Edit: I hashed out this writing very late in a hurry. Thus, any grammatical inconsistencies, spelling errors, and other mistakes will hopefully be ironed out at a later date. Also, anything I might have forgotten to add (such as the many band/musician links that will get added later) or mention hopefully I will remember to add in later this week. As always, many thanks for your continued support and encouragement, whoever you are.
ARGALI RECORDS NETLABEL
Despite being on the internet fairly frequently in the spare time I find myself allotted with, it seems that updating my blogs and websites has been one of my least favorite things that consistently appears on my ‘to do’ lists. Unfortunately, this can cause some confusion and/or uncertainty regarding current activities by Argali Records or my own musical/artistic work. Case in point: the experimental music compilation “Time Will Pass” was released a little over two months ago. While the main Argali Records WordPress site was updated shortly after the release, this site (which had the initial posting asking for submissions to the compilation) was not. Sorry about that. For more information regarding “Time Will Pass”, to listen to the tracks and/or download them, check it all out here: http://archive.org/details/ARGREC19
I am currently considering and pondering over a possible second compilation through my net-label, with a very tentative release date in mid to late December. Before you ask, no, this compilation will NOT be an ‘end of the world’ or ‘2012’ themed collection. There is currently no specific ‘theme’ as of yet, given the fact that there are several notable pros and cons involved with having strict conceptual/thematic guidelines regarding a compilation. Also, in the end, “Time Will Pass” had a sort of very general ‘surreal/abstract/futurist’ feel to it, given the (unexpectedly) diverse nature of the songs which were ultimately received (courtesy of Mystified, Noisesurfer, Slowpitch, Implicit Order, Earth Concrete, Jet Ghost, Luxurious Dagger, Secant Prime, Sleep Crimes, President Blair, NOISUMON, and How To Cure Our Soul). I am currently still planning the guidelines and submission rules for this next compilation. While the rules were fairly specific and detailed, there turned out to be a few areas that could use some clarification and/or rewording. Also, due to the aforementioned lack of consistent updates, a few people who might have expressed interest did not get on the compilation. If you are interested in appearing in the next collection, feel free to send me a message (NOTE: DUE TO SPAM-BOTS, ADS, AND OTHER USELESS RUBBISH, I WILL BE USING A DIFFERENT EMAIL FOR CONTACT INSTEAD OF THE ONE USES FOR THE LAST COMPILATION) either by email or through WordPress.
There are currently NO plans to release any full-length albums on Argali until after the end of 2012. I apologize in advance to anyone who was hoping this might not be the case (I was in talks with one or two people regarding releasing their material, but if memory serves me correctly, both had other options available if I was not able to commit to their album at this time). Hopefully by the end of the year my job situation will have settled down enough to the point where I know how much time I have available to dedicate to both Argali and outside pursuits.
JOHN LITHIUM MUSICAL ACTIVITY
Not much to speak of in this regard. Right now, I have no real plans for a full-length any time soon or any further additions to the Lithium Toolbox Soundsources series (the latter is always a matter of whether people decide to utilize the material for their productions, hint, hint). At the moment, I demo most of the material that I am able to record/write at the Lithium Industries Soundcloud (http://soundcloud.com/lithium-industries-sound). Recently have been completely burnt out with dark ambient/drone. This may change in the future, but at present I feel I have done all that I am capable of doing in those genres, given the limitations in my hardware/software/etc. Am vaguely entertaining the idea of doing some ‘techno-electronica’ under my ‘real name’. This isn’t to say that I am abandoning my pseudonym, but it is odd that, despite having created electronic music for roughly ten years now, many people who know me still do not know that I create music.
Music For The Rest Of Us / Stereo Ate My Last Tape
There are so many reviews on the back-burner it is not even funny. Depending on how the rest of the year goes, I am considering dropping most of my other musical projects in favor of resuming music reviews. While this is by no means a complete list, here are a number of bands/albums I have been wanting to write a review for a while (and hopefully will do so in the very near future): 6 Comm – Headless/Let The Moon Speak, Alan Vega – Station, BEYOND SENSORY EXPERIENCE – MODERN DAY DIABOLISTS (Absolutely phenomenal album), Carter Tutti Void – Transverse, Cyclobe – Wounded Galaxies Tap At The Window, Kevin Drumm – Necro Acoustic, The Phantom Carriage KTL Edition (technically not a music album, but neither is it currently available as a stand-alone, sadly, given that it’s easily one of KTL’s best works), Skin Area : Rothko Field, Yellow Swans : Going Places, Pete Swanson – Man With Potential, and Swan’s last two albums (both essential, in my opinion).
John Lithium 