Depending on your perspective, Canadian artist Brian Joseph Davis is either an innovative musical genius, the most original perpetrator of Found Art since Duchamp, or a total charlatan. I’m sure there are no indifferent opinions about the way Davis makes his music. You may hate or love what he does but there is no middle ground.

Take for instance, 10 Banned Albums Burned Then Played, The concept is just what the title says it is. Ten vinyl albums that were banned at some point are burned then played on a turntable. For the most part they are distinguishable noise. Yet there is a odd magnetism in these tracks. Snippets music appear but are then are destroyed by the hissing and jumping of the burned vinyl. Social commentary or the result of too much alcohol? You can decide for yourself. Personally I was all set to hate this but I found the tracks to be strangely hypnotic and found it worth several listens. Probably the most intriguing thing is that “Louie Louie” doesn’t sound all that different after be burned. I’m reminded of a column by Dave Barry in which he wrote that if you dropped a guitar off a cliff it would play “Louie Louie” as it bounced off the rocks.

Then there is Yesterduh in which Davis took people off the street and asked them to sing the Beatles’ song “Yesterday”. It didn’t matter if they did not know the lyrics, just make them up. Davis took the best of them and mixed them to make this odd and funny album. At times it is funny but at other times, such as on the second track, it becomes haunting and beautiful or more often, just embarrassing. I have a lot of empathy for these poor souls as my own voice is woefully lacking in aesthetic worth. I have learned from secret sources that this is how William Hung was really discovered.

If you can get in the swing of these two bizarre but entertaining albums you might want to check out Davis’ three other albums, all being offered free and online from Ubuweb. Minima Morelalis is a tongue-in-cheek attempt to turn Theodore Adorno’s book of the same name into a punk record. This is a raucous satire of either punk or Marxism…probably both. It is actually darn good punk rock. Greatest Hit takes six greatest hit albums by Whitney Houston, Kenny G, The Carpenters, The Police, The Rolling Stones and Metallica, then plays All of the tracks at the same time. Again, what should have been a mess becomes a fascinating cornucopia of sounds. Finally Original Soundtrack is a live performance using 20 TV sets and DVD players and is of course reminiscent of John Cage’s exercises in randomness with radios. This stuff can grow on you but even if you are shaking you head in skepticism, you should give this a try. The future may look kindly on these experiments. After all, this is now considered a masterpiece.

You can find all of these albums plus some other works by Brian Joseph Davis at Ubuweb or go directly to the album’s download page through the links below.

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Minima Moralia
Greatest Hit
10 Banned Albums Burned Then Played
Yester Duh
Original Soundtrack

Degiheugi loves his samples. He tends to take old and usually familiar material, surrounds them with rich beats and manipulates them until they are his own. Then he’s off to something else. This makes his free online release titled Aquilon somewhat disjointed often sounding like wandering but conventional House. But when it gels, like on “Commes un enfant sans mere”and “My Rickety Piano”, it can really be a treat. I especially like the reconstruction he does on Nina Simone with the track “My Baby Don’t Care For Shows” and the very hip-hop / dub “Soldier in The Sky. Most of Aquilon falls into the trip-hop genre but it is quite an unique effort. Definitely worth a try.

The album is available in 192kbps MP3 from the Electrobel netlabel.

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Tellus 20 is one of the audio-cassette series’ most challenging entries. The title Media Myth refers to the use of media samples as a primary tool in music creation, usually as a audio montage. Consequently the tracks on this album often take on a socio-political message either directly or covertly. The sampling of pop material on Silent but Deadly’s “What New Pussycat” or the audio collage of Violence and The Sacred’s “Teddy Bear Stinks Real Bad” takes on an air of social commentary. Randy Grief’s eight minutes “The Rift in The Earth” is a haunting effort that gets its motivation from a single quotation, “Children drew stones at the gods”. Minoy’s “Tango” and Nicholas Collins’ “Devil Music I” are stand-alone sound sculptures. Michael Chockalak’s effort manipulates chanting samples while “Russian Around” by Social Interiors does its art with snippets from Russian media. You may find this all somewhat bewildering but it is also quite interesting and absorbing.

