Sunday, December 9, 2012

Newsletter, Winter 2012

Sewn Leather performing live.                                      Photo: Ben Trogdon




THE COMPLETE LISTING OF CURRENTLY
AVAILABLE TITLES CAN BE FOUND HERE




New Releases

(D)(B)(H) - "Masterpieces of Objective Reporting" LP
(A full length LP featuring two side long cuts by this ever-changing ensemble. Pressed in an edition of 210 copies on thick vinyl. Cover art by John McCormick spray painted & screen printed onto recycled jackets, some brown and others white. Recorded in a 19th century log cabin in Southern Indiana, these recordings as a quartet showcase the group in their most patient and cohesive display to date... Eavesdropped upon as soft talkers finish each others sentences, a silhouette of sound passes through the room. Spittle and scrapes coalesce into a single vessel of subtlety as thin fingers course along your scalp. Slowly dragged - into and through an alien terrain in a dream state of heightened awareness. Small motors, distant whirling tones and a vibrating necklace; under the influence of being under the water. File under: lowercase, non-idiomatic improv, deep listening. --- Jay Kreimer - space needles & laptop, Marty Belcher - saxophones, metal objects & snare, Justin Rhody - trumpet, microphone, turntable, harmonica & guitar, John McCormick - modified turntable, assorted objects & ring modulator. --- Listen and download the entirety of side A here: www.soundcloud.com/justincliffordrhody/d-b-h-masterpieces-of-objective-reporting-pt-1)
$12 (ppd in the u.s.a., intl. orders write for shipping costs)
paypal to: friendsandrelativesrecords@yahoo.com


Sliding Glass Door, by Justin Clifford Rhody - photo book
(Published by Bathetic Records in an edition of 250 copies. Softcover, professionally printed and perfect bound. 68 pages, colour photographs... Text, photos, praise and a video for the book are posted here: www.batheticrecords.com/sliding_glass_door/. A feature on the series was published at VICE along with a slideshow and text here: www.vice.com/read/sliding-glass-door. For other info, including interviews and information on other photoworks check in here: www.justincliffordrhody.blogspot.com)
$15 (ppd in the u.s.a., intl. orders write for shipping costs)
paypal to: friendsandrelativesrecords@yahoo.com


Remake The Sleeper, by Andrew Restrepo - zine
(After a ridiculously long stretch of planning and passing paper, Friends & Relatives is pleased to announce the release of "Remake The Sleeper". 44 pages compiling the complete lyrical poetry of Andrew Restrepo written between 2005 and 2011. A survey of the modern urban pallette, emotional interspace and a confidence gained through desperation. A setting and scenario that often incorporates manicured lawns, the abuse of prescription medication and end times iconography. --- Printed in an edition of 50 copies, 50% of them given to the author. 8.5"x7.5", 44 pages. Softcover, staple-bound.)
$4 (ppd in the u.s.a., intl. orders write for shipping costs)
paypal to: friendsandrelativesrecords@yahoo.com



DJ Drips - "last night a dj ruined my life" Cassette
(20 min. mixxxer of subunderground hits previously unheard; layered, effected, mashed and screwed. Edition of 50 cassettes, no artwork & no case. Only available in person, for free.)
Available for free listen and download here: www.foxydigitalis.com/foxyd/?p=8247
"SOLD" OUT in the physical!



I'd m Thfft Able - "hangin' flaccid like a wet lilac" Cassette
(Hailing from Windham Maine, Skott Spear churns out 40+ minutes of constant flux, stereo throwing, and a regal control of the more subtle aspects; while under the air and under control. Electrified glass tables, springs, otherworld-ly vocals, string bows, tape recorders and scratched records slip and slam together in order to create hi-energy renditions of organic beauty. "There is nowhere to hide, and if you keep hanging in there, you will sooner or later feel transformed into another level of listening; a hypnotic state of utter awareness and letting go of cultural defenses." Printed in an edition of 50 copies. --- Listen to a track off the album here: www.kraag.org/id/empeethree/id_m_thfft_able-bug_bit_eros_bug_bite_eros.mp3)
$4 (ppd in the u.s.a., intl. orders write for shipping costs)
paypal to: friendsandrelativesrecords@yahoo.com



Sketchbook, by Sam Gaskin - zine
(Culled from the personal sketch books of Sam Gaskin, we're offered access into 44 pages of drawings, ideas, jokes and quotes that will enrapture your frontal lobe and make a new home of your frail bodily vessel. Printed in a pocket-sized edition to better help facilitate concealment from authority squares; to give the kids a better chance at not getting caught while passing-in-class. Personality and humor pop off the page charming even the crankiest of belly-achers, and also form a suitable document of interest for extraterrestrials attempting to understand the mind of a young man infatuated with video game and cartoon imagery of the 1990's. Featuring landmark appearances by such unknown characters as the hairless aquatic ape, DJ Sleepy ZZZZ's & MC Glass of Milk. --- Printed in an edition of 100 copies, 50% given to the artist.4"x5.5". 44 pages, black & white. Mixed color oversized covers. Essientally being sold for the price of postage, buy in duplicate!)
$2 (ppd in the u.s.a., intl. orders write for shipping costs)
paypal to: friendsandrelativesrecords@yahoo.com



