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 digitalis recordings 		there are 14 titles on digitalis vinyl in stock.
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 dingulator 
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back in stock as of
february 6th, 2012

first in stock on
october 29th, 2010

threads:
modern-psych
minimalism-drones
analogue-synth
lo-fi

 best of 2010 !!! 
digitalis vinyl (uk) #digiv060 lp

imaginary softwoods “s/t (deluxe vinyl edition)” double long playing record set

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november 2010 release ; ah, excellent ... was worried this reissue of emeralds’ john “outer space” elliott’s obscure imaginary softwoods output would slip us by ; alas john was on the ball & supplied us with a decent grip for the laterally inclined ...

i’m tempted to frame this as john’s stab at satie-styled salon music ; certainly the melancholic, cyclic phrasing of the more “hands-on” pieces (listen to the sound-sample) do remind me of the velvet gentleman ... but then again the other half of the record is in familiar territories ; gorgeous filtered drone-cloudings with endless layers of almost subliminal, fleeting automations that are anything but static ...

incredibly nice euro / uk edition (manufactured by the boomkat folks by proxy for brad / digitalis) ; similar spec to the recent emego vinyl of “does it look like i’m here” ; full color euro gatefold double with full-color everything (with interesting, almost jandek-esque label-art) ; highly recommended !!!
digitalis vinyl press release...

digi060: imaginary softwoods s/t 2lp

three years ago, a triple cassette oddity appeared out of nowhere adorned in washed-out nature collages and zero information. turns out that john elliot of emeralds was behind the madness, and after further dissection of the sounds enclosed and it all began to make sense.

those three tapes (one yellow, one blue, one red) were the first taste of something that felt like a lost private-press object from the early european electronic experimentations of the '60s & '70s. each vignette is its own story, its own exploration. synthesizers and other electronics are stripped to their bare bones, never drifting beyond a mere five minutes. it's the brevity that is the guiding hand, though. every tone and every note is carefully considered and utilized as you're sucked into a world of washed-out colors and sullen landscapes.

one thing that immediately stands out with these pieces is just how restrained elliot is with them. it adds considerable tension, even if its understated, giving the album a surprising amount of emotional depth. each piece is its own miniature mountain, traversed and left behind all in a matter of minutes. as you interact with the subtlety changing harmonics and tonal shifts, you begin to float away into synthetic dreams. if all bedroom albums were this great, i'd never leave the house. a true gem.

completely remastered for vinyl by james plotkin and cut in berlin by d+m. the deluxe vinyl edition is presented in full-color gatefold jackets with all new art from john elliot in conjunction with the inimitable witchbeam.

all tracks untitled

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new to stock as of
february 6th, 2012

threads:
electro-acoustic-composition
analogue-synth
harsh-noise
digital-musics
musique-concrète
guitar-themed

digitalis vinyl (uk) #digiv038 lp

perispirit “spiritual church movement” long playing record

  • 14th annual séance

  • attn: deficit order
january 2012 release ; ... finally available, the “proper” debut album from luke moldof & ricardo donoso’s perispirit ...

... after ricardo’s recent success at forming cinematic, flowing electronic miniatures & luke’s solo guitar transgressions & (recent) modular synthesizer prowess, it’s easy to forget that, at their core, their perispirit duo always shared a love for jarring juxtapositions of noise-addled musique concrète ... here, across two side-length pieces, the duo cover an impressively wide area of ground, from the minimal crackle interference & low-bit blur of opening gambit, all the way through the melodic sub-bass arpeggiations of the closing minutes ...

this does a bang-up job at capturing a certain ca. 2012 zeitgeist, an apparent internal conflict in embracing both the noise-world’s sustained grey catharsis & the kind(s) of ever-so-slightly more variegated emotional timbres available with virtually identical tool-sets ...
digitalis vinyl press release...
digiv038: perispirit "spiritual church movement" lp

it's almost winter as i write this and i am pretty sure everything is about to fall apart. perispirit is the duo of ricardo donoso and luke moldof and they have been haunting the northeast for a couple of years now. after a slew of releases on hospital & ricardo's own semata productions, spiritual church movement has perispirit taking an unexpected turn as they unleash their most cohesive and accomplished work to date.

