Issues

Issue #17 of The Broken Face is finally available. These 69 pages include interviews/features about Sandoz Lab Technicians, the uncrowned masters of intoxicating noise, free jazz and drone; Oddfellows Casino\222s delicate pop beauty in disguise; Birchville Cat Motel\222s crackling electronic clatter and gorgeous organic dronescapes; Chris Thompson\222s timeless psychdelicised folk; Reynols\222 surrealism and pure rock magic, percussionist/producer/noise maker Tim Barnes and Climax Golden Twins\222 irresistible collage of global impressions and sonic references. Add to that interviews with The Impossible Shapes, Bloomington\222s finest deliverers of brilliant pop and complex melodies, New Zealand\222s Armpit, Devendra Banhart \226 the gardener of Pleasantville, the wide open folk deserts of Migrantes and more than 200 reviews.
Issue #16 of The Broken Face is now available for order. Included are interviews/features on the endless runout groove of rhythmic hypnotism of Finish psych-folk-space-whatever ensemble Avarus, the Australian born minimal guitar maestro Oren Ambarchi, the German guitar sculptor Steffen-Basho Junghans, the excellent Time Lag and Idea imprints, Doleful Lions' elegant brand of psych-pop, the seriously damaged yet insistently tuneful guitar euphoria of Major Stars, the Japanese Blues man Kan Mikami, the mystical Boston-based folk/psych collective Sunburned Hand of the Man and an extensive look into '70s band/collective/spiritual movement Yahowha 13. Throw in something like 180 reviews, you've got yourself another issue fully packed with fascinating music.
The 15th issue of the Face is finally back from the printers and it's just as tasty as ever before. The 69 pages includes the seriously damaged psychedelic excess of Pärson Sound, the transcendental drone/noise of Thuja, the slow motion drone marathons, guitar explosions and abstract folk structures of Arco Flute Foundation and the earthy melodies and layered choral harmonies of Japanese duo Nagisa Ni te. On top of all this we're happy to deliver one man's story from Terrastock 5, a glimpse from Sharron Kraus' shady side of folk music, the Warlocks' jagged Velvetsian rock, Oneida's blast of interstellar warp action and acid rawk, Fursaxa's blurry drone sketches, the blissful elegance of Tarentel, top 2002 lists and too many reviews to count them all.

Issue #14 of The Broken Face is finally available. This 70 pages long issue includes interviews/features about the harsh reality of Piano Magic, the absolutely gorgeous outsider folk of Six Organs of Admittance, the spluttering jazz of Mats Gustafsson, the rock sub-genre voyager Damien Youth, the ambient resonance of Rafael Toral, the melody-perforated dreamscapes of Bill Holt (Dreamies), the superbly detailed sonic canyon of Double Leopards and Winslow, the rock band. Add to that an extensive interview with Peter Stapleton of the magnificent NZ label Metonymic and tons of reviews and I am sure you know roughly what to expect.
Hot off the presses is the 13th issue of The Broken Face. This time out you can read about Vibracathedral Orchestra's joyful ceremonies of scraped strings and sawed violin, New Zealander Omit's alien dronescapes and looped electronics and thebrotheregg's complex yet carefully arranged psych pop. On a similar wavelength as the latter, although slightly softer, operates Summer Hymns from Athens, Georgia and as if this wasn't enough we got the chance to talk to the folks behind the increasingly excellent Portland imprint, Road Cone. The step from Portland to Providence might be a long one in reality but in the golden world of writings that's an easy trip to take. And if you're tempted to make thecross-continental it will be well worth it as the experimental folksters of the Iditarod will await you on the others side. Add to that a feature on Marianne Nowottny and almost 150 reviews and you get another issue packed with innovativeand cross-pollinating music.

