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 dead oceans 
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threads:
modern-psych
free-improvisation
electro-acoustic-improvisation

 best of 2011 !!! 
de stijl (usa) #ind 096 lp

stare case “lose today” long playing record

  • days like faces
  • first fire

  • lose today
  • bed that eats
  • don’t get caught
september 2011 release ; ... after a coupla a.t. “merch table” sides, here’s the mass-market / vinyl entrance of nate young & john olson’s stare case, which seems to take nate’s “regression” lead (i.e. the s-o-c lyricism & errant bass-throb that anchor the b-side remain unchanged) with olson’s electronics & reeds floating aloft a dry midwest breeze over which nate’s rhythmic / near-pejorative / laissez-faire grumblings are laid ...
de stijl press release...
stare case
lose today
ind 096 lp

lose today wields the ethereal meditative power leftover from the velvet underground’s sweet sister ray epic bootleg. the result: a melodious somnolent grievance that leaves the listener to feast on a curiously endless and internal banquet.

young snarls and writhes in irritated spiraling pronouncements that trail off in regretful, pained fashion, producing the same eventual something-isn’t-right that the velvet underground secured, but set aside to allow the michigan basement bluesmen to borrow. also, here is young’s virgin performance on bass, a venture that proves suiting as his sparse yet stable meanderings are the backbone to a jam lost in the arcane. at times the bass lines seem to be counting off the seconds until an eventual meltdown.

meanwhile, olson wanders off on woodwinds, seemingly tangled in wavelengths, letting his own sounds guide him through a brassy chilling darkness. he follows scales—indian scales, blues scales—though the subtlety of olson’s discipline fosters to an expansive intimacy, a nuance so massive his quips on flute and saxophone are the secret architects of _lose today_’s meditation. olson takes the spiraling mania inspired by the likes of the vu’s sweet sister ray lose-all jam and lets it blossom into a soundtrack for a secret think tank whose sole purpose is to maintain a shadowed fire.

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new to stock as of
september 19th, 2011

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

de stijl (usa) #ind 089 lp

hertta lussu ässä “s/t” long playing record

  • elämännesteiden sekoittuminen (cocktail of life)
  • yön tullen sähköinen spanieli sekoaa (electric spaniel - wild nights)

  • mehukkaat luut (juicy bones)
  • uhrileipäpöytä katoaa (the shewbread vanishes)
june 2011 release ; colossal “power jam” by the three “leading ladies” of finnish contemporary psych-trawler bat-cave antics :: kuupuu, lau nau, and islaja ...
de stijl press release...
hertta lussu ässä
s/t
ind 089 lp

gnomic no-fi plunk, wheeze, rattle and moan courtesy of an unfortunately monikered (well...at least to english language readers anyway...it probably means something just lovely in finnish...) supergroup comprised of jonna karanka aka kuupuu, laura naukkarinen aka lau nau and merja kokkonen aka islaja that draws from the seemingly eternal well of stoned detuned mischief that feeds the viaducts of the finnish underground. the sheer density of acts positing variants on this same post-amon duul / siloah-like freakout stylee there gives rise to questions of bandwagon hopping, but that’s a discussion for another time. for the here and now, this first release of theirs is a choice manifestation of heavy-lidded third-mind acoustic weirdity that’s as ungainly as it is mystically / chemically blasted.

this is contemporary music. in the new age whose keynote is the destruction of old forms and the birth of new spirit our ears are still constantly insulted with the musical establishment's attempts to "hold on" to the old traditions whatever the cost. music is neat and clean and void of real life. we say fuck those people, we just want to blow. folk music is dead, it got too fond of itself. jazz is dead, it got too lost in itself. rock is screaming its brains out trying to make up for the loss. but there is a new sound known only to a few, a sound of death and conflict and reconciliation and fresh air. it fits no categories, it just is. and that is what we are presenting you with, a whole sound. not clever parts, no individual achievement, this is the sound of a group soul being born ..

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$6.72

back in stock as of
september 19th, 2011

first in stock on
may 29th, 2010

threads:
experimental-instruments
free-improvisation
guitar-themed
outsiders-deviants
lo-fi

 best of 2010 !!! 
de stijl (usa) #ind 084 cs
dingulator (usa) #dingulator one cs

charlie nothing “charlie nothing & dingulator” c32 cassette

  • dingulator one (1) (15:45)

  • dingulator one (2) (15:40)
may 2010 release ; incredible tape (a reissue of a 1985 “private” release) of charlie nothing going to town on a selection of his dingulators (pronounced “ding-a-laters”) - “guitars” (loosely) constructed out of american car parts (all metal) & tuned to odd, dissonant intervals ::


after a long spoken introduction, charlie gets rolling, pausing for nary a second while shredding out atonal, scrappy guitar jank, miles away from the takoma school w/ which he’s often paired ... his playing is all of the smash-grab variety, absolutely savaging the strings & using the resonant aluminum frame(s) as a percussion instrument ...

after a good chunk of solo playing, his vocal cords get a work out, repeatedly uttering the phrase “charlie nothing charlie nothing ... ding a later ding a later” with slight variation (i.e. “kick you with a alligator”) ... the “deer in the headlights” delivery does remind me a lot of contemporary traveler dan higgs ; if you’re un-anointed to the world of mr. nothing, higgs could be a great reference point (only way more “outsider” and with a speck of the experiment-instrument-builder strain) ... highly recommended !!!
de stijl press release...

charlie nothing
charlie nothing & dingulator

charlie nothing & dingulator was one of the seemingly myriad 80s charlie nothing cassettes and it's inclusion was, in part, intended within a 2cd anthology that we'd planned but the amount of material is too great and the moments therein are too grand to even dream of an edit.

although this is fairly late in mr nothing's oeuvre, we can't think of a more fully realized statement regarding the scope of his playing recycled automotive steel guitars and the performing of his big dingulator song sweet (or suite, as it were, a concept of his that implied all songs were but one song) than a reissue of this 1985 manifesto-like piece.

what you are about to hear, is dingulation ..

