MY SKINNY WONDERLAND - WHAT WENT WRONG?

• my skinny wonderland: what went wrong?
      (2002, cd, bel, uncle doe records)

Philippe Tasquin is a Belgian musician, vocalist, composer and performer. In the early ninetees, he recorded a number of albums that could be considered musical comedies. Each album, each show, had to be a spectacle.
In 2002, he took the moniker 'Skinny' and together with Pierre Vervloesem and Didier Fontaine (A Group), he released "What Went Wrong?".

This is not your average record. Orchestral pop music, exotica, pastiche,...
A nice discovery.
And pretty bizarre artwork by Thierry Mondelaers !!

Here's a more recent Philippe Tasquin project :

OSTRICH VON NIPPLE - QUALIFIES ABSURDITY

• ostrich von nipple: qualifies absurdity
      (2016, 3"cd, ger, psychofon records)

Psychofon Records released "Ostrich Von Nipple Qualifies Absurdity" in 2016.
It's a 3"CD that presents 6 new tracks.
A perfect companion to the previously released "Ostrich Von Nipple Quantifies Absurdity" album.
It got released in a limited quantity of 150 copies. I checked and it's still available.

Mandatory for Residents freaks.
It sounds great.
With Nolan Cook (The Residents) on the guitar.

For more info, go to Psychofon Records, where you can also listen to some sound samples.
https://www.psychofonrecords.com/product/ostrich-von-nipple-qualifies-absurdity/

PRINCE - THE PURPLE ERA

• prince: the purple era
      (2017, cd-bootleg, ??, -)

Prince live on tv on various occasions :

1. purple rain - american music awards 1985
2. baby, i'm a star - grammy awards 1985
3. sign o' the times - mtv video music awards 1987
4. play in the sunshine - mtv video music awards 1987
5. electric chair - saturday nightlive 1989
6. gett off - mtv video music awards 1991
7. diamonds and pearls - special olympics ceremony 1991
8. let's go crazy (intro) - special olympics ceremony 1991
9. baby, i'm a star - special olympics ceremony 1991
10. push / horny pony - special olympics ceremony 1991
11. peter gunn theme - special olympics ceremony 1991

A fine collection. There's loads of Prince bootlegs and live recordings out there. Every once in a while I see one that's worth checking out. My guilty pleasure.
I only wonder why they didn't make this available on a DVD...

THE LAUGHING BASTARDS - OLD MASTERPLANS

• laughing bastards: old masterplans
      (2016, cd, bel, ham03)

Last Sunday, I enjoyed the Laughing Bastards opening another fine series of concerts at the Ham Sessions festival in Ghent, BE.

• Jan-Sebastiaan Degeyter, gitaar
• Michel Mast, tenor sax
• Nils Vermeulen, contrabas
• Casper Van De Velde, drums​

The quartet performed tunes by a.o. Jan-Sebastiaan Degeyter, Jimmy Giuffre, Horace Silver and Carla Bley. Great stuff.
I had already seen them at 'De Singer' last December and I knew I would enjoy this.

The Lauging Bastards' latest album, "Old Masterplans", is from 2016. I thought I had already mentioned it here but I couldn't find it. Anyway, I'm happy to mention it again.
At the time with Lander Gyselinck on the drums. Mixed and mastered by Pierre Vervloesem.
Beautiful.

MORE ON THE MEIER-BUDJANA BAND

The Meier-Budjana Band is a group of superlative guitarists and accomplished musicians, corporately dedicated to creating music which exceeds stylistic and cultural bounds. True sonic explorers, in the most progressive jazz and beyond sense with distinctive ethnic bland of Middle-Eastern and South-East Asian flavors, theirs is a music which is both soulful and cerebral. Embracing a multitude of regional musical dialects from across the globe, MBB speaks in a profoundly unique, original voice – a voice bound by neither convention or preconception.

The band is co-chaired by Swiss-born and UK-based Nicolas Meier and Indonesian guitar icon of Balinese descent Dewa Budjana.

Both musicians will have their new studio albums released worldwide in October 2016 on Steve Vai's Favored Nations label. Nicolas Meier's album "Infinity" features Jimmy Haslip and Vinnie Colaiuta, and Dewa Budjana's album "Zentuary" features Gary Husband, Tony Levin and Jack DeJohnette.

After touring the world extensively as a member of The Jeff Beck Group, Nicolas Meier is a gentleman who is quickly making the transition from a name that few recognize to "a man who needs no introduction!" In less than two decades of being a professional musician, he has been involved in more than twenty albums encompassing a host of different styles and genres, from jazz to heavy metal, from fusion to classical. Without question, Nicolas Meier is one of the most capable, inventive voices on his instrument in the world, today. Meier performed and recorded with musicians such as Jeff Beck, Gilad Atzmon, John Etheridge, Jimmy Haslip, Vinnie Colaiuta, Pete Oxley, Deidre Cartwrigh, Harry Beckett,Jonathan Joseph among many others.

Fans of Indonesian rock need no introduction to Dewa Budjana; he has long been an iconic figure. His band Gigi has been going strong for more than twenty years now – packing out huge venues and selling millions of albums. In an historical context, Budjana is unquestionably one of his nation's most famous, beloved musicians. But Gigi represents a fraction of his musical persona. A master composer, arranger and producer, Dewa Budjana has, in just a few short years, amassed a masterful collection of progressive music albums as a solo artist – work which transcends genre, in glorious fashion. He has recorded and performed with musicians such as Peter Erskine, Antonio Sanchez, Joe Locke, Gary Husband, Tony Levin, Vinnie Colaiuta, Jimmy Haslip, Jimmy Johnson, Jack DeJohnette, Chad Wackerman, Bumblefoot, among others.

