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CONCERT SILENCE - 09.22.07 2xLP (Infraction) U.S. $24.00 [INFX 042 LP]
Concert Silence is a collaboration between Charles Buckingham and Matthew Cooper, currently both residing in Portland, Oregon. An ongoing conversation between the two began in 2004 when they met over a shared interest in live sound manipulation.
“09.22.07” was the first major outcome of discussions regarding symbiotic cultures and their implications to music. A live performance set up was designed, allowing each player to have equal input and manipulation control, (which can be seen in a diagram within the artwork of the album). After the completion of a live session recorded to minidisc, the two decided to release the unmastered un-edited music for free download via their website. A short while later the free recordings were taken down from the site. Infraction Records is now releasing a previously unheard professionally mastered recording of the session in its entirety.
“The sound of piano, both pure and processed, has become almost a sub-genre of its own within ambient electronica. There’s a Satie-authored lineage stretching from Budd/Eno through to Sakamoto’s collabs with Alva Noto and Fennesz, with signs to other off-beat sites. Buckingham’s background in visual art makes his contribution to Concert Silence somewhat enigmatic. He had previously co-opted Cooper for the audio of an online ambient audio-visual collaboration in the ‘Window Exchange’ project; Cooper’s signature is clearly recognizable, for all that the pianism of his earlier Eluvium work are tweaked and tampered with here. Six discrete movements, an affair of edgy ambience, with lilting lulling passages ceding to digital depredations. Some parts subtly infiltrated, others strewn with the detritus of error-smithery. “Part Two,” for example, sounds as if it’s slowly spontaneously combusting in the player, gradually growing into a larger conflagration, culminating in a veritable firework display of pops, crackles and wayward woozy pitch shifts, eating itself in echo and fuzz, before returning to the opening lull of barely audible soft-pedaled piano purism. Overall the Cooper-Buckingham pairing puts a distinctive slant on the compositional tradition mentioned above, finding a beguiling blend of the worlds of piano concerto and that of digital signal processing, with its random reversals, glitch flurries, and drone. Yet, for all its peculiarities of pitch and microsonic mist, strong melodic lines serve as binding, stiched together, lending poise to noise. “ – Alan Lockett
“09.22.07” will be issued as a CD [INFX 042] and 2xLP [INFX 042 LP]. The CD will be a 6 panel matte digipak. The 2xLP set will be in a Stoughton gatefold sleeve, with full color inner sleeves, 180 gram vinyls, and an OBI strip. The D side will feature a vinyl etching. Both versions are in editions of 900. Artwork and typography by Jason Evans.
Release date April 6th, 2010
CONCERT SILENCE - 09.22.07 CD (Infraction) U.S. $13.00 [INFX 042]
CONCERT SILENCE – Rain Furniture ep 12” (Infraction) U.S. $12.00 [INFX 047 LP]
With “Rain Furniture”, Charles Buckingham and Matthew Cooper wanted to explore a new and different musical territory than previously traveled, while still using the audio set up from “09.22.07”. As a companion piece to the full length, Rain Furniture engages a more raw energy, leaning towards a punk rock aesthetic.
Rain Furniture will be issued as a CD (INFX 047) and 12” vinyl (INFX 047 LP). The CD will be in a matte finish 20 pt cardsleeve. The vinyl will be housed in a heavy cardstock sleeve, be of 180 grams and also have an OBI strip. Both versions are in editions of 900.
Release date April 6th, 2010
CONCERT SILENCE – Rain Furniture ep CD (Infraction) U.S. $9.50 [INFX 047]
BEN FLEURY-STEINER - Keep A Weather Eye Open CD (Infraction) U.S. [INFX 040]
+ Vessel of Sleep ep 3"CDR (bonus with the first 250 copies) [INFX 041] $14.00
From the inset, "Tender is the opaque morning" the scene has been set on 'Keep a Weather Eye Open' into a Bryars-esque dip into the sunken Titanic. Gently clattering china on a slow drop to the bed of the ocean, faint light filtering through. The band plays on, the notes become submerged & eventually a hymnal drone emerges repeating over and over in slow cycles. This is not the end however, as unlike the ill-fated Vessel of Sleep, this work re-emerges to the surface and into hazy light.
Roughly 2 years in the making for release on Infraction - KAWEO is presented in a digipak with a 12 page color booklet in an edition of 900 copies. In addition the first 250 copies will receive a numbered, bonus 3" CDR, "Vessel of Sleep" (INFX 041) which contains 3 additional unreleased tracks, housed in a 6 panel cardstock folder. KAWEO was mastered by Robert Rich.
"...from aft came the tunes of the band..... The ship was gradually turning on her nose - just like a duck that goes down for a dive. I had only one thing on my mind - to get away from the suction. The band was still playing. I guess all of the band went down. They were playing "Autumn" then." - Harold Bride, 1912.
Release date anticipated for early Februrary, 2010.
PARKS - Hidden CD (Infraction) U.S. $14.00 [INFX 048]
Out now...
Parks is Russian ambient/electronic artist Igor Bystrov who has been working on his craft for nearly 15 years. "Hidden" may be his most accomplished and varied work to date. Sitting somewhere in the midst of the great 90's ambient artists, the (rather) new wave of Russian electronic artists all the while admiring from a distance the Kompakt pop-ambient of this decade - Parks seamless blend of it all has culminated in a brilliant finish.
6 panel digipak. Listen here.
ANDREW LILES - All Closed Doors CD (Infraction) U.S. $12.00 [INFX 034]
2nd edition of 250 copies
This was originally issued in 2003 and has been oop for awhile now. We've done a modest repressing of it and made it available once again. (Re) introductory value pricing ($5 !!) for those of you wanting to mine the older INFX catalog a bit. Brainwashed writer Lucas Schleicher said this, then : "The impact of Liles' sound worlds on this disc is unavoidable, his imaginative and spectral cadences whisper and glide through the air in ways that effect the brain; scary stories are told without the aid of a voice, heaven spills over from the speakers into the room even though such a thing is unthinkable. There's a strange light that bounces and reflects off of everything in this world; there are oceans of singing fish and mountains bellowing their hate onto the helpless below. I can't stop coming up with images, it's as if my mind is flooded with an invisible light that forces it into overdrive, into a creative process that can't stop, that wouldn't stop if the album didn't end. Very rarely do I find an album so immediate and compelling as this; I often have butterflies while listening to it."
LOREN DENT - Anthropology Vol. 1 CD (Infraction) U.S. $9.00 [INFX 034]
Listen here.
"BEHOLD! An offering from the ambient gods of Infraction. Dust off thine finest goblet, pour from your favorite bottle, remove thy clothes and be pure. Get back to nature and absorb the wonder of pure ambient beauty and message from the heavens that is Loren Dent's 'Anthropology Vol.1'. From the moment I hit play and shiver at the beauty of the intro I realize I'm destined to experience a journey into myself and the wonder of life. The tones here are profoundly uplifting (although there are some darker moments of uncertainty) and moving in a way I am simply unable to articulate. Sadly I'm no "Ambient Shakespeare" but I will say that this is like a soundtrack to life itself, one of joy, love, fear, pain, loss, grieving, euphoria and one which transcends time. Emotions that are integral to the human spirit, despite the age/time in which it exists, be it a modern or an ancient world. This stuff is deep, DEEP material. At one point I was almost reduced to tears, as I felt like I was the only living thing on the planet and felt very lonely... Man the power of music, the sound of those strings. Loren Dent is an extremely gifted artist to the point where it almost feels like there has been a divine hand in the creation of his sound world. His wondrous layers of sound are rich and constantly evolving, always emotional and hypnotic. His tools are both analogue and digital and his use of both is a joy to behold. For any ambient music lover that may have been disillusioned lately and possibly feels that the genre has been reduced to mere simple drones, then I'm fairly sure this will restore their faith in the genre. This deserves a prestigious place in the hearts and minds of all music lovers. To reference particular tracks, for me would be a pointless exercise as this really serves as a complete work..." - Norman Records
KODA - Movements CD (Infraction) U.S. $12.00
Repress of CD - 3rd edition of 250 copies. Out now.
The initial 500 copies slowly made their way out into the hands of an unsuspecting group of ambient fans and a small following was initialized. Voted by the ambient hyperreal list as the 2nd best ambient recording of the new millenium - right behind tha Stars of the Lid. Good work from the man who hails from the Detroit area - better known these days for exuding a homebrew of engaging soundscapes than the Deetroit house of days past. See Kiln, Drafted by Minotaurs, Manitou for further proof. "A hazy incidence of complete isolation and the warmth of a setting sun. It would be accurate to say that there are enormous fields lying in between pulling them loosely together. Tracks such as “are we water” present these circular patterns of hovering strings that envelope the listener. Waves of harmonics with this beautiful tension tends to walk slowly, or rather drift along gathering up memories of the past.
