Tom Robinson originally came to the spotlight in the late 70s with The Tom Robinson Band. In the 80s he went solo and now offers some of his albums as free downloads on his web site. Robinson has a voice that reminds me a lot of Peter Gabriel in sound and style. The four studio albums are all worthwhile for those who enjoy the British rock of the 80s and the 90s.

War Baby: Hope and Glory (1984) has his biggest hit as a solo artist, “War Baby”. The Peter Gabriel influence is quite strong, almost to a fault. In fact, Gabriel co-wrote one song. To some extent it sounds busy and over produced, another nod to Gabriel perhaps. Yet it is a rousing album with the highlights being the title song, “Murder at the End of Day” and a odd but endearing cover of Steely Dan’s “Rikki, Don’t Lose That Number.”

Still Loving You (1987) is a much more personal sounding album. This one is my favorite of the offerings. I especially like “Feels so Good/Hurts So Bad” and “Drive All Night”.

Love Over Glory and Having It Both Ways pretty much stays in the same vibe which is not a bad thing. Robinson excels in the English pop idiom and adds a nice jazzy urban touch to many of his songs. “Roaring” on Love Over Glory is a nice example of that funky British thing he has going for him.

There are also three worthwhile live albums. Home From Home: CD 1 is a live duo concert with Adam Phillips. It was recorded in 1999. Home From Home: CD 2 is also from 1999 but recorded live in Japan with a full band (Adam Phillips, Andy Treacey, and Jo Burt). Finally, Living In A Boom Timeis a 1992 solo performance from Ireland.

There are a few other offerings on his download page linked below but the above mentioned seven albums are my “best bet” picks. Enjoy and if you like the music, buy his CDs.

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Cooper-Moore is an American multi-instrumentalist and composer. He originally started as a jazz pianist but now creates his own instruments and plays outside the boundaries of any one genre. Recently he placed a three volume retrospective of his previously unreleased music from 1990 to 2010 on the Free Music Archive. The works range from solo pieces (”The Forest” and “In The Morning”) to vocal experiments (”I Know How”) to experimental suites ( “Anyone Seen Marie Laveau”). I like the artist best on his compositions for piano. Set three includes three exceptional duos with Cooper-Moore on flute and Clayton Thomas on bass. Overall, A Retrospective 1990-2010 is a fine introduction to this amazing musician.

While you are at WFMU’s Free Music Archive, you can also find two live performances by Cooper-Moore. CM Live at the Brecht Forum 11-7-2009 is an over 30 minute exploration with the artist on many of his unique instruments. There is also a improvisational duo track with Elliott Sharp. CM Live at the Issue Project 9-8-08 is actually a performance of his composition “Music: Old and New Paths” which is played on his homemade instruments. the 39 minute duration gives you an excellent look at the totality of the artist’s talents.

As mentioned, all three albums are housed at the Free Music Archive. They are freely and legally available in MP3 format through Creative Commons licensing.

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A Retrospective 1990-2010 Set 1
A Retrospective 1990-2010 Set 2
A Retrospective 1990-2010 Set 3
CM Live at the Brecht Forum 11-7-2009
CM Live at Issue Project 9-8-08

I never quite understood what Genesis P-Orridge was up to. Whether it was Throbbing Gristle or Psychic TV, I always thought Genesis was a bit of a musical flim-flam artist. Yet I must admit that history has vindicated Genesis, if not in the sense of musicality at least in the sense that his art was way ahead of its time. To use a well worn cliche, Genesis chose to dance to a different drummer even if that dance often seemed to be on a different planet. Whether you call it music, performance art or just noise, Genesis P-orridge will not go away.

Here is Genesis in a live radio performance at WFMU of Psychic TV from 2006. It is weird and rude but I seem to be catching a bit more structure (a strange way to describe Psychic TV) than before. Three tracks at 24 minutes assaults your ears and mind. Strange vibes were emanating in the studio that day. You can download the full performance at the Free Music Archive.

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Los Emes Del Oso is an odd netlabel with a bunch of odd and eclectic music, much of it from various parts of South America. The compilation titled Ulqutushuy has 15 tracks of folk music from Peru and Bolivia sung in the Incan lanquage of Quechuas. The music isn’t well recorded and appears to be accumulated from old cassettes and field recordings. However those who love the authenticity of world music unfiltered by the commercial world will love these joyous songs.

