Gary Wilson - In The Night



Gary Wilson is one of the most curious figures in 'Outsider Music'. Fascinated by lounge music, rock n roll and The Beatles, Wilson established himself as component musician at an early age, although it was only after he became mentee to John Cage that his music took a turn for the experimental. After his 1977 debut and subsequent tours, he 'retired'. Almost thirty years later, and with fans in the likes of Beck, The Residents and The Roots, Gary Wilson returned. This song 'In The Night' - from his 2010 record Electric Endicott - is typically his. Experimental but strongly melodic, it calls out funk, lounge and noise pop to create a weirdo stew a fascinating sound. 'In The Night' particularly brings to mind R. Stevie Moore and Talking Heads, although with music this idiosyncratic comparisons seem futile!

Label: Western Vinyl
Year: 2010
Genre: 'Outsider Music', Pop, Funk, Experimental

Kuku Sebsebe - Benafequote Newe



This song from Kuku Sebsebe takes an uncharacteristically simple approach to Ethiopian pop; but the results are none the worse for it. The smooth organ introduction leads into catchy horn hooks and, unsurprisingly, beautiful idiosyncratic Amharic vocals. All the finest Ethiopian musicians seem to be connected some way or another, so it comes as little surprise that Sebsebe has sung with the Roha Band and Alemayehu Eshete among others during her fruitful career.

Label: Electra Music Shop
Year: 1985
Genre: Ethiopian Pop

Guest Post: Eliot Krimsky presents Songs Of Alienation Mix

Eliot Krimsky is an American musician, producer and film composer. Frontman of Glass Ghost, he also often collaborates and performs with Luke Temple and the latter's band Here We Go Magic. In this mix for Dig That Treasure, he lays out tracks of emotion, humanity and alienation. I'll let him do the explaining...

When I first heard “My Time” from Roberto Cacciapaglia’s Ann Steel album (sung by Italian model Anne Steele) it felt like I discovered a long-lost relative.
It’s a happy mechanical Italian disco song with a dark undertone. The tone of the piece reminds me of this quote from great the media theorist Jean Baudrillard:
“We live in a world where there is more and more information and less and less meaning”
Upon first notes, we hear a claustrophobic synth and an automaton women singing:
"My thoughts are in perfect array / my life runs smooth like a highway / billboards show me the way"
and
"My time, my time I love my time / my time has something more /  my time is the best it's ever been /  I love my time thank you my time"
Is the main character from the song celebrating consumer culture and technology?
Or is this a cultural critique of alienation?
To me the tone of “My Time” feels as relevant as ever in 2014 - it’s funky and Orwellian and it evokes internet-era detachment.
The main character of the song sounds like an announcer on a Walmart loudspeaker telling you a revealing secret: The static that lies just below the field of ‘normalcy’ is violent loud, ugly and insane - but everything just keeps going as planned.
For this mix I tried to find songs that have meant a lot to me and have given me chills - ones that address technological or social alienation and bring us great deal of humanity.
This may be a first of many of these kinds of mixes for me. In this first instalment I chose the more iconic songs of alienation - but there are many more of its kind and yet many more still to be written.

Eliot Krimsky presents...
Songs of Alienation Mix:

Woody Guthrie - 1913 Masacre
Malvina Reynolds - Little Boxes
KRS-1 - Sound Of Da Police
Public Enemy - Don’t Believe The Hype
Nina Simone - How It Feels To Be Free (Live at Montreux)
Kate Bush - Deeper Understanding (Directors Cut)
Roberto Cacciapaglia - My Time
Peter Gabriel - Wallflower
Antony - Cut The World

Resonance FM 19/2/14





















Last night's Resonance show featured French jazz-funk (Cortex), piano-based Highlife (Kwamena Ray Ellis), woozy ambience from London (Jerkcurb), Japanese electronica (Ventla) and some good old Ethiopian pop (Kuku Sebsebe). Listen below!

Dig That Treasure (12/2/14)
Cortex - Huit Octobre 1971
Kwamena Ray Ellis - Sasabonsam
Jerkcurb - Midnight Snack
Jerkcurb - Autopsy of a Pinball Wizard
Ventla - 軌跡は七曲がり
Kuku Sebsebe - Benafequote Newe

Samsimar - Indang Pariaman


Folk and Pop Sounds of Sumatra Vol.1 was the first release by obscurities label Sublime Frequencies. The songs on it are taken from old cassettes found on the equatorial island of Sumatra, showcasing seriously eccentric and idiosyncratic music. This song 'Indang Pariaman' is my favourite of the lot, a mesmerising melody atop repetitive rhythms.

Label: Sublime Frequencies
Year: ?
Genre: Indonesian Folk, Psychedelia

Kwamena Ray Ellis - Sasabonsam



Highlife music is usually typified by a prominence of guitars and although this song features a guitar solo, it is not that instrument which forms the basis of this song. Rather it is piano, as played by Ghanian maestro Kwamena Ray Ellis. This piece is pure sunny bliss.

