Woburn House - Monstrous Manoeuvres In The Mushroom Maze

'Beautifully crafted, adventurous and inspiring - this unique band are always tough to pin down. Levitating between the bliss of the finest European avantgarde metal, epic song structures and earthy, organic post-rock tones, "Monstrous Manoeuvres In The Mushroom Maze" unfurls layer upon layer of beautifully textured melody that is driven by a bass drift that reminds us of classic early Lungfish in parts too. And all wrapped up in beautiful artwork painted by Toby Driver of Kayo Dot and mastered by the sound genius of Tom Kvålsvoll.' - Paradigms Recordings

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Label/Date: Paradigms Recordings, 2009
Genre: progressive metal,
From: Bonn, Germany
Similar/Related: Enslaved, Virus, Intronaut, Kayo Dot, Tombs, Solstafir, Giant Squid, Jesu, Isis, Gojira
Website : Myspace

Ereb Altor - By Honour

"Folks, make no qualms about it, Ereb Altor (named after some D & D styled role playing board game) is a Hammerheart/Twilight of the Gods/Nordland era Bathory tribute band; long, deliberate, epic Viking riffage, airy choral vocal arrangements of honor, warriors and all things forest-y, frosty and mountain-y. I’ve seen this band/album called "Viking Doom”, and the moniker sort of fits. Out of respect for Quorthon, I'm afraid to say that this band completely rips off Bathory. And they do it very, very well, even down to Mats’ vocal delivery which (No disrespect to the deceased Quorthon) is actually better and less off-key than his obvious idol.

By Honour though, for all its obvious influences, is a damn good album. There’s an organic yet majestic, austere ambience to the plodding, steady riffage and Mats' vocals have a more epic, romantic quality than Quorthon ever did and there’s some nice use of somber acoustics and subtle synths to start tracks like the rangy epic “Wizard” and instrumental closer “Ereb Altor”. However, the likes of “Winter Wonderland” have me scrambling for my Bathory catalog to confirm if it is indeed a cover track or not.

If you enjoy, nicely done, doomy majestic Viking metal, Ereb Altor will appease you but more importantly, they look to be the hair apparent to a revered, legendary act. Based on this debut, they are up to it." - Erik Thomas, metalreview.com

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Label/Date: I Hate Records, 2008
Genre: Epic Viking Doom Metal
From: Sweden
Similar/Related: Bathory, Candlemass, Orphaned Land, Agalloch, Black Math Horseman, Primordial, Solstafir, Opeth, Moonsorrow, Mar de Grises
Website : Myspace

Shawn Lee

Shawn Lee - Soul In The Hole

"Soul In The Hole is a tribute to multi-instrumentalist Shawn Lees favorite soul sounds through the eras. Featuring guest-appearances from Paul Butler (The Bees), Nicole Willis, Darondo, Karime Kendra, Fanny Franklin, and Kirin Lee, the album is an homage to styles from the late 1960s to the 1980s. “Writing and recording this project felt so natural. It was like coming home,” says Lee. “The great Richie Havens famously once said "I'm going back to my roots." That's exactly what I've done,” he adds."
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Lord Newborn & The Magic Skulls (Shawn Lee, Money Mark & Tommy Guerrero)

"Lord Newborn and the Magic Skulls is the collaborative project of esteemed sound scientists Money Mark, Shawn Lee, and Tommy Guerrero. In the winter of 2008 they locked themselves away in Money Mark’s Los Angeles-based studio for two weeks. A tasty three-way meeting of the minds resulted in this funk-inflicted collection of beats n’ breaks, wrapped-up in a sunny West Coast musical tortilla that’s smothered in as much jazz and prog-rock as it is in soulful psychedelia."
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Shawn Lee & Clutchy Hopkins - Clutch Of The Tiger

"Clutch of the Tiger sounds like a collection of film-noir tracks run through the Clutchy Hopkins and Shawn Lee magical music machine. It’s dusty and mysterious junkyard jazz that’s powered by sly beats and other-worldly funk. Famous comic book creator Jim Mahood (who has worked on Spiderman/Marvel, Clerks, Grrl Scouts, Stupid Comics, etc etc) liked the tunes so much he provided the killer artwork for the package!"
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Shawn Lee & Clutchy Hopkins - Fascinating Fingers

"They're back! More collaborations from the unstoppable Mr. Lee and the mysterious one. Going deeper than before this new album brings out the best in both and features full string sections, a guest appearance from UK group The Superimposers, and some serious Mojave marauding beats."
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Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra - A Very Ping Pong Christmas: Funky Treats From Santa's Bag

"Late one cold winter night, our Little Drummer Boy found himself alone in his chilly recording studio. Busting out the Jingle Bells he decided to break the unseasonably eerie Silent Night and play himself a song or two. “Some of My Favorite Things,” he muttered to himself as he stared at his vast collection of musical instruments strewn throughout the room. “O Come All Ye Faithful” he sung to his horn section as he mustered the musical muscle to Deck The Halls. Old Saint Mick joined him on the black and whites and the two of them knew that as long as they had tunes, they would not be alone this Holiday season."
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Website : Myspace : Label : Wiki

Bodychoke - Cold River Songs

"Bodychoke was an experimental noise rock side-project of Power Electronics band Sutcliffe Jügend active between 1993 and 1999. The band released 4 albums, one of which was produced by Steve Albini. Their music expressed themes of hate and disgust, as well as some of the sexual perversion and death tackled by Sutcliffe Jügend."

