DORKWIND!

Very much looking forward to getting along to Happy this Saturday night to see noise band Dorkwind (has the be THE most inspired band name I have heard for a while).

SESSION 28: At Home With Rose

Music for a cranky head

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I'm in a crotchety mood. I'm reasonably sure it's work that has brought this on. Too much work, not enough staff. I think that some employers have taken advantage of the recession by getting rid of people and expecting everyone else to take up the slack. The public sector do this by way of constant restructuring. And now small industries can do it by just chucking people out and saying that it's because of hard financial times for the business (of course, sometimes it is, but I'm not going to be the devil's advocate here). And everyone is working their arses off because they don't want to lose their jobs. I'm getting pretty fucking sick of it. It's stressful and I'm not sleeping well. I feel I'm being taken advantage of - probably because I am.

I think this is reflected in my music choices for this show. Rather than calming, I seem to have chosen some glitchy stuff that gets under your skin. You'd think I'd be looking for stuff to chill myself out, but I guess I'm just a contrary woman.

Anyway – less about me, more about the music.

There are a few tracks from a really nice compilation called Frannce, out under RuralFaune. Here's a piece by Brad Rose on Foxy Digitalis about the label. There's also a review of Frannce on Foxy.

Compilations are one of my favourite ways to find new music. Say you like an artist - check out if they are on any compilations and chances are there'll be something else on there you like. Think of them like a curatorial process. Of course, it might just be a label promo and the songs might not sit together well, but often they are lovely things with some interesting concepts. Take Grains: A Compilation of 99 short tracks, out under Dot Dot Dot Music. Most of the tracks are under 1 minute - like a short short story. The song has to play out is such a short time, but a lot can happen in these tracks in 1 minute. I really like this compilation.

Two other compilations I feature here are Potatoes: A Collection of Folk Songs out under Ralph Records (The Residents' orginal label, apparently), and Invisible Pyramid - Elegy Box (6 CDs!) released by the wonderful Last Visible Dog. Also both wonderful compilations.

Secret Mommy, A bear at Hotel Cuba, Plays, Ache. (3:50)
Zort, Ojo de agua, foco lejos, Zort. (4:12)
Ahlgul Ouijaha, Welkin Star Outside, Outro to Finale, AMENOREA. (7:36)
The Psychic Paramount, Magatheion, Gamelan into the Mink Supernatural EP, (2:46)
Deadfood, Small men leave puddles, Grain: A Compilation Of 99 Short Tracks, Dot Dot Dot Music. (0:41)
Deerhoof, Kidz Are So Small, Friend Opportunity, ATP Recordings. (2:00)
Half Japanese: T For Texas (Blue Yodel #1), Potatoes: A Collection of Folk Songs, Ralph Records. (2:44)
Up-Tight, Falling Into A Doze, Invisible Pyramid - Elegy Box, Last Visible Dog. (6:07)
Negativland, Perfect Scrambled Eggs, Potatoes: A Collection of Folk Songs, Ralph Records. (2:44)
Felix Building, 19 Janvier, Sans Nostalgie, www.umor-rex.org. (3:02)
tangent, dissolute, a pictorial history, postmoderncore. (6:04)
Ping Pong Parrot, Typewriter Resonance, Scattershot Bill's 7 Day Safari, www.umor-rex.org. (4:15)
Tom Smith, Settled For Less, New Weird Australia, Volume One, www.newweirdaustralia.com. (3:09)
Terracid, The Gravity of Floating Iron, The Palace Carries The Egg Tooth As Its Crown, Foxglove. (6:47)
Gang Gang Dance, God's Money VII, God's Money, The Social Registry. (3:16)
decadent landscapes, a delicate arc, Grain: A Compilation Of 99 Short Tracks, Dot Dot Dot Music. (0:42)
Sinking Infinities, Lora, The Life of Riley, United Fairy Moons. (21:16)
Lichens, Shore Line Scoring, The Psychic Nature of Being, Kranky. (9:45)
Lamppukello, 161104 French Fries, Frannce Compilation, RuralFaune. (3:54)
Seht, MPFH, HRRY, Foxglove (4:23)
Mike Tamburo, Headphone Music for Brigitte Bardot, Frannce Compilation, RuralFaune. (10:00)
The Futurians, Futuna, Frannce Compilaton, RuralFaune. (1:33)
Rachel's, 4 or 5 Trees, Systems/Layers, Quarterstick Recordings. (6:05)
Rosy Parlane, Atlantis, Touch 25, Touch. (4:03)

