Free improv / folk / psych crossroads?

M

michael

Bring out the vacuum
This is going to be a loose one, but for a couple of years now I've had this image of a kind of music that must surely exist and which I'd like to hear... but just have no starting point for exploring.

Instrumental stuff, or at least not song-based
Largely acoustic instrumentation - maybe a bit like later Talk Talk or a Tim Buckley record?
Maybe some interesting electronic element?
At least some passages of stuff that sounds improvised and/or atonal... not just poppy chord progressions.

Open to hear any names of / links to any stuff you think might fit
 
R

rob_giri

Well-known member
the entire Finnish 'psych' 'free folk' thang thats been goin on since 5 years or so, you want me to list all the best records? Fonal records, et al....

thats what you're talkinga bout?
 
M

msoes

Well-known member
the whole psych/folk/drone/noise stuff?

that stuff way my obsession before i found out what grime was

ill upload a couple track
 
Z

zhao

there are no accidents
jewled antlers may be too improv.

what you describing sounds more like Tower Recordings or No Neck or Jackie O MotherFucker. but this stuff is pretty boring for me.

the Necks are acoustic motorik improv with subtle electroics and i can NOT recommend them enough.

also highly rated is Tape, the swedish improv / electroics group, beautiful music.

and on a more atonal, over-tonal tip is Radian. amazing half improv, half studio efforts. beats and textures but in a really raw but new way. just buy anything they ever recorded, especially 1, 2, and 3.
 
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C

Chris

fractured oscillations
Ok, now we're talking...

What childOftheBlogosphere said... Fonal label & Jewelled Antler labels have what you're looking for, I think. Kemialliset Ystävät/Valojuopot, Paavoharju, Kuupuu, Family Underground, Lau Nau, Thuja, etc

The American bands are for the most part a little more traditional/melodic, but try Fursaxa and Matt Valentine (more song-based, but they often sound like they're falling apart or evaporating). Moving from midwestern and eastern psychfolk to western psych/experimental/drone, check out Lucky Dragons, White Rainbow, Growing (think they moved to NY like so many people do tho, boo, hiss, etc). If you want Western ghosttown cries and country resonances look into Pocahaunted, Headdress, and definitely Six Organs of Admittance.

Droney experimental psych/psychfolk goes back pretty far, check out Joakim Skogsberg's '71 album Jola Rota (Swedish), Persona - Som ('75, Brazil), and quite a few kraut bands (I'll get into that in a sec), very loose and fragmentary for a time when most hippie folk/whatever was usually a lot more melodic (esp in California).

Kraut/Kosmische bands that explore this area: Code III, earlier Popul Vuh, Deuter, Agitation Free, Yatha Sidhra, early Tangerine Dream, Dom, some Cluster and Harmonia 'fcourse, Technical Space Composer's Crew!!! (absolutely demented Czukay project), Organization (early Kraftwerk/Neu! incarnation), and on and on...

Also, this blog seems to post a lot of stuff along these lines.
 
vimothy

vimothy

yurp
I always hated MV -- you don't need so much bloody delay on every release man! Some early-ish NNCK is worth listening to, especially their Revenant release. I tend to think a lot this scene sounds better on paper, but Christina Carter and Tom Carter are generally pretty decent (and prolific). For older (& better) stuff, I really recommend Parson Sound/Trad Gras & Stenar and the Taj Mahal Travellers.
 
C

Chris

fractured oscillations
Yeah Jack Rose is alright. Agreed also on Parson Sound... try Jandek if you can find it. And following on the Taj Mahal Travellers tip, Far Out.

Fuck we need more psych/prog/folk/noise/experimental threads, so much amazing stuff.

Thanks for all those, Msoes. (whoa that rhymed)

brothers of the occult sisterhood
Click to expand...

Great name!
 
M

msoes

Well-known member
comus! god yes

all of those tracks i upped are from amazing albums. this stuff really is a more album thing
 
vimothy

vimothy

yurp
Not acousitic but the Matt Bower Skullflower/Hototogisu/etc current is pretty warped & shredded psychedelia.
 
C

Chris

fractured oscillations
Comus, so disturbing, in a good way. And similarly, Current 93, who probably also belong on this thread. And on a progfolk tip with Comus, Third Ear Band.
 
M

michael

Bring out the vacuum
Whoa, lots and lots of stuff. I tried to keep my first post fairly broad in the hopes people would run with it.

I know things like Radian, who I agree are great... I tend to follow their drummer around from release to release. But they're not quite what I had in mind. I'll try to check out all the links and uploads and shtuff.
 
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