Hard as a rock,
Harder than a rock.
#############################
Indie List Digest!
Sept 24, 1995
Volume 4 Number 39
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Laika SWIM~ TOO PURE
Super Friendz, Jale, Edgefest 3
got to get to omar's house
ANNOUNCE: Fringe Music web site
AD: the miracle of levitation compilation cd
AD: Nation of Lies
welcome to the ever-lovin Indie-List, the first one of the Fall of
'95. It's already rainy and cool in Chicago, and the shows are rolling
in faster than we can report 'em. (incidentally, is it a coincidence
that I dreamt about buying new records the other night? due to
unemployment, i haven't bought a new record since, em, July.) onward.
on Monday the 11th, saw Pram & The Sea & Cake at Lounge Ax. Pram
were, for the most part, enjoyable, with plenty of tinkling keyboard
and drony, sonorous melodies. It was electronic-sounding music that
gave the impression of being a little bit precious and antiqued.
Occasionally they lapsed into "jamming," always an unfortunate sign in
my book, but for the most part it was atmospheric and loopy.
I seem to review Sea & Cake constantly, so I won't go into great
detail. They played what seemed to be a lot of new material, and a new
CD threatens to appear soon.
More show reviews from us to follow in our next installment
-az
<------------------------------>
From: pjoe@grafix.xs4all.nl (Joep Vermaat)
Laika SWIM~ TOO PURE
Finally! The weather has turned bad again. Again I'm able to sit in
my room without making pools of sweat. Sitting behind a new Pentium
computer, writing while music is blasting through the room. These have
been, and still are, busy times for a music journalist. Lots and
lots of excellent things have been coming this way. Too Pure
festival, Matador package show, Mu-ziq concert, all together with many
interviews. So expect some great stuff in future postings: Catherine
Wheel, Mu-ziq, Tarnation, Bailter Space, and many reviews. The Two
Pure will soon be up and running again. Loz, my partner in music, has
finished his busy studying and finally got enough money to catch up
with me. With out a doubt, he'll be buying more records than me soon.
But let's get started. In this posting, the long-awaited Laika
article. Swim~-records-review. And the Too Pure live experience.
LAIKA
Experimental, avant rock, art rock, post rock, isolationism, all names
of categories in which Laika has been put during the past year. Without
a doubt they belong in those kind of catagories, together with Disco
Inferno, Pram, Moonshake, Seefeel, Main and Bark Psychosis. But
saying they belong there will probably scare most readers and
inexperienced listeners. Which is pity, because while Moonshake (of
which Laika used be one half) often was too sharp and painful to
understand in one go, Laika slips into your ears and brain without a
problem the first time you hear it. Musically they have more in
common with for instance Luscious Jackson, ambient house or triphop.
"Yeah, it's just like triphop, but much much faster," says the smiling
face of the group, Margaret Fiedler. "That kind of music is a lot
better compared to what the inkies are supporting at the moment,
Elastica, Blur, Supergrass and Menswear. I detest the so-called 'new'
Britpop."
During the interview Margaret slags off almost any band I mention.
Even bands Laika has been compared with. Smiling she excuses herself,
"I almost never buy records of contemporary music. So I base my
opinion on what I've heard on the radio or have seen live. At home I
listen to a lot of jazz and dub. So please don't put any names of
the bands I slag off in the article. I know a lot of these people and
I know if they read this, they are going to hate us." The frustration
against all those popular non innovative music is understandable. But
while Laika are being ignored by press and public, they get a lot of
praise from fellow musicians. They were asked to support The Young
Gods for a major part of their tour. And earlier this year Tricky
asked them to work with him on an EP. "He called Too Pure after he
heard the record. A wonderful compliment. But he got very busy after
the release of 'maxinquaye'. Our schedules haven't met since. But I
think we'll soon get together. A lot goes wrong. We were going to
do a remix for the new Mouse on Mars single 'Bib'. But we just hadn't
enough time left before the tour. And some time ago I really went out
of my mind. An old idol of mine, Colin Newman (ex-Wire frontman)
personally asked us to do a remix. But we turned that down."
All through the interview Margaret laughs. Even the most boring
questions I ask she answers amused. It looks like she's really
enjoying her new band. "Usually I do. Laika is a close working
collective; in Moonshake that was never possible. David (Callahan)
and I always did what we liked. I have never compromised myself and
that's the main reason why I was forced to leave the band. After the
American tour David no longer wanted to work with me." In Laika things
are a lot different. She has to consider her fellow bandmembers
bassist John Frenett and drummer Robert Ellis (who used to drum with
PJ Harvey), but especially Guy Fixsen (who engineered most of
Moonshake's records) has a major say in Laika. The advantages of
having an experienced sound engineer in your band are obvious. "Most
of the music we record at his home. He's got an mixing desk, we use
his Apple as a sequencer, and we make our loops there, out of the
results from fooling around with instruments and sounds hours on end."
