September the first.
It’s shockingly early. Breakfast News on the TV tells me that the traditional lightbulb is now illegal in the European Union. Right now lightbulb police are patrolling the neighbourhood, dim torches are being poked through letter boxes, a fleet of bombers are heading towards Las Vegas. It’s dark outside and here I am typing a newsletter when I should be asleep.
Plenty of news here as we’ve been hard at it throughout the Summer. Tour plans are still sketchy though as promises of shows hang in the air right now. Something has to give in this respect soon. Anyhow, here goes……
IMPORTANT: CHANGE OF ADDRESS ALERT!!!!!
The Pink Dots postbox address is no longer active. Write directly to the band at this address from now on….
LEGENDARY PINK DOTS
c/o Philip Knight
Bloemenhof 16-1
6663 BL LENT
THE NETHERLANDS
LEGENDARY PINK DOTS 30th Anniversary Tour – Initial shows
15 Oct – MOSCOW/Ikra (RU)
19 Oct – HAMBURG/ Logo (D) – to be confirmed
21 Oct – OSLO /Cafe Mono (N)-to be confirmed
22 Oct – MALMO or STOCKHOLM (S) -to be confirmed
23 Oct – GOTHENBURG (S) – to be confirmed
24 Oct – BREMEN
30 Oct-1 Nov – Czech Republic
2-7 Nov – Poland
8 Nov – MINSK (BY)- to be confirmed
12 Nov – PARIS – Le Klub (F)
13 Nov – PARIS – Le Klub (F)
15 Nov – LONDON – Bardens Boudoir (UK)
Check our official tour schedule for updated information.
IMMINENT NEW RELEASES
THE TEAR GARDEN – Have a Nice Trip (CD)
Now finished and primed for production in the near future. Songs composed and recorded in Los Angeles early in 2008. A sumptuous audio rollercoaster. Pre-orders from TEKA now being taken – 20 Euros plus postage.
EDWARD KA-SPEL – Trapped in Amber (LP)
Limited Vinyl only release from EK on the Dutch Plinkity Plonk label. Colourful and precious, a natural follow-up to “Painted River of Regrets”. Pre-orders being accepted now – 20 Euros plus postage. 
EDWARD KA-SPEL – Dream Loops (CD)
Originally planned as a CDR release on TEKA, it was decided to make it a silver disc on Beta-Lactam Ring Records after a chat between Edward and Chris at the label. All proceeds go towards a good cause (go to www.blrrecords.com for full details). No pre-orders on this one from TEKA – go to Beta-Lactam Records to reserve. It will be available from TEKA when officially released on October 1.
THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS – The Maria Sessions (CDR)
Back in 1991 , every note played by the Dots was captured on a tape recorder which was literally never switched off. Some of the more inspired improvisations were worked on and turned into songs which found their way on the Maria Dimension album.
This CDR captures the very best of those sessions and features some of the most wonderful guitar work from Bob Pistoor that you’ll ever hear. A perfect companion release to Maria Dimension itself, this literally brought tears to our eyes when we played the finished version recently. Highly highly recommended – everything unreleased and unheard outside the Dots.
A TOQ CDR… it costs 13.50 Euros plus postage.
THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS – Human Radio (CDR)
A radio broadcast in 2002 before a tiny audience in an Amsterdam cafe. Crystal clear recordings interspersed with snippets of interview plus the material the Dots played in the cafe AFTER the radio show was finished. Songs included are “Isis Veiled”, “Our Dominion”, “12th”, “The More it stays the same” and a few others. A quiet beauty…. This TOQ CDR costs 13.50 Euros plus postage.
EDWARD KA-SPEL/THE SILVERMAN – The Whispering Wail (CDR)
Fine recordings from 2004 featuring Edward and Phil improvising with “The Whispering Wall” album in mind. It’s wild and loud and at times utterly uplifting. Again, this one comes recommended. All pieces unreleased and unheard outside Chez Dots. A TOQ CDR..it costs 13.50 euros plus postage.
