Jump in then, faith no more, we care a lot. still no beekeeping here, no time for new editorial intro bits, feed feed feed on all this.... We’re getting so many good albums here these days, almost too many, I still don’t get why the others aren’t all covering these bands and records? Giant Paw, come on! All right there under all your noses, Giant Paw were last week though, this is this week and this week’s bag is just as full, so much good music around at the moment, Cheer Accident landed this week, almost caused meltdown, and those Bunglised French mad men and women, and Blut Aus Nord did it again, and DM Stith and how good is Speech Debelle turning out to be, something significant blossoming there, the music is better than ever if you get out there and look for it. 

And lillies are still such well behaved things, and the rain was so good, golden rain.  Marks in place... These are once again, the things that have been in our ears and on our minds this week. Please do explore and if it sounds or looks interesting then just hit the link and go make your own minds up, make contact, go switch the other, go explore, go get involved we're just here to point the way - don't let this thing blow over, we've done with undercover - like we say every week, our reviews and thoughts are mere signposts designed to guide you to the things you might like to feast on yourselves... don’t you just love the instant way this web thing works when things fall right and the doors flip open and the touch of a key....
 

Those thrilling maximalists from New York known as CAPILLARY ACTION are on their way to Europe, they hit the UK on March 18th for a show at the Old Blue Last in London, they take themselves all over the UK and end up back in London on April 4th before heading  to mainland Europe, dates are still being pull together, so best check out their My Space, you’ll find some seriously progressively bendy other rock adventure there, one of the finest bands out there right now, serious brain food... "Thrilling maximalism that has me rubbing my hands with glee straight away. A whole album's worth of perversely complex, er, pop... that has chunks of different genres popping up unexpectedly like the good bits in a stew made of gourmet leftovers." - Organ Magazine Album of the Week back sometime last year, the review is here, head over to www.myspace.com/capillaryaction and enjoy 

FAITH NO MORE reunion is on (again) so it seems... Is it on, is it not? Well, apparently it is. Faith No More frontman Mike Patton's publicist has revealed that the band will be reuniting later this year. A press release announcing Patton's score for upcoming film 'Crank 2: High Voltage' closed with a mention that he would be involved with "the highly anticipated reunion tour with Faith No More in Europe this summer". According to Billboard, Patton's spokesperson Monica Seide subsequently revealed that the band would play a number of European festival dates this summer, although she did not reveal which other members of the band would be involved. Rumours hint that original guitarist Jim Martin is not on board and, as previously reported, bassist Billy Gould denied all knowledge of a reunion when asked about it by Kerrang! in January.

LEADERS OF MEN said:  Geez, here's hoping the Faith No More rumours are true...practically everything Mike Patton touches is gold in any case, but FNM are still one of his two crowning achievements in my opinion (along with Mr Bungle)! Still one of the best live bands I ever saw!!!

ORGAN said:  Oh, word is that summer festivals are being booked now, Patton has confirmed it all so it seems... not Big Jim but then that was kind of expected...

RIP CRUNCHER shouted:: No Big Jim...no f**kin' faith. Probably gonna charge all you loyal saps 100 quid on the door anyway. And as for Motorhead whacking the ticket fee up ~ us longhairs are gonna stay away anyhow, the kids all look like f**kin' McFly, the ale tastes like piss and Lem's going through the motions. HE knows it, THE OLD GUARD know it...and boy, don't these scum sucking promoters know it....

ORGAN: Got to disagree a little there Rip, Big Jim lost it ages ago, his solo stuff wasn't good enough to review, I got faith in Faith, they're the one band who could pull it off, most bands should just NOT ever reform and most reformed bands are to be avoided... You are right though, the ticket price will be a rip (sorry Rip, not a personal rip there) and you are unfortunately kind of right about Motorhead and that ticket price is the last straw with them as well... Now first time we put Faith No More on about 30 of you bothered to show up! Wolfsbane opened and we thought, hell, this band don't stand a chance - we'll have to post the collected Faith No More / Chuck Organ interviews, interviewed Chuck in his hotel once while a (female) journalist from the NME tried to hide from me naked in his bed and then threatened all kinds of bad reviews for our latest releases if we said anything, still got the photos here. Another time Big Jim and Puffy had a serious rock throwing mid interview fight that carried on through that night’s gig... that was the Chuck line up as well... and then there was that time they tied that girl from the record label... one of our bands were on the same label at the time (London Recs) and oh the stories we could tell about what went on there... Thought of you at last night's gig/event Rip, you would have been in a flap, got there walked in to Victorian warehouse that was in darkness and a mad man in tailcoat started yelling at me - "you sit there, don't move, you are the drums tonight", then he grabbed a girl, "you, sit over there, you are going to make the woodwind noise.." and on it went until he had an orchestra and started conducting, didn't tell us what the tune was or anything... then some Victorian plague girl pulled me in to the river and... The Rain Emperor, go see it everyone! Brilliant night! Nah, Big Jim blew it ages ago... Lemmy left a bad taste with that ticket price and that insurance company that Iggy does the adverts for won't insure musicians, company policy, too risky... although that's probably wise, I'd like to shoot a few... perhaps Contraption are playing tonight, who needs old reformed bands and rip everyone off for as much as you can ticket prices when we have all these exciting new bands to see... Right time for some Country Life butter on my toast...

Lots more of this everyday on our news pages and forum pages..

