30 April 2013

Luxurious Beats

Biga's album B Sides is out now! Fans of his comrade Digi G’Alessio, Brazilian loops, and hip hop beats will enjoy this one.

"Welcome to the eternal summer in the gardens of hip-hop! Life here is easy. Let yourself be refreshed by the light sampling breeze, away from hectic lifestyles and noisy streets. Dressed with an immaculate white kimono, you will be baptized in the fountain of holy funkiness, while angelic voices sing softly over non-quantized rhythms. Immerse yourself into Biga’s universe and let the dream come true."



license: Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported 


[This album uses samples that are certainly not cleared, such as those of Astrid Gilberto. At the same time, this album also allows no sampling?]





Location: Florence, Italy

29 April 2013

The Trypshop

You probably know Mark Vidler as mashup master "Go Home Productions." He gained a deal of notoriety with those early days of mashups, but Vidler is also a producer, remixer, A/V artist, songwriter, and disc jockey. Here's a snippet from his bio:
Using the thriving UK bootleg scene of 2001 as a starting block, has since gone on to officially produce tracks for all manner of 'legends' in the music business including David Bowie, Bob Dylan, The Doors, Blondie, The Sex Pistols and diverse artists like Gang Of Four, Malcolm Mclaren, Ruts DC, Alicia Keys, Siobhan Fahey, Kasabian, Martha and The Muffins, Plaid and Max Sedgley amongst others

Produced the single "Rebel Never Gets Old" for David Bowie in 2004 - UK Top 45 Singles Chart

Produced Blondie vs The Doors "Rapture Riders" single released in on EMI 2007 - Top 20 Chart hits in Europe / #1 Club Chart US

Produced the first officially cleared and released 'Mash-Up' album "Mashed" for EMI Records in 2007 - UK Top Ten Album Chart

Has produced radio sessions broadcast by Radio 1 / XFM / BBC 6 Music / BBC Radio 4 / BBC Asian Network / Jazz FM / WFMU (NYC) / K-Rock (NYC) / Indie 103 (LA) / Live 105 (SF) / OUI FM (FR)

We finally caught up on listening to one of his projects, Trypshop, a radio program of psychedelia. What a fun trip with the knowledgeable, friendly, and humorous host!
Mark Vidler's Trypshop Radio Show is now back after almost 5 years spent in a Psychedelic haze somewhere between Watford, Northampton and Mars. Visit the new website / facebook page. All new shows will be posted to Soundcloud then archived on the website.

Location: Watford, Hertfordshire, UK

28 April 2013

That There Is Truckin'!

Back in 2008, Roctober Magazine hosted a big piece in issue 46 on the history and highlights of a type of fourth generation American country music known as "truck driving" music. To celebrate the release, Roctober gave away truck driving music cassettes featuring covers of classics and originals by the Roctober staff.

Jake, the Roctober editor and a key player behind the legendary dance show Chic-A-Go-Go (yay!), offers the truckin' songs on Dinosaur Gardens. He writes, "For those of you who missed the party, or who don’t have a cassette player, we are posting the compilation in its entirety here, including the 'bonus track,' a rare 70s soul 45 that is the all-time funkiest trucking tune."

Also included at Dinosaur Gardens are the stories of the cover songs and bonus tracks, adapted from the pages of the magazine. There are article excerpts at Roctober's website, too. You can still get your hands on your own copy of Roctober #46 for just $4!



Location: Chicago, Illinois, USA
Photo:  "Red American Truck (Kenworth Truck Typ W 900, Bj. ca. 1985, 240 PS, 12800 ccm, 6 Zyl.) - West USA" by PRA, 2007.
Photo license: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported
Cover improvised by Oddio Overplay

27 April 2013

Haunting, Beautiful Female Acapella Experiment

Inspiring Vancouver performance artist, modern dancer, and musician prOphecy sun released her fourth solo effort this month, Sleep Fever on the impressive Panospria label.  The release was recorded at home in a sort of sleep haze associated with her pregnancy. Layers of her echoing voice create a beautiful lullaby very different from her other projects, such as Tyranahorse (hear "Rumble Tumble", for instance).

