STEVE VAI ANNOUNCES NEW ALBUM

 To be released on January 28, 2022: "Inviolate".

MATTIAS DE CRAENE - PATTERNS FOR (A) FILM

• mattias de craene: patterns for (a) film
      (2021, 2lp, bel, werf records)

Belgian Saxophone player and composer Mattias De Craene is one of the driving forces in Nordmann and in MDC(III). I'm not familiar with MDC(III), but Nordmann ticks all of my boxes.

Mattias' self-titled debut EP got released last year. And now he's back with his first full solo album.

In this case, solo means solo. All the music on "Patterns For (A) Film" is being produced by a saxophone: plain sax but also sax sounds that have been put in a loop, that have been modified by a synthesizer., or both. Amazing.

Beautiful sonic soundscapes.
An impressive release with a perfect album title: "Patterns For (A) Film".

BACKBACK & DON KAPOT

Backback is touring to promote "Deuk", their tribute to Duke Ellington.

And Don Kapot recently released "Hooligan".

Jazzlab (an organisation that promotes jazz in Belgium) has organised a tour for both bands :

• 04.12 Backback & Don Kapot - Muziekclub N9 - Eeklo, BE
• 09.12 Backback & Don Kapot - CC Casino - Koksijde, BE
• 11.12 Backback - CC Ter Vesten - Beveren, BE
• 15.12 Backback & Don Kapot - Handelsbeurs - Gent, BE
• 18.12 Backback & Don Kapot - kunstencentrum nona - Mechelen, BE
• 19.12 Backback & Don Kapot - KAAP - Oostende, BE
• 21.12 Don Kapot - Flagey - Elsene (Brussels Jazz Festival), BE
• 27.01 Backback - CC Strombeek, BE

GÉRAUD PORTAL

Géraud Portal's new quartet features Plume on alto sax, Jean-Paul Estiévenart on trumpet and Antoine Pierre on drums.

The band is to perform at L'an Vert in Liège on December 5, 2021.

https://lanvert.be/dimanche-5-decembre-2021geraud-portal-new-quartet/

Here's a clip of Géraud's previous project, "Let My Children Hear Mingus" :

 

FRANK OUT! AT THE POPFARM IN BONN ON NOVEMBER 14

During their recent tour, German band Frank Out! did a recording session a the Popfarm in Bonn, Germany.

The band played FZ's "Over-Nite Sensation" album (and more) in one of the Popfarm's recording studios. Luckily for the twenty-something attendees, we could sit in the adjoining room. We could see the band behind the glass and hear them through the monitor's speakers (and the open door).

Fun !

November 14, Popfarm, Bonn, Germany.
Unfortunately, the picture is only showing part of the sextet, but the sound was great.
Popfarm will make the recording available next February.
Looking forward to it.

MUZE JAZZ ORCHESTRA PLAYS ZAPPA

Browsing facebook, I read about a book that's being published to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Muze Jazz Orchestra (MJO).
AND that the book will be presented next weekend, during a Frank Zappa tribute concert, also remembering the Zappa concert(s) they did in 2013.

Wowie Zowie. Imagine my surprise !!

https://www.muze.be/2021-12-05.html

SINISTER SISTER

Last weekend (November 19, 2021) had us visiting Sounds, the renewed Brussels jazz club, to catch Sinister Sister in concert.

The ensemble played two sets: the first one performing the music of Bartok, the second one sharing their interpretation of the music of Frank Zappa.

Fabulous.
This is one of the best bands I've ever seen performing the music of FZ.

Here's a recording from 2014 (with Lander Gyselinck on the drums. The current drummer is Xavier Rogé) :

VANBINSBERGEN PLAYSTATION

Earlier today, we crossed the border to see and hear Vanbinsbergen Playstation in concert in Baarle Nassau, NL.

Quite happy to still be able to see this matinee concert (it started at 14h00) as the latest Dutch Covid Restrictions don't allow events after 17h00.

Amazing.
Beautiful music and a superb performance.

Guitar player, composer and band leader Corrie van Binsbergen recently made a video recording of the March concert in Utrecht available on YouTube.

Check it out (and buy their album if you like what you hear)

• METE ERKER tenor sax, bass clarinet
• MIGUEL BOELENS alto sax, soprano sax
• MORRIS KLIPHUIS horn, trumpet
• JOOST BUIS trombone, lapsteel
• ALBERT VAN VEENENDAAL prepared piano
• CORRIE VAN BINSBERGEN guitar
• DION NIJLAND bass
• YONGA SUN drums

REST IN PEACE, GRUBI

If you ever attended the Zappanale festival, you must have encountered Grubi.
Rest in peace, Grubi.

SONNY ROLLINS QUARTET - LIVE UNDER THE SKY '83

• sonny rollins quartet: live under the sky '83
      (2021, cd, uk, equinox)

The Equinox record label continues to release radio show concert recordings on CD at an incredible pace.
Next to the 1981 Sonny Rollins concert (that featured George Duke in his band), Equinox also released the 1983 Sonny did in Tokyo.
At that moment in time, the Sonny Rollins Quartet consisted of Sonny Rollins (sax), Pat Metheny (guitar), Alphonso Johnson (fretless bass) and Jack DeJohnette (drums).
Not the best audio quality, but a fine opportunity to listen to this amazing line-up.

1983 was a good year for Sonny Rollins. He was playing at his best, had an all-star rhythm section and to top it all the National Endowment for the Arts finally honoured him as a “Jazz Master”. Guitarist Pat Metheny, a Rollins devotee, was already well established as one of the most original players of his generation and his solos are worth the admission fee alone. Alphonso Johnson is given plenty of space on his fretless bass, making it clear why Weather Report were reluctant to let him go and Jack DeJohnette’s polyrhythms give the soloists plenty to work with. The originals are taken from Rollins’ No Problem (1981) and Reel Life (1982) LPs and the set finishes with a Sonny staple, Mack The Knife. As always, the shark bites and the crowd go wild.
Performed live at Yomiuriland Open Theatre East, Tokyo, Japan on July 31st 1983, and broadcast on NHK radio.

Here's Sonny live in Paris in 1982 :

SONNY ROLLINS, GEORGE DUKE, STANLEY CLARKE, AL FOSTER - LIVE UNDER THE SKY... '81

• sonny rollins, george duke, stanley clarke, al foster: live under the sky... '81
      (2021, 2cd, uk, equinox)

After his stint with Zappa, George Duke performed and recorded with quite a number of artists.
In the early eighties, he also started making name as a producer.

May 1980, George (as well as Stanley Clarke and Al Foster) contributed to the recording of Sonny Rollins' "Love At First Sight" album.
During their 1981 tour to promote the album, the Tokyo concert got broadcast.
It recently found its way to a radio show album.

