Bis Aufs Messer Weekly News 04 July 2024
Hi, welcome to another newsletter for July. A couple new records arrived like the new BILL CALLAHAN - Resuscitate! DLP, CUNEIFORM TABS - Cuneiform Tabs LP, KMRU - Peel DLP restock, DAÏTRO - DES CENDRES, JE ME CONSUME LP re issue, PIERCED ARROWS - Straight To The Heart LP, THE NECKS – Mindset LP restock, some Numero restocks (Indian Summer, Seam, Unwound, Duster … ), a couple DEATH restocks, ANTONINA NOWACKA – Sylphine Soporifera LP, LACERATION - I Erode LP, we also got more OLD SAW LPs in stock …
we have a new event TOMORROW on July 27th. Freddy Alava of Wardance records will sign his new book and also gives a talk. Don't miss out!!
https://www.facebook.com/events/1110766643317625
We also repressed the SPORT - colors LP and the SPORT - bon voyage LP in case u are interested.
We also added (adding) a few more second hand LPs and 7“s to our discogs
https://www.discogs.com/seller/XMESSERX
Thank you as usual
Til then thank you for all your orders & support.
Robert & Norman
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7“
ICONOCLAST / MEREL - split 7“ (old glory - A classic early '90s hardcore record - essentiell) 7.00
PHOENIX BODIES / RAEIN - split 7“ (Init - you know the deal :) ) 6.00
LP
ANTONINA NOWACKA – Sylphine Soporifera LP (mondoj - Air is the central element in Antonina Nowacka's third solo album Sylphine Soporifera. The title names an imaginary species and the land they inhabit, inspired by the unreal desert landscape of Paracas and the undulating tree-less hills of the Outer Hebrides, and comes from the writings of Rudolf Steiner, who describes creatures called Sylphs as the spirits of the air, and the Latin word sopor which means deep sleep. As with all her releases, Nowacka's other-worldly vocals coming as if from beyond the veil, at once haunting, alien and utterly entrancing. "The voice is the most beautiful and resonating instrument,” she says. “When I sing I feel I create a field in between myself and the air in front of me," she explains. "It is not just that I'm singing – something in the space in front of me is happening, and I merge with this sphere.” She conjures and is inspired by open environments and infinite landscapes: places full of light and air, manifested here in the sound of ocarinas from Budrio in Italy, whistles from Mexico, simple bamboo flutes from Nepal, alongside tremulous zithers, synthetic Hawaiian sounds from a vintage organ and the uncanny wind instrument presets from a 90s synth. Nowacka’s first album was informed by vocal sketches made in caves in Indonesia, later recorded at a fortress in Poland; she studied Hindustani music in India with vocalist Shashwati Mandal, fell in love with early Cumbia in Mexico and Peru, and has more recently found inspiration in the landscapes of Italy. Hers is a new New Age soundworld that finds its origins everywhere and nowhere. Sylphine Soporifera gathers these sounds, visions and experiences into an album permeated with a sense of hope and fulfilment, that feels like sitting in an enlivening white beam of afternoon sunlight, as dustmotes swirl in the stillness.) 30.00
BETONWELT - Betonwelt LP (brainwasher - Meet Betonwelt, the blazing new anarcho-punk/post-punk band out of Hamburg, with many influences from the 80s as well as modern anarcho-punk and post-punk bands, at times diving into raw, fast hardcore punk. 'Betonwelt' means 'concrete world' in german. It's an international trio consisting of Iggy (vocals, guitar), Phil (vocals, bass), and Sabrina (vocals, drums). Their lyrics are in english, german, and russian. By members/ex-members of other small acts from Hamburg like Miley Silence, Kleymo, 1323, and Quit.) 17.00
BILL CALLAHAN - Resuscitate! DLP (drag city - Callahan comes alive in Chicago, with Jim White, Matt Kinsey and special guests Nick Mazzarella, Pascal Kerong'A, Nathaniel Ballinger and Natural Information Society’s Joshua Abrams & Lisa Alvarado. Why, Bill? “Songs tend to mutate after they've been recorded. These songs were mutating faster than usual. Like whatever happened to Bruce Banner in the lab – I knew these songs were about to get superpowers… this change needed to be documented.”) 44.00