SESSION 27: At Home With Rose

Guitars play my heartstrings

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My mum used to have an Andrès Segovia record that was always one of my favourites. The sound of an acoustic guitar has always had a way of making me feel great. There's the link of home - my bro strumming on his guitar on a sunny morning was always a relaxing background sound. We had a boarder staying at our house when I was young who was a classical guitarist and used to practice (which made my mother swoon). I wasn't planning on any kind of theme to Session 27, but I notice there is one - acoustic guitar seems to thread it's way through the tracks, and that works for me.

Of particular note is the glorious fourteen-and-a-half minute track by Jack Rose (of Pelt).

I have to also mention an online friend, Eduardo Padilla, who runs Umor-Rex Records in Mexico. He has two of his own musical projects: Molloy And His Bike (his experimental folk) and Ping Pong Parrot (his digitally produced tracks). Umor-Rex is a wonderful net label where you can download albums by the artists they represent - for free - complete with artwork you can cut up as covers for the CDs if you care to burn them. It's all about the music. Eduardo is pretty busy with another label, too, Dog Eared Records.

Of course, I had to end with some Andrès Segovia. Just for me dear old mum.

One last thing I want to say - no more New Zealand only shows. I had far too good a time last week mixing it up.

Gong, Wet Cheese Delirium, Camembert Electrique, Charly. (0:35)
Telafonica, Time and Distance, New Weird Australia, Volume One, www.newweirdaustralia.com. (6:32)
Dsic, Help Enfolding, Ambiences 1, If Records. (2:30)
Sunn O))) & Boris, The Sinking Bell (Blue Sheep), Altar, Southern Lord. (7:38)
Douglas Lilburn, soundscape with lake and river, Complete Electro-Acoustic Works, Naxos. (11:05)
Matmos, Semen Song For James Bidgood, The Rose Has Teeth in the Mouth of a Beast, Matador Records. (5:02)
Silver Apples, Lovefingers, Silver Apples, Whirlybird Records. (4:13)
Frey, therefore, cronica_demo, www.frey.co.nz. (3:04)
Stars of the Lid, 24 inch cymbal, The Ballasted Orchestra, Kranky. (5:55)
Grouper, Travelling Through A Sea, Dragging A Dead Deer Up A Hill, Type. (4:24)
Max Richter, Arboretum, The Blue Notebooks, Fat Cat. (2:54)
Ballrooms of Mars, untitled 04, Cedre, Nexsound. (5:04)
Horticultural Compass, Moss Urn, The Apparition of Bees, Jewelled Antler. (6:40)
Molloy and His Bike, The distance between a chair and a table, Oblivion's Fiery Limelight, Dog Eared Records. (4:12)
The Muons, little star, Heat & Birds: Jewelled Antler Collective, Jewelled Antler. (3:51)
Jack Rose, Red Horse, Red Horse, White Mule, Eclipse Records. (14:48)
Molloy And His Bike, Kaspar gets reflected, Spiraltown Cartographers, www.umor-rex.org. (3:11)
Brightback Morning Light, amber canyon magik, Brightback morning light, Matador Records. (4:54)
Molloy And His Bike, I Refused to Chase My Hat, Uphill, Downhill, www.umor-rex.org. (3:11)
Autistic Daughters, Liquid and Starch, Uneasy Flowers, Phantom Sound & Vision. (4:32)
Josephine Foster & The Supposed, Nana, All The Leaves Are Gone, Locust. (4:30)
Psychic TV, Only Love Can Break Your Heart, The Bridge - A Tribute To Neil Young, No. 6 / Number Six. (6:08)
Arthur Russell, Losing my taste for the night time, Another Thought, Orange Mountain Music. (4:33)
Andres Segovia & John Williams, J.S. Bach: Sarande, The Art of the Guitar, Madacy Records. (4:11)

SESSION 26: At Home With Rose

The Not-New-Zealand-Music radio show

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Firstly, this pic is a piece I just exhibited at Thermostat Gallery's annual group show, Vent. It's called 'Now Hear The Word Of The Lord'. It sold at the show, which makes me pretty happy and very encouraged to keep on with making art.

