After emailing, messaging and DMing Twitter Support repeatedly and getting no response, justification or explanation for my ban, I’m finally giving up the fight for my old screenname. I will never know what exactly I did to earn this ban. Whatever. I least I work for a company that has a business plan and makes money, unlike whatever bastard decided to delete my account whilst keeping the racists, homophobes and other bastards’ accounts around.

My new screenname is @unLostTurntable. I was going for FoundTurntable, but that was somehow taken. Damn.

Now, whose ready for some motherfucking Hubert Bognermayr and Harald Zuschrader up in here!? That’s right get hype!

Hubert Bognermayr and Harald Zuschrader - Erdenklang – Computerakustische Klangsinfonie
Okay, I didn’t know who these guys were either until I bought this one on a whim. What triggered the whim? Well, this blurb on the back cover.

Good work knowing your audience guys.

Hubert Bognermayr and Harald Zuschrader are both from Austria, and were in the obscure 70s prog rock act Eela Craig. I’ve never listened to that group, but I am aware of them, mainly because their LPs fetch huge prices at the local prog store I go to. The two were also heavily involved in Ars Electronica, a cultural institute that promotes new media art. That’s all I could gather about the duo in my short research. I’m sure there’s a lot more out there, but I don’t feel like regurgitating other sites’ information. If you end up listening to this album and want to know more about them, I’m sure you can go about doing that all on your own. I’d rather talk about this album.

Despite the Carlos endorsement on the back cover, this album doesn’t sound much like the minimal, purely analog synth work she’s most well-known for. Although, that’s not surprising considering that not a single analog machine was used in the recording of this album. The entire record was recorded using the Fairlight CMI, the digital synthesizer that helped create the sound of the 80s with its very robust sampling capabilities.

The Fairlight was also used a lot on Peter Gabriel’s early solo works, and some of this album really reminds me of the instrumentals on that one. Very ambient, but not always minimal, very textured, both the opening and closing numbers really make me think of Gabriel’s best work from that era.

The best track on this album though is the second one, the nearly 12-minute “Erdentief” and its sound is light years away from quiet and ambient. Instead, it really harkens to the anime soundtracks and other over-the-top instrumental electronic music from this era that I find myself listening to a lot right now. Very sample-driven, and even when its sparse, the sounds used are so artificial and bizarre that it still sounds jarring and even a little discordant. It also still sounds remarkably 80s, a little slap bass and drum samples really go a long way in that regard.

It’s a fun record, often upbeat while occasionally delving into more relaxing and meditative moods. I’m digging it right now, hope you can too.

Fucking hell.

Everything sure is shit, huh?

What the fuck do you do? I mean, seriously, I’m asking for some options. What the fuck do you do? I’ve found that a slight increase in the amount of evening whiskey helps a bit, but that’s just putting a band-aid on the problem. Donating to worthwhile charities is a more healthy outlet for suffering, provided you can afford it, but that can only go so far as well. Ignoring the problems doesn’t make them go away, but I can understand why some choose to go that route also.

I like to post something every Sunday, give or take. It’s when I have the most free time and it serves as a way to unwind after work. But with all the shit going on this weekend, I really didn’t know what to post. I only share out-of-print and hard-to-find music after all. Ain’t that much hard-to-find protest music worth sharing. I thought about reposting “Cop Killer” again, but I dunno, that much negativity just isn’t doing it for me right now. Thought about sharing some Digital Hardcore, Atari Teenage Riot also. I don’t know, not in the mood for that either.

Nothing I have seems to accurately encapsulate how I feel about the massive dumpster fire that is the world right now. So instead I thought I’d post something that serves as a moderate escape from it: jazz-influenced rock covers of classical music.

Look, don’t judge me, okay? I got enough shit going on.

Shigeaki Saegusa and the Electric Super Band – 21st Century Vivaldi

A covers album of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. Let’s not act like this is weird, this isn’t even the weirdest shit I’ve posted this summer. I bought this the same day that I bought Mogi’s Digital Mystery Tour album. I’m just going to come right out and say it; this album is not as good as that one. But that’s like saying Oreos aren’t as good as getting head. Both are great, just in different ways.

For starters, this isn’t an entirely electronic creation. It features a full band. There are definitely electronic elements to be found here, but the album largely has a rock feel. But it still finds its own ways to be out there. The album features a lot of choral arrangements and vocalizing. Don’t ask me if those were present in Vivaldi’s original compositions (spoiler: I don’t know shit about Vivaldi), but even if they were I doubt they were handled like they are here. The vocalizing is ethereal, almost spooky at times. It reminds me of the vocal parts from some Goblin tracks. They sound less like melodies at times and more like demonic incantations.

That’s not to say the album isn’t goofy or fun in spots. A lot of it is lighthearted and playful. The 3rd Movement of Fall uses a synthesizer to create a joyous and buoyant atmosphere. While the finale of Summer goes full manic, again thanks to the abundant synthesizer. The album is also lifted by some killer percussion work by Shiro Ito, a session drummer who has performed on orchestral versions of Dragon Quest and Gradius soundtracks, to name a few.

The album was arranged by Shigeaki Saegusa, who I know even less about than Vivaldi. According to his Discogs page, he worked on a few Gundam soundtracks, and Astro Boy as well. He also put out an album in 1981 called Radiation Missa. If this YouTube clip is any indication of that album’s sound, I need to buy that shit immediately.