Koropuku(Big Tops) Hut 16-17 March 2013

Uncle Roddus Tramping Diary: Tramp No 134

Koropuku(Big Tops) Hut 16-17 March 2013.

This was my second attempt to get to this hut after last years attempt fell short due to fading daylight(see report Here). This year we had more daylight hours available and Alan walked in to Lake Kaurapataka on Friday night to get a good head start. I left home at 6:45am and made really good time to the Aickens car park before 8:20 due to the light traffic, I was on the trail by 8:30.

It was a pleasantly warm and fine morning as I crossed a very low Otira river, due to there being no rain on the West Coast for nearly 8 weeks, I didn't even get my feet wet. Made the lake in just over 2 hours and stopped for refuelling but it was a very short stop as the sandflies swarmed and had me for their lunch. Next I stopped at the Otehake and after crossing the river and finally getting wet feet, even though that river was very low also, I had the rest of my morning tea without being quite so bothered by the sandflies. Now that I was familiar with the track up to the Koropuku tops I saved a bit of the time we wasted on out last attempted going the wrong way and made the bushline in just under 2 hours, where I stopped to refuel and dry out after sweating my way up this steep track. The track was still in good nick and the forest is just stunning. Still no sign of Alan, I set off again and made good time along the tops again due to now being more familiar with the route I needed to take. The track and markers are a bit vague in this section for those on their first attempt at this route. Somewhere around 2:30pm I reached the Tarn where we drop off into the Koropuku and where we camped last year. It was here I found Alan's pack, but no sign of Alan. I settled down to wait and refuel as I figured he might be on a womble on the ridge. After about 30 minutes of waiting the breeze was getting quite cool, so I decided to carry on down to the hut and left Alan a sign I had been there(although I didn't need to as he had seen me from the ridge).  The route down was quite interesting but with the route description I had from the Remote Huts Web Site I managed to find the right route without any difficulties, although it was physically quite challenging. I found the track that entered the forest lower down and enjoyed the fabulous trees and moss while following the vague but well marked track to the hut, which I duly arrived at at about 4:15PM. 7 and 3/4 hours from the road.
Koropuku  hut is a very cool hut in a beautiful location and is well worth the effort to get there. The hut has been a bit legendary within the Christchurch Tramping Club, with the club running regular trips there through the 90s and early 2000s with some interesting items being lest at the hut, like a telephone, two greens bowls balls, a light and switch screwed to the wall, a guitar and at some time in the past there was apparently a vacuum cleaner there.
Alan duly arrived about 1 hour after me and we settled in for the night enjoying the cosy little hut, having dinner and reminiscing about past trips and possible future ones before sleep took us not long after dark.
The weather forecast was for rain overnight Saturday and continuing into Sunday with possible heavy falls. We were hoping that this forecast might hold off for another day as sometimes happens and things were looking good when I got up for a call of nature in the early hours of the morning, but just on dawn the sound of rain hitting the hut skylights put a damper on our hopes of getting out dry. Alan left sometime just before 8:00am to get a head start up the hill and I left the hut about 8:30 in full wet weather regalia and a steady drizzle. Once I started the climb back up the tops I soon started to overheat in all that gear and as the rain was quite light I put the parker and over trousers away and got just as wet from sweating than from the rain. The climb back up the creek bed wasn't as bad as it looked going down and it didn't take long to get back onto the tops, I would have been a lot more challenging if there was actually any water flowing down it. Alan was making good time and although I saw him briefly as he was nearing the tops, I didn't catch him till we were nearly back at the bushline. The visibility on the tops was quite limited with the low cloud and heavier drizzle and I was quite wet by now and having trouble seeing due to the amount of rain on my glasses which made it quite frustrating when I was trying to find where the track started to drop back down through the scrub, there weren't all that many markers. I soon found what I was looking for and very soon after caught up with Alan. Back in the forest heading back down to the Otehake the rain penetrating the forest canopy was intensifying and so I put on a dry top and raincoat again. By the time we stopped for lunch at the Otehake the rain was quite steady. After Lake Kaurapataka I left Alan and  stepped up a gear for the rest of the trip back to the car. By this time this area was getting a much needed drink of water and I was getting quite wet again. Thankfully got to the car and dry clothes at 3:45PM, taking 7 and 1/4 hours.

