night bus

#Tags - Christmas (I’m Not The One You Want)

interstateroads — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 11:43:00 +0000

#Tags - Christmas (I’m Not The One You Want)

“Nettle is a band project led by DJ Rupture. For this...

interstateroads — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 11:00:00 +0000

“Nettle is a band project led by DJ Rupture. For this album, Nettle imagined a remake of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining set in a luxury hotel in Dubai, U.A.E. El Resplandor: The Shining In Dubai is their soundtrack for that nonexistent film. Cello, violin, guembri, guitar, and voice combine with digital processing to create a complex sound-world whose acoustic and electronic elements are in intimate dialog. Produced and arranged by Rupture, El Resplandor offers vivid, haunting pieces that draw on the band’s various backgrounds in North African folksong, experimental electronics, contemporary classical, and free improvisation.”

New Pete Swanson track from his upcoming Man With Potential on...

interstateroads — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 22:19:00 +0100

New Pete Swanson track from his upcoming Man With Potential on Type.

TwinSisterMoon | When Stars Glide Through Solid | Blackest...

interstateroads — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 21:10:00 +0100

TwinSisterMoon | When Stars Glide Through Solid | Blackest Rainbow | 2011 (reissue)

Mehdi Ameziane is one half of French psych-drone-folk group Natural Snow Buildings and performs under the name TwinSisterMoon. The group, and their members’ solo work, have become all-time favourites of mine over the past few years. I’ve definitely metioned them on here before, and probably bored people who know me to death about how brilliant they are.

The people over at Blackest Rainbow (shout out to Joe Blanchard who does an amazing job there) have reissued Mehdi’s long out of print 2007 sophomore album, When Stars Glide Through Solid, originally released as a limited CD-R. While recent album have still been great, Stars remains one of the best and defining NSB-related works. It’s also notably the most song-driven release by either member of the group, so if you’ve previously been intimidated by the thought of twenty-minute drone-cycles, this is a great place to start. Fans of Grouper should love this.

Not much else to say. Some of France’s finest out-there but unquestionably beautiful folk tunes. The reissue is beautifully packaged with stunning drawings from Solange Gularte (the other half of NSB), and the vinyl version comes with a whole new side of material.

When Stars Glide Through Solid is out now on Blackest Rainbow.

Drone/ambient favourite Tim Hecker is releasing a new record...

interstateroads — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 13:27:00 +0100

Drone/ambient favourite Tim Hecker is releasing a new record called Dropped Pianos, a set of “sketch pieces” recorded in 2010 that led to this year’s brilliant Ravedeath, 1972.

Dropped Pianos will be released on October 10 on Kranky and this is a preview clip.

Just Intonation.

interstateroads — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 21:55:00 +0100

In this month’s WIRE magazine there’s an excellent primer on ‘Militant Tuning’ by Philip Clark, outlining music composed with alternative methods of tuning to ‘equal temperament’, which has dominated Western music since the 18th century. This is something I’ve been interested in ever since I reviewed Catherine Christer Hennix’s The Electric Harpsichord last year. Here’s a short summary with some excerpts to listen to.

Johann Sebastian Bach, The Well-Tempered Clavier (performed by Robert Levin)

Bach’s ‘well-tempered’ tuning is often cited as a major influence on the development of ‘equal-temperament’, but they were not interchangable. In the 18th century there was no mechanism available to tune to perfect mathematical ratios, and Bach would have relied on ear, allowing for far more variation than the history books suggest.

Pandit Pran Nath, ‘Raga Kut Todi’ (from The Raga Cycle)

I posted a short documentary about this guy a couple of weeks a go, so it was great to see him pop up again. His influence on composers such as Terry Riley was profound, but he was not a militant tuner as such because equal temperament does not exist in his tradition.

And here’s some amazing footage of Riley going solo in 1977. It’s incredible how fresh this still sounds; it’s not unlike something by Emeralds.

Wendy Carlos, ‘Beauty in the Beast’ (from Beauty in the Beast)

Carlos described her own composition as “the most unusual music I’ve ever heard”, and this really is quite strange. But also very pretty, I think, demonstrating thepossibilities of different tuning methods.