NEW ALBUM BY ALAN JENKINS

It's called "Disaster Cake Interrogation Bunny",
and Alan started a kickstarter campaign for it.

Check it out here :
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1585711746/disaster-cake-interrogation-bunny

DIMESLAND - PSYCHOGENIC ATROPHY

• dimesland: psychogenic atrophy
      (2015, usa, cd, crucial blast)

Released as a dowload-only album in 2014 and on CD by the Crucial Blast label in 2015.
I mentioned this album on this very blog around the time that it got on CD but as I was playing it again last week, I thought it needed some extra attention.

"Psychogenic Atrophy".
Well, I guess they could also have called it "Losing (Functionality Of) Part Of Your Body, Caused By Mental Stress Or By Psychiatric Disorder" but that probably didn't sound that catchy.

"Psychogenic Atrophy" is Dimesland's first full album. Or their second if you consider the mini-album "Creepmoon" their first. Or even their third if you start counting with "Land Of Dimes"...

This album featured Nolan Cook, guitar wizard for The Residents, his late brother Drew on guitar, Greg Brace on bass and Harland Burkhart on drums.
The music is hard to describe. It's metal but it is incredibly complex and has these complicated arrangements.
I've heard people call it avant-garde death metal, or even progressive trash.
I wouldn't know what to call it, I just play it loud.

I like it. I like it a lot.
It does need a couple of listening sessions (and the right mood), but it's a very fine album.
Give it a try !

SATANIQUE SAMBA TRIO

CUCAMONGA PRODUCTIONS presents Satanique Samba Trio on tour



27 May - Korzo - The Hague
28 May - Bimhuis - Amsterdam (VPRO recording)
31 May - Huset open air - Aalborg
1 June - Musikbiblioteket - Odense
2 June - Global - Copenhagen
4 June 15h00 - Music Meeting - Nijmegen
4 June 24h00 - Moers Festival @ Schlosstheater
5 June 11h00 - Moers Festival jam sessions @ Aula Filder Benden
6 June - KIT Café open air - Düsseldorf (WDR Cosmo recording)
9 June - Souterrain - Prague (free entrance)
11 June - Konrad Café - Luxembourg City (free entrance)

PETE OXLEY & NICOLAS MEIER - THE COLOURS OF TIME

• pete oxley & nicolas meier: the colours of time
      (2016, 2cd, uk, mgp records mgpcd019)

In 2015 the Pete Oxley / Nicolas Meier had already surprised us with "Chasing Tales", an impressive guitar album. A couple of months ago, the duo released "The Colours Of Time", a beautiful sequel.

Pete Oxley is a renowned jazz guitar player (who owns a jazz club in Oxford). He has released 14 cds with original compositions.
Nicolas Meier blends Metheny-esque jazz guitar lines with Turkish inspired world music. Next to touring and recording with the Meier Group, he has been part of Jeff Beck's band for the last three years, performing all over the world.

"The Colours Of Time" consists of two parts: there's the first disc with just the two guitars, and there's also the second disc with a quartet.
This is great. And I really like the second disc (with Raph Mizraki on the bass, and Paul Cavaciuti on the drums). Beautiful melodic jazz.

The duo recently kicked off their tour with a number of concerts in Europe.
Next month, Nicolas Meier will doing a number of concerts to promote his "Infinity" album, and later this year, in October, Ncolas will be touring with Dewa Budjana !!

Try to catch them live, and in the meantime, give "The Colours Of Time" a try !
http://www.meiergroup.com/live

Here's a live fragment : Pete Oxley (12 string jazz guitar) and Nicolas Meier (11 string fretless guitar)

THE RESIDENTS - THE GHOST OF HOPE

• the residents: the ghost of hope
      (2017, cd, usa, mvd audio mvd9754a)

Yes !  A brand-new Residents album.
"The Ghost Of Hope" is about major train accidents at the end of the 19th century.
As explained in the liner notes : Technology was progressing faster than society could regulate or control it.

The Residents are asking us : "Have we learned from the past or are we doomed to repeat our mistakes on an even grander scale?'

Beautiful.

Featuring Nolan Cook, Eric Drew Feldman, Carla Fabrizio, Laurie Hall, Peter Whitehead and Isabelle Barbier as special guests.

Various editions exist. I went for the deluxe CD edition (CD housed in a cardboard book).

SNAKEFINGER - MANUAL OF ERRORS

• snakefinger: manual of errors
      (2017, cd, austria, klanggalerie gg239)

Snakefinger's third solo release (from 1982!) with a couple of tracks that were co-written by The Residents. It was produced by Eric Drew Feldman, who also plays keyboard and synthesizer.
Add to that the superb artwork of Mark Beyer and you have an album that has it all.

Re-released by Klanggalerie with a number of live bonus tracks from the 1981 Melbourne concert.

http://www.klanggalerie.com/gg239

PAWLOWSKI, TROUVE & WARD - 2

• pawlowski, trouvé & ward: 2
      (2016, cd, uk, jezusfactory jf047cd) 

The first volume that collected pieces by Mauro Pawlowski, Rudy Trouvé and Craig Ward got released in 2007.
The sequel got released ten years later. Again a split release.
Improvised and experimental pieces by the three of them.

