LAWRENCE ENGLISH, Observation of Breath, LP

Release date - Sept 10th 2021
Catalogue nr. - HG2103
Format - Vinyl / digital
Hallow Ground

hallowground.bandcamp.com

Tracklist:
1) A Torso (10:01)
2) A Binding (06:05)
3) And A Twist (02:42)
4) Observation Of Breath (20:44)

Credits:
All organ recorded at The Old Museum, Brisbane July-November 2020,
except A Torso’s centre section which was recorded in 2016 on the same organ.
Performed and Produced by Lawrence English
Picture by Juan Valverde de Amusco, 1560
Design by Ruth Stofer and Greenpointless

///
Do you remember the last time you were breathing consciously? Either way, you are likely doing it now. On his new album »Observation of Breath« for the Swiss-based Hallow Ground label, Lawrence English worked exclusively with an organ for four compositions that are exercises in »maximal minimalism,« as their creator himself notes in a nod to Charlemagne Palestine, who coined this term. While it seems somewhat fitting that those four pieces based on a steady flow of air were conceived and recorded in a situation of accelerated standstill caused by a respiratory disease, the Room40 founder is not so much concerned with capturing the zeitgeist than rather incorporating the spirit of time itself. »It is a record about presence and patience,« he explains. Exploring the unique sonic affordances of a singular instrument, »Observation of Breath« is not only devoted to the durability of sound but also to its density. That it marks his debut on Hallow Ground after having shaped its sound by mastering most of the label’s releases in recent years is just as fitting then as its release following albums by Kali Malone and FUJI|||||||||||TA, whose innovative work with organ instruments have facilitated a rediscovery of their possibilities. 

English’s compositions however are neither directly indebted nor responding to these musicians. His exploration of the organ’s many facets started a decade ago when the composer was given access to an instrument built in 1889 that is presently housed at The Old Museum in Brisbane. After it had already played a crucial role on his seminal albums »Wilderness Of Mirrors« and »Cruel Optimism,« last year’s self-released »Lassitude« was the first record that English entirely composed and recorded with that instrument. »During the soft lockdowns, I spent many days playing to an empty concert hall, recording the pieces that became ›Lassitude‹ and then, this album,« says English in regards to an unfortunate situation that fortunately provided him with time and space—two major themes but also key qualities of the four new compositions. In this sense, he goes on, »Observation of Breath« resolves a number of the questions originally raised by »Lassitude.«

»The organ is an exercise in the observation of breath,« English explains the album’s title. »It is a physical breath, one that manifests both audible and inaudible waves of vibrations. The sheer scale of the instrument, its weight and the physical length of the pipes involved in producing the sounds we experience is nothing short of mind-boggling.« More importantly, the sound artist is fascinated by the organ’s ability to produce frequencies that exist at the sensory limits of human awareness—it’s at the edges of these limits that fascination can be found, he argues. »The particular organ that I work with comprises four manuals and 45 speaking stops and it has a tubular-pneumatic action,« he explains. »It’s the stops that are the focus of my interest. They are very specific and when manipulated in certain ways and in certain combinations, create a unique set of unsteady timbres that make it a remarkably intoxicating instrument to collaborate with.«

LAWRENCE ENGLISH - A Binding (HG2103)

Couperin - Les Barricades Mysterieuses

Moonless

Excerpt of the first five minutes from the forthcoming vinyl re-issue of 'Topography of The Lungs' - one of the key recordings in the development of free improvisation and originally the first release on Incus, the label founded by Evan Parker, Derek Bailey and Tony Oxley to document the music. 

This vinyl issue caps off a year celebrating Evan Parker's 70th Birthday. Evan plays a week of concerts at Cafe OTO and The Vortex from the 20-26 October. 

Release Date: 15 December 2014

Liner notes by Evan Parker (for the 2014 re-issue):

‘The Topography of the Lungs’ was the first recording I made as a "leader" - in the somewhat antiquated terminology of the times. What this means in simple terms is that I set up the date and invited Han and Derek to participate - after that it was a matter of open interaction.

The original notes make clear my enthusiasm for the work that Derek Bailey and Han Bennink had done as a duo and it was good of them to share their discoveries with me. It was the first release on Incus, a label that I set up with Derek Bailey and Tony Oxley with financial assistance from music journalist Michael Walters.  No accurate history of Incus Records has yet been written. After parting company  and when the conditions of my agreement with Derek Bailey had been met, it was issued as a CD, thanks to Martin Davidson, on my label psi.

