THE TRUE VINE
3544 HICKORY AVE
BALTIMORE, MD 21211
(TELEPHONE: 410 235 4500)

OPEN:
TUES. – SAT. 12 – 9
SUN. & MON. 12 – 6

hello everyone,
as usual many records have been flying through here & here is just a smattering that i’ll mention:

LPS:

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1970′S ALGERIAN PROTO-RAI UNDERGROUND $22 (“The early 1970′s witnessed the rise of artists such as Groupe El Azhar (“The Flowers” group) and Messaoud Bellemou, who can comfortably be considered the godfather of the modern Raï’s sound. His group, L’Orchestre Bellemou, rewrote a heritage of centuries by using modern instruments and especially the trumpet which became, during the 1970′s, the backbone of the Wahrani genre.

Reinterpreting the gasba melodies on trumpet, Bellemou backed singers such as Boutaiba Sghir & Sheikh Benfissa who carried on the lyrical tradition of their forefathers singing about daily preoccupations and problems as well as love affairs, alcohol, or simply owning an automobile! Toward the late 1970′s, Cheb Zergui brought a newer ingredient: an electric guitar with a wah wah pedal.” the 3rd vinyl release by sublime frequencies & like the other two, is in limited press & will probably sell out quick & go for high prices on ebay. try not to wait until then.)

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LORD BUCKLEY: BLOWING HIS MIND (& YOURS TOO) $12 (recorded in 1959/1960. lord buckley was a free minded spoken word entertainer like few people were before lsd came along. sometimes i think of salvador dali doing stand up comedy. without the heavy accent.)

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HENRYK DEBICH: STRING BEAT $17 (reissue of polish composer’s 1975 funk/jazz album. beautiful cover art & great funky riffs)

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AUTISTIC DAUGHTERS: UNEASY FLOWERS $16 (“guitar harmonies dream and shred their way through drone and distortion, washing granite percussives and other nameless squibs of sound into continually morphing formations. Knocks, thumps and decaying snare-drum cracks stick up like islands and ricochet in the title track, as droney loops lap at the structure’s foundation.” {dusted magazine} featuring chris abrahams from the necks.)

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GEORGE COLEMAN: “BONGO JOE” $14 (i found this record many years ago knowing nothing about it & freaked out when i got it home. i’m so glad mississippi records reissued this for more more ears to feed on. on mississippi’s compilation ‘life is a problem’ there was initially a 7″ inside with recordings of george coleman but those recordings are very different than his full album recorded in 1968 (originally released by arhoolie). the microphone (s?) are more up close to george & you can feel his essence much better. george was a musician who played on the streets of houston & san antonio texas using an oil drum & his unique voice. no words can do this record justice. come to the true vine & listen! really.)

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PAUL WIRKUS / MAPSTATION: FOREST FULL OF DRUMS $16 (two musicians in a forest with a drum set & some recording equipment. other than that they use the forest itself for sounds (leaves, branches, etc.) if you love the great outdoors (& “free music”) but cant find the time to get out of the city, then this album might the next best thing.

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NURSE WITH WOUND: THE BACTERIA MAGNET $18 (this is my favorite release from nurse with wound in years & one of the best i’ve heard from him ever. groovy beats, car crashes, hypnotic surreal crooning, nightmare aura)

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CDS:

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VALERIO COSI: HEAVY ELECTRONIC PACIFIC ROCK $11 (first cd release by 22 year old italian saxophonist (amongst other things). one of the more exciting releases that i’ve heard this year. drone – free jazz – kraut rock – & more – very well done – yes)

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PHILLIPE BESOMBES: CESI EST CELA VOLUME 3 $15 (phillipe was originally a chemist before he embarked on music & you can hear it. recordings between 72′ & 79′ made for ballet, stage & theatrical performances. the chemicals he works with here are electric, acoustic & electroaccoustic, usually all together. i would recommend this to fans of very early kraftwerk as much as would to fans of jac berrocal or nurse with wound.)

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THE PEACE: BLACK POWER $17 (“the peace was a band from ndola in zambia’s copperbelt, a mining region, in central zambia, central africa. this record was made in the early 70′s at copperbelt recording studio & is now near impossible to find. this cd is one of those gems from africa’s diverse music scenes in the 1970′s in particular the zam rock scene.”

