G3G (a.k.a.G33G) is a Barcelona based label, named after its three "G" founders (Gat, Guillem,Gloria). Active since 1989, it has been releasing, mainly, music from local Catalonian artists. The most interesting of G3G works offer idiosyncratic and experimental views of current forms combining, sometimes radically, art-rock, electronics, jazz, world, ambient, minimal...
Label's bigger name is PASCAL COMELADE. Here, though, you can also find late 70's , 80's spanish underground personalities as JUAN CREK and VICTOR NUBLA, (both members of the historic experimental band MACROMASSA), contemporary improvisators as JAKOB DRAMINSKY, eclectic crossings of Mediterranea with New York as RAEO, (collaboration between G3G founder GAT and no-wave man MARK CUNNINGHAM )... and many other worth discovering artists. Quite collectable are the very limited, vinyl-only "Tarot" singles of the label, released the period 1989-1995.
ANTON IGNORANT
MACROMASSA a G3G sampler
01. ALIEN MAR - Selenita ("Alien Mar", 1996)
02. GRAN TEATRO AMARO - La nuova piuma ("La Vie En Rouge", 2002)
03.RAEO - Mambo maya ("Adios Jupiter", 1994)
04. RAEO- Kineshtesia ("Body Loops", 1999)
05. JAKOB DRAMINSKY - On a x-road to Bagdad (v.a. "Ten Years After, una compilacion de G3G", 1999)
06. ORIOL PERUCHO - Las pelusas ("Insulto, Le Multaron Y Dejo De Comer", 1992)
07.PIERRE BASTIEN - Argel allegra ("Se Verla Al Reves", 2005)
08. MACROMASSA - El largo camino a las almedras ("Los Hechos Perez", 1992)
09.JUAN CREK & SERGIO OCA - Viento del sur ("Viento Del Este", 1996)
10. RAEO- Memorias del oasis ("Adios Jupiter", 1994)
11. PASCAL COMELADE - Patafisiskal polska ("Ragazzin' The Blues", 1991)
12. PASCAL COMELADE - Neo-realismo del'habanera ("Ragazzin' The Blues", 1991)
13. MINOX & LYDIA LUNCH- U turn (v.a. "Ten Years After, una complilacion de G3G", 1999)
14. MACROMASSA - Alas plegables ("Los Hechos Perez", 1992)
15. PIERRE BASTIEN- Roba sabor ("Se Verla Al Reves", 2005)
This post is for Richard, friend of Materiali Sonori releases, who have asked to listen to this 1991 album. Beside his pioneering and famous works with edging kraut bands as KLUSTER, CLUSTER, HARMONIA etc., the edging composer Hans-Joachim Roedelius also has released numerous solo works, most of which are ambient-newage-modern classical orientated... and "PIANO PIANO" is one of them. Simple piano sounds and few electronics are enough, for the composer, to draw slowly (piano piano) melodic, quiet, impressionistic landscapes of sometime great sentimental immediacy.
LABEL BLEU is the independent force of contemporary french jazz. Active since mid-eighties the Amiens based label has presented works from important and well known artists as LOUIS SCLAVIS, HENRI TEXIER, PAOLO FRESU, ALDO ROMANO, ENRICO RAVA, JUAN JOSE MOSALINI, MICHEL PORTAL, DAVID KRAKAUER & many others. LABEL BLEU and sublabels INDIGO (ethnic, world jazz) and BLEU ELECTRIC (nu jazz, electronic) combine classic jazz values with avant directions, fresh sounds, innovative styles and world influences offering a wide spectrum of creations stamped uniquely by the bleu past-present-future sense of continuity.