Musicians of my generation were very happy when the CD superseded the LP. I remember clearly the initial argument that CD was an elitist format... Times and attitudes have changed and the LP has made a serious return, especially in the documentation of marginal musics. OTOroku is run by and, perhaps, largely for, a new generation of listeners who have an affection for the LP format that reminds me of my youth.

I am very happy that a label associated with one of the most important music venues in London is overseeing this release.

I often travel along Dawes Road in Fulham and pass the building where the recording was made.  It is on the first floor by a bus stop and was a small space with a dead acoustic, probably ideal for making low-budget rock demos, which encouraged very analytical listening.

The engineer, Bob Woolford, was not shocked by what we were doing. On the contrary he was then, and remains, one of the great engineers, along with Adam Skeaping and Michael Gerzon who enjoyed the challenges of recording alternative musics.

In the intervening forty-odd years since its first release, the idealism of the original notes has been battered almost sense-less by the Neo-Liberal (Neo-Fascist would be a more accurate term) moves to global hegemony. I take heart from the environ-mental, Occupy and anti-war movements and would encourage all younger listeners to find a way to live their lives as far as possible without interference and control by decisions made in corporate boardrooms. May the music here give you energy and fuel your imaginations.

					          EP  (August, 2014)



PRE-ORDER NOW

Evan Parker / Derek Bailey / Han Bennink 'Topography of the Lungs' [Excerpt] (ROKU(RE)001)

Kiki Komendo & Martin Vital A2 Lettre Au Président

What is a perfect day? Being out in the countryside? Meeting good friends? Doing nothing and daydreaming? Listening to your favourite music? Reading books? Or all at once?

Polaroid Notes explores this question with its new album "Soundtrack For A Perfect Day". Cosmic layers of sound that circulate around individual motifs and images, accentuated by deep, warm piano sounds and melodies. Complemented by ancient sound waves reminiscent of magical electronic instruments such as the Ondes Martenot or Theremin.

An album as if for a movie yet to be made, set somewhere in the sunny south in another world of its own. It's up to your imagination.

The photos were taken while travelling through the Provence.

Tracklist: 
1. Cosmic Country Line / 2. Gold Fields / 3. Weightless / 4. Patterns / 5. Sound Of Today / 6. Vintage Things / 7. Soul Side / 8. Turn / 9. Lazy Heaven / 10. CCL (Reprise)

Recorded during the year 2023
Written and produced by Polaroid Notes

Download and limited edition CD available @ https://polaroidnotes.bandcamp.com/album/soundtrack-for-a-perfect-day

Release Date: February 11, 2024
Büro für Erdrotation Spin 037

Bandcamp

Polaroid Notes - Snippets Of Soundtrack For A Perfect Day (Album)

De Profundis

AMV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hd_jzAtjAMY

prod. by me
Lyrics:

Lyrics:
[Chorus]
Days
Passing by
I get
Reminded
How
Lonely I am
Lost in this keyboard
Playing emotions
I can not speak

[Verse 1]
I lost track of
Seeds
I sow
And it feels
Nothing is worth
I don't know
For how long
But I think
I forgot

[Verse 2]
Does it
Matter?
Will you
Answer
If in you
I seek
Shelter?

[Verse 3]
I
Feel so hollow
Singing for the morrow
That will
Never come
I don't know
What or who
To
Follow
Other than
These pills
I swallow

[Chorus]
Days
Passing by
I get
Reminded
How
Lonely I am
Lost in this keyboard
Playing emotions
I can not speak

days

Beneath the Cosmic Light

Included in The Wire Tapper 44, the CD compilation included with the August 2017 edition of The Wire.

