Steven R. Smith S/D

If I have to become that person, I will accept the hardship of listening to all of his music but it's going to be a while. I bought the digital version of Autumn is the End because I liked the title, cover, and first song but I haven't given it a good listen yet. In the meantime, if there's someone who knows more about this guy's stuff, I am super interested in finding out more!!

This is useful information imo

It is perhaps no wonder that I read many of your records as being situated somewhere between Popol Vuh's early mystical workouts and Michael Gira's unforgiving, unrelenting, unyielding slogs. Very different artists, but both using musical force to ascend, escape, or in Gira's case annihilate the corporeal body. Is this a continuum with which you would identify?

SRS: Yeah, definitely, I'd agree with that. I love both of those groups and I saw Swans close to the same time that I saw Dog Faced Hermans. That Swans show, man, it was heavy in all the right ways, and it was transcendent. It was really something. Coincidentally, that period is also when I first started seeing those Herzog films and discovered Popol Vuh—another group that just spoke to me for whatever reason. I love Daniel Fichelscher's guitar playing, so lyrical.

You know at that time, for me it was say, 1993-96, I was in my early twenties, and that's just when all these things started coalescing. I'm not trying to get nostalgic here, because this is old stuff and nowadays it seems all this music is so easy to find, but I guess that time period for me is when a lot of whatever trajectory I'm on was really being formed. You know, that's when you're putting it all together and figuring out what you want or need to say. And that's when I discovered all that stuff, musically. Everything was opening up for me, whether it's free jazz or avant-garde film, modern composers, obscure folk music, etc. etc. and you know, you try and make sense of it all and make some music.

It's interesting that you say coalesce, regarding what is clearly a broad pallette of influences and touchstones, because that suggests drawing the disparate elements together into a single, rich broth. Yet, you seem to have chosen a path of multiple identities; Hala Strana, Ulaan Khol, Thuja, Mirza. That pattern seems set to continue with your new record, under yet another new name – Ulaan Markhor - coming out in May.

SRS: Confusing, eh? Ulaan Markhor is sort of an offshoot of Ulaan Khol, I guess, but it's got more rhythmic elements involved, drums on every track, a lot of percussion and less guitar wankery, but it's still sort of relating to Ulaan Khol with the fuzz textures and some heavier elements. Mirza and Thuja were groups…they were improvisational groups with strong personalities involved. Mirza was sort of a really noisy psyche band, very loud, whereas Thuja was much more delicate and very quiet. Thuja used all sorts of non-instruments and hand made instruments and field recordings, we played and recorded in spaces where the environment played an important role in the process.

The solo-based projects (Ulaan Khol, Ulaan Markhor, Hala Strana, SRS, etc.) I see as being all on differing parts of a continuous line, with maybe the quieter, sparse pieces being on one end (the solo SRS material) and then moving through more acoustic and structured material (Hala Strana) and then sliding down to more heavy and dense music (the Ulaan Khol stuff). Just different spots on the line. I wish, and am trying, to widen that line out even further and try and push this music into further places, other tangents...

hi folks I am a casual fan as well, I have a Hala Strana record and a Thuja record, I think I have one of Smith's solos on MP3. That's all I got here, though. I have always been interested in checking him out more.

also is the markhor the coolest animal or what? good choice, SRS.

Owl is a good 'un.

He seems like a cool guy. I am glad to slowly go down the SRS rabbit hole, just kind of picking a record here and there and filling in the pieces of the catalogue. But feel free to be our guide La Lechera, would be interested to hear some rundowns of this stuff. I mean, he did mention Popol Vuh, so perhaps this is not an option for you.

I'm not a very good guide! He does seem cool -- talented, modest, genuine, curious. Apparently he is also a (relatively) new dad. I bet Ian knows something about him.

I wonder what he does to earn a living. Does he play shows in LA? Does he have a day job?

weird I went to school with this guy. lost track of him after the first couple of lps

i knew someone would have gone to school with him! i knew it! ha.

last time I saw him (over 15 years ago) he was living in SF and had some legal asst type job

Hah hah. The long arms of ILM ....

I bet Ian does know something about him as well.

we had a bunch of classes together at UCSC. I remember noticing him one day because he had a Killdozer t-shirt on lol. at the time the Santa Cruz music scene was very very small, there was nowhere to rehearse, nowhere to play, only one local label going etc. so you would see the same couple dozen people at whatever shows happened and we were both one of those dudes. later we both moved move to SF and I would occasionally run into him on the bus, this was around the time his first couple solo records came out, towards the end of Mirza and I would pick up copies of his stuff when I saw them at Aquarius. Been years since I've seen/thought about him though.

that is quality info!! is he nice? please say yes.

on second thought, i guess if he's not nice i'd rather not know.
i only know one person who went to UCSC -- an arty girl who transferred to my school at the same time i transferred there. she was a year older than me and her name was meredith and i am 99% sure she wouldn't remember me because i think we only spoke on 2 occasions before she disappeared.

ok he is name checking popol vuh AND dog faced hermans I need to hear this guy.

he was totally nice

I mean, I didn't know him real well or anything but he was always friendly when I saw him

I remember talking to him about mid-period Floyd stuff (ie post-Syd but pre-megastardom) and he was really into that shit, can easily see how he got from there to Popul Vuh etc

I'm giving him bonus points for referring to his playing as "guitar wankery."

