Howdy partners. The summertime is usually slow for us here at DMG, but not this year. The mail order is continually getting better & now that the a.c. is fixed, the vibe in the store is much cooler too. On Monday, we dump 2000 12"s of disco, hip hop & house in the East River. The very last obstacle to go is that oversized lp rack in the center of the floor, with its 1000 pieces of bad alternative rock, new wave, new age & lame fusion. At the end of August, we'll close for a week to paint, build some new shelves & display cases. And hence, the new era of Downtown Music Gallery will commence...Come September, a four day celebration will begin:  

Friday Sept. 5th-Saxophone Colossus Night  
 

• 1.Ed Montgomery & company
• 2.Ned Rothenberg & Mark Dresser
• 2.John Henegan & Kato Hideki
• 3.Hayes Greenfield duo
• 4.Tim Berne & Michael Formanek
• 5.Ellery Eskelin duo or trio
• 6.Rob Brown William Parker trio
• 7.Borbetomagus

• 1.Suburban Bohemia (w/ yours truly)
• 2.John Henegan & Kato Hideki 
• 3.Joe Morris solo acoustic 
• 4.Roger Kleier duo or trio 
• 5.John King Thing 
• 6.New Ghost (w/ Rick Iannicone, one of Philly's finest!) 
• 7.Dave Tronzo trio (unconfirmed) 
• 8.Donald Miller guitar trio 

• 1.Loren Mazzacane Connors & Alan Licht 
• 2.Glen or Glenda (Kramer's new country unit w/Tami Lang) 
• 3.Paul Lemos & Joe Papa (of Controlled Bleeding) 
• 4.Marc Ribot's Los Cubanos (if they finish recording) 
• 5.Elliott Sharp's new project 
• 6.Bill Laswell, Bob Musso & ?? (unconfirmed) 

