.home..artists..labels..new..restocks..best..faq.
.soon.
previous artist:
 paul neidhardt 		there are 11 titles featuring alexander neilson in stock.
they are listed below.		next artist:
 benjamin nelson 
click the image above to
add this item to your
shopping cart
$17.46

back in stock as of
may 4th, 2009

first in stock on
february 24th, 2009

threads:
modern-psych
minimalism-drones

bo’weavil (uk) #weavil 34 cd

black flowers “i grew from a stone to a statue” compact disc

  • calvary cross
  • hot crosses
  • polly on the shore
  • and the words fell like malting blossom
  • sweet rivers of redeeming love  
february 2009 release ; first outing from this alex neilson-led quartet with lavinia blackwell, michael “mick” flower, and alasdair roberts ...

not sure if it’s roberts’ presence that leads things into more “song-based” territories than even directing hand, but the vocals are largely the focus, even when the group step out into less rhythmic arenas (listen to the sound-sample for a lovely section involving the group’s collective choiring & mick’s gained “japan-banjo” ...)
bo’weavil press release...
i grew from a statue to a stone
black flowers

alex neilson's peripatetic travels through the musical landscapes of this isle and beyond seem to have reached some kind of milestone with "i grew from a stone to a statue". a summation to date of his musical praxis and a vertiginous launch pad into a number of possible futures. joining him are a number of fellow travelers who share his love of song and a restless frustration with the limits imposed by that or any other form. it's difficult to avoid hackneyed q magazine vernacular such as "supergroup" when writing about a coming together such as this but given the way talent attracts talent that was always going to be the case.

lavinia blackwall, whose fearless improvised vocals have electrified other of alex's projects, trembling bells and directing hand, also plays harp, psaltery and organ. michael flower plays guitar, never sounding more like the leeds takashi mizutani than he does here. possibly straying furthest from familiar territory is glaswegian singer/songwriter alasdair roberts, who also plays guitar and shares vocals with lavinia on the traditional "polly on the shore".

the music they create frequently wrong foots the listener with folk and rock references before tearing down with iconoclastic fervour all the associations of those song-based, narrative-driven, vocal-centred forms. what is left when that scaffolding is removed is music that is infinitely expansive and joyous in its freedom. the songs do have a narrative but one that moves upwards and backwards as well as forwards, with a use of three-dimensional sonic space that doesn't figure in the rulebooks of those megalithic modes. not only space but time becomes a fluid and malleable concept, as it always has been in the hands of those drummers good enough and free enough in style and mind to break through it.

click the image above to
add this item to your
shopping cart
$23.86

back in stock as of
may 4th, 2009

first in stock on
october 3rd, 2008

threads:
folk
modern-psych

bo’weavil (uk) #weavil 31 lp

josephine foster “this coming gladness” long playing record

  • the garden of earthly delights
  • the lap of your lust
  • lullaby to all
  • i love you & the springtime blues
  • all i wanted was the moon
  • waltz of green
  • sim nao
  • second sight
  • a thimbleful of milk
  • indelible rainbows
july 2008 release ; vinyl version of this most recent set of music from josephine foster, here fronting a small band consisting of scottish free-improv percussionist/wünderkind alex nielson & guitarist victor herrero (whose name is new to me ; his distant reverb-twin rumblings throughout are a joy) ... foster’s voice / affectations / machinations still kind of drive me bonkers, but you kind of have to appreciate her whole long-gone era vibe ...
bo’weavil press release...

josephine foster - this coming gladness.

colorado born josephine foster has practically defined what it means to be an outsider folk singer. initially with born heller and then solo and accompanied by the supposed, her unsettling soprano and way with a song takes the eerie otherness of those early appalachian ballads and brings them, whispering, into our dreams. the coming gladness brings the folk aesthetic that josephine has explored in her recent albums to the psyche rock territory of her recordings with the supposed. this intense, uncompromising music is the looming badlands landscape lit by the charged lightning strikes of an extraordinary voice. that voice belongs to no movement, trend or fashion, any more than the equally haunted spirit of tim buckley, another outsider, another unique talent, did in his day. it is simply great music and josephine foster is, simply, a great singer, simply a great songwriter. guitarist victor herrero and percussionist alex nielson more than contribute to the otherworldly sound of the album. alex nielson has been the drummer of choice for will oldham, current 93, and many others, while also fronting his own bands directing hand, tight meat duo, and trembling bells. victor as accomplished on electric guitar as acoustic, has also a new solo acoustic guitar soon to be released on bo’ weavil.

