Record Stores: Out of Sight, Not Obsolete

The modern age of technological advancements have shifted the way in which we gain access to our musical inspirations, drastically. As the digital era of music distribution has made it leaps and bounds easier to purchase your favorite album online, we've seem a dramatic decrease in the number of records store across the country - the unfortunate dark-side of supply and demand economics. However, a New York record store owner had found a micro-niche in the demand for records, which, believe it or not, is still highly in-demand as we become more inundated in newer technologies. This recent article from the NY Times talks about Charlie Grappone's make-shift record shop that has gained significant attention since his initial store closed in 2007. Read the article, here.

Ron Zakrin Exhibition

From: 323 East

Ron Zakrin has been a creative force in Detroit's artistic community since the mid-nineties - a period when the city was riding the crest of an electronic music wave then sweeping the world. His earliest paintings were meant to complement both that music and his own personal contributions as a recording artist (under the name Goudron); since that time his canvases have become more ambitious and are recognized nationally for both their originality and their (frequently) haunting savagery. Zakrin is an artist with a deep desire to probe deeply beneath the skin - and his skills are as much "surgical" as they are aesthetic.

Zakrin is a special guest artist conducting an exhibition this weekend hosted by 323 East and his solo flight will bring his career up-to-date and will also augment a growing critical reputation here and abroad. You can catch his opening exhibition this Saturday including special dj sets from Dethlab, Brendan M. Gillen, Ian Ammons.

Saturday Night Main Events

Black Devil Disco Club (Lo Recordings/France)
Scott Zacharias (Macho City)
Mike Tee (Macho City)

Saturday September, 26th
The Magic Stick
4120 woodward Ave
Detroit, MI
9pm
$15


Solvent (Ghostly/Morr Music/Suction Records)
JDSY (Ghostly/Moodgadget/Self-shown)
Madis One
+ more

Saturday September, 26th
The Old Miami
3930 Cass Ave
Detroit, MI
10pm
$5

Fact Mix 84 - Lusine

Fact Magazine has called upon experimental electronica wizard, Lusine for the latest in the online magazine's mix series. This is probably one of the best sets we've heard in recent memory which fits the mold of idm, ambient, pop and broken beat. Alongside of heavy hitters like Flying Lotus, Boards of Canada and Luke Vibert, this mix is riddled with some of Lusine's own personal gems, particularly those which are featured on his newest album from Ghostly International, entitled A Certain Distance. The album is available in a vinyl/download combination and we highly suggest you order yourself a copy. Quite Possibly the best he's had to offer yet.

View the tracklisting and download the lastest Fact mix from Lusine, here.

Krautrock: Cosmic Rock And Its Legacy

From: Dusseldorf Hbf

Coming in October, published by Black Dog Publishing - Nikolaos Kotsopoulos' 192 page book "Krautrock: Cosmic Rock and Its Legacy". And the foreword seems to be written by none other than Steven Stapleton from Nurse With Wound. And David Tibet/Current 93 is also in it. Interesting.

Here's the sales pitch:

Krautrock charts the history of this influential music genre, from its roots in free jazz, psychedelia and the music of Karlheinz Stockhausen, to the groundbreaking experiments of Faust, Kraftwerk and Can.

The late 1960s in West Germany was a period of profound breakthroughs, upheavals and reversals. Communes were spreading, protests organised throughout the entire country, the desire to begin everything anew permeating the young. Out of this climate, a music scene exploded that would forever change the face of Western rock; at times anarchic, at others mystical, and utopian, it pushed rock beyond any known limits.

From the relentless drum beating of Amon Duul I, to the eastern tinged mysticism of Popol Vuh and the sonic assaults of Conrad Schnitzler, Krautrock: Cosmic Rock and Its Legacy traces the history of this complex and eschewing definition phenomenon.

Illustrated with concert photos, posters, record cover art and other rare and previously unseen visual material, this book is the ultimate tour-de-force of a movement whose influence and impact is still being felt today. With essays by Michel Faber, David Keenan, Erik Davis, Ken Hollings, a foreword by Steven Stapleton of Nurse with Wound, and testimonials from Gavin Russom (Delia and Gavin), Ann Shenton (Add N to (x)) and David Tibet (Current 93) this is the first ever comprehensive survey of its kind.

For the Love of Our Block

There are many reasons to adore the Woodbridge enclave of Detroit - its proximity to a prestigious university, the neighborly demeanor, its collection of artists and music geeks - just to name a few. On the flip-side, it would be grossly naive not to acknowledge the pitfalls and tribulations of residing in any Detroit neighborhood. You're still subjected to the everyday petty crime element that permeates the city's culture, like car-thefts and b&e. That's just our way of life, Holmes! What does make our hood a little easier to cope with, however, are these humble cats - Andrew Beer and Robbie Budai - Lead-singer and guitarist of the Detroit Punk Band, Noman.

These community dudes reside right behind our very own domicile and over the past couple of years, have almost single-handily transformed our block from desolate to desirable. As most city-dwellers have observed, our block now serves as the figurative debutante for up and coming Detroit neighborhoods and one local media outlet has finally taken notice. Laurie Smolenski from the Metro Times sat down with both Andrew and Robbie to talk about their beloved city. Read the entire article here.

Additionally, for those of you who are fans of Noman, you can catch their month long U.S. tour send-off this evening starting at 8pm. The event will be located at the Shack on Merrick, directly across from the Woodbridge Pub.

Ohhh My.......... A General Random Projection

Various influences are swirling about, and over the past month, I've been gravitational pulled within a whirling dervish of that has force me to amalgamate these supreme beats. Telephone calls daily from my Dalai-Lama brother, a Dam-Funk future boogie introduction by goat boy secrets, and geographically limited freak phases has inclined me to share a few of these recent inspirations. Check it!

Dally in the Alley 2009

Dally History
What began as an inner city art fair in 1977 evolved into a performing arts festival when it was moved to its present alley and renamed in 1982 to DALLY IN THE ALLEY, the title of a medieval drinking song. Great musical talent, good beer and a remarkable string of fabulous September weather has indelibly marked the alley at Second and Forest in Detroit ’s Cass Corridor as the site of the best music festival in the Midwest .

Gary Grimshaw designed the first Dally poster in 1982, featuring Brian Taylor’s dancing cats, replicas of which grace a garage wall at Third and Forest . Gary also created the 1986 and 1997 posters. Other recent Dally poster artists include Steven Goodfellow (1996), Glen Barr (1998), Kevin Stanislowski (1999), Mary Iverson (2000), Jerome Ferretti (2001), and Shades (2002). The 2005 Dally Poster was designed by Mark Heggie.

Both the quality and quantity of the food and art vendors has significantly improved since our 1977 beginnings, and more than 100 participants sell food, beer and things one can only find in the Cass Corridor.

The Dally takes place this Saturday and is a free festival. view the lineup of performers here.

RBMA Radio w/ Todd Osborn - Volume 34

From: RBMA Radio

Osborn to do it - Todd Osborn makes producing raw beats look like child's play, whether it's booty bass with a 70's cop show theme, or dark brooding Jungle as the Soundmurderer you wouldn't want to meet down a dark alley, or even his classic acid-inspired House and Techno tunes as Osborne. With his "we don't need no equipment made before 1987" attitude to music making, he has been known to raid charity stores and second-hand pound stretchers for old computers, before reassembling them into beat-bearing powerhouses. In stark contrast, his Live-enabled DJ sets cram in more directions than a crowd of crossroads, on a wayfaring journey that could lead you back home before you even realized you'd left. De-tune yourself.

Download and Listen

Tracklisting:
Zapp - Slow & Easy (All Night Mix) - Reprise
Marvin Gaye - Sexual Healing - Columbia
Keith Sweat - Twisted (Flavahood Version) - Elektra
Al Johnson & Jean Carne - I'm Back For More - White
Lowrell - Mellow Mellow Right On - AVI
Johnny Gill - My My My - Motown
Barry White - Can't Get Enough Of Your Love Babe - Philips
D'Angelo - Brown Sugar - Virgin
Keith Sweat - Keep It Comin' (Smooth Version) - Elektra
Sass - Much Too Much - 25 West
The O'Jays - Forever Mine - Philadelphia International
ELO - Strange Magic - CBS
Ozzy Osbourne - Goodbye To Romance - Epic
Gary Wright - Dream Weaver - Warner Bros.
Happy End - Kaze O Atsumete - Bellwood
The Kinks - Strangers - Reprise
Led Zeppelin - That's The Way - Atlantic
Flaming Lips - One More Robotsympathy 3000-21 - Warner Bros
Neutral Milk Hotel - Marching Theme - Merge
Nobukazu Takemura - Conical Flask - Thrill Jockey
Takagi Masakatsu - Hanri - Karaoke Kalk
Radiohead - Kid A - Parlophone
KLF - Madrugada Eterna - Wax Trax

DJ Harvey Interview

If one has ever witness a performnace by Harvey, then one cannot deny both his unmatched skills as a dj as well as his impeccable taste in all things dance music. A few weekends ago, Harvey made a long overdue visit back to Detroit and unfortunately, Blank Artists has previous commitments to fulfill, although respectably justifiable (a best friend's wedding). And so the inevitable murphy's law unfolds - never miss an opportunity or you will be teased unrelentingly until your next chance arises. It wasn't enough hearing all of my friends boast and brag about how effin awesome Harvey's set was, like it's the best they've seen, or something. Now I have to bear witness to his scraggly mug plastered all over Resident Advisor...... Go Figure! I mean, all this guy does is hang out in Hawaii and surf, so he's probably never coming back to Motown. What fucking strip tease!

Read his interview here.

Saturday Night Main Event

Featuring
A Special All Vinyl Set From...
Monty Luke (Planet E/Mothership)

with resident sound selectors:
Joe Vargas
Steven Robert
Erno the Inferno

@ 5 Elements Gallery
2125 Michigan Ave.
Detroit, MI

A Wednesday Night Special

Agnès always dreamed about being a musician. A Jazz drummer for example, being scheduled in White Horse for two weeks and the next two in Mourmansk or elsewhere where people are just real. But he's not. He's just a farmer out of nowhere able to handle computers. The redneck understood bits and bytes well beyond everybody's believes and bets... So what do you want to expect from that kind of guys ? Honesty, straight forward thinking and sympathy. If this is what you want, ask for him, if you need the usual hypocrisy and fake ass shit, pass your way. there's plenty of those doing that far better then him.

This Wednesday, Joe Vargas kicks off the September line up of Wax On/Wax Off with a bang, featuring Blank Artists' own Drew Pompa and special guest, Agnes. Come join us and help make a mess!

No Cover. $2 PBR.
Oslo is located @
1465 Woodward Ave.
Detroit