At the time of this live performance Sonny Rollins and his all-star rhythm section were fresh from the studio where they had made his Love At First Sight 1980 LP for Milestone records. Most of the set list is taken from that recording with the addition of some perennial Rollins classics. As always Sonny's solos are energy and invention personified. For this Japanese tour he decided to complement his signature tenor with soprano sax. His relatively rare excursions on the straight horn are always worth seeking out. George Duke, Stanley Clarke and Al Foster support the saxophonist masterfully and have plenty of solo space to showcase their considerable talents. Performed at Denen Colosseum, Tokyo, Japan on July 22, 1981 and broadcast by NHK radio.

Here's a YouTube snippet, although I have to add that the sound of the 2 CD set is much better compared to this video.

 

THE DEREK TRUCKS BAND - ROADSONGS

• the derek trucks band: road songs
      (2010, cd, usa, masterworks)

Funky feel good music.
Recorded in concert in 2009 with a horn section, for the occasion.

The Derek Trucks Band in fine shape.
I like it.

Here's the opening track :

DEGURUTIENI - DARK MONDO

Degurutieni.

From Nishinari Osaka Japan.

Weird Wild Obscure Spooky exotica burlesque toy junk Muzak Trash One Man Band music made with broken cassette desks and fucked up record players.

Feat members of (Acid Mother Temple) adn the Orchestre Du Belgistan

Listen !!
It's the perfect soundtrack of the covid-free evening party you wish you would have had.

ANDREW GREENAWAY & SERGIO ALBONICO - FZ88 - A VISUAL DOCUMENTARY - ZAPPA'S FINAL TOUR

• andrew greenaway & sergio albonico: fz88 - a visual documentary - zappa's final tour
      (2021, book, uk, wymer publishing)

Originally, "FZ88 - A Visual Documentary - Zappa's Final Tour" got published by Wymer Publishing in 2019. Hardback book. Limited edition of 500 copies. Included bonus pictures / prints, suitable for framing.

The excellent book got a paperback re-issue about two months ago.
Reading the backside it says that it's a perfect companion to Andrew's "Zappa The Hard Way" book (a book that went into depth about the demise of Frank Zappa's 1988 tour) and I could not agree more. It's a perfect companion.

Great pictures by Sergio, fine interviews, including one that Pauline Butcher had with Frank during the 1988 tour.

Nice. Very nice. And available from any decent book shop.

SCOTT PARKER - PREPOSTEROUS

• scott parker: preposterous! frank zappa on stage volume 8 - 1977-1978
      (2021, book, usa, scott parker books)

Volume 8 in Scott Parker's "Frank Zappa On Stage" series takes a closer look at the years 1977 and 1978. The world tour that started later in 1978, is not part of this book.

• the official albums that got released in 1977-1978
• the bootleg albums that included recordings from 1977-1978
• the official albums that included material from 1977-1978
• video recordings that feature material from 1977-1978
• the live tapes 1977-78
• "Zappa" (as the band was called) featured FZ, Adrian Belew, Patrick O'Hearn, Terry Bozzio, Ed Mann, Tommy Mars, Peter Wolf
• September 1977 - December 1977 : USA and Canada
  January 1978 - February 1978 : European tour
• updates to previous released books
  

It's the info that can be found in the Live Tapes section that offers the interesting part. Scott discusses each recording and has accurately written out all of the introductions and comments that were made during the shows.

BELEDO - SERIOUSLY DEEP

• beledo: seriously deep
      (2021, cd, usa, moonjune records)

Earlier this week, I gave Beledo's "Seriously Deep" another spin.
A very enjoyable album.

• BELEDO - guitars, acoustic piano, synth
• TONY LEVIN - upright bass, bass guitar
• KENNY GROHOWSKI - drums

Check it out.
Digital release through Bandcamp and also out on CD.

https://moonjune.com/

BLOSSOM TOES

Blossom Toes' "If Only For A Moment" album got released in 1969. It got re-issued a couple of times already.
Next year, however, it will see another re-release but this time with lots of bonus material.
The resulting 3 CD set will include various live material, including Frank Zappa's guest appearance during the Amougies festival, from 1969.

This is not the first official appearance of this recording. The track with FZ already found its way to the 2009 "Love Bomb - Live 1967-69" 2 CD or 3 LP set.

ARRIGO BARNABÉ

Arrigo Barnabé.

Brazilian musician and actor.

''Crocodile's Suite' from his 2017 "Claras et Crocodilos" album.
(inspired by his 'Clara Crocodilo' piece from his 1980 "Clara Crocodilo" album)

https://open.spotify.com/track/0ofkgWpNlR2K9PkYBbbZc1?si=71bd0fedc0784939

-- info: Zjakki Willems 

TOTAL IMMERSION : FRANK ZAPPA

Total Immersion: Frank Zappa Events

Saturday, March 19, 2022 in London, UK

https://www.bbc.co.uk/events/rzn38g

11h00 Film: Zappa
Barbican, London
The perfect introduction to Frank Zappa: Alex Winter’s new landmark documentary explores the man, the music and the phenomenon – both on the stage and far from it.

14h30
Zappa: The Yellow Shark
Milton Court Concert Hall - Guildhall School Orchestra
Guildhall School Musicians pay homage to Frank Zappa’s iconic last album, harvested from his appearance at the 1992 Frankfurt Festival.

19h30
Zappa Goes Large
Barbican, London - BBC Symphony Orchestra
For Frank Zappa, the symphony orchestra was the consummate vehicle for musical storytelling. Brad Lubman leads this performance culminating in Zappa’s acknowledged orchestral masterpieces.

Tickets:
https://www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/2022/series/bbc-symphony-orchestra-total-immersion-frank-zappa

-- info Andrew Greenaway on FB + http://www.idiotbastard.com/news.htm

BATWANGER - VOLUME 3 - FUCK A RELIC

Batwanger featured Tony Infantino on drums & vocals, and J.M.Smig on guitar & vocals.

J.M. has made some of the Batwanger rehearsals available through Bandcamp stating :
Batwanger was a guitar/drum duo (with occasional third parties) from the North Shore of Massachusetts that existed years before (and played better than) the White Stripes. This catalog is compiled from rehearsals and jam sessions recorded 1988-1992.

Reason enough to check it out.

PIERRE VERVLOESEM & TEUN VERBRUGGEN - YOUNG TALENTS

Pierre Vervloesem and Teun Verbruggen released a first album (as P.V.T.V.) in 2011.

They're back. And how !

Guitar and drums. No limitations. An exciting musical trip.

