See Arrington De Dionyso Malaikat Dan Singa Tonight at Soundlab

Tonight, 8pm--ARRINGTON DE DIONYSO MALAIKAT DAN SINGA, MALARIA CONTROL, STEVE BACZKOWSKI.

By Santo Peligro for Tiny Mix Tapes:

In the Dungeons and Dragons game of life, we all know Arrington de Dionyso, the bearded lion frontman of Old Time Relijun. We've been incanted by his swamptastic booty-beats before, but Arrington as angelic philosopher-alchemist is an understated secret weapon. No party may expect to surmount dragons on the brute force of barbarians and broadswords alone. I See Beyond the Black Sun, as well as his contributions to Melted Mailbox (The True Folk Sound of Arrington de Dionyso) are both good introductions to this side of his work. Within this, one might see Arrington the alchemist, spinning the very golden hair of his lion's beard from straw, as a shaman might don a mask to transform from contemplative village elder into exorcist or oracle.

On Malaikat dan Singa ("Angels and Lions" in Indonesian), Mr. de Dionyso effectively presents both his lion and angel within as equals. Fusing together the kraut-rocking, beastly beats he is known for with his apothecary of extended techniques (Tuvan throat singing, anyone?) creates an assault of psychedelic rock that is unparalleled in brains, brawn, and sentience. Arrington's strengths as a dynamic performer have never been captured so well on record as they are here. His voice is commanding and uninhibited. He puts his whole body behind his roarings, as would a lion, but retains a sensitive command to resonance and vibration. The entire release is sung in Indonesian, which alone takes brains and brawn. That being said, the music is not 'world music' but rather other-world music. It is evocative of indigenous music, but it is as if he aims to recreate that feeling of discovery rather than mastering the discovered.

Check Out UNITE Music Festival: VIP Nick Catchdubs After Party Tonight at Soundlab

Sunday, May 30, midnight--This party is FREE, but only UNITE Fest VIP pass holders will be admitted. Get your pass here: unitebuffalo.eventbrite.com

Starting at midnight after the Nick Catchdubs party at Fontana's, head to soundlab to hear the likes of.. Loki, Huxley, Tweeknasty
..and a special, secret guest!!!

18+ if room allows, otherwise VIP pass holders only!

Listen to Sharing a Sonority feat Charlemagne Palestine, Tony Conrad & Rhys Chatham

Listen & Buy.

By Marc Moeller for Other Music:

This fourth volume of Alga Marghen's "Golden" series of archival material by Charlemagne Palestine presents rare documentation of the pianist in collaboration with fellow travelers. The opening piece, "Short and Sweet," is descriptively titled, and Palestine's sparse, melodic piano playing is like a precursor to the style best exemplified by Harold Budd. The track is the only recorded evidence of a series of regular meetings Palestine had with saxophonist Terry Jennings while at CalArts in the seventies. "Electronic and Flute" feels like an exercise in withholding; the pace is sluggish, with Palestine and flautist Robert Feldman coming across as intent on merely laying out a sound palette, which consists of sparse flute punctuated by electronic squiggles. It would be great if a future volume unearths a long form piece by the duo, as this feels more like a sketch. The real gem of this set, however, is the 32-minute "Db," the only recorded section of an all-afternoon concert from 1974 by Palestine, Tony Conrad and Rhys Chatham. Palestine is on vocals throughout much of the piece, wailing away in his inimitable devotional style, possibly fueled by an inhuman amount of Cognac. Having recently heard Conrad apply his violin drone to a number of situations involving contemporary underlings, it's refreshing to hear him matched with an equal talent. I'm not sure exactly what "The Rhyster" is up to here, but he's certainly not standing out in a negative sense. Palestine's notes in the CD version mention him playing flute and experimenting with the Buchla synthesizer some five years prior, though I can't particularly detect either sound here. These three are on the same wavelength, despite having never played as a trio before or since this date. This stunning track alone ensures that the set is worth obtaining. It's a good thing La Monte Young wasn't around that night, or we may have had to wait even longer to hear this unique piece of music history.

Tony Conrad has played Soundlab a zillion times. Click on the tag below to find out when. Chatham performed at Soundlab with his minimalist death metal project Essentialist on 09/15/06. On 02/01/07, he assembled a group of Buffalo musicians to realize his seminal no wave-minimalist piece Guitar Trio. Read Chatham's account of the show.

Listen to New Holy Fuck - Latin

Listen & Buy.

