.:: The first indieground posted album ever was Tom Waits' Closing Time so I think it is a good choice to post, in this reborn time, one of my favorites Mr. Waits albums... I know, there's no review as I used to do some time ago. Well you have to understand, my last state of inactivity caused my metabolic-writing system failed but I promise it will get stronger... so here it is

download: tom waits - mule variations

call it: hiatus, coma, hibernation... it's over, indiegroud is back !!!

ok, it'd be a long long story to tell and maybe I will tell it later but for now what really matters today is that indieground is back.
after months and months of no activity in this blog many things have changed, first of all: blogs aren't the coolest thing on web (as I used to think some time ago) and maybe many people don't follow them. now we have facebook (I hate it), twitter (I dont hate nor love it), the new myspace (I still think it sucks) and all this social network hysteria...

anyway, for those who still look for good music and want to explore and feed their ears with new (maybe strange) dishes, indieground -once again- is back !!!

indieground isn't dead

For those of you who have checked back a few times, fear not, indieground isn't dead, just been busy with a few other things, work, recording some bands, working on my own company, and a looong etcetera.

Thanx for asking and keep checking... I promise I'll post new material soon.

recession - time, arithmetic & other elementary subjects not well learned

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sorry guys it took me a long time to upload your material… i know, it's all my fault !!!

.:: "Time, Arithmetic & Other Elementary Subjects Not Well Learned", the rather lengthily titled debut "full-length" (though its 10 tracks only clock in at 21 minutes) from Nebraska trio Recession on Blood & Ink Records, makes for quite a caustic listen with its flurry of short, furious tracks that crash 'n' bash through an assortment of densely mangled textures.

In fact, I'm kind of surprised that I enjoy it, considering I've always tended to be rather picky about the harsher, noisier side of the "metalcore" spectrum. But it sort of starts to make sense when you look at their quality list of influences, which ranges from respectable contemporaries like Knut to genre-defining staples such as Deadguy to more obscure gems like Groundwork - which is a name you just don't see thrown around too often these days! In addition to your usual doses of hammer-on/pull-off riffs and dingy, borderline out-of-tune scrapings (and I actually mean that in a good way here), little hints of melody even start becoming apparent as your ears adjust to the thudding dryness and subtly gritty textures of the recording.

It actually took my ears a few minutes to adjust to the mix since things sound just a hint flat in some respects, but they're definitely on the right track there. They're hinting at a pretty mammoth low-end throb that could really pay off well, and the vocals sound pretty fuckin' devastating as it is. Not too shabby when all is said and done.

The songwriting boasts a great balance of grating, over the top acerbity and surging, tangible grooves that you can latch onto, and when you combine that with the fact that the tracks are so damn short, it keeps things moving and prevents the listen from becoming stale, and that's where a lot of comparable bands fail. So I can definitely appreciate what's happening here, and I'd really like to hear more down the road, especially if they're able to warm up the production values just a touch! -- aversionline.com


download: recession - time, arithmetic & other elementary subjects not well learned

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sonic youth - syr5 kim gordon, ikue mori, dj olive

.:: SYR5 is a 2000 album by Kim Gordon, DJ Olive and Ikue Mori.

Following the tradition of having the liner notes of SYR releases written in foreign languages, SYR5 has them in Japanese.


The fifth release in Sonic Youth's SYR series doesn't even feature Sonic Youth at all, but rather an avant-garde power trio of SY bassist Kim Gordon, turntablist DJ Olive, and programming electro-goddess Ikue Mori. The music is ultra-abstract and mood-driven, filling the listening space with a dark ambience constructed by Olive's incredibly resonant choice of samples and Mori's carefully tweaked bleeps.

Gordon predictably contributes with a dose of noise guitar, though the source of sounds on this disc is heartily confusing — Gordon calling into question the identity of the electric guitar while Olive and Mori try to carve out identities for their respective instruments. Throughout, Gordon contributes a free vocal style she has been experimenting with since the first SYR discs, released in 1998, and on the two intervening Sonic Youth albums, A Thousand Leaves (1998) and NYC Ghosts & Flowers (2000).

In combination with the lyrics, which dance the line between abstract poetry and frustrating downtown pretentiousness, many might find Gordon's vocal approach quite grating. It is more than made up for, though, by the utterly weird and compelling soundscapes the group creates — a true headphone head trip. Cibo Matto's Yuka Honda contributes on "Take Me Back."


download: sonic youth - syr5 kim gordon, ikue mori, dj olive

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sonic youth su tim barnes - syr6 koncertas stan brakhage prisiminim

.:: SYR6: Koncertas Stan Brakhage Prisiminimui is an EP by Sonic Youth. The sixth in a series of experimental releases put out on the band's own SYR label, the album is a live recording from an April 13, 2003 benefit show for the Anthology Film Archives. The band, joined by percussionist Tim Barnes, played along with silent Stan Brakhage films.

