Amon

Released to raise money for victims of the Kobe, Japan, earthquake, this Amon Düül II disc from 1996, like the very similar Eternal Flashback, is actually material from 1969 to 1971 reworked through the wonders of plunderphonics by members of the group into one seamless, 65-minute-long space rock epic. It's not quite as radical as the John Oswald remix of the Grateful Dead's "Darkstar" on Grayfolded or the Can remix album Sacrilege, though it's still a quite fascinating bit of trickery, as bits of tracks from the first two albums, Phallus Dei and Yeti, are blended with previously unreleased material. The rhythms are often looped to retain the essence of the original album, but drawn out into long, hypnotic passages with oozes of guitar floating around them, while most of the vocal sections have been completely excised out, leaving this a complete instrumental workout. It comes off like an early version of the group on an endless jam section, and though it is no match for either Yeti or Phallus Dei, it will certainly satisfy those who can't get enough of Amon Düül II's early psychedelic sound.

Amon Tobin - The Foley Room (2007)
IDM/Electronica/Trip-Hop | Ninja Tune | MP3 | CBR 320kbps | 50:31 | 119 MB

With Foley Room, Montreal's Amon Tobin throws his torch in with the blazing tradition of full-length works composed in the majority with found sounds. Having formerly made his name as a craftsman of vinyl samples into towering rhythmic dynamos like his fin-de-siècle LP, Supermodified, Tobin tries sampling the world for himself. With microphone in hand and his tape console slung over his shoulder, he captures the timbre of factories, a massive satellite dish, and local avant-garde improvisers with equal zest. One loping highlight comes early in "Big Furry Head," when during a token trip-hop lead-in–all reverb, squiggle, and over-compressed drumbeat–a tiger's hungry growls tears new life across the frequency spectrum, signaling the abyss-deep thump of Tobin's next new groove. Whether he's wandering through lush, meandering string workouts ("Bloodstone") or more aggressive avenues toward beauty ("Ever Falling"), Tobin's gait is ever informed by the beat. But where some contemporary found-sound sculptures like Matthew Herbert's Plat du Jour keep a more strident sampling ethos in the service of musical politics, Tobin's approach clearly reeks with a love of sound manipulation as its own reward: every process an adventure, each completed work a revelation. –Jason Kirk

"Utopia" is a studio project by Olaf Kübler and Lothar Meid. Because it featured several regular members of AMON DÜÜL II (including Chris Karrer and John Weinzierl), it has usually been regarded as part of the DÜÜL discography, and, indeed, the CD reissue credits the album to AMON DÜÜL II…

Amon Düül was a German art commune whose members began producing improvisational psychedelic rock music during the late '60s. The group's members released several albums, mostly recorded during a single extended jam session. Concurrently, some of the commune's more musically inclined members formed the longer-lasting Amon Düül II, who made their debut with 1969's Phallus Dei and continued releasing ambitious efforts such as 1971's Tanz der Lemminge and the more pop-minded Made in Germany (1975). Both acts proved to be a major influence on generations of experimental rock musicians to come and are regarded as pioneers of the Krautrock style.

Swedish death metallers AMON AMARTH will release a new DVD and Blu-Ray, "The Pursuit Of Vikings: 25 Years In The Eye Of The Storm", in November. The set will include a documentary as well as footage of the band's 2017 performance at the Summer Breeze festival in Dinkelsbühl, Germany.