Björk: Biophilia (Nonesuch)

Björk: "Crystalline"

There’s a reason that Björk, the Reykjavík-born queen of avant-garde pop, is a household name and also remains respected as an artist. It’s because she’s adamant that music is an art and be seen as such. Art isn’t always looking to be liked, and Björk’s music — characterized by a vivid and stubborn imagination since the beginning of her solo career in 1992 — is hardly snuggly. There’s always been a chill to it, an intensity we don’t always know what to do with. Biophilia is no exception.

The much-hyped release is as ambitious as anything before it. For weeks, geeked-out music critics have been drawn like moths to a porch light thanks to Biophilia's extra-musical elements, which include an iPad app, featuring graphic explorations of each track; live shows that use custom-made instruments like the Gravity Harp or twin musical Tesla coils; and a laser-laden video by French director and longtime Björk collaborator Michel Gondry. But it would be a shame if people forgot that beneath the chatter is an album. Biophilia may be unique because of its multiplatform release, but that’s not what makes it good.

Musically, it’s expansive, dramatic, and remarkably accessible. “Crystalline” is a pulsing, glowing sleeper that erupts into a hammering drill-’n’-bass salvo. “Virus” uses the hang masterfully, its warm metallic tones being a suitably alien backdrop for Björk’s iconic voice. These intrasong dynamics are great achievements, as is the subtle emphasis on melody. But the most important thing about Biophilia seems to be its subject matter. In the compositions, the lyrics, and — most noticeably — the album art and apps, the central theme is our physical universe. Björk embarks on a meditative musical exploration of nature, science, and technology, and we’re fortunate to be invited. There should be plenty to explore alongside her.

- Text by Timothy S. Aames

Icebird: The Abandoned Lullaby (RJ's Electrical Connections)

Icebird: "Charmed Life"

With his 2007 album The Third Hand, crate-digging DJ RJD2 took a decidedly soulful and organic turn, transforming into a funk-pop singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. His newest project, Icebird, is another advancement, joining forces with soul singer Aaron Livingston to craft groove-heavy electro-acoustic jams.

Livingston, who may be best known for an appearance on The Roots' album The Tipping Point, leads each track with his raspy, powerful croons. Though RJ is no slouch on the mic, Livingston's vocal presence allows RJ to entirely focus on production for Icebird, and it shows. The songs and range of sounds are, respectively, some of the best and most diverse of RJ's career; each track bursts with hooks and harmonies but never goes too sugary.

In fact, nearly any given track on The Abandoned Lullaby could serve as a lead single. Mid-album tracks such as "Spirit Ache" — which shines with its harpsichord and glockenspiel tinges alongside synth and bass grooves — are every bit as infectious as the choruses to "Charmed Life" and "Going and Going. And Going." Any fan of RJ's recent works will love Icebird.

Mayer Hawthorne: How Do You Do? (Universal Republic)

Mayer Hawthorne: "A Long Time"

As the soul revival sound goes, Mayer Hawthorne is in a league of singers who strike the proper balance between old school and new school. Yes, the singer’s act takes greatest influence from the early Northern soul era, but there’s more to Hawthorne’s music than a game of name-that-classic-45.

For this sophomore effort, Hawthorne reaches deeper into the late-'60s, early-'70s reference bag to make a no-frills record packed with tolerantly addictive soul hooks. How Do You Do? covers a lot of ground and shows some new sides to Hawthorne’s musical palette with cleaner and more robust production and instrument arrangements. Whether or not his jump to Universal Republic from Stones Throw has anything to do with it is arguable, but Hawthorne finds a way to use time-honored soul maxims to forge an individual sound.

- Text by Michael Nolledo. Read the full review here.

São Paulo Underground: Trés Cabeças Loucuras (Cuneiform)

São Paulo Underground: "Jagoda's Dream"

Fifteen years after the creation of his Chicago Underground workshops and groups, prolific composer/cornetist Rob Mazurek continues to expand his boundaries in exciting new directions.

Trés Cabeças Loucuras is his third album with the São Paulo Underground, an intercontinental quartet that formed in 2000 with the aid of some talented Brazilian multi-instrumentalists. Though Mazurek's Underground incarnations have been more concerned with grooves and melodies than many of his other projects, Trés Cabeças Loucuras presses further into the melodic traditions of his second home.

