Author: Moone Records

  • helvetia

    helvetia

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    In 2005 after the break up of legendary slow-core band, DUSTER, and throughout his tenure playing with BUILT TO SPILL over the past decade, HELVETIA has been the primary creative output of Jason Albertini.

    In January of 2020, Helvetia quietly uploaded a new album titled Fantastic Life to bandcamp. Their first new music since 2017’s Sunchaser EP. Albertini returned to his roots and recorded/produced this album entirely on a 4-track cassette recorder. Fantastic Life is a slow churning wave with bursts of agitated fits. The aesthetic feels as if it is cut from the same cloth as their 2007 album The Acrobats. Woozy off-kilter experimentation littered with moments of sweetness and pop gems. Albertini’s guitar playing and effortless vocal performances have always lived in another plain. Everything is loosely tied together but elegant. Even if everything fell apart, it would be embraced. Helvetia’s sincerity is unmistakable and unforced.

    In contrast to the album title and sonic emotion, the lyrical themes are dark and defeated. However, it feels as though he is at peace with the present. “What a fantastic life” Albertini repeats nonchalantly, but almost sarcastically while smirking, throughout the title track. As if to say, “Things are fucked, and will always be, but I really do love being alive.”

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    "Fantastic Life" by Helvetia

    “Fantastic Life” by Helvetia

    $23.00

    In stock

  • caustics

    caustics

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    Caustics is Yasi Perera (Breezy Days Band/Park Details) on voice/electronics, Josiah Wolf (Why?) on drums/percussion, Devin Hoff (Julia Holter/Good for Cows) on acoustic and electric basses and John Dieterich (Deerhoof/Gorge Trio) on guitars/voice/electronics.  This unlikely assemblage of personalities (some of which had never met before the first session) was created as a vehicle for exploring a spontaneously and collectively invented ritual music, a conduit for the casting of spells.  Through the multiple recording sessions represented on Touch, the group turned the lights out and agreed to try to forget what music was in service to this simple idea.  Sounds bleed into each other, meeting in some unrecognizable space. Voices float in and out, emotive yet never quite intelligible.  Gestures are limited in breadth but achieve an otherworldly power in their simplicity.  The result is a claustrophobic miasma of disjointed electronics, pounded rhythms and trance-inducing swirls, honed razor sharp in its focus.  There is no pretense to preconceived ideas of musical sophistication or aspirations to virtuosity.  This, rather, is a group of fellow travelers rubbing stones together in order to generate a new kind of heat.

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    "Touch" by Caustics

    “Touch” by Caustics

    $10.00

    In stock

  • Live Stream [may 8, 2020]

    Live Stream [may 8, 2020]

    This special collection of songs was put together by Seth Kasselman and Steph Carrico. They are heroes of ours, and we couldn’t be more thankful that they took the time to participate in this live stream. Check out Seth’s project, Warm Climate, and donate to the DIY music venue that Steph founded, The Trunk Space, HERE.

    *Please note* that a few of the songs in this playlist were not available on YouTube, so we linked to them separately.

    Artist: Maurice Gibb
    Song Title: I’ve Come Back
    Album: B-Side to “Railroad”

    Artist: Zeitgeist
    Song Title: Gimmick
    Album: Shake-Rake

    Artist: Novi Split
    Song Title: Stupid
    Album: Creeping Around Your Face

    Artist: Porter Wagoner
    Song Title: Cassie
    Album: George Leroy Chickashea

    Artist: Aaron Lightman
    Song Title: Down To The Sea
    Album: Down To The Sea

    Artist: Chris Spedding
    Song Title: Don’t Leave Me
    Album: The Only Lick I Know

    Artist: Advance Base
    Song Title: My Sister’s Birthday
    Album: A Shut-In’s Prayer

    Artist: Mount Eerie
    Song Title: Real Death
    Album: A Crow Looked at Me

    Artist: GTO’s
    Song Title: Do Me in Once and I’ll Be Sad, Do Me in Twice and I’ll Know Better
    Album: Permanent Damage

    Artist: Crabby Appleton
    Song Title: Go Back
    Album: Crabby Appleton

    Artist: Neutral Milk Hotel
    Song Title: Two-Headed Boy
    Album: In The Aeroplane Over The Sea

    Artist: Tin Tin
    Song Title: Ships On The Starboard
    Album: Astral Taxi

    *This song is not online, but more info is available HERE.

    Artist: Matt ‘MV’ Valentine
    Song Title: P.K. Dick
    Album: P.K. Dick

    *This song is not online, but more info is available HERE.

