Forgotten Songs Emerging

After dropping our last-album-ever last week, Dungeonfolk, we're now slowly unleashing our b-sides for free downloads, including this forgotten collabo between Math and an MC/producer team from Fredericksburg, who created this dark soundscape in 2008:

Follow the fun at the NSFTM tumblr or keep checking bandcamp for thee ever growing B-sides Internet comp (named 1940 after a similar concept by our heroes Soul-Junk). There are some treasures yet to be discovered; we're staying underground!

Dungeonfolk: Thee Final Full Length

Happy 2/19!

Over two years, we've been saving up our rap tracks 'n' over many months we've been making homemade paper, stamps, 'n' stringing up these packages with ribbons to deliver thee final full length in thee NSFTM cannon.

Dungeonfolk. [download @ bandcamp]

& because we couldn't just let it be a 17 track rap platter, we're also unleashing a bonus EP of songs continuing in thee themes but performed with guitars, drums, banjos on a separate 3" cdr.

Ungulate Ululations. [download @ bandcamp]

Complete package of both Dungeonfolk and Ungulate Ululations available for 7$ppd to nosunliteforthemedia@gmail.com, including lyrical booklets, handstamped papers, stickers, 'n' a statement of intent essay from Math. We've already been distributing them in thee underground, so grab one of thee last 16 copies.

It's all folksongs, even when you sing about horses. Ain't no ungulate art.

Sea of Islands on Bandcamp / New Songs Heading Yr Way

You know what this means. You didn't get a copy when they were floating around on CD, now's yr chance to hear thee album we're most proud of. We sang these songs to carry us thru, maybe you will sing too.

Sea of Islands.

Be wary of the upcoming twofer release: Dungeonfolk CD / Ungulate Ululations CD3", which compile all thee non-climate-based songs we've been making for thee last 3 years. They're probably thee last taste you'll get of that noisehophip style for awhile. We're cleaning out the mastertapes 'n' starting something new. 

You will be notified! 

Out of the Dungeon XXV: Princess to Download / Hexagons to Plowthrough

 Welcome to Out of the Dungeon, a many part series detailing a decade of NSFTM noise, hip hop, 'n' adventures from top No Sunlite for the Media scholars, historians, fans, 'n' collaborators. Medians share their thoughts on the absolute values of various NSFTM rekkerds, while we provide free audio streaming 'n' hi-quality file purchase of all the albums at our bandcamp page.

Out of the Dungeon XXV: Individual Familial

Princess of the Pines an album of wolves

Ramblings from the band

A wilderness behind the calm face of that suburban fakescape. A Red Fox Forest surrounded by a black 'n' white stretch of roads-houses-jobs. Dark woods, wolves, nightmares are dreams.

The princess born lily-blooming. From the darkness of yr dreams come howling those things that are hard to speak. I am going to make it through today.  The wolves are gnashing their teeth and their drool is wet on yr ankle.  And tomorrow I will do the same.

& wolves march one by one but on the footpath a pack is one. We hope the swirling purple storm sweeps up the fresh prey but makes the hunt all the more difficult. Eating on a full stomach isn't anything.

- NSFTM

"Clowns searching for"

Jun. 2k11

Various, DMV

Addendum: Hexagon EP now available, a mini-sequel of sorts to Princess. Send us a shout 'n' we'll get you one. Love, NSFTM.

Sea. Of. Islands.

Just when you thought it was safe to make rekkerds underwater.

No Sunlite comes with our second installment in our Lightless Landscapes series. Following thee dark forest exploration of that Princess of the Pines 7" comes a suite of starfish moonsand dreamfolk dealing with ocean bottoms 'n' thee moon - thus Sea of Islands. Gone are thee upbeat campfire numbers 'n' hop hip battle rhymes, back are thee Media Tricks demonhauntings 'n' droney groupsingings with banjo, dulcimer 'n' live drums painting thee cold digital corners of this CD circle.

