Jan 132013
 

Then suddenly, once again, the BFG went into that magical top gear of his. He began hurtling forward with phenomenal leaps. His speed was unbelievable. The landscape became blurred and again Sophie had to duck down out of the whistling gale to save her head from being blown off her shoulders. She crouched in the pocket and listened to the wind screaming past. It came knifing in through the tiny peep-hole in the pocket and whooshed around her like a hurricane.

But this time the BFG didn’t stay in top gear long. It seemed as though he had some barrier to cross, a vast mountain perhaps or an ocean or a great desert, but having crossed it, he once again slowed down to his normal gallop and Sophie was able to pop her head up and look out once more at the view.

She noticed immediately that they were now in an altogether paler country. The sun had disappeared above a film of vapour. The air was becoming cooler every minute. The land was flat and treeless and there seemed to be no colour in it at all.

Every minute, the mist became thicker. The air became colder still and everything became paler and paler until soon there was nothing but grey and white all around them. They were in a country of swirling mists and ghostly vapours. There was some sort of grass underfoot but it was not green. It was ashy grey. There was no sign of a living creature and no sound at all except for the soft thud of the BFG’s footsteps as he hurtled on through the fog.

Suddenly he stopped. ‘We is here at last!’ he announced. He bent down and lifted Sophie from his pocket and put her on the ground. She was still in her nightie and her feet were bare. She shivered and stared around her at the swirling mists and ghostly vapors.

‘Where are we?’ she asked.

‘We is in Dream Country,’ the BFG said. ‘This is where all dreams is beginning.’ **

Please support the bands by buying their records and going to their shows. Click on each band name for more info.

6forty on twitter    ::    6forty on facebook    ::    mike@6forty.com

 

Swirlies – Intro / San Cristobal De Las Casas    [00:00]
Dead Red Sun – Caverns    [04:18]
And So I Watch You From Afar – If It Ain’t Broke…Break It    [07:58]
Lost In The Riots – Sentinels    [14:20]
Machines Learning – Bulletproof Tiger    [19:10]
Stereolab – The Noise Of Carpet    [23:40]
Enemies – Coco Et Moi    [26:43]
Wiltz – Doin’-a-deh    [30:30]
Gastric Band – Dustin Binman    [33:38]
Listing Ships – All Aboard The Andrea Doria    [40:34]
Midnight Movies – Time Of Year    [46:40]
Tannhäuser – U-Matic    [51:54]
You.May.Die.In.The.Desert – Hands    [57:02]
Long Fin Killie – Yawning At Comets    [61:23]

640.070 playlist.pdf

** The BFG by Roald Dahl, Trumpet Club Special Edition/Scholastic, 1982

 Posted by at 9:50 pm
Jan 012013
 

2012 was an outstanding year for new music. There were so many great releases – I really struggled to keep this list under 30! Apologies for not commenting about each record. My days are so consumed with family and (real) job that this list would have been delayed for weeks while I tried to find the time to write. Besides, text isn’t required – all of these records are fantastic and stand on their own without my additional words. You can click on each band/release name to be taken directly to their streams. The following is in random order – it’s too difficult for me to pick a favorite from such an amazing collection of records.

A huge thank you to the bands for sharing their music with us, and to all friends of 6forty for joining me on this grand adventure. Here’s to a peaceful and prosperous 2013!   – Michael

640.2012 releases

Wassermanns Fiebertraum   ‘Brandung’    released 17 April 2012

Leech   ‘If We Get There One Day, Would You Please Open The Gates?’    released 02 March 2012

Caspian   ‘Waking Season’    released 25 September 2012

Ana Never   ‘Small Years’    released 02 November 2012

Giranice   ‘Enea’    released September 2012

Swans   ‘The Seer’    released August 28 2012

Godspeed You! Black Emperor   ‘Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend!’    released 16 October 2012

Adolf Plays The Jazz   ‘Form Follows Function’    released 17 April 2012

Alpha Male Tea Party   ‘AMTP’    released 21 April 2012

Líam   ‘MMIX’    released 25 March 2012

Milhaven   ‘Automata’    released 17 January 2012

Pg.lost   ‘Key’    released 04 May 2012

Mental Architects   ‘Celebrations’    released 02 April 2012

Memory Drawings   ‘Music For Another Loss’    release May 2012

Frank Booth   ‘Constructs’    released 10 October 2012

If These Trees Could Talk   ‘Red Forest’    released 20 March 2012

What The Blood Revealed   ‘Harbour of Devils’    released March 2012

The End Of The Ocean   ‘In Excelsis’    released 29 June 2012

Bye Horus   ‘Archipels’    released 01 January 2012

Tacoma Narrows Bridge Disaster   ‘Exegesis’    released 02 February 2012

Sleep Lady   ‘So Long Lonely Ghost’    released 13 November 2012

Rumour Cubes   ‘The Narrow State’    released 27 February 2012

MinionTV   ‘The Last Projectionist’    released 28 July 2012

Red Room Cinema   ‘Apsis’    released 25 September 2012

Immovable Objects   ‘I’ll Know to Believe in Sparrows’    released 13 November 2012

Machines Learning   ‘Pendragon’s Lullaby’    released 01 May 2012

Near Light   ‘Near Light EP’    released 01 September 2012

Marriages   ‘Kitsune’   released 01 May 2012

640.2012 discovered

Barrows   ‘Imprecari Island’    released 09 June 2011

Lander Configurations   ‘Of Smoke and Fire’    released 02 December 2011

Fourteen Nights At Sea   ‘This Album Is Untitled’    released 30 July 2011

Cyril Snear   ‘Fluent In Seven Types Of Monotone’    released 24 April 2009

Lord   ‘I’    released 07 August 2011

640.2012 live

This Will Destroy You / February 10, First Unitarian Church

Caspian / February 24, The Studio at Webster Hall

Sleepmakeswaves / March 12, Milkboy

Mogwai / June 12, Union Transfer

Brontide / And So I Watch You From Afar / July 28, Kung Fu Necktie

Sigur Rós / July 29, Skyline Stage at The Mann

Dead Can Dance / August 26, Kimmel Center – Verizon Hall

Caspian / September 24, The Depot

Godspeed You! Black Emperor / October 2, Union Transfer

Swans / October 13, Union Transfer

640.2012 stream

Caspian   ‘Audiotree Live’

Dead Red Sun   ‘BeatCast Coach Road Session’

The Shaking Sensations   ‘The Obsidian Sea’

Swans   ‘The Seer’

Atsuko Chiba   ‘Animalia: Several States of Being’

Memory Drawings   ‘Live at Brewery Wharf’

 Posted by at 11:26 am