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... happy spring everyone !!! to commemorate our favorite season (and to help get this place back to some sort of workable condition) we're having a "spring cleaning" sale !!! please visit the spring (2013) cleaning page to view a list of (recent, mostly 2012) releases that we're now offering at reduced prices (while supplies last, no rainchecks, etc) ...
previous artist:
 tom hamilton 
there are 7 titles featuring joseph hammer in stock.
they are listed below.
next artist:
 gunter hampel 
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 $15.12

back in stock as of
may 11th, 2010

first in stock on
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threads:
lafms
1980s-electronic

anomalous (usa) #nom 10 cd

points of frictionsackcloth and ashes” compact disc

  • vague resemblance of what it may imitate (2:12)
  • fastidious (2:46)
  • beneath the skin (4:37)
  • acid rain (3:30)
  • veering (4:23)
  • sackcloth and ashes (15:21)
  • skara brae (3:59)
  • rhomboid ladies (6:02)
  • in the realm of nothing whatsoever (3:15)
  • excel-o lady (4:35)
  • 7.4.83 pianet loop (1:55)
  • enough air in the fire (8:05)
  • raking light (3:01)
2001 anomalous-label reissue of this 1984 cassette, originally issued on the lafms sub-label solid eye, featuring damian “agog” bisciglia, joseph hammer, kenny ryman, and tim alexander ...

twelve woozy / mis-shapen synth miniatures nestled tightly between nerve net noise lineage abstraction & almost ambient / berlin-school soundscapes ... underrated !!!
anomalous press release...

points of friction "sackcloth and ashes" cd

points of friction scrapes together a mind-bending menagerie of sound from the panorama of objects and equipment they work with. their process-oriented artistry invokes apparitions of the ear, with multi-dimensional sonic textures that span from quirky, seductive lullabies to revolting sensual assaults. points of friction made contact in the extremely beige but earthquake famous san fernando valley, a suburb of los angeles and home also to the infamous manson family. tim alexander and kenny ryman (paper bag) served together as psychedelic altar boys at the age of nine. kenny was from a musical family, so he had developed a set of ears from an early age. damian bisciglia (agog) and tim became acquainted in cub scouts around eight years old. becoming reacquainted among a few self-described social outcasts at los angeles pierce college around 1980, they gravitated to the art department where they encountered a cast of characters. among these were the profoundly talented jeannie cohen (sprout mountain) and the profusely bizarre joseph hammer (dinosaurs with horns, swan trove, solid eye). relieved and excited to discover other freaks, they soon evolved an excuse for converging: making noise. originally inclusive and spontaneous, their noise was extracted from everyday objects, and recorded with built-in condenser mics on primitive equipment. they soon adopted some recording gear and musical instruments but no musical training. when kenny replaced jeannie, pof was born.

inspired by free musics from beefheart to harmonia, they met in joe's or kenny's bedroom to exchange sound and interact in private naοve noise/rock ecstasy. originally released by the lafms offshoot label solid eye [who were also responsible for releases by doo-dooettes, the romans, tom recchion, dinosaurs with horns, and fredrick nilsen] on cassette in 1984, sackcloth and ashes is the most electronic and perhaps most polished incarnation of this multimedia collective. the unorthodox exploration of keyboards, guitars, toy instruments, the assemblage of field recordings, noise improvisations, and tape loops tantalize the senses with arousing emotive power. the opus title track is a compendium of improvisational soundings and field recordings that include a chorus of squeaky swings, a cat's purring, snapping shrimp, a diseased lung, and cacophony on a yard sale card rack. exquisitely abrasive and haunting tracks 1 through 6 yield to the perfumed machinery and melodious hypnosis of the remaining tracks. all were originally performed under cover of live film and slide projections with optical manipulations at alternative music venues in and around los angeles including al's bar, the anti-club, los angeles contemporary exhibitions (lace), etc., and aboard the u.s.s. cormerant ("noise at sea"), with bands such as the minutemen, the meat puppets, whitehouse, and the monique experience in the mid-1980's.

every piece on this album has such (currently archived) visual underscoring. re-released on cd, the disc is lavishly packaged in beautiful silver and black in an eye-rattling multi-paneled silk-screened die-cut cover that undermines perception in the friction manner. the low-key intensity of points of friction may affect heart rates and breathing patterns. it is probably best listened to in a darkened room.