The Panospria writeup says, "The compositions focus on the voice as a symbol of the unconscious, capturing the immediacy of emotive textures and sounds that live inside her head. Her rhythms are of scattered daydreams, primal outpourings and apocalyptic visions."


Here is a preview of the title track. Check out the full album at Panospria.


Location: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

26 April 2013

Tribute Albums from Stereogum

The Stereogum tribute compilation to The Strokes is gone. Ah, the ephemeral nature of Internet content. Three other Stereogum tribute comps to Bjork's Post, REM's Automatic For The People, and Radiohead's OK Computer are still available for your pleasure. You will see well-known artists among the artists making these covers
From Stereogum:

"After completing and launching Drive XV, our tribute to R.E.M.'s Automatic For The People, we gathered at 11th St Bar one night to figure out which album we should tackle next. OKX, our inaugural step into the compilation world, had been a no-brainer: 2007 was OK Computer's 10th Anniversary, and we wanted to honor the milestone. This time, though, when we started off thinking of possibilities based on release dates -- Drive XV was celebrating 15 years of Automatic after all -- nothing seemed quite right....

"After discarding our release-date almanac, someone suggested Björk. It was late, and we don't remember who said what, but it was a great idea. Debut, her first post-Sugarcubes album came out in 1993, which could count for a nice and even 15 years in 2008, but Post was the obvious choice: It's a stronger album top to bottom -- a culmination of her work to that point. It includes any number of iconic tracks and due to the richness and variety of Björk's self-described "spastic" palette, an infinite number of interpretive possibilities. Think, for example, of "It's Oh So Quiet," Björk's big-band cover of Betty Hutton's "Blow a Fuse," the almost industrial noise of "Army Of Me," the wispy, avant ambiance of "Cover Me," etc. When we spoke with Björk about her thoughts on Post, our choice seemed even more appropriate."

23 April 2013

Public Enemy And The Impossebulls

From blocSonic netlabel, "Thirteen years ago... The Impossebulls began as a group of international Public Enemy fans joining forces with the Hard Rhymer himself, Mr. Chuck D, fellow PE member Professor Griff and long time PE collaborator Kyle Jason on a song railing against the major music industry entitled 'We Don’t Need You'."

Earlier this month, an anthology of the first ten years of The Impossebulls, Made by History (Decade One: 2000-2010), was released  on blocSonic.
Over the years, they’ve developed a rich body of work that this retrospective does a great job of shining a light on. With blocSonic as a partner to help them get their incredible hip-hop music out to the world, they’re ready to continue to bring you the REAL. Get to know some of what they’ve already done and get ready for what they’re going to do!
... Thank you to Chuck D, without whom the ‘Bulls wouldn’t exist! 
Today, Enemy Among Us was released on blocSonic.
In honor of the induction of Public Enemy into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, The Impossebulls have prepared this special EP release to celebrate the important place that PE holds in the hearts and minds of a whole generation of music fans, musicians and artists. Thank you Public Enemy for continuing to show the way. You’ve remained an important voice of reason in an increasingly mad world.

license: Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0

22 April 2013

Portuguese Variety from OPPP

This self-titled album from Orquestra Popular De Paio Pires of Setúbal, Portugal lands with regularity in the mix here at Rancho Oddio. It is a diverse and grooving album brought to the world by the phenomenal netlabel Clinical Archives.

Tracks 1-3 and 12 might fall under classic jazz pop (or Space Age Pop), while 4-11 are more instrumental experimental rock, and 7 is hip hop beat. Give it a listen and decide for yourself.



Location: Setubal, Portugal
Music License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0

21 April 2013

Chicago Groove Via Hamburg

Chicago producer, visual artist, and electronic master Blackdaylight (Thomas McCauley) just dropped his newest release, the 14-track Nemesis, with Hamburg label Kreislauf Organization.

His fantastic cover art is a real eye-grabber.


Location: Hamburg, Germany; Chicago, Illinois, USA
Music License: Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Germany



Audio preview of "Big Chill" --the last track on the new album, Nemesis:


20 April 2013

Happy Record Store Day!

Happy Record Store Day! Avid free music listeners are also among the best purchasers of music. Makes sense, because we love music! Today is dedicated to keeping independent record stores alive. Please take time to support your local record stores and favorite recording artists today!