CUNEIFORM TABS - Cuneiform Tabs LP (w25 TH - Like an unsent love letter to a psychedelic London where everyone is trying to find their way to a secret Television Personalities gig, Cuneiform Tabs emerge with an astounding debut of lo-fi pop and DIY experimentation. A hazy collage of joyful heartaches, twisted children's TV themes and sing-song melodies, the album echoes the sounds of '60s AM radio from a dozen narrow alleyways to the North.Over 18 months, the Tabs' Matt Bieyle and Sterling Mackinnon traded 4-track tapes between the Bay Area and the UK. While they previously played together in indie band Violent Change, the duo's physical distance and their songwriting process of building, blurring and distorting across the Atlantic would create something no one saw coming. Grabbing any instruments at their disposal and splitting vocal duties, Bieyle and Mackinnon pushed their Tascam to its limit to make glittering, odd-shaped gems. There is an insular feel to Cuneiform Tabs, suited for late nights after the entire city has stumbled into dreamtime or lazy afternoons when you can't quite recall where you need to be, but you know you won't make it there on time. It's like a pirate radio show where Bob Pollard alternates Swell Maps and Cleaners From Venus records while randomly unplugging various bits of gear and reading passages from a book on R.D. Laing. Originally released in a hyper-limited artist edition, W.25TH / Superior Viaduct is thrilled to bring this kaleidoscopic LP to a wider audience.) 27.00
DAÏTRO - DES CENDRES, JE ME CONSUME LP (la agonia - Daítro were a french emo/screamo band from Lyon. I don't think they need any introduction at this point... I discovered them with this record in 2004 and set a show for them in my hometown the same year. Awesome band, better people!) 21.00
ELEVEN POND - Bas Relief LP (dark entires - Dark Entries celebrates its 15th anniversary by returning to where it all started, our initial darkest entry: Eleven Pond’s masterpiece Bas Relief, an ultra-obscure album from 1986 that would become a definitive dark pop holy grail. Eleven Pond was James Tabbi (vocals, acoustic guitar), Jeff Gallea (drum machine, synthesizer, vocals), Jack Schaeffer (guitar) and Dan Brumley (synthesizer, samples, vocoder, melodica). They met in Rochester, NY, while attending art school, brought together by their shared love of 4AD and Factory Records. Taking cues from acts like Joy Division, Fad Gadget, and For Against, Eleven Pond’s infectious basslines, churning guitar riffs, and atmospheric synths will charm all fans of moody music. But what really makes Bas Relief shine is the timeless songwriting on classics like “Tear and Cinnamon”, “Portugal”, and the anthemic “Watching Trees.” With only 500 copies in it’s initial release, Bas Relief resurfaces with a fresh remaster that corrects a pitch shift from previous reissues. Each copy is housed in a screen printed jacket, like the 1986 edition, and includes a lyric sheet, two postcards and a bookmark. Bas Relief is a true lost relic of the cold 80’s and an essential piece Dark Entries history.) 30.00
FRANZ MON - Stimmen lauter Stimmen (Lauttexte 1962-64 + Horspiel 1971) LP (tochnit aleph - Franz Mon (born 1926) is a pioneer in the field of concrete, visual and phonetic poetry. He once licked the new radio play into shape like no other german-speaking playwright before him. As a sound poet and with his 'articulations' or phonetic pieces, he conceptually renewed sound poetry in the postwar years.A tension of research is generated. Franz Mon is a tireless researcher, his material is language. In "Artikulationen" he speaks of " the dance of the lips, of the tongue, of the teeth, movements of substance which creates by itself its own directions at the threshold of articulation... the vocal vibrations absorb the air, disfigure it, throw it back, suck it in, creating sonic substances which are elastic, somber, soft, brilliant, wide, harsh... the primitive cry, exteriorizing itself, becomes a signal variably interpretable... the more intense the impulse, the more radical is the expression and the more definite is the separation from the I who speaks". A typical example is his research on the transformations from phoneme to phoneme caused by gradual changes of the sonic compounds, a process inverse to that of Chlebnikov's homophonies: in place of the fusion between words or suffixes or prefixes and roots to form a new sonic entity, Mon practices the scission of the phonic a word, which becomes other and then other again, changing its colour in verbal terms which are always different and always changing.
