stephen molyneux

 stephen molyneux ~ called to leave (no kings, 2013)

"this world traveler, professional gardener, poet, amateur ethnomusicologist, and No Kings co-founder has, at long last, collected his best song pieces (which move in and out of traditional American folk motifs) into a heart-shaking and catchy album. from murder ballad to chord organ interlude, themes of water and work, these atmospheric one-mic recordings of Stephen’s magnetic voice vibrating the floorboards of his Nashville home overflow with emotion and will have you hitting that rewind button over and over. the best." no kings

sold out ~ see ~ listen/buy

 stephen molyneux ~ the shape of clouds to come (la station radar, 2014)

"recorded in 2014 in an old church turned into a studio in Nashville, "The shape of clouds to come" is a mesmerizing Ep full of sad tones announcing the colour of his folk songs. In only five tracks, accompanied by his friends on violin, organ, piano and drum, with his voice like a tightrope walker on a thread, the music of Stephen Molyneux arouses at the same time a deep sadness and a healing hope." la station radar

  Stephen Molyneux: vocals, electric guitar, piano 

Alice Buchanan: violin 
Lee Noble: pump organ, SK-1, piano 

Caleb Steelman: drums

cover photo by Stephen Molyneux, Surat Thani, Thailand, 2009.

buy 12 inch/tape ~ listen/buy

últimamente no dejan de aparecer nuevas y preciosas melodías de folk singers de toda la vida: 'by now' de Little Wings y '(something') de Mount Eerie. pero nadie como Matthew Himes (Shep and Me) y Stephen Molyneux (jardinero profesional, poeta, etnomusicólogo) me devuelven la fe en que todavía se pueden hacer discos cálidos, honestos y emotivos como 'aren't you ashamed?' de Cap'n jack. duendes que parecen venidos de otra época con voces atemporales, melancólicas y un sonido desnudo y acogedor. que saben hablarle al micro, alargar una sílaba, llenar de significado un silencio, susurrar una frase. todo en su sitio. donde toca y cuando toca. de estos dos discos de Stephen Molyneux me quedo con 'called to leave' precisamente por eso. la 'cara b', (seis canciones en trece minutos) es tan perfecta. canciones que hablan de 'fantasmas, minas de oro, personajes de leyenda y viajes infructuosos'. atrás quedan los días de Camboya pero no se echan de menos...porque melodías de la pradera como las de 'the sight' son tan bonitas que no puedo dejar de preguntarme si de verdad nos la merecemos. la magia estará, siempre, en la producción bajo mínimos, en el menos es más: un sólo micro, a veces un órgano y un violín, una guitarra. no puedo evitar pensar que el folk debería ser siempre así.

dinasty at ghost town

"this 11 artist tape batch has more than one red thread running through it ~ the magnificent art by Simon Fowler (who crafted the cover Sanguine Futures by High aura’d, among many others) is echoed by the sense of awakening and mantra throughout the varied styles of the works. all tapes are pro-dubbed on Type II Chrome tape, imprinted on both sides, and inserted with high quality 4-panel J-Cards." bathetic records

panabrite ~ tracer ep (bathetic, 2014)

"kinetic modular pop"  

"Tracer EP pulls together brief exercises in percussive modular synthesizer experiments and minimal keyboard workouts, a sort of hazy approximation of discarded documentary score and blown-out basement synth framed in a peculiar narrative sensibility."

listen ~ buy 
 

aquarelle ~ interrupted forms (bathetic, 2014)

“electroacoustic, liberated from expected choice, emboldened by whim-salmgundi”

listen ~ buy 

planning for burial ~ distances (bathetic, 2014) 

 “preordained ruination, doldrums amplified & improvised, hung with care”

listen ~ buy

scott tuma ~ cracker where i am (bathetic, 2014)

“sun tea, bleached Hired Hand, windup music box”

listen ~ buy

high aura'd ~ teeth for sinking in (bathetic, 2014)

“John Muir presents blackened ambient”

listen ~ buy

m geddes gengras ~ 8.2.13 (bathetic, 2014)

 “convergent tectonics, building toward volcanic winter”

listen ~ buy 

lee noble ~ forming (bathetic, 2014)

“a yearning, plead with an earnest seduction” 

listen ~ buy

padang food tigers ~ running my habits clean (bathetic, 2014)

“an ascendance to true contemplation, the porch parishioners”

listen ~ buy

ekin fil ~ a moon heart (bathetic, 2014)

“will o’ the wisp, barreleye gazing upward toward the sea surface”

listen ~ buy

zac nelson ~ vulgar divination (bathetic, 2014)

 “a secular invocation, a reflected invitation to delight”

 listen ~ buy 

  

willian cody watson ~  憂鬱 (bathetic, 2014)

“a lonely collage meat for late night crawling. lauding darkness, but hopeful for brighter days.”

listen ~ buy

la máxima alegría sería tener todas estas cintas juntas, de golpe, colocadas pegaditas en la estantería. sólo he podido escuchar entera la de Panabrite ('pop modular cinético' tocado sobre collages sonoros saltarines, efervescentes, movedizos, library, la más querida y la que me hace especial ilusión) pero los samples de High Aura'd, Padang Food Tigers, Scott Tuma y Aquarelle son una preciosidad. aunque todos lo son, de la pe a la pa, sin excepción, porque el espíritu de Bruce Langhorne revolotea sobre casi todos ellos. coherencia, belleza, buen gusto... y Scott Tuma, que por mucho que lo recomiende nunca sería suficiente. de cuando las portadas, todas ilustradas por Simon Fowler, acompañan a la música.

~ la hornada completa ~

talk west

talk west ~ freights & fields (no kings, 2011)

"Tulsa, Oklahoma multi-instrumentalist and scissortail records guy Dylan Golden Aycock delivers this stunning batch of drone-folk meditations fashioned with a truly refreshing mix of synths, loops, air organ, and expressive pedal steel. These sunken timber hymns harken back to the roots of American experimentalism but stand in their own new space, lonesome bedroom ballads tinged with universal nostalgia. Edition of 70 pro-dubbed/imprinted tapes with letterpressed and risographed artwork." no kings

no kings (cambodian field recordings de stephen molyneux, disco de la vida) es el sello de lee noble, que a su vez es el autor de la portada original de freights & fields. además, dylan golden aycock (the doldrums) tiene su propio sello, scissortail records, que a su vez ha publicado el preciosísimo workers lament de golden pawn. y además son de oklahoma.

foto via sara gossett

 

listen | buy