The North Sea - Clean White Beds (Period Tapes, 2008)

A World Of Waitresses (14:46)
B Best Of The Child-Bearing Years (14:30)

A drone sensation swelling from the cold waters of Brad Rose.
Period Tapes

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Birchville Cat Motel - Creeping Frost Onset (Celebrate Psi Phenomenon, 2002)

1 Creeping Frost Onset (54:18)

Quand Campbell Kneale aidé de deux membres de sa famille se met aux toy instruments...

We at AQ have long been fans of Campbell Kneale and his project Birchville Cat Motel who along with the Dead C, Omit, Gate and a handful of others have helped to define one of the richest free-rock-noise-drone scenes in the world. For years Kneale has been releasing cds, lps and cassettes (most of them quite limited) of noisy electronic soundscapes and gorgeous organic drones. So when we discovered Kneale also ran a label, we figured it was definitely worth checking out. And how right we were. Not only is all of the music on Celebrate Psi Phenomena amazing, but the packaging is perfectly and stunningly designed as well (quite nice considering this is a cd-r label. See our crappy cd-r packaging rants in the last three or four lists) with each cd in a plastic sleeve nestled between two sheets of old fashioned textured wallpaper, printed, and sealed with a gold star.
Another slab of prime drone from CPP main man Campbell Kneale, this time enlisting the help of two Kneale family members and utilising oscillators, turntables, clarinet, violin, motorized acoustic guitar, bowed roof (!) and various toy instruments. Starting with a dog whistle range sine wave that wavers and flutters on its way to your eardrum, it's soon joined by complementary (but no less piercing) harmonics as well as a barely audible low end pulse. You gotta be patient with this one. After about ten minutes, the high end shimmer becomes the foundation for a cacophony of clang and strum and feedback and clatter eventually breaking down into what sounds like a primitive preschool free jazz jam session. Toy pianos, caveman percussion, with spurts of beeping and squeaking and lots of noodling that eventually works its way back up to a shrieking, skronky free jazz drone ending in a meditative jazzy free rock shimmer...Nice.
Aquarius Records

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Birchville Cat Motel - September (Celebrate Psi Phenomenon, 2002)

1 September (59:03)

Japanese tour CDr, limited to 100 copies.

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Taiga Remains - Unfamiliar Sphere, Thin As Light (Celebrate Psi Phenomenon, 2007)

1 Upon Reflection On Thing Language (Live) (8:36)
2 Blown Ash Firmament (8:14)
3 On Waves, This Traverse (10:17)
4 Endless Collapse (Live) (9:01)

Drones allant de la stridulation d'insectes à la guitare acoustique...

Fabulous concentric circles have been emanating out from Alex Cobbs own splosh in the pond for quite some time now. Judge, jury, and executioner of the rather good Student of Decay label and his own smokin' box of audio-tricks, Taiga Remains, have seen the good Mr Cobb accepted into many a loving home... and rightly so. In spite of the all-acoustic nature of this latest instalment of greatness, 'Unfamiliar Sphere...' may be one of the most electrifying releases to wrap itself in the magic Celebrate Psi Phenomenon wallpaper. Oceans and oceans of shimmer. An engrossing musical sensation very much akin swimming in a lake of luke warm brass. Or being chained to a mile-high gong. Awesome in every respect.
Celebrate Psi Phenomenon

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Taiga Remains - Fairing's Chapel (Digitalis, 2009)

1 Fairing's Chapel (17:56)

Only available with the first 100 copies of Wax Canopy CD.

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Light Of Shipwreck - Through The Bilge Lies A Calm And Bloodless Sea (Waterscape Records, 2007)

1 Through The Bilge Lies A Calm And Bloodless Sea (21:29)

Ben Fleury-Steiner pour un drone marin aux accents post rock, noisy et krautrock...

Light of Shipwreck is the Sideproject of the very prolific Ben Fleury-Steiner who is also the Man behind the Gears of Sand Label. "Through The Bilge Lies A Calm And Bloodless Sea" is a 21min strong Drone-Metal Piece. Crushing Doom Riffs mixed with strong Percussion to achieve a kind of "Oceanic" feeling. Gentle Waves of Reverb and Distortion clash against Cliffs of soft and beautiful Ambient Soundscapes. This is what makes Light of Shipwreck so unique. Not just for Fans of Ambient Metal. Even Fans of Krautrock could enjoy this Journey into the Abyss of the great wide Ocean.
Waterscape Records

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Maeror Tri - Saltatrix (Drone Records, 1993)

A Saltatrix (4:49)
B1 Third Sound (5:04)
B2 These Tears Will Crystalize (4:13)

The first reference published by the label of Stefan Knappe (Maeror Tri, Troum)...

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Jonathan Coleclough & Lethe - Long Heat (Second Part) (ICR, 2005)

1 Long Heat (Second Part) (38:14)

Comes with the 250 first copies of Long Heat....

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Merzbow & Christoph Heemann - Sleeper Awakes On The Edge Of The Abyss (Streamline, 1993)

1 Tunneling (18:21)
2 Mandala (9:48)
3 Eagle (4:44)
4 Sleeper (1:24)
5 Doorstep (6:56)

Raw sound material (1987) provided by Masami Akita (Merzbow).
Processing, added sounds and mix by Christoph Heemann. (1988-93)

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Kiyoshi Mizutani - Waterscape (E(r)ostrate, 1997)

1 Magnetism (7:59)
2 Discharge (7:58)
3 Glass Of Water (8:03)
4 A Swing (8:01)
5 Waterfall (8:03)
6 Damp Cloth (8:02)
7 Feed Back (8:02)

Consists of each pair of materials.
1. Magnetism of motor and rubber.
2. Discharge of fluorescent light and harp.
3. Rasping chain and tuning fork.
4. Cork and glass.
5. Waterfall and steel pipe.
6. Sliding door and wet towel.
7. Drone noise and a tap water.

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Darren Tate - Nonsense For The Cat (Fungal, 2003)

1 Untitled (35:52)
2 Untitled (10:06)

Premier disque de Darren Tate sous son propre nom...

First release of Darren Tate under his own name...

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Ultrasound - Encomium (Mystery Sea, 2002)

1 A Drop Becomes The Ocean, Ocean Becomes The Drop
2 Enigmatic Curves Of The Dutch Night
3 Past Life Experience
4 Maybe I Will Know By Sound And Taste
5 Lo.8
6 Vertical Cravings
7 Convexing Concave
8 Lisa, Play
9 Ne Pour Meme

Ce rip est enregistré comme un seul morceau mais l'album en compte neuf qui fonctionne comme un seul, sublime voyage atmosphérique à la guitare....

Ultrasound's core are Rfovetz & Kirk Laktas.
Together they outline a rippling tapestry of subliminal & hypnagogic sounds,
one of the most beautiful haunting drone music to be heard today...
In this they share more than common ground with STARS OF THE LID
of whom Kirk Laktas has been a former member...
The material featured on .encomium. has been recorded at various moments between 1996 & 1998...specifically collected for MYSTERY SEA,
all pieces have carefully been chosen to form a flowing construction...
Overall, the resulting "Ocean of sound" is warm, shrouding, deeply immersing,
shaping up a language of new perceptions...
.encomium. unfolds at the pace of quiet glistening waves,
spreading their "dewdrop-particles" into the listener's mind, making him reach a state of subdued dazzle...
A drop falls with a slight resonant echo as in a ceremonial of infinite reflections & overlapping circles, paving the way for a sharper insight...
Mystery Sea

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Captan, obvio - Wachu Min (self release, 2008)

1.Bajaron de todos lados. Ju sed guat???/ Guelcome tu dis guorld.

2.Revolution of de tortels ( a las puertas del imperio)
3.Caligueva!
4.Black cat blus
5.Uno que les duela
6.Espeis reis estartop
7.De lo anterior salió algo/// All the meat you´ll ever need

Reçu un mail hier de / Received a mail yesterday from Mario:

To make a long story short we are from Caracas Venezuela; were there is close to a none existing underground and alternative scene.
That` s why we are aiming for recognition out side the country.

We recorded the album ourself in a single day in august of 2008. No overdubs, no do overs. No lyrics just pure experimental free form rock.

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Kiyoshi Mizutani - Yokosawa-iri (CMR, 2002)

1 Woods In The Wind (8:11)
2 Japanese White Eye (4:02)
3 Dropping Male Flower (6:42)
4 Money Offering Box At A Shrine, Electric Saw (3:19)
5 Field (Rice Terrace) In Rain (4:29)
6 Small Pond (4:50)
7 Temple's Gong, Japanese Green Pigeon (4:12)
8 Field (Rice Terrace) In Rain (3:41)
9 Schlegel's Green Tree Frog (4:29)
10 Siberian Meadow Bunting (3:15)
11 Fall Of Rocks, Streams (9:00)
12 Knock Of Rocks (6:20)

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Bunker Archeology (Noise Museum, 1996)

1 Vance Orchestra Reinforced Landscape (10:12)
2 Myase Myélome (8:41)
3 Telepherique Abbunkern (8:29)
4 Soldnergeist Zeitsturm (6:59)
5 Daniel Menche Here Is A Proof That You Are Not A Ghost (14:34)
6 Voice Of Eye Nest (6:31)
7 In Between Noise I, Rain (Vienna) Window (7:46)
8 Ultra Milkmaids Byojorcklos (8:02)

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Birds of Tin & Mechanism - Scapegrace (self release, 2000)

1-1 Untitled (42:40)
2-1 Untitled (50:07)

Ambient improvisée enregistrée en live sans post production...