click the image above to
add this item to your
shopping cart
$17.46

back in stock as of
may 4th, 2009

first in stock on
august 7th, 2008

threads:
folk
modern-psych

bo’weavil (uk) #weavil 31 cd

josephine foster “this coming gladness” compact disc

  • the garden of earthly delights
  • the lap of your lust
  • lullaby to all
  • i love you & the springtime blues
  • all i wanted was the moon
  • waltz of green
  • sim nao
  • second sight
  • a thimbleful of milk
  • indelible rainbows
july 2008 release ; new music from josephine foster, here fronting a small band consisting of scottish free-improv percussionist/wünderkind alex nielson & guitarist victor herrero (whose name is new to me ; his distant reverb-twin rumblings throughout are a joy) ... foster’s voice / affectations / machinations still kind of drive me bonkers, but you kind of have to appreciate her whole long-gone era vibe ...
bo’weavil press release...
josephine foster - this coming gladness.

colorado born josephine foster has practically defined what it means to be an outsider folk singer. initially with born heller and then solo and accompanied by the supposed, her unsettling soprano and way with a song takes the eerie otherness of those early appalachian ballads and brings them, whispering, into our dreams. the coming gladness brings the folk aesthetic that josephine has explored in her recent albums to the psyche rock territory of her recordings with the supposed. this intense, uncompromising music is the looming badlands landscape lit by the charged lightning strikes of an extraordinary voice. that voice belongs to no movement, trend or fashion, any more than the equally haunted spirit of tim buckley, another outsider, another unique talent, did in his day. it is simply great music and josephine foster is, simply, a great singer, simply a great songwriter. guitarist victor herrero and percussionist alex nielson more than contribute to the otherworldly sound of the album. alex nielson has been the drummer of choice for will oldham, current 93, and many others, while also fronting his own bands directing hand, tight meat duo, and trembling bells. victor as accomplished on electric guitar as acoustic, has also a new solo acoustic guitar soon to be released on bo’ weavil.

click the image above to
add this item to your
shopping cart
$16.95

back in stock as of
may 4th, 2009

first in stock on
june 12th, 2007

threads:
free-jazz
modern-psych

bo’weavil (uk) #weavil 22 cd

tight meat duo “vanishing fist” compact disc

  • your meaningless work is sandcastles
  • in need of the storm so long
  • last kind words (nibelungen)
  • please let me die
bo’weavil press release...
vanishing fist
tight meat duo

tight meat, a duo of the fantastic free drummer alex neilson and the fiery sax of david keenan. a powerful onslaught of free jazz with david providing some high energy saxophone screams alongside alex' plethora of rhythmic energy.

click the image above to
add this item to your
shopping cart
$11.25

back in stock as of
may 15th, 2007

first in stock on
april 8th, 2005

threads:
free-jazz
modern-psych

cenotaph audio (usa) #ca 010 cd

scatter “surprising sing stupendous love” compact disc

  • orbling (6:21)
  • national magic (5:35)
  • adventure - equation (8:10)
  • alternations of pasture and urban conurban (4:35)
  • maroon (8:42)
  • go down joe downey part 1 (2:39)
  • make the time (5:49)
  • confused dialectic / adventure again (15:42)
recently brought to worldwide attention via the “dream gig” of being jandek’s drummer, alexander neilson is certainly the u.k.’s current “free drummer of note”. he leads an assortment of odd characters (including isobel from belle & sebastien) under the “scatter” moniker into greener pastures via application of the free-time spec...

caught the lot playing a blinding set in glasgow a few marches back; was a sight/sound revelation on par with no other. very glad to hold in my hands this, their custom-assembled album-artifact, as released by john w. fail’s cenotaph imprint.

the whole thing’s a bundle of love, from the graph-paper collages to the music itself, a freewheeling fireball of connected expectations and random bursts. if you’re at all curious of the state of the leeds/glasgow improv racket, invest both time and coin in this artifact...
cenotaph audio press release...
scatter
surprising sing stupendous love cd
cenotaph audio ct10

limited to 400 copies in a carefully constructed, hand-assembled package.

a large group with somewhat fluid membership, glasgow’s scatter create music that touches many bases. there’s a lot of brass instrumentation (over some fairly swinging rhythms), but you wouldn’t call them jazz; there is a proliferation of voices and acoustic instruments, though you wouldn’t call them folk; there are flourishes of stranger sounds - electronics, vocal babbling, and odd percussion - but don’t call them experimental. at its core, scatter is a glowing ball of musical energy, the various instruments clattering together like kinetic sparks of inspiration.

some members have performed with vibracathedral orchestra, and a similar musical language is evident - the harmony of glowing tones combined in a common goal. but scatter has a raucous side, where the band is not afraid to let percussion lead and the collages of sound to dominate.

