John Paul Young ~ The Life Of Ermie Scub [CMDC, 1980] 320kbps

SC 8922

A1. Ermie Has Feelers
A2. All The Sad Goodbyes
A3. Have You Seen The Boy In The Gutter With The Broken Mind?
A4. Our Time Escapes
A5. Summertime!
A6. Is That Why?

B1. The Monster In Ed
B2. The Girl Spells Grief
B3. Angels With Dirty Faces
B4. The Boulevards Of Hope
B5. Surrender To The Void



Electronics – Stanley A. Viezner
Performer [Instruments], Vocals – John Paul Young

'After founding Toronto-based art punk(ish) band Cardboard Brains back in 1976, and leading them through a pair of swell EPs (the frankly formulaic Cardboard Brains 77 and the poppier Black EP two years later) as well as a slot on the scene-defining Last Pogo LP, John Paul Young must have felt constricted by the form-fitting straitjacket of three-chord punk. Young was the middle-class son of medical doctors, and allegedly progeny of both Brigham Young and the founder of American rocketry, Dr. Robert Goddard, and was probably a poor fit for a Toronto scene populated by yobs, headbangers and street youth (as chronicled in Liz Worth's excellent Treat Me Like Dirt).

By 1980 Young had set off on his own, playing all the instruments on this quasi-conceptual collection of robot-like minimal synth tracks. And on a continent that was still digesting the original punk movement, The Life of Ermie Scub would surely have been as left-field as they came. With its period analog synths, percolating drum machines and disaffected vocals, the record had more in common with the early OMD, the Normal or even San Francisco's Units than much of what was happening in Toronto at the time. That said, the bulk of ...Ermie Scub is mopy and tedious, with Young's lethargic singing especially annoying. Still, there are flickers of brilliance here, like the two-minute 'Have You Seen the Boy in the Gutter with the Broken Mind?', a frantic electro-workout worthy of Martin Rev, or the whimsical synths on 'The Boulevards of Hope', which seem to edge curiously close to Residents territory [circa The Commercial Album].' ~ Michael Pananontin

i don't find the vocals tedious at all, but then i dig weird art punk. and though jp's voice might initially contrast with some of the gorgeous synth melodies on display here, this album has really grown on me over the years. definitely one for fans of Gary Wilson. please enjoy this interwebular upgrade of one of my favorite canadian synth joints, 320 blips later

Michael Angelo ~ Sorcerer's Dream b/w Nubian Queen 7" [1978, Mexican Summer, 2010]

MEX 059

A - Sorcerer's Delight 2:48
B - Nubian Queen 3:02



'We first heard of Michael Angelo’s brilliant soft psyche from his 1977 self-titled album, but when Angelo himself shared these ultra rare recordings from his album A Sorcerers Dream, Mexican Summer headquarters pretty much flipped out. This is a perfect 7 inch that’s filled with ahead of it’s time bubble jams-if Bobb Trimble, Ariel Pink, and Caetano Veloso had a drunken night, it would surely harp this.' press

perch merch

a fun little record, shrouded in a misty, tropical haze. 320 spells later

Los Iniciados ~ La Marca De Anubis LP + El Canto De Jazz 7" [Dro, 1982] @ 320

DRO-012

A1. Obertura
A2. La Marca De Anubis
A3. La Comitiva Celeste
A4. Meritaton Y El Nilo
A5. Isis Y Osiris
A6. Resurrección

B1. Atlas
B2. Mantis Religiosa
B3. Ella Es Intangible
B4. El Hombre Sin Nombre
B5. Peter Pan
B6. Soy El Vacio

DRO-004

A1. El Cantor De Jazz 2:34
A2. Posesión 2:33
A3. Arcoiris 1:46

B1. Sangre De Ángel 2:22
B2. "Enigma" Y Tu Voz 2:21



as promised, here's Los Iniciados, the sinistral satanic sister band to Aviador Dro, who had to be like the most prolific collective of artists in 1982 Spain. that year alone they released 6.66 records on their own Dro imprint, in addition to makin several videos & perfoming like crazy. the sounds herein might be likened to the Residents having a funeral party with Only Theatre of Pain-era Christian Death, en español. don't even trip, just peep the clip. 320 sacrificial séances later

Bruce Haack ~ Farad: The Electric Voice [Stones Throw, 2010]

released & unreleased vocoder recordings, 1970-1982

'Bruce Haack's music is rooted in the idea that humans and electronic machines share a reciprocal relationship that manifests itself through sounds. In order to further explore this dynamic, Haack dropped out of Juilliard to pursue a more experimental course in, surprisingly, educational children's music. Haack released material off his own label Dimension 5 Records in 1962, which allowed him to mix kinetic energy, infuse psychedelic philosophy, and pluck sounds from various genres across the board. Adding to his musical pastiches, Haack used home-made modular synthesizers, proto-vocoders, and the heat-touch sensitive Dermatron to expand his music into the technological realm of creativity.

After contributing to commercials, TV shows such as Mister Rogers, and theatre productions, Haack released the acid-rock-techno gem Electric Lucifer, a conceptual masterpiece that maps out a war between heaven and hell, and where notions of "powerlove" are mediated through Moog synths.

