Tag Archives: psych

SML – Small Medium Large (International Anthem)

Posted by John Lithium on

Label Description: SML is the quintet of bassist Anna Butterss, synthesist Jeremiah Chiu, saxophonist Josh Johnson, percussionist Booker Stardrum, and guitarist Gregory Uhlmann.

Their debut album ‘Small Medium Large’ began as a collection of long form improvisations recorded during two separate two-night stands at beloved Highland Park, Los Angeles venue ETA. Unfortunately, this major development site for the burgeoning new West Coast jazz & improvised music sound closed its doors permanently at the end of 2023.

The venue, perhaps best known outside of LA for Jeff Parker’s 2022 album ‘Mondays at the Enfield Tennis Academy’, was the perfect location for the start of SML, especially given that both bassist Anna Butterss and saxophonist Josh Johnson are part of Parker’s quartet that held down a regular gig at ETA since the venue’s early days (and hence thoroughly documented, heard on Parker’s album). ‘Small Medium Large’ was engineered and recorded in stereo direct to Nagra by Bryce Gonzales and compiled, arranged, and edited with additional production, recording, and studio composition by SML across their various home studios.

While editing, chopping, and rearranging stereo mixed improvisations is hardly a new idea (for a modern and relevant example we can look to Makaya McCraven’s output on IARC) these results are a stunning expansion of the Teo Macero / Miles Davis editing concept explored on classics like ‘In a Silent Way’, ‘On The Corner’, and ‘Get Up With It’. Stylistically though, these recordings have more in common with the proto-trance repetitions of Harmonia, and with Holgar Czukay’s re-assembly technique used in his work with Can. Throw in a supremely intuitive utilization of polyrhythmic floating patterns (a la Susumu Yokota), and the result is a truly innovative take on time-clocked electronic rhythms augmented with live instrumentation that never loses that elusive human sway.

‘Small Medium Large’ is a sublime assemblage of circulatory grooves and textural anomalies, at different moments recalling the synth-laced improvisations of Herbie Hancock’s Sextant, the jagged dance punk of Essential Logic, the rhythmic revelry of Fela Kuti, the low-end elasticity of Parliament/Funkadelic, or the glitchy dub techno of Pole. Taken in totality, the album captures a euphoric creative synchronicity between some of today’s most exciting musicians.

All music composed by Anna Butterss, Jeremiah Chiu, Josh Johnson, Booker Stardrum, Gregory Uhlmann. Performed live by SML.

Anna Butterss – Electric Bass
Jeremiah Chiu – Synthesizers, Live-sampling, Aux Percussion
Josh Johnson – Saxophone, Electronics
Booker Stardrum – Drums, Percussion
Gregory Uhlmann – Guitar, Effects

Engineered and recorded in stereo direct to Nagra by Bryce Gonzales at ETA, Los Angeles (October 12–13 2022 & April 8–9 2023). Overdubs by SML (2024).

Produced by Jeremiah Chiu & SML.
Mixed by Dave Vettraino & SML.
Sequenced by Scott McNiece & SML.
Mastered by David Allen.

Cover art by Miranda Javid.
Insert photos by Brian Guido.
Layout by Jeremiah Chiu.

Golden Brown – Whisker Fatigue (Eiderdown Records)

Posted by John Lithium on

Label Description: Under the Golden Brown moniker, Stefan Beck has carved out a comfortable niche for himself over the past several years. The Colorado-based guitarist’s discography is packed with expert acoustic fingerpicking, warm melodies, gentle lap steel reveries and twinkling electronics. It’s music that provides the listener with a welcome escape, a dreamy sonic landscape to wander amidst. And if Beck stayed planted in this particular landscape, blowing smoke rings in the Shire on a sunny afternoon, that’d be just fine.

But Whisker Fatigue suggests that there are further corners of the Golden Brown-iverse left to explore — much darker corners. From the very first moments of “Beelzebufo,” it’s clear that Beck is guiding us through swampier territory, something akin to the slo-mo elegy of Miles Davis’ “He Loved Him Madly” or the low-sun western hauntology of Earth’s The Bees Made Honey In The Lion’s Skull.

Stretching out to almost 15 minutes, “Beezelbufo” (named for a fearsome, thankfully extinct amphibian from the late Cretaceous also known as “the devil frog,”) oozes with a strange, primordial dread. A busted thrift store organ and spectral percussion all contribute to an ever-deepening chthonic wooziness, with the silvery strands of Beck’s electric guitar serving as the only lifelines to keep us from disappearing completely into the mire.