in spite of their leftfield leanings, scatter was recently invited to support belle & sebastian at their london astoria and edinburgh usher hall shows. also, drummer alex neilson just released a collaborative cd with richard youngs on the vhf label.

in spite of it not being released until this year, music editor of the glasgow list, mark robertson, placed scatter’s debut in his top 3 albums of 2003.

click the image above to
add this item to your
shopping cart
$8.82

back in stock as of
december 16th, 2010

first in stock on
march 28th, 2007

chocolate monk (uk) #choc.135 cd

directing hand “an old soul at the helm” compact disc recordable

  • secret cheifs
  • grandad sings
  • rosemark lane (trad.)
  • o’ great star reveal’d
chocolate monk press release...
directing hand – a old soul at the helm (cd-r)

alex neilson is the uks kid thunder, who may be known to you for playing drums in jandeks band or being one half of beating stars with richard youngs, but directing hand is his own free form handshake. all kinds of joyous clatter in this baby. guests players include christina carter.

click the image above to
add this item to your
shopping cart
$27.01

back in stock as of
february 24th, 2009

first in stock on
august 22nd, 2008

threads:
modern-psych
free-improvisation
folk

dancing wayang (uk) #dwr 002 lp

directing hand “what put the blood” long playing record

  • what put the blood?
  • the temptation
  • speed agreement
  • my son david

  • two brothers
  • for p.b.mylaganlove
  • carbeth
directing hand == scottish free-kit wunderkind alexander neilson & vocalist / multi-instrumentalist lavinia blackwall ... takes here go from traditional british folk (both have the range/tone to do the tightly walled-in harmonies justice) to full-on free-wail, with blackwall’s voice often taking the patty waters path to true obliteration ... really nice stuff, w/o a trace of any kind of forced marriage between the two idioms ...
dancing wayang press release...

directing hand - what put the blood
12" lp - edition of 500

directing hand have recorded an exciting and chilling record of folk and fire tunes. placing equal emphasis on experimental free drum and wordless vocal improvisations and reinterpretations of traditional english folk songs, “what put the blood” is beautiful, ugly, loud and quiet all at once. “and just as the traditional readings are illuminated by the advanced application of vanguard, modernist aesthetics, the improvisations feel intuitively authentic and deeply volk-ish. for a tradition to go on living, sometimes it is necessary to kill it off completely.” (from the liner notes). now consisting of alex neilson on drums and vocals and soprano lavinia blackwall who also plays harp, cello and harmonium, directing hand have truly zoned in on the essence of their craft.

the lp features exclusive liner notes by volcanic tongue’s david keenan and comes housed in a hand screenprinted wrap-around sleeve designed by lavinia blackwall.

click the image above to
add this item to your
shopping cart
$13.44

back in stock as of
april 24th, 2009

first in stock on
june 14th, 2007

threads:
modern-psych
free-improvisation
minimalism-drones
concert-recordings

secret eye (usa) #ab-oc-19 cd

directing hand “bells for augustin lesage” compact disc

  • beamsley beacon (3:42)
  • tongue of the bell (11:08)
  • black herman (9:57)
  • his precious blood (5:38)
  • hangman (7:57)
  • lowlands (8:38)
secret eye press release...
[ab-oc-19] directing hand - bells for augustin lesage

the debut from glasgow's directing hand, led by free-drummer alex neilson. alex played drums for jandek's first-ever live performance; and he has also recorded and collaborated with a whole host of folks such as richard youngs, alasdair roberts, vibracthedral orchestra, ashtray navigations, black forest/black sea, lucky luke and mirror, not to mention his own superb band, scatter.

alex created directing hand as his "solo" vehicle, but its no surprise that so many important underground musicians joined in, as well. featured on this cd are current and former members of charalambides, scatter, belle and sebastian, one ensemble of daniel padden and scottish psych-folk darlings lucky luke.

following a few uk-only cdrs, this is the first proper directing hand cd (and the first world-wide release). directing hand is the must-own cd of the season - an impressive collection of musicians creating an entire universe with their hands and throats. this is the stuff.

click the image above to
add this item to your
shopping cart
$15.61

back in stock as of
january 26th, 2010

first in stock on
april 29th, 2008

threads:
guitar-themed
free-improvisation
modern-psych

 best of 2008 !!! 
vhf (usa) #vhf 103 lp

richard youngs / alexander neilson “electric lotus • lotus edition” long playing record and compact disc set