In the Taramakau Valley

The forest near Pfeifer Stream

The lake looking much lower than last year.

The gnarly forest 

The lake from the bushline.

The tops.

The forest near the hut.

First view of the hut.

Guitar, phone, light switch.

Looking up Koropuku valley

The stream near the hut

Uncle Roddus at the hut.

The track very near the hut.

John Zorn - Rimbaud (USA 2012)

Uncle Roddus New CD of The Week

Saving the best till last, here is the latest John Zorn arrival from Amazon. Another of the many releases from 2012, this particular album has surprised me as to how much I actually like it. I was a bit apprehensive about this one after reading reviews and descriptions because this release has 4 extended pieces from Zorn all in a different style. The first track is one of his classical pieces, the usual chaotic sounding style in which he writes in this genre but one that I have enjoyed more so than some of his others. The second track gets right into some serious industrial noise and effects and again one whose atmospherics and electronics has really resonated with me, in both cases above I couldn't for the life of me tell you why. I'm sure the music description in the above image will explain far better than I can but the third track is more into the jazz side of things and is a most impressive Free piano recital. The set closes with what they call a Game piece, and consists of John creating sound effects on various instruments backing readings from the text of Arthur Rimbaud and another track that just works and I have enjoyed very much. Overall I am very very impressed, Zorn, coming up to his 60th birthday this year is at the peak of his powers. I can't wait for the next CD to arrive in the mail.5/5

The Glitterhouse - The Colour (USA 1968)

Rare MP3 Album Of The Week

1.Tinkerbell's Mind (4:44)

2.Princess Of The Gingerland (4:23)

3.Sassafrass And Cinnamon (4:10)

4.Child Of Darkness (Journey Of A Child Traveler) (4:23)

5.I Lost Me A Friend (4:15)

6.Times Are Getting Hard (3:47)

7.Where Have You Been Hiding (2:52)

8.Hey Woman (3:59)

9.Happy To Have You Here Again (3:36)

10.Barbarella (Bonus Track) (2:42)

11.Love Drags Me Down (Bonus Track) (3:43)

12.I Love All The Love In You (Bonus Track) (3:50)

13.Rumpelstiltskin (Bonus Track) (2:24)

14.Ode To An Unknown Girl (Bonus Track) (2:04)

15.Alice In Wonderland (Bonus Track) (2:30)

16.So Many Roads (Bonus Track) (2:52)

17.New York Blues (Bonus Track) (3:40)

18.Born To The Blues (Bonus Track) (2:09)

19.It's Going To Take Some Time (Bonus Track) (1:49)

20.Grandma, Why Do You Live In Harlem? (Bonus Track) (4:08)

21.Going Home (Bonus Track) (4:58)

22.Rainbow Child (Bonus Track) (3:28)

23.For Ann, Liz And Harvee (Bonus Track) (3:14)

"Tinkerbell's Mind" is one of those idiosyncratic psychedelic pop ditties that you find on one of those compilations of lost 60s English Psychedelic pop. Its a cool track with lyrics that generate a smirk and some nice psych guitar. The other 8 tracks that made up the original album from 1968 are also a good listen and although not essential, are certainly entertaining and enjoyable. Very British, quintessential psychedelic pop. The rest of this extended set is a mixed bag of stuff but has some worthwhile tracks.

Rating 2.5/5.

