The Obsidian Turtle Governs the North

Dispatch from Taiwan. Read the full post.

Tonight's installment is bookended by two tracks from an all-time favorite album that’s been keeping me company on this trip: Atom Heart & Tetsu Inoue's Flowerhead, a drowsy low-end opus that comforted me thirty years ago and still delights me today. Along the way, there are some newer songs drenched in fuzz and streaked with Taiwanese ballads from the mid-twentieth century before winding down with a chant I recorded at Songshan Ciyou Temple. This mixtape is tailored for headphones, ideally while walking down a rainy street filled with people carrying clear plastic umbrellas.

1. Datacide - Flowerhead
   Flowerhead | Rather Interesting, 1995 | Bandcamp
2. Civilistjävel! - XVI
   Följd | Felt, 2025 | Bandcamp
3. Matchess - Of the Living
   Sacracorpa | Trouble in Mind, 2018 | Bandcamp
4. Leyland Kirby - They Are All Dead, There Are No Skip At All
   Eager to Tear Apart the Stars | History Always Favours the Winners, 2011 | Bandcamp
5. Datacide - Deep Chair
   Flowerhead | Rather Interesting, 1995 | Bandcamp

Interspersed with sections from:

• 美黛 (Mei Tai) - Unforgettable Memories
  Taiwan | Union Records, 1965 | More
• Zhen Hui-Ling - Ice Point
  Taiwan, 1960s
• 姚蘇蓉 (Yao Su-jung) - 負心的人
  Taiwan, 1967 | More
• Unknown - Lighthouse in the Night Fog
  Taiwan, 1960s
• 紀露霞 (Chi Lu-hsia) - 黃昏嶺 (Sunset Ridge)
  Taiwan, 1957 | More
• 胡美紅 (Hu Mei-Hong) - Autumn Wind, Night Rain / Three Sighs
  Taiwan | ATS, 1967 | More
• Recording from Songshan Ciyou Temple
  March 13, 2025 | More

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