The music here very much bears Mazurek's style, but it also combines the experimental jazz traditions of Sun Ra to create a type of "cosmic tropicalia." The "miniature guitar" plucking of the cavaquinho combines with deep, buzzing synthesizers, noisy effects, and Mazurek's effortless cornet fluctuations, allowing listeners to enjoy melodies as well as timbral depth. Chicago jazz stalwarts Jason Adasiewicz, John Herndon, and Matthew Lux give "Just Lovin'" and "Six Six Eight" another dynamic layer.

Myrath: Tales of the Sands (Nightmare Records)

Myrath: "Merciless Times"

“Symphonic prog metal” and “North Africa” may not yet be synonymous, but Tunisian metal band Myrath has found its own voice by infusing its compositions with Oriental and Middle Eastern flourishes.

Musically, Myrath (Arabic for “legacy”) writes almost directly from the modern prog-metal playbook, right down to the harmonized keyboard/guitar runs and full-band mid-song showdowns. But Zaher Zorgati’s power/hair-metal vocals reach for a sound more evocative of the ancient Middle East: higher registers, huge vibratos, and inflections that make the band’s sound reflect the pain, confusion, and longing of which Zorgati sings.

Despite the obvious temptation to link Myrath’s music with the upheaval that its homeland witnessed in the early part of the century, the band’s lyrics almost exclusively look inward. Sonically, the group could pass for a roaring war drum, but upon closer inspection, Myrath simply uses big sounds to tackle timeless questions.

- Text by Andrew Reilly. Read our interview with Myrath in Assault of the Earth: Metal Bands from Around the Globe, coming in 2012.

Honorable Mentions

Bill Laswell, Raoul Bjorkenheim & Morgan Agren: Blixt (Cuneiform)

Scott H. Biram: Bad Ingredients (Bloodshot)

Casiokids: Aabenbaringen Over Aaskammen (Polyvinyl)

Emika: s/t (Ninja Tune)

Future Islands: On the Water (Thrill Jockey)

Joe Henry: Reverie (Anti-)

Marketa Irglova: Anar (Anti-)

Murs: Love & Rockets Vol. 1: The Transformation (DD1)

Rustie: Glass Swords (Warp)

Trash Talk: Awake 7” EP (True Panther)

John Zorn / The Dreamers: A Dreamers Christmas (Tzadik)

[Chromatic, our 400-page exploration of musicians and color, is out now. Order here!]

The Eternals: "War's Blazing Disciples"

Damon Locks — frontman for experimental dub-punk band The Eternals, former member of Trenchmouth, and part-time member of Exploding Star Orchestra – is an accomplished visual artist in addition to being an accomplished musician. For ALARM's newest book, Chromatic, Locks curated a section of handmade mix-tape art. In addition, his sociopolitical mixed-media art is featured alongside a story that details his upbringing, influences, and guiding principles. Here, Locks compiles a playlist of tunes that he repeatedly turns to for inspiration.

The Uncompromising Art
by Damon Locks

I side with the ones that follow their hearts,
Not the ones making due rather than making art

These 10 tracks are tunes that inspire me to make work both visual and musical and to trust in the creative process. Upon every listen, these pieces always feel so kinetic and vital. The music business is now so savvy and marketing is so embedded into the processes of music-making that the impetus to make most music generally feels (and sounds) suspect. I wanted to put a list of tunes together whose intentions felt truthful and without an eye for its profitability.

1. Eddie Gale: "Song of Will"

A spiritual and uplifting female vocal chorus crescendos to reveal a cacophonous horn melody that punctuates and empowers.

2. Elis Regina & Zimbo Trio: "Zambi"

The amazing Elis Regina doing the Edu Lobo tune sends shivers with its intensity and beauty.

3. Tsegue-Maryam Guebrou: " Ballad of the Spirits"

A piano piece by an Ethiopian nun whose music is forlorn and magical, feeling at once familiar and fantastic.

4. Missing Brazilians: "Missing Brazilians"

A mystery. A constant question. A connection and a revelation.

5. Archie Shepp: "Attica Blues"

I just discovered this song last year. It seems so unbelievable that this tune has eluded me for all of these years. Inspirational and charged.

6. Sun Ra: "Love In Outer Space"

My favorite version is the instrumental from Out There a Minute. It is haunting and lovely…so lyrical and melancholy.

7. Voices of East Harlem: "Run Shaker Life"

An incredible, amped-up version of the tune originally by Richie Havens.

