Dispatch 56: The Basement Room by Solar Maximum Featured at Caliper Music Blog

Dispatch 56: Happy new year! We are excited about our new digital-only single titled The Basement Room making today's Featured Track at Caliper Music Blog, the top playlist for experimental music!
 Shut your eyes and go back in time with this hauntingly poetic telling of the fate of Tsarina Alexandra and her family in a basement in 1918. Inter-dimensional bass, tribal drums and minimal keys provide a dark, psychedelic, droning soundscape for this new poem by Pallas.
 The piece was released on Christmas day 2018 and can be found at the labels Bandcamp page. The track was recorded and mixed by Chong.
 Though mostly quite over the past year and a half, Sammy and Heather (aka Pallas) did release the Some People Witnessed Actual Space-Time Distortion single in jan 2018 and perform a sellout show supporting indie band Fuck on it's West Coast tour in August. For social updates, follow us on Instagram.

  Caliper Music has been reviewing, interviewing and featuring experimental music from around the world in almost-daily blog posts, and in the every-so-often "Feel Guide" playlist collection series. The site is curated by Matt, an experimental artist, who uses the moniker moduS ponY to release his music. Follow Caliper on social media at Facebook and Twitter

#mclrecordingco, #solarmaximumduo, #experimental, #psychedelic, #experimentalpsychedelic, #newsingle, #2basses, #dronemusic, #lo-fi, #rasputin, #calipermusic,

Dispatch 55: Solar Maximum perform LIVE at The Octopus in Oakland!

Dispatch 55: Northern California's ultimate drone lords, Solar Maximum venture out of their quiet El Cerrito HQ to perform for the masses at The Octopus Literary Salon in DT Oakland. The experimental psychedelic duo of Sammy and Heather Salazar are performing with friends Matt Baldwin, a folk psyche guitarist from the Berkeley, Ca folk-psyche scene of the mid-2000's and former Brian Jonestown Massecre alum and Birdman Records artist Brian Glaze &Tiffany's.
 The show is billed as a Night of Psyche and Drone and judging by the weight of the bill, its promises to be a fun evening on both counts.
 Solar Maximum start the night performing their Ritual of Duality at 10pm sharp, followed by folk psyche troubadour Brian Glaze & Tiffany's. Berkeley, California folk-electronic-psyche wizard rounds out the evening.
 The Octopus Literary Salon (2101 Webster) in DT Oakland, Ca. is a cafe & bookstore that hosts events ranging from book readings, poetry, to music and more.
 The Night of Psyche and Drone starts at 10pm and goes til midnight.

Dispatch 54: Psych-Out with New Single "Defines the Time" by SMDS

Dispatch 54: MCL Recording Co is pleased to make available the third SMDS offering titled Defines the Time.  A droning 7 minute psych trance grove that moves and slithers around on the hot desert sand like a snake. A video for the track was also released today.
 The track was recorded by Sammy and Heather at MCL then produced, mixed and mastered by DS at Casa Mar Vista.
 SMDS is the collaboration between Sammy and Heather's Solar Maximum, the dual bass psyche-drone duo and dark experimental sound artist DS Peligro. All are MCL Recording artists and have multiple releases available in digital and limited edition vinyl at the MCL Bandcamp site.
       

                

Dispatch 53: Update on Brick and Mortars Carrying MCL Vinyl

Hercules Records - Berkeley, Ca.

Uranian Fire - Solar Maximum

Dispatch 53: As a big fan of vinyl albums, one of my greatest thrills in life is walking into a record store to shop. Whether it's one of my often-visited favorites or a brand new one I just spotted on that new street I'd never been on before, standing at the threshold and staring into a room full of every, single possibility is awesome. In my mind's eye I see

all of my favorite records. All the ones I've had on my "will-score" list forever. They could all be in this store at this very moment waiting for me to flip right to them. Yeah!
 So my next thought is: where to start? I have different methods for different stores but I usually employ the "must-hit" method first anywhere I go in case time is short.  Then, if time permits, a more meticulous going-thru is in order.  The "must-hit" bins are the ones that are always necessary.  Right now those are: Bob Dylan. Fuck. Geto Boys. GnR. Melvins. Om. Posies. Ramones. Sleep. 