THE RESIDENTS - DOT.COM

• the residents: dot.com
      (2017, cd, austria, kanggalerie gg241)

Last month, Klanggalerie re-released "Dot.Com", the album that got released by RalphAmerica in 2000 in a limited edition of 1200 copies.
As a bonues this new version presents six Radio Thoreau tracks. Radio Thoreau presented singles from recent Residents pieces (reworked by Charles Bobuck) intended for iTunes and the likes. One of these was previously unreleased.

http://www.klanggalerie.com/gg241

CHATO!

The latest update from Chato Segerer has some exiting news :

Artwork is finished. Off to the pressing plant.

"So Un d Nicht Anders" will be all original music plus Frank Zappa's 'Let's Move To Cleveland'.

And, yes, the artwork :

More info real soon.

FLAT EARTH SOCIETY - - - - BOGGAMASTA

Early March, I saw Flat Earth Society with David Bovée in concert in Wilrijk, BE.
They presented their "Boggamasta" show.

June 9, 2017, FES and David Bovée are taking Boggamasta to 'De Singel' in Antwerp, BE.
As part of the SWTC festival.
https://desingel.be/nl/programma/festival/flat-earth-society-david-bovee-boggamasta-swtc?id=a0Jb000002RuHSKEA3

June 10, 2017, in Bergen Op Zoom, NL at Rabo JazzBoZ.
https://www.gebouw-t.nl/event/27787/Rabo-JazzBoZ-Boggamasta-Flat-Earth-Society-David-Bovee

Expect South-American rhythms, distorted voices, big band madness, Pierre Vervloesem on the bass, and more.
I even had a 'Residents' moment during the show...

Aimed at the summer festivals as it does have this groove and some sort of happy vibe.
It should get a few people dancing...


'Happy Hummer'

'Confiscated Song'

RESIDENTS TOURDATES

European tour in November :

Belgian date should be added :

November 8, 2017,  'Het Depot' in Leuven, BE

http://www.residents.com/tourdates/

HIJAZ

Tonight in concert at 'De Singer' in Rijkevorsel, BE.

Hijaz.

MACHINE MASS - PLAYS HENDRIX

• machine mass: plays hendrix
      (2017, cd, usa, moonjune records)

Machine Mass is a trio, but it's a trio that consists of two people: Michel Delville on guitar and Tony Bianco on drums. The third spot is invitation-only.

Next to Michel and Tony, "As Real As Thinking", the first Machine Mass album, featured Jordi Grognard (sax, flute, bass clarinet). Their second release, "Inti", had Dave Liebman (soprano and tenor sax, flute) in the spotlight.
On the brand-new "Machine Mass Plays Hendrix", the third seat is reserved for the inimitable Antoine Guernet (on keyboards and synth). Not only is Antoine part of The Wrong Object, he's also the man behind Sh.tg.n  (Moonjune, 2012).

"Machine Mass Plays Hendrix" is an album that I have been waiting for. The trio uses Jimi Hendrix's compositions as if they were jazz standards. Moving from and moving towards the original melody lines, improvising and re-arranging on the spot.
Contemporary Jimi Hendrix. Performed by a trio as if  they have been playing together for ages.

Highly recommended !!

Out on MoonJune Records.
http://www.moonjune.com/mjr_web_2013/home_mjr/

I saw the band in concert in Liège last month at 'L'An Vert' where they played the album in its entirety (and Antoine inserted a couple of lines from Frank Zappa's 'King Kong' in one of his solos). Loved it.

Michel Delville  -  Tony Bianco  -  Antoine Guenet

ELEKTRYCZNE GITARY - NA KRZYWY RYJ

• elektryczne gitary: na krzywy ryj
      (1997, cd, poland, polygram polska)

Polish band Elektryczne Gitary recorded Frank Zappa's 'MS Pinky'. The track got released on their "Na Krxywy Ryj" album in 1997.

In 2016, Universal released a compilation box by Elektryczne Gitary. The box included two album : a best of (previously released in 2001, and the "Na Krzywy Ryj" album (from 1997).

The cover of the cardboard box :

Data has been added to the United Mutations Archives.

THE MUFFIN3 QUINTET - LIVE IN THE BACKROOM

• muffinz quintet: a tale of steal city - live in the backroom at greystones sheffield 28the november 2015
      (2016, cdr-promo, uk, private release)

The last couple of weeks, I've been updating the Muffin Men entry over at the United Mutations Archives with some of their promotional releases.
Next to "Moo-Ah 2015" and the "4FM radio special", there's also "A Tale Of Steal City".

Recorded on November 28, 2015, in Sheffield, this is one of the shows that featured Mike Kidson, one of the original Muffin Men.

Superb concert. Fun !

-- info: Danny Mathys

CITADELIC GENT * * * JAZZCASE NEERPELT

Citadelic, the experimental jazz festival, is celebrating its 10th anniversary.

The festival kicks off tonight (May 25) and will be on full speed next week: from June 1 until June 5.

