Top 9 Xero Music Albums of 2014

As the year draws to a close and as the vast Minnesota wastes slowly slip into a long period of frozen stasis, we thought it was a good time to look back at what this year has delivered. From the 12 hour long The Hermit Seeks the Stillness from Dirty Knobs to the dreamy, gloomy electro-pop We See the Shapes from The Electric Witch, it’s been a strange year, to say the least. So while we go put the kettle on and light some fires, here’s the Top 9 Xero Music Albums of 2014 in a totally subjective order. (And yes, that is in fact all of the Xero Music albums of 2014.)

#9: Dirty Knobs – Live at Drone Not Drones 2 8 14

Recorded direct from the stage during the DRONE NOT DRONES 28 hour live show at the Cedar Cultural Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota on February 8th, 2014. This was right in the middle of one of the must brutal Minnesota winters on record. I remember it being around -20F outside at the time. My hands were so dry, cracked and bleeding that after I got back from the show it looked like I had gotten in a fist fight. Keep that in mind while you listen. And you can get the entire 28 hour long show here, with all the proceeds going to a good cause.

#8: Dirty Knobs – Amusia: 2000​-​2004

This is a collection of early Dirty Knobs recordings, taken from various albums. Some of these tracks are already over 14 years old, but much of the spirit will be recognizable in all of this year’s recordings.

#7: Dirty Knobs – Descent Ascent Dissolution – Live at Homegrown 2014

This was recorded live in Duluth, MN at the annual Homegrown Music festival (as well as live in-studio). 2014 was a very busy year for DK live. I’ve played a dozen Homegrowns, but this was the first proper DK show in my hometown. As you will see, it would not be the last.

#6: Dirty Knobs – The Zeitgeist Experiments

Let’s just get the last collection of live albums out of the way. The Zeitgeist Experiments was a series of live shows I put together over a four month period at Teatro Zuccone. It was a very fun time and we met some amazing fans of whatever it is you want to call what it is we do. I hope to be bringing it back again sometime next year, so keep an eye out.

#5: Dirty Knobs – Trees at Sea

This one marks a bit of a change, at least in my mind, to the direction of Dirty Knobs. Taking a bit of the techniques used on last year’s more traditionally song-like BEDLAM album, it was a larval stage for what would become the next proper DK album The Hermit Seeks the Stillness. It was also made while developing the live show and also has a bit of that tossed in.

#4: Dirty Knobs – I Want to Live Inside the Sun

This was the first release of 2014, during the aforementioned Most Terrible Winter Of All Times. Life can be a struggle when then environment is more hostile than the surface of Mars. But we find a way…

#3: Dirty Knobs – Welcome to the Terrordrone

And this is the last release of 2014. It seems as though winter brings out either the most hopeless or the most aggressive tendencies. This is the latter. And also where things will be going to for foreseeable future, again with the hopes of bringing this new, distorted and thrumming aggression to the stage.

#2: The Electric Witch – We See the Shapes

Somehow this was the only thing The Electric Witch managed to release this year. But then we did focus entirely on our live show and had to say goodbye to singer Marcus Matthews when he departed to a new life in California. (Turns out that decades of miserable weather isn’t for everyone.) But we did say hello to our new singer Mary Bue, and our time with her has already been fantastic. New music is being worked on, but for now our live show continues to be the priority. We hope to see you soon.

#1: Dirty Knobs – The Hermit Seeks the Stillness

Of course the 12 hour long album had to be number one. This was truly a grueling project. At first I didn’t even know what it was. It was just a Thing That Had To Be Done. About mid-way into these explorations I read the story of the North Pond Hermit and there it was. This was all about finding that place away from everything. Those perfect moments of stillness. These songs were meant to be a space for those moments to live and expand.

Thanks to everyone who has supported Dirty Knobs, The Electric Witch and all that is Xero Music this past year. Getting this music onto the stage has become a high priority, so the studio work may slow a bit. But rest assured that much more is on the way. Watch this space.

facebook.com/DirtyKnobs

twitter.com/DirtyKnobs

See Dirty Knobs and The Electric Witch Live at Homegrown 2014

Both Dirty Knobs and The Electric Witch will be performing live at Duluth’s Homegrown Music Festival this year!

Dirty Knobs will play Friday, May 2nd, at Teatro Zuccone, along with Tim Kaiser and Troy Rogers.

