One would need that almost another pair of hands, to be able to count on fingers all the projects on which the master singer and manipulator of sounds Mike Patton is henceforth involved. Having put his creative bulimia enter bracket a whole year, the time for a tour of honor within the band which made his reputation (Faith No More), we watched for his return in studio under the assault of a new Tomahawk, or behind a renewed, supposed collective to follow up in 2011 the brilliant first album of Peeping Tom. But this free electron of the musical industry appeared again from there where not did not hear him, to the commands of the score of an atypical movie, propped up between the neorealist drama and the bloody giallo. Besides the fact that the 2nd album of its Fantomas was already a very particular new reading of the universe of the original soundtrack, it is not the first time when Patton ventures on the composition of theme music.

He had signed at first for his label that of “ A perfect place “, short film very Cohen brothers, for whom he had known how to develop a backcloth variegated in the jazzy accents, under strong Morricone influence (let’s remind that the boss of Ipecac is big admirer of the Italian maestro); but it is especially with the score completely removed of Crank 2 that Mike Patton had really shown himself in this exercise, taking advantage of the hysteric format of this B-movie, to flank it a crazy soundtrack, armored of electric and metal cartoon experiments, without any equivalence this day in the world of the soundtrack.

The solitude of prime numbers imposed considering its subject (the effects post-traumatic of the childhood on the grown-up age) more restraint, and Mike applies to it with a professionalism which forces the respect. Strings and piano are thus here so present, in the middle of some atmospheric spaces, for an approach much darker than on its previous works on the subject. So ‘ The identy Matrix ‘ moves forward its attractive theme played with the harpsichord, escaped from a 60s movie ; it will mean punctuating the whole soundtrack under diverse variations, as a leitmotiv.

Behind it, the melancholic atmospheres succeed one another as so many small labels (the tracks are furtive but well-kept): ‘ Contapositive ‘ and its sick echos of pianos, ‘ The snow angel ‘ rocked by a fragile melody, then suddenly let go at the edge of a synthetic abyss, ‘ Abscissa ‘ tied down up to the blood between sharp lines of violin. More aerial, the diptych ‘ Method of infinite descent ‘ / ‘ Weight of consequences ‘ and the frosty ‘ Radius Of Convergence ‘, gather hypnotic synthesizers uttering deaf sounds with terrifying accents (we think of the orchestrations which haunt ‘ Shining ‘ of Kubrick).

Behind a classic appearance, all this thus smells the anxiety, distilled on record by small drops of a few minutes. And it is maybe there the only real criticism which we could make for this score also enchanting that depriving : its embryonic aspect (set apart 2 songs) and its incapacity to transform magnificent onsets of compositions into longdumping spaces. We know that by experience as a listener, Mike Patton is an artist who misses in the passivity and the redundancy (do not the songs of Mr Bungle change a rhythm and a theme every 30 seconds ?), but the exercise of the sound track requires nevertheless these kind of repetitive digressions.

It’s a pity that this accumulation of film playlets do not substitute themselves for a denser and structured universe, because this compromise accepted, The solitude of prime numbers would have been able to join the right lined by the Angelo Badalamenti‘s languishingly singular and wrapping scores (a strength which would have more still benefited the Saverio Costanzo‘s Lynch movie).

As is, the third dumping of Patton in the universe of the film music stays a real confirmation: the one that this exceptionally gifted singer is also a talented composer.

Olivier LESCROËL.

” Mike Pattons work does what the very best film soundtracks should do, which is to take the listener on a journey that is both intrinsically linked to the story but which also allows any number of personal permutations to twist and develop with the music. ” Phil (Sonic Abuse)

“It further cements Mike Patton’s transition to being a composer first and a singer second.” Scott Morrow (Alarmpress)

Tracklist (approximate, may not be accurate)

00:00 Il Cielo in Una Stanza
03:32 Che Notte!
07:02 Ore d’Amore
09:44 20 KM al Giorno
13:08 Quello Che Conta
16:03 Urlo Negro
18:57 Legata ad un Granello di Sabbia
23:02 Deep Down
26:19 Pinne, Fucile ed Occhiali
29:04 Scalinatella
32:18 L’uomo che non Sapeva Amare
35:37 Ma l’Amore no
39:34 Canzone
43:15 Ti Offro da Bere
45:44 Dio Come ti Amo
49:45 Storia d’Amore
54:02 Lontano, Lontano
57:01 O Venezia
01:01:10 Yeeeeeeh!
01:03:13 Senza Fine
01:08:37 Que He Sacado Con Quererte (Violeta Parra)
01:10:17 Una Sigaretta
01:13:50 Sole E Malato
01:17:10 Presentacion de los músicos de Mondo Cane

Fantastically shot, this is what may possibly become the Live DVD release on Ipecac Recordings… so, just like the Amsterdam concert from a few years back, watch it now, it may disappear from the internets before you know it.

