In the Fishtank [EP]

Amazon.com's Best of 2001
Low are well-practiced in the art of using less to inspire more. Their minimal indie-rock melodies create somber moods with sparse instrumentation. Every chord, staggered drum beat, or note from front woman Mimi Parker's voice hangs in the air with the importance of a slow-motion raindrop falling to a parched earth. The Dirty Three are equally conservative with their skills, creating emotional flurries by simply dragging a bow across a violin, or strumming a note from a guitar, sometimes building the two into a storm of sad beauty.

It was a brilliant mind, then, that schemed to bring Low and the Dirty Three together for In the Fishtank, a natural fusion of Low's woeful elegance and Dirty Three's delicate folk. As Parker croons like a country girl with a broken heart, these somber lullabies stretch like lost rural highways across the post-rock landscape. Although it's a sonically quiet album, it's beautiful in its simplicity, saying so much in so many pregnant spaces. The final track, "Lordy," is definitely the standout, though, sounding like an old gospel gem that builds intensity as the bands jam around the lyrics "Lordy, save my soul/ From sinning/ From myself." Overall, In the Fishtank is an inspired set of material that will make slowcore fans hope these greatly talented bands record together more often. --Jennifer Maerz

Product Description
In The Fishtank is a project of Konkurrent Onafhankelijk Muziekbedrijf. In this collection of short-length recordings, Konkurrent invites bands to whom they are strongly related to record while touring Holland. These bands are given 2 days to put down on 24 tracks 20-30 minutes of whatever they like: regular songs, funny versions, improvised pieces. 6 tracks. 2001 release.

In the Fishtank,Low,Dirty Three,In the Fishtank,Pop,Rock,Rock/Pop

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In the Fishtank [EP]

Average customer rating: A beautiful 30 minute gem Smooooth Soothing Review taken from ALL MUSIC GUIDE by THOM JUREK Consummation at last!

In the Fishtank Low , and Dirty Three Manufacturer: In the Fishtank ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Experimental Rock | Rock | Alternative Styles | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Experimental Music | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music Similar Items: Things We Lost in the Fire Secret Name The Curtain Hits the Cast I Could Live in Hope Trust ASIN: B00005AQAA Release Date: 2001-05-22

Tracks:

1. I Hear... Goodnight
2. Down By The River
3. Invitation Day
4. When I Called Upon Your Seed
5. Cody
6. Lordy

Amazon.com's Best of 2001

Low are well-practiced in the art of using less to inspire more. Their minimal indie-rock melodies create somber moods with sparse instrumentation. Every chord, staggered drum beat, or note from front woman Mimi Parker's voice hangs in the air with the importance of a slow-motion raindrop falling to a parched earth. The Dirty Three are equally conservative with their skills, creating emotional flurries by simply dragging a bow across a violin, or strumming a note from a guitar, sometimes building the two into a storm of sad beauty.

It was a brilliant mind, then, that schemed to bring Low and the Dirty Three together for In the Fishtank, a natural fusion of Low's woeful elegance and Dirty Three's delicate folk. As Parker croons like a country girl with a broken heart, these somber lullabies stretch like lost rural highways across the post-rock landscape. Although it's a sonically quiet album, it's beautiful in its simplicity, saying so much in so many pregnant spaces. The final track, "Lordy," is definitely the standout, though, sounding like an old gospel gem that builds intensity as the bands jam around the lyrics "Lordy, save my soul/ From sinning/ From myself." Overall, In the Fishtank is an inspired set of material that will make slowcore fans hope these greatly talented bands record together more often. --Jennifer Maerz

Album Description

In The Fishtank is a project of Konkurrent Onafhankelijk Muziekbedrijf. In this collection of short-length recordings, Konkurrent invites bands to whom they are strongly related to record while touring Holland. These bands are given 2 days to put down on 24 tracks 20-30 minutes of whatever they like: regular songs, funny versions, improvised pieces. 6 tracks. 2001 release.

Customer Reviews:

A beautiful 30 minute gem.......2001-07-26

I love this cd! Except for perhaps the last song.. this has some of the best vocals I have ever heard. It's amazing... especially since it was recorded in two days! I like the crooning style on this one compared to "Things We Lost in the Fire". Mimi has a beautiful voice.