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 $8.23

new to stock as of
july 8th, 2009


threads:
minimalism-drones
modern-composition
lafms

banned production (usa) #bp-133 cd

devin sarnofull dynamic frequency spectrum” three inch compact disc recordable

  • full dynamic frequency spectrum (14:44)
... interesting long-form drone piece, played by an odd ensemble cast (joseph hammer and ... vincent gallo ??? such is the allure of l.a. i suppose) ; bass-heavy & quite nice ...
banned production press release...

devin sarno - full dynamic frequency spectrum 3"cdr

with an all star cast of nels cline, bob bruno, joseph hammer, vincent gallo and mark wheaton this is a amazingly restrained piece. long bass tones and overtones dominant with tiny guitar figures coming in and out of the mix. in a box with a booklet.

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 $6.72

new to stock as of
may 18th, 2013


threads:
concert-recordings
playback-music
plunder-phonic
lafms
electro-acoustic-composition
electro-acoustic-improvisation
machine-music
live-electronic

dungeon taxis (new zealand) #dt 28 cs

joseph hammeralbany/philadelphia” cassette

  • albany

  • philadelphia
may 2013 release ; ... two sets, two side-length pieces of asynchonous pause-button tape-loop agglomerations by joseph hammer, recorded last year, touring on the back of his excellent “i love you, please love me too” album for pan (with which this shares a great deal of sonic complexity) ...
dungeon taxis press release...

joseph hammer – ‘albany/philadelphia’ cs

lafms doyen, joseph hammer’s document of two east coast performances from 2012 exhibits his incisive glomming of the prospected archival materials at his gloved hands. developing a cyclical palimpsest of gnarled and reassembled pop-historical sonics fed live on reel tape, hammer’s magnetic alchemy slips through fizzy orbits of accelerated rap, severed axe licks, disembodied horn refrains, drum shreds and ventriloquized croons, lighting up the plastic materiality and equivocally vaporous nature of the volatile, musical sources.

dungeon taxis 28.


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 $25.21

back in stock as of
september 7th, 2010

first in stock on
june 1st, 2009


threads:
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electro-acoustic-improvisation
plunder-phonic
playback-music
concert-recordings
digital-musics
minimalism-drones

isounderscore (usa) #iso 08 lp

dimmerremissions” double long playing record set

  • sky wire (12:54)

  • sun dog (14:48)

  • gases that emit light (14:30)

  • giant eagle (15:29)
may 2009 release ; second release from the on-going duo of lafms’ joseph hammer & bay-area sonic alchemist thomas dimuzio ...

four takes, all recorded in concert in california between 2006 & 2007, with mr. hammer utilizing his array of tape-loops and tools, mr. dimuzio on the processing, sampling, and re-sampling tip(s) ...

some beautiful, long sections involving short loops & gradual transformation (listen to the sound-sample) cut with decidedly more sturm / drang moments ... awesome.
isounderscore press release...
[iso_08] dimmer "remissions" 2xlp

release date: may 19th, 2009
artist location: san francisco, california u.s.a. (thomas dimuzio), los angeles, ca, u.s.a. (joseph hammer)
total running length: 57:41

dimmer's "remissions" is the second full-length album from longtime sonic architects of interactive feedback circuits, thomas dimuzio and joseph hammer. this 2xlp effectively represents four side-long pieces from their live shows throughout california taken place between 2006 and 2007.

essentially a follow-up to their 2007 album on los angeles' melon expander, "remissions" expands upon the immense recursive tape looping and resampling that is found inherent in their work but achieves a weight and time displacement that greatly overshadows their dark preceding full-lengh. all four pieces were recorded at: norcal noisefest in sacramento (2006, "sky wire"), the luggage store gallery in san francisco (2006, "sun dog"), the smell in los angeles (2006, "gases that emit light"), and artsf's noise pancakes series (2007, "giant eagle").

live sampling, processing, feedback, looping by thomas dimuzio. tape manipulation and processing by joseph hammer. design and layout by thomas dimuzio, joseph hammer and brandon nickell. limited to 500 copies on full-color sleeves with cover photography by john dalton.

