Causa Sui - Rip Tide 2005-2020

 

Bio:
Causa Sui is a Danish instrumental psych-rock / stoner rock band composed of Jakob Skøtt, Jonas Munk, Rasmus Rasmussen and Jess Kahr. Beginning with their eponymous debut album, the band has released twelve albums since 2005. Causa Sui's heavy sound is supplemented by abstract, instrumental and ambient styles akin to electric Miles Davis or Can, particularly on their 'Sessions' series of albums, which feature guest musicians. Other cited influences include Popul Vuh, The Allman Brothers Band, and Tame Impala. Causa Sui's sound has been described as the sound of a giant wave rolling up through the last four decades of rock. Despite seldomly performing live, the band has released two live albums.

 

Not much more I can add to the above (short) bio. What isn't mentioned is that their 1st 2 releases featured a vocalist, Kasper Markus, who I felt was the weakest part of the line-up. For me they took their music to another level after his departure, not having to rely on structuring their songs around his vocals. With their following albums I felt the band improved with every release, their most recent album, this year's Szabodelico, I think is their best yet.

For this collection I have included tracks from all 12 of their studio albums. Favourite albums by them are the aforementioned Szabodelico, and the preceding album Vibraciones Doradas released in 2017. As many of their songs are very long, I decided to forget about any time limits, which is why this collection comes in at almost 2 hours long instead of the usual 80 minutes max. As ever, info containing origin of each track & original year of release is tagged in the music files and in the download file.

A shoutout to my pal Moonglum, who I know will enjoy this latest anthology, he was very helpful regarding replacing my old knackered PC a few months back. So this is my sort of Christmas gift to him, but I hope you all enjoy this too. This will be my last post before Christmas so I hope you all manage somehow to have a good time, and stay safe! Cheers.

  1. Red Sun in June (7:02)
  2. Gelassenheit (11:47)
  3. Echo Springs (5:02)
  4. White Sun (9:55)
  5. Dust Meridian (10:07)
  6. Lucien's Beat (4:20)
  7. Where the Streams Collide (6:28)
  8. Rip Tide (5:26)
  9. El Fuego (11:24)
10. May Sun (4:30)
11. Vibratone (5:04)
12. Top of the Hill (4:04)
13. Eutopia (4:57)
14. Santa Sangre (8:15)
15. Seven Hills (7:22)
16. Mondo Buzzo (8:28)

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Manerg's Monumental Mix Four >> Play

What has now become a tradition the past few years, my good pal Manerg picks some of his favourite songs from the past year. We both agreed that while it's been a rather dire year all round, musically it has been very strong, and he found it just as tough as me to pick a few favourites. So, maybe in a few weeks he'll provide us with a second volume! Like the previous "Monumental" mixes, I've found his choices highly enjoyable, with a few artists I'm unfamiliar with which I'll need to check out. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did, and as always, stay safe!

 

  1. Sault - Scary Times (3:39)
  2. Pree Tone - Hidden Beauty (4:10)
  3. Homunculus Res - Tetraktys (3:30)
  4. Little Barrie & Malcom Catto - You're Only You (3:20)
  5. Wire - Humming (3:28)
  6. Psychedelic Suns - How Hard It Is to Let Go (2:55)
  7. Deradoorian - It Was Me (4:23)
  8. Ghost Funk Orchestra - Little Bird (4:15)
  9. Osees - If I Had My Way (2:45)
10. Chloë March - To a Place (2:58)
11. King Creosote - Susie Mullen (4:43)
12. Drab City - Working for the Men (2:04)
13. Alex Izenberg - Revolution Girls (3:09)
14. ROY - Stone of Infinite Power (3:03)
15. Vinyl Williams - Magicland (3:38)
16. Caitlin Pasko - Even God (5:28)
17. Lake Ruth - Aging Now (2:37)
18. Frankie and the Witch Fingers - Sweet Freak (4:17)
19. Holy Fawn - Candy (5:42)
20. Green Seagull - Simeon Brown (3:06)
21. Psychic Temple (feat. Chicago Underground Trio) - Lightning (3:41)
22. Joan of Arc - Creature and Being (2:09)
23. Population II - Ce n'est Rêve (7:25)
24. The Innocence Mission - The Brothers Williams Said (3:29)

