MOONWOOD: Trans Lunar Express (Digital EP)

With Trans Lunar Express, psychedelic exotica/freak-folksters Moonwood take a cosmic detour to bring you three kosmische jams of motorik krautrock for driving across the lunar landscape. This 3-track digital-only EP is a stellar deal at the cosmically low price of $1.99 earth credits!

Split tape on two best of 2011 lists

Our split tape with Theo Angell and Moonwood made it onto the best of 2011 lists of two blogs.

Hippie Cult says of the release in their Favorite Tapes of 2011 post:

“Theo Angell’s side contains an entire cannon of American folk and story telling warped through his wizard beard. Moonwood mixes fuzzy reverb from a desert with mystic percussion and spiritual chimes. If you ever consider going on a vision quest, trying to start a New Church of Man, I suggest you take this with you.“

And Dying For Bad Music listed the Moonwood side specifically at #9 in their top 23 records of 2011.

 

Why so cold in your heart?

Moonwood is very pleased to announce their inclusion on the Why So Cold In Your (he)Art compilation by Jeunesse Cosmique.

The exclusive track is called “Second Hand Coat” and was recorded specially for this project.

Download the whole 20 track album for free here.

Physical copies available too from the same link.

Upcoming Releases 2012

We have some great stuff planned for release beginning in January of the new year!

CDs

Jakobsons, Espvall, Szelag — A really very special set from an amazing cello trio featuring Helena Espvall and the ladies from the fabulous Myrmyr. To call the music merely beautiful or mesmerizing would be to imply it doesn’t somehow grab your heart in both hands and give it a spiritual friction burn. Naturally, we’re doing some special packaging for this one.

Moonwood — TBD. The follow up/companion album to the River Ghosts LP. A further trip into rural Americana by way of Asian psych-funk and lunar space-rock.  Mostly instrumental, all the “proper” recordings Jakob has done leading up to the birth of the “Moonwood mark II” duo (featuring vocalist/percussionist/flutist Jacqueline Noire) which should also see a proper release of some sort later in 2012.

Split Tapes

9/10: Khôra / Nick Kuepfer — From what I understand, the boys are going to cross-pollinate each other’s sides on this split. So is it a really a split? We’ll see. Like chocolate and peanut butter or wine and cheese or romance and comedy, it’s going to be an awesome combination.

11/12: Silent Land Time Machine / Jeremy Kelly — The cross pollination continues as Khôra and Kuepfer show up on one of the tracks on SLTM’s side—angelic drones and wicked noises. Jeremy’s set is a magical journey into a post-apocalyptic folk wasteland. Like a version of the movie, The Road, but starring Bob Dylan and filmed on super-8.

13/14: Elfin Choirs (Colin Fisher)/ Aaron Lumley — Two of Toronto’s freakiest avant-jazz giants. Aaron’s solo stand-up bass sets have been one of the highlights of 2011, we’re hoping to capture some of that magic for posterity here. Colin has been vague about the material he has recorded (but has yet to mix down) for his side. But the words “guitar” and “drums” and “saxophone” have been out forward, which can old mean good things.

Digital

Moonwood – A krautrock EP called Trans Lunar Express is slated for release on the Bandcamp site. Also a digital “box set” compilation/clearing house of all of Moonwood’s Heavy Moon space rock albums and EPs recorded since 2007, including some new material, will be available here.

The Ice Cubist cometh… again

Black Friday 2 White Christmas – The Ice Cubist‘s holiday jam for 2011.

Since 11 minutes of icy shopping mall ambiance probably isn’t quite enough to chill you out after braving the mad rush of the sales, we’ve made all eight The Ice Cubist electro-holiday albums released between 2001-2011 available in two download bundles (results may vary):

• Vol. 1 2001-2005 (Hinterlands; Winter Holiday; To: Username, From: The Ice Cubist; White Rain)
• Vol. 2 2008-2011 (Wintermärchenland ist unser Vermächtnis; Winterfaith; Winter Holday 2010; Black Friday 2 White Christmas)

New Reviews at Foxy Digitalis

Andy Futreal/Babel, “7/8″ split tape 

Reviewed by Anthony D’Amico.

On the Andy Futreal side: “That is as conventionally musical as it gets too, as the fragile piano motif is quickly consumed by massed overlapping voices of newscasters and a deep and cavernous rumble.   The piano returns near the end, but much darker and more broken-sounding.  It kind of reminds me of some of Morton Feldman’s work a bit, forming a gently dissonant and uneasy lattice of twinkling single notes that bleed together.  Very impressive.“

On the Babel  side: “Part of Rehlinger’s distinctiveness is certainly due to his prominent use of atypical instrumentation (like metal bowls and woodblocks), but his aberrence runs pretty deep stylistically too, as he seems to draw inspiration equally from brooding post-rock, classical minimalism, Harold Budd (particularly his love of heavily reverb-ed piano), and probably even Martin Denny-style exotica ….  delicately melancholy piano motifs, but the many curious and sudden dynamic shifts and detours make Morpheum feel more like the soundtrack to a film than a stand-alone suite.  I think it’d be a pretty compelling film though.”