JAZZ IN BLEU MOODS...an introduction to Label Bleu
a
01 HENRI TEXIER AZUR QUARTET - don't buy ivory, anymore! 02 SCLAVIS / TEXIER / ROMANO - Annobon 03 PALATINO -Tempo 04 PASCALS - Tour theme 2006 05 DANIEL GOYONE - Dance bulgar 06 ENRICO RAVA Tango for Vasquez & Pepita 07 MOSALINI / BEYTELMANN / CARATINI - Inspiracion 08 SCLAVIS / TEXIER/ ROMANO - Sowetto sorrow 09 PALATINO - Last call from the stars 10 P.A.F. TRIO - Paftastique 11 MICHEL PORTAL - Mutinerie 12 DAVID KRAKAUER - Moskovitz and loops of it
b 01 LOUIS SCLAVIS - Germania valse 02 PALATINO - Glenn's walk 03 JULIEN LOURAU - Tu mi turbi 04 DAVID LINX & DIEDERIK WISSELS - Lord of the groundless 05 MAGIK MALIK - Duo 237 06 VINCENT SEGAL - Castor 07 OLYMPIC GRAMOFON - Shiver 08 BATTISTA LENA - Il cha cha dei cosmonauti 09 JULIEN LOURAU - Diaspora 10 GARY LUCAS - Old dreams 11 PASCALS - Chakuriku 12 SCLAVIS / TEXIER / ROMANO - Viso di donna 13 CHRISTOPHE MARGUET - i 14 VINCENT SEGAL - Vienne
SOGENANNTES LINKSRADIKALES BLASORCHESTER was a brass band formed in 1976, in Frankfurt, by HEINER GOEBBELS, ALFRED HARTH, CHRISTOPH ANDERS... in an attempt to reinforce artistically the left student movement demonstrations of that period. The band, designed mostly for live appearances, was consisting of about twenty musicians and played on stage, at the streets and in diverse political activities. In spite of the circumstances of its birth, The So-Called Left Radical Brass Orchestra never was a preacher of left dogmatism. Their repertoire crossed the music history from baroque & classical period, early twentieth century to free-jazz and avant-garde, including original pieces, traditonal themes, covers of Hans Eisler, Frank Zappa etc. Their interpretations were imaginative, inventive, uncompromised but not snobbish, eclectic, intellectual and yet very amusing - a channel for direct communication with the people.
SLB discography comprises the albums: "HÖRT HÖRT"(1977) and "MIT GELBEN BIRNEN" (1980), which in my opinion are -along with one or two Cassiber's releases- the most interesting (of the many) works GOEBBELS & HARTH have both involved.
SLB musicians:
Christoph Anders, Alfred Harth, Heiner Goebbels - tenor saxes Henning Wiese, Rolph Riem, Barbara Muller-Rendtorff - alto saxes Thomas Jahn, Gudrun Stocker, Cora Stefan - flutes Volker Haas, Reinhard Bussmann, Herwig Heise, Walter Ybema - clarinets Klaus Becker, Johannes Eisenberg, Gunther Lohr - trumpets Michael Hoehler, Peter Lieser - trombones Uwe Schriefer, Jorn Stuckrath - tubas Ernst Stotzner - voice
italian version of the first LP, released in 1979 from Franco Fabbri's legendary label L'Orchestra
second LP "MIT GELBEN BIRNEN" ("With Yellow Pears")
SLB - praludium (track selected by Semilunio)
Both of SLB albums have reissued in 1999 on double CD from Munich label Trikont. So here you get some samples only from these two great works.
01 - ich bin halt die kotze aus diener glotze 02 - rote sonne 03 - ya no somos nosotros 04 - la resistenca se organisa 05 - homesick blues 06 - die hugel von ca'n geroni 07 - poema para el despertar de un nino 08 - praludium 09 - trauermarsch
Argentinian composer and guitarist LUIS RIZZO is one of the contemporary avant-tango and tango-revival acting figures, a competent heir to a really great tradition built by tango monsters (and also Rizzo's masters) as ASTOR PIAZZOLLA, JUAN JOSE MOSALINI, OSVALDO MANZI... In 70's Rizzo participates to Mosalini's avant ensemble "Guardia Nueva", in 80's he stays in france and plays a lot in Europe. In 1988 he releases, with a trio, the album"Tango d'hier et d'aujourd'hui" (label Circe, France) and two years later, he meets italian producer Marco Castellani and starts his long collaboration with label Materiali Sonori. "TRISTESSE" is the first fruit of this collaboration, a collection of 13 pieces written by various composers (11 tangos, 1 milonga, 1 valse), with Rizzo on guitar, Susanna Rizzi on vocals and Cesar Stroscio, future leader of the very good ensemble ESQUINA, (see our post for label Materiali Sonori), on bandoneon.