Improvised discs. The first (I think) one, begins with a loop of a disc skipping at the end groove, with various low frequency grinds coming in, the texture thickening with whistle, gurgling and electronic rattles throughout this single-work side. I first was impressed by Birds of Tin in their split with Augur, Strange Seeds Come From Odd Flowers, still in print from Manifold (without the limited, deluxe, burlap packaging with two extra cassettes.) The second starts out with a type of electronic snoring slide with metallic percussion, as if Alberich were falling asleep at the forge. Brooke Oates, a/k/a Bird of Tin, wrote to me that "The Scapegrace CD was a collaborative project. Each CD was recorded live in my home studio. Both pieces were completely improvised and there was no post recording editing at all." Recommended to those who like the electronic and sound-texture part of improvisation, such as fans of Erstwhile and Intransitive releases. Oh, and great packaging: two CDrs facing each other with notes on a CD-shaped celluloid film and soft sandpaper between the discs, held together with a nut and both.
La Folia

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Rapoon & Birds Of Tin - Monomyth: Par Avion (Manifold Records, 2004)

Monomyth
1-01 Rapoon & Birds Of Tin Gravida (7:49)
1-02 Rapoon & Birds Of Tin Holla's Fountain (11:12)
1-03 Rapoon & Birds Of Tin A Frequent Returning (5:39)
1-04 Rapoon & Birds Of Tin Lost, Probably (6:52)
1-05 Rapoon & Birds Of Tin Fetch (15:10)
1-06 Rapoon & Birds Of Tin Multiform (4:40)
1-07 Rapoon & Birds Of Tin Cast The First Stone (16:50)

Raw Monomyth
2-01 Rapoon Untitled (7:12)
2-02 Rapoon Untitled (8:12)
2-03 Rapoon Untitled (6:52)
2-04 Rapoon Untitled (8:51)

Solo Tracks For Monomyth
3-01 Birds Of Tin Holla's Fountain (Original) (15:11)
3-02 Birds Of Tin Gravida II (8:57)
3-03 Birds Of Tin Fetch (Original) (5:46)
3-04 Birds Of Tin Cast The First Stone (7:57)
3-05 Birds Of Tin Multiform (Original) (2:39)
3-06 Birds Of Tin Quickening (Remix) (25:54)

Version limitée de la collaboration entre Birds of Tin et Rapoon de l'album Monomyth (qui est toujours en vente et ne sera donc pas posté ici), les deux CDr l'accompagnant rendent compte du travail de chacun des artistes...

Newly released from the Manifold Label to compliment the release of the 'Monomyth' collaboration by Rapoon and Birds of Tin. This is a limited edition set of 199 numbered copies, check for availability. Contains the 'Monomyth' mass-release disc, as well as Rapoon 'Raw Monomyth', a CDR of exclusive material, and the Birds of tin 'Solo Monomyth' CDR, unreleased material, remixes and raw material. Wrapped in a ancient-looking raw parcel work, with vintage Air Mail and Par Avion stickers, as well as stamps, wax and and other postage archetypes. Rough twine encircling the package holds an authentic letter or greeting card from the
40's through the 60's. We spent months gathering the antique parts to create this fascinating package. Not two are even close to being alike. Both of these discs are of the caliber you would expect from any other full-length release by either artist. Not simply raw material, oddities or so-so tracks but captivating, energized works. The Rapoon disc is interesting for it's almost minimal, spacious sound, as it was originally used as the basis for the collaboration and thus contains less ornamentation and density than a mass-release Rapoon record. The Birds Of Tin is remarkable because it manages to reveal a little about the artists method through the remixes and alternate tracks. But another part of the disc is the endless plain of dark, strange
ambient it shows, similar to the earliest Birds Of Tin work. The mass-release 'Monomyth' disc is always availablein the store, regardless of this items state.
Manifold Records

le CD1 est toujours en vente / 1st disc is still on sale
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Francisco López - La Selva (V2_Archief, 1998)

1 La Selva (70:49)

Enregistrements réalisés dans la forêt tropicale costa-ricaine...

