Digital Vomit Records

Colchester's second least popular musical artist (obviously I come first) comes to Digital Vomit in an epic 19-part MP3 release…

http://www.digitalvomit.com/dvr052

sounds great.
and i really, really, really can't stand lilly allen.

I'm going to be starting with the final album in the collection, Hippie Scat, as this is a best-of compilation and a perfect entry into Bernie's World for the uninitiated. There's no real reason this shouldn't make it online this week, particularly as I have my own webspace now. The rest will come in drips and drabs as I get the chance to work on de-glitching the audio.

The man himself is somewhat stigmatised in Colchester - he's an open transvestite, he's on several hallucinogenic drugs, he spends many days smoking and drinking special brew round the back of the Mercury Theatre (before being moved on by the police), he has serious mental health issues, and unless you already know the man (or you're me) you'd probably cross the road to avoid him. Yet, and I have Massive Hospitalisation's Staff to thank for hooking me up with the man and his music, there is something about his music that is absolutely captivating. All aspects of his life are laid bare for all to see, and it's really a unique way of looking into a world that might as well be a million miles from my own. There's something in this collection that everyone can latch on to, if you'll allow it to. His musicianship isn't great, like most musicians generally defined as "outsider" (folks like Daniel Johnston, Jandek, BJ Snowden, The Shaggs…) but it's his sincerity that makes this worthwhile. And you know what, there are some genuinely great tunes in there amongst the keyboard presets, and some pretty clever lyrics that could make you laugh and cry, so your patience may yet be rewarded.

Like most releases on this label (even the relatively popular ones like Realicide and Jansky Noise) this collection won't be for everyone, but I have a feeling this could even divide opinion on here, such is the highly erratic nature of the audio. I know Big In Albania's not a fan for one… ;) And I very much look forward to seeing what comes of it. As nice a community as this is, it's all been a bit crawly-bum-lick of late, and needs something to get the passion burning again. Pidgin aside, I can't remember the last time someone openly criticised a release on here. I hope people do enjoy this collection, but equally I hope some people hate it. Hell, there's tracks on there I don't even like, but it still all deserves to be heard. Maybe that's perverse of me, but I'm just interested to mix things up a bit on here. Hence I'm now working on five different projects for this label… :S

Incidentally, Bernie doesn't have internet access, and apparently he's lost his password for the library, so I doubt he'll be passing through any time soon. And I only ever see him by chance when I'm in town. However, I will endeavour to pass on any comments as and when.

Well, I'm intrigued, and if any label can do this sort of thing then it's DV. Personally I'm happy with anything that pushes DV out of its noise/IDM/breakcore/mashcore comfort zone.

definitely sounds like an ideal release. i kinda hope it's unbearable, as long as it's different.

good work, lee.

I'm going to be releasing one every Sunday for the next 18 weeks, starting this week on the 15th with the best-of compilation 'Hippie Scat', ending on 14th March 2010 with 'Encore d'Amour'.

i'm sure lots of people will love this, but not me. I can't handle more than one or two songs in one go.

The best of compilation, Hippie Scat, is available now.

http://www.digitalvomit.com/dvr052-18

i quite enjoy this. and not so much in an ironic sense…some of the music is actually kinda awkwardly good, and the horrible recording quality lends itself quite well to the overall melancholy feeling of the music. whether by accident or not, the fuzziness and tape hiss gives it a kind of freescha/fennesz/flying saucer attack feel…then combined with the daniel johnston-y vocals it all comes across rather charmingly.

I may only be 8 tracks or so into this, but I quite like it. I don't know if I'll feel the same about Bernie once I've waded through the other 17 parts of it, but it's certainly no worse than people like Ariel Pink who get praised to the skies in certain quarters for exactly the same sort of lo-fi pop.

Like TC said, maybe I'll feel differently once I've listened to the rest of what promises to be a mammoth collection, but so far, I rather like this! "Smokin and Trippin Song" is totally stuck in my head. I suppose this is a cheap comparison, but there's a whimsy about some of this music that I find reminiscent of solo-era Syd Barrett (another of my no-doubt-highly-unfashionable influences).

Hey Mixo, what did you use to clean up the corrupted CD-R's? I sure could use such a thing as I continue the herculean task of digitizing my entire collection.

Exact Audio Copy for ripping and Sound Forge for drawing out any major glitches.

Next one coming up later tonight.

Exact Audio Copy for ripping and Sound Forge for drawing out any major glitches.

Noted! TYVM!

Just cleaning a couple of glitches and From Reel To Real will be ready to go… expect it in the next hour or so at http://www.digitalvomit.com/dvr052-01

EDIT: it's out now.

Thanks again for letting me know about Exact Audio Copy. I finally have something to replace CDX Rescue which will stubbornly plow through corrupt CD's.

(CDX Rescue was made by 1-2-3 Software, which went out of business in 2007 following a copyright-infringement lawsuit over their DVD ripping software. When this happened, CDX Rescue - which required a connection to their server for registration purposes before it would even install - became a beer coaster I've never found a crack for.)

EDIT: I lied, it was 3-2-1 Software. Dyslexics of the world, untie!

No worries Mitch.

The 3-track 'Forever Friends' release will arrive within the next 47 and a half hours…

To the twenty-odd people following this, the next release is going online tomorrow as I've been very busy today. The audio's ready to go but the artwork's not. It'll be here soon though.

well, i listened to the first 2 tracks, and sorry to say its not my cup of tea.
reminds me of 'animal collective', a band that a lot of people are loving right now (except me), so thats a positive.
i just don't dig the pyschadelic thing.

Well it got so late into the week that I thought I'd make this Sunday a double. So Forever Friends is now online, and The Game So Far is currently being checked for errors, and will be uploaded very soon.

http://www.digitalvomit.com/dvr052-02

Cool, I was worried that this was going to peter out due to lack of interest.

Damn, TGSF is littered with errors. I might have to postpone this one and skip to the next one. We'll see…

EDIT: I've found another copy of the album, which sounds infinitely better than what I was working with, so you can definetely expect The Game So Far tonight, sounding pretty damn good actually.

The Game So Far is now online:

http://www.digitalvomit.com/dvr052-03

Sorry for missing it again last week; this was due to a) audio glitches, b) being busy with the Love Dictator project, as well as a recent surge in interest for Colo(u)rs, and c) some very depressing "real-life" stuff that I won't bore you with. Expect another double in 48 hours.

Please don't think I'm trying to rush you, but I eagerly await the next installment, just in case you thought no one dug this….

Well the download figures have been poor, but that's not why I've not been updating this. Truth is, at first it was the Fast Lady project that took up a lot of my time, then around Christmas "real life" took a few turns that are now sucking up a lot of my time. Basically it looks like I'll be doing the Za Ginipiggu stuff full-time in various forms, both as live shows and as workshops for school-kids, so most of my time has been going into setting that up, as well as getting the 8-track finished and, crucially, sold. The Sizzey albums have been full of glitches, and cleaning them up is taking a very long time, far longer than anticipated. I am committed to getting these online, and they will make it online, but it won't be at the kind of time-frame I was hoping for.

OK, cool. Pervert though I am, I'm enjoying the hell out of them. "Smokin & Trippin" is the biggest earworm I've grappled with in ages.