mi and l'au

mi and l'au ~  if beauty is a crime (important, 2012)

"After exploring their creative impulses through strings, horns, pianos, and varied folk influences, Mi and L'au decided to venture into a newer, more electric environment on their newest record. If Beauty is a Crime doesn't feature a single guitar. In fact, you won't find a traditional instrument anywhere on it. But, along with Mira and Laurent's redefined approach, something familiar found its way into their music. While making the album, both musicians noticed the specter of familiar melodies and rhythms haunting their work; the inspiration wasn't from a specific song or melodic line, but from a mood or an idea buried somewhere in the past. As they investigated this anomalous influence, they uncovered a shared memory of films enjoyed during childhood, specifically those scored by French composer François de Roubaix, who was known for his use of synthesizers, drum machines and folk elements. The connection between his work and their current endeavor was obvious. Subsequently, Mi and L'au immersed themselves in his music even as they continued to produce their own. Whether by fate or by coincidence, de Roubaix's music found its way into their lives just as they were beginning to explore what electronic sounds could do for them. So, in the end, they dedicated If Beauty is a Crime to François."

vuelven después de muchos años, como jakob olausson, hope sandoval o songs of the green pheasant. lo mismo pero diferente

foto: miroslav tichý

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mountainhood

mountainhood ~ owlland the vhs album (important 2011)

"Owlland is an album on vhs as it's format. The band liked the sound of vhs and recorded the album on the audio track of the tape. Visual album art plays at the same time on the video track.

Owlland the epic new non-linear odyssey through love, time, and dimensions of California. Follow Mountainhood as he reveals the faces of magic apparent in nature and its human inhabitants as he leads us through planets in space, made of caves, stalactites, and moss, to Big Sur, where he visits the Boat-Maker's Daughter, and Kim Starlight, the famous Topanga Canyon actress, who plays a magician in the film, and later appears as herself in a disarming, candid revelation of sadness, loss, and transcendence. Ghosts, rainbows, oceans and stones dot the topography of Owlland, a mysterious new vhs album from Mountainhood band" important

foto: vamitos

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mountainhood

mountainhood ~ the river/the road 7'' (important 2009)

"Somewhere in the realm of the Holy Modal Rounders, Tower Recordings, Diane Cluck & Daniel Johnston there is Mountainhood. Each cover is exquisitely handmade. So nice. This follows his sold out and sought after Time Lag & Ecstatic Yod releases. See the release page for a link to photos of each and every cover. Get it now before it hits the online auction realm" important

foto: hoy joy

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anahita

anahita - matricaria (important 2009)

"Anahita is Tara Burke (Fursaxa) and cellist Helena Espvall (Espers). Tara recently showed up on Important as part of the duo of Tau Emerald with Sharron Kraus while Helena contributed a beautiful piece to the James Blackshaw currated Garden Of Forking Paths compilation. Anahita is a beautiful, laboriously created and floating affair of skeletal organ drones, ceremonial singing and subtly frantic instrumental accompaniment conjuring up a natural woodland romp and stomp.
The album was recorded between 2005 and 2008. All tracks were recorded on a 4 track by Tara and Helena in their homes." important

larga vida a tara burke

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kurt weisman

kurt weisman - spiritual sci-fi (important 2008)

"While Spiritual Sci-Fi is a result of work that Kurt Weisman has been undertaking for the last 10 years it's certainly also worth noting that he's a multi-instrumentalist in the acclaimed folk outfit Feathers. Kurt's stunning musicallity and absolute compositional prowess makes this an extremely compelling and wonderfully musical experimental pop-folk recording. The dense & original arrangement makes recalls the majesty of Van Dyke Parks album Song Cycle.

Kurt Weisman is a New England composer in his late 20s around whom all the wheels of life seem distinctly sped up (he's known for his extreme falsetto as well as pitching up his voice beyond Beatle and into cartoon)..." Important

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tau emerald

tau emerald - travellers two (important 2008)

"Travellers Two is a full length recording from the duo of Tara Burke (Fursaxa) and Sharron Kraus. Togerther Kraus & Burke create an ethereal record of dark-folk magic. Tara Burke and Sharron Kraus were due to travel to Finland together for a week but missed the flight, so instead they decided to spend the week recording together and Travellers Two is the result. The time was spent out in the fields, visiting burial mounds, and then coming back to Sharron's home studio to work. They had played previously together and done some recording but this is the first time an album was conceived." important

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alessandro stefana

alessandro stefana - poste e telegrafi (important 2007)

"Poste E Telegrafi is the debut solo album from Italian guitarist Allesandro Stefana. Featuring an allstar cast including Marc Ribot & Leo Abrahams, Stefana creates a dreamy world of instrumental perfection and beauty. Inspired by the work of Ennio Morricone, Ry Cooder, Simon Jeffes, Steve Reich and Brian Eno, he has created a thoroughly modern Western world within his compositions and arrangements. With constant references to traditional music and rural blues he utilizes electric and acoustic instrumentation with tremendously compelling results. Acoustic, electric, and pedal steel guitars along with banjo, kalimba, baliphones and found objects were all carefully combined with some primitive electronic instruments such as an arpeggiator, omnichord and home made vinyl loops. His sound is entirely original yet clearly rooted in traditions such as Film Music, Blues, Experimental, Ambient and Avante Garde musics. Stefana manages his cast of collaborators very well. Most tracks on Poste E Telegrafi are duets with these musicians keeping the sound and arrangement simple and pure. Instruments breathe and pulse with life and excitement in this highly original album." important

