WOEBOT

I just discovered a great break-out of the BYG releases here. As you can see most of the releases are Afro-American Free Jazz, recorded beautifully and respectfully. It might even be the greatest collection of Free Jazz records! There are more sought after labels, like the ridiculously rare Jihad Records and one can't rule out the Free Jazz output of Blue Note, but there's something very vibey about BYG. I have Mu parts 1 and 2, Gracan Moncur's "New Africa", Sonny Sharrock's "Monkey-Pockie-Boo" and The Art Ensemble's "Reese and the Smooth Ones"~ that's probably enough to be getting on with.

However, eight of BYG's releases weren't Jazz, and they're all very interesting records. Michel Puig was an unassuming-looking bloke who I know nothing whatsoever about. "Stigmates", which I found in Bristol when mice were men, is unintentionally silly "whistle-burp" Contemporary music. Other Avant-Garde records BYG released include Terry Riley's "The Germ", recorded in Sweden with schoolchildren (if memory serves) and MEV's allegedly magnificent "Leave the city" which (to quote Forced Exposure): "...features floating, droning free music freakouts of the finest cosmic quality..." Jim Backhouse swears by it and apparently there's a photo on the back of them riding naked on horseback! Ooh la la!

(tears the Puig from the turntable)

This by Brigitte Fontaine may even kick "Comme A La Radio" into touch. Wistful, drugged-out, echoated folk music sporting the most exquisite 'rainy-streets' songs with Areski's North-African instrumental inflections. Love this, and very proud of my Paris-purchased original.

There were other Rock records on BYG, I've seen a Gong record and recently discovered a heavy blues-based band called Freedom who recorded for the label (crap). WOEBOT regulars may remember me mentioning this Ame Son recording way back when. I should have bought it at the time, but this is a Get Back label reissue and, fuck it, it'll do fine. Really stunning LP. The geezers at Gnosis remark on its similarity to Can, and they're not mistaken. The drumming, though it pedals backwards, and doesn't rocket off into the stratosphere, is the split of Jaki Liebezeit. The sound is identical to that of "Father Cannot Yell"-era Can, that raw garagey psychlike squall. Your notice Can's name dropped so often, it's a real shock to hear something which does actually bear some resemblance to them. I suspect it may be a case of both Ame Son's honed chops and, duck all you Jazzophobe Rock-crits, a strong Jazz influence. That's a much-ignored factor to Can's sound. People forget Liebezeit was an alumni of Alex Von Schlippenbach's Global Unity Free Jazz Big Band. Elliptically wasn't Mitch Mitchell an Elvin Jones groupie? That Ame Son, who have a Gong connection via Bananamoon, have such a righteous connection to Jazz (being on BYG'n'all) well it stacks up.