Label: Agoro Records
Year: 197?
Genre: Highlife, Jazz

Television Personalities - Wonder What It Was



This 7" single from 2011 is Television Personalities most recent release. Predominantly active in the 1980s and 90s, the band explored punk pathetique, new-wave, neo-psychedelia and beyond, until frontman Dan Treacy was imprisoned in 1998. Wonder What It Was, released thirty years after the band's debut, has been ludicrously overlooked (whether that's because it was limited to only 600 copies or because it released by a small Taiwanese label is disputable). This song, though, showcases Treacy's stunning lyrical ability. The combination of just voice and acoustic guitar leaves it vulnerable and honest, with Treacy's vocals emphasising a beautiful melody.

Label: Formosa Punk Records
Year: 2011
Genre: Punk Pathetique, Acoustic Rock

Mulatu Astatke - Yègellé Tezeta



Mulatu Astatke is definitely one of the most famous Ethiopian musicians. Arguably the founding father of 'Ethio-Jazz', Astatke's music has gained popularity not just in Ethiopia but also in the West, being featured in Jim Jarmusch's film Broken Flowers and sampled my multiple hip-hop musicians. This track, 'Yègellé Tezeta', is a seriously cool example of Ethio-Jazz, with one of the tightest rhythm sections I've heard in ages!

Label: Buda Musique
Year: 1969-74(?)
Genre: Ethio-Jazz

Resonance FM 12/2/14





















The latest episode of Dig That Treasure on Resonance was an R. Stevie Moore special. I span tracks from across his career, as well as Ariel Pink's version of 'She Don't Know What To Do With Herself' and a duet with Jim Reeves. Of course, I threw in an Ethiopian track (Mulatu Astatke) and some Italian Lounge, in the form of Piero Umiliani!

Dig That Treasure (12/2/14)
R. Stevie Moore - Cuss Me Out
R. Stevie Moore - I've Begun To Fall In Love
Piero Umiliani - Sophisticated Lady
Mulatu Astatke - Yegelle Tezeta
R. Stevie Moore - I Wouldn't Mind Dyin'
Ariel Pink - She Don't Know What To Do With Herself
Jim Reeves - But You Love Me Daddy
R. Stevie Moore - I Go Into Your Mind

Jacqueline Taieb - La Petite Fille Amour



Jacquelin Taieb is a French yé-yé singer who found success predominantly in the 1960s and 70s. This 1979 release, La Petite Fille Amour Chez Les Cousins De Miel, is a concept record that features a children's choir - although unfortunately the only track I could find online, 'La Petite Fille Amour', doesn't. Still, this is a great euro-bossa/yé-yé track and a complete enigma online: information on the release is sparse and vinyl copies of it sell for 120-150 euros from specialist collectors sites.

Label: ?
Year: 1979
Genre: Yé-yé, Pop, Euro-Bossa

Resonance FM 5/2/14





















Last night's Resonance show featured tracks from Arthur Russell, Italy, Ethiopia, a Chicago pastor and a duo of songs from the Tin Angel roster. I made a lot of mistakes in terms of speech, etc. often having to laugh it off... also, at the beginning of the episode I was messing around with reverb so my voice sounds like it was recorded in a cavern!

Dig That Treasure (5/2/14)
Arthur Russell - Instrumentals A
Ed Askew - Blue Eyed Baby
Doug Tielli - A Dream That I Am
Paolo Casa - Hi Vi
Melkamu Tebeje - Yam Ale Yam Ale
Pastor T.L. Barrett & the Youth for Christ Choir - Nobody Knows

Copyright issues are preventing me from uploading the episode to Soundcloud, hopefully this will be resolved soon. Bear with me. 

Tonstartssbandht - Hymn Eola (acapella)



Tonstartssbandht are two brothers, Edwin and Andy, from Florida. And yet, their space-age music is arguably more popular in Eastern Europe and Russia. The cassette from which this song is taken, Hymn, was a limited run for their tour of Russia, Ukraine and Georgia. This song is as its name suggests: hymnal. It's chilling, sharp and strangely but resoundingly beautiful.

Label: Neen Records
Year: 2011
Genre: Experimental, Psychedelia, Noise Pop

Piero Umiliani - Sophisticated Lady



Piero Umiliani was an Italian composer most noted for his soundtrack work. He transitioned from wartime bar pianist to big-band jazz player, film score composer to Lounge musician, yet the consistency that remained was his passion for the music of Duke Ellington. This 1974 recording of Sophisticated Lady is part of a collection that showcases this passion, with Umiliani giving a continental Lounge twist to Ellington's beautiful compositions.

Label: Easy Tempo
Year: 1974 / 2000 (reissue)
Genre: Jazz, Lounge, Electronica