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Cate Le Bon - Looping Melodies

 

Short bio:
Cate Le Bon (born Cate Timothy on 4 March 1983) is a Welsh musician and producer, now based in Los Angeles. She has released five solo albums, three EPs and a number of singles. Le Bon is singled out by critics for her "beautiful, haunting voice". She described writing and performing music as "important to me, it's just an expression and sometimes it's not necessary to moralise it". Le Bon claimed that "early experiences with a string of pet deaths had a profound lasting effect on me" and informed her initial self-admitted "abnormal fixation with death". She describes her lyric writing as "foraging for words and then everything falls into place".


My interest in Cate Le Bon began after hearing her 2nd album, Cyrk, in 2012. PopMatters.com said about the album: "At its best moments, Cyrk sounds like an edgier version of The Wicker Man soundtrack; the same sense of mystery pervades. Everything about it evokes swinging garden gates, desolate vales, and dusk setting in far too soon."

I'd say my favourite album by her is "Crab Day", released in 2016. Allmusic.com had this to say about it: "For fans of her particular brand of knotty, carnivalesque art-pop, which sounds like an amalgam of Os Mutantes, Nico, Stereolab, Syd Barrett, and Shirley Collins, Crab Day will be a delight." There's certainly elements of the aforementioned artists on the album, but she brings her own uniqueness to it. I've just noticed some reviewer on allmusic also stated "She sounds like Nico if Nico knew how to have fun". Well... not much I can add to that, even though I am a huge fan of Nico's solo work.

As well as her solo releases, Le Bon has collaborated with many artists, most notably with White Fence's Tim Presley, recording 2 albums under the name of DRINKS. Other notable collaborations are EP releases with Bradford Cox and Group Listening. For this collection I concentrated on her solo releases, taking tracks from her 5 albums and 3 EPS, plus her contribution to a Wilco tribute album, the track "Company in My Back". As per usual, info containing track origin & year of release is tagged in the music files and in the download file. I hope you enjoy this latest collection, and stay safe!

  1. It's Not the End (3:19)
  2. Fold the Cloth (5:01)
  3. Wonderful (2:36)
  4. Hwylio Mewn Cyfog (4:23)
  5. Sad Nudes (2:56)
  6. Sisters (4:02)
  7. I'm a Dirty Attic (3:04)
  8. I Just Wanna Be Good (3:00)
  9. Out to Sea (2:36)
10. Baw Waw (2:43)
11. Company in My Back (4:04)
12. Falcon Eyed (2:48)
13. Mirror Me (3:47)
14. The Eiggy Sea (4:36)
15. Home to You (5:25)
16. Crab Day (3:46)
17. Sad Sad Feet (3:33)
18. I Can't Help You (4:00)
19. We Might Revolve (3:46)
20. Here It Comes Again (3:24)
21. Ploughing Out (6:50)

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Songs from Beneath the Spaghetti Tree Vol. 63

 

  1. The Brian Marshall Orchestra & The Silencers - Wheelspin (3:23)
  2. Propeller - Sugar Pudding (3:56)
  3. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - Honey (4:29)
  4. Spirit - What Do I Have (1:56)
  5. Ennio Morricone - Lui Per Lei (3:08)
  6. United States of Existence - Gone (2:17)
  7. Camera - Roehre (4:07)
  8. Festival - Warm Me (2:01)
  9. Spunky Onions - How I Lost My Virginity (3:24)
10. The Twelve Hour Foundation - Watching the Wires (2:40)
11. Godcaster - All the Feral Girls in the Universe (2:54)
12. Pell Mell - Spy vs Spy (2:51)
13. The 5th Dimension - Carpet Man (3:05)
14. Matching Mole - Signed Curtain (3:03)
15. David Nance - This Side of the Moon (2:44)
16. Syd Arthur - Morning's Calling (4:40)
17. Lithics - Hands (3:24)
18. Alco Frisbass - Les Cartes Vivantes (8:08)
19. Mosses - MSR (5:34)
20. Von Südenfed - Chicken Yiamas (2:33)
21. Louis Philippe - Anna Doesn't Live Here Anymore (3:20)
22. Paddy Kingsland - Vespucci (3:16)
23. Walter Wanderley Set - Open Your Arms (Let Me Walk Right In) (2:33)
24. Thee More Shallows - Freshman Thesis (5:01)

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Best of 2020 mix - Volume 1

 

When I posted my Best of 2019 mix - volume 2 late last year, I wrote the fateful words "hopefully things will improve in the next year..." Well... who would've known the shitstorm that was awaiting us..! Who knows what next year will be like... I couldn't even begin to predict, but the events of this year will hang over us for many years to come.

