organ

here's something from today's Organ news pages over at www.organart.com

WILLIAM D. DRAKE goes all Dukes Of Hazard on us! Straightening the curves and flattening the hills, William D.Drake (sometimes we call him Bill), has a new previously unreleased track called One Armed Bandits available via Canadian label Peppermill Records, hang on! Just playing it while I type, Dukes Of Hazard Bill Drake style! Genius! Just a good old boy! There's loads of interesting stuff on here, three albums worth of things to explore via something called The Box - looks like these Peppermill people are up to good things, looks like they got a load of people ot mess around with TV themes, L ROK's take on the Rockford Files is good, SATANICPORNOCULTSHOP's French take on the Mash theme is worth checking out, oh this is good, download the whole thing for free via www.peppermillrecords.com/pm010/ and brighten up your Monday morning

Meanwhile while we're here, here's a review that should be of interest to Cardiacs family from this week's ORGAN MAGAZINE (issue 282), one of the many reviews you'll fine there every Thursday afternoon...

NORTH SEA RADIO ORCHESTRA – Birds (Oof!) - It needs to be said, because no one ever does, the North Sea Radio Orchestra are very influenced by that delicate, much loved Cardiacs offshoot known as the Sea Nymphs (and indeed even more so by Sea Nymphs' early eighties' incarnation, Mr & Mrs Smith and Mr Drake). No accident of course, for North Sea Radio Orchestra leader Craig Fortnam was part of the camp following back then and, via his part in Lake Of Puppies (and later Shrubbies) with one William D.Drake, pretty much part of the extended Cardiacs family – not as “wholly unique” as some would have you believe, then, (there are dues to be paid, things to be acknowledged). That said, North Sea Radio Orchestra are blossoming in a rather fine way now with their inviting mix of delicate English prog and 20th Century classical pastoral folk. Harmonically rich and fluid in a Henry Cow, Art Bears, Incredible String Band kind of way (quite a bit of Stars In Battledress in here as well). Recorded at (Peter Gabriel's) Real World studios and Tim Smith's Apollo 8 in the depths of Wiltshire by ex Cardiac Mark Cawthra with additional production from Tim Smith (leader of said Cardiacs and indeed Sea Nymphs). A fine mix of delicate English folk and something that has evolved out of fine traditions of chamber music. Acoustic tunes, woodwind, violins, clarinets, bassoon, oboe, solo voices and ambitious choral pieces. 'Personent Hodie' is a highlight: their version of a fourteenth century canticle, arranged quite delightfully... you may know it as a hymn called God Is Love, His The Care, and their version carries on the tradition of evolving hymns in a rather moving way. 'Move Eastward, Happy Earth' is quite uncannily like Mr &Mrs Smith and Mr Drake, to the point it wouldn't surprise to hear the aforementioned Drake had a writing hand in it (no detailed notes on this promo copy, so it may well be another early music arrangement).
'Birds' is an album pulling gently in two distinct ways. One direction; nice, simple, sitting in a sunny field, female-voiced acoustic folk, the other towards a rarer thing, this fusion of English medieval progressive classical, chamber orchestral music, via Vaughn Williams, Cardiacs, Vernon Elliot, Henry Cow. In the end, it all works as a melodic spirited integral classical whole. Always more than just decorating modern music with classical instrumentation, at its core a real orchestra, this is something that’s both timeless and enchantingly beautiful – a very fine, very enjoyable rather magical album. www.nsro.co.uk

and more from the Organ news pages

15th NOV - NSRO album delayed... The new North Sea Radio Orchestra album, reviewed this week here at Organ has been delayed so say the band: “Due to 'systems beyond our control' our 2nd album 'Birds' has been delayed. The new release date is December 1st. We are very unhappy about this, especially as we've been getting some good press that's now in effect a month early. On a positive note, those of you who come to our album launch show at St Martin in the Fields, Trafalgar Square, Londinium (Nov 18th) will be a ble to buy a copy direct from ourselves. Alternatively, you can pre-order a copy through the usual online retailers (boomkat, roughtrade, amazon etc). We hope to see you at the show and once again, apologies from NSRO x x x” - www.nsro.co.uk

Oh and you may as wel lhave this while we're here

ALBUM OF THE WEEK
AU – Verbs (Aagoo) – Oh, now there’s all kinds of fertile things going on here; soothing things, blissful things, things to tingle the imagination. Book-ended perfectly at one end by the soothing bombast of a twenty plus person vocal chorus and the other some forty minutes later by the hushed strains of wistful lullaby. Au are from Portland Oregon and here on Verbs they stretch out in a deliciously inviting, expensive and rather different way. They at times taste of Sigur Ros at their creative best, they touch on Steve Reich or Terry Riley, they’re never ever anything obvious though, Au are rather unique. A wonderful understanding of the power of space and quiet and how less is often so much more. At times they sound like they’re taking us drifting on clouds, and then you find them sounding like one of those slow New Orleans funeral jazz bands celebrating something or someone everyone loved. Right now very soothing voices are easing us through a minimal piece of gorgeously soothing indie pop – yes, blissful once more, everything about this fine album is blissful. Lots of collaborations and all kinds of guests from the ever creative Portland alternative scene, all makes for a quietly evolving snapshot as different voices come and go. Elation, meditation, mass hand claps and tingling tunes, bits that sound like the prelude to an epic John Adams piece – orchestral textures, expansive brightness – something rather unique happening here, something rather special, rather organic and extremely beautiful – www.au-au-au.com or www.aagoo.com

and last night's radio show

Organ OTHER ROCK SHOW with Marina O on RESONANCE 104.4FM, Sunday November 16th 2008, 9.00pm – On your FM dial all over London and worldwide via www.resonancefm.com.