[INFX 008]
DRAFTED BY MINOTAURS - Aversion Therapy LP (Infraction) U.S. $18.00 [INFX 038 LP]
All CD prices are postage paid in the U.S. and Canada.
Shipping charges for ALL vinyl titles U.S., Canada and Overseas are now added separately! SEE Bottom of page for shipping prices for vinyl!
*Overseas & Rest of World*
please add $3.00 per CD title for the first 4 titles - if you purchase 5 CD titles or more, shipping is FREE!*We accept paypal at : riouxs@aol.com
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CONCERT SILENCE - 09.22.07 2xLP (Infraction) U.S. $24.00 [INFX 042 LP]
Concert Silence is a collaboration between Charles Buckingham and Matthew Cooper, currently both residing in Portland, Oregon. An ongoing conversation between the two began in 2004 when they met over a shared interest in live sound manipulation.
“09.22.07” was the first major outcome of discussions regarding symbiotic cultures and their implications to music. A live performance set up was designed, allowing each player to have equal input and manipulation control, (which can be seen in a diagram within the artwork of the album). After the completion of a live session recorded to minidisc, the two decided to release the unmastered un-edited music for free download via their website. A short while later the free recordings were taken down from the site. Infraction Records is now releasing a previously unheard professionally mastered recording of the session in its entirety.
“The sound of piano, both pure and processed, has become almost a sub-genre of its own within ambient electronica. There’s a Satie-authored lineage stretching from Budd/Eno through to Sakamoto’s collabs with Alva Noto and Fennesz, with signs to other off-beat sites. Buckingham’s background in visual art makes his contribution to Concert Silence somewhat enigmatic. He had previously co-opted Cooper for the audio of an online ambient audio-visual collaboration in the ‘Window Exchange’ project; Cooper’s signature is clearly recognizable, for all that the pianism of his earlier Eluvium work are tweaked and tampered with here. Six discrete movements, an affair of edgy ambience, with lilting lulling passages ceding to digital depredations. Some parts subtly infiltrated, others strewn with the detritus of error-smithery. “Part Two,” for example, sounds as if it’s slowly spontaneously combusting in the player, gradually growing into a larger conflagration, culminating in a veritable firework display of pops, crackles and wayward woozy pitch shifts, eating itself in echo and fuzz, before returning to the opening lull of barely audible soft-pedaled piano purism. Overall the Cooper-Buckingham pairing puts a distinctive slant on the compositional tradition mentioned above, finding a beguiling blend of the worlds of piano concerto and that of digital signal processing, with its random reversals, glitch flurries, and drone. Yet, for all its peculiarities of pitch and microsonic mist, strong melodic lines serve as binding, stiched together, lending poise to noise. “ – Alan Lockett
“09.22.07” will be issued as a CD [INFX 042] and 2xLP [INFX 042 LP]. The CD will be a 6 panel matte digipak. The 2xLP set will be in a Stoughton gatefold sleeve, with full color inner sleeves, 180 gram vinyls, and an OBI strip. The D side will feature a vinyl etching. Both versions are in editions of 900. Artwork and typography by Jason Evans.
Release date April 6th, 2010
CONCERT SILENCE - 09.22.07 CD (Infraction) U.S. $13.00 [INFX 042]
CONCERT SILENCE – Rain Furniture ep 12” (Infraction) U.S. $12.00 [INFX 047 LP]
With “Rain Furniture”, Charles Buckingham and Matthew Cooper wanted to explore a new and different musical territory than previously traveled, while still using the audio set up from “09.22.07”. As a companion piece to the full length, Rain Furniture engages a more raw energy, leaning towards a punk rock aesthetic.
Rain Furniture will be issued as a CD (INFX 047) and 12” vinyl (INFX 047 LP). The CD will be in a matte finish 20 pt cardsleeve. The vinyl will be housed in a heavy cardstock sleeve, be of 180 grams and also have an OBI strip. Both versions are in editions of 900.
Release date April 6th, 2010
CONCERT SILENCE – Rain Furniture ep CD (Infraction) U.S. $9.50 [INFX 047]
BEN FLEURY-STEINER - Keep A Weather Eye Open CD (Infraction) U.S. [INFX 040]+ Vessel of Sleep ep 3"CDR (bonus with the first 250 copies) [INFX 041] $14.00
From the inset, "Tender is the opaque morning" the scene has been set on 'Keep a Weather Eye Open' into a Bryars-esque dip into the sunken Titanic. Gently clattering china on a slow drop to the bed of the ocean, faint light filtering through. The band plays on, the notes become submerged & eventually a hymnal drone emerges repeating over and over in slow cycles. This is not the end however, as unlike the ill-fated Vessel of Sleep, this work re-emerges to the surface and into hazy light.
Roughly 2 years in the making for release on Infraction - KAWEO is presented in a digipak with a 12 page color booklet in an edition of 900 copies. In addition the first 250 copies will receive a numbered, bonus 3" CDR, "Vessel of Sleep" (INFX 041) which contains 3 additional unreleased tracks, housed in a 6 panel cardstock folder. KAWEO was mastered by Robert Rich.
"...from aft came the tunes of the band..... The ship was gradually turning on her nose - just like a duck that goes down for a dive. I had only one thing on my mind - to get away from the suction. The band was still playing. I guess all of the band went down. They were playing "Autumn" then." - Harold Bride, 1912.
Release date anticipated for early Februrary, 2010.
All items below are in stock :
PARKS - Hidden CD (Infraction) U.S. $14.00 [INFX 048]
Out now...Parks is Russian ambient/electronic artist Igor Bystrov who has been working on his craft for nearly 15 years. "Hidden" may be his most accomplished and varied work to date. Sitting somewhere in the midst of the great 90's ambient artists, the (rather) new wave of Russian electronic artists all the while admiring from a distance the Kompakt pop-ambient of this decade - Parks seamless blend of it all has culminated in a brilliant finish.
6 panel digipak. Listen here.
ANDREW LILES - All Closed Doors CD (Infraction) U.S. $12.00 [INFX 034]
2nd edition of 250 copiesThis was originally issued in 2003 and has been oop for awhile now. We've done a modest repressing of it and made it available once again. (Re) introductory value pricing ($5 !!) for those of you wanting to mine the older INFX catalog a bit. Brainwashed writer Lucas Schleicher said this, then : "The impact of Liles' sound worlds on this disc is unavoidable, his imaginative and spectral cadences whisper and glide through the air in ways that effect the brain; scary stories are told without the aid of a voice, heaven spills over from the speakers into the room even though such a thing is unthinkable. There's a strange light that bounces and reflects off of everything in this world; there are oceans of singing fish and mountains bellowing their hate onto the helpless below. I can't stop coming up with images, it's as if my mind is flooded with an invisible light that forces it into overdrive, into a creative process that can't stop, that wouldn't stop if the album didn't end. Very rarely do I find an album so immediate and compelling as this; I often have butterflies while listening to it."
LOREN DENT - Anthropology Vol. 1 CD (Infraction) U.S. $9.00 [INFX 034]
Listen here.
"BEHOLD! An offering from the ambient gods of Infraction. Dust off thine finest goblet, pour from your favorite bottle, remove thy clothes and be pure. Get back to nature and absorb the wonder of pure ambient beauty and message from the heavens that is Loren Dent's 'Anthropology Vol.1'. From the moment I hit play and shiver at the beauty of the intro I realize I'm destined to experience a journey into myself and the wonder of life. The tones here are profoundly uplifting (although there are some darker moments of uncertainty) and moving in a way I am simply unable to articulate. Sadly I'm no "Ambient Shakespeare" but I will say that this is like a soundtrack to life itself, one of joy, love, fear, pain, loss, grieving, euphoria and one which transcends time. Emotions that are integral to the human spirit, despite the age/time in which it exists, be it a modern or an ancient world. This stuff is deep, DEEP material. At one point I was almost reduced to tears, as I felt like I was the only living thing on the planet and felt very lonely... Man the power of music, the sound of those strings. Loren Dent is an extremely gifted artist to the point where it almost feels like there has been a divine hand in the creation of his sound world. His wondrous layers of sound are rich and constantly evolving, always emotional and hypnotic. His tools are both analogue and digital and his use of both is a joy to behold. For any ambient music lover that may have been disillusioned lately and possibly feels that the genre has been reduced to mere simple drones, then I'm fairly sure this will restore their faith in the genre. This deserves a prestigious place in the hearts and minds of all music lovers. To reference particular tracks, for me would be a pointless exercise as this really serves as a complete work..." - Norman Records
KODA - Movements CD (Infraction) U.S. $12.00
Repress of CD - 3rd edition of 250 copies. Out now.
