Montreal’s AIDS Wolf has been touring behind their assaultive new album, Ma vie banale avant-garde, for about three weeks. They’re finishing this weekend with shows in DC, New York, and Boston. These are the dates.
After that,member Alexander Moskos continues touring as Drainolith, his disconcerting, cold, yet oddly inviting electronic noise project. That tour will hit LA for a few days, including a show at Dem Passwords on the 25th. You can RSVP on Facebook.
I asked Alexander and his fellow AIDS Wolfers, Yannick Desranleau and Chloe Lum, to share some video influences. Here they are!
Slyy is a Boston based producer genius duo comprised of Bug Eyes and Milochondria. Together they create the perfect harmony of IDM and pure smooth beatcraft. Their first full length collaborative effort is Serious Sauce Vol. 2. And oh my lord, it’s a doozy. Over the past few months since we got the masters not a day has gone by where we haven’t listened to part, if not all, of this odyssey. SSV2 is literrally the perfect soundtrack to just about any activity. This tape has been on constant repeat weather we’ve been cooking, cleaning, Mario Karting, feeding the snake, partying, chillin, throwing shows, biking, working or whatever. It’s constantly intriguing and enjoyable every time you hear it. It reminds me of when I first heard Boards of Canada or MF Doom. There is just something infectious and satisfying from a perfect beat, and that’s exactly what Slyy delivers. When we put this on at an Animal Town FMLY Dinner show the whole party starts to vibe and all the doobies come out. There’s just something magic about this record. I encourage you to get on some meaty headphones and enjoy the full cassette over at the MJ MJ Bandcamp, but if you’re short on time there are some samples below for your streaming pleasure. Both songs start off slow and reward your patience with a perfect groove that is unmistakably Slyy. SSV2 is available on cassette for five bucks and digital on a pay what you want basis from yr boys at MJ MJ.
Putting videos together really isn’t a strength of mine, but that doesn’t mean that it can’t be a whole lot of fun. A few weekends ago I got together with a few friends and shot a short PSA on the effects of the meat industry upon global climate change, deforestation, and the world at large. The more I’ve taken the time to think about the ritual of meat the more I’ve also developed a thread in relation to sexuality, both are highly fetishized and in Western society I’ve found value in comparing the default carnivore to the default heterosexual. Of course it’s all a part of the larger issue which is the industry of prescribed culture, but still fun to think about and a conversation piece rich for discussion. Anyways, enjoy the video and hopefully I have the confidence to make another someday about another subject I’m interested in. If you dig the tune, I’ve included it for download!
The first week of June gave us Haunt U Forever, Ricky Eat Acid‘s tenth release since May of 2010, yet with his strides in experimentation between EPs the familiarity I hold onto exists in the underlying character of Sam Ray‘s music. Rich in texture and with clear intent, Sam has the fingerprint of a young man curious for experiencing the diversity of his craft as he actively explores new methods in producing and recording his sounds.
Seeing Little Ghosts Everywhere, released today, finds progress in documenting sounds representative of time and place as an audio journal. Recorded through the summer the album casually carries themes of intimacy and isolation that are the bread and butter of my personal winter listening, and Sam has shared with us a document of his own person so gorgeous it’s liable to be worn and adorned as a necklace resting just over the heart; but that’s just what we’re personally doing with our cassette. It was a pleasure to take the time to chat with Sam about his new record, and be the lovely voice that presents to you… Seeing Little Ghosts Everywhere. Download the album for free and/or order a cassette right here.
FMLY: Your new album, Seeing Little Ghosts Everywhere, is such a welcome surprise in the Ricky Eat Acid saga. What was the recording process like?
Sam: Thank you! I’m so glad it’s welcomed because it might strike some people who have only heard select songs as pretty different. This past summer I was really fed up with the music I had been working on, so I began recording songs to my tape player for fun. They were originally under a different name, kind of a joke, and I played them for friends in online listening rooms and in my real room in ‘real’ life. I have a huge section of my heart, stomach and lungs reserved for ambient and drone music as well as piano compositions and field recordings… that kinda stuff, but I’m not sure if that had been represented in my music. I eventually gave up on the album I was already in the midst of recording and devoted my summer to finishing this project. So that’s basically what I did from May through August, in my room, after everyone else had gone to bed. Sometimes I’d sit outside during the rain and record on my porch, or other people’s houses. These songs aren’t outlets for any particular emotion, and are instead like a diary… each one has some story, or person, or place, or moment in time tied to it. In that way it is the most personal album I have shared.