This LP collects some of Mon's earliest concrete phonetic poems recorded 1962-64 as well as the radioplay 'Ich bin der ich bin die' from 1971. Edition of 400 copies.) 20.00
KMRU - Peel DLP (Editions mego - bakc in stock -KMRU is the moniker of Joseph Kamaru, a sound artist, and producer based in Nairobi. One of the leading exponents of the burgeoning experimental music scene in Nairobi and beyond he was listed by Resident Advisor as one of ’15 East African Artists You Need To Hear’ in 2018 and is a regular performer at the fabled Nyegenyege Festival having also presented live performances at CTM festival and Gamma Festival. Peel is KMRU’s first release for Editions Mego. exquisite mix of field recordings and electronics unravelling at a repetitive and leisurely pace to expose a rich tapestry of sound that has been revered for it’s ability to cross borders with the sheer undertow of emotional content. The subtle calming atmosphere within Peel belies the compositional prowess as layers of delicate sounds wrap around each other creating a hybrid new form ambient musics both captivating through it’s textural depth and kaleidoscopic patterns. The track titles lend themselves to the themes and mood set within: Why are you here, Well, Solace, Klang, Insubstantial and the title track. This is a deep heartfelt journey with a new strong voice being expressed through the means of organically presented electronic ambient sounds, one which reveals further layers on repeat listens.) 30.00
LACERATION - I Erode LP (20 buck spin - After the scorching ‘Demise’ LP in 2021, the Bay Area’s Laceration have joined the ranks of 20 Buck Spin for the release of 2nd album ‘I Erode’. Over the band’s lifetime, years of work and subtle refinement manifest now in Laceration’s most assured and viscious material to date. Absolutely loaded with hallmarks of US Death Metal’s peak era, ‘I Erode’ vehemently explodes outta the gate with merciless riffs, savage tempos, tastefully fleshripping solos and the malevolent undercurrents of aggressive Death Thrash perfection. Striking an ideal balance of technical and straightforward, high speed and mid-paced breaks, and a concise, to the point attack packed with variety, ‘I Erode’ offers a purely addictive shot of real Death Metal adrenaline in a lineage that includes Demolition Hammer to Morgoth to Suffocation.) 28.00
LYDIA LUNCH – 13.13 LP (radiation - Recorded in Los Angeles in 1982, »13.13« exists as document to the pandemonium of specters and potential serial killers who twisted the California Dream into a waking nightmare as they snaked through the boulevards, back yards and basements of a sun stroked paradise turning into a blood soaked inferno of fear, paranoia, panic and lust killings. Lush musical textures provided by members of seminal art punks The Weirdos – Dix Denney, Cliff Martinez and Greg Williams create a hypnotic backdrop to Lunch’s evocative vocals and terrifying lyrics.) 26.00
MARCELLVS L. - Klavierwellen LP (tochnit aleph - Amazing release by the video & sound-artist from Brazil Marcellvs L., a four-channel sound piece titled "Klavierwellen" or Piano Waves (2011). The piano waves we hear are literally just that: while on a residency, the artist upturned a piano on a boat traveling around the canals, on which two contact microphones were attached to the soundboard and two micro omnidirectional placed between the soundboard and strings. The movement of the boat through water creates a kind of roving ambient experience of place but with no identifiable coordinates to define the locale.) 20.00
MODESTO DURAN - Fabulous Rhythms of Modesto LP (numero - A disciple of mambo innovator Perez Prado, the Cuban-born Modesto Duran was a pivotal figure in Latin dance music’s transitionary mid-century period. His gentle slaps can be heard across dozens of 1950s mega-sellers, from Esquivel to Belafonte, Eartha Kitt to Lena Horne. On his 1960 solo debut, Duran gathers a who’s who of conga-men, including Mongo Santamaría, Willie Bobo, and Juan Cheda, delivering a cinematic and percussive melange of afro-cuban, cha cha, and exotic jazz styles for the discerning listener.) 28.00
