Optical Atlas

Over the last couple of years, perhaps the only E6 parlor game more popular than “when will that second Circulatory System album come out?” (followed rapidly by “when will that Circulatory System bonus LP come out?”) is “when will the Major Organ and the Adding Machine DVD/Expanded CD come out?”  But, honestly, the great thing about Elephant 6 is that they usually make it worth the long wait (and those gaps are filled with so many of Montreal and Robert Schneider-related releases that the wait doesn’t really matter all that much).  Anyway, at long last the Major Organ and the Adding Machine re-release has been announced, but first a history: the 2001 album was one of the flagship releases of the Athens-based Orange Twin Records label, draped in the E6 logo and featuring an all-star cast from the E6-East universe, though none of them were named on the album.  (Nonetheless, it was pretty easy to recognize that prominent members of Neutral Milk Hotel, The Olivia Tremor Control, The Music Tapes, of Montreal, and Elf Power were contributing.)  The CD drifted out of print, though the LP remained generally available.  Although initial reviews of the concept album – a harrowing mix of avant-garde sound collages and psych-rock – were mixed, with some being very harsh, over the past nine years it has deservedly developed wider admiration and the requisite cult following.  For the 2008 Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise tour, Eric Harris  (OTC, Elf Power)  would begin each evening’s program with a screening of the Major Organ and the Adding Machine short film, which he co-directed with Joey Foreman: a years-in-the-works cross between music video and experimental children’s fantasy, telling the story of Madam Truffle, a bunch of people with beards, a giant lobster, and, um, other things that happen.  (It’s all great fun.)  A DVD was announced and then postponed, and postponed, and postponed again.

Now Pitchfork has announced the real deal: on September 14, Orange Twin Records will release the deluxe Major Organ and the Adding Machine reissue, which will feature the complete album plus seven bonus tracks, bundled with a DVD of the film and bonus features such as music videos, live footage, and other E6-related projects, perhaps some of which were featured in the Eric Harris-curated E6 film program which screened last year in Athens.

Conclusion: Viva Francisco! (Thanks to Kathy with a K for the head’s-up.)

Stroke: Songs for Chris Knox, the superior 2-disc tribute album to the Tall Dwarf’s Knox (and featuring E6 luminaries Jeff Mangum and Bill Doss, anong many other artists), is for today only available for purchase for $3.99 on Amazon.com as their “deal of the day.” If you haven’t picked this up yet, now’s a good time.

Stroke: Songs for Chris Knox at Amazon.com

Supercluster, the Athens supergroup fronted by Pylon’s Vanessa Hay (and including members of Circulatory System, of Montreal, Sound Houses, and Casper & the Cookies), is playing outside of Georgia for the first time as they tour alongside none other than the B-52’s.  Here are the upcoming Supercluster dates (a few more dates will be added for this summer, yet to be announced):

Supercluster Dates [updated 6/16]
06.26.10 Athens, GA @ AthFest – Pulaski St. Main Stage
07.06.10 New York City, NY @ Highline Ballroom w/B-52’s
07.08.10 Decatur, GA @ Kavarna  w/Shalini Chatterjee
07.09.10 Athens, GA @ Little Kings w/Shalini Chatterjee
07.13.10 Lancaster, PA @ American Music Theater w/B-52’s
07.14.10 Vienna, VA @ The Filene Center w/B-52’s
07.15.10 Jim Thorpe, PA @ Penn’s Peak w/B-52’s
07.24.10 Peachtree City, GA @ Fred Brown Amphitheater w/B-52’s
08.13.10 Athens, GA @ 40 Watt – Athens PopFest
08.20.10 Lowell, MA @ Boarding House Park w/B-52’s

Elf Power have made public the song “Stranger in the Window,” from their upcoming 10th full-length album, called, simply, Elf Power (Sept. 14, Orange Twin Records):

Southern Shelter has posted the 6/5/10 Athens set by Circulatory System:

Circulatory System at the 40 Watt: 6/5/10

Elf Power has been one of the most prolific members of the Elephant 6 collective, but after sixteen years of existence and umpteen releases, they are about to complete a new rite of passage: their first eponymous album.  Elf Power, by Elf Power, will be released September 14, 2010, on Orange Twin Records, with contributions from band members Andrew Rieger, Jimmy Hughes, Derek Almstead, Eric Harris, and Laura Carter, along with guests Will Cullen Hart, Bill Doss, and John Fernandes  (The Olivia Tremor Control), as well as Heather McIntosh (Circulatory System).  The album will be dedicated to the memory of the late and great Vic Chesnutt, with whom Elf Power toured and completed a collaborative album called Dark Developments.  You can read the full press release here.

Elf Power’s guitarist Jimmy Hughes fronts Folklore, and the band is hitting the road beginning this Saturday.  Their third album, Home Church Road, is due out soon after a successful Kickstarter campaign to raise funds.  If you live in one of these towns, come out and support them!

Folklore Tour Dates

6/12/10 – Cleveland, OH @ Cranky’s w/ The Bears Of Blue River, Afternoon Naps
6/13/10 – Chicago, IL @ Schuba’s w/ The Bears Of Blue River, Poison Control Center
6/14/10 – Madison, WI @ The Project Lodge w/ The Bears Of Blue River
6/15/10 – Kalamazoo, MI @ No Fun House w/ The Bears Of Blue River
6/16/10 – Bloomington, IN @ The Bishop w/ The Bears Of Blue River, The Calumet Reel
6/17/10 – State College, PA @ Chronic Town
6/18/10 – New York, NY @ Pianos w/ Poison Control Center, Great Lakes
6/19/10 – Philadelphia, PA @ The M Room w/ Poison Control Center, Music For Headphones