Tony Conrad, ‘Refusing to Cross the Bean Field at his Back’ (from Slapping Pythagoras)

And at the other end is this very noisy jam from Conrad featuring Jim O’Rouke, performed with a mixture of violin, guitar and accordian drones. Brilliant.

squanto: pumped for this album. Not familiar with Simon Scott...

interstateroads — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 18:37:00 +0100

squanto:

pumped for this album.

Not familiar with Simon Scott until this but sounds great, looking forward to his new record Bunny next month.

Wolves in the Throne Room | Celestial Lineage | Southern Lord |...

interstateroads — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 13:19:00 +0100

Wolves in the Throne Room | Celestial Lineage | Southern Lord | 2011

Behold the majesty of this subterranean initiation! Raise your hands to the astral plane and absorb your rainbow illness! Transcend the haptic void, and offer up a prayer of transformation for Wolves in the Throne Room, for they have unleashed this beast of dark and powerful brutality.

Seriously though, I was in the middle of writing a review when Pitchfork went and made most of the points I was going to. It’s a well-written and spot-on review, so check it out.

There are a couple of extra thoughts I had on this that I haven’t seen elsewhere. With it’s ascending synth lines, Celestial Lineage recalls Emperor’s finest moment, Anthems of the Welkin at Dusk, which no doubt adds to the overall epic-ness of the album. And like Anthems, Lineage incorporates clean vocals into Black Metal more effectively than anyone in recent years. This is no doubt due to Jessika Kenney’s sense of composition - at no stage does her voice feel like an extra, but woven into the overall sound.

In fact, this is essentially what makes Wolves and Lineage so special, their ability to introduce elements of choral-composition, ambient passages and slow, doom-metal barrages, but never sounding anything less than an extreme black metal band.

Phillip Freeman stated in last month’s The Wire that Celestial Lineage is the first of the band’s albums that can be considered “truly important to the development of US Black Metal as something separate from its European origins.” I agree with this. Lineage completely tears up the black metal rule book, but we must remember that so did all the great second-wave bands. Burzum did it, as did Emperor and Darkthrone. They created music that transcended the genre. For me, Wolves have marked themselves as the first American band to produce something as good as, but completely distinct from, their Norwegian ancestors. All hail the Cascadians!

9/10 - RECOMMENDED

Celestial Lineage is out now on Southern Lord.

Reblogged from squanto. 2010 track from Sean McCann.

interstateroads — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 22:00:00 +0100

Reblogged from squanto.

2010 track from Sean McCann.

Big Blood & The Wicked Hex.

interstateroads — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 16:07:00 +0100

New album from the ever prolific avant-folk Maine outfit, Big Blood. Five extended jams, with the standout being the final track, ‘Water’, which is quite lovely.

Listen below and download the album over at the Free Music Archive. You can order a vinyl edition of the record from Phase Mag.

Terius Nash | 1977 | self-released | 2011 I discovered...

interstateroads — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 12:02:00 +0100

Terius Nash | 1977 | self-released | 2011

I discovered Terius Nash, aka The-Dream, earlier this year through his 2009 record Love vs. Money, which has since become a personal favourite. There’s something about his smooth, auto-tune inflexed voice that I find captivating. And although his themes rarely break away from most other contemporary R&B (clubbing, sex, swag), nobody does it with more style and invention than Nash.

Even if you haven’t heard of him, The-Dream’s influence is relatively large. From writing hit songs for other artists, notably Rihanna’s ‘Umbrella’ and Beyonce’s ‘Single Ladies’, to inspiring the twisted indie-R&B of The Weeknd, chances are you’ve heard something impacted by Nash. But when it comes to solo work he seems to be content with modest success. In a recent Picthfork interview he stated that “I don’t like selling one copy over 500,000, because then you get yourself into a place where you have to sell off a part of your brand.”

1977 is a free album, released under his birth name rather than The-Dream, and is a slight departure from what I’ve previously heard from Nash. It’s far more lyrical than his work as The-Dream, and this is both 1977’s main strength and weakness. It’s interesting to hear Nash stretch himself as a songwriter - on ‘Wake Me When It’s Over’ he displays a previously unheard vulnerability - but this focus on extended verses draws away from the strong hooks that make The-Dream so appealing.