VLADIMIR BOZAR ‘n ZE SHERAF ORKESTAR – Universal Sprache (Imago) – Apparently this French Outfit have evolved out of a Zappa tribute band called The Children Of Invention. Vladimir Bozar is “just an imaginary entity of absurdity” so it would seem - all of this makes perfect sense as soon as you let their very colourful musical stew enter your life. More Mr Bungle than Zappa now, very much more actually, this gang of creative French people are clearly very influenced by all things Bungle, all things Secret Chiefs 3... They mix up bits of cartoon soundtracks, slices of metal, prog flavoured bendy punk, twisted jazz, bites of classical music, electronica, glitch, gypsy swirls, violins, bits of Danny Elfman, Faith No More, Estranasphere, Primus and all kinds of inspired vocal madness – operatic doom, cartoon noise, sinister vocal lines, clowns gone wrong, accordions, mandolins, kazoo, classical percussion.... If you like your earfood coloured the Mr Bungle way then this is very much for you – they’re not clones, just healthy influences - very healthy, very positive hectic influences. Fine musical adventures that take you all over the place, played with all kinds of expansive colour, twitching and switching and all with such rewarding quality. Very well recorded/produced, mixed by Timb Harris of Secret Chiefs 3/Estradasphere in his studio in Seattle (he also added some trumpet), this album really is the serious big league frontline real deal. Some of those vocals sound like they’re in French, that’s no problem, the music tells you all, the pictures are painted so so well, the Frenchness adds to all the good shape of it. This is an excellent album, everything flows as one big colourful all, there’s so many details, a band taking their adventurous music to some very original corners, places all of their own – nothing too hardboiled, twitching all over the place, orchestral, jittery, frantic, a roller coaster ride through a hall of mirrors, not too abrasive though, even when they turn to their brief moments of thrash ‘n growl things are flowing and easy (all over the place in a way only the very best are, all very easy in the way it all goes off and things) – this is brilliant actually, gets better and better with each play. We got ourselves a seriously good band here, a new band to put right up there alongside all those names we just dropped. Bits of Deerhoof in there as well - all healthy flavours and all taken, put in their own unique musical blender and cooked up in their very own way. Real children of invention and a highly recommended roller coaster ride of an album that will have you hanging on and grinning like a bungled maniac from start to finish. Bon merde indeed! - www.myspace.com/vladimirbozar
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JULIE DOIRON – I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day (Jagjaguwar) - You can’t help but smile about those wet brakes on her bike as she waves to her friends and goes through the red lights... You can’t help but smile at most of this latest album from Julie Doiron. You can't help but smile while she makes some more music and lets you get to catch up with her and know her just a little bit better. A very personal album, you get the feeling she really needs to make these songs, she needs to sing and share and to make music and make her place in life feel right. You can just picture her in her relaxed Canadian house with all kinds of colourful things around her, kind of at ease in her music and her shared space. This is quite some way off from her days back in the 90’s in Eric’s Trip, that’s the last time we really encountered her (Organ interviews in Camden soundchecks and such). Seems she’s released quite a few solo albums and projects since. Mostly I Can Wonder is beautifully voiced mellow easy set of brightly strummed gentle electric or picked acoustic songs, a set of “sure am glad to be alive in the beautiful light” songs - riding her bike, meeting friends, calling friends, imagining friends, wondering what they did with their day, or what he did with his.  The album opens with a lo-fi strummed piece that’s accompanied by uplifting birdsong and a fine fine little ditty that tells how she’s living a life of dreams with good people all around. You really can’t help but smile and feel good yourself as she shares it with you and that mellow fuzzy electric guitar eases in with such style and you wait for the next vocal... wait and then smile again. Just good songs about life, hope, love, songs simply sung, raw – raw and emotional, spot on production, perfect sound, everything just right, easy... Mellow, breezy, time spent with a friendly welcoming album and some beautifully sincere songs, songs baked like home made bread or a woven tie she made just for you... You can’t help but smile even when her bits of frustration creep in here and there. Now if only we could all reach out and achieve these goals... And when she does have a band there, they keep that personal magic intact... everything right and easy, the feeling that things are all OK, even if we were to get buried in that heavy snow, wonder what she's doing today? You really do start to wonder.. with a smile on your face... www.myspace.com/juliedoiron or www.juliedoiron.com
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ALSO CHECK OUT DM STITH - Heavy Ghost (Asthmatic Kitty) – David Stith is just a little bit different, something a little bit special, he has an assuring intriguing voice, angelic, a touch of Jeff Buckley in there with those dark violins, a hint of Antony And The Johnsons, maybe Sufjan Stevens... A whispered effervescence, otherworldly, quietly grandiose piano, breathing strings, dense, never cluttered, euphoric restrained crescendos, achingly beautiful. He’s originally from Buffalo, New York, this is his debut album, he’s from a musical (and rather religious) family, choosing to take himself in to poetry and visual art while music making surrounded much of his early everyday life so it seems. Only really finding his voice when helping his friend Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond, apparently she was astonished to find out he was also a studio wizard. Working with her rekindled his passion for music “something within him caught alight, and he began spending countless days stowed away, sketching folk songs with epic electronic gestures”. This is a beautiful album, a soothing album, dense yet light, crafted, painted, rich otherly orchestration, quietly delivered with wonderfully creative flourish, narratives of self-discovery, brave ethereal embracing goodness, dark strings, angelic voices... Something a little bit special...  You’ll find lots of songs to explore on his website – www.dmstith.com or via www.myspace.com/dmstith or www.asthmatickitty.com  x

BLUT AUS NORD –  Memoria Vetusta ll: Dialogue With The Stars (Candlelight) - More of that wind-tunnel of black noise that they kick up in such an relentlessly extreme and rewardingly atmospheric kind of way. Dark orchestral swells of sound and texture, anthemic bleak blackness, rich orchestral black metal. Their song tittles will give you more than a clue; The Cosmic Echoes Of Non-Matter (Immaterial Voices Of The Fathers), or how about The Formless Sphere (Beyond Reason)? French experimental boundary pushing intense black metal then. Majestic ambitions, big vision, epic progressiveness – mostly instrumental, when the vocals come in they add to the art of things rather than just impose themselves, real musical evolution within a genre that is far too often tediously regressive. Epic, ambient, experimental, challenging, full-bodied, melodic, demonic, extreme... We expect ambitious musical vision from Blut Aus Nord, it would be so easy for them not to continue to pull it off with each new album, they do though. Another recommended album from the forward looking experimental orchestral extreme black metal band – www.blutausnord.com or www.candlelightrecords.co.uk THE SOUNDSCAPES – Freestyle Family (BNS Sessions) – Brazillian duo from Brazil with some very North American flavoured indie alt.rock. Touches of Sonic Youth, Fugazi, My Bloody Valentine, Pavement all in there without them really being obvious about any of it. Weaving melodies, slightly angular guitars (nothing too angular), a hint of urgency to their alt.indie pop, a decent enough vibrantly engaging debut album. They’re based in Brooklyn now, well worth checking out  – www.myspace.com/thesoundscapes or www.bnssessions.com or find copies via www.cargorecords.co.uk x

