Paisley Babylon Digital Single: Blood Alcohol Content .211

For fans of the more experimental side of The Legendary Pink Dots, this digital single from Paisley Babylon should be right up your alley. Anyone who owns the LPD albums Faces In The Fire or Shadow Weaver should give a listen to Paisley Babylon’s Blood Alcohol Content .211. There is a kindred spirit at work in these surrealist textures.

The analog synth sounds of the Roland Juno 1 and Juno 6 are on display here along with some trippy found sound and echo manipulation. There’s also an old analog Eventide Harmonizer played as an instrument, lending this track some delicious otherworldly textures.

Inspired by true events in San Antonio, this track speculates what it’s like to experience the aftermath of a car crash at extreme speeds at 3AM on a rain-swept  Texas highway. There is a definite LPD influence here, cross-pollinated with Throbbing Gristle and a dash of Eno at his most sinister. The track is part of the PB digital album Songs From The Interstellar Hash Bar Jukebox, but was also released in 1997 on the CD-only Alpha Wave Variations album.

This MP3 digital download is sold via Amazon.com. You can preview, purchase and download the Paisley Babylon digital single Blood Alcohol Content .211 for .99 cents.

Paisley Babylon Dream Surgery Single

Dream Surgery by Paisley Babylon is a quite surreal experience. Nearly six minutes of electronic bliss recorded in Keflavik, Iceland in 1999 during a blizzard, this track was definitely influenced by the weather, the constant darkness in Iceland that time of year, and the lava fields stretching endlessly across the countryside.

Paisley Babylon specializes in electronic ambient journeys, experimental soundscapes, and more traditional sounds in the Morricone soundtrack vein. There’s also more than a hint of Stereolab and Coil influence here with a dash of Throbbing Gristle thrown in for good measure.

Dream Surgery has more structure than some of the other sounds on the album this was released on, Midnight Hallucinations, but there is definitely a trippy vibe going on here. This track is probably not right for road trips–it INDUCES highway hypnosis instead of driving it away. Never mind the surgery games, this track is all about the anesthetic.

This is the first post in a series of experiments to get projects like Paisley Babylon some wider exposure among people into sounds like these…Turntabling Records plans to offer these tracks as downloads direct from the site once our digital download interface is ready–we present this track via iTunes.

Download Dream Surgery in MP3 format via iTunes. Dream Surgery is a single track available for .99 cents. You can also explore the rest of the album, Midnight Hallucinations.

An Experiment With Music

Some regular Turntabling readers know that Turntabling isn’t just a blog, it’s also a micro-label featuring projects including Paisley Babylon, Thelema USA, Electronic Penis Choppers and other unusual electronic music delights.

I’ve long been fascinated by the decline of the music industry, the rise of the independent artist, and the whole indie music scene in genearal. From fascinating indie labels like Beta-Lactam Ring Records to the insanely prolific Legendary Pink Dots, there is plenty of life in indie music even as the majors crumble into nothing.

But I personally haven’t seen any site that has really taken full advantage of some of the tools and tricks other online retailers use to sell Widget X or Service Y. I have a theory that with the right kind of presentation, even a teeny tiny more or less unknown micro-label like Turntabling could get some new fans by presenting music in interesting, left-of center (but fan-friendly) ways.

So Turntabling begins an experiement with the micro-label stuff.

We’ll be posting a variety of individual tracks, singles, EP packages and full albums available for purchase and digital download. No postage to worry about (yet–we plan on offering some flexi discs and other novelties at some point) just pure digital downloads. At a buck per song, what’s the risk?

The toughest part about any experiment like this is cross-referencing unfamiliar music with better known artists to give people an idea of what to expect. Some Paisley Babylon tracks sound like the two-headed mutant offspring of Nurse With Wound and Brian Eno. Electronic Penis Choppers can be Aphex Twin-esque, but veer off into Coil territory with regularity. Thelema USA has an sinister ambient vibe but also winds up in Coil’s musical zip code…

But suffice it to say that this experiment will be quite interesting from both a musician point of view and a music sales point of view. It’s tough to make any kind of living at all from music, art, any creative pursuit. I’m hoping that this experiment gives Turntabling Records projects some added exposure to people who would enjoy these sounds and become part of the audio cult that is Turntabling Records.

Off we go!

–Joe Wallace

Paisley Babylon DJ Mixes

It’s been a while since I posted any new DJ Paisley Babylon mixes and the gigs have been coming from all sides as of late…it was high time to get some more up here! These MP3s were recorded live in-studio and at events including the infamous Horror Society Zombie Disco. Feast your ears on a wide range of extremely danceable sounds from around the world. I’m always available to talk bookings, feel free to drop me an e-mail to jwallace (at) turntabling (dot) net. Have gear, will travel.

DJ Paisley Babylon Zombie Disco 2 set @ Lucky Number Grill Chicago July 24 2010

Paisley Babylon Soundcheck Set for Music Box Massacre @The Music Box Theater Chicago, October 8 2010 (This isn’t your typical DJ set–it was a mixed media sound collage presentation featuring music, video, turntablism, live mashups and vinyl manipulation. More of an audio art installation…)

Post-Punk/New Romantic Mixup (live in-studio)

Paisley Babylon mixes include a healthy pile of vinyl records from around the globe. I spin post-punk, funk, disco, dub, fun  psychedelia singles, reggae, retro, new wave, electronica, chillout/lounge, bossa nova, and unclassifiable sounds from Italy, Japan, Germany, Iceland and elsewhere. I’m not a latest-hits club kid DJ and I’d rather keep a party or event fun and danceable than stay married to a particular genre. Gigs should be fun and memorable. Get in touch with me about yours and we’ll plan a great time. (312) 504-1264 or jwallace (at) turntabling (dot) net.

Turntabling and Paisley Babylon at Music Box Massacre Saturday October 9 2010

Saturday at 11AM, Paisley Babylon does a short set to kick off the Music Box Massacre at the Music Box Theater at 3373 N. Southport in Chicago.

I spent most of Friday preparing for the show, which also features our usual table for Turntabling featuring tons of great obscure vinyl and much more.

Part of the prep for the Music Box Massacre was a gear setup and soundcheck, which I recorded and converted to MP3 for your listening pleasure. Please feel free to download and enjoy this half-hour set of mashed-up and mutilated tracks from Skinny Puppy side project Download, Ennio Morricone, Goblin, the Mister T Be Somebody album, and the Zombie soundtrack.

My favorite part of this is where I mashed up parts of the Suspiria soundtrack by Goblin with the album The Story of Star Wars. Some will call this heresy, but I had SO much fun doing it…enjoy.

Download the Paisley Babylon Music Box Massacre soundcheck and ruin your brain for good.

Please join me at the Music Box Massacre—come by early (11AM) to catch the set and be sure to drop by the Turntabling table and say hello.

–Joe Wallace