7/3/2008:

Three New Releases on Majmua Music! We are pleased to be bring you not one, not two, but three new releases on Majmua Music! First is the debut recording by Solar Dynasty, a maelstrom of scorching fire music indeed. Next up are The Rhythm Kingz of Bushel Finland, who are in fact a new trio featuring the unmistakable stylings of Keijo. Digging a little bit deeper into that blues vein while still mining those psychedelic and experimental touches we all love, the Rhythm Kingz strike the motherlode with their debut release. The third release is Sonarchy 1998, one from the vaults by the incredible improvising trio of Carla Kihlstedt, Gino Robair and Matthew Sperry. As always, you can order these discs individually, or preorder all three for the insanely low price of $20 (plus postage)! Why do we do it, because we love you of course. Like all releases on Majmua Music these discs are limited to 75 copies, so don’t come crying to us if we run out, act now – the preorder offer ends on July 21st! We had a great time with the end of June gigs we presented, thanks to all who attended. It looks like there will be a round two for the Summer Solstice Reverie some pictures are below: There are also some videos posted at the label's You Tube page. We are going to be taking a break from putting on shows in July and August, but will be back on September 13th for an all day revue at the Highwire Gallery, which again is shaping up to be pretty amazing!

6/11/2008:

Arborea Live session on WFMU Arborea were recently guests on the Irene Trudel show on WFMU! You can listen to the archived performance by clicking here. Their set begins at approximately 2hrs 36 minutes into the show. Thanks to Irene for hosting!

5/18/2008:

Summer Solstice Reverie @ Zagar’s Magic Gardens! Announcing perhaps (the going-away show at 21 Grand was quite an undertaking) the most ambitious show we have undertaken yet, Summer Solstice Reverie @ Zagar’s Magic Gardens. Taking place on Saturday, June 21st from 3 to 6pm at Zagar’s Magic Gardens, 1020-1022 South Street in Philadelphia. Three hours of continuous music taking place on 4 staging areas, this afternoon of sound, vision and movement features (in no particular order): Ashley Deekus, Charles Duquesne (Public Record, etc), Toshi Makihara, Lisa Spero (Radio Eris, etc), Daniel Fishkin (Dandelion Fiction), Eric Carbonara, George Korein, Katt Hernandez, Steven Parker, Michael Parker, Brendan O’ Connor (S.O.W), Grass Hair, Jack Wright and Alban Bailey, Ryan Frazier, Beau Mick, Brother Buckroar, John Barrios, Megan Cauley & Mike Mc Dermott (Gemini Wolf), Tom Madeja, Tony Cenicola, Andy Giles (Eichen Oaks), Charles Cohen & Tyler (Color is Luxury), Natalie Mering (Weyes Bluhd), Latralmagog and Lenny Siedman w/ tba (that old favorite). There will also be dance performances by members of Amnesiac Dance Company & visuals by Brooke Sietinsons! Sorry, but I’m not up to providing links for everyone on this, I want to get some sleep tonight. Needless to say, we are quite excited by this event and are looking forward to it! Then on Friday, June 27th at Mascher Space Co-op we’ll be hosting the Lexie Mountain Boys. More info on both of these events to be found on the events page soon. Will add one more review here on the Arborea disc, this time coming from the latest issue of The Wire: "..In contrast to the summer nostalgia of their 2006 debut, Wayfaring Summer, Arborea evokes the Currans’ Maine home as a place of murky pine forests, snowbound winters and unquiet ghosts. According to the CD sleeve, most of the music is here a first take improvisation. Presumably this refers to the sung melody or guitar lines that form the core of each song, for much of the record’s charm comes from the blending of Shanti Curran’s vocals, which bring a more desolate edge to Vashti Bunyan’s breathy purity, with sparse but carefully conceived accompaniment. On opener “Forwarned”, the menace hinted at by her lilting melody is made apparent by a counterpoint of piercing, discordant cries like the wailing of supernatural mourners, trickling percussion and guitar plucked with lingering vibrato. “Red Bird”, meanwhile, adds a moan of cello from Espers’ Helena Espvall to a crisp lament. Psychedelic touches are used sparingly but effectively: “ides of March” pairs slide guitar with backwards drones redolent of dragging tides, whereas “Black Mountain Road” starts out like a hillbilly nightmare of reversed banjo and glossolalia before an about turn revels its flipside to be an ethereal ballad, a rare sunny moment made more fleeting by the darkness that surrounds it.” – Abi Bliss Thank you Abi, and thank you for reading..