Thao's Sunday - DS Peligro

At Heights Vinyl - Houston, Tx.

Then, if i haven't already scored something that stresses my budget for the stop, I usually flip alphabetical and by section. Rock. Metal. Hip hop. Experimental, etc. I'll take my record store just like that, thanks.
  Like book stores, record stores rock and are a very necessary part of any culture. As an artist who makes records, and a fan who loves to find and listen to them, I send a big thanks to all indie record store proprietors out there.
  I'm seeing the experimental and psyche sections at some of these stores getting bigger. That can only mean one thing, more cool records! It's a happening time my friends.

  Here's an updated list of brick and mortar record stores that carry vinyl by MCL bands like psyche-drone duo Solar Maximum and the experimental rock stylings of DS Peligro.
The list is growing, so check back to the blog sidebar where the most up-to-date list can be found.

RECORD STORES CARRYING MCL Vinyl:

• Hercules Records - Berkeley, Ca.
• Dave's Record Shop - Berkeley, Ca.
• Amoeba Records - Berkeley, Ca.
• Rasputin/MadMonk - Berkeley, Ca.
• Mod Lang Records - El Cerrito, Ca.
• Down Home Records - El Cerrito, Ca.
• Strictly Vinyl - Albany, Ca.
• 1-2-3-4-Go Records! - Oakland, ca.
• Heights Vinyl - Houston, Tx
• Vinyl Edge Records - Houston, Tx

Dispatch 52: 4 New Thoughts by pallasCatfight

musician and poet pallasCatfight

Dispatch 52: "Both the price and reward of incarnation" is the latest poetic audio offering by pallasCatfight, an alter ego of SF bay Area based poet and musician Heather Salazar. Using just her voice, and knowing just when to break the pause, the thoughts about desire and emotions she delivers becomes a very intimate conversation.
 The poems were released on MCL Recording Co. thru the pallasCatfight Soundcloud page.
 Heather pallasCatfight is one half of psyche-drone duo Solar Maximum.

Dispatch 51: Happy new Solar Maximum...*spacetime distortion

Dispatch 51: With the new year comes a new release from the ultimate drone lords.
(*Some witnesses report actual spacetime distortion) pt1 is the title of this slow, deep emotional soundtrack. True to form, the low bass plows onward allowing the soaring nature of the astrobass to come clear. The temporal beat seems to emanate from under water and merely hints at the rhythm, leaving only room for the feelings angst, the wanting for closure. In the end, no such relief. Pt 2? Maximalist. Purely.
 The track is only available as a stream on the bands Soundcloud page but will hit the MCL Bandcamp store upon release of the EP, sometime very soon. Look back here for details.

Dispatch 50: Explosion or Implosion: ATTN:Magazine Thinks the Latter

Dispatch 50: Sounds like Jack at ATTN:Magazine in England had a really good experience while listening to our album for review. He writes about the implosion sensibility of the record, an inward look as opposed to an outward expression of the album. He then paints a really great visual picture with words.
 ATTN:Magazine is based in Bournemouth, England and features interviews, articles and reviews on new experimental music and sounds.
 Read the review here.

Dispatch 49: DS Peligro Vinyl Now Available at MCL Bandcamp!

Thao's Sunday LP with poster insert

Dispatch 49: The DS Peligro album Thao's Sunday is out and  available at the MCL Recording Bandamp store along with the previously released digital download! It was made available with a record release celebration in Venice, Ca. on Oct.15th, just in time for xmas.
 Sit back and enjoy. It's a dark rock album with roots in dub and guitar rock. These eleven fantastic tracks tell a full story that is ripe for interpretation by the open mind of the listener.
  The classic black vinyl 12" album comes with partial dimensional printing on the jackets and the usual for all MCL albums, an inserted handprinted 11x17 poster. All the designing and printing was done at MCLscreenworks. Instead of the boring old download card, all our records have a card inserted prompting one to email us here at MCL Recording and we will send you a digital version for free. (I here the interns are throwing in freebies now and then!).
 Thao's Sunday is available here.

