Eclectic Grooves

I know that it has been awhile since I've updated this site, but I am still alive and kicking. I have received several requests for re-ups to links in the archives that have been deleted for various reasons. So, during the past two weeks, I have taken the liberty of re-upping the links from October 2006 and I am working my way up to the most current posts. Some of the file-sharing services receive complaints and take down links, and some of the links expire after a certain number of downloads or length of time. Due to these limitations, it is difficult to ensure that links are consistently active. Also, some of the files from posts in the archives are not on my external hard drive, and have not been updated at this time. Please feel free to ask me about anything that isn't updated at this time, and I will work on getting it updated as soon as I have a chance. Please enjoy visiting the archives, and let me know if you have any ideas or suggestions for making this blog better. A...

The Nigerian Police Force Band - Asiko Mi Ni Dan Satch & His Atomic 8 Dance Band of Aba - Alabeke The Hykkers- I Want A Break Thru' This compilation was released a couple weeks ago on Soundway Records . That's right, the same Soundway Records that released such gems as Afro Baby- The Evolution of the Afro Sound In Nigeria, 1970-1979 , Ghana Soundz Vol.1 and Ghana Soundz Vol.2 . How can you go wrong here? The answer is you can't. If you like african-fuzz guitar, afro-beat and infectious high-life music, run to your local record store and pick up this spectacular double-disc album showcasing the rarest Nigerian music out there. Soundway has done an amazing job with the packaging and have compiled extensive liner notes on the backgrounds of the musicians involved. It features an awe-inspiring mixture of high-life, afro-beat, jazz, blues and psych rock that will have you reaching for the repeat button every time. I am featuring a couple tunes from this for you to sample, b...

Last night I was hanging out with Rich from Kill Ugly Radio and Daniel Flessas during Daniel's KBOO radio show, "The Outside World", when I came to the realization that I need to start doing podcasts on Eclectic Grooves. Around three a.m., I dragged myself home in that state somewhere between the realm of awareness and sleep. When I arrived at the apartment, I compiled this mix that I am featuring today. This mix features a wide variety of styles that seem to coalesce into a psychedelic space-rock contingent. Even though this is not a podcast, I plan on featuring podcasts here in the near future. I hope you enjoy the mix, and would love to hear what you guys think. Night Trippers From Distant Galaxies 1) D. Charles Speer & the Helix- Sit Right There- 4:18 2) Boredoms- Relerer- 7:09 3) Sun Araw- Hive Burner- 7:16 4) The Strange Flowers- Mars Behind Our Eyes- 5:03 5) Eddie Fisher- Jeremiah Puckett-4:32 6) Moussa Dombia- Yeye Mousso- 5:03 7) Tim Berne Caos Totale- Ba...

Ornette Coleman- Live at New Orleans Jazz Fest 2003 About five years ago, I ventured out to New Orleans to check out one of the most talented and innovative saxophone players in the annals of free jazz history. Ornette Coleman played a huge part in introducing the idea of " free jazz " to the general public in the 60's, after releasing his seminal 1960 album entitled Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation . He was also instrumental in formulating his own musical language called harmelodics. Harmelodic theory is essentially Ornette's theory that every instrument has its own pitches and that the same note on a music staff means different notes on different instruments. By exploring this idea, Ornette found a way to give everyone the same melody but with each person exploring various emotions within the context of the tune. If this sounds complex to you, you are not alone. Even though I can't get a handle on the harmelodics theory, I appreciate the intensely beautifu...

Victor Dimisich Band- My Name Is K Sorry I haven't ben posting much in the past couple weeks, but the good news is that I have finally landed a job with a biomedical company in Lake Oswego named Biotronik. It has been consuming my daytime hours, but I hope to be able to post a couple things throughout the week as well as on the weekend. Recently, I was reading about New Zealand lo-fi garage-punk group the Terminals in the Fall 2007 issue of Signal to Noise. The Terminals were formed from the ashes of previous groups such as the Vacuum,The Pin Group, The Victor Dimisich Band and Scorched Earth Policy. Today I want to focus on the Victor Dimisich Band and their My Name Is K compilation released in 1997 on lead singer Peter Stapleton's Medication imprint. This combines the Mekong Delta Blues cassete released on Xpressway in 1988 as well as the entire Native Waiter EP. As far as I know, this CD reissue is out-of-print, but please let me know if anyone objects to these files bein...

For those of you who don't know, I am located in Portland Oregon. Portland is one of the best places for a musician to get their feet off the ground. You could practically throw a rock anywhere within the confines of Portland and you'd most likely hit a musician. Of course, I'm not literally suggesting that you should throw a rock at a musician, but you get the picture. Every night there are at least 20-30 venues featuring all kinds of music from avant garde, electronic, folk, bluegrass, pop, indie-rock, blues, experimental. I have really been interested in finding out more about what's going on in the local scene, so this series will continue until I run out of bands to rave about. This is the first installment of the series, so I hope you enjoy it. Tu Fawning Tu Fawning are a duo from Portland Oregon who have both been fixtures in the local music scene for many years. Corinna Repp has two albums available on Hush Records that are in the confessional singer/songwriter ...

The Pop Group- Y The Pop Group ranks up there with the Ten Thousand Maniacs as one of the most ironic band names in the history of rock music. This gang of left-wing political radicals from Bristol, England sound more like the antithesis of pop music. "Y" was released on the Radar label in 1979 to little fanfare, but Rough Trade liked the record enough to sign them. "Y" is a cathartic and uncompromising avant garde record that mixed free jazz, art rock, funk, reggae and industrial music. There are very few hooks or decipherable vocals, but the impassioned delivery of lead singer Mark Stewart is undeniable. Highlights include the wildly eclectic "Snow Girl" where agit-funk shares sonic space with stinging guitars and intense piano hammering, "Savage Sea" with distorted vocals layered on top of a propulsive rhythm section with reverb and echo that sounds like lost sessions of Lee Scratch Perry and the caterwauling, free jazz funk of "Don't...