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 $11.76

back in stock as of
february 4th, 2009

first in stock on
july 10th, 2008


threads:
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electro-acoustic-improvisation
plunder-phonic
experimental-instruments
analogue-synth

melon expander (usa) #me 006 cd

dinosaurs with hornsreturn of the disco-aristo-sarcophagus” compact disc

  • disco-aristo-sarcophagus (16:48)
  • on her moonshiner (53:10)
june 2008 release ; two pieces by the trio of rick potts, joseph hammer, and spencer savage (with tom recchion guesting on the first) ...

the first / titular track here grips a bunch of disparate “beyond” zones ; hammer’s trademark woozy plunderphonic tape-loop/manipulation hedges well against some particularly scratchy electric guitar & casio beats - whereas the second is an extended wash/zone-out, with long sections of bleep-heavy synth & errant accordion lifts ...

great stuff ; one of the better outings in this most recent wave of rejuvenated lafms acts ...
melon expander press release...
disco-aristo-sarcophagus
rick potts • joseph hammer • spencer savage • tom recchion
performed at lace gallery january 2007
recorded by mitchell brown

on her moonshiner
rick potts • joseph hammer • spencer savage
performed on kxlu 88.9 fm november 2000
engineered by maki tamura

painting: late knight at dawn by rick potts
design: ben wolfinsohn
mastering: thomas dimuzio at gench studios, san francisco, ca
producer: mitchell brown

dinosaurs with horns
“return of the disco-aristo-sarcophagus” cd
melon expander 006

since 1983’s self-titled cassette release on the solid eye label, rick potts and joseph hammer have delicately dispensed laughing-gas-balloon-animals-go-pop-music as dinosaurs with horns. the cryptic lafms-related group occurred during and in between periods of playing with points of friction, steaming coils and solid eye. spencer savage and/or tom recchion jammed with them in the mid 80’s and continued intermittently since. while a smattering of material has appeared on compilations and very limited cassette and cdr releases, “return of the disco-aristo-sarcophagus” is the first full-length cd release, recorded november 2000 on kxlu radio and january 2007 at the lace gallery in hollywood, ca.

joseph hammer cites am radio station mixing (receiving more than one station at the same time) and an episode of the 70s tv show land of the giants, where astronauts used tape loops to thwart alien tyrants as a couple of his musical influences. he has developed his own way of making music utilizing consumer audio technology, tape loops, samplers and analog synthesizers to create compelling and varied musical expressions. since 1980, he has performed with points of friction, solid eye, blue daisies, kitten sparkles, paramecial wedding, the beast (w/ smegma & wolf eyes members), swinging chandeliers and others.

rick potts has been making unusual music for the last thirty years, starting with the forming of le forte four and founding of the l.a. free music society in 1973. playing the electric guitar with electric toothbrush, street sweeper bristles, electric cocktail stirrer and other objects, and using musical saw and analog synthesizers, he has a talent for making familiar instruments and other implements produce sounds unique, alarming and enigmatic yet oddly cordial. rick has recorded and performed with airway, human hands, solid eye, steaming coils, debt of nature, gothic hut, the monique experience and others.

tom recchion has been working with sound and music for over 35 years. starting off as an accordian player then on to pillow cushions with cardboard sticks that transmogrified into a set of drums. from there on, playing anything he could get his hands on, guitar, pianos in garages, found and invented instruments, tapes, keyboards, paper, fans, synths, radio, records and finally computer. a co-founding father of the lafms and creator of the doo-dooettes, his solo work has taken many shapes and has performed with airway, david toop, smegma, extended organ, max eastley, sonic youth, carl stone, keiji haino, christian marclay, john duncan, bdr ensemble, jim fox, oren ambarchi, steaming coils and the rodney forest. currently he is composing a piece for the kronos quartet and working on a collaboration with aaron moore from volcano the bear. his work with dinosaurs with horns is akin to that of an interior decorator.