As usual the production is immaculate. As Nash states, “this is Rolex music” - flashy and brilliantly constructed, but it’s not going to change your life. Considering it’s free, this is well worth checking out if you have any interest in modern R&B, or even just great production. You can download 1977 over at The-Dream’s website Radio Killa Records.

6.5/10

- Jack.

Straight off the back of his relatively acclaimed I’m Gay...

interstateroads — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 20:51:00 +0100

Straight off the back of his relatively acclaimed I’m Gay (I’m Happy), Lil B has a new mixtape titled I Forgive You. Nothing new here, just more oddball “based” ramblings, but this closing track, ‘Im 2 Real’, stands out with a cool beat.

You can download the mixtape over at DatPiff.

- Jack.

Beautiful track by Grouper, ‘Water People’, from her...

interstateroads — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 10:55:00 +0100

Beautiful track by Grouper, ‘Water People’, from her new 7” Water People / Moving Machine on Ballroom Marfa.

- Jack.

Lil Wayne | Tha Carter IV | Cash Money | 2011 Oh Wayne, what...

interstateroads — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 15:18:00 +0100

Lil Wayne | Tha Carter IV | Cash Money | 2011

Oh Wayne, what happened here?

Perhaps to some people’s surprise, I’ve been looking forward to this record. In fact, I’ve been championing Weezy for a few years now, trying to convince friends that there’s much more to him than ‘Lollipop’ club singles. But unfortunately Tha Carter IV displays none of the lyrical wit of an ‘Upgrade’ nor the weird invention of a ‘Dr. Carter’.

It’s not as terrible as I thought after one listen - quite a few tracks have grown on me. But I can’t shake the feeling that anything Wayne does well here, he’s done better elsewhere. Looking back, it’s clear that his peak came somewhere between Tha Carter II and III, and whilst this is a huge improvement on Rebirth it doesn’t begin to approach previous heights.

There’s a few good cuts here. Lead single ‘6 Foot 7 Foot’ is great, the most focussed Weezy has sounded in years, and ‘She Will’ has an addictive hook from Drake. But at the other end there’s ‘How to Hate’, a complete mess of T-Pain inspired auto-tune(less), and the bizzare ‘How to Love’, which suggests Wayne isn’t going to stop trying to sing anytime soon. Whilst some of these are strangely enjoyable, it’s disappointing that this is the best he can come up with in 2011.

4.5/10

Tha Carter IV will be released on August 31st on Cash Money.

- Jack.

In Between the Notes: A Portrait of Pandit Pran Nath, Master...

interstateroads — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 13:15:00 +0100

In Between the Notes: A Portrait of Pandit Pran Nath, Master Indian Musician

Great little documentary about Pandit Pran Nath and classical Indian music, with contributions from American composers Terry Riley, La Monte Young and Marian Zazeela (via Ideologic).

- Jack.

Preview new Modeselektor.

interstateroads — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 15:23:00 +0100

Modeselektor “Monkeytown” (MONKEYTOWN015) OUT BETWEEN SEP27-OCT04 by Modeselektor

Really looking forward to this, sounds like it will be their best yet.

- Jack.

New track from Wolves in the Throne Room, definitely my...

interstateroads — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 14:19:00 +0100

New track from Wolves in the Throne Room, definitely my favourite contemporary metal band, from their forthcoming LP Celestial Lineage.

‘Woodland Cathedral’ represents a departure from the aggression of their last record, Black Cascade, and a return to the more atmospheric sound of their earlier work, in particular their breakthrough Two Hunters.

The track also marks a return for Jessika Kenney on vocals, who previously guested on Two Hunters and seems to be developing into the go-to choral-vocalist for avant-metal bands. She led the choir on Monoliths and Dimensions by Sunn O))) and Stephen O’Malley has just issued one of her records on his Editions Mego sub-label.

But Kenney is definitely a very talented vocalist and arranger, so I’m looking forward to hearing how this sits within the context of the record.

