Terje Rypdal - 'Descendre'

Going to try summarizing what I've been listening to for the past 2 years...until I get bored anyways. Winter always gets me in a jazz mood, especially ECM stuff. This label specializes in clinically-produced, note-perfect jazz that a lot of people find too sterile. That's true if you stick with stuff like Pat Metheny and Oregon, but a lot of the Scandinavian artists featured on the label are pretty innovative.

Terje Rypdal is a Norwegian jazz-fusion guitarist with several albums out on ECM. The double-LP 'Odyssey' is maybe his best work, but I think this one from 1979 distills that album's best ideas into a one-album set, without any 20-minute ambient soundscapes. Despite that, it's still very dreamy. Although Rypdal developed his style in a totally different time, his playing is very shoegazey.

According to the information I can find, most of his recorded material is at least partially improvised, which is pretty impressive considering how focused the mood here is. Well, it's not just here...most of his work has a late-night, creepy vibe, that would be taken to extremes by dark-jazz groups like Bohren and Der Club of Gore in the 2000's.

Good stuff to zone out to. I'd recommend it even if you're not a jazz fan, because this reminds me a lot of post-rock, which makes sense because a lot of the best post-rock seems to come from Scandinavia as well.

Terje Rypdal - 'Descendre' - 1979

Tracklist:

1. Avskjed
2. Circles
3. Descendre
4. Innseiling
5. Men of Mystery
6. Speil

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Rockin' Rollin' Blues Band - 'Wild and Untamed'

Here's another one of those random private press LP's that seems to have disappeared from the web. From what I can tell, I got it off the Cosmic Hearse blog a while back, which unfortunately looks like it's dead. Shame, cuz that guy posted some insane stuff.

This record isn't 'insane' per se, but it's pretty strange. Probably, it's a snapshot of a local band recorded in some friend's studio, but it still puts the listener into an interesting moment in time. For one thing, this band seems very 'out of touch' with what was going on (it was apparently released in '73.) In an era dominated by hard rock, these guys/gals were cranking out 50's rockabilly-influenced bar jams. But, a few of the members (specifically the guitarist) are clearly influenced by the hard rock/heavy metal of, say, Deep Purple. So, it's an unusual mix. I might go so far as to call a couple of these cuts 'proto-punk.'

Then there are the vocals. To say that they 'aren't very good' doesn't really do them justice. Sure, they aren't 'technically' good, but they are interesting at the very least. There is a guy and girl, who sometimes sing together, but often take different sections of songs. The girl's voice almost has an operatic quality sometimes, and the guy is a little gruff but mostly smooth. Neither sounds like they give too much of a shit. Judging by the cut-up pictures that serve as the album cover, I'd say these are probably some drugged-out bikers.

I'm also factoring the lyrics into this judgement, because they have this kinda backwoods vibe to them...not like they intentionally wanted to conjure this up but that they couldn't help but pull it into their music.

So, maybe that makes this album a little more 'authentic' blues than a lot of other 70's stuff? I dunno. But, if you like sloppy, trashy blues rock like Janis when she was with Big Brother, then you will probably dig this. The guitarist is really good at least, and a couple of their songs are pretty catchy.

No track names, sorry, apparently they were lost in time.

Rockin' Rollin' Blues Band - 'Wild and Untamed'

DL

Lewis - 'L'Amour'

This is one of those private press LP's that mostly got re-discovered because of its silly cover. But, that cover, coupled with the strange music within, makes this guy seem almost like a David Lynch character.

The music is fairly subdued...mostly acoustic guitars and odd synthesizers, with Lewis' deep voice overlaid. Someone on RateYourMusic has described it as 'Jandek covering the 'Twin Peaks' theme,' which isn't far off the mark. It's very mellow, but also kind of creepy...slightly amateurish, but also fully realized, which is unique for a vanity release.

I don't really know much else to say about it...it's not entirely 'my thing,' but it's also very unique and interesting to my ears. Maybe you will like it.

Lewis - 'L'Amour'

Tracklist:

1. I Thought the World of You
2. Cool Night in Paris
3. My Whole Life
4. Even Rainbows Turn Blue
5. Like to See You Again
6. Things Just Happen That Way
7. Summer's Moon
8. Let's Fall in Love Tonight
9. Love Showered Me
10. Romance for You

DL

Dennis Weise - 'Valhalla'

Here's another album that seems to have disappeared from the face of the internet. I think I probably got it off the Mutant Sounds blog back in the day (credit where credit's due) but obviously that link is long-gone. So, here ya go.

This is really fucking strange stuff. The first time I heard it, I assumed it was some obscure library release, because it's pretty heavy on the analog synths and soundtrack vibes. But, it's apparently not that...it's a private press release that is intended to be an 'album.' More or less, it's almost like an outsider music version of Faust or something. This guy clearly digs krautrock but the musicianship is amateurish. Songs go nowhere, and often do about-faces for no particular reason.

When it's good, though (as on 'Alien Rock') it is VERY good. A must hear for all fans of 70's private press weirdness, the Residents, or library music. Also, the track subtitled '93rd Current' would seem to indicate that Weise is either a fan of Aleister Crowley, or he has some connection to the group Current 93 (who weren't formed til '82...about 4 years after this record came out)

Dennis Weise - 'Valhalla'

Tracklist:

1. Machine Time Ship
2. Y M Alim-Kader
3. Breathe the Form
4. Alien Rock
5. Hedonic Rapture
6. The Big Apple Mystery
7. The Return of the Akpallus Mutants (Part A)
8. The Return of the Akpallus Mutants (Part B) - 93rd Current
9. Valhalla

DL

Obscuro! Mixtape #11...'Spring in yo soul'

Another week, another mixtape. This one's in the theme of spring. I seem to listen to a lot of soul and funk around this time of year, mostly because it's so goddamn laid back. There's a lot more 'classics' than obscurities here, but that's alright. I don't think you can hear 'Little Child, Runnin' Wild' too many times in your life. Anyhow. Here it is, for your listening pleasure. Mixed together into one long 60-minute track, like the last few mixtapes.

Obscuro! Mixtape #11 - 'Spring in yo soul' by Bizarrojerry on Mixcloud