Recommended listening !

THANK YOU SCIENTIST FEAT. BLUECOATS

New Jersey-based Thank You Scientist feat. Bluecoats.

We need more bands like this. 

NEW RELEASE BY RUSS STEDMAN

A new release by Russ Stedman : "Maniac And Vine".

 

THE ED PALERMO BIG BAND

Ed Palermo Big Band, "Tobacco Road" (Sky Cat Records 2021)

featuring Kimberly Davis (vocals), Robben Ford (guitar). Music by John D. Loudermilk, Arranged by Ed Palermo, Audio mix & (Kim Davis) film footage by Steve Jankowski, Video by Brennan ArtHouse 2021. From The Ed Palermo Big Band album, "I've Got News for You: The Music of Edgar Winter" (Sky Cat Records 2021).

THANK YOU SCIENTIST

Bandcamp advised me to listen to Thank You Scientist.
Nice. Very nice.

Their latest (fourth) album :

A live version of 'My Famed Disappearing Act", a track that originally appeared on their 2014 debut album: 

KINGS OF BELGIUM

Revisiting the Kings Of Belgium.
Featuring Gil Mortio on guitar and Pierre Vervloesem on bass.
The 2009 "Unchained Melodies" album featured Al Battor (= Didier Fontaine) on drums.
The 2011 "Très Fort" album featured Morgan Agren on drums.

Great stuff.

https://off-recordlabel.blogspot.com/2016/08/odx011-kings-of-belgium-unchained.html

NEW ALBUM BY BLACK FLOWER

The new Black Flower album is called "Magma" and will be released next January, but it's already up for pre-order.

The Bandcamp page already presents a couple of tracks.

 

IBRAHIM MAALOUF

I enjoyed this Ibrahim Malouf concert recording on YouTube earlier today.
Live in Istanbul. From 2013!!

Featuring

• Ibrahim Malouf (trumpet)
• François Delporte (guitar)
• Laurent David (bass)
• Frank Woeste (Fender Rhodes)
• Xavier Rogé (drums) -> who I saw drumming with Sinister Sister last week !!

THE GALLANDS - CLOUD SURFING

THE GALLANDS

Batterie : Stéphane Galland

Clavier : Elvin Galland

 

TANTE TOFU

From Facebook:

Today's edition of "Prog Rocks" (19h30 CET on RauteMusik Rock at rm.fm/rock) is a very special one. It is dedicated to Hamburg-based band Tante Tofu and their rock oratorio "Carl Heinz". An extensive interview with the band and songs from their up-and-coming CD give you a great insight into the fantastic project.
And since the band adores the great master Frank Zappa, he will also be featured with a couple of songs.

JUICY LUCY - LIE BACK AND ENJOY IT

The Repertoire records label is re-issuing Juicy Lucy's "Lie Back And Enjoy It" album on CD.
Earlier this year, the album was re-issued on vinyl in France by the Long Hair, Long Hair record label.

The 1970 album included a 7-minute version of FZ's 'Willie The Pimp'.

OXYGENE8 RE-RELEASE TWO SONGS IN HONOR OF EMMETT CHAPMAN

From GlassOnyon PR

Prog Ensemble Oxygene8 Featuring Linda Cushma To Re-release Two Songs In Honor of Emmett Chapman

Oxygene8 will re-release two tracks from the 2003 album, POETICA, in honor of Emmett Chapman, inventor of the Chapman Stick. The tracks selected are ‘heavy on the rhythm section’ featuring Linda Cushma on Chapman Stick and Tim Alexander on drums. After hearing tracks from the POETICA album, Emmett had once mentioned that it was the way he intended the Chapman Stick to be played & heard. This is for you, Emmett.

“STAND” is a timely track and was the first song written and performed by O8 with the Chapman Stick. “FUNKERNICKEL” is a fun little track played live in the studio with co-writers of the album, Tim Alexander on drums, Frank D’Angelo on guitar and Linda Cushma on vocals & bass/Chapman Stick.

 

IBRAHIM MALOUF IS TOURING

 Aaaargh... Ibrahim Malouf did a concert in Tilburg, NL, yesterday.
If only I had know this a bit earlier...
I would gladly have crossed the border for this one.

NOV 23 Théâtre de Tilburg - Tilburg
DÉC 01 MC2 - Grenoble
DÉC 02 MC2 - Grenoble
DÉC 04 Vendéspace - Mouilleron-le-Captif
DÉC 06 Cirque Royal (COMPLET) - Bruxelles
DÉC 07 De Roma (COMPLET) - Anvers
DÉC 08 Jazz à Liège (COMPLET) - Liège
DÉC 10 Le Tube - Seignosse
DÉC 12 L’Archipel - Perpignan
DÉC 16 Zénith de Paris - Paris
DÉC 20 AccorArena - Paris

STUDIO DAN UPDATE

A message from Studio Dan

Dear audience,
Dear friends,

we will fervently—and hopefully for the last time—be playing a video stream concert, TONIGHT. Gather in masses in front of your screens and listen to premiere perfomances and other music that should not be missed!

Wednesday, November 24th, 2021
20h – Alte Schmiede

Program
Judith Unterpertinger – triple point #1 (2021), für Schlagwerk, Tape und Video (Video: Catherine Ludwig) | UA, 9'
Anthony Braxton – Composition Nr. 107 (1982), for two multiinstrumentalists and piano, 35'
Daniel Riegler – Musik für 11 (2014), 4. Meditation für Perkussion Solo, 5'
Daniel Riegler – Körperstudie #1 (2021), zu Anthony Braxtons Composition Nr. 107 | UA, 17'

Studio Dan
Clemens Salesny – woodwinds
Daniel Riegler – brass instruments
Michael Tiefenbacher – keys
Margit Schoberleitner – percussion

Link to stream
https://youtu.be/2aYIF1w4hns

Website Alte Schmiede
https://alte-schmiede.at/alte-schmiede/recital-2/ensemble-studio-dan

––

records & other stuff

What's more? Buy our new CDs! Those and many other things can be found there:
https://records-and-other-stuff.at

The Earth is (almost) round, 1+1=2 and COVID is not just a cold,

Studio Dan

BOX OF NOISE

From MoonJune Records:

There is a new band on the horizons of the adventurous progressive fusion.

BOX OF NOISE

PERCY JONES - bass guitar
ALEX MACHACEK - guitar
KENNY GROHOWSKI- drums

2022 will bring international tours, new album with brand new compositions, and a lot of joy, harmony and wellness.

