Lava Thief

10/02/2012>>>

2012-02-10T12:53:00.002Z

Louise's Guidelines and Ashtray Navigations at The Croft last night...

Owen and James up first, began with a sparkling web of guitar loops and drums, not at all what I was expecting... having only ever seen Owen play solo before...

Calling to mind Louisville skies and warm late nights... the guitar was shed and Owen voiced some ghostly kettles before closing with a hot swarm, repetitive drums hard and knitted til the end, simmered down...

It was my first time seeing Ashtray Navigations.

You know those bands who you see everywhere and always know you'll like but some how don't get around to hearing them until years after you should have done and you wonder why you never did it sooner?

Ashtray Navigations is that to me.

Absolutely fucking amazing, repetitive undersound bubbling up and down, drawing you in hypnotic, wild guitar atop and Mel getting all kinds of lushbeasts out of a clarinet mouthpiece, weaving it around and tapping out rhythms and textures on the table top of wires.

Really great to see them finally and to be so pleasantly un-surprised.

02/02/2012>>>

2012-02-02T12:57:00.002Z

I went to see Wild Flag last night at Camden Electric Ballroom.

Support band Peggy Sue are from Brighton/London apparently and they were really very good, a foursome of dual guitar + vocals with a drummer and keyboard/bass.

Their double guitar tones sounded like the smell of smoke coming from a wonky brick chimney of a wonky pretty house in the middle of the woods where you drink out of tin cups sat on logs with dew-damp grass wetting your feet as you fill yourself with a cool spring air, wrapped in crochet.

(And I'm so envious of these people whose voices soar out effortlessly intertwined in harmony and sounding smooth and beautiful.)

I hope I see them again sometime soon.

Wild Flag themselves - I hadn't actually heard any of their music before going to see them, but obviously Sleater Kinney are one of my favourite bands of all time... so I figured it would be good.

I had made a mistake though, I thought it was Corin and Janet from Sleater Kinney.... so I was suprised to see it was Carrie and Janet, Carrie... I love them all, but Carrie does something to my every single sense that makes me completely weak, she is such an AMAZING musician to watch onstage!

They played a really great set, keyboard / 2 guitar / drums and vocals... high energy from start to end, at some points some Murray Street vibes crept across, a warm set.

I immediately had to buy the record, looking forward to listening to that over the weekend.

25/01/2012>>>

2012-01-25T14:02:00.000Z

First gig of the year on Friday 20th January at Bristol County Sports Club in Bristol.. a weird but charming little venue in the city centre where a group of OAP's were having a birthday party at the same time as the gig was taking place in the next room...

First up was Deej Dhariwal of Thought Forms playing a rare solo set (and it's always a treat for me to actually be able to WATCH him play...)

He started his set with harmonica sprawling out from a faraway porch, surrounded by long grass and travelling upriver to be blown across, sweet homely memories imprinted on the wind...

Improvising his way through the sound of a lonely sinking ship, keyboard drones and awesome NOISE, perched wailing on his chair at the back of the room behind a wall of gear belonging to the other bands.

And the familiar live track "Dunking" sounding nostalgically beautiful and tinged, more fluid than usual.

All I ever want from watching live music is for a switch in my mind to flick me into a different way of thought, more flowing and primal, and that is exactly what he did for me.

Looking forward to seeing lots more solo action from Deej this year.

Next was the mythical Fairhorns (aka Matt Williams Matt Loveridge Team Brick Klad Hest whatever).

The first track he played was actually quite reminiscent of his band Beak>, the influence seeping in through krauty rhythms and hushed tones... moving with a keyboard that sounded like it had minature Tuuvan throat singers lodged inside of it whistling their shifts joyously through the room.

Mid set he played a piece of organ and blasting voice that was more Team Brick than Fairhorns, then again singing into headphones atop sampler, knowing.

He played one track from the great Fairhorns EP he made (that as yet hasn't seen the light of day?) and it's pixellated campfire cheer was warming.

Big Naturals are on top of their game at the moment, Gareth and Jesse so tightly knit together whilst at the same time now adding more... freedom to what they do both alone together and when joined by others (Matt stood in with them for a while during the set).

Really looking forward to hearing their forthcoming record on Rocket Recordings, as well as the music they've been making with Prof from The Heads.

19/01/2012>>>

2012-01-19T19:47:00.006Z

This woman, Amy Drezner, is an amazing person.

She is an artist and architect whose passion for music and art and life is totally infectious.

She recently took part in an art show in Los Angeles, where she lives.

Inspired by the fucked up world of child beauty contests, she created an installation of life sized dolls with speakers embedded into them...

And the disconcerting and dreamlike soundtrack she made ( which you can buy for a dollar or more...) using sound recordings from pagents...

<p>&amp;lt;a href="http://drezner.bandcamp.com/album/runaway-1"&amp;gt;runAway_1 by DREZNER&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;</p>

16/12/2011>>>

2011-12-16T17:25:00.003Z

We went to see Get The Blessing last night at The Canteen on Stokes Croft in Bristol.

I'd only ever caught snatches of their sets before... and I'm not in a very good state to be writing today but it was fucking amazing, better than I was expecting it to be and I was expecting it to be VERY, VERY GOOD INDEED.

Sax tortured and pulled through delay, stretched woodwind ghosts bumping into mirrors and trumpet maze... (I love trumpets)

Lightning fingers like piano hammers, pounding straight in and destroying my imagination and just about one of the damned best drummers ever witnessed.

Really looking forward to seeing them again... new album coming in 2012!

(Annoyingly I managed to miss the Big Naturals and Anthroprophh creating some killer riffs down at Kings Square Arts Space though what I heard from outside was sounding brutal. )

Thanks to Statick for these photos.

10/12/2011>>>

2011-12-10T15:28:00.003Z

Bambikill, aka Christelle Rox from Bristol, guitar player in the Shamanbolic psych-drone band Vena Cava has posted up a video of her song "Heavy Blue"...

Beautiful drifting images to mirror the sonics, gentle drones swirling out of her guitar hands and syrupy voice, she is a wonderful human being who I'm not entirely sure is completely human.

Check it out!

09/12/2011>>>

2011-12-09T00:25:00.001Z

Went to see a triple bill of Fursaxa, Sharron Kraus and Meg Baird at The Cube in Bristol last Sunday night.

Sharron Kraus was up first and delivered a set of dark folk songs, the very English sound of her voice taking on the forms of murder in woodland glades, creating images of mushroom covered forest floors and mossy stones and of lonely rooms with dust meandering through beams of light, falling out of love... I knew of Sharron through various Terrastock type reasons, it was nice to see her play in Bristol.

Fursaxa suprised us by being up next, it was her we'd mainly gone to see, having fallen very much in love with her music after seeing her play at Terrastock 6 and then again that year (2006!) at the Thurston Moore curated ATP event in Minehead.

Started by looping melodica and then for the next 30 minutes she wove a tunnel of bells, voice, keyboard, loops and drones into light... (the kind of light that shines through wet cobwebs...)

Hers is the music of dreams... she makes me feel like I'm floating through a different reality where thoughts form slower but more meaningful somehow... prisms, effortlessly falling.

Warm, warm surroundings of sound that becomes space that becomes a special place that she can take us to.

Finally, Meg Baird came on. I've been hearing her name a lot recently and she came out and like Kraus, delivered some beautiful fingerstyle guitar playing but in a different way...

Meg reminded me a little of Linda Perhacs... light and sunny (not happy sunny just warm) vocally and lyrically a bit softer, watching both of them play guitar made me want to brush up on my own finger skills!

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=08XUK6RK

01/12/2011>>>

2011-12-01T15:33:00.005Z

A new Thought Forms EP called "Sky Pegs" is now available through Lava Thief.

The 44 EP's housed in either paint splattered or black-on-black printed packaging contain three tracks -

1) Ghost Mountain You And Me (4.58)

2) Song For Junko (5.48)

3) Bowing (14.48)

The EP's are hand-numbered in gold, 1 through 44, and you can buy one for £3.00 from this link :

http://lavathief.bigcartel.com/product/thought-forms-sky-pegs

Thanks to Chris Rocket for the artwork and to Gg:ull who inspired the packaging.

09/11/2011>>>

2011-11-09T20:05:00.001Z

The artwork for the Gnod Dropout with White Hills album on Rocket Recordings has been nominated for a best art vinyl award for 2011.

The artwork was done by Johnny O Rocket and Chris from Gnod themselves, I think it's pretty awesome.

Please take 2 minutes to vote for it!

VOTE

03/11/2011>>>

2011-11-04T00:34:00.003Z

On Halloween I was walking past Cake Shop in NYC and a poster in the window caught my eye, LANDING playing tonight...

I was lucky enough to see Landing twice back in 2006 thanks to Terrastock 6 and the surrounding shows, so to stumble on an apparently rare gig (their website actually seems to suggest that it was their first show together after a few years off from the band) was ridiculously lucky.

They played as a three piece, Adrienne's beautifully subtle vocals settling on top of her synth lines and Aaron's fine web of guitar loops, as all is pinned down by a bassist with his back turned (I like his style) like butterflies to a wall... I sat there thinking that the sound they created was a sonic blizzard... a warm snowy storm of drones and fullness, comforting and familiar.

It was so good to see them play again.

You can listen to and buy a whole bunch of their stuff on bandcamp... here is their latest album, the first track of which is my favourite song by them right now and I'm pretty sure they played it the other night though I can't be sure, I was lost in the storm.

<p>&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://landing.bandcamp.com/album/gravitational-iv"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Gravitational IV by Landing&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;</p>

11/10/2011>>>

2011-10-12T02:38:00.002+01:00

Lee Ranaldo at Knitting Factory in Brooklyn a coupla weeks back... with an amazing drummer and a guy on bagpipes. Fucking awesome Lee.

26/09/2011>>>

2011-09-26T17:34:00.005+01:00

Man Forever at Live With Animals, shiny and neon and things everywhere pretty, 10 drummers - 8 facing each other over shared snare, staggered start and fluttering like rain, 2 double kick drums near the end with a solo bass guitar rumbling, torrential.

Then Cave in the other room, the better moments were those with least notes, keep it simple and repetitive.

18/09/2011>>>

2011-09-18T11:57:00.001+01:00

It's been a while since the last update, sorry about that, have been away and other craziness.

I'll start back with this video made by the artist Ian Watson for the band Bear Man, who have a cassette out on his recycled tape label Phantomhead.

I saw Bear Man play in Cardiff in August as part of our tour and they were absolutely amazing, a trio consisting of electronics, guitar and one HELL of a drummer scattering all over the place.

