Bill Doss (Olivia Tremor Control) 1968-2012

Such sad and unexpected news. The Olivia Tremor Control were playing gigs up until last week, and a new album was in the works, but today they announced on their official website "We are devastated by the loss of our brother Bill Doss. We are at a loss for words." As yet there has been no more information as to the cause of death.

Bill Doss was one of the founders of the Olivia Tremor Control, along with fellow Elephant 6 colleagues Jeff Mangum and Will Cullen Hart. Mangum soon left to form Neutral Milk Hotel, but Olivia Tremor Control went on to make some fascinating music pitched somewhere between Beatles-style pop and psychedelic experimentation. Two classic albums Dusk at Cubist Castle and Black Foliage emerged in the latter part of the 1990s, before the band branched out in separate ways. Doss released music as the Sunshine Fix and Hart as Circulatory System, before reforming as the Olivia Tremor Control briefly in 2005 and then again in 2011. I was fortunate enough to see them earlier this year at the Jeff Mangum curated ATP, but I never imagined it would be the only time I would ever watch one of their gigs.

Here is their performance from WFMU in 2011, which gives a great indication of what good form they were in.

Olivia Tremor Control Live On WFMU! from yvonne szymczak on Vimeo.

Obviously I never met the guy, but this lovely tribute from Chunklet (the label who are reissuing some of the Olivia Tremor Control records) paints an intimate picture of what he was like. I couldn't read that without hearing 'Jumping Fences', the song he always dedicated to his long-term partner, Amy.

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Great Lost Bands no.17: Labradford

I was going to include Labradford in my great lost bands series anyway, but this week they were included in the John Peel Archive. This interview dates from Autumn 1997 and first appeared in Weedbus fanzine, issue 13

Think minimalism. Think ambient. Think atmospheric. If you've never heard Labradford before you would be best advised to think along those lines before you approach them. Of course it's easy to take the piss out of their kind of electronic ambience. Most pop kids will see it as music where nothing happens, but for those of us who were brought up on the likes of Spacemen 3 and Brian Eno, or who aware of current people like Flying Saucer Attack and Codeine for instance, Labradford make perfect sense.

Bizarrely, they're named after a Louisville basketball player, Labradford Smith, an athletic connection which belies their blissed-out music. With so many people making this sort of thing (post-rock is what they're calling it, whatever that means) it's hard for bands to stand out and appear original. Labradford have achieved this from the outset, with their debut 'Prazision' (a low-key mix of guitar and moog), through the more harmonious 'A Stable Reference', which was the first to see them expand to include the bass playing of Robert Donne. Both these albums have served as a blueprint for the magnificent third album 'Labradford', expanding further to bring in strings and even the odd bit of percussion. 'Labradford's ice-cold but endearing collection of tunes and atmospheres was served up to the UK last November, and we managed to get a few words with the aforementioned Robert Donne when the band were in London in February.

Labradford is known for being the brainchild of Carter Brown (synths, organ) and Mark Nelson (guitar, tapes and vocals) How did you link up with them?

"Well Richmond, Virginia, is a fairly small town and I've known Carter and Mark for a long time now - I would say I've known Carter at least ten years, and we've all been in the same circle of friends for a while. After the first Labradford album ('Prazision') came out they just asked me to join and have a go at playing with them, it's as simple as that."

They were a duo and you've come along - do you have a say on songwriting and arrangement?

"From the time I joined you could say that we started again. When I joined they didn't ask me to play any of the early material - it was very much a case of the three of us all writing songs together."

In what way is this third album ('Labradford') a move on from 'A Stable Reference'?

"There's a few new things we've been playing around with - sequencing, percussion and so on. The chains rattling and the scraping sounds on the opening track ('Phantom Channel Crossing') aren't samples though, they're all played live! All those sorts of things were added, and our friend Chris Johnston who is a classical violinist helped out, although he isn't a permanent addition. He doesn't perform live with us, although I do think we want to continue in that direction. Ultimately I think that he could become involved in some of the writing and have him do some string quartet arrangements."

Have you any affinity with modern classical music and minimalism?

"I don't listen to a lot of it. Carter would probably be a little more interested in that. At the same time I do appreciate what I hear."

What do you make of the British music press and their constant labelling of scenes - Labradford are always lumped into 'post-rock' aren't they?

"I'm not quite sure. I understand it to a degree and I see why it's necessary. At the same time you want to say that in general the idea of labelling is distasteful. Hopefully not many bands would start out wanting to belong to a specific genre - we don't sit around and say, "hey, we're a post-rock band!" It seems that over here the music press is much more lucrative and immediate than in America, especially with the two weeklies that come out. You don't get that kind of exposure in America."

Does rock music (in the traditional sense) have any bearing on what you do as a band? Are there any rock bands you think are important now?

"Sure, I suppose! I still like some rock, but I don't hear a lot of it that's really great. I am a big Bad Seeds fan though, particularly the early work. I was in Breadwinner prior to Labradford and that was a more traditional hard rock set up. The others don't have that. Labradford is the first band that Carter has ever been in, he started from scratch with it. He studied organ in college. We read somewhere that Carter went to Bible College and that's not true at all! He studied music for two years at Richmond and organ was his instrument of choice, but it doesn't really go beyond that."

How do you view your contemporaries? For instance last year you issued 'Scenic Recovery' as a split 10" with Stereolab - is it a big deal to get involved with them?

"I suppose there might be a vague association. I don't see a lot of similarities between bands like Stereolab and us really, even between Tortoise and us, but at the same time I really like a lot of that stuff and I think it's good that those bands are getting as big as they are."

A lot of people have said that this new album feels very wintry - from the overall ambience of it, right through to the packaging and cover design, it feels icy and evocative of snowy landscapes.

"Well it was recorded in Spring and mixed in Summer - it was warm and sunny when all that wintry music was taking place! It's not a conscious reaction to summertime even though I think I prefer winter."

Would you also agree that there is a move towards more accessible melodies, like 'Pico' on the new album?

"I think I know what you're saying but from knowing Carter and Mark for a long time I would say that that sort of thing has always been there, even from the first record where it's not at all obvious. Maybe it's more apparent or visible now. I don't know if it's something that will continue or increase, but we're not afraid to pull out a basic pop melody now and then!"

---

Interview by Jonathan Greer

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John Peel Archive: L - from Labradford to La Düsseldorf

The first 100 choices from 'L' in the John Peel Archive feature some great blasts from the past, including some I had forgotten. I will brush past the releases from LL Cool J, Laibach and Lambchop because, although there is a lot to say about them, their music is relatively well known. Instead here are four overlooked gems.

Labradford 'Everlast'
This is a timely inclusion as Labradford were going to be in our Great Lost Bands series, and I will now be bringing them forward in that series. An archive interview will be online in a few days. Pioneers of minimal, ambient noise they are very influential



Land of the Loops 'Growing Concern'
These were a bunch which I had forgotten. Slacker indie with beats, and often a whole lot of fun to listen to.



Laika 'Black Cat Bone'
The band who grew out of London act Moonshake, the inclusion here is arguably their best album.



La Düsseldorf 'Menschen 1'
Krautrock legends, providing the middle ground between synth dominated bands and motorik-style rock, I actually don't know this album very well, so it has been good to investigate it.

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LISTEN: King Creosote 'Ankle Shackles'

Right then, where have I been? Well, if you have been paying attention to the tabs at the top, you will see that I've been writing about people like Meursault, Laetitia Sadier, and interviewing Piano Magic, all for the 405. I've also been having laptop hassles so updates to this blog haven't been as regular as I'd like.
Actually, writing this post makes me nostalgic for the fanzine era, as I used to have to start every issue like this! ah, those were the days.
So what's coming up over the next few weeks? Well, expect a couple of new interviews and possibly three new mixes before the end of the summer.
Meanwhile, here is a new song by the ever prolific King Creosote. It's called 'Ankle Shackles' and it is from his next EP which is due at the end of August, called To Deal With Things. It's also eleven minutes long. Eleven minutes! King Creosote! Who would have thought it? Enjoy.

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Great Lost Bands no.16: Jacob's Mouse, with an interview

and also a very quick glance at the John Peel Archive's J and K selections

For various reasons I took a week off the site and, such is the relentless nature of the John Peel Archive, I missed a couple of their posts - specifically the first 100 of J and K.

Hopefully you have all had a look by now, but 'J' features an extraordinary amount of acts by the name Jackson, and the only releases that I actually have are by the site's featured artist, Jacob's Mouse. More of them in a minute.

'K' has a similarly poor overlap with my own collection, as a couple of albums by the KLF are the only common items. I'm pleased to see Kanda Bongo Man as the featured artist, as he was one of the guests at the World Service 80th birthday party which I was lucky enough to attend. I'm pretty sure it was John's World Service programme that broadened their audience.

However, let's go back to Jacob's Mouse for a moment because I have a bit of history there. In 1993, I met and interviewed the band in Belfast for my fanzine, The Weedbus, although as they ended up in an issue that also featured an up and coming band called Radiohead, all copies sold out very quickly. Earlier this year I decided to republish my archives but I hit a snag in that I lost my only copy of that issue, but I have now been able to scan it from the original layout sheet.

The other thing about Jacob's Mouse is that, approximately seven years after I interviewed them in Belfast, a new guy started at my work - at the aforementioned BBC World Service - and after a few weeks he told me he used to be in a band that "I wouldn't have heard of." It was Hugo from Jacob's Mouse, and we were both pretty amazed that we had chatted that night in Belfast, seven years earlier.

The main thing about Jacob's Mouse though, is that they were awesome, and also criminally under-rated and over-looked. They ended up sounding like a great collision between the grunge of the time, and the post-punk which pre-dated them by ten years.

Anyway, I've uploaded the PDFs of the interview at weedbus.posterous.com, and I will transcribe them here soon as well. Enjoy. Have a listen to some Jacob's Mouse below.

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STREAM: Dinosaur Jr, BEAK>, Dirty Projectors, Twin Shadow

I spent a lot of the first six months of 2012 listening to new albums. I think I've heard around 115 at the last estimate. Even though the summer is traditionally quiet it seems that new releases are just piling up to be heard. For this reason I've started using a tumblr page to highlight new tracks when they appear, as a way of keeping them together, so feel free to check

slowthrills.tumblr.com

In theory this should free up this blog as a place for interviews, reviews and features.

Also, I am old-fashioned enough to believe that you should listen a recording quite a bit before you "review" it, so I would rather post the new release streams and info online without comment. The streams will always by people that I am interested in hearing though.

Not everyone likes to have their material embedded by every blogger on the planet, and a fair few prefer site exclusives. Two of the most highly anticipated releases are online as exclusives.

Dirty Projectors Swing Lo Magellan, via the Guardian

Twin Shadow Confess via Urban Outfitters

Two acts that will allow embeds are Dinosaur Jr., and BEAK>. Dinosaur's album isn't out until September but you can hear a track below


and BEAK> have made clever use of bandcamp by sharing an embeddable player for their second album. I had only just heard Drokk by Geoff Barrow (BEAK/ Portishead) and Bean Salisbury this week, and now this comes along in the same month. Anyway, enjoy...

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The best album releases of the month, June edition

Can 'Lost Tapes box set'

June was another month where the best new release was old. However, unlike My Bloody Valentine's reissues, CAN's Lost Tapes Box Set consisted of three hours of unheard music. I cannot recommend it highly enough, the quality is consistent throughout the epic running time, and as a long standing Can fan I was thrilled to hear bits of familiar tunes incorporated into other pieces. It is extraordinary to think this has remained hidden for the best part of 40 years, it is literally a gem.

Piano Magic 'Life Has Not Finished With Me Yet'

my review (the 405)

"Overall this is a desolate but beautiful record. Piano Magic have successfully introduced new elements into their sound and have made them gel. After eleven albums and sixteen years, this latest effort can comfortably sit amongst their best work."

Japandroids 'Celebration Rock'

Anthemic punk rock album of the season for sure. This duo's second full length album begins with fireworks and delivers some cracking songs; some brand new, others such as 'Younger Us' will be familiar from the singles series which they have been releasing over the last while.

Patti Smith 'Banga'
This is the most impressive album that Patti Smith has made in years. It has catchy tunes ('April Fool') as well as longer pieces that touch on spoken word and experimental rock ('Tarkovsky' 'Constantine's Dream'). She is in great voice and the production works well, though I reckon there are more strings on this than on any of her previous releases. Tom Verlaine plays inspiratonal guitar throughout as well.

Tom McShane 'The Ural Winter'

my review

"At the heart of The Ural Winter there is some strong songwriting, so I reckon it would still have satisfied as a conventionally recorded album, but by bringing people together on that summer's day in 2010, a certain spark happened; something that made the music more alive. This is a downbeat, melancholic album that manages to feel raw and alive and is well worth your attention."

Shonen Knife 'Pop Tune'
my review

"At its heart it is a pure pop record, a summery carefree rush through the simple pleasures of life. I still think they could have taken the Ramones influence one step further and shortened some of the songs, but overall this is both an invigorating listen and an impressive statement from the band. Shonen Knife were always touted as an influence by bands such as Nirvana, L7 and Redd Kross, and whilst recent records have been good, Pop Tune helps us see just why this band packs such an influential clout."

Guided By Voices 'Class Clown Spots a UFO'

Sometimes the prolific nature of Guided By Voices can be frustrating. 'Class Clown..' is their second album of 2012 and apparently there is another one to follow. It's a good album, as is its predecessor, 'Let's Go Eat the Factory', but the thing is if you put them both together you get a great one. Still, out of all the reformed bands that have returned in recent years, they are the one that I am most pleased to see back.

Peaking Lights 'Lucifer'

Building on the buzz created by the superb '936', I think 'Lucifer' is more of a grower. Musically it tiptoes around the crossroads between dub reggae and dream pop. Their use of lo-fi electronics and extended melody lines give it a special edge. Worth it for 'Dream Beat' alone.

Ty Segall Band 'Slaughterhouse'

Another madly prolific act, like GBV, Ty Segall has committed himself to releasing three albums this year. I only heard this last week so I haven't had a chance to really get into it, but my initial impressions are that it is one of the best things he has put his name to. Steeped in even heavier psych-rock than his recent collaboration with White Fence, this sounds amazing when played loud. I haven't even got my hands on a proper copy yet, so I'm looking forward to that.

Liars 'WIXIW'

THe deliberately obtuse title (it's pronounced "wish-you") belies the fact that this is one of Liars most accessible and less abrasive records. Surely they can now be considered one of the most important acts of the last decade - every album is different and they have always challenged their listeners. Produced by Mute boss Daniel Miller, synths are more to the fore here, and the noise overload of old has been swapped for a subtle, more electronic feel. Like all Liars records, this rewards repeated listening.

The Walkmen 'Heaven'

A mature, grown-up record, by all accounts. Perhaps this status is underlined by the picture of the band posing with their children on their laps on the back cover. Dad-rock indeed. It turns out this is one of the Walkmen's best albums, its a grower, and the songs kind of creep up on you, rather than grab you straight away.

A Place to Bury Strangers 'Worship'

my review

A Place to Bury Strangers no longer seems like a flat-out noise assault, and ultimately Worship sounds more like themselves than a homage to anyone. It actually sounds great too, and I really like the band's own production work. It is clinical and cold rather than warm and fuzzy but that suits the material. This isn't woozy shoegaze to lose yourself in, it's much more edgy and abrasive than that, and I reckon it works.

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