Klang: products

Black Twig Pickers, Jack Rose: Dr. Ragtime & Pals

2008-12-16T16:34:33-05:00

Media: LP
$20.00

Just a few copies left of this single LP version of the Dr. Ragtime & Pals release. This is Jack matching his guitar with players like Glenn Jones, Micah Blue Smaldone, Harmonica Dan, and on four songs, two Black Twig Pickers. Songs: Miss May's Place, Revolt, Bells, Knoxville Blues, Soft Steel Piston, Linden Avenue Stomp, Blessed Be the Name of the Lord, Walkin' Blues, Buckdancers Choice. Released by the Tequila Sunrise label.

"the appalachian trail runs 2175 miles south from mount katahdin in maine to springer mountain in georgia, though there are those who want to stretch it further, into alabama, because the mountains go there. why not extend it? trails are made for that. but there's another appalachian trail, too - one that goes through time, extending from unfinished studios in williamsburg, ny, winding down the grooves of ancient 78's to the 1920's or even earlier, past stephen foster's wet dream to a place beyond the compass of change.

if you're hiking on *that* trail, you're likely to run into a lot of post-grad parsifals with inscrutable hair and de-tuned banjos - these days, you can't swing a cat around without hitting one! but if you're lucky, you might stumble across a clearing somewhere south of lily dale, where revolutionists stop for orangeade and dr. ragtime hangs out with his pals. if you ask him politely, he might offer you a taste of his elixir - made from codeine, sarsaparilla, and goat-gland extract - guaranteed to restore memories that never were. and if you're quiet, he might let you stay and listen to the music: ethiopian novelties, characteristic marches and parlor favorites - bittersweet slices of methodist pie, familiar tunes, at least in those sections where the square dance has not yet been supplanted by the fox-trot.

and if you have a couple of dimes to rub together in your pocket, you'll want to purchase his newest, electrically-recorded phonograph recording, entitled "doctor ragtime and his pals." the doctor, who hitherto has recorded only on his own, is joined here by micah blue smaldone (who has been compared to both tiny tim and kierkegaard), glenn jones (of cul de sac, last seen around these parts urging college students to contemplate the prospect of their own death on a balmy september evening), michael gangloff (late of pelt and the black twig pickers), nathan bowles (also of the black twig pickers as well as the spiral joy band) and the mysterious harmonica dan (from pennsauken, new jersey by way of ethereal caminos).

-- Charles Fourier, Tequila Sunrise Records

Donald Miller Trio: Here Below

2007-01-01T04:00:00-05:00

Media: LP
$11.00

Those of you lucky enough to spot Borbetomagus guitarist Donald Miller stepping out with Michael Schumacher on the Flood CD (Warpodisc) should have an idea about the kind of dream onslaught they can unleash. On this, the first release from the trio, Miller and Schumacher are joined by Charles Curtis in a live recording that catches them channeling their LaMonte Young associations into an entire alternate universe of stupefying beauty. But don't take our word for it... Bananafish would like you to know that it's "frickin' dyno... a live recording of Miller, Schumacher and Curtis suffocating underneath their own slumber of mucus and down. Three cheers for gargantuan deep-sea geese laying luminous eggs like bathospheric fax machines and tremendous moans fusing and dividing as if transmitting through a poly-faceted eyeball!" And Bruce Russell, writing in Opprobrium Online calls it "something to knock me off my perch. This LP is, quite simply, a bloody cracker.... Great recording, brilliant playing, another group that deserves instant fame..." And you just don't get that type of press everyday... There are 500 of these, the largest pressing of any Klang document. Covers are hand-done. Still in print, though running into shorter and shorter supply. Down to the dozens, as the saying goes. Take these off our shelf and into your heart, or at least onto your stereo. Klang No. 4

Jack Rose: I Do Play Rock and Roll

2008-12-16T16:24:34-05:00

Media: LP
$20.00

We've got a limited number of this LP on the Three-Lobed label featuring three Jack solo guitar explorations in a live setting. Great stuff.