The album’s other epic, “Boom Boom Pachyderm” feels similarly heavy, ghostly harmonics and funereal keyboard accents from Prairiewolf’s Jeremy Erwin floating over restless seas, uneasy rhythms. This is music that feels closely in tune with the modern malaise, when the way forward is unclear, when storm clouds seem to be constantly gathering on the horizon.

Fear not, Whisker Fatigue isn’t fully doom-stricken. Throughout there are glimmers of light — like the playful dubby textures of the title track, or the steady momentum of “Cross Pollination,” or the mystical guitar work that drives “Ancestral Slime.” Beck doesn’t want to abandon us to a desolate fate in the Swamps of Sadness; this is just one more beautiful chapter in the Golden Brown saga. Go ahead and sink into it

Chris Alexander – Body Double (Library Of The Occult)

Posted by John Lithium on

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Label Description:

Celebrated Canadian filmmaker and composer Chris Alexander joins Library of the Occult records with his album ‘Body Double’

A sinister fusion of 80s horror aesthetics and cinematic electronic soundscapes, Body Double throws listeners into a shadowy world of pulsating synths, eerie melodies, and haunting atmospheres. Alexander’s signature approach to sound design captures the spirit of classic genre film scores while pushing into uncharted sonic territory.

In the words of Shawn Macomber from Decibel: “Chris Alexander is easily one of the most fearless, imaginative, and iconoclastic world-builders currently operating in the worlds of cinema, and music. And when it comes to conjuring the magic and menace just beyond the veil, the man is damn near peerless.”

With Body Double, Alexander channels the sonic legacy of icons like John Carpenter and Goblin, weaving a tapestry of sound that feels both familiar and otherworldly.

Ivy Chalice – Noctifer (Library Of The Occult)

Posted by John Lithium on

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Label Description:

Ivy Chalice release their highly anticipated follow up to last years ‘Nachtmahr’, with Noctifer, on Library of the Occult Records. Drawing inspiration from classic cinema and the evocative sounds of the 1960s and 70s, Noctifer blends acoustic textures and ethereal vocals with a shadowy electronic edge, crafting a musical experience that is as haunting as it is hypnotic.

Noctifer (“bringer of night”) is an album of shadowed landscapes and eerie tales. Ivy Chalice conjures a soundscape where dark folklore, dreamlike acoustics, and modern electronic elements meet. The album’s narrative threads echo the haunting charm of films like The Blood on Satan’s Claw and The Wicker Man, as well as the spectral allure of British folk revival acts.

Maria Perez Query of Hellebore writes:
“The dense, dreamy atmosphere conjured by Ivy Chalice reaches its zenith in “Der Wald, Die Spiegelwelt,” which has echoes of the classic folk horror series Moondial (1988). Ethereal and eerie, Noctifer feels like wandering into the woods to find a ruined chapel, like opening a gate that leads to a secret realm.”

Featuring tracks that balance fragility and foreboding, Noctifer is both an homage to and a reinvention of folk horror soundscapes. The combination of acoustic instrumentation and shadowy electronic textures offers a contemporary twist on timeless themes of nature, ritual, and the unknown.

Dream Division & The Library Of The Occult Electronic Orchestra – A Rose In The Garden Of Winter (Library Of The Occult)

Posted by John Lithium on

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Label Description:

This album marks a significant evolution for Dream Division, evolving from a solo project into a full band experience. Blending the rich sounds of Italian soundtracks with psychedelic rock, Tom McDowell, the band’s core member and founder of Library of the Occult Records, has assembled an all-star lineup for this collaborative record. Featuring members of The Hologram People, Garden Gate, The Psychic Circle, Miles Brown and Men From S.P.E.C.T.R.E., the album navigates through genres while maintaining a cinematic essence. From the sinister melancholy tones of ‘Black Rose’ to the Giorgio Moroder-esque Giallo disco of ‘Technicolor Terror,’ ‘A Rose in the Garden of Winter’ unfolds like a lost soundtrack to a classic ’70s Giallo film.

credits

released August 23, 2024

Tom Mcdowell – Synths / Vocoder / Production
Jonathan Parkes – Drums / percussion
Jack Harris – Guitar / Bass
Timmi Meskers – Synths
Miles Brown – Theremin / Synth
Mario Janser – Organ / Synths / Bass
Felipe Boyd – Drums (October Moon)
Churro Green – Sitar
A. Barda – Vocals

Mastered by Darren Page

Artwork – Samuel Tomso