The three shows on the short warm up tour of SoCal are:

JAN 15, SAT - San Pedro, CA (Alva’s Showroom)
JAN 16, SUN - Los Angeles, CA (The Baked Potato)
JAN 17, MON - Los Angeles, CA (The Baked Potato)

 

CARLOS SANTANA WITH SADAO WATANABE - LIVE... UNDER THE SKY '91

• carlos santana with sadao watanabe: live... under the sky '91
      (2021, 2cd, uk, equinox)

The 1991 concert that Carlos did in Japan with special guest Sadao Watanabe might not be part of Carlos' extensive discography, but an audio recording of this concert has recently hit the shops.

Previously made available on DVD bootleg, the concert has now been released on CD in the "Live... Under The Sky" series on the Equinox (bootleg) label.

Pretty amazing.

Hadn't heard it before. And only found out today that the video recording can be found on YouTube.

By 1991 the band Santana had evolved from latin organ and percussion grooves through trippy jazz-fusion and arrived at a form of high energy latin soul/rock. It’s a journey few watching them at Woodstock in 1969 would have predicted. Twenty-two years and countless albums later Carlos Santana himself was the only original member present in Tokyo. A close friend of Miles Davis and devotee of John Coltrane, he had regularly incorporated elements of jazz into his music, so it is no surprise to see Japan’s greatest living saxophonist, Sadao Watanabe, added here. For his part Watanabe is happy to play latin, funk and fusion, his solos easily matching Santana’s overdriven guitar for invention and energy. The tunes are taken from the Santana albums Freedom (1987) and Spirits Dancing In The Flesh (1990) as well as classics from their LPs Abraxas (1970) and Amigos (1976). Performed at the Nippon Budokan, Tokyo, Japan 21st May 1991 and broadcast on NHK radio.

PAARD. - ZALM

Belgian trio PAARD. (Horse.) has just released "Danki" (Thank You, in Esperanto), their first album.
It's out on vinyl and as a digital download through Bandcamp.

Before "Danki" however, about a year ago, the ensemble had already released "Zalm" (Salmon).
A 4-track EP.
Also out on vinyl (and Bandcamp).
Modern jazz powertrio.
Love the different sounds of the vibraphone. Check out the steel drum sound in 'Bembe'.

• Wim TJ Segers: vibraphone, synth
• Owen Perry Weston: bass
• Sigfried Burroughs: drums

Sounds good. Sounds really good.

KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD - LIVE IN BRUSSELS '19

I got sucked into the King Gizzard atmosphere by "Polygwandanaland", the band's 2017 album.
Or one of their 2017 albums to be more precisely as the band released five (!) albums that year.

Last year, Gizz started making recordings available for everybody to release.
The Bandcamp proceeds went to charity. If someone else released the recordings, they just asked for a number of contributor copies.
A weird bunch, these Aussies.

My latest listening sessions included their "Live In Brussels '19" album, recorded during their two nights at the Ancienne Belgique concert hall in Brussels on October 8 and 9 in 2019, and released in 2020.

BRUNO VANSINA - SITCOM '85

After the recent "Presenting The Demons Of Shame", Bruno Vansina has now released "Sitcom '85" through his Bandcamp page.

Bruno recorded the basic tracks in 2014.
Pierre, Thomas and Jordi added their contribution in 2021.

• Bruno Vansina: saxophones, ewi, keyboards, artwork
• Pierre Vervloesem: bass, electric guitar, mix & master
• Thomas Mayade: trumpet (track 5)
• Jordi Geuens: drums

Chances are this will also be released on CD in the very near future !

FRANK ZAPPA - PHILADELPHIA 1980

I mentioned this 4 CD radio show bootleg box a little while ago but I only got the opportunity to listen to it earlier this week.

Sounds pretty good. The package is nice as well.
Recorded on April 29, 1980, and (officially) made available through the Bill Graham Archives.
Bootleg release by Time Line.

If you want to check it out, go to the Bill Graham Archives (Wolfgang's Vault) website or check out Zappateers.

The Zappateers database adds :

1980 04 29 - Tower Theatre, Upper Darby, PA

Early show

110 min, SBD, A
105 min, Aud, B

The complete SBD recording only circulates as lossy (from Wolfgang Vault). An edited (75 min) lossless version, including also few songs of the late show, starts with the intros after Chunga, doesn't have Pick Me I'm Clean and has many of the guitar solos cut short.

Chunga's Revenge, Easy Meat [parts on TTR], Mudd Club, The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing, Heavenly Bank Account, Suicide Chump, Jumbo Go Away, If Only She Woulda [basic track on YAWYI], I Don't Wanna Get Drafted, Teenage Wind, Harder Than Your Husband, Bamboozled By Love, Pick Me I'm Clean, Cosmik Debris, You Didn't Try To Call Me, I Ain't Got No Heart, Joe's Garage, Why Does It Hurt When I Pee? Dancin' Fool, Bobby Brown, Black Napkins, Don't Eat The Yellow Snow, The Illinois Enema Bandit

Late show

105 min, SBD, A

The complete SBD recording only circulates as lossy (from Wolfgang Vault). Ten minutes of it (part of the Society Pages medley and Any Downers?) used to be included in the edited SBD of the early show.

Treacherous Cretins, Keep It Greasey, Outside Now, City Of Tiny Lights (q: Entry Of The Gladiators), Pound For A Brown (q: Mo 'N Herb's Vacation), Cosmik Debris, Society Pages, I'm A Beautiful Guy, Beauty Knows No Pain, Charlie's Enormous Mouth, Any Downers?, Conehead (q: Get Happy), Easy Meat (q: Thirteen), Mudd Club, The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing, Heavenly Bank Account, q: The Stripper, Love Of My Life, q: Get Happy, Watermelon In Easter Hay

Bootleg package pictures :

KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD - LIVE IN PARIS '19

More than 10 different record labels have already released their version of King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard's "Live In Paris '19" album, a recording that was offered for free by KG&TLW to anyone who wanted to release it.

Next up is the Amsterdam-based Concerto (record shop & label) vinyl version !

THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR GUITAR - THE JAMMING NEVER STOPS (A TRIBUTE TO FRANK ZAPPA)

• the six million dollar guitar: the jamming never stops (a tribute to frank zappa)
      (2021, download, --, bandcamp)

“The Jamming Never Stops” by Vancouver, British Columbia-based The Six Million Dollar Guitar presented 5 guitar instrumentals, inspired by the music of Frank Zappa.

PAARD. - DANKI

• PAARD.: danki
      (2021, lp, belgium, werf records)

Belgian trio PAARD. has just released "Danki".
PAARD. mixes electronic jazz, funk and even some hip hop.
The trio features Wim TJ Segers on vibraphone, synth and vocals; Owen Perry Weston on bass and vocals; and Sigfried Burroughs on drums and vocals.
I just love the sound of the vibraphone and synth in these tracks. Which reminded me that I also have to check out Compro Oro, another project that includes Wim TJ Segers.

