In a musical history that spans nearly four decades, Ken Brown (aka Bundy K. Brown) was a member of noise-rock trio Bastro (along with David Grubbs and John McEntire) and a founding member of that group’s evolution into Gastr del Sol, before departing to form the iconic Chicago band, Tortoise. In 1995 Brown exited Tortoise to pursue a number of projects, including the group, Directions. After releasing one album on Thrill Jockey, the band went inactive, with Brown completing one final Directions release on his own before retiring the moniker. That record – a scarcely limited 12” called Echoes – would resonate with a diverse array of artists and producers, most notably Kieran Hebden, who would call Echoes “the blueprint for the Four Tet thing,” explaining to prominent UK broadcaster Gilles Peterson, “it’s basically where I got the idea for everything from…it changed my life, this record.”

Available for the first time since its original release in 1997, Echoes – Anniversary Edition includes the two original side-long tracks, and has been expanded to also feature the nascent 1995 demo of “Echoes”, as well as a brand new remix by Deadly Dragons – the 1990s Chicago DJ crew whose members included Brown, John Herndon, Casey Rice, and Daniel Marcellus Givens, among others. Briefly reunited during COVID lockdown specifically to craft this new Directions remix, Deadly Dragons separately but collectively contributed a new 9-minute pastiche of spiritual jazz, hip-hop, and dub.

TRACK LISTING

1. Echoes (Continental Drift Version) (9:24)
2. Echoes (The Asymmetrical Excursion) (7:14)
3. Echoes (1995 Demo Version) (5:06)
4. Echoes (Deadly Dragons Remix) (8:36)

“The Black Angels bring the aura of mid-1966 the drilling guitars of early Velvet Underground shows, the raga inflections of late-show Fillmore jams, the acid-prayer stomp of Austin avatars the 13th Floor Elevators everywhere they go, including the levitations on their second album, Directions to See a Ghost. Mid-Eighties echoes of Spacemen 3 and the Jesus and Mary Chain also roll through the scoured-guitar sustain and Alex Maas’ rocker-monk incantations. But he knows what time it is. ’You say the Beatles stopped the war,” Maas sings in ‘Never/Ever.’ ‘They might’ve helped to find a cure/But it’s still not over.’ Even so, this medicine works wonders." – David Fricke, Rolling Stone

Last time we met The Black Angels, they were staring into the desert sun somewhere outside of Austin, Texas. Two years later, night has fallen and the spirits have come out. It’s time for The Black Angels to provide Directions On How To See A Ghost.

If you’re familiar with Passover, the band’s 2006 debut, you’ll know that The Black Angels’s music alone is enough to invoke spirits. There’s a name for the band’s sound; they call it ‘hypno-drone ’n roll’. It’s the sound of long nights on peyote, of dreams of a new world order, and of half-invented memories of the seamy side of ’60s psychedelia.

While the Iraq war is still a major influence on the band’s lyrics, there are new forces at work here, including Eugene Zamyatin’s dystopian novel We and in Christian Bland’s words “psychic information from the past and future.” See, The Black Angels really are in contact with ghosts.
“Civil War battlefields are prime spots for seeing ghosts,” says Bland. “One time at Kennesaw mountain in Georgia, I was climbing the mountain in the middle of June and it must have been close to 100 degrees, but in this one particular spot it was very cold. The hairs on my neck stood up and I knew something strange was happening. Then the wind whispered something like ‘retreat,’ and I did. I later learned that the spot where I was on the battlefield was known as ‘the dead angle’, the place where the fiercest fighting took place. The confederates ended up retreating from the mountain towards Peachtree Creek.”

The Black Angels formed in Austin, Texas, in 2004, comprising from six people (now five) from very different backgrounds. Singer/vocalist Christian Bland is the son of a Presbyterian Pastor and was raised in a devoutly religious household. Bassist / guitarist Nate Ryan was born on a cult compound and drummer Stephanie Bailey claims she’s a descendent of Davy Crocket. She and Alex Maas (vocals/guitar) believe a little girl in a red linen dress haunts the group’s home.

The band released Passover in 2006 to critical acclaim for both the album and the song “The First Vietnamese War”. Most of all, Passover established The Black Angels as a band with brains, balls and a strong message. And this time around, the message is there to read in a 16-page booklet that comes with the album.

“Our central theme is that people need to open up their minds and let everything come through, and to learn from past mistakes,” says Christian. “Only then will we understand the reality of this world and progress beyond where we are now as humans. We’ve built upon that theme with Directions to See a Ghost. We want people to study the booklet we are providing with the album in hopes that they will be able to relate each song to something in their life.”
_"War is Peace.

Freedom is Slavery.
Ignorance is Strength.
Keep Music Evil."_

TRACK LISTING

You On The Run
Doves
Science Killer
Mission District
18 Years
Deer-ree-shee
Never/ever
Vikings
You In Color
The Return
Snake In The Grass

'In the brief, bright arc that is the career of John Coltrane, 1963 marks a point of transition between past jazz masterpieces and future work which would transcend the boundaries of the music itself.  That year's recorded output shows movement in many directions: a look back at the past, continued examination of a familiar repertoire, exploration of more traditional formats and a look forward at compositions and approaches that would further extend the reach of jazz. John Coltrane 1963: New Directions collects all of John Coltrane’s 1963 Impulse recordings in the order in which they were recorded

5-LP, 3-CD sets include artwork featuring original collages.

The box is meant to show the growth in Coltrane’s musical journey in 1963 that ultimately resulted in 1964’s “Crescent” and, especially, “A Love Supreme” // Music comes from the original albums “Both Directions at Once: The Lost Album”, “John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman”, “Dear Old Stockholm” (released after Coltrane’s death), “Newport ‘63” and “Live at Birdland”.

Dominique Grimaud is a hidden treasure of France's psych, free rock, electronic & jazz improv scenes. As a founding member of the legendary psych / krautrock inspired French act Camizole (1970-1978) to his equally celebrated no wave / new wave duo Video-Aventures (1978-) whose groundbreaking music has been viewed as a precursor to the sound of Stereolab, and in more recent times, jawdropping audio visual performance installations and live performances with celebrated performer Colleen, Grimaud has spent his entire life exploring the musical fringes of the French underground. With "Les Quatres Directions", Grimaud reemerges with his first release in nearly a decade and it's a whirlwind mind altering long form microgroove composition of grand proportions that hearkens back to the expanded audio visoneering & spiritualism of 60s electronic music luminaries from Stockhausen to Ramon Sender.

It will come as no surprise that the vocalist, Kelly, managed to damage her vocal chords during the recording of this album. From the opening anguished, eardrum rupturing banshee scream, you can almost feel her throat getting rawer with each successive song. This is more intricate and aggressive, musically and emotionally, than their debut, and definitely benefits for that, dispelling any doubts that they were just another formula pop ska band. Do yourself a favour and support your local scene...

Revisiting some classic jazz compositions, Coltrane's "Naima" and "Transition" as well as Hancock's own "The Sorcerer" amongst them, Brecker, Hargrove and Hancock turn in a evocation of the spirit of John Coltrane and Miles Davis, recorded live in concert at Toronto's Massey Hall. Supported by a rhythm section of Brian Blade and John Patitucci, they have produced a remarkable homage to the 'new direction' in jazz led by Coltrane and Davis in the 50s and 60s.