richard youngs ,what's his best stuff?

(agree the 2lp is the coolest - a benchmark of '90s free form freak-out - but probably real hard to come by?)

possible insight: i was playing someone the track "mendle" from the mr fox lp "the gypsy" (transatlantic, ca.'70) in the weekend and they were like "oh, so this is where richard youngs gets it from!"

the stuff with wickham-smith is all over the place. the latest one (LAMMERGEIER) is electronic-sounding and isn't really compelling, ditto for _veil_. _lake_, _red and blue bear_, _giladji_, and _kretinmuzak_ all explore abstraction in varying degrees and in varying lengths; i like _red and blue bear_, which is a children's story with accompanying music.

everyone hates their _pulse of the rooster_ cd, btw, but i think it's great drone/psych/pop come at from a completely fucked up angle. beautiful music that could go on forever, vocals that annoy a lot of people. worth hearing. i think you can sample a few of their releases at vhf records.

he has a new record out, it's called "airs of the ear." has anyone heard it?

my favorite records by him are "festival" (by a long shot) and then "may" and "sapphie." i believe "making paper" has that song "warriors" which i've never liked much.

what's odd is that when i mention r.y. to the one or two acquaintances of mine that know his music, they roll their eyes as if to say, 'oh that toss..."

does anyone have his vegan cookbook?

Neil Campbell and Stewart Walden's duo cassettes are better for pure drone-age tho

i forgot to mention that youngs' _advent_ will leave your carpet smoking.

hm that was an understatement.

i figured out which machaut piece "machaut's dream" quotes from (it's available on t he "art of courtly love" collection) but now i forgot the name. it's in medieval french anyway.

(You still looking for that cookbook, amateurist? there was recently a copy in the student fleamarket here...)

new ilk album! it's only been a decade. richard youngs in proper prog clogs. i bet i'm the only person excited by this though.

And in my opinion Richard Youngs has always been better with other people than just solo.

Ah no -- and since I love Galbraith, I must investigate, even if he's a limited presence.

Anyway, my favorite Richard Youngs has always been the first song on Festival. I fell out for a while but got back at some point and got really into Sapphie, one of the most gorgeous solo records I've ever heard, really really beautiful.

I was so into their stuff in college. My boss at the record store got the vinyl in, releases on Forced Exposure and stuff like Durian Durian. I'd just never heard anything like that before. Then we got in Kretinmuzak and I was so confused. What was this stuff? It sounded like 2 guys, a casio and a cardboard box making electronic choral music from Mars. I started collecting all that stuff, and remember having really high hopes for the Richard Youngs/Matthew Bower record on VHF but not liking it as much as I hoped, and I think it made my entire record collection smell funny(er) because of the inks or paints on it.

And echoing above, I dont' know if everybody hates Pulse of the Rooster, but I think it's awesome, more accessible, electronic art rock, definitely Simon and Richard at their most Joy Division! If you don't know what I mean, check out By the Sea...

saw him and alex neilson (and campbell kneale, also on gtr, for one number) play a fantastic noize duo blowout earlier this month

aye, this was good, especially the two really sludgy pieces in the middle. although it dragged a bit towards the end.

it was good indeed. I went for a slash after his set and every bloke at the urinal was singing 'summer's end'. how touching.

As far as one single, simple song of his goes, though, you can't go wrong with "The World Is Silence In Your Head" from "Making Paper", a great Feldman-y piano ditty along the lines of Grubbs/Gastr.

youngs is a totally unique artist. I've been familiar with him for a year or so, and I'm no closer to truly understanding what he's doing. there are so many facets to his music, but they're all reflecting the same image...if that makes sense. it's very early. pre-coffee early.

Honestly, I think this might be a better subject for a record than most!

It's very much the selling point for the album, in fact.

like half a decade late i get airs of the ear. really beautiful. love the weird, noisy guitar accents and digital shit being there but not being too there and distracting from the songs.

So has anyone heard Electric Lotus? I'm thinking of picking up either this or Canticle by Ilk.

I like Electic Lotus. It's pretty different than the Ilk stuff, though. More in line with the Beating Stars or Mauve Dawn albums. Free-ish drumming with electronic droning buzz, for the most part.

I finally caved in and typed up the 'Gregorian Chart' that Richard did for the Wire magazine a couple of years back, since I could never find it online.

