What are your favorite records in this area of "EAI" music? What are some to avoid and why? Do you think Erstwhile has a consistent quality of releases, or not? What are some exceptional records on other labels w/similar types of music?
― Lowell N. Behold'n, Monday, 6 October 2008 19:14 (4 years ago) Permalink
i can thoroughly recommend Duos for Doris, I think I need more from this label, perhaps Hands of Caravaggio?
― mmmm, Monday, 6 October 2008 21:07 (4 years ago) Permalink
I can thoroughly recommend Duos for Doris. I think I need more from this label, perhaps Hands of Caravaggio?
whoops!
happy to answer any questions...
― jon abbey, Tuesday, 7 October 2008 21:15 (4 years ago) Permalink
How about the original questions?
― Lowell N. Behold'n, Tuesday, 7 October 2008 21:42 (4 years ago) Permalink
ha ha
Sachiko M/Toshimaru Nakamura/Otomo Yoshihide Good Morning Good Night is my favorite Erstwhile. I've loaned it to five friends in response to them saying they just can't stand minimal high frequency electronics. Two of them couldn't make it past the first ten minutes, two of them loved it, one of them said she'd never been that completely taken over and surprised by listening to a record in her life. I've listened to it three times.
― Milton Parker, Tuesday, 7 October 2008 23:45 (4 years ago) Permalink
"How about the original questions?"
you know I run Erstwhile, right?
Milton, Good Morning Good Night is one of the few Ersts I'm most proud of, along with Duos for Doris and between (I think the double CD statements are potentially much stronger), that's the core of the label. the sessions we recorded last week in Tokyo of Keith Rowe and Sachiko M in duo (their first time ever) will be the next addition to this lineage, a two hour double CD out in the spring, just incredible music.
― jon abbey, Wednesday, 8 October 2008 02:29 (4 years ago) Permalink
also, from a different angle, I was kind of surprised no one on this board picked up on The Magic I.D.-till my breath gives out, the first ErstPop release from earlier this year.
― jon abbey, Wednesday, 8 October 2008 02:30 (4 years ago) Permalink
http://www.myspace.com/themagicID
― jon abbey, Wednesday, 8 October 2008 02:55 (4 years ago) Permalink
I put together a EAI primer list earlier this year, around 10-15 records per year, including Ersts:
http://erstwhilerecords.blogspot.com/2008/05/primer.html
that's obviously too long to tackle all at once, but maybe the list will jog people's memories for some faves.
― jon abbey, Wednesday, 8 October 2008 05:37 (4 years ago) Permalink
well, that fizzled out quickly, so one last post: anyone interested in researching or discussing this area of music, there's quite a bit of relevant content over at ILM's doppelganger, I Hate Music (ihatemusic.noquam.com).
― jon abbey, Saturday, 11 October 2008 07:24 (4 years ago) Permalink
thanks!
― BigLurks, Saturday, 11 October 2008 15:01 (4 years ago) Permalink
jon - thanks for linking to your EIA primer post. Do you have five+ quick recommendations for 2008?
― Jeff LeVine, Monday, 13 October 2008 22:43 (4 years ago) Permalink
(Jon can you email me asap re. your AAJ message which shamefully I've only just seen? Ta)
― A. FIND MISSING LINK B. PUT IT TOGETHER C. BANG! (Marcello Carlin), Tuesday, 14 October 2008 07:49 (4 years ago) Permalink
I really like this one:Keith Rowe / Sachiko M / Toshimaru Nakamura / Otomo Yoshihide - Untitled
that's the record that made me want to dig in deeper. good value for the money too.
― Alan N, Tuesday, 14 October 2008 14:25 (4 years ago) Permalink
Marcello, messaged on Facebook.
"Do you have five+ quick recommendations for 2008?"
hmm, I haven't gotten around to thinking about this much yet, but the Toshi/Annette Krebs on SOSeditions will be near the top, and these are all worth checking out:
Greg Kelley-Self-Hate Index (Semata)David Lacey/Paul Vogel-The British Isles (Homefront) Radu Malfatti-Dusseldorf Vielfaches (b-boim)Minoru Sato/Ami Yoshida-Composition for Voice Performer (1997 and 2007) (ao to ao)
the three Ersts I put out this year are also all very strong in their different niches (The Magic ID, The Breadwinner, One Day), those can hold their own with anything else out so far this year IMO.
