Tuesday 27 September 2016

OCD033 : Baby Fire / Gold

Cover art by Alice Smith


OCD033 : Baby Fire / Gold

Diabolita (songwriter, guitar, loops, vocals & theremin) started Baby Fire as a solo project. 
After having played as a duo with Cha or Alinovsky (both on drums) for a few years, she met  
in the summer of 2015, Isabel Rocher (drums & backing vocals) & Gaby Séguin (bass, loops & backing vocals) who since then form the new rhythm section and are responsible for many song arrangements on the new record.
Gold, Baby Fire’s third album (see OCD018 The Red Robe, second album), was produced, mixed and mastered by Pierre Vervloesem (dEUS, Madensuyu, Flat Earth Society, etc.) who also added guitars and mellotron on some titles, and recorded at Studio Six in Brussels by Gaethan Dehoux.
Baby Fire's influences are eclectic. Diabolita - who is also a member of von Stroheim - is a fan of the Riotgrrrl movement and of bands such as Swans, Chelsea Wolfe, The God Machine and 16 Horsepower.
Isabel and Gaby are fans of alternative rock as well as jazz.
The CD sleeve was designed by British artist Alice Smith.
Diabolita (aka Dominique Van Cappellen-Waldock) has collaborated on a full album with Eugene Robinson under the name Las Vegas (see OCD024). She also worked with Doug Scharin (Codeine, June of 44...) and Joe Goldring (Swans, Enablers...). She is currently working on a new project called HVEDA with ALWNTR from belgian sludge band OMSQ.

Reviews in French: here and here and in Flemish: here.

Isabel, Diabolita & Gaby


and a video of 'Burning Body':




Digital and physical release on the 30th of September 2016.


Track listing:
1.Burning Body, Burning Bed
2.Let It Die
3.Brussels
4.Tiger Heart
5.Gold
6.Lovers
7.You, Forever
8.Liver
9.How Do I Love Thee?
10.The Salamander
11. Depletion of Melancholy



And on Bandcamp:





Price



OCD034: Kurtisz / Wired

Cover art by Dimitri Rondeau


OCD034 : Kurtisz / Wired

After releasing three singles (see Blue BoltsConsequences and Keys), and with the aide of super producer Pierre Vervloesem, Kurtisz finished the recording and mixing of their debut album 'Wired'.

Brussels based band KURTISZ came to light when Belgian musician/producer Laurent Stelleman and Detroit native singer/songwriter Markest Tate joined forces to bring about a divine, melodic blend of genre bending music. 

Conjuring up the retro sounds from The Eurythmics to Moloko to The Cure to Massive Attack, Kurtisz could easily form alliances with the likes of Moderat, Disclosure, Christine and the Queens and James Blake. 

Markest was born in Detroit (USA) where he studied Communications, Theatre and Dance at university. He was raised by a single mom after his stepfather, Tamla Motown recording artist Timmy Shaw who scored a minor hit that made its way into admirer John Lennon's personal jukebox, left the picture. His mother always filled their home with music by Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, George Clinton & the Funkadelics and Chaka Khan. Upon graduation he left for Brussels with $200 in his pocket to pursue a career in dance. He found work in Alain Platel's company Les Ballets C de la B and danced in several shows with Pascale Platel. After several years as a dancer, Markest decided to switch to a music career. As cofounder and lead singer of Brussels group Speaking T and two albums under their belt, the band went on to successfully perform at Dour, the Gentse Feesten, Marktrock, Les Nuits Botaniques, Franco Follies in Spa, Verdur Rock and the Ancienne Belgique just to name a few. Markest has also written songs for several European artists. Speaking T eventually disbanded and that is when Markest hooked up with Laurent. 

Laurent was born in Cologne, Germany to a Flemish father who was serving in the military at the time and a Walloon mother. His father played guitar and bass in cover bands for parties. Laurent caught the music bug at a very early when he joined the Académie de Musique in Dinant, Belgium at the age of 6 and at age 7 he started learning classical guitar. When he was 15 he started his first rock bands. He later entered the Jazz Music Conservatory in Brussels and graduated 5 years later. His early dreams as a producer began when he taught himself to master a four track recorder. He's also no stranger to the big stage performing with Monsoon, Lunascape, Mud Flow, Goudi, Flesh & Fell, Marie Warnant at Pukkelpop Marktrock, Les Ardentes, Botanique, Ancienne Belgique amongst others. His musical influences include Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie, Pink Floyd, Sonic Youth, Radiohead..the list goes on. He's been enlisted to record on more than 20 albums in the last 10 years. He has produced EPs for various artists and his first jazz album The Dude which was released last year. 