FMLY: Every piece of this tape is such a warm and intimate experience, which instruments did you find yourself drawn to?
Sam:Seeing Little Ghosts Everywhere was recorded with a handful of toy instruments I’ve collected like old toy keyboards, toy pianos, some guitars, pianos, etc… as well as some help from my computer. Everything was recorded directly to my tiny tape player I picked up from an estate sale. The idea behind the full project is to have a series of pieces that can exist in their own little world. I hope that when you listen to them alone at night in the dark with your eyes closed they can be in their own delicate dreamworld… I just became filled with this incredible wanderlust where I wanted to journey through the Super Nintendo RPGs that I loved as a kid.
We claim the right to exist, and we will defend it. We do not seek to overthrow anything. We do not seek to control anything. We merely wish to be left alone.
All we ever wanted was to live in peace with our friends and neighbors. For a long, long time we bore insults to our liberty; we took blows, we did what we could to avoid injury and we worked through the system to get the offenses to stop. That has now changed. We no longer see any benefit in working through the world’s systems. At some point, working within a system becomes cowardly and immoral; for us, that point has arrived. Regardless of the parties in power, their governments have continued to restrict, restrain and punish us. We hereby reject them all. We hereby withdraw from them all. We hold the ruling states of this world and all that appertains to them to be self-serving and opposed to humanity.
We now withdraw our obedience and reclaim the right to strike back when struck. We will not initiate force, but we do reserve the right to answer it. We did not choose this—it was forced upon us.
You are building cages for all that is human. In the name of protection, you have intruded into all areas of human life, far exceeding the reach of any Caesar. You claim ultimate control of our property and our decisions, of our travels and even our identities. You claim ownership of humanity far beyond the dreams of any Emperor of any previous era. Understand clearly: We reject your authority and we reject your legitimacy. We do not believe that you have any right to do the things you do. You have massive power, but no right to impose it upon us and no legitimacy. We have forsaken you. We are no longer your citizens or your subjects.
Your systems are inherently anti-human, even if all their operators are not. We are not merely angry young people. We are fathers and mothers; aunts, uncles and grandparents; we are business owners and trusted employees; we are mechanics and engineers and farmers. We are nurses and accountants and students and executives. We are on every continent.
This is not a burst of outrage; this is a sober declaration that we no longer accept unearned suffering as our role in life.
For long decades we sat quietly, hoping that things would turn around. We took no actions; we suffered along with everyone else. But after having our limits pushed back again and again, we have given up on your systems.
If our fellow inhabitants of this planet wish to accept your rule, they are free to do so. We will not try to stop them. We, however, will no longer accept your constraints upon us. From now on, when you hurt us, we will bite back. If you leave us alone we will leave you alone and you can continue to rule your subjects. We are happy to live quietly. But if you come after us, there will be consequences.
You caused this because of your fetish for control and power. The chief men and women among you are pathologically driven to control everyone and everything that moves upon this planet. You have made yourselves the judge of every human activity. No god-king of the ancient world ever had the power that your systems do.
You have created a world where only the neutered are safe and where only outlaws are free.
We seek nothing from you. We do not want to rule you and we do not want to control you. All we wish is to live on earth in peace. As always, we will be helpful neighbors and generous acquaintances. We will remain honest business partners and trustworthy employees. We will continue to be loving parents and respectful children.
We will not, however, be sacrificial animals. We reject the idea that others have a right to our lives and our property. We will not demand anything from you, and we will no longer acquiesce to any demands upon us. We have left that game. We reject all obligations to any person or organization beyond honesty, fair dealing and a respect for human life. We will shortly explain what we believe, but we are not demanding that you agree with us. All we ask is that you do not try to stop us. Continue to play the game if you wish; we will not try to disrupt it. We have merely walked away from it.