Moonwood, “River Ghosts” LP

Reviewed by Nicholas Zettel

“…the subtle layers and shimmering dynamics between the sparse folk elements might not be apparent on a first, glancing listen. Jakob Rehlinger… provides a stunning experimental guitar approach, a surprisingly “organic” electric guitar sound. The buzzing drones and scorched swells sound like they are produced by a cranked, clean amplifier, and the chiming reverb and tremolo naturally follow the signal’s original dynamic …. alternate between oscillating gourd flute and ringing, deceptively simple guitar lines. Alternate instrumentation and percussion enter the background from time to time, building the intensity and providing phantom noises: choirs, gurus, spiritual awakenings. I cannot emphasize enough the sparse composition of the elements throughout this side, rendering each set of simultaneous percussion, flute, and guitar swells more intense for each occurrence …. Over multiple listens, themes of deserted landscapes, rituals, and awakening vibe through the overtones and drones. Moonwood’s experimental folk might not grab you at first listen, but the textured sounds definitely reward multiple listens.“

Moonwood – Rehearsals – Vol. 5

Vol. 5 in the Moonwood rehearsal tapes series. Just over an hour of material edited down from 4 sessions of solo improv guitar jams. Meditative ragas, analogue space drones and black ritualistic fuzz.

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?uio5qw2fuu97dx3

New Zines from Ampersand!

It’s been a while since we’ve published anything on the AMPERSAND PUBLISHING side of our operations. Canzine 2011 in Toronto (click banner for more info) seemed like a good excuse to print up some new zines since we have a table booked and only have a few cassettes to sell this year. So here they are. Some zines! Drop by and say hello at Canada’s largest zine/craft/indie fair!

Mr. Dapper’s Original Illuminatory Journal of Secret Curiosities Zine Compendium - Vol. 1-5

Zine compilation of the best bits from 2004-2011 of Jakob Rehlinger’s (Moonwood/Babel) Mr. Dapper’s Splendid Online Diary blog.Wry observations, true stories of urban weirdos, harrowing tales of retail hell, even more harrowing tales of crazy magazine bosses, drunk escapades, romance, nervous breakdowns, epiphanies, weight loss tips! Each issue approx 24 pages.

5 issues $5 CAD (+$2 shipping)

The Bizarre Romance of Parkinson Jack and Clintina Supanova

Ever wondered what would happen if you actually answered one of those dodgy emails that end up in your spam filter? What begins as a cheeky response to a typical email scam evolves into a truly bizarre epistolary narrative. Taken verbatim directly from the original emails. 20 pages.

$3 CAD (shipping incl.)

The Empire Sucks Back

Jakob’s controversial views on exactly what makes The Empire Strikes Back a bad movie are expounded in this 16-page essay. Since there is no “try”, it’s up to you to decide if he does or does not make a strong argument.  Afraid? You will be… you will be…

$3 CAD (shipping incl.)

Fragments

33 short stories—140 character and up—by Jakob Rehlinger. Some originally published on Twitter plus some slightly (but only just) longer works. Darkly humorous, cynically hopeful. 20 pages.

$3 CAD (shipping incl.)

Parkinson Jack / Empire / Fragments pack: 3 zines, $5 CAD (includes shipping)

Deluxe Complete 8 Zine Joy Pack: All 8 above zines at one price. $10 CAD (includes shipping)

Babel – Limbus – dlx Stencilled Jewel Case ed.

Limited edition of 25. 13 track CD in hand-stencilled cloth bags (see tin box edition) and spray-stencilled jewel cases. Comes with full colour “posterette” insert .
59 mins. $9 CAD worldwide (includes shipping).

Inspired by the lifecycle of a tree—from seed to recycled paper—the Limbus suite sprawls skyward while rooting itself deep in the rocky murk. Drawing parallels between the root systems of plants and our own limbic system, harsh, bowed guitar drives over delicate, leafy arpeggios backed by percussion textures ranging from sparse to pummelling.

“Limbus VIII”

Moonwood rehearsals 3 & 4 (MOONWOLF)

Two new releases in the Moonwood live rehearsal tapes series. Both feature Stephen Wolf (Summer Amp, New Yaki, Partli Cloudi, etc) on percussion, prepared bass guitar and, we think, moaning vocals.

Vol. 3 is over an hour of live jams recorded straight to 2-track as a duo over 2 days somewhere between the pyramids and the cosmos.

Vol. 4 (aka “Moonwolf”) is a half-hour set recorded live as a trio on October 6th. “Mowgli” is a straight live take whereas “Akela” is three live jams spliced together, adding analogue synth and a barrage of percussion instruments into the usual Moonwood stew.

“Akela” from Moonwolf

Free downloads: Volume 3  | Moonwolf