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previous artist:
 who’s your favorite son god 		there are 10 titles featuring simon wickham-smith in stock.
they are listed below.		next artist:
 jacques widmer 
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$13.31

new to stock as of
april 17th, 2007

threads:
minimalism-drones
modern-psych

disposable thumb (usa) #dtr 001 cd

simon wickham-smith “rapt” compact disc

  • heaven’s gate sankirtan (35:50) 2003
  • meiji13 (16:21) 2003
  • perlheilon (11:28) 2002

  • three versions of appreciative (2002) - at blackwater pond (1:32)
  • three versions of appreciative (2002) - the snowshoe hare (1:16)
  • three versions of appreciative (2002) - sleeping in the forest (1:33)
disposable thumb press release...
on his latest release, with beautiful hand-printed foldover jackets of his own design, simon continues to explore his obsessions and fascinations with reverence, wry wit and a skillful ear.

aesthetically similar to 2002s dyrø (pseudoarcana), the cd is an exercise in "wonderment and rapture" via the friendly conduits of electronic drone, cut and paste minimalism and mischievous white noise.

oftentimes a confluence of contrasting disciplines and perspectives, the document is a rich work of intricate spells merging tension and release. says simon of meiji13: “its a very uncharacteristic foray into program music: the fuzz over the top is like a patina of age, like hearing caruso singing i pagliacci”

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$7.28

back in stock as of
july 21st, 2008

first in stock on
february 8th, 2007

threads:
modern-psych
free-improvisation

forced exposure (usa) #fe 33 lp

neil campbell / richard youngs / simon wickham-smith / walden stewart “durian durian” long playing record

  • durian (21:09)
  • durian (22:54)
forced exposure press release...
somewhat of a follow up to ceaucescu, with two "members" of the free improv uk collective a band added.

four "sides" of random input guitar, ring modulation, percussion, tapes, tones, silences, drone, moan (& much more) are compressed down to 2 sides, resulting in some pretty beautifully disorienting listening.

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$13.26

back in stock as of
september 16th, 2008

first in stock on
june 12th, 2008

threads:
modern-psych
analogue-synth

jagjaguwar (usa) #jag 137 cd
insignificant (usa) #ins 016 cd

simon wickham-smith / richard youngs “veil (for greg)” compact disc

  • indiana spike dance
  • obese americans
  • apologetic
  • bars
  • land of lincoln
  • cleveland
  • angels from ct
  • ferris booth hall
click the play button to hear an excerpt of "obese americans"
june 2008 release ; what appears to be merely a re-stickering of the original 1997 insignificant-label disc by simon & richard, now branded as a jagjaguwar title. alongside the duo’s “enedkeg” & “knish” lps, this is at the core of their late-90s “experimental” activity ... completely weird synth-figures & clanking room-tone events ...
jagjaguwar press release...
simon wickham-smith & richard youngs - veil (for greg) cd (jag137)

originally released in 1997 and having sat in storage unit purgatory (growing finer) for the greater part of a decade, jagjaguwar proudly unearths and re-distributes this visceral british take on american outdoor spirituality.

"veil (for greg) is a carousel ride inside a digital rock tumbler, a battle between gnomes and mercury termites for a maple tree's soul, and the reflection of a pile of moog turtles in a bathroom mirror's swamp sweat. throbbing gristle reimagined as zen garden desk accessory." — william gass

compact disc is being made available in limited quantities.

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$13.42

new to stock as of
april 29th, 2008

threads:
modern-psych
minimalism-drones
electro-acoustic-improvisation

vhf (usa) #vhf 099 cd

richard youngs / simon wickham-smith “5 years” compact disc

  • 2002
  • 2003
  • 2004
  • 2005
  • 2006
click the play button to hear an excerpt of "2003"
vhf press release...
vhf#99 richard youngs / simon wickham-smith 5 years cd

“5 years” is the venerable duo’s first release since “lammergeier” (vhf#58) in 2000. after recording and releasing nearly 20 albums between 1990 and 2000, richard and simon decided to try a novel and opposite approach to music making – they met once each year to record a solitary 10 minute track. the results show the duo remarkably unaffected by the half decade that elapsed - the tracks on “5 years“ reflect their long established signature mix of “real human” instrumental expression and explosive musique concrete sensibility.

“2002” starts with several minutes of looped snippets building up subtle patterns as they slide in and out of phase, leading to a change to a tremulous chord organ driven section. “2003” starts with a drastically filtered base of hand drumming, with full-on hand-on-the-knob tweaking, before giving way to an over the top fuzz organ solo that sounds like mike ratledge on 200 rpm. “2004” is a throwback of ululating noise as heard on 90’s efforts such as “metallic sonatas.” “2005” is based on electronically treated percussion, the sparest and most minimal track of the bunch. recorded mere weeks ago, “2006” finishes where we started, with a baffling electronic test pattern drone that segues into a section of beautiful, weird ambience.

