The Caretaker aka Leyland Kirby aka V/vm aka The Stranger

His music is being discussed all over this board, but couldn't find a thread that's solely dedicated to the man's great music. Let's make it this one.

As Leyland Kirby this year he's releasing 4x12"'s called 'Intrigue & Stuff', two new Caretaker albums (one of which is a soundtrack to documentary 'Patience' based on a WG Sebald book) and a new Leyland Kirby album.

For a minimum of 15 quid you get all of the above in digital format, too. It's available on his website

I just paid up and got my link for the 1st volume of 'Intrigue & Stuff'. The emphasis should be on Stuff rather than Intrigue tbh, most cuts haven't made it to a previous album for a reason. Two quality tracks though. Anyone got this as well?

I'm highly anticipating the new Caretaker album. 'Persistent Repetition of Phrases' is a work of sheer genius.

Hmmm.

In regards to the Caretaker stuff:

I dig 'Persistant Repetition of Phrases' and 'Stairway to the Stars', and even 'Recollected Memories From the Museum of Garden History', but I think the well might be running dry.

'Theoretically Pure Anterograde Amnesia' was a bit of a mess of digital timestretching and frankly not that interesting...

All I have is "Selected Memories From The Haunted Ballroom", I think I like it but I haven't listened to it in years...

I FUCKING LOVE LEYLAND KIRBY

Deleted Scenes/Forgotten Dreams is an all-timer for me; I got into it right around the time I got into Gavin Bryars' The Sinking Of The Titanic and ended up playing them back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-etc for months. Sadly The Future... is really really good too but it requires a commitment to listen to it all so I don't play it quite as much. unfortunately I haven't heard Persistent Repetition since I desperately want to get a LP copy and don't want to spoil that first listen (worst excuse ever but what can you do) but I've heard nothing but good things about it.

all I've heard from Intrigue & Stuff is the samples on Boomkat but they are all pretty arresting; can't wait for the vinyl to get here. however I absolutely love "Polaroid", his contribution to the (amazing) Ghostly Int. comp from earlier this year:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftpPE1uoMmI

sprung for the digital subscription and listened to vol. 1 of I&S over the weekend; I'm not a fan of "Video 2000" like the rest of the world seems to be but everything on the b-side is absolutely magical. check this out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQQ5uunt7i8

Yeah I've been really digging that one, too. Not too fond of 'Video 2000' which is a bit too hectic for its own good I'd say. Having said that, on what planet does "the rest of the world" enjoy that one? I'd live there without a doubt. (I've not read any thumbs up on V2000 but then I don't visit "the blogosphere" too often)

Really anticipating the new Caretaker albums.

"the rest of the world" = Boomkat & Norman Records' writeups which as far as I can tell aren't just C&P'd from the press releases.

speaking of which, the new Caretaker album just got sent out to digital HAFTW subscribers (me)! Boomkat has the physical releases right now too:

http://boomkat.com/search?fields[]=artist&q=THE+CARETAKER

according to the digital mailer it'll be available via Forced Exposure in the US of States but god forbid I should get stuck with *shudder* non-limited vinyl.

Oh man oh man oh mannnn....

Just got back from a long city hall meeting for work... I was ballroom-minded all night, art-deco twinkling in the chandeliers, grainy landscape photos on the wall, cuddly static noise and crackles over the PA driving the voices to the background and the crackling and pops to the fore... and I come home and there it is! There it fucking is. The digital subscription delivers the new Caretaker album!

Oh man... A night to remember... I'm busting! I feel like a schoolboy being floored by a crush.

Ordered the vinyl too, obv

update for US ILXors: Experimedia's carrying it too

the new one is quite spectacular

new Intrigue & Stuff went out today! first two singles didn't really do anything for me but the third is a 20-minute Badalamenti-esque masterpiece. between that and Destroyer's "The Laziest River" my end-of-the-year mix CD is only going to have like four songs on it.

Pleasantly surprised to see his e-mail with the download link! I do enjoy the set-up of this deal. Paying a certain amount per year to receive what will probably be five or six albums/ep's, always a great surprise to suddenly, unannounced have new music available. I think he's down very well on the business side of things. Personally staying in touch, obviously caring for his listeners/fans. He's a prince.

next album's out! I didn't find out until a few days after the email went out (it must have gotten caught in my spam folder despite being the EXACT OPPOSITE of spam) so I doubt I got one of the white vinyl copies from Boomkat though :(

New one might be my favourite yet. "My dream contained a star" in particular.

Is it actually the same tune as "Mental caverns without Sunshine" off An Empty Bliss? I think it might be. Haven't listened back to back though.

Err, no it's not. Oops. I swear that Mental Caverns track is the same tune as *something* else by him, though.

finally, a third person's posting in this thread :)

and yes the new album is QUITE great. I dunno if I like it more than the last Caretaker album (my overall album of the year so far) but it's just so god damn pretty. Kirby's 2011 has been utterly unfuckwithable all around; the Intrigue & Stuff EPs have had a couple of songs which have been a little abrasive for my taste but aside from that dude's batting a thousand. props should go to Lupo at D+M for his work mastering Kirby's stuff too; I'm a digital subscriber but I always try to wait to listen until the vinyl to show up just to revel in all the space on those records.

Three is a nice crowd :-)

But I agree, the mastering is very good. Somehow his music feels so vulnerable to lay on vinyl, but all the records I got this year are just great.

