studio ss “sickness” c45 cassette

• killer dream
  
• on sickness
  
• revenge
  
  
• systematic
  
• not constant
  
• disturbance

gift tapes press release...

studio ss sickness :: gt019 c45 audio cassette, edition of 100 released march 2010 sensory disruption process; panic-attack boomerang synthesis music by js

knit prism “orbs” c31 cassette

• streams
  
• middle coast
  
• pan
  
  
• wayward
  
• east

gift tapes press release...

knit prism orbs :: gt018 c31 audio cassette, edition of 100 released march 2010 multidimensional perception; inverted floatation awareness music by mwp

tom hamilton “pieces for kohn • formal and informal music” double compact disc set

• modhera
  
• bonampak
  
• girnar
  
• fatehpur
  
  
• formal & informal music
  
• crimson sterling mvt. 1
  
• crimson sterling mvt. 2
  
• crimson sterling mvt. 3

kvist press release...

kvist006 - tom hamilton - pieces for kohn/formal & informal music artist: tom hamilton release date: fall 2009 limited run of 500 on 2xcd reissue of 2 out-of-print works originally released on the artist’s own somnath label. formal and informal music contains the title piece formal and informal music (1980), and crimson sterling (1973) for electronics, winds and percussion, and also features jd parran, woodwinds and saxes, and rich o’donnell, percussion. pieces for kohn is comprised of four electronic pieces, musical responses to four paintings by artist bill kohn. disc one – pieces for kohn disc two – formal and informal music tom hamilton – arp 2500 synthesizer, e-mu microprocessor keyboard, serge synthesizer, custom electronics. rich o’donnell – bass drums, bowed cow bells, tabla, gamelan gongs, talking drum, marimba bars, timpani, cymbals, tubalum, koto-veen, aqua-lips, sprahng, chinese cymbal, tom-toms, timpani, roto-toms. jd parran – flute, clarinet, alto flute, alto clarinet, nagaswaram, alto saxophone. the “pieces for kohn” celebrate the process of an extremely gratifying collaboration. it has been a constant challenge to work with artistic concepts that have been first defined by another form. that is, the “intangibles” came first from the paintings, rather than from just own own fantasies. the titles of the pieces correspond to the titles of four selected paintings. in each of the four pieces, i have considered expression of both the general style and the specifics of that painting. in this way. i was able to let each piece develop its own character while still complementing the painting. bill’s paintings are warm, vibrant, and best of all, have a personal identity that is all-kohn! i hope a little bit of it rubbed off on me.” t.h. ... thomas hamilton is the director of the washington university electronic music/recording studio. he was born in 1946 and received early musical training from thelma taglin and thom davis mason. he attended the university of wisconsin and studied there with john downey. he holds an m.a. from washington university and studied composition with robert wykes. his favorite food is cheese. bill kohn is a painter and printmaker who teaches at the washington university school of fine arts. the original tapes were performed at the opening of bill kohn’s exhibit at the terry moore gallery in st. louis, in january, 1976. the recording was supported by a research grant from washington university. bill schulenburg assisted the re-mix and did the mastering.

guillaume gargaud “here” compact disc

• sève brute
  
• noir animal
  
• un vent tiède
  
• traces du temps
  
• fleurs lumineuses
  
• tache de suie
  
• aedeiinae
  
• les chevaux
  
• sans corps

kvist press release...

kvist005 - guillaume gargaud - here artist: guillaume gargaud release date: august 2009 limited run of 500 on cd improvised guitar and electronics.

eod “kvist003” long playing record

• ditriac
  
• tiny trollop
  
• stroidef
  
  
• bastard!
  
• hard gummi
  
• tarbreath

ashley paul “to much togethers” compact disc

• wedding song
  
• dear adelaide
  
• one one
  
• at last (least)
  
• and if only
  
• another walk in the park
  
• blank
  
• ask me

rel press release...

