31 May 2015

The Godfather Delivers Rivers of Dub





Over the Memorial Day weekend I was involved in a major Dubathon musick swap with some friends from Glass Cow & Eat A Peach. It was a massive undertaking & some heavyweight Jamaican roots music was traversing the globe.

I am mostly the source for the Dub side of things, as I am not a huge fan of more mainstream reggae. I tend to like the riddim punched up to 11 & all the studio tricks the Dub royalty of Kings & Princes can lay on me, with the vocal tracks pared down to just another facet of instrumentation.

However, some of the material that was requested & swapped was more traditional reggae. As I listened to a vast variety of JA styles: roots; dancehall; rocksteady; Dub; & reggae, I began to enjoy some of the vocal stylings of certain artists. Although Prince Far I has a gruff vocal style, I have always liked his reggae as well as his Dub outings. Some of the smoother voices I was hearing started to resonate with me now, perhaps from the heavy bombardment. Derrick Harriott & Don Carlos particularly caressed my ears & touched my soul.

Sweet-voiced vocalist Don Carlos (born Euvin Spencer) was one of the original trio of singers with the great Black Uhuru along with his two friends, Rudolph 'Garth' Dennis & Derrick 'Duckie' Simpson. They were lifelong friends from the Waterhouse district of western Kingston, Jamaica. Many talented Jamaican musick artists such as King Tubby, Junior Reid, & Prince Jammy were also from this area.

I discovered Dub releases by both Derrick Harriott & the Crystalites (Scrub-a-Dub), & Don Carlos which I have really come to enjoy. This one has, to my way of thinking, just the right amount of vocals with a heavy dose of that fabulous mash-it-up Bunny Lee stylee. Listen & decide for yourself…


Don Carlos – Inna Dub Style: Rare Dubs 1979-1980, Jamaican Recordings, 2004.
decryption code in comments

Tracklist –
Spread Out in Dub
My Brethren in Dub
Bosrock Dub
I’m Gonna Make You Love Dub
Big Mouth Dub
Conscious Rasta Dub
Booming Dub
Infra Red Dub
Move Me Dub
Baby Don’t Care for Dub
Tribulation Dub
Too Late to Dub
Rivers of Dub
There’s a Dub Faraway

Check it Deep,

C'est la Vie




Back in the late 80s/early 90s I edited a punk & comix 'zine with a bunch of other crazies in San JoHaze , Cali. We tracked down outré musick or were tracked down by weirdo bands & musicians. Through some twist of events, we came into communication with Woody Dumas of C'est la Mort. Some years later I had the pleasure to spend some time with M. Dumas after he had moved to Oregon. Cottage Grove is right on Interstate 5 just south of Eugene. Through some other twist of events, we were heading to Eugene, had a few days to kill, had found out Woody was living in Oregon & got his address from a friend of a friend of a friend kinda thing. I have to say we had a great time, listened to & talked about some great music. Woody Dumas was a fine, friendly, intelligent human being who is surely missed.


C'est la Mort Records was a small but influential independent record label that operated from the home of Woodrow Huntley Dumas in Baker, Louisiana. C'est la Mort specialized in ethereal, ambient, dream pop, & darkwave bands. ClM operated from 1984 until 1994.

According to liner notes included in the Dr. Death Vol. I LP compilation record, Woody Dumas began his Dr. Death radio show on KLSU in December of 1983. KLSU 91.1 FM is the student-run college radio station for Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The radio station is part of the university's Student Media Program. KLSU utilizes students as DJs & management staff. Thus began Woody's sojourn into radio.

The radio show led to a mail order business known as Deadly Records. That eventually led to the C'est la Mort label itself. In addition to albums released for individual acts, there were six Dr. Death compilation albums released.

Modeled after U.K.s 4AD, C'est la Mort released a number of albums influential to the Gothic & dream pop genres. Associated bands included: East Ash & Room Nine, who only appeared on ClM; bands such as Beautiful Pea Green Boat, Heavenly Bodies, The Arms of Someone New, & Area that went on to record for Third Mind & have seen re-release by Projekt on their Archive series; & probably the most well known, Controlled Bleeding who have appeared on such labels as Soleilmoon, Dark Vinyl, Sub Rosa, Third Mind, even Wax Trax! & who already had a string of releases on heavy hitters Inner-X-Musick, Dossier, & others when Woody landed them in 1989.