Out on vinyl (& Bandcamp).

ZAPPA AT BARZOEN

December 20, 2021, DJ Zjakki Willems will take the visitors of the Barzoen café (at CC De Warande in Turnhout BE) on a trip to Frank Zappa's musical world.  

https://www.barzoen.cafe/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/21_10_Najaarsprogramma_Barzoen_Turnhout.pdf

GOV'T MULE - HEAVY LOAD BLUES

The latest Gov't Mule album got released as a 2 LP set (on different colours of vinyl), as a CD (the standard edition), as a a deluxe 2 CD set.

Data for the 2 CD set have been added to the United Mutations Archives.

Album covers of the CD and the 2 CD set differ slightly, but the bonus disc of the 2 CD set offers 8 extra tracks.

KLOOT PER W - ARBRE A FILLES

FRED HÄNDL - MOM & DAD

From a couple of years ago :

GOV'T MULE - HEAVY LOAD BLUES

• gov't mule: heavy load blues
      (2021, 2cd, europe, fantasy)

Gov't Mule plays the blues.
Elmore James, Junior Wells, Tom Waits, Howlin' Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson and more, plus some original tunes.

Great.

 

BELEDO - ESCAPE

• beledo: escape
      (2000, download, --, bandcamp)

Originally released in Uruguay on LP in 1986 by the Ciruja record label, Beledo's "Escape" album got remastered and re-released by MoonJune Records in 2020.

I'm not the biggest fan of the vocals, but I do love the fusion guitar playing.

You can check "Escape" out at the Beledo / MoonJune Bandcamp page :

MAGMA'S "BBC 1974 LONDON" IS GETTING A VINYL RELEASE

From GlassOnyon PR

MAGMA “BBC 1974 LONDON” 2 LP Red Vinyl Limited Edition Numbered Gatefold 180g Audiophile Now Available For Pre-Order!

Available November 26 For RSD BLACK FRIDAY
This high quality recording carried out on March 14th, 1974 in the London BBC studios, is here carefully remastered for a vinyl release. This double LP includes two Magmaian masterpieces in unique versions, performed by the group that was at the origin of their creation. If the completed versions played by the MAGMA of 75-76 are most familiar to us, those offered us here present a major interest on several levels: their structure first of all, which at that time was not yet finalized, and comprised sequences which were subsequently either re-arranged, thereafter in a different way, or deleted: THEUSZ HAMTAAHK whose pseudo-slowness of tempo is matched only by the contained violence that inhabits it, and KÖHNTARKÖSZ where the magic of the keyboards brings to this work an alternative just as bewitching as the one engendered at the Taverne de l'Olympia the following year, by the divine soaring of Didier LOCKWOOD’s violin.

• Klaus BLASQUIZ - vocals, percussions
• Claude OLMOS - guitar
• Michel GRAILLIER - Fender piano, keyboards
• Gérard BIKIALO - Fender piano
• Jannick TOP - bass
• Christian VANDER - drums, vocals

SUN RA'S "OMNIVERSE" ALBUM TO BE RELEASED ON CD

Sun Ra's "Omniverse" album to be released on CD (for the first time) and on purple vinyl.

From the Sundazed website :

https://sundazed.com/sun-ra-omniverse-cd.aspx

Recorded in New York in 1979 and released that year on Sun Ra's Saturn label, this is a solid, overlooked set in the vast Ra canon. The tracks aren't so much compositions as excursions, pure jazz, lots of reflective piano in trio, quartet, and sextet settings. Features cover art interpreted from a favorite Arkestra hand drawn cover, and liner notes from Irwin Chusid. Includes 12 minutes of CD only bonus euphony!

Also available on purple vinyl!

The Place Of Five Points • West End Side Of Magic City [Vita No. 5] • Dark Lights In A White Forest • Omniverse • Visitant Of The Ninth Ultimate • Over The Rainbow* • The Sound Mirror*

*CD only

GIZMODROME

After the 2017 "Gizmodrome" album, Steward Copeland, Mark King, Vittorio Cosma and Adrian Belew are now releasing a live 2 CD set.

Here's what they sounded like in London in 2018, according to YouTube :

WENDY WALDMAN - THE MAIN REFRAIN

Jay Migliori, Pamela Goldsmith and Victor Feldman recorded with Frank Zappa at a certain point in their career.

All three can also be heard on Wendy Waldman's "The Main Refrain" album.
From 1976.

Here's a sample: 

-- info: Jan van Kemenade

ECKART RUNGE / JACQUES AMMON - REVOLUTIONARY ICONS

• eckart runge /jacques ammon: revolutionary icons
      (2021, cd, germany, berlin classics)

Eckart Runge (cello) and Jacques Ammon (piano) recorded “Revolutionary Icons” in January 2020. The album got subtitled “Paths From Radical Spirit To Iconic Legend” and presented music by Beethoven next to pieces by contemporary pop and rock artists (Amy Winehouse, Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie, Frank Zappa and Stevie Wonder). It included the duo’s interpretation of Frank Zappa’s ‘Be-Bop Tango’ in an arrangement of Wolf Kerschek. 
To promote the album, the duo performed and recorded a radio show concert entitled “Roll Over Beethoven” in March 2020. It got broadcast by several radio stations across Europe.
Despite being recorded in January 2020, the release of the album only took place in 2021.

A beautiful album.
I'm not completely convinced of the mix with the Beethoven material, but the pop and rock tunes are absolutely amazing.
Their version of FZ's 'The Be-Bop Tango' sounds great. I wish they would do some more Zappa material.

The below piece is not on the album :

The duo discusses the new album :

MILWAUKEE ZAPPAFEST ON DECEMBER 11 + LIVE STREAM

Greetings fellow Zappa fans! 

Milwaukee Zappafest, America's longest running Frank Zappa tribute concert is back for it's 23rd installment on Dec 11th! And once again we are bringing back the one and only IKE WILLIS! This concert will also be livestreamed, so you can tune in from wherever you are whether it's San Ber'dino or all the way down in France! Proceeds from our online donations will go directly to Ike's medical expenses as he continues to battle his way back from cancer. More info in the event link below, and we hope you join us or tune in this year 'cuz it's always a fun celebration of Frank Zappa and his music, and your support will directly help Ike and keep this living legend alive! Great googly moogly!

https://fb.me/e/187R7yaX9

HOW TO EARN A MILLION DOLLARS IN FIVE YEARS

Well, you buy a house, and after five years, you sell it...

https://www.lamag.com/culturefiles/lady-gaga-quietly-sells-laurel-canyon/?