rel 015 ashley paul to much togethers over 2 years in the making, to much togethers is the follow up album to ashley’s 2008 ‘d.o.l’ release. patiently crafted and paced to much togethers continues on ashley’s unique path of ‘song’ style. combining clattering strings, (her custom green-box string set up), psycho acoustic sustain and decay, bowed metal, expressive saxophone, subtle and ear grabbing sense of color and distant voice all slowly creating mood and thought provoking miniatures, that succeed in fitting into no known forms. lyrically focusing on surreal and repetitive images contrasted by both harsh aggressive textures with quite moving and spacious moments. conflicting and deep energies and spaces seem to co-exist in ashley’ world. to much togethers is a unique creation as ashley moves deeper into her own individual realm, where she is truly on her own. as much as an audible experience as a visual. to much togethers is remarkably packaged featuring drawings by gayle paul (ashley’s mother), whose intuitive creations compliment the feeling of the music. custom assembled, and printed by ashley paul the striking ‘lp style’ red cover features multi layers of screening with a screen-printed black obi wrapped around the spine of the fold out cover. the inside features another screened drawing by gayle paul with a green w/ black over-layed cd hub. the left side features a glued black folder containing 2 more inserts with screen printed drawings w/ liner notes, a metallic paper insert in addition to a oval ‘wagtail’ sticker, with full color on cd printing. to much togethers is a limited edition of 300 copies and marks the 2nd full length album in rel’s limited cd series.

eli keszler “endgrove” double c20 cassette set

• drums, crotales, guitar
  
• soprano string harp, banjo, charango
  
  
• crotales, snare, metal bow
  
  
• guitar, soprano string harp
  
• charango, cymbal, snare, banjo
  
  
• cymbal, floor tom, guitar

rel press release...

rel 014 eli keszler endgrove endgrove is the first new release by eli keszler in 2010, collecting three days worth of live recordings of percussion clatter, bells, crotales and metal mixed with bowed and attacked strings and guitar. creating complex textures, moving from extreme density to sparse harmonics. 5 pieces are scattered across two tapes, occupying a wide array of sound areas. the tapes themselves capture an amazing amount of detail and changes in tone color. housed in a butterfly style cassette box with fold out multi layer silk screened covers. the color pro printed/duplicated muted grey and purple cassettes contrast each other with detailed printed images. multi layer silk screened inserts on heavy metallic paper are found inside with liner notes printed on the reverse sides. all screened, drawn and designed by eli keszler. endgrove is a limited one time edition of 120 copies.

the c&b “1991 pre-shadow ring recordings” seven inch single record

• c-town breeding ground
  
• kent custer
  
  
• cave of ice cats
  
• father’s dead

the dead c “tusk” compact disc

• plane (11:10)
  
• head (10:50)
  
• tuba (1:25)
  
• half (5:15)
  
• imaginary (7:35)
  
• tusk (11:55)

siltbreeze press release...

dead c / tusk siltbreeze sb 64cd after years of flirting with profound torpor, the finger is removed from the carb and new zealand’s favorite sluggish trio gets a lung full of bigtime entropy. slow, quiet, and barely played, this masterpiece sounds like it was recorded by several death row inmates on morphine. the future of rock right here, right now. ... while the next year's tusk -- titled ironically after the fleetwood mac album -- proved to be their last effort for siltbreeze. it also marked the end of their most prolific period, as the band subsequently spent an astonishing (for them) three years off record.

harry pussy “what was music? • 1992-1995” compact disc

• (untitled) (3:55)
  
• (untitled) (3:03)
  
• hp superstar (0:53)
  
• (untitled) (0:59)
  
• (untitled) (1:59)
  
• (untitled) (1:14)
  
• (untitled) (5:00)
  
• (untitled) (0:27)
  
• (untitled) (1:08)
  
• (untitled) (0:43)
  
• (untitled) (1:03)
  
• (untitled) (2:00)
  
• (untitled) (2:21)
  
• (untitled) (1:53)
  
• please don't come back from the moon (3:04)
  
• nazi u.s.a. (2:38)
  
• youth problem (1:59)
  
• 1986 (0:30)
  
• pussy control (2:11)
  
• riot riot (2:00)
  
• i fought the police (0:51)
  
• fuckology (2:40)
  
• dream driver (2:10)
  
• i don't care about sleep anymore (4:33)
  
• showroom dummies (3:32)
  
• the white improviser (2:20)
  
• black ghost (1:37)
  
• zero for conduct (3:38)
  
• where's the dj? (3:45)
  
• lost my e (3:06)
  
• (untitled) (1:05)
  
• (untitled) (3:41)

siltbreeze press release...