8. The Specials: "Ghost Town"

The Specials' finest hour. Dark and hopeless.

9. Mix Master Mike: "Cummm Get Summm"

Mix Master Mike's Anti-Theft Device and Return of the Cyklops are criminally overlooked masterpieces. This tune is a great example of his brilliance.

10. Philip Cohran And The Artistic Heritage Ensemble: "The Spanish Suite"

Listen to snippet here

With a run time of around 40 minutes, this is a major piece of work by Phil Cohran. The recording quality lacks initially, but the work as a whole is an incredible experience.

Woima Collective: Tezeta (Kindred Spirits, 11/15/10)

Woima Collective: "Wayna"

The Woima Collective has produced a remarkable set of Ethiopian-styled grooves with its debut record, Tezeta, released on the Netherlands-based record label Kindred Spirts. Including the brass-section members of the internationally respected German funk outfit Poets of Rhythm, the Collective channels the sweet funk and jazz rhythms of Mulatu Astatke, with a sound that matches his legendary 1960s and '70s recordings.

Led by tenor saxophonist Johannes Schleiermacher, who was inspired by the African rhythms found during his travels through Morocco, the 10-musician collective has one of the tightest rhythm sections in the contemporary scene. Though originally brought together to record a single at the Lovelite Facility in Berlin, the Collective soon turned the one-time session in a full-blown album, rehearsing and recording Tezeta in only five days.

Creating a cohesive record in five days with disciplined arrangements and complex instrumental dynamics calls for an extremely talented group of musicians, and it’s quite clear the Collective knows its North African music. Tezeta is filled with bottom-heavy percussion brought to life with horn-driven grooves decorated by guitar-plucked rhythms.

Ethiopian music takes presence from dark, pentatonic scales, giving the music a hypnotic and smooth nature. The Collective takes this approach and leaves it open-ended, allowing ample room for instrumental spotlights and extended solos. Album opener “Marz” is a fitting introduction to the group, with groovy organ and brass solos that can only be described as snake-like. It is reminiscent of the work of Sun Ra, but with very distinct African horn phrases.

Tracks such as “Woima” and “Puno” have an intrinsically sinister quality, partly due to the forboding horn lines that threaten to go atonal at a moment’s notice, but also because of the fuzzy drone organ that keeps it all together. Underlying it all, however, is a slight tinge of funk, heard best on "Wayna" and "Illusions," tracks that swing hard with a wide array of reed solos and funky guitar licks.

Tezeta is an album with an excellent tonal texture that is matched by world-class musicianship. The Woima Collective has combined funk aesthetics with otherworldly melodic modes. The outcome is a beautiful blend of relentless breakbeat rhythms typical of the European funk scene with the unique melodic pulse of North Africa.

Janes entrenched herself in the vibrant Olympia music scene before joining Sufjan Stevens and Asthmatic Kitty for albums like Done Gone Fire (2002) and Poison & Snakes (2004). Those albums put a unique spin on classic Americana and blues, but her upcoming album, Say Goodbye (Asthmatic Kitty, 12/7/10), is a pop/soul record built on Janes' inescapably experimental roots.

Here, in a personal recount of her musical history, her songwriting theory rings especially true: "You can choose any two points to be A and B, and there is always a way to connect the two."

Liz Janes: "I Don't Believe" (Say Goodbye, Asthmatic Kitty, 12/7/10)

Liz Janes: "I Don't Believe" (Say Goodbye, Asthmatic Kitty, 12/7/10)

Drones Are Forever
by Liz Janes

I was a hippy living in a trailer in the coniferous rain forest of Olympia, Washington. Eventually, my endless meandering through the woods brought me into the little downtown. It was there that I stumbled upon the gentle and brilliant rock-poet solo performances of Mirah, Phil Elvrum, and Karl Blau; the kinder-pop of Jenny Jenkins and Super Duo; the pop punk of The Need; the hot, spastic, urgent noise of The Nervous System; and the shrieking, sexy soul of Old Time Relijun.

This sparked for me a new interest in culture. This K Records / Olympia scene was really vibrant and producing truly original and interesting art. So as I was drawn further into culture, and out of the woods, it just got better and better.

At a show one night, I asked a friend, "When is your friend's band going to start?" His reply was, "They've already started." I looked at the stage puzzled to see two male figures hunched over random junk piles of equipment in different areas of the stage. The sound in the room was a subtle and minimal variance of static, bleeps, tweets, and feedback.

