Resonance FM 26/3/14

Wednesday's Resonance show explored various genres, from bossa-nova to early electronica, Ethio-Pop to sample-based ambience. I span tracks from Norway, Spain, Ethiopia, Japan and more...

Dig That Treasure (26/3/14)
Pizzicato Five - The Girl From Ipanema
Remington Super 60 - Please Don't Go
Zola - Pop-a-Nova
Hamelmal Abate - Endemal Kere
L. Pierre - Sad Laugh
Woo - 1001 Decisions
Delia Derbyshire - Mattachin

Kazumasa Hashimoto - Noaro

Kazumasa Hashimoto is a classically trained Japanese musician who makes electroacoustic pieces that come across equally masterful and naïve. This song, Noaro, manipulates and processes acoustic instruments (namely guitar) to form a blissfully textured and entrancingly rhythmic cut of electronica. Its repetitive nature really draws me in, making me feel as though I'm becoming a part of its beautiful and hypnotic world.

Label: Plop
Year: 2003
Genre: Electronica, Electroacoustic, Experimental

Woo - 1001 Decisions

Woo is a band made up of two brothers, Mark and Clive Ives, who have kept a low profile over their thirty year career despite recent re-issues of their first and second albums, 1982's Whichever Way You Are Going You Are Going Wrong and 1989's It's Cosy Inside. This song '1001 Decisions' is from their first label-released record in over 20 years, the aptly named When The Past Arrives. '1001 Decisions' is a warm and beautiful piece that fills me with inexplicable comfort. Embracing jazz, ambient new age and low-fidelity pop, this track gives nods to Brian Eno, L. Pierre and The Caretaker - the song's crackly looping nature is reminiscent of the latter's "ballroom' jazz experiments. Woo and this song are a particular treat to stumble upon, and have opened up to me decades' worth of stunning ambience.

Label: Drag City
Year: 2014
Genre: Electroacoustic, Jazz, Ambient

Girma Tefera Kassa - Man Neber Yalanci

I'm really struggling to find information about both this artist and this song. From what I can work out, Kassa's father was a musician called Tefera Kassa, and Girma has continued his father's legacy (possibly even rerecording his songs?). There's also very little information on when this was released: I've read online that it's from the 70s, but I'm wondering whether that's when his father's version was released. Although there's a good chance this was released in the last decade, I'll label it as 'treasure'... not because of its age but rather its elusiveness. Not that any of that really matters anyway: it's all about the music! This song is fabulous, a really upbeat rhythmic track with a great raspy brass section!

Label: ?
Year: ?
Genre: Ethiopian Pop

Resonance FM 19/3/14

Tonight's Resonance show included a couplet of Japanese tracks, some Ethio-Pop, a song by Eliot Krimsky's Glass Ghost, and two super rare new-wave tracks from the 80s!

Dig That Treasure (19/3/14)
Warfield Spillers - Daddy's Little Girl
Brenda Ray - D'ya Hear Me!
Kazumasa Hashimoto - Noaro
Jun Miyake - Tokonatsu No Urei
Girma Tefera Kassa - Man Neber Yalanci
Glass Ghost - The Same

Julian Lynch - Es's

Julian Lynch needs little introduction. A favourite of mine, the multi-instrumentalist has released several criminally overlooked records over the last few years. These records have seen him develop a sound that weaves together freak folk, electronica, psychedelia and ambience to form a really distinctive, pastoral sound. As an Ethnomusicology PhD student, a profound and audible understanding of global musics and cultures lines all of his works, whether that's rhythmically, melodically or simply in his instrumental choices (clarinet, synthesisers, percussion and whatever he can lay his hands on!). This song, "Es's", is from his limited edition cassette Buffalo Songs, a tape that collates various cuts of Lynch's unreleased home recordings and demos. "Es's" is a warm potpourri of Moog synthesisers, strong percussion and sweet vocals.

Label: Goaty Tapes
Year: 2011
Genre: Folk, Experimental, Electronica, World

Guest Post: Otis Fodder presents Wordless Vocalizations Mix

Otis Fodder is a Canadian musician and record collector. As one half of The Bran Flakes he makes quirky and charming pop songs, by means of sound collage. He combines samples from old vinyl rarities with live instrumentation and in this special mix for Dig That Treasure, he's shared some of those rarities. These songs were all released between 1950 and 1978 and feature 'wordless vocalisations'...

