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miami2k17 · 2 years

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hi! how is it going? you said that your gsect epiphany was connected with my sister lover which is of course super cool and valid

but I think it is lock all the doors that spilled all the tea. like I even tried to interpret it in another way, like it is about some girl or whatever

it doesn't fit at all. ok, maybe some girl noel used to love might have had a star shaped tambo, but what all this "forbidden feeling vibe" for? like chill man no one is going to condemn or kill you if they found out that you are having sex with your gf lmao

long story short I really want you to elaborate on this issue. thanks xx

bestieee ive been saving this one for whenever i had the time and now im stuck in the house cuz miss rona finally got me soo 😚

lock all the doors is super interesting! its a song that's been with him for a very long time and one that, at least in its most recent iteration, he likes enough to at least put it on his best of comp.

i think where u gotta start with this ✋🤨 is to look at the original demo from 1992 (or 93? ive seen people say both. either way very very early oasis.) that originally sat unused until 96 or 97 when noel took p much everything but the chorus, wrote the monstrosity that is my sister lover around it, and set that loose into the world. lock all the doors was the same situation but opposite parts and 20 years later. BUT if you ignore my sister lover existing for a second. ik it's hard but hear me out. i think the original lock all the doors was incredibly revealing just as it was. before he wrote the absolutely ham handed chorus that is "you're my lover, i'm your brother", the 2 parts meshed together really well in that original demo i think. they have a very similar vibe abt like. something secret! about not wanting to be discovered. "you never notice you are blind/the dream i have can never be" v similar vibe of not wanting to be seen/noticed, or having something that must be kept secret, and knowing it will only ever be this way, you can't ever have more. and then the lock all the doors chorus brings that theme of like. escapism and running from everyone's view to be alone together in hiding. i think they fit super well together.

but anyways this aint about the demo or my sister lover and i kno ppl have discussed those to death there's really nothing else to be said about my sister lover besides. god what an incredibly bizarre song. i want to force him to acknowledge it at least once and explain. it's like a personal fantasy. anyways

lock all the doors (2015 ☝️😐) is very inchersting cuz why would he be taking lyrics about that feeling of being with someone and having to hide it away or keep it secret and reworking them to release so many years after that time had passed? i know he'll still release a song if it's good even if it's about something that isnt really relevant anymore but this one is weird because he clearly wrote new and Liam Centric lyrics just for it, that many years afterward,

like OBVIOUSLY we all kno "she wore a star shaped tambourine/prettiest girl i'd ever seen", it haunts me every waking moment, rent free etc etc. noel taking a song he wrote the chorus for when liam actually had that tambourine, and then writing that version of liam into the song like 22 years later im SICK. i do not need to mention just how many times noel made jokes about liam being a girl, wishing liam was a girl, wishing he had a sister instead. not even gonna get into that cuz that is its entire own insanity deep dive. but 🤔 makes u think !

"i tried to catch her every night/dancing on the road in her candlelight/but i can't seem to reach her anymore" babeee ur longing and loneliness is showing! this paired with the opening line of the song, and ALSO knowing just how old this song is, really makes me feel like he's longing for a past version of liam or even how they used to be together. it's just filled with nostalgia to me. he's trying, or did try, to reach that past version of liam and how they used to be but it just wasn't the same and they couldn't connect the same way anymore and he's still longing for it.

thinking about noel writing this chorus when he did in the early 90's is so 🥺. it's such a desperate wish for something that you couldn't ever hope to have in any real sense. you just aren't allowed. but sometimes love doesn't work that way and it's so incredibly sad for that reason lol. every time he writes about that wish to escape the world's view with someone and just be with them, alone together, it kills me. it's so sad :(

i think either this chorus was simply just good enough for him to reuse all those years later or, i would imagine to some degree even after all that time you would still wish for a perfect world where you could escape and hide away together and never be found. since that's essentially what caused 80% of the problems in the first place. again i think it's brought back up by nostalgia and a wish for things to be how they used to be. even if they were hiding and only together in secret behind locked doors with the lights off, at least they were together.

also i think the side by side of growing up sharing a bedroom with your brother, falling in love with him probably in said bedroom, and then writing a song about locking doors and getting down on the floor is very inchersting. makes me wonder if their door had a lock 🤔

this is where it gets juicy! and yes i had to edit this bc genius had the wrong lyrics! or at least i think so bc i dont own the album and am pure pissed abt that because i was halfway out of bed to get it and look when i realized i dont even fucking own it! anyways!

this part is super wack to me bc instead of speaking About this person like he has been, he starts speaking directly To them. the "She" he mentions then becomes someone else entirely, i rlly dont wanna go there but you can make your own conclusions. no matter how toxic and terrible it is between them, i don't think anyone will ever understand either of them the way they understand eachother so i get why he wrote a line like that, "she never hears me when i speak/i gotta find out where that magic sleeps" it doesn't mean he's like pining for liam over his wife or something, i think he's just nostalgic for that level of understanding and being known that he really can't get anywhere else.

"and i can feel you underneath my skin" YESS you are entwined forever neither of you will ever escape the other ur constantly followed by the thought or memory of him and vice versa. pining and longing for somebody to the point where they live so rent free in your head that you can feel them under your skin.

"and if we take our love inside" back to being hidden inside/behind closed doors with someone, because at least you have them at all! i think it's inchersting how noel's common view of his solo career being his ultimate freedom and happiness is contrasted here by a line like "cause i don't wanna sail on the ocean wide/cause we might never live to meet again" which sounds more like loneliness and the fear of him never getting this thing back that he's clearly missing. he obviously knows that they don't have forever if he does plan on fixing that at all. maybe being trapped inside, behind locked doors is better than being all by yourself and alone because at least you're locked in there with the person you love.

i don't think this song, or him bringing it back and releasing it this way, is a real true wish for that at all. more like a fantasy. when you're in a relationship like that for so long i can imagine it becomes a comfort and anything else might seem lonely/overwhelming or make you long for it, even if in hindsight it was much worse. it's just kind of all you know.

anyways yea in conclusion lock all the doors and thinking abt why it was originally written makes me very very sad let there be love etc etc

#this is literally unintelligible caveman speak sorry #i wish i could plug my brain into your brains and then send like straight thoughts and feelings cuz i cant speak #noel #oasis #long post

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newsmutproject · 2 years

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Cunning Linguists Author Interview: Cathy Bryant

Julia’s personal ad was finished. Well, her online personal ad: a profile page for a hook-up site. At least hook-up sites weren’t filled with travel bores and people who wanted to drink red wine, hold hands, and laugh by firelight. Bollocks to that, she thought, you lying fucks. In reality you drink beer, and masturbate to internet porn before crying yourself to sleep, like a normal person.

Her ad:

There are three scenarios that interest me. As I’m recently divorced, I’m not looking for a relationship. Just sex or something else physical, and the following are my preferences, not in any order.

1. You bend me over something and fuck me hard. Not anally – just hard fucking in my cunt. When I say bent over something, it’s probably going to be the side or end of the bed, isn’t it? They get upset if you do it in the freezer section of Waitrose. No hair pulling or arse slapping. It’s not sexy. It’s just you being a knob. You can kiss my back or neck if you wish. Something about doing this whole thing in complete silence appeals to me, though I’m not sure why.

or:

2. Soft kissing, with a little tongue and then maybe with a lot of it. Rather like when we were teenagers and used to spend evenings eating each other’s faces, only now, one hopes, with a little more panache. Just kissing. This would be ideal for those of you who crave physicality with a woman but have erectile dysfunction. I really mean it - kissing as an end in itself. Incidentally, I’d rather not kiss for five minutes and then have a three hour blow-by-blow account of your divorce, while you cry into my breasts messily.

or:

3. This is a position that works really well for me. I lie on my back. You kneel in front of me. My feet are on your shoulders. Your cock is in my cunt and you fuck me. You can still reach my breasts if you want.

All scenarios: you treat me with respect at all times, and you are not rough, and you do not call me names. You take my wishes into account at all times.

-from “Spark to the Tinder” in Cunning Linguists

After being homeless in her teens, Cathy Bryant worked as a life model, shoe shop assistant, civil servant, and childminder, among other jobs. When she became too disabled to work full-time, her best friend made Cathy start submitting her writing to various places. She has now had hundreds of pieces published and three poetry collections, as well as having won 29 literary awards. Her latest book is Erratics, from Arachne Press, and her bestselling book is How to Win Writing Competitions. Cathy also runs the Comps and Calls website that lists free opportunities for writers: www.compsandcalls.com/wp. She lives in Salford, UK, with her husband, who is also a writer.

What inspired you to write this story? I'm fascinated by both language and sex, and I've written poetry about both before. An example is my poem 'Sexual Positions for Those No Longer Young', which won the Wergle Flomp Award for Humorous Poetry in 2015:

Too old, too old for reverse cowgirl or anything with the word 'donkey' in it except for The Ambling Blackpooler. We make up our own dances for the divans: The Upturned Mouse, The Irish Potato, The Half-full Cup of Tea, The Tipsy Llama; The Sideways Organ-grinder, and this time it's your turn to be the monkey. They mustn't sound like cocktails or perfumes - the Tom Jones Semitone, for instance. Stick to The Chuckle Brothers Cha Cha Cha, (to me - to you - to me) Getting Right Into the Corners (an important one, that), The Disgruntled Librarian, The Belgium. Darling, darling, let's try - Servicing the Caravan, Polishing the Bevelled Edge, The Newt, The Plumber's Lunch Break, The Mothy Woollen, Happy Hour at the Gardening Centre, The Tiptoe Tremble with Tray, The Assembly Instructions in Japanese; The Summer Pudding, The Slip-on Shoe, The Countdown Conundrum, The Saggy Bagpuss Squish, The Torville & Dean, Bargain Hunt, The Antiques Road Show, The Reconditioned Hoover. Together we'll write The Saga Sutra.

I've written about it since I was a teenager, mostly in poetic form. My first efforts were drool-sodden clichés. After that, what I found challenging was to manifest the reality of sex. I was dying to say things like, "She explained that she hadn't shaved her legs and was a bit stubbly" and, "There is no sexy way to take off shoes and socks. Stockings, yes, but not socks," but there was no market for this 40 years ago! Everyone was still groaning and soaking with 'perfect' bodies, and clothes that fell away by magic, which erased practically everybody. It took me a while, as my own experiences developed, to find the right words for what I wanted to do. I think I've been waiting for the New Smut Project for decades!

When did you first discover erotic writing?

In my teens, in Penguin Modern Poets 10: the Mersey Sound. This iconic collection of the poems of three Liverpool lads changed the face of poetry - and its genitals - as we read about lust and love and sex for the first time in such honest detail. Roger McGough (who now presents Poetry Please on Radio 4) stood out, as he mixed the grubby humanity of life with love and sensuality.

What’s your favorite sex scene you’ve ever read?

I honestly don't have one, though I'm expecting to find it in Cunning Linguists!

What’s your favorite sexy word?

Perhaps it's because I'm British, but I adore the word 'bottom'. Bottoms are lovely. I was discussing this the other day with a fellow poet: bottoms don't have the status that they should, and neither does the word. I also like the British 'arse'. A nice long vowel there, ideal for screeching, "I ADORE your AAAARRRRSE!"

What’s the favorite sexy word of one of the characters in your story? Does your character have any controversial word choice opinions? Maybe some you don’t share?

Julia wants to yell every sexy cliché there is all mixed together: "Yesyesyesgodgodgodfuckfuckfuckohgodohgodyeahyeahyeahmoremoremoreharderharderharder" etc, but she doesn't let herself - at this point in her story. I don't do this, but that's because I'm usually becoming the universe and then turning inside out, as one does.

What stories are you working on now? Do you have some upcoming releases readers should look out for?

I'm still working on the MS of Julia's whole story, 'Sex with Introverts'. I also write a load of poetry and stories that get published all over the place. There's a writer called Cathy Bryant who writes fundamentalist Christian fiction - don't get me mixed up with her! I don't think she'd like it! (She seems very nice, by the way.)

Later this week I'll be performing at the Launch of 'We're All in It Together', an anthology of poetic responses to Brexit, and Britain after Brexit. The title is a quote from the politician who launched the referendum that took us away from our allies and friends in the European Unity. I have a number of books in print: 'Contains Strong Language and Scenes of a Sexual Nature', 'Look at All the Women' and 'Erratics', plus How to Win Writing Competitions (and make money), as I've won 31 writing awards and contests and I know what to do.

Cunning Linguists comes out May 18th, 2022! This anthology of language, literature, and lechery is available at

Gumroad (use coupon code NEWSMUTPROJECTFAN for $1 off)

Amazon.com Amazon.co.uk Amazon.ca Amazon.de Amazon.fr Amazon.es Amazon.com.mx Amazon.co.jp Amazon.it Amazon.nl Amazon.com.br Amazon.com.au Amazon.in

Smashwords

Support indie bookstores when you buy a paperback copy through Bookshop.org

Barnes and Noble

Indiebound (where you can arrange to get a copy through your local bookstore)

Book Depository

Alibris

Other retailers – Books2Read

And add it to your shelf on Goodreads and LibraryThing

#Cunning Linguists #Cathy Bryant #poetry

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simplysummers · 3 years

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Fun, little (very well known), fact about me is that I am an ex dancer specialising in acro, contortion and gymnastics, and due to this upbringing I absolutely love to rewatch old Strictly Come Dancing routines-

and while Miss retired dancer over here was admiring Ashley’s beautiful Jive from 2018, I realised not only is her dress stunning, not only do I have a very similar one from a New Hampshire comp from back in 2015, BUT it has such Omega vibes and I felt tumblr needed to know.

