jason (FMA Admin)

Price Tapes is a cassette label from Providence, Rhode Island, releasing some of the best local and not-so-local contemporary experimental music. The tapes have been preserved as free downloads at the Price Tapes Tumblr, and we're pleased to host them at the FMA. Price Tapes tends toward sonic adventures by solo artists who gravitate towards Providence's thriving artist community. When they joined the FMA, Price Tapes requested we add a few new genres to our genre tree like darkwave and fake techno. What is fake techno? Let's unpack the tapes and listen:

	Christopher Forgues used to make music as Kites, releasing fantastic albums like Peace Trials for Providence's Load Records, that were often classified as 'noise' or 'folk'. Lately, under the name Mark Lord, he's applying that same creative force to music that usually gets classified as techno. But it's not really that simple. Hence, 'fake techno.'
	Coppertone is the darkwave project of Sasha Wiseman. Darkwave is dark ethereal synth pop with grit, and we really should add it to our genre tree since we already host music by similar-sounding artists like Zola Jesus and Stacian.
	As Pak, South Carolina's Lauren Pakradooni makes recordings out of her own handmade loop tapes, run through effects with layers of warped vocals.
	Philadelphia's Davey Harms (Mincemeat or Tenspeed) recently moved to Providence where he continues to refine his distinct effects-pedal-generated beats. Price Tapes has a fantastic live excerpt, and check out Mincemeat or Tenspeed's FMA profile for lots more including The Tower, one of the best releases of 2012.
	As Russian Tsarlag, Providence filmmaker and visual artist Carlos Gonzalez churns out a fascinating stream of narcoleptic no-fi downer-pop.
	Price Tapes proprietor Mickey Z is a visual artist working in comics and screenprinting, to be credited for most of the Price Tapes artwork as well.  Mickey contribtues tracks from her solo project Dungeon Broads, a plethora of off-kilter home-taped doomishness including a tribute to Lazy Magnet and collaborations with Pippi Zornoza (Bonedust) and Jacob Berendes (fujichia). She also sings and plays viola in the experimental no wave 3-piece Bloodhuff.

Check out Price Tapes at Big Cartel for in-stock tapes, and on the FMA, where you'll find much more including Earth-Enemy's synth pop with an acoustic tribute to Black Pus, and a tape from Providence noise wunderkid Spiritual Recess.

For much of the last three decades, Zlatne Uste was the singular Balkan brass band on the U.S. eastern seaboard. Their influence has spread rapidly in recent years. Newer groups like What Cheer? Brigade, Raya Brass Band and Slavic Soul Party have not only helped introduce a new generation to the irresistible melodies, rhythms, and timbres of Roma (Gypsy) Music, but infused everything from Bollywood, hip-hop and dabke into a genre that knows no bounds.

They're among the 60+ groups performing at this year's Zlatne Uste Golden Festival, where the spirit of Balkan brass is a jumping off point to celebrate a wide range of traditional music. Bulgarian women's choirs, Turkish folk, Norwegian hardingfele, Egyptian film music, Georgian throat singing, and flamenco are all part of the mix. It's an incredible grass roots event where generations join hands for circle dances in complex time signatures. Traditional food and drink are included with your ticket, with all profits donated to Balkan educational & relief organizations. The 28th annual party kicks off tonight (Jan 18th-19th) at Brooklyn's Grand Prospect Hall.

WFMU's Transpacific Sound Paradise presents a special live broadcast from the Golden Festival's main stage on Saturday Jan 19th, 6-9pmET (91.1-FM NYC | wfmu.org). It's the fifth year that WFMU and the Free Music Archive document performances across the festival's multiple stages.

This mix offers a sampling of Golden Festival archives from recent years (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012) as well as tracks from artists scheduled to perform at this year's event.

Lauki is a Barcelona-based sound designer with a penchant for modern classical music and generative multimedia art.

The coordinates of 69º54´S-135º12´E point somewhere along the coast of Wilkes Land, Antarctica. Lauki describes  "the polar desert, another frontier of our planetary existence, a territory where only fools and heroes dare to go." On this recording, Lauki's digital processing manipulates classical instruments—including Heike Grafe's guest violin part on "Deconstrucción"—to shape the ambient dreamscape of a frozen world.

Despite the record's sensation of a glacial stillness, it is a quick 15-minute listen. Such is the nature of every release on Audio Gourmet, a UK-based netlabel cooking up releases "that can be listened to in full during a standard working tea-break."

License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives
More Permissions: Contact Lauki

Thanks to Recent Music Heroes for the tip on this release!

Subterrâneo Records brings new Brazilian pop fusion and gangsta rap from Salvador, Bahia. "Brazil's capital of happiness" has always been a vibrant hub of musical invention where styles meld to form new genres. Salvador's Carnival, the world's largest party, was the first place electric guitar was heard in Brazil. Samba originated in the region, which is also the birthplace of tropicália pioneers Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso, and more recently of styles like Axé and samba-reggae and that mix local Afro-Brazilian genres like Forró with calypso and other carribean influences.

Lá Eles' six-song debut Infinito continues Salvador's grand tradition of fusing regional music with new influences. Check the electric guitar pulsing through "A Pulso," the reggae groove of "Ouro Bahia," the smooth trombone & trumpet lead on "Pela Cidade," the samba percussion instrument agogô on "Retirante," and the dash of synth sprinkled throughout. With a slew of guests guided by the voice of Beto Wilson, Infinito is so well-crafted and pristinely-produced that its complex time signatures breeze by effortlessly.

