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Featured Archive
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December 2004
Here's hoping you enjoy the season, whether you celebrate holidays or not! Nearly all of the seasonal traditions for this time of year are based on earlier cultures, such as Roman [Saturnalia] and Pagan [Yule Tide]. No kidding - decorated trees, wreaths, mulled wine, the works. So, everybody have fun and celebrate your season your way! You lucky friends in the Southern Hemisphere, enjoy that summer, too!

Here are some fun seasonal online recordings for celebrating a cool yule!

Snaildartha
Snaildartha
Dominic Halpin
Dominic Halpin
The Merrie Olde Christmas Carolers
2 CDs of Carolers

Snaildartha: the story of Jerry, the Christmas Snail is a beatnik soul-jazz extravaganza coming to you from Allied Chemical. [Also available in a short run from Innova.mu.]

"Played by legendary Curlew leader/sax player George Cartwright, soul jazz sensation Scott LeGere playing Hammond organ, and master percussionist Terry Hannan on the drums. Read by humorist and author Matt Fugate. Produced by Chris Strouth." - Innova.mu

Holiday Limited CD
Last Train Home
winter, xmas, Hanukkah tunes
USAF Band
see what's spinning in the living rooms!
elsewhere...

Blogio Oddio Check the blog this month for more seasonal releases.
November 2004

WM Recordings
WM Recordings
The beloved Weirdomusic.com has just launched a netlabel, WM Recordings. Marco, the operator of Weirdomusic, is assisted by Jan Turkenburg and Ton Ruckert. All three gentlemen are also Comfort Stand recording artists, and each created an Oddio Overplay theme song.

"WM Recordings is a netlabel operating from Heerlen, the Netherlands. WM Recordings brings you music that is a little 'different.' We do not specialize in one style, but instead bring you exciting sounds that you're not likely to find anywhere else. Everything you find on WM Recordings is free, so take as much as you like."

The netlabel opens with two releases. The first is a collection titled Water, Wind and Sails, and is released in conjunction with Turkenburg's 52 Weeks. Week 18 of 52 was a radio program with the sea as its theme. Turkenburg invited listeners to contribute their own musical pieces to create a water CD. The release flows across genres from bluegrass to the avant garde. A track that instantly won my heart was De Zwervende Keien's "Camille's Aquarium," a brief rendition of Camille Saint-Saens's (1835-1921) "Aquarium" from his Carnival of the Animals (1886).

The second release follows along the water theme, as well. It is Rain by favorite French mixmaster Chenard Walcker. He is a prolific artist and tends to explore in all directions when he undertakes a project. Guessing that this set is in addition to his two tracks on Water, Wind and Sails. When composing a mix for an Oddio Overplay site theme, Walcker also branched out and created an entire CD of additional material.

Super excited and grateful that WM Recordings has sprouted. Here's to it blossoming in the years to come.
week 33-35

August 9 - 23, 2004


Audiobulb
Audiobulb
Audiobulb Records is a label based in the UK with an international roster of artists "brought together under the banner of 'exploratory electronic music.'" This banner includes microtonal inorganic music, glitch, grooves, IDM and ambient.

Future Music Magazine states, "It's a label like Audiobulb who could produce the next Autechre. Some of the atmospheres here are superb. They clearly have an ear for it."

"Filled with enough glitch to make a skipping CD jealous, this release breathes a bit more organic life into the music. However, if you want to classify what Audiobulb does, they are doing it just as well (if not better) than anyone else out there," writes Igloo Magazine about Audiobulb's Switches compilation CD.

Their sharp, highly interactive website showcases the label's artists in two free promotional CD releases, Exhibition 1 and Exhibition 2. In addition to the promotional material, Audiobulb offers one-minute track samples from some of the works from their beautiful catalog. For others musicmakers, the website also provides free audio software, patches and a sample library.

Root Of Sine is a collection of music from Audiobulb derived entirely from sounds originating from the sine wave tone. Alongside this fine set, Audiobulb explains sine waves and their distortion and even how to create your own sine works. The label offers a selection of samples derived from sine wave manipulation in sample packs to assist in your sine creations.