Divided into four long segments with many songs buried within each, Sea of Islands might seem to signal No Sunlite going prog, but instead this was a means to unite our themes 'n' finally present a structure to counter our otherwise scattered-madness LP's. Each track named after fishes. Reflecting thee content of thee songs within. Corresponding with classic No Sunlite themes of familial unity in a breaking 'n' broken culture (Albacore), bringing light to dark demon zones (Prickly Seadevil), persisting eons tying us together (Coelacanth), pride destroying purpose (Globefish). If thee sea motifs don't kill you, thee starfolkworld might.

First Pressings of Sea of Islands CD's come in recycled Jewel Cases with mechanical fish artwork 'n' a handnumbered lyrics sheet.
Limited to 44 copies. 

To get a copy of Sea of Islands you can send $6.66 ppd paypal to nosunliteforthemedia@gmail.com or visit any store where restorative brokenfishfolk is sold.

Love ya. Stay tuned for thee final part of this trilogy.

Out of the Dungeon XXIV

Welcome to Out of the Dungeon, a many part series detailing a decade of NSFTM noise, hip hop, 'n' adventures from top No Sunlite for the Media scholars, historians, fans, 'n' collaborators. Medians share their thoughts on the absolute values of various NSFTM rekkerds, while we provide free audio streaming 'n' hi-quality file purchase of all the albums at our bandcamp page.

Out of the Dungeon XXIV: Is it a Balloon or is it a Fish?

Bubbles as it bubbles 

Memories from Max Hollander

Foamy bubbles in the tide pools…. fuzzy guitars.  Prickly puffer fish… pumping bass drum with sharp high-hats. It’s time to begin…

Bubbles is No Sunlite’s double cassette of garage noise rock that came gnashing at the heels of the Noise Dogs tape. You know the drill: hone the sound, take it up a notch. We left the garage for the basement, ditched the cassette multi-tracking for the most primitive free software. Who knows how many songs are actually spread out on these two tapes, but it totals about 40 minutes of music. Could this have fit on one cassette, no problem?  Yes, of course.  But a double tape release is awesome. If you want the CD-R you will have to fight to get it out of the back, it is really wedged in there.

Unknown persons, half-formed punch thru these songs (I never got to ask Trip if Ellen was the girl on the chip bag) Is Michael really a clown or did he just blow a penalty kick? But there’s no circus! Does Molly look like a horse or does she feed them?  Why did they all eat spicy chips, gravy and cabbage? Or maybe the myriad motifs - food, animals, love, snow, sludge, science – just paint the picture of the dungeon laboratory clearer when transmitted thru unfamiliar characters.

Now if memory serves me… it was the blizzard of ‘10 and there was too much snow to use our speeders.  Luckily we could trudge the mile between dungeons to lay down these feisty tracks/drink potions and eat chips.  This was back when we thought the Moon was really the best thing you could hope for and top of the line was the only beverage that could properly compliment Muppet Show DVDs.  But I digress.

On this recording you will rarely hear less than 2 guitars and 2 vocalists at any point; we were just way too amped to do it any other way.  Garage noise rock doesn’t quite sum it up – there is pretty indie rock (“Plankton Lung”, “Sing Me Awake”), emo (“…Devils…”), heartfelt mystic folk punk (“The Red Sled”, “Deirdre”), Frodus (“Turn Into a Jetson”) and Pearl Jam (“5 July 1959”).  You can make a Bubbles of your OWN, just head down to your parent’s basement with friends and laugh until tears stream down your face.

- Max Hollander

"Troubles, Double"

Dec. 2k10

Manassas, VA

Out of the Dungeon XXIII

Welcome to Out of the Dungeon, a many part series detailing a decade of NSFTM noise, hip hop, 'n' adventures from top No Sunlite for the Media scholars, historians, fans, 'n' collaborators. Medians share their thoughts on the absolute values of various NSFTM rekkerds, while we provide free audio streaming 'n' hi-quality file purchase of all the albums at our bandcamp page.

Out of the Dungeon XXIII: Where Did This Album Come From 
Raising Hell out of Nowhere 
An Analysis from MC SiD

[The Raising Hell in Plaid CD is out of print.

It can be downloaded digitally here.]