Markest and Laurent

Gilles Masson on keys and backing vocals for lives

Didier Vu on drums for lives

The 'Blue Bolts' video:



Super Highway video:



and some fun:



Digital release on the 30th of September 2016.
Physical release on the 15th of October 2016.
Track listing:

1: Consequences
2: Riddle Me This 
3: Keys              
4: This Sound      
5: Backbone         
6: Blue Bolts        
7: Wake Me Up   
8: Too Far           
9: Time To Walk Away
10: Forefathers      
11: Superhighway  









Price


Wednesday 21 September 2016

ORT017 : Maris / On Gods and Other Things

Cover art by Arsi Keva


ORT017 : Maris / On Gods and Other Things

On Gods and other Things is the debut album by Maris. It’s the solo project of Belgian singer Mariske Broeckmeyer currently based in Brussels and New-York.
She spent  half a year in Iceland where this album was created.

« My head tends to forrest itself with questions.
Wonder derived from observations on this world.
Intrigued by our timeless need for Gods and Things.
Creating tiny universes
In which their relationship shifts constantly.
A whisper-shout of little question songs,
guided by a rille, that´s only there by accident.
Or is it not? »

Music and words: Mariske Broeckmeyer, autumn and winter of 2015
Recorded at Listaháskóli, Íslands , Reykjavik, Mariske Broeckmeyer
Mixing at Greenhouse Studio, Reykjavik, Paul Evans
Mastering at Elektropolis, Wemmel, Uwe Teichert
Artwork at TTVO, Tampere, Arsi Keva
CD on sale at Rat records.


Mariske

How's Things video:




Original digital release on the 23rd of September 2016, now in Bandcamp:

Track listing:

1 How´s Things
2 Absurd Abruptness
3 The Alignment of Things
4 Soon enough
5 Perception Perception
6 Oddly Satisfying


In Bandcamp:

Baby Fire new album 'Gold' teaser

Soon released at the end of the month, the new album from Baby Fire ' Gold'!


Friday 16 September 2016

OCD032 : K-Mundi / The little disaster inside us

Cover art by økapi, pic by  Gordon Charles Montgomery



OCD032 : K-Mundi / The little disaster inside us

Rome- based K-Mundi make (mostly) improvised music with a post-postmodernist approach, using acoustic, electronic, and electroacoustic instruments.

K-Mundi is : Økapi (Filippo Paolini): turntables, samples.
Adriano Lanzi: electric guitar, electronics.
Marco Ariano : drums, percussion, electronics.

Økapi (Filippo Paolini) is among the most relevant turntablists and sampling artists since the early '90s. He performed or recorded with Metaxu, Dogon, Zu, Christian Marclay, and others. He produced several albums, in a wide variety of styles and exploring different ways of treating the audio material, ranging from orchestral and lounge music to the most bizarre experimental stuff.
Adriano Lanzi, guitarist and electronic performer, has released albums and tracks on Klangbad, Off (see OCD006 - El Topo and ODG014 - Adriano Lanzi/ : You are never alone with the Lemurian Broadcasting Companyand other European labels, with projects and bands ranging from rock jazz to world music. Among his studio and live collaborations: Geoff Leigh, Amy Denio, the griot and kora virtuoso Siriman Kanoutè and others.
Marco Ariano is a percussionist, sound researcher, and "composer of improvised music",  walking down a path along the border of music and philosophy. He writes pieces that imply poetry and staging elements as well as sounds. Among his many collaborations: Alvin Curran, Elio Martusciello, Vincent Courtois, Don Moye.

The album "the little disaster inside us" was prepared in the space of one year; each member of the trio had the opportunity to select different moments of the recorded material - mainly collective improvisations, or spontaneous jams following a loose compositional structure - to work on, sometimes just mixing the music and presenting as it was performed, other times post-producing it, and radically reinventing it. With all the possible shades and degrees of intervention within the two extremes. 
Therefore the music remains strangely "collective", the product of a band, but as varied and diversified as possible, from the purely abstract sonic textures to the some aggressive beats, from the asperities to the placid consonance.
The trio first appeared together in a concert produced by the Circuiterie Collective at the Nuovo Cinema Palazzo in Rome, with Geoff Leigh (of Henry Cow fame) as a special guest on sax and flute.
The concert was aired in the program Battiti, on Rai RadioTre (third channel of the Italian national radio) and is available as the second cd in the digital release only.

 økapi
 Adriano Lanzi
Marco Ariano


Digital and physical release on the 17th of September 2016

Track listing:

1) La Sacra Sindrome
2) The home-made time machine
3) 7 PM - In the wrong direction
4) A study in density
5) The shrinking man
6) Gone with the wind
7) Alternative
8) Sub-genius
9) Prima le signore
10) Dozy time
11) Lotus
12) Oaoa ki te hei heihei

and for the digital version:
13) 28 marzo (feat. Geoff Leigh) / Live in Roma





And on Bandcamp:







Price


ODG056 : Kurtisz / Keys

Cover art by Dimitri Rondeau


ODG056 : Kurtisz / Keys

The third and last single from the forthcoming album 'Wired'. 
As always, produced by super Pierre Vervloesem, as always incendiary danceable and powerful!

