CALIGINE : FOLK RAMBLINGS WITH FUZZY GUITARS

Caligine’s Anomia Mediterranea

Caligine is, to all intents and purposes, the brainchild of one man although,as Gabriele de Seta loves playing with other people, he prefers to define the project as a collective than a solo act. He’s an Italian who, for the past two years, has mainly divided his time between the Netherlands and China.

Having begun in 2007 by experimenting with harsh noise and found sounds on two volumes entitled Minimalia, Caligine’s new album Anomia Mediterranea is a more luminous and melodic collection of contaminated folk music.

The title track has spoken words (in Italian) that are all but drowned out by insistent drones and there’s even a brief hint of Carmina Burana in there if you listen carefully. These inserts make the musical journey so much more interesting, it’s as if each track begins with the intention of taking a direct line from A to B, then gets drawn to a sound or idea that lies a little off the beaten track.

The longest piece on the album, all 12 minutes and 26 seconds worth, is entitled ‘Cani di Paglia Divorano Tigri di Cartapesta’ which roughly translates as ‘straw dogs devour paper maché tigers’. This surreal ,even faintly savage, imagery belies the lyricism of the instrumental track where a rustic acoustic guitar has elements of Jack Rose’s work with Pelt in which traditional folk becomes gradually corroded by complimentary elements.

Other tracks make me think of Czech poet-musician Vladimir Vaclavek, self-styled neo-folk guru David Tibet and Six Organs of Admittance’s Ben Chasny. In addition, a brief piece of improvised acoustic guitar (Blitris) sounds like an homage to Derek Bailey.

TOM CARTER APPEAL

Really saddened to hear that Tom Carter of the duo Charalambides was taken critically ill with pneumonia while on tour  in Europe. He is currently in intensive care in hospital in Berlin.

Charalambides were one of the first bands that symbolised all that is great about the free folk movement that, for better or worse, has been grouped under the umbrella label New Weird America. I set up a group in their honour on Last.Fm.

Glasgow’s Volcanic Tongue record store  have established a page where they will post regular updates on his condition.

All the proceeds from titles featuring Tom and Christina Carter or Charalambides sold by VT will go direct to Tom and his family as well as all sales of releases on Blackest Rainbow Recordings.

For more details please go here: http://volcanictongue.com/tomcarterappeal.

LEE JACKSON IN SPACE TRIBUTE ALBUM

A massive 94 track tribute album has just been released in honor of Lee Jackson, a Dallas-based music writer who passed away in late March 2012 aged 38 after a struggle with ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

He’s not someone I’d heard of before but the scale of this project makes me think I missed someone I should have read or at least read about.

The album is compiled by Mats Gustafsson, Travis Johnson and Ned Raggett and is described in this way on the Bandcamp site:

“This collection of songs, nearly all of which are new or previously unreleased, comes from the many bands and musicians who Lee not only covered and celebrated with such passion, but also in many cases befriended over many years of correspondence, concert and festival attendance and more”.

Among the artists who make me sit up and take notice are : Charalambides, Valerio Cosi, Six Organs of Admittance, Marissa Nadler,Kemialliset Ystävät, Roy Montgomery ,Vanessa Rossetto and I’d hazard a guess that many of the less familiar names  are well worth checking out too.

The tracks are streamable at Bandcamp or, better still, the whole package can be purchased for $30 with all profits going  to the Texas chapter of the ALS Association..

The download version contains 12 hours of music plus  full information about each song as well as thoughts about the contributing artists, taken from Lee’s writing work.

Good cause, good writing, good music – looks like a no-brainer to me.

Link:

Obituary in Front Row 

THE WIRE BIGS UP JAMES FERRARO

The Wire magazine’s album of the year is a typically perverse choice. I doubt whether James Ferraro’s Far Side Virtual on Hippos In Tanks records will top any other ‘best of 2011′ list and probably won’t even figure in most. This will probably please the Wire team as they want to demonstrate the sharpness and originality of their ‘cutting edge’ selections.

CHARALAMBIDES EXILE

I have never used the word in a real life conversation, but I can honestly say I am ‘stoked’ to hear that my all time favourite New Weird Americans, Charalambides are set to release a new album tomorrow on Kranky Records.

Exile comes four years since their last (Likeness) and marks twenty years of Tom and Christina Carter’s musical collaboration which has survived longer than their marriage.

Such is my enthusiasm that I’m even thnking of taking the unprecedented step of buying the 2LP vinyl version which contains two extra tracks.

According to Fluid Radio the album “drips authentically” and the Kranky blurb, promises “a tapestry of suppliant invocations directed at the heart of the unseen spiritual forces surrounding us”.

I’m not sure if I’ve ever experienced a ‘suppliant invocation’ when listening to their music but I am a huge fan of everything the Carters have put out either under the group name, as solo artists or in the numerous albums they have collaborated on.

I even set up a Last:fm group to see how many felt the same way. The answer is not many, judging by the low membership of, as I write  56,  but this is in keeping with their cult status.

Related links:
Exile reviewed at ‘Wears The Trousers
Exile album info on Brainwashed