• 1.EMIL VIKLICKY/BILL FRISELL/KERMIT DRISCOLL -Door & Window (Bonton 10540) rec. June '79 in Prague, 1st time on cd, Emil plays keys in this qt. w/ drummer. Supposedly a more straight ahead early Frisell style, waiting on a promo... $14. 
• 2.CHRIS SPEED QT.-yeah no (Songlines 1517) w/ Cuong Vu-trumpet, Skuli Sverrisson-el. bass (from Mo Boma), Jim Black-drums; excellent 1st effort by this much in demand tenor sax & clarinet player from Tim Berne's Bloodcount. $14. 
• 3.MATTHEW SHIPP QT.-The Flow of X (2 13 63 Records 21326) w/ Mat Maneri, William Parker & Whit Dickey; yet another solid date from the ever expanding, improving local piano great, with the cosmic buzzing strings of Maneri & Parker! $14. 
• 4.LARVAL-s/t (Avant 055) Smokin' triple guitars, post surf meets Sonic Youth all instrumental power strumming from Detroit; led by Bill Brovold, an ex-Branca & Zen Vikings lead guitarist, w/ the wacky Otto Kentrol on sax; at the Knit-Aug. 6th. $20. 
• 5.DAVID THOMAS-monster (Tim Kerr HR 110) 5 cd set which includes all 5 lp's by this distinctive Beefheartian vocalist and storyteller, plus a 74 min. cd of his current live duo; w/ Richard Thompson, Chris Cutler, Lindsay Cooper & Anton Fier. $38. 
• 6.CHRIS CUTLER+N.O.R.M.A.-L'Arpa E L'Asino (ReR NORMA) Superb Henry Cow/Zappa like prog from my favorite progressive drummer of all time guesting w/ this fine Italian unit; includes a warped Satie tribute & Phil Minton, too. $14. 
• 7.RICHARD & DANNY THOMPSON-Industry (Hannibal 1414) Rejected by those knuckleheads at Capitol for not being rockin' or slick enough. A more serious & mature work of art, half instrumental, superb arrangements & playing throughout! $14. 
• 8.SPIRITUALIZED-Ladies & gents we are floating in space (Dedicated/BMG 18974) Totally brilliant! From the Beatlesque quaint quiet moments to the gospelized chorus & orchestral sailing to multi layered psychadelized guitar armies. Touring soon! $14. 
• 9.EYVIND KANG-sweetness of sickness (rabid god inoculator 004) Although Mr. Kang plays such lovely violin w/ Bill Frisell, this solo cd is as twisted as it gets. Mutant, warped strings & samples, unrecognizible sounds from another world!?! Only $10. 
• 10.ART ZOYD-Haxan (Atonal ACD 3023) soundtrack for the 1921 film by B. Christensen of evil vs. good. Well done, spooky, French progressive music, perfectly suited & executed for this journey into the heart of darkness. Goth lovers take heed. $17. 
• 11.GOLD SPARKLE BAND-downsizing (nu records 1) Very hot, mostly outside & adventurous avant jazz qt. from Atlanta. From totally free to tight well written trumpet & sax frontline excursions. Their 2nd release. $10. 
• 12.THE ReR QUARTERLY-volume 4 number 2 (ReR 0402) Another mostly solid & diverse comp of electronics sounds, tape collages, avant whatever, w/ Keith Rowe, Jon Rose, Shelley Hirsch, Tom Dimuzio, Philip Perkins, Marie Goyette, Volapuk. $14. 
• 13.LIMINAL LOUNGE-Pre-Set (Knitting Factory Works 202) 2nd cd by guitarist Danny Blume of low end grumble, rumble, drum & bass, chill out grooves. Subtle, simple & spaced out, but enticing also. W/ Marc Ribot, DJ Olive & John Medeski. $13. 
• 14.INDUSTRIUM POST MORTEM:China (Tone Casualties 96009) Interesting idea. Karen Han is an erhu (2 string chinese violin) expert. Here is a 19 track comp. of a half dozen artists manipulating her ancient sounding instrument. All but 2 of these artists record for this new L.A. based electronic label, the other 2 are Mark Mothersbaugh (Devo) & Shinjuku Thief (Extreme label). Very successeful, very weird, beautifully recorded & pretty extraordinary!! A amazing new label, worthy of noting. $14. 
• 15.LIFESAVER LABORATORIES-Terms & Conditions (Tone Casualties 97018) Think Lustmord writing for Hearts of Space. This is a solo offering by a Michael F. Kelsey from Vancouver, Wa. Precious, mysterious Miles like muted trumpet samples. $14. 
• 16.B.P. SERVICE-The Machines Print Soundmaps (T.C. 95007) Reminiscent of Einsturzende Neubauten '86-'89, w/out the vocals; a trio from Budapest, led by Gyorgy Szabo; creepy whispering, martial beats, restrained but disturbing. $14. 
• 17.B.P. SERVICE-Deep Signal (T.C. 9715) U.F.Orbish with more found sounds & a healthy respect for early Tangerine Dream. Guest vocals from Test Dept.; completely evocative soundscapes, constantly unfolding, ever shifting scenery! $14. 
• 18.TONE CLUSTERS-(mag #64) Another great issue of T.C. feat. long interviews with Phil Miller (Hatfield & National Health)- Canterbury guitar great & Roy Harper, one of the finest singer/songwriter/nutcases known to mankind. Plus loads of great live & cd reviews, from prog to avant jazz to contemporary classical. No academic bullshit. 49 big pages, a steal for only $2. 
• 19.FACELIFT-(issues #16 & #17) The ultimate Canterbury fanzine is back with 2 new issues of this excellent small but packed with info, each one 70 pages! #16 feat. lengthy Steve Hillage interview & history, 20 cd reviews, live & book reviews, too. Issue #17 feat. long interviews w/ Pierre Moerlen (Gong) & Bill MacCormick (Quiet Sun, Matching Mole), Kevin Coyne article. $5.each 

We finally did it! We hooked up directly with DIW Japan. We now have all 7 MASADA cd's in stock for the amazingly low price of $16. each, including the hard to find Masada #4 for $15, a 3 song ep but still superb! We recieved 8 other DIW/Avant cd's as well & we will try stocking any new titles as much as we can. All of these Jap. imports are $16. each, the 8 others are:  
 

