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

One of the most anticipated live events of the year happened last night at Le Poisson Rouge in NYC, as Jeff Mangum returned to the stage after a long hiatus (excepting his performance of “Engine” during the Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise Tour of 2008, and occasional cameos during sets by Elf Power, The Olivia Tremor Control, and The Instruments).  He performed:

“Oh Comely”
“A Baby for Pree”/”Where You’ll Find Me Now”
“Two Headed Boy Pt. 2″
“In the Aeroplane Over the Sea”
“Engine” (encore)

A very good live review can be found at Radio Exile.

UPDATE: Another review is at One Thirty BPM.

UPDATE: And another exceptionally-written review, from Simon at Entertainment Weekly’s music blog.

Here are some cell phone videos posted to YouTube…I’d expect we’ll see more videos and reviews popping up throughout the day.

Jeff Mangum – Oh Comely

Jeff Mangum – A Baby for Pree/Where You’ll Find Me Now

Jeff Mangum – Two-Headed Boy Part Two

Mike McGonigal, editor of YETI Magazine (which, a few years back, had an issue co-curated by Jeff Mangum), has initiated a new Portland, OR-based record label entitled Social Music Records and Tapes. To kick off the label, McGonigal has announced a new LP record club (details of which can be found here), and has dropped info on other upcoming LP and tape releases including a vinyl issue of Jeff Mangum’s Orange Twin Field Works Vol. 1, in a new “expanded” edition.  The LP, a co-release with Mississippi Records, does not yet have a firm release date.  The original CD, which features field recordings taken by Jeff Mangum at the Koprivshtitsa Festival in Bulgaria in 2000,  is still available from Orange Twin Records.  More info on Social Records can be found at their website.

Pitchfork has announced that Jeff Mangum will perform a “very short acoustic set” at the Chris Knox benefit concert scheduled for May 6th at NYC’s Le Poisson Rouge. Also performing at the concert: Yo La Tengo, Kyp Malone, Portastic, The Clean, Claudia Gonson of Magnetic Fields, Sharon Van Etten, John Mulaney, Robert Scott, David Kilgour and Dimmer. Tickets go on sale at Kickstarter tomorrow, March 30. (This concert follows the release of Stroke, the benefit album for the Tall Dwarfs‘ Chris Knox, which also featured a track by Jeff Mangum.) This would mark the first live performance by the Neutral Milk Hotel frontman since the Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise tour of two years back, for which he performed “Engine” at the encore of multiple shows. This is very, very exciting news – although the focus should remain on the only reason this is happening in the first place: raising money for Mr. Knox’s medical bills, a good cause indeed.

Since I’ve left a gap between posts here, a bit longer than intended, let me catch you up on some other Elephant 6 news:

The long-awaited deluxe edition of Circulatory System’s Signal Morning vinyl LP is finally being shipped to those who pre-ordered back in the summer of last year. It’s worth the wait (mine arrived on Saturday): the exclusive Sides 3 and 4 of the album contain alternate remixes, with a hand-painted sleeve. If you didn’t preorder, there will likely be a few more copies available for sale after all extant orders have shipped: more info is at Cloud Recordings.

Folklore, led by Elf Power’s Jimmy Hughes, is finishing up work on their third album, Home Church Road. If you’d like to see the album get released on vinyl, a Kickstarter fund was started by Jimmy, to which you can contribute. Tour dates are below.

Folklore on Tour

03.30.10 Philadelphia, PA @ World Cafe Live
04.02.10 State College, PA @ Chronic Town w/ The Spinto Band
04.03.10 – New York, NY @ The Cake Shop w/ Blood Warrior
04.15.10 – Geneseo, NY @ SUNY Geneseo (Knight Spot)

The AV Club Decider D.C. just interviewed Beulah’s Miles Kurosky on his (really quite wonderful) new solo album The Desert of Shallow Effects.

Seamonster, the band by Robbert Bobbert artist Todd Webb, has just released a 7″ called Two Birds on Royal Rhino Flying Records/Gold Robot Records/Martyrs of Pop. You can order it here. A video for “Oh Appalachia,” one of the six tracks on the EP, can be viewed here.

Casper & the Cookies also have a new video, for “Sharp!”, a track from last year’s Modern Silence. You can watch it here.

Stroke, the tribute & benefit album for Chris Knox of the Tall Dwarfs , is officially released today in the U.S. by Merge Records. (It was previously available as a digital release, and before that was issued–minus the Jeff Mangum track–in New Zealand.) Apart from Jeff Mangum, Red&Zeke (featuring Bill Doss and Neil Cleary), Portastic, Bill Callahan, Yo La Tengo, Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Jay Reatard, and many others appear on the two-disc set, all covering the music of Knox.

Celebrating the release of Stroke, and also to benefit Chris Knox, Cloud Recordings is now offering their two Tall Dwarfs reissues (Weeville and Fork Songs) at a discounted price for a limited time.

Since it’s Jeff Mangum week, why not?  Here’s Jeff playing “Sailing Through/Two-Headed Boy Part 2″ live at the Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco, CA, on 4/12/98.  Thanks to defgav for posting it.

It has now been officially announced (via Wilson at Merge Records) that Jeff Mangum has contributed a track to the U.S. version of the Chris Knox tribute album Stroke.  The song, “Sign the Dotted Line,” is a cover of the Tall Dwarfs track.   In addition, Bill Doss & Neil Cleary form Red & Zeke for the cover of the Tall Dwarfs‘  ”Bodies.”  You can read Bill Doss’ thoughts on the Tall Dwarfs here.

You can preorder the double-CD set which will ship on or around February 23 by visiting this page at Merge Records.  Preorders receive an immediate digital download of the album.  You can also purchase the MP3s a la carte or as a bundle.  The New Zealand version of the album, which is available now at Chris Knox’s website, does not feature the Jeff Mangum track.

In June, Chris Knox of the Tall Dwarfs suffered a stroke in Grey Lynn, New Zealand.  The Tall Dwarfs have had a tremendous influence on Elephant 6, and it was Chris Knox who invited Jeff Mangum to give a performance in 2001 in New Zealand.  The Tall Dwarfs also toured with Olivia Tremor Control on the 2005 reunion tour. The Stroke benefit album also features contributions from Yo La Tengo, Jay Reatard, Stephin Merritt, Bill Callahan, Will Oldham, and many more.