Smooooth.......2001-06-22

Damn, this is a yummy CD. So smoooth. So sad...

Soothing.......2001-06-17

This is a very smooth sounding cd. It's simplicity is what makes it work so well. The best of both bands have collided and the aftermath is beautiful chaos. I was not too keen on the idea of vocals over Dirty Three's instrumentals, but with the addition of Low's frontwoman she proved that it can be done. A nice short cd for all sorts of atmospheres. Definetly suggest giving it a listen.

Review taken from ALL MUSIC GUIDE by THOM JUREK.......2001-06-06

In late 1999, the Dutch label KonKurrent invited Minneapolis band Low into an in-house studio to record one of the label's near-legendary In the Fishtank sessions: Bands have two days to record between 20-30 minutes of all new material of their choosing. Also touring at the time were Low's pals, the Australian instrumental dynamos the Dirty Three. Low invited them in, and in the same collaborative spirit as another In the Fishtank session involving Tortoise and the Ex, this half-hour session is the document. What is truly amazing about this hookup is how natural these two bands sound playing with one another. Low has been striking out lately, playing different kinds of material while keeping its signature slower-than-slow approach to songwriting. The Dirty Three has taken a more melodic and dynamically restrained tack since their landmark Ocean Songs recording of a few years back.

Of the six songs recorded here, none is more successful that the nearly ten-minute cover of Neil Young's "Down By the River." Mick Turner's trademark guitar style opens the work with lots of brush and cymbal work. It's unrecognizable for the first five minutes; it's just an opening shimmering drone with guitar strings wafting in and out of the atmospherics before Low's Mimi begins singing the verse and Alan teams with Turner to entwine guitars. And when Warren Ellis' violins slip into the middle of the stream, the eerie effect is complete, and the trancelike motion of the song takes hold and won't let go until silence takes over.

The other five tracks are sensual Low originals full of longing and resplendent minimalism. The D3 hold their place in the Low mix, painting it out over a vaster, more colorful expanse, creating more space in their trademark suffocating mix. Alan and Mimi croon together, singing like lovers rather than as bandmates on "Invitation Day." Mimi's vocal and Turner's guitar playing sound enmeshed on "When I Called Upon Your Seed." Drummer Jim White is also a perfect foil for Low; his off-time washes of brush and muted rimshots split the notion of time in two, making the vocal and the tune's time signature two separate entities in a sea awash with the driftwood of the other instruments. Alan's harmonium and organ and Turner take the tune out with Ellis' haltingly shimmering strings. He opens "Cody," however, with the most lonesome, forlorn fiddle line this side of Hank Williams' "Six More Miles to the Graveyard," though it echoes Fartein Valen more than country music. This is really the D3 with Low lending textural ambience and structural balance. It's full of a haunted, hunted beauty that only the D3 can muster up, and it is enhanced by the addition of Zak Sally's bass playing. The disc closes with "Lordy," featuring Low's Alan (providing banjo accompaniment) and Mimi in a gospel-drenched duet before the D3 kick in full-tilt with sawing violin from Ellis tearing the tune apart from the inside; Turner plays slide and counters him to keep in it in a blues mode as White and Mimi duke it out on the trap kits. Turner's scree ends just as the banjo re-enters and Alan forlornly pleads for his soul to be saved as the track just falls apart before ending properly.

This is a studio collaboration that works. It's half an hour of music made from the heart of goodwill and the desire by six musicians to do nothing more than play together to see what happens. What resulted is some of the best material either unit has produced.

Consummation at last!.......2001-05-24

Low and Dirty Three have flirted for a long time...touring together, releasing dual singles, and praising each other in the press. Well, after a long long courtship, they've finally recorded together, and the outcome is worth the wait.

I was nervous that this album would be nothing more than Low backed with D3...or Dirty Three with Mimi's voice as an extra texture. But both bands have recently moved away from their dissonant pasts (Low's left behind their gothy beginnings and Dirty Three's become far more melodic than punk), and this album feels like the destination both bands were heading towards: beautiful, homespun, needle-edged songs filled with longing and hope.

