weird canada » synth http://weirdcanada.com we are northernly Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:00:03 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Departures :: Ohama – I Fear What I Might Hear http://weirdcanada.com/2012/01/departures-ohama-i-fear-what-i-might-hear/ http://weirdcanada.com/2012/01/departures-ohama-i-fear-what-i-might-hear/#comments Fri, 27 Jan 2012 10:36:39 +0000 admin http://weirdcanada.com/?p=9830
Ohama - I Fear What I Might Hear
  • Ohama
  • I Fear What I Might Hear
  • (Ohama Records)
  • Rainier, AB
  • Originally Released: 1984
From the midnite news of Brandon Hocura:
A familiar scene: a young dreamer alone in his parent’s basement makes music to escape loneliness and boredom. Now, the unusual thing about this scene is that this basement is filled with state-of-the-art (for 1984) home-recording equipment and synthesizers and is located in rural Alberta surrounded by endless potato fields, miles from anything remotely metropolitan. For the young Tona Walt Ohama, the major portals to the world-at-large from his isolated farm were through television, radio and records. A well-rounded diet of classical, rock, prog and most importantly New Wavers like Gary Numan & John Foxx gave Ohama the vocabulary he needed to beam beautiful analog messages from his farm to the greater world. I Fear What I Might Hear, Ohama’s first album proper, is a masterpiece of modern folk-form, perfectly capturing the Canadian cultural climate of the early eighties and its effect on a sensitive young mind. I Fear is at once as introspective and pastoral as Nick Drake, but rather than evoking acoustic images of Camus and moody English moors it speaks of McLuhan and a plugged-in landscape that is equal parts muddy toil and media spoil. The LP works effectively as a cohesive document partly because the existential themes of isolation, identity and cultural decay are explored as lyrical subject-matter throughout, but also because the songs are all stitched together using a concrete pastiche of sounds that ranges from idyllic & rustic (animals & water) to industrial & urban (engines & TV). Truly, this is a prescient letter of distress and dislocation revealing the disappearance of a dichotomy, where it doesn’t matter where you live, Google will find you. Don’t be afraid though, it’s a great comfort to know that Ohama’s clear and visionary voice is out there in the Great Wide Aether.

For further insight into the great mind of Ohama, check out my extensive dialogue with Tona via Polyphasic Recordings.

Ohama – Where Do You Call Home

Ohama – Midnite News IV

]]> http://weirdcanada.com/2012/01/departures-ohama-i-fear-what-i-might-hear/feed/ 1 New Canadiana :: Denim Reptile – Custody http://weirdcanada.com/2012/01/new-canadiana-denim-reptile-custody/ http://weirdcanada.com/2012/01/new-canadiana-denim-reptile-custody/#comments Mon, 23 Jan 2012 10:30:21 +0000 admin http://weirdcanada.com/?p=9773
From the second puberty of Simon Frank:
From the manufactured landscape of Southern Ontario a new hybrid emerges. The Denim Reptile moves nimbly on warbling electronic feet across man made hills, but its tough exterior is defined by unabashed parking lot guitar solos. Donning an Iron Maiden T-shirt, the lizard king compresses roadhouse blues through a Windows 95 soundcard. A much needed flashback to basements of the early digital era.

Denim Reptile – Smokin’ Broken Glass

Denim Reptile – Heavy Duty Mama

Denim Reptile – Bodice Ripper

]]> http://weirdcanada.com/2012/01/new-canadiana-denim-reptile-custody/feed/ 0 New Canadiana :: Jef Barbara – Contamination http://weirdcanada.com/2011/12/new-canadiana-jef-barbara-contamination/ http://weirdcanada.com/2011/12/new-canadiana-jef-barbara-contamination/#comments Mon, 12 Dec 2011 11:30:24 +0000 admin http://weirdcanada.com/?p=9494
** PLEASE DESCRIBE THIS IMAGE **
From the contaminated softness of Aaron Levin:
Huge late-pass on this monster groove. Between the subtle hushes of “cocaine love” and damaged guitar slank of “Larmes de crocodile” resides the sequenced genius of Jef Barbara. The subtle streams of pop consciousness run rampant in Barbara’s work; somehow existing in a nether-genre equally perplexing as inastiable. Contamination‘s surreal jaunt through NRG minimalism will wreck the havoc of permanence as you clamour for softer heights amongst Montreal’s erotic synth explosion (complete with cameos from Femminielli and JLK).