harry pussy / what was music? siltbreeze sb 60cd the clattering, shrieking din that was harry pussy spent much of the '90s as one of the most acclaimed sounds in the extreme noise underground, stamped with a seal of approval from the likes of thurston moore and lou barlow. their brief, spastic, atonal freak-outs sat somewhere in between noise rock and free jazz, though they were actually much more planned out than improvised, to the disbelief of many who heard them. for much of their existence, they rarely played outside their native miami, but word of their volatile, sometimes literally assaultive shows spread, leading to tours with sebadoh and the dead c. formed in 1992, harry pussy was essentially the product of husband and wife bill orcutt (guitar) and adris hoyos (drums, vocals). orcutt had previously played in the local miami punk band the trash monkeys before teaming up with hoyos, whose primal, screeching vocals and on-stage aggression quickly made her the focal point. joined by second guitarist mark feehan (orcutt's onetime trash monkeys bandmate), harry pussy debuted on record in 1993 with a pair of singles -- "nose ring" and "girl holding frog" -- for local noise maven frank "rat bastard" falestra's esync label. their first lp arrived on the philly-based siltbreeze label in 1994 ; commonly known simply as harry pussy, it also sported the evocative alternate title of a: in an emergency you can shit on a puerto rican whore, which pointed up the band's confrontational attitude and off-color sense of humor. a stream of singles followed on into 1995: "please don't come back from the moon" on blackjack, the double 7" "zero de conduite" on audible hiss, "miami flavor" on planet, a split release with noggin on chocolate monk, a cover of lightnin' hopkins' "black ghost" on siltbreeze. much of this material was collected on siltbreeze's 1996 cd compilation what was music?, which also reissued the contents of their first lp.

harry pussy “ride a dove” compact disc

• i started fraud
  
• self expression
  
• man in the mirror
  
• ride a dove
  
• free pussy
  
• man in the mirror (part. 2)

siltbreeze press release...

harry pussy / ride a dove siltbreeze sb 50cd ... that was followed not long after by a full album of new material titled ride a dove, also on siltbreeze. toward the end of 1996, feehan left his position as auxiliary guitarist, and was replaced by dan hosker. hosker debuted on a self-released live album, tour (alternate title: fuck you), in 1997. that year saw the band's final concert performances ; more singles followed in 1998, including split eps with frosty and pelt, but by the release of their final album on black bean & placenta, they had already called it quits. that album, let's build a pussy, consisted of a brief snippet of hoyos yelling, which orcutt then stretched out for an hour using computer software. following harry pussy's demise, hoyos briefly moved to chicago, then worked with transmission and monostat 3. orcutt had already released a solo album in 1997.

the dead c “the white house” compact disc

• voodoo spell (2:33)
  
• the new snow (12:28)
  
• your hand (7:25)
  
• aime to prochain comme toi même (0:56)
  
• bitcher (6:32)
  
• outside (17:59)

siltbreeze press release...

dead c / white house siltbreeze sb 40cd the dead c hit another creative high point with 1995's the white house, another fan favorite that brought a touch more structure to the group's usually free-form compositions.

the dead c “trapdoor fucking exit” compact disc

• heaven (6:42)
  
• hell is now love (2:16)
  
• mighty (5:39)
  
• power (4:32)
  
• bury (3:18)
  
• bury (refutatio omnium haeresium) (15:40)
  
• sky (2:53)
  
• bone (2:36)
  
• krossed (6:32)
  
• calling slowly (2:50)
  
• helen said this (10:59)
  
• acoustico: power (2:18)
  
• acoustico: bone (1:46)
  
• acoustico: mighty (1:48)

siltbreeze press release...

dead c / trapdoor fucking exit siltbreeze sb 40cd the dead c was formed in dunedin, new zealand in 1987, with a lineup of guitarist/occasional vocalist michael morley (a onetime member of the evocatively named wreck small speakers on expensive stereos), bassist and xpressway label head bruce russell, and drummer robbie yeats (formerly of the well-liked kiwi pop band the verlaines). in keeping with the early formats of xpressway and morley's own precious metal imprint, their earliest releases were only available on limited-run cassettes, but they also hooked up with flying nun in 1988 to issue their first lp, dr503 (which was retitled dr503b and dr503c for later reissues). a second flying nun lp, eusa kills, appeared in 1989 and featured a bizarre cover of t. rex's "children of the revolution." the dead c next forged a relationship with the philadelphia-based indie siltbreeze, which would issue the majority of their output over the ‘90s. the first was 1990's helen said this, which was later reissued on cd as part of a two-fer with the formerly cassette-only trapdoor fucking exit (the latter's title was used for the cd).