  • Live Stream [may 1, 2020]

    Live Stream [may 1, 2020]

    This fantastic collection of songs was curated by our friend Jon Utter for our Instagram live stream/listening party on May 1, 2020. These are some of the jams that are in rotation at his house during quarantine. If you enjoy any of these records, we hope you’ll go support the artists and labels that put them out! *Please note* that one of the songs in this playlist was not on YouTube, so we linked to it separately.

    Artist: Teenage Fanclub & Jad Fair
    Song Title: You Rock
    Album: Words Of Wisdom And Hope

    Artist: Dump
    Song Title: Curl
    Album: I Can Hear Music

    Artist: Yo La Tengo
    Song Title: Can’t Forget
    Album: Fakebook

    Artist: The Clean
    Song Title: Crazy
    Album: Getaway

    Artist: Dean Wareham & Cheval Sombre
    Song Title: The Bend in the River
    Album: Dean Wareham & Cheval Sombre

    Artist: Smog
    Song Title: I Was A Stranger
    Album: Red Apple Falls

    Artist: Solid Home Life
    Song Title: Little Blue Truck
    Album: Solid Home Life

    Artist: The Clientele
    Song Title: Reflections After Jane
    Album: Suburban Light (or “Alone And Unreal: The Best of The Clientele”)

    Artist: Arthur Russell 
    Song Title: Come To Life
    Album: Iowa Dream

    Artist: French Quarter
    Song Title: A Set Of Hours
    Album: It’s Not Just Kissing

    Artist: Arthur Russell 
    Song Title: Follow You
    Album: Iowa Dream

    Artist: Lambchop
    Song Title: Everything For You
    Album: This (is what I wanted to tell you)

  • Live Stream [april 30, 2020]

    Live Stream [april 30, 2020]

    Here’s the playlist Caleb put together for our live stream on April 30, 2020. These are some of the country (or country-ish) tracks that have been inspiring him during quarantine! *Please note* that a couple of the songs in this playlist are not on YouTube, so we linked to those songs/albums separately.

    Artist: Silver Jews
    Song Title: Pretty Eyes
    Album: The Natural Bridge

    Artist: Gene Tripp
    Song Title: Stay Low
    Album: Happy Plaza

    Artist: Bonnie “Prince” Billy
    Song Title: The Sun Highlights The Lack In Each
    Album: Arise Therefore

    Artist: Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson
    Song Title: The Wurlitzer Prize (I Don’t Want to Get over You)
    Album: Waylon & Willie

    Artist: Gordon Lightfoot
    Song Title: Somewhere U.S.A.
    Album: Sundown

    Artist: The Flying Burrito Brothers
    Song Title: God’s Own Singer
    Album: Burrito Deluxe

    Artist: Wooden Wand
    Song Title: Claim That Fame
    Album: Archives Volume 3 (Disc 6 – Five Alive – First Songs)

    *This song is not online, but more info is available HERE.

    Artist: John Prine
    Song Title: Angel From Montgomery
    Album: John Prine

    Artist: Link Wray
    Song Title: Fallin’ Rain
    Album: Link Wray

    Artist: The Byrds
    Song Title: You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere
    Album: Sweetheart Of The Rodeo

  • Moone Update: New Website Launch!

    Moone Update: New Website Launch!

    We know more than anybody how badly we needed a site upgrade. Finally, months of hard work have paid off, and just in time for the New Year. Say hello to our new digs! 

    Since our inception in 2013, Moone Records has always had a vision for storytelling that transcends the transactional. Our attention to detail is motivated by far more than creating a product that lots of people will want to buy, with quality to match a dollar amount — it’s an act of gratitude to the artist, with quality that shows honor for the sacredness of their story, and for the vulnerability and beauty of how they’ve chosen to tell it. 

    As Moone has slowly but steadily progressed, we are aware that our own story would not exist without being enriched by the artists who have trusted us with their stories, and this is not a responsibility that we take lightly. 

    In 2019, our artists and their supporters brought us to a new phase of growth that demands a new expression in our online presence. The new website is a truer reflection of where we’ve come from, of the incredible artists who’ve brought us here, and of where we hope to go. 

    Aesthetically, it gives a humble nod to the past through splashes of soft background gradients, pulled from our original 2013 logo. Far from detracting from our newer black-and-white look, this homage to our beginnings makes the artists of 2020 pop with a freshness fit for a new decade. 

    At the same time, we are more accurately reflecting our commitment to minimalism and to our artists through removing cluttery content, and clunky interfaces. The changes we are most proud of are the ones we hope you notice the least. Streamlined navigation let’s the website itself fade into the background, putting the artists at the forefront.

