Ólafur Arnalds - Variations Of Static


Fragile and emotional neo-classical music would maybe be the best term to describe Ólafur Arnalds’ music. Combining classical instrumentation with an ambient aesthetic there are obvious comparisons to fellow Icelanders Sigur Rós and composer Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, but Arnalds is sculpting his own epic, string-laden compositions. While his debut album is fully neo-classic and post rock-ish music this EP takes an more experimental twist and it sounds really amazing. Small soft glitch electronics combined with orchestral music and the lovely piano played by Olafur sounds and blends really great in creating this soft melancholic atmosphere. Also an interesting thing is that though this is an instrumental record there are vocals but he used Microsoft voice software or something like that and surprisingly it does not ruin the mood it kinda lifts it up in a weird way. Anyway, really good stuff check it out.

Tracklist:

01. Fok (4:29)
02. Við vorum smá... (2:22)
03. Haust (5:28)
04. Lokaðu augunum (3:45)
05. Himininn er að hrynja en stjörnurnar fara þér vel (5:37)

Download.

Newsflash


Ok so I noticed that people actually downloaded the movie I posted, which is good. Though there would not be that many downloads if I didn't advertise myself on TNA but nevertheless people are interested so like I said I will post one movie per week (if all things go well and according to plans sometimes I might be late) yay. The movie day will be on sunday or saturday.

So what movie will be next? Well since the last one was animated it is certain that the next one will not be animated. I'm still thinking which one should I post but most likely it will be an Asian movie since I'm such a slut for Asian culture.

Mortuus - Mortuus

2 amazing slow paced black metal songs. They are very slow in terms of black metal but in my opinion this fits really good in the whole picture. Slow paced guitars and half-screeched/growled (or something like that) vocals really deliver in providing the listener with an amazing atmospheric album. I got this rip from my friend who has the actual 7'' back in 2005 and the rip is top quality. The record itself is quite rare and I didn't see it on any blogs before I posted it on now dead TUM forum. Highly recommended.

Tracklist:

01. Silence Sang the Praise of Death (6:21)
02. All Dead (5:08)

Download.

Maki Kusumoto - A Funeral Procession of K

A resident of Room 301 in Building 67, K, had died and no one had seen or was able to find his corpse. Everyone, however, was still certain that he was dead and held a funeral for him. That was when a stranger named Mikaya suddenly showed up and announced that he was going to live in 301. Determined to solve the mystery of this far from ordinary death, Mikaya began to question the residents and as everything began to unravel, he realized that something was very, very wrong. All characters are well developed, each is deranged in its own way but they all loved K. and respected him highly. Quite unusual way of drawing, didn't see much of this style; very abstract and artistic in comparison to mainstream titles. Definitely worth checking out.

Get.

Fantastic Planet (La Planète sauvage)

Year of release: 1973
Director: René Laloux
Genre: Surrealism
Duration: 72 min
Language: French (this is the English synchronized version)

IMDb

This is my birthday present (which I forgot to upload on the actual day of my birthday but doesn't matter) for you guys who read both blogs where I post. I'm thinking about posting one movie (anime counts too) that I like or have recently seen per week on this blog if people would actually download it. If you'd like this then please comment with feedback or some ideas if you have them.

Fantastic planet is an animated movie that was released back in 1973 in France. Back in the day it was quite popular but its fame faded away a long time ago and the movie is hardly mentioned these days. I think that Fantastic Planet is overlooked by the mainstream cinema mostly because of its surrealism. Almost nothing in landscape and objects resemble this world and the objects in the movie are thought out really well. The animation is something along the lines of those found in Monty Phytons Flying Circus series if not the same. The soundtrack is rather cheesy it practically screams stereotypic psychedelic rock but it fits in very well.

The story of the movie takes you to a planet where humans are kept like pets (Planet of the Apes? Not really like that.) and the world is ruled by blue giants with red eyes. This race of giants isn't warlike nor brutal but they treat humans as we do bugs and small mammals. The main character is a human and he actually tells a story of his life. I won't explain any further because of spoilers and besides there are much more better written reviews elsewhere.

All in all this is an great animation for all surreal and avant-garde fans.

Links:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9

You need HJ Split to patch this back into one file.

Curses!