Now, I may have been a hippy from the woods, but I'd heard contemporary electronic music, with all of its bleeps, skids, and abstract effects. Whatever these guys were doing was really OUT. Outer than out, and I wanted IN.
 

Discovering the free expression of noise was an epiphany. This was a genre where a non-musician could participate as well as a trained musician, and the dialogue was as varied as any you could imagine.

This band was called Therefore (consisting of Michael Kaufmann and Wayne Feldman), and they soon after went on to play a 22-hour show. I spent hours sitting at that show before class, after class, before work, after work, and when I should have been sleeping, until it was over.

A guitar hung suspended from the ceiling in the middle of the room. Multiple organs had keys taped down with electrical tape, [there was] a giant duct-taped drum kit with a vintage marching-band bass drum, basses and guitars [were] plugged into amps, [and] radios [were] dialed into white noise. The entire gallery was punk-aesthetic perfection, and the combinations of sounds, experimentations, drones, and rock-outs were endless and ever changing.

It took LOTS of patience to sit and listen for so long — but the rewards were actually life-changing. I found as I exited the gallery each time that my sense of hearing was extremely heightened. The sounds of the world, the bus, the town, the people, [and] the muddy bay were all suddenly MUSIC! Not random sounds, not the side effects of normal daily human activity, but MUSIC – with purpose, meaning, and a message.

Well, I befriended these guys and just had to figure out where they were coming from. They were smart, and they were on a mission with their artwork – very serious and very high-art minded. However, they were not snobby, and they accepted me into their world. They gave me an out-of-tune guitar and said, "Play" — and a whole basement full of cool folks playing loud, unplanned, and unpredictable noise ensued. I was in heaven. Every time that a different combo of friends rocked out in the basement, it was given a band name. We had a riot of fun referring to these one-off experimental sessions as all the bands we were in. This was good times.

Somehow I met Arrington de Dionyso and Samuel Pixley, who were forming an experimental noise cooperative called Toro Sec Toro. They invited me to join, and Arrington lent me his bass clarinet. Have you ever played a bass clarinet? It's as tall as a person, all black and chrome, and is a reed instrument — which meant that all I had to do was move my fingers around on the keys and blow. Could anything possibly be more fun? I don't think so.

The college radio station KAOS had local noise artists like Jim McAdams spinning experimental music of all genres, like Sun Ra, Sonic Youth, John Cage, Jandek, and Brian Eno, making easy access to the world of "out" and experimental. With summer came The Olympia Experimental Music Festival, where I realized there was a whole world of freaks like us and elatedly watched performances by Aerick Duckhugger, Dead Air Fresheners, Noggin, and Wood Paneling, and even performed with Wayne Feldman (of Therefore) as our duo called Cat The Distributor in which we wore matching baseball uniforms and took turns playing a guitar and a drum kit until we were bleeding and on fire. Yes, good times indeed.

My whole life I'd loved and related to music intensely. But I had always been surrounded by little damn prodigies and critics. I was sure that since I hadn't given myself to training at a young age, I would never have a musical voice, never have anything to add to the great and ever-growing vocabulary of sound and music.

Discovering the free expression of noise was an epiphany. This was a genre where a non-musician could participate as well as a trained musician, and the dialogue was as varied as any you could imagine. This new musical vocabulary included everything from the exchange of sparse and melodic single whispered notes, to noise as earsplitting and raucous as any person could handle, to the grumbling and endless eternal drone. What all of this music had in common was its spontaneity and real spirit of exploration and discovery. It was as though we were not setting out to rhyme and meter the music to suit us — but we were opening ourselves up for the music itself to order us.

I felt that each instrument had an inherent beauty, and that I could do no wrong with any of them. The instruments didn't need me to make music, but the music was already within these objects. Similar to the concept in the New Testament Scriptures when Jesus says that "the stones will cry out" in praise of God, even if we don't (Luke 19:40). It became apparent to me that music was so much bigger than me. [The fact] that these instruments, these objects of beauty and sound, would bring forth creation because of or in spite of me — and did I want to participate? Yes!

It was at that time that I began privately composing songs on the guitar, and my process has always been informed by my "noise" education. I learned the importance of silence, how to listen, and how to "call and respond." I developed my own theory of relativity in music – the way you can choose any two points to be A and B, and there is always a way to connect the two. So really, anything is possible, and there are no rules.