Born August 27, 1950, Dumas died on September 18, 2012 in Cottage Grove, Oregon. Little Woody, as he was known to friends & family, graduated from Baker High School in 1968. He attended Atlanta College of Art. He was a gifted stained glass artist who has works currently displayed in the OLOL Chapel & in several EBRP governmental buildings. As well as an artist, music lover, radio show host & producer, Woody also had his private pilot's license & was an avid stargazer. After leaving Louisiana, he resided in Cottage Grove, Oregon. There he ran a successful internet radio station, iPop Café.

Here are some of the treasures from Little Woody, starting with the very first, from Dr. Death hisself…

Various – Dr. Death's Volume I – Cette Enfant Me Fia Mourir, C'est la Mort CLM001, 1986.
all decryption codes in comments

Side 1 –
Faulter – Rash of Stabbings
Fish (different version than 4AD) – Throwing Muses
All My Eye & Betty Martin – Breathless
Family – The Kite
Afraid – Pat on the Back

Side 2 –
Angels Sing – Room Nine
Survival – Circle Confusion
Rain – M-1 Alternative
Find the Time – Lung Overcoat
Save – End Over End


Room Nine – Voices…of a Summers Day, C'est la Mort CLMLP002, 1987.

Side 1 –
Circus Floor
Revolving Door
Don't Look Back
Red Dog

Side 2 –
1000 Years
The Thorn
Mirage
Seas Without a Shore
White Summer


Psyche – Unveiling the Secret, C'est la Mort CLMNR004, 1896.

Side 1 –
Thundershowers
Caught in the Act
Lord Unleashed
Prisoner to Dersire

Side 2 –
The Saint Became a Lush
Black Panther
Taking Chances
Unveiling the Secret


Area – The Perfect Dream, C'est la Mort CLM/LP006. 1988.

Side 1A -
25
With Louise
I'll Gather Flowers
Surrender to the Wheel
Sympathy

Side 1B –
Why Should I Worry
Vigilant
Thread
Tunnel
As Thick as Thieves


The Arms of Someone New – Promise, C'est la Mort CLMCD008, 1989.

Tracklist -
Jaqueline
No City Fun   
Hollywood     
Pirouette
Blue Rain       
Stars End       
Here Comes Everything         
Souvenir         
Beacon           
Another Heaven         
Every Seventh Wave
"Collage"       
The Sense of an Evening       
Everything at Once


Beautiful Pea Green Boat – Still Life, C'est la Mort CLMCD009, 1989.

Tracklist –
The Powerhouse
Hammers of Islam
Too Much
When Dreams Moved In
The Vase
Among the Ruins
Paper House
Danielle
Mirrors of Souls
The Screw
Nostalgia
And She Laughed Too



Friends of Ghosts – Realm of the Senses, C'est la Mort CLM010, 1987.

Side 1 –
Realm of the Senses
William the Scotsman
Hollywood Land
Sinister Daze
Eleven Boy
Windows

Side 2 –
Juju Digby Juju
Noël
Ciao Manhattan
Broadcast of Love
WMT


Heavenly Bodies – Rains on Me 12" EP, C'est la Mort CLMEP017, 1988.

Side 1 –
Rains on Me (extended mix)

Side 2 –
Rains on Me (short version)
Pure & Simple


Area – Radio Caroline, C'est la Mort CLMCD018, 1988.

Tracklist –
This One
Head Above Water
Sweet Revenge
Michael Writes His Parents
One Desire
Transmitter
Resistance
Long Faces
After the End
Crystal

plus –
Higher than Heaven
Sincerely Charlotte
Parachute


The Arms of Someone New – Every Seventh Wave 12" EP, C'est la Mort CLMEP019, 1988.

Side 1 –
Every Seventh Wave (intermix)
Every Seventh Wave (album mix)

Side 2 –
The Sense of an Ending
Everything at Once


East Ash – Crushing A Flood cassette, C'est la Mort CLMCS025, 1990.

Side 1 –
Dreams
Australian Beaches
Doesn't Know
Faceless
Wonderful Life

Side 2 –
A Flood
Funerals
Milk & Honey
The Disease


Courage of Lassie – Sing or Die, C'est la Mort CLM026, 1990.

Side 1 –
Ami Gans Cette Vie
Who'll Stop the Rain
Bang Bang My Baby Shot Me Down
Lonely Street
Big Town

Side 2 –
Sing or Die
Ophelia
Wild River
Down by the Salley Gardens
The Night Closes In


Handful of Snowdrops – Land of the Damned, C'est la Mort CLM028, 1990.