Oddio regulars will likely recall the marvelous releases previously available from the artist room. David, aka room, operates Audiobulb and appears on the Oddio Overplay theme collection. Other artists on the label that have been highlighted at Oddio Overplay are bllix, disastrato and autistici. Who will become your favorites at Audiobulb?
week 27-32

June 28 - August 2, 2004


no site updates during rebuild
week 26

June 21, 2004



Mark Harp, the King of Peru
On page one of his site, you learn that Mark Harp is "a Baltimore, Maryland, USA, Earth based musician, guitarist, web geek, theater sound designer, sampler musician, songwriter and composer, nutbar, website and graphic designer, bass guitarist, producer, director, arranger, bon vivant, unemployable dirt eater, Clark Bar enthusiast, ex-IMAX projectionist, actor, retired paperboy, SubGenius Pope, AND The King Of Peru."

Know what? It is all true! Well, the King of Peru bit is sketchy, but he certainly is one super duper cool musician. Mark is so cool, in fact, that he is currently offering you, yes you, 24 hours of his music for free. Goodness gracious! No fooling!

In addition, Mark has work available online with his current bands. Those include the Motor Morons, a long-time Baltimore standard you have to see to believe, the experimental band Kunigunda, and the Diamondheads, Baltimore's finest instrumental surf band.

WCVT was once my lifeline, so 6PM is one of my favorite hours of recordings, so is 12AM, the Cabal EP. Sinking teeth into all his more experimental material these days.

Oddiophiles will love love love this man. Thank you and hats off to Mark Harp. Baltimore sure is lucky to have him and so are we!
week 25

June 14, 2004


Zenguin
Zenguin
Zenguin is a hub for a family of artist sites. Creator and operator, Perri writes, "A lapsed bassoonist myself, I've always been strong on support for independent musicians. When Mp3.com arrived I was hooked immediately, and started ferrying some of my music friends to the site." [listen - playlist]

After the passing of mp3.com, Perri reorganized this group of artists and shifted their audio files to new homes. She has done considerable webwork for some of the members. Zenguin is growing, too.

"I've begun adding groups from outside my original Mp3.com family, but I still get in touch with the groups to whom I've linked. I want to keep that family touch. I do what I can to steer my group members toward good promotional opportunities. NPR has been very kind to us; in fact, just today another Penguin has made an appearance. Do give a listen to Richard Gilewitz on All Songs Considered."

Nicknamed PenguinMama by the artists she supports, Perri states, "support ranges from personal to technical. Last week one [artist] got hit with a virus, another had scanner problems. I've received calls following divorce, death in the family... and for gardening advice. I help out where I can--the less stress they're under, the more time they can spend writing music!"

She has created a fantastic site that will lead you to amazing musicians. Enjoy this true gem. Zenguin.com has come a long way from the original 1995 purpose of celebrating Perri's wild car.
week 24

June 7, 2004



WeirdoMusic.com
This is not a site packed with music. It is a site packed with information about music. It might just tweak your head. It may open new worlds and link you to folks who love the same sounds you cherish.

"Weirdomusic.com - your first step in exploring the wonderful world of strange, wacky, odd, and just plain bizarre music.... We'll try to find the coolest sites, the best mp3 downloads, the hottest discussion groups, and the latest news & reviews. Of course we'll give you our own original content, too."

The founder succeeds on all counts, and like frosting on the cake, he is also a super swell guy. Marco is active in online music circles and always kind, honest and ethical.

Marco writes, "I started with a site called Record Collector's Heaven in 1998.... soon I discovered that writing about ALL the music I loved was just too much. So I made the subject matter more specific and as time went by it became what it is now: Weirdomusic.com, a portal for strange and unusual music."

Pretty sure it was this site that led me to the excellent Exotica List. That list includes all the folks who created Two Zombies Later. WeirdoMusic might open your world up to all sorts of new artists, too. Highly recommended. Enjoy!
week 23

May 31, 2004



Funky do Morro
These are archives of music from the streets. Without this site, how else would we have the chance to hear it? This stuff from the ghettos would never be picked up by major players in the music realm.

"'Do Morro' translates to 'of the hill,' and has been ingrained in Brazilian slang as reflection of the culture of the segregated favelas that have firmly rooted themselves in the hills of Rio De Janeiro.

"This archive is intended to share the hip hop beat produced in the hills of Rio, the favelas of Sao Paolo, and the streets of Salvador - funky do morro: the funk of the hill.