William S. Burroughs – “nothing here now but the recordings” Cassette
(Originally released as an LP in 1981 on Industrial Records, which has long since been out of print, this is a collection of voice and tape experiments conducted by William S. Burroughs in 1959-1978. Explorations in home recorded voice, t.v. & radio cut-ups, backwards tapes, echo and sub-vocal speech - including the earliest surviving cut-up tape, recorded in conversation between Brion Gysin (the person who originally conceived the cut-up method), Gregory Corso, Burroughs and Sinclair Beiles at The Beat Hotel in Paris, 1959. From the liner notes: “These are recordings that weren’t intended when they were made to be seen as finished ‘works’ of art… The participants were thinking about alterations and the potentialities of the tape recorder… When you cut up and rearrange words, new words emerge, the future leaks through, seemingly at random.” --- This is a bootleg that we believe originated from Norway, we have only a few copies for sale.)
$5 (ppd in the u.s.a., intl. orders write for shipping costs)
paypal to: friendsandrelativesrecords@yahoo.com



The Savage Young Taterbug – e.p. Cassette
(As known through his extensive touring of the U.S. sub-underbelly, as well as an unforgettable string of tapes on Night People, Charles Free approaches us from a different side of the street with this new E.P. of songs. Recorded live in hi-fidelity with only an upright piano and voice, the resulting boogie wuugie (extend’d) pain pop is up instant lock(es). To clear the air at the end, there’s a Partridge Family karaoke-cover that might possibly give DJ Screw’s children hope for a future in this world(s). From the liner notes: “recorded drunk on shitty beer in an apartment in chicago.” Printed in an edition of 50 copies, with only 4 remaining!!! --- Watch a video of one song being recorded live here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmdAYC4Ygck )
$4 (almost SOLD OUT!!!) (ppd in the u.s.a., intl. orders write for shipping costs)
paypal to: friendsandrelativesrecords@yahoo.com



GROWTH SPERT - "Solar Maximum" Cassette
(Jon Middleton brings a full length album of beautifully mastered sound quality, showcasing a collection of songs based around homemade scattered-clutter drum kits based in found metal objects and kitchen pans, heaving accordion, voice and accelerating scratch-board violin. Certain tracks sound as if they're a Crass side-project performed using trash, transmitted from an unknown island in Southeast Asia. Others are more in line mentally with a tranced teen rhythmically sorting through scrap metal while invoking an apocalyptic rendition of a cappella Ella Jenkins. Jon is originally from Jonesboro, Arkansas and currently resides in Minneapolis. Created in an edition limited to 50 copies.)
$4 (ppd in the u.s.a., intl. orders write for shipping costs)
paypal to: friendsandrelativesrecords@yahoo.com


John Wheatley (a.k.a. John Bellows) - "Dimentia Europa" Tape
(Sounds and songs of the street, sky and sea recorded throughout a series of travels in Europe onto a cassette deck, and then later layered and manipulated into a 37 minute long montage via 4 track. A flowing portrait composed to pull you through as a guide, while you melt into the couch or car seat... Full color cover art & cassette labels. Limited to 50 copies.)
$4 (ppd in the u.s.a., intl. orders write for shipping costs)
paypal to: friendsandrelativesrecords@yahoo.com



(D)(B)(H) / Seeded Plain & Hal Rammel - split LP
(Two sub-underground acts from the Midwest U.S. split sides on this LP, creating a coin-flip encrusted venture into the thrills of deep listening & free improvisation with leanings towards futurism and organically based lowercase compositions... (D)(B)(H) is a free wheeling ensemble with a rotating cast and fluctuating approach/sound. This time in a quartet formation, we're offered a 21 minute piece entitled "Bad For Business" that equally embraces minimalist percussion, mangled tape manipulation, fluent fire-breathing saxophone, reductive guitars and spittle trumpet. Recorded live in the studio of a radio station, this presents the group within their most hi-fi documentation to date with a special presence put upon the dynamics of volume and space... Seeded Plain is the duo of Bryan Day and Jay Kreimer, both of whom design, build and perform upon otherworldly instruments constructed using practical composite designs, combining everyday objects with finished wood and metal forms ("alchemists of hardware stores, surplus catalogs, and discarded objects.") Teaming up with the underground legend Hal Rammel and his "amplified palette", the trio presents 4 tracks of energy filled sound reminiscent of "wind chime cheese slicers, bed springs and lengths of rope." Adventurous listening... Cover paintings by Peter Shear and Brad Krieger screen printed onto recycled LP jackets with a slight splattering of gold paint worked into the subtlety. Double sided full sized insert and hand stamped (golden) center labels created with custom cut 3" circular rubber stamps. Pressed in a limited edition of 300 copies.)
$12 (ppd in the u.s.a., intl. orders write for shipping costs)
paypal to: friendsandrelativesrecords@yahoo.com