UNLEARN – Places (Noise Order) - The mellow gentle language of soothing filmoid post rock – expansive slow moving gentle cloud-shifting instrumental pieces that quietly glow. Beautifully crafted soundtracks to simple, static, faded old super 8 films. Unlearn are from Seattle, their language is contemporary, their expression is clean, relaxing, their guitars soothing, uplifting, quietly euphoric. Yes, in line with a lot of things bands like Sigur Ros, Explosions In The Sky but Unlearn have a refined edge of their own, an inviting warmth and a musical identity that separates them from the ever growing instrumental post rock pack. Places in a clever album, clever (complex) simplicity, less is more, tingle-bright and delicately strong, expansive post rock with enough of a distinctive flavour to make them more than worthy of your time, beautifully soothing and rather recommended - www.myspace.com/theunlearn or www.noiseorder.com x

PESTILENCE - Resurrection Macabre (Mascot) – “....so many people asked me to resurrect Pestilence it got me thinking. For many years it was a closed chapter. I have always been very clear about that. The last couple of years I discovered to my amazement that the band had not been forgotten, but still meant a lot to many fans. So there were a few things that got the ball rolling. First of all the fans. I also noticed that old school death metal was making a comeback. It did wet my appetite. I discovered that I felt the urge to get involved again with the great musical tradition that is death metal. I wanted to leave my own mark again. Another important factor was that I knew that with Tony Choy and Peter Wildoer by my side I had found the right people to make this dream come true. These guys are both absolutely stunning musicians. Simply the best one could wish for. Their creative input on the album is invaluable.” So says Patrick Mameli, he of the born again extreme death metal band Pestilence.           Pestilence came to a big black halt back in 1994, death had indeed struck, it seemed terminal. The Dutch band were at the forefront back when the idea of death metal first blew up back in the 80’s, suddenly they were gone. Mameli, pretty much disappeared from the scene until 2007 when he turned up with a nEW outfit called C-187 and a new album that really didn’t register with most people...  So his return with a new band didn’t get that much attention, and so he’s reformed Pestilence and he’s once again operating under a name that meant a lot to the death metal legions...  Now we could be cynical, or we could just throw the thing in the CD player and see if the monster still has it after all these years.           Well the new Pestilence certainly aren’t just rehashing old sounds here on Resurrection Macabre - don’t worry, the new album is the expected relentless onslaught of dark atmosphere, brutal vocals, sheer power and thrashing aggression, this is very much the sound of that old school band from back there. Pestilence have added to it all though, they sound like old school Pestilence without sounding dated, they so easily could have sounded like they were well past their sell-by date in the dreadful way those recent Venom comebacks have been. The slices of technical metal add colour  – none of your widdle diddle show off look at us type technical wankery - no no no, just tight imaginative riffing and crashing and a band wanting to make challenging extreme death/thrash metal when they could so easily just be churning it out and cashing in on their name and their past. Mameli and his new band haven’t forgot who Pestilence once were or anything, this is still sounding like the old school monster Pestilence from back there, they’re still the sound of black souls being pulled apart, they’re still all kinds of thrashing growl ‘n rip crunching puss, they're still the  full metal racket, a whole bag of devouring frenzy and healthy neuro dissonance. A new album from Pestilence, 15 years on from their last serious slice of activity could have been bad bad bad, it isn’t. No ground breaking revelation or anything, just good meaty, wholesome blood churning extreme heavy metal that comes with a bit of imagination, some impressive playing and a touch of unexpected colour splattered here and there with the expected buckets of red and black screaming bloody gore - www.mascotrecords.com or www.pestilence.nl or www.myspace.com/pestilenceofficial LIGHT SYNDICATE – Last In Line (Pushbike) – Manchester four-piece with a bit of a Muse/Smashing Pumpkins/Oceansize vibe to their politely epic alt-indie-rock musical adventure. A hint or two of prog desire in there with their moody strings and their touches of Radiohead, Mogwai, Coldplay and such. Quietly impress indie rock adventure, a certain appreciation of the dynamic and a debut album from a band threatening to take things a lot further. www.myspace.com/lightsyndicate INSTANT FLIGHT – Endless Journey (Headspin) - There’s no way this band are from London 2009, they’ve clearly fallen through some Life Of Mars style time hole and 1973. Looks and sounds like some long lost obscure psych prog pop classic, the sort of thing that changes hands via the small ads in the back of Record Collector for four figure sums. Authentic brew of psychedelic Sgt Pepper style Beatles, early ELO, prog flavoured pop, maybe more ’68 than ’73? Gloriously dated, wonderfully lush psychedelic pop rock wherever it has come from. Laced with Mellotron, organs, touched of 60’s R&B in there with the freakbeat and the Eastern bits and the very English bits and the lucid dreams and the lucy in the sky with diamonds. Surrealistic artwork that fits everything perfectly, maybe a touch naive some of those paintings, fit things perfectly though. This band really are from another time, and things were far less cynical back there weren’t they? And those ‘trons and keys are lush, and those songs will make you smile and yes.... www.myspace.com/instantflight or find copies via www.cargorecords.co.uk MT. ST. HELENS VIETNAM BAND – Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band (Dead Oceans) – Strangely named band from Seattle and some rather North American sounding alt indie rock . Touch of Animal Collective to their looseness, more of a pop jam feel rather than the tight constructions though. Touch of guitar driven blues somewhere underneath their jagged alt.pop sound and their counter melodies. Scattershot indie rock that threatens to be interesting without ever sweeping anything up... wonder if it will be a grower? www.myspace.com/mtsthelensvietnamband CRIMFALL – As The Path Unfolds (Napalm) – “Epic folk metal” and everything piled in with the cod classical sweeps, the operatic choirs and the great big kitchen sink – nothing subtle here! Female voiced operatic goth, strings, folky bits, growling male voiced hissing yapping, double bass drum pounding – go on, ram it all in, then double it all and smother it in jam and custard, add some bells, a few more guitars, another choir or two, some more bombastic guitar and some more keyboards. Another helping of custard... They do have some light and shade, some foreboding moments of melancholy, a sense of calm before the next storm and the next onslaught of completely over the top classical folky gothy choral drenched hissing and spitting, oh but when that storm comes it certainly is ‘epic’. They’re from the grim-frost north of Finland, if subtle is your thing then this is not for you, if you like your demonic folk metal busy and you like things like Epica then here you go, when they do hold it back and give it time and space they’re rather good, but then they go and throw a few more choirs and some more jam and custard on their bonfire -  www.napalmrecords.com / www.myspace.com/crimfall ARTHEMIS – Black Society (Scarlet) – Strange band, they’re from Italy, this is their fifth album, sound like early metal days of Bon Jovi, only they have some kind of thrash metal ambition in there with all the bits of Exciter and all the bits of 80’s hair - gone all battle-metal AOR now, they’re ten different 80s metal bands/styles all at once.... and the sky will fall and the war will last forever... harder, harder.. none more heavy metal, and somehow it kind of works... kinds of, sound like Skid Row playing at being Accept now....  metal on metal as Lips would say, where those candystriped spandex trousers gone? Gone all Heavy Pettin' trying to be Iron Maiden on the wings of the night now, round and round, Ratt 'n roll, bang that head that does not bang, every metal album you ever owned in the 80's rolled in to one... www.myspace.com/arthemiswebx x