"The band's style is hard to categorise, a combination of noise rock, post-rock, industrial music and even gothic rock elements. A typical Bodychoke song is driven along by a strong repetitive riff on the bass and drums, tensioned against layers of distorted guitar noise, with vocals ranging from bassy murmurs to deranged screaming. From 1996, 'cello featured as both a melodic and rhythmic element, and sometimes as a source of ambient sound-effects. The arrival of Manu Ros in 1998 brought a more complex, 'tribal' feel to the drumming." -wiki

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Label/Date: Purity, 1998/ Relapse, 2009 reissue
Genre: crushing noise-rock
From: London, England
Similar/Related: Swans, Hammerhead, Neurosis, Birthday Party, Jesus Lizard, Oxbow, Godflesh, Big Black, Mouth of the Architect, Minsk, Sutcliffe Jugend, Whitehouse
Website : last.fm

Cable - The Failed Convict

"The majority of The Failed Convict is full of Cable's classic punch-drunk rhythms and angular, abrasive riffing. The songs are quick bursts of bellowing, burly rage, executed with such nimble precision that it's easy to miss how much is going on in them the first time around. Thankfully, Joel Hamilton's whip sharp production offers plenty of clarity. At 13 songs, The Failed Convict threatens to wear out its welcome, but the band manages to keep things interesting up until the end. They sound, dare I say, like a band reinvigorated and ready to take on the world." -Arzgarth, StonerRock.com
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Label/Date: The End Records, 2009
Genre: metal/hardcore/noise-rock
From: Connecticut
Similar/Related: Doomriders, 16, Cavity, Bison, Fight Amp, Unsane, Crowbar, Keelhaul, Tombs, Pantera
Website : Myspace

Doomriders - Darkness Come Alive

"Recorded and engineered at Godcity Studios by Kurt Ballou, "Darkness Come Alive" shows a more monstrous Doomriders emerging from the depths. Songs like "Jealous God" and "Heavy Lies The Crown" carry a precision and infectious quality that is rare to experience, while the title-esque track "Come Alive" is a stunning example of their new found muscle. The opening seconds of the aforementioned sets an electrifying backdrop before erupting into one of the most hook laden ebb and flows of recent memory. Effortlessly throughout the album they continue this bombardment, with rhythm section JR Conners (Cave In) and Jebb Riley (Disappearer) as the hurricane force wind at the back of Chris Pupecki's (Cast Iron Hike) riffs and Nate Newton's (Converge) gritty duel guitar/vocal attack. Shedding influences to stand with them as contemporaries, Doomriders "Darkness Come Alive" is a monumental full length achievement. Proving not only that aggressive music still has much to offer, but that Doomriders are, in fact, more soulful and heavier than all." -myspace
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Label/Date: Deathwish, 2009
Genre: metal/hardcore/rock
From: Boston, Massachusetts
Similar/Related: Cable, Converge, Cave-In, Boris, Thin Lizzy, Coliseum, Saviours, Disappearer, Entombed, Baroness, Bison
Website : Myspace

Uniquetunes - 8

"UNIQUETUNES is the outstanding instrumental band from Saint-Petersburg, Russia.
To talk about the music style it is a mixture of contemporary jazz, live electronics, modern indie rock and 70’s psychedelic. Band, formed in june 2005, now have eight members with only analog instruments and brilliant ideas in their minds. During these years rocking, band shared the stage with Red Snapper (Warp, UK), Amon Tobin (Ninja Tune, Canada) and many others. This album is like a photo picture of the band in February 2008, because all the tracks were recorded live and seems to be exactly that, what band is now. This CD was recorded in 5 days at Voshod Studio and mixed the following 5 days at Antrop Studio. Everything you hear was made only by this eight members: self-recorded, self-engineered, self-produced, self-mixed. This work were respected by Jaga Jazzist and Clutchy Hopkins, who really knows what the interesting sound is." -last.fm
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Label/Date: Self-released, 2009
Genre: instrumental, experimental, post-rock/jazz/dance
From: St. Petersburg, Russian Federation
Similar/Related: Jaga Jazzist, Samuel Jackson 5, Pivot, Guizado, Tortoise, Tuna Laguna, World's End Girlfriend, Natsumen, Toe
Website : Myspace

