"Lower Bottoms" - Matt Nelson

Released yesterday, Matt Nelson's first solo album delivers a far out investigation in sound and technique.  Nelson's curiosity and experimentation, coupled with a tremendous use of guitar effect pedals, treats our minds to a feast of noise, sound, and concepts

With electronic manipulation and a healthy dose of feedback the saxophone is delivered fresher than ever before.  Nelson showcases smooth, hypnotic moments intertwined with disjointed assaults.  Allowing us to peek into Nelson's expanding approach to his instrument.

Nelson's tonal range is on full display thanks to the production efforts of engineer Eli Crews.  With a nice system dynamic highs, warm mids, and boomy lows are all brought to light.  I'm not much of a low-end guy, but the moments that sound like my speakers are beneath the floorboards are some of my favorite parts.

... I can guarantee that no other 2014 release comes even close to Lower Bottoms.

Matt Nelson will be performing in Portland next Monday, 10/27, at the Habesha Lounge.  You can also catch him play in Battle Trance, an all saxophone quartet, on 11/02/14 at the Habesha Lounge.

2014 - Tubapede Records

Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog Wowed PDX

Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog pulled into Portland Tuesday night with one of the best sets I have seen in awhile. Ribot, along with Ches Smith (drums/electronics), and Shahzad Ismaily (bass/percussion/moog), displayed an amalgamation of genre bending sounds.  The trio's songbook flowed seamlessly from free improv, to punk, to math rock, to free-jazz(ish) in front of a packed house at the renowned Mississippi Studios. 











Even in unfamiliar territory, familiarity was found within a punk-fusion variation of Paul Desmond's Take 5; offering glossy licks and cool jazz scales over a turbulent free-punk mash.  Ribot switched gears by singing on a handful of numbers. His singer-songwriter persona brought a certain cynicism into the equation which was evident in songs like "Masters of the Internet."

Ceramic Dog's performance kept the crowd looking around the corner to see what was coming. Altogether a bitches brew containing Smith's melodic, mathy drumming, Ismaily's noisy, improvised base lines, and at the helm Ribot's thrashy, amplified guitar chops.
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You can check out Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog's latest studio album, Your Turn, at Northern Spy a Records.

PDX Show Announcement: Ceramic Dog with 1939 Ensemble

Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog , a noise/avant-garde/free-punk outfit, will be playing at Mississippi Studios Tuesday night , 5/27/14.

Portland's ethereal vibe/drums duo, 1939 Ensemble, will be kicking things off at 8pm.

GIG INFO:
Ceramic Dog
05/27/14
Doors: 7pm, Show: 8pm
Mississippi Studios
3939 N Mississippi Ave, Portland, OR 97227

April Jazz in Oregon / Plus new things from Northern Spy Records

Couple of show announcements ...

Wednesday, 4/16, at Mississippi Studios you can catch the Chris Speed Trio, featuring Dave King of The Bad Plus and Chris Tordini, with the Blue Cranes also on the bill for the night.

Northern Spy recording duo, Jooklo Duo, will be hitting three locations throughout Oregon.  Thursday, 4/17, at Interzone in Corvallis, OR as part of their The Red Room: Improvised Music Series, along with two dates in Portland: Friday, 4/18 at Valentines, and Easter Sunday, 4/20, at Reed College.

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... Speaking of Northern Spy artists, I've been really into Locus by the Chicago Underground Duo.  This amalgamation of genres feels like a love child between The Art Ensemble of Chicago, Aphex Twin, and Thurston Moore. 

We hear processed sounds that are pulled from analog and digital sources, and derive anywhere between a synthesizer and a Game Boy. Rob Mazurek and Chad Taylor take us on an adventurous sound experiment across the realms of music.  Heavily rhythmic within its melodies, Locus creates a sense of eagerness from one cut to another.  Each track is like a layer revealing a next step onward into uncharted territory.  Through every listen I find myself wanting to re-cue this record once the last note hits.

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April 19 is Record Store Day.  Northern Spy has an exciting lineup of RSD only releases.  So check in with your local haunt for some shiny new wax from J. Spaceman & Kid Millions, or a Deerhoof + Marc Ribot / Ceramic Dog split 7".

Cloud Becomes Your Hand - Portland Show Announcement

Off the heels of their new album, Rocks or Cakes, Brooklyn based band Cloud Becomes Your Hand will be performing at Valentine's in Old Town Portland.

Cloud Becomes Your Hand joins ambient themes along with well arranged electronics and harmonies. Staggering from Post Punk-esq noise, to whimsical melodies reminiscent of carnival or marching band music, to tracks that create an old school, spacey Sci-Fi feel.

About Northern Spy Records - Weather it be jazz, noise, prog, minimalist, electronic, etc., Northern Spy's portfolio stretches to the far edges of the avant-garde universe. Including the latest release from the Chicago Underground Duo, entitled Locus; dropping this week.