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$5.04

back in stock as of
september 19th, 2011

first in stock on
january 29th, 2010

threads:
modern-psych
lo-fi

de stijl (usa) #ind 078 ep

jerusalem / the starbaskets “room 8 b/w swingin' vine” seven inch single record

  • room 8

  • swingin' vine
february 2010 release ; stellar single of new-zealand-leaning garage-psych from the columbia, mo duo of kim sherman & jeremy freeze ...
de stijl press release...
jerusalem and the starbaskets
room 8 b / w swingin' vine
ind 078

having toured tirelessly and stupidly for many years, i played the unlikely hot spot of columbia, missouri no less than three times one summer. don’t ask me how—logistically the cursed itinerary is still a mystery—but i can probably tell you why. the chance to play a gig with that city’s jerusalem and the starbaskets always made it a worthwhile and necessary stop. basically a duo (although sometimes augmented by other members), jerusalem and the starbaskets play unfashionable, unpretentious and completely devastating pop music, and they're one of my all time favorite live bands. criminally under-recorded up until now (with only a handful of impossibly rare cassettes and a split lp with skarkraou radio to their name), their brand new the howling lp (radio fonico) is a great sampling of their unique vibe, sounding like the third velvets lp played by the terminals. note the righteous guitar tone any stoner rock chud would envy, and catchy, infectious tunes (with a recent emphasis on country melodies) that will stay in your head for weeks. completely necessary and great.

~ james jackson toth

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$16.81

back in stock as of
september 19th, 2011

first in stock on
april 21st, 2010

threads:
modern-psych
minimalism-drones
free-improvisation
guitar-themed

 best of 2010 !!! 
de stijl (usa) #ind 076 lp

messages “messages” long playing record

  • shruti box (16:52)

  • tambura (9:05)
  • ukelin (4:26)
april 2010 release ; ... had a single (tsr-label) by these guys (tres warren, taketo shimada, spencer herbst) a little while back & though much of it, but didn’t get the bigger picture / implications of the group’s whole modus / game-plan until i learned that taketo shimada was the kind soul responsible for organizing yoshi wada’s “pipe dreams” exhibition / performance at the emily harvey this past december, pretty much privately funded by himself as a labor-of-love, bringing yoshi back out to east coast for the first time in two decades ; respect ...

avant-garde day-traders these guys are not ; while psychic ills’ tres warren’s guitar playing offers perhaps the most tangible link to reality here (he’s got a fine, almost bobby beausoleil-ish way with phrasing that works extremely well here) it’s spencer & taketo’s primeval drone-thump that anchors this music in past fantasy, yes, specifically referencing the whole la monte young / theater of eternal music “thing” (the hand-drumming ; a clear angus maclise link throughout) but doing so from within the walls of the same canal-street walkups said intoned in/upon decades back ... their commitment to clarity-of-vision is tenable & the music, largely eastern-looking tribal free improv, thrives because of it ...

one of my favorite records of the year thusfar (who knows ? maybe i’ll canonize it in list form in 2015 ... i kid ; i’ll have the 2009 list ready by july 1st) ; highly recommended !!!
de stijl press release...

messages
ind 076 lp

the baby believes the womb is the universe. at birth there is a glimmer of light and a shifting of space. i was there, but now i am here. then there are still but 2 things : me and the universe. and then what happens is other people.

from a note sounded in 1960 and held for a long time, a continuum of sound has been sluiced along a diagonal of personal ecstasy, and some have come to call it a drone. surrounding the drone is a genre, and within, wheat and chaff often comingle all too comfortably. but with tones as thick and texturally luxuriant with spiritual resonance as their long, glorious hair, messages are the two worthy gurus currently contributing to the echo.

messages evoke the womb. and when the womb smiles, it whispers messages, and then there is the first glimmer of light ..

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back in stock as of
september 19th, 2011

first in stock on
january 29th, 2010

threads:
psych-prog

de stijl (usa) #ind 074 lp

michael & the mumbles “michael & the mumbles” long playing record

  • anything
  • i'm crying
  • cold town
  • yea yea yea
  • every time
  • i tried

  • don't you call
  • baby baby
  • i need her
  • come on
  • look down
  • need your love
november 2009 release ; righteous first-time issue of this set of tunes from michael yonkers’ first band, michael and the mumbles ...

while not as despondent or risk-taking as “microminiature love”, the hallmarks are all there (slightly detuned riffing ? check ... runaway studio flourish ? check) ...

essential for any yonkers fan/atic/completist ...
de stijl press release...
michael and the mumbles
s / t
074 lp

before michael yonkers would revise the history of recorded music with the clarion chords of microminiature love, he was in a band called michael and the mumbles, and they made this self-titled lp in 1966. in the premiere spin, their would-be debut comes off as a naive, teenage trip thru the typified garage band moves of this era. but repeated listening reveals a darkness beneath what some dullard might be deceived by as it's crisp, winsome visage. it's only to a slightly less visible degree that the mumbles lp has the same characteristics that would make micro the singularly original piece that is; it's emotionally bleak themes, dissonant undercurrents, and recklessly wild performance. so, once again we have a michael yonkers lp that is going to turn yr world upside down, make the college girls scream and leave you wondering how many more times this can happen. seriously, pigeon falls up here looked like a riot on the sunset strip. indulge yrself.

ps. michael and the mumbles is on the king of all known formats only, the mastertapes used herein are 45 yrs old and aside from the glitch on "cold town", they sound as good as they could and yr not going to have any trouble embracing their magic

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back in stock as of
september 19th, 2011

first in stock on
january 29th, 2010

threads:
modern-psych
lo-fi

de stijl (usa) #ind 071 lp

pens “hey friend ! what you doing” long playing record

  • horsies
  • i sing just for you
  • 1-2
  • high in the cinema
  • networking
  • fukufuckinfuk
  • i heart you