THIN LIZZY – Still Dangerous: Live At The Tower Theatre, Philadelphia, 1977 (Thin Lizzy Productions) – Ten live tracks recorded in 1977, back from when the mighty Lizzy were at their creative hell raising boys are back in town best. This is the classic four piece Brian Robertson/Scott Gorham line up and the same set of US tour recordings that the legendary Live And Dangerous album came from. Live and Dangerous is rightly cited by many as one of the very best live hard rock albums of all time, one of those classic 70’s gatefold sit there and study the sleeve for hours while you spin the four sides of glorious black vinyl affairs. So what if there’s overdubs and post production on there, who cares if a few mistakes were cleaned up, listening to a ‘live’ album isn’t like actually being there is it? A classic ‘live’ album is surely something different, something equally as valid. This new album, put together by the band and endorsed by the Phil Lynott estate, is apparently the “raw and unadulterated, the untouched live sound of Thin Lizzy at the absolute height of their powers” –  no messing with it, no overdubs, this is the real deal. Recorded on the Bad Reputation tour, the recordings are alternative versions, different concerts and recordings taken from those same nights as Live And Dangerous, these ears can’t hear too much difference, just a little, these ears grew up on Thin Lizzy though, they’re the band to blame, they opened the door and let a music obsession ruin my life and this is hitting the spot just right. There’s nothing here that most Lizzy fans won’t already have, in terms of songs, if not these actual recordings. Ten live cuts, ten slices of prime in the zone Lizzy – Me And The Boys is probably the most obscure thing, you could only find versions on a couple of b-sides back there... What we have here is hard rocking crowd pleasing Thin Lizzy in classic form with the much missed Phil Lynott being his larger than life self out front – you know all his lines already, "Are you out there? We need to know if you’re out there..." If you’ve never really heard the band then the 70’s live albums are by far the best first step to take, they classic hard rock moments that helped shaped the whole idea of how guitar bands should be - if this is to be your first step in to the world of Thin Lizzy then this as good a place to start as any – yes, maybe even better than Live And Dangerous if you really pay attention to the sound. If you already know the band you don’t need telling how good this is, you just need us to tell you it exists...  Why only ten tracks though? We want another double gatefold! More classic live cuts from one of the best bands ever and still sounding good and freah, still everything they ever were -   www.thinlizzy.org x

FUN MACHINE – Sonnen Huhn (BNS Sessions) – “The toxic stagnant air which envelopes the factory-tinged corridor along the New Jersey Turnpike is known to cause some unfavourable side effects”, so opens the press release that comes with this rather intriguing... oh hang on! This is getting ridiculous! This is going to be excellent as well isn’t it! Wild twitching time changes and track switching and nothing anywhere near anything obvious or easy to pin down in a review. That bit there sounds like a frantic jagged new wave Devo playing 70’s Genesis and filling it with lush keyboards and now they’re off in to some fairground where the rocket rides may just be real ones... I can’t take it, too much good music, I was really wanting this to be just another average album from some average indie bands so I could get on with life. So many challenges in there with their sci-fi synths and their defying of magnetic fields and their hairpin turns and their Coloured Beads. This had brought more joyous confusion to these unsuspecting ears, never heard of ‘em before – look’s like we got yet another for the big melting pot, damn, our readers are going to think we’re making all this stuff up! Too much good music, was that another Mellotron? Fluid bites of classic prog fused with new wave (wasn’t the word pronk?) Are we in a new golden age of truly progressive prog? Damn this is good! Formlessly creative, they’re actually from San Diego, millions of miles away from the New Jersey Turnpike, I guess they might mess with some heads in the same way the magnetic fields of the Turnpike do, all poisoned electrick heads and strange sci-fi signals and learning geometry in shopping malls. Prog transported to a different dimension via the sounds of vintage synths and breathless percussion. Moments of almost ambient restrained violated by all kinds of insane time signatures and yes, really messing with electro-magnetic fields and the drive of here and now and songs about trigonometry and flaking reality... entertaining atmosphere, twists, turns, oh hell, we really do have another one for you, jibber and twitch and little beasties pawing at your friend and the glorious theatre of absurdity, eye popping, ear tickling, goosebump making.....  www.myspace.com/funmachine or www.bnssessions.com or find copies via www.cargorecords.co.uk x

