Emeralds
 

Been meaning to check out these guys for quite a time.
Any record recommendations?

I've only heard What Happened but it's genius.

what happened
solar bridge
allegory of allergies
forest fires
dirt weed diaries
the self-titled releases

all great.

The s/t and Solar Bridge are both really good. If you get the chance check out some of Mark McGuire's solo guitar noodlings as well, nice stuff.

I've heard Planetarium only so far and was quite dissapointed

What Happened is very good. I wouldn't say genius but very good indeed

Planetarium didn't do much for me, neither did the often-praised "Bullshit Boring Drone Band". They have some noisier releases I don't care for, but I've only heard probably 15 releases by them so I'm no expert; I threw in a couple noisier titles in my list. I tend to lean towards the super droney stuff, so just get "solar bridge" and "What happened" and "Allegory of allergies" and you're good.

Only 15... hahaha. That's tons! More than most people!

I like to hear every release by a band before making judgement calls. I stopped at around 110 with Wolf Eyes, though.

I'm on around 150 with Merzbow! He's still great!

ahh sunday night of no fun fest is gonna kick ass...emeralds, black pus, merzbow..

wish i could go to nff. damn you lucky ass new yorkers.


what happened and solar bridge are the best emeralds to listen to

I'd throw these on cooley's list

no more spirits over the lake
born blacked out
laying under leaves
servant

pretty sure they don't have any self titled stuff out (yet)??

I downloaded a coupled things on soulseek that were called "emeralds" and I got on their discography and they've had 2 or 3 albums called simply "emeralds" on different labels.. hanson being one actually. I've never heard any of the albums you just mentioned actually, need to check those out. Who are you, btw? I don't have my last name in my sig anymore. Haha.

lol

Shrug.

emeralds rule, as do all their solo projects. check out:
mark mcguire
steve hauschildt
lilypad
catnap
etc. etc.

ive never heard of these emeralds....i must be past it.... kidz and their fringes and silly words...

oh right the hanson tape, duh.
yeah I just know of you from scissor shock. my name is wyatt howland and I perform solo electronics under the name skin graft.

your split tape with bee mask rules, just got that in my distro

oh, and you guys should check out the emeralds & dilloway tape "under pressure". that tape is fucking weird and awesome. starts out sounding mostly emeralds but then slowly dilloway creeps in. some creepy vocal stuff in there

thanks man

I was at that show. They were indeed great. Wasn't that fussed about Pain Jerk but you can't win 'em all.

Anyway, all the Emeralds stuff I've heard so far has been at least good and most of it pretty great. The s/t on Hanson is really good and so is the recent tour tape they did. I can't remember if that one is s/t titles as well....

Also, the side project stuff is worth investigating, espcially Mark McGuire's stuff. Guitar Meditations is really nice.

is it cool if I post some links for out of print releases by emeralds & solo? I don't know if you guys have any rules against that sort of thing.. I could share a bunch of there stuff that is sold out and impossible to find outside of ebay

Please do, man!!!!

I actually just bought What Happened, everything else I have is out of print stuff I d/l'ed. I really love this band.

There's no rules aside from "if you do cool stuff you get mass rep" haha.

I picked up Mark McGuire's "Tidings II" tape a couple of weeks ago, and it's totally beautiful. Definitely wanna get more stuff.


EDIT - Just ordered a copy of his Guitar Meditations tape from a guy on Discogs too, which was what I actually meant to buy when I bought Tiding II.

thank you very much, angel.

Great blog link, I had most of those, thankfully -- I couldn't put up with the rapidshare bullshit if I didn't have 'em. There's an ongoing thread on Fangsandarrows.com (a GREAT message board... way better than most.. heh.. and probably what dntrecords was referring to earlier) where everyone's uploading all the rarer, older, OOP Emeralds and other related projects. I've uploaded a couple myself. Check it out.

I bought Mark McGuire's Dream Team CDR a couple of weeks back and it's fantastic, well worth checking out.

that fangsandarrows board seems pretty cool. i've signed up but not posted anything yet...