I can now recommend Ulaan Markhor http://worstward.bandcamp.com/album/ulaan-markhor (try 100 birds)
Def has the drone/repetitive rhythm element (?) of heavy PV only without as many cymbals (at least as far as i've listened, which is not far) More toward the Swans end of the spectrum only - gira.
Worth my $7 to bandcamp, but would totally buy an LP if I ever came across one. His covers are beautiful and done with extra TLC.

hahaha i was trying to figure out who was playing drums on this album and my googling revealed that the amg review was written by one ned raggett
i still don't know who is playing the drums though

a friend of mine gave me one of his albums (digitally), i remember liking it and i dont own a lot of music that sounds much like it (this friend is v much into psych)

Of the earlier albums released under the SRS name, I'd make a direct line to Tableland. Reminds me of a lost Roy Montgomery album.

I really like the Ulaan Khol Los Angeles EP from last year. Ulaan Passerine ideal if you're looking for lengthy Popul Vuh/Stars Of The Lid para-drone.

I also knew Roy Montgomery would make an appearance! Will def check out that one.

Ulaan Passerine ideal if you're looking for lengthy Popul Vuh/Stars Of The Lid para-drone.

Listening to this now and you're absolutely correct. Beautiful!

I've really been enjoying Autumn is the End -- if you like layered rhythms and wordless singing, there's some really great stuff on here. Strongly recommend "This Fleeced Reel" for a powerful/beautiful dirge and "Redivivus" for wordless singing. Honestly I've been listening to the first half a lot so that I can save the second half for when I get sick of the first half.

I guess his stuff is categorized as "experimental" but to me it just sounds more like it's influenced more by non-Western music, making it more folk (in the traditional sense) than experimental. Regardless, I like it!

I'm digging thru a few old cdrs and I've come across one that compiles 4 different releases in the Jewelled Antler 3" library. I think that the Hala Strana release is included on it. Actually, I thought I had found it but I am pretty sure this is the Kemialliset Ystavat one that I am hearing now.

Anyway...something from this disc is getting airtime tonight.

You should post the link where people can listen to it

Is there any way for your brother to get out of this house deal now? Thrre is no way this is going to end up okay for your brother, his marriage or his children

I remember talking to him about mid-period Floyd stuff (ie post-Syd but pre-megastardom) and he was really into that shit, can easily see how he got from there to Popul Vuh etc

OK, I'll say it... Huh?

I will join the group on this journey

Sorry, guys. I was thinking of posting the listen live link and never got around to it.
The Hala Strana material ended up not being on the disc. But there is some cool stuff from Smith's Thuja bandmate, Glen Donaldson, in his Ivytree guise.

I LOVE the Jewelled Antler library series, some great stuff on those

really like this guy. ulaan passerine, ulaan khol i-iii, cities, and crown of marches are some of my faves but I've liked everything I've heard.

Ending/Returning is pretty cool on first listen - I wouldn't have checked it out if it weren't for this thread priming my attention.

Good piece in "The Out Door" by Marc Master (page 2):

http://pitchfork.com/features/the-out-door/9323-genres-of-one

Choice quote in re all the names/approaches he uses: "Fuck the brand! We're having fun here."

that picture of him in the yard with all his instruments! this guy is the best. i love what he does with sounds but his approach is top notch too. very thorough piece, lots of details, and i'm glad he is being recognized as singular!

Yeah, it is a cool piece. I think Marc Masters does a great job, and it will maybe get S. R. Smith a bunch of listens. Pretty amazing output for one guy, especially with the quality he maintains.

Agree -- he's a good role model for caring about the things that matter to him and also not caring about the things that don't. The Ulaan Markhor album I have is emerging as a personal favorite, over time.

I hope this piece gives him a sales boost! For a while I was starting to get a little embarrassed because I think I bought 3 of his albums within a week or something? It's nice that he has physical releases as well as bandcamp too. If I had to track down all his records, I probably wouldn't have been able to hear them. I dig his approach to the whole thing tbh.

Yeah completely agree, he has a great attitude about it all.

people piss and moan about pitchfork but that marc masters column has turned me on to more good stuff than most of the other places i could think of

I mean, there are great writers on Pitchfork and knowledgable folks, but I really only go there via twitter and facebook at his point. Someone I like posts that they have a new piece up, I go read it, I skip the rest of the site. Basically I have zero problems with Pitchfork now.

