Free Music Monday: Bull Funk Zoo-"Would You?" Single

Self-Release/Independent
2016

 
"Would You?" is a brand new (name-your-own-price) single courtesy of the unique & largely experimental Dubai project known as Bull Funk Zoo (aka producer, multi instrumentalist, vocalist, and skilled guitarist Assaad Lakkis). It follows a 2013 self-titled album and finds Bull Funk Zoo taking fuzzed out and extremely dirty funk garage rock on a quick (drug-fueled) trip back to the early eighties where alternative/indie music could be anything that you dared to dream up. My original intention was to post this far-out single over the weekend, but this past week or so has been as  funked-up & frenzied as this short and sweet song is! You can (or really most certainly should!) download this fuzzy and fun funk-rock single by heading here and while you are on Bull Funk Zoo's bandcamp page it wouldn't be a bad idea at all to check out the full-length "Bull Funk Zoo". While that album was recorded with the help of a backing band, "Would You?" finds main man Assaad Lakkis going at it alone and doing a smashing job in the process! While this free single won't appeal to every one's tastes, "Would You?" should still be able to find a nice home with fans of gritty/dirty garage rock and fuzzed-covered funk n' roll!

Insect Ark-Portal/Well

Autumnsongs Records
2015



Formed in late 2011, Insect Ark is a one-woman experimental/doom/drone project from NYC-based freelance animator, designer, and musician Dana Schechter. Known for her time spent as a touring bassist with Michael Gira's Angels of Light, Dana Schechter has also recorded and performed with the likes of Botanica, April March, American Music Club, Keren Ann, Bertrand Burgalat, Tarnation, and Toby Dammit! As if that wasn't enough this (frankly amazing) composer/multi-instrumentalist (and California native) also has her own band in Bee and Flower which she put together back in 2000! Tinted about as black as can possibly be without being some sort of black metal experience, "Portal/Well" is Insect Ark’s (dark) full-length debut and sure enough this instrumental soundtrack is every bit as bleak and ominous as one would imagine it to be! This all-powerful recording was assembled piece by loving piece in Dana Schechter's own Brooklyn studio and while it is might just be devoid of spoken word it effortlessly speaks volumes about Dana's skills as both a musician and a producer. Not that there was ever a shadow of a doubt to begin with! Based solely on her touring record as a bassist for hire Dana is arguably one of the most-rounded musicians out there these days with the remarkable "Portal/Well" merely her latest example of music as a living form of art! This ambient and often-times deeply emotionally album follows in the footsteps of 2012's "Collapsar" 7" single and a 2013 EP called "Long Arms" and it was recorded over the course of one year's time. At times the album can have the same jolting effect as a person suddenly dumping a large bucket of screws, nails and bolts onto the floor of a pitch-black windowless room. Other times you can just about pick up on sound that this unearthly creepy crawler makes as it it slowly works it's way over to you inch by maddening inch! Even if it doesn't quite reflect just how far it goes towards disarming your senses that is still how I would go about describing a number "Lowlands". Or at least it's a start. Truthfully this one left me as speechless as it is wordless!  Like all good electronic doom/drone albums "Portal/Well" is all at once eerie, abrasive and nerve-rattling. It also achieves it's goal of haunting you. And that right there is the real charm of such experimental projects as you are never quite sure what to expect other than something unexpected! Seeing as Dana Schechter's impressionable teen years were spent in San Fransisco (where she was surround by and enthusiastically took to that area's legendary heavy metal scene!) the harsh and heavy sound pieces on display here make a lot of sense. Doom metal fans should find much to appreciate when it comes to the album's gloomy title track. As if one nearly seven minute track wasn't enough there's also the imposing "Taalith"! And let's not forget about "Octavia" with it's eight minute plus run-time! Eventually it all leads you to closing number "Low Moon" and as the Insect Ark's first full-length album wraps up you find yourself coming to an important realization. As much as this album serves as a triumphant moment for it's creator (in regards to making a innovative doom/drone sound scape) Insect Art's experimental vision has also created the perfect study of the dark nature of humankind! Having played "Portal/Well" a few times over now this atmospheric work of art is every-bit as clever and intelligent as it is doom-laden! Insect Ark illustrates a story for which no words need to be spoken. There's a outstanding degree of depth here and as a musician and storyteller Dana Schechter is simply brilliant! One can only hope that Insect Ark is not only here to stay, but that it will become more a full-time band with "Portal/Well" simply the first of many great releases! Fore more information on this amazing project be sure to check out Insect Ark's official site.