spiritual church movement is the sound of two worlds colliding and forming something entirely new in the aftermath. in this case, digital and analog systems are turned against each other. moldof's analog source material was blitzed and manipulated while donoso worked his sorcery via digital matrix, showing that both approaches can win the prize. squalid sonic debris spilled out and melted together with beats that are barely there and melodic shrapnel to create this weirdly compelling, utterly disjointed composition. this is dense music with layer-upon-layer of treatments and tones that could only be combined by two people who are as confident as they are diabolical.

if you thought moldof and donoso were concerned about expectations, spiritual church movement is proof that that is the last thing on their minds. synthesizers are mauled by digital processes, battered down to bare bones. the duo turns these passages of melody into disease-stricken robots, lurching into the black of night. paired with fractured, plodding rhythms, at times this sounds like autechre attempting to make a noise record. it is well and truly fucked.

the expertise with which everything is constructed, though, is what makes these pieces excel. everything is where it should be and the combination is almost religious in its attention to detail. but before the duo gets too close to the sun, everything is burned to the ground and the process starts over. it's almost arrogant how often they fuck with your perception of what this record is, but that punk rock attitude is what helps take this to a different level. just when you think you have it figured it out, spiritual church movement is off to another disfigured frontier.

over the course of these two sprawling sides, the cult of perispirit is born. ricardo donoso and luke moldof are convinced that anything is possible and nothing is out of bounds. spiritual church movement is their manifesto and at the end of it all, they are the fucking kings.

mastered by james plotkin and cut to vinyl by rashad becker at d+m berlin.

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back in stock as of
february 6th, 2012

first in stock on
december 12th, 2011

threads:
analogue-synth
machine-music
live-electronic

digitalis vinyl (usa) #digiv037 lp

kplr “s/t” long playing record

  • cirkuit syntax
  • timespan
  • tny mzk
  • cirkuit.rn 1

  • tny mzk [cw bll]
  • cirkuit.rn 2
  • cirkuit.rn 3
  • sub/hype
november 2011 release ; ... whittled down to just dexter brightman, kplr again forges a new path through the post-dance music maze, landing at a particularly fruitful lane of raw, computer-speak & a mercilessly quantized array of cold synthetic symmetries that harkens back to ray “cykx” buttigeig’s work ...
digitalis vinyl press release...
digiv037: kplr lp

over the past year-and-a-half, the duo of dexter brightman and jair espinoza have explored abstract electronics in increasingly new and interesting ways. over the course of numerous tapes on labels such as avant archive, neon blossom, and others, the duo has combined the ideas of repetition and sound art and continually mutated them into something that is becoming increasingly difficult to pin down. with the recent “tek no muzik” 12” on crazy iris, mechanized acid was introduced in the mix. it is not techno music in any sense of the term, but is subversive electronic music aimed at overloading your aural receptors.

on this self-titled debut full-length, kplr has been stripped down in more ways than one. due to geographic barriers, brightman is now on his own and if this record is an indication, he's operating at the peak of his powers. for this album, brightman took inspiration from his daily environment. at his job he is subjected to continuous machine noises that, after hours of constant repetition, begin to morph into machine music. repeated phrases, beats, and even harmonies start to find their way through the mire. this kplr record takes those ideas and elevates them to something incredible.

these zonked-out digital acid malfunctions fit together like a puzzle. each piece of debris manifests itself as part of a larger whole. it is music that is simultaneously cold and abrasive yet draws you, almost mechanically, so that you can't pull yourself away. with influences as far reaching as merzbow and ceephax, brightman is searching for the one frequency to set everything else aflame.

kplr is inquisitive and intuitive as it bounces rhythmically through the grid. it is hard to call this dance music as it's too discombobulated and fried. it is beautifully flawed and built on a web of endless, screeching circuits. dexter brightman is on his way to becoming part of the machine.

mastered by brad rose and cut to vinyl at d+m berlin.
original cover artwork by a. bill miller.

