experimedia

Belbury Poly :: Summer Round Video

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 17:54:51 -0500

This video for Belbury Poly’s track “Summer Round” is part of larger film New Summer Wavelengths by Julian House and it does a pretty amazing job of summing up the tack’s library music/Omni feature feel. The track comes from Belbury Poly’s (aka Ghost Box label owner Jim Jupp) new album The Belbury Tales, a stunning mix of prog-laced British Renaissance mixed through a kosmiche sci-fi docudrama lens. And, as with all Ghost Box albums its been lavishly packaged and lovingly presented. Its highly recommended that you check out the rest of the album and pick it up if you see it.

//EXP.NEW | Celer, Further, Orange Milk, Andy Stott, Type, Digitalis, Senufo, Home Normal, Kranky++

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 14:32:21 -0500

GREETINGS FRIENDS
Welcome to our February 23 2012 update. Quite a big week of new arrivals here…. and a very hectic week overall. After picking not 1 but 2 brand new Experimedia records from the plant on Friday I spent all weekend assembling and packing. Then Monday Bryan and I were packing all your preorders for Woven Tide from 7am right up to the wire at 9:30pm when we ran out the door to head to see Cut Hands and Aaron Dilloway in Oberlin. Unfortunately we missed Cut Hands by 5 minutes because he decided to play first instead of last :( but caught a short video of Aaron Dilloway here… intense!

NEW CELER LP
We are very excited to announce a new album by Celer on Experimedia. And better yet… it is here and ready to ship now… not preorder… ready to go! We went to the plant on Friday to pick up Woven Tide and we were surprised to find out the Celer LP was also ready. As usual with Experimedia releases if you purchase the LP you get an immediate download in choice of format.

ALBUM PREVIEWS
As usual the latest previews for new arrivals can be found in this nice tidy set. Click play and let it go and see what catches your attention.

THE NEW
Many fantastic additions to the catalog this week. Mesmerizing new album by Ian Martin on the always fantastic Further Records. An absolutely stunning album by Clade in a gorgeous handmade silk screened package (my pick of the week!). A new LP on Ohio’s own Orange Milk label by Ashley Paul with percussion by Eli Keszler. A new batch and restocks of release on Giuseppe Ielasi’s Senufo Editions. After some shipping glitches finally received a giant package all the way from Japan from our good friend Ian Hawgood including releases from all of his labels… Home Normal, Tokyo Droning, and Nomadic Kids Republic. These Tokyo Droning packages are handcrafted and I can only imagine the amount of time that went into assembling them. New releases from Type by Main Attrakionz and by FRAK on Digitalis. Reissues of those hard to come by Andy Stott albums… and of course much more.

New arrivals here at the top… restocks and now shippings towards the bottom.

****NEW ARRIVALS****

//EXPERIMEDIA

celer - evaporate and wonder (12inch vinyl lp + download)
Catalog#: explp021lp
Price: $13.00
12inch vinyl LP limited to 300 copies. Includes an immediate download in choice of highest quality mp3, flac, or apple lossless formats. Also available as a digital download only here. Since 2005, Celer, the duo of the late Danielle Marie Baquet and William Thomas Long, have released a wealth of ambient material and established themselves as one of the preeminent and best loved outfits in the genre. For the uninitiated, Celer’s aesthetic is glacial, beautiful and devotional. It is utterly devoid of hard edges and culled from a wealth of exotic and traditional instrumentation. The pair’s inimitable sound is the result of careful attention to processing and a keen, quasi-cinematic ear for arrangement and juxtaposition. The source material for the recordings on Evaporate and Wonder was limited to improvised synthesizers and field recordings, but the end results are predictably grand and mysterious, suitable indeed for the promises of the album’s title. Comprised of two sidelong pieces, … more info

celer - evaporate and wonder (download)
Catalog#: explp021dg
Price: $7.00
Digital download only in choice of highest quality mp3, flac, or apple lossless formats. Also available here as a 12inch vinyl LP limited to 300 copies and includes and immediate digital download. Since 2005, Celer, the duo of the late Danielle Marie Baquet and William Thomas Long, have released a wealth of ambient material and established themselves as one of the preeminent and best loved outfits in the genre. For the uninitiated, Celer’s aesthetic is glacial, beautiful and devotional. It is utterly devoid of hard edges and culled from a wealth of exotic and traditional instrumentation. The pair’s inimitable sound is the result of careful attention to processing and a keen, quasi-cinematic ear for arrangement and juxtaposition. The source material for the recordings on Evaporate and Wonder was limited to improvised synthesizers and field recordings, but the end results are predictably grand and mysterious, suitable indeed for the promises of the album’s title. Comprised of two … more info

//FURTHER

ian martin - mechanical rain (12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: fur043lp
Price: $14.60
“Superlative new work by Rotterdam’s Ian Martin, “Mechanical Rain” proves to be a subtle but affecting listen. Pillow-soft drones ebb and flow as rhythmic ticks and sputters (evocative of the album’s title) coalesce all around them, coming to a head on the dizzying, beautiful “Wires.” A cold, bleak minimalism pervades throughout the album, conjuring lonely landscapes, claustrophobic spaces and sleepless nights.” - Alex Cobb for Experimedia—— Ian Martin is a visual & recording artist from Rotterdam. As a stalwart of the Netherlands electro scene he performs using a maximum of two synths and no drum machines due to enforced space limitations. It infuses his material with a claustrophobic minimalism and a necessarily unique rhythmic element that mimics polypharmacy intoxication. ‘Mechanical Rain’ records the industrial ambience of empty office towers. Night shift slave drones construct sonic camouflage for leaking air vents and humming fluorescents while throbbing vaccuums and faulty … more info

//ORANGE.MILK

ashley paul - slow boat (12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: om-slowlp
Price: $13.00
Picture Slow Boat pulls out every last sound in the organic world and puts it into a context of sheer beauty and conceptual interest simultaneously. It is masterfully original and well thought out with superb musicianship and puts hope into the polarized world of conceptual vs. analytic. This is a limited pressing of 300. Featuring Eli Keszler on percussion.

//CLADE

clade - if brightness outshine heavens so prepared (cd)
Catalog#: clade001cd
Price: $10.00
Debut release from transatlantic drone duo Clade. Nine compositions for guitar and electronics, this is music intended for private rituals, astral inquiry, and small hours. Recommended for admirers of Troum, Nadja, Natural Snow Buildings etc. Recorded in 2009, in one take, with no overdubs. Wax sealed, hand-numbered edition of 100 in screenprinted jackets with insert.

//SENUFO

dakim - 34 fragments (cd)
Catalog#: senufo025cd
Price: $16.20
dakim (also known as ‘dak’) is a bay area producer and beat maker. he has released music on leaving records, poo-bah and on his own. ddust.net A-M: cassette tape recorded while lost on BayAreaRapidTransit. post-recording, resonant portions highlighted and repeated, as heard in the listener’s mind at time of recording. extensions 1-6: further study of audible displacement track/channel set: mis-edited cassette tape discarded remains in rubbish for 1 week retrieved from rubbish tape pulled from casing tape sprawled across front lawn tape exposed to sun, rain over 2 weeks tape subject to lawnmower, mostly destroyed remaining tape mended and respooled multitrack used for cassette playback recorded in four configurations tape pulled from casing tape engaged with pyrite collected from pacific ocean tape respooled multitrack used for cassette playback recorded in two configurations splitroom: recording of various items including a stew pot, water, a lamp, step ladder, carpet, glass cup, … more info

stephen cornford - binatone galaxy (cd)
Catalog#: senufo024cd
Price: $16.20
Binatone Galaxy is an installation for numerous portable cassette recorders which, rather than being used as intendedare loaded with self-amplifying cassettes that make audible the rattling mechanics of this dead medium. Superseded as dictaphones, the machines become instruments in their own right. Replacing the contents of each tape with a microphone allows us to hear the rhythmic and resonant properties of these once ubiquitous plastic shells, revealing the acoustics of the cassette and the voices of the machines themselves. The recordings on this disc comprise a variety of non-documentary auditory perspectives on the installation. The first seven tracks are trios and quartets assembled from studio recordings of individual machines made in Bristol, while the final track, recorded in Oxford, presents the acoustic sound of the massed machines as they are switched on and off by the built-in motion sensors which activate the work. Mastering by Giuseppe Ielasi. Thanks to Neil Taylor, … more info

allon kaye - tiny fascinator (cassette)
Catalog#: senufo023cs
Price: $9.80
Allon Kaye is the nom de plume of R. de-Chantecler. He is the guardian and administrator of the London-based Entr’acte. C-20, professionally duplicated on Chrome tape by Adam Asnan. Letterpressed sleeve printed by Ben Owen / Middle Press. Numbered edition of 100 copies.

raionbashi / roigk-fromberg - der strick / blowing up the masters workshop (12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: senufo017lp
Price: $21.10
Side A: Raionbashi “Der Strick” Composed, recorded and mixed by Daniel Löwenbrück between 2009 and 2011. With thanks to Dave Phillips for his strings, Doreen Kutzke for her voice and to the people and animals recorded without their knowledge. Raionbashi is the solo project of Daniel Löwenbrück, head of the Tochnit-Aleph label and Rumpsti Pumsti record shop. The Method Man of Aktionism. http://www.tochnit-aleph.com/raionbashi/ Side B: Stefan Roigk / Daniela Fromberg “Blowing up the master’s workshop” It’s worth resting with the beasts to prepare ballon mails for bats, urutaúes, sirens, leopard seals, humpback whales, monarch butterflies (poor bb), blowflies and maggots. Inspired by max ernst’s collage das schlafzimmer des meisters – la chambre à coucher de max ernst, 1920. Roigk and Fromberg are two multi-disciplinary artists living in Berlin. http://www.stefan-roigk.com/ http://www.daniela-fromberg.com/ Numbered edition of 280 copies. Black vinyl (cut at Dubplates & Mastering, … more info

jennifer veillerobe - zweifarbige gesten (cd)
Catalog#: senufo016cd
Price: $16.20
jennifer veillerobe is a french-german musician, co-curator of senufo editions and one half of ‘eselsohr’. this is her first solo cd, a minimal sequence of sonic events, alternating between modular synthesizer patterns / textures and simple acoustic gestures captured with a portable digital recorder. realised without any processing or overdubbing, the cd is an attempt to define a narrative using nothing but sharp edits and careful sequencing of non-homogeneous sonic spaces. ‘zweifarbige gesten’ is german for ‘two-color gestures’. Two-color letterpresse sleeve designed by Nick and Nadine at Sonnenzimmer and printed by Ben Owen / Middle Press. Numbered edition of 180 copies.

bellows - handcut (cd)
Catalog#: senufo015cd
Price: $16.20
bellows is the duo of giuseppe ielasi and nicola ratti and ‘handcut’ is their second project. originally released on lp on alga marghen / planam, this cd reissue is expanded with 23 minutes of unreleased material recorded one year after the first sessions. for ‘handcut’, bellows used a simple technique of cutting / destroying and amplifying vinyl records with contact microphones, creating new grooves and physical loops while capturing the sounds on a revox tape machine with long tapeloops. no further processing or transformations were applied apart for a couple of effect pedals and sine waves. a sort of atmospheric and modern electronic music recorded at the beginning of the twentieth century on 78rpm shellac records. letterpressed sleeve printed by Ben Owen / Middle Press. photographic insert by Amedeo Martegani. edition of 220 copies.

alessandro brivio - associazioni poro (12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: senufo014lp
Price: $21.10
Alessandro Brivio’s new record is another collection of complex and obsessive rhythmic tracks, reflecting his studies and passion for african aesthetics. The title is an homage to the Senufo secret society (the Poro) and to the Associazione Poro, a foundation of africanists founded by the great italian collector Carlo Monzino. Numbered edition of 200 copies. Transparent vinyl (cut at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin) with printed labels. Silkscreened cover (black on black carboard), with small insert.

oreledigneur - alpi (12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: senufo013lp
Price: $21.10
oreledigneur is the duo of giuseppe ielasi and renato rinaldi and ‘alpi’ is the new film by photographer and filmmaker armin linke. rinaldi followed linke’s shooting sessions between 2004 and 2009, recording on-location sound for the film, which was then edited and sound-designed by oreledigneur. the whole sound archive was used by ielasi to edit and compose (without any additional processing) those two sides, which bear very little resemblance to the final soundtrack of the film. the lp consists of a cinematic montage of very un-naturalistic field recordings, as in the spirit of the film: artificial ski tracks, maintenance machines, scientific laboratories, ski jumping ramps, military academies, broken equipment, tunnel resonances and a lot more. b/w printed cover on heavy cardboard, black vinyl (cut at dubplates & mastering, berlin), rubberstamped labels. numbered edition of 200 copies.

gregg kowalsky - battery townsley (12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: senufo009lp
Price: $21.10
One side of the Lp contains the recording of a performance realised with 10 cassette players positioned inside the bunker of Battery Townsley (World War II coastal fortification). The studio source material, recorded by The Norman Conquest, was also mixed in studio by Giuseppe Ielasi, and this version appears on the other side. Numbered edition of 280 copies. Transparent vinyl (cut at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin), printed cover designed by Jefre Cantu-Ledesma. Gregg Kowalsky resides in Oakland, California where he completed a Master of Fine Arts degree in Electronic Music and Recording Media at Mills College. Kowalsky’s compositions range from drone and noise pieces to meditative psychedelia. After his debut album, Through the Cardial Window (Kranky), Gregg started working with cassette tapes, sine oscillators, mixer feedback, contact mics, etc… His recent series of Tape Chants explores the acoustics where the performances occur by setting up cassette players around the space, … more info

//MOAR

hideki umezawa - suido-kan (cd)
Catalog#: and-moar004cd
Price: $10.00
mOAR returns after a three year hiatus to present Suido-Kan by Hideki Umezawa which is overall more minimal and less melodic than much of the electronic music published under his Pawn moniker. Still, he manages to sneak some of his signature glitches into at least one track (hear the sample). Suido-Kan was created from environmental sounds involving water pipes, drainage pipes, rain, and improvising with faucet frequencies (in a public restroom) and glass harmonica (a xylophone made of glass tubes). Apart from six compositions by Hideki, this release also features a remix track by Tomas Phillips. This release is the first one in the mOAR catalog to use the custom inserts that and/OAR first introduced back in 2005 and the first to be limited to 100 copies. In spite of this fact, it is a replicated CD release (not a CDR).

//TOKYO.DRONING

jbjh (jeremy bible & jason henry) - spc (cd)
Catalog#: td006cd
Price: $11.90
CD limited to 250. Sound artists Jeremy Bible & Jason Henry collaborate to fuse elements of musique concrete, acoustic, and electronic music. By means of conceptual, experimental, and algorithmic recording and processing techniques the duo seek to expose a synergetic relationship between real world found sounds, acoustic instrumentation, and electronic sound design. The duo’s creative amalgamation of these elements have created a moody and growing body of sound works including albums and installations. So finally, to bring an end to the first series on Tokyo Droning, are my old mate Jeremy Bible and his old mate Jason Henry. There is so much I could say but it would speal off in all sorts of directions. OK, so first up Jeremy runs the awesome Experimedia label and store which he set up with Jason ages ago, but then many of you would know that already. So how about a few things you might not expect? Jason’s Halfadder moniker is some of the most fun electronica I have ever heard and … more info

david newlyn - social claustrophobia (cd)
Catalog#: td005cd
Price: $11.90
CD Limited to 250. David Newlyn lives in Durham, U.K. He records at home, used to run October Man Recordings which morphed into the excellent Cathedral Transmissions label. He has had releases on Abandon Ship, Symbolic Interaction, Boltfish, Mobeer and recently on Cotton Goods to name a few. I’m not sure what to say about David Newlyn’s latest release ‘Social Claustrophobia’. So, first things first, I love David Newlyn, I really do. I’ve known David since his October Man days, after which he then set-up the ace Cathedral Transmissions label. I’ve also been a fan of his work for ages now. More recently David has found a home within the sadly departed Mobeer family, but released earlier this year with Craig’s other imprint, the excellent Cotton Goods. ‘Social Claustrophobia’ is basically a series of beautifully subtle piano and guitar pieces. It is also one of the albums which founded the principles of Tokyo Droning and one of the reasons why I have taken so damn long to iron out things … more info

tanner menard - dark pianos (cd)
Catalog#: td004cd
Price: $11.90
CD limited to 250. Tanner Menard was born on September 20th, 1978 – the same month that Brian Eno published his essay titled “Ambient Music”. At the age of 11, Menard composed his first works for piano and has since explored minimal sound worlds in myriad contexts that are bound by a central poetic understanding of sound. In recent years his works have explored the relationship between sound and meditation and have been largely focused around his work with physical modeling of long pianos with novel tunings created by Nicholas Gish. His early exposure to ambient electronica came in 2002 when he worked as an assistant to Naut Humon at Recombinant Media Labs. In 2005 Menard served as an artist in residence at Arizona State University where he collaborated with Jeph Jerman, and Gary Hill for his installation, “Envyronie”. Menard is rapidly becoming known for his remix of Robert Rich’s Sleep Concert concept with Chika Iijima and Jeremy Bible and has lulled audiences around the … more info

tobias hellkvist - kaskelot (cd)
Catalog#: td003cd
Price: $8.00
CD EP Limited to 250. Multi-instrumentalist Tobias Hellkvist (b.1984) was born and raised in the south of Sweden, just outside Malmö. He’s a songwriter / sound artist / producer and has been making music since his early teens. Some of his works are just him with a guitar and some of it is computer-based soundscapes in the ambient / drone genre. Last year he released his third full-length album Evolutions on Home Normal to critical acclaim. His fourth album will be out later this year on Install. When Tobias sent me a copy of Evolutions last year it blew my socks off and I knew we had to release it on Home Normal. His organic multi-instrumental structures seemed to take many by surprise and ended up being a favourite on many people’s end of year playlists. For his latest work ‘Kaskelot’, Tobias improvised and recorded during one late night in April 2011 at Sundlaugin in Reykjavik, Iceland (the Sigur Ros studios no less). Using piano, vibraphone, pump organ, guitar, pedal steel, … more info

segue - grey (cd)
Catalog#: td002cd
Price: $11.90
Limited to 250. segue is Jordan Sauer from Vancouver, Canada. His sound is a patchwork of textures and tones with a focus on the interplay of timbre. These sounds are created through the blending of various instruments (12-string acoustic and electric guitar, piano, violin, melodica, various percussive drums and instruments, didgeridoo, childrens toys), incidental found sounds and field recordings. Being a lover of all music, his approach to music/sound composition is constantly evolving. Grey was the second album on the original Tokyo Droning release package. It was originally released in edition of 100, which sold out in about 2 weeks despite limited press. I’ve known and been an enormous fan of Jordan’s work for a number of years now. Its hard to think of a quieter and more gentle artist who approaches his work with great care and attention to detail. ‘Grey’ has always felt like a kind of organic folk drone record, which might seem like an odd hybrid. But it works beautifully and … more info

offthesky - flourescence (cd)
Catalog#: td001cd
Price: $8.00
Limited to 250. offthesky is an ever evolving acoustic-ambient quilt created by denver, colorado artist jason corder. weilding instruments such as a vibraphone, guitar, piano, and various voices, mr. corder makes home-spun and spacious sound scapes of magestic proportion. he often collaborates with other open-minded individuals and is proud to have worked with sonic heroes such as darren mcclure, ian hawgood, pleq, ten and tracer, and more. he also creates short videos and loves spending time in the mountains staring intensely at the clouds. Fluorescence was the first release on the original Tokyo Droning release package. It was originally released in edition of 100, which sold out in about 2 days despite limited press. As most people who know me will tell you, I love Jason’s work. Yet, Fluorescence isn’t a ‘typical’ (if that can even be applied) offthesky release as it is far more of an experimental drone record than I have ever heard from Jason before. Indeed, Fluorescence is a 30 … more info

//HOME.NORMAL

david wenngren & christopher bissonnette - the meridians of longitude and parallels of latitude (cd)
Catalog#: homen030cd
Price: $13.00
Whilst most of you will know of our love for David Wenngren (of Library Tapes fame, of course), Christopher Bissonnette’s ‘In Between Words’ release on Kranky has long been a personal favourite around these parts. So when I heard about their collaboration I almost fell over myself with excitement. The result is the beautiful and noisily freckled masterpiece ‘The Meridians of Longitude and Parallels of Latitude’, mastered by the lovely Taylor Deupree. In many ways the record is a perfect hybrid of their sound, almost the truest of collaborations if you will. It is also a true Home Normal release, fitting of our original intentions for release of works. It is of a drone-like nature, yet at once melodic, intense and possessing a naturally organic graininess and warmth we so love. The cover art is a perfect match for the sound: beautiful, serene, yet freckled and blurred like a frosty window pane. The music is that of a dream, a dusty memory of something beautiful, retaining its … more info

autistici - amplified presence (cd)
Catalog#: homen029cd
Price: $13.00
David Newman’s work as an artist and label owner has always quietly amazed me and been a source of great inspiration, but his most recent record marks David out as one of the most talented, unique and wild (yes, wild) artists around. Autistici’s ‘Amplified Presence’ is one of the most expansive and deeply imaginative works we’ve heard in a long time. Throughout the ten pieces, David highlights an incredibly intense awareness and placement of a variety of sounds, which is perhaps one of his great trademarks or signatures. Where the album really caught me personally was in its sheer playfulness and the wonderful, almost child-like, melodies that spring forth throughout the entire record. It is a very rare talent indeed to at once be so intense, detailed and intelligent, whilst having something so dripping in melody that it takes a good few listens to really take on board just how rich in detail and development this record is. As a personal hero of mine, its incredibly exciting … more info

felicia atkinson - o-re-gon (cd)
Catalog#: homen028cd
Price: $13.00
O-RE-GON was recorded by Félicia Atkinson in Portland, Oregon at Adam Selzer’s Type Foundry Studio. The album was made on one rainy day in July 2010, when Félicia had already been traveling for 2 months coast to coast in the United States. She was just recovering from a Lyme disease she caught a week before in upstate New York in the deep woods. The sound engineer Adam Selzer showed Félicia all the instruments she could use, most of them she never played before: a fender rhodes, a marimba, and a harmonium, but also some she had used before: a (this time) golden electric guitar and a piano: this is how this day of musical wonder began.Félicia didn’t have any idea what she wanted to play, she had not touched an instrument for two months and wanted the tracks to be completely improvised. So they captured one track in the morning, Grey & Green, and one track in the afternoon: Green & Grey. The music was influenced by this special state of body and mind she was in, just in the … more info

gareth davis, jan kleefstra, romke kleefstra - tongerswel (cd)
Catalog#: homen027cd
Price: $13.00
Gareth Davis and the Kleefstra brothers got to know one another when Jan Kleefstra received an album from Gareth by mail-order by mistake. He liked the album though and told Gareth through MySpace. The contact was made and a plan to meet up and make some music was quickly formed. Picture a winters day in the low, vast and flat fields of the Netherlands. An old farm between some trees, in the Frisian lake district, big flocks of geese around the barnyard. Inside the farm a warm studio where Davis and the Kleefstra’s first play and directly record in person together. Two February afternoons of improvisation. It already led to the Rural Colours 3” release Sieleslyk. The album Tongerswel now gives six tracks from that sound as they were played on the spur of the moment, just like Davis’ collaboration with Machinefabriek on Drape, and just like the Kleefstra brothers work with their band Piiptsjilling. In the studio the bass clarinet of Gareth and the guitar of Romke whirled … more info

//NOMADIC.KIDS.REPUBLIC

maps and diagrams - the town beneath the sea (cd)
Catalog#: nkr010cd
Price: $13.00
So there I am sat at work one day, minding my own business, when I get this email, all humble-likeand asking if I would mind checking out not one record, but two. The email was from a certain Tim Martin who just so happens to be a co-worker of mine and a very good friend, but who I was pretty sure didn’t play music unless he was drunk and then it was just table banging. Then it slowly dawned on me that it was a totally different Tim Martin - the genius behind the Maps and Diagrams moniker. What Tim (not my co-worker) didn’t realise was that I’d been a bit of an obsessive fan since his Antennas and Signals release on the oh-so-jaw-droppingly-awesome Japanese label Moamoo, plus when the lovely Mike at Smallfish gave me a copy of Tim’s Lhasa Apso release not long after. So I promptly spilled my coffee over my crotch and let out a howling wild animal sound, not sure if it was the pleasure of the email or the pain of the heat. I digress…every album I have heard by Tim, whether its under … more info

maps and diagrams - lights will call on you (cd)
Catalog#: nkr009cd
Price: $13.00
So there I am sat at work one day, minding my own business, when I get this email, all humble-likeand asking if I would mind checking out not one record, but two. The email was from a certain Tim Martin who just so happens to be a co-worker of mine and a very good friend, but who I was pretty sure didn’t play music unless he was drunk and then it was just table banging. Then it slowly dawned on me that it was a totally different Tim Martin - the genius behind the Maps and Diagrams moniker. What Tim (not my co-worker) didn’t realise was that I’d been a bit of an obsessive fan since his Antennas and Signals release on the oh-so-jaw-droppingly-awesome Japanese label Moamoo, plus when the lovely Mike at Smallfish gave me a copy of Tim’s Lhasa Apso release not long after. So I promptly spilled my coffee over my crotch and let out a howling wild animal sound, not sure if it was the pleasure of the email or the pain of the heat. I digress…every album I have heard by Tim, whether its under … more info

he can jog - norwood wisconsin (cd)
Catalog#: nkr008cd
Price: $13.00
He Can Jog is the work of Erik Schoster, a computer musician from Wisconsin. That is about all he likes to say about his work, understated as ever. The truth is he has been one of my absolute favourite artists for a number of years now and his Middlemarch release on the ever wonderful Audiobulb label is still one of the most played in my house. I’ve known Erik for a number of years now and have been bothering him since the beginning really to make a record for either Home Normal or Nomadic Kids Republic and in the end, the incredible Norwood, Wisconsin just fit NKR perfectly with its noisy analog drone cross super electronic pop feel to it. It is of course a very special release for us, but also of great significance this is likely to be the last album under Erik’s He Can Jog moniker, and its quite the send-off it has to be said.

naoto taguchi - nostalgia (cd)
Catalog#: nkr006cd
Price: $13.00
Naoto Taguchi, originally from Sapporo and currently living in Tokyo, is an audiovisual artist with a strong musical background (having played the piano since his early childhood) who is also interested in programming, photography, design in general and spinning records as a DJ and beatmaking. He locates himself between minimalist electronica, dubmatics and quirky experimental sound. ‘Nostalgia’ is his international debut and shows a wonderful sense of detail in his structures, whilst never betraying his inate melodic progressions. This is one of the most fun but delicately made records we have put out to date.

