15 February 2022: Ian McDonald Tribute (In the Court of the Crimson King); Ian Boddy et al DiN Sampler iNDEX07 (DiN70)

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In tribute to Ian McDonald who passed away recently, we'll feature an album which highlights his many talents, an album that is arguably the best progressive rock album ever. Read more about Ian here.

In the Court of the Crimson King (subtitled An Observation by King Crimson) is the debut studio album by English rock band King Crimson, released on 10 October 1969 by Island Records. The album is one of the earliest and most influential of the progressive rock genre, where the band combined the musical influences that rock music was founded upon with elements of jazz, classical, and symphonic music.

The album reached number five on the UK Albums Chart and number 28 on the US Billboard 200, where it was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. It was reissued several times in the 1980s and 1990s using inferior copies of the master tapes. After the original masters were discovered in the Virgin archives in 2002, the album was remastered again by Simon Heyworth and reissued in 2004. A 40th anniversary edition of the album was released in 2009 with new stereo and 5.1 surround sound mixes by Steven Wilson. In 2019 there was a 50th Anniversary 3CD/1BD box set, which contained remasters, remixes, instrumentals and expansions of the original album. 

 

iNDEX07 is the seventh DiN compilation album and includes two tracks each from the titles DiN61 - 69. The artists on show this time are Ian Boddy, Nigel Mullaney, Dave Bessell, Scanner, Lyonel Bauchet and collaborations between Dave Bessell & Parallel Worlds and Ian Boddy & Markus Reuter.

As with the previous six DiN samplers label boss Ian Boddy has mixed and cross-faded the 18 tracks into a continuous ambient mix that not only showcases the albums featured on the release but presents an exciting and varied title in its own right. It also highlights the varied and intriguing music that the DiN label offers on its releases from deep analogue synth grooves through vibrantly melodic instrumentals to powerful, epic ambient atmospheres. An intoxicating mix of the old and new beautifully presented in a slimline cardboard wallet with an extra flap which just adds to the value and collectibility of this release.

Since the previous sampler album, iNDEX06 (DiN60) released in July 2019, DiN has not only celebrated its 20th anniversary but has also released its 100th album with “Nevermore” from label boss Ian Boddy. These are significant milestones for a niche independent electronica label with DiN finally getting some of the recognition it so justly deserves.

Our thanks to Ian Boddy for providing a promo copy of this release for airplay tonight.

credits

releases February 18, 2022

This compilation edited from the original tracks by Ian Boddy September 2021.

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ambient dave bessell em electronic electronic music electronica lyonel bauchet markus reuter nigel mullaney parallel worlds scanner downtempo modular synth Sunderlan

 

08 February 2022: Jethro Tull; Anthology of Experimental Music from Japan

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KMXT is live broadcasting the Kodiak City Council work session which may run past 9 pm.  

The show will begin as soon as the work session ends.

Tonight we feature Jethro Tull's latest release The Zealot Gene, released 28 January 2022.

From Wikipedia:

The Zealot Gene is the 22nd studio album by the British rock band Jethro Tull, released on 28 January 2022 by Inside Out Music.^[1][2] Nearly five years in production, it is their first studio album since The Jethro Tull Christmas Album (2003), and their first of all original material since J-Tull Dot Com (1999), marking the longest gap between the band's studio albums.

The album entered the UK Albums Chart at number 9, becoming Jethro Tull's first UK top ten album since 1972.

The album originated in January 2017, when vocalist and flautist Ian Anderson started to write new songs and how a new album would take shape. Early into the process, he decided that it was to be a Jethro Tull album because the line-up of the group at that time had become the longest lasting in its history, but had not been involved on a studio recording under its name.^[3] It was a productive time, and seven tracks were recorded in March of that year. Further work on the album was put on hold in order for Anderson and the band to finish touring commitments in 2018 and 2019, and Anderson felt it would have been unfair to have the group back in the studio during the small amounts of down time.^[3] Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, in early 2021 Anderson "gave up hope" and decided to put down his parts to the remaining five songs alone at his home studio.^[3] These last five songs are acoustic based and without drums, partly because Hammond was unable to record at home. The band recorded their individual parts in a similar manner, leaving Anderson to assemble the various tracks to form a complete song. By July 2021, the album was complete and delivered to Inside Out.^[3]

The Zealot Gene is the first Jethro Tull studio album to feature an entirely new line-up (other than Anderson), with guitarist Florian Opahle (who left the band between its recording and release), bassist David Goodier, keyboardist John O'Hara, and drummer Scott Hammond replacing four-fifths of The Jethro Tull Christmas Album lineup–Martin Barre, Jonathan Noyce, Andrew Giddings and Doane Perry respectively. It is also the first album since This Was (1968) not to involve Barre in any capacity, as he was not asked to return when Anderson reformed Jethro Tull. 

Our second featured new release this week is Anthology of Experimental Music from Japan. 

Our thanks to Raffaele Pezzella (Sonologyst) for providing us with a copy of this release.

 Modern-day noise music has escaped the preserve of academics and avant-garde thinkers, uniting conservatory-trained and untutored participants from the worlds of punk, jazz, metal, contemporary classical, electronic music, and sound art in an exuberant and egalitarian collision. While noise conjures up the image of a cacophonous maelstrom of sound, contemporary improvisers utilize a much broader tonal palate, often offsetting abrasive textures with environmental sound, field recordings, and even silence. This is especially true in Japan, which has become a global center for the genre. Artists including Haino Keiji, Merzbow, Ōtomo Yoshihide, and Hijōkaidan rank among the scene’s most respected and influential names. So synonymous, in fact, is the country with this style of music that the term “Japanoise” was coined to provide a convenient catch-all. Some of the elements of traditional Japanese music seem to a novice like mere “noise” and have clear parallels in modern experimental music: a relative absence of harmony; the dissonant tonal clusters produced by banks of shō mouth organs in the court music called gagaku; the spluttering, wheezing, trills and flutter-tonguing of the shakuhachi; the stop-start rhythms, droning, repetitive vocals, and shrill, unmelodious flute of nō and kyōgen drama; the strident, uartertone jōruri narration and plink-plonk samisen that accompany bunraku puppet theater; and the gaping silences and austere arpeggios plucked out on traditional string instruments like the koto and biwa. No wonder a music coming from the merging of such tradition with new music developments from the West had to take its direction to something “other”.

David McMahon

This anthology of experimental music from Japan showcases the young generation of musicians alongside established names and provides an insight into the current experimental scene, confirming the adventurous character of the Japanese music research. 

credits

released February 4, 2022

Edited by ©Unexplained Sounds Group

Co-curated by Raffaele Pezzella and Farabi Toshiyuki Suzuki
Mastered by Raffaele Pezzella (Sonologyst)
sonologyst.com
Cover image: “Fine Wind, Clear Morning” by Katsushika Hokusai
unexplainedsoundsgroup.bandcamp.com
© 2022. All rights reserved

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experimental avant-garde drone improvisation musique concrete sound art Italy