The album is available in 190knps from Ubuweb

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Dockta Valkus’ Sci-Fi hip-hop Skybase is what I call a mood setter. It is the perfect album to play if you’re want background music to read science fiction by. I just happened to be reading The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula LeGuin and the combination of spacey drones and exotic beats created just the right environment. Even on its own this is a fascinating mixture of sampling and hip-hop rhythms. I especially like the gospel / industrial hybrid titled “Hop Hop”. “Chill Out” and the opening “Ramazan” are nice examples of Dokta Valkus’ creative mix of space sounds and global samples. This is another nice album of music that you will not discover through from the commercial outlets and another answer to the tired assumption that free music isn’t good music.

Skybase is available in 320kbps MP3 from the Neferiu netlabel.

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Pretty much everyone is aware of Radiohead’s In Rainbows and the ground-breaking pay-what-you-want marketing ploy. You probably also know that In Rainbow is now available on CD. I waited to buy the CD and my humble opinion is that the album is Radiohead’s best since OK Computer

Oakland DJ Amplive has produced a tribute to this album in the form of hip hop remixes. He enlisted the help of a number of exceptional musicians including Del The Funkee Homosapien, Too $hort, and Chali 2na of Jurassic 5. At first the powers-that-be (I’m hoping it wasn’t Radiohead but maybe I’m just naive) attempted to stop the release but now all parties involved are allowing the free distribution of this very interesting online album.

The album, titled Rainy Dayz Remixes, is “composed exclusively of source material pulled from In Rainbows“. It’s a mixed bag but the best tracks are those complimented by the guest rappers or vocalists. After a amateurish intro, “Video Tapes” gets things rolling with a great performance by Del. “Nudez”, featuring Too Short and MC Zumbi, is a nice atmospheric track with the two guest artists rapping over Thom Yorke vocal samples. “15 Stepz”, featuring Codany Holiday, is a soulful outing while “Reckonerz” with Charli2na has some of the best added lyrics of the collection. The other tracks do not fare as well but “All I Need” is somewhat interesting. Overall, this is an impressive tribute set recommended to Radiohead fans and people who appreciate exceptional hip hop productions.

Rainy Dayz Remixes is available in 192kbps MP3. If you like the music, support the artists…Amplive and the guest artists, that is. Radiohead is rich enough!

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Umma Project is the work of Esteban Mejía Mesa who plays all of the instruments and does all the sampling and programming. His albums are freely available through a creative commons license and will send the listener on a psychedelic sound journey complete with old fi-sci movie dialogue and spacey synth riffs.

Ethereal is a fitting title for this full album of almost an hour duration. The mood rarely go beyond calm and serene with just a hint of disquiet. Much of the music has a progressive rock feel similar to early Pink Floyd. There are no flashy solos or “wow” moments but if you are looking for a calming. meditative session in the line of space music or mystic moods, then this will fit the bill.

The album is available through a full album zip in 192kbps MP3.

Update: The download page now asks for registration to download the album but it is not required.

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I approached the new WM Recordings collection titled Mystic Moods with trepidation. I remember The Mystic Moods Orchestra recordings from the 60s and 70s well. They were located next to my father’s Duke Ellington vinyls. But unlike the sophisticated sounds of The Duke, The Mystic Moods Orchestra was the lowest denomination of emotions. It was a loosely tied mess of lounge, dime store exoticism, and space age pretension. Listening to anything that implied a tribute to them is not my idea of a good time. Fortunately the artists involved in this effort were also quite aware of the Mystic Moods’ reputation. They turned the kitcsh into camp using the same effects for what is either a parody and perhaps just a vastly entertaining set of tracks.

The 20 tracks provide some interesting listening. You’ll find plenty of good samplings, lots of space sounds, and definitely some nice melodies. Daghoti’s “Percipience Fiction” is a good example of all of these things in effect. I also like the imaginative tracks by Desert Gears and Super Sonic Future. Phil Reavis’ “Pretty Dark” is a strange look at retro psychedelica. Low LiFi’s “Tiny Lights” is a both a surprisingly loyal look at the Mystic Moods phenomena and a wicked satire. Other interesting outlooks come from Lee Rosevere, Terry Douglas. and Happy Elf among many others. Maybe it is best to just get out your lava lamp and listen.