• 1.ARCANA (Derek Bailey-Bill Laswell-Tony Williams)-The Last Wave (DIW 903) 
• 2.DEREK BAILEY-JOHN ZORN-WILLIAM PARKER-Harrass (Avant 056) 
• 3.MARC RIBOT-Don't Blame Me (DIW 902) solo electric guitar 
• 4.JIM PLOTKIN-The Joy of Disease (Avant 028) w/ Mick Harris & Franz Treichler from the Young Gods 
• 5.DAVID S. WARE QT.-Gospelized (DIW 916) featuring new drummer supreme Susie Ibarra, w/ Matt Shipp,William Parker 
• 6.DOUGIE BOWNE TRIO-One Way Elevator (DIW 920) w/ John Medesky on piano, Fred Hopkins on bass 
• 7.KAZUTOKI UMEZU-Betsuni Nanmo Klezmer Orchestra (Nani 101 & 102) w/ Makigami on fake yiddish vocals, great stuff!! 
• 8.BLOODBATH-Live (Phenotype 002) w/ John King, Otomo Yoshihide, Umezu & Makigami. Insane & wailin' improv!!! 

On August 19th, the amazingly prolific Mr. Zorn will be releasing & reissuing 10 cd's on both of his labels, they are:  
 

• 1. JOHN ZORN- Filmworks 1986-1990 [re-issue](TZA 7314) 
• 2. JOHN ZORN- Filmworks VII Cynical Hysterie Hour. Collectors cheer as this rarity is released here for the first time. (TZA 7315) 
• 3. YASUNAO TONE- Solo For Wounded CD. Sonic experimentalism from Fluxus Movement co-founder (TZA 7212) 
• 4. NANA VASCONCELOS- Fragments:Modern Tradition. Well known Brazilian composer/percussionist releases this collection of award winning film scores. (TZA 7506) 
• 5. JOHN ZORN- Duras:Duchamp. JZ gets busy with 2 long form tribute pieces to 2 figures that changed our view of the modern world. (TZA 7023) 
• 6. DAVID SLUSSER- Delight At The End Of The Tunnel. Sound designer Slusser takes us on a magic trip thru musique concrete, beer commercials, mood music and sound effects just to name a few. (TZA 7024) 
• 7. GEORGE E. LEWIS- Voyager. [re-issue](AVA CD 014) 
• 8. ANDY HAAS- Arnhem Land. Didgeridu player and former Muffin reconstructs and redefines everyone's ideas about their favorite Aboriginal kazoo. (AVA CD 048) 
• 9. CYRO BAPTISTA- Vila Lobos Vila Loucos. Favored sideman steps to the front and interprets Heitor Villalobos on his debut CD as a frontman. (AVA CD 061) 
• 10. DAVE DOUGLAS- Sanctuary. Trumpeter takes us on a journey that passes thru funk, jazz, ambient and improv. (AVA CD 066) 

That's about it from Bruce G.  

Welcome one and all to this latest edition of MIKESSPACE v.14. Please observe the No Smoking signs and place your trays in the upright position...  

I'm sorry to report that this edition of MS will suck, but alas, 'tis true. Due to a lack of reader DI_________ contributions and a dearth of reviewable material there is almost nothing for me to warble on about. However, in the spirit of our forefathers that made this country great I will soldier on.  

First up this time is APOLOGIES (once again replacing the HOT BABES LIST). I apologize that this is wasting your time and mine. I also apologize for my review of DECREE's Wake Of Devastation in the last issue. I don't feel that I did this CD any justice... damn if this isn't one of the most amazing chunks of noise to ever (dis)grace my ears. Harsh distortion and power electronics over the finest beats that 1989's Skinny Puppy and Ministry had to offer. Rivalling BRIGHTER DEATH NOW's Innerwar and trouncing it in places I strongly recommend this to any afficionados of nightmare music.  

This time out I have only 2 reviews for you and one of them will go under the TOO-GOOD-FOR-17-SYLLABLES-GO-OUT-AND-BUY-IT-NOW!!!! category. It is of course...  

EMPEROR- Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk- (Century Black)   
(RIYL- read on...)  

