Various Artists

Albums

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  Love's A Real Thing: World Psychedelic Classics Vol. 3

  Luakabop, 2005 | Reviewed by: Gordon B. Isnor

  Ingredients: 1 tablespoon - exclamations worthy of James Brown 1 teaspoon - African sounds not entirely unlike King Sunny Ade 2 cups - Funky drums 1 cup - Congas... read it
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  I Like It Volume 2

  Compost, 2005 | Reviewed by: Jessica Grajczyk

  I Like It: Volume 2 is a compilation of the personal favorites of four music lovers. They aren’t your average music lovers, but people who have built their l... read it
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  This Is Skateboard Music

  Diggler, 2005 | Reviewed by: Gordon B. Isnor

  Germany’s Diggler Records specializes in long lost oddities and this time they've turned their sights on skateboarding. This Is Skateboard Music is a 14-song co... read it
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  The Ruts: Babylon's Burning - Reconstructed - Dub Drenched Soundscapes

  Collision (Cause of Chapter 3), 2005 | Reviewed by: Ron Kirsch

  The legendary and underrated Ruts have long been due for some kudos and respect. Upon receiving this for review, I was not sure it was the best type of tribute to begi... read it
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  Le Pop 3: Les Chansons de la Nouvelle Scène Française

  Le Pop Musik, 2005 | Reviewed by: Gordon B. Isnor

  A top-notch compilation of the finest in current French pop.
  
  Bertrand Betsch could be a French cousin of The Postal Service with its sugar-sweet electronic... read it
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  Soul Searching -The Compost Radio Show Vol 1.

  Compost, 2005 | Reviewed by: Gordon B. Isnor

  A super-slick compilation of smooth and jazzy electronic and hip hop on Compost Records, Soul Searching features 14 hand-picked tracks from the weekly Compost R... read it
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  Jazz Toys

  Perfect Toy, 2005 | Reviewed by: Gordon B. Isnor

  Jazz Toys could be the life of your party. The moment I popped this baby in the player, beautiful women started knocking on my door dressed in micro-minis and... read it
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  Isar Gold

  Compost, 2006 | Reviewed by: Gordon B. Isnor

  Yet another killer comp of future funk, hip hop rhymes and 21st century disco jazz from the Compost label. Isar Gold concentrates specifically on the vibrant ... read it
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  Compost 200

  Compost, 2006 | Reviewed by: Gordon B. Isnor

  Pretty much everything we've been hearing from the German electronic label Compost has knocked our socks off, and the Compost 200 compilation is no exception,... read it
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  High School Reunion

  American Laundromat, 2006 | Reviewed by: Gordon B. Isnor

  High School Reunion is name of the new American Laundromat Records tribute compilation to 80's films. It's hard to go wrong with classic songs from the great ... read it
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  Fonotone Records

  Dust To Digital, 2006 | Reviewed by: Gordon B. Isnor

  A 5-CD set of bluegrass and Americana originally released on Joe Bussard's Fonotone record label, the 'last label in the land' still releasing records at 78-RPM. These... read it
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  Songs To Break God's Heart Vol. 1

  Acuarela, 2006 | Reviewed by: Gordon B. Isnor

  Spanish label Acuarela doesn't believe in compilations and Song To Break God's Heart is their reluctant first. it's a shame they resist because they've done ... read it
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  Gomma Gang 3

  Gomma, 2006 | Reviewed by: Gordon B. Isnor

  Fans of DFA and The Rapture will want to check out the Gomma label. The label has been specializing lately in discofied electronica and this is a compilation of that k... read it
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  Tibetan and Bhutanese Instrumental and Folk Music

  Sub Rosa, 2006 | Reviewed by: Gordon B. Isnor

  When I popped Tibetan and Bhutanese Instrumental and Folk Music Volume 2 into the stereo, I was expecting more of the temple sounds I have come to expect from... read it
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  Project: Bicycle

  Ache, 2006 | Reviewed by: Gordon B. Isnor

  Project: Bicycle is a concept album of sorts and also a sort of 'jeu' as chefs are known to play: everyone gets the same limited set of ingredients and tries ... read it
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  The Celluloid Years