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As I listen to the online album Aditi by Ka, the most prevalent word that comes to mind is “mysterious”. There is barely any information on Ka except that it appears to be a solo project by Franklin Zambrano. The album is presented with little hype but a eerie album cover and the music’s own merits. The music is trance-like and exotic, much of it evoking visions of midnight caravans, jungle temples, and mystical moments. I wouldn’t call it meditative but the pulsing beat and hynoptic melodies could lull you into a sense of unreality. “Manvantera” certainly has a feeling of mystery and forboding, while “Mahaset” could be a nice soundtrack for a full moon boat ride down the Ganges. “Innana en los Infiernos” really breaks out the global groove and almost becomes a bona-fide rock track.”Ganges” returns to the land of moonlight and mystics while “Costas” ends the album with what could only be described as a new age lullaby. This is a beautiful, perhaps even spirtitual, session of soothing sounds.

The album is available in 128kbps MP3.

No longer available

I love The Beastie Boys. Not just because they play great music but also because they always seem to have respect for their fans and a real understanding in how those fans desire to celebrate and participate in their music.

The Beastie Boys have provided a collection of accapella tracks on their website for the sole purpose of allowing others to distribute and remix to their heart’s content. This has spawned a slew of remixes from all over the globe. Some of the best are made by Leo Nevilo and have been collected in a free Creative Common licensed album titled Beastie Boys Revisited.

The ten tracks are classic Beastie Boy vocals and Nevilo’s accompaniments keeps them rocking. Nevilo’s manipulations are supportive and do not intrude unnecessarily on the vocals. If anything, the remixes add a little industrial touch to the hip-hop and rock. These remixes should thrill the Beastie Boys fans and others will like them just because they are so damn good!

The tracks are available as separate tracks or album zip. The file format is MP3 (64kbps, 192kbps, or VBR) or Ogg Vorbis.

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Nomada is a band out of Hungary that plays music from the Hungarian Gypsy tradition. They blend their music with folk influences from Spain, Serbia and the Arabic cultures. In 2006, they became the first Hungarian artists to release a track with a Creative Commons license and they encourage other artists to remix it.

The track is “Aven le Roma” and the result is a collection of the master track and 13 exciting remixes. Nomada’s original starts it off. It’s a rollicking gypsy dance with a modern edge. The remixes have enough variety to keep this album of theme and variations interesting. Most stay in a dancable folk/techno beat while others, like DJ Blockhead and Laureth, play it down-tempo with a hint of trip-hop. If you are a avid fan of remixing, this is one collection you will want, Others, like myself, will enjoy listening to creative minds at work but may be happy keeping the first track and a couple favorite remixes.

All tracks are available in either 128kbps MP3 or AIFF format.

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R.E.M. provided copies of their 2001 album Reveal to several well-known mixers to do what they will. The result is this online album appropriately titled R.E.M.IX which is freely available on the band’s web site. I’ve been a fan of R.E.M. since their first recording in 1983 . Howver, like many, I felt their albums declined in significance as the 20th century came to a close. One could argue that these ten reworkings actually improve the original songs. Each mixer manipulates the material with creativity and respect. No one track stands out but all will be of interest to R.E.M. fans and remix freaks.

All tracks are available in 128kbps MP3.

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If this doesn’t trip you out, consider yourself untrippable. Japanoise artist Isuzu Kochiwa has recorded 18 short pieces, each representing a famous visual artist, and packaged them into an online album titled Disassembling The Molecules. He uses voice, computer, samples and pretty much anything he can get his hands on to make these miniature sound sculptures. The results are pleasantly weird and often borders on the psychedelic. Whether “Warhol” sounds like a Andy Warhol painting or “Duchamp” is similar to a Marcel Duchamp masterpiece is immaterial. (Actually, I think the Duchamp piece is the most accurate sound representation of the collection.) It’s best to see these odd pieces as a peek into Kochiwa’s strange but wonderful mind.

