brendan murray “commonwealth” compact disc

• commonwealth (49:06)

23five incorporated press release...

brendan murray commonwealth in recent years, brendan murray has become a central figure in boston’s sound art vanguard through a reputation of exceptional live performances and a growing catalogue of slow-shifting compositions for rarified drones. he sets himself apart from the conventional wisdom that drone-based music is an open-ended exercise into the “realm of the infinite.” murray specifically shapes his repetitions and sinewy tonalities within the rigors of compositional frameworks and temporal restraints. this process does not lend itself to speed, as previous albums required up to four years to complete and commonwealth endured over fifteen drafts before murray perfected the album. a single crescendo terminating at the end of 49 minutes, commonwealth is an epic investigation into subtle harmonics and overtones expressed through layered slippages of pure sound. conceived through guitar, analog synthesis, and plenty of digital manipulation, commonwealth expresses a rare confidence in murray’s finely tuned detailing of sinewy tonalities and sculpted megalithic surfaces. murray himself has qualified this album as a “sincere bow to ‘classic’ minimalism,” and commonwealth is a worthy parallel to the work of phill niblock, eliane radigue, and iannis xenakis. founded in 1993, 23five incorporated is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the development and increased awareness of sound works in the public arena, and to the support and education of artists working with and discussing the medium of sound. for the past 14 years, 23five incorporated has remained at the forefront in bringing the most adventurous elements of sound art to the san francisco bay area. 23five has served as an important benefactor to artists such as john duncan, christina kubisch, francisco lopez, achim wollscheid, matt heckert, zbigniew karkowski, atau tanaka, and many more.

brendan murray “inveterate” c90 cassette

• inveterate (1) (45:00)
  
  
• inveterate (2) (45:00)

arbor press release...

arbor 132; c90 cassette brendan murray inveterate brendan murray’s consistent output for the past decade has revealed an underlying concern for the working of sonic material. inveterate, containing a single, extended 90 minute recording follows this line of thought; looking inside of a sustained moment developing in such a way that difference and similarity can no longer be distinguished. establishing itself as itself by attempting to present the sound from all possible angles and orientations. nonlinear developments; viewed from the outside as a long blur. recorded september 2009 at weirdo records. in an edition of 150 copies with professionally duplicated/imprinted cassettes and cardstock covers.

brendan murray “resting places” compact disc

• shore (10:29)
  
• garden (second mix) (12:03)
  
• bed (15:45)
  
• tomb (16:40)

perispirit / brendan murray “untitled” c22 cassette

• compliant marsman
  
  
• birch victim

semata productions press release...

sem-013 perispirit & brendan murray 'untitled' c22 hot on the heels of their split lp, here we have the accompanying collaboration cassette between perispirit & brendan murray. moving forwards with the exoskeleton imagery, this tape finds both parties in rare form. the a side is a studio/mail collaboration between the artist's, resulting in a rising, enveloping drone. the b side is a live improvisation with no post processing or editing - less melodic than the a side, what where left with is a huge cloud of low end sub frequency rattle with piecing high end slowing creeping in and out of the mix. two takes on long form sound from these boston transplants, putting drone under the microscope for its ultimate dissection. co-released with razors & medicine.  edition of 100 : pro-dubbed on tan type ii high bias cassettes with 2-panel jcard, silkscreened shells & shrink-wrapping.

brendan murray / perispirit “birches and marksmen’s graves (voice and computer #1) b/w compliant victim” long playing record

• brendan murray - birches and marksmen’s graves (voice and computer #1) (16:30)
  
  
• perispirit - compliant victim (17:00)

brendan murray / mike shiflet “sentimental gentlemen” compact disc-recordable

• early retirement (15:49)
  
• “how’s your late 90’s?” (18:21)

brendan murray “untitled” compact disc

• sleeprunning (8:38)
  
• from the melted past (7:44)
  
• (top floor of the parking garage 11:37 pm) (9:13)
  
• tangerine tree (3:29)
  
• i avoid the night (12:30)
  
• maybe okay (9:04)

students of decay press release...

sod-19 brendan murray never content to rest on his laurels, we have here a new stellar release from boston based composer/sound artist brendan murray, the followup to the acclaimed 23five release "commonwealth." murray's compositions tend to hinge upon drones and this eponymous record is no exception. that being said, this is a work which differs considerably from "commonwealth" or "wonders never cease" (murray's intransitive release from 2007). in brendan's own words: this record was recorded after a 6 month break from making solo music. commonwealth was a pretty big undertaking over a few years, and i wanted to see if i could take some of the long range deliberation out of my process and trust decisions that i normally rethink over and over. i also worked under a deadline for the first time. the six tracks represent the first real overhaul of my approach since i started. i found myself breaking a lot of self-imposed rules and working very quickly. i decided to incorporate recognizable instrumentation, mainly piano and guitar. i made some shorter pieces and use lots of different recording techniques to give each track it's own character while making it sound like a record. it definitely sounds like my music, but it's a more delicate in some places than anything i've ever released. i regard the ideas as refined and realized, but each track inhabits its own space, almost like chapters in a book. it's self-titled or untitled, depending on how you care to think of it. the images in the artwork could also work as symbolic titles. i have left that very open, because the titles of the pieces are purposely evocative. they are also rather personal and refer to specific moments in my life, whether real or imagined. i plan on making a couple of more records like this, as well as continuing to make large, complex pieces. i don't regard this as a detour. some people have told me that this music sounds dark, others have told me it sounds really paranoid. i think it's a weirdly optimistic record. cd (ltd.500)

richard garet / brendan murray “of distance” compact disc

• in parallel (27:00)
  
• the tyranny of the objects (19:39)

unframed press release...

unframed ufcd2 richard garet and brendan murray of distance  debut collaboration of richard garet (who has recent releases on winds measure recordings, non-visual objects, and/oar), and brendan murray (23five, intransitive, sedimental among others). garet and murray are both known for their carefully measured compositions, in which wide droning expanses are organized into articulated, endlessly engaging structures. next to the timbral complexity and fine detail that comes through their layering of textures, of distance also shows well the painstaking attention devoted to the unfolding of temporal dynamics. presented here is the result of three years of exchange between the artists, who initially got together for a series of improvised sessions and later used the resulting recorded material to compose the two long pieces on this cd. their generative process encompasses analog synthesis and digital manipulation, as well as the use of field recordings as malleable sonic matter.  the cd is packaged in a letterpress die-cut sleeve containing also an extra-long letterpress fold-out insert. composed and produced by richard garet and brendan murray in astoria, ny and medford, ma, between summer 2004 and summer 2007. designed by gill arnò and printed at middle press. hand-made edition of 400 numbered copies.

hell hoarse “skull puddle” compact disc-recordable

• sku (7:36)
  
• ll (15:08)
  
• pud (17:09)
  
• dle (7:42)