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

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

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)

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.)

Here's a music video for the recently released

LOUGOW cassette "King Conversion"!!!

 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"

www.fmsmprc.bandcamp.com/album/the-mean-agers

(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

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

 

 

 

 

recent review for the
(D)(B)(H) / Seeded Plain & Hal Rammel - split LP

 
 "Two Midwestern outfits get active. (D)(B)(H) side = Euro free improvisation, the type with a saxophone spastically/gingerly blurting while three guys clatter metal and percussive objects in restless fashion. Takes a whole side to resolve... Seeded Plain team up with Hal Rammel on their side for some even more abstract, noisome improvisation on homemade instruments and amplified palette... unpredictable, as the listener can neither see nor determine the makeup of the tools at play here – part windchime, part cheese slicer? Who had six thumbs and fingers that are all cut up and mutilated? THESE GUYS. Adventurous listening, particularly the latter, in a homemade looking sleeve. One has to wonder if the economic nightmare of Europe circa now is putting a damper on guys like these, and their ability to make a living through their art; after all, this is where such music seemed to thrive for decades on end. Then again, is that even a concern for such groups? The ivy-covered walls of academia and the rebellion that brews within each individual trapped inside informs the scrappy, unsettling sounds found here." --Doug Mosurock, Still Single

Recent review for the new

MILLION BRAZILIANS  "Dygnia Salon"  Cassette

"This was a little unexpected but a totally amazing find. Man, Friends and Relatives Records has definitely carved out their own interesting niche in experimental music. This is the second release and the third artist of theirs that works in the experimental jazz genre. Two long instrumental jams are encoded on this cassette that both somehow move between free jazz, middle eastern classical, drone, and tribal music. The first side of this tape sounds like a Curtis Mayfield jam meets a Raga. It's super good. Maybe something Herbie Hancock might have explored had he not gone into the electro jazz direction that I was never able to get into. The second side is more of a drone track with a middle eastern/indian feel before swirling into a tribal trance. I love the canned/lo-fi sound on this cassette. It's like listening to this band practice through your bedroom wall. Excellent release. Limited to 50 copies. Good luck on this one."  --Dead Formats

recent review for the new

LOUGOW  "king conversion"  Cassette

"I am finding this tape a little hard to pin down. It's eclectic and interesting. It leans towards the drone side of things but it's not. It has moments of electro acoustical sounding instrumentation and some bit of noise but it feels more preplanned than noise. It's kinda beautiful in general but also hard to make out the edges. Like a beautiful woman preserved under ice. This has been compared to John Cage and I think I can hear that. I have listened to it five times today both actively and passively and I keep noticing different things about it. It's good. The artwork is both naive and understated but it's also very nicely drawn. All around it's a worthwhile cassette to own. Limited to 50 copies."  --Dead Formats

A recent review for the

 (D)(B)(H) / SEEDED PLAIN & HAL RAMMEL

 split 12" LP

 

"This may be the smartest record I have put on in a while. I don't mean in a pretentious way just in the way where I feel like it is actually good for my brain to hear this. (D)(B)(H) starts off the split with a whole side of minimal abstract jazz (even typing their name gives you a little song in keyboard rhythm.) There is a bit Peter Brotzmann and a touch of John Coltrane coming through my speakers right now. The four musicians on this recording, Justin Rhody, Kray Korbella, Marty Belcher and Daniel Wick are mostly multi-instrumentalists on this record. Trumpet, tapes, guitar, harmonica, radios, saxophones and a wide array of drums and percussion creates a huge, sprawling piece of free, although very restrained, jazz. It's really quite good. It was recorded live on the radio and there is a little bit of sound that seems lost. The recording sounds really great and has a sort of lo-fi vintage quality but I would like to hear these players record with someone like Randall Dunn. Seeded Plain & Hal Rammel is a collaboration that also really exceeds in abstract minimalism. The instruments listed here are: Homemade instruments and amplified palette. I wish I could have seen this being recorded so I could really get a grasp on what exactly is going on her. Bed Springs, metal trays, lengths of rope, broken guitars, plastic drums? I have no idea what exactly is going on but it sounds awesome. This is an excellent example of electroacoustic music or maybe musique concrete. Simple screen printed reclaimed record covers with xeroxed inserts. I seriously feel like I could destroy Sunday's NYT crossword after having heard this." --dead formats

devdformats.blogspot.com/2012/01/dbhseeded-plain-hal-rammel-split-12.html

Review for the MAN-0-GRAM FOR A MAA'M cd, "sorry sorry sorry"
(released through Orphanology/Blue Sanct Records, available through Friends & Relatives)