The initial 500 copies slowly made their way out into the hands of an unsuspecting group of ambient fans and a small following was initialized. Voted by the ambient hyperreal list as the 2nd best ambient recording of the new millenium - right behind tha Stars of the Lid. Good work from the man who hails from the Detroit area - better known these days for exuding a homebrew of engaging soundscapes than the Deetroit house of days past. See Kiln, Drafted by Minotaurs, Manitou for further proof. "A hazy incidence of complete isolation and the warmth of a setting sun. It would be accurate to say that there are enormous fields lying in between pulling them loosely together. Tracks such as “are we water” present these circular patterns of hovering strings that envelope the listener. Waves of harmonics with this beautiful tension tends to walk slowly, or rather drift along gathering up memories of the past.
[INFX 008]
DRAFTED BY MINOTAURS - Aversion Therapy LP (Infraction) U.S. $18.00 [INFX 038 LP]
Finally, our first vinyl release! Release date Tuesday, May 26th!! "Drafted by Minotaurs mainstays are guitarist Ryan Wilson and Ian Fulcher, who contributes trumpet and glockenspiel. Meanwhile members of a floating cast chip in with added textures from cello and violin. Opener "Blueprints for Sunbuilding" spools out a hail of plucked and bowed strings, webs of sound solidifying then melting into steely flow, stall set out somewhere around cultivated Constellation post-rockeries, a mood and sound that may feel familiar to those acquainted with the new backwoods chamberisms and neo-folk drone of UK cottage industrialites such as Richard Skelton (aka A Broken Consort/Clouwbeck) and Seasons (Pre-din). "Sault Locks" proposes cyclical patterns of stringed things that seem to hover shyly apart, before swarming to swell and billow over the listener - not so much a Storm of Drones as a squall of tones. "Skin the Night and Fog," a more veiled sister of the previous pluckings and bowings, plays out a psych-infused dream sequence. These three tracks forming Side A work with their own distinct harmonic and textural patterns, while seeming like movements of something overarching. Miasmic minor chord tidal flow abounds, the music's motion determined by languorous bow-strokes, its textures by warm-prickly needles of guitar pizzicatos. Side B's single extended track, "Sunday's Morning Ghost," is wrought from similar materials, but aspires to more transcendant levels, led by the celestial harmonics of Fulcher's treated trumpet. It takes on atavistic echoes redolent of some distant Miles Davis or Jon Hassell blowback, as if viewing In a Silent Way through a post-Kosmische kaleidoscope, or channeled through Eno/Budd cathedrals to meet today's psych-drone and ambient trajectories.
Overall, Aversion Therapy thrives on such productive tensions between genres and eras, as it does between live and recorded, spontaneous and pre-structured, making for engaging, at times thrillingly psychotropic, listening." - alan lockett
I recognize the cost factor. The details...the outer sleeve is a Stoughton printing tip-on style gatefold. 'Tip-on' is a separate matte sheet that is applied to thick board stock. Like LPs from the '70's, only thicker. Or 'old school' if you prefer. There is also a sort of OBI strip, or j-card that lies on the spine of the gatefold sleeves. Similar to the Japanese import vinyls - which is a nice touch (I'm biased) that gives some additional info. Then there is the vinyl itself - a slab of 180 gram virgin vinyl pressed at the vinyl pressing mecca that is RTI. The inner sleeves are audiophile grade anti-static triple layer sleeves. Lastly, the outer sleeves are resealable 4 mil plastic sleeves with flap...and they actually reseal. This LP pressing is limited to 489 copies.
Listen here.
"A great package with a gate fold sleeve - no costs are spared here. Their ambient is much more open and gentle...like shimmering metallic sounds pushed towards the end of the spectrum...Great cinematic beauty. Top class ambient album." - vital weekly
[INFX 038 LP]
ALIO DIE & AGLAIA - Private History of the Clouds CD (Infraction) U.S. $9.00 [INFX 037]
In stock - out now! This has been in the works for almost 1.5 years. Is there finer ambience (save Oophoi perhaps) coming from Italy outside of these two acts?
And a collaboration to boot. Nice. 900 copies in the Japanese style mini-lp matte gatefold sleeve. Beautiful layout courtesy of the ever-impressive designwork of Pyhai.
Infraction Records curates this new entry to the already considerable body of collaborations involving Alio Die. There have already been communings with the likes of Robert Rich, Mathias Grassow, and Vidna Obmana. Here, though, Stefano Musso's fellow-travellers are lesser known but closer to home. Aglaia is an Italian duo with a trio of albums on his Hic Sunt Leones label; Gino Fioravanti and Gianluigi Toso come trailing credentials in therapy, writing, painting, and teaching, to say nothing of alchemy and ortho-bionomy. In contrast with Musso, who has fully two decades of musical endeavors behind him, they're comparative novices. But you wouldn't have thought it. Theirs is a music whose apparent stasis enfolds within it endless subtle micro-variations. They bring with them from previous HSL releases an appealing aquatic/amniotic sound dimension, characterized by a combination of electronic sounds (analogies as the sleeve notes would have it) and processed acoustica moving as if in virtual circular breathing. Slow waves of soundflow suggestive of psycho-acoustic energy (if you're a believer, otherwise just go with the flow) come with peripheral fragments of sonorities, carried on the wind, drifting as if at the edges of sleep, recalling the way echo plays in open landscapes.
That's part of the method of this animist collective's historical unfolding of its subjects' textures and trajectories, yielding a series of luminous aerated tracts. Animists see a spiritual force residing in every element of the physical world. Nature is believed to be alive, imputing an inner life to leaves, lakes and the like. Dwelling on Private History of the Clouds brings this to mind before even entering its audio world, particularly in light of Alio Die's predilection for "passion, nature and awakening" and Aglaia's for worlds of feeling ("mondi sensibili," as a previous album was called). But, lest this kind of talk scare off those averse to nature-hugging, note that the musical Grace inspiring this project is more a familiar of Pandit Prath Nan and Brian Eno than of Wyndham Hill and Hearts of Space.
From opener "Cumulus Congestus" (heaps of cloud masses) to "Cirrus" (wispy curls) the history unfolds couched in way-up-high, pure aetherial tonefloat, with odd bold blares of Fioravanti's analogies, swathed in showers and sundry susurrations of the lower earth and skies released from capture within his accomplices' arcane devices. There's a sense of holism across the album's six movements, though variations are clearly discernible. "Stratus" (blanket-like layers), for example, bears the characteristic medievo-gothic stamp of works in Musso's recent Castles sonorisation series - the familiar drones and loops and field recordings providing a subtly evolving canvas for trails of elegiac psaltery. While "Radiatus" (broad parallel bands converging towards the horizon) takes more from the airy/aqueous elementalism of Aglaia's Three Organic Experiences and Sacred Waters. "Nimbus" (generating precipitation) is serenity itself, albeit drenched. And "Perlucidus" (a layer with small spaces through which clear sky is visible) extends itself into 13+ minutes of freefloat, hanging oneirically in a light mist of treatments. At its more initimate, listening to the chronostatic electro-acoustic-glides in blue of Private History of the Clouds feels a little like watching dust particles in a room illuminated by light rays - variously filtered by alterations in shutter angles - now suspended almost immobile, now gently agitated by soft breeze.
Finally, in describing Alio Die's work, it's hard to avoid reaching for the meditative or devotional, invoking the sacral or incantatory. That's only part of the resonance here, though, and Private History is notably less solemn than the Alio Die signature style, perhaps borne elsewhere by Aglaia's energies. These will be labeled drone works, but there's a weightless delicate quality about them that's a far cry from the leaden pall of much generic ambient of the darker persuasion that typically taps into the Drone-zone. And usual suspect signifiers like spacey and pastoral would be better cast as stately and aerial (cf. An Aerial View, a similarly-inclined recent work by Oophoi). Ultimately this is genuinely Ambient music in the purist sense, in that the ear may pass blithely over the diverse cloud formations' apparently static exteriors, or dive in to uncover micro-motions and subtle substrata in further archaeologies." - a. lockett
[INFX 037]
BEEQUEEN - Ownliness CD (Infraction) U.S. $10.00 [INFX 003]
Available once again - 2nd edition repress. Out now.
This is a reissue of one of the first Infraction releases. Slightly different artwork than the 1st edition.