Digital release on the 16th of September 2016.

Thursday 15 September 2016

ODG059 - OUW017 : Benjamin Lew - Alinovsky - Yoshiko Sato / Dates encore et toujours

Cover art by A.L.



ODG059 - OUW017 : Benjamin Lew - Alinovsky - Yoshiko Sato / Dates encore et toujours

Improvised background music recorded live for a lecture of a one year news resume of drawings, industries shiftings and cemeteries depravations all over Europe in 2005. Amazingly (or not) the news from that time seem to be exactly the ones we are listening on radios in 2016... 10 years and still the same stories again and again and again.

The music was played by Benjamin Lew (seeODG004bio) on electronics, Alinovsky on keys and (from Ictus ensemble) Yoshiko Sato on violin. 
The place was the wonderful theatre La Belonne in the center of Bruxelles. 
Male voices by Pietro Pizutti and Paul Hermant, female voice by Pascale Tison. 
Text by Paul Hermant. from his books ‘Naufragés’ / ‘Profanés’ / ‘Délocalisés’.
More info for the books @ Causes Communes: ovrcc@skynet.be

Alinovsky and Benjamin

Yoshiko


Pascale and Pietro

Paul

Digital release on the 16th of September 2016.

Track title:

1) Dates (17 minutes)

Bandcamp only release:

Thursday 8 September 2016

Digital re release of OCD002 : P.V.T.V. / Wing-Chester as OVD017 in the P.V.Presents series



OVD017 : P.V.T.V. / Wing-Chester

Originally released as the second normal series as OCD002 (see here) and a bit before Pierre Vervloesem started his own proper series on Off, the P.V.T.V. (standing for Pierre Vervloesem and Teun Verbruggen) is finally digitally re release in the P.V.Presents series.
Still as original and enjoyable as always! A thrilling album to discover or rediscover!

Digital release on the 9th of September 2016.

Track listing :

1: 100
2: 40
3: 65 bis
4: 70
5: 40 bis
6: 70 bis
7: 130
8: 120
9: 60
10: 72
11: 80
12: 85
13: 65



Original cd still on sale:
Prices



Tuesday 6 September 2016

Digital re release of OCD003 : Don Shtone / Beware of the Cat + Bonus Tracks

Cover art by Kiekebiche


This is a digital only re release of the wonderful Don Shtone album 'Beware of the Cat' with no less than 4 bonus tracks!
For all infos about the original album, read here.


Don Shtone

Digital release on the 7th of September 2016.

Track listing:

1. Sheepcontent
2. Am I blue
3. Boy and Girl
4. Golly Gosh
5. Rot
6. Some feel fine
7. Miracles
8. It’s time
9. Beware of the cat
10.Da b
11.Drunkable

New bonus tracks:
12. Casting Allee
13. Frantic
14. Kollaps
15. Moon Toujours




Prices



Friday 2 September 2016

Rat-Off DVD001 : Warped Dreamer / Lomahongva Images

Cover art Peter Verbruggen


Rat-Off DVD001 : Warped Dreamer / Lomahongva Images

The complete Warped Dreamer concert live at Het Bos / 17th of January 2015 is finally available in dvd.
Beautifully filmed and edited by Stonewood and Verdonck.
Warped Dreamer feat. Arve Henriksen, Stian Westerhus, Jozef Dumoulin and Teun Verbruggen! 
Read, discover, listen and download here.

The back cover:






Prices
DVD


Or get it free when ordering 3 cds of your choice!

The center fold:






Thursday 1 September 2016

OJP014 : Junya Koketsu / Guitar of Junya Koketsu - Best of

Cover art by Junya Koketsu


OJP014 : Junya Koketsu / Guitar of Junya Koketsu

Second release from Junya in the Japanese series is a best of he released in 2012.
Junya Koketsu is one of the most prolific Japanese guitar player having recorded a dozen albums. 
This time, the best-of is a collection of experimental improvisations recorded on the spot. 
No re recording or overdubs, just plug and play. Going from psychedelic to drone to alternatif rock to experimental... His creativeness is infinite...Enjoy!


Digital release on the 2nd of September 2016.
Track listing:

01 Tranced Oscillation
02 Trident
03 Trippin
04 Floatage
05 Reg
06 Modest
07 Experimental Guitar (New Song)
08 Data
09 Peep (New Song)
10 Peaker Eye
11 Ambient Space Swell
12 Cold Sleep (New Song)
13 In The Studio (New Song)
14 Salvia (New Song)