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Monday, July 18, 2011

KNW YR PDX RIYL: Tunnels

Posted by Chris Cantino on Mon, Jul 18, 2011 at 3:29 PM

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Earlier this month we turned you on to the fantastic new Tunnels release, The Blackout. We were so impressed by Tunnels mastermind Nick Bindeman's string of influences that we've invited him back to share some of his favorites with you. Take it away, Nick.

As a young man growing up, I was often aural witness to a variety of cacophonous and musical extremes. Following a twenty year stint, wherein Schubert, Bach, and The Pink Floyd were everything, my father became friends with our teenage neighbor, Jim. As Jim re-opened my father’s brain bank and began depositing everything from The Residents to Ministry to slam-dancing to Merzbow to whip-its, the seed which would be Steve Bindeman’s lifelong obsession with sound was beginning. As that seed began to take root, Steve’s palette grew and grew and until it eventually overflowed the basement; luckily his two young sons were there to soak up the weirdness. I swear, when I was ten years old, I had no clue that The Residents played odd or peculiar music, to me and my brother they sounded like music any kid would love!



Robert Ashley isn’t usually a dude I return to so regularly, however, lately I can’t get enough of his album “Private Parts.” The amazingly simple and ridiculous cocktail like blend of organ, tabla, and piano along with Ashley’s oh-so-restrained and trance-inducing incantations are so intoxicating I find myself playing it constantly! I’m pretty sure you can achieve the essence of meditation while going about everyday activities when this is playing. A very peculiar album, in fact I don’t think any description can do it actual justice in terms of communicating what it feels like to hear it, so I’m gonna stop right here.



A truly unique album that my brother turned me onto last year is “The Ann Steele Album” by Roberto Cacciapaglia. To my understanding, nothing on this album is electronic, every sound was created using acoustic instruments including treated piano, organ, harpsichord, etc; when you hear this music it’s pretty hard to believe, so that’s pretty stellar to start. Now think about this: Ann Steel, American model, got a master’s degree from the University of Michigan in medieval music, etc., etc., except she is actually Giada Manca di Villahermosa, the woman credited with the lyrics. Amazing! As far as I can tell, most people are still under the impression that Ann Steel the person is real, so kudos to Roberto for that one! Not to mention this fucking discoteque performance of “My Time” that’s so mind-blowingly fucking surreal and amazing I watched it four times in a row when I first saw it!



A favorite group of mine that have gotten far too little coverage are Crash Course in Science, I wish this group had more output but sadly they were but a mere blip in Philadelphia during the late ’70s. Their tunes use synths in the best of ways, creating amazing textures that eerily dance around the beat. Such perfect vocals, completely icy and aloof in the greatest of ways! They did such a great job at making sounds that brought in a harsh industrial aesthetic with a total minimal synth pop feel. Love it!

 

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