(dis)PERSE Dispatch

A mix featuring Hyaena Fierling, a:urban, Oystein Jorgensen, Ihana, The Grief, Lambchop, Patscan, Giles Giles & Fripp, Isnaj Dui, Jorge Reyes & Suso Saiz, Krause/Goyette, Their Teeth To Points, aboombong, Henry Cow, Laurie Anderson, Lalezar Ensemble, Luqus & R.I.T, Ohm:, The Ordinaires, Her Space Holiday and Bernadette Erikka. Nice to be included with such stellar acts.

Kamikaze spreads the word

A nice mix of music from Kamikaze dropped awhile back. Includes a track from adumbral. Lots of other great artists included for you check out as well (track list below). Honored to be included. 

Jason Crumer & Joseph Hammer - Show Em The Door [Accidie]
Powell - A Band [The Death Of Rave]
Vladislav Delay - Kulkee [Raster Noton]
Actress - Silver Cloud Dream Come True [Werk/Ninja Tune]
Bernard Gagnon - Dictee [Tenzier]
Yong Yong - Mongo [Night School]
The Entourage Music & Theatre Ensemble - Giraffes We Ride [Folkways]
Mustapha Skandrani - Mode Raml Maya Improvisation [Em]
Nishan Sedefjian - Huzam Taxim [Mississippi/Canary/Change]
Jung Nam Hee - Chinyangjo/Chungmori [Sublime Frequencies]
St. Gun Khin May - Shan Village Part 1/Part 2 [Sublime Frequencies]
Kesarbai Kerkar - Lalat: Ghatan Lagi Rain [Mississippi/Canary/Change]
Hacker Farm - 5:29 [Exotic Pylon]
MCMXCI - Untitled 5 [Opal Tapes]
aboombong - K1 [Bandcamp] 
Trance Farmers - Purple Hay [Stones Throw/Leaving]
Filthy Huns - Infinite Ride [Not Not Fun]
Golden Teacher - Rashomon [Optimo]
Factory Floor - Fall Back Synth Loop [DFA]
Yong Yong - Bzzzr [Night School]
Karriem Riggins - Voyager I 5000 [Stones Throw]
Oh No - Creepers [KahRoc]
Jeremy Greenspan & Laurie Spiegel - Sirius Shake [Jialong]

Disquiet Junto Palindrone

Each week, Marc over at disquiet.com posts a challenge to the soundcloud community he calls the disquiet junto. As aboombong I have been involved in a number of them. This is the latest one with an aboombong track (track 7 here), 0023 palindrone.

Don't forget to check out the latest aboombong album, atrophic, and the admixture project. Another new one is in the works. A few touches to get done and perhaps a release by late summer.

Walking in a Stranger Haven

Just a quick note this morning.
Found a nice little mix over at A Stranger Haven featuring Never Been to Konono by aboombong. There are many worthy mixes at the haven for you. Show some love.



Update: nice review of the first azwarm release over at recent music heroes...but I will note that azwarm is an ongoing project. May have a new one out soon.

Dynamo Stairs - Worm Separators and Guides

A friend of the show post today with some more songs from Saxon, Switzerland's Dynamo Stairs (aka David Liso from Choke and Splayfeet), now available on his soundcloud page. If you like these teasers go to Eversore.com for much more from David (dig around, tracks to listen to and lots of information and photos - you can even use paypal to support the artist).

Worm Stars Separators And Guides tracks by Dynamo Stairs - David Says:"3 exclusive tracks from Dynamo Stairs' 2008 album 'Worm Stars Separators And Guides'"

Outtakes by Dynamo Stairs- David says: "Old Dynamo Stairs tracks written between 1993 and 1995! Were supposed to be tried out and performed by Mesmerise in Italy, but never quite made it ..."

Enjoy.

aboombong - noir mix

An excellent (and long) mix over on soundcloud that includes Ritualistique off of asynchronic. Nice to be included. New aboombong is in the works. Stay tuned.

Nayf presents noir by nayf

MSOTT Podcast

A new podcast from Rachel Evans, AKA Motion Sickness of Time Travel and the stellar blog Her Beats , a blog focusing on women in electronic music. Well worth checking out.



