Naturalismo becomes Know Phase

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http://www.knowphase.com

A Return

Sorry about that momentary, ten week, lapse in posts here. I kind of moved to Paris and really have not entirely escaped its enrapturing grasp yet. Regardless, I’ll be moving to New York City shortly. I’ve been going back to a lot of the older tapes/records I’d been listening to and trying to sort out new bands material I like that will fit nicely into a mix together. Also, something pretty major in the works with Ol’ Naturalismo. In the meantime stay on the lookout for a rad mix from Jessica. She knows what’s up, check it out. A trusted source.

KOKOMA // Summer Nights Mix

Bodies in the sand
Tropical drink melting in your hand
That’s where we wanna go
Way down to Kokoma

Download: KOKOMA ▼ §ummer Nights mix

MU mirror link

I guess in other parts of the country peoples summers are winding down. In San Francisco summer nights are just beginning to crawl into the picture. This mix is a bit dark, dare I say, quite goth? But good goth, like melodic Belgian coldwave goth not cheesy eyeliner industrial goth.  I feel like that’s the way things are going, or at least that’s what I’ve been drawn to lately. It’s also mostly new songs, which is pretty exciting to me since I’ve also been pretty stuck in the early eighties and nineties scouring tapes for another upcoming mix.

The vignette I imagined it to score would be something along the lines of:

Haunted summer night spiraling outward from a shitty party in the city, stumbling to car in pursuit of better places outside of places, city skyline increasingly in distance, cold light, making it to coast and passing out as fog clears and the sand glows under the pale light of the moon. Etc, etc. You know, an average San Francisco night.

Anyways, this is it from me for a bit. Well, until I drop the other sunnier side to this mixtape, Golden Gloom, my mixtape embassy to the west later next week. I am off to Belgium and France and anywhere else I decide to visit on whim while in Europe for the better part of the month. Eventually upon my return I plan to make my home out in NY. Any readers interested in putting me up along my European trip let me know. Or if you recommend I visit anywhere that these songs might fit nicely into?

So long West Coast ((())))))))))\\

Download: KOKOMA ▼ §ummer Nights mix

Highlights and Tracklist:

Xymox – No Words

I played this track at the Naturalismo Presents: Sleep Over & Pure Ecstasy show and had a few people come up asking who it was. This is an earlier (and much better take) of the song from an early E.P. by them before they became the Clan of…it’s some serious Maus-level type addictiveness. From 1984ish.

Airbird – Part of the game

Something so sweetly sinister about this track. I haven’t really listened to much Brian Wilson this summer, but the Beach Boys tinged guitar licks in this dark track satiate on a similar level.

The Reekers – The Girl Who Faded

Incredible acetate demo cut by some lost Bethesda 60’s band, super brooding and catchy.

Felt – Ferdinand Magellan

Lawrence is god.

Tracklist

1. Airbird – Part Of The Game

2. SLEEP ∞ OVER – La Rose

3. The Antlers – When You Sleep

4. Balam Acab – See Birds

5. Wicked Fag – Spiky Sharp + Needle Belt (Long Version)

6. Sisters Grimm – Tar Baby

7. Cocteau Twins – Pearly-Dewdrop’s Drops

8. Tamaryn – Love Fade

9. Minks – Our Ritual

10. The Crystal Set – fool

11. Xymox – No Words

12. John Maus – Bennington

13. Fanuelle – Order

14. Anna Domino – Everyday I don’t

15. Sharon People – Wilderness

16. Pigeons – Envie

17. Suzanne – Shendah

18. The Reekers – The Girl Who Faded (acetate)

19. The Cure – Pirate Ships (RS Solo) (Rough Mix) (Vocal)

20. Biff Bang Pow! – It Happens All The Time

21. Felt – Ferdinand Magellan

Sleeeeeep

====/==== Time Warp back about a month ago…====/====

San Francisco at its best is, a pretty cool city all around. San Francisco at its worst is something beyond your wildest nightmares. The mission district is normally a refuge from most things SF-weird but on weekends all bets are increasingly off as a small, mundane bourgeoisie war of attrition and stroller-bound families picks up speed. That’s almost getting ahead of myself, lest not forget the desperate attempts of the aging tech-centric city folk trying to eek out some semblance of identity using a drugs first, ideas after approach. For the inexperienced, you might find yourself in the middle of some burning man tinged rave out, left stuttering as you flee what appears to be spillover from the set of waterworld. Just one of the many San Francisco delights. It’s not all bad here, in fact San Francisco is probably the perfect city in some ways- usually revealing itself the moment you flee it for one of its majestic natural escapes to the north or south. Wait.