We welcome and seek the verdict of a just God, before whom we are willing to expose our innermost thoughts. Are you similarly willing?
We would stand openly before all mankind if it were not suicidal. Perhaps some day we will have to accept slaughter for our crime of independence, but not yet.
Your criticism and your malice are much deeper than mere disagreements of strategy or philosophy. You do not oppose our philosophy, you oppose our existence. Our presence in the world means that your precious ideals are false. Some of you would rather kill us than face the loss of your ideologies, just as those like you have either hated or killed every sufficiently independent human.
You present yourselves to the world as compassionate, tolerant and enlightened, but we know that your smooth words are costumes. Oh yes, we know you, servant of the state; don’t forget, we were raised with you. We played with you in the schoolyard, we sat next to you in the classroom. Some of us studied at the same elite universities. We watched as you had your first tastes of power. We were the boys and girls standing next to you. Some of us were your first victims. We are not fooled by your carefully crafted public image.
#1: Many humans resent the responsibilities that are implied by consciousness. We accept those responsibilities and we embrace consciousness. Rather than letting things happen to us (avoiding consciousness), we accept consciousness and choose to act in our own interest. We do not seek the refuge of blaming others, neither do we take refuge in crowds. We are willing to act on our personal judgment, and we are willing to accept the consequences thereof.
#2: We believe in negative rights for all: That all humans should be free to do whatever they wish, as long as they do not intrude upon others; that no man has a right to the life, liberty or property of another; that we oppose aggression, fraud and coercion.
#3: We do not believe that our way of life, or any other, will make life perfect or trouble-free. We expect crime and disagreements and ugliness, and we are prepared to deal with them. We do not seek a strongman to step in and solve problems for us. We agree to see to them ourselves.
#4: We believe in free and unhindered commerce. So long as exchanges are voluntary and honest, no other party has a right to intervene—before, during or after.
#5: We believe that all individuals should keep their agreements.
#6: We believe that honestly obtained property is fully legitimate and absolute.
#7: We believe that some humans are evil and that they must be faced and dealt with. We accept the fact that this is a difficult area of life.
#8: We believe that humans can self-organize effectively. We expect them to cooperate. We reject impositions of hierarchy and organization.
#9: We believe that all humans are to be held as equals in all matters regarding justice.
#10: We believe that the more a man or woman cares about right and wrong, the more of a threat he or she is perceived to be by governments.
#11: We believe that there are only two true classes of human beings: Those who wish to exercise power upon others—either directly or through intermediaries—and those who have no such desires.
#12: Large organizations and centralization are inherently anti-human. They must rely upon rules rather than principles, treating humans within the organization as obedient tools.
We are building our own society. We will supplement traditional tools with networking, cryptography, sound money, digital currency and anonymous messaging.
Our society will not be centrally controlled. It will rely solely on voluntary arrangements. We welcome others to join us. We are looking for people who are independent creators of value, people who act more than talk, and people who do the right thing because it is the right thing.
We will develop our own methods of dealing with injustice, built on the principles of negative rights, restitution, integrity and equal justice. We do not forbid anyone from having one foot in each realm—ours and the old realm—although we demand that they do no damage to our realm. We are fully opposed to any use of our realm to facilitate crime in the old realm, such as the hiding of criminal proceeds.
We expect to be loudly condemned, libeled and slandered by the authorities of the old regime. We expect them to defend their power and their image of legitimacy with all means available to them. We expect that many gullible and servile people will believe these lies, at least at first.
We will consider traps laid for us to be criminal offenses. Any who wish to join us are encouraged to distribute this declaration, to act in furtherance of our new society, to voluntarily excel in virtues and to communicate and cooperate with other members of the new society.