In aboombong news, the new album is in the works and should be out by summer. Going to be quite different than the previous works, but I am excited about the way it is sounding. Also have contributed a little to the next dustdevil & crow release. I think it is going to be bendle and Michael's best yet. Should be out sometime this year, methinks. Even some talk about live shows here in the Northwest if we can pull it all together. Stay tuned.

soothing sounds for baby

Back in September of last year, Marc Weidenbaum over at disquiet posted a sampler of ambient music put together by some of his friends from LuvSound in honor of his then newly arrived baby titled Soothing Sounds for Baby. The title, of course, was inspired by the classic work from the early 1960's by Raymond Scott. While I thoroughly enjoy both of these collections, I have found that they don't quite do the trick for my newly arrived baby. But with their inspiration, I have been searching for baby soothing sounds far and near. The search afar has come up with some sensuously soothing finds including Quiet Evenings, Bing Satellites, Darren Harper, and Meczûp. From the search nearer afield, I have put together a mix of some of the more soothing sounds from aboombong, psychic enemies network, and azwarm that entrances our little guy every time. I think the trick is rhythmic low tones and avoidance of abrupt transitions. If you have contributions to add to everyone's soothing sounds library, drop a note in the comments section here. In the mean time I thought I would share my mix with ya'll: A little trip back to the womb...enjoy.



Tracklist (about 90 minutes - wav, flac, ogg vorbis, mp3):
1) valis from valis by psychic enemies network
2) I feel from P.E.N. by psychic enemies network
3) Jiang Qing, Zhang Chunqiao, Yao Wenyuan, & Wang Hongwen in Dahomey from amnemonic by aboombong (edit)
4) of so many from P.E.N. by psychic enemies network (edit)
5) gnomonic from valis by psychic enemies network (edit)
6) drag along behind from asynchronic by aboombong
7) come crumbling from valis by psychic enemies network
8) in its streets (aboombong remix) bonus track from P.E.N. by psychic enemies network
9) noon from amnemonic by aboombong
10) in this city from P.E.N. by psychic enemies network (edit)
11) Trinidad from a morning's work by azwarm

and yet even one more best of 2010 mix

And here we go again, another mix, it ain't mine, but I gots to pass it along. Another one to feature artists from the Free Music Archive. This time we get a list from undomondo featuring one off of amnemonic from aboombong. Previously, undomondo featured ¡para!helionpara!helion and I must say it is a consistently excellent source of cool music. Check other best of FMA 2010 mixes over at the FMA, or join up and create your own.



Also of note: Disaster Amnesiac asked me some questions, and I answered them. The interview is posted. As I have said before, for the DIY musician this kind of help spreading the word is always appreciated. UPDATE: speed, glue and music liked asynchronic enough to include it in their list of 30 stand-outs from 2010...nice to be include alongside such good company...and frogs rain down and ONDA Rock add to the great support aboombong is getting from Italy. And a bit late in the game, I ran across this nice discussion over at thanks for your ears...makes me blush to have Elvin Jones' name mentioned no matter how tangentially in any discussion of my own playing, but it is a thoughtful essay worth a read...shines a light on the ever elusive topic of genre in music. AND...wow...Killed In Cars voted asynchronic into their top 20 albums of the year list...a killer list to be included on. As is the one over at Neuroprison...

and yet another best of 2010 mix

And yet again, this one ain't mine, but I had to pass it along. I love the review of asynchronic and am a big fan of a lot of the other choices. Check out the original over at motel de moka. An excerpt:

* June 20, 2009: Four revered avant garde genres – Drone, Freejazz, Musique concrète and Krautrock – set out into the heart of Central Africa armed with nothing but DAT recorders to make an audio documentary on the lost land of Konono.
* June 22, 2009: Local witnesses reported they saw the genres wandering around the city of Kinshasa. They were asking for a place called Konono, but were met with perplexed and elusive looks. The only attentive response they got came from a Bandundu fisherman who explained to them that the word konono roughly translates as ‘stiffness of the body’, but that he had no knowledge of an actual place with that name. Consumed by the silent frustration of what was apparently a failed expedition they appeared cold, lost and haunted for the rest of the day.
* June 23, 2009: A French-Canadian exchange student reported Drone and Freejazz were asking for directions on how to get into the heart of the Congolese rainforest. The genres left Kinshasa early in the morning and were never seen again.
* June 27, 2009: An exhaustive 100 men search which lasted for 12 days was conducted but no trace of the genres was found.
* October 5, 2009: The case is declared inactive and unsolved.
* November 25, 2009: Students from the University of Congo’s anthropology department discover a duffel bag labeled as ‘Aboombong – Asynchronic‘ containing four DAT tapes, a bloodied volley ball, a Punjabi ektara, a Vietnamese jack fruit danmo, bone cymbal mallets and several other unusual ethnic instruments. The duffel bag was buried under the foundation of a secluded cabin deep inside the rainforest. The bag is examined by the local authorities who announce they were the property of Drone and its crew.
* January 1, 2010: With permission of the genre’s families select pieces of the tapes are publicly released with the purpose of attracting the international media’s attention towards the case and help raise donations for private investigation.

another best of 2010 mix

Again, this one ain't mine, but I have to pass it along. This one is from Dying for Bad Music and features artists from the Free Music Archive including DUSTdevil & crow. The FMA is also home to albums by aboombong and ¡para!helion and is really one of the best places to find DIY music available today. Check other best of FMA 2010 mixes over at the FMA, or join up and create your own.







