New review of "Rotation" from DPRP

The Dutch progressive rock online site DPRP has a positive, well-written and informative review of the 2013 DC Sound Collective album "Rotation".

"Musically, the album creates an ethereal ambience as it gently glides along. Variation is given by musical devices such as the clever use of counter melody between the voice and guitar on City Of Industry. It serves to create the necessary degree of disturbance, while the tune never moves above its slow-paced start. Eldon contributes a funky bass throughout, which comes to the fore on the light-fingered instrumental A Jungle Of Apparitions; winding, snake-like around the rhythm, as keys and guitar create the wash of sound above."

"Apophis is certainly the highlight of Rotation and makes the album a worthwhile purchase for lovers of the kind of airy, electric ambience I have attempted to describe."

Roger Trenwith - DPRP, December 2014

Read the full review here. Buy "Rotation" at Band Camp or Amazon.

New Group Du Jour live compilation

Just released at Band Camp - a new compilation of Group Du Jour performances recorded from 1986 - 1993, "Group Du Jour - Live 1986 - 1993" is the first in a series of Official Bootlegs.

From Group Du Jour's performance heyday in Portland, Oregon come these recordings - direct to digital stereo - and featuring songs and improvisations unavailable anywhere else. Guests include saxophonist Michael Maldonado, didgeridoo player Jean George Poulot and Ghanaian master drummer Obo Addy. This official "bootleg" is a high quality document with over an hour of GDJ's unique "techno-ethnic" sound - highlighting their more experimental direction.

credi

Paul Parker: electric guitar, bass, fretless bass and electric kalimba.
Bo Parker: rhythm guitar, xylimbas, various percussion and vocals.
Daniel Crommie: synthesizers, drum programs, flutes, vocals, harmonica.

with:
Michael Maldonado: saxophones.
Obo Addy: talking drum and djembe
Jean George Poulot: didgeridoo.

Track listing:

1. When the Moon Turns Blue (live 1986)
2. Dissatisfied (live 1986)
3. Motion of Sand (live 1992)
4. DMZ (live 1992)
5. Didgeridoo Jam (live 1992)
6. Lost World (live 1993)
7. Animosity Killed the Cat (live 1993)
8. The Hedgerow (live 1993)
9. Jammin' with Obo Addy (live 1993)
10. Sleepwalking Improvisation (live 1992)

A new Daniel Crommie album released - "Penumbra - Summer Solstice Sketches"

A new instrumental / ambient album "Penumbra - Summer Solstice Sketches" was released on Tuesday, October 21st on iTunes, CD Baby and at Band Camp one month earlier on September 22nd. Read a review here.

The first long hot day of springtime and molecules are beating faster - rapid movement from all creatures, plants, insects, animals in the warm draft of air. The excitement is palpable. Trees grow, leaves reappear, flowers bloom, people shed their winter clothes and all creation is on the upswing. Rain nourishes the fecund gardens and a shaft of sunlight slices through the storm clouds, inciting the streets and sidewalks to steam. Rain returns, sun performs an encore to the delight of butterflies, birds and worms. The truncated nights are dewy, with sweetness emanating from blood-red roses wafting in the breeze. As the sun sets, Robins alight to their nests and the  dusky streets are abuzz with restless strollers. The lotus moon rises, nighttime falls in a hush and leaves rustle awaiting the new days dawning. Come morn, the first rays emanate from the east and the new season triumphs with birdsong and distant train horns.

This project was created spontaneously: conception, composition, recording and mixing taking place over a ten day period bookending the summer solstice. Daniel Crommie played all of the instruments, engineered and mixed the album at Digitalis in June 2014.

Revisionist History

For many a millennia the solstice arrives - familiar, yet always unique.

Rain Outside the Temple

Tall trees shelter tiny flowers and ferns on the forest floor.

Jungle Wire

Brambles and vines reach out through the thickets.

Summer Solstice Eve

On the eve, the short night sings.

The Leaf Gatherers

Squirrels and birds gather their nest material from arboreal heights.

Branch Water Avenue

Below the clouds, the sidewalks hum with activity.

4 July / Penumbra

On a midsummer evening, the moon casts its shadow.

Wind Dancer

A breeze winds its way through the vibrant growth. Birds soar.

Aunt Lion

Midnight dreams occupy sweet slumber.

Seeding the Clouds

Sea air moves in to nurture the landshape.