Composed by impulse and the stream of consciousness, seven juxtaposed artists came in union to create a collective vision; distinct and furthermore one. Seven of the Absent Fever artists collaborated to create one seven minute song. Each was given only the previous artist’s one minute to base their one minute off of, and was told to compose from solely initial creative reaction. In result is a seven minute long guide through the soundscape of Absent Fever. Videographer Library Voices then interpreted the entire stream of consciousness into a visual depiction of the landscapes visited. It sounds almost like an afterthought of a global-travel, and looks like it too. As if the sounds are soaring between the ivory coasts of the equator, wrapping their presence around the sphere. The travelers collected grains of sand and salt, blizzard and air-currents from each dwelling passed. Country, to corner, city, to village, without realizing, they’d had pieces of everything. And somehow, the diversity compiled itself into something more together than they could anticipate. Each had a map of their travels ingrained in the palms of their hands and the wiring of their subconscious; when each sat to make song, the song was together. There were seven travelers, and their retelling of their voyage was one.
order of appearance:
0:00) KYNAN 1:00) Gracie 2:00) Birkwin Jersey 3:00) Wonder Bear 4:00) Ra Cailum 5:00) Galapagos 6:00) Guerre
I’d rather be ashes than dust.
I would rather that my spark burn out
in a brilliant blaze, than be stilled by dry rot.
I would rather be a superb meteor than
a sleepy and permanent planet.
The proper function is to live, not to exist.
-Evel Knievel, quoting Jack London [beginning issue #1]
Penned by Seattle’s Jason Baxter [of USF] & Mac Hamilton with artwork produced by New York’s Derek Charm, Trip Fantastic shares the epic tale of the fall, rise, and eventual downward spiral of a young celebrity daredevil. Though the series is only an issue deep, as the adventure began one month ago, we’ve already found introduction to a totally radical variety of characters [like the low-profile scientist on the run from Interpol], situations [I need a makeshift hang-glider in real life], and both the graphic layout and art design are developing a new precedent towards my understanding of narrative in a linear online reading experience. I’d hate to spoil any of the initial surprises for anyone, but I’ve personally never read an animated graphic series that visually represents what is meant to be felt and really hope that Jason will integrate his own homemade sounds in the future. Head here to read the first issue, and don’t forget to click play on the official mixtape to listen as you read along. First issue in limited print November 10.
#HDBOYZ is the world’s first high definition boy band, and the collaboration of media enthusiasts Alex Kelly-Hoffman [Cop Magnet, Gvcci Hvcci, Max Velocity], Ryder Ripps [dump.fm, internet archeology], Aaron David Ross [Gatekeeper], Colin Self, Tabor Robak, and Thunderhorse. Now all of these fine individuals are beyond deserving of their own praise, but considering that today is my sweetie roomie Alex’s birthday we thought it’d be nice to just collectively say “we love you and can’t wait to see what you come up with next”. Enjoy the video above from their debut performance at MoMA PS1 in August, show it to your friends, and click here for the straight up visuals to “Unzip” which has been stuck in my head for a month now. Alex began recording “Koolifornia” [off Distraction] two years ago after crashing at my apt for a week with Cameron, and he still hasn’t made the trek but we’re workin’ real hard on getting him out there coughfmlyfest2k12cough.
It was 2006 when Anamanaguchi first loaded their cartridges into our lives, Luke Silas had introduced the bleeps of the recently released Power Supply EP to his buds in Los Angeles and Mario Luna used “Helix Nebula” during the credits of a short he had made senior year of high school. We became pretty diehard from then on out and Luke, Cameron and I, with the help of a ton of friends, even managed to bring the ‘guchi bros to LA for their first public West Coast show – flyer by Matt Endler, and technically a lowkey sesh at the Zach Shaque happened the night before – where Luke first filled in on drums with the band. The boys came back two years later to play the first ever FMLY show, an all day festival that took place between two houses in Venice, CA connected by the first ever FMLY Ride.
The boys introduced me to Blip Fest, an 8bit scene ripe with sounds that have changed my life, inspired a mix, and seeing how much ass they relentlessly and exponentially continue to kick due to being beyond radical people is a dense wave destruction to my interiors. We’ve been posting waaaay less pop music manipulations on this site as of late, and this lil’ medley the boys just put together is suchhhh a jam + “Party in the USA” is definitely Knife City‘s “Party in the USK”. Geez we love these dudes, and they’re gonna be on Carson Daly tonight! Huge love for all the other kids out there who have hosted an Anamanguchi show in their house and shown love and support over the years. Now enjoy this private dance from Luke below, 2:16 FTW, and go catch the boys on tour [dates w/ Starscream, Fidlar who are playing FMLY FEST, Newman Wolf, Baths].
