An Anthology Of Chinese Experimental Music 1992-2008



Just to fancy your tickle, here's a great compilation that may introduce you to some more inspirational people.

This was released in 2009 on the really quite brilliant Sud Rosa label. This is the Belgian label created by Guy Marc Hinant responsible for the utterly sublime "Anthology Of Noise & Electronic Music" series (if you don't know it...trust me, you need it!). Check Sub Rosa here!

1-01 Li Chin Sung - Somewhere 10:33
1-02 Zenlu - Zen 9:19
1-03 Bai Tian - Wet 4:05
1-04 Cheewei - Evening Has Arrived 8:02
1-05 Lim Giang - ??? 8:41
1-06 Ang Song Ming - Book Radio Mixer 3:02
1-07 Chung-Han Yao - Untitled 5:02
1-08 Goh Lee Kwang - Frong Spraying 3:42
1-09 Wu Quan - Weather Forest 5:04
1-10 Me:mo - Pro.A 4:30
1-11 Wang Jong-Kuen - Leaving 5:40
1-12 Dajuin Yao - Psycho Realm 5:29

Disc 1

2-01 Sun Dawei - Crawing State 4:14
2-02 Nara - Dream A Little Dream 6:54
2-03 WFDD - Sin 8:36
2-04 Stingrays - 061020 5:18
2-05 Dennis Wong - Para_dot 5:12
2-06 Fathmount - A Yoke Of Oxen 4:56
2-07 PNF - Chi 3:11
2-08 Li Wen Tai - Eat 4:57
2-09 Shenggy - Junggy 's Decay 3:05
2-10 Ronez - Kikusui Back 4:57
2-11 Zhou Ri Sheng - Noise God 7:22
2-12 Fish - Rusty Crane Keelong 4:46

Disc 2

3-01 Torturing Nurse - Fugitive 14:46
3-02 Wang Fan - Zero 6:28
3-03 Wuwei & Ulrich Morits - Toy Ships 2:48
3-04 Xper. Xr. & The Orphic Orchestra - Hickory Dickory Dock 1:01
3-05 Hong Qile - J Gmc 8:00
3-06 Ying Fan - L2255 Mix 3:58
3-07 Dead J - Untitled 3:49
3-08 Z.S.L.O. - 422189 3:09
3-09 Jedung Kying - Dabao 3:01
3-10 Tats Lau - Face The Antagonish 2:53
3-11 Li Jianhong - Sod 5:32
3-12 Dino - Untitled 6:45

Disc 3

4-01 Wang Changcun - Through The Tide Of Faces 4:59
4-02 D!O!D!O!D! - A Dark Knife 5:36
4-03 Yan Jun - Its More Than Enough 5:35
4-04 Loga - 620 9:22
4-05 Pei - Bird Lady 7:43
4-06 Eric Lin - Untitled 3:10
4-07 Alice Hui-Sheng Chang - There She Is, Standing And Walking On Her Own 3:59
4-08 Ching Shen Ching - V-zone 7:25
4-09 Dancing Stone - Two 2:13
4-10 Illuminated 6.6.6. - Enjoy The Silence 6:06
4-11 Juno - Possiblilities 3:18
4-12 Simon Ho - 5 6:53

Disc 4

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Li-Jianhong



Li-Jianhong is at the leading edge of Asian avant-noise. Hailing from Zhejiang Province in China (before moving to Hangzhou) he formed the avant-rock group "Second Skin" and now manages 2pi Records. He lays waste to the retrograde psychedelic guitar landscape and trivializes the petty cartoon violence and shock tactics so popular within too many harsh noise projects.

P.S.F. records describe him as "China's hottest, loudest and most psychedelic avant-noise guitarist". I can't add to that.

Listen...buy...worship!

2004 - Li-Jianhong - RTV-702 [2pi records]
2004 - 李劍鴻 - Talking Freely Before The Beginning [2pi records]
2005 - Li-Jianhong - Drama Script [2pi records]
2007 - Li Jianhong & Itta & Marqido - See You New World [2pi records]
2008 - 李劍鴻 - 三生石 (San Sheng Shi) [archive]
2009 - Li Jianhong - 山海経 (Classic Of The Mountains And Seas) [psf records]
2009 - Li-Jianhong - Lovers With Cloisonné Bracelet (lp) [tipped bowler tapes]








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Spykes - GI Style 94-98



You might have gotten the impression that I like John Olson quite a lot. Spykes are simply my favourite JO thing (although Stare Case are coming up on the rails at the mo').

Cracked electronics, perverted sax and assorted manipulated brass. Noise as it should be...at least for today!