  Collision (Cause of Chapter 3), 2006 | Reviewed by: Gordon B. Isnor

  Fans of old old old school rap will find a treasure trove of lost classsics on, The Celluloid Years. This new compilation of old tracks from the early eighti... read it
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  Compost Black Label Series Vol. 1

  Compost, 2006 | Reviewed by: Gordon B. Isnor

  Compost albums are starting to bore me - every album's the same deal: the tightest fucking beats on the planet, the fattest basses this side of Bootsy Collins, the sic... read it
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  A Tom Moulton Mix

  Soul Jazz, 2006 | Reviewed by: Gordon B. Isnor

  This compilation makes me dance around the apartment doing karate moves in my robe, like a bloated Las Vegas Elvis or a character from a blaxploitation film. That take... read it
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  Summer and Smiles of Finland

  Fonal, 2006 | Reviewed by: Gordon B. Isnor

  Summer and Smiles of Finland is a new eight-band compilation CD on the Fonal label. People have been very excited about all of the underground music coming out of Finl... read it
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  Panama! Latin, Calypso and Funk on the Isthmus 1965-75

  Soundway, 2006 | Reviewed by: Gordon B. Isnor

  An interesting and very enjoyable collection of Panamanian music from the years 1965-1975. Panama is a country that has been largely overlooked in world music explorat... read it
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  Lagos Stori Plenti - Urban Sounds From Nigeria

  Out Here, 2006 | Reviewed by: Gordon B. Isnor

  Since interest in hip-hop outside the US has been exploding lately with great success for artists like M.I.A., Streets, Lady Sovereign, Ghislain Poirier and other arti... read it
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  Radio Algeria

  Sublime Frequencies, 2006 | Reviewed by: Michael Frittenburg-Doyle

  Here in North America it seems that the advent of 24-hour cable news has altered how it is that daily events take shape and how the overall narrative of a culture is f... read it
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  Jukebox Buddha

  Staubgold, 2006 | Reviewed by: Gordon B. Isnor

  Everybody's jumping on the Buddha Machine bandwagon these days – apart from the popularity of the device itself – a handheld music player outfitted with nine drones... read it

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  Silber Sounds of Christmas

  Silber, 2006 | Reviewed by: Michael Byrne

  Allow me to be frank: I fucking hate Christmas.

  Not to be a Scrooge about the whole holiday season but about the only thing I appreciate at this time of y... read it

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  The Wired Ones

  Wired, 2007 | Reviewed by: Matthew Rich

  My bad friend Stephen is coming to visit this week. He's a bad, bad man that drinks way too much and loves to listen to silly experimental music; the frillier... read it

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  Desperate Man Blues

  Dust To Digital, 2007 | Reviewed by: Gordon B. Isnor

  Desperate Man Blues is a superb collection of blues and roots music featuring lots of well known names like Charley Patton, Blind Willie McTell, Son House, Lonnie John... read it
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  Silber on Silber

  Silber, 2007 | Reviewed by: Michael Byrne

  As an aficionado of the internet it always fills me with adulation when Independent labels create new releases that are purposefully designed to be available on the... read it

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  Columbia! The Golden Age of Discos Fuentes

  Soundway, 2007 | Reviewed by: Gordon B. Isnor

  I'm not going to pretend to be an expert on salsa. I know next to nothing about music south of the equator. But music is music and when it rocks hard, it's ... read it

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  Spring Awakening - Original Cast Recording

  Decca Broadway, 2007 | Reviewed by: Anthony Easton

  There's a scene in Cabaret, where a decadent threesome, leave their villa and go fro a ride into the country. After endless scenes of sex, boozing, dar... read it

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  Romanian Jazz - Jazz from Electrecord Archives 1966-1978

  Sonar Kollektiv, 2007 | Reviewed by: Solomiya Moroz

  Here comes a compilation of Romanian Jazz music that has been brought back to life by the ever resourceful members of Jazzanova and Stephen Steigleder. The coun... read it