messenger girls trio “the excelsior salon trio” long playing record

• untitled (1) (13:49)
  
• untitled (2) (4:17)
  
  
• untitled (3) (2:17)
  
• untitled (4) (2:09)
  
• untitled (5) (7:24)
  
• untitled (6) (1:09)
  
• untitled (7) (5:01)

uzu audio press release...

messenger girls trio - excelsior salon trio messenger girls trio … the excelsior salon trio ... comprised of sir richard bishop (by appointment to her majesty—what the old broad did to deserve that, we'll never know) and david knott (improvisationally board certified music therapist), in congress with robert millis and jeffery taylor (often known for their recreational duties in both climax golden twins and afcgt). the quartet last released a trio album in 2002 for the anomalous record label. or perhaps the trio released a quartet album. after that richard bishop toured. dave knott put people's minds back together or took them apart--it just depends on your point of view. climax golden twins devoured 78rpm records and other victrola favorites. meanwhile the quartet trio tape kept rolling—cassette players, digital devices, dictaphones, micro cassette, wire recorders, phonautographs, notes on paper. edited from hours of material recorded between 2002 and 2008. mostly improvised in living rooms and on front porches. mostly in seattle: on goat hill, at the shabby greenwood grotto studio and at the sun city girls' cavernous blue west headquarters, may it rest in pieces. mostly with acoustic guitars and percussion. occasional insects were wrangled into the proceedings. layered. sliced. stretched. messed, tweaked, poked, prodded, beaten and slipped luxuriously onto a vinyl platter for your listing enjoyment and listening pleasure by the epicureans at uzu audio. uzu003

on fillmore “extended vacation” long playing record

• checking in
  
• master moon
  
• daydreaming so early
  
• complications
  
• off the path
  
• extended vacation
  
• clearing out

dead oceans press release...

on fillmore extended vacation doc032 release date: november 3, 2009 once dubbed "the rhythm section's revenge" by jim o'rourke, on fillmore is back with their most elaborate work, extended vacation. the duo is formed by bassist darin gray and percussionist glenn kotche, who were originally hand-picked by o'rourke as the rhythm section for his album eureka (drag city, 1999) and joined him on several tours and his next two albums (halfway to a threeway and insignificance). it was in 2000 during a gig at scott walker's meltdown festival in london while touring with o'rourke that on fillmore was conceptualized. nearly a decade later, the band is stretching the very definition of the term "rhythm section." kotche and gray both have long and impressive musical resumes – kotche is a respected composer whose most recent album was released on nonesuch as well as a member of wilco, while gray’s recorded output began in the ’90s, when he was a member of the experimental bands brise-glace, yona-kit and dazzling killmen. since then, gray’s been gaining notoriety as a world-class performer and improviser, releasing solo recordings as well as numerous collaborative works with musicians loren mazzacane connors, akira sakata, and chris corsano, among others. after two releases, on fillmore released their third album sleeps with fishes on quakebasket/drag city in 2004. the album gained acclaim among fans of experimental music and the duo was invited to play the percpan festival in brazil the next year. they also performed a collaborative concert with +2 of brazil at chicago's contemporary art museum and kept busy scoring two original motion pictures for director jt petty's films s&man and blood red earth. extended vacation is the result of three years of collaboration, painstakingly labored over during the stretches of time when gray and kotche were not involved with their numerous other musical outlets. this slow process is apparent in the recordings – the melodies are delicate, beautiful and haunting, surrounded by driving rhythms, and assembled into complex and precise collages of sound. on fillmore make use of upright bass, unusual percussion, field recordings, vibraphone and various small instruments, exploring both repetition and spaciousness in the recordings. joined by guest dede sampaio on bird sounds, extended vacation takes the listener on a strange, dreamlike journey. melodies blend with atmosphere, the sounds are confusing and comforting, concocting a rich cinematic landscape of sound. with gray based in st. louis and kotche in chicago, extended vacation is the result of two friends and musical partners separated by hours of driving, making music that transcends distance. gray and kotche’s music is a dialogue conducted in a truly unique and special language.

alog / astral social club “split series #20” long playing record

• alog - every word was once an animal (12:41)
  
  
• astral social club - clarion super-cortex (7:55)
  
• astral social club - vurt chorale #1 (6:13)
  
• astral social club - corby kiss (2:49)

fatcat press release...

alog / astral social club split series #20 release date: 12/8/09 highly-anticipated next installment in fatcat’s acclaimed split 12” series limited-edition vinyl-only release with handmade jackets another high quality, album-length release, the twentieth 12” in our acclaimed split series features two artists who’ve carved out very singular, purposeful paths for themselves. here, both roll out their markedly different but complementary material, the unifying element being a heavily skewed outsider take on dance-?oor electronica/techno. alog is the duo of espen sommer eide and dag-are haugan. mainstays at the rune grammofon label, their unique, hybrid sound has unfurled a series of abstract yet accessible, self-contained sound-worlds, each animated with their own internal logic, mixing a wide variety of both electronic and acoustic sources into something warm, intricate and organic. quirky and unpredictable, they have refused any ?xed position, instead embracing the freedom to ?it and root in the cracks between strands of minimalism, electronica, post-rock, improv and vernacular musics - merging woozy, stuttering electronica (a la oval / nobukazu takemura / etc.), with rich, shoegazey guitars, freeform improvisation, scandinavian folk, ?eld recording and the masterful editing and soundscaping of electroacoustic composition. a stirring, 13-minute long track created expressly for the 12” format that sounds like nothing they’ve previously released, “every word“ was made during alog’s 2008 tour of japan. a live improvisation, the “shouting choir” was recorded at a primary school in bergen with regular alog collaborator nicholas h. møllerhaug. made into a 3-part narrative using mainly synthesizer, guitar and vocals, it’s a stunning, rapidly-expanding piece that increasingly ramps up the tension, accelerating its energy levels, seemingly buckling and collapsing under its own weight/energy, before ?nding its feet again. astral social club is the project of neil campbell. a pivotal ?gure on the uk post-punk underground, with a vast catalogue and numerous collaborations, campbell ?rst came to prominence in the early ‘90s as a member of nottingham’s a band, a collaborator with matthew bower, and later as a founding member of vibracathedral orchestra. as asc, campbell integrates psych-rock and exploratory fusion of the ’70s, early ’90s techno/electronica,’80s post-punk, krautrock, and the thriving home-brew of today’s psych/noise under-ground, asc tracks form an unstable, exhilarating slew of densely stacked textural detail with seemingly no ?xed centre, piling electronic and acoustic textures together – spluttering drum machines, gurgling electronics, mangled guitar lines, processed violin and all manner of other sonic detritus. the three tracks here were recorded by campbell, john clyde-evans, paul walsh and the pogues’ spider stacy. the 135bpm blood-pulse and super-abundant textural growth of “clarion super-cortex” is described by campbell as a ”rolling-through-the-cracks techno format invented by clyde-evans, and put through the asc brass mangler ... an imaginary club hit for people who like to dance between the beats”. this mulches down into the beatless “vurt chorale #1,” weaving several different jams together. a wake-up slap in the face after such shimmering drift, ‘corby kiss’ offers a tribute to the hard-living ex-steel men of the northants town where campbell grew up.

richard youngs “under stellar stream” long playing record

• broke up by night
  
• all day monday and tuesday
  
• cluster to a star
  
  
• arise arise
  
• my mind is in garlands
  
• the bells of spring

richard youngs “under stellar stream” compact disc

• broke up by night
  
• all day monday and tuesday
  
• cluster to a star
  
• arise arise
  
• my mind is in garlands
  
• the bells of spring

jagjaguwar press release...