Like how is that borderline identical to her tunic? It’s just a little more ‘glitzy’ for the obvious stage-quality element, flowing to compliment the jive, and the colours are reversed.

Sorry, dancer brain moments go brr.

#the bad batch #star wars #omega tbb #clone force 99 #tbb #omega bad batch #star wars animated series #ashley roberts #Pasha Kovalev #stan pasha in all honesty. what a king #omg did yall watch Kate and Giovanni tonight???? they were phenomenal #strictly come dancing #dance costumes

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moonlight-additions · 4 years

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Bad Liar

Predebut - April 2015

The One Where Elena Gets Backstage

“I see how your attention builds, it's like looking in a mirror”

Elena’s Masterlist

"I'm just confused as to why I can't go backstage to see Yugyeom? You know me!" Elena tried to reason with the older woman who was not allowing her backstage. "Yugyeom promised he would help me work on my dancing for SIXTEEN after the concert tonight." She pouted towards the woman.

"I understand that Elena, but I'm not letting you in after what happened last time. You're going to have to wait for him in the practice room back at the comp-" she starts before abruptly stopping.

Elena smiled coyly for a second, thinking that maybe she finally got through to her.

"Stay here for a second."

"I knew you would underst- wait, what..." Her eyes then followed the managers figure as she began to walk away, "hey, where are you going? Does this mean I can go backstage?"

Elena stared at the woman's back, blinking confusedly, baffled at being left alone in the middle of a conversation.

"Mrs. Kim, we need your assistance backstage, there is a wardrobe issue." The woman turned to the security guard, "can it wait a second? I need to get something-"

Elena noticed the interaction and naturally decided to take the moment as an opportunity to get backstage. She turned around and made her way to the door as fast and casual as possible.

"No, it's urgent, the quicker we get it resolved, the better." Mrs. Kim finally turned back around heading backstage, "fine, I'm on my way."

Slowly Elena made her way to the set of gray double doors that would lead her backstage. She was halfway there when she looked back and noticed Mrs. Kim turning back around and made eye contact with her. Elena's eyes widened as she quickly turned her head back around and moved with more speed towards the double doors.

"ELENA! STOP WHERE YOU ARE!"

"Okay, I know what this looks like, but I swear it's not. Wait, no, it is what it looks like and I'm sorry that I tried sneaking in but I really need this Unnie!" Elena tried to reason as she finally stopped in her tracks, turning around to face the woman.

"I know Elena but... actually... I'll be willing to let you backstage again -" "Really! Thank you Unnie!" "-if you can do something for me."

Elena tilted her head to the side in slight suspicion and confusion as she took in the woman's words before quickly nodding her head up and down, "I'll do it! What do you need?"

Mrs. Kim let out a quick chuckle at the younger girl's behavior, "I need you to get a girl's number for me."

"Woah, um, shouldn't that be something you do on your own? Actually shouldn't you-" "Elena. I'm married." "-exactly!" She exclaimed.

The woman let out a loud laugh before quickly explaining the situation to the younger girl, "I appreciate your concern for my marriage, but I meant it as getting a girl's number for the COMPANY. I think she should audition, I see potential in her."

As soon as realization dawned on Elena she quickly bowed and let out a string of apologies towards the older woman, flushing red at her own conclusion.

"It's fine, don't worry about it. There's was this girl with shoulder length black hair who just went into the restroom wearing a white top with black shorts, you need to get her number so that we can contact her. I don't have time to do it myself so if you can do this, then I'll start letting you go backstage again. I have to go now, you got this." Mrs. Kim then proceeded to walk past the double doors leading backstage to solve the wardrobe issue going on.

Elena stood still in her spot trying to process the information and the task at hand. She was determined to get in backstage but she also couldn't be sure the girl would even give Elena her number.

It wasn't until the bathroom door opened when she finally snapped out of her thoughts.

She watched as a girl with blonde hair walked out and back towards her section to go back to her seat, thankful that it wasn't the girl she needed to talk to. She still needed spare time to get her thoughts together and figure out her next play.

Except the world wasn’t on her side today. Out from the restroom came the girl who matched the description given to her.

Elena's eyes widen as she begins to run towards the restroom, "EXCUSE ME!"

The other girl slows to a stop before briefly turning around making eye contact with Elena. "Me?" She questions while pointing to herself doing a quick scan of the empty hallway.

Elena skids to stop in front of her, nodding her head while sheepishly smiling at her, "Yeah! Hopefully I didn't scare you there, it really wasn't my intention. I was just trying to get your attention and I was at one end of the hall and you were, well, all the way over here."

The other girl smiles at the blabbering girl, "no, you didn't scare me! Although I do have to admit I was surprised. It's not everyday that you get yelled at as you exit the restroom."

Elena let's out a giggle as she nods, "you're totally right, it isn't an everyday thing, and now that I think about it, this probably wasn't the best approach but here we are. By the way it's nice to meet you, I'm Elena."

She offers the girl one of her brighter smiles, "I was wondering if I could get your number, if that's not too weird and if you're cool with it of course."

The other girl stood there for a second, pondering the idea and Elena was sure the girl was going to say no.

She started to mentally prepare herself to leave the venue and start heading back to the company to wait for Yugyeom there when the other girl finally spoke.

"Ryujin"

"Uh, what?"

"That's my name," Ryujin explained with a smile at Elena's confused expression, "I figured if I'm going to give you my number you should know my name."

Elena let out a laugh before nodding, "you're right. Here's my phone, just add your contact." She opened a new contact page and passed the girl her phone.

Ryujin grabbed the phone quickly adding her information before passing it back, "I sent myself a text so that I could save your number on my phone later, I hope you don't mind."

"I don't but I do think I should let you get back to the concert. I don't want you to miss more of it than you already have and I should also get going. I'll see you later, Ryujin," Elena smiled widely before waving at the girl starting to walkaway backwards.

"Bye Elena, I hope to see you soon," Ryujin waved back with a bright smile before turning around and walking to her section to get back to her friends, but not before turning to take one last look at Elena only to see her turned back around walking in the opposite direction.

She may not have known at the time, but this was the start of something much bigger.

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vinylfromthevault · 3 years

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Joy Division “Substance” 1988 (2015 reissue). Factory Records. Today, February 13th, is Joy Division/New Order bassist Peter Hook’s 65th birthday (b. Peter Woodhead, 1956). Substance is a comp of Joy Division’s singles, b-sides and EP tracks from ‘77-’80; the double LP 2015 reissue includes a couple of extra tracks not on the original, including “Love Will Tear Us Apart (Pennine version)” and “These Days” both of which were the B-side to the original “Love Will Tear Us Apart” single (considered one of the best singles ever released in the UK, it hit #13 in the UK and went to #42 on the US dance chart). Besides that amazing song, other iconic Joy Division songs appear like “Warsaw” (so much more snotty punk than their subsequent songs) which is also on the EP An Ideal for Living, “Digital” from the EP A Factory Sample ( “Digital” was the last song ever performed by Joy Division in 1980 before Ian Curtis’ suicide), “Transmission” (their first released single in ‘79), a different version of “She’s Lost Control” than appears on Unknown Pleasures - this one much more goth/industrial, “Atmosphere” which was released as a single after Curtis’ death in ‘80 (#34 UK), “Komakino” (a rare single from ‘80 given away by some record stores in flexi disc format), and the brilliant original “Dead Souls” (covered by Nine Inch Nails in ‘94 for The Crow soundtrack).

youtube

#joy division #peter hook #ian curtis #love will tear us apart #vinyl #post punk #factory records #goth #gothic rock

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dancemomsliveblogtrash · 3 years

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While we are talking about 2015 does anyone remember when club went to the dance moms comp and they obviously rigged it for Aldc and the entire club fandom on insta went and yelled at sheer talent in their comments

#I mean what were they expecting #throwback to Kendall beating Brynn Jaycee Bostyn and JV #and Jojo beating JV and Bostyn #with their fully cleaned solos from the previous year too #and Jill and Jess had the nerve to act like that comp was legit in one of the 6 bonus clips #i still wonder if club was filmed for the show or not #cuz they did a group they never did anywhere else If I’m remembering correctly

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mackenzie-lukasiaks · 3 years

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They shouldn't have had Maddie "compete" after 4.5. She was obviously professional at that point, and if they wanted to have the narrative of going to real competitions, there's no way she would've been allowed to compete.

I think the producers felt like the majority of the casual fans watching the show weren’t following the competition circuit, so they wouldn’t necessarily know the ins-and-outs of how actual comps are supposed to work. and there would’ve probably been such a hue and cry if they had barred maddie from competing lol. the maddie stans would have lost their shit.

How was Maddie still able to compete at JUMP in 2015 despite that being the year she danced at the Grammy’s and everything? JUMP is a very real convention. Did they find a loophole or something? That might be the last year she did it iirc

I really don’t know. that was the year she competed at tda too, right? I feel like, because the aldc made the decision to actually compete at tda for the first time, that the comps that feed into tda let them ignore the rules because it brought slightly more attention to the comp, knowing that The dm girls were going to be there.

I do think that was her last season of non-dm comps because that was post-season 5 and she left midway through season 6.

#anonymous #answered

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wobster109 · 3 years

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Chopin Comp Prelims - Jul 13

Click to go to master post for explanation and link to all parts

Morning ⁠ Alejsandra Hortensja Dabek - nocturne lovely singing tone, nice evenly-soft left hand with good control. my fav mazurka! this second mazurka is pretty cool too. torrent a bit slow and some trouble with getting the right notes. i don't think she has the technique for it. this etude alone is sufficient to eliminate her. etude 25-4 is nice though! the ballade was nice too. wonder what happened on the one etude? started too fast? Rec: Nocturne 27-1 (2:05) - Really lovely tone. ⁠ Stephanie Draughon - mazurka 17-2 is cool. mazurka 17-4 is not my favorite... gloomy and kinda boring. this mazurka goes on forever. is it being played too slow? right into the slow etude 25-7, which has much the same feel. This is too much slow and gloomy in a row for me. the crashing scale thing was cool! barcarolle kind of the same. i zoned out. etude 25-4 is fun! etude 10-12 a bit too much pedal. everything in this performance is minor except the barcarolle :/ Rec: Mazurka 17-2 (2:30) ⁠ Hsin-Yu Duan - etude 10-1 kinda rough start, not fully clear, messy on notes and uneven rhythm. oof this is super not working out for her. did she start too fast? etude 25-4 a bit slow. i'm starting to like this etude more and more. :) the dynamic variation is not great here. it's a bit the same throughout. this nocturne is really nice though. it makes me feel calm. Really beautiful nocturne. ballade was unremarkable and a little messy. I think her etude 10-1 may be eliminating for her. Rec: Nocturne 48-1 (12:20) - Really beautiful and calming. ⁠ Mateusz Duda - nocturne is nice. etude 10-8 is nice, unhurried, moderate tempo. etude 25-5 a bit slower than normal and a bit more dramatically. nice mazurka, 59-3 is pretty dramatic. ballade is cool as usual. Rec: Etude 25-5 (11:45) - Played more expressively than usual for this etude. ⁠ Martina Consonni - using a red chair with a back :) Nocturne started dramatically. interesting choice of playing the ballade early. this ballade sounds a little rushed in the first fast section. the rest of it was cool and grand. mazurka 17-1 is fun. she goes from one piece right into the next! i like it! an oddly gentle etude 25-5. nice ending etude. this was a really cool performance, it kept going and didn't stop! Rec: Mazurka 17-1 (17:35)

Afternoon

Yasuko Furumi - she is SO CUTE! nocturne is nice as usual. toccata etude is fun and clear if a bit unremarkable. sunshine etude is nice too. i like that these sound happy! very leggiero. first time hearing this mazurka 24-3 this year i think? the fantasy is nice lol i really liked it but hard to tell at this point. Rec: Etude 10-8 (10:28)

Alexander Gadjiev - cute! long gray hair pulled back. it's the other depressing etude! 25-7. The first mazurka is fun! I like how he's dancing along to it. Wrong note etude the more i hear it the more i like it :) winter wind etude getting kinda fast. is it running away from him? ending not entirely clean. he's mad about it lol. some of the ballade was not exactly clean. Rec: Mazurka 56-2 (8:05)

Martin Garcia Garcia - he's dancing along to the nocturne :) playing the famous ballade early on, this is unusual, most people play the ballade last. some interesting rhythm in this ballade and some bashing of neighboring notes. Some unevenness in notes, notes getting smushed together. the lyrical parts are nice. waterfall etude nice sound. octaves etude also nice sound. thunderous. just none of these are the cleanest thing. Rec: Nocturne 27-1 (2:28)

Eva Gevorgyan - the nocturne was unremarkable, i think. wrong note etude a bit sharper than i'm used to. nice voicing to bring out the left hand. i guess i'm used to the touch on the first section being a bit lighter. torrent etude is lightning fast but really precise! this first mazurka is interesting. the fantasy was really cool! Rec: Etude 10-4 (13:30) - Lightning fast! Good precision and evenness.