Most participating stores have giveaways, live in-store performances, free swag, contests, and limited edition Record Store Day pressings (pdf). We have even been to some shops who celebrate the holiday with cookouts and cookie decorating. Always a lot of fun -- and Record Store Day helps keep the independent music shops going.

Get out there and be part of the party today!


Here are some of the Free Music Archive artists with recordings being offered AT RECORD STORES ONLY to celebrate Record Store Day. See the official website for the full list of Record Store Day releases. Show some love.


19 April 2013

Blues And Roots From Alligator Records

Legendary Chicago-based, independent blues label Alligator Records is offering a free blues and roots music sampler right now in celebration of Public Radio Music Month.

Like Alligator Records on Facebook, and get your copy of Alligator Records Presents Blues And Roots. While you are at it, show your support by liking 170 Million Americans for Public Broadcasting, too.

"Alligator Records, in collaboration with NPR and public radio stations is now offering a FREE downloadable 17-song sampler to help bring attention to Public Public Radio Music Month. Alligator Records Presents Blues And Roots features songs selected from throughout the label's storied 42-year history. This sampler will be available through May 11th. Download your free sampler now!"
-- Alligator Records
See our earlier post "Blues From Alligator Records" for more about Alligator Records, our favorite blues and roots label.

17 April 2013

EardropsPop 100-Song Pop Compilation

In addition to their catalog of releases and compilations, pop netlabel EardrumsPop has a big 100-track compilation of selections from their releases for you (tracklist). We finally listened to it all the way through and have some new favorites! What a fun label!

"EARDRUMSPOP is a net-label. We love warm and melodic music of all kinds, we love good art and illustration, we believe in beautiful things you can see and hear, and we believe in working together, helping each other and getting good music and good art out to the public.... All our releases are given away for free.... These compilations are free, and WE don’t want your money. But we advise you to give something back to the artists. Buy their music, buy t-shirts, go to their concerts."

16 April 2013

John Graham's Magic

Respect to John Graham for his thoughtful final release, Magic: Blanc Et Noir. He covers a lot of ground, such as politics, the entertainment industry, ethics, dedication, and family. He shines.

A documentary was produced around the making of the album, Magic: Blanc et Noir (A Visual Mémoire). Graham's company Ego Free Music Group describes the film:

This "Musicmentary" takes you behind the veil and uncovers the many layers of the man behind the music. If you didn't know who John Graham was before seeing this, then you will be properly acquainted after this groundbreaking visual experience.

This audio visual journey directed and edited by Mark AH of Crescendo Productions whisks you through 14 tracks of pure musical wizardry and gives you an insider's viewpoint of the motivations behind every lyric. Coupled with interviews, and performances you'll undoubtedly fall under the spell of the Ego Free Magician himself.
The documentary and the album are available from Ego Free Music Group. The album is also available at Bandcamp and Soundcloud.





Intrigued? Check out the solid album review from Word Is Bond complete with audio samples.

Hoping you will be moved by this album to well-rounded thought and positive action.

"We truly hope that you have enjoyed everything we've contributed to the culture of music and to the world alike. Take time to ingest everything we've said over the past 5 albums and discover the hidden meanings as they become revealed to you at the right time in your journey." -- Ego Free Music Group

license: all rights reserved

15 April 2013

Kevin Seconds Solo

7 Seconds was formed in the 1980s and remains among the longest lived of any group from the first wave of California hardcore punk with legendary records, like Crew and Walk Together, Rock Together.

Frontman Kevin Seconds continues to perform and record with 7 Seconds and has branched out into other avenues with his solo work. His release Don't Let Me Lose Ya is far from hardcore. The album is singer-songwriter relaxed rock and American folk "with the vitality of someone who is content to follow his muse," to quote Quote Unquote Records.

The album's label, Asian Man Records, describes it this way:

"Kevin Seconds' new album makes apparent what longtime fans already know: Kevin Seconds is a pop troubadour with a protest singer's heart, writing catchy, impeccably well-crafted tunes. "

Don't Let Me Lose Ya is available for free download with a suggested donation of $5. You can also purchase the album in LP, CD, and cassette formats at Asian Man Records.





license: Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike

14 April 2013

Instrumental Beats From Show N Prove

Beat-maker Show N Prove offers a strong selection of some of his work for free in a collection titled Instrumentals 2. MCs, do not want to miss this one.