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back in stock as of
february 6th, 2012

first in stock on
january 18th, 2012

threads:
modern-psych
minimalism-drones
electro-acoustic-composition
guitar-themed

digitalis vinyl (uk) #digiv035 lp

nova scotian arms “cult spectrum” long playing record

  • gathering/composition
  • overcast (1st delay)
  • citadel

  • emulsion
  • hearse overdub (decomposition)
january 2012 release ; ... hazy, cave-aged drones from grant evans, sticking (largely) to an angelic, reverb-soaked sound with ecclesiastic overtones ...
digitalis vinyl press release...
digiv035: nova scotian arms "cult spectrum" lp

nova scotian arms has concocted a sprawling, sophisticated catalog of winding compositions and dizzying drones. grant evans, who is also 1/2 of quiet evenings and co-curator of the hooker vision label, is the brains behind the entire operation. throughout numerous releases he has shown a consistent ability to keep listeners guessing as he explores endless sonic territories. with cult spectrum, evans is drowning himself in a hazy aural sea.

like much of his work, there is a very distinct mood on cult spectrum. this is funereal music that is stretched to its breaking point. distant galaxies are buried underground in a delicate mix of sounds that are as cosmic as they are organic. this duality is at play straight-off with the masterful opener, "gathering/composition." soaring in crystal skies on beds of hiss, each strained note from evans' rhodes piano that emerged from the murk is an anchor keeping the song and the mood gravity-stricken. it works to perfection, drawing in the listener immediately.

tape loops and radio interference deliciously muddy the waters of cult spectrum. the 16+ minute burner, "emulsion," combines all those and more into a cacophonous stew. acoustic guitars circle around and die in the swirling synthetic drain. each wave emerges in stages as evans shows considerable compositional skill in the way the piece is put together. with "overcast strumming (1st delay)" comes a melancholic, skyward glance. electronic corridors take shape and find a simple beauty through tonal dichotomies. blurred drones are puncuated by bursts of fuzz, working in tandem to find that sonic bliss.

if cult spectrum is nova scotian arms' biggest stage and loudest statement then the message is coming through loud & clear. grant evans is a force to be reckoned with. this is the sound of dissonance sculpted and shaped into something far greater and leaves its mark long after the final, ghostly seconds of "hearse overdub (decomposition)" fade away. evans is digging a tunnel, heading straight for the sun

mastered by lawrence english and cut at d+m, pressed in germany.
artwork by grant evans.

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back in stock as of
february 6th, 2012

first in stock on
september 20th, 2011

threads:
modern-psych
minimalism-drones
guitar-themed

digitalis vinyl (usa) #digiv033 lp

emuul “the drawing of the line” long playing record

  • expectations
  • love theme
  • the first look
  • big clouds

  • plus one
august 2011 release ; ... after a series of impressive tapes for avant archive, tranquility, monorail, sweat lodge guru, digitalis, stunned, and anathema sound, here’s kyle “emuul” iman’s debut mass-market release ...

the side-long organ swell of “plus one” is especially nice (listen to the sound-sample) ...
digitalis vinyl press release...
digiv033: emuul "the drawing of the line" lp

seattle's emuul has been around the block a few times over the last few years, releasing an excellent string of tapes on digitalis, monorail trespassing, stunned and others. emuul (kyle iman) has always shown a masterful level of restraint and subtlety, letting the listener fill in the blanks rather than laying it all out for you. iman uses each song as a dot on a map that will ultimately lead you to the treasure. the drawing of the line is his most fully-realized work. he has crafted a set of deceptively complex songs that flirt with unexpected, slightly-buried pop influences to create an expertly-composed meditation on an unknown future.

each track tells a small part of a larger story and iman uses similar elements with each to tie everything together. on the opener, “expectations,” emuul is at its restrained and sanguine best. using a series of repetitive, evocative notes over a bed of rising-and-falling oscillations, there is much promise ahead. the piece embraces the feeling of not knowing what is next but feeling in awe of the wonder it promises. “love theme” is even more tender and blossoms into near-catharsis, longing for that time when everything you hope for is finally in your hands.

those feelings are tossed to the side inside the worried and frenetic walls of “the first look.” as the synthesizer and guitar interplay moves faster and as iman's wordless vocals descend upon the mix, it is as though the future is not everything it hinted it was. he brings it all home when he closes out the a-side with the six-minute masterpiece, “big clouds.” this song is fucking raw. as with most of the drawing of the line, it was recorded to tape and sounds dense to the point of breaking. high-pitched synthesizer tones scream out as iman comes to grips that even if things don't turn out as we planned, it will still be okay. the side-long “plus one” is that acceptance realized. it is the ultimate pay-off for all that came before.

the drawing of the line is a devastating album that is the perfect introduction to emuul's world of sound. even if the future feels strange and confused right now, iman is determined to find something beautiful in that uncertainty. that belief and apprehension is this sound.

mastered by brad rose and cut at d+m, pressed in germany.

