Uz Jsme Doma finalised tour dates

September 23 - Daniel Street Club - 21 Daniel Street - Milford, CT
September 24 - Weslyan University Memorial Chapel - Weslyan University, 221 High Street, Middletown, CT 06459 (Free to students; $5.00 to public; 8.00pm doors)
September 25 - Building 16 - 95 Empire Street - Providence, RI (with Bellows, Normal Love & Whore Paint) $8.00
September 26 - Lesco - 4467 St Denis - Montreal, Quebec, Canada
September 28 - Zaphod Beeblebox - 27 York Street - Ottawa, Ontario, Canada - $8.00 advance/$10.00 at the door
September 29 - Sneaky Dee's - 431 College Street (at Bathurst) - Toronto, Ontario, Canada - $8.00 advance/$10.00 at the door
September 30 - Bug Jar - 219 Monroe Avenue - Rochester, NY 14607-3527
(585) 454-2966 (with Gunnar Stahl and Torus)
October 1 - The Rock Shop - 249 4th Avenue - Brooklyn, NY 11215 (718) 230-5740 (with Zuby Nehty, FPB, Dybbuk and a screening of the Czech Underground
rock documentary Hudba '85) $12.00 advance/$15.00 at door
October 2 - 12th Annual Czech Street Festival - 83rd Street between Madison & Park Ave. - NYC, NY Free! 12-7 pm (with Zuby Nehty)
October 5 - M Room - 15 West Girard Avenue - Philadelphia, PA 19123-1707 (215) 739-5577 (with Zuby Nehty & Majik Markers) $8.00
October 6 - Black Cat - 1811 14th St. NW - Washington, DC 20009 (with Zuby Nehty) $15.00
October 7 - Garfield Artworks - 4931 Penn Avenue - Pittsburgh, PA 15224 (412) 361 2262 - $8.00
October 8 - Now That's Class - 11213 Detroit Avenue - Cleveland, OH (216) 221 - 8576 (with Home & Garden & The Cream Based Soups)
Ocober 9 - Orion Sound Studios - 2903 Whittington Ave., Suite C - Baltimore, Md. 21230 (with Inzinzac) - $15.00

Hugh Hopper - The Gift of Purpose (benefit CD)

This in from Steve F. at Cuneiform and Nick Didkovsky:

"I got a message a few months ago from Hugh Hopper's wife Christine. She reported that since Hugh's passing, she's been struggling with finances. Of course she's also struggling emotionally, as she misses him terribly, but the gist of her message was a call for financial help. She recalled that Hugh told her that if she ran into trouble, to ask their friends for help. So she did. In response, John Roulat, Steve Feigenbaum, and I decided to produce a limited edition benefit CD, The Gift Of Purpose. The CD features a live concert by Bone (Didkovsky/Hopper/Roulat) that was beautifully recorded at Orion Sound in Baltimore. There is also a bonus track by myself, John, Colin Marston (Behold....the Arctopus, Dysrhythmia, Krallice), and Daevid Allen (Gong, Soft Machine, etc). Daevid contributed some very moving vocals which pay tribute to Hugh. John, Steve, and I are splitting the manufacturing costs and donating the gross income to Christine. Steve has already wired her some money in advance. "The Gift of Purpose" is a Cuneiform Record, in digipak format, with cover design by Bill Ellsworth. So it looks and sounds very, very good! For those of you new to Bone, we were a trio that was initiated when Hugh contacted me some years ago suggesting we collaborate on a record. Our record "Uses Wrist Grab" came out on Cuneiform a few years back, and we figured we were done. However, we were sort of drafted into doing live performance by Bruce Gallanter of Downtown Music Gallery, who invited us to perform at a festival he'd organized. Once we discovered we could pull off this material live, we did a handful of gigs, including the one on this record. We're very proud of the performance we unleashed in Baltimore, and thrilled that we can make it available to all of Hugh's friends through this benefit CD! I hope you will support this project by purchasing a copy of The Gift of Purpose." - Nick Didkovsky

This CD is only being sold by people who have agreed to pay the Hopper family the full selling price of $15.00 each copy. That means that right now, you can buy it from Downtown Music Gallery in New York City and Wayside Music only. Every cent of your $15.00 goes to Hugh's family.

