Monday, October 13, 2008
Bullets From The Belfry Zorch Factory Special
So, anyway, trawling around my list of links, e-mails subscriptions and Blog reader whatsits I come across a lone line advertising a free download of a French band Camp Z's 6 track ep. Whoaw...free, I gasp.."This last release mixes electronic backgrounds along with dark feelings, raw guitars and post punk energy!" says the blurb...colour me interested - I've sort of rediscovered the whole French/Euro coldwave genre of the 80's as of late and have subsequently kicked myself at being so damnably Anglo-centric in my musical gleanings in those bad old days - ok, there was no internet, and the genre was largely ignored by the (Brit/USA) press of the day any mention of which was probably quickly passed by by the likes of I (not being able to see anything in the flesh as it were, also didn't help), I mean, I thought Plastic Bertrand was all there was!! So, consequently I devote the latest Bullets From the Belfry (and this blog) to Zorch!
Subsequent investigation led me to Zorch Factory Records and their eclectic stable of artistes from Europe (and other parts of the globe) in the dark indie/goth/deathrock/postpunk/coldwave/electronica field of things that i generally immerse myself in. Headed up by Manu, member of aforementioned CampZ, his dream to present a forum, a home, a promotional tool for some of the many truly independent artists forging out into the interwastes trying to elevate themselves to better things. All the material is published under Creative Common License free to download. His aim to create a fanbase for the bands so that interest is tweaked, demands made and the music industry swings their way, whether interest by some established label or enough interest is created to make music sales of future product viable. Manu's dream is based on love, not profit, the artists free to move on to greener pastures when their boat comes in!
After hastily glomming the CampZ goodies : a dark buzzsaw caterwaul of postpunk excess- with strong leanings back to coldwave, overlaid with Manu's harsh, angry vocals - no fake Brit/Amerikan tones here....without meaning to sound condescending, the French accent is perfect for this music! I went for the rest with glee.
Joy Disaster, also from France have a recent live concert recorded in Italy up for grabs. I suppose any band described as postpunk and having 'Joy' in their name is going to be compared with, ah, Joy Division...well yes, the comparisons are there, perhaps an early JD, maybe even Warsaw rather, harsh, brash, angry (I entertain the notion that if Warsaw formed today and listened to Interpol a lot...) Cyclic, all music is cyclic but in doing so it does not have to imitate, re-invention is part of the game, re-interpretation, it does not have to cater to some fixed audience to 'fill a dance floor' ( She Wants Revenge....pheeggh!!!). I take emotion over polish any fucking day - I see big things for Joy Disaster.
Mmmmmm, Mexican goth/punk/deathrock, I love it, ever since I frightened folk off the dancefloor with the likes of Los Meurtes Vivientes and the Ultrasonicas! The Acid Bats have a couple of releases on Zorch Factory, an 8 track ep, 'Exhumacion' and a earlier demo recording...fabulous stuff, can't wait to ever be invited back into a dj booth with this in my must play box!! (If I promise to play at least one She Whines Revenge track, can I ? Can I???)
The more eclectic Crimson Muddle do a wonderful cover of Joy Divisions 'Means To an End' on their ep, their sound veering into almost steampunk territory, but still with that endearing coldwave feel.Lamentations Psychotiques and Nuit d'Octobre round off the ep in a darkly whimsical manner.
On and on, it's like stumbling into a sweet shop of delights, Les Modules Estranges evoke the spirit of Siouxsie Sioux on tracks like Crash, Cocteau twins on say Am I Blind. lovely vocals, fragile guitar, veering toeards but not drowning in shoegazer territory. More tracks including remixes are available here.
From Spain come the enigmatically titled Red Crayon Aristocratic Club, think Yeah Yeah Yeahs meets Ladytron whilst picking up The Cranes on the way... A splendid cover of The Clash's 'Stay Free' is a gem on the cd.
Germany's Monozid have 2 ep's available on the Zorch Factory site, think postpunk, think Chameleons, early Psychedelic Furs, Wire here.
Rounding off the podcast this week- The Trespass, perhaps the most traditional goth/deathrock band on Zorch,' traditional' being a misnomer really in that their roots are solid postpunk, a bit of Echo and the Bunnymen lilting through their epically sweeping songs.