There's no New Zealand music this week. It's not that I'm bored with New Zealand noise, drone etc. I just felt like having a bit more variety. So here we are. A slice of other sounds. Variety. The spice of life and all that.

I have nothing to much to say this week, except enjoy the music. Oh, and that the tracks by Nightshift are by my friend Vladimir from Yaroslavl in Russia. And they are GOOD. There's a Foxy review here.

Cologne Sequentia Ensemble for Medieval Music, Laus Trinitati, Hildegard Von Bingen: Voice Of The Blood, RCA. (1:36)
Popol Vuh, Mantra 2, Nosferatu, Spalax Music. (3:51)
paul condon, bloom of ma worryhood, Grain: A Compilation Of 99 Short Tracks, Dot Dot Dot Music. (0:44)
es, Kaikkeuden Kauneus Ja Käsittämättömyys, Kaikkeuden Kauneus Ja Käsittämättömyys, (K-RAA-K)³. (9:25)
Fabio Orsi, 3 Untitled, I'm ep here, private press. (4:58)
Kites, Hallucination Guillotine, Hallucination Guillotine/Final Worship, Load Records. (4:44)
Nightshift, du, Nightshift EP, 267 Lattajjaa. (6:13)
Nightshift, glon, Nightshift EP, 267 Lattajjaa. (3:22)
Nightshift, ongum, Nightshift EP, 267 Lattajjaa. (6:46)
Nightshift, bab, Nightshift EP, 267 Lattajjaa. (6:54)
Vincent Gallo, Goodbye Sadness, Hello Death, Recordings of Music for Film, Warp Records. (1:13)
The Dead Texan, Taco Me Manque, The Dead Texan, Kranky. (2:36)
Benoit Pioulard, Moth Wings, Précis, Kranky. (1:17)
Benoit Pioulard, Hirondelle, Précis, Kranky. (2:23)
Fennesz, Laguna, Venice, Touch. (2:56)
Anal Magic & Rev. Dwight Frizzell, Destruction - Slaying Of Hyperion, Drowning Of Helio, Suicide Of Selene And The Wandering Madness Of Basilea, Beyond the Black Crack, Paradigm Disks. (2:24)
Black Moth Super Rainbow, Lake Feet, Falling Through a Field, Graveface Records. (2:20)
Shoeb Ahmad, Mixed Doubles, Mixed Double EP, hellosQuare Recordings. (4:59)
Bardo Pond, Be A Fish, Amanita, Matador. (4:42)
Jackie-O-Motherfucker, Hey Mr. Sky, Flags Of The Sacred Harp, ATP Recordings. (6:47)
Fursaxa, Of Tubal Cain, Alone in the Dark Wood, ATP Recordings. (2:24)
Jessica Bailiff, Beautiful Soul, even in silence, Kranky. (9:30)
Hush Arbors, People Died Today, Hush Arbors, Ecstatic Peace! (3:42)
Ping Pong Parrot, Lightning storms make psychic debris come to life, Scattershot Bill's 7 Day Safari, Umor-rex.com. (3:41)
Animal Collective, Penguin penguin, Danse Manatee, FatCat Records. (2:12)
Jessica Bailiff with The Dithering Effect, Renee, Jessica Bailiff with The Dithering Effect, Resonant. (4:26)
Tenniscoats, One swan swim, Tan-Tan Therapy, Häpna. (6:03)
Blixa Bargeld, Little Yellow, Jukebox Buddha, Staubgold. (1:08)
Boredoms, 777, Rebore Vol. 0, Warner Music. (7:26)
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, Holly Hobby (version), Etiquette, Tomlab. (2:44)
Chamellows, Rooftops, Rat Hearts, Fonal Records. (1:51)

SESSION 25: At Home With Rose

Honey gets stuck in my ears

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I've just had a week off work so I could get along to as many films as possible at the Film Festival. I haven't tallied up the amount of films I got along to in the past two weeks but I think it's getting up towards 40. It put me in a really great mood. Brain food I guess. I sure as fuck didn't want to go back to work today, so I've cheered myself up with some tunes I really like. There's a wee bit of poppy sweetness going on at the beginning, but the honey is interspersed with a bit of gorse here and there for good measure. Prickles in the honey. But mostly honey I reckon.