A mix for listening in the early morning, the late night, or perhaps by train overlooking the scenery. A few of my favorite wordless cuts from vinyl. I hope you enjoy these songs as much as I do. My very best - Otis

Otis Fodder presents...
Wordless Vocalizations Mix:

Tony Mottola with The Ray Charles Singers - "Danger" Theme
Bas Sheva - Hate
Leda Annest - Part I
Micheline Ramette - Eve Psychedelique
Mystic Moods Orchestra - Universal Mind
Francis Lai - Melissa
Kinkies - Midsummer Nostalgia
Claudine Longet - Epilogue/While You're Sleeping
Yma Sumac - Magenta Mountain

Tsegaye Eshetu - Sew Yalesew

This song from Tsegaye Eshetu is quite different to the typical Ethio-Pop I post on here. As well as having a distinct lack of horns it also lacks the fast and complicated polyrhythms that typify much of Ethiopia's pop music, opting instead for a 6/8 time signature. It's none the worse for it though; this is a great, strongly melodic track with smooth synthesisers complimented by Tsegaye Eshetu's cool vocals. It comes across almost as an Ethio 'slow jam'.

Label: ?
Year: 198?
Genre: Ethio-Pop, R&B

Resonance FM 12/3/14

Last night's Resonance show featured songs from Sumatra, Turkey, Ethiopia and Italy, as well as a duo of tracks from New York 'outsider musician' Gary Wilson. Check it out below!

Dig That Treasure (12/3/14)
Samsimar - Indang Pariaman
Timur Selçuk Orkestrası - Dünden Bugüne
Gary Wilson - In The Night
Gary Wilson - When You Walk Into My Dreams
Tsegaye Eshetu - Sew Yalesew
Roberto Cacciapaglia - My Time

Warfield Spillers - Daddy's Little Girl

This is a seriously rare and hard-to-trace track from 'Warfield Spillers' a band who seemingly only ever had one release, a 7" with this on the A-side. It barely exists online, but for on Ariel Pink's 2010 FACT mix, which led me to think that it could be an Ariel hoax... I was over-theorising there and have decided it's just a super weird and low-fidelity one-off release from the 80s. Most simply it's a cracking soul song, but it definitely borders on new-wave territory.

Label: Compography
Year: 1988
Genre: Soul, New Wave

Zola - Pop-A-Nova

Zola were (still are?) a sextet from Barcelona whose aim it was (is?) to remove elements of pop music rather than add them, to create natural and simplistic melodies. Zola's sound is filled with references to bossa-nova, jazz and - most clearly - c86-era twee pop. Spain has a rich history of indie pop and so Zola are to me an unsurprisingly but thoroughly pleasing discovery!

Label: Jabalina Música
Year: 2003
Genre: Indie Pop, Twee

Resonance FM 5/3/14

Tonight's Resonance show explored easy-listening and, er, not-so-easy-listening! I played exotica in the form of Zespół Instrumentalny Marka Sewena and lounge-music in the form of Avena de Castro & Joao Peixoto Prima. On the other end of the spectrum I span a track from avant-, jazz-, post-punk band group Ludus. I also had time for some Ethio-Pop (Samuel Belay), American experimental pop (Jerry Paper) and some new age country music ("Blue" Gene Tyranny).

Dig That Treasure (5/3/14)
Zespół Instrumentalny Marka Sewena - Polynesian Dance
Samuel Belay - Lebene Sheweswhew
Ludus - My Cherry Is In Sherry
Jerry Paper - Is This It?
Jerry Paper - Reprogram Ourselves
Avena de Castro & Joao Peixoto Prima - Romance de Amor
"Blue" Gene Tyranny - Next Time Might Be Your Time

Resonance FM 26/2/14

Wednesday night's Resonance show was one of particular whimsy. Opening up with Jacqueline Taïeb's 70s yé-yé and ending with Lemma Demissew's dreamy rhythms, I stopped along the way to visit giddy sound-collage (The Bran Flakes), mystical 50s orchestration (Dennis Farnon & Marni Nixon), eccentric electronica (Felix Kubin & Coolhaven) and cheesy Japanese funk (Hosono Haruomi, Suzuki Shigeru, Tatsuro Yamashita).

Dig That Treasure (26/2/14)
Jacqueline Taïeb - La Petite Fille Amour
Mr. Rogers - Nice
The Bran Flakes - I Have A Friend
Dennis Farnon & Marni Nixon - Very Contrary Mary
Felix Kubin & Coolhaven - There Is A Garden
Hosono Haruomi, Suzuki Shigeru, Tatsuro Yamashita - Coral Reef
Lemma Demissew - Lezelalem Nuri

Unfortunately I do not have access to the mp3 of this episode. Hopefully I will resolve this soon, sorry!