beautiful textures and sound, lovely work :-)

release on 7 January 2021
@marie_e_le_rose

As we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the publication of Through the Looking Glass, Italian artist MonoLogue offers a musical re-reading of Lewis Carroll's work. In this sequel to Alice in Wonderland, the author takes the main protagonist back to a fantasy world where opposites attract themselves and nonsense defies logic.

MonoLogue - ARROCCO

Taken from "Earthtones Volume 2" compilation, released on Tessellate Recordings !
https://tessellaterecordings.bandcamp.com/album/earthtones-volume-2

Porya Hatami - VariWhite

Download full album: https://coldtearrecords.bandcamp.com/album/akmuo-realyb-s

Realybės

Akmuo - Realybė 6

More often than not, a respected label introduces me to a new artist or a project. Sometimes, a rare instance occurs in reverse, where a favourite artist appears on a previously unknown [to me] label. This is the case with the Philadelphia-based Andrew Tasselmyer, whom I’ve been a fan of for his solo ambient releases on imprints such as Shimmering Moods, Constellation Tatsu, Polar Seas, Eilean, Home Normal, and laaps, among the many, but also as a member of Hotel Neon, which I’ve been following via Past Inside the Present, Thesis, Archives, Sound in Silence, and Fluid Audio. All of those are very familiar to me – in fact, you can find most of them in my Labels Directory, but the Las Vegas-based Mystery Circles is definitely new, and I only recognise a few names on its roster. So, more for me to hear! Now, back to the release! Titled Where Substance Meets Emptiness, this 8-piece album features more than just Tasselmyer’s beautiful ambience, with some piano keys and field recordings. There are lots of sparkling and shuffling beats and percussive elements reminiscent of the early IDM era, where harmony met rhythm. The track I am premiering for you today, “Flowers in a Storm”, reminds me of those days when I would listen to Arovane, Dabrye, Metamatics, Deaf Center, and Secede. This makes me want to revisit my very own liftmuziek sessions!

"Beyond the edge of the world there’s a space where emptiness and substance neatly overlap, where past and future form a continuous, endless loop. And, hovering about, there are signs no one has ever read, chords no one has ever heard.
— Haruki Murakami (Kafka on the Shore)

Taking in the magical surrealism of the celebrated Japanese author, Tasselmyer composes music that fades in and out of reality, bridging the atmospheric world of dreams and the present moment, where we find ourselves floating and merging with all the beautiful vibrations. Featuring some sonic postcards from his friends (Steven Kemner, Dave Mantel, and Sean Galloway), Tesselymyer paints a new world to traverse – one that is as imaginary as it is real, where “ordinary methods and immediate results are ditched along with their traditional maps in order to reach uncharted places of the imagination.” It’s an absolute pleasure to wander within this open space, and I find myself pleasantly lost among its many turns and expansive pastures.

The full album is out tomorrow, January 30th, 2024, on Mystery Circles. Mastered by Taylor Deupree, it is available as a digital, CD, or cassette edition. Beautiful album cover by his brother, Michael.

Where Substance Meets Emptiness

Flowers in a Storm

TRACK PREMIERE : Andrew Tasselmyer - Flowers in a Storm

Limited to 100 copies in a cover letterpressed by Typotopia in Malmö. Vinyl pressed in Hamburg by Ramona Vinyl.

This is two new pieces by Swedish trio Organ of Corti. Tape loops by Dan Johansson of Sewer Election/Enhet för Fri Musik etc and Mattias Gustafsson of Altar of Flies. Synths and mixing by Joachim Nordwall.

released April 4, 2024

ORGAN OF CORTI - MUTATIO (iDEAL255 7")

now available ...

https://handstitched.bandcamp.com/album/generational-drift-the-celestial-sphere

Handstitched* is happy to announce a new split-artist EP (hs53) is by two consistent artists and friends of Handstitched* - Darren Harper & Ümlaut, both well-known and respected within musical spheres and both have released music on an amazing array of well-respected labels over the years.

Darren Harper - "Generational Drift - A seasonal reflection in four movements" wanders through a tactile and circular movement of explorations and minimalistic patterns of generative structures, each arrangement allows itself to occupy its own space within the theme, and variations evolve with harmonious and unrestricted woven textures, subtly offering an openness and tranquillity. "Generational Drift" is a long-form piece that is a sonic tapestry of evolving beauty and internal perceptions.

Ümlaut - "The Celestial Sphere" in contrast to Darren Harpers' work is fractured, short-formed pieces adjoining each other with a disjointed tension, sometimes off-kilter but always focused with a thought-provoking structure. Ümlaut navigates his way through contrasting and conflicting elements and carries the listener through a maze of articulations and random jazz-infused electronic segments, choosing to avoiding traditional form and creating something uniquely dynamic and engaging, all wrapped-up inside a sonic cosmos.