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$13.42

new to stock as of
april 29th, 2008

threads:
minimalism-drones
modern-composition
experimental-instruments
electro-acoustic-improvisation

vhf (usa) #vhf 058 cd

richard youngs / simon wickham-smith “lammergeier” compact disc

  • untitled (1)
  • untitled (2)
  • untitled (3)
  • untitled (4)
  • untitled (5)
  • untitled (6)
  • untitled (7)
  • untitled (8)
  • untitled (9)
click the play button to hear an excerpt of "untitled (2)"
vhf press release...
vhf#58 richard youngs / simon wickham-smith lammergeier cd

lammergeier is the first new recording by richard and simon since metallic sonatas recorded way way back in the spring of 1998. following closely on the heels of the vhf reissue of the duo’s classic 1990 debut lake, lammergeier finds the duo continuing to pursue the head-scratching assortment and range of outer sound in a somewhat more contemporary style. lammergeier makes use of all sorts of exotic instruments, but like metallic sonatas, many of the pieces have undergone electronic transformation, adding an extra layer of ??? to the tunes. some of the sounds show the influence of simon’s laptop work over the last couple of years, tho' the duo now claim that this is an all analog deal. laptops aside, the layers of microscopic detail on lammergeier should give listeners plenty of practice in differentiating sounds that are produced by complicated software or tape loops or whatever, and sounds that are produced by a guy whacking a baking tray with a stick.

9 tracks, 39 minutes.

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$13.42

back in stock as of
april 29th, 2008

first in stock on
april 26th, 2007

threads:
modern-psych
minimalism-drones

vhf (usa) #vhf 052 cd

r!!!s!!! “lake” compact disc

  • lake (3:12)
  • anti - social behaviour (0:59)
  • anti - social behaviour in iceland (0:59)
  • penal animals (1:22)
  • ricardo ibarruri (2:38)
  • loss (1:23)
  • art and literature (1:24)
  • hymn (2:14)

  • let them eat records (7:17)
  • dance: help the aged (give them a heart attack) (9:24)
  • wasp (3:44)

  • chord (19:17)

  • bells (3:57)
  • redenhall (4:05)
  • goat (12:04)
click the play button to hear an excerpt of "(lake part 2)"
vhf press release...
vhf#52 r!!!s!!! lake cd

originally issued in an edition of 300 on their no fans label and for all intents and purposes unavailable and unheard for a decade, the 10th anniversary cd-ification of richard and simon's classic debut double-lp still sounds as revelatory and alien as it did when it was released.

tracks like the immortal collage freak-out "dance: help the aged (give them a heart attack)," the minimal pulse epic "chord" and the psych-fuzz rock mania of "goat" have been undiluted in their majesty by the unbearable decade that has elapsed between then and now. highest rating. remastered from the original 1/4" analog reels, sounding much improved over the original pressing. new liner notes by simon.

4 (really 15) tracks, 73 mins.

“we're listening to lake close on a decade since we recorded it. just as it sounds odd now, what we do today would've sounded bizarre then. we couldn't make this record now. it's like a ghost - so long ago. we've moved on. our label name, no fans, was a statement of fact; the record was a dare to ourselves - who in their right mind would ever release anything like this? with no fans, no distribution and no prospect of either, spending over 1,000 pounds on a vanity project when most of our peers were doing sensible things smacked of arrogance. in an ironic bid to launch lake, a goat evening was held in nottingham at the home of neil campbell and jim plaistow. though everyone had a good time, by the end of the evening no-one had bought the album, so we gave away copies to the three people who had shown any interest. which left 297 copies. the situation was more ridiculous than ever.” -- simon wickham-smith

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$14.98

new to stock as of
april 29th, 2008

threads:
modern-psych
minimalism-drones
modern-composition

vhf (usa) #vhf 044 cd

simon wickham-smith “butterfly dust” compact disc

  • objects appearing
  • qamutiik
  • foralicem
click the play button to hear an excerpt of "foralicem "
vhf press release...
vhf#44 simon wickham-smith butterfly dust cd

s!!!'s first solo cd (closely following the massive giladji lp on giardia), butterfly dust is 3 pieces for organ, voice, woodwind, and digeridoo celebrating the historical achievements of people with dual surnames. the performances on butterfly dust are informed by a rare combination of virtuosity and exploratory improvisation. in comparison with some prior performances (e.g. simon’s startlingly skilled assault on a grand piano on knish), bd is in a more minimal style, where sounds are given room to build up and establish a mood over the long term. this is particularly true of the long organ solo "objects appearing," where notes are slowly added to a drone over a period of several minutes, giving each newly introduced note a significant impact. recorded in australia.