  • cry baby
  • freddy
  • yeah baby! i'll take you to bagel town
  • hide the kids
  • sally ain't nobody
  • hate your calendar
  • know bout me
september 2009 release ; fun set of cruddy-sounding, teenage go-go antics from this contemporary british “girl-group” ... adult shaggs vibes for days, wrapped in a blanket of wet moss ...
de stijl press release...
pens
hey friend, what you doing ?
lp
15 sept 09

where have all the good new british bands gone? hello? is there anyone out there? the answer is a pretty resounding “nope”. stop and think of a genuinely good new band you have heard in a year that is already way past half-done and i bet you ten chomps you’ll struggle.

then we saw pens and it changed everything. their set lasts about 14 minutes and the girls swap instruments in between tunes mainly because it appears none of them really know what they are doing. the whole thing is so swathed in static and reverb and shambolic about - to - fall - apartness that it’s like watching that youtube clip of the kid kicking through the granite wall and getting his ankle snapped in half : kind of bite - your - bottom - lip atrocious but kind of the best thing you have seen since ever.

they also do a cover of “sex beat” by the gun club that sounds like the germs trying to be the shangri las through a gauze of early k records fuzz.

~ jammin' johnson

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back in stock as of
september 19th, 2011

first in stock on
january 29th, 2010

threads:
modern-psych
lo-fi

de stijl (usa) #ind 071 cd

pens “hey friend ! what you doing” compact disc

  • horsies
  • i sing just for you
  • 1-2
  • high in the cinema
  • networking
  • fukufuckinfuk
  • i heart you
  • cry baby
  • freddy
  • yeah baby! i'll take you to bagel town
  • hide the kids
  • sally ain't nobody
  • hate your calendar
  • know bout me
september 2009 release ; cd version ...
de stijl press release...
pens
hey friend, what you doing ?
cd
15 sept 09

where have all the good new british bands gone? hello? is there anyone out there? the answer is a pretty resounding “nope”. stop and think of a genuinely good new band you have heard in a year that is already way past half-done and i bet you ten chomps you’ll struggle.

then we saw pens and it changed everything. their set lasts about 14 minutes and the girls swap instruments in between tunes mainly because it appears none of them really know what they are doing. the whole thing is so swathed in static and reverb and shambolic about - to - fall - apartness that it’s like watching that youtube clip of the kid kicking through the granite wall and getting his ankle snapped in half : kind of bite - your - bottom - lip atrocious but kind of the best thing you have seen since ever.

they also do a cover of “sex beat” by the gun club that sounds like the germs trying to be the shangri las through a gauze of early k records fuzz.

~ jammin' johnson

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$16.81

back in stock as of
september 19th, 2011

first in stock on
june 23rd, 2009

threads:
modern-psych
lo-fi
folk

 best of 2009 !!! 
de stijl (usa) #ind 070 lp

circuit des yeux “sirenum” long playing record

  • the first day
  • visions
  • folk ii
  • calling song
  • swallowing hearts
  • a siren

  • shedevil
  • paranoid
  • daylight
  • binding feet
  • serenade to siphia
  • he came from orion
june 2009 release ; second de stijl outing (after a “private press” style paste-on wonder) from lafayette, indiana’s haley fohr ...

some of the more destroyed-sounding music i’ve heard in a while, largely comprised of ms. fohr’s pained vocalisms (forwards, occasionally, but mostly in reverse), ominous chordal drones, & wasted, in-the-red style drumming ; nary a shred of form nor development ... highly recommended !!!
de stijl press release...
circuit des yeux
sirenum
070 lp

from a small town in the middle of the land of milk and honey, where the air is filled with the blossoming of the fruit trees for a big part of the year, comes these perfect little lilies of bands that make perfect little records that reflect this fertile and flowery region. it's a timeless land, and making records there is possible during this surely short period of history wherein the youth of this era feel as if they've solved the mystery of life and love and it's really loving that is the answer to everything.

all of which has nothing at all to do with circuit des yeux and sirenum, which was made in indiana, and there aren't exactly pipers at the gates of lafayette. sound? it's the sound of "issues", and the sound of "troubles". you don't get but one phone call and honey, the girl's voice makes this message a bit rubbly anyway. take the manic snorts of captain liberty, dissonant as chalk and the next moment as melodic as sharp yet slick, metal teeth. take the mermaid, 1988, turn the tides, gently, gently away. selected breath / silences / selected feedback. take an argument you have here with an empty street while the memory of high traffic is leaking back. sirenum has a real "spiritual food" vibe and it's fucking pain and pleasure relief in this real met en zonder sort of way.

this world is her world, and pipe if you like it ..

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back in stock as of
september 19th, 2011

first in stock on
june 23rd, 2009

threads:
modern-psych
lo-fi
folk

de stijl (usa) #ind 068 cd

39 clocks “zoned” compact disc

  • my tears will drown the world
  • you can't count the bombs (it's zero)
  • fast cars
  • plo
  • rainy night insanities
  • past tense hope & instant fears on 42nd
  • dom (electricity elects the rain)
  • heat of violence
  • new crime appeal
  • aspetando godo
  • a look into you
  • explosion heats
  • psycho beat
  • test the beat
  • soldier dead
  • shake the hippie
  • twisted & shouts
  • dns
may 2009 release ; reverse-chronology from this anarcho-art duo, including their debut single & album (“dns b/w twisted & shouts” & “pain it dark” ; 1980 & 1981, respectively, both on the original no fun label straight outta hannover) ...

heralds a definite velvets / “downer” vibe, with endless drum-machine / guitar motorik reminiscent of the first few suicide lps ... nice stuff, a bit more “rock” than your average zick-zack-lineage early 80s german wonder, but just enough zonk (listen to the sound-sample for a nice bit of destructo-guitar ; the b-side of their debut 7”) to make it all worth while ...
de stijl press release...