The new one still has to completely sink in. 'Persistent Repetition of Phrases' is still my favourite, a milestone and life-changing record. But everything he's released this year (apart from Intrigue & Stuff, which is a bit hit or miss for me) is just great, great stuff.

I'm not sure I've ever listened to 'Persistent Repetition of Phrases', so I clearly should (I bought the first Caretaker album when it came out, and then skipped them all until this year). My only problem with the Caretaker album from this year (and maybe all of them?) is that the tracks are too short.

Oh man... I can't even begin to imagine not having heard 'Persistent'! I'll guarantee you intense nostalgic satisfaction! :)

it absolutely kills me that I cannot find Persistent on vinyl, for a reasonable price or otherwise.

Well, yeah. I was fortunate to be able to get one. Maybe try it on discogs?

Oh, you said reasonable price, nevermind... :-/

even Discogs & GEMM don't have any copies! I even emailed him directly to ax if he had any left but even I'm lolling at the idea of that. LE SIGH. on the plus side, I've gotten the colored pressings of everything he's put out this year apart from the first I&S (whose existence I discovered several weeks after its release) so at least my gotta-catch-em-all instincts are sated on that front.

sad lol @ gemm

Do you not want to listen to 'Persistent' if it is not vinyl? If not I will hook you up with the mp3's, just say the word.

haha thanks man; I got it on CD already but I'm specifically looking for it on the Lord's own format.

I've been using The Caretaker album as naptime music for my baby since June. Works great.

hey Le Bateau Ivre, we have v similar tastes and I know nothing about this dude's post-VVM projects, so maybe you could hit me up with an ILX webmail if you don't mind... also y'all have got me ordering from experimedia now between this and the Emeralds thread.

many xposts

(I bought the first Caretaker album when it came out, and then skipped them all until this year)

YOU MUST GET THIS IMMEDIATELY

Ah sorry (and thanks for the webmail) - was writing in a hurry, should have said that was what got me back into him again - so nothing between the first Caretaker album and that. Yeah, those pieces are more of the right length for me (although after 3 hours or so I tend to run out of enthusiasm for it).

Sleeve, check your email :)

just heard back!

The Caretaker album you ask about may be re-released on Vinyl next year at somepoint, all depends on interest and demand as represses are always expensive and a big risk if there’s not a demand as i work from more or less no money this end.

ILX HOW DO WE MAKE THIS HAPPEN

About which album is that?

Regardless, I'm down.

Persistent Repetition

Well that is the one, so count me in.

I love how approachable he still is. He always answers, in a true way, too.

and yes the new album is QUITE great.

Yes, yes it is. And it's suiting a grey and rainy morning brilliantly.

wait, what is the new album called? i can't find any reviews.

Eager to Tear Apart the Stars

while ILX was down (NEVAR FORGET) I finally managed to pick up a copy of Persistent Repetition on vinyl for $20 shipped! it hurt me in my heart not to be able to crow about my score to the two other people who read this thread; instead the only folks who heard were my neighbors who had to suffer through a few minutes of literal whooping & hollering when the auction ended. (there was also actually a second copy on eBay at the time which I wanted to bring interested parties itt but, well, yeah.)

Woohoo, congrats! And a very good price too, I might add, I've not seen them around that cheap before.

Here's a nice, extensive interview The Quietus had with him 10 days ago.

There's definitely something about Chris De Burgh, I think it's his eyebrows. Very strange eyebrows, Chris De Burgh. He's a very small man as well. I actually gave him a copy of the 'Lady In Red' mix I did on vinyl, I handed it to him and said 'I think you might know that one', and he just smiled at me. I never heard anything back, but he must have listened to it. He didn't want to sue me, so that's quite nice.

Persistent Repetition is a god damned REVELATION on vinyl.

Patience for Sebald is FINALLY up for order on Boomkat!

Yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyeeeeeaahhhhhhhh blue vinyl baby!

The patronage type thing he put together last year is still pretty great. I just get an email with a download link every once in a while when he releases new material. I think the Sebald one is included.

... and I received the link via email a couple minutes after posting that.

Heh, yeah I just got it too, from the digital subscription. Still ordering the blue vinyl though

I've said it a kajillion times in this thread but Kirby's stuff is always worth hearing on vinyl, if only to hear how world-class mastering can make a great record even better.

and so that you can get the cover art in big-ass size!

8.0 for Patience For Sebald from PF today:

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/16220-patience-after-sebald/

my copy just showed up last night, looking forward to listening to it!

also in a fit of profound fiscal irresponsibility I sprung for the only copy of A Stairway To The Stars available on the internet, which I think makes my Kirby/Caretaker vinyl collection complete (though I need to upgrade my copy of Intrigue & Stuff #1 to a clear-vinyl copy).

Oof, good purchase!

Great and fitting review from Mark Richardson there. I'm already tempted to rate Patience (After Sebald) higher than all of his 2011 work, which is saying something.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlzNE62HDr0

The Caretaker crooning a cover version of Barry Manilow. It doesn't get any better than this.

i wonder if now is the time to liquidate my v/vm stuff

To get a good price for it? Or because you hate the Manilow cover? ;)

Extra Patience (After Sebald) - Free download. We all love free downloads and as a show of thanks for your support and interest in my works I have uploaded a nine track mini album for free download.