You'd need to see them live to fully appreciate what they do but til then, here's that video.

Bear-Man: Nazi UFO Glade from Ian Watson on Vimeo.

05/08/2011>>>

2011-08-05T14:22:00.000+01:00

We went to see The Heads play a small show at the Kings Square Experimental Arts Space in Bristol last night.

The past month or so has been really quite stressful and difficult for several reasons...

There's been a great deal of sadness, concern, anxiety and the general overwhelmingness of certain situations. I've felt it not just in my mind but in my body, heart pounding constantly and finding it hard to breathe. There have been tears. There has been valium. Yesterday, there was a panic-attack-meltdown at work. I just wanted to go home and sleep but I've been looking forward to this gig for a long time.

I went down, through a doorway on Kings Square, it's my favourite place to see bands in Bristol; it's really special, Gareth from Big Naturals has spent a lot of time into absolutely transforming that space which was just a grotty maze of damp and dark practice rooms into something beautiful and unique...

The Heads played first (I think it was their first gig as a three-piece) and the moment they began I felt their energy rush through my body and soul.

Every time I watch them, (which isn't often because they don't really play out all that much, or I don't know about it if they do) my every thought is blown away... in pieces and scattered, insignificant.

My mind doesn't wander to other things when I'm watching them, nothing comes in or out of me but the music.

The biggest smiles... it is the purest meditation.

It doesn't happen often, getting completely immersed like that. COMPLETELY.

There are only a small handful of bands who can achieve that.

To be violently cleansed by vibration.

Bands can pursue a sound or a style of music... lots of bands can be great.

But when you see a band like The Heads it makes you realize that they're in a completely different league to pretty much everything else that might get lumped in with that psych scene.

They've got something that goes far beyond what they're playing... I don't think I can explain it, but it's really, really fucking special.

Thanks to them for blowing out everything and clearing the way for the next phase.

For filling me with complete and utter pure untainted JOY and really... trying to find the right words here, but maybe... giving me a reminder of everything that I love and everything that means something to me, and why.

Driving home and trying to work out what it is and failing to put it into words, talking about how of all bands, it's The Heads we revere the most.

02/08/2011>>>

2011-08-02T10:23:00.002+01:00

Silver Stairs of Ketchikan - "20:20" is now available.

It was originally created for Bang The Bore's 2020 project, where twenty participants made a piece of music and everyone sent to each other.

There was some great stuff flying around!!!

I thought I'd do a small run on Lava Thief with different coloured artwork to that which was sent out for BTB.

This is shifting drones with cello, clarinet, bass guitar, bells, keyboard and any other instrument which happened to be laying around at the time - structured improvisation I guess, in four sections.

All with laboriously hand-made packaging.

You can get it here : http://lavathief.bigcartel.com/product/silver-stairs-of-ketchikan-20-20

29/07/2011>>>

2011-07-28T15:33:00.002+01:00

Tonight at The Cube, Bristol : A Supernormal Festival fundraiser. Please come along!

27/07/2011>>>

2011-07-27T13:24:00.001+01:00

Supernormal Festival needs you and you need it!!!

From the Rocket Recordings blog...

Supernormal is a non profit festival, it is run by people who are doing it for the love and to get the chance to host an amazing event like they did last year, which Rocket Recordings attended and had the best festival experience of our lives, think Glastonbury '71 but less hippies!!!

Anyway, we at Mission Control have just been informed that due to the loss made last year, Supernormal has just been presented with some serious up-front costs that have to be paid. Ticket sales to date wont cover this cost, but if everyone who said they would buy tickets do ASAP this limit will easily be surpassed and the festival can be assured of happening...and with last year to go by, it will be a real shame it doesn't.

Don’t forget, all these amazing bands are playing, with still a couple real special guests, still to be announced:

Live:
Skullflower
Teeth Of The Sea
Thought Forms
Gnod
Black Abba (Alexander Tucker, Moss, Sunday Mourning collaboration)
Primordial Undermind
Gum Takes Tooth
Mugstar (DJ)
Cindytalk
Fuzzy Lights
Pink Reason
Big Naturals
Black Tempest
Drunk In Hell
Bad Guys
Maria and the Mirrors
The Rent boys
The Nuns
Proxy Music
A Band
David Davant an his Spirit Wife
And many, many more

Plus art by Geraldine Swayne, Juneau Projects, Dirty Electronics, Chicks on Speed, Lucienne Cole, Tai Shani and many more.
So, if you are thinking of coming, please buy a ticket from here before 7th August...
Thanks

18/07/2011>>>

2011-07-18T00:01:00.001+01:00

I went to see Michael Chapman play at The Village Pump in Trowbridge on Friday night.

The Village Pump is my favourite venue in the entire world and it was awesome to see him play there (I know he's a much loved favourite of the people who began the folk club back in the early 1970's and are still as dedicated to it today...) after witnessing him for the first time at Union Chapel back in May, supporting Thurston Moore.

As expected, his set was a weave of mind-fucking guitar-work, fingers moving at the speed of hearts and with his fine deep, gravelly voice rich with the truths of time. He jokes between the songs, seasoned.

He's just had a record out on Ecstatic Peace, called The Resurrection And Revenge Of The Clayton Peacock - limited to 500 copies, a stunning exploration through drones n tones which though a completely different thing to the shows I witnessed, when he plays live you can hear some of those nuances and influences coming out, in richness and subtleties crafted out of the acoustic-thru-pedals execution.

Pops and reverberation, warm and deep, soul-meditation, ;;; repetition and shimmer / beautiful guitar improv (right up my street...) I recommend you try and seek out this record via whichever means you can.

Back to that Union Chapel show...

After MC's wonderful support set, Thurston Moore ... I was looking forward to this gig for a long time, naturally... not least because the new album Demolished Thoughts is one of my favourites of the year and a lovely... progression from 2007's "Trees Outside The Academy".

The sound of bittersweet nostalgia soaked in sunshine, thoughts trailing back to all those times, pleasurable hurt, pure, and clean rivers flowing through...

"whisper I love you one thousand times into his ear"...

another record that is full of subtleties that run away and come back to you constantly.

"needle hits black laquer, speakers forgive lies"

now and again it spins off into a sonic storm, delicate raw power falling out, intense and humid, this is something that was an absolute highlight at the show each time it happened... capturing and unleashing the absolute intensity of those outpourings, so CRUSHING, a la Diamond Sea but organic and just as whole... I was moved deeply.

I am in love with this LP and to see it live in such a gorgeous setting was really special.

The drummer was stand-out incredible... Mary Lattimore's harp playing as lovely as it is on the album, I'm a huge fan of Samara Lubelski's string playing (tangibly warm as always), Keith Wood / Hush Arbors joining on guitar also.

TM also played a song from Psychic Hearts and one from Trees...

but a special highlight for me was when he read some of the poetry included in the booklet that comes with the double vinyl (a nice surprise to find inside...)

Part of what he read was one of my all time favourites, something that always makes me smile and was included in his "Sensitive / Lethal" CD artwork... I'll leave you with that.

My heart was bursting joyous. Perfect gig. Thanks.

13/07/2011>>>

2011-07-13T11:03:00.000+01:00

Ian Watson, one of LT's favourite artists, is taking part in an exhibition called "Character Totem" which opens next Thursday 21st July at the Zellig space in Birmingham's Custard Factory.

‘Character Totem’ is an inspiring and colourful walk-through installation of hand-painted, wooden totem poles, lovingly created by an evolving collective of 32 illustrators, artists and image-makers from across the globe.

It looks like fun, wish I could go! Or hopefully they'll do something similar in Bristol soon... it's being presented by "Inkygoodness" who are Bristol / Birmingham based.

12/07/2011>>>

2011-07-12T16:33:00.000+01:00

Raw Power all dayer on Sunday at Corsica Studios... I was stuck on the stall with Rocket for much of the day so missed a lot of bands (including Clinic - damn!) but fuck me, Teeth Of The Sea... probably the best set I've ever seen them play, they've always been awesome but there's something about them now that seems to have exploded, they've really got it nailed...

Bo Ningen were beautiful Japanese witches conjuring up psychic firestorms;

also, it was my first time seeing Part Chimp (FINALLY) and they were incredible too, I have a very sore neck...

But yeah. Mainly, just make sure you go and see Teeth Of The Sea next time you get a chance!

29/06/2011>>>

2011-06-29T10:37:00.002+01:00

RIP Joey Chainsaw

You were a good friend to me.

You were always making something, whether you were recording down in the basement or painting or drawing - seemed like almost every time I saw you, you had a new CD-R to chuck at me.

I am sat listening to Toxic Force UFO. I am sorry that I'm so slow at making things that you never got to see it released.

I hope you are happy now and at peace finally.

We love you Bro Joe.

14/06/2011>>>

2011-06-14T12:33:00.000+01:00

Don't forget that tonight, Thought Forms, Matt Loveridge and Fuzzy Lights are playing at The Croft in Bristol.

It starts at 8, TF will be on at about 8.15, ML at about 9 and FL at 10.

Should be pretty awesome, it's in the front bar, nice n cozy.

09/06/2011>>>

2011-06-09T07:37:00.003+01:00

Begin Quote :

"Thought Forms are ecstatic to announce they will be opening for Portishead next week in Holland.

They have been personally invited by the band to perform at Vredenburg Leidsche Rijn in Utrecht on Wednesday 15th June.

As previously announced, this will be Portishead’s first show since 2008 and kicks off their 2011 European Festival Appearances."

08/06/2011>>>

2011-06-08T04:05:00.000+01:00

In Gnod We Trust starts with a crash of strings…

A vivid picture, 70’s cinema shows someone meet their end in the stairwell of some Manhattan apartment building, crushed to death by a piano sent hurtling at them by the forces of some demonic entity…

Gnod Have Arrived.

Side A is a version of Tony’s…

That famed slice of total bliss, that song that when you hear those first notes blast out at a show the hands are first thrust into the air then clutching at your ankles for the next twenty minutes… yeah Tony’s First Communion is a different version of THAT song and when I first heard it I was a little surprised, it wasn’t the Tony’s I was so familiar with from many nights of movement… but it’s fuckin’ dead on.

This is their marching music… marching out of Manchester, invading and pillaging as they go, bringing the sound of TRUTH to all those who will listen - preaching by permeating your very core; pied pipers, they lead us off one by one, joining their cause, this right-on army.