It is available by separate tracks or a full album zip in 64kbps MP3, VBR MP3, or Ogg Vorbis.

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The regular readers of this blog will probably have deduced that I am fond of the Asian electronic dance that comes out of Quiet Lounge especially since I have favorably reviewed two of the artists on this netlabel. Here’s another group that does a fine job in the genre known as Asian Hardcore.

Synth R.I.U. is similar to its Quiet Lounge colleagues but, while Red Unit uses Maoist anthems and Kagra uses Japanese folk music, Synth R.U.I. blends Buddhist chants into their electronic brew. In many ways, Synth R.I.U. sounds very typical of what you would hear in any dance club or rave. Their electronic music is fast-paced with enough little turns in the beat to be both danceable and listenable. The chants add icing on the cake. Sometimes as on “Hambha” from Trance Buddha Nation Project the chant is barely discernable as a background drone. On The title track of Rush!, the chant is more in the foreground and tends to lead the electronics rather than follow. “Rescue Me” is my favorite track from Psygoque with it mellower beat and lyrical chanting. Yam Cha is a bit of an exception from the other three albums as it’s source music appears to be popular Japanese music rather than Buddhist chants. If I had to choose one of these albums to start with, my choice would be Trance Buddhist Nation Project but they are all interesting.

All four albums are in 192kbps MP3.

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Trance Buddha Nation Project
Psygoque
Rush!
Yam Cha

On March 25th, Bob Ostertag stated on his web site, “I have decided to make all my recordings to which I have the rights freely available as digital downloads from my web site.”.

Ostertag is one of the most innovative artists of electronic music. sampling, and the avant-garde. In releasing his music on his site under the Creative Commons license, he becomes perhaps the most significant musician to do so. His music is always interesting and often brilliant. His albums never fails to amaze as they explore avant garde jazz and rock, socio-political issues, field recording and sampling, solo improvisation, performance art, and even electronic dance. At this time, there are 10 albums available and all are good enough to be featured.

Say No More (2002) is a four volume work using separate solo improvisations by four musicians. Ostertag “broke the solos into fragments and assembled a ‘band’ piece by piece from the splinters.” He then created a score that the band played live. Both the computerized compositions and the live performances are present on these discs.

Burns Like Fire (1992) is a composition created from sounds Ostertag tape recorded during the 1991 Gay/Lesbian riots in San Francisco. Sooner or Later (1991) is culled from a field recording of a Salvadorian boy burying his father. Both albums are examples of how Ostertag can take samples, manipulate electronically, and squeeze incredible emotions from them. I believe Sooner or Later is his most important work to date. It is emotionally difficult to listen to yet compelling . Both albums display the composer’s interest in using field recorded samples to make socio-political statements. Voice of America (1982) is an earlier work showing his interest in social events. It is interesting as all Ostertag’s CDs are but not nearly as amazing as Burns and Sooner

DJ of the Month (2001) and A Melody, No Bitterness (1997) are improvisations in which Ostertag uses his computer sampler as a solo musical instrument. These are almost like free jazz excursions.

Getting a Head (1980) was his first album and featured the composer as a young genius at analog tape manipulation (Digital sampling was still in the future). This was also his first collaboration with avant-rock guitarist Fred Frith.

Fear No Love (1995) is atypical for Ostertag as it is an electronic dance album that has a lot of Zappa-like humor and 15 collaborators including Fred Frith and Faith No More vocalist Mike Patton.

Last and definitely the least is Pantychrist (1999) featuring turntablist Otomo Yoshihide and drag performer Justin Bond. It’s a performance art piece that will be too weird and profane for most. You probably should pass this one up but be warned that once you start listening it will be as hard to turn away from as a car crash.

All albums are in 192kbps MP3. If you enjoy the music. support the artist by buying his CDs.