"Scottish producer Show N Prove has literally owned 2012 in making hip hop and UK urban bangers. As his new cover states, he’s worked with a long line of prominent UK artists representing his signature sound churning out beats consistently." -- DJ Gully, Keep It Gully

Instrumentals 1 is also available for download at Soundcloud and streaming at YouTube.




license: assumed all rights reserved


13 April 2013

FMA Revitalize Music Contest

News from the FMA:

WFMU and the Free Music Archive are challenging artists everywhere to create new recordings and contemporary arrangements of historic compositions available in the public domain. We’re calling this our Revitalize Music Contest (April 12th to 28th).

To inspire entries, we’ve handpicked a selection of out-of-copyright songs with compelling lyrics, beautiful melodies, and unusual stories.

Submit your recording by April 28th. Links to details, prizes, official rules, how-to, and all that good stuff on the official contest page. Best of luck!

This contest is supported in part by an award from the US National Endowment for the Arts.

12 April 2013

American Popular Music

The United States Government with Oxford University Press, Inc. have released a condensation of the book AMERICAN POPULAR MUSIC: FROM MINSTRELSY TO MP3 by Larry Starr and Christopher Waterman, originally published by Oxford University Press. Read the free book online or download a copy at America.gov.

"American popular music is a kaleidoscopic mélange of styles and dreams. Its vibrancy reflects the mating of cultural diversity to artistic and creative freedom. The stories in this book illustrate how Americans, borrowing from diverse musical traditions, have contributed to humanity’s universal language."
-- America.gov

About the authors:

Larry Starr is Professor of Music at the University of Washington. His previous publications include The Dickinson Songs of Aaron Copland (2002), A Union of Diversities: Style in the Music of Charles Ives (1992), and articles in American Music, Perspectives of New Music, Musical Quarterly, and Journal of Popular Music Studies

Christopher Waterman is Dean of the School of Arts and Architecture at the University of California, Los Angeles. His previous publications include Jùjú: A Social History and Ethnography of an African Popular Music (1990) and articles in Ethnomusicology and Music Educator’s Journal.
 

11 April 2013

Acoustic Work from Sergi Boal of Barcelona

Multi-instrumentalist and composer Sergi Boal of Barcelona studied classical guitar studies, flamenco guitar, and oud with masters. In his work Silenci, he composed for trumpet, cello, oud, and voice with the guitar as the central instrument.

Boal writes that Silenci "reflects a mood, a declaration of intentions, in this convulsed times. The first notes the work, an Oud solo..., it is a metaphorical way to say that the music is a spiritual thing, and you have to sit down, cease your minds, and only listen to. i think you will need to listen this work during a Sunday evening, in the dawn, during a raining day or just when the house is almost in silence. Like the last word in the David Linch’s film Muholland Drive:.. 'silence'…. My intention is summarized in the words written on the back cover (translation from the Catalan language)."


The silence is the origin
The absence of sounds
The silence is the utopia
listen to the silence, not to the noise.

Silenci was released yesterday on Acustronica and is available for download.


License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives

10 April 2013

Compositions That Inspired Frank Zappa

Inspired by a release of composers and compositions influential to Frank Zappa and his work, Happy Puppy Records compiled a similar Creative Commons release for all ears.

The Happy Puppy Records compilation is made of works by genuine mavericks of the world of 20th century classical music featuring works from 1899 to 1970.

Regardless of one's opinions of Zappa, this is an important collection of modern compositions. Get Various Artists - The Classicality of /'Zəeppə/ [hpr049] from Happy Puppy Records.

album license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0






More about the selected compositions:

09 April 2013

Cyclops

Lee Maddeford (composer) and Roland Vouilloz (actor, musician) composed, performed, and recorded the modern work Cyclops. Maddeford and Vouilloz have worked together in other theater music projects. In this project, Vouilloz performed strings and percussion, and Maddeford performed piano and brass.

