microphones in the trees: June 2012

Saturday, June 30, 2012

sky stadium / pierrot lunaire


"like a calm spring breeze, Sky Stadium (Jeff B) offers a delicate and beautiful farewell to the long cold winter finally retreating. as life slowly starts to sprout up from the ground again, the opening side of 'Windowing' serves as a reminder of the brighter days that lie ahead.

on what could arguably be Pierrot Lunaire's (John DeNizio) most mellow offering to date, we are quickly plunged deep beneath the surface on the second side, where a much stranger world awaits. segueing stoically through a handful of really remarkable shifts and turns, we are offered a tour into a cosmos that is at once mysterious and curiously comforting." koppklys

collage: ben giles

the mystery tape

unknown cassette ~ unknown title

¿a quién pertenece esta misteriosa cinta de cassette?. hoy static encounters la subía a su blog, pero, además de no haber ningún tipo de información en la cinta, no sabe en qué sello la compró o de qué blog se la bajó. la música no puede ser más bonita, sólo guitarra y una percusión en segundo plano, a veces banjo, a veces harmónica, y recuerda un poco a serfs, rag lore, loren connors...o incluso a wooden wand sin voz. "It’s back porch rustic sounding acoustic guitar pieces very laid back with some quiet drum backing. total hippy jams."

"...i am always getting things from other blogs so there’s many tapes i haven’t heard yet. so i pull this tape out to listen to & i realize it has no title anywhere on it & i have no clue who i ordered it from or when it got here. but i like it so i figured what the heck maybe one of you can help me identify it. It’s back porch rustic sounding acoustic guitar pieces very laid back with some quiet drum backing. total hippy jams. so if you know what the hell it is let me know i’m sure i’ll figure it out eventually until then this some nice beer drinking on a hammock summer sounds. and i really wish artists would put their name/title/label anything on the freaking tape." static encounters

Friday, June 29, 2012

jccg


"a few days ago I was stumbling around the soundcloud-ether and became transfixed by these mysterious guitar jams from someone under the name of jccg, the work of João from Coimbra, Portugal, who runs Exo Tapes. his music is made up of slowly unfurling and decaying guitar lines, adding up to a textural meditation with more than a hint of the NJ beach slacker vibe of something like Ducktails." rose quartz

"if you wander back through the jccg extensive SoundCloud library, you’ll find him tinkering with a variety of sounds. but whether he is noodling around with guitar tones or layering synth textures, he always keeps it gravitating around an ambient nucleus. “Scapes” is no exception with its fuzzy, warbling synths and lightly ticking drum machines. if you could hold a stethoscope up to the chest of a cool, seaside cavern, I imagine that the heartbeat would sound a little something like this." portals

las canciones de jccg son tan bonitas y tan sencillas, me encantan. como todo lo que hace joão, que ya me conquistó con the exhalers y vuelve a conquistarme con jccg. guitarras y sintetizadores transoceánicos al más puro estilo matt mondanile meets mark mcguire. joão in the ocean, pura ensoñación

collage: ben giles

Thursday, June 28, 2012

john zuma st. pelvyn


"third eye guitar/theremin/feedback transcendentalism. a delicate balance of lovely and bizarre finger-picking mixed with theremin whine, whammy bar wobble, dense swirling feedback drones and belching electronics. three amazing tracks of solo bliss sessions for six string and electronics. visionary and truly beautiful work from this awesome contemporary player. stunningly emotional and visceral playing that evokes serene pastural landscapes as filtered through lens-flares and blinding white light. this is essential listening for the upcoming seasonal emergence from our bleak winter hibernation chambers." lighten up sounds

imposible no caer rendida ante el precioso diseño de esta cinta, adornada con virutas de madera y envuelta en papel cebolla. para los que disfrutan con los detalles y las cosas bonitas, y con la música de sandy bull, willie lane, josh st. denis, matthew 'doc' dunn y los discos de john fahey publicados en table of the elements. si te das prisa, aquí y aquí todavía queda alguna copia

born again for the first time


"In celebration of the fact that we finally redesigned the Digitalis label site for the first time in over 7 (!!!) years, we got together a huge group of some of our favorite bands & artists from Digitalis’ past, present, and future for a sweetforce compilation. This all came together pretty fast and it’s a true testament to the quality of all this contributors that so many came through with such killer tunes. This compilation will stand up to the best of them and hey, it’s free if you want it to be.


foto: elliot michael fairhurst

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

sparkling wide pressure / rambutan


"revisiting a superb pairing of like minds that started many years ago on the Small Doses label, Frank Baugh (Sparkling Wide Pressure) and Rambutan (Eric Hardiman) again share a release that is more than the sum of its parts.  this time, the strategies are quite divergent, yet each arrives in a similar state of revery combined with patient sonic and emotional investigation.  Baugh’s guitar work is at its peak here, and after following the Sparkling Wide Pressure oeuvre very closely over the years, we can safely say this ranks as a shining and defining moment for his project. the two sides of this tape are psychedelic, cosmic, haunting, repetitive, and otherworldly in equal parts." tape drift


"on this forthcoming split cassette from Eric Hardiman’s label Tape Drift, Sparkling Wide Pressure continues his exploration of nostalgia-tinged guitar, encasing his evocative melodies in a bed of soft electrorganic textures, somehow always managing to flick all the right switches. and Rambutan soaks our heads in bubbling loops that are simultaneously deep and ephemeral, engulfing you and then evaporating into the air." tiny mix tapes

entrevista a frank baugh en foxy digitalis

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

caethua/shep and me


"originally released on cassette in 2008, these fantastic recordings finally get the deluxe vinyl treatment they deserve. these newly remastered tracks reveal a remarkable subtlety, having been previously obscured by poor dubbing techniques and the inherent limitations of the cassette format. all has been clarified.


clare hubbard stays busy with her musical projects ancestral diet and sports, but she might be best known for her folk-based work as caethua. her caethua side is entitled “wrecks and rescues”, and is an epic and dusty side-long track of beautiful creaking folk-craft. in the winter of 2008, clare recorded herself at home in bloomington, in. she delicately layers synth, strings, horns, electronics, percussion and vocals, along with 5 years worth of field recordings taken from the st. lawrence river and her wanderings through swamps, fields and forests. soft tones and organic rustlings blend beautifully with melancholy string plunk and blown-out electro growl to create a brilliantly shimmering psychedelic-folk masterpiece.

shep and me’s side is more firmly rooted in traditional americana folk and blues music, yet still manages to keep itself wedged into a pretty strange corner. all five tracks feature matthew himes collaborating with h. caleb gamble. both sing and play nylon and steel stringed guitars in addition to using tape loops, french horn, lap steel, live percussion, drum machines, electronics and waveform oscillators to present a uniquely twisted vision of contemporary folk music. plaintive and stark gutter-country songs about seasonal shifts and the horrors of these modern times..." time~lag


clare hubbard y matthew himes, personas que se cruzan y hacen cosas tan bonitas como este split...llevo toda la mañana saltando de una canción a otra incapaz de encontrar las palabras para describirlo. era disco favorito sin escucharlo y ahora, junto a 'aren't you ashamed?', es ese disco acogedor al que siempre acudes cuando no puedes escuchar nada más. las canciones de shep and me son emocionantes, sencillas, perfectas, de las de tararear tumbada en la hierba. hay silbidos oklahoma, ladridos, lluvia, ronroneos, mandolinas, banjos, guitarras, fingerpicking con alma y sobre todo esa voz de duende que te arrulla y te transporta y me enamora como nunca: en el poema adaptado de jim thompson y en 'like a dog' (..stop dreaming) dan ganas de abrazarlo. la canción de caethua dura casi veinte minutos, field recordings con lechuzas y grillos y tonadillas 'miles and miles away' grabadas en su casa, en el río de san lorenzo y durante largos paseos por bosques, campos y pantanos. split casero y entrañable como una abuela que hace ganchillo y el gatuso que juega a sus pies con un ovillo de lana. días de cap'n jack, rafi bookstaber, michael tapscott y matthew himes. y 'downbound' en repeat 

fotos: mariana albertario/antes de los bosques, li hui & plakka

Monday, June 25, 2012

lieven moana


"a new composition using only field recordings. this composition is a poem. a poem of symbolical sounds. sounds, which are made by various invisible residents. representing signals, which haul a mysterious language. a flux of information, pattered by the grand Dorsal Meso-Atlântica. that magical, giant blowhole. which releases minute sprouts. which produces the notes, rhythms and timbres of an orchestrated piece.... the hot water, as being its conductor. sounds recorded on location at Ilha Do São Miguel and Ilha Das Flores, Açores. composed, mixed and recorded at Cetacean Nation Studios, Antwerp, Belgium." cetacean nation communications


"Lieven Moana, también conocido como Lieven Martens alias Dolphins into the Future, profundiza en el mundo de las grabaciones de campo con una cinta que documenta los sonidos de la Ilha São Miguel e Ilha Das Flores, dos de las islas que componen las Azores. Lieven captura el canto apacible de los pájaros y otros sonidos de la isla, ya sea una brisa suave, el susurro de las hojas o el incesante fluir del agua. me recuerda a los documentales de vida salvaje y no puedo evitar pensar que Lieven podría haber dejado escapar su vocación natural como técnico de sonido para la BBC. si te gustan las últimas grabaciones de Dolphins, esta cinta también lo hará." business lady


Sunday, June 24, 2012

free

va ~ free (calm in trees, june 2012)

01. hush arbors bones of a thousand suns
02. ruth garbus falling down to earth
03. wooden wand skels
04. barn owl reappear
05. donovan quinn october lanterns
06. jack rose moon in the gutter
07. poor farm ~ the delirious jangles of the angry inhabitants at 106 north rowland street
08. monopoly star child searchers waterfalls introduction
09. joshua burkett a moon equals zero
10. black eagle child spring
11. beggin' your pardon miss joan march of the boatmen
12. vollmar island in the river
13. plains on the rise
14. alasdair roberts the two sisters
15. high wolf un abrazo
16. spires that in the sunset rise grandma
17. uke of spaces corners county ~ bird on a wire
18. kelly nesbitt uke song
19. daniel higgs return
20. fwy! subdivision
21. 2 muchachos polaroid dreams
22. lex panayi ~ this chimney has since been felled

one year ago...


foto: anna m.

Saturday, June 23, 2012

tom carter & robert horton


"following on from previous collaborations between Robert Horton and Charalambides Tom Carter on fine labels such as Important, Preservation and Digitalis, Carter and Horton come back to Blackest Rainbow for their first duo recording in a while. the three tracks result in combinations between outsider improvised trips and swirling head drones created via a wide array of instruments and non-instruments. Carter takes hold of the guitar, ebow and lap steel with Horton's every growing army of sound making objects described here as boot loops, boot, vortex, cassette player, minidisks, vibrator, computer, sine waves, voice, sex machine, organ, construction and beats to name some... Carter and Horton create a wild sound that is almost deconstructed and rebuilt through the 3 tracks, it sounds great and like no one else..." blackest rainbow

los discos de robert horton y tom carter tienen un lenguaje propio, un universo particular que reconocerías desde la primera nota, como r keenan lawler, town and country o mike tamburo. 'nyida days' son tres canciones inagotables que te mantienen en trance hasta el final, sobre todo las preciosísimas primeras notas de . la magia sigue, la música fluye...tom y robert, robert y tom, que no dejen nunca de hacer discos juntos

~~all proceeds from the sale of this release will go to Tom Carter. read more about the appeal here~~

Friday, June 22, 2012

scke / w.i.a


"tape hiss, crackle and driven undulating tones striped bare to reveal hidden depths of engaging vibrations that converge with the vague and forgotten memories of a childhood barely remembered and half imagined to take you away to a place based of yearning, uncertain feelings and moments of elation.

the dusty tape of your own or maybe somebody else's beautiful holidays in the sun, something like an exquisite memoir."


"these are lucid and crystalline expressions, free of restrictions, starts, ends and other laboured embellishments. these pieces simply flow and emerge as pure moments, characteristic of abstract paintings and contemplative reflection. the blurb reads as follows...delicate guitars fall around open flames and seas of green emeralds surge in waves. clear bells ring in perfect night skies and we are reminded of the things that we cannot touch or see but they fall in veils in the lights of our rooms. piano rooms of without walls envelop and fold around us in a moment then resolve themselves and disappear. divers dive in the great green sea, in the night and the sea sparkles."

foto: ada hamza

buy | bandcamp

joonatan elokuu


"'Earth, Sky, Moon and Sun' was recorded and mixed in the Dutch countryside, and mastered at Maito Records. It's perhaps the most personal piece of music I've ever put down on tape. The songs were written while I was hospitalized because of a serious illness. During the ambulance ride I was given a heavy dose of morphine, and while drifting in and out of consciousness, I had a vision of an angel with a peacock's features. I also heard the sound of animals, birds and wings flapping all around, mixed with the drone of the engine (which morphed into a weird harmonic layer of sound) while the chatter of the paramedics faded slowly out. The first ten minutes of the album were definitely influenced by this experience. It's definitely not a happy album, but a very spiritual and personal one. I hope that the album could serve as a reminder of the beauty and fragility of our existence, and that there is a light at the end of even the darkest road. I recorded the music on a handheld recorder as I started my recovery from the operation. While I was really happy to be alive and well, I had to deal with thoughts of death and loss not only because of my own experience, but because my father was also seriously ill during this time.

I have started recording the new album, and it might take quite a while until it's ready for release. I want to record the album in a proper studio with plenty of time, because it will feature some of the best songs I've ever written. After 2012 we will disappear into Asia for a long time, and I hope I have the chance to record the album before this. It will be available as a CD on a different label, more info on this will be available in time. Meanwhile, there should be a compilation release coming out on Hear Records, let's hope they'll have this out at some point." joonatan

braindrain​/​leaving​/​sacred flower union


"Perth's Sacred Flower Union brings his beat-driven ambient collage to Melbourne with Sydney's Brain Drain in tow, launching a split cdr through Future Past Records. The release is Sacred flower Union's third this year (so far), and will be launched in conjunction with Brain Drain's latest melancholic avant-pop album, Malejemplo. The pair are joined by the minimal rhythm mastery and inward-gazing vocal meditations of Stacey Wilson (Rites Wild, Terrible Truths) a.k.a Regional Curse."

sacred flower union, otro de esos nombres que de repente es favorito y sientes muy cercano, como komodo haunts o mpala garoo. por eso este triple split me hace tanta ilusión, bonito de la pe a la pa: belief systems, don't believe in majik, field of dreams y eye againts eye son canciones para escuchar una y mil veces. percusiones, teclados y guitarras que me recuerdan a nombres tan comestibles como los de monopoly child star searchers, high wolf, kon tiki gemini, food pyramid, aerial jungle, pulse emitter o mark mcguire y, para los nostálgicos, dos canciones de braindrain que enlazan directamente con el slowcore, tiempo ha, de codeine o playdoh

Thursday, June 21, 2012

kevin greenspon


"Kevin Greenspon is just great. In between setting up the mini community/outstanding label that is Bridgetown Records and setting up various tours across the country, Greenspon manages to craft his own unique ambient music at an outstandingly prolific rate that I have a hard time keeping up. Like for instance his new album, Maroon Bells. The title track is an especial stunner, mostly because it's still so hard to believe he's crafting music this delicate with only a guitar and effects. Forgoing the usual guitar tones and mild fuzz that made up most of his tracks, here Greenspon manages to create something that sound like it was made on a synth. It's beautiful and shimmering track before it cascades into snippets of harsh noise (a mixture of crashing waves and crinkling metal paper) that has never seemed better put." the creative intersection



"dicen que las cosas que hay en nuestra habitación son una descripción precisa de nuestra personalidad. o que puedes conocer a alguien por lo que guarda en su maleta. o por el tipo de cereales que come. lo que ocurre con estas frases es que te dan una idea de lo que esa persona recibe del mundo, pero no de lo que le ofrece al mundo. nunca se refieren a nuestras creaciones. lo que creamos son como proyecciones de imágenes e ideas de nuestra mente, proyecciones que no pueden limitarse con palabras. por eso, cuando vemos lo que alguien es capaz de crear, nos da una idea más real de cómo es esa persona.

con kevin greenspon me pasa algo parecido. sólo le conozco desde hace un año, pero tengo la sensación de conocerle desde hace mucho más tiempo porque siempre he sido fan de su música. mientras otros se esconden tras pseudónimos, kevin aparece con su nombre real e interpreta uno de los sonidos más sinceros y honestos que jamás he oído, basándose sobre todo en la experimentación musical. su música tiene un corazón que rebosa sentimiento, un corazón que genera movimiento como si el resto no pudiese funcionar en su ausencia. tiene una mente discreta que transmite mensajes profundos y a la vez es consciente de que el tiempo es finito. y un alma que consigue que sus canciones se queden contigo mucho más tiempo aunque hayan dejado de sonar. Kevin une todas esas cosas para dotar a su música de lo más importante y que la música experimental suele olvidar: la esencia humana. y es esa esencia humana la que une al creador con su creación, como si se mirasen uno al otro a través del espejo. 

Paradise is a fantastic collection of new and previously released music" half hour handshake

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

woodpecker wooliams & golden cup meet love cult


"In April 2011 Full of Nothing proudly presented an original Russian tour of 3 projects from different pockets of the world: Woodpecker Wooliams, UK femme-folk experimentalist; Golden Cup, Italian psychedelic guru and ex-Jooklo member and Love Cult, label’s very own hypnotic family duo. The company played unforgettable shows in Moscow, Saransk and Saint Petersburg, as well as continued to The Baltics. This release captures the unexpected collective improvisations from Saransk and Saint Petersburg. Wild, ecstatic weirdo soundscapes relying solely on intuition, sensation, culture shock and friendship. Sonic celebration of the new and strange, sleeper trains, Russian soul and maybe vodka." fon

foto: new legs

Sunday, June 17, 2012

tom carter appeal



"17 June 2012: While on a tour of Europe with Charalambides, Tom Carter was hospitalized in Berlin, Germany and has been in intensive care for over two weeks. He is currently being treated for serious complications of pneumonia. At this time, there remain many uncertainties regarding his condition, which continues to be variable and evolving. Hospitalization and a projected recovery could last at a minimum many weeks and possibly months.

The consideration and support that has already been expressed, during this time, is of great comfort to Tom’s family.

Many concerned individuals have asked about sending cards and flowers, all of which is greatly appreciated. However, the intensive care unit is not equipped to accommodate gifts. We will be sure to let everyone know if and when the hospital is able to do so. Additionally, Tom is currently unable to receive phone calls or visitors. Many individuals have also inquired as to what other assistance they can provide. Due to the severity of Tom’s illness, his hospitalization away from home, and the projection of a possible prolonged recovery, Tom and his family will certainly incur a more than significant financial burden. There will be medical bills as well as possible travel and housing expenses. It is thought that a considerable portion, if not all, of Tom’s recovery must take place in Berlin. 

A fund is being established to receive donations to offset these costs. Information on how to contribute will follow as soon as it is available. Tom Carter’s generosity and modesty as a musician and friend, coupled with his dedication to a vision of spiritual music as transformative force, provides us all with a rare example of creative and personal possibilities intertwined. Let us keep Tom, whom we cherish, in our thoughts and attune our minds to his full recovery.
Please forward this notice to anyone who may be concerned. We will post updates here as more information becomes available. 

Volcanic Tongue is donating all proceeds from sales of Charalambides and Tom Carter and Christina Carter releases to Tom Carter and his family. Blackest Rainbow Recordings have also very generously offered all their available releases to VT with all proceeds going direct to Tom’s fund. Click the links below to browse all the releases that are part of the appeal." volcanic tongue

salvador cresta ~ madrugapha


"where vol.1 seems to have been a collage of different ideas, I had the impression Salvador Cresta really got into video collage completely, technically and creatively. one story in different occasional parts, part of it just like parts of life, based upon Salvador Cresta’s free mind and free person’s life, his house, his friends, his dog, his girlfriend all participate, but also collected video’s of private recordings of family parties and fairgrounds, like odd loops with odd video effects. the soundtrack is brilliant, a collage being one with the images, including some pop songs by Los Migues and perhaps a Jana Hunter song, besides music from Salvador Cresta. In between are surreal visions and the life’s story becomes surreal too, like a puppet theatre, expressed with tripped visions with real dolls, like a poisoned mind’s dilusion. you have to see it. Salvador’s talent is growing. welcome to the free mind." psychedelic folk




"I have made this short movie in a place that i have been living for a few months, in the mountains of Capilla del Monte, Cerro el pajarillo, the subterranean city of Erk´s." salvita cresta


 
madrugapha ~ por leukeluni (self~released, 2012)

"les dejo un link de un proyecto mas bien sombrío, mas bien anárquico... se llama madrugapha y consiste en sesiones nocturnas de pura improvisación, grabadas "live" directamente a cassettes viejos... somos sólo Fabito y yo, en el campo, por la noche..." salvador cresta~la creatividad  y generosidad infinitas

Friday, June 15, 2012

migalha

 "migalha in portuguese means crumb / scarp / fraction / mite / fragment. we are brazilian rainbow-drone guys. we are bubbles in the hell".

esa fue la presentación de lennon y roger con la que me adentré en 'agora sinto como se fosse o corpo onde todas essas erupções e retaliações são feitas, a despeito de meu singelo advento' más de 14 minutos de collage sónico e imaginación, tangerine dream / klaus schulze meets deuter, con alma de field recording. 'shopia's lullaby' cierra el bucle y me viene como un susurro a la mente aquel diente de león del snow-folk de päivänsäde.  

for lee jackson in space


"This tribute album came together in love and honor of Lee Jackson, writer, music fan, dear friend, who passed in late March 2012 after a struggle with ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease. This collection of songs, nearly all of which are new or previously unreleased, comes from the many bands and musicians who Lee not only covered and celebrated with such passion, but also in many cases befriended over many years of correspondence, concert and festival attendance and more. 12 hours of music/94 bands (including contributions from Valerio Cosi, Six Organs Of Admittance, Charalambides, Pelt, Roy Montgomery, Helena Espvall, Head of Wantastiquet, Charlatan, Tara Burke, Mike Tamburo, Theo Angell, R Keenan Lawler, etc.)



The album's liner notes contain full information about each song as well as thoughts from Lee himself about the contributing artists, taken from his writing work. All profits will go to the Texas chapter of the ALS Association. Please feel free to join our Facebook discussion group if you'd like to learn more about the remarkable man who we all dearly miss; there is also a direct link to this album in Facebook itself"



On June 5th, Brad Rose from Foxy Digitalis interviewed Travis Johnson, Mats Gustafsson, and Ned Raggett. These guys compiled the monolithic compilation "For Lee Jackson In Space"

fotos: carla fernández andrade

olympus mons


"olympus mons is a mystery duo, the dream folk project of alex gray (deep magic), who is currenlty melting minds as a member of the sun araw tropical-psych team. reflections of bliss lake is primitive instrumental communication between harmonium, synths, guitar and driftwood xylophone, a beautiful exploration of sun~soaked textures swirling and flowing in waves of synths, fingerpicked guitar and keyboards. It will leave you gazing for stars, even as the sun beats down on your face." deep tapes 

todo está unido...imposible no relacionar a alex grey con caracoles y a su vez con la magia de wirikuta , a la que si tuviera que poner banda sonora seguro que serían las trompetas y cascabeles que suenan en la cara b. nunca una flautilla, o silbido, o teclado imitando el canto de un águila, habían sonado tan evocadores, una experiencia parecida a la proporcionada por esos esos sueños extraños y bonitos de los que nunca quieres despertar

Thursday, June 14, 2012

sacred flower union / leafy suburbs


"two takes on shimmering, summery ambient with a little touch of chillwavey pop in some parts. take a dive into the Australian haze and get with the groove." weed temple

"Leafy Suburbs meets Sacred Flower Union in a strange and intoxicating world of garden planets, breezes, hymns and sludge" future past


"good soul-food for fans of Emeralds/Mark McGuire, White Rainbow, Ashra, Cluster, Stag Hare, all that good shit. this is a fantastic, lively/relaxing set" the thounsands

sun araw en el horizonte, mark mcguire en el corazón...difícil decantarse entre sacred flower union y leafy suburbs, 'glowbug' y 'pools' son tan bonitas que terminan en un suspiro, la invitación más directa a zambullirse en el envolvente sonido del split más split del mundo de los splits, pero es que además 'up, enenra' me recuerda tanto a cankun y la percusión de 'strange eden' es tan high wolf que no se puede pedir más...bueno, saber a qué me recuerda ese teclado que parece un bajo a partir del minuto 13.20 de sacred flower union...uf

download from here or here

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

chris watson


"take the ghost train from Los Mochis to Veracruz and travel cross country, coast to coast, Pacific to Atlantic. ride the rhythm of the rails on board the Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México and the music of a journey that has now passed into history." touch

"el tren fantasma es un viaje en tren por México, siguiendo una larga ruta que va desde la zona noroeste hasta el sureste, de Los Mochis a Veracruz, a travesando montañas, cañones, túneles y acantilados. el viaje se inicia con 'la anunciante' y Watson capta el constante ruido de los vagones avanzando, los frenos rechinando, el ir y venir de los pasajeros, el cambio de vías, material divino para quien busque sonidos poderosos. 'los mochis' es un paseo por el lado salvaje, por una tierra hermosa cerca del mar, una tierra que aún no se ha convertido en ciudad y donde la naturaleza se resiste a ceder su lugar a lo urbano. aves, gallos, perros, la campana, el tren se acerca, los frenos se activan,...y llegamos a una estación. la impresionante sierra tarahumara, un lugar mágico y ancestral  en el que Watson capta las aves, el rugir del tren, su paso por túneles y la majestosa calma del lugar. en 'el divisadero' agrega ritmos, manipula las grabaciones, las transforma por primera vez, nos pone al filo de algo, aunque aún no sabemos qué.


Chris Watson nos entrega las grabaciones tal cual, su magia está en la insistencia, en la perseverancia y en saber cuándo acercar el micrófono. una vez alguien dijo: “Watson es dios, dice: voy a grabar lluvia, y llueve…”. tal vez no sea dios, pero el detalle con el que nos muestra las cosas nos puede hacer pensar que estamos ante los ojos de quien pudiera ser el creador de estas maravillas." youareaghost



"Dosso D'Abramo, Cornetto and Cima Verde. above the three peaks of Monte Bondone there is air in motion; ice crystals, water vapour and changing pressure mix and merge into an annual dance across a deep blue sky. this is sound into light. down alpine slopes, across high pastures and into the forests a frozen mountain of sound thaws out from a mono bloc and into an ordered seven stage descent through 3000m of unique acoustic habitats. shapes and music, rhythm and sound, a series of ritual performances for animal ears." gogoyoko

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

tom kitty oliver


"I recorded these songs after getting home from tour with Pressed And this past April. To me, the album is significant because it's my first solo record ever. All my previous projects have been collaborations, so this was the first time I found my individual voice or sound. And my previous collaborative work had all been electronic whereas the songs on Life on Loop were each recorded in one sitting into an old reel to reel I found sitting on the sidewalk in San Francisco. The similarities to previous collaborations lie in the emphasis on texture and emotional resonance; the album also shares a similar feeling of coherence or global connectedness within the entire work with my previous collaborations.

While recording each track, I would try to zone out as much as possible in attempt to let my unconscious thoughts and feelings serve as guides for the direction of the songs. I never knew exactly what a song would sound like when first starting, but by the end of the process, I knew I had stated what I had been feeling at the time. In that way, this album is as much seven archived meditations as it is seven recorded songs." andrew hamlet


foto: takuroh toyama

omasín / the failed nasa experiment


"this cassette has really challenged me as a reviewer...voices, sound effects and gestures. It's like trying to talk to the entire 1975 theatre arts class from your community college all at once. both artists on this cassette do very similar work. both use massive bits of sound collage, loops, guitars, voices, samples, drones, hand drums to create something amazing. 0+yn has elements of John Coltrane, Ravi Shankar, The Velvet Underground, Throbbing Gristle,… it's all of that and none of it as well. I am in total awe. The Failed Nasa Experiment approaches things in a very similar way. minimal nods to world music, Tibetian chants, Sunburned Hand of the Man, Vanishing Voice, Master Musicians of Bukkake, Six Organs of Admittance…again none of these are totally accurate comparisons but it may give you an idea of what are in store for. I will be listening to this tape for sometime." dead  formats


la magia de los splits es que a veces, como populus ajeno de omasín y gmc, te descubren grupos a los que de otra forma tal vez nunca hubieras conocido. como es el caso de the failed nasa experiment, en realidad el inglés Murray Ward y diferentes colaboradores ocasionales, grupo curioso donde los haya al que tampoco hubiera llegado si me dejase asustar por el ruido atronador de la primera canción o de 'gossamer albatross', guitarras distorsionadas que dan paso a la calma y a las reverberaciones in crescendo de una pelota de ping pong, la canción más extraña, hipnótica y juguetona jamás grabada...'for maria mednyanszky'

nuestros queridos omasín de la pampa, san juan y la cordillera de los andes, algo así como las malas amistades meets caballos y entusiasmo meets second family band meets qbico~aquel mítico sello que tantas alegrías en forma de preciosos vinilos de colores nos dio hace unos años~entregan cinco cantos a la Virgen de Satrostramocha, cinco personalísimas composiciones surrealistas, una inquietante mezcla de extrañas vocalizaciones, mantras, susurros en euskera, silbidos que imitan el canto de aves de selvas tropicales, violines destartalados como los que suenan en la preciosa 'thou shall be waking' de davenport, suaves rasgueos de ukelele, grabaciones de campo, cuencos, flautas, percusiones, guimbardas, campanillas, ..."el ruidismo espiritual como forma de acceder a la meditación plena y curativa." gracias pablo, no sólo por hacer buena música sino también por acercame hasta ella: "lluvia de emociones llega desde Gales!!" y tanto que sí

collage: eric zelinski

 buy ~ download

Monday, June 11, 2012

ultra dome


"the duo of Rachel Razza and Jeff B (Sky Stadium, Tile, New Future Wanderer)'s recordings encapsulate an optimistic counterpart to the ominous connotations commonly associated with drone and ambient music. "Home Videos" captures the warm, romantic feeling of softened synth pads and bathes them in the murk of tape hiss. Ultra Dome recordings have been few and far between since their formation but are as welcome as any other Sky Stadium-related release for their uncanny ability to raise one's spirits. what sets the duo apart from Roman's solo outings is Razza's subtle focus on rhythm. murky beats dip below the surface of several songs on "Home Videos," while twinkling synths float on in a simple and carefree manner." bridgetown


Sunday, June 10, 2012

the aloha spirit | imperial topaz


"through his thoughtfully curated c60 radio program, Austin's Brad Barry has been closely affiliated with experimental music and cassette culture for the past several years. now, with The Aloha Spirit, he's sharing his own personal sounds with the world, and what a wonderful thing it is. Under Wild Skies finds Barry arranging synth loops carefully and confidently, conjuring placid tones and giving them space to gently buzz and gradually intermingle with one another. this is unabashed relaxation music, teeming with positive vibrations and basking in the radiance of the earth. pro-dubbed and imprinted chrome cassettes, featuring designs by Caroline Teagle." tranquility tapes

menos mal que existen sellos como tranquility tapes, rotifer o hooker vision. ñam ñam. de the aloha spirit todo es bonito, empezando por el nombre, tan dulce al oído como su música...venn rain meets quite evenings meets buchikamashi. maravilla de maravillas, no hay nada más agradable para escuchar un domingo lluvioso por la mañana, acompañada de furari de taniguchi ...si pudiera ser



"you're most likely familiar with Caroline Teagle's visual talent by now, but you should know that she makes great music, too. her new duo with Jake Pepper (NT, Fergus & Geronimo), Imperial Topaz combines experimental sensibilities with finely-tuned pop, which falls within a warm space between reggae and the heyday of 4ad. field recordings and improvised passages drop instantly into pop gems, layering Pepper's catchy, reverb-drenched guitar lines and Teagle's ethereal vocals with hypnotic keyboard melodies and drum machine rhythms. nicely timed for spring, each of the four tracks on Imperial is excellent accompaniment for sunshine and ocean breeze dreams. like a beach party for everyone the luxury liner left behind. features Jef Brown on saxophone." tranquility tapes

siempre que escucho 'luxury liner' me acuerdo de topaz rags, sapphire slows y california sunrise de dirty gold...una de esas canciones diez sin importar el estilo para tararear, adictiva, bonita, con encanto, cuidada, de fantasía casi reggae. mención especial a los originales diseños de caroline teagle, el nombre tras imperial topaz y autora de todas las portadas de tranquility tapes