thoughts on air - glow on - tranquilty tapes - cass - 7$
Hamilton's Scott Johnson is a wonderful soul whose brilliant sounds will always have a happy home on this label. It's a pleasure to share almost an hour of new instrumental recordings from his flagship project, Thoughts on Air. Conceived as an homage to friends and fellow sound travelers, Glow On is comprised of eight new works for guitar and synthesizer. Each extols the lo-fi warmth and intimacy you've come to know and love from the project, but surprising new avenues are explored this time around as well. From riffs fit to fill an arena to rhythmic organ grooves, Johnson is unafraid guide his bedroom star ship to many fascinating realms of the psychedelic universe. Pro-dubbed and imprinted chrome cassettes, featuring designs by Caroline Teagle.
imperial topaz - imperial - tranquilty tapes - cass - 7$
You're most likely familiar with Caroline Teagle's visual talent by now, but you should know that she makes great music, too. Her new duo with Jake Pepper (NT, Fergus & Geronimo), Imperial Topaz combines experimental sensibilities with finely-tuned pop, which falls within a warm space between reggae and the heyday of 4AD. Field recordings and improvised passages drop instantly into pop gems, layering Pepper's catchy, reverb-drenched guitar lines and Teagle's ethereal vocals with hypnotic keyboard melodies and drum machine rhythms. Nicely timed for spring, each of the four tracks on Imperial is excellent accompaniment for sunshine and ocean breeze dreams. Like a beach party for everyone the luxury liner left behind. Features Jef Brown on saxophone. Pro-dubbed and imprinted chrome cassettes, featuring designs by you-know-who.
pierrot lunaire - as himself - tranquilty tapes - cass - 7$
After starting the year with a bang with his first vinyl release on Hooker Vision, California's John DeNizio shares the magical fury that is Pierrot Lunaire in a live setting on As Himself. Working with saxophone, voice, tape, and semi-functional electronics, DeNizio conjures his singular and soulful blend of free jazz, noise, and outsider pop on the fly. The spaces where these recordings were made play as much of a role in the final product as DeNizio and his gear, with sounds echoing off of walls and telling inscrutable tales of all that's happened in each room. A nimble and versatile player, you never know where DeNizio will take you next, but it's always a thrill to behold. Pro-dubbed and imprinted chrome cassettes, featuring designs by Caroline Teagle.
the aloha spirit - under wild skies - tranquilty tapes - cass - 7$
Through his thoughtfully curated c60 Radio program, Austin's Brad Barry has been closely affiliated with experimental music and cassette culture for the past several years. Now, with The Aloha Spirit, he's sharing his own personal sounds with the world, and what a wonderful thing it is. Under Wild Skies finds Barry arranging synth loops carefully and confidently, conjuring placid tones and giving them space to gently buzz and gradually intermingle with one another. This is unabashed relaxation music, teeming with positive vibrations and basking in the radiance of the earth. Pro-dubbed and imprinted chrome cassettes, featuring designs by Caroline Teagle.
dozens/confused kundalini – split - tranquilty tapes - cass - 7$
Three talented lads offer two zonked out sides on this split. Dozens, the Montreal duo of Francesco De Gallo (Hobo Cubes) and Ryan Connolly (Sundrips), kick off with dynamic psychedelic drifts for guitar and synth. Occasionally channeling their city’s post-rock ghosts, other times locking in on strange melodic passages that sound as though they’re from another dimension, Oulellette and Connolly revel in the joys and bewilderment of improvisation at once. Fort Wayne’s Adam Meyer (Dry Valleys) takes command on the flip side with his new side project, Confused Kundalini. CK takes the new age synth bliss crafted through DV and warps it entirely with the addition of strange field recordings and vocal incantations. Something like a soundtrack for a yoga session in hell, Meyer mixes loops of sublime chord progressions with deliciously bizarre sounds from who-knows-where across five fascinating pieces. Pro-dubbed and imprinted chrome cassettes, featuring designs by Caroline Teagle.