At the Citadel Park in Ghent, Belgium.
Check out the complete program here:

http://citadelic.be/17/program17.html


Jorge Rossy Vibes Quintet ft. Mark Turner, Al Foster
The Singing Painters ft. Carver and Horn
GLiTS
4tet Sal La Rocca, Lieven Venken, Jeroen Van Herzeele, Pascal Mohy
Moker
Patrick De Groote - Chris Joris - Paul Van Gysegem
Llop ft. Brice Soniano
Samuel Blaser Trio ft. Marc Ducret
Lilly Joel
Hamster Axis
Wandjina
Bruno De Groote / Ben Faes
Rodrigo Fuentealba invites Philip Weiss and Tsubasa Hori Taiko
De Beren Gieren Gents ft. Fulco Ottervanger
3/4 Peace : Ben Sluys, Christian Mendoza and Brice Soniano
Praed psychedelic shaabi van Beirut
Steiger Gents
Ruben Machtelinckx and Karl Van Deun
Pak Yan Lau
Frederick Leroux
Raphael Malfliet
Bardo
Osama Abdulrasols qanun
Klankenbos ft. Bassss project Musica
In Memoriam Global Village ft. Xu Fengxia
Paul Van Gysegem 3 ft. Giovanni Barcella and Erik Vermeulen

A number of these artists will also be appearing on the JazzCase Festival in Neerpelt (from June 2 to June 3)

10 years of Citadelic and JazzCase !!
http://jazzcase-citadelic-10.be

SINERGIA ELETTRONICA - S/T

• sinergia elettronica: s/t
      (2017, lp, italy, troglosound)

I bought this album at the Jooklo Zappa concert a couple of weeks ago.
Sinergia Elettronica features the Jooklo duo plus the Metabolismus collective.
Experimental music at its best.

Out on the Troglosound record label
Only 162 copies, each album cover hand drawn
On purple vinyl.
And most important : fascinating music.
These won't last long.

Sinergia Elettronica has released some tapes previous to this album but this is their first vinyl release.

Here's a fragment from one of their previous releases :

THE COMET IS COMING - CHANNEL THE SPIRITS

• the comet is coming: channel the spirits
      (2016, cd, uk, the leaf label)

UK band The Comet Is Coming, or TCIC, released its first album last year.
Electronic jazz à la Stuff.

When Philippe mentioned the band last week, I thought I had heard the name before...
A bit of digging in my memory showed that I had seen them on tv.
On Dutch radio show Vrije Geluiden last year when they did a festival special.

The Comet Is Coming features

• King Shabaka: saxophone
• Danalogue The Conquerer: synthesizer
• Betamax Killer: drums

Don't you love these aliases?

• King Shabaka = Shabake Hutchings
• Danalogue The Conquerer = Dan Leavers
• Betamax Killer = Max Hallett

"Channel The Spirits" is a superb introduction to this trio.
Powerful psychedlic jazz. With a nice beat. The music has this nice flow. Really like it.

from 2014 :
The Sun Ra Arkestra with Shabaka Hutchings on the saxophone !!

And here's TCIC :
with 'Space Carnival' :

JOOKLO ZAPPA

May 12, 2017, Jooklo Zappa performed at 'Het Bos' in Antwerp, BE.

Jooklo Zappa = the Italian experimental music duo Jooklo (David Vanzan, Virginia Genta) plus Stanley Jason Zappa.

They shared the bill with The Selva (cello, bass, drums) and with Lauroshilau (electronics, drums, violin).
Three experimental trios on one night.

Virginia Genta  -  David Vanzan  -  Stanley Jason Zappa  (picture by Philippe Lamoot)

The Jooklo Zappa concert was excellent.
The two saxophones started with playing one note in unison, gradually moving away, searching for seperate lines.

The band had brought along some hand-crafted tour booklets and posters.
A fine night it was.

Here's a recording from a concert they did last year.
To give you an idea of what it sounded like.

'NEW' PRINCE ALBUM

Well, you know how it goes...

A 'new' Prince album has been announced :

"The Purple Era: The Very Best Of 1985 - 1991 Broadcasting"

But the tracklist does look interesting :

1. Purple Rain (Live at the American Music Awards 1985)
2. Baby, I'm A Star (Live at the Grammy Awards 1985)
3. Sign O The Times (Live at the MTV Video Music Awards 1987)
4. Play In The Sunshine (Live at the MTV Video Music Awards 1987)
5. Electric Chair (Saturday Night Live 1989)
6. Gett Off (Live at the MTV Video Music Awards 1991)
7. Diamonds And Pearls (Live at the Special Olympics Ceremony 1991)
8. Let's Go Crazy (Intro) (Live at the Special Olympics Ceremony 1991)
9. Baby, I'm A Star (Live at the Special Olympics Ceremony 1991)
10. Push (Live at the Special Olympics Ceremony 1991)
11. Peter Gunn Theme (Live at the Special Olympics Ceremony 1991)

NEW ALBUM BY THE PERSUASIONS

Barenaked Ladies and a cappella legends The Persuasions performing "Dont Shuffle Me Back". From the album Ladies And Gentlemen: Barenaked Ladies And The Persuasions - available April 14th.

-- info: Jan van Kemenade

JEFF BECK & IMELDA MAY

Jeff Beck...
Wow.
With a familiar face in the audience at 0:40 ?

Z - BASED ON A TRUE STORY

• z: based on a true story
      (1995, cd5", france, cnr music arc 309 30 00812)

With both of Frank's sons in the picture lately, I thought I'd clean up the United Mutations Archives a bit.
Z, as Dweezil and Ahmet's band was called, released two album (in various version), one single and two promotional singles.
"Based On A True Story" is the only single that the band released.
In France.
Next to Dweezil and Ahmet, it featured Mike Keneally, Joe Travers and Bryan Beller.
Two tracks: 'Based On A True Story' from "Music For Pets" and 'In My Mind', the track that replaced 'What Went Wrong In The Real World' on the American version of "Shampoo Horn".

Data has been added to the United Mutations Archives.

THE ANIMALS - ANIMALISM

• animals: animalism
      (2014, cd, sweden, flawed gems gem 127)

MGM released "Animalism" by The Animals in 1966. The album got produced by Tom Wilson who had brought along Frank Zappa to arrange two songs on the album.