Aufgang - Aufgang

2 GRAND PIANOS + 1 DRUM KIT. "Although Aufgang is just an infant in the musical world, the three classically trained musicians deliver a rather surprising and scrumptious mix of sounds on their debut album. Staring with a base of two pianos and a drum kit, the band has an undeniably strong percussive bone, and it is unituitively but awesomely implemented in a fashion that could only be described as "organic electronica." The opening chops of "Channel 7" and "Channel 8" cement Aufgang and electronica visionaries, but in a style so elegant and graceful that it finds itself akin to Kashiwa Diasuke's Program Music I. Whatever the cost, be sure to track down this end-of-the-year game changer." -thesilentballet.com
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Label/Date: InFiné / Discograph, 2009
Genre: piano-based electronica/techno/experimental
From: France
Similar/Related: Kashiwa Daisuke, Pivot, Triosk, Mouse On The Keys, Holy Fuck, Dan Deacon, Four Tet, Squarepusher, Aphex Twin, Venetian Snares, Lindstrøm, Fuck Buttons,
Website : Myspace

Stellar OM Source - Ocean Woman

"Stellar OM Source is the solo project of electronic musician, composer, visionary artist and icon Christelle Gualdi. She holds a lot of mysteries around her atomic, oceanic and influential personality. She was born in the suburbs of Paris from French-Italian parents. She began to play electronic music as a teenager while recording soundtracks for exhibitions, assisting her father at the radio studio using Yamaha MSX and Atari 1040 systems. Next to this, her music taste has been influenced by early fascination for fusion, guitar heroes and ECM artists, as well as disco and new-age music her mother brought to her.
She plays today a range of different analog synthesizers and makes an extensive use of MIDI and electronic equipment. Stellar OM Source involves musicality as a transport to the ocean realm within the stars. She combines gorgeous, rippling keyboard runs with clusters of overtone gravity so thick they seem to simply hang in the air and unravel true beauty. Beyond the interface of the machine, she conveys spirituality and an emotional body. Her sounds can be related to Terry Riley, Alice Coltrane or Ryuichi Sakamoto." -myspace
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Label/Date: self-released, 2009
Genre: ambient/drone
From: Netherlands
Similar/Related: Emeralds, Valet, Tim Hecker, Mountains, Windy & Carl, Mouthus, Terry Riley, Popol Vuh, Religious Knives, CLuster, Klaus Schulze
Website : Myspace

The Caretaker - Persistent Repetition of Phrases

Perfect bedtime record. Check out more here
"Although this album invites aesthetic comparisons to works by the likes of Philip Jeck, William Basinski and Janek Schaefer - draped as it is in an obfuscating, soupy crackle - there's a very specific conceptual agenda at work here. Part of 'Persistent Repetition Of Phrases' success comes from the attention it pays to the function of 'the loop', not only as a narrative ordering system in modern music, but as a means by which the brain itself recalls and interprets information; it's as old as recorded sound itself, but in this context the repetition of small shards of auditory information becomes an elegy to fading memory and the worn-out synapses of old age. The track titles offer signposts through Kirby's labyrinth of faulty remembrances, pointing their way towards the peculiarities dictating the manner by which the mind stores and attempts to recover information: 'Lacunar Amnesia' references a condition that leaves a specific event absent from the sufferer's melody, and Kirby's music sounds suitably stuck on a prelude to something that never happens. Bathed in gusts of crackle, the piece gets stuck on what might be a start of something, but we never get to hear what. Many of the pieces refer to different ways the memory might find itself caught in a holding pattern: 'Von Restorff Effect', 'Rosy Retrospection' and the title track itself are all suggestive of re-living a single event or point in time - here, both music and memory are united by the notion of 'glitch', whereby a fault or fissure causes the replaying of the same pocket of data over and over again, but what distinguishes Kirby from so many other musicians operating within the field of loops and broken recordings is the unnerving, ghostly sentimentality that courses through this process. 'Long Term (remote)' is particularly explicit in its reaching back through the first half of the 20th century, exhuming snatches of music hall romance, now warped into a sinister new form by the erosions of time. It's like watching John Carpenter's The Fog only to find that instead of vengeful phantoms emerging from the mist, it's The Glenn Miller Band. More eerie still is the detachment from authorship endemic to this sound - at no point do you really sense the presence of a composer's hand; this album just... is. A remarkable thing that only seems to have improved with age, Persistent Repetition Of Phrases wears and fades just as the memory does." -boomkat
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Label/Date: Installsound, 2008
Genre: ambient/drone/experimental
From: Stockport, England
Similar/Related: Philip Jeck, Gentleman Losers, Jacaszek, William Basinski, Stars of the Lid, Labradford, The Fun Years, Mountains
Website : Wiki : Last.fm