Portland, Oregon  based indie label Timber Carnival Records has many great artists on their roster and have pressed several releases with us. This is the second one I’m telling you all about; a split 7″ released in limited 250 copies.

First side (depending how you look at it) is Joel P West and the Tree Ring‘s tune “Dreams Where I am Sleeping.” A somber and minimalistic tune with drum, guitar, strings and a beautiful voice. It’s a perfect mix of reflection with simple, yet deep lyrical content.

Alternatively, the other side contains a collective of area musicians that go by the name Norman. They were formed initially by Eric Nordby in 2004 and eventually became a large group of individuals whose “exploration in music, art, and culture” really make the ears happy. They contribute “No Clouds”, which you can hear a live version from the Doug Fir in Portland here on YouTube.

Day Job Records is an indie label set up by Stuart Anderson (of indie band Leisurama)Greg Chastang in the UK.

Recently we had the pleasure of pressing a 2 track EP for one of their clients, The YuYa. “Naked” is the A side, and is one of the catchiest and original indie tunes I’ve heard in a long time. Not too much, not too little, it features fun vocals, smooth rhymes and a steady bongo beat.

Check out some videos of YuYa on their YouTube (ha!) channel here.

There is also a great writeup about Day Job Records here at The Unsigned Guide, a great website for indepedent music, musicians and labels.

We recently pressed 1984 by Unseen/Deeflux from the UK.

Deeflux – Emcee – From Cove Grove, Farnborough. Writing since the age of 18 he has over time found his style and niche in the UK market. Working with various producers and helping to run the successful Hip Hop night ‘Holdin’ Court’, Deeflux also founded underground label F.A.N Records and in 2010 joined the Millennium Jazz family.
He is currently working on releases with Louis Unseen (1984 – featuring Genesis Elijah, Dr Syntax & Gadget) and super producer Brother Beatbox (Natural Selection – Rhythm By Numbers featuring Wildchild, Guilty Simpson, Dr Syntax & Sonny Jim and many more) as well as taking up the role of HipHop producer at 103.7 KaneFM

Louis Unseen – Producer/Scratch DJ – hailing from the South West of England and knocking out beats for the past 5 years, Louis Unseen has a very strong work ethic and an eclectic production style that is both sample base and compositional. Not to mention his abilities as a live DJ whether it be to keep the crowd moving or contribute to a showcase.
He has worked for/with various artists on the underground circuit including the likes of Dr Syntax, Prem C, Jolly J & H-to-0, Genesis Elijah, Blaise MC, Sons Of South, Beit Nun, Sandman & DJ Halabi, to name a few. In 2009 Louis joined MJM and released his debut release ‘Never Unheard’ and since then has been an integral member of the Millennium Jazz Movement providing production and cuts for the whole squad as well as other outhouse collaborations. He is currently working on the ‘1985’ LP with Deeflux featuring Genesis Elijah, Dr Syntax & Gadget.

One of the most fresh and inspired hip hop albums I’ve heard in a long, long time.

Times New Viking are a lo-fi noise pop trio from Columbus, Ohio. This single, “No time, No hope” has been stuck in my head ever since I first went through our archive of music here at Mobineko.

I was also amused by their play on the ’08 Obama campaign logo and catch phrase “Hope”.

If you want some fun, quirky music that is sure to make you want to dance around be be giddy, this is surely for you.

Not to mention, how perfectly lo-fi their music video is, to support the sound and emotion from the recording. You can check out their video here on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQJvAXOohoU

Be sure to purchase their album on Matador Records here  http://www.matadorrecords.com/store/index.php?catalog_id=383

“Do the Gipsy Thing” Dead Brothers founder member Pierre Omer’s second solo album is due april the 9th on Radiogram Records!

One year after “See what’s hidden” his debut album Pierre Omer is back with “Do the Gipsy Thing” a new album that was recorded on the road between Madrid and the South of France with spanish drummer Santiago Rapallo.

“Do the Gipsy Thing” takes you down into gold mines in Africa, tells you the story of Willy Wolf (a swiss butcher), dances to the sounds of Haitian drums, gives you primitive switzerland cooking lessons, explores american roots music, gives you gipsy driving lessons, you’ll hear a cover of “Shadazz” a song by the New York city band Suicide, you’ll hear beautifull lullabies and much more!!!

Pierre Omer sings, plays guitar, piano, accordion, bass and glockenspiel. Santiago Rapallo plays drums, lapsteel, vibraphone, organ, ukulele and sings backing vocals.
Guest: Julian Israelian: Homemade lapsteel (Samsonite orchestra) and drums.

A few years ago we got to press a double vinyl set of rare African recordings. One of my favourite releases, with it’s historic and amazing recordings. Here’s a quick writeup from a website about this release:

“Savannaphone have compiled one of the records of the week in this remarkable documentation of early recordings from Burkina Faso. Also known as the Upper Volta, this region of West Africa had little resources to commit the newly emergent Urban music of their country onto record, meaning the CVD label, whom these tracks are all licensed from, had to make the long journey to Kumasi in Ghana and Benin to record and press up poorly mastered copies of this amazing music. All the tracks here were recorded between 1974-78, featuring a large number of cuts by or featuring Super Volta, the label’s key band and covering previously unheard fusions of psyche-rock with heavy funk and a deadly African flavour. The knackered quality of some of the tracks actually enhances the psychedelic experience, at times sounding like Jamal Moss is attacking them with his unhinged EQ techniques, but ultimately we’re just grateful that these tracks even exist on record, giving us an invaluable glimpse into another time and place entirely. A massive recommendation for anyone who picked up the amazing ‘Psyche Funk 101′ comp or has fallen in love with the Honest Jons label!”

If you’re lucky, you can still find copies of this online, but it has sold out of many places very quickly!!

http://www.dustygroove.com/item.php?id=k44n64zp4g

Cheapskate released their debut album in early 2010 with us, called “Un Film Imaginaire”. 12 quirky, freeform jazz, with bits of witty organ, psychedelic rock and spacey lyrics.

We released their 12 tracks on a 4pp superpack with plastic wrap. He took a sweet photo of the finished product and put it on Flikr. Here is the finished product.

You can check out their Bandcamp page here.

Below are the front artwork and a scaled-down version of their 4pp template.

The City Kill are a 4 piece band from Copenhagen, Denmark and are described as a post-punk noise-rock band. I hear a lot of progressive rock, YES style playing in their work, but can also see where they’re coming from. With inspiration from The Birthday Party, Crime & the City Solution, Nico, The Gun Club, and many others, they have created a unique and interesting style all their own.

In Feb 2011, we pressed their EP “Days Full of Joy” on a smooth 7″ EP with only 250 pressings. You can hear their audio and download their album on their Bandcamp link.

You can also check them out on Facebook as well.

We’ve recently had the honour of pressing for Trazmick Recording’s band Dem Suite which they had used a Kickstartercampaign to raise funds for pressing their CD. Phenomenal! This is a very unique way of raising money to press and promote their 4th release, “Delphinus” which is quite frankly, one of my favourite CD’s to listen to in recent memory.

This group is from San Francisco, CA by Connor O’Sullivan and Elliott Peck. With a mix of soul, electronica, and relaxing, smooth vibes.. these guys sure can’t be beat! Check out the album on Soundcloud for your listening pleasure, and be sure to pick up a copy of the CD today!

For more information, view Dem Suite’s official site, as well as their label Trasmick Recordings website.