Jef Barbara – Larmes de Crocodile
Jef Barbara – Wild Boys

]]> http://weirdcanada.com/2011/12/new-canadiana-jef-barbara-contamination/feed/ 0 Imprint :: Fadeaway Tapes http://weirdcanada.com/2011/11/imprint-fadeaway-tapes/ http://weirdcanada.com/2011/11/imprint-fadeaway-tapes/#comments Fri, 18 Nov 2011 14:25:09 +0000 admin http://weirdcanada.com/?p=9292
Drifting and pulsating throughout a shimmery vapour trail of releases, Fadeaway Tapes has quietly gained a foothold in the international cassette cosmos. Alongside fellow voyagers Le Révélateur, Élément Kuuda and the rosters of Hobo Cult, TLWS and Los Discos Enfantasmes, Fadeaway founders Nick Maturo and Ryan Connoly co-captain Montreal’s ongoing mission of kosmische discovery. Between label flagship Sundrips, a swath of side projects and likeminded signees, each batch offers a wealth of blissful sounds for third-mind meditation. Nick answered our Qs.

Jesse Locke
Managing Editor
Weird Canada // Texture Magazine
weirdcanada.com // texturemagazine.ca

Belarisk – Belarisk (excerpts)

Pierrot Lunaire – Lantern Floating Vessel (excerpts)

Sundrips – Phased Out (excerpts)

1 :: How did you launch your label and why? C.R.E.A.M.?
Fadeaway started mostly as a means of releasing our own material when nobody else wanted to, but it’s gradually turned into a fun way of working with other artists we appreciate and generally trying to create our own label aesthetic. I still consider myself more of a music guy than a label guy, so sometimes it can feel like a bit of a headache compared to just sitting down and jamming, but I’m very proud of all the work we’ve put into it since we started out.
2 :: To date, which of your releases has been: a) the best-seller, b) your favourite and c) the biggest bummer?
a) Hard to say, I think the batch we put out with 56K, the Thoughts on Air/Trailing split and Tobin’s Spirit Guide sold surprisingly quickly despite it being a larger run than we’d done before at the time.

b) Also hard to pick, but I’d say the Sundrips and Ophivchvs collaboration from 2010 still stands out to me as a beautiful tape in terms of both artwork and this crazy music that totally came out of nowhere.

c) Most of the Sundrips tapes we’ve done on Fadeaway are bummers in one way or another, but I might have to say Basejumping At Cliff Clavin has a particular “bummed” quality that I appreciate.

3 :: What sets you apart from other labels? Music, art, liner notes, posters, glossy 8.5” x 11” head-shots?
I’d say we’re pushing music that’s a little bit different from other labels, although I do think there are some kindred spirits out there. Maybe we’re releasing things that are a little hazier than a lot of other straight up synth labels, although not necessarily in a lo-fi kind of way. I hesitate to use the word Ambient because I feel like that’s a term that’s too easy to just throw around for smooth, meditative music, but I guess there is some sort of a cross-over in to that kind of domain. All in all, it’s hard to pin it down definitively, as it really feels like a genuine extension of Sundrips and of our own tastes and interests, which can be pretty varied. So I guess that’s what makes it special to me.
4 :: Future plans? What can grippers look forward to gripping?
We just put out a new batch right now which includes a new Sundrips tape with a bit of a dreamier sound than usual, as well as a couple of gems from some friends that people will probably make people lose their minds. We have a few things beyond that lined up for Fadeaway in 2012 but nothing set in stone yet. There are also a few more Sundrips releases in the works on other labels, so stay tuned for that.
5 :: Kim Mitchell vs. Randy Bachman?
Tempted to say Randy Bachman out of spite for “Patio Lanterns”, but “Easy To Tame” (especially the video) is so great that it redeems him and then some. He also may be the only rock star to have never gotten laid because he was in a band, which is endearing. So, albeit with a little hesitation, Kim Mitchell.

Fadeaway Tapes Discography (to date)