Listen to a sample here:
LUIS RIZZO CUARTETO - Tristesse (composer: Luis Rizzo)
(If time allows, samples will be rotaring)
LUIS RIZZO CUARTETO (with singer Susanna Rizzi ) Cesar Stroscio - bandoneon Carlos Carsen - bass Adrian Politi - guitar Luis Rizzo - guitar
Statman's urban folk: from jewish mystics and bluegrass to impressionistic jazz and world eclectisism
ANDY STATMAN is a rare occasion of a multiculturalist, innovator and strongly rooted to the folk traditions artist. By a very young age, while he was already an accomplished bluegrassmandolinist, attracted by the free/spiritual jazz of Ayler and Coltrane and begun, as a saxophonist, his first adventures in avant-jazz and ethnic music. As a Jew, on the other hand, he involved with the old jewish music and, developing his clarinetvirtuosity under the guidance of great Klezmerteachers (as David Tarras), he finally became one of the masters of the genre.
His approach though, in hebrew traditions hasn't been preserving the music of the past. On the contrary, Statman's art is in a constant search for an expansive form which extracts the timeless from the ancient jewish tunes and blends it with his many other influences. This highly melodic world trip draws pictures of an urban-folk-bluesy american landscape and leads back to Balkan, Mediterrania, Eastern Europe, places where Chassidic culture bloomed. It has for sure its strong references to a collective memory, it is though the very personal journey of someone who attains to put to question our historical-geografical music certainties, communicating with us on the base of an old/new spiritual language.
...circa 1996
front cover of 1997 Statman's work, eloquently titled "Between Heaven & Earth"
A LFDJ introduction to Andy Statman
01 Shalom Aleichem (Andy Statman & David Grisman "Songs Of Our Fathers", 1995)
02 Bashie's Bounce ("Songs Of Our Fathers", 1995)
03 Slivovitz (Andy Statman Quartet "The Hidden Light", 1998)
04 Crossing the Bosphorus ("The Hidden Light", 1998)
TESTIFY! is a request. I don't think i 'll say much about it. Formed out of the ashes of THE UNCLAIMED, THEE FOURGIVEN was one of the garage/revival bands, i have listened to a lot in the past. That was long time ago... (and now i'm writing this, Koroviov, looking at me from the other corner of the room, he starts laughing...)
THEE FOURGIVEN main members were RICH COFFEE and RAY FLORES, while drums for this second LP " TESTIFY!", were played by BELA HORVATH.
"...We Could Fly Away, Never Look Back Leave The World Spin Silently In A Suicide Pact And All The Colours And Sounds That Pass Through Us In Space Fall Down To The Earth And Put A Smile On Its Face..."
...early days
...bloomed in France
History of the bristolian space-folk-jazz-funk-dub-psych wanderers, as it is told in their site:
The Moonflowers emerged in 1988 defiantly painted , endowed with puppy fat and a cacophony with antics. Soon showed they had flair and stirred the local scene.
Following the success of indie hit 'Get Higher' in 1990 they were transported to a national then international platform (scaffold), beseeching their audience/ followers to hold hands while they watched the group cavort and leap about in an effort to obtain world peace by the year 1999.
The band started a label and called it Pop God from which they released further efforts from themselves and other bands (Praise Space Electric, ME, Ecstatic Orange, Mammal etc.). They toured and sold produce and artefacts such as home made T-shirts and badges.
Moonflowers maintained constant touring and in 1993 released their second (though first really good) LP called 'From Whales to Jupiter and Beyond the Stars to Rainbohemia' which mixed folk, dub, rock and dance influences.
Yet still they aimed higher and dreamt they could free themselves -and us all- from the bonds of commercial modern existence and so decided to remove themselves from society to create their own utopia, their 'Rainbohemia', a place where days are spent in creativity with music and art a way of life.
The band waved goodbye to their friends and drove away in their yellow bus across the sea and far away...
In 1995 masters for an LP were sent to Pop God offices (from an unknown destination) which was the masterful 'Colours and Sounds' LP.
This record was released and though not well known, very worth tracking down for its incredible range and orchestration.
Fewer performances were reported from across Europe. The group was variously seen busking acoustically across France from a broken down old coach; performing as a three piece in Windsor with the singer, guitarist and a casio keyboard taking it in turn to play the drums, and gigging in Japan.
By mid 1996 the band considered themselves/ the world too far gone for further performances and decided to leave the world/ themselves one more album for now and then concentrate on helping/ growing another generation that may lead the world to more happytivity, healthdum and creatness.
Meantime though they have given their chains to a highly trained music force called the Rainbohemians, to dwell in our lands, play concerts and make records. So these Rainbohemians did as they were bid and played some concerts and recorded an LP but still the waves were breaking upon the spirit of the moonflowers and so this force retreated to Rainbohemia and told what they had seen and done to the moonflowers there, now quite settled and ageing.