CHURCHBURNERS - "already done did" Cassette
(Churchburners has been the long running moniker of Rockford, Illinois' prolific home-taper Zach Ippen. This cassette is his "greatest hits" of sorts, a collection of tracks spanning the first decade of the 21st century, selected by Justin Rhody. Humorous a cappella and spoken word tracks, cut alongside over-driven 4 track explosions of degraded rhythmic noise - interspersed between mouth-sound layerings and beautiful cinematic oddball meanderings. Variety and adventure are the name of the game here, and "we're a winner"! For fans of lo-fi home recordings as known by early-Sebadoh/Sentridoh, Avocado Baby, Half Japanese/Jad Fair, etc... Tired of that huge pile of tapes and cd-r's clogging up the bachelor pad? Well no need to fret, cause now all your favorite Churchburner tracks are available on one compact cassette!!! Created in an edition of 50 copies, 60 minutes in length.)
$4 (ppd in the u.s.a., intl. orders write for shipping costs)
paypal to: friendsandrelativesrecords@yahoo.com



MILLION BRAZILIANS - "Dyngia Salon" Cassette
(Rolling forward tribal, dungeon jazz-jams from this Portland, OR based quartet. Two side-long numbers fill this 62 min. long cassette with fumes filling the head, and chains clanging through the brush from behind. Heavy dark exotica. Color insert and labels, clear/black norelco cases. Limited to an edition of 50 copies, only a few remaining! --- Listen to, and download, an excerpt from the track "Dance Into Your Dungeon" here: www.corum.bandcamp.com/track/dyngia-jazz)
$4 (ppd in the u.s.a., intl. orders write for shipping costs)
paypal to: friendsandrelativesrecords@yahoo.com


Drawings, by John Collins McCormick - zine
(60 pages of stark intensive line drawings; at times offering the viewer a fluctuating sense of plane perception, while also grounding one's vision into a flattened and off-centered "comfort zone". Four different cover designs printed onto smoky-transparent velum with a backdrop of hand painted colorings, all lovingly created and assembled by the artist himself. Get a copy TODAY, to keep on the coffee table in the fallout shelter you'll be living in TOMORROW!!! --- 4.25"x5.5". Velum covers with hand painted inlay, staple-bound.)
$2 (almost sold out!) (ppd in the u.s.a., intl. orders write for shipping costs)
paypal to: friendsandrelativesrecords@yahoo.com


LOUGOW - "King Conversion" Cassette
(Jason, of Mt. Gigantic, presents a new perspective under his solo pseudonym "Lougow". 32 minute long tapes containing two tracks (that he recorded over a series of months in a northwestern recording studio) of music for prepared cassettes and percussion. Resembling a hi-fi, thrilling rendition of Cage's "Variations IV", with an allowance of personal input/control and an extended pallete of emotion within the cacophony. Covers printed onto 4 different shades of textured sand-toned paper, with printed/painted labels. Limited to an edition of 50 copies. --- Watch the INCREDIBLE music video for the side long track "People of the Cape" here (which was completely shot and edited on a cell phone): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WD_S4sByIs4)
$4 (ppd in the u.s.a., intl. orders write for shipping costs)
paypal to: friendsandrelativesrecords@yahoo.com


"SLO-MO" (illustrated) Issue #5 - zine
(An ever-ongoing investigative journal of hi-grain and saturated contrast, xeroxed objects and imagery, curated by Justin C. Rhody. Somewhat diaristic in it's subtley of content and loose associations, SLO-MO is an irregularly published collection of wordless poetry and images open to interpretaion/mood/hindered-vision/etc. (Like the I Ching for trash-lovers.) Known by few, and loved by even the unknowing! This issue was collected, compiled and planned while Rhody was living in Guatemala in 2011... 8.5"x5.5". 52 pages and a pull-out poster; suitable for framing. Metallic cardstock covers in 3 different colors: gold, silver and bronze. First printing is limited to an edition of 50 copies.)
SPECIAL DEAL!!! = Order all five issues of SLO-MO for the mind-bogglingly lo-price of only $12! (Thats a savings of $8!!!)

Individual issues are $4 each (ppd in the u.s.a., intl. orders write for shipping costs)
paypal to: friendsandrelativesrecords@yahoo.com



Ryan Jewell - "radio: vol. 1" Cassette
(Two side-long pieces recorded live over the radio on wfmu and in paris, france. Delicate sonic textures give way to wavering electronics, full drum kit blasts & garbled bubble gunk. Beautifully and thoughtfully composed throughout, this is a essentail document of sound, free of genre and coated in essence. Full color artwork by Virginia Lawrence. Printed in an edition of 100 copies. VERY proud to have helped put this one out!!!)
$4 (ppd in the u.s.a., intl. orders write for shipping costs)
paypal to: friendsandrelativesrecords@yahoo.com



Sewn Leather - "blood runs down the drain" Cassette
(Around 25 minutes of home recorded throbbing synth & drum machine, 1970's future music, delicate alien guitar and dream-state audio wanderings... Limited to an edition of only 50 copies, with inserts printed on either metallic white or aged earth-gold cardstock. --- Listen to, and download, a track from the album here: www.soundcloud.com/justincliffordrhody/sewn-leather)
SOLD OUT!  (repress coming in 2013...)



7 Poems for Audrey Hepburn, by Michael Joseph Phillips
(Discovered by Andrew Restrepo and then sent to F&R headquarters in Michigan, this is a small collection of poetry originally self published by the author in 1968, while studying at Indiana University in Bloomington Indiana. ----Printed in an edition of 30 copies, with metallic white cardstock covers.)
$1.99! (only 1 copy remaining!!!)