MP3 "Stay Lit"
MP3 "Stilettos"

From Other Music:

Holy Fuck's third full-length finds this one-time duo now drafting their touring rhythm section as full-time members and recording their first album as a quartet. This new version of the band is indeed new and improved, with the live drums and bass ensuring that the group's noisy and often spastic fusion of synths and dance beats is all the more heavy and heady. (CD includes Ghost EP.)

Holy Fuck performed with Mark Webb and Fourem/Rainbowmaker at Soundlab on 06/15/06.

Experience Seizure-Inducing Free Jazz, Bass-tastic Noisepunk & Dronescapes of Dark Matter Tonight at Soundlab

Saturday, March 22, 9pm, $3--TIGER HATCHERY, LECHUGUILLAS, KIER NEURINGER'S THE LOVE STORY, PRICE/TRUMP DUO.

Tiger Hatchery: Life, imitating art, imitating running barefoot from an avalanche. Long-form, seizure inducing free jazz. http://virb.com/tigerhatchery

Lechuguillas: Remembering what happened after you punched the cop. Bass-tastic noisepunk, amphetamines required. http://www.lechuguillas.com/music.html

Kier Neuringer's The Love Story: Casiotone for the painfully wounded. Dronescapes of darkmatter. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aty3JNqdKKc

Price/Trump Duo: Awkward sounds forming street gangs in common territory. Guitar/drums/electronics/freedom. www.myspace.com/tentetoctet

Listen to New Phosphorescent - Here's to Taking It Easy, See Them Live at Soundlab July 12

Listen & Buy.

MP3 "It's Hard to Be Humble (When You're from Alabama)"
MP3 "Tell Me Baby"

By JM for Other Music:

If you've been paying attention to Matthew Houck and his Phosphorescent releases over the past few years, enjoying the hazy, lazy Pride, essentially a solo album from 2007 that won Houck praise and comparisons to folk-Americana artists of all eras and stripes, or the much-heralded 2009 album of outlaw-period Willie Nelson covers that Houck recorded with his touring band in tow, you probably have been aware of the temperature rising and expectations flying around the release of the group's new record. Sometimes there is just a feeling in the air that an artist's time is coming, and Here's to Taking It Easy, despite the title, marks the arrival of a musician who has been knocking around for closing in on a decade, but is clearly launching a new, and much higher-profile, stage of his career. Debut single and album-opener "It's Hard to Be Humble (When You're from Alabama)" warms up with the gentle atmospherics of a pedal-steel and electric piano reminiscent of the musings of Houck's albums past, but within moments a crashing hi-hat count brings in the punch of a tight honky-tonk horn section, and it's clear this Phosphorescent is something new.

Houck's shaky, haunting whiskey-and-cigarettes voice is the same, but his songs have deepened and swelled with newfound emotion and pathos. He carries it with a confident strut and swagger that is nonetheless utterly embracing, and his band delivers a thrilling country/R&B swing that -- no exaggeration -- can hold its own with classic cuts from Jim Ford, the Stones and Neil Young. Many tracks rock and many have a lazy lope not too far removed from Phosphorescent's older sound, but with warmly layered piano, steel guitar, acoustic and whatever else fits over the gentle sway of the rhythm section, there is a lush and timeless sound here that is irresistible. Houck's subject matter is fairly standard pop fare -- love, lust and failed relationships are the norm, when 'Bama pride is on the backburner, but his imagery is as moving as is his raw voice and powerful band.

Forever stuck in my head is the broken marriage of "Mermaid Parade," as Houck tries to forget his failures in the annual bacchanalia on Coney Island. His simple story is as richly-layered as is his band's production -- in a few words he conveys the passion of love and commitment, and then two years of marriage simply slipping away, taking responsibility and not, reveling in the beautiful painted women in the parade, and wanting his ex there with him to see it all too. It is a complicated and convincing portrait of life that is too rare in pop.

"I know all about your new man, your new older, old man, and I heard that he's married. Oh, you be careful Amanda. // Yeah, I found a new friend too, and yeah she's pretty and small, goddamnit Amanda, oh god damn all. // I wound up walking, by the ocean today, there were naked women dancing, in the Mermaid Parade. Oh Amanda, did you see me today, watching those women dance, in the Mermaid Parade. And oh, Amanda, were you with me today, watching those women waltz by, in the Mermaid Parade."

Listen to New Phantogram - Eyelid Movies

Listen & Buy.

