Crammed’s Radio Show

A great non-guide for getting lost in the jungle of the label's output…

Once a month, Crammed founder Marc Hollander hosts a 2-hour show on The Word Radio, and dives into the depths of the label’s catalogue, with tracks recorded during the label's four decades, including some rarities, new and upcoming music, interspersed with skits, demos and field recordings.

Entitled "Inside & Around Crammed Discs with Marc Hollander", the show also sometimes features guest DJs (Julien Gasc from Aquaserge was the first guest, on Episode 5 of the show).

These eclectic mixes should work as great introductions to the label’s music. They are available as podcasts on the radio’s website, and later on Crammed’s Soundcloud page.

You can also listen to (most of) the tracks separately in this Spotify playlist

Aksak Maboul "Un peu de l'âme des bandits"

Deluxe vinyl reissue for the first-ever Crammed release
 
Originally released in January 1980, the second album from (Crammed founder) Marc Hollander's band has now been reissued in the shape of a package containing a vinyl LP remastered from original analogue tapes, a 25x25cm, 24-page booklet  (with liner notes, documents, recollections by all the musicians, a complete history of the band etc), and a bonus album entitled Before and After Bandits (CD+download).

The bonus album includes 10 previously-unreleased live and demo recordings, featuring no less than seventeen of the band's successive members and guests (including Fred Frith, Chris Cutler, Vincent Kenis, Véronique Vincent, Geoff Leigh & more). Over the course of ten tracks and 78 minutes of music, this collection charts the sinuous evolution of the ever-morphing Aksak Maboul sound and reveals some of the missing links in the story, from the 1977 debut Onze danses pour combattre la migraine through the Bandits album, a little-documented avant-No Wave phase in 1980, the atypical, eclectic electropop of Ex-Futur Album, and until the band's current live incarnation, which started in 2015 after a hiatus of some 30 years. 

Get the reissue HERE

Initial press reactions:

As if Pere Ubu got together with Faust to cover Igor Stravinsky (ByteFM, DE)

The Belgian experimental group Aksak Maboul were - and are - out there on their own… revelatory (The Quietus, UK)

Baroque deconstructivism… you don’t need to learn the nuance of its history to peel back the zeal of its musicians, who seemed all along to be saying, “Hey, serious music can be silly too.” (Pitchfork, US)

Jazz meets avant-classical, while brittle electronics spray delirious nonsense into the air… (Bonus album) Before & After Bandits traces an alternative, every bit as compelling history of Aksak Maboul (Uncut, UK)

Cheeky, mad and playful music, as fresh today as it was then still ahead of its time... a lesson in modernity… a compulsory buy (Les Inrocks, FR)

According to US writer Mikey IQ Jones (who penned the liner notes):

Aksak Maboul are a brilliant, covert unit that managed to absorb the operations and thoughtforms of many seemingly oppositional aesthetics, fusing them into a sound that few really managed to extend or even emulate.

Each of Aksak Maboul's three LPs stands as a sibling to the others, each with very distinct personalities and physical characteristics, yet sharing a very foundational chemical and aesthetic makeup – listening to their entire oeuvre, one recognizes melodies or polyrhythmic patterns from a song on one album subtly integrated into the body of one elsewhere.

The roots of Aksak Maboul's appeal and longevity lie within the collective's shapeshifting lineup and their chameleonic aesthetic abilities; the group's ever-mutating sound is akin to a sonic möbius strip, always digesting and recontextualizing itself, where seams and edges show but continually fold in upon themselves as the madness evolves. The best part? That evolution hasn't yet ceased.

Rozzma's 'Donya Fakka' EP

Straight from Cairo, a futuristic debut on Acid Arab's new imprint




The first and foremost exponent of Cairo's futuristic rave bass music, Rozzma is a fictional character, his only existence is on stage, videos and space.  He's started manifesting himself around Europe, popping up here and there and wowing the crowds at festivals and clubs, expect to see much more of him in the near future. Meanwhile, here's his killer debut EP, out on Acid Arab Records, the new imprint launched by Acid Arab in collaboration with Crammed Discs.

Stream it/get it here: smarturl.it/donya_fakka

Sofarnopolis

Crammed Discs are delighted to present Sofarnopolis, the debut album by Matias Aguayo & The Desdemonas.