5/7/2008:

Shows and special offer for May! Let’s start with a recap of the label showcase. Everyone put in great sets and it was a grand evening of music. Unfortunately in the rush to get everything over to the venue I forgot to bring my camera, but did get some pics from friends. Eric Carbonara with MC Needles Jones. Dora Bleu with special guest Helena Espvall. There is also a video of George Korein performing “It Came From the Woods”! The show is also being posted as streamin audio by dmusic, who helped us out on the evening as well. Much of the show is posted already, the rest should be up before too long. My sincere thanks to everyone that performed and came out for the gig!! Speaking of George Korein, here’s another review of Another Corpse, from Foxy Digitalis. "Indeed it was the metallic nature of this disc that left the strongest impact on me- sharp, piercing machine tones sounding like possessed alarm clocks buzzing in a symphonic celebration of the undead. Tones are twisted into uneasy melodies only to shatter into shards of distorted sound. It's unusual stuff for sure, and that's what initially excited me. However, it's Korein's ability to hone and define this particular sound over the course of an entire album that really drives "Another Corpse" home as an innovative and captivating whole. Most of the disc seems centered around one particular tone that Korein is investigating. It's kind of like the lo-fi buzz of a black metal guitarist, but somehow more mechanic, as if it's being made by a malfunctioning machine. This sound is isolated for much of the disc and allowed to breath and really sink into the listeners subconscious. It's a little reminiscent of Kevin Drumm's masterpiece, "Shear Hellish Miasma" in that both albums share the same obsession with turning seemingly dissonant atonal noise into hypnotic walls of sound. There are some great surprises as well including a duet with cellist Helena Espvall and some brutal drums from Keith Abrams that come out of nowhere and totally crush everything in their path.” -Charles Franklin. The same folks also weigh in on the (((vlubä))) release. "Vlubä are an Argentine group that has absorbed and blended drone, psych freakout jams, Latin and Asian folk percussion to create a mix that sounds mystical and personal at once. You can imagine hearing the 2 long tracks that make up “Eternal Music” around a campfire, with friends, with or without peyote. The first track is the more trad sounding of the two untitled pieces here; the second uses more ambient and electronic washes. There is definitely a trippy aspect to the affair, with both tracks employing minimal themes and repetition. What makes this music eternal, aside from whatever spiritual aim its players may have had, is the timelessness of the arrangements. It is difficult to place it, as it fits easily into many of today’s underground genres as well as ancient local rhythms. They make music that playfully explores form while remaining grounded in a single unifying line or two in each piece. Use it for whatever you want; it is good, powerful music for fore and background. -Mike Wood Over on the events page those in the Philadelphia can read more about two gigs were having this month. On the 17th at the Coffin Factory it’s Larkin Grimm, Orion Rigel Dommisse, Satellite and Katt Hernandez. On the 31st the fine folks at Sherman Community Arts present the Arborea CD release party at the Green Line. Also performing are Woodwose, W-S Burn & Alexander Turnquist. Thanks for getting together a great evening of music! For the rest of the month of May, we’re having a buy 2 get one free special as a way of celebrating the showcase and other good fortune. When ordering via paypal, in the comments just mention which disc you want in the comments section (hopefully how to do this when ordering by check is obvious). Feel free to mix Fire Museum and Majmua Music releases, of course if you do the Majmua release will be the free one. This special will end on May 31st, right after the Arborea gig! Will wait until the next announcement to go into detail regarding our summer solstice event, it’s shaping up to be amazing!!