bret schneider - model of a garden scene with atering can - avant archive - cass - 6$
Bret Schneider has created a world of chaos from the helm of his digital workstation. Model of a Garden Scene With Watering Can is on the surface a simple exploration into abstract sound by way of (and perhaps limited by) his digital means, though Schneider brings into this sound collage many sources of sound. The root of this dense structure is still quite simple: play. About his creative process, Schneider says, "I tried to make a situation where the music is like the inverse space of the known world. . .in a sense it is me making all the wrong decisions, going against my intuition, being the negative space of intuition." If you're not interested in process or philosophy, perhaps you'll at least be turned on by the ear-tickling sonic concoction that is the manifestation of Schneider's approach to creative sound. If there is anything left of your brain by the time you're through listening, you'll certainly receive a gracious 'thank you' from your ears.
sean mccann - mammoth mountain - avant archive - 2xcass - 10$
Sean McCann literally needs no introduction. If you're reading this promotional paragraph, you already know who Sean is and there is a good chance you're already convinced of his musical capacity. Sean's specialty seems to be this airy and sweet 'atmosphere', something that sounds simultaneously like a slow-motion stringed dirge and an accompaniment to your morning's reflection over a pot of steaming coffee. With Mammoth Mountain, Sean is in a unique form. These songs are short and rambling, and they present McCann in a kind of sparse orchestration. There is very little 'constant' drone that frequently appears on his records. Mammoth Mountain is space-specific, recorded during a series of family outings over two years, and the compositions on these two volumes are apropos of the space. The sparseness with which the songs are written and played (or improvised) allows the mountain air to permeate the tape. The overall effect is just what one might expect from Sean McCann: a tender set that almost insists on the transportation to or envisioning of Mammoth Mountain and its surrounding beauties. This album is sometimes fun, sometimes discordant, and sometimes entirely disarming, much like the wild spaces from whence it was derived. Sip a cool stream and join Sean for a stringed jaunt up the mountain.
emuul - waiting for winter - avant archive - cass - 6$
Emuul's Kyle Iman is a quiet champion of quietness. His works to date have exhibited this kind of subtle presence wherein time slows down a little and reference points are not easily set. Often working with synthesizers, some of Emuul's most effective pieces have been those in which the least movement occurs. On Waiting for Winter, Iman eschews his synthesizers in favor of the electric guitar and some variation on his synthetic stasis. This album's side-long introduction, "Blurring the Nights" is a terrifically dynamic piece that stretches from the quiet guitar hum you might recognize into a frantic sonic mantra, culminating in the integration of some expert guest drumming. On the B-side Kyle airs it out a bit with four short pieces that set more somber moods. Naturally driven guitars are dipped in equal parts delay and reverb. With these airs, Emuul returns to the kind of stasis that you might have recognized from his past excursions, but perhaps these are his most successful pieces yet. Not only do they captivate and affect the slowing of time, they're also incredibly sweet and natural sounding, fully identifiable and earnest. Here is simply a man playing guitar simply, with no shroud of mystery or murk. Waiting for Winter is a guitar album and it demonstrates that the success of this
excavacations - afternoon future - avant archive - cass - 6$
Pop music isn't what it used to be. Excavacations know this as well as anyone, and you'll know it too when you find yourself tapping your foot suddenly after emerging from a murky fog of sustained guitars and synthesizers. Chad Parsons & Nicholas Longworth's increasingly signature stamp onto the musical underground is unmistakably playful, but don't miss the signposts pointing back in time, and (it hardly bears mentioning) don't miss the caverns of solemnity from which their lighter sensibilities emerge. These two musicians have been feeding on the morsels that popular rock & roll has left behind, and washing it down with a swig of experimental electronics and a gulp of musique concrete. Their knowledge shows through when suddenly we find ourselves at that point where we want to hit rewind and hear that unforseen verse repeated yet again. When you find yourself frustrated that the last verse was indeed the last verse, take some consolation and rest in the longer stretches of abstraction, and keep in mind that Excavacations just might come back with another verse or two. How soon? Keep listening.
ajilvsga - massacre canyon - avant archive - 2xcass - 11$
If you've been hanging around the tiny experimental voids that have been surfacing in North America over the past five-or-so years, there is some chance that you've brushed up against the rolling thunderhead called Ajilvsga. The duo's body of work is massive, and so even though it's only a glimpse, Massacre Canyon is nonetheless a necessary document in the evolution of this musical icon. This soaring double-cassette collects tracks from Ajilvsga's past—some pieces more ephemeral than others, but everything worthy of a second (or tenth) glance. What these selections have in common is only a certain ability to succinctly (as much as one can, given the nature of the music, both in density and in length) define this Oklahoman tag-team's oeuvre: an animal darkness, tainted with imagery both accusatory and mournful. Through their own multitude of sonic approaches, may you find Ajilvsga's essence living in the spaces of Massacre Canyon. Alas, it's not the end: Side D contains 40 minutes of new music. Onward!
kplr - atomic revolutions - avant archive - cass - 6$
Electronic music has many faces, and sometimes placing a face can be a heck of a task. With Atomic Revolutions, Kplr's Dex Brightman & Jair Espinoza have issued the challenge: "What is it?" What are you listening to? The duo delivers demented expressions issued through that ever-taboo marriage of analog and digital synthesis. In 45 minutes, Kplr runs up and down the range of audible frequencies, turning the mood from bewilderment to terror and sometimes just back to good old-fashioned fun. Visualizations of grainy, black-and-white laboratories full of slight figures milling about in white jumpsuits would not be far off the mark. Atomic Revolutions is maybe too obvious a title for this over-the-top science-experiment-gone-wrong; nonetheless, there it is. Titles and imagery aside, it is really the music that will thrill you here. Truly abstract electronics from two explorers looking to break new ground..
black eagle child born underwater / the arquebus - avant archive - cass - 6$
From the artist: "Composition has always been a difficult process. When I decided to stick close to my comfort zone and start building music from foundations of guitar, writing music became a little easier. Before Black Eagle Child reached this point, my composition process did not exist. Mostly the result was failure, but from this lack of discipline also came a couple pieces I really felt proud of. Here they are finally in an official production.
-avant
a. pushkin - the figure - avant archive - cass - 6$
Has electronic music reached its pinnacle? The mainstream transition from analog to digital in the 1990s caused a shortage of analog equipment, but now analog is in a renaissance. The early part of the 2000s saw a race toward higher BPM and hyper-mutilated amen breaks, but all the while there have been analog warriors existing in the underground. Alexey Pushkin is an advocate for analog, and instead of making dubstep records or the fastest jungle 12" ever, he is creating worlds into which his listeners can retreat. As Analog Concept, Alexey has given us a broad range of experiences—from walls of ambient sound to collections of vintage-inspired numbers to a trip through a real-life cityscape. The Figure presents A. Pushkin, and it is a portfolio of sorts. We get rich ambience, wild synthesizer manipulation, crisp field recordings, and now even infectious minimal house outings. Electronic music exists simultaneously in the future and the past.
-avant