"Much of this music was found with independent sellers, and produced in garages, with not much international distribution. Many of the individual artists on the tracks may remain anonymous to global audiences." - site owner

Health officials are concerned about some funk dances where train dancing and musical chairs are reported to have taken on a new edge.
week 22

May 24, 2004


not archived
week 21

May 17, 2004


This week we feature some of the remarkable compilations, samplers and split releases available to you.

superb electronica
experimental folk
others rock and pop
week 20

May 10, 2004


ideology
iD.EOLOGY
"Our label strives to create a network, a communication-facility for musicians, graphics-artists, designers, lyricists, listeners and viewers."

iD.EOLOGY is one hell of a netlabel! Check it out for yourself. The design is ever-changing.

In adition to the seven full-length releases, the label is also home to visual artists who generate videos.

Click here for a preview player of the latest release, Broke Gringos - Junk EP.

This netlabel was founded in 2000 by Jörg and Christian. In spring 2003 they joined forces with Brigitte Bijoux and with an Oddio Overplay hero, Moritz of Phlow and the Netlabel Catalogue.
week 19

May 03, 2004


not archived
week 18

April 26, 2004



Observatory
Observatory is the free net-label for independent electronic record label, Skylab Operations. It has seen a few incarnations, and many of their releases are posted in the Oddio Overplay listings.

The Skylab folks had this to say about their netlabel.

"Dedicated to the electronic experimentation of sound and vision, Observatory releases several free to download and distribute MP3 and OGG releases a month, featuring the friends and family we've met along the way of our almost 11 year journey through independent music."

Two favorite artists are .tape. [dot tape dot] and Lullatone. The catalog at the posting is up to 37 releases.

more great net-labels
week 17

April 19, 2004


Interplanetary Materials
Interplanetary Materials
The amazing Comfort Stand has done it again. The all-time fave net-label has released another two volume compilation of original music.

You may recall the splendid Two Zombies Later set. It was the net-label's first release, and its theme was exotica. The Interplanetary Materials theme is outer space. Yes, that's right, the final frontier.

There are so many people I adore involved with this project that I cannot list them all here. Check out the release and you'll see just how many you come to adore, too! This 2-CD set showcases 36 artists "twisting through a neighborhood of quasars on the other side of our galaxy."

Once more the artwork is thoroughly professional and gorgeous, albeit probably unreasonable for the average listener to print on their home printer. The artist this time is Etherbrian, whose work will knock your socks off.

Production and all the footwork were done by the gifted Otis Fodder, who has brought the world wonderful things like the Bran Flakes [with Sir Pitt], Friendly Persuasion Radio Show and the 365 Days Project, as well as Comfort Stand Recordings itself. What a darling!
week 16

April 12, 2004


AcediaMusic
AcediaMusic
AcediaMusic.org is a fabulous net-label. Here is their self description.

"AcediaMusic is musicians from many places on this globe, from which most accidently met in some small hideout to rest and relax from the outer world. Most of us are widerange musicicans, but we dicided to mainly release deepmood, downtempo, non-stressing tunes. The outer world is spinning fast enuff...

"Since making music is a time thief, watchin our music vanish in the dry dust hurt us so much that we set up this place to share our stolen time. Download some music, lean back and listen. We hope u have some nice time diggin our tracks. You can expect to get new music here regulary since we all are addicted to make loops and noise. See you around, enjoy our music!"
week 15

April 05, 2004


Uncle Neptune
Uncle Neptune
Boy, oh boy, are you in for a treat! Uncle Neptune, cousin to Tiny Tim and Mr. Rogers, has chosen to share his 3 CDs online. Once you fall in love with them, you can easily donate to Uncle Neptune on his site. You will fall in love with them, too!

He and his friends make sweet happy music to brighten your day. Uncle Neptune's accent fluctuates all over the planet, still the songs are precious. An immediate favorite is The Good In Everything. Sesame Street really ought to hear the song I Like Being Me, featuring Jean Bean. It sounds perfect for the show.

The first CD is self-titled. The second CD Music For a Rainy Day seems addressed to a shorter audience with Uncle Neptune speaking after each track. In A Perfect World is CD three and it hosts a number of other artists and singers.

The incredible [and beloved] Billy Blob does the graphics for the site. His cartoons were on Wired's Animation Express. Karma Ghost is a true gem.

