The Return of Lost Verses

Hello blog space,

Most of you probably have arrived at my blog to download an interview with a musician or label head. The blog was originally the self-indulgent toilet for me to post shameless advertisements for my lame radio show on KZSU. Anyway, I’ve come full circle at this point. No exciting interviews to report, simply an overdue mention that longtime DJ partner Luke and I have returned to Lost Verses on Thursday evenings/Friday mornings 12-3am PST. You can tune in at http://kzsulive.stanford.edu to hear the program live in its full glory.

The only other thing I’ll say is that I’m excited about seeing White Hills in a couple of weeks. Their new album, Frying On This Rock is heavy, stoney, and psychy in the best possible ways. Last time they were on the touring circuit in California, I missed them, having just arrived back from Europe in a daze and frenzy. Go out there and support artists by going to shows, buying merch, and spreading the good word.

Warmly,

Adam

March 2012 Record Roundup

The first quarter of 2012 is beginning to wrap up, so I decided I would write up a bit about my favorite releases that have surprised me so far this year. As is the case every year, a large part of the beginning of the year is spent discovering parts of the previous year’s music that I missed upon initial release. For me specifically, this includes the Miasmah Records release Bunny, by Simon Scott, the Fonal Records album Nääksää nää mun kyyneleet by Tuuskanuuskat, and Illuha’s Shizuku, from 12k. Truly beautiful music that I can highly recommend. Taking a look at more recent releases, I would love to send praise to the following albums.

From the Mouth of the Sun – Woven Tide – Experimedia – 2012

Experimedia gave us the tremendously beautiful Lawrence English release in 2011. So I was fortunate and excited to find this treasure (From the Mouth of the Sun) in the mail during our weekly music listening night at KZSU. The release is a collaboration between Dag Rosenqvist and Aaron Martin and it combines everything I love about experimentation and ambient music. Many of the avant and ambient outlets have praised it, but I would like to reiterate why it is so affecting. Glacial instrumental music can lack a human connection, but From the Mouth of the Sun absolutely forges one. It connects in a way that vocal music can, in those rare instances when the lyrics are tasteful and are the only way to express a certain feeling. From the Mouth of the Sun can unnerve me the same way that Godspeed You! Black Emperor does; it can wash all over me the way Talk Talk does; it can share an aching sentiment better than Mark Kozelek. I whipped together a review (for internal radio DJs) that you can read here.

Plante – Harvest – Fedora Corpse Recordings – 2012

As my dear friend, DJ awyeh writes in his review, “Fedora Corpse strikes gold again!” This beautiful clear piece of vinyl is a guitar drone record by Andrew Plante out of Kansas City. The theme is spaced-out sustain and celestial hovering. Just a great thing to put on when you’re nodding off, or are bleary-eyed in some relaxed state. Fedora Corpse is a wonderful label. Too bad Comoros and Rat Catching couldn’t make it to the KZSU 2012 Day of Noise!

Windy & Carl – We Will Always Be – Kranky Records – 2012

I have pretty much always been a Kranky Records groupie. A Winged Victory For the Sullen was easily one of my favorites from last year. Their first release from this year is another fine entry into the impenetrable catalog. Windy & Carl doesn’t move into new territory with this one; it’s not the kind of interesting collaboration that they had with Heavy Winged a few years back. No, We Will Always Be simply pushes my buttons the way my favorite albums do. The overwhelming melodic drones, layers, feedback, vocal loops — it all warms me in an exciting, loving way. The feeling is a physical one and it reminds me why I listen to music. It would be an incredible experience to hear this in a live setting — not only taking in the blissful waves, but also feeling the physical reverberations. And I have another useless review to augment the praise.

Stay tuned for my new radio show time for April – June. Until then, listen to a lot of great music (hopefully some of it on KZSU)!