Issued on dual-format, limited edition tape and mini double CD featuring individually hand-bound and hand-cut collage CD wallets made from vintage materials and papers, a special print edition of five x ten designs for the [tape] O-cards to house the c45 cassettes. Each CD copy is hand-numbered and packed inside glassine bags, tape copies are packed inside a clear eco bag.

Darren Harper / Ümlaut - Generational Drift / The Celestial Sphere S4mpl3r [HS53]

What can I say about Carsten Nicolai that I have not said before? It feels that only just the other day, I revisited his catalogue and sang high praises for his album HYbr:ID II, which I then highlighted in my Best of 2023 list, Music For Synergizing The Synapse Of Ideas. You should check out that write-up, where I quickly go over his monumental contribution to electronic music (it's up on my site). And here we are again, with an anticipated follow-up, the third entry in Alva Noto‘s series initiated in 2021. For this instalment, Nicolai explores the Noh.  “Drawing inspiration from Noh, a traditional Japanese musical drama dating back to the 14th century, the album reflects the genre’s distinctive rhythmic movements and its nuanced expression of emotions through subtle gestures.” Just as with the previous two volumes, the compositions on the album capture the music commissioned to a ballet score by an American choreographer, Richard Siegal – the first two came from Ectopia, and this third one is for the Ballet of (Dis)Obedience (check out a teaser here). And, just like the first two releases, it comes with a fantastic graphical score for each piece. I’m trying to follow this visualisation along with its sonic incarnation, and it’s like deciphering an alien script. This wonderful mystery adds a touch of fascination to the piece. And yet, the music is enthralling on its own…

HYbr:ID III

HYbr:ID Noh Talk

NOTON Shop

TRACK PREMIERE : Alva Noto - HYbr:ID Noh Talk

Second Edition of Recollections by Rezo Glonti

During the Soviet era, art often had to align with propaganda, seemingly fostering a symbiotic relationship between the state and its people. Consequently, in the realm of “Social Realism,” most forms of artistic experimentation were strongly discouraged and even punishable. With few exceptions, 20th-century Georgian classical/chamber music remained quite conservative; however, when faced with dysfunctional cultural phenomena, there will always be gaps in societal walls through which oppressed cultures can carry their historical heritage and unique paradigms.


In 2018, Glonti started collecting LPs of Soviet-era Georgian composers at Tbilisi’s “Dry Bridge” flea market.The records mostly consisted of classical and chamber music released on Melodiya, the singular, state owned record label of the USSR. It was through this process that the idea of Recollection was born, as Glonti aimed to create an album that would utilize samples from his growing collection.


The artwork by Dmytro Nikolaienko of Day Night reflects the generic qualities of Soviet-era cover art.

@auxfield

vinyl / digital

Rezo Glonti - Recollections III-IV (IRIS015)

There are a few collaborations that work really well. And, when something works well, why not double down? Two years ago [I almost said last November], Markus Guentner and Joachim Spieth came together for a full-length release on Spieth's own Affin imprint. This was more than just their initial conversation, which appeared on Kompakt's Pop Ambient's 2022 installment. Overlay was full of lush texture and ambience, which gently tickled the sensitive nerve endings in my ear canal, leaving my brain to decipher the signals into analgesic pleasantries. This year, the duo returns with a follow-up full-length release, delving deeper into atmospheric soundscapes, punctuating them with a dub-inspired heart-pounding beat. Fans of hypnotic, kaleidoscopic, and sonically rich environments will surely want to lose themselves in the caverns of this all-encompassing sound. If you are a fan [as much as I am] of their solo works, you will find that here, together, the multiplier is higher. They're truly at the top of their art here, so let's put on a heavy ADS for a fully submersible voyage. A subwoofer is recommended. 

TRACK PREMIERE : Guentner + Spieth - Chrysalis

It has been about 53 months since the last solo Purl album was released. 'Renovatio' marked the end of an emotional process related to music-making that I felt had become too heavy for me to continue, and the title signified the rebirth I felt was necessary. I thought at the time that perhaps this would be the last Purl album.

Since then there have been 17 singles, EPs and collaborative albums released that in different ways opened my mind and heart beyond anything that came before. There has also been solo releases planned that did not happen (yet), for different reasons.

'Himmelsandar' isn't really something new. Then again, I wonder if there ever has been or will be anything new from this stream of awareness and emotion that I call Purl. It somehow seems to me like everything essential was present from the beginning, and I'm not sure if anything has been added to it since. I dream of starting new projects; painting on a blank canvas again. But nothing here was painted on such a canvas. Everything was painted and repainted, so many times that the original idea may no longer be distinguished other than as the faintest wisp of something... ethereal.

released November 22, 2024

• all sounds and visuals shaped and arranged by Ludvig Cimbrelius
• the artwork contains photographs by Mohammad Alizade and drawings by Alexander Lux

released by LILA लीला



Porya Hatami - VariWhite

Porya Hatami

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