Jaunted Haunts Press

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Early Albums for Download

I’ve been meaning for months, nay, years, to put some of my earlier, more experimental music online, and finally i’ve gotten around to it. Just right-click on the images and ‘save link as’ to download the rar archives, should you wish to do so.

Traces: 2003-2004 (2005)

” ‘Traces’ is guitar music, but not as you know it. On this collection of live and studio recordings, Kapp pulls the temporal rug right out from underneath what accepted wisdom dictates the guitar should sound like; sustained swells drone over pointillistic loops of cut-up harmonics and microscopic rhythms from a noisy jack input.”

Tracklist:

1. i am an avalanche
2. embers, etc
3. certain corners
4. leisure resort of the mind
5. music for airports
6. ever the diplomat
7. most of which were harmless (+ bonus track)

‘Traces’ review on FoxyDigitalis

PUIN (with Gareth Dawson) (2005)

‘PUIN’ was recorded live in one take, with no overdubs or edits; this collaborative effort pairs Kapp’s billowing feedback with Gareth Dawson’s harsh metallic skree, resulting in an evocative and strongly narrative piece.

Tracklist:

1. Boarding
2. Departure
3. Ulan Ude – Irkutsk
4. Disembarkation
5. Line Terminates

‘PUIN’ review on FoxyDigitalis

Absence of Origin (2006)

‘Absence of Origin’ was actually never formally released, owing to reservations regarding the harsh sonics contained on it. Based around high-pitched sinewaves derived from no-input mixing desk feedback, and the discovery that these waves modulate each other when played in unison, ‘Absence of Origin’ is a record of dense, stochastic static and violently mangled loops, coupled with distorted guitar feedback. Warning: this album does contain very piercing tones. The ‘album art’ is derived from a similarly abstruse source:  interference from a charging cellphone on top of a drawing tablet.

Tracklist:

1. Anechoic Dialect
2. Infinitesimal
3. A Stillborn Language
4. The Immaculate Concept
5. I Am Not Lonely with Crickets
6. Perfectly Formed Fingers and Toes (live recording,  19/04/2005)

No reviews of this album exist, but Tom Smith of To Live and Shave in LA did once compliment these tracks on their “subtlety, their inchoate menace, and thematic complexity”.

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The ‘Sound’ of Saturn

I came across this interesting video in an unlikely place (well, Cracked.com , i was more looking for a giggle than for interesting sounds), of radio waves from Saturn converted into sound. Don’t ask me why there are shots of stacked frogs, venus fly traps and fruit spliced in, your guess is probably as good as mine.

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Carlo Mombelli & the Prisoners of Strange – Theory

If you didn’t catch this on Mahala, here is my review of a great new album by Carlo Mombelli and the Prisoners of Strange.

'Theory' cover art by Norman Catherine

Carlo Mombelli is a bit of an odd one out in the context of the South African music scene. I can imagine three quarters of my friends going “sorry, who?” if I mention his name, the other one will extol his virtues far and wide. The portly man with the distinctive bass tone, equal parts gloop and grunt, will never really run the risk of being considered trendy, so his music remains for those who still have the capacity for childlike awe. I’ve only ever seen him with all the Prisoners of Strange live once (then featuring the magnificent Lloyd Martin on drums), and that gig still remains one of the most memorable I’ve experienced: a masterclass in how music can be both cerebral and sensuous, both intricate and fun at the same time.  Justin Badenhorst has since filled in the drummer’s spot, to complete the group with Marcus Wyatt (trumpet) and Siyavuya Makuzeni (vocals, trombone).

Mombelli’s latest album on his own Instinct Africaine imprint, Theory, can more or less be summed up as a textural wonderland – the whole thing is recorded and mixed by Joe Arthur with gorgeous attention to detail, and Carlo really distinguishes himself as something of a timbral alchemist here. While his last album, I Stared Into My Head, was an ambitious chamber-jazz project recorded with a string quartet, Theory limits itself to the core group and does an excellent job of highlighting the individual Prisoners’ remarkable musicianship and talent for oblique improvisation.