THE NECKS – Mindset LP (rer - restock - Long awaited re-issue of The Necks 2011 masterpiece. Always different, here the Necks resolutely layer polyrhythmic material to form seething blocks of sound - in two long pieces, one more stripped back to the live trio, the other featuring multiple strata of swirling Hammonds, noise-guitar and electronics. Their 16th release still resonates on its own.) 26.00
OLD SAW - Dissection Maps LP (worried songs - Old Saw, the enigmatic New England collective led by Henry Birdsey (Tongue Depressor), return with their third long-playing record, Dissection Maps.“The band captures the American stretch, the spaces in-between and the hollowness that haunts us along those routes…fades the radio to static to let the nothingness linger among the soul.” (Raven Sings the Blues) “…evokes an ambience of prayer-like solemnity that celebrates something decidedly terrestrial, what the label describesas “a rusted and granular shadow world where the dive bar meets the divine.” It recalls one of those junkyard shrines built by some sincere eccentric, improbably wonderful forms of weathered stone and scrap metal standing like totems to an unrecognised religion rooted in the earth around us.” (Various Small Flames) ) 28.00
PIERCED ARROWS - Straight To The Heart LP (mississippi - Pierced Arrow's first record! Fred And Toody Cole's post Dead Moon band with Legendary rocker Kelly Haliburton on drums. Most musicians get softer with age, but Fred and Toody brought a harder edge to Pierced Arrow's than their earlier bands. A legendary record back in print for the first time since it initially came out in 2008. A killer!) 27.00
RACQUETBALL - RQTBL LP (diy - Hailing from Melbourne, Australia, and influenced by the Gaia theory and Iggy Pop’s gyrating nakedness, RQTBL are a post punk band that pair noodling riffs with noise, big noise. Formed over beers in low lit bars, and raised on a healthy diet of hedonism, RQTBL (pronounced Racquetball) eschew conventional sounds and structures, shifting from post punk to post rock to Louis Armstrong tributes in a single outing. The band explores relatable themes, like love and loss, staying up too late, drinking from magic taps, and the wasted lives of daring cosmonauts. It's punk but sometimes not as you know it. FFO: Bear vs Shark, Drug Church, At The Drive-In, Fugazi, Joyce Manor, Loma Prieta, PEARS, Whores) 24.00
SANDRO BRUGNOLINI – Overground LP (sonor - Sonor Music Editions presents this restored issue of Maestro Sandro Brugnolini's Overground. This elusive masterpiece in library music captures the most impressive work, alongside Underground (1970), of the Italian composer and alto sax player. Sandro Brugnolini was a prominent member of the Modern Jazz Gang, a famous Italian jazz group, during the 1950s and 60s, which also included Amedeo Tommasi, Cicci Santucci, and Enzo Scoppa. The group was active from 1956 to 1965 and produced some remarkable albums such as Miles Before And After (1960) and the original soundtrack from Gli Arcangeli (1962), which featured the renowned American jazz singer, Helen Merrill. Subsequently, he recorded many of the genre's most iconic releases, including Feelings (1974), albeit uncredited, and ventured into Psychedelic Lounge Funk and Progressive Jazz Beat tunes.) 30.00
THE SOFTIES - Winter Pageant LP (K records - Winter Pageant is the drama of utter melancholia documenting the broken promises, missed phone calls, conversations stalled, love lost. Colossal tasks recorded two guitars deep, forming a new Iliad, chapters on brave deeds and the power of love on the move. You can live for love, or you could live for the splendid cascade of guitar on guitar, voice over voice. It is the Softies combination of Jen Sbragia (All Girl Summer Fun Band) and Rose Melberg (Tiger Trap, Gaze, Go Sailor); feathers and thorns, fawn and fearless, fable and friction.) 28.00
