I've been digging the album by Holy Fuck lately. It's instrumental and kind of like Trans Am a bit. I guess they don't use computers or something though.

tonebank computer

Thanks for the reminder Shiv. I've been meaning to check that one out.

Ish - like the Super Numeri track "The Babies". I'll have to seek the rest out. When does/or has it come out?

Liking the Ellen Allien/Apparat tracks Dalen posted too. Very "cool" for lack of a better word.

Stu, that Clogs album is outstanding. Beautiful, soothing music.

Check out the following...

mountains - mountains [their new album Sewn will be released in March, and it's fucking brilliant]

also, these should be of interest [all very different, and creative]...

grouper - way their crept
3-4hadbeeneliminated - a year of the aural gauge operation
tape - rideau
guitar - tokyo
jasper tx - i'll be long gone before my light reaches you
paavoharju - yhä hämärää

Dalen,

do you have label or band site links for any of those?

i'll echo this. next level stuff.

Ish, we've chatted about this before right?

here's a few for you. if possible, buy them from the individual labels

www.hapna.com
3-4hadbeeneliminated - a year of the aural gauge operation
tape - rideau

www.onitor.de
guitar - tokyo

www.lampse.com
jasper tx - i'll be long gone before my light reaches you

www.fonal.com
paavoharju - yhä hämärää

also do yourself a favor and check out Type Records www.typerecords.com. i posted a track from Sickoakes a few days ago....they're signed to Type. one of my favorite labels atm. fucking class.

i suggest ignoring newer music and getting into some 'older' stuff

why?

i love getting into newer stuff - theres alot more to wade through though. Its fun to find the gems yourself, but its alot more work. Sometimes its good just to take a step back and listen to some older classics ( and by older i mean maybe even just 3/4 years ago) that you missed first time round. Then when your ready head back into listening to new music.

e.g i only discovered Zombies' Odessey & Oracle this holidays

Stu – I lead you astray with the Jaga? It's definitely stunning in certain places, I maintain, but I can see how it might miss some listeners - me too, sometimes. Give it another chance, though.

Super Numeri's "The Welcome Table" was released continentally a couple weeks ago on cd/2lp. Available at finer shops. Endorsed by Dalen and Drinky.

Dalen - We sure did chat about this and Pop Levi.

What's good, dude?

Oh, and why didn't you like the Konono No. 1, Stu?

Can I suggest Mouthus, if you're feeling something visceral and wintry?

I listened to Konono No.1 over and over again for about 4 days straight thinking that it would eventually "hit" me, but it never did. I probably just need to listen to it whilst high on pot. OPA! apparently agrees.

So, I bought Super Numeri. I'm on track 3 right now and can finally hear the Can reference. This one is going to be a grower. It has so many layers that I know I'll have to actually spend time with it. I think my problem for the longest time is that I'm only passively listening to music nowadays. Super Numeri should challenge me to dig further and I welcome the challenge.

I still want to pick up some Tom Ze. I'm probably just going to get the "Best of" comp unless there is a single album that defines him.

Tom Ze qualifies as older if I'm not mistaken.

You are not mistaken, stu.

I wasn't commenting on your choices, just agreeing with splates...I just recently picked up Troubadour by J.J, Cale and I was just thinking wow, now this is what I should be listening to more rather than checking out the newest and coolest bands. I love hearing new and inventive stuff, but I feel there's so much I haven't heard that is out there already.

I have Com Defeito de Fabricacao and it probably is close to defining his modern sound with all manner of craziness. It's kind of a concept album in which he identifies and rails against 14 "defects" the Brazilian government tries to suppress. Not sure what is on the best of or how well it all hangs together, but I guess Todd thinks it works.

Another along those lines, but I think more musical to my ears, is Arto Lindsay Noon Chill from 1998. One of my most oft listened to albums of the last 5 years or so. Seems I'm almost always in the mood. He can get a little skronky at times, but it's always in the service of the song. Mostly just very interesting and at the same time entertaining modern bossa nova and tropicalia music, mixed with some tasty electronics and some great musicians. Kind of laidback for the most part, but that's why I like it so much.

Konono No. 1 - Just let the bounce take you there, man. I've never listened to it high once, but drunk yes, in a crowded bar, and it worked quite well. You might prefer "Congotronics 2" which is way more colourful, broad, and almost pop-y. I think that OPA! really liked the Konono, actually ...

Super Numeri - Indeed, this is not music to be passively received, and I sure hope it helps to lift you from your rut. "The First League of Angels" is so awesome.

To seem like less of a street-teamer, I'll also recommend Boris' "Pink". You might like that, Stu.

Check out Maxel Toft.

http://maxeltoft.com/sounds.html

Especially the song quick fix

You can download the Ford album for free.

I think that Konono is something you're either going to get into right away or not. I haven't really found it to be much of a grower beyond the first 3 or 4 listens, but I enjoyed it a good bit on first listen. The only things that bothered me then (whistles, general sameness) still kinda bother me now, but not significantly. I just find it to be a fun, energetic record that also functions pretty effectively as trance music.

I think one of the things I like about Super Numeri is how it welcomes both passive and active listening. It doesn't necessarily demand close attention, but it definitely rewards it. It's been a really funtional record for me, great for mood and for accompanying all sorts of activities.

And I've only listened to that Boris record once, but I liked it a lot. I'm waiting to buy the US release (in March) before listening more, but it's a definite future purchase. The more Boris stuff I hear, the more I like them. Their catalog is pretty varied and consistently worthwhile.

Yes, the appeal of Konono was immediate to me. The general sameness of it is what keeps me from going to it very often, rather than Congotronics 2, but I regard that as a good thing. Come to think of it, there are shared elements between the Konono and Super Numeri.

Listened to Boris' "Akuma No Uta" through for the first time this morning, and I think it's good enough. I still prefer "Absolutego", and believe that they are a band still capable of much more than they've done (that I've heard). Last night, I downloaded "Dronevil", something with Merzbow, and something else. They have a ton of music to be heard.

I keep seeing that thing with Merzbow in stores, and I've thought about picking it up. Let me know what you think of it.

Also, "Dronevil" is kinda just an 8 min extension of "Absolutego".

Stu, have you checked out that Why? album. It's very good. I've recently been obsessed with Gotan Project. It's a bit of jazz meets house music.

And yes, Konono No. 1 was one of my faves of the year. I gotta get that Congrotronics 2 CD.

Yep on both accords. I need to spend more time with Elephant Eyelash. I liked it on first couple of listens.