SYR6 follows the tradition of having the liner notes in the SYR series written in foreign language titles, in this case in Lithuanian. The meaning of the title is "A Concert in Memory of Stan Brakhage".

It is the first in the SYR series to receive no release on vinyl.


download: sonic youth su tim barnes - syr6 koncertas stan brakhage prisiminim

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sonic youth - syr7 j'accuse ted hughes

.:: SYR7: J'Accuse Ted Hughes is the seventh release in American group Sonic Youth's SYR series. It was released only on vinyl--the first in the series to receive no compact disc release--and features two songs: "J'Accuse Ted Hughes", and "Agnès B. Musique".

SYR7 follows the SYR series tradition of liner notes in foreign languages. The language used on the artwork is Arpitan.


download: sonic youth - syr7 j'accuse ted hughes

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sonic youth med mats gustafsson og merzbow - syr8 andre sider af sonic youth

.:: SYR8: Andre Sider Af Sonic Youth is an album by Sonic Youth with Mats Gustafsson and Merzbow. It is the eighth release in the SYR series.

Andre Sider Af Sonic Youth-- the eighth album in Sonic Youth's self-released, experimental series known as Sonic Youth Recordings, or SYR-- risks suffering from expectations. A live 2005 collaboration between Sonic Youth (in its quintet formation with the redoubtable Jim O'Rourke) and special guests Merzbow and Mats Gustafsson, here the noise rock fountainhead invites an extreme electronics pioneer and one of free jazz's most ferocious instrumentalists ever over to jam. Things could get crowded.

The album is recorded the first July 2005 on the Roskilde Festival. The album title is in Danish and means "Other sides of Sonic Youth".


download: sonic youth med mats gustafsson og merzbow - syr8 andre sider af sonic youth

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moi dix mois - nocturnal opera

.:: Moi dix Mois is a Japanese musical project founded by Malice Mizer's front, Mana. As part of the visual kei movement it is marked by Mana's selection of guest performers rather than a typical band structure, and exhibits a combination of classical elements of gothic metal.

Apart from playing guitar, Mana composes all of Moi dix Mois' music and lyrics, arranges, produces, and designs the stage costumes and acts as overall artistic director. In contrast to Mana's previous bands, Moi dix Mois is explicitly billed as Mana's solo project; while the project members have input during the performance and recording of the music, Mana essentially determines the band's artistic direction on his own. All of Moi dix Mois' music is released via Mana's own independent record label, Midi:Nette.

(Japanese pressing of sophomore album from Japanese gothic rock act featuring guitarist Mana of the legendary Malice Mizer)



download: moi dix mois - nocturnal opera

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amen ra - mass III

.:: Amen Ra delivers a brilliant, from every point of view, mini-album. “Mass III” crawls somewhere between “Through Silver In Blood” of Neurosis, “Celestial” of Isis, the first Cult of Luna albums and Knut’s slow moments. To be more poetic and descriptive, this shit is laden with heavy guitars, huge riffs, an aura that makes you asphyxiate and bitter, aggressive intentions.

The shredding vocals add more power to this already dynamic presence and the “unholy” layout offers a very attractive black metal aesthetic to the visual aspect of the band’s music. It’s obvious that Amen Ra don’t feel comfortable just learning their lessons by the aforementioned bands well, since with “Mass III” they prove that they surpass the level of “good students”. They offer great music and add their own little something to the history of the genre. The opening track “The Pain It Is Shapeless” is a perfect example.



download: amen ra - mass III

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alec empire - futurist

.:: Alec Empire is many things to many people: a man with an extraordinary recording history, the musical revolutionary behind avant-garde noise-punk outfit Atari Teenage Riot, an electronic music experimentalist who has made records on a Gameboy, and a consummate musician who has worked with an extraordinarily broad range of peers.

He has remixed artists as diverse as blues legend R.L. Burnside, Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore, Bjork, Rob Zombie, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Slayer, Einstürzende Neubauten, and members of the new hip-hop generation like Company Flow and Prince Paul's Handsome Boy Modeling School. He has toured with Rage Against the Machine, Wu-Tang Clan, Beck, Ministry, and Nine Inch Nails.