I’m still collecting my thoughts after a whirlwind of a show played emphatically by Pure Ecstasy, SLEEP OVER and Rangers despite San Francisco doing its best to destroy them. Their ability to shrug off towed cars, rogue bookers, and impending free-jazz-hard acid funk dj’s and go on to play some of the best live sets I’ve seen in the city was nothing short of amazing. They quickly conjured melodies that transcended some pretty stifling vibes to be honest and it was beyond refreshing to be in the company of many others who were wanting a piece of that same sweet headspace. Yes San Francisco, they overcame and tricked you into having a good weekend night event. Take that.

Strike 3 San Francisco.

Mountain Man – Made The Harbor

Dog Song from Made The Harbor

Eternal Tapestry

Eternal Tapestry have been making the kind of album that I had always hoped would be lurking out there somewhere, creating something that is new and sprawlingly and vividly alive out of electric guitars and long improvised passages. I don’t think they ever play the same riff twice. Instead, the riff is slowly allowed to runs its course and a beautiful dynamism develops. Within a minute or two, I can’t help but feel the radiance and climb all of their reveries. 

Their most recent full lengths are available on LP here or here, and check out a couple of my favorite tracks from The Invisible Landscape below.

Cathedral Of Radiance

Pyramid Vision

 

Michel Pagliaro / Merrell Fankhauser

I’ve given up on San Francisco providing me with a summer so I’ve been relegated to staying inside and finding bizarre pop songs that conjure some of that obscured balminess. Michel Pagliaro is like the French-Canadian George Harrison, channeling some full blown All Things ’71 guitar here that has been suiting me quite fine. Also check out this KILLER single by him from the same year, that is actually a bit more Lennon-tinged:

Michel Pagliaro – Some sing some dance

Merrell Fankhauser may or may not have become a Hawaiian cult leader by the time this video was cut, but damn if it isn’t catchy as hell. He’s most well known for his HMS Bounty project from the late 60’s that pysch collectors obsess over. His solo album Maui from 1976 has a lot of hidden gems on it. It kind of has a beachier Dylan Self-Portrait era vibe. So, pretty much perfect. Listen to this single first actually, I think it’s his strongest song from the period:

Merrell Fankhauser – I saw your photograph

Michael Hurley- Blue Hills

 

[listen] Shockoe Bottom

 

Μυστικοί Κήποι

Holy shit. They’re like a Greek Felt. So next level addicting and rad.

Naturalismo Presents: Pure Ecstasy, SLEEP ∞ OVER and Rangers

Show starts at 8pm sharp and ends at 11. So don’t show up too late!

Pure Ecstasy, SLEEP ∞ OVER and Rangers @ Amnesia Bar

Friday, August 6th 2010

8:00 PM Sharp

Naturalismo is beyond excited to be putting on a show for three of the best live bands around right now. Pure Ecstasy and SLEEP ∞ OVER have both been cutting singles left and right over the last year that somehow manage to best their prior work consistently.  They’ve definitely fleshed out a golden gloomed melodic sound unto their own and I’ve already been told that their first few shows of this tour have won over all in attendance. I caught Pure Ecstasy live a few months back and he totally blew me away, from the sounds of it SLEEP ∞ OVER are only building onto that momentum with their own blend of dreamy gothgaze. RANGERS are also not to be missed, conjuring their fractured and distorted tunes from the digital ashes of past and present San Francisco days. Totally thrilled to be hosting them all on one night in San Francisco.

Huge thanks to Jessica Dean Harrison who leant her enchanting drawing skills to the poster art! Take that thing in. Beautiful.

Pure Ecstasy (10:00 pm) – Easy

Nate Grace is totally unstoppable. He continues to channel some of the most intriguing melodies I’ve heard in ages. Definite post-Brian Wilson vibes.

SLEEP ∞ OVER‘s (9:00 pm) most recent 45 has been on non-stop rotation for weeks on end:

SLEEP ∞ OVER – La Rose

SLEEP ∞ OVER – Outer Limits

Rangers (8:00 pm) – Deerfield Village

Somehow these dudes are even better live than on record, pretty amazing to see the way the’yre able to translate their songs to the stage.

Donovan Quinn & The 13th Month: Your Wicked Man

 

Donovan Quinn has a knack for packing remarkable clarity into just a few twisted fragments of verse.