By Jacob Kaplan for Other Music:

Here's the debut full-length from Phantogram, an often genre-dodging (yet consistently catchy) duo from Greenwhich, NY. Made up of Sarah Barthel and guitar man Josh Carter, this isn't your average boy-girl indie team. While they write incredibly sticky songs, and occasionally verge on a more conventional "rock" formula (see "All Dried Up," a pulsing pop ballad of the highest order), Phantogram also have a penchant for house beats and hazy, trip-hop-inspired atmospheres. "Turn It Off," for example, features a grinding, club-like pulse throughout, and "Bloody Palms" is a dark, neo-disco masterpiece, a song that is pretty, eerie, and danceable, all at once. Of course, Eyelid Movies will appeal to plenty of us who aren't beat connoisseurs; the group's love of electronic rhythms sets them apart from the indie pop set, sure, but Phantogram are by no means a one-trick pony. Arguably, some of strongest moments on the album are the hooks; the chorus to "Mouthful of Diamonds" is reason enough to add this one to your collection. And the combination of simple, driving bass and spare melody on "When I'm Small" is equally alluring. Fuzzed-out synth/guitar washes will inspire comparisons to that hazy, trebly Bailter Space/Swirlies sound but clearly, Phantogram aren't shoegazers either, as exampled by "Running from the Cops," an edgy dubstep-influenced gem. There's really no need to classify these guys, as they make great music. Can't wait for the next release.

Phantogram played Soundlab on 04/15/10.

Read "A Literary Lion Grapples with ‘Shhh’ that Saved Him": Shhh: The Story of a Childhood By Raymond Federman

By Jeff Simon for the Buffalo News:

The story that haunted Raymond Federman’s life also, in a lesser way, haunted everyone who ever knew him. And that’s an enormous number of people, here and elsewhere, for this was one of the most revered and influential figures in the avant-garde of Buffalo because of his decades of teaching at the University at Buffalo.

He died of cancer in October, but his legacy is large and growing. Federman’s intellectual offspring— to his eternal credit and our luck—surround us, whether we’re talking about Hallwalls executive director Ed Cardoni or News literary blogger R. D. Pohl or Ted Pelton, whose Starcherone Press is the posthumous English language publisher of Federman’s final book, whose official publication day was Saturday, which would have been his 82nd birthday.

Federman remains a significant cultural force here.

Click to read the rest.

Attend Bflo Pnk 1.0: The Buffalo Punk Documentary Project at Squeaky Wheel

Saturday, May 15, 7pm, Squeaky Wheel, 712 Main Street, $5--BFLO PNK 1.0: THE BUFFALO PUNK DOCUMENTARY PROJECT.

An oral and aural account, a living history, of the punk rock era – equal parts homage and collage to the Buffalo scene, circa 1977-85. In this film, Elmer Ploetz weaves together a series of interviews, archival footage, photos, posters and recent reunion footage to recapture the excitement and power of the era – a time whose influence echoes today throughout the local independent music scene.

The documentary is actually just the start of the Bflo Pnk Project. It’s a jumping off point for what is turning into a community history project using the facebook social networking service (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bflo-Pnk-10-The-Buffalo-Punk-Documentary-Project/366856159657).

Also, with the availability of digital editing, the film is expected to go through revision, re-editing and rewriting in coming years. In addition, footage and resources that don’t make it into the film will also be included online at buffalowave.com, where the audience will be able to search for clips and put them onto a timeline to create their own videos. The audience will also be encouraged to contribute to the knowledge base/resource base, creating a wiki multimedia history of the era. The website is currently in development.

For more information or for interviews, contact Elmer Ploetz at ploetz@fredonia.edu.

Attend Precious Cargo: An Evening of Film and Live Multimedia Performance Tonight at Hallwalls

Friday, May. 14, 8pm, $8 general, $6 students/seniors, $5 members--PRECIOUS CARGO: An Evening of Film and Live Multimedia Performance.

In conjunction with UB Art Gallery's exhibition Precious Cargo, guest curator Paul Sargent presents Time Machine: a multi-media performance by Bill Brown and Sabine Gruffat. Hacking a variety of interfaces and collapsing digital/analog signals, the artists will guide us through a parallel universe.

The evening will include a screening of Thomas Comerford's Land Marked/Marquette (2005, 23 min., 16mm), a study of monuments erected for the 17th century explorer and missionary Jacques Marquette.