Who got played this week? How do you find our more? Here come the details and links...

Intro: PHANTOMSMASHER - Bishop Hopping (Ipecac)
1: SLEEPYTIME GORILLA MUSEUM - The Salt Crown (End)
2: VOLCANO! - Performance Evaluation Shuffle (Leaf)
3: NISENNENMONDAI - Kyaaaaaaa (Smalltown Supersound)
4: ROLO TOMASSI - Film Noir (Holy Roar)
5: DEERHOOF - Eaguru Guru (ATP)
6: THUMPERMONKEY LIVES! - The Drill (demo)
7: MARVINS REVOLT - Folks Ain't Sleeping (Richter Collective)
8: KOENJIHYAKKEI - Gepek (Skin Graft)
9: BLACK ELK - My Last Shred Of Decency (Crucial Blast)
10: AU – Waltz (Aagoo)
11: TERA MELOS - Party With Tina (Temporary Residence)
12: VOLCANO! - '78 Oil Crisis (Leaf)
13: CARDIACS - R.E.S (Alphabet)
14: OUTRO: ROLO TOMASSI - C Is For Calculus (Holy Roar)


THE DETAILS, THE FACTS, THE LINKS....

From their 2007 album 'In Glorious Times': SLEEPYTIME GORILLA MUSEUM - they come from Oakland California, formed from the ashes of Idiot Flesh - www.sleepytimegorillamuseum.com

After a 2-year break Chicago's VOLCANO! released new album 'Paperwork' in September on The Leaf Label; on tour in UK and Ireland now - London Hoxton Bar & Grill Monday 17th Nov, Leeds The Library (upstairs) 18th, Dublin Whelans (Upstairs) 18th, Galway Roisin Dubh 20th www.theleaflabel.com

Very fine UK band ROLO TOMASSI play Camden Underworld on 22nd Nov with Behold... The Arctopus and others; this was from their first EP available from www.holyroarrecords.com or www.myspace.com/rolotomasi

Californian avant-pop superstars (deservedly) DEERHOOF recently released yet another corker, 'Offend Maggie', from whence this came. www.atpfestival.com ...

South London band THUMPERMONKEY LIVES! have gigs coming up soon: www.thumpermonkey.com

KOENJIHYAKKEI are a full-band project of Ruins' Tatsuya Yoshida, this is from their mindblowing and rare debut 'Hundred Sights Of Koenji', originally out on God Mountain, re-released by Skin Graft ...Lyrics are based (loosly) on Magma's invented language Kobaian - www.skingraftrecords.com for samples/shop

Newish Copenhagen outfit MARVINS REVOLT combine math/prog detailing with, wait for it, tunes! This is from their album 'Killec' released in the UK today (17th November 08) on The Richter Collective - www.myspace.com/marvinsrevolt or www.richtercollective.com

NISENNENMONDAI are a Japanese female avant-noise trio, who have kicked the asses of Lighting Bolt and Battles this was from their recent album 'Tori/Neji' (a combination of their first two EPs) - www.nisennenmondai.com / www.smalltownsupersound.com

Two (contrasting!) bands from Portland, Oregon: BLACK ELK being the one with the complex Melvins/Jesus Lizard heavyness thing going on and AU (pronounced 'ay-yew' - I checked) being a multi-instrumented choir and orchestral band/collective thing. Au's track is from their just released album 'Verbs' on Aagoo Records. www.au-au-au.com or www.aagoo.com . Black Elk have just released their second album, 'Always A Six, Never A Nine' on Crucial Blast - www.crucialblast.net or www.myspace.com/blackelk

From Sacramento, California - TERA MELOS released this as part of a split album with By The End Of Tonight on Temporary Residence... www.myspace.com/teramelos

...finally, a live track from the 'Garage Concerts' album released by CARDIACS ... Cardiacs should be on tour at the moment, but all future recordings and gigs have had to be cancelled due to the serious illness of frontman/guitarist/composer Tim Smith. Cardiacs fans, many of whom will have got to know each other over the years of following them, will be having an informal gathering at the Angel pub just off Denmark Street on the 21st November 08 (the date of the cancelled London Astoria gig). Cardiacs are more than just a band for those who listen to them; talk to others on Cardiacs-chat ( via www.cardiacs.com for joining instructions to this mailing list forum), and there’s a Cardiacs section at the Organ FORUM.
M x

No show next week, there’s live things going on next Sunday night in the Resonance studio, back on 30th November with Sean O and a whole bag of fresh things

Explore all these things, as always, over at www.organart.com - don't know about you but I'm feeling a big hole here when we should be out on tour...