Aurgasm

acoustic instrumental // film score

A month ago, I was taking a drive with my friend Christin who was in town. She was visiting her boyfriend, however after a three days of together-time, they were arguing non-stop. During our ride, she went on and on about her boyfriend and how much of an petulant asshole he was and all that. And then right in the middle of it all, she paused. I thought something was quite wrong. But Christin waited a beat and said, “I really like this song.” That’s exactly what ‘Tarnation’ will do – it’s relaxing melodies just grab you and elevate your mood. The song has a simple repetitive structure with guitar, piano, and cello forming the body. It’s the title theme from the award-winning documentary Tarnation which is set for release on DVD Tuesday.
Powerful music from a quiet sound.

Max Avery Lichtenstein – Tarnation
movie trailer for Tarnation
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argentinian singer-songwriter // latin guitar // downtempo

The energy of Up, Bustle and Out, the passion of Gotan Project and the chill-out feeling of Thievery Corporation combine to form Federico Aubele’s rich sound collage. His hypnotic guitar lines and mellow rhythms cross and layer with jazz and Latin music, for a thrilling, yet soothing sound. Federico is releasing his long-awaited album Panamericana in September, a follow up to his seminal 2004 album Gran Hotel Buenos Aires. “En el desierto” perfectly captures the feeling of this passionate new album.

Distinctly Latin and sensual.
Federico Aubele – En El Desierto
Federico Aubele – Ante Tus Ojos
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indie folk // singer songwriter

Javier Dunn may be an unfamiliar name to most, but the singer-songwriter has years of experience under his belt. The Los Angeles-based songwriter has been playing guitar since he was 10, put out his first full-length album in 2006, and has been playing guitar with Sara Bareilles since their days at UCLA. Despite spending an incredible amount of time on the road as part of Sara’s band, he’s managed to release another EP, Vessel, earlier this year. The new EP features “If You Go,” an folk-pop gem that is as refreshingly catchy as it is sincere. His stripped down cover of Miike Snow’s “Animal” isn’t on the EP, but remains a particular favorite of mine. Javier’s take on the electropop hit highlights the plaintive lyrics without sacrificing a groove that keeps the track moving. Like, “If You Go,” Dunn’s version of “Animal” is vulnerable, heartfelt and unerringly catchy. Take a listen to both tracks below and see for yourself!

Gorgeous melodies and aching lyrics.
Javier Dunn – “If You Go”
Javier Dunn – “Animal” (Miike Snow cover)
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chilled electro // synth-dance

Observing a healthy balance between pop appeal and experimentation, the German duo Booka Shade concoct unusual blends of modern 4/4 sketches and timeless listening titles. They emerged as an electro-house outfit, but their latest CD, Movements, takes a more measured, deliberate approach to electronic music, reminiscient of Sasha’s excellent work on Airdrawndagger. My fave from their new LP, “Body Language”, has this round bass from the keyboard dials intermingling with a surgical precision with a guitar sounding like its strings are wet bamboo. A remixed cut of the track won the last “Ibiza Track of the Season” award. “Mandarine Girl” features heavier synth chordal progressions posed against a four-to-the-floor bass beat.
Considered musical taste with mass-appeal sensibility.

Booka Shade – Body Language (interpretation)
Booka Shade – Mandarine Girl (album version)
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singer-songwriter // indie folk // soundtrack maven

Even if the name doesn’t ring a bell, chances are you’ve heard at least two of his songs. “Blue Eyes” and “Ride” were both featured on the soundtracks for “Garden State” and “The Last Kiss,” respectively. Don’t let that deter you. Cary has the incredible ability to home in on a variety of emotions, whether it’s heartache or defiance or a little of both. Each feeling is magnified, and while listening it’s as if at any moment you’ll burst into a million pieces.

If you had your own soundtrack, he’d be on it too.
Cary Brothers – Honestly
Cary Brothers – If You Were Here (Thompson Twins cover)
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electronic // ambient // soundscape

Susumu Yokota has released a somewhat ridiculous thirty (ish) albums over the last fourteen years, mainly in Japan and mainly in the house/techno genre. Over here in Angloland, though, he’s best known for his ambient electronica that’s a chilling sort of blend of The K&D Sessions and the Myst soundtrack. It’s all layers of hum, echoing bells, and sparsely shaken beats, and blends dreamily into one, beautifully rich canvas of sounds. The tracks here are from his 2002 The Boy and the Tree; his other ambient albums are Sakura, Grinning Cat, and Magic Thread.