These days I write ordered songs with lyrics, melodies, harmonies, rhythms, and everything! But the musicians I work with always smile and shake their heads at how disordered my ideas are. They are always puzzled at the way I connect the dots, but in the end, they work out the math amongst themselves, and the music is just the way I want it to be. I think, really, that they appreciate the unconventionality and the challenge of making sense of my music, and I think that they stick with me because of the emotional impact of the songwriting. It works…somehow.

This "stones will cry out" philosophy runs deep in me. If these instruments made of wood and metal hold such intense, inherent beauty, then how much more are we as people gifted with the same qualities? I feel that it is my job to respect myself and others as amazing objects of creation. It is my job to trust that beautiful things are bound to come forth if only I open up and sing.

I try not to analyze this, as I am very prone to the paralysis of self-consciousness and fear of being judged. The important thing is to just keep doing, keep making, move forward, produce! If artists stop to ask why they create, then it is the end of creation. Please leave those questions to philosophers and just make art. If you're not sure what to do or say, then just make noise! I promise you, it will all work itself out from there.

For more than a decade, independent record store Cosmos Records has supplied the Toronto area with hard-to-find vinyl releases. In addition to its flagship Queen St. West location, a sister store specializing in hip-hop and soul records opened down the street in 2005. Owner Aki Abe is known for his encyclopedic knowledge, an expertly cultivated record selection, and his downtown-Toronto nightclub, Una Más. Below, Abe answers a few questions, and Cosmos employees show off their favorite records.
 

Aki Abe holds Machine: s/t

What was your motivation for starting a music store? / What is your background in music?

In the late '80s, I used to wholesale rare disco and soul LPs to Japan, which paid for my college tuition. I always seemed to obsess about something, whether it was rare action-figure erasers in grade two or obscure soul LPs I've never seen. If I didn't open a record store, my apartment would've burst. I have no background in music.

What is the musical community like in your area?

The musical community is very diverse. My store is located on Queen Street West, which is where most of the independent stores and art galleries are located in Toronto. I always go where the galleries go — cheap rent, cool people.
 

Mike Klapcic holds Eramus Hall: Your Love is My Desire

What makes your store unique?

We wanted to encourage a culture of digging or unearthing old forgotten music, and in our case, you can take a lot of music and check them out at a listening station. Most used record stores 15 years ago did not accommodate listening to the albums in the store.  The only way to discover your sound is to listen to it. We also don't have cats living in the store.

What can someone expect when visiting Cosmos for the first time?

All original vinyl pressings of soul, jazz, rare Brazil, Latin, rare Cuban in the West store, and funk, classic hip hop, disco, and modern soul at the East store. It's our job to find LPs that are out of the ordinary and still relevant. The LPs are priced at collectors prices, so they can become quite expensive.  However, if you ask me to choose between a $100 bill and a rare album, I would choose the album every time — unfortunately, we like records more than paying the rent.  We don't snob the dollar bin though, so not to worry — every record store's gotta have one!
 

Aman Sandhu holds Sun Ra: Lanquidity

Give me three great albums that you've enjoyed lately.

1. Myrna Hague: What Color Is Love (Studio One)

2. Leon Cook: Cookin (Edmar)

3. Touch of Class: Love Means Everything (Stack-O-Hits)

What is the strangest request you’ve ever received?

Unworn panties of Alice Cooper's album.
 

Chris Tangredi holds Tenorio Jr.: Embalo

Which albums has your store sold the most over the past month?

Al Green's I'm Still In Love With You and Led Zeppelin's Led Zeppelin III.
 

Mike Deyman (Mantis) holds Eugene McDaniel's Headless Heroes of the Apocalypse

Any big future plans for Cosmos?

Japanese noodle shop with rare vinyl…maybe.

ALARM recently spoke with Dennis Callaci, general manager of the Inland Empire-based Rhino Records and The Mad Platter, about the sisterly record stores and the potential correlation between UFOs, Jim Morrison, and Vietnam (hint: he's not interested). To kick off the Q&A, here's a photo of Mad Platter employee Jonny holding his favorite record.

Jonny holds The Cure's Disintegration

What was your motivation for starting a music store? What is your background in music?

As with most owners of indie record stores, Rhino was started by folks that had, and continue to have, a passion for music. Chuck Oken Jr., the owner, grew up playing music, listening to music, and devouring music. He is in a band that is active, as are the majority of the folks that work at the store.