Wednesday, November 7, 2012

AVAILABLE NOW!


(D)(B)(H) 
"Masterpieces of Objective Reporting"

(A full length LP featuring two side long cuts by this ever-changing ensemble. Pressed in an edition of 210 copies on thick vinyl. Cover art by John McCormick spray painted & screen printed onto recycled jackets, some brown and others white. Recorded in a 19th century log cabin in Southern Indiana, these recordings as a quartet showcase the group in their most patient and cohesive display to date... Eavesdropped upon as soft talkers finish each others sentences, a silhouette of sound passes through the room. Spittle and scrapes coalesce into a single vessel of subtlety as thin fingers course along your scalp. Slowly dragged - into and through an alien terrain in a dream state of heightened awareness. Small motors, distant whirling tones and a vibrating necklace; under the influence of being under the water. File under: lowercase, non-idiomatic improv, deep listening... Co-released with Gilgongo and Faux-Pas Records.)

Jay Kreimer - space needles & laptop
Marty Belcher - saxophones, metal objects & snare
Justin Rhody - trumpet, microphone, turntable, harmonica & guitar
John McCormick - modified turntable, assorted objects & ring modulator


$12 (postage paid in u.s. -- intl. orders write for shipping)
paypal: friendsandrelativesrecords@yahoo.com




Side A of the LP, for your listening and/or downloading pleasure.




Saturday, October 27, 2012


NOW AVAILABLE!



Remake The Sleeper
by Andrew Restrepo

(After a ridiculously long stretch of planning and passing paper, Friends & Relatives is pleased to announce the release of "Remake The Sleeper". 44 pages compiling the complete lyrical poetry of Andrew Restrepo written between 2005 and 2011. A survey of the modern urban pallette, emotional interspace and a confidence gained through desperation. A setting and scenario that often incorporates manicured lawns, the abuse of prescription medication and end times iconography.)

Printed in an edition of 50 copies, 50% of them given to the author.
8.5"x7.5", softcover (zine style)

$4 (postage paid in the U.S., Intl. orders write for shipping costs)




excerpts from the collection: 

Goya
Leave the Plymouth half sunk in the mud
Taste the ginger ale splashing across your gums
As the pressure in your head singes off the charts
In the insatiable Southern Nevada night
We were drenched in the stretches of wild lights
As we flail straight into the unsettling source of it all

At that moment
Right then
We saw the Virgin Mother
Lift herself gracefully above the sand

There are always car tires burning somewhere
There's always someone in the shower washing blood from their hair
And every last cicuit in our body has gone insane
In the unquenchable Southern Nevada night
What brought us here does not have our best intentions in mind
As we rip out the ignition and dispose of the plates

At that moment
Right then
We saw the Virgin Mother
Open wide her gentle loving hand




Sheer Rapture

Once a year you know that I will come limping in
From that mean south-east side of town
When I see you trying to move the Kelvinator by yourself
I know exactly what's going down

Your soft, pink tongue
Is full of all kinds of threats
Mix in a splash of grenadine
And a couple of Percosets
Only someone like me
Would've thought that this was it

Blood spews from the faucets and everything changes
When you shift in your seat
Crops fail when you don that halter top
You are absolute, uninhibited heat

Who knew
I would remember this
Because right now everything about you
Is dripping with sex
Now I know
That this is it

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

FRESH OFF THE PRESS!


SAM GASKIN - "sketchbook"
(Culled from the personal sketch books of Sam Gaskin, we're offered access into 44 pages of drawings, ideas, jokes and quotes that will enrapture your frontal lobe and make a new home of your frail bodily vessel. Printed in a pocket-sized edition to better help facilitate concealment from authority squares; to give the kids a better chance at not getting caught while passing-in-class. Personality and humor pop off the page charming even the crankiest of belly-achers, and also form a suitable document of interest for extraterrestrials attempting to understand the mind of a young man infatuated with video game and cartoon imagery of the 1990's. Featuring landmark appearances by such unknown characters as the hairless aquatic ape, DJ Sleepy ZZZZ's & MC Glass of Milk.)

Printed in an edition of 100 copies, 50% given to the artist.
4"x5.5". 44 pages, black & white. Mixed color oversized covers.
Essientally being sold for the price of postage, buy in duplicate!


$2 (postage paid in u.s.a. - intl. orders write for shipping cost)
paypal to: friendsandrelativesrecords@yahoo.com








Friday, August 3, 2012

(D)(B)(H)
"Masterpieces of Objective Reporting"  LP
is at the pressing plant now!
(to be co-released by Friends & Relatives, Gilgongo and Faux-Pas Records)


Here is a peek at the recently printed jackets.
Nut brown spraypaint stenciled background, with screenprinted
line drawings by John Collins McCormick.
Printed onto recycled LP jackets.






The audio for this one was recorded in November 2011 in a 19th century log cabin, set in the woods of Southern Indiana. 40 minutes of foreign landscapes, cross-sectioning and language development.

