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.

atlatl - head on the nail - early work

atlatl is one of the most extreme/experimental noise acts out there - these days filling the world with minimal drones and noisescapes made with vintage synths and obsessive focus. But like everyone, atlatl has a past. Today we have an early video from the days when atlatl was doing more conventional industrial electronic music. Circa 1992, head on the nail. Check out newer atlatl music on last.fm. Or buy the new one Draws the Atlantic at mimeomeme.com.

endorphin rush from fescal

Another quick recommendation. A bandcamp buddy of aboombong (UPDATE: a nice review of the amnemonic is up over at Recent Music Heroes) and azwarm, Fescal has put out an impressive ambient drone album, Endorphin, that you can pick up (name your own price with no minimum) at the 1798 label's bandcamp page. Full of dense layers of pristine sound, it'll take you out of your head for a nice half hour long vacation from reality. Well worth your time and money. Check 'em out and spread the word.

amnemonic and rhapsodic

Just a quick note today for all of you that use Rhapsody.
The latest aboombong, amnemonic is now available through Rhapsody.



Of course, along with iTunes and all the usual outlets, it is still available for download from bandcamp in a variety of formats (including lossless formats) and you can name your own price (no minimum). There is a special limited edition bonus track available for the first 200 folks who name a price of $5 or more over at bandcamp, or donate (from the button below) $5 or more to Pen & Mallet. I will email you a unique, one-time use download code with instructions for retrieving your bonus track in gratitude for your support.

Update 2.0: Just noticed this review of asynchronic from the nice folks over at MP News, "Un maelstrom dai risvolti fortemente sperimentali, all'apparenza mostruoso per chi non avvezzo a tali "estremizzazioni" in musica, ma comunque in grado di svelare un suono cangiante e fluido nell'insieme." Graczie Damiano. Recent Music Heroes also has a nice review of amnemonic.

Fly with Element Kudda

I don't know Christian Richer but his project Élément Kuuda is bandcamp buddies with aboombong and like aboombong all Élément Kuuda releases are available name your price with no minimum. The newest one, Flight, is two tracks of exceptional ambient minimalism that stretch the genre away from expectations just enough to keep things interesting. Thanks to uaxuctum for the tip on this one. Artists like this thrive on direct support from listeners. So drop by and drop a dime on this one...and/or help get the word out by telling your friends about it.

DUSTdevils on the wind

A big friend of the show post tonight. DUSTdevils are getting some well deserved recognition over at WFMU's beware of the blog. I've been a long-time fan of DUSTdevils ever since I first heard Rhenyard's Grin. DUSTdevils were a big influence on Choke and it was finding all of their albums over at YoungMossTongue that largely inspired me to start Pen & Mallet. At the time I never would have guessed that would lead to an opportunity to collaborate (as aboombong) with one of my favorite musicians... but that is exactly what happened.

The WFMU piece features a nice interview, some great video's (here and here) and a link to some previously unreleased DUSTdevils tracks. I thought I would share those with you and encourage you to pop over to beware of the blog or his place and leave Michael a greeting in thanks for all the great music he's provided over the years.

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