Zoom out and out and out from the grey, atop the mish-mash of architecture, red brick mixed with cement and a hint of silver lamé, out and out and out into space…

PULSATING

The intergalactic heartbeat, the life-source of all beings, heart to heart and mind to mind, third eye to third eye…

This creature has many arms, creating incessant, like some scene from a factory, production line… this is god but not the god we remember.

This sinister creature makes us in his own filthy image.

Conveyer belt.

The party grows subtly until it’s out of control.

In a trancelike state, you know only one thing and that is:

If the beat stops - you will die.

If you stop moving to the beat - you will die.

That much is certain.

Yes, as long as they keep playing this BEAT for all time, everything will be ok.

Total.

Rapture.

This is the sound of going out of your mind.

This is the sound of seeing the light.

Of finding Gnod.

Side B.---- VATICAN.

Sexual stop-start

dingy heavy-chested organ all warped, grind out commandments over the sex repetition,

Sleazy industry.

Ceremonial bells of the sacrifice, sacrificing the establishment and making a mockery of the false powers that be…

Nature taking back the planet, reclaiming what is ours; tendrils of the underlying magick curling out and down and sneaking it’s arms around you, reclaiming and inclusive to pure and secret elements.

GUTTERAL;

Replacing evils with freedom

Crushing down, blasting down, justice served.

The sound of taking over and destruction for the greater good, freeing the unstoppable truth.

This a great record, heavy psych and repetition, hooks of noise moving in and out of the foreground, completely hypnotic spirituals.

And Rocket never fail in the packaging department, I love the artwork for this (lines, lines get me every time) and the nice slice of white vinyl brings it all together sweetly...

You can get hold of In Gnod We Trust from Piccadilly Records in Manchester (where it made record of the week).

07/06/2011>>>

2011-06-07T20:27:00.000+01:00

A great night at The Cube in Bristol last Friday (3rd June)...

Matt Loveridge was up first.
It was the first "Matt Loveridge" set I've seen Matt Williams (Team Brick / Beak / Fairhorns / Gnar Hest / Klad Hest / whatever) do and he played a set in three sections; starting out like many a Team Brick set of yore - noise wall which seems to rotate upon itself until it creates drones that flit in and out like ghosts, two vocal mics, one to feed the FX and the other singing monk-style atop the cacophony.

Some direction was added when Matt picked up the guitar and was joined onstage by Thought Forms very own drummer Guy Metcalfe - it really picked up then.

It's a real pleasure to be able to watch Guy drum from an audience perspective for once, something that doesn't happen too often but I always enjoyed watching the incredible octopus boy move over the kit.

He added some scattered hard hitting shimmers and punches over toms and cymbals alike, clearly physical... meanwhile chorded progression deep guitar making a couple of wonderful moments of communication and connection clarity.

It winds down and Guy retreats... Matt ended the set with some really beautiful chiming bells ringing out across the silence of the packed out Cube Cinema; I liked how his set started out really noisily and gradually came down to the decay of a single bell. Kinda set the tone for the whole night.

Thought Forms were up next and we played a slightly shorter set than normal, had a really great time - we love playing at the Cube especially noting the juxtaposition between that and our gig the night before, (it's good to have some variety) and enjoying the chance to extend the dronage.

It was my first time seeing Six Organs Of Admittance play - Ben Chasny was solitary onstage, binding spells as his fingers flew across the strings of his acoustic guitar seemingly effortlessly, so warm and gorgeous... letting some vocals in now and again.

It was great to see him play finally after years and years of hearing about how awesome he is.

Dedicating his last song to our friend Phil Mcmullen (founder of the legendary Terrascope) and hearts were warm.

26/05/2011>>>

2011-05-26T09:49:00.005+01:00

The new Gnod album "In Gnod We Trust" is out on Rocket Recordings on Monday 6th June 2011.

You can pre-order it from Picadilly Records HERE.

Message from Mission Control :

Brothers and sisters, to prepare ourselves

to celebrate the sacred mysteries of Gnod,

let us call to mind our sins.

We believe in one Gnod,

Gnod Almighty

makers of heavy black slab on Earth.

We believe in one Chord, seamless, sublime,

the one and only sound of Gnod,

eternally begotten of the marcher.

Gnod from Gnod, light from light,

true Gnod from true Gnod,

begotten, not made, of one Being with the maker;

through Them all riffs were played.

For us and for our salvation

They came down from Manchester;

by the power of Tony’s (un)limit,

They came to reincarnate and made

the last disco’d beat.

Tony’s First Communion, if you choose to

be blessed by this record, is the first reception

of the Sacrament on vinyl; this long-standing

favourite has been celebrated over centuries of

incarnations and Rocket are proud to release

its rite of passage.

The ceremony of this Communion lasts

20 minutes and 2 seconds.

On the second side Gnod rose again in

accordance with the Scriptures; They ascended

into noise upon this Earth and were seated at

the right hand of the Vatican.

This 13 minute holy doctrine sees Gnod take

away the sins of the world; it cleanses the

incense (the in-sense-out-sense) from the all

seeing (third) eye, like a Faustian Butthole

Surfers sharing bread with Shit & Shine and

John Carpenter turning water into wine.

Some ceremonies owe their institution to purely

physical reason; for Gnod it’s the mystical

reason that They represent.

INGNODWETRUST is founded on honour

and soul, They for one are finally washing their

hands with downcast eyes.

23/05/2011>>>

2011-05-23T23:43:00.000+01:00

The gig at the Croft on Saturday night which was a part of the “Stokes Croft Festival” was awesome, in spite of turning up after the Hysterical Injury had already played and the fact that Hunting Lodge had to pull out.

I turned up just as Big Joan were starting; hammering, repetitive bass-lines (mmm…) and knife-you guitars, with Annette Berlin’s animalistic vocals burning through and simmering… Sharp fuzz.

They’re a “have to dance” band and a band I haven’t seen enough over the years unfortunately, in spite of their legendary status in Bristol.

Gonga followed.

Fuck.

I’ve seen a lot of Gonga shows over the past few years…

I’ve seen them with Joe Volk singing. I’ve seen them with Chris from Taint singing. I’ve seen them with Tom from Salute singing. I’ve seen them with Team Brick singing, not to mention numerous different bass players.

I’ve seen them play instrumental versions of songs from the albums. I’ve seen them play improvised instrumental sets. Nothing I’ve seen them do has compared to what they did on Saturday.

It seems like after all the seemingly constant upheaval member-wise, Gonga have finally found their way and have really gelled as a guitar / bass / drums three-piece.

It’s a completely different set, they’ve taken the best bits of the “old” Gonga that I know and love and then twisted those influences up with those creative wanderings that were audible in their improv set at Invada Invasion and they’ve really moved on as a band, it’s a totally fresh sound and as much as I always loved watching Gonga play in the past, I wasn’t prepared for how much they blew my mind to pieces.

They played three songs, I think… the set, particularly the last song, seemed to have a far more psychedellic edge to it, more repetition… called to mind certain Circle tracks and even some of the punkier Gnod stuff, the ones that really make you lose your shit. Anyway, all I know is that I had my eyes closed most of the time but when I did look up to the stage, they had a new kind of confidence and togetherness to them that wasn’t always there before.

Really looking forward to seeing them play live again, and to any record that may come about.

And then there was Geisha.

Ten whole years of Geisha… a more drastic metamorphosis on their part, this time they were three (which was great to see) and again, they delivered a digital onslaught of filthy, joyous noise.

Wearing the same shirts they were wearing ten years ago at their first ever show together.

Aww.

Ten More Years!

22/05/2011>>>

2011-05-22T21:47:00.002+01:00

Touching this record for the first time, my heart is full right up...

19/05/2011>>>

2011-05-19T02:03:00.002+01:00

There's this guy who lives in Brooklyn, his name is Jared Barron. He happens to be one of my top three drummers in the world. Ever.

When I met him he was playing drums for Primordial Undermind but he's played in a bunch of other bands too - Viva Nada, Purse Snatchers, he even played drums for Thought Forms during an East Coast jaunt, not to mention being a part of that amazing 77 Boadrum.

He also happens to be a pretty damn awesome musician off the drums... he can rock out on the guitar pretty good.

So, he's been threatening to embark on some solo-guitar action for a while now and today I got a really exciting email to say that it's finally happening!

He's playing at 3rd Ward's annual birthday BBQ - 3rd Ward is an organisation / space in Brooklyn which gives creative people an opportunity to - well, to be creative.

They provide facilities and resources (such as studios for photography, jewellery making, wood and metal shops) as well as classes and a supportive artistic community - a great place, basically.

Jared is going to be sound-tracking some visuals which are taking place.

If you're in New York, go and check it out.

I wish that I could.

3rd Ward's Annual Birthday BBQ!
May 21, 2 pm
195 Morgan Ave, Brooklyn, NY
FREE  

"3rd Ward is celebrating its 5th birthday party and we want to celebrate with you! Swing by for live music, delicious BBQ, cheap summer drinks, free educational workshops, and some rad bike-themed entertainment.   

In 2006, 3rd Ward opened with a new idea: a one-stop “innovation incubator” for you to make something, learn something, and be something. Five years later, we’re going strong and have you to thank. This also marks the 4th anniversary of our now-famous Free Bike program. All 12-month 3rd Ward Memberships come with a free custom-designed bike. Even after all these years, people still don’t believe it. It’s true!"

18/05/2011>>>

2011-05-18T11:52:00.000+01:00

Ten years of Geisha.
That is what this month marks...

To celebrate this joyous occasion, they're playing two shows in the UK -

The first one is on Thursday 19th May, at The Others in London (a Transient Constellations gig with Gnar Hest on the bill and more...)

The second one takes place on Saturday May 21st and I'm very excited about it, as well as Geisha the lineup includes Hunting Lodge, Gonga, Big Joan, The Hysterical Injury... the list goes on, it's an absolutely awesome line up at The Croft in Bristol as part of the Stokes Croft Festival that's happening this weekend.

On the same night at the other end of Bristol, there is a really interesting looking event taking place at Spike Island...

ROSE KALLAL / MICK HARRIS / TOM RICHARDS

A night of performance, sculpture and film exploring technology, perception and the legacy of Marshall McLuhan. Featuring 16mm projections and modular synthesis by New York filmmaker Rose Kallal, a live set by Scorn founder and former Napalm Death drummer Mick Harris and DIY electronics from London based sculptor and sound artist Tom Richards.

Curated by Shama Khanna and Paul Purgas

Supported by the Henry Moore Foundation

http://www.spikeisland.org.uk/events/narcissus_trance

Looks really interesting!