- Jack.

"As a third-generation music-obsessive who’s been a freelance music critic since 1994, I also have a..."

interstateroads — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 11:54:00 +0100

“As a third-generation music-obsessive who’s been a freelance music critic since 1994, I also have a vested interest in not becoming yet another culture-consumer whose notional ‘adultness’ involves no longer keeping up with new music, a gateway elision often seen to lead to that cranky fallacious confidence about the superiority of the music that just happens to align with the heights of one’s young adulthood. (‘How fortuitous and lottery-like, Grampaw, that you turned 22 right when music peaked.’)”

- Former Pitchfork writer William Bowers returns to the site after a few years for a 15th Anniversary essay that explores the dark side of nostalgia.

Returnal.

interstateroads — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 11:17:00 +0100

Dear followers,

As you may have noticed, we have been neglecting this site for quite a while now. But we are now reviving the nightbus, albeit with slightly different motivations.

The new site will be more ‘bloggy’ than before, which was strictly review based, but this should allow us to post more frequently. We plan to maintain a high level of quality, and hope you continue to follow us.

- Jack.

Earth | Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light I | Southern Lord |...

interstateroads — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 21:22:00 +0000

Earth | Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light I | Southern Lord | 2011

Since the reincarnation and reinvention of Earth in 2005, Dylan Carlson’s music has entered a stage of wandering. As if on a journey, his music has trudged over deserts and baron lands, leaving us unsure if he’s searching for something in particular, or content to unendingly drift. Angels of Darkness continues this journey, the first of a two part installment, with the second due to be released in September.

On a basic level, Angels of Darkness is a musical continuation of Earth’s last album, 2008’s The Bees Made Honey in the Lion’s Skull. However, describing the group’s sound in this method of comparison feels reductive. Initially, it’s worth considering the change in line up. Carlson remains on lead guitar, and Davies on drums, but the other half of the quartet is significantly different from the last record. Notably, multi-instrumentalist Steve Moore is no longer present, a figure whose twinkling jazz piano and trombone flourishes brought an incredibly distinctive sound to the sessions of Bees. In his place is cellist Lori Goldston, perhaps best known for her work on Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged in New York, while Karl Blau replaces Don McGreevy on bass. The changes may seem slight, but they have a huge effect on the resulting sound of Earth’s music. The cello is distinctly darker and deeper than the piano – it mixes with the bass so that the rhythm section is far less up front than on Bees, providing a (dare I say it) more “earthy” feel. Complementing this, Carlson has taken on a more prominent role, riffing and soloing rather than simply plucking at droning chords.

In talking about the band’s personnel in this way I can’t help but feel Earth are now operating in a similar way to a jazz or improv group; members come and go, providing different moods and colours to Carlson’s otherwise fairly consistent sound. Angels of Darkness certainly feels looser, and arguably more free-form than previous efforts. Indeed, Carlson has admitted that some of his guitar work on this record was directly improvised in the studio. It’s also a considerably brighter affair – if Carlson is on a journey, his latest work points towards a place of light. ‘Old Black’ is an uplifting surge of crashing drums and baritone guitar, while the cello swells on ‘Hell’s Winter’ are particularly gorgeous. However, there are still suggestions of a darker presence – as the former track builds to a climax the tone shifts, Goldston’s cello becoming a threatening swarm of screeching noise.

Carlson saves the best for last though; the closing title track is an incredibly minimalistic effort that suggests a direction Carlson may be headed. For the opening five minutes Goldston’s cello acts as a brooding drone, rising and falling but maintaining dominance, while Carlson and Blau improvise over the top, searching for colours and textures but never maintaining any sense of cohesion or rhythm. The track sluggishly moves forwards, threatening to break out but always returning to a state of wandering. Once the drums enter the track locks into a groove, lurching onwards at a snails pace. Its subtlety is incredibly absorbing, and rounds off what is a wonderfully engaging record, another reminder that Carlson is still one of the most captivating musicians operating on the fringes of rock.

8/10 - RECOMMENDED

Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light I is out now on Southern Lord.

- Jack.