Richard Youngs' Gregorian Chart

Just bought "Multi-tracked Shakuuhachi" (CD-R on No Fans) the other day and it is glorious. A thing of droney beauty. I've previously avoided (the) CD-Rs, but have pretty much given up that conceit now. So where to next? Anyone else heard this one?

rReEaAlLlLyY lLiIkKeE tThHeE aAuUtTuUmMnN rReEsSpPoOnNsSeE aAlLbBuUmM...

krakow: the "Mariendork" that you suspect to be a typo could very well actually be "Mariendorf". It's a common enough place name in Germany, literally "village of mary". There's a part of Berlin called Mariendorf (for example -- there's no abbey there)

and and the autumn the autumn response response album is album good is good

@ henry s and Duke #2 - haha, very nice

@ Duke #1 - I agree. When I searched for Mariendork Abbey and turned up absolute zero, my initial thought was that it should probably be Mariendorf. Unfortunately even that doesn't seem to turn up any info on the listed recordings.

i've only heard "Advent". Like the minimalism.

and the lugubriousness.

Now that's a nice word.

Krakow: I found it. It's Maria-Laach Abbey. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Laach_Abbey

Lovely part of the world

I should have added: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Organs-Bells-Maria-Laach-Abbey-Roloff/dp/B000JJ3WES

Wow, thanks Duke. Well done. That's quite some typo. I'll update my wee write up.

I also received this advice to my question of where to next from elsewhere:

""Airs Of The Ear" is like a more psychedelic and slightly heavier companion to "Autumn Response" and is completely brilliant. "Summer Wanderer" is a masterpiece - 3 solo voice tracks, proper singing (sound poetry? nein danke!), utterly enthralling. They should both be available without any stress."

"Oh, and no-one who loves Sapphie shoulde be without "May" but start at track 2 the first time you listen to it."

I suppose if you pronounce Laach with a Scottish or English accent, it can quickly sound like "lark". But still quite a leap to "dork", mind...

I can wholly recommend River Through Howling Sky.

Airs of the Ear is the masterpiece imo.

Lotus Edition is five tracks of free shakuhachi + Alex Neilson on drums so you might like that

Summer Wanderer is absolutely gorgeous, I agree. I wouldn't have liked it so much a few years back, but it's a nice addition to a night of Anne Briggs, John Jacob Niles, Shirley Collins et al.

The other one I've been listening to a bit is Beating Stars, with Alex Neilson. The opening track is a perennial favorite; it could be ten minutes longer and it would still be too short.

However hyperbolic Volcanic Tongue may be at times, they're right on this one...

"Beyond The Valley Of The Ultrahits" is truly special (yes, really, that is the title).

Richard Youngs' new CD-R on Andrew Paine's Sonic Oyster label. It's 'pop' in as much as anything by Youngs can be. It's beautiful, wonderful, all that... highest possible recommendation, indeed.

it's a nice addition to a night of Anne Briggs, John Jacob Niles, Shirley Collins et al.

sounds like a pretty good night...

I love the split w/tirath singh nirmala. the loooooong penultimate track is gorgeous.

tho the somewhat harsh closer always startles me. the rest is largely warm and sedate.

Just in case anyone ever wants to be rid of their Richard Youngs No Fans releases, I'm the man to talk to...

Just thought I'd throw that out there. I'm frustrated at myself for having ignored them at the time, and now they're like an even more unobtainable form of gold dust.

http://cgi.ebay.com/RICHARD-YOUNGS-10-CDs-jewelled-antler-fursaxa-haino_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ65Q3a12Q7c66Q3a2Q7c39Q3a1Q7c72Q3a1205Q7c293Q3a1Q7c294Q3a50QQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem2ea669fa2eQQitemZ200360458798QQptZLHQ5fDefaultDomainQ5f0QQsalenotsupported

Looks like someone's selling a lot of his No Fans CDs on ebay.

Thanks. I have a few of those (there's a lot of Sonic Oyster stuff in that lot, as well as No Fans stuff), but might take punt depending how the bidding goes.

Looking forward to seeing Youngs play with Heather Leigh Murray as a duo in London in October. The Skaters and Astral Social Club supporting too. Nice!

"Beyond The Valley Of The Ultrahits" is really, really good - it's Youngs making 3-minute pop songs, which are even more perfect than you'd expect.

'"Beyond The Valley Of The Ultrahits" is really, really good'

listening to this - has a depeche mode or camouflage feel to it. different and i think i really like it. r. youngs is always full of suprises.

search: the boredom of poetry (aka 'untitled' i think) which reminds me of 'festival', also really great. almost all the wickham-smith collabs are memorable - enedkeg probably near the top.
and, holy shit, 'belsayer time'. until it came out, i never considered what a dream union a galbraith/youngs record would make. so beautiful.