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Say No More CDs 1 & 2
Say No More CDs 3 & 4
Burns Like Fire
Sooner or Later
DJ of the Month
A Melody, No Bitterness
Pantychrist
Fear No Love
Voice of America
Getting A Head

The Gayan Uttejak Society was founded by Lâszlô Hortobâgyi of Hungary in 1981. The society collectss and preserves traditional world music in the belief that they are in danger of extinction by “technologically ‘homogeneous’ societies”. The Gayan Uttejek Orchestra placed most of their albums on their web site and they are free to download in 128kbps MP3. While their music appears predominantly Indian influenced, the ensemble borrows and samples from almost every culture. Composer and multi-instrumentalist Lâszlô Hortobâgy is incredibly adept at mixing traditional music and modern electronics. He also appears to be quite talented on keyoards and synthesizers. This is adventurous new age music.

Out of many, I have chosen ten fairly representative albums. Tranreplica Meccano is their first recording and is arguably their most accessible. The Orchestra likes to present “imaginary journeys” of which Traditional Music of the Amygdala and Fomal-Hoot al-Ganoub are two. The Arcadian Collection appears to have more choral and chant-like compositions than the others. The later works like Mixologies and Fata-Organa are quite varied. The Brief history of GUO may be a good place to start as it appears to be a overview of their work. The other albums all have a similar intoxicating mixture of ancient and modern that makes GUO so interesting. This is music that should be experienced rather than described.

If you enjoy them, support the artists by buying the higher sound quality CDs.

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Transreplica Meccano
Traditional Music of The Amygdala
The Arcadian Collection
Ritual Music of the Fornal-Hoot al-Ganoub
Terra Dei
Mêmesis
Fata-Organa
The Brief History of GUO
el-Horto Ang
Mixology

D’r Sjaak is another one of those eccentric artists that seems to gravitate to WM Recordings. His music is tailor made for the dance floor balancing industrial, trance and hip-hop with a odd wit. He deftly manipulates rock samples into his own slightly skewed creations.

Schijnheiligen is the better of the two available albums. The first track literally starts with a laugh and breaks into a manically disturbing verbal riff. “Lekker” is my favorite track harboring a menace that seems more satiric than dangerous. The title tune may be the most commercial sounding of the tracks but is still engaging and well constructed. “Doa Kumpt Zeeek Van!” is a virtual orgy of sampling starting with a Guns N’ Roses guitar riff and just gets crazier after that.

En Toch Wakker is an earlier album and seems more of a conventional electronic dance effort. It is still good quality dance music and well worth hearing. The best track. “Meatje” exhibits a nice mixture of hip-hop and general kookiness.

The albums are available as individual tracks and full zip in 192kbps MP3.

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Schijnheiligen
En toch wakker

The three Corbin brothers make music under quite a few names but usually under the umbrella of Raging Family. They play a solid down-tempo form of electronica quaranteed to mellow out a rough day. They have quite a few free albums but I chose four that I really like.

Speed of Life sets a jazzy tone with sultry vocals. It reminds me of Massive Attack but with more soul. Everything is Zoom is odder and more varied in style but mellow down-tempo beats still dominate. Black Holes Science is spacy (no pun intended) and uses a sampled astronomy lecture as its theme. Even if you don’t like it you might learn something! UltraSur Moon Session was recorded in Vina Del Mar, Chile and uses local musicians. The Chilean influence fits nicely with Raging Family’s style making this my favorite of the four albums.

Black Hole is in 224kbps MP3, Ultrasur is in 192kbps MP3, and the others are 160kbps. If you like the artists, you can buy these CDs and more at their web site.

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Speed of Life
Everywhere is Zoom
Black Holes Science
Ultrasur Moon Sessions

Italian sampler and turntable artist Økapi does strange things with music. He uses a wide range of samples ranging from avant-garde musician Lester Bowie to Doris Day creating odd but likeable results.

The title tune sounds very much like a 60s Fellini soundtrack. “My Secret Love” starts with samples from the Doris Day hit then evolves something other worldly. “Lester Lounge” is my favorite being the most jazz-like and avant-garde of the tracks. “Ru-diculous”, with its weird rock & funk beats is a close second. The range of sounds Økapi has at his command is quite impressive.

The album is available as individual tracks or a full zip in 192kbps MP3.