Alec Empire's new album, Futurist, is the most fully integrated vision of his twenty-first century rebellion yet. A blistering alliance of primitive punk fury and advanced technological overload, Futurist heralds the return of the guitar to the center of Empire's musical vision.

The characteristic shockwave aggression of his previous outings is still channeled for maximum impact, but the gun-to-temple blasts of tracks like "Gotta Get Out" and "Vertigo" deliver their powder-keg payloads with a newly discovered blood rush of excitement. Futurist is the most brutally uplifting Empire has ever sounded.

"Empire has tapped into something vital, dangerous, and all-too-absent from so much rock music today ... this isn't the death of rock `n' roll but a blasting, needle-in-the-red affirmation of its power. Turn it up." - KERRANG

"Simply a great punk rock record." - TERRORIZER

download: alec empire - futurist

ramona córdova - the boy who floated freely

.:: Ramona Cordova, a.k.a. Ramon Alarcon, took his grandmother’s name to record this project, and one-half a minute into the album it seems fitting. Cordova’s falsetto is more gender-bending than any hair metal singer’s could hope to be. His high, theramin warble is a perfect match for his heartbreaking brand of folk music.

The Boy Who Floated Freely tells the story of a boy named Giver, who washes up on an island and meets, among others, a girl he falls in love with. The album seeks to track his trajectory and starts off strong. The Spanish-sung “Inside the Gypsy Bar” is full of hand claps and sweat and manages to pump energy into the album without relying on volume. “Giver’s Reply” starts off with the boy pining over keys before the song breaks out in pan-banging as precocious as our young, wistful narrator. After that, the album settles into a pattern of simple acoustic folk tunes.

Standing alone, songs like “Heavy on My Head” and “Sung with the Birds” are aching and wonderful songs sung with heart and originality. However, stacked together, the songs have a hard time coming together as an album, since the repetition of the guitar belie any trajectory of the album’s story. Cordova’s voice also might push a little too far in some spots, and while it might be trying overall, when he nails it his voice sounds as imperfect and beautiful as any you’ll hear. --words: Matthew Fiander


download: ramona córdova - the boy who floated freely

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alonso arreola - labA

.:: Musician and journalist, former bass player of La Barranca, has participated in several rock and jazz recordings and recently edited his first solo project: Música Horizontal, of which he made ten thousand copies in a deluxe package, featuring several outstanding musicians from Mexico and other countries, such as Trey Gunn, Michael Manring, David Fiuczynski and Jaime López.
He also writes in several magazines, newspapers and internet sites.



download: alonso arreola - labA

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coprofago - unorthodox creative criteria

.:: With technical death metal making gains in the States as of late, and bands from Sweden and Poland being some of the biggest international beneficiaries, it becomes hard to figure out how Coprofago have been ignored during this upsurge.

Then again, the painstaking compositions and awe-inspiring engineering/mixing job (done by names most have never heard of) that comprise Unorthodox Creative Criteria contain some spectacular ventures into jazzy interludes and ambient soundscapes, which could definitely be called fusion. And even the most ardent and erudite fans of metal and hardcore have historically been slow to understand, let alone appreciate, fusion bands. Furthermore, many works from the most well-known masters of progressive metal/jazz fusion have been out of print for far too long, which has spelled the improbability of re-discovery by younger, more open-minded metal fans.

Although Chile's interestingly-named Coprofago initially burst out of the gate with a standard-fare death metal sound in the mid-nineties, it was 1999's Images of Despair and 2000's Genesis that provided a window into the fast-growing musicianship of its members. If there are indeed multiple peaks to a mountain, Coprofago have finally hit one with Unorthodox Creative Criteria, their fourth and finest album, which is easily up to par with modern death metal fusion created on domestic shores.

"Streams" is one of the many examples on Unorthodox Creative Criteria where the band ventures into creating a sensuous soundscape by using almost a looped beat and prog-metal guitars, while "Isolated Through Multiplicity" sees experimental guitar and keyboard/organ arrangements that bring to mind Disco Volante-era Mr. Bungle.

There aren't many bands like Coprofago. It takes a sense of culture, professional musical ability, and most of all ballsy creativity to create an album like Unorthodox Creative Criteria. There are tracks that bulldoze like Meshuggah's finest work, and others that massage the eardrum with ambient sounds and jazz elements.

Having finally gained distribution in North America thanks to Canada's answer to Willowtip, Galy Records, there is no excuse for fans of classic fusion death metal or modern experimental metal to ignore this. --Reviewer: Michael Gluck


download: coprofago - unorthodox creative criteria

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sun kil moon - ghosts of the great highway

.:: Where it's the gorgeous string trio underpinning "Last Tide," the melancholy epic "Duk Koo Kim," the unexpected driving rhythms of "Lily and Parrots," or the compelling personal reminiscences of "Floating," the material both expands and refines Kozelek's trademark sound. The songs on Ghosts of the Great Highway concern themselves more than ever with matters of life and death, without ever forgetting the inherent magic of a pretty melody or a gripping beat.


