Author: musicforcougars

Michael Hurley – Lonesome Graveyard

Michael Hurley has been writing songs and performing since the early 1960s, though never in the same place for very long. His first release, First Songs, came out on Folkways Recordings in 1964 and he didn’t release another record until 1971’s Armchair Boogie. Though Lonesome Graveyard features keyboards over guitar, much of his output relies on acoustic guitar, fiddle, and his weary vocals. Before he even began writing songs, he would draw comics for his own amusement which featured two wolf characters named Boonie and Jocko who wear human clothes, drink wine, and generally philander. He paints the art for his albums himself, and many feature these two and other humanoid animals engaged in other forms of debauchery. Over the years he has developed something of a cult following, and as a result he’s been able to release records and perform pretty regularly since the early 1970s. His songs have been covered by the likes of Cat Power and Espers, which has led to increased interest in his work in recent years. According to an interview with NPR:

“They have to have their festivals … [w]henever they have one, they have to have their grandfather with them, which is good for me, because my peers aren’t going to come out that night anyway.”

With over 25 releases, it can be a bit daunting to know where to start. For what it’s worth, I’d check out Armchair Boogie, Parsnip Snips, and Ancestral Swamp.

Skip James – Drunken Spree

This version of “Drunken Spree” comes off Skip James’ 1966 release Skip James Today! The exclamation mark was in order, because it came thirty years after his first and (up until then) only recordings were met with mild response in 1931. It’s likely that the tough economic times played a role, though perhaps his idiosyncratic tuning and playing style were not particularly popular at the time. The lack of success had relegated him to obscurity, though his fingerpicking technique and somber songwriting style endeared him to blues enthusiasts like John Fahey. He was rediscovered during a spell in the hospital, and was thrust into the role of elder statesman for the folk/blues revival that kicked off in the early 1960, appearing at the Newport Folk Festival. You can see some rare footage of him performing at Newport here. Though you may not recognize his name, you might have heard the song “Hard Time Killing Floor Blues,” which he recorded in 1931 and which later appeared as on the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack as covered by Chris Thomas King. Capitalizing on this renewed interest, he recorded a flurry of material in the early sixties, much of which has not been released or is scattered on various compilations. You can see a more complete listing of his output over at Discogs. He died in Philadelphia in 1969 at the age of 67.

Henk Badings – Electronic Ballet Music “Cain and Abel” (Abridged Version)

Despite having little formal musical training, Henk Badings held teaching positions throughout the mid-20th centuries and remains one of the most prolific and influential Dutch composers. Unfortunately, he accepted a teaching post at the Royal Conservatory of the Hague in 1942 offered by the Dutch government, replacing a Jewish director who was ousted at the request of the Nazi regime. While this allowed him to remain productive during WWII, it largely destroyed his reputation in post-war Europe and his work has only recently been re-contextualized outside of this decision.

He was born in the then-Dutch colony of Java (present day Indonesia) and remarked later in his life that the native sounds he heard as a child influenced his compositions immensely. I find some of the repetitive elements of his “Cain and Abel” ballet are reminiscent of the gamelan music that was so important to man early 20th century composers. He wrote for more conventional instruments in addition to his electronic compositions, including a cycle of 15 symphonies and various radio operas which share the ominous and frenizied experimentation of this ballet piece.

Danny Kirwan – Misty River

Danny Kirwan began performing live with Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac in 1968 and made his first album appearance on their 1969 release Then Play On. According to Peter Green, Kirwan “was so into it that he cried when he played,” which is awesome. He would perform and record with the band until 1972 when, before a concert he and relative newcomer Bob Welch (who had joined a year earlier) fought over guitar tuning and Kirwan refused to perform. He was promptly fired from the band. According to Mick Fleetwood, he looked at is as “putting him out of his agony,” though it’s likely Kirwan didn’t look at it that way. His sound shifted after his departure from Fleetwood Mac away from blues guitar towards softer, AM pop sounds. Though he recorded three solo records, Second Chapter, Midnight in San Juan (which features Misty River), and Hello There Big Boy! he essentially refused to perform in support of them. He didn’t record or perform again according to most accounts, and allegedly was homeless for spells throughout the 1980s and 90s. There have been talks over the years about reuniting the early Fleetwood Mac lineup with Green and slide guitarist Jeremy Spencer, but nothing has come of them and bassist John McVie thinks it unlikely Kirwan will ever participate. I guess joining the greatest band of all time (and they are, by the way) when you’re 18 is a bit of a double-edged sword.

Martin Zeichnete – Morgenröte

Martin Zeichnete was a sound editor with the state-owned East German film studio, the Deutsche Film-Aktiengesellschaft, when he began hearing the cosmic sounds of Kraftwerk, Neu!, and Can drifting over the Berlin Wall and into his radio. An avid runner, he had the idea of utilizing this new electronic music as training music. After telling a few of his colleagues this idea, he was approached by two state agents and brought to an undisclosed location where they interrogated him for a few hours. To his surprise, they informed him that the project would begin immediately.