― jon abbey, Tuesday, 14 October 2008 15:06 (4 years ago) Permalink
haven't heard the Magic ID yet, but tell them I absolutely love the band name's reference. they should do a song called 'does not match'.
― Milton Parker, Tuesday, 14 October 2008 18:10 (4 years ago) Permalink
The Breadwinner is fantastic.
― ChuckStewart(no relation) (BigLurks), Tuesday, 14 October 2008 18:37 (4 years ago) Permalink
seconded. I'm not sure I've heard anything else on Erstwhile, but anything Lambkin is involved in is a must-buy for me.
― ian, Tuesday, 14 October 2008 19:25 (4 years ago) Permalink
I presume the weird photo in the sleeve is a hybrid of Lambkin and Lescalleet, but I wouldn't know, cause I ain't never seen neither of 'em.
― narlus spectre (gnarly sceptre), Tuesday, 14 October 2008 20:49 (4 years ago) Permalink
and that track 'Two States' is mental. is it tea being swizzled? it sounds like tea. and there's spoons in the next track, so they probably had a brew right after.
― narlus spectre (gnarly sceptre), Tuesday, 14 October 2008 20:54 (4 years ago) Permalink
"I presume the weird photo in the sleeve is a hybrid of Lambkin and Lescalleet"
yep, a little more Jason than Graham, but that's what it is.
Milton, is that a ProTools reference? I had no idea, what is it exactly?
― jon abbey, Tuesday, 14 October 2008 21:43 (4 years ago) Permalink
i do own a copy of this and while i do find it to be a nice collection of oddly structured, sometimes pretty and sometimes affecting songs, the re-playability of it seems limited, compared with other erstwhile releases, due to its more defined structures and tonality. It gets old. Some of the other releases (such as Duos for Doris, R/S One, and others) sound less 'developed', and they can possibly be perceived differently in their shape and dimensions with repeated listens. I'm looking forward to hearing the Dach cd.
― Lowell N. Behold'n, Wednesday, 15 October 2008 00:08 (4 years ago) Permalink
Had a quick listen to that at a shop last weekend. I'm not surprised it wasn't picked up, the 'songs' aren't that engaging, tbh. But I think that grouping should work on the idea.
Duo for Doris has a clearly developed, defined and refined anti-expressionism at its core.
― xyzzzz__, Wednesday, 15 October 2008 10:27 (4 years ago) Permalink
been listening to the breadwinner (at high volume) for the last few days w/my speakers at head level, at opposite ends of the wall. i gotta say its a nice record. wouldn't classify this as "EAI", and i'm still reluctant to use the "EAI" tag. thanks for the other suggestions, will check 'em out down the road
― Lowell N. Behold'n, Wednesday, 29 October 2008 05:05 (4 years ago) Permalink
Greg Kelley-Self-Hate Index (Semata)
Man, that's an amazing record. That and Matt Weston's Not To Be Taken Away are two of the most riveting EAI albums I've heard in years.
― Sara Sara Sara, Thursday, 30 October 2008 01:20 (4 years ago) Permalink
i wasn't that into weston's earlier stuff (some 3" cd-r that i lost and can't be bothered to dig up) but not to be taken away is a fucking monster. totally floored me.
the breadwinner is pretty fantastic too. lescalleet can do no wrong in my book.
― Lawrence the Looter, Friday, 31 October 2008 02:12 (4 years ago) Permalink
I think that Salmon Run could be Erstwhile's Endless Summer if they chose to reissue it. I think it's more listenable than The Breadwinner. I think italics are important.
― Lowell N. Behold'n, Saturday, 7 March 2009 09:02 (4 years ago) Permalink
interesting, thanks for the input. I do love Salmon Run, but I'm much more interested in a second record from Lambkin/Lescalleet, which is slowly coming into existence. they've been doing some shows recently, Vassar and Wesleyan a week or two ago, Philly in early April, and London (Graham's UK live debut!) later this year sometime.
― jon abbey, Sunday, 8 March 2009 16:11 (4 years ago) Permalink
search: "Between" - Keith Rowe & Toshimaru Nakamura "Duos for Doris" - Keith Rowe & John Tilbury "Soba to Bara" - Ami Yoshida & Toshimaru Nakamura"Good Morning Good Night" - Sachiko M/Toshimaru Nakamura/Otomo Yoshihide
― Turangalila, Tuesday, 11 August 2009 04:46 (3 years ago) Permalink
"Tears" - Cosmos
― Turangalila, Tuesday, 11 August 2009 04:50 (3 years ago) Permalink
Heard 'Good Morning Good Night' this morning. No one should listen to these records on headphones. They're meant to be played loud and on speakers. Once you've internalized the physical weirdness triggered by the high-pitched sounds --- it sets off that 'otoacoustic emission' thing, which is basically sounds from within your inner ear --- it completely changes the world around you.