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back in stock as of
february 6th, 2012

first in stock on
september 20th, 2011

threads:
modern-psych
electro-acoustic-composition
digital-musics
minimalism-drones

digitalis vinyl (usa) #digiv031 lp

lawrence english “kiri no oto” long playing record

  • organs lost at sea
  • soft fuse
  • white spray
  • waves sheer light

  • commentary
  • allay
  • figure's lone static
  • oamura
april 2011 release ; vinyl version of lawrence’s touch debut ...
digitalis vinyl press release...
digiv031: lawrence english "kiri no oto" lp

there's no doubt that lawrence english has been responsible for some of the best drone compositions in the past decade, but with kiri no oto he unleashed his magnum opus. it's a stunning album on every level. english blends an array of natural and unnatural sources into a living document that is constantly captivating and engages the listener on many levels. this is a work set apart from much of english's discography, but still blanketed by his exquisite attention to detail that keeps everything in its right place. originally released as a cd on touch, kiri no oto finds a new lease on life etched into wax.

album opener “organs lost at sea” leaves nothing to chance. from the first saturated chords, you are enveloped in kiri's aural landscape. towering drones get weighted down with fuzz, overpowering the fog that's present throughout the record. it's like hearing the hum of the earth released from its cage for the first time. flowing seamlessly into the quieter but no less imposing “soft fuse,” there's never a chance to catch your breath. english is content to overrun your ears. “waves sheer light” catches you by the wings and lifts you high into the clouds. this is what floating sounds like. it's an enchanted and dizzying experience.

this is music that is timeless in the literal sense. you get lost within these sonic walls, unsure if you've been swimming there for hours or only a few minutes. this is especially true on the underwater gauziness of “figures lone static.” it feels endless. “white spray” plies similar ground with bits and pieces of electric harmonics peaking through the static every so often acting as beacons to find your way. i'm content to get lost here.

as the album comes to a close on the cathartic “oamura,” lawrence english's job is done. he has taken you on a dynamic journey and kept you riding on eternal highs. when the melodic tones finally get overtaken by the sound of ocean waves it is simply time to flip it over and start the experience again.

the music on kiri no oto has been remastered for vinyl by lawrence english and cut to vinyl by d+m, with photography by jon wozencroft.

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back in stock as of
february 6th, 2012

first in stock on
october 25th, 2011

threads:
modern-psych
minimalism-drones
digital-musics
electro-acoustic-composition

digitalis vinyl (usa) #digiv030 lp

chubby wolf “turkey decoy” long playing record

  • cantankerous baby
  • birthday suit
  • short dick
  • sushi on a hot day
  • rattling mandibles

  • prescient inspiration
  • if there's an elephant in the room, introduce it
  • cruel sausage gentle fingers
  • scalloped toes
  • intrusively coexisting
october 2011 release ; ... purportedly the final recordings being issued from dani bacquet-long’s archives, the ten humorously-titled pieces herein make a fine swan song of frozen chordal clusterings, each focusing a particular monotonality ...
digitalis vinyl press release...
digiv030: chubby wolf "turkey decoy" lp

chubby wolf was the moniker used by the late dani baquet-long of celer for her subdued world of sound. with the help of dani's husband and celer's other half, will long, the final chubby wolf recordings are finally seeing the light of day and the world is a better place because of it. turkey decoy represents some of her most accessible work.

as the album opens with “cantankerous baby,” you immediately drift away on cybernetic clouds. soothing as it may seem, this song is transportive. it's like endlessly floating though an unknown haze built around processed vocals and sample-ridden electric guitar. as you continue dreaming through the morose romanticism of pieces like “short dick” and “prescient inspiration,” there's an understated carnality that weaves its way into this music. “if there's an elephant in the room” pulls back the curtain and reveals a breathless aftermath punctuated by distant piano chords and sprawling drones. each swell of baquet-long's voice makes you want to avert your eyes, unsure if this is something you're supposed to see.

turkey decoy evolves delicately. each layer is an article of clothing, slowly removed until there's nothing left to hide. this is dani baquet-long at her most visceral. every quirk and imperfection is on display as if there wasn't any other way to exist. it's intense.

closing out the album, “scalloped toes” and “intrusively coexisting” wrap things up with an elegant sweetness as everything comes full circle. the former is swimming in warm, relaxing tones that bleed into the barking and howling of dani's beloved wolves that begin the last song on the album. “intrusively coexisting” is vaguely gloomy and leaves lingering questions about all that came before. it's the right way to end such a raw album because the only thing left to do is go back to the beginning and try to figure it out all over again.

art by dani baquet-long.  cut & mastered at d+m berlin.