Where did this album come from?

The answer is by no means easy to come to. What business does any band, let alone a rag-tag, sloppy, lo-fi basement band with only one member appearing on every album have releasing their best “real” (Lungless?) album 8^th!? It’s completey unhead of! Nick Drake put out a masterpiece 3^rd, plenty of other bands (Mars Volta, Tribe Called Quest, et al.) 2^nd, and the Talking Heads 4^th. Certainly no hip-hop album that I can think of is even remotely relevant after their 4^th album. The music historian approaching No Sunlite for the Media’s dauntingly gargantuan discography has no answer for this magnificent success this late.

Further inspection deepens the mystery unavoidably, but also sheds a bit of light. Lungless Beavers was released at a failing bagel shop (called “Bagels”) in June 2006. Raising Hell in Plaid errupted in December 2009. So… it had only been 3.5 years since the first album. The music historian breaths a sigh of relief until exhaling into an asphyxiated panic upon remembering that the band has put out 46 seconds short of 8 hours of music in that span. And it’s not as if we’ve been making 46 minute symphonies here, folks. There’re 249 tracks in those 8 albums and 2 EPs. That’s any average of 1:55 for those who’re reading this without a TI-83 Plus handy. This information is shocking. It’s baffling.

But discographies are no more pure data than love is pure chemical reaction. And No Sunlite for the Media must love music to make this much of it in this relatively short period. But enough talk of quantity. Raising Hell isn’t awesome just cuz, or even mainly cuz, it’s the 8^th hour of No Sunlite music in the last 4 years. It’s awesome cuz it sounds more fresh, sincere, emotion laden, and inspired than anything else to date.

Math took 1 step back overall with his raps on Child’s Introduction, but took 3 forward on this album. Every line fits seamlessly atop the enormous treasurey of break-beats and tambourine loops blasting thru yr speakers. Songs from A Dungeon may boast the most diverse and rich beats, Raising Hell’s pound much harder and take fewer prisoners. The hymns with all their harmonies and created verses flow better with surrounding tracks than in any other album. Sample after ingenious sample provide depth and humor. (“Oh no!”) And the seasoned No Sunlite listener (probably whoever’s reading this right now) can pick out ∞ musical and lyrical references to previous No Sunlite songs. Count ‘em.

What we have here is No Sunlite for the Media at the height of its skill, the maximum intelligence of its ideas, the greatest maturity of its sound, and the jammingest enjoyment of the art of music. It will forever stand as their greatest musical achievement. 

That is, unless they reach their 16th album.

So then, even a cursory overview of the No Sunlite discography reveals exactly where this came from, every sample, every breakbeat, every Christian principle, every lyric, every inspiration.

NSFTM's been on a journey to heaven from the get-go. Come along. We hope one day to reach it and see you there.

- MC SiD

"Hopes to see you if he gets there"

Sep. 2k10

Mt. Airy, MD

Out of the Dungeon XXII

Welcome to Out of the Dungeon, a many part series detailing a decade of NSFTM noise, hip hop, 'n' adventures from top No Sunlite for the Media scholars, historians, fans, 'n' collaborators. Medians share their thoughts on the absolute values of various NSFTM rekkerds, while we provide free audio streaming 'n' hi-quality file purchase of all the albums at our bandcamp page.

Out of the Dungeon XXII: Oh Those Noisy Frogs
Noise Dogs and the Like
What it All Means by Randall K.
[Noise Dogs was originally released as a
limited edition handnumbered/hand colored cassette.
You can digitally download here]

What howls beyond?

Noise frogs croaking.

What moves in ponds?

Noise logs rolling.

What hoots and hollers?

Noise pogs popping.

What cents rolls dollars?

Noise goggles gogging.

I don't think it needs to be any more simple than that. This is their most direct tape (rekkerd, if you will, I personally won't, but I don't have to so I...) and it sounds like a tape, recorded in analogue in one session, unlike (every?) other pieced together NSFTM effort. Why you'd want to get these digital files is beyond me (oh yeah because maybe you want a chance to hear this otherwise impossible garage monster thing?) but I've peaked at 'em and it seems like these guys didn't bother remastering. Which is a good thing - hiss was the main instrument used on this album (EP, if you will, but I...).

