Posted on Saturday 19 September 2009
I’ve been really enjoying the Early Day Miners new album, Treatment
In celebration of that show and their new album I got in touch with the band to give me 5 Albums that they’re digging from the past and present. Lots of good suggestions and stuff I myself need to seek out.
Stars of The Lid – “The Ballasted Orchestra”
I found this in the stacks at Waterloo Records while visiting a girlfriend who lived in Austin, TX. It had just been released (1998) and it was one of those LP’s you buy because it looks intriguing and mysterious. I had no idea what it sounded like. It became the soundtrack of my week-long visit. 18 minute +, one and two chord drones that induce a feeling of warmth and melancholy. It rained the entire trip and we welcomed it on her front porch couch with bourbon in our hands and SOTL on the hi-fi. Later I was astonished to find out this was recorded entirely on a Yamaha MT-120 four-track cassette deck. I had one of those in my closet. My soulmate Jackie and I have spent a lot of time blissing out to this record over the years.
Public Enemy – “Fear of a Black Planet”
In the early days of magnetic tape, Luening, Ussachevsky, Stocakhausen, Shaeffer and countless lesser-knowns documented experimeriments on the medium that revealed timbres and textures unknown to human ears. Their work exploded attitudes about the expressive potential of sound reproduction. In the history of rock and roll music, there are two groups that facilitated the most visceral manifestations of this potential: The Beatles and Public Enemy. Where the Beatles pioneered expert use of technology to subtly animate familiar worlds and create a hyper-reality of fulfilled expectation, Public Enemy chose to dismantle accepted sonic constructs and rearrange them into dense, confrontational patterns via drum machine, sampler and turntable. Although “It Takes a Nation of Millions…” may stand as the groups more iconic work, “Fear of Black Planet” is their strongest. Much like “Sgt. Pepper” provided a summary of the collective consciousness of 1967, “Fight The Power” served as a radical crystalization of culture that hasn’t been matched since.
Cocteau Twins- “Treasure”
Music you hear in your dreams. Siren-like female voices chanting unrecognizable lyrics with droney, murky guitars and sharp drum machines that you hear in your heart, not your head. Voices are used as an instrument. Do we really care what the voices are saying to us? Not as long as they keep singing. Timeless and otherworldly, this is not a band, it is a milestone in post-modern music. 1984 never sounded so good. Your journey begins here.
Kate Bush – “The Dreaming”
When I’ve put this record on I’ve been asked, “What ARE you listening to?” This album is quite simply one of the most exciting and stimulating listens ever! The album varies drastically in style from song to song and even within songs. The songs are so weird and dense and yet still so catchy. Kate’s voice is rich and impassioned. You can hear her vocal chords shredding at times. The album’s mysteries and complexities demand repeated listens!
Julee Cruise – “Floating into the Night”
Angelo Badalementi and David Lynch have had some great collaborations, but this is the strongest. A complete journey of an album down lost, forested highways deep into the night. This could have ended up being an easy listening venture, but there is an edgy undercurrent throughout that results in a pretty avant adventure. The entire record has an even, sizzle-ride flow, which makes the moments where everything falls apart that much more powerful. Tremolo guitar has never sounded so good and Julee’s voice is otherworldly.
Buy: Early Day Miners – Treatment
MP3: Early Day Miners – “So Slowly”