Renowned electronic music producer & DJ Matias Aguayo presents his new project, which will unfold on several levels. The Desdemonas are a 4-piece rock band, fronted by Aguayo (who sings and plays a variety of instruments). It’s also a fictional story about a group of teenagers in a dystopian world.

The first single Cold Fever introduces into the Noir vibe of the whole thing and its story. It is a modern All about Eve tale (The Desdemonas are huge Bette Davis fans), taking place in the nighttime world of the city of Sofarnopolis, which bears resemblance to that of today's capitals of dance, but is obviously much more glamorous. An animation video by Celine Keller made with drawings by Matias Aguayo will further unravel mysteries about Cold Fever.

And the 7" offers a B-side dub mix made by none other than the legendary Trevor Jackson.

Cold Fever 7" including Trevor Jackson Dub out on now

Sofarnopolis will be out on Crammed Discs on October 13th (CD / 2LP / Digital)

Matias Aguayo & The Desdemonas on tour :

13/10/2017 CH DUDINGEN BAD BONN

16/10/2017 BE BRUSSELS AB CLUB

17/10/2017 GB LONDON CORSICA STUDIOS

20/10/2017 FR PARIS MAROQUINERIE

03/11/2017 DE HAMBURG HAKKEN

04/11/2017 DE KOLN MUSEUM LUDWIG

06/11/2017 DE BERLIN GRETCHEN

11/11/2017 CL SANTIAGO FESTIVAL FAUNA PRIMAVERA - ESPACIO BROADWAY

Kasai Allstars tour Europe to celebrate "Félicité"

The band have a central role in the award-winning fiction film. They're playing a dozen European shows in October, to celebrate the movie's release in several countries
French-Senegalese director Alain Gomis drew his inspiration for his film from the music of Kasai Allstars, and the sublime voice of their singer Muambuyi. The band recorded most of the soundtrack, and appear onscreen playing their own part. The film was awarded the Silver Bear Grand Jury Award at the Berlin Film Festival, the Golden Stallion at the FESPACO (Panafrican Film Festival), and no less than 6 awards (including best soundtrack) at the Africa Movie Academy Awards in Lagos.

To celebrate the film's success and its release in Germany, Switzerland, The Netherlands and the UK, Kasai Allstars will be playing the following shows, with a tight, rockier line-up.
Some of the shows are linked to premiere screenings of the film.
(more details and links HERE)

03.10 COLOGNE (DE) -  Club Bahnhof Ehrenfeld

04.10 NUERNBERG (DE)  - Tafelhalle (Nuremberg International Human Rights Filmfestival).

05.10 GHENT (BE) - Vooruit

11.10  BASEL (CH) -  Kaserne

14.10 EPINAY SUR SEINE (FR) -  festival Villes des Musiques du Monde

15.10. ZURICH (CH) - Moods

20.10 ROTTERDAM (NL) -  Grounds

21.10 AMSTERDAM (NL) Paradiso, Felabration (as part of ADE)

22.10 BRUSSELS (BE) -  Bozar

27.10 COPENHAGEN (DK)  -  Global

28.10  GOTEBORG (SE)  -  Oceanen

More details and links HERE

Tuxedomoon member Peter Principle's untimely demise

Peter Principle, one of the key members of American avant-garde rock band Tuxedomoon, unexpectedly passed away in Brussels on July 17, 2017.
He was 63. The probable cause of his sudden death is a heart attack, or a stroke. The band celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, and had gathered in Brussels to rehearse for a tour and to write music for a new album.

Peter was an exceptional bass & guitar player, and a great sonic experimentalist. He had joined Tuxedomoon shortly after the band's creation by  Steven Brown et Blaine Reininger, and played a central role in the composition, recording and production of all the band's records, from their first EPs and their debut album "Half-Mute" (1980) to their most recent releases, the "Pink Narcissus" album (2014) and the original soundtrack for the film "Blue Velvet Revisited" (2015).