17/05/2011>>>

2011-05-17T10:20:00.004+01:00

There was a free show last night in Bath...

The Hysterical Injury are Annie Gardiner and Lee Stone.

They've been playing together as a duo for some time now, bass guitar / drums / vocals.
(Really enjoyed the sweeping delays on Annie's voice, manually twizzled in during the set!)

Anyway, they were up first - as always hyper energetic and blasting out sledgehammer melodies on the bass guitar with relentless clatter, battle calls... really looking forward to hearing their forthcoming album, they also had some lovely looking screenprinted and handstitched EP's on the merch table which I need to get my hands on.

Anta are four, formed out of the ashes of Geisha, Don Bear, Rose Kemp's band and the solo projects of Giant Clown and Alexander Thomas - their first album is out on Fat Paul of Invada Records' offshoot label Diogenes Recordings, which specialises in "lavish limited editions"...

They played probably the best set I've seen them do yet, fresh from their UK tour and bathed in green light they really came together as a four-headed prog-monster, massive gong n all.
Riffs and space and shimmering synths knitting everything together.

We (Thought Forms) had a great time playing too and even got to try out a little "unplugged improv" during a mid-set power cut, which was a lot of fun.

And we were graced with the presence of the now Berlin-dwelling Antoni Maiovvi who was playing some awesome tunes in between...

It was a really nice surprise to have such a good turnout at a show like that on a Monday night in Bath... awesome start to the week!

16/05/2011>>>

2011-05-16T16:24:00.006+01:00

Went to an absolutely amazing exhibition at The Crypt Gallery (St Pancras Church) in London over the weekend.

"Just Under The Surface", presented by Art In Touch, is an installation in the crypt which combines sound, light, projections and sculpture...

Projection flickering over the floor like night-waves.

A portal at the end of the corridor (reminded me of the James Turrell exhibition I saw last year).

Balancing plants like shrunken heads...

The sculptures like bones of extinct creatures were for touching, the whole thing was intended to be a tactile experience...

It's an absolutely amazing space, a labyrinth of rooms under the ground with the smell of dark wet Earth... feeling unsettled sat on a Church pew watching the main projection with stereo sound flickering along with the wind on the brickwork... the dead in the walls and ectoplasmic sheets, drifting wraiths captured in a moment, captured in MOTION on the floor or pouring from a wall - really quite scary.

In the time down there, sucked across to that middle ground between two worlds, tempted to speak with them.

The exhibition finishes on May 19th - if you can get down there before then, it's well worth it.

(Thanks to Chris Rocket for the photos)

The artists involved were Rosalyn Driscoll, Bonnie Kemske, Tereza Stehlikova and Anais Tondeur, Claire Petitmengin, Dan Tobin Smith, Kay Syrad and Robin Rimbaud.

12/05/2011>>>

2011-05-12T13:22:00.000+01:00

Upcoming gig in Bristol :

21/04/2011>>>

2011-04-21T14:42:00.000+01:00

Ian Watson, the artist / musician / man behind Phantomhead Recordings is showing his work as part of a group exhibition in London in May alongside Jennie Webber,
Polly Alizarin Harvey,
Rebecca Hiscocks and
Maria Vladimirov.

"CURIO celebrates the natural curiosity of the
human mind through print, drawing and collage.
A collection of five emerging illustrators, create
detailed and visually rich work that reflects their
collective interest in curiosities.
Referencing historical fact and folklore, Curio finds
magic in the obscure and uncanny aspects typically
found in everyday life."

EAST Gallery.
214 Brick Lane, London
6th-8th May, 2011.
PV: 6-9pm Thursday 5th May.

20/04/2011>>>

2011-04-20T09:51:00.003+01:00

There is an amazing interview with Gnod (aka the best band in England-the-world-the-universe) over on the Rocket Recordings blog, conducted by Father O.

Go forth and check it out... you'll be blessed to meet such genuine, inspirational and interesting characters as these in your lifetime.

Click here:

Gnod interview with Rocket Recordings.

18/04/2011>>>

2011-04-18T23:32:00.001+01:00

My better half showed up on Friday night with a surprise present for me...

A beautifully made intricate masterpiece of a package, housing a cassette split (a run of 100) between Thurston Moore and Gravitations.

TM starting with a crackle scrape and buzz, growling heavy; a jet set gramaphone into fizzed angelic guitar hymns moving quickly and sweetly through, dispelling and churning it up, sending it straight back out through the roof in beams as it came down... the clouds come in, the thick air smelling singed and electric.

Cutting

Clear clean water on a Sunday morning, stream running through town past green climbers and pickup trucks and sunflares, picking up leaves and tin cans; sunlight sticking to the cool wet and gaining momentum / speeding across plains as the temperature fluctuates. Shadows flitting past. Blues spirits spiriting through.

Ascension, residual energies. Electric. Lose yourself in the storm, drone out perfection.

Gravitations on the flip, all spazzy jazzy drums and guitar sex... chaotic boxy thrashing and warm abandon, creating outlines and paper tangles in the air.

15/04/2011>>>

2011-04-15T11:06:00.001+01:00

TUSK, Newcastle's finest promoters and tour-bookers are putting on a festival in October!

I've been looking for an excuse to go to Newcastle for a while now and I think I've found it....

_______________________________________

TUSK Festival
Oct 7-9 2011
Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

Featuring BILL ORCUTT + ALVARIUS B (Sun City Girls) + NATURAL SNOW BUILDINGS + PULSE EMITTER + HISS GOLDEN MESSENGER + BONG
+ talks + DJs + many more acts & surprises TBC

Early bird £25 weekend passes on sale now: http://www.wegottickets.com/event/115922

TUSK Music are delighted to announce the birth of TUSK Festival.

TUSK Festival will take place in Newcastle upon Tyne over the weekend of October 7-9 and feature an unrivalled line-up of unclassifiable international artists. Across 3 days and 2 of the city’s best loved music venues, TUSK Festival will feature numerous coups and more than a few firsts: confirmed acts include extremely rare live appearances by wild improvising guitar shredder and ex-Harry Pussy member Bill Orcutt; the alter ego of Alan Bishop of Sun City Girls and Sublime Frequencies, Alvarius B; French dream pop/drone duo Natural Snow Buildings; Oregon’s post-kosmische synth voyager Pulse Emitter; the glazed country-blues extrapolations of MC Taylor’s Hiss Golden Messenger project; and the psychedelic doom monolith that is Bong.

There’s still a whole list of surprises up the organisers’ sleeves too, and during the 3 days of the festival, held at the Cluny and Star & Shadow venues, there will also be talks and social occasions that make this weekend unmissable for anyone in love with adventurous music, be it vinyl addicts, artists, producers, labels or promoters.

A limited number of Early Bird weekend passes are on sale now for the bargain price of £25. Shortly afterwards, weekend and day tickets will go on sale – and with more news of the stellar line-up to follow soon, we expect tickets to sell fast, so don’t miss out!

Keep up to date with TUSK Festival news with the following links:

http://www.tuskmusic.co.uk
TUSK group on Facebook
@tusk_music on Twitter

Only 50 discounted Early Bird Weekend Passes on sale now - http://www.wegottickets.com/event/115922

1/04/2011>>>

2011-04-01T11:16:00.006+01:00

The first Matt Loveridge (Matt Williams aka Team Brick / Fairhorns / Gnar Hest etc etc ∞) EP is part of his "Indexes" series. The first Indexes, in fact.

Entitled "Radical Laser Spectre", it comes with really lovely artwork, as I've come to expect from him of late.

It starts inaudible

a rattle then a hum

another deep-space-church but this one lies here on Earth,

in a dry place

(I have to turn to make sure there is nothing behind me when it kicks in loud)

this sound is dark, for the first time he has produced something truly cold and dark

like a heavy black stone falling

slowly through the depths of the ocean, to which there is no bottom...

but the evil tinges leave and what creeps in are the familiar warm sadnesses that I am used to from him.

scraping, scrattling noise punctuated

exoskelatal

by a bass sound, melancholy, perfect fucking melancholy bass-grammar

making sense like the rational thoughts, the resolution when your mind is on fire and your chest is too tight to breathe and you don't want to wake up tomorrow

this is the sound of the internal.

at times, certain shifts within this piece of music are intensely, intensely beautiful and moving.

at the times in between those times, it leaves the heart in the mouth.

as light helps to dissolve the tangled overwhelmingness, left still with the confusion circling round and round, acceptance... (what's done is done and we sprawl outwards into the air around our bodies, further out into the sky... past the tree-tops and hang there above the clouds...) euphoria hits when the realisation kicks in of how pure that pain was.

I think he invokes it but I'm not sure he understands it.

The music is above and seperate to life and it's nothing if not powerful.

Meanders chaotically for a while and then some Boredoms-esque rhythms kick out from behind the fizz and shrieks, until everything aligns in perfect order before alighting elegantly and signing off, positive and completely light.

A total ascent over 23 minutes.

If only he could spend more time on these projects rather than soaked up in other things - not executing them, for that comes naturally, but letting them out to breathe and performing them.

According to his blog, he hasn't "worked out Paypal" yet but you can pick up a copy of Radical Laser Spectre at his / Beak> shows.

The first Matt Loveridge show will take place at CAMP in London on April 19th with Liturgy.

31/03/2011>>>

2011-03-31T11:49:00.000+01:00

The first Baby Birds Don't Drink Milk album - "Jam Packed Full Of Awesome" - has been re-issued by Bridgetown Records, on a C30 cassette.

Here is what they say about it :

Hazy indie rock tunes bridged by a smooth veneer of ambient and experimental instrumentation. This is a long overdue reissue of the first album (with revised artwork) by these Kansas workaholics that relentlessly tour the USA and Europe and have released a host of records, CDs and tapes worldwide, including a new LP on Fire Talk. [clear shells with gold foil lining, packaged in blue cases]

I just ordered my copy, apparently there are only a couple left so get in quick!

go here to buy one : http://www.bridgetownrecords.info/

25/03/2011>>>

2011-03-25T18:56:00.002Z

Coming home ill from work provides a good opportunity to catch up on some listening... my friend Joe gave me a whole bunch of Spencer Clarke (Skaters) odds and ends a couple of weeks back, which has spurred me to dig out the rest of the collection;

Drifting in and out of consciousness with Spencer Clarke in any of his incarnations

(I love/hate the confusion with Skaters stuff of never being quite sure what anyhing is... picking up the photocopied don't-quite-fit collage sleeves in Second Layer and searching for a title within the grey somewhere, the white cd-rs that are never marked, so mystiqual)

provides the perfect conditions for tiny dream snippets, colourful...