It was the debut of the reconfigured Beequeen, orignally released in 2002. Gone (well not entirely) was the drone based Beequeen, and in exchange was a bit more of an experimental pop outfit. "For a short while, the future looked bleak for Beequeen fans. Was their single "Dovidzdane Vanja (The Death of Beequeen)" an omen for an imminent end of Beequeen? Not so it turned out. Beequeen was more eager than ever to develop a new future for the band. Their single "White Tusk" was merely a taste of things to come. More melodic, with a driven beat and soaring guitars, "White Tusk" proved that Beequeen could master more than the ambient drone. Their latest studio work "Ownliness", which was recorded in 2000, is now available (again) on Infraction Records. In it's attractive cover, "Ownliness" offers trip-hop rhythms, guitar-ambient, beautiful roadmovie-music, strange samples and loops deliver with a twist only the Beequeens can master. From the opener "Clockwise" to the long melancholic piece "Beam Ends" (featuring a ticking clock, atmospherically guitarwork, environmental recordings and cellos) this new CD offers the most musical product Beequeen has released so far. It will certainly appeal to Beequeen fans old and new, offering an album full of beautiful tracks. "Ownliness" proves Beequeen more alive than ever, willing to take on new challenges in their music."
[INFX 003]
CELER - The Everything and the Nothing CD (Infraction) U.S. $12.00 [INFX 036]
Available again. 2nd edition.
Celer is a husband (Will) and wife (Danielle) duo from California that use a variety of strings as the basis for their sound. Cello, viola, violin and the sounds are mixed in with field recordings, choir, live theremin and then tape spliced and re-assembled in varying lengths to create a loop base. Those sounds are then sampled, layered and processed. The result is a shimmering orchestra. Periods of silence between the notes only enhance the sound. Though at times very haunting, it's brightly hazy ambient. Initially "Discourses..." was to be 1 full-length CD with a bonus CDR ("The Everything and the Nothing") to accompany the first 100 copies. When Celer presented the bonus material, with field recordings mixed in obtained by Danielle over several months in India, the quality of the material was so high that it was suggested and agreed to instead be a concurrent release of two full-length discs. 2nd Edition of several hundred.
[INFX 036]
"13 tracks of pure ambient bliss with silky tones lighting the air then gently retreating until the next wave. The sounds of field recordings and unidentifiable sound sources lurk in the distance among the detailed layers of sound. Gorgeous stuff and a pretty essential partner if you got the first disc." - Norman Records
"There's something infinitely comforting about this music and for those that enjoy the relaxed and beautiful it's an absolute must. Highest possible recommendation for this. Utterly divine." - Smallfish Records U.K.
"The Everything and The Nothing is a glimpse into the world of the sublime, a cavernous dronescape that maintains a steady discourse with the spiritual and etheric world, shimmering and sparkling with a rich and rare beauty. Absolutely Essential listening." - BGN @ White Line
SLEEPY TOWN MANUFACTURE & UNIT 21 - No Traces CD (Infraction) U.S. $9.00 [INFX 027]
Out now! Long awaited full-length from this Beautumn side project, Sleepy Town Manufacture, in collaboration with Russian artist, Unit 21.
This is a full-length travelogue into the hills and dales of a lush Russian landscape. A.M. radio crackles distantly with beatless waves permeating the still air. Alexander (STM) worked with Stanislavs' (Unit 21) library of sounds, he sampled some old vinyl records, pitch-shifted them down to a slow crawl, and then delved into a myriad of slow sounds, with an array of careful layers emerging.
Deluxe packaging edition of 800 copies - mini-lp Japanese style gatefold cover printed by California's own Stoughton printing, 5 separate art prints on 20 point chipboard stock.
Beautifully designed by graphic wunderkind Pyhai. Sound clips located here!
[INFX 027]
ELUDER - The Most Beautiful Blue CD (Infraction) U.S. $13.00 [INFX 033]
Now available! "The careful choreography of retreat and remotion is what Patrick Benolkin is about.
So you won’t be surprised when walls within and without come down, dissolved by the drift inside The Most Beautiful Blue.
The spectral soundfields of grey dimly charted by (free netlabel) debut Warm Warning’s doleful drones and wan washes are opened
up into miles-deep inner-zones, as under Infraction’s curation true textural colours come through. Of the label’s fellow-drifters,
Eluder’s discreet field work and timbral questing place him closest to the “grex” methodologies of Adam Pacione, or perhaps
a more abstract carpenter in an annexe to the sawdust and smoke-rooms frequented by Milieu. But Eluder music is characterised not
by the sound of the bucolic or sylvan, or even the underground, but rather the submarine. The will-to-escape finds an effective
scenographer in Eluder, who offers here a sonic solution in which thoughts, mirroring the music’s mood movements,
may dissolve, float free, and finally submerge, without fear of being taken down." - Alan Lockett
Edition of 485. [INFX 033]
KILN - Thermals CD (Infraction) U.S. $12.00 [INFX 017]
Back in stock - repressed, 2nd edition.
Music is the same as the first edition, but the artwork has been altered just a bit. Easily, one of our most popular releases. Infraction Records is very thrilled to release this disc from Kiln. One staffer remarked “It’s like having 23 different takes on the emotive quality that Eno’s “an ending (descent)” (from Apollo : Atmospheres) provided. The 4 minute mini-film soundtrack that actually lives up to that description.”
[INFX 017]
CRAIG BETHELL - A Day Full of You, A Night Tired of Me CD (Infraction) U.S. $12.00 [INFX 026]
A Day Full Of You, A Night Tired Of Me is the debut album by ex-Locust vocalist, Craig Bethell. The album displays
a plaintive song-writing style that unashamedly croons its way through a set of eleven varied tracks - influenced
as much by avant-pop baritones Scott Walker and David Sylvian as it is by a troubled and melancholic Chet Baker.
Bethell’s vocals are late night deliveries, a haunting idiom of the post-modern torch song.
Mark Van Hoen (Locust, Mojave 3, Sing Sing) lends production duties and evokes an atmosphere of ‘low’-era Bowie, (as on the instrumental overture of ‘December’), employs a careful use of Rhodes piano & subtle strings (‘Bad Blood’), as well as vintage synthesizer, distant harp motifs and brushed drums (‘Finding The Light’ & ‘History Repeats Itself’).
London based songwriter/singer Craig Bethell has sporadically written, recorded and performed his songs since 1983. His working life has largely been devoted to magazine publishing. Through demand from different quarters (die-hard Locust fans, new fans via MySpace etc.), Craig was encouraged to revisit the best of hitherto unreleased material from past sessions with Van Hoen. These works were revised, rerecorded, remixed and revamped, along with some completely new material, to make up A Day Full Of You, A Night Tired Of Me, an album many years in the making.
6 panel digipak, cover (‘Bundled’ 1925) courtesy of the Josef & Anni Albers Foundation.
ALOOF PROOF - Piano Text CD (Infraction) U.S. $14.00 [INFX 030]
"There is no ambient record greater than Aloof Proof's Piano Text. I'm not the type of person given to grand, insupportable claims;
this is simply a statement of fact. The album has equals, but no betters, and it is a tragedy that so few listeners have had the
chance to hear this album in its entirety, let alone own a copy for themselves. It is the kind of album that becomes essential
after just the first listen.
Since it was quietly released in 1994—a time, remember, dominated by the ambient-techno boom of such artists as the Orb and Future Sound of London—it has achieved a kind of cult status among fans of the genre. This is largely due to the edited versions of the album's two tracks that appeared on Asphodel's sprawling drone compilations, opening the world of Aloof Proof to thousands of eager listeners in the mid-nineties.
The overall sound of "The Ghost Ship" and "The Last Leaf" is simple to describe—the tones of a piano are stretched to the horizon line; long, lingering sounds, the fluttering threads of them in the wind, drifting like subtle perfumes, a dream language culled from a very familiar instrument. In its way, it is also a kind of Mandelbrot image—the briefest segments of the tracks can be listened to (like Eno's Neroli or Thursday Afternoon) to get an accurate idea of the whole. However, the magic of Piano Text is that, when taken as a duo of suites, the larger forms of the piece are revealed to be a classical composition of the utmost drama, suspense, nuance. It is, indeed, the music of the inexplicable dreamworlds we all travel to during sleep.
This is an album that must be listened to—no words can adequately describe how spellbinding the music is, how staggeringly elegant it is." B. Bieniowski
Remastered by Michael Fibe in 2006. This will be a 6 panel full color digipak release in an edition of 900.
ADAM PACIONE - From Stills to Motion CD (Infraction) U.S. $15.00 [INFX 023]
Highly anticipated new release from Adam Pacione. Deluxe packaging. Stoughton style mini-gatefold with 16 page full-color
booklet. Design and layout by Pacione.