39 clocks
zoned
068 cd 

the first public appearance pairing christian henjes and juergen gleue (inspired by and with names derived from lsd-25, they would become ch-39 and jg-39) was in 1976, at the dada nova (a space occupied by otto mühl’s aao commune) in midtown hannover, germany. dada nova would be a space of enduring clash. from the subtlety of a shat upon organ to the ejection from communal meetings by bodily force, the aao would display that the presence of the 39 clocks was one of their constant grief.

known for pranksterism and the destruction of the clubs in which they would perform, friction in every form would continually follow the band. in 1979 they were thrown out of a show in kassel at dokumenta (their sounds had disturbed joseph beuys). they created an outrage (they wrote a tune with the title “art minus idiots”) at the filmtage hannover with their avant-garde super 8 movies made under the disguise of director zachius lipschitz. rumour claims that at a hannover show at the cafe glocksee, they played the vacuum cleaner and a circular saw instead of guitars, and there was even a knife throwing incident in bremen.

inspired, then, clearly, by protest in the broadest and most romantic sense (they wrote a tune with the title “radical student mob in satin boots”) their’s was a sound attuned to classic american punk / nuggets. although, this is not bomp rock; theirs was a thrust that purposed deconstruction and reassembly in the most modern sense. this collection was put together with the non completeist in mind (originals of some of these records are as rare as italian underwear), intending to display the general 39 clocks vibe, but also some of their more curious wrinkles. and as the clocks were always interested in where they were going and not where they’d been, the chronology here is strictly reversed.

diedrich diedrichsen wrote the first review of the band (in spex), and we at destijl are very pleased to have had him scribe liner notes.

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back in stock as of
september 19th, 2011

first in stock on
april 14th, 2009

threads:
free-jazz
psych-prog

de stijl (usa) #ind 064 cd

orange “in the midst of chaos” compact disc

  • golden falcons (3:34)
  • om shanti (8:40)
  • the liquid nature of (3:12)
  • and then she appeared in the midst of chaos (5:08)
  • peace (1:53)
  • release from (2:29)
  • sad joy (2:54)
  • broccoli (2:58)
  • the jamel voice (2:01)
  • sunset beyond the safety (7:43)
  • subway over the rainbow (3:01)
2008 release ; reissue of the lone 1978 recording of this connecticut free-spew ensemble, featuring a still wet-behind-the-ears paul flaherty & a relatable gang (electric bass / guitar, drums) of area miscreants fusing energy-jazz principles with a certain suburban punk enthusiasm ... there’s even a good of the ‘ol heavily effected full mix, “drum dance to the motherland” style (listen to the sound-sample) which is never bad ; pretty raucous throughout & a hell of a lot of fun !!!
de stijl press release...
orange
in the midst of chaos
cd 064

hey clint, nice work on the orange reissue. flaherty just told me about it. the only time i've heard it was on a tape blasting out of flaherty's old station wagon after we played a gig in providence, ri about 8 years ago. some kids drove up & threw eggs at us (it was october in rhode island, i guess). one hit me, but just bounced off my jacket. so there you go ... orange & invincibility to egging. play it on cabbage night.

later, chris corsano

recorded in 1978, in the midst of chaos is this western ct free-jazz group's only release. it would become improv jazz sax player paul flaherty's 1st record, who, as a youth, was smitten by the world, it's creator and pharoah sanders. chaos is also the only release of legendary guitarist barry greika, who, along with bassist bob laramie and drummer glen "hobbit" peterson, remain the most under-recorded trio in history. a screamin', howlin', blisterin', slap of a record that defies categorizations as it pushes the 70's into uncharted confusion.

pressed in a quantity of only 200 copies, it received the notice of almost no one. two heard it tho; one sailed it out the kitchen window, the wife of the other said to get the fuckin' thing out of the house.

so here it comes again. hardcore freeform shit, rejuvenated without shame.

- charles f. destruction

jazz and improvised music have long held a certain appeal for fans of underground and outside art. those who cut their teeth on the fugs and protest music of the '60s found similar yelps offered among the jewels of the esp-disk catalog, and post-riot french students found solidarity (if briefly) with the art ensemble of chicago. the do-it-yourself aesthetic of creative music is an easy thing to latch onto for followers of punk music and aesthetics, from privately pressed lps and cdrs to concerts held in lofts and basements. though punk is not always “protest” music in lyric form, the idea of the music as a self-reliance project is itself a statement filled with raw emotion and power, despite the fact that corporate-art society would have little to do with such grit.

minneapolis' de stijl records has over the past decade been home to a coterie of original and reissued vinyl and cds from the (mostly) american music underground. the label sees its first steps toward “jazz” in the cd reissue of in the midst of chaos, the sole lp by connecticut free-form guerillas, orange. first issued in a small run of 200 copies in 1978, it is a document of sub-underground improvised music that few people have heard until now, let alone seen. in the midst of chaos is also notable as the first recorded example of saxophonist paul flaherty's work; he's joined by guitarist barry greika, bassist bob laramie and drummer glen “hobbit” peterson on eleven collective improvisations. for three tracks the core are joined by paul's cousins dan and dave flaherty on additional percussion instruments—apparently the one orange session they attended. for the most part, orange has little to do with free jazz, although the opening fragment, “golden falcons,” might tease one's thoughts in the direction of ornette coleman (greika doubles here on trumpet) by way of blood-curdling shred a la charles tyler. peterson's ride cymbal is infectious and greika's muted brass follows the lineage of a bent bebopper. two minutes in, such preconceptions are shattered as greika switches to fife and the improvisation opens up into plucked electric bass harmonics and liquid alto before fading out. greika's guitar playing is scumbled lightning, pelting obsessive runs in tonalities of hollow electricity, a twisted flurry of in-between notes to match flaherty's wide vibrato as hobbit and laramie stoke a roiling stew underneath.

there's a staggering unity in complete disunity, and that's part of orange's charm and power. a lickety-split freebop pulse imbues hobbit's ed blackwell / denis charles-influenced drumming as greika's santur-like runs fill every leftover space with tart shards. laramie seems in a different, slower and more allover sound world and flaherty's energy is, at this point, given up towards a post-coltrane muse. most of the improvisations are brief windows on group interaction with no definable beginning or end (beyond the fade-in and fade- out), sometimes wrapped in the reverb and echo of a dub chamber. in the midst of chaos is delightfully cluttered and defines its own aesthetic center. more than quaint local charm, orange are like nothing you've ever heard.