Jay Kreimer - Space Needles, Laptop
Marty Belcher - Saxophones, Metal Objects, Snare
John McCormick - Modified Turntable, Extraneous Objects
Justin Rhody - Trumpet, Harmonica, Guitar, Turntable, Cymbal

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Recent review in Signal To Noise magazine of the
(D)(B)(H) / Seeded Plain & Hal Rammel split LP

"Like the early work of fellow Midwestern experimentalists Raccoo-oo-oon, there's a calming franticness in the work of (D)(B)(H), an ever-changing group whose sound is constantly evolving. (D)(B)(H)'s "Bad For Business," captured live onto... a community radio station in Bloomington, Indiana in summer 2010, features a quartet taking the entire 21-minute A-side to sculpt a piece that rests somewhere between free jazz and non-idiomatic improv. The result is not unlike what the AACM captured in its 1966 "Little Suite" or what The Blue Denim Deals Without the Arms were doing in Tuscaloosa, Alabama in the mid-to-late 1970's. (D)(B)(H) pulls it off with updated technology/anti-technology that includes Marty Belcher's anxious saxophone, Justin Clifford Rhody's peeved trumpet, Daniel Wick's small-instrument percussion, Kray Korvela's cultivated tapes, and other sounds that include guttural coaxings from metal objects and a prepared guitar which, at one point, sounds like there's a metal rod sandwiched between the strings. The flip side of this LP, limited to 300 copies, features a cooperative effort between flyover-states-based Seeded Plain (Bryan Day and Jay Kreimer) and longtime visual artist and improvisor Hal Rammel. The three musician, as documented in this March 2011 session in Grafton, Wisconsin, oftentimes come off like Rafael Toral flipping his lid (the Space Elements series specifically comes to mind), especially on the pieces "Hook and Eyespots" and "Plaster Coach." Things aren't so in-a-good-way wigged-out during the final pieces, "Grotto Instinct" and "Corner Merchants," though Seeded Plain's homemade instruments and Rammel's "amplified pallette" never let up in originality and intensity." --Steve Jansen


Monday, June 4, 2012

NOW AVAILABLE!


i'd m thfft able - "hangin' flaccid
                                   like a wet lilac" Cassette
(Hailing from Windham Maine, Skott Spear churns out 40+ minutes of constant flux, stereo throwing, and a regal control of the more subtle aspects; while under the air and under control. Electrified glass tables, springs, otherworld-ly vocals, string bows, tape recorders and scratched records slip and slam together in order to create hi-energy renditions of organic beauty. "There is nowhere to hide, and if you keep hanging in there, you will sooner or later feel transformed into another level of listening; a hypnotic state of utter awareness and letting go of cultural defenses." Printed in an edition of 50 copies.)

Listen to a track off the album here:


$4 (postage paid in the u.s.)
paypal to: friendsandrelativesrecords@yahoo.com
or send cash to: 114 S. Huron St. #4, Ypsilanti, MI 48197

(Const

A music video using a loop from
Ryan Jewell's "Radio Vol 1" cassette!



Thursday, May 31, 2012

NOW AVAILABLE!



William S. Burroughs“nothing here now
but the recordings”  Cassette
(Originally released as an LP in 1981 on Industrial Records, which has long since been out of print, this is a collection of voice and tape experiments conducted by William S. Burroughs in 1959-1978. Explorations in home recorded voice, t.v. & radio cut-ups, backwards tapes, echo and sub-vocal speech - including the earliest surviving cut-up tape, recorded in conversation between Brion Gysin (the person who originally conceived the cut-up method), Gregory Corso, Burroughs and Sinclair Beiles at The Beat Hotel in Paris, 1959. From the liner notes: “These are recordings that weren’t intended when they were made to be seen as finished ‘works’ of art… The participants were thinking about alterations and the potentialities of the tape recorder… When you cut up and rearrange words, new words emerge, the future leaks through, seemingly at random.”)

This is a bootleg that we believe originated from Norway.
Created in an edition of 50 copies and we
have only a small stack of them for sale.


$5 (postage paid in the U.S.)
paypal to: friendsandrelativesrecords@yahoo.com
or send cash to: 114 S. Huron St. #4, Ypsilanti, MI 48197
Now Available!


The Savage Young Taterbug – e.p. Cassette

(As known through his extensive touring of the U.S. sub-underbelly, as well as an unforgettable string of tapes on Night People, Charles Free approaches us from a different side of the street with this new E.P. of songs. Recorded live in hi-fidelity with only an upright piano and voice, the resulting boogie wuugie (extend’d) pain pop is up instant lock(es). To clear the air at the end, there’s a Partridge Family karaoke-cover that might possibly give DJ Screw’s children hope for a future in this world(s). From the liner notes: “recorded drunk on shitty beer in an apartment in chicago.”)


Printed in an edition of 50 copies.



$4 (postage paid in the U.S.)
paypal to: friendsandrelativesrecords@yahoo.com
or send cash to: 114 S. Huron St. #4, Ypsilanti, MI 48197





a live video of one of the tracks being recorded!

Wednesday, May 16, 2012


a new review for
JOHN WHEATLY's "Dimentia Europa" cassette!