The most amazing thing is hearing how the bands fit each other like a hand in a glove. I never missed vocals on Dirty Three albums until I heard Mimi's voice float over Warren's sorrowful violin, and I never missed complex counter-rhythms in Low's music until Mick Turner and Jim White filled out their sound with D3's trademark strums and brushed snares. The two together find something each band was missing. Hopefully this album's the start of a longer relationship, not just a one-off experiment. It's too natural for that.

Average customer rating: quality covers wonderful

In the Fishtank, Vol. 12 Karate Manufacturer: In the Fishtank ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Punk | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Experimental Rock | Rock | Alternative Styles | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Experimental Music | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music Similar Items: Blobscape Geneologies ASIN: B000091SQ0 Release Date: 2005-02-22

Tracks:

1. Strange Fruit
2. The Only Minority
3. Tears Of Rage
4. Bob Dylan Wrote Propaganda Songs
5. Need A Job
6. This Ain't No Picnic
7. Colors
8. A New Jerusalem

Customer Reviews:

quality covers.......2006-01-30

a must have for any karate fan. must admit, i'm sad to hear they are no more :( i like the concept of the fishtank series... 2 days of studio time. the pressure is there, time is of the essence. karate delivers in classic fashion.

wonderful.......2005-02-23

first off, the warning. if you are a karate fan, dont get excited expecting new karate material, because these are all covers.
now, that stated...go ahead and GET excited, because this is still a GREAT disc.
if you dont know anything about the fishtank series, basically it's a european label that gives touring bands 2 days of studio time to record an ep, then they release it. the results are a little inconsistent, to say the least.
that's not the case here. karate picks a very odd mix of songs to cover, but the results are great. these are all done in karate's style and after tracking down some of the orignals, they do an amazing job with them.
if you are a karate fan, you OWE it to yourself to pick this up. these songs end up sounding like they could have been older karate songs, and since i would guess the average person isn't going to know most of these songs...it's not even like a covers album.
the ONLY other warning i give, this is a short disc. more like an ep than a cd, but well worth the price of admission.

Average customer rating: I prefer ISIS. Excellent Ambient Rock in Tradition of Red Sparowes One Great song....... oh god....... My favorite of 2006

In the Fishtank, Vol. 14: Isis & Aereogramme Isis & Aereogramme Manufacturer: In the Fishtank ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Experimental Rock | Rock | Alternative Styles | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Experimental Music | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music Similar Items: In the Absence of Truth Clearing the Eye Every Red Heart Shines Toward the Red Sun The Ties That Blind Enter ASIN: B000050KYO Release Date: 2006-10-10

Tracks:

1. Low Tide
2. Delial
3. Stolen

Album Description

"In The Fishtank" is an ongoing project of Konkurrent, an independent music distributor in the Netherlands. Chosen musicians are given two days studio time and freedom to do whatever they like musically. On this edition, while both bands are known for their love of metal and post-hardcore with an experimental and spherical approach, they not only show these skills here, but they also add an impressively high level of purity, roominess, and emotion. It's the analog warmth that makes the songs tender, organic, imminent, and fragile.

Customer Reviews:

I prefer ISIS........2007-07-19

This album is short and sort of boring. I am an ISIS fan and had never heard of Aereogramme. It is worth a listen, but not very many. Some may call ISIS boring for their oscillating, repetitive music, but this album lacks ISIS' signature way of making that sort of thing interesting.

Excellent Ambient Rock in Tradition of Red Sparowes.......2007-04-25

I'd never heard of Aereogramme when I got this album, but they really improved on what I believe to be Isis's single weakness. One of my pet peeves in heavier music has always been the "metal grawlp" voice. I love the music behind Isis, but whenever that snarling voice comes in and starts ruining the music, I'm apt to simply change albums - especially if I'm listening to music while I'm programming. It seems unnatural to have complicated, mature musical progressions punctuated with senseless, adolescent screams. This album removes that single wart from Isis and the result is an excellent album/ep. Hardcore Isis fans may be disappointed with what is essentially a progressive rock ambient album in the tradition of Red Sparowes.