One of the instruments is her old cello. "I've had a classical
training for years and finally I've had it come over from the States
after five years. I've been practicing a bit and I hope to do
something with it on future recordings." Since this interview Laika
have completed their busy tour schedule. But luckily they'll be back
soon doing the Too Pure showcase around Europe.
Swim
During the end of the seventies and a big part of the eighties, Wire
and Wir were one of the strongest forces in noise. A force of which
you can still find many fingerprints. For instance take the nostalgic
Britpop, or the new avant garde and also many electronic music. It was
Colin Newman who, together with Bruce Gilbert, gave the most direction
to Wire. And now he's got his own label: Swim~. The four twelve
inches I had the pleasure to encounter flow over with experiments on
all noise frontiers. Experiments that will give listeners much of the
excitement you get from many of those old Wire records.
Firstly there's Colin Newman himself, with "Voice," a combination of
dub, electro pop, guitar noise and his flat voice. Then there's Lobe's
"Placebo E.P.," which borders on trance house, without the pushy
rhythms, but with strong pulsating waves of sound. Waves that float
through space like Roland 303s out of control.
The last two are parts of the Immersion Remixes series, on which
Immersion's debut, "Oscillating," gets a complete overhaul by various
artists. It's a series that will continue to bring new mixes till early
1996. On "Volume 2" Fred Gianelli, Iris, Claude Young and Mick
Harris (also known of Lull and Scorn), give us all very decent
reworkings of the originals. But Volume 3 is just a teeny bit more
inventive. John Ryman, Pablo Castraty, Paul Schutze, but especially
Cylob, he completely destroys the original. And makes it such a
painful and skin crawling listening experience, that this should be
added to Aphex Twin's personal white noise collection.
If these four twelve inches are the norm for this label. Swim~ will
be as strong a force as Wire once was.
TOO PURE showcase august 18 Arena Amsterdam
The trend has caught on. Label after label comes to the wise
conclusion that the best you can do is sending your artists round the
world all at the same time. That's cheaper, more fun for the artists
and you'll get more attention for your label as well. Earlier this
year there was the remarkable Big Cat tour, now it's Too Pure's turn.
There isn't a label in the world that gets as much recognition as Too
Pure. But they only get recognition from music journalists and
musicians, people in general aren't interested. Maybe that's Too
Pure's own fault, because as soon as a band catches on they let it go.
That's what happened to PJ Harvey, Stereolab and Seefeel. The bands
that remained did their best to please a reasonably filled Arena.
Minus one, Mouse on Mars stayed at home, because of a sudden case of
flu.
PRAM opened the evening as expected. Music straight out of
kindergarten, but with some really brilliant moments. They haven't
changed a bit since I saw them supporting Stereolab. But that doesn't
matter, this kind of peculiar music never bores.
Even Too Pure couldn't stay behind in the world of BritPop. But
MINXUS is a different story. Harder and meaner than most, with a hint
of PJ Harvey, Pixies and the Riot Grrrls. A proper concert, by an
okay band.
If I'm ever asked to make a list of my most favorite concerts of all
time, then this one by LONG FIN KILLIE would be on top. Their debut
Houdini just hints at what the band are able to do live. With subtle
voice changes, hand movements and body language the dreadlocked singer
caught the attention of complete audience. This resulted in
otherworldly silence during the whispering moments in the music. The
racket that followed gave an enormous sense of relief. During that
racket they easily switched from guitar to violin or saxophone.
Multi-instrumentalists with a sense of showmanship and a varied
knowledge of music.
Following this revelation would normally be considered impossible.
Not to LAIKA, they also proved that were dealing with the best tonight.
The long European and American tour has done them good. The songs
have changed considerably, the sound is more spacious, intense and
complete. The driving and pushing rhythms got a major part of the
audience in motion. A turbulent version of "44 Robbers" ended the
evening explosively. After which the audience only could crave for
more. But the license of the Arena didn't allow it.