.:: Ghost of the Great Highway is the sonic equivalent of a tightly woven patchwork quilt, a sprawling aesthetic manifesto overflowing with empathy, warmth, nostalgia, and an intensely resigned anger and yearning to reclaim those who time has taken. The album's wistful opener, "Glenn Tipton", serves as a testament to this desire to recover the most modest of moments from one's past. In the song, Kozelek reminisces about debating over boxing legends ("Cassius Clay was hit more than Sonny Liston") and Judas Priest guitarists ("Some like K.K. Downing and some Glenn Tipton"), while mirroring these discussions to memories of his own dad watching Clark Gable movies on TV…

Sun Kil Moon's Ghost of the Great Highway is a modest win for great music everywhere: it is the triumphant sound of an industry underdog finally making good on his past potential, and consequently demanding some long unappreciated due. The fact that it wasn't with Red House Painters is an irony that only makes this victory of an album that much sweeter.




download: sun kil moon - ghosts of the great highway

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black sheep wall - i am god songs

.:: An organized mess composed of intense energy, hatred, and sadness could be an accurate first impression of I Am God Songs. Oh, and exhausting, by the time you finish it. Black Sheep Wall has made an album in which every cliché about Death, Black, Doom or any other extreme metal sub-genre can apply with. Some of which may be intense, bleak, hopeless, crushing, punishing…demented, even. Scary has never been so raw, so immense. Or exceptionally chaotic.

Down-Tempo with minimal songwriting approaches is the game for this band, caused by having only two main emotions: Anger and depression. Sounding like the unwanted spawn of Meshuggah and Neurosis, with a little seed from Sludge Metal, Black Sheep Wall’s debut is a grinding, skull-exploding animal. Because of its somewhat minimalistic nature, I Am God Songs needed to have, or sound like it has, experience in this sort of music. And while this is only a debut, Sheep’s musicians can promise in mixing rage filled emotion with dispirited, depressed aspects. Most of it has to do with the way the album is produced.

While having lots of elements derived from noise, Black Sheep Walls debut retains polished sonics; because, by contrast with the noise, we have a crisp and edgy approach (except the instances when effects are used) on the guitars, the vocals, and the drums. The bass is a bit murky, whether because it melts in with the strings’ drop B tuning or for shits and giggles, we will never know, but it doesn’t take away from any point in this album anywhere. read on


.:: Most of ‘I Am God Songs’ is cold, bleak and fearsome, like being abandoned on a particularly daunting ice floe. Their monstrous, detuned throb is impressive even on the less imaginative songs, but when they really get their teeth stuck into an interesting idea – as on titanic suicide epic ‘Myolden’, an eight-minute muttering of doom and eerily melodic counter vocals – they come into their own, with a blast that’ll freeze your brains out.


download: black sheep wall - i am god songs

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elvatorium - message from the black sun constellation

.:: Elvatorium is a collaboration between Tom Maggio from USA and Radek Kordasiewicz from Poland. They continue their collaborative work since late 2006. Elvatorium's first album "At Border Of Disorder" (recorded with guest saxophonist Janusz Kruszelnicki) has been released through Amduscias Records netlabel in september 2007. This year sees the duo working with guests Troy Southgate (of H.E.R.R.) on vocals and again Janusz Kruszelnicki on the saxophone.

"Message From The Black Sun Constellation", which is the second release from Elvatorium, continues the mood of their debut album. The bottom line of all compositions is still the combination of Tom Maggio's dark ambience and Radek Kordasiewicz's gothic-like harmonies, both prepared with various sets of digital tools. The infinite and cold landscapes are perfect place for Janusz Kruszelnicki's saxophone explorations, making his second outing with Elvatorium.

Above it all, deep and shady voice of Troy Southgate brings the lyrics written by Radek. With such combination they invite the listener to the world of hidden and dangerous truth of symbols, thoughts and feelings with roots in all of the past human history. Feel invited. words: elvatorium's web page.


download: elvatorium - message from the black sun constellation

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mucc - zekuu

.:: ムック (MUCC) is a japanese rockband formed in Ibaraki, Japan in 1997. The band has four members, 逹瑯 (Tatsurou Iwakami, vocals), ミヤ (Masaaki Yaguchi, guitar), YUKKE (Yusuke Fukuno, bass) and SATOち (Satoshi Takayasu, drums). In 1997, ex-member Hiro was the bassist, replaced by YUKKE in 1999.

