make my day

Paper Relics is a collaboration between Whitelabrecs owner Harry Towell and his brother Stuart. They began recording together back in 2010 at their family home, with an EP on the Audio Gourmet netlabel which was followed by debut album ‘Over Exposure’ on Time Released Sound. In 2018 they created ‘The Road Home’ for Whitelabrecs, a record in which Sven Laux also had a hand.

The Paper Relics sound takes Stuart’s guitar and bass performances as the focal point of the compositions, with Harry’s background in creating Ambient and electro acoustic music adding further detail and texture. Each of their infrequent records has an evolving character, as equipment and techniques get updated and their lives change. Over Exposure was a record about photography, reflecting upon faded old family polaroids of life on the farm that their father grew up on. The Road Home moved into a richer more detailed sound palette, themed around the brothers’ new homes.

‘Emersion’ is a four track EP which is the first item in their discography, in which they did not physically sit down to record together. It was created through file-exchanges during lockdown, as glimpses of a life beyond the grip of the pandemic became in sight. As cautious plans were being made and a strange sense of freedom emerging, they reflected on the time-warping effects of their endless days spent indoors throughout the pandemic. They opted for a lo-fi retro sound, which sets out a dusty, degraded aesthetic across the recordings. Reel-to-reel tape decay, radio distortion, vinyl crackle and VHS hiss give a vintage charm to these reflective songs. There is a palpable melancholy which disguises the key message of optimism, with this EP being released on the 19th of July, a day being dubbed ‘freedom day’ in the UK. ‘Emersion’ is a brief space for reflection, in which the dust can settle.

After the album had been finalised, Stuart took a short break in the Scottish Highlands and he captured a series of photographs whilst hiking in the landscape. The EP cover artwork is one of these images, overlooking Loch Ness from a misty vantage point. We’ve created a short run of cassette tapes to tie in with the retro, lo-fi theme and the tape itself is neon yellow; a flash of colour as a stamp optimism.

Written and produced by Harry & Stuart Towell
Mastered by James Edward Armstrong
Photography by Stuart Towell

Stuart Towell: Guitar, Bass
Harry Towell: Baritone Ukulele, Harmonica, Violin, Voice, field recordings, electronics, MIDI keyboard and programming

Emersion

wlrep005 Paper Relics - Emersion

this album was originally recorded between 2009 and 2010 
domestic tapes vol.II is the first solo album 
of Leastupperbound (Saverio Rosi) 
It was released on Laverna netlabel and 
on cd format on Discreetrecords. 

this is remastered version with new bonus track. 

thediscreetplace.altervista.org/blog/

released November 5, 2019 

produced by Saverio Rosi 
photography/mastering by Blear Moon

cassette \ download

Leastupperbound - Tape # V

Tracklist 

01. Simon McCorry - Bold As Love
02. Fortresses - Eve 
03. Zhalih - Daylight
04. Maps and Diagrams - Shira
05. Wouter van Veldhoven -  Wandelliedje
06. Simeon Walker - Lilt
07. Hotel Neon - Tidal
08. Twincities -  Paced
09. Christopher Bissonnette - Thoughts
10. Chronovalve -  Breathing Space
11. Home Learning -  Someday, Wyoming
12. Desu ExSounds - Echoic Memory
13. Andrew Sherwell -  Chapter II of Teeth & Twine

250. Sleepy Sunday Podcast (Elm Records)

Benjamin Finger is an artist from Oslo in Norway with releases on labels such as Time Released Sound, Eilean, Shimmering Moods and Flaming Pines. He has performed live both in Norway and abroad. UK performances have seen several appearances at Café Oto and Brighton’s Supernormal festival. He has also played with a trio at The Rewire festival in Hague and the Mekausma Festival in Belgium, not to mention a short US tour in 2014. Benjamin’s sound combines acoustic sources with electronics and his impressive collection of around 8000 records, provides a backdrop of wide musical influences. 

He operates from a small studio on an island just outside of Oslo, taking acoustic instrument recordings and treating them with effects to create electronic soundscapes. In Voice Frames, hardware synths, guitars and pedals, voice, field records, piano and Inga-Lill Farstad’s vocals make up the spine of this album. Its central themes of loss, isolation and time unfold over a range of intriguing compositions which draw out the sentimental mindset of their author.

Traits from previous albums are present, with some techniques and ideas having been borrowed and reframed into a new context. The melancholy in passing time is further shared through Voice Frames’ cover artwork; a photo Benjamin tool of his partner in Salema, a small Portuguese fishing village. It was shot through a wine bottle using an analogue Kodak camera and the series features throughout the packaging design.

