Elmapi is a Parisian electro-pop super-sensation who intertwines pop and experimental styles effortlessly. Her recent album "Arcane Electronique" is a gem of underground electro-pop in a world of inflated and vapid superstars. This is a reworking of her original home recordings as mixed and mastered by Andy Moor of The Ex and the Dog Faced Hermans. That is a real honor for those of you who don't know, as those are the two most innovative and influential Dutch punk bands ever. The sound is excellent.

And yes they did just get married. Congratulations James and Ms. Elmapi!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Full Tour Schedule and Links found below

http://www.vampler.net/matterlink

http://www.myspace.com/elmapi

Nov 15 2006 8:00PM HOUSTON, TX- Super Happy Fun Land w/ ?

Nov 16 2006 10 PM AMARILLO TEXAS guerilla motel performance, FREE

Nov 17 2006 8:00 PM, ALBAQUERQUE, NM, (PEACE & JUSTICE Center 202 HARVARD st. SE, ) a Basement Films production, $6, SURPRISE guests

Nov 18 2006 8:00PM SANTE FE, NM-H I G H M A Y H E M , w/ The Late Severa Wires

Nov 20 2006 8:00PM PHOENIX, AZ- The Trunk Space W/ ?

Nov 26 2006 8:00PM SAN FRANCISCO, CA- Artists' Television Access w/ ?

Nov 29 2006 8:00PM LINCOLN, NE- Duffys Tavern- collaboration w/Elmapi

Nov 30 2006 8:00PM KANSAS CITY, MO- The Record Bar w/ No Mathematics

Dec 1 2006 10:00PM COLUMBIA, MO- Ragtag Cinema

Dec 2 2006 8:00PM MINNEAPOLIS, ACADIA CAFE w/ In Civilian Clothing

Dec 4 2006 9:00PM Chicago, IL- (TBA)

Dec 5 2006 8:00PM DETROIT, MI- Bohemian National Home, Detroit, MI 3309 Tillman show at 9PM w/ Bad Thoughts

Dec 7 2006 9 PM CINCINATTI, OH- (TBA)

Dec 8 2006 Louisville, KY, (TBA)

Dec 10 2006 Baltimore MD- (TBA) w/WZT

The Flaming Lips' September 12 spectacle in
Charlottesville, Virginia was one of those righteous shows
that should inform other area performances for months to
come. Amidst a snowstorm of confetti, sweat, and balloons
-- really, really fucking big ones -- bassist Michael Ivins
helped cobble together recreations of the tracks on "At War
With The Mystics" in an adventurous multi-sensory
experience that begs rather stubbornly for a less
dismissive term than merely "concert." One can only hope
that the other musicians in attendance were paying close
enough attention to leave inspired.

MC: What sorts of things motivated the songs on "At War
With The Mystics?"

MI: There was a bizarre murder-suicide that happened in the
Buffalo-Fredonia area, and it becomes all you talk about
for four days. Whatever song we're working on at the time,
it takes on a different spin. What's a little bit
different about this record in particular is that we're not
only explorering the outside world, but actually it's how
we actually live in the outside world. With the craziness
that's been going on, we actually explored some of that
stuff on the record.

MC: Are there political or social motives at work?

MI: I think it just adds to the dimensionality of it that
you can take it different ways; I don't think it was
intended any particular way. "Go tell Britney and go tell
Gwen" doesn't mean anything particularly against pop music.
Just for the purposes of the song, it happened to fit.

MC: Oklahoma is an unusual home base; do you ever want to
move elsewhere? Would California just get to be too much
for you?

MI: I think it ends up kind of like that in some places,
but places and things are just that -- places and things.
You make them what you will, because really it's all about
people.

MC: Your stage show is pretty elaborate. Do you ever get
the urge to apply that same grandeur across different
media?

MI: Wayne's usually a lot better about talking about high
art. I don't consider myself an Artist with a capital A.
I just figure that I'm in a band and have been doing this
for a long time and really enjoy it. I think if you take
an artist and what an artist is, it's really just a person
that's using whatever medium they're into. As a sidebar, I
think that's why the Flaming Lips as an entity are trying
to do so much stuff that we don't want to be limited to
just being a rock band and putting a record out. We can
have songs that wouldn't fit well in an actual release, but
would be great in a soundtrack. We write country style
music. We're setting ourselves up to have more outlets.

Interviewer: Vijith Assar

Photo Credit: Tom Daly

Alex Schein's 2006's "Speed Of Light" CD, released on Schein's own SkyHunter Music imprint,
is written, performed, and produced by Schein. Schein himself is truly a modern testament to positivity. While many contemporary artists stake claim to holding the torch of the positive,
few can even begin to match Schein for authentic, pretense-free, vital-spirit communication.
Schein is on a path of giving and searching. He gives us his view of "the universal"
and the need for all of Planet Earth to unite, overcoming differences and embracing the congruity and similitude amongst us all. Schein is searching for "a timeless place" that is a manifestation of light, with light being the central image and concept for Schein's CD.

