Origami Arktika - 2007 - Trollebotn

Genre: Folk, Weird Folk, Ambient
Label: Silber

If you like Sigur Ros and/or the "exotic" touch of nordic language

A record with norwegian folk songs by the Origami Arktika collective. I know this part of the Origami Collective more as an Ambient/SoundScape/Industrial Project, but on this record they play a kind of folk music. Really haunting and natural and it has nothing to do, with that freaky stuff that you may know from the finish free folk movement or similar. It's all played live with a lot of space and some subtle background noises. Highly recommend!

Norwegian Origami Arktika create a pleasant aural experience, combining almost meditative traditional styled folk music and atmosphere similar to that of Tenhi, Jose Gonzales or Sigur Ros.

Find a lot more of great ambient/experimental music at the labelsite - checkout the downloads!

Try it - Buy it - See Live - MicePays

Mountainhood - 2009 - White Banquet- Live at the Story Chapter 1

Genre: Freak Folk Lo-finess

How many Mountainhood releases scatched the surface this year?

3? 4? 5? Don't know - just to make this listing complete here's an live recording.

fragil Lo-Fi goodness and his frail voice as on the other recordings...

number of glitches can be heard throughout the songs. These glitches are not technology-related but they were produced organically in real-time at the live performance when the songs got intense and [the songwriter] passed into a mild trance, to fade out for a minute, then falling forward heavily, caught [his] guitar strings upon the mic." (insert)

Try it - Buy it - MicePays

Animal Collective - 2003 - Campfire Songs

Genre: Freak Folk

Saw them live last week and it was a great gig. I've enjoyed it a lot. I don't care about you kids who tell everyone that they are hipster shit. (It's the same like Wavves) I don't care that Alec Empire think that everyone who still listen to Animal Collective is an awful follower.

They do a unique and creative work with simple tools. Sure they are successful now and maybe better accessible with the last records, but they are the artists and you are the consumer, so shut up and do your own music :p.

Anyway - Campfire Songs shows a side of them, for which I like them so much (beside their weird looping/drumming/shouting stuff).

Stripped down quiet songs with guitar, voice and environmental recordings. Plain beauty.

(oh on amazon I saw prices aound $99 for this record ;-))

Try it - See Live - MicePays

Leopard Meat - 2006 - Dah Dah; 2006- Karma Burns EP

Genre: Freak Folk, Indie, Wave
Label: Borrowdeer (US)

If you like Khemo Rabbit

Leopards Meat is similar to Khemo Rabbit, no surprise - it's the same person. Maybe it's more freaky folk, but you will find strange No-Wave influences as well.

Clifton Von Smeltzer was born an early 80’s child, who now lives in Texarkana, Arkansas. Texarkana effectively functions as one half of a city which crosses a state line — the other half, the city of Texarkana, Texas, lies on the other side of State Line Avenue. One can only assume this as somewhat of a symbolic significance which correlates with Khemo Rabbit’s brain and his possible double-personality complex. Could one half of his brain be a fan of Nick Cave and the other side a fan of Anthony and The Johnsons? Who knows? Whether that is the case or not, Khemo’s music is way beyond original. Sprinkles of influences you will hear, though, Khemo walks his own road.

Try Karma Burns EP

Try Dah Dah

Buy it - MicePays

Killer / Killerlady - 1997 - Kulturschutzschuhe, 1998 - Hardcorekiller, 1998 - Ladyshave

Genre: Lo-Fi, Noise, Freak Folk, Singer-Songwriter
Label: Musikzimmer (DE)

If you like Woods... ;-)

Here is a bunch of 7"+10" by the german Killer / Killerlady.

Behind the name is the singer of the german punkband EA80 - one of the most independent, true punk band, since over 25 years. You may call them the german Joy Divison, but it's more like that. Anyway - Killer is another direction and just share the stronge and unique voice of Junge with his band. The records are mostly 4-track recordings with tiny songs with lot of feedback, distortion and home recording experiments, but stop - it's not noise at all. I would say it's kind of Singer-Songwriter/Industrial Noise :).

Some american influences, some electronic and lots of tape hiss and noizzzzzzzeee...

The most outstanding track is New Life Form, which differ from the rest. A spacey trip with mickey mouse on LSD. ;-)

So if you like Woods - check this, it's quiet comparable to them in aestethics and sound!

This is rad and more than 10 years old!