They warned me that it wouldn't be "that hip hop sound" or whatever and that the influences this time were Wire and Guided by Voices as opposed to Boogie Down, youth group songs and Negativland. But they were wrong. It ends up sounding like Half Japanese, hometown heroes for NSFTM, but maybe it just sounds like No Sunlite themselves (un?)focusing on one sound and even then there's variety. I hear some folk on "Rat Bit" and the rhyming on "Mallard Barbers" doubtlessly springs from rap sources (and Star Trek cards). They even throw back the whole idea of their "hit" with a supposed bonus track of "Rhino" that's just all noise, stereo panning, and bad bootlegging, as if we deserved any less after making it thru 17 minutes of new NSFTM hits.

Perhaps accidentally (and to their dismay?) this whole thing produced not just one valid hit, but two. "Retroflexing the Youth" was Camper Van Beethoven flailing in an aquarium but somehow got to be catchy enough to be performed frequently and violently. Gibbons tied in ribbons, boys making noise, girls hurling whirls.

And of course, "19 Minutes to Mexico", which spends the entire song actively trying to ruin its own momentum and poppiness, but the rock won't let it happen. Tape speeds up, tempos drop, guitars mistake, and the song just continues to get catchier. It almost seems like they're apologizing for the obviousness of the jam, but mom gets angry at you getting arrested just like in every other good song. Rock and roll. Morals. Noise. Dogs.

Mostly unknown, the rest of the tape lets loose and gets goose. Noise geese. That might work out. (Knees geese? Knoise Goo?) Yeah they made a sequel, Bubbles, but that doesn't come close to the streamlined power of this one. Lo-fi dogs. No-eyed joggers. What you need is a dose of lo-fi and here it is.

-Randall K.
"Angry that I found out yer arrested"
Aug. 2k10
Fairfax, VA

Princess of the Pines

Princess of the Pines

Our first 7". Amethyst Moon colored wax. Variously colored cardboard sleeves. Our new howling in the woods music. Limited to 99 copies including various inserts 'n' a No Sunlite checklist. 9 songs in our lo-fi noise folk style.

5 bux paypal to nosunliteforthemedia@gmail.com - get it or regret it.

Love,
NSFTM

Out of the Dungeon XXI

Welcome to Out of the Dungeon, a many part series detailing a decade of NSFTM noise, hip hop, 'n' adventures from top No Sunlite for the Media scholars, historians, fans, 'n' collaborators. Medians share their thoughts on the absolute values of various NSFTM rekkerds, while we provide free audio streaming 'n' hi-quality file purchase of all the albums at our bandcamp page.

Out of the Dungeon XXI: Dead Dungeon Scrolls
The a-side of Psalms From a Dungeon
Discussions from Uncle Trip
[Psalms From a Dungeon was released on black vinyl
in a 100 limited run, accompanied by various inserts. A few
are still stocked in the dungeon if you want a physical copy.
Otherwise you can download the sound files here.]

Despite being one of the No Sunlite records that I had nothing to do with the making of, Psalms From a Dungeon is increasingly becoming the one that I would choose to share with the world as the most representative of NSFTM. Or maybe it’s not a coincidence that my favorite NSFTM records are the ones made when I am thousands of miles away. Writing about No Sunlite can be frustrating because it feels like I’m saying the same thing over and over. If that’s not a testimony to the presence of a singular, continuous artistic vision, then I don’t know what is.

Overtly religious and intensely spiritual, Psalms manages to tie those themes in with the everyday and ultimately educate the listener on a multitude of topics not limited to psalms. That being said, the first side of the album, Sideburn, is indeed made of renditions of traditional psalms and prayers. Truthfully, this is the side I have listened to more. These tracks contain NSFTM at their most pretty, in-tune, and on beat, while somehow sacrificing none of the noise, the lo-fi, or the honesty. These are the sounds of communion with God. Lastly, the compositions are coherent, yet uniquely structured.