Take the tour :

ANOTHER FRANK ZAPPA BIOGRAPHY / PICTURE BOOK

• frank zappa
  by harry lime
      (2020, book, usa, print-on-damand)

Harry Lime pulled together a 40 page biography, added 80 pages will (well-known) pictures and released it as a pocket-sized book.
Not impressed.

RUBBER TEA - INFUSION

• rubber tea: infusion
      (2019, cd, eu, sireena) 

German, Bremen-based band Rubber Tea released “Infusion” on LP and on CD, and on Bandcamp. Track 6, ‘Storm Glass’ used a bass line that was inspired by Frank Zappa’s ‘Watermelon In Easter Hay’.
Out on the Sireena record label !

Great band name. And I like the album.

You can check it out on Bandcamp:

VARIOUS ARTISTS - THE SPIRIT OF SIREENA 13

• various artists: the spirit of sireena 13
      (2019, cd, eu, sireena) 

Sireena is a German record label that has released an album by The Grandmothers, Fido Plays Zappa and The Universe By Ear.
Volume 13 of the Sireena sampler series presented two tracks from Fido Plays Zappa's "Atlantis & Elsewhere" album: 'Dirty Love / Magic Fingers'.

Here's 'Bobby Brown', released on 7" by Fido Plays Zappa, private release by the band :

THE DEREK TRUCKS BAND - OUT OF THE MADNESS

• the derek trucks band: out of the madness
      (1998, cd, usa, house of blues)

With Gov't Mule in the spotlight (as they're releasing their new album), it's only appropriate to play some material by The Derek Trucks Band.

"Out Of Madness" got released in 1998 and is Derek Trucks' second solo album.
Wikipedia adds that Derek was only 18 years old when he recorded and released this.

There's some excellent blues playing on this disc.
With special guest Jimmy Herring, also on guitar !

Here's the final track, 'Deltaraga' :

LES ORIGINES DU ROCK

Belgian comic fanzine La Gazette Du Rock was created in 2011.
The first issues came with supplements.

Among other gadgets, issue number 1 presented a postal card entitled "Les Origines Du Rock 2"
(the first card had been issued with number 0)

Artwork by Jean Bourguignon !

GOV'T MULE - MULE ON EASY STREET 10.019.06

• gov't mule: mule on easy street 10.19.06
      (2006, cdep, usa, ato records)

Warren Haynes - Matt Abts - Andy Hess - Danny Louis.
Recorded at an in-store concert at Easy Street Records (Seattle) in 2006
Record store day release.
Sold and catalogued as a CD EP although it's 45 minutes long.

Only discovered it recently. (thanks, Danny !)

Not hard to find and an an excellent concert / album.

RESIDENTS UPDATE FROM MELODIC VIRTUE

From the Melodic Virtue website:

"The Residents : A Sight For Sore Eyes, Vol.1" 

The Residents: A Sight for Sore Eyes, Vol. 1 is a fully authorized visual history with rare and unseen photos, artwork, and other ephemera. Melodic Virtue has been given unprecedented access to The Cryptic Corporation’s archives to create a limited edition coffee table book covering everything from their beginnings in San Mateo up to The Mole Show.

There's also a deluxe version:

• Book signed by The Residents and by the author, Aaron Tanner
  
• Includes Duck Stab/Buster & Glen Notebook 7" x 7" book, 24 pages
• Includes a 7" vinyl picture disc of the unreleased Not Available-era track, "Nobody's Nos"
• Numbered 1-500

Psychofon is distributing the regular release in Yurip.

RESIDENTS UPDATE FROM PSYCHOFON RECORDS

THE RESIDENTS
MOLE DANCE 82 – LIVE IN STUDIO
2LP Color Vinyl

Limited to 200 numbered copies

Andreas adds:
One of my all-time favorite Residents Shows is the Mole Show. Thats’s why we here at Psychofon were very pleased when we heard about a new project from the Cryptic Corp. that we should work on. Unfortunately none of the original templates of the Chubs and Moles survived, and so the project became a great challenge for us and took longer than expected to complete. Now after more then a half year of production, the time has finally come and we are finally happy to present you our new release, a DOUBLE LP of the Live in Studio version of the Mole Show. Taken from the untreated recording, remastered by Master & Servant.

 
But we wouldn’t be Psychofon Records if we just left it with a normal Double LP. The 2 Records hosted in a wonderful Full color Tri-Fold Cover, which includes a small Mole Show Paper Theatre!! Now you can finally create or replay your own Mole Show. The entire Set includes the 2 LPs plus the theatre, all the Backdrops and all the Mole & Chub stage Figures to cut out. There is also a laminated pseudo backstage pass and a ticket for your own imaginary Mole Show.

RESIDENTS UPDATE FROM KLANGGALERIE

From the Klanggalerie website:

The Residents: The Wow Demos Vol.1

...Early in 2020, the group was invited to perform their seminal album God in 3 Persons at the MOMA in New York. The Wonder of Weird tour was the second part of The Residents' Randy, Chuck and Bob Trilogy of live tours (following 2010's Talking Light tour), The Wonder of Weird focuses on the theme of sex, with its lead character Randy further detailing the story of his life, now ruined by a sex addiction. Like Talking Light before it, The Wonder of Weird featured a stripped down trio line-up of Randy Rose (vocals), Charles Bobuck (keyboards/electronics), and Lionel Bob (guitar). The group wear variations of the same masks previously featured in Talking Light, with the addition of Santa outfits and classic Residents t-shirts. Despite the Christmas theme in the costumes and set designs, the show began at the end of January (and ended in May). A running gag in the show is that despite being subtitled "The 40th Anniversary Tour", it actually ended up taking place on the group's 41st anniversary. Before the band took to the road, demo versions of the songs were recorded - first in stripped down version, later with added vocals and guitar. Many of the songs made into the final show, some didn't. We are happy to present the minimalist electronic versions for the first time ever on a 2-CD set.

Coming soon:

• The Residents: The Wow Demos Vol.2
  
• Hardy Fox: Ibbur

 

RESIDENTS UPDATE FROM GRAND CHESS RECORDS

 From the Grand Chess website:

THE RESIDENTS - DUCK STAB! ALIVE!

2 x 10" & DVD

The Residents released DUCK STAB! as a seven inch, 33 1/3 rpm EP in 1978. For the group, the relatively lighthearted EP represented a break from the much more experimental Eskimo recordings which consumed the majority of a four-year period from 1975-79; for Ralph Records it was a much-needed revenue source at a time when the band was not producing much product. To everyone’s surprise, the EP was a hit, selling 50,000 copies in a few months. The demand was so high that Ralph insisted the band record a second EP, Buster & Glen, which they paired with DUCK STAB! to make an LP, which was also quite successful.

