what's goin' on over here at the true vine
THE TRUE VINE
3544 HICKO
BALTI
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OPEN:
TUES.
SUN. & MON.
12 - 6
check here for true vine updates with mp3's at auralstates.com
febuary 2010
hello,
here's a few drops in the big bucket (any description in quotes is not written by me)
::::::::::::interesting records at the true vine now::::::::::::::::
RALPH RECORDS 10TH ANNIVERSARY RADIO SPECIAL LP
double album of penn jillette locked in a motel for days, having to listen to & comment on the residents, snakefinger, etc.
while slowly losing his mind. personally autographed by penn to jad & david fair.
BEST OF RALPH LP
double album featuring residents, snakefinger, fred frith, yello, tuxedomoon, etc.
LE FORTE FOUR LE FORTE FORCE : bikini tennis shoes bootleg LP
an early L.A. free music society album from the late 70's & not a bootleg. mark hosler of negativland hung out at the true
vine this past spring for about 5 hours listening to whatever i played him. before he left he mentioned that there was a shop
like the true vine, 25 years ago in california that turned him on to various records that inspired him to want to make
records of his own. i'm willing to bet that this is one of those records.
MALARIA!: NEW YORK PASSAGE EP
1982 german all-gal-no-wave-dark-disco.
A.R. & MACHINES : die grune reise (the green journey) LP
achim reichel using his electronic machines, drums, vocals & effects in germany, 1971. maybe a bit much in the "freaky"
department for can fans but just right for faust fans. cd & dvd of a 42 minute film & a "making of" short all in one package.
ORCHESTRE POLY RHYTHMO DE COTONOU: echos hypnotiques (from the vaults of albarika store 1969 - 1979) LP
out of all the african reissues from the 70's that have been coming out in the past decade, this is maybe my favorite.
feverish, steamy, sweaty, hypnotic, funky, beautiful & bad-ass.
THE LAST POETS : at last LP
so far this is the most intense & trippin record i've heard from these men. full band tracks here , as opposed to the all
percussion & vocal records that i'm used to hearing from them. funky groove & surreal cool jazz with unstoppable, driven
pontification regarding existence, time & space.
L'INFONIE cd
a collective of musicians that formed in montreal in 1967. absurd avant garde & occasional groovy cuts. released on the same label (mucho gusto) that has blessed us with jean pierre massiera releases. ""Loose collective regrouped up to 33 artists from various backgrounds ranging from free jazz, classical, contemporary, rock, visual arts and poetry in one avant-garde adventure still unsurpassed in Quebec. Formed in Montreal in 1967, L'Infonie (lead by composer Walter Boudreau and poet, singer, trumpeter Raoul Duguay) existed officially until 1974. 7 years of pure mayhem that gave birth to 'Volume 3' and 3 more releases ('Volume 33', 'Volume 333' and 'Volume 3333'). Released on CD for the 1st time (2 bonus live cuts included)."
THE FLYING LIZARDS : S/T LP
one of the strangest records to have ever infiltrated top 40 radio. the "hit" tune on the record is their cover of 'money ( that's what i want)' that was recorded in one take in 1979. the percussion sounds like a cardboard box EQ'ed kick drumm & processed sheet metal banging. the female british lead vocals are delivered with zero emotion & in a bored speaking mode. the backup vocal sound like the singer has his hand over his mouth & nose. the guiar solo sounds like a random experiment thrown into the music (out of time & out of key). the climactic ending is when a loud very crude electronic BLEEP! rhythmically bleeps in a stupid way over top. what a fantastic "fuck you" to the pop music industry!
RENALDO & THE LOAF: songs for swinging larvae LP
their first & strangest record, still sealed. if you've never heard this record & you're looking for a new kind of musical experience, then the two of you should meet.
MANDY MORE: but that is me CD
"UK theatrical singer Mandy More's sole album was released without fanfare in the UK in June of 1972 on the Philips label. Featuring gorgeously melodic baroque pop sung with power and emotion and truly skilled orchestration (including a groovy, cowbell-embellished cover/reinterpretation of "God Only Knows" by the Beach Boys), it has developed a devoted following and makes its long-awaited CD debut here. An enigma for decades, Mandy's story is told for the first time in the accompanying booklet, which also contains previously-unseen photographs. The set is completed by five non-LP single sides and an entire second disc of alternative takes and demos from the same period that the album was recorded, making it truly essential for all fans of classic singer-songwriting."
