Posts in Music

Last weekend i finally got to hang out with Scott again so with a few hours to spare i drove him to Ann Arbor, MI and on the way got to feel out his music taste beyond what we post on the blog. I remember this track coming up on shuffle among many others and we talked about it for awhile and i think i read somewhere that its one of Boards of Canada’s favorite tracks at one point in time or something of that nature. I would of posted the artwork but i think the true ISO50 fans here would maybe not ever want to see a post from me again just because its a bit on the silly side which isn’t a bad thing. Also, i think the last 2 covers i’ve posted have been beauties so instead i found a great photo of them live on Fujirockers.

Super Furry Animals – Some Things Come from Nothing

Chicago’s Kranky Records is home to the music that soundtracks my day like Loscil, Stars of the Lid, Tim Hecker, and The Dead Texan which i will share in future music posts. In recent years they have gained probably most their popularity from young guys like Deerhunter and Atlas Sound but the one musician songwriting wise that sticks out is Portand’s Benoît Pioulard. The artwork and photography is done by Will Calcutt who is a great photographer out of Los Angeles and probably couldn’t of pushed this artwork in my opinion closer to perfection for this album. Hopefully this hits the spot to carry you into the weekend.

Benoît Pioulard – Ash In The Sky

I remember this 12″ cover art looking right at me when i walked into Etherea Record Shop in East Village, it was pretty much everything i wanted in a font and texture a few years back. This track reminds me of Erlend Oye right away, it feels like something he would sing over but his voice never drops in. If you get a chance check out this record label Eskimo Recordings, they have great art direction and some of the best slow motion disco out there.

Lindstrom & Prins Thomas – Suppegjok

Just a quick note to thank everyone for checking out the new single; Adrift is already at #17 on the iTunes charts.

Also a note on the iTunes exclusivity issue. Ghostly International, the label who releases my music, often grants iTunes exclusive rights to a single for a specified period of time. In this case, a month. But after that month, or possibly sooner, it will be available at all other online retailers as well as right here from The ISO50 Shop. I am sorry if this is an inconvenience to anyone, I will be sure to post as soon as the song is available via alternative channels.

Also, as Jakub pointed out in the comments, this is also available as iTunes Plus, meaning it is DRM free and encoded at 256Kbps, just the same as all the other retailers.

Purchase Adrift / From Home on iTunes (US)
For Purchase outside the US search "Tycho Adrift" on iTunes

So if the last music post left you wondering what ever happened to Digable Planets here’s at least a small part of the explanation. My favorite member of Digable was definitely Butterfly, so when I heard he had a solo project called Cherrywine I was pretty excited. The resulting album is sort of middle of the road for me, but this single is definitely strong and while the subject matter is a far cry from the revolution fomenting intellectualism of Blowout Comb it’s still an enjoyable listen.

Back in 2003 when this album came out I was able to catch Cherrywine when they came through Sacramento. It was noticeably underattended, particularly considering the fact that the group was headed up by none other than Ishmael Butler. While it was sort of disappointing to see such a poor turnout, it ended up working in our favor as we got to meet Butterfly and talk with him after the show.

Cherrywine – That’s What I’m Talking About

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The new Tycho single "Adrift / From Home" is now available for purchase. Purchase Adrift / From Home

Tycho – Adrift (clip)

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Tycho – From Home (clip)

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If you cared at all about hip hop during the early 90’s, chances are you’re a big fan of the two albums Digable Planets released during theie brief but brilliant career (Apparently they are touring again, but I’ve yet to hear of a new album). This was way back when, just as rap was turning into the complete mess we hear today and before "what what what what what what what what" was an acceptable refrain for a song. I know, I know, it’s not like everything back in the day was great, and it’s not like everything now is trash; it just seemed like it was easier to come by a well thought out, intelligent hip hop album back then.

When Digable Planets released Blowout Comb I was a Junior in High School and I had spent the previous summer installing a ridiculous sound system in my car. I think I played this album about 500 times in a row the first week I had it; I distinctly remember blasting this particular song (9th Wonder) on repeat on the way to taking my S.A.T.’s that year. Strange how you can forget whole chapters of your life but somehow you remember something seemingly as trivial as the song you listened to on the way to a test. I guess that’s the power of good music. It seems today I consume most of my music through headphones on planes or coming out of computer speakers, neither of which do this song justice, this one has to be played through the 12’s in your trunk to get the point…the bass is massive.

As for the cover art, this was the sort of thing I coveted when I was younger. I wasn’t exposed to anything even approaching good design where I grew up so album covers were one of my only windows into the world of somewhat decent graphic design. I remember being blown away by the design and packaging of this CD when it came out. Now looking back, I see it wasn’t exactly perfect, but still well executed considering. The version on the bottom is the cover for the single, which I think I had in cassette form before I got the album on CD.

Digable Planets – 9th Wonder (Blackitolism)

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Right around the time the Ghostly Swim tracklist was coming together i had to check out some more releases by some of the new faces and picked up this limited 7″ vinyl from School of Seven Bells called Silent Grips. You might remember them from the last Prefuse 73 record or saw them on a tour date with Blonde Redhead. They have this wonderful full sound that is worn down, its like if you molded together some of the best parts of Slowdive and replaced the guitars with warm synths and but brought the vocals up front and add some slower dusty Black Moth Super Rainbow percussion. I hope you enjoy.

School of Seven Bells – Silent Grips

I place songs into two categories: those that have the power to change my state of mind and those that don’t. This song falls squarely in the former, and within that category there are several subsets. I would have to say this song fits into a very rare space for me, there are lots of songs that make me feel excited, melancholy, nostalgic, etc.. But this is something entirely different and I love that. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Postprior – Climber

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Also, the cover reminds me of The Impossible Art of Li Wei, so it’s just that much more awesome. It actually reminds me of someone else’s work too, but the name escapes me right now, anyone know who I am talking about?

I’ll be playing at the Detroit Electronic Music Festival (DEMF) this weekend in, of all places, Detroit. I have extra tickets and wanted to offer up a pair to be given away. I will pick one (1) email at random from the contest entrants, this person will be given two (2) full passes ($80 value) to DEMF. Entering is easy, simply comment on this post and be sure to include a valid email when doing so and type "DEMF Entry" in the body of your comment. Your email is not visible to anyone but myself.

I know this is a bit last minute, but we weren’t sure if the extra tickets were coming through until just today. Again, DEMF is this weekend, so you would need to be in Detroit, THIS WEEKEND. Please do not enter if you do not plan on being in Detroit at that time.

Click here to enter the ISO50 DEMF Ticket Giveaway. Be sure to include a valid email in the email field and type "DEMF Entry" in the body of the comment.

The contest ends May 22nd at 11:59PM (23:59) west coast (PST) time.

Good luck, see you in Detroit!