A few of you may already know the name Chieko Mori if you follow either John Zorn’s Tzadik releases or, more likely, the recent James Blackshaw curated “The Garden of Forking Paths” compilation on Important Records.

What’s especially interesting to me, as a koto player, is the extremely small community of non-traditional players in existence considering how versatile the instrument is. Including Mori-san, I can count maybe 3 or 4. Brett Larner is another, having released some recordings through the stellar Improvised Music from Japan label.

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off The Garden of Forking Paths comp.

Chieko’s MySpace page.

Bruce Springsteen gives American rockers Suicide a nod and makes Dream Baby Dream sound hymn-like. Jewelled dagger through heart.

Sounding like some kind of fever-dream casting a shadow over the autumn of your life, David Tagg’s full-length No One Came Out Last Night was released on his own Second Sun Recordings label sometime in 2007. Lots of tone drone, heavy and warm, this reminds me pleasantly of Andrew Chalk’s work, just channeled differently, through some other, even more reclusive muse. Seriously epic slow burner. Check it out!

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off No One…

Tagg’s MySpace page.

I was surprised to hear about Hans Otte’s passing over on the Different Waters blog. Sad times.

Definitely one of my favorite minimalist pianists of all time. His work was right up there with the likes of Harold Budd, Lubomyr Melnyk, LaMonte Young. Simultaneously evocative of wind-blown sun-filled fields of wheat as underwater worlds yet unexplored, the man could paint a sonic picture.

Set aside a few moments of silence and turn this track from Das Buch der Klänge (The Book of Sounds) up when you have the chance.

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Sometimes for fun I’ll play 3 or 4 instances of this song (with different starting times) simultaneously. The biggest little world you ever peeked into…

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The UK’s Blackest Rainbow just dropped a really nice new one-sided tape of a live set down in L.A. by SF’s very own hermit magicians Barn Owl. The first track instantly reminded me of Bruce Langhorns amazing soundtrack to The Hired Hand, which is a really good thing. The dudes don’t poke around for too long though, with both of these tracks eventually blasting off into their seductive take on long-form 60′s loft minimalism gone pitch black. Good good stuff. You may think you’ve had your fill of the whole raga /acoustic guitar drone thing, I know at times I have, but something about this duo just hits me right. If you act fast you may be able to grab one somewhere..????

Earth Groove: The Voice Of Cosmic India – 1968 – LP
Side A: Raga Bhupali
Side B: Raga Asvari
Pandit Pran Nath – Voice
Shyam Bhatnagar – Tambura / Tabla
zip

Ragas Of Morning & Night – 1968 – LP (released 1986)
Side A: Raga Todi
Side B: Raga Darbari
Pandit Pran Nat – Voice
Mohammed Ahmed Bane – Sarangi
Prem Waleb – Tabla
Lalita Gupta , Sheila Dhar – Tambura
zip

Latest dazzling jewel in Christina Carters growing discography. All covers of standards and ballads, and aside from a couple of acoustic guitar numbers, all solo voice. Melt.
Hand made addition of 80 copies. (read: GONE) 
Terrifyingly good.

“The more I’m with you
The more I feel my love increase
I’m building all my dreams around you
My happiness will never cease
But nothing’s any good without you
Cause baby you’re my centrepiece

I buy a house and garden somewhere
Along a country road a piece
A little cottage on the outskirts
Where we can really find release
But nothing’s any good without you
Cause you’re my centrepiece”

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