Attend "A Sunday Afternoon, Visions of War and the Way We Hear It" at the BPAC Today

Sunday, May 9, 2pm, Burchfield Penney Art Center, 1300 Elmwood Ave--A SUNDAY AFTERNOON, VISIONS OF WAR AND THE WAY WE HEAR IT.

Vintage film of WW2 and other conflicts accompanied by Poverty Hymns, VWLS and KG Price with video interludes from Brian Milbrand. Ambient sounds and recorded and manipulated samples from JFK, Winston Churchill and Buffalo's own, William Sylvester. Students $5, Adults $9 (there is a coupon for buy one, get one in the "Buffalo First" Books for the Burchfield!)

Attend Circuit Circus (Real Space Electronic Art Festival) at Soundlab Tonight

Tuesday, May 4, 7pm, free--CIRCUIT CIRCUS (Real Space Electronic Art Festival)

Listen to New Daniel Higgs - "Hoofprints On The Ceiling of Your Mind"

By Brandon for Stereogum:

I have much respect for Daniel Higgs. His music, his tattooing, his politics, his art … I’ve gone into it previously — Growing up, his minimal, transcendent raga-like Dischord post-hardcore group Lungfish was one of the essential bands in my core musical cosmology: The work’s incantatory, questing, spiritual, punk. (It offered such an essential, heady, muscular outlet for those of us who were sick of hardcore’s more dude-ish atmosphere.) Lungfish has never officially called it quits, but haven’t released anything since 2005’s Feral Hymns. Otherwise, Higgs has been pursuing excellent, eccentric solo work, using long-neck banjo, jew’s harp, crusty noise, organ drone, bird songs, art, alchemy, and that authoritative voice to bring us his personal Gospel/life philosophy (check out Ancestral Songs). After a few home-recorded (to cassette) collections, his new gathering of “song seeds,” the meditative, unruly Say God, was produced by Dave Sitek, who thankfully keeps things spare and spacious (though he does clean it up a bit). Higgs lays out some of Say’s major themes in the hypnotic opening sermon “Hoofprints On The Ceiling Of Your Mind.” Holy Bible time.

On 04/30/07 Daniel A.I.U. Belteshazzar-Higgs with Chiara Giovando performed with Brightblack Morninglight.

Listen to New Books - "Beautiful People"

By Ryan Dombal for Pitchfork:

Found sound collage gurus the Books return with a new album this July on Temporary Residence. The album is called The Way Out and here's your first listen.

"Beautiful People" boasts backwards vox, calming singing about science and math, brass, and a (relatively) rigorous drum beat. Nobody else really makes music like this.

On 05/01/06 The Books played Soundlab with Todd Reynolds and The Sleeping Kings of Iona.

Attend Runway 3.0, then the Afterparty feat. Shock & Awe at Soundlab

From Artvoice:

"I think people are going to freak out on Saturday!” enthuses Erin Habes, producer of Runway 3.0, this year’s installment of the annual fashion extravaganza showcasing original works by students of Buffalo State’s Fashion Technology Department as well as noted Western New York designers Holly Hue, Aella, Morgen Love, and Adam Lippes.

Her turn of phrase is especially appropriate considering this year’s installment, which promises even more spectacle than in years past, involves the transformation of 20,000 square feet of raw space in Elmwood Avenue’s historic Pierce Arrow Building. Once responsible for manufacturing the early 20th century’s most luxurious ride, the cavernous warehouse later provided rehearsal space for the original Superfreak, Buffalo punk-funk icon Rick James.

There are two shows on Saturday, May 1, at 4pm and 9pm, followed by the requisite afterparty, and of course, the after-afterparty featuring Shock & Awe at Soundlab at 11pm. All proceeds benefit a scholarship fund for the Fashion Technology program.

Read the rest of the feature here.

Attend Artists & Models: Stimulus Tonight at Rock Harbor Yard

In the past 21 incarnations of Hallwalls' Artists & Models Affair, a multitude of Buffalo sites have served as the locus for temporary artistic expressions and controlled insanity: the Broadway Market, abandoned factories, warehouses, auto showrooms, roller rinks, deserted downtown malls and department stores, the Tri-Main Center, and the Buffalo Convention Center. This year's event—officially, the 22nd version of A&M—will take place at Rock Harbor Yard, conveniently located a few minutes from Buffalo State College and Elmwood Village. As always, our site for A&M represents a location, a state of being, a condition, an apparition, a temporary psychosis, an inevitably, a breeding ground for frivolity.