The full story is that The Animals didn't really record these tracks. They got recorded by L.A. studio musicians (with Carol Kay, a.o.).
Frank played guitar on 'All Night Long" and bass on 'The Other Side Of This Life'.
Read all about it in the Hit Parader article from 1967 :
http://afka.net/Articles/1967-07_Hit_Parader.htm

The LP got released on CD in 2006 but has also been re-released two times with a number of bonus tracks.
In 1995 as "Animalism & Bonus Hits", and in 2014 on the above pictures "Animalism" with 11 bonus tracks. No FZ involvement on the bonus tracks, however.

PAWLOWSKI, TROUVE & WARD - S/T

• pawlowski, trouvé & ward: pawlowski, trouvé & ward
      (2007, cd, bel, jezusfactory jf004)

Yesterday, I mentioned Rudy Trouvé's artwork for dEUS "In A Bar, Under The Sea" album.
Here's another fine piece of art : the cover of the Mauro Pawlowski, Rudy Trouvé and Craig Ward's split release on the JezusFactory label.
The album isn't bad either. Quite the opposite, actually, if you're in an experimental mode.

Two tracks by Craig Ward, nine by Rudy Trouvé, and ten by Mauro.

Info has been added to the United Mutations Archives.

PIERRE VERVLOESEM - CHEF-D'OEUVRE

• pierre vervloesem: chef-d'oeuvre
      (2014, download, bel, off records ovd006)

Pierre Vervloesem's "Chef-d'Oeuvre" got released in 1999 on the Viakra label. It was Pierre's third solo album.
On "Chef-d'Oeuvre", Pierre pushed the boundaries a bit further: haunting polyrhythms, strange melodies wrapped in contemporary sounds and instruments. Beautiful.

The original CD has been out-of-print for quite some years but there's a remastered, upgraded and augmented version available on iTunes that even includes three bonus tracks.

All original compositions, except for the Stevie Wonder coverversion (with Philippe Tasquin on vocals).
Essential listening.

CABALLERO REYNALDO EUROTOUR 2017

Caballero Reynaldo is preparing for their Zappanale gig (!!) with a EuroTour :

Luis G.: guitar and vocals
Rebeca Ibáñez: Vocals
Román García: Bass and vocals
Manu Vicente: lead guitar and vocals
Santi Serrano: drums

Caballero Reynaldo will be performing at Zappanale on Saturday evening.
On the mystery stage, after the Dweezil Zappa concert.

WOLFRAM KLUG

Wolfram Klug recorded and released his "Burt, The Nerd" album in 2014.
It featured various musicians from Frank Zappa's band :
Ike Willis, Tommy Mars, Arthur Barrow, Robert Martin, Ed Mann and Albert Wing.

Wolfram has just announced a sequel : "L.A. Bang Bang".

Read all about it here :
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/another-album-with-frank-zappa-s-original-band#/

FRANK ZAPPA METAL ACETATE

for sale, over at RockAway Records

http://www.rockaway.com/zappa-frank/lather#long-description

THE COMET IS COMING

UK ensemble The Comet Is Coming has released their first album in 2016.

Psychedelic, jazz, electronic, rock,...

The band will be touring Yurip early next year.

-- info: Philippe Lamoot

NEWS FROM PSYCHOFON RECORDS

Psychofon says :

We have a lot of new releases out now and on deck for June and beyond. Two new groups, Bexa Lala and Dead Man's Underwear have joined the line-up. We have just released the second run of The Residents' The Ghost of Hope on red splatter vinyl as well as a glow-in-the-dark edition of their single Rushing Like a Banshee/Train vs. Elephant!

https://www.psychofonrecords.com/

CARL KING - GRAND ARCHITECTS OF THE UNIVERSE

• carl king: grand architects of the universe
      (2017, cd, usa, private release)

Carl King has just released his "Grand Architects Of The Universe" album.
The download that is. The actual CD-release should follow soon.

As Carl King states on his website :
Here it is! Carl King's first album in nearly a decade -- a fresh return to obscurity!
70 minutes of sci-fi orchestral rock and drum solos...

"Grand Architects..." has a narrator tell a rather bizarre science fiction tale. The liner notes mention books by William Reynolds, Randy Sinner and Ladybug Ruby Einstein as inspiration.
The music itself is pretty good and the list of participating musicians is amazing : Dweezil Zappa (on fretless guitar !), Mike Keneally, Marco Minnemann, Morgan Agren, Phi Yaan-Zek, Virgil Donati,...

https://shop.carlkingdom.com/

DEUS - IN A BAR, UNDER THE SEA

• deus: in a bar, under the sea
      (2017, 2lp picture disc, eu, universal)

Twenty years ago, Belgian band dEUS released "In A Bar, Under The Sea".
A superb album. It was, and it still is.

One of the tracks on this album is called 'Roses'. The lyrics go like this :

Rose said "It's time to make a mess
This one's yours and yours is self obsessed
She's painting on my back a green tom, the Beefheart one
And she cuddles and she coos and she cuts the bullshit I confessed

The album got produced by Eric Drew Feldman, who had been part of Captain Beefheart's Magic Band (and who is performing with The Residents now).
Wonder what he thought of this.

Anyway, this album has some stunning artwork by Rudy Trouvé.
Reason enough for Universal to celebrate the 20th anniversary of this album with a beautiful picture disc set.
Soon on one of my wals. Somewhere.

side one

side two

side four

LADY BIANCA - ROLLIN'

• lady bianca: rollin'
      (2001, cd, usa, rooster blues records 2644)

Added data for Lady Bianca's "Rolllin' " album to the United Mutations Archives.