NGOZI FAMILY: 45,000 volts CD
"Stunning, rare as hell album from the rich Zambian 'Zamrock' scene from the '70s -- have you ever heard of this record before? The Ngozi Family (Ngozi means danger, and dangerous is their music indeed!) were also the band backing for Chrissy Tembo on his now well-known My Ancestors album. They released this one in 1977, and you'll be amazed when you hear it if you're somehow into Hendrix, Black Sabbath, heavy psychedelia or Afro psych-rock. Most of the tracks on the LP follow that direction, and the rest enter the Afrobeat sound -- but most of it is fuzzy, heavy psych-rock as you can expect. This release has a surprising high quality sound and is limited to 500 copies only. One of the rarest rock albums of the whole world!!! Get it while you can!!!"
JOHN HEARTSMAN & CIRCLES: music of my heart CD
"This is a reissue of an unbelievably rare private press album that's chock full of the good stuff -- all kinds of funky femme soul, cool n' groovy organ/flute/guitar jazz and a good ol' dose of the blues! It's the fourth installment in Jazzman Records' Holy Grail series, and the label is proud to present Sacramento multi-instrumentalist John Heartsman's hopelessly obscure, self-pressed, top-grade funky jazz & soul from 1977, carefully repressed on CD and vinyl (limited to 1,000 vinyl copies only). Now get this -- the original LP has recently hit over $5,000 (yes, over five thousand U.S. dollars!) -- TWICE -- at online auction! Now it's available in its original format with original artwork for a song, but be quick -- as ALL of the previous releases in this series have all sold out very quickly. John Heartsman is known as the guy who played on a thousand R&B hits. From the mid-'50s to the late '60s he recorded countless sessions, backing up the likes of Jimmy McCracklin, Lowell Fulson, Sugar Pie DeSanto, and many, many more. Then, in the early '70s, exhausted from constant touring and seedy late-night gigs, he took up a low-key residency at a small Sacramento jazz club. Here, Heartsman finally got to do his OWN thing. And his thing went down so well with the local audience that he decided to record some material and offer an LP for sale. The album was quickly snapped up by the Basin St. West regulars, and very few escaped the local area. A couple of decades later, and sadly, a little while after Heartsman himself had passed away, a couple of copies surfaced on the funk collectors' scene in L.A. and whispers and rumours of a set of sustained quality funky soul and jazz began circulating slowly. Very few copies have appeared since, making the LP almost as legendary as the long and hidden career of the man himself. And here it is! The full double album, never before reissued and seldom before heard, in its original design. The CD version contains extensive notes, pictures and background history on the LP and John Heartsman himself."
V/A: BRAZILIAN GUITAR FUZZ BANANAS CD & LP
yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes.
"Subtitled: Tropicalia Psychedelic Masterpieces 1967-1976. "Following the success of the recently released Psych Funk 101, Brazilian Guitar Fuzz Bananas should serve as a master class for those entranced by the funky, heavy psychedelic wonders of the Tropicalia movement and all that it spawned. But as compiler Joel Stones writes in his liner notes: 'You won't find Os Mutantes or their maestro Rogerio Duprat on this compilation. There is a reason that the records contained here have never been reissued. Even though you will recognize some of the labels contained here... believe me when I write this: some of the rarest, and best, examples of fuzzy, funky Brazilian psychedelia came out as promo-only 7" records on these labels.' Each song contained on this album has never been reissued, and has been restored from the best source possible and remastered for near-perfect sound quality. The 48 page full color booklet contains a wealth of imagery and detailed annotation and liner notes in both English and Portuguese." Artists: Celio Balona, Loyce E Os Gnomes, The Youngsters, Serguei, Fabio, Tony E Som Colorido, 14 Bis, Banda De 7 Legues, Ton E Sergio, Ely, Com Os Falcoes Reais, Marisa Rossi, The Pops, Loyce E Os Gnomes, Piry and Mac Rybell. Enhanced CD, features the documentary What Are Fuzz Bananas?."
JD EMMANUEL: solid Dawn: electronic works 1979-1982 cd
"JD Emmanuel's privately-pressed 1979 album Wizards accumulated a cult following through the early part of this decade, culminating with a vinyl reissue by Bread and Animals in 2006, which quickly sold out. Influenced by the organ works of Terry Riley and the kosmische school of Krautrock, and rendered with a uniquely personal warmth, Emmanuel's work stands out as something singular in the world of early basement electronics. Solid Dawn collects material from long out-of-print tapes, remastered for the first time, with participation from the artist at every stage. Featuring liner notes and photographs by Mr. Emmanuel, this is an essential release for anyone interested in the history of underground electronic music."