His music reminds me vividly of things that I have never seen and places I have never been to... not in this lifetime, anyway.

16/03/2011>>>

2011-03-16T15:46:00.001Z

Gnod are looking for shows to complete their European tour in April + May :

"GNOD EURO TOUR 2011...

Any help to fill the dates with no confirmed shows will be greatly appreciated. Please send an email to :ingnodwetrust@hotmail.co.uk or magicklabel@gmail.com
WE JUST WANNA PLAY
Gnod Bless

April
9-13 Recording session & Gig, Cherbourg, France
15 Nyborg, Muzirkus , Denmark
16 Odense, Munkemøllestræde 20 , Denmark
17 Thy Camp , Denmark
18 Krabbesholm , Denmark
19 Copenhagen (Kronborggade 3 , Denmark
20 Copenhagen (Drone w. “Paydirt Collective”), Denmark
21 Copenhagen (at Salon Pissoir), Denmark
22 Århus, with Z’s , Denmark
23 LOOKING FOR SHOw
24 Hamburg, Gange Viertl (confirmed)
25 LOOKING FOR SHOW
26 LOOKING FOR SHOW
27 Poland (waiting for info)
28 Poland (waiting for info)
29 Poland (waiting for info)
30 / 4 Ternopil - Art-Cafe "Koza"

May
1 Khmelnitsky - Club "Matador", Ukraine
2 Chernovtsi - Public-Pub, Ukraine
3 Ivano-Frankivsk - Club "Garmyder" , Ukraine
4 L'Viv - Club "Left Bank, Ukraine
5
6 Kosice, Tabacka , Ukraine
7 LOOKING FOR SHOW
8 LOOKING FOR SHOW
9 LOOKING FOR SHOW
10LOOKING FOR SHOW
11LOOKING FOR SHOW
12LOOKING FOR SHOW
13 LOOKING FOR SHOW
14 LOOKING FOR SHOW
15 LOOKING FOR SHOW
16 LOOKING FOR SHOW
17 Berlin

15/03/2011>>>

2011-03-15T09:49:00.001Z

There is a woman who lives in Bushwick, NYC called Jade Hughes.

She takes beautiful photographs using several different cameras - capturing the things that make her happy with whatever she has on her at the time.

She's just started a new photo blog, you can check it out and follow her here:

http://photohappinessrj.blogspot.com/

08/03/2011>>>

2011-03-08T15:47:00.003Z

Went to see SJ Esau at The Croft in Bristol on Saturday -

as usual a thoroughly enjoyable set, really love his new stuff and definitely looking forward to the release of the LONG awaited third album for Anticon which is being released this Autumn.

He is going on tour in France this week, go and check him out or pass the word on to people who can!

9^th March – Rennes – Le Mondo Bizarro

10^th March – Nantes – Le Violon Dingue

11^th March – Lille – Le Drugstore

12^th March – Paris – Fleche D’or

28/02/2011>>>

2011-02-28T17:59:00.001Z

More exciting news about Supernormal Festival - SKULLFLOWER and PRIMORDIAL UNDERMIND have now been added to the lineup!

Having seen Skullflower play a mind boggling set at No Fun Fest in 2009 and hearing their set at Supersonic Festival later the same year( but being unable to get into the room where they were playing it was that rammed) I have to say I am extremely excited about the prospect of seeing them play at such a wonderful location as Supernormal!

Primordial Undermind - I've seen them unleash their freaked out psych explosions many times (not to mention the absolutely stunning solo set that Eric Arn did at Sonic Sanctuary back in 2007) and am really excited that they'll be back in England again after three very long years of waiting.

More info is available over on the Rocket Recordings blog, as they are this year's curators!

Check it out... http://rocketrecordings.blogspot.com/

26/02/2011>>>

2011-02-26T18:47:00.002Z

Check out the video for Baby Birds Don't Drink Milk song "Last Night Sucked" from the amazing album "Skeletor and Me" which came out on Fire Talk at the end of last year. Awesome track .

25/02/2011>>>

2011-02-25T18:23:00.001Z

Deej last night...

short improv set
guitar echoes all spacious
into keyboard
harsh screams

pedal chemistry and
bringing it down
with a perfect dictaphone-to-pickup ending.

24/02/2011>>>

2011-02-24T13:50:00.001Z

Deej Dhariwal from Thought Forms is playing at The Croft in Bristol tonight...

He's got a CD-R called "Still Connecting" coming out on Lava Thief in March, which I'm very excited about...

Go and see him work his improv magic tonight!

14/02/2011>>>

2011-02-14T11:56:00.000Z

This weekend I revisited a download of a Baby Birds Don't Drink Milk live set, from The Radish Patch in Chicago in... June 2008?

It was an intimate show in someones living room which we stumbled upon by pure chance - I think everyone was a little surprised by two English tourists turning up at such an event.

It was low lights, warm people and a bemused cat wandering around as people crammed in...

Download it here :

http://www.bbddm.chompwomp.com/

11/02/2011>>>

2011-02-11T14:23:00.000Z

Our Love Will Destroy The World - aka Campbell Kneale of Birchville Cat Motel / Black Boned Angel etc is playing a gig in Cardiff on Sunday 20th February with support from Team Sports - an improv / experimental group featuring artist / man behind Phantomhead Recordings Mr Ian Watson.

Should be a fantastic evening...

07/02/2011>>>

2011-02-07T12:52:00.001Z

Electric Wizard are playing a one off UK show in Bristol on Sunday March 6th.

It's at the Bierkeller and tickets are available either from here :

The Corleone Family

or from Bristol Ticket Shop.

01/02/2011>>>

2011-02-01T09:55:00.007Z

Early-bird tickets for this year's Supernormal Festival go on sale from today til February 14th at a special price of £40 - there are limited numbers of these available so get in quick!

If you missed the first Supernormal last year, don't make the same mistake again, it was an absolute blast as anyone who was there will tell you!

Already confirmed for this year's festival are Gnod, Teeth Of The Sea and Thought Forms, and Rocket Recordings are set to curate.

Supernormal 2011 takes place from Friday 19th - Sunday 21st August.

Click here for early-bird tickets!

31/01/2011>>>

2011-01-31T16:36:00.001Z

First Gnod experience of 2011 on Saturday night at The Horatia in London was suitably insane - they were playing tracks from their forthcoming album on Rocket Recordings which I'm now looking forward to more than ever.

They were relentless - 6 strong this time round, hammering bass VS hammering bass as John sent out some heavy space screams into the ether, Del battering drums from a standing position, beating out some HOLY hell unleashed as Paddy laid into his guitar amidst all the chaos, it wouldn't be the same without some bloodshed.

Gnod are the best band in the world as keeps being said. No contest.

29/01/2011>>>

2011-01-29T00:42:00.002Z

The first Fairhorns EP is a really refreshing musical direction for Matt Williams (aka Team Brick / Gnar Hest / Klad Hest)

A certain stain of the Team Brick EP "Hardon For Hadron" seeps out across the pixellated collective memory here... not musically but in it's overall vibe, perhaps because to me, the four tracks on this EP seem interlinked to tell a story set in a computer game world...

(REGEN THRUM)

A boy, part human part something else... he is embarking on a quest, setting out to face great dangers but all for the greater good of his people.

The first track has a ritualistic, ceremonial vibe... equatorial fires and bare feet stomping on the dusty ground, the rites of passage, a celebration and well wishers sending him off into the warm night all feather headed and dancing with a hint of sadness, the good kind of sadness that is there for a reason and fills you with pride.

He may be leaving them but he promises, reassures them with a divine wisdom that he will be back... and if he is not back, that it will all have been worthwhile anyway...

(NODENS)

and he's gone, into the forest and we pan up to the sky at the Clang! of a bell, electrics meeting the future meeting the past along a tangled phone-box connection...

and he's on his way! Fighting for PURE GOOD!

FUCK, it makes me want to D A N C E!!!!

A montage of our hero slyly and truthfully dodging nimbly around foes, wielding a his sword and dancing impertinently at them, a display, victorious and confident. The Gods smiling down in full colour completely saturated and glimmering.

A hulusi burst once again down the intergalactic telephone wires...

(ALMUT)

and here, setting up camp under a sky dripping full, yeah settling down to sleep under the stars it's really reminiscent here of our friends from Kansas, USA - Baby Birds Don't Drink Milk.

Those krauty rhythms buried in fuzziness, cacophonic joy growing from dreams and restless sleep, Gondry-esque. Piling on layer after layer.

The stars move across the sky and dawn breaks, spinning out the sound into mist.

(PINECONE)

and now dangerous territory looms ahead.

Inching forward, head held high, trepidation mounting but through the undergrowth he must thrash...

Out of sight now, here is the moment he was waiting for.

This is what he was sent here to achieve. Surrounded. Flaming arrows scattering all around.

A ship hovers overhead, as the scene becomes clear.

We're back in the ritual.

They begin to chant.

Valiant with his sword he won't back down.

Sacrifice.

It drops out and drops in at the same time, the otherworldly tongues...

Into the fire.

If Team Brick was white light, this is golden gloaming.

Having been witness to the first (and only thus far?) Fairhorns show and then having been witness to this EP, I hope 2011 sees MW doing a lot more with this project; these four tracks hold themselves among the best work he's ever created.

(really digging the artwork too.)

26/01/2011>>>

2011-01-26T09:39:00.000Z

Gnod are playing in London this Saturday the 29th January...

17/01/2011>>>

2011-01-17T15:53:00.000Z

Caught sets by Hesomagari and Geisha on Saturday night at The Croft in Bristol...

Hesomagari is Sam "SJ Esau" Wisternoff and Yoshino "Zun Zun Egui" Shigihara. Their talents combined produce results which are exactly as you'd expect - interesting, fun, clever and really catchy.

Watching them interact with each other onstage is also a real treat and as always whenever these guys are involved, absolutely stunning visuals to go with.

Only their - fourth gig I believe? I hope they do many more and would love to hear a record from them too.

Geisha; since they've become somewhat scattered geographically, they've thankfully carried on writing music together along a slightly different route...

They played the show as a duo, filthy electronic noise.

they were brutal

they were HOT

they were fucking awesome.

Long live Geisha, miles CANNOT get in the way!

12/01/2011>>>

2011-01-12T19:30:00.000Z

Ian Watson's new zine comprising of drawings he did in late 2010 arrived in the post today...

