IVOR CUTLER : An Elpee and Two Epees

"Ivor Cutler's very earliest work was very hard to find in the decades after it was first issued. This compilation does an exemplary job of restoring it to wide availability, its 28 tracks combining everything from the 1961 LP Who Tore Your Trousers?, the 1959 EP Ivor Cutler of Y'Hup, and the 1961 EP Get Away from the Wall. Cutler's material would become more outrageously surreal on later recordings, perhaps, but these efforts are very much in step with the style for which he's beloved. With almost equal doses of spoken word and warbly singing with harmonium, these pieces take gentle pokes that subtly transform everyday experiences into something nearly surreal. It might be too gentle and subtle for those who like their comedy brash, or for Americans not attuned to his very British brand of humor. Still, it's easy to hear elements that the likes of the Bonzo Dog Band and Monty Python would take to more vivid (and more internationally accessible) extremes. And if it's not often laugh-out-loud funny, or too musically diverse, there's plenty of weird wordplay to generate amusement, such as his ode to a "Muscular Tree" and "Stick Out Your Chest," whose exhortative lyrics are totally undercut by Cutler's knowingly silly tone." (from ALLMUSIC Guide)


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ANTENA : Camino del Sol

"One of the lesser stars in the Factory Records universe, Antena were a mutant anomaly, a chance meeting of Jobim samba and Young Marble Giants electro-pop austerity. Few heard them in the early '80s when they were around, partially because they were stuck in the wasteland of Factory Benelux, the Belgian little brother of the main Factory operation in Manchester that never had the sway of its elder. It probably didn't help that Young Marble Giants spinoff group Weekend and labelmates A Certain Ratio were plying a similar fusion of Latin rhythms and pop song structure, although neither produced an end result as intimate or insular as that of Antena. Isabella Antena's chanteuse-whisper vocals provide one of the clues to the group's uniqueness, as do the pencil-thin synth lines and genteel bossa nova drum machine patterns -- both of which sound out of place among their contemporaries, with the exception of John Foxx, but have a revelatory quality in light of groups that have come since; think Smokey & Miho, Adult., Kahimi Karie, Arto Lindsay, even Beck."

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FELT : Let The Snakes Crinkle Their Heads To Death

Another one for the FELT Fans...

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FELT : Poem of the River

Red Krayola leader Mayo Thompson took over the producer's chair for this EP, but the sound was very similar to Felt's masterwork of the year before, Forever Breathes the Lonely Word. Focusing on the contributions of keyboardist Martin Duffy (who'd become singer Lawrence Hayward's main instrumental foil after the departure of guitarist Maurice Deebank), Poem of the River once again offered rich, organ-enhanced folk-rock topped with Hayward's droning but expressive vocals.

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VARIOUS ARTISTS : Absolute

"Thirteen tracks culled from two long-deleted LP’s: ‘You Bet We’ve Got Something Against You’ and ‘Fight’. Compiled by Robert King for Glasgow label Cathexis Recordings in 1986 and 1987, these songs stand out as some of the best examples of one of Great Britain’s more indescribable musical movements of the mid-eighties. Not exactly pop, not exactly electronic, yet somehow still very sure of what they were doing, the bands on ‘Absolute’ were above all else British, living in the center of the independent rock thing, pushing out the edges of what we defined as ‘music’. Using found noise and the raw sounds of a decaying Idustrial British landscape, these groups created a sensation in the underground, inspiring musicians around the globe to experiment and find new ways to express themselves."(taken from soleilmoon.com)

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KLUSTER : Eruption

album from1971, when the "Cluster with C" duo
of Moebius and Roedelius was a triowith Conrad Schnitzler,
making pioneering, prehistoric ambient/industrial/electronica.
And, unlike the first two Kluster records, there's no German
spoken religious narrative included (and it's plenty spooky without it).

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LUCIANO CILIO : Dell' Universo Assente

This is such a Beautiful recording.You must check it out if you are unfamiliar with it.

"Cilio was from Naples, and worked both in the musical and theatrical circuit of the city, collaborating with Alan Sorrenti, Shawn Phillips and Armando Piazza in the first part of the 70's. A talented piano, guitar and sitar player, he was always interested in new forms of avantgarde music.

The album, his only record release, was released in 1977 by EMI and composed by four main parts and an interlude.
With help from many guest musicians including well known session players Toni Esposito and Robert Fix the album is mostly instrumental and with long parts built on acoustic guitar, piano, cello and other classical instruments, the only vocal parts are wordless chants.