Tracklisting - Hardcorekiller

1. Silence Making Noise
   
2. Crisis What Crisis
   
3. With Patti Smith
   
4. Riot
   
5. Gods Monkey
   
6. Smell & Western
   
7. Pissed Off
   
8. Universe
   
9. In The Mood
   
10. Penis Microphone
    
11. Headpump
    
12. New Life Form
    

Tracklisting - Kulturschutzschuhe

1. Kulturschutzschuhe
   
2. God - Jesus - Crack
   
3. Research S.P.K.
   
4. Noize Jeans
   
5. Fuck III
   
6. Fire the warm gun
   

Tracklisting - Ladyshave

1. Hardline Numbskulls
   
2. Vibes of Screaming fear
   
3. Bullshit Propaganda
   
4. Waste of Breath
   
5. Why do we suffer

Try it - MicePays

Khemo Rabbit - 2007 - Swallow

Genre: Freak Folk, Indie, Wave
Label: Borrowdeer (US)

There is not so much information about Khemo Rabbit (also known as Leopards Meat) but it was released by the superb Borrowdeer Label, which hold some nice acts like Deek Hoi or Chauchat.

His music is a mixture of weird Indie Folk songs and on the other hand electronica, new wave stuff. It's schizophrenic and strange and fun. His voice varied as the styles.

"You try to kiss me on the penis before I buried in your bush" - did I get this line from "Holy Bones and Bread" right? So you got a direction :)

Oh and while "Examine Your Skull" is kind of stoned teenage freak out, "Scavenger" is a serious, Nick Cave like song to tap with just your feet to the rythm or nick your head - maxium.... uhm whatever. Check that and get the CD because this is a lousy rip ;-)

Tracklisting

1. Examine Your Skull
   
2. The Pouring Rain
   
3. Rapture
   
4. Devil Spread
   
5. Honey Brown
   
6. Lemonade River
   
7. Hung Out To Dry
   
8. Lip Service
   
9. Holy Bones And Bread
   
10. Karma Burns
    
11. Black Heart Child
    
12. Scavenger
    
13. Bathtub Organ
    

Try it - Buy it - MicePays

Teeth Mountain - 2008 - s/t

Genre: LoFi, Drumming, Psych
Label: SHDWPLY Records (US)

7 piece band from Baltimore (yes Dan Deacon, Video Hippos, Future Islands ...) with a great blend of fuzzy drones on cello and electronix and polyphonic tribal drumming. Psych-Drone-Ritual of Joy!

"I don't know what god or gods you all are praying to but you're praying too fucking loud" Boston Police Department

Tracklisting

1. Introduct
   
2. Black Jerusalem
   
3. Keinsein 
   
4. Spirals
   
5. Ghost Science
   
6. Soft Beast
   
7. 13
   
8. Harsh Tanz 
   
9. Malamut
   

Try it - Buy it - See them live with Dan Deacon and get their 12" -> MicePays

The Ivytree - 2004 - Winged Leaves

Genre: Psych Folk
Label: Cat supplate

Similar Artists: Skygreen Leopards, Thuja

Yeah again Glenn Donaldson - similar to Birdtree record, so check it!

Tracklisting

1. Flood
   
2. The Book Of Job
   
3. Winged Leaves 
   
4. Winged Leaves (Reprise)
   
5. Emerald Green, Peacock Blue
   
6. Longleaf Pines
   
7. Churches
   
8. Wind-Bent Grass
   
9. Think On These Things
   
10. She Is The Swallow
    
11. Clay Tablets
    
12. The Old Kingdom 

Try it - MicePays

The Birdtree - 2002 - Orchards & Caravans

Genre: Psych Folk, Drone, Psychedelic
Label: Last Visible Dog (US)

Similar Artists: Skygreen Leopards, Thuja

Well, here again a great piece of work by Glenn Donaldson. If you read this blog, you stumbled often about his music (the last was this Mirza record). His most well known project are The Skygreen Leopards, but he did a lot of work as the one of the heads behind the Jewelled Antler Collective. You can get an overview about that collective with it's own soundcosmos here and here.

This record is a mixture of Glenn Donaldsons music he do with The Skygreen Leopards, more that song oriented folky stuff and the freeform drone-work of Thuja. If you like their work, check it!

The Jewelled Antler Collective put out a lot recordings, mostly on CD-r, so they are rare - if you like to share some of this stuff, please post comments. Thank you!

Tracklisting

1. White Sundials Faced The Sun 
   
2. Pillar Of Clouds 
   
3. Animals Of The Summit 
   
4. Red Midnight Raven 
   
5. The Marsh 
   
6. Black Rainbows, Part 1 & 2 
   
7. Everyone Of Us A New Leaf 
   
8. Mary Ann 
   
9. Scorpions & Lions 
   
10. The Bluish Vapor Of Tall Eucalyptus Trees 
    
11. The Lost Sun 
    
12. Raven Returns/The Uppermost Forest 
    
13. Sleeper Under A Tree 
    
14. Leaffish 

Try it - MicePays

Volcano The Bear - 2007 - Amidst The Noise And Twigs

Genre: Psychedelic, Free Folk
Label: Beta Lactam Ring Records (US)

Similar Artists: Grizzly Bear, but on a weird mushroom trip!, Hochenkeit

If all the * Bear bands are cuties and sweeties, this bear will abduct you in a cave inside really deep and dark woods. Volcano the Bear are from Lancaster UK and released on Steve Stapeltons Label United Diaries. That should give you a direction, if not, imagine dark folky soundscapes and surreal ritual music with flutes, horns, percussion and mutiple voices.

The Three Twins close the album and maybe this is your escape from that cave. Play Loud!

Who knew that amidst the noise and the twigs there was music…sweet, sweet music?! This world is Volcano the Bear’s womb. At last, the year that VTB gets a shot at Top Of The Pops, assuming the pops finally snaps out of its vapid trance and embraces the standards of Comus, 3 Hurel, early Residents and 12th century Arabo-Andalusian music. As usual, our heroes are found keeping things stripped to the bone trumpet, but dripping with a juicy, melodic marrow. The record pours slowly and resolutely like a folk-psych dream urn, loaded with full metal banjoes; crumhorns at 12 O’clock; and autoharps at defcon 5. The experimentalism is this time couched in shifting tides of self-spun acidic harvest ballads that noisily well up into proto-Kraut thrums and tribal night trips around the pyre. A rural, squelchy, DIY delicacy which stinks of occidental embouchure so crystal crisp that every skkrrrr, pphaaapph and brrruuuummmm resonates like a small, sound-specific god, intertwined with beautifully skewed notes, voices and rhythms. "Amidst The Noise And Twigs" plays like a recently discovered field recording of some obscured Celtic clan who accidentally stumbled onto psychedelia 600 years ahead of its time. These pipers truly rock the gates of dawn.

Tracklisting

1. The Sting Of Haste 
   
2. Before We Came To This Religion 
   
3. Larslovesnicks Farm 
   
4. Burnt Seer 
   
5. Cassettes Of Berlin 
   
6. Splendid Goose 
   
7. She Vang Moon 
   
8. One Hundred Years Of Infamy 
   
9. The Three Twins 

Try it - Buy it - MicePays

Danielson Family - 1997 - Tell Another Joke at the Ol' Choppin' Block

Genre: christan freak folk/indie

Label: Secretly Canadian

Similar Artists: Danial Johnston, CYHSY, The Polyphonic Spree

It's like the post before, christian related indie music (that means nothing). I like the quirky music, I like the weird falsetto singing and the psychedelic parts. It's fun!

Daniel's quirky songwriting and the family teamwork may prompt references to the Shaggs, but musically the Famile is far more accomplished. Being devout Christians, there are religious undercurrents to every track. Make no mistake, though, because these folks are miles from the stuff that comes to mind whenever you hear the words 'contemporary Christian music.' Their sound lies closer to the Pixies or They Might Be Giants. Daniel regularly sings his unique lyrics in a shocking falsetto that sometimes recalls Black Francis, Jad Fair, and Daniel Johnston. (by a amazon reviewer)

Tracklisting

1. A No No 
   
2. Ye Olde Battleaxe 
   
3. Me To Datee 
   
4. The Lord's Rest 
   
5. Flesh Thang 
   
6. Jersey Loverboy 
   
7. I Am My Beloved's 
   
8. Big Baby 
   
9. Deviled Egg 
   
10. Quest For Thrills 
    
11. Smooth Death 
    
12. Jokin' At The Block 

Try it - Buy it - MicePays - Bandwebsite with lot of info/videos etc.

Half-Handed Cloud - 2006 - Halos & Lassos

Genre: Christian Psych Folk ;-)
Label: asthmatic kitty records
Similar Artists: casiotone for the painfully alone

A bunch of short nice songs. I cannot say much about the lyrics. It's about jesus and god and similar themes. It's not my cup of tea but the music is nice and makes fun.