Downtown Music Gallery are at:
13 Monroe Street [between Catherine & Market Streets in Chinatown], New York, NY 10002-7351
(212) 473-0043

Or you can buy it from Cuneiform/Wayside Music directly (see below)

It pained me greatly to learn that after 40 years of giving such great music to the world (and definitely being one of the coolest people in the world), that Hugh's family would find themselves in such circumstances and I am doing everything I can to help. If Hugh's lifetime in music means something to you, I hope you will consider helping too.

Thanks.


http://www.waysidemusic.com/Music-Products/Hopper--Hugh---The-GIft-of-Purpose__Cuneiform-spc-3334.aspx

CUNEIFORM RECORDS NEW RELEASE SPOTLIGHT #5: Jason Robinson

The Two Faces of Janus - one face looking at the past, one face looking towards the future. Borrowed from Greek mythology, Janus is an apt metaphor for the latest release by accomplished reedist and composer Jason Robinson. Robinson first appeared on Cuneiform with the long-running collective ensemble Cosmologic. Now he steps forward with a solo album that features a stellar band, all of whom are distinguished figures in jazz and improvised music as well as all being top-drawer bandleaders in their own right:

Jason Robinson -– tenor and soprano saxes, flute
Marty Ehrlich – alto sax, bass clarinet
Rudresh Mahanthappa – alto sax
Liberty Ellman – guitar
Drew Gress – bass
George Schuller – drums

The music is angular, expressive, emotional and virtuosic. Using Robinson's compositions as a base, all the players dig in and with their solos and ensemble interplay raise the stakes to make an outstanding contemporary work. The album seamlessly moves from hard swinging grooves to beautiful abstraction and features great work from all of these great players. Robinson’s playing and composing embodies the duality of the Janus metaphor; his music draws from the rich historical and modern traditions of jazz and he creates a decidedly modern and unique musical vision. The Two Faces of Janus also positions Robinson – originally from the West Coast – within New York’s most innovative community of creative and visionary jazz musicians. With the release of this modern classic, Robinson has arrived!


http://www.cuneiformrecords.com/bandshtml/robinson.html

Cuneiform Records artists on tour September 2010 part 2

RICHARD PINHAS

September 24 - Richard Pinhas + Merzbow - Sonic Circuits Festival - La Maison Française - 4101 Reservoir Road Northwest - Washington, DC 20007-2170
September 29 - Richard Pinhas + Wolf Eyes - The Floristree - Baltimore, MD
September 30 - Richard Pinhas + Wolf Eyes - The Secret Project Robot Art Experiment - 210 Kent Ave - Brooklyn, NY, 11211 (917) 860.8282
October 1 - The Temple - 670 Centre Street, Jamaica Plain MA 02130 (with:
Jason Lescalleet, Schurt Kwitters (Jess from Fat Worm), Vile Bodies)
October 2 - tbd - with the Sonic Circuit all-stars
October 6 & 7 - Jan Eyck Academy - Maastricht, Holland (note: this is a lecture/conference about music - not a concert)
October 20 - Pop Philosophie Festival - Marseille, France

UNIVERS ZERO

September 25 - Sonic Circuits Festival - La Maison Française - 4101 Reservoir Road Northwest - Washington, DC 20007-2170

UPSILON ACRUX

September 2 - The Sex - 816 Santa Fe. Ave - Los Angeles, CA (with Kid Infinity, Briefcase Scenario, Halloween Swim Team) Free show!

UZ JSME DOMA

September 23 - Daniel Street Club - 21 Daniel Street - Milford, CT
September 25 - Building 16 - 95 Empire Street - Providence, RI
September 26 - Lesco - 4467 St Denis - Montreal, Quebec, Canada
September 28 - Zaphod Beeblebox - 27 York Street - Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
September 29 - Sneaky Dee's - 431 College Street (at Bathurst) - Toronto, Ontario, Canada
September 30 - Bug Jar - 219 Monroe Avenue - Rochester, NY 14607-3527
(585) 454-2966
October 1 - The Rock Shop - 249 4th Avenue - Brooklyn, NY 11215 (718) 230-5740
October 2 - 12th Annual Czech Street Festival - 83rd Street between Madison & Park Ave. - NYC, NY Free! 12-7 pm (with Zuby Nehti)
October 4 - Maxwell's - 1039 Washington Street - Hoboken, NJ (201)653-1703
October 5 - M Room - 15 West Girard Avenue - Philadelphia, PA 19123-1707 (215) 739-5577
October 6 - Black Cat - 1811 14th St. NW - Washington, DC 20009
October 8 - Now That's Class - 11213 Detroit Avenue - Cleveland, OH
Ocober 9 - Orion Sound Studios - 2903 Whittington Ave., Suite C - Baltimore, Md. 21230

ZEVIOUS

huge entire USA tour (well, they may have to skip Boise) - mid March - mid April, 2011. watch for more info here as we get it

Cuneiform Records new album spotlight #4 - Microscopic Septet - Friday the 13th

Composer and pianist Thelonious Sphere Monk (1917-82) is one of the top creative deities in the pantheon of American Jazz Greats. His tunes, once considered radical and appreciated by the cognoscenti, are now beloved standards. The music of Monk was also the catalyst that sparked the creation of one of New York’s most legendary and important jazz groups, the Microscopic Septet.

Since its founding in 1980, under the co-leadership and co-compositional duties of soprano saxophonist Phillip Johnston and pianist Joel Forrester, "the Micros" have been "New York's most famous unknown band"; since 1990, the catchy, film noir theme they created for NPR’s “Fresh Air with Terry Gross” has aired daily on stations across America, and may now be the most-broadcast jazz tune in the world.

In 1974, the Monk tune: "Well You Needn’t" first brought the future Micros co-leaders together by chance. Johnston was living in the Bowery at the time, and Forrester, hearing music, barged into his apartment, unannounced: "I was playing a Thelonious Monk tune, and a guy I had never seen before came walking through my door, which wasn’t locked - those were the hippie days..." The encounter sparked a friendship and working relationship, in which Monk’s music reverberated on multiple levels across the years. Another chance encounter – at chicken and ribs place West Boondock, forged Forrester’s friendship with the Baroness Pannonica de Koenigswarter. And through the Baroness, Forrester would ultimately meet and periodically play piano for Monk. Since Johnston and Forrester’s first meeting, Monk’s music has remained an inspiration and guiding light throughout their music careers.

In addition to creating and playing their own music, they always played Monk’s music with the Microscopic Septet, but due to their limited number of releases and their copious original songbook (more than 180 tunes), they only previously recorded one Monk composition. This new CD rectifies this omission. Featuring original arrangements of 12 Monk tunes, half from “back in the day” and half newly-written for this recording, the Microscopic Septet make clear their line of descent from Monk. The humor and angularity of Monk’s compositions mesh easily and joyfully with the elaboration and juxtaposition of the Micros-style arranging. This is a true celebration of Monk by a group that can arguably be called his most sensitive and sensational heirs.

Featuring gorgeous art work by New Yorker artist Barry Blitt – the man responsible for the infamous and controversial "Michelle and Barack 'fist-bump'" cover and other contentious-yet-humorous artwork- and liner notes by jazz critic and long-time Micros fan Peter Keepnews, Friday the 13th is surprising yet inevitable: a long overdue party with the master, at which The Micros Play Monk.

Cuneiform Records new release spotlight 3: Uz Jsme Doma - Caves

Uz Jsme Doma (pronounced "Oozh (rhymes with 'rouge') Smeh Dough-Ma) (in English, “Now I Get It”) seemed to appear out of nowhere in the early 1990s, but it was a little more complicated than that. When the group came together in the small border town of Teplice in Czechoslovakia in 1985, rock was freedom and freedom was illegal. Via Western radio and smuggled tapes, however, the band came into contact with punk rock as well as more avant-garde bands. It wasn't until the fall of the Communist government that they were able to record and tour, which they then proceeded to do with a vengence; the group have toured the US a remarkable 17 times and have played nearly 2,000 gigs during their lifetime!