The album was not particularly successful and closed the career of Cilio as musician, though he was involved in many important artistic events held in Naples until his death by suicide in 1983." (taken from italianprog.com)

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

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PAOLO ANGELI : Linee Di Fuga

"An excellent and imaginative collection of pieces for Sardinian Guitar (larger and tuner lower than the Spanish variety) to which Paulo has added 12 pickups (in order to be able to treat the sound from each string and various parts of the instrument individually) a foot-board linked to the strings for simultaneous rhythmic accompaniment and electric motors. All manner of techniques are applied to both composed and improvised pieces. The possibilities of the instrument are thoroughly explored. A mature and definitive record."

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LOREN MAZZACANE CONNORS : Moonyean

This is truely one of my favorite Mazzacane recordings, which is now sadly out of print...a beautiful recording and a must have...(Sorry I do not have artwork included in files)
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED



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MARK MOTHERSBAUGH : Music for Edward Gorey

This is a CDR private release of 300 copies for , I believe, a BBC Docu on Edward Gorey. I am not sure if the Docu ever aired or not. There are a few audible flits and stutters here and there but those were on my original release... I feel that it was either the CDR transfer or using crappy cdr's as the medium...anyway, here it is and hope you enjoy...

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CHET BAKER : Sings and Plays from the Film Let's Get Lost

"This album consists of the tracks Baker recorded especially for the Bruce Weber documentary `Let's get lost' - a retrospective of the life of the great horn player and vocalist. Baker's life was troubled - his drug addiction is legendary, and ultimately caused his death, directly or indirectly, as the individual chooses to view the events. His musical genius is indisputable - and these recordings are an incredible witness to that. The group accompanying Baker (featured here on trumpet & vocals) is a small one: Frank Strazzeri (piano), John Leftwich (bass), Ralph Penland (drums & percussion) and Nicola Stilo (guitar & flute). There are standards a-plenty here - songs that will be loved forever by the likes of Duke Ellington & Billy Strayhorn, Cole Porter, Johnny Burke & Jimmy VanHuesen, Antonio Carlos Jobim - as well as a tune by none other than Elvis Costello, just to show that great ones are still being written.

Baker was always a fine vocalist - and no one else sounds quite like him. There are times when it sounds like he's hanging onto the notes by his fingernails - but there's never a moment (here, or in anything I've ever heard him sing) when he sounds detached from the song. Every one of his performances is filtered through his heart and soul - and that's a beautiful thing to experience. Without taking such extreme liberties that the melody is unrecognizable (as many who style themselves `jazz vocalists' seem to do), Baker lovingly caresses each tune and makes it his own. The sheer intimacy that Baker is able to express in the love songs makes the listener feel like he or she is eavesdropping on a conversation from the next table in a dimly lit, wee-hours jazz club - and it's a privilege to share such raw, honest feelings.

The players are perfect in their support here - Baker's voice is the center of every arrangement, but with an instrument as magnetic as the singer possesses, how could it be otherwise? His trumpet playing is as fine as ever, even at this late stage of the game. It's sometimes sad to listen - there's pain so clearly and eloquently expressed in every song - but there's an unnamable joy present as well, for what a gift it is that he shares with us!

Weber's documentary is hard to watch as well - Baker's life was a hard one, filled with pain and sorrow, for which he turned to heroin. It's heartbreaking to witness someone hurting so much - but his music is without question of the timeless variety, and something to be treasured." (Sorry I do not have artwork included in the files)

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EDUARDO BORT : Eduardo Bort

One of the most impressive Spanish rock albums from the 70's. Astonishing blend of psychedelia, progressive, synphonic, folk, rock and jazz. The production of the album is amazing, and the in- your- face guitars by Eduardo will knock you out. (sorry I do not have original artwork included in files)

Highly Recommended

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PATAPHONIE : Le Matin Blanc

PATAPHONIE is a unique instrumental trio of the new musics scene in France. The only album recorded by André VIAUD (Guitars), Gilles ROUSSEAU (Drums & percussions) and Pierre DEMOURON (Bass) dates back to 1978. "Le Matin Blanc" proves to be a mature and powerful album, as much a Rock In Opposition production, domain of Chris CUTLER (HENRY COW) as a Progressive rock issue (KING CRIMSON). The Gazul reissue includes various bonus tracks recorded live on the 4th May 1980, during one of the band's last shows. A historical document !

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ENNIO MORRICONE : Danger Diabolik

This legendary soundtrack (to the mod 60s classic "sci fi" caper) has received a limited re-release. Judging from the sound and copious use of dialogue, the CD appears to be a spin off of the European DVD release (which also uses the same sleeve art). This is probably the case since the original tapes were lost in a studio fire many years ago and a full LP never received general release. That said, Danger: Diabolik is sure to thrill both fans of the movie and Morricone's '60s work.Great Fun, a Highly recommended download.