What can I say, after 2 years of incarcerations, legal hassles, member changes (due to EXTENDED incarcerations) and what have you Norway's mightiest noisemakers are back with a hurtin' slab of pseudo-Satanism, hyper-speed blasting, well thought out musical passages and overall superiority to anything the black metal genre has offered of late with the possible exceptions of Satyricon and Soleflad. Opening with a sad/pretty acoustic guitar line and spiraling into a Hell of whispered vocals and menacing synth sounds, this disc might have you wondering if this is the same band that brought you the monstrous In The Nightside Eclipse. Question not for long, before you know it your head is blown off by "Ye Entrancempirium" a blitzkrieg attack on the ears that tell you that Emperor is indeed back and sounding faster, tighter, more focused and better produced than before- and the drumming... Replacing Faust on drums this outing is Trym from fellow Norskies ENSLAVED whom I've never before experienced playing at this level of extremity. He actually rivals MORTICIAN's drum programmed blast-beats for speed and accuracy. If these tracks are for real he may be the best player in the extreme metal genre. Ihsahn's vocals are still in fine (de)form(ity) and he still sounds as though possessed by all that is evil and screaming for help. His keyboard passages continue to add the touch that says this can only be EMPEROR and he and Samoth's songwriting skills (for me) still blow away all contenders. On the downside; although the production is better, the bass tracks are still nonexistent and I find myself reminded of songs from I.T.N.E. in places but overall this is much more listenable than I.T.N.E. and on all counts more enjoyable from beginning to end and over and over which is eactly how I've been listening to it for the 3 weeks that I've had it. Buy and Die!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! P.S. I have no idea what a "Welkin" is, also the US version has the now out-of-print Reverence EP on it including the CD-ROM track.  

Next up is the SPAWN soundtrack. Like it's older predecessor JUDGEMENT NIGHT which threw rap together with hard rock, this disc seeks to pair heavy/industrial artists with "electronica" artists. We get Orbital meeting Metallica's Kirk Hammett, Metallica getting the DJ Spooky treatment (twisted), Slayer pairing up with Atari Teenage Riot, and Henry Rollins teaming up with Goldie? Strangely, (and possibly, perversely) this disc really works (for me). Maybe it's the fact that I've heard it done before (and liked it) in the likes of Fear Factory's "Fear Is The Mindkiller". Maybe it's the fact that 2 of my favorite genres of music are intermingling AND finally getting the recognition and respect that they rightfully deserve. Maybe it's the fact that here we have the future of music and the future looks good, especially for pissed off, disenfranchised youth. With any luck they'll take over the airwaves and purge it from the clutches of Hanson, The Vice Girls, Meredith Alanisette and anyone else you'd care to name who spew their vile pop musings and call themselves relevant. Granted, Marilyn Manson, Korn and Silverchair aren't much better than the crap I previously named but at least I like the trend that they point towards. Rock and Roll may just be getting dangerous again and the possibility that someday Emperor, Skinny Puppy, Broken Hope, Incantation, Absu or Gehenna might just get played on K-Schlock or even have their own radio station makes my skin tingle. Am I reading too much into this CD? It's good. Why am I so angry? Because I heard KISS in McDonald's the other day... remember when they shocked our parents? I'm OLD!!! (whimper)  

Hey, here's something new- BITCHING. This piece may show up from time to time and is at best... filler. I'm gonna bitch about getting a new tattoo and not being able to go surfing during one of the best off-coast storm weeks to hit NYC in quite a while. This sucks.  

TV Tip- SOUTH PARK is coming and it looks pretty good. It's based on an underground short film called "Ths Spirit of Christmas". Here Jesus battles Santa Claus over the meaning of Christmas and four kids get to help by having their loyalties played upon, infighting over Judaism and obesity and ultimately having it all solved by the stereotyped gaiety of figure skater Brian Boitano. The short is some pretty twisted stuff and is 5 laugh filled minutes if your sensitivities aren't overloaded in the first. The series looks to be the same although tamed somewhat for television (cursing). August on cable's Comedy Central.  

Well, that's it for now, I have nothing more to say. Thanks for reading this far. Without you I'm nothing. Remember me when you vote.  

EM2K