October 1976, Bianca toured with Frank Zappa.
Recordings from this line-up got released on "You Can't Do That On Stage Anymore - Vol.6", and on "Philly '76".
Bianca released a couple of solo albums. I believe "Rollin' " was her second one.

The following link might take you to a download location for the above mentioned "Rollin' " album. Not sure as I'm not really into that...
http://plazerna.blogspot.be/2017/05/lady-bianca-rollin.html


-- info : Jan van Kemenade

LUC PILMEYER EXPO IN LIEGE (BE)

Luc Pilmeyer expo : "DESSINS ET VOYAGES"
From june 1 to june 30, 2017
at 'TOUTES DIRECTIONS',
3 Rue de la Violette - 4000 Liège  (BE)

From Bali to China, from Egypt to Japan, from Holland to Iceland,...
Luc Pilmeyer presents his drawings from his travels.
With a psychedelic twist.

NEW CHARLES BOBUCK ALBUM

Charles Bobuck, composer for The Residents.
"Clank Clank Clank".
Limited edition of 300 copies.

http://www.klanggalerie.com/gg245

THE MUFFIN MEN - 4FM RADIO SPECIAL

• the muffin men: 4fm radio special
      (2016, cdr--promo, uk, private release)

Next to their official discography, The Muffin Men released a small number of promotional albums. One of these promo-CDRs captures the 4FM Radio Special they did with Co de Kloet on June 16, 2001.
Next to some fine interpretations of a quite a bunch of Frank Zappa compositions, there's also interviews with Roddie Gilliard, Jimmy Carl Black (who was touring with The Muffin Men at the time) and with Ian Gardiner.

Data has been added to the United Mutations Archives.
Fun !

BUILDINGS - YOU ARE NOT ONE OF US

• buildings: you are not one of us
      (2017, cd, europe, antena krzyku)

"You Are Not One Of Us" is the third album by Minneapolis-based power trio Buildings. And the title sets the tone. "You Are Not One Of Us" brings a collection of 11 loud and energetic, almost aggressive pieces.
Hardcore.
Something that you can bang your head and sing along to.

Released through Antena Krzyku.

Distributed by Mandaï.
www.mandai.be

Check it out here :

A MARKUS STAUSS UPDATE

Markus Stauss says :

Right now I work on a new quintet project with these musicians:

Damien Campion: bass, electric bass (you know from Trank Zappa Grappa ...)
Richard Koch: trumpet (from my ARTgenossen trio and the 5th Spaltklang)
  http://ritschekoch.com/
John King : electric guitar (my old friend around 1988-93 when we played with Jean Chaine and David Moss)
  http://www.johnkingmusic.com
and Rémy Sträuli: drums (from Spaltklang, Ulterior Lux & ARTgenossen trio)

The recordings are done and now I work on the mix.
A release during the next months (maybe autumn) looks to be realistic.

GONG ON TOUR

Well, at least one date has been confirmed :

GONG! 'Rejoice! I'm Dead!' World Tour 2017

October 6th, 2017
at 'N9' in Eeklo, Belgium

EARLE DUMLER UPDATE

Earle Dumler played oboe on Frank Zappa's "Grand Wazoo" album.

In keeping his discography up-to-date, I added Ricky Lee Jones' "Girl At Her Volcano" EP from 1983. Earle played oboe on one track.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girl_at_Her_Volcano

-- info: Jan van Kemenade

STEF KAMIL CARLENS ON VRIJE GELUIDEN

From a couple of weeks ago, Stef Kamil Carlens at Dutch tv show Vrije Geluiden.

EUGENE CHADBOURNE RETURNS TO YURRIP

The first dates of Eugene Chadbourne's European tour have been shared through his website :

Check it out here:
http://www.eugenechadbourne.com/default.htm

Dates in Belgium, Germany and Switzerland are up.
And Doc Chad is looking for more dates, so if you can arrange for a concert in your favourite club, get it touch !

MILLIONAIRE IS BACK

Belgian indie rock band Millionaire is back.

Here's the new single (and video !!).

ZAUSS - TRITTICO - IMMER - ALL OVER

• zauss: trittico - immer - all over
      (2017, 2cd, switzerland, fazzul music fm 0834)

Francesco Zago and Markus Stauss (ZAgo + staUSS = ZAUSS) have made a new album : "Trittico - Immer - All Over".
The liner notes say : "The music on this album consists of interwoven cycles similar to Zauss' 2nd album "überall in terra straniera borders beyond" (fm 0829). This time, there are four "tenor sax - soprano sax - flute - bass sax" cycles, two on each CD."

The result is very impressive. I just love the sound of an acoustic saxophone (or flute) against the tone of the electric guitar. At times, their sound is very different, but there are moments that they almost sound the same. Superb interaction.
On "Tritico - Immer - All Over", Zauss presents two times eight beautiful soundscapes.
And there's the addition of Giuseppe Olivini to the duo. With his subtle percussion, Giuseppe adds extra texture and more depth to the pieces.

A music journey.
A great album in a handsome package.
Recommended listening.

Out on Fazzul Music.
https://www.markus-stauss.ch/en/zauss-trittico-immer-all-over/

Xenometal
Outtake from Kurai (2006)
Giuseppe A. Olivini, percussion * Markus Stauss, bass sax * Peter Schmid, bass clarinet

JOOKLO ZAPPA

Friday, May 12, at 20h00 at 'Het Bos' in Antwerp, BE :

JOOKLO ZAPPA (it/us)
Virginia Genta (sax) and David Vanzan (percussion) team up with sax player Stanley J. Zappa (yes, Frank's nephew) and free blast your mind.