MADLIB: medicine show no. 2 - flight to brazil CD
"Madlib follows his Guilty Simpson collaboration Before The Verdict (MMS 001) with Flight To Brazil, a ticket out of whichever hell-hole you find yourself and into an 80-minute guided tour through five decades of Brazilian funk, bossa-nova, jazz, psychedelic and progressive rock. The Madlib Medicine Show will be a combination of Madlib's new hip-hop productions, remixes, beat tapes, and jazz, as well as mixtapes of funk, soul, Brazilian, psych, jazz and other undefined forms of music from the Beat Konducta's 4-ton stack of vinyl. Next up: Beat Konducta In Africa And India, a continuation of Madlib's country-specific excavations."
MADLIB: miles away CD
"The first of Madlib's 2010 jazz albums is Last Electro-Acoustic Space Jazz & Percussion Ensemble's Miles Away. Miles Away is Madlib's tribute to a series of his jazz heroes from the '60s and, mainly, '70s, with suites, waltzes, ballads, modal-numbers and swinging funk inspired by and covered from the well known (Roy Ayers, Pharoah Sanders, John Coletrane) and the cult (Phil Ranelin, Harry Whitaker). This 'band' shows an organic growth from their earliest releases (the limited edition Summer Suite and Fall Suite albums); electric flute, moog and synths stand aside accordions, sitars and vibraphones in an album that could only originate in the mind of a loop-digging Beat Kouducta as reverent of jazz's deep traditions as he is revolutionary."
THE SOUNDS OF TOMORROW: the sounds of tomorrow (mood mosaic vol. 9) CD
"Max Crook and Scott Ludwig are geniuses of the homegrown electronic keyboard and sound boards, today simply labelled synths. They came to prominence backing Del Shannon in the early 1960s when Max Crook and Del Shannon together wrote the singer's first demos, including 'Runaway.' A prominent feature in the backing on the recording is Crook's Musitron, an embryonic synth of his invention, and it featured again in the follow ups to Shannon's worldwide no.1 hit. Following this Crook (who also released singles under his own steam as Maximillian) and Ludwig, drummer and player of another invention the Sonicon, intermittently recorded their own material and even took it on the road. An incongruous sight, two very square looking guys appearing in supper clubs and High School auditoriums, dressed in sparkling silver jackets, surrounded by the Musitron, Sonicon and later one of the first Moogs. We present the best of their late '60s own studio recordings, the length of an LP as it might have been, plus as a special bonus an excerpt of a live show from 1968 when the pair take the audience through an explanation of their instruments' capabilities. This is Outsider Music at its most intriguing, the writer of a no.1 in 1961 single turns to Electronica to further develop their career."
V/A: atenshion! refleshion! LP
"Subtitled: Spanish Psychedelic Grooves, 1967-1976. "Get ready for of the ultimate psychotronic party!! Underground soul, psychedelic funk, Hammond and library grooves, dirty fuzz guitars, wah-wah, horns, drum breaks, crazy bongos...14 tracks taken from rare and unknown until now Spanish records from the late 60s and early 70s, many of them released on small and private labels, including the Türkish style hard-psych-groove of Pedro González with 'El Samurai' and the ultra-rare private pressing EP by Alcy Agüero y Su Orquesta Pop featuring the killer scat-fuzz dancer 'Quiero bailar'... But wait... there's more! Powerful soul movers by Juan Muro, Tios Queridos and Los Goya ; Hammond grooves by Marquez and Polos Opuestos ; library-fuzz-groove by Jou Cogra, Calderón and Greg Segura, progressive soul by Microns. Professional remastered sound and terrific full colour artwork full of memorabilia from Spanish boîtes from the 60s/70s. Includes a 4-page insert with pictures and detailed liner notes in English/Spanish. Limited to 700 copies which won't be repressed!!"
BACHELORETTE: my electric family CD & LP
"Bachelorette's music beams to us through a universe of unconquered pop music, where long beams of sunlight extend to infinity, and blue moons rise wistfully in the deep purple expanse. She stands in the cradle of modern songwriting, that of psychedelic pop music. The sense of infinite possibility felt in those songs, the desire to manipulate a collective sensation to become anything at all, informs Bachelorette's journey. The psych vibe shimmers in an acousto-synthetic haze, not really overt, so completely are those long-ago verses absorbed in her DNA. Her impulses are fed into a format that rhymes couplets over dancing beats, voices, keyboards, and a variety of guitars and percussions to create the melodic constructs we know so well, and delight in, and sing along with, and imagine to. Tasty candylike approximations, sweet and sour, billowing and knife-like, here for our pleasure. My Electric Family may be your introduction to New Zealand's Bachelorette -- good for you! She makes great records -- but this is the third Bachelorette record (the EP The End Of Things and the Isolation Loops album) and also the most topically focused. Her song structures are traditionally examinations of love and longing, the exploration of self versus self and in relation to the surrounding, silent universe. The songs of My Electric Family emphasize a particular fascination: the meeting of man and machine. We built them in our image, they're the more perfect us. Now we look to them looking at us. This is another kind of relationship. This is what Bachelorette does to make her sci-folk sounds -- she relates to machines, expressing her feelings in union with their electric/electronic function. This is imagination, soaring and expansive yet rigidly composed -- the firmament as viewed from the ground, an arc in the ageless sky where the light glows for us all. Our universe starts with the dirt, the grass and the trees. As sure as electric impulses pinball through our brain, the true expanse exists to be tapped within."