Jorge Gonzalez Buajasan - modern suit instead of usual concert tux. he's cute! unremarkable nocturne my fav ballade! He's lost it in the coda :( my fav mazurka! This seems to be a popular combo, mazurka 59-1 followed by 59-3. this is actually my fav mazurka combo. winter wind nice limited use of pedal, keeps the notes clear. uh oh, slowing down in second half. Rec: Mazurka 59-1 (15:50)

Other Comments

Twice in the morning session, I mentally eliminated someone based on an etude, and never based on any other piece. What’s the deal with that?

I think it’s because at this level, no one would super-hard mess up a mazurka or nocturne. The worst that can happen is it comes out uninteresting. On the other hand, in an etude, the whole thing can be just a bit of a stretch for the pianist resulting in messy playing throughout. A ballade might also have hard sections, but there are slow sections where the pianist can recover, so you won’t have mistake after mistake all the way through. An etude is relentless, you can get a bit off, and keep being off, and just be in a panic.

I also did not eliminate anyone on the basis of a single mistake or single bad section. In 2015, Kate Liu made a mistake on her prelim etude but recovered. The rest of the etude was immaculate, and she went on to place third. Nor did I eliminate anyone for getting tired or slowing down near the end of an etude. This was only when a whole etude was a struggle from start to finish.

#chopin #international chopin piano competition #piano #day 2 #jul 13 2021

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daggerzine · 3 years

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Stephen Smith of The Morning Line opens up.

I believe that Bay Area musician Stephen Smith began sending me stuff to listen to/review with his band The Morning Line a few years ago. I really like the band’s brand of melodic rock/pop and was curious to know more. I then realized it was the same Stephen Smith who had been in Boston faves Salem 66 many years before. I then wondered what other bands he had been in that I had maybe checked out (or own records by) so I tossed him some questions that he was more than happy to answer. Read on and give the band a listen, they really deserve your time.

RAWK

Where did you grow up? Was it the Boston area?

North Shore of Chicago until about 14, then high school in the Boston suburbs. I stayed in and around Boston, with stints in New York, L.A., and North Carolina, until I was 25. I was into music as a kid in Chicago, but too young to really be going to shows or anything. Boston was where I really had my musical coming of age. There was a surprising amount of stuff happening in the Suburbs. I saw Husker Du in Concord. The Dead Kennedys in Waltham. And Boston was only about 45 minutes away by train. I remember going into the city and buying records at Newbury Comics, with Aimee Mann behind the register.

What was the first instrument you picked up?

Why I started playing french horn at 11 or 12, I don’t know. It didn’t last. I started playing guitar pretty quickly after that. My first electric was a Stratocaster. I was probably 12 years old. 1979? It was used, so I’m guessing it was an early 70’s one. Got stolen at CBGB while I was loading in in the mid-80’s. Thieves work fast! Let me know if you’ve seen it.

What was the first record you remember buying? As a kid nay band knock your socks off?

My memory is embarrassing, but I recall three early purchases. Singles of ELO’s “Turn to Stone,” and Gary Numan’s “Cars,” and a Beatles comp called “Rock ‘n’ Roll Music.”

The most recent album from 2019.

What bands were you introduction to punk/new wave/alternative music?

I remember very distinctly tuning into WLYN (later WFNX) and hearing Gun Club’s “Sex Beat”, and Bush Tetras’ “Cowboys in Africa,” and being amazed. I’ll tell you what, though, high school girlfriends were absolutely key to my musical education. Gang of Four? X? Learned about them through my first girlfriend. The Replacements? Through my second. I’m the great beneficiary of other people being better informed than me. Through these same people, I became aware of what was going on locally, and was turned on pretty early to stuff like Christmas, Volcano Suns, the Proletariat.

Was Expando Brain your first band? If not what?

As a fifteen-year-old, I had a couple bands with friends playing covers (I remember Gang of Four’s “Essence Rare,” X’s “Riding with Mary,” “Brand New Cadillac”). But Expando Brain was the first “real” band. I think I was 16 when we started that. Being that age and getting to play shows (like that CBGB one where I lost the guitar), make a record, and be ever-so-slightly enjoyed by some people, was a thrill. I suppose obviously.

Tell me about your time in Salem 66? Howe did you initially meet those ladies?

I don’t remember how we got together! I’m going to guess it was David Savoy’s doing. David managed Expando Brain for a while. He later managed Husker Du, before passing in early 1987. I think he got me together with them. I was 18-19 at the time. They were all 5-10 years older, so we wouldn’t have been traveling in the same circles.

It was absolutely thrilling for me. They were a great, interesting, band. They had “made it,” in my youthful eyes. Signed to Homestead Records? Come on. Gerard had rejected Expando Brain. So I was gonna be on my favorite label (well, maybe SST aside)! I was only in the band for nine months (I think I was a pretty relentless pain in the ass), but so much happened in that time. I think it was all in 1986. We did a tour through the south, so I saw places I’d never seen. We did another tour as a part of our travel to make “Frequency & Urgency,” so I got to see California, an unknown place that loomed so large in my imagination. We stopped in Needles, on the CA/AZ border, and I skated the pool of the motel we stayed at (very poorly). We made the record with Ethan James, who had recorded one of my favorite records of all time (“Double Nickels on the Dime”). I got my first tattoo while we were in L.A. making the record. It was just a dream for a 19-year-old who wanted to be a musician. In some minor way, I *was*.

Waiting for the pizza delivery.

Was God’s Eye next? If so how did that band begin (and end)?

Yes and no. After getting booted from Salem 66, I went to school. Spent a year at Vassar College. There, I started the first version of God’s Eye with my brother, Tim, who would drive out to Poughkeepsie from Boston now and then to rehearse, and with Ivor Hanson, another Vassar student, who had earlier been in Faith and Embrace (and has gone on to lots of other things, musical and otherwise). I was just writing riffs then, nothing very substantial, and that came to an end at the end of the school year. At the same time, I answered an ad in the Village Voice. A band in North Carolina, apparently signed to a major, was looking for a guitar player. I noodled some notes onto a tape, took a picture, and sent it. I got an audition, then the gig. The band was called the Right Profile and, at the time, they were signed to Arista. ….but no record ever came out. Sort of a roots/American thing before that was a thing. Maybe Petty-ish? I hate to pigeonhole. So I moved to North Carolina. The band was led by a guy named Jeffrey Dean Foster, who is still making great music today. The drummer was Jon Wurster, a name I’m sure you know. For about nine months – again - I played with them. I was the wrong guy for the job though. I didn’t really have the kind of sideman chops they needed. Can’t remember if I jumped or was pushed. Maybe some combination. As an old man, it’s been nice reconnecting with them through the miracle of social media. A year or two after that, I restarted God’s Eye with my brother. In candor, it wasn’t very good. I had decided I needed to sing in a lower register, and it was really just bellowing. Despite that, we had remarkable success. We were managed by Boston dynamo Joyce Linehan, who would later go on to work at Sub Pop, work with Joe Pernice, and work as chief of staff to the Mayor of Boston. She got us much further than we (I) deserved. We made an album, an ep, and a single for Domino in England. The album also came out on Rough Trade in Germany. We got to play some dates in London. Nothing ever came out in the U.S. We had some interest, but it never materialized.

Anything in between that band and your move to the west coast?

Near the end of God’s Eye, I also played a bit with Green Magnet School. They needed a bassist, and I pitched in. Chris Pearson, one of the guitar players in the band, returned the favor, adding a second guitar for God’s Eye. I was lucky to be able to record a single with GMS, the Sub Pop double-single with Six Finger Satellite.

When did you make your movie to the Bay Area and what prompted that?

Frustration with music prompted it. I remember having breakfast with an exec from Stone Roses’ label. Silvertone, if I recall correctly. He sounded so into it! He was gonna put out the God’s Eye record in the U.S.! But it didn’t happen. I decided I needed to have more control over my life, so I bore down, finished college, and moved across the country to San Francisco, sight unseen, to go to law school.

The latest single from earlier this year.

Were you in any bands before the Morning Line in San Francisco?

In law school I met a fellow student, Jason Hammon, who was in the midst of a pretty successful rock career. He was in Dance Hall Crashers. We stayed friends and, in 2000 or so, we started a band called My Fellow Astronauts, with his brother Gavin (another DHCrasher) and my friend Scout (Scout Shannon & the Willing Deceivers). We played some shows, recorded some demos, but nothing ever came of it.

Tell us about the beginnings of The Morning Line?

It’s 2004 or so. My friend Marco Baroz (Lucy & the Long Haul) played bass, David Knupp played guitar, and somehow we found David Shollenbarger. Maybe craigslist or something? David had played for awhile with Agent Orange. We were in our late 30’s, and knew not to take it too seriously. But we made some demos, and an album in 2007 (“Stay My Satellite”). We were and are very fortunate to have a friend named Peter Craft, who has a great studio called Boxer Lodge, and great skills. We got to spend a year working on the album, and get it just the way we wanted. We self-released, but got a few reviews and a few fan letters, and that’s all I could hope for. Eventually, the lack of success that comes with being in a band of forty-somethings took its toll, and the band was pretty much dissolved in 2008. But Peter (also a terrific drummer) and I kept making demos. I wrote some stuff I liked in about 2015, so we started recording again using The Morning Line name. “Stephen Smith” is too generic to get the job done.

“Smoke,” from 2017, is a collection of things we did over a few years. “North,” from 2019, was a focused, intentional album project, all recorded with Peter, David Knupp, and Brian Mello (the Bellyachers). That’s the band today. I write the songs and sing, but it really wouldn’t sound like it does without them, especially Brian (I don’t think Peter or David will be offended by that).

I know you just released a Morning Line single. What’s next for the band?

Not sure! I’m still riding the high of getting a couple songs done with all of us in quarantine! We’re talking about putting out a collection of odds and ends: demos, the songs from this new single, some remixes. But I’m not sure. We’ll be putting out a couple of those old outtakes as a Big Stir digital single in June. An album of all new material is probably in the future, but I’d guess at least 18 months out. We’re . . . deliberate.

Prior to COVD was the band actively playing locals shows and or doing any touring?

Not really. We play from time to time, but it’s mostly a recording project at this point. You’d be surprised how little interest there is in watching an obscure group of fifty-somethings peddle their wares.

A man, his dog and a weird-ass mountain (ok, hill).

Who are some of your favorite current bands, local or otherwise?

I’ve been oddly incurious about new music the past few years. I just looked at the Outside Lands schedule and was like, “scarypoolparty? What?” I know that’s inconceivable to you. I tend to get excited by friends’ new products. People I’ve mentioned here, like Brian Mello and Scout Shannon, have had things out over the past year or two. My friend Russell Tillitt has something coming out. Jeff Shelton’s Well Wishers. Just off the top of my head. Bigger name stuff? I like the new Besnard Lakes record. The most recent Sleaford Mods. I’d be happy to hear the new Wrens record, which I suspect may never come.

What are your top 10 desert island discs?

You know how hard this is. Every day a different answer, right? Here goes:

Neil Young – Live Rust The Clash – London Calling Wrens – Meadowlands X – Los Angeles Gang of Four – Entertainment Replacements – Let it Be Jesus Lizard – Goat Jam – Sound Affects Teenage Fanclub – Catholic Education Wipers – Over The Edge

Those and a hundred others.

Final words? Closing comments? Words of wisdom?

Thanks for giving me the chance to think about this stuff. It’s fun to do a little reminiscing. As you know, there’s a deep bench of older indie-rock folks out there, still at it, and doing it pretty well. Thanks for giving us some attention.

BONUS QUESTION: Red Sox or Giants?

60/40 Giants. It's nice to have a team in each league.

https://themorningline.bandcamp.com/

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boredout305 · 3 years

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Spacecase Records Podcast 045

Listen here

Playlist:

LYDIA LUNCH - “Suicide Ocean” 13.13 LP (Ruby, 1982)

CHRIS KNOX - “The Face of Fashion” Seizure LP (Flying Nun, 1989)

TIREZ TIREZ - “Scenery” Scattered 7” (self-released, 1979)

THE OUT - “Who Is Innocent?” Who Is Innocent? 7” (Rabid, 1979)

DISTURBED FURNITURE - “Alors Allez” Information b/w Alors Allez 7” (Disturbed, 1981)

THE CRAVATS - “Situations Vacant” Gordon b/w Situations Vacant 7” (Small Wonder, 1978)

THE STEPPES - “God's Got Religion” God's Got Religion 7” (Dining Out, 1980)

SLIGHT SECONDS - “Chameleon Lens” Waiting Room comp LP (Object Music, 1980)

GODS GIFT - “Discipline” Discipline 7” (New Hormones, 1982)

OPPENHEIMER ANALYSIS - “New Mexico” New Mexico 2xLP (Minimal Wave - reissue, 2015)

LES RALLIZES DENUDES - “White Awakening Version II” Cable Hogue Soundtrack 2xLP (Phoenix - reissue, 2011)

CHROME - “The Venusian Dance” Dreaming In Sequence LP (Dossier, 1986)

FLUE - “Fancy Free” One And A Half LP (Torso, 1981)

GERRY AND THE HOLOGRAMS - “Gerry And The Holograms” Meet The Dissidents 7” (Absurd, 1979)

RUTH - “Polaroïd/Roman/Photo” Polaroïd/Roman/Photo LP (Angular Recording Corporation - reissue, 2015)

ROBERT RENTAL - “Ugly Talk” Paralysis 12” EP (Dark Entries/Optimo Music - reissue, 2020)

#podcast #spacecase records

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dustedmagazine · 4 years

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Dust, Volume 6, Number 10

The Slugs

September seemed to be the month when all the records on endless delay finally got kicked out the door, COVID or no, ready or not here we come. We’re deluged with music, some recorded before the world changed, some clearly cooked up mid-pandemic. There are a lot of covers EPs, lots of solo material, lots of home-made lo-fi, lots of benefit comps, and who are we to complain? Better, instead, to reach for the headphones, load up the hard drive, pile on the LPs and do some listening. Here’s some of the stuff that caught our attention, as usual ranging all over the continuum, from traditional to edgy and experimental, from silly pop punk to enraged death metal to bookish electro-acoustic improvisation. Contributors this time out included Jonathan Shaw, Patrick Masterson, Jennifer Kelly, Bill Meyer, Derek Taylor, Ray Garraty, Tim Clarke and Andrew Forell. Happy fall.

