Ariana Natale’s video for yuk’s “bigbright h i g h” wears its colors with pride. A woman lies almost lifeless on a tie dyed sheet, next to a swimming pool. A melted red Popsicle lies flat in her hand. This almost looks like one of the murder tableaux from “Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer,” but it is soon clear that the only thing that has killed the woman is the heat. Melted Popsicles of many colors, tie dyed textiles, and vibrant scarfs bring delight to the eye. The imagery is a perfect compliment to the compressed, electronic psychedelia of yuk.
The first Telecult Powers grimore to be released on vinyl, Zion Traveler is an aural document of the Brooklyn/New Orleans duo’s continued trans-plutonian explorations. Hand-crafted synth-gun boxes faciliate psychedelic drone/avant-garde/noise dialogue between “Witchbeam,” “Mister Matthews,” and the cosmic others, transcending astral planes through thought broadcast.
On “Space Through Thoughts,” low frequency sine wave drones grind against faster oscillations. The combination stimulates an out-of-body time/space warp, and communication between supersensible entities is further enhanced by visual means: some chilling footage of New Orleans, which tends to dance on the dark side. The duo’s message remains cryptic, but its way of teetering on the edge of doom suggests that Telecult Powers’ clairvoyance is not to be taken lightly. Hear a second track from the album, “Spirt Telephone,” below, along with an introduction from Witchbeam:
“Please note that ‘Spirit Telephone’ hasn’t been recorded yet, but will be in 2436 AD. We used a special telecult/advanced hoodootronix technique of channeling it from the future.”–Witchbeam
These days, nothing puts a smile on my face faster than a nice, sweet song surprise in the Visitation Rites inbox, especially during long, glum days like these. Luckily, Sacramento, CA’s Buk Buk Bigups video for “Raver Nation” seems meant to lift spirits on a gloomy rain filled day. The absurd imagery of a nameless band — featuring, among other absurdities, The Hamburglar on banjo — makes no profound artistic statement that I am aware of, but it perfectly accompanies the band’s bouncy synths and goofy guitar rhythms. I’ll confess to never having attended an actual ‘rave’, but “Raver Nation” sounds like what I’d always hoped one would be, everybody dancing together as if it were everyone’s birthday.
Words: Marc Picciolo
Check out more from The Buk Buk Bigups over at Bandcamp
Jonah Maurer (Family Portrait, Real Estate) and Michael McGregor (Meadowlands, Chocolate Bobka) identify Free Spirit not so much as a band or a project, but as a state of mind — a trajectory of the kind of lucid, stream-of-consciousness improvisation that occurs under the influence of lowered inhibitions and between the hours of midnight and daybreak. Final songs are cut from such play/record sessions, overdubbing and effects are added later, and accompanying videos are typically created in less than an hour. Each time the pair of Greenpoint, Brooklyn neighbors come together as Free Spirit, the results are unplanned, instrumental reflections of the mood and moon — stemming from spontaneous intuition and an environment completely void of expectation.
“The Event” makes for an intrinsically calming and intimate experience, guided by classically rooted keyboard chord progressions and sedately reverberating guitar melodies. (Think: relaxing to Paul Winter’s Callings, save the animal sounds). In line with the Free Spirit ethos, the video candidly appreciates quiet moments of personal transcendence. In escaping the demands of extrinsic factors, we may find that the most fulfilling “events” are those experienced alone, occurring from within. Free Spirit can take you there.
In a continuation of their phenomenal Vision Version video series, Dublab captured this ethereal clip from the currently dormant L.A. Ladies Choir. The choir, which has featured Los Angeles staples such as Anna Oxygen and Diva Dompe, encouraged members to “sing joyfully.” All the joy that is here is bittersweet. The rich echo of the collective voices melds together in a truly ominous moment. The clip, which was shot on a ship wreck installation at Echo Park arts space Machine Project, feels like it might be the delirious vision of a sailor as he succumbs to death by drowning. The singers, whose faces are often shot in extreme close-up, give detached performances worthy of Bressonian models. Although the lyrics are a mantra revolving around spiritual healing, the sinking ship at the clip’s end suggests imminent demise. Is salvation only attainable in another life?