Thought I should post something special here and on TNA for my birthday (25.10.) but I, uh, forgot so I'll leave mediafire to upload it tonight and I should post it liek tomorrow or someday ha. While I'm at it watch this video and absorb its awesomeness:


Flower Travellin' Band - Anywhere

Track 2 is a Muddy Waters cover.
Track 3 is a Black Sabbath cover.
Track 4 is a traditional American fold song.
Track 5 is a King Crimson cover.

Tracklist:

01. Anywhere (0:52)
02. Louisiana Blues (15:49)
03. Black Sabbath (8:53)
04. House Of The Rising Sun (7:41)
05. Twenty-First Century Schizoid Man (13:25)
06. Anywhere (0:57)

Download.

Flower Travellin' Band - Made In Japan


Flower Travellin’ Band are an esoteric Japanese psychedelic rock/ heavy metal outfit that was first active in the late 1960s and early 1970s, consisting of Akira “Joe” Yamanaka (vocals), Hideki Ishima (guitar), Joji “George” Wada (drums) and Jun Kozuki (bass). As of January 12th, 2008 they have officially reunited. The band was initially organized by Japanese entertainer and entrepreneur Yuya Uchida as “The Flowers,” a cover band, and featured two vocalists - male vocalist Yuya Uchida, and female vocalist Remi Aso, who was touted as the Japanese version of Janis Joplin. Their first album consisted of covers of Western pop songs. It was primarily notable for the fact that all of the band members appeared nude on the cover, including Aso, which was considered scandalous at the time. Anyway, really fun stuff and wild too greatly recommended for the fans of psych rock. Ahead of its time tbh.

01. Introduction (0:27)
02. Unaware (5:51)
03. Aw Give Me Air (3:20)
04. Kamikaze (4:16)
05. Hiroshima (5:13)
06. Spasms (5:23)
07. Heaven And Hell (3:50)
08. That's All (6:39)

Download.

Sunn O))) - The Horn and the Spear (EMS Remix)

MP3 single released in 2004. Contains two variations of "The Horn and the Spear"
remixed by Eric Syre.

01. The Horn and the Spear 1 (EMS Remix) (08:20)
02. The Horn and the Spear 1 (EMS Remix) (08:36)
Download.

Sacrilegium & North - Jesienne Szepty


Another North split with another black metal band from Poland (whoa that was a surprise). Both bands did just one long song with their trademark sound I guess. Nothing really smart to add, if you like this kind of stuff then get it.

Tracklist:

Sacrilegium
01. Where the Day Fades Away... (Tam Gdzie Ga¶nie Dzieñ...) (10:48)

North
02. River-like Passing Time (Czas P³ynie Jak Rzeki) (08:36)

Download.

Grom & North & Marhoth - Sovereigns of Northernlands

All three Polish and all three black metal. This split is an rarity I guess, didn't really see it anywhere else except on Dunkelheit so I thought I should share it. Released in 1998.

Tracklist:

North
01. Sovereigns of Northernlands (05:29)
02. The Forest (03:20)

Grom
03. On the Boarder Between Two Worlds (09:48)

Marhoth
04. Fog Over the Swamps (10:16)
05. Crown of Marhoth (07:23)

Download.

Piana - Ephemeral


Really great relaxing music great for this frosty time of the year. Discogs labels this as synth pop which is more or less exact but there's a big mixture of all kinds of genres spanning from ambient to neoclassical music but they are all tied in this awesomely calm and beautiful music. Recommended.

01. Something Is Lost (6:47)
02. Early In Summer (5:55)
03. Beside Me (5:16)
04. Color Of Breeze (1:08)
05. Little Girl Poems (6:17)
06. Muse (2:29)
07. Mother's Love (5:12)
08. Moon And Cello (4:53)
09. Beginning (2:24)

Malicious Secrets & Antaeus & Mutiilation & Deathspell Omega - From the Entrails to the Dirt

Holy shit Mutiilation did a Frank Sinatra cover. 4 great bands but what the hell Frank Sinatra? Anyway, it's all good stuff, DsO song is probably my favorite and the Malicious Secrets side. Did I mention there's a Frank Sinatra cover?