Alex Schein - Audio Collage
Audio Collage
Note: There is a file embedded within this post, please visit this post to download the file.

This ain't some Hip-Hop bullshit. This is elevated music for elevation. Frank and honest lyrics combine with stripped-down rhythm tracks that buoy Alex's "sense of awe of himself and the world around him". Minimal melodies reinforce the clarity of the vocal messages and the notion of the "self-awareness" we all possess. Schein shares the themes of "personal reflection and spiritual renewal" and "deeper levels of understanding with ourselves and the world around us".
The 11 songs on "Speed Of Light" are smooth and rooted in nature. Tracks such as "Knot Poetry", "Gift Of Gabriel", "Mind Of The Maker", "On Your Side", and "Rise Up" are particularly nice and exhibit Schein's style and method.

Schein's "Speed Of Light" was recorded at Monkeyclaus Studio in Nelson County, Virginia, with Abel Okugawa engineering and mixing the record. Additional recording and mixing was done at
Playback Recording Studio in New York City. The CD was mastered by Mike Wells in San Francisco.

Schein earned a B.A. in Religion & Philosophy from Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg,
Virginia. Schein has spent time in Durban, South Africa, and Mali, West Africa. Schein also acted as management for the Bosnia Peace Project Tour with The Dave Matthews Band. Additionally, Alex has worked for non-profit organizations focusing on youth development. He is a member of
Hip-Hop Congress, performing at the Midwest Hip-Hop Congress Summit in 2002, 2004, and 2006.

Schein has been working closely with climbing and bouldering filmmaker Josh Lowell recently.
Lowell, who runs Big Up Productions, has featured Schein's music in the films "Pilgrimage", "Dosage III", and "Dosage IV". Schein has said he is very appreciative of the support he received from the rock climbing community. Lowell also produced a music video for "Rise Up", which is the first single from the new "Speed Of Light" CD. The video is to premier this Fall. It features breakdancing in caves. And that's Fresh. Schein will be performing this Fall on the Reel Rock Tour.

"Speed Of Light" is available at alexschein.com and also through iTunes.

His most recent CD-R release, "Magic Cuts" is available in both mini and full size CD-R with handmade packaging as well as by digital download. These "Magic Cuts" are cinematic, sexy, and infused with infectious grooves. His "816"vinyl, Monkeyclaus' first record release, is an underground classic full of crucial beats and haunting samples. Both releases feature gorgeous vocals provided by Rahimah von Briesen, whose voice summons mental imagery of a silver-tongued vixen wandering the desert from oasis to oasis taming birds and making men faint. Live tabla beats from local prodigy Loren Oppenheimer also grace both recordings. Buy the Vinyl through AbelOkugawa.com, alternatively, download it here. Abel's catalog additionally includes three releases from his old band Avon Force, and a high profile track on the Dosage Three Rock Climbing video from Big Up Productions.

Born in Los Angeles where he lived until age 14, Abel then moved to Charlottesville, Virginia. As a child Abel met King Crimson guitar guru Robert Fripp in a castle in England, where Abel's unique spirit inspired Fripp's League of Crafty Guitarists to write the song, "Are you Abel". In his own words Okugawa recounts one poignant exchange between him and the prog-pioneer Fripp. "I was about eight years old and at a seminar my Mom was teaching for the League of Crafty Guitarists. I was there as a guest. We had to eat spaghetti with peanut butter most nights. And I finally asked Robert (Fripp) at the dinner table why he liked the peanut butter spaghetti so much. So he called me a name and I called him a 'toad'." Though surrounded by much music growing up, Abel is mostly self taught and completely original.

Please listen to this melange of Abel's tracks to get a taste for his sounds and styles. One clip herein features voice samples of Joe Maynard, a Charlottesville denizen who was William S. Burroughs' official bibliographer and is known as "the last of the Beats".
Please enjoy Abel Okugawa's work and for more information visit his official website.

Fursaxa is the sounds of Tara Burke. This cryptic word is something which was spelled out by Tara's phone number at some point in time. She is magical and humble. It is rumored that she lives in a stone house on a farm in the country. She uses minimal tools, such as a casio sk-1, dulcimer, shakers and a sampling pedal to build up soaring soundscapes. Her music is holy and mystical. It is the sound of a high priestess enchanting and inducting the audience into a world of mystery. This really could be hidden magic from a culture not yet discovered. Tara has said in a past interview, "I get strong feelings like I've been a part of other cultures in other lifetimes." Monkeyclaus recorded Fursaxa in an old stone cathedral on the grounds of the University of Virginia, this past April when she was on tour with Jack Rose. Listen here and experience a unique recording of this talented artist in her element. Read the interview linked below to feel closer to the source of the music. Visit her website and find the discography. Save your money and buy the whole catalog.
Fursaxa Official Website
Fursaxa Interview, Bio and History

This exclusive Jackie-O-Motherfucker podcast combines excerpts from a live performance in Charlottesville, Virginia on March 18th 2006 and a track the band created in our Monkeyclaus Studio on March 19th 2006. Admiring their experimentalism, Monkeyclaus invited Jackie-O into the studio for Monkey Session #4. The Monkey Sessions are an ongoing series of John Peel inspired studio sessions. It was engineered by Abel Okugawa and Peter Agelasto. JOMF manifested spacious and liberated sounds. The live recording was made by Todd Pattison at Dust Space in Charlottesville. The live set was intensely witchy and esoteric. Monkeyclaus is proud to present this unique document. Enjoy!

