Sonic Youth

12 new Sonic Youth & SY-related releases out on Bandcamp today

Sonic Youth and Sonic Youth-related projects have been putting out lots of archival (and some new) material on Bandcamp during these weird times, and for today’s Bandcamp fundraiser, there are 12 new SY-related releases out with still more to come. Here they are:

Steve Shelley/Jim O’Rourke/Thurston Moore/Lee Ranaldo – Melbourne Direct

This was recorded live in studio on June 22, 2004 featuring four, 20-minute, droney, improvisational jams. The album artwork was designed by Kim Gordon.

Lee Ranaldo & Dave Dyment – New Life After Fire

This was recorded live at Lee’s Palace in Toronto in September 2001 and was originally issued as a CD via Art Metropole in Toronto. Lee says “physical copies may still be available thru them!”

Sonic Youth – Live In Yugoslavia 1985​/​1987

“Originally released as a bootleg cassette on FV Založba, a tape and vinyl label best-known for their “Hardcore Ljubljana” LP from 1985. They released many more live tapes from the 80’s LJU: Henry Rollins, Swans, Nick Cave, NoMeansNo, etc. Radio Student (now Radio Študent) broadcast the concert(s) and promoter Igor Vidmar recorded the shows with Borut Berden. Monika Skaberne who still runs FV found the master cassette.” Tracks 1-5 were recorded at Dom Svobode, Šentvid on October 5,1985, and tracks 6-12 were recorded at Festivalna Dvorana, Ljubljana on June 24,1987.

Sonic Youth – Live At Brixton Academy 1992

“Recorded live on the first of two December nights in 1992 at the Brixton Academy in London, near the end of Sonic Youth’s European tour with Pavement and Cell. This concert was recorded and broadcast by the BBC, and then subsequently widely-bootlegged. This sound-recording is from the band’s own audio master of the December 14th concert and includes performances not broadcast by the BBC or on bootlegs.”

Sonic Youth – Live In Irvine 1990

SY archivist Aaron Mullan writes in part, “By my count, this was the 59th SY show of 1990, all highlighting Goo material, with a couple classic oldies thrown in. So, pretty much by this time the band was tearing it up on these songs. Plus, it’s mid-tour, so the band is in the groove. It’s like the adage that one should not buy a car made on a Monday or a Friday. The beginnings or ends of tours might have more experimentation or exploration, but if you’re looking for a solid chunk of Rock, mid-tour shows are reliable. And, like an anonymous face pulled from the crowd, upon scrutiny the depth of character is revealed, and with enough listens any blemishes become beauty marks.” Read more of his lengthy essay on the recording here.

Wylde Rattz – “FLOW” b/w “JUDY’S BLUES”

Wylde Ratttz — the band of The Stooges’ Ron Asheton, Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore & Steve Shelley, Mudhoney’s Mark Arm, Minutemen’s Mike Watt, Sean Lennon, producer/Gumball leader Don Fleming and Jim Dunbar that was formed to record tracks by The Stooges for Todd Haynes’ loosely-based-on-Bowie glam rock biopic Velvet Goldmine — recently released an album’s worth of songs that they had recorded that weren’t used in the film, and today they released two more heavy, psychedelic jams from those sessions. They say this is the first in a series of singles and EPs from those recordings, so stay tuned for more.

Kim Gordon, Jim O’Rourke & Alan Licht – The Supreme Indifference Live

This is a recording of the first and only concert performed by The Supreme Indifference. Via Sonic Youth’s Facebook: “Previously only convened for a studio session that produced two obscure compilation tracks, Kim, Jim and Alan took the stage at Issue Project Room back in 2003, joined by their friends Chris Corsano (drums) and Tim Barnes (drums), for a breathless twenty-minute No Wave electronic freakout.”

Gata Pirâmide (ft. Steve Shelley) – Vol. 1

Gata Pirâmide is a new dream/psych band from São Paulo, Brazil that Steve Shelley plays in, and this EP is their first recording. They say Vol. II is coming soon too.

Riviera Gaz – “What Goes On,” Sleeping / Strychnine & Live in Morón

Gata Pirâmide is actually one of two São Paulo bands Steve Shelley currently plays in. The other is the ’60s garage psych-inspired Riviera Gaz, who have a single, a two-song EP, and a live EP out today.

Emma Tricca (ft. Steve Shelley) – “It Don’t Bother Me” / “Good Morning Diner”

UK psych-folk singer/songwriter Emma Tricca has a new two-song single out, featuring Steve Shelley on drums.

Thurston Moore – “Strawberry Moon”

This one actually came out two days ago, and this one’s actually a new recording. “a celebration of the strawberry ( full ) moon vibrations – free energy for change,” Thurston writes.

Sonic Youth also say there’s more to come, so stay tuned.

For more of today’s Bandcamp happenings: 60+ artists & labels donating Bandcamp Day profits to anti-police brutality causes.