# Current and Classic Experimental, Avantgarde and Art Rock



## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

I've been out of touch with the experimental avantgarde art rock scene for a few decades  I've made a few discoveries in the last few years, but far too few.

Let's catch up on what we've missed since the '90s and also remind ourselves of the great experimental rock that we might have forgotten.


----------



## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

Anatolian Rock began to blossom in the '60s, as the Turks adopted western psychedelic rock on a big scale. A current band, Baba Zula, has kept the genre alive and exported it around the globe through tireless touring.

This is an early song, but a classic, from their Psychebelly album, I believe. The belly dancer is Japanese 






This is from a more traditionally-oriented album called Roots:


----------



## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

Alexander Hacke of the Einstürzende Neubauten has done some great things as a solo artist:






This is from his first album:






It has some electronic, experimental post-rock elements. I think this first album was really quite a good one.


----------



## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

Caspar Brötzmann, son of jazz legend Peter Brötzmann, and his band Massaker have a style that could be experimental jazz or post-rock or both:


----------



## Alypius (Jan 23, 2013)

Great thread idea!

One of the most creative groups out there since the mid-1990s has been *Tortoise*, led by drummer-producer John McEntire. They draw their inspiration from everywhere. And they are all multi-instrumentalists. With 5 people in the group, they may at a given moment have 3 drummers, or 4 guitarists. They move around the stage changing instruments during their concerts. I should add that they are the most rhythm-oriented rock group that I know. Here's a Steve-Reich inspired track entitled "Ten-Day Interval" (from _TNT_ [Thrill Jockey, 1999]):






Here's another track from their record _Standards_ (Thrill Jockey, 2000), "Seneca," which opens with a Jimi-Hendrix-like explosion and then at the 2:00 mark, it completely changes:






They are especially famous for an epic 20 minute piece called "Djed" from the 2nd record, _Millions Now Living Will Never Die_ (Thrill Jockey, 1996).






Other groups to come in later posts.


----------



## Alypius (Jan 23, 2013)

One of the best groups of the 2000s has been *Calexico* -- who combine indie rock and mariachi. Here's a live performance of their cover of "Alone Again Or" (from the 60s group Love).






BTW the song above is on their EP _Convict Pool_ (2004). For me their best record is _Feast of Wire_ from 2003. Here's "Quattro," one of the best songs from the record:






























Great cover art, by the way.

More later.


----------



## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

^ I would find it difficult to call Calexico avantgarde. I guess it's a matter of definition. This thread is not intended just for music I would like, but I do hope to find some leads  Tortoise are much more promising as leads. Thanks. Looking forward to more, and more, and more...


----------



## Alypius (Jan 23, 2013)

*Zoot Horn Rollo* (aka Bill Harkleroad) is best known as the guitarist for Captain Beefheart's best years, most notably _Trout Mask Replica_ (1969). _Rolling Stone _magazine ranked him #68 of the 100 top guitarists of all time. _We Saw a Bozo Under the Sea_ (2000) is a remarkable one-off project that appeared almost out of nowhere - after nearly 30 years of not recording. Nor did it lead to follow-up releases. Simply a one-off project. But it is a remarkable work of itself. It gets classified as "rock" or "post-rock" or even "jazz." One Amazon reviewer compared the playing to a blend of "Allan Holdsworth / Bill Frisell / Sonny Sharrock with a sprinkling of Frank Zappa." Another spoke of Zoot Horn as the "Thelonious Monk on blues guitar." Both seem pretty fair descriptions to my ear. A great record.










The whole record is available on YouTube:


----------



## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

They have achieved the status of legends in their own time, but I haven't managed to really let myself get carried away with their brand of experimental, although they aren't bad: Godspeed You Black Emperor!






I'm liking it a lot more than ever before right now  I think I just need to let it play in the background in order to develop a feeling for it.


----------



## Alypius (Jan 23, 2013)

One last one tonight: a new group called *Nothing*. Their debut record came out a few weeks ago, entitled _Guilty of Everything_. It's a revival of early 90s shoegaze -- but lots of good wrinkles.