Interview
audio

Podcast
audio
Note: There is a file embedded within this post, please visit this post to download the file.

View Additional Photo Gallery

Exclusive Interview
audio
Note: There is a file embedded within this post, please visit this post to download the file.
Live at Dust
audio
Note: There is a file embedded within this post, please visit this post to download the file.

Doofgoblin creates high intensity and dynamic electronic music. Currently living in the Virginia country side, John Gulino is a one man wrecking crew. His beats are glitchy, sporadic, heavy and original. The sounds are virtually unclassifiable. There is a ubiquitous appeal, as Doofgoblin's talents excite fans of noise, electronica, glitch, and any number of obscure laptop genres. He offers something for the real party rockers and for the introspective music geeks. To watch Doofgoblin perform is to witness a creative process unfold before your eyes. It is not like watching a dude hit play on his laptop and fake it, trying to look sexy or bad ass. John plays with chance and whims. He adjusts the angle of his screen violently, furrows his brow, decides on the fly, and smiles a blinding smile as his muse mutates and charms him. Monkeyclaus is proud to present this live set of Doofgoblin and live audio interview.

Check out www.doofgoblin.com
for more Doofgoblin.

Keyboard clairvoyance.
Incantation and anatomy of a beat.
Beat with a capital B.
Soaring female vocals.
Allurement. Captivation. Ritual. Rite.
Charming and glamorous.
Magnetic and street-wise.
Global interactions.
A hex for poseurs and Ponzi schemers.
Six cuts of pure hypnosis.
The magic formula.

www.abelokugawa.com

USAisaMonster - Monkey Session Audio
USAisaMonster Audio

Kites - Monkey Session Audio
Kites Audio

Download this podcast:

www.monkeyclaus.org/cms/pdsFiles/rss133361.xml

As a two piece band Usaisamonster boggles the mind with their overly ambitious amout of gear and how they integrate these tools into their rock. Drummer Thom Hohman sings thru his (Time/Life Books infomercial) operator style head set mic, while playing a Moog taurus foot pedal with his left foot, nimbly adding sporadic keyboard lines with his right hand (on the remaining keys not yet shattered to bits) , and deftly pounding out brutal beats. In the track we captured here at Monkeyclaus he also shows his skills with the african thumb piano. Guitarist Colin Matthews rocks an array of pedals thru a huge stack of amps supplying the bass register as well as the soaring guitar leads. Bouncing around like an yeti under the influence, Colin's guitar work varies from stoner rock riffs to delicate repetitive African inspired grooves. He is truly one of the more important lead axe men of this new century.

Due to time restraints the Monster was able only to lay down one 10 minute track, a jam with Kites and gave us an insightful interview covering topics ranging from the Iraq war to the struggle of the Native Americans to the magical powers of nature spirits. Monkeyclaus also shot video of the entire session and made a three part feature DVD documenting the session. The video also includes audio of a live version of their Bulgarian folk song recorded by Monkeyclaus the night before. The session overall is a fantastic portal into the weird and engaging world of these punk nomads in action...ENJOY

As part of the same session Kites treated us to a diabolically gorgeous dose of noise. Christopher can whip up a maelstom with the best of them. His wizardly approach and vast configuration of foot pedals create a signal chain tapping into time and space. As in his live set the previous nite he set the mood with an oscillator, giving a familar reference of moogish tones to henceforth begin deconstruction. With devices such as the "Kites Beast" and a homemade "King Tubby style" electronic handshaker Kites began a focused assault that was both calculated and well executed. Tired of everyone thinking they can be a noiseband? And delivering noise wonk? Stacking his three amps like a crucifix, Kites will school all amatuers!

If you have never seen .xml before, you will love it.Trust us .xml is the future. monkeyclaus loves .xml. If you click on the link rather than follow the instructions below you might see garble de goop depending on which browser your using. What are Podcasts

Monkeycasts/Podcasts
We like the name monkeycasts better than podcasts. After all it is distributed by monkeys for monkeys. The easy way to get these monkeycasts is to download the latest version of iTunes on your mac or your pc. Follow these directions to download our monkeycasts.

1. Launch iTunes on your computer. (iTunes needs be version 4.9 or greater.)
2. Click on the Advanced button at the top of the iTunes menu bar.
3. Choose subscribe to pod-cast under the advanced tab.
4. Paste the podcast link above .xml into the advanced window...
5. Watch the link appear in the podcast section of iTunes.
6. Click ' get ' to start downloading each of the mp3s to your computer.
7. Enjoy and check back regularly for more podcasts.

*You dont need iTunes, we just say that because it is easy and most folks have it