sparkling wide pressure - sing what you remind me of - tranquilty tapes - cass - 7$
Few have a style as singular and consistently fascinating as Tennessee’s Frank Baugh. With a formidable discography under his belt, Baugh has utilized his Sparkling Wide Pressure moniker to explore spaces that are as eccentric and alien as they are beautiful and comforting. Sing What You Remind Me Of finds Baugh pushing the project further into left-field pop territory while retaining the strange, psychedelic glory that has already made believers out of many underground sound eaters. Intricately realized pieces for guitar, bass, voice, and electronics carry sweeping, nostalgic melodies that convey warmth, yet feel as though they could collapse into abstraction at any moment. This combination of compositional prowess, improvisational tendency, and ability to take the listener to realms both familiar and unsettling at once always keeps Baugh’s work deeply engrossing and utterly addictive. On pro-dubbed and imprinted chrome cassettes, featuring designs by Caroline Teagle.
big sky - creepy crawl - tranquilty tapes - cass - 7$
This shadowy Texas duo concocts an especially potent blend from a wide variety of influences on their debut release. With dub music and cult films on the brain in heavy doses, Big Sky loaded Creepy Crawl with lumbering, skeletal instrumental pieces that constantly teeter on the edge of bliss and gloom. Guitars ring out shimmering, chiming passages while the rhythm section holds down a steady molasses groove. Slowed vocal samples and keys occasionally seep into the mix, infusing the sound with a deliciously warped, experimental pop sensibility. Quite simply refusing to fit comfortably into any one genre or trend, Big Sky is blazing its own sun-baked trail and this is a wonderful start. Try to imagine the flavors of King Tubby, PIL, Slint, and DJ Screw mixed into a vat of cough syrup, fake blood, and jerk sauce and you’re on the right track. On pro-dubbed and imprinted chrome cassettes, featuring designs by Caroline Teagle.
cliffsides / cenote glow - split - tranquilty tapes - cass - 7$
Consider this Afterlife's DNA split and spread across two sides. Solo treks through self-contained realms of life that exist both beyond and beneath the earth. Ryan McGill brings his (inter)stellar Cliffsides project out of a brief hibernation with gusto. He fires on every cylinder and digs a cosmic rabbit hole utilizing sequencer and MFOS synth. Dizzying filtered sequences dissolve into one another beautifully, each one satisfying and beguiling in its own unique way. Franklin Teagle's Cenote Glow debuts on the flip side. Inspired by travels and the natural world, these synth pieces flow between emotive washes of melody and passages of abstract strangeness. Bubbling odes to transcendent moments and memories forged away from home. Pro-dubbed and imprinted chrome cassettes, featuring designs by Caroline Teagle.
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christopher merritt / reedbeds - split - tranquilty tapes - cass - 7$
Acoustic guitar is the common thread on this split, as played by two young gentlemen from both coasts. Over a few recent cassette releases, Brooklyn's Christopher Merritt has quickly proved he's an accomplished alchemist of digital sound. Here Merritt pushes his sound to the next level as he fluidly mixes guitar, synth, and field recordings into a rushing river of glorious euphoria. Sacramento's Carter Mullin (Past Utopia) utilizes a decidedly stripped-down approach as Reedbeds. Armed with a guitar and looper, Mullin crafts two pieces that layer simple, stereo-panned melodies repeatedly to create a tangled, textured web of nostalgic sound. This is surely a perfect soundtrack for springtime, and for springtime dreaming the rest of the year. Pro-dubbed and imprinted chrome cassettes, featuring designs by Caroline Teagle.