"An age of virtual audio saturation, of pre-articulated sound. Expressivity, once an array of possible voices, is ever more probabilized. Originality, once primary criterion, is cast from the platform, problematized. Wondering, late in modernity’s day, what does it take to make a noise that matters? A keen-eared recontextualizer, an alchemist who can make sound, found or unfound, to walk its own way, outside the ready-made parade. Adam Pacione is one such - new recruit to a group of like-minded musicians, kindred-spirits Brian Grainger (Milieu), Mike Bennett (Zimiamvian Night), and Kiln, who have brought the ferment from their sound stills to the Infraction table. That label is now streaming a vital strain of New Backwoods Ambient, this latest from deep in the heart of (Hurst) Texas – experimental, but harmonically-inclined, apparently lo-tech, but substantially audio-cratic."(A.Lockett)
NORTHERN - Drawn CD (Infraction) U.S. $14.00 [INFX 024]
New Release!
Debut release from Canada's Northern. Northern is all about clean digital samples and warm tones. northern is all about lovely guitar meanderings and skittering textures. Perhaps it is the frozen nature of Canada's landscape or the endearing dismay of the season's discontent that has transformed us. Winter reminds us all of polaroid pictures and places that exist only in dreams.
ZIMIAMVIAN NIGHT - Zimiamvian Night 2 CD (Infraction) U.S. $15.00 [INFX 014]
2.27.07. Limited to 300 copies.
2nd installment in the ever-lasting Zimiamvian Night series. Mike Bennett draws from the harmonium work of New Zealander Christopher Orczy's October release and configures an entirely new piece of ambient drone. A silent sky illuminated by northern lights. All the world is indeed frozen music.
TETSU INOUE - World Receiver CD (Infraction) U.S. $12.50 [INFX 015]
Nothing less than an ambient classic! World Receiver has been out of print for far too long. A damn near perfect blend of environmental recordings from literally all over the world with Inoue's nuanced atmospheres surrounding them. This will be an edition of 800 copies, featuring a 6 panel digipak. This is not remastered, retouched or remixed. It is superb as is, it needed no updating - only to be available again.
BEAUTUMN - Northing CD (Infraction) U.S. $14.00 [INFX 020]
Edition of 790.
This is a beautiful yet serious record. It is ambience, but not simply ambient. These are cinematic tracks begging for a narrative, often invoking the skeletons of stories with sounds of footsteps, rain, winds, waves, fire and animal life (birds?) alongside metals and the odd machine. The sound is almost always a bit grand and roomy, as if reverbing off of the sky and thickly layered with varied-pitch tones and drones which often become so much a part of the soundscape that they become the foundation of its lushness, sometimes building tension, sometimes delivering an other-worldy, floating quality. As I listen to some of these tracks, I am reminded of times in my childhood during weather warnings when I stared at a dark sky, both menacing and terribly compelling, watching it roil too close to the ground where I stood. The debut Beautumn, "white coffee" is nearly sold out. We have this new full-length to keep us company.
MILIEU - Beyond the Sea Lies the Stars CD (Infraction) U.S. $12.50
Contemplative ambient. Out now. Edition of 505. [INFX 018]
”The rather profoundly titled 'Beyond The Sea Lies The Stars' from Milieu. This sounds well cinematic and is absolute chilled, floaty, spacey ambient bliss. This will make you feel like your floating in embryonic fluid and is absolutley gorgeous. This is produced by Brian Grainger and is on Infraction Records. This is my release of the week and if you don't buy it then you must be a bit chicken oriental. Stunning.” Norman records
ANDREW LILES - New York Doll 2xCD (Infraction) U.S. $16.00
Easily the most ambitious and cohesive Liles to date. A recording involving hundreds and spanning continents.
[INFX 013]
ULTRA MILKMAIDS & AIDAN BAKER - At home with... CD (Infraction) U.S. $12.00
Canadian Aidan Baker's pastoral guitar work shredded to glorious bits by the French. Environmental recordings paint the background with various voices and distant church bells.
[INFX 010]
BEEQUEEN - Music for the Head Ballet CD (Infraction) U.S. $12.00
Reissue, remastered with bonus track. The bonus track is quite possibly the most blissful excerpt of music by Beequeen ever. No kidding. Edition of 500.
[INFX 009]
POTTER, COLIN- See CD (Infraction) U.S. $12.00
2nd edition. Limited to 200 numbered copies.
[INFX 005]
ZAMMUTO - Solutiore of Stareau : Disc One CD (Infraction) U.S. $10.00
[INFX 002]
PRE-ORDER Non-Infraction / Infraction related :
Non-Infraction / Infraction related :
ALIO DIE & FESTINA LENTE - Il Sogno Di Un Piano Veneziano A Parigi CD (Hic Sunt Leones) ITY $15.00 [HSL030]
ALIO DIE & JACK OR JIVE - Mei-Jyu CD (Projekt) U.S. $15.00 [PRO 167]
ALIO DIE & WERNER DURAND - Aqua Planing CD (Hic Sunt Leones) ITY $15.00 [HSL 029]
BEEQUEEN - Seltenturm Beesides 1989-2000 2xCD (Plinkity Plonk) NETH $18.00 [PLONK 22]
Restock 7.18.09 Nice pressed double CD set on the Bees knees Plinkity label. Rounding up all sorts of rarities from the Surrough Gate, White Tusk, Mappa
Mundi releases and more.
CELER - Pockets of Wheat CD (Soundscaping) NORWAY $14.00 [Sound 002]
New 1.17.10 Roughly five hours of recordings of cello, violin, piano, bells, crickets, and wind were then applied the idea of an ‘always changing but always the same’ idea to it. Splicing the recordings to about hundred 5-10 second tape loops, the loops were then played back from laptops and repeated in arbitrarily selected order by the two musicians without predetermined order. As such, the movements of the wheat in the fields by the winds were mimicked: always similar, but constantly changing.
In oversized cardstock folder. [Sound 002]
CELER - In Escaping Lakes CD (Slow Flow) JAPAN $14.00 [WW 1001]
New 12.21.09 ‘In Escaping Lakes’ is the sequel to ‘Cursory Asperses’, previously released on Slow Flow. Where ‘Cursory Asperses’ focused on the slow movement primarily of streams, and other field recordings, ‘In Escaping Lakes’ continues this pathway to expand into a deeper subject, of lakes and their surroundings. Inspired by a painting by Anthony Feyer, ‘In Escaping Lakes’ was made to demonstrate enclosure, depth, and closeness in still places.
CELER - Mane Blooms 7" (Low Point) U.K. $8.00 [LP 029]
New 10.28.09 Seen by Celer as an 'outdoor' companion piece to ‘Brittle’, the duo’s album recently released on Low Point, the music on ‘Mane Blooms’ was created by multiple layers of cello and piano, which were then processed and played back at differing speeds. Also contained within the tracks are field recordings taken whilst Dani rode horses along the Californian coastline, a weekly pursuit that acted as a form of self-therapy and enjoyment.
With the music composed specifically with the vinyl medium in mind, the two sides of the record act as a mirror image. For the B side, Celer approached the music of the first track in reverse, inverting the structure and musical motifs established within the first piece. Altering the playback speed of the vinyl brings previously hidden textures to the fore, providing each of the tracks with a new identity and a different reflection of memory.
CELER - Close Proximity and the Unhindered Care-all CD (SRA) U.S. $15.00 [SRA 014]
New 10.23.09 New release by Celer on the SRA label. The packaging is probably their most extensive to date (save for the fantastic homemade editions they did
over the past few years) with a pressed CD in an 8 panel digipak. Lovely sepia tones, reminds me of a minimal v23 design. As for the sounds, utilization of Dani's environmental
collection along with a by-now-patented array of hovering stringed instrumentation. Celer had developed a brand of ambience that is reminiscent of the best, but is
altogether their own. This is no different and continues that brilliance. Well done and recommended.
CELER - Brittle CD (Low Point) U.K. $15.00 [LP 028]
New 8.26.09 New release by Celer on the U.K. Low Point label. "The album is arranged to move in a specific way, not simply section by section, but by subtle movements that swell and sway calmly. Instead of creating an environment to sink into, Celer hope that the piece will instead act as a blanket, moving with the listener through gentle sways, shifting tones and small spaces of silence that are as unpredictable as thought."
CELER - Capri CD (Humming Conch) GER $14.00 [LP 028]
Restock 9.13.09 Excellent full-length by Celer from earlier this year...last copies.