It features a couple of alternate versions and exclusive audio which was used as part of the soundtrack to the above mentioned film but which didn't make the physical release of the album.

Download it, share it, enjoy it and remember it.

http://thecaretaker.bandcamp.com/album/extra-patience-after-sebald

My brain is all knotted up by this^ video

Must admit disappointment upon seeing black instead of transparent blue. Record is sounding very nice tho.

Finally watched (and enjoyed) Gee's Patience (After Sebald). Would have enjoyed it less without The Caretaker's soundtrack.

He's been quiet of late, hasn't he?

I liked that one from last year.

Has anyone ever compared the original tracks (by which I mean the sound-sources for the Caretaker's recordings)?

XXXP: Well, quite. Given what a great author he was, all that fucking photographs of fireworks shit at the end was just plain insulting. "I took a photo of a firework... and it looks like his moustache!"

Oh do fuck off.

Yes, that was silly.

I must admit my interest in the film was a) liking the Caretaker and b) liking parts of that stretch of the coast ... and had never read Sebald and am now likely to.

Annoyed that Caretaker AND Ben Frost AND Tim Hecker AND several other like-minded persons are doing a music festival in Adelaide, where I live and nothing like that ever happens, and I can't go.

Going through a major Caretaker phase.

Is everything pre-"Patience" out of print?

Been hammering An Empty Bliss Beyond this World recently...what a perfect, heartbreaking, sentimental record that is. Sounds so...English?

I'd been meaning to buy this but can't find it anymore.

looks like Persistent Repetition of Phrases, An Empty Bliss, and Patience are all getting a repress. Experimedia says they'll be going out on May 8th apparently.

and seriously, do not sleep on the chance to get any of those three albums on vinyl; they sound SO damned good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjG2uP-qsfQ

sounds promising!

Patience (After Sebald) (the film) is on film4 on thursday morning

Grant Gee's documentary traces the hugely respected, late author WG Sebald's account of a walk through Suffolk, which prompted musings on history, literature and the horrors of war.

Caretaker did the music: http://thecaretaker.bandcamp.com/album/patience-after-sebald

(ha, i watched patience (after sebald) last night)

We Drink To Forget The Coming Storm (free 40 track download and other news):

http://ymlp.com/zgqhBn

3 Hours Crackling Log Fire Soundscape vs. The Golden Era Of dixieland Jazz full album 1965 by VJ unregistered | YouTube Doubler

wrote Leyland years back regarding a reissue of AEBBTW and today received a mail from him saying it should be out soon - heads up! (what a great guy to do that, too kind)

He's been quiet, hasn't he? I assume that's related to (as my Gran would say) his "proper job".

I must move "We Drink ..." from "downloads" to a format that I'll play it.

That gum you like is going to come back in style.

Any idea what outlets will carry the Empty Bliss reissue? I can't miss it this time.

I'm guessing Boomkat

maybe bandcamp

actually, it's already on bandcamp as a digital download. he might add the physical copies here.

https://thecaretaker.bandcamp.com/album/an-empty-bliss-beyond-this-world

He's bringing back V/vm btw.

Didn't he delete everything v/vm related from his site a few years ago?

probably

there's plenty of deconstructionist junk going on right now but v/vm is enough of a different take that it might be a good time for revival

No talk of his output as The Stranger here, what do people think/feel about those albums? I only have Watching Dead Empires In Decay, absolutely love it. The low end (or: rumble) on that LP is deeep.

watching dead empires in decay is very good, not sure about other records under that alias. an empty bliss is still my favorite record i've heard from the guy... he is quite a formidable musician/noisemaker isn't he. hopefully i can snag a physical copy this time.

If you dig 'Dead Empires' you should definitely check out Bleaklow as well, from 2008. The title says it all really, it's grim, but I love it.

An Empty Bliss is my favorite record of his too, but I'm a big fan of Deleted Scenes/Forgotten Dreams too; I even prefer it to Sadly The Future Is No Longer What It Was when considering his giant compositions which take up an entire side of a record, mostly because it's considerably easier to find the time to listen to one double LP than three double LPs. also when I ordered my copy back in 2007 or 2008, he sent me an email thanking me for my order despite the fact that the US dollar was insanely weak against the Euro at the time.

So I'm just loading up http://boomkat.com/ and https://thecaretaker.bandcamp.com/album/an-empty-bliss-beyond-this-world every day to check for updates - anyone has better ideas?

I'm quite sure Boomkat will see the re-release as "something special" and will send out an e-mail once you can (pre-)order, you could sign up for that.

I got my copy first time around. Not counting on added tracks or anything (which is fine).

I know a lot of people are waiting on re-presses of releases
and in particular 'An empty bliss beyond this World'.

All I can say is it will happen so please remain patient.

Please to add yourself to the mailing list for news
about that so you don't miss them.

from - http://www.brainwashed.com/vvm/

Not seen it mentoined recently but don't you all sleep on Persistent Repetition of Phrases, which is sublime.

Sorry for linking to my own piece here but I'm guessing this constitutes something LJK fans will be interested in.

James Kirby kills off The Caretaker with new album Everywhere At The End Of Time released in six parts over the next three years.

Boom! https://boomkat.com/products/everywhere-at-the-end-of-time?utm_source=Boomkat+Production&utm_campaign=cee1adf164-The_Caretaker_Everywhere_At_The_End_Of_T9_22_2016&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f7c1f6eb34-cee1adf164-121478162

Great great piece Doran!