:::::::::::::::::::FROM THE DESK OF KARL EKDAHL:::::::::::::::::::::
The Quad Massager is, to put it bluntly, a joystick-driven panner for quadrophonic sound (i.e. pan sound in four speakers). It incorporates an LFO for automatically rotating sound in circular/elliptical/one-dimensional patterns. You can pan one sound,or you can have one specific sound per speaker, the joystick then effectively fading sounds "on" or "off". The Quad Massager also has a combination output, use the four inputs connected to different sources, connect the combo output to your PA/Amp/Receiver/Mixer and use the joystick for quick-as-fuck mixing in two dimensions (think space). There's of course much more sheit that can be done, like the outputs can all be used as four stand-alone VCAs, or why not four ring-modulators? Hell, use one in/out-pair as a ring-mod, use one as a VCA and use the other two for panning in a regular stereo system. The
possibilites are endless, and so's my chatter unless i end it now.
-karl
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::OTHER IDEAS:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
personally i dislike 99% of the cell phone ringtones i've heard so far, so a few years ago i started making my own. mostly the sound sources for these come from instruments made by karl ekdahl & peter blasser. some friends were visiting from new york last week & when they heard my ringtones they were very interested. i made some from scratch right there & then & uploaded them to their phones. happy with the results, they suggested that i should sell these homemade electronic ringtones at my shop. at first i wasn't sure about this idea but with further thinking i've come to the conclusion of "yes! why not?" my initial hesitation had to do with the negative & annoying association that i have with the ringtone market. after more thinking, this annoyance has become a motivating force to offer something different. so it can work like this: $5 gets you 10
ringtones. i will have a portable cd player with headphones at the shop with many choices you can listen to on the cd. write down the track #'s of your favorite 10 & i will send them to your phone.
one word of warning : the general public will be startled by your phone's sounds & will likely stare at you.
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in april we are planning to have live music here from 5pm to 12am on a saturday featuring ear, nose & throat's first baltimore gig (martin schmidt, max eilbacher & myself). more musicians will be involved but for now that's in the planning stage. martin's idea is that we put as many amplifiers as we can get our hands on & spread them throughout the 3 rooms here & wire them all into a mixing board controlled by karl's quad massager prototype. this will revolve the sounds throughout the rooms so that there is no way one person can hear the entire result of what is happening. music will be played continuously for hours & you can hang out in different rooms & hear what's going on in very different ways. more on that later. like right now. asa osborne walked up to me before that last sentence & has confirmed that zomes will play that night. more on that later. wait, max eisenberg just called here & is interested in playing that night with twig harper. more on that later.
that's all for now,
love,
jason
january 2010
we're still filtering in jad & david fair's record collections into our bins, little by little,every day. tons of oddities & classics by velvet underground & it's solo offsprings, t rex, kinks, lots of obscure old punk bands, calypso, rare avant garde, old blues, old country, folkways records & various novel gayeties.
august 2009
karl is in sweden & will be back around august 7th. if you need a repair or want to buy a moisturizer you can leave him a note.
eventhough it's the middle of summer, many records have been coming in: new & old, original & reissue, hundreds of nice classical lp's, blues lp's (some quite rare), hungarian folk, jazz , jazz funk, garage, south african heavy psyche rock, local cdr's & cassettes, dan higgs new vinyl, moondog reissues, punk reissues, electronic & ambient reissues, ed schrader's first formal release on 10" vinyl, new finnish freak noise & nature folk cd's bobby beausoleil lp boxset blues reissue vinyl & blues reissue cd's, jandek vinyl reissue, goblin rare vinyl, the zig zag people, the fugs, sealed private press jazz fusion, private press hard rock, the most morbid song i've ever heard which is on a 7" single by woody gutherie's daughter & a whole bunch more.
BALTIMORE MUSIC MEDIA
mp3 blog of baltimore artists via WFMU
article in fact magazine on n. o. smith's films & baltimore music
n.o. smith's live band filmings