drekka

Marty, Scott and I hosted our third COLD BEAT party a few weeks ago.

This one was at THE BISHOP, a great new local venue.

( MY SETLISTS )

BLUESANCT winter 2010 newsletter

( continue below the cut like any nice person would do... )

Been too busy going to sound system parties and drinking Dragon to write much, but I've been taking photos for you all.

In addition to me Flickr, Sarah has started a Jamaica set at hers, so be sure to check out how the trip is going from her lens.

SARAH'S FLICKR, JAMAICA SET

Drekka Soundsystem is in da haus.

We arrived safe and sound... if deliriously tired.

I'll try to post some writing about our trip tomorrow. For now, check out photos at my FLICKR.

Link: DREKKA FLICKR, JAMAICA SET

We are on our way to Negril, Jamaica for a rare non-tour related trip that actually qualifies as a VACATION!

Check my Flickr set for updates every day or two from the island... tonight, however we're just stuck at the airport for an overnight layover.

Link: DREKKA FLICKR, JAMAICA SET

DREKKA autumn 2009 newsletter: TOUR EDITION
[ UPDATED VERSION: 27 October 09 ]

( continue below the cut like a nice person would... )

I just COMPLETELY redid the layout on the DREKKA WEBSITE, including adding lots of mp3s for download incl some rare unreleased tracks (17 tracks total!)

Let me know what you think of the new site, if you have a moment!


repost from the DREKKA NEWSFEED:



[ A MESSAGE FROM THE RABBIT BEHIND THE SCENES : NINTH DAY OF SEPTEMBER ]

A BRAND NEW WEBSITE FOR DREKKA

It's been years since I did a site overhaul... and with the upcoming tour and re-issue and new tape and new album... I thought it was about time.

I am working hard on filling the last few dates to be booked for the 'Matters of Tone' tour of Europe. There is a little mini-site for the tour HERE... which I will update with tour dates as they confirm.

It looks a lot like this new layout... and not coincidentally.

I just sent Brad Rose at DIGITALIS LTD the artwork and tracks for a new live cassette coming out in time for the tour... entitled 'ANCESTRAL CAVE SEQUENCE', it is a 40min live cassette recorded as a series of improvised soundtracks for a short film by Nathan Vollmar and Andrew Perry Davis. it all went down 11 Jan 08, as the opening reception for Andrew's sculpture exhibition entitled, 'Clan of the Cave Mouse'. I love the tape, which involved a stream-of-consciousness collaging of various recordings of DREKKA covers by friends over the years... voices and instruments played by Day2 luminaries such as Mark Trecka, Angelica Busque and many more... even the mysterious Icelandic teen terror, Almar makes an appearance.

I also spent a good portion of August studying the art of mastering, downloading various demos and finally settling on the amazing Izotope Ozone mastering suite... then came a 17hr session wrestling with the masters for the first two DREKKA cassettes from 1996. I am VERY happy with the results and I feel like the remastered CD version of these tapes greatly improve the sonic landscape of the original recordings, without too much changes or revisionism... they are the same recordings... just a lot more commanding.

I can't wait for the set to come out on MORC this winter. The discs are all ready to go and at the plant, so I am hoping they will be ready in time for tour.

While intensely going through every single recording I did in 1996, I came across (quite unexpectedly) almost 30min of unreleased tracks from the first two album sessions. These fit really nicely, and make the package a full 2hrs of music!

DREKKA - 'Someday I will be called upon regarding matters of tone - Collected Works: Volume One' 2CD set... coming this winter on MORC RECORDS, Belgium!

In addition to all this, AND running my record store full-time, I managed to get a few new Bluesanct releases out... head over to BLUESANCT.com for more info on those... BODUF SONGS, BODY OF JOHN THE BAPTIST, SYNTHESISIA, HENRY BLOOD... all good things.

So, to recap... TOUR in NOVEMBER... TAPE in NOVEMBER... CDs in WINTER... NEW SITE...

Exciting times.

And then, after tour will come the assault on finishing an entirely new DREKKA album... the long simmering 'Tarwestraat'... it's going to be a beauty.

