Bleak Bliss

I.S.O. - I.S.O.

CD released on Sound Tectonics in 2003. Recorded live at Sesshu-tei Garden, Yamaguchi, Japan on December the 17th 2002.

I.S.O.

Ten inches of lovely vinyl which sees The Heads, Plastic Crimewave Sound and Lillydamwhite take on Hawkwind, The Edgar Broughton Band and The Pink Fairies respectively. And everybody wins!

Released on the inimitable Rocket Recordings in 2005.

In, Demons In

Tommy Ramone

And then there were none ...

The last of the original members of The Ramones has died. He became the third of the band to succumb to cancer.

Tommy was the drummer on the first three studio albums and the It's Alive double LP. If you have never heard them, fix that situation immediately. They are all classics! The Ramones were the most influential band that have existed. Period!

Solmania‎ - Morphine Nocturne

This is (effectively) a C80 tape released on Vanilla Records in 1991.

Vanilla Records was run by Michio Teshima who recorded a tape as Yellow Cab on G.R.O.S.S. in 1995. I've never heard that tape but it has always simmered away in the back of my brain ... anybody out there have it?

Anyway. Each side of this tape reflects live performances in Osaka and Kyoto respectively. It's live where Solmania really comes into its own and every second of this delights me!

Morphine Nocturne

Solmania - Metamorphor Chorus

The Guitar Cries Mercy. CD released on Alchemy Records in 1991 that manages to mix guitar torture with the occasional moment of introspection and with good old (c)rumbling harsh electronics.

Metamorphor Chorus

Solmania - Psycledelic

Majestic guitar and electronics debauchery from Masahiko Ohno. Released on Alchemy Records in 1993.

Psycledelic

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan ‎- En Concert À Paris

This is a reissue from 2000 of five previous volumes which show Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan at the height of his powers.

1: 6th November 1985, Radio France, Studio 103.

2: 6th November 1985, Radio France, Studio 103.

3: March 20, 1988 at Théâtre de la ville in Paris

4: March 20, 1988 at Théâtre de la ville in Paris

5: March 20, 1988 at Théâtre de la ville in Paris

Hiroshi Higashi - Ikkan No Yoyo

The first solo outing from one of the mainstays of the Acid Mothers Temple family. Interplanetary blowout released on the AMT label as part of their private disc series in 2001.

Ikkan No Yoyo

Hiroshi Higashi - The Day Before: Psychochemistry

Synthesizer and Harmonica, again released as part of the private disc series in 2002.

The Day Before: Psychochemistry

Hiroshi Higashi - He No He No

Cosmic synth and guitar released on the Acid Mothers Temple label as part of their private disc series in 2002.

He No He No

Juniper Fuse ‎- Dark Riots I

Juniper Fuse is the work of Mike Connelly. You might know him as Failing Lights or Zombi or as a lot of other pseudonyms. You may also know him as a member of Hair Police or Birth Refusal and any number of side projects and (of course) Wolf Eyes.

Mike also ran the exemplary Gods Of Tundra label. In 2012, there was a huge burst of activity on the label which culminated in December of that year with a series of releases as Juniper Fuse. Although. Hair Police's "Mercurial Rites" LP came out a month or so later the Juniper Fuse releases appear to mark the bowing out! I don't want this to sound like an obituary ... people move on and get on with "real life". I sincerely hope Mike gets everything he wishes for. He certainly gave enough to us!

To my brain, Juniper Fuse seems like a perfect way to exit. Juniper Fuse does not represent what has gone before. They are exquisite dronescapes that occasionally swerve into an ambient void before building again. I tried separating the tracks but that only detracts from the work. The "tracks" flow and should be approached in that way.

This is a C90 released on Gods Of Tundra in 2012.

Dark Riots I

Juniper Fuse ‎- Dark Riots II

C90 released on Gods Of Tundra in 2012.

Dark Riots II

Juniper Fuse‎ - Dark Riots III

C90 released on Gods Of Tundra in 2012.

Dark Riots III

Juniper Fuse‎ - Dark Riots IV

C90 released on Gods Of Tundra in 2012.

Dark Riots IV

Juniper Fuse‎ - Gravity Well

C52 released on Gods Of Tundra in 2012.

Gravity Well

K2 / TNB ‎- Oozing Ruin

Kimihide Kusafuka reworking The New Blockaders material. It's dedicated to the victims of the Fukushima nuclear power plant catastrophe. An unmitigated disaster that will blight lives for generations to come. Nuclear power in the hands of profit driven private companies anyone?

C30 released on Banned Production in 2012.

Oozing Ruin