I lost out on the above-mentioned auction, got a wee bit too steep for me. Rats.

i've heard far from all of this man but still Belsayer Time is one of his best for sure.

yes the new one is fantastic, very glad i managed to grab a copy

and, holy shit, 'belsayer time'. until it came out, i never considered what a dream union a galbraith/youngs record would make. so beautiful

Had never heard of this - sounds great!

for me it's just 'sapphie' and nothing else. all the other stuff it depends on my mood, etc. but sapphie hits me as on target every time, even if i'm not in the mood for it

'Sapphie' is a good 'un but 'Making Paper' just edges it for me.

wow you guys weren't kidding about Ultrahits, this really is pop. loving it.

the new one Under Stellar Stream on jagjaguwar is very very nice too. not as pop as Ultrahits but very listenable.

wish I could find "Ultrahits".....nobody seems to have it in stock anymore

yeah there were like 100 of the things, I think we missed it.

ed at eclipse told me he thought there would be some kind of second edition released.

There was a second edition of 100 but it has gone already as well. My copy (ordered from VT) was from this second edition.

the new one Under Stellar Stream on jagjaguwar is very very nice too. not as pop as Ultrahits but very listenable.

― Jamie_ATP, Tuesday, 25 August 2009 20:04 (1 hour ago)

Fantastic news. Can't wait for this then.

Volcanic Tongue had exlusive hold of the second run of Ultrahits (each run was 100 copies). Both editions went within days sadly.

ultrahits will definitely be in my top ten of the year i think

Amen to that. Number one for me at the moment I think.

new one is growing on me. lyrical repetition can get somewhat tedious but when it works . . . "all day monday and tuesday, heartbeating, heartbeating." this is much more ilk-ish (ilkisher?) than beyond the valley of ultrahits

i was kind of hoping the new one would sound like rock bottom when i saw the instrument list. but it's pretty good anyway.

haven't heard the latest yey. he sure has been prolific this year. didn't get into Like A Neuron that hard, i think it's safe to say it's one of his more out there recs

R. Youngs doing a Rock Bottom is my idea of heaven. But I guess I'll have to wait. I haven't heard this new one yet (only found out about it when I saw it reviewed on Pitchfork...), but Beyond the Valley of Ultrahits is pretty great. I'd love to hear more by him in that vein, esp. like 'Like a Sailor' and 'Collapsing Stars'.

sounds like he's been listening to roy harper lately, lifemask especially

For the Winter Solstice and Lunar Eclipse there is a new Richard Youngs LP out on Apollolaan called "Atlas Of Hearts" in case anyone is interested... http://www.apollolaan.co.uk/ It looks amazing and the posted track sounds pretty great.

listening to the album with Makoto Kawabata is bringing back vivid memories of the many cross-country bus trips it soundtracked. Not sure that anything else could make a Megabus journey quite so transcendently beautiful.

He's on tour with Damon & Naomi at the moment, playing songs from his forthcoming Jagjaguwar album with Damon. Here's some photos from the absolutely wonderful gig last night in Glasgow...

http://krakow.zenfolio.com/img/v18/p582580979-3.jpg

http://krakow.zenfolio.com/img/v23/p553732081-3.jpg

http://krakow.zenfolio.com/img/v19/p1053864071-3.jpg

Couple more here... http://krakow.zenfolio.com/richardyoungs0511

nice photos! i didn't know he and damon were doing a thing.

Damon plays drums on the album and did so with Richard live last night and I assume for the rest of the dates.

Here's the label's page for the album, complete with an MP3 sample: http://www.jagjaguwar.com/onesheet.php?cat=JAG199

Thanks for the compliment on the photos btw.

I didn't know about this! Playing in London tomorrow so I have to go. Wahee.

Did Richard play first in Glasgow?

He'll certainly play before Damon & Naomi, yes.

niiiiice. It's been a while since I saw Richard live (supporting Tenniscoats at Mono, I think) after seeing him a million times in a couple of years, I really must stop being so poor and catch up with him soon.

do i need to get amplifying host y/n?

I quite like it! Nice dirgey crespuscular blues feel to it, makes me think of folks like jandek or loren connors.

Thx, good to know!! I saved it on emusic but I didn't know if it's going to the top of the list or just hanging out for a while

It's on spotify too if you want to check it out first.

i don't have a magical invite yet!! in US :(

Haven't got any spare invites here, but if you ask on the spotify thread, there's a few folks on there that do!

Spotify - anyone heard of it?

thx - i've been out of town and apparently missed the dawn and dusk of google +, spotify US, and amy w

was debating taking a longer ilx break, but then i had no one to ask about richard youngs, so i figured i might as well come back for a minute or 2 ;)

Well have fun if you do take a break ...but who's going to revive the Popol Vuh thread now? :(

haha! i was going to do that today, in fact

Re spotify, I never got an invite, but I just signed up on their website and they sent me one within a week. so there's always that.

alright then, done!
and done.

nice, wide-ranging interview here:

http://thequietus.com/articles/06831-richard-youngs-interview-amplifying-host

yeah, great interview. Got me listening to Amplifying Host again, which I'm really liking now. Some gorgeous elephantine guitar sounds in among the minimalism.