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$13.42

new to stock as of
april 29th, 2008

threads:
modern-psych
folk

vhf (usa) #vhf 027 cd

richard youngs / simon wickham-smith “red and blue bear” compact disc

  • untitled (1)
  • untitled (2)
  • untitled (3)
click the play button to hear an excerpt of "untitled (3)"
vhf press release...
vhf#27 richard youngs and simon wickham-smith red and blue bear cd

red and blue bear is a simple but charming children's story written by simon and illustrated by richard. the story is included in the 20 page color booklet. the cd is r!!! & s!!!'s demented "performance" of the story. there's anglo-folky laments, bizarre improv, casio madness, found sounds, etc, etc. the breadth of material is similar to lake.

"i consider red and blue bear to be inappropriate for my kids, the bear is too trusting." - matthew bower.

3 tracks, 45 mins.

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$6.95

back in stock as of
may 20th, 2008

first in stock on
march 15th, 2007

threads:
concert-recordings
sound-art
harsh-noise

avanto (finland) #avanto 2003 cd

“avantoscore 2003” compact disc

  • excerpt from the soundtrack of the subversion agency (music by curd duca )
  • radian nahfeld (avanto-edit)
  • dubbing mixers bam boo shields
  • mira calix belonging
  • pekka airaksinen spridda park
  • helsingin tietokoneorkesteri play (live excerpt)
  • ibrahim terzic kvarni
  • kk null kosmik engine
  • fm einheit/jon caffery/alexander v. borsig muzak decoding/dream machine/pirates
  • kari peitsamo rock'n'roll will never die
  • leif elggren my mothers hair (detail)
  • terre thaemlitz soon i will be free
  • simon wickham-smith kivi-ihmisten laulu
  • staalplaat soundsystem once upon a time in berlin
  • ultra-red + kanak attak ghetto express rmx
  • emi maeda distelfink.fi
  • mika vainio end theme
earliest of the avanto festival compilations i have in stock, including material from radian, mika vainio, simon wickham-smith, leif elggren, kk null, pekka airaksinen, mira calix, etc...

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$18.01

new to stock as of
april 3rd, 2007

threads:
modern-composition

pogus (usa) #p 21036 cd

“d.i.y. canons” double compact disc set

  • kyoko kobayashi - cat canon (3:12)
  • bruno ruviaro - entrei pelo canon 1a (2:46)
  • mike swinchoski - canon no 1a (3:12)
  • mike swinchoski - transmissions (3:12)
  • mike swinchoski - freez dried canon (6:24)
  • mike winter - filter iv - p.i.x.l. study no 1 (7:55)
  • ross craig - barbie's phone canon (1:53)
  • giulano lombardo - 00 (1:38)
  • giulano lombardo - 01 (2:39)
  • giulano lombardo - 02 (0:48)
  • giulano lombardo - 03 (0:33)
  • giulano lombardo - 04 (2:26)
  • giulano lombardo - 05 (5:33)
  • simon wickham-smith - kullankeltaiset päivät (larry-iie) (11:15)

  • steven m. miller - twin canon (9:43)
  • steven m. miller - pulse canon (3:20)
  • masaki kubo (2) - pizzicato canon (1:35)
  • drew krause - canon for lp (10:35)
  • george zelenz - thermohaline (6:01)
  • stefan tomic - ringtone canon (3:55)
  • bo bell - metrocard canon (1:41)
  • philip corner / mike winter - mens 5/4 (7:03)
  • philip corner / mike winter - mens 9/8 (7:03)
pogus press release...
diy canons - simon wickham-smith, curator

okay. really cool, kind of fun, double cd compilation based on a work of larry polansky's. pieces are constructed from the sounds of cats, screams, midi instruments, computer, barbie phone, samples, wooden flutes, piano, bass clarinet, ringtones, metro cards, contrabass, and more. i have some of my favorites - which keep changing each time i listen to the discs. perhaps you will too. read on too get a "real" description from the curator of this project.

"the pieces on this cd are all based on the ideas in larry polansky's four voice canons, a series of pieces he began in 1975. these canons are usually "mensuration canons," which means that the tempi of successive voices is proportional to their start times, so that the voices end together. they also use simple ideas of moving through a list of permutations, and applying the elements of those permutations to various musical parameters. a set of polansky's canons was produced on cold blue records as four voice canons (cb0011).

polansky described these ideas in four voice canon #13 ("diy canon"), a kind of open-source meta-canon score. he distributed this at talks and on the web as an open invitation to others who wanted to make four voice canons of their own. composers responded with a wide variety of variations on the basic idea; a selection of these works is presented here." - simon wickham-smith, curator

previous artist:
 who’s your favorite son god 		...and that's everything in stock featuring simon wickham-smith.
(why not take a look at the previous and next artists?)		next artist:
 jacques widmer 
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