"This immediately gets points for being recorded live in a library full of people talking about other things besides paying attention to the band. The first few minutes of the cd especially are full of voices and chatter from people who are more excited to talk than to listen. Maybe they don't notice as the audio from Man-0-gram for a Maa'm starts off sounding like backwards whale songs. It's pretty awesome. Then some breathing/grinding sounds start to overtake the waves or bass heavy drones. A couple samples peak through the din but they work pretty well in context so I am all for these ones. All the time you hear coughs and sniffs of people sick with colds as this was recorded in Maine during December. It's pretty awesome all the way through. I recommend picking this up, even with the band's silly and kinda lame name. Limited to 23 copies and packaged in a slimline cd case. The design is pretty nice as well."  -dead formats

http://www.devdformats.blogspot.com/2012/01/man-0-gram-for-maam-sorry-sorry-sorry.html

2 new cassettes available!

MILLION BRAZILIANS - "dyngia salon" TAPE
(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 slush from behind. Color insert and labels, clear/black norelco cases. Limited to an edition of 50 copies.)

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

LOUGOW - "king conversion" TAPE
(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 pallet 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.)

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

recent reviews...

Some recent reviews of
RYAN JEWELL - "radio: vol 1" cassette
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


"Ryan Jewell is a percussionist and this is ostensibly a percussion record, but it's actually so much more. He uses very simple textures to work his magic across this tape's two 20 minute sides. From little crinkly sounds to more droned-out textures, Jewell's music fits into what I hear is being called the Reductionalist school of contempo "jazz" (think Bhob Rainey, Greg Kelley, Dave Gross, Forbes Graham and more recently Jack Callahan), but could just as easily be something else entirely. Both of these pieces were recorded on the radio. As Justin says "free of genre, pure of essence."  -Nick Williams, Cassette Gods


"This is subtle. Really minimal glitches and noise that have a pretty impressive amount of restraint. The second side is really beautiful work. Subtle (there's that word again) drones and strange bells mixed with quick bursts of quiet noise and some really surprising drums. Really nice. It's so subtle that at times you may think there is nothing going on... what you do hear is very measured and controlled minimal soundscapes."  -Dead Formats

Some recent reviews of

SEWN LEATHER - "blood runs down the drain" cassette

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"This is real out there. Aesthetically this looks like you might be getting some HNW or maybe some creepy doom. It's creepy but in a totally different way. Strange synth manipulations, odd beats and some really spaced out guitar playing and deranged vocals make up something that sounds like it would have definitely influenced David Lynch. I actually have this cassette tape of the cartoonist Al Columbia's music from the early nineties. It's amazing four track manipulated folk noise and it reminds me a lot of Sewn Leather… Oh yeah, Sewn Leather also sounds very eighties. In it's production and use of instrumentation. It is a different psychedelic animal all together. The artwork is fucked up and I am pretty stoked on this one. Bizarre and waiting for you." -dead formats

"This is the first time I've actually heard the music of Sewn Leather. I wasn't sure what to expect and in fact I'm not sure I've actually heard Sewn Leather at all. The note written by the artist to Friends & Relatives head honcho Justin Clifford Rhody is reprinted on the inner J-card and reads as follows: "Use as much or as little as you want. Dear Justin, I hope these recordings are satisfactory. I was on drugs, mostly hydrocodone, when I made them. I don't think it's Sewn Leather. I think it's 'Riz-La-Rink.'" Alright. This shit is all over the map. We've got some messed up Slang Tang, acoustic songs with variable tape speed and a number of other jams with hip hop undercurrents. Like the music of The Savage Young Taterbug, you can tell that this guy is more than a little "off". This is an aesthetic that really speaks to me. Some people might be turned off by a recording with such a variable nature, but for me it's like a golden nugget."  -Nick Williams, Cassette Gods

A short documentary-ish film by Neil Blakemore, created in early 2008.