Ian is an artist who lives in Cardiff and his work featured in the recent 3-week exhibition that Sonic Sanctuary put on at The Louisiana in Bristol.

He also runs Phantomhead Recordings which puts out recycled tapes by people such as Xulsigiae and Anton Maiof.

This is a beautiful collection of works printed on lovely thick paper with a dust jacket, hand numbered limited edition of 122!

They're only £3.50 - you can buy one from his webstore : http://psychicattack.bigcartel.com/product/brain-blood-volume-1-zine

04/01/2011>>>

2011-01-04T22:59:00.001Z

Ended 2010 smiling and watching Sonic Youth play at Hammersmith Apollo...

Favourite gigs of last year?

GNOD AT SUPERNORMAL FESTIVAL

It was a great first year of Supernormal Festival, fantastic vibe overall... but when Gnod hit the stage something wildly fucking phenomonal happened and that hour or so was one of the live highlights of my LIFE. Watch Gnod. Always watch Gnod.

TIM HECKER at The Arnolfini, Bristol

Obliterating.

MASTER MUSICIANS OF BUKKAKE + BILL HORIST at The Croft, Bristol

Bill Horist opened the show with a mind melting display of guitar alchemy, this happened and then Master Musicians graced the stage through a wall of fog (and under the beekeepers mask Milky Burgess still somehow wearing sunglasses? He's officially the most awesome person ever we think). They never disappoint, can't wait to see them again when they're in Europe for Roadburn festival this April.

JOEY CHAINSAW + STEFAN KUSHIMA at The Basement, Bristol

They both played solo sets on this day but their collaboration stole the show, gloopy brotherhood.

ONEIDA'S OCROPOLIS at ATP

Oneida are amazing. Kid Millions the super-human drum beast. TEN HOURS they played for. The bits I saw were both varied and wonderful - climax for me being when White Hills joined them onstage towards the end of the night.

A SILVER MT ZION at The Fleece, Bristol

Woven warmth perfection.

BOREDOMS at The Forum, London

There are no words. To say "religious experience" would probably be a vast understatement.

BARDO POND at ATP

One of our favourite ever Bardo Pond sets, brought a tear to the eye... they played a couple of tracks from their amazing new album, too.

MV/EE at Cafe Oto

Two sets from these favourites - the first was a droned out, blissed out trio incorporating Mick Flower into the MV+EE followed by a second, rocking set with added drummer. F-R-DOUBLE-E.

BLUE SABBATH BLACK FIJI at The Croft

Headlining a Sonic Sanctuary night, Glasgow-via-the-continent duo tore it up and electrified the room, superfun.

20/12/2010>>>

2010-12-20T11:03:00.001Z

Well - unfortunately the Rocket / Noisestar "Unsilent Night" gig scheduled for the 18th - featuring a stellar lineup topped by GNOD - was cancelled due to the sodding snow preventing Gnod, Hey Colossus and Thought Forms from getting to London.

Absolutely gutted, but fear not it will be rescheduled for sometime in the Spring. We Gneed our fix.

19/12/2010>>>

2010-12-19T12:11:00.000Z

I got Teeth Of The Sea's new album "Your Mercury" on vinyl and it looks FUCKING AMAZING...

look, it's got FOIL on it...

I am always impressed by foil but this foil in particular is really getting me hot...

it sounds great too though.

You can Get It Here >>>>>> Picadilly Records

18/12/2010>>>

2010-12-18T12:01:00.005Z

Bumtapes have a couple of new releases out before the end of the year -

I'm particularly excited about the Temple Lunaire as it features Eric and Vanessa Arn from Primordial Undermind with Stegan Kushima, big favourites of ours!

here :

TEMPLE LUNAIRE C30

Tempel Lunaire consists of Stefan Kushima (Cruise Family / Tempel Solaire) Artem Bezukladnikov (Kema / Himroshima Bird Market) Eric Arn (Tempel Solaire / Jandeks european tour bassist) and his wife Vanessa Arn. This alliance transmits some radical omissions of cosmic ritualistic drones and mantra's, buried spirit's groaning from beneath this cakey sweet goo with whisking percussion palpitating in a slowed down grey area rhythm, kinda like a SPK spliced with old skool Skaters. Some sweet subtle breakdowns, with bows and further ascending groans breaking down furthermore into bare room snare pounding before the ecstasy of the Bside. It strays into luscious pulsations that break into your intoxicated state of mind! This sweet sweet 30 minute cassette exudes an other! 40 copies

DREAMCATCHER – Thoracic Empires C26

Opening band for this years Godspeed ATP Festival, Canadian duo Dreamcatcher offer mumbled echoes of subdued glitching and suffocated swirling rotations, vocals burst through with static annihilation, dot matrix printers vomit lost crawling roaches, that climb over the side, up the walls, across ceilings and back down again as their waves repeat faster and faster! As if it were the new euphoria, the world would be even more twisted in a terminator house party kinda way! These guys lay between fire alarm cool and holocaust escape!! Aquatic sci-fi pulses eat at the heart while it pounds to the disintegrating beat… 50 copies

INNERCITY/SOFIE SEA & BILLY A,B. –Split C43

Sofie Cooper (whose music has appeared in many guises throughout the uk underground) & London based artist Billy A,B create an incredibly colourful palette of dreamscape drones, all woven together with battered late night guitars, keyboards, synths and sepia snapshots of memories. The flip side of the tape is Antwerp’s Innercity, the solo project of Hans Dens whose futuristic experimental beats hit you like a wave of pulsating neon colours, the whole side is one long synth journey which flows with a Kosmiche current in a New Age Ocean.. 40 copies

FOR PHOTOS AND OTHER RELEASES GO TO http://bumtapes.blogspot.com

TAPES

UK £3.90 EU £4.50 World £4.90

07/12/2010>>>

2010-12-07T15:08:00.002Z

Well Thurston Moore has just gotten me all excited over something I can't have over on his Flowers & Cream blog.

Thurston Moore + Mats Gustafsson + Chris Corsano + Bill Nace.

How much better could it get?

And it looks like all 300 copies are already sold out...

Any sellers?! (ah ok it's a long shot but... get in touch!)

26/11/2010>>>

2010-11-26T16:11:00.000Z

Last night down at FAG STUDIOS in Bristol (an awesome space run by Gareth of Big Naturals and Fat Paul who owns The Croft / Invada Records) was the first ever gig of FAIRHORNS.

Fairhorns is Matt Williams - since putting a stop to Team Brick earlier this year (after ten years at it) he's splintered himself off into several different musical channels, this particular fragment retaining a lot of that Team Brick sound but from a different angle... more (cold) hazy sun/light than burning white(hot)/light.

Keyboard wizardry atop sampled rhythms n drone which was all innocent tribal and there was dancing, he was dancing with an imaginary deer.

And fuck, the voice; I've seen him countless times and yet still, every time he opens his mouth to unleash it, it knocks me back. Rare.

Really enjoyed it, interesting to hear the new sound - it wouldn't be at all out of place on Not Not Fun.

All in all, nobody does it better.

And I really hope that they put on more shows there, it's a great space : atmosphere.

Fairhorns is playing again this Saturday 27th November at The Croft with The Hysterical Injury and more.

23/11/2010>>>

2010-11-23T23:09:00.004Z

Some awesome person has uploaded footage of a Northampton Wools set which took place in Brooklyn on 12th November and featured Chris Corsano on drums. (For those who don't know, Northampton Wools is a white-hot guitar duo of Thurston Moore and Bill Nace.)
I've been pretty much besotted by them since seeing them play back in 2008 when I was lucky enough to be on the correct continent... so now I'm pleased to be able to at least see videos from some of those gigs which I miss out on due to a lack of proximity. Check out the videos below!
(The guy who filmed these writes a blog: http://davecromwellwrites.blogspot.com/)

13/11/2010>>>

2010-11-13T20:42:00.001Z

"Golden Contact" by Joey Chainsaw... a limited edition CD-R (30 copies) in nice silver-on-black packaging.

It sounds heavy... like, physically heavy. If you could transport yourself into the world that he creates over these five tracks, the air would be thick and warm, you'd have to wade through it.

Your parents took you through a car-wash when you were a kid... it sounds the way that water looks pummeling the window, a sheet of distorted vision in frosted waterfalls and while it lasts, you feel like you're in another dimension; the outside world feels terrifying and unknown.

Repetition sinks in all ritualistic, the pounding sound of the sacrificial ceremony... then the wind whipping the tops of empty milk bottles, desolation. A radio still blaring out from the frozen wreckage. He creates an incredibly visual experience with this one, vivid colours and landscapes.

He's going to have something out on Lava Thief soon... watch this space.

11/11/2010>>>

2010-11-11T14:30:00.005Z

Rocket Recordings + Noisestar Records are putting another Christmas Party on...it takes place on 18th December at The Victoria in Mile End, London.

There will be live sets from Gnod, Hey Colossus, Thought Forms, One Unique Signal, HAG, Sunday Mourning + Hills have Riffs and DJ sets from Teeth Of The Sea, The Quietus, Noisestar + Rocket.

£5 advance from www.wegottickets.com/event/99194 or £7 on the door and as with their previous events they're pressing a limited edition CD of exclusive tracks from each band playing and these will be given away to the first 50 people through the door.

10/11/2010>>>

2010-11-10T14:50:00.002Z

Master Musicians Of Bukkake put out a two track 7" in October...

"Themes From The Motion Picture Man With The Green Gloves On" and "Theme From The Science Fiction Telivision Show ban Bè Cua Anh" - which is just the most ridiculously catchy track ever (not to say that they haven't done catchy tunes before but THIS... you'll really have to hear it to believe it!)

Was gutted that I missed them when they came over to play at Supersonic and in London but this has put a smile on my face.

I really love the artwork too... that photo isn't very clear but it looks great.

You can order it from Conspiracy Records by clicking >this link<.

09/11/2010>>>

2010-11-09T09:35:00.006Z

Teeth Of The Sea's new album "Your Mercury" is being released on Rocket Recordings on Monday the 22nd of November... it's without a doubt one of the best releases Rocket have put out (and there's a LOT of great stuff in that catalogue), starting (always a good sign) with absolutely crushingly weighty fuzz and winding it's way through 10 tracks of really diverse terrain, including solo tracks from each of the four band members which is a nice touch.

The release party is at The Lexington in London on the 22nd but they're also DJ'ing at The Mucky Pup on the 20th and playing an instore at Rough Trade East on the 18th.

They're on top form at the moment so go and see them if you can... then do yourself a favour and BUY THE ALBUM.