- clifford allen

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back in stock as of
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first in stock on
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threads:
modern-psych
folk

de stijl (usa) #ind 063 cd

king darves “the sun splits for .. the blind swimmer” compact disc

  • oh i’ve come a ragin sun
  • all in my sleep
  • what for the stables
  • this ivory
  • fishhook
  • seabird
  • another shiny pepper
  • she wants my song
  • for sure
  • home.aif
2008 release ; cd version of this prior lp-only side from new jersey’s king darves ...
de stijl press release...
king darves
the sun splits for .. the blind swimmer
ind - 063 cd

king darves
the sun splits for the blind swimmer

if you ask me (which i know you didn't) we are currently knee deep in a heap of cultural horseshit. it seems every piece of 'underground euphoria' i pick up these days just reeks of half hearted effort done to keep up with some sorta virtual 'joneses.' it all sounds like a load of sperm shot out into a purple bucket with no name or desire spiritually pinned to it; an effortless jack off done while staring blankly at a wall. hey! it's (fill in the blank) 'collaborating' with (fill in the blank) and it's been put out by (insert scene hanger's-on name here) in an edition of (keep it in the low hundreds) fact - this shit was recorded drunk and stoned by a buncha losers in a dark room who know much less than you do. might as well be a video of baboons showing you their naked asses. i declare anyone with any sense of dignity right now to step back from their instrument and reconvene at a later date. watch the food network. . . read some graham greene. . . do anything but create. breathe through every hole and feel the importance of doing less and being more. there are exceptions to this creative strike of course. danny dimaggio can keep swinging for all the world to see. so can the kids in dry rot. and most definitely the king darves of highland park, new jersey should keep it goin' 'til he spews blood and collapses.

much like a nice ass or a tasty meal, the appeal of the kings' music is direct and easy to understand. no one needs to refer to anything to 'take it in,' which is a welcomed relief. his voice bellows a deep, rich and sweet smoke reminiscent of the pipe tobacco that old guy used to puff behind the dugout. and the great thing is it's his. the guy's not singing with a fucking twang or trying to sound like a nineteenth century druid and/or political activist. his musical arrangements burst down any of those tight assed traditions newly founded by a league of youngsters who think it's gotta be played wrong (or played by the book) to be heard right. i tell ya ... calvin johnson might have ruined music for an entire generation fifteen (or so) years ago, but this time 'round, it's the digitization of jandek and jackson c. frank that's done did it. going with his heart rather than his record collection, darves shapes his songs from true force. that said, i should write that the track 'sea bird' has a slight sandpipers feel to it, a known favorite outta the kings' collection. . . am i going off on a tangent again? sorry 'bout that ...

. the kings' wordage is ripped from a place i consider strangely familiar, yet i can't place a finger on it. i've mulled the itchy feeling his lyrics give me time and time again and why they get me so good. the only parallel between the king and i (hal) that i could come upon was that i used to live in the same town that he lives in now; the lamest excuse anyone could ever come up with. i think i should just be content with the fact that the kid is blessed with a very universal tongue and hand.

his words act as cloak less, springy passages to inner visions that are both harrowing and hopeful. dig on the verbals on 'this ivory' and 'home' to see what i mean. the latter is a personal favorite that resonates new connotations with each listen. while the guitar simmers with confusing promise, the king lays out a load of potent lines, but there's one in there that sticks in my craw listen after listen. i don't know why, but when darves delivers the line ''i'm not fortunate, nor are you," he spins a skeleton key of calm and knowing in my psyche that hasn't been turned in quite some time. what can i say? the kid's got it.

alright, i'm done counting the ways i love the king. now it's time for you to start.

tony rettman
bed-stuy brooklyn september 2007

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modern-psych

de stijl (usa) #ind 062 cd

hototogisu “chimärendämmerung” compact disc

  • untitled (1) (6:48)
  • untitled (2) (18:37)
  • untitled (3) (15:22)
  • untitled (4) (13:41)
  • untitled (5) (5:59)
october 2006 release ; ... and the hits keep on coming! here’s a mass-market hototogisu full-length album, released on the destijl label ... yet further pungent extrapolations considering the divine in terms of earthly means (read: lo-fi, howling twin-guitar wail) ...
de stijl press release...
hototogisu
chimärendämmerung
062 cd

hototogisu are marcia bassett and matthew bower, and they dwell upon two continents (marcia in brooklyn ny and matthew in leeds uk). both share rich discographical heritage. marcia has recorded with numerous labels (siltbreeze, time-lag, eclipse, troubleman unlimited, etc.) with un, ghq and the double leopards, and matthew with total, skullflower, sunroof!, vibracathedral orchestra and more.

a wikipedia entry in his name clearly (sic) illustrates his cultural heft: "bower's huge discography of visceral, free drone-rock is probably the most formidable of its kind and he was rightly considered in 2005 by the wire to be one of the map co-ordinates for much of what passed for a post-punk uk underground during most of the 80s and 90s" (issue 259) .

chimarendammerung is the 3rd hototogisu release on destijl and the 5 untitled walls of vertical viola drone / overtone, lapped by shifting electronic waves of feedback, blackened guitars, rhinegold cast deep into dying rivers, an instrumental cycle of conflict, of the birth of a supreme aristocratic beauty into a fallen world, and its inevitable conflagration, then a glimmer of hope of escape from the cycle, in tune w/ the breath of the cosmos, like a glacial reimagining of van der graafs 'a plague of lighthouse keepers', and it represents a current plateau for the duo.