"Laudes Divinae" is the solemn, yet expressive opener, containing Monica’s finest vocals put to record. She truly shines on this track and throughout the record. "Christus Dominus" on the other hand is anything but solemn. Here No Sunlite demonstrate the art of letting loose on the mic and not worrying about goofiness. What may come across as disrespect or mocking within this context is in fact just a more pure expression. Ignoring self-consciousness or insecurity frees the voice that much more. The track is also the first held together by steady drumming, lead by vocals, and completely riddled with pupples of all kinds, a tradition to be repeated throughout the album.

"Ecce Nunc Benedicte Dominum", though, is held together by the piano, played with much sustain, rippled with pupples of its own, and topped yet again with unrestrained and moving vocals from James. In comes the classic NSFTM interlude in 5/4, “lift-up-your-hands-toward-the-sanc-tu-ar-y”, which leans to metal with the ominous instrumentation and distorted vocals, yet shifts into joyous indie rock with “bless the LORD” and then floats with the vocal-driven and exuberant “may the LORD who made heaven and earth bless you from Zion.” This section reminded me of Velour 100. Note that it ends with vocalizations of “meow” (like a kitty cat), reiterating the unrestrained expression.

Enter "Salve Regina", containing break beats, Zappa keyboards, and a choir sample, of course layered with pups n scrups - pure NSFTM. "Ave Maria" leads the listener through the traditional Christian prayer in 5 stages, some meandering and layered with noise, some with live drums at the center, all with layers of the No Sunlite crew singing with the utmost honesty. The string of psalms making up Sideburn is truly one of my favorite No Sunlite for the Media pieces.

-Uncle Trip
Somewhere between Virginia and Peru
July 2k10
Burning and Kicking Sides:

Out of the Dungeon XX

Welcome to Out of the Dungeon, a many part series detailing a decade of NSFTM noise, hip hop, 'n' adventures from top No Sunlite for the Media scholars, historians, fans, 'n' collaborators. Medians share their thoughts on the absolute values of various NSFTM rekkerds, while we provide free audio streaming 'n' hi-quality file purchase of all the albums at our bandcamp page.

Out of the Dungeon XX: Introduction to the Dungeon

Entering the Exiting of the Media

Memories from Big D

[A Child's Introduction to Money and the Instruments of the Media
was originally issued as a CD inside a pouch with thee Disney-parody
artwork safety-pinned to it. This baggie was filled with photo sheets
'n' lyrics, amongst other goodies. These are long gone -
but you can still download Money here]

"Considering this is exam week, I dunno what this is saying..."

A Child’s Introduction was my introduction to the hidden under workings of NSFTM’s recording process, complete with ancient laptops, oversized headphones, and handwritten lyrics on the back of old homework. As I sat on the floor of the living room, I looked like a child trying to read scrawled handwriting, and I felt like a child learning through trial and error how to work a recording apparatus for the first time. Luckily, this introduction makes even the newest Medians feel like they’ve been listening, recording, and jamming all their lives. With the instructions “just sing something that sounds good on the verses,” Math plopped me into the realm of lo-fi and I’ve never turned back. This album brings NSFTM back to its roots and allows listeners to return to their childhood days with a mix of genres that’ll get your head spinning faster than the merry-go-round you used to push on the playground.

Though each song brings its own paradigm-subverting, sellout-hating, bring-it-back-to-the-truth-of-the-basics elements, one song in particular strikes directly to the hearts of its listeners. “End” is arguably the best song on the album, and possibly the most poignant of all the songs in NSFTM history thus far. Line after line of blatant honesty draws you in and suddenly every word somehow applies to your own life as well.

“I wish I had said I have something to say. I wish I had said I have nothing to say, cuz I said too much or not enough, but either way…”
With this song, NSFTM achieves the thing for which every musician strives yet very few actually attain.

We don't know how it's gonna end. But, we do know NSFTM will continue to charge forward, burning cash and challenging the overground world. The school bell is ringing, kiddos...you ready to grab your seat in the dungeon?

