I’m not a big Vangelis fan. I like L’Apocalypse des Animaux (and would like better if it didn’t sound as though it was mastered from a third-generation cassette), Opéra Sauvage and parts of Antarctica. I have the sense that these records, if released today, would strike me as cheesy, but I’m prepared to suspend that variety …
April 2013 archive
801 “801 Live” 2xLP reissue (Expression UK)
YOU DON’T REISSUE THIS ALBUM ON VINYL AND LEAVE “RONGWRONG” OFF. YOU JUST DON’T. Other than that, it’s okay. There’s some surface noise on my copy, damnit, and although the remastering is mostly pleasing, Simon Phillips’ cymbals are still too sibilant. Who can I talk to about this? And I never needed to hear “Baby’s …
New hardware: Parasound A21
For the past three years I’ve been using a Marantz MM 8003 7.1 channel home theater power amp for what passed for my two-channel system. The 140-watt-per-channel hulk was adequate, but it strained when you cranked it up, and last week I heard the fans turn on for the first time after blasting LPs for …
Mountains “Centralia” 2xLP (Thrill Jockey)
I know nothing of this artist known as Mountains. I like scribbling without the, um, benefit of a onesheet, or biographical info. If you are a typical beloved and diligent internet music wonk, you’ll know where to look for background on these Mountains folk of which I write. Right? Who knows, I may even peek …
Stream the new Lubomyr Melnyk album
The Erased Tapes label has posted a SoundCloud stream of Lubomyr Melnyk’s Corollaries. Melnyk’s current collaboration with James Blackshaw, The Watchers, is one of my favorite albums so far this year and will get reviewed as soon as I can find something coherent to say about it. Perhaps before.
Nils Frahm live video
Here’s some excellent footage of keyboardist Nils Frahm live in Copehagen from February of this year. Electric piano, synths, sequencers and piano are all brought into the mix to create something improvisationally enthralling and uniquely Frahmian (Frahmesque?).
Recent LP acquistions – another stopgap installment
801 801 Live (Expression UK 2xLP) (2012 reissue) Genesis Seconds Out (Charisma/EMI UK) (2012 remastered reissue) Moebius & Plank Rastakraut Pasta (Bureau B) (2010 reissue) Neu! Neu! (Grönland UK) (2010 reissue) Lou Reed Berlin (Music On Vinyl/Legacy/RCA) (2009 reissue) Jack Rose Kensington Blues (VHF) (2005)
“Braindead Moth” from µ-Ziq and Ital Tek
Mike Paradinas (µ–Ziq/Planet Mu label founder) has joined forces with Ital Tek (Alan Myson) for this newly-released free track from 2012. It’s got a very nice electro feel that reminds me a little of class-of-’81 YMO mixed with some 1993 vintage chill. And that, of course, is a good thing.
PS Audio P5 Shootout: Black vs. Silver!
I’d decided to enter the seductive realm of power conditioning. My humble Niles IPC-8 rack power strip had served me well for over 20 years, but it was time to upgrade. Yes, this is a “shootout”– comparing two pieces of audiophile hardware. However, unlike most shootouts, I’m comparing one model against the same model. The …