Farad serves as a glowing primer of Haack's work throughout his career. Touching on the lush, pysch-electronic grooves of the Electric Lucifer period and extending to his more abstract, angular works, this compilation highlights his use of the Farad, one of the first musical vocoders invented at the time. Yet amidst echoey reverb and haunting drones, Haack himself manages to create something primal and human, not necessarily conflating human and electronic but posing them as compatible partners.' ~ press hype

'Amazing electric grooves from synth innovator Bruce Haack – whose pioneering use of analog synths and vocoder vocals in the service of great, if far out songcraft was pretty much unrivaled in the 70s and into the early 80s – the period in which this excellent compilation on Stones Throw highlights! Haack's earlier successes were children's music in the 60s, and one of the coolest aspects of his 70s recordings was how that somewhat bright-eyed and innocent sing-song-y approach moved into more surrealist, weirder realms on albums like Electric Lucifer, that album's lesser known, still quite brilliant sequel, and albums like Haackula and Bite. Choice cuts from those albums as well as rare singles are rounded up for Stones Throw's impeccably curated overview. The electric voice and synth errata brings an otherworldly vibe to catchy songs – and Haack's use of the vocoder was followed by so many others who would become household names, from Kraftwerk to Pink Floyd to Moroder.' ~ dusty

snap up the re-ish

pretty slammin correction of uncle brucie's vocoder steez, even a couple we'd never heard before. for the uninitiated, it's highly recommended you trace both 'electric lucifer' lp's as well. they're owl up in the interwebs, just perform a quick search with yr favourite engine

Gérard Manset ~ La Mort D'Orion [Pathé Marconi EMI, 1970]

A1 Introduction 4:30
A2 La Mort D'Orion 8:20
A3 Où L'Horizon Prend Fin 1:55
A4 Salomon L'Hermite 5:45
A5 Final 3:15

B1 Vivent Les Hommes 7:35
B2 Enchaînement 1:15
B3 Ils 3:40
B4 Paradis Terrestre 5:25
B5 Elégie Funèbre 4:00



Lyrics By, Music By, Arranged By [Orchestrations] - Gérard Manset
Voice [Avec Les Voix De] - Anne Vanderlove , Giani Esposito

'Gérard Manset's 3rd album, 'La Mort d'Orion' might best be described as a modern rock symphony, featuring extremely sophisticated arrangements and some wonderfully rousing string crescendos. Released in 1970, 'La Mort d’Orion' proved to be both a critical and commercial triumph. Indeed Manset’s album went on to sell over 20,000 copies [a remarkable feat for such a strange and innovative album] & French critics showered it with rave reviews.' ~ ???

super weird & disorienting orchestral french psych opera recorded in 1969. great for cosmic death trips & astrologically unsound funeral parties. occasionally reminiscent of like wtf gainsbourg or jacques brel on brown acid. originally dropped by mutant sounds, this is a superior sounding 320 upgrade ripped from the original vinyl by radiooloron. merci

Stark Reality ~ Now

01 Junkman's Song
02 Thirty Days Hath September
03 Cooking
04 Comrades
05 Shooting Stars
06 Rocket Ship
07 Dreams
08 All You Need To Make Music
09 Roller Coaster Ride
10 Too Much Tenderness
11 Sunday's Song
12 Say Brother

Monty Stark [vocals, vibraphone]; Phil Morrison [vocals, electric bass]; Vinnie Johnson [vocals, drums, percussion]; John Abercrombie [guitar]; Carl Atkins [flute, saxophone, baritone saxophone]; Stanton Davis, Jr. [trumpet]; Alan Reed [electric bass]



crusty groove hype: 'One of the most tripped-out albums of funk ever. a rare treasure with a very unusual history. The Stark Reality were a cool little combo formed to work on public television in Boston in the late 60s featuring some heavy guitars, fuzzed-up vibes, and some monster percussion laid out in tight bass & drum rhythms that were years ahead of their time. The group recorded one rare album -- ostensibly a children's record, but based around old compositions by Hoagy Carmichael, completely pulled apart, sliced up, overly harmonized, and spat out into wild funky tunes that bear no resemblance to their originals! The original album -- Stark Reality Discovers Hoagy Carmichael's Music Shop -- has been a holy grail for collectors for years [we once sold a copy for hundreds of dollars], and the music has only ever really been heard by a few dedicated beatheads that have tracked down rare copies. Now, though, the geniuses at Stones Throw have put out the whole LP, plus bonus material, in one fantastic package that is soon to make the Stark Reality legends amongst funky fans the world over! Mad vibes meet fuzzy guitars meet killer funky beats -- and the whole thing's a masterpiece that will never be duplicated again!' mas. amazin distorted vibraphonique magic band otherness throughout. 320k for the noodle bakers. yea

Musiques du Gabon LP [Ocora 41] field recordings by Michel Vuylsteke in 1967

Face A
01 Massango ~ bwiti moungongo [mouth-bow] workout by Celestin Mondjo
02 Massango ~ bwiti funereal dirge ft. gonfi [curved harp], polyphony & bottles
03 Xylophone ~ melane [xylophone] orchestra
04 Fang ~ melane orch. w/ girl choir shaking metal nias [rattles]
05 Fang ~ epique song w/ mvet [harp zither] & choral accompaniment

Face B
06 Obamba ~ walking song w/ hand claps!!!! yes!!!
07 Ndjabi ~ male group songs tracing movements of masked genie on stilts
08 Pounou ~ epique song featuring bsambi [blow-lute] & antiphonique chorus
09 Kota ~ Obanga rites w/ eba [antelope horn] & massokwe [vegetable husk anklets]
10 Pigmee ~ pygmy song accom. by gonfi [curved harp] for bwiti dance
11 Pigmee ~ female polyphonique pygmy yodelling for kosse dance



the Bwiti & Obanga are both secret societies of Gabon & the associated songs they sing & play for their various festivals, rites & even seemingly humdrum activities are utterly mindblowing. another consistently superb ocora. thanks & praise to op