//PRECO

kinder scout - the writing life (cd)
Catalog#: preco011cd
Price: $13.00
As the old saying goes, “the whole is greater than the sum of it’s parts”. And the whole - being Kinder Scout - is quite an uber collaboration by three amazing talents (Jason Corder, Ian Hawgood and Danny Norbury) who are, each in their own right, already a whole. The real link between the three is Craig Tattersall, which is why it’s really special and beautiful that he’s given his time and talent to come up with such amazing artwork for this release. Another common link is Miles Whittaker, whose mastering skills have not only made Danny’s own album sound as if it were recorded somewhere much more expensive than his bedroom, but The Boats records as well. Danny first encountered The Boats and their music at a festival in Salford, but it was much later that he began working with them musically, via their extraordinary mutual friend, Michael Holland (Ono Records). At some point Craig gave him a release that he’d put out on his label, Mobeer. It was Color Cassette ‘Small Town Smoker’, … more info

//DIGITALIS

frak - muzika electronic (12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: digi039lp
Price: $18.20
**PREORDER FOR ARRIVAL NEXT WEEK** FRAK has been around for 25 years now. They have been the talisman of Sweden’s inimitable Börft label since its inception. Over the course of dozens of tapes, 12”s, and full-lengths, this group has known no real boundaries. It is alien music in every sense of the word. Even if each track offers something different to the narrative, the album keeps a connective tissue running throughout. After 25 years, FRAK is showing no signs of age. Muzika Electronic is a mix of skewed dance music paired with heavy doses of modular synthesizer exploration and bizarro pop. It’s all brand-new, recorded specifically for Digitalis. FRAK is constantly skirting the line between minimal dance music and noise music, often finding new and innovative spaces to occupy and exploit. Album opener “Voyage No. 1” embodies this to perfection. Slow-moving rhythms provide the backbone while looping, crusty synths spin around, spiked with dizzying, high-pitched melodies. It seems odd at first, but as an introduction … more info

//TYPE

main attrakionz - 808s & dark grapes ii (2x12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: type104lp
Price: $25.00
**PREORDER FOR ARRIVAL NEXT WEEK** “Fantastic public service release of Main Attrakionz’ genre-defining 2011 mixtape “808s & Dark Grapes II” on double LP, an album which, alongside the duo’s work with LW Hodge and Julian Wass on last year’s “Chandelier,” stands as the best they’ve laid to tape. With the striking diversity of its production credits, “808s…” in some ways functions best as a primer on the aesthetics of the MA sound, referred to by many critics as “cloud rap.” Friendzone provide hazy, ethereal and slow-moving tracks over which Squadda and Mondre’s laid-back flows sound entirely at home, while Marlee B and Giorgio MoMurda offer up lusher, more funky productions. “Take 1” features current it-rapper A$AP Rocky (it also appeared on last year’s “Live.Love.A$AP” mixtape) and showcases the epic, brooding production of Clams Casino, whose “Instrumentals” mixtape also received the vinyl treatment by Type. A terrific set and really a must-buy for anyone interested in the current state of rap music.” - Alex Cobb … more info

//MODERN.LOVE

andy stott - we stay together (2x12inch vinyl)
Catalog#: love072lp
Price: $20.20
2012 repress. Recorded in the immediate aftermath of his last EP Passed Me By, this new double pack from Andy Stott features six new productions that are more desolate and exposed than anything on its predecessor. The opening “Submission” tumbles into being with layers of washed-out digital revolutions, creating an artificial landscape that’s quite at odds with the analog machinations that follow — yet somehow rendering the alienated feel of this material perfectly. “Posers” nudges its way into being abruptly and embeds another squashed funk variant that’s all low-lit neon and growling textures, awkwardly shuffling into a more robust 4/4 template suffused with sparkling percussion and disembodied vocals. “Bad Wires” is the centerpiece of the EP, a relentless percussive clusterfuck that belies its slow tempo with a fearless, rhythmic attitude. It’s as immersive and narcotic as anything ever produced by Stott — peeling away one layer after another with each repeated listen. “We Stay … more info

andy stott - passed me by (2x12inch vinyl)
Catalog#: love069lp
Price: $20.20
2012 repress. Produced slowly and meticulously, these seven tracks by Manchester’s Andy Stott take influence from an array of seemingly incoherent noises, from the indefinable and unforgettable mind-tricks of Arthur Russell to the slow house of Kassem Mosse, from the alternate VHS realities of James Ferraro and Jamal Moss to the LinnDrum classics of the vintage Prince era. These seven tracks create their own pace and agenda, largely shying away from the dancefloor in favor of something more complex and hard to define. Following on from the tribal malfunctions of opening intro “Signature,” “New Ground” heads into a chasm of layered loops, creating a decimated and re-wired funk template colored in with frayed percussion and dislodged vocal samples. “North To South” starts off from similar ground but adds a shuffling vibe at a deceptively intoxicated 110 bpm. “Intermittent” is something altogether different, taking perfectly formed boogie templates and screwing with them until nothing … more info

//BLACK.TRUFFLE

keiji haino/jim o’rourke/oren ambarchi - imikuzushi (cd)
Catalog#: bt007cd
Price: $16.80
“The yearly summit of Keiji Haino, Jim O’Rourke and Oren Ambarchi continues with Imikuzushi, which finds the group extending the power-trio strategies of 2011’s highly-praised In A Flash Everything Comes Together As One There Is No Need For A Subject (BT 005LP) and bringing to them a newly-sustained intensity. For this performance, Haino limits himself to electric guitar and vocals, forming complex networks of slashing rhythm work, noise squall and chromatic shredding, moving at times to near-silent passages of howled vocals and isolated, hanging guitar strums. The tendency towards driving free-rock which surfaced on moments of the trio’s last release is cemented here, with O’Rourke’s fuzzed-out, non-linear bass riffing moving the music into almost garage-rock areas, combining with Ambarchi’s drums to form a bedrock of hypnotic, metronomic pounding which transforms itself effortlessly into passages of flowing free-time. Like all of Haino’s best work, the trio transcends any ‘rock’ … more info

//BUREAU.B

moebius & renziehausen - ersatz ii (cd)
Catalog#: bb092cd
Price: $16.80
Bureau B reissues the second collaboration between Dieter Moebius and Karl Renziehausen, originally released in 1992 on the Spanish Nova Era label. Liner notes by Asmus Tietchens. “Two years after the release of Ersatz (1990), Moebius and Renziehausen issued Ersatz II as the culmination of their ongoing studio collaboration. It is as meticulously-crafted as Ersatz, dipped in the same luminance and confounds with a similar wealth of musical ideas. And yet Ersatz II does not simply carry on where Ersatz left off. Moebius and Renziehausen composed and improvised quite intuitively on Ersatz, emptying their music of messy ballast, yet adding decorous, delicate detail. This is even more true of Ersatz II, with the marked difference that the music has become even more transparent and the individual tracks shorter in length. The two sound artists reach an almost ascetic level with their unwavering concentration on musical substance and the deliberateness of their creative approach. ‘Almost’ … more info

moebius & renziehausen - ersatz (cd)
Catalog#: bb091cd
Price: $16.80
Bureau B reissues this collaboration between Dieter Moebius and Karl Renziehausen, initially released on the Pinpoint label in 1990. Liner notes by Asmus Tietchens. “1990 sees Dieter Moebius enter new musical territory, cautiously reconnoitering the digital world. His companion on this excursion is Karl Renziehausen, a visual artist and constructor of sound sculptures. The two of them distance themselves sonically and musically from existing Moebius collaborations with Conny Plank and Gerd Beerbohm (almost all of which have been reissued on Bureau B); similarly, only sporadic echoes can be heard of Cluster and Harmonia, two projects whose style Moebius influenced significantly over a number of years. There is an exactness to the music of Moebius and Renziehausen, who allow nothing to stray from their chosen path. They stage seven little musical comedies with different plots, much as if they were writing for the theater. Common to each of the pieces is a prevailing mood of surrealism: … more info

roedelius - plays piano (live in london 1985) (cd)
Catalog#: bb078cd
Price: $16.80
Breathtakingly beautiful piano fantasies from the year 1985 — released for the very first time! In 1985, Hans-Joachim Roedelius was still perceived by the music community as an electronic artist. Yet ever since acquiring his Bösendorfer grand piano in 1983, his interest had grown in the most royal of instruments: the piano. While staying with Brian Eno in 1985 (they had collaborated earlier in the ’70s), Roedelius composed a wealth of new material on his friend’s two grand pianos (or, as Roedelius would say: the music flew to him). He organized a series of concerts to introduce his new musical direction, with the Bloomsbury Theatre in London amongst the venues. Guests included Brian Eno and The Edge, with Roedelius taking the belated opportunity to use the artwork to thank them accordingly for their support. For Roedelius, this London concert remains one of the highlights of his career: “At the Bloomsbury Theatre I encountered a Steinway grand piano of exceptional quality. I was … more info

//CHUNKLET.INDUSTRIES

harvey milk - my love is higher than your assessment (2x12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: chk004lp
Price: $26.60
…Of What My Love Could Be “This is ground zero for one of the ’90s last true cult bands; now legendary for churning ghostly wailings, unearthly bellows and gentle whispers together into one soaring, crawling, ugly and beautiful blend of brilliance. Essential listening for all fans of hard and heavy post-rock. Comes with 12x12 insert.”

harvey milk - the pleaser (2x12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: chk001lp
Price: $26.60
“This classic rock album along with its companion piece Live Pleaser nestled in a double album gatefold with all photos in full color and a full color insert complete with lyrics! The artwork is as jaw-dropping as the albums! And yes, the exclamation points are entirely warranted!!!!!”

//DIAL

christian naujoks - true life/in flames (cd)
Catalog#: dial024cd
Price: $16.80
After his self-titled debut of 2009, True Life/In Flames is the second album by Berlin-based Christian Naujoks. Recorded by Tobias Levin at the Laiszhalle Philharmony Hamburg. A dense concert atmosphere sets the tone. Stringent seriality is combined with a romanticism of the minor key which one also finds in a certain corner of modern 20th-century piano music, in the vein of Michael Nyman, Wim Mertens, Arvo Pärt, John Cage and György Kurtág. Deep contemplation and solemn expression paired with intellectual clarity. Each note has weight, and every sound a purpose. Unlike Naujoks’ debut, True Life/In Flames completely relinquishes the use of any sort of electronically-generated sound. Instead, there is a consistent stylization of what one might call “organic sound.” The figure of the bedroom producer is relieved here by that of the composer and pianist. There’s a piano, played by Naujoks; there’s the marimba of Martin Krause and then Naujoks’ voice. This album could be designated as … more info

//IMPORTANT

ustad abdul karim khan - 1934-1935 (cd)
Catalog#: imprec346cd
Price: $14.00
“More than seventy years since his death in 1937, Ustad Abdul Karim Khan retains his reputation as one of the greatest singers India ever produced. Possessed of an elastic, honed voice that poured out like mercury, he influenced generations of singers including Mohammed Rafi, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, and Pandit Pran Nath. Born at the end of the 19th century to a family of musicians that extended back in time for centuries, his art was formed in the culture of the courts of the maharajas under British colonialism but was changed by his genius and imagination and a life marked by sacrifices for love, unsatisfied ambition, abandonment and heartbreak. These performances were culled from sessions made during his peak final years 1934-1935, newly transferred and restored and with extensive notes by Ian Nagoski.”

mi and l’au - if beauty is a crime (cd)
Catalog#: imprec269cd
Price: $25.00
“While making the album, both musicians noticed the spectre of familiar melodies and rhythms haunting their work; the inspiration wasn’t from a specific song or melodic line, but from a mood or an idea buried somewhere in their past. As they investigated this anomalous influence, they uncovered a shared memory of films enjoyed during their childhood, specifically those scored by French composer François de Roubaix. Responsible for the music in well over 30 films, de Roubaix was known, among other things, for his use of synthesizers and drum machines, and for his use of folk elements in several projects. The connection between his work and their current endeavor was obvious. Subsequently, Mi and L’au immersed themselves in his music, even as they continued to produce their own. Whether by fate or by coincidence, his music found its way into their lives just as they were beginning to explore what electronic sounds could do for them. So, in the end, they dedicated If Beauty is a Crime … more info

//IT’S

felix kubin - txrf (cd)
Catalog#: its008cd
Price: $16.80
Total Reflection X-ray Fluorescence (TXRF)* is a method used to analyze the surfaces of materials by firing extremely flat X-rays. Subsequently, the physicist Joachim Knoth (1941-2004) developed a patent for precise measurement of defects in semiconductor chips. In 10 sequenced-based electronic miniatures, Felix Kubin, who presently consists of dangerous uninsulated powerlines, conducts the TXRF through an acoustical test arrangement. The experiment consists solely of a synthesizer, filter and sequencer. Full-bodied consecutive organisms arise out of which kaleidoscopic iridescent blossoms sprout. At times they appear as acoustic by-products of high energy discharges on an X-ray picture and sometimes as quiescent fluorescent images. Who knows when the experiment will come to an end? Will X-rays break at irregularities? Will transparent ears crawl over fixtures and make laboratory benches corrode? In view of the entire event’s musical beauty, all these questions are completely … more info

//KARAOKE.KALK

tolouse low trax - jeidem fall (cd)
Catalog#: kk066cd
Price: $15.40
This is the third album by Detlef Weinrich aka Tolouse Low Trax. Weinrich is a member of the Düsseldorf group Kreidler. He’s already got three EPs and two albums under his belt. Jeidem Fall sounds like music brought down to earth from the heavens; however, it’s a dark cosmos in which there are only fleeting glimpses of light. All eight tracks were composed in a short space of time over the period of just a few months and fit together perfectly atmospherically. With a musical expressiveness that undoubtedly twists your emotions, Jeidem Fall attacks the subconscious and clouds the mind. Alongside the constant tapping of drumsticks are melodic arpeggios dancing dark and dirty. At times, longing vocals drift abstractly through the room, as on “Sa Seline” or “Geo Scan,” without telling any obvious story. Jeidem Fall really doesn’t sound like anything that has gone before: you could compare the dark minimal timbre of the drum computer aesthetic with Craig Leon’s first reductive album … more info

//KRANKY

disappears - pre language (12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: krank164lp
Price: $13.30
“Right on cue, the third annual report from Chicago’s Disappears is submitted for your consideration. Following up on the acclaimed Guider album released just over a year ago, and with new drummer Steve Shelley now fully integrated into the group, these songs were again forged into proper shape during live shows before heading to the studio and the tape machine. Never ones to dither or be indecisive, it’s a full-bore assault from the opening track to the last as Disappears attack these new songs with their usual relentless determination. It’s a sinister proceeding - debut Lux was preoccupied with death and endings while follow up Guider with protection - but Pre Language finds the band speaking on, of all things, love. Direct allusions to Philip K. Dick, James Baldwin, and Joan of Arc sit side by side with songs about the lows of life and the characters that permeate it. Recorded in Hoboken New Jersey at Sonic Youth’s Echo Canyon West studio and mixed with John Congleton, Pre Language … more info

disappears - pre language (cd)
Catalog#: krank164cd
Price: $13.30
“Right on cue, the third annual report from Chicago’s Disappears is submitted for your consideration. Following up on the acclaimed Guider album released just over a year ago, and with new drummer Steve Shelley now fully integrated into the group, these songs were again forged into proper shape during live shows before heading to the studio and the tape machine. Never ones to dither or be indecisive, it’s a full-bore assault from the opening track to the last as Disappears attack these new songs with their usual relentless determination. It’s a sinister proceeding - debut Lux was preoccupied with death and endings while follow up Guider with protection - but Pre Language finds the band speaking on, of all things, love. Direct allusions to Philip K. Dick, James Baldwin, and Joan of Arc sit side by side with songs about the lows of life and the characters that permeate it. Recorded in Hoboken New Jersey at Sonic Youth’s Echo Canyon West studio and mixed with John Congleton, Pre Language … more info

//MEXICAN.SUMMER

light asylum - shallow tears (12inch vinyl)
Catalog#: mex105ep
Price: $25.00
“Light Asylum storms the dark castle with the Shallow Tears 12”. A co-production with Chris Coady (Beach House, Gang Gang Dance, Grizzly Bear), Shallow Tears is an early morning, arm-in-arm dancefloor psalm that hints at what’s to come from the band’s debut album. The B-side, ‘Genesis’ is mostly instrumental melancholic techno-pop in line with Chris & Cosey’s output, accented by ambient delay tactics and ghostly vocal choruses. Pressing of 300.” Includes download card. Pressed on high-quality virgin vinyl.

//MONKEYTOWN

mouse on mars - parastrophics (2x12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: monkey022lp
Price: $25.00
Gatefold double LP version. Over the course of ten albums — not to mention an avalanche of side projects, remixes and collaborations — Jan St. Werner and Andi Toma of Mouse On Mars established themselves as two of the most inventive and unpredictable artists in electronic music. But since they delivered the bracing, angular salvo that was Varcharz back in 2006 and their Von Südenfed collaboration with Mark E. Smith (The Fall) in 2007, there has been an uncharacteristic period of silence. In 2012, that silence is broken. Mouse On Mars’ triumphant return comes in the shape of Parastrophics, a life-affirming and constantly surprising album which is crammed with ideas, exuberance and sheer kinetic energy. It’s like listening to the entire history of pop music — distilled, refined and crystallized into a string of compulsive new shapes, full of glitter, intrigue and addictive detail. Atomized fragments from two lifetimes of listening flare and fade, tiny scraps of memory shrapnel … more info

mouse on mars - parastrophics (cd)
Catalog#: monkey022cd
Price: $15.40
Over the course of ten albums — not to mention an avalanche of side projects, remixes and collaborations — Jan St. Werner and Andi Toma of Mouse On Mars established themselves as two of the most inventive and unpredictable artists in electronic music. But since they delivered the bracing, angular salvo that was Varcharz back in 2006 and their Von Südenfed collaboration with Mark E. Smith (The Fall) in 2007, there has been an uncharacteristic period of silence. In 2012, that silence is broken. Mouse On Mars’ triumphant return comes in the shape of Parastrophics, a life-affirming and constantly surprising album which is crammed with ideas, exuberance and sheer kinetic energy. It’s like listening to the entire history of pop music — distilled, refined and crystallized into a string of compulsive new shapes, full of glitter, intrigue and addictive detail. Atomized fragments from two lifetimes of listening flare and fade, tiny scraps of memory shrapnel hover, tantalizing and … more info

//SMALLTOWN.SUPERSOUND

lindstrom - quiet place to live (12inch vinyl)
Catalog#: sts22512ep
Price: $8.10
“Lindstrom remixed by (The) Todd Rundgren! This is the first remix that Todd Rundgren has ever done for another artist (at least what Rundgren nerds/experts have told us). Rundgren has been a big inspiration for Lindstrom, so this is a dream come through. Lindstrom has made an Extended Disco Version of ‘Quiet Place To Live’ exclusive for this 12”.”

//SOFTWARE

slava - soft control (12inch vinyl)
Catalog#: sft008ep
Price: $14.70
“Slava (b. Slava Balasanov) is a recording and visual artist currently residing in Brooklyn, NY. Born in Moscow, he spent his formative years in Chicago where he co-founded Moment Sound Recordings. His music has been released on labels such as Mathematics Recordings, Future Times, !K7 and Coral Records Internazionale. Software Recording Co. is proud to present the Soft Control EP, which finds Slava in an exploratory mode whose common thread is techno energy adroitly concealed within a stark matrix of interloping, chrome-dipped footwork themes. Slava’s mutated future take on glossy Todd Edwards/Akufen-style uptown club motifs hits home with us. A pointedly darker left turn with more cruise and ooze, Soft Control meditates on the phrases [I Had] and [I’ve Got Feelings Too], in a style that we lovingly refer to at Software HQ as ‘club anthema.’ Not to mention the curveball track ‘Swan’ that morphs layered, perforated harp into weird contemplation tunnels. Self-hypnotize.” Limited … more info

carlos giffoni - evidence (12inch vinyl)
Catalog#: sft007ep
Price: $11.60
“Carlos Giffoni is a Venezuelan electronic musician residing in the New York City area for the past ten plus years. It’s here where Giffoni established himself not only as a jammer but as a curator of contemporary out music as label head and festival director for No Fun Productions. Giffoni uses modular synthesizers, custom-built instruments, and various modes of analog and digital synthesis to compose electronic music pieces for physical formats. He is also well-versed and respected in the international improvisational circuit. Giffoni’s recent work focuses on live analog synthesizer pieces in line with early cosmic electronic and techno music, while maintaining the harsher edge of his previous noise works. A perpetual believer in ‘no rules’ jam creation in the face of stringent genrefication, Giffoni’s No Fun Acid project puts this belief into practice on Evidence, a two track 12” for Software Recording Company. Evidence stylistically reintegrates lessons learned with a newfound and … more info

//VILLAGE.GREEN

ryan teague - field drawings (cd)
Catalog#: vg003cd
Price: $14.60
Based in Bristol, UK, Ryan Teague is a composer, producer and guitarist working in the field of electro-acoustic and minimalist composition. His music combines contemporary instrumentation and arrangements with electronics and processing. He also produces music and sound design for various film and TV productions. Working with an array of instruments and sound sources, Ryan’s music often blurs the line between organic and processed sound, resulting in a unique range of soundscapes. The results are incorporated into a minimalist framework combining structured composition with improvised spontaneity, making for highly original contemporary works. Ryan has released music on labels such as Type Records, Sonic Pieces and Village Green, and has contributed to numerous compilations and other releases. He has subsequently worked with an array of musicians and ensembles and has toured internationally in support of these releases. As well as receiving extensive national radio play on BBC Radio … more info

//CONSTELLATION

tindersticks - the something rain (12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: cst086lp
Price: $18.90
The Something Rain brims and bristles with canny narrative thrust. Slinky, supple compositions are spiked with plenty of barbed edges and sparkling fizz. Right out the gate, album opener “Chocolate” features David Boulter’s sequel to the spoken-word classic “My Sister” from Tindersticks’ 1995 eponymous release. Boulter narrates the story while the band works up a brilliant, brewing crescendo, abetted by the swirling horns of long-time collaborator Terry Edwards. This is indeed a new Tindersticks classic – edgier, more exuberant and more expansive – that spurs The Something Rain into a song cycle of rolling, at times rollicking, and always inimitably Tinderstickian takes on smoky Northern Soul. Staples’ home studio Le Chien Chanceux has figured prominently throughout the Tindersticks reunification period, but with The Something Rain, this space – and Staples’ ongoing immersion in recording and mixing techniques – has fully emerged as ground zero for the band’s sound. For the … more info

tindersticks - the something rain (cd)
Catalog#: cst086cd
Price: $12.60
The Something Rain brims and bristles with canny narrative thrust. Slinky, supple compositions are spiked with plenty of barbed edges and sparkling fizz. Right out the gate, album opener “Chocolate” features David Boulter’s sequel to the spoken-word classic “My Sister” from Tindersticks’ 1995 eponymous release. Boulter narrates the story while the band works up a brilliant, brewing crescendo, abetted by the swirling horns of long-time collaborator Terry Edwards. This is indeed a new Tindersticks classic – edgier, more exuberant and more expansive – that spurs The Something Rain into a song cycle of rolling, at times rollicking, and always inimitably Tinderstickian takes on smoky Northern Soul. Staples’ home studio Le Chien Chanceux has figured prominently throughout the Tindersticks reunification period, but with The Something Rain, this space – and Staples’ ongoing immersion in recording and mixing techniques – has fully emerged as ground zero for the band’s sound. For the … more info

//JAGJAGUWAR

people of the north - steep formations (2x12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: jagbr020lp
Price: $14.70
Started by Kid Millions and Bobby Matador of Oneida, People of the North is another voice emanating from that inscrutable Brooklyn collective. The group has always included Kid and Bobby, and usually other members of Oneida as well. POTN has performed live from time to time since 2002; most recently, they were invited by Portishead to play at the I’ll Be Your Mirror edition of the All Tomorrow’s Parties festival held in Asbury Park, NJ in October 2011. Steep Formations, a double LP consisting of two long-form pieces, was recorded at the Ocropolis in 2010 and 2011, with the participation of Shahin Motia and Barry London of Oneida. Here, the drumming of Kid Millions has ascended to a profound and utterly unique level: muscular African-derived fluidity and relentless motorik drive have been alchemized into an indescribable brew that surges and pounds among the distorted tides of “Border Waves”; and the stony, brutal glaze of the title track displays a far more severe commitment … more info

//POST.PRESENT.MEDIUM

earn - a following shadow (cd)
Catalog#: ppm051cd
Price: $8.10
Earn is Matthew Sullivan, known to some already as Privy Seals, his extremely harsh noise project, collaborator with underground ambient artist Sean McCann, owner of the cassette label Ekhein, one half of the group 1958-2009 and former member of the legendary Deep Jew. A prolific gentleman with an ear for blissful engulfing tones and radiance that go beyond ambient or shoe gaze. His project Earn stands as a testament at his ability to use minimalism as an approach to guitar playing to find sounds, exude gentle brushes of color and embrace the emotional state of the player.

