, I have felt a great burden lifted from my shoulders (said with tongue firmly planted in cheek). Now the only pressure on me is my own self-imposed ‘A to Z’ shite. Well, I posted up a couple things that came to mind from one of Sab’s posts & before I get back on the letter trail, here are a couple for ALTCERF who was nice enough to comment on the last Chris & Cosey entry. Then I might post another Bush Tetras slab before going to ‘O’, because the last one has been getting hit hard & not one comment, so...

This one was recorded at Studio 47, Norfolk, England, U.K. It features Chris Carter & Cosey Fanni Tutti, of course. The album states, “SOME SOUNDS ON THIS ALBUM ARE AT A SUBCONSCIOUS LEVEL”.

Year of Release: 1987
Label: Play It Again Sam (Belgium) BIAS 69
Genre: EBM, Synth-pop,

Tracklist:
Side A -
Confession
Arcade
Exotika
Side B -
Vengeance
Dancing on Your Grave
BeatBeatBeat
Dr. John (Sleeping Stephen)

Download: Chris & Cosey - Exotika
Download Size: 94.5MB (ripped at 320Kbps)

Chris & Cosey - Heartbeat

Performing on Heartbeat: Chris Carter - vocals, guitar, synthesizers, keyboards & electronic drums; Cosey Fanni Tutti - synthesizers, keyboards, cornet & tape; Alex Ferguson - vocals & guitar (“Useless Information”); Mick Garoghan - vocals (“Useless Information”). Recorded July-August 1981. Over-dubbed & mixed at Meridian Studios, London.

Year of Release:1981
Label: Rough Trade (UK) ROUGH 34
Genre: Synth-pop

Tracklist:
Side A -
Put Yourself in Los Angeles
This is Me
Voodoo
Moorby
Radio Void
Just Like You
Side B -
Bust Stop
Useless Information
Moving Still
Manic Melody
Heartbeat

Download: Chris & Cosey - Heartbeat
Download Size: 92.5MB (ripped at 320Kbps)

Hedningarna - Fire (1996)

Hedningarna is a Swedish and, for some years partly Finnish, folk music band that mixes electronics and rock with elements from old Scandinavian folk music. Their music features Yoik or juoiggus, a traditional Sami form of song.
Hållbus Totte Mattson, Anders Stake and Björn Tollin formed Hedningarna in 1987. Hedning is Swedish for heathen, while arna is the plural definite article. Their music studies the roots of the Old Norse culture, including the use of ancient instruments not much used in current Swedish folk music (fiddles, bagpipes, hurdy-gurdy, etc.). Stake, a trained luthier, also began to invent and build new instruments, to produce new sounds.


Tracklist:
01. Aivoton
02. Tina Vieri
03. Gorrlaus
04. Vargtimmen
05. Joupolle Joutunut
06. Min Skog
07. Kruspolska
08. Tuuli
09. Grodan - Widergrenen
10. Räven

Download: Hedningarna - Fire (1996)
Download Size: 41.11 MB (128Kbps)

Deutsch Nepal - Tolerance--How The Servant Utilized his Masters (1994)

Tolerance is the third full length album that Lina der Baby Doll General (co-founder with Roger Karmanik of the label Cold Meat Industry) issues under the name Deutsch Nepal. This solo project belongs to the generation of  sound constructivists of the early ´90, though faithfull to the ´80 industrial music. Under the name DN, he colaborated with In Slaughter Natives and the Moon Lay Hidden Beneath a Cloud (der Blutharsch). In addition to his work as DN, General continues to be involved with a separate solo project, Frozen Faces, under whose name he released the album Broken Sounds of a Dying Culture.

Tracklist:
1. Horse give birth to flies
2. Tolerance 1
3. Manual to utilization
4. Tolerance 2
5. The eagel gift
6. Tolerance 3
7. Nonexistance
8. Tolerance 4
9. Chip chop
10. End of tolerance

Download: Deutsch Nepal - Tolerance--How The Servant Utilized his Masters (1994)

Download Size: 56.1 MB

VA - Sitar Beat! Indian Style Heavy Funk Vol. 2

Following the success of the first Sitar Beat compilation CD, a collection of Indian and Indian-inspried European funky selections from the 60s and 70s, the crew knew they had to come deep for the sequel. So for Volume 2, they go straight to heart of India with some of the rarest, and best tracks recorded between the years of 1970 and 1984. Nearly all of these tracks are appearing on CD for the first time. Sixteen tracks of rare and funky Indian flavor, blending heavy beats with the sounds of the sitar and the inimitable vocal sounds of beloved Indian singers such as the ubiquitous Asha Bhosle and producers/songwriters like Kalyanji Ananji and R. D. Burman. Most of the tracks are culled from Bollywood sound tracks from the 70s and early 80s. Enormously popular, often wild and packed with action and romance, these films put the intense music of star composers like Burman and Kalyanji & Anandji at the forefront. The strange, psychedelic sounds possess their own cultural mish-mash of flavors combining traditional Indian instrumentation and melodies with film music s intensity, and incorporating styles from American/Western music from about 5 years or so behind the trend. Funk, psychedelic rock, disco and proto-electro jump out from the grooves of Sitar Beat Volume 2 and hit you harder than a mouth full of spicy masala. This is soul from the Sub-continent at it's best.