"Very interesting. This is a long cassette, a c90, but in this case it is much too short. John Wheatly has basically traveled all around europe and made tons of field recordings and then seamlessly layered them together in one giant audio journal. It's fascinating and totally made to be listened to in a car on a long trip. It's very well put together and full of discovery... It's looks say nothing about the audio journey though. It's so understated in it's layout that it feels like they are trying to hide how cool this could be.
Would I buy this? Yes, it's worth it."  --dead formats blog



Saturday, May 5, 2012

Listen +/ Download part of "Dance Into Your Dungeon"
from the Dyngia Jazz cassette by MILLION BRAZILIANS
(only a few copies remaining! -- $4 ppd in the U.S.)



Thursday, April 26, 2012


 a recent review of
CHURCHBURNERS - "already done did"
(a 60 minute "greatest hits" cassette, copies still available!)
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"a totally varied sampling of spaced out work. Some noise, some folk, some strange spoken word stuff and all of it is VERY strange. It's weirdo music for weirdos and I heavily respect that. The spoken word tracks are probably my least favorite but the most interesting. Zach Ippen does what he does very well..." 
-dead formats


Sunday, April 1, 2012


"Dirty Old Cooler" by Sam Gas Can
from the split 7" with Justin Clifford Rhody 
available for $4 (ppd in the usa)



COMING SOON = a thick zine of
sketchbook drawings and notes by Sam Gaskin!

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

a recent feature in the BEAUTIFUL / DECAY art magazine
of drawings by John Collins McCormick
which were recently printed as a small book through Friends & Relatives
(very few copies still remaining = "buy in duplicate")

click'r HERE to see the spread

Recent review of Lougow's  "King Conversion" cassette!

"These two fifteen minute slabs of tape manipulation and percussion feel like nightmares I would have had after falling asleep with the television turned up much too loud as a child. The first involves wandering through a burning office complex. A drummer can be heard fooling around in a distant room as if chunks of the ceiling aren’t falling, but the smoke prevents me from ever actually finding him. When the situation finally grows hectic enough for me to call off the search, I open the first door I come to and find myself staring out at a crowded factory. The workers go about their business, stoically ignoring the machines falling apart only a few inches away. Is this just me? The second involves fighting off paranoid hallucinations in an abandoned hospital as the one-man cult who dragged me there conjures some violent spirits in the other room. The occasional peaceful mirage presents itself, but I hold on to the last one a few seconds too long, awaking to find half of my body already in the mouth of some new creature. When it finally swallows me whole, I slide down the chute, dropping back into the same hospital. Clearly, you need this." ----Cassette Gods

Saturday, March 24, 2012

AVAILABLE NOW!!!

GROWTH SPERT - "Solar Maximum" cassette
(Jon Middleton brings a full length album of beautifully mastered sound quality, showcasing a collection of songs based around homemade scattered-clutter drum kits based in found metal objects and kitchen pans, heaving accordion, voice and accelerating scratch-board violin. Certain tracks sound as if they're a Crass side-project performed using trash, transmitted from an unknown island in Southeast Asia. Others are more in line mentally with a tranced teen rhythmically sorting through scrap metal while invoking an apocalyptic rendition of a cappella Ella Jenkins. Jon is originally from Jonesboro, Arkansas and currently resides in Minneapolis. Created in an edition limited to 50 copies.)



$4 (ppd in the u.s.a.)
send paypal to: friendsandrelativesrecords@yahoo.com
send cash to: 114 S. Huron St. #4, Ypsilanti, MI 48197

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Review from Foxy Digitalis for the
(D)(B)(H) / Seeded Plain & Hal Rammel split LP
--------------------------------------------------

"(D)(B)(H) and Seeded Plain split sides on this LP of improvised music. Both groups demonstrate multiple modes of listening and performing through unique instrumentation and performance. (D)(B)(H) plays live on Bloomington Indiana’s WFHB community rad...io employing Marty Belcher on saxophones, Justin Clifford Rhody on trumpet, tapes, guitar, harmonica and cymbals, Kray Korvella performs metal objects, tapes, guitar and radio and Daniel Wick rounds out the ensemble on percussion. Seeded Plain is Brian Day and Jay Kreimer on homemade instruments joined on this recording by Hal Rammel and his amplified palette.

The side long improvisation from (D)(B)(H) – “Bad for Business” – illustrates improvisation predicated on listening and emulation as much as it highlights ingenuity and performance. The instrumentation blends together as much as it stands on its own, at times the saxophones and guitars are intertwined in sustain so that it’s hard to discern feedback from howl. Yet there are moments of certainty wherein each instrument executes its known characteristics. The pace of the piece revolves around the transference of ideas between players, which come and go, entertained and forgotten at a leisurely rate. This is not to say the piece is without intensity, while silence and restraint are employed by all performers so are noise and abandon. There is an overall quality to this recording of finding or creating a language. There is as much frustration in the performance as there is elation. The balance between these two elements makes for an engaging listen.