It's American Tapes. It's am486. It's 6 cdrs. It's from 2005. There were only 30 copies.

disc 1
disc 2
disc 3
disc 4
disc 5
disc 6



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Mindflayer



Mindflayer were Brian Chippendale (Black Pus, Lightning Bolt, etc) and Matt Brinkman (Meerk Puffy, Forcefield and so on) and hailed from Providence, Rhode Island. Brian Chippendale is one of the greatest drummers out there and I could listen to him all day long. In fact, I do on a regular basis.

Take noise, punk rawk and speedcore and bake on a gas jet. Can music be schizophrenic?

...erm, apparently so!

Mindflayer have probably been posted all over the shop...don't care...if one person hears them for the first time, job done!

2000 - Mindflayer - Live [self-released]
2000 - Mindflayer - Raise Your Tentacles And Yell! (live @ bulb house)
2001 - Mindflayer - It's Always 1999 [ooo mau mau]
2003 - Mindflayer - Apeshit (C90) [thunder tapes]
2003 - Mindflayer - Take Your Skin Off [bulb records]
2004 - Mindflayer - Die & Mold Services (lp) [corleone records]
2005 - Mindflayer - Expedition To The Hairier Peaks [corleone records]
2007 - Mindflayer & Deep Jew - Bored Fortress (7'') [not not fun records]
2007 - Prurient & Mindflayer - By The River_Turbo Boost (7'') [important records]










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Masters Of The Scene: The Definitive ABBA Tribute



Ever wanted a natural antidote to Mama Mia? Ever wanted to bring those dreaded family parties to a swift conclusion? Problem solved!

Released in 2003 on Andy Ortmann's brilliant Nihilst label. May the make-believe god bless him!

01 Canned Hamm - Does Your Mother Know
02 Sockeye - Take A Chance On Me
03 Kazumoto Endo - Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight)
04 Vertonen - The Name Of The Game
05 Evil Moisture - One Night In Bankok
06 Ungrateful Deadbeats - SOS
07 Ski-Mask & The Bucketmen - My Mama Said
08 Absorb - Super Trooper
09 Guilty Connector - Rock Me
10 I & Makoto - Eagle
11 irr. app. (ext.) - Knowing Me Knowing You
12 Wäldchengarten - Thank You For The Music
13 Brain Transplant - Under Attack
14 Foamula - Chiquitita
15 Spider Compass Good Crime Band - S.O.S
16 Body Tong - Many Many Many
17 The Rib - Lay All Your Love On Me
18 Wounded Head - Abbacadabba
19 Plastic Crimewave Sound - Watch Out
20 Sudden Infant - Voulez Vouz
21 Gunshop - ---...---
22 Viki - Do You Really Know Me?
23 Julia Sets - Waterloo 2:33
24 Methypnox - Soldiers

Masters Of The Scene: The Definitive ABBA Tribute [nihilist]

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The Early Acid Mothers Temple Recordings 1995-1997 : Triple Trip Edition



Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O. are godhead! Mind you, so is the Norwegian label Synesthetic Recordings for putting this triple vinyl edition together. The double lp came in an edition of 408 in 2007 but there were a hundred copies of the three disc set. These recordings really do not get any earlier as far as AMT are concerned. The first two discs cover the first two official tapes that they released (AMT-001 & AMT-002 respectively, both were limited to 50 copies) in February 1997. Whilst the third disc features a tape released in April 1996 which was released in an edition of 10! Apparently, there was a track dropped from this tape due to "quality control" issues.

This rip is a biggie (about 2.5 gb) but I think it deserves to be heard in flac.

AMT Disc 1.part1
AMT Disc 1.part2
AMT Disc 1.part3

AMT Disc 2.part1
AMT Disc 2.part2
AMT Disc 2.part3

AMT Disc 3.part1
AMT Disc 3.part2
AMT Disc 3.part3

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The Tower Recordings



The Tower Recordings were a group of friends in Brattleboro, Vermont. Revolving around Matt Valentine (featuring at times, PG Six, Helen Rush, Tim Barnes, Samara Lubelski, S. Freyer, Esq., Andre Vida and Dean Roberts), they were one of the more innovative groups bundled under the ever-growing umbrella of the psychedelic folk scene (or "New Weird America" as The Wire would have it). Although they have been largely overlooked in the wake of the bands who were better placed when the media began to take an interest, they’ve consistently been viewed by musicians and discerning fans alike as one of the psych-folk underground’s best kept secrets. With an encyclopedic knowledge of blues and folk traditions and a fascination with the avant-garde, they created a suitably far out sound filled with brittle acoustic picking and mind melting experimentation. The recordings often involved retiring to a suitably isolated and atmospheric location and playing with a tape rolling.