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Jesse Spillane is one of those talented amateur musicians that release their music free just for the fun of it but don’t let that deter you from listening. His three albums have a funky jazz fusion sound that is arresting and exciting. I especially like Descent of The Goober Monster which starts with a funky sounding “Super Bubbly” and then goes on to more urban rock beats with “Face Punch”. Occasionally he gets a little spacey on tracks, which is especially noticeable on The Art of Presentation but he always comes back to earth. Songs That Go Up and Down appears to be his first release. It is heavy with keyboards and acoustic piano. Some of the tracks remind me of those great Blaxploitation soundtracks of the 70s. All three albums will get your groove tightened.

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Art of Presentation
Descent of The Goober Monster
Songs That Go Up and Down

Piano transcriptions of classical composers’ orchestral works are not all that uncommon. Often the piano transcription was the working blueprint for the final orchestral composition. Other times, the compose created a piano transcription afterward. Igor Stravinsky did the latter with Petrouchkaat the request of Arthur Rubinstein. That particular transcription was a two hand solo work but Stravinsky later created a four-hand transcription. He also compose a four hand transcription for his ballet Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring) .

Two of Igor Stravinsky’s most famous works include the ballets Petrouchka and Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring). These four hand transcriptions makes for a interesting contrast and are quite enjoyable in their own right. Both of these piano duets are performed by Graziella Concas and Dario Strazzeri. The MP3s are available from The Piano Society.

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Petrouchka
Le sacre du Printemps

NIKOO is a Netherlands noise pop band helmed by Joep van Son who also bought us The Very Sexuals. This self-titled EP delivers six hard edged rock songs with heavy distortion and a bubble-gum twist. Think of a cross between The Jesus and Mary Chain and The Weezers. “Cow” is a good example of the fun and power on this EP.

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Elisa Huu is from Rome and is described as a jazz artist. However her online album The Time of Waiting from the La Bel Netlabel is more in the new age ambient category. The music has a droning quality that veers between the organic and the electronic. It is a peaceful yet restless sound that works well in those evenings after a stressful day. Elisa Huu is another one of those talented artists you will not find in the limited commercial music venues.

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If you are looking for tasty down-tempo style electronics and sampling. there is no better place to search than the Budabeats net label. Their latest find is M.W.D. in the form of Singing Forest, an online album of complex rhythms loaded with interesting samples. The title track kicks it off in an exotic traffic of beats and sounds. The second track is a lazy jazz fog that is just the right amount of mood and groove. Every track has its joys. This is a nice choice for background listening but with enough going on to be interesting for more attentive ears.

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I wished I liked this self-titled debut album from Italian Gothic rock vocalist Magdalen Graal. The music is quite lovely and shows a strong influence from alt. rock/gothic artists like Evanescence. Magdaen Graal has an exquisite and sensual voice that I never get tired of . Yet the weak production and beatbox percussion effect gets in the way of the otherwise excellent tracks. Still, I must give this album a recommendation to those who like their music on the darkwave side.

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Suhov is one of the newer artists on the ever groovy Budabeat net label. his EP titled Symphaty Modul is a chilled out mixture of beats and samples that hover between down-tempo and lounge. Let’s call this electronic lounge just in case we don’t already have an adequate supply of musical labels. Whatever you call it, the music is quite relaxing with its jazz influenced vibes. Check out “Funny” and “Moonhill” to get a hip taste.

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Kazoomzoom has the distinction of being the first netlabel for kids but their anthology Frog Legs: Ragtime Era Favorites can be appreciated by children and adults alike. The curators have collected recordings from cylinders. 78rpm and piano rolls of some of the most distinctive rag time compositions, all being in the public domain. I find the piano rolls to be the most interesting mainly because the rag was first and foremost a medium for piano. Of course, Scott Joplin is adequately covered but there is also a roll of Frog Legs Rag by James Scott and a George Gershwin played piano roll of Moore and Gardner’s “Chinese Blues”.. The cylinder and 78rpm recordings are of various ensembles. I especially like the Zonophone Concert Band’s rendition of “The Smiler” by Percy Wenrich. Yes, children will love these songs but the adults will enjoy them too.

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Coolrunnings hail from Knoxville, Tennessee. They have two short EPs you can download from the Free Music Archive; Babes Forever and Buffalo EP. The music is odd but catchy, showing traces of punk, psychedelica, electronica, and surf beats all in glorious lo-fi. Babes Forever has some nice tracks in “Better Things” and “When I Got High With You” but their strangeness really comes through with ” Trippin’ Balls at Dur Weinerschnitzel”. Highlights from Buffalo include the lo-techno surf rock “Burnout” and the title track. Love it or hate it, you have to admit it is different.