El Hijo de la Aurora-The Enigma of Evil

Minotauro Records
2015

El Hijo de la Aurora (Son of the Dawn) is an experimental doom metal/psychedelic rock band that was formed in Lima, Peru in may of 2008 by Joaquín Cuadra (ex-Don Juan Matus) and Manolo Garfias (Don Juan Matus, Throne of the Fallen). By December of 2008 the band had issued it's first full-length in the form of "Lemuria" before following it up some two years later with the LP "Wicca: Spells, Magic and Witchcraft Through the Ages". Here it is 2015 and after five years of silence the band has returned with it's third full-length album in the form of "The Enigma of Evil". These days Joaquín Cuadra (drums/FX) is the only original member left and here on the self-produced "The Enigma of Evil" he is not only blessed by the presence of other talented writers and musicians, but several captivating vocalists. Together these wonderful guest players surround Cuadra in a magical circle where the known and unknown universe collide into one explosive fireball! And that's just the musical side of this Lima-based project! Concept-wise, this new album "explores the origin of the cosmos, and how we establish our relationship with the spiritual world", but if you really want to break down even further then try this one on for size. On "The Enigma of Evil" the band (lyrically-speaking) explores "elements of philosophy, occultism, witchcraft, esotericism and spirituality" and that ends up making album number three as heavy vibe-wise as it is sound wise! All of which brings up a really good point when it comes to this Peruvian doom metal band. Not only does El Hijo de la Aurora excel on the sound-stage*, but also in atmospheric sense. I don't mind saying that this one gave me the creeps! Whether that had anything to do with the fact that I listened to this album in the dark while wearing headphones is debatable. What is not open to debate though is the Heavy and Oppressive nature of this LP and how spooky it's vibe is! Even when you take into consideration the experimental nature of this release (see below) we're still staring into the cold dark eyes of one honest to goodness doom metal band so it's bound to be a downward spiral one way or the other! So, what's the ultimate verdict on this one? Frankly-speaking "The Enigma of Evil" works on every level. From it's overall production at the hands of founding member Joaquín Cuadra to it's otherworldly vibe you just can't go wrong with this one my friends. The music is ultimately a heavy take on the early doom scene, but it is also dyed in the vibrant colors of the psychedelic rock and then it is filtered through the horror-cinema soundtracks of yesterday. It's all of this and more while it runs about at night tiptoeing through fields overflowing with death rock, acid rock and stoner rock. This was my very first taste of El Hijo de la Aurora and I'm truly hoping that any and all of our readers who have not yet experienced this Peruvian project first hand will be inspired to try this band out so that you too indulge in the same luxury! This is a great album from a largely unknown band, but here's hoping that we will be haunted by this band for years to come!

*Here on the recommend "The Enigma of Evil" (an album which {incidentally enough my friends}you can get directly from Minotauro Records) Joaquín Cuadra and his fellow conspirators not only tap deep into the vein of classic 70's doom (Black Sabbath, Pentagram, the American band Bang, etc.), but then they try to balance it out with experimental sounds and unconventional instrumentation. Well, the word "try" is not the right word to use at all seeing as El Hijo de la Aurora ended up recording this beautifully haunting mix of all thing seventies doom (see the three bands above for a brief sampling of this occult rock outfits influences) and seventies hard rock/psychedelic rock (Lucifer's Friend, Budgie, Sir Lord Baltimore, B.O.C., etc.) before topping the who magical affair off with the likes of Goblin, Christian Death and Death SS! It's all rather terribly terrific and given the band's use of unusual instruments (at least for a doom metal-type release) such as Tibetan bowls and gongs (which really does point towards the brilliance of Goblin!) it's also an album that is downright spooky and spine-tingling! "The Enigma of Evil" comes across as a refreshingly brilliant listening experience while it simultaneously leaves you with this utterly terrifying sense of dread! This one is not to be missed if you are a fan of experimental/psychedelic doom metal! You can find out more about this band on their Facebook Page.