Update: asynchronic is included in the spotinews mega-post of 100 notable albums of 2010.

a best of 2010 mix

This one ain't mine, but I have to pass it along. From editor_b over at 8 tracks, who says "Created December 7, 2010 My favorite audio from 2010 including tracks by Aboombong, Dream Boat and Drew Brees." Enjoy.

Halloween Eclectica

An eclectic mix of surf-punk creeps, dark-ambient scare-scapes, 80's Goth, and home-made demons from the Pen & Mallet archives. Have a horrific Halloween.


Tracklist:(MP3, follow the links below for hi-fi versions of these tracks)
1) by the flesh by Psychic Enemies Network from P.E.N.
2) Étude for Six Mirrored Hands
3) Bitter Cross by A.O.S. from Rip It Up
4) Creepin' Man by The Jonny Cats from Ode to Sergio
5) And Then Aliens Invaded from Space by Swayback from Outer Space Tonight
6) garden shed by Dustdevil & Crow from while speaking softly you can hear the insects sing
7) Browse by Choke from the Eponymous EP
8) Daymare by aboombong from asynchronic
9) Come Crumbling by Psychic Enemies Network from Valis
10) From Cracked and Bloodied Fingers by aboombong from amnemonic
11) 3 Bells Gone by Azwarm from A Morning's Work

Friend of the Show: Elephant (A Reunion) + an early Halloween mix

Elephant was the big thing in Albuquerque back when Choke was getting together. Elephant was still the big thing in Albuquerque years later when The Jonny Cats and Waltz Bop Shop were getting together. 'Bout that time I was in Grad school with rock goddess Christina. Now she's an awesome photographer and still writes great songs (I'll post some soon). Elephant reformed for a benefit show last week. Wish I could've been there. Here's the last two songs (more here, and here, and here, and here, and here).



And in Halloween news: the aboombong track Forsaken from asynchronic is the opener on this halloween mix...check it out.

Darkchasmsandphantasmsmix by Chelonian on Mixcloud

amnemonic, dustdevil & crow: what I did for summer vacation

This summer has been a particularly enjoyable and productive one. While completing the azwarm album and the boom dispenser remixs project (as I have mentioned previously), I was honored to be asked to collaborate on the newest Dustdevil & Crow album, while speaking softly you can hear the insects sing. It was completed recently and is now available on the Free Music Archive. I have also added amnemonic over at the FMA (HERE). The FMA is a great resource, chock full of amazing music with easy access to high-quality MP3's. It also allows you to create custom mixes with an easy to use interface. I have created a mix with both while speaking softly you can hear the insects sing and amnemonic that will allow you to listen to or download both albums in one click. You can also easily embed this player or send it to your friends to help us get the word out (always much appreciated).


For those audiophiles out there who are looking for lossless versions of either of these albums, well, of course, they are available. Bendle has put both Dustdevil & Crow albums up at his bandcamp page for free (along with lots of other goodies), and, of course, all the aboombong releases are available in lossless formats on bandcamp (name your price) as well. Don't forget that I will email a special access code to anyone naming a price of $5 or more that is good for limited edition bonus material from amnemonic. You can also get access to this bonus material by donating directly using the "donate" buttons here at Pen & Mallet, or the "tip the artist" button at the Free Music Archive.

UPDATE2.1: Thanks to Dying For Bad Music and The Couch Sessions for helping to spread the word. And check out this short film featuring the opening minutes of Cromsby Grovernor's Jujujaiponmolam. Also a NSFW friend of the show note: Swellco & Swellco are getting some notice for exposing the underbelly (and more, much more) of the city that loves you back.

egyptian hip hop's daymare

A quick one. Just ran across this mix over at mixcloud featuring daymare from asynchronic.
Check it out here.