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Last week's album of the week - GIANT PAW  / MI AMI Previous albums of the week - WE ROCK LIKE GIRLS DON’T / RABID RABBIT / SERGEANT BUZFUZ / LARS HORNTVETH / ENABLERS / IMAGINATION SCHOOL / WOMEN / FIGHT LIKE APES / THE JELAS / HUNTSVILLE / GALLON DRUNK / SLEEPS IN OYSTERS / THE WELCOME WAGON / AU / BLACK ELK / MOHA! x

ALBUM REVIEW ARCHIVES

Once there was a man who loved the weather so much he composed music for it.  Then the music was lost, somehow, but his daughter found that it was wonderful and drew many people together so that it would be played and heard. That's the basic story behind The Rain Emperor, but this music has a life beyond the notes that spills out to become more than just another gig or a mere recital.  In The Rain Emperor these compositions have transmuted into ballet, cabaret, video projections, recorded sound and engaging performance art. The concert/play/art event utilises the glorious space of a converted Victorian warehouse that has pitch-dark arches and hidden nooks as well as a great, vaulted open spaces. The audience is ushered, one small group at a time, into darkness marked by shifting pools of light and divided by transparent curtains, the ushering was an event in itself but to tell you would be to spoil. They cross a miniature, harpy-haunted river Styx to the main rooms, but not before... no, the joy of this is in the uncertainty, the surprises, so we' really must resist detailed description and spoilers. This is an immersive experience, with actors mingling in character and a freedom to drift around and follow the shifting centre of action, the crowd forming and reforming around pools of light containing a must watch string quartet (the renowned Elysian Quartet) or a pianist or classical guitarist, or a dance wrapped in white or a girl who... no no, must not spoil by telling, your eye is darting around to pick out where the next bit will be .  Without being obvious or cliched, the sensual delight of different weather is achieved with such elegance - a beam of sunlight on a wall, projections of autumn leaves - whilst human strangeness lurks in the shadows, part steampunk, part The Ring... The performance enhances rather than overwhelms the music: there's a lot going on but the recitals of work by a remarkable contemporary composer, deserving of more exposure, are at the very heart of it, wonderful avant classicalism of the highest order. There was no real stage to speak of, performance happening around us, crowd parting for the next thing then forming around that bit, the next dance, the next shaft of light, the next rain cloud, the next dancer or... www.therainemperor.com

www.myspace.com/elysianquartet

The Rain Emperor happens at Village Underground, 54 Holywell Lane, London EC2 on 26th, 27th, 28th February 2009

FOLLOW US DEEPER IN TO THE STORM....

Visual arts company Beggars Velvet introduces rare scores from renowned composer Robert Jacob to form a multi-sensory live music, theatre and visual arts performance event. Fusing music, performance and visuals arts, The Rain Emperor leads the audience into a world full of obsession with the elements. With secret chambers, unexpected appearances and haunting music the performance will transcend the boundaries between audience, artists, sound and light. Stirring with mystery, the performance is played out in stages, with characters leading guests further into the storm. Set in a restored Victorian warehouse in Shoreditch, The Rain Emperor defies conventional expectations of theatre and music experiences. The performance was conceived by Robert Jacob’s daughter, Judy Jacob, and is set to be a highlight for the arts calendar when its takes place in February 2009.

The Rain Emperor is a concept based performance event, created to offer a fully immersive and unique experience for each member of the audience. Using Robert Jacob’s music as a backdrop and an inspiration for the other artists who are involved; the show explores Jacob’s music in every form, slowly guiding visitors through a series of vaults, passageways and atriums using sound, movement, light, film and performance. Shoreditch’s Village Underground makes the perfect home to this atmospheric art piece and will be transformed into a dark, mysterious world for the performance. The Rain Emperor promises to awaken a truly genuine sense of emotion; from vulnerability to excitement and exhilaration. It blurs the boundaries between the arts and invites the audience to experience chamber music and an entirely unexpected way.

Robert Jacob - Musician and Composer (19th July 1952 – 11th April 2005)

Contemporary composer Robert Jacob was inspired greatly by his love of the rain and its rhythms and became known as ‘The Rain Emperor’ as a result. Born in London in 1952, Robert Jacob became a professional musician in 1973. He played throughout Europe with a succession of soul, rock, blues and jazz bands on guitar, including self composed material. He worked on numerous studio and recording projects as a session musician, arranged music for various bands and ensembles and provided music for video and film. Robert composed music for many different combinations of instruments from Symphony Orchestra to percussion ensemble. He also had a keen interest in composing for dance and theatre. Robert’s most recent commissions include a computer generated piece and a suite of pieces for solo Spanish Guitar, Three Dances for String Quartet and arrangements for The Dillington International Guitar Festival and providing music for two short contemporary films. His ingenuity was never more apparent than in his work “Aquamass” (2000). Commissioned under the Year of the Artist scheme, he worked with a variety of community groups and the pupils of Bishop David Brown School to compose and perform a work in a swimming pool using the acoustic properties above and below the water, in collaboration with choreographer Vicki Balaam. In June 2002, he conducted a research week at the Rhoda McGraw Theatre to develop a system using medical and musical technology to enhance the capacity of performers to expressively perform with music/sounds from a digital source in real-time, with dancer Caroline Lofthouse. In 2003 Robert was commissioned by Dilliington Festival to write piece for Guitar Orchestra and Electric Motor premiered there in August 2003. His innovative approach to composition will be remembered by all who attended. He was the founder member and MD of Naked Sunday Collective, a group combining elements of jazz, funk, hip hop, Drum and Bass and turntablism with improvisation. 