Peter Principle also recorded four very interesting solo albums ( "Sedimental Journey" and  "Tone Poem",  respectively released by Crammed in 1985 & 1989, as part of the Made To Measure series, and "Conjunction" [1990] & "Idyllatry" [2005]), in which he gave free rein to his taste for experimentation and his love for quasi-psychedelic soundscapes. He once explained that he  had discovered the magic of pure sound by listening to the sound of lawn-mowers in his native New York suburb, and then proceeded to reinvent musique concrète (which he didn’t know already existed)…

Born Peter Dachert, he had adopted this pseudonym as an ironic tribute to the book of the same name ("The Peter Principle", a satirical management theory which states a.o. that, in all hierarchies, any employee tends to rise to the position where he reaches a maximal level of  incompetence, or something like that…)

Peter Principle also produced albums for other artists, including Minimal Compact, Marine, Isolation Ward, Sprung aus Den Wolken & more, and recorded with the likes of Wim Mertens. These last few years, he collaborated with his friend Dok Gregory under the project name Zero Gravity Thinkers.

His presence, his intriguing ideas, his imposing silhouette and stage presence, his inimitable bass guitar style will be cruelly missed.

Four cult Crammed albums to be reissued on vinyl

Starting with Yasuaki Shimizu's legendary 1987 album "Music For Commercials"




We're excited to announce the reissue of Juana Molina's "Un Dia" (2008), "Noir et Blanc" by Zazou/Bikaye/CY1 (1983), Aksak Maboul's "Un peu de l'âme des bandits" (1980), and Yasuaki Shimizu's "Music For Commercials"

Originally issued by Crammed in 1987, this is one of the most sought-after releases in our legendary Made To Measure series. Known for his numerous albums, soundtracks, and collaborations with an impossibly broad array of artists (from Ryuichi Sakamoto and DJ Towa Tei to Van Dyke Parks, Björk, Manu Dibango and Elvin Jones), composer, saxophonist and producer Yasuaki Shimizu also released several electronic music productions during the '80s, which are currently generating a lot of interest (a.o. his recently reissued Mariah project). 

"Music For Commercials" is a brilliant and inventive collection of short pieces, initially conceived as soundtracks for Japanese TV commercials (and bearing sweet titles such as “Seiko”, “Sharp”, “Honda” etc). These twenty-three tracks (each clocking in at two minutes or less, except one longer piece composed for a computer-animation short) abound with hit-and-run sound collages, twittering computers, and energetic ricocheting between myriad styles of music. This album has achieved near-mythical status in the last few years, which have seen artists such as Oneohtrix Point Never sing its praise.

The album has been remastered, and is coming out on vinyl, as well as CD and digital.

Advance track by Matias Aguayo & The Desdemonas

Renowned DJ & electronic music producer Matias Aguayo will soon be releasing the debut album of his new band The Desdemonas. We're happy to share Nervous, a first track from the album.




Nervous was recorded live at the Gewölbe in Cologne, and will appear in Matias Aguayo & The Desdemonas' LP Sofarnopolis (out in Oct 2017 on Crammed Discs). It tells the story of a nightly encounter with a girl floating in purple light and glowing in the dark. It's a scene from Sofarnopolis' dystopian narrative (which will also be unfold in cartoons and videos based on Matias' drawings).

On this track, Aguayo sings and plays the "Mona", Gregorio Gomez is on guitar, Henning Specht on keys and Matteo Scrimali on drums.

Juana Molina : accolades and tour

Her new album "Halo" gets impressive kudos, while she gets ready for a tour in Europe and Argentina




Juana Molina's mesmerizing seventh LP is unanimously acclaimed by US & UK media, from Pitchfork ("her strongest") to Mixmag ("endlessly bewitching"), the Sunday Times ("An album veering on genius"), MOJO ("Finest yet from the idiosyncratic electronicist") and Libération ("Her most spellbinding album to date"). More press quotes below.

And so is her new video "Paraguaya", featuring her famous mother, actress Chunchuna Villafañe, appearing as a witch who teaches Juana how to prepare a love potion, which ends up not working...

Concert dates:

17/05/2017 AR Buenos Aires - Niceto Club
20/05/2017 AR Rosario  - Galpon de la Musica
24/05/2017 AR Buenos Aires -  Niceto Club
27/05/2017 AR Cordoba - Club Paraguay
03/06/2017 AR La Plata -  El Teatro Sala Opera
15/06/2017 ES Madrid  - Picnic Session / Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo
16/06/2017 ES Barcelona - Sonar
17/06/2017 FR Paris - La maroquinerie
19/06/2017 GB London - Moth Club
20/06/2017 BE Antwerp  - Roma
22/06/2017 DE Berlin - Franzz Club
24/06/2017 PL Bialystok - Halfway Festival


From the press on "Halo":