This was one of those things that can only happen on the Web.  While working on my review of Portal’s Wave & Echoes, I needed to find the correct spelling of “onomatopoeia”.  So, trusting myself to the whims of Google, I typed “onomato” into my little Safari search bar and lo and behold, came across this site for an experimental/avant-garde label.

Right now, they’ve only got one release,Translation Of Sightseeing by Yuko Nexus6 and Mariko TAJIRI.  I listened to the MP3 they had available and was immediately taken back to the days when I sat around and listened to the likes of Lucid and After The Flood for hours on end, when I was delving deeply into the more abstract realms of “music”.  I must admit I still have a fascination with field recordings and the like, and the way that they can conjure up these strange little parallel worlds in your imagination.

I suddenly felt the urge to revisit some of the “stranger” parts of my CD collection, and venture forth and see what’s out there in the “out there” realms.  Funny how a little Google search can make you realize that you’ve become a bit complacent in your listening habits.  Mind you, I’m not dissing any of the CDs that I’ve received lately, other than the ones I’d diss anyways, but it did make me realize that I really haven’t been stretching myself musically these days.

Part of me misses purchasing CDs from such distributors as Soleilmoon and Rioux’s (R.I.P) and just spending hours trying to wrap my head whatever strange, frightening, and fascinating sounds they contained.  True, I already spend enough money on music as it is, and things are probably only going to get busier leading up to the day, but methinks it’s time to divert some time and money and expand my musical horizons a bit more than they have been lately.

Wow… first I found out about a new Denison Witmer album, and now I see that Ester Drang has a new album coming as well.  The album is titled Rocinate (which could be an obscure Dirty Pair reference, but I’m not sure), and while there’s no release date yet, the record is done and just has to go through the “music business bologna” (the band’s own words) before it can be released.

The band will, however, be previewing some of the new album’s material during a handful of summer appearances with Half-Life Souvenir:

• Fri 06/24 Norman, OK @ The Opolis w/ Student Film
• Sun 06/26 Detroit, MI @ The Magic Stick w/ Longwave
• Mon 06/27 Chicago, IL @ Schubas w/ Starflyer 59
• Tue 06/28 Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry w/ Starflyer 59
• Wed 06/29 Iowa City, IA @ Green Room w/ Starflyer 59
• Thu 06/30 Champaign, IL @ Cowboy Monkey w/ Starflyer 59
• Sat 07/02 Marietta IL @ Cornerstone w/ Over The Rhine

The Ester Drang/Over The Rhine show sounds like heaven on earth, IMHO.

Sigh… sometimes I’m so far out of the loop it seems.  I didn’t even know that Denison Witmer had signed to The Militia Group, much less that he was releasing a new album on July 26.  The album is titled Are You A Dreamer? and as the title might imply, the album’s theme concerns the various aspects of dreaming.  According to Witmer, the album is about…

...finding peace and remaining hopeful in a situation that feels completely out of control. A lot of people are feeling defeated right now. We’re full of anxiety associated with our society’s pressure to become something more important than what we feel we currently are. We’re constantly being told that if we’re not moving forward (or able to prove how we’ve gotten to where we are with perfect checks and balances) then we can’t be trusted or taken seriously. Are You A Dreamer? is giving in to life’s mysteries, picking yourself back up, and continuing to go for it even in the face of a string of failures.

The album is produced by Don Peris (who produced Witmer’s first album, Safe Away) and features contributions from Don and Karen Peris (The Innocence Mission), James McAlister (Ester Drang), and Sufjan Stevens.  A clip can be found on The Militia Group’s website, and another song can be found on Witmer’s MySpace page.

Based on what little I’ve heard, the album feels lusher and more inline with Witmer’s earlier, folk-inspired recordings.  Which is a very good thing, IMHO.  Witmer’s music is certainly not the flashiest or showiest out there, but there’s a sincerity and intimacy about his music (especially on albums like the River Bends EP) that I’ve always found attractive.  I wasn’t a big fan of the more rock-oriented sound he had with his River Bends project, so I’m glad to hear him getting back to his “roots” on this one.

Shortly after I posted my review of Portal’s Waves & Echoes, I received a couple e-mails from Scott Sinfield explaining some of the album’s ideas and themes.  Thinking that there might be others who would be interested in this info, I asked him if I could reprint his messages on Opus, to which he graciously agreed.  Enjoy…

It’s funny how many reviews we’ve had over the years that refer to ‘shoegazing’, Ride, Slowdive et al when it’s a style of music that we’re not influenced by at all!  July Skies and a few of our other labelmates are, but I think cos we’re a bit older than them, we’re more influenced by 80s stuff (for us its more New Order, early Cocteaus, Pink Industry, OMD etc) and more experimental electronic artists since then.