‘The Rain Emperor’ is a celebration of his music and his memory. Artists involved The performance is a collaboration by some of the UK’s most highly acclaimed and upcoming artists who have worked together using Robert Jacob’s music as their inspiration to create an engaging, experimental and emotive event. They will produce music, film, dance and physical performance to create a two hour immersion into the elements..

The Rain Emperor is the creation of Judy Jacob, daughter of Robert Jacob. Judy has unearthed many scores from her father’s repertoire and is keen that through this event, his works can be experienced in their best light, by a wide audience. She said, “My father was a very talented musician and composer, his music is inspiring. Rather than simply release the scores, I wanted to create a performance based around them in order to fully exhibit the music’s emotion. “This event will be my first independent piece of this scale as a director and I hope for it to set the grounds for further collaborations within the industry. The artists involved in The Rain Emperor have created

The Rain Emperor happens at Village Underground, 54 Hollwell Lane, London EC2 on 26th, 27th, 28th February 2009  It really deserves a longer run, you really should try and see/hear/experience it... Think we need to go explore Robert Jacob lots more now... 

www.therainemperor.com
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LIVE REVIEW ARCHIVES

FIELD DAY first bands announced, MOGWAI and more... Field Day will take place this year on Saturday 1 August from 11.30am - 10.30pm at Victoria Park, London E9. List of bands announced looks like this: Aeroplane, Apes and Androids, Erol Alkan, Errors, Fennesz, Final Fantasy, First Aid Kit, Four Tet, James Yorkston, Malcolm Middleton, Mogwai, Mystery Jets, S.C.U.M, Skream, Toumani Diabate, plus many more to be announced. More from www.fielddayfestivals.com or www.myspace.com/fielddaylondon

SAINT ETIENNE have announced Sheffield and London shows in May where they’ll perform their seminal, debut album 'Foxbase Alpha' in it's entirety. SHEFFIELD The Leadmill - Thu 14 May LONDON Bloomsbury Ballroom - Sat 16 May
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MORTON VALENCE – Falling Down The Stairs (Bastard Recordings) – Anne Gilpin’s silky voice glides this soulful electronic fairy tale in in such a satisfying soothing way. Poppy class through a left field filter. That sublime electro-funk instrumental with those chiming bells and that tasty tasty bass line and those meaty Moogs on the b-side is equally as satisfying, fine fine fine couple of tracks – www.myspace.com/mortonvalence

SHORTWAVE FADE – Too Late To Tell  - breezy indie rock and that refined mellowness that turns to that driving windswept stadium expansiveness thing that bands like The Editors or maybe even Keane (back in there better days) do. Rleased ahead on next week's debut album – www.myspace.com/shrtwavefade

WINTERSLEEP – Oblivion (One Four Seven) – From the rather fine Welcome To The Night Sky album and some immediate catchy melodic alternative North American indie rock and what will become of us? What will become of us? What will become of us? Oblivion..... infectious, buzzing, dark around the edges, Wintersleep are rather good aren’t they... www.wintersleep.com / www.onefoursevenrecords.com

LE RENO AMPS – Outlaws (Drift) – They’re from Glasgow, the open track gallops like some wild west outlaw coming round the mountain with those prickly edges and everything in a rush of trail dust and alt.country Violent Femmes on the run with Rev Horton Heat, Circle Junks and a whole posse of goodness. And then they go and confuse things completely with a second track that sounds like sugar sweet indie pop and is this the same band? Some kind of rinky dinky indie pop thing that unfold all the good things that we’re galloping at us in that first track...  Guess we’ll wait on the fence here until the album arrives and hopefully delivers more of that Outlaw stuff and...  Don’t quite know what to make of this, third track goes all Green Day meets some train-riding hobo with acoustic guitars being alt country again but we’re kind of lost by that point, that is a fine first track though, like that one..  – www.myspace.com/lerenoamps

Last week's single of the week - FRAN RODGERS / COMMANDER KEEN

Previously - EMMY THE GREAT / SONNY / JENIFEREVER / LIME HEADED DOG / FIGHT LIKE APES / OH, ATOMS / DENNIS HOPPER CHOPPERS / CUDDLY SHARK / RED PAINTED RED / RALPH BAND / RAW POO / RUDE MECHANICALS / THE BRUTE CHORUS / TIM AND SAM’S TIM AND SAM BAND...

SINGLE REVIEW ARCHIVES

ALSO CHECK OUT

THE WOO!WORTHS – konichiwa! / Idle Hands - Now this isn’t really our thing, but then neither are Hot Chip or MGMT and both of them seem rather popular with the music loving masses. This is very easy on the ear mellow breezy indie-tronic pop. Bits of synths driving their poppy tunes and their pleasant lines. London based, the three of the mare busy playing all the usual places right now, if it sounds interesting then they do their chosen thing well enough, good luck to them. They’ve got a debut EP ready to go should you have a label, they’d love to hear from you, go investigate – www.myspace.com/thewooworths
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Previous demo's of the week - LUCY DAY / ONE TRUE DOG / WHOLE SCHEBANG / THE BUMBLEBEES / KIJU / AWESOME WELLS / THE MAXIMUM DANGER PROJECT / CHARLIE BARNES / THE CURSORS / THE WINTER LEAGUE / JARMEAN? / RIOTGOD / CUTTHROAT CONVENTION / INERTIA BLOOMS

DEMO REVIEW ARCHIVES

PREVIOUSLY - SIGUR ROS / IMAGINATION SCHOOL  / REAL McKENZIES / FAT WRECK / DOMINIQUE LEONE / JAGJAGUWAR / VESSELS / COLT / LIARS / SLARAFFENKLANG / 4AD / PHANTOM LIMBS  / THE PRODIGY / KAYO DOT / BLACK ELK / MADE IN MEXICO / THE BUG / TEMPORARY RESIDENCE / WOODBOX GANG / ALTERNATIVE TENTACLES