CELER & MATHIEU RUHLMANN - Mesoscaphe CD (Spekk) JAPAN $16.00 [KK 014]
Restock 7.18.09 Have you seen Spekk releases? Superb packaging in appx. 7.5" x 5.5" folders. Like small
books. Not to mention incredible sound documents. I've only heard a few (Opitope, this Celer collab. here and a comp.) and they're
top notch. More titles soon with any luck. Far east ambience. O.k. Celer & M. Ruhlmann here... "The album 'Mesoscaphe' is a sound work dedicated to the 1969 voyage of the Ben Franklin, the naturally-propelled submarine created to explore the currents of the Gulf Stream, and the nature of the sea. Half of the sound is composed of original pieces of music, meant to symbolize a deepening human element culled from memory, from strings, pianos, and electronics. The other half of the sound is composed of natural field recordings, of the Ben Franklin itself, as well as the surrounding oceans and habitats, with the intention of providing realism through sound, just as if it were an actual document from the voyage, of the surrounding ocean."
(CHALK, ANDREW) FERIAL CONFINE - First, Second and Third Drop CD (Siren) JAPAN $23.00 [Siren 14]
New 9.13.09A return of a few of this oop disc to Chalk and then on to us, we can now offer up this early
beautiful beast. Packaged in Faraway Press splendor and OBI grace, Ferial Confine is just a pseudonym of Andrew Chalk in his early excursions into
noisy ambience... "Before his current blurred visions of grace, Andrew Chalk had already intuited that unrefined yet enthralling forms of beauty lie in the cross-pollination of noisy structures and latent tranquillities. First, Second And Third Drop was a firm gesture towards the non-believer, the invitation to a feast of bowed metal, wooden flutes, hissing steam and shifting drones that finds many points in common with that other legendary lone wolf named David Jackman, not coincidentally a subsequent collaborator. The five tracks of this strong album - originally recorded in 1986 and only now out of the archives - seem to symbolize the stages of an initiation.
CHALK, ANDREW - Goldfall CD (Faraway Press) U.K. $23.00 [FP 06]
Restock 3.27.09 Repressed in classic Faraway Press style. This features a die cut sleeve with 2 crossed ribbon OBI strips with Japanese text. I have
no idea what it says. I can tell you that 'Goldfall' is a highly recommended recording, and that it's been quite some time since it has been in stock.
CHALK, ANDREW - The River that Flows into the Sands II CD (Faraway Press) U.K. $23.00 [FP 07]
Restock 9.18.09. CD press of the super ltd Cassette. Ditch your walkman and rejoice the digital issue. Handmade FP packaging, OBI natch. Perfect.
CHALK, ANDREW - East of the Sun CD (Faraway Press) U.K. $23.00 [FP 08]
Repressed, new in stock 9.18.09. This was originally released on Alio Die's 'hic sunt leones' label back in the mid-90's
A stunning handmade packaging reissue with completely different artwork. All of the packages (on Faraway Press) are extremely
well-done and hand-made from Chalk. Gatefold sleeve with a small OBI strip. We buy directly from Andrew and support his
very worthy label.
CHALK, ANDREW - Vega CD (Faraway Press) U.K. $23.00 [FP 03]
Restock! 9.18.09
Faraway press. Pressed CD reissued of the limited CDR that Chalk did a few years back. The packaging is still handmade, but the quality is so damn good you cannot tell. Oversized gatefold mini-lp packaging. Top notch all the way around and straight outta the U.K. The price is steep, but they come that way and you'll likely not complain once you see/hear it.
CHALK, ANDREW - Blue Eyes of the March CD (Faraway Press) U.K. $23.00 [No Cat. #]
11.24.08 Restock.
These new editions of 'blue eyes' are now in a moss green cover, gatefold sleeve with OBI strip in Japanese text. Fantastic! Faraway press. Stunning handmade packaging w/ onion skin OBI. Worth every single pence.
CHALK, ANDREW & DAISUKE SUZUKI - The Days After CD (Faraway Press) U.K. $23.00 [FP 11]
Restock 12.8.08
An earlier collab. with Daisuke Suzuki originally on Three Poplars. Reissued in glorious packaging on Faraway Press.
CHALK, ANDREW & DAISUKE SUZUKI - Senshu CD (Faraway Press) U.K. $23.00 [FP 04]
Restock 12.8.08
Faraway press. New Andrew Chalk...kind of! An earlier collab. with Daisuke Suzuki under the nom 'Ghosts on Water', this was originally a super limited CDR back in '04 or so in this very deluxe hardback booklet. It's a great recording that Chalk decided to give the repress/reissue treatment and this 2nd edition is no less stunning. First 250 copies or so come in a gatefold FP sleeve. Fantastic.
CHALK, ANDREW, DAISUKE SUZUKI, NAOKO SUZUKI - Ghosts on Water CD (Faraway Press) U.K. $19.00 [FP 12]
Restock! 1.16.08
Chalk collabs. again with Suzuki & Suzuki. A sort of follow-up to the ridiculously ltd. Senshou that came out a year or so ago for 15 minutes or so and then was gone. This is another in what has to be patented (by now) lovely packaging from the Faraway Press clan. It's more of a mini-lp clocking in at around 20 minutes, thus the slightly lower price. But it's a CD and the $19 is still alot for a disc when you could just illegally download it. Right. Your conscious shouldn't mind and either should Chalk and the amazing Suzuki duo's livelihood either.
LOREN DENT - Empires and Milk CD (Contract Killers) U.S. $12.00 [no cat #]
New Infraction signee Loren Dent with his debut disc. Those with a predilection for Stars of the Lid will embrace 'Work Song: Holmes Mill', and admirers of the New Melancholy's poster-boy Eluvium will likely take "Masters and Slaves"ť to their hearts. The more ambient domain of post-rock acts like Mogwai and Marconi Union could easily host "Love Song: Kinetics and Hope". Ultimately, though, sound all mapped, sources traced, what "Loren Dent" might be "about" is ineffable. But Dent is covered by his forebears: "It's too difficult to sum it up in a statement about our message. The message is like the music, maybe you have to drown in it before you can understand it." alan lockett/furthernoise.org
DOROSOTO - Sounds Look Similar 3"CDR (i, absentee) U.S. $8.00 [IA015]
New 6.28.09 "Limited to 25 copies initially. Repressed at an additional 25. Each copy is hand-made by Dorosoto and features a unique transparency from the original artwork. One of two possible designs were used on the disc prints. All music brought to life by Dorosoto April - October 2008. Equipment used: Roland Juno-60, Roland SP-808, Tascam digital 8-track, effects pedals, Roland CR-8000." This is the first edition.
KILN - Twinewheel : Lost-Sides and Dusty-Gems 1994-2005 LP (Division Sound) U.S. $15.00
Another Restock! 9.18.09 Limited to 500 numbered copies [DVS-02]
LIBRARY TAPES - Sketches (Home Normal) U.K. $14.00
Audio sketching for light snowfall. Modern. Classical. Ambient. [home_n001]
LILES, ANDREW & WANDER - The Astronomical Entomologist PIC 7" (Beta-Lactam Ring Records) U.S. $14.00
3.4.07 $14 for a 7inch??! Yep, but it's a picture 7inch and it's as heavy as a brick and thick as a dinner plate. Wander is Beequeen and so now Wander is doing what Beequeen used to do (ambient drone) and Liles does whatev the f*ck he wants, which in this case is a krautrock diddy. Fantastic. Limited to 150, I have a mere 3...tis been out for awhile, this will be all I get though. [mt 106]
THE WARDROBE (ANDREW LILES & TONY WAKEFORD) - A Sandwich Short CD (Tursa) U.K. $16.00
12.15.06New collaboration between Sol Invictus' Wakeford and Mr. Liles. 2006. [TE 002]
TOR LUNDVALL - Under the Shadows of Trees CD (Eternal Autumn Editions) U.K. $15.00
Restock 8.26.09 "The music follows the slow progression of a Summer day from morning through evening. While most of the tracks have pastoral themes, tracks such as "The City" and "Game Room" evoke memories of hiding out in air conditioned rooms awayf from the pounding heat, while digital clocks and video games blinked in the cook darkness. Many of the songs were constructed around the after-effects of pure reverb, giving the music a soft and hazy quality. I encourage the listener to play this album outside when the Summer sun sets, just as the evening ghosts call softly from the woods." - tor lundvall [EAE 005]
TOR LUNDVALL - Mizuko Jizo 7" (Ars Benevola Mater) ITALY $10.00 [MJ01]
In stock 9.27.09 Small amount of stock of this oop 7" from 2008. Great presentation in a gatefold w/ silk screening print. Limited to 350 copies for the universe.
TOR LUNDVALL - Evening/Leaves PIC 7" (Eternal Autumn Editions) U.K. $10.00 [EAE 004]
In stock 9.27.09 Small amount of stock of this oop PICTURE DISC 7" from 2002. Artwork by Lundvall. Limited to 500 copies.
