Newsletter, Winter 2012
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Sewn Leather performing live. Photo: Ben Trogdon
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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!!!)