FMLY Fest 2k11 is the third annual expression of Los Angeles’ friendliest D.I.T. (do-it-together) music and arts festival. On December 29 & 30 we invite you to our open gathering: a two day long celebration of our FMLY and FRNDS representing an international community of artists, musicians, activists, free thinkers, and like-minded social do-gooders. Last year we hosted 35 bands, 15 artists, and 2,500 new and old friends over two days and four spaces. Since then, we’ve become passionate about a whole lot more and we want to share as much amazing finds with you as we can.
Ride by bike and leave your cycle with our crank valet, because this year we’ve invited 45 of the sweetest bands from all over the country to share with you. We’ve got not one… not five… but NINE combinations of round robins and head to head band battles. If that sounds like it’s a little too extreme for your weekend then our buds from local labels Complicated Dance Steps and No Kings will be on site presenting a chill-out tent with experimental and ambient live performances. You can even take a break from dancing and head over to our art galleries, zine libraries, curated lecture and workshop series, and interactive art installations.
Everyone involved with FMLY Fest 2011 would also like to extend our most sincere gratitude to the Power of Green Los Angeles for donating the solar cells and panels to make this the first solar powered D.I.Y. music and arts festival in the country, Food Not Bombs and the Revolutionary Autonomous Communities for providing environmentally conscious food, and everyone who has donated their time, resources, energy, and love towards making this happen. We are so grateful to our community for allowing us to throw such an amazing festival with zero sponsorship from any greedy or otherwise unsavory corporations and institutions. Listen to the official FMLY FEST mixtape above and click here to be redirected to our dedicated tumblr where you can watch a sweet selection of videos from our participating artists as well as purchase tickets! $10 for a day pass and $15 for the weekend. See ya there.
As part of our series highlighting the spunky folks that you’ll be meeting at FMLY Fest we’ve chosen today to celebrate our love of Florida’s Michael Parallax. A fine feline of a Spirit Cat and one-part Oh Fortuna, Mikey has shared eight home brewed albums with the internet since ’06 documenting only a portion of a much larger history of collaboration among his friends and family. These documents he has left behind collect the doubts, frustrations, highs, and great hopes of a given day, over a span of time… from the lowest sinking boulders in our stomachs to the moment of awakening and ultimate enlightenment of the world we share, such a genuine roller coaster exists sonically. Though I must say, these records are not the focus of Mikey’s vision but only an approach to the greater message these albums and live performances have pieced together over time. Maybe we don’t know what it is yet, maybe he doesn’t, but we’re having SUCH a great time finding out together.
The track up top is totally fresh, from a collaborative Hartzine x Beko DSL digital release which appeared on the web today. A live version of one of my new tracks is on it as well as fresh ones from our buds Dead Gaze, Tan Dollar, Krusht, Colours, Happy New Year, and the list goes on! It’s way stellar, download it free here [or stream here]. If you love what you hear of Mr. Michael Parallax you can find more of his sounds for free download here, and the video below is a craaaaazy parking lot show with Mikey playing “For Everyone Who Still Believes In Love” to a large crowd of zombies. Yeah, zombies. We’ll see you at the altar.
MJ MJ Records has been held up because the dude who dubs our tapes is in back surgery. But we’re back in business and we’re kicking things off with a free mixtape which includes a track from each of our upcoming releases, and something from all the MJ MJ classics. The mix is long and eclectic, it starts off with the bangers and chills out as the mix goes on. There really is something for everyone here so download the mix and dive in. If you dig these songs you can follow us on twitter @MJMJRECORDS, facebook and tumblr for updates on the tapes.
RT @ghibli_music: so @FMLY have the nicest, sweetest scoop of musical ice cream aka my remix of Jessica @jlbrt's "Aubrey De Grey' http:/ ... 17 hours ago