Dispatch 48: Digital Release for Thao's Sunday by DS Peligro (Vinyl Oct.15th)

Dispatch 48: The MCL Recording Co family is very excited to announce the digital release of the newest record by DS Peligro titled Thao's Sunday (MCL438) at Bandcamp. The album is 11 intellectual wanderings down heady side roads. Reflective and beautiful. From psyche to dub to noise and back around to guitar rock. Simply, purely premium experimentalism.
DS Peligro is a one man show, self composing, performing, producing and releasing his unique brand of experimental no-fi since the early 1970's on west side of L.A. and draws on that long pedigree to create some of the most unique and inspiring experimental music today.

The limited edition vinyl version comes with handprinted jackets and poster insert and will be available on about Oct.15th. This digital version is available at the label's bandcamp page.

Dispatch 47: Solar Maximum Releases New "Black Triagles/ExtraDimensional Love EP"

Dispatch 47: MCL Recording Co is happy to announce the release of the new EP by the ultimate drone lords, Solar Maximum. The EP features 2 heavy droning, yearning tracks. As Bill Boethius in England says about the EP, "what a beautiful contrast - the lightly skipping vocals over the deep lugubrious drones ... and yet the vocal is unsettling to .. opens out to a dark and immense dimension. This sets the mind to endlessly speculate on the black triangles on a subliminal level..."
Check it out for yourselves. Fortified with Poetry by pallasCatfight.

Dispatch 46: Solar Maximum Release Full Live Performance Video

Dispatch 46: On a warm summer evening in early September, Solar maximum did an intimately live in-store performance at Hercules Records in Berkeley, Ca. A single stationary camera documented their performance.

Dispatch 45: Solar Maximum Perform Live at Hercules Records in Berkeley

Sammy and Heather are Solar Maximum

Dispatch 45: Sometimes we are fortunate enough to be part of something that will only happen once in a lifetime! The MCL Recording Co. is very happy to announce the live debut by those ultimate drone lords, Solar Maximum! On Tues Sept. 6, 2016 at 7pm they bring their own unique brand of experimental psyche drone to Hercules Records for a rare in-store performance promoting their new album. The limited edition LP's with handprinted jackets and poster is available at Hercules while supplies last. Its also available online at MCL Recording Co. Bandcamp.

 Sammy and Heather started together with their fast and loud stoner-punk thrio Leather Pills in 1999, learning and jamming a whole set of Ramones songs for fun. A twist of fate and Leather Pills went live without a clue!  The Pills kept rehearsing, recording and gigging until 2004, and on more than a few occasions, supporting Marky Ramone and the Speedkings, D.I and The Lewd.  Since then, Sammy and Heather have continued to write and record at home both together and separately. Sammy has also become a principal in the Oakland Ca. music/art collective known as Her Majesty theE Spleen. 
 So in the early summer of 2015, coming together in the couples home studio, plugging in, turning on and tuning out as they say, Sammy and Heather began the sessions that have become the core of the bands existence to this point. Recording almost all of the sessions they have done, each session an event and throughout those events are moments. Those moments are Solar Maximum.

  This will be part of the monthly block party held first Tues of the month at Adeline/Alcatraz in Berkeley, Ca. which always includes Hercules Records, a really cozy indie record shop specializing in new and used rock, blues, soul jazz, hip-hop and Solar Maximum, you know the good stuff. Good selection is always changing and great prices. So come hangout and enjoy a nice festive evening with good friends, vinyl records and Solar Maximum.
"Heavy psychedelic droning riffs are what Solar Maximum is bringing to the party!"

Dispatch 44: We are Now MCL Recording Co.