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DAVIE ALLEN & THE ARROWS: DEVIL’S RUMBLE ANTHOLOGY 64′ – 68′ $27 {double cd} (i mentioned this one in an earlier update but without an mp3 to hear, so have a listen to davie’s incredible guitar sounds.)

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LE RAIL BAND: AFRICAN CLASSICS $14 (“the legendary group that played in bamako’s railway station buffet. this group fostered one of the future stars of the malian music scene”)

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ONRA: CHINOISERIES $17 (every so often a new hip hop record hits my ears & i get excited. this new hip hop record hit my ears & i’m excited. the only thing i know of onra is that he went to vietnam, the homeland of his grandparents, bought lots of vietmanese records & returned to make this record using that material.)

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WHA HA HA: SHINUTOKIWA BETSU $19 (1981 colorful japanese beauty & wonder is what i’m talking about. wha ha ha cant be described by a genre word, but i can attempt to describe them by listing the fragments of genre. genres detected: rock, pop, jazz, reggae, free jazz, avant garde, prog, disco, cabaret, radio theater, tribal, new wave, game show music, scat, cheerleading, library, soundtrack, chant, psychedelic, tango, musique concrete, mod, french nightclub, medieval, electropop, dub ……………………..

other artists come to mind at times, some maybe influenced & some maybe influenced by:

ooioo, ennio morricone, the boredoms, gorgio moroder, albert marcoeur, yellow magic orchestra, magma, 10cc, the residents, unknownmix, ravel, yello, swans, manoeuvres d’automne, lee “scratch” perry, the associates, r. stevie moore, catherine jauniaux, a thinking plague, public image……………………………

their records are recorded very clean & in high fidelity & utilize many influences but unlike stereolab who keep their influence simple & singular within a song, wha ha ha are fusing elements all over the place. many of these fusings are not dissonant as separate parts but feel dissonant when combined, like eating minestrone soup with gummy worms or jello teriyaki. my advice is to eat it……..again & again. you will adapt.)

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ANTENA: CAMINO DEL SOUL $15 (we’ve been carrying this title for years but i doubt everyone knows this record yet. 1982 belgian bossa beauty in the infancy of new wave. after this, their first record, they split up.)

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OUR REPAIRSHOPMAN

from sweden, karl, just finished modifying a kid’s kawasaki drumpad into an instrument of destruction. he calls it “the enabler”. here is a direct quote from karl:

“ever wanted to be a drummer but all you ever knew how to do was to play “experimental” instead of real music? well here’s your chance to take revenge on the world. the enabler’s fantastically apocalyptic sounds in combination with your non-existent drumming skills will make you LOOK like you know what you’re doing from below the stage even though it isn’t really so. just hook up the enabler to your favorite amp & hit the pads & fiddle with the trigger switches to make that special enabler doom-y sound. the fun gets more intense as you flip the mod-switch & turn the affiliated knob. just bang your head against the pads & wheel away on the pitch-knob. you’ll have a blast without a doubt. i guarantee it.”
$101

thank you karl.

BY THE WAY,  we are now offering a high quality transfer service for making cds out of vinyl & cassettes. $10 for transferring each track separately & $7 for transferring each side as a track.

we will write down album info & put the disc into a protective folder. we will make a cd out of any other format (reel to reel, 8 track, etc. but you would have to bring in the player for it).

PROS & CONS OF PAYING FOR MUSIC DOWNLOADS
pros:
you dont have to leave the comfort of your home
pay downloads are usually a few dollars cheaper than buying the cd or vinyl
record labels & musicians usually receive payment, which helps them them afloat & produce more music

cons:
less exercise
usually less bitrate quality
no artwork

PROS & CONS OF NOT PAYING FOR MUSIC DOWNLOADS
pros:
it’s free
you dont have to leave the comfort of your home

cons:
less exercise
almost always less bitrate quality
no artwork
record labels, record stores & musicians do not receive a financial cut & therefore it becomes harder for them to financially survive

love,
jason

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