ALAK_____________
'ALAK' began in 2005 as the solo project of Jocelyn Noir originally under the moniker 'Alas, alak, Alaska!'. The project was based out of the forests of Pollock Pines in Northern California until 2007 when Jocelyn moved to Sacramento and new members joined, including Jeannie Masterflash who has been the only other original member besides Jocelyn since then (the line-up has also included Genaro Ulloa of 'Sister Crayon', Elisabeth Wood of 'FANCIE', Michael Saalman of 'Woman Year', and Daniel Trudeau of 'Pregnant'). The band has toured nationally twice (sharing the bill with Adrian Orange, Angel Deradoorian (Dirty Projectors), Lucky Dragons, Stephen Steinbrink, GDFX, Agent Ribbons, M.O.M., and What's Up), won a Sacramento SAMMIES 'Best Experimental Band' award in 2008 and was nominated again the next year, sharing the category with Pregnant, Dead Western, Art Lessing and The Flower Vato, The Ganglians and M.O.M. The latest and first actual full-length record 'Clarinettis Qoonotations: Too Many Notes; fucking preternatural and the golden weave of g-nashing teeth' was released on Kaleidoscope Records (UK) in the spring of 2009. The record has been received well by reviewers and made it to number 9 on the college radio station KDVS 90.3fm's (out of Davis, CA) top 30 list for January 2009. The second song on Clarinettis 'Because surprises change so little' was made in to a music video which was featured on the Pitchfork website in August 2009.
The sound has been described in many ways, Lauren Strain in the June 2009 issue of Plan B Magazine's interview with Jocelyn Noir described it as: " Sinister and vulnerable and unrepentant, Alak's notes are good and bad karma, pluck and luck and despair... a conspiratorial meeting of your inner voices in broad nightlight." It's definitely a project that conjures different emotions from each individual listener. Jocelyn is currently working on the latest album 'GROUPS' which should be available at the end of 2010.
Reviews on 'Clarinettis Qoonotations:Too Many Notes':
"Exposing oneself to ALAK's black cauldron for forty-two minutes proves to be a more than satisfying proposition." ---June 2009 http://www.textura.org
"Each song is unique in its implementation and the lyrics filter through like the lines of a spoken word poem... Alak's melodious and experimental combination make the album rather beautiful and accessible. I highly recommend that you pick it up and get cozy." ---July 2009 Clinton Gibson, KDVS 90.3fm
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ALAK
'Clarinettis Qoonotations:Too Many Notes; fucking preternatural and the golden weave of g-nashing teeth'
*Available for Pay-What-You'd-Like download only; just click the ORDER button below*
released 23 March 2009
ALL SONGS WRITTEN BY JOCELYN NOIR
Jocelyn Jade Noir: Guitar, voca, fake drums, keys, tamborine, bells, wood, leaves, shakers, bass, drums, kazoo, demon
Jeannie Shalin Masterflash (Learned to make music in tha back seat): Keys, fake drums, fake bass, vocals, tamborine, belt, triangle, umbrella, shakers
Elisabeth Wood (Chief Piano of piano imbargoes): Drums, voca, bass, keys, bells, umbrella
Katelyn Reeves (G in a mothafuckin' C world): Flute, trumpet, bass, voca, tamborine,
Daniel Trudeau: Voca, guitar, saxophone
Genaro Ulloa: Bass, voca (Wooleathe Mneathe, Corn Woman)
Andy Morin: Drums, voca, random percussion
Liani Moore: Violin, voca (Corn Woman)
Chenelle Doutherd: Voca, tamborine (Finick, Corn Woman)
Amanda Carroll: Voca, drum, tamborine (Corn Woman)
Joe Bengry: Clarinet, voca (Corn Woman)
