Soft Focus: Volumes One
Pastoral moods, pastel modes, daydream verve, colors in complement, slightly dissonant, outdoor airs, shadow underleaf, gravity's touch, falling rain, solemn distances, memento mori, the wandering mind...Soft Focus is two volumes of a musical experiment that intended to go one way and went another. A project that sought song form became a process that discovered tonal movements through unexpected environments and atmospheres. I hope you enjoy! -Wednesday
Akira Umeda (1988-2018)
"In this album, Akira Umeda mixes 42 recordings, dated between 1988 and 2018, which, in a sense, reflect the incredible range of his creative work: from songs, to ambient music; from field recordings to prank calls. The cassette tapes, whose contents make up this double-LP, had been stored in Umeda’s house in São José dos Campos, in São Paulo, Brazil.
Restless, and easily bored, Akira moved seamlessly from one activity to another – he was a little bit of everything (and nothing at all). Such pe…
Mekong
* Edition of 60 * Jungle Gym Records presents "Mekong", a brand new collaborative offering from Scurge & Slow Heat. Jungle-mist drones envelop anxious blood-moon electronics in this fully immersive audio experience, peak improvisation from two of LA's best experimentalists... exclusively from Jungle Gym.Transparent fog cassette with printed shell sticker + double sided J-card in a clear hard case. Hand packaged, unmarked, limited edition run of 60.
Split
* Edition of 50 * Jungle Gym Records presents JGT87, a brand new split cassette from legendary Italian experimentalist Ottaven and Los Angeles-based sound artist R. Pierre. A masterclass in sculptural minimalism and micro-industrial electronics, JGT87 is distant transmissions from the fringes of the void, capturing two of our favorite sound explorers at the peak of their creative powers... as always, exclusively from Jungle Gym.
Eins Und Zwei Und Drei Und Vier 2 - Deutsche Experimentelle Pop-Musik 1978-87
For their second foray into the fringes of German pop, Bureau B delve deeper than before, raiding cassette culture, 7" obscurities and overlooked album cuts to further frame this free-thinking strain of sonic expression. Starting the count from punk’s year zero, this set sees a newly liberated generation get weird and wild with anything they could lay their hands on, delivering demented, detuned and disorienting tracks brimming with DIY spirit.
Corpo Verde
Canedicoda is a multidisciplinary artist active in the performance, design, fashion and music fields under the alias of Ottaven.
Inutile Discendere
Recorded between Po river, Trasimeno lake and Monte Catarelto.
Contraluz
*150 copies triple compact disc limited edition* Contraluz is a journey in three parts - a voyage through the Balkans, the Mediterranean, and a few places that may have been on the map once before but certainly aren’t on any reputable ones now. A major new work from Émile Zener, recorded in his Barcelona studio in early 2023, Contraluz spends three engrossing hours submerged in the acrid soil, salty water, speculative financial markets, and submarine consciousness of Earth as it finds itself in …
Point, Line, surface
*100 copies limted edition* "My music is an exploration of sterility, mundanity and stillness interpreted through personal feelings and subjective experience. My composition process is intuitive and personal. The recordings I use are of the following nature : souvenirs of lost moments, recordings of natural and urban empty spaces, microphone and object manipulation, deformed voices, non-expertly played instruments, resonances. I previously released music under the names a lie or and Perlesvaus" …
Call Me When You Can
* Hand-numbered limited-edition of 100 copies * Fifteen years of friendship has given 'Call Me When You Can' a warm heart. Although their lives went in separate directions, Ned Milligan and John Atkinson stayed in touch. Ned was producing chimes up in Maine, fitting in his musical pursuits and passions with the regular rhythm of daily life. John had recently relocated back to the USA after living in Australia, travelling from California to Minneapolis to New York and onwards to New Jersey. Ned…
Maraccaba
German ambient musician.He was briefly a member of the krautrock band Popol Vuh in the early 1970s where he played on the albums Hosianna Mantra and Seligpreisung. Comes in jewel case with slipcase.
Kalengra
German ambient musician. He was briefly a member of the krautrock band Popol Vuh in the early 1970s where he played on the albums Hosianna Mantra and Seligpreisung. Comes in jewel case with slipcase.
Музыкальное Приношение (Musical Offering)
Recorded in 1971, "Musical Offering" is 6 tracks (42 mins) of experiments on the unique machine by: Eduard Artemiev (2 tracks), Oleg Buloshkin, Sofia Gubaidulina, Edison Denisov, and Alfred Schnittke.
Tether
Murmer is the long-standing project of American/Estonian field recordist and composer Patrick McGinley, and with Tether, The Helen Scarsdale Agency welcomes Murmer back to our roster, over a decade since he graced us with his last production for the Agency. His field recordings often center upon the amplification and activation of resonance from a particular space, landscape, or object. Such sounds emerge from a condition as being fleeting, inconsequential, or ephemeral and explode into that whi…
Reshape
The cover of Joachim Spieth’s latest album, Reshape, depicts a stony landscape against a moody sky at dusk, silver clouds backlit with soft orange light. His 2021 album Ousia featured a similar sun, only foregrounded by waves. It’s as if some lost, drowned continent rose from the murky depths, dotted with strange fossils and petroglyphs. That contrast is an apt analogy for Reshape — an album of remixes and reworkings from some of the biggest names in ambient, techno and drone in honor of the Aff…
Terrain
With ‘Terrain,’ Joachim Spieth presents the fourth long player on his Affin imprint. The follow-up album to ‘Ousia’ (2021), ‘Terrain,’ reflects on the human relationship with nature. The album title is a reference to a musical language that layers Spieth’s music production practices and intimacy with nature.‘Terrain’ was forged in deep solitude.“ It’s an interplay of euphoric flashes and introspection” – says Spieth. The eight compositions take the listener into a captivating cascade of sonic te…
Picture a Frame
"Picture a Frame" the debut album by the Belgian composer Elisabeth Klinck, was born out of strict isolation and is nonetheless a result of a collaborative process that saw her working closely with artist Oscar Claus. Enriching her compositions for violin with electronic soundscapes and field recordings from their surroundings, the two entered an artistic dialogue that took place inside its own idiosyncratic space outside of conventional time. It is an intimate record in which Klinck’s expressiv…
Vórtex Submarino
Tip! *50 copies limited edition* Gibrana Cervantes is an acclaimed Mexican musician who has made a name for herself as a violinist, composer, and improviser. She is widely recognized for her innovative and experimental approach to music, which seamlessly blends classical and metal influences to create a truly distinctive style. Cervantes has a gift for combining melody and noise in her compositions, resulting in emotive and contemplative pieces. Beyond her work as a musician, Cervantes is also t…
Uncut Flowers
Hot on the heels of their third album Forget The Curse (Mammas Mysteriska Jukebox, 2023), Fördämning Arkiv presents a Troth anthology compiling early non-album material and other odds and ends from the Australian duo. A massive 15-track retrospective, Uncut Flowers consists of the tracks from the Our Opaque Wreath cassette (Moontown Records, 2019), The Optimist (Essential Minerals, 2019), the Garland And Gauze 7" (Altered States Tapes, 2020) as well as various compilation contributions. 74 minut…
As Above, So Below
Big Tip! *250 copies limited edition* Recital presents "As Above, So Below", a new album from French multi-instrumentalist Delphine Dora. Over the past decade, from poetry reading, chansons, organ performances, tape compositions and so on, each album in Dora’s lush discography feels like a feather from a different bird. A keen ability to defy any singular “sound,” always diving to different depths. "As Above, So Below" centers around mystic piano and voice recordings. In a distinct gothic landsc…