From the Distant|Spirals EP on Past inside the Present:
https://pitp.bandcamp.com/album/distant-spirals

released May 3, 2019 

Past Inside the Present 
This is PITP16 | MMXIX Digital Series

PITP

Spirals

from 'Symmetrie und Wahnsinn' [CD|LP|DIGITAL]
Denovali Records · den370
available on all formats at https://denovali.com/sanktotten/

After the 2020 album "Lieder Für Geometrische Stunden", Sankt Otten finally make us happy again with a new release at the beginning of 2022. "Symmetrie Und Wahnsinn" (Symmetry and madness) fits here skillfully, both creatively and musically, in an album series with geometric context.

The album starts unusually buoyant with "Hymne Der Melancholischen Programmierer" (Hymn for sentimental programmers). A Kraut-Pop pearl, which could go on forever with its Motorik swing and with its catchy melody the track doesn't come across as melancholic as the song title predicts. You have to listen twice to not succumb to the illusion that it was composed in Düsseldorf at the end of the seventies. Here (and on the track "Sei Symmetrisch Zu Mir"), Sankt Otten were supported in the studio by drummer friend DIRK PELLMANN.

The drum machine in rumbling funky mode. "Die Glücklichen Unglücklichen", the secret hit of the album? They bend the beat into geometric shapes, let the bass play in circles and cover the song with ghostly choirs. The echo of a spinett-like sound overlays the sound, spitting out a deceptively cuddly dream world.

The 10 minute long "Die Ordnung Des Lärms" could be called an Ambient-Kraut symphony without hesitation. An enormous swelling to ecstasy, a guitar sings distantly in the background. Silence. Synthetic strings pave the way and are supported by choirs. A crackle that suggests a rhythm until it is taken over by a drum computer in the main part of the track. Bombastic mountains of synthesizers pile up and yet a catchy melody finds its way through this mishmash of hypnotic electronics. Fourth movement - Kosmische-choirs in suspension over a bass synth and an Ebow guitar. Is this already Prog-Rock? The question doesn't arise, in the end everything merges into reverb.

"Luftspiegelung Der Sentimentalitäten" begins cautiously with a gentle sequence and a discreet kick drum. The mini-Moog sounds like a guitar. Anyway. A surface floats by and returns, layers and shapes build up. At last, everything melts into perfect harmony with a plaintive-sounding synth. This track was composed as a stripped back reprise of the first track from the last album "Sentimentale Sequenzen".

A hypnotic Motorik-beat of an 808 that encourages head nodding and could almost be danceable. True to style with warm analog 80s electronic sounds and a loose echo guitar. This is "Angekommen In Der letzten Reihe". Man and machine hand in hand as a homogeneous musical unit and the connection of tradition and vision.

Sankt Otten like images of infinity. In the religious sense of meditative mantras, or also in the mathematical sense of an elongated curve that eventually returns to its starting point. "Bis Das Helle Licht Uns Holt" goes exactly in this direction with its classical use of sequencers and a sound carpet of choirs. Sound worlds that, through a clever repetitiveness, barely noticeably guard the constant changes in the compositional mesh like a secret and only reveal what is to be discovered by listening closely and letting it be seen. Such a thing is probably called Berlin School?

The Osnabrück duo Sankt Otten, founded in 1999, has been releasing on Denovali since 2009. With their now 12th album they give us again a gem of timeless instrumental music. The holy trinity of Krautrock, Ambient and contemporary Electronics, but always stylistically confident and unmistakable Sankt Otten.

For the mastering New York based RAFAEL ANTON IRISARRI could be won. Also with the cover layout again good taste is proven. As part two of a cover series, this extraordinary die-cut cover artwork was again created by designer DANIEL CASTREJÓN. The vinyl version comes in a die-cut cover (in a limited transparent edition), the CD in an elegant cardboard slipcase.

Symmetrie und Wahnsinn

Luftspiegelung der Sentimentalitäten

Sankt Otten - Luftspiegelung der Sentimentalitäten

Braulio Lam is an artist and photographer from the border region of San Diego/Tijuana. His journey into music began at the age of 12 when he first picked up a guitar, before he progressed to formal music education from 2009 to 2012. 
Braulio’s debut album ‘Soundtrack For Vision’ was released on Static Discos in 2016 and in 2024 he released ‘Claroscuro’ with Dragon’s Eye Recordings. He has also released with labels such as Seven Villas Voyage, AvantRoots Records, the sublabel Akasha (Éter Editions) and Facade Electronics.

Drawing from a diverse array of influences spanning reggae, jazz, electronic, avant-garde, ambient, folk, world music, rock, afrobeat, and soundtracks, Braulio's compositions are informed as a reflection of his eclectic tastes in music. His creative process is as dynamic as his music, often changing methods and environments such as the time of day when producing music, in a quest to encounter different results. Whether crafting solo in his studio, fueled by morning coffee or late-night inspiration, or collaborating remotely with artists like FAX, Braulio's commitment to musical innovation remains unwavering.

In this album entitled ‘Redscale’, Braulio sketched a concept based around photography after settling on one of his own images as the cover artwork. The chosen photo was shot using Lomograpny Redscale at 50 ISO and each track has a title relating back to this particular shoot. 
For the music, Braulio aimed to use a small set-up of electric guitars and pedals, an OP-1, a field recorder and a mixer. He restricted the number effects and post-editing to a minimum, so that the resulting sounds stand true and intimate. In spite of the minimalism there is a variety across these 8 tracks; some pieces are deep and linear, others include environmental field recordings, and then there are sun-bleached ambient passages too. Each track was recorded at a different time of day and mood and reflecting back, Braulio describes the process as being like therapy.

