Burning Minds presents...GAY SCIENTIST RECORDINGS

First, apologies for the defunct state of this blog, hoping to get it started back up when I return to Oakland after a summer working on farms.

In any case, I am posting today to announce that myself and a friend have started a diy recording label, Gay Scientist Recordings. In line with the Burning Minds ethos, we plan to release works in a variety of media by artists pushing the boundaries of what has come before them, but here you can expect a particular focus in the realm of doom, powerviolence, black metal, hardcore, and noise.

I won't harp too long cuz you can here more about what we are doing at the website, but I will take just a moment to hype our first release. After back-cataloging the at-times infamous Kentucky Fried Doom/Sea Legs split cassette Gorekraken Bongdirge as GSR #000, we are ever-so-siked to be releasing the U.S. version of Urarctica Begins, the debut release from Montreal's crusty doomsters Ensorcelor. You can stream the entire EP on the GSR site but since I know some of you are lazy fucks I've posted the first track in its entirety below. Enjoy, my beloveds.

01 A Crown of Smoke on the Brow of the Earth

Salamander - Birds of Appetite (2003)

Salamander is a band I know next to nothing about (you can find a more complete bio at Camera Obscura); based out of Minneapolis, this troupe of psychedelic marauders has apparently been turning out their own smoldering brand of space rock since the early 90's, although the label bio linked to above would seem to suggest the band's currently status as one of semi-permanent hiatus. While the basic instrumentation here is somewhat standard psych-rock fare (guitar/bass/drums), the band prides itself on both its non-traditional use of said rock instrumentation and its use of non-traditional rock instrumentation, including "hammered dulcimer, shenai (an oboe-like instrument), and something they call the 'space whistle'." This particular album, 2003's Birds of Appetite, was my first introduction to these masters of ambiance (though I have no idea how or where I discovered it), and it remains my favorite of their works.

While the Om-like album opener 'Vessel is Vacant' suggests strict Summer of Love worship with its tablas and half-chanted vocals, it's eventual descent into gentle drone foreshadows the album's subsequent minimalist turn. On Birds, Salamander is most successful at creating long, smoldering songs that utilize crescendo much as a post-rock band might without falling into the conventions of that most amorphous of genres; for all of it's bombastic song lengths (it does feature four songs over the eight-minute mark), this album has a distinct late-night psych feel matched by a earthy, folkish tone. With little or no vocals on most of the sparsely layered tracks, the music is left here to speak for itself, evoking a mystical, haze-ridden atmosphere with a drummer and lead guitar player who make no attempt to mask the influence of Indian classical music on their playing styles. The band's name - which comes to us from a semi-mystical animal thought in ancient times to be born of fire - is a perfect fit for the mood achieved here, at once brooding, lysergic and somehow vaguely alchemical.

Those of you with a Paypal account can still get the 'Birds of Appetite' CD here, or download it from us.

Om - Splits with Current 93 (2006) and Six Organs of Admittance (2006)

It's no secret that I've been on a serious Om kick ever since their demise earlier this year. Featuring the (achingly slow) rhythm section of Stoner/Doom legends Sleep, Om's music centers around Al Cisneros' droning bass lines and hypnotic chanting, conjuring up mystical imagery that would make Alejandro Jodorowsky proud. This post is intended as a compliment to Anthem of the Space's incomplete discography, rounding out their LP collection with a duet of splits recorded with Six Organs of Admittance and Apocalyptic folk wierdos/legends Current 93. While the Six Organs release seems to be out of print, you can still grab the CD version of 'Inerrant Rays of Infallible Sun' from Jnana Records.

boomp3.com

Grab 'em here

Various Artists - Extreme Music from Africa (2001)

A mixed bag of harsh noise and other electronic wierdness compiled by William Bennet of seminal noise posse Whitehouse. While the anonymous nature of these songs along with the extreme obscurity of their performers makes such claims almost impossible to confirm or deny, I've heard accusations that these pieces were actually produced by Bennet himself and dolled up as 'African' in a crass marketing ploy. If so, kudos to Mr. Bennet for his sharp (if evil) mind as well as his prolific talent, but the variety of styles explored within would seem to suggest otherwise. Either way, the music(?) here is pretty excellent across the board, and manages to keep momentum even across a number of relatively-similar drone pieces. If you think this compilation embodies the imperialist tendencies of 'world music,' you'll love its follow up, the equally tokenizing Extreme Music from Women.

Available via PayPal from Susan Lawly.

boomp3.com

boomp3.com

Get it here

Boris and Sunn O))) - Altar: Complete Edition (2006)

A collaboration to end all heaviness, 2006's Altar sees the wedding of two of metal's most hallowed names, American drone/doomers Sunn O))) (for the uninitiated, yes, it's just pronounced 'Sun') and Japanese sludge psychos Boris (who awesomely derive their own name from a song off the Melvins' 1991 album Bullhead). Another exploration in the pseudo-genre of 'power ambient' neologized by Sunn-sters Greg Anderson and Stephen O'Malley, the set here merges the former band's moody doomscapes with the latter's awesome sense of tonality and texture to produce some of the prettiest and most trying heavy music you're ever likely to come across. The 'complete edition' I've put together here includes every track from the Southern Lord and Inoxia Records versions for a whopping nine songs clocking in at over 90 minutes. A record to be listened to at high volumes and in low light.

allmusic

Awesome photos from a live performance of Altar

boomp3.com

Buy here (direct from Southern Lord)

D/l link here