See you on the road.
Mkl.

repost from the DREKKA NEWSFEED:



[ A MESSAGE FROM THE RABBIT BEHIND THE SCENES : SIXTEENTH DAY OF APRIL ]

DREKKA TO TOUR EUROPE IN NOVEMBER 2009

It's true... it's been years... since BLUE BUS MOUNTAIN, I think... 2005? I've been over for a couple shows, and on tour with rivulets... but, it's been a while since I've done a proper Drekka tour in Europe.

The recent DREKKA/DYLAN ETTINGER TOUR I did was a lot of fun and went really well. I've got a whole set of new material, plus a couple new releases coming up... sounds like time for a tour to me, right?

Currently planning out rough itinerary, so if you have any ideas or want to host a show, let me know.

I am working like crazy to finish up the new batch of releases over at BLUESANCT... BODUF SONGS 10", SYNTHESISIA CD, BODY OF JOHN THE BAPTIST CD... and a new series on my other label, ORPHANOLOGY... all of these will be unveiled soon on the BLUESANCT SITE.. stay tuned over there for news.

Once those are all in the can and in production-land, it's all about DREKKA and my post-punk band, TURN PALE, for the rest of the year baby! TURN PALE has been stalled in the water for our third full-length, awaiting my lyrics for the songs... I've got a sort of writer's block on it, as the words I wrote a couple years ago no longer mean anything to me... I need to just listen to the album a few dozen times and let the songs speak to me... come up with a new story to tell with it.

DREKKA, on the other hand, is NOT stalled in any way... it is clambering at the gate, ready to burst through with lots of sounds and releases.

My main project right now, the archiving of all recordings to date by DREKKA, will present it's first fruits in time for the tour, I hope... MORC will be issuing a CD (possible 2CD) containing the earliest released stuff I did in 1994-1996, including the first DREKKA tape, entitled 'Grieve'. On looking back through the archives, it seems I made several different versions for this album with alternate track listings. I am consulting a couple DAY2 experts to see what these track listings were, and come up with a definitive one for the CD release. If you, somehow, have a copy of 'Grieve' on cassette, PLEASE BE IN TOUCH and email me the track listing so we can make this as accurate as possible.

In addition to the archive releases, the new DREKKA album, entitled 'Tarwestraat' is taking shape. One track from it I have been playing in my recent live sets, and it is settling in nicely. I hope to have most of the tracks ready to play out on my autumn tour, and then come home and finish the last mixing before the end of the year. I am very excited about this album, the first totally new DREKKA full-length since... 1998? And I am very thrilled to have so many amazing players on it; Annelies Monsere, Wim Lecluyse (Morc/Circle Brothers), Chris Gowers (Karina ESP) and more to come. It is going to be the best thing DREKKA has done yet, I know it!

But, before 'Tarwestraat' is finished will likely come a couple new cassette releases. The follow up to my 'PIA' cassette on El Tule (which is almost sold out, BTW) will contain field recordings and performances from my trip to Nepal in 1999. I will also have a live cassette on the tape branch of the Digitalis Industries empire containing the beautiful 'Ancestral Cave Sequence' performances from last year, done as part of an installation performance with my friend ANDREW PERRY DAVIS.

So, yeah... always too much going on... but, I plan on delivering the goods! Trust me.

I love you all.
Mkl.

REPOST of the NEWS UPDATE from the DREKKA WEBSITE:

My good friend DYLAN ETTINGER just released a new DREKKA tape on his new cassette label, EL TULE. It's available NOW over at the BLUESANCT SITE.

This cassette, entitled 'PIA: Flight 831/761' is a 30 minute sound journal I recorded in the airspace of Pakistan on October 16, 1999. While travelling home from Nepal that day, my friends and I were delayed for a few hours in Karachi airport because there was a coup happening in Islamabad! We weren't in any danger, but it was still quite intense.

Side A features an extended spontaneous harmonium piece entitled 'Ke Garne' (Nepalese for 'What to do')... layered harmonium melodies blend with the sound of the airport and CNN reporting the coup live as it unfolds.

Side B features a 15 minute master-mix of the exciting in-flight entertainment offered on board PIA... enjoy the sound of the plane and an eclectic A.D.D. shitfest of sound!

This is the first in series of audio journal cassettes from the Drekka archives... the next one, recorded in and around Kathmandu, Nepal, should be out in a month or so... followed by... ?

(ps- If Kirstin or Andy or Justin or Greg or Sarah are reading this, shoot me an email and I'll send you a copy!)


In other news relating to Drekka and DYLAN ETTINGER, we will be heading east for a 'Spring Break 09' tour in March... most of the dates are confirmed and listed already on the DREKKA MYSPACE PAGE (and don't forget to friend us).

Let me know if you will be coming to a show so we can meet up.

( Cold Beat, Bloomington, IN 29 Aug 08 )

REPOST of the BLUESANCT NEWSLETTER I just sent to my mailing list:



( NEWSLETTER )

I've been meaning to post about the new Bluesanct release for a couple weeks now (came out October 12th). It's sort of a dream come true in many ways. I remember being a teenager in Weymouth and my friend Mike Collins first playing me his copies of 'In This World' for the first time and I thought how I wanted to put out records like that someday... and I have. (where are you Mike? I miss you... and I'd love to give you one)

CINDYTALK is one of my absolute favourite bands, and I have been friends with Gordon since they came over and toured in the mid 90's (thanks to Rick and Annie). And so, I am very happy to bring to the world the latest bit of bliss by them as a stunningly beautiful 10" art single...

Here's the 'official' blah blah blah from the one-sheet:
"BLUESANCT is incredibly excited that the third release in our ART SINGLES series is by one of our all-time favourite artists, CINDYTALK. This time it will be a 10", to facilitate the sonics involved. One-sided vinyl with screen-printed b-side and printed sleeve.

The concept behind this series is to celebrate the 10th year of the label with a series of releases that give us excuse to work with some of our biggest influences. And there is hardly a larger influence on my own music and art than GORDON SHARP and CINDYTALK.

'silvershoalsoflight' is quintessential CINDYTALK... written and produced by GORDON SHARP and MATT KINNISON... drum machine ticks along gorgeous bass pulses up against Gordon's vocals... leading to a climax of bliss and dissonance.

For those not familar with CINDYTALK's work, it is a sound that straddles several genres at once... ambient abstract industrial cinematic glitch post-punk... Gordon Sharp was at one time perhaps best known for lending his angelic voice to several tracks on THIS MORTAL COIL's classic masterpiece 'It'll End In Tears' (4AD, 1984), but those tracks are nothing but a footnote in history for Sharp and Cindytalk... since 1982, Cindytalk has recorded half a dozen fiercly challenging albums of devastating beauty... and there is no end in sight for this seminal group."

Go to the BLUESANCT SITE if you want ordering info and such.


(not a very good photo, but you can see how gorgeous the record turned out!)

On vacation for a little over two weeks, with Sarah, her mom and Claudio (and then her dad next week), Edwin, Nick.

Started on my birthday with a long drive to the coast from B'ton. Stopped overnight in Asheville, and got some really amazing food and some great vinyl.

Last few days have been all about swimming just before dusk, going on excursions during the day to find air conditioning and various treasures, hanging out doing not much and enjoying the quiet dark nights.

See FLICKR for my photo journal of our trip.

( TOP OF MY STEREO list )

Simon (photo by me).

Marty and I just went to see The Cure in Cleveland, and it was so incredibly good!

Driving home I was trying to figure out how many times I had seen them, and guessed correct at 14 times... then, figuring they play between 2hr and 3.5hr sets, I figured out I had been in the presence of The Cure, performing, for over approx. 36hrs of my life.

Thanks to the amazing website THE CURE CONCERTS GUIDE (which I admittedly pour over for hours at a time), I have compiled a list of all the shows I've seen...

( Warning: It get's really dorky under the LJ-CUT! )

I just cleaned my living room for the first time in a LONG time... it mostly involved putting all the CDs away that were piling up on...

...yup, the ( TOP OF MY STEREO )

Home again; home again. Been back a week, getting things back into place and the store back up and running... I posted the rest of my tour photos on my FLICKR page...

And here, belated and with a certain air of forgetfulness (that stuff just disappears as soon as I get home, for some reason), is the rest of the tour recap...

( Read more... )

So, Austrian Gay TV really DOES exist, it seems...

We had the day off yesterday, after an INCREDIBLE time in Croatia. Nathan and I decided to stay in Graz, halfway between Zagreb and Linz, and he randomly chose Hotel Daniel... which turned out to be the coolest, gayest, most Scandinavian hotel in all of Austria!

Here is a recap of the rest of Spain and on to Italia!

( Read more... )