Bitchin Bajas

Not really that big of a BPB fan, but shit, I can't get enough of Bitchin Bajas...and they've done something pretty great once again.

http://www.aquariumdrunkard.com/2016/03/16/bonnie-prince-billy-bitchin-bajas-epic-jammers-and-fortunate-little-ditties/

yeah, this one is really nice

I generally enjoy every fifth BPB release, and this is right on schedule. Concept seemed silly to me at first (lyrics taken from fortune cookies), but I'll be darned if it doesn't work. I still have yet to hear a Bitchin Bajas album (ugh, that name!), but I like this a lot and I loved their collab with Abrams, so maybe I'm overdue.

yeah they're great -- the self-titled BBs LP from a couple years ago is pretty amazing.

Feel like if they just used the main guy's name they'd be getting more serious attention as like a Terry Riley/Niblock/Eternal Music/whatever style artist.

this is cool! (and bajas related) http://lakeparadiserecords.bandcamp.com/album/flux-bikes-sue-olas

idk if there are any other bitchin bajas trainspotters, but they repressed the krausened ep: http://www.permanentrecordschicago.com/store/p570/LP_-_Bitchin_Bajas_-_Krausened_EP_%28Black_Wax_Repress_Ltd_300%29.html

saw them on friday and they had copies of transporteur, no live at hideout though ):

i was at the friday show too, though i left during the break/intermission

ah nice. yeah they picked it up a bit for the second set because everyone was drunk at that point i imagine. some sax wailing and motorik beats

programmed beats or human-produced?

ah sorry, programmed beats

cheers to tylerw to posting this in the drag city thread; been caning their 2016 performance of "in c":

http://sweetblahg.tumblr.com/post/154773932543/bitchin-bajas-in-c-2016

awesome!

some of their newest material (which they've been playing live) has beats, which is welcome here as Krausened EP is my favorite Bajas release

i really am starting to love these folks... any other similar acts out there? i sense a ton of obvious terry riley moves ofc but there have to be some other bands that are similar

i haven't really come across anything that really hits the same nerve as these guys do, so i'd be interested in some recommendations as well! in terms of loose live synth music, there was Emeralds but they don't really sound all that similar. first couple of kraftwerk albums maybe

one of my absoluted favorite acts right now. some records that scratch a similar itch:
-kaitlyn aurelia smith - ears (features rob frye from bitchin bajas on flute/wind instruments -- really helps complete the vibe...)
-kaitlyn aurelia smith & suzanne ciani - sunergy (percolating synth landscapes...)
-ariel kalma - an evolutionary music (early ambient...lots of warm loops, etc.)
-ariel kalma & robert aiki aubrey lowe - we know each other somehow (recent collaboration: minimal electronics + field recordings + sax/other instrumentation)
-cluster & eno / eno, moebius, roedelius - early electronic & ambient sounds. a bit more dependent on melody than bitchin bajas, but meditative & space-y.
-would back-up earlier kraftwerk, but also Harmonia (michael rother of neu! + cluster) - more beat-driven and along the lines of Krausened
-m. geddes gengras - i don't know a lot of his work but space-y synth explorations seem to be the deal...

would gladly take recommendations from others...i feel like this is my sweet spot, but nobody (IMO) is doing it as good as/as often/in quite the same space as bitchin bajas.

new album out in november, 1 track up now - https://bitchinbajas.bandcamp.com/album/bajas-fresh

(it's dope)

Yessssssssssssssss. I listened to this 3x consecutively already. Wonder if this is coming out independently and not on DC?

Krausened has been my go-to BBs lately, and I'm getting similar vibes from this piece.

Nope, this is coming out on DC. Super excited!

http://www.sweetfreestuff.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/baja.jpg

yessssssssssssssssssss!

that reminds me, i recently saw a cooper crain solo performance which was really good. it was kinda like the bajas but with some samples. even had a mic set up outside and had the ambient sound thru a delay mixed so low it was barely audible. it sounds kinda trite but it had a really incredible psychedelic effect. i look forward to seeing if that ends up on an album eventually

this live tape is worth your time: http://sweetblahg.tumblr.com/post/153272236888/bitchin-information-society-the-hideout-2016

That's a good reminder that I still need to hear that live tape on Bathetic. Did anyone get that? $50 on discogs for a tape is...even for this collector, well beyond the pale: https://www.discogs.com/Bitchin-Bajas-Live-At-The-Hideout/release/5493817

my friend is close with those guys and when i told him i was looking for those tapes he was like "haha i think i have that in my car"

braggin bajas

new album + tour
bajas fresh! http://www.dragcity.com/products/bajas-fresh

new one is so good!

interesting interview here — didn't realize O'Rourke was involved: http://www.brownnoiseunit.com/interviews/interview-cooper-crain-bitchin-bajas/

Also good to hear that there's a new Cave album on the way ... later this year?

that's awesome news!

yeah...this is really, really good. "angels & demons at play" really floored me on first listen. and "2303" is the winter blanket of sound i needed.

Is the former actually a sun ra cover?

And Batoh too! Damn

xp yes!

this is wonderful

dronestreet parts of '2023' (later sections with the horns) remind me of stuart dempster, check it out if you haven't

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

i don't think i've ever heard any of his music; thanks for the rec!

finally seeing these folks tonight, pumped for it!

Radical -- I think they're super great live. Oh ...and the new record is their best, I think.

Also...last time they let me sit right in the middle of the amps because it was at a museum, and sound wasn't carrying too much. A++, highly recommended venue tactic.

i would agree about this most recent rec being their best! i also think they'd come across better in a gallery type setting versus the rock venue i'll be seeing them in tonight, but hopefully there won't be a ton of chatty drunken ppl

crowds are unusually standoffish at worst at their chicago shows, never rowdy
hometown shows are likely to bring out the usual cast of characters too so they aren't going to be disrespectful
i have never seen them outside of chicago -- maybe it's different elsewhere!

you can usually hear a pin drop at their chicago shows

sounds perfect

I helped organize a show they played in Atlanta & the audience was really great. It was at a weird arty people venue not a rock venue though.

i'll periscope the whole gig and you all can chime in with hearts if its arty, and a frowny face if its more of a rocker crowd

Majority of their stuff got added to Spotify (UK) this week!

New album is so good, want "Jammu" to play on a loop all day

Saw them for the first time last night -- a really good show, just them and all their gear (and a flute and sax), doing a short but perfect set of exploratory pieces that hit a perfect balance between compact and understated improvisation.

amazing band...up there with the brilliant Dick Diver in the "this band name ain't doing you any favors" hall of fame

watch this space in the next week or so...

https://southernjukeboxmusic.com/