The opening track Theory coasts along on a bass riff that I actually know off by heart by now, having heard it live a few times; an arpeggiated diminished chord that rolls along languidly and digresses into droning interludes, eventually resolving into furious stabs of bass, trumpet and voice –  a combination of tones that makes Korn sound like Belle&Sebastian, so visceral is the impact of that  climax. The only thing about the track that I don’t like is purely subjective: I just can’t stand movie dialogue samples in music, and this one is liberally peppered with snippets from the 1980 sci-fi film ‘Saturn 3’.

The sparser second track, I Close My Eyes, foregrounds Makuzeni’s gorgeous vocals – close-miked and heart-rendingly intimate, it’s like listening to a lover confide in you. As the track progresses, Makuzeni’s glottal tics and a ring-modulator-y effect create a very palpable sense of unease over the funereally paced drums and trumpet.

Jo-burg-downpipe-gutter-bows introduces Mombelli’s other quirk; his propensity for percussion instruments, homemade out of springs, pipes and and sundry bits and bobs. There’s a lovely jerrybuilt quality to the way track trundles along on the percussive-yet-tonal sound of the ‘gutter-bows’, quite reminiscent of Madosini’s umrhubhe-playing.

The Hurricane of Silence is some sort of avant-garde cop-show-funk over a loop of bass harmonics. For me, there’s always been something about the way two brass instruments played in unison turn harmony into pure vibration that fondles my little ear-clitoris just the right way. The Prisoners’ take this to next level here, with Wyatt’s trumpet and Makuzeni’s trombone playing otherwordly harmonies with an astonishing sense of tension and release.

At this point I’ve only described the album as an acoustic entity, and hardly even touched on the extent to which sounds are toyed with using effects, or the more abstract sound collages on the album. Theory, and Mombelli’s music in general, displays a remarkable capacity for reconciling seemingly binary opposites; the sublime and the ridiculous, the intellectual and the visceral, the premeditated and the spontaneous. Most importantly, when it’s poignant, it’s heartbreaking, and when it lightens up, it’s as fun as all hell.

Get your grubby paws on this fine album by emailing Carlo at cmombelli@mweb.co.za, tell him who sent you!

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New track ‘Moloch’

Having admittedly been quiet on music front over the last couple of months, I thought it might be worth showing that i have in fact been writing some new music, and hope to be recording a new album soon.

I’ve been playing ‘Moloch’ live recently, so there’s a chance you may know it, here is a scratch track i recorded with Dirk Hugo a while back:

‘Moloch’ by Righard Kapp by darkpigraph

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Pics from ‘Black Southeaster’ launch by Niklas Zimmer

The Cape Town launch for ‘Black Southeaster’ has come and gone,  and how Benguela did bring the house down.  While my own set was admittedly plagued by  ill health and technical shortcomings (of the guitarists’ variety, not soundman’s), Benguela wowed the audience with an intricate and ferocious set  that set the tone for a very exciting SA tour.  A big thank-you to everyone who came to witness this incredible performance, and a big stuff-you to everyone who didn’t – i will try nail down another post-tour Cape Town date so that those who missed out can fill this terrible hole in their lives.

Some pics by Niklas Zimmer, also featuring the stunning Theatre in the District, visuals by Imagemaster Blink and jellyfish by Zara-Moon Arthur, whose images also adorn the album cover.

More here

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New Benguela album ‘Black Southeaster’ out July 23rd.

As a longtime fan of the band, i am proud to announce the release of Benguela’s 4th album, ‘Black Southeaster’, via Jaunted Haunts Press. This is also the band’s first new album since 2004′s SUI, coming after an extended hiatus and the improvisational trio’s return to Cape town’s live circuit in 2009. ‘Black Southeaster’ was recorded in a day at the sadly defunct SUI Studios, and then trimmed down with edits and fleshed out again with overdubs.

Black Southeaster launches on Fri the 23rd of July at the Theatre in the District, District 6, after which Benguela embark on an SA tour.