How are Rhino and The Mad Platter related? Do they serve different purposes?

When the original owner sold off the Rhino store, we could not name any other stores that we opened Rhino. So when The Mad Platter opened in 1983, we had to christen it as something other than Rhino.

What is the musical community like in the Claremont area?

The Inland Empire has always been a vibrant hotbed for musicians and artists. Right now, the current wave of bands that folks outside our area may be digging are Abe Vigoda, The Extra Lens, and maybe the apartment up the street where John Cage once lived.

Why do people choose your store over major or Internet retailers?

I would hope that people support our stores because we are nice folks that are fellow music lovers and not in cahoots with the man, but that is probably a pipe dream. The tactile act of flipping through records can’t be replaced by tapping endlessly at a sorrow-filled keyboard that has had to proofread far too many suicide notes. I still love shopping at other record stores on my days off. Poobah’s in Pasadena, Dr. Strange in Alta Loma, Fingerprints in Long Beach…

Give me three great albums that you've enjoyed lately.

- Numero has issued an incredible box set by Syl Johnson, a mother lode of hard-edged soul from the '60s and early '70s in a to-die-for box that includes six LPs and four CDs.

- The new Swans CD, My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky, packs a punch while retaining some subtleties.

- Sun Araw's Off Duty certainly melds the outré world of Sun Ra with psych and garage leanings.

Which albums has your store sold the most over the past month?

The new Brian Eno, The Growlers, Neil Young, Warpaint, and Madlib are selling briskly.

What is the weirdest special order request you’ve ever received?

We had a guy send a script based around The Doors, UFOs, and Vietnam asking if we would fund the project. Repeated voice mails and details followed. Did you know that Jim Morrison is from Venus?

Do you promote zines or visual art?

We have local zines that we buy directly from publishers or offer on consignment. We work with a couple of local galleries to promote the arts (dA Gallery and 50 Bucks in Pomona).

Any big future plans?

I need to find some dry and scaly skin [on which] to rub the 50 pounds of Jergens lotion I won in a lottery.

Amber Ridenour, who also writes under the name “Starlite Motel,” answers a few questions about process, creation, and reputation. With her husband Chris, Amber is the author of many zines, including Autobiographical Alley Map and Night Bomb.

How would you define the word “zine”?

I tend to define “zine” as a sort of pirate printing operation. For next to nothing, you get to put your words/art into people’s hands, usually bypassing all the niceties of conventional publication (editors, ISBNs, agents, blah blah blah).

It’s the kind of thing that blogs are supposed to achieve, but I think communication is more direct with a little stapled or beribboned zine. It’s hard to hold a zine in your hands and not feel, somehow, that the author made it for just you. And in a way, they did.

What is your writing process like? What do you find most rewarding about publishing a zine?

My writing process is both unique and pedestrian, which I guess is the case with everybody. I’m more of an editor than a writer. I’ll sit down in a dive with a cheap pint or a coffeeshop with really strong coffee until I get a few pages scribbled out, then I go home, tear it all apart, and rearrange it like a puzzle as I type.

For me, music is essential. I’m one of those people who always has a song in their heads. I will put the same song on repeat and keep it going for as long as it takes, if I’ve decided it sets the mood of something I’m trying to edit.

This can get annoying for anyone around me, since I tend to be inspired by Sun Ra’s more out-there stuff. And I’m really, really freaky about editing on a computer screen. One word is not the same as another, in my opinion. Not with poems. Not with prose. Every syllable counts. So does every comma or blank space.

Even different fonts have different moods to me. I have literally killed entire days and packs of cigarettes doing stuff like deleting a word, staring at the page, putting it back, deleting it again, trying a different one, etc. Words are the one area of my life where I am a straight-up control freak.

Why is independent publishing important to media today?

As a freshman in college, I had a very important poet-in-residence from New York professor tell our class that the way to get published was to go to high-end cocktail parties and shmooze the right people, and he was serious. I see this as the basic problem with mainstream publishing — it all seems to be a cocktail party.

I’ve picked up copies of many, many lit mags claiming to support “emerging voices” and “novel styles” and seen the same ol’ internationally best-selling authors listed as contributors to that issue.

I even attended a grad school for a while, and part of the disgust that drove me to leave it stemmed from the so-called “university” publication in which no student could ever be published. As a matter of fact, there was no submission information to be found anywhere.