Infinito is only the third release from Subterrâneo Records. It is the follow-up to this hypnotic low-riding gangsta rap single from Oddish featuring guest MC's Banha and Neto Bicho-$olto:

Oddish and Lá Eles were both featured on Subterrâneo's eclectic debut compilation, Você Pensa Sub. We're looking forward to what's next from this vibrant young label!

We invited Dalibor from Free Metal Albums to present his favorite Creative Commons metal releases. Free Metal Albums shares our initials, and spreads the word about amazing, often annonymous, metal bands from French power metal band Holy Pain to the symphonic female-fronted Hungarian group Obsidian Shell. Nuno Anes founded Free Metal Albums from Portugal in May 2007, and Dalibor took over in August of 2012. Dalibor runs Free Metal Albums in parallel to his original free music site, W H I T E  R A V E N.

	Holy Pain - Last Sigh		Aching Beauty - L'Ultima Ora
	Molecul - Где нет места цифрам…осталась ЛЮБОВЬ?		Obsidian Shell - Elysia
	ID:VISION - Plaszmadkaos		Check out Free Metal Albums and White Raven for more of Dalibor's selections.

Recent Music Heroes (agier.blogspot.com) is a free music review site from Estonia run by Kert Semm, a journalist and musician (Autharktos). He says, "My blog's purpose is to spread the word about those artists who have no possibility to find their way to well-known sites and webzines."

Recent Music Heroes' Favorite Free CC Albums of 2012:

	Bisamråtta - Bisamråtta (Vulpiano)		Последние Каникулы - Ромашка (self-released)
	Radio Royal - RRDL01 (Clinical Archives)		Algesis - Mosaic Relics (Subwise)
	Pollux - My Beautiful Melancholia (Sirona-Records)		C.Scott - Stage Theory (Beats vol. 3) (self-released)
	Saito Koji - Again (Resting Bell)		Aboombong - Anaphora

Plusplus - Game Over (La bèl)

2 additional favorite not-free cc albums: Lauki - 69º54´S-135º12´E (Audio Gourmet) Joxfield ProjeX - Insult on the Dance Floor (Tin Can Music)

Recent Music Heroes' Favorite Free CC Tracks of 2012:

Many of the songs we use to celebrate Jesus' birthday have been scooped up by copyright amassers (kinda like what happened to "Happy Birthday To You," hey). Fortunately, the holidaze are an endless well of creativity, and we have been blessed with some wonderful public domain and Creative Commons music. The holiday music featured on FMA encompasses everything from The 8Bits of Christmas to Antique Cylinders.

One recent addition is En attendant Noël..., a compilation from @diffuser.net. The French netaudio resource (profiled here) has been adding a daily winter holiday song to their compilation and now that the 25th is here we are pleased to share this gift with you! Some are old favorites 'round these parts, many are new favorites, and if they find their way into your holiday plans, you'll find links + licenses below.

One of my favorite holiday traditions in recent years has been the audio advent calendar organized by Phlow Magazine. Founded in 2000, Phlow is one of the web's premier netaudio resources with German, Spanish, and English editions.

2012 was likes xmas all year round for Phlow thanks to the #366DaysofMusic podcast, which brought gift upon gift of top-notch Creative Commons mp3s on a daily basis.

Phlow's founder Mo. Sauer presents his favorite tracks from the Phlow 366DaysofMusic: 

mo.phlow.de / phlow.de

@diffuser.net is a French review site for free music inspired by the free software movement. It's the project of Antoine, who discovered free software while working at his local library, the public library of Pacé. He soon joined forces with Vincent from the public library of Argentan to found ziklibrenbib.fr, an initiative to bring openly-licensed music to public libraries (which we'll be hearing more about in 2013).

For now, please enjoy @diffuser.net's favorite free music from 2012, with a note from Antoine below.

"If you already know my blog, you probably noticed I don't often review netlabel releases (though it's always a pleasure to select my favorite ones each month on my podcast). Indeed, I choose to shine the light on artists who don't have the exposure provided by netlabels. There was one outstanding exception this year for two releases coming from the young but incredible danish netlabel Father Figure Records. Both albums were so amazing that I could not avoid to review them... and they are finaly on my best 2012 albums shortlist. You will actually find below two lists. One presenting my seven favorite freely downloadable albums, which are already on the FMA, and the second one with my 7 favorite albums currently only available for paid download. Hope you will like both!"

@diffuser.net's Seven Favorite Free CC Albums of 2012:

	Hudson - Crimson		Machine, Dear - Killing Something That's Already Dead
	Silence is Sexy - Modern Antiques		Laura Jorgenson - Home
	Cambriana - House of Tolerance		Güacho - Vol. I

The Aaron Boudreaux Special - Summer Between Somewheres

7 favorite not-free cc albums: Samuel Lockridge - When I Rise Urbantramper - Internet Freedom Is Love TM Hunter - La Porte s/t (Father Figure Records) Mermonte - Mermonte (Father Figure Records) Jodi Shaw - In Waterland Run Dan Run - Normal Town Hall - Roots & Bells

@diffuser.net's 10 favorite free cc tracks:

Here are some 2k12 sounds that grabbed me by the ears and said 'listen'. I veered towards the punk with hooks, world wide folk, abstract rhymes & surreal beats, from pure pop to the uncategorizable. I made one mix for four of these styles, and I'll follow this up with another round before the year's out. Enjoy, and I look forward to hearing your picks—use the bestof2012 tag to join in on the mixtape club!