spencer savage began playing live music with numerous groups in los angeles in 1983, primarily as a percussionist, vocalist, and noisemaker. he began using tape loops in 1984, when he started performing solo concerts under the moniker of re. between 1985 and 1991, he participated in events organized by los angeles contemporary exhibitions (lace), new music america, the independent composers association (ica), and the foundation for art resources (far). during the past 10 years he's appeared as a supporting player on cds released by the amphinomics, catasonic, tzadik, win records, and cortical foundation labels. around the same time his alter-ego grashtaht schtant was playing drums in steaming coils (1987), savage was an auxiliary member of dinosaurs with horns. he recorded with them extensively at le forte four studios in alhambra, ca. and first performed live with them in ‘88 at lace. between 1997 and 2007, savage returned to sporadically performing around los angeles with hammer and/or potts (usually as dinosaurs with horns).

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 $11.76

back in stock as of
february 4th, 2009

first in stock on
august 21st, 2007


threads:
lafms
live-electronic
plunder-phonic
electro-acoustic-improvisation
playback-music
digital-musics

melon expander (usa) #me 004 cd
lafms (united states) #lafms #104 cd

dimmerthe shining path” compact disc

  • contrail (6:34)
  • refraction (7:39)
  • co2 (12:04)
  • aerosol (11:23)
  • so2 (8:36)
  • 1Ίc (14:06)
first collaborative work by joseph hammer and thomas dimuzio; hammer’s woozy tape-grained found-sound processed in real-time via dimuzio’s array of live sampling tools.

the disc contains six medium-length pieces, each hovering about a single tonality/drone. in spots i’m reminded of maurizio bianchi’s work (much reverbed/murky buildup in the mixes; events that would otherwise be front & center are buried far deep in the mix) ; at others michel chion’s (some of the high-frequency gloss & random interjection reminds me of “requiem”)

i’ve never been 1000% into dimuzio’s work simply for the fact it’s often too squeaky-clean (it’s clear that he’s a crazy-talented artisan in combining frequency-ranges) - hammer’s lo-fi, tape-hiss-addled sheen acts as the perfect foil, adding a necessary consumer-grade gain-stage to the equation.
melon expander press release...
dimmer "the shining path" cd melonex004

thomas dimuzio - live sampling and processing, feedback, shortwave, synthesizer, and ambient microphones
joseph hammer - real-time manually manipulated analog recording/reproducing media, audio oscillator

dimmer is a duo comprising live sampling pioneer thomas dimuzio and tape-loop maestro joseph hammer. swallowing audiences with their dark explorations of sound, dimmer specializes in a symbiotic sound process as they continually loop, reloop, sample and resample within an interactive feedback circuit linking both artists. for their debut cd, dimmer melds their recursive circuits into rich and seething sonic masses with subtle waves pulsing sound within sound. ripe with theme and variation, the shining path suspends the listener over dim and dank planes on an aural trip spanning and scanning from a celestial vista. nearly every aspect of dimmer's live performances grace the shining path, yet this is not a live document, but rather a pastiche and reworking of everything dimmer has accomplished in their years of performing as a duo. co-release between melon expander and lafms.

thomas dimuzio is one of those unsung artistic figures whose influence and abilities have substantially outstripped his visibility. composer, multi-instrumentalist, sound designer, experimental electronic musician, sideman and recording studio owner- dimuzio has been busy doing his thing(s) since the late 1980's, but is still only known to a small circle of electronic music enthusiasts. a true sonic alchemist who can seemingly create music events out of almost anything, dimuzio's listed sound sources on his various cds include everything from 'modified 10 speed bicycle' and resonating water pipe' to short-wave radios, loops, samplers and acoustic instruments clarinet and trumpet. while his wide range of musical interests make it impossible to pin a label on him, dimuzio clearly has an insider's knowledge of older experimental musical forms such as musique concrete and electroacoustic, and well as more current ambient industrial styles as promoted by artists/groups such as lustmord, lull and main.