All in all, a valuable cause to support..and download, and hopefully, eventually, lay hard cash down for! Zorch Factory Records, Bullets From the Belfry salutes you!!
Labels:
alternative,
bullets,
camp z,
coldwave,
deathrock,
electronica,
goth,
manik,
NBT,
post punk,
Zorch
Friday, October 3, 2008
Some Funnies etc
So, I'm working with one Mr Chislett on some writings that he has put to paper..I've turned one of em...so far, into a webcomic.....read it here: The Chizz..
Meanwhile, here are some humorous asides:
The wee jet there was snapped by an old friend of mine at a recent airshow in Scotland... the Suffragette pic I nicked off the web somewhere, I saw it and it begged dialog....
Meanwhile, here are some humorous asides:
The wee jet there was snapped by an old friend of mine at a recent airshow in Scotland... the Suffragette pic I nicked off the web somewhere, I saw it and it begged dialog....
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Bullets From the Belfry
I have to use this thing more-it has value...
Henceforth those that read it will be regaled by my doings on the podcast I host.
That's Bullets From the Belfry, by the way. We're up to episode 8, after a wee break due to technical problems on the German side.....
This cast has only 4 artists, but good ones indeed..First up on the show is a band called Apteka, from Chicago...not to be confused with a Polish group a few years ago with the same name. This Apteka describes themselves as psychedelic rock, I would compare them with Serena Maneesh on one side, perhaps a more spikey early My Bloody Valentine on the other. excellent tunage ranging from the rocky The Sheet to a more winsome If You Were Here (both featured on the podcast and downloadable from their site). They have a furious touring schedule and this polish shows on their tunage. Oddly enough they haven't an album out yet....get a move on lads!!
Next up on Bullets 8 is a young chap from Pretoria, AnDroidgeny is his projects name and as the name suggests, expect a sleazily robotic techno-fused sound. There's a lot of ebm/idm/techno originating in Pretoria at the moment, projects like Cyvergence and Nul for example, are certainly a help getting me over my disdain for most things 4x4 beat driven and dance-floor orientated. Bullets 8 features two tracks from AnDroidGeny, Little Girls Are Evil and Blood Addiction , both designed around a Pied Piper call to the kind of sweaty hedonism The Henkie (AnDroidGeny) likes to create in his club events.
The Funeral and The Twilight are more my style, infusing a post-punk sound with heavy dollops of American Gothic, the vocals snaking through the songs, snarling and shrieking in places, telling tales of despair, society..well, life really. The vocals bring to mind the late Jeffrey Lee Pierce of Gun Club fame and Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds as does the music, a howling swampy brew best served with the moonshine of your choice. The two tracks on Bullets 8 are the rocking Down By the Sea and the (deceptably- till the howling starts ;-p) mellower I Have Returned To You. Again, nothing relaesed as yet but all their songs are downloadable from their Myspace site.
Last up on Bullets From the Belfry 8 is an industrial project from Switzerland, Blue Screams of Death. Now I have a beef with 'industrial', or rather what passes for the genre today (dance floor fodder-blah). Blue Screams revives my interest in industrial by making it experimental, innovative, thinking music as opposed to lets-get-the-kids-on-the-floor with monotonous beats and gutteral German lyrics (ooh, sooo daaaangerous!). Blue Screams of Death use found objects, drones, musical intruments (in interesting ways) and voice to build soundscapes dark and massive, brooding and moody.Involved in the project is one Martin Jacklin, poet, singer and writer. Martin is involved in several musical projects, some of which I hope to feature on future episodes of Bullets. I've included The Great Machine is Dead and Farewell to Your Arms as a mere sample of what Blue Screams of Death is about.
Henceforth those that read it will be regaled by my doings on the podcast I host.
That's Bullets From the Belfry, by the way. We're up to episode 8, after a wee break due to technical problems on the German side.....
This cast has only 4 artists, but good ones indeed..First up on the show is a band called Apteka, from Chicago...not to be confused with a Polish group a few years ago with the same name. This Apteka describes themselves as psychedelic rock, I would compare them with Serena Maneesh on one side, perhaps a more spikey early My Bloody Valentine on the other. excellent tunage ranging from the rocky The Sheet to a more winsome If You Were Here (both featured on the podcast and downloadable from their site). They have a furious touring schedule and this polish shows on their tunage. Oddly enough they haven't an album out yet....get a move on lads!!