From 1972 until 1983 he and a group of other musicians recorded music for East German Olympians in a variety of events, from running to gymnastic floor routines. He also composed ambient music to be played in stadiums before events began. Athletes were some of the first people on the other side of the wall to get Walkmen, which they received specifically in conjunction with what Martin and his associates called Projekt Kosmischer Läufer or “Cosmic Runner.” Though the recordings were technically property of the state, he spirited as many as he could away but assumed the masters were destroyed in the chaos surrounding the fall of the Soviet Union. Luckily an engineer had saved many recordings, and they were released by Unknown Capability Recordings, with Volume 1 coming in 2013 and Volume 2 coming in March of 2014. They just announced that pre-order Volume 3 is available for pre-order. Volume 3 consists of more running tracks along with the soundtrack to an aborted animated film project designed to help an East German bid to host the Olympics. Unknown Capability also has a page with lots of other information about this awesome project, so check it out.

Lal & Mike Waterson – Danny Rose

Perhaps best known for their tight vocal harmonies and recordings of old folk standards as The Watersons, Danny Rose comes off Lal and Mike Watersons now-beloved folk classic Bright Phoebus. The renewed interest in folk music in the 1960s was kind to the ancient sounding vocal work of The Waterson Family. However, many fans of their vocal work were not kind to Bright Phoebus because it incorporated elements of rock n’ roll and country music, an apparent betrayal to their central role in the folk revival. It was beset by further problems when half of the 2,000 albums were pressed with center holes which were not quite center followed by their label, Trailer Records, going bankrupt soon after.

Since this initial frosty response, it has since been embraced as a pioneering record and many covers have been recorded. The best version I’ve heard comes from Hiss Golden Messenger and William Tyler who I first heard perform it on a cassette recording of a session at Duke University’s WXDU. The record was recorded in a tizzy over a two week period, and includes performances from Richard Thompson and Steeleye Span’s Tim Hart. Lal Waterson passed away in 2009 and Mike went two years later, leaving behind a once-forgotten gem that has now become a collector’s items, with original pressings fetching as much as 280 bucks.

Jerry Hionis – Last Days of Worms

Jerry Hionis is an American Primitive-style guitar player who, when he’s not picking away, is also an assistant professor of Economics. I think that’s a first here at Orion’s Bastard. He researches fancy sounding things like conflict theory, but I’m mostly interested in the music, though some of his research does sound pretty interesting. According to his Facebook he’s got some new stuff in the works, which is very exciting. This post is a little lighter on info than usual but I think the music itself is pretty solid.

Mathias Grassow – Meditation Waves

Mathias Grassow has been recording synthesizer music since the mid 80s, where he drew inspiration from fellow German groups like Popol Vuh and Tangerine Dream and began recording a meditative blend of New Age and Krautrock. His first release, At the Gates of Dawn, came out on cassette in 1986. In addition to synth he also records with flute, guitar, and other electronics and while live performances are rare, they are crafted to create an immersive experience.

In this kind of music it’s very important, to have a nice place to play – not normal locations, but more places like a church, caves (remember my ‘Lanzarote concerts’) and open-airs.

I tried to find some pictures of those concerts but was unable to find any, but this video of a performance seems to capture the spirit nicely. In fact a recent concert of his took place at a retreat in Germany where all the guests had just completed a ten day vow of silence! While much of his output consists of solo works, he has released collaborations with Agalloch member John Haugm and Closing the Eternity in addition to projects like Nostalgia and KarmaCosmic. Most if not all his discography his available for streaming/purchase on his Bandcamp page. Those interested in physical releases should head over to Discogs.

Celer – Ceramic Foam Party

This track by Celer comes from the period where the project comprised the husband and wife duo of Will Long and Danielle Baquet-Long, who recorded under the name Chubby Wolf. After Baquet-Long passed away in 2009, Long has continued to record under the Celer name and also runs the Two Acorns label.

The couple began releasing cassettes themselves in 2004, with each packaged in hand decorated artwork like this packaging for a compilation bundle of multiple releases housing mini CDs, a standard CD and a 7″ single:

exterior of Brittle

interior of one package

The CDs, mini CDs, 7″ came in their own enclosure and were held together with string. According to Hard Format (also the source of the above images) this was one of the last designs Danielle made. While Celer’s packaging has perhaps become more standard, the number of releases per year has remained consistently impressive: Celer has had at least three releases every year since their founding, with thirteen full length releases and singles in 2009 alone. Those interested in hearing more and purchasing digital and physical releases should head to Celer’s Bandcamp, where much of their output is available for streaming and purchase.

Eluvium – Zerthis Was a Shivering Image

Lambent Material was the first output of Portland-based ambient composer Eluvium (aka Matthew Cooper), which was released by Temporary Residence in 2003. Temporary Residence is perhaps best known as the label for Explosions in The Sky (aka the music you inadvertently wept to while watching Friday Night Lights). In addition to sharing a label, Eluvium also collaborates with Explosions in the Sky guitarist Mark T Smith under the name Inventions. In 2009 Temporary Residence put out a box set collecting nearly all Eluvium’s material from 2003-2007 entitled Life Through Bombardment vol. 1. If you’re like me and only know about this recently, the fact that they sell for an average of 200 bucks is a big bummer. However, the second installment in the series is set to ship in December 2015 and it’ll only set you back a cool 150! His output varies from solo piano material which draws from more traditionally classical material like Erik Satie and Chopin to noise-infused drones reminiscent of Mathias Grassow and Coil’s Time Machines. Eluvium’s most recent solo release was January’s Pedals/Petals with an EP from Inventions entitled Blanket Waves coming this month.