Tracklist:

Malicious Secrets
01. Interior Crack Psycho Angel Bitch (06:08)
02. Rejection and Raising Perdition Blaze (06:26)
03. Send Me to Hell / Day of Wine and Thorns (07:32)

Antaeus
04. Gates to the Outside (03:00)

Mütiilation
05. My Way (Frank Sinatra cover) (03:44)
06. Tears of a Melancholic Vampire (07:20)

Deathspell Omega
07. Mass Grave Aesthetics (19:43)

Download.

Kazuo Umezu memory game.

Kazuo Umezu is considered to be the father of horror mangas. He recived numerous rewards and credits. His most popular works are Drifting Castle and Cat Eyed Boy. Sadly I don't have any of his mangas in English no matter how hard I search. :(

Nevertheless here is his nice little cute memory game! How does it work? Well it is quite simple. There's no install or anything so just extract the file. After that all you need to do is to start the game and press left/right/up/down where Umezu shows you. As you progress the path becomes longer and Umezu hypes up showing faster and faster the way until you get something wrong. Enjoy, it's very fun.

SUTARUTOOOOOOOOO

Which reminds me that I should start posting some good dos games hmmm...

Sunn O))) - The Libations of Samhain

The Libations of Samhain is live recording and the quality is not that bad, classic sunn stuff. Sunn O))) Vs Diggers is an interview they did on some radio show.

Tracklist:

01. The Libations Of Samhain (48:59)
02. SunnO))) Vs Diggers 4th November 2003 (16:05)

Download.

Melt-banana - 666

I'm sure everyone heard of Melt-banana. Not really that underground anymore but still lots of fun to listen. 666 is an 7'' that packs just three songs. They are ok, this is more like a collectors item. I saw this in Prague but didn't buy out of fear that it will break while I devastate hotels under the influence of alcohol. :D

Tracklist:

A Get The Head Back (1:26)
B1 About (0:56)
B2 Neck On B1 (0:41)
Download.

Lolomg



Too bad I missed his concert yesterday I really wanted to go and see this asshole live. Music videos made in The Movies excellent. xD

Suehiro Maruo - The Laughing Vampire

Laughing vampire is obviously an story about vampires. Vampires today are a favorite target for pop culture and they are now portrayed as some gothic rave/techno freaks and they act like idiotic beasts, gangstas etc. I usually don't see vampires like that, the vampires I like are ones who live somewhere far away from civilization in their huge mansions where they read books, play violins, laugh hysterically on their balconies at night and suck blood out of virgin females which are all great activities I'd like to try one day. Vampires in Suehiros universe are similar as I see them but he initially wants to portray them as a freak of nature and an outcast from society. The story begins in post-war Japanese where everything is destroyed and there are bodies everywhere which is something Suehiro apparently loves to show. A man there (who has a face like he's laughing all the time hence the name but its just my theory) searches through the rubble for loot etc. Because of his face the people there accused him for being a demon and thus he was hanged and buried. But the earth also rejected him and thus he became something which you could call a vampire. Years later he finds a boy and decides that he should be his pupil and the story pretty much starts from there. What I really like in this manga is that vampires don't really have fangs or any other body disfigurement (when you start reading you'll see that they feed in a most interesting and to me kinda funny way) they look just like all other humans do but of course they can move faster, see in the night etc and they need to drink blood to survive. Overally its a great story I really enjoyed it and I'm once again amazed by Suehiros drawing skills and his ability to portray madness in a such beautiful way.


Get.

Morita Doji - Last Waltz


Some more Morita awesomeness. Last Waltz or ラスト・ワルツ was released in 1980. Her career after this album will last for about 3 more years and she'll release two albums after this one (the disappointing Wolf Boy and Nocturne). I love all songs on this album they are everything I expect from her. Great mixture of violins/cellos and acoustic guitars.

Tracklist:

01. 赤いダウンパーカーぼくのともだち (3:31)
02. 菜の花あかり (2:14)
03. 海が死んでもいいョって鳴いている (3:24)
04. グリーン大佐答えて下さい (5:48)
05. みんな夢でありました (3:19)
06. きれいに咲いた (3:28)
07. たとえばぼくが死んだら (2:59)
08. ラスト・ワルツ(5:10)


Check out the discography post for all of her albums.