Tracklist –
Terroir I
When Comes Day Light
Gabrielle
A Miracle
Scream Cry or Fall
Face to Face
Terroir II
Land of the Damned



Tracklist –
The Marvels of Insect Life Theme – M-1 Alternative
Dark Hour – Johanna’s House of Glamour
Two Clouds – Mumbles
Cut – Double Happiness
Vacation – Critical Mass
If God Is – Flower Sermon
Slumming – M-1 Alternative
Alone – Talisker Tale
Greeks & Romans – Psychic Surgery
Green Light – Area
Translator – Blackgirls
Athea – Leigh Gregory
Ragman – Halycon Daze
Delicate Balance – The Millions
Crowd of Drifters – The Magnetic Fields
Salty Sea – Future Neighbors
Whale’s Belly – And Siamese Urbain
Now, Then, & Forever – Handful of Snowdrops


Johanna’s House of Glamour – Farewell Street, C'est la Mort clm030-2, 1990.

Tracklist –
Losing Ground
Now
Pretty Promises
Cosmic Dancer
Another Page
Fell into You
Blue Noon
River of Change
Half Light
Do You Hear Me When I Dream?
Blue U
When I Loved You
Next December
Farewell Street
Eyes of the Night

Area – Fragments of the Morning, C'est la Mort clm031-2, 1990.

Tracklist –
Puzzle Boy
The One Year
Express
Green Light
All Souls
Larger than Life
About Time
At Arms Length
Subway
Dead Feather Years
Lifeline
All Souls (acoustic)
Express (extended)


East Ash – Ellie, C'est la Mort CLMCD033-2, 1991.

Tracklist –
Northpole Butterfly
The Alone Song
Breal Your Back
Epic Sex Bombing
Funk Opera
Strangers on a Train [Part 1]
Green Chevy
Nobody
Virgil Who?
No. 1 Man
Push
Strangers on a Train [Part 2]

Such is Death,





29 May 2015

Straight to the Heart

The Ambient Society - A0rta EP, 001 Collective, 2007. 

To the Beat of Your Heart,

Under the Spell of Witches & Devils? Repent!

Charles Gayle - Repent, Knitting Factory Works KFWCD122, 1992.
decryption code in comments

Brought on by A.A.

24 May 2015

I Am The Crusher!!!


 High weirdness here, hostages.

This album was the idea of graphic designer Colin 'Barney Bubbles' Fulcher (you might know him from the classic early Hawkwind sleeves, his work with Elvis Costello, Stiff Records, & F-Beat Records or the original iconic red NME logo).

Barney recorded all of the original cover versions for Side 1 onto a cheap cassette recorder. He then took them to members of Nik Turner’s Inner City Unit. He let the musicians hear each song once & then they proceeded to record the songs from memory as a single take for each song. Side 2 is a side-long original track "Insolence Across the Nation", the story of one Mr. Hitler with readings from his book Mein Kampf set to the music of Wagner.




The Imp Pomps are: Barney Bubbles – inspirational guru; Trev Thoms guitar & vocals; Nik Turner – saxopohone & vocals; & Ermano Ghisio ‘Dino Ferrari’ Erba – drums with various other sounds & souls.

The Imperial Pompadours – Ersatz, Pompadour POPMOD1, 1982.
decryption code in comments

Side 1 –
The Crusher
See You Soon Baboon
Fu Manchu
Brand New Cadillac
Light Show
Little Black Egg
Moo Goo Gai Pan
Gemini Spacecraft
(I Want to Come Back from) The World of LSD
Chicken
There’s a Fungus Among Us
King Bee
Black Leather Trousers & Motorcycle Boots

Side 2 –
Insolence Across the Nation

Enjoy,

17 May 2015

Spirits First



Albert Ayler – Witches & Devils, Freedom, 1975.
decryption code in comments

Side One –
Witches & Devils
Spirits

Side Two –
Holy Holy
Saints

Jazz for FREE,

Still Not Not Fun



Magic Lantern – At the Mountains of Madness cassette, Not Not Fun, 2007.

Side A –
At the Mountains of Madness

Side B –
Untitled "Live"

Crazy,

Godco Queero A Go Go



God is My Co-Pilot – The Very Best of…, Atavistic, 1996.
decryption code in comments

Tracklist –

Behave
Caught Looking
Hutzulka
Totally Wired
Queer Disco Anthem
Steal Yr Girlfriend
Kiss & Tell
Pillu Laulu
Flesh Made Word
Butch Flip
Mezinke Skip
Kendine Gel
Girl-Crazy Girl
Björkfruits
Childhood Daydreams of Abduction & Mutilation
I Cream
Backstab
Rubber or Leather
Laulu X
Thank You, Just Thank You
Queer Disco Anthem (remix)
Behave (remix)

Shut Up,

It Doesn't Matter



One & only album from Leeds blues rock crew: Gerry MacLaughlin – guitar; Bren Gore – keyboards & vocals; John Joe Kelly – bass; & Nigel Coatman – drums.