//PRAIRIE.FIRE

tyrannosaurusex - cities of the red night (cassette)
Catalog#: pf045cs
Price: $7.30
We tracked down J. Wiley after he posted some wacky drum/space echo dub like recordings and said throw us some tracks and tapes will be made. He followed up on our offer and came through big time. Cities of the Red Night offers up the occasional blast of computo-krautisms in the form of bleeps and bloops backed with basic drum patterns – but then comes the rumbles, the drones, the feedback’d Dead C guitarisms, the obliterated loops – man this tape has EVERYTHING! When someone has a debut release this strong – you can’t but get shivers thinking about what will come next! From the artist: “Nine fragments of text pried from Billy Burroughs’ cold dead junkie hands and exploded into synaesthetically transformed layers of hell. In nine steps, evolve from pure primal savagery (the taste of blood and metal) to self-defeated, cold robotic/bureaucratic synth-pop death (Cities of the Red Night). Witness a fragmented, anti-patterned universe turn on itself and begin to feed. Watch … more info

celer - in the finger-painted fields of the eyes (cassette)
Catalog#: pf044cs
Price: $8.10
In the Finger-Painted Fields of the Eyes is everything you would expect from a Celer/Will Long release. It’s subdued, introspective, lonely, and beautiful. It’s almost as if a lifetime’s worth of quiet moments were collected and then transferred onto tape. If you’re in a space where you need something to bring you down and mellow you out, this would be it. Initially this tape was going to be roughly one hour long. As the production process rolled on, Will sent us a second version that pushed the length of the tape to be nearly 30 minutes longer. It’s an astounding collection of music that we are very lucky and honored to be able to present.

derek rogers - a crack in everything (cassette)
Catalog#: pf042cs
Price: $7.30
We’re really excited about this one. So excited in fact, that it’s really tough to not veer into hyperbole while writing this. After consuming a handful of DR releases over the last year and a bit round the PF HQ, we were pretty sure we knew what we’d be presented with – but to be honest, nothing prepared us for how awesome this tape is. Melody meets sound exploration and harmony sides up against discord, the mood effortlessly shifts from beautiful and enveloping to flat out cranky over the course of 40 minutes. The title track and end exit track “Ghosts of Melancholy” have a dystopian sci-fi soundtrack feel (I was leaning toward Escape From New York) while other likes “The Ones Who Love Us Least Are The Ones We’ll Die To Please” have the potential to bring on a profound emotional response from the listener. Last year was a pretty big for Derek – what with his name was all over Best Of.. lists and all. We’re pretty sure this tape will have 2012 pick up where 2011 … more info

adrian dziewanski - archival anthems (cassette)
Catalog#: pf040cs
Price: $7.30
Adrian contacted us this fall and sent some tracks over that we couldn’t ignore. Beautifully crafted dronescapes that create stunning isolated and cold atmospheres. I don’t know about where you live – but there are times here in Winnipeg (especially in January) where if there’s enough snow and the temp is cold enough, say -45 degrees Celsius, driving around late, late at night is like being on the moon. There is no movement, everything gives off a blue hue, and if you stay outside too long, you die. It’s the best combination of beauty, desolation, and danger. Archival Anthems is a perfect mid-winter soundtrack – the point where it’s undeniable that everything is in a dead state. It’s not a requiem as there are hints of warmth and hopefulness of what is just ahead… perhaps.

gomeisa - death poems (cassette)
Catalog#: pf039cs
Price: $7.30
“When Gomeisa dropped Treatise, his 4 hour box set on Phage Tapes last year – I was convinced that was going to be the final chapter. I was partially correct. “Death Poems is a departure from the Gomeisa oeuvre both sonically and visually. Death Poems teases with a static intro and then kicks into a spastic and emotionally turbulent collection of blasts and calls yet unheard by this artist. Even the cover art hints at something more whimsical than minimal. Top marks all round.”

wasted cathedral - self titled (cassette)
Catalog#: pf038cs
Price: $7.30
Wasted Cathedral is Chris Laramee, member of Saskatoon space travellers Shooting Guns. When he’s not part of SG’s effort to become the Canadian Hawkwind, Chris is laying down some brilliant Prairie Kosmische Musik. When we contacted Chris, he sent us a stack of recording to wade through, all of which were amazing. We initially planned to release 2 WC tapes back to back – this the 25 minute teaser and a full 60 minute mind melter. After some heavy deliberation, we concluded that offering up too much too soon would probably create a soporific effect on the underground community on a grand scale. While the idea made us giggle a bit, we took the responsible route of doling tracks out at a reasonable pace. More WILL follow.

greenhouse - forever tired (cassette)
Catalog#: pf036cs
Price: $7.30
Long time PF friend Curran Faris returns for his third Prairie Fire Release. Tired Forever debuted last year as a 3 track 60 minute digital only release – but we’ve added another 20+ minutes to make this an epic testament to Curran’s skills as a lone guitar droner. We can’t be sure, but we suspect the title might allude to how Curran was expecting to feel as the birth of his first child approached. Even though his days are filled with child rearing, dog walking, and house reno-ing, don’t expect Tired Forever to be a domestically chilled endeavour. Elements of tense noise and synth explorations are incorporated into the usual GH drift. Find some decent headphones and a soft space to lay down and roll though this - complete mesmerisation will occur.

mongst - water water everywhere but not a drop to drink (cassette)
Catalog#: pf033cs
Price: $7.30
Prairie Fire continues to release the sounds of the Vancouver underground. While many folks might be unfamiliar with Mongst, they probably will know Jeremy Van Wyck’s (JV Dub) other musical efforts, Shearing Pinx and the Isolated Now Waves label. Water Water is (in our opinion) the pinnacle of J’s 5 year run as Mongst. The 7 tracks present some of the most stunning and shimmering ambient experimentia we’ve heard. This time of year as always super hectic so having this tape on hand has been great to put me in a good headspace to handle almost anything. Consider this a teaser for an upcoming LP to be recorded this summer that J describes as ”a mix of the drone style found on water water… and post punk noise rock trax, similar to what was on the de-colonisation ep or the a poison stronger than love cassette”.

secret girls - in hiding (cassette)
Catalog#: pf032cs
Price: $7.30
Secret Girls is a drone-centric abstract noise project, operated by Cole Peters (Gomeisa, Museums of Sleep, Prairie Fire Tapes). The project is loosely based on themes of subversive sexual undertones, but allows for ample interpretation from the listener as to the music’s ‘true’ meaning (if any). ‘In Hiding’ is a 46-minute cross-section of vertically developing tones and textures that progress from passive, etheric Zen meditations into desolate, claustrophobic fever dreams. Chris says, “After months of teasing us with a follow up to his amazing contribution to the Pretty Princess/Secret Girls split cassette (PF-007). As Gomeisa, Cole has become a shining light in the HNW scene by injecting art and beauty into sound that is known more for nihilism and dread. With “In Hiding,” Cole takes on the drone world in order to perhaps re-invigorate a saturated (and perhaps moribund?) scene.”

alms - annihilation of the self (cassette)
Catalog#: pf031cs
Price: $7.30
We met up with Nathan Young (Ajilvsga, Indian Weapons, Godseye) when he was visiting Winnipeg with the Post Commodity Collective last year. Since that time, we’ve stuck up a pretty solid working relationship with him and Peyote Tapes (expect White Dog, Gomeisa, and a collab. of Nathan and Cole in the near future). Annihilation of the Self is sourced from a radio performance Nathan did in Albuquerque earlier this year. The track was sent as a full ½ hour file that we cut promptly at the 15 minute mark to make side a and side b. The performance is primarily bowed guitar producing some captivating tones and drones that is a step away from, yet not unlike, the Harsh Meditative Trance tape released on Digitalis early on in 2011.

jane barbe/akrotiri poacher - split (cassette)
Catalog#: pf025cs
Price: $7.30
We’ve been sitting on these tracks for a while & we’re super happy to finally get them out into the world. Both Jane Barbe (Leo) and Akatori Poacher (Kiran) offer an hour of noise/drone/ambient zoners complete with heavy sampling from The Conet Project. On paper the pair appear to have emerge the same primordial experimental ooze but the reality suggests something very different. Despite the similarities, each project retains its own distinct characteristics. Jane Barbe brings the tones & drones & codes while Akatori Poacher mixes combines the monotone readings with a really fine kosmiche vibe. As with much of the Prairie Fire catalogue, these tracks were vetted through a very complex process of listening to them while driving on desolate roads in the middle of the night. I tended to pretend I was actually receiving instructions from a foreign government… not that you have to… we can’t be responsible for any overthrowing of nation states that might arise from consumption of these … more info

pink priest/horders - split (cassette)
Catalog#: pf023cs
Price: $7.30
About a week after we released the Gremlynz/Ajilvsga split tape (PF 020), the Pink Priest (William Cody Watson) contacted us with plans for another release. This time he brought with him Horders, the musical project of Houston visual artist Give Up. Pink Priest offers up a rapturous side of dark creeping menacing psychedelic drones while Horders takes on a loner folk via black metal trip. It all makes up for an awesomely dark ambient release that won’t disappoint.

no ufo’s - mind control (cassette)
Catalog#: pf-ddp1971006cs
Price: $7.30
Earlier this year K. Jandavs sent me the raw form of what would eventually become his Soft Coast cassette (Nice Up Int’l 001). I was completely floored by his amazing cut and paste technique of sewing together elements of Kraut Rock, Techno, and Post Punk Kosmiche Musik. Apparently I wasn’t the only one who figured out the key to the dude’s godhead sounds - the internets and tape buyers went apeshit and bought up the entire run in a microsecond. We here at Dub Ditch Picnic are EXTREMELY lucky and proud to be able to release the next in what is looking to be a grand string of No UFO’s releases. This one continues in relatively the same cut-up kosmik vein, but with more focus and (at times) an even more chill vibe that what was unleashed on Soft Coast. These are the sounds that make you fall in love with music again.

white creeps - white sleep (cassette)
Catalog#: pf034cs
Price: $7.30
William Cody Watson and Andrew Stone are White Creeps. Evil is electrified as WCW drops psychedelisized random analogue bleeps and bloops over Stone’s yellow eyed foaming guitar drone. Great tracks.. they remind me of that time when I was dosed with DMT at the strobe light factory.

//N5MD

mark harris - an idea of north / learning to walk (cd)
Catalog#: catmd195cd
Price: $11.40
“An Idea of north / learning to walk” is the latest album from UK sound and visual artist Mark Harris. Back in the winter of 2010 he found himself snowed-in due to a unusual flurry of extreme weather. Finding himself suddenly isolated in his studio he sat down and composed, in one take, the main passage for “An Idea of North” which is very evocative of his sense of isolation and the experienced weather patterns. Taking this passage as a jumping off point for further improvisations, which in Harris’ words “seamlessly merge together to give the impression of a journey through various environments / landscapes (both physical and emotional) gradually moving from the familiar to the more extreme / isolated and ‘darker’ spaces and then gradually returning ‘home’ at the end of the piece”. “An Idea of north / learning to walk” is Mastered by Bobby Bird (Higher Intelligence Agency) and is a highly recommended album for people that enjoy long form works of glacial Ambient and … more info

//HIDDEN.SHOAL

markus mehr - in (cd)
Catalog#: hsr089cd
Price: $13.80
Markus Mehr follows up his stunning debut album Lava with three new releases. In is the first part of the triptych, comprising two monumental tracks, ‘Komo’ and ‘Ostinato’, each of which clocks in at around 25 minutes, circling around and building upon hypnotic instrumental motifs. ‘Komo’ gradually emerges from silence, its distant, filtered throb reluctantly revealing its source material – a heartbreaking string part whose emotional impact intensifies as the loop clarifies. ‘Ostinato’ is an altogether darker, gnarlier experience, its string loops chewed into distorted knots which are highlighted by treated guitars and crafted electronics.

//FUTURESEQUENCE

sun hammer - a dream in blood (download)
Catalog#: fs002dg
Price: $7.00
Currently residing in the The Great Lakes State of Michigan US, minimal experimental artist Jay Bodley has been working as Sun Hammer and A Setting Sun since 2005. With four releases on Moodgadget, one being a collaboration with Ghostly International signing Shigeto, and a presence on both of our SEQUENCE compilations, Jay has evolved his sound through meticulous experimentation and considered artistic intent. Exploring the convergence of dissonance and consonance via a minimal sonic palette, A Dream In Blood ventures into new territory for the artist. Utilising short sine waves as starting points, Bodley carefully applied homemade Max/MSP patches to effect, modulate and randomise the source material. Each track is grown organically into fully fledged artefacts, so whilst Bodley skilfully tends to the development of the sonics, much occurs out of pure accident and lack of control. Faded remnants of the original tones resurface, creating harmonics between the original and the extracted … more info

***RESTOCKS***

//BEDROOM.COMMUNITY

ben frost & daniel bjarnason - solaris (12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: hvalur012lp
Price: $19.40
LP version. Ben Frost and Daníel Bjarnason are two composers used to shrugging off the distinction between experimental sound art and deeply-felt melodies. Frost’s vast, blackened post-industrial works often crystallize in moments of quiet beauty before disintegrating in pure visceral noise; Bjarnason’s orchestral music marries brutal modernism to classical aesthetics one moment and soaring ethereal harmonies the next. And yet here, on the tail of two widely-acclaimed releases; Bjarnason’s Processions (HVALUR 007CD) and Frost’s By The Throat (HVALUR 006/LP), we are given something altogether new. A unique collaboration, Sólaris is a quiet, stilled and all-consuming symphonic suite at once as affecting and uncanny as the science-fiction classic that inspired it. The power of Andrei Tarkovsky’s Solaris is not in its futuristic sets, or in the hypnotic shots of the alien planet’s weird, fluid surface, it’s in the way the auteur juxtaposes his alien, futuristic elements against the … more info

//IDEALOGIC.ORGAN

jessika kenney & eyvind kang - aestuarium (12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: soma002lp
Price: $19.40
Jessika Kenney is a vocalist known for her haunting timbral sense, as well as her profound interpretation of vocal traditions. Eyvind Kang is a violist for whom the act of music and learning is a spiritual discipline. Aestuarium is a meditation on a psalm of lamentation and the unary tone in the metaphor of salt and fresh water, inspired by Gaelic psalmery, Tibetan notational gestures, and the microtonality of the tetrachord. Recorded on the shore of Colvos Passage in 2005 by renowned engineer Mell Dettmer. Stephen O’Malley comments: “Amongst many other amazing pieces Jessika & Eyvind collaborated on SUNN O)))’s Monoliths & Dimensions album, Jessika leading the choir on the piece “Big Church” and Eyvind composing the acoustic arrangements for “Big Church” & “Alice.” I learned an immense amount about music through these collaborations, specifically the idea of Spectral music through research and discussion/reference points of composers such as Grisey and Murail. Aestuarium is a … more info

//TOUCH

oren ambarchi - audience of one (cd)
Catalog#: to083cd
Price: $14.60
Touch presents a solo album by Australian sound artist Oren Ambarchi. “Salt” was composed by Paul Duncan and Oren Ambarchi and performed by Oren Ambarchi (guitars), Paul Duncan (vocals), Elizabeth Welsh (violin) and James Rushford (viola, piano). Guitars recorded by Oren Ambarchi at Jerker House, Melbourne. Vocals recorded by Brendon Anderegg at Telescope Recordings, Brooklyn, NY. Strings and piano recorded by Byron Scullin at Electric Dreams, Melbourne. Strings arranged by James Rushford, mixed by Oren Ambarchi and Byron Scullin at Electric Dreams. “Knots” was composed by Oren Ambarchi and performed by Oren Ambarchi (electric & acoustic guitars, autoharp, percussion), Eyvind Kang (viola, igil), Janel Leppin (cello), Stephen Fandrich (voice), Josiah Boothby (French horn) and Joe Talia (drums, percussion, spring). Guitars recorded by Oren Ambarchi at Jerker House. Strings, voice and French horn recorded by Randall Dunn at Avast, Seattle. Drums, percussion and spring recorded by Joe … more info

//SENUFO

angst hase pfeffer nase - seashard (12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: senufo19lp
Price: $26.40
Originally created as a saleable nicknack for an Angst Hase Pfeffer Nase tour of solo guitar shredding – but since the destination was Miami, Florida, home of booty bass and sick beats, something which facilitated rump-shaking and toe-tapping seemed more applicable. Two side-long pieces which combine all of the best things known to man: feedback loops, hyperstatic drum machines, digital rot, and frightfully decrepit fairground machinery. Chris Cooper is the most reliable member of AHPN, as well as a contributor to Fat Worm of Error, Barn Owl, and Boston’s shy improv heavyweights, the BSC. b/w printed cover on heavy cardboard, white vinyl (cut at dubplates & mastering, berlin), printed labels. numbered edition of 250 copies

eliane radigue - geelriandre / arthesis (cd)
Catalog#: senufo21cd
Price: $19.50
Originally released on Fringes Recordings in 2003, the cd sold out immediately. Finally available again on Senufo Editions. Cd packaged in a four color printed double sleeve. Edition of 400 copies GEELRIANDRE (29:59) Realised on the ARP Synthesizer in 1972. Piano: Gérard Fremy. Recorded at the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, December 1979. ARTHESIS (25:46) Realized on the Moog Synthesizer at the University of Iowa in 1973.

enrico malatesta - bestiario vol.2 (7inch vinyl)
Catalog#: senufo22sv
Price: $10.50
Here’s a new 7? from the ‘Bestiario’ series by Italian percussionist Enrico Malatesta. Bestiario is a series of short compositions for solo acoustic percussion, recorded live with no overdubs or editing. Using extremely dense micro-structures, broken rhythms and fast tempi on a very reduced percussion set, those pieces are meant to explore a multi-directional sonic dimension, while keeping a high level of tension. 7? record, black vinyl (cut at dubplates & mastering, berlin), printed labels and jacket. numbered edition of 200 copies.

eselsohr - voluntary milking system (7inch vinyl)
Catalog#: senufo008sv
Price: $11.60
Unprocessed recordings made at the farm ‘Le Petit Bouveuche’ in Saint Leger sur Sarthe (Normandy region, France). The farm’s main building is a large stable, where approximately a hundred cows live. The stable is open on one side, and the cows are free to wander around, even to leave the stable itself towards the open fields. At the other end, two large milking robots are installed. The cows voluntarily enter the robot area twice a day to be milked, while a central computer scans and recognises every animal, whose milk is analysed and subsequently stored to be sold (or rejected if it doesn’t match the quality standards). There’s almost no human presence during the whole day, apart from some basic cleaning and maintenance, and to provide food during the cold season when the animals leave the stable less frequently. The system is almost completely autonomous during the 24-hour long cycle. Due to the current economic state and the low price of milk, the profits are not enough to provide … more info

giuseppe ielasi - 15tapes (cd)
Catalog#: senufo003cd
Price: $17.30
15tapes” is a suite of 15 short pieces, very different in character and dynamics, edited from improvisations on various tape machines. the music was recorded during the year 2009, and then edited, recomposed and mastered in tÃ¼bingen, april 2010. total lenght 20 minutes. artwork by alessandro brivio, beautifully letterpressed by ben owen / middle press. a companion release, “15 cds”, will be out soon on entrâ€™acte (uk) numbered edition of 180 copies

jarrod fowler - percussion ensemble (cd)
Catalog#: senufo006cd
Price: $18.10
Jarrod Fowler is an artist and percussionist living and working in New England, USA. ‘Percussion Ensemble’ is a non-musical rhythmsystemic aggregate ready-made from percussive dialectical composites of “experimental percussion music” recordings. Please visit http://jarrodfowler.org Cd, Letterpressed sleeve printed by Ben Owen / Middle Press. Numbered edition of 180 copies

kassel jaeger - aerae (cd)
Catalog#: senufo005cd
Price: $15.40
Kassel Jaeger lives and works in Paris. He’s a member of the GRM (Groupe de Recherches Musicales). « Kassel Jaeger is an elusive shadow, a password, a catalytic entity, not a real name anyway (…) this rather enigmatic self-effacement serves the purpose of an equally impenetrable aural art… » (Daniel Crockaert) ‘aerae’ is a weave of improvisations executed on various instruments (koto, rebab, positive organ, Coupigny modular synthesizer), captured and then treated as if they were field recordings. It’s about reducing the instrumental gesture to simple expressive material, shaping it while loosing control over it, letting it grow until there is no more readability in terms of ways of playing. Just like bad weed destroying the order of a highly organised garden. Cd, Letterpressed sleeve printed by Ben Owen / Middle Press. Numbered edition of 180 copies.

kassel jaeger - algae (cd)
Catalog#: senufo20cd
Price: $19.80
Kassel Jaeger lives and works in Paris. He’s a member of the GRM (Groupe de Recherches Musicales). ‘algae’ is the follow-up of ‘aerae’ (senufo edition # five) and continues the author’s research on possible intersections of instrumental improvisations and field recordings. Focused at the same time on microphone placement and elaboration of metastable sound states, ‘algae’ develops series of interlacing soundwaves which evolve like tidal movements and leave, here and there, inanimate organisms that sediment and dry. Music by Kassel Jaeger from improvisations performed on positive organ, marxophone, tremoloa, turkish crescent, nfir & synthi AKS. Analog mastering realised at the 116 bunker with Robert Hampson. Letterpressed sleeve. Numbered edition of 180 copies.

minoru sato - irregularity/homogeneity (12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: senufo007lp
Price: $22.70
one-sided lp of recordings from the installation of the same name (from a series of works, started in 1991, using fluorescent lamps). artist : minoru sato -m/s, SASW (http://www.ms-wrk.com/) material: solar cells, fluorescent lamps (used ‘half-broken’ lamp which irregularly flickers), loudspeaker, electro-luminescence sheets, silkscreened acrylic panels. description: an irregular state, when it surrounds us, makes us unable to identify individual things, or to find any law of variations within it. We usually regard it as having no significant nature more than the specific nature from which emerges repetition. It seems homogeneous rather than heterogeneous because we feel it as a form of flatness without specific variation. When we discover a state of irregularity or homogeneity, it may mean we are confronting something of which “lies outside the domain where it is possible to carry out a causal description corresponding to our customary forms of perception.”(The Atomic Theory and … more info

renato rinaldi - dyed in the grain (cd)
Catalog#: senufo011cs
Price: $19.80
All sounds processed from recordings made during the manufacture of ceramic tiles: from prime material collection to the hammering of the final test tile. Recorded, processed and composed in August 2005; re-arranged in May 2009. A single 19-minute piece, mixed by Renato Rinaldi and Giuseppe Ielasi. Renato Rinaldi studied drama, composition and electronic music. After a number of years working as an actor he began composing music for theatre, radio dramas and video installations. He has produced several radio plays, documentaries and reportages for the Italian national broadcasting radio (RAI). In music, his work focuses primarily on the relationship between sound and environment. Letterpressed sleeve printed by Ben Owen / Middle Press. Edition of 200 copies

spyweirdos - two ants were called (cassette)
Catalog#: senufo18cs
Price: $9.80
Two 10-minute minimal and dark pieces, exploring stasis and low-end dephts from Greek composer Spyros Polychronopoulos aka Spyweirdos (b.1980). Professionally duplicated c-22. Letterpressed sleeve printed by Ben Owen / Middle Press. Numbered edition of 100 copies.

//FURTHER

conrad schnitzler - live 72 (2x12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: fur037
Price: $22.70
Gatefold jackets on french paper. Mastered by CGB @ D&M, Berlin. Recorded live in 1972. Previously unreleased material by electronic pioneer Conrad Schnitzler. “There are not too many names that get us more excited here at AZ HQ than Conrad Schnitzler’s. Since the mid-1960s, Schnitzler has been one of the undisputed masters of electronic experimentation, and his name is synonymous with Krautrock’s innovation and defiant musical vision. A prolific solo artist, he also founded Kluster (later Cluster) with Dieter Moebius and Hans-Joachim Roedelius, was an early collaborator with seminal Kosmische acts Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze, and, in 1967, founded the Zodiak Free Arts Lab in West Berlin, an experimental performance space designed for the exploration of musical and political freedom (where Tangerine and Klaus both played). So, for previously unreleased material from Conrad to become available is is an exciting affair indeed— especially for those of us not lucky enough to have … more info

//HOME.NORMAL

two people in a room - self titled (cd)
Catalog#: homen026
Price: $13.00
Rene Margraff and I have been in and out of touch for an age it seems now. I’ve known, worked with him and shared labels with him, under a different (still secret) name before, but many of you will know him as Pillowdiver. Two People In A Room is the work of the Berlin based Rene and Michelle Hughes. This is the follow-up to their 2010 cassette release ‘Wrapped In Plastic’. There are so many facets to a piece of music, as indeed art itself, which move you, make you feel something long lost or hidden. Its that mysterious quality of something hidden and maybe even remembered suddenly that ignites a rush of blood and recognition of kinship with the spirit of the work, quite beyond the creator. I know this is all very fancy sounding, a little bit ‘spacey’ but there you go. Not many records have done that to me, no matter how much I adore them for differing reasons. In fact, its perhaps the first record which has ignited this sense of hidden self, of memory and spirit since My Bloody … more info

daniel thomas freeman - the beauty of doubting yourself (cd)
Catalog#: homen025
Price: $13.00
Daniel Thomas Freeman is a founding and current member of Rameses III, the South London group who in the last ten years have released ambient / drone / folk albums on labels such as Type, Important, Digitalis and Under The Spire and who have supported such genre luminaries live as Stars Of The Lid, Current 93, Murcof, Fursaxa, James Blackshaw, Yellow Swans and Astral Social Club. The Beauty Of Doubting Yourself is a deeply personal document from the Rameses III musician Daniel Thomas Freeman. Written over a period of six years this instrumental album is split into three movements chronologically representing the artist’s deep depression, his slow transition to recovery and his eventual experience of grace. Whereas Rameses III’s music is designed to instill beauty and peace with every release, this album is a challenging yet rewarding listen in its own right whilst keeping the luxurious depth of the later Rameses III recordings. The first movement commences by pitching a mutated 2004 … more info

//THANK.YOU

MOUNT HAGEN FESTIVAL, PAPUA NEW GUINEA, BY ERIC...

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 11:11:04 -0500

MOUNT HAGEN FESTIVAL, PAPUA NEW GUINEA, BY ERIC LAFFORGUE
fotopedia.com

Each year, Mount Hagen hosts Mount Hagen Cultural Show, one of the largest cultural events in Papua New Guinea. Various regional, provincial, even national tribal dance groups gather to celebrate their cultural heritage in the form…

//EXP.NEW | Ghost Box, Denovali, 12k, Invisible Birds, KFW, Miasmah, Pre-Cert, Broderick, Pyramids++

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 13:27:43 -0500

GREETINGS FRIENDS
Welcome to our February 16 2012 update. In this weeks update you will find fantastic NEW titles NOW SHIPPING from Ghost Box (as well as some back catalog - finally in the US!), Denovali, 12k, Deep Distance, Invisible Birds, Editions Mego, Miasmah, Pre-Cert Home Entertainment, Peter Broderick, Pyramids, Keith Fullerton Whitman, and more.

NEW IMPROVED NEWSLETTER
You will notice the newsletter looks very different. Hope you like the changes. Consider this a rough draft, work in progres, beta version. Will be refining it throughout the weeks ahead as time permits.