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folk

de stijl (usa) #ind 061 cd

mark tucker “in the sack” compact disc

  • sandbox-upon-storm
  • shelley
  • everywhere with sally
  • down the pipeline
  • the importance of making molehills out of specks
  • halfsearch
  • station id
  • can't make love
  • the sale is made
  • attractive
  • sultry summer_more than just friends
  • when i fall in love
  • love (can make you happy)
  • she-voices
  • everywhere with sally (alternate version)
2008 release ; cd of mark tucker’s 1982 second album (after 1975’s “batstew” ; also reissued by de stijl) ...

starts out with a pair of piano-based songs, rather straightforward ... but then by “everywhere with sally” ‘s backwards-masked vocals, & the zonked poetry & electronic-sound strangeness of the “down the pipeline” / “the importance of making molehills out of specks” one-two punch, things begin to get a bit more wooly ...

personally i think the mix of “am radio gold” and outsider-spec moments is inspiring (see: peter grudzien, bobb trimble, et.al) ; definitely worth your time if you’re a fan of said ...
de stijl press release...
mark tucker
in the sack
ind 061 cd

mark tucker (born 1957-10-11 in laurel, maryland, and who legally changed his name in 1991 to t. storm hunter) is a musician, and co-founder of tetrapod spools.

his debut album, batstew, which is now collectible, was released in two runs, each of 100 copies. there was also one personalized edition for his girlfriend of the time, eva bataszew, whose title was bataszew. the album was re-released in 1996 as a compact disc, with extra tracks that never made it onto the original lp. it comprises, amongst other things, recordings of tucker's car, a 1964 cadillac which he had nicknamed "the bat".

after a couple of mental breakdowns, tucker recorded his second album, in the sack, in 1982, under the pseudonym "t. storm hunter" which he later adopted as his legal name. the music was largely experimental, with tracks including "everywhere with sally (ride)", a pop song recorded backwards.

a great and much underrated (due to batstew and it's limited release) weird record combining electronic sounds, jazzy piano, noises of found objects, whispers, screams and poetry from a "damaged" brain.

brilliant!!!

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free-jazz

 best of 2007 !!! 
de stijl (usa) #ind 060 lp

lee rockey “lee rockey music” long playing record

  • (no tracklisting)
zonked lp of cracked electronics, tape-echo’ed free improv, and even a bit of outsider/beat poetry from this lafms/smegma-affiliated drummer/violinist/weirdnik traveller... bravo to de stijl’s clint simonson for digging up these archival recordings ... on par with such primal electron-discovery as the intersystems lp -
de stijl press release...
“portland oregon, art museum, early 1976. in the auditorium, drums/electric violin/and cello played thru an echoplex, a 4-channel tape deck was playing pre-recorded electronic skronks, flutes, and off-speed voices, dancers were holding video cameras, connected to a paik video synth that was creating a live video projection.

the music was crazed, scary and funny and beautiful. of all the live shows i've seen, this one stands out. the man behind all this was lee rockey (1926-2002). this was the second (and last) of his full blown personal music/art world performances.

a few months later i saw lee on drums with kenneth rexroth poetry and jazz. after that lee mostly played at home and a few low-key gigs in town. lee rockey was a hard-swinging jazz drummer who mastered the modern style by 1946 and became known as one of the vancouver whiz kids. went to nyc in 1953, worked and recorded with neil hefty (sic) and herbie mann, later moving back to portland and playing with the top modern jazz artists. he was also developing his own music and painting style and appeared on a few smegma records. this record (his first solo release) is from 7" reel tapes recorded mostly in the early 1960s, early 1970s with lee on home made electronics loops, horns, violin, cello, drums, bells, and poss dick knudsen on cello." -- ju suk reet meate / smegma, portland or 2006.

...

lee rockey
lee rockey music lp
ind-060

destijl is pleased to present the first archival digs into the wondrous world of lee rockey. lee was a hardswinging jazzbo who had mastered the modern style by '46, and became known as one of the vancouver whiz kids. he went to the city in '53, jammed with neil hefti, and appeared on the first few herbie mann recs ( plays bethlehem bcp-58, e ast coast jazz / 4 bethlehem bcp-1018). upon his left coast return, he began developing his own sound / style, with an intent of transcending traditional musical forms / expectations.


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de stijl (usa) #ind 058 cd

michael yonkers “grimwood” compact disc

  • damsel fair and your angel (5:15)
  • grimwood (1:30)
  • sandcastle (2:00)
  • lonely fog (5:40)
  • the day is through (8:10)
  • 162 (3:00)
  • and give it to you (4:40)
  • tripping through the rose gardens (3:30)
  • the answer (2:00)
  • sunflower (3:40)
  • the big parade (2:50)
  • the thing called love (1:05)
2007 release ; reissue of the 1974 follow-up to yonkers’ storied “microminiature love” ... further home-studio experimentation (lots of sped-up guitars, early synths & weird tape-speed mangle - listen to the beginning of the sound-sample) peppering a largely folk-psych bent ; just as revelatory as his debut ...
de stijl press release...
michael yonkers
grimwood
cd 057

recorded in 1969, a follow up to microminiature love (destijl lp 2002, subpop cd 2003), grimwood's grand, majestic quietude is something of a reaction to the formers radical, raucous guitar excursions into the unknown. a beautiful record.

grimwood: a private flight

as the 60s are routinely considered the time in which social activism melded with a public consciousness, the simultaneous development of the intimate sphere of privacy is one which has been negatively defined with political implications: the idealization of the autonomous, nuclear family, the depature of urban environs, and the newly-built home in a vast suburban sprawl. and as a reaction to the resultant overflowing dumpsters and swelling landfills was a flight of small numbers who engaged in the private, cathartic processes of making a record.

in ways both public and private, today must mirror the heady / heavy days of 1969, and grimwood reflects not only the time in which it was created, but the moment in which we hear it now. somehow tho, the realization that retrieval of the lost was not possible must have been more strongly felt in that bygone era. within the context of globalized social unrest, those unafraid to form a parade still deal with the conflict of sadness / loss in personal life. amidst the crumbled mire of his microminiature love / candy floss / sire deal, yonkers retreated from these disappointments, and from his own densely chaotic sounds.

it would seem that yonkers followed a trail that psychologically parallels the sunlife highway, and his private flight took place in a presumably small hut, nestled on a lemonade lake, and from his chimney wafted rainbow smoke, in the fantastical haven of the mystical, mythical grimwood town for which the rec is named, as he attempted to allow light / space into areas of his psyche that hadn't seen enough of either in some time.