Chrome-Feel It Like A Scientist

King of Spades Records
2014

Forgive me father for I have sinned. I've gone and sold my soul to Chrome. Not that I had much choice. All it took was one play of the group's long-overdo new album (long-overdo as in over 12 years since the release of "Angels in the Clouds"!) and I was done for! One play. Just one play. That's the power of  "Feel It Like A Scientist" though and for Chrome (a band which started out in 1975 as solo project of musician Damon Edge) this soon to be released new album marks a glorious return for this San Francisco-based experimental rock band! Produced by guitarist, vocalist (and since drummer/vocalist Damon Edge's untimely passing in August of 1995) and bandleader Helios Creed "Feel It Like A Scientist" is as close to greatness as one can come! Or at least as close as Chrome can come to the brilliance of albums like 1977’s "Alien Soundtracks" and 1979’s "Half Machine Lip Moves" (both of which come HIGHLY recommend!). For the uninitiated Chrome were early pioneers of what's come to be known as industrial rock. At the time of it's formation Chrome (or if you will founder Damon Edge) took inspiration from a variety of different sources. On one hand Edge drew from sound art experimentation (with the works of Jon Cage and Allan Kaprow apparently serving as source material) while he was also inspired by the proto-punk sound of The Stooges! Over time and over the course of several albums (as well as the result of vocalist/heavy rock guitarist Helios Creed joining the group in 1976) this experimental rock band fine-tuned their sound until finally excelling at their sport! With the unique convergence of punk rock, psychedelic rock, heavy rock and industrial rock Chrome became the band that stands before mankind now. Original in every sense of the word, both lyrically and in over-stylized execution of their oft-abrasive and avant garde take on punk, this experimental rock band can admittedly be an acquired taste. That should be understood before any hipsters come along and try to claim Chrome as the latest and greatest "thing". Not that Chrome deserves anything less than world-wide status and acclaim. It's more to do with Chrome's long-standing appeal to those who live life on the outside. For as long as there have been tape-traders Chrome's music has appeared on the underground scene and even as a younger man approaching the end of his teenage years I remember this uniquely experimental rock band finding it's way into many homemade mix tapes. I have a girlfriend of old to thank for turning me onto this punk-favorite act (amongst other "experimental" things not to be discussed at this time and place!) and to this day I regret having disposed of not only those mix-tapes, but basket-fulls of others (and yes, it is a BIG regret as there was a lot of underground punk/hardcore, pop punk, goth and industrial rock that I parted with). Still, "Feel It Like A Scientist" has all the appeal of those tape-trading days while finding Creed and company (vocalist Anne Dromeda, guitarist Keith Thompson, bassists Lux Vibratus and Steve Fishman, synthist Tommy Grenas and drummer Aleph Omega) moving onward and upward with style and class! "Feel It Like A Scientist" is a great return for Chrome and one that should make the late great Damon Edge smile where he might be! As a final note these tracks should be heard as a whole even if there are numerous occasions through-out "Feel It Like A Scientist" that almost feel like singles. Collectively these numbers paint a bigger picture and for Chrome this is a sign that the band doesn't need modern society so much as modern society is in desperate need of Chrome!

Aurelio Valle-Acme Power Transmission

Nuevo Leon Recordings
2014

Best known for his time spent with the experimental rock group Calla (a Brooklyn, New York-based band which he founded in the late nineties and continues to front (even if it's been seven years since Calla's last album, 2007's "Strength in Numbers") some seventeen years later!), Aurelio Valle is another modern day artist whose talents are not strictly limited to music. Indeed, Aurelio Valle is a visual artist in addition to being a singer, guitarist and composer and on his self-produced nine-track debut outing he puts all of his skills to the test with the end results falling just short of  the magical marker we've come to know as brilliance! Named after his landlord's auto parts store, "Acme Power Transmission" was amazingly enough recorded in 2013 in Valle's own apartment under an elevated subway line! That bit of knowledge might not come across as all that impressive or innovative, what with the single argument that their are hundreds of similarly sensational (evolutionary experimental) albums which have been recorded in some of the most unusual places, but given the sheer depth of this recording it should not be so easily dismissed! Especially given the circumstances that surround Valle's break from music. Having spent several years away from the underground rock scene (during which time he worked day jobs in both a motorcycle repair and in a tailor shop!) Valle seems to have used the break in the action for his own advantage. Few artists come back so strong, so focused upon recording an album that shadows who they are as an individual. In spite of it's all-too brief length, "Acme Power Transmission" feels fully-evolved. There is a story that needs to be written here as this is one of those rare albums where everything seems fleshed out, moving from one part to another as if Aurelio Valle is drawing a story board to a movie in the making. Musically you could use the term "soundtrack rock" as "Acme Power Transmission" does convey that feeling. More specifically it starts where Calla left off and then ends where myth and realty collide! And it's all by way of eighties synth lines, improvisational brass beats, indie rock, post-punk and what sounds like experimental recording with found instruments. While there is a modern approach to Valle's musical experimentation one almost has to move backwards in time to the late eighties/early nineties when home recordings started to really catch on and magazines such as Alternative Press were providing coverage to a new movement within the avant-garde scene. At any moment I felt as if I could have been transported back to that amazing time thanks to "Acme Power Transmission" and for those who where there you'll understand all too well the magic that was felt when new music started to appear that defied any known classification. Aurelio Valle's solo album is just that, without classification or real form other than to say that it's this (soundtrack music, synth rock, experimental rock, post-punk, goth rock, etc.) and that (seemingly found instrumental, noise pop, electro rock, drone, piano-driven instrumentation, etc.) while so much more! And it's glorious! Bleak yes, but glorious nonetheless. And it's all for he taking...

