Be Bop or Be Dead
Axiom
Last Poets member Hassan’s 1993 debut solo release on Laswell’s Axiom imprint. Here he incorporates Jazz, Hip-Hop and even a little metal to back his spiels on racism, Black identity and family. Some old Poets numbers get updated here (This Is Madness, Niggers Are Scared Of Revolution) and some Axiom usual suspects show up (Bernie Worrell, Bootsy Collins, Anton Fier and Laswell) as well as former bandmate Abiodun Oyewole.
The always great Decoder has made available both volumes of Hardcore Devo as well as The Mongoloid Years live album. Great, classic pre-Warner Bros. Devo, unfiltered. If you haven’t heard this stuff and are only familiar with their major label output, this’ll amaze and shock you. Devo had it going on back then in a way that few bands could touch in terms of weirdness and retardo-shock imagery.
Go there and grab ‘em while they’re hot!
Lo.Def Pressure
Quatermass
Busy Drum N’ Bass studio conglomeration from Laswell, utilizing Tabla player Zakir Hussain’s beats and loads of electronica esoterica courtesy of Badal Roy and Laswell himself. The two long, dub-ish compositions are fairly ambient in nature and have varying tempos and sonic structures. Some of it sounds like recycled material (no pun intended) from other Laswell Drum N’ Bass and Dub projects, but it’s engaging nontheless.
The End of Law
Sub Rosa
Fascinating blend of spoken word and Camp Laswell musicians assembled together around esoteric readings about Tenth-Century Shi’ite mystic Hassan I Sabbah.
Some of the artists involved:
Bill Laswell
Iggy Pop
Hakim Bey
William Burroughs
Patti Smith
Genesis P. Orridge
Jah Wobble
Anton Fier
Susan Deyhim
Nicky Skopelitis
Nicole Blackman
Percy Howard
Helios Creed
and more…
Don’t listen to this expecting to get a clearer understanding of The Old Man of the Mountain, I think that’s the point. Rather it’s more of a meditation on the illusory nature of the reality around him and his disciples – then and now and some varying historical accounts of Sabbah and Mount Alamut. The music is lovely and exotic, the readings are always engaging, and the choice of text and performers reading it are appropriate and inspired. The spirits of Gysin and Burroughs are definitely in attendance here.
Phew!
That’s four posts in rapid succession….
I’m pooped!
I like doing this and hope to continue for some time. Right now I’d like to solicit feedback. If you like what you see here, or download, please leave some feedback in the comments. I’m curious if this is being read or the links utilized. If I get lots of response, I’ll probably stick with it longer and not be distracted by some shiny object.
Also, I have a fairly large collection of beautiful and strange music, so try me- I may have something you’re looking for and would be willing to upload it.
Sorry to go off on winge, but I really want to know if anyone’s reading…
Makes it more fun for me.
Me go sleepytime now.
The ConstruKction Of Light
Virgin Total
Yet another configuration of Crim. Here they are in Post-Double Trio form – long-time members Tony Levin (Bass , Stick) and Bill Bruford (Drums) having departed – leaving Belew, Fripp and relative newbies Gunn and Mastelotto to hold down duties. This is one of the most dense and complex KC albums too date. Another stab at Lark’s Tongue in Aspic and some not-too different sounding, multi-part instrumentals make up the bulk of it, and the vocal songs are great as well. Even though AMG gave this album a bad review, I find it more of a focused effort than the previous one, ThraK, which was an uneasy mix of KC’s savage rock with meditative ballads that were more than a little overwrought. Also, it certainly sets the stage for the next album.
The version I’m posting includes a song that Adrian Belew wrote called ‘I Have a Dream’ that was subsequently cut from the album due to pressure from the label, among other things.
Somnific Flux
Subharmonic
Two long, droning atmospheric pieces by Laswell and Mick Harris (Scorn, Napalm Death).
Both are very spooky and futuristic and apocalyptic sounding. So minimal in execution, that I can’t conjure up the words to describe it adequately. Suffice it to say, this was recorded at the height of Laswell’s dark-ambient phase and is perhaps his best of its type.
Faith Moves
CMP
I’d always wondered what this collaboration between these two guitar giants would sound like and now I know. Nicky Skopelitis is responsible for most of the string sounds on peak-era Material’s albums, playing guitar, oud, baglama as well as Coral Sitar, a cheesy, sixties novelty which Skopelitis has mastered and forged a distinctive sound all his own.
Sonny Sharrock was undisputedly the John Coltrane of the six-string guitar. He could summon up a brain frying barrage of jazz notes one moment and the next beautiful, soulful passages worthy of Bird or Ornette Coleman, all with a fat, warm overdriven guitar tone that would’ve had Fripp or Santana green with envy.
This album features surprisingly upbeat, bright sounding compositions with Skopelitis providing exotic, multi-ethnic beds of music for Sharrock to solo over or at times play counterpoint to.
Beautiful.
Fans of the nineties incarnation of Material will undoubtedly love this album as most of that era’s crew is on board.
Metatron
Subharmonic
Buckethead: Guitar
Laswell: Bass
Brain: Drums
What more do you need to know?
This one is more stripped down and mind-pummeling than previous Praxis releases. Without Bootsy and Bernie Worrell, it’s lacking in funkiness, but more than makes up for it in raw aggression.
…has bit the dust.
Nice Guy Eddie is calling it quits (for a while at least):
I’m taking some time off. Not sure if I will return.. My links are dying left and right due to leeching and reposting on other message boards and blogs..Some of the comments lately have been a lil ungrateful and greedy..If I do decide to call it quits..I will post all submissions before I go…
That’s a drag…
I’ve enjoyed his shares of soundtracks, Hip Hop and the like. He’ll be missed.