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threads:
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free-improvisation
experimental-instruments

 best of 2011 !!! 
de stijl (usa) #ind 042 lp

charlie nothing “outside / inside” long playing record

  • outside (20:54)

  • inside (11:35)
february 2011 release ; ... we literally could not get enough of the “charlie nothing & his dingulator” set (nicely repro’ed on cassette by the ptb @ de stijl last year) ; making this issue of charlie’s other classic lp (unlike “psychedelic sounds of”, this was one was originally self / private pressed on his everit enterprises label in 1969) a real treat ...

very much in line w/ the psychedelic emanations of “sounds”, this one features charlie on wandering flute, accompanied only by “tox drohan” ‘s wayward, moondog-esque percussion stylings ... it’s exactly the kind of exercise in pure free-spirit tactics that fuel the entire “outsider” music framework, with the two side-length pieces taking the listener on a journey of questionable import (but damn if the ride itself isn’t a smooth one) ...

... arguably the ultimate in hippie-den antics ; highly recommended !!!
de stijl press release...
charlie nothing
outside / inside
ind 042 lp

charlie nothing was the fractured-psyche pseudonym of author, father, horsekeeper, organic farmer, beekeeper, philosopher, clown and inventor of the dingulator (guitar sculptures made from american car metal), charles martin simon. charlie’s only visible offering to the record buying public was really anything but. due to it's rarity, the psychedelic saxophone of charlie nothing, issued by takoma records in 1967, has been a source of consternation for in-the-know types for years.

outside / inside, the second and only other charlie nothing lp, originally issued by everitt enterprises in 1969, thematically follows with two sidelong flute-based instrumentals. nowhere on wax will you find more palpable preserved air of a real-time dropout scene than with these sides of nothing. it is a wonder that these records circulated at all outside the vacuum in which they were created. nothingness, a california existentiality looping back on itself, preserved and disseminated as evidence. there are indeed very few records like these.

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threads:
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1960s-electronic
1970s-electronic
psych-prog
free-improvisation
electro-acoustic-improvisation
nww-list
broken-music
sound-art

 best of 2009 !!! 
de stijl (usa) #ind 039 lp
o records (finland) #or lp 0

the sperm “shh !” long playing record

  • heinäsirkat ("locusts") (16:10)
  • korvapoliklinikka hesperia ("ear clinic hesperia") (3:50)

  • jazz, jazz (8:45)
  • dodekafoninen talvisota ("dodecaphonic winter war") (11:45)
april 2009 release ; at long last here’s the fruit of a major reissue project taken on by de stijl’s clint simonson a few years back, intent on whittling away at pekka airaksinen’s ego chamber until he relented enough to allow for the re-edition of this priceless avant-garde artifact, borne from the minds of airaksinen, artist j.o. mallander (see the anoema-label collection of his early mind-melting sound-art pieces), mattijuhani koponen, and vladimir nikamo during the late 60s & early 70s ...

despite nikamo’s ties to finnish proto-boogie titans wigmam, dispel any notion of this music having anything to do with “rock” (or “jazz” for that matter) ; it’s a straight electro-acoustic improv session decidedly from and of the whole “broken music” sector, concurrent with the experiments of amm, mev, intersystems, et.al, yet far more lo-fi and wasted (the a-side’s guitar & feedback-dominated “heinäsirkat” rarely gets above 500hz) ...

easily the holy grail of finnish freak-out forms ; you can trace the roots of everything from kemialliset ystävät, avarus, & (especially) uton’s drugged haze to the blown-out amplified electricity of the sähko scene to this very recording ; that it’s finally available for mass recognition / appreciation is a serious cause célèbre.

highly recommended !!!
de stijl press release...

sperm
shh !
ind 039 lp

it's taken a long fucking time, and finally, a fully legit lp ~ only reissue of this amazing helsinki monsterpiece from 1970. shh ! is highly collectable in it's original form on the band's own o records imprint (home of 3rd erection, samsa trio, one point music, etc). in a non ~ dream state, i've seen 2 copies and both were in a condition slightly more well kempt than "hammered ++" ..

shh ! is primarily a document of pekka airaksinen's experimental compostions, consisting of primitive samples, guitar loop feedback and musique concrete. probably inspired by a cage / stockhausen / et al, but actually more easily peeped in pre ~ lafms world, perhaps sitting aside ju suk reet meate's do unseen hands make you dumb?.

also involved were jan olof mallander, who has been active in and around art in several roles; as the editor of iris, writing reviews for hufvudstadsbladet, contributing to taide, and as the art critic of dagens nyheter. inspired, perhaps, by gordon matta clark's food he converted his cheap thrills gallery into a restaurant and instead of art, served the public vegetarian and macrobiotic cuisine..

and mattijuhani koponen, a poet, composer, musician, painter, photographer, performance artist, a gardener, activist in men's postmodern liberation movement (the what?!), he was the primus dramatic motor for the sperm. in december of 1968, during a symphonic poem of reconciliation made by cain and abel, he fucked atop a grand piano and, for it, spent 8 months in the clink.

aside from serving a brief stint in wigwam, i know little of vladimir nikamo but his presence makes sense; wigwam's first lp is titled hard n' horny.

you get the idea. ooh la la..