Amputation — Slaughtered in the Arms of God (Nuclear War Now!)

Slaughtered in the Arms of God by Amputation

Given the degree of smugness that accompanies utterances of the phrase “Old School Death Metal,” it’s frequently instructive to listen to some. Right on time, the misanthropic bunch at Nuclear War Now! has delivered some seriously Old School sounds to our digital doorstep. This new compilation LP gathers both of the demos of Norwegian knuckle-draggers Amputation, along with a contemporaneous rehearsal recording. Likely the resulting record will be of principal interest to fans of Immortal, the long-running, on-again-off-again Norwegian black metal band that Amputation would morph into in 1991. The songs collected on Slaughtered in the Arms of God have some additional musicological significance, as they document the sounds of 1989 and 1990, transformational years in Norway’s metal scene. Mayhem and Darkthrone tend to get most of the attention, for reasons both good and bad; and like Darkthrone, Amputation made death metal before transitioning to blacker, more brittle sounds. The music on Slaughtered in the Arms of God is muddy, thudding and thick. Perhaps that’s the result of the primitive recording tech the band used, likely of necessity. But through the murk (and to some degree because of it), you can hear the influence of Stockholm’s fecund death metal scene, especially Dismember’s earliest stuff. Scandinavia’s metal currents run deep and dark. Whether that means that Old School Death Metal is intrinsically a good thing is a different matter.

Jonathan Shaw

Anz — Loose in Twos (NRG) 12” (Hessle Audio)

Loos In Twos (NRG) by Anz

I love the idea of listening to DJ mixes of original or all-new material; it’s probably why I still value, say, Ricardo Villalobos’ Fabric 36 so much. Manchester’s Anna Marie-Odubote, aka Anz, has been doing just such a thing annually since 2015 and really went wild with spring/summer dubs 2020, which compiled 74 tracks into nearly an hour and a half of new music. That would’ve been more than enough amid all of this (imagine me gesturing around vaguely), but “Loos in Twos (NRG)” on the venerable Hessle Audio imprint is an equally formidable, decidedly tighter release I played a lot at the start of September. Three club-ready tracks here break down acid, jungle and footwork, and while all three are heady breaks, the looped vocals and bongo of “Stepper” make it the one for me. Get those feet moving digitally now so they’re comfortable once the vinyl arrives in early October.

Patrick Masterson

Ashes and Afterglow — Everybody Wants a Revolution (Postlude Paradox)

Ashes and Afterglow drops pop punk melodies into deep buckets of fuzz, lets them bubble and bob to the surface before shoving them under again. The band is mainly the output of one Luke Daniel, who appears to have been in other band called Sea of Orchids, but neither outfit has left much of an internet trail. And sure, this is the kind of thing that could easily get shuffled under; it breaks no moulds. And yet shuffling “To Take a Look at the World,” has a heart-worn resonance, Daniel’s voice echoing in reverbed hollow-ness against surging tides of guitar noise. “My Yesterday Girl” churns a little harder, with a bright, pop-leaning sort of hopefulness hedged in by seething feedback. It’s not bad, but it never hits a melodic vein the way that similarly inclined artists like Ted Leo or Ovlov or Tony Molina do, and it never pushes the noise over the top, either. Neither pop nor punk but somewhere in middle.

Jennifer Kelly

Ballister — Znachki Stilyag (Aerophonic)

Znachki Stilyag by Ballister

A cake is still a cake, whether you put chocolate frosting and strawberries or white icing and a fondant roses on top. And while they don’t all taste or look exactly the same, a Ballister album is still a Ballister album, and the first Ballister album in three years does not mess with the recipe. Dave Rempis (alto and tenor saxophones), Fred Lonberg-Holm (cello and electronics), and Paal Nilssen-Love (drums and percussion) still trade in a particularly hard-hitting form of total improvisation. The changes are ones of emphasis — Lonberg-Holm sounds like he’s using a wah-wah pedal and deploys some especially slashing feedback tones, there’s a bit more space in Nilssen-Love’s intricate beat configurations, and Rempis left his baritone sax at home — and of location. Znachki Stilyag was recorded during the fall of 2019 in Moscow, Russia, which may explain why the big horn stayed at home. But the ones you hear still cut and thrust with broadsword force and rapier precision. This is a cake you can trust.

Bill Meyer

Vincent Chancey — The Spell: The Vincent Chancey Trio Live, 1987 (No Business)

Vincent Chancey likely isn’t alone amongst his peers in feeling exasperated by folks singling out his instrument as uncommon or unusual to jazz. It’s a form of damning through faint praise and one that feel

s even more lackadaisical with any time spent with his music. Chancey plays the French horn and he’s plied it in settings as diverse as Sun Ra Arkestra, Lester Bowie’s Brass Fantasy and Charlie Haden’s Liberation Music Orchestra as well as gigs supporting Aretha Franklin and Elvis Costello. It’s unclear whether the trio documented on The Spell was a working concern, but that hardly matters given how well bassist Wilbur Morris and percussionist Warren Smith gel with their convener. Spread across two sides of an LP, the concert recorded at a New York City art gallery covers four pieces, two by Morris bookending one apiece from Smith and the leader that stitch together very much like cohesive suite. An unadvertised surprise comes with Smith’s ample application of marimba alongside a regular drum kit. Recording quality isn’t optimal, but Chancey’s rich, rounded, phrases gain extra gravitas through the sometimes-grainy acoustics. Woefully underrepresented in the driver’s seat discographically, his acumen as both improviser and composer is easily vindicated by this limited edition (300 copies) release.

Derek Taylor

Che Chen — Tokyo 17.II.2012 (self-released)

Tokyo 17.II.2012 by Che Chen

Nowadays Che Chen has earned a measure renown as the guitar-playing half of 75 Dollar Bill, and all the praise is earned. But before that, he played a roomful of instruments in the True Primes, Heresy of the Free Spirit and duos with Robbie Lee, Tetuzi Akiyama and Chie Mukai. The through-lines to all these efforts is a willingness not to play things the way their supposed to be played, and a gift for supplying the right resonance in any setting. Since 75 Dollar Bill is a New York-based band made for social occasions, the COVID-19 lay-off has been especially hard — so there’s no better time to see what’s in those hard drives in the closet, right? Chen has released this solo concert from 2012 via Bandcamp. In Tokyo for a brief layover, he played amplified violin at a party held in the basement of someone’s apartment building. The amplified part is important; dips and swells of feedback count as much as in this 25-minute performance as the fiddle’s bright, plucked notes and rough, bowed tones. Chen moves purposefully from one mode to next, taking time along the way to savor the room’s lively acoustics.

Bill Meyer

Jeff Cosgrove/ John Medeski/ Jeff Lederer — History Gets Ahead of the Story (Grizzley Music)

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Odds are that even the estimable William Parker would be surprised by the prospect of a William Parker cover album. But that’s essentially what History Gets Ahead of the Story is as organized and realized by drummer Jeff Cosgrove. That the project is the province of an organ trio only adds to the potential consternation quotient. John Medeski officiates the Hammond B-3 console and saxophonist Jeff Lederer, doubling on flute, completes the combo convened by Cosgrove. The latter’s connections to Parker stem from a trio he was part of with the bassist/composer and pianist Matthew Shipp that disbanded in 2015 after fruitful collaboration. Parker’s personage and music left an indelible mark and the seeds for the present album were sown. Collective creative license doesn’t get in the way of soulful, energizing renderings of such staples as “O’Neal’s Porch,” “Corn Meal Dance” and “Wood Flute Songs,” but troika also cedes time for a triptych of strong originals that align aurally with their dedicatee’s inclusive tone world sensibilities.

Derek Taylor

Derelenismo Occulere — Inexorable Revelación (Le Legione Projets)

Inexorable Revelacion (FULL LENGHT 2020) by Derelenismo Occulere

This sounds like a rehearsal gone wrong. In the time of the COVID pandemic, Neo Apolion, a guy responsible for the music in this Ecuadorean duo, recorded a demo and sent it to the band’s vocalist Malduchryst with a message to do with it whatever he wants. Malduchryst took his band partner’s words all too literally. With complete disregard to the music he began vomiting a noisy, messy mass of screams to a microphone (has he never heard of a black metal with no vocals?). If it sounds totally batshit, you can rest assured that it is. This is what makes Inexorable Revelación actually great black metal. When a lot of metal bands these days are just Backstreet Boys with leather jackets on and with guitars, Derelenismo Occulere care about only fury and mayhem. Their Argentinean mix man Ignacio only adds more chaos to the album. The only flaw this tape has is that it is 15 minutes too long.

Ray Garraty

Whit Dickey — Morph (ESP-Disk)

Morph by Whit Dickey

Drummer Whit Dickey and pianist Matthew Shipp have been recurrent partners since the early 1990s, when they were both members of the David S. Ware Quartet. It’s fair to say that each man is a known quantity to the other, and that one of the things they know about each other is that they might still be surprised by the other’s playing. Dickey’s retreated from time to time in order to revise his approach, and while Shipp has often threatened to quit recording over the years, he has never stopped working or evolving. This double disc combines one duo CD and another that adds trumpeter Nate Wooley to the pair. Wooley’s done a number of dates with Shipp in recent times, but he and Dickey were musical strangers before they entered Park West Studios in March 2019. Without Wooley, Shipp and Dickey seem very free and trusting of each other, transitioning with dreamlike ease from abstracted gospel to sideways swing to restless co-rumination this the ease. The trio seems more considered. The trumpeter dips quite sparingly into his extended technique bag, favoring instead linear statements that instigate fleet perambulations from the pianist and more supportive, less overtly dialogic contributions from the drummer. Both sessions work, and their differences complement each other quite handily.

Bill Meyer

Dropdead — S/T (Armageddon)

Dropdead 2020 by Dropdead

Yep, it’s that Dropdead, the Providence-based powerviolence band that hasn’t released a proper LP since 1998 and was on a long hiatus through much of the 21st century. Since 2011, Dropdead has put out a string of splits, with heavyweights like Converge and Brainoil. But a whole record? Maybe the unrelentingly shitty condition of our political and economic conjuncture motivated the four guys in the band (three of whom have been affiliated with Dropdead since 1991) to write the 23 burners, rants and breakdown-heavy hardcore tunes you’ll hear across Dropdead’s 25 minutes. It’s a welcome addition. Bob Otis’s voice doesn’t have the shredding quality of days of yore — but that ends up being useful. You can hear the lyrics, and they’re drenched in venom and righteousness. The rest of the band hasn’t lost a step. Pretty impressive for a bunch of guys with that much grey in their beards. That said, they don’t pull any intergenerational, “we’re-older-and-wiser” moves. This is still music that wants to collapse boundaries, between stage and mosh pit, between races and genders, between species, even. Not so much class positions: “Warfare State,” “United States of Corruption,” “Will You Fight?” Late capitalism’s depredations still bear the principal brunt of the band’s anger. Things have gotten worse, and Dropdead respond in kind. They may be a lot older, but they’re even more pissed off.

Jonathan Shaw

Fake Laugh — Waltz (State 51 Conspiracy)

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Earlier this year, Kamran Khan released his second Fake Laugh album, the charming, playful Dining Alone, which made its way into Dusted’s mid-year round-up of favorites released in the first half of 2020. Khan’s third album, Waltz, is a very different beast, featuring just piano, vocals and the odd keyboard texture, casting his songwriting in sharp relief. Undoubtedly created in this stripped-down way out of lockdown necessity, it’s hard to listen to these wistful, melancholic songs without imagining where Khan’s knack for colorful arrangements might take them, given the chance. (As a tease, closing song “Amhurst” offers up a shimmering electronic melody and some sighing synth chords.) There’s no doubting Khan’s way with a tune, and his naked vocal, though occasionally showing strain, suits the mood. It’s understated and undeniably lovely, yet Waltz feels like a minor release for this talented artist.

Tim Clarke

David Grubbs / Taku Unami — Comet Meta (Blue Chopsticks)

Comet Meta by David Grubbs & Taku Unami

In the 23 years since Gastr Del Sol fell apart, David Grubbs has done many things that don’t sound much like his old band with Jim O’Rourke. And Taku Unami has worked in such varied settings and ways that the most persistent quality of his engagement with sound is its ability to induce question marks and ellipses in any train of thought intending to decode it. So, it’s both remarkable and delightful that this record, the duo’s second collaboration, sounds rather like parts of Gastr Del Sol’s Upgrade & Afterlife. The foundation rests upon the way two guys who can and do play intricate guitar duets make subtle use of other elements — creeping acoustic piano, humming synthesizer, urban field recordings — to make music that thickens atmosphere and accumulates mystery with such subtlety that you don’t notice it until you’re in it.