Seeded Plain and Hal Rammel utilizes modified everyday objects as their instruments. Brian Day and Jay Kreimer use a collection of disparate materials ranging from tape measures to golf balls, however much of their instruments are built from raw materials such as metal rods, wood and various strings and springs. Both Day and Kreimer amplify their instruments and use some form of processing. Day opts for pedals while Kreimer uses a laptop. Hal Rammel’s electrified palette is a painter’s palette which he has attached tines to the edges making it similar to an Mbira which he can pluck or bow. There is a distinct richness in the tones which are culled from these creations which without their modifications would be unheard. The sounds range from lush bell-like sounds and singing bowls to grading scraping and attack heavy percussion. Many of the sounds could well be electronically generated due to the use of amplification, however the clarity and density of the sounds reinforces their acoustic origin. Seeded Plain and Hal Rammel perform with a more “all over” aesthetic as compared to the minimal moments of (D)(B)(H) – both sides engage the listener in an active listening situation that finds each play of the LP revealing new intricacies."

http://www.foxydigitalis.com/foxyd/?p=29752

Sunday, March 18, 2012

AVAILABLE NOW!!!

"Dimentia Europa" by, John Wheatley (a.k.a. John Bellows)
(Sounds and songs of the street, sky and sea recorded throughout a series of travels in Europe onto a cassette deck, and then later layered and manipulated into a 37 minute long montage via 4 track. A flowing portrait composed to pull you through as a guide, while you melt into the couch or car seat...)
Full color covers & cassette labels. ----- Limited to 50 copies.



$4 (postage paid in the u.s.a. -- intl. orders write for postage cost)
paypal to: friendsandrelativesrecords@yahoo.com
cash to: 114 S. Huron St. #4, Ypsilanti, MI 48197
FRIENDS & RELATIVES 
records, books and objects
Complete Catalog -- Winter 2012





send all orders by paypal to: 
friendsandrelativesrecords(at)yahoo(dot).com





LP Records
(D)(B)(H) - "Masterpieces of Objective Reporting" ($12)
(D)(B)(H) / Seeded Plain & Hal Rammel - "split"($12)
(D)(B)(H) / Glen or Glenda - "split" ($12)
Mt. Gigantic - "old smiler" ($12)
Mt. Gigantic - "gleanings and gatherings" ($12)
Impractical Cockpit - "tour thanks tape 2" ($8)
Occasional Detroit & Gaybomb - "s/t" ($5)
This Robot Kills - "the over the phone lie detector test..." ($8)


7" records - ($4 each, unless individually priced)
Justin Clifford Rhody / Sam Gas Can - "split"
Justin Clifford Rhody / Uke Of Spaces Corners - "split"
Justin Clifford Rhody / Nocturnal Feeding - "split"
Justin Clifford Rhody / Fools - "split"
Justin Clifford Rhody / Gal & Lad - "split"
Amina Althea / Christian Brady - "split" ($2)
d.b.h. - "the size of your fist" ($2)
Dig Shovel Dig - "recent works from the two greatest composers in the universe"
Nocturnal Feeding - "cathy's motorcycle..."
The Foreheads / The Nazis From Mars - "split"
Impractical Cockpit / County Z - "split"

CASSETTE TAPES ($4 each, unless individually priced)
The Savage Young Taterbug - "e.p."
id'm thffft able - "hangin' flaccid like a wet lilac"
William S. Burroughs - "nothing here now but the recordings" ($5)
Growth Spert - "solar maximum"
"Dimentia Europa" by, John Wheatley (a.k.a. John Bellows)
Churchburners - "already done did"
Million Brazilians - "dyngia salon"
Lougow - "king conversion"
Ryan Jewell - "radio: vol. 1"
Dick Lickerer - "s/t" ($2)
Collection Of The Late Howell Bend - "pitter patter treat"
Aether Jag / Man-0-gram For A Maa'm - "split"
Colleen Donaldson - "oh i feel so sorry for you you have to get up"
Mt. Gigantic - "old smiler"
A. Restrepo (Nocturnal Feeding) - "paranormal activity"
Smut / At My Grandma's House - "split" ($2)
DJ Sony Playstation - "wall hugging mouse"
Dennis Ray Powell, jr. / Clare Hubbard & Justin Rhody - "split" ($2)
Sky Thing - "howdy cloud"
Amina Althea - "carpet collections" ($2)
(D)(B)(H) - "the world is a wedding, as wet as breath on glass"
(D)(B)(H) / Tiny Music - "split"
(D)(B)(H) - "bleach is the color of my true love's hair"
(D)(B)(H) - "not all girls just wanna have fun"
Justin Rhody & Matthew Himes - "romantic love"
Dysmal Abyss - "born to be born again"
Dysmal Abyss - "disguise the limit"


Compact Disks
Charlie Mcalister & Eric Ostrowski - "the year of suspended sap..." ($3)
Jay Kreimer - "peter and the moon trip" ($3)
Russian Tsarlag / (D)(B)(H) - "split" ($5)
Colleen Donaldson - "feeling good, feeling bad, feeling groovy" ($3)
Uno Moss - "the complete recordings" ($3)
Hackles - "interiors" 2xCD ($5)
Sky Thing - "howdy cloud" ($3)
Volume: 2 - compilation 2xCD ($3)
Shelf Life - "regarding the absence of floors" ($3)
Jack Wright Nonet - "live in detroit" ($3)
"SOUNDS" - compilation ($3)
Eye Of Vision - "s/t" ($3)
Jad Fair & Bill Wells - "whale" ($5)
Jad Fair & David Fair - "6 dozen cookies" ($5)
Uke Of Phillips - "p.b.h.t.s.s." ($5)
Matty Pop Chart / Welcome Home, Nemo - "split" ($5)
(D)(B)(H) - "why a preacher and not a priest" ($3)
(D)(B)(H) & Crude Hill - "a shredded leaf doesn't blow"($3)
(D)(B)(H) - "wave the old wave" ($3)
Mt. Gigantic - "old smiler" ($5)
Mt. Gigantic - "gleanings and gatherings" ($5)
Rymodee & Ghost Mice - "split" ($5)
Missing Murderers - "midnight hymns" ($5)
Breakway - "get down" ($3) (ONE COPY REMAINING!!!)
Man-0-gram For A Maa'm - "sorry, sorry, sorry" ($3)