LAUROSHILAU (jap/be)
Audrey Lauro (sax), Yuko Oshima (percussion) and Pak Yan Lau (electronics, keyboard) further explore sounds in their own dimension.

THE SELVA (por)
Ricardo Jacinto (cello), Gonçalo Almeida (double bass) and Nuno Morão (drums) present their multi-idiomatic approach to free jazz.


Jooklo Zappa will also be performing in Ghent (on Saturday) and in Brussels (on Sunday).

GOV'T MULE UPDATE

Gov't Mule has just made a track available from their new album.
'Dreams & Songs' .
Available for people who pre-ordered the new album (but also on YouTube)

Sounds pretty good.

FRANK ZAPPA AND BABY CHICKENS

Australia 1976

ZAPPA FAMILY TRUST VAULT CLIP : ROBERTSON REPORT

ATTILA KRANG - GYMKHANA

• attila krang: gymkhana
      (2017, lp, bel, cheap satanism records)

I can't tell you much about Attila Krang except that the trio has an album out. Their first one, I believe.
An LP, or EP if you prefer as it presents 6 tracks and clocks at about 30 minutes.

Pretty wild and energetic.
No Wave.
(They refer to it as Doggy No Wave.)

Try their version of Kim Wilde's 'Cambodge' and you'll understand what it's about.

Out on Cheap Satanism Records
http://www.cheapsatanism.com/catalog/cheap666-041

Available from Mandaï
www.mandai.be

NPO RADIO 2 SOUL & JAZZ

"Soul & Jazz" is a radio show on Dutch national radio station NPO Radio 2.

Saturday, May 13, 21h00 - 23h00, the program will feature live recordings from Dans Dans and from DAAU (Die Anarchistische Abund Unterhaltung), two Belgian bands that you need to hear.

Dans Dans

DAAU

MARBIN - GOAT MAN & THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD

• marbin: goatman & the house of the dead
      (2016, cd, usa, marbin music)

Marbin just keeps getting better and better. Their latest album, Goat Man & The House Of The Dead" is mixture of klezmer bop, medieval jazz and Tarantino soundtracks. Or something like that.

Data has been added to the United Mutations Archives.

--

MEREDITH MONK AND DON PRESTON

In 1967, Meredith Monk and (Mother Of Invention) Don Preston released a one-sided 7" as Aunt Jamina And The United Pancakes. It was sold on the streets of NYC at the time.

The song can be found on Meredith Monk's 2009 "Beginnings" album, released on Tzadik.

Album cover :

Here's the audio :

GONG - EXPRESSO II

• gong: expresso II
      (1978, lp, uk, virgin)

"Expresso II" follows "Gazeuse !" in the PMG discography.
Another excellent album with lots of melodic percussion. Zappa's never too far away.

GONG - GAZEUSE !

• gong: gazeuse !
      (1977, lp, uk, virgin)

I don't consider myself a huge Gong fan. I've seen Gong with David Allen and with Steve Hillage at Zappanale once but it just didn't trigger anything.
PMG, Pierre Moerlen's Gong, on the other hand, is quite a different story. This is my cup of tea.
Browsing YouTube the other day, I came across "Gazeuse!", the first album of PMG. (or the second if you count "Shamal", or the minus two if you start with "Downwind"...).
It didn't take me five minutes to order the album.

Anyway, this is the real deal.
Allan Holdsworth on the guitar and loads of percussion, including marimba and xylophone, by Pierre Moerlen, Benoît Moerlen and Mireille Bauer.

VARIOUS ARTISTS - GOSPEL FOR J.F.P. III

MoonJune Records just released a tribute album to Jaco Pastorius.


With this release, Jaco's Gospel is preached by over 60 world class musicians resulting in a truly, globalized perspective of his existing legacy. More importantly, the various artists' extract the bassist's inherent compositional attributes, only to reshape rhythms and melodies into a nouveau perspective. Hence, a prudent tribute that stands on its own... definitely the best Jaco tribute heard to date.
- GLEN ASTARITA - Contributor to Downbeat Magazine,

SUPERFJORD / SENDELICA - ZAPPA

• superfjord  /  sendelica: zappa
      (2017, 7", uk, fruits de mer records crustacean 78) 

U.K. label Fruits De Mer released this split-7" last month.
Side A has Superfjord performing Frank Zappa's 'Peaches En Regalia', while the other side A has Sendelica with Frank Zappa's 'Don't Eat The Yellow Snow'.

On yellow vinyl, of course.
Love it !!

Superfjord and Sendelica get together to reinterpret two Frank Zappa songs - 'Peaches En Regalia' by Superfjord, and 'Don't Eat The Yellow Snow' by Sendelica; they range from sublime to slightly crazed, and quite right too

over to the bands to explain what they intended....

Jussi Ristikaarto from Superfjord says…"Last summer Superfjord drummer Ilari Kivelä and I used to listen to Zappa’s ‘Hot Rats’ album in the car when driving to rehearsals. Even though ‘Peaches En Regalia’ is such an iconic track that it’s almost up there beyond anything that would be wise to attempt at as a cover -- or maybe exactly for that reason -- we started toying with the idea of turning the song into a Superfjord live tune. First of all, it’s anthemic and fun as f***, and secondly the song is technically challenging in that all-too-alluring “I bet we could pull this off” sort of way. Inspired by this, I think it was me who actually initially suggested a Zappa-themed seven-inch to Fruits de Mer’s Keith, and lo and behold, he was up for it. Thus we were faced with actually having to learn to play the song. We didn’t want to stray too far out from the original, but rather wanted to preserve the bubbly and energetic, almost soundtrack-y vibe of the song, preserving all the essential arpeggios and melodies. Basically we just took the original anthem into a more of an acid-rock ballpark and added a new C-part that acts as a jam vehicle in live situations. We had a whole lot of fun doing it -- here’s hoping Frank digs it as well!”

