What is Skz Record

What Is This - What Is This
FLAC | Artwork | 24Bit 96kHz: 767 MB | 16Bit 44.1kHz: 261 MB
Cat#: MCA Records MCA-5598 | Country/Year: US 1985, Promotional Copy
Genre: Alternative Rock | Hoster: Uploaded/Filesonic

What Is This? (known prior to 1980 as Anthym) was a rock band that originated in Fairfax High School in California and would play numerous shows along the coast of California. Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers was one of two original people who acted as roadies for the band and would introduce the band before they went on stage. Original Red Hot Chili Peppers members Hillel Slovak and Jack Irons left that band just prior to it receiving its first record contract, preferring to focus on What Is This?. Slovak rejoined the Chili Peppers for their second album and Irons for their third album. The name What Is This? refers to the reaction of people listening to their music.

What’s Up Matador is a 2-CD (or 2-LP) compilation that was released by Matador Records that chronicles some of the best artists within their roster during the 90s. The first disc serves as a bit of a “best of” collection, featuring indie standouts by Yo La Tango, Pizzicato Five, Cat Power, Helium, and of course, Liz Phair. The second disc is what is particularly noteworthy, as it features previously unreleased material from many of the same artists. This marks the official debut of Liz’s “Stuck On An Island,” a b-side that fans would later discover was in the initial running for whitechocolatespaceegg.

As has been the case for the past four decades, Michael Gira is doing something unconventional. Following up their trilogy of punishing (two hours long, each of ’em), entrancing, and very weird records over the course of just four years, Swans appears to be returning, albeit in a new iteration. Young God Records has shared details on their site of the campaign to fund Gira’s new album, spearheaded by a record of acoustic tracks titled What Is This?, the foundation of what will later become the band’s proper new record. Gira also notes that the band’s new lineup will include past members of the band and other Gira project Angels of Light (including Bill Rieflin, currently a member of King Crimson), as well as Swedish songwriter, organist, and honorary member of the Gira universe Anna von Hausswolff. Gira notes that the new record “won’t be expressed in a musical style similar to the chapter of Swans that recently concluded,” concluding with a Lynchian quip to “Follow the uncertainty, make that the thing.”

Map of What Is Effortless was probably anything but effortless in its creation. Crisp, majestic, and swirling, this sophomore record trumps their debut in spades. Fahrenheit Fair Enough (the group's 2001 fine enough in its own right debut) noodled with a mix of post-rock aesthetics filtered through beats split apart on a G4 and chilled, where Map brings the grandeur of radio-inflected soul, motion picture soundtrack pads, and even a little bravado with a production frame that kills anything found on the dial.