3/26/2014
Valentine’s
232 SW Ankeny
8PM
All Ages

"Life In The Sugar Candle Mines" - Black Host

The new Northern Spy release from Black Host, Life In The Sugar Candle Mines, is textured and far out.  Cooper-Moore (piano, synthesizer), Brandon Seabrook (guitar), Darius Jones (alto sax), and Pascal Niggenkemper (bass) join drummer Gerald Cleaver here.  Much like Art Blakey and his Jazz Messengers, leader Gerald Cleaver allows Black Host to act as catapult for the collective endeavor of his bandmates. Yet each individual identity from this quintet acts as their own appendage within this improvising ensemble.

Life In The Sugar Candle Mines is a collective romp that certainly stands out within Avant-Garde Jazz.  And each cut seems to be more exciting than the next.  The first two pieces, "Hover," and "Ayler Children" present a fierce momentum early on in the record, but later tracks such as "Test-Sunday," and "Wrestling" still anchor my attention with their building intensities.  While numbers such as "Citizen Rose" and "Amsterdam / Frames" offer spacey explorations reminiscent of prog/psychedelic and thrash rock.  I bet Thurston Moore listens to this album on repeat.

Still, there are melodic parts along with creative ensemble bits that inspire a conceptual motive here; much like succussful visual, abstract artists.  If you're into experimental music but are searching for the right diving off point for the Jazzier side then Life In The Sugar Candle Mines will hit the sweet spot.  With its forward-looking approach and strong roots in the NYC Avant-Garde scene experienced listeners have an album worth checking out as well. 

"Streets" - Charles Gayle Trio

Northern Spy continues to release boundless music with the recent drop of Streets by The Charles Gayles Trio. Consisting of himself on tenor, Michael TA Thompson on drums, and Larry Roland on double bass, this session is spiritual as it is heavy hitting.  A blast of supersonic sounds for one full hour, out of the gate it is one of the best jazz releases yet for 2012. 

The title alone draws attention to Gayle's own history from his homeless days. "Streets" is also an alter ego Gayle portrays which exhibits him in clown ensemble. 

photo by Geert Vandepoele

Like much of Gayle's music, Streets pays homage to religion and God. For example, the track "Glory & Jesus." A tune that has a ton of augmented and contrasting rhythm, Gayle solos here for nearly six minutes. For the title cut, we hear Gayle create notes that appear longer, and a little bit more slurred. Perhaps this is "Streets" creating a dialogue with us.  I don't know... Is that a cheesy thought?

Streets is a seriously good listen.  With much replay value, ultimately listeners can expect a complete improvised performance from play head to finish.  This album looks back as much as it looks forward, and Streets is clear evidence that Charles Gayle is still a prime player on the scene.   It's refreshing to hear an album that sounds like it could fit perfectly into the Avant-Garde of the 1960s, while still sounding unique and original today.

"XYX" - The Spanish Donkey

The good folks over at Northern Spy have been putting an impressive catalog out. They're doing it right by featuring a diverse selection of artists, good stories behind the music, and unique packaging to deliver it all to adventurous listeners (CDs, digi downloads, and cassette tapes).

I was eager to set my eardrums on the new release by The Spanish Donkey, XYX. A trio featuring today's free form guitar hero (video game pun not intended) Joe Morris, dynamic keyboardist Jamie Saft, and the responsive percussionist Mike Pride.

Timeless, yet of it's time. XYX is reminiscent of some of the electrifying, innovative loft era jazz while meshing metal, punk, and noise rock. I easily think of the mathematically timings of Lightning Bolt and Hella, while also glimpsing into the electrical tendencies of George Lewis and imaginative stylings of some of the European Free Improv players.

This was all improvised right in the studio. The liner notes hint at categorizing the album as "avant metal." Yet without a doubt it still swings at times thanks to the help of Mike Pride's cymbal work. If your ears are in a dire need for something new then go get XYX RIGHT NOW! The album definitely sends you on a powerful trip. It feels like I'm in the head of that character from Gaspar Noé's Enter the Void.

2011 - Northern Spy

Joe Morris - guitar; Jamie Saft - MiniMoog, Roland Jupiter 6, Roland SH-01, Korg Lambda, Korg CX3, Yamaha CS-01, bass guitar; Mike Pride - drums, percussion & nose whistle.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

I just bought an iPad and will be using BlogPress. If you see the above signature attached to any post, it pretty much means I'm trying to justify any typos, weird capitalization, or awkward formatting issues.

Northern Spy Releases

Our good friends over at Northern Spy have been working hard putting out quality, experimental and avant-garde releases. Although they're not in the vein of avant-garde Jazz, they certainly bring contemporary music to that cutting edge Jazz once did and still does.