    Last but not least, the new site is now optimized for mobile, with a more user-friendly checkout process. Now, you should be able to order that new vinyl quickly and easily, whether you’re sitting at your desk at work, or sitting on the toilet at home. 

    With a new site, a new decade, a new phase of growth, we are overwhelmed with gratitude for the role that each of you have played, and so excited to see what comes next. Thank you for being part of our story!

  • lithics

    lithics

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    Lithics is a four piece punk band from Portland, Oregon. Since their inception in 2014 they have crafted concise and sharp recordings for labels like Water Wing, Kill Rock Stars, and Thrilling Living. While avoiding the trappings of historical reenactment, Lithics remain solidly informed by the sounds and conceptual underpinnings of late 70’s post punk, as well as the obscure logic of proto art rockers Red Crayola and Captain Beefheart. The songs are composed of tightly wound bass lines perfectly in sync with unwavering/uncluttered drums, piercing duel guitar riffs, and singer Aubrey Hornor’s calm and disaffected vocal delivery.

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    “Wendy Kraemer EP” by Lithics

    “Wendy Kraemer EP” by Lithics

    $16.00

    In stock

  • tashi dorji & john dieterich

    tashi dorji & john dieterich

    bio

    While the hypothetical range of what the listener might expect from a record of free-improvised guitar playing is understandably gigantic, it’s not very often that what is heard so easily navigates across such a vast terrain. In their most often observed environments (Dorji’s relentlessly frequent solo and collaborative releases, Dieterich in the untamable and uniquely enchanting Deerhoof), both artists regularly redefine both themselves and what “guitar” playing may or may not be.

    On “Midden”, there is communication and expression that transcends the notion that two people can simply cross paths and play guitar together. Plenty of people do this, but few intersect so naturally and comfortably in this abstract of a context. While captured in the live setting, Midden is not the result of weeks of touring, fine tuning ideas and patterns. Instead, the LP is merely a document which archives the final of three chance meetings, in which two people engage in a natural dialog that at times is jagged and jarring while at others is mesmerizing and beautiful. Unpredictable yet completely organic, such a language is a joy to hear.

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    “Midden" by Tashi Dorji & John Dieterich (of Deerhoof)

    “Midden” by Tashi Dorji & John Dieterich (of Deerhoof)

    $16.00

    In stock

    "Tough Darts, Tender Nights" by Caleb Dailey, Tori Kudo, & John Dieterich

    “Tough Darts, Tender Nights” by Caleb Dailey, Tori Kudo, & John Dieterich

    $16.00

    Out of stock

  • Playlist Series 003 – [dweller in the abyss] by Jay Hufman

    Playlist Series 003 – [dweller in the abyss] by Jay Hufman

    It has been sometime since we last released a part in this series. The previous playlists cataloged were special and have resonated with me. That being said, here is part 3.

    We, at Moone Records, love to collaborate with people that inspire us and motivate us to create, but what inspires and motivates them? With this series of playlists, we ask different friends and artists to hand-pick ten songs to ‘soundtrack’ various themes.

    (more…)
  • tashi dorji

    tashi dorji

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    Tashi Dorji is a celebrated free-form/improvisational guitarist. Born and raised in Bhutan, but transplanted to Ashville, NC in the early 2000’s. He is a musical force that is in a caliber of his own. The amount of originality in his playing could have only been summoned when one is forced to confront limitations and raise a big middle finger to the ‘status quo’.

    He is known to focus his attention heavily on tonal qualities over melody. Mellow harmonics that integrate interference of seemingly random items (such as a paperclip) turn into aggressive spasms and abrupt stops. He utilizes the silence and space between the notes, as if it is an instrument itself.

    Tashi’s latest album but a night that ends, as all nights end, when the sun rises is pieced together in a non-linear/non-hierarchical form. Every segment equal part fragile and intense. The album feels like it is addressing a dark political climate but from an anti-establishment perspective. It is a transmission from another dimension, to let us know we aren’t doing this “humanity thing” right. However, in its confrontation, it still arouses hope for a brighter future.

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    “but a night that ends, as all nights end, when the sun rises” (Extended) by Tashi Dorji

    “but a night that ends, as all nights end, when the sun rises” (Extended) by Tashi Dorji

    $16.00

    In stock

    “Midden" by Tashi Dorji & John Dieterich (of Deerhoof)

    “Midden” by Tashi Dorji & John Dieterich (of Deerhoof)

    $16.00

    In stock

    “but a night that ends, as all nights end, when the sun rises” by Tashi Dorji

    “but a night that ends, as all nights end, when the sun rises” by Tashi Dorji

    $8.00

    Out of stock