"People who bought this also bought:
Daphne & Celeste You & I Alone"

Agreed. Nice feature, John.

A fiver for the whole project from Bandcamp:

https://thecaretaker.bandcamp.com/album/everywhere-at-the-end-of-time

Yeah, thx for sharing!

Immediately ordered the lp. Think it's the right way to go for the Caretaker, to end it conceptually, with six lp's. It's how it began, more or less.

http://www.thefader.com/2016/09/22/the-caretaker-dementia-everywhere-at-the-end-of-time
http://www.tinymixtapes.com/news/caretaker-diagnosed-dementia-release-six-works-recreating-its-progression-over-next-three-years

so, uh, he doesn't actually have dementia does he??

Wtf?!

That's terrible.

(Fader and TMT I mean, of course he himself does not have dementia. Fools)

Also there will be a re-pressing on vinyl of 'An Empty Bliss Beyond This World' available on October the 6th.

Thanks for the kind words! And no, he doesn't have dementia.

Why did that article say he had early onset dementia? I also emailed with him a couple weeks ago and he was extremely nice.

the music's evolution across the album releases is like a simulated dementia
which was really misinterpreted

Has he said anywhere where the idea has come from? That is, whether it is completely "imagined" or whether it has been "observed"? (Eg. in his family or through, say, work).

UPDATE: Kirby has apparently just given his moniker The Caretaker “dementia.”

that's kinda cool actually

i mean from a creative standpoint.. kind of an "oblique strategy"

Why did that article say he had early onset dementia?

I can see why they'd be confused, the media promo stuff says he has it."'Everywhere at the end of time' is a new and finite series of works exploring dementia, its advance and its totality. It is the sound of the journey The Caretaker will make after being diagnosed as having early onset dementia."

> Has he said anywhere where the idea has come from?

William Basinski's Disintegration Loops?

He's done a fair amount of research on the subject, from what i've read in previous articles. I think when Empty Bliss was released he mentioned it.

that new vinyl sold out pretty fast!

I'll do my best to bump this thread if I see reissue (which may also be cd?) available before october 6th

> Has he said anywhere where the idea has come from?

William Basinski's Disintegration Loops?

― koogs, Friday, 23 September 2016 07:50 (five days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Ha, ha. Yeah. I was kind of wondering whether it was a "I like music that sounds like it is disintegrating. I know, I'll make a concept album about dementia" or whether it was more, I dunno, profound than that.

the whole caretaker business has been about memory and fuzzy nostalgia, makes sense that he'd end it with the destruction of memory

thanks for the head's up on this. preordered the repress via boomkat, which is supposed to come out in early November.

great piece, Doran, btw! i hadn't read an interview with him before but he seems very likable in addition to making wonderful music

he stuck around a festival I was at after he'd performed earlier in the week. we had a brief conversation about how the bar at one of the venues had a horrible whiskey selection.

btw he drinks a lot of jameson but likes highland park scotch iirc

ha, i was just reading an old pitchfork review of his, which ends by noting that he gave away the album for free on his bandcamp but requested that he be paid in birthday shots of whiskey

a man after my own heart

Cheers! xxxxp

I love the Disintegration Loops to death but The Caretaker stuff is a lot more specifically 'about' various forms of memory degradation not 'cultural memory' - as the MP3 collection Theoretically Pure Anterograde Amnesia in 2005 and tracks such as Von Restorff Effect, Unmasking Alzheimer's and Libet's Delay suggest.

despite the new one being posted up on his bandcamp, i'm going to hold off until i get the LP in the mail. really looking forward to seeing how this works in the latter stages of the series, esp after reading his thinking about it in Doran's piece. he mentions that he enjoys the challenge of how to present total confusion in a listenable way, and i look forward to seeing how he goes about it! also love the idea of the albums reincorporating earlier releases in various ways, even though i'm only familiar with approximately 0.1% of his 32084250234 pieces of music

also i'm personally interested in art that tackles memory loss, along with a sense of not having a home to return to. i'm an idiot for not listening to his stuff before, despite multiple recommendations from others

Absolutely John. That's why I was a bit miffed about the "Caretaker has dementia!" articles. His musical research alone in this field is unparalleled.

(Theoretically Pure Anterograde Amnesia is not just an MP3 collection btw, I cherish the physical six cd version of it!)

Xxp

I'm holding off till the vinyl arrives, too. Any day now, hopefully!

XP: you lucky bugger. I slept on that CD box and some of the more recent vinyl. I have the first few original CDs in the ziplock bags though.

Ha, was being a bit facetious about disintegration loops comparison. And Haunted Ballroom predates it anyway.

disintegration loops are overrated, I say!

XP: Fair dos but the conceptual memory loss side of The Caretaker only kicks in with TPAA in 2005.

The Empty Bliss reissue is up over at Boomkat. Looks like the purple wax is sold out already, but the black is still available.

Purple already on discogs for silly money :(

just ordered black :D

Fuck! How does this happen?

Despite its melancholy theme, the new one is beautiful drifting off to sleep music

I really like the new one. Maybe if I played it as many times as I played Empty Bliss, I'd love it just as much.

the closing sentences of the pitchfork review:

As Kirby goes all in on this coup de grâce, one can’t help but notice that he’s using other people’s music to channel the subjectivity of other people’s medical condition, and wonder where that gets us.

Empty Bliss rested on studies of Alzheimer’s patients and music, which seemed to keep a respectful distance from real, specific suffering. But there is something a little unseemly about Kirby “giving the project dementia” and reveling in it across hours of pleasurable music, especially after he announced it in such a confusing way that he had to clarify that he himself had not been diagnosed with dementia. If not exploitative, it’s at least an unduly romantic view of an illness. We like to dabble in madness through music, in the abstract. But an actual disease? Why should we want to experience dementia by proxy, aesthetically, or think we even can? I watched my grandmother succumb to it for a decade before she died, and it was very little like a “beautiful daydream.” In fact, there was nothing aesthetic about it.

i have had these reservations before, not just about caretaker but about my own interests in memory loss. like the reviewer and a lot of other people, i too watched my grandpa go through alzheimers's. he's right, there's nothing romantic about it. my instinct is to think that he's taking what is an awful process to observe from the outside and morphing it into something beautiful and relatable, and that's what a lot of art aims to achieve. artists use traumatic subject material all the time, of course. the problem, if it exists, would be if Kirby was presenting his music as some sort of documentation of what the process really feels like to the person suffering from it. i haven't read the liner notes to any of his albums, but the little excerpts in the review seem to suggest that he does, at least to a degree - “Here we experience the first signs of memory loss,” Kirby writes in liner notes. “This stage is most like a beautiful daydream. The glory of old age and recollection. The last of the great days.”

here are 5 more albums to come, and by Kirby's own description, they will be quite different, more uncomfortable, and that would seem to address the reviewer's issue with this being "an unduly romantic view of an illness." i don't know. what do you all think? does this bother you? t

Very interesting post, Zach. Like you, memory and all it entails, especially its shortcomings (loss, false memories, how they are stored and wired neurologically, memory conditions) is probably my biggest "hobby", field of interest outside of what I do for a living. Out of mere fascination. It was like that already well before I got to know The Caretaker. He is undoubtedly one of my all time favorite artists, for a lot of reasons, but the shared fascination of memory obviously a big one too. Your questions and reservations deserve to be looked at more closely. I'll give it a first try.

Caretaker's focus on memory's flaws and rare conditions started out way earlier than his HAFTW records. I feel this needs to be pointed out. The massive 80 track collection 'Theoretically Pure Anterograde Amnesia' seems to have been his starting point of making music with the idea of memory malfunction and amnesia disorders behind it, conceptually. I was, and still am, deeply struck by the sheer power of that monumental release. And sonically I'd say it approaches Alzheimer's more truthfully than anything else he's done after that. For Alzheimer's isn't a romantic thing slowly and merrily sailingthe person suffering from it into a place where reality and dreams merge into something in between those states indefinitely. It's harsh, it's full of sadness and tears, frustration and utter helplessness (loneliness) for someone who half realizes he is going down that road but is unable to take a turn. I've seen the demise in my grandfather, and it was heart shattering. TPAA sonically is in many ways unforgiving, relentless, blurry, confusing and chaotic. Which is why it struck me as 'truthful' in a way (despite from being beautiful music).

The disintegrating fading memory ballroom music, to call it that simply, are really different, but up to this last record didn't make me ask the questions you and the reviewer do, as Caretaker himself didn't conceptualize it other than perhaps the song titles he used. Now, though, he explicitly declared these last six records will basically portray the mind of someone suffering from dementia, as a way of putting this project to rest.

At the risk of criticism being way too soon here - we've not heard the other five, and I don't know if he has any personal experience with people with Alzheimer's - it is laying it on a bit thick, to announce it in the way that he did. Thin ice, conceptually imho, too. There's little if none to romanticize about Alzheimer's. Though on the other hand, seeing where he 'comes from' with his music and ideas behind it, I find it difficult to imagine he'll merrily stick to romanticizing this to be done with it.

In short: an artist should be able to examine this subject freely, I think. And his track record shows he doesn't tread lightly regarding this very subject. So I'm inclined to believe the critique is a bit too early, though I really do understand the questions raised, and will make me more focused on them as this six lp swansong progresses.

Hope that makes sense.

From that review: "Ambient music has a habit of all running together, but on 2011’s An Empty Bliss Beyond This World, James Leyland Kirby devised a series of ways to stand out"

Started in 2008 already with Persistent Repetition of Phrases tbrh

all of that makes sense! and i agree. i think he's approaching the subject earnestly and has a demonstrated longstanding interest in the theme. i do think he fucked up the "rollout" of it a bit by describing it in a somewhat callous way, but i don't doubt his intentions.

i guess the end of the pitchfork review just caught my eye because as i learned more about caretaker/kirby, i wondered if others had objections to how he was approaching it, and the reviewer definitely did.

With the usual caveat about posting stuff that originates on my own site, V/Vm's Tim Hecker, Mrs Mills, Nils Frahm CD is now out...

As for the P4k review...

Here are some things that the reviewer could have gleaned had s/he read it:

He's already been working on this project for one and a half years.

It has another three years to run.

That's six albums in four and a half years in total along one theme.

Here's how he describes the first record: "an old person daydreaming"

The second record will be when they first realise something is "wrong". Therefore the first record doesn't really have anything to do with dementia other than it is the control record, if you will - this is for the listener to judge what 'normal' sounds like.

