For those who aren't familiar, Tian An Men 89 Records have been releasing music from the far corners of the earth for well over a decade, and it's through this label that I first heard about punk scenes in Nepal, Algeria, Korea, Iran and the list goes on. Many of these bands destroy the boundaries of what we might consider "punk," but the bastardization of musical genres in these faraway lands often results in songs that are far more interesting than just another rehash of those same three chords that we all love. Several of TAM89's vinyl releases were put to cassette a few years back, and here's the Underground Uzbekistan comp LP for your Friday. The mellow bedroom minimalist track from BGMOLSTY I GROBOVYERZHSTY is my favorite, while HARDCORE OPA are probably the punkest thing on the tape. Other styles range from classic 1-2-1-2 punk rock to more commercial sounding alternative (though delivered in a raw and interesting enough fashion that it ceases to sound even remotely "commercial") to more indie numbers like those from SKIZZERZ. This label cannot be commended enough for exposing these bands to the world (and and exposing the world to these bands). 8 bands, 15 songs, 7,000 miles from my house.
5 comments:
Not Good At All Except HARDCORE OPA There Pretty Good.
ok comp i like about hall the tape it was nice to hear music from UZBEKISTAN never heard bands from there before
Hi, just wondering where you got a hold of the tape and the cover artwork? Because i made tapes of Tian An Men 89 releases to sell at shows and the cover artwork you posted is the same i made for the release! I just see it as weird because i made less than 10 of them! If you could let me know that'd be great, thanks! Red-Акция is the best band on their, they have a strong political message and are heavy influenced by the russian punk legends Grazhdanskaya Oborona... The front cover photo is a pic of Red-Акция, authentic Uzbek punk!
Devon and I picked up several of these tapes at the BREAKfAST // CONQUEST FOR DEATH show in Allentown in 2007. Don't remember the name of the warehouse, but it was hot as hell and CARPENTER ANT played also. If it was you who slapped these Tian An Men released onto cassette, then I thank you, and expect to see the rest of the lot eventually make their way onto this site.
Oh, awesome! I guess you guys got them off of me then, i totally don't remember, but that was a sick show. Jan's Room was the name of the space. If you want i have mp3s for multiple of TAM89's releases that i could send along. shoot me an email at aaronjm@epix.net. I have the Underground Kazakhstan EP, Georgia EP, Indonesia EP, Macau EP, Myanmar EP, Tatarstan/Kabardino-Balkaria EP, Iran LP, Kyrgyzstan EP, Tajikistan EP, and the Last Call For the Lost Scenes Vol. 2 EP in mp3 format, and i have all releases on vinyl that i could put onto tape if necessary!
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