richard youngs under stellar stream jag157 release date: october 20, 2009 richard youngs’ latest solo work for jagjaguwar is a collection of neodruid hymns and chants for the minutiae of homelife and fatherhood—poetic transcendance through repetition and a focus on the (seemingly) micro. once again proving himself a master of minimalist composition, youngs also takes leaps forward as a lyricist on under stellar stream, reminiscent of the list incantations of allen ginsberg. with this comes a change in youngs’ voice, now less pleading, deeper and more assured. in these atonal, spatial arrangements, each phrase is granted the room to work into the cerebral cortex—and perhaps a deeper consciousness. “i am remembering now the waiting on time itself. i am remembering now the value of sleep,” recites youngs’ domesticated avatar on opening track “broke up by night,” a celtic prayer for the modern man. on “all day monday and tuesday,” over droning bass and slow, meandering organ, the grind of the day becomes empyreal: “all day monday and tuesday, the room of work, the room of work... all day monday and tuesday, the clarity, the clarity.” for more than 20 years, the uk’s richard youngs has been at the forefront of progressive minimalism, through solo home recording projects; through collaborations with the likes of simon wickham-smith and makoto kawabata (of acid mothers temple); and in special live performances playing bass with jandek. leaving a very human fingerprint on even the most far-reaching experimentations, youngs has built a extensive, intriguing catalogue that just begs one to go deep.

volcano choir “unmap” long playing record

• husks and shells
  
• seeplymouth
  
• island, is
  
• dote
  
• and gather
  
  
• mbira in the morass
  
• cool knowledge
  
• still
  
• youlogy

jagjaguwar press release...

volcano choir unmap jag156 release date: september 22, 2009 volcano choir is an assembly of wisconsinites jon mueller, chris rosenau, jim schoenecker, daniel spack, justin vernon, and thomas wincek. you might find these old friends also frequenting records and stages under different monikers, collections of colonies of bees and bon iver. the collaboration predates the meteoric rise of justin vernon’s bon iver project, with original songwriting dating back to the summer of 2005, right around the time the bees first toured with vernon’s previous band deyarmond edison. while entirely a studio record, the collection doesn’t suffer from the overburdens of a digital pile up or over-thinking. rather it breathes and convulses in equal measure, radiating an inherent dynamism found only in the voluntary bondage of intimacy. with influences ranging from david sylvian and steve reich to mahalia jackson and tom waits, it might be more accurate to say the group’s influence is music itself. you can hear it in the care and real love generously applied to each moment of unmap. with the vibe of some intimate backwoods gospel, plus a spirit of patience and thoughtful repetition, the music of volcano choir is as dynamic as it is lovely. unmap ultimately came together over a weekend in november 2008 in fall creek, wisconsin, at justin and nate vernon’s recording studio. and while it is at its heart a record about the allure of being with people you need and making something with them, it is also a document created by musicians with rare gifts getting together to exorcise their ideas about beauty. this scaffolding of loops and off grid tempos for choral style vocals offers a state of continual surprise, call it unexpectation.

volcano choir “unmap” compact disc

• husks and shells
  
• seeplymouth
  
• island, is
  
• dote
  
• and gather
  
• mbira in the morass
  
• cool knowledge
  
• still
  
• youlogy

jagjaguwar press release...

volcano choir unmap jag156 release date: september 22, 2009 volcano choir is an assembly of wisconsinites jon mueller, chris rosenau, jim schoenecker, daniel spack, justin vernon, and thomas wincek. you might find these old friends also frequenting records and stages under different monikers, collections of colonies of bees and bon iver. the collaboration predates the meteoric rise of justin vernon’s bon iver project, with original songwriting dating back to the summer of 2005, right around the time the bees first toured with vernon’s previous band deyarmond edison. while entirely a studio record, the collection doesn’t suffer from the overburdens of a digital pile up or over-thinking. rather it breathes and convulses in equal measure, radiating an inherent dynamism found only in the voluntary bondage of intimacy. with influences ranging from david sylvian and steve reich to mahalia jackson and tom waits, it might be more accurate to say the group’s influence is music itself. you can hear it in the care and real love generously applied to each moment of unmap. with the vibe of some intimate backwoods gospel, plus a spirit of patience and thoughtful repetition, the music of volcano choir is as dynamic as it is lovely. unmap ultimately came together over a weekend in november 2008 in fall creek, wisconsin, at justin and nate vernon’s recording studio. and while it is at its heart a record about the allure of being with people you need and making something with them, it is also a document created by musicians with rare gifts getting together to exorcise their ideas about beauty. this scaffolding of loops and off grid tempos for choral style vocals offers a state of continual surprise, call it unexpectation.