There is a free compilation featuring bands like Blue Sabbath Black Fiji and Foot Village here that looks pretty cool. I haven't even listened to it yet so let me know what you think.
Free Form Freakout, a weekly radio show on KMSU in Mankato, recently aired a one-hour feature on Soft Abuse Records. The show included an interview with Chris Berry from the label and a number of songs from artists throughout their catalog, including selections from various Jewelled Antler-related projects.
(kimdawn021) Inhibitionists - Pfeiffer at the Gates of Hawn (3" cdr) These are abstracted tonal mazes provided by Denmark's strangest sonic alchemist, Inhibitionists (aka Christian Kann from A Beard of Snails fame). Expertly crafted pathways of textural complexity give way to reveal a moist core. It's a dream vacation on darker pathways- lanterns not provided. Weird nods to 60's psych and pop actresses give no immediate answers as this music exists on another plane entirely -where going to the movies is like washing your face with wet cement. Available in a numbered edition of 50 hand stamped 3" cdrs. $4 postage paid anywhere
(kimdawn023) Endless Endless Endless - Things I Saw (3" cdr) Endless Endless Endless rip through your fragile psyche to reveal a multifaceted world of pure color and tone. This east coast duo wields guitars, gameboy, and vocals to create their own unique drifting dream world of pure discovery. I'm delighted to be able to present this unique statement which is the perfect complement to their recent self released album, Black Talisman (see the glowing Aquarius write up for more testimonial proof). Perfect journey music. Artwork and custom tiny laser etched talisman by the artists. Available in a numbered edition of 50 hand stamped 3" cdrs. $4 postage paid anywhere
Wanted to let you all know about the first batch of Tape Drift Records releases for 2010. We're tremendously excited about these 4 releases, and hope you'll consider supporting the label.
All releases are $7ppd in the US, and there's a special sale running - all 4 new releases together for $24ppd in the US. Please email for international rates. (hardiman04@gmail.com)
For better pictures, and other label releases, check out www.tapedrift.com
Thanks! TD 22 thenumber46 - bleach and ammonia C52. Fearlessly exploring new worlds of sound, thenumber46 push and coax feedback systems, physically and psychologically, into ultimate audible terrains, extracting sonic extremes from their instruments and themselves. Consisting of Suzanne Thorpe on flute and electronics and Philip White on electronic feedback, the duo improvise on the precipice of unpredictable sounds, exploiting the volatile and explosive in their music. Thorpe was a founding member of Mercury Rev, plays in The Wounded Knees, and can be heard from time-to-time with J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr., all three of whom she played with at 2009's ATP in England. White’s performances center on a non-linear feedback system with mixer and several homemade circuits. Edition of 100 pro-dubbed yellow cassettes.
TD24 Zanzibar Snails – Vitiligo cdr. March 09 recordings from this phenomenal and mysterious Texas group with the ability to hypnotize listeners and create a swirling vortex of magical sound. Occupying some nether territory between collective improv, grainy atmosphere building, and structured chaos, Zanzibar Snails follow in the tradition of the great Texas psych dreamers in their quest for exploration. Vitiligo is the disease than turns the black man white (the most famous case being the macabre Michael Jackson), and the word accentuates the close relationship between darkness and light, luminescence and void, order and entropy. The first Zanzibar full-length to feature vocalist/sound sculptress Sarah Alexander. Amazing silkscreened gatefold sleeves (designed and screened by Nevada Hill) in stamped vellum envelopes.
TD26 Thresholders – Protective Instincts cdr. Noise, drone, psych, pop, doom, and lo-fi crunch collide in this first collaborative effort between Derek Rogers and Eric Hardiman (Rambutan, Century Plants, Burnt Hills). After releasing a searing split tape on the always excellent Existential Cloth Recordings, new frontiers of sonic strategies and challenges laid the framework for this successful long-distance collaboration. Layered sounds that build and decay, walls of dissonance, and waves of texture crash against each other only to collapse under their own weight: forty-five minutes of heavy and intensely zoned-out sounds. Expect 2010 to be the year Thresholders storm the barn and burn it to the ground.
TD 30 Padna – There are so many fish in heaven, Pt. IV cdr. After being blown away by Padna releases on the Stunned label this past year, we had no choice but to get in touch with Nat Hawks and beg for a Tape Drift release. Nat was more than happy to offer up this amazing project, part of a series of performance pieces in which he uses intentionally scratched cds as the primary sound source. The trademark Padna attention to detail is on sharp display, and like everything else he’s done, the end result is personal, warm, and immediate. Sound floats in and out of the airspace, glitches and skips become musical phrases, and before long you’ll begin to discover the internal logic of this new language. Hawks has a direct line to some cosmic source, and this masterful composition will allow you to tap into its power. We’re mighty proud to be releasing this one. Includes liner note insert by Padna.
WOO! last update of the year and holy crap is it a big one... 2009 has been awesome, but 2010 and all its futuristic glory is going to be even better. MORE VINYL! but before we get on to that, one last drop from the end of the decade:
finally done, this little split guy has been on the books for a while. EAGLE ALTAR offers up a thanksgeever slice of synthed out space. barely methodic, crawling along linear lines we search for hooks in the frozen undergrowth. hypnotic on some level, but always a good time.
bugskull gives us three dishes from the "communication" sessions that had to be cut from the final album to fit it on vinyl. more glowing electronic reverie that fades into the background, turning it into pure, psyched-up magic. good times again. edition of 100, pro-dubbed.
ltd#109: andrew coltrane "conflict" c30 $7 US / $8 CAN/MEX / $9 INTL
AC brings his bag of toys back to oklahoma, but this time goes back in time and pulls out a total war bomb from the archives. heavy electronics and thick, bleeding walls of synth skronk are just what you need after a long weekend of drinking with the fam. it feels like there's some serious guitar riffing trying to find its way out of this electronic hell, but half the time there's no fucking telling what's going on here. it's everything all at once. coltrane goes to eleven. i don't even know. sax blasts come in from the deep, sourcing new megacreatures that don't just want your blood, they want your fucken soul.
rusted factories breaking down never sounded so damn good. hell, if this isn't cathartic, i don't know what is. edition of 70, pro-dubbed.
ophibre is the main project of benjamin rossignol and "basil forests" is another impressive chapter in an ever-growing collection of killer releases. baseline electronics permeate your skull, ripping open a seam just wide enough for the shimmering guitar drones to sink in. it starts of slow and methodic, but eventually builds into a spiralling mess of sound. this sucker gets pretty fucken heavy even with the high frequencies peeling all that rust off yr brain. thick slabs of molasses will salve your wounds, but rossignol has no interest in letting you off that easy. big, meaty drones bring it all back home and settle you in for a long night of hell. aw yeah. edition of 70, pro-dubbed.
ltd#116: america reads "towers open fire" c30 $7 US / $8 CAN/MEX / $9 INTL
now this, THIS is a junkyard i want to get lost in. america reads was another killer discovery of 2009 and another one to expect some seriously great damage from. "towers open fire" takes the cake so far. solar explorations taken to their prismatic core like drone diamonds shimmering underneath the constant glare. the side-long tracks slowly unfold, puncturing the crystal divide with their metallic sheen. it's definitely in the hypnotic realm.
at times, america reads plays on the more subtle side using delicate sounds that pulse and fall like feathers floating in the air after an attack. it feels a little uneasy, but it's all the better for it. distorted cracks infiltrate adding a layer of harshness to the mess. it's like hearing the synapses of your brain all going off at once, desperately searching for equilibrium. stunning. once you reach the summit, though, you find there's nothing left but ruins. it's an absolute revelation. edition of 72, pro-dubbed.
ltd#117: niggas with guitars "continent gods" c30 $7 US / $8 CAN/MEX / $9 INTL
no better way to end the year with a new tape of washed-out goodness from my favorite new band of the 2009. straight outta smokeland, these cats are making their own waves and doing it right. this isn't more tropical bullshit, but real sunkissed treachery looking for someone to love. NWG's simple synth loops create melodies that are the stuff dreams are made of. there is something so incredibly catchy about what they're doing that it stays with you for days. bright and blissed, each repeating pattern is another nail in your underwater coffin.
everything goes fluorescent in the end. this is music that is a straight line of continous hooks, pulled in tight and thrown off-balance just enough to keep you guessing. "continent gods" plays out like a long-lost opus from the distant past, slightly worn and wholly familiar. i don't want to say it's perfect, but it is damn near close. edition of 72, pro-dubbed.
if anyone's asking, i feel like 2010 is going to be a stellar year for mike pouw's fantastic knit prism project (not to mention his awesome, awesome label: house of sun). but let me step back for a minute... "perception" is a quick, magical exercise. missed opportunities are pushed into sonics and wrapped in a layer of murk and hiss that keeps the final answers shrouded in some semblance of mystery. each tone is stretched to its limit, creating spacious, oddly beautiful spectral pieces. it's an easy place to get lost.
once pouw has you totally enveloped in this aural maze, he hits you with a blast of straight-up cold. there's a smattering of bleeps and bloops that act as a focal point to keep your path in line, but they're constantly being washed over in a dark, dreary storm. it's a great contrast and pulled off beautifully. "perception" will lead you in. edition of 65, pro-dubbed.
a new series of 4-way split tapes of nothing but synth music. no guitars found here. suffice to say, pretty damn excited about these puppies. volume one features a side each from each raven brother, oklahoma flight, and our favorite resident LA goon. in other words, tape one has spare death icon planting sparkling palms and blasting off toward jupiter while charlatan hints at new ground to foray and busts a cold one. tape two, though, smooths things over with sovetskaya gone searching for bliss in bright green clouds and million mists settles the score on a bed of well-composed synthetic syrup. just what you need for these cold winter days. edition of 100, pro-dubbed.
emuul's debut, "the ghostwood estates," was a codeine-drenched feast, and on his latest exploit "egeiro," you are wrapped even tighter in your cellophane blanket. minimal synth drones float lazily through the air creating endless sonic vectors. the brainchild of kyle iman, these sprawling pieces show an incredible restraint all the while sucking the listener deep under their collective spell.
both side-long tracks fit together perfectly. crackling tones deviate from the ghost notes underneath adding texture and references points if you're lost in the fog. this builds into an intense meditation that grows and grows until finally being killed by the sun. flip it over and you've got melancholy on phased waves of glass growing darker by the minute. beautiful. each soundscape is carefully constructed, artfully executed and soaked in the best stuff available. edition of 72, pro-dubbed.
as always, the batch is available for $52 US / $61 CANMEX / $70 INTL while everything's in stock. just get in touch. we also have a very small number of restocks of bugskull’s “communication” and tarentel’s “live edits: italy/switzerland.” jump on those if you’ve been wanting them.
NEXT UP: on the vinyl front, new lps from higuma, roll the dice, & dylan ettinger. the josh hanson and steven r. smith CDs are close too. next tapes from the likes of celer, ALTAR EAGLE, secret colors, pine smoke lodge, & more. 2010 is gonna fucken rule.
This is one of the more diverse batches I've put out. I'm really happy with everything, and I hope you maybe take a chance on something you might not be familiar with... Paypal buttons and sound samples at http://kimdawn.blogspot.com/
Sparkling Wide Pressure -Dreams by Water (3"cdr) Lost in the haze of summer recollections. Regaining connections. More experiments with a restricted palette. Presented in a numbered edition of 50 hand stamped 3" cdrs. $4 postage paid anywhere
snma -Glow Bleg Maze (3"cdr) This is a big time squiggle fest from former TN resident Jay Schleidt (current man behind the massive noisearchive.org/darbolistic rex label). As snma, Jay gives you no ground to stand on as he leads you throw the bleg maze. Lots of negative space and a strong singular vision makes this stand out from the current noise crowd and feel more like a work of sound art from another era. There is still plenty of blown out scuzz, but it's paced and spaced in a mode totally unique to itself. Confusing in a delightful fashion.Presented in a numbered edition of 50 hand stamped 3" cdrs. $4 postage paid anywhere
Cruudeuces -Strange Magic (3"cdr) Cruudeuces provide the perfect sound track for made up midnight rituals in your living room. This is the kind of creep-drone that feels absolutely perfect in its combination of warmth and darkness. This disc won my heart with its strangely caustic yet comforting sounds and I'm proud to present it to you. Catch them while you can and watch out for upcoming releases on Tape Drift and Wet Merchants.Presented in a numbered edition of 50 hand stamped 3" cdrs. $4 postage paid anywhere
Indigenous Capsules Box Peyote Tapes 06/Object In Hand CDR Box w/Print Set Amplifier worship, synth noise and field recordings from Soundpressings/Obj...
blogpost :: by Brad Rose
'' You should know the deal by now, Brad Rose is The North Sea (among other things) and also runs the fab Digitalis label...
blogpost :: by Stephen Clover
Thank You - Pathetic Magic wo new songs and three remixes of the songs by Dan Deacon, Asa Osborne (Lungfish) and Jason Urick...
blogpost :: by George Glikerdas
New track "Beyond the Smoke" n hear/watch here Tour CD-R e title with that song plus two live improvised recordings available for purchase at the La Otrac...
blogpost :: by George Glikerdas
Celer, Entia Non, &...
blogpost :: by sailingrecs@gmail.com (George Glikerdas)
2 February, 2010
Bill Orcutt After more than ten years of silence, ex-Harry Pussy guitar player Bill Orcutt released An New Way To Pay Old Debts, an acoustic hardcore blues record that sounds heavier than all the eclectic guitar records in your collection. It was the best album of 2009... feature :: by Joeri Bruyninckx
Utech Records Utech Records is a label out of Milwaukee that puts out some of the most cutting edge releases in avant-garde music today... feature :: by Dave Miller
26 January, 2010
Usurper The first thing that makes a Usurper show such a thrilling experience is the sudden and palpable sense of self-awareness..... feature :: by Joe Luna
The Long Decline #10: 2009 Alright, 2009... a total motherfucker of a year with so much happening, where to start and where to end... yeah, I don't even know. But let's take a stroll down memory lane, shall we?.. feature :: by Brad Rose
16 December, 2009
el-g This past month, while laid up with that nasty flu bug, el-gs recently re-issued Tout Ploie LP arrived in my mailbox from S-S Records and found its way to the turntable... feature :: by David Perron