/ pjoe@grafix.xs4all.nl (personal)
(/oe/) The One Pure --> pimz@pi.net (my parents)
/ v902160@si.hhs.nl (school)
<------------------------------>
From: Michael Ligon <ai227@freenet.toronto.on.ca>
The Super Friendz, and Jale at Lee's Palace (Toronto, Ontario, Sept. 1
'95) and Edgefest 3
Meet The Super Friendz. They hail from Halifax, Nova Scotia, I
believe. With special guest Chris Murphy (formerly and sadly of the
now no-more Sloan) on drums. With their nerdish charm they played the
catchiest pop songs you've ever heard. Their appearance reminds me of
Weezer but the Super Friendz write much better songs. Featuring a
slew of tunes from their debut cd on Murderecords like `Karate Man'
and `10 1bs,' they brought the songs to life which in comparison was
much cleaner sounding on record. Bonus points to them for the cheesy
stage acrobatics like Townsend-like guitar twirls and jumping off the
drum platform. And if Chris Murphy had to get an award it would have
to be for `Best Keith Moon impersonation' because he was just all over
the drum kit, and it got me wondering why he hadn't played drums more
often in Sloan. Long live and prosper to the Super Friendz (as for
Sloan they'll always have a place on my turntable).
Jale came onto the stage after doing their own soundcheck and I got my
place up front to see the lovely ladies up close (you see I have
always had a thing for them, but then that's another story). I sadly
missed Alyson being there since she left the band but Mike on drums
did a fine job. Things quickly go into gear as they played several
new tunes as well as songs from `Dreamcake'(Sub Pop) and the new
`Closed e.p.'(Murderecords). And all the while I was bopping to the
music and loving every minute of it. I never really thought of Jale
as a rockin' band but playing live, they were LOUD. I guess they
couldn't capture that on record which hopefully they will in the
future. Quickly an hour passed, they did an encore (after much hootin'
and hollerin' from the audience, especially me) with one of the
members of the Super Friendz and sadly the evening was over. I can't
wait till they hit town again.
`Edgesfest 3' featuring Sloan, Jale, Thrush Hermit, Treble Charger and
many more (august 5, 1995, Molson amphitheatre, Toronto, Ontario)
A few things to take of note before we get started:
- I didn't get to see all the bands since there was a mainstage and
sidestage plus the fact that my brother and I got there late.
- Not all of the bands are quite indie, but for the most part it hardly
mattered with one exception (you'll find out later.)
....and with that we're off
With great joy we made it just in time to catch the Plumtree on the
sidestage. Under overcast skies overlooking the lake, the four girls,
whose average age is about 18 years old, played a great set of bouncy
pop which had the audience bobbing their heads side to side.
Highlights for me included their song `Sodium Chloride' which is
included on their new single `Water Leaked into my Suit' on Cinnamon
Toast Records (I played this song for a fellow employee at work, and
she said they sounded like the Go-Go's. I beg to differ, but then in a
way they probably do, but I like Plumtree a whole lot better)
It's off to the mainstage.
Just in time to catch the beginning of Pluto's set. They are on Mint
Records and are from Vancouver on the West Coast I believe. And after
listening to their set I can't help but think how well they fit into
the whole east-coast-Halifax-Pop-Explosion thing. They played a great
set of electric power pop. Oh and I like their tour T-shirts.
Next on the mainstage were Change of Heart who have been perennial
favourites on the indie-rock club scene for the past 10 or so years.
They aren't quite indie anymore since their most recent CD
`Tummysuckle' released on lunamoth records is distributed by EMI, but
then I don't give a rat's ass. COH specialize in their own particular
brand of moody melodic rock songs who can rock with ferocity one time
and and hover over a hypnotic groove the next. The spacy keyboards
are a nice touch (I've heard they are big Hawkwind fans). Recommended.
And off to the sidestage. (All this running, man, is a drag)
I got there just in time to catch the beginning of Huevos Rancheros'
set. It was total adrenaline. To describe their concoction: Mix
equal parts Dick Dale a la Misirilou, `Wipeout,' punk rock, with a
Tex-Mex twang. Shake and enjoy.
Off to the mainstage.
I got there just in time to catch the last song by Hardship Post. I
do recommend getting their latest CD on Sub Pop. Presently they are a
duo and are heading off into a new wavish/Elvis Costello direction.
I'm hooked.
Next on the mainstage is Rusty who are from Toronto. Just recently
them were swept up by a major label. They proceeded for the next
1/2 hour of their set to get the crowd to its feet and play a good set
of energetic pop-punk songs.