The Electric Witch will be performing Saturday, May 3rd, at Tycoons along with Mr. Kickass and Duck Duck Punch. Not only will this be the first live show from TEW, it will also be their new album release party! (At least in their own minds.) So come by, move to some synth gloom and maybe pick up the new (digital only) album.

Get all the info HERE.

The 12 Days of Dronemas – Day 1

The 12 Days of Dronemas begins today!
(What?)

Every day for the next 12 days a different Dirty Knobs album will be made available for FREE. From the 8+ hour goliath Field Recordings from the Edge of Hell to the quantum-scale Higgs Boson and more, you can experience all of the time-bending, ear-obliterating gloom for free. Grab them for yourself or gift them to a friend (or pay what you want if you’d like…everything goes directly into making more music.)

Oh, and speaking of Field Recordings from the Edge of Hell, that’s the first 12 Days of Dronemas selection! Listen to it and get it for free now!

To keep track of which album is made free and when, follow Dirty Knobs on FacebookTwitterTumblr or on the XeroMusic.com blog. We won’t be bothering you here again for a while.

AS AN ADDED BONUS, all three albums from The Electric Witch are free right now and will remain so for all 12 days. Enjoy the dream-synth Nintendo nostalgia of NEScapism, the synth-noir of Assassin and the bleak-pop of …So We Burn right now for free. (And again, we recommend sending them as a gift! THEY don’t need to know they’re free, right?) And follow TEW on FBTWTB and the blog as well for news on the next album, out soon?

Thank you for making this past year remarkable. More is on the way, thanks entirely to your support. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

‡ Zac ‡ Xero Music ‡ Dirty Knobs ‡ The Electric Witch ‡

KUMD Interview 10/31/12

Zac spoke with KUMD about Dirty Knobs, The Electric Witch, The Surfactants and much more. You can listen here:

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kumd/.jukebox?action=viewPodcast&podcastId=17564

Direct MP3 links:

Part 1
http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kumd/.jukebox/media/kumd/1021039/mp3/sessions/podcast/17564/1021039.mp3

Part 2
http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kumd/.jukebox/media/kumd/1021040/mp3/sessions/podcast/17564/1021040.mp3

The Electric Witch – NEScapism

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The Electric Witch – NEScapism

Released: September 4, 2012

NEScapism is a love-letter to the video games I grew up with. The games whose music meant just as much to me, if not more, as the escapism they provided my isolated imagination. These are the songs that I would let play over and over, ignoring whatever might have been happening on-screen. Letting them loop and spiral outward. I’ve tried to capture that feeling on this album, adding my own inner echos.

Full album download comes with 3 variant album covers.

The Electric Witch is Zac Bentz.

Synth: Animoog, Sunrizer (iOS)
Drums: DM1 (iOS)

Illustration of The Electric Witch by Tubbypaws. Design by Zac and Steph Bentz.

LISTEN/BUY

REVIEWS/PRESS:

“wonderful” —Kotaku
kotaku.com/5954014/

“…a drifting, space-age journey through the mind and soul.” —Destructoid
www.destructoid.com/belated-alert-buy-zac-bentz-s-nescapism-synthpop-album-237169.phtml

“NEScapism becomes a best-selling album on Bandcamp with remade NES game themes” —Polygon
www.polygon.com/2012/10/26/3560580/nescapism-becomes-a-best-selling-album-on-bandcamp-with-remade-nes

GoNintendo:
gonintendo.com?mode=viewstory&id=184783

IGN Denmark:
dk.ign.com/news/186/NEScapism-er-retroguf-for-%C3%B8regangene

“…the music is genuinely ace.” —Nintendo Gamer
www.nintendo-gamer.net/2012/10/23/electric-ambient-nes-tribute-is-all-floaty-and-lovely/

“…a highly recommended download for anyone with a fondness for the music of the NES era.” —Nintendo Life
www.nintendolife.com/news/2012/10/take_an_ambient_musical_trip_through_8_bit_history_with_nescapism

“…beautifully calming soundtracks” —Nintendo Fans Online
www.nintendofansonline.co.uk/2012/10/news-escape-to-nes-era-with-nescapism.html

“‘NEScapism’ succeeds gorgeously in borrowing the looped themes from the games of our collective childhoods, and create something amazing.” —Complex
www.complex.com/video-games/2012/10/nescapism-is-a-synth-pop-journey-through-your-childhood

“…the purpose of NEScapism was to capture the memories he had listening to the classic tunes, and I think he’s done an excellent job doing so…” —Zelda Dungeon:
www.zeldadungeon.net/2012/09/synthpop-tribute-to-the-legend-of-zelda/

“That Final Fantasy track made the hairs on my back tingle!” —comment on Wii’s World
www.wiisworld.com/news/nescapism-music-album.html

“Escape with The Electric Witch into a world where NES games are always playing, and their music breezes across your ears like a soft wind.” —Game Music 4 All
gamemusic4all.com/wordpress/2012/09/the-electric-witch-nescapism-album-release/

Synthtopia:
www.synthtopia.com/content/2012/09/07/free-music-from-the-electric-witch/

“…a mesmerizing rendition of my 8 bit favorites!” —Infendo
www.infendo.com/nescapism-captures-the-sound-of-8-bit-music-and-gives-it-life/

“Mejor escuchen!” —Wii4Everybody
www.wii4everybody.com/2012/10/nescapism-por-electric-witch.html

“…a slick little album” —Treon’s Realm
treonsrealm.blogspot.com/2012/10/treat-your-ears-to-some-nescapism.html

“beautiful” —Alea Iacta Est
portal.aie-guild.org/2012/10/24/nescapism-the-electric-witch/

The Electric Witch – Assassin

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The Electric Witch – Assassin

Released: September 4, 2012

The Electric Witch is:
Zac Bentz: Synth, Vocoder, Bass Guitar, Programing, Vocals
Marcus Matthews: Vocals

All music written, performed and recorded by Zac Bentz (ASCAP).
All lyrics written, performed and recorded by Marcus Matthews (ASCAP),
except “Back to You,” written, performed and recorded by Zac Bentz.

Synth: Animoog (iOS)
Drums: DM1 (iOS)
Vocoder: MicroKorg

Photography and design by Zac Bentz. Logo by Steph Bentz.

Full album download includes lyrics, liner notes and art.

LISTEN/BUY

REVIEWS/PRESS:

“Pounding the synth noir electro button for all its worth till the vocoder effect rips through your throat…Robotic non stop and exquisite.” —Fokkawolfe
fokkawolfe.blogspot.com/2012/11/assassin-by-electric-witch.html

Synthtopia:
www.synthtopia.com/content/2012/09/07/free-music-from-the-electric-witch/

The Surfactants – Our Dead Bodies

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The Surfactants – Our Dead Bodies

Released: October 31, 2011
©2011 Xero Music
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All music written by Zac Bentz (ASCAP) and all lyrics written by Marcus Matthews (ASCAP) except “Pentagram,” words and music by Greg Cougar Conley and “Hawaii,” words and music by Haley Bonar / Spit Comet Music (BMI).

The original version of “The One, The Wayward” appears on the album Diminishing Returns.

Recorded by The Surfactants. Edited, mixed and mastered by Zac Bentz.

The Surfactants are:
Eric Anderson – Bass
Zac Bentz – Programming, Drums
Greg Cougar Conley – Guitar, Backing Vocals, Vocals on “Pentagram”
Marcus Matthews – Vocals
Brett Molitor – Guitar
Also featuring Steph Bentz – Live Keyboards

Photography and design by Steph and Zac Bentz.

LISTEN/BUY

PRESS:

“BRAIN DOES NOT COMPUTE. Still, I really dug their hard-driving songs and would recommend checking them out.” —Andrea Swensson/The Current
blog.thecurrent.org/post/2012/05/duluth-homegrown-2012-highlights-14th-annual-twin-ports-festival

“Five Local Bands to Watch in 2012”
—Duluth Superior Magazine

“…one of the most exceptional albums to come out of the area,”
—Reader Weekly

“…a really unique sound and the energy is just crazy.”
—SoundOut

The Surfactants – One Time

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The Surfactants – One Time

Released: October 31, 2011
©2011 Xero Music
xmcd019

All music written by Zac Bentz (ASCAP) and all lyrics written by Marcus Matthews (ASCAP).

Recorded by The Surfactants. Edited, mixed and mastered by Zac Bentz.

The Surfactants are:
Eric Anderson – Bass
Zac Bentz – Programming, Drums
Greg Cougar Conley – Guitar, Backing Vocals
Marcus Matthews – Vocals
Brett Molitor – Guitar
Also featuring Steph Bentz – Live Keyboards

Photography and design by Steph and Zac Bentz.

LISTEN/BUY