Sloow Tapes – Minazuki

John Clyde-Evans
The Smell Of The Burning Empire
Sloow Tapes – Minazuki
One sided CS 60

Tirath Singh Nirmala returns as his former moniker John Clyde-Evans, bowing transcendental Asian instruments and Indian thought back to the mysterious groove of manipulated drone. 100 copies.

SOLD OUT

Manipulated string bowings, singing bowl clang and whir and screeching interference weave into an incredibly focussed and mysterious drone. John Clyde Evans has more recently been releasing a series of limited cdrs and a Digitalis cd as Tirath Singh Nirmala. Complete with Bart's usual eye-popped felt-tipped cover art. (Boa Melody Bar)

A name that seems to be popping up more and more among the newbreed of new folk / free folk underground noisemakers is Tirath SinghNirmala, who has released a series of limited cd-r's on variousmicrolabels, as well as a handful of lps and cds, the only releasewe've had was an lp collaboration with longtime AQ fave RichardYoungs, and even in that review we were lamenting the fact that wehad yet to review a Tirath record proper. Well, while this isn't aproper Tirath record, per se, it is a brand new recording by JohnClyde-Evans, who just so happens to be the man behind Tirath SinghNirmala, and while the name may be different, the sound is quitesimilar. Asian instruments are bowed and coaxed into unfurling longdreamlike drones, shrouded in Sunroof!-like clouds of glisteningsparkling high end skree, like a sky full of shimmering metallicconfetti, simple percussion peppering the gauzy swirl, hauntingmelodies wrapping themselves around thick sheets of crystallinefeedback, a fantastic slab of shimmering trance-like upper registerur-drone drift. The tapes are all psychedelic and hand painted, with tripped out fullcolor covers. (Aquarius)

Sloow Tapes – Satsuki

Voice Of The Seven Woods
Black Morning
Sloow Tapes – Satsuki
One sided CS 60

One long track captivating the true spirit of green. UK guitarist Rick Tomlinson turns Bert Jansch’s wooden instrumentals outside into flowering cobwebs of droning Bull-esque trance and electric fantasies. Edition of 100 copies.

SOLD OUT

This new release from Rick Tomlinson (who usually records for Twisted Nerve) opens with a slowly unfolding electric raga with the emphasis on piercing trebly tones, which then drifts into a gorgeous languid acoustic section which echoes work by James Blackshaw and Sandy Bull. The piece finishes with sombre hand-drum. Just lovely. (Boa Melody Bar)

The whole field of neo folkies and folk foresters and modern Appalachians is getting more and more crowded every day. For every Rose and Blackshaw there are about a hundred other wandering troubadours with acoustic guitars, whipping up their own take on modern psychedelic Appalachian folk. And as much as we love that sound, and we do, it takes something super special to prick up our ears and get us all excited again. A few months back, a customer passed on a cd-r by some band called Voice Of The Seven Woods, aka guitarist Rick Tomlinson, and we were floored. Echoes of the usual suspects sure, Rose, Blackshaw, Bishop, but there we something distinctly unique about Tomlinson's approach. The songs long and raga like, with as much space as there are notes, the melodies, dark and twisted, but warm and effulgent, usually nested on a warm bed of hum and whir. And this latest cassette only release is no different. A backdrop of muted whirs and slow swirling ambient rumble, layered and rich, almost pretty and trancelike enough to listen to on its own, but over the top are draped long loops of guitar, electric, steel string, melodies and melodic fragments, gorgeous melodies, dark and drone-y, lyrical and druggy, super emotional and intense, not really even melancholy so much as mysterious and thoughtful, the various strands of notes and chords suspended in a landscape of low end shimmer. The guitars eventually drift off, replaced by simple hand drums, beating out a primitive tattoo, a mesmerizing primal rhythm, as hypnotic and simple as the drones beneath, until the guitars come back in again, and it becomes some gorgeous Comus-y summer folk jam, melodic strum and that strange off kilter beat beneath. So great. We've been trying like crazy to get more releases from VOTSW but they're all so limited that this is the first one we've gotten enough to list, and these will be gone crazy quick too so you know what that means...The tapes are all psychedelic and hand painted, with tripped out full color covers. (Aquarius)