more Total

ok let's try to approximate the completion of Total's discography. There will still be some releases which I don't have, but with the ones I have posted before (check the tag), we're close to it. NOTE: IF ANY READERS HAVE THE TOTAL/CULVER SPLIT TAPE ON MATCHING HEAD, PLEASE SEND A MESSAGE!

Total - Beyond The Rim

 

 After the initial run of Total in the mid-to-late-80s, Bower went on to form Skullflower, and only got back to releasing more experimentally-oriented material under the Total moniker in 1993 with this amazing 1993 lp on Majora.

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Total - Here, Time Is Space

 

This came out in the same year as Sky Blue Void  (posted already on this blog) and sounds like a mix between more subdued drone and all-out wild noise. 1994 2 X lp on Majora.

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Total - Glassy Warhead



This one seems a little bit more on a traditional noise track, with screeching mic noise and guitar delay attack. 1995 cd on Pure.

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Total - Tanzmusik Der Renaissance

 

Total psychedelic awesomeness. 1995 cd on Freek Records.

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Total - Silver Pillows



This starts deceptively blissfully but descends into guitar amp abuse, only to end up in a mess of guitar wails and some metal percussion jumping. 1995 10" on Majora.


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Total - Clear Factory



Real nice droning noise with guitar, piano and some beautiful background synths. 1996 lp on Majora.

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Total - Buffin' The Celestial Muffin

 

This one showcases the awesome reeds of John Godbert (Vibracathedral Orchestra), as well guest appearances by Neil Campbell (again of Vibracathedral), Stuart Dennison (Skullflower) and Philip Best (Consumer Electronics). 1997 cd on Rural Electrification Program and Format Supremacy.

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Total - Kaspar Hauser



High-pitched feedback invocations and cowbell clang. 1997 cd on Metonymic.

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Total - To Fall Like Cherry Blossoms



Jaw-dropping amp noise/winds/piano drone/free jazz. Bower is once again accompanied by John Godbert, as well as Neil Ireland. 1997 lp on American Tapes.

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Total - Mountain Tasting



Stunning elegiac experimentations with piano, violin, reeds and cymbals. Essential listening. 1997 lathe 7"

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Total - Eternity's Beautiful Frontispiece



Droning psychedelic contemplative awesomeness with John Godbert and Neil Campbell. 1998 cd on VHF Records.

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Total - Solid Objects Cast At Goblins

 

Sadly this was to be the last Total release, though the material was recorded in 1996. Once more this one features Bower and John Godbert on percussion and wind instruments and includes amazing shimmering drones. 2000 cd on VHF Records.

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more Hototogisu

Hopefully this will be the last Hototogisu post for some time, as with this, almost all of their discography is complete, with a few exceptions. You can find more Hototogisu uploads elsewhere on this blog with the respective tag.

Hototogisu - The White Wind of Autumn

 

Along with other early Hototogisu releases such as Floating Oof! blah blah (already uploaded here) this shows a calmer, psychedelic and more blissful side of Matthew Bower. It's like he took the horns and other instruments of Total and muted the deafening guitar noise. 2000 cdr on Rural Electrification Program.

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Hototogisu - Cuckoo Cloudland



Introspective guitar drone accompanied by vibraphones, accordions and some nice casio doodling sounds. Highly recommended! 2001 lp on De Stijl.

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Hototogisu - Swoon Scream

 

This is the second release with Marcia Bassett on board, so it's pretty obvious that she's the one that took all the Ladose pills away from Bower's shelf and brought in all the noise and destruction! 2004  2 X cdr on Heavy Blossom.

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Hototogisu - Green

 

This is the notorious Hototogisu black metal album, with some really cool tremolo riffing emerging here and there and the necessary drum machine double-bass kicking. Strangely though, this one sounds kinda more blissful and less noisy than most of their relases after Marcia Bassett joined, and thus peculiarly reminiscent of Hototogisu's Hawaii days. 2005 cd on Heavy Blossom.

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 Hototogisu - Some Blood Will Stick



 This one is a compilation of three tracks from Awful Symmetry (uploaded a few days ago), namely tracks 1, 2, and 5 from there, and tracks 4 and 6 from Swoon Scream, plus another one (the fifth one on here). Yes, it would have made more sense to just include the extra track but hey! 2006 cd on Heavy Blossom.

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Hototogisu + Burning Star Core



Room filling, kraut-inspired psychedelic noise jams. 2006 on DroneDisco.

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Hototogisu + Burning Star Core - II



Somewhat more subtle and quiet, but more sinister. 2006 cdr on Heavy Blossom.

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Hototogisu & Prurient - Snail on a Razor

 

Live collaboration with Dominic Fernow on his own label. Great stuff. 2006 cd on Hospital Productions.

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Hototogisu - Spooked Summer

 

After the collaborations this is kind of a return to the blistering guitar screaming, and also more akin to other Bower projects like Mirag and Voltigeurs.2007 cdr on Heavy Blossom.

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Hototogisu - Under the Rose

 

One of the final Hototogisu releases. Ascending evil guitar incantations and an awesome descent in the end of the second track. 2008 lp on Heavy Blossom.

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Total ‎– The Starlit Mire 7"

Another Matthew Bower/John Godbert collaboration on guitar and horns. 1997 7" on the amazingly baptized Rural Electrification Program.

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Hototogisu - Floating Japanese Oof! Gardens Of The 21st Century...

Yo, this is once again Matthew Bower (but without Marcia Bassett) either on an island trip or on a Ladose trip. Totally late-60s japanese psychedelic beauty. 2001 cdr on Rural Electrification Program (amazing name!!)

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Download disc 2