Auburn Lull - Alone I Admire (1999)

When I die, I'd like something apocalyptic to be the last music I hear. Beefheart's Trout Mask Replica, Stravinsky, Beethoven's 9th, recollections of these musical miracles spring to mind when I think about me taking my last breath. To hear Don Van Vliet grate my eardrums, and Pachuco Cadaver and the whole circus of the Magic Band, would be a beautiful last experience. Well, normal people would probably be satisfied with the ethereal tunes of the criminally unknown Auburn Lull.

Auburn Lull qualifies as dream-pop, ambient-pop, something like that. It's beautiful, just listen.

stockard drive
192kbps

Dog Faced Hermans - Those Deep Buds (1994)

I am not entirely sure at the moment if I have once told you all how much I love the Dutch band called The Ex. Anyway, they are a highly influential band who have made everything ranging from hardcore punk to African tribal music over the span of 30 years. This band, Dog Faced Hermans, is a band from Edinburgh, Scotland, who moved to Amsterdam and are closely related to The Ex. Andy Moor, formerly an Ex-member, has been in the band from 1990 until the disbandment in 1995.

Their music is just us powerful, underrated and unusual as the music of The Ex. This is their last album, because they disbanded a year later. Great band, hear this!

human spark
192kbps

Lee Scratch Perry - Arkology (1997)

I'm about to do something quite special, although I hope that everything that I post is in some way special. It's special because it is a unique document about Lee Scratch Perry. Lee Perry used to have a recording studio called The Black Ark, established in 1973, where he founded dub. Bob Marley and a shitload of other reggae artists recorded some of their music over there, but Perry was at its best when he was reworking these pieces, and that's what dub is about. In 1979, after a tough time for Perry, he took a magic marker, scribbled the walls full of unreadable doodlings, and burned The Black Ark down to the ground. All the Upsetters records were made there, Junior Byles' stuff, you name it.

On this 3-CD collection, all the best stuff that was created inside The Black Ark, a place that didn't have the best equipment available, but that still created some of the most sonically daring and innovative sounds in electronic music. Have a shitload of fun with this! It's all tagged the way it should be by the way, so just throw it into iTunes and listen away.

arkology part 1
arkology part 2
arkology part 3
320kbps

This Heat - This Heat (1979)

I posted the post-punk masterpiece Deceit a few months ago, and that album is one of those album that everyone just has to love. Marquee Moon is another example out of the post-punk field. Deceit is fantastic. It is haunting, it is tribal, and it's downright scary at times. I'm giving you a great quality version of their first album, called This Heat now. This Heat, the album, is not as magnificent as Deceit is, but it still is a very fresh studio document on how great this band was functioning around this time.

I recommend the John Peel sessions they recorded as well, and they did a very nice EP and an album called Repeat with three 20-minute songs on it. A band that has not a large oeuvre, but that still has made so much different music.

horizontal hold
320kbps

Gong - Flying Teapot (1973)

I posted the second album of the Radio Gnome Invisible trilogy a few months back, and I have to say that I like this album, the first in the trilogy, even more. I just think that Gong is, though part of the Canterbury scene, so much a band on their own, that is hardly a matter of being a prog-fan or not to appreciate this band. On the Flying Teapot there is so much going on, and I see the same going with bands like Magma and the Soft Machine, who's image is suffering, just because they are called prog.

Let Daevid Allen and his Gong do his stuff for you, and you'll see that you will automatically start to like them sometime.

the pot head pixies
VBR

Junior Delahaye - Reggae (1982)

So this is the real hidden gem we all were waiting for. Junior Delahaye was picked up by the American indie-reggae label Wackie's in the 80s, but apart from that, little is known of this fabulous record. Recollections of Junior Murvin spring to mind when one hears the voice of Delahaye and the six lengthy compositions are all very laid back (even for reggae) and mellow. But boy, it is so well executed.

And so our journey into reggae continues.

all i need is jah
VBR

Prince Far I - Dub To Africa (1979)

This is not a normal Prince Far I album, I warn you. On this record, Prince Far I's band plays amazing dub versions of his songs. The only thing Prince Far I himself does on this record, is announce the songs at the start of 'em. He does that marvelously, off course. His raw jungle voice is only needed at the start of each song to create the same effect that some singers need the whole song for to create.

And what's better than Prince Far I dedicating a whole LP to my favourite continent. Oh, and by the way: I'm going to Africa in April for a month. And as far as reggae and this blog goes: I've tried everything to keep reggae at a distance for a while, but it is just too strong at the moment. So I'm afraid Life As A Rehearsal is kind of turning into a reggae blog, if that is in any way a bad thing.

good music brother
224kbps

Big Youth - Screaming Target (1972)

I have to admit: this album owns it merit more to being revolutionary, than being the best in it sort. If you want you some good toasting, you should check out U-Roy or I-Roy, or wait until I post them, but Big Youth was arguably the first one who committed it to the tape machine. His delivery tends to get a bit same-ish, but still, his raw vocals do seem to have influenced Prince Far I. Big Youth also plays one of the bigger roles in the best reggae movie ever, called Rockers. Everyone who has been downloading my reggae over the months, should watch that movie! This week, I tell you!

Dr. Alimantado, Leroy 'Horsemouth' Wallace, Gregory Isaacs, Jacob Miller, Winston Rodney, Lee Perry, they all star in the film! Absolutely unmissable. In listen to this record in the meantime.

honesty
192kbps

Atahualpa Yupanqui - ¡Soy libre! ¡Soy bueno! (1968)

I'm so awfully sorry that I haven't posted anything in almost a month. I'm afraid that the eternal flame concerning my love for music, has been dying a bit in my heart. I have experienced this fact about three times before, and music always comes back to me. Anyway, I wanted to post this album for a long time. It is a low quality version of this record (128). I am pretty sure that it is the best quality version available on the internet, so please forgive me.

The music is too great to leave it unposted. Atahualpa Yupanqui is the artist name Héctor Roberto Chavero Aramburo, and he is an Argentinian folk singer. Very beautiful little songs, and I hope you will enjoy this record. And, if someone ever finds a better copy, please let me know.

soy libre
128kbps