Bill Meyer

Guided by Voices — Mirrored Aztec (Guided by Voices Inc.)

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I know, I know, it’s another Guided by Voices record, the fifth since 2019, but hear me out. Pollard is still tapped into the fuzzy, rackety, melodic sap of the rock and roll universe, and he has only to knock his hammer a few times against the gnarled tree of life to extract more of what sustains us. Shorter version: he can do this all day, every day, without any noticeable let-up in quality. So, let us celebrate another batch of Who-like power chords, of rumbling drums and monumental bass thuds, of melodies that curve out delicately like spring’s first vines, then thicken into thundering climaxes and triumphant refrains. Let us give thanks again for inscrutable lyrics that drift off into poetry then pull back in the most ordinary artifacts of the spoken word. “I Think I Had It. I Think I Have It,” crows Pollard in a voice that has been blasted by time but come out more or less intact, and yes, Bob, you still do.

Jennifer Kelly

Edu Haubensak & Tomas Korber — Works for Guitar & Percussion (Ezz-thetics)

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The celebrated Wandelweiser aesthetic serves as a loose overarching impetus for the four interpretations of compositions by Edu Haubensak and Tomas Korber that comprise Works for Guitar & Percussion. Classical guitarist Christian Buck and improvising percussionist Christian Wolfarth ply their instruments through pairing and isolation. Essayist Andy Hamilton describes context by delineating a distinction between music (based in the language of tones) and soundart (which is non-tonal) and placing the duo’s interpretations in the opaque border between these realms. Repetition and timbral disparity frame Haubensak’s “On” while Korber’s “Aufhebung” applies scrutiny to microtonal diversity and temporal impermanence. Wolfarth fields Korber’s “Weniger Weiss” from behind snare drum, trading recurring stick rolls with varying segments of silence that compel ears accustomed to Western musical structures to consciously fill in the blanks. Haubensak’s solo “Refugium” finds Buck bending two closely tuned strings in an extrapolation of an Arabic maqam that feels tenuously connected to the form, at best.

Derek Taylor

Inseclude — Inseclude (Inseclude)

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Brad MacAllister of CTRL and Blue Images and Benjamin Londa of Exit have been working in the darkwave and chillwave scenes for several years and their first album as Inseclude is a long distance collaboration that mines the darker side of 1980s alternative and electronic rock. From Pennsylvania, MacAllister sent musical ideas to Londa in Texas who added guitars, lyrics and vocals to produce a set of songs that are well made and enjoyable if largely unmemorable. There are a number of contemporary bands doing similar things — Hamilton’s Capitol and Manchester’s Ist spring immediately to mind — taking the Cure, New Order, Sisters of Mercy template and why not? Unfortunately, the passage of time and the law of diminishing returns have led to overfamiliarity with this style of music that makes for easy and perhaps unfair comparisons. When they stretch themselves, Inseclude’s songs do hit. “Sondera” and “Failing To The Pulse” carry some real menace with the juxtaposition of wide-angle synths and paranoid vocals but elsewhere the pair seem held back by a restraint and lack of bottom end that diminish the impact of some pretty decent songs.

Andrew Forell

Kvalia — Scholastic Dreams Of Forceful Machines (Old Boring Russia)

Схоластические Грёзы Силовых Машин by Квалиа

Krasnoyarsk sits on the banks of the Yenisei river in southern Siberia and is known both for the natural beauty of its surrounding landscape and for its primacy as an aluminum producer. Local musicians Aleksander Maznichenko and Aleksey Danilenko reflect the latter on their new five track EP Scholastic Dreams Of Forceful Machines, an icy, metallic collection of post-industrial clang pitched somewhere between Einstürzende Neubauten and early Clock DVA. Their machines are forceful but cranky, rusted, near obsolete. Maznichenko keeps the thrum of turbines is steady but the drum machines lurch and thump, the keyboards whine and scream, the Russian vocals protest their obstreperous charges. Danilenko’s bass is post-punk elastic skipping amongst the raining sparks hinting at a will to dance with his mutant riffs. They sound like they mean it and the result is a terrific EP full of fire, fumes, steam and sweat.

Andrew Forell

Mezzanine Swimmers — Kneelin’ on a Knife (Already Dead)

Kneelin' on a Knife by Mezzanine Swimmers

These songs circle around noise-crusted, repetitive beats, the drumming stiff and mechanical, the riffs chopped to short bursts, the vocals woozy and distended. “Sexy Apology” reiterates a three-note keyboard lick ad infinitum, as main Swimmer Mike Smith drawls the title phrase, similarly on repeat. Yet within this unchanging structure, chaos erupts in detuned keyboards, miasmic feedback and corrosive noise. It’s hard to say whether these songs are too tightly organized or too loose, a bit of both really, and yet, get past the headachy thud and there’s an unhinged psychotropic transport. No one ever said that kneeling on knives would be comfortable.

Jennifer Kelly

Mosca — The Optics (Rent)

Mosca · The Optics [RENT001]

Part of the initial wave of neon-infused dubstep hedonism surrounding the Night Slugs camp at the turn of the last decade, Mosca’s Tom Reid has since survived on the strength of a regular slot behind the decks at NTS and sparingly deployed releases on such renowned labels as Numbers, Rinse, Hypercolour and Livity Sound. “The Optics” debuts his new Rent imprint, conceived as a way to get out music that doesn’t fit in elsewhere. (Originally, this was to be an a-side for a coming AD93 release, but as he says, “There's only so long you can keep a track with a baby crying in it back from the masses.”) Supposedly inspired by the Under the Skin beach scene, the five-minute track immediately throws you off with a dub-heavy shuffle and metallic, alien sounds that zoom around the mix. The main thrust of the melody arrives around a minute in, and gradually the sounds close in on you. There’s bells, birds, a baby crying and then, just when you’re feeling completely stressed out, it all falls away; a driving jungle rhythm carries you the rest of the way. Deeply satisfying dance from a head who hasn’t lost his way.

Patrick Masterson

Prana Crafter/ragenap — No Ear to Hear (Centripetal Force Studio/Cardinal Fuzz)

No Ear to Hear by Prana Crafter / ragenap

When Robert Hunter, the poet who wrote lyrics for the Grateful Dead’s “Dark Star,” “Ripple,” “Truckin’,” “Terrapin Station” and many other songs, died in late 2019, long form psych musicians Prana Crafter (William Sol) and ragenap (Joel Berk) mourned separately but simultaneously. The night he died, both took solace in improvised music, which didn’t so much evoke or represent Hunter, but captured some of their feelings about his work and their loss. When they talked, soon after, they found that both had made lengthy open-ended meditations on the same person. Those two extended pieces make up No Ear to Hear. Prana Crafter’s entry, “Beggar’s Tomb,” is weighted and slow moving, building gradually from simmering drones into towering edifices of feedback and dissonance. Although performed largely on guitar, the sound is filtered through gleaming effects and layers into astral strangeness, a mystic’s trip through mental interiors. ragenap’s “Nightfall” also takes shape slowly out of looming sustained notes and black velvet quiet and sounds that scratch and vibrate at the edges. A solitary acoustic guitar takes up space at the forefront finally, carving a hesitant melody across the hum. The tune turns fuller and more agitated as it progresses, adding layers of feedback and distortion. Neither of these pieces sounds much like the Grateful Dead, and of course, neither has any sort of lyrics. I doubt that anyone, hearing this album for the first time would say, “Oh yeah, Robert Hunter.” And yet inspiration works in strange and, in this case, fruitful ways. You can enjoy this even if you don’t like the Dead.

Jennifer Kelly

Raven Throne — Viartannie (Chroniki Źmiainaj Ciemry) (self-released)

Viartannie (Chroniki Źmiainaj Ciemry) /The Return (The Chronicles of the Serpent Darkness) by RAVEN THRONE

These Belorussian black metal veterans are true materialists. On their seventh album, they show that nature is a social construct, not something given. And boy, their nature is not a loving mother. Unlike many metal bands convey nature via field recordings, Raven Throne craft their ferocious sounds with guitars and drums. Aren’t these as natural instruments as stone and wooden sticks? The atmospheric black metal subgenre has been contaminated by pop and folksy metal so that it’s hard to maintain a truly evil sound, while still bringing the atmospheric elements into it. Raven Throne pull it off. This is how darkness should sound.

Ray Garraty

The Slugs — Don’t Touch Me I’m Too Slimy (2214099 Records DK)

Don't Touch Me, I'm Too Slimy by The Slugs

The Slugs are an exuberantly lo-fi punk pop duo out of London who bash and thump and shout short, acidic ditties about being female, in a band, under assault and under the weather. Liberty Hodes, who is also one half of the comedy duo A Comedy Night that Passes the Bechdel Test, plays a jangling, forceful electric guitar, while her Phoebe Dighton-Brown bangs away in brutal simplicity on the drums. Both sing, sometimes in unison, sometimes in rough harmonies, occasionally in slashing counterparts. (One chants “Feel sick/can’t be sick” while the other rolls out mellifluous “ah-ah-ah-ahs” in “Feel Sick.”) There is a charming, unstudied quality to their music, which is a bit too smart and biting to be primitive, but nonetheless eschews frills. It’s hard to pick favorites—the whole EP is over in five tracks and 11 minutes—but “Pest” is giddy fun, with its slouching, battering guitar-drum motif and slacker choruses. The shout along chorus of “Don’t touch me! I’m too slimy!” is the best thing on the record, hitting a rebellious, unwashed spot of resonance in the work-from-home era. Second best, the gleeful tirade about sleazy male promoters in “Girly Gang” (“Give you all the gigs if you touch my wang”), which builds in round-singing euphorias until it ends suddenly and a la Jane Austen in matrimony (“Married in a dress by Vera Wang”). People are comparing the Slugs to the Shaggs, but that’s just short-hand for banging away anyway without all the training. The Slugs are smarter, slyer and more autonomous, and if they sound a little rough, that’s exactly how they meant to sound.

Jennifer Kelly

Tobin Sprout — Empty Horses (Fire)

Empty Horses by Tobin Sprout

Blessed with one of the finest names in music (alongside dEUS’s Klaas Janzoons), Tobin Sprout is best known for being part of the Guided by Voices line-up that created classic albums such as Bee Thousand and Alien Lanes in the 1990s. Though Sprout’s subsequent solo output has been a steady stream compared to Robert Pollard’s deluge, Empty Horses is his eighth solo album. In it, the now-65-year-old ruminates faith, mortality and American history atop a spare, country-tinged backing. There’s a deep ache to many of these songs, the kind of emotional weight that manifests in pointedly low tempos, sparse drum parts that hang behind the beat and vocal performances that are almost uncomfortably intimate. Running to a succinct half-hour, with many of the songs clocking in at just a couple of minutes each, Empty Horses confronts demons seemingly too pernicious to overcome. Yet, when the music becomes more expansive — such as the graceful pedal steel of “Breaking Down,” the woozy modulation of “Antietam,” or the biting fuzztone of “All In My Sleep” — Sprout sounds like he may be on the verge of making a much-needed breakthrough.

Tim Clarke

Son Lux — Tomorrows I (City Slang)

Tomorrows I by Son Lux

Son Lux’s songs embed unsettling sounds in deep wells of silence, finding disturbing textures in string sounds, electronics, percussion and the fluttering soul falsetto of founder Ryan Lott. Tomorrows I, reportedly the first of three related albums, has a quietly dystopian vibe and a moist, echoing unease that might remind of you Burial’s classic Untrue. A brief, looped, keening violin motif punctures the opening cut, “Plans We Made” with all the threat of Bernhard Hermann’s shower music for the film Psycho, while Lott trills haunted phrases about being afraid to let go. “Undertow,” near the end, brings in a whole string quartet to swoon dissonantly, as a knocking beat (drummer Ian Chang) sounds like a body being dragged across the floor. “Just waiting for the undertow,” sings Lott in the dread empty spaces between, in arias of muted desolation. Minimalist and menacing and mesmerizing.

Jennifer Kelly

Ulaan Janthina — Ulaan Janthina (Part 1) (Worstward)

Ulaan Janthina (Part I) by Ulaan Janthina

Steven R. Smith contains multitudes, and Ulaan Janthina is the latest manifestation of his mutating musical self. This release exemplifies three aspects of Smith’s practice. First, he likes to make beautiful things. Hard copies of this tape come in a custom-oriented box that contains tinted photos, shells and printed communications as well as the cassette. And he’s project-oriented. While other iterations have been devoted to an Eastern European vibe, or guitar noise or a virtual ensemble sound, Ulaan Janthina results from a decision to work primarily with the keyboards in his house. It’s a winning strategy, since his synthesizers, organ and harmonium all benefit from the grittiness of Smith’s recording methodology, and his spare playing style makes his melodies stand out quite starkly from the background atmosphere. Like the name says, this is part one of the Janthina (named for a genus of sea snail that makes its own floating platform — not a bad metaphor for the survival-oriented independent musician) venture; a second, similarly packaged cassette is pending from Smith’s Worstward imprint soon, and a future release is already planned by Soft Abuse records.