Benguela ‘Black Southeaster’ tour dates:

Fri 23 July:  Album launch at Theater in the District,  District6  (feat Imagemaster Blink & Righard Kapp)

Thurs 29 July:  Tings&Times, Pretoria (feat.Joao Orecchia)

Fri 30 July: The Bioscope,  JHB (feat Joao Orecchia)

Sat 31 July: George Hotel, Eshowe, KZN

Sun 1st Aug: NSA Gallery, DBN (afternoon show)

Sun 1st Aug: Highfield House, DBN (evening)

Wed 4th Aug: Chandlers Underground, East London

Thurs 5 Aug: Beethoven Room, Rhodes,  Grahamstown

Fri 6 Aug:  The Chaplin @ Uptown Theater, PE

Sat 7 Aug: Potter’s Place, Jeffrey’s Bay

Tues 24 Aug: Die Boer, Durbanville

Thurs 2 sept: Speedway 105, Gardens, Cape Town (feat. Righard Kapp)

Dates and venues may still need to be confirmed but i will update these regularly.

Track Previews:

Black Southeaster sample

Killer Frog Fungus sample

Meridian sample

Neap sample

New digital and physical distribution channels will be finalised as the launch approaches, but the best way to procure a copy will still be to catch one of these rare gigs.

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Two Great Guitar albums Pt3 (clean and NOT serene): Ahleuchatistas & Sajjanu

Righto, i’m not even going to pretend not to have dropped the ball completely over the last couple of months, let’s just say that i’ve been a bit jaded as far as music is concerned. If there was one thing i did cultivate a keen appreciation for, musically, i would say that it’s a kind of enervated, thin and naked guitar sound that i found to be particularly well embodied in, yes, two albums. These two arguably have more in common than ones i paired up in Pt. 1 and Pt.2 , in that they’re both math-rock in a way, and, uh, they’re both on Tzadik (as was Fred Frith’s ‘To Sail, To Sail’, covered in Pt1). I’m honestly not collecting bribes from them, it  just so happens that John Zorn’s imprint has a real talent for picking out stuff that makes my head rattle with glee.

Ahleuchatistas – Of The Body Prone
Tzadik, 2009

I first heard of Ahleuchatistas when Ella Buckley wrote me that she had seen them in New York and that i would flip my lid when i heard them. Having finally heard their 2009 album ‘Of the Body Prone’, i say, fair enough! Ahleuchatistas’ music is, for the most part, like a cat-and-mouse chase between the guitar, bass and drums; with brisk yet disjointed time signatures, the songs move in fits and starts and are punctuated by erratic bursts of noise. There’s something simultaneously wonky and menacing about this music, a bit like a hastily patched up scarecrow that nevertheless looks all the more creepy for it.
The album is characterised by Shane Perlowan’s spidery guitar sound, but the drummer is also a big part of it’s appeal for me:  ‘Total Nightmare in a Deep Dive’ pairs a placid spaghetti western riff with a deep bass rumble and the the kind of free noise drumming that i’ve got a permanent hardon for.

Ahleuchatistas – Owls

Ahleuchatistas – Total Nightmare in a Deep Dive

Sajjanu – Pechiku
Tzadik, 2009

Sajjanu are a three piece from Japan, whose deity seems to have decreed ‘Thou shalt not repeat a riff, and if thou must, thou shalt somehow destroy it”. This incredibly perverse music can be daunting to listen to, as it is certainly as close to musical ADD as you can get. Even scarier is how tightly composed these never-repeating pieces are, i don’t know where they get the mental capacity to remember all that! But amazingly, each of the couple hundred riffs that get fired off at you within the space of a track is a gem.  Sajjanu are also more than willing to indulge in some of the more masturbatory aspects of rock’s speckled history and go EPIC on your ass, but it’s all in the name of  being as schizophrenic as possible. These guys are clearly uber-virtuosos, but an overarching sense of humour is the driving force behind this album. Not recommended if you need a groove to hold onto.

Sajjanu – Mechanical Tampopong

Bonus Rave:

Mi Ami – Steal Your Face
Thrill Jockey, 2010

I just thought i’d tack a mention of this album at the end of this post because if you haven’t heard it you are missing out. There seems to be a collective creaming of selves on review sites and even among my friends about this, and with very good reason: Mi Ami’s ‘Steal Your Face’ is one of the most satisfying, off the wall rock albums i’ve heard in ages – if i’m going to find a comparison, think Gang Gang Dance put into a blender along with Ex Models. The second track, ‘Latin Lover’, sounds suspiciously like   The Rapture’s ‘House of Jealous Lovers’ for a while, with yelped vocals and serrated guitar riding atop a disco beat, but only until the guitar part collapses in on itself and idiot-savant analog synth noise swallows the whole thing whole, while ‘Dreamers’ manages to out-Can Can themselves. Do check it out.