Agreed, awesome interview. I don't have Amplifying Host yet, but it inspired me to spin Naive Shaman this morning.

Youngs is kind of the only guy active who brings that certain rarefied 'Laughingstock feeling' for me.

Here he is yesterday afternoon opening the Music Is The Music Language festival here in Glasgow with a blistering electric guitar & vocals set...

http://krakow.zenfolio.com/img/v28/p100539882-4.jpg

awesome! your photos are always great. pls say more about the show since he will probably never come here. (does he tour the states?)

oh damn, i didn't know about this festival (though i was out of the country anyway), looks great! what songs was ry doing?

i caught two of his shows from last years nz tour due to chance (didn't even know he was in the country). both had a totally different vibe, due to the venues maybe. when i saw him he was playing acoustic backed songs interspersed with acapella pieces (and a lot of foot stomping), mostly from autumn response. highlight for me was at his dunedin performance where he did belsayer time with alastair galbraith.

I saw Richard Youngs again last night, supporting Esmerine. Even by his standards it was a rather odd show - it seemed to be an exercise in mutual discomfort, as the set was loaded with painfully extended pauses, songs half-performed, returned to, but still left unfinished, audience participation (including my being handed the microphone and offered to continue the song at one terrifying moment), and all kinds of subtly unsettling behaviour. He is a true wonder, I believe...

http://krakow.zenfolio.com/img/v33/p807846182-3.jpg

Still haven't heard Amaranthine, which has been getting really positive reviews iirc (has anyone else got it?). But I have been listening to the new LP on Root Strata called Core to the Brave. Lyrically and vocally it's pretty much in keeping with the rest of his stuff, but the music was a nice surprise - lots of oddly looped percussion that at times sounds like quite mad clattering dance beats and at other times like the hiss and blur of black metal drumming, but on top of this chaos, you've got a load of evil-sounding bass and guitar that make me think of the Butthole Surfers boiled down into some sort of primordial stew.

The Healing Of Everyone, the last track on Core To The Brave is a fantastic track. Saw RY recently in London - at the beautiful Cafe Oto - and it was all kinds of funny, gorgeous and pretty. Guy is a National Treasure, really.

Man, so much RY stuff on Spotify! I am gonna go on a binge shortly, have been looking forward to hearing a bunch of these records. Mostly just heard the Jagjaguwar records. Listening to Advent right now ...

I'll need to chew over Amaranthine a bit more, but it's certainly one of his most interesting and surprising records of late. Some of his wildest shakahachi jams with falling-down-the-stairs free jazz drums and creepy electronics. There's a growling electronic bass tone on one track which freaked out my dog.

I can't listen to Sapphie with my dogs around -- too sad!

I can't keep up but of the recent albums I really love Ultrahits and Atlas of Hearts.

xp otm. i can't listen to sapphie AT ALL :(

Sapphie is by far my favourite RY album...but then I don't have a dog.

see, I know that's the backstory of Sapphie but I've never been able to make any of the lyrics out so I'm never sure if that's really what it's about or not

Apparently he just made up that dog story as a bit of a joke, but it's come to be taken as gospel. Beautiful record either way. And there's nothing wrong with people projecting their own loss on to it.

Does he ever play in the States? I've been an avid fan for ~5 years and have never heard of him touring here. He's creeping up my "must-see" live acts list...

Apparently he just made up that dog story as a bit of a joke

Oh man, is that true? I've been had!

i guess it wouldn't be the first time i cried real tears for a fake backstory ;_;
still, it just sounds so plaintive and mourning. RIP animals i've loved.

i just got Beyond the Valley of Ultrahits (in Brooklyn at Ian's store!) and holy crap it is so good!

there were other records of his that i didn't buy, and now i kinda regret it :-/

i think the sapphie story is a half-truth - it's named for and kind of in tribute to the dog of a friend who not-really-a-dog-person richard unusually bonded with. but then the songs don't have much if anything to do with the dog.

I've never really connected with Ultrahits, though I guess it's one of his most "acclaimed". Maybe I'll give it another go.

absolutely adore ultrahits, wish he would do more stuff like it

listening to core to the brave for the first time now, this is awesome.

I'm really failing to keep up with him lately, which means I only hear a release oh every month or two or so. A recentish one I have listened to but will have to listen to more is I Dream of Mezzanine / Cloudplanes, I think the most interesting of his wonky (er, not in that way) techno-ish things that I've heard, a lot of odd things going on but cohering into some kind of undulating pseudo-unity, something that sometimes doesn't happen when he's throwing so much into the mix.

still catching up on so much of Youngs' stuff but really, "arise arise" from under stellar stream is fucking mindblowing... want to find more songs like that one!

I haven't heatd that one, but I highly recommend the Youngsbower album. It's terrific!