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back in stock as of
february 6th, 2012

first in stock on
september 20th, 2011

threads:
minimalism-drones
modern-composition
electro-acoustic-composition

digitalis vinyl (usa) #digiv029 lp

concern “truth & distance” long playing record

  • truth & distance

  • young birth
  • heartsink
november 2010 release ; vinyl version of gordon’s spring 2009 magnum opus ...

aggregate-themed ensemble works from gordon “oscillating innards” ashworth, recalling jim o’rourke’s early pieces (esp. “young person’s guide to drowning”) ...
digitalis vinyl press release...
digiv029: concern "truth & distance" lp

gordon ashworth is concern and this is his manifesto. "truth & distance" is a mini-epic, a minor masterpiece. within these sonic walls lies a stunning landscape, adrift in golden tones and silver siren songs. ashworth creates beautiful, shimmering music that defies categorization. it stands on its own, droning away into the furthest reaches of the night. using only acoustic instrumentation, ashworth conceives pieces of music in which resonance and timbre mutate and in the air and unfold naturally, organically.

hints of piano glisten like night shadows whispering through the leaves. strings are bowed and plucked into oblivion. everything is turned into a pile of reverb. everyone is a ghost. the title track starts with frayed edges and continually dials back, trying to not to fall apart. ashworth's skill in wrangling discordant sounds out of his array of acoustics seems to grow as the piece flows along. daunting as the seemingly endless layers of droning tones may be, its the all-enveloping nature of this music that makes it so engaging. like hearing basinski destroy and rework peter broderick's deepest compositions, "truth & distance" feels familiar while sounding new.

as the final, looping piano chords of "heartsink" disintegrate into oblivion, concern has gone all in. this is music that trades in immediacy for reservation and restraint. ashworth is able to combine all these elements into towering aural monuments that he scatters through the air and down into the soil. it's all coming up roses this time.

new vinyl edition features extended cuts of all three pieces from the original cd, adding 10 minutes of new music that pushes the album to another level. in addition there is all new art and a cut by berlin's d+m.

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$13.44

back in stock as of
february 6th, 2012

first in stock on
october 29th, 2010

 best of 2010 !!! 
digitalis vinyl (usa) #digiv028 lp

gärden söund “black summit” long playing record

  • forbidden paradise
  • beast of burden

  • hidden origin
  • obsidian sky
october 2010 release ; debut release from this new aggregate, featuring 2/2’s of barn owl & eternal tapestry’s dewey mahood & jed bindeman ...

the curious use of umlauts would lead one to believe that the intended destination is gårdet ca. 1970, but the two main pieces are definitely rooted in seattle ca. 1991 ; monolithic guitar bloom, caveman drums and the like ... that said, the two “opener” pieces show a lighter touch, with some nice, snaking, modal guitar interplay amidst jed’s subtle malletings ...
digitalis vinyl press release...
digiv028: gärden sound "black summit lp

when it comes to blown-out psychedelia, the first current band i want to hear is eternal tapestry. when it comes to desolate desert blues, that band is barn owl. those are two pretty potent names in the world of experimental music right now so when 4/5 of them join up for some portland sessions, that's good news for us all. gärden sound is the quartet of dewey mahood and jed bindeman of eternal tapestry (as well as plankton wat & heavy winged, respectively) and jon porras and evan caminiti of barn owl. "black summit" is their first charcoal-lined foray into the deep and if you can't get lost in this haze, there's not much hope.

immediately evident is the incredible restraint shown by all four players. they're not being timid or trying to feel each other out, but there's an obvious level of comfort and understanding between each. with three guitars and bindeman's trademark drumming, it would be easy to drown everything in full-on sludge but gärden sound are too damn good to play that game. opener, "forbidden paradise," sets the scene. methodical guitar works lull the listener into a solemn state of comfort while bindeman adds to the hypnosis with tribal-infused narcotic rhythms. the build-up is slow but gets you ready for the knock-down blasts of "beast of burden." heavy stomp and zoned-out, smoked-out guitar riffs that blow the roof to oblivion. this is music that needs to be played as loud as you can stand it.