One good thing to take from 2020 has been the continual release of excellent music, which helps take your mind off all the crap happening worldwide. It's certainly kept me (relatively) sane during the darker moments. So, compiling this volume was an enjoyable experience, a further volume will be posted in about a month's time. I'll also be asking my pal Manerg to compile some of his favourites like he has the past 3 years, they've proved to be quite popular here and on mixcloud. As usual, info containing origin of each track is tagged in the music files and in the download file. I hope you enjoy this first selection from 2020 and as always, stay safe!


  1. Bitmap - Night Games (2:57)
  2. Mt. Mountain - Tassels (4:49)
  3. Ghost Funk Orchestra - Quiet Soul (3:51)
  4. Juniore - Grave (3:19)
  5. Philip Parfitt - All Fucked Up (4:58)
  6. Tara King Th. - Maze (feat. Hera T. Davis) (3:12)
  7. Tunng - Carry You (4:51)
  8. Causa Sui - Gabor's Path (4:26)
  9. The Greek Theatre - Old Jawbone (2:51)
10. Smokescreens - On and On (3:06)
11. Jumble Hole Clough - Five Years of What? (2:28)
12. Lambchop - Shirley (4:34)
13. Mint Field - Aterrizar (3:34)
14. Cornershop - Highly Amplified (4:46)
15. The Explorers Club - Somewhere Else (3:36)
16. Les Passagers - Coucher les Ombres (4:23)
17. Lee Ranaldo & Raül Refree - Humps (5:44)
18. Brigid Dawson and the Mothers Network - Ballet of Apes (6:50)
19. Homunculus Res - La Spia (4:32)

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Songs from Beneath the Spaghetti Tree Vol. 62

 

 

 

 

  1. The Noveltones - Left Bank 2 (2:26)
  2. P.E. Hewitt Jazz Ensemble - Bada Que Bash (4:08)
  3. Osees - Gong of Catastrophe (4:40)
  4. Mild Orange - Share This Dance (5:49)
  5. Todd Parker and The Witches - Slipping Into the Mirror (4:46)
  6. The Merry-Go-Round - You're a Very Lovely Woman (2:52)
  7. The Earlies - Morning Wonder (5:31)
  8. Beverly Glenn-Copeland - In the Image (4:17)
  9. The Voices - Savant (4:53)
10. Brigitte Fontaine - Dommage Que Tu Sois Mort (2:22)
11. The Left Outsides - Down to the Waterside (3:40)
12. Focus - Sugar Island (3:02)
13. Dr. Pete Larson and his Cytotoxic Nyatiti Band - Koblo (5:37)
14. Magik Markers - Hymn for 2020 (4:11)
15. Dead Meadow - One More Toll Taker (2:51)
16. Ellis/Munk Ensemble - Electric Saloon (8:52)
17. Laurie Johnson - The Professionals (1:52)
18. Stark Reality - Junkman's Song (7:34)

 

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King Creosote - Greetings from Anstruther, Fife

 

 

 

Short bio:

King Creosote is the stagename of Scottish singer-songwriter Kenny Anderson (from Fife, Scotland). After having featured in Scottish bands Skuobhie Dubh Orchestra and Khartoum Heroes, in 1995 Kenny Anderson launched the Fence record label and began recording albums under the name King Creosote. Since then, Anderson has released over forty albums, beginning with "Queen Of Brush County" in 1998. He was also a member of Scottish-Canadian 'supergroup', The Burns Unit.

In recent years, Anderson has teamed up with Domino Records who have co-released some of his albums. He also spent some time on Warner subsidiary, 679, which gave him major label backing for the first time. His increasing frustration with the music industry and how digital recordings are becoming throwaway commodities led him to release his material in small, vinyl only runs which were largely only available at concerts.