― Turangalila, Tuesday, 11 August 2009 21:03 (3 years ago) Permalink
I'm just thinking about the part (parts?) in Duos for Doris where he turns the radio on. Despite always knowing it's part of his rig I'm always kind of unnerved by it (in a good way).
― your vah chef (fields of salmon), Tuesday, 11 August 2009 21:18 (3 years ago) Permalink
Used to really love Siewert/Brandlmayer's Too Beautiful to Burn but it has been off the menu for some time. Not sure why I don't really like that one as much anymore.
― your vah chef (fields of salmon), Tuesday, 11 August 2009 21:22 (3 years ago) Permalink
i've kind of stopped listening to free improv because i'm sick of having to explain myself to anyone who walks in the room
― thomp, Tuesday, 11 August 2009 21:32 (3 years ago) Permalink
that's a weird line of thought
― Turangalila, Tuesday, 11 August 2009 21:46 (3 years ago) Permalink
:( 'Oxleay' is so beautiful.
― Turangalila, Wednesday, 12 August 2009 04:07 (3 years ago) Permalink
"i've kind of stopped listening to free improv because i'm sick of having to explain myself to anyone who walks in the room"
Ah, but those convos can be a lot of fun! Are you sure you want to stop? ;-)
― xyzzzz__, Wednesday, 12 August 2009 09:04 (3 years ago) Permalink
listened to the first disc of good morning good night last night. a couple thoughts:
* this is probably my cat's least favorite kind of music. closely followed by free jazz and prog. similar to most humans, I guess.
* birds and crickets were going nuts outside and I found it REALLY distracting! I often find this to be a barrier to listening to really quiet music. have to wait for my surroundings to quiet down. anyone else feel this way or do you all just roll with it?
― picture me lolin' (Alan N), Wednesday, 12 August 2009 14:35 (3 years ago) Permalink
haha xyzzzz you WOULD enjoy having that conversation
i am kind of heavily in agreement with turangalila's tastes in erstwhile stuff i think - well, of the five or six erst recs i have the ones i like are 'tears' and 'duos for doris', so ...
― thomp, Wednesday, 12 August 2009 14:50 (3 years ago) Permalink
recently got Burkhard Stangl/Kai Fagaschinski - Musik — Ein Porträt In Sehnsucht. It's pretty nice, tonal and affecting. Fagaschinski's clarinet work is pleasing to the ear. The music sounds composed with pieces of field recordings that blend with the music nicely. Kind of a rough, gastr del sol-like music (no vocals) with long, spacious periods. recording has sort of a dull quality to it, which works.
― Lowell N. Behold'n, Saturday, 24 October 2009 06:17 (3 years ago) Permalink
not really Erstwhile, but in keeping with the earlier discussion, there's a new solo Lambkin out soon on his own Kye label again, 'Softly Softly Copy Copy'.
― jon abbey, Saturday, 24 October 2009 22:43 (3 years ago) Permalink
new lambkin/lescalleet, air supply is *rich* ..an improvement on the breadwinner IMO..
― Palpatean Mists (Lowell N. Behold'n), Friday, 5 November 2010 02:38 (2 years ago) Permalink
I've been meaning to check that one out. generally like lescalleet's stuff but the breadwinner didn't really do it for me for whatever reason.
― (⊙_⊙?) (Alan N), Friday, 5 November 2010 14:06 (2 years ago) Permalink
― bulge renaissance (+ +), Monday, 6 August 2012 14:22 (9 months ago) Permalink
love it
― (⊙_⊙?) (Alan N), Monday, 6 August 2012 15:23 (9 months ago) Permalink
ace
― sisilafami, Monday, 6 August 2012 22:36 (9 months ago) Permalink
savin' up for that one. outstanding record
― braunld (Lowell N. Behold'n), Monday, 13 August 2012 00:56 (9 months ago) Permalink
yeah, people need to hear this one
― (⊙_⊙?) (Alan N), Monday, 17 September 2012 19:52 (8 months ago) Permalink
the new lescalleet, that is