Sunday, April 25, 2010

mir - abandon ship

(from crucial blast):

Haven't heard any new music from Alex Buess (16-17 / Ice / God / Sprawl) in years, so just finding out that he had this new disc from a new project called Mir made my week. Fans of Buess's previous industrial/jazz/improv projects won't be disappointed, and if anything, Mir is one of the more extreme bands that I've heard Buess play in, no small thing if you're familiar with the scorching free-jazz-core of the mighty 16-17.

The music is a kind of super-heavy industrial dirge that appears to take cues from the later Ramleh work, the realms of modern avant-sludge, the crushing dystopian black dub of Godflesh/Painkiller, and just a smattering of noisy punk.

Think Praxis, Painkiller, Lietterspich, even early Swans, but really psychedelic and industrial, a sort of heavy, dark improvised industrial dub, quite different from Buess's other projects, definitely, but with that brutal experimental power that I've come to expect from anything that he's involved in.

abandon mir

fat little bastard - an illustrated history

Fat Little Bastard is a dynamic, eclectic jazz/funk guitar trio who met while studying at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston in the late 90’s. Their sound crosses diverse musical boundaries with a unique rock sensibility. With influences ranging from Hendrix to Raymond Scott to Thelonious Monk, the band's original music is laced with wit and infused with turn-on-a-dime improvisations.

Originally joining forces in a full rock band, the group frequently snuck away to play sessions as a trio. Countless hours were spent jamming, turning grooves over, exploring texture, melody and time signature. What came about was something they thought special and unique. Eventually they began writing with the group in mind.

Various representative influences were brought to the table and a sound was born, a bastard if you will. There is a definite rock foundation, but you’ll also come across signs of jazz, klezmer, country, and the avant.

The CD, “An Illustrated History”, was recorded in late 2002 and has proven to appeal to audiences across many musical genres. Live performances from the Lizard Lounge and Harper’s Ferry in Boston to CBGB’s in New York to the Waiting room in Burlington, VT have racked up many enthusiastic listeners.

historical illustration

Sunday, April 4, 2010

protect yourself from jazzy violence

violence jazz - protection

noise / free improvisation / experimental

From the bone-chilling sci-fi intro to the mega-bomb drop second track – and then on. And on. – this record is unrepentant.

The Boston-based group deal a hand of fuck-you filled with the free sounds of Ayler and Roland Kirk ...

... the experimental noise and deathmetal violence of the likes of Lightning Bolt, the Melvins, and early Butthole Surfers.

Violence Jazz leave a trail of fans, spent souls, and broken hearts.


protectionism