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Ike Yard remain a legendary band of early '80s New York City – at once immensely influential, yet obscured by a far-too-brief initial phase. Their debut EP, the dark and absorbing Night After Night, sounds almost like a different group, so rapidly would Ike Yard evolve towards the calmly menacing electro throb of their self-titled LP.
Originally released on Factory in 1982, the album put Ike Yard's indelible mark on the synth-driven experimental rock scene then emerging all over the planet. While historical analogues would be Cabaret Voltaire's Red Mecca or Front 242's Geography, opening track "M. Kurtz" makes starkly clear that Ike Yard is a far heavier proposition.
With a thick porridge of bass, ringing guitar and strangled/stunted layers of voice, these six pieces are densely packed and perversely danceable. "Loss" sounds like a minimal techno track that could have been made last week, while "Kino" combines Soviet-era imagery with sparse soundscapes à la African Head Charge's Environmental Studies.
Ike Yard somehow pull off the toughest trick in modern music: making repetition hypnotically compelling through subtle variation. The effect of Ike Yard's first LP can be heard in many genres – from industrial dance labels like Wax Trax to electro-punk bands and innumerable European groups (Lucrate Milk, Red Lorry Yellow Lorry, etc.).
The fact that the cover artwork does not include any photos of the band, but rather features the original catalogue number (FACT A SECOND) only further illustrates the release's importance and Ike Yard's timeless mystique.
Epiphany i-ˈpi-fə-nē (1) a manifestation of the essential nature of something (usually sudden) (2) an intuitive grasp of reality through something (usually simple and striking) (3) an illuminating discovery or disclosure.
All three definitions apply perfectly to this span of music recorded at London’s ICA in July 1982. It’s a miracle of group interaction, wonderfully paced, moving steadily between moments of mounting intensity and tension. The passage about halfway through — when Derek Bailey’s harmonics ring out above a sheen of inside piano tremolos and shimmering electronics, topped off by Julie Tippetts’ soaring vocalese — is simply sublime. After which it’s fun to try and tell the two pianists apart. Are those runs Ursula Oppens, with her formidable technique honed from years performing some of the twentieth century’s most difficult notated new music, or are those Keith Tippett’s crunchy jazz zigzags? Are those intriguing twangs from one of Akio Suzuki’s invented instruments or could they be Fred Frith’s or Phil Wachsmann’s electronics? Bah, who cares?
There’s plenty of room for the more delicate instruments too, like Anne LeBaron’s harp picking its way gingerly through a pin-cushion of pings and scratches from Bailey and bassist Motoharu Yoshizawa. Of course, some performers are instantly recognisable: Tippetts, as lyrical and flighty on flute as when she sings, Phil Wachsmann, sinuous and sensitive on violin, and trombonist George Lewis, who, as John Zorn once put it, swings his motherfucking ass off.
So many magical moments abound, from the opening dawn chorus of Tippetts’ voice and Frith’s guitar swooping through a rainforest of exquisite piano cascades, to the Zen calm of the closing moments.
Epiphany, indeed.

A cassette work of a project called Futuro Antico. A meditation synth and a bewitching flute unfold, which is good because it has a gentle, violent, piercing sound. It's also reminiscent of Terry Riley and Don Cherry's legendary live performances in Cologne.
City Pop is Benny Sings's sixth album and first for Stones Throw in 2019. Limited color vinyl LP will be released in 2021. (the original LP is sold out)
A sum of Benny's real-life observations and insights on love, held together by his soft rock- inspired songwriting, jazz instrumentation, leading piano and distinctive vocal. The album was inspired by and written in cities all over the world, including New York, LA, Tokyo, Paris and Benny’s hometown of Amsterdam. The album celebrates collaboration, with Mayer Hawthorne, Cornelius, Sukimaswitch (the “Japanese Steely Dan”), Mocky and Faberyayo among the featured artists.

Prog Rock & Obscure Groove from Indonesia...! Djauhar Zaharsjah Fachruddin Roesli (1951-2004) was a singer-songwriter from Bandung, Indonesia, who played rock and blues in his early years, dreamed of becoming a writer like his grandfather, the famous writer Marah Roesli, and left behind many unpublished poems, and even wrote acoustic protest songs inspired by Bob Dylan. Djauhar Zaharsjah Fachruddin Roesli (1951-2004), a singer-songwriter from Bandung, Indonesia, who even wrote acoustic protest songs inspired by Bob Dylan. This is a miraculous reissue of a 1976 cassette album by Harry Roesli, the legendary rock band he led!
After releasing an album with the band, he studied at the Jakarta Art Educational Institute and went on to the Rotterdam Conservatory in the Netherlands. After returning to Indonesia, he started an avant-garde project that mixed the sounds of Xenakis, Cage, and Stockhausen with the poetry of Indonesian writer Yudhistira ANM Masardi. The group's activities have been multifaceted, including international performances in collaboration with such luminaries as novelist Putu Wijaya and filmmaker/actor Nano Riantiarno. With nearly 20 performers, the album is a miraculous blend of progressive rock, psychedelic rock, funk, and other sounds with Indonesia's unique grooves, using not only traditional Indonesian instruments such as gamelan and choir, but also western instruments such as synthesizer and guitar. It's a miraculous balance of progressive rock, psychedelic rock, funk, and unique Indonesian grooves!
Daydream Nation was Sonic Youth’s sixth full-length, their first double-LP, and their last for an indie label before signing with Geffen.
Widely considered to be their watershed moment, the album catapulted them into the mainstream and proved that indie bands could enjoy wider commercial success without compromising their artistic vision.
More recently, Daydream Nation has been recognized as a classic of its era: Pitchfork ranked it #1 on their “100 Greatest Albums of the 1980s”; Spin listed it at #13 on their “125 Best Albums of 1985-2010”. Daydream Nation was one of 50 recordings chosen by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry in 2006 and it was voted "One of the Greatest Albums of All Time" by Rolling Stone.