I've heard a handful of his solo records and Hala Strana stuff that I thought was pretty good, and a few Thuja records that really didn't leave much of an impression, but I keep coming back to him because most of what I've heard has been interesting enough that I felt like eventually I'd find something in his discography that I'd really enjoy.

Anyway, this morning I heard the first Ulaan Khol record, and it's pretty much exactly what I needed to hear right now. This is like full-on Daniel Fichelscher worship, which the world needs more of (or, if the world already has more of, I need to know about it)!

You should try Ulaan Markhor! It's like the louder/less bongos/more crashing side of Fichelscher iirc.

Also - This is like full-on Daniel Fichelscher worship, which the world needs more of (or, if the world already has more of, I need to know about it)!
I've been working on this, give me some time! I practice every day.

Also fwiw I found Steven R. Smith because I am on a constant hunt for people attempting a very particular aspect of PV's approach to song-making and I feel like he nails it -- generally speaking, the SRS stuff I like best is long passages, repetitive phrases, rhythmic but not busy, melodic but not distractingly so, heavy but not oppressively so, pretty but not repulsively so, etc.

Also watch this if you haven't
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSGWFX84NkQ

I'll definitely check out Ulaan Markhor; thanks for the recommendation! Also will watch that video as soon as I get home!

I think I have PV filed away in my brain as, like, sui generis or whatever, so I never think "I'm going to look for more stuff that sounds like this", so when I do stumble upon it, it kinda blows my mind.

Yeah I mean it comes close -- no one could be all the way there unless they are Fricke and Fichelscher (and friends) tbh. I've decided to settle for bits and pieces of what I'm looking for.

Problem with listening to S.R. Smith in depth is, if you play somewhat similar music yourself you come to realize that he has already been there and generally covered that ground already. And probably done it better.
I have been thinking about this -- I can see it being true from a guitar perspective, but his rhythm section could use some beefing up
good thing this totally random internet person has come to the rescue ;) http://bit.ly/1AgSOjW

Found three SRS CDs I didn't have in a dollar bin. Tableland is sounding pretty good right now. Got that Vuh thing happening but with a little Labradford circia A Stable Reference twang.

ulaan markhor owns

wow, dollar bin! that's good fortune. i've seen a couple more people talking about Steven R Smith and it makes me happy. Apparently he has no interest in playing shows, but I wonder if he could be convinced.

new one!
https://worstward.bandcamp.com/album/light-in-dust-e-p

Ooh nice, gonna check this today! Also, good job on that reworked SR Smith tune random internet person :)

EP sounds pretty nice, with some Vuh-ish piano on the second side. I want that on vinyl.

It's raining out today and I'm listening to Slate Branches. Which is really kind of desert-y but then again so is California anymore.

his new thing (under the moniker Ulaan Khol) on soft abuse is totally great. this guy is fantastic.
http://www.softabuse.com/catalog.php?catno=SAB076

Yeah, he is a force of nature essentially. Glad he keeps putting stuff out there (as hard as it is to keep up).

yeah one of those guys who might have a higher profile if he stuck to one band name and put out just one thing a year. but whatever, he is great.

Seems comfortable with the process and being in control of what he does/when he does it. Nice example actually of someone who seems very much to be a "music first" kind of dude.

Yes! He's the best. Music first!

no! he needs a "brand advisor"!!!

[ jk ]

i'm a humongous fan and i definitely can't keep up. but it's okay.

It is there when you need it.

i mostly buy the vinyl. when there is vinyl.

In his own words -- when given the opportunity to speak he is generous and modest. <3

http://the-out-door.tumblr.com/post/135639253960/200-words-ulaan-khol

That Brute Heart record SRS mentions is excellent - closest to his Hala Strana work.

got ulaan markhor spiral horns on vinyl. so good. so much of his vinyl for sale on discogs and i don't think i've ever paid more than 15 dollars + shipping for a record. even the old stuff. best value for your dollar in my opinion.

new one
https://worstward.bandcamp.com/album/the-great-unwinding

(spoiler: it's great)

of course it is! i figured i'd splurge on the cassette if i was already shelling out for the download and it's really nice!! there are decorative cards enclosed.

here's something funny -- apparently there's a ulaan markhor odds/sods collection and SRS annotated it. not at all surprisingly, he is funny and modest

Odds n’ sods collection of tracks written between 2010 and 2016. Compiled, re-worked, recorded, etc. Nov. 2015-Jan. 2016 at Worstward Studios, Los Angeles.

“Life on the Ground”: Trying to salvage parts...two different songs edited together, take the best bits and see what you get…a brief field recording of my son’s elementary school helped bridge the gap.