-Big D

Charlottesville, VA
Apr. 2k10
Not knowing how it's going to end:

Out of the Dungeon XIX

Welcome to Out of the Dungeon, a many part series detailing a decade of NSFTM noise, hip hop, 'n' adventures from top No Sunlite for the Media scholars, historians, fans, 'n' collaborators. Medians share their thoughts on the absolute values of various NSFTM rekkerds, while we provide free audio streaming 'n' hi-quality file purchase of all the albums at our bandcamp page.

Out of the Dungeon XIX: Teach Them Wisely
A Child's Introduction and Why We Needed Another No Sunlite Release
Instructions by L!Z

[A Child's Introduction to Money and the Instruments of the Media
was originally issued as a CD inside a pouch with thee Disney-parody
artwork safety-pinned to it. This baggie was filled with photo sheets
'n' lyrics, amongst other goodies. These are long gone -
but you can still download Money here]

A Child’s Introduction to Money and Other Instruments of the Media: social, political, spiritual. NSFTM has done it again. I can’t wait to give my children their introduction to money by letting them give this album a listen.

If you are anything like me, you were first introduced to No Sunlite’s March 2009 release of A Child’s Introduction to Money with hits like “Paperwork” 'r “Cast Spells Not Votes.” You probably owned the Cast Votes Not Spells t-shirt before hearing their later release of the song. Maybe you saw them along with the notable “NSFTM” Lithuanian banner at their well-attended K.C.’s show in Fredericksburg. No doubt, you loved the songs, but you were left thinking, "Wait, these are new songs; when did NSFTM come out with these?"

With a vinyl release of Hellgramite on the band’s heels and a copy of the cigar box release you were still trying to track down a copy of, you couldn’t imagine NSFTM could have more tunes to block out that sunshine your roommates were giving the media by turning on their televisions.

The NSFTM freak flag flies high.

But if there is one thing No Sunlite does have, it’s tunes. And, with A Child’s Introduction you get 30 of them. But before confronting the songs, you had to dig through the package. The album’s appearance was their most uniquely designed yet. Each CD lovingly placed in a hand-sewn fabric bag with a random (or not so random...) assortment of trinkets. You got a Star Trek card (to reference the sample source on "Signals From Beyond"), a toy dinosaur (to battle with while jamming to "Dinosaurs"), a Halloween pencil (to put you in the spooky mood for "Cast Spells Not Votes"), a hard candy (to suck on during "Cotton Candy Factory"), photos of the band undressed, covered only by vinyl (a comment on rap: sex sells, or rap: vinyl breaks forever?...or both?), and a lyrics sheet, of course. [In a weird display of Zappa-inspired conceptual continuity, those same Star Trek cards became lyrics for the band's next year garage-rock tape Noise Dogs, while the "safety-pinned" artwork and album title referenced a Disneyland LP that the band had sampled heavily on their Hellgrammite LP.] With NSFTM you don’t just get sound—you get genuine art.

The easy crowdpleaser, maybe for its catchy hook, but I hope for it’s powerful content, is track four, “No Sunlite (Gza of Love).” At 2 minutes 19 seconds, NSFTM syncs up the line “2:19, time to start knocking blocks out like Jenga,” a small detail that portrays the band’s creative proficiency. Math’s rapping is now a staple of both this album and NSFTM’s legacy at large, but it does not pigeonhole their style. Only a few moments after the 2:19 brilliance, Math reinforces this philosophy in “Gza of Love,” when he delivers one of my favorite lines from the whole album: “our desire to rewire is our greatest asset.”

Before you read on, play track four and listen to that line one more time: “our desire to rewire is our greatest asset.”
For me, going to school three hours south of Annandale meant getting bits and pieces of current No Sunlite projects but always feeling slightly out of the loop. Luckily, that just allowed me to be pleasantly surprised with new material every time I visited.

But, that’s just the thing about No Sunlite For The Media. You may go to a different school, study abroad, miss a show, listen to the radio for a few hours, or even blink, but NSFTM will keep making music to draw you back.

-L!Z
Roma, Italia
Apr. 2k10
Desire to Rewire: