motel de moka

“When I was young, I was extremely scared of dying. But now I think it a very, very wise arrangement. It’s like a light that is extinguished. Not very much to make a fuss about.”

                                     – Ingmar Bergman (14.7.1918 - 30.7.2007)

Patty Waters - Moon, Don’t Come Up Tonite
Sing (Esp Records / 1993) 
Gloria Coates - Time Frozen I
Symphonies No. 2 & 9 (Cpo / 1998)
Henri Pousseur - Mnemosyne
Musique Mixte 1966-1970 (Sub Rosa / 2006)
James Macmillan - Northern Skies: Northern Skies
Northern Skies (Deux-Elles / 2007)
Fred Neil - Everybody’s Talkin’
Fred Neil (Capitol / 1966)
Karen Dalton - Little Bit Of Rain
It’s So Hard to Tell Who’s Going to Love You the Best (Capitol / 1969)
Mirror - Visiting Star
Visiting Star (Three Poplars / 2000)
Ezra Sims - Concert Piece: Still And Timeless (Nocturnal)
The Microtonal Music of Ezra Sims

photo: Bergman. svt.se

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These two asleep . . . so indrawn and compact,
like lavish origami animals returned

to slips of paper once again; and then
the paper once again become a string

of pith, a secret that the plant hums to itself . . . .
- Albert Goldbarth , 27,000 Miles

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“Modern Love/Über die Wasserscheide”

01. Kammerflimmer Kollektief - Über die Wasserscheide
Cicadidae (Temporary Residence, 2003)
02. Susumu Yokota - Gong Gong Gong
Laputa (Skintone, 2003)
03. Lunasigh - The Multicoloured Coral Formations Upon Her Skin
via download.com (Lunasigh, 2004)
04. Bill Frisel - Summer Song
In His Own Sweet Way: A Tribute to Dave Brubeck (Avant Japan, 2000)
05. Otomo Yoshihide - Anode 2
Anode (Tzadik, 2001)
06. The Verve - A Man called Sun
Verve E.P. (Vernon Yard Records, 1992)
07. Explosions In The Sky - Day Five
The Rescue (Temporary Resident Limited, 2005)
08. Ground Zero - Null & Void: Continued
Null & Void (Tzadik, 1995)
09. Sergei Rachmaninov - Vocalise Op.34 No.14
Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg - It Ain’t Necessarily So (1992)

Note: A simple list, MdM downtempo standard with experimentals. It’s actually a padding I made for another experimental list that quickly gotten out of control. It was supposed to be a small list but becomes full night list. At least this one is listenable. Tracks inside. MdM favorite: Kammerflimmer Kollektief, Susumu Yokota, and Explosions In The Sky. As well as well known experimentalists: Bill Frisel (jazz), Otomo Yoshihide (free jazz turn turntablist), Ground Zero (free jazz) and lastly Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg. (She has one of the best violin bowing. Her vocalise interpretation is very haunting with long continuous phrases almost no breathing between stroke. It gives impression of long suspended melody, haunting.) Small tip: since I made this with a headphone, it has a lot of delicate texture. It might sound very boring on small speaker, try it on something more sensitive for full deep night ambient effect. k. enjoy.

image: Ali K.

Photo credit: Michael.DK

This list is for Gilles and all of our other readers who are trapped between their office walls all throughout this summer. While everyone else is on vacation, enjoying the great weather, swimming, going to the beach, making new friends, barbequing, having careless fun, driving around in cabriolets, making out all day or just relaxing, there is a small group of unfortunate people who still sit behind their office computer, everyday, from 9 to 5, no air-conditioning, with sweaty suits clinging to their bodies, musty air, endless paperwork, tiresome office regulations and irritated, burned-out colleagues. We believe that these unfortunate people deserve a little bit of refreshing sunshine too, so this list is for you guys. Open up a window, look outside and recognize it’s summertime.

It’s summertime
And I can understand if you still feel sad
It’s summertime
And though it’s hard to see its true possibilities

When you look inside
All you’ll see is a self-reflected inner sadness
Look outside
I know that you’ll recognize it’s summertime

~ The Flaming Lips / It’s Summertime ~

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1. The Flaming Lips - It’s Summertime
   Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (Warner Bros., 2002)
2. Manitoba - Hendrix With Ko
   Up In Flames (Domino, 2003)
3. Four Tet - As Serious as Your Life
   Rounds (Domino, 2003)
4. Yasushi Yoshida - Picture of Three Life
   Secret Figure (Noble, 2006)
5. Susumu Yokota - King Dragonfly
   Grinning Cat (Leaf, 2001)
6. Caribou - Melody Day
   Andorra (Merge, 2007)
7. Hood - The Negatives…
   Outside Closer (Domino, 2005)
8. Hans Appelqvist - Jag en Gök
   Sifantin Och Mörkret (Hapna, 2007)
9. Otis Redding - (Sittin’ On) the Dock of the Bay
   The Dock of the Bay (Volt, 1968)

Stream playlist

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Photo credit: Milko Chua

“Yet on the walls of my brain, frescoes: the kneeling Angel holding a wand of vineleaves, announcing; the agony in the garden; two naked lovers turned out; and over the dome of my brain Creations and Damnation, Judgements, Hells and Paradises.”

- William Goyen.

1. Lovesliescrushing - blooded and blossom blown
   (Xuvetyn / 1996)
2. Livid - love song (Syd Barrett)
   (unknown)
3. Tears run rings - a question and an answer
   (a question and an answer Ep / 2007)
4. Foxtail Somersault - A Love Song Part 1
   (Fathom EP, 2007)
5. The Verve - a man called Sun
   (Verve Ep / 1992)
6. Slowdive - In Mind
   (5 ep / 1993)
7. The Pastels - cycle (my bloody valentine remix)
   (Illuminati / 1999)
8. Polmo Polpo - rottura
   (the science of breath / 2002)
9. Seefeel - plainsong
   (Quique / 1993)
10. Airiel - sugar crystals (feat. Ulrich Schnauss)
    (the battle of sealand / 2007)

More than a year has passed since I last did one of these Shoegaze series and the only reason for me to stop is that I simply lost it. By “it” I refer to my interest in shoegaze. Maybe never really lost it but rather avoided it. For the past year I was trying to stray away from any melancholic frames, trying to be productive with the blues, asking drugs to be recreative, meeting different kinds of people, pleasing, bland as milk… but then a breakdown/breakthrough came; I tread through muddy waters and I run through molasses… a coccoon of echo surrounding me and a collection of chords making my body shiver, the fourth, the fifth, the minor fall and the major lift. This could all change tomorrow, but why did I try to escape from it in the first place? I gaze to them eyes longer than I should & she lets me know I do so. A limboed state of mind arriving just in time for a last, loner type of trip up to the mountains before heading back to university.

See also: Shoegazing part I & part II
Photo(s): Teteheredtothesun, me*voila & Vanka.

I’m glad that miss low has had a fun time here in China, and I’m quite content about how she described here and I fully appreciate her work. Being a Beijing local, I think it’s necessary to make a bit filler post to Low’s Wo ai ni. Let’s simply name it: wo ye ai ni (I love you too)

1. Mu Liang Wen Wang - Jing Diao

2. QueenSea Big Shark - Hold Your Hand
3. Snapline - S2
4. P.K.14 - Ta Men
(White paper / 2005)
5. P.K.14 - Gu Shi
(White paper / 2005)

6. D!O!D!O!D! - Jii…Jii…Jii…
(Ghost Temple / 2005 / 2pi)
7. Yan Jun - 4th Ring Shopping Killer
8. K1973 - Songhua River
9. Nara - Auto Auto
10. Yang Yi - Nie Suan Tai
11. Liu Sola - Baba Yi

12. Mu Liang Wen Wang - Ba Yi Tai

photo credit to: nataliebehring.com

Wo ai ni: I Love You

That is one of the few things I learned to pronounce while in China, along with “cheaper, thank you, please, one cold water, white rice, too expensive, I would like to go to…. etc”.

This was my first trip ever to the Oriental side of our planet Earth, and let me say, I believe it is the best trip I have done up till now. I’m here now infront of my mother’s laptop (mine is still in the hospital) and I do not know where to begin in this post. I have almost 2 Gb in images and videos and 3 weeks worth of anecdotes of this most enchanting bizarre land.

China is… what word could adequately describe China? New? Antique? Gray? Colorful? Communist? Capitalist? I think no one word can fully describe China nowadays. The whole country is busting at the seams with history, dicotomies, yuxtapositions, old and news. After 4 days of having returned I’m still trying to make sense of how everything fits together in that tightly-wound society of Jasmine tea and 88 story high buildings. In China you can admire the new society from atop the world’s most modern buildings or hunker down in your private half a millenia old hutong complete with the ever-traditional center patio…. AND Room Service!

While in China I was able to travel through all of Beijing, Shanghai and visit Inner Mongolia and the Gobi Desert. I permitted myself to indulge in everything from the tourist “have to see’s” to a local party held in a museum turned nightclub for the evening. I feel as though I have to tell you EVERTYING about my trip, every detail and every anecdote, I know I can’t but I just feel like sharing! There’s too much to tell and too little space! I’m forced to SUMMARIZE!! NOOOOO!!!! Well.. I guess all that really matters here is the music, no? So I guess I’ll start with that, ok?

Not only is China’s physical appearance under remodelation, it’s youth is rapidly adjusting to the new resources available to them in every single way, businesses, clubs, bars, bands, art, literature, evrything is being woken up and exploded to it’s maximum potential.

Musically, China was truly encouraging. Local bands are popping up from under the rocks, bands such as The Subs’ (bio), Brain Failure (bio), Junglecat, Tang Dynasty, Reflector, among others to move the young ones into musical revolution, and what better way to start a revolution thank with Punk!? Punk is HUGE in China, youngsters walk the street singing high-speed Chinese punk lyrics while air-guitarring their favorite rifs, it’s just massive. The list for Chinese rock bands are now ENDLESS and it’s not just rock now, it’s all sorts of DJ’s, traditional Folk artists, Pop, Hip Hop, Heavy Metal, etc. etc. etc.

+Streamed Songs: Sorry guys, no available downloads just click on the song to begin streaming

1. Xu Wei - Every Moment Is Brand New
(Every Minute is Fresh, 2004)
2. Xu Wei - Let’s Drink Tea
(Every Minute is Fresh, 2004)

One night in Beijing, I was looking through a local magazine and ran across the delightful news of an Eletronicat concert in a small bar near the Worker’s Stadium called Yogun Yishan, of course I would not miss the chance to see the infamous Eletronicat in action! So I arrived at the bar and what was my surprise? Miss Le Bomb, all this Edinburgh born lady needs to rock your socks off is her laptop , her sensual, quirky -and most of the times- improvised lyrics, her mic and a willing crowd, I just ate her up. Eletronicat was a different story, that man is insane his sounds range from retro to glitch, mindboggling I can assure you! At the end of the night I was able to approach Miss Le Bomb and ask her for a demo CD, she was kind enough to give me an EP she burned from her very own laptop, she told me she was gonna e-mail me the name of the tracks, but I still have not received them :( .

+Downloadable: Enjoy

1. Miss Le Bomb - Track 03
(Unknown EP)
2. Miss Le Bomb - Track 05
(Unknown EP)
3. Traditional Chinese Opera - Treasure house of chinese folk music
4. The Subs - Drew the Line
5. Dou Wei - Hallucination
(Hallucination, 1999)
6. Dou Wei - Harvest
(Hallucination, 1999)
7. Wu Bai & China Blue 200 - 没有头
8. Wu Bai & China Blue 200 - 顽石的飞行

Love,

Lotus

Photo credit: Catherine Buca

Someone once asked me - of all the genres I tend to listen to - what genre really gets to me the most. I’d been thinking about that before but I never can come up with one particular genre. It just doesn’t seem right picking one. Afterwards I realized that the question is just plainly wrong to begin with. It isn’t a musical genre that might or might not get to me. It’s the mood that is portrayed by the music that can really get to me and resonate with my heart. A mood that is ignorant to genres. With this, the answer became clear. Music that feels most right to me often reveals a nostalgic feeling. Like the musical embodiment of autumn rain or old, black and white photographs. This is when I can truly be as one with the music and feel most comfortable.

Maybe I’ve just got a melancholic heart.

1. Ingrid Perruche - Lento et Largo - Tranquillissimo
   Górecki Symphonie No.3 (Naïve, 2005)
2. Grace Cathedral Park - Play Delicate, Desire Quiet
   In the Evening of Regret (La Verdad, 2004)
3. Red House Painters - Michael
   Down Colorful Hill (4AD, 1992)
4. Mazzy Star - Flowers in December
   Among My Swan (Capitol, 1996)
5. The Cure - Pictures of You
   Disintegration (Elektra, 1989)
6. Songs: Ohia - Blue Chicago Moon
   Didn’t It Rain (Secretly Canadian, 2002)
7. Tom Waits - Fish & Bird
   Alice (Anti, 2002)
8. David Darling - Darkwood IV: Dawn
   Dark Wood (ECM, 1995)
9. Agitated Radio Pilot - Hold Back the Sea
   Your Turn To Go It Alone (Rusted Rail, 2006)

Stream playlist