Swans-To Be Kind

Young God, Mute
2014

In 1982 multi-instrumentalist Michael Gira (formerly of New York post-punk act Circus Mort) put together the innovative Swans. Three years later Ted Parson joined the group as their drummer. Then in 1987, after a few years spent recording and performing with Gira's experimental rock project, Ted Parson went off and joined Tommy Victor's Prong*. Sometime after that (my best bet would be 1989 or 1990) I happened upon a write-up on Prong (in some long-defunct metal fanzine) where, in the long-awaited wraparound piece where we get to the root of this intro, mention was made of the fact that Ted Parson used to play in New York's Swans. My curiously getting the better of me (a all-too-common problem during my teen years that resulted in one misadventure after another!) I sent away from some Swan material (I want to say it was the group's 1984 EP, "Young God", which, ironically enough, didn't include Ted Parsons!) and from that moment on I had a soft spot in my heart for the band's (then harsh!) take on post-punk. Over time I've picked up odds and ends material from the group** although I can honestly say that I haven't paid much attention to what the group has been up to the last 5-10 years. Now I come to find out that the group is on their 13th studio album(!) with the self-produced "To Be Kind" and it is a dozy! Available as a double CD or a 3LP set (how cool is that!!!!), "Too Be Kind" finds 2014-ear Swans in prime form! Long ago abandoning the harsher side of their sound, today's version of Michael Gira's Swans (or should we call it today's vision of Swans?) focuses on memorizing passages, experimental rock movements and subtle nuances to achieve a broader vision. Over two hours in length, "To Be Kind" is nothing short of an adventure with artificial sounds mingling with strings, brass and "traditional" rock/post-rock instrumentation. There's primitive blues rock notations stacked side-by-side with the band's synth-heavy early work (pointing towards Swans post-Kraftwerk inspirations) and within this man-made masterpiece of experiment rock and roll one can't help but notice how Gira simply is not afraid to take the group's music wherever it happens to please him. That is an admirable quality to have, but unlike far-too-many experimental rock albums (where the message is lost somewhere along the way and said ambitions end up being washed away thanks to an out of control picture of what works well in theory but not necessarily in practice!) a double album like "To Be Kind" actually works as both a statement and a soundtrack! This one isn't just experimental, expanded far beyond the reach and normal expectations of post-rock, it's enjoyable as Gira is a master at creating music with heartfelt sentimentalization. For Swans fans Gira has been building towards a release such as this one, but for those who might be dropping by unexpectedly "To Be Kind" might be a surprise, a real awakening to the awe-struck capability of this long-running New York post rock project. For someone like me, having been exposed prior to "To Be Kind" to both sides of this coin that is the Swans,  expectations that it would be good were squashed early on by the reality that we might just be looking at one of the greatest musical acts to EVER come out of New York! In fact I actually found myself wondering if a band like Swans isn't the real face of modern day rock and roll, illuminating not only New York night sky, but far beyond our boarders and out into the world. What other (currently-active) rock band compares? U2? Not even close. Coldplay? You've got to be joking! No one can touch the brilliance of this act or "To Be Kind", one of 2014's BEST releases! There are a millions reasons for "To Be Kind" to be on everyone's lips, but are we beyond that point as a society thanks to the pure dredge that is broadcast on the airwaves? One has to wonder. You and I though can make a difference. "To Be Kind" is an appropriate title. To be kind to today's generation and save them from themselves we must give the gift that keeps on giving-good music. Purge society of generic pop and silly crap that is passed off as "rock". Take down corporate radio and replace it with a real message of hope. Has today's generation been brainwashed past the point of no return? Only we have the power to find out. So pick up "To Be Kind" and join the fight to save rock music from those who would corrupt it, maybe even destroy it for greed and huge profits.

*Prong also has a new album out for 2014 which I hope to review within the next day or two.

**At one point I had lots of Swans on cassette (both "official" and tapped) as well as on CD (same deal!). If now pressed though I would be in trouble if I had to find it. Somewhere between moving from our old apartment to our first house and then (post-divorce and forced to downsize) moving from our house to my current location I misplaced a ton of music. It's likely still here somewhere, but considering the size of our new place (and by "our" I mean the kids and I) I can't be sure where I put it all!