MONTHLY MIX
This week we also posted the February 2012 edition of our monthly mix series. Our monthly mixes feature new releases, forthcoming releases, and demos we have been enjoying here at EXPHQ. This months mix features Ben Vida, FRAK, Marcus Fjellstrom, Kyoka, Dimlite, The Drum, Aaron Dilloway, NHK’Koyxen, Concessionaires, Alva Noto, NHKYX, High Wolf, Venetian Snares, Felix Kubin, Jim O’Rourke and Robert Turman.

ALBUM PREVIEWS
As usual the latest previews for new arrivals can be found in this nice tidy set. Click play and let it go and see what catches your attention.

$1 MEDIA MAIL
All orders within the US over $100 are now eligible for $1 media mail shipping.

WOVEN TIDE LP - FINALLY!
I am excited to say the Woven Tide LP’s are finally ready and we will be heading up to GottaGroove in Cleveland tomorrow to pickup them up and will start packing and shipping all your preorders first thing next week. Thank you for your patience with this breif delay. Pressing vinyl can be a rather unpredictable process and so many variables can cause imperfections forcing us to start the process all over again. But in the end we want the best sounding records possible.

ORIGINAL REVIEWS
You will notice this week on the new Belbury Poly album from Ghost Box an original review by Alex Cobb curator of the Students of Decay label. You will start to see more of these as time goes on by various members of the community…. until eventually… one day… every new title receives an original review. Hope you enjoy this personal touch to the shop.

IMPROVED SHIPPING/PACKING SCHEDULE
For the past few years our main days to pack orders have been Monday and Wednesday to ship on Tuesday and Thursday. This goes back to the days of the full time job and my wife making drops to the post office on her days off. But those days are long gone. Our main packing days will now be Monday and Thursday with post office pickups on Tuesday and Friday.

THE NEW
Excited to say that the planets finally aligned properly for us bring titles from the fantastic UK based Ghost Box label to US shores including a brand new album from Belbury Poly.

Another highlight of the week is the absolutely stunning debut album by Petrals on Denovali along with a number of a new titles from the label. Dont miss this one!

New albums on 12k by Gareth Dickson and another by Steve Peters + Steve Roden. New LP by Keith Fullerton Whitman on Editions Mego. Stunning new LP on Miasmah by Gultskra Artikler. Something completely original by the team of Demdike Stare and Andy Votel as Slant Azymuth on their own Pre-Cert Home Entertainment imprint. A beautiful new LP by Ingenting Kollektiva on Invisible Birds. And a CD by the truly unique Ben Bennett who performed at our monthly show at the RCNCAVE in Akron last Saturday - check out a video of an excerpt of Ben’s performance.

As always thank you for your support…. it means more to us than we can say. if you have any questions or requests feel free to get in touch.

New arrivals here at the top… restocks and now shippings towards the bottom.

****NEW ARRIVALS****

//GHOST.BOX

belbury poly - the belbury tales
(12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: gbx016lp
Price: $22.20

“A quite accomplished concept album from Ghost Box co-founder Jim Jupp’s vehicle that works equally well as both homage to British prog rock of years past (think Soft Machine circa ‘70-73) and as a thoroughly immersive, enjoyable listen in its own right. The release of the “The Belbury Tales” marks the welcome arrival of the superb Ghost Box label to our domestic shores. Jupp is joined here by Jim Musgrave on drums and Christopher Budd on bass/guitar, fleshing out his unique sound (which makes use of analog synths, percussion, melodica and other instruments) perfectly. The press release notes that the album was composed by way of “taking in medievalism, the supernatural, [and] ideas about the re-invention of the past, childhood, initiation and pilgrimage (both spiritual and physical),” and the depth of intention and influence is striking throughout. Fans of the Canterbury sound/Cuneiform records and forward-thinking rock as such take note.” - Alex Cobb for Experimedia ———— Label … more info

belbury poly - the belbury tales
(cd)
Catalog#: gbx016cd
Price: $17.10

“A quite accomplished concept album from Ghost Box co-founder Jim Jupp’s vehicle that works equally well as both homage to British prog rock of years past (think Soft Machine circa ‘70-73) and as a thoroughly immersive, enjoyable listen in its own right. The release of the “The Belbury Tales” marks the welcome arrival of the superb Ghost Box label to our domestic shores. Jupp is joined here by Jim Musgrave on drums and Christopher Budd on bass/guitar, fleshing out his unique sound (which makes use of analog synths, percussion, melodica and other instruments) perfectly. The press release notes that the album was composed by way of “taking in medievalism, the supernatural, [and] ideas about the re-invention of the past, childhood, initiation and pilgrimage (both spiritual and physical),” and the depth of intention and influence is striking throughout. Fans of the Canterbury sound/Cuneiform records and forward-thinking rock as such take note.” - Alex Cobb for Experimedia ———— Label … more info

pye corner audio and the advisory circle- study series 07
(7inch vinyl)
Catalog#: gbx707sv
Price: $11.00

Number seven in the Study Series “Autumnal Activities” by special guests Pye Corner Audio. With the B side in collaboration with The Advisory Circle. Luxurious packaging designed by Julian House.

hintermass - study series 05
(7inch vinyl)
Catalog#: gbx705sv
Price: $11.00

Hintermass, a new act on Ghost Box, sees Tim Felton of Seeland on vocals and guitar team up with Jon Brooks of The Advisory Circle on synthesizer, bass and percussion. For the first time pop music comes to Ghost Box in the form of rich, melancholy songs underpinned by haunting analogue electronics.

the advisory circle - as the crow flies
(12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: gbx015lp
Price: $21.90

This third album from The Advisory Circle is an exploration of the passage of time and the traditional wheel of the year. Achingly beautiful and melancholy melodic analogue electronics, the trademark Advisory Circle sound palette is broadened to include some traditional acoustic instrumentation. One of Julian House’s strongest Ghost Box covers so far with beautiful sleeve notes courtesy of Professor Ronald Hutton, Head of History at Bristol University and author of the monumental work on the traditional British calendar, Stations of the Sun.

the advisory circle - as the crow flies
(cd)
Catalog#: gbx015cd
Price: $16.90

This third album from The Advisory Circle is an exploration of the passage of time and the traditional wheel of the year. Achingly beautiful and melancholy melodic analogue electronics, the trademark Advisory Circle sound palette is broadened to include some traditional acoustic instrumentation. One of Julian House’s strongest Ghost Box covers so far with beautiful sleeve notes courtesy of Professor Ronald Hutton, Head of History at Bristol University and author of the monumental work on the traditional British calendar, Stations of the Sun.

belbury poly - farmers angle (rev ed)
(cd)
Catalog#: gbx014cd
Price: $11.00

A Revised Edition of Belbury Poly’s jaunty debut EP. Belbury Poly are joined by label mates The Advisory Circle, who contribute the track Warm Air, a re-imagined Belbury track from the original EP.

the advisory circle - mind how you go (rev ed)
(cd)
Catalog#: gbx013cd
Price: $16.90

Remember, electricity cannot be seen or heard. Harmful, invisible forces surround us everywhere we go. Fortunately The Advisory Circle is on hand to help us make the right decisions. An alchemical distillation of the sound of Public Information Films. Spooky, catchy and witty. The Advisory Circle is the work of Jon Brooks (aka King of Woolworths on Lo Recordings). His haunting electronica is inspired by the sounds and emotions of TV public information films. The Advisory Circle is an ambiguously benign and sinister organisation, there to help us to make the right decisions.

belbury poly - from an ancient star
(cd)
Catalog#: gbx011cd
Price: $16.90

In this, their third album, Belbury Poly delve into a world of supernatural wonder, flaky pseudo-science and strange hobbies. Once again the album is complemented by lavish booklet by in house designer Julian House.

the advisory circle - other channels
(cd)
Catalog#: gbx010cd
Price: $16.70

The Advisory Circle bring us more timely advice on issues such as domestic isolation, tranquilliser addiction and the nuclear threat. Sumptuous booklet art by Julian House and beautifully evocative liner notes by Ken Hollings complement what we feel to be the strongest Ghost Box release so far. Light synthesizer melodies and moments of surreal humour float in a drift of pastoral melancholia and fuzzy music concrete. Fragments of public information broadcasting are filtered through the distorting lens of prescription tranquillisers. Malicious gossip becomes jumbled and confused with continuity announcements.

mount vernon arts lab - the seance at hobs lane
(cd)
Catalog#: gbx009cd
Price: $16.70

This reissue of a lost classic of British electronics is a psychogeographic investigation into a world of abandoned Underground stations, Quatermass, eighteenth century secret societies and the footsore reveries of a modern Flâneur. Featuring collaboration with the late Jhon Balance of Coil, Adrian Utley of Portishead, Barry 7 of Add N to X and a variety other talented artists. Sleeve notes by author Lawrence Norfolk.

the focus group - we are all pans people
(cd)
Catalog#: gbx008cd
Price: $16.70

The Focus Group are back with a kaleidescope of antique electronics, psyched out jazz, and broken rock. This time they bring us a message, a warning and a strange story of TV stations taken over by ancient forces and bizarre happenings at The Royal Festival Hall. Julian House’s own The Focus Group; oddly assembled sampledelic collages, stitched together from fragments of library cues and forgotten soundtracks. A beautiful, unhinged stream of consciousness that seems to prod at buried memories.

belbury poly - the owls map
(cd)
Catalog#: gbx007cd
Price: $16.70

Belbury Poly’s second long player, The Owl’s Map, pinpoints haunted roads, great days out, horror stories and lost footage on a topography of melodic electronics. The booklet includes a brief tourist guide to the landmarks and legends of Belbury. Belbury Poly is the music of Jim Jupp, somewhat radiophonic, sometimes naïve and playful, other times unsettling yet often oddly familiar. These might be soundtracks for shelved children’s TV programs too spooky have been aired.

moon wiring club - spare tabby at the cats wedding
(cd)
Catalog#: mwcacd
Price: $14.60

March 2011: Ian of Moon Wiring Club has pressed a second edition of this album. If things weren’t already confusing enough with his releases this one is exactly the same music but with a different cover Moon Wiring Club’s best and most egnimatic album to date. The CD and LP versions are almost entirely different and form part of an elaborate and confusing puzzle.

//12K

gareth dickson - quite a way away
(cd)
Catalog#: 12k1070cd
Price: $12.20

To say that the last few years of Gareth Dickson’s life have been tumultuous would be an understatement. In 2007 he fell in love with a girl from South America, packed up a few essentials from his life in Scotland, and moved to the Argentinian countryside. It didn’t turn all fairy tale at that point, however. While there he was shot at, attacked by dogs, and was involved in a very close call when the passenger plane he took to a little town in the Andes was forced down after an engine caught fire. The bullet missed, the aircraft landed, and the dog bites healed; he survived intact, albeit a little more aware of his own mortality, and a good bit more anxious. “The bullet in all honesty was never meant to hit” he states calmly, it was a robbery gone wrong and he happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. The incident in the aircraft was far more terrifying because there was the agonizing time to think and reflect during the plane’s unintended descent. “It’s interesting to find … more info

steve peters + steve roden - not a leaf remains as it was
(cd)
Catalog#: 12k1069cd
Price: $12.20

In 1995 Steve Peters and Steve Roden toured as a trio with singer Anna Homler; sometimes they would vocalize behind her, and they liked the way their voices blended together. They then spent about 15 years saying that “someday” they should record a voice-based project together. Aside from the physical distance between them, the problem was always: What would we sing? Neither wanted to write or sing lyrics. Inspiration came in the form of a book of Japanese jisei – poems allegedly written by monks on their death bed – printed in both English translation and Romanized Japanese. Phonetically pronouncing the Japanese reminded Peters of the technique Roden has used of systematically chopping up the syllables in English texts to transform them into sound poems. Since neither of them speaks Japanese, it seemed like a good place to begin. The two of them applied for a residency at Jack Straw, a non-profit recording facility in Seattle that gives grants of studio time. They had no exact … more info

//INVISIBLE.BIRDS

ingenting kollektiva - fragments of night
(12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: ib004lp
Price: $16.20

Ingenting Kollektiva is comprised of Diane Granahan, Kirston Lightowler, Tarrl Lightowler, and Matthew Swiezynski, and is an homage to the films of Ingmar Bergman and Sven Nykvist. The Kollektiva recordings are meditations on the quality of light, sound, and atmosphere, as well as realizations of the various forms of ‘nothingness’ captured by these two masters. Christmas of 2009, the Kollektiva found themselves surrounded with many recordings from the year 1969, including: Miles Davis & Teo Macero’s In A Silent Way and Bitches Brew, John Surman’s Way Back When and How Many Clouds Can You See?, and Extrapolation (with John McLauglin), Bert Jansch’s Birthday Blues, Vashti Bunyan’s Just Another Diamond Day (recorded December 1969), Fairport Convention’s Unhalfbricking, Jan Garbarek & Terje Rypdal’s Esoteric Circle, King Crimson’s In The Court Of The Crimson King, Scott Walker’s Scott Walker 4, Holger Czukay’s Canaxis, plus many more. With this in mind, they recorded some songs in the … more info

//NO.LABEL

ben bennett - wiperwill
(cd)
Catalog#: bbwipercd
Price: $8.10

Unaltered acoustic recordings; made in November 2011 in Columbus, OH, except tracks 2 and 15, recorded in July 2011 in Asheville, NC. Made with drumheads, frame drum, latex glove stretched across a mason jar ring, funnel with the bottom of a pop can attached to it, sheet metal, mouth bow, PVC sax with drumhead reed and latex glove finger enhancement, turkey mouth call, piece of snare strand, camp cook set, stove top with cookware on it, plywood counter top, folding chair, sticks, and bow. Paul Grimes is heard playing gadulka at the end of track 15. Thanks to S for help with cover and layout.

//DEEP.DISTANCE

kösmonaut - i
(12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: dd001lp
Price: $14.60

Like the private pressings of Conrad Schnitzler from 1973 to ’74, each album of Deep Distance’s series is a solid color. PATRICK R. PARK joins Schulze, Froese, Ashra / Gottsching and latter day celestial synth explorers Expo ‘70, Jonas Reinhardt, and Mist in a good ol’ fashioned kosmische collision. All tracks are previously released on the limited-edition CDR Voyage of Time (Ethereal Mother 2011). Six inserts. Blue vinyl. Edition of 250.

//DENOVALI

pan & me - paal
(cd)
Catalog#: den121cd
Price: $19.20

PAN & ME is the solo project of Christophe Mevel (THE DALE COOPER QUARTET). On PAAL Christophe Mevel continues the intelligent song writing of the Dale Cooper Quartet with a different approach - the arrangements are not jazz-orientated like those he sets up with the other Dale musicians on the two classics ‘Parole de Navarre’ and ‘Metamanoir’. But although the solo work is rather piano- and electronic-driven and contains field recordings, choir sounds and string elements, the experimental and detail orientated method of operation stays the same. The first track “The Lighthouse at Two Lights” for example combines viola melodies in the style of Badalamenti with the hypnotic rhythm of crackles we loved on Oval’s “Systemisch”. “Unalaska” on the other hand evokes through a melodic piano motif reminescent of some abstract works in the series Made To Measure (Hector Zazou, Wim Mertens and Peter Principle). The usage of different other instrumental mix syncopated rhythms and repetitive … more info

petrels - all things in common
(10inch vinyl)
Catalog#: den120tn
Price: $22.50

In line with the debut album “Haeligewielle” Denovali Records releases the 2nd solo output of Oliver Barrett (Bleeding Heart Narrative) – a two songs 10” called “All Things In Common”. “2 Tracks – both almost 10 minutes long and just as good as the album. Something you shouldn’t miss!” Petrels (Oliver Barrett) is swiftly becoming the drone world’s answer to I Like Trains, dredging history to find the noble, the foolhardy, the lost: stories buried under rocks like diamonds and worms. (…) The coda makes a fitting companion to the title piece, reaffirming Barrett’s ability to work acrosss genres and to stitch them together as lithely as he connects stories. The artist has an instinctive eye for buried patterns, which allows him to tie threads together that few others would have considered. Haeligewielle was the announcement of a new and singular talent, and All Things In Common is its confirmation. (Richard Allen, The Silent Ballet (8/10)) “one of rare moments where music crosses … more info

petrels - haeligewielle
(12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: den119lp
Price: $23.40

Haeligewielle is the debut solo record of Oliver Barrett of Bleeding Heart Narrative. It is a swirling cataract of a record, a deluge of beautiful noise and crushing melody, which ebbs and flows beneath the surface. Utilizing bowed strings, bent electronics, found percussion and occasional vocals, the record unfolds over seven tracks and fifty minutes, from the portentous drone of the opening ‘After Francis Danby’ and shimmering ‘Silt’ through the work-song-like ‘Concrete’ and cascading rhythm of ‘Winchester Croydon Winchester’. Haeligewielle tells a forgotten story, buried underneath the stones and water. “Petrels has provided us with what has to be the strongest solo debut from a musician so far in 2011. It’s as if Barrett has launched his solo career as Petrels by giving us his own Sisyphus narrative, and somehow it sounds dreadfully authentic – no small feat. Haeligewielle is an album so dense and immersive you sometimes feel as though you are drowning or being smothered, but … more info

petrels - haeligewielle
(cd)
Catalog#: den119cd
Price: $19.20

Haeligewielle is the debut solo record of Oliver Barrett of Bleeding Heart Narrative. It is a swirling cataract of a record, a deluge of beautiful noise and crushing melody, which ebbs and flows beneath the surface. Utilizing bowed strings, bent electronics, found percussion and occasional vocals, the record unfolds over seven tracks and fifty minutes, from the portentous drone of the opening ‘After Francis Danby’ and shimmering ‘Silt’ through the work-song-like ‘Concrete’ and cascading rhythm of ‘Winchester Croydon Winchester’. Haeligewielle tells a forgotten story, buried underneath the stones and water. “Petrels has provided us with what has to be the strongest solo debut from a musician so far in 2011. It’s as if Barrett has launched his solo career as Petrels by giving us his own Sisyphus narrative, and somehow it sounds dreadfully authentic – no small feat. Haeligewielle is an album so dense and immersive you sometimes feel as though you are drowning or being smothered, but … more info

subheim - approach
(2x12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: den118lp
Price: $32.40

Subheim is the deeply personal project of electronic music composer and visual artist Kostas K., a downtempo, experimental venture fusing IDM elements with rich ambiance and female vocals by Katja. Complex and uncompromising, Subheim’s debut album is full of intricate rhythms, deep reverbs, and bitcrushed sounds, combined with pianos, cellos, and beautiful synthwork. Haunting melodies and distant voices meet complex beats and luring atmospheres to create a unique blend of dynamics and emotion. ‘Approach’ flirts with post-rock and atmospheric downtempo styles, while still maintaining an original sound that is both captivating and inspirational. Moved by subjects such as urban isolation and the outburst of mankind’s deepest emotions, Subheim delivers the ideal soundtrack for those moments of chaos or melancholy reflections. ‘Approach’ is the highly-anticipated debut album from this talented Greek artist. Featuring remixes by Mobthrow (GE) and Flaque (DE). For fans of BLACKFILM, BERSARIN … more info

les fragments de la nuit - musique de nuit
(12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: den117lp
Price: $22.50

Les Fragments de la Nuit is a blossoming band created in 2005 by Ombeline Chardes (violin) and Michel Villar (piano), score composers for film. In order to play their pieces on stage, they decided to set up a quintet made up of three violins, a cello and a piano.Their first two albums released in 2008 (Musique Du Crépuscule) and 2010 (Demain C’etait Hier), has been greeted with great fervor, and fascinated audiences in festivals such as the prestigious Wave Gotik Treffen in Leipzig (DE), Summer Darkness in Utrecht (NL) or Denovali Swingfest in Essen (DE). With their music, which ranges from tragic to epic and atmospheric, Les Fragments de la Nuit crossed musical borders. The French ensemble have kept faithful to their trademark style, in which pulsing piano chords set the pace for the string-work woven by the cellist and the three violinists, haunted by female choirs that surface on occasion. MUSIQUE DE NUIT features newly recorded tracks from the early days as well as brand new … more info

les fragments de la nuit - musique de nuit
(cd)
Catalog#: den117cd
Price: $19.20

Les Fragments de la Nuit is a blossoming band created in 2005 by Ombeline Chardes (violin) and Michel Villar (piano), score composers for film. In order to play their pieces on stage, they decided to set up a quintet made up of three violins, a cello and a piano.Their first two albums released in 2008 (Musique Du Crépuscule) and 2010 (Demain C’etait Hier), has been greeted with great fervor, and fascinated audiences in festivals such as the prestigious Wave Gotik Treffen in Leipzig (DE), Summer Darkness in Utrecht (NL) or Denovali Swingfest in Essen (DE). With their music, which ranges from tragic to epic and atmospheric, Les Fragments de la Nuit crossed musical borders. The French ensemble have kept faithful to their trademark style, in which pulsing piano chords set the pace for the string-work woven by the cellist and the three violinists, haunted by female choirs that surface on occasion. MUSIQUE DE NUIT features newly recorded tracks from the early days as well as brand new … more info

birds of passage - highwaymen in midnight masks
(10inch vinyl)
Catalog#: den116tn
Price: $22.50

In line with the WINTER LADY release, Denovali Records will realize HIGHWAYMENT IN MIDNIGHT MASKS as a 10”. On the B-side: ‘i have my heart’ and ‘forbidden love’, a collaboration with prolific artist AIDAN BAKER (NADJA, INFINITE LIGHT LTD). The track juxtaposes Alicia’s harsh distorted guitars, with an ethereal flute drone courtesy of Baker. This unassuming contrast of polar opposites has visceral consequences: Alicia’s signature vocals sit on top, telling a story of a dark love affair, while Baker’s vocal sits below - reduced to an ambient texture. The result: a ‘Gregorian Chant’ for fans of acid drenched drone, a ‘Post, post-rock’ love song of epic proportions, a lyrical journey of exploration in to the philosophical depravities of The Marquis de Sade. Also mixed & mastered by NILS FRAHM. Vinyl: limited to 500 copies, thick sleeve, thick vinyl, free download code

birds of passage - winter lady
(12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: den115lp
Price: $22.50

A masterwork of minimalism, WINTER LADY - Alicia Merz’s sophomore solo effort as BIRDS OF PASSAGE sees an return to the desolate and melancholic soundcscapes of her highly acclaimed debut, WITHOUT THE WORLD. With WINTER LADY, Alicia presents us with an endearing invitation into her fragile world, a captivating through the landscapes of her emotional euphoria and agony, a further commitment to musical experimentation, a worthy addition to the oeuvre of BIRDS OF PASSAGE. The cold minimalist-drones, distorted field recordings, and sparse instrumentation, illustrate an icy, desolate and dark. It’s as if we are listening to the sound of winter itself; an audio exposure to the unforgiving elements of winter. With allusions to dark-pop and classic broken-folk, the reverb drenched instrumentation, metaphorical fairytale lyrics, and anti-climactic compositionsi remind us that Alicia Merz is a singer songwriter for people who don’t like singer songwriters. With WINTER LADY, Alicia … more info

birds of passage - winter lady
(cd)
Catalog#: den115cd
Price: $19.20

A masterwork of minimalism, WINTER LADY - Alicia Merz’s sophomore solo effort as BIRDS OF PASSAGE sees an return to the desolate and melancholic soundcscapes of her highly acclaimed debut, WITHOUT THE WORLD. With WINTER LADY, Alicia presents us with an endearing invitation into her fragile world, a captivating through the landscapes of her emotional euphoria and agony, a further commitment to musical experimentation, a worthy addition to the oeuvre of BIRDS OF PASSAGE. The cold minimalist-drones, distorted field recordings, and sparse instrumentation, illustrate an icy, desolate and dark. It’s as if we are listening to the sound of winter itself; an audio exposure to the unforgiving elements of winter. With allusions to dark-pop and classic broken-folk, the reverb drenched instrumentation, metaphorical fairytale lyrics, and anti-climactic compositionsi remind us that Alicia Merz is a singer songwriter for people who don’t like singer songwriters. With WINTER LADY, Alicia … more info

thisquietarmy - resurgence
(2x12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: den114lp
Price: $32.40

THISQUIETARMY’s newest album RESURGENCE is arguably his most accessible and varied record since his debut album UNCONQUERED. It reveals another step forward into the extension of his signature shoegaze/drone-based compositions, incorporating many different elements of post-rock, post-punk, psychedelic, krautrock, industrial & doom. As a result, RESURGENCE is an eclectic blend of gauzy textures and rhythms, a fresh reconstruction of his unique musical style and personal influences, and an adventurous ride from one end of the drone spectrum to the other. RESURGENCE took 4 years to complete, in between THISQUIETARMY’s previous outputs which have mainly explored the dark ambient/doom-drone realm since the UNCONQUERED sessions. The bonus disc of the CD and the bonus tracks on the LP and 7” lay out the amount of compositions that have come through since then. The results can be described as dark, melodic, expansive & engaging dreamscapes. Guests on the album include: Meryem Yildiz (vocals) … more info

thisquietarmy - resurgence
(2cd)
Catalog#: den114cd
Price: $23.40

THISQUIETARMY’s newest album RESURGENCE is arguably his most accessible and varied record since his debut album UNCONQUERED. It reveals another step forward into the extension of his signature shoegaze/drone-based compositions, incorporating many different elements of post-rock, post-punk, psychedelic, krautrock, industrial & doom. As a result, RESURGENCE is an eclectic blend of gauzy textures and rhythms, a fresh reconstruction of his unique musical style and personal influences, and an adventurous ride from one end of the drone spectrum to the other. RESURGENCE took 4 years to complete, in between THISQUIETARMY’s previous outputs which have mainly explored the dark ambient/doom-drone realm since the UNCONQUERED sessions. The bonus disc of the CD and the bonus tracks on the LP and 7” lay out the amount of compositions that have come through since then. The results can be described as dark, melodic, expansive & engaging dreamscapes. Guests on the album include: Meryem Yildiz (vocals) … more info

thisquietarmy - unconquered
(2x12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: den113lp
Price: $32.40

“As THISQUIETARMY, Eric Quach (DESTROYALLDREAMERS) explores never-ending spectrum of guitar ambience and loop drone sounds. From the mellow opening of “Immobilization”, through grandiose “Battlefield Arkestrah” and “The Sun Destroyers”, gloomy “Death of a Sailor”, to closing notes of “Empire”, Eric Quach manages to capture the essence of contemporary alternative guitar experimentation while maintaining disturbing but also captivating aural atmosphere. “Unconquered” presents this musical project as consciously standing among the best artists of this genre, which is symbolized by the guest appearance of AIDAN BAKER. On the other hand, THISQUIETARMY, already on his debut album, looks far into the future and crosses the boundaries, the best sign of which are the clean female vocals of Meryem Yildiz in one of the tracks – something not common in the field of ambient drone guitar music. Unconquered is a fitting name for the release – it presents unheard-of territory within the confines … more info

hidden orchestra - flight
(10inch vinyl)
Catalog#: den112tn
Price: $22.50

The “Flight” EP, out on 7th November, is the second official single from Edinburgh based quartet Hidden Orchestra, who released their stunning debut album ‘Night Walks’ on Denovali Records and Tru Thoughts in September 2010, and have seen their star continue to rise in the intervening year with an ever-growing media and word-of-mouth buzz. Highly in demand as a live act, their hectic touring schedule this year alone has taken in over 20 countries as their incredible music has worked its way into hearts and minds the World over, and this single brings eagerly anticipated new material and remixes. The quartet are formed around the duelling drum kits, percussion and electronic pads of drummers Tim Lane and Jamie Graham, and completed with the piano and violin of Poppy Ackroyd and the bass and samples of bandleader and composer Joe Acheson. The result is explosive, percussive, and resplendent with layers of intense soundscapes that take audiences on a deep and truly original sonic … more info

//100%.SILK

strategy - boxy music
(12inch vinyl)
Catalog#: silk021ep
Price: $14.00

“Prince of Portland Paul Dickow turns his no-nonsense Nudge-sludge awesomeness into revved-up, avant tech-house arousal as Strategy. The moniker has found Dickow checking out hooks in his Community Library and niche-in’-out nooks on Kranky. With SILK he separates: ‘Skanking Stabs’ stomps with reverb canned-can drums, bouncing in a dancehall vault. ‘Feel The Earth’ is not your daddy’s acid jazz, with its bouncing house arresting piano bar tipped jar. ‘Starry Day’ soft serves up a swirl of ’80s vamp funk, contempo computer chocolate chips, and haywire Cyberdyne scheming sequences. The dueling ‘Bolly Valve’ tracks mix Arabic woodwind skill scales with whisper sizzle clatter data. Limited edition, with hot pink pop art Neu-bout-town jackets designed by the artist. Strategic move for winning your love.”

//ANPQUARTERLY

anpquarterly - volume 2/number 6
(mag)
Catalog#: anpqv2#6
Price:

ANPQuarterly is a free publication and you may add a copy to your order at no cost while supplies last. 84 pages. Features include: Chinatown pirate radio station KCHUNG; Forrest Martin on Death: A Magazine For The Enthusiast and Non-Enthusiast Alike; the Quiet Music Festival; CineMarfa film festival; Crass’ Penny Rimbaud; Steve Ignorant; Gee Vaucher; Gaspar Noé; K8 Hardy; Dune magazine; Willo Perron; Katherine Bernhardt; Oval’s Markus Popp and more.

//AWESOME.TAPES.FROM.AFRICA

na hawa doumbia - la grande cantatrice malienne vol. 3
(12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: atfa001lp
Price: $16.50

LP version, repressed. “First release for new label Awesome Tapes From Africa, a blog and DJ project known worldwide for shedding light on obscure and wonderful musical treasures from the African continent. This early recording—made in Abidjan, Ivory Coast in 1982—captures the dualities inherent in Doumbia’s music early on: from a stripped-down, raw backdrop arise warm sonics; expressions of feminism and social issues imparted through spare refrains. Doumbia’s urgent, distinctive vocals and hypnotic didadi rhythm from her native Bougouni have made her a respected voice in Mali for more than three decades.”

//DOXY

ravi shankar and ali akbar khan - the master musicians of india
(12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: doz418lp
Price: $23.80

“Seminal recording by the two men most responsible for opening the West to Indian music. Master of the sitar, Ravi Shankar is, of course, famous for his legendary influence on the Beatles, but this recording was made for the American jazz label Prestige prior to their meeting. Perhaps lesser intertwined with the pop music world, Ali Akbar-Khan is nonetheless one of India’s greatest musicians, and the world’s best sarod player. Shankar and Khan play together on both ragas, backed by a tabla player and a tamboura player. The tamboura player is Nodu C. Mullick on side A, a highly respected instrument maker who made Shankar’s sitar).”

//EDITIONS.MEGO

keith fullerton whitman - generators
(12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: demego024lp
Price: $20.20

Over the course of a year, Keith Fullerton Whitman performed a piece of live electronic music a few dozen times entitled “Generator.” The debut was given in San Francisco at Root Strata’s On Land festival at Cafe Du Nord on September 19th, 2009 — over the months that followed, stagings took place in venues ranging from flooded basements to festival stages in Baltimore, Boston, Brooklyn, Chicago, Easthampton, Iowa City, Jamaica Plain, Northampton, Raleigh, Saint Louis, San Francisco, Somerville and Washington D.C. This LP covers the final two performances of the piece over two consecutive evenings; the opening solo set from the final night of the High Zero festival in Baltimore at the Theater Project, September 26th, 2010, then the performance during the “For Eliane” night of the Propensity Of Sound festival dedicated to Eliane Radigue’s work at Issue Project Room, Brooklyn, September 27th, 2010. These recordings show the piece in two different iterations, taking two different … more info

//KYE

dan melchior - excerpts (& half-speeds)
(12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: kye016lp
Price: $16.80

“Dan Melchior is known by many as a long-standing footsoldier of garage rock. Throughout his fifteen years of service Dan has gained a reputation as being one of the few in his field willing to test the flexibility of an otherwise stagnant genre. Last year’s brilliant Assemblage Blues LP (Siltbreeze) showed Dan scratching at the bars of his cage, restricted by the very domain he dominates. Excerpts (& Half-Speeds) is Dan Melchior’s hammer in the mirror. A courageous act of self-vandalism, reducing his own sonic signature to a series of fractured sketches, riffs, and run-throughs, glued together to create something akin to Another Green World for the fuck off generation. Excerpts (& Half-Speeds) arrives in a full color high gloss Melchior-designed sleeve, with insert, in an edition of 450 copies.”

//MIASMAH

gultskra artikler - abtu/anet
(12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: mia018lp
Price: $18.20

Gultskra Artikler is the throat-tangling moniker of one Alexey Devyanin, and Abtu/Anet has been excavated from the dusty Miasmah archives for a long-overdue reissue. Not that it ever had a proper release; the astute followers among you might have managed to track down the very rare Abtu, which appeared back in 2007 on limited 3” CD-R, but its companion EP Anet never reached the shelves and seemed destined to permanent unavailability. Devyanin’s complex, surreal world was explored to wide acclaim on the ‘07 album Kasha Iz Topora, and thematically, Abtu/Anet feels like a continuation of that record. Devyanin’s deeply original fusion of Radiophonicera electronics, musique concrète, early European folk music and 1920s film scores is highlighted far further here, and somehow the record sounds more relevant now than ever. In an era where nostalgia is musical currency, Devyanin’s Vaseline-smudged visions are refreshingly free of kitsch and YouTube-era restlessness. He retains a deeply … more info

//PRE-CERT.HOME.ENTERTAINMENT

slant azymuth - slant azymuth
(12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: vhsx004lp
Price: $20.20

Slant Azymuth expand on the concepts shared on 2011’s virtually unobtainable series of releases on Andy Votel and Demdike Stare’s Pre-Cert Home Entertainment label. Slant Azymuth is more than likely a joint venture between label heads Demdike and Votel, once again exploring fake-loric nonlanguage/electric codes and forbidden information to create an archive of sonic and poetic commentary (evidence) concerning corruption in pre-war local industry, perverted belief systems and scientific invention. Part music concrète, part folklore, part-pulp-fictitious, part Neorealism — this indulgent patchwork of mechanical folk/pop and non-music combines essential influences of electric Smithsonian releases, sound poetry, Zden?k Liska, Ilhan Mimaroglu, basic Carnatic music, Lettrism, Pierre Henry, Oramics in Ardwick, Massiera, Lloyd M. Williams, Stella Crenshaw, Bruno Nicolai, Suzanne Ciani, Eastern European fiction, AgitProp, L.S. Lowry, J.G. Frazer, Gurdjieff, Kommune pop groups and futen … more info

//THE.WIRE

the wire - #337 march 2012
(mag)
Catalog#: wire337
Price: $7.00

“On the cover: Earth (Joseph Stannard finds out why the Seattle slow-rockers are away with the fairy folk and investigating the Old, Weird Albion); :zoviet*france (Phil England hears audio fog on the Tyne emanating from the veteran post-industrial duo’s danceworks); Emptyset (The Bristol based Multiverse duo make shattered techno out of ruined buildings); Global Ear: Ethiopia (Terrie Ex & Andy Moor chronicle The Ex’s pathfinding tours of the Horn of Africa, building relationships with local musicians and audiences); Cross Platform: Haroon Mirza (The UK based artist’s latest installations are random acoustic sculptures forming resonant environments); Invisible Jukebox: Ghost Box (Belbury Poly’s Jim Jupp and The Focus Group’s Julian House are spooked by The Wire’s uncanny record selection); Julia Holter (The Californian lo-fi goddess moulds Cageian aesthetics and classical mythology into her DIY sound forge); The Primer: King Tubby (A guide to Osbourne Ruddock’s studio mutations and … more info

//ART.FAG

colleen green - milo goes to compton
(12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: af018lp
Price: $14.00

Colleen Green has accepted reality, and to deal with it, she candidly describes the components of hers—heartache, separation and true love—on her first album, Milo Goes to Compton. Inspired by the honesty of freaks like Mike Hunchback, the shit-fi of DIY bands like The Thermals and Nobunny, and all the poppiest melodies of her favorite singles, stoned songwriter Colleen Green delivers the original pop soundtrack to the days you spend in a daze. This half-hour, eight-song album runs the gamut in musical styles, from Ramones-ripoff pop punk to dreamy, stoned drone to getting-ready-for-da-club shit. It’s dumb, dirty fun for the most part, but it’s also sweet and sincere. Listen once and you will understand that it’s as real as the girl herself.

//CRUCIAL.BLAST

tomb - uag
(cd)
Catalog#: cbr94cd
Price: $12.60

For nearly a decade now, the shadowy collective known as TOMB (or Total Occultic Mechanical Blasphemy) have practiced their brand of industrial death worship, creating some of creepiest recordings in recent memory. The grating industrial rhythms, blackened noise and malformed black metal on the band’s 2007 album Macabre Noize Royale blasted skulls into charred husks. TOMB’s latest album UAG (short for Underground Ancient Gateways) follows the crypt-crawlers through eleven tracks of suffocating, black ambient noise and lifeless industrial pummel, stripping away most of the black metal elements of previous releases and crafting a more abstract sound. Making their way into abandoned sanitariums, morgues, decaying crypts and other sites of psychological and spiritual distress (such as the Pennhurst State Hospital in Pennsylvania, and Kentucky’s infamous Waverly Hills), TOMB captures the natural ambience of these locations and engages in pounding percussive workouts by banging and … more info

//LEAF

matthew bourne - montauk variations
(cd)
Catalog#: bay77cd
Price: $14.00

Delius was inspired to make music by “late swallows” at Grez-sur-Loing; Vaughan Williams by a lark on its ecstatic flight. Just about everyone else has tried to work out what exact interval a cuckoo sounds. By contrast, pianist and composer Matthew Bourne has his feet firmly on the ground, to the extent that he is able to take inspiration from situations that most recording musicians would regard as maddening distractions, like the drone of a lawnmower. A restless, endlessly exploratory musician, he is also a phenomenal performer, bringing a unique, breathtaking physicality to his instrument of choice. Bourne—not to be confused with the choreographer Matthew Bourne, who’s much older—first came to prominence at the age of 23 when he won the Perrier Jazz Award in 2001, following that with a BBC Jazz Award for Innovation the next year. He has spent the ensuing decade working in a bewildering variety of contexts, from the manic structures and free flights of his trio with … more info

//PROFOUND.LORE

witch mountain - south of salem
(cd)
Catalog#: pfl093cd
Price: $9.80

Witch Mountain was formed in Portland, Oregon, in 1997 by Rob Wrong and SUNN0))) collaborator Nathan Carson. By 2000, the groundwork had been laid, the demo Homegrown Doom remastered and released in Europe, and Dave Hoopaugh was brought in on bass. Debut album …Come the Mountain was released to critical acclaim in 2001; the first printing sold out in two months. Between 1998 and 2002 Witch Mountain was a live staple in the Northwest and on the national circuit, touring with Weedeater and Spirit Caravan and gigging with the likes of Lost Goat, Bongzilla, Goatsnake, Acid King, High on Fire, Orange Goblin, Electric Wizard, YOB, Unsane, EyeHateGod, Alabama Thunderpussy, Clutch, Unida, Solitude Aeturnus, Unorthodox, Sour Vein, Isis, Soilent Green, Karma to Burn, Nebula, Penance, Raging Slab, Warhorse, Agalloch, Thrones, etc., etc. A period of hibernation ensued until 2009 when the group resurfaced with soulful female vocalist Uta Plotkin. Witch Mountain recorded their 2010 sophomore … more info

//HUSH

peter broderick - it starts hear
(cd)
Catalog#: hsh105cd
Price: $12.60

Actual title is: http://www.itstartshear.com. The third Peter Broderick vocal album is a personal exploration and tour de force in sound. http://www.itstartshear.com is the result of nearly three years of studio work, and is the first album created without any self-made restrictions. Whereas on albums past Peter worked strictly with certain sets of instruments, this one includes anything and everything he could get my hands on.

//HYDRA.HEAD

pyramids / horseback - a throne without a king
(cassette)
Catalog#: hh666229cs
Price: $8.90

A sprawling beast of unique nature - at once beguiling, terrifying and completely immersive. A more successful pairing of experimental-metal-drone-ambient-krautish-noise-rock collaborators you are unlikely to find, in our reality or any of its parallel relatives. Exclusive individual tracks from both participants, combined with their 45 minute collaborative sonic mass in four parts.

pyramids - pyramids
(12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: hh666154lp
Price: $21.00

Now, several years since its initial release, Pyramids first collection of songs resounds like a communique from a far off galaxy. The resultant impressions sound like cut up feverdream tape loops containing snippets of Xasthur, Tangerine Dream and Mazzy Star layered over, under and through each other. The aural pictures are at once terrifying and soothing, familiar and wholly alien. What seems like it shouldn’t does in fact work: black metal blasting stitched together with patches of gauzy melody and angelic warbling. It’s one of the most enveloping and simultaneously disorienting documents to have emerged from the hazy outer territories of the heavy music underground in years.

//HYPERDUB

burial - untrue
(2x12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: hdb002lp
Price: $20.30

This is the second full-length release on Hyperdub from the UK’s mysterious and much-acclaimed Burial. Of all the artists past and present who claim to let their music do their talking for them, Burial is one of the elite band of whom this truly is the case. In fact, so reluctant is he to engage with the cult-of-personality hoopla that surrounds almost every modern producer and musician of merit, that he remains a genuine recluse; he has never appeared live, only one obliquely-angled publicity photograph is known to exist, and the number of interviews he has given can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Yet despite this, his music speaks loud and wide, and the world has been listening ever since his South London Boroughs EP debut on Hyperdub in March 2005. His eponymous album, which began life as a low-key release in May 2006, is now widely-regarded as the benchmark release of the ever-widening dubstep genre, picking up unanimous critical acclaim along the way, and ending the year … more info

burial - burial
(2x12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: hdb001lp
Price: $20.30

Now finally bowing to widespread and sustained demand, Hyperdub now issues a specially re-tooled vinyl edition of the amazing Burial album, available for a strictly limited period. A continual seller ever since release in April 2006, demand for Burial’s roundly praised debut has rocketed, following a swathe of superlative appraisals and high rankings in the various year-end review sections. With the DJ in mind, optimum sonic integrity has been maintained by removing the CD version’s beatless opening and closing tracks, and the remaining 11 tunes have been re-sequenced and re-cut to allow those 4 that have until now not appeared on vinyl to be presented in newly-mastered 12”-standard audio across the first two sides. With both the South London Boroughs and Distant Lights EPs now out of print and likely to remain that way, this limited edition two-wax pack offers the only way to get your Burial fix in club-ready configuration, but it won’t be around forever, as the ever-elusive producer … more info

****RESTOCKS****

//BEDROOM.COMMUNITY

ben frost & daniel bjarnason - solaris
(12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: hvalur012lp
Price: $19.40

LP version. Ben Frost and Daníel Bjarnason are two composers used to shrugging off the distinction between experimental sound art and deeply-felt melodies. Frost’s vast, blackened post-industrial works often crystallize in moments of quiet beauty before disintegrating in pure visceral noise; Bjarnason’s orchestral music marries brutal modernism to classical aesthetics one moment and soaring ethereal harmonies the next. And yet here, on the tail of two widely-acclaimed releases; Bjarnason’s Processions (HVALUR 007CD) and Frost’s By The Throat (HVALUR 006/LP), we are given something altogether new. A unique collaboration, Sólaris is a quiet, stilled and all-consuming symphonic suite at once as affecting and uncanny as the science-fiction classic that inspired it. The power of Andrei Tarkovsky’s Solaris is not in its futuristic sets, or in the hypnotic shots of the alien planet’s weird, fluid surface, it’s in the way the auteur juxtaposes his alien, futuristic elements against the … more info

//DENOVALI

birds of passage + leonardo rosado - dear and unfamiliar
(cd)
Catalog#: den107cd
Price: $18.80

A MINIMALISTIC CINEMATIC EXPERIMENTAL DARK POP TRIP. After the highly respected debut full length “Without the World” and her first European tour in 2011 BIRDS OF PASSAGE (“the new rising star of experimental minimalistic dark pop”) from New Zealand now is back with her second act. It’s a cinematic concept album she recorded together with LEONARDO ROSADO from Portugal. “DEAR AND UNFAMILIAR is a technicolor soundtrack that traces a vivid path through darkened desolate dunes. Stories of forgotten tragedies and unrequited love liberate the journeyman from reveries of misery and guide the wanderer through contrasting landscapes of dysphoria and ecstasy.” Mastered by NILS FRAHM. Artwork done again by BRUNO MERZ. The album should equally please fans of COCTEAU TWINS, PORTISHEAD as those of JONSI & ALEX or ZOLA JESUS. Fortunately Alicia currently already works on her next solo full length and a single which will feature a long collaboration track with AIDAN BAKER (NADJA, … more info

//FURTHER

conrad schnitzler - live 72
(2x12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: fur037
Price: $24.30

Gatefold jackets on french paper. Mastered by CGB @ D&M, Berlin. Recorded live in 1972. Previously unreleased material by electronic pioneer Conrad Schnitzler. “There are not too many names that get us more excited here at AZ HQ than Conrad Schnitzler’s. Since the mid-1960s, Schnitzler has been one of the undisputed masters of electronic experimentation, and his name is synonymous with Krautrock’s innovation and defiant musical vision. A prolific solo artist, he also founded Kluster (later Cluster) with Dieter Moebius and Hans-Joachim Roedelius, was an early collaborator with seminal Kosmische acts Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze, and, in 1967, founded the Zodiak Free Arts Lab in West Berlin, an experimental performance space designed for the exploration of musical and political freedom (where Tangerine and Klaus both played). So, for previously unreleased material from Conrad to become available is is an exciting affair indeed— especially for those of us not lucky enough to have … more info

//HOLY.MOUNTAIN

high wolf - atlas nation
(12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: holy1983lp
Price: $15.40

France’s High Wolf possesses a natural-born ability to produce tones most conducive to inducing transcendental states. Prolific without wearing out his welcome, the guitarist and effects box manipulator sets loose fervid streams of fever-dream drones. High Wolf’s tracks sound as if they’ve been sluicing since the beginning of time, siphoned for teasingly brief absorption before they shimmer off to the vanishing point. This elite droneur is one of the few musicians who could title a 7-inch A Guide to Healing without it coming off as an ironic gesture or a laughable boast. (Cop one and try not to get a spring in your chakras.) Atlas Nation—recorded in 2010 after a long trip to India and Nepal—deepens High Wolf’s penetration into the mystic. It evokes an uneasy peace with a new breed of tribal psychedelia shorn of all hokey signifiers. “Fuji Descent” starts the album with what could be a languid, paradisiacal soundtrack to a scrapped Alejandro Jodorowsky film. “The Dawn … more info

//VILLAGE.GREEN

keith kenniff - branches
(cd)
Catalog#: vg002cd
Price: $14.60

A Pennsylvanian by birth, Keith Kenniff is an honors graduate of Boston’s esteemed Berklee College Of Music, best known as the brains behind dulcet ambient/electronic practitioners Helios and the fingers on the ivories of post-classical piano minimalists Goldmund (the latter’s music once described by no less an authority than Ryuichi Sakamoto as “so, so, so beautiful…”). A succession of albums under those aliases has made Kenniff the darling of discerning critics and his music has also been widely used in film, television and advertising, not least on the soundtrack to Harmony Korine’s 2007 comedy-drama Mister Lonely and the trailer for the 2009 Academy Award-nominated Revolutionary Road, directed by Sam Mendes. In 2007, Keith formed the band Mint Julep with his wife Hollie. Mint Julep was designed as a conscious departure from Keith’s previous projects. Keith’s project Branches sees him return to his twinkling piano keys and the intensely atmospheric strings of his earlier solo … more info

//TOUCH

oren ambarchi - audience of one
(cd)
Catalog#: to083cd
Price: $14.60

Touch presents a solo album by Australian sound artist Oren Ambarchi. “Salt” was composed by Paul Duncan and Oren Ambarchi and performed by Oren Ambarchi (guitars), Paul Duncan (vocals), Elizabeth Welsh (violin) and James Rushford (viola, piano). Guitars recorded by Oren Ambarchi at Jerker House, Melbourne. Vocals recorded by Brendon Anderegg at Telescope Recordings, Brooklyn, NY. Strings and piano recorded by Byron Scullin at Electric Dreams, Melbourne. Strings arranged by James Rushford, mixed by Oren Ambarchi and Byron Scullin at Electric Dreams. “Knots” was composed by Oren Ambarchi and performed by Oren Ambarchi (electric & acoustic guitars, autoharp, percussion), Eyvind Kang (viola, igil), Janel Leppin (cello), Stephen Fandrich (voice), Josiah Boothby (French horn) and Joe Talia (drums, percussion, spring). Guitars recorded by Oren Ambarchi at Jerker House. Strings, voice and French horn recorded by Randall Dunn at Avast, Seattle. Drums, percussion and spring recorded by Joe … more info

//HYDRA.HEAD

pyramids/horseback - a throne without a king
(12inch vinyl lp +7inch)
Catalog#: hdh229lp
Price: $25.00

“A sprawling beast of unique nature - at once beguiling, terrifying and completely immersive. A more successful pairing of experimental-metal-drone-ambient-krautish-noise-rock collaborators you are unlikely to find, in our reality or any of its parallel relatives. Exclusive individual tracks from both participants, combined with their 45 minute collaborative sonic mass in four parts.”

//MUSIC.ATLACH

sachiko & rinji fukuoka - atomo
(cd)
Catalog#: ma010cd
Price: $16.80

Cello, violin and electronics intertwine with the vocal drones of these OVERHANG PARTY and MAJUTSU NO NIWA veterans. Recorded live in Japan, the passionate sound and ambiance, which includes RINJI FUKUOKA’s radio waves, offers “a glimpse of unbearable reality,” while the Paris recording, made at the church Église Saint-Merri, uses solemn drone loops a la Overhang Party’s “Prayer of a Fool.”

//WORSTWARD

steven r. smith - old skete
(12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: wst001lp
Price: $14.00

Eleven stark performances on hand-made electric guitar by the man also known as ULAAN KHOL, HALA STRANA and ULAAN MARKHOR, and for work with THUJA, MIRZA and Amsterdam-based clarinetist GARETH DAVIS. Absence of overdubs, loops, samples and delay pedals leaves Old Skete open and unadorned, a spare work akin to Smith’s Kohl (Jewelled Antler 2002). Edition of 500.

//LO

susumu yokota - dreamer
(cd)
Catalog#: lcd091cd
Price: $14.00

Musical styles come and go but Susumu Yokota reigns supreme in a universe of his own making. Instantly familiar and yet full of surprises, like all of Yokota’s best music Dreamer leaves the listener in a state of wonder. This is meditative music but miles away from new age wallpaper. Eastern flavors permeate many of Dreamer’s tracks, mixing with free electronic noise to create what John Hassell called “Fourth World music” capable of transporting the listener to a new universe. Yokota transforms sounds that in other hands could have a disturbing effect into tools for opening the mind. Within so-called “popular” music, there are few who make art with Yokota’s depth and ease. His never sounds forced, fake or phony; never trite, tired or tentative; always fully formed and wholesome. So it comes as no surprise that his fans include Thom Yorke, Brian Eno and Philip Glass, and that Dreamer is another superb addition to the Yokota catalog.

//ECHOSPACE

various - altering illusions
(4x12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: cross006lp
Price: $72.10

“Limited edition label compilation from Echospace (Detroit)featuring unreleased material from cv313, Deepchord, Echospace, Intrusion & Variant.” Colored-vinyl housed in a full-color gatefold sleeve. As always, immersive and masterfully deep tracks from the Echospace roster.

****FINALLY SHIPPING****
Picking these up from the plant tomorrow!

//EXPERIMEDIA

from the mouth of the sun - woven tide
(12inch vinyl lp + download)
Catalog#: explp021lp
Price: $13.00

LP edition with instant download in your choice of highest quality mp3, flac, or apple lossless formats. This is a preorder for the physical format but you get the download immediately. LPs and bundles are expected to begin shipping on on February 17th. Also available: Complete Bundle, CD + download, or download only. Woven Tide is the debut album by From The Mouth of The Sun, the new collaboration between Dag Rosenqvist, aka Jasper TX, and Aaron Martin. “Out of the charred embers of dusk Woven Tide emerges with an incandescent glow. Each glimmer cast by the sustained notes of ebony keys, the taut strings of the cello, and the rampant buzz of guitar lights our way, gives us hope, brings us into the dawn of a new day. As From The Mouth of the Sun, the duo act as our torchbearers, scrawling messages along the walls of an elongated cave, toiling through the decayed remnants of fetid matter to create eight illuminating pieces. The listener, who has wiled away the hours, will find a door; … more info

from the mouth of the sun - woven tide
(complete bundle)
Catalog#: explp021bndl
Price: $18.00
Complete bundle includes the LP, CD, poster, and instant download in your choice of highest quality mp3, flac, or apple lossless formats. This is a preorder for the physical format but you get the download immediately. LPs, and bundles are expected to begin shipping on February 17th. Also available: LP + download, CD + download, or download only. Woven Tide is the debut album by From The Mouth of The Sun, the new collaboration between Dag Rosenqvist, aka Jasper TX, and Aaron Martin. “Out of the charred embers of dusk Woven Tide emerges with an incandescent glow. Each glimmer cast by the sustained notes of ebony keys, the taut strings of the cello, and the rampant buzz of guitar lights our way, gives us hope, brings us into the dawn of a new day. As From The Mouth of the Sun, the duo act as our torchbearers, scrawling messages along the walls of an elongated cave, toiling through the decayed remnants of fetid matter to create eight illuminating pieces. The listener, who has wiled away … more info

//THANK.YOU

February 2012 Edition of Experimedia’s Monthly Mix Series...

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 22:47:00 -0500

February 2012 Edition of Experimedia’s Monthly Mix Series

00:00 - Ben Vida - Track 3 - Esstends-Esstends-Esstends - PAN
04:35 - FRAK - In Order to Create - Muzika Electronic - Digitalis
10:00 - Marcus Fjellstrom - LM-118 - Library Music 1 - Kafkagarden
12:20 - Kyoka - 23 Ish - Ish - Raster-Noton
16:20 - Dimlite - Pour Some Blood, We Got This - Grimm Reality - Now-Again
21:32 - The Drum - Euthanasia - Heavy Liquid - Audraglint
25:10 - Aaron Dilloway - Labyrinths & Jokes (Reversed) - Modern Jester - Hanson
26:50 - Demdike Stare - Meets Shangaan Electro - A1 - Honest Jon’s
31:50 - NHK’Koyxen - B4 - Dance Classics Vol.I - PAN
35:30 - Concessionaires - Sparkler - Artificial Interface - Under The Spire
30:28 - Alva Noto - Uni Deform - Univrs - Raster-Noton
42:59 - Alva Noto - Uni Asymmetric Lll-Llll - Univrs - Raster-Noton
43:02 - Aaron Dilloway - Tremors - Modern Jester - Hanson
45:31 - NHKYX - 257 - Yx Aka 1ch Aka Solo - Skam
48:50 - Kyoka - Hadue - Ish - Raster-Noton
52:48 - NHK’Koyxen - B3 - Dance Classics Vol.I - PAN
55:20 - High Wolf - Kenya Sunset - Atlas Nation - Holy Mountain
60:28 - Venetian Snares - Seqsy - Affectionate - Self Released
63:40 - Felix Kubin - No.5 - TXRF - IT’s
68:10 - Jim O’Rourke - Natural Bonbon Killers - Old News #7 - Old News
72:02 - NHKYX - 475 - Yx Aka 1ch Aka Solo - Skam
74:50 - Robert Turman - Flux 3 - Flux - Spectrum Spools

//EXP.NEW | Dilloway, Demdike Stare, Oval, Spools, Vantzou, Caretaker, Tetras, O'Rourke, Fjellstrom++

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:29:27 -0500

Greetings friends. Another crazy update this week. A bit early too….

Going to dial some things in a bit… where updates to the site will be posted on Thursday’s… maybe Friday’s… will see how it goes… but def Friday at the latest so we can get the news out before the weekend.

Also… in regards to preorders…. going to try and close the gap tighter and tighter on those as well for the most part… between last minute manufacturing delays and surprise shortages it can really gum up the works at times. It seems many like to have the opportunity to preorder… but really I think it would be better if everything was ready to ship as soon as its ordered…. or at least very close. As you have probably noticed many titles hit Europe before they land here in the states… sometimes up to 2-3 weeks later…. and when that happens I start getting inquiries if/when I will get those titles… you can of course count on us getting the usual suspects… but if your ever concerned we might overlook something feel free to drop us an email to ask or remind us to be sure and pick up what your after.

That said…. the From The Mouth of The Sun - Woven Tide LP is going to be at least another week behind… looking like they may be ready for us to pick up next week. A few unexpected manufacturing delays slowing it down… but have to make sure its perfect you know. So this is a good example of why we would like to attempt to close the gap on preorders. At this stage we have some many preorders for this… that when it does finally arrive we are going to have a massive bottleneck to work through… with tons of preorders, wholesale orders, and artist copies to get out the door…. on top of the usual stream of orders. And we want to keep things running as smoothly and quickly here so we can get all of your orders into your hands and into your ears as soon as possible.

So those with preorders containing the Woven Tide LP…. apologies for the delay…. not much longer now…. but in our opinion… worth the wait.

Besides that however… everything else available on the site is here and ready to ship…. aside from a small shipment that is in transit and arriving on the UPS truck Monday (which is a good example of when we may list something before it is in our hands… when we have a tracking number and arrival is just around the corner). But the preorders for the Windy and Carl and any others out there are being packed today for pickup tomorrow morning.

Can’t think of much as far as news to announce this week….

Oh… for the locals…. a great show going on at The RCNCAVE in Akron Ohio this Saturday night where I will be playing fresh and yet to be released tunes between the sets.

Well that is it for my random ramblings…

This week is a mighty fine update I must say….
New 2LP from Aaron Dilloway and another from Jim O’Rourke (I would personally say its the best thus far in the Old News series). Listening to these two back to back is rather intense. And yet another 2LP (quite a few 2LPs this week)…. from Robert Turman on Spectrum Spools… a reissue of his classic Flux cassette from 1981. Oval’s OvalDNA CD + DVD and another from Christina Vantzou containing a CD of remixes and a DVD of a 47 minute film. The CD edition of the latest The Caretaker album. A split 12” with Demdike Stare and Hype Williams. Another fantastic 2LP by Tetras on Flingco Sound. Marcus Fjellstrom’s Library Music 1 CD. A brand new project, Loops of Your Heart, by Axel Willner aka The Field. And much much more.

With that said…. on with the new…. have a great weekend! New arrivals at the top…. restocks and now shipping preorders towards the bottom.

aaron dilloway - modern jester (2x12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: hn250lp

Aaron Dilloway on tape loops, percussion, synthesizer, junk, voice, and tape FX. Recorded 2008—2011. 500 copies. Silkscreened gatefold sleeve. Note: With the exception of one track (‘Eight Cut Scars’), this is a completely different release than the cassette title of the same name. Every second of this recording contains subliminal messages. “From short bursts to long-form, hallucinatory epics, … more info

demdike stare - elemental part 4: iris (12inch vinyl)
Catalog#: love076ep

Part four in this 4-part set. This 12” slots into the Elemental quad-gatefold which came with parts 1 & 2 (LOVE 073_074LP). The 2CD album Elemental features a different tracklisting with alternate versions of some of these vinyl tracks plus extra content. Mastered and cut by Lupo at Dubplates & Mastering, pressed on colored vinyl and limited to 1,000 copies for the world. Featuring … more info

robert turman - flux (2x12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: sp010lp

Flux is the 1981 debut solo outing of Robert Turman, an American multi-instrumentalist and avant-garde composer. Until recently, Turman was perhaps best known for his contributions to the ballistic NON project with Boyd Rice, as well as other obscured U.S. industrial acts such as Z.O. Voider. In the summer of 1981, Turman decided he would take a drastic turn from the noisy/electronic/industrial … more info

oval - ovaldna (cd + dvd)
Catalog#: strike134cd

In many ways, O, released on Thrill Jockey after a nine-year break, was a second debut album for Markus Popp aka Oval. A radical break with old concepts and methods, a new beginning. While Popp’s artistic approach in the 1990s and early 2000s was more of a structural, theoretical nature, O was just about the music itself. Themes such as the means of production, limitations, dogma and concept took … more info

christina vantzou - no.1 dvd + remixes (cd + dvd)
Catalog#: tnscvcddvd

Limited edition self-released CD+DVD including a 47 minute film by Christina Vantzou and remixes by Koen Holtkamp, Loscil, Ernest Gibson III, Montgomery Knott, Ben Vida, Dustin O’Halloran, Robert Lippok, White Rainbow, Isan, and The Dead Texan. A project supplementary to Christina’s recent full length album on Kranky. Christina Vantzou is an artist, musician, and composer. She was born in Kansas … more info

the caretaker - patience (after sebald) (cd)
Catalog#: haftw013cd

James Leyland Kirby returns in 2012 with his long-in-the-making soundtrack to Grant Gee’s film about W.G. Sebald. Patience (After Sebald) is a multi-layered film essay on landscape, art, history, life and loss by the acclaimed documentary film-maker Grant Gee. It is an exploration of the work and influence of German writer W.G. Sebald (1944-2001), told via a long walk through coastal East Anglia … more info

demdike stare/hype williams - meet shangaan electro (12inch vinyl)
Catalog#: hjp066ep

Essential installment in the Shangaan remix series, with futuristic pop duo Hype Williams turning out a mesmerizing tribute, lagging somewhere ages behind the party people, achingly soulful and lost. If you have to ask what the Demdike Stare side is like, then you don’t deserve it.

tetras - pareidolia (2x12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: fss017lp

In late 2009 Jason Kahn approached Jeroen Visser about starting a project together. After a few months of playing they decided to invite Christian Weber into the group, who Jason knew from previous bands. In early 2010 the group began meeting regularly in Jeroen’s studio to develop their sound. The Double LP Pareidolia documents these sessions. Tetras take a long-form approach to their music, … more info

jim o’rourke - old news #7 (2x12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: oldnews007lp

More archival works from Jim O’Rourke see the light of day on Old News #7. Side one and two were recorded circa ‘96-‘97 at the Steamroom, Chicago. Side three was recorded live in Nagoya at Tokuzo, April 2011. Thanks to Carlos Giffoni. Side four recorded during ‘93-‘94 and originally released on These Records. Thanks to Andrew & Howard Jacques. “Welcome To The Django” is a 2-sided mid-’90s … more info

marcus fjellstrom - library music 1 (cd)
Catalog#: kgpub001cd

Following his dark and ghostly 2010 Miasmah release “Schattenspieler”, “Library Music 1” has little, if anything, in common with its predecessor. Taking his inspiration from the classic old music libraries used for TV and low budget movie productions in the 1960’s and 1970’s, as well as the curious early electronic experiments of Raymond Scott and the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, Marcus Fjellstrom … more info

stephen christopher stamper - begin anywhere (cd)
Catalog#: rm006cd

Possibly the most otherworldly release from Runningonair to date, “Begin Anywhere,” Stephen Christopher Stamper’s debut, evokes imagery of desert landscapes, star-filled skies and the solar wind buffeting the earth’s magnetic field. Ranging from harsh, crackly soundscapes to music of an almost religious intensity, the variety is quite stunning. At the same time, reoccurring harmonic material … more info

loops of your heart (the field) - and never ending nights (12inch vinyl lp + cd)
Catalog#: magazine005lp

LP version with CD. Please allow us the pleasure of introducing Axel Willner’s Loops Of Your Heart. Hailing from Sweden, the man behind this record alone needs no introduction, as he is already well-known in the electronic music scene for his project The Field. Loops Of Your Heart reflects Axel’s experience in Germany, where during his lengthy stays, his mantra-like arpeggiators contributed to … more info

loops of your heart (the field) - and never ending nights (cd)
Catalog#: magazine005cd

Please allow us the pleasure of introducing Axel Willner’s Loops Of Your Heart. Hailing from Sweden, the man behind this record alone needs no introduction, as he is already well-known in the electronic music scene for his project The Field. Loops Of Your Heart reflects Axel’s experience in Germany, where during his lengthy stays, his mantra-like arpeggiators contributed to the first … more info

pantha du prince - diamond daze (2x12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: dial005lp

2010 repress on vinyl, originally released 2004. Double LP version. Pantha Du Prince captures the parts of a vanishing youth on this Dial debut, Diamond Daze. In a white studio behind the railways next to sweating rock bands and speeding trains divided only by white cloths is a person dreaming in grids and fragments of images, sounds, noises and feelings. Based on a past filled with British … more info

pantha du prince - this bliss (cd)
Catalog#: dial009cd

The second Pantha Du Prince album from 2007, repressed. This is DJ, producer, composer and furniture maker Hendrik Weber’s (aka Pantha Du Prince) second full-length release on Dial. Weber has always explored new worlds of sound under pseudonyms such as Panthel, Gluhen4 or as bassist of Hamburg-based group, Stella. 2006 was a fine, fine year for Pantha du Prince — his remixes for Depeche Mode and … more info

porter ricks - biokinetics (cd)
Catalog#: type100cd

Techno isn’t a genre that has birthed many classic albums, and the dub techno subgenre even less so, but one indisputable classic is Porter Ricks’ debut Biokinetics. Originally issued on the legendary Basic Channel sub-label Chain Reaction in 1996 following a trio of 12”s, Biokinetics was the first of the label’s album releases, and still stands as its crowning achievement. The duo was made up of … more info

lindstrom - six cups of rebel (2x12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: sts221lp

Gatefold 2LP version. “With the latest album from dance producer Hans-Peter Lindstrom, Norway’s latest entry in the space race has been launched out of the wooded outskirts of Oslo. Six Cups Of Rebel, Lindstrom’s fourth solo album (his first to feature vocals), is a super-sized cosmic disco rocket that burns up a galaxy of eclectic influences in its wake, from Bach to Deep Purple, from prog rock … more info

lindstrom - six cups of rebel (cd)
Catalog#: sts221cd

“With the latest album from dance producer Hans-Peter Lindstrom, Norway’s latest entry in the space race has been launched out of the wooded outskirts of Oslo. Six Cups Of Rebel, Lindstrom’s fourth solo album (his first to feature vocals), is a super-sized cosmic disco rocket that burns up a galaxy of eclectic influences in its wake, from Bach to Deep Purple, from prog rock and arpeggiator disco … more info

sfv acid - grown (12inch vinyl)
Catalog#: silk016ep

“Like the permanent midnight warm up at a Genesis ‘88 bash, the empty squelch sounds of SFV ACID are at their tab-on-tongue-in-cheek, acid burning best. But don’t come listening for the happy-faced ecstasy-laced house-for-rent vibes of the free-samplin’, glory vocalin’, disco duckin’ SILKy celebrators. These are heady, midsummer night dreams of a bygone house era. There’s luxury and play to SFV … more info

bobby browser - just browsing (12inch vinyl)
Catalog#: silk017ep

“Bay Area bruiser Andre Ferreira aka Bobby Browser makes PeopleMover music: taking his sweet time to glide. Side A ‘Bass-ic’ backdrops are ever-changing: wade through winds on the night yacht, dewy fields for the drumline, front row Fashion Week, whirl-a-girl-globe-twirl. Side B ‘Glist-opher’s’ guest vocals by Mara Barrenbaum give the EP that art-echo-deco, opulent opera, Blessed House … more info

various - we are the works in progress (2x12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: awk001lp

“We Are The Works In Progress is a fourteen song double LP benefit (with download code) to support Japan and its ongoing efforts to heal post-tsunami. Compiled and organized by Kazu Makino of Blonde Redhead, the double LP features exclusive tracks from Deerhunter, Blonde Redhead, Four Tet, Pantha Du Prince, Broadcast, Liars, Terry Riley, John Maus and Interpol.” Also: David Sylvain & Ryuichi … more info

thomas brinkmann & oren ambarchi - the mortimer trap (cd)
Catalog#: bt006cd

The Mortimer Trap is an epic, 77-minute “variation” of Morton Feldman’s For Bunita Marcus, constructed by German experimentalist and techno icon Thomas Brinkmann and Australian sound artist Oren Ambarchi. Pulsating waves of claustrophobic ambience generated from who-knows-what patiently builds into a throbbing, rhythmic pulse of gorgeous sonic density. Since the ’80s, Thomas Brinkmann has … more info

andreas dorau - blumen und narzissen (cd)
Catalog#: bb087cd

If it had been up to Andreas Dorau’s teacher, “Fred Vom Jupiter,” his biggest hit, would never have seen the light of day. The 16 year-old Dorau wrote the song during project week at school and his tutor was of the opinion that the composition was therefore the intellectual property of his institute of learning. Luckily, the teacher in question didn’t get his way. And, as they say, the rest is … more info

andreas dorau - die doraus & die marinas geben offenherzige (cd)
Catalog#: bb088cd

…Antworten Auf Brennende Fragen. After the success of his debut album Blumen Und Narzissen (1981), featuring his “Fred Vom Jupiter” hit, German new wave/pop upstart Andreas Dorau was urged by his new record company, Teldec, to come up with a sophomore effort as soon as possible. To bridge the gap, Dorau first released a single entitled “Kleines Stubenmädchen,” a jaunty number with amusing … more info

ulrich schnauss & mark peters - underrated silence (cd)
Catalog#: bb094cd

Transporting the sound of shoegazer aesthetics into an electronic context, this is how Ulrich Schnauss once described his artistic goal. Influenced by bands such as My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Cocteau Twins and Chapterhouse on the one hand, yet wholly at ease with the electronica of bands like The Orb, Bionaut, Orbital, 808 State and unequivocally appreciative of veterans of the genre, … more info

various - altering illusions (4x12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: cross006lp

“Limited edition label compilation from Echospace (Detroit)featuring unreleased material from cv313, Deepchord, Echospace, Intrusion & Variant.” Colored-vinyl housed in a full-color gatefold sleeve. As always, immersive and masterfully deep tracks from the Echospace roster.

christian naujoks - true life/in flames (12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: dial024lp

Gatefold LP version. After his self-titled debut of 2009, True Life/In Flames is the second album by Berlin-based Christian Naujoks. Recorded by Tobias Levin at the Laiszhalle Philharmony Hamburg. A dense concert atmosphere sets the tone. Stringent seriality is combined with a romanticism of the minor key which one also finds in a certain corner of modern 20th-century piano music, in the vein of … more info

dub spencer & trance hill - too big to fail (cd)
Catalog#: eb088cd

Dub Spencer & Trance Hill, Switzerland’s dub heroes have teamed up on this new project with Umberto Echo, one of the most sought-after dub remixers this side of the English Channel. In 2006, Dub Spencer & Trance Hill released their Echo Beach debut Nitro (EB 057CD), a sort of Spaghetti Western in dub with plenty of dynamite. Since then, the Swiss musicians have added three further notches to … more info

fluxion - traces (cd)
Catalog#: echo011cd

Traces is Fluxion’s second album on Echocord. This work is about his travels in music — the sounds, influences and aesthetics of his actual travels, expectation-journey-destination, alongside the musical influences deriving from them. Through his prism, those sounds, pictures, travels, emotions, etc., left traces of new directions, of future journeys to take. Fluxion captured the motion in his … more info

sun ra & his arkestra - jazz in silhouette (12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: saturn5786hlp

180 gram exact repro reissue of this 1958 recording, originally released on Sun Ra’s own Saturn Records before being reissued on Impulse. Features tenor saxophonist John Gilmore, plus an early version of the classic “Enlightenment.”

skin graft - dystrophy (cd)
Catalog#: hn236cd

Debut CD release for Cleveland’s Skin Graft. Wyatt Howland aka Skin Graft has been blasting his crude noise in the filthiest Cleveland basements and scum punk bars every two or three nights a week for the past five or so years. He has a knack for writhing in the filthy underbelly of sound using junk metal, field recordings and primitive electronics. Dystrophy is complete audio horror texture … more info

twig harper - self titled (cd)
Catalog#: hn237cd

First proper CD release from Nautical Almanac’s Twig Harper. Twig was a big part in Hanson Records getting off the ground back in the mid-90s, so I’m very excited to release his debut solo glass mastered CD! Hot off the barefoot of his collaboration release with Daniel Higgs on Thrill Jockey. Twig Harper continues in the alternate universe tradition of his three volume Intuitive American Esoteric … more info

john mannion - slice through or / in glassmetal (12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: hn240lp

John Mannion is a member of the Red Light Collective operating out of Rockaway, NY and breeding intense electronic music acts like Yellow Tears, Halflings, Cowards, Teeny Bopper, and John’s Cathode Terror Secretion. Slice Through or/in Glassmetal is his debut LP and is a three years in the making document of extreme electronic composition. An ultra dynamic mix of modern classical, electronic, … more info

cage & aviary - migration (cd)
Catalog#: int004cd

Electronic duo Cage & Aviary present their debut album Migration on Prins Thomas’ Internasjonal imprint. Part man, part machine, part cockatiel, Cage & Aviary take flights of fancy whenever they can. Jamie Paton is a DJ, a one-finger keyboardist, and a pot-tickler. Nigel of Bermondsey is a musician, South London’s finest oscillator, and a dedicated dabbler. Together, they are winners of the … more info

j.r.plankton - neon (cd)
Catalog#: kk065cd

Karaoke Kalk introduces another exciting new artist to their roster. J.R.Plankton is a collaborative project by Jens Strüver and Robert Ohm. Strüver also manages the M=minimal label. His first collaboration with studio-nerd and multi-instrumentalist Robert Ohm was an hour-long radio-play/sound collage about the legendary composer Moondog, repeatedly broadcasted on German radio nationwide. Now, … more info

afarone - lucen (cd)
Catalog#: kr007cd

On his debut “lucen” the piano player / electronic artist afarOne explores the sonic fields between ambient / electronica and the works of contemporary composers of silence such as Arvo Part. Hailing from Spain, the classical trained piano player Stefano Ruggeri (b. 1976) aka afarOne spent 3 years working on his debut longplayer. Influenced by artists such as Alva Noto, Thomas Köner or Mira … more info

cezary gapik - the sum of disappearing sounds (cd)
Catalog#: kr008cd

Born 1963 in Czestochowa / Poland, Cezary Gapik’s formative musical experiences after the punk revolt were the more experimental outings of Public Image Ltd. and industrial pioneers as Throbbing Gristle and Cabaret Voltaire. The popularisation of the computer as a creative tool in the mid-nineties gave birth to Gapik’s present extensive style: the isolationist projects of Mick Harris (Scorn, … more info

terranova - hotel amour (2x12inch vinyl lp + cd)
Catalog#: kom248lp

Gatefold double LP version with a free CD version. Terranova member Fetisch Bergmann witnessed the beginnings of club culture, and he was there when house and techno started to blossom. As an early adopter, he simply doesn’t see the benefit of rehashing what has gone before, but wants to move forward, seizing the future he was promised in the days of yore by the likes of Larry Levan, Grandmaster … more info

terranova - hotel amour (cd)
Catalog#: komp095cd

Terranova member Fetisch Bergmann witnessed the beginnings of club culture, and he was there when house and techno started to blossom. As an early adopter, he simply doesn’t see the benefit of rehashing what has gone before, but wants to move forward, seizing the future he was promised in the days of yore by the likes of Larry Levan, Grandmaster Flash, Ron Hardy or Lee Perry. Whether teen punk, … more info

hobo - iron triangle (2x12inch vinyl)
Catalog#: minus118lp

2x12” version. M_nus introduces a new name to its artist family: Hobo. Iron Triangle is a stunning take on the stripped-to-the-bone essence of electronic dance music. Joel Boychuk aka Hobo takes us on a tour of the Iron Triangle — a destination point for the techno artist whose very name embodies both the restless spirit of his productions and his journey from being one-half of the former M_nus … more info

burnt friedman - bokoboko (cd)
Catalog#: non033cd

Burnt Friedman presents his fourth solo album. Bokoboko is an entirely instrumental recording, impossible to pinpoint to existing genres of music. “Bokoboko” comes from the Japanese, like the other track titles, and means “uneven,” “hollow-sounding” — adjectives aptly describing the album’s crooked, dynamic grooves as well as the many percussively-resounding instruments. Friedman, recognizable … more info

burnt friedman - bokoboko (2x12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: non033lp

Double LP version. Burnt Friedman presents his fourth solo album. Bokoboko is an entirely instrumental recording, impossible to pinpoint to existing genres of music. “Bokoboko” comes from the Japanese, like the other track titles, and means “uneven,” “hollow-sounding” — adjectives aptly describing the album’s crooked, dynamic grooves as well as the many percussively-resounding instruments. … more info

john talabot - fin (cd)
Catalog#: permvac089cd

While staying true to his sound, John Talabot has nevertheless shown a constant evolution as a producer since his first release. He has traced a solid musical path that has turned him into one of the big references of European house and has made him also a highly in-demand remixer. This progression now crystallizes in Fin, his first full-length album for Permanent Vacation — a record in which … more info

john talabot - fin (12inch vinyl lp + cd)
Catalog#: permvac089lp

LP version with CD. While staying true to his sound, John Talabot has nevertheless shown a constant evolution as a producer since his first release. He has traced a solid musical path that has turned him into one of the big references of European house and has made him also a highly in-demand remixer. This progression now crystallizes in Fin, his first full-length album for Permanent Vacation — … more info

takehisa kosugi - catch wave (12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: ash3041lp

2012 repress. Takehisa Kosugi is an inter-media artist and performer who started his career back in the ’60s in Tokyo. With his first band Group Ongaku (free anarchist-conceptual improvisations) he was introduced to the Fluxus avant-garde movement. During the ’70s, he was a member of the mystical, psychedelic, droning rock band Taj Mahal Travellers. He co-founded the band in 1969. Since the end … more info

kyoka - ununpentium/ish (12inch vinyl)
Catalog#: r-n115ep

The fifth release in the Raster-Noton Unun series is a 12” release by Kyoka, known for her chaotic, direct approach and heavy/rough sound, resulting in a broken pop-beat with experimental yet danceable rhythms. Produced by Frank Bretschneider. Berlin, June/July 2011. Remix for “HADue” by Atom TM. Photo by Sylvia Steinhäuser. Live drum by Tetsuya Yamasaki, Turkey. Ryuichi Sakamoto on Kyoka: “it … more info

bnjmn - black square (cd)
Catalog#: rhdc1cd

Now available on CD with 5 bonus tracks taken from his debut release Plastic World. With Black Square, BNJMN evolves into a more fluid production style, largely by allowing more space into his music. By keeping his drums more sparse and light, his music takes even more of a serene, futuristic quality. A modern electronic classic, we dare to say. Braindance, anybody? Although a quick comparison is … more info

blues control & laraaji - frkwys vol. 8 (12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: frkwys008lp

Repressed; LP version. “Volume 8 in the ongoing FRKWYS series on RVNG Intl. is a double album-length collaboration between Blues Control and Laraaji. Following the ‘fodder first’ tradition of previous FRKWYS installments, Vol. 8 was birthed over e-mail dialogue between RVNG and Russ Waterhouse and Lea Cho of Blues Control. Blues Control’s evolved output gracefully arcs with influence and … more info

various - voguing - volume one (2x12inch vinyl lp + cd)
Catalog#: sjr255alp

Gatefold double LP version, volume one; includes a free Junior Vasquez mix CD. Artists on the vinyl: Inner Life, Masters At Work, Ellis D, Cheryl Lynn, Loose Joints, Armand Van Helden, Raze, First Choice, 2 Body’s and Diana Ross. …1976-96. “Voguing, where dancers choreographed movements and poses taken from fashion magazines such as Vogue, first emerged around 1988 in the extraordinary ‘house … more info

various - voguing - volume two (2x12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: sjr255blp

Gatefold double LP version, volume two. Artists: George Kranz, Junior Vazquez, MFSB, Rageous Projecting Kevin Aviance, First Choice, Malcolm McLaren, Nitro Deluxe and Salsoul. …1976-96. “Voguing, where dancers choreographed movements and poses taken from fashion magazines such as Vogue, first emerged around 1988 in the extraordinary ‘house ball’ community of Harlem, New York. Here … more info

various - voguing and the house ballroom scene of new york city (3cd)
Catalog#: sjr255cd

…1976-96. “Voguing, where dancers choreographed movements and poses taken from fashion magazines such as Vogue, first emerged around 1988 in the extraordinary ‘house ball’ community of Harlem, New York. Here African-American and Latino gay and transgender men competed against one another at ‘drag balls’ for the ‘realness’ of their drag, their ability to walk on a fashion runway like a model — … more info

yair yona - world behind curtains (cd)
Catalog#: saah071cd

“Anchored by chiming steel string guitar, World Behind Curtains marks the ascendance of Yair Yona from solo steel string acolyte into master arranger, pulling the post-Takoma school of playing along with him into beautifully festooned cathedrals of sound. His exuberant attack on the acoustic guitar can be aggressive & ripe with punk rock muscle, only to return with graceful fingerstyle caresses. … more info

public lover - a broken shape of you (cd)
Catalog#: song007cd

Public Lover’s debut album, A Broken Shape Of You, shows Bruno Pronsato and Ninca Leece doing what they do best: electronic avant-pop with a playful touch of romance. The album comes third in their short catalog, after their EP Musique D’Hiver Pour L’ Été, released on Pronsato’s label, Thesongsays, and Naked Figures, a more upbeat but equally elegant effort for Telegraph. Both records revealed … more info

john cage - etudes australes (4cd)
Catalog#: wer6740

“John Cage’s Etudes Australes, performed here by pianist Sabine Liebner, launched a series of virtuoso studies born out of the composer’s renewed interest in traditional instrumentation and notation. This complex work consists of a total of 32 etudes divided into four books, which John Cage based on maps of the southern night sky. From these maps, locations of planets were selected via chance and … more info

va - earle brown contemporary sound series vol. 4 (3cd)
Catalog#: wer6937

“Wergo’s reissues of the legendary Earle Brown Contemporary Sound Series have been a big hit with fans of contemporary music around the world. Each set is a treasure-trove of works by a wide range of composers, performed by some of the finest musicians of the time. The three CDs of volume four feature string quartets by Boulez, Scelsi and Earle Brown, works for chamber orchestra by Xenakis, Aldo … more info

cuticle - mother rhythm earth memory (12inch vinyl)
Catalog#: nnf251ep

“NNF debut (after an EP on 100% SILK) by this Iowa City electronic maximalist. M.R.E.M. is the first purely solo Cuticle release, after working with a series of part-time collaborators, and it’s freed him to let loose his wildest and weirdest impulses.”

eyvind kang - visible breath (12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: soma004lp

“Eyvind Kang’s tremendous efforts on Sunn O)))’s Monoliths & Dimensions album helped elevate the group’s presence to a new level creatively and aesthetically. We were fortunate and perhaps even destined to have this crossing. During this period Kang also premiered the pair of pieces presented on side A of this album, ‘Visible Breath’ and ‘Monodology.’ I was fortunate to witness an ensemble … more info

keith kenniff - branches (cd)
Catalog#: vg002cd

A Pennsylvanian by birth, Keith Kenniff is an honors graduate of Boston’s esteemed Berklee College Of Music, best known as the brains behind dulcet ambient/electronic practitioners Helios and the fingers on the ivories of post-classical piano minimalists Goldmund (the latter’s music once described by no less an authority than Ryuichi Sakamoto as “so, so, so beautiful…”). A succession of albums … more info

mark van hoen - the revenant diary (cd)
Catalog#: emego136cd

“Don’t look back,” repeats one of several voices within Mark Van Hoen’s The Revenant Diary, his fifth solo album and first release on Editions Mego. Surrounded by weighted beats, analog synthesizer drones and granular dirt, the unidentified, siren-like female voice’s advice is as much seduction as warning. Tellingly so, for as well as being both Van Hoen’s most ambitious and his most accessible … more info

roedelius - plays piano live in london 1985 (12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: bb078lp

LP version. Breathtakingly beautiful piano fantasies from the year 1985 — released for the very first time! In 1985, Hans-Joachim Roedelius was still perceived by the music community as an electronic artist. Yet ever since acquiring his Bösendorfer grand piano in 1983, his interest had grown in the most royal of instruments: the piano. While staying with Brian Eno in 1985 (they had collaborated … more info

william fowler collins - the resurrections unseen (12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: type103lp

There are dark forces at work deep in the deserts of New Mexico. William Fowler Collins has been hard at work since his last full-length effort, but collaborations with GOG and Aaron Turner (of ISIS) haven’t deterred him from crafting this pitch-black follow up. The ingredients won’t surprise fans of ‘Perdition Hill Radio’, but on ‘The Resurrections Unseen’, Collins further damages and buries his … more info

windy & carl - we will always be (2x12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: krank163lp

The first new recordings from Windy & Carl in more than three years. Cited as “A leading light of the Michigan space-rock scene” by Allmusic, the minimalist group formed in 1993 around the core husband-and-wife duo of guitarist Carl Hultgren and bassist/singer Windy Weber. (Most of the band’s pieces feature no vocals, however.) The band was prolific from the outset up to 2001, whereupon they took … more info

windy & carl - we will always be (cd)
Catalog#: krank163cd

The first new recordings from Windy & Carl in more than three years. Cited as “A leading light of the Michigan space-rock scene” by Allmusic, the minimalist group formed in 1993 around the core husband-and-wife duo of guitarist Carl Hultgren and bassist/singer Windy Weber. (Most of the band’s pieces feature no vocals, however.) The band was prolific from the outset up to 2001, whereupon they took … more info

willamette - echo park (180g 12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: infx051lp

Gatefold stoughton tip-on style sleeve, OBI strip and 180g vinyl. “Willamette may be an unfamiliar name but its members are no newbies; a side-project by the brothers Chong, better known to ambience chasers as Northern, whose album Drawn (Infraction - INFX 024) warmed our ears back in 2007. For Willamette the brothers are joined by Joseph Edward (Automobile, Swift), with contributions by cellist, … more info

inner tube (mark mcguire + spencer clark) - self titled (12inch vinyl lp + poster)
Catalog#: pcsv017lp

Mark McGuire of Emeralds and Spencer Clark of The Skaters and Monopoly Child Star Searchers team up to form INNER TUBE on this new LP. Mark McGuire and Charles Berlitz present INNER TUBE: On the lip of the wake these classy bro’s have served up hot and toasties roasters for the ears and eyes: its the debut of Inner Tube, the project that took two heads, a lotsa boogers, and some extreme staring … more info

//THANK.YOU

Photo

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:16:00 -0500

Mark McGuire of Emeralds and Spencer Clark of The Skaters and Monopoly Child Star Searchers team up to form INNER TUBE.

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 12:01:00 -0500

Mark McGuire and Charles Berlitz present INNER TUBE:

On the lip of the wake these classy bro’s have served up hot and toasties roasters for the ears and eyes: its the debut of Inner Tube, the project that took two heads, a lotsa boogers, and some extreme staring at the SEX WAX logo! Arriving just in time for the Aussie Summer and devoted to sick beaches like Mermaids and Swami’s or Sunset Cliffs and Bondi, these two rolled taco munch crunchers studied the deepest references and private home movie eclipses to surf up 8 landscapes of hot licks both keys and strings alike! G3 wont even be allowed to jump up in line at Hodad’s, Inner Tube is TOP TOASTERS!!!!! Comes with tons of stories from both Mark and Charles plus a surprise giant fold out poster of the two stoned in front of their favorite movies! “Hey! There Goes my Hot-Pocket!!!!!!!” Order this record before you get slayed by Bodhisafa’s Choad!

Inner Tube is about the inner emotional reverie of a world where life has been seen through the tube of a wave. It’s a new band from Mark McGuire of Emeralds and Spencer Clark of The Skaters and Monopoly Child Star Searchers. Spencer has this to say about the experience: “The bliss and ecstatic power of Australian beach music has kept me in this positive mental attitude that I wanted to communicate to everyone around me. Mark and I began to be in touch, and started to really connect in our exotic fascination with Australia and its surf culture. We decided to record an album together with impressions from these private movies and their tunes. Mark travelled numerous times to Pacific City Studios so that we could make this album together(and eventually moved here). At one point, a woman visiting Hotel California who I hadn’t met before, mentioned she thought it was strange that I played so much Australian music. I told her about my fascination with Storm Riders, the sickest Australian movie of all time. She immediately told me that her Uncle had a big part in the movie. The guy’s name is Rabbit Bartholomew. He is a magical person in this Storm Riders movie and has been an inspirational to surfers everywhere. He wrote this letter to Mark and I:

Hey Spencer,

Great to get ya letter. Christel gave me a bit of insight. Really cool how you guys were talking about Storm Riders and our family connection, that’s meant to be bra. For sure, send me a demo, I’ll give ya some feedback. That’s really cool about inner tube and the beloved zone, that’s it mate, right on the money.

Best,
Rab

We then realized that we were to travel to the Gold Coast in Australia to record Inner Tube Part Deux, and play a Surf Festival put on by Rabbit Bartholomew’s sister. The story just keeps on going, so Mark and I are really stoked to have you guys check this out with us…”

//EXP.NEW | McGuire/Clark, Room40, Line, Haino/O'Rourke/Ambarchi, Schnauss, Kubin, NNF, Ferraro++

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 11:08:53 -0500

Greetings friends…. hectic and exhausting week here….

…a bit behind on everything due to the fantastic show in Akron with Mind Over Mirrors and Cleared at the RCNCave. Posted a short rough clip of Mind Over Mirror’s performance… took quite a bit more footage but most of it was corrupt for some reason unfortunately.

We also premiered a video for From The Mouth of The Sun’s Sitting in a Roofless Room by award winning film maker Carter Gunn over on our vimeo.

BTW…. If your working with video and could be interested in creating some video’s for Experimedia releases please get in touch.

Headphone Commute featured Experimedia coverage all week long with interviews, reviews, and an exclusive mix we put together which we are very excited about. Comprises completely of work from very recent and mostly forthcoming releases from a variety of labels.

We have also donated some bundles of records to the Ad Hoc Kickstarter campaign as the ex Altered Zones editors throw off the constricting Pitchfork shackles and go off on their own to create something truly independent and unrestricted.

We also shared the news of a free release by RxRy over at our Tumblr blog this week. Last year RxRy released Alpha, one of our favorite records of last year on Sweat Lodge Guru. Now RxRy is back with a fantastic free album titled DLTRA. Stream it here or download it here.

A new collective of writers launched the site A Closer Listen this week which includes a very flattering review of Woven Tide.

Some arrival updates….
From The Mouth of The Sun - Woven Tide: The CDs have started shipping but the LP is about a week behind schedule… we expect to be picking those up late next week. Apologies for the delay.
The Caretaker - Patience (for Sebald): This anticipated LP finally arrived Friday a week behind schedule and will start shipping first thing this coming week.

Some fantastic new arrivals this week. Inner Tube, a new project by Mark McGuire of Emeralds and Spencer Clark of The Skaters and Monopoly Child Star Searchers. New releases from the always fantastic and expertly curated Room40 and Line imprints. The always mesmerizing Felix Kubin’s TXRF 2xLP. New 2LP by Keiji Haino, Jim O’Rourke and Oren Ambarchi. Ulrich Schnauss and Mark Peters. An exquisite edition on Taiga by House of Low Culture. Aidan Baker’s very interesting Spectrum of Distraction project. A new LP by Ural Umbo. And much more of course.

And with all that said…. on with the new…. have a great week… and thank you as always. Brand new additions towards the top and restocks towards the bottom….

inner tube (mark mcguire + spencer clark) - self titled (12inch vinyl lp + poster)
Catalog#: pcsv017lp

Mark McGuire and Charles Berlitz present INNER TUBE: On the lip of the wake these classy bro’s have served up hot and toasties roasters for the ears and eyes: its the debut of Inner Tube, the project that took two heads, a lotsa boogers, and some extreme staring at the SEX WAX logo! Arriving just in time for the Aussie Summer and devoted to sick beaches like Mermaids and Swami’s or Sunset Cliffs … more info

craig vear - esk (cd)
Catalog#: 3l012cd

SK is a sound poem tracing the flow of the River Esk from source to sea (North Yorkshire National Park to the North Sea). It was recorded in reverse order starting at the very end of the outer harbour wall in Whitby, taking backwards steps through winter, spring and summer towards the source of the Esk upstream of Westerdale; here a series of becks known as the Esklets merge to form the river. As … more info

medroxy progesterone acetate - i am an empty house longing to be haunted (2xcassette)
Catalog#: bh031cs

Long form releases work well for Medroxy Progesterone Acetate, a project that has relocated several times from the Midwest to Oakland, and now residing in Brooklyn. Take the fried synth circuits of early Pulse Emitter, post-industrial structure, layer that into a psychedelic overload and you are starting to get at the complexity of the sounds herein. Vocal samples, and a general sense of paranoia … more info

hoor paar kraat - chorea (cassette)
Catalog#: bh041cs

Hoor Paar Kraat has been churning out quality releases for sometime, usually very limited and hand-made, containing some of the most mysterious sounds. This release starts off with a bit of a racket, a concrete assemblage of rapid-fire acoustic sounds, falling into off-kilter and violent patterns, before relaxing, but not much, for a more subdued b-side, which tends to reveal Hoor Paar Kraat’s … more info

expo 70 - where does your mind go? (cassette)
Catalog#: immune011cs

Since 2003 Justin Wright’s Expo 70 project has been pushing drone and Kosmiche Musik to new realms, creating a layered world of sound that brings the listener to alien lands and foreign terrain while maintaining a dreamlike quality with shifting melodies and moods. Constant touring and a string of critically acclaimed albums released on labels such as Kill Shaman, Beta-lactam Ring, and Peasant … more info

expo 70 - journey through astral projection (cassette)
Catalog#: immune012cs

Journey Through Astral Projection is the new Expo 70 studio album that follows the breakthrough album Where Does Your Mind Go? (Immune 011, Nov 2010) and was again recorded at Black Dirt Studios by Jason Meagher (No Neck Blues Band, D. Charles Speer & The Helix). Justin Wright’s Expo 70 project has been pushing experimental, drone and Kosmiche Musik to new realms for nearly a decade now. Constant … more info

ilyas ahmed - with endless fire (cassette)
Catalog#: immune020cs

With Endless Fire is a brand new album from Ilyas Ahmed and his third release for Immune following the instantly sold out Record Store Day split 7â€ with Steve Gunn and Between Two Skies/Towards The Night, the massive 2xLP reissue of Ahmed’s first two albums. Since 2005 Ilyas Ahmed has been blurring the folk/drone/raga/rock realms into a sound that is uniquely his own. A string of … more info

cleared - breaking day (cassette)
Catalog#: immune024cs

Nearly a year to the day since the release of their self-titled debut, Cleared now offer their second album Breaking Day. Breaking Day is the second full-length album from Cleared, the Chicago-based duo of Steven Hess and Michael Vallera. While their self-titled debut album (Immune 014, Jan 2011) found the duo exploring themes of stasis and texture, Breaking Day represents a huge development in … more info

france jobin - valence (cd)
Catalog#: line054cd

LINE is proud to present a new work by Montreal sound artist France Jobin. Having released under her moniker i8u, Valence is her first release under her own name. Created entirely from transformed field recordings, this collection of three compositions has an elegant flowing simplicity. Slow harmonic modulations of a similar essence to the works of Eliane Radigue and Celer. - Valence is inspired … more info

stephan mathieu + caro mikalef - radioland (panoramica) (cd)
Catalog#: line055cd

After 2011’s quickly sold-out edition Remain (LINE_047), Stephan Mathieu returns to LINE with a majestic new collaborative live work with Argentine artist Caro Mikalef. Radioland (Panoramica) is originally audiovisual piece commissioned by Wili Peloche and Martín Borini for Panoramica, performed live on March 11, 2011 at Espacio Fundación Telefónica Buenos Aires with a setup comprising two … more info

andrea belfi - wedge (cd)
Catalog#: rm446cd

Wege translates as ‘path’ and it’s a fitting title for the latest rendering from master percussionist and experimental composer Andrea Belfi. The albums’ four pieces act as orientation points through some imaginary sonic landscape. Wege is Belfi’s forth LP (the first with Room40), and stems entirely from compositions completed at two artist-in-residence projects in Austria (Hotel Pupik) and in … more info

erikm - transfall (cd)
Catalog#: rm449cd

eRikm’s Transfall is a document of profound gesture. A collection of works that resolve his recent explorations into music and sound for performance, dance and theatre. For almost two decades, eRikm has been a major force in contemporary musique concréte. He is a compelling improviser and forthright composer whose work taps into the central linage of sound-object oriented composition emanating … more info

james murray - floods (cd)
Catalog#: slowcraft001cd

On the flood plain where James Murray grew up, twin rivers rose each winter fed by rainfall from nearby Welsh mountains. Breaking their banks they swept over pastures and hedgerows, tore at the fabric of the land and isolated villages. In a makeshift studio on high ground, James first explored sound using scavenged instruments and homemade electronics. “Floods” is a return to that landscape, an … more info

svarte greiner / le corbeau - split (12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: fy032lp

Second release in Fysisk Format’s split series (the first featured Haust and Next Life) presents two very different but still somewhat related Norwegian artists; Svarte Greiner and Le Corbeau. All exclusive tracks and available on vinyl only.

peaking lights - 936 remixes (12inch vinyl)
Catalog#: silk014ep

“Ponies from the SILK stable turn 936 dub-a-dub lullaby groovers into full-on synth-sex, acid-bubble, twinkle-starshine dance ditties on this remix redux. Beat it with the chic vocal pitch n’ bounce and metallic/mechanic swing of Ital’s take on ‘Marshmellow Yellow.’ Bring it on baroque with Xander Harris’ Sly and Dario giallo-reggae revision of ‘Birds of Paradise.’ Innergaze hi-five the minimal … more info

keiji haino/jim o’rourke/oren ambarchi - imikuzushi (2x12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: bt007lp

Limited gatefold double LP version with printed innersleeves. “The yearly summit of Keiji Haino, Jim O’Rourke and Oren Ambarchi continues with Imikuzushi, which finds the group extending the power-trio strategies of 2011’s highly-praised In A Flash Everything Comes Together As One There Is No Need For A Subject (BT 005LP) and bringing to them a newly-sustained intensity. For this performance, … more info

ulrich schnauss & mark peters - underrated silence (12inch vinyl lp + cd)
Catalog#: bb094lp

LP version, including a free CD of the entire album. Transporting the sound of shoegazer aesthetics into an electronic context, this is how Ulrich Schnauss once described his artistic goal. Influenced by bands such as My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Cocteau Twins and Chapterhouse on the one hand, yet wholly at ease with the electronica of bands like The Orb, Bionaut, Orbital, 808 State and … more info

pantha du prince - diamond daze (cd)
Catalog#: dial005cd

The first Pantha Du Prince album from 2004, repressed. Pantha Du Prince captures the parts of a vanishing youth on this Dial debut, Diamond Daze. In a white studio behind the railways next to sweating rock bands and speeding trains divided only by white cloths is a person dreaming in grids and fragments of images, sounds, noises and feelings. Based on a past filled with British independent music … more info

felix kubin - txrf (2x12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: its008lp

2LP version. Total Reflection X-ray Fluorescence (TXRF) is a method used to analyze the surfaces of materials by firing extremely flat X-rays. Subsequently, the physicist Joachim Knoth (1941-2004) developed a patent for precise measurement of defects in semiconductor chips. In 10 sequenced-based electronic miniatures, Felix Kubin, who presently consists of dangerous uninsulated powerlines, … more info

cruise family - we’re in heaven (12inch vinyl)
Catalog#: nnf247ep

“Vinyl debut by this Viennese rave abstractionist boils down pulsing LED beats and deep synth strobe FX into a cavernous laser-streaked fog. In blinding Alex Grey-style acid-body artwork by Mr. Cruise Family himself.”

house of low culture - poisoned soil (2x12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: taiga017lp

House Of Low Culture is the long-running solo project of Aaron Turner (Isis, Mamiffer, Lotus Eaters, etc.) and Poisoned Soil is their first proper album to be released in nearly a decade. HOLC’s first release, Submarine Immersion Techniques Vol. 1, would set the tone for all that would follow. Recorded from 1997-1999, released in 2000, the album explored lonely, lysergic drone territories and the … more info

high wolf - atlas nation (12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: holy1983lp

France’s High Wolf possesses a natural-born ability to produce tones most conducive to inducing transcendental states. Prolific without wearing out his welcome, the guitarist and effects box manipulator sets loose fervid streams of fever-dream drones. High Wolf’s tracks sound as if they’ve been sluicing since the beginning of time, siphoned for teasingly brief absorption before they shimmer … more info

james ferraro - rapture adrenaline (dvd)
Catalog#: h012dvd

Originally released on a limited critically acclaimed VHS edition, this succulent reissue presents an exclusive extra, Welcome To Candyland, an interview with the author and, at the same time, an exciting voyage through some cult virtual-hyper-reality-simulacro. The OJ chase, Hollywood forever cemetery, Dr. Phil are just some ingredients of this delicious visual trippy cake. The movie Rapture … more info

susumu yokota - dreamer (cd)
Catalog#: lcd091cd

Musical styles come and go but Susumu Yokota reigns supreme in a universe of his own making. Instantly familiar and yet full of surprises, like all of Yokota’s best music Dreamer leaves the listener in a state of wonder. This is meditative music but miles away from new age wallpaper. Eastern flavors permeate many of Dreamer’s tracks, mixing with free electronic noise to create what John … more info

sachiko & rinji fukuoka - atomo (cd)
Catalog#: ma010cd

Cello, violin and electronics intertwine with the vocal drones of these OVERHANG PARTY and MAJUTSU NO NIWA veterans. Recorded live in Japan, the passionate sound and ambiance, which includes RINJI FUKUOKA’s radio waves, offers “a glimpse of unbearable reality,” while the Paris recording, made at the church Église Saint-Merri, uses solemn drone loops a la Overhang Party’s “Prayer of a … more info

kuedo - severant (cd)
Catalog#: ziq309cd

Preoccupied with notions of futurism and escapism, the debut full-length from Jamie Teasdale’s Kuedo is an album of dreamlike electronica quite different from what he made as one-half of dubstep innovators Vex’d. For Severant, Teasdale eschews many of the endless technical options available to the modern producer, rendering his tracks at a quicker pace to reveal a lighter, more truthful … more info

ital tek - gonga (12inch vinyl)
Catalog#: ziq311lp

Inspired by Planet Mu’s recent spate of footwork and mutant footwork releases, Ital Tek makes a massive shift on the Gonga EP, leaving the current ’90s-inspired retro house fad far behind. The title track is a powerful opener, rolling out weird, syncopated tabla-style drums over tough, dancehall-style rolling kicks and rising clavs, building up a huge, vertiginous rush of ascending synth … more info

aidan baker - spectrum of distraction (2cd)
Catalog#: robo098cd

Specifically designed to be played on shuffle and yield a completely unique experience each time, Aidan Baker’s audacious monsterpiece The Spectrum of Distraction takes a nod from Zappa’s technique of “xenochrony” and runs it though the digital age via the shuffle aspect of CD and MP3 players. 98 (!) tracks spanning two discs make for an incredibly varied landscape on each listen; with pieces … more info

golden calves - collection: money band + century band (2x12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: woodsist056lp

Collection gathers pre-Wooden Wand and the Vanishing Voice material from James Jackson Toth’s Golden Calves project. Originally released in 1996; reissue is limited to 1000 copies. “It was really all about The Godz, Jandek, The Shadow Ring, Strapping Fieldhands, Swell Maps and Tower Recordings. Beyond these, I had only heard the ‘classic’ and most available free jazz, krautrock and noise … more info

steven r. smith - old skete (12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: wst001lp

Eleven stark performances on hand-made electric guitar by the man also known as ULAAN KHOL, HALA STRANA and ULAAN MARKHOR, and for work with THUJA, MIRZA and Amsterdam-based clarinetist GARETH DAVIS. Absence of overdubs, loops, samples and delay pedals leaves Old Skete open and unadorned, a spare work akin to Smith’s Kohl (Jewelled Antler 2002). Edition of 500.

ural umbo - delusion of hope (12inch vinyl lp + cd)
Catalog#: urlp070lp

Ural Umbo is Reto Mäder (RM74, Sum Of R) and Steven Hess (Haptic, On, Locrian, Cleared) Limited to 300 copies on clear vinyl with full color insert and CD version of the album. With an eldritch terror that could just as easily be from another dimension as the darkest ocean comes the latest release from Ural Umbo, Delusion of Hope. Feedback and melody barely escape from the murky crevices, tinged … more info

art zoyd - symphonie pour le jour où brûleront les cités (12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: sr330lp

LP version. Sub Rosa presents this cult album that has not been available in years. Re-released with new artwork, this is the 1980 version of Symphonie Pour Le Jour Où Brûleront Les Cités (the original version was released in 1976 and was later re-recorded). Pioneering Rock In Opposition filled with clashing percussion, frenetic orchestral motifs and apocalyptic brass. Not for the squeamish. … more info

ben frost & daniel bjarnason - solaris (cd)
Catalog#: hvalur012cd

Ben Frost and Daníel Bjarnason are two composers used to shrugging off the distinction between experimental sound art and deeply-felt melodies. Frost’s vast, blackened post-industrial works often crystallize in moments of quiet beauty before disintegrating in pure visceral noise; Bjarnason’s orchestral music marries brutal modernism to classical aesthetics one moment and soaring ethereal … more info

chihei hatakeyama - mirror (cd)
Catalog#: rm445

Reflection, ricochet and reverberation - it’s these three words that summurise the character of Chihei Hatakeyama’s new edition Mirror. Drawing deeply on the earliest recorded period of Japan’s history, the Kofun era, Hatakeyama’s Mirror meditates on the importance placed on reflection during this age. The mirror was a source of great inspiration, not only as a metaphor for the sun, but also for … more info

christina vantzou - no.1 (cd)
Catalog#: krank159cd

“Christina Vantzou is an artist, musician, and composer. She was born in Kansas City, studied at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore (1997-2001) and moved to Brussels in 2003 where she currently resides. Christina is known for her work with The Dead Texan (kranky) as well as in a variety of creative mediums including video, drawing, and animation. After various collaborations and a … more info

lego feet - lego feet (cd)
Catalog#: ska001cd

Skam reissues recordings by the mythical Lego Feet, otherwise known as legendary electronic duo Autechre. This four track (cd) contains over 70 minutes of classic, mind-bending, futuristic electronic-acid-industrial-cut-up fuckery that, at the time of its release in 1991, was virtually uncategorizable. Legendary electronic duo Autechre went on to advance the most seismic paradigm shifts in the … more info

minamo - documental (cd)
Catalog#: rm443

Tokyo quartet Minamo occupy a privileged place in the Japanese music scene. They remain one of the few ensembles to consistently produce work that simultaneously refines and expands upon their existing themes and aesthetics. Their largely improvised interactions have produced a collection of recordings that benefit equally from considered listening amongst the groups members and a willingness to … more info

no ufo’s - soft coast (12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: sp011lp

Here at Spectrum Spools, one of the many missions is to make sure great, under-documented, and limited offerings get a chance to see a wider release. No UFO’s debut cassette, Soft Coast (2010, Nice Up Int’l), is surely no exception. It was said about the Swell Maps’ A Trip to Marineville that the album had been obviously crafted by true music lovers who were record collectors. It seems that … more info

oren ambarchi - audience of one (cd)
Catalog#: to083cd

Touch presents a solo album by Australian sound artist Oren Ambarchi. “Salt” was composed by Paul Duncan and Oren Ambarchi and performed by Oren Ambarchi (guitars), Paul Duncan (vocals), Elizabeth Welsh (violin) and James Rushford (viola, piano). Guitars recorded by Oren Ambarchi at Jerker House, Melbourne. Vocals recorded by Brendon Anderegg at Telescope Recordings, Brooklyn, NY. Strings and … more info

pantha du prince - this bliss (2x12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: dial009lp

2012 repress, originally released 2007; double LP version. This is DJ, producer, composer and furniture maker Hendrik Weber’s (aka Pantha Du Prince) second full-length release on Dial. Weber has always explored new worlds of sound under pseudonyms such as Panthel, Gluhen4 or as bassist of Hamburg-based group, Stella. 2006 was a fine, fine year for Pantha du Prince — his remixes for Depeche Mode … more info

pimmon - the oansome orbit (cd)
Catalog#: rm441

The Oansome Orbit is the latest work from Australia’s electronic godfather Pimmon (known to friends as Paul Gough). Over the past decade and a half, Pimmon has carved out a unique space for himself amidst through producing a series of masterfully executed excursions into abstract electronic sound. With this new edition, he strikes out at some of his most harmonic territory to date, merging … more info

scanner - timelapse/mnemosyne (cd)
Catalog#: bette008cd

This release features Scanner’s classical/electronica score to the full-length ballet for Dutch National Ballet, which premiered at Het Muziektheater on June 17th 2011, commissioned for the Holland Festival. Choreographed by Britain-born Berlin resident David Dawson, the work reflects upon the legends from Greek mythology, across a range of moods. Spooky, sexy, percussive strings resonate a … more info

steinbruchel - narrow (cd)
Catalog#: rm433

Steinbruchel’s Narrow is an album of reduction and transformation. Like much of Steinbruchel’s recorded work, the genesis of Narrow stems from a singular idea concerned with the notion of ‘static development’. Working with a limited palette of source material Narrow’s elegance is in its varying perspectives on related sonic materials. The title track is the nexus here - a somewhat more organic … more info

throbbing gristle - throbbing gristle’s greatest hits (12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: irl005lp

LP version. The newly cut 180-gram vinyl editions include painstakingly restored cover artworks, using original source material from the Industrial Records visual archive. In addition, each of the vinyl releases includes an exclusive large format 8-page color booklet featuring an abundance of Throbbing Gristle archival material, including some previously-unpublished photos of the band. Each vinyl … more info

RxRy - DLTRA (free download)

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:06:43 -0500

Last year RxRy released Alpha, one of our favorite records of last year on Sweat Lodge Guru. Now RxRy is back with a fantastic free album titled DLTRA. Download it here.

Experimedia Mix For Headphone Commute

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:35:21 -0500

Experimedia Mix For Headphone Commute:

“Along with our Experimedia Label Special currently running on Headphone Commute, we have a very special mix for you from the label! Featuring new and upcoming releases from many of our favorite and a few new labels, this 80-minute journey across ambient and experimental music is a perfect mid-week surprise! Something that’s definitely needed on this end… Hope you feel the same!”

VIDEO PREMIERE | FROM THE MOUTH OF THE SUN - SITTING IN A ROOFLESS ROOM

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 09:19:07 -0500

View the premiere of the new video by Carter Gunn for Sitting In A Roofless Room by From The Mouth of The Sun courtesy of Impose Magazine.

acloserlisten.com

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 08:45:44 -0500

New writer collective site acloserlisten.com launches today including a review of From The Mouth of The Sun’s debut album on Experimedia, Woven Tide.

Experimedia Donates 6x6 Record Bundles to Ad Hoc Kickstarter Campaign

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:45:00 -0500

“Bring music back to the community. Help us build our new home.” - Ad Hoc Kickstarter campaign

This is the mission statement of Ad Hoc, the new truly independent community based music news venture by the ex the editors of Pitchfork experimental sister site Altered Zones, Emilie Friedlander and Ric Leichtung.

To help Ad Hoc get over 50 top independent labels and dozens of artists are donating work to the Ad Hoc Kickstarter campaign.

Experimedia is donating 6x6 bundles. That is 6 bundles containing 6 pieces of vinyl each for the small pledge of $50. The bundles in order of pledge made are listed below…. many including OOP editions from the Experimedia vaults. Head over to the Ad Hoc Kickstarter campaign to make your pledge and request your Experimedia bundle… or choose from bundles from over 50 other fine labels. You can find out more about the titles we are offering by visiting our label’s homepage.

Experimedia Bundle #1
From The Mouth of The Sun - Woven Tide (CD/LP/Poster Bundle)
Lawrence English - The Peregrine (LP - OOP Clear Vinyl Edition With Insert)
Keith Freund - Constant Comments (LP - OOP Green Edition)
Jannick Schou - Act of Shimmering (LP - OOP Blue Edition)
Black Swan - The Quiet Divide (LP - OOP Red Edition)
Dolphins Into The Future / Floris Vanhoof - Split (7inch)

Experimedia Bundle #2
From The Mouth of The Sun - Woven Tide (CD/LP/Poster Bundle)
Lawrence English - The Peregrine (LP - OOP Clear Vinyl Edition With Insert)
Keith Freund - Constant Comments (LP - OOP Green Edition)
Jannick Schou - Act of Shimmering (LP - OOP Blue Edition)
Black Swan - The Quiet Divide (LP - OOP Red Edition)
Dolphins Into The Future / Floris Vanhoof - Split (7inch)

Experimedia Bundle #3
From The Mouth of The Sun - Woven Tide (CD/LP/Poster Bundle)
Lawrence English - The Peregrine (LP)
Keith Freund - Constant Comments (LP - OOP Green Edition)
Jannick Schou - Act of Shimmering (LP - OOP Blue Edition)
Black Swan - The Quiet Divide (LP - OOP Red Edition)
Dolphins Into The Future / Floris Vanhoof - Split (7inch)

Experimedia Bundle #4
Lawrence English - The Peregrine (LP)
Black Swan - The Quiet Divide (LP)
Black Swan - In 8 Movements (LP)
Piiptsjilling - Wurdskrieme (LP)
Charles-Eric Charrier - Silver (LP)
Dolphins Into The Future / Floris Vanhoof - Split (7inch)

Experimedia Bundle #5
Black Swan - The Quiet Divide (LP)
Lüüp - Meadow Rituals (LP)
Piiptsjilling - Wurdskrieme (LP)
Jannick Schou - Act of Shimmering (LP)
Aaron Martin - Worried About The Fire (LP)
Dolphins Into The Future / Floris Vanhoof - Split (7inch)

Experimedia Bundle #6
Black Swan - In 8 Movements (LP)
Lüüp - Meadow Rituals (LP)
Piiptsjilling - Wurdskrieme (LP)
Charles-Eric Charrier - Silver (LP)
Aaron Martin - Worried About The Fire (LP)
Dolphins Into The Future / Floris Vanhoof - Split (7inch)

More about Ad Hoc -

“Following a solid run as the editors of Pitchfork experimental sister site Altered Zones, Emilie Friedlander and Ric Leichtung are back with Ad Hoc, an underground music and visual culture publication created for and by a community of music lovers with a shared ethos: that of building the world you want to see using the materials at your disposal. A collective of ten tastemaking music blogs from all over the world, Ad Hoc is a daily destination for MP3s, videos, mixes, interviews, artist’s writings, and cultural commentary— curated for quality, and with an emphasis on emerging artists and musical movements that best exemplify the new grassroots, Internet-fueled DIY.

Ad Hoc is also a quarterly zine— available in electronic and paper formats, and full of original art work and long-form features. Resurrecting the curatorial logic of zine culture, Ad Hoc will paint a dynamic, living landscape of the underground music world at large, setting the reflections of professional journalists and critics alongside artists, promoters, and other music-world personalities. Ad Hoc is a mosaic of voices, each offering its own partial illumination of underground music today, and what it means to navigate a rapidly changing industry in the era of information.”

Woven Tide Review and Interview at Headphone Commute

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:52:34 -0500

Woven Tide Review and Interview at Headphone Commute:

Headphone Commute has kicked off a week of Experimedia features, reviews, interviews, mixes, and more with a review and interview with From The Mouth of The Sun’s Dag Rosenqvist and Aaron Martin.

Woven Tide album of the month | review & spotlight at Textura

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:50:46 -0500

Woven Tide album of the month | review & spotlight at Textura :

Woven Tide by From The Mouth of The Sun on Experimedia has been named an album of the month by Textura.org and have put together a review and feature spotlight.

//EXP.NEW | Perispirit, Demdike Stare, Windy & Carl, Celestino, Keith Kennif, Oren Ambarchi++

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 20:11:00 -0500

Greetings friends. Hope you are all great. After last weeks long winded newsletter I am going to keep this one brief and pretty much to the point. *Applause*

Event…
Just a brief note for the locals regarding a fantastic show in Akron next week I am very proud to be a part of.
Live performances by Cleared (Steven Hess & Michael Vallera) - Immune, Mind Over Mirrors - Digitalis, Dreaded , and Jeremy Bible.
Starts 8pm at the CAVE - 68 W. Exchange St, Akron, OH 44308 - Full event details here.

A few highlights….
celestino - protector’ s tea - This is one album in particular I really wanted to bring your attention to as I have been personally enjoying this immensely.
perispirit - spiritual church movement (12inch vinyl lp) - absolutely mind bending stuff here!!

And thats that…. on with the new… latest arrivals towards the top half and restocks towards the bottom.

demdike stare - elemental part 3: rose (12inch vinyl)
Catalog#: love075ep

Part three in this 4-part set. This 12” slots into the Elemental quad-gatefold which came with parts 1 & 2 (LOVE 073_074LP). The 2CD album Elemental features a different tracklisting with alternate versions of some of these vinyl tracks plus extra content. Mastered and cut by Lupo at Dubplates & Mastering, pressed on colored vinyl and limited to 1,000 copies for the world. Featuring … more info

ben frost & daniel bjarnason - solaris (12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: hvalur012lp

LP version. Ben Frost and Daníel Bjarnason are two composers used to shrugging off the distinction between experimental sound art and deeply-felt melodies. Frost’s vast, blackened post-industrial works often crystallize in moments of quiet beauty before disintegrating in pure visceral noise; Bjarnason’s orchestral music marries brutal modernism to classical aesthetics one moment and soaring … more info

perispirit - spiritual church movement (12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: digi038lp

Perispirit is the duo of Ricardo Donoso and Luke Moldof and they have been haunting the Northeast of the United States for a couple of years now. After a slew of releases on Prurient’s Hospital Productions label and Ricardo’s own Semata Productions, Spiritual Church Movement has Perispirit taking an unexpected turn as they unleash their most cohesive and accomplished work to date. Spiritual … more info

mind over mirrors - small portion (cassette)
Catalog#: digiltd230cs

i couldn’t be happier about mind over mirrors return to digitalis with this brief glimpse of what is coming next. “small portion” picks up where “the voice rolling” left off, but finds jaime fennelly harvesting new ground with new ideas. “barely spun (again)” is the perfect segue into this step forward into the bluest of skies. using positive pipe organ, electronics, and tape to weave each … more info

celestino - protectors tea (cd)
Catalog#: lad001cd

Protector’s Tea is the debut solo lp from thirty-year-old Gabe Celestino, a native of the Olympic Peninsula. Despite being largely recorded in isolation over the last year with minimal gear in the drab, alienating confines of an apartment building located in the midst of an industrial zone on the outskirts of Seoul, South Korea, Celestino was nevertheless able to re-imagine his dreary living … more info

celestino - protectors tea (12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: lad001lp

Protector’s Tea is the debut solo lp from thirty-year-old Gabe Celestino, a native of the Olympic Peninsula. Despite being largely recorded in isolation over the last year with minimal gear in the drab, alienating confines of an apartment building located in the midst of an industrial zone on the outskirts of Seoul, South Korea, Celestino was nevertheless able to re-imagine his dreary living … more info

emphemetry - a lullaby hum for tired streets (cd)
Catalog#: trs004cd

glass-mastered CD housed in a hand-numbered card case with 8-page hand-sewn booklet, housed in a plastic slipcase. “The new album from Emphemetry features ambient swells of guitars, intimate folk songs, a string quartet, strange sounds, tape delay, reverse loops, pianos, and a haunted acappella quintet. Derby is a small city in the middle of England. About three-hundred thousand people live … more info

emphemetry - a lullaby hum for tired streets (12 inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: trs004lp

Mastered for vinyl by Nils Frahm. Cut and pressed in Berlin, Germany. Comes with 10”x10” lyric sheet/full width image. “The new album from Emphemetry features ambient swells of guitars, intimate folk songs, a string quartet, strange sounds, tape delay, reverse loops, pianos, and a haunted acappella quintet. Derby is a small city in the middle of England. About three-hundred thousand people live … more info

lars leonhard - 1549 (cd)
Catalog#: bine026cd

This is Lars Leonhard’s full-length debut album 1549. Its name derives from U.S. Airways Flight 1549 which was ditched in the Hudson River after a bird strike about three minutes into the flight in January 2009. The overall theme runs like a common thread through the album, with Leonard mostly working with warm, deep pads and minimal sound effects. And as nature sets the agenda, hammering basses … more info

c joynes - congo (12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: weavil046lp

LP version. Continuing further into the territories of domesticated English voudou sketched out by 2009’s Revenants, Prodigies & The Restless Dead (WEAVIL 039CD), UK guitarist C Joynes’ Congo is dominated by notions of landscape, imagination and personal ritual. However, while elements of introspection and intensity do appear, the mood is one of simple, uplifting joy. Warm, woody sounds and … more info

splashgirl - pressure (12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: hubro3509lp

LP version. Splashgirl is one of the most exciting young instrumental bands to come out of Norway in recent years. With Pressure, their third album and certainly their strongest to date, the band is taking yet another giant step forward. Here, the musicians are opening the doors to several new musical rooms — to the dark, dank cellar as well as to the attic — where all their forgotten memories … more info

j.r.plankton - neon (12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: kk065lp

LP version. Karaoke Kalk introduces another exciting new artist to their roster. J.R.Plankton is a collaborative project by Jens Strüver and Robert Ohm. Strüver also manages the M=minimal label. His first collaboration with studio-nerd and multi-instrumentalist Robert Ohm was an hour-long radio-play/sound collage about the legendary composer Moondog, repeatedly broadcasted on German radio … more info

partial arts - trauermusik (12inch vinyl)
Catalog#: kom149ep

Ewan Pearson and Al Usher’s “Trauermusik” could be heralded as the definitive emo-techno/house track of our time. Never melancholic, but sublimely sophisticated and deep, Partial Arts keep it slow and sexy throughout this massively produced, pop-bred ditty. Techno’s acid drill team Alter Ego turn it inside-out, reshaping a ragga-esque rhythm into a 4/4 bass line, then nodding their hats to the … more info

various - pop ambient 2012 (cd)
Catalog#: komp096cd

Pop Ambient 2012 begins in an unusually new but nevertheless somehow familiar fashion. Mohn with “Manifesto” is the opening act. A manifest of slowness. A slowness that Jörg Burger and Wolfgang Voigt have taken up as a new mission. Mohn is their new ambient-grunge-downbeat project, scheduled to depart on its official musical journey to Middle Earth early 2012. What follows is equally surprising: … more info

matthew welch and craig colorusso - rusted breath quiet hands (cd)
Catalog#: muud002cd

The two met in a green room somewhere in NY. Colorusso was in awe of Welch’s hair. They immediately hit it off, a few hours later they argued over who was the bigger Morton Feldman fan. Welch won as he pulled a photo of Feldman from his wallet. Colorusso didn’t even have a wallet. A few years later the duo recorded these two pieces in a basement in Connecticut.

craig colorusso - sun boxes (7inch vinyl + download)
Catalog#: muud004sv

Sun Boxes is a solar powered sound installation this record has two 5 minute field recordings on colored vinyl. The two pieces on this record were recorded in Massachusetts by Filmmaker Kevin Belli. “Grassy Field” is from Maudslay State Park, Newburyport, MA in September 2010. And “Frozen Pond” is from Long Pond, Plymouth MA in 2011. This is just the beginning. www.sun-boxes.com

anthony braxton & the three rivers tri-centric ensemble - ensemble (pittsburgh) 2008 (12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: sss060lp

Performance of Anthony Braxton piece by 12 Pittsburgh musicians, conducted by Braxton himself (who also plays soprano sax) when he spent a weekend in Pittsburgh in ‘08. Also includes an inserted bonus CDR of another Braxton piece (also conducted by him) performed by the CAPA High School New Music ensemble, Antithesis.

dean cercone - 20010 (12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: sss59lp

Dean is a local Pittsburgh area musician who is equally gifted as painter and musician. Somewhat of a wunderkind, he appeared at Garfield Artworks six years ago at the age of 15, playing his solo Devendra-esque freak-folk songs during his uncle’s art opening. Over the next few years - Dean’s now 21 - he’s grown into a prolific visual artist, having shown a lot of his works all over town, and … more info

nurse with wound/graham bowers - rupture (cd)
Catalog#: dprom093cd

This CD is the first collaboration of Steven Stapleton’s Nurse With Wound and composer/sculptor Graham Bowers. It is, without doubt, one of the best things United Dirter has ever released. It’s an extremely unnerving, but also hauntingly moving listening experience. The work is an attempt to create a musical illustration of the “goings-on” in the brain during the last hour and three minutes of … more info

a winged victory for the sullen - a winged victory for the sullen (12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: krank157lp

“A Winged Victory for the Sullen is the first installment of the new collaboration between Stars of the Lid member Adam Wiltzie and composer Dustin O’Halloran. The duo agreed to leave their normal home studio comfort zone and develop the recordings with the help of large acoustic spaces, and to hunt down a selection of 9ft grand pianos that had the ability to deliver extreme sonic low end. Other … more info

a winged victory for the sullen - a winged victory for the sullen (cd)
Catalog#: krank157cd

“A Winged Victory for the Sullen is the first installment of the new collaboration between Stars of the Lid member Adam Wiltzie and composer Dustin O’Halloran. The duo agreed to leave their normal home studio comfort zone and develop the recordings with the help of large acoustic spaces, and to hunt down a selection of 9ft grand pianos that had the ability to deliver extreme sonic low end. Other … more info

alog - unemployed (cd)
Catalog#: rcd2116cd

Alog’s fifth album was recorded in a wide range of spaces and places — from recordings of Dag-Are Haugan and Espen Sommer Eide as street musicians in San Francisco while touring, to scavenging old collections of 78 rpm records in the mining town of Bjørnevatn in the far northeastern part of Norway. From on-the-spot recordings of Sigbjørn Apeland’s legendary collection of vintage harmoniums in … more info

belong - common era (cd)
Catalog#: krank155cd

It’s been five years since the last Belong long player, as the duo works slowly to organize their sound works. Both the time invested, and the wait, have been well rewarded with this return. Common Era shows extraordinary progression from that first album of dense, scorched earth instrumentals, hints of a new direction having been revealed on the Colorloss Record EP from 2008 which contained … more info

fennesz sakamoto - flumina (2cd)
Catalog#: tone046cd

Flumina is the third collaboration between legendary composers Ryuichi Sakamoto and Christian Fennesz. The 24 pieces of Flumina are based on piano compositions/improvisations which Ryuichi Sakamoto had recorded whilst touring in Japan. On that tour Ryuichi played a piano piece in a different key at the begin of every show, always having a Fennesz Sakomoto project in mind. After 24 shows he had 24 … more info

mark van hoen - the revenant diary (2x12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: emego136lp

2LP version. “Don’t look back,” repeats one of several voices within Mark Van Hoen’s The Revenant Diary, his fifth solo album and first release on Editions Mego. Surrounded by weighted beats, analog synthesizer drones and granular dirt, the unidentified, siren-like female voice’s advice is as much seduction as warning. Tellingly so, for as well as being both Van Hoen’s most ambitious and his most … more info

mind over mirrors - the voice rolling (12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: digi008lp

Mind Over Mirrors might not be a household name, but the brain behind the project, Jaime Fennelly, has been involved in numerous acclaimed and respected projects over the last few years. Primarily known for his work as an integral member of Peeesseye, he’s also involved with Acid Birds, Manpack Variant and Phantom Limb & Bison. The Voice Rolling is his first solo record in five years and the … more info

tim hecker - dropped pianos (12inch vinyl lp)
Catalog#: krank161lp

LP version. “This Tim Hecker release is composed of sketch pieces recorded in 2010 in preparation for what would become the Ravedeath, 1972 album. All of the compositions are piano driven and minimal in nature. This is not a new Tim Hecker album, but rather a peek behind the curtains into the working process. That these pieces stand on their own as compelling soundworks is a testament to the fact … more info

tyme. x tujiko - gyu (cd)
Catalog#: emego139cd

Tujiko Noriko returns to Editions Mego after a period of relative silence, this time in collaboration with Tyme. (aka Tatsuya Yamada, member of MAS). This album was developed from songs that the duo made once a year at the end and beginning of the new year, for a period of six years. These were sent to friends and people who asked. After six years, there were six tracks and they added five more … more info

radere - ill make you quiet (download)
Catalog#: fs001dg

The iconic rock formations of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains are home to experimental artist Carl Ritger. A far cry from his hometown of Philadelphia, their impressively cinematic yet naturally rugged presence has exerted an influence on the artist in the relatively short time he has lived there. His fourth full-length album as Radere, I’ll Make You Quiet, narrates the scission of emotion generated … more info

artist - title – (album / label) 01 The Caretaker - All...

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 10:16:50 -0500

artist - title – (album / label)

01 The Caretaker - All You’re Going To Want To Do Is (from the album “An Empty Bliss Beyond This World”)[History Always Favours The Winner]
02 Ricardo Donoso - The Deck Of An Ancient Ship (from the album “Progress Chance”)[Digitalis]
03 Oliveray - Piano In The Pond (from the album “Wonders”)[Cote Labo]
04 Dome - Dasz (from the collectors box “1 - 4 + 5”)[Editions Mego]
05 Ursula Bogner - Or Dor Melanor (from the album “Sonne=Blackbox”)[Faitiche]
06 Kammerflimmer Kollektief - A Different Carmic Thermal (from the album “Teufelskamin”)[Staubgold]
07 Keith Freund - Deep Shit Sunburn (from the album “Constant Comments”)[Experimedia]
08 Raleigh Moncrief - Lament For Morning (from the album “Watered Lawn”)[Anticon]
09 RxRy - A2 Scatter Phase Elipsis Beam (from the album “Alpha”)[SweatLodgeGuru]
10 Maria Minerva - Pirate’s Tale (from the album “Cabaret Cixous”)[Not Not Fun]
11 Future Islands - Give Us The Wind (from the album “On The Water”)[Thrill Jockey]
12 Chris Watson - El Divisadero (from the album “El Tren Fantasma”)[Touch Music]
13 Benoit Honore Pioulard - Malick (from the album “Plays Thelma”)[Desire Path Recordings]
14 Niobe - Stop! You Send For Me (from the album “The Cclose Calll”)[Tomlab]
15 Swod - Hellerau (from the album “Drei”)[City Centre Offices]
16 Oneohtrix Point Never - Sleep Dealer (from the album “Replica”)[Software]
17 Tearjerker - Strangers (from the album “Strangers”)[SweatLodgeGuru]
18 Outro by Steve Hauschildt - Polyhymnia (from the album “Tragedy & Geometry”)[Kranky]

compiled by Matthias Neuefeind for www.anost.net in January 2012

In depth interview with Aaron Martin and Dag Rosenqvist about their new album From The Mouth of the Sun - Woven Tide

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 10:27:59 -0500

In depth interview with Aaron Martin and Dag Rosenqvist about their new album From The Mouth of the Sun - Woven Tide

Optic Echo – Best Vinyl of 2011headphonecommute.com For this...

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 08:32:58 -0500

Optic Echo – Best Vinyl of 2011
headphonecommute.com

For this vinyl only mix, Mike Jedlicka of Optic Echo selects over 90 minutes of his favorite releases on wax for this Best Vinyl of 2011 journey. Full of incredible ambient soundscapes and modern classical marvels, Jedlic…