Several years later, Night Flight, a program featuring alternative programming on the USA cable channel, aired Residents’ video, including the Hello Skinny music video based on a song from the DUCK STAB! / Buster & Glen album. The program aired from 1981-88 often highlighting The Residents to the extent that many of the group’s fans cited Night Flight as their initial introduction to the band.

Fast forwarding to 2016 when Night Flight resurrected itself as a streaming video service, Night Flight Plus. In recognition of their long-standing connection, Night Flight invited The Residents to create a program in celebration of the service’s 40th Anniversary on June 5, 2021. Since the band was already rehearsing DUCK STAB! as part of their upcoming 50th Anniversary Tour, the forty-year-old EP/LP seemed like a perfect choice for Night Flight.

With a professional camera crew, led by director John Sanborn and director of photography Frazer Bradshaw, The Residents performed the reworked DUCK STAB! ALIVE! music over three days from May 19-21,2021 at the 25th Street Studio in Oakland, CA. The results, as you can hear and see on the discs of this limited boxed set, are spectacular.

RESIDENTS UPDATE FROM CHERRY RED RECORDS

From the Cherry Red Records newsletter :

Greetings fellow eyeball enthusiasts,

It's been a while, but here it is, your latest update on all things Residential, including a Wormwood extravaganza, the big screen and plans for the guys' 50th Anniversary in 2022 (has it really only been fifty years? It feels somehow..... longer).

So. Item one - Wormwood.

Well, you may like to know that The Residents' 'Wormwood Box' will be next in the ongoing pREServed series, released on January 28th 2022. We're delighted to announce that the De-Fab Four got rather carried away with themselves in compiling the set, with a little help from their friends, and the result is a remarkable 9CD box, taking in the album, two live shows, two discs of demos and work-in-progress material, later live recordings and more 'Wormwood' related curios than you ever knew you needed.

Hubba! Oh, and there'll be a double LP set too, the first time 'Wormwood' itself has ever been released on vinyl.
Why not take a look and see if it's your kinda thing

https://www.cherryred.co.uk/the-residents-the-infamous-wormwood-project-preserved-across-9cds-including-over-40-previously-unreleased-tracks/

All of which brings us to 2022. First and foremost, The Residents are busy putting the finishing touches to 'Triple Trouble', their debut feature film and its OST album. It is, of course, phenomenal, and will surely be available to watch and listen to via all your favourite outlets.

More on that as it comes in.

And, of course, 50th Anniversary Show plans are afoot, so you can imagine the kind of outlandish and physics defying ideas that are flying about behind the scenes at the moment. At time of writing, the European dates planned for the first couple of months of the year are also in the diary - check your regular outlets for more on those shows. There's a thing where you can type 'Are The Residents touring near my town?" into this big computer in the sky and it tells you the answer. Give it a try.

Elsewhere, the pREServed series will revisit the band's 'classic' 1970s albums, all of which will be released on deluxe 2LP or 3LP sets next year, remastered from the original tapes, looking swell and featuring previously unheard material. The truth is we've been bombarded with requests for these albums on vinyl over the past few years, but The Residents themselves felt somewhat resistant with no new material to offer those who already bought the CDs.

Step forward Covid-19 - the enforced lockdowns of the past eighteen months brought with them a lot of downtime in San Francisco, resulting in a series of brand new RDX suites, wherein The Residents revisited the multitrack tapes for those classic LPs and created new suites featuring unheard elements, alternate mixes and renewed sonic clarity.

Any of you who investigated the 'Leftovers Again?!' LP this year will know what we're talking about, and if you don't really get it the MP3 might give you some idea.

https://soundcloud.com/cherryredrecords/the-residents-rdx-sampler/s-eky4qlGRk0z?si=cf8d7c6d5b20491c8083e51751d0946f&mc_cid=d1f515a837&mc_eid=4dfb1e3f76

Word is each album's release will also include a boffo promotional 7" single, again featuring previously unheard or long out of print stuff. Expect the unexpected. But definitely still expect it, even if it's unexpected. You get the idea. Of course you do.

CORY WONG

Cor Wong grew up in Minneapolis.
After listening to a couple of his tunes, I could have guessed that.

NEIL DIAMOND & THE MOTHERS

http://rockprosopography101.blogspot.com/2009/08/may-21-1966-frenchys-hayward-ca-neil.html

The fact that Frank Zappa and The Mothers played Frenchy’s in Hayward has been alluded to on various chronologies. The new, rather startling piece of information from the ad and listing from the “Here ‘n’ There” entertainment column in the May 20, 1966 edition of The Hayward Daily Review (above) is that The Mothers backed Neil Diamond for a night.

 

GERRY FIALCA & TIM CORVIN

Gerry Fialca & Tim Corvin discussing Frank Zappa and Tim's "Frank Zappa's Greater Ontario" documentary.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OczHMjOy8Q

What a great interview by Gerry Fialca !!

GUILLAUME VIERSET

First Round is the first single and title track from the debut EP by Guillaume Vierset EDGES (out November 19th 2021 via Igloo Records) and the first part of their upcoming full album “The End of the F***ing World”.

• Guillaume Vierset - guitar, compositions
• Dorian Dumont - keyboards, piano
• Anders Christensen - electric bass
• Jim Black - drums

Dec 03, 2021 - De Ruimte - AMSTERDAM (NL)

Dec 04 - Bozar (4th Stream Festival) BRUSSELS (BE)

L'ECLAIR

L’Eclair is a cosmic instrumental six piece from Geneva, Switzerland. The band crafted a unique sound melting nods to CAN, Piero Umiliani, and Tangerine Dream and other influences as the house grooves of 80’s Madchester, Aphex Twin or Boards of Canada.

IKE WILLIS UPDATE

Dot served FaceBook/Fan questions to Ike Willis.

On YouTube:

GARY LUCAS & PETER WILLEMS

Yesterday, Nov 10, 2021, Gary Lucas and Peter Willems did an in-store concert in Hilversum.
It got recorded by Co de Kloet for Dutch radio, if I'm not mistaken.

In the meantime, Gary and Peter have embarked on a 'Double Dare' tour.

Thursay, November 18, 2021, the duo will perform at De Cacaofabriek in
20h45 - at 'de Popzaal' at De Cacaofabriek.

De Cacaofabriek
Cacaokade 1
5705 LA Helmond
NL

The duo is also releasing "Double Dare", a double EP on vinyl and on CD.