Damien Youth - Festival of Death (USA?1995)

Mutant Sounds Album Of The Week

1. Strange (3:07)

2. Distant Star (2:56)

3. I'm Afraid (2:01)

4. Carolyn Grey (4:01)

5. Dead Flowers (3:03)

6. Aries Child (2:26)

7. God of Violence (6:23)

8. Sex Cult (5:41)

9. The Priest (5:06)

10.Ghost of Semarias (4:32)

11.Holy Circle (3:38)

12.Final Orisen to His People (3:23)

13.I Plant the Seed (4:01)

14.The Serpent and the Fool (5:32)

15.Lover's Mask (3:48)

More obscure weirdness from MS Blog, although this release is much more accessible than a lot of the other music on that blog.  This guy records and releases his own music and this particular Cassette release kicks off in a psychedelic folksy way and could take a bow to Sid Barrett. The recordings are pretty lofi but he has a good voice, with some impressive vocal melodies on the first part of this album which sounds much like a Demo recording with the songs sounding quite impressive but much in need of a producer and a professional recording studio, plenty of unrealised potential. After the first 5 tracks proceed along in a similar style as described above, track 6 acts as a transition song, being a slow number but sounding very Gothic and leads us into the next part of this set where things get much more heavy with "God Of Violence" taking us in to a sort of Gothic industrial metal direction. Things sort of take a turn for the worst at this point, although again there is potential in these songs. After this 4 track interlude we are back to the folksy songs again which all sound vocally similar to the earlier ones and I really start to lose interest in this music. Essentially sounds like a demo recording, very lofi but full of potential if these songs were recorded professionally. Rating 2/5.  

Massive Attack - Protection (UK 1994)

Uncle Roddus CD of The Week

This is a highly rated album and was familiar to me from various best of lists and reviews and the fact that I had one of the songs on one of my Triple J compilations from back then. Because of this, I finally decided to pick up a copy one day some time back, possible on one of my Warehouse binges. Has sat in the CD shelf, pretty much unlistened since I obtained it. It's been difficult to assign it much time this week with other new arrivals distracting me but I'll give it a brief review.

The music is a bass heavy blend of Hip-Hop/dance/electronica with similarities to Trip-Hop i.e Portishead. Whatever you want to call this music, Massive Attack were at the pinnacle and  this album is a fine set of songs. I'm not gonna rave about this, it is good, I enjoy it, the beats are good, the vocals are good and the effects and samples make for an interesting album. Maybe slightly overated or perhaps not aged all that well, this is not an album that will spend a lot of time in my CD player but is good enough to be a keeper and get dusted off once in a while for a late night listen.Rating 3/5.

VA - The Essence of Swedish Progressive Music 1967 - 1979

Uncle Roddus New CD of The Week

Well, this wasn't going to be my review for my latest New CD for this week, it was suppose to be a John Zorn CD I have been enjoying all week. Also I was spose to go to the gym tonight after work and do some stuff in the garden, BUT Look what arrived in the mail box today and with Mrs. Roddus away in the city for the night, well what more could I do but slag off and blast this lot at neighbour annoying volume all evening.

I stumbled upon this box set on my Internet travels a few years ago and managed to find a version online to sample. I fell in love with this set very quickly but although still available to buy it was quite pricey due to there not being that many copies around and also I think it is out of print, so I burned it to CD and enjoyed it that way. When I start to like a release as much as this, I do really want to have a proper physical copy for my collection and so with a bit of spare cash this month I took the plunge and duly ordered it from Amazon, paying the princely sum of just over $60 per CD for this 4 disc set, Ouch! 

So is it worth it, Well, Hell Yess! over 5 hours of 70's Swedish Progressive Guitar Wank, I'm in 7th heaven. Already being quite familiar with several fantastic tracks on this collection had made for an excellent evenings entertainment. This lot is just chocked full of great and quite often instantly memorable guitar riffing, with tracks ranging from Jazz-Rock to slower atmospheric folksy instrumentals, Floydian  soundscapes, heavy psych and prog. I notice a strong Zappa presence as well as the afore mentioned Floyd and of course Hendrix. Many countries have very strong music scenes that go totally unnoticed out side of their borders and the Swedish scene of this period and this particular branch of rock is certainly outstanding, with most of these groups recordings being very rare. Although chock full of melodies and some great vocals, this music isn't the sort of thing that gets exposure on radio, mores the pity. Highly Recommended for any prog heads and gets a Roddus Rating of  5/5.