I came across them from a discussion by the folks at NPR. Several recommended this as among the best of 2014 so far. The full record can be heard on YouTube:






There's various live versions on YouTube (of varying quality). Here's a track from a live performance in their native Philadelphia:


----------



## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

I've picked up quite a few pieces from the catalog at Tourette Records: http://www.touretterecords.com/pages/news.html

Among my latest acquisitions are the two new releases:

TWILIGHT CIRCUS MEETS EDWARD KA-SPEL : "800 Saints In A Day"
CD edition limited to 300 copies (tourette 039)









NURSE WITH WOUND / ARANOS 
"Santoor Lena Bicycle"
tourette 038
ART EDITION (2xLP+7", 60 copies) : 
The artist edition has handmade covers signed by the artists along with an exclusive bonus 7" only available with this edition.
STANDARD EDITION (2xLP, 440 copies)









Check under "Releases" for a look at the back catalog, much of which is still available. Some grandly experimental stuff here, to be sure. The latest release, which I'm reminded I have to pick up, is

Masami Akita (Merzbow) - John Duncan :"The Black Album"
tourette 040 
Lp on green vinyl. 
Each record cover was finished with a shotgun blast !!! 
Edition of 300 copies


----------



## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

You're seeming to lean more toward a mellower post rock sound than I can supply, but if occasionally jarring is okay here are a couple I enjoy.

While it's over ten years old now, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum still sounds fresh to me, but at my age anything after 1974 still sounds fresh. This group invents their own instruments, channels a little classical avantgarde, mixes it with Rock in Opposition, bizarre rhythms and a bit of extreme cookie monster vocals (though they can sing quite well when they want to) to come up with a unique sound.






And then of course there is Panzerballett.






I don't know.  Maybe these suggestions are too obvious. I lost touch with what is cool a long time ago.


----------



## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

5uu's featuring Bob Drake and Dave Kerman.






My favorite 3 minute prog tune.


----------



## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

Another current avantgarde, experimental or art (rock) band I have discovered are Zeitkratzer (Zeit=time; kratzen=to scratch; kratzer=someone or something that scratches; hence means something like Time-scratcher or Contemporary Itch, to try and loosely get the image the name evokes).

They have an album of Stockhausen's music out that I would love to hear:










The samples on Amazon sound formidable.

Here they do a traditional Balkan dance:






...and some jazzy electronic experimenting:






I like what they're into 

But it's the Stockhausen album that I want to hear


----------



## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

I like the white guys on steroids rendition of Giant Steps! Will have to get one of their recordings.


----------



## Guest (Jul 25, 2014)

Ah, this has been my bag from my youth. 

For a blast from the past, no-one was more experimental than This Heat:


----------



## Guest (Jul 25, 2014)

Currently I'm big into...

Guapo


----------



## Guest (Jul 25, 2014)

...and Thinking Plague


----------



## Guest (Jul 25, 2014)

and Secret Chiefs 3...


----------



## Alypius (Jan 23, 2013)

Seconding Secret Chiefs 3 -- especially their outing on John Zorn's Book of Angels:


----------



## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

Weston said:


> You're seeming to lean more toward a mellower post rock sound than I can supply... I lost touch with what is cool a long time ago.


I'm not sure if you are referring to me, Weston, but I am not leaning to anything _except_ what this thread is about: rock (or rock-like crossover) that is avantgarde/experimental. This type of music has never been cool (it is widely reviled by the masses) and has existed, barely noticed, except by a small, but often ardent, following, on the fringes of the sub-genres of rock. It is very difficult to define, by its nature being experimental, but the Darmstadt School of classical music would appear to have had a strong influence on the musicians choosing this form of expression, hence there can often be a lot of noise, dissonance, ambiguity with contemporary classical, etc., but generally, although not necessarily, retaining an extended rock song format. It is _not_ indie or alternative or progressive rock, although some bears similarities and even less could fit into both categories. It's all a matter of definition, and this type of experimentation largely defies labelling. Pretty much, as soon as a style has coalesced, for example post-rock, it then ceases to be experimental, although, being on the margin of mainstream, it still retains some of the cachet of the novel and as yet unheard of.

After you have read this, forget it, otherwise you will never know what I mean


----------



## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

I'm not saying I loved every one of the few dozen songs I have sampled/heard, but I am agog, gog. I can't believe I had never heard of This Heat 

Oh, I like Scorched Earth Saturnalia by Secret Chiefs 3. The other John Zorn one is not the greatest. I went through Zorn back in the '80s and it all has his sound, but I'm not wild about it. After a few albums, you just kind of know what to expect.