Cyclops is now at the Free Music Archive. Here are some highlights:



The string quartet in "Auméssassèpasnormale" is from Le Bal du Cyclope by Daniel Perrin.

license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License

07 April 2013

Rodd Keith Song Poems on Happy Puppy Records

Song poems are songs created around submitted lyrics for a fee. Known as song sharking, the practice typically involves cranking out tunes for next to no cost and with little effort in order to make a fat profit off those who submit their poetry to be set to music.

The results are typically bizarre and are sought out by lovers of the obscure and unusual.

For more than a year, the Happy Puppy Records netlabel and Bob Purse of The Wonderful and the Obscure blog and the WFMU Beware of the Blog have been working together to organize a series of song poem compilations. Their first collection was released today, and they kicked off the series with none other than a king of song poems, Rodd Keith.

Get the album The Wonderful and the Obscure, Volume 1: Rodd Keith [hpr068] at Happy Puppy Records.

Hear your own crazy poetry set to music by making your own song poem at the Off the Charts: The Song-Poem Story film site (film trailer)!

Happy Puppy Records is also home to a related project, poems4songs.

06 April 2013

Electronic Greats 1955 - 1984 Mixed

"In early 2010, what would eventually become Antique Electronic Synthesizer Greats was simply a concept for a live set. Fluorescent Grey, aka Robbie Martin, cut almost a thousand tiny samples and loops from works dating from 1955 to 1984, limiting his sources to strictly electronic and/or synthesized recordings.

"His rules allowed for non-synthesized compositions (e.g., Delia Derbyshire's tape cutting based tones) as well as synthesizer audio of any kind, including the Hammond Novachord. And far from simply a stolen sample collage, or meta-mash-up project, Robbie wanted to allow the mix he composed to preserve and highlight the eras' best sounds in a comprehensive backdrop. Some of those painstakingly found and excised snippets may be all but indiscernible to most, while some tease with their familiarity (Depeche Mode bass drum? YMO hi hat?), and some are nakedly in homage (synth lines from Vangelis, Giorgio Moroder). All are as playful as the puzzling track names, one of the most obvious of which are pieces that re-imagine the sound of John Carpenter's best synth-centric movie scores. From the uneasy sounds of horror to the sweet spot of vintage synth-pop and industrial, to the brief satisfyingly bizarre vocal cameos by Alan Vega and a Spanish industrial/noise outfit, it runs the gamut of its chosen time period exhaustively....

"Given the uncannily nostalgic or modern moods evoked, it can be all too easy to forget that the entire mix is comprised solely of an endlessly rotating roster of up to 15 isolated loops, all at least a quarter of a century old, some twice that age. On some songs, you could imagine a DJ dialing into the sounds of AFX or Mr. Oizo, an amusing stunt for some of the source material sounds unmistakably dated in a way that has yet to be retrofetishized. Proto-electronica futurism captured in Chris Carter's sequences or Morton Subotnick's Autechre-like FM synth splatters, works that indisputably sound futuristic in their own right. Dated or not, the novelty factor of an overwhelmingly corny synth brass sample is sometimes too good to resist, making it nigh impossible to prevent that old fashioned sound from antiquing the whole mix.

"This pastiche is offered up in both a mix and an individually tracked album for maximum utility. Use the cover art and the hidden messages contained herein as a resource for your own Antique Electronic Music search...."




05 April 2013

Weird Al Tribute

Prosthetic Lips is a 23-track tribute album honoring Weird Al Yankovic. It was recorded in 1996 members of his newsgroup, and was initially released on cassette and later on CD.

The album sold out long ago. No more pressings will be released, but it is available for download at the Zelda and The Unibrows site.

Enjoy the weirdness!

UPDATE: Download archived copy here

04 April 2013

Protecting Civil Rights

In The United States America, we pride ourselves in protecting citizens' rights. We tell ourselves all citizens not incarcerated for crimes have the right

1. to fair housing practices
2. to fair hiring practices
3. to love those they love
4. to representation in government
5. to need-based assistance with food, shelter, and medical attention
6. to personal safety protected by military and police forces
7. to equal rights despite age, race, or beliefs

One has but to walk in any US city or impoverished rural area to learn that we are failing on those counts. Is our empathy declining?