This is why we need indie media. We need literature and art that is free, rule breaking, subversive, and fearless. We need artists who don’t have to conform or be in anyone’s pocket to get their unique visions out into the world.

Perhaps the poster group for its genre, Sunn has spent the past 10 years experimenting in epic, doomy sound and noise.

Now, with Monoliths & Dimensions, the core duo of Stephen O'Malley and Greg Anderson teams with guests galore to create, in the words of the group, "the most musical piece we've done."  Guest musicians Eyvind Kang (John Zorn, Bill Frisell), Jessika Kenney (Eyvind Kang, Asva), Oren Ambarchi (Burial Chamber Trio), Dylan Carlson (Earth), Julian Priester (Sun Ra, John Coltrane) and others help make that so, while retaining the creeping, end-of-the-world vibe that persists thoughout Sunn's work.

Khanate: Clean Hands Go Foul (Hydra Head)

As the belated swan song for the super-group collaboration between Stephen O'Malley (Sunn O)))), James Plotkin (Phantomsmasher), Alan Dubin (OLD), and Tim Wyskida (Blind Idiot God), Clean Hands Go Foul is a fitting endgame for Khanate's aural presentation of desolation and despair.  Evil ambience crests and falls, working with ominous chords and soul-shredding screams; naturally, fans of O'Malley's other work will love this.

Khanate: "Wings from Spine" (excerpt)
Khanate: \"Wings from Spine\" (excerpt)

Grizzly Bear: Veckatimest (Warp)

Unconventional indie darlings Grizzly Bear have pushed three years since their last full-length release, and the passage of time hasn't diminished the band's creative stroke.

On Veckatimest, Grizzly Bear's trademark vocal harmonies and layered orchestrations are still present, but the album features a slightly heavier touch of electronics and chamber elements.  By and large, however, this is the same Grizzly Bear, and preexisting fans won't feel alienated by this disc.

Sir Richard Bishop: The Freak of Araby (Drag City)

In his solo creations and many collaborative endeavors, ex-Sun City Girls guitarist Richard Bishop weaves through Arabic, Indian, flamenco, African, and Gypsy influences in both composed and improvised settings.

With his new album, he employs a clean, reverberated electric guitar in place of his usual acoustic sound, and he adds a bit of percussive assistance. For spring and summer tour dates, Bishop will perform with a full ensemble, which should make his ethnic creations even more compelling.

Master Musicians of Bukkake: Totem One (Conspiracy)

Milky and Don McGreevy of Earth, producer extraordinaire Randall Dunn (Secret Chiefs 3, Sunn O)))), Bill Horist of Ghidra, and other noted Northwest musicians comprise this collective that designs psychedelic, ethnically inspired folk freak-outs.

With Totem One, the group begins a musical trilogy while expanding and maturing its expansive sound.  The album's guests include Alan Bishop of Sun City Girls and Timb Harris of Estradasphere and Secret Chiefs 3.

Vieux Farka Touré: Fondo (Six Degrees)

The son of musical Malian icon Ali Farka Touré, guitarist/singer Vieux Farka Touré has garnered international distinction since the release of his self-titled debut album, issued the year after his famous father’s death.

That disc, which was remixed later in the same year, featured kora virtuoso Toumani Diabate on a pair of tracks and combined Mande and Sonrai folk styles with pop and a touch of reggae.  Diabate is back to help with Fondo, which finds Vieux taking more of a distinctive direction while improving his songwriting chops.

Other than spending All Hallows Eve at the campy blood fest of a GWAR show, seeing London's Chrome Hoof on October 31 has to be the ultimate in Halloween plans. Whether the group's members are burning a 12-foot ram in effigy or donning silver, sparkling, hooded robes in uniform, their stage show is just as riveting as their weird sonic stew.

Founded by brothers Leo and Milo Smee, Chrome Hoof is a progressive funk/metal oddity that employs cult theatrics and other-worldly costumes. Imagine if Sun Ra were into doom rock. If that gets you going (and why shouldn't it?), read the feature on Chrome Hoof from ALARM 29.

So if you're fortunate enough to be in France on October 31 or November 1, make sure to catch Chrome Hoof at one of the performances listed below. And while you're there, pick up Pre-Emptive False Rapture, the group's interstellar magnum opus from Southern Records.