The group has won a strong following with their great releases and their constant, high energy tours. 25 years after their founding, their music combines the energy of punk rock - their original inspiration - while ignoring genre walls and adding more complex structures taken from avant-garde and avant-progressive bands and even from folk music of their native land. They are living, fire-breathing, alternative rock legends: one of “the two great Bastions of the Czech alternative scene” said the Prague Post, who ranked them in importance beside the Plastic People of the Universe. They are a singular, powerful group whose shows win them instant fans for life and whose musical voice is the voice of joy and freedom.

Currently the group is made up of leader Miroslav Wanek on lead vocals, guitars and piano, Pepa Cervinka on bass and vocals, Adam Tomasek on trumpet and vocals, Tomas Paleta on drums and Martin Velisek who designs all the band art work, and is a full band member whose “instruments“ are brushes and paints. The album comes with a 12 page, full color booklet with Martin's artwork.


http://www.cuneiformrecords.com/bandshtml/usd.html

Cuneiform Records new release spotlight 2: Richard Pinhas/Merzbow - Metal/Crystal

In Metal/Crystal, French experimental guitarist and electronic musician Richard Pinhas summons the assistance of noise artists Merzbow (Masami Akita) from Japan and Wolf Eyes from USA to weave a spellbinding aural web that spans 2 CD's.Over the years, many artists in the 'noise arena' have expressed interest in his pioneering use of synthesizers and electronics in rock and contemporary music. Pinhas has likewise been intrigued by various areas of the ‘noise’ scene and Metal/Crystal, recorded "during these two worst years of my life" reflects these influences strongly. Metal/Crystal also intertwines some of the most radical electro-acoustic sonic innovations to emerge from three different continents: Europe, Asia and North America. Pinhas has been ceaselessly innovative in a career spanning more than 30 years, and recently has been exploring areas of the international ‘noise’ scene.

His newest release shows him working with two of that scene’s highest profile artists; Merzbow and Wolf Eyes are considered to be the premier ‘noise artists’ of their respective countries. Metal/Crystal is Pinhas’ second collaboration with Merzbow, the originator of Japanese noise music. It is Pinhas’ first release with Michigan's Wolf Eyes, whom he’s worked with since 2007. In addition to Merzbow and Wolf Eyes, Metal/Crystal features several of Pinhas’ longtime collaborators: Antoine Paganotti (drums), Didier Batard (bass), Patrick Gauthier (mini-Moog) (all ex members of Heldon and/or Magma); Jerome Schmidt (electronics), whom Pinhas has recorded and toured extensively with for 2 decades; and his son Duncan Pinhas (electronics), who also helped mix the album with Laurent Peyron and Francis Gernet. The album’s artwork, by Yann Legendre and Joy Burke, features intricate, back-and-white cartoon-like drawings, with images hidden inside larger forms. The 6 lengthy tracks on Metal/Crystal features some of Pinhas’ most melodic guitar riffs in recent years, as well as his ‘noisiest’ sonic abstractions ever.

Cuneiform Records new release spotlight 1: Univers Zero - Heresie (reissue)

How does a group follow up an auspicious and unique debut recording? A recording that is so completely out of step with everything that is currently in fashion in popular and even in experimental music that nearly 35 years later, it still is able to surprise people hearing it for the first time. How? Well, if you were Univers Zero, you did it by moving even more to the extremes of your music. While the influences from 20th Century classical music (Stravinsky, Bartok, Huybrechts) mixed with aspects of progressive rock (the angularity of King Crimson added to the unique Zeuhl sound of Magma) remain, they are stripped down and presented in the starkest and darkest way possible. Guitarist Roger Trigaux still plays some amazing licks, but for much of the album, he is hunched over the harmonium (a 19th century pump organ), which gives the music an eerie, gothic sound - a gothic sound matched by the other front line instruments of violin/viola and oboe/bassoon. Meanwhile the rhythm section is completely electric, with heavy Magma-influenced bass and with Daniel Denis' fantastic drumming propelling everything forward.