I'm a few minutes into Gaupo's Jeweled Turtle and I have not had to skip forward yet (I usually know whether I need to skip and by how far within a couple of seconds  ). They are definitely _most_ promising!

Thinking Plague are more progressive rock, I would think, but they have some of the Henry Cow/Fred Frith slant that I used to be into in the '80s.

Wow! I am loving these leads  Classical music, including contemporary classical, is my primary music of interest, but I do love hearing the rock avantgarde now and again, when I need to kick back for a disc or two.

I know we won't all like the same things, but let's keep this thread going with lots and lots of avantgarde 'rock', both reminders of past greatness we might have missed and current marvels of sonic excess.


----------



## BurningDesire (Jul 15, 2012)

For 90s to contemporary experimental and serious music (I don't wanna say outside of the classical idiom, because many of them are studied musicians) I have many to recommend 

Of course there are the pretty well known groups and artists in 90s rock, like *Nirvana* and the nu-metal bands that heavily experimented with diverse stylistic fusions like *Korn *and *Limp Bizkit*. Among other artists in that alternative scene, I highly recommend *Blur *(especially their work from the late 90s), *Powerman 5000*, *Primus*, *Slipknot*, *They Might Be Giants*, and *Beck*. There were also great artists in electronic music (Beck would fit in most places really with how diverse his work tends to be) like *Bjork *and *Aphex Twin* (aka Richard James), both influenced by Karlheinz Stockhausen. On things from the last decade, there are the hyper-eclectic virtual group *Gorillaz* (which heavily involves music, visual arts, and writing into a complex project), the electronic music duo *Daft Punk*, and the eclectic *N*E*R*D*. Both Gorillaz and N*E*R*D combine different musical styles and influences into really interesting, beautiful new things. In more a more avante-garde vein (though I'd consider some of the nu-metal bands to fit in that) there are bands like *Melt-Banana*, who combine extremely complex rhythms and creative use of electronics with high-speed punk rock, and bands like *Sunn O)))* and *Boris *who heavily explore loud and gorgeous distorted guitar sounds and textures.

People that say modern music is not interesting or is bad simply don't pay any attention.


----------



## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

^ I only know a few of these names. I have definitely found some of Beck's outlandish stuff to be marvellous (Velvet Underground covers; Is that really the same Beck as the pop icon we hear lately?), but there has been a lot that seems mundane, too. Daft Punk have also attracted my ear. I will definitely spend the time to check out some of the others  Thanks.


----------



## Guest (Jul 25, 2014)

This Heat.

Released two albums in their lifetime; the eponymous debut and Deceit. Both very experimental, challenging, difficult, unsettling...

Other stuff came out since (eg Made Available - John Peel Sessions).

Short lifetime but very well regarded and influential.

If you buy one album, buy Deceit.


----------



## Guest (Jul 25, 2014)

Secret Chiefs 3

I'd recommend the Book Cds: Book M, Book of Horizons and Book of Souls folio A.

Too eclectic to be constrained by one line up, Spruance uses several!!

Do I need to say Mr Bungle??!!


----------



## Guest (Jul 25, 2014)

brotagonist said:


> Thinking Plague are more progressive rock, I would think, but they have some of the Henry Cow/Fred Frith slant that I used to be into in the '80s.


Yeah, I got that likeness. Art Bears and Hatfield too.


----------



## Guest (Jul 25, 2014)

BurningDesire said:


> Sunn O)))


Which would you recommend? (I know Daniel O'Sullivan, ex-Guapo, has played with them),


----------



## Guest (Jul 25, 2014)

brotagonist said:


> I'm a few minutes into Gaupo's Jeweled Turtle and I have not had to skip forward yet (I usually know whether I need to skip and by how far within a couple of seconds  ). They are definitely _most_ promising!


I assess in nanoseconds too; probably not always a good thing...

I'd direct you to one of the following, if interested.

Five Suns.
Relentless. Like standing in front of a blast furnace.

Black Oni.
The best King Crimson album that they never made.

