Beulah Land

Grouper-Way Their Crept

Yesterday I went to Vic. Vic is not short anything. It is typical of Catalonia in that its ancient elegance and geographical beauty is underepresented by it's name, which would be more fitting on a New Jersey auto mechanic's work shirt. Or as the name of an American Gladiator... No, work shirt.

despite its name, Vic remains a charming little Spanish town. Halfway between the Pyrenees and the Mediterranean almost exactly it was the perfect getaway from Barcelona which, after almost a month has start to seem less enchanting than full of awful smells.

This weekend included, but was not limited to: an inspiring train ride through plateaus and mountains. A huge, quiet flat on the fourth floor, Alison Krauss cds(NOT my decision, although it reminded me of Dusty which was nice), a few glasses of clara (Estrella and orange Fanta), Fiesta Major, Lucrecia (a Cuban Rhumba singer with an amazing voice and a hilariously lackluster supporting band.. Think, a brokedown Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine. That bad.), a 7 euro mohito, almost getting hit with fireworks, a dance club with no dance floor and lots of people staring at us, stomach problems, a gorgeous man named Afis from Ghana and the longest awkward silence I've ever experienced (it actually deserves it's own post. Maybe I'll write about it some other time. Long story short I spent a good fifteen minutes trying to keep finger food in my mouth at all times), no smoking, an impromptu Bastardgeist photo shoot next to a castle, on top of a mesa in Tona, good food, Giant dancing puppets that sprayed sparks all over cars and people and everything (the best of which were arguably a mysterious mythical figure known only as "Big Head" AND a fire-breathing donkey made out of table... it's hard to describe), a million things I wish I would have sampled, go-cart racing, and some other stuff.

There are copious photos. Anton is uploading them as we speak.

Point being, I have one more week in the Catalonian capital. And I have to get last minute shit in order for our tour. I'll be on a farm in the Beaujolais countryside for two weeks after this. They have internet. But I'll undoubtedly have much less time to post when I'm there. And after that I'll be wrapped up with playing shows and promoting the Bastardgeist debut (Do you have you copy yet? I know it's slightly ironic to be writing this on a site dedicated to "stealing" other peoples' music *p.s. I do formally encourage you to throw some cash at a copy of any of the records you find on here that you like. especially the ones by struggling artists if you can afford it. don't be a dick*, BUT... Wanna buy one?). So I'm gonna post this now.

It's partly for Kari and Jake. But also for everyone. I mentioned it before. It's the debut Grouper album, Way Their Crept.

I want to try to post the collaboration between Grouper and Xiu Xiu in the next couple of days as well.

There are so many things I have yet to post (new William Basinski), but who knows, maybe I'll have more time than I think at the farm. According to the guy who runs it it's only five hours of work a day and if it's raining we can work indoors. I don't know what that means. Probably that I'm volunteering myself for the salve trade... Well, joke's on them cause I can barely lift a coffee table.

WHOPPEE!! HERE WE GO!!!

See most of you soon (in Ohio).