 

Complete (?) discography click here.

Well, this is probably the toughest anthology I've compiled so far. Of the 40+ albums released by him, I have 25. Seing him live back in 2005 I had the opportunity to buy many of his earliest releases, unfortunately I didn't have enough money on me so had to be content with the 4 CDs I could afford. Many of those early releases are now more or less impossible to find.

Because of the massive body of work, I found compiling a single disc of him wouldn't be sufficient, so I've extended this to a 2 disc collection, ranging from his first solo release to his most recent album from 2017. It could easily have been 3 or 4 discs. For me, all of his albums have been incredibly good, but my favourites are "12 O'Clock on the Dot", released in 2000, then "Rocket D.I.Y." from 2005 and "From Scotland with Love", released in 2014.

The 2nd disc was originally intended to consist of rarities, collaborations and some of the bands he's been a member of. I wasn't that happy with the end result, but a few of the rarer tracks did end up on disc 2. Maybe at a later date I'll give it another go. Info containing track origin & year of release is tagged in the music files and in the download file. I really hope you enjoy this 2 hour plus sojourn into the world of King Creosote, and as always... stay safe!

Disc 1:
  1. Let It Come (4:02)
  2. Happy With Our Lot (2:31)
  3. Klutz (2:10)
  4. Teapot (3:07)
  5. Home in a Sentence (2:58)
  6. Rims (4:53)
  7. An Ode to Falling Overboard (2:35)
  8. Tortoise Regrets Hare (3:35)
  9. Unaware of the Grip (5:37)
10. On the Night of the Bonfire (2:43)
11. Over the Top (1:45)
12. Not One Bit Ashamed (4:53)
13. The Minter Scale (4:26)
14. For One Night Only (4:07)
15. Mantra-Rap (2:30)
16. Sunny-Side Up (3:34)
17. Asylum Clothing (3:57)
18. Love Life (4:13)
19. Doubles Underneath (4:02)
20. Impossible to Resist (4:22)
21. This Flaw That Flaw (4:58)
22. End Underlined (2:52)

Disc 2:
  1. Home Creatures (4:59)
  2. You've No Clue Do You (3:20)
  3. Grace (5:31)
  4. The Soak (3:35)
  5. Moral Tenderhooks (3:05)
  6. Little Heart (3:00)
  7. Pie in the Sky (4:00)
  8. I Believe It's True (4:34)
  9. My Favourite Girl (5:32)
10. Saffy Nool (4:36)
11. Voices (1:52)
12. Promises (3:29)
13. Waterfall (3:45)
14. Goodbye Mrs. Hyde (3:49)
15. The Grime Reaper (1:31)
16. Dial C for Cradle (3:24)
17. Largs (3:50)
18. Give It Up (3:27)
19. Ankle Shackles (11:34)

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21st Century Psychedelia - Volume 2

 

Almost 10 years after the first volume, here's volume 2! All tracks date from 2017 to the present day. I couldn't find any psychedelic artwork to inspire me for this compilation, so I just made a negative of the original cover, and I quite like it! Volume 3 should follow in the next few weeks. As usual, info about origin of each track and year released are tagged in the music files and included in the download file.  Hope you enjoy this new volume, and as ever stay safe.

 

   1. Vuelveteloca - Chepical (4:37)
  2. Psychedelic Porn Crumpets - Hymn for a Droid (3:27)
  3. Lucille Furs - Paint Euphrosyne Blue (3:16)
  4. The Smoking Trees - Dear Sun (3:01)
  5. Abronia - Half Hail (6:49)
  6. The Young Sinclairs - Truth Can't Be Tried (2:53)
  7. Alien Mustangs - Illusions (5:09)
  8. Mote - Adventure Call (4:14)
  9. Frankie and the Witch Fingers - Underneath You (8:43)
10. Melody Fields - Långsam Död (4:47)
11. Triptides - The Illusion (2:51)
12. Janvy - Northwinding Way (3:13)
13. Mohama Saz - Oro Cíngaro (3:11)
14. Juju - Motherfucker Core (7:28)
15. Pretty Lightning - 123 Eternity (3:54)
16. Nathan Hall and the Sinister Locals - Wooden Eyelids (2:30)
17. King Buffalo - Eye of the Storm (9:48)