Sunn O))) - Candlewolf of the Golden Chalice

12" only available on tour. Recorded during a session with BBC's John Peel in London, England on December 09th. Some rare Sunn stuff. I don't really need to describe this music do I? Anyway, interesting thing in this song is that they play this certain frequency which irritates bowels and it kinda forces you to take a shit. :D Listened to it a few times and it does make you a weird feeling in your bowels but not hard enough for me to go to the toilet. Maybe the frequency got partially lost in the ripping process.

Tracklist:

01. Candlewolf of the Golden Chalice (19:30)

Download.

Hako Yamasaki - Tsunawatari

Ah, I have a weak spot for old Japanese (surprise surprise) pop. :(

Something along the lines of Morita Doji, but not quite like her. Don't get me wrong they are both great singers but they differ in voice characteristics a lot. For example Moritas voice is soft while Hakos voice is much more passionate and determined but they are both rooted in melancholic sound in their songs (atleast it sounds like that to me). Musically is also awesome. It has everything 70s music needs (those famous rock organs (if they are called like that :o), electric guitars etc.) but there are also songs that are just acoustic guitars and Hakos lovely desperate voice.

Tracklist:

01. Mukaikaze (5:21)
02. Shiroi Hana (5:20)
03. Himawari (3:20)
04. Tenjo (5:34)
05. Help Me (4:20)
06. Hitori Uta (3:42)
07. Harmonica fuki no Otoko (3:37)
08. Tsunawatari (5:36)
09. Utaitaino (4:12)
10. Tanjo Iwai (7:04)
11. Yurusarezaru Koi (5:05)

Download.

Au Revoir Simone - The Bird Of Music


Au Revoir Simone is an indie pop band from Brooklyn, New York that formed in late 2003. The group consists of Erika Forster (vocals/keyboard), Annie Hart (vocals/keyboard), and Heather D’Angelo (vocals/drum machine/keyboard). Forster and Hart became friends while traveling by train from Vermont to New York. The band name comes from a minor character in Tim Burton’s Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure. This album usually gets bad rating but I like it for some reason and it doesn't sound bad at all to me but that's maybe because I have no idea what good or bad pop is. :D I like its dreamy and mellow sound.

Tracklist:

01. The Lucky One (4:30)
02. Sad Song (4:07)
03. Fallen Snow (3:45)
04. I Couldn't Sleep (2:31)
05. A Violent Yet Flammable World (5:01)
06. Don't See The Sorrow (4:30)
07. Dark Halls (3:26)
08. Night Majestic (3:00)
09. Stars (2:58)
10. Lark (4:19)
11. The Way To There (6:49)

Download.

Besh o droM - Gyí!

Another amazing album by my favorite Balkan brass band called Besh o droM. Unlike the "Can't make me!" album this one does not have any annoying turn-tabling or anything of that sorts this one is pure Balkan trumpet and other wonders music. There are also some songs that are oriented around other instruments but trumpets are here the main deal and it's awesome.

Tracklist:

01. Újcsocsek (5:42)
02. Tortapapír (6:24)
03. Makedón (4:41)
04. Lei Toi (4:01)
05. Fidóé (3:52)
06. Meggyújtom a Pipám (3:55)
07. Kavalos (6:04)
08. Lake Jakha (5:32)
09. Mániás Depresszió (4:14)
10. Úgy elmennék (4:05)
Download.

101st post O_o

Wow I never thought I would post that much and I just realized that this blog is running for 6 months. Time does fly by. :(


Fang Island - Day Of The Great Leap


Watch the live video it's awesome. Fang Island is a self-proclaimed “Healing & Easy Listening / Visual” band from “Philayorkadence” in the United States of America. Made up of a guitarist from the band Daughters (Nicholas Andrew Sadler) and four others from the aforementioned town (Jason Bartell, Phil Cucuru, Peter Watts, and Chris Georges), Fang Island makes music that they describe as “everyone high-fiving everyone.” Very fun post-rock and also very lively and dynamic.


Fang Island - Day Of The Great Leap


1. Intro (2:07)
2. White Widow (2:33)
3. We Were Lions (2:19)
4. S.S. Fort Jams (3:26)
5. Meateater (2:46)
6. Vlad (2:09)
7. Tickle Mountain (4:29)
8. The Landing (3:42)

Download.