Gradually they folded, with Matt Valentine evolving and creating beautiful work under the MV & EE collective umberella.

1994 - The Tower Recordings - Demo Tape (unreleased ed. of 1)
1995 - The Tower Recordings - Rehearsals For Roseland (Circa '95) (lp) [superlux]
1996 - Planet TR - Let The Cosmos Ring [spirit of orr]
1996 - The Tower Recordings - Contact Low Definition (7'') [audible hiss]
1996 - The Tower Recordings - The Fraternity Of Moonwalkers [audible hiss]
1997 - The Tower Recordings - Furniture Music For Evening Shuttles [siltbreeze]
1997 - Tono-Bungay & The Tower Recordings - Rules Of Thumb (10'') [squealer]
2001 - The Tower Recordings - Folk Scene [communion label]
2002 - The Tower Recordings - The Futuristic Folk Of The Tower Recordings [child of microtones]
2002 - The Tower Recordings - The Futuristic Folk Of The Tower Recordings Vol 2 [child of microtones]
2004 - The Tower Recordings - The Galaxies' Incredibly Sensual Transmission Field Of The Tower Recordings [communion label]
2004 - The Tower Recordings - Message From The Celestial Explosions [holoscanner consciousness]
2004 - The Tower Recordings - Ya'Ard God (stereo edition) [child of microtones]

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High Rise - Psychedelic Speed Freaks Live 1986 (DVD)



Japanese psychedelic rock band fronted by Asahito Nanjo the genius behind such other genre-warping groups as Musica Transonic, Mainliner and Toho Sara. It's only 25 minutes long. File under "short and sweet".

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

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Ash Ra Tempel



Ash Ra Tempel are one of the greatest but (perhaps) lesser known of the wave of kosmiche music groups (generically branded as krautrock by the UK press at the time) that rose to prominance during the late sixties/early seventies. They originally formed after purchasing Pink Floyd's sound equipment in London and consisted of Manuel Göttsching (guitar), Harmut Enke (bass) and Klaus Schulze (drums). The idea was to combine blues influenced improvisations and new sounds available with the electronics and synthesizers newly available at the time with the traditional rock instruments of guitar, bass and drums. The debut self-titled album was released in 1971, engineered by Conny Plank. Konrad Plank himself was integral to the entire kosmiche scene. It was his inspirational manipulation of the new technology and his ability to effectively use the studio as an instrument, in it's own right, that opened up an entire new world (or universe) of possibilities. Conny also worked with the likes of Neu!, Cluster, Holger Czukay, Guru Guru, and Dieter Moebius and could almost be considered as part of the bands that he worked with, such was his influence. Klaus Schulze soon went his own way to pursue other ideas.

The following year, Manuel and Hartmut joined forces with guest musicians (forming more of a collective rather simply employed session musicians) for the second album Schwingungen. In the summer of the same year the rolling cast list teamed up with with Timothy Leary (yep, "turn on, tune in, drop out") to record Seven Up. In 1973, Klaus Schulze rejoined and, with the first appearance of Manuel's girlfriend Rosi, recorded the spontaneous and totally unrehearsed "Join Inn". Quite literally turn on the tape and play! This astonishingly creative period possibly represents the highwater mark for Ash Ra Tempel and all four feature in the top 10 of Julian Cope's deleriously idiosyncratic review of the period "Krautrocksampler". All four albums are essential!

The "Private Tapes" series of 6 cds contain a wealth of unreleased recording. Released in 1996, they have been sold out for years and (as far as I am aware) have never been reissued.

In preparing this post, I found that the early releases have just been rereleased (again!) or are about to be rereleased ... details of which can be found here. If you like what you hear, I strongly recommend that you buy them! They will sound far superior to these rips!

1971 - Ash Ra Tempel - Ash Ra Tempel [ohr]
1971 - Ash Ra Tempel - Live in Berlin, 1971.05.19 (bootleg)
1971 - Ash Ra Tempel - Live in Bern 1971.10.09 (bootleg)
1972 - Ash Ra Tempel - Schwingungen
1973 - Timothy Leary & Ash Ra Tempel - Seven Up
1973 - Ash Ra Tempel - Join Inn
1973 - Ash Ra Tempel - Starring Rosi
1974 - Ash Ra Tempel - Live @ Salle Wagrem, Paris, 06.12.74 (2cd bootleg aka "Paris Downers")
1975 - Ash Ra Tempel / Manuel Göttsching - Inventions For Electric Guitar
1976 - Ash Ra Tempel & Manuel Göttsching - New Age of Earth
1994 - Ash Ra Tempel - Le Berceau De Cristal
1997 - Ashra - Live in Nijmegen, 11.10.97 (bootleg)
2000 - Ash Ra Tempel - Friendship
2000 - Ash Ra Tempel - Gin Rosé At The Royal Festival Hall

