The Divine
""the divine" marks the second phase in the trilogy proposed by john twells aka xela. crawling out of a castle dungeon in pursuit of its predecessor, "the illuminated", this lp finds itself trapped in an abandoned church somewhere in a damp southern wilderness. church bells chime and rattle through the record's first piece, echoing and distorting through a fog of chattering voices and prayers. tape loops stumble over tape loops and the solemn, ecclesiastical drone slowly decomposes into thick, c…
Tryptych
Lavish 3CD set (23 tracks/160 minutes long) housed in a triple panel Digifile - bringing together three albums previously only available on vinyl, plus an extra 40 minutes of bonus material recorded during the same sessions - completely exclusive to this release* Demdike Stare is a project made up of two insatiable vinyl collectors based in the north of England: Sean Canty (who works for the esteemed Finders Keepers label) and Miles Whittaker (a longtime producer and DJ who has released m…
IIron
4 panel CD digipack: it would be too easy to simply call IIRON the COH metal album, as it goes way beyond that. True, this album of classic Pavlov stompers contains more than its fair share of guitars both acoustic and electric, yet it still maintains that sense of power and purpose through electronic music which stands out as the COH ‘raison d’être’. Coming 11 years after IRON, which also tackled the sound of rock with alarming results, the new album features not only recent guitar tracks recor…
Triptyque de l’oeil
This album, Yôko Higashi's fifth as hamaYôko, features a triptych of pipe organ improvisations recorded at St Augustin's Church in Croix Rousse, Lyon. Higashi likens these tracks to a 'an old painting of a foggy landscape'. They are augmented by two silent passages and a fourth track, Panthere d'Erebos. Edition of 300 copies.
zephyrus
Squim, aka chris phillips, is an obsessive recordist living in portland, oregon. in the '90s, he was very active in the underground mail art and tape trading scene -- running the circle x label out of salt lake city and releasing several well-received cassettes on the bobby j. label. this album will be his debut on the vinyl format and was chosen as being the standout from among a half dozen other unreleased albums of recent recordings. on zephyrus, squim blends repeating melodic motifs with…
above the law
above the law is a 1988 action film directed by andrew zachariah davis, probably best-known for being the film debut of steven seagal. this tribute album features the full sky juice rock band lineup of s.j. jackson, s.j. jones, stoney freeman, & zac davis and was recorded between 2004 and 2008 in various ohio / michigan / massachusetts basements. except for "electric engram" which is excerpted from an infamous/aborted live radio broadcast on chicago's legendary dance station wgci.
Flashback Repository
Remastered issue of an obscure tape from the mysterious outer limits collective (wingdings / explorers / matrix metals / foxy baby / yoga / 90210 / etc). limited to 425 copies in pro-printed duo-tone sleeves with a 5-page essay booklet.Flashback Repository is a storehouse of collective waste consciousness from all beings of the universe, i.e. all unfiltered myth & material of the human/alien/animal mind, laying dormant in a hidden dimension resembling a disposal area or transfer station somewher…
Two lakes
In April 2010 12k recording artist Seaworthy (the recording project of Cameron Webb) and Matt Rösner travelled to the south coast of New South Wales to undertake a detailed field recording study of two coastal lake ecosystems at the Lakes Meroo and Termeil. The aim of the project was to explore the sounds of a fragile coastal Australian environment and to build from those sounds unique musical pieces that provide a place for listener contemplation and reflection.Field recordings were taken from …
Our house is on the wall
Our House Is On The Wall is the debut release from Swedish duo Murralin Lane. While the project is new, Murralin Lane’s David Wenngren is no stranger to the scene. Recording solo as Library Tapes for Kning Disk and Home Normal he has established a loyal following with his piano-based experimentalism where he puts texture, distance and longing to good effect in its melodic, grainy ambiance. Murralin Lane is Wenngren’s latest project which was formed in 2009 when he paired up with partner Ylva Wik…
Tapes 81-89
A sumptuous 5-CD box-set covering the entire discography of the cult Absolute Body Control band. Influenced by bands from the German and UK electronic scene, Dirk Ivens (synths & voice) formed the band early 1980, and was joined by Mark de Jonghe (synths) and Veerle de Schepper (backing vocals). After a first track on a compilation and a first 7" single (Is there an exit?), Mark leaves the band and Eric van Wonterghem (who was in fact a spectator at the first ABC concert), filled in the gap…
Shoals
Almost 3 years have passed since the release of Northern, Taylor Deupree’s last proper full-length album on 12k. For Deupree, Northern was a particularly personal work, with the added pressure of following up what many considered to be his seminal album, Stil. By many accounts, Northern was even more widely praised than its predecessor and set Deupree on a path of a more tactile organic sound. Since Northern, Deupree has released a number of short solo works: Sea Last (12k2011), 1am (12k2004), a…
In light
Four years after the release of their debut album Outflow, Japan’s Small Color, a duo comprised of Rie Yoshihara (aka Trico!) (accordion, voice, vintage keyboard instruments) and Yusuke Onishi (guitar, banjo, bass, programming and production) are back with the beautifully polished In Light. This album marks what some may consider a departure for 12k: sublime and gentle, minimal, acoustic J-pop, which once may have been destined for the now-defunct Happy label, but can now sit comfortably beside …
Box music
Rutger and Stephen sort of accidentally met through e-mail. A simple note regarding an ordering question for a CD led to an enthusiastic e-mail conversation and climaxed in a musical collaboration. This all happened in a very short period, both musicians being very inspired by the concept of “exchange,” as a means to cross space and time -- Rutger living in the Netherlands and Stephen in Virginia.
Most of the time, when (electronic) musicians work together it’s a matter of swapping digital files…
Ocean fire
Christopher Willits and Ryuichi Sakamoto’s new release, Ocean Fire, is a sublime soundtrack for the ocean. It is an intense and stirring wash of cascading tones and textured harmony. Willits + Sakamoto surprise with rare form in this collaboration, creating a sound world unlike anything they have produced previously. Each artist has gently pulled the other into new sonic territory. Sakamoto’s gorgeous processed piano sound reflects Willits’ beautiful shimmering clusters of notes, a new aspect of…
Volume objects
In the desire to make recorded sound as tactile as possible Autistici (UK), recently featured on 12k’s Blueprints compilation (12k1039), has sculpted found objects, broken acoustic instruments, synthesizers and environmental recordings into Volume Objects. Expertly realized and designed, Volume Objects is loose and organic and demands careful listening. Melody and form are hinted at and then in a whisper, a crackle, are gone. A sense of narrative and place created as if a hundred tiny objects ar…
For Myria
On his cd debut, UK sound artist Jodi Cave creates seven short compositions united by themes of singularity and natural randomness. One of the most immediate features of For Myria is its restrained sound palette. Like an instrumentalist who has laid a small collection of choice instruments out in front of him, Cave creates beautifully intimate collages, each touching on maybe only 2 or 3 sounds, woven together by computer processing which has been pushed into the background, utilized more as a c…
Drape
12k kicks off its 11th year with a new release that takes the label down new sonic pathways. Caught between the organic and electronic minimalism that 12k is known for and the unconventional Japanese pop musings and songwriting style of Happy, Moskitoo’s Drape is an infectously strange, bleepy, and dreamy debut release.Sanae Yamasaki (Moskitoo) hails from Sappporo, Japan in the country’s northern-most prefecture of Hokkaido. Perhaps a reaction to the cool climate of her home, her multi-instrumen…
Map in hand
Seaworthy, a three piece collective based in Sydney, Australia that revolves around core member Cameron Webb as well as Sam Shinazzi and Greg Bird, was formed in early 2000 to explore melodic and experimental approaches to the construction of minimalist sound scapes from looped guitar, warm drones, piano, electronics and field recordings.Map In Hand often blurs the lines of conventional categorisation with elements traditionally considered part of “indie” or “post” rock blended with processed mu…
Blueprints
Over the past 10 years 12k has established itself as a label on the forefront of minimalist music and has become home to some of the most important artists of the genre. It is label that time and time again has not been afraid to release debut albums from new artists, drawing on the new energy they interject into both the scene and the label.With the release of Blueprints, 12k presents 2 tracks each from 6 artists new to its roster and showcases some of the new sounds and influences that will ca…
Letter of sounds
Following the release of his work as part of the electro-acoustic quartet Minamo on 12k (12k1031, 2005) and the proto-pop outing under his new moniker Filfla (Plop, 2005), Fourcolor (Keiichi Sugimoto) is back with his second release on 12k, Letter of Sounds. His previous work, Air Curtain (12k1029) was a critical success selling out the first pressing in little over one month.On Air Curtain, Fourcolor explored new directions, building upon delicate, implied rhythmic structures moving away from t…