 Dispatch 44: Introducing our new name, MCL Recording Co. Same great bands, same great label, great new updated name. Contact us at mclrecordingco@gmail.com

Dispatch 43: 'Soundtrack: Event I Uranian Fire' LP by Solar Maximum available on Vinyl now!

Dispatch 43: Music for closetLames is excited to announce that "Soundtrack: Event I - Uranian Fire" (MCL343) by Solar Maximum is now available for purchase on 12" vinyl at our label Bandcamp store, and at Mod Lang Records in El Cerrito, CA.

 The limited run of only 143 numbered copies with the beautiful 11"x17" poster insert come housed in very special hand-printed jackets.
 The ultimate drone lords have offered up a complete DIY package here. The ambient, experimental psychedelic music on the record was conceived, composed, recorded, mixed, and produced by Sammy and Heather. They also conceived, produced, hand-printed, and assembled the covers and poster insert. Aaaand, they are also working the release and promotion of the album. Some help came from Matt Kelley for mastering and Pirates Press for vinyl pressing. Just the way they like it. The band says: We do this kinda stuff because we believe there is value in the hand-produced aspect of our releases, and we enjoy all of the various aspects of the project. We think it's cool that each of these records is unique and we both had our hands on every single one of them.  It makes these pieces really personal.
This is Sammy and Heather to the max!

  The album has already been described this way:

 "This is an incredible piece of work as it is so zoned in as a total concept. It is full on, flat out and limber. It is the maxiumus of solaris. The bass is the maximum bass. The riffs are the ultimate riffs. The sound aches with perfection. The ensemble roars..."
-Bill Boethius, England

"Solar Maximum's new work has a surrealistic, Eraserhead kind of feel. The music evokes a posterized imagery in black and white with the low-frequency sound. The bass is heavy and rich, and it has the sound of belonging in a David Lynch movie soundtrack.  "Soundtrack: event I uranian fire" brings together psychedelic rock and a gritty ambient sound that is easy to get lost in. 'Uranian Fire' is music you listen to straight through."
-Becca, Fiberglass Jacket Blog


 "I can only say this is absolutely fantastic. Congratulations for the masterpiece!"
-Daisuke Muraoka, Japan

Uranian Fire is available at our Bandcamp store where you can find other great tracks by Solar Maximum, closetLames, PallasCatfight, SMDS and DS Peligro, whose new album Thao's Sunday will be available on vinyl in October here on MCL!
 The best shit is always on MCL Recording Co!

Dispatch 42: Ronzo Calzone releases "Citizens of the United States" video

Dispatch 42: Ronzone Calzone guitarist, producer and collaborator with HMS has released a new single video on his Youtube channel via his wordpress site  titled "Citizens of the United States" The track seems to have only a little hint of current events, politics and the American electorate in this year 2016. Take a listen:

Dispatch 41: Solar Maximum's Uranian Fire vinyl LP available July 25!

Dispatch 41: We are very happy to announce that our 1st experimental psychedelic album "Soundtrack: Event I Uranian Fire" will be available on 12" black vinyl Monday, July 25th (around 9 PM Pacific)! They will be available thru our label Bandcamp (musicforclosetlames.bandcamp.com) and BigCartel (http://handprintedbymclscreenworks.bigcartel.com/) stores. Heavy drone! Super limited run of only 143 pieces! They come in hand-printed and numbered jackets and (usually) a cool screen printed 11x17 in. poster insert.
This whole offering, inside and out, was conceived and executed by Heather and me (Sammy) just for you! We hope you enjoy it.
First one down, NEXT!!!
Always on Music for closetLames!

Dispatch 40: Her Majesty theE Spleen - out with 'Assault and Batterie'

Dispatch 40: Its been a little while,  speaking relatively to the Spleen world, since we have heard anything coming from the direction of the HMS collective, but to be sure, when we do, it's always a doozy!
  Never ones to disappoint, we have Assault and Batterie, a slower, drudging track that would have made the perfect soundtrack to a great mushroom trip i had years ago! The track was recorded on a handheld then produced by Phonic theE Bomber.
 Prepare oneself. Grab a seat. Close your eyes and open your mind!
 Whoa! Why is that bunny looking at me with that evil eye? Released thru the bands soundcloud page.

Dispatch 39 (Sunday Edition): From an imminent release to 6k bags of Cheetos! MCL happenings.

11x17 Poster insert for Uranian Fire

Dispatch 39: A little update of the lots going on at MCL HQ.

Ready for Imminent Release!

Solar Maximum is putting the final touches on the very limited vinyl 12" version of Uranian Fire, screen-printing the jackets and poster inserts. Only 143 hand numbered pieces will be available thru the MCL Big Cartel store, our bandcamp store and in brick-and-mortars around the SF Bay Area. The digital version of Uranian Fire has been getting some nice reviews so far and we are very excited to finally be releasing the album. Watch here for release date really really soon!

In the mean time, along with rehearsing for a live show debut, Solar Maximum has released another single track titled 'Empires' on our Soundcloud page. Come by and check it out and let us know what you think. Here it is:

Thao's Sunday

We are very, very excited to announce that the DS Peligro album titled Thao's Sunday is off to the presses for an October 2016 vinyl release on MCL. The album was written, recorded and produced by DS himself, curated by Heather and then mastered by Matt Kelley in San Francisco. The album artwork was designed by Sammy (Solar Maximum and MCLscreenworks).

DS is a one man experimental sound fiend. There's no way to accurately describe the genre, or even the time period of his tracks. One has to experience the prolific nature of this man's output to understand it. The passion and vision that come thru consistently are mesmerizing. Check him out!

PallasCatfight has been busy in studio recording and has released a few tracks thru her soundcloud page recently.

 What's Wrong With Me is a rocked up punk song with loud screamin' guitars and an equally loud and bratty vocal! This Pallas track was dug up outta the archives and as soon as it hit the ground it was on the run! Look for a couple more from Heather's archive to surface in the comin' months. 

Dispatch 38: An Informative Song About Birds of Prey - A New PallasCatfight Single

Heather Salazar is PallasCatfight.

Dispatch 38: PallasCatfight, aka Heather, has released her latest single "Seven Modes of Hunting." 
Like the headline reads, it's an informative song about birds.
Self produced and recorded at MCLscreenworks with music by Solar Maximum, Seven Modes of Hunting is yet another in the line of spoken word poetry, delivered in a package of swirling sounds and heavy emotion. A delivery style that leaves some tingling and has been compared at times to Throbbing Gristle. PallasCatfight and Solar Max are working on a spoken word EP for release later in the year.
 The song has been released on Heather and Sammy's Music for closetLames label thru the PallasCatfight soundcloud page and available for purchase at the MCL Bandcamp page.
 Heather Salazar is PallasCatfight and is also one half of "the ultimate drone lords" Solar Maximum, an experimental psychedelic duo with fellow musician and husband Sammy Salazar. Based in the SF bay area city of El Cerrito, Ca., they have been making music and art together since 1995 and have had the Music for closetLames label
since 1998.

Dispatch 37: Phonic theE Bomber Remixes Solar Max! SICK!!

Dispatch 37: In a really cool development from the maniacal mind of artist Phonic theE Bomber comes the sickest remixes of tracks from the Solar Maximum album Soundtrack Event I: Uranian Fire. (The album is available now at Bandcamp for streaming, 12" LP available really soon on black vinyl).
 The psychedelic as f#*k video remixes are totally beyond explanation (just how we like it!) and will certainly "render you susceptible to suggestion!" as Phonic said it. Look out!  Phonic goes all the way on these! They were originally posted to his YouTube page and shared thru his Facbook page.
 Phonic theE Bomber is a musician and visual artist as well as business owner in Oakland, Ca. He is a DJ and a member of the MCL musical collective known as Her Majesty theE Spleen as well as a whole lotta other things. He's an intense and busy man.