Tracklisting

1. Eart Outside Of Ghost Will Only Be Quicksand 
   
2. Tongues That Possess The Earth Instead 
   
3. Foot On The Brake 
   
4. A Suit Of Clouds To Ride The Skies 
   
5. Praise Awaits You 
   
6. Rise To The Heavens On Evaporation 
   
7. A Picnic Few Would Want To Attend 
   
8. In You Now, But Still Below 
   
9. Eyes Peeled 
   
10. You Wouldn't Embarrass Me, Would You? 
    
11. You've Been Faithful To Us Clouds 
    
12. Skip The Rope 
    
13. Celebrating Hearts Aligned 
    
14. They're Bad, But We're Worse 
    
15. A Bed That Breathes With Him 
    
16. Feed Your Sheep A Burning Lamp 
    
17. Rainbow = Warbow 
    
18. A Tree Replanted Back In Eden 
    
19. Place Your Wind Against My Sails 

Try it - Buy it - MicePays

The Dodos - Live at ULU, London (2008)

Wonderful Liverecording by The Dodos from September 2008. This is the audio-track from the bonus DVD of the special edition of Visiter. Includes a new unreleased title (Untitled)

More Dodos related stuff will come... (Meric Long, Dodo Bird EP)

Label: Wichita Recordings

Genre: Indie Pop, Acoustic, Freak Folk

Tracklisting:

1. Chickens
2. Trades and Tariffs
3. Men
4. Joe's Waltzey
5. Walking
6. Red and Purple
7. Fools
8. Untitled
9. Jody
10. Announcement
11. The Season
12. Winter
13. It's That Time Again
14. Paint the Rust
    

Try it - See shots - Buy it - More (free mp3 + video of an exclusive performance on live daily session) - See live

A Broken Consort - The Shape Leaves (2006); Crow Autumn (2007)

Genre: Drone, Freefrom, Psych Folk
Label: Sustain-Release (UK)

Similar Artists: Thuja, TwinSisterMoon, Nature Snow Buildings

Shimmering freeform mantras on violin and sparkling guitar pickings. Very organic sound which make the time stands still. Checkout the labelwebsite to see the full beauty of his releases.

The music consists of long-spun acoustic soundscapes - drones and melodic repetitions, but with a great depth of sound. Most prominent are guitars, percussion, and various other bowed and strummed strings. The result is at the same time familiar, rooted in the earth, but also far from everyday experience. A wonderful musical depiction of the mystic depths contained in natural landscapes with only a hint of cultivation.

Tracklisting - The Shape Leaves

1. In The Hanged Air 
   
2. A Momentary Sun 
   
3. And All Their Silver & Gold 
   
4. For Nothing 
   
5. The Longing Day 
   
6. Untitled
   

Try it

Tracklisting - Crow Autumn

1. Crow Autumn 

Try it

Buy it - MicePays

Kyst - Tar EP (2008)

Genre: Indie Pop, Folk
Label: Self release (PL)

Similar Artists: Grizzly Bear, Akron Family

I think this is recorded by one person, even if the band start as a trio. But the songs sounds very mature and good, you should give it a try.

Kyst started in Halden, Norway as an international three-piece (Tobias Biliński, multi-instrumentalist from Poland, Jens Kaupang from Norway and Pavel Dahle from Russia) and quickly became a one-person project due to different views on it’s style and direction.

Tracklisting

1. Tar 
   
2. Coast 
   
3. Cover Up 
   
4. Shining 

Try it - See Live - MicePays

The North Sea - Exquisite Idols (2007)

Genre: Psych Folk
Label: Type (UK)

Similar Artists: Metthew de Gennaro

The first 'proper' album from free-folk's international man of mystery Brad Rose. The Tulsa resident managed to peel himself away from Ugly Betty re-runs for long enough to record eight skewed slices of sing-along outsider pop. Get slightly drunk, and enjoy...

Exquisite Idols hovers somewhere between drone, folk, free improv and a sort of shattered Americana. On the release, he mixes field recordings, guitars, occasional vocals, banjo, and loads of clanging percussion and hazy washes. The space it inhabits is somewhere between the scratchy under-the-bridge folk of a group like The Blithe Sons and the reverb-drenched Songs Of Green Pheasant. Most of all, though, it doesn't take the paths that you quite expect, playing out with a series of passages that feel organic and loose, as if written deep in the woods somewhere.

See this post for another The North Sea album.