The first is a minimalist, drone if you will, collection of compositions by trumpeter/guitarist/minimalist Rhys Chatham called Outdoor Spell. The production of this album is certainly textured, and although it drones about, each of the four tracks are beautifully different in their minimalist forms.

Chatham employs layers of guitars, his own voice, and percussion to create these multi-sensory and multi-instinctual sound bites. And the composition, The Magician, contains more of a Free Jazz hat as the drums, electric guitar, and trumpet erupt into a mass of what seems to be an improvised, dissonant demonstration.

Next up, Northern Spy has debuted their Clandestine Series of audio cassette releases. Clandestine Series Cassette # One brings four tracks by the Messages, Tom Carter, Zaïmph, and Loren Connors & Margarida Garcia. Personally, this is worth the purchase just for Tom Carter's piece, August Is All. A minimalist, melodic, lonesome electric guitar piece that has been on repeat all week in my studio.

With a lot of the tracks, think Aphex Twin ambient works, but less electronic.

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Check these out! They are worth the purchase for any fan of experimental music. In Northern Spy's short existence so far, they have been prolific and I think they're going to be an excellent outlet for great, under-appreciated music. Offering chances to Artists that may not otherwise be getting the exposure they need.

Free N-SPY Trax for the Holidays

I've been following closely and keeping in touch with the folks over at Northern-Spy. If you missed my prior press release post earlier this fall, Northern-Spy is a new indie label out of Brooklyn. The label was created by a few gents that were part of the ESP-Disk' team. Things look promising, and even though the bands represented are not strictly jazz, a lot of the music falls into the far reaching limbs of the Avant-Garde.

Why I bring all of this up, you ask? Free N-SPY Trax for the Holidays. Sample a few cuts and enjoy. Northern-Spy kindly explains below:

Brooklyn’s youngest indie label, Northern-Spy Records, has been following its star for only a short while, but already it’s shining brightly. We (and our fine artists) would like to thank you for coming along the journey with some fine holiday gifts fit for a king. No, we’ve left the myrrh behind, instead we’re offering a little bundle of web-only bonus tracks to download and delight to. Search high and low, you won’t find them on any album — but they’re sure to show up on your next mix tape.

From the team at Northern-Spy and our fine artists, we hope your holidays are filled with joy and send best wishes for a happy and prosperous new year!

Follow N-Spy on Twitter and Facebook.

Northern-Spy Entertainment

“The team that brought back ESP moves on to form new company: Northern-Spy Entertainment”

I guess my main question is...  What is happening with ESP-Disk'?

The staff responsible for resurrecting the iconic record label ESP-Disk’ in recent years -- Tom Abbs (General Manager), Douglas McGregor (Chief Financial Officer), Adam Downey (Director of Promotions) and Robert Keefe (Publishing Administrator) -- have all resigned their positions and struck out on their own to launch a new partnership, Northern-Spy Entertainment, LLC.

In the team’s last three years at ESP, they oversaw an unprecedented expansion of the label’s activities, with over sixty CD and vinyl releases produced in their tenure, including the first new recordings for the label in 35 years. The business was also expanded to include a distribution company, a retail store and a live music series, which culminated in this summer’s Albert Ayler Festival on Roosevelt Island.  Recent articles in Jazz Times and The Wall Street Journal, “ESP-Disk’ - Back in Business” and “The Artists Alone Decide - In a New Era”, hailed the team as bringing the label back to its original 60’s glory and at the same time rectifying years of mismanagement. But underneath this success, a series of longstanding labor disputes got in the way, and after months of failed negotiations the staff made the fateful decision to move on and start their own company.

Beginning right where they left off, the Northern-Spy team aims to position themselves as a major force on the Brooklyn music scene. The new venture will bring forth a 360° approach to music business, offering artists a wide array of production, distribution, promotions, licensing, publishing administration, and booking services. With an aggressive release schedule catering to the independent music scene and its strong industry ties, Northern-Spy is positioned to make waves in the coming months. Like the multitude of artist run-labels that came before it, Northern-Spy is buoyed by the team’s diverse experience on the music scene. Abbs is an accomplished recording artist with records out on Delmark, AUM Fidelity, 482 Music and even ESP, and has run a non-for-profit arts organization in New York for the last decade. McGregor is an accomplished guitarist, vocalist and recording engineer who runs his own studio in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Downey is a working DJ and bassist on the Brooklyn scene and Keefe is a sought after DJ, a film buff and writer.

The label's first artist signings include Colin Langenus from USAISAMONSTER, Arrington de Dionyso from Old Time Relijun, and the Italian fire-music team, Jooklo Duo. Releases will be in stores Tuesday, November 16th.

Visit our website at:

www.northern-spy.com