Then it came to pass that the moonflowers once again raised their standard (no pun intended), rallied round and made another LP for their most staunch supporters - the Japanese. This record is called "Brainwashing and Heartists Blue Life Stripes" as each member wrote a word and these words were pulled from a hat.
Another two forces were released from the rainbohemia stronghold:
the first, called Morning Star was led by the moonflower with the guitar and he went to the land where the vain but gentle young men, the leonard cohenists and the troubadours dwell. And he did perform with accordion and acoustic instruments and made records also. And this continues unto this day.
The second force has been called Solar Mumuns and is led by the one who was the eye of the little storm known as the moonflowers. Now these mumuns have only been seen once but have left a recording in their wake called "Breaking Waters". They appear and disappear as soon as they are seen, something new is forming, or is it something very old, ancient in fact.
By the end of the millennium one last album occurred. From vaults thought lost to humans but unearthed in the mid-winter storms of late 1999, a new record of moonflowers has been found. With instructions reading 'do not open until 2000' these recordings, complete with cover are now online for release. They have been titled "Dont Just Sit There, Fly!" spectral folkers and contain psychedelic glimpses of their gypsy-like existence and the world as they have seen or imagined it.
On June 1st 2002 a door closed forever for The Moonflowerswhen Toby Pascoe tragically died.
THE MOONFLOWERS - track 14 - Colours And Sounds
some samples from "Colours And Sounds" LP (+ extras):
track 3 - "nopar king" track 5 - "shake it together" track 6 - "revolution" track 15 - "keepers of fire" track 16 - "the world's most famous unknown people" + "morning pipe" (given free from band's site) "silver hair" (given free from band's site)
French estetism in J.J.Burnel solo album. The last leader of The Stranglers offers us 12 slightly lewd tracks: with small “acoustic carvings” and French verses (the native language of J.J.B). "Un Jour Parfait"undoubtedly refers to the European pop art obsessions of the artist. 1988 Epic Records.
Un Jour Parfait Theme
Si J'Etais
Weekend
Tristeville Ce Soir
Un Jour Parfait
Via Dolorosa
Le Whiskey
Crazy (She Drives Me)
Garden of Eden
Reves
Waltz
Via Dolorosa (Spanish Version)
Here is the lyrics of the dashingly fragile track "Week-End".
Week-end
C' était l 'autre week-end Je l' ai vue attendant un soupirant C' était l' autre week-end Les cheveux bleus au vent Les yeux blonds espérant
Son regard, tant de peine Un sourire hésitant soulignant vingt printemps Son regard, tant de peine La passion recherchant La haine, l'amour, sans plus souffrir
S' en est allée de ma mémoire De mon passé, de mon histoire S' est transformée, blanc et noir Pour un instant ou tout le temps
Contre-nuit, belle de jour Rêver d' être l' amant Alternant noir et blanc Belle de nuit, contre-jours Les couleurs me grisant L' âme en amour à deux tranchants
S' en est allée de ma mémoire De mon passé, de mon histoire S' est transformée, blanc et noir Pour un instant ou tout le temps
C' était l' autre week-end C' était l' autre week-end
J J BURNEL - Week End
Week End
It was on the last week-end I saw her waiting for a suitor It was on the last week-end Her blue hair in the wind Her blond eyes hoping
The expression in her eyes, so much sorrow An hesitant smile underlines twenty summers The expression in her eyes, so much sorrow Looking for the passion Hate, love, no more suffering
She went away from my memory From my past, from my story Transforming herself, black and white For a moment or for ever
Contre-nuit, daytime beauty Dreaming to be the lover Alterning black with white Night beauty, contre-jours The colours go to my head In love soul has two cutting edges
She went away from my memory From my past, from my story Transforming herself, black and white For a moment or for ever
It was on the last week-end It was on the last week-end
Thanks to Joan for helping me with the french version
The Plasy Monastery (front cover of "The Meridian Crossings" compilation)
Selections from two HERMIT FOUNDATION (art center in Czech Republic) compilations, with czech and international artists working on the basis of improvisation, modern composition and free-form sound. Apart from their innovative orientation, the tracks capture the haunted aura of the spaces of (former) monastery of Plasy (Pilzen), where they' re recorded, during the foundation's second ("GROWTHRINGS", 1993) and fourth ("THE MERIDIAN CROSSINGS", 1995) art symposiums.
01 VLASTIMIL MAREK & ROMAN BRENDA - untitled singing bowls