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brian lavelle/nova scotian arms - split - tranquilty tapes - cass - 7$
Here we have richly varied, transoceanic transmissions from a Scotsman and a Southerner. Edinburgh's Brian Lavelle begins the hour-long affair with a beautifully composed set of electronics. Billowing, Voigt-ian clouds of synth and guitar ultimately give way to delicate sequences and organ patterns that swirl majestically around field recordings. Lavelle has been releasing experimental music for more than 20 years and his masterful ability to digitally blend and degrade sonics to the point of perfection is well evidenced herein. Georgia's Grant Evans (Quiet Evenings) answers boldly via his Nova Scotian Arms project with an utterly disorienting curve ball. Dissonance is the recurring theme here, with synth loops and burnt guitar riffs weaving in and out of each other and gradually pushing toward a hazy enlightenment. Like a high gravity brew, these two sides work in tandem to leave you at once blissed and dizzy. Pro-dubbed and imprinted chrome cassettes, featuring designs by Caroline Teagle.
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sundrips / sound out light - split - tranquilty tapes - cass - 7$
Though this is the shortest tape of the batch, diminished length doesn't detract a bit of the monolithic power contained within. Montreal's Sundrips (Nick Maturo on synths, Ryan Connolly on guitar) set the tone with two slow motion, analog meditations. The duo builds patiently off one another, carefully layering warm melodies while allowing them the space to rise gently and shimmer gracefully. Delaware's Dave Doyen (Vales) utilizes his Sound Out Light project to add an industrial flair to the proceedings. Buzz saw synth drone builds steadily while oscillations twist about and a clanging drum machine shoots sparks in every direction as this massive track pushes forth relentlessly. Pro-dubbed and imprinted chrome cassettes, featuring designs by Caroline Teagle.
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softlight reveries / cyque sage - tranquilty tapes - cass - 7$
The wonderful sounds of Canadian artists Scott Johnson (Thoughts on Air) and Mike Pouw (Knit Prism) just seem meant to be together. This split brings together two of their newer projects which almost act as alter egos to their more prolific ones. Johnson's Softlight Reveries begins with an engrossing subversion of ToA's psychedelic folk aesthetic. Sparkling clean guitar passages unfold and intertwine freely. Shimmering organ creeps into the mix as the piece gradually builds to a cathartic noise climax. Pouw's Cyque-Sage adds a heavy dose of field recordings to KP's "motionless meditation" style. Effected guitar that almost sounds like a synth stays locked into warm, dense chords. Uneffected sounds from the wilderness and pure analog fidelity both play a major role in Pouw's mysterious workings. Tune in and soak up the positive vibrations from these two brothers from the Great White North. Pro-dubbed and imprinted, featuring designs by Caroline Teagle.
softland city singers - parting the veil of isis - tranquilty tapes - cass - 7$
One half of glorious Texas duo Blood on Tape, Kevin O'Sullivan flies solo on the first release from his project Softland City Singers. On both of the lengthy tracks that comprise Parting the Veil of Isis, O'Sullivan is unafraid to let the sounds unfold with utmost patience, utilizing guitar, synth, vocals, and hand percussion. Paradoxically monolithic and subtle at once, perfect harmonies slowly emerge from billowing clouds of gentle feedback, ultimately enveloping the listener and reaching a point of overwhelming beauty. This is an absolutely stunning, refined debut and it's sure to please fans of minimal ambient projects like Stars of the Lid and Marble Sky. Pro-dubbed and imprinted, featuring designs by Caroline Teagle.
water lily jaguar - digging up atlantis - tranquilty tapes - cass - 7$
With his project Gitche-Anahmi-Bezheu and former excursions as Dream Safari, New York's Ian Najdzionek is no stranger to traversing vividly imagined plains through sound. Where G-A-B tends toward "murky depths," Najdzionek himself describes his new Water Lily Jaguar project as the "shimmering surface" of his creative universe. I can't imagine a better description for the two pieces that make up Digging Up Atlantis. Using sampling keyboards and effects, Najdzionek sends us down a placid river shrouded in vegetation. Trickling keys are looped and gradually molded into soothing drones. Unidentifiable birds call out in the distance, reminding us that we're still in the grips of the wild as we drift enamored through tropical realms. Pro-dubbed and imprinted, featuring designs by Caroline Teagle.