Bitbasic - Leonard

Band / Artist: Bitbasic
Year: 2009
Genre: IDM, Electronica, Shoegaze, Ambient Techno

My Review:
He brought you Meek, and I liked it, so I'll just pretend that you did too.

This one has some similarities, and keeps his sense of style, but is an obviously different approach to making an album. He made the whole thing in one month. ONE. I'm very impressed. Its so polished, and has so many good parts. I like to think of it as easy listening for the weirdos and people who get bored by easy listening.

I hope you get a kick out of this one. Bitbasic is London-based electronica artist Simon Haycock. I'm hoping that one day I get to chat with this fellow.

Enjoy!

Bitbasic - Leonard

Howler Toad - Lickin' The Toad

Band / Artist: Howler Toad
Year: 2009
Genre: Stoner Rock, Prog Rock, Rock

My Review:
You'd think that this was going to be something completely different than it is. My first thought was it would be some laid back, long form prog rock. It isn't, by any means. This album is very driven. Its got a hard rock punch to it, that I would easily see myself going pretty crazy at a concert with. Maybe even hitting up the mosh pit.

Howler Toad comes out of Barcelona, Spain, and they may have broken up. I can't find much information for them, and their myspace page is shut down. I am sure to keep an eye out for new albums from them, because this really is a good band, one that I would love to see touring.

Since I can't find any more details for them, I'll just leave it there.

Howler Toad - Lickin' The Toad

Harvey Danger - Dead Sea Scrolls

Band / Artist: Harvey Danger
Year: 2009
Genre: Alternative Rock, Rock

My Review:
A collection of B-sides, rarities, and live recordings sold exclusively on the band's final tour dates.

Its a great album of tracks, and really shouldn't be missed out on. They actually keep the albums available from their website, or by torrent. You should consider throwing down a buck or two to cover the hosting costs by clicking here. I tossed down 5 bucks to them, because I loved them.

I just shared Harvey Danger a little bit ago, so i dont think we need much more description. just go enjoy it.

Harvey Danger -  Dead Sea Scrolls

Quickie Mart - Gypsyphonic Disko with Ben Ellman

Band / Artist: Quickie Mart

Year: 2009

Genre: Balkan, Bounce, Hip-Hop, Mashup, Bastard Pop

 My Review:

I've been listening to stuff from quickie mart for a while now, and some other monikers of his. I first caught him in an interview where he was dissecting bounce, its influences, and its role in the future of music, for good or for ill.

He seems like a smart guy, and its interesting that his music of choice be bounce, which I can completely understand, because of what bounce is and represents. It's gritty, shitty, and it doesn't really care. Anyways, here's a comp album of mixtapes I guess, of some hip-hop, some bounce, some rap, and Balkan beats & gypsy music. It's dancey, raunchy, and just fun all the way through.

My mom even danced to it (not like that, sicko.) While we were cooking for thanksgiving meal.

So yeah, take that.

Quickie Mart - Gypsyphonic Disko with Ben Ellman

The Quick Brown Fox - SPEEDKORE 4 KIDZ!

Year: 2009
Genre: Speedcore

My Review:
HooooooooBOY! Maybe like 2% of the people checking this post out won't absolutely hate it. There are a ton of days where I would be turning this right the fuck off, but every once in a blue moon, I get the itch, and for a whole day I will listen to nothing but Harsh Noise, Speedcore, Freejazz, Frenchcore, Sludge Metal, and pretty much anything else that is dissonant, grinding, and likely to piss off anyone within the audible vicinity.

I'm always sad that so many of these genres have no way to sustain themselves, because the makers of each little subset usually can't stand members of the others. If we could all just get along, we could create the most aggravating and horrifyingly noisey live event on the planet. It should have a great name too, like BigBadFest, or COREFEST! *XxCoReFeSt!xX*, Where you mosh in mud all day, chill with Harsh Drone for sundown, and then dance horribly under strobe lights all night  .. Actually, that sounds like it would be kind of awesome, and THE WORST PLACE TO DO DRUGS ON THE PLANET.

Sorry if this one seems dissapointing to some, but I felt like I needed to spice up the mix a little. I might start doing at least one of these kinds of oddball posts every other month. I just wanted to warn you that this post isn't for everyone, but for the few that love this kind of ... stuff...  But I'll make a dare. If more than 5 people can actually listen to this thing from beginning to end without stopping it, and comment in the post, I will post at least 1 humiliating photo of myself.

Godspeed.

The Quick Brown Fox - SPEEDKORE 4 KIDZ!