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Babes Forever
Buffalo EP

With the obvious exception of Beethoven, no one composer embodies the symphony of the Romantic Era like Gustav Mahler. Even if you are not a big fan of the composer’s boisterous style, even the most casual listener cannot avoid getting wrapped up in the emotions, or in my humble opinion the excesses, of a Mahler Symphony. He wrote nine complete symphonies and one unfinished symphony, strengthening the myth of the curse of the ninth once again. Here are nine of those symphonies from the Public Domain Archive, all from 78rpm discs and transferred into the 21st century by way of the MP3 format. Unfortunately the “Tragic” 6th symphony is tragically missing and I cannot find an adequate free online recording of it. So we will have to suffice with these nine.

The First Symphony in D Major is nicknamed The Titan. It is performed by the NBC Symphony Orchestra and is conducted by Bruno Walter. The recording year is 1939.

Symphony No. 2 in C Minor is also conducted by Bruno Walter but this time with the Vienna Philarmonic Orchestra in 1948.

Symphony No. 3 in D minor is conducted by Hermann Scherchen with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra in 1950.

We return to Bruno Walter in conducting Symphony No. 4 in G major with the New York Philharmonic in 1945. The featured soprano is Desi Halban.

Symphony No. 5 in C sharp minor is conducted by…who else?…Bruno Walter with the New York Philharmonic in 1947.

Symphony No. 7 in E minor (The Song of The Night) was recorded in 1950 by The Vienna Symphony Orchestra conducted by Hermann Scherchen.

Symphony No. 8 in E Flat Major may be the composer’s most popular. or perhaps notorious, symphony. Nicknamed “Symphony of a Thousand”, it lives up to its name as one of the largest symphonic / choral compositions in classical music history, consisting of a very large orchestra, two choirs, a children choir and eight soloists. This 1950 performance is by the Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Leopold Stokowski with the lead soprano being Frances Yeend.

Symphony No. 9 in D major is conducted by Bruno Walter with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and was recorded in 1939.

Finally, the unfinished Symphony no. 10 in F sharp major was, for the most part, finished by Mahler before his death in 1910 but not to the point that it was playable by an orchestra. There were many attempts to complete this symphony. I’m not sure who was responsible for the version here but it is performed by The Wiener Staatsoper Orchestra and conducted by Hermann Scherchen in 1952.

Note: It has been suggested that I remind you that the Public Domain Archive is a Japanese site and the recordings hosted there are in the public domain for that country. My own site does not host any of these recordings. As visitors of my blog come from all over the globe I recommend you check the copyright laws of the country you reside in before downloading.

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Symphony No. 1 in D major “Titan”
Symphony No. 2 in C minor
Symphony No. 3 in D minor
Symphony No. 4 in G major
Symphony No. 5 in C sharp minor
Symphony No. 7 in E minor “The Song of the Night”
Symphony No. 8 in E flat major “Symphony of a Thousand”
Symphony No. 9 in D major
Symphony No. 10 in F sharp major

Here’s another live studio broadcast from the WFMU studio. This one features Ducktails and was broadcasted on Marty McSorleys show on 10/24/2008. More interesting is the fact that it was recently released as a 12′ vinyl from Inflated Records. Ducktails is primarily musician Alex Phelan of New Jersey. He presents a music that is folkish and dreamy, yet straddles folk and electronic. It is easy to get caught up in the dreamscapes yet he maintains enough beat to keep you grounded. The beginning track “Backyard” can almost fool you into thinking you are entering a Neil Young / Grateful Dead kind of groove, yet by the time you reach the electronically psychedelic “Surf’s Up” you realize that this is a musical landscape beyond categorization. The music of Ducktail is laid back yet keeps you guessing.

The link below takes you to the unedited live broadcast from WFMU. If you enjoy the music , support the artist by buying their CDs, or the new Live at WFMU vinyl from the Inflated Records shop.

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Power and Beauty is a quartet that has a whimsical mix of folk and fantasy. Yet there is a minimalist feel amongst the cute harmonies, the glockenspiel, and the accordions. It is sort of a cross between Laurie Anderson and The McGarrigle Sisters. The one thing we can agree on about their 18 minutes EP titled The Gnome is you may never have heard such a charming sound. It is another eccentric free and legal offering from Peppermill Records.

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The Pop Winds hail from Montreal, Canada. They have two albums from Arbutus Records that are currently available for free and legal downloading from the Free Music Archive. They remind me a lot of 80’s electro-pop but they manage to make their music sound just enough 21st century. The sound is decidedly more pop than rock complete with catchy vocals. The two albums, The Turquoise and The Understory EP are both a breath of fresh air in the indie music industry.