Chrome Hoof live:

October 31: Boulogne, France @ Billancourt BB Mix Fest
November 1: Beaumont-Hague, France @ Sally Polyvalente

Chrome Hoof: "Pronoid"
Chrome Hoof: \"Pronoid\"

Chrome Hoof: www.myspace.com/chromehoof
Southern Records: www.southern.com

Grails: Doomsdayer's Holiday (Temporary Residence Limited)

Fusing Indian music, 1970s film noir, and psychedelic sounds into heavy acoustic and electric rock, Portland's Grails are a wonderful anomaly. Doomsdayer's Holiday, as its name implies, cranks the group's heaviness beyond recent levels without losing its haunting, compelling melodies.

Grails: \"Reincarnation Blues\"

Earthless: Live At Roadburn (Tee Pee)
At the 2008 edition of the annual Roadburn Festival in Holland (spring break for anyone into heavy underground rock), San Diego psych-rock trio Earthless gave an impromptu headlining performance for 2,000 fans, having originally been scheduled at a venue one-tenth the size. Not only did its hypnotic, four-song, hour-and-a-half set blow away the crowd, but on recording it beautifully captures the energy and magnitude of the stellar live show.

Young Widows: Old Wounds (Temporary Residence Limited)

Old Wounds is the second album from Louisville rockers Young Widows since transforming from Breather Resist. Sporting an extra dose of heaviness, the disc opens with "Took a Turn," slowly building around a gritty, garage-floor bass riff before bursting with post-rock drums, multi-layered guitars, and reverberated shouts.

Throughout, the album changes tone and time at will like a lumbering, newly un-caged beast, while a primordial jungle pulse beats itself into a frenzy just below the crust.

Young Widows: \"Old Skin\"

Jolie Holland: The Living and The Dead (Anti-)
On her third solo album, Texas-born songstress Jolie Holland blends a variety of regional American folk styles. Topped with creamy vocals and bittersweet lyrics, tracks such as dark-toned "Fox In Its Hole" and wistful "Love Henry" make a long-lasting impression.

Jolie Holland: "Old Fashion Morphine"

Fucked Up: The Chemistry of Common Life (Matador)

The newest full-length from punk contrarians Fucked Up moves through more variety of atmosphere than standard punk/hardcore, with peaceful, otherworldly intros and layers and layers of guitar-more than seventy guitar tracks at one point (or so they say…).

There's less stop-start fury than 2006 release Hidden World-more sheets of sound. "Golden Seal" sounds like a darker Sigur Rós, or even Jean Michel Jarre.

Fucked Up: \"No Epiphany\"

Marnie Stern: This Is It and I Am It and You Are It and So Is That and He Is It and She Is It and It Is It and That Is That (Kill Rock Stars)

Backed again by untamed drumming beast Zach Hill, guitarist/singer Marnie Stern issues her sophomore effort with more frantic, high-pitched fret work, quirky vocals, and – through the carefully constructed din – catchy melodies.

Marnie Stern: \"Transformer\"

Hauschka: Ferndorf (FatCat)

German pianist and composer Volker Bertelmann, here known as Hauschka, uses a decade of classical studies as his musical foundation. With that, home-rigged piano effects, and additional acoustic and electric instruments, he combines structural influences of electronica and classical minimalism to create a beautiful minor-key oeuvre.

Hauschka: \"No Wind Today\"

East Coast Avengers: Prison Planet (Brick)

Featuring the outspoken sociopolitical lyrics of rappers Trademarc and Esoteric, East Coast Avengers are more than just skilled rhymers that take aim at rightwing water carriers. The group pastes stirring Romantic violin melodies and portentous soundtrack clips over head-nodding beats, setting an appropriate mood for its imperative lyrical content.

ECA has already taken plenty of heat in the corporate media for releasing the track "Kill Bill O'Reilly," so let's give the group some love.

East Coast Avengers: \"Kill Bill O\'Reilly\"

Desalvo: Mood Poisoner (Rock Action)

Released on Mogwai's Rock Action label, Mood Poisoner may just have influenced the heavy grooves on its label owners' recent record. Based in Glasgow, Desalvo sound as though the Jesus Lizard were a modern hardcore/metal band.

Sun Ra and His Solar Arkestra: Secrets Of The Sun (Atavistic)

A re-mastered and long-lost relic of the Sun Ra vault, Secrets of the Sun is now available from Atavistic 46 years after its release on Saturn Records. And if being available for the first time on CD isn't enough, how does a 17-minute unreleased track sound?