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Lounge music is sort of a guilty pleasure for me. Sure it can be pure kitsch but in the right hands those cocktail beats and exotic sounds can be more relaxing than any ambient music. The Coconut Monkeyrocket and Martinibomb have good right hands. On this Comfort Stand release they split the tracks at three for each group, hence the title. What are these two bands like? For those familar with the genre, think Tipsy and Ursula 1000.

Martinibomb starts with a cha cha and a catchy one at that. The two brothers who make up Martinibomb mixes record samples with percussion, acoustic instruments, computer bleeps, and even toy sounds to make an amusing and sexy three tracks. I give it an 85. It has a beat and you can dance to it.

The Coconut Monkeyrocket is just a little funkier. One man band Jason Emmet keeps the tiki lounge vibes going but mixes in more dance rhythms. His three tracks have more of a cartoon feel and I mean that in a good way. My favorite track is the final one, “Bloops, Beeps, Bongos, and Brass”, appropriately another cha cha. Put on a tacky Hawaiian shirt, place a little plastic umbrella in your drink, sit back, and enjoy!

It is available in 192kbps MP3 as either separate tracks or a full album zip.

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Occasionally I find an artist that I don’t care for at first but something draws me back to listen to them again…and again…and again. Pretty soon I have to admit I like it or, at the very least, it offers me something I’ve never heard before.

Red Unit out of the Quiet Lounge netlabel is like that. The artists reside in Shanghai, China and produces dense Industrial Dance music. What sets Red Unit apart from other techno groups is that they used the music and sounds of China’s political past for their base. Red Unit describes their music as “gloomy ambient music under the theme of revolutionary communism” although I think it is far too pulse driven to call ambient. Having been to China and having experienced Chinese young adults’ willingness to openly criticize its government, especially in Shanghai, I can’t really say whether Red Unit’s intent is serious or satiric. Regardless, the music keeps gnawing at me and keeps my interest. At times it’s hauntingly melodic and at other times it’s quite disturbing. Yes, Red Unit is growing on me.

They have four EPs. NKNP is their first and sets a pattern of using spoken word, both Chinese and English, almost subliminally under a pulsing beat. “Compulsion” is as riveting as anything I’ve heard from Prodigy or The Chemical Brothers. The second EP, The Ideal of Maoism, follows the same pattern. Commune is their newest album and uses Chinese traditional music to a heavier extent. Compared to the others, it is downright cheerful!

But the best EP has to be Girls In Red. The track “Tradition” clearly refers to the use of a traditional song as it is bent by the electronic beats. In the title track, Asian melodies are almost obliterated by the machine gun-like rhythms. “Reds In Far East” is perhaps the most melodic track with its Chinese chorus sampling.

All four albums are available in 192kbps MP3s.

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N.K.N.P.
The Ideals of Maoism
Girls in Red
Commune

Infra Red Army sample strings and percussion and reassemble them with shimmering electronics for some very brooding, atmospheric music on this 3-track, 20-minute EP. The music is bursting with musical ideas, played out subtlely. Dark and lovely.

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Music to Drive Cross Country By is a great collage album mixing drum ‘n bass, classical, mass, “toy music”, hip-hop, dance music, pop rock, punk, industrial, and much more with clips of dialogue from a vast array of sources. The first track is my favorite.

Tracks are available in 192kbps MP3 and a full-album ZIP from Comfort Stand.

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Two Zombies Later is a 2-CD compilation of exotica mash-ups from diverse artists that combine styles and ideas in unprecedented ways. 99% of everything produced by amatuers with the cheap sound tools available in the digital age is crap, but this is excellent. Jolly listening!

Tracks are available in 192kbps MP3 (a few tracks are 160kbps) or a full-album ZIP from Comfort Stand.

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KKFS spliced together samples from 50s and 60s pop and lounge LPs and added some effects and electronic instruments to produce this fascinating cutup of “experimental pop”. The download page even provides all the original samples for remixing purposes. Definitely one of the most interesting purely loop-crafted albums I’ve heard. Just don’t ask me how to pronounce the album’s title.

The Internet Archive hosts the album as 256kbps MP3s or a ZIP file.

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