Badalisc (from The Wire Tapper 44)

You Do Know Me

Ambient / Contemporary Classic / Cinematic Sounds / Drone

Releases:
+ Time Is Coming To An End (Album, with Glacis)
(Whitelabrecs  wlr 192, Oct 2025) 
+ Inner Harmonies (Album)
(Driftworks Recordings DWR 009, June 2025)
+ Reflections EP (with Glacis)
(no label, March 2025)
+ All Our Yesterdays (Album)
(Büro für Erdrotation Spin 042, Febr 2025)
+ A Chance Before A Choice EP
(Büro für Erdrotation Spin 041, Jan 2025)
+ Slow Tones EP
(Büro für Erdrotation Spin 040, Nov 2024)
+ Quiet Rooms (Album)
(Whitelabrecs wlr 169, Sept 2024)
+ Remains Of Life EP
(Büro für Erdrotation Spin 039, Aug 2024)
+ Fragments Of Love EP
(Büro für Erdrotation Spin 038, March 2024)
+ Soundtrack For A Perfect Day (Album)
(Büro für Erdrotation Spin 037, Febr 2024)
+ Drones And Sketches (Album)
(Drone Works International DWI 47, Nov 2023)
+ Four Singles (Compilation Album)
(Büro für Erdrotation Spin 036, Oct 2023)
+ Nothing Left But Memories (Single)
(Büro für Erdrotation Spin 035, Sept 2023)
+ Forgiveness (Single)
(Büro für Erdrotation Spin 034, May 2023)
+ Winter Sketches EP
(Büro für Erdrotation Spin 032, Dec 2022)
+ Autumn Sketches EP
(Büro für Erdrotation Spin 031, Oct 2022)
+ Cloud Anthems (Album)
(Whitelabrecs wlr 123, Sept 2022)
+ Between Your World And Mine (Single)
(Büro für Erdrotation Spin 030, March 2022)
+ Walk Away In Silence (Single)
(Büro für Erdrotation Spin 029, Febr 2022)
+ Ocean Lines EP
(Büro für Erdrotation Spin 028, Oct 2021)
+ Under The Stars EP
(Büro für Erdrotation Spin 027, May 2021)
+ Still Life (Album)
(Büro für Erdrotation Spin 025, March 2021)
+ Schneewehen
(Weber & Alcantu Soundstory 2, Dec 2020)
+ Ghost Sounds (Album)
(Whitelabrecs wlr 084, Nov 2020)
+ Drone Reworks (Album)
(Drone Works International DWI 025, Sept 2020)
+ Home Diaries: Moonlight Sessions (album)
(Whitelabrecs Home Diaries Series HD 014, May 2020)
+ Passing Paris EP (ltd. edition 10 Inch vinyl)
(Büro für Erdrotation Spin 021, November 2019)
+ Golden Heart EP
(Büro für Erdrotation Spin 020, March 2019)
+ Angel Band EP
(Büro für Erdrotation Spin 019, Jan 2019)
+ Low Tides (Album)
(Büro für Erdrotation Spin 018, Nov 2018)
+ As Time Goes By (Album)
(Büro für Erdrotation Spin 017, Jan 2018)
+ Unsung Memories (Album)
(Whitelabrecs wlr029, October 2017)
+ Days Of Our Lives EP
(Audio Gourmet AGN 085, August 2017)
+ Re: Improvisation EP
(Büro für Erdrotation Spin 015, May 2017)
+ Sunset Symphonies (Split-EP with Kraut Sounds)
(Büro für Erdrotation Spin 014, April 2017)
+ Dim Lights EP
(Büro für Erdrotation Spin 012, October 2016)
+ The Rhodes Session (Mini Album)
(Büro für Erdrotation Spin 008, March 2016)
+ Sea Shores (Album)
(Tessellate Recordings TSR007, May 2015)
+ The Long Bright Dark EP
(Audio Gourmet AGN 077, April 2015)

Compilations:
+ Hold On Tight
("The Principle Of Hope" Compilation, Mol, Dec 2022)
+ Down By The Sea
("Ennio's Muse", Whitelabrecs, Jan 2021)
+ The Good Earth
("The Home Diaries", Whitelabrecs wlr 085, Jan 2021)
+ Dissolve (Drone Rework)
("Drone Works Vol. 3" Drone Works International DWI 21, Dec 2019) 
+ Nocturnal Mood
("Sleeplaboratory 1.0" Whitelabrecs wlr 50, Jan 2019)
+ The Good Earth (Minimal Drone RMX)
("Drone Works Vol. 1" Drone Works International DWI 03, Dec 2017)
+ Floating Not Drowning
(Track on "Earthtones Vol. 3" Compilation, Tessellate Recordings TSR006, March 2015)