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Well hello…

Crikey, i haven’t posted on anything on here for what feels like forever!  I do have half an excuse though, as i’ve been lucky enough to go on a jaunt to Taiwan to visit some family. As it happens, during the the two weeks that i was away, some of the most amazing gigs i’ve ever had to miss took place in Cape Town, such as the Sticky Antlers, Toumani Diabate and Guy Buttery’s album launch at the Newspace Theater (whom, incidentally, i did an interview with just before i left, which you can read here). Oh well, them’s the breaks, however i can definitely say that Taiwan was an amazing experience, perhaps even worth missing all those gigs for.

The night before boarding my flight to Hong Kong i had the great privilege to share the bill with some old friends like Us Kids Know, Kidofdoom and Joao Orecchia  at a great show held on a rooftop 19 floors up in the Johannesburg CBD.

As it happens, Joao Orecchia is just about to put his new album, Hands and Feet, out on the Portland, Oregon-based Other Electricities label, which is really gratifying as Joao and i had a few occasions over the last couple of years to compare notes on our respective album’s progress and it’s great to hear it finally done. Joao’s music reminds me a lot of  The Notwist, Four Tet and Mùm, with an elegaic minor-key character playfully subverted with minutely detailed digital trickery. Ask anyone who’s seen him, watching him pull these songs off live is quite an experience.

Joao Orecchia – Midnight Serenade

Joao Orecchia on FB

I also got to do an album swap with Givan Lötz, whose music blew me away with its understated gorgeousness. This album, Easy Now, is ridiculously limited edition (i’m talking 20 copies) but hopefully there’s much more to come from him. His music reminds me a lot of Six Organs of Admittance at times, and Elliot Smith at others,  with the occasional mindbending drone interlude . On the whole, however, what i love about his music is that it’s unconcerned with trying too hard to impress, winning you over with its sedate and monumental grace instead. Check the song ‘Soon’ out, in my opinion the highlight of the album and a worthy namesake of My Bloody Valentine’s swoonfest. 

Givan Lötz – Soon

Givan Lötz on FB

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Sticky Antlers in CT

The Sticky Antlers, a great band from Pretoria whose first album i wrote about here , and which has subsequently been picked up for distribution by One F Music, are finally coming to play in Cape Town for the first time ever.

As my cursed luck would have it, i’m away for the entire time they’re here, but you can catch them at any one of the following gigs:

Fri 25 Sept @ EVOL
Wed 30 Sept @ Assembly (with Eat This, Horse)
Fri 2 Oct @ EVOL
Sat 3 Oct @ Corner Bar (Durbanville)

I should also mention that the Sticky Antlers’ KRNGY logo have offered a fine new album from Mfeka Mahlangu’s ‘Immaculate Afterbirth’ project entitled ‘Fruhjahrslorchel’ for download – the first few tracks of which consist of haunting drones peppered with ominous percussion, before the beautifully atmospheric 18 minute title track provides some solace. Check the album out here:

Immaculate Afterbirth – “Fruhjahrslorchel”

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Blackmilk – Kimono Dragon

I know i’ve posted this before (on a blog that has since dissolved into the ether, mind you), but i feel any South African music enthusiast has the constitutional right to be exposed to this magnificent song, and i am preparing this house for some new guests, in a manner of speaking.

Blackmilk is a band that consisted of Ramon Galvan on vocals, synth and toys, Ian Watson (Lithium,  Enkeleen, Throatball) on guitar, Paul Opie (Lithium, Moranga, Action Blueprint) on bass and Damian Staz on drums. They released one full length album, The Summer Eye (which you can still get! HERE!).

Kimono Dragon was a single that was self-released after the band had split up. The video is by Jacqui Stecher and Jesse Breytenbach.