Hot off the presses is the twelfth issue of The Broken Face. We've assembled what very well might be the most varied Broken Face issue yet. A chat with the genre-defying Bablicon gives way for a profile on the experimental Virginia label VHF. The uncrowned tzars of modern psychedelic pop, Norway's Dipsomaniacs are placed right next to the experimental sonic eclecticism of Richard Youngs. And as if the real world wasn't already strange enough the hallucinatory world of the Broken Face finds Colin Newman of Wire right across the street from the Finnish Circle, the northernmost successors to the Krautrock tradition, with Detroit indie twang masters Volebeats coming 'round the bend. Plus about 130 reviews of esoteric pop, drone, folk, rock, noise, psych, jazz..

#11 features SubArachnoid Space, Kinski, Jackie-O Motherfucker, Ring, Freed Unit, John Fahey, Mazarin, a profile on the BlueSanct label, and about 125 reviews.

The Broken Face is fit for consumption again with #10, our fattest issue yet. Included are in-depth discussions with Cul de Sac, Tower Recordings, Jon DeRosa (of Aarktica), Fit & Limo, Green PJ's, Chris Knox, a revolving-perspective roundup of Terrastock 4, over a hundred reviews, and a beautiful eye-massaging cover courtesy of George Parsons. Call it the folk issue if you will, or even a T-stock commemorative. Just don't call it a comeback.

#9 features inquisitive interviews with international rock star/entrepreneur Bruce Russell, Swedish psych rockers the Yind, meditative hillbilly drone maestros Pelt, guitar sound sculptor Kjetil D. Brandsdal, and in honor of Terrastock 4 part one of a conversation with Seattle's Green Pajamas, plus way too many reviews of esoteric pop, rock, folk, jazz, noise, etc\205

Hot off the presses: #8 features the usual eclectic mix from all over the map--starting with Sweden's own masters of psych/improve exploration The Spacious Mind, before moving across the pond via the sunny neo-psych pop of Oregon's Minders, and then back to Scotland for a chat with one of the finest duos in the UK's ever-evolving underground experimental pop scene, Electroscope. Then we swing down south to the sub-equatorial regions of Brazil for a chat with the absurd lords and lady of psych the Os Mutantes. And then a discussion with Austin's dreamy drone popsters Monroe Mustang finishes things off...along with about a hundred reviews covering everything from delicate acid folk to wigged out noise and lots of in between.

The Broken Face #7 was officially released December 21st 1999. It includes an enchanting mix of interviews and articles. We have finally been able to track down long time Broken Face heroes from New Zealand, the inimitable Renderers for a nice little chat. Multi-talented Swede, Peter Scion, talks about all his different musical projects through the years ranging from acid-folk and country solo albums to glorious electrified guitar jams placed in almost traditional surroundings with his most recent project Pangolin. Brother JT invites us to the Sermons of the couch with nothing but gin and diet coke. Ramon Medina talks with Houston, TX finest improvisation artist Dave Dove about self-indulgence. Erik Wivinus of Salamander and Skye Klad lets us know what really happened on the "The Rolling Psychedelic Circus Tour" featuring among others Salamander, Primordial Undermind and Japanese Overhang Party. Apart from that the usual amount of reviews and all kinds of in depth stuff. Timothy Renner has once again done astounding artwork for the cover.

#6 will be out in the middle of September 1999 and include interviews with New Zealand fuzz pop maestro Alastair Galbraith, Tony Dale-headman of the increasingly excellent label
Camera Obscura, from down under, acid rockers Alchemysts (GBR) and Tadpoles (USA). Also a great feature about NZ music from a-x from history with Xpress speed into the future.

The Broken Face #5 was released in the beginning of March 1999. We've gathered a few interviews that I really think am among the better we've done so far. Hood's music is in all possible ways among the favorites of almost everyone that contributed for The Broken Face so far. So, I guess it's natural that we finally managed to talk to Richard Adams to hear what's behind their brilliant music. The musical genius of David Pajo, who have been playing in such different bands as Slint, Tortoise, Palace and The For Carnation, shed some light on his solo project Aerial M. Another one-(wo)man project is a folk-psych wonder project out of Texas called Kable. If anyone ever will kill me with rock it will probably be Linus Pauling Quartet. This band hailing out of Houston, TX manages to combine everything from Black Sabbath to Spaceman 3 via Big Black, Sun Ra and Can along the way and still come out with it in one piece. I will certainly die with a smile on my lips if this rock will kill me. They certainly know how to talk as well. The longest interview in the history of The Broken Face? Another stellar Texas band is 7% Solution that's not easily categorized. A quick listen might lead to the conclusion that these folks are nothing else than plain old space rockers. That might or might not be the case. What's more important is that their debut album "All About Spaceships and Satellites" from a few years back is excellent and I really think this interview (with very nice artwork from James in 7% Solution) is likewise. So, as always we try to bring you interviews over a wide spectrum of music.

