So, it’s pretty meta that I usually write these preface things talking about other people and now I’m writing one fr me. I’ll forgo the third person narrative and just say a few things. I co-run RCN w/ the other dewds and numerous others who have helped (and continue to help) along the way. I play in Cane Swords w/ Karl and Black Unicorn w/ myself and a few other projects that should be seeing releases this year (Dodecahedrons, Carnivorous Panda?, etc.). We started doing all this last year, a little over, around end of year 2010. I’m really happy w/ how far everything has come and want to thank all the great ppl who help make this shit worthwhile. I won’t go any further or name any names (fr fear of not mentioning the most important ppl) but just say this is awesome and I look forward to putting out rad releases, throwing great shows, and hanging w/ good friends this year. 

Broken into two parts b/c writing the first was exhausting.

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Curt’s Top Ten of 2011, Pt. One (Akron bands first, then no order)

• Duunes - Duunes (Self-Released) 

Duunes is my favorite rock band in Akron, assuming that rock band signifies the old standby of drums/bass/guitars and more-or-less defined song structure. They play super-technical-prog-post-metal, assuming that super-technical-prog-post-metal signifies dynamic and intricate instrumental songs w/ a distant ancestor in metal musics. They are great dudes, I admire their musicianship, and this album shreds and introspects in equal measure… and the cover artwork by HORAK totally rules.

duunes (album preview) by experimedia

• Low in the Sky - A Shared Rainbow (Patternbased/Abandon Building)

Low in the Sky is my favorite band in Akron, assuming that band signifies a group of individuals creating music together w/ more-or-less defined song structure. Okay, I’ll stop w/ that annoying exposition now. These guys are good friends and I’m (barely) featured on this album, but I swear I’m not biased. Low in the Sky make great music and all of their albums are filled w/ this great music. A Shared Rainbow continues this trend and features a huge rotating cast of Akron-area characters accompanying the trio in various capacity. Masters of eclecticism, multi-instrumentalism, and production—Joe, Pat, and Corey are sonic craftsman and Rainbow is a collection of beautiful rhythmic music that adopts it’s titular amalgam of colors into solidified units of sound. 

Low in the Sky - October 10th King Elementary (in memory of King School, now occupied by rubble and wisped reminiscence) by patternbased

• Mountains - Air Museum (Thrill Jockey)

I had never really listened to Mountains until Jeremy set up their first-ever Ohio gig last summer. In preparation fr the show I listened to Air Museum and was entranced—it’s a wonderful merging of synthetic and organic sounds that exposes an ethereal current. While the prevalence is on synthesis compared to older Mountains releases, there is an almost acoustic feel to the music, as if some mallet were discovered that when banged outputs filtered waveforms—swirling particles and primal rhythms to ambient consciousness expansion. I’m honored that Cane Swords got a chance to play w/ Mountains and their set was an extension of this album brought to universe limits—very absorbing and inducing.

• Arp - The Soft Wave (Smalltown Supersound, 2010)

This is the first of my technically-not-released-in-2011 albums that are on the list fr various reasons. This reason is that I didn’t hear this album until 2011. Wow. Generally albums I enjoy sort themselves into two broad categories—ones that I listen to fr a little bit and dig a bunch but then sort-of forget about and ones that I listen to fr a little bit and dig but don’t forget about and they pop back up and keep getting plays and conjecture. This is one of the latter, and has quickly become a favorite that I return to (the earlier Arp album, In Light, is also quite great). Beautiful, placid synthesizer soundscapes w/ a corporeal (yet transcendental and ethereal) feel mingled w/ pianos, guitars, and other acoustic/electric accompaniment and surprises here and there (including an early-Enoesque track that comes out of nowhere, yet fits completely). From meditative basslines and spiral galaxy melody to warm percussion and blissful swells—this is a solidly built album from beginning to end.

Arp - The Soft Wave (album previews) by experimedia

• Giant Claw - Midnight Murder (Orange Milk)

I grabbed a copy of this tape when Keith played at the old RCNCAVE (along w/ Henry Dawson, Andrew Weathers, and Joey Molinaro). I was completely amazed by the night, and introduced to four great artists. Great performances from everyone, w/ Giant Claw rounding out the night while 2001 sync’d random-perfect behind. There’s been a bunch of great Giant Claw releases in 2011, which makes it hard to pick but this one is my favorite. Synthesizer music done w/ grace and concept—hypnotic arpeggios and pulsating “drums” gathering around voltage controlled melodies and spaced freak-outs. Quickly became one of my favorite synth dudes, his dueling Korg Mono/Poly and Polysix are handled w/ precision and intent and work toward crafting a sonic world that evokes classic synthesists and time-machine future. Super pumped to be putting out a collaborative album on RCN w/ Keith in 2012. 

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Stay tuned fr Part Two and more retrospectives from the RCN crew.