After releasing a few singles, Saturndust’s first full length release came out earlier this year and it more than delivers. Hailing from Sao Paolo, they wrote to a blog called The Sludge Lord and described their background

We’re trying to “stand our ground” in the underground, but it’s hard to find Sludge or Psychedelic Doom bands in our country. Maybe we’re the only ones. And the “scene” here is still growing with the rest, which all goes influenced by bands like Clutch, that it’s not of our business.”

I think they’ve done more than stand their ground with their self-titled debut, which can be purchased digitally at the band’s Bandcamp or on vinyl at Helmet Lady Records. Drifting between space-y ambience and riff-laden doom I read that this record was like visiting a swamp in space and that is better than I ever could have said it.

Based out of Olympia, WA, Wolves in the Throne Room have been fusing black metal with doom and ambient influences with their own dark magic since their 2005 untitled debut, which they self released and sent to retailers like Aquarius Records wrapped in fur with a moss insert. Dia Artio is the more ambient lead track off their 2007 release Two Hunters, which was their first with Southern Lord. For Two Hunters they tapped Randall Dunn to produce the record and the band introduced analog synthesizers to their drums and guitars, which have remained in the band’s sound ever since. Two Hunters was the first in a trilogy of releases that concluded with 2011 Celestial Lineage. Their whole catalog is available to purchase and stream on their Bandcamp while physical releases can be found on Discogs and at Southern Lord.

Although this novelty hit was credited to The Marathons, this ode to everybody’s favorite nut-based spread was actually recorded by the members of a group called The Vibrations. Lead vocalist Jimmy Johnson, along with Don Bradley (bass), Carl Fisher (tenor), Dave Govan (baritone), and Richard Owens (first tenor), met while students in an LA high school and began recording as The Jay Hawks. Johnson, along with manager Al Curry and Ernetstine Smith (who was a teenager when she helped pen the song) recorded a minor hit in 1956 with “Stranded in the Jungle.” The song would become even more well-known after a version by The Cadets, came out later that year. The New York Dolls recorded their own version for their 1974 album Too Much Too Soon.

In 1961, the group charted again with “The Watusi” under the name The Vibrations, which they would use for much of their career. They also recorded Peanut Butter, which had been written by H.B. Barnum, who has written songs and produced records for the likes of Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, Etta James, Aretha Franklin, and The Supremes. What possessed him to create this ode to what is admittedly a delightful spread remains shrouded in mystery. Regardless, he thought the Vibrations would sound great for his peanut butter song. The group had to record under another name in order to avoid being found in breach of their contract with Checker Records, who had just released Watusi. Perhaps the success of Peanut Butter caught all parties off guard, but the ruse was quickly found out and Checker was able to release copies of Peanut Butter in addition to Arvee Records, which had released the Marathons version. Arvee actually recorded a whole album to support Peanut Butter, putting together a new lineup to record the other tracks.

While the “original” Marathons were short lived, The Vibrations continued recording into the 60s. Their best known single from this period was 1965’s “My Girl Sloopy”, which became a number one hit for The McCoys later in the same year. They continued to record throughout the decade, recording an uptempo version of “Over the Rainbow”, a nice ballad “Oh Cindy”, and “Don’t Say Goodbye”, among many others. In 1972 the group recorded “Ain’t No Greens in Harlem” before disbanding.

This track comes off Numero Groups phenomenal Home Schooled: The ABCs of Kid Soul, which features a ton of great groups of kids singing soul music that didn’t create a weird Peter Pan-inspired ranch or show their nipples at the Super Bowl later in their lives (as far as I can tell). This is my favorite track on this comp and it comes from a group out of Silver Spring, Maryland. They were discovered performing in a Holiday Inn ballroom as the Gerladets by Robert Hosea Williams, who wanted to market the group to adults after the Jackson 5 exploded in the early 70s. Williams originally wanted to call the group Kiss, but had to change the name to Promise after a certain long-tongued, platform-booted outfit of the same name was given a record deal in 1973.

Though the group only recorded two singles for New Directions Records, both of which received little airplay and attention, they did open for Stevie Wonder, James Brown, and the Supremes, which is more than most children can (probably) say. I couldn’t find much in the way of information about this group short of reading the bio from Numero’s website, but I’ve spent plenty of time imagining choreographed routines to this song in this style to more than make up for the lack of information:

Created with a mixture of tape loops, acoustic bass, percussion, and a Japanese instrument known as a Shakuhachi, Untold Story: The Edge of Sleep is part two of a five part composition by Paul Dresher and Neal Rothenberg on their Opposites Attract record from 1991. Both artists were classically trained in composition, though Rothenberg has been influential in the free improvisation school. Both draw on both the Western canon as well as non-Western influences like the Shakhuachi (played by Rothenberg) and Gahanian percussion and Hindustani classical music, which Dresher studied after studying composition under the influential electronic composer Pauline Oliveros. The record was released by New World Record, which aims to release the work of American composers who find difficulty realizing their work through commercial labels. The story of how the label started is pretty sweet:

The company was founded with a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation with a mandate to produce a 100-disc anthology of American music encompassing the broadest possible spectrum of musical genres. This set of recordings, together with their extensive liner notes, provides a core curriculum in American music and American studies. In 1978 the Anthology was completed and distributed free of charge to almost 7,000 educational and cultural institutions throughout the world.