#4 point in a few ways out a new direction for The Broken Face, not musically though; we are still deeply into underground music in different flavors. The new direction I am talking about is a different approach to layout and art. Since we got some new software to work with the 'zine have taken a giant step forward in that specific field. The main interview in #4 is with NZ guitarist and legend Roy Montgomery. Also long and deep interviews with American ”always hard to place” Silkworm. California's post-space-noise-rocker's in rhBand and Norwegian soundscapes from Continental Fruit. The Norwegian stormtroopers from Motorpsycho are also covered. All the writers that have contributed to The Broken Face during '98 unveil their favorite albums of this interesting year. Lee Jackson and Mats Gustafsson have done a piece, which they call ”Great bands that only released one album”. This article focuses on bands that kind of got forgotten since they only released one album. #4 also include an article about album covers and the usual great amount of reviews and weird columns. This issue was released December 21st 1998.

Issue #3 includes interviews with the following bands. From Poland we bring Atman to you. It is a mixture of psych and folk of the 90's. Along with Japanese Ghost the most important psych band the last few years. Ui have been at it a few years now and now its time for this New York based band to enter The Broken Face. Ui have recently worked with Stereolab under the name Uilab. Ingvar Johansson (Sound Affects) goes a round with Photon Band, a band that could have been on Elephant 6 according to their music but they are not. One of the most interesting pop bands around. We bring you an interview with the lords of the new pop, the Olivia Tremor Control. From Norway we give you a short interview with one of the more interesting bands from our neighbors in the west, Stuntbike. We also keep giving you those interesting reviews and strange columns about nothing and everything, and whatever that cross our minds.

Issue #2 includes an interview with mighty Bedhead out of Dallas, Texas. Bedhead is a band that surprises the listener with its sheer beautiful songs but which at the same time are very powerful. Bedhead once described their music as "loud music that you can sleep to". I guess that is as close as you can get. Iota is a new interesting instrumental band from Sweden. T hey have just released their 7" debut and I am sure that you will here more from these fellows. In the spirit of Tortoise, This Heat. One of the bands that really have blown me away the last year is Charalambides, as many other interesting bands out of Texas. They combine their influences in psych and folk with ordinary pop and rock elements to a wonderful hybrid. Tom and Christina of the Charalambides goes a round with the editor and the Texas writer Lee Jackson. Issue #2 also contains a East River Pipe interview and the editors and Lee’s opinion about the best 25 albums between 1988 and 1998 and . Quiet stupid but actually quiet fun to. Mikey Sylvain have written you a column about Potatoes, England and Football, quite amazing if you ask me. And there is also an interview with Dipsomaniacs mainman Øyvind Holm. Dipsomaniacs is Norway's finest pop/lo-fi band.

Contributing writers #2:
Mats Gustafsson
Lee Jackson
Mikey Sylvain

Issue #1 of The Broken Face includes a long interview with Scott Grimm, the musical genius behind the high-octane psych rock band Dunlavy. He used to play in the influential Texas band Mike Gunn. Illyah Kuryahkin is the name of one of the best bands that appeared with an album in 1997. Dean Wilson of Illyah Kuryahkin explains in an interview for the editor that music is not more important than eating a meal. #1 also includes an interview with The Secret Stars and a label spotlite of the Stockholm-based label Slowball Recordings. Except from these interviews it also includes offensive columns by our writer in Northern England, Mikey Sylvain and more than 30 reviews.

Contributing Writers #1:
Mats Gustafsson
Lee Jackson
Mikey Sylvain
Darren Waite