His newest release with The 13th Month, titled Your Wicked Man, is about to see the light of day on both vinyl and CD. I’ve spent a good deal of time with this record, and I’m still not really sure where to begin. Whereas a lot of songs and albums are filled with happy fantasies and “everything’s gonna be alright” type sentiments, Your Wicked Man stands stripped of such predilections and bare. 

Seen through people’s rooms, it explores disenchantment, loneliness, beauty, and longing, all with complete and utter honesty. Organs blur by multicolored and thick, choruses wash with heavy cymbals, suns burst, and acoustic guitars deftly navigate the abyss. Jason Quever and Donovan really did a number on the production, and its no wonder that this record will be seeing a vinyl pressing from the good people at Soft Abuse (I wish they would do the same for the first 13th Month record!) and a CD release by the legendary Shrimper Records. So, if you have a mind to, listen to a few tracks and pick up a copy of Your Wicked Man.

Winter In A Rented Room

April Tenth

Leave Like You Came

Yellow (Yellow)

San Francisco’s own Kevin Sanders in 1987, rivaling Ray Davies in his finer moments. This song is so addicting and every bit as strong as a lot of Kinks material – but with its tongue in cheek lyrics and bizarre 80’s motifs somehow much more listenable than them at the moment.

Everything about this video is incredible.

I lose it every time at the solo though, holy shit, his expression just kills me.

This kid is like the next R. Stevie Moore. Go watch all his videos and covers, totally brilliant.

The man

Ducktails

Woke up today with a craving for his tunes. Also just wanted to post this new photo of him because it’s pretty amazing. Chocolatebobka just posted this video by him which is my favorite thing I’ve seen from Ducktails in awhile. It definitely sets the summer tone pretty perfectly:

Lower Dens || I get nervous

This song is such a sleeper of a hit. It’s been on constant rotation since I first heard it. Elements of Spiritualized and Julee Cruise abound, awash a frothy shoegaze sea.

Lower Dens – I get nervous

Spirit Of Love

 

C.O.B.- Spirit Of Love

Henry Thomas- Jonah In The Wilderness

Speculator // live on the freeway

This dude  just totally gets it.

Related:

nick nicely mixtape for naturalismo

I keep catching myself questioning the reality of every letter typed as I write this out, but nick nicely has graciously sent me over a mixtape this week. I could pretty much quit writing after this post because that has to be one of the most amazing things to come out of writing for Naturalismo. If you haven’t spent any time with his album psychotropia, stop what you’re doing and go buy it now. Psychotropia is a masterpiece of aurora borealis sparked psychedelia that really is quite unlike anything that came before (or after) it. It’s criminally underrated and just about everyone that I’ve played any of the songs for has immediately become a rabid fan. His music influence reaches far and more recently artists such as Ariel Pink, John Maus and Holy Shit have channeled some of his sonic innovations. As always, I’d so much rather have an artist convey where they’re at musically with music instead of words. So without further ado, nick nicely’s mixtape for naturalismo:

Download: nick nicely: mixtape for naturalismo

(Link has been updated and the tracks are better labeled)

Have a listen to the serene alternate mix of one of my personal favorite tracks by nick nicely that is at the midpoint of the mix:

nick nicely – on the beach (alt. mix)

Tracklist

1. Olivia Tremor Control….Tropical Bells
2.Paul Giovani……………..Maypole (from the Wickerman)
3.Phoenix…………………. Countdown (sick for the big sun)
4.Olivia Tremor Control…..Sleepy Company
5.nick nicely……………….On The Beach (alternate take)
6.Shangri-las………………Remember (Walking In The Sand )
7.The Eels.………………..Susan’s House
8. John Maus…………….. Do Your Best
9.Spiritualized……………. Do It All Over Again
10. Caribou………………. Bowls
11. Neil Diamond………… Solitary Man

the Stray Trolleys – A Bluebeat Kid

the Stray Trolleys – A Bluebeat Kid

From 1981.  While my guitar gently weeps on brown acid. Kind of out ariel’s ariel, fences in white fence, etc. From the tape Barricades and Angels.

Donovan Quinn & The 13th Month: “Mom’s House”

Here is the video to “Mom’s House”, the first single to be pulled from Donovan Quinn’s Your Wicked Man, which will be released on August 3rd as a CD from Shrimper and an LP from Soft Abuse.

Pure Ecstasy / / Puro Instinct

Probably my most listened to track over the last few months

yes