R.I.P Mutant Sounds

As some reader know, I am a frequent visitor to The Mutant Sounds Blog and have enjoyed many of the rare and obscure albums that they have highlighted over there. This Morning I awoke to the News that due to "the recent news that issues pertaining to copyright online are now being re-interpreted by the powers-that-be in alarming new ways means that there's no point in pushing this boulder up a hill any longer." Therefore the blog administers have deleted all remaining links to the nearly 3000 out of print albums that they have introduced to the wider world over the last 6 years. After months of battling file hosting sites in the aftermath of the Megaupload shut-down , this latest development has finally put an end to what is one of the best and oldest music blogs on the net. Many of the artists posted on the site have supported their music being exposed to a wider audience because they realise that their music is not commercially available or viable and they are more than pleased to have their work exposed to the few who will appreciate  it but would not have ever come across it other ways. I even understand some artists having their work reissued in limited editions after exposure on Mutant Sounds. Although the Powers-That-Be probably aren't directly targeting a blog like Mutant Sounds, it appears their online copyright crackdowns have effected the blog to the extent where they have had to give up. This appears pretty selfish to me as they are mostly worried about the lessening of income from the part of the industry that makes far more money than it needs to. I can say that from my experience I have purchased quite a number of CDs by artists whose music I was able to sample on blogs and would never have discovered otherwise and was able to track down their CDs. Many of the artists on Mutant Sounds have no commercially available music and so now they will go unheard. Goodbye MS I will miss your great and obscure music.

Postscript: Due to overwhelming support, the cool dudes at Mutant Sounds have re thought their strategies and are keeping the blog alive but with a slightly different model.

Tomorrow - tomorrow (UK 1968)

Uncle Roddus Rare MP3 Album Of The Week

It turns out that I was quite familiar with several tracks from this late 60s psychedelic band, with those tracks cropping up on several compilations I have. All the ingredients of the psychedelic scene in England are here in all their glory with the obvious nods to The Beatles and Pink Floyd. A set of solid tunes that although sound resolutely of the time and place, have aged remarkably well  and are revealing a high level of creativity on repeated listens. Definitely a highlight of the scene. This particular version also has a bunch of additional tracks from band offshoots and solo stuff from Vocalist Keith West, especially His excellent " The Kid Was a Killer", which I have enjoyed for many years. My Rating 4/5.

Jimi Hendrix - Blues (USA 1994)

Uncle Roddus CD Of The Week

This weeks CD from my collection is yet another in the hugely vast array of Hendrix compilations. A massive cash cow, Jimi's back catalogue has been used and abused by all sorts of profiteering individuals and organisations. You can only own several Hendrix compilations before you start recycling songs over and over again but there will always be a small handful of releases that stand out above the rest and I think "Blues" is one of them. Jimi's psychedelic classic rock was rooted firmly in the blues and this well chosen and sequenced set shows James Marshall giving us some of his best Blues chops with some of his own compositions mixed with some blues covers. After kicking off with an acoustic version of Jimi's own "Hear My Train Comin' ", we get treated to a fabulous instrumental version of "Born Under A Bad Sign". There are two Muddy Waters songs here and one wonders what Muddy thought of Jimi Tearing up the blues like that. Plenty of the usual Hendrix guitar pyrotechnics through out this collection makes for a great collection for any Jimi fan with several of the tracks stretching out past 6 or 7 minutes and sounding like live recordings. It is pretty hard to go past Hendrix for the most powerful guitar music ever put down on tape and with 11 examples clocking in at 72 minutes you can't go wrong. Rating 4.5/5. 

Hoahio - Happy Mail (Japan 1997)

Uncle Roddus Mutant Sounds Album Of The Week

It's has been a difficult week to find much time to listen to this weeks collection of albums what with my very busy work schedule and a very good John Zorn CD turning up in the mail to side track me, but I have managed to assault the ears with this on occasion in dribs and drabs.  A weird collection of  Japanese electronica, it has some interesting moments, usually on the more slightly conventional songs like the quirky "Less Than Lovers, More Than Friends". Some of the more bizarre soundscapes though leave me mostly unimpressed, apart from the occasional cool sound effects and I haven't really connected with most of this set. A typically strange Japanese recording and gets a rating of 2/5.

