Name: A Second Spring by James Bagnall
Duration: 3 min 6 s
Description: New piano since being back home during Autumn.

Nice piece James. Good to meet you last night.

Ár var alda

Hagal

Heimta Thurs

Algir - Tognatale

Taken from his forthcoming album 'Spells' out June 10 on Erased Tapes.

Pre-order the LP/CD/DL here: www.erasedtapes.com/store/index/ERATP085
iTunes: http://snip.ftpromo.net/spells Spotify: http://snip.ftpromo.net/goldentimes
Bandcamp: http://snip.ftpromo.net/spellsbc or any other good record store worldwide

"A soothing piece of delirious sound" – Clash
"Strangely upbeat nocturnes" – The Wire
"It's just incredible" – Mary Anne Hobbs, BBC 6 Music

‘Spells’ merges programmed piano pieces with live instruments, combining the controllable technical world and the often unpredictable aspects of live improvisation. In some ways it continues where his underground debut ‘Gravity’ left off, though a lot of weight is lifted, making room for a lighter and more energetic listen. Friend and fellow Erased Tapes artist Nils Frahm mixed and mastered both albums. Ben is not a master pianist like his dear friend, but his sound collages are so meticulously designed that after hearing the result an impressed Nils declared: “from now on, if anyone asks – this is a real piano”. 

His intricate, humanised programming – enhanced by drummer Achim Färber, cellist Anton Peisakhov and harpist Lara Somogyi, and a considerate selection of echoes, delays and compressors – has been used to create a hybrid sound that intends to deceive, question and challenge existing listening habits. Utilising the contrast between reduction and decoration, ‘Spells’ can be seen as a quest to find out how much or how little composition is required to constitute a song. Why the ear can and should be deceived about the authenticity of instruments. What significance these instruments have within this process, and why the personal perception of balance and sound exclude ultimate truths. 

Linking the two albums are the four movements of ‘Nocturne’, an ever-developing conversation that on occasion flirts with the grandeur of compressed rock drums. The first single, ‘Golden Times 1’, received a world premiere by BBC 6 Music’s Mary Anne Hobbs, proclaiming it as "incredible." An alternative version of ‘Sleepers Beat Theme’ – composed for the soundtrack to a short film about the Trans-Siberian Express – opened Jon Hopkins’ Late Night Tales album from 2015, who noted “I thought it was such a calming and sensitive piece that sounded to me like the beginning of something...the warmth and depth of the sound entrances me every time”. 

Though ‘Spells’ and ‘Gravity’ are his first albums recorded under his own name, as acclaimed electronic producer HECQ he’s released nine albums since 2003, exploring everything from ambient to breakcore. He has simultaneously established himself as a trusted composer and sound designer, working for a wide array of clients including Amnesty International and Marvel Comics; composing for feature films, games, art installations and convention opening titles.

After embracing this demanding line of work, in 2010 Ben felt the need to explore his roots and early education, which inspired these albums under his own name. Born in 1981 as the third child of opera singer Deirdre Boysen and actor Claus Boysen, his classical music training on piano and guitar began when he was seven years old; the works of Bruckner, Wagner and Bach laid an important foundation. Rediscovering this music shared with his parents – united with the sounds of Autechre, Cristian Vogel and Jiri.Ceiver to Pink Floyd and Godspeed You! Black Emperor – brought back an understanding of why he wanted to write music in the first place.

“Finding my views understood, reflected and welcomed by Erased Tapes was an encouraging experience, crowned by the offer to release ‘Spells’ and re-issue ‘Gravity’ with them. Through many caring conversations with Robert I felt that there’s no better home for the existing ideas and no better cradle for new ones.”  – Ben Lukas Boysen

Spells

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Ben Lukas Boysen – Nocturne 4

New piano since being back home during Autumn.

A Second Spring

Avalanche

A Frankinstine of sounds thrown together for CC2 project. Sampled vocals from Kimbra's song 'Teen Heat'.

Heat Of The Moment - CC2 Project

Order 'Blurred' on LP/DL: phonofile.link/blurred

Kiasmos mark their return in 2017 with a new 12” EP titled Blurred — available worldwide on October 6th via Erased Tapes.

Since their 2015 Swept EP, the duo have been performing shows extensively across the world. After writing and recording together in their native Iceland this year, the pair will be bringing a glimpse of light to a particularly gloomy time of year as their light sounds are brighter than ever.