Thank you: Cassi, Michael, Wayne, Grammy Bonnie, Mike, Daniel (my love) & the Trudeau family, The MacDonald Family, Damien, Andy (A Lonely Mic), Tony Schatz, Elisabeth, Katelyn, Genaro, Liani, Chenelle, Joe, Mandy, Jesse Vasquez, Nick Miller, Brad Dunn (for completely letting me rip him off), Troy Mighty, Zach (for the pedal!), The S st. Witch Dome (Candace, Kyle, Tony), The Pleasure Dome , Bows & Arrows, Jon Natsoula's Center for the Arts, The Vox Gallery, Buff Castle, kids who voted for us for the Sammies, Erik, Jessalyn & Jamaica, Inga, Ashley, Hailey (M.O.M.), Jon, Boyd, Adam Lipman, Natalie & Lauren, Stephen + Teague + JR, James Fella, My Feral Kin kids, The Trunk Space, Fran, Chris Payne, O.A. and the Baby Birds, Darin & Heather, Chelsea Wolfe, Haney, Brittany, Jacob, Paco, Evan, Pollock Pines, the Stark Fool (or absolute levity)
RECORDED & MIXED BY ANDY MORIN AT THE VOX GALLERY SUMMER 2008
(except: 'Alas, runners.' made entirely on Reason by Jocelyn in 2006,'Corn Woman (t'ain't nothin' but a purely swamp thang)' recorded live at Luna's Cafe by Troy Mighty 2007, 'Wooleathe Mneathe' recorded by Tony Schatz in Portland 2008)
Original art by Jocelyn Noir, cardboard illustration by Daniel Trudeau, Photo by Jesse Vasquez
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Finick While Clicking It's Fingers
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Crystal Power Attack
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'I don't feel anything'
*Available for pay-what-you'd-like download only; just click the ORDER button below*
released 01 August 2009
All songs are copyright ALAK/Jocelyn Jade Noir with Nigh Records 2009/2010
All songs written by Jocelyn Jade Noir
Recorded & Mastered by Art Echternacht in Placerville, CA Summer 2009
Jocelyn Jade Noir: Git, voca, keys, drums/percussives, bass
Daniel Trudeau: Git, voca, percussives, sax
Jocelyn would like to thank Art, Daniel, and Stephen Stephen Steinbrink.
I don't feel anything
Soul Mates
NEXT>
1
Lifes not so bad; you wade through a river of shit and judges and no magic.
...
Peering above and over the plain, where suddenly there is a rectangular mountain, the clouds had turned from gray to lavender in the wet mouth and tears and coals of the sky. The moon appeared white and huge and full. I could tell that in the past the moon was much closer to the earth and probably had siblings (in the north; and the sun). The moon crashed in to the far-right edge of the cliff, remaining intact and silent. It passed through it, and I could actually see it, the sides cut in half and wading through time, fossilizing in to marble as it progressed in to different stages just below the top grounds of the mountain. There were at least four, the last being a crescent moon stage; until it disintegrated.
/
GROUPS
*MORE INFO + SAMPLE MIXES COMING SOON*
By Huckleberry DelSignore
Filmed November 2008
Because surprises change so little
By Jane Eastlight
Filmed in 2009
PRESS-
2009- Aug 'Because surprises change so little' Music Video by Jane Eastlight featured on Pitchfork.com
2009- June Review for 'Clarinettis Qoonotations' by Textura.org: http://www.textura.org/archives/a/alak.htm
2009- June Interview by Lauren Strain for Plan B Magazine (UK)
2009- ALAK Nominated Sacramento SAMMIES Awards 'Best Experimental Band'
2009- ALAK 'Clarinettis Qoonotations' #9 on KDVS 90.3fm's TOP 30 LIST (Davis, CA)
2009- ALAK Release:'Clarinettis Qoonotations:Too Many Notes; fucking preternatural and the golden weave of g-nashing teeth' (Kaleidoscope/Nigh Records)
2008- Nov-Jan National US Tour w. FANCIE & Adrian Orange (K Records)
2008- Alas, alak, Alaska! Won Sacramento SAMMIES Awards 'Best Experimental Band'
2007- Oct-Dec National US Tour w. Stephen Steinbrink (Gilgongo Records) & Foot Ox
2007- Alas, alak, Alaska! 7" Split Release w. Whitman (Folktale Records; OUT OF PRINT)
2006- Lusk- Three short stories by Jessalyn Wakefield, Illustrated by Jocelyn Noir OUT OF PRINT
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'Clarinettis Qoonotations:Too Many Notes;
fucking preternatural and the golden weave of g-nashing teeth'
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