 

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Long Fin Killie - Kismet 1994-1997

 

 

 

 

Short bio:

Long Fin Killie, from Scotland, released three albums and several EPs on the British avant-rock label Too Pure in the 1990s. The core line-up consisted of Luke Sutherland (vocals, violin, guitar, mandolin, bouzouki, saxophone, hammer dulcimer, thumb piano, etc.), Colin Greig (electric and upright bass), David Turner (drums/percussion), and Philip Cameron (electric guitar). In 1997, Turner was replaced by Kenny McEwan on drums.Their name was taken from a family of ornamental freshwater fishes known as killifishes, noted for their interesting drought survival and reproductive habits.

The members were all highly trained, enabling them to create complex, atypical music which usually featured hypnotically-bowed violins/celli, jazz-influenced drumming, and meandering ambient passages. Allmusic cited them as having "staggering levels of musicianly talent". Vocalist Luke Sutherland often delivered his cryptic, highly literate lyrics in an androgynous falsetto voice. Almost always provocative, he took on homophobia and racism, Sutherland's slithery, gentle voice often switching from pulse-racing eroticism to angered politicism on a dime, which was only reflected by the band's lush, repetitive, Krautrock- and post-punk-informed rhythms.

I have no recollection of where/when I first heard Long Fin Killie, most probably it was during a period of the 1990s when I was buying more or less anything released on the Too Pure label. I'd never really heard a band like them before, though I could detect certain influences, and I don't think I've really heard anyone like them since their demise. As the short bio states, they released 3 albums and several EPs, and playing through them the past week or so I didn't come across one track I disliked, which made compiling this anthology even tougher. Eventually I managed to cobble together the tracks which stood out for me the most.

Too Pure were, for me, one of the best UK independent labels of the 90s. Manerg suggested to me a few months back that I should do a compilation of the label. An excellent idea, and something I aim to do before the end of this year. For now, I hope you enjoy this collection of one of their finest bands, and in these still hazardous times stay safe and well! As ever, info containing track origin & year of release is tagged in the music files and in the download file.

 1. Flower Carrier (4:16)
 2. Clinch (4:08)
 3. Chrysler (3:24)
 4. Matador (6:21)
 5. Boy Racer (3:07)
 6. Love Smothers Allergy (5:58)
 7. Rhino (3:41)
 8. Flaccid Tabloid (3:15)
 9. Kismet (4:10)
10. Butterbelly (7:50)
11. Hollywood Gem (3:03)
12. Lipstick (3:57)
13. Coward (5:16)
14. Nation (2:42)
15. Ringer (3:55)
16. Fresher (2:56)
17. Stacked (2:34)
18. Love Life (3:26)
19. The Lamberton Lamplighter (5:07)

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Songs from Beneath the Spaghetti Tree Vol. 61

 

 

 

 

 

  1. Matt Berry - Moonlight Flit (2:42)
  2. Fugu - Sol y Sombra (2:41)
  3. String Driven Thing - It's a Game (3:34)
  4. Fenne Lily - Solipsism (3:02)
  5. That Petrol Emotion - It's a Good Thing (2:33)
  6. The Dragons - Food for My Soul (4:01)
  7. The Bees - Silver Line (3:35)
  8. Binario - Tarde Demais (5:06)
  9. Turtle Skull - Rabbit (3:59)
10. Om - Waiting of Godot (4:35)
11. Stretch - Why Did You Do It (3:30)
12. Peter Hammill - White Dot (6:21)
13. Chelo Lares - Vox Day (3:04)
14. Moonshake - City Poison (3:57)
15. Aphrodite's Child - Break (2:54)
16. Radio Stars - Macaroni 'n' Mice (2:38)
17. Jeanne-Marie Sens - Méli Mélo (1:59)
18. Clau Aniz - Iuá Uru (4:25)
19. Yves Jarvis - Semula (2:58)
20. Mint Field - Contingencia (3:13)
21. Unified Field Theory - Aptenodytes Patagonicus (3:05)
22. The Teardrop Explodes - The Culture Bunker (5:27)

 

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