Yours,

Adam

Slow Dancing Society Interview

After a week break from the interview blitz on my show, I had the fortune to interview Drew Sullivan, otherwise known as Slow Dancing Society. Sullivan resides in Washington where he produces and composes atmospheric ambient music. His four full-length releases have met critical acclaim from a wide variety of publications and aggregators, including Luna Kafe, Twice Removed, Hypnagogue, and the Ambient Music Guide. Slow Dancing Society absolutely dominated the KZSU charts in 2011. Three Slow Dancing Society records charted in the top 14 ambient/experimental albums at KZSU. Most recently, Hidden Shoal artist Antonymes reworked a series of tracks from Sullivan’s releases on the late 2011 album, We Don’t Look Back for Very Long. It was a pleasure to welcome a master of blanketing, dreamy sound, Drew Sullivan to KZSU.

Drew spoke with me about his musical influences, how the 80s play a pivotal role in the sound of Slow Dancing Society, and the upcoming releases of some of his projects. Unbeknownst to me, Drew has joined City of Satellites, contributing bass, and collaborations have even morphed into something different, titled The October Solution, whose works in progress can be heard here.  Check out my interview, and make sure to go to the Hidden Shoal website, or check out Slow Dancing Society on bandcamp, if you haven’t already familiarized yourself with Sullivan’s work. Thanks agin to Drew for his time and to Hidden Shoal for all the support at KZSU. Take care and until next week.

Interview with Cory Rayborn

Hey internet fans! Yesterday I spoke with Cory of Three Lobed Recordings over the phone and on the air. Cory Rayborn is the owner and head of Three Lobed Recordings. Three Lobed is a small label out of Jamestown North Carolina. The label began as a website for the Philadelphia heavy pyschedelic band, Bardo Pond, who was then enthused to release on 10″ vinyl the Slab EP under Three Lobed in August of 2000. Since then, Rayborn has moved on from his undergraduate years at Duke to the University of North Carolina Law School and now practices law in High Point North Carolina. Three Lobed has steadily become more and more influential, picking up a roster of artists and friends of friends all over the country. Recently, Three Lobed re-released Bardo Pond and Tom Carter‘s studio psych collaboration, 4/23/03. It’s now a double LP with a bonus track and bonus CD of collaborations that took place on 4/25/03. Coming up this year is the second release from the Gunn-Truscinski duo, titled Ocean Parkway. There is no doubt that this is one of my favorite labels — where else can you find the likes of Tarentel, Jack Rose, Heavy Winged, and Eternal Tapestry releases all on one label?

My talk with Cory covered a lot of different territory. We spoke about his love of taping live shows, and how this made him a star in the taping community, increasing his contacts with artists. Cory also explained his philosophy on releasing music from the artists he trusts and respects. Take a listen to the interview and make sure to visit http://threelobed.com/tlr/home.html for more info on the label. Thanks again to Cory for the time, hosting, permission, and generous support of KZSU Music.

Interview with Brian John Mitchell

My ghost trees interview series continued today with Brian John Mitchell out of North Carolina. Brian John Mitchell is the founder and operator of Silber Records as well as the songwriter and force behind the project Remora. The origins of Silber Records can be traced back to fall of 1994 with the development of the zine, QRD. Silber Records has a motto of “drone, love, honesty, sound” and label artists are stylistically diverse but carry a common link through ethereal ambience, acoustic guitars, and a taste for waves of noise. Silber artists include Rivulets, Alan Sparhawk, Plumerai, Azalia Snail, Aarktika, and of course, Remora, to name a few. Remora released Scars Bring Hope in late 2011, which is a move into the studio and a return to post-apocalyptic folk pop songs that are dunked in electronics, drones, and heavy sounds.

2011's release Scars Bring Hope by Remora on Silber Records

The lengthy discussion I had with Brian jumped all over the map. We spoke about QR, upcoming Silber releases, Remora and drawing comics. Brian is such a good guy and it was a pleasure to get to know him before and after our interview. If you would like to take a listen to the interview, you can do so here. Make sure to head over to the Silber Records home on the web: www.silbermedia.com. Silber is truly one of the great labels I’ve only had the privilege of discovering due to my involvement in college radio at Stanford.

Upcoming interviews on ghost trees (Mondays from 9am – noon PST on KZSU Stanford 90.1FM and http://kzsulive.stanford.edu):

• February 20th (10am): Cory Rayborn, head of Three Lobed Recordings and another label stalwart from North Carolina.