Category Archives: UPDATE

Musica Moderna

MM005 RENATO RINALDI – ‘All’Esedra’ one-sided 12″ 18€(World)
Edition of 200. Installation consisting of 34 audio postcards that saturate the area with unstable frequencies and phase shifted pulses. Some circuits are sensitive to the proximity of the human body, and are powered by small batteries, so the sound constantly change. Some of these frequently collapse but they reboot after a few seconds with a sound that suddenly blossoms on a carpet of pulsating high frequencies. This is the recording of a walk in this kind of “noise garden”, I walked through the spaces of Villa Manin Exedra, where the 34 cards were scattered across the floor, then I moved through the park of the villa until I found a situation relatively silent.

MM006 ISRAEL MARTINEZ – ‘Andanada’ one-sided 12″ 18€(World)
Edition of 200. Anadaanda is an Israel Martinez’s project for Musica Moderna including three new pieces composed with field recordings to be printed on vinyl. In these works Martinez explores three approaches: slight modification of the source in the studio, unprocessed sounds recorded in movement, and “cut&paste” composition without big processing; at the end, three different ways to enjoy the soundscape. The work of Israel Martínez (Mexico, 1979) has been developed in a wide range of proposals and using several media, aiming to generate a reflection on the relationship between sound, music and society. In the mid-nineties he began writing for underground fanzines in Mexico, since then he has gone through various territories such as creating music at the intersection of electroacoustic, experimental music, field recording, spatiality, time, silence and imagery, summarizing it in what some critics and curators have been described as “visual music”. But he has also made audio works without a musical language: video installations, site specific projects, actions, interventions, graphic works through photography, typing, photocopying, and some other media.

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I Had An Accident

‘89palms – ‘Sunshine’ C8 $5
ih114smallWithin the deep depths of a morbid mind, lyricists Justin Bieler and the mysterious DJ U construct a level of chaos with broken LPs and vocals about a serious “letting go” of the one you love. Spawning a twisted affair of severed beats and almost spoken lyrics that produce haunting images of our protagonist dealing with his demons to make sure the ghosts of old lives never dare return. An extremely rare cassingle on golden cassettes (c8) limited to 44 on chrome tape.

Poems Of Dead Kings – ‘Poems Of Dead Kings’ C25 $6
ih113smallPoems Of Dead Kings cultivates field recordings and trecherous beats with found sounds and dark spoken word pieces. This self-titled debut features an intriguing connection between the spoken word thoughts of Tim Kinsella with the harsher side of Walter Gross in an eerie transcendence and enchantment. The recording comes off raw and deliberate as Poems Of Dead Kings experiment with a hip hopesque underground sound that is alluring in its ingenuity. Limited to 26 copies on red c25 cassettes chrome tape. Mp3 download with purchase

Ki Choquette – ‘The Glimmer Of A Movement Of Stillness In Water’ C20 $7
ih112smallKi Choquette’s label debut The Glimmer Of A Movement In The Stillness Of Water was all recorded in a converted barn studio on a tascam 4-track using a couple guitars in alternate tunings… yes, and the end result is an extremely blissful piece of music. The guitar trickles softly like a whispered hum and the soft touch of an ice cube gently caressing the naked body. The smoothness of the album illustrates Choquette’s thoughtful construction of soothing melodies and dreamy progressions. A perfect album for an evening drive through the country as rain subtly falls from the sky. Limited to 28 on electric blue cassettes with tape. Mp3 download with purchase.

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Retrograde Tapes

rgt #12: Den – ‘Electric Eyes’ 7” $7(US)/$9(N. America)/$11(World)
electric-eyes-cover-100x100Den returns on a 7 inch slab with three songs of cosmic thud, interstellar grooves, and dead-planet desolation. Electric Eyes is a continuing expansion starting with an abduction prayer, followed by a ride on a stream of Kraut photons & finally ending in an Antarctic sludge ritual, all woven together with enough dark matter to fuel your FTL travels well beyond the solar system & out into the distant depths of uncharted space. Electric Eyes comes in a two-color silk-screened cover & a full color insert in an edition of 300.

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Textural Records

The Inner Shore – ‘Mental Landscapes’
TXR032-The-Inner-Shore-Mental-Landscapes-300x300As all previous releases, the Inner Shore music is a mix of random composition, trippy sounds and dissolution of all these sounds into disturbing spaces. The goal is to express the man’s concern regarding his inner.

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Metaphysical Circuits

MCMC130113: Noseph Janner/Levvels – ‘Destroyed Minutes/Levvels of Death’ C48
Proudly presenting the inaugural release from Metaphysical Circuits: a delicious split (ie., two-mini-albums-on-one-tape) between two projects from one Owen McLean, whose eclectic solo oeuvre spans Katabatica (a noisy, glacial 3″ on A Beard of Snails) over Joseph Nanner (a techno-riffic tape on Exotic Pylon.) Additionally Owen’s two recent, stellar mixes for Entr’acte and Experimedia are recommended. Opening this particular sonic soirée is Joseph Nanner’s alternate-universe-alter-ego, Noseph Janner, with transfixing pocket size andromeda strains, cryogenic synth shimmer, and high society sci-fi on offer. Alien (im)pulses, vacuum voyage visions, sprawling crystalline galactic tubin’. On the flip side, Levvels guides us back down to nature, on a wave of carnal, aggressive nu-age nuances. Damaged inflections, weaving netherworld webs of stunning immediacy and purpose. On purple, pro dubbed tapes in metallic silver j-cards. 25 copies.

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Out of Sound Records

Bleet/Wild Domestic/WTCHS/I Smell Blood split 7″
Out of Sound Records prides itself in the physical medium. As part of our ongoing split seven inch PIE-Series we’re proud to announce the release of our second split, this time featuring a heavy assault of instrumental post-rock and lo-fi punk: Bleet: Three-piece instrumental rock for stoned metal heads and video game nerds. Wild Domestic: taking the torch from double drumming progressive acts and adding a slurry of surf/post-jam riffs. WTCHS: straight out of the basement, concrete walls and tape hiss…. Gaining loads of attention via their PERDU imprint. I Smell Blood: London, Ontario’s heaviest band…. two-piece immaturity. Please Check it Out and let everyone know what you think. We should mention that this record was silkscreened by the Arctic based, Inuit Silkscreen program run by the Out of Sound Rezonance Program (see below for more information on our Outreach Inititatives).

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NO=FI Recordings

GIANNI GIUBLENA ROSACROCE – ‘La Mia Africa’ C26
La_Mia_Africa 100x100Green Cassette. Silkscreened cover by ARRACHE TOI UN OEIL
limited to 100 copies. Stefano Isaia’s GIANNI GIUBLENA ROSACROCE is back with new recordings: the great first cassette, “La Piramide Di Sangue” released by Yerevan Tapes one year ago, laid the foundation of the kraut-psych rock ensemble LA PIRAMIDE DI SANGUE (with the “Tebe” LP out on Boring Machines / Sound Of Cobra). Now he’s back with his solo project, few nice mates helping (Dedalo666, Vernon, Jena) and two Tuareg girls reading Isaia’s poetries in fulfulde (fula language). The setting of La Mia Africa is a psych mid-eastern landscape, desert at sunset, ancient temples and a far far shore… GGR keeps us in these atmospheres with a mysterious clarinet, tenebrous acoustic guitars, dreamy voices talking in a language that sounds far but fascinating and simple rare percussions give us the beat for a walk on the sand dunes. Following this charming music, we’ll find the oasis in this desert…

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NNA Tapes

NNA049: Deciumus – ‘Glass Tetany’ C43
NNA-January2013New tape from the solo project of NYC’s Pat Murano of No Neck Blues Band, aka Decimus. Pat has been hard at work the last few years crafting his series of self-titled epics on his own Kelippah imprint, and ‘Glass Tetany’ continues the legacy onto NNA. This release is a disorienting journey through the rolling dunes of far away desert, leaving the listener feeling isolated on unfamiliar terrain. Carrying the tradition of psychedelia into the next age, Decimus weaves dizzying melodies between synth and guitar, ranging from tender to gritty, creating a dense mass of multi-fidelity atmospheres that seem to score a tale of otherworldly travel. Chopped up alien beat work and bionic vocals cut through vapor, disembodying the mind from the physical form. Original cover artwork by the artist.