“Oso Varoun Ta Sidera”: This is a traditional song from Crete and it seems to me that this song is covered by just about everybody, maybe sort of like the “Morning Dew” or “Hey Joe” of Greece? I don't know, maybe not, but there sure are a lot of covers of this song floating around out there. This take is based on a version by the great Psarantonis.

“Property!”: This song is really just one riff with things piling up on top as the song continues on. I do this a lot…lazy songwriting is what that is.

“The Trembling Sea”: Not much to say about this song except that the guitar on the right is maybe getting a little too funky for my taste. Seemed like a good idea at the time. I was hoping to make it sound a bit like mid-70’s Bowie or something, or maybe as if one guy in the band wished he were in the Pop Group regardless of what everyone else in the group was doing.

“The Walking Maze”: Another one with just one riff throughout. There’s some clanking percussion in the background that’s kind of nice.

“Beyond is Also Here”: The main riff here is very close to a Lungfish song. Once I realized that, I even went back and finally tracked down the original song on their record and checked it out. It’s different enough that no one’s going to get sued, but still, let’s just say it’s an homage. Subconsciously, I was probably trying to rip them off and just didn’t do it well enough. I love Lungfish--it was bound to happen at some point anyway. The drum machine used on most of these tracks was also sort of a nod to Zomes (Asa from Lungfish’s other excellent project) so there you go.

“Spring”: The intro reminds me of Harmonia so I guess that’s one thing going for it. Oh yeah, the guitar solo sort of fell apart half way through and so it was just lopped off…more lazy songwriting/musicianship.

“In Threes”: The main part of this track was originally recorded for the second Ulaan Markhor record and was in the running all the way up until I had to send it off to be mastered and then I abruptly pulled it from the record. Something about the mix wasn’t right and I don’t think it really fit on that record anyway. Since then I’ve fixed a few things and tacked on the handheld tape intro which does feature a brief riff from “The Nocturnal in Daylight”, a song that did make it onto the second Ulaan Markhor record.

“Olive”: The main riff from this song also appears as a piano piece on an Ulaan Passerine 7” which will be released soon. I had totally forgotten that I even recorded that piano version until I heard the test pressing a couple weeks ago. Also, the middle part of this song--that quick chord change before the end roll out--is a straight rip-off of the chord progression from Richard Thompson’s “Calvary Cross”...I’ll cop to that.

-Steven R. Smith, March 12, 2016

new one

https://worstward.bandcamp.com/album/moss-cathedral

Moss Cathedral is great. "Sanahin" especially has that "American Popol Vuh" vibe, makes me want to drive through the desert.

RIYL SRS but don't mind sparing use of vocals

http://threelobed.bandcamp.com/album/piedmont-apocrypha

Better known for their louder music but this has a really nice Smith-y vibe.

got an email about a new Ulaan Passerine https://worstward.bandcamp.com/album/the-landscape-of-memory
two tracks, the first one starts out acoustic and then keeps adding and adding elements, changing etc
haven't listened to the second one yet

i love the way he builds his tracks -- he's so patient!

I look forward to giving this an ear later for sure.

There are some songs on the Walking Timebombs vs. Tribes of Neurot CD that are SRSy. Seriously. Don't hit me.

My these preview tracks are fine! Always different always the same.

https://worstward.bandcamp.com/album/helm

"Holy Hitch" is the equal part In Through the Out Door sounds and Tender Prey sounds I needed.

I just bought the oddities comp + Helm because I'm catching up on things I've missed
sounds so good, as always
<3 Ulaan Markhor<3

New Ulaan Passerine

http://worstward.bandcamp.com/album/new-evening

new one, under his name! here is a review
http://magnetmagazine.com/2019/06/30/essential-new-music-steven-r-smiths-a-sketchbook-of-endings

I enjoy them all but this one didn't really stand out for me. Still, I'm always up for more.

There's another one out there... 43 Odes, which is SRS and Glenn Donaldson invoking a little bit of Jeweled Antler action but somehow sounding a lot more forward-looking now than it was then. So far I'm liking this best of all the recent releases.
https://eiderdownrecords.bandcamp.com/album/43-odes

There's also this one:
https://worstward.bandcamp.com/album/collapsing-hymns

awesome that he's back

xxp this 43 Odes is great, thanks ET

Entire Worstward discography is on sale on Bandcamp - 50% off!

Ooh!! Thanks for the heads up!!

I liked the Jewelled Antler stuff - there were too many recordings to keep track of - the Franciscan Hobbies, Hala Strana, the Ivytree, the Birdtree, the Child Readers, Blithe Sons, the Skygreen Leopards, Coelacanth - but have to admit I haven't heard of Worstward recordings until now

Interview!! https://foxydigitalis.zone/2022/05/19/steven-r-smith-is-still-here/

New album today too, "Spring"
I'm enjoying it