Words from Ólafur and Janus, August 2017: 
￼ 
￼￼“To write new material felt like a new beginning for us after two years of touring. The plan was to ￼write something a tad darker than our previous stuff. Spring in Reykjavík had other plans though, as this turned out to be our brightest release to date.” — Janus Rasmussen

￼“Stimming was one of the reasons we started making four-on-the-floor music and we have been listening to Bonobo since we were young, so it was a great honour that they wanted to contribute remixes for the EP.” — Ólafur Arnalds

￼The EP closes with remixes from British producer Bonobo and German electronic musician Stimming, taking tracks Blurred and Paused into different coloured realms.

The cover art featuring the iconic Kiasmos symbol is by long-time Erased Tapes collaborator Torsten Posselt at FELD.

TRACK LISTING

1. Shed 
2. Blurred
3. Jarred 
4. Paused 
5. Blurred (Bonobo Remix) 
6. Paused (Stimming Remix)

WEBSITE: www.kiasmos.is

Kiasmos - Blurred (Bonobo Remix)

Ryan Lee West aka Rival Consoles has announced his fourth full length album 'Persona' will be released on 13th April via Erased Tapes.

The title 'Persona' was inspired by Ingmar Bergman’s film of the same name, specifically a shot in the opening credits of a child reaching out to touch a woman’s face on a screen, which is shifting between one face and another. This powerful image struck Ryan and it inspired the album’s main theme — an exploration of the persona, the difference between how we see ourselves and how others see us, the spaces in between; between states, people, light and dark, the inner persona and the outer persona. 

"My music is generally is generally inward looking. I like finding something about the self within music, that doesn't have to be specific but maybe asks something or reveals something. This record is a continuation on the self through electronic sounds. Like Legowelt once said ‘a synthesiser is like a translator for unknown emotions’, which I think sums up what I am trying to do. I think all these emotions we have make up our persona. So in a way by finding new ones you alter or expand your persona. And that is what I want my music to try to do. I deliberately aimed to be more sonically diverse with this record. I wanted to experiment more. I wanted to create new sounds and new emotions.”

Recorded at his studio in south-east London, ‘Persona’ benefits from Ryan’s exploration of a dynamic production process that combines analogue-heavy synthesisers, acoustic and electric instruments with a shoegaze-level obsession with effect pedals. A greater depth of emotion and confidence can be heard across the album. From the deconstructed movements on ‘Unfolding’ that starts the album with a snap of delayed snares, the apocalyptic drones of the title track and thundering drums in ‘Phantom Grip’ to more  restrained ambient feels of ‘Dreamer’s Wake’, ‘Rest’ and ‘Untravel’. The latter transverses six beatless minutes of undulating melodies representing “a limbo space, a feeling of ennui, of not really ever being known to others and others not ever really being known to you”.

'Be Kind' reveals a musical connection with fellow Erased Tapes artist Nils Frahm, with its minimal approach and improvisational nature. On the more complex sounding ‘I Think So’ Ryan aims to replicate a colour collage with sound. Like a musical kaleidoscope, a flashing and convoluted mass. Written after he saw Slowdive perform live last year, ‘Hidden’ builds from whispers to landscapes of controlled noise. In an interview with XLR8R magazine, Ryan explains: “once you start trying to make a sound loud, then you turn your back on thousands and thousands of sonic possibilities. One of the best things to do is to start a track with a really quiet, weak sound.” Taking this idea to its ultimate conclusion, ‘Fragment’ closes the album as an innocent sounding ambient piece, almost nursery rhyme like, yielding time for reflection on how the persona has changed.

'Persona' follows the success of a series of releases — the ‘Odyssey’ and ‘Sonne’ EPs, long player ‘Howl’, and 2016’s mini album ‘Night Melody’ — that saw Ryan mature into what Pitchfork has called a “forward-thinking electronic musician with his own ideas about sound”. Atypical of instrumental-electronic music, Ryan has achieved a signature sound that’s unmistakably identifiable as Rival Consoles. Going beyond typical electronic music production, Ryan defines it as “songwriting with an electronic palette of sounds”.

The increasingly dynamic live audio-visual show, born from bespoke performances at the Tate and for Boiler Room at the V&A Museum featuring self-programmed visuals in Max/MSP, has propelled him to play around the world. Ryan launches ‘Persona’ at London’s XOYO on 12th April with further dates to be announced.

Persona

Unfolding

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Rival Consoles - Unfolding

Art is one of the worlds great pleasures...as well as heroes, dragons and space marines...
“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” 
― Pablo Picasso

Composer and Cinematographer. You won't get a long winded bio here, I am just an artist enjoying what I do.
If you are interested in any type of collaboration please contact james8492@hotmail.co.uk

A Second Spring

James Bagnall

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