Tracklisting

1. Eternal Birds 
   
2. Guiwenneth Of The Green Grass 
   
3. We Conquered The Golden Age 
   
4. Take It From Me Brother Moses 
   
5. Cover Me With Knives 
   
6. Children Of The Ashes 
   
7. And Then The Solstice Disappeared 
   
8. Feather-Cloaked Silver Priestess 

Try it - Buy it - MicePays

Prewar Yardsale - Lowdown (2000)

Genre: Anti Folk
Label: Oliver Juice Music (US)

Similar Artists: Moldy Preaches

Anti-Folk by played by a couple from NYC. Just Guitar and a Bucket as drums.  Starting with the 14 minutes "Elevated Platform Stand" mantra.  

Go here and grab the nice "Would Ed Wood?" Song posted along with a Compilation about Ed Wood (WFMU Blog) 

Tracklisting

1. Elevated Platform Stand 
   
2. United Airline 
   
3. Weird 
   
4. Bicycle Free N.Y.C. 
   
5. Disney In Times Square 
   
6. Bridge && tunnel 
   
7. Prewar Yardsale 
   
8. AU Base 
   
9. Lowdown Girl 
   
10. Consolidated Sanitation Power 
    

Try it - Buy it - MicePays

Kallabris - A Smile For Brandon, Tape (1990) + Considération Sur / Sous Le Café, 7" (2001)

Genre: Freak Folk, Home Recording, Ambient, Drone
Label: Jazztone (GER), Genesungswerk (GER)

Similar Artists: Cranioclast

In general, Kallabris is a german post-industrial, ambient, drone project, related to the much more obscure Cranioclast collective. Kallabris released a lot of strange, limited records and here are two, I really love.

A Smile For Brandon is a rare tape I bought in the early nineties and maybe my first contact to that nowadays called Freak Folk genre. In these times it was just a kind of obscure DIY homerecording, released in the tapescene. A bunch of tiny songs with acoustic guitar, voice and some additional noises. Nice and full of tapehiss.

The second one Considération Sur / Sous Le Café  is a conceptual 7" record about coffee, and it comes with a text about that. It's kind of a very strange Coffeehouse music (whatever this means). Sparly Piano tunes, a voice and some shimmering guitar feedbacks laying in the background. Enjoy them!

Tracklisting - A Smile For Brandon

1. Movement III
   
2. Nous Nous Faisons, Bichette?
   
3. Flutes Of Jericho
   
4. The Night Mood
   
5. Nine To Six
   
6. Movement IV
   
7. Something More
   
8. Season Of Fire
   
9. Mme. Edwarda
   
10. Movement V
    
11. Kill Me!
    
12. Autumn
    
13. So What?
    
14. Raindrops
    
15. Salty Water
    
16. My Garden
    
17. Party It Up!
    
18. Too Deep To Be Named
    
19. The 3rd Way
    

Try it

Tracklisting - Considération Sur / Sous Le Café

1. Considération Sur Le Café 
   
2. Considération Sous Le Café 

Try it - Buy it

Le Loup - The Throne Of The Third Heaven Of The Nations' Millennium General Assembly (2007)

Genre: Indie, Laptop Folk
Label: Talitres Records (FR)

Banjos, Electronics and several voices turned into simple but beautiful songs. The album ends with a field recording. Listen also to their Daytrotter Session, with newer tracks.

Read here about the albumtitle.

Tracklisting

1. Canto I
   
2. Planes Like Vultures
   
3. Outside Of This Car, The End Of The World!
   
4. To The Stars! To The Night!
   
5. (Storm)
   
6. We Are Gods! We Are Wolves!
   
7. Breathing Rapture
   
8. Look To The West
   
9. (Howl)
   
10. Le Loup (Fear Not)
    
11. Canto XXXIV
    
12. I Had A Dream I Died
    

Try it - Buy it - MicePays

Birdengine - I Fed Thee Rabbit Water (2007)

Genre: Psych Folk, Acoustic
Label: Drift Records (UK)

Dark Folk songs, best listen at night.

Lawry Joseph Tilbury plays a nylon string guitar and accompanies himself singing the horrors in his mind. Killing dogs, sticks for arms, black snow, giant birds, dancing bears and kings trapped in jars all get a mention in Lawrys’ frightening but beautiful music.

Tracklisting

1. Heads Off Dogs 
   
2. Alone With The Beast Folk 
   
3. The Evil Twin 
   
4. Fare Thee Well Feral Child 
   
5. Dead Mermaid 
   
6. You Gave Birth To A Horse 
   
7. Buried In The Black Snow 
   

Try it - Buy it - MicePays