perhaps the only living musicians whose musical instrument is simply the cross-fade, low-fi tape-loop manipulator joseph hammer is a legendary member of the eerie entity known as l.a.f.m.s. (the los angeles free music society) and a living, breathing ball of sensibility. wearing a white cotton glove, hammer subliminally "gooses" the position of his well-worn circular recording media in and out of proximity to the fields of oscillating magnetism. this interface, in combination with his fevered imagination, acts as a kind of dali-esque-soft-cheese-grater to his sentimental musical source material, revealing or creating a psychiatrist's bedside drawer of crawling sonic subtexts through a process that can only be considered sound cell grafting. hammer is also a co-founder of many influential and cryptic groups, including dinosaurs with horns, points of friction, steaming coils, and the active unit solid eye, none of whom really sound like anything else.

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back in stock as of
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first in stock on
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threads:
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electro-acoustic-improvisation

 best of 2007 !!! 
melon expander (usa) #me 003 cd

points of frictionafterlife dna finger-painting” compact disc

  • spores of the aquifer (9:10)
  • any stovepipe can befriend the living but it takes a real android to win foodstamps (3:59)
  • afterlife dna finger-painting (5:27)
  • artichoke tickle (4:53)
  • when a salamander laughs out loud the tape recorders beam with joy, but parking lots beyond tomato will always find lice (15:17)
killer set of flowing electro-acoustic improvisations from this long-running ensemble with ties to the lafms empire; much closer in spirit to the electronic/experimental-instrument free-float of groups such as morphogenesis (specifically michael prime’s contributions), musica elettronica viva & sonde than the mannered pointilism of amm, gruppo nuova di improvvisazione consonanza, et.al...

members of the group include joseph hammer (whose tape-loop manipulations are unmistakable throughout), damian bisciglia, and melon expander label-boss mitchell brown. easily one of the best things i’ve heard from all involved parties in some time; highly recommended.
melon expander press release...
points of friction "afterlife dna fingerpainting" cd melonex003

tim alexander: prepared zither, wooden bowl, electronics, birdcage, toys, spring-loaded mechanisms, etc.
damian bisciglia: metal sculptures, psaltry, birdcage, digital piano, sampler, electronics, etc.
mitchell brown: arp synthesizer, ring modulator, electronics, birdcage, tape loops, etc.
joseph hammer: real time tape loop manipulations, electronics, etc.
kenny ryman: turntables, loops, zither, thumb piano, electronics, etc.

points of friction formed in january of 1981, shortly after witnessing captain beefheart & his magic band perform live. joseph hammer, damian bisciglia, tim alexander, and kenny ryman were the core quartet though sometimes lafms (los angeles free music society) founder rick potts would sit in, among others.

their first recording was a spontaneous affair, the group members having no formal musical training (or even knowledge of "freely improvised music") relied on their voices and whatever else was at hand - wire mesh, sheet plastic, an old guitar, etc. gradually the group acquired electric instruments, toy keyboards, multi-track tape recorders, pedal effects, etc. and moved towards a more processed sound direction, informed by groups such as faust, cluster, nurse with wound, dome, this heat, can, amm, fripp and eno, and negitiveland.

by 1984 points of friction had two cassette releases under their belts on lafms (los angeles free music society) offshoot label solid eye. their 2nd release "sackcloth and ashes" was re-issued in 2002 on cd by anomalous records, and the groups first recording "1982" was re-issued on cdr in 2004 by the l.a. based spagyric label.

after a 20 year hiatus points of friction reformed in june 2004 and recruited l.a. native mitchell brown to the goon squad. "afterlife dna finger-painting", their 3rd official release, is the result of this reunion. they have since recorded more and have returned to occasionally performing live.

previous artist:
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... this page was last updated on monday, june 10th, 2013 @ 3:30 pm