14 Nov 2011

DIY graphics

Extract taken from John Peel’s Arena – Today Carshalton Beeches… Tomorrow Croydon documentary.

Watch it here.

13 Nov 2011

How minimal can you get? #37

Czechs
“Brilliant minimal DIY.Chuck Warner

Inspired sampler of four bands (The Boywonders, The Ghoulies, The Czechs and the Decadent Few) two of which tell us their age on the cover (The Boywonders are all 16, The Czechs are all 17). Humbling thought that such musical spirit could be mustered at such a tender age. Great variety of flavors too: The Boywonders great inept, spooky DIY strut where the band might think that a reggae influence is prevailing, us knowing that the stumbleblock shuffle bears more resemblance to ancient Celtic airs, the unbearable beauty of the Czechs utter disregard of tone, meter and signatures or the Ghoulies oddly Booker T-esque chug n' scrape. The business, all and all.” Johan Kugelberg

VA Rough Cuts 7" EP (Z Block Records, 1980)

Czechs – Suffocation
Get it here.

More info here and here.

6 Nov 2011

How minimal can you get? #36

Aural Indifference / Denial
Different name for the same band from Sydney.

VA A Selection LP (M Squared, 1981) 

Aural Indifference – Baby Love

Denial California Dreaming 7" (M Squared, 1982)

Denial – California Dreaming

More info here.

Xmas Eve

Originally posted February 19, 2008
Never been sure to start a project like this blog. First, because I am not a huge record collector; second, because I usually don't have interesting things to tell. But things like the following story make me change of idea and keep blogging. Here it goes:

It all started getting a sample of Homework #4 CD from Hyped To Death, listening to it and being blown away for the music – specially for the song “Pot of Gold” by a band called Yo. Almost at the same time, I was addicted to Collector Scum – in fact, I had printed out the International Discography of the New Wave – and one day, looking at the list of records, an intriguing black & white cover got my attention. It was from a band called Xmas Eve. What was my surprise when reading these lines about the record: “All four tracks are cool artpunk. Pre-Yo, similar sound but a bit punkier. [BD]” Wait a minute… Was there a band before Yo? Thanks again to Hyped To Death, I was able to listen to Xmas Eve for the first time, on the Homework #103 CD. The song was “My House”, and as what happened with “Pot of Gold”, it turned out to be a masterpiece.

Xmas Eve: Eric Capers (drums), Jerome Capers (bass), Bruce  Rayburn (guitar).
Pic by Catharine J. Anderson
Just few weeks ago, I discovered that Mutant Sounds had posted all Yo's stuff. I went nuts and asked for Xmas Eve as well. What happened then, there's no words to describe it: Bruce Rayburn, the original vocalist and guitarist of Xmas Eve / Yo got in touch via email… and he was so kind to send me the complete Xmas Eve record! I don't know how to give him thanks for this beautiful present and express how amazingly kind he is. Maybe this post will work.

Xmas Eve Xmas Eve 7" EP (1982)

Xmas Eve – Paint It Red
Get the whole EP here.

By the way, this is the song that started everything:

Yo Good Tidings LP (Deadbeat Records, 1984)

Yo – Pot of Gold
Get it here.