Bill Meyer

Various Artists — Spr Blk: Liberation Jazz and Soul From the '70s and Beyond (Paxico)

Liberation Jazz and Soul by Marcus J. Moore

Author Marcus J. Moore (late of The Nation but also found everywhere from Pitchfork to WaPo) has a book on the way in October, The Butterfly Effect: How Kendrick Lamar Ignited the Soul of Black America. In advance of its release via cassette devotees Paxico, Moore cobbled together “rare and somewhat familiar” Black music from his own crates. “These are the kinds of songs I play when walking through New York City or driving through Maryland,” he says in the release. What that means for you is a two-sided mix that burns slower on the A and gets more percussion-heavy on the B. Leading off with Doug Carn’s fittingly titled “Swell Like a Ghost” and featuring jams from Willie Dale, Milton Wright, Ronald Snijders and other lesser jazz, soul and funk lights, it’s a revealing mix that will no doubt pair well with that fall reading you’re about to get going on.

Patrick Masterson

Vatican Shadow — Persian Pillars of the Gasoline Era (20 Buck Spin)

Persian Pillars Of The Gasoline Era by Vatican Shadow

Dominick Fernow is hugely prolific, and most folks with ears tuned to the densely churning worlds of noise and industrial music will be familiar with his abrasive, unsettling output under the Prurient moniker. Fernow’s releases as Vatican Shadow are fewer in number, and more attuned to ambient, even melodic movements and textures. That’s sort of odd, given that the Vatican Shadow records thematize and explore Fernow’s obsession with the history of the Middle East, especially post-9/11 collisions of Western military force, Islamic traditions of resistance and the tactics of terror used by both sides. Relaxing stuff, that ain’t. Consistent with the larger project’s tendencies, Persian Pillars of the Gasoline Era claims an interest in the CIA-coordinated Iranian coup (MI6 helped out, too, those imperial scamps) that deposed Mohammed Mossadeq, installed the Shah Reza Pahlavi and inaugurated some of the principal tensions that have shaped the last half-century of world history. It’s unclear how Fernow’s pulsing, shimmering, sometimes juddering synth sounds are meant to represent or otherwise engage that history. For sure, record art and song titles summon all the right semiotics, sometimes with an interesting edge. But “Taxi Journey through the Teeming Slums of Tehran” sounds more like a malfunctioning MP3 player than a taxi or a “teeming slum” (can we all be done with that phrase now?), and “Moving Secret Money” is pleasantly trance-inducing, rather than insidiously evil. Musically, it’s quite good. The packaging seems to want strike other notes. Maybe that’s the point — too many folks are too busy consuming quietist pop to bother with the grind of the political. But is this the intervention we need?

Jonathan Shaw

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igazikutya · 3 years

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Zajok a nappaliból – Traxelektor 2021 02

A Skinny Puppy nevű egészpályás világszatírában főszereplő első Kevin, Kevin Crompton alias cEvin Key várva várt szólóalbuma február 19-én bújt elő a kulisszák mögül. Az underground elektronika egyik legnagyobb ütemfelelősének szomorúan nézem fészbúk oldalát, amint évről-évre februárban és augusztusban tömör szívszaggató emlékposztokban tiszteleg a vancouveri Subconscious érát túlvilágira cserélő alkotótársairól, az 1995-ben elhunyt Dwayne R. Goettelről és a 2019-ben eltávozott Phil Westernről. (a naptári möbiusz, hogy Dwayne egy februári napon született és egy augusztusin halt meg, Phil pedig fordítva) Szóval nem lesz már Download, és már Genesis P-Orridge se fog beugrani, hogy felmormogjon a stúdióban valami köldökremegtető ezoipari nembientódát, és persze, hogy Goettel szintizsenije már rég nincs, ám Phil Western mégiscsak afféle kötőanyaga volt ennek az alkotói körnek. Így ez a mostani cEvin Key szóló igazából nem is annyira szóló, mint inkább egy download lemez, hiszen cEvin maradt egyedül a DL. És úgy is indul a Resonance, a nyitó Thirteen bármely utóbbi downloadon lehetne. Azért ezt a magányt ellensúlyozandó, hívott maga mellé vendégjátékosokat: Edvard KaSpel (The Legendary Pink Dots), IAMX (Chris Corner, Snekaer Pimps) Traz Damji (The Humble Brothers), a torokénekes Soriah és Otto Von Schirach (harmadik szemfeszegető a Bermuda-háromszögből) személyében. Sőt a Resonance-t valójában cEvin Key és a Subconscious Electronic Orchestra jegyzi (mint a ’98-as Music for Cats-t is), ami az én megfejtésem szerint a stúdióban lévő hangszerek és fent említettek szellemeinek kollaborációja.

Már régóta esedékes volt egy szerzői Clouds album, a harmadik. Igazságtalan vagyok, hiszen tavaly sorra jöttek a banda Arkiv kiadványai (1-3), de azok bármilyen ütősek is voltak, retrospektív válogatások maradtak. És azt hiszem egy korszak lezárásai is lehettek, egyfajta alkotói raktárkisöprés, a The Parallel pedig egy új fejezet nyitánya. Múlt héten sikerült 2-3 nap alatt lepörgetnem az Expanse sorozat negyedik évadát, és adja magát gondolat, hogy jajj, de nézném azt a sci-fit, aminek a Parallel a soundtrack-je, ti is imádnátok! A skót duó egyik értékes jellemvonása, hogy a rájuk jellemző hangzás az albumon átívelő műfaji sokszínűségre van ráfeszítve, miközben egészében nézve egy industrial/ idm/ techno albumot hallunk, az néha tört, néha egyenes és pöröly, esetleg dark trance és downtemp, vagy ambient – ez a fajta egységbe foglalt sokszínűség az elektronika klasszikus korszakára (és annak ikonikus kiadványaira) volt nagyon jellemző. Az album digitális kiadványához újfent mellékeltek a srácok egy pdf-et, mely tartalmazza a teljes grafikai dizájnt, ugyanis a Clouds lemezek minden felvételéhez más borító van hozzárendelve. A lemezt végig belengi valamiféle archaikus fantasy töltet (miközben továbbra is ül a sci-fi párhuzam is). Amúgy az egyik csókát Calum Macleod-nak hívják (társa Liam Robertson), hú ez messze vezet, mélygarázs, filmzene, kardrabeáta, nemröhög, fejrevigyáz!

Keresztény Madár barátunk önnön újjászületéséről szóló hangosfilmje tölgyválasszal kezdődik (When You Can't Go Clubbing Anymore And Have To Dance With Oaks). A hosszas izoláció következtében történt mentális borulás eredményeképp berlini lakásában fákkal táncoló Cristian elméje avatari zuhanásba kezd, a formák szétesnek hullámokra, a gondolatok ízekké és illatokká párolognak, vizet szürcsöl és oxigént lélegez kifelé, a szoba szertefoszlik, lelke magasba száll, elméje kitisztul és egy nagyon snájdig cserép kaktuszként materializálódik a Heizkraftwerk Berlin-Mitte hőerőmű egyik irodájának ablakában, ami pont a bezárt Tresorra néz. Konstatálva a bárminemű küzdelem hiábavalóságát és a bármennyi erőbevitellel elért ugyanaz csak formájában más eredmény megvalósulását, felenged benne a szabadság iránti vágy és a saját ágyában ébred. A német technoszcéna egyik legkevésbé értett zsenije Cristian Vogel 1993 óta üti a vasat, és bár kezdetben elég sarkos, karcos hangzás jellemezte, azon művek mélyén is ott figyelt az agyas matek, a kis fekete keretes szemüveges könyvelőnek álcázott ritmusmanipulátor géniusza. Az évek folyamán elképesztő sok formában bolyongta körbe saját univerzumát, a Rebirth of Wonky a 25. sorlemeze, nem beszélve a sok kollaborációról (Supercollider!), pszeudóról. Azért ez a lemez most, mintha valami csúcsa lenne a vogeli időpiramisnak, mintha több kísérleti irány, amik eljutottak valameddig, talán ideiglenesen el is haltak, most összeértek volna ebben a multidimenzionális absztraktban. Itt végletek állnak egymás kezét fogva, táncolhatatlan dancetémák, eggyé huzagolt töredékek csusszannak nedves csigacsendben a sötét végtelenekbe, amiket a ritmika köré rendezett vogeli dubok nyitnak meg számukra. Őszintén mondom, lenyűgöz ennek a palinak az elméje, újjáteremtésének történetében annyira sűrű fluidot hozott össze, mint a sztartrekes vörösanyag neonfény nélkül, a három perc hatnak, a tíz huszonötnek tűnik. Ez egy nagyon sokszor hallgatós lemez, ami sokadikra is képes újabb rétegeit megmutatni, ugyanis elemei a megfigyelés hatására újrarendeződnek. Kvantumban-fogantatás.

Brian Dougans és Garry Cobain duója, az örökéletűnek tűnő The Future Sound of London nevű intézmény a leíró ambient szentségének földi helytartója. Nem létezik olyan kísérlet, amely ennyire komplexen képes lett volna megzenésíteni a környezetet, és ezt a hagyományt a vadonatúj Music For 3 Books albumukon is hallhatjuk, annyi pontosítással, hogy ez a lemez az „environment-sound” és az 1995-ös ISDN hangulata között van valahol. Az FSOL idén már 31 éves pályafutással a háta mögött zenél, az album is tükröz némi érettséget, de a bőrruhába dinósodott rokkerek rutinját felejtsük el gyorsan, ugyanis ez az elektronika gond nélkül illeszkedik bele 2021 zeneiségébe.

Oliver Ho industrial-noise-techno projektje, a Broken English Club elérkezett White Rats sorozatának harmadik részéhez, és azt hiszem ez lett a legerősebb a háromból, nagyon egyben van, feszes, energikus és tartalmas. Írtam már sok mindent a paliról korábban, nem is rizsálnék róla, inkább itt egy kisfilm az alkotóról az alkotótól:

vimeo

Andreas Tilliander egyszer már megmentett egy bulit számomra, és ezt soha nem felejtem el neki, amikor is a Richie Hawtin presents Enter.London elnevezésű csalódást keltő rendezvény egyik szerény, mégis kellemes pislákoló fénypontjaként live act-elt 2015 tavaszán a Tobacco Dockban. A svéd úrember nem véletlen volt egy Richie Hawtin buli fellépője, a kevesek egyikének számít, aki képes az acid-dub-techno műfajt mindenféle erőlködés nélkül élvezetesen előadni, és abszolút nem probléma számára az élőben varázslás sem. Rolandokkal táncoló Andrásunk hosszú utat járt be. A 2013-as TM404 szűken koncepcionált albuma után eljutott a sikerrel és élőzésekkel járó technora gyorsulás kanyaraiba is, majd megpróbálta Echologist-tel (Brendon Moellerrel) duóban távolítani magát az eredetileg hasznos, de idővel kinőtt hangzásbéli elképzeléstől, hogy aztán most a Syra-val egy lecsupaszított, szobazenévé visszalassult, tillianderesen intelligens zenei ösvényen barangolhassunk, ahol azért találunk néha rohanós részeket is (Rymdeko). A Syra remek megerősítés is, miszerint nem elhamarkodott a TM404-t Plastikman neve mellett emlegetni, és talán az album közepén hallható „1998” track részéről is egy link abba a plastikman-i korszakba, amikor az Artifacts és Consumed született.

És a végére egy kijövés: sose szerettem igazán a Depeche Mode-ot, és ha valakit választani kellett volna belőlük, akkor az az Alain Wilder géniusza (Recoil), és bár hallgattam elégszer DM albumokat, frászt kaptam sokszor a Martin Gore ömlengéseitől, nem elvitatva szerepét, tudását, blablabla... „Ne mondd, hogy szeretsz, ez így nem jó!” És akkor itt ez a Third Chimpanzee című EP, amiről 3 tracket válogattam be a Traxelektorba, mert olyan, amilyen a DM brand soha nem volt, és sajnos nem is lett. Hát igen srácok, a biznisz ugye

Megjelenések:

Adam Pits - Piston Pump [2021, X-Kalay][EP] Anatolian Weapons - Mantili [2021, Kame House][S] Broken English Club - White Rats III [2021, L.I.E.S.][LP]

cEvin Key - Resonance [2021, Sub-Conscious Communications][LP] Clouds - The Parallel [2021, The Parallel][LP] Cristian Vogel - Rebirth Of Wonky [2021, Endless Process][LP] Future Sound Of London, The - Music For 3 Books [2021, Self-released][LP] Jensen Interceptor - Master Control Program [2021, Unknown To The Unknown][EP] Martin Gore - The Third Chimpanzee [2021, Mute][EP]

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Moist 96 - S-T [2021, L.I.E.S.][LP] Slam - Final Conflict [2021, Soma][EP]

Thorofon · Eva 3 - La Théorie du Diable [2021, Ant-Zen][S] TM404 - Syra [2021, Kontra-Musik][LP] VA - Dalmata Daniel x EXILES x Farbwechsel [2021, Farbwechsel][4LP-Comp]

Traxelektor:

Spotify playlist (66/83, 5:59/7:03) Aktuális fülbemászók: Új Látásmód Fúzió - A lehetőségek távlatai Anatolian Weapons - Mantili

Traxelektor 2021 02

214 - Alpenglow [Exposure To Winds, 20:20 Vision] Adam Pits - Kino der Toten [Piston Pump, X-Kalay] Adam Pits - Piston Pump [Piston Pump, X-Kalay]

