“Gdfx” (Used 4 times)

Some folks believe in guardian angels, benevolent beings that watch over us and protect us from harm. But what if there are other beings out there, also watching over us and waiting to make contact? Anybody who's flipped through, say, The Field Guide to Extraterrestrials, or has seen Close Encounters of the Third Kind, has most likely wondered: What if there are guardian aliens out there?

Brooklyn's Guardian Alien wonders this same thing. Loudly.

Helmed by Greg Fox -- a busy fellow who also drums in Teeth Mountain, Liturgy, Dan Deacon Ensemble, and Man Forever (Kid Millions/Oneida) and plays solo as GDFX -- Guardian Alien follow the road to enlightenment previously trod by the likes of Hawkwind and other space adventurers. If we're going to make alien contact, what's going to get their attention more, anyway? A 5-note ditty played on a xylophone or an 18-minute trance epic of guitars, synths, drums, and caterwauling vocals?

Here is a recent attempt at contact from a few weeks ago, recorded at the Cinders Gallery in Brooklyn. Greg Fox is on drums, of course, as well as Casio synth-guitar, with Turner Williams on japanese banjo, Camilla Padgitt-Coles on synth, and on vocals and ecstatic dancing, Alex Drewchin (who, by the way, when she's not chanting to or howling at the stars, leads a completely different musical life as a singer-songwriter).

For more Guardian Alien, check out another live recording, released as Sing Like Talking, also on the FMA here. For more Greg Fox, there's plenty of Teeth Mountain and Liturgy on the FMA, as well as some GDFX, Guardian Alien's immediate precursor, including a great session on Talk's Cheap with Jason Sigal from earlier this year.

Be sure to have a look at Guardian Alien's MySpace page for more videos, helpful advice on how to behave if you are the first human to meet an alien, and other useful teachings. They will also be playing live tomorrow night at Conspirastock (see here for more info) and appearing later this month at Shea Stadium in Brooklyn.

At a Monday night Death By Audio show a couple years back, Greg Fox, one of Teeth Mountain's four percussionists, passed along a sampler from his new Infinite Limbs label. This hand-painted cd-r introduced me to so much good music from the likes of Prince Rama of Ayodhya, Twisty Cat, Liturgy, Ducktails, and one Willy Weird...

Willy Weird, now known as Thick Business, is the solo project of frequent Infinite Limbs collaborator Tyler Dussenberry. Take a listen to the bad acid electro-surf jam "French Beach" (off that Infl comp), and the aptly titled, trance-inducing layered minimalism of "Smoothest Runes" (originally posted by 20 Jazz Funk Greats)!

The Infinite Limbs compilation also featured a track from Greg's solo project 5 Limbs, now known as GDFX. Greg's early solo stuff applied a percussionists' approach to loop pedals and sequencers to create hyper-active beat-oriented composition. Take a listen to the epic Altered Ego -- especially the 23rd and 24th minutes...

"Southern Illinois native Zac Nelson is a drummer, and knowing that you should also know that he is a madman". -Holy Mountain's release page for the Hexlove album Knew Abloom (Life's Hood)

It does require a very unique kind of drummer -- "a madman", perhaps -- to venture into new sonic territories. The result -- as with Zac Nelson's Hexlove -- can be infinitely rewarding, but too often, the Drummer is cast as a mere beat-keeper, as if The Beat is something that must be kept. This leaves little room for innovation, especially in any genre-specific setting, where the drum kit and drumming have both been standardized; there is already a well of tried and true beats at a drummer's disposal.

But when those born into the drummer's throne are naturally inclined to explore beyond the drum cage, they bring with them an exhilaratingly fresh, hyper-rhythmic approach to music composition and improvisation. A new generation of exciting drummer solo projects is emerging right here on the FMA: Black Pus (Brian Chippendale of Lightning Bolt), Soft Circle (Hisham Baroocha ex. Lightning Bolt/Black Dice), GDFX (drummer for Teeth Mountain, Liturgy, and the Dan Deacon Ensemble) and Bolmongani (Ryan from Paik) come to mind. And we're very excited to welcome Hexlove to the FMA with his Harp Drafts EP, a free release from the blossoming Obstructive Vibrations label.

Across Harp Drafts' four tracks, Zac Nelson unleashes a fluid outpouring of expressive drumming atop kaleidoscopic harp loops and ambient electronics. He hints at patterns that beg you to grasp for them but fade when you try. And that's ok -- just let it wash over because each new trajectory sets off a fresh batch of seratonin. (Take a listen and read on after the jump...)