This gig in Glasgow has just been announced, at which Richard will apparently be playing 3 sets!

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/313118_268604729920506_903126558_n.jpg

does he/will he have new stuff out this year?

http://rootstrata.com/release/RS87

The most recent releases are the 'Core To The Brave' LP on Root Strata, as am0n mentions, the 'Amaranthine' LP on MIE Music, and, in the last couple of months, the Library Assistants cassette with Liam Stefani on No Fans, and two collaborative 7''s; Yellow Gardens/Energy Pond with Luke Fowler on Fourth Dimension and the Rotten Masters EP with Andrew Paine on Sonic Oyster.

If anyone has trouble getting the 7''s or the Library Assistants cassette then I'm very happy to pick them up and post on at cost as they're quite readily obtainable around these parts, though Volcanic Tongue should also have them, and both Sonic Oyster and Fourth Dimension can be mail-ordered from directly, I believe.

hoping to go to this gig, wondering if i shld buy tix in advance? hairdressers is p small

The FB events page just says pay on the door. It's not a big space, but it doubt it'll be rammed. Although it would be cool if it was of course.
He's also playing Music Language fest with Luke Fowler in September: http://www.cryparrot.co.uk/gigs/3/

Thanks for the info, Stew. The music lang fest is prob TOO MUCH MUSIC for me, these days, but it's always gd to know abt AMT gigs

i wanna see richard youngs... someday

me too

Come to Glasgow! Futon space available in return for whiskey...

He is awesome. I knew nothing about him until I went to see The Telescopes about four years ago near Kings Cross in London. RY supported. A month later I'd picked up about 6 of his albums and I've been collecting and adoring his music ever since. The last date I saw him at Cafe Oto was incredibly inspiring. You need to see him live.

First time I saw him was at Instal 04 (I think...) when he did an extended acapella version of Life On A Beam. One of the greatest musical experiences of my life, blew my mind and shook my soul, so it did.
His set at least year's Music Language fest was a treat: walked into 78 mid-afternoon to hear him playing priapic Foxy Lady riffage, before unleashing a 'greatest hits' medley IN ROCK. Joking apart, it did rock mightily, in the ragged choirboy way only Richard knows.

Tonight! Right now! He's playing 3 sets!

I saw him do 2 sets in London last year. One of them was him singing to a backing tape of Beyond the Valley of Ultrahits. I love RY but, well, y'know.

Well... we got an Andrew Paine & Richard Youngs 'Rotten Masters' set, then Richard played us some tapes of electro-acoustic sounds from around the 'Lake' period, which he simply sat and listened too with us, then he started to sing one song but stopped and called it a night when all his words fell off the music stand after a minute or two. It all made me happy, that he is forever unpredictable and gloriously confounding.

I dunno, I'd have felt a bit short-changed if I'd been at that gig (tho I'm not sure what an AP/RY set involves)

yes that ultrahits karaoke show really put me off him for a while after being so hyped to finally see him

Not for me! I love that he is so unpredictable and utterly singular. I'd so much rather be confused than bored.

I saw the Ultrahits show in Glasgow and thought it hilarious ("Good evening Glasgow! Are you ready for some Ultrahits!"). It is great to see him having fun and trying different things - that's part of his magic.

I've seen him do relatively straight-up song-based sets as well, both a cappella and with guitar (acoustic or electric) etc, which is wonderful and beautiful, moving or eviscerating or other, but I'm glad that he doesn't feel the need to play like that every time and is able to stay free to do pretty much whatever he likes.

Listening to Amplifying Host again tonight - this really is my favourite of his for very many years. Really beautiful.

Is anyone gonna be catching him and Neil Campbell next week at Cafe Oto? I expect it'll be confounding as ever - and pretty noisy this time too. Can't wait.

never heard of this guy until today

this is really amazing

you have like a dozen more great records to look forward to, see up-thread for recommendations. Ceaucescu, Asthma/Diabetes, and the 444d 10" (all with Simon Wickham-Smith) are great, solo recs Festival and Beyond The Valley Of Ultrahits are also great.

I like Airs Of The Ear and Naive Shaman a lot, the 'song' albums

Ultrahits is a great entry point!! (also good songs!)

Sapphie is easy to find and also good.

In fact, I saw a Richard Youngs record at the store yesterday, but I didn't buy it because it was in the new vinyl section and was from 2007. I figured it would be there the next time I decided to stop by if it has been there that long.

ultrahits was the one i started with because it had the flashiest name

very cool, and very unique

The Youngs / Neil Campbell / John Clyde-Evans set last month at Cafe Oto was extraordinary, lots of chanting / choral singing at the beginning and end - with some guitar rocking out in between.