  • FT001
  • ::
  • Sundrips
  • –
  • Basejumping At Cliff Clavin
  • (Cassette, 2010)
  • FT002
  • ::
  • Sundrips
  • –
  • Hidden Dimensions
  • (Cassette, 2010)
  • FT003
  • ::
  • Sundrips
  • –
  • Star Master Live
  • (3″ CD-R, 2010)
  • FT004
  • ::
  • Video Diaries
  • –
  • Carryin’ On
  • (Cassette, 2010)
  • FT005
  • ::
  • Sundrips
  • –
  • Diffuse Contours
  • (Cassette, 2010)
  • FT006
  • ::
  • Sundrips & Ophivchvs
  • –
  • Satellites OF The Elders
  • (Cassette, 2010)
  • FT007
  • ::
  • Sundrips
  • –
  • Arrays
  • (Cassette, 2010)
  • FT008
  • ::
  • Cloudland Ballrooms & Sundrips
  • –
  • Split
  • (Cassette, 2010)
  • FT009
  • ::
  • Aphid Palisades
  • –
  • Aphid Palisades
  • (Cassette, 2010)
  • FT010
  • ::
  • 56k
  • –
  • Calls In The Night
  • (Cassette, 2010)
  • FT011
  • ::
  • Thoughts On Air / Trailing
  • –
  • Split
  • (Cassette, 2011)
  • FT012
  • ::
  • Tobin’s Spirit Guide
  • –
  • Homesick
  • (Cassette, 2011)
  • FT013
  • ::
  • Belarisk
  • –
  • Belarisk
  • (Cassette, 2011)
  • FT014
  • ::
  • Pierrot Lunaire
  • –
  • Lantern Floating Vessel
  • (Cassette, 2011)
  • FT015
  • ::
  • Sundrips
  • –
  • Phased Out
  • (Cassette, 2011)
  • FT016
  • ::
  • Élément Kudda
  • –
  • Flight II
  • (Cassette, 2011)
  • FT017
  • ::
  • Sundrips
  • –
  • The Shapes Of THe Corridors
  • (Cassette, 2011)
  • FT018
  • ::
  • Event Cloak
  • –
  • Physical Computing
  • (Cassette, 2011)
  • FT019
  • ::
  • Trailing
  • –
  • Stingray / From the Top Of The Stairs [pt. 1 & 2]
  • (Cassette, 2011)
]]> http://weirdcanada.com/2011/11/imprint-fadeaway-tapes/feed/ 0 New Canadiana :: Passion Party – EP http://weirdcanada.com/2011/11/new-canadiana-passion-party-ep/ http://weirdcanada.com/2011/11/new-canadiana-passion-party-ep/#comments Thu, 17 Nov 2011 12:00:59 +0000 admin http://weirdcanada.com/?p=9253
From the lovelace of Jesse Locke:
Perverted freaks coast to coast rejoice. Passion Party is the sound of infatuation: a late-night solo mission to peek through the blinds of your neighbourhood cutie while she sleeps. This is night vision synth-pop obfuscated by tape scum to soundtrack the graveyard shift at your local Couche-Tard. Like a finger-steam love letter written on glass, Chris Keys’ leering come-ons will send a chill up your vertebrae. Complete with black lace garter from Heather Rappard.

Passion Party – DARK SEXUALITY

Passion Party – SECRET SEXXX

]]> http://weirdcanada.com/2011/11/new-canadiana-passion-party-ep/feed/ 1 New Canadiana :: Sundrips – One Hundred Hints http://weirdcanada.com/2011/10/new-canadiana-sundrips-one-hundred-hints/ http://weirdcanada.com/2011/10/new-canadiana-sundrips-one-hundred-hints/#comments Thu, 27 Oct 2011 15:47:33 +0000 admin http://weirdcanada.com/?p=9008
From the auditory omens of Jesse Locke:
Rippling the reality grid into an infinite blaze, Montreal’s Sundrips continue to deliver with kosmische consistency. One Hundred Hints is a highlight of the countless releases from these daydream believers, whether gliding deck to deck through the cassette dimension or slipped out in limited quantities from their own Fadeaway Tapes stash. This c45 of auditory tie-dye sees guitar chemtrails softly scorch and ricochet across the synthetic stratosphere. A number one stunner with art to match from Orange Milk Records.

Sundrips – A1

Sundrips – B4

]]> http://weirdcanada.com/2011/10/new-canadiana-sundrips-one-hundred-hints/feed/ 0 New Canadiana :: Das Amore feat. JLK – Lo sveglio del estasi http://weirdcanada.com/2011/10/new-canadiana-das-amore-feat-jlk-lo-sveglio-del-estasi/ http://weirdcanada.com/2011/10/new-canadiana-das-amore-feat-jlk-lo-sveglio-del-estasi/#comments Tue, 25 Oct 2011 12:00:04 +0000 admin http://weirdcanada.com/?p=8969
From the disco-limbo contest of Pam Haasen:
To describe Lo sveglio del estasi as “weird” is almost unfair. The subjectiveness of this far-out nightmare turned disco-limbo creates a genre of uncertainty, which is so sexual that I’m afraid I’m the only one who feels this way. I feel naked and awake but in a trance-like state, swaying and bobbing in a slow motion dance alone in Parts Unknown. Das Amore and JLK sound simultaneously natural and synthetic, with drum beats that come from the knocking of a headboard. This trip takes you out of yourself for the shortest half hour of your life and drops you off wanting to ride again.