~Dan – np: Jeffrey Foucault – Horse Latitudes

I’ll start with Greg Werckman, who heads 50% of Ipecac Recordings alongside Mike Patton. Oded and I interviewed him a while ago, and the feedback from the listeners was great, obviously, as there are so many fans of his work and support all over the world.
Not enough info is available on this musical powerhouse of a man. His label comprises a significant percentage of the music we’ve played on our show throughout the years, and the quality of the music has yet to be diminished. Not just that, but it’s nice to know he loves his job as much as you’d expect him to.

Listen to the interview HERE.

Greg Werckman and Patton

Edited by Oded Fluss.

Ipecac Recordings

<Decibel  Presents the Top 100 Greatest Metal Albums of the Decade> (2009 Decibel) | $12.99

Isis <<Panopticon>> (2004 Ipecac) | 필드 24,000원

Seeing as our chances of a North American tour came and went, here’s hoping it shows up as a live DVD on Ipecac sometime in the near future.

Here’s also an interview with some more live footage (including some Moonchild!)… it’s long (over 50 minutes)…

~Dan – np: Jeffrey Foucault – Ghost Repeater

“<<Oceanic>> 녹음과정은 [전작] <<Celestial>> 때보다 더 좋게 느껴졌다”며 유럽 순회공연을 쉬는 동안 터너가 말했다. “난 후속 순회공연뿐만 아니라 앨범 한 장과 이피 몇 장을 내려놓을 생각이었고, 우리가 말하고 싶었던 것을 더 정확하게 생각해낼 시간을 가졌다.” 이 기간에 들어서서, 나는 우리가 더 응집력 있는 작품을 만들어냈다고 느꼈고, 스튜디오에 있는 시간은 마치 감지할 수 있는 흐름인 것처럼 느껴졌다. 나는 스튜디오 안에서 더 많은 실험을 생각해낸 듯한데, 우리가 이전보다 더 많은 시간을 가졌기 때문이었다.”

이시스가 그 이후에도 높이 평가받는 작품을 세 장이나 내놓았지만, <<Oceanic>>은 언제나 폭넓은 감성, 지적인 구성, 역동적 음악으로 충만한 환상적인 앨범일 것이다. 자신들의 끈적하고, 구조적이고, 난폭한 과거를 70년대 프록/스페이시한 핑크플로이드의 잔잔한 감각과 결합했는데, 그것은 터너가 밴드의 응집력 증가에 필수조건으로 삼은 지점이었다.

“우린 더 명확하게 규정된 독립체라는 느낌을 받았다. 난 거친 믹스, 특히 ‘The Beginning and the End’를 듣고 아주 흥분된 느낌을 받은 것이 기억난다. 우리가 늘 분투해왔던 것 중 하나는 손에 잡힐 듯한 분위기를 만들어내는 것이고, 그런 점에서, 우린 내가 원래 해낼 수 있다고 생각했던 것보다 더 크게 성공했다. 난 그 음악에 아주 감성적으로 이어져있다고 느꼈고 우린 작곡능력과 화합반응의 또다른 단계에 이르고 있었다.”

그렇지만, 그 작위에도, 터너는 <<Oceanic>>의 우수성과 파급력 둘 다에 관해 놀랄 만큼 겸손했다. <데시벨>이 터너한테 이 앨범이 우리 10년간에서 5위에 올랐다고 알렸을 때 그의 반응은?

“내 의문은, ‘어떤 기가막힌 앨범들이 이것 때문에 5위나 100위에서 탈락했냐’ 하는 것이다. 그것보다도, 음악에 관해 쓴 것은 필자들 의견일 뿐이지만, 많은 사람들이 단체로 <<Oceanic>>의 미심쩍은 중요성에 동의한다는 사실은 신나기도 하고 겁나기도 한다. 왜 우리 음반 중 어떤 다른 것도 아닌 이 특정한 음반인가? 난 완전히 확신할 수는 없다. 그것은 그 음반 자체의 본성일지도 모르지만 그게 발매됐던 상황 때문이기도 하다. 당시에 기교지향적인 메탈/하드코어에 대한 열정은 정점에 도달해버린 듯 보였다. 아마도 청중들은 ‘미칠’ 듯한 것을 덜 강조하면서 감정적으로 좀 더 직접적인 것을 찾고 있었다. 그러나 나는 내가 만드는 데 몰두했던 음악이 대중의 어떤 자취와 깊은 관련을 가졌다는 것을 기쁘게 생각한다. 그렇지만 더 중요한 것은 나는 우리가 우리 모두 만족하고 계속 지지할 수 있는 앨범을 만들었다는 것을 기쁘게 생각한다는 것이다, 지금도 앞으로도. – 케빈 스튜어트-팬코

