Mi Ami "Ark of the Covenant"

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Mi Ami
Ark of the Covenant
12" single
(Lovers Rock, 2008)

Mi Ami are another group I've featured previously on the jukebox, with the title track from their debut 12" EP, African Rhythms. I'd apologize, but . . . no, to heck with it . . . I shan't!

Today's tune is the A side of their second 12" record, Ark of the Covenant (the b-side is a trippy, dubby version). While it might be ever so slightly less frantic than African Rhythms, it's certainly not by much. They're in the spotlight this month as at least one, and possibly all, of them is/are openly gay. They're also just plain fierce.

Since this record was released, there have been some changes. Bassist Jacob Long left the group after the release of two full-length albums and three more 12" records, thereby slimming Mi Ami down to the duo of Damon Palermo and Daniel Martin-McCormick. They still kick up a great, dancey fuss, however, on their two releases since the slimmin': the limited-edition 12" EP Dolphins and their 2012 full-length Decade.

Sorten Muld "Ravnen"

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Sorten Muld
Sorten Muld
CD
(Intermusic, 1996)

Another Wayside Music discovery! I assure you that posting two in a row was not intentional, however.

Denmark's Sorten Muld are one of a number of Scandinavian groups to mix traditional folk melodies with elements of electronica, dance music, etc. They were not the first, as the two others I know, Garmarna and Hedningarna (both Swedish), had releases out earlier. Regardless, though, they are my favorite of the tiny genre.

Their first release, the eponymous Sorten Muld, was pretty much entirely re-recorded as Mark II, their second release. Why? Perhaps because Sorten Muld was released in an edition of only 1,500 copies? Maybe they thought they could do better if they redid the songs? Maybe they were held at gunpoint by an insane person who made them redo it? I have no idea.

Today's jukebox selection is the Sorten Muld version of Ravnen. It was the lead-off track on the CD, yet was relegated to track six status on Mark II.

The Mark II version was also released as a CD single with three different mixes:

1. Ravnen 444 4:44
2. Ravnen nat mix 9:27
3. Ravnen album version 6:48

Nat is Danish for night, in case you were wondering. The nat mix is pretty cool, and I almost used it for today's song, but it's not as immediate as this version. You'll note the song time is 6:48 on the album version, but the album lists the track is being 6:50. Curiouser and curiouser . . . or not.

Nazoo "James Brown Is Burst"

Nazoo Sim House 2001 Daisy Groove compilation CD (SSE Communications, 1992)

OK, so it's been a while since I featured any techno. Oh, wait . . . I've never featured techno on this blog. Time for that to change, then! So, "James Brown is Burst" is one of the greatest titles ever. I'm not sure if they meant it literally, as in his stomach exploded, or if they're referring to him getting out of prison. Personally, I prefer the former scenario; well, visually at least. Then again, I was certainly guilty of referring to Mr. Brown as "Cell Brother #1" during his incarceration in the late 80s. Nazoo are a bit of an enigma. I've got tracks on three different compilations (this one, Galax3 and D.A.N.C.E.2.N.O.I.S.E.0.0.3), and they're all pretty great. Naturally, because of this I decided to buy their lone album, Dear Heavens, Children In His Twilight. Who knows why, but they dropped the hard techno from their sound almost entirely and the damn thing is borderline new age at points. Oh, well. Regardless, today's track rocks, imo.

Rip Rig & Panic "Go, Go, Go! (This Is It)"

Rip Rig & Panic Go, Go, Go! (This Is It) 7" single (Virgin Records, 1981)

Today's song is the debut single by Rip Rig & Panic, who became Rip Rig + Panic by the time of their next single, "Bob Hope Takes Risks," hence the née tag. RRP featured Gareth Sager and Bruce Smith, both formerly of The Pop Group, and vocalist Neneh Cherry, daughter of free jazz trumpeter Don Cherry I've got only the first two of their albums, God and I Am Cold, plus some singles, and they're all killer. Skronky jazz horns, funky bass, sheet metal guitar, etc. I only don't have their third album, Attitude, because I have yet to see a copy for sale.