Anatolian Weapons - Mantili [Mantili, Kame House] Anatolian Weapons - To The Stars [Mantili, Kame House] Arnaud Rebotini - Shiny Black Leather [Shiny Black Leather, Mannequin]

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Automat - Slacid [Acid Avengers 017, Acid Avengers] Broken English Club - Alone In The Hunt [White Rats III, L.I.E.S.] Broken English Club - Lord of The Flies [White Rats III, L.I.E.S.] Broken English Club - Shadows and Tall Trees [White Rats III, L.I.E.S.] Broken English Club - The Kill [White Rats III, L.I.E.S.] Broken English Club - They Burned The Villages [White Rats III, L.I.E.S.] cEvin Key - Orange Dragonfly [Resonance, Sub-Conscious Communications] cEvin Key - Resonance [Resonance, Sub-Conscious Communications] cEvin Key - Thirteen [Resonance, Sub-Conscious Communications] cEvin Key with Edward KaSpel - Night Flower [Resonance, Sub-Conscious Communications] Clouds - An t-Samhain [The Parallel, The Parallel] Clouds - Cernunnos [The Parallel, The Parallel] Clouds - Geistinh [The Parallel, The Parallel] Clouds - Kriegerin an Shadow [The Parallel, The Parallel] Clouds - Oakzeit [The Parallel, The Parallel] Clouds - Orcadian Dialect [The Parallel, The Parallel] Cristian Vogel - Acido Amigo [Rebirth Of Wonky, Endless Process] Cristian Vogel - Peace La Roche [Rebirth Of Wonky, Endless Process] Cristian Vogel - The All Clear [Rebirth Of Wonky, Endless Process] Cristian Vogel - Thuja [Rebirth Of Wonky, Endless Process] CT Kidobó - miskolc Beat [VA - Dalmata Daniel x EXILES x Farbwechsel,Farbwechsel] CT Kidobó & SVR101 - キメるコカコーラ[VA - Dalmata Daniel x EXILES x Farbwechsel,Farbwechsel]

Developer - Nothing But Trouble [Archive 012, Developer Archive] Developer - Still Fuckable [Archive 012, Developer Archive] DJ Deeon & Jensen Interceptor - Sweat [Master Control Program, Unknown To The Unknown] Ena - Adaptation [One Draw, Nullpunkt] Eva-3 - Théorie- Redux [La Théorie du Diable, Ant-Zen] Granite Mask - EC Rivals [Time Elapsed, Opal Tapes] Granite Mask - Turn Around [Time Elapsed, Opal Tapes]

ICR - Neurosis of Waiting [VA - Dalmata Daniel x EXILES x Farbwechsel,Farbwechsel] Imre Kiss - Sällhet [VA - Dalmata Daniel x EXILES x Farbwechsel,Farbwechsel] Interstellar Funk & Robert Valera - Devil's Juice [Devil's Juice, Artificial Dance] Interstellar Funk & Robert Valera - Klangin [Devil's Juice, Artificial Dance] Interstellar Funk & Robert Valera - Northsea [Devil's Juice, Artificial Dance]

Jensen Interceptor - Ridin' [Master Control Program, Unknown To The Unknown] Maks Et Sipowicz - Signal Ffp [VA - Dalmata Daniel x EXILES x Farbwechsel,Farbwechsel]

Mala Herba - Comber [Demonologia, aufnahme + wiedergabe] Mala Herba - Dawaj [Demonologia, aufnahme + wiedergabe] Mala Herba - Kupaly [Demonologia, aufnahme + wiedergabe]

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Martin Gore - Capuchin [The Third Chimpanzee, Mute] Martin Gore - Howler [The Third Chimpanzee, Mute] Martin Gore - Vervet [The Third Chimpanzee, Mute] Mike Nylons - Anger Management [VA - Dalmata Daniel x EXILES x Farbwechsel,Farbwechsel] Moist 96 - 1996 [S-T, L.I.E.S.] Moist 96 - Carjul [S-T, L.I.E.S.] Moist 96 - TGK [S-T, L.I.E.S.]

Normal Tamas - Sub [VA - Dalmata Daniel x EXILES x Farbwechsel,Farbwechsel] Norwell - Broken Symmetry [VA - Dalmata Daniel x EXILES x Farbwechsel,Farbwechsel] Om Unit - Bristol Theme [Acid Dub Studies, Self-Released] Om Unit - Celestial Envoy [Acid Dub Studies, Self-Released]

Panoramic Barrier - Éjszakai Kiránduló [VA - Dalmata Daniel x EXILES x Farbwechsel,Farbwechsel] Prefuse 73 - Remembering the Past Through This Riot Pt.2 [The Failing Institute of Drums & Other Percussion, Self-Released] Prefuse 73 - Taped Up Low Hum [The Failing Institute of Drums & Other Percussion, Self-Released] Prefuse 73 - The Man & Who He Really Is Pt.4 [The Failing Institute of Drums & Other Percussion, Self-Released] Sematic4 feat Microbeat - Kutyakutatóűrállomás [VA - Dalmata Daniel x EXILES x Farbwechsel,Farbwechsel] Shcuro - Obsession [Acid Avengers 017, Acid Avengers]

Slam - Cosmo Disko [Final Conflict, Soma] Slam - Pyrrhic [Final Conflict, Soma] Tarotplane - Panther Walk [Horizontology, 12th Isle] Tarotplane - Ritual Believer [Horizontology, 12th Isle]

The Bug - Red Rhythms - Memorial Version [Red Rhythms Vol.2, Self-released] The Bug - Red Rhythms - No Version [Red Rhythms Vol.1, Self-released] The Bug - Red Rhythms - One Dog Version [Red Rhythms Vol.1, Self-released]

The Future Sound Of London - Magnify Within The Thought [Music For 3 Books, Self-released] The Future Sound Of London - Replace I With You [Music For 3 Books, Self-released] The Future Sound Of London - Skylines [Music For 3 Books, Self-released] The Future Sound Of London - Take Umbrage [Music For 3 Books, Self-released] The Future Sound Of London - The Whispering Masses [Music For 3 Books, Self-released] The Future Sound Of London - Turbulent Haze [Music For 3 Books, Self-released] Thorofon - Devil's Share [La Théorie du Diable, Ant-Zen]

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TM404 - 1998 [Syra, Kontra-Musik] TM404 - Oxfor [Syra, Kontra-Musik] TM404 - Roofto [Syra, Kontra-Musik] TM404 - Rymdeko [Syra, Kontra-Musik] Új Látásmód Fúzió - A lehetőségek távlatai [VA - Dalmata Daniel x EXILES x Farbwechsel,Farbwechsel] Volruptus & Jensen Interceptor - Alien Realm [Big Bang Energy, Sweaty] Volruptus & Jensen Interceptor - End of the Human Race [Big Bang Energy, Sweaty]

#traxelektor #underground #electronic #intelligent dance music #idm #leftfield #intelligent #dance #kritika #zene #zeneajánló

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figure-skating-watch-party · 4 years

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Russian Cup, stage 4

I’ll try to mention some of the lesser known skaters this time. Because they are all so good but often this is not enough because this is Russia: there are countless talented skaters and only a very limited number of international spots. (I came to the conclussion that - especially in juniors - the key is not to get attached too much to one skater, one team and just appreciate everything we get to see)

Pairs

Sometimes I really can’t wrap my mind around it. They are all sooo good. First warm-up group and they are so good, second group and they are great, third group world class.

Let me scream VIKTORIA VASILIEVA / Nikita Volodin. She was a singles skater a year ago. I saw her two years ago at JGP with my own eyes. And now? She is a pair skater. That was such an awesome debut for this new pair. I am in awe. And especially their Mickmacks FP is great.

I also liked Maria Alchova/Sergei Bezborodko and their Peal Harbour FP. (Poor them and the death spiral though)

Karina Akopova/Nikita Rakhmanin they are speeeed. (Limelight SP and based on my very limited knowledge of cyrilic alphabet a mix of P. I. Tchaikovsky’s music with A. Bocelli’s Fall on me???) Anyway they are so quick on the ice.

I love every Memoirs of a Geisha program and of course I loved Jasmina Kadyrova/Ivan Balchenko and their SP.

I love Boikova/Kozlovskii so so so much. And I love their SP, I’m so happy that we finally saw them. Their SP is so light, tender, classical. Their FP was good but not just that magically great as we maybe got too much used to it. It couldn’t be easy for them skating just hours after their coach’s husband passed away on top of everything else. (I absolutely didn’t know but they formed a pair in 2015 having skated only in singles prior to that.)

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I have to admit I have a complicated relationship with Tarasova/Morozov. Though I liked their Adagio FP and after rewatching Bolero many times, yeah, there’s in fact nothing wrong with this program... They are just not my favourite skaters but I can still see why they are one of the best in the world. If I associate B/K with lightness, T/M are definitely power.

Mishina/Galliamov are back. Well, they were not away, it was just one bad comp and it happened to be Russian nationals which was so unfortunate. They were oozing confidence this time. They were flawless, I loved the low death spiral and the whole Esmeralda SP and the dance lifts and creative choreo sequence in their Bohemian Rhapsody FP.

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Ice Dance, Sr.

I really appreciate that the organizers give the opportunity to foreign skaters training in Russia to unofficially take part in the Russian Cup series. You won’t find them on the results pages, but I think for them the most important thing is that they can skate in whatever form it is...

This time, it was Hungarians Anna Yanovskaya/Adam Lukacs skating to Grease RD and Hymne l’amour FD. (I love these combinations of programs: one more upbeat one more classical).

If I’m counting right it’s at least fifth Grease I’ve seen this (or last) season: Guignard/Fabbri, Shpilevaya/Smirnov, Pavlenina/Aleksanian and the queen and the king of Grease Smart/Diaz - I enjoy watching and comparing these programs, so there’s never too much Singing in the rain, Too darn hot... etc. ;) )

If you want to see passion and also synchronized hydroblades watch Vlada Pavlenina/Aleksandr Aleksanian La sal de la terra FD.

I like L’Opera Rock FD of Svetlana Lizunova/Alexander Vakhnov.

And then Julia Tulseva/Anatolii Belovodchenko. Cabaret / Umbrella. I simply love these programs, Cabaret, Burlesque... And their FD was even better, their speed, the interpretation, the curve lifts, the jazzy feel...

And I’m really happy that Anastasia Skoptsova/Kirill Aleshin won this stage and that they kept their Bonnie & Clyde RD.

Ice Dance, Jr.

Let’s take a look at some junior ice dancers! Of course Arina Ushakova/Maxim Nekrasov (I like their Chicago RD) and Vasilisa Kaganovskaya/Valerii Angelopol (here I like their FD) were the best but there were so many great performances:

Polina Kocherigina/Evgenii Artyushchenko - Mala Luna FD.

Polina Usova/Egor Goncharov - Anything goes RD / Sigur Ros FD. Especially the FD was such a mature performance.

Ksenia Davidova/Michail Antonov - Singing in the rain RD I liked the choreography, the whole performance aaand the speed.

Daria Bukovschikova/Alexander Vdovin - New York, New York RD A relaxing “feel-good” program (a style I really like)

Taisia Linchevskaya/Timur Baklanov-Smirnov - Cabaret RD The stylization, the poses, the carriage on the ice...

Alexandra Shabalina/Maxim Kiryukhin - Romeo and Juliet FD

And now let me present three teams I absolutely fell in love with:

Alina Abdulina/Maxim Nuralyev - Fifty checks / Mindfields I love the variations of the famous P/C lift in the RD. And the more pop/rock feel of the FD and synchronized cartwheels?!! (I called it “P/C lift” but let’s not be like twitter moral police saying that anyone else doing this lift is a copycat; this lift was there long before P/C, eg. Belbin/Agosto did it...)

Sofia Kachushkina/Oleg Muratov - A chorus line / Walking castle?? I nicknamed them Team Red according to their RD costumes. The RD is such a fun and energetic performance, they even use the lyrics - saying steps, walk, ministeps and they do on the ice. And their FD is totally different, very balletic, like a fairy tale.

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Alisa Ovsyankina/Matvei Samokhin - Aladdin / Dance of the Sugar plum fairy

They are babies and these programs are so fitting for them. The FD is from Nutcracker and I squealed. Yes, yes, yes, yes, that’s a perfromace, that’s so cute and just lovely to watch.

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#figure skating #figureskating #watch party #current season #russian cup 2020 #ice dance #boikova kozlovskii #viktoria vasilieva

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bountyofbeads · 5 years

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Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein partied together. Then an oceanfront Palm Beach mansion came between them.

https://wapo.st/2GBQrDK

Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein partied together. Then an oceanfront Palm Beach mansion came between them. (THERE'S RECEIPTS)

By Beth Reinhard, Rosalind S. Helderman and Marc Fisher | Published July 31 at 5:05 PM ET | Posted July 31, 2019 10:22 PM ET |

For the better part of two decades starting in the late 1980s, Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump swam in the same social pool. They were neighbors in Florida. They jetted from LaGuardia to Palm Beach together. They partied at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club and dined at Epstein’s Manhattan mansion.

And then, in 2004, they were suddenly rivals, each angling to snag a choice Palm Beach property, an oceanfront manse called Maison de l’Amitie — the House of Friendship — that was being sold out of bankruptcy.