A title like “Boneyard” may sound strange and foreboding, but this video clip for Flower Orgy’s new single spends its entirety as a goofball tribute to a carefree Summer’s day. Nate Luce, the lead singer/guitarist of the Brooklyn trio, accompanies the song’s psychedelic jaunt with disparate, collage-like clips of the band dancing their way through apartment hallways and burning through endless amounts of cigarettes. A description of the band’s forthcoming cassette on the Fire Talk website tells us that ”Flower Orgy makes the kind of laid back jams your mom might have smoked a joint to.” The band certainly live up to that description in the song’s thrashy yet laid-back charm. The final image of the clip is a picture of a mug that reads, “AT TIMES LIFE IS PURE JOY!” By the end of “Boneyard,” most listeners will have to agree.
As the Summer heat continues to bring life to a tumultuous boiling point, why not put on some loopy psychedelic music to match the mood? Heat Wave, the new project from Deep Magic and Sun Araw’s Alex Gray, serves up some maniacally screwed sampledelica. The video is a warbly pastiche of B movie imagery, continuing in the tradition of surreal overlays that the Deep Tapes brand is known for.
Words: Samantha Cornwell
Heat Wave’s Stasis 1 tape is available now from Deep Tapes
Last Summer, I interviewedDillon James Rego, who records under the name Alaskas, just as he was about to move from Seattle to Brooklyn. Since then, Rego has made the most of his relocation, playing out and continuing to produce music at a startling pace. He informed me via email that he recorded 100 songs in April– some of which you can hear on his Feral mixtape and his recent Proof cassette, which is available via Bandcamp. He recently released his first 7″ on Crikey Records, “Walk on Walls” b/w “The Felon.” Additionally, Rego and artist Teague Smith have collaborated on a music video for “The Felon,” the b-side.
One of the results of this recent flurry of activity is the above video for “Play Rough,” directed by Levi Mandel and shot in one continuous take with a lengthy spoken word voice-over that abruptly turns into a live performance. We are presented with a run-down of the aspirations and shortcomings of DIY culture, with Rego’s candid monologue putting to words and music the idealism as well as the banalities of poverty level cultural practice. Rego displays the unvarnished simplicity of his musical approach against a stark background, his deeply felt vocals layered and looped over a basic percussion track. His performance suggests an understanding of creative expression is always an overt act of ego, and his balance of theatricality, candor, and off-kilter charm make “Play Rough” a compelling document.
Words: Max Burke
“Walk on Walls” b/w “The Felon” is out now on vinyl and digital from Crikey Records. A digital download of Feral is included with purchase of the record
Regal Degal’s “The Friday That Never Happened” embodies the slacker aesthetic down to its last sing-spoken, blasé utterance. Fans of Beat Happening and certain items in Sonic Youth’s catalog will find some solace here. With its minimalist set and offbeat dance performers, the video they made for the track continues to pay homage to ’90s indie rock. What makes the clip stand out is its play on persepective. The screen is split to show us two video renderings of the same performance, supposedly shot with cameras attached to the performers’ heads. Framing the image on the top and bottom are squished bars, mirroring the two central image tracks. This is indeed a lo-fi play on latter day Hype Williams.
Words: Samantha Cornwell
Regal Degal’s Speckled Fruit EP is available for free on their website
Life on the internet often involves taking on many personas. How dull would it be if we always had to be ourselves? Sometimes these personas are born for the sake of a user’s amusement, but sometimes they come out of necessity. Recently I took on a new persona for the very necessary purpose of protecting my good name. I will not reveal that alias here, but I will tell you that she is also a writer, and the material that she covers has taken me down some strange paths. Interestingly enough, she took me to The New Wave Theatre very recently. The New Wave Theatre was a Los Angeles based public access show in the early 1980s. It became a spot on the television dial for local (and not so local) punk, new wave, and other weirdness. The broadcasts featured live performances by bands that went on to have huge followings, such as Black Flag and X, and bands that we barely heard from again. Much of these performances are available on YouTube. Here are some of my favorites:
Heroic Struggles, “I’m Life”
There isn’t much info out there on this band, but the singer might be the king of anti-charisma. The oboe breaks get me every time…
45 Grave, “Wax”
While I don’t approve of her tasteless pun of a name, Dinah Cancer and co make some incredible off tune punk music, with classic “barely trying” vocals. This rubs my teen angst button in just the right way.
Oblong Rhondas, Performance of “Sleep” by Voice Farm
When you say “New Wave interpretive dance troupe” I say “why am I not doing this at every show?”
Ju Ju Hounds, “Up From The Deep”
Looking for some Liquid Sky vibes? Well, you came to the right place. Top it off with some Elvis tinged vocal vamping, and you’ve got something special. Ju Ju Hounds might have been blowing up when this performance was shot, but there is very little info about them online. For now, this video will have to suffice.