TOR LUNDVALL - Insect Wings, Leaf Matter & Broken Twigs CD (Eternal Autumn Editions) U.S. $15.00
New 5.27.09 "I've also released a CD privately called "Insect Wings, Leaf Matter & Broken Twigs". An odd but fitting title, this album gathers together some of my earliest ambient recordings from 1991-1994. The CD comes in a matte digipak and is limited to 300 copies." - tor lundvall
Each digipak is hand-numbered. 27 tracks total! [EAE 006]
TOR LUNDVALL - The Seasons Unfold CD (Strange Fortune) U.S. $8.00
New 8.22.09 This is a 4 track sampler of alternate mixes of previously heard tracks that was for a planned Lundvall box set. The box set fell through, but there were some samplers made. Now a bit scarce... [SF 5]
TOR LUNDVALL - Empty City CD (Strange Fortune) U.S. $14.00
In stock 5.27.09 "Tor Lundvall’s latest release “Empty City” has clearly reached an even higher plane than his previous works. Just 45 seconds into this record and I knew it was special. The description “Ghost Ambient” is an appropriate description. The music is flowing, soothing yet interesting. This is a composition that expands the boundaries of ambient music when it would seem that such limits have already been reached. Only a truly creative mind can accomplish such a feat. “Empty City” is a perfect medium to relax and meditate to; a marvelous and engaging sound that firmly holds one’s interest. While it is most definitely ambient in nature, there’s a complex character throughout that is hard to describe. This disc can be played over and over while maintaining a secure embrace on the listeners senses. An undeniably exotic, superb listen." - Sombunya (discogs.com) [SF 3]
ADAM PACIONE - Dobranoc LP (Elevator Bath) U.S. $17.00
New! This is for a post-paid purchase of the LP in the U.S. & Canada. Beautiful picture disc LP featuring all new material from Adam Pacione.
Dobranoc contains more than 40 minutes of new music utilizing field recordings, guitars, shortwave radio, analog keyboards & Moog filters. Haunting and yet serene, overflowing with contemplative and melodic tones, these are mostly long-form pieces: "Always" builds slowly into a monolithic block of sound, while in the title track, layer after layer of warm atmosphere appears and then unravels into a sea of tranquility. This is three-dimensional music, strikingly elegant, from a modern master of the art. This picture disc LP is adorned with Pacione's lovely full-color macro photography circa 1995. The colorful sounds and images are bound together into a unified abstraction, dreamlike in its beauty. Adam Pacione has been a fixture in the upper echelon of ambient drone for the last five years with releases on Elevator Bath, Infraction, and his own Bee Eater Recordings imprint. Pacione is also a highly skilled photographer with solo exhibitions and nearly a lifetime of experience under his belt. He lives in Fort Worth, Texas.
This picture disc LP has been released in an edition of 268 copies. Total running time: 44 minutes [eeaoa029]
ADAM PACIONE - Still Life #5: Evening Colours 3"CDR (Bee Eater Recordings) U.S. $8.00
4th release in the monthly "STILL LIFE" series. 3" CD-R Limited to 100 sequentially numbered and signed copies. Packaged in heavy clear vinyl sleeve with 2 folded inserts. Recorded during 2005. [bet: 07]
ADAM PACIONE - Still Life #6: Thinning Silver 3"CDR (Bee Eater Recordings) U.S. $8.00
5th release in the monthly "STILL LIFE" series. 3" CD-R Limited to 100 sequentially numbered and signed copies. Packaged in heavy clear vinyl sleeve with 2 folded inserts. Recorded during August, 2008. [bet: 08]
ADAM PACIONE - Still Life #7: Emulsions 3"CDR (Bee Eater Recordings) U.S. $8.00
6th release in the monthly "STILL LIFE" series. 3" CD-R Limited to 100 sequentially numbered and signed copies. Packaged in heavy clear vinyl sleeve with 2 folded inserts. [bet: 09]
ADAM PACIONE - Still Life #8: Ferro Organ 3"CDR (Bee Eater Recordings) U.S. $8.00
7th release in the monthly "STILL LIFE" series. 3" CD-R Limited to 100 sequentially numbered and signed copies. Packaged in heavy clear vinyl sleeve with 2 folded inserts. Recorded March 2002. [bet: 10]
ADAM PACIONE - Still Life #9: Green then Blue 3"CDR (Bee Eater Recordings) U.S. $8.00
8th release in the monthly "STILL LIFE" series. 3" CD-R Limited to 100 sequentially numbered and signed copies. Packaged in heavy clear vinyl sleeve with 2 folded inserts. Recorded March November, 2008. [bet: 11]
DAVID TAGG - Bell Island 3"CDR (Second-Sun Recordings) U.S. $8.00
"Second Sun Recordings is proud to introduce the 21MG Series. For the ambient die-hards out there who may not want to take any chances on our regular CD catalog being too varied and experimental, this is for you. An ongoing series of three-inch "white sleeping pills" that is guaranteed to be 100% ambient, for maximum aural sedation. Our recommended dosage is one 21MG per month, as the substances contained are in a "time-release" format for your ease and pleasure." [Pill - B1]
DARREN TATE - When an Insect Visits Your Window CDR (Fungal) U.K. $17.00 [Fungal 035]
Restock, last copies!! Numbered edition of 75 copies. "For me Darren is at his best when he's utterly absorbed in his two favourite toys, his guitar and his keyboard - especially his keyboard. When he really gets into the depths of his synth he pulls out some truly mesmerising sounds as is fortunately the case here. Darren has produced an album worthy of any of the early 70's kosmiche pioneers. His guitar makes an occasional appearance but it is the pulses and swoops of his electronics that carry the ambience towards the stars. His choice of sounds walk a narrow line between being horribly dated and supra-contemporary, luckily in hands as capable as his it is the latter that comes to the fore." - (Ian Holloway)
DARREN TATE - Trees Kissing Trees CDR (Fungal) U.K. $17.00 [Fungal 018]
Warehouse find!Sometimes things just *appear*. Just a few here. Clamshell case with gold 'fungal' sticker.
DARREN TATE - Organ of Sight CDR (Fungal) U.K. $17.00 [Fungal 027]
Another new Tate!1st edition with photograph and black insert. CDR only release in clear sleeve. Tate, the see-through organ and Fungal in it's 27th form.
DARREN TATE - Small Worlds CDR (Quiet World) U.K. $17.00 [SW two]
New Tate! CDR only release in clear sleeve with full color printed inserts. Tate, the lions and small worlds on quiet world.
DARREN TATE - The Elves are Coming CDR (Twenty Hertz) U.K. $17.00 [TH 013]
Restock. CDR only release in jewel case with full color printed inserts. Tate and the elves.
VARIOUS ARTISTS - A Cleansing Ascension CD (Elevator Bath) U.S. $13.00 [eeaoa040]
New in stock 8.22.09 Superb compilation on the consistently strong Elevator Bath imprint. 10 tracks, 73 minutes. Exclusive tracks from Adam Pacione, Keith Berry, Matt Shoemaker, Jim Haynes, Dale Lloyd, Colin Andrew Sheffield to name a few. Limited to 650. Soy ink on 100% recyclable packaging. [eeaoa040]
The fine details of shipping :
If you're shopping from outside of the U.S.A. or Canada, please add $3.00 PER CD TITLE for the first 4 CD selections...if you buy 5 titles or more your shipping is entirely free! *The only exception to this is LP's. We do not carry many vinyls, but they are much heavier and cost a bit more to ship - so for those vinyls, read on...
1 CD title postage for overseas & Rest of World ($3.00)
2 CD titles postage for overseas & Rest of World ($6.00)
3 CD titles postage for overseas & Rest of World ($9.00)
4 CD titles postage for overseas & Rest of World ($12.00)
1 LP, 2 LPs, or a 2xLP set U.S. & Canada (media mail in the U.S., Canadian standard mail) $5.00
Each additional piece of vinyl U.S. & Canada (media mail in the U.S., Canadian standard mail) $2.00
1 LP, 2 LPs, or a 2xLP set overseas (1st class international) $15.00
Each additional piece of vinyl overseas (1st class international) $5.00
I recognize the cost factor. The details...the outer sleeve is a Stoughton printing tip-on style gatefold. 'Tip-on' is a separate matte sheet that is applied to thick board stock. Like LPs from the '70's, only thicker. Or 'old school' if you prefer. There is also a sort of OBI strip, or j-card that lies on the spine of the gatefold sleeves. Similar to the Japanese import vinyls - which is a nice touch (I'm biased) that gives some additional info. Then there is the vinyl itself - a slab of 180 gram virgin vinyl pressed at the vinyl pressing mecca that is RTI. The inner sleeves are audiophile grade anti-static triple layer sleeves. Lastly, the outer sleeves are resealable 4 mil plastic sleeves with flap...and they actually reseal. This LP pressing is limited to 489 copies.