Banned Books - Mission Creep

Band / Artist: Banned Books
Year: 2009, 2010
Genre: Experimental Rock, Indie Alternative, Avant-pop, Noise-Rock

My Review:
YEAAAAAAAAAAAH. Imagine you're an Indie-pop group, then get really pissed off and jaded with the shitshow of pop, and hanging out and listening to bands like Wolf Eyes, Merzbow, and Dog Fashion Disco, and The Blood Brothers for a little while. Start liking the idea of sounding that way, but don't quite be sure that you want to just make noise, after all, you do have nearly a whole album recorded. You go back to the drawing board with what you have, AND THIS COMES OUT OF THE SAUSAGE GRINDER.


That is what I'd imagine was going on with this album.

Aside from my BS description, lets talk about the band themselves.

They started out as a 3 man New Jersey band, lost a member, and moved to Philly. Now they call themselves a super-duo. They don't keep a lot of information out in the public about when they formed or when they moved.

Here is their exceptionally informative website.
http://www.bnndbks.net/


Anyhow, these albums are both a little short, so I thought it'd be best to share both of them.

Banned Books - Mission Creep

This one is Man Maker, a more groove laden album. They switch tempo a lot in this one.

Banned Books - Man Maker

And ON TO 2014! FFFFFFFFFFUCK YEAH!

Loom - Coffee For The Kids

Band / Artist: Loom
Year: 2009
Genre: IDM, Acid House, Illbient, Glitch

My Review:
This reminds me strongly of Mouse on Mars and Garren Epley, with the quirky beats, "jazzy" mood, and mangled, goofy bouncing rhythms. I've been holding onto it for as long as it has been out, and I still love getting the chance to play it on a roadtrip or while walking around town.

The guy, now playing music as Kinskop, was a part of a group called Various Vegetables Crew, which has a ton of interesting acts on it. His stuff now is evolved into something much different, which i'll likely share in the future. You can check the group out here.

http://www.various-vegetables.org/

I'll leave this one a little sparse, just sharing what this album was originally released with.

Loom's second album is a childish little bastard.

Just turn on your Fisher Price Cassette-Recorder and let your mind wander to the first time you played with fire. Or when you swiped your little brother's matchbox cars. It's all hidden between the stumbling beats and the squeaky little melodys. And remember: you don't have to like this music, you have to nurture it!

Don't let it cock a snook at you!

 Loom - Coffee For The Kids

3 days left - Josh Garrels Megapack

Band / Artist: Josh Garrels
Year: 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012
Genre: Breakbeat, Folk Pop, Jazz Rock, Modern Classical, Indie

My Review:
I posted the B-sides for Love & War a good while back, but then I saw this the other day and thought it might be time to revisit Mr. Garrels..

Its a very extravagant sort of folk/ndie. I don't really know what else to call it. At one of his shows he had a short talk about it, and he said "I'm not sure what to call myself...so I say folk".

SO the point of this mega-share is saved in a quote.

From March 14 to March 28, all 5 of Josh Garrels' most current albums will be available for free, exclusively on Noisetrade. This free catalog of music is given as a gift, but 100% of the tips received for any and all of the 5 albums will be given to World Relief and their courageous work in Congo. Congo is currently the most unstable, violent, and impoverished country in the world, with thousands displaced due to warring factions and a majority of the women suffering from gender based violence. Please consider leaving a tip, and in so doing, becoming a partner in the work for restoration in Congo. Thanks.

So I'd imagine that it would be worthwhile to donate a little to this one if you feel like supporting a good cause. I'm always happy when people do this. As always, enjoy, and share with others.

 5 Albums By Josh Garrels

50 Foot Wave - Superpack

Band / Artist: 50 Foot Wave
Year:2004, 2005, 2009, 2012
Genre: Alternative Rock, Punk

My Review:
They're Punk, they're Alt Rock, they're rough and tumble. With a female singer that defenitely rocks the mic, and a great backup behind her. They remind me of early smashing pumpkins, the nymphs, and a little bit of the casualties.

Apparently their name is a reference to both an illustration and the term for the 50-foot sound wave of the lowest F tone audible to the human ear. The singer is named Kristin Hersh, who played in Throwing Muses for 20+ years, along with the bassist, Bernard Georges. They picked up the drummer Rob Ahlers in 2003, and started working out a tour while making their first album.

By 2005, they released an LP, and kept on touring and releasing more. In 2009, they released all of their music for free, and THEY OPENLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO BURN COPIES. They want people all over the world to take copies of their music.

I've enjoyed one of their albums, Free Music!, since about 2007. Good music for the gym.


This band is giving away 6 albums. All in ONE download. I'd be lying if I said that wasn't an unbelievable number. They also have a section on Internet Archive dedicated to recordings of all of their live shows. Here's that link.

http://archive.org/details/50FootWave

So I hope you dig the music. Feel free to give a copy to friends.