Asobi Seksu

Asobi Seksu (formed in 2004) is a New York City, United States based dream pop/shoegaze band. Singer Yuki Chikudate often incorporates Japanese lyrics into her songs. The band’s name in Japanese consists of two words, “asobi” meaning “play” or “for fun”, and “sekkusu” the Japanese imported word for”sex” . Their sound has been said to draw influence from the shoegazing movement of the late 1980s to early 1990s, which was coined to describe the textured and effects-heavy sound of alternative rock in that era. The band consists of Yuki Chikudate (singing|vocals), James Hanna (guitar, vocals), Haji (bass guitar|bass) and Ben Shapiro (drum kit|drums).

Asobi Seksu released their eponymous debut album in 2004. The band regrouped with a new rhythm section for their second album, Citrus, which was recorded in Gigantic Studios, New York City with producer Chris Zane.

One Little Indian Records re-released the band’s first album Asobi Seksu and the follow-up Citrus in 2006.

Highly recommended.

Citrus

Tracklist:

01. Everything Is On (0:17)
02. Strawberries (3:57)
03. New Years (3:01)
04. Thursday (4:17)
05. Strings (5:27)
06. Pink Cloud Tracing Paper (3:27)
07. Red Sea (7:45)
08. Goodbye (3:44)
09. Lions And Tigers (4:08)
10. Nefi + Girly (4:37)
11. Exotic Animal Paradise (4:06)
12. Mizu Asobi (2:40)

Download.

Asobi Seksu

Tracklist:

01. I'm Happy But You Don't Like Me (3:07)
02. Sooner (3:45)
03. Umi De No Jisatsu (2:23)
04. Walk On The Moon (4:33)
05. Let Them Wait (2:47)
06. Taiyo (2:01)
07. It's Too Late (7:17)
08. End At The Beginning (4:21)
09. Asobi Masho (1:25)
10. Stay (5:02)
11. Before We Fall (2:39)

Download.
Stay Awake/Then He Kissed Me 7''

Tracklist:

01. Stay Awake (5:31)
02. Then He Kissed Me (2:33)

Download.

Shonen Knife - Pretty Little Baka Guy

Shonen Knife or Girl Knife is a merry little girl punk band from Osaka. They formed in December 1981 with sisters Naoko Yamano (vocals and guitar) and Atsuko Yamano (drums) and their friend Michie Nakatani (vocals and bass). No serious lyrics or anything its just pure fun. (/^-^)/ no idea really what to type (/^-^)/

Tracklist:

01. Bear Up Bison (2:07)
02. Summertime Boogie (2:19)
03. I Wanna Eat Choco Bars (1:40)
04. Public Bath (2:03)
05. Devil House (3:07)
06. Antonio Baka Guy (1:29)
07. Ice Cream City (2:44)
08. Ah Singapore (1:13)
09. Riding On The Rocket (2:03)
10. Kappa Ex. (2:55)
11. Lazybone (2:28)
12. Ice Cream City (2:25)
13. Baggs (3:00)
14. Kappa Ex. (2:38)
15. Antonio Baka Guy (1:43)
16. Spider (2:37)
17. Secret Dance (2:52)
18. I'm A Realist (2:16)
Download.

Capitalist Casualties - Man is the Bastard Split

It has been a while since I posted anything punk related and that's mostly because 90% of punk (mostly hardcore though) and girndcore I get is from Zmaj and I don't want to (ahem) steal his possible future posts. But exceptions can be made no? :P I made the exception because this is an quite awesome split. Both bands are fairly known among the people who listen to this kind of music so there's no really need for description of either. Man Is The Bastard plays here without any electronics or other experimental stuff this straightforward hardcore. CC play their trademark blend of 80's Euro-anarchocore and power violence; good tracks in the style of their Raised Ignorant EP.

Tracklist:

CC (not Cannibal Corpse D:) side:

01. Meat Market (0:39)
02. Jesus' Whore (0:39)
03. Murder Media (0:39)
04. Moron (0:07)
05. Self-Abuse (1:05)
06. Worker (0:45)
07. Fuck The Christians (0:31)
08. Pin Cushion (1:07)
09. You Explode (0:23)
10. Name Dropper (0:29)
11. Vomit (0:42)
12. Stairs (1:25)
13. Waste Life (0:44)

Man Is The Bastard side:

14. Foot Binding (1:45)
15. Feed The Octopus (4:37)
16. Eunich (1:14)
17. Gourmet Pez (2:27)
18. Blinds (1:42)

Download.