"hidden origin" calms things back down, contemplating the next move while finding its way through the blackened labryinth concocted by porras, caminiti and mahood. each guitarist finds his own path as they lead each other to the prize. the 14-minute closer, "obsidian sky," brings everything home. sprawling riffage like a dense forest of apocalyptic crumble. desolation takes hold as the molasses drones take shape and form themselves into an unpassable mountain of debris. it's mind-bending and cathartic; a sonic temple crushed to ash so it can rise again. gärden sound prove worthy opponents, ably standing on their own and stomping out their own trail toward the stars.

mastered by james plotkin. vinyl only edition of 400 copies w/ original cover art by evan caminiti.

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first in stock on
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threads:
modern-psych
minimalism-drones
guitar-themed
electro-acoustic-composition

digitalis vinyl (usa) #digiv016 lp

john twells / matt christensen “coasts” long playing record

  • the crate

  • burning bridges together
2010 release ; debut album from the duo of john “xela” twells & zelienople’s matt christensen
digitalis vinyl press release...
digiv016: twells & christensen "coasts" lp

"coasts" has been a long time in the making but now that it's here, the wait will prove worth it. john twells (aka xela) and matt christensen (of zelienople) have been collaborating in various forms for years, but this is their first fully-realized work. the entire album was made with vintage gear and recorded to 8-track during a weekend in chicago in 2008 and finally mixed at twells' seventh door studio outside boston. the resulting record is a spectral odyssey in two parts. darkened passages shift and fall apart while keeping the piercing sun at bay. faint song structures lurk beneath the rolling black waves, but only get an arm above the surface during those rare moments of light.

opening with "the crate," immediately you are immersed inside the belly of the whale as twells’ siren call gets trapped beneath christensen's bleak guitar notes. it all feels held together by the thinnest of threads. rattling tones crawl out from underneath swirls of electronics, like barely-there points of reference in a white out. lines are crossed but blur together and everything ends up sounding like desperate, beautiful collage of sound. it's all a rouse, anyway, as you are tricked into a sense of calm as the dying orchestral zones gently flame out.

"burning bridges together" is your reward for buying in. crunching guitar chords bowl into you at full-force, moving slow but piling on the pressure. christensen belts out the vocals this go round, getting buried underneath endless washes of fuzz-soaked cacaphony. tension rises to the point of no return as they desperately search for a breaking point. things finally settle down and gently fade into oblivion, christensen's guitar providing the final epitaph. in the end, the seamless nature of the collaboration is what really leaves its mark.

vinyl only edition, cut at d+m in berlin and pressed in germany.

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first in stock on
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threads:
modern-psych
electro-acoustic-composition
guitar-themed
minimalism-drones

digitalis vinyl (usa) #digiv012 lp

sparkling wide pressure “fields and string” long playing record

  • clear pathway
  • jeremy moves

  • summoning
  • completely inside
august 2010 release ; believe this is the first lp from frank baugh after something like 25 different tape & lrcdr releases for housecraft, peasant magik, small doses, excite bike, existential cloth, stunned, rotifer, and his own kimberley dawn label ... i.e. he’s paid his dues & has saved the best for this digitalis slab, rife with slown-down vocals, murky drum-machine beats & pink-floyd-esque guitar crumble ...
digitalis vinyl press release...

digiv012: sparkling wide pressure "field & string" lp

the last two years have been an impressive journey for frank baugh, the brains behind sparkling wide pressure. he's released a multitudes of cdrs and cassettes on some of the best labels around (stunned, housecraft, etc) and spent time building up his own label focusing on the 3" cdr, kimberly dawn. so it feels like a natural progression for baugh to finally bring his toys to this ball of wax, and trust me folks - this is his a-game times infinity. bittersweet nostalgia has never sounded so fucking good.

one thing that always gets me about sparkling wide pressure is baugh's ability to collage a seemingly endless amount of styles into a seamless, cohesive whole. his music blurs together like watching a landscape pass by on a moving train. his work is visionary and instantly recognizable. a million different pieces slowly come together and eventually form shapes. broken-down keyboards washed in hiss flutter around like decaying tape loops on "clear pathway," driving themselves straight into a wall of ramshackle guitars and minimalist beats. it's a lazy river of slowed-down drones and junkyard guitar, weaving together into something that is awkwardly beautiful.