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The Turquiose
Understory EP

Haunting, beautiful, and distinctly modern is Garth Knox’s solo viola effort titled Viola D’Amour. It is another excellent release from the unique SHSK’H net label which is always good for top quality post-classical music . Knox explores the outer boundary of his instrument and keeps the listener both in wonder of what he will do next. The album has both structured compositions and improvisations although it is a challenge to identify which is which. However the virtuosity of the artist is unquestioned and this is a good bet for those who enjoy classical, modern compositions or simply interesting music.

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Fred Baty aka Crepusculum still gets a lot of play on my ipod in the form of his first online EP titled Sky Diaries. It’s been a while but the artist shows up again on his second 12rec release titled Sing On In Silhouettes. Despite the name, it is another excellent instrumental endeavor (although Genevieve Schwartz plus Julia Kotowski of Entertainment for the Braindead. does join in on the exquisite “Abaculus Perceptive”). Crepusculum’s music could be called electro-acoustic although the emphasis is on the acoustic. Neo-folk and intelligent new age also comes to mind. Baty’s guitar work is outstanding throughout this album. The first track “A Fledgling Firework” is a good introduction to this beautiful album. Highly recommended.

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For a little Spanish ska try La Olla Express. This is a lively and refreshing band that can pack quite a bit of excitement. Panic is their first album and it is a free and legal pleasant surprise. Nice beats and nice horns throughout even if the vocals occasionally get a little corny, often going for effect rather than passion. Nonetheless, reggae, punk,and ska fans with be happy with the results.

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The post-rock instrumental band Beyond The Dune Sea recorded a number of live jams that were then organized in post-production by Adam Kennedy. The result is this moody but fascinating self-titled album. Sort of a mixture of post-rock and jam rock with a taste of psychedelica. It is one of those albums that holds up best when it is played from beginning to end. Asides from production work, Kennedy plays drums and bass and is rounded out by guitar Kyle Mewhinney and keyboardist Ross Love to make this interesting trio. It is definitely worth your time and energy to download and listen. Beyond The Dune Sea is brought to you by the Abridged Pause net label.

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Bill Altice, former musician in the Karen Cooper Complex, alerted me to another band he was playing in around the same time called Bomis Brendin. Originally recording in the 1980s, they are still together as is attested to on their current web site. However their first two albums Test and Phantom Limb can be found lurking free and legally under Creative Commons licensing at the Free Music Archive. Bomis Prendin appears to have been a collective of musicians experimenting under the auspice of the Artifacts/yclept record label in Washington D.C. The ensemble played a form of free rock improvisation that is similar to the music of Fred Frith, Pere Ubu and to a lesser degree, The Residents. Primarily instrumental, there is a real love of sound for sound’s sake in these tracks. There is always something going on to simulate the senses. Just another amazing look at the kind of great musical explorations going on in the outer territories of the 80s.

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Phantom Limb
Test

Logan Whitehurst will probably be best known to fans of the Dr. Demento radio show where his humorous songs were regularly featured to fans of quirky music. The musician and composer would have went on to higher recognition if he did not pass away of a brain tumor at the too young age of 29. Lee Rosevere, owner of Happy Puppy Records with the best wishes of Logan’s family, has released a ten track anthology of Whitehurst’s music appropriately titled An Introduction to Logan Whitehurst and The Jr. Science Club. The songs and extended skits are delightfully nerdy with satiric digs at various pop culture fads and icons. Highlights include “Square Peg Round Hole”, “Buckaroo Bonzai is Not Just a Movie” and “Life is Peaches and Cream”.

While this album is a good introduction to the music of Logan Whitehurst you can also sample albums and other materials that were originally on mp3.com. If you enjoy the music, you can purchase his albums at his online store

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Brazilian classical pianist Felipe Sarro has already entranced us with a collection of Alkan compositions. Now he is offering another free album. This time it is Johann Sebastian Bach in both original compositions and piano transcription by Alexander Ilyich Siloti. I especially like Sarro’s take on the fourth French Suite. Siloti’s transcriptions include some nice translations of cantatas and sonata rewritten for the piano.

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Seattle’s improv ensemble Aunt Jamamas Big Band Vigilantes may be described as avant garde but their liberal usage of wit and melodic structure makes them quite acceptable to those who tend to avoid the atonal. In fact, their improvisatory meanderings do not sound all that free-style at times, leaning heavily to both jazz and rock. The mix of acoustic ensemble with electronic sampling and effects keeps them interesting throughout this live recording. This is certainly worth a listen. Another fine album from the very eclectic WM Recordings.

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