In 1991, the then governor of California opted not to pass legislation that would potentially protect some of our citizens from housing discrimination. This led to a protest in one California city that led to a riot in which a state building was vandalized.

Bob Ostertag composed a work, All The Rage, inspired by and incorporating recordings of that riot. It was performed by Kronos Quartet and is available to you at Ostertag's website. Libretto by Sara Miles. [Originally Elektra-Nonesuch 79332-2]




There was a lot of despair ultimately that we weren't saving our friends lives, that we weren't bringing about the change that we expected to bring about, that 70% of the country still thought it was okay that we should be denied our jobs and denied places to live and treated to hate crimes and generally excluded and ignored as our community was dieing.

The Veto Riot emerged out of that long period of cultural ferment.

-- Gerard Koskovich, co-organizer of the protest that led to the riot heard in All The Rage

license: assumed all rights reserved by artist

03 April 2013

Slowfoot Label Sampler

Slowfoot is a South London, England record label exploring "the boundaries between popular and experimental music."

"There really aren’t that many labels around that will smash you with shards of electro bolshiness one minute, soothe you with tuba loops the next and then allow you to fully embrace the jazz fiend inside moments later; but Slowfoot manage it and it make it seem like the most normal thing ever". ~ Oli Marlow, Rock a Rolla

"Slowfoot Records is fast becoming one of England's foremost purveyors of essential experimental soundscapes, putting out records that utilise wildly innovative recording processes to make future-music built on the recognisable foundations of genres such as jazz, dub and electronica." ~ experimusic

In exchange for an email address, Slowfoot will give you this recent 14-track label sampler.


license: all rights reserved





02 April 2013

The Month's FMA Gold

March 2013
Some of the albums that caught our attention this month at the Free Music Archive

The Free Music Archive is an interactive library of high-quality, legal audio downloads.  The Free Music Archive is directed by WFMU, the most renowned freeform radio station in America....  Every mp3 you discover on The Free Music Archive is pre-cleared for certain types of uses that would otherwise be prohibited by copyright laws that were not designed for the digital era.  These uses vary and are determined by the rightsholders themselves who feel that allowing a degree of free cultural access is beneficial not only to their own pursuits, but to our society as a whole....


Golden Festival 2013 by Various Artists
[E + SE Euro Traditional]

Ill Papa Giraffe by Ill Papa Giraffe
[Hip Hop, Rap]

Informality by Kosta T
[Classical, Modern Composition, Violin]

Eastward by Hudson
[American Folk, Alt Rock]

Guitar Improvisations by Tashi Dorji
[Experi, Guitar]

Little Boy by Mabafu
[Lounge, Ska, Dub]

Gift Economy by Silk Statue
[Lo-Fi, Experi]

Crime Scene by Jahzzar
[Hard Rock, Instrumental]

Lightness And Weight (For Tuba and Orchestra) by Harvey and Poore
[21st Century Composition]

Live At WFMU March 2013 by Creem
[Punk, Hardcore]

Half Day Half Minute by Sci Fi Industries
[Electronica, Spy Soundtrack, Industrial]

Live At WFMU March 2013 by Jacco Gardner
[Psychedelic, Pop]

Live At WFMU Feb 2013 by Lee Bains III And The Glory Fires
[Rock, Classic Rock]

Stareniye [Aging] by Anatoly Nikulin
[Pop, Post-Punk, Rock]

Live At WFMU March 2013 by The Above
['60s Brit Pop Style, Garage]


Some content added by Oddio Overplay:


Franz Danzi Wind Quintet Opus 67 by Soni Ventorum
[Classical, Winds, Chamber Music]

Phonology Compendium 2 by Various Artists
[Field Recordings]

Live At Blues Alley by US Army Blues
[Swing, Big Band, Blues]

12 O' Clock by MrJuan
[Latin, Lounge, Pop]

Movie On The Moon by Obsilio
[Lounge, Electronica]

Rodopted by Band Of Mad Women
[Trip Hop, Electro-Folk]

Aquatic Ape Hypothesis by Milkshake Daddy
[Experi, Rock]

Battleship Potemkin Soundtrack by Various Artists
[Experi, Soundtrack]

Maurice Ravel by Felipe Sarro
[Classical, Piano]