<Decibel  Presents the Top 100 Greatest Metal Albums of the Decade>(2009 Decibel) | $12.99

Isis <<Oceanic>> (2002 Ipecac) | 필드 17,000원

In no particular order

New Album Releases

01. Walls ‘Coracle’ LP/CD (Kompakt) Electronic/Ambient/Shoegaze
02. Gui Boratto ‘III’ 2xLP/CD (Kompakt) Electronic   
03.  Roman Flugel ‘Fatty Folders’ 2xLP/CD (Dial) Electronic
04. Joakim ‘Nothing Gold’  (Tigersushi) Electronic CD
05. Nadine Carina ‘Magic Box’ Electronic CD (Stattmusik) Singer Songwriter
06. Alias ‘Fever Dream’ LP/CD (Anticon) Leftfield Pop/ Electronic/ Hip Hop 
07. Michael Garrick and Shake Keane ‘Rising Stars’ LP/CD (Trunk) Exotic British Modern Jazz 
08. Low ‘Trust’ CD (Kranky) Rock/ Post Rock 
09. Faith ‘Subject To Change plus First Demo’ LP/CD (Dischord Records) Classic Hardcore Punk/ Classic Dischord
10. Noothgrush ‘Live For Nothing’CD  (Southern Lord) Doom/Sludge
11. Fantomas ‘The Director’s Cut: A New Year’s Revolution’ Rock DVD (Ipecac)
12. The Platters ‘Heaven On Earth – The Classic Mercury Recordings’ 3CD (Fantastic Voyage) Rock ‘n’ Roll
13. Farwell Poetry ‘Hoping For The Invisible To Ignite!’ CD+DVD (Gizeh) Epic Post Rock/ Drone 
14. Disco Zombies ‘Drums Over London’ LP (Acute) Punk 

New Single Releases

01. DC Breaks ‘Creeper / Horror’  12″ (Ram Records) Drum & Bass
02. Optiv & BTK feat MC Fokus ‘Blindstruck/ Scientist’ 12″ (Renegade Hadware) Drum & Bass
03. Mutated Forms ‘Wastegash’ 12″ (Grid Recordings UK) Drum & Bass
04. Dizz1 ‘Decay feat Royalston / Gone Soon’ 12″ (Black Acre) Dubstep/ Garage
05. Rawtee ‘Neighbourhood feat Mandarin’ 12″ (Guinea Pig Records) Dubstep
06. Zed Bias ‘Badness/ Trouble In The Streets’ 12″ (Tru Thoughts) Dance/ Garage / Dubstep
07. Axel Boman ‘Lucky Tiger EP’ PD (Glass Table) Electronic/ House
08. Marcel Dettman ‘Translation EP’ 12″ (Ostgut Ton) Electronic/ Techno

NEW RELEASES OUT FROM 26.09.11

FAITH NO MORE singer Mike Patton, moved by the Paolo Giordano novel The Solitude Of Prime Numbers and having contributed music to the movie of the same name, has created a 16-track release that boasts some of the most contemplative and stirring music of his multi-faceted career with Patton describing the release as a personal “sonic departure.” The album, titled “Music From The Film And Inspired By The Book The Solitude Of Prime Numbers (La Solitudine Dei Numeri Primi)”, has been set for a November 1 release via Ipecac Recordings.

Where Patton’s projects (FANTÔMAS, MONDO CANE, TOMAHAWK) often thrive on abrupt transitions and multi-layered instrumentation, “The Solitude Of Prime Numbers” collection boasts a cinematic feel that allows instruments an individual voice, emphasizes isolated notes and subtly transitions from piece to piece, acutely capturing the introspective and reflective feel of the novel. The album’s intricate packaging further conveys this dramatic and minimalistic approach, with a multi-panel digipak featuring a leaf cut out, embossed with a locking mechanism.

“The Solitude Of Prime Numbers” was released in 2008 and quickly became a national sensation in Italy where it sold over one million copies before it was translated into thirty languages worldwide. The novel tells the story of two individuals, Mattia and Alice, whose lives parallel each other in uncanny ways, like twin primes: both lonely but close to each other, separated by an even number. In 2010, a movie based upon the book, starring Isabella Rossellini and directed by Saverio Costanzo (“Private”, “In Memory Of Myself”) was released.