Before the auction, Epstein and Trump each tried to work the ref; the trustee in the case, Joseph Luzinski, recalls being lobbied by both camps.

“It was something like, Donald saying, ‘You don’t want to do a deal with him, he doesn’t have the money,’ while Epstein was saying: ‘Donald is all talk. He doesn’t have the money,’ ” Luzinski said. “They both really wanted it.”

Only one man would win.

In the wake of Epstein’s arrest last month on sex trafficking charges, many who socialized with him — including Trump — are eager to have it known that they never much liked the man, or weren’t really friends, or barely even knew him.

“I was not a fan of his, that I can tell you,” the president said in the Oval Office the day after New York authorities took Epstein into custody.

But friends and associates said the two wealthy New York-to-Palm Beach commuters had socialized for years, drawn together by a mix of money, women and power.

“They knew each other a long time,” said Sam Nunberg, a former Trump aide who said he pressed the candidate about his ties to Epstein in late 2014 as the real estate mogul considered a White House run. “Bottom line, Donald would hang out with Epstein because he was rich.”

Their falling out, Trump said, happened about 15 years ago — several years before Epstein’s conviction on a prostitution solicitation charge.

Trump has not said why their relationship ruptured. “The reason doesn’t make any difference, frankly,” the president said.

Fifteen years ago, the two men squared off over the Palm Beach mansion. Just a few months later, local police began investigating allegations that Epstein was sexually abusing minors. Trump has also said — without providing details — that he at some point banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago.

The White House declined to comment. Epstein’s lawyer did not respond to requests for comment.

It had been a typical Trump relationship: heavily chronicled in the news media, with an uncertain core beneath the surface.

Photos and articles captured the men together over the years, the future president of the United States and the future convicted sex offender: Here they are, Epstein and longtime girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, Trump and his then-girlfriend, Melania Knauss, double dating at a celebrity tennis tournament at Mar-a-Lago. Partying with Britain’s Prince Andrew. Hanging out with National Football League cheerleaders. Dancing, laughing, palling around at a party Trump threw to celebrate his “freedom” after he divorced his second wife, Marla Maples.

“Terrific guy,” Trump said of Epstein in 2002. “He’s a lot of fun to be with.”

Within two years, public sightings of the two had ended.

‘THEY WERE GOOD FRIENDS ’

Trump and Epstein were more than just neighbors who happened to end up at the same parties. They were two outer-borough New York guys, both with a knack for building their images and making a buck. Both attracted a ton of attention, though Trump worked hard to win notice and Epstein sometimes sought to deflect it. Both won reputations as men who were seen around many beautiful women.

In 2016, Trump Organization attorney Alan Garten told Fox News that Trump had “no relationship” with Epstein: “They were not friends and they did not socialize together.” Garten declined to comment for this article.

But Epstein, asked in a 2010 deposition if he had ever socialized with Trump, responded: “Yes, sir.”

The Epstein-Trump relationship didn’t exist in isolation but as part of a larger Palm Beach social swirl. In the early years after Trump bought the private Mar-a-Lago estate in 1985, Epstein and Trump were spotted together at Palm Beach events, including a pre-pageant dinner at Mar-a-Lago in 1992, according to people in attendance.

“They were tight,” said one person who observed them together and spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid retribution. “They were each other’s wingmen.”

Trump, recently divorced from his first wife, Ivana, was in an on-and-off relationship with the woman he would soon marry, Marla Maples.

During that period, the New York developer, casting himself as a carefree playboy billionaire, hosted and attended parties at Mar-a-Lago and elsewhere, sometimes featuring models, cheerleaders and beauty pageant contestants. Trump had a business connection to all three industries: For a time, he ran a modeling agency. He owned a team in the United States Football League, a short-lived competitor to the NFL. And he controlled the Miss Universe pageant.

Since the start of his career, Trump had made his love life a central part of his public image. The idea was to build his brand as an avatar of fabulousness and to extend that brand by attaching beautiful women to his name, he has said.

“I create stars,” he said on ABC’s “Primetime Live” in 1994, adding: “I’ve really gotten a lot of women great opportunity. Unfortunately, after they’re a star, the fun is over for me. It’s like a creating process. It’s almost like creating a building. It’s pretty sad.”

Trump’s parties at Mar-a-Lago often featured models from Miami who floated around the patio and pool, with many more women than men, friends have recounted.

“That’s true,” Trump said in an interview in 2015, stressing he was single at the time. “The point was to have fun. It was wild.”

“There’s 100 beautiful women and 10 guys,” Roger Stone, his longtime adviser, told The Post in 2016. “ ‘Look, how cool are we?’ . . . I mean, it was great.”

Epstein, who in 1990 bought his own place in Palm Beach, two miles north of Trump’s, never became a member of Mar-a-Lago but visited the club for social events, Garten has said. On some of those occasions, Epstein was accompanied by Maxwell.

“Donald liked Epstein,” said Steven Hoffenberg, a Trump acquaintance who was Epstein’s business partner at a New York private equity firm in the 1980s and ’90s, until Hoffenberg was convicted of running a massive Ponzi scheme. “But he was crazy about Maxwell, a very charming lady.”

Epstein made several appearances at Mar-a-Lago. He attended a party there with NFL cheerleaders in 1992, where he was videotaped by an NBC news crew gathering footage for a segment on Trump. The network recently released the footage, in which Trump greets Epstein warmly and whispers in the financier’s ear, leading Epstein to double over in laughter.

Photographs and videos show Epstein and Trump posing together at the mansion in 1992, 1997 and 2000. The two were also pictured together, with model Ingrid Seynhaeve, in 1997 at a Victoria’s Secret party in New York City.

Around that time, Trump flew at least once, in the late 1990s or 2000, on Epstein’s private plane from Florida to New York, according to Epstein’s brother, Mark, who described the flight in a 2009 deposition.

In an interview last week with The Post, Mark Epstein said Trump flew on the plane “numerous times” but said he was only present for one flight.

“They were good friends,” Mark Epstein said. “I know [Trump] is trying to distance himself, but they were.” He added that Trump used to comp Epstein’s mother and aunt at one of Trump’s Atlantic City casino hotels. When a Post reporter sought further details, Mark Epstein hung up.

When Jeffrey Epstein’s little black book of phone numbers appeared in a court file a few years ago, it contained 14 numbers for Trump; his wife, Melania; and others in Trump’s inner circle.

Trump and Epstein’s appearances together often made the news: In February 2000, Epstein and Maxwell attended a celebrity tennis tournament at Mar-a-Lago. Epstein brought along Prince Andrew, who was photographed with Trump and his then-girlfriend Melania Knauss.

Trump also dined at Epstein’s Upper East Side Manhattan mansion in 2003, according to New York magazine. “The dialogues are so engaging,” Epstein told the magazine, “that serving even the most extraordinary food sometimes seems inappropriate.”

But according to Stone, Trump turned down numerous invitations to Epstein’s private island and his Palm Beach home. In a 2016 book, Stone quoted Trump as saying that “The one time I visited [Epstein’s] Palm Beach home, the swimming pool was full of beautiful young girls. ‘How nice,’ I thought, ‘he let the neighborhood kids use his pool.’ ”

‘Palm Beach egos going at it’

It was another prime property on Palm Beach island that pitted the two men against each other — a six-acre oceanfront estate with a 180-degree view of the Atlantic.

In November 2004, Trump, who was starring in NBC’s “The Apprentice” at the time, declared himself intent on winning “the finest piece of land in Florida and probably the U.S.,” an estate that had been seized as part of the bankruptcy of nursing home magnate Abe Gosman.

Trump said he planned to create “the second greatest house in America, Mar-a-Lago being the first” and then resell it.

Epstein was also enraptured by the property, which Gosman had purchased in 1988 for about $12 million from Leslie Wexner, the Ohio-based retail executive who was a friend and patron of Epstein’s. In contrast to Trump, Epstein seemed interested in living at the place. Harley Riedel, an attorney for Gosman, said the previous owner had filled the mansion with pricey art and “really did have in his heart that it would be nice if someone moved in and lived there.”

At first, Epstein pressed to gain the upper hand in the competition for the estate, according to Luzinski, the bankruptcy trustee. Epstein agreed on a price and terms that were viewed as favorable for Gosman’s creditors if a higher bid didn’t emerge, he said.

As the competition heated up, Trump and Epstein began talking each other down to the trustee, Luzinski said.

On Nov. 15, 2004, the bidders, their representatives, and a small cavalry of lawyers representing the creditors and the Gosman family gathered in a courtroom at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in West Palm Beach. Trump was connected by phone.

The auction began with an attempt by one of Epstein’s three attorneys to knock Trump out of the bidding. Attorney Andrew Kamensky argued that Trump was not qualified because he demanded that the property have title insurance or he would not close on the sale. “What I’m telling you is that Mr. Epstein will — he will close,” Kamensky said, according a transcript obtained by The Post.

Trump wasn’t in Palm Beach — his own attorney, Raymond Royce, was in the courtroom. But Trump was on the phone, and now he chimed in to defend himself.

Riedel’s first notice that Trump might personally take part in the proceedings came when his voice boomed from the speakerphone. “I was sort of shocked,” the lawyer said.

Judge Steven Friedman rejected Epstein’s objection. The bidding began with Epstein’s offer of $37.25 million, but he dropped out after his bid of $38.6 million was topped.

Trump “had made up his mind to get it no matter the price,” said Charles Tatelbaum, a lawyer for one of Gosman’s creditors, JPMorgan Chase Bank.

A third bidder jumped in late, prompting Trump to pipe up again. “This is Mr. Trump,” he said over the speakerphone. “It seemed to be very clear that they dropped out also.”

The judge allowed the other bidder, Mark Pulte, to proceed, but Trump outbid him, too, with an offer of $41.35 million.

“I will therefore determine by the bang of the gavel that Mr. Trump is the higher bidder,” Friedman said.

In an interview, Luzinski described the showdown as “two very large Palm Beach egos going at it.”

It is unclear whether Trump and Epstein were in contact after the house sale. That month, Trump left two messages for Epstein at his home in Palm Beach, according to records obtained by Vice News — the last known interaction between the two men.

Four years after he bought the Gosman mansion, Trump sold it to Russian businessman Dmitry Rybolovlev for $95 million, more than doubling his investment.

‘HE’S A REAL CREEP ’

It is unclear when Trump learned of allegations that Epstein was preying on teenage girls. In a 2002 interview, he gave no indication of concern, telling New York magazine that Epstein “enjoys his social life.”

“It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side,” Trump said.

On Nov. 28, 2004 — less than two weeks after the mansion auction — Palm Beach police fielded a tip that young women were seen coming and going from Epstein’s home, then-Police Chief Michael Reiter said in a deposition. Reiter declined to comment.

Four months later, in March 2005, police received a complaint from a woman who alleged that her 15-year-old stepdaughter had been paid $300 by Epstein to massage the financier while partially undressed, according to the police report. The Palm Beach police investigation identified more than a dozen possible victims, the report shows.

In 2006, a Palm Beach grand jury returned an indictment against Epstein of a single count of soliciting a prostitute. Epstein pleaded not guilty. That July, news organizations first reported that Palm Beach police had investigated Epstein for unlawful sex with minors and wanted the FBI to take up the case.

After a lengthy FBI investigation, federal prosecutors agreed not to prosecute Epstein under federal law, allowing him instead to plead guilty in state court in 2008 to two felony counts, including soliciting a minor.

Epstein is now facing federal charges in New York of sexually abusing dozens of girls. He has pleaded not guilty.

In late 2007, the New York Post reported that Epstein had been barred from visiting Mar-a-Lago, which Epstein at the time denied.

Earlier this month, Garten, the Trump Organization lawyer, said that Trump “banned him from stepping foot on the property.”

Nunberg said that when he quizzed Trump about his relationship with Epstein, Trump told him, “He’s a real creep, I banned him.” Trump told Nunberg that Epstein had recruited a young woman who worked at Mar-a-Lago to give him massages. Nunberg said Trump told him he issued the edict against Epstein years before the police investigation became public.

Epstein has also been accused of preying on a girl he met at Mar-a-Lago.

One of his alleged victims, Virginia Giuffre, has alleged in court documents that when she was a 16-year-old towel girl in Mar-a-Lago’s locker room in 2000, Maxwell “recruited” her to come to Epstein’s Palm Beach place to make money by giving massages.

Giuffre said in a lawsuit against Maxwell that Epstein sexually abused her at his mansions in both Palm Beach and Manhattan. That case was later settled out of court. Epstein and Maxwell have both denied taking part in any sex trafficking.

Trump also appears to have been helpful to Epstein’s accusers.

Brad Edwards, an attorney for some of the alleged victims, said in an interview last year that when he was seeking information from Epstein’s acquaintances in 2009, Trump was “the only person who picked up the phone and said: ‘Let’s just talk. I’ll give you as much time as you want. I’ll tell you what you need to know.’ ”

Edwards declined to say what Trump told him but said he was “very helpful in the information that he gave.”

When Nunberg looked into Trump’s ties with Epstein, he said that Trump’s longtime secretary, Rhona Graff, and others in the Trump Organization all agreed that Trump had made a clear break with Epstein.

“That’s all I needed to know,” Nunberg concluded. “He’d never let somebody else get leverage over him.”

Manuel Roig-Franzia and Alice Crites contributed to this report.

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