The band’s name, decided upon by guitarist ミヤ, was originally the name of a character from a Japanese children’s program “Ponkickies”. The band is also known as “six-nine” from a play on words, since six-nine can be pronounced “muku” (六九) in Japanese. June 9th (6/9) is also known as “MUCC day” by their fans.

In 2000, the band had their first interview in the monthly publication FOOL’S MATE, issue 221. TATTOO (on vocals) changed his name to Tatsurou, and the band’s name MUCC was changed to ムック (pronounced MUKKU). On 6/9, (“MUCC day”) they released their first CD single “娼婦/廃” (Shoufu/Hai) and a second press of their album “アンティーク” (Antiiku). last fm


download: mucc - zekuu

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tori amos - to venus and back

.:: Complicated is a word for Tori Amos; she might even use it to describe herself. Her sixth recording, the double disc To Venus and Back, testifies to just how wide and deep her river runs. The two CDs -- Venus Orbiting, an unplanned studio effort that Amos recorded suddenly this summer, and Venus Live, Still Orbiting, a set of thirteen live songs from her recent world tour -- are not exactly opposites, but they are far from twins. Venus Orbiting is Amos at her most surreal, dreaming of her past, her pain and her desires in supersaturated musical and lyrical color.

Tori Amos is one of those impossible figures in the music world who, for various reasons, arouse so much hype that one continually has to wonder if there is any substance behind the public image. Tori Amos’s latest release, To Venus and Back, silences any such doubts. It is also an amazing testament to a passionate and talented singer, songwriter, musician, and producer. The 2-CD album combines a live disc with a studio album, and highlights the fascinating musical language that this multi-talented performer continues to develop as she explores the elements of a song: subject matter, lyrics, melody, harmony, and structure.

The only real complaint about the live half of To Venus and Back is that it isn’t three times as long. The disc features live performances from Tori’s 1998 Plugged tour. In contrast to her previous three tours in which it was just a woman, her piano, and a microphone on the stage of a theater filled with a silent entranced audience, the Plugged tour traded intimacy for a more raucous show. It added a fantastic supportive band, Tori’s first for a tour, consisting of Steve Caton on guitars, Jon Evans on upright and electric bass, and Matt Chamberlain on drums.

Perhaps for balance, or simply for the sake of completeness, Venus Live, Still Orbiting spotlights Amos' more acoustic material, most of it performed with her crackerjack touring band. It's Amos' first live recording, long overdue, and it works equally well as a greatest-hits collection. Crowd faves like "Cornflake Girl," "Waitress" and "Cooling" -- which has never before surfaced on an album -- make showstopping appearances. With To Venus and Back, Amos pays herself the ultimate compliment: She's good and complicated.


download: tori amos - to venus and back

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oni wytars ensemble, unicorn ensemble - on the way to bethlehem | music of the medieval pilgrim

.:: Oni Wytars is an internationally renowned ensemble founded in 1983 to further promote early music. Appearing in concerts and festivals throughout Europe, Canada, the Middle and the Far East the ensemble performs music of the Middle Ages and Renaissance as well as classical and traditional Arab and Turkish music. The work of the ensemble centres on the uniting of the many traditions that have influenced and enriched European musical culture for centuries by building a bridge between ancient and still-thriving musical traditions, between East and West.

Oni Wytars perform on instruments from the European Middle Ages and Renaissance, and on contemporary Arab and Eastern European instruments. Blending elements from both the rich cultural heritage of Medieval Europe and from their own diverse backgrounds, the instrumentalists and singers come from Austria, Germany, Italy, Iran, Hungary, Spain, England and the United States.


.:: The Ensemble Unicorn consists of five musicians specialising in early music. Together with guest-musicians the Ensemble is dedicated to the interpretation of music from the Middle Ages to the Baroque and of works of their own. The aim is always lively authenticity, avoiding the merely pedantic.

An original feature of the Ensemble is the approach towards contemporary popular music in new compositions and interpretations of Medieval and Renaissance works, played on original instruments. The compositions by the Ensemble are based on Medieval and Renaissance dances, cantigas and chansons, reflecting the amalgamation of Oriental and European cultural trends. The members of the Ensemble are Michael Posch, Marco Ambrosini, Riccardo Delfino, Thomas Wimmer and Wolfgang Reithofer.


download: oni wytars ensemble, unicorn ensemble - on the way to bethlehem | music of the medieval pilgrim

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