I'm going through a massive Alastair Galbraith phase at the moment. Can't get enough. I love his faltering New Zealand voice and his lyrics make me smile.

In other news, I have a piece in the annual group show, Vent, at Thermostat Gallery in Palmerston North. I'm going up there this weekend to see the show and take some pics so I'll stick a pic up on the blog next week. I couldn't make it for the opening, unfortunately.

Back to the film fest - the two best films I saw were Lars von Trier's Antichrist (which I only saw last night and so am still mentally digesting) and Dogtooth. Up there as well were We Live in Public, Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles, Bluebeard, and Enjoy Poverty.

Here's this week's playlist:

Kiwi Pacific, Kiwi South Island, A Treasury of New Zealand Birdsong, Kiwi Pacific Records International Ltd. (1:18)
Seht, [Preamble], The Voice of the Taniwha, Last Visible Dog Records. (1:14)
Alastair Galbraith, Milky Milo Man, Seely Girn, Feel Good All Over. (1:01)
Alastair Galbraith, Fall, Morse and Gaudylight, Emperor Jones. (3:06)
Alastair Galbraith, Ivy Bound, Morse and Gaudylight, Emperor Jones. (3:06)
Wreck Small Speakers on Expensive Stereos, Lots of Heart, River Falling Love, Ajax Records. (5:23)
Alastair Galbraith, From the Empire, Cry, Emperor Jones. (2:12)
The Verlaines, Hanging By Strands, You're Just Too Obscure For Me, Flying Nun Records. (3:38)
Superette, Waves, Topless Women Talk About Their Lives, Flying Nun Records. (3:18)
The Bats, Afternoon in Bed, Thousands of Tiny Luminous Spheres, Flying Nun Records. (3:50)
Thela, Track 04, Untitled, Ecstatic Peace! (5:50)
This Kind of Punishment, Ahead of Their Time, This Kind of Punishment, Flying Nun Records. (4:23)
Trash, Telecom South, Killing Capitalism with Kindness, Turbulence Records. (5:06)
The Skeptics, Rain, Ponds, Flying Nun Records. (3:47)
White Winged Moth, Untitled 4, I Can See Inside Your House, Poon Village. (7:07)
With Throats As Fine As Needles, Track 02, With Throats As Fine As Needles, Digitalis Recordings. (9:16)
Sunken, Tackle, Eye Electric Organ, Brain Electric Nerve, PseudoArcana. (11:09)
1/3 Octave Band, Luminous, Sub Lumina, Humbug. (12:18)
Seht, TBOD, HRRY, Digitalis Recordings. (3:52)
Swung, Dudi, Voice and Key, PseudoArcana. (4:26)
The Stumps, Ex-Fracas, Lost Weekends, Foxglove. (5:24)
The Stumps, Bad Lines, Lost Weekends, Foxglove. (1:34)
5454, Track 10, Travelogue, Artless Intent. (1:27)
Shocking Pinks, Blonde Haired Girl, Shocking Pinks, DFA. (1:48)
5454, Track 02, Travelogue, Artless Intent. (1:27)
Grayson Gilmour, Shuffle, Shuffle, Shuffle..., Phantom Limbs, Self Release. (1:42)
Golden Axe, Track 02, CDR, (2:20)
Kraus, Autocrat, The Facts, Dreamtime Taped Sounds. (1:17)
Glory Fckn Sun, Glare, Spectra, Tipped Bowler Tapes. (1:56)
Garbage and the Flowers, Sweet Pea, Runner: A Compilation of NZ Music, Next Best Way. (3:29)
Kiwi Pacific, Broad Billed Prion, A Treasury of New Zealand Birdsong, Kiwi Pacific Records International Ltd. (1:12)
A Handful of Dust, Masonic Inborn (Parts 2 & 3), Killing Capitalism With Kindness, Turbulence Records. (4:11)
Greg Malcolm, Shipwreck, Hung, Celebrate Psi Phenomenon. (4:23)