Sunn O))) Will Be Selling 3 LP Grimmrobe Picture Disc @ 10th Anniversary Shows

Stephen O'Malley posted that Sunn O))) will be selling a limited edition (500 copies) of a three LP picture disc of the Grimmrobe Demos on their upcoming 10th Anniversary Tour.

SOMA provided no description as to what is on the third disc. I've tried zooming in on the picture but it looks like the writing is reversed so it is hard to make anything out. Obviously, this will go quick and likely end up on eBay the same night of the show.

Sunn O))) are only playing four shows in the US for this mini-tour. Here are the tour dates:

10/10/2008 Safari Sam’s - Los Angeles, CA w/John Weise, more TBA
www.safari-sams.com

10/12/2008 Berbati’s Pan - Portland, OR - Fall Into Darkness Fest

10/15/2008 Knitting Factory - New York, NY w/Tony Conrad and Thou
http://ny.knittingfactory.com

10/16/2008 First Unitarian Church - Philadelphia, PA w/Thou and Earth
http://www.r5productions.com

Links:
Southern Lord

Trees - Lights Bane CD Review (Crucial Blast)

Lights Bane is the debut release from Portland's Trees. Trees play extreme doom metal and an immediate point of comparison is Khanate. There are only two songs on Lights Bane, "Nothing" and "Black", but both songs clock in at over 10 minutes each.

It is great to see a band step up and take over where Khanate left off. Like Khanate, Trees music doesn't utilize a traditional song structure. Waves of feedback, guitar and electronic noise are combined with vocalist L. Smith's tortured shrieking and murmuring to create a tension and a musical texture that is both disturbing and engaging.

This style of funeral doom/drone isn't for everyone but fans of the genre should find Trees' debut engaging.

Links:
Trees' MySpace profile

KTL (Stephen O'Malley + Peter Rehberg) Play the Knitting Factory on May 21st

KTL, which is a fairly new project from Stephen O'Malley (Sunn O))), Khanate, Burning Witch, etc.) and Peter Rehberg (Pita), is finally playing some US dates. I don't think SOMA has played many live dates in NYC since the demise of Khanate so it is great to see this show scheduled.

According to Wikipedia, KTL was "formed to create the music for a theatre production entitled Kindertotenlieder by Gisele Vienne & Dennis Cooper. The production was premiered in Brest, France in March 2007. " Aquarius Records describes the band's sound as "minimalist ambient music, electronic glitchology and Earthy guitar sludge [that] make a fine sipping brew."

KTL maintains a live archive where past shows can be downloaded. A good starting point for anyone wanting to check out KTL is either the 9-25-07 show in Japan or the 4-30-07 show in Austria.

Don't miss this rare appearance at the Knitting Factory...

Links:
Stephen O'Malley's Website

KTL (Stephen O'Malley & Peter "Pita" Rehberg) - Legal Music Download

Here is the Wikipedia entry for KTL:

KTL is a group consisting of Stephen O'Malley (SunnO)))) & Peter Rehberg (Pita), formed to create the music for a theatre production entitled Kindertotenlieder by Gisele Vienne & Dennis Cooper. The production was premiered in Brest, France in March 2007. The duo have also played other shows not associated with the Kindertotenlieder production.

The band played a small handful of shows earlier this year in Europe and seven shows (I would assume this is all the shows that KTL played) are avilable for download from the KTL Live Archive (link) and iTunes. Thus far I have listened to the May 31st show from Bristol and really enjoyed it. The music is similar to the output from bands like Throbbing Gristle and it is a bit less dark and "evil" than recent Sunn releases.

It seems that almost every band is filmed and clips are added to YouTube. Why should KTL be any exception?


Looking for the following upcoming releases from KTL:
THRILL 188 KTL 2 double gatefold vinyl (on Thrill Jockey)
RATHER 16 KTL 3 12" (on Or)

Links:
Stephen O'Malley's Home Page (link)
KTL's MySpace Page (link)

James Plotkin & Tim Wyskida (x-Khanate) to Play Water Street Lounge in Brooklyn on Jan 19th

James Plotkin & Tim Wyskida (x-Khanate) are playing the Water Street Lounge in the DUMBO section of Brooklyn on Januray 19th. The picture on the left is from James and Tim's current CD, "8 Improvisations", which was released earlier this year. This came out on the Archive CD label and was limited to 1,000 copies. Archive CD has sold out of the copies they had but James might have some remaining copies for sale at the show. Plotkin's webstore describes this release as "guitar/drums duo of fierce jazznoise invention and buzzing dronescapes. "

Also on the bill is Tartar Lamb & Hazel-Rah. Tartar Lamb is the duo of Toby Driver and Mia Matsumiya (of Kayo Dot), put together specifically to perform and record Toby's long-form violin and electric guitar duet, "60 Metonymies," and with the potential to move on to other pieces in the future. Tartar Lamb will be augmented by the participation of Tim Byrnes (trumpet) and Andrew Greenwald (drums) of The Friendly Bears for the tour and tape.

Water Street Lounge has great sound and sightlines (and last time I was there, there was plenty of free street parking) so this show is ceretainly worth checking out.