"SLOW BREATH" - CDr BOOTLEG SERIES
(all titles $2 ppd each, editions of 10-20 copies)
Bontemper - "s/t"
Minds To Peace A.B. - "s/t"
Puke Attack - "s/t"

BOOKs & ZINEs
"Sliding Glass Door", by Justin Clifford Rhody (photo book - $15)
"Remake The Sleeper", by Andrew Restrepo ($4)
"SLO-MO" (illustrated) - issues #1-5 ($4 each, or all 5 issues for $12!!!)
John Collins McCormick - drawings ($2)
"7 Poems for Audrey Hepburn", by Michael Joseph Phillips ($1.99 - bootleg from 1968!)
"The Weather's Terrible", by A. Restrepo ($2)
DRAWINGS #1 - comics compilation/anthology ($4 - massive!)
DRAWINGS #2 - comics compilation/anthology ($4 - massive!)
"The Wonders Of The World: Recite" - screenplay, by Donna Sellinger & Madeline Ffitch ($2)

DVDs
"Alpaca", by Eric Ostrowski ($3)
"Hepatitis (B) Youth", by Jeremy Hogan ($5)
"Bum Shack", by Justin Rhody & Keith Wright ($3)



OBJECTs
Human Hair ($2.98)







Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Free listen/download of this album previously made available in a physical format through the Orphanology label (cd-r) and Friends & Relatives (split cassette with Aether Jag.)

Saturday, March 3, 2012



Here's a music video for the recently released
LOUGOW cassette "King Conversion"!!!


Monday, February 27, 2012



 FREE Listen/Download
of an old cassette released
through Friends & Relatives!!!

featuring cover artwork by Chelsea Dee Rhody
 (the 4th release on the label?!?  2002!?!?)



The MEAN-AGERS  -  "s/t"

Thursday, February 16, 2012



(D)(B)(H)  /  Seeded Plain & Hal Rammel - split LP


(Two sub-underground acts from the Midwest U.S. split sides on this LP, creating a coin-flip encrusted venture into the thrills of deep listening & free improvisation with leanings towards futurism and organically based lowercase compositions...  (D)(B)(H) is a free wheeling ensemble with a rotating cast and fluctuating approach/sound. This time in a quartet formation, we're offered a 21 minute piece entitled "Bad For Business" that equally embraces minimalist percussion, mangled tape manipulation, fluent fire-breathing saxophone, reductive guitars and spittle trumpet. Recorded live in the studio of a radio station, this presents the group within their most hi-fi documentation to date with a special presence put upon the dynamics of volume and space...  Seeded Plain is the duo of Bryan Day and Jay Kreimer, both of whom design, build and perform upon otherworldly instruments constructed using practical composite designs, combining everyday objects with finished wood and metal forms ("alchemists of hardware stores, surplus catalogs, and discarded objects.") Teaming up with the underground legend Hal Rammel and his "amplified palette", the trio presents 4 tracks of energy filled sound reminiscent of "wind chime cheese slicers, bed springs and lengths of rope." Adventurous listening...  Cover paintings by Peter Shear and Brad Krieger screen printed onto recycled LP jackets with a slight splattering of gold paint worked into the subtlety. Double sided full sized insert and hand stamped (golden) center labels created with custom cut 3" circular rubber stamps. 
Pressed in a limited edition of 300 copies.)


$12 (ppd in the u.s.a.)
paypal: friendsandrelativesrecords@yahoo.com
cash in envelope: 114 S. Huron St. #4, Ypsilanti, MI 48197


Wednesday, February 15, 2012

NEW CASSETTE now available!!!
CHURCHBURNERS - "already done did" (c60)
(Churchburners has been the long running moniker of Rockford, Illinois' prolific home-taper Zach Ippen.  This cassette is his "greatest hits" of sorts, a collection of tracks spanning the first decade of the 21st century, selected by Justin Rhody.  Humorous a cappella and spoken word tracks, cut alongside over-driven 4 track explosions of degraded rhythmic noise - interspersed between mouth-sound layerings and beautiful cinematic oddball meanderings.  Variety and adventure are the name of the game here, and "we're a winner"!  For fans of lo-fi home recordings as known by early-Sebadoh/Sentridoh, Avocado Baby, Half Japanese/Jad Fair, etc...  Tired of that huge pile of tapes and cd-r's clogging up the bachelor pad?  Well no need to fret, cause now all your favorite Churchburner tracks are available on one compact cassette!!!)
 
$4 (ppd in the U.S.)
paypal:  friendsandrelativesrecords@yahoo.com
cash in envelope:  114 S. Huron St. #4, Ypsilanti, MI 48197