the black fives

All posts tagged the black fives

Illegal Art Mp3 Compilation Curated by DJ Empirical

Posted by stephen on 2004-12-01
Posted in: selfshare, sounds. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment

UPDATE: The hyperlinks to the illegalart site are dead, so I’ve replaced the direct link with one to the wayback machine.

In December 2004, I curated an online mp3 compilation (click through to download) for the incredible illegal art records. I tried to make my choices quite eclectic, and to include many acts from around the world, with a special spotlight on my fellow Cincinnatians.

Here’s the tracklisting:

  • 01. Maja Ratkje: Intro (4:20)
  • 02. DJ DQ: Where the Sidewalk Begins, Part 1 (4:59)
  • 03. Enduser: Dizzee (3:46)
  • 04. Burning Star Core: A Brighter Summer Day (15:57)
  • 05. People Like Us: Stifled Love (5:17)
  • 06. Evolution Control Committee: Bred, White and Woo (3:26)
  • 07. Fudgie & Fufu: God Bless America, Especially Florida & Texas (Dissentcinnati Edit) (2:11)
  • 08. Kevin Moore: Intro / It Goes Something Like This (7:55)
  • 09. Mochipet: Yes vs. Nomeansno (4:29)
  • 10. Secret Cheifs 3: Jabalqa/Jabarsa (Blærg Remix) (6:24)
  • 11. Chuck Palahniuk: Choke, Part 01 (4:59)
  • 12. Xentrix: Ghostbusters (2:40)
  • 13. Pantera: Metal Magic (4:17)
  • Bonus Track: The Black Fives: Live at Recycled Rainbow 9.0 (36:17)

Theoretically, the numbered tracks should all fit on an audio cd, if you were to want to do that. The bonus track, of course, will have to go on a separate disc.

The Black Fives, Live at Recycled Rainbow 9.0 (2004-10-16)

Posted by stephen on 2004-10-16
Posted in: downloads, selfshare, sounds. Tagged: , . Leave a Comment


download: The Black Fives, Live at Recycled Rainbow 9.0 (2004)
16 oct 2004

This live set dates from 2004, at Recycled Rainbow 9.0 in Cleveland, OH. At this point I (as Donald Spivak, or schädel) had only just joined the band, which until then had been pretty much what you hear in this set: dark electronic beats with added noise. Essentially all the beats and music in this set, other than a bit of synth stuff I played off the cuff, is Gabe (a.k.a. Harold Knockworthy)’s stuff. The noise and spoken stuff in this set is both of us.

Not long after this, these “songs”, the beats & music at least, got pulled into his Seeping Kind project, leaving The Black Fives as an improv ambient noise band. Recycled Rainbow is now an outdoor experimental music-type festival. At the time we played, it was in Every Man’s house. The event had a theme of “Classic Literature”, so I read bits of the Marquis de Sade’s Justine into a baby monitor.

The Black Fives CD Release, 2004-03-07

Posted by stephen on 2004-03-07
Posted in: downloads, selfshare, sounds. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a Comment


download: The Black Fives CD Release
07 mar 2004

The Black Fives released the Solid Phase EP in March 2004, and to celebrate the occasion held a cd release party at Mullane’s in downtown Cincinnati.

This half hour recording holds the very short (~7 minute) set of noise from The Black Fives, with DJ Empirical adding beats, samples, and scratching. After that, DJ Empirical continues to play for a time, interrupted by a weird keyboard/vocal piece by John Caldwell. Near the end of the mp3 appear the members of the Rhyme Swing Embassy.

As a point of note, this set predates the involvement of schädel in The Black Fives, as it was still a solo project at the time.

The Black Fives, “Less Than Three (@}–,–‘– mix)”

Posted by stephen on 2004-03-07
Posted in: downloads, selfshare, sounds. Tagged: , , . Leave a Comment


download: The Black Fives, “Less Than Three (@}–,–‘– mix by schädel)”
mar 2004

This is a track from the very limited (23 copies!) e.p. by The Black Fives, released in 2004 with a handmade cover. At the time, The Black Fives was still a solo project, with schädel (a.k.a. Donald Spivak, a.k.a. DJ Empirical) still some time away from becoming a member.

The spoken samples come from the audio part of an adult education filmstrip. Scratches by DJ Empirical.