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  Silber Sounds of Halloween

  Silber, 2007 | Reviewed by: Michael Byrne

  When Silber media scouted for collaborators on yet one more mp3 release from their mother ship website, the response from groups both on and off their label to ... read it

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  Ethnic Minority Music Of North Vietnam

  Sublime Frequencies, 2007 | Reviewed by: Gordon B. Isnor

  This is pure gold for the jaded record collectors who think they've heard everything, that music has nothing new to offer, that nothing new is possible. The sound... read it

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  Nigeria Special: Modern Highlife, Afro Sounds and Nigerian Blues 1970-6

  Soundway, 2007 | Reviewed by: Gordon B. Isnor

  Nigeria Special is an extraordinary collection of deeply organic, funky, danceworthy sounds from a highpoint in Nigeria's musical history, the fertile pe... read it

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  Black Mirror - Reflections in Global Musics 1918-1955

  Dust To Digital, 2007 | Reviewed by: Gordon B. Isnor

  Black Mirror is a world tour of 78RPM recordings from 1918-1955 compiled by Ian Nagoski, owner of the True Vine record shop in Baltimore. The vast majority of the... read it

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  People Take Warning

  Tompkins Square, 2007 | Reviewed by: Gordon B. Isnor

  Looking back at a particularly bleak era in American music - the Great Depression -People Take Warning is a 3-CD set of Murder Ballads and Disaster Songs... read it

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  Songs of America

  Independent, 2008 | Reviewed by: Anthony Easton

  When I heard this, I kept thinking of Chumbawumba’s English Rebel songs. Chumbawumaba managed the entire history of dissent in England from the 14th century t... read it

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  The Local Anesthetic

  5 Rue Christine, 2008 | Reviewed by: Gordon B. Isnor

  33 choice cuts fom the Colorado punk scene circa 77-83, The Local Anesthetic chronicles the early days of the label by the same name. A healthy mix of clas... read it

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  Migrating Bird: The Songs of Lal Waterson

  Honest Jon's, 2008 | Reviewed by: Gordon B. Isnor

  Migrating Bird is a beautiful tribute to English folksinger Lal Waterson, out now on Honest Jon’s Records. The 19-track compilation features a slew o... read it

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  Black Stars - Ghana's Hiplife Generation

  Out Here, 2008 | Reviewed by: Gordon B. Isnor

  Black Stars - and in turn the Ghana hiplife sound - has been growing on me steadily since this superb compilation from Out Here Records arrived on the ... read it

Features

• Osheaga Festival 2006
  Writer: Gordon B. Isnor
  Osheaga is a brand new large-scale outdoor music festival in Montreal. I was fortunate enough to catch some incredible shows....
• Pop Montreal
  Writer: Gordon B. Isnor
  Pop Montreal is a totally awesome music festival that happens every year and features a mind-melting array of great music and spans a whole spectrum of underground music. From rap to electronic, psyche-folk, indie rock, twee and avant-garde, there's pretty much something for everyone who likes left-of-centre music. I had the pleasure of checking out a lot of incredible shows this past weekend, and here's a recap.
• Alien8 Records
  Writer: Graham Lanktree
  

  Dozens of indie-record labels are born-and die-every day. In an industry beset by fewer sales, more bands, and with paths to success murkier than ever before, every anniversary is as much a relief as it is a cause for celebration. Alien8 Recording's co founders Sean O'Hara and Gary Worsley celebrated their label's tenth last week.

  Home to Montreal bands such as Set Fire to Flames, the now-defunct indie darlings The Unicorns, and ambient craftsman Tim Hecker, as well as international concerns such as Merzbow and Keiji Haino, Alien8 has established itself in its short history as one of the most consistently interesting and wide-ranging independents in Canada.

  Graham Lanktree sat down with O'Hara and Worsley to talk about the rise of the Internet and the mixed effect the duo think it's having on a whole generation of music listeners. They also discussed the struggle to keep afloat as an indie, as well as the influence Canadians are having right now on North American music.

• Halifax Pop Explosion 2006
  Writer: Kristen Cudmore
  Vancouver's Kristen Cudmore recently played the Halifax Pop Explosion under the name Language-Arts and managed to take in a bunch of shows and lectures too. Here she shares her thoughts on the festival.
• Best of Vancouver 2006
  Writer: Kristen Cudmore
  It’s that time of year again when people tally up their votes and choose the best albums, acts or songs of 2006. I am about to take a different spin on this, because I have seen some amazing acts in the last little while that have become my favorites. Out of all that I have heard this year, my tops all happen to be in Vancouver, so I will take this opportunity to honor these artists that may be emerging but are absolutely phenomenal in my books.
• Best Concerts 2006
  Writer: Gordon B. Isnor
  This is the year I started going to shows again - moving to Montreal was what did it. What a great city for live music of all sorts. A festival every week! First there was Suoni Per Il Popolo, then Jazz Fest, Pop at Fringe, Francofolies, Osheaga and Meg and of course the jewel in the crown: Pop Montreal. Not to mention that but I also caught the Halifax Jazz Festival and some of the Vancouver Accordion Festival too. Whew!
• Best Records 2006
  Writer: Gordon B. Isnor
  Left Hip writers (and my friend Jenn Wong in China) choose what they remember as the best records of 2006.
• Mixtapes - Part 1 in a series
  Writer: Anthony Easton
  

  The best of lists that pop up at the end of the year are often hobbled by chronology or genre. It suggests that listening begins in January and ends in December or that people are experts in only one kind of music. People never really only listened to that which was made in one year, and the modern rock crit area was birthed by professional nostalgists and crate diggers. In asking a variety of professionals to mark what they were really listening to while maintaining the concept of an annual I didn’t want to engage in that act of crate digging, but I really did want to get a sense of what people were listening to. Think of it as the games people play with mix tapes, if mix tapes where really about what people listened to in 2006. The entries, comments (if offered) and biographies (if offered) are written by the critics (with their own eccentricities) themselves and they are arranged by their arrival in my inbox.

• Mixtapes #2: Don Allred
  Writer: Anthony Easton
  The best of lists that pop up at the end of the year are often hobbled by chronology or genre. It suggests that listening begins in January and ends in December or that people are experts in only one kind of music. People never really only listened to that which was made in one year, and the modern rock crit area was birthed by professional nostalgists and crate diggers. In asking a variety of professionals to mark what they were really listening to while maintaining the concept of an annual I didn’t want to engage in that act of crate digging, but I really did want to get a sense of what people were listening to. Think of it as the games people play with mix tapes, if mix tapes where really about what people listened to in 2006. The entries, comments (if offered) and biographies (if offered) are written by the critics (with their own eccentricities) themselves and they are arranged by their arrival in my inbox.
• Mixtapes #3: Edd Hurt
  Writer: Anthony Easton
  

  The best of lists that pop up at the end of the year are often hobbled by chronology or genre. It suggests that listening begins in January and ends in December or that people are experts in only one kind of music. People never really only listened to that which was made in one year, and the modern rock crit area was birthed by professional nostalgists and crate diggers. In asking a variety of professionals to mark what they were really listening to while maintaining the concept of an annual I didn’t want to engage in that act of crate digging, but I really did want to get a sense of what people were listening to. Think of it as the games people play with mix tapes, if mix tapes where really about what people listened to in 2006. The entries, comments (if offered) and biographies (if offered) are written by the critics (with their own eccentricities) themselves and they are arranged by their arrival in my inbox.

• Mixtapes #4: Frank Kogan
  Writer: Anthony Easton
  

  The best of lists that pop up at the end of the year are often hobbled by chronology or genre. It suggests that listening begins in January and ends in December or that people are experts in only one kind of music. People never really only listened to that which was made in one year, and the modern rock crit area was birthed by professional nostalgists and crate diggers. In asking a variety of professionals to mark what they were really listening to while maintaining the concept of an annual I didn’t want to engage in that act of crate digging, but I really did want to get a sense of what people were listening to. Think of it as the games people play with mix tapes, if mix tapes where really about what people listened to in 2006. The entries, comments (if offered) and biographies (if offered) are written by the critics (with their own eccentricities) themselves and they are arranged by their arrival in my inbox.

• Mixtapes #5: Geoff Parkes
  Writer: Anthony Easton
  

  The best of lists that pop up at the end of the year are often hobbled by chronology or genre. It suggests that listening begins in January and ends in December or that people are experts in only one kind of music. People never really only listened to that which was made in one year, and the modern rock crit area was birthed by professional nostalgists and crate diggers. In asking a variety of professionals to mark what they were really listening to while maintaining the concept of an annual I didn’t want to engage in that act of crate digging, but I really did want to get a sense of what people were listening to. Think of it as the games people play with mix tapes, if mix tapes where really about what people listened to in 2006. The entries, comments (if offered) and biographies (if offered) are written by the critics (with their own eccentricities) themselves and they are arranged by their arrival in my inbox.

• Mixtapes #6: Jessamyn West
  Writer: Anthony Easton
  

  The best of lists that pop up at the end of the year are often hobbled by chronology or genre. It suggests that listening begins in January and ends in December or that people are experts in only one kind of music. People never really only listened to that which was made in one year, and the modern rock crit area was birthed by professional nostalgists and crate diggers. In asking a variety of professionals to mark what they were really listening to while maintaining the concept of an annual I didn’t want to engage in that act of crate digging, but I really did want to get a sense of what people were listening to. Think of it as the games people play with mix tapes, if mix tapes where really about what people listened to in 2006. The entries, comments (if offered) and biographies (if offered) are written by the critics (with their own eccentricities) themselves and they are arranged by their arrival in my inbox.

• Mixtapes #7: Josh Clover
  Writer: Anthony Easton
  

  The best of lists that pop up at the end of the year are often hobbled by chronology or genre. It suggests that listening begins in January and ends in December or that people are experts in only one kind of music. People never really only listened to that which was made in one year, and the modern rock crit area was birthed by professional nostalgists and crate diggers. In asking a variety of professionals to mark what they were really listening to while maintaining the concept of an annual I didn’t want to engage in that act of crate digging, but I really did want to get a sense of what people were listening to. Think of it as the games people play with mix tapes, if mix tapes where really about what people listened to in 2006. The entries, comments (if offered) and biographies (if offered) are written by the critics (with their own eccentricities) themselves and they are arranged by their arrival in my inbox.

• Mixtapes:8: Rhodri Marsden
  Writer: Anthony Easton
  

  The best of lists that pop up at the end of the year are often hobbled by chronology or genre. It suggests that listening begins in January and ends in December or that people are experts in only one kind of music. People never really only listened to that which was made in one year, and the modern rock crit area was birthed by professional nostalgists and crate diggers. In asking a variety of professionals to mark what they were really listening to while maintaining the concept of an annual I didn’t want to engage in that act of crate digging, but I really did want to get a sense of what people were listening to. Think of it as the games people play with mix tapes, if mix tapes where really about what people listened to in 2006. The entries, comments (if offered) and biographies (if offered) are written by the critics (with their own eccentricities) themselves and they are arranged by their arrival in my inbox.

• Mixtapes #9: Simon Reynolds
  Writer: Anthony Easton
  The best of lists that pop up at the end of the year are often hobbled by chronology or genre. It suggests that listening begins in January and ends in December or that people are experts in only one kind of music. People never really only listened to that which was made in one year, and the modern rock crit area was birthed by professional nostalgists and crate diggers. In asking a variety of professionals to mark what they were really listening to while maintaining the concept of an annual I didn’t want to engage in that act of crate digging, but I really did want to get a sense of what people were listening to. Think of it as the games people play with mix tapes, if mix tapes where really about what people listened to in 2006. The entries, comments (if offered) and biographies (if offered) are written by the critics (with their own eccentricities) themselves and they are arranged by their arrival in my inbox.
• Interzone
  Writer: Michael Byrne
  Hosted by Guerrilla Zoo at the Synergy Centre London, UK, Friday 29th March 2008

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