The song titles on this LP were meant to mislead slightly, as is the sleeve imagery.  The LP title “Waves & Echoes” refers to the consequences of actions (social, environmental and moral).  The title track is about an Iraqi family I read about in a newspaper, who had lost their wife/mother in the American bombings, being told that they’d been “liberated”.  Likewise, “Bloodline” is my anti-Bush/Blair rant, “Trace” is about surveillance (a big favourite of the UK government), “Consumed” about capitalism and “Light at the Centre” about looking inside ourselves for reasons to act, rather than looking to religion or whatever.  I didn’t want the album to be escapist—hence the sounds and repetition that grate slightly or disturb any sense of ‘bliss’.  Maybe it doesn’t all work, but before we hang up our guitars (“Waves & Echoes” will likely be our last album except for a compilation CD), I felt that I had to at least try to say something arising from my frustrations about the times in which we live—I’m acutely aware that music of this ilk rarely seems to address ‘big’ issues, so I’m hoping that we’ll make at least one person think about these kind of issues who might not otherwise have done so.

And concerning the album’s last track…

I should also mention that the 12th track, “Music for Broadcast (2)” isn’t meant to be considered as part of the album, hence the ten minute gap between it and the preceeding track, “Light at the Centre”.  “Music for Broadcast (2)” originally appeared on a limited edition Swiss CD single that seemingly no-one outside of Switzerland could get hold of.  Rather than re-press it myself and charge people for it, I decided that if I put it on the end of the new CD, then people who’d asked about the track (and there were quite a few) could get it for free.  The other track on the Swiss EP was “Quartet” that appears in the same version on the album.  If the CD runs beyond its inital 1000 copies, “Music for Broadcast (2)” will not appear on the later editions.

More information on Portal and their music can be found at their website.

Or so says the Asthmatic Kitty website.  Which I was perusing when I came across this interesting little tidbit. Liz Janes is teeming up with SoundsAreActive’s improv outfit Create(!) to record a CD of public domain songs.

According to the label, “minimalist guitars, ambient drones, and nuanced drum-brushes accompany Liz’s hushed contra alto vocal stylings. The recording relinquishes all the bells and whistles from Liz’s previous recordings, augmenting instead the understated elements of Negro spirituals, love ballads, and traditional folk songs we know so well.”

The track listing includes such standards as “Lonesome Valley”, “All The Pretty Horses”, and “Jesus Is A Dying Bed-maker”. More on the album can be found here.

I’ll admit that I’m not terribly familiar with Create(!)‘s music—Orlando from Havalina is in the band, so they can’t be too bad, can they?—but I dig Liz Janes’ music quite a bit. Poison & Snakes might not be the easiest of albums to get into but it definitely has its rewards.  And the chance to hear Janes’ voice in an even more stripped down, traditional setting is not without its allure.

As I mentioned earlier, I’ve set up a Flickr account that I plan to use for any new photos I add to the site - concerts, festivals, trips, etc.  Of course, that means I have a ton of photos that need to be migrated from Opus’ old, dilapidated system to Flickr’s bright and shiny one.  And so I spent some time this weekend updating my account with a bunch of old concert photos.

I’m nowhere near being done, but it’s been fun looking at concert photos that I haven’t seen in years and remembering the good times - roadtripping, crashing at friends’ houses, having hearing loss for several days because I was too close to the cabinets, meeting cool musicians, seeing cool venues, and of course, seeing some awesome bands play some awesome music.

Just got an e-mail from Chris Schlarb, the head dude over at Sounds Are Active.  Seems the label is beginning a brand new subscription service that includes the following goodies:

• 6 monthly downloadable EPs from Xn./Deneir, MakeShift:Shelter, therefore, Philippians, and Golden Poultry Error (the new Soul-Junk side project), among others.
• 3 “real” CDs
• 1 DVD featuring Xn
• 1 bonus CD available only to subscribers

All in all, the service will set you back $35 (or $50 if you’re outside the United States).  Shipping and handling costs for the various CDs and DVDs is included in the price.  More info on the service can be found here or here.

Just got the new e-mail update from those lovely folks at Tonevendor, and as always, it’s full to the brim of musical delights.  So many, in fact, that I can feel my bank account trembling in fear at the thought of how much I want to spend.  However, this update is extra special.  Whilst perusing the list, I happened across an entry for Hilmar Orn Hilmarsson’s Children Of Nature soundtrack.

IIRC, the disc has been out of print for awhile, so it’s nice to know it’s available once again. To put it mildly, this soundtrack is one of the most beautiful pieces of music I’ve ever heard, full of mournful string arrangements and haunting electronics, and it’s well worth the $14.99 they’re asking.  If you’re a fan of Arvo Part, Henryk Gorecki, or any of the classic 4AD artists (esp. This Mortal Coil), or if you’re just in the mood for some very lovely and evocative music, this disc is right up your alley.  (My review of the disc is here.)

Now, if someone would just get around to releasing the movie on DVD.  I’ve got a copy on VHS and unfortunately, I know it won’t last forever.