Originally released in 1979, Heresie has long been considered a high-water mark of new music composition, performance, and dark, sinister intensity for over 30 years and has never been out of print. This reissue transforms and updates Univers Zero’s most infamous work with a new cover that uses bits of the original packaging, as well as many new elements. It also has a striking and clear new remix from the 1979 multi-track tapes that defines and clarifies all the instruments in a way that is much more focused than previous editions. Never have Daniel's cymbals so clearly sizzled with such menace or has Guy's bass gone so low into the underworld. The reissue is accompanied by a 16-page booklet containing a history of the band’s years during the Heresie period and illustrated with archival photos. Lastly, there is a 12 minute, revelatory bonus track from very early in the group's life added; a track that later was cannibalized by its composer, into bits that would eventually find their way into "Ersatz" on Le Poison Qui Rend Fou and "The Limping Little Girl" and "Ceux D'En Bas (Suite)" on N°6 by Roger's post UZ group, Present. One of the most significant avant-progressive rock albums of the very late 1970s just got even more significant!

Due out for September.


Original Track Listing:
1. "La Faulx" (Daniel Denis)
2. "Jack the Ripper" (Daniel Denis, Roger Trigaux)
3. "Vous le saurez en temps voulu" (Roger Trigaux)

Musicians:
Roger Trigaux: guitar, piano, organ, harmonium
Guy Segers: bass, voice
Michel Berckmans: oboe, bassoon
Patrick Hanappier: violin, viola
Daniel Denis: drums, percussion

Cuneiform Records artists on tour

Info courtesy of label president Steve Feigenbaum:

BIRDSONGS OF THE MESOZOIC (special tour to promote "Dawn of the Cycads", so founding member Roger Miller (Mission of Burma) is performing with the group in place of current member Ken Field, and all material will be vintage - 1988 or earlier)
July 23 - AS220 - 115 Empire St. - Providence, Rhode Island 02903
July 24 - Mercury Lounge - 217 E. Houston St - NYC, NY
July 25 - Kung Fu Necktie - 1250 North Front St. - Philadelphia, PA
July 26 - Talking Head - 407 East Saratoga St. - Baltimore, MD 21202 - buy advance tix
July 30 - Johnny D's - 17 Holland St. - Somerville, MA 02144

DAVID BORDEN/MOTHER MALLARD [40th anniversary celebration]
July 26 - Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art - Cornell University Campus - Central & University Ave. - Ithaca, NY. 14853-4001

CHEER-ACCIDENT
October 24 - The Philadephia Experiment: New Music Festival - The Rotunda - University of Pennsylvnania - 4014 Walnut Street - Philadelphia, PA 19104 (215) 573-3234 (with CHEER-ACCIDENT (headliner), Fern Knight, The Red Masque and Make A Rising) all ages - FREE but donations for the bands requested.

THE CLAUDIA QUINTET
July 8 - Barbican Hall - London, UK (opening for Medeski, Martin and Wood)
October - west coast USA touring

DJAM KARET
August 22 - Crescendo Festival - Saint Palais-sur-Mer, France

DOCTOR NERVE
July 12 - Le Poisson Rouge - 158 Bleeker Street, NY, NY (7:30pm Todd Reynold solo violin and electronics / 8:30pm Doctor Nerve / 9:30pm Dither Guitar Quartet)

ERGO (our latest signing! CD out in September!)
September 22 - Sonic Circuits Festival - Washington, DC

FORGAS BAND PHENOMENA
September 30 - Sunset Club - Paris, France
December 5 - Theatre de Sens - Sens, France
June - NEARFest - Zoellner Auditorium - Bethlehem, PA

GUAPO
September 18-20 (Guapo meets GMEA) - Rock in Opposition Festival - Maison de la Musique - Cap'Découverte - 81450 Le Garrick (Carmaux), France

GUTBUCKET
June 27 - Danger Danger Gallery - 5013 Baltimore Avenue - Philadelphia, PA (CD release show!) (with Elliot Levin Trio)
November 10 - Lemoyne College - Syracuse, NY

HAMSTER THEATRE
July 3 - Trident Booksellers and Cafe - 940 Pearl Street - Boulder, CO
October 17 - Edgefest - The Firefly Club - 637 South Main Street - Ann Arbor, MI : 9:00 PM

LED BIB
July 1st - rebroadcast of their gig at the Bimhuis in Amsterdam. It was recorded for NPS Radio 6 in Holland. It will be broadcast in it's entirety on at 22:00. You can listen on the radio in Holland or on www.radio6.nl everywhere else.
October 2 - The Vortex - 11 Gillett Square - London, UK
October 14 - tba - Barnstaple, UK
October 23 - tba - Derby, UK
December 10 - tba - Nottingham, UK

THE MAHAVISHNU PROJECT
July 7 - 8 - Vishnufest - Le Poisson Rouge - 158 Bleecker St - NYC, NY
The three part program will consist of:
PROGRAM 1. "The Best of Mahavishnu" - Highlights from Birds of Fire, Inner Mounting Flame and The Lost Trident Sessions; PROGRAM 2. "Before & After Mahavishnu: The John McLaughlin Songbook" - Featuring music from Extrapolation, Devotion, Electric Guitarist and the WORLD PREMIERE of several really cool, newly discovered CHORAL WORKS, setting the poetry of guru Sri Chinmoy; PROGRAM 3. "Return to the Emerald Beyond" - The 11-piece band plays the complete Visions of the Emerald Beyond plus "Smile of the Beyond" and a few fan fave encores.

MATS/MORGAN BAND (Mats Öberg and Morgan Ågren with former Meshuggah bassist Gustaf Hilem)
August 16 - 20 - Zaapanle - Germany (with Denny Walley)

MIRIODOR
July 10 - Festival d'été de Québec - Quebec City, Quebec, Canada (outside show - opening for Van der Graaf Generator!)
September 12-13 - FMPM - The Gesù - 1200 De Bleury Street, between St-Catherine Street and René Lévesque Boulevard - Montreal, Quebec, Canada

THE MUFFINS
September 12 - Orion Sound Studios - 2903 Whittington Ave., Suite C - Baltimore, MD
September 18 - Rock in Opposition Festival - Maison de la Musique - Cap'Découverte - 81450 Le Garrick (Carmaux), France

PRESENT
September 19 - Rock in Opposition Festival - Maison de la Musique - Cap'Découverte - 81450 Le Garrick (Carmaux), France

RADIO MASSACRE INTERNATIONAL
October 31 - Hampshire Jam - Millenium Hall, Liphoo - Hampshire, UK

REVOLUTIONARY SNAKE ENSEMBLE
August 15 - Salem Jazz & Soul Festival - Salem, MA

UNIVERS ZERO
September 20 - Rock in Opposition Festival - Maison de la Musique - Cap'Découverte - 81450 Le Garrick (Carmaux), France
October 13 - Nancy Jazz Pulsations Festival - Nancy, France

ZEVIOUS (our latest signing! CD out in September!)
August 14 - Yippie Cafe - 9 Bleecker St - Brooklyn, NY (with Third Space)
August 15 - Avant Gentleman's Lodge - 4028 Filbert St - Philadelphia, PA 19104 (with Make A
Rising, Hume)
August 16 - Galaxy Hut - 2711 Wilson Blvd Arlington, VA 22201 (703) 525-8646 (with DCIC)
August 17 - Nara - 1309 W. Main St - Richmond, Virginia (w/ The Wayward)
August 18 - DIVEbar - 3 Glenwood Ave - Raleigh, North Carolina - (Free show)
August 19 - BoBo Gallery - 22 Lexington Ave - Asheville, NC (with Shane Perlowin, King Tut)
August 21 - Dada Dollhouse - Winston Salem, NC (with St. Peter Pocket Veto)
August 22 - Hexagon - 1825 N. Charles St - Baltimore, MD (with Expanding Man, others tba)
September 16 - Monkeytown - 58 N. 3rd St - Brooklyn, NY 11211 (with Father Figures, Little Triumph)

Cartoon - Last 2 shows on Virb

Thanks to Scott Braziel for bringing this to my attention...a shame it's taken me this long to get this posted. More is coming...please be patient!