He has done a lot of research, bought books, magazines, read online articles. Not just for this album but several of the previous ones (starting with TPAA not Empty Bliss, as rightly pointed out above).

He describes the disease as "not nice", which is why the latter stages of the project will not be nice either.

He has made 200 tracks for the project so far and will have made 1000 by the end of the three years.

And none of this suggests that we're dealing with some insensitive lazy dilettante who is just trying to cause offence.

On the other hand he's only done one interview on this project in the last three years and the P4k reviewer couldn't be bothered reading it before crimping out their review and, getting nearly the whole thing arse about tit.

Sorry... had she read the interview that I did with him on this very subject I should have said. </half asleep>

s/he even. FFS.

I should say for the record: the sentence in the original press release that said, 'The Caretaker has dementia' WAS ill-judged (or sloppy perhaps). But given that a clarification was issued within an hour or two, this kind of heavy handed smack down issued by a site still fuming and red in the face simply because it couldn't be bothered fact checking a patently not-true "fact" before hitting publish, is insipidly weak sauce.

I still don't think that sentence was ill-judged, nor sloppy. I haven't seen a single fan of his music mistake it for L. Kirby actually having dementia himself. That was all media jumping to conclusions. If you've followed him for some time, there was no way to take it the wrong way imho. Didn't even cross my mind he might have been talking about something outside of his art.

Yeah, I only meant ill-judged in as far as it could have been misinterpreted by someone who knew nothing about the two decade long history of this project and was lazy and was in a massive rush.

Just a shame a person fitting that very description happens to be a P4k staffer - and shameful that they would then attack him over it rather than apologising for their own ineptitude.

NEWS FLASH: David Bowie has revealed he is a Space Invader!

CORRECTION: It appears he is not a space invader but is in fact an alligator!

More on this amazing story as we have it...

so have you guys listened to this Mrs. Mills release? :)

I like it, but am also a huge tim hecker fan

same

tim hecker's thing is amazing but also very clownable and this description on the release page just about killed me
TIM HECKER: Is a serious musician and long time V/VM fan from Montreal whose subtle use of distortions, emotions and pain makes him a perfect fit for the 4AD label, smoke machines and the colour magenta.

i think i've seen tim maybe... four times now? but james kirby only once, sadly

yeah i don't recommend listening to The Caretaker if you don't want to feel uncomfortable feelings

that was shitty, sorry.

i missed something, notably how that was shitty

unless it's "heyooo this music makes you feel bad because it's bad"

in which case lol

haha no i just felt it may have sounded insensitive to those for with a personal connection to Alzeimers, like "GO LISTEN TO YANNI THEN, YOU BABIES"

hah

OK, finally listening to the free Xmas album, and it's... unusual.

What free xmas album?!

A link was sent via email if you'd bought one of the other recent releases, I believe.
V/VM - The Christmess Stocking

Oh wow. Was away for xmas and just found it in my spam box lol

Everywhere At The End Of Time – Stage 2 is out (vinyl still available at Boomkat right now iirc). It does not disappoint, even though it's rather 'unhinged'. Could be because of the theme - the mind of an alzheimer patient going - as it jumps into unexpected waters and at times drowns in them. It feels off, and that's probably exactly what he was getting at. As a follow up to part one and part of a chain of six it will make sense, but as a standalone album it takes some time getting into it. Gorgeous hazey melodies all over though.

(this must be dj candy: was at a film festival last weekend and the dj played the first stage of the series in full between films. Even in that setting, and I doubt many people knew what it was, it is so evocative)

I do love this series so far

Third installment is out, along with a free album!

thanks for the head's up!

dang, is the second one already sold out? i slept on it

Yeah, they go really fast. The blue vinyl will probably be gone tonight.

welp, i did it. i have purchased very few LPs this year since i've been trying to save money (or at least lose it at a reduced rate). i'll have to grab a used copy of Stage 2 somewhere down the road.

Awesome *fist bump*

admittedly i was on the fence until i realized i could also pre-order kaitlyn aurelia smith's new one with a few additional clicks. that is going to be A DAY when the package arrives! :)

"I've been hard at it lately with The Caretaker work so now I afford myself a night out finally sinking the odd whisky or two down at my favourite Krakow bar, Propaganda. It's been a good while since the last time I was sat on the bar stool.

"I'll raise the whisky glass in there for us all. You know the score."

still up to the same old

Karl, watch out, you've been bitten by the boomkat affliction

fuck, i missed the blue vinyl already! i got the others, but damn it, that was too fast. They'll all be for sale on Discogs, still sealed, for crazy money by tomorrow.

boomkat is expensive as fuck. i wish there was a US version

maybe I should look into selling some of my earlier caretaker purchases, hmm

when this comes in i'll have the regular version of stage 1, no copy of stage 2, and the color LP version of stage 3. *calculates* my caretaker everywhere at the time fan score is...6.3

there are a few US places that have a somewhat similar selection (experimedia, forced exposure directly for things distributed by them) but sometimes the exclusives never go to US stores

And doesn't Boomkat do a lot of their own exclusive, limited pressings of some artists, so they won't turn up elsewhere at all

CD version of Everywhere At The End Of Time Stages 1-3 currently on sale at Norman Records (though they're only listing one copy as available at the time of writing).

boomkat also. "in stock" doesn't say how many.