Suehiro Maruo - Ultra Gash Inferno


An very nice collection of his stories. Very psychedelic and surreal as all of his works are. The art is excellent as always, fine firm lines and you can see that Suehiro is greatly influenced by the early horror movies and German 20s and 30s pop culture. The last story for me is the most interesting because it tells a very brutal truth about the post-war Japan in a city that was demolished by a nuclear bomb. There's also a touch of surreal but the last story is overall a very real and disturbing story and provides an very fascinating read. This is the official English translation version for the US not a fan translation.


Unholy Trinity - Omnimalevolence

When I was a bit younger I used to listen black metal a great deal of my spare and busy time. As time went on I began to discover more and more BM bands but my need for it started to get more and more complicated. Later on it reached to a point when I was greatly disappointed in the genre (it was around the time when Darkthrone just released its The Cult Is Alive album, ironically though today I think that album is ok) and people in that particular scene and the general way of how things were at the time. Recently though I'm beginning to rediscover my love for this oh so parodied genre of music because I'm very interested in this so called "satanic orthodox" (corrected by Khaos thanks :D) movement that bands like Blut Aus Nord (partially) and Deathspell Omega began. Unholy Trinity is a fine example of this new black metal and a standing testimony that the future of BM might not be that bad. Enjoy.

Tracklist:

01. Zacmione Proroctwo (05:16)
02. Zdrada (03:10)
03. Zemsta (03:52)
04. Przejscie Wilka (07:04)
05. Strzyga (05:41)
Download.

She's So Heavy - Wata/Ai Aso split - Booklet

Oh yeah, I forgot to post this sooner. The booklet (actually photobook) for the Wata/Ai Aso split. The pictures are not scans! Someone just photographed the booklet (I guess he doesn't have a scanner xD). I was a bit disappointed when I first saw it. It's just a bunch of photos of both women even though I expected that I thought they'll add at least a small amount of some but they didn't. -_-'


Go here.

Yoshida Brothers - Hishou

The Yoshida Kyōdai (吉田兄弟) are Japanese musicians and have released several albums under the Domo label internationally as the Yoshida Brothers. They are a pair of brothers and performers of the traditional Japanese music style of Tsugaru-jamisen which originated in northern Japan. They debuted in 1999 in Japan as a duo playing the shamisen and have since attracted an international audience. Their music has been a fusion of the rapid and percussive Tsugaru-jamisen style along with Western and other regional musical influences.

Tracklist:

01. Prelude: Hishou (2:30)
02. Ibuki (Hishou Version) (6:30)
03. Kodo (Hishou Version) (3:20)
04. Ringo Bushi (2:37)
05. Ajigasawa Jinku (3:08)
06. Yasaburou Bushi (3:55)
07. Panorama (3:08)
08. Tsugaru Yosare Bushi (Hishou Version) (6:24)
09. Time of Sand (4:37)
10. Tsugaru Aiya Bushi (Hishou Version) (5:43)
11. Modern (Hishou Version) (2:26)
12. Dual (4:28)
13. Tsugaru Jongara Bushi (Hishou Version) (14:41)
14. Postlude: Hishou (0:46)
Download.

Photos

Some pictures I took while walking around. Click on them to enlarge they are big.

Rex Mundi - IHVH

This is one of those highly metaphysical black metal bands ala Deathspell Omega. This band is also from France but they are not very known which is most likely because they released one album and limited it to 75 copies or so. The sound quality is very poor and I think the album was not recorded in a studio but more like in a rehearsal room or something. The only bad thing about the music is the vocals they don't fit very good in the music but it can pass. Recently I heard this album is going to be re-released on some fancy label and I'm guessing it will sound completely different from the version I have. The booklet is also quite weird. I might scan it soon and post it also maybe someone can translate the weird letters in it.

Tracklist:

1. J'imaginger (Be-reshit) (06:16)
2. Naphtali (06:09)
3. Patrimoine Génétique (05:55)
4. Pious Angels (Sefer Seraphim) (11:11)
5. Bloodline Imagery (Achieving Synthesis with Hokhmah) (04:53)
6. What Dreams May Come (06:23)
7. I Have Imagined (02:26)

Download.