Billy Bultheel - The Arcades Project (Snow Cycle)
Label: PAN
Cat.No.: PAN 138S1
Release Date: 09 February 2024
Purchase: pan.lnk.to/TheArcadesProject

Billy Bultheel shares 'The Arcades Project (Snow Cycle)', the first single from the upcoming full-length album 'Two Cycles' out via PAN on March 8th.

Written for Trackers by Billy Bulheel / IXVEUTAI by Sophocles, directed by M. Marmarinos at the Ancient Amphitheater of Epidaurus, 2021

Played by Spyros Vergis and Menelaos Moraitis
Recorded by Ilias R. Flammos at Antart Studios, Athens, 2022

Mixed by James Ginzburg
Mastered by Enyang Urbicks

Billy Bultheel - The Arcades Project (Snow Cycle) (PAN138S1)

Billy Bultheel - Two Cycles
Label: PAN
Cat.No.: PAN 138
Release Date: 08 March 2024
Purchase: pan.lnk.to/TwoCycles

Billy Bultheel's debut solo album is an ambitious distillation of the composer's,' sprawling litany of influences and his unique approach to site-specific composition. A compilation of pieces created between 2016 and 2023, the album is a forceful testament to Bultheel's expansive performance practice and collaborations with cutting-edge visual artists like Anne Imhof and James Richards.

Drawing inspiration from industrial music and metal as well as medieval and baroque polyphony, Bultheel devised a way to present this collection of works side-by-side. The record is split into two distinct cycles: the Snow Cycle, which collects Bultheel's electro-acoustic and compositional work, and the Game Cycle, which assembles his electronic productions. These two suites have unmistakable symmetry; Bultheel's traditional compositions are bolstered by his understanding of electronic production, while his electronic pieces are moulded by his knowledge of classical and traditional music. "Two Cycles" is an album that exhibits duality, embodying the dichotomy of Bultheel's roles as both an ensemble composer and an electronic producer.

The haunting opening track of the 'Snow Cycle', 'The Arcades Project', — named after the unfinished compendium of architectural contemplations penned by the eminent German philosopher, Walter Benjamin - places four tubas in strategic towers surrounding the audience, creating an immersive auditory experience. Conversely, 'The Snows of Venice' — named after Alexander Kluge and Ben Lerner collection of short stories and poems — was conceived for two flautists directed to intertwine their melodies as they traversed through knee-high water.

The 'Game Cycle' meanwhile places a strong emphasis on rhythm, crafting a sonic landscape that resonates with overdriven metallic clanks and sharp stabs. Drawing upon his extensive experience in composing for choreography, Bultheel envisions a series of jittery dances that purposefully deviate from conventional timelines. 'Decreation' infuses techno with the visceral qualities of noise music and 'Game Theory' offers an unsettling skeletal barrage of saturated, precisely tuned percussive hits. Bultheel brings 'Two Cycles' to a close with 'Gigue,' a reference to the 6/8 baroque court dance that traditionally marked the conclusion of a dance suite; by merging marching rhythms performed by two percussionists on a single drum set with chaotic and evocative synth leads, he establishes a tantalizing counterpoint.

'Two Cycles' is a musical compilation that explores the themes of locale and landscape, elucidating the intricate dynamics that arise between the musicians and their audience, the ears and the architecture. Considering timbre, density and the psycho-acoustic qualities of communal spaces, from the warehouse to the cathedral, Bultheel draws indelible lines between seemingly distant concepts, merging the celestial with the terrestrial.

The double album cover, one for each side and cycle on the record, features a collage created by the Welsh video artist James Richards that merges medieval iconography with snippets of queer memorabilia.

All tracks written by Billy Bultheel
Mixed by James Ginsburg
Mastered by Enyang Urbicks

Billy Bultheel - Gigue (Game Cycle) (PAN 138)

Billy Bultheel - Game Theory (Game Cycle) (PAN 138)

Billy Bultheel - Foot Soldiers of the Fold (Snow Cycle) (PAN 138)

Billy Bultheel - The Man without Content (Snow Cycle) (PAN 138)

Billy Bultheel - Empire of the Senseless (Snow Cycle) (PAN 138)

Gorgeous, angelic, bliss. Catalan sensation ETM sends us into emotional overdrive with this bygone breakbeat epic. 

A hat tip to one of the more endearing generations of dance floor lore, 'I Believe' is derived from the synergies of 90's breakbeat, encapsulating the textures of Orbital, Liquid & Rhythm On The Loose with its suspenseful piano melodies & powerful vocals.

The track is available now via the artist's Bandcamp here: https://etmosfera.bandcamp.com/

PREMIERE: ETM - I Believe

Support + tape: https://sleepinc.bandcamp.com

Clouds of sleepless vertigo created for a continuous and seamless listening experience, compiled for tape in two parts.

Sleep Inc. are TRYCE & traumesser
soundcloud.com/traumesser
soundcloud.com/3yyccee


Music by Sleep Inc.
Tape design by Chau Luong

Sleep Donation

The first vinyl release from Doyenne Books via Boomkat Editions arrives as an anthology of love song covers - release date: 11th April 2024.

Taking its name from the etymology behind the well known myth of ‘Aphrodite’, meaning: “sea-foam", "risen from the foam" - the fifth release from Doyenne brings together friends, lovers and the broken-hearted under one premise. The commission was to make a ‘love song cover’, in which each artist has had free reign in the interpretation of ‘love’ as well as the style and rendition of their favourite musical pieces on love: Agape (unconditional love), unrequited love, philautia (self love), lost love, mania (obsessive love).

From bygone sea shanties to 90s r’n’b, post-punk, jazz greats, indie pop and 19th century classical, Doyenne label mates Christina Vantzou, Susu Laroche, and Spivak, are joined by a diverse cast of friends new and old. Alex Zhang Hungtai’s deconstructed cover of Sinatra sits beside Aya’s darkened Lovesong, whilst Claire Rousay, Wild Terrier Orchestra’s Jay Glass Dubs and Dania Shihab of Paralaxe Editions take on soft vocal covers of iconic alt bands. Manchester’s Teresa Winter does British folk, and South Korean duo Salamanda rework Debussy.

Cover artwork by Basia Strzezek

SUSU LAROCHE - BLACK IS THE COLOUR [DOYENNE05]

Our latest guest mix comes from harpist Ange Halliwell. Based in the verdant countryside of Southwest France, he continues to make harp music with hypnotic arpeggios and sung, spoken or shouted voices. Halliwell's compositions are intimately linked to nature and have a contemporary consciousness of tradition.

Featuring unreleased personal material in addition to selections that unexpectedly glide from pastoral instrumentals to gauzy halcyon pop and grinding black metal, this is a mix that offers an intimate window into an artist's interior world.

"These music are precious to me. Some of them are from my childhood, where my parents or my brother used to listen to them. I discovered the others from my personal listening. They inspire me a lot and I love when they create an emotion inside of me. Here is a little compilation of my favourites of the moment." -Ange Halliwell

This mix comes ahead of Sharp FM’s first concert on Friday, April 26, taking place in a gorgeous church sanctuary in Brooklyn and headlined by Ange, who is visiting NYC. Tickets and more info here: https://ra.co/events/1910399

Cover art features Sharp Fraktur Thin
Artwork by Chris Lloyd
Design by Kimberly Bager

017: Ange Halliwell

02 The Sound Of Future Emergency Vehicles

Label based in Berlin, est. 2008. http://www.p-a-n.org

Billy Bultheel - Foot Soldiers of the Fold (Snow Cycle) (PAN 138)

PAN

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