Goat Hill - 3rd March 2013

Uncle Roddus Tramping Diary:Tramp No.133

Goat Hill - 3rd March 2013

A lovely tramp 3 of us did up this hill overlooking the town of Otira. We met just before 9am at the Otira road bridge on a warm clear morning and headed up Barrack creek until we found the track marker on the True Left of the very dry stream bed. The track up Goat Hill is in very good condition and is well marked with orange markers. The forest is just beautiful and we made good time to the bushline. Westland hasn't had any significant rain since the heavy rains over Xmas/ new year ruined many tramping trips and because of this the track was perhaps the driest I have even been on in this part of the country. Once in the shorter scrub somewhere above the 1200m mark the track became much harder to follow with cairns visible but no obvious track connecting them and higher up we just followed our noses until we got onto the more well defined ridge. Once through the scrubby sections it was more of a rock bash along the tops and was fairly straightforward until the scrambly sections before the top. I was first up onto the summit in 3.5 hours Two of us had a quite long lunch on the summit while waiting for the third member of our group, but abandoned the top after we saw that he had decided not to tackle the last rough bit and had turned back. We retraced our steps and caught up with him just past point 1578 and continued back down, with another nice break in the hot sun near the bushline, obtaining the cars about 5pm. An easy moderate trip just to the top and back but a more epic trip could be a loop round the tops southwards and then westwards down the ridge back to the cars.

Very pretty forest.

The Scrubby bit just above the bushline.

Rolleston River.

Things were a bit messy here before getting up to the ridge.

Looking back where we have travelled.

Our destination the far knob.

Looking for the crew nearer the top.

Possible return route along this ridge next time.

Looking back along the route we came up.

Another ridge back down to the confluence of the Otira and Deception Rivers.

looking down into The Deception river.

Here comes one of the crew up the last part to the summit.

Evidence.

Heading back down through that wonderful forest.

The Monks - Black Monk Time (USA/Germany 1966)

Uncle Roddus New CD Of The Week

Another CD that got me all excited when it turned up in the mail earlier this week, a couple of days after The Beauty Room CD(I'm Still Waiting for the last John Zorn CD to turn up). I have raved about this album before on this Blog and now I actually have it on CD, I'm just gonna have to rant again. Five American GI's stationed in West Germany in the 1960s recorded this album in 1965. I still can't believe this slipped under my radar for so long. It has rocketed into my all time top 5 almost instantly. It is another of those unique music statements that defies comparisons and was years ahead of its time. I can't even wait till the end of next week to post this review, I'm just gonna do my rant now then let the music thrill me for the rest of the week. Classified as 60's garage rock by many, but this music, although shot through with some great garage guitar riffs, goes way beyond the limitations of that label. Chocked to the brim with catchy melodies but far from commercial, The songs are quite complex with plenty of great subtle effects under the surface of the songs. The truly awesome "Complications" was the classic Garage Stomper that I was already familiar with and had been a favourite for some time, but the rest of the album equals and almost surpasses the brilliance of that track. Listening to some of the organ solos, I wonder if The Doors were familiar with this record. This  reissue has several additional tracks culled from early singles and a couple of unreleased songs and the awesomeness just continues right through. "That's My Girl" is hilarious and the magnificent "Your Love Came Tumbling  Down" should have taken them to the top of the charts in another universe. I've said it before, I'll say it again, this album is compulsory listening. Rating 5+/5.

Bob Dylan - World Gone Wrong (USA 1993)

Uncle Roddus CD of The Week

Dylan's companion album to the previous years "Good as I Been to You". Both albums are at the more obscure end of the Dylan discography and I had been wanting to check them out for some time before I finally found them in a local record emporium. Like it's predecessor, this is an intimate set of old covers with just Dylan and his guitar. Self produced, stunning sound, excellent playing and all round cool selection of songs. It is a pity he didn't do more of these albums, going back to his folk roots. A similar set to what Johnny Cash did with his first American Recording the same year. I thoroughly enjoy this album and rate it 4.5/5.