Daniel's 1988 album "Animosity" released at Band Camp

Daniel Crommie's 1988 album "Animosity" - an album previously only available on cassette has been released digitally at Band Camp. An experimental collection of works with only one vocal piece (a Medieval one at that...) and featuring synthesizers: "Animosity is a challenging album and one which it can at times be difficult to stick with, its stand offishness a real force that can prove overwhelming. Those with a fascination for 80s electronic that isn't commercial will find much to engage, those not will feel on the outside looking in, until "Still Life" reveals its brooding beauty." Read the full review here.

Steven Reid - Sea of Tranquility

Here's the track listing:

There Once Was a City, Red Sandstone Cliffs, Concrete, Horror of Horrors, Jump Barrier, (Sex) WalkieTalkie, Snake Oil, Vertical Ocean, Still Life, Birdhouse Metropolis

New interview with Daniel Crommie

This month a new interview with Daniel Crommie discussing his latest album "A Silent Sea" and other music-related subjects was published in Turntable Operator. You can order the 'zine for a mere $2 here.

Daniel Crommie "Rarities 1976 - 2008" released

A collection of recordings made between 1976 and 2008 was released at Band Camp on May 27th. Some of these confections were previously made available on cassette EP's and out-of-print albums, but most have not been released before - such as a demo version of Floating in Limbo and Plainsong, a solo dulcimer tune from 1976.

Here's the track listing:

01. Fast By the River - Recorded in 1982

02. O Deadly Dwale - Recorded in 1978

03. The Gazelle - Recorded in 1979

04. Plainsong - Recorded in 1976

05. The Proud Father of My Garden - Recorded in 1982

06. Fear of Negative - Recorded in 1983

07. Fresh Fish Flesh - Recorded in 1986, remixed in 2012

08. We Are Both Virgins  - Recorded in 1986, remixed in 2012

09. The Hard Winters Fall - Recorded in 1994

10. Thingamajigwhatchamacallit (long) - Recorded in 1998

11. Made for TV (edit) - Recorded in 1995

12. Mango (vocal version) - Recorded in 1996

13. Mouse (space dub) - Recorded in 1996/2000

14. Still Standing (2010 mix) - Recorded in 2005

15. Floating in Limbo (early version) - Recorded in 2008

Vents Magazine interviews Daniel Crommie

Read A recently published online interview for Vents Magazine with Daniel Crommie, where Daniel talks about his past, present and future musical projects and working with the Jade Warriors.

Precious Time - 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition

On March 25th, New Weave released a newly-remixed deluxe edition of Daniel's ground-breaking 1989 album "Precious Time" exclusively at Band Camp. This new remastered edition digitally remixed in January 2014 from the original DBX-encoded cassette portastudio multitrack tapes includes all of the tracks from the original 1989 cassette album, the bonus track from the 1998 CD release, plus an additional previously unreleased track. This is easily the best sounding remaster of this milestone album. Here's a 1990 review: "Crommie’s musical timespan stretches from the middle ages right through a digital sampler into 1990. He plays instruments as diverse as the recorder, the psaltery, the synth, and the dulcimer, and creates gorgeous compositions which utilize medieval sounds alloyed with a new age aesthetic. Your first comparison might be to Mark Isham’s music, although Crommie is more delicate – he doesn’t go in for Isham’s grandiloquence. Crommie’s synthesizers are subtle, creating a sort of dreamy context which allows the acoustic instruments’ voices plenty of room. If you’re into medieval music, you may hear it in a new light on this tape. And if your taste runs to new age, this is a must, a distinct cut above the audio anesthesia you hear from the larger new age labels these days." – John Baxter

Option Magazine / March 1990.

Here's a recent review:

"You will not find many intense instrumental workouts here, that's not what Precious Time is about. If, however, you enjoy instrumental music where the pieces flow seamlessly together and the ambience never gets too heavy, Precious Time might warrant further investigation."

New Daniel Crommie limited release

A new album of rarities has been released as a Band Camp exclusive for the low price of $5. PsychedelicMedievalSpaceJazz features eight tracks recorded between 1996-2008 - out-takes from Sargasso Manuscript and Life Rattle  including an extended mix of "The Spell is Broken". Much of this was previously released in 2006 as a limited release under the title of PsychedelicMedievalJazz. All instruments: Daniel Crommie except on Distant Train Calling where Jess Fry played percussion samples. 

Here is the track listing: 

1. The Spell is Broken (extended mix #2) 2. Flutter & Fade 3. Bug Zapper Waltz 4. Warning 5. Short Circuit 6. The Zenith Curse 7. Faces in Stone 8. Distant Train Calling 9. Chrysalis 2 10. The Pillars at Dawn 2