“Music From The Film And Inspired By The Book The Solitude Of Prime Numbers (La Solitudine Dei Numeri Primi)” features a unique arrangement with each track sequentially numbered with the first 16 prime numbers:

Tracklist

02. Twin Primes
03. Identity Matrix
05. Method of Infinite Descent
07. Contrapositive
11. Cicatrix
13. Abscissa
17. Isolated Primes
19. Radius of Convergence
23. Separatrix
29. The Snow Angel
31. Apnoea
37. Supersingular Primes
41. Quadratix
43. Calculus of Finite Differences
47. Zeroth
53. Weight of Consequences

~Dan – np: Tori Amos – Night of Hunters

The documentary traces the advent of Rob‘s 4th studio album The Architect. The film pays tribute to Rob‘s past as a member of the now legendary X-Men, through to his development as turntablist-composer. The film charts his work in the groundbreaking turntablist crew X-Ecutioners (Roc Raida, Total Eclipse, and Mista Sinista) and collaborations with artists such as Herbie Hancock, Dan The Automator and Cypress Hill. It also documents his appearance on Mike Patton’s Peeping Tom; with new album The Architect released on Patton’s Ipecac label.

Hurry and book your tickets from http://www.trybooking.com/TZU as they are selling fast!

 [From: Mother Hubbard]

The 1000 Softcore Tourist People Club (Ipecac Records/Goodfellas)

Per apprezzare al meglio il loro lavoro è consigliabile guardare qualcuno dei video realizzati in questi anni o, avendone la possibilità, assistere a una delle loro performance live. Qui sotto il teaser dell’album.

Tracklist:

The Godfather
Night of the Hunter
Cape Fear
Experiment in Terror
One Step Beyond
Rosemary’s Baby
The Devil Rides Out
Spider Baby
The Omen (Ave Satani)
Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer
Vendetta
Investigation Of A Citizen Above Suspicion
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me
Der Golem
Charade
Intermission
Simply Beautiful [Al Green]
Chariot Choogle [Marc Bolan & T Rex]

No word on pre-order info yet… I’ll post a link once it’s available on the Amazons.

Fantômas is a noise-metal supergroup: Mike Patton on voice and electronics (Faith No More/Mr Bungle/Mondo Cane/Peeping Tom/Tomahawk/Moonchild/etc), Trevor Dunn on bass (Mr Bungle/Secret Chiefs 3/many John Zorn projects), King Buzzo on guitars (the Melvins), and Dave Lombardo on drums (Slayer).  The Director’s Cut is their second album of re-imagined mystery/horror/suspense movie scores… this is their front-to-back live recording of it from 12/31/2008.

~Dan – np: Sigur Rós – Takk…

Director Steven Spielberg and producer Peter Jackson bring the beloved adventures of Hergé’s roving reporter Tintin to life in the motion-capture adventure The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn, which features performances from Jamie Bell, Simon Pegg, Daniel Craig, Andy Serkis, Cary Elwes, and Nick Frost. A new image from the movie has been released, which features Tintin (Jamie Bell) and his faithful terrier Snowy (Mike Patton) pouring over a piece of evidence. Check it out below.

The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn comes to theaters December 23rd, 2011.

If this is true, I’ll put this in the “glad he’s getting voice over work to help pay for his non-mainstream musical output” category for me.  I quick peek at IMDB doesn’t list him or the character Snowy.  Per CacaVolante (a Mr Bungle-themed tumblr), Patton’s management has not confirmed it.  For now, let’s put it in the rumor mill…

~Dan – np: Silverchair – Young Modern

Two of my favorite record labels go out of their way to create stunning packaging: the John Zorn-run Tzadik Records and the Mike Patton co-owned Ipecac Recordings.

For Zorn, the die-cut and gorgeous lettered detail in Tzadik’s Masada Book Two series jumps to the forefront, as do many of the stunning titles in the Archival series (The Dreamers, etc).  For Patton, the gold-embossed Mit Gas from Tomahawk was a first step, and the Peeping Tom & Mondo Cane packaging was colorful and stupendously took Ipecac’s level of art-packaging to a new level.

Both labels obviously believe in the physical artistic value, otherwise, they wouldn’t bother.  Well, this post delves a little bit into that process with two designers for Tzadik & Ipecac, respectively…

In a recent interview with Chippy from Tzadik…

Poor quality digital artwork is a shame because the original art/packaging is an extension of the concept. Most people therefore will not be able to fully appreciate/experience beyond the music. At the same time, the low quality is a good reason to truly really seek out the hard copy because there is so much more beyond the digital world. People forget about the beauty of books and print. The paper, the binding, the thread, glue, etc. There’s a reason why artists/designers use a certain ink, stock, varnish, diecut, emboss/deboss, etc. Dismissing this part of the experience minimizes the experience.
READ the FULL INTERVIEW with CHIPPY

Aaron Lazar from Tzgani Design worked on the most recent Book of Knots release from Ipecac.  The original design would have cost too much ($6-7/per unit), but would have been a three piece laser etched packaging design that would cradle a CD (printed in aqua, yellow and orange) and would function as a working astrolabe. Check it out in higher-resolution.  I wish this could have come to fruition, but I guess you have to be realistic in your artistic pursuits, too.

It is works of art like this that make me seek out more than just a download version.  Even if “CD quality” 320 kbps, it still seems hollow to me.  And more than just design… with music moving to a cloud-based platform now, here are eight reasons why vinyl is cleaner than “the cloud”… READ HERE at DigitalMusicNews.

~Dan – np: John Scofield – Up All Night

Update 6/27: original packaging concept for the album by Aaron Lazar of Tzgani Design.

Just tooling around Ipecac today… and what?  New album from The Book of Knots?  The official PR follows…

The Book Of Knots has had the pleasure of collaborating with some of the worlds most talented musicians, including Tom Waits, Mike Patton, David Thomas, Blixa Bargeld, Jon Langford, and Carla Bozulich.

Founding members Matthias Bossi (Skeleton Key, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum), Joel Hamilton (producer/engineer for BlakRoc, Pretty Lights), Carla Kihlstedt (Tin Hat Trio, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum) and Tony Maimone (Pere Ubu, Frank Black, Bob Mould) forge a sound both epic and intimate, empowering and devastating. Cinematic, symphonic landscapes give way to crumbling acoustic chamber ballads. Broken guitars and beautifully warped orchestras describe the ungraceful demise of boats, blast furnaces and bloated industries. Accounts of the failed adventures of tragic would-be heroes are given voice in the band’s two previous critically-acclaimed releases.

Their newest album serves as the final chapter in the bands “By Sea, By Land, By Air” trilogy. GARDEN OF FAINTING STARS, slated for release by Ipecac Recordings on June 14th, 2011, gives dissonant sendoffs to the doomed travelers and early astronauts that plied the skies in a quest for the final frontier: Space.

The imagined utopias that await them at the other end of their fantastical journeys inevitably give way to the grim realization which mankind has faced again and again: at every hopeful turn, commonplace realities await us. A vast and empty universe, stretching far beyond infinity, capable of containing the countless imaginary creatures, civilizations, and otherwise terrestrial impossibilities that inhabit our dreams, dies in the fluorescent lighting of the laundry soap aisle at WalMart.

The Book Of Knots once again cast a wormless, rusty hook into the lifeless seas of the music industry, expecting to reap only sorrow.

~Dan – np: Tides from Nebula – Earthshine

Finally after a lot of wrangling and back and forth the new design for the latest and last Book of Knots record is ready to be unveiled.

3 pieces of die or laser cut black plastic sandwiching the disc

Ipecac did not spring for the $6 per unit cost that would have been incurred to make the astrolabe design. It’s a shame really as this would have been a truly stunning unique piece of packaging.
regardless it still looks quite nice and has potential for future applications somewhere somehow.

The album itself is crushing and frigidly exquisite. When a release date is announced I will make sure to update with more images of the actual product and my thoughts on the record music wise.
 

Update July 2011: it looks as though funding fell short for a North American Mondo Cane tour for 2011.

Mike Patton’s Mondo Cane was one of the absolute best albums of 2010… and by far the best packaged piece of musical art.  He took it on the road for a few European dates and a San Francisco date in 2010, but sadly nothing else.  Well, just announced on Cyro Baptista’s Facebook page and confirmed on Patton’s PR firm The Agency Group’s bio page (quote below), Mondo Cane will be at New York City’s Lincoln Center (in August – no specific date yet) with a North American tour as well:

Upcoming appearances include a concert at Lincoln Center with John Zorn, presented by New York City Opera, and a North American tour of Mondo Cane.

I’m hoping there is a good West Coast date or two… Portland?  Seattle?  Vancouver?  Hell, I’ll even hit San Francisco if I can.  No word on dates yet, but once they’re announced, be sure I’ll post them!  Note: There is already a confirmed date in Buenos Aires, Argentina on September 17, 2011.

If you don’t know about Mondo Cane – it’s not like Mike Patton’s other work (Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, Fantomas, Tomahawk, et cetera).  It’s his 50s Italian pop big band group… listen to some samples over on the Amazons:

~Dan – np: Blackfield – Welcome to My DNA