Previously: DEEP PURPLE / GRENOUER / BLATZ / FILTH / EYEHATEGOD / THE BOXER REBELLION / THE NERVES / THE THING / THE ERGS / DAMON & NAOMI / MR. BROWN / SUBHUMANS / RUBELLA BALLET / BBC RADIOPHONIC WORKSHOP / MARILLION / KUNG FU SUPER SOUNDS / VOORHEES / EXODUS / DEATHROW

PREVIOUSLY - ANDREA JABLONSKI / AMANDA PALMER / JOHN SQUIRE / BERNADETTE LOUISE & NATALIE SWAIN / I AM JOY / PROG ROCK BRITANNIA / INDYMEDIA / FRESHWHIP / ANDY WARHOL'S SCREEN TESTS DVD / DVD: NASHVILLE PUSSY / BOOK: TATTOO SOUP

IGGY'S INSURANCE NOT AVAILABLE TO MUSIC MAKING PEOPLE - It's materialised that Swiftcover, the car insurance company with that slightly scary Iggy Pop fronted TV ad campaign, won't insure musicians, because if they are injured in an accident their loss of future earnings claim might be too high.  Which means that Iggy, who tells the viewing audience how much better his life is thanks to the convenience of a Swiftcover insurance policy, wouldn't actually get an insurance policy from the company if he actually used one of their convenient (or 'swift if you like') methods of application.  The inconsistency between the ads and real life was discovered by one Tim Soong, a musician whose loss of injury claim, in the case of an accident, would presumably be for a lot less than Iggy's. He's the bass player in a newish band called Roguetune who are possibly most notable to date for their musical ode to Heathrow Terminal 5.  He told the Evening Standard: "The customer services operator told me that they don't insure musicians. When I mentioned Iggy Pop, she said his case was different because he is American. I'm reporting Swiftcover to the Advertising Standards Authority". Part time music producer Felix Wright had the same problem, and told the paper: "When I asked what Iggy Pop did for a living if I was being rejected as a musician, they said they did not know his personal life and he was not one of their policy holders". I trust the next Iggy ad for the company will see him being swiftly rejected after applying for a policy. I pity the customer service rep who has to say "I'm afraid you don't qualify, Mr Pop", that could be even scarier than the ads themselves.

Schhhhhneeeeews? What's that? - go see, where would we be without the balance that SchNews offers, not saying that they're always right, not saying we agree with everything thay say, we agee with a lot though and everything should be questioned, damn glad they're there to throw out a question or two and tell us what's really going on out there  - www.schnews.org.uk

libcom.org is a resource for all people who wish to improve their lives, their communities and their working conditions.

Meanwhile to download (free) and watch a selection of SchMOVIES short films click
here - www.schnews.org.uk/schmovies

THE ORGAN MAILING LIST -  If you want to be on the ORGAN/ORG Records e.mail list then you need to get in touch E.MAIL HERE.
 

ORGAN 295 - GIANT PAW, MI AMI, COMMANDER KEEN, AMANDA PALMER AND THE DANGER ENSEMBLE, THE NIGHTINGALES, PETER DOHERTY, INTO FLIGHT, FEVER RAY, FRAN RODGERS, ANDREA JABLONSKI, RABID RABBIT, THE FACELESS, MORIARTY, THE ERUPTORS, RED SQUARE, THE REVELLIONS, TORTURE KILLER, HEAT FROM A DEADSTAR, SANDSTONE, THRONE OF KATARSIS, HUMCRUSH, LADYFINGER (NE), GAMAGES MODEL TRAIN CLUB, SUSUMU YOKOTA, ANEKDOTEN, THE LONG LOST, THE ANDROID ANGEL, LOUNGE FLY, SIGUR ROS

ORGAN 294 - WE ROCK LIKE GIRLS DON’T, SHIRLEY LEE, THE MILK AND HONEY BAND, THE ANTIKAROSHI, PHOSPHORESCENT, REVOLTING COCKS, NICKEL EYE, THE LOVED ONES, THE PROPHECY, WOODPIGEON, SPIDER AND THE FLIES, SONIC YOUTH, EMMY THE GREAT, ZZZ, DAVID GIBB, THREATMANTICS, LUCY DAY, DESTINATION: OBLIVION, DEEP PURPLE.... 

ORGAN 293 - oh hit the link, go see what we had last week, I'm too fried now, need sunlight and no more computer screens....

ORGAN 292 - BISHOP ALLEN, BLANKPAGES, THE COAST, DAVID BERMAN, SILVER JEWS, DOWNDIME, EYELASH, FIRST AID KIT, GAIL OLDING, GUAPO, HARPOON, HAWKLORDS, IMAGINATION SCHOOL, JENIFEREVER, JOHN MARTYN, JOHN SQUIRE, LAMB OF GOD, MICHAEL J SHEEHY, ONE TRUE DOG, POINT JUNCTURE WA, SCRAP CLUB, SERGEANT BUZFUZ, WELFARE MOTHERS...

ORGAN 291 - LARS HORNTVETH, WINTERSLEEP, ANARCHISTWOOD, VAKA, THE BUMBLEBEES, WET PAINT, SAM KILLS TWO, GRAVANZIA, STUART TURNER, MAEVEN, WHOLE SCHEBANG, PAUL GOODWIN, THE RAIN EMPEROR, LIME HEADED DOG, SERGEANT BUZZFUZ, OUTRAZE, REMEDY, FLUTATIOUS, BLATZ, FILTH... 

ORGAN 290 - ENABLERS, IMAGINATION SCHOOL, BLOOD MOON, ANIMAL COLLECTIVE, HYATARI, SILENTIUM, AWESOME WELLS, HOLMES, THE WHORE MOANS, GATHIENS, DIPLO, SEANCE, FIGHT LIKE APES, THEO, FRANKLIN, SHIRLEY LEE, KIJU, CRYOGENICA, CASTALIA, THE HARD LUCK SAINTS, DOMINIQUE LEONE, EYEHATEGOD, I AM JOY, BERNADETTE LOUISE & NATALIE SWAIN, SONIC YOUTH, TO ARMS ETC.