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de stijl (usa) #ind 036 cd

smegma / wolf eyes “the beast” compact disc

  • (no tracklisting)
de stijl press release...
smegma / wolf eyes
the beast
this also came to be known as no face lives 036 lp / cd

smegma, man, fucking smegma. they started the whole damn thing. sure there was lee rocky & some soundeffects 78s that set the crew in motion but screw it.. you wouldn't be blasting "the beast" or any "weird handdrawn lp" with rotten ears if it wasn't for this truly motley crew.

in high school my sweet momma would give me ten bones a week for lunch, come monday by noon that shit was blown at the local rec shop. when i only had a couple of raggedy bux left from gripping zorlac stickers, the only option was the dollar bin at the store. it was there that john bender, haystacks balboa, nik reicnek, & peter catham lps blew open my teen mind to the netherworlds.

among the giants was this homemade wreckord by ju suk reet meat. looked amazing… had no idea. threw it on for nearly every day since. mutant loops, improv from alien swamp prom & deviant horrible ideas. changed my life. just what a young mind needed to replace the texas chainsaw massacre.

found out later it was from the smegma camp, a strange unknown mystery troupe from portland. no photos ever... just a numbling clip on a rrr comp video lessard gave me & dilloway, a tunnel view into the spirtual mecca that would the smegma klan.

before the first wolf jaunt out west we dropped them a postcard saying it would be good to meet. soon it mangled into a recording session. we would be so honored. the day came. the smegma house, totally pink, queued us in to rainy, green portland. we knocked. a femme voice said through the door, “use the bell”. nate pushed it and out came a gargled electronic siren. the door openend, rock 'n roll jackie, 5 foot tall, grinning & long beatiful grey hair. we all fell in love.

soon after we meet ju suk & one by one slowly met all the smegmas in one of the strangest nights ever. burned mind, meltzer, stan, amazon bambi, others. all weird as hell, checking us as much as us checking them. yep, this is who we wanted to be with the rest of our lives...

the michigan crew had never been so inspired & moved but by this unholy blending of mutant minds... so we jammed. it was fucking amazing. here are the results. every year we are going to see them & hang like the best friend weirdo family. a total pilgrimage. nate & i once got so blasted from portland cloud that we projected that smegma has always existed, ever since the beginning of time. someone will always carry it on... might be this dude in ypsi who has no face. really. no nose, barely a mouth, always has a broken arm or something.. smells like shit. dude is totally in smegma. fucking life rules.

-john olson
ypsilanti, nov 2003

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de stijl (usa) #ind 032 cd

ed askew “little eyes” compact disc

  • little eyes
  • songs for pilots
  • waiting in the station
  • little infinite love song
  • oh, all the gold and green eyes
  • my love is a red red rose
  • beds of soft silk
  • city of glass
  • the face of fire
  • old mother moon

  • the accordian man
  • o the lovely face
  • my love is a red, red rose
  • jeffery taste
  • reasonable man
  • rodeo rose
2007 release ; cd version of the second lp from connecticut folk artist ed askew, whose 1968 “ask the unicorn” is a bonafide cult classic, having been released on esp-disk’ ...
de stijl press release...
ed askew
little eyes
ind - 032 cd

ed askew grew up in stanford, connecticut, leaving in the early 60s to attend yale university in nearby new haven. a painter, he earned a degree in fine arts. after graduation, he taught briefly at a private suburban high school before returning to new haven. he arrived just in time to take part in the town’s burgeoning music scene, which also spawned future esp artists erica pomerance and bill horowitz.

his original musical instrument was the martin tipple, which he describeds as a “10-stringed instrument shaped like a baritone ukulele.” for several months circa 66-67, he was in a psychedelic folk band called gandalf and the motorpickle, who played at the exit coffeehouse, which was located in the basement of a methodist church.

not long after askew left the gandalf group, esp signed him and released the album that has become known as ask the unicorn. little eyes was recorded immediately following the poorly selling debut. made with little more than ed’s voice and the stunningly modern arrangements of his beloved martin tipple, all the songs were recorded in one continuous take. little eyes is as grand, sad and beautiful a statement as can be expressed. his off key lilt hangs like a seductive pink mist, and settles deeply; you’ll hear these songs long after they are over.

the few concerts which askew did play were self-promoted affairs. with no organized tours, and hardly any press support from esp, ed’s two albums soon descended into hardly-seen-or-heard obscurity status, before finally finding re-release in the past few years.

little eyes was the second album that ed askew recorded. his eponymous debut (reissued under the name ask the unicorn) was one of the gems of the original esp-disk catalogue. strangely-voiced folk music with no easy parallels, packed inside a sleeve showing a negative image of cars burning on the streets of stamford, connecticut, it was as anomolous as any of the label's offerings, and brimmed with a very special disconnectedness. it was even played on an instrument - a martin tiple - which seemed imaginary. who ever heard of a tiple?

over the years, small pieces of ed's story came into the light. the most exciting nugget was the rumor he'd done sessions for a second album, which had been finished, but never issued. this rumor was borne out a few years ago, with the discovery of little eyes - an album which actually supercedes its known predecessor in terms of songwritings, vibe and all else.

a solo set, recorded roughly three years after his debut, ed's plan was to craft an album that recreated his live shows. most of the songs were done in a single take, tape rolling the whole time, spaces to be edited out at a later date. mistakes happened, but were incorporated into the feeling of spontaneity that was part and parcel of the project. and damn, the songs are great.

ed recalls that most were written during the brief period he lived with a woman named jessica in a one room apartment in brooklyn heights, and they have a tenderness recalling pearls before swine at their least cryptic. it should be noted, ed only met tom rapp briefly and does not count him as an influence.

"pearls before swine i only met once," ed recalls. "i was tripping and in no mood to talk to anyone. so it was sort of a non-event. i don't know what they thought. i remember tom rapp - at least i assume it was tom rapp - telling me stollman had sent them some copies of my record and it was one of the strangest things they'd ever heard. but after lou reed and patti smith and all that, i don't think it sounds so strange."

in these days, so long after patti and lou and all that, i'm sure we can just listen to, and embrace the magic that fills little eyes. the actual little eyes session has been appended for this issue by some lovely work recorded at various radio stations, after the album foundered. this material uses more harmonica than ed's studio work and is proof he was ready to produce lots more of the ethereral work that was his special province. perhaps this is the right moment to declare your tastes as being hipper than tom rapp's.

go ahead. free yourself.

- byron coley deerfield ma 2007

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