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Diminished Men

Diminished Men Radio
Diminished Men's new album, 'SIX O' CLOCK BABY", is now available!!!

"Six O' Clock Baby", a collection of oddities and B-sides takes a loose approach contorting American and French film noir jazz/groove themes interlaced with dark, wire-tapped melodies. Re-imagined Jean-Pierre Melville and Jules Dassin soundtracks take a gravel road detour into Residents spirited geography and gets spit out into desert-surf meets Electric Miles. A raw, shape-shifting set of music along the lines of their "American Volume Swells" cassettes, Diminished Men once again delinquently reinvent themselves.

Be with your "Six O' Clock Baby" tonite. Now available through our mail order at: http://diminishedmen.com/buy.php

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Imagine the encounter between the universe of the original bands of Angelo Badalamenti and of Ennio Morricone, surfing music, the jazz and the psychedelic music. If I say you that what's more, their last disc, "instrumental shadow", is produced by Randall Dunn (that already did its proofs with Sun City Girls, Secret Chiefs 3, Earth, Jesse Sykes, Suno) )), Eyvind Kang. ..). Does Ca put you the water to the not mouth? And you have reason for this "instrumental shadow" is a small wonder! This American quartet (guitar, low, battery, saxophone), coming from the scene of Seattle, did not realize beforehand that a single disc, "names of the dead", put to leaves the two volumes of the "american volume swells", go out only in cassette. Completely instrumental, "instrumental shadow" is a timeless, epic album and to the force évocatrice undisputable. To the listens of this disc, one imagines oneself turn to turn in the "red room" of Twin Peaks, or then to wander to horse in the middle of the Far West. Thanks to of superb arrangements, the Diminished Men have therefore shorn a disc to the delectable film mood. Besides, the disc opens by a return of the theme of the film "the tenant" of Novel Polanski, "the glass call" (composed by Sardinian Phillipe). What's more already quoted artists, one thinks equally sometimes to Secret Chiefs 3 in its moments the more "morriconiens". They have besides turned with the latter as well as with the Master Musicians Of Bukkake (of which I strongly counsel you their last album "totem 1", gone out in the spring last).
ALTERNATIVE SOUND -France

I usually refuse to listen to music without lyrics made after 1976, but producer Randall Dunn (who's worked with Sun City Girls, Sunn O))), Earth, etc.) made this album sound like it was recorded in a time vacuum. It falls under some tangential, unclassifiable genre that combines surf rock, space psych, weird Egyptian modal shit, and music that ghosts like. The only bad part is that they only made 500 vinyl copies, so you better figure out how to get it quickly or you won't be able to show your limp-wristed post-rock buds why Mogwai is for toddlers.
-Dilbert Mugabe, VICE MAGAZINE

Diminished Men are grand theater, psychedelic, spaghetti-eastern music, presented under the tonalities of surf rock. Explodo-free jazz-groove drumming, deceivingly insane electric guitar, and swanky sax from your wildest Reeperbahn dreams.
-Jared Nelson, NORTHWEST MUSIC BLOG

I was underwhelmed on my first two listens to the Diminished Men LP on Abduction but on my third it's really getting somewhere. Sure, this Seattle band plays a sort of avant MOR, soundtracky modern-day surf instrumentalism that would seem polite enough to go down just fine as bumpers to just about any arts & entertainment reporting on your actual local NPR station, but, because their overall presentation is contained and controlled and stays well within the bounds of Randall Dunn's high-quality production aura, it's only now that I'm realizing that they play these themes rather ferociously, and that the stuff in between the themes is actually pretty out there.
-BLASTITUDE , Chicago

Diminished Men's new album, Shadow Instrumentals (Abduction Records), partially draws on the fantastical Italian horror-flick genre known as giallo for sonic inspiration. The band's jagged, hard-charging, reverbed riffing evokes images of slit jugulars and accelerated heart rates, all the while swathing you in a velvety claustrophobia. If soundtrack maestro Ennio Morricone became possessed by guitarists Duane Eddy and Cliff Richard, and then the three cut a record in a Roma mansion spattered with ectoplasm, it would sound like the new Diminished Men opus.
-Dave Segal, THE STRANGER, Seattle