ORGAN 289 - WOMEN, MAEGASHIRA, DANKO JONES, JACK SHIRT, FEN, LOW BUDGET ORCHESTRA, MEN OF UNITUS, GRAHAM REYNOLDS AND THE GOLDEN ARM TRIO, OH ATOMS, DENNIS HOPPER CHOPPERS, THE WOE BETIDES, DEVOTCHKA, THE SOCIAL, AWESOME WELLS, LITHURGY, SUNDAY SCHOOL, RON ASHETON, JAGJAGUWAR....

ORGAN 288 - FIGHT LIKE APES, ANATHALLO, SHRAG, THE THREE AGES OF ELVIS, ORPHANS, CUDDLY SHARKS, MOLLOY, IRON FIRE, RED EYED LEGENDS, THE HIGH WIRE, SHOCK ELEVATOR FAMILY, LADYDOLL, IVAN CAMPO, VESSELS, COLT, THE NERVES...

ORGAN 287 - THE JELAS, ZACH HILL, THE PRESENT, TRENCHER, EVERYTHING EVERYTHING, FIGHT LIKE APES, THE PRODIFY, INDYMEDIA, RED PAINTED RED, THIS IS YOUR CAPTAIN SPEAKING, HOWL GRIFF, WHITE SHOES BLACK HEART, LOST ROBOTS, COCONUT, GRAVE DIGGER, PERFECT AS CATS: A TRIBUTE TO THE CURE, THE RETAIL SECTORS, THE CAPITOL YEARS, LITTLE WOMEN, ...AND YOU WILL KNOW US BY THE TRAIL OF DEAD, THE MAXIMUM DANGER PROJECT, MISS COSMOS, FIRESUITE, FAIRYTALE, THE YALLA YALLAS, SLARAFFENKLANG, LIARS... 

ORGAN 286 - HUNTSVILLE, SOUTH CENTRAL, THE THING, ROSE KEMP, HANDS ON HEADS, PLUG, SPECIALISATION IS FOR INSECTS, BEFORE THE DAWN, ELECTRIC MUD GENERATOR, THE TRUTH ABOUT FRANK, CHARLIE BARNES, THE PINE HILL HAINTS, SONIC RONDEZVOUS BAND, AGATHOCLES, THE TROUBADORS, THE WICKED SOUNDTRACK by AL JOURGENSEN, WEDNESDAY 13, LOSS LEADER, CARRY ON LOVIN’, A VERY CHERRY CHRISTMAS VOL 4,  RALFE BAND, RAW POO, SILVERY, LOS, KONG, THE FM FLASH, SEELAND, I AM IMMUNE, BROKEN ARM, MORIARTY, DUMB INSTRUMENT, LOUIS BARABBAS AND THE BLACK VELVET BAND, BLACK CHANNELS, ANTHEMS, SPOOKBOY, LONG HAT PINS, LOS CONIOS, BOY OUTSIDE, LOCI, THE DO OR DIES, The FRESHWHIP art collective, that 696 form and more...

ORGAN 285 - GALLON DRUNK, SONVAR, MATT ELLIOTT, PSYCHIC TV, SUSPYRE, PAPIER TIGRE, RUDE MECHANICALS THE CURSORS, more on AMANDA PALMER'S beautiful belly, THURSTON MOORE's new cassette only fetish flavoured release... oh lots of stuff, DAMON & NAOMI, THE ERGS, ANARCHISTWOOD, ABE VIGODA and more, go read and see...

ORGAN 284 - Do we need to go type out a list? Just go have a look...

ORGAN 283 - THE WELCOME WAGON, TIM AND SAM'S TIM AND SAM BAND WITH TIM AND SAM, JARMEAN? NASHVILLE PUSSY, RUBELLA BALLET, VOLCANO!, THE LAKE SITUATION, SUBHUMANS, GLOBO, KAYO DOT, I LIKE TRAINS, PREGO, THE VERVE, THE PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART, CRISIS NEVER ENDS, SIX FEET UNDER, USELESS ID, BITCHES SIN, SLICK'S KITCHEN, JE SUIS ANIMAL, SEVERAL UNION, GUILLOTINE, DEAD OR AMERICAN, THE JOHN HENRYS, BURNING PILOT and more... 

ORGAN 282 - Oh loads of stuff, go see....

ORGAN 281 - F**KED UP, ROLO TOMASSI, MoHa!, SEMAPHORE, THE MINIONS, CHICKENHAWK  TROST, MAGNOLIA, LEFT TO VANISH, FREDRICK STANLEY STAR, HEADLESS HEROES, TORTUGA, THE BOAT PEOPLE, BARR, SAMMY HAGAR, BORN FROM, ROB HIMSELF, THE DeRELLAS, THE RACE, CONOR OBERST, DEPARTMENT S, MARILLION, 11:59, GHOSTFIRE, HANDMADE & BOUND...

ORGAN 280 - AIDS WOLF, THE PROCESS, RIOTGOD, SLITVEIN, TO THE BONES, LOYAL TROOPER, ALISON O’DONNELL, THREATMANTICS, DARK CAPTAIN LIGHT CAPTAIN, EARTHLESS, CROWPATH, THE COMPUTERS, MIA VIGAR, BRIMSTONE HOWL, SATYRICON, THE ESTRANGED, MERCURY REV, AS EDEN BURNS, SUPERSUCKERS, CARNAL DECAY, PSAPP, DANKO JONES, JOHNNY COLA & THE A-GRADES, UNFOLD PRESENTS: TRU THOUGHTS HIP HOP, KUNG FU SUPER SOUNDS, MADE IN MEXICO, KOSMISCHE, DESERT MUSIC SCHOOL BENEFIT....