Dresher has not released anything since 2004, while Rothenberg has remained prolific throughout the 1990s and 2000s. His most recent release was entitled World of Odd Harmonics, which was put out by the avant garde label Tzadik.

Based out of Bandung, Indonesia, Anggung Kuy Kay and Ryan Nobie Adzani create electronic ambient works under the collective name Bottlesmoker. Using an extensive array of modified/customized synths and keyboards (which can be seen in this live version of Frozen Scratch Cerulean) the duo record most of their work at home and, at least at first, released CDs primarily through a burn-on-demand system. Their music can also be found on the website for the netlabel Dystopiaq, which seems to have stopped releasing new music for the time being. The website appears to still be supported so the downloads work, for those who wish to download the album through them. Bottlesmoker have a bunch of photo diaries and other music to check out on their website as well.

Tanner Garza is a Houston-based producer of ambient/drone music who often utilizes a combination of guitar, synth, and various tape manipulation techniques. As a child he began playing music on the electric bass and moved from an early interest in metal towards more experiments with ambient/drone music. Eventually he approached Richard Ramirez, who had been involved in forming the harsh noise collective Black Leather Jesus a few years earlier, to see if he could perform at one of their shows, which happened with some frequency around the Houston area. He would go on to join Black Leather Jesus a few years later. Much of his output is created by taking signal input from an electric bass, guitar, or synth and running that through a variety of effects pedals and a four track cassette recorder. He founded Bookend Recordings, where much of his material is released. Digital downloads are available for sale at the Bookend Recordings Bandcamp page while physical releases may be available if you cruise his Discogs to see if any labels he’s released with are still selling them new, although they seem to go fast.

El Huervo is the moniker of Swedish producer/painter Niklas Åkerblad. This track comes off a cassette titled World’s End that was put out by Swedish Columbia earlier this year. In addition to painting and releasing his own music, El Huervo also created soundtracks to accompany video games, including Kometen for iOS, else { Heart.break() }, and Clairvoyance. He also had a few tracks appear on the soundtrack to Hotline Miami as well as the sequel. As a result of these appearances, he produced an instrumental for Mega Ran and The Regiment that led to the track Venting. For a few of those games he is also the primary artist, if you couldn’t tell from the similarities between the game screenshots and the cover for World’s End (and his other releases). The soundtrack for else { Heart.break() } is available on Bandcamp, also through Swedish Columbia.

Michael Stearns has been composing ambient electronic music since around 1975, when he met Emily Conrad and Gary “Da’oud” David, who were running meditation workshops with live music composed on a Minimoog synthesizer during each class. Stearns moved to California and became the resident composer at these Continuum workshops. He began releasing solo records on his own Continuum Montage imprint. This track comes from his fourth record, Planetary Unfolding, released in 1981. Around that time he became friends with Kevin Braheny, who had a talent for creating modular synthesizers, which inspired Stearns to create his own soon after. In addition to these electronic instruments he was introduced to an instrument ominously called The Beam, which he explains the construction of in this video. Essentially it has a large aluminum body with pickups underneath 24 piano strings, and is played by moving a large metal cylinder, similar to a guitar slide, up and down the strings while striking the cylinder, among other methods.

He used his modular synths and The Beam to create the score for Ron Fricke’s documentary films. Fricke worked as a cinematographer on Koyaanisqatsi and would go on to direct his own series of abstract documentary features: Chronos (Full movie), Baraka (Trailer), and Samsara (Trailer). All three are absolutely stunning and feature beautiful original soundtracks composed by Michael Stearns. These works were shown in IMAX, which is as expansive in audio capabilities (in many cases) as it is visually. He subsequently established Michael Stearns Productions, which works on sound installations and producing soundtracks for IMAX films. Some of his credits include the Back to the Future Ride at Universal Studios, Star Trek The Experience for Paramount, and sound installations at various planetaria around the country. As the Earth Kissed the Moon appeared in excerpted form on the 2013 Light in the Attic compilation I Am The Center (Private Issue New Age Music In America, 1950-1990), which I highly recommend. Those interested in purchasing digital files will find them on Stearns’ Bandcamp. As for physical releases, Discogs is your best bet although you might have to pay through the nose for the LPs.

회사AUTO makes his debut on the London-based electronic/vaporwave label Dream Catalogue with 仙Android. According to an interview with Neon Vice 회사AUTO aims to create

Something that when people hear it, it’s like seeing a new color; that feeling when you first heard a French horn or saw abstract piece of art—this is what I strive towards. … I grew up listening to a lot of R&B; I love how it draws from two inverse sounds—the holy and the earthly. I find this heterogeneity to be a perfect balance of tension and relaxation.

회사AUTO released two cassettes with Illuminated Paths, -Q- and new​.​age∮86, before this cassette. The title of this release was inspired by both Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and the Chinese character 仙, which translates to “immortal.” It can be purchased on cassette from Dream Catalogue on Bandcamp.