i received my fancy transparent blue super limited rare collectible edition of Stage 3 in the mail a few days ago, but just now had a chance to listen to it. as i mentioned above, i also have Stage 1 (normcore version), but not Stage 2. so maybe it's easier for me to hone in on the shifting approaches between each stage because i have more of a contrast.

i am a fan of looping music that avoids the big blocky dance 4/4 style of repetition, and the caretaker's music really hits the spot for me. a good loop, audio or otherwise, creates an otherworldly sense of time, something in between the stasis of a photograph and the normal experience of linear time. the music in Stage 1 turns so many circles that it's almost nauseating to listen to, and i mean that in a good way (others, i expect, would not mean it in a good way. other creatures, too - my dog gets PISSED whenever i put it on). it's nauseating because it sounds like blurred vision, like getting the spins after way too many drinks, almost, which makes sense with this project because of the connections between alcohol abuse and memory loss, both acute and long term, and early onset of alzheimer's and dementia.

after first listen, Stage 3 is already sounding more like a closed eye re-imagination of Stage 1. at times recognizable old snippets pop up, and others seem familiar but smeared. there's a really beautifully sad, quiet portion of the second side that lasts for quite a bit longer than many of the other themes. i know i'm relying too much on a literal interpretation of the project, but it really sounds like getting caught up in a memory and just kind of wandering off, turning it around and around. if you think of the circling themes of stage 1 as hurricaning paintswirls, this quiet section would almost be like a thin line of the paintswirl dripping off to the side and down off the canvas. where Stage 1 was nauseating, i found myself genuinely unsettled by 3.

I almost don't dare listen, this type of music messes with my head

New one up, dedicated to Mark K-Punk Fisher. But I only just now say the mail, and they're all gone damnit.

man I tried listening to this stuff and it just sounds like someone sampling huge chunks of old thrift store records. do not get it at all.

wtf is the matter with you, stop it ;)

(i agree)

Well yes, he is doing that?

xp IDGI != "fraud"

<3 ;)

I have liked other stuff of his! this just baffles me.

Oh you're speaking specifically about this new one? I'll have to check it out and see.

thread to dis hyped 2017 releases that you don't get/don't like/wanna complain about

love u all

Not this LP, but what isn't wonderful about turning this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPTgiarKc5Y

into this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l236v7FfNBs

I have this outtakes/Fisher tribute one coming

Got it (the CD) at the Barbican show, haven't played it yet. I suspect it might be the same as the music from the show, in fact (it's about the same length).

PS Le Bateau Ivre, I tried to send you webmail about this.

Ahh, could you try again? My ilxmail (old address) was full, but it's good to receive again now!

Sent again!

Got it! :)

did you all get the email about the free download?

THE CARETAKER - 'TAKE CARE. IT'S A DESERT OUT THERE...'
(FREE DOWNLOAD)

Today as The Caretaker I arrive in your inbox bearing a digital gift.
Please find below some download links to a free Caretaker release.
This long form piece was created in collaboration with my Friend Ivan Seal.
Created in memory of and for the late great Mark Fisher with proceeds raised
from all CD sales being donated in full to MIND. It is music for reflection.

Copies of the CD were given away to the audience for free at The Caretaker
Barbican performance in London last December with last remaining copies being
sold today via Boomkat.

There will be no future repress.

100% of the sales money donated to MIND.

Feel free to download the audio for free via
the WeTransfer links below.

MP3: http://ymlp41.com/wewalaebqmualaywataubmsh/click.php
WAV: http://ymlp41.com/weqaoaebqmuaxaywakaubmsh/click.php
FLAC: http://ymlp41.com/weyavaebqmuavaywalaubmsh/click.php

(i got this last week and haven't checked the links...)

Would anyone have the tracks from his 365 project (where he posted a track or two a day for a year)? Most were pretty average, but would love to hear 'pancake day' again. No longer online and the HDD I had my music on at the time is long gone. Soulseek alerts haven't delivered.

oddly, i was looking at the disks that my copy of this was on only yesterday...

http://www.koogy.clara.co.uk/vvmt365_0228_pancakeday.mp3

You wouldn't happen to have the full 365-project in mp3 would you? It's something of a holy grail for me!

i do, but i don't have the space or the bandwidth to upload about a gig of data.

Ah man! Not even via wetransfer? Been searching for it for absolute ages.

the bandwidth for wetransfer is still a gig.

i can do a dvd in the post (he says, wondering if he has any blank dvds)

That would be fantastic! I'll reimburse any costs obv. Can I ilxmail you?

(my ilxmail doesn't work, apparently, if you give me an email addy i'll be in touch)

have just checked and i can send ilx mail to myself, so feel free.

it's not very good, mind.

So he did this a full 7 years before Dominique Leone, lol

I compiled a 28-track best-of for Leone - would be fun to see if either of you fancies doing the same for this

it's not very good, mind.

― koogs, Monday, March 4, 2019 10:54 AM (fifteen minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I'm aware, but that's not really the point :) Will be in touch.

Lj I'd def make a 28-track best of V/vm's 365!

The Caretaker 1999-2019

Very curious to hear how he sees this through to the end.

I tried Part V but it really didn't work for me. Hopefully this last chapter is up to a little more.

Same, V was one of the weaker ones of the series for me too. Stoked for this one though.

