Ribbons Of Dust
In La Monte Young's formulation, drone music is built on the idea of vertical composition, moving away from developmental form towards "Vertical Hearing". The danger, of course, is that layers will be substituted for composition, resulting in dissonant monolithic roars. These have their place, but tread an easy route to some ambiguous transcendence. On the four extended meditations for guitar and electronics here, Alex Cobb chooses no such route. Instead, patience and focus help him build up vas…
The Uses of Infinity
The lonesome banjo picker returns! Recorded in one take in a de-sanctified century old cathedral in Northern Minnesota, The Uses of Infinity is a 6 part cosmic hobo’s dream suite for 23 string banjo. Cast in the drifting nebula of the whole tone scale, Paul Metzger plucks, picks, bows and spins his way through a 40 minute odyssey making for his most ambitious and adventurous musical trip to date
Traba
"Following the blurry shoegaze ambience of his revelatory 'Navigare' LP for Miasmah, former Slowdive drummer Simon Scott applies his melancholy treatments to four tracks of widescreen, textured ambience for Chicago's Immune label. 'Traba' is distinguished from his debut by a swirling aquatic theme embedded in the titles and the nautical nature of the recordings. The mass of 'She Came From The Sea' is flooded with slow moving currents of darkness while at the surface we can hear lighter, m…
Tidings / Amethyst Waves
Mark McGuire has been a member of triadic mega-unit Emeralds since their inception. Besides contributing to their ever growing catalogue, he's also worked with Daniel "Oneohtrix Point Never" Lopatin as Skyramp and a prolific number of other solo projects. His most recent album for Weird Forest (originally released on Cassette by the Wagon label) has been hailed as his most definitive to date, crossing astral lines and psychedelic boundaries between noise squalls, lush-out synth washes and …
S/T
"2 psyched-out sides from the collaboration between mighty Aliens and Norways own answer to Hall & Oates - Bjerga/Iversen. These sides are boiled down from about 2+ hours worth of material recorded last summer in the stunning alpine village of Luserna San Giovanni, just outside of Torino, Italy.Space electronics, weightless freestyle strings, buzzing voices from the outer heliospheres and garbled and warped messages from the great beyond handed down on recycled trashcan tapes.... celestial harmo…
Photoelectric Season
After a period of mystic retreat in a remote region of the Western Alps, MCIAA return with a brand new double album, one of their most innovative and mysterious to date. During six months of physical and psychic isolation, the Opalio brothers's unique plays have been Giacinto Scelsi, Erik Satie and Maki Asakawa, while they have chosen as their sole mates writers August Strindberg and Isidore Ducasse compte de Lautréamont. Few words can de…
The Hexagram on Grace
Third soloist album by Roberto Opalio (My Cat Is An Alien, Painting Petals On Planet Ghost, Praxinoscope). During the same period of self isolation in the Westrn Alps that brought to life MCIAA's 'Photoelectric Season' double album, Roberto conceived the creation of his new full-lenght album, inspired by the mystic aura of the nature surrounding himself. Focusing himself on his peculiar wordless vocalizations, and using simply a mini-key…
Black Shadows from Jupiter, Vol. I & II
Double CD featuring the previously unreleased 'stereo version' of Volume One, plus an entire second disc of new material presented here as Volume Two. 'Black Shadows from Jupiter, Volume I' was indeed issued in 2005 as one of the legendary and ultra-rare, private vinyl editions by Opalio brothers' own Opax Records imprint, pressed in 120 copies in 'Monalien Fidelity' - a clear reference/tribute to ESP's incredible 'monaural' sound record…
Memphistophelis
Another inspired selection from the Tapeworm label, this time making use of some longstanding connections to Terre Thaemlitz aka DJ Sprinkles* Chugga are an immediately interesting proposition: two air conditioner repair school flunkies with a crazy homemade subbass device and a thing for slack, heat-hazed deep south funk and disco with a dub pressure. The pair of Lester Fuero and Jeff Haines hail from Memphis and made this sly tribute to their city 'Memphistophelis' in 1996, gleaning eleven tra…
Raw Fall
Fans of Daniel Menche, or for that matter the Editions Mego label in general, will no doubt already be aware of the Portland artist's interest in the ferocious sounds made by waterfalls. Last year's 'Katarakt' was constructed from a number of waterfall field recordings made around the pacific Northwest of the USA, and while the end product featured some heavy-duty processing, this new Tapeworm edition gives us an insight into the unconditioned sonic profile of these natural forces. Each side s…
Spliced
Live at the The Museum of Garden History, London, 8 May 2009. Keyboards: Marcus Davidson. Record players, editing & overdubbed bass: Philip Jeck. Philip Jeck studied visual art at Dartington College of Arts. He started working with record players and electronics in the early '80's and has made soundtracks and toured with many dance and theatre companies as we as well as his solo concert work. His best kown work "Vinyl Requiem" (with Lol Sargent): a performance for 180 '50's/'60's record players …
Incongruous Harmonies
These pieces were composed for Circa's Regarding the Joy of Others. Recorded and produced at 158, Brisbane, 09/09-01/10. Lawrence English is media artist, composer and curator based in Australia. Working across an eclectic array of aesthetic investigations, English's work prompts questions of field, perception and memory. He utilises a variety of mediums including live performance, audio/visual environments, found sound/vision to create his work that typifies his interests in creating exp…
Permafrost
Vinyl release. Permafrost was originally issued in 1993 and marked the conclusion of Thomas Köner's epic and influential trilogy which included Nunatak (TYPE 069LP) and Teimo (TYPE 070LP). Darker and even more subdued and minimal than its predecessors, Permafrost was the album which saw Köner truly strip the sound back to the bare essentials; gone were the hints of harmony found in Teimo and the discernable gong sounds of Nunatak. All that remained were the deep, shadowy resonances, room…
Teimo
The gorgeous second album from dark ambient pioneer Thomas Köner. Originally released in 1992 and never previously available on vinyl, Teimo is probably the most "tuneful" of Köner's legendary triptych (Nunatak, Teimo and Permafrost). The submerged drones that became his signature are tempered slightly on this album, to give a hallowed, mournful edge which has been echoed on so much of today's darker ambient music. Indeed, at times throughout this cavernous album, there are hints at someth…
Nunatak
The Type label reissues German music producer Thomas Köner's debut album, the first in a set of three, on vinyl for the very first time. Originally introduced to the world in 1990, Nunatak (then named Nunatak Gongamur) was shockingly ahead of its time, and it is hard to believe that it has been out of print and difficult to obtain for so long. Köner created the album with mood in mind; he has since been described as a "media" artist, and it's easy to see why. While the music can be descri…
Conjurer
"This is a must-buy for everyone this summer. 10/10 - Foxy Digitalis", finally out the CD version. This finds the duo finally documenting something that is a bit closer to their very heavy live sets, w/ expanding peaks of white light distortion & enormous valleys of bottom end. Opens w/ a brief funeral dirge to set the mood, a precession of bare bones drum beats & bell like guitar statements that bridge the gap to the wider open spaces of "Across The Desert Of Ash" & "Ancient Of Days" …
Sycamore
Sycamore is a delicate tapestry of spacious and ethereal guitar lines woven into abstract, slow-burning and multi-layered textural improvisations. The sounds blend and overlap to create richly faceted and thickly psychedelic passages, unveiling new layers of detail with each and every listen. The LP and CD will come in a deluxe limited edition for each format with artwork by illustrator and painter Arik Roper. David Daniell is a member of San Agustin and has collaborated with Loren Connor…
Hamel
First ever reissue of Peter M. Hamel's debut album, originally released by Vertigo in 1972. An extended trip through meditative and minimalist territories that has its roots both in western avant-garde and Indian classical music. Organ and synthesizer drones mix with natural sounds in a flowing, ever-changing soundscape. For fans of Terry Riley, La Monte Young, Popol Vuh, Taj Mahal Travellers, Deuter and anyone into ambient and meditation musics. With Peter Michael Hamel (organ, voice, el…
Einstieg
The debut album by this multinational outfit, originally released by Wergo in 1971. A groundbreaking fusion of diverse sources and traditions: from ancient and medieval to avant garde, free improvisation or eastern meditation. A unique mixture that will blossom in their follow up And The Waters Opened. With Roberto Detree (guitar, motocello), Peter-Michael Hamel (piano, organ), Robert Eliscu (oboe, vocal), Cotch Black (percussion), Ulrich Stranz (viola) plus a young James Galway on flute…
Like Swallowing Eclipses
Appearing for the first time on vinyl are the complete highly acclaimed Andrew Liles remixes of the first five classic Current 93 albums. Andrew Liles has reimagined Nature Unveiled, Dogs Blood Rising, In Menstrual Night, Dawn and Live at Bar Maldoror. Also exclusive to this set is a sixth LP, 'Haunt Invocation (Apadno)' which is a remixed version of 'Faust' and 'A Special Plan'. These influential albums by Current 93 are regarded by many as ground breaking and innovative, building upon this And…