Monday, April 27, 2009

SESSION 13: At Home With Rose

Raaaaawwwwwk.

>> DOWNLOAD PODCAST HERE <<

Yes, this week is the time for guitars and drums. Noise-as-rock/rock-as-noise. Some of it's borderline. Some of it you might call drone. But to me, there's a hint of rock in all these tracks. More testosterone than you can shake a stick at.

It's my pleasure to be involved with the wonderful Radio23, which just launched officially on April 23. I've been listening to shows by the other DJs and I've gotta give a plug for I Will Not Return Your Records, hosted by the lovely Lorrie in Montreal. It's become my favourite Friday afternoon kick. Nice way to end the week. Great playlists - country(ish), rock(ish), folk(ish). From Neil Young to Six Organs of Admittance, by a roundabout route.

Another show on Radio23 that I adore (it's magic) is PRAEMISSVM PLANTARIO. This show takes me on a trip. I can't listen to it at the office, so I download the podcasts and listen at my leisure. Lots of sonic layers and otherworldly mutterings.

And so, here is my playlist for this week:

Chris Heazlewood, International Smoker, Cash Guitar, Flying Nun. (4:23)
Sandoz Lab Technicians, Satan's Green Claw, Sandoz Lab Technicians, Siltbreeze. (3:51)
This Kind of Punishment, From the Diary of Hermann Doubt, A Beard of Bees, Ajax Records (2). (3:19)
Skeptics, Ponds, Ponds, ULP. (3:52)
Wreck Small Speakers on Expensive Stereos, All of This, River Falling Love, Flying Nun Records. (3:20)
This Kind of Punishment, North Head, In The Same Room/5 by Four, Ajax Records (2). (3:33)
Alistair Galbraith, Full soup head, Cry, Emperor Jones. (6:10)
Thela, Track02, Thela, Ecstatic Peace! (9:18)
Kraus, Guilia, Where are You Now?, The Facts, Creative Commons. (3:00)
Children's Television Workshop, Hat Chau Van, The Polyamorous Love Cult, Drunken Fish Records. (5:52)
Children's Television Workshop, Baby Walk, The Polyamorous Love Cult, Drunken Fish Records. (3:33)
Barge, Floating Backwards, Barge by Name Barge by Nature, cdr. (5:49)
Gfrenzy, Mouth of Bloody Vengeance, The Need For A Crossing: A New New Zealand, Vol. 1, Xeric. (1:38)
Bailter Space, Grader Spader, Tanker, Flying Nun Records. (3:47)
Skeptics, Bad Wiring, Amalgam, Flying Nun Records. (2:47)
Mrtyu, The Burning Ground, The Burning Ground, Battlecruiser. (5:41)
Skeptics, Two Pot Resin, I Will if I Can, Flying Nun Records. (6:20)
Evil Ocean, australopithecus afarensis, Bad demino, unreleased. (7:51)
Thela, (Untitled #2), Argentina, Ecstatic Peace! (8:07)
Birchville Cat Motel, Sublime Prince of Royal, Astro Catastrophies Disk 1, Celebrate Psi Phenomenon. (17:24)
Antony Milton, Halls and Malls, Rag Red Reverie, PseudoArcana. (6:43)
The Stumps, Untitled 3, The Black Wood, Last Visible Dog. (5:59)

Friday, April 24, 2009

Radio 23 launch


Woohoo! From today Radio 23 is no longer in beta. Bioig launch party! Wish I was in Brroklyn for this. They'll be having fun. I'll be on the road to New Plymouth to see my mum and sister for the weekend, so I won't get to listen.

Anyway, I'll be thinking of Jeff in New York and wishing them all the best.

Monday, April 20, 2009

SESSION TWELVE: At Home With Rose

>> DOWNLOAD SESSION 12

Last week was folksy overtones - this week it's electronic. Sure, there may be an occasional barely recognisable guitar chord, but this show is essentially digital maelstrom. I tucked in a little sweet girlie thing at the end that does have some guitar and drums. I just felt it needed it at the end. More for myself than my listeners, cos I'm a selfish bitch at heart.

I want to acknowledge the phenomenon of Creative Commons and free audio here. Not that there is anything wrong with paying for music. Oh no! But there is a new online culture where artists make their music available for download. So here's a plug for the four artists whose free music I am playing in this session:

Kraus: one of his albums was described in The Listener as "somewhere between a pop Moog record and the harshest no wave." Kraus has the best website I have seen for a long time. Highlight: his interviews with himself. Oh, and his music. I think he's pretty fucking fantastic.
Dsic: Ex-pat New Zealander living in Bristol, UK.
Crude: Matt Middleton has been making music in Dunedin since 1994.
Disasteradio: Luke is Rowell is a Wellington artist who is influenced by Commodore 64 games. You can tell this just by looking at his website.