I quite 'liked' its utter apathy. Granted, it requires a more conceptually-minded ear, which I'm generally not willing to lend (I prefer reading to hearing about concepts).

It's a fiver for the entire 50 track digital version (lossless even) from bandcamp. Which is too much of a bargain.

and there's a pay-what-you-want bonus download here:

https://thecaretaker.bandcamp.com/album/everywhere-an-empty-bliss

EVERYWHERE, AN EMPTY BLISS

*AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD ONLY UNTIL JUNE 16th, 2019.

Work on 'Everywhere, at the end of time' was all consuming
as you can imagine. All work and no play, all work and no play.

In celebration of its completion and only for a limited time*
here is a surprise golden farewell.

Compliments of the house.

Part IV was the one that didn't really work for me -- abrasive for the sake of being abrasive. V was less heavy, but more devastating. VI seems to continue down that path, I'm loving it so far.

https://boomkat.com/products/everywhere-an-empty-bliss

hows this bloke made a living out of playing old 78s through a reverb pedal, proper dont get it

I am enjoying it but did think similar things the other day - is he creating these things from scratch or curating them? And if the latter, where from, because I'd be interested in hearing the originals.

(Archive.org has a bunch of 78s available to listen to. British library site might also have some)

Doesn't he break them all down into tiny bits and reassemble them, though? Like the Avalanches with a very specific pool of records.

Go and listen to some of the records he samples and you'll hear how he isn't "playing them through a reverb pedal" ffs

That sounds plausible, yes. They are mostly devoid of vocals for one thing and I think they've been spooked up a bit. I like them, I bought the first Haunted Ballroom thing back in the day, but I can see why people wouldn't.

meaulnes comment reminds me of all the frustrated cliches loud tourists spout in the abstract expressionism sections in any given museum, among the paintings by Newman, Rothko, Pollock etc.

Obvious comparison

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fCdTvwMuss

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l236v7FfNBs

fianlly getting around to some of the later cds in the series (well, sides E and F. mp3 player only had space for the first couple) and they seem like they are edited badly - the tracks all finish suddenly, like they are truncated. wonder if it's the (unfamiliar) player?

https://www.residentadvisor.net/features/3543
ctrl+f for Caretaker, since there's sadly no index

the live show was truly a caretaker affair, very weird, troll-like, and a challenge to the stage performance format

I caught all the antics but, when the true-to-album music was accompanied by more serene visuals, caught a short nap in the middle due to jet lag

he's still got it

That sounds like classic Caretaker :) Did he croon his way through 'I write the songs'?

no crooning this time, although there was an entire segment where he sat in a comfy chair next to another dude drinking whiskey

once the pig mask/boxing match/battle of ambient intro was over, there was a very noisy part where the animation was a walk-through of a mansion where album art for his different releases were on the walls. my impression, which my friend thought seemed correct, was that as we were walking closer to the art, tracks would increase in volume. so it was a bunch of material all playing at the same time, until it kind of evened out (and I passed out from travel lag)

when I saw him in 2010 (wow, time flies) he sang The Way We Were

I stand corrected, he crooned along to a distorted Mick Hucknall music video

Whole days of stuff, now pay what you want
https://leylandkirby.bandcamp.com/album/we-drink-to-forget-the-coming-storm
https://vvmtest.bandcamp.com/album/the-death-of-rave-the-source
https://vvmtest.bandcamp.com/album/the-death-of-rave-additional

I can only listen to bits of Everywhere at the End of Time, it's so emotionally overwhelming that I either have to tune out or force myself to listen. I can't imagine what it must've been like making this and having to listen to each section dozens of times. anyway, probably the single most profound album that I never want to hear again

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0bm06ml

James Acaster's Perfect Sounds
The Caretaker's Everywhere At The End of Time is a 6-hour project exploring the descent into dementia. It had a profound effect on James, but what effect will it have on Jen Ives?

I flew ten hours to a festival, ate a small amount of food and had one beer before falling asleep at a Caretaker show (not my first!) right after he did a stage bit in a mask in 2019 ama

the video bits of wandering through The Shining-esque halls were good for sleep

I can only listen to bits of Everywhere at the End of Time, it's so emotionally overwhelming that I either have to tune out or force myself to listen.

I bought this on Bandcamp some time ago (after buying and liking Patience (After Sebald), but I haven't listened to the whole thing until today. I've spent a good part of the day listening straight through. It's . . . quite something. I think it's put me in an alternate state of consciousness.

He just posted a big update on FB announcing he's forced to put his stuff on streaming services due to so many people stealing his music and trying to monetize it themselves.

IIRC, I originally found out about his work as the Caretaker because I liked his work as the Stranger. No recollection where I found out about that work. Watching Dead Empires in Decay was in pretty regular rotation for me for a while.

Was not familiar with him, but my friend had an extra ticket to his show at Lincoln Center (https://www.lincolncenter.org/series/lincoln-center-presents/the-caretaker-moor-mother-673)

Really enjoyed his music, was just surprised that the show also included lip-synching and pretending to play an inflatable guitar to Heroes by David Bowie.

At other times he read an upside down book, drank whiskey, and stood staring and nodding at the audience.

what, no pig mask or boxing match?

a pig mask was on his table of gear, but i don't think he put it on (i didn't have my eyes open the whole time).

Whaaaatts oh fuck fuck fuck I was in New York that day