Finally the band I have been waiting for (but by no means the last
band) is Jale. For a band that I was so excited to see for the first
time it was kind of a letdown, partly because they only played one
familiar song, the rest being I think from their new `Closed' e.p. on
Murderecords and partly because I wasn't up close to see the lovely
ladies of Jale(although I did catch a glimpse of Jennifer Pierce at
the sidestage watching Plumtree's set) I definitely recommend them.
Off to the sidestage.
It's Smoother. They played an energetic set of poppy-punk songs in
the same vain as Face to Face and Green Day. For their efforts, they
managed to get a mosh pit going. And if it were not just perfect they
ended their set with a flurry of feedback just as it started to pour
buckets.
I'm running to the mainstage now (and I'm soaked).
Catch Part Two in a future issue.
And there's my 2 cents,
Mike
<------------------------------>
From: dann medin <DLM94001@UConnVM.UConn.Edu>
got to get to omar's house
salutations. travel fr the summer subsided as unfortunate necessary
job interfered. projects still in progress: new york/england tape
sampler w/ karate (since signed to southern), vitapup (also signed),
the lune, musical chairs, jane hohenberger, & syrup usa. it's free
w/money fr postage, assuming that i can keep on snagging advance tapes
@ the station of bad interscope bands. the zine (i love you) is
finished w/lots of fotos from shows attended last year all over the
place (magic hour, team dresch, unwound, much more) & a bunch of
interviews & articles. it costs 2 stamps & a buck fr postage. 46 pgs i
think. women in independent music festival: mark yr calenders.
september 22 & 23, extremely cheap, & the secret stars, blast off
country style, liqorice, champale, the new band w/3 members of ruby
falls, delta 72, syrup usa, tizzy, holiday pilot, a showing of
"half-cocked," and other stuff i forgot. i'll do a full ad when i have
set times, etc. email for advance info. will go on @ u of ct. good
performances this summer (since i last checked in): boredoms, engine
kid, low, containe, built to spill, sun ra arkestra, bob evans, rye,
los crudos, bracket, among others.
[due to the discombobulated publishing schedule of the IL this issue,
we apologize for the delay in getting this mini-announce. -es]
records that made the daily work cycle bearable: elliott smith,
ornette coleman, olatunji, ravi shankar, unwound (old & new), mingus,
& a cd version of eggs's "gov't administrator." after spending the
summer doing md crap @ the station (whus in storrs ct) experienced the
horrible jaded burnout thing. kinda dropped listening to anything but
my old jazz records fr a couple of weeks, the politics that barnacled
themselves onto listening to indie stuff carried over & a forced
eye-to-eye w/the cold passionless world of the music industry made me
feel really small & alone. there's only so many copies of a bad cd
that you can throw into a wall.
anyways, looking forward to following unwound for a few days, finally
seeing clikatat ikatowi (was grateful fr the review), drinking
corporate beer & seeing shows @ cmj free w/out a badge (fuckers), and
starting classes. its also nice to see bands like karate, secret
stars, & vitapup finally pick up some attention. syrup usa too.
focused bands fr the second tape (oooo- a series, maybe?) look like mo
elliot solo stuff (she was in spore), jennifer from ruby falls, some
spoken word folks, who knows... to those returning, welcome back to
school. looking forward (i think) to the upcoming year.
xoxox.
<------------------------------>
From: Robitron@aol.com
ANNOUNCE: Fringe Music web site
Hi,
Check out the Flux Oersted web pages at
http://www.shmooze.net/flux
Alternative music from the fringes...
Online Cassette Catalog
Robby Garner
<------------------------------>
From: GenGiant@aol.com
AD: the miracle of levitation compilation cd
gentle giant records, a new label specializing in exquisite and
difficult music from around the world, is excited to announce the
impending release of "the miracle of levitation (experimental sounds
from the united states and japan)," a 74.5 minute, 20 artist cd
compilation. some of the artists appearing on the cd are:
jim o'rourke, ruins, ground zero, james plotkin, melt banana, u.s.
maple, altered states, otomo yoshihide (solo), uchihashi kazuhisa
(solo), and 11 others including gentle giant recording artists
liminal, pencilneck, tv pow, cult junk cafe, and lumbar trio.
the cd is packaged in a handsome chipboard folder printed at fireproof
press in chicago, illinois and will be available in early october for
$12 ppd in the u.s. ($14 ppd elsewhere) from:
gentle giant records; p.o.box 50013; kalamazoo, mi 49005
email: gengiant@aol.com
u.s. funds only, cash/money order (payable to gentle giant records), please
no personal checks.
***cassette culturists please write for a catalog of uniquely
cosmopolitan releases from our stable of ambient/noise/improv/s