08/11/2010>>>

2010-11-08T22:10:00.003Z

Thanks so much to everyone who came to the Sonic Sanctuary gig at The Louisiana in Bristol on Saturday night and obviously, to everyone who contributed.

SJ Esau was first on, it's been a long time since I've seen him play live but as ever he made me smile inside and out... he's one of those people who makes me just really glad to be alive.

His music has so much going on in it and it's clever but not in a crap "look at me I'm so clever" kind of way, in a beautifully natural and free kinda way... and normally I find loops kind of annoying but not here, he does it right, he's one of the few people who does...

He started with a new (new to me) song "Soul II Skull" which has been circling around my head since Saturday, then a classic, "Why Are You Angry" followed by a couple more newish numbers, some awesome visuals and a karaoke ending.

It was great to have him back at Sonic Sanctuary.

We (Thought Forms) played next and thoroughly enjoyed it (it's always great sound at The Louisiana) which made up for our disastrous gig in London the week before...

Teeth Of The Sea played an absolute blinder, three tracks from their new album which is coming out very soon, yeah they're really on fire at the moment and one thing that I really love about them is that they're always so hard to describe when people ask what they're all about.

That trumpet that becomes trumpets that becomes a fucking mountain of awesome... the guitar dancing and shimmering up and down in fiery angles through the river and bedrock of keyboards, bass and pounding drums leading us into the battle of genres that's being played out. I love this band.

Now Mugstar have got to be some of the nicest people I've ever met. Bristol loves Mugstar, it's a name you always hear being praised to the highest degree and the only disappointing thing about their set is that it was a shortened version* when all everyone wanted to do was sink into it for the rest of the night.

DIRTY keyboards and repetitive, monstrous psych riffage. Total perfection.

Thanks to Chris Rocket, 7Stu7 and Gareth of Big Naturals fame for DJ'ing some great tunes downstairs and also to Ian Watson, Yoshino Shigihara, Joey Chainsaw, 45RPM, Christelle Rox, Sam Wisternoff and Cloudboy for the artwork that they contributed to the exhibition which is on downstairs at The Louisiana for a further three weeks - go and check it out if you can!

if anyone has any photos from the night please email them to me :

lava-thief@live.com

* You'd think by now that I would have learnt my lesson about putting four bands on a bill. The moral of the story is, just don't do it if you have a strict curfew.

Unfortunately, three out of four sets were cut short and I've no one to blame but myself, I apologize to all. Plans are in place to rectify all next year...

21/10/2010>>>

2010-10-21T10:40:00.002+01:00

Selaroda is the new project of Michael from The Why Because - an incredible band now geographically spread between Oakland CA and Brooklyn... check them out if you don't know their stuff, they were one of the best live bands I've ever seen; one of those real unexpected pot-luck experiences... three guys with keyboards, 12 string guitars and what seemed at the time like some kind of "Gamelan Ironing Board" which all three of them attacked with fervour, producing some wild poly-rhythms.

Anyway, Selaroda is some real nice drones and colours... Doesn't look like there are any physical releases out yet, hopefully something will surface soon!
But for now, you can download or stream the first record over on Bandcamp : http://selaroda.bandcamp.com/

19/10/2010>>>

2010-10-19T12:33:00.002+01:00

There is a fantastic exhibition at the Gagosian Gallery at the moment, it opened on October 13th - James Turrell works in light and in this exhibition there is a mixture of photographic prints from his Roden Crater project, lightworks (looked to me like a portal to another world, I wanted to jump through the wall...) and installations.

I can't begin to describe it, it's incredible so go and check it out if you can.

http://www.gagosian.com/exhibitions/2010-10-13_james-turrell/

Also, Emeralds at CAMP in London on the 17th were awesome as always and very different from the previous two times I'd seen them. Very much looking forward to seeing them again at ATP this December.

15/10/10>>>

2010-10-15T15:36:00.002+01:00

Tickets available HERE ... Mugstar, Teeth Of The Sea, Thought Forms and SJ Esau upstairs with an art exhibition, improv / noise / drone and DJ's downstairs.

14/10/2010>>>

2010-10-14T12:23:00.001+01:00

Sonic Sanctuary favourites Don Bear have put some new tracks up on their myspace page - "Storms", "Off Season" and "Above The Garden A Nightmare".

Go and check them out.

Hoping they'll have a new record out soon!

You can buy their first record "Tiny Plants" at http://www.donbear.co.uk/

30/09/10>>>

2010-09-30T14:20:00.004+01:00

At The Croft in Bristol on the 12th October, Burial Chamber is putting on Italian psych/metal band Ufomammut with support from Pet Slimmers Of The Year and Big Naturals.

(click here for details.)

and as if that wasn't enough excitement for one night, in the front bar Eat Bitch! Lead! are putting on a bill of drone featuring Sindre Bjerga, Anders Gjerde and Andrew Perry.

Sounds good to me.

29/09/10>>>

2010-09-29T11:50:00.002+01:00

Kinski have the chance to play in Iceland at the Iceland Airwaves Music Festival in Reykjavik Oct. 14th-18th as part of a competition being run by the KEXP radio station, The Seattle Weekly and Iceland Air...

So please vote for them here!

http://polls.seattleweekly.com/polls/sew/reverb/

23/09/10>>>

2010-09-23T23:11:00.002+01:00

I went to see MV/EE play twice last month.

The first show was at a really nice little venue in Cardiff Bay, a Norwegian Church... wooden floors, wooden walls, lots of wood.

John Moloney wasn't able to make the tour so it was MV, EE and Mick Flower, a drone trio...

they ended the set with a perfectly chosen "Get Right Church"...

(it was a Swn gig and the Cardiff band King Alexander were supporting - we enjoyed what they were doing but would prefer to see them in a darker, less "sit down" venue)

Then the following week, after their set at Shambala Festival they played at Cafe Oto in London, spoiling us with two sets this time... the first another trio-drone out but more smooth this time a little further into the tour, then a second "rock out" set with a drummer, which was awesome.

I just love watching them, they radiate warmth.

Also picked up this tape while they were over, one of only 6 (!) copies, from Blackest Rainbow... live jams.

Perfect listening, as always, and absolutely love the artwork!

09/09/10>>>

2010-09-09T09:55:00.014+01:00

"Skeletor & Me" is the first 12" LP from Kansas' Baby Birds Don't Drink Milk.

It's being released by Fire Talk on October 26th but is available to pre-order now; it's limited to 500 copies so get in there quick!

The tracklisting is:

Side A
1. Fooly Cooly
2. Jeremy Irons Couple Skate
Side B
1. Last Night Sucked
2. MT. 2
3. Sorry Mickey

Baby Birds Don't Drink Milk will be playing some shows in Europe during November, dates will be posted here soon.

08/09/10>>>

2010-09-08T13:44:00.002+01:00

The latest LP from Peruvian band Serpentina Satelite has been released this week on Rocket Recordings.

It’s called Mecanica Celeste and is limited to 600 copies (with 100 on blue vinyl).

Firstly, the packaging is absolutely STUNNING… the blue foil, I can’t stop looking at it!

Musically, space-rock psych guitars interlaced with chants that embody solitude at altitude... the first track on the B-Side made me think of “Corridors” by Paik, which is no bad thing… swirling trails, creates a visual of movement... really love it and hope they make it over to Europe from Peru to tour at some point.

You can buy the album here or here.

07/09/10>>>

2010-09-07T19:57:00.005+01:00

A little late, but Supernormal Festival at Braziers Park in Oxfordshire (21-23 August) was awesome - saw great sets from Imbogodom, Hakarl, Alexander Tucker, Hyrst, Bong, Sunday Mourning, Proxy Music and Big Naturals over the weekend (and the full moon rising during our set brought a smile to my face) but Gnod totally stole the show- I don't know how it's possible that they get better each time, considering that each time leaves me saying "that was the best thing I have ever seen" but they really do. No band can ever quite follow them, even Faust.

And Faust were awesome.

(Teeth Of The Sea were much missed but they're back on track now with the injury healing and a stunning set at Offset Festival this weekend just gone.)

All in all, Supernormal was a great festival and here's hoping they do another one next year!

03/09/10>>>

2010-09-03T09:52:00.007+01:00

Eric Arn (of the (now) Austrian based band Primordial Undermind) is heading out on a solo European tour starting today, with the amazing Stefan Kushima and Wouter Jaspers.

Eric played a spellbinding solo set at Sonic Sanctuary in 2007 before coming back to blow English minds electryfied, with PU ,the following year and having recently witnessed a Stefan show, this tour will be well worth checking out.

(Unfamiliar with Wouter but he's in good company, intriguing...)

(Stefan + Eric)

03/9 - Chandal, Barcelona, Spain

04/9 - Paroles de Galere Festival, Marseille, France

05/9 - Paroles de Galere Festival, Marseille, France

06/9 - Data, Marseille, France

(Stefan + Eric + Wouter)

07/9 - Villa Douce, Reims, France

08/9 - Majjem Radio, Venlo, Netherlands

09/9 - Villa Grijpsheert / Te Koop, The Hague, Netherlands

10/9 - Le Campine, Antwerp, Belgium

11/9 - Oberdeck, Hannover, Germany

13/9 - Madame Claude, Berlin, Germany

19/08/10>>>

2010-08-19T13:01:00.002+01:00

The bike obsessed fussy eater and long-time Bristolian promoter / label manager at Invada Records, Mr Redg Weeks, has been photographed from a forthcoming hardback book on the London tatoo studio "The Family Business" where he has spent many an hour...

You can order the book here.

18/08/10>>>

2010-08-18T14:11:00.005+01:00

There is an interesting interview with Thurston Moore and Eva Prinz on publishing / the Ecstatic Peace Library over on Imprint- read it here.

17/08/10 >>>

2010-08-17T12:51:00.005+01:00

On Saturday, Thought Forms and Hakarl played a warm up show for Supernormal Festival over at the Sonic Sanctuary barn...

It was great to see Hakarl play again- Kev started out with a solo guitar piece before being joined by Barn from Xulsigiae / It's A Lunken, taking turns on drum duties... Hakarl is a little more captivating each time and I'm looking forward to a totally solitary set at Supernormal with violin, too.

Supernormal takes place this weekend and tickets are still available - http://www.supernormalfestival.co.uk/

Unfortunatley, Teeth Of The Sea have had to pull out due to a broken collarbone- gutting news as having seen them play several times recently I can say they are on top form and the forthcoming album is sounding absolutely amazing. Jimmy and Matt are still going to be doing a DJ set on the Saturday night.