Listen here.
"A great package with a gate fold sleeve - no costs are spared here. Their ambient is much more open and gentle...like shimmering metallic sounds pushed towards the end of the spectrum...Great cinematic beauty. Top class ambient album." - vital weekly
[INFX 038 LP]
ALIO DIE & AGLAIA - Private History of the Clouds CD (Infraction) U.S. $9.00 [INFX 037]
In stock - out now! This has been in the works for almost 1.5 years. Is there finer ambience (save Oophoi perhaps) coming from Italy outside of these two acts?
And a collaboration to boot. Nice. 900 copies in the Japanese style mini-lp matte gatefold sleeve. Beautiful layout courtesy of the ever-impressive designwork of Pyhai.Infraction Records curates this new entry to the already considerable body of collaborations involving Alio Die. There have already been communings with the likes of Robert Rich, Mathias Grassow, and Vidna Obmana. Here, though, Stefano Musso's fellow-travellers are lesser known but closer to home. Aglaia is an Italian duo with a trio of albums on his Hic Sunt Leones label; Gino Fioravanti and Gianluigi Toso come trailing credentials in therapy, writing, painting, and teaching, to say nothing of alchemy and ortho-bionomy. In contrast with Musso, who has fully two decades of musical endeavors behind him, they're comparative novices. But you wouldn't have thought it. Theirs is a music whose apparent stasis enfolds within it endless subtle micro-variations. They bring with them from previous HSL releases an appealing aquatic/amniotic sound dimension, characterized by a combination of electronic sounds (analogies as the sleeve notes would have it) and processed acoustica moving as if in virtual circular breathing. Slow waves of soundflow suggestive of psycho-acoustic energy (if you're a believer, otherwise just go with the flow) come with peripheral fragments of sonorities, carried on the wind, drifting as if at the edges of sleep, recalling the way echo plays in open landscapes.
That's part of the method of this animist collective's historical unfolding of its subjects' textures and trajectories, yielding a series of luminous aerated tracts. Animists see a spiritual force residing in every element of the physical world. Nature is believed to be alive, imputing an inner life to leaves, lakes and the like. Dwelling on Private History of the Clouds brings this to mind before even entering its audio world, particularly in light of Alio Die's predilection for "passion, nature and awakening" and Aglaia's for worlds of feeling ("mondi sensibili," as a previous album was called). But, lest this kind of talk scare off those averse to nature-hugging, note that the musical Grace inspiring this project is more a familiar of Pandit Prath Nan and Brian Eno than of Wyndham Hill and Hearts of Space.
From opener "Cumulus Congestus" (heaps of cloud masses) to "Cirrus" (wispy curls) the history unfolds couched in way-up-high, pure aetherial tonefloat, with odd bold blares of Fioravanti's analogies, swathed in showers and sundry susurrations of the lower earth and skies released from capture within his accomplices' arcane devices. There's a sense of holism across the album's six movements, though variations are clearly discernible. "Stratus" (blanket-like layers), for example, bears the characteristic medievo-gothic stamp of works in Musso's recent Castles sonorisation series - the familiar drones and loops and field recordings providing a subtly evolving canvas for trails of elegiac psaltery. While "Radiatus" (broad parallel bands converging towards the horizon) takes more from the airy/aqueous elementalism of Aglaia's Three Organic Experiences and Sacred Waters. "Nimbus" (generating precipitation) is serenity itself, albeit drenched. And "Perlucidus" (a layer with small spaces through which clear sky is visible) extends itself into 13+ minutes of freefloat, hanging oneirically in a light mist of treatments. At its more initimate, listening to the chronostatic electro-acoustic-glides in blue of Private History of the Clouds feels a little like watching dust particles in a room illuminated by light rays - variously filtered by alterations in shutter angles - now suspended almost immobile, now gently agitated by soft breeze.
Finally, in describing Alio Die's work, it's hard to avoid reaching for the meditative or devotional, invoking the sacral or incantatory. That's only part of the resonance here, though, and Private History is notably less solemn than the Alio Die signature style, perhaps borne elsewhere by Aglaia's energies. These will be labeled drone works, but there's a weightless delicate quality about them that's a far cry from the leaden pall of much generic ambient of the darker persuasion that typically taps into the Drone-zone. And usual suspect signifiers like spacey and pastoral would be better cast as stately and aerial (cf. An Aerial View, a similarly-inclined recent work by Oophoi). Ultimately this is genuinely Ambient music in the purist sense, in that the ear may pass blithely over the diverse cloud formations' apparently static exteriors, or dive in to uncover micro-motions and subtle substrata in further archaeologies." - a. lockett
[INFX 037]
BEEQUEEN - Ownliness CD (Infraction) U.S. $10.00 [INFX 003]Available once again - 2nd edition repress. Out now.
This is a reissue of one of the first Infraction releases. Slightly different artwork than the 1st edition.
It was the debut of the reconfigured Beequeen, orignally released in 2002. Gone (well not entirely) was the drone based Beequeen, and in exchange was a bit more of an experimental pop outfit. "For a short while, the future looked bleak for Beequeen fans. Was their single "Dovidzdane Vanja (The Death of Beequeen)" an omen for an imminent end of Beequeen? Not so it turned out. Beequeen was more eager than ever to develop a new future for the band. Their single "White Tusk" was merely a taste of things to come. More melodic, with a driven beat and soaring guitars, "White Tusk" proved that Beequeen could master more than the ambient drone. Their latest studio work "Ownliness", which was recorded in 2000, is now available (again) on Infraction Records. In it's attractive cover, "Ownliness" offers trip-hop rhythms, guitar-ambient, beautiful roadmovie-music, strange samples and loops deliver with a twist only the Beequeens can master. From the opener "Clockwise" to the long melancholic piece "Beam Ends" (featuring a ticking clock, atmospherically guitarwork, environmental recordings and cellos) this new CD offers the most musical product Beequeen has released so far. It will certainly appeal to Beequeen fans old and new, offering an album full of beautiful tracks. "Ownliness" proves Beequeen more alive than ever, willing to take on new challenges in their music."
[INFX 003]
CELER - The Everything and the Nothing CD (Infraction) U.S. $12.00 [INFX 036]
Available again. 2nd edition.Celer is a husband (Will) and wife (Danielle) duo from California that use a variety of strings as the basis for their sound. Cello, viola, violin and the sounds are mixed in with field recordings, choir, live theremin and then tape spliced and re-assembled in varying lengths to create a loop base. Those sounds are then sampled, layered and processed. The result is a shimmering orchestra. Periods of silence between the notes only enhance the sound. Though at times very haunting, it's brightly hazy ambient. Initially "Discourses..." was to be 1 full-length CD with a bonus CDR ("The Everything and the Nothing") to accompany the first 100 copies. When Celer presented the bonus material, with field recordings mixed in obtained by Danielle over several months in India, the quality of the material was so high that it was suggested and agreed to instead be a concurrent release of two full-length discs. 2nd Edition of several hundred.
[INFX 036]
"13 tracks of pure ambient bliss with silky tones lighting the air then gently retreating until the next wave. The sounds of field recordings and unidentifiable sound sources lurk in the distance among the detailed layers of sound. Gorgeous stuff and a pretty essential partner if you got the first disc." - Norman Records
"There's something infinitely comforting about this music and for those that enjoy the relaxed and beautiful it's an absolute must. Highest possible recommendation for this. Utterly divine." - Smallfish Records U.K.
"The Everything and The Nothing is a glimpse into the world of the sublime, a cavernous dronescape that maintains a steady discourse with the spiritual and etheric world, shimmering and sparkling with a rich and rare beauty. Absolutely Essential listening." - BGN @ White Line
SLEEPY TOWN MANUFACTURE & UNIT 21 - No Traces CD (Infraction) U.S. $9.00 [INFX 027]
Out now! Long awaited full-length from this Beautumn side project, Sleepy Town Manufacture, in collaboration with Russian artist, Unit 21.
This is a full-length travelogue into the hills and dales of a lush Russian landscape. A.M. radio crackles distantly with beatless waves permeating the still air. Alexander (STM) worked with Stanislavs' (Unit 21) library of sounds, he sampled some old vinyl records, pitch-shifted them down to a slow crawl, and then delved into a myriad of slow sounds, with an array of careful layers emerging.
Deluxe packaging edition of 800 copies - mini-lp Japanese style gatefold cover printed by California's own Stoughton printing, 5 separate art prints on 20 point chipboard stock.
Beautifully designed by graphic wunderkind Pyhai. Sound clips located here!
[INFX 027]
ELUDER - The Most Beautiful Blue CD (Infraction) U.S. $13.00 [INFX 033]
Now available! "The careful choreography of retreat and remotