John Flannelly - Spaced

from the label:
"Proving the power of modern audio programs as tools for composition, "non-musician" John Flannelly channels the spirits of retro space-travel without ever picking up an instrument, save for a simple synthesizer on select passages. Created almost entirely with the free program Audacity, Spaced presents sounds alien yet familiar, retro yet full-frequency, obnoxious but curiously intriguing. While coming off as seemingly schizophrenic at times, the songs bounce back and forth between explorations of planetary surfaces and a lone spacemans thoughts seamlessly, weaving a unique journey into the lo-fidelity of outer space."

basically a tripped out, lo-fi NES influenced by Tangerine Dream

i was lucky enough to get the last in print copy at TD's CD's and LP's
(Bloomington, IN readers of this blog, if you don't support this establishment, shame on you!)

download for free (or donate) in any high quality format you want at the labels bandcamp

Auris Apothecary - the Marketplace - AAX-040: John Flannelly - Spaced

Lo-fi by Default - Sampler

Lo-fi by Default is a DIY label that eschews genre bounds and brings together artists from all around the world who follow a line of DIY, lo-fi recording practices. Their roster contains artists in styles ranging from math rock, post-punk, hardcore, electronic music, hip-hop and chillwave, though that's barely scratching the surface. You can hear 10 different artists across the 18 songs on this compilation, all of which are genuine in their DIY expression - the pretension that can come with being 'lo-fi' is not a valid criticism here.

I would have liked to go through some of the bands here in various detail but I've decided I won't bore you (or simply because I have little time to continue writing this blurb). What I can say with certainty is that there actually wasn't a single artist on here that I didn't find compositionally or at the least thematically interesting. Some definite highlights were the mid-west emo interpretation of John Lithgoat, the lo-fi, fuzz-meshed jangly post-punk of The Latecomers, the garage pop sensibilities of Turning Jew or the droney shoegaze of Metropolitan Intent. I could have kept going with the wordy descriptions but I'd like to leave a little of the surprise of discovery to the rest of you.

If DIY/lo-fi music interests you, if you are in a band that follows a similar recording aesthetic or if you get a little wet over compilations, Lo-fi by Default's sampler is most worthy of being picked apart.

download
facebook
tumblr

1. Negative Feedback Loop - Intro (Demo)
2. Adult Video Arcade - Natural//Shaven
3. John Lithgoat - Hotcakes
4. The Latecomers - A Walk on the Coldfront
5. Kamas - My Second Chance
6. Metropolitan Intent - Proto Evanelium 2
7. Starnoise - Somewhere Else
8. Turning Jew - Not Really Your Father
9. Marigold Bones - 3 Step
10. The Floor's Trick - Laugh
11. TBATLR - Again
12. Kamas - Free
13. Starnoise - No One
14. Metropolitan Intent - Midnight Wander (Excerpt)
15. The Latecomers - Wooden Man
16. Turning Jew - Hands
17. TBATLR - Armadillo Dance
18. John Lithgoat - Jampoline