03/08/10 >>>

2010-08-03T12:51:00.003+01:00

Some very sad news this weekend that Tony Dale, founder of the Camera Obscura label, has passed away aged 51.

Though it hasn't come as a shock, this news has affected a great many people all over the world to whom he was an inspiration.

There is a tribute to Tony over on Brainwashed.

19/07/10 >>>

2010-07-19T12:50:00.004+01:00

Our friends over at Wooden Step Records have set up a site where bands they like to recommend tracks that they're currently loving. They asked Thought Forms to take part along with Geoff Barrow, Steve Shelley and loads more.

Check it out - http://ihighlyrecommend.tumblr.com/

25/06/10 >>>

2010-06-25T12:50:00.003+01:00

Xulsigiae have got a tape out!

If you don't know them : four-piece based in Bristol, members of the very awesome Dsic, Hakarl, Hunting Lodge and It's A Lunken = perfect free noise. They're incredible live and this is a C-90, same on both sides.

You can (and should) get it here:

http://www.myspace.com/xulsigiae

17/06/10 >>>

2010-06-17T12:49:00.003+01:00

I got very excited on arriving home from work today to find this waiting for me...

Bill Nace (guitar) and Paul Flaherty (sax) coming together with this release on Ecstatic Peace entitled "An Airless Field".

it starts with his unmistakable chime

a distant railway signal carried through time on a curtain of dust n haze (nothing makes me feel like he does and no one can play like Bill Nace does)

Flaherty’s smooth sax squalls in, cutting sticky through the dust unfurling, and frenzy…

the Nace drone hiding whole cities of complexity, so subtle, an aerial view of pyrite architecture…

check it out on the Ecstatic Peace site...

03/06/10 >>>

2010-06-03T12:49:00.003+01:00

Kansas' finest peddlers of mangled drone-pop Baby Birds Don't Drink Milk are looking for UK / Euro tourdates in November + December, all booking enquiries can be directed to lava-thief{at}live{dot}com

19/05/10 >>>

2010-05-19T12:48:00.003+01:00

Thought Forms supported Master Musicians Of Bukkake back in April and the recording of their 22 minute improv set from that show (entitled "Fire Burn Me Clean") has been made available as a free download.

>>> click here to download <<<

11/05/10 >>>

2010-05-11T12:48:00.004+01:00

A double LP which features the combined powers of Gnod and White Hills is now available on Rocket Recordings... sounds and looks as stunning as you would expect from such a collaboration of forces!

>>> click here for more info <<<

Also, Gnod, Teeth Of The Sea, Thought Forms and Sunday Mourning have all been confirmed for Supernormal Festival, which takes place in Oxfordshire in August.

http://www.supernormalfestival.co.uk

01/04/10 >>>

2010-04-01T12:47:00.003+01:00

“Hardon For Hadron” by Team Brick and “Volkshaus” by DTV (aka Anton Maiof of the awesome Geisha / Defibrillators / etc) have been released as beautifully packaged 3” CD’s on a label called “Journal Of The Belgae Folk Club”… they look amazing.

There are also reviews by Cloudboy over on Rottenmeats of Joey Chainsaw’s “Worshipping At The Jewell Terrace” and Team Brick’s (yes another one) “I Am Always Bird Only Bird”.

Cloudboy also has a new Autotistic album on the way.

14/03/10 >>>

2010-03-14T12:47:00.003Z

The sold out Thought Forms CD-R "Something About Bees Cos They're Important" is now available to download here:

http://thoughtforms.bandcamp.com/

01/03/10 >>>

2010-03-01T12:46:00.005Z

The recording of a live collaboration between Silver Stairs Of Ketchikan and Joined By Wire which took place at the Arnolfini last year as part of Simon Whetham’s “Active Crossover” event is up for free download on Stasisfield’s website.

>>> click here to download <<<

There are also 50 LTD Edition physical copies with cast resin packaging by Simon available from Traceable Echoes.

15/02/10 >>>

2010-02-15T12:45:00.004Z

The first Lava Thief release is done and ready to go… A hand-made CD-R containing a 30 minute set of dual-guitar noise / improv action from Solar Flares, limited to 30 copies… buy it here:

http://lavathief.bigcartel.com/product/solar-flares

The Blue Sabbath Black Fiji / Team Brick / Don Bear / Xulsigiae gig on the 4th was absolutely incredible, BSBF have a way of playing that is so joyous and fun; they are perfect at what they do, really pleased to have them play at Sonic Sanctuary again.

04/02/10 >>>

2010-02-04T12:45:00.002Z

The latest release from Teeth Of The Sea, the Hypnoticon EP (on Rocket Recordings) came out on February 1st, an awesome piece of vinyl with beautiful artwork to tide you over until their next album hits the shelves...

you can get it here:

http://www.cargorecords.co.uk/release/10878

10/01/10 >>>

2010-01-10T12:44:00.003Z

The first Thought Forms show of 2010 is on 15th January, a long overdue return to Moles in Bath. Support comes from a band called Anta... Anta are Pete Dickens of the two very amazing bands Geisha and Don Bear, synth-o-phile Alexander Thomas and favourite Sonic Sanctuary soundguys James King and Joe Garcia, both of whom also play in Rose Kemp's band among other things... really intrigued as to what they're going to pull.

The first Sonic Sanctuary gig of the year is also confirmed... Blue Sabbath Black Fiji, Team Brick, Don Bear and Xulsigiae are the SS picks and from Lop Lop (aka Fat Paul) the jazz improv group Triptik. This takes place at the Croft in Bristol on Thursday 4th February.

Mountains of Jesus (aka Team Brick + Silver Stairs Of Ketchikan) are playing a QuJunktions show at the Cube in Bristol on 14th February with MV/EE and more...

Lastly, the latest album from Geisha has been pretty much on repeat... "Maundit A Minuit" is on vinyl only, highly recommended... They themselves say it's the best thing they've ever done. And they've always been bloody good! http://www.myspace.com/geishanoiseresearchgroup

30/12/09 >>>

2009-12-30T12:43:00.003Z

TOP 10 GIGS OF 2009

Emeralds @ The Croft, Bristol 29/01
My first experience of their warm tones, sucked me in and for keeps, I fell in love.

Flower Corsano Duo & Defibrillators @ Arnolfini, Bristol 19/02
Always excited about anything involving Mr Anton Maiof, if you get a chance to watch Defibrillators, take it! Flower Corsano Duo were beautiful and relentless.

Sonic Sanctuary All Dayer @ The Village Pump, Trowbridge 14/03
Amazing sets from Deej Dhariwal, Don Bear, Ice Bird Spiral, Headfall, Team Brick, Geisha, Teeth Of The Sea, Zun Zun Egui and Gnod in the venue I love the most.

No Fun Fest, NYC 15 16 17/05
Absolutely everything about this was perfect.
Sonic Youth playing an improv set with Bill Nace (see below) filling in for Lee.
Pedestrian Deposit. Bardo Pond. Noveller. Yellow Tears. Skullflower. EVERYTHING on that damn lineup was AWESOME.

Bill Nace @ The Stone, NYC 22/05
Bill Nace is quite simply my favourite. I don't know how to explain it but there's just something about the way he plays that captures my soul, I find it impossible to look away for a second when he has a guitar in his hand, mind goes blank just full of the sounds. Joined by the wonderful Greg Kelley on trumpet and Jake Meginsky on percussion... it was just incredible. There was a point where I thought it was going to end and couldn't breathe, I thought my world might stop with them. (They carried on for a bit though. It was all cool, my world remained intact though very, very shaken. In a good way.)

Master Musicians Of Bukkake & Team Brick @ The Croft, Bristol 23/07
As well as one of my favourite Team Brick sets of `09, I had never heard MMOB prior to this show and left the room that night completely under their spell along with the rest of the audience. Hooked into their foggy universe, I'd have to say it was my gig of the year for being so pleasantly enchanted by something new.

Oneida @ The Croft, Bristol 19/08
Oneida are always on top form, how does Kid do it?!

Electric Wizard @ Trinity, Bristol 12/09
Electric Wizard. In a church.
!

Gnod @ The Louisiana, Bristol 21/11
Gnod have been a big deal for me this year. This show in particular (part of the Unholy Trinity tour) swirling together in one mass of dual-bass one-note wonderment, they're the best band in England if not the solar system.

ATP (both weekends) 5 6 7 12 13 /12
Lightning Bolt. Sonic Youth. Sunn O))). Papa M. Om. Porn. Sun Ra Arkestra. Dirty Three. So much more. Good way to end the year...

So that's 10, but there have been plenty more...

Faith No More at Brixton, Patton & Fred Frith at Queen Elizabeth Hall, Sun Araw at the Luminaire, Sonic Youth at The Forum, Hair Police at The Croft... too many to mention!
I won't attempt a top records.

Newswise, Thought Forms have just finished touring with Beak>.
Beak> are really, really fucking good.

20/12/09 >>>

2009-12-20T12:42:00.003Z

I'm sure everyone is already aware of the incredibly sad news that Jack Rose has passed away, aged just 38 years old. Jack was an incredible guitarist and a lovely guy.Watching him play was a privilege; I remember the first time I saw him was at Terrastock 6. I'd just watched Ghost and was convinced that nothing could top that but then I had my mind well and truly blown to pieces in the purest and warmest of ways by this man. He could always take it up to the next level. I'll never forget his stunning and intimate set at Sonic Sanctuary. There was only a small handful of people to witness and it was a truly special night which I'm sure everyone who was there will remember fondly for years to come.

RIP Jack

30/11/09 >>>

2009-11-30T12:41:00.002Z

Things have happened... Hair Police with support from Family Battle Snake and Rajinder earlier in the month was absolutely wonderful, there's a r eview by Cloudboy over on the Rottenmeat's blog....

The Unholy Trinity tour this weekend was awesome fun... anyone unfamiliar with either Gnod or Teeth Of The Sea should check them out NOW. We were also lucky enough to be joined by Team Brick in London and Don Bear / Hakarl in Bristol. Hopefully a longer tour of this lineup can happen next year, good vibes. in other news...

MOUNTAINS OF JESUS have a gig for Qu Junktions on February 14th 2010 but before that, Sonic Sanctuary presents Sunn O))) on December 9th and

Thought Forms go on tour with Beak> on the same day...

If you're in London, check out the Rocket Recordings Christmas party, the lineup is awesome.

01/11/09 >>>

2009-11-01T12:40:00.006Z

And so begins the Lava Thief blog... there will be regular updates and information on releases / happenings forthcoming. Thanks!