Black Twig Pickers, Jack Rose: Jack Rose & the Black Twig Pickers

2009-05-20T20:33:40-04:00

Media: LP
$20.00

Raw and rocking collaboration between Jack Rose and the Black Twigs with some of the most swinging, hard-hitting string music waxed in many a decade. Rose’s solo playing has always had a tough edge, with his prodigious technique often employed in the service of dropping right-hand bombs – his use of a thumbpick originates from his years of duets with Twig Mike Gangloff, struggling to make his guitar heard over Gangloff’s crashing banjo. The front line of Rose and Gangloff’s strings are joined by Isak Howell’s no-nonsense guitar and harmonica and Nate Bowles’ variety of expert percussion. The four players lock together with a sure-footedness honed by frequent touring and a singularity of intent to rock. Gangloff takes the vocals, howling out standards like “Little Sadie” firmly in the old-time tradition – without reserve. A few of the tracks here are updates of Rose & family classics, with the group turning the stately “Kensington Blues” upbeat and issuing an assured take on “Bright Sunny South,” first recorded by Pelt (w/Rose and Gangloff) back in 2001 on their gonzo classic double “Ayahuasca.”

Note that there is now a cd edition of this album, containing the same music, issued by VHF Records and in the UK, by Beautiful Happiness (see here, here, here or here).

Mikel Dimmick Spiral Joy Band: Pleasure is the Headlight

2009-06-02T22:14:39-04:00

Media: 2xLP
$25.00

We're really, really happy this is finally, finally seeing the light of day, or any light at all --- a long-delayed installment in the long-term vision of 24 hours of joy --- an early and particularly oceanic gong voyage gives way to electro and acoustic simmering, then an into-nowhere interjection of further metallophones, and finally the ship meets the ocean itself, where harmony, of a higher sort, ensues.

"This double LP set features recordings from two eras of the Spiral Joy Band. The first is from 2005, the second 2007. A cacophony of gongs, bowls, bells, chimes, electronics, fiddle, bowed cymbals, esraj, harmonium, srutiand electronics played by Mikel Dimmik, Michael Gangloff, Amy Shea and Nathan Bowles, along with a guest or two, here and there. "Pleasure Is The Headlight" features 5 tracks in total spread over 4 sides. The first three being long trance inducing meditations recorded in Blacksburg and Ironto. The fourth side features unique recordings, the first is a solo wind chime performance recorded in a gift shop, featuring the murmur of confused patrons and what is likely some truly wonderful AM radio piped in over the store's stereo system. The second track is a slow hazy day at the beach, with gongs, seagulls, and the gentle roar of the ocean. Pressed on 180 gram black vinyl and limited to about 400 copies, this album comes in a custom gatefold jacket with letter pressed cover art and silk screened inside art."

2008-02-20T15:16:03-05:00

Media: CD
Out of stock

This is bullshit. Nobody cares. These guys are from Richmond, and who gives a shit? OK, I want a goddamn concerted effort to come out of a record that isn't a fucking uptempo record everytime I do a goddamn communism dedication! It's the last goddamn time! I want somebody to use his fucking brain, to not come out of a goddamn record that is, uh, that's uptempo and I gotta talk about fucking communism! Boy, is this fucking ponderous, man. Ponderous. Fucking ponderous.

Mikel Dimmick Spiral Joy Band: Open, Mother, and Let Me In, The Town is Burning

2008-06-27T18:17:59-04:00

Media: CDR
Out of stock

Limited cd-r assembled for the Klang merch table at Terrastock and after -- documents a transportational live quartet outing at Liam's birthday bash in late spring 2008 in Blacksburg, Va. Three movements include rattling and roaring metallophones, wheezing harmonium, narcopleptic esraj stylings and a surprising duo-fiddle/prepared banjo/harmonium group chuff of alarming dimensions.