Documenting the environmental sounds of a Costa Rican rainforest, Portuguese composer / ethnomusicologist Francisco Lopez has composed this continuous collage weaving the multitude of sounds from the forest: frogs, birds, rain, watrerfalls. The true feat of this album is the liner notes which features a lengthy taxonomy of the almost all of the species causing these sounds (i.e. at 29'09" there's the croak of Debdrobates pumulio - the Strawberry Dart-poison frog).
Aquarius Records

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Machinefabriek, Soccer Committee & Wouter van Veldhoven - Zeeg (Digitalis, 2007)

1 Zeeg (37:07)

Mariska Baars à la guitare, Wouter van Veldhoven au tape recorder et Rutger Zuydervelt aux drones pour un morceau épique....

Although Rutger Zuydervelt, a Dutchman better known to the world of crunchy electronic experimentation as Machinefabriek, really doesn't need much of an introduction, you might need a little info about his two gifted colleagues. Mariska Baars is a singer and guitarist who performs under the unusual moniker soccer Committee and treated us to the incredible 'sC' album earlier this year, while Wouter Van Veldhoven is a veritable master of the reel-to-reel tape machine with an album promised on Type Records in the new year - both have worked with Zuydervelt countless times before. Now the astute among you will have noticed that Miss Baars collaborated with Zuydervelt on the crucial 'Clay' 3" cd, but where that collaboration saw a distinct Machinefabriek manifesto including just a snatch of her ethereal vocals, 'Zeeg' is a fully fledged ensemble piece giving each member the focus they need to shine. A glorious forty-minute epic of a track, we begin with Baars' subtle fingerpicking which is slowly accompanied by the tape recorded clanks and taps of Wouter Van Veldhoven's buzzing reel-to-reel and a selection of growing ebow drones from Zuydervelt. As usual with anything bearing a connection to the Machinefabriek constellation, there is a dynamic and command of space that's just breathtaking, and for the first half of the record the chiming bells, plucked guitar and light drones could have tiptoed from the bowels of any more recent 12k release. The charming simplicity doesn't last too long, however, as it melts into gut-churning bass drones and a dense brick-wall of hissing, reverberating sound. All this is slowly piped through the tape machine again and again before the calmer elements start to wade through the fog and calm is restored. Shockingly, the disc was recorded live in the comfort of Wouter Van Veldhoven's home, but from the measured preciseness of the recording and the complete sonic narrative it seems like a carefully sequenced studio arrangement rather than something mixed on the hoof in a live environment. What I think might come as a surprise to Machinefabriek followers among you is how different this album is from most of his output, it's a separate, unique work and shows both an evolution of sound for the artists involved and for the excellent Digitalis label. Cracking work all round and housed in a gorgeous textured card digipak it's just simply an essential purchase. Highly Recommended.
Boomkat

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Machinefabriek, Leo Fabriek, Wouter van Veldhoven & Mariska Baars - Live Edits (Digitalis, 2008)

A Machinefabriek, Leo Fabriek, Wouter van Veldhoven & Mariska Baars 08•03•08 (15:21)
B Machinefabriek, Leo Fabriek & Wouter van Veldhoven 29•03•08 (12:56)

Cette cassette rassemble deux sessions différentes réalisées en mars 2008, de beaux drones utilisant une multitude d'instruments (harmonium, piano, guitare, voix, taperecorders, etc) mais qui restent simples, le tout dominé par les notes du piano...

An all-star line-up of dutch artists convene to make this very special, infuriatingly limited cassette for Digitalis. Rutger Zuydervelt, Wouter Van Veldhoven, Mariska Baars and Leo Fabriek are the players in question, between them representing Machinefabriek, Soccer Committee and Julie Mittens. The cassette draws together two distinct live sessions recorded separately in March 2008, each edited into side-spanning drone pieces assembled from guitar, harmonium, tape machines and voices. The end result is predictably epic in scope, sounding like some distant orchestra tuning up across the vast, droning A-side, while once flipped over the cassette reveals a more overtly detailed, more conventionally musical persona, with hazy remnants of piano melody taking form, establishing a corroded melodic sensibility augmented by fractious electronic elements. Despite the abundance of contributors there's never any real sense of clutter, and the outcome of these edited sessions is a music that sounds supremely patient and somehow unassuming in its minimalist tactics, yet listen carefully and you'll hear a body of work whose clarity and sophistication goes far beyond the usual parameters of the conventionally murky world of cassette music.
Boomkat

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