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General Info

  • Genre: Psychedelic / Surf / Visual

    Location SEATTLE, Un

    Profile Views: 61037

    Last Login: 1/31/2012

    Member Since 9/18/2005

    Website diminishedmen.com

    Record Label Abduction, Bowels of Lunacy

    Type of Label Indie

  • Bio

    If current instrumental music was always as majestic and as compelling as this, I'd hang up my Retro-Italian Soundtrack collector's boots for good. What we have here is the first definitive document from Seattle's Diminished Men. From the explosive drum rolls of the opening track, the only cover on the record, "L'appel du Vere", from Roman Polanski's "The Tenant" (composed by Phillipe Sarde) to the darkly exotic finale "A Housewife's Dram", this record is a superbly crafted mosaic of whip-cracking vengeance, speakeasy hallucinations, and haunted geography. Besides the Italian western overtones, carnivalesque freak show backdrops, Khorshid Egyptian guitar passages, and flipped-out electronic space psych, are perhaps the best surf-inspired tracks I've heard in years. A thick damp fog must have been rolling in from the creek behind Randall Dunn's West Seattle studio when these recordings were made. Its spine-chilling how Dunn managed to make this record sound like the ultimate mid-60's Surf-Vampire-Western revival soundtrack. Elements of Joe Meek's best Moontrekkers productions cross with a dash of Badalamentian murder blues drama setting the stage for Steve Schmitt's cobra-twilight guitar work and Dave Abramson's drum kit outlaw splatter to leave their indelible stains across this 41-minute epic journey. ........-ALAN BISHOP.................................................. Imagine the encounter between the universe of the original bands of Angelo Badalamenti and of Ennio Morricone, surfing music, the jazz and the psychedelic music. If I say you that what's more, their last disc, "instrumental shadow", is produced by Randall Dunn (that already did its proofs with Sun City Girls, Secret Chiefs 3, Earth, Jesse Sykes, Suno) )), Eyvind Kang. ..). Does Ca put you the water to the not mouth? And you have reason for this "instrumental shadow" is a small wonder! This American quartet (guitar, low, battery, saxophone), coming from the scene of Seattle, did not realize beforehand that a single disc, "names of the dead", put to leaves the two volumes of the "american volume swells", go out only in cassette. Completely instrumental, "instrumental shadow" is a timeless, epic album and to the force évocatrice undisputable. To the listens of this disc, one imagines oneself turn to turn in the "red room" of Twin Peaks, or then to wander to horse in the middle of the Far West. Thanks to of superb arrangements, the Diminished Men have therefore shorn a disc to the delectable film mood. Besides, the disc opens by a return of the theme of the film "the tenant" of Novel Polanski, "the glass call" (composed by Sardinian Phillipe). What's more already quoted artists, one thinks equally sometimes to Secret Chiefs 3 in its moments the more "morriconiens". They have besides turned with the latter as well as with the Master Musicians Of Bukkake (of which I strongly counsel you their last album "totem 1", gone out in the spring last). .........-ALTERNATIVE SOUND, France ...........................................I usually refuse to listen to music without lyrics made after 1976, but producer Randall Dunn (who's worked with Sun City Girls, Sunn O))), Earth, etc.) made this album sound like it was recorded in a time vacuum. It falls under some tangential, unclassifiable genre that combines surf rock, space psych, weird Egyptian modal shit, and music that ghosts like. The only bad part is that they only made 500 vinyl copies, so you better figure out how to get it quickly or you won't be able to show your limp-wristed post-rock buds why Mogwai is for toddlers. ..........-Dilbert Mugabe, VICE MAGAZINE ......................................................This album is INCREDIBLE! If you took the surf interludes Mr. Bungle used to break down into mixed them with John Zorn's movie soundtrack explorations and Sun City Girls damaged twisted humor you would have the Diminished Men! 'Shadow Instrumentals' is the perfect mix of dark, almost pitch black menacing carnival freakshow music that has come out in years - maybe EVER. Producer Randall Dunn (Sunn 0))), Sun City Girls, Six Organs of Admittance ... etc.) spared no expenses making the music sound as murky and trippy as it should be. 'L'Appel du Vere' from Roman Polanskis 'The Tenant' is filled fire cracker tight drum rolls leading the listener to get more and more uncomfortable as it leads to a sensually exotic conclusion in 'A Housewive's Dram'. Watch out for the shadowy figure dressed all in black hiding in the corner and hold this record tight! Limited to 500 copies and 180 grams strong - its sure to disappear quickly! ........-Darryl Norsen, FOXY DIGITALAS ............................................................Grand theater, psychedelic, spaghetti-eastern music, presented under the tonalities of surf rock. Explodo-free jazz-groove drumming, deceivingly insane electric guitar, and swanky sax from your wildest Reeperbahn dreams. .......-Jared Nelson, NORTHWEST MUSIC BLOG . ...................................................A few weeks ago I saw Diminished Men at The Funhouse on a Monday night. Their fog machine was so intense that when someone propped open the door to the smoking porch outside, the entire area was filled with impenetrable fog almost immediately. The entirety of the club was engulfed in green light and clouds. Many people complained, but forget that. The fog sucks you into their psychedelic surf take on Spaghetti Western soundtracks, uneasy Red Light District jams, and Can-esque throw downs. If you have a chance (and still own a cassette player) definitely pick up one of their cassettes -- American Volume Swells 1 and 2. On these they kick some crazy-ass garage jams, get into some deep, spaced out dub, and even have some dual saxophone solos to digest. There really is n o other band in this city out on the same trip as Diminished Men. And it is a trip you should be on. ..................................................?? ...................................................................................... .............................................................................................. DISCOGRAPHY: "SHADOW INSTRUMENTALS" 2009(LP)Abduction -ABDT044 "AMERICAN VOLUME SWELLS Vol.2" 2008(Cass) Bowels of Lunacy -BOL003 "AMERICAN VOLUME SWELLS" 2007(Cass) Bowels of Lunacy -BOL002 "NAMES OF THE DEAD" 2006(CD) Hector Stentor -HS003 ...........................................................................................................

  • Members

    .. Steve Schmitt - guitar Dave Abramson - drums, percussion Simon Henneman - electricity bass, bass VI .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

  • Influences

    Angelo Badalamenti, Masaki Kobayashi, Phillipe Sarde, The Moontrekkers, Jean-Pierre Melville, Ennio Morricone, Joe Meek, Roman Polanski, Omar Khorshid, Link Wray, David Lynch, The Cramps, The Tornados, Alejandro Jodorowsky, The Pyramids, Kihachi Okamoto, Adrian Belew, reverb, Jimmy Page

  • Sounds Like

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UPCOMING SHOWS////

SAT JAN 21

@ The Comet Tavern
w/ Jeffertitti's Nile, Low Hums & Rose Windows

SAT MARCH 3

@ The Josephine
w/ The Curious Mystery (7" release show) & Heatwarmer

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