Sendelica’s Pete Bingham puts his spin on the recording…"When FDM approached us with the idea of doing a Zappa cover this was one of the first tracks that popped up in my mind. Off course, as usual, we then started to think of a twist to give the track - and the idea of a juggernaut, almost Sabbath like, approach to the main riff began to form. We recorded the heavy section at Mwnci studios as a two drummer, dropped 'D' tuning heavy rhythm section. So now the idea of the song being in two parts solidified and we approached vocalist Karen Langley, of Babal fame, with the idea of doing a very minimalist, almost ethereal, first part of the track with us....... and voila.... the two parts melded together seamlessly"

REDWOOD PROPHETS - FREEDOM ALWAYS LIES

• redwood prophets: freedom always lies
      (2017, download, usa, private release)

More on Eric Cullen (see previous posts)

REDWOOD PROPHETS: located in Sonoma County, California, home of the giant redwood and sequoia trees. Formed in November 2015, Redwood Prophets have three singer-songwriters collaborating and creating fantastic original songs. Rooted in the Northern California music traditions of rock, blues, country, psych, jazz, latin and punk, Redwood Prophets bring it every time. Available to perform for music clubs, theaters and concert venues, Redwood Prophets are looking forward to the Summer 2017 Dead & Company tour.

• Joe Chaplain: guitars, bass, vocals, percussion, Omnichord, harmonicas
• Eric "Ric" Cullen: keyboards, vocals, harmonicas
• Bryan Paisley: bass, guitars, vocals
• Chuck Walter: drums, percussion

Check out their new single on CDBaby:
https://www.cdbaby.com/cd/redwoodprophets2

Nice song. Great message. Superb artwork.

"Freedom Always Lies" is the breakout debut single from Redwood Prophets, released on January 20, 2017, U.S. Presidential Inauguration day. The timing of the release is no accident. Recorded on July 4, 2016, U.S. Independence Day, the song celebrates freedom from discrimination and freedom from tryannical hegemony. The amazing cover image for the single is a painting by Santa Barbara artist Sue Van Horsen titled "Obama Tried." Sue - you nailed it! As Obama said, "Yes we DID." :-)

OCTAFISH - OCTAFISH

• octafish: octafish
      (1994, cassette, usa, mermaid records mer10)

In one of my previous posts, I mentioned Eric 'Shaggy' Cullen's "Anthology" album. It included Eric and Glen Murell re-acting the Frank Zappa / Jimmy Carl Black dialogue from 'If We'd All Been Living In California', with music from Eric Cullen.
As it goes with anthologies, most (if not all) the material that gets released on an anthology is picked from previous releases. The same thing applied to "Anthology" where all the stuff (minus one piece) came from albums that Eric Cullen had released on the Neptunes and on the Mermaid label.

Initially, the recording of 'If We'd All...' had been released on a cassette in 1994.
So, no, the Octafish that we're taking about is not the German progressive rock / jazz ensemble but it's one of Eric Cullen's bands.

Data has been added to the United Mutations Archives.

FRANK ZAPPA - ROLLO (RSD 2017)

• frank zappa: rollo / portland improvisation
      (2017, 10", usa, zappa records bpr1230)

This latest Zappa release was made available on Record Store Day, making it an RSD (record store day release). The clear vinyl disc contains 20 minutes of music.
Side A: 'Rollo' from December 2, 1972 Kansas, and Side B: 'Portland Improvisation' from (you guessed it) December 9, 1972, Portland.

'Rollo' is known from the "Little Dots" album, but 'Portland Improvisation' is previously unreleased.

ERIC 'SHAGGY' CULLEN - ANTHOLOGY

• eric 'shaggy' cullen: anthology 1989-2002: the neptunes and mermaid years
      (2011, cd, usa, estate grown records egr 03)

Multi-instrumentalist and composer Eric Cullen released an anthology album in 2011. Subtitled "1989 - 2002 : The Neptunes And Mermaid Years", the collection of songs lets you take a look at Eric's various projects as released by the Neptunes and the Mermaid labels.

I like these sort of compilations. It's a great way to listen to various aspects of a musician. You also get a good impression of how an artist evolves.

The reason for me to dive into Eric's "Anthology" album is a track entitled 'If We'd All Been Livin' In California'.
Originally released by Frank Zappa on his "Uncle Meat" album, 'If We'd All Been Livin' In California' is a spoken word / conversation fragment between Frank Zappa and Jimmy Carl Black.
For this occasion, it got re-recorded by Eric Cullen and Glen Murrell with additional music composed by Eric. This is fun !

MAPPA ZAPPA

A new Zappa tribute album is in the works.

By Andrew Greenaway and Cordelia Records.

Read all about it here :
http://www.idiotbastard.com/MappaZappa.htm

SIX PACK - ERBROCHENES AUS WUNDEN KEHLEN

• six pack: erbrochenes aus wunden kehlen
      (2003, cd, ger, 241 music fone 255) 

German a capella band Six Pack recorded Frank Zappa's 'Bobby Brown' and released it in 1996 on their "MegaKerls" album.
A live rendition of the song can be found on the above pictured "Erbrochenes Aus Wunden Kehlen", and album that they recorded in concert at various locations in Germany.

Data has been added to the United Mutations Archives.