Redscale

wlr162 Braulio Lam - Redscale

The Glåsbird project began as an anonymous detour from Harry Towell's previous production work under his own name and as Spheruleus. It embraced Modern Classical composition techniques whilst also exploring the world, through the comfort of his living room. Harry is a lifelong geography enthusiast and on accepting that he will never be likely to experience the remotest corners of the world, he created the 8 album ‘A Sonic Expedition’ series.

Through hours of research including Google Earth explorations, documentary films, YouTube videos, vintage maps and archive footage, each album centered around a particular part of the world as Harry imagined that he'd been commissioned to compose a soundtrack for the chosen location. The series began in the North Pole, descended through Greenland and then over to Svalbard. It continued along the Norwegian fjords, over to Novaya Zemlya and then to Siberia for a double album. The series continued through the Himalayas, right across the Pacific Ocean and the journey concluded at the South Pole, with an exploration of Antarctica. This compilation brings together this series as a compilation, with two curated tracks from each album and ordered in the sequence of the series.

The aim was to evoke an imaginary trip for the listener, through beautiful land and seascapes, so that they might contemplate the enormity of the world around us and how its delicate eco-systems are affected by every change, every action, every inaction.

The music is evocative and adapts according to its environment; the sound for the Greenland album feels vast and perishing, Svalbard feels cold and charming, the fjords glisten with acoustic timbres which reference the colourful wooden cabins that adorn the rugged green landscape and Novaya Zemlya feels harsh and remote, yet both dramatic and sad as the events of 1960s nuclear testing are reflected upon. Siberia feels fittingly enormous, as the largest region on the planet is explored, with more than a hint of a theme around climate change in the longest album of the series. The Himalayas reveal a subtly eastern charm, starting off subdued before the tension builds to a euphoric crescendo, as if to represent the challenges and elation of climbing a mountain. The sound diverges significantly in Pacifica, as exotic rhythms, sun-drenched tape reels and tropical birds tell stories from various islands in the world’s largest ocean. The album concludes with a dramatic and beautiful Modern Classical sound, with its frozen strings, whistling winds and epic choral flourishes.

A Sonic Expedition

wlr165 Glåsbird - A Sonic Expedition

Inspired by our new home In the jungles of
San Rafael, Colombia

And the journey back to La Tierrita

Grateful for these Oceans, Rivers & Birds. For their beautiful sounds that helped create this album.
credits
released June 14, 2024

All songs recorded and created in la Casa Selva
Mastered by: Tom Lievens

Casa Selva

Ocean Heart

Buy LP / CD / DL

Thousand Oceans

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: eR028
artist: the unknown shape
release title: transient ep
runtime: 15:30
location: north rhine westphalia, germany

written and produced by tobias dziapko
mastered by NFM-Mastering (HerbLF)
cover artwork by george korunov
booklet art and design by harry towell

Transient

eR028 The Unknown Shape - Transient

Seven is a concept album based around the theory of the cosmic and esoteric evolution of the planet, musically depicting the the seven races and their existence on seven continents, past, present and yet to come.

Composed, performed, produced and recorded by Paul Landry
Album cover design and photography Paul Landry 
© 2018 Paul Landry & Aeon Records
℗ 2028 Ditto Music LTD


Seven

A distinctive piece from the Ballroom Records archive, “Planetarium” by Kostas Maskalides is featured on TEN: The Archive Series, Pt. 4 — a curated collection exploring the label’s most atmospheric and genre-defying Electronica.

TEN: The Archive Series, Pt. 4

Planetarium

peace amidst the chaos

I first encountered Ben Chatwin's music as Talvihorros sometime in 2011 through his release on hibernate imprint. We become more acquainted when he contributed a beautiful track towards my ...and darkness came benefit compilation appearing in 2012. A few years later, Chatwin moved from London to Edinburgh and began recording under his real name. This new beginning also gave his music a refreshed and upgraded sound and with newly found confidence he moved on to the independent Village Green imprint - see Sleeper Awakes appearing on Headphone Commute's Best of 2015 lists. We've seen his follow-up, Heat & Entropy, grace the 'best of' lists a year later, but in 2018, I must admit, I was completely blown away with the Staccato Signals. Something changed entirely. Chatwin's music became cinematic, darker, edgier, blending synthetic and the acoustic, pushing the boundaries of intense sonics and textures, and totally gripping my mind. Needless to say, the album grabbed the top spot in the coveted Music For The Film Behind Closed Eyelids list of best cinematic music of 2018. This year, Ben Chatwin is back to unleash The Hum for Village Green, his sixth studio album under his own name, and today I've got an exclusive premiere from the release dropping tomorrow.

The title of the album, and indeed the title of this track, hint at something lurking behind the lights, the pipes, and concrete. That something is a sound, a drone, a purr, of lifeless objects generating life. When electricity is cut, the house fills with silence, and only then are you aware of all that constant whir you've been surrounded all time. This sonic ghost becomes the bloodstream of the dwelling, and with The Hum, Ben Chatwin amplifies its voice. This rumble is electric, growling, at times it's suffocating with the bass, its place expanded, frequencies increased, dynamics magnified. But at the center of this multi-dimensional chant lies a song, alone in space, alone in beauty. This is the song of Chatwin's music, and I've been mesmerized with all it has to say.

"When electronic artist Ben Chatwin plugged his Moog synthesiser into the mains at home one day, he was surprised to find the electrics of his home faintly singing. His house was built in the nineteenth century, and what he was listening to was the building’s natural hum. He boosted the volume, and in doing so, found the inspiration for his next release, The Hum, out on Village Green on November 6th"

The Hum

Ghost In The Machine

TRACK PREMIERE : Ben Chatwin - Ghost In The Machine

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/