We’re pleased to welcome back Toronto, Canada’s anthéne in the form of this collaborative album with UK cellist and composer Simon McCorry. Between them, they have released solo recordings on labels such as Home Normal, Archives, Past Inside The Present, Naviar and Fallen Moon. They’ve also both released on Polar Seas, a label helmed by Brad Deschamps, the man behind anthéne.

Both artists are comfortable collaborators, having worked alongside the likes of Ian Hawgood, Andrew Tasselmyer and Andrew Heath. It was in 2020 when their remote recording sessions translated into The Equation Of Time, combining and processing Brad’s guitar and Simon’s cello into a collage of droning textures. A concept sprang from their work together, during the unfolding pandemic and its resulting lockdowns, where time itself seemed to stand still, go backwards and go forwards, all at once. Add to this the the sheer geographical distance and time zones separating these artists, the often-explored artistic muse of time and space became the central theme.

The title ‘The Equation Of Time’ relates to the differences between the day of the earliest sun rise, the day of the latest sunset, the longest day. Each of these days are different, noted by the ancient Greeks and the Persians before them. The enormity of time and the ability for humans to occupy the same space as multiple predecessors is particularly fascinating when faced with something ancient, such as a cave painting, a forest or the ruins of a fallen civilisation. The track titles are aptly borrowed from parts of T.S. Eliot’s 4 Quartets, which also deals with the contemplation of time. You can surmise from these poems that ideally, one would focus only on the present, in order to make the most of each turn of the clock; the past cannot be altered and the future is unknown. Our memory can subconsciously serve us back our own recollection of past times, which can result in nostalgia, melancholy or both. Our minds can also influence our perception of the future, with feelings of either fear, excitement or both.

The Equation Of Time grapples at these themes and ideas without the intention of ever truly being able to define time. A wash of faded memories, unknowns and current thoughts stir into one-another; ambient music itself always seems so able to reflect and evoke a sense of wonder, at things far bigger than we can ever comprehend. 

Releases May 22, 2021

Written and Produced by Brad Deschamps and Simon McCorry
Mastered by Ian Hawgood
Artwork by Tom Tebby
Packaging design by Tom Tebby

The Equation Of Time

wlr093 anthéne & simon mccorry - the equation of time

In the coming months, a lot of music will be released. Some will be bigger projects and some small, like this one, a track with a special vibe called 'Hidden Message'. These smaller projects will always be free to download.

Hidden Message

Slow Down . In The Now | Album 'SO FAR'

A collaboration between Rhucle and I, taken from the album 'With'. Released on ROHS! September 22, 2021. 

https://lontanoseries.bandcamp.com/album/with

Original photography by: getoutski 
Record label: Lᴏɴᴛᴀɴᴏ Series 
Publisher: ROHS! RECORDS

With

Rhucle - 'Beyond The Light' feat. Moss Covered Technology - [ROHS! Records, 2021]

Once again, we’re excited to unveil another Polaroid Notes release, the fourth album by this Germany based artist in our discography. Alongside his side-project as Kraut Sounds, editions have also appeared on labels such as Büro Für Erdrotation, Weber & Alcantu and his own label Drone Works International.

In this latest edition ‘Cloud Anthems’, the music takes influence from the packaging photography, which was taken by the artist one sunny January at the Riegsee, a small lake in front of the Bavarian Alps. The entire lake had frozen over due to low temperatures in the weeks before. Later that afternoon fog rolled in and together with the sun, the frozen lake and leafless trees made a wonderful contrast. The whole scenario lasted only a few minutes before everything disappeared into the clouds of dense fog. As beautiful as the whole day was, those few moments were something very special to behold.

Polaroid Notes enjoys these contrasts, both in nature and in music too. ‘Cloud Anthems’ is a series of unique contrasts that harmonise perfectly, remaining in mind for a while after they have passed. Piano sounds and loops interact with flashes of harsh energy and strange experimental sounds from old analog synthesizers. A particular focus for this record is the VCS3 synthesiser, a portable synth from the late 60s; whilst a digital replica was used here, the artist found this to be the perfect way to express the themes for this record. Sounds and melodies flow into each other spontaneously like colours of an abstract painting, layer by layer.

Credits:
Written and produced by Polaroid Notes
Mastered by James Edward Armstrong
Photography by Polaroid Notes
Art and design by Andrew Heath

Cloud Anthems

wlr123 Polaroid Notes - Cloud Anthems

artist: john reidar holmes
title: manichees and madmen
catalog: eR011
release date: 24th of september 2022

release type: album
series: eRecords digital series
playing speed: 33 1/3 rpm

written and produced by john reidar holmes
mastered by john reidar holmes
cover artwork by philip elvin holmes
art and design by harry towell
whitelabrecs.com/erecord-series/

eRecords are a series of digital editions which aim to transform the digital format into something that can be experienced in a similar way to a listener’s interaction with a real, whitelabel vinyl record. Each edition includes a special PDF scrapbook including polaroids and liner notes and you will only be able to find out more about the themes and ideas about each record, once you’ve downloaded them.

Manichees & Madmen

eR011 john reidar holmes - goodbye to cape farewell

‘Floating World’ is an album by US based artist Todd Gautreau, who records as Tapes and Topographies. It was created in response to a collaboration project called Thirty-Six Views of Newland Island with British artist Jonathan S Hooper. The album follows last year’s ‘Amplitudes’ and is another entry to Todd’s discography, alongside music on labels such as Past Inside The Present, Dronarivm, Shimmering Moods and his own Simulacra Records.

Jonathan S Hooper is a mixed-media artist based in London, who works with paintings, photography, sculpture and film. Thirty-Six Views of Newland Island is an evolving multi-factorial project in which Hooper continues his exploration of ontological concepts of time and space through the landscapes of his native Cornwall. Specifically, the project focuses on a small uninhabited outcrop called Newland Island, which lies just off the Cornish coast in the Atlantic Ocean’s most westerly margins. The project’s title is inspired by Katushika Hokusai’s series of woodblock prints of Mount Fuji, drawing in Hooper’s broader interest in Japan’s artistic heritage. It also adds to the cultural connection between Cornwall and Japan first established in St Ives, in the 1920’s, through the collaboration of master potters Bernard Leach and Hamada Shoji. A collaboration that continued through much of the twentieth century.

A particularly fascinating consideration is that Mount Fuji is an instantly recognisable geographic icon, yet in contrast, Newland Island is unknown to most. This frees the project from the limits of preconception, opening up opportunities to explore further ideas of landscape, and our place within it. Through collaboration with Gautreau (who is based some 5000 miles away), Hooper sought to give creative licence to a composer, in order to encourage another viewpoint. He had first discovered Todd’s music through Elizabeth Alker’s BBC Radio 3 Unclassified programme, and subsequently reached out to invite him to work on a soundtrack, which has now become ‘Floating World’. He sent photographs of his paintings, scans of the polaroids and his studio notes; the work developed organically into a collection of nine soundscapes, in which Hooper sees as independent views of Newland Island in their own right.

Hooper will be working to share this project through galleries and installations and we felt it was apt to assign full creative control over the CD packaging design to these two artists. Todd, also a graphic designer, has pulled together some of the polaroids for the outer and inner sleeves. There is a 16 page booklet included, which contains paintings, further polaroids and text from both artists. This is also included with the digital version of this album.

Written and produced by Todd Gautreau
Mastered by James Edward Armstrong
Paintings and polaroids by Jonathan S Hooper
Design by Todd Gautreau

https://www.jonathanshooper.com/

floating world - reflections on 36 views of newland island

wlr126 Tapes and Topographies -Floating World - Reflections on 36 Views of Newland Island

Whitelabrecs label owner Harry Towell is perhaps best renowned for his long-standing Spheruleus project, with a discography listing releases on Lost Tribe Sound, Home Normal, Time Released Sound, Hibernate and Eilean, as well as his collaborations alongside Sven Laux, Guy Gelem, Ekca Liena and more. Harry returns to his own label, following 2021’s ‘Canvas Homes + Supplémentaires’ and EPs ‘Absent Frames’ and ‘Inaugurate’, in this special collaborative album called ‘Petrologist’s Lens’.

January is a month we usually reserve for a compilation album, such as our Sleeplaboratory series. This year Harry decided to invite 12 artists who had contributed more than 2 releases on Whitelabrecs to submit a short sketch or sample, and then he developed these into the tracks that make up this album. As with some of his more recent work, this album is created under his own name, but with ‘& friends’ added to credit the label artists and good friends which he has worked alongside.

The title ‘Petrologist’s Lens’ nods to the concept of this body of work, which is rooted in the ancient geological history of the earth. Harry studied the land history of the areas where his collaborators reside, to help form a title for each piece. Tracks are named after particular fragments of rock or sediments, land regions or fossils for example, and the compositions were developed in a way which mimics the layering of these. The layers tell a story, giving clues of how they came to be. Sonically, filigree details and eroded tape textures ride waves of modern classical orchestration, ambient drones and electronics.

The packaging for this release features cover artwork by Soraya Kornblum, an art student in Adrian Lane’s class, submitted to Whitelabrecs as part of a school project. Each of the 200 editions include a 16 page booklet with words provided by Neil McRoberts, who transcribed his thoughts after listening to the music and reflecting on the concept. Physical copies are split into two runs; a standard gold disc version and a special marble print deluxe edition.

Credits:
Written and produced by Harry Towell
Additional production and inspiration provided by Adrian Lane, Andrew Heath, Blochemy, Edu Comelles, Glåsbird, Guy Gelem, James Edward Armstrong, Paweł Pruski, Phil Tomsett, Polaroid Notes, Simon McCorry, Sven Laux

Mastered by James Edward Armstrong
Cover Art by Soraya Kornblum
Booklet Notes by Neil McRoberts
Art and Design by Andrew Heath

Petrologist's Lens

wlr127 Harry Towell & Friends - Petrologist's Lens

eRecords is a digital record series created by Whitelabrecs, to run alongside our physical releases. These editions aim to transform the digital format into something that can be experienced in a similar way to a listener’s interaction with a real, white label vinyl record. Each edition includes a special PDF scrapbook including polaroids and liner notes.

We do not publish details about the concepts or production methods of a release, so that the liner notes and content in each scrapbook will give you the background of each edition in the series.

catalog: eR019
artist: henrik meierkord
release title: cello improvisations
runtime: 22:35
locations: Stockholm, Sweden

Cello Improvisations

eR019 Henrik Meierkord - Cello Improvisation VII

Raymond V

Punct

Whitelabrecs was set up by Harry Towell in late 2015 as another outlet to put out experimental electronic/acoustic music. It followed Harry’s previous labels Audio Gourmet, Tessellate and Warehouse Decay and focuses on a collectable series of highly limited edition vinyl-effect CDr packaging, with the first 50 releases influenced by white label vinyl records. The label also runs a digital only series called eRecords, with each of these releases including a special PDF booklet.

https://www.whitelabrecs.com
https://whitelabrecs.bandcamp.com/

eR011 john reidar holmes - goodbye to cape farewell

Whitelabrecs

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