Das Amore feat. JLK – Introduzione al desiderio de la pelle

Das Amore feat. JLK – Soddisfazione impossibile

]]> http://weirdcanada.com/2011/10/new-canadiana-das-amore-feat-jlk-lo-sveglio-del-estasi/feed/ 0 New Canadiana :: Thames – The Gift of Money b/w The Night She Became Me http://weirdcanada.com/2011/09/new-canadiana-thames-the-gift-of-money-bw-the-night-she-became-me/ http://weirdcanada.com/2011/09/new-canadiana-thames-the-gift-of-money-bw-the-night-she-became-me/#comments Wed, 14 Sep 2011 12:00:08 +0000 admin http://weirdcanada.com/?p=8416
  • Thames
  • The Gift of Money b/w The Night She Became Me
  • (American Tapes)
  • Montreal, QC
  • ::web/sounds::
From the voltage vaults of Kevin Hainey:
Awake already walking with sideways sliding smiles. Dazed and drooping eyes. Wobbly liquid feet skating slick linoleum under overrun fluorescents. Again, the vaporous grinning at distorted non-beings. Eu-pho-ri-a! Dis-com-bob-u-la-tion… Crisp, murmured half-vocals, fighting with discernible lyrics amid slithering synth stutters, chugging radiophonic radiation, unbalancing new structures. Twin Infinitives broadcasting thru a black hole and out of Bermuda’s Triangle. The invisible route was about to collapse into ectoplasm. It’s only temporarily open every lunar quarter, so they’ve liberally recorded it from both ends. Simultaneously. And mixed it. Really well. Plunderfuckingphonics well. Double dip this 7″ with the new Fluorescent Friends tape, THAMES VOL XIV, n’ y’ can’t miss. They’re quite the pair. So are the two musicians here, Blake Hargreaves (Dreamcatcher, Clinton Machine, Cousins of Reggae) and Alexander Moskos (AIDS Wolf, Drainolith, Medicine Rocks), both keeping raw noise and electronics heads imploding since 2005, touring and collaborating all over our continent. Now they’re getting weirder. Way weirder. First wax yet for the tape-heads, courtesy of American Tapes mogul / Wolf Eyes retina John Olson. Only 200, so run don’t walk, you adventurous types.

Thames – The Gift Of Money

Thames – The Night She Became Me

]]> http://weirdcanada.com/2011/09/new-canadiana-thames-the-gift-of-money-bw-the-night-she-became-me/feed/ 1 Departures :: Dr. Philter Banx – Insertion in Middle “C” http://weirdcanada.com/2011/09/departures-dr-philter-banx-insertion-in-middle-c/ http://weirdcanada.com/2011/09/departures-dr-philter-banx-insertion-in-middle-c/#comments Tue, 06 Sep 2011 12:00:16 +0000 admin http://weirdcanada.com/?p=8297
  • Dr. Philter Banx
  • Insertion in Middle “C”
  • (Criminal Records)
  • London, ON
  • Originally Released: 1975
From the based bacchanalia of Brandon Hocura:
Taking a wild lysergic dive from the purple pier of New Age (née Mood) Music into Mancuso’s pink Record Pool, Robert Leth and Phillip Ross’ Insertion in Middle “C” emerges glistening from the consumptive stream, pulls down your pants, looks you right in your 3rd eye and asks ‘What the hell did you expect from this record?!’. Housed in a fabulous faux Deutsche Grammofon sleeve, with images of the twee(d) Doctors sitting in front of a gigantic Moog Modular and several cranes hoisting a huge pink pipe on the flip, this LP certainly elevates, but not in the advertised manner, unless you really switch on for the grip. Even their label, Criminal Records, reveals these quacks as the self-conscious charlatans they are, peddling smut-sonics as cultural Spanish fly. What results from Banx’s bawdy laboratory experiments is a based bacchanal of smeared piano melodrama, motorik proto-disco, torpid poseur rock and woozy Schulze-pah. It’s a splendidly twisted tapestry of overdubbing that sounds like Brast Burn aping P&P and recording for Sky. Lift it if you can — guaranteed to arouse your needle.

*Special thanks to Gary Abugan for all the help in my stacks and for turning me on to this pill.

Dr. Philter Banx – High Heels and Mirrored Thighs

]]> http://weirdcanada.com/2011/09/departures-dr-philter-banx-insertion-in-middle-c/feed/ 1 New Canadiana :: Monroeville Music Center – Les Défauts de Fabrication http://weirdcanada.com/2011/09/new-canadiana-monroeville-music-center-les-defauts-de-fabrication/ http://weirdcanada.com/2011/09/new-canadiana-monroeville-music-center-les-defauts-de-fabrication/#comments Fri, 02 Sep 2011 12:30:35 +0000 admin http://weirdcanada.com/?p=8269
From the scratchy reels of Gabriel Jasmin:
Monroeville Music Center’s Les Défauts de Fabrication plays like a soundtrack to both a great black and white film and 8-bit, pixeled Nintendo RGB vibes. Starring none other than an all-star cast of historical freaks, Craig Storm conducts eerie, playful synth bleeps to assemble and move to the rhythm of his own mysterious, freeform narratives. A short four-song tape, but a deeper glimpse into this Calgary dude’s beautifully puzzling creativity.

Monroeville Music Center – Lee Redmond’s Slow Motion Fender Bender

Monroeville Music Center – Last Rites for Maria Capovilla

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