Taking from minimalism and romanticism at the same time their debut, Musique du Crépuscule, released by the Portuguese dark arts label Equilibrium Music has succeeded in creating an epic debut which managed to positively surprise us.

One of the most frequented bands here on undomondo is Portland rockers Grails. Somehow they manage to more than one release each year and we feel like you wanna hear all about them, because they deserve it.

Their new one Doomsdayer’s Holiday has an all-out sinister aura, which sounds as if its coming off some medieval alchemy den in the Arabian Peninsula. Although there are mellow and atmospheric pieces like the “The Natural Man” or “Acid Rain” some pieces like the title track or “Predestination Blues” where Sun City Girls‘ Alan Bishop shows up for the vocals, sound like the aural accompaniment to Rabelais’ Gargantua.

The 4 piece mix drony & post-rocky elements with sludgy riffs creating atmospheric conditions that might turn the lead in your house into gold or summon a beast from the netherworld if played at the right volume and for the right duration. Out on Temporary Residence, and thanks to 5 Roses Press for the promo. Check our tumblr for more Grails videos.

R.: Can you live off your music right now?
Alex Hall: No, we all have jobs. I work as a chemist, Bill [Slater]’s a bartender, Emil [Amos] works at a homeless shelter, Zak [Riles] is a bodyguard. Interview with Grails’ Alex John Hall

Continuing our soulful hiphop tour, renowned beatdigger Steve Ellison aka Flying Lotus is soon to have his sophomore album “Los Angeles” out on UK’s Warp. His debut “1983″ on Carlos Nino’s (Ammoncontact / Build an Ark) Plug Research was very well received and so was his “Reset EP” on Warp, which is pure gold!. His music has the mellow chords & laidback soul that you’d expect from LA Scene characterized by Plug Research, but he doesn’t refrain himself from using more electronic sounds which might appeal more to fans of Warp. Dark cosmic soundscapes accompany clappy beats giving his music an eerie and dystopic cinematic quality.

He’s a grand nephew of the late Alice Coltrane and it seems family tradition has once again produced a notable musician in touch with cosmos. He’s been doing bootleg remixes to Kelis and Oizo as well and he is carrying the torch ignited by J Dilla, Madlib and co. to different heights.

Flying Lotus - Beginners Falafel
Flying Lotus - Tea Leaf Dancers (feat. Andreya Triana)
Flying Lotus - Bonus Beat

I received a mail from our fellow steppa head Golem, saying that the dubstep selection isn’t complete without these tracks. Here are his oneliners and his selection.

* Jakes : Nuff respect for Mr. Jakes for being one of the best dnb MCs around and now he steps into the dubstep scene as a producer. Big thingz! Label: Hench /

* Vex’d : Everyone was waiting for this and finally it came out! This one tears down the place, big tune!! Label: Planet Mu / Boomkat

* Distance : Distance once again shows that dubstep is not only for dancing. This is so deep and moody… Label : Chestplate / Boomkat

PS: Updated the youtube blog with great videos from Lee Scratch Perry, Black Mountain from Pitchfork.tv, Holger Czukay, Pocahaunted, Kaki King, Soft Machine, Atlas Sound and Valet.

Distance - Present Day
Jakes - Titan
Vex’d - 3rd Choice

Here’s a quick recap of dubby releases I’ve enjoyed this year. I’ve limited this selection to dubstep andubstep, but there’s lots of roots Jamaican music I’ve shortlisted that I might post here.

All 2008 releases from Ikonika, Appleblim & Peverelist, hiphop queen Georgia Anne Muldrow’s newest project Pattie Blingh & The Akebulan 5 , Benga’s new one Diaries of an Afro Warrior, new single from Kode 9 and The Spaceape, and 2 releases from the end of 2007 namely Boxcutter’s Glyphic on Planet Mu and Skream’s massive Oskilatah on Skreamizm Vol. 4.

Ikonika - Please
Appleblim and Peverelist - Circling
Pattie Blingh & The Akebulan 5 - Brother: The Point (2562 Remix)
Kode9 & The Spaceape - Konfusion
Benga - Zero M2
Boxcutter - Skream - Oskilatah

david schweighart
thanks for listening to this record

For the third and final part of our Austrian Autumn Winter Special, David Schweighart discharges a cornucopia of Folk-, Psychedelica- and chamber Pop-influenced lo-fi goodies he kept secret for a long time. His album incorporates calm improvisations and simple Folk-tunes, exhausting experiments and rich orchestrated Adult Pop. His “Prager Lovesongs” are touching at first go, “Ich Bin Gleich” and “In Die Sonnne Lachen” are delicate and advanced pieces for guitar, cello, trumpet and the inescapable harmonica. “Eisstockschiessen” (as heard on Moreover Mödling) and the warm and drony remix of Lukas Scholler’s “Opticplus” (from his critically acclaimed At Land EP) are highlights, too.

Get the full release here

muhr / eric adrian lee
anthèmes pour les regrets

Equally influenced by various forms of electronica, film music, Folk and Postrock, Muhr is about organic Ambient music. Vince’ compositions and improvisations fathom the space between synthesizer oscillation and guitar delay, they focus on background noise and the spatial hiss of his lo-fi recordings.

Get the full release here

David Schweighart - Ich bin Gleich
David Schweighart - Eisstockschiessen
Muhr - Le Cycle est sans Retard
Muhr - Our Tired Souls

It’s hard not to fall in love with Phalangius who references Infocom text adventures (Zork anyone?), murder mysteries, toy planes, mathematical theorems, ZX Spectrums, of retrofutures gone wrong and past lifes stuck in limbo. I mean you can go back and play Infocom text adventures all the way, but you can never feel how you felt while you were playing them the first time. Or think about the time when you logged into your first BBS/irc chatroom and felt the dissonance that these were indeed real people without any physical presence. It’s ultra normal to be online today and you don’t even see a 5 year old (nor a 75 year old) being amazed by talking to people without any physical contact. Anyways this is one topic I’m easily fascinated with and I can go for hours, it’s like this place you see in your dreams that you can never reach physically or your personal history that you can never go back directly and the only key to those times seems to be music. Out on Strange Life Records which is an ambient & electro haven for obscure gems like these.