STEVE REICH - Four Organs / Phase Patterns LP (superior viaduct - Steve Reich remains one of the most important figures in 20th century music. Though he studied at the prestigious arts institutions Julliard and Mills College, by the mid-1960s Reich set about dismantling the very orthodoxy that he had been trained in. Forming a new musical language based on repetitive processes, Reich became established as part of the so-called "Big Four" of New York minimalists (along with La Monte Young, Terry Riley and Philip Glass). Reich's influence can easily be seen today in both the classical world and contemporary pop music. "Four Organs" is the ultimate minimalist composition. Performed by Reich, Glass, Art Murphy and Steve Chambers, four identical Farfisa organs strike a single chord and gradually lengthen each note to produce polyrhythms between the players. Anchored by Jon Gibson's stoically-steady pulse on maracas, the piece deconstructs its opening burst to a sustained mass of sound – stretching the tones to create (in Reich's words) "slow-motion music.“ Inspired by Reich's early training on drums, "Phase Patterns" treats the keyboards like tuned percussion instruments: a basic rhythm pattern is played in unison and almost imperceptibly increases tempo to move out-of-sync. Each progressive cycle emphasizes unique figures that are not generated by an individual alone, but rather emerge from the communal expression of the group. Originally released on Shandar in 1971, Four Organs / Phase Patterns is one of most highly regarded avant-garde recordings in the past 45 years. This CD release features cover photography by artist Michael Snow and is recommended for fans of Neu!, Glenn Branca and Tim Hecker.) 32.00
WAND - Vertigo LP (drag city - Sliding between the bodies in the street, cutting across the contrails that bisect our sky, Wand find melody and the anxiety beats as they hum the soundtrack for a new gravitational center. Seeking connections against the plan of niche interest and anonymity, Vertigo is the sound of slippage, rocks of contradiction (in soft focus); feet lost, regained, lost again, a multi-chromatic swaying, more automatic, associative, directed, in time.= 35.00
V/A - Goot From The Boot - Revisited LP (spittle - 40 years after its original release, a new and expanded version of ‘Goot From The Boot’ is here to stay! It was 1984 and the newborn Florentine label Spittle Records launched his manifesto, with a killer selection of Italian underground bands verging on the Hardcore/Punk firmament and the New Wave ‘end of the spectrum’. This new version contains three bonus tracks, including “V’Oi!” by Skulls, which could not be included in the first pressing due to a postal delay. Finally we put things in the right place. An essential piece of Italian Hardcore and New Wave history.) 26.00
TAPES
HYPNODRONE ENSEMBLE - The Problem Is In The Sender - Do Not Tamper With The Receiver TAPE (HYPNODRONE ENSEMBLE is a polyrhythmic avant-rock collective from Berlin. Founded by Aidan Baker (Nadja) and Eric Quach (thisquietarmy), this album was recorded exactly one year ago at Punctum in Prague. The ensemble includes Angela Martinez Muñoz, Fiona McKenzie, Sara Neidorf on drums, and Gareth Sweeney on bass, also featuring a special vocal appearance from our devoted friend Lane Shi Otayonii. If you're drawn to a blend of space-rock-infused shoegaze with mystical and ethereal vocals, this captivating album is a must-have for your collection.) 12.00
CD
HYPNODRONE ENSEMBLE - The Problem Is In The Sender - Do Not Tamper With The Receiver CD (HYPNODRONE ENSEMBLE is a polyrhythmic avant-rock collective from Berlin. Founded by Aidan Baker (Nadja) and Eric Quach (thisquietarmy), this album was recorded exactly one year ago at Punctum in Prague. The ensemble includes Angela Martinez Muñoz, Fiona McKenzie, Sara Neidorf on drums, and Gareth Sweeney on bass, also featuring a special vocal appearance from our devoted friend Lane Shi Otayonii. If you're drawn to a blend of space-rock-infused shoegaze with mystical and ethereal vocals, this captivating album is a must-have for your collection.) 16.00