50 Foot Wave - 50FootWave, Free Music!, Golden Ocean, Power + Light, With Love From The Men's Room, Singles, and Instrumentals.

Blake Market - Polynesia-town

Band / Artist: Blake Market
Year: 2009
Genre: Dubstep, Breaks, Dub, Downtempo, Trip Hop

My Review:

This one is very close to dubstep, just not your skrillex kind (pretty sure that one is known as Brostep now. Fitting.). Dubstep is such a bitch to pin down, like IDM was back in the early 2000s, because it has such a loose definition. 

Blake Market is also known by Anti-Man, Black Market, Blake Markle, Blakkar Noir, and Zark Behida, But I'll be damned if I couldn't find his REAL name. He has no website, and nearly every moniker he goes by has only one release. From hunting I did figure out that he has been releasing music since at least 2006.

Anyhow, I liked this one enough to keep, and it has had a few return rotations in the year I’ve had it. A lot more focus on the melody in this than the baseline, so it isn't quite as dance oriented, but it was still enjoyable.

Blake Market - Polynesia-town

K.Flay - MASHed Potatoes

Band / Artist: K.Flay
Year: 2009
Genre: Hip-Hop, Indie Electronic, Rap, Mixtape

My Review:

Everything I hear from this girl is interesting. This one starts with a chopped up version of “Under the bridge” from Red Hot Chili Peppers, turned into a great beat for a rap track. A handful of the tracks crib rhymes from the songs she samples, and plays with them to make a more fun narrative. The whole thing is a full length album, sampling some really interesting songs and making out some really solid quirky rhythms to build it up.

Man I would love to hang out with this girl for a day and just talk a ton, she seems like a really interesting person, and her musical edge is so engaging to me. 

K.Flay - MASHed Potatoes

Free Singles - How To Destroy Angels - Keep It together

So I just wanted to share this listening chance, as well as a link to a free download of the first track off the new EP from How To Destroy Angels. The album sounds really good, and if you haven't got a clue what that is all about, it's the band that Trent Reznor paused Nine Inch Nails for. The other members are, his wife Mariqueen Maandig, his common partner in crime, Atticus Ross, and ever faithful art director, Rob Sheridan.


An omen EP_ (2012) by howtodestroyangels
 
Well hopefully that played properly for you. I'm really enjoying the direction that they are going, although I am a fairly die-hard fan of NIN, and most of the creative ventures connected to them.

Heres a link to the opening track, which you can get for free.

How To Destroy Angels - Keep It Together

As well as 2 remix versions.

How To Destroy Angels - Keep It Together (Dave Sitek Remix)
How To Destroy Angels - Keep It Together (Factory Floor Remix)

If you never got a chance to hear their debut EP, then go ahead and download it for free at the bottom of their store page here. It's worth hearing.

http://store.destroyangels.com/

The Mad Tea Party – Halloween Eleven, Rock-N-Roll Ghoul, & Zombie Boogie

Band / Artist: The Mad Tea Party
Year: 2009, 2010, 2011
Genre: Rockabilly, Surf Rock, Garage Rock

My Review:
Surf rock / Rockabilly music out of North Carolina with a really uplifting yet greasy sound, that really gets that feeling of joy you get after you scare the shit out of someone, and get to laugh at  them. There's only a couple tracks apiece, but they are fun stuff for a Halloween celebration. They'd be a great band to have at a Halloween party. Since they have only a few tracks to each of their Halloween sets, I’m gonna post 3 to make sure you have enough to really jam to it.

Anyhow, here's their blog.
http://themadtea.wordpress.com/

Not only is it great for Halloween, but its  driving music for all the freaks and goths out on a summer cruise with the windows down. Hell, do your yourself a creepy little ho-down with this stuff. Some fruit-infused moonshine and some black food dye would go great with it. 

Stay classy.

The Mad Tea Party – Halloween Eleven
The Mad Tea Party – Rock-N-Roll Ghoul
The Mad Tea Party – Zombie Boogie


Also, as a Halloween gift for all of you who enjoy this, or are having a party and need some music, here is a set of Halloween mixes by DJ Doctor Toast. They are mostly oldies and rockabilly tunes.

DJ Doctor Toast - Vintage Halloween Mixes

Alright! That concludes the October Halloween music fest. Happy Fright Night!

Graffiti Mechanism, a little more than the normal.