NNA052: Belarisk – ‘On Amorphous Dawn’ C36
Belarisk is a project of Lee Edward Tindall, a fresh Providence, RI resident by way of Massachusetts. Lee has been steadily performing solo and with others over the years, with his various projects Zerfallt, Mutation In The Gryd, Aphid Palisades, Astronaut, and more. As Belarisk, Tindall taps into the more melodic side of experimental electronic music, applying his expert-level technical skills to digital and analog synthesizers and effects. The result is a bold, Americanized interpretation of German school electronics, that not merely repeats the past, but uses its essence to look forward. Belarisk paints with sound in the full spectrum of grey; forging overdriven frenetic malfunction with spacious, tonal glory. Sawtoothed synth lines are tessellated to reflect infinitely, where the sound of electrical current is dissected and manipulated in real-time. Mournful, dark formations of sound occasionally dissipate to reveal the radiant light of possibility. Original cover artwork by the artist.

NNA053: Howard Stelzer – ‘The Lonely Astronaut’ C26
Few are more committed to the exploration of the cassette tape than Cambridge, MA’s Howard Stelzer. For years, Stelzer has been creating his own unique tape music both by himself and with a reputable cast of collaborators, much of which has been documented on his own Intransitive Recordings label. What separates Howard’s work from the bulk of traditional tape music is that he manipulates not only the phenomena of sound committed to magnetic tape, but goes deeper into the exploration of the physical mechanics and inner workings of the cassettes and players themselves, amplifying them in order to let the “instrument” become part of the music. The compositions on “The Impossible Astronaut” seem to create a void; a vacuum where trapped sounds are desperate to be released. Textural nuances and multi-dimensional field recordings are saturated beyond recognition, while lurching hiss and hum become anti-matter, simmering in tension. From subtle and quiet to loud and burning, sounds are presented in their raw form, and mixed to perfection.

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House of Sun

Grant Evans – ‘Dragging Alabaster’ C40 $7.25(CAN)/$8.25(US)/$10.25(WORLD)
GRANTGrant Evans presents forty minutes of minimalist sound sculpture, capturing guitar snippets, found field recordings and reel to reel tape loops on his latest cassette Dragging Alabaster. Beginning with a heady guitar sample repeated over a whirl and whisper of taped sounds and their mysterious origins, Grant lays down some of the most gripping noise over melody being produced right now. Its decidedly a crisp recording with lo fidelity roots. The flip side moans with slowed down tape samples blurring together to produce a lulling trance. Throughout the length of the tape, there are touches of indeterminable sound sources that repeat translucently, managing to captivate the listener with its constant subtle shifts. It’s a thoughtful record, and one that should undoubtedly be on wax, but here it is offered first through House of Sun as a C40 limited edition cassette.

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GOD Records

GOD 11 Rdeča Raketa – ‘Wir werden’ LP
imageCollecting their experiences through various impro- and electro – acoustic projects, as a part of Viennese circle, this Slovenia – born duo (Rdeča Raketa – Red Rocket), manifests their own post – apocalyptic vision of today’s humanity. Wir werden (We will), consists of two carefully composed pieces, each spanning on one side of vinyl. Constructed from various electronic sound sources and field recordings with acoustic instruments, duo offers brutal sine-wave attacks, discreet loops, scary drones and beautiful piano passages. And this is just small part from what this fabulous catalog of human’s habits offers, opened and closed with the spoken word lyrics. Wir werden deals with the past repeating, movements and their absence in front of systems appearing to be crumbling, relationships between people and their inner fears, as they claim themselves. Ultimately, this release is collection of recommendations for surviving today’s Brave New World.

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