Here's the playlist for the show:

Golden Axe, Track 02, unknown, (1:26)
Disasteradio, Mail Order Computer Kit, Disasteradio, Open source audio. (2:52)
Kraus, Birds, Red, Green and Blue: 1998-2003, free audio. (4:10)
Kraus, I Mould U Jelly O, The Facts, Creative Commons. (3:24)
Kraus, Exterminating Angel, Red, Green and Blue: 1998-2003, free audio. (3:51)
Kraus, Light and You, Red, Green and Blue: 1998-2003, free audio. (2:47)
MHFS, Tracks 01-08, west Auckland Driving Songs, Celebrate Psi Phenomenon. (Entire release -20:00)
Seht, Gas Reg Stn. + Carrilon, The Voice of the Taniwha, Last Visible Dog. (1:05)
Omit, Slip Link, Tracer, Helen Scarsdale Agency. (3:10)
Omit, Incrustation, Transmogrification, Deepskin Conceptual Mindmusic. (1:44)
Birchville Cat Motel, The Frog Prince, 7", Anthem Records. (4:58)
Crude, Aerosoll, Syringes and Insects, Open Source Audio. (13:29)
Crude, On An Industrial Scale, Syringes and Insects, Open Source Audio. (7:02)
Seht, cydonia, The Green Morning, Digitalis. (5:36)
Seht, B1. ERKK, HRRY, Digitalis (forthcoming release). (6:17)
dsic, Witchita, free audio (2:25)
dsic, 101005, free audio (2:31)
dsic, For Gary Boone, A History of Microprocessing Vol.2: T.I. TMS 1000, free audio.(3:40)
Gate (3), Dis.1.Beat, My Dear Sweet Reluctant Sweetheart, Hell's Half Halo. (4:01)
Gate (3), Pnc#2.aiff/Mry.1, My Dear Sweet Reluctant Sweetheart, Hell's Half Halo. (5:09)
Kraus, Washing Dishes (Electrolux Version), The Facts, Creative Commons. (2:53)
Bachelorette, Your Magic Air, Isolation Loops, Electroplate. (4:44)
dsic, Flat Air Oxygene, free audio. (3:01)
Kraus, Prance of the Ravening Eagle, The Facts, Creative Commons. (3:00)
Kraus, If These Jaws Could Talk, The Facts, Creative Commons. (4:25)
Kraus, I Can Explain, The Facts, Creative Commons. (0:59)
Omit, Eska-Flex, Tracer, Helen Scarsdale Agency (2:17)

Monday, April 13, 2009

SESSION ELEVEN: At Home With Rose


It's been a really busy weekend so I have purposely chosen 4 long tracks. It's a nice contrast to last week anyway.

It's a bit of a swirling pysch-space-drone this week. No drugs required.

>> DOWNLOAD PODCAST HERE

Seht, One Moment, Dead Bees ((the((quiet)earth))suite), PseudoArcana (36:33)
Sunken, Sounding/Salt/Seacow, Eye Electric Organ, Brain Electric Nerve, PseudoArcana (29:90)
Lamp of the Universe, Levitation Orchestra, Arc of Ascent, Astral Projection (21:53)
Black Boned Angel, Endless Coming Into Life, Ashes , Celebrate Psi Phenomenon (32:29)

Wednesday, April 08, 2009

Those vikings love to fight and play...

Aussie music was big back in the early 80s - the height of my teens. Icehouse, Hoodoo Gurus, Hunters and Collectors, Mental as Anything, Midnight Oil. I've been reliving the beauty of these songs on YouTube and marvelling at the love of mop-hair, slap bass and horn sections. There were some very special songs. Remember the emotional draw of Hunter and Collector's "Throw Your Arms Around Me"?

Here's "Talking to a Stranger"



My favourite Mental As Anything song:

Tuesday, April 07, 2009

SESSION TEN: At Home With Rose

>> DOWNLOAD PODCAST HERE

Oh, a milestone! My tenth show. And still in Beta. But not for long. Radio 23 launches on April 23rd. Getting exciting!