Yeah, it rules. All the people actually discuss good music all the time instead of just 3 or 4 people occasionally mentioning something cool. Also, it's extremely active, and people are awesome about sharing OOP shit all the time.

http://www.fakejazz.com/fake/archive...lds_-_what.php

Emeralds - What Happened (No Fun Productions)

 

Emeralds' name has been on the tongues of bloggers and noise addicts in the know for quite a while now, but, of late, they seem to have encroached on the consciousnesses of a far wider audience. Solar Bridge made plenty of year-end lists in 2008, and rightly so; it was perhaps the first major statement from the group, whose work until then was largely in the form of limited run cassettes or cd-r's. The title of the trio's follow up, What Happened, might be viewed as their reaction to their recent success, as just over a year ago they were still awaiting the release of their "proper" debut, and now find themselves opening for Throbbing Gristle. It's a rapid ascent, to be sure, but if their latest disc is any indication, not an wholly undeserved one, no matter their ages or the hype that buoyed Emeralds' growth.
The presence of synthesizers in Emeralds' music has always been a conspicuous one, but "Alive in the Sea of Information" owes far more to 70s synth fetishists like Tangerine Dream than many of the groups with whom Emeralds typically cavort. Other acts in the noise/experimental underground have adopted analog synths as instruments of choice, of course, but few use them in such a way. Emeralds music isn't exactly retro, but its sound is sometimes of a spectral, other-worldy timbre that, while often too roughly hewn to be called new age, certainly makes heavy use of the spacey psychedelia that marked the early forays of the genre. What Happened packs, perhaps, a bit less of a punch that its predecessor in terms of the overall heft of the sound, but its two opening tracks, the aforementioned "Alice in the Sea of Information" and "Damaged Kids" make for some enjoyable and interesting synth-based mind melting. The rest of the disc's five tracks engage in a simpler means of expression, more heavily reliant on drones and repetition, with fewer flourishes bubbling unexpectedly into the mix. The album takes on a more somber tone, save for a formidably menacing latter half of "Living Room," with the trio moving from the colorful palette of the openers to the grays and blues of the rest of the disc. Emeralds invoke an effective pathos, but by the time the slow swirl of "Disappearing Ink" has come to its close, the earlier spirit of the album is only a memory. The tonal dichotomy isn't severe, but a return to the bright environs of the opening pair of tracks might have lightened the mood toward the disc's conclusion, spreading out the album's best material rather than packing it at the beginning of its duration.
What Happened isn't a jaw-dropper from start to finish, but it is a well-rounded musical statement, a cohesive series of improvisations that, whether moving in a more linear fashion or spiraling into unpredictable musical environs, the trio tackle with an impressive focus. A number of releases loom in Emeralds' near-future, and if this disc, especially its openers, are a sign of things to come, it's going to be a good year for these lads from Cleveland.

That collab with Dilloway is absolutely kickass.
Highly recommended!!!

You won't be sorry. So much amazing music to download and discuss. Almost every topic has links to like a thousand albums, haha. That's not true, but ... well it kinda is. Everyone there is really cool and on top of shit. Really friendly!

so im finally "getting" this band. What Happened started to click and i can tell that we will have a beautiful friendship, im now listening to the aaron dilloway split and being blown away. im DLing solar bridge.

but most importantly, mark mcguire is blowing me away more than any other artist this year.
his stuff is mesmerizing.

Yeah, amazing what a guy can do with a delay pedal.

That sounded sarcastic but I'm being serious. Great shit.

"solar bridge" got old.

mark macguire's guitar meditations tape is completely unreal. i love it

They're cool sometimes, never amazing, apart from some of the MacGuire solo stuff I've heard. They were incredibly dull when I've seen them live.

I just got the new one, DOES IT LOOK LIKE I'M HERE, and it's prettty different and good.

Imaginary Softwoods is still my favorite band related to these guys.