"jeremy moves" is the real prize, though. synth notes act as an anchor against the faint industrial rhythms and meandering crackle. everything feels incredibly fragile as if each string baugh is pulling could snap at any instant. the beats keep building and building into a cacaphonous flurry while vocals pierce through the murk, leaving a mark of hopefulness on everything beneath. it's a mini-masterpiece; sparkling wide pressure's finest moment.

it all goes a bit wonky on the flip-side. drunken campfire serenades with dying batteries and broken flutes. "summoning" is disjointed on the surface yet expertly stitched together below. what really sets baugh apart is his ability to tug at your heart-strings in the most subtle of ways. you don't even realize he's taking you back in time to a place you remember fondly, but by the time the journey is through, your emotions are exhausted and you're ready for another trip. in the culmination on "completely inside," the ghosts from your past are given a voice and the freedom to rise to the top, singing on crumbling wings. there's always been beauty in decay, but sparkling wide pressure has his own brand to sling.

edition of 150 copies with fold-out silkscreened covers designed by jeremy braden.


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digitalis vinyl (usa) #digiv010 lp

charlatan “triangles” long playing record

  • lime beauty
  • faint blue outlines
  • vodka rocks

  • traces
  • foxes
  • swimming pool summer nights
july 2011 release ; ... believe is the first vinyl outing from brad rose’ charlatan project ...

opens with a tune that wouldn’t be out of place on a city centre offices compilation from 2000 (listen to the sound-sample), continues in a more beat-less vein over 6 extended tracks ... some of my favorite of brad’s recent work, actually ; but then again i can already hear the looming idm revival on the horizon ...
digitalis vinyl press release...
digiv010: charlatan "triangles" lp

there's something almost religious about the newest charlatan lp, its narrative arc swinging from light to dark and back again. from the opening chords of “lime beauty,” it's tropicalia paradise, awash in polarized-lens glinting twilight, fluorescent skies over the water. “trace blue outlines” is trancelike and reflective, with long arpeggiated figures chasing each other skyward in a fugue. darkness creeps in around the edges of “vodka rocks,” with almost post-rock moodiness bringing the side to a close.

"traces" opens the b-side and is a breakout track. with dark depeche mode-style synth textures and plenty warped dissonance, it has almost an altar eagle vibe, but things get darker, deeper, and more personal as multilayered melodic lines close in on the loping drum track. this is the kind of song you don't want to end, and wonder if you can set lyrics to. after "foxes" provides the perfect interlude with classic charlatan synth tones on a masterfully layered canvas, closer “swimming pool summer nights” is just as staggering. its slow drum pattern echoes early cluster experiments as blissed-out synths and even birdlike squawks pass through its celestial gates. as time goes on, it yields into what could almost pass for some kind of acceptance, embracing the darkness that came before it.

more than any before it, this is an extremely emotional charlatan record? majestic, reflective, yearning for something like transcendence. even though it's richly layered, it's not gauzy. there is nothing dreamy or half-remembered about these pieces. they are sharp, fresh as wounds. this record puts charlatan on a seriously high plane for anyone exploring these tones, textures, or emotions.

mastered by john. p. twells at seventh door with original cover illustration by caroline teagle.

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digitalis vinyl (usa) #digiv008 lp

mind over mirrors “the voice rolling” long playing record

  • brickfielder
  • you ain't reeling
  • coaling
  • barely spun

  • point hammond
  • round, around
  • sackcloth & scarlet
june 2011 release ; ... after jaime fennely’s recent gift tape, here’s his debut lp as mind over mirrors, his solo harmonium (and electronics) project ...
digitalis vinyl press release...
digiv008: mind over mirrors "the voice rolling" lp

mind over mirrors might not be a familiar name to most, but the brain behind the project, jaime fennelly, has been involved in numerous acclaimed and respected projects over the last few years. primarily known for his work as an integral member of peeesseye, he's also involved with acid birds, manpack variant and phantom limb & bison. the voice rolling is his first solo record in five years and the first under this new moniker.

first and foremost, this is a harmonium record and that's important to remember because this doesn't sound like any other harmonium record you've likely heard. nearly all of the sounds on the voice rolling were created using a medium-sized indian harmonium and then processed electronically via tape echo, harmonizer and other guitar pedals. add in the fact that it was recorded to tape and you get a dense, warm record full of grit and emotion.

