Time Capsule Dept. - Tuxedomoon - Desire (Ralph 1981)

Where I was in 1981? What music was I into, then... why I never listened to Tuxedomoon?

Laziness... stupidity... both?!?

Why... possibly because I was loosing my collector's energies after The Absolute Sound's crappy audiophile super-discs, forgetting that also crappiest recording of great music is better than a superb recording of shitty music...

I was gifted of a copy of this disc on last Sunday... listen to it, I was told...

... and so I did...

The cover is rather unattractive... BUT the music, folks!!!

It's the best of the best... the very best of the very best...

Television's Marquee Moon... same sense of surprise, youthful energy, powerful minds steaming like a vessel...

Punk... rock... don't know... those saxes and bass guitars layers... gothic voices, drum machines, USA, UK... Venus... naked, boundaries-less, free-form, rebetika from Greece, violins and saxes...

A dream disc...

I'm into it like a fish in a clear mountain lake, enjoying music deeply and intensely...

Where I was, back in 1981?

Girls... ok, fine... now, that love is an ideal, a mind-game more than sex... well, I feel me a-plenty of joy, during and after listening to Desire...

... with the strong desire to play it again and again...

Thanks Massimo.

...

P.S. - the recording is also to die for... so, to loose T.A.S.' super disc list for never quoting this;-)))



 

ECM News - Jøkleba

New Release: "Outland" by Jøkleba

The Norwegian trio Jøkleba was formed in 1990, establishing itself as one of the most unpredictable groups on the Scandinavian scene. The present disc – the fifth Jøkleba album, but the first for ECM – finds old friends Per Jørgensen, Jon Balke and Audun Kleive working with pulse and colour and texture in collective music-making, emphasizing electronics, trumpet and voice, in freely created pieces which hint at relationships between inspiration and instability. Track titles make reference to writings by Sylvia Plath, Laura Restrepo González, Sadegh Hedayat, Guy de Maupassantand Ken Kesey, in particular to their descriptions of the disintegration of identity, “the human mind when it gets lost”, as Jon Balke puts it. All three musicians have recorded prolifically for ECM in a wide variety of contexts, but the particular chemistry of Jøkleba is unique unto itself.

Listen to a Track:
http://bit.ly/1wCc49i

For more info:

http://bit.ly/1txXNgc

Donald Fagen's Nightfly turntable and arm

A Stealth… aehm… a Para Flux A-16 arm...

Classy…

Frank Zappa's Timeless Wisdom

Forever Young!

Out on Oct. 31st…

RTI Mastering facility

How many nice discs they cutter… all Windham Hills' and more…

The old RTI AcousTech Mastering Studio. The start of the vinyl making process "cutting the master lacquer." The soft acetate is used to make a mastered version of the album master tape, one side at a time. After that, the acetate is turned into a metal master/metal mother/metal stamper for record pressing. Photo caption reads: "Steve Hoffman points out a detail in the lacquer being cut on the Neumann lathe to Peter Bizlewicz. Bizlewicz was impressed to learn that the entire lathe is set onto a concrete slab which is also cut out as an island in the floor- in other words, it's both mechanically grounded and isolated."

Eric Clapton's Celebration in Far East

Eric Clapton is one of the most revered and influential guitarists of all time. From his early days with the Yardbirds, through John Mayall s Bluesbreakers, Cream, Blind Faith, Derek And The Dominos and on to his solo career he has had consistent critical and commercial success. Planes, Trains And Eric follows Eric Clapton and his band on the Far and Middle Eastern leg of his 2014 World Tour. The film features 13 full length performances from the tour intercut with interviews with Eric Clapton and the band members, rehearsal and soundcheck footage, travel by trains and planes, presentations and fly on the wall filming of all the many aspects of being on the road with Eric Clapton. TRACKLISTING: 1) Tell The Truth 2) Pretending 3) Crossroads 4) Driftin 5) I Shot The Sherriff 6) Little Queen Of Spades 7) Layla 8) Wonderful Tonight 9) Key To The Highway 10) Before You Accuse Me 11) Tears In Heaven 12) Cocaine 13) Hoochie Coochie Man 14) High Time (Credits Audio Only). BONUS FEATURES: Additional interviews / Live performances: (1) Nobody Knows You (When You re Down And Out) (2) Alabama Woman.

Mr Clapton… still among the best…

ECM News - Lumen Drones

Like a Bill Frisell from the North… Lumen Drones… Hardanger Electric Fiddle 2die4...

Nils Økland: fiddles
Per Steinar Lie: guitars
Ørjan Haaland: drums

Lumen Drones is a fascinating and powerful collaboration between Hardanger fiddle master Nils Økland and Per Stainar Lie and Ørjan Haaland, respectively guitarist and drummer with Norwegian ‘post-rock’ group The Low Frequency In Stereo. The participants describe their project as a psychedelic drone band, but its stylistic reach is broad and evocative and will trigger many musical associations. Specific influences include the Doors, Sonic Youth, Durutti Column and “the jazz of the Dave Pike set”, but the Lumen Drones also rove through modal, ambient, multi-folk, minimal and noise zones, making exciting music all the way…

Nice.

Martin Scorsese honoring The Grateful Dead's 50th Anniversary

Martin Scorsese will co-executive produce an authorized feature documentary on the Grateful Dead in honor of the band’s 50th anniversary. Deadline Hollywood is reporting that the film will be directed by Amir Bar-Lev, who is known for his films The Tillman Story and Happy Valley. Grateful Dead archivist David Lemieux will serve as the film’s music supervisor.

According to Deadline Hollywood, the currently unnamed project will include never-before-seen footage of concerts and backstage antics, along with new interviews from surviving members Phil Lesh, Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann and others from the Grateful Dead circle.

A statement from Lesh, Weir, Hart and Kreutzmann reads, “Millions of stories have been told about the Grateful Dead over the years. With our 50th Anniversary coming up, we thought it might just be time to tell one ourselves and Amir is the perfect guy to help us do it. Needless to say, we are humbled to be collaborating with Martin Scorsese. From The Last Waltz to George Harrison: Living In The Material World, from Bob Dylan to the Rolling Stones, he has made some of the greatest music documentaries ever with some of our favorite artists and we are honored to have him involved. The 50th will be another monumental milestone to celebrate with our fans and we cannot wait to share this film with them.”

Musing?

… no comment…

Bill Frisell's latest - Guitar in the Space Age! (Okeh 2014)

WOW… after Big Sur, Bill shows an even shinier, less dark, musical vein… and it's great music!

Here is the disc...

GUITAR IN THE SPACE AGE!

Bill Frisell - electric guitar
Greg Leisz - pedal steel, electric guitar
Tony Scherr - bass, acoustic guitar on Rebel Rouser
Kenny Wollesen - drums, percussion, vibes

Produced by Lee Townsend

Recording Engineer: Tucker Martine
Mixing Engineer: Adam Muñoz
Mastering Engineer: Greg Calbi
Assistant Engineer at Flora: Michael Finn
Production Assistance: Adam Blomberg
Recorded at Flora Recording & Playback, Portland, OR
Mixed at Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, CA
Mastered at Sterling Sound, New York

Art direction, design and photography: Paul Moore (StudioMoore.com)

Let's enjoy!

Horns around the world - Milan, yesterday

An installation in Milan, Italy, where people can speak at several meters... or simply enjoying the thing.

Ancient shapes and timeless elegance...

Nice.

The Gotoest, ever?

A Goto-based system from Vietnam...

... nice ancillaries, as well...

Musings - Escher!

How vinyl records are made

Worth showing this, again... our beloved discs are an industrial process, of course.

The Lyrics - His Bobness' Opus Magna

A major publishing event—a beautiful, comprehensive collection of the lyrics of Bob Dylan with artwork from thirty-three albums, edited and with an introduction by Christopher Ricks.

Available for order now: http://smarturl.it/bobdylanlyrics

As it was well put by Al Kooper (the man behind the organ on “Like a Rolling Stone”), “Bob is the equivalent of William Shakespeare. What Shakespeare did in his time, Bob does in his time.” Christopher Ricks, editor of T. S. Eliot, Samuel Beckett, Tennyson, and The Oxford Book of English Verse, has no argument with Mr. Kooper’s assessment, and Dylan is attended to accordingly in this authoritative edition of his lyrics.

In the words of Ricks: “For fifty years, all the world has delighted in Bob Dylan’s books of words and more than words: provocative, mysterious, touching, baffling, not-to-be-pinned-down, intriguing, and a reminder that genius is free to do as it chooses. And, again and again, these are not the words that he sings on the initially released albums.”

This edition changes things, giving us the words from officially released studio and live recordings, as well as selected variant lyrics and revisions to these, recent revisions and retrospective ones; and, from the archives, words that, till now, have not been published.

The Lyrics, edited with diligence by Christopher Ricks, Lisa Nemrow, and Julie Nemrow.

As set down, as sung, and as sung again.

Almost 1,000 pages and 13 pounds, this slip-case edition is roughly the size of an LP record, and is being published as a limited edition.

Available for order now: http://smarturl.it/bobdylanlyrics

File near "Blood on the Tracks" and "Blonde on Blonde"...

Elusive Discs Dept. - Jean-Fery Rebel, Andre Cardinal Destouches: Les Elements, Christopher Hogwood/The Academy of Ancient Music (1980)

LABEL : Editions de L'oiseau-Lyre (Holland) RECORD # : DSLO 562 DATE : 1980 

A very modern music disc... you'll be amazed!

Elusiveness? Yes, of course:-)

Good luck finding your copy... well worth it.

Chasing Ice - the largest calving ever filmed... a fascinating nightmare

Awe and worrying...

... as shit happens, and we made it!

Marco Brouwer's Audio Creative "GrooveMaster" 12 inches arm

Nice, elegant, well built... welcome to this new arm!

The GrooveMaster specifications:

Ultra low friction Semi-Ceramic bearing
SME headshell connection
Cardas tonearm wire
Cardas headshell leads
Jelco tonearm lift
Cardas 5 pin tonearm cable connector
Ebony or Olivewood headshell
Mounting sjablone included

Technical:

Aluminium housing with brass or stainless steel counterweights
Mounting distance 304,75mm = 12 ”
Mounting diameter (Record player): > 29 mm
Offset angle: 17,11 degr.
Overhang: 12,82 mm
Effective length: 317,57 mm
Effectieve mass: 22 g.

Soooo cool in classic Hammertone finish!

Genesis - Earth as per Sebastião Salgado's eye

 245 amazing B/W pictures in 5 sections, an unique journey around our Planet...

A must see, folks... in Milan 'til November 2nd, 2014.

A poet and a visionary...

... me and my most beloved Salgado's picture... the brave penguin plunging & the dark roaring sea.

Majestic beauty.

Sunday Disc - Occident - Orient on Berliner Meister Schallplatten Direct-to-Disc BMS 1203V (2012)

Got this D-to-D vinyl record from my pal Michael Vrzal, who stopped at my place to say hello on his way back home to Berlin.

A nice, nice disc, with the superb clarinet of Kinan Azmeh and music which blends - you'd bet it? - Eastern and Western music in the noble path and heritage of East meets West of Sir Yehudi Munhuin, back in the Seventies.

The recording, recorded on February 12, 2012 in Berlin is a live direct to disc recording, where the tonmeister used Sennheiser's  MHK 20, 30 and 50 mikes... the sound of these mikes is  - as also the best old BIS recordings proved several times - lively, natural and smooth... comparing a Neumann's to an MC cartridge, these mikes are like a good MM cartridge...

Msic flows easily to the ear... second track on side 1 - i.e. "November 22" is a nice, nice piece of music, dynamics are top notch and worth the disc.

A limited edition disc, my copy is # 28, is showing one more time the merits of BMS' vintage Telefunken and Neumann's mixer, mike preamps and lathing machines.

Pressing is made by Pallas...

Enjoyed it a lot.


Thanking Michael and his wife for visiting... and for the gift.

Officina Tron from Switzerland

WOW...

Lovely WE 91A-based amps from Switzerland.

Fresh news from Berlin - Robbie Basho's 12 strings guitar at Steffen Basho-Junghans' place!!!

Yes, folks... the guitar is safe, in Steffen's loving hands...

That's REALLY great news!!!

Look at the low notes compensation at nut... and at the wood and mother-of-pearl inlays...

Thanking Steffen for his great, time consuming job in finding one of the most famous Mexican guitar ever, i.e. this iconic 12 strings guitar used and owned by Robbie Basho, and good luck with the restoring of the old lady.

... now, let's find the old 6 strings, Robbie's old Weymann's...