Different moods and tones permeate this wondrous record as a weight of reflection halts your mind’s ability to focus on one element for too long. At times the voices being framed are through the people in distant field recordings, other times they might be through Inga-Lill’s ethereal singing or Benjamin’s own voice. They could be the voices of those around you or the artist’s memories. Perhaps they could even be your own voice?

Voice Frames

wlr102 Benjamin Finger -Voice Frames

Arun Sood / The Old Dictaphone

At the end of winter, the faint breath of life shakes the air as the world is still surrounded by the silence of death. The small breath will eventually become a prelude for the spring when all life plays fanfare and echoes to the world. It's like a majestic symphony played by nature, wrapping the world quietly but with tremendous power. The gentle Eastern breeze, the scent of flowers drifting from afar, the shortening shadows on the ground, the quietly climbing silver moon, the sprouting trees, and the beasts come back to life with their breath. The spring throughout the winter is always far away, yet the warmth is endlessly gentle and floats around the world like soothing music.

Prelude For The Spring

Seigo Aoyama - Helioscope (with Ilya Delire)

Underground Sounds mix, 28/03/2022, @radiockut

01. 't Geruis - gracieux
02. 't Geruis - het einde zet in (via @losttribesound)
03. Adrian Copeland - No Heat No Light
04. Alapastel - Flight Over Utopia
05. Alapastel - Goodnight, Valley of the Roses
@lukas-bulko-654539883
06. ARROWOUNDS @ryanoftsavo - Antarctica's Spherical Anomalies Leave Residual Trails (Edit)
07. @copcarbonfire - repurposed
08. copcarbonfire - rinna
09. copcarbonfire - ida
10. Dayin - Cloud Control (via @amekcollective)
11. Dayin - Flares Still Burning
12. @elena-kakaliagou - One who never saw the sea, but had shells instead of ears - Ένας που δεν είχε δει ποτέ θάλασσα, αλλά αντί
13. Elena Kakaliagou - Ascending
14. @faditabbal -  My Doll
15. Fadi Tabbal - Music for Tangent Lines
16. Fadi Tabbal - The Death of Strangers
17. Experimental Kindness - Numby
18. @federico-mosconi - Foam
19. Federico Mosconi - Blood
20. Federico Mosconi - Wandering
21. Federico Mosconi - A New Dawn
22. @fletcher_pratt - Weedy Dub
23. Fletcher Pratt - Carpenter Dub (via @crashsymbols)
24. @holobody - Cube
25. Holobody - Bath

Photo taken by Oaxaca, Mexico by Stefan

Underground Sounds mix, 28/03/2022, CKUT 90.3fm

SIX IFS

L'EAU BERGE

LA COUCHE DE BOUE

Miroir Miroir

Connecting Frequencies Part 2

Lights from the distance

Man With A Movie Camera

The Awakening Of A Woman (Burnout)

'Every Day (20th Anniversary Edition)', out now on Ninja Tune: https://tco.lnk.to/every-day-20So

Follow The Cinematic Orchestra -
Spotify: https://found.ee/tco-sp
Apple Music: https://found.ee/tco-am
YouTube: https://found.ee/tco-yt
Bandcamp: https://found.ee/tco-bc
Soundcloud: https://found.ee/tco-sc
Instagram: https://found.ee/tco-ig
TikTok: https://found.ee/tco-tt
Facebook: https://found.ee/tco-fb
Twitter: https://found.ee/tco-tw

#TheCinematicOrchestra #NinjaTune

Every Day

Everyday

It seems French musician and photographer Frédéric D. Oberland might be able to play more instruments than I can name. Mentioned in the creation of his latest album, Labyrinth, are electric guitar, Dark Energy Doepfer, harmonic pipe, critter, Guitari Organelle, hurdy gurdy, pantophone, alto saxophone, duduk and flute, just to state a few. 

With the release due for the 26th October, we were kindly offered an exclusive stream of 'La Part Du Feu', an achingly sparse piece of meandering electronics. 

Read more here: http://straylandings.co.uk/news/premiere-frederic-d-oberland-nahal

Labyrinth

Premiere: Frédéric D. Oberland - La Part Du Feu [Nahal Recordings]

Scottish label Blackford Hill was founded by designer/publisher Simon Lewin. It's the natural development of relationships formed and projects developed through Simon's publishing imprint Random Spectacular.

Tommy Perman plays a key role in the curation of Blackford Hill's audio output and graphic identity. Tommy is an artist, designer and musician who works in a variety of media including visual art, performance, sound and music. He has a particular interest in combining new digital technologies with traditional techniques and materials. www.surfacepressure.net

Our releases will encompass electronica, field recordings, modern classical, spoken word and jazz - all connected to or inspired by a sense of place, created in a variety of audio and print formats.

Arun Sood / The Old Dictaphone

Blackford Hill

Related tracks