For the introduction to darling Uncle Neptune, many thanks to Marco of WeirdoMusic.com + Peter of CosmicTones.com. Oddio fans are sure to love their oddiocentric sites!
week 14

March 29, 2004


Big City Orchestra
Big City Orchestra
A new member brought this featured site back to a front burner. Played the CD again and smiled throughout. This is true oddio from the smart experimental group Big City Orchestra and its rotating roster.

Big City Orchestra offers you the Consumer CD made up of their renditions of 58 radio and television commercial jingles from the 1940's to the present day. The CD was originally released by Commercial Failure, who ironically "promptly went out of business."

The lovely Trixxy Pixxy EP is also available from Big City Orchestra through Comfort Stand, the fabulous free net-label.
week 07-13

February 09, 2004 -
March 22, 2004


out sick and vacation
week 06

February 02, 2004


The Internet Chinese Music Archive
The Internet Chinese Music Archive
Happy Chinese New Year! Welcome again the Year of the Monkey! Sure do love those monkeys.

While I personally do not support most of China's policies, I celebrate the music. The Internet Chinese Music Archive hosted by ibiblio shares a large collection of Chinese music.

The site offers collections of many types of Chinese music including traditional, folk, popular, childrens', operatic and ceremonial. Also included are examples of Taiwanese music and historical speeches.

Creators Nandi Xie and Xiaoyu Li have also created another online project titled The Great Empire of China.
week 05

January 26, 2004


Dreams of Flying international folk comp
Community Music Project
Another not-for-profit internet-only label, CMP features international folk music. The forms are combined on their CDs, so you may begin with modern US folk, ease into African American gospel, roll onto Chilean mountain folk and wind around into traditional Russian people's songs.

This family operation releases a lovely CD every year for free online. The project even offers extensive information on how to operate your own grass roots label, and they invite you to record with them.
week 04

January 19, 2004


WhistlingRecords.com image from a 1940's sign for Whistle Orange Soda
WhistlingRecords.com

Your ears are in for some unusual listening - and lots of it, brother!

WhistlingRecords.com is divided into sections spotlighting artists and collections and also features an album of the month.

Love the 78s, the bird songs [here's an example - listen!] and Brother Bones. You know Brother Bones from his version of "Sweet Georgia Brown" adopted by the Harlem Globetrotters.

Fans of 365 Days may remember Robley Evans.

Enjoy this thorough and entertaining site from BasicHip.com!
week 03

January 12, 2004


the Apartment
The Apartment -
Three Forks

Here it comes! Try it, cookie, you'll like it. Open wide. Here comes the airplane. Mmmmmm!

Comfort Stand Records describes its latest free release as Electronic, IDM [intelligent dance music], Found Sounds and Experimental.

Me? I just love it. The Apartment was among those who curated the 365 Days Project. Think that is how I found the Apartment's site.

Played sample tracks from the CD, and the songs stuck with me.

Bought the CD for just $8 and I love it. Love the rare found sounds. You have just got to hear "Melody" and "Oukey" and the title track, "Slice, Consume, Pronounce."
week 02

January 05, 2004


Comfort Stand Records
Comfort Stand
Keep your eye on Comfort Stand Records, the great not-for-profit internet-only label. These babies are cranking out sweet releases to satisfy your ears.

It all began with the delicious Two Zombies Later 2-CD set. That was followed by the lovely Twizzle EP.

Right now there are two new releases to enjoy. Both are sort of found object collections featuring personal recordings made on cassettes and on mic-in-track lines.

Jan 12th brings a release from the Apartment! Eagerly awaiting that one! You have the Slice, Consume, Pronounce CD yet? Hop on it.
week 01

December 29, 2003


Charity Holiday/Friendship EP at Park Studios
Park Studios
The latest featured net label is a friendly not-for-profit with gorgeous releases of downtempo electronica.

Electronica artists dominate the online label world, still this little one stands out.

Fans of the All Your Base craze [Laziest Men on Mars vs Zero Wing], be sure to check the Contemplation LP for Netpoet's interpretation.

The CD pictured is a winter holiday and friendship project called Charity.

"Life is our school, and so we never stick to a certain media or input tool for lifetime. It is our goal to see what other possibilities there are to realize our ideas."


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