ArTOMaTik "Free" (Chic-a-Boom Mix)

ArTOMaTik Free 12" single (Wild Pitch Records, 1988)

The same day I bought the Geoffrey Landers LP, I heard this is in my second favorite store. They were spinning newly purchased, used records, and this 12" stuck a fish hook in my ear canal. From the research I've done, it appears this was the only release under the name ArTOMaTik. That bites, 'cause this is a cool single (five different mixes of the same track).

Two "In My Head"

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Two
Voyeurs
CD
(DML Music Entertainment, 1998)

I think I'm one of about five people that actually dug Rob Halford's dance-metal-thing Two. Sure, Fight (his first post-Priest band) had gone splitsville, and he'd said that metal was dead, but he meant popularity-wise when he said it. Not long after Two kinda fell apart, I guess when it hit that lotsa folks hated it, he fired up the metal again with his third band since leaving Judas Priest, Halford, then rejoined Priest, for a really good album, Angel of Retribution, followed by a stinky embarrassment, Nostradamus. They'd gone poop before, can you say Turbo?, then flushed it with good stuff, aka Painkiller, in the past, though, so my fingers are crossed.

Oh, yeah, so, like, today's selection is the bonus track from the Japanese version of Voyeurs. Unlike the Japanese bonus track on his previous outing, Fight's otherwise heavy-f'ing-kick-ass second-and-final album A Small Deadly Space, it's an actual song!

Human Sexual Response "Pound" (Extended version)

Human Sexual Response
Pound
12" single
(Passport Records, 1981)

The non-extended version appears on their second album, In a Roman Mood.

Mi Ami "African Rhythms"

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Mi Ami
African Rhythms
12" EP
(White Denim, 2008)

I found Mi Ami's first album, Watersports, in a bargain bin. The cover photo of what looked like a gay Mummers' parade caught my eye, so I bought it. I loved it! It became one of my favorite albums of 2009, in fact. They strike me as a cross between the avant garde punk funk of The Pop Group and ___________________.

I did some research and found that, at that point in time, there were five 12" singles and EPs, in addition to the killer full-length. I found the two more recent than the album (Techno 1.1 and Cut Men) at a local record store, the third (Echononecho) at Amazon for a super cheap price, and the second 12" (Ark of the Covenant) at Goner Records' on-line shop, of all places. Their debut, however, eluded me. The fact tht it was a limited pressing of 400 copies didn't help, either!

I happened to mention on a message board that I was looking for it. A friend involved in independent music distribution read my post, and stuck a copy in a box he was putting together to ship to my favorite local record store that very day! So, here's the title track, in all its glory. Enjoy!

Thule "Springtime (Etched in Ice)"

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Thule
La jamais contente
12" EP
(Wiiija Records, 1989)

One of the advantages of dating a concert promoter is getting free stuff. In the year we were together, I discovered several cool things just by looking through piles of records from bands that wanted to tour. Groups like Caspar Brötzmann Massaker (Petey's kid), Toby Dammit (a Dutch band, not the current one), Death by Milkfloat, etc. and Thule. I never heard anything else by them, but I love this 12" EP. They did get the album that followed at my local record store, but it was super expensive, so I never bought it. v_v

Phonogenix "Hymns for Savannah"

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Phonogenix
Hymns for Savannah
12" EP
(Eastern Works, 1984)

I picked this up because I'm a big fan of Masashi Kitamura, best known for leading the prog/post-punk band YBO². I'll likely be posting stuff by them at some point, in addition to his other groups Canis Lupus, Differance and The Spectremen.

Quartz "Quartz"

Quartz
Quartz
LP
(Marlin, 1978)

I found this one in the "New Arrivals" bin at my fave local record shop two or three years ago. I knew it couldn't possibly be the NWoBHM* band Quartz, despite never having heard either; it just didn't look like a metal record (it was also from 1978, just a bit too early to be NWoBHM).

It looked worth the risk, so I snatched it.

YES, I PAID FOR IT!

I slapped it on the victola when I arrived home and discovered it was a disco record; the first disco record I'd bought in my life, in fact. Except it sounds like a disco version of Magma. Unfortunately, side two is rather pedestrian disco.

They released a second album, Camel in the City, and it, too, was half really cool and half strictly dullsville.

Yes, this means I now own two disco records; oh, the shame!

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*New Wave of British Heavy Metal