assault on precinct 13 c25.

so hey i don't know if this actually a c25, but it seems pretty short, so that is my best guess. anyway, on with the show. do you like vatican shadow? do you like vangelis? those were my two first touch points when listening to this tape. then i thought, actually this sounds a ton like carpenter's score for escape from new york. & lo & behold, this is a carpenter film, so it totally makes sense (yes i have never seen this movie). the only part that bugs me is that they recycle the same two cues over & over again, but they're pretty rad. i think that deathwaltz only put out a limited amount of these tapes, so get yr hands on them while ya can.

abdoul fouad do - soweto c30.

bought this gem from mississippi records down in portland earlier this year. the sahel sounds dude (who is super nice) has a few tapes he brought back with him from africa in there. originally from ghana, then moved to mali to make righteous reggae jams. i think this might have come out in 1988, at least that's what i remember reading back when i did the research about him. i'm not really into reggae to be honest so i'm not sure who to compare this cat to, but i dig the songs he has here.

ps if anyone is interested in trading mixtapes, i'm totally down. my tape deck is a little fucked to be honest so you might get a little feedback & disembodied radio voices during the more quiet moments, but ya know, it adds to the charm right?

lake - circular doorway c35.

this is my album of the year. easily hands down. saw these guys & gal open for r. stevie moore earlier this year & immediately fell in love. smart summery lo-fi pop that sounds like the pacific northwest feels. dreamy hazy beautiful ethereal ghostly shambolic afternoons spent in the forest melodies. relief might be one of the greatest pop songs ever written. i know this is jumbled & awful & is doing these lovely folks no justice, but everyone needs to know about this band. just click on the photo & listen to the album & support them.

steve layton - big wide world c90.

i was getting tired of the white background in the photos, what do you think? anyway, here is a tape i bought at wall of sound, the same place i bought the alan bishop tape. there isn't any info out there about this other than a steve layton who lives in dallas with a soundcloud & a guy in kansas selling this tape. all i know is that this was recorded here in seattle back in 1990 & that it sounds like technology of tears era fred frith channeling philip glass in a a shadowfax cover band. yeah, it is pretty awesome. i think you could probably call the dudes & order a copy of it if the description sounded as amazing as it should have to you. i wrote the dallas guy, so if he writes back, then i'll update this.

editor's update: it just hit me now. this totally has zappa's jazz from hell written all over it. so so good!

brugele - margola ep c37.

i have to admit this guy is one of my favorite people here in seattle, or maybe just in anywhere. he's a really modest nice guy who makes amazing music. if you were into the post i made over at spookcityusa about his other group old moms then you'll be into this. david explores that same territory on side a ... codeine black outs soundtracked to warped minimal synthy techno. total ciani meets dj screw headspace on this. let's call it post vaporwave for the otaku set. side b is a nineteen minute drone piece that is really dark with some heavy repetition in the best of ways. kinda matches our weather in the winter up here. limited to thirty copies, i think this shit is sold out. but really go to his bandcamp (click on the photo) & support the dude. he's on some massive tour right now with his other band week of wonders & could probably use the gas money. plus he's just a stand up dude.

the smoke clears - listen c40.

the smoke clears is john daly who i wasn't super familiar with before i bought this tape. i'm really into it ... narcotized minimal techno with sparse beats & some real heavenly sounding synths. it's a very solid listen the entire way through. if yr into the field or kompakt steez, then you'll dig this. listen was released as an edition of a hundred cassettes, so if you see it, just buy it.

robert turman v neon depth c29.

this tape is pretty amazing. if any of you follow my old blog spookcityusa then you know i have a gigantic soft spot in my heart for robert turman. i didn't really know what to think since the sound sample on mimaroglu isn't the most illuminating, & turman has had a chameleon's career. the sound of way down is completely different than what he put out with flux. anyway, onto the tape. turman's side is fantastique... eerie jarring post noise industrial soundscapes crafted out of john elliott's side of the tape which is a bit underwhelming. especially compared to the accidents cassette i wrote up a few days ago. came out in an edition of 120 tapes, not numbered. be on the lookout for the turman/dilloway/mcguire tape that's supposed to be coming out sometime in the near future (i think?).

the accidents - demo colors c34.

beautiful cassette release from john elliot (emeralds, outer space) where he explores kosmische synth work cut up with nu age guitar pieces & spoken word snippets. if yr at all into his other bands, or the recent swath of nu age cats holding it down (shout out to panabrite), then you should buy this. hands down one of my favorite cassettes that i own.

do not play in salon c90.

i bought this in the same place i bought the alan bishop tape at. for fifty cents how do you pass up something that says do not play in salon? anyway, this is exactly what you would picture being played in a salon. this is one long dj mix that is pretty well put together... i like the layered samples & the segueways. non abrasive techno rubs shoulders with odd vocal loops & the occasional industrial break which gives way to minimal techno that wouldn't be out of place on sandwell release. all in all tape is pretty cheesy except for the regis sounding shit.

alan bishop - radio moderna c44.

so i'm listening to this for the sixteenth or seventeenth time right now. maybe my favorite release this year. side a is manipulated radio transmissions of talk radio show hosts stitched together with mariachi & top forty radio. side b is more focused on call in radio shows / talk radio show hosts. really political & radical. i don't think i need to say anything about who alan bishop is or why he is important. not sure if y'all can buy this yet, i think it might be only carried in one store here in seattle. if you do run across this, then i highly suggest getting it.