|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CD
|
|
ABDT 049CD
|
Volume 3 in the series of Sun City Girls singles, compilations, and rare tracks, consists of material recorded between the mid-1980s and early 1990s. Much of this collection reflects the Arabic guitar instrumental and acoustic pseudo-Asian vocal folk styles of the band from the period when they recorded relentlessly. The 14 cuts vary wildly in scope yet maintain a consistent listening experience throughout, bridging a wide gap between the band's second full-length LP Grotto of Miracles (Track 3 -- "Gum Arabic" -- being the only true outtake from that recording session) in 1986 and the 1993 launch of the group's Abduction label after the band relocated from Phoenix to Seattle. All four tracks from the Eye Mohini single as well as all six tracks from the Borungku Si Derita double single are included here, the latter featuring a vicious rehearsal version of Esoterica of Abyssynia with a rare captured occurrence of both Bishop brothers playing electric guitars. The remaining two tracks from Three Fake Female Orgasms double single not included on Volume 2 of this series are present with the extremely rare studio version of "Kickin' the Dragon" from a triple 7" box set released by an obscure Bay Area label in 1994. The disc is rounded out by a 10-minute live track from the Heinz Afterworld Lounge in Oakland from 1992 where SCG closed the show with a heavy and ecstatic version of "The Flower" from their Torch of the Mystics LP. As in the previous two volumes of this series, this CD is sequenced to play as a full album and is an excellent entry point for the non-initiated into a band that produced as diverse and intimidating a back catalog as any other entity in modern music.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
ABDT 045CD
|
Repressed, one of 2010's most highly regarded albums. In stunning fashion, Sun City Girls' final studio record caps a 27-year run for what many hail as the most bizarre, eclectic and provocative musical trio ever assembled. From the delirious intro of "Ben's Radio" to the final drum crash of the title track, Funeral Mariachi delivers 11 well-crafted gems which display the refined studio production side of SCG shrouded in that otherworldly glow which has always separated the group from their contemporaries. Beyond the gorgeous folk and vocal styles which drive the album, there is a heavy retro Italian cinema influence, Arabic and Indonesian references, and a ghostly psychedelic moodiness throughout. Post-production and final mastering was completed by the Bishop Brothers after the untimely death of Charles Gocher in 2007 and the results will not disappoint followers of this impossible-to-describe unit. Funeral Mariachi provides a perfect introduction to the more melodic sector of the SCG universe surfacing, ironically, at the end of their career in the form of what someday should become one of the most beloved records they ever created. CD pressing housed in a beautiful, heavy-duty, 24-point, full-color mini-LP replica-styled gatefold jacket with the back cover photo taken during the last SCG photo session in 2006.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
ABDT 010CD
|
Originally released as a limited edition LP of 1000 copies in 1998, this is another mysterious soundtrack work by Sun City Girls, featuring guest appearances by Eyvind Kang, The Ruins and Jesse Paul Miller. The music flips back and forth from melodic and reflective themes to shards of noise and collective improvisation. Throw in some clarinet lounge music and spooked-out drama and you have the backdrop to a film that was never completed, explained further here from the original liner notes by Alan Bishop: "A nervous, stuttering Japanese gentleman phones me in the Fall of 1995 requesting soundtrack services from Sun City Girls for his new film project about a secret underground alien base in New Mexico most commonly referred to as 'Dulce.' The real kick for us came when our new Japanese friend finally announced his allegiance to the esoteric Aum Shinrikyo group most famous for the sarin gas poisoning in a Tokyo subway not long ago. He also professed to be a former associate of Aum technical minister Hideo Murai who was killed by a Korean hitman in April of 1995. Murai joined the Aum priesthood in 1986, becoming the head of its science unit focusing on the current state of electromagnetic weapons development including EM beams using lasers and plasma. We flew to Japan to perform a few shows in April of 1996 and a clandestine meeting was arranged with our mysterious director friend on one of our days off in the electronics district of Osaka which happened to be less than a mile from where we were staying. So Doctor Gocher and I pretended to take a souvenir-gathering stroll down the hill and met 'Hachiro Maki' (a pseudonym, I'm sure) nearby in a temple courtyard. After thirty minutes of reviewing rough cuts on his swivel-screen Hi-8 camera and discussing the necessity of anonymity in today's international fast lane, we were one million yen richer with an 8mm tape in my back pocket. Haven't heard from him since..." --Alan Bishop, 1998
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
ABDT 002CD
|
Originally released as a limited edition LP by Abduction Records in 1994, and released on CD for the first time ever, this is an essential yet overlooked Sun City Girls recording consisting of various electric and acoustic tracks with a few compositional ideas rarely heard or revisited in their immense back catalog. And when we say compositional, we mean improvisation as composition which was basically the SCG method of operation in the studio. The record opens with two patented SCG stretched electric guitar/bass/drum works of dark beauty and then things become weirder as odd keyboards, acoustic instrumental and percussive pieces, and strange vocals start to dominate the rest of the album, setting the mood for Piasa... Devourer of Men which was recorded directly after Juggernaut. These tracks were exclusively created for a short film project by Mark Roman Bodnar and Kyrill Kazemirovitch Protsenko (a Ukraine/USA co-production) which resulted in a limited promo VHS release and a few festival screenings before the film was buried and forgotten. Segments from many of the ten tracks were actually used in the film, although there is much more to hear on the original full-length cuts found here. Some of the most unusual SCG studio recordings are contained on Juggernaut, all recorded live to 4-track cassette in 1993 in Seattle by Scott Colburn.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
ABDT 003CD
|
One of the strangest and most overlooked Sun City Girls recordings, Piasa... Devourer of Men was originally released on vinyl in 1994 and went out-of-print almost immediately. The record contains a series of short, folk-based tracks of raw beauty and intense moods. Most of the tracks were recorded in 1993 right after the completion of the Juggernaut soundtrack and some of the same ideas carried over into this project. A young and enthusiastic Italian director by the name of Antonio Pomola contracted SCG to create these recordings for his new film. The film was never completed and perhaps it was only an idea, but if it were to ever manifest, this music would certainly seem to fit the story line and the director's vision; the legend of a giant pre-historic flying reptilian terrorizing an early 1800s Indian tribe in Midwest America. Most of the tracks were created with acoustic instruments and voice and, with the exception of two tracks, the entire score was improvised. Recorded live to 4-track cassette by Scott Colburn, there is a strange, cohesive feel that runs throughout the album including several ceremonial and pan-ethnic tracks. Some cuts are completely indescribable. Reissued here on CD for the first time on Abduction, here is your chance to finally hear the cigarette played as a percussive instrument in an ashtray on the track "Nighthunting," among many other highly unique SCG tracks. Last copies, deleted edition.
|