Elixirs.
Like a box of chocolates. All plain chocolate. 85%


----------



## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

You'd be surprised, BurningDesire, but I think I must have spent over one hour listening to Sun O)))'s Black One. I got caught up in the drone. The strange vocals from the crypt, like out of some monster movie with Vincent Price, were odd, though  I thought they must be one of those myriad Nordic death metal bands  but they turn out to be from Seattle, USA!

It will take me a _long_ time to work through the list


----------



## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

gog:

This Heat: I am totally blown away by The Fall of Saigon  That song couldn't be more spot on for the kind of rock I like. I will likely play it repeatedly for days.

Secret Chiefs 3: I need to listen more (it is a lot to take in in a couple of hours  ), but my overall impression is favourable.

Mr. Bungle: I skipped right through (the eponymous) from 1991  Perhaps I was too overwhelmed with so much other listening? I remember hearing a clear Zappan influence.

Gaupo: I like 85% chocolate! I think that one sounded best the first time through.


----------



## BurningDesire (Jul 15, 2012)

gog said:


> Which would you recommend? (I know Daniel O'Sullivan, ex-Guapo, has played with them),


Black One is a spectacular album. I love that one.


----------



## BurningDesire (Jul 15, 2012)

brotagonist said:


> You'd be surprised, BurningDesire, but I think I must have spent over one hour listening to Sun O)))'s Black One. I got caught up in the drone. The strange vocals from the crypt, like out of some monster movie with Vincent Price, were odd, though  I thought they must be one of those myriad Nordic death metal bands  but they turn out to be from Seattle, USA!
> 
> It will take me a _long_ time to work through the list


That album is spectacular!  Fun Fact: apparently, the guest vocalist on the last track, who has intense claustrophobia, was put inside an enclosed coffin to record his parts. I love the guitars on their records.


----------



## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

BurningDesire said:


> That album is spectacular!  Fun Fact: apparently, the guest vocalist on the last track, who has intense claustrophobia, was put inside an enclosed coffin to record his parts. I love the guitars on their records.


I read that in Wikipedia. How gruesome


----------



## BurningDesire (Jul 15, 2012)

brotagonist said:


> I read that in Wikipedia. How gruesome


Yes! I love it XD I love when musicians get that weirdly creative in the recording process.


----------



## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

I think that's why I am always seeking something that is really out there. It just sends my heart racing in a thrill of delight  when I find that right mix of the jarringly novel, a noisy beat, unusual instrumentation and sonic treatments, etc. There is a kind of addictive quality to it, but it has no adverse health risks :tiphat:


----------



## BurningDesire (Jul 15, 2012)

brotagonist said:


> I think that's why I am always seeking something that is really out there. It just sends my heart racing in a thrill of delight  when I find that right mix of the jarringly novel, a noisy beat, unusual instrumentation and sonic treatments, etc. There is a kind of addictive quality to it, but it has no adverse health risks :tiphat:


Mmm I agree :3 Also I have to add another group for you to check out: Death Grips, a noisy, electronic/hip-hop trio. Their stuff is fantastic, and you can download two of their albums for free on their site 

If you have skype or something, I'd love to text chat with you about music sometime if you want. could be fun!


----------



## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

BurningDesire said:


> I have to add another group for you to check out: Death Grips, a noisy, electronic/hip-hop trio.


OK, I put Death Grips No Love Deep Web on YT. The beats and squeaks don't sound all that wild and I don't like the vocals (not just the foul language). I switched to The Powers that B: ****** on the Moon. No, this is so chopped up that I don't like it... and all the f*#%ing talking. I suppose I might try another album, but I don't think I can get into all that dialogue and disjointed stuff.

I think you also suggested Gorillaz, so I just clicked on Demon Days. This seems to be strongly beat oriented, so I guess I could dance to it. It has some nice noise and dissonance, but the pop feel puts me off a bit. Uhhhh, this definitely has potential  I think I'm warming to it. I like the fuzzy electronic noise effects that give it some edge. I have also tried the first album, Gorillaz, and I like it as much. Yes, this is definitely something I could get into 



BurningDesire said:


> If you have skype or something, I'd love to text chat...


I like to keep conversation in threads so that everyone can benefit and contribute. Thanks.


----------



## Guest (Jul 26, 2014)

brotagonist said:


> This Heat: I am totally blown away by The Fall of Saigon  That song couldn't be more spot on for the kind of rock I like. I will likely play it repeatedly for days.


I remember the first time I heard This Heat; it was Horizontal Hold played in a session on the John Peel radio show. It was like a burst of something from another galaxy. I literally jumped out of my seat and stared at the radio in disbelief.

(Saigon is on the eponymous debut)


----------



## Guest (Jul 26, 2014)

BurningDesire said:


> Black One is a spectacular album. I love that one.


Thanks! I'll check it.


----------



## Guest (Jul 26, 2014)

brotagonist said:


> Mr. Bungle: I skipped right through (the eponymous) from 1991  Perhaps I was too overwhelmed with so much other listening? I remember hearing a clear Zappan influence.


Yeah Zappa, Zorn and Mike Patton prominent. It's like a deranged cut up metal album. Trey Spruance is more to the fore on Disco Volante: much more Middle Eastern flavour and mostly an instrumental album (the first short track is nothing like the rest of the album). California was the third and final one which I think contained covers; I lost them around here. Disco Volante is deffo the best and a clear signpost of things to come for Mr Spruance and his Secret Chiefs 3.


----------



## Guest (Jul 26, 2014)

brotagonist said:


> Gaupo: I like 85% chocolate! I think that one sounded best the first time through.


I'm so sad I had a Guapo T-shirt made. (the cover of Five Suns, seeing as you ask  )


----------



## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

gog said:


> I remember the first time I heard This Heat; it was Horizontal Hold played in a session on the John Peel radio show. It was like a burst of something from another galaxy. I literally jumped out of my seat and stared at the radio in disbelief.


I am already done with This Heat. That's how rock/popular music tends to affect me  I find one song or album or band in which I hear something that grabs me (the mechanical clanging beat of socialist industry and the guitar that soars us off to the free world in _The Fall of Saigon_). I am totally captivated for a few listens and then the spell is broken and I am left in search of the next sonic fix.

I think I will get more mileage out of Guapo and Secret Chiefs 3. I will give them some more listening today and in the days to come. Thinking Plague deserve another try, too. The vocalist reminds me of Dagmar Krause with Henry Cow. They must be RIO influenced.

Also, I discovered the first hip hop band that I can stomach: Gorillaz. They are a bit 'poppy', but make up for it with a lot of noise and treatments, jarring tempo and style changes, etc., so there is probably something to keep me interested for a bit. However, on second listening, I notice that it is only 2-3 songs from the first 2 albums that are great: the rest sounds like conventional pop.


----------



## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

Alypius said:


> One of the most creative groups out there since the mid-1990s has been *Tortoise*, led by drummer-producer John McEntire.


Thanks, Alypius! At first, I heard mostly the jazzier side of Tortoise's music, so I felt it best to put it on the back burner. However, upon revisiting these selections, I immediately noticed that 10-Day Interval had a lot of similarity to a French band, Clearlight Symphony, that I used to be into in the '70s. Then, I went on to Seneca. Yes, I like the noisy elements and it is subtly skewed, enough to catch my interest. Djed is pretty subdued. It uses Jean-Michel Jarre's idiom. It's tame, not really out there, like I like. Still, a good suggestion for a band I'd never heard of. Thanks.


----------



## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

SONNET CLV said:


> ...from the catalog at Tourette Records


It has taken me quite a while to catch up. I couldn't find the same albums online, but I have listened to these artists' music.

I have known of Nurse with Wound for decades, but I have never listened to them  From Twilight Circus, I think I like Dub Voyage the best: it is the most trippy and least overtly reggae. Edward Ka-spel surprises! It's pop, yet features some pretty cool sounds in the Scriptures of Illumina. I have been a longtime fan of Taraf de Haïdouks, so I immediately recognized Aranos' Balkan gypsy pedigree. Merzbow get back to muscle industrial  What a contrast to John Duncan's ambient sounds.

Thanks for this interesting tour of music I would never have heard


----------



## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

_Let us hear music so far underground that the planet isn't deep enough to contain it;
Let us hear music so far out that the universe isn't wide enough to reach it._

Let us hear this music... NOW:trp:


----------



## Alypius (Jan 23, 2013)

brotagonist said:


> Thanks, Alypius! At first, I heard mostly the jazzier side of Tortoise's music, so I felt it best to put it on the back burner. However, upon revisiting these selections, I immediately noticed that 10-Day Interval had a lot of similarity to a French band, Clearlight Symphony, that I used to be into in the '70s. Then, I went on to Seneca. Yes, I like the noisy elements and it is subtly skewed, enough to catch my interest. Djed is pretty subdued. It uses Jean-Michel Jarre's idiom. It's tame, not really out there, like I like. Still, a good suggestion for a band I'd never heard of. Thanks.


Brotagonist,

If Tortoise grabs you, keep an eye for this out of print limited-release 3CD + DVD box set of rarities entitled _Lazarus Taxon_ (Thrill Jockey, 2006) -- full of various edgy experiments.










**********

Do you know the avant-garde guitarist *Nels Cline*? He frequently gets classified as jazz, but "experimental" is much more accurate. He makes his living as the lead guitarist for the rock group Wilco, but left to his own devices, he can be wildly avant-garde; he cranks up all sorts of noise rock / metal / electronica. Check out his group, *Nels Cline Singers* -- who, naturally enough, never sing. And, of course, their debut record was appropriately entitled _Instrumentals_ (Cryptogrammophon, 2003). They have a great new release, entitled _Macroscope_ (Mack Avenue, 2014), and it's one of the best releases of the year -- but I suspect that it is not fire-breathing enough for what you're looking for. Start with _Instrumentals_, then check out _Giant Pin_ (Cryptogramophone, 2006) and _Initiate_ (Cryptogrammophone, 2010), a live recording that has lots of experimental, ear-stretching, noise excursions, mixed these brilliant homages to guitarists of the past (Jim Hall, Santana).

















Given what I've seen of your taste, you need to check out "Blood Drawing" (on _Instrumentals_, a 15-minute epic that begins with 5 minutes of microtonal explorations and then over the next 10 minutes explode into one of the finest guitar solos I've ever heard. Unfortunately, I can't find it on YouTube. In any case, here's a sample of them live:






Here's an example of their mix of noise and microtonal excurses.






On _Initiate_, they do a fine cover of Weather Report's "Boogie Woogie Waltz." Speaking of homages to the past, I stumbled across Nels Cline and friends covering Funkadelic's "Maggot Brain":


----------



## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

^ That last album that Raze is on has some pretty decent stuff, Alypius! Luckily, it doesn't resemble jazz much, that I have noticed so far. The Funkadelic (I never liked them  ) cover sounds like it needs a serious listen 

And BD: I've gone through a quick overview of a few more names you gave me. Melt-Banana was pretty wild... Japanese shrieking hardcore metal. N*E*R*D sounds like black disco-pop. Daft Punk is similar, but more techno-ey. Uhhhh? I don't see myself wanting to hear any of those.

Boris was quite a surprise! I don't like the heavy metal style singing, but the extended instrumentals were really quite awesome  though I think Sun O))) was still the best one of this batch. I definitely need to dig deeper on these.

Yeah, after sleeping on it and relistening to Gorillaz, I see that only their first 2 albums are exceptionally good: most of it is just pop. Still, it is quite listenable and has some catchy parts, enough that I consider them a _discovery_.


----------



## Simon Moon (Oct 10, 2013)

Great thread!

This is one of my favorite genres. Most of my taste in this genre tends to be in the RIO and the avant-prog vein, so, YMMV.

Here's a partial list of mostly newer bands and artists:

Ahvak (Israel)






Akineton Retard (Chile)






Alamaailman Vasarat (Finland)






Banda Elastica (Mexico)






Iva Bittova (Czech Republic)






Charming Hostess (USA)






Debile Menthol (Switzerland)






Ensemble Nimbus (Sweden)






Gargantua (Poland)






Gutbucket (USA)






Idiot Flesh (USA)






Far Corner (USA)






Sleepytime Gorilla Museum (USA)






Yugen (Italy)






And of course, there's plenty more.


----------



## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

Simon Moon said:


> Sleepytime Gorilla Museum (USA)


Thank you! Someone else considers SGM avantgarde. I don't feel quite so out of touch after all.


----------



## Simon Moon (Oct 10, 2013)

Weston said:


> Thank you! Someone else considers SGM avantgarde. I don't feel quite so out of touch after all.


Well, they tend to be on the less avant-garde side of things, but I feel they still qualify.


----------



## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

Of course, the avant garde keeps changing, moving ahead while past avant garde becomes the commonplace or passé. I keep looking for new and newer music (which is what my earlier post on this thread was about -- Tourette Records.) Still, I often cannot forget the past great avant garde tracks. With this in mind ... *back in 1982, Recommended Records released a two disc (clear vinyl) Sampler package *









which, to quote from Wikipedia: "...is a sampler double album by various artists released by English independent record label Recommended Records on LP in 1982. It contains tracks by musicians and groups on the Recommended Records catalogue at the time." The track list is stellar:

*Side A*
1.Vogel: "Flaschenzug"
2.Faust: "Extract 5 from Faust Party Three: 'The Voice of the Pumpkin' "
3.Art Bears: "All Hail!"
4.Stormy Six: "Reparto Novità"
5.The Homosexuals: "Walk Before Imitate"
6.Joseph Racaille & Patrick Portella: "On ne Peut Plus Compter sur ses Doigts"
7.Feliu Gasul: "*"
*Side B*
1.The Black Sheep: "Strangelove"
2.Univers Zero: "Influences"
3.Aksak Maboul & The Honeymoon Killers: "Boss de Crosses dans le Doulos"
4.The Work: "Houdini"
5.Henry Cow: "Slice"
6.Henry Cow: "Viva Pa Ubu"
7.Decibel: "Radio Extract"
*Side C*
1.Art Zoyd: "Simulacres"
2.The Muffins: "Two Extracts from 'Chronometers' "
3.Heiner Goebbels: "Berlin Ku-Damm 12 April 1981"
4.Amos: "Steer Clear of England"
5.Conventum: "Commerce Nostalgique"
6.Hector Zazou: "Vera C"
*Side D*
1.This Heat: "Pool"
2.The Residents: "Walter Westinghouse"
3.R. Stevie Moore: "Pedestrian Hop" & "Copy Me"
4.Ron Pate: "I Talk to My Haircut"
5.Picchio Dal Pozzo: "Uccelin del Bosco"
6.Robert Wyatt: "The Internationale"

In September 2008 Recommended Records released _The Recommended Sampler 1982 - 25th Anniversary Edition_, a fully remastered (by Bob Drake) reissue of the original double-LP on a double-CD. It coincided with the label's 30th anniversary and included a copy of the very first handwritten Recommended catalogue plus other memorabilia and trivia. (Though I picked up this CD package, I find I never played it -- or even released it from its shrink wrap packing -- since the LPs have proved very serviceable for me, and my copies are in excellent condition. And you all know I'm an LP kind of guy.)

This album is a classic. Though it dates to the '70s and early '80s of last century, much of the music is still on the cutting edge. *My absolute favorite track is the opening number of side B, "Strangelove" by The Black Sheep.* They just don't write tunes like this anymore. You'll find it at 28:30 in the link below of the complete _Sampler_. Enjoy.


----------



## Simon Moon (Oct 10, 2013)

I forgot about one of the classics.

Kew, Rhone.

By John Greaves and Peter Blegvad

Greaves worked with Henry Cow, and Blegvad was with Slap Happy, so they both have their 'avant-garde' credentials perfectly in place. Maybe not quite as 'out there' as some of the others I mentioned above, but still far from mainstream.

This is extra interesting because the lyrics contain palindromes, anagrams and other lyrical devices.


----------



## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

brotagonist said:


> _Let us hear music so far underground that the planet isn't deep enough to contain it;
> Let us hear music so far out that the universe isn't wide enough to reach it._
> 
> Let us hear this music... NOW:trp:


I think you're talkin' here about Mozart! But this is the _non-classical _thread.


----------



## MJongo (Aug 6, 2011)

I suggest the following albums, in no particular order:

Y - The Pop Group
Learning to Cope with Cowardice - Mark Stewart
Meet the Residents - The Residents (Sometimes I think this is the greatest album of all time, but make sure it is the original mono version.)
Not Available - The Residents
Half Machine Lip Moves - Chrome

All are beyond-essential for experimental music fans.


----------