Ash Ra Tempel / Ashra / Manuel Göttsching - The Private Tapes

The Private Tapes Vol. 1
The Private Tapes Vol. 2
The Private Tapes Vol. 3
The Private Tapes Vol. 4
The Private Tapes Vol. 5
The Private Tapes Vol. 6

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Nitro Dragsters - A Tribute To OVMN And The Incapacitants



This was the first release (in 2005) on the brilliant but criminally shortlived Militant Walls which was run by Sam McKinlay (The Rita, Ba. Ku., BT.HN, Vice Wears Black Hose, etc). It was originally intended as a pair of C60 tapes but ended up as pair of cdrs instead. Incapacitants should need no introduction. In case you've been living in a cave...the legendary OVMN (or Optimum Volume Maximum Noise if you prefer) is the solo harsh noise solo project of Joseph Roemer - the head honcho of Macronympha. The importance of these two units is evident by the castlist assembled to rework and pay homage to the original material.

Everything you would want to read about this has already been done here.

Clear Tape


White Tape

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The Thing



The Thing are the trio of Mats Gustafsson on saxophones and electronics, Ingebrigt Håker Flaten on double bass, and Paal Nilssen-Love on drums and were established in February 2000 during a series of concerts and a recording in Stockholm. Their music represents a uniquely Scandanavian take on "free jazz" - a synthesis of the German, British and American traditions of free music whereby this Swedish-Norwegian trio maintain the energy of their compositions at its peak throughout.

As far as I am aware, all of these are out of print but you should check out Smalltown Superjazzz and it's equally excellent parent label Smalltown Supersound for other inspirational goodies.

The Thing - Now And Forever [smalltown superjazzz]



This four disc boxset was released in 2008 combining old and new material. Discs 1 and 2 contain the first two out of print releases "The Thing" and "She Knows" which sees The Thing collaborate with the legendary Joe McPhee. Disc 3 is The Thing with Thurston Moore recorded live at the Oya Festival in 2007 (this is only the dvda...if anyone has ripped the dvd...etc). Disc 4 is unique to this release and features recordings from 2005.

1 - The Thing - The Thing
2 - The Thing with Joe McPhee - She Knows
3 - The Thing with Thurston Moore - Live at Oya
4 - The Thing - Gluttony

The Thing with Otomo Yoshihide - Shinjuku Crawl [smalltown superjazzz]



Released in 2009 and recorded live at Pit Inn, Tokyo, on the 2nd of October 2007.

The Thing with Otomo Yoshihide - Shinjuku Crawl [smalltown superjazzz]

The Thing with Jim O'Rourke - Shinjuku Growl [smalltown superjazzz]




Released last year and recorded live at Pit Inn, Tokyo, on the 4th of February 2008.

The Thing with Jim O'Rourke - Shinjuku Growl [smalltown superjazzz]





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Vajra



Vajra is the power-improv trio of Mikami Kan (vocals, guitar), Keiji Haino (vocals, guitar) & Toshi Ishizuka (percussion; of Zuno Keisatsu and Cinorama fame). You could fill a library describing the impact of these three legendary figures of the Japanese avant garde underground. Vajra represents only one tiny aspect of their careers. Ishitsuka's martial power drumming provides the perfect foundation for Haino's soaring, roaring flights into the infinite abyss, which in turn combine in rare grace and (sub) conscious empathy with Mikami's improvised vocals. Mikami sings entirely in his native Tsugaru dialect which is totally incomprehensible to speakers of regular Japanese.Vajra represent an improvised output of unprecedented force and musical empathy. The raw invention and communication here is quite simply on a par with anything you care to think of. There's something very very special about this group - three masters at the peak of their powers, playing with total commitment, total sensitivity, total passion. Ferocious, bleak, beautiful and inspiring.

All of these were released on the wonderful P.S.F. Records who continue to drop some of the best music you will ever hear.

1995 - Mikami Kan / Vajra - Chiru Ha & Ozakijinjya [p.s.f. records]
1995 - Vajra - 東日流 [Tsugaru] [p.s.f. records]
1996 - Vajra - 金環食 [Ring] [p.s.f. records]
1997 - Vajra - 七識 [Sichisiki] [p.s.f. records]
1998 - Vajra - 声聞 [Śrāvaka] [p.s.f. records]
2002 - Vajra - Mandala (Cat Last) [p.s.f. records]
2008 - Vajra - Live [p.s.f. records]

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