Next up on Bullets 8 is a young chap from Pretoria, AnDroidgeny is his projects name and as the name suggests, expect a sleazily robotic techno-fused sound. There's a lot of ebm/idm/techno originating in Pretoria at the moment, projects like Cyvergence and Nul for example, are certainly a help getting me over my disdain for most things 4x4 beat driven and dance-floor orientated. Bullets 8 features two tracks from AnDroidGeny, Little Girls Are Evil and Blood Addiction , both designed around a Pied Piper call to the kind of sweaty hedonism The Henkie (AnDroidGeny) likes to create in his club events.
The Funeral and The Twilight are more my style, infusing a post-punk sound with heavy dollops of American Gothic, the vocals snaking through the songs, snarling and shrieking in places, telling tales of despair, society..well, life really. The vocals bring to mind the late Jeffrey Lee Pierce of Gun Club fame and Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds as does the music, a howling swampy brew best served with the moonshine of your choice. The two tracks on Bullets 8 are the rocking Down By the Sea and the (deceptably- till the howling starts ;-p) mellower I Have Returned To You. Again, nothing relaesed as yet but all their songs are downloadable from their Myspace site.
Last up on Bullets From the Belfry 8 is an industrial project from Switzerland, Blue Screams of Death. Now I have a beef with 'industrial', or rather what passes for the genre today (dance floor fodder-blah). Blue Screams revives my interest in industrial by making it experimental, innovative, thinking music as opposed to lets-get-the-kids-on-the-floor with monotonous beats and gutteral German lyrics (ooh, sooo daaaangerous!). Blue Screams of Death use found objects, drones, musical intruments (in interesting ways) and voice to build soundscapes dark and massive, brooding and moody.Involved in the project is one Martin Jacklin, poet, singer and writer. Martin is involved in several musical projects, some of which I hope to feature on future episodes of Bullets. I've included The Great Machine is Dead and Farewell to Your Arms as a mere sample of what Blue Screams of Death is about.
Monday, June 9, 2008
fishcakes
Well, after successfully deleting the comment i was working on!!
anyway, as you were, or I was, rather...
I said, time flies, working on the Bullets From the Belfry thang (where loadsa good music's going down, btw)amongst other things. Getting the old comic/cartoon muscle going with redrawing Mr C Visser's Hunters storyline..here's page 2 for your perusal: see right....................
Otherwise, I'm sitting, sulking, nursing a soggy case of bronchitis..moan, moan
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
remake remodel
or something.....
Seems i'm missing out by not utilizing the blogsphere!! Everyone's doing it (and it's good for you!!) - even me?!?!? er, here,
which goes hand in hand with my podcast (whhooo, more netsploitation): and even newer but something that will develop with vim and bile ...
Do I hate music? No, I love it, but I despise the shallow bog it has mutated into...
Sorry, back to here..seems I can , as others, put up my measly artistic endevours that spew from my pencil from time to time - as I am currently, as it were, contractless, I am not in the habit of the diligent scribble, but who knows, perhaps by bunging stuff here it may inflame the fitful spark of creativity to workable heights and I can get in an extra six-pack on occasion..
Here for example, a friend posted a link on a forum I subscribe to and I thought of a local connotation for the situation....
I'll do some more when the wind blows in the right direction....or I'll dig through the debris on my desk and find some previous situational malarkey...
Seems i'm missing out by not utilizing the blogsphere!! Everyone's doing it (and it's good for you!!) - even me?!?!? er, here,
which goes hand in hand with my podcast (whhooo, more netsploitation): and even newer but something that will develop with vim and bile ...
Do I hate music? No, I love it, but I despise the shallow bog it has mutated into...
Sorry, back to here..seems I can , as others, put up my measly artistic endevours that spew from my pencil from time to time - as I am currently, as it were, contractless, I am not in the habit of the diligent scribble, but who knows, perhaps by bunging stuff here it may inflame the fitful spark of creativity to workable heights and I can get in an extra six-pack on occasion..
Here for example, a friend posted a link on a forum I subscribe to and I thought of a local connotation for the situation....
I'll do some more when the wind blows in the right direction....or I'll dig through the debris on my desk and find some previous situational malarkey...
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