we’ve got a new series of podcasts up built around one simple rule - they’re mixed directly from vinyl. scott kicked us off earlier with his mix, and for my first installment, i went with an all-over approach with one thing in mind - stay out of the mix as much as possible. this runs the range from ambient to dub to tech-house to fugazi to local indie bands. enjoy!

run time: 1hr 00min 20sec continuous mix

format: 320kbp/s

download here

01 delta waves - a1 (from the andromeda drone 7″)

this debut 7″ is quite a bit different than the later work of this group. as its title would suggest, it’s built on ambient space dronescapes, but doesn’t just settle for boring repetition. this can be picked up from the band’s current label, airbend records.

02 hammock - stranded under endless sky (from the stranded under endless sky ep)

this just arrived in the mail this past week, thanks to the hammock website. for $4 (plus a little bit more for shipping) you really cannot beat it. the debut ep from one of the biggest up-and-coming ambient/shoegaze/postrock bands around, this release and its title track demonstrate right out of the gate why the anticipation among fans for the band’s last album, raising your voice . . . trying to stop an echo was some of the most ferverent i have ever seen.

03 catherine wheel - saccharine (from the black metallic 12″)

catherine wheel’s first two albums are easily in my top 5 as a combination, and appear in my top 10 on their own. “saccharine” is a b-side to one of the best tracks of all time, “black metallic” from their first album, ferment., and appears in a slightly different form on the b-sides/rarities compilation like cats & dogs. this is defniitely one of the darker tracks from catherine wheel’s golden era, and undoubtedly helped make picking this single up on ebay several years ago fully worth it.

04 massive attack vs mad professor - protection (radiation ruling the nation dub)

i read about the no protection dub album in the back of a huh! magazine in 1994, my junior year of high school. i was able to track down the protection album prior to finding this, and beyond the lead-off track, was just not impressed. it was truly a case of not being ready for the sounds on the album, and when i came across the no protection remix album a few months later, it became apparent to me how incredible of a tool the studio can be.

this track is taken from the 2×12″ remix set for protection, which includes two brian eno mixes and mixes from underdog, dom t, j sw!ft, and the album mix. i found this along with hundreds of other gems lost between the mountains of bluegrass and blues at the long-gone music exchange here in kansas city.

05 anti pop consortium - is your world flat? (from tragic epilogue)

i was at a boring house party, standing around drinking cheap beer and talking to friends. a friend who i’ve always had a playful competition regarding music taste with showed up and dropped this album into the cd player. it seriously must have played three times straight through. i thankfully found two copies of this on vinyl in the $3 cut out bin at the Troost 7th Heaven, and while many of the tracks are just a bit too abstract for me, there are more than enough smooth beats and hyper-intelligent rhymes to keep it moving.

06 recloose - MYM 230 (rip) (carl craig mix) (from the so this is the dining room? ep)

i bought this ep on cd originally, and had the opportunity to grab it on vinyl shortly thereafter when a large online cd retailer was closing out their record section on the cheap. this detroit-based producer has since moved on to more organic sounds, but this early release, under the guidance of detroit maestro carl craig, was definitely something different when it came out. there is a funkiness and life to the glitch-tech going on here that is undeniable.

07 hakan lidbo - coming clean (from the tech-house couture lp)

the bass and synth on this like a slow-motion jedi light saber battle. that is cool enough for me. the super-swede lidbo opens a little window into his mind on this one and it looks like everyone’s wearing satin pajamas. i picked this up at the now-defunct deepfix records here in kansas city.

08 fugazi - waiting room (from fugazi ep)

i found this for 79 cents in a thrift store in independence missouri, along with the margin walker ep. there is absolutely nothing better than dropping this track on an unsuspecting listener during any type of set. it is a guaranteed floor filler.

09 del rey - dust huntress (from darkness & distance)

this chicago-based group mixes some very interesting rhythmic approaches into the postrock equation. combining aggressive and moody guitars with shuffling, mathy drums (and occasional beat programming), i’ve been impressed by everything i’ve heard from these guys. i ordered this copy from insound.

10 laika - sugar daddy (from silver apples of the moon)

this was one of the very first albums i upgraded to vinyl from a cd copy. the rhythms and noises on this track destroyed my mid-western, metal-fed teenage mind back then, and it still stands as a great track to drop into an eclectic set. i picked this one up at the now-gone recycled sounds in kansas city.

11 psychic ills - untitled (from dins)

a good solid noise/rock/psych/drone album through and through. this is one of the quieter, shorter pieces on the album, and makes for a good segue track. this one comes to you courtesy of the fine people at needmore discs.

12 lambchop - crawl away (from thriller)

when i came across this in the bin at zebedee’s rpm on 39th street, i was, to say the least, pretty surprised. why would anyone give up a lambchop album? why? but they did, and now i have it. this is the city slang german import of the album no less. kurt wagner and friends do it right on this one.

13 namelessnumberheadman - branches of branches of branches (from wires reply)

one of the more successful recent bands to germinate in the kansas city area and then rightfully move away (albeit only a few hours away to columbia, mo), namelessnumberheadman is a band that’s all over the place. sure, the indie-tronic thing has one or two effigies that are the marquees for the sound . . . but i just cannot argue with these guys. yes, you will probably end up comparing this track to one of said scene figurepoints, but consider that a remark on the quality of this little trio. this lp was purchased at the record release party for yes, the st ives vinyl release. a cd version won’t be out for a little bit longer.

14 the life & times - mighty joe moon (from the split 10″ with nueva volcano)

as in any good movie, it’s a always a good idea to include - and preferably end with - a cover song. in this case, kansas city’s own the life & times provide their cover of grant lee buffalo’s mighty joe moon and do the track justice. these guys have a long lineage in midwestern rock and thankfully are not showing signs of letting up with the quality rock any time soon. i picked up this split 10″ at a show a couple of months ago.