ZAPPA DOCUMENTARY WITH ALEX WINTER Q&A SESSION IN LONDON

Zappa documentary with Alex Winter Q&A session

Sunday, Jan 9, 2022

The Prince Charles Cinema

7 Leicester Place WC2H 7BY
London,
UK

On SUNDAY 9th JANUARY - Director Alex Winter will join us in person for LIVE Intro & Q&A with his film!

With unfettered access to the Zappa family trust and all archival footage, ZAPPA explores the private life behind the mammoth musical career that never shied away from the political turbulence of its time. Alex Winter's assembly features appearances by Frank's widow Gail Zappa and several of Frank's musical collaborators including Mike Keneally, Ian Underwood, Steve Vai, Pamela Des Barres, Bunk Gardner, David Harrington, Scott Thunes, Ruth Underwood, Ray White and others.

RESIDENTS ALBUM WITH DEMOS ANNOUNCED BY KLANGGALERIE

https://klanggalerie.com/gg374?

EXAG' RECORDS LABEL NIGHT IN BRUSSELS

EXAG' Records Label Night

at Botanique in Brussels, BE
November 28, 2021

Tamar Aphek / You Said Strange / Phoenician Drive

Phoenician Drive :

 

TIM MOTZER

Each copy of guitarist and composer Tim Motzer's latest album, "The Wisdom Of Water", comes with original artwork.
25 copies with stunning artwork.

https://1krecordings.bandcamp.com/album/the-wisdom-of-water

A closer look at Tim's visual art:

https://www.timmotzer.com/visual-art

ANDROID TRIO - OTHER SONGS

• android trio: other worlds
      (2021, usa, cd, cuneiform)

A couple of days ago, the brand-new album by the Android Trio arrived.
Featuring Andrew Niven on drums, percussion and synth, Eric Klerks on bass and Max Kutner on guitar, this is the trio's second release, following the 2017 "Road Songs" album.

"Other Worlds" is an impressive release. I've listened a couple of times already and I keep hearing new things all the time.
Recommended.
With special guests, including Mike Keneally on keyboard and guitar, who also co-produced the album!
Out on CD and on Bandcamp.

Bandcamp & the Cuneiform website add:

“Get your headphones,” Android Trio guitarist Max Kutner advises. Other Worlds is a wild ride.

It’s also a great advance over Android Trio’s powerful but recorded-in-a-hot-moment debut, Road Songs. Whereas the first record is essentially a performance document, Other Worlds is a fully fleshed-out compositional statement, marked by intricate production strategies and an assortment of extraordinary guests.

“Because we weren’t limited by studio costs and all that, we just went hog-wild on overdubs,” the guitarist explains. “So we were able to make an album to a level of excess that’s more like the things we grew up listening to. Kind of like Gentle Giant, or Genesis: this huge sound.”

If you go looking for influences, others will quickly surface. Progressive rock is certainly here: Other Worlds stands comparison to King Crimson’s masterpiece of the genre, Red, and Eric Klerks is one of a handful of electric bassists who can rival Yes mainstay Chris Squire’s singular blend of grandiosity and fierce aggression. In their deployment of odd time signatures and memorable melodies, many of the new record’s tunes owe a debt to the Bill Bruford/ Dave Stewart/ Allan Holdsworth school, while traces of American fusion can also be detected.

But, as Kutner points out, “we all love video-game music,” along with American minimalism, the hyper-technical electric jazz currently coming out of New York City, math rock, and the Ghanaian drumming that all three studied during their overlapping years at CalArts. (In fact, Other Worlds kicks off with one of those beats, before guest Jonathan Sindelman’s keyboards lead “Anger Dance” off in another direction altogether.

And then there’s the intriguing fact that Kutner, Klerks, and Andrew Niven were all schooled in playful virtuosity, sprung rhythms, and no-holds-barred experimentation while playing in two of the great legacy bands of progressive music: the Grandmothers, who specialize in the playful and occasionally self-mocking reinvention of the Frank Zappa/ Mothers of Invention repertoire, and the Magic Band, drummer-vocalist John “Drumbo” French’s uncannily inspired tribute to the music of his mentor and monster, Don “Captain Beefheart” Van Vliet.

“That’s how we kind of came together,” Kutner says. “Eric I knew more, because I’d played with him in a few different projects. Andy I met later, when I did this band called the Grandmothers of Invention, which was kind of like a Zappa alumni thing. We sort of crossed paths in Australia for the first time in 2014, when Eric and Andy were doing the Magic Band. And, you know, we were all like ‘This is great, but we need to do our own thing.’ Like, we can’t just play in legacy bands forever. We have to pay homage to the things we like by making our own stuff.”

Zappa’s influence is most apparent in the new record’s “Serial Tune”, which opens with a very Zappa-esque trumpet fanfare and draws on the late guitarist’s interest in putting early-20th-century compositional strategies into more accessible frameworks. Beefheart, in turn, comes to the fore on “Secular Athletes”, an appropriately muscular take on the brittle, bent blues abstractions of Van Vliet’s landmark Trout Mask Replica.

Neither sounds like anything other than Android Trio music—but there is another historical link in the presence of co-producer, keyboardist, and guitarist Mike Keneally, who was Zappa’s “stunt soloist” during the late 1980s, as well as a great composer and songwriter in his own right.

“I knew Mike, because we’d premiered one of his orchestral pieces in L.A. in 2011, and I’ve been in close contact with him ever since,” Kutner says. “And I figured that if there was anybody who would get all of the different references—the reference points for what we’re trying to do—and kick us in the ass to make sure that we were tighter in doing it, it would be Mike."

“He can play, sure, but he’s going to get subtle stuff in a way that a lot of other people wouldn’t get.” he continues. “And that’s the very cool thing about Mike: even though he’s twice our age, he’s just on it. He’s professional and he’s enthusiastic about things in the exact same way.”

With Keneally on board as musical guest, band counselor, technical supervisor, and ultimate aesthetic arbiter, Android Trio has made the album they really wanted to make — and Kutner stresses that Other Worlds is an album, in the best and most old-school possible way.

“All of us really love albums as much as we love performing,” he explains. “So we wanted to make this record something that’s fleshed out, in the way of the classic albums of the ’60s and ’70s: full of weird production stuff, and arrangements that might not necessarily translate to or even be possible in a live setting. We’re not going to be selling a million copies of this, so let’s just go for it and work with what we’ve got,” he adds. “We can’t be in the same room together, but we’re not limited by an engineer’s costs, or limited time for overdubs, or physical gear, so let’s just see what happens.
“That was really the focus: our love of sound—and it was probably the most fun album I’ve ever been a part of!”