Eerily hypnotic.
Susumu Yokota – Grass, Tree And Stone
Susumu Yokota – The Colour of Pomegranates
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Since Aurgasm’s launch over two years ago, I have been putting all of aurgasm’s mp3s in this folder called /tracks/. If you had pulled it up in your web browser, it was a directory listing of all the music I’ve posted for the past 6-8 months. What you may consider a treasure trove for you, the IFPI (essentially a worldwide RIAA) considered it a violation of the DMCA. The Digital Millenium Copyright Act is what the RIAA uses to sue dead grandmas without computers, claiming they’re sharing mp3s.

So what happened the other day?

Thursday, the IFPI contacted my webhost and had them remove all the mp3s on my site. No further legal action is being taken (that’s a good thing), but all of aurgasm’s music is gone for the moment.

…and thank you.

I appreciate the outpour of support everyone has given. Fellow bloggers have been educated by my mistakes and supportive of my plight. Aurgasm’s readers have eager to help; offering to document their purchases that came from this site and more. For the moment, be comfortable and sit tight. Things will hopefully return to normal quickly.

So what now?

Aurgasm will continue to feature your favorite music you’ve never heard, but we’ll be thorough in obtaining permission to share the music we need to share. Up to now, a good portion of the music on Aurgasm has been posted with artists’ (or their representatives’) consent, though not all. I am eager to put Aurgasm’s music back online, but need to first get legal consent from all artists to share their wares. I’m in the midst of communications with the IFPI to rectify the situation.

With sage advice from EJ of Loudersoft, I fired off this email to the IFPI this morning:

To Whom It May Concern:

1) I have permission from the record label, PR company or the artist directly for many of the tracks posted on my site. Additionally, some of them are not copyrighted whatsoever, therefore it’s unlawful to claim to represent the copyright for all of them.
2) If there are any specific examples of tracks that you consider to be in violation, you are required under U.S. jurisdiction to provide me with complete and full disclosure of the specific offending items.
3) If you fail to respond to this with the appropriate information on or before November 1st, 2006, I will assume that the IFPI is withdrawing their DMCA complaint, that it has no further merit, and that I am exempt from future action on this claim.

-Paul Irish
http://aurgasm.us

Stay tuned for more music and hopefully less drama. :)

acoustic jazz // world

Moroccan-born, Paris-based songstress and multi-instrumentalist Hindi Zahra is truly a world artist. Her debut album Handmade (2011) embodies the spirit of American jazz and blues traditions, Django Reinhardt’s gypsy guitar rhythms and North African beats. Sung nearly entirely in English with occasional Berber whispers, Handmade ranges from smoky ballads to soulful urban blues. In “Beautiful Tango” Hindi’s sweet vocals, acoustic guitar, light hand percussion, and overall easy jazz style steal your heart away.

Soulful grooves with a tinge of Morocco.

Hindi Zahra – Beautiful Tango
Hindi Zahra – Imik Si Mik
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Jazz // Rhythm // Soul

Nostalgia 77, also known as Benedic Lamdin, is a prolific producer of Jazz with a highly developed sense of rhythm. On the 22nd of March his new LP The Sleepwalking Society will be released on Tru Thoughts. This is officially the fourth Nostagia 77 studio album and it has taken almost four years since the previous release. In the mean time he has worked with Jazz legends Keith and Julie Tippett, played with Larry Stabbins of Stonephace and produced for Sara Mitra & Lizzy Parks. Last year he released two albums on his own Impossible Ark imprint: the afro-funky project Skeletons Smile LP and an afro-latin influenced project with Hugo Mendez titled Rhythmagic Orchestra. See discogs for an extensive list of his work. Out now is the single “Simmerdown” featuring the warm vocals of german Josa Peit (also on soundcloud). Josa provides all vocals on the upcoming LP, of which the track “Cherry” is included below. More material by Josa Peit can be found on her soundcloud.

Grooves for your jazzy moods.
Nostalgia 77 – Cherry
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