Track List:
1. Babla And His Orchestra - The Witness
2. Kalyanji Anandji Ft. Asha Bhosle - Awara Sadiyon Se
3. S.D. Narang - Everybody Dance With Me
4. Kalyanji Anandji Ft. Lata Mangeshkar And Mohd Rafi -
Wada Karle Sajna
5. Kalyanji Anandji Ft. Asha Bhosle - Nigahon Ka Adaon
Ka
6. R.D. Burman - Freak Out Music
7. Laxmikant Pyarelal - Dushmun Title Music
8. Kalyanji Anandji Ft. Lata Mangeshkar - Pyar Zindagi
Hai
9. Usha Khanna - Tera Jasia Pyara Koi Nahin
10. Hemant Bhosle Ft. Asha Bhosle - Phir Teri Yaad
11. Ajit Singh Ft. Asha Bhosle - Main Akeli Raat Jawan
12. Laxmikant Pyarelal Ft. Amit Kumar And Shailendra
Singh - Bekaraar Bekaraar Bekaraar Kiya
13. R.D. Burman Ft. Asha Bhosle - Aaj Mera Dil
14. Laxmikant Pyarelal Ft. Mohd Rafi And Chorus - Dard E
Dil
15. Keith Kanga - Butterfly (Version Two)
16. Kalyanji Anandji ft. Amit Kumar, Kanchan and Chorus -
Laila O Laila

Download: Sitar Beat! Indian Style Heavy Funk Vol. 2
Download Size: 93MB

VA - Sitar Beat! Indian Style Heavy Funk Vol. 1

The Sitar Beat series was built with the DJ in mind - collecting some of the wildest, heaviest and most psychedelic Indian Funk recorded and presenting it loud on wax, ready for the turntable. Now, due to popular demand, we’re collecting the heaviest cuts from this vinyl series and presenting them on a limited edition CD. The first four volumes were lessons in just how ahead of their time India’s Bollywood composers were in the 60s, 70s and early 80s. They dug into Indian deep funk and psycho-psychedelic masterpieces recorded for the Bollywood film industry. Alongside full length killers like the funkiest track from the rare “Qurbani” soundtrack, there were Bollywood funk fiestas by acclaimed composers such as Kalanji Ananji and R.D. Burman, with extended breakbeats and re-edits that upped the funk to the boiling point. Together with Ravi’s nephew Ananda Shankhar’s instrumental Sitar freak outs were diva Asha Boshle’s soulful wailings. Culling its music from rare vinyl and utilizing tasteful restoration and remastering, Sitar Beat was the first time that many of these songs are heard by the record-buying public - at least in this form. Edits remove any bobbing and weaving, leaving funk that only flies straight ahead!

Track List:
1. Klaus Doldinger - Sitar Beat
2. Klaus Doldinger - Sitar (Bonus) Beats
3. Kalyanji Anandji - Dharmatma Theme Music (Tommys Edit)
4. Sapan Jagmohan - Meri Aakhon Mein (Edit)
5. Asha Boshle w/ R.D. Burman - Dum Maro Dum Live (Edit)
6. Serge Gainsbourg - New Delire
7. Serge Gainsbourg w/ Michel Colombier - Pyschastenie (Miles Drum Edit)
8. Ananda Shankar - Dancing Drums
9. R.D. Burman - Rocky Bonus Beats
10. R.D. Burman w/ Asha Boshle & Kishore Kumore - Aa Dekhen Jara (Edit)
11. Raghunath Seth - Orchestral Music (Edit)
12. Kalyanji Anandji - Somebody To Love (Edit)
13. Kalyanji Anandji - Bairaag Dance Music (Edit)
14. Kalyanji Anandji - Banarasi Babu Beats
15. Usha Khanna - Hotel Incidental Music (Edit)
16. Kalyanji Anandji - Theme From Don
17. Annu Malik w/ Asha Bhosle & Chorus - Sun O Dilruba Dil Ki Yeh Sada (Edit)
18. R.D Burman - The Burning Train (Kous Edit)
19. Biddu - Qurbani Bonus Beats
20. Biddu w/ Manhar & Anand - Hum Tumhe Chate Hain (Edit)
21. Ananda Shankar - Sa Re Ga (Edit)