one of the most remarkable aspects of this record is where it draws influence. on “barely spun” and again on “round, around” fennelly bends slowly-building, repetitive melodies into massive sonic mountains. the latter acts as an ecstatic answer to hard questions asked by the former. there is so much joy and ecstasy flowing out of “round, around” that it reminds me of how i felt when i first heard the pure expressions in sacred harp singing. the music on the voice rolling is rampant with an over-arching feeling of being alive - something often absent in too much experimental music.

fennelly has an innate ability to manually construct looping bass patterns that sound almost arpeggiated, but have considerably more depth. the rawness and repetition of pieces like “brickfielder” and “point hammond” feel more in line with american primitive blues than any sort of indian ragas. turn roscoe holcomb's voice into a harmonium and stretch it out and you're going down the right path. mind over mirrors is mining new territory on an ever-changing aural treasure map.

the voice rolling is an incredible journey. fennelly put the album together in chicago, but the organic undercurrents throughout were a product of three years of remote living on an island off the coast of washington state. it is music that embraces both sides of the coin. this is a visceral listening experience that, at times, will make you want to stand up, raise your arms to the sky and scream.

recorded to tape by jaime fennelly and mastered by scott colburn with art by serena lander.
cut to vinyl by d+m berlin.

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digitalis vinyl (usa) #digiv006 lp

ricardo donoso “progress chance” long playing record

  • chrome decadence
  • klatu
  • baiting disappointment
  • the deck of an ancient ship

  • morning criminal
  • the north quadrant (ascension)
  • conditional formatting (descent)
september 2011 release ; ... i suppose i should be surprised by this apparent 180º shift away from anything remotely “noise” ; but in truth ricardo’s been name-dropping goa & prog-trance as reference points since the day i met him 5 years ago ...

this set of contemporary electronic music heavily reminds me of cliff martinez’ film-score work from the past coupla years (while martinez is no brad fiedel or alan howarth, you can’t help but respect the sheer quality he pumps out, always on deadline) ; given everyone’s reference points these days (16-bit video games ala “altered beast”, late 80’s horror) this feels like a natural progression of things into the next evolutive step ...
digitalis vinyl press release...
digiv006: ricardo donoso "progress chance" lp

in recent years, boston has become an epicenter for some of the best experimental music has to offer. a native of brazil, ricardo donoso has floated somewhat under the radar until recently but has become an integral piece of the boston puzzle. not only is he half of the exquisite perispirit and the brains behind the semata label, but he also is a member of avant-metal extraordinaires, ehnare. donoso's previous two solo efforts were both cassettes (on digitalis and razors & medicine, respectively) but progress chance presents an impressive leap forward into something quite unexpected.

while on a hiatus from working on the score for the upcoming film, the intensive, donoso was inspired to try something new. his roots as a jazz drummer in brazil haven't always been obvious on his previous solo efforts, but through his soundtrack work he realized that he wanted to make a record that explored his interest in techno and more specifically old goa and scandinavian trance. the idea was to strip out the four-to-the-floor beats and any other drum programming and create his own version of the 'morning dance music' he grew up with in the brazilian rave scene. as donoso explores his synthesizers in new ways, the result is something incredibly intricate yet surprisingly accessible. this is trance music without beats.

through the heavy use of gates and arpeggiators, donoso lays down a series of rhythmic counterpoints. there are certainly vague traces of berlin school influence on progress chance. yet donoso finds his own voice, figuratively and literally. ghostly whispers and incantations drift in and out over the polyrhythmic layers of synthesizers like radio waves from the grave.

even if the aural similarities between progress chance and his past efforts, deterrence and linear transformation matrices, aren't straightforward, the meticulous nature of the composition and intense contemplation that goes into each piece is prevalent throughout. whereas much of his previous work has been dark and ominous, donoso is much more hopeful on progress chance. “conditional formatting (descent)” feels timeless with it's gradual build-up and hopeful repetition while “chrome decadence” is over-the-top without being gauche. even with the newfound hints of positivity prevailing, there is still something vaguely austere creeping in on “morning criminal.” this is music for the morning when you wake up in a stranger's bed and all you can think of is “i've got to get the hell out of here.” in the end, progress chance is an album about embracing the changes we face and moving forward and that's never as easy as it sounds.

mastered by james plotkin.
art, layout, & design by lee tindall.
cut to vinyl at d+m berlin.

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... this page was last updated on saturday, february 11th, 2012 @ 5:09 pm