EDWARD KA-SPEL – The Painted River of Regrets (vinyl LP)
Just released by Beta-Lactam Ring records in an edition of 300 copies. A delirious voyage to a melancholy corner of the universe. It costs 20 Euros plus 8 for postage /packing inside Europe and 10 further afield.
Ordering Instructions (scroll to bottom of page)
REISSUED!
EDWARD KA-SPEL – O’er a Shalabaster Tyde Stroll’t ay (CD)
Remastered and gloriously repackaged, this album is available once more after being out-of-print for a long time. 15 Euros plus postage.
EDWARD KA-SPEL – Chyekk China Doll (CD)
The remaster of this is quite remarkable, it never sounded this good in the past. New bonus tracks added and newly covered up – possibly the finest release so far in the ongoing reissue series. Expect in October/November.
Ordering Instructions (scroll to bottom of page)
BACK IN STOCK!!
THE TEAR GARDEN – Eye Spy with my little Eye (CD)
Just a few back here at TEKA. 20 euros plus postage.
THE TEAR GARDEN – The Secret Experiment (CD)
Also a handful in the cupboard. 20 Euros plus postage.
EDWARD KA-SPEL – The Blue Room (double LP with bonus 4th side)
Just 3 copies. 25 Euros plus postage
Ordering Instructions (scroll to bottom of page)
LOVE AND LOUD COLOURS – The lyrics of Edward Ka-Spel
We’d like to bring your attention to www.loveandloudcolours.com… this is a website dedicated to Edward Ka-Spel’s book of lyrics which was released a few years ago. The site has been updated and visitors will find a section where Edward reveals the origins for many of his outpourings.
Beautiful things that came our way
ES/ Sateenkaarisuudelma
Available as a beautiful double album release and as a double CD. Quite honestly if the amount of love and devotion poured into this album was contagious (I hope it is) then we could seriously talk about the dawn of a New Age of earth. Nothing sweet here, this is music that lifts the listener to a place he or she probably hoped would exist but somehow doubted it. I had to think of the best work of Terry Riley at odd (golden) moments, but that would be a lazy comparison ultimately.
Much has been written about the “Finnish free folk” movement, and there are an awful lot of releases out there which carry this categorization. My recommendation is to dive into the ocean with confidence… but this is a good place to start from.
SVARTBAG
I was given this CD by a kind record store owner in Copenhagen, and what a beauty it is!!! Perhaps there are echoes of the sadly missed Godspeed You Black Emperor, but that comparison does this Danish band a disservice. Very much an individual sound to this CD on the Rump Recordings label. Charged, ecstatic. Utterly uplifting in these sepia times.
THE JOHN MORAN CORPORATION
Sometimes a CD comes along that makes you want to fling open the windows and scream about to the rest of the World (only that would of course interfere with the beautiful music). In the case of John moran, it wasn’t one but 2 albums that turned up in the mail box.. Psychedelic in the broadest sense, tuneful, intelligent, happy, sad – don’t know where to stop. John is from Australia and his CDs are on the Puzzle Factory label. Seek him out, and buy his music – you will not regret this. 
UN FESTIN SAGITAL
Title: Epitafio a la Permanencia
Imagine Christian Vander and Pierre Henry collaborating on a lost masterpiece when they were both at the peaks of their powers… Imagine the master tape turning up in Chile… Imagine it’s reputation preceded it and turned out to be EVEN BETTER. Un Festin Sagital is a group I’d never heard of before, but I reckon I’ll spend the next few years hearing them again and again such is the depth of this debut. Purchase from < www.blrrecords.com > now before it vanishes.
ARIEL KALMA
Beta-Lactam Ring has given Ariels’ first insanely rare album a long overdue re-release and it’s a glory. Lots of beautiful bonus material as well. We loved this record for years at Chez Dots… Hearing it with this kind of clarity was akin to waking up after a long Winter’s sleep.
MORE TO COME SOON!!