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LENNY BREAU : The Velvet Touch of Lenny Breau Live

Possibly the greatest Jazz album ever recorded.His ability to play chords, melody, and a bassline simultaneously has to be heard to be believed.

A MUSTHAVE RECORDING!!!

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THE RELICT : Tomorrow is Again

An Amazing release by members of The Clientele, The Pines and The Pipas. Lush music that grows sweeter with every listen. Here is a review by Mark Barton from Losing Today.

"Well I’ll be damned if this isn’t the sweetest thing you’ll hear all year as I can’t think of anything that barely comes close other than maybe the recent Gravenhurst release in terms of the Nick Drake reference points, but as they say more of that later. The debut album by the Relict who feature former Clientele member Innes Phillips aided Pam Berry of the Pines and Lupe Nunas of the Pipas.

‘Tomorrow is Again’ features 12 songs of such melodic depth and texture as to have your head dizzy with delight, collecting together several new choice cuts that sit neatly aside a few lost gems from long sold out singles releases including the captivating debut ‘Southern Way’ which even to this day still sends shivers down the spine, however they disappointingly omit the gorgeous ‘Out of Time’ which appeared on the split release with Below the Sea which was this listeners introduction to the band all those years ago.

Like the Clientele, the Relict furrow the path of sensitivity, the sounds invoke vague 60’s memories yet are etched with a curious contradictory quotient of uplifting melancholia, summery harmonies and languid autumnal melodies and pierced with such a faintly fragile nature that you fear that their delicate stature will crumble at the slightest movement. If your looking for reference points then familiarising yourself with the likes of Damon and Naomi with Ghost, latter period Velvet Underground, Clock Strikes 13, several early releases from the Go Betweens canon won’t go amiss, oh yeah and a firm appreciation of Nick Drake should go some way to revealing the kind of exalted spheres this lot occupy.

For the most part ‘Tomorrow’ is a docile feast of captivating spectral harmonies playing hide and seek in the evening shade with love lorn melodies, it’s those memories of love’s past that evoke a caring fondness, from the breathlessly breezy lulling of ‘Time spent with you’ that opens the collection to the closing apologetic softness of ‘Darling I know’, The Relict tenderly caress the senses holding the emotions prisoner like in their gently teasing grip, replete with tumbling pastoral chords, the naked arrangements some how come to joyous life sparkling and exuding their aura of spellbinding passions, the irresistible incandescent ‘Held in glass’ featuring the drifting vocals of Abigail Marvell aligned to some deliciously gentle spun acoustics which hints at a classic fragile beauty at its core, while the trembling ‘Childlike’ is just oozes with sublime intent. Then there’s the spine tingling out of time elegance of the ghostly ‘Along the Avenue’ subtly recalls the ghostly tremors of the Stranglers ‘Feline’.

‘Tomorrow is Again’ is a truly enchanting experience, dare you miss it? Best listened to
wrapped up with a loved one"

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Notre-Dame : Comment L'Amour Est Mort

An Infectious CD that seeps into you... this is one that stayed in my player for months at a time.
Great pop music. Here is a translated blurb from the bands website...sorry for the translation.

"Notre-Dame is the group with which Arnaud Fleurent-Didier started to write songs (at the beginning of 90's) and illustrated itself in the small medium of pop-arranged Parisian with a first original Chansons disc. A confidential recognition, which will make it possible Notre-Dame to make hear its music, and to meet foreign producers. Thus, French Songs, first disc solo of Arnaud, leaves in 1998 at Quince Records, a Japanese label, always under the name of Notre-Dame. In spite of the barrier of the language, Arnaud finds his public abroad and sees growing his notoriety in France: he appears on considerable compilations, in particular on I Hear Voices, compilation of Recordmakers, label founded by the French band Air, which proposes to make discover the new Frenchies talents. Concerts follow, in group or piano solo, and a second album with Quince in 2002: Comment l'amour est mort."

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WELCOME TO POCUSCADABRA.

Welcome to Pocuscadabra... the blog for music that I enjoy and wish to share with others. I realize there are alot of other music blogs out there and I will attempt to list things that are not already up on current blogs... if I do however, please forgive me. I will also try to rip my music at the highest possible kbps and include artwork in my files when possible. I greatly appreciate comments or suggestions so please feel free. I am new to this music blog thing so please forgive me for any technical difficulties that may occur, as I mentioned I appreciate comments etc.
I hope that you enjoy the blog, but most of all get turned onto something new that in time becomes a favorite.