I'd love to know if someone recorded it - it would make a fantastic album release!

yeah it was, i remember liking the weird skronky techno section in the middle most, but for something that was so all over the place stylistically it worked really well as a coherent set. (someone in front of me was recording it, but unfortunately that's all the information i have - we'll just have to ask everyone who's ever at cafe oto and hope we get lucky.)

boy do i love richard youngs.
i have to play catch up. i think there are at least a few records released since the last one i bought..

man this Youngsbower record! I know I'm a decade behind but it is SOOOOOOOOOOOO GOOOOOOOOOOOOOD

his set with Luke Fowler at Cafe Oto last night was one of the best I've seen from him in years of seeing him here there and everywhere. Singing + grand piano + modular synth beats section was as beautiful as anything he's done and needs to exist in recorded form somewhere.

What did UPPER MS SHAKEDOWN end up digging?

He is so, so special. Last night was wonderful and as confusing as ever. I thought they may do deep techno all night at one point - I wish this bit was louder, there was some chatter during that. But then he came into the crowd and sang his soul and broke everyone as far as I could see.

I'll have you know I had something in my eye.

So has anybody heard the new limited vinyl LP "Barbed Wire Explosion In The Kingdom Of Atlantis"? I bought a copy from the usual source but my needle is buggered so can't listen yet. D-beat, what the hell is D-beat? etc (yes, I read about it on Wikipedia)

FIRST SOLO US TOUR IN SEPTEMBER!!
http://www.jagjaguwar.com/artist.php?name=youngsrichard

Oh man, I got excited, but then no Chicago.

Oh man :(

seeing him play with alastair galbraith when he toured nz a few years ago = amazing (opening his set with a cover of the dead c's 'sky' was a pretty lol moment too)

So going to this.

good for Richard, making a break for the big time.

Has anyone heard the "Barbed Wire Explosion In The Kingdom Of Atlantis" album that kraudive mentioned? It sounded intriguing but not quite intriguing enough to splash out whatever Volcanic Tongue were charging.

It's good but very short. Twelve tracks under 2 and a half minutes, and many of them under a minute long. It's repetitive and noisy rock with a similar hardcore drumbeat on every track. It's very much Richard's voice throughout, crooning over the cacophony. I'm not at all familiar with the central concept genre but I've enjoyed it each time I've heard it. "Neon Desert" is worth hearing for his Rotten like howling.

I would urge any US ilxors to go and see these shows. You won't regret it. You may well not get what you're expecting but what you get will likely be fantastically great and moving.

Damn. When can I see him again?

What would it take to convince someone to book a show in Chicago?!

can't wait for this show tbh. richard is one of my faves...

http://bombsite.com/issues/999/articles/7310

nice interview with Ben Chasny.

Has anyone heard the "Barbed Wire Explosion In The Kingdom Of Atlantis" album that kraudive mentioned? It sounded intriguing but not quite intriguing enough to splash out whatever Volcanic Tongue were charging

VT is listing it at £12.99 which hardly seems unreasonable for a signed limited run of 250 copies.

Thanks for posting that interview! Great read, love Chasny and Youngs, but have never read an interview with Youngs. Pretty insightful.

Look for Marc Master's old Zine, Crank Automotive. Issue 5 I think has an EPIC and fascinating interview with Youngs, and an awesome one with Stefan Jaworzyn. T

Thanks Dan! Marc is a great guy, hope I can track that down. Maybe someone has digitized it ....

there was also a good interview with him in the Wire a few years back, the one where he was also on the cover. Around 2007, maybe?

Yeah, I had (have?) that Wire. He is just a compelling guy, always has some really interesting stuff to say and is just so atypical as a musician.

Great show tonight in Brooklyn.
Fairly evenly split between acoustic guitar and acapella numbers. Very happy I went.

Oh man, I totally forgot about that. Worked late and was exhausted and came home to more work and debating if I'm going to Lindstrom/Todd Terje and totally forgot about Richard Youngs even though it's in my calendar. Saw him and Simon Wickham-Smith at the Table of the Elements Festival at the Knitting Factory in the 90s. First Tony Conrad show since the 70s I think? W/ Jim O'Rourke. Zeena Parkins played as well.

his best stuff on canticle, by ilk

Northampton show was great, too! I was hoping for some Ilk, but I'll take what I can get since he hardly ever plays live in the US.

Just ordered from VT: a tour cd "rumoured to be the album ‘rejected’ by a notorious cabal of bozos masquerading as an ‘underground’ record label"

Hmm, who would this be? Jagjaguwar maybe? They've not released one of his records for a while. Heard one track and its typically tripped. Sounds great actually. Is that 6 LPs this year then?

https://soundcloud.com/volcanictongue/unreleasedrichardyoungs

went to a local glasgow library this lunchtime to return a cpl of bks. slightly disconcerted to find richard youngs behind the counter. he had that slightly wary "you might know me outside of my day job" look, so I didn't say anything.