My show this week is fairly folk-soaked - lots of acoustic guitar, but still plenty of surprising twists. My favourite finds have been two wonderful releases: A Lowtides Rising (Explorations Around The Theme Of NZ Acoustic Music) put out by PseudoArcana, and The Need For A Crossing: A New New Zealand, Vol. 1, out by US label Table of Elements. Both highly recommended.

The show moves to a new timeslot due to our daylight saving being over: now 7pm to 9pm NZ time.

Paintings of Windows/Antony Milton, Gilgit, Witching Hour – Field Recordings of Nighttime, CLaudia cdr
Swung, Lull, Voice and Key, PseudoArcana
Melita Johnson and Alastair Galbraith, Sidelined, Does it Float va, Trinder Music
Roy Montgomery, It's Cold Outside, 324 E. 13th Street #7, Drunken Fish
Autistic Daughters, A Boxful of Birds, Jealousy and Diamond, Kranky
Claypipe, Wayside, Jewelled Antler Library Vol. 8, Jewelled Antler
Seht, We Can Talk Quite Freely, A Lowtides Rising (Explorations Around The Theme Of NZ Acoustic Music), PseudoArcana
Pumice, Stars, The Need For A Crossing: A New New Zealand, Vol. 1, Table Of Elements
Ben Spiers, Smoon, Spin You, Transient Recordings
Claypipe, Constant, Jewelled Antler Library Vol. 8, Jewelled Antler
Pumice, Where You Helmet Laddd, A Lowtides Rising (Explorations Around The Theme Of NZ Acoustic Music), PseudoArcana
Roy Montgomery, Downtown To Vesuvio, Scenes From The South Island, Drunken Fish Records
Greg Malcolm, Oderbruch, Homesick for Nowhere, Corpus Hermeticum
Sunken, Staunch, Eye Electric Organ, Brain Electric Nerve, PseudoArcana
Gydja, Beyond the Earth's Edge, Umblicus Maris, Mystery Sea
K-Group, artificial sound disc, K-Group, Corpus Hermeticum
Crude, Beat Tactique, Faux, free release
track 08, golden axe, unreleased
Gfrenzy, Mouth of Bloody Vengeance, The Need For A Crossing: A New New Zealand, Vol. 1, Table Of Elements
Track 02, Golden Axe, unreleased
Seht, B5.JZZA, HRRY, unreleased
Richard Francis, 508, A Lowtides Rising (Explorations Around The Theme Of NZ Acoustic Music), PseudoArcana
Roy Montgomery, The Soul Quietens, Kranky Kompilation, Kranky
Wreck Small Speakers on Expensive Stereos, Lots of Hearts, River Falling Love, Ajax Records (2)
Gate (3), PE.ch.1.aiff, My Dear Sweet Reluctant Sweetheart, Hell's Half Halo

Sunday, April 05, 2009

Blogging from bed

Reading: After Dark by Haruki Murakami

I've had a silly condition this week. On Thursday morning I had a major dizzy spell. I woke up, swivelled my head to look at the clock, and when I turned back I got the head-spins like you wouldn't believe. I closed my eyes and the room was spinning round. Immediate nausea - I felt like I was on a lurching boat. When I got up I had to hold on to the walls to make my way to the loo. Not pleasant. Anyways, I got a taxi to the doctor that morning and found out I had this thing called Benign Positional Vertigo. Apparently it is going to go away - takes 3 to 14 days to disappear. Bloody nuisance. I did some gardening and shopping yesterday and I think I overdid it a bit. This morning (Sunday) the whole room was whirling again so I have stayed in bed and have been dozing and reading. Decided to spend the time a little more usefully and listened to the podcast of Zoe Drayton, founder of the Audio Foundation being interviewed on National Radio. I found it interesting that she is so dismissive about her own music. I really rate her - she has only put out a small amount of music, but what she has done is so sublime, and really so different to what other people in the scene are doing. Her reason for not promoting herself is that others have been doing it for so much longer and she has only been making music for a short time. To me, that makes no difference. It's the end result that matters. Mind you, she mentioned that she was composing at the age of 10 and it sounds like she had some amazing influences as a child, being exposed to minimalist classical, folk, and jazz. She mentioned that her creative career was interrupted by having children in her 20's, and I can certainly relate to that. I feel I'm finding time now to find my own creative voice now that my child rearing days are over. Would have been nice to have been interspersed by some examples of the music she was describing though. So much time was spent trying to describe the genres and sub-genres - just bloody play some of it!

I've enjoyed reading my book. I haven't been doing enough reading lately. I really need to start getting to bed earlier. It's the only place I read and it's entirely reliant on me getting to bed early enough before I nod off and the book falls out of my hands.