Band / Artist: Graffiti Mechanism
Year: 2009-2012
Genre: Acid, Acid House, Ambient, Dub Techno, Techno, Lo-fi, Chillout, Chiptune, Dark, Downtempo

My Review:
In 2011, my life had gone sideways on me. Some friends were helping to pull me out of a lull that had and has somewhat persisted since mid 2010, like a cloud over and through my life. During a part of that, I started to find my artist legs once again, and began to build back some of my joys and motivations. I was playing through a lot of music I had missed out on during a stint where I had been mentally vacant, and had saved a folder for a day when I needed to focus on something.

And that is how I found Graffiti Mechanism.

This guy is named Adam Crammond. He runs, or has a hand in running a netlabel called Proc-rec, I believe it started up in 2007. He has released so much work, that I still find new pieces of his.

Today will be special because I'm showcasing 4 of them, showing a progression I noticed.

Graffiti Mechanism - Blotter Beats


The first one I'll post as these are all in chronological order. This isn't just acid in the way it's often heard. He brings in a background in ambient and noise.

The drug references seem to be a sign of where he intends for you to go with his music, and that he wants to make you dance a little while you're there. It seems to cycle back on itself, always gaining complexity as it reloops, and the sound seems to pick up more muddled layers while others fade inward below. The use of Lo-fi sounds as a tool instead of an issue with equipment is so interesting a choice to me, and it really works for him.

Graffiti Mechanism - The Fabric Of Existance

A step from acid in some ways, but keeping it going as the lifeblood of the tracks in many ways. This shows an evolution more from the kind of music made to dance the night away on drugs, to something showing a growth and a maturity. It is where I start to pick up on what I called Acid-daze, the sound that seems to be created for you to sit in a dark space and contemplate all layers of your life on hallucinogens.

Graffiti Mechanism - Fueled By Emotion

The first album I heard. This is the point where he really stepped into this meditative acid-daze sort of sound. I looked beck through everything of his I could find, and nothing else seems to capture this sound that he suddenly grasped with both hands and began knitting into a wonderful dreamscape.

I'd rate this one the highest of all of them if I were to be the type to rate albums. I can honestly say that something about this album helped me to find and heal some small part of my soul, although i cannot quantify that in any way. I can still listen to this on repeat for a whole day without even a trace of regret.

Graffiti Mechanism - Synesthesia

The shortest of the albums, an EP by any standard, even if the tracks are 7+ minutes each. This compounds on the top of the "Fueled By Emotion" set, adding a more clear and meditative approach to the sound he is exploring.  If he continues down this path, I do wonder what he is going to incorporate into it next.

Either way, Hats off to Graffiti Mechanism.

Lastrapink - Portals

Band/Artist: Lastrapink
Year: 2009
Genre: IDM, Acid, Dubstep, Chillstep, Electro, Breaks

My Review:
This album is nice for all the reasons I love IDM. Its unnassuming, quirky, inventive, and humble in what it presents, a simple album for you to listen to and enjoy. No grandeur, no overcomplicating the beats. It brings a unique flavors and approaches to the fold, but you could just as easily ignore that and enjoy a simple jam session.

So just to give the in depth review of it, I'd say this. An album grabbing up the old flag of Acid IDM from the mid 00's (Such as some modern AFX albums) and blending it with the structural layout of more chill breakbeat tracks. The artists wasn't satisfied to leave it there, taking the chances with elements of dubstep, dub, drum n bass, more emotive ambient, and some tech house as a way to cohesively bring all of the album progressively along its path.

A good album to relate this to would be "Wicklow house" by Vertical67. I always feel like I'm referencing that one. Either way, give this one a listen.

Lastrapink - Portals

Space Dimension Controller - Unidentified Flying Oscillator

Band / Artist: Space Dimension Controller
Year: 2009
Genre: Electro, House, Funk Techno

My Review:
This guy has been interviewed by tons of blogs and magazines, describing him and his music far better than I ever could or would want to. Here's a link to it.

http://thequietus.com/articles/08336-space-dimension-controller-interview

Basically, this album is some spacey themed chill techno stuff. It has some funny themes, a decent set of processed vocals, and a pleasant layer of beats flavored similarly to the Vertical67 release i put on here earlier. Anyhow, give it a shot.

Space Dimension Controller - Unidentified Flying Oscillator

Somatic Responses - Mercury

Band / Artist: Somatic Responses
Year: 2009
Genre: Dubstep,  Dark Techno, Electronica, Breakcore

My Review:
This one is a band that was starting out doing breakcore with Venetian Snares back in early 2000s. The release is on Acroplane records. This sounds like something a dubstep fan would enjoy, though I wouldn't call it that. I've had it in my collection for about 3 years, and I've been following the group since early '04.

I love when I can get a chance to support those dark horse guys who were in the background since the beginning of a music era, and this would be an example of one of those bands.

Somatic Responses - Mercury