Gags – Death in Buzzards' Gulch, Look Records, 1978.
decryption code in comments

Side 1 –
Mr. Stilletto
Easy Lay
Light Another Cigarette
Tell Mama

Side 2 –
Moneymakers
On Your Way
Rock of Old
It Doesn’t Matter

Rock on,

16 May 2015

Seidr




Patrick "O'Kill" Leagas (Death in June – Sixth Comm) & Karen "Amodali" Halewood (Sixth Comm).

Mother Destruction – Pagan Dance, Pagan Dance Label, 1994.
decryption code in comments

Tracklist –
Hella Roots
Beyond the Ka
Serpent Skins
Babalon Sun Mantra
At the Sill of the Door
Birth of the 7…(Twin Souls)
Wodenseed
Serpent Trance (Full Moon mix)

Seethe on,

Can't Stop This Crazy Thing



decryption code in comments





Enjoy,

15 May 2015

Sisyphus Pushin' a Black Ark



Sorry about the shitty first rip. Don't know what happened, but when I was listening to it (after the posting fact) I realized I had somehow left dead air after each track. Fixed & re-upped. Please forgive me!!!



Tracklist – 

Frog Swamp Soup
Build a New Ark
Roots Under Meridians
Untitled Storeys
Witching Dub
Ark Oscuro
Crowley
Hazing of the Monks
Human Meets Robot
Jammer Speaks
Lee Perry
Grey Dub
The Prisoner
Pushing Rock Uphill
Untitled Ligetti
Slow Down
Zoot Loops
City Sleeps
You’re Gonna Miss My Lovin’

Enjoy,

Essential Too



This bangarang leans heavily on Lee Perry & King Tubby at their most crucial, with a few chestnuts throw in to sweeten the mix.


 Tracklist –

Blackboard Jungle Dub (Ver. 1)  - The Upsetters – Blackboard Jungle Dub, early 1970s
Original Dub – African Brothers meet King Tubby in Dub, 2005
Declaration of Rights – Don Carlos – Dub Version, 2000
Shocking Dub – Linton Kwesi Johnson – LKJ in Dub, 1980
Think it Over Dub – Wackies Rhythm Force – African Roots Act III: Strictly Dubwise, 1983
Dedication to Style Scott – Roots Radics – Live at Channel One, 198x
Armageddon Dub – Leroy 'Horsemouth' Wallace – Original Armageddon Dub,
(recorded in 1978 – unreleased until 2000)
Dub Hill - Rockers All Stars – Up Waricka Hill (Augustus Pablo) b/w Dub Hill 7". 1974
Crime Wave – King Tubby meets the Upsetters – At the Grass Roots of Dub, 2005
Sidewalk Killer – I-Roy – Sidewalk Doctor (Tommy McCook) b/w Sidewalk Killer 7", 1972
Mass Murder & Corruption – Scientist – High Priest of Dub, 1982
Dub in Red – Harry Mudie & the Mudies All Stars – Reggae Bible / Book of Drifters
(split w/ The Rhythm Rulers), 1989
Sitting & Skanking Dub – Lee Perry the Upsetter meets Scientist – At the Blackheart Studio, 1996
Kicking Scott – Bullwackies All Stars – Natures Dub, 1980
Love Dub – Blackslate Meets Soul Syndicate – Moodies in Dub Vol. 1, 1978
Cool in Dub – Roots Radics featuring Gladstone Anderson – Radical Dub Session, 1981 or 1982
Doctor on the Go – Lee Perry & the Upsetters – Revolution Dub, 1975

Ranking uphill,

12 May 2015

The Dub Dentist





A while back I served up Keith Hudson’s Brand. At the time I was showcasing some early Pressure Sounds releases that are no longer available. That post was one of the most popular at the time.

Brand is in fact the second act of the trifecta of innovate dub albums that began with the classic Pick A Dub & ended with Nuh Skin Up.