"western cinematografico, blues rural y psichedelia", otra maravillosa  banda sonora imaginaria para carretera asfaltada en dos direcciones. además suena un banjo en Western Soda, ¿qué más se puede pedir?

influencias: Skip James, Sandy Bull, Brian Eno, Marc Ribot, Joseph Spence, John Fahey, Dock Boggs, Bob Dylan, Syd Barrett, Talking Heads, Talk Talk, Steve Reich, Van Dyke Parks, Morton Feldman, Ry Cooder, Ennio Morricone, Neil Young, Bill Frisell...

foto: jon edwards

poste e telegrafi blues (mp3 sample)

semi tostati di cielo (mp3 sample)

western soda (mp3 sample)

grails

grails - black tar prophecies vol's 1,2, & 3 (important, 2006)

el nuevo disco de Grails es de esos que te redescubren la razón por la que sigues emocionándote con la música. posiblemente su mejor disco, Black Tar Prophecies prescinde de la etiqueta post para recrearse en texturas acústicas y pastorales. menos rocoso, más folk, pero sobre todo tremendamente original...suena a desierto, a habitaciones llenas de humo, a poblados gitanos. parece sacado de la banda sonora de una película de ciencia ficción, con referencias muy directas a Faust, Ghost o John Fahey. esos líricos diálogos entre el banjo y los teclados, esos toques de percusión tribal equilibrando el caos y la belleza, ese espléndido score relajado a lo Lalo Schifrin de 'Bad Bhang Recipe', ese melancólico fluir y esas voces lejanas de niños en la jazzística 'More Erosion'...y ese delicioso southern folk de 'Black Tar Prophecies'. Grails se proponen abarcar todo un mundo, el suyo, y lo consiguen plenamente. y sí, siguen siendo más imprevisibles y excitantes que Mogwai o Mars Volta... la guinda: 'Back to the Monastery'

Sounds Like: "Heavy Metal Fahey", or....Erkin Koray on a morphine binge.'

'sad but true....there's now a Grails Myspace page.'

Back To The Monastery

Stray Dog

keiji haino + sitaar tah!

keiji haino + sitaar tah! - animamima (archive / important, 2006)

no soy demasiado aficionada a Keiji Haino, pero este disco compartido con Sitaar Tah! es TAN bonito. casi 100 minutos en una noche en directo que debió ser mágica, cien minutos para levitar de felicidad. Haino y Sitaar Tah! se bastan y se sobran para demostrar que la improvisación y su plasmación musical tiene infinitos modos de manifestarse. drones, sitar, flautas, mantras, Keiji gritando como nunca, sin estridencias, cambios, subidas, bajadas...y el clímax. a veces sereno y cálido, otras catártico y visceral, Animamima me recuerda en bastantes momentos al disco-mandala de Valentine/Elder/Neilson/Jiggs pero con resultados incluso más extraños y fascinantes.

"Split release with important records. 90+ minute live drone event billed as Animamima featuring Keiji Haino playing vocals, flute, electric tanbur, rhythum box, electric hurdy gurdy and electric sruthi-box, also playing is the group called Sitaar Tah! which is a 20 piece sitar orchestra, guesting for this one time meeting was Fuyuki Yamakawa who plays Igil, and throat singing. “Based on the instrumentation present I think one can get a pretty good idea of what the sonics are like. The recording quality is really amazing James Plotkin did a fantastic job with mastering duties as always.” - Archive.

james blackshaw

James Blackshaw - O True Believers (Important, 2006)

James Blackshaw, uno de los alumnos más aventajados y 'pequenos' del legado de John Fahey, es un mago sin chistera. En su lugar lleva una guitarra mágica de doce cuerdas donde esconde los trucos más sencillos para hacernos creer que sus maravillosos acordes no conocen de ningún precedente musical...y lo mejor es que, aún sabiéndolo, siempre caemos en la trampa. The Elk with Jade Eyes podría ser el mejor tema de Harris Newman, o un clásico de Steffen Basho-Junghans, o como su mejor canción (White Goddess del split con Davenport) pero poco a poco da un giro y se convierte en un mantra de casi veinte minutos repleto de instrumentos exóticos: platillos, pandereta, campanillas, incluso alces con ojos de jade que sólo aparecen en el crepúsculo... un raga sumergido en delicados drones, un 'appalachian folk' misterioso. Pero el mejor truco lo guarda para el final, O true Believers, free folk denso cuya melodía esconde un aroma inequívocamente irlandés. Alegre, exultante, melancólico, bonito. Tan llamativo que hasta Ainhoa se asoma a la habitación para preguntarme qué es eso tan chulo que está sonando...

File under: 'un joven con talento'
Transient Elk at Twilight
O True Believers