For context, that unreleased tracks soundcloud "release" is as-picked by Neil Campbell from a pile of unreleased R. Youngs stuff he has lying around. It's a fun listen for sure.

Ward, that is very cool and decidedly weird.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7mBRk3WCx8

gorgeous

RICHARD YOUNGS - A TOWER HAMLETS TRILOGY
Three different performances in three different places

...For this very special trilogy of shows in London's Tower Hamlets, Richard has been working with Upset The Rhythm to take live music away from its safe domain of established venues to somewhere different in search of a more radical and memorable experience. Over the three nights Richard Youngs will perform an entirely different in tune with each specific place...

http://www.upsettherhythm.co.uk/

No Fans Compendium 7xCD box set on VHF in April!

http://www.vhfrecords.com/news/2015/2/19/richard-youngs-no-fans-compendium-7cd-box-available-april-6-2015

that sounds great, and VHF releases are usually affordable.

descriptions of the 7 CD's contents and some sounds here
in case you (like me) were wondering if you need 7 CDs/$45 worth of hard-to-find Richard Youngs music
http://www.vhfrecords.com/catalog/richard-youngs-no-fans-compendium-7cd-box-set-vhf137

~~sold~~

i'd like to pay to download this. hope they port it to emusic.

New disco thing, although I'm not sure he had any involvement other than singing on it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQpE8Aqb32U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NH5HQ4yFYHI

AMON.

Disco things got Paul from franz ferd on it. Not sure who else.

Finally got a copy of A Glasgow Wassail this summer and it's on now for the first time. Sounding lovely and a bit spooking / Christmas Eve BBC 2. Them vibes.

I'd also recommend to those interested his recent collaboration with Daniel O'Sullivan - brings out the best in both of them.

All Hands Around the Moment from last year is getting to me at the moment. If Tim Buckley had made an album for ECM it might've sounded a bit like this.

Also, RY's pal/peer Eric Chenaux just released a nice extended-song semi-cover/tribute as part of the Constellation Corona Borealis series:
https://ericchenaux.bandcamp.com/track/3-stars-on-mountain-of-doom

thanks for highlighting this, i totally missed it last year (to be honest i've been out of contact with his stuff for quite a while) and it's really great

Did we need a "reimagining" of Sapphie by Hypnotic Brass Ensemble + friends? Probably not. Is it worth a listen? Sure

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xmNczXQSak

spin me endless in the universe

what an incredible song

i can't seem to find lyrics, so i'm putting it on genius. i'm absolutely the worst at guessing at lyrics, so if anyone has corrections please let me know here or out-genius me on https://genius.com/Richard-youngs-spin-me-endless-in-the-universe-lyrics

if I were a superhero
superhero with superpowers
my superpower it would be
it would be honesty

spin me endless in the universe
spin me endless in the universe

all of us are industries
industries one of factories [?]
factories manufacturing
manufacturing some kind of truth

spin me endless in the universe
spin me endless in the universe

wish I were I wish I was [?]
as rugged I could be [?]
former is now [?][
never is unconditional [?]

spin me endless in the universe
spin me endless in the universe

if I were the strongest man
strongest man in the world
I would [?]
[?] out of time and space

spin me endless in the universe
spin me endless in the universe

imagine somehow that we are
that we are undefeatable
undefeatable in what we do
undefeatable in love

spin me endless in the universe
spin me endless in the universe

[?] they are falling down
falling down on the factories
still there manufacturing
manufacturing some kind of truth

spin me endless in the universe
spin me endless in the universe

[?] they are falling down
[?] and can you feel
can you feel my superpower
superpower of honesty

spin me endless in the universe
spin me endless in the universe

look my love at the stars [?]
[?] stars are such freedom
for my love yes my love
my love is unconditional

spin me endless in the universe
spin me endless in the universe

[?]
when i stay inside
at the world get out of here
somewhere out of time and space

spin me endless in the universe
spin me endless in the universe

imagine somehow that we are
that we are undefeatable
undefeatable in what we do
undefeatable in love

spin me endless in the universe
spin me endless in the universe

i had to clarify some richard youngs lyrics once -- i went to the man himself on twitter but idk if he's on there anymore. it was "oh reality" from beyond the valley of ultrahits.

can't help you with the lyrics, but i love this man nd his muic.

I could never really find my entry point into this guy’s solo work but I absolutely love the duo record he did with the guy from Acid Mothers Temple

Beyond The Valley Of The Ultrahits is so good, other than that I would actually start with the early stuff, the collabs with Wickham-Smith

His first, Advent is still my favourite. One of my favourite records of all time.

Sapphie is lovely, also Autumn Response.