Download: Sitar Beat! Indian Style Heavy Funk Vol. 1
Download Size: 100MB

I'm Back

I am happy to be able to report to you all that I finally have internet access at my home, and I will begin posting again shortly. I would like to thank the rest of the Digital Meltd0wn crew for keeping the blog up and running during my absence, especially Nathan Nothin' who shouldered the majority of the load by providing you all with regular updates. I probably would have decided to retire DM had it not been for his help.It seems like I have been gone for such a long time. I won't have much free time on my hands for a long time to come, but I will try to at least post a couple of times a week if not more. Hopefully Nathan Nothin' and Sabina will continue to stick around and help out on a regular basis, which would ensure that Digital Meltd0wn ccan stay regularly updated. I plan to reupload several albums that have dead download links before I post any new content, but you can enjoy fresh content from the rest of the crew in the meantime. It's great to be back, and I hope you all enjoy what I have in store for the future.

- Zer0_II

Der Blutharsch - Der Sieg des Lichtes ist der Lebens Heil! (1998)

Albin Julius's Der Blutharsch started as a side project to The Moon lay beneath a Cloud, around '96. The soundscape evolves from industrial to a drone dark ambient, with strong historical references via sound decollage and the use of military-related themes and aesthetics. Despite all appearances, this music has nothing in common with fascism (but the sound imagery of the era in discussion, as a reminder of the absurdity of the "human").

Year of release: 1998

Label: WKN

Genre: martial industrial / dark ambient

Tracklist:

I - XVI

Download: Der Blutharsch - Der Sieg des Lichtes ist der Lebens Heil!
Download Size: 90.5 MB (ripped 192kbps)

Faust and Tony Conrad - Outside the Dream Syndicate (1973)

Outside the Dream Syndicate is the only collaboration of Faust and Tony Conrad. It is considered to be Conrad's first proper recording, a three-day session recorded in 1973 at the Faust's farm in the northern German community of Wuemme.

The Dream Syndicate (also known as The Theater of Eternal Music) was an improvisational group active in the 60s, featuring avant-garde artists La Monte Young, his wife Marian Zazeela (on vocals), Billy Name (on guitar, better known from Warhol's Factory), Angus MacLise (on percussion), and later on, John Cale and Tony Conrad. In parallel with John Cage's performances and Fluxus sound experiments and 'events', the group was known for elaborate performances. They would sustain notes for hours at a time, introducing a lack of compositional theme (known as Eternal Music). The group disbanded in 1965.

Tony Conrad: I basically said, "Keep an even beat going throughout the whole thing", which is almost impossible. When I worked with Faust, I told the bass player this, but they didn't believe me.

Collaborating with Faust core members (Jean Herve Peron's rippingly metallic bass and Zappi Diermaier's stoically thunderous drums), Conrad added his shrill and ever-changing 'eternal music' violin ruminations. The result, an exact middle point between krautrock and early drone, could only be mind blowing.

Year of Release: 1973 / 2002 (remastered 30th Anniversary Edition)
Label: Table of the Contents (US)
Genre: krautrock / drone / experimental

Tracklist:
Cd 1:

From the Side of Man and Womankind (27:16)

From the Side of the Machine (26:20)

Cd 2 (30th Annivaersary Edition):
The Pyre of Angus Lies in Kathmandu (3:38)
The Death of the Composer Was in 1962 (3:16)
From the Side of Man and Womankind (Complete, 31:10)

Download: part 1, part 2, part 3

Download Size: 209 MB (ripped at 320kbps)

Guest Blogger: Sab

Hello hello! So i guess i am a little new in this here landscape... Zer0 asked to walk around a little bit, so here i am! I don't really know how to make a proper introduction... I invited myself here, so that means I will be  sharing with you guys most of the things I love to tickle my ears and eyes with. Hope you'll enjoy at least some of them and, of course, any suggestion is most welcome!
Sab

Wiseblood-Dirtdish

Under the alias Clint Ruin, J. G. Thirlwell, the man behind such projects as Foetus, Manorexia, and Steroid Maximus collaborated the Swans' Roli Mosimann to form Wiseblood. Released in 1987, Dirtdish combines the demented big band sound familiar to fans of Foetus with grinding, heavy percussion.

Track List

1. Prime Gonzola
2. 0-0 (Where Evil Dwells)
3. Stumbo
4. Someone Drowned In My Pool
5. Godbrain
6. The Fudge Punch
7. Motorslug
8. Stumbo (12" Version)
9. Death Rape 2000
10. Someone Drowned In My Pool (12" Version)

Download: Wiseblood-Dirtdish
Download Size: 64.31 MB