11 Oct 2011 — Henning Lahmann
It's about time to dedicate ourselves to the fabulousness that is Maine's
L'animaux Tryst (Field) Recordings, the tiny imprint founded and run (mostly) by free folk genius Matthew Lajoie aka
Herbcraft. Almost two weeks ago,
we'd already premiered Lajoie's latest project
Brainshadows and its forthcoming 7 inch that's soon gonna be released by L'animaux Tryst. However, as of late there's been quite a few amazing things going on in up there in the rearmost northeast of the Union, namely the label's latest four-tape batch that was put out in mid-September:
First, there's the latest effort by
our very much adored interstellar psychedelic gathering
Planets Around The Sun, a full-length put on magnetic tape cryptically named
We O We and featuring both a nostalgia-free retrospective and a surprising outlook towards future endeavors of this admirable collective around Ian Paige, Caitlin King, and Matt Lajoie himself. The nearly nine minutes of the reworked "Saraswati" clearly are a look back, but one that is as
du jour and mind-altering as anything could be in the current experimental folk scene of North America. Needless to say, this cassette is highly recommended.
Planets Around The Sun - Saraswati
Pete Fosco's
Vacationlanded collects slow-burning, gently solipsistic meditations for solo guitar, warm and fuzzy, unagitated like a stormy late fall evening spent in front of a crackling, cozy fireplace. Just beautiful.
Pete Fosco - Pemetic
Though you probably wouldn't expect something like this on a label devoted to the more neglected side of modern folk, after a while
Altered Gee's tape
European Gees really starts to unfold its whole captivating nature. Truly unique and wildly bemusing, the eleven tracks collected on this C-69 unanimously and unashamedly celebrate cheapest and dirtiest yet subtly elaborated retro-futuristic analog synth wizardry. These tunes are supposed to be "g-funk instrumentals", and oh, funky they are indeed. Entirely recorded on an 8-track cassette, "I Wanna Lay You Down and Feel You Up" surely is the weirdest (and sexiest) thing you'll listen to today.
Altered Gee - I Wanna Lay You Down and Feel You Up
Sadly sold out already is this one,
Creepy Power by
Lightning strike Lightning. Sad not least because this release is probably the most stunning and coherent of the lot, a deeply enchanting piece of haunting folk mysticism, explorative and expansive compositions that leave a lot of space to sink in.
Creepy Power is only the sophomore release by LSL after
Turn Myself Into The Ocean from 2007, but the four years time it took to finish this work led to a rich and satisfying, fully matured work of folk, without any doubt one of the finest in its genre since quite some time. The C-40 came in a ridiculously limited art edition of only 33 tapes, but I really hope that someone's gonna step up to reissue this gem soon.
Lightning strike Lightning - Dutch Borneo
You may order everything (including special offers) over at the
L'animaux Storefront.
Previously:
Brainshadows - Wild Cherry
Read more →
It's about time to dedicate ourselves to the fabulousness that is Maine's
L'animaux Tryst (Field) Recordings, the tiny imprint founded and run (mostly) by free folk genius Matthew Lajoie aka
Herbcraft. Almost two weeks ago,
we'd already premiered Lajoie's latest project
Brainshadows and its forthcoming 7 inch that's soon gonna be released by L'animaux Tryst. However, as of late there's been quite a few amazing things going on in up there in the rearmost northeast of the Union, namely the label's latest four-tape batch that was put out in mid-September:
First, there's the latest effort by
our very much adored interstellar psychedelic gathering
Planets Around The Sun, a full-length put on magnetic tape cryptically named
We O We and featuring both a nostalgia-free retrospective and a surprising outlook towards future endeavors of this admirable collective around Ian Paige, Caitlin King, and Matt Lajoie himself. The nearly nine minutes of the reworked "Saraswati" clearly are a look back, but one that is as
du jour and mind-altering as anything could be in the current experimental folk scene of North America. Needless to say, this cassette is highly recommended.
Planets Around The Sun - Saraswati
Pete Fosco's
Vacationlanded collects slow-burning, gently solipsistic meditations for solo guitar, warm and fuzzy, unagitated like a stormy late fall evening spent in front of a crackling, cozy fireplace. Just beautiful.
Pete Fosco - Pemetic
Though you probably wouldn't expect something like this on a label devoted to the more neglected side of modern folk, after a while
Altered Gee's tape
European Gees really starts to unfold its whole captivating nature. Truly unique and wildly bemusing, the eleven tracks collected on this C-69 unanimously and unashamedly celebrate cheapest and dirtiest yet subtly elaborated retro-futuristic analog synth wizardry. These tunes are supposed to be "g-funk instrumentals", and oh, funky they are indeed. Entirely recorded on an 8-track cassette, "I Wanna Lay You Down and Feel You Up" surely is the weirdest (and sexiest) thing you'll listen to today.
Altered Gee - I Wanna Lay You Down and Feel You Up
Sadly sold out already is this one,
Creepy Power by
Lightning strike Lightning. Sad not least because this release is probably the most stunning and coherent of the lot, a deeply enchanting piece of haunting folk mysticism, explorative and expansive compositions that leave a lot of space to sink in.
Creepy Power is only the sophomore release by LSL after
Turn Myself Into The Ocean from 2007, but the four years time it took to finish this work led to a rich and satisfying, fully matured work of folk, without any doubt one of the finest in its genre since quite some time. The C-40 came in a ridiculously limited art edition of only 33 tapes, but I really hope that someone's gonna step up to reissue this gem soon.
Lightning strike Lightning - Dutch Borneo
You may order everything (including special offers) over at the
L'animaux Storefront.
Previously:
Brainshadows - Wild Cherry
Whatever you might think about the concept of "hypnagogic pop" roughly two years after its incarnation, and whoever you might want to include, provided you consider the term useful or apt in any way, Joe Knight aka Rangers (who most would count as having a top spot in the h-pop pantheon) certainly put the original idea of translating faintly remembered, glossy 80s pop sounds perceived in a state of half-consciousness into a perfect stream of slightly melancholic haziness on a whole new level. And however you put it, last year's Suburban Tours (Olde English Spelling Bee) was not only a masterpiece, but also - again, if it exists - one of the genre's defining moments.
Now, almost twelve months after the first cut "Zombies" (now extended by the appendix "Day") appeared on these pages, and only a few months after his stellar split with KWJAZ Lite (Brunch Groupe), Knight has readied his second proper full-length Pan Am Stories, released a few days ago by Not Not Fun. The double LP is another, immensely expansive trip into the other side of your memories, in every aspect living up to the expectations that had been left by Suburban Tours and clearly one of those releases that 2011 will be remembered for. Without compromising his sonic conception, Knight has vastly refined his skills in arrangement and, occasionally, even applied something that amounts to actual songwriting. All this is incredibly catchy in all its swirling psychedelia and soft rock leanings, perfectly encapsulated in the sundrenched (in a very autumnal sort of way), misty slow-burner "John Is The Last Of A Dying Breed", one of the finest tracks on this amazing album.
Get Pan Am Stories now via Boomkat or directly over at Not Not Fun.
Also check "Conversations on a Jet Stream", recently premiered by The Fader:
Rangers - Conversations on a Jet Stream
Previously:
Rangers - Zombies (Day)
Rangers - Xochimilco (Excerpt) (from the split cassette Angel Island with KWJAZ Lite)
Read more →
Some captivating and adventurous tunes from Denmark's 