Egyptian Hip Hop - Eyoe Radio - Live At Field Day by Eatyourownears on Mixcloud

Although trying to stick to the theme of music only having Field and Day in the title EHH are another young band displaying a vast knowledge of good taste of music past and present, here is an hour of tunes selected by Egyptian Hip Hop recorded live for Eat Your own Ears Radio live at Field Day festival 2010

Tracklist / Chapters
Hard Boiled Babe-Lucy Mercier Descloux
Aboombong-Daymare
Unknown Artist- Blue Basket
Brian Eno-Deep Blue Day
Earth-Miami Morning
William Onyeabor-When The Going Is Smooth & Good
Black Moth Super Rainbow-Falling Through A Field
Kelp-Quick Broken Harp
Madlib-Indian Hump
Uknown-Unknown
Lucy Dragons-I Keep Waiting For Earthquakes
Fondation-Effervescence
6-05- Fantomas

Madrotter: Indonesian Beats

I am sure that a good number of Pen & Mallet readers are regulars over at the amazing Madrotter blog where the mad Dutchman and friend of the show shares his vast collection of Indonesia vinyl with the world. If you always wondered what the difference between Jaipong, Gambus, and Dangdut was, there is no better place to explore and find out for yourself. And don't forget to check out the Indonesian twee pop, funk, disco, rock & roll, prog-rock, metal, hip-hop, electronica and other madness regularly posted.

Well, Madrotter is himself an excellent musician and recently shared a treasure chest of his own music (here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here), so I thought I would help spread the word. He was kind enough to let me post a mix of my favorites. Check it out below.



You can get this mix here: http://www.archive.org/details/MadrotterPenMalletMix.

In aboombong news, the new album is nearly sequenced and should be ready for a late August release and Michael is working on post-production to get the new dustdevil & crow out the door soon.

Ten Tracks to Sync - Vol. 2: Now with aboombong

Just a quick one: Drag Along Behind from asynchronic is featured in Ten Tracks to Sync Volume 2 over at the Free Music Archive. So get with it all you film makers out there. I would, of course, love to post anything that features the song. AND Google translate tells me I've got a gracious Serbian supporter at Idealno & Pragmaticno. Also, I find that the album is being pimped by the mad genius behind Exile On Moan Street. AND a thoughtful review of asynchronic just dropped over at Drowned in Sound, thanks to Mr. Breen for helping to spread the word ("Oscillating between drones, West African rhythms and cosmic jazz, [aboombong] nods to some of the most highly revered music of the 20th century: 'Broken Glass' to birdsong, musique concrète to cosmic jazz. Aboombong are aggressively hip and achingly contemporary"). AND I see Never Been to Konono is included in a nice mix over at mixcloud put together by belgradenoise.




UPDATE: A nice little drama using still images and music (including drag along behind from asynchronic) has been posted over at Nancy B's Blog...check it out. The song is also featured on a nice mix over at percussion lab...check it out...lots going on over there.

Stills Editing Project BTMM 1701 from Nancy Barber on Vimeo.

UPDATE: drag along behind has been used again. This time on Tuck & Roll Radio...it's an interesting project. Check it out and call in your ideas.

UPDATE: drag along behind has been used again. This time tomlog takes us on a trip around Stockholm.

Stockholm 2010 from tomlog on Vimeo.

Creative Commons - Daymare

Just a quick one...
Found Daymare from asynchronic being used as intended according to its creative commons license over at Kassette Klub. It is the intro to an interesting mix. Check it out. Also, asynchronic is featured today over at Acousmatik System along with some other really nice selections.

ep. 2 Anticipation (side a) by KassetteKlub

State of the iPod

As a firm believer in the wisdom of the random shuffle on my iPod, I thought I would share with you the background music it selected for tonight's State of the Union address. There was no cheating...I just hit play.

Get Together by Tony Allen
Afrika FreaK Out by Barney Willen
Yene Filagote by Tiahoun Gessesse
Stretcher Case Baby by The Damned
The Crying of Lot G by Yo La Tengo
Pastoral Cha Cha by Syzygys
Dirty Blue Gene by Captain Beefheart
Onya Wanjah Go by [unknown Afrofunk artist]
Memento by Ennio Morricone
The Winter Ray by Natural Snow Buildings
O Rio by Dom Salvador e a Abolicao
If You Want To Do Ya Dub by Prince Far I
All My People Right Here Right Now by Oasis
I Don't Live Today by Jimi Hendrix
And things are mostly Ghosts by Her Space Holiday
Gratitude by Beastie Boys
Song For My Lady by Malinga 5
Tena In Love by Ras Michael & The Sons Of Negus

The Malinga 5 was particularly well timed with an almost Gil Scott Heron vibe...and I can't believe it opened with that track off of that particular Tony Allen album. Actually, the song titles work pretty well for his main points throughout now that I look back.
Note: Keeping with blog policy, since I didn't have a hand in recording any of these, I am not posting the mp3's... just the titles. You can always use this as an excuse to explore older posts. There's plenty to hear around here.

While I am updating, I (again) want to send out a thanks for all the positive responses I have been getting for aboombong, asynchronic. It is only through your positive word of mouth that a no-budget project like this can hope to find its audience. Keep spreading the word.

I should have a solution to the broken cassette deck soon, so I will be posting some of the oldest tapes yet in the coming weeks....sort of the roots of aboombong.