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We’ve got a feel-good drone show this week, more toward...

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 23:28:54 -0500

We’ve got a feel-good drone show this week, more toward the relaxing tones than the impending doom side of drone’s sonic spectrum. Blues Control (who just did an awesome show at DC9) along with Vintage Cucumber and Trjaeu provide a tropical-tingle triple-header. Then, in the middle there’s both sides of the new Oneida album, the wonderfully titled A List of the Burning Mountains. Stream away!

Bad Date — Talk Normal — Sunshine

Love at the Swimming Hole — Louis and Bebe Barron — Forbidden Planet: Original MGM Soundtrack

Love’s a Rondo — Blues Control — Valley Tangents

Aloha a hui hau — Vintage Cucumber — Mc Goyl Style

Small Hours — Trjaeu — Heights Peak

The Place Of Dead Things — Eternal Tapestry — Prometheus Rising

Magician Who Makes Grass Green — Sparkling Wide Pressure — Sing What You Remind Me Of

Gun Guri — Korea in the Space — Mt. Pleasure

A List of the Burning Mountains 1 — Oneida — A List of the Burning Mountains

A List of the Burning Mountains 2 — Oneida — A List of the Burning Mountains

2 stoned 2 dream — YlangYlang — Coastal Heaven

The Oppressor — Co La — Soft Power Memento

The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face (featuring Erykah Badu) — The Flaming Lips — The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends

Vuiet — Sentem — Talim

Gypsum — Blues Control — Valley Tangents

Just music on this week’s show; dark and droney to match...

Wed, 03 Oct 2012 14:04:00 -0400

Just music on this week’s show; dark and droney to match up with last night’s dense fog cover. Things take sort of a desolate country turn toward the middle with tracks by Earth, Appalache, and Daughn Gibson.

Tiny Spiders — The Soft Moon — The Soft Moon

Blank Tape Interlude — Troglobite at Amma House — District Of Noise Vol.5

Beyond the Sea — Monster Rally — Beyond the Sea

Track 2 — Blonde God — Blonde God

Whunt12for2 — Ariel Pink and R. Stevie Moore — Ku Klux Glam

Untitled 3 — Ulaan Khol — III

OFF WITH HIS HEAD — Black Pus — PUS MORTEM

The Day After 4th July — U.S. Girls — U.S. Girls on KRAAK

You Wish You Were Red — Trailer Trash Tracys — Ester

Vive L’immensite (mastered) — Mpala Garoo — Toto Waca

Athame — Motion Sickness Of Time Travel — Luminaries & Synastry

Kill The Self That Wants To Kill Yourself (Reprise) — Diamond Terrifier — Kill The Self That Wants To Kill Yourself

Engine Of Ruin — Earth — The Bees Made Honey In The Lion’s Skull

R55R — Appalache — Fue

Rain On a Highway — Daughn Gibson — All Hell

Ill Star — Willie Lane — Guitar Army of One

Misery Blues — Karen Dalton — 1966

The Anger of Kings — Chris Corsano — Another Dull Dawn

Meditation (With Wind) — Insect Factory — Love and Circuits: A Cardboard Records Compilation (From Aa to Zs)

Blood Is Clean — Valet — Blood Is Clean

Deep Sea — Monster Rally — Beyond the Sea

Fountains — Horse Bladder — Not I’ll Not

Julius & Hobbes — Witxes — Scrawls #01

I Saw A Ray — Grouper — AIA: Dream Loss

The Return — Padme — Wisdom from the Stars

She’s Adopted — Blanche Blanche Blanche — Bent Minds Comp

The Sea Saw Swell — En — Already Gone

20k Under DC is traveling on the west coast this...

Tue, 18 Sep 2012 09:55:05 -0400

20k Under DC is traveling on the west coast this week so in lieu of regularly scheduled programming here’s a sonic map of the trip. It starts up in Seattle and follows my path all the down to San Francisco presenting music from the various cities I’m passing through or near. It’s by no means an authoritative guide to the west coast; it’s more of a random sampling. Annotated playlist below:

House Shape — Mount Eerie — Clear Moon

[This whole album is about the city of Anacortes, Washington, the town just north of Seattle where Phil Elverum currently resides.]

Seattle

Sin Nanna — Sun O))) — Black One

Andy Wolff — Minus The Bear — Highly Refined Pirates

Heavy Sleeper — Secret Colors — Jonk Music: Winter Beats ‘12

Fruit — Modest Mouse — The Fruit That Ate Itself

All Night Diner — Modest Mouse — Building Nothing Out Of Something

[Fairly certain this song is a reference to Triple XXX root beer, a drink native to Issaquah, Washington where Modest Mouse started.]

Tacoma

My Hometown — Girl Trouble — New American Shame

Olympia

[Pretty much all the bands in this leg (except for Earth) were part of K Records, a label started by Calvin Johnson and based in Olympia, WA.]

Solar System — The Microphones — Mt. Eerie EP

Instrumental — The Microphones — The Glow Pt. 2

Liar — Bikini Kill — The C.D. Version Of The First Two Records

Rise to Glory — Earth — The Bees Made Honey In The Lion’s Skull

Planned Obsolescence — The Halo Benders — Don’t Tell Me Now

[One of Calvin Johnson’s many projects — he’s the one with the baritone. Also includes Doug Martsch from Built to Spill.]

Mistake — D+ — Mistake

Alaska — The Softies — It’s Love

Cast a Shadow — Beat Happening — Black Candy

Hey Boy — The Blow — Poor Aim: Love Songs

Modern Girl — Sleater-Kinney — The Woods

Portland

The Bookhouse Boys — Angelo Badalamenti — Music From Twin Peaks

[Okay. Not really from the Pacific Northwest, but as an east-coaster Twin Peaks is pretty much how I imagine the Pacific Northwest.]

Rose Parade — Elliott Smith — Either/Or

Poison Cup — M. Ward — Post-War

Valley of Fire — Jackie-O Motherfucker — Valley of Fire

Foiled — Yellow Swans — Going Places

Louie Louie — The Kingsmen — The Kingsmen In Person

[The Kingsmen: Proof that Portland was making music parents didn’t understand even before your parents were your parents.]

San Francisco

Burning Mirrors — Lumerians — Transmalinnia

Slight Return — Odd Nosdam — Level Live Wires

Disco D’oro — Tussle — Kling-Klang

The Man in Your House — Mi Ami — Watersports

[Members were originally part of a DC-based band called Black Eyes.]

Waterfalls — Why? — Elephant Eyelash

cLOUDDEAD / Side B (cLOUDDEAD #6) — cLOUDDEAD — Peel Sessions

The Pedestrian — Bright Moments — Music For the Advancement of Hip-Hop

[From an Anticon sampler. Anticon is a weirdo rap label based in Oakland. It’s home to groups like Why? Odd Nosdam, cLOUDDEAD, and like a dozen more. I’m pretty sure it’s only like five dudes constantly rearranging themselves, though.]

Echnononecho — Mi Ami — Watersports

Fete d’Adieu — Deerhoof — Breakup Song

On this week’s show we’re joined in the studio by...

Wed, 05 Sep 2012 19:51:29 -0400

On this week’s show we’re joined in the studio by Jeff Surak, founder of the DC-based outré music label Zeromoon (home to “intelligent noise music of the non-entertainment genre”) and director of the Sonic Circuits Festival of Experimental Music.

For the past twelve years Sonic Circuits has been responsible for bringing some of the biggest names in obscure music to the District. This year’s festival—which runs September 28 through 30 at the Atlas Performing Arts Center—is possibly the most diverse yet. Featuring a massive lineup of artists, performances, and workshops, the festival is an impressive sampling of the genres, micro-genres, and not-quite-genres that make up the world of contemporary experimental music. Over the course of its three-day run, you can expect to hear everything from free improv and musique concrète to psychedelic pop and ambient drone.

Over the course of the hour, Surak walks us through some of this year’s highlights, including cuts from local acts like Janel and Anthony and tracks from world-renowned composers like Glenn Branca. Also discussed: the important distinctions between the theramin and the tannerin.

Primal Communication [excerpt] – Tatsuya Nakatani – Primal Communication

My Dear Siegfried – The David Behrman Ensemble – Statement Against the War

Sorrows of the Moon – Ergo – If Not Inertia

Game 2 – Boris Bobby Jr. – Sonic Circuits Volume 5

Rasl – TL0741 – Rasl

Held to Account – TL0741 – Rasl

3e2 – Jeff Carey – Sonic Circuits Volume 5

För Svears Väl – Trepaneringsritualen – Konung Dómaldr Vid Upsala Hängd

Sticky Fingers – Music from the Film – Vi Kommer Til Å Få Deg

Fire Shuffle – Alec K Redfearn and the Eyesores – Sister Death

Big Sur – Janel and Anthony – Where is Home

Light Field (In Consonance) – Glenn Branca – The Ascension

The Sonic Circuits Festival of Experimental Music runs September 28 through 30 at the Atlas Performing Arts Center on H Street. Tickets can be picked up online or at the box office the of the event.

Okay. Just music on this week’s installment — and...

Wed, 15 Aug 2012 18:58:04 -0400

Okay. Just music on this week’s installment — and there are some good ones in there. Some short peices by Mndsgn. and Knxwledge, who are apparently brothers. Also a track from Durlin Lurt and Mr. Dibaise which is from an album built completely off muppet samples. If all that’s too goofy for you, we go out with a bit of Glenn Branca, who strikes me as a very serious person.

The Enchanted — Sea Martin Denny — Exotic Moog

Thxman — Mndsgn. — ObliqueKitchn

Waterbed — Imperial Topaz — Imperial

INOUI (feat. Nik @ Nite) — Dreams West — Sunrise Blend 2

Whenitrainsitpoursagain — Devonwho — Episodes

Hayrow. — Knxwledge — Ovrstnd.LP

Spy Vs. Spy — Black Dice — Mr. Impossible

Skin Fox (Persona La Ave Remix) — Mane Mane — Skin Fox EP

Voice of the Book — Richard Skelton — Landings

Tranquilo — Devonwho — Episodes

Love Story — Mecca:83 — Life Sketches Vols 1&2

KO | Glass Cutter (feat. Mr. Dibiase) — Durlin Lurt — Him Jenson

En Sveno — Piano Overlord — Aninha Mission

Side A — Gemini Trajectory — Television Sky

Birth Day — Milan W — 002

Cedilla in My Monogram — Ken Seeno — Open Window

From No Part of Me Could I Summon a Voice — Colin Stetson — New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges

Sea Battle at Orkusk — Wizardzz — Wizardzz

Ancient Spear — 10th Letter — LETS BUILD A UNIVERSE

Holy Nothing (valet) — Ahnnu — Nature Walk & Other Things

Track 14 — Remy LBO — Peeling in the Drum Comical Cheating

I Moved Here — Piano Overlord — Aninha Mission

Without — Junior Mungus — 5

Got Feel — BeachesBeaches — Sun Model

Go Away — Horse Bladder — Nicole

Test Pattern #1011 — Ryoji Ikeda — Test Pattern

Forever Falling — Vestals — Forever Falling Toward The Sky

Light Field ((In Consonance)) — Glenn Branca — The Ascension

On tonight’s show we’ve got Meg and Jenna,...

Wed, 18 Jul 2012 15:46:29 -0400

On tonight’s show we’ve got Meg and Jenna, two of the organizers behind the DC Zinefest. Taking place Saturday, July 28 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at St. Stephen’s Church, the Zinefest is a really cool event that brings together DIY folks of all stripes. It’s a great way to see some neat art, meet creative folks from around the District, and even pick up some zine-making skills of your own.

On air, Meg and Jenna talk a little about the history of the zine, why self-publishing is important, and how to get involved creating your own work.

Fun show tonight. Mostly instrumental tunes that lean toward a...

Fri, 06 Jul 2012 13:01:00 -0400

Fun show tonight. Mostly instrumental tunes that lean toward a hazy, wavering sound perfect for this heat wave. Lots of stuff is NYP or super cheap on bandcamp like Nipple Tapes, Color Plus, Monster Rally, and AARONMAXWELL, to name a few.

Hush Hush — Airliner — None

How We Do Dat and How It Feels — Colestock — MEDI4 DOWNLO4D

Fuzz — Color Plus — Fuzz

whn — Nipple Tapes — aaa

One More Look — Heat Wave — Fukd in tha Game

One Second of Love(Peaking Lights Remix) — Nite Jewel — One Love

Ghosts — Monster Rally — Beyond the Sea

Barquita — Les Baxter and His Orchestra — Ritual of the Savage

wntwrk — Knxwledge — karma.loops.prt3

Wish Upon Wish Island — Hear Hums — Opens

Egyptian Peaches — Co La — Daydream Repeater

Spirit of 77 — Ken Seeno — Open Window

Domain of Wonder — Chandeliers — Founding Fathers

Welcometothejungle — Curls — [Internet//who knows]

Blame — Monster Rally — Beyond the Sea

Blue Moon — Santo & Johnny — Santo & Johnny

Stratus Undulatus — Polymer Slug — Cloud Types

thruthend — Knxwledge — karma.loops.prt3

Da antidote — Loot Pack — Soundpieces: Da Antidote

PCP — Junior Mungus — 5

Maingirl — Quasimoto — The Further Adventures Of Lord Quas

CRIMINON — AARONMAXWELL — DIANETICS

Original Bounce — Remy LBO — Peeling in the Drum Comical Cheating

Problems With The Sun — Nicolas Jaar — Space is Only Noise

Pineapples — Jeans Wilder — DYVNZMBR

Let Me Pick You Up — Heat Wave — Fukd in tha Game

sur — Nipple Tapes — aaa

Organ Blues — Suuns — Zeroes QC

Dream — Santo & Johnny — Santo & Johnny

Double Life — Cold Showers — Art Fag 7”

Multistability 7-B — Mark Fell — Multistability

fortheSUN — Dak — Standthis B(onus)-Side

Back From Tha Grave — Heat Wave — SWEETS

mmr — Nipple Tapes — aaa

Hearth Carver — WZT Hearts — Threads Rope Spell Making Your Bones

Au loin, une Lueur — YlangYlang — Tune Your Eyes to Kaleidoscopic Vision

Fear of no Ascension — Wilson Alonso Sanchez — Misaligned Everything

20kUnderDC Interview: Co La

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 21:06:54 -0400

Last weekend I got a chance to interview Matt Papich, better known as Co La. The Baltimore musician was performing as part of the Lunch Bytes series at the Hirshhorn Museum along with Oneohtrix Point Never. We talked about everything from his approach to sample-based music to cultural implications of the exotica genre. The whole interview can be read over at Prefix.

20kUnderDC Review: Com Truise "In Decay"

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 21:00:41 -0400

New 20kUnderDC review up on Prefix. This time it’s the retrofuturist producer Com Truise:

The music Seth Haley creates under the moniker Com Truise can best be understood as a series of variations on the same theme. Not to undersell the producer’s talent, but hearing just one track—any track—is all you need to get a handle on what he’s trying to accomplish. In Decay— the new collection of unreleased and demo tracks out on Ghostly International— shows that Haley arrived at his cohesive synth-heavy sound early in his career and perfected it though endlessly reworking the same basic components over and over… [Read the rest over at Prefix]

No guest this week. And do to the seasonal deterioration of good...

Wed, 20 Jun 2012 15:37:00 -0400

No guest this week. And do to the seasonal deterioration of good work habits brought about annually by summer weather, we didn’t have much of a playlist prepared for last night’s show, either. Though, looking back, things turned out pretty okay. Some highlights: Lots of short interludes from a two groups Junior Mungus and Nipple Tape, both of which have a knack for creating thick and sludgy beats from jazz samples. Also, more guitar than normal, with finger-picking cuts from Six Organs of Admittance and Takeshi Terauchi & The Bunnys. There’s also two tracks from this awesome compilation of Japanese Juke and Footwork music. It’s a genre we don’t really understand yet, but there’s certainly something to it.

INTRO — JUNIOR MUNGUS — 5

Wish Upon Wish Island — Hear Hums — Opens

FIVE — JUNIOR MUNGUS — 5

TVV — JUNIOR MUNGUS — 5

e — so — so

kfk — nipple tapes — iii

Zabo — Idaho — This Way Out

Once In Babylon Part 4 — KWJAZ — KWJAZ

High-Up — hideride (ArtLism.JP) — Japanese Juke&Footworks Compilation

MUDBUT — JUNIOR MUNGUS — 5

yuo — nipple tapes — iii

When You Cut (Gary War Remix) — Moon Duo — Mazes Remixed

Stella in motion, stellar emotions — YlangYlang — Tune your eyes to kaleidoscopic vision

FACE — JUNIOR MUNGUS — 5

So run down — The Caretaker — Extra Patience (After Sebald)

MGM Grand — Thomas William — Deccan Technicolour

Indian Princess — Lee Noble — Horrorism

Strange Gods — Mincemeat Or Tenspeed — Strange Gods

Kokkyo No Machi (Border Town) — Takeshi Terauchi & The Bunnys — Guitar Instrumentals from the New and Olde Worlds

gth — nipple tapes — iii

I Quit, Internet — Cub’b — XX

Limit To Your Love — BADBADNOTGOOD — BBNG2

Delofi’s Compostbin — Oscar McClure — Compost Remixes

Attar — Six Organs Of Admittance — The Sun Awakens

Feathers — Gowns — Dangers of Intimacy

les — nipple tapes — iii

Ritualistic — Authorization — Version 1

Afro-Tourism — Rick Rab — Thick Liquids

El Ventarron — Afrosound — Guitar Mood 2 : More Rare Instrumentals from the New and Olde Worlds

Prismatic Spring — Macaw — CELADON

ICE CREAM — Kitazono Toshiyuki — Japanese Juke & Footworks Compilation

IANDWE — JUNIOR MUNGUS — 5

Live at Xtapool, Njiemegan, Holland — Nautical Almanac — Transcriptedivisions

High In The Cinema — Pens — Hey Friend What You Doing?

Bad Moods — Geneva Jacuzzi — Lamaze

VIETNAM — JUNIOR MUNGUS — 5

Tigantabame — Bola — Volume 7

Olor Food — Komodo Haunts — Low Winged, Silken Plumes

20kUnderDC on KCRW

Wed, 20 Jun 2012 15:00:38 -0400

Since it is a million degrees out in DC today I think it’s about time I post this: A few weeks ago I wrote a thing for KCRW’s Playing on Prefix feature about a band called Secret Colors. In my estimation, the band’s 2010 cassette makes just about the best soundtrack for stupidly hot weather there is.

Ever since the Beach Boys went on their first surfing safari, summer has demanded a soundtrack. Unfortunately for us, Brian Wilson’s utopian vision of a “Surfin’ USA” has proved less than prophetic — tunes about the simple joys of catching a wave and hanging ten just don’t hit home for everyone. This is especially true here in DC where the dog days only fetch heat waves, greenhouse humidity, and swarms of mosquitoes. Here we don’t wax our boards and hit the beach; we douse ourselves in Off! and sit on the porch. That’s where Secret Colors comes in…[Read the rest on KCRW’s blog]

The Enchanted Sea — Martin Denny — Exotic Moog Sun...

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 22:55:16 -0400

The Enchanted Sea — Martin Denny — Exotic Moog

Sun Is Melting You And Me — Aquatic Lifeforms — Aquatic Lifeforms

18 — Matthewdavid — DISK

No Trolls — Golden Dwarves — Great Turquoise Message

In Peices — R. Stevie Moore and Ariel Pink — Ku Klux Glam

Insight (Gone II) — Lunar Miasma — Impermanent Nature

Board Walk — Secret Colors — Dreamersss

12 — Matthewdavid — DISK

Couch Surfer — Triptides — Couch Surfer

My Glory Will Be To Sing Eternal Law — Black Zone Myth Chant — Straight

Herrons — Ecstatic Sunshine — Way

Place I Know, Kid Like You — Arthur Russell — World Of Echo

A Fool Persists — Infinite Body — Carve Out The Face Of My God

Preyouandi — Oneohtrix Point Never — Returnal

Houdini Rites — Black To Comm — Alphabet 1968

I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend — Black Tambourine — OneTwoThreeFour

Delight to the Sadist — DJ Signify — Of Cities

Teleporation: KOP — Excepter — Presidence

Calls from California — Wilson Alonso Sanchez — Misaligned Everything

Changes — Sandro Perri — Impossible Spaces

Parties Underground — Color Rabbit — Looking Out Surreal Window

FSCK Pt. II — Space Ghost — DYVNZMBR

Thanks and Praise — Sun Araw + M. Geddes Gengras + The Congos — FRKWYS Vol. 9

Toumani Dialogue — Mean Lady — Kid Friendly EP

Transfer #17 — Cub’b — XX

Negative Space — Blue Sausage Infant — Negative Space

20kUnderDC Review: Black Tambourine "OneTwoThreeFour"

Fri, 08 Jun 2012 12:09:41 -0400

New 20kUnderDC review up on Prefix!

Every copy of Black Tambourine’s OneTwoThreeFour should come with a disclaimer, a big Surgeon General’s sticker alerting listeners to exactly what they’re getting into. “Warning: This is not a comeback album. It’s not even really a reunion album, either. Expecting something monumental may cause disappointment.” Consisting of four covers of classic Ramones songs, this ten-minute EP isn’t about a pioneering twee band reclaiming its rightful place at the top of the fuzz-pop dog pile. Hardly a victory lap for the band, the EP was made to honor a different legacy. These songs were recorded as part of the 20th birthday celebration of Chickfactor, a DIY fan zine founded in DC by the band’s lead vocalist Pam Berry along with editor/photographer Gail O’Hara. It’s important to note this, because approaching this release with any grandiose narratives could make you miss what a pleasant little gem these dual 7-inches are… [Read the rest of Prefix]

On this week’s episode of 20kUnderDC...

Wed, 30 May 2012 17:15:00 -0400

On this week’s episode of 20kUnderDC we’re joined by Robin Bell. An editor, video journalist, and multimedia artist, Robin has displayed his work everywhere from the Phillips Collection to warehouse parties to the facades of burnt-out buildings. His latest projects include ”Projection for Televisions” at Artisphere and the “Decontamination Lounge,” an immersive environment currently set up at Artomatic in Crystal City. In the studio we discuss his work with Positive Force, the fate of the Monseñor Romero Apartments in Mount Pleasant, and why borrowing things from the office is the best way to subsidize an artistic career. Listen to the whole show or read some loosely transcribed excerpts below.

20k: What would you like to start with?

RB: Since we’re here I think I’m going to talk specifically about the outdoor projections at first. We’ve been doing these projections on the [Monseñor Romero Apartments]. There was a fire there in 2008 and the tenants bought the property form a defunct landlord. Were trying to get a little bit of energy about the project and letting the neighbors know that while there’s work going on more support from the neighborhood is needed.

I had the fortune and misfortune to witness the fire when it happened in 2008. I filmed it and put together a few film projects about it and given my footage to people. Every time I walk by the piece of property I go, “I want to project on it.” So this year we started to project—we got some big projectors and we project on the building. We have a lot of fun with it.

My joke with my friends and with the people who show up is that I’m going to do it until there’s neighbors who live in in there that will complain. For the moments its a great canvas. There was actually a little bit of work going on last week where they were knocking down some of the bricks that weren’t working. That was exciting but then nothing has happened since.

20k: It’s been a while. People are still waiting to move back in eventually is the idea, right?

RB: They are. They are actually trying to maintain it as low income housing. The tenants that have lived there and were kicked out are planing on moving back, so it’s really essential that they get in as soon as possible.

20k: What about your work at Artomatic?

RB: I love Artomatic. I say that with pride. I think Artomatic is a great event for DC. It brings together a lot of people. You know, there really are a lot of creative people in Washington, DC and we don’t always get a chance to come together. Not everything is what you want to see and there is a lot of great finds there as well. You have this temporary community that all comes together for a month once every year or two.

We decided to come together and makes this great lounge which we call the “Decontamination Lounge.” It’s all about genetically modified foods.

20k: It features stuff you’ve done on Monsanto.

RB: Exactly. You know one of the projects I’m interested in right now is genetically modified foods and how they effect us, how we’re basically guinea pigs to these multinational companies—specifically Monsanto—which have basically bought our congressional leaders. There is a lot of pressure right now from people all around the world to hold them accountable. Its been a real treat to be able to document all that.

Artomatic is this place where you can kind of put together what you want in a space. There’s no curator; you are the curator and you have your space. I walked in there ans was like, “We’re going to be next to a cafe. Well, shoot, everyone is going to be eating genetically modified foods, might as well set up a little lounge.” A friend gave us a couch, we painted the room yellow, every now and then you can walk in the room and you’ll see a bunch of people dressed up in hazmat suits. There’s footage and we’ve got this video instillation and some of the photographs I’ve taken from the campaign [against Monsanto].

And just a plug for the campaign: On September, 17 2012 will be the Occupy Monsanto actions all over the world. Activists all over the world will do different activations and protests and civil disobedience to raise awareness and challenge Monsanto’s actions. It’s important. There’s a big movement now about the right to know what’s in your food. I’m very lucking being an artist in Washington, DC: There’s so much to film and there’s so much to look at and so much to document. At the moment it’s one of the things I’m excited about.

[After playing the song “Electrolux” by Hoover]

RB: This is a track that I’ve recently found and I absolutely love. We we’re talking earlier about projects and I’ve been fortunate enough to be asked to work on a film about Positive Force, which is a local DC punk-rock activist group that’s been around since 1985 and has worked with hundreds of amazing musicians—Hoover would be one of them.

20k: The documentary is the history of Positive Force and the impact it’s had on the culture of DC and the music?

RB: In a nutshell: yes. It’s a history, there’s lessons that are learned. It’s a snapshot of certain time periods in the history of Washington, DC. It’s a little bit of a lesson about activism in music both before and after, and what’s going on currently. The main thing about the film is I really wanted to have the people from the organization talk. It’s never cut and dry when you make a film—especially a doc. It’s impossible to make a film that accurately represents a group that’s been around for 27 years in 85 minutes. There s a lot of stories that we’ve filmed and documented that are amazing lessons learned about the spirit of community and peoples coming together. Also just some amazing shows. When I talk to certain people, they come up to me and are like, “I heard you’re making a film.” They tell me the story of when they went to a Positive Force show and how they volunteered and how it changed the way they look at shows and concerts and the responsibilities of musicians and organizations—the do-it-yourself attitude.

Annotated playlist:

Dubpixels — “Sea in the Sky”

[I was thinking, “What am I going to play tonight?” And I thought it would be only appropriate to play this song “Seas in the Sky” by Dubpixel, which is a friend of mine, Douglas Kallmeyer. He and I were in a band together called 302 Acid, we do audio-visual shows. After the fire I made a video with the footage with this song. I am embarrassed because I don’t know which version of the song that I have. I have three of them on my computer. So I’m hoping this song is relevantly the finished version.]

Amon Tobin — Surge (16Bit remix)

[If I had a short list of musicians I would work with who I haven’t worked with, Amon Tobin would definitely be on top of the list.]

Bob James — “Take Me to the Mardi Gras”

[I feel like this is the perfect song to play in the rain.]

Hoover — “Electrolux”

Thievery Corporation — “Radio Retaliation”

[This is a band I work with that plays music—they do a lot of great stuff… They’ve given me a lot of love over the years and let me play my videos behind them when they perform and I got to shoot a few of their music videos.]

Thievery Corporation — “Retaliation Suite”

Thievery Corporation feat. Chuck Brown — “The Numbers Game”

[On Chuck Brown: ”I think I can speak for nearly everyone in DC: We feel loss for his family and friends but feel very lucky to be able to witness his amazing talent and everything he’s given to this city.”]

DJ Rekho — “Basement Bhangra Anthem”

Primal Scream — “Kill All Hippies”

KRS-One and Goldie — “Digital (VIP)”

Rusko — “Jahova”

[I love to put videos to this song. When it’s really loud and everyone’s having a good time, this one is definitely one of my favorites.]

Player — “Angel of Theft” (Adom Tobin remix)

Dubpixels — “Against What”

20kUnderDC Review: Moon Duo, "Mazes Remixed"

Wed, 30 May 2012 16:35:04 -0400

We’re really late posting the latest 20kUnderDC review from Prefix. Woops.

If you’ve poked around the internet’s more tawdry corners you’ve probably heard of Rule 34. For the uninitiated, the rule reads: If it exists, there is porn of it. The general premise here being that due to the web’s diverse user base and the ease of distributing content, it’s possible to find something to scratch your itch, no matter how specific that itch is. I’d like to argue for another cyberspace axiom, albeit one with less anatomical concerns: If there is a song, there is a remix of it. San Francisco-based psych outfit Moon Duo does its part to support the theory with the release of Mazes Remixed. Featuring reworked versions of seven tracks from last year’s critically lauded Mazes, this set of remixes works much like niche porn. That is, not everyone will get the appeal but it will leave Moon Duo enthusiasts very happy… [Read the rest over at Prefix]

On account of the warm weather this week’s show was...

Wed, 16 May 2012 11:00:00 -0400

On account of the warm weather this week’s show was supposed to be a straight-up surf rock affair. Though as these things go, things quickly deviated from the course. Still, surf rock/exotica/beach music is at the center of the maelstrom all these tracks are circling around. Even that Black Dice track in the middle has a certain twangy, reverb sound that recalls early 60s guitar bands. Also, Desolation Wilderness appears twice; that group’s music is just perfect for late spring in DC.

The Enchanted Sea — Martin Denny — Exotic Moog

Metaskulla — The Blazers — Guitar Instrumentals from the New and Olde Worlds

Venom — Little Girls — Concepts

Water Tap — Lizard Kisses — Lizard Kisses/My Friend Wallis 7” Split

Radar — Sun City Girls — Torch of the Mystics

Conversations On The Jet Stream — Rangers — Pan Am Stories

Crew Cut — Tijuana Panthers — The Golden Hour Box Set

Waterfalls — Javelin — Canyon Candy

Rainbow — Thee Oh Sees — Zork’s Tape Bruise

Lazy Bones — Wooden Shjips — West

Christopher — Amen Dunes — Jonk Music: Winter Beats ‘12

Taco Wagon — Dick Dale & his Del-Tones — King of the Surf Guitar: The Best of Dick Dale

More Ice Cream — Kaseciarz — Surfin’ Malopolska

No Hope Kids — Wavves — Wavvves

In All Corners Of The City — Omma Cobba — Faster Acid Sun

Boardwalk Theme — Desolation Wilderness — New Universe

Gold Dust — Duster — Stratosphere

Intro to Imaginary Falcons — Peaking Lights — Imaginary Falcons

Border Beat — Bill Collins — Guitar Instrumentals from the New and Olde Worlds

The Evil That Men Do [Craig’s Version] — Yo La Tengo — President Yo La Tengo/New Wave Hot Dogs

Golden Desert Sun — Dirty Beaches — Solid State Gold

Chase — Mpala Garoo — Great Turquoise Message

Heavy Manners — Black Dice — Broken Ear Record

Sophisticated Savage — Les Baxter and His Orchestra — Ritual of the Savage

Not Too Late — SUPER VHS — C86JPN

Sophisticated Savage (20kUnderDC edit) — Les Baxter and His Orchestra — Ritual of the Savage

El Hueleguiso — Manzanita Y Su Conjunto — Guitar Instrumentals from the New and Olde Worlds

Superior Tears (Problems Edit) — Co La — DYVNZMBR

She Tells Me — Paul A. Rosales — Wonder Wheel I

Coma Summer (Speculator’s Subconscious Mix) — Weekend — End Times 7”

Tokyo Wonder Land — Boris — Attention Please

Welcome to the Jungle — Curls — Internet

Feuerprobe/Feuertaufen — Valium Aggelein — Hier Kommt Der Schwartze Mond

Buyer’s Remorse — Rangers — DYVNZMBR

Goldilocks Zone — Grass Widow — Internal Logic

Bhang Bhang, I’m A Burnout — Dum Dum Girls — I Will Be

Virgenes Del Sol — Los Siderals — Guitar Instrumentals from the New and Olde Worlds

Dusk — Secret Colors — Dreamersss

Venice Beach — Desolation Wilderness — New Universe

Herrons — Ecstatic Sunshine — Way

Review: Ariel Pink and R. Stevie Moore -- Ku Klux Glam

Wed, 09 May 2012 13:23:29 -0400

Another 20kUnderDC review is up on Prefix. This time it’s Ku Klux Glam, a collaboration between Ariel Pink and his mentor/sensei/Yoda, R. Stevie Moore.

Forty minutes into Ku Klux Glam, Ariel Pink and R. Stevie Moore’s sprawling 61-track double LP, is “Fadermasturbater.” Consisting of little more than audio taken from a Fader TV interview segment, the four-minute track manages to capture the spirit of the entire album: Speaking over the din of a city street the two collaborators tell a disjointed account of how they met, all the while cracking silly jokes, making random noises, and basically showing off what a great, weird friendship they have. Like the record as a whole, it’s all kinda charming if you’re a fan, but if you’re not sympathetic to the duo’s quirks and conceits there’s no way it can hold your attention for a full two-and-a-half hours… [Read the rest on Prefix]

Interview: Dirty Beaches

Tue, 08 May 2012 20:41:21 -0400

20kUnderDC got the chance to interview Dirty Beaches as the reverb-laden trio rolled through town.

The timeless quality to Dirty Beaches’ music is no accident. Filled with ’60s surf-rock guitar work, deadpan Roy-Orbison-meets-Jim-Morrison vocals, and thick Spector-esque production, the band’s catalog feels like the result of endless hours spent listening to oldies radio. It’s not surprising then that Alex Zhang Hungtai, the soft-spoken man behind the Vancouver-based outfit, has done plenty of thinking about the past. We caught up with Hungtai outside the Rock and Roll Hotel in Washington, DC to talk about travel, movies, and how our relationship with the music by-gone generations can be central to our creative output in the present… [Read the interview over on Prefix]

On Friday 20kUnderDC joined Dianamatic playing some music for a...

Sat, 05 May 2012 18:37:50 -0400

On Friday 20kUnderDC joined Dianamatic playing some music for a First Friday opening at the Hillyer Art Space. Turns out folks at the Hillyer really like the chillwave but think Colin Stetson sounds “like a Robyn song slowed down by a thousand percent,” (they’re kinda right). Our three sets are below; audio pending?

One

Untitled — Prefuse 73 — Vocal Studies + Uprock Narratives

Want You Back — Nite Jewel — Want You Back EP

Moth To The Flame — Ssaliva — Thought Has Wings

Hit Me (Cat Call Version) — Co La — Dial Tone Earth

Quick As White — Kasai Allstars & Animal Collective — Tradi-Mods vs. Rockers - Alternative Takes On Congotronics, Vol. 1 [Bonus Track Version]

Jah — Hype Williams — One Nation

I’m Fuckin You Tonight — Heat Wave — I’m Fuckin You Tonight

Mini Culcha — Mo Kolours — EP2: Banana Wine

Pow! — Tussle — Telescope Mind

Fun Dink Death — Eric Copeland — Doo Doo Run 7”

Two

Since I Left You — The Avalanches — Since I Left You

Four Thieves Vinegar — MF Doom — Special Herbs Vol. 5-6

Childhood Memories — The Midnight EEz — The Midnight EEz

T.I.M.E. Out — Odd Nosdam — T.I.M.E. Soundtrack

Sundriped — Com Truise — Cyanide Sisters EP

Ridda Mountain — Mo Kolours — EP2: Banana Wine

Eye Contact — Tussle — Kling-Klang

Keinsein — Teeth Mountain — Teeth Mountain

Spy Vs. Spy — Black Dice — Mr. Impossible

Ribs Out — Fuck Buttons — Love and Circuits: A Cardboard Records Compilation

Red Horse (Judges ll) — Colin Stetson — New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges

Beyondersville/Flight of Fance — Ponytail — Do Whatever You Want All The Time

Three

Strange Overtones — Brian Eno & David Byrne — Everything That Happens Will Happen Today

You Said, “Let’s go the two of us together” — Nite Jewel — Want You Back EP

Post98 — Mndsgn — Daypass

Asleep At The Party — Memory Cassette — Call & Response

All The Sun That Shines — Peaking Lights — 936

Bakiraq — Mo Kolours — EP1: Drum Talking

Shitless — The Sunburned Hand Of The Man — Headdress

Echnononecho — Mi Ami — Watersports

Does your next gallery opening need some music? We’d be much obliged to help you out.

This week on 20kUnderDC we’re joined by Sean Peoples, DC...

Wed, 02 May 2012 15:30:00 -0400

This week on 20kUnderDC we’re joined by Sean Peoples, DC resident, Fatback DJ, and founder of Sockets Records. If you’ve spent time around any local venues you’re probably familiar with at least a few of the bands his label has worked with: From Hume, to Deleted Scenes, to The Cornel West Theory, Sockets has released music from some of the best artists the District has to offer. While in the studio Sean played a few cuts from his catalog while talking a little bit about what it’s like making music in DC. Track list and cleaned up excerpts below:

Everything is Possible – Buildings – Everyhing in Parallel [“Just one of the better bands that I’ve come in contact with in the last ten years.”]

Seas of Bees (Rifle Recoil Cover) – Macaw – Celadon

[unnamed track] – Eyes of the Killer Robot – [unreleased]

No – Skeletons – People [“One of the most beautiful recods we’ve put out. It’s just fully realized.”]

Injera – Hume – Penumbra EP

In a House in a Head – Imperial China – How We Connect

Can you tell us a little about he history and motivations behind Sockets?

Sure. In 2003, 2004 I was going to a ton of shows. I went to school here in DC at American University. There were just so many great bands in 2002, 2003, 2004—Q and not U, Black Eyes—all those sort of younger bands on Dischord Records at the time. There was this energy in the city. And then all of a sudden all those bands broke up. It was kinda really sad.

But I made a ton of friends who were making really interesting sounds, mainly like noise stuff. I wanted to document that, because no one was. So we started doing a CD-R label. Actually started doing stuff here in CPR studios. We brought some friends in and did some just sessions where you brought whatever instrument you had and hooked it up and just had some free form stuff. We started giving those out to people. It sorta grew into something a little bit more formal, but it started off with really humble, informal beginnings.

Was there a point where it crossed over from this DIY-type of thing into something like you said, more formal?

Yeah, we’re going on seven years. In the last three or four years it became a lot more formal where I wasn’t necessarily just burning CD-Rs on my laptop, I was actually sending off band’s music to get manufactured. You know a thousand copies, or you know in vinyl the units are little smaller, so like 300 vinyl copies of LPs or a thousand CDs. I even do tapes. It’s kinda all over the place.

You obvious exercise some degree of curatorial restraint. You only put out good stuff. But even just these two tracks: pretty diverse. What makes a Sockets Records band?

Yeah, that’s a good question. First and foremost, I try to curate it—it’s my taste. It’s definitely not necessary anything goes. I’ve put out stuff ranging from pretty highly political hip-hop to really experimental sax skronk. It just runs the gambit. I think in the last year it’s kinda honed in on maybe an experimental pop sound so a little bit more focused. But throughout the last six or seven years it’s been kinda a free for all. I kinda like it that way; I would get bored otherwise.

For DC in general seems that a lot the music coming out is more toward that experimental pop.

Yeah, I think in a lot of ways it’s been a long time coming for a voice or at least a discernible sound from DC. It seems like there’s a bunch of bands that are really hoping to shape that. Again it’s not necessary homogeneous, but it’s definitely the active bands are making a concerted effort to make that pop music, but to do it on their own terms. Not do it by how BMG tells you to sound like, or Epic, or whatever record label still stands.

Would you say the amount of support for local music has grown the last couple years as well?

I think so. Yeah definitely. Its funny; I think one thing about Washington, DC is that it’s always had a really vibrant house show scene. It think that’s one of the things that I really hold dear about my time going to shows right out of college, or even in college and up until now. You have these houses that pop open then just as quickly just go away, but you can count on there being another house show that does a couple things for six months to a year. And that’s what the city really needs; to have that undercurrent to foster some grow of some of these bands that don’t necessary have access to practice space or are just starting out. That’s just been a really important part of the DC scene for the last ten years.

I’ve heard DC bands complain before that they had to kind of live in the shadow of Dischord. One band in particular told a story about how whenever they go on tour people assume they’re straight edge because they’re from DC. Is there trouble asserting an independent identity from that monolithic past DC has?

I think so. Its not something people from DC or bands from DC think about at all. You know probably a lot of folks like me were really into that stuff in the 80s, 90s, early 2000s. But I think it is a narrative put on DC outside of DC. You’re inevitably going to face that no matter what until something else equally as big comes along. Who’s to say that’s ever going to happen, and who’s to say that’s a good or bad thing. But its definitely a perception people have to deal with. It’s to bad but at the same time, recognizing the legacy that Dischord has, some of things it’s allowed this city to be,and lay claim to is something id never want to change.

Even the history of strong house shows is probably connected to Dischord. And thing like St. Stephen’s still having them.

And affordable shows. I mean, five dollar shows, still in 2012? You’ve got to be kidding me.

Speaking of excellent shows: Check out the Sockets Records Acoustic Showcase on May 24 at the Gibson Guitar Showroom for acoustic performances by Deleted Scenes, Cigarette, and more.