Artist: Giant Claw
Album: Mirror Guide
Format: Digital / Vinyl
Release: May 7 or 14, 2021

Music by Keith Rankin
Visual art by Ellen Thomas and Keith Rankin
Mastered by Starkey

Artist Statement:

I have been recording Mirror Guide off and on since my previous album Soft Channel came out in 2017, working on pieces in my spare time while co-running Orange Milk Records and trying to make a living as a freelance visual artist. 

I wanted Mirror Guide to feel less frenzied than some of my previous music, and decided to use a hyperreal string sound as a lead instrument the rest of the sounds could orbit around. I improvised long stretches with the digital instrument and picked moments that elicited some emotional response in me as the foundation for each piece. It helped to imagine a small synthetic ensemble playing every additional part, considering the choices an individual might make if they were focused primarily on their instruments’ role within the group. 

In my improvised sessions I also gravitated towards what I called a ‘bouncing ball’ rhythm - later described to me as an exponential rhythmic sequence. After thinking about how genres often center around a core rhythmic pattern I adopted the sequence as another consistent feature for the album. 

In the past I’ve cut up pop acapellas as vocal elements, but on Mirror Guide decided to work with several artists I had come to know from three very different music scenes. I traveled to Pittsburgh for a few days and recorded with vocalist Tamar Kamin (from the band the Van Allen Belt) generating hours of improvised and lightly prepared melodic material that I later edited into several songs. I also incorporated more poetic almost spoken word vocals from Japanese musician and photographer NTsKi and a small segment of screeching moans from fellow Ohioan Diana Gruber. 

More generally I found inspiration from artists like Paul Lansky, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and the range of emotion in the music of Geinoh Yamashirogumi Orchestra, best known for scoring the Akira soundtrack which is a longtime favorite. I was also encouraged to complete Mirror Guide through conversations with the late composer, tape collage pioneer, and friend Noah Creshevsky, who gave me several boosts of confidence after hearing early versions of the music.

Giant Claw - Mirror Guide Pt. II {you And Me} (vocals: NTsKi)

compositions 16 Trailer

@andy-loebs

Shagbark Hickory (Andy Loebs)

Saw-stalked maple. Sister shag. Her secret isn’t safe in an ivory purse; there’s a certain mapley dew that rolls off her lance-shaped leaves and catches in the soft valleys of her voice. Like a honeyguide, a red squirrel shows us exactly when and where we should unwrap her husk. About when it’s time to draw the drapes — when the last trees are felled for winter; here, we get a glimmer of spring. Like sap weeping from the maple in early March, Shagbark Hickory drupes are buttery and sweet. These stores of fats and sugars are often held for 5 years before there’s a banner year, and this energy is clearly transmitted by the fruit they bear.  

Etymology: Carya ovata, roughly meaning egg-shaped nut with connotations of exultation or praise. Carya comes from the pre-Classical ‘Nut Tree Goddess.’ 

Properties: A tree in the walnut family that is present in most of the eastern US, with the exception of the Gulf’s coastal plains. Unlike pecans, the shagbark hickory is self-fertilizing. Hickory milk was a significant food for the Alongquin who used it to make corn cakes and hominy. Its wood imparts wonderful flavor to smoked meats, and the bark can be boiled to create a maple-like syrup. Hickory nuts are also a great source of healthy fats, trace minerals, antioxidants and B Vitamins. Using the doctrine of signatures, or the sympathetic connection between a plant’s physical qualities and its healing properties, we can infer a number of things about hickories.They symbolize patience, as they are very slow growing and require great stores of nutrients to fruit. Hickories also have connotations of release, rebirth and resurrection. Like the snake, the hickory sloughs off its old skin with time. As a deciduous tree, it loses its flowers, leaves and fruit each year. Hickory wood is an ideal construction material for tools such as axe handles, bows, looms and spokes because it is highly flexible and strong. 

Companions: Hickories are an important food source for squirrels, foxes, bears, rabbits and bobwhites. Their loose bark also creates a nesting habitat for the Indiana Bat. Although they serve the same culinary purpose as pecans, even the largest of trees produce unreliable crops making them unsuitable for commercial orchards. However, hickories and pecans can hybridize and a few “hican” varieties are commercially propagated. I often find choice edible boletes, such as: Hemileccinum hortonii, Tylopilus alboater and Boletus separans in association with oak and shagbark hickories. 

Recipe: https://www.seriouseats.com/hickory-bark-ice-cream-recipe

Andy Loebs ~ September (Shagbark Hickory)

