comp: LatinAmeriCarpet

"Marcha A La Turca"

Sublime Frequencies comps are the best way to take a cheap vacation. No matter where you are, time and place fall by the wayside, as you slip into whatever culture the SF guys curate or record. Bali, Thailand, Syria, Algeria, wherever they go, you go. Recently I've been vibing on the label's Latinamericarpet: Exploring the Vinyl Warp of Latin American Psychedelia Vol 1. The exceptional compilation, even by Sublime Frequencies standards, proves an apt intro to the smoldering sounds of South America, covering traditional Latin folk, '60s/'70s weirdo radio pop, and blistering tropically infused psych rock. For whatever reason, the tracks that really hit me are all Argentine, which makes sense as more than half of the record, culled from Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Peru, and Isle de Pascua (Easter Island), were birthed in Argentina. The blistering garage psych of "Pequeno Salvaje" by Reno, Los Travieso's "Cuando Sea Grande," a teenage Os Mutantes rip off (in a good way), and vinyl warped infant folk-pop of "Tecnicas De Concentracion Y Relajacion Yoga/ Don Din Don" each show Argentine culture fusing with Western aesthetics and feature the growing influence of psychedelia. A must for fans of obscure psych, tropicalia and the like.

Reno- Pequeno Salvaje
Los Travieso- Cuando Sea Grande
Los 4 Planetos- Dos Guitarras

mp3: Night Recordings from Bali

"Rubber Television"
Sublime Frequencies, aka the guys who brought us the un-fucking-believable Radio Thailand series and the equally as "oh my god, my mind is expanding and contracting" 1970's Algerian Proto-Rai Underground, began their run as psychedelic field recording masters with Night Recordings from Bali in 2003. I probably didn't notice because I was lost in the haze of, well, anything and everything that may create a haze. The third release by Sublime Frequencies, Night Recordings from Bali captures the heat of an Indonesian night, the breathing void of the jungle and the mystic rhythms of its people on a record that for many may a) make them go crazy; b) hypnotize them into thinking they can quit smoking; c) help them identify every living particle and molecule in their body, in order to create a lifesize illustration of themselves with colored pencils. Caught in its cryptic claws, I am speechless, so I'll let Sublime Frequencies describe this extremely, and I do mean extremely, far-out beast of a compilation. WARNING: YOU MAY SEE GHOSTS.

Beneath the creeping exterior of a pseudo-western culture slowly overtaking an amazing tradition of unique human expression, the moods of [Bali] are governed by magic and superstition. The hills, forests, rivers, and crossroads are alive with tales of demons (Leyaks) and a flesh-eating Ogress (Rangda). A lesser-known darker side of Balinese life secretly balances the lighter side "tropical paradise" of tourist brochures. This CD is composed of field recordings from August and September of 1989. The majority of the recordings were made at night in and around the villages of Peliatan and Ubud. Amidst the excerpts from Gamelan performances, rehearsals, and Ketchak, are sounds of the surrounding forests and mysterious crossroads where packs of dogs seem to take on forms of angry demons. Also encountered here are odd folk stylings for flute and drum, outdoor village theatre, and other various sound anomalies from the Balinese interior.

If you have any interest in the occult, shamanism, mysticism, drugs, darkness, extreme psychedelia or the forest, this is a must listen. That means you, you bong'd out liberal arts student studying the Polynesian Influence on 21st Century Psychedelia and Aural Healing.

Peliatan Night Walk/Gamelan Rehearsal
Legian Minstrals