Songs:

Wind off the Bosphorus; Scratch, Crawl, Caw; Little Sparrow

Pelt: Pearls From The River

2007-01-01T04:00:00-05:00

Media: CD
Out of stock

First new music in a couple of years from the trio, focusing entirely on their acoustic side. Recorded in a single March 2003 session in VA by Mikel Dimmick, this is a superb distillation of their recent musical forays (both alone and together). "Up the North Fork" is a trio for banjo, baritone banjo, and cello - after the snakey bowed introduction, the fast thwacking of the banjos and forcefully strummed cello take over and whip up a storm. The other two tracks are lengthy ragas (one in C, one in D) with the virtuosic modal guitar of Jack Rose front and center. "Pearls From The River" features Jack on 12 string, dueling with Mike Gangloff on Esraj. Pat Best's thick, sonorous double bass bowing anchors the duet between the lightning thrumming/plucking of Jack's guitar and mike's arcing, sharply bowed half-time melody. "Road To Catawba" has jack on 6 string, with mike moving to tamboura, for a full exploration of the D lydian mode. Best's bass is again the foundation, with whistling overtones rising from his bow over the low drone. Liner notes by Byron Coley.
Firsts and a most:
* First Pelt album since 1995's burning/filament/rockets to feature just the Patrick/Jack/Mike trio without friends and relations joining in (though they were certainly present in spirit, ahem).
* First Pelt album ever completely drawn from "studio" material -- recorded in two days at Mike and Amy's house in Ironto, Va.; no overdubs (as usual), but no audience either.
* Most acoustic Pelt album to date, and first one to feature a banjo duet.

Black Twig Pickers, Jack Rose: Revolt/Soft Steel Piston

2008-06-27T18:26:35-04:00

In 1998, while wandering the streets of Philadelphia with Patrick and Sarah, trying to get that fugging Springsteen ballad out of his head, Mark came up with the hairbrained idea of celebrating the imminent fifth anniversary of Klang with an anniversary CD. With enthusiasm from the Klang family and under the influence of the mysterious MARK KLANG, the compilation took shape. As Mike and Jack collected musical contributions and Pat and Sarah lovingly hand-made the tamper-evident fabric packaging, Mark burned the CDRs--all 200 of them, this being an edition of 100 sets of two CDs each. The load was so much that it actually made one CD burner croak. The compilation finally saw the light of day in time for Klang's fifth anniversary in 1999. Indeed, it was a labor of love, and remains one of our proudest achievements. It also marks, perhaps, the high point of hubris in the annals of Klang. In the end, it all worked, but as they say, a lot of effort went into making this appear effortless. Features tracks from 310, Borbetomagus, Doldrums, FM:Xpanse, Fur Lined Throat, Giant Sucking Sound, Gospel Midgets, Hall Of Fame, Harry Pussy, Ivanhoe Wildcats, Jack Rose, Jason Bill, Jimmy "Jsghaphe" Ghaphery, Last Days Of May, Migrantes, MV/PG6 Holoscanner Exhibition, Pelt, The Hellcats, Karl Precoda & Mike Gangloff, Rake, rhBand, SG3, Ugly Head, and W.A.S.T.E. Pelt's "Dreaming Philadelphia, or the Colonel's Rag part X" has since been reissued on the Heraldic Beasts 2xLP.

Pelt: (untitled)

2007-01-01T04:00:00-05:00

Media: CD
Out of stock

(untitled) is a devastating set of almost pure white light from the newly upgraded Pelt lineup. The intense drone music on (untitled) represents a return to "sonic-ism" for the quartet of Jack Rose, Mike Gangloff, Patrick Best, and Mikel Dimmick. Like Pelt's 2003 effort Pearls from the River, (untitled) is an all-acoustic affair. On (untitled) the group concentrates on producing dense clouds of overtones from guitar, cello, tibetan bowls, gongs, sruti, and esraj. Track 1 is an overpowering straight line ala the Theatre of Eternal Music, an atmosphere of stasis with gong and bowl flickering subtly over the massive track bed. Track 2 is a 32 minute epic that begins with the soft strains of Jack Rose's 12 string, picks up dueling cello and esraj and gradually builds in intensity with the sounds of gongs and other unusual percussion. Track 3 is the live staple "Sundogs," where Rose's Weissenborn lap guitar and Gangloff's resonator guitar produce a stream of unearthly high, singing overtones in an uncanny acoustic impression of electric feedback. The final track is an epilogue of Best's keening cello, again ignoring the usual technique associated with the instrument in the pursuit of pure weirdness. Housed in card folio printed by Stumptown. 4 tracks, 62 mins.