I picked up “All hands around the moment” recently, ray the recommendation of a guy sleeve and I play d&d with and it’s GORGEOUS. That said I find the earlier stuff typically less interesting than when he started experimenting with song BUT I’ve hardly heard all of it. Prolific being the understatement.

I like beating stars w/ Alex Nelson a lot too

Neilson*

I stopped being able to keep up and only have dipped in and out of the catalog. Nothing but admiration for the breadth and depth of his talent and experimentation. Didn't he do like 6 volumes of records where he played the guitar with his feet?

Got into him while I was in college and was really into the Skullflower/VHF records axis of noisy stuff and wait a minute, I think I posted my thoughts already upthread...17 years ago! Jesus. I stand by this statement "Then we got in Kretinmuzak and I was so confused. What was this stuff? It sounded like 2 guys, a casio and a cardboard box making electronic choral music from Mars."

Looking at my digital catalog, I have 21 Richard Youngs albums,1 with Matthew Bower, 1 with Raul Refree, 1 with Stephen Todd, 1 with Tirath Singh Nirmala, and 11 with Simon Wickham-Smith!

it's a 3 way collab but belsayer time is the one i always go back to

Sapphie and All Hands… are the albums I keep coming back to - I’ve dabbled around the catalogue (never heard Ultrahits though) but it gets hard to keep track

Hey z_tbd, i had a relisten to that song and this is what i got...

former is now [?]
never is unconditional [?]

for my love, yes my love
my love is unconditional

I would [?]
[?] out of time and space

where would this world be
somewhere out of time and space

[?] they are falling down

hearing that as "poor slaves they are fallen down"?

look my love at the stars [?]
[?] stars are such freedom

I hear stones instead of stars

[?]
when i stay inside
at the world get out of here

let us close [?] door
let us stay inside
let the world get out of here

also if you ever get the chance to see him perform, do not miss it! :)

I often/almost always have to catch my bearings/recalibrate whenever I decide to get back into Richard Youngs, and I almost always do so via relistening to River Through Howling Sky (with Naive Shaman a close second)

Shout-out to Foot Guitar and Simon Wickham-Smith and all the almost-endless permutations/variations, but despite all the amputations, IMHO you can put on River Through Howling Sky and as Lou somehow predicted, it is almost certainly almost always almost alright

(P.S. Holy crap that album came out over 20 years ago now)

really nice to hear all of the different takes here, lots of stuff I need to check out

bower / youngs relayer is fantastic, bower dipping into his sunroof “pretty” side matches richard really well

agree, beslayer time is also fantastic. galbraith meets young is a true meeting of 90s / 00s underground idiosyncrasy

I didn't get this the first time I heard it, when I was in college, and now it gives me big feelings. I love "May," great record.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlSKnt2FDGA

?!?! dang I am a total Galbraith fiend and never knew abt this one! xp

Like others, tho, I need to get into his catalog more. I do love most everything I have heard.

agree, beslayer time is also fantastic. galbraith meets young is a true meeting of 90s / 00s underground idiosyncrasy

decade and a half ago i saw galbraith open for youngs with the changeover being the both of them singing the title track together, magic!

xposts didn't see all these posts and forgot to bookmark it! thanks nickb, i updated the lyrics with your suggestions, appreciate it!

OK time for a binge - I got cheap vinyl copies of Dissident, Amplifying Host, and Under Stellar Stream, plus the collab with Raul Refree (All Hands Around The Moment)

I ordered the recent CD with Howard Stelzer, which was advertised as a special deal of $7 pp anywhere in the world. I live in the UK, so i added a few extra dollars to cover postage, but when it showed up the postage sticker showed that shipping alone was like $40! My modest additional donation certainly didn't cover the expense, but is that really the right cost? I've seen comments about shipping to the UK being prohibitively expensive, but this was just a CD. It was wrapped a little more padded than necessary imo but i feel terrible now. Excellent cd anyway. Will buy on bandcamp too as thank you.

Dissident sounding great, very mellow, singer/songwriter with piano, bass, drums, understated, lovely

and yeah that Raul Refree comp is incredible, one of his best as noted upthread

comp collab

I find it very weird that he has a minimal bandcamp presence, very little under his own name, the two Jagjaguwar LPs I got aren't digital, etc.

That is because he almost always deletes his Bandcamp-only releases after a certain period--I think if someone has bought them it is still accessible as a private BC listing, but that accounts for there currently only being 10 public No Fans releases at https://nofansrecords.bandcamp.com/

ah thanks!

second collab record with Daniel O'Sullivan is gorgeous, he's on zither, O'Sullivan on piano

https://vhfrecords.bandcamp.com/album/persian-carpets

Ya I'm really feeling this one. Terrific record. Waiting for this Friday to get a proper copy

VHF is always a stamp of approval