📹  https://youtu.be/KNBmt0hokkM

ⱏ ≒∣∡∶∷◗ ȶ∣ø∷∤ⱏø∷ȶ⎖⎖ ȶⱏ∤∤ⱏ∡܍ ⱏ∡ ø⏽ ∴∣≘ȶ∷ ∣⨲ ▴ɪ◗∶ȶ ∴∣ʰ ▴∣≘ӿ∶ ⱏ∤ ⨲ɪӿӿ⎚ ʰ∣∡∶∷◗ⱏ∡܍ ʰ∴⏽ ɪ ▴◗∣∣⩁∷∶ ȶⱏ܍∡ ʰ∣∡⌭∤ ∤ɪ⩁∷ ø∷ ∴∣ø∷∵ ∡∷≓∷◗∤∴∷ӿ∷ȶȶ⎖⎖ ∤∴∷ ⋒≘∷ȶ∤ⱏ∣∡ ◗∷øɪⱏ∡ȶ∵ ⱏ ▴ɪӿӿ ∣∡ ø∷ ∤∣ øɪ⩁∷ ɪ ▴∴ɪ∡܍∷∵ ༴≘∤ ʰ∴∣ ɪø ⱏ⎖⎖ ∤∣ ∴ɪ≓∷ ɪ ȶɪ⏽∵ ⱏ⌭ø ܍∣ⱏ∡܍ ∡∣ʰ∴∷◗∷ ∣∡ ø⏽ ∣ʰ∡∵ ⱏ∤ ∡∷≓∷◗ ∷∡∶ȶ⎖⎖ ⱏ∤ ∡∷≓∷◗ ∷∡∶ȶ∵ ⱏ∤ ∡∷≓∷◗ ∷∡∶ȶ∵ ⱏ⌭ø ܍∣ⱏ∡܍ ∡∣ʰ∴∷◗∷ ∣∡ ø⏽ ∣ʰ∡∵ ⱏ∤ ∡∷≓∷◗ ∷∡∶ȶ⎖⎖ ∤∴ɪ∤ ӿ∣∣⩁‌‌​​‌‌‌​ ⱏ∡ ⏽∣≘◗ ∷⏽∷ȶ∵ ⱏȶ ܍∷∤∤ⱏ∡܍ ⨲∷∶ ≘≒ ʰⱏ∤∴ ø⏽ ▴◗ⱏø∷ȶ ɪ܍ɪⱏ∡ȶ∤ ⏽∣≘◗ ∴∷ɪ◗∤⎖⎖ ⱏ ∡∷∷∶ ɪ ∶ⱏɪӿ∵ ∤∣ ∤≘◗∡ ∤∴∷ ∤ⱏø∷ ɪ∡∶ ∤ɪ⩁∷ ⱏ∤ ȶӿ∣ʰ∵ ⱏ∤ ∡∷≓∷◗ ∷∡∶ȶ⎖⎖ ∤∴∷ ▴⏽▴ӿ∷ ◗∷≒∷ɪ∤ȶ∵ ⱏ⌭ø ⨲∣ӿӿ∣ʰⱏ∡܍ ∤◗ɪⱏӿȶ ∣⨲ ∤ⱏ∡⏽ ∤◗∷ɪ∤ȶ∵ ʰⱏ∤∴∣≘∤ ɪ ܍≘ⱏ∶∷⎖⎖ ȶ∷∡∶ ø∷ ɪ ȶⱏ܍∡∵ ⱏ⌭ø ܍∣ⱏ∡܍ ∡∣ ʰ∴∷◗∷ ∣∡ ø⏽ ∣ʰ∡∵ ⱏ∤ ∡∷≓∷◗ ∷∡∶ȶ⎖⎖ ⱏ∤ ∡∷≓∷◗ ∷∡∶ȶ∵ ⱏ∤ ∡∷≓∷◗ ∷∡∶ȶ∵ ⱏ⌭ø ܍∣ⱏ∡܍ ∡∣ʰ∴∷◗∷ ∣∡ ø⏽ ∣ʰ∡∵ ⱏ∤ ∡∷≓∷◗ ∷∡∶ȶ⎖⎖

⎎∷≓∷◗‌‌​​‌‌‌​ ⊰∡∶ȶ

⎎⊰▪⊰∺‌‌​​‌‌‌​ ⊰⎎Ϟ◇

Lyrics: 

(verse 1)
you leave me stunned, I'm just a silly fool for you
feeling so dumb, melting into goo, yeah I have no clue,
Never felt this way, I'm not okay,
losing my mind, so obsessed, like possessed,
Is it really love, is it really love,
am I turning into a lunatic, oh so lovesick

Hook
Foolish, I can't let this feeling slip away, so I stay
foolish, my head in the clouds, all for you bae,
have to have you (every day)

Sinking to dreams again, don't want to wake
don't wanna know that my impressions could be fake
I need to stay a fool, that's all it takes,
Is it really love, is it really love,
am I turning into a lunatic, oh so lovesick

Hook (repeat)

Sinking to dreams again, don't want to wake
don't wanna know that my impressions could be fake


Hook (repeat)

Pantomime

Broken Spear - Foolish (Feat. Vain Girls)

this is a composition for the performance "FUGA EM BEM MAIOR/ FUGA EM MAL MENOR" by Ana Só

O trabalho consiste num projeto performativo onde é explorado o conceito de fuga interior.
Depois de um trabalho introspectivo sobre padrões de escape e questionamento de interiores pessoais, é feita uma aproximação com o objetivo de reproduzir os diferentes estados da fuga.
Deste modo, o objeto apresentado consiste numa interação entre o corpo, a materialidade e o virtual.
· O que dói e acaba por ser bom - uma viagem que tem como passagens padrões de autossabotagem, depreciação, exclusão e isolação perante o Eu (e os outros).

hope you enjoy <333

FUGA EM BEM MAIOR/ FUGA EM MAL MENOR

[UUA-034]
XS217FDNSBA0192 - unto 4
credits
released November 20, 2022

music by XS217FDNSBA0192

artwork by hiroki yamasaki

TQGDNndT3

OrangeTone's debut album 'Lightmixer' out now!

noumenalloom.bandcamp.com/album/lightmixer-2

Lightmixer

Channel Surfing

OrangeTone - Channel Surfing

WWW (Ident)

Excerpt from 'Muster', broadcast July 2015 on Deutschlandradio Kultur. 

'Muster' is an hour long play derived from the personal information of radio listeners. It's protagonist, Anna, is summoned to embark on a cruise helmed by a disembodied intelligence.  

Muster (Excerpt)

‘Emboss Star’ is the new album by Kochi-born, Kyoto-based artist Kazumichi Komatsu, the first to be released under his own name following a prolific run of material as Madegg @madegg .

⎎⊰▪⊰∺‌‌‌‌‌ ⊰⎎Ϟ◇

𝖓𝖊𝖘 𝖈𝖗𝖔𝖋𝖙

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