  • electric lotus (lp)

    teeth
    kickin' thru glass
    mute action
    electric lotus

  • lotus edition (cd)

    glass teeth
    mute kestrel
    sepia tear
    lotus edition
    kick vent
vhf press release...
vhf#103 richard youngs & alexander neilson electric lotus lp + lotus edition cd

epic double set from the duo, combining an lp of all-electric rock mayhem with a cd (in its own color card sleeve) of subtle drum/shakuhachi duos. electric lotus is the boys’ self-proclaimed “rock” album, and it is a mind-boggling clutch of guitar/bass/drums demolition. coming off like an amphetamine-fueled guru guru, the music tumbles out in a crazy quilt of stun-level attack zonage, especially on the side-long “electric lotus.” neilson’s staggering free-drumming hits a new peak here, stepping beyond his laudable work with jandek, bonny prince billy, etc into new realms. youngs lights it up with raging guitar and bass action, including some deeply psychedelic leads, and on “kickin’ the glass,” some killer “heavy” riffing.

lotus edition is a companion cd of restrained and completely live duos for drums and shakuhachi. youngs had previously issued a disc of shakuhachi solos with dense delay and layering effects, but here his untrained but highly musical output on the ancient instrument is in deep conversation with neilson’s drum set. a couple of the tracks feature the kind of long notes, bowed cymbals, and other droneage heard on previous releases like “partick rain dance,” but in a stripped down live setting.

like partick rain dance, this is sleeved in artwork by the children of vhf hq! the lp was expertly cut by john golden and pressed in the u.s.s.a. by rti on audiophile vinyl.

click the image above to
add this item to your
shopping cart
$13.42

back in stock as of
january 26th, 2010

first in stock on
april 29th, 2008

threads:
modern-psych
minimalism-drones
free-improvisation

vhf (usa) #vhf 077 cd

vibracathedral orchestra “the queen of guess” compact disc

  • our head shone like a stone (4:20)
  • ramshackle sunrise (19:24)
  • the silent socket (2:32)
  • magnetic burn (3:59)
  • visit/forgive > either (4:21)
  • green ears (3:25)
  • you're hard to get (10:02)
  • immobiliser (2:27)
  • goodnight stars goodnight air (20:39)
vhf press release...
vhf#77 vibracathedral orchestra the queen of guess cd

eagerly anticipated "proper" new release from this busy quintet of troublemakers is an immense visceral slab of rackety action. while certainly their most upbeat and percussive music ever, the 9 tracks run through a wide range of styles. "the slient socket" has a gamelan-like 5 note melody overlaid with a hovering drone. "magnetic burn" is the band at its most rock, with sister-ray style guitar careening along side actual drums (!). the two 20 minute epics that bookend the record are a study in contrasts: "ramshackle sunrise" has the heavy and excited buzz of the groop's frequent and unpredictable live shows, while the closing "goodnight stars goodnight air" is a gentler acoustic epilogue, gliding into the rosy future.

9 tracks, 71 mins.

click the image above to
add this item to your
shopping cart
$10.01

new to stock as of
april 23rd, 2007

threads:
modern-psych
minimalism-drones
harsh-noise
folk

 best of 2007 !!! 
singing knives (uk) #sk 001 cd

“singing at the moon” compact disc

  • tirath singh nirmala - singing at the moon (3:26)
  • one ensemble of daniel padden - low clowns (3:40)
  • peril hill - vapours in august (5:42)
  • chora - live from the inky gazelle gland (6:43)
  • bridget hayden - untitled (3:04)
  • nalle - are you beautiful inside? are you here? (2:53)
  • feather gatherers - leaves (3:41)
  • big eyes family players - alenky (2:20)
  • michael flower band - santa flauta (6:04)
  • tau emerald - the piano key (3:26)
  • inecto school - mullard's third madrigal (4:25)
  • james green - ribbon (1:28)
  • ben reynolds - golden arm (3:38)
  • directing hand - down in yon forest (6:10)
  • mcwatt - untitled (7:00)
late 2006 release; the first on singing knives; a young u.k. imprint focusing on subterranean music activities from (mainly) the leeds & glasgow scenes...

standout tracks from tirath singh nirmala (awesome, gained, eastern-tinged voice/violin monolithery - really loving this stuff !!!), the michael (mick) flower band (driving, angus maclise-like tribal thud & tanpura/organ tranceout) alex neilson’s directing hand (big, thumping toms, buzz, & loner vocals), vibracathedral orchestra’s bridget hayden (scraping hurdy-gurdy overdubs), & chora (almost psf-sounding in-the-red psych-haze...)

a very nice set featuring a wise range of sound/styles from quiet, bedroom folk to full on harsh instrumental noise; an admirably effective survey of contemporary psychedelia from “up north ...”

previous artist:
 paul neidhardt 		...and that's everything in stock featuring alexander neilson.
(why not take a look at the previous and next artists?)		next artist:
 benjamin nelson 
.home..artists..labels..new..restocks..best..faq.
.soon.
... this page was last updated on saturday, february 11th, 2012 @ 5:53 pm