The first third of the set, Pick A Dub, is one of the earliest dub albums to ever be released, way back in 1974. It features Hudson’s ultra-heavy bass & drum style propelled by Carlton & Aston Barrett. It showcases remixes of earlier reggae material with echoing vocals including Hudson, Horace Andy, & Big Youth to underscore the intense percussive rhythm. More than 40 years after the record's original release the raw edge of experimentation still pours forth.

decryption codes in comments

Side A –
Pick A Dub
Black Heart
Michael Talbot Affair
Don't Move
Blood Brother
Dreaded Than

Side B –
In the Rain
Part 1-2 Dub Wise
Black Right
Satia
I'm All Right
Depth Charge

The Soul Syndicate is the backing band (Earl 'Chinna' Smith – guitar, Augustus Pablo – melodica, Aston Barrett – bass, & Carlton Barrett – drums). Recorded & mixed at Harry J’s Recording Studio in Kingston, Jamaica by Keith Hudson & Aston Barrett.

The third act, Nuh Skin Up, has been largely eclipsed by the first two, but in my opinion, this is the crowning gem of the three, so strongly & creatively inspired. This album collects another set of tracks recorded with the legendary Soul Syndicate band as well as, according to the interview with Hudson’s close associate Junior Walker: ''a white reggae group from Baltimore playing on "Ire Ire" & "Troubles" (most likely also on "No Commitment"). The tracks that feature the Soul Syndicate band probably came from the same sessions that make up Brand, which were mixed at King Tubby's.

Keith Hudson – Nuh Skin Up (Dub), Joint International GT006, 1979.

Side 1 –
Even Those Dreadful Words
Nuh Skin Up
Mercy
Bad Things

Side 2 –
Keeping Us Together
Ire Ire
Desiree
Troubles
No Commitment

Reespek,

10 May 2015

Justice from the Welsh Velvet



John Cale – vocals, guitar, piano, & viola; Ritchie Fliegler – lead guitar; Jimmy Bain – bass; & Kevin Currie – drums with Bruce Brody – synthesizer.

John Cale – Animal Justice 12" 45rpm, Illegal Records IL003, 1977.

Side A –
Chicken Shit
Memphis

Side B –
Hedda Gabbler

Enjoy,

The Lone Gunman Gets a Taste





 Dredge, James Meat, & Zowie Fenderblast. Contains the 1989 self-titled EP (tracks 12 thru 17). No longer available from Touch & Go.



The Lee Harvey Oswald Band – A Taste of Prison, Touch & Go, 1994.
decryption code in comments

Tracklist –
Theme Fenderblast
Tinglers
Jesus Never Lived on Mars
Mamma’s All Right
Amen, Man
Locomotion
The Bowel of Rock & Roll
Junior’s Farm
Getting It On / Off
Roadside Full of Tammy
Van Gogh & the Chemical Haze
Steam Roller Dogie
Getting Wasted with the Vampires
Boss Hoss
Lightning Strikes
Mad Dog (live Germany 1989)
When the Satans Come Marching In

Bullet to the Brain,

What a Gas!



Gas are: Ian Blenkinsop (The McGoohans, Drowning is Easy); Gene-Pool Belmondo (Brother Love And His Far Out Space Nuts); & Mick Elborado (The Terminals, Scorched Earth Policy, The Axemen, The Shallows). Recorded at various locations in Christchurch, New Zealand 1996 to 1998. Limited edition of 300 copies.

Gas – Compressed Gas 7” EP, Siltbreeze SB125, 2009.

Side 1 –
League of the Golden Maidens
Cubicle
Another Poor Fuck

Side 2 –
Speak No More
Thirst
Pushing Against Me

Enjoy,

Samla Mammas Manna Zamla Mammaz Manna von Zamla





RIO super group established by Lars Hollmer & Eino Haapala, two members of the Swedish band Zamla Mammaz Manna.




This has never been released on CD. Trying that FLAC thing one more time.

Von Zamla – No Make Up!, Krax KRAX 3, 1984.
decryption code in comments

Face A –
Forge Etude
Soon Series
Für Munju / Indojazz
Gilmit

Face B –
Hopeful
Endango
Piece of Antsong
Voice Improvisation
After SMRT
Cancion de Bi-Mi-Mela

On this outing, Von Zamla have expanded to: Eino Haapala – guitar & vocals; Lars Hollmer – keyboards & accordion; Hans Louhelainen – keyboards & melodica; Michel Berckmans – bassoon & oboe; Wolfgang Salomon – bass & guitaron; & Mårten Tiselius – drums with Kalle Eriksson - trumpet & percussion.

Enjoy,