Written by Mike Taylor:

Cartoon were an American band from the early '80s. They recorded two albums, Cartoon in 1981 and Music from Left Field in 1983. Both, with the exception of one song, are included on Sortie, a CD reissue by Cuneiform. Cartoon's influences range from the European Prog bands (Yes, etc.), 20th century Classical, Free Jazz and the incidental music from Saturday afternoon cartoons. At live festivals, Cartoon was performing the themes from Rocky & Bullwinkle and Sherman & Peabody alongside covers of Stravinsky and Bartok string quartets. That should give you an insight into the band's original music contained on their two LPs. Cartoon was recorded as a trio of classically trained Scott Brazieal (keyboards), Mark Innocenti (guitars) and Gary Parra (percussion). Together, the trio created a music that is dazzling in complexity. (They searched for a long time to find a drummer capable of playing complex, constantly shifting meter.) Two songs, "Ptomaine Poisoning" and "Anemic Bolero," were scored by Brazieal, similar to the way National Health scored their music, then rehearsed it. There is a strong classical presence of grand piano on these and many other works. Other songs, including "Shark" and "Shredded Wheat" were worked out by the band during many long practice sessions. Thus, they have a bit more improvised feel, while still classically structured. Often, the comparison that came to mind was Univers Zero without the classical instruments and with a stronger synth presence.

Members
Scott Brazieal - Keyboards
Herbert Diamant - Reeds
Craig Fry - Violin/French Horn
Mark Innocenti - Guitars
Gary Parra - Percussion
Mike Aiken - Sound
Marc Adler - cassette recording (Nancy)
Bernard Gueffier - recording (Reims)
Renato de Moraes - Digital Transference

http://virb.com/cartoon

Deus Ex Machina return with Imparis

A sextet of violin, analog keyboards, guitar, bass, drums and vocals, Deus ex Machina's sound is a unique and unequaled blend of aggressive jazz-rock mixed with complex rhythms, 1970s-style hard-rock guitar and hints of Rock In Opposition-style avant-progressive rock, all topped by the incredible vocals of Alberto Piras, one of the most extraordinary vocalists working in rock today.

For this album, the band wanted to do something different and came up with an idea that presented a fun challenge to themselves. They had never played in France and on the outskirts of Paris, there was a world-class nightclub - Le Triton - that also featured a full recording studio as well as the ability to do a professional video shoot during performances. The band rented Le Triton for 3 days and spent two days recording. They also played a concert which was filmed. The result is Imparis, a double set that comprises a studio album of new material by the band as well as the band's first-ever DVD.

The studio CD contains 45' of new material while the DVD functions as a career overview of their last 10 years, featuring two songs each from their albums Equilibrismo Da Insofferenza, Cinque and Imparis. The concert program of the DVD is 60 minutes of professionally shot and edited live footage of the band performing completely live - there are no 'fixes or sweetening' of the performances and consequently, fans should find it more realistic and representative of a genuine live musical performance by a great, tight band than a typical 'live' DVD.

Also included are extras: interviews (funny and enlightening) + Paris backstage + a short, fascinating, avant-garde, prepared piano performance by Fabrizio of a one of the album's works + excerpts from Chapel Hill [USA 1996] + a totally over the top Italian TV performance [1996] + an charmngly dated music video that the band did in 1993. Total time of DVD is about 2 hours. Since they probably won't be coming to your hometown this week/month/year, this one is a no-brainer for their many fans.

DVD is NTSC, All Regions (Region 0)

http://www.cuneiformrecords.com
http://www.waysidemusic.com
http://www.derepublica.com/