This album will appeal to those Isis fans who enjoy Explosions in the Sky, Godspeed You Black Emperor, Red Sparowes, and perhaps even Cult of Luna (less the aforementioned metal grawlp voice).

Those who enjoy the snarling, frenetic sections of Isis tracks, Jesu, Godflesh, and heavier drone bands such as Boris and Sunn-O)) might look elsewhere.

One Great song..............2007-02-22

and one pretty good one. The third and final song is too sparce for me. The album is worth it for the first song alone though. A real epic and truly a meshing of both artists best points. Wonderful!

oh god..............2007-01-23

Sorta tedious, tolerable. Isis definently lost thier edge over the years. i can wash dishes to this.

My favorite of 2006.......2006-12-15

I like Isis but never heard of Aereogramme. I must say the combination works great. I listen to theis cd a lot. It's not heavy like Isis but more like Red sparrowes only better.

Average customer rating: Tortoise' horrid sounds collaboration Absolutely horrific. Incredible Work anything even associated with the Ex... tortoise it's not

In the Fishtank Tortoise & the Ex Manufacturer: In the Fishtank ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Punk | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Experimental Rock | Rock | Alternative Styles | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Experimental Music | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music Similar Items: Every Red Heart Shines Toward the Red Sun ASIN: B00000IN5X Release Date: 1999-05-18

Tracks:

1. Lawn of the Limp
2. Pooh Song(Christopher Robin's Nightbear)
3. Central Heating
4. Pleasure as Usual
5. Did You Comb?
6. Huge Hidden Spaces

Amazon.com

Even with the knowledge that the Ex has legs in the Dutch free improvising and avant-garde jazz scene, this collaboration with Chicago's Tortoise is an odd one. The Ex are customarily on the unmistakably political, musically spastic side of the fence, while Tortoise revels in complex rhythmic mazes that explore layered rhythms. So you can easily imagine a band as seemingly cerebral and measured as Tortoise getting tugged hard into noisy sloshing when in cahoots with a band like the Ex. And they do do considerable sloshing on this EP, though they always maintain a flooring that varies the rhythms and keeps the Ex grounded. The atmospherics are all Tortoise, with Jeff Parker's guitar making floats over the rumbling, ready-to-pounce bass and creeping drums. No, this isn't typical Ex material and, without a doubt, it's not Tortoise's main fare, but it's also not a far cry from either outfit. Part manic noise, part manic depth, part manic ambiance, it's an intense, demanding session. --Andrew Bartlett

Album Description

1999 CDEP recorded for the 'In The Fishtank' series, features the joint forces of Tortoise & The Ex creating six tracks of undeniable strangeness and charm. Standard jewel case.

Customer Reviews:

Tortoise' horrid sounds collaboration.......2004-04-07

The Ex. brings poor vocals and dischord to the the Tortoise table. These aren't even 'poor vocals' that have character to them which grows on a listener, they're just plain annoying. If your a listener that wants enjoyable sound, stay away from this album. If you're a the type that gets some intellectual satisfaction from acrid sound and The Ex.' "punk message" [whatever it is] then give it a listen.

Absolutely horrific........2002-04-06

I would rather listen to someone dragging fingernails over a chalk board. Or perhaps the sound of ten thousand cats being chopped to bits in a combine.. or any number of otherwise god-awful noises. Train wrecks, explosions, you name it, and it would surpass this "album" by miles. This is probably one of the worst "albums" to ever be created in the history of music. I honestly feel pain and sorrow for the poor CDs that get this garbage encoded on their surface. I feel for the machines that have to press the albums. I feel sorry for anyone and anything that ever comes into contact with this "album". It's just so completely awful that language barely scratches the surface in describing just how mind-bendingly audaciously egregiously offensive this album is to existance itself. Don't buy it if you value your soul.

Incredible Work.......2002-03-12

I recently had the pleasure of letting award-winning poet Marie Howe listen to this album. She described it as the sublime and the shadow of the sublime working at the same time. Really abrasive, sonic rhythms from the Ex make for a nice combo with the tight, melodic orchestrations of Tortoise. An unthinkable collobartion with indescribable results.

anything even associated with the Ex..........2000-07-26

is worthy of 5 stars. I don't overwhemingly enjoy this album, but respect it nonetheless. I'd advise some of the other reviewers below to do a little more homework and understand what the Ex has meant to socio-political music over the last 20 years...not to mention their contribution in merging punk/jazz and improvisational styles and some of the most amazing polyrhythmic drumming and rhythms I have ever heard and/or seen.

Sad that this site only offers a few Ex recordings, when I myself have around 20. Please, to those who appreciate real music with a human message and performers who actually "practice what they preach", seek out the Ex and all of their side projects (Kletka Red, etc.). You won't regret it.

And please don't forget that Tortoise invited the Ex to join them for these sessions--they obviously understand what so many of us know...

tortoise it's not.......2000-02-11

tortoise is a great instrumental band and it should stay that way

Average customer rating: Instant Composing guitar noise from the jazz end finally something interesting this is really experimental stuff Unlistenable.

In the Fishtank Sonic Youth & I.C.P. & the Ex Manufacturer: In the Fishtank ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Punk | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Experimental Rock | Rock | Alternative Styles | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Avant Garde & Free Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Experimental Music | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music Similar Items: SYR 1: Anagrama SYR 6 Sonic Youth Hold That Tiger SYR 2: Slaapkamers Met Slagroom ASIN: B00006L3P9 Release Date: 2002-10-08

Tracks:

1. III
2. IV
3. V
4. VI
5. II
6. VIII
7. IX
8. X

Album Description

Sonic Youth joins I.C.P.-Jazzers Han Bennink, Ab Baars and Wolter Wierbos, plus Luc and Terrie of The Ex. It only took them only one day to record, in between two hectic HF shows. The result was as unpredictable as we hoped for, delicate, abstract and elusive miniatures that fit in the tradition of Jazz rather than into the frame of pop-music. 8 tracks. Konkurrent. 2002.

Customer Reviews:

Instant Composing.......2003-11-25

I imagine there are people who will hear this album and dismiss it as crap. Random sounds and notes strung together without any rhyme or reason. But those are the people who think that "music" is just what you hear on MTV, and this is certainly not the cd for them. This is all about walking into a studio with no plans, or ideas, and just making art. They don't try to shape it into something beautiful or pop sensible, they just let it happen, and that in itself is beautiful. It's unusual, for sure, but that doesn't make it bad. So much music out there is just copying the Beatles, or the Clash, or Elvis, or whatever, but this cd is 100 percent original.

guitar noise from the jazz end.......2003-11-20

There are some albums that you never imagined existed, but when you see them you have to get them right away; this was one of those for me. 'What's this? New Sonic Youth? With ICP and The Ex?!' How could I resist? So I picked it right up, and it didn't disappoint. From the thoughtful (if not quite delicate) drum salvo that introduces the first tune to the exhausted guitar sigh that ends the intense last number, the album is a delightful record of a moment of true musical communication.

There's a definite jazz feeling about this recording, and it's due to more than just the presence of two ICP Orchestra horn players and ICP drummer Hans Bennink's guiding hand. The whole thing was recorded in just one day, and as there aren't any 'tunes' we can safely imagine that everything presented here is a first take: the things that didn't turn out as well just didn't make it onto the record. This means that the emphasis is on the interplay between the musicians, who let us listen in as each number develops from the grain of an idea into a complete whole.

Of course, there are people (probably lots) who will say that they don't pay to hear development, and that anyways all this just sounds like noise. In reality, though, the tracks on this album are far from homogeneous. I won't say they 'repay careful listening,' because that would just mean they don't sound good from the start: what they do repay is listening for more than one superficial second and then saying 'I don't get it.' 'IV,' the second track (as free improvisations the tunes don't have titles, and the numbers aren't all in order), is held together by a fractured electronic walking bass line provided by Ex bassist Luc Ex, while the guitars, horns and percussion gradually swell over it into a wall of sound and then recede again into individal exclamations. 'V' is a duet between Wolter Wierbos' muted trombone and a guitar (Thurston Moore, is my guess), backed up by delicate percussion playing, while 'VI' features probing clarinet explorations (from Ab Baars) over halting bass figures. The last track, 'X,' has the most regular rhythm of anything on the album, but the beat still seems to grow organically out of the improvisations, and feels all the more powerful for that (the drumming on this one is a thing of beauty).

Fans of Sonic Youth should be aware that this album is much more like the SYR series than it is any of the Sonics' more commercial recordings, but that shoudn't turn them off. The noise on this record is just an extension of things like 'The Diamond Sea' and 'Karen Revisited,' with the addition of other thoughtful musicians--some of whom inspired Sonic Youth to begin with--and you can hear the joy that all the participants in this musical communication. It sounds good for its own sake too.

finally something interesting.......2003-02-20

this is entertaining for anyone with an open mind, otherwise go buy a dave mathews album

this is really experimental stuff.......2002-10-24

I am a big fan of Sonic Youth and all of their records. I specially like their noisy stuff for their own label: SYR. This is just like those ones. So if you like them, get this one; but if you don't, you better don't try.

Unlistenable........2002-10-20

"Only took one day to record?" I'm not surprised. I just wonder why.

Average customer rating: Breathtaking! Solbakken -- one of the world's best unknown bands Beautiful Aguish in the fishtank, drowning at the bottom...

In the Fishtank, Vol. 11 The Black Heart Procession , and Solbakken Manufacturer: In the Fishtank ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Experimental Rock | Rock | Alternative Styles | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Experimental Music | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music Similar Items: 1 Another Desert, Another Sea Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea Finally We Are No One Ys ASIN: B000189WY6 Release Date: 2004-03-09

Tracks:

1. Voiture En Rouge
2. Dog Song
3. Nervous Persian
4. A Taste Of You And Me
5. Things Go On With Mistakes
6. Your Cave

Album Description

"In The Fishtank" is the ongoing project of Konkurrent, indie music distributor in the Netherlands. They invite musicians to record and give them two days studio time and the freedom to do whatever they like. Here, Black Heart Procession and Dutch prog rockers Solbakken become sparring partners, the result ending up somewhere in the land of Bad Seeds, uncovering a bag of Morricone leftovers that had been tossed behind a large container of old new wave favorites.

Customer Reviews:

Breathtaking!.......2007-05-30

I have been missing out! I am so sorry that I am just now hearing this treasure. Words do not define the beauty of these two artists together. Just stunning. I love the piano and could listen to Voiture en Rouge over and over. As has been mentioned, I detect similarities of Nick Cave of old.

Indulge yourself and listen to first rate artistry!

Solbakken -- one of the world's best unknown bands.......2004-05-08

If you like this CD, you must seek out more Solbakken! They've been around since the late 1980s, first releasing four albums under the name Lul then changing membership slightly and reemerging with five brilliant albums as Solbakken. Their third and fourth albums, "Zure Botoa" and "Klonapet," were my favorite releases of their respective years (2000 and 2003). They mix excellent melancholy lyrics/singing with chiming, propulsive guitar/bass interplay, sort of like "EVOL" era-Sonic Youth meets My Dad Is Dead. Nothing against prog, BTW, but in *no way* are they a progressive rock band. Check them out at www.Solbakken.nl.

Beautiful Aguish.......2004-04-01

I don't know anything about Black Heart Procession or Solbakken, but after hearing this collaboration, I plan to.
I'm amazed at the idea that these two different groups could put this together in two days. I don't know how much post production happened, but even so, some great ideas and songs came out of this little weekend's worth of work.
I really must commend the brooding piano work as it really forms the spine of most of the tracks. The vocalist's work is the other real stand out on all of the tracks. I should say also that there are some really great instrumental work throughout the bass and guitar on track 5 especially.

There is a lot to compare this with. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds piano anchored work, Radio Head's recent albums, the lyrics of Matt Johnson, the anguish of Ian Curtis. This falls into a little sub-genre that has no name that I've ever heard, but that includes the performers I've already mentioned, as well as Tom Waits, P.J. Harvey, Some of Leonard Cohen's work, and several others.

I'm particularly blown away by track 5 'Things go on with mistakes'. This anti-anthem was worth the whole price of the CD and having so many other good tracks made the whole thing a steal.

in the fishtank, drowning at the bottom..........2004-03-17

it's like listening to the musical equivalent of Camus' the Stranger. listening to the Black Heart Procession... it's like being thrown to the bottom of the ocean in a burlap sack. Voiture en Rouge transport you to another time, brings a tear to your eye. Nervous Persian is the musical equivalent of a full body shiver. Things Go On With Mistakes is an eleven minute seánce, conjuring, cajoling Ian Curtis from the great beyond. Pall's vocals play like another instrument in each song, barely registering at times, but unmistakable and beautiful (i focus mainly on BHP, not having heard of Solbakken before. but rest assured, i am now looking for more of their music). very highly recommended.

Average customer rating: J44 Primer Like Choclate Grasshoppers, When You Are a Choclate Fan hello "For Fans Only" Fun on the high seas

Fish 6 June Of 44 Manufacturer: In the Fishtank ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Punk | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Experimental Rock | Rock | Alternative Styles | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Math Rock | Rock | Alternative Styles | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Experimental Music | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music ASIN: B00000K5BB Release Date: 1999-10-19

Tracks:

1. Pregenerate
2. Generate
3. Henry's Revenge
4. Moder Hereditary Dance Steps
5. Every Free Day A Good Day
6. Degenerate

Customer Reviews:

J44 Primer.......2001-07-12

The "In the fishtank" series by KonKurrent has been amazing and this contribution by June of 44 is, perhaps one of the best in the series. The EP was recorded over a short period of time and, usually, with just what's in the studio at the moment or what the band itself brings. This gives a spontaneous feel to the session and allows the musicians to really experiment. J44 is one of the few solid low-rock groups out there (surpassing, by far, the current college loved groups Tortoise & Low). The gems on this brief disc are _Every good day a free day_ ( a track which has found its way into permanate mix on my tapes) which is a funkish tune that rides a bassline that you'll find yourself tapping out in your more bored moments at work or school and the track _Modern Hereditary Dance_. Let no one tell you otherwise, June of 44 is a group of skilled and progessive musicians that are helping to define a new genre. For those of you new to J44, this EP is a good introduction and for fans or geeks, we know that the fishtank series is quickly becoming the most signifigant invite series since John Peel's sessions, with every group featured mindfully furthering musical boundaries.

Like Choclate Grasshoppers, When You Are a Choclate Fan.......2001-01-31

Before anyone says anything about this record, it should be understood that it was recorded in a short period of time as an experimental. So to say the least, this is going to be really strange. June of '44 isn't exactly a pop group, so this is going to be a step out there. The band seems to attach some special import to the idea of generation with this one. It's easy enough to understand on the first track...it indeed sounds like a spontaneous jam session, a group of musicians brooding, experimenting. Eventually they reach forth into the pretty standard "Generate", a song with definite structure. It's nothing great but unmistakeably June of '44. The third track, "Henry's Revenge" is a relaxing instrumental centered around a noodly guitar riff. It's pretty good June of '44, a new direction for them. The rocking "Modern Hereditary Dance Steps" is by no means a return to the past, but drives ahead at a pace I think the band has only reached on "Sharks and Sailors". It's probably the best track of the batch, which doesn't really say much. After that, it's pretty downhill. The last two tracks are really nothing to speak of, both wallowing in the funk-obsessed doldrums that the band occasionally sunk to in its later years.

So obviously, this is nothing great. For serious fans, it's a must have, but if you were hoping for a return to the boat rock days you'd be best advised to get out and do it yourself.

hello.......2000-02-04

this EP eludes the greatest of gods. by a freak coincidence i saw them while in france on vacation, and my god are they impressive live. Buy this cd. support your local june of 44.

"For Fans Only" Fun on the high seas.......1999-10-28

Well, this kind of came out of the blue. I haven't talked to one person who knew this was coming out before it hit the stores. Anyway, in my mind June of 44 can do no wrong, so I really enjoy what's on this little EP. However, this is a Fishtank session, which means that this is sort or self-indulgence and isn't meant to be an album proper. If you're a fan, get it. An added incentive...anyone who saw June of 44 recently and heard a few songs you'd never heard before...they're on here

Average customer rating: BILLBOARD MAGAZINE review by BRADLEY BAMBARGER Jan 19 2002

In the Fishtank Willard Grant Conspiracy , and TeleFunk Manufacturer: In the Fishtank ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Alt-Country & Americana | Country | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Similar Items: Mojave Everything's Fine Regard the End Flying Low There But for the Grace of God ASIN: B00005UKQF Release Date: 2002-01-22

Tracks:

1. Twistification
2. Cuckoo
3. Grun Grun
4. Near the Cross
5. Just A Little Rain
6. Dig A Hole In the Meadow

Customer Reviews:

BILLBOARD MAGAZINE review by BRADLEY BAMBARGER Jan 19 2002.......2002-02-07

The latest "In the Fishtank" pairing - in which Amsterdam's Konkurrent
label pairs two bands in the studio for an open-ended EP session -
features offbeat Americana ensemble the Willard Grant Conspiracy with
Dutch electronic act Telefunk. (There is some common ground here, in that
Willard Grant frontman Robert Fisher produced two albums by the Cords, two
whose members are in Telefunk.) Like most "Fishtank" productions, the
course of this disc is marked by real peaks and troughs. But the two gems
that book-end the set - "Twistification" and "Dig a Hole," subtly updated
takes on age-old folk traditionals - are more than worth the price of
admission. Fisher's back-porch baritone weaves a born storyteller's spell
as it courses through the lonely sound-scapes provided by the partnered
ensembles. Distributed in the U.S. by Touch and Go.
--Bradley Bambarger

Average customer rating: swimming with the fish grrrrrrreat!!!

In the Fishtank Motorpsycho , and Jaga Jazzist Horns Manufacturer: In the Fishtank ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Norway | Scandinavia | Europe | International | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Styles | Music Jazz Fusion | Jazz | Styles | Music General | R&B | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music Progressive Rock | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music Similar Items: Animal Chin A Livingroom Hush ASIN: B0000C8YMV Release Date: 2003-10-07

Tracks:

1. Bombay Brassi
2. Pills, Powders and Passion Plays
3. Doffen Ah Um
4. Theme de Yoyo
5. Tristano

Customer Reviews:

swimming with the fish.......2003-10-16

This is the ultimate chill out record. Winds and horns never sounded so good.

grrrrrrreat!!!.......2003-10-09

This is one of the best ecclectic cd's in my collection. The horn section is really good, I especially like the tenorsaxophone...

Average customer rating: YOU WILL LOVE THIS CD If you love Snuff you'll love this First purchase, just arrived in the UK!

In the Fishtank Snuff Manufacturer: In the Fishtank ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Hardcore | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Punk | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Punk-Pop | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | American Alternative | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music General | Rock | Styles | Music ASIN: B00000IN5T Release Date: 1999-05-18

Tracks:

1. Match of the Day
2. Pen Blywd Happus
3. Bananas
4. Guinevere
5. No Tenemos Bananas
6. Rods' N'Mockers
7. VI Har Inge Bananer
8. C'Mon Kids Let's Do the Head Bang
9. Wir Haben Keine Bananen

Customer Reviews:

YOU WILL LOVE THIS CD.......2000-09-04

Snuff is the greatest band on the scene, if you havent heard snuff, get this cd and you will see how weird they are, and the weirder they get is the better!!

If you love Snuff you'll love this.......1999-07-23

The boys did it again. Crazy, funny, and short ala snuf

First purchase, just arrived in the UK!.......1999-07-08

With such classics as Match of the Day and Bananas your onto a winner. Not the longest of CD's(well when you go at it like snuff you'll be lucky to fill half a CD with a full album!) but well worth it. And if you worship Satan(or Santa) then the last track is dedicated to you.

Rap Music:

1. Innocent Eyes [Import]
2. Into the Sun
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4. Lifeblood [Import]
5. Light [Extra tracks] [Limited Edition] [Import]
6. Lizzie West [EP]
7. Mindrevolutions
8. Nice [Explicit Cover] [Explicit Lyrics]
9. Ogden's Nut Gone Flake [Deluxe Edition] [Import]
10. One Year [Import]

Rap Music

rap music

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Bridge Over Troubled Water [Extra tracks]

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Barcelona