CARBON Autoboot 1994

 

Discogs

Carbon was first conceived in April 1983 and emerged from work on the fringes of the early hardcore and improv scenes with the bands I/S/M, The Hi-Sheriffs of Blue, and Mofungo. Carbon debuted at the Speed Trials festival in Soho in May 1983, alongside performances by Lydia Lunch, The Fall, Swans, Sonic Youth, Beastie Boys, and Toy Killers. The name appeared earlier as a song-title on the 1981 disc ISM and seemed perfect for the band concept: a sound that would be both earthy and ethereal, groove-oriented but jagged, and powered by hacked science and punk mania. In addition to a doubleneck guitar/bass, Sharp focussed on soprano sax and bass clarinet as well as using invented string/percussion instruments: slabs, pantars, and violinoid. No digital effects were used - all sounds were generated using extended techniques, amplifier distortion, and volume.

 Avant garde / experimental noisy and weird skronk - Blogatrix 

Tracklist

1		Inverse Proportions	3:43
2		Pnambient 1	4:08
3		Golfgames	3:30
4		Forkbombscare	3:00
5		Quack	0:49
6		LA Law (Not A TV Show)	6:25
7		Tox	4:20
8		Nest Of Saws	2:57
9		YTYKYD	3:15
10		Freeze Frame	3:49
11		Intervention	4:55
12		Nailing Jelly	3:07
13		Contradiction In Terms	5:02
14		Fax Or Fiction	4:13
15		Stay Up Stay Angry	4:58
16		Running On Cafahol	5:52
17		Pnambient 2	4:18
18		Paper Trail	3:29

ELLIOTT SHARP / CARBON Tocsin 1991

 

Discogs

AllMusic Review by Brian Olewnick 

Tocsin, like several albums he released around this period, showcases Elliott Sharp's more rock-oriented side, featuring fairly short tracks with strutting rhythms and (for him) catchy hooks. The opener, "Raptor," as well as "My Blood Is Boiling," sound like something smuggled in from a Blind Idiot God session (BIG member Ted Epstein is, in fact, thanked in the notes accompanying the disc) with their surging bassline and over-the-top guitar work. Other tracks vary somewhat from the dark, malevolent strain that normally is part and parcel of a Sharp album; "Sockets" even gets into some P-Funk style grooves (!). Much of the rest is the sort of roiling, aggressive music Sharp fans were accustomed to, if a bit slicker than the earlier incarnations of Carbon (like I/S/M) where roughness and lack of sharp edges were valued. The leader displays considerable chops, especially on pieces like "Big Lie," where he shows himself the equal of any number of more celebrated pickers, but perhaps takes too much of the spotlight; one wishes to have heard more up-front contributions from the fine harpist Zeena Parkins, for example. Still, Tocsin is probably one of Sharp's most accessible projects, quite handsomely recorded and one that most rock fans would have little trouble enjoying. Listeners hoping for something on the more visceral level of his Larynx, for example, would be better served looking elsewhere.

Tracklist

1	Raptor	3:58
2	Good For Business	2:47
3	Wex	4:16
4	Sockets	5:13
5	Morphing	3:42
6	Tox	4:21
7	Contradiction In Terms	4:00
8	My Blood Is Boiling	0:57
9	Ossuary	2:53
10	Big Lie	2:06
11	Chilly Necessity	3:09
12	Running On Cafohol	5:45
13	Highrise	4:15

KING BLACK ACID AND THE WOMB STAR ORCHESTRA Royal Subjects 1997

By request

Biography

by Steve Huey

Known for their extended, mind-altering jams, Portland, Oregon's King Black Acid was originally the moniker of Hitting Birth leader Daniel Riddle's solo home-taping project. As he became more interested in exploring musical avenues other than Hitting Birth's tribal/industrial percussive grooves, he put down his bass, picked up a guitar, and recruited roommate Melinda DiCillo (keyboards), Roger Campos (guitar), Nathan Jorg (bass), ex-Wiper Scott Adamo (drums), and part-timer Joseph Trump (drums; also of Pigface and Elliott Sharp's Carbon). In contrast to Hitting Birth, King Black Acid pursued the sort of spacy, neo-psychedelic indie guitar rock typified by bands like Mercury Rev and My Bloody Valentine, with a bit of blues-rock influence in their chord progressions. King Black Acid's debut recording appeared in 1995 on Cavity Search; titled Womb Star Session, it captured the band's epic sound on full display in concert. Sunlit appeared in 1996, and Royal Subjects followed it the next year. After a three year break, King Black Acid resurfaced in fall 2000 to issue Loves a Love Song.