Experimental

FAST LAND

Patterns & Light

Endless Waves

Atmospheres, Vol. 2

Moons Apart

towards the forest

gorg1

Partial Holograms is the latest album by US-based artist Todd Gautreau, who records under the moniker Tapes and Topographies. Since launching the project in 2014, Todd has crafted a distinct form of Ambient music which is built around quietly expressive and cinematic textures. He has released on respected imprints such as Past Inside the Present, Dronarivm, Rohs!, Shimmering Moods his own label Simulacra Records. This is his third record for Whitelabrecs, following Amplitudes (2021) and Floating World - Reflections on 36 views of Newland Island (2022) in which he collaborated with painter Jonathan S Hooper. His practice blends analogue and digital processes, drawing from a background in guitar, hardware pedals and synthesizers. His artistic worldview is shaped by the shadowy, poetic sensibilities of filmmakers like Ingmar Bergman and Jean Cocteau.

In Partial Holograms, Todd shifts his usual methods by intentionally removing one of his most familiar tools: the guitar. Though there are timbres that mimic stringed instruments, none were recorded in the traditional sense. Instead, this work leans more heavily into software processing, filtering Ambient textures and melodic fragments through a deliberately limited palette. This approach is typical of Todd’s ethos which is to change direction from one project to the next, by excluding previously used techniques. This creates a sense of evolution without abandoning the core aesthetic of Tapes and Topographies.

Initially, Partial Holograms was conceived as a more melodic record, one that incorporated piano, strings and even brass. This was the version which reached the mixing stage, but something essential felt absent; its atmosphere, its texture. Most of the material was set aside, with only two tracks surviving into the final sequence. What emerged from the second attempt was more immediate, with ideas flowing freely and a final product that strikes a thoughtful balance between melody and abstraction.

While there was no set narrative concept guiding this album, recurring themes began to surface during its creation, of isolation, dreams, memory and loss - all hallmarks of the Tapes and Topographies’ sound. Sometimes these themes are consciously woven in and at other times, they only become apparent in hindsight, or through the interpretations of others. As with his previous work, Partial Holograms invites the listener to drift between real and imagined spaces, forming connections in the half-light of memory and meaning.

Credits:
Written and produced by Todd Gautreau
Mastered by James Edward Armstrong
Artwork by nkl
Art and design by Andrew Heath

Partial Holograms

wlr191 Tapes and Topographies - Partial Holograms

Replica

Submersible

trade winds, white heat-Tim Hecker

Othona

Found & Lost

Symbol

Blue Sky and Yellow Sunflower

no vocals
this song is for listener, not artist

Yves Tumor - Limerence (Instrumental Edit)

A I A: Alien Observer

Moon Is Sharp

The Disintegration Loops IV

dlp 1.3

Originally released on Dragonfly Records in 2005, Tripswitch's debut album Circuit Breaker landed to widespread critical acclaim and became recognised as one of the landmark releases of the psy-chill genre, establishing Nick as one of the godfathers of the scene. Tracks from the album were picked up for numerous compilation licenses by the likes of Nick Warren, Jose Padilla and Claude Challe, and continue to be licensed for compilations, TV and film - most recently "Roll Your Own" has been included in the soundtrack to the Bollywood movie "The Blueberry Hunt". 

The first release quickly sold out and 2 years later, by which time copies were changing hands on ebay for as much as $150, Dragonfly re-released it as a double CD package including a completely reworked edition with versions of each track from a clutch of the world's top electronic producers. 

Both original releases were dogged by digital distribution issues and were therefore never available for download in many parts of the world. Section Records inherited and sold off the remaining CD stock in 2010,  and in 2012 re-issued the original 2005 Circuit Breaker album as part of our own digital catalogue. Now in 2013, we're delighted to be able to add Circuit Breaker Rewired to that collection, completing the Tripswitch discography and finally making it available worldwide.

"Re-vamped into a sun-kissed body of work" (DJ Mag, Oct 2007) 

“A great selection of remixes of one of my favourite albums "
Nick Warren

Some comments about the original ‘Circuit Breaker’:

“Everything is very beautiful; each track starts slowly and takes you on a journey. It's quite a sexy album."
Anoushka Shankar - New York Times, March 26, 2006

”Uplifting, surprisingly refreshing and begging to be described as ‘Psychedelic Chic’.”
DJ Mag - 4/5 stars

“Welcome, welcome, welcome. To one of the finest chillout albums ever recorded. To the first genuinely essential chilled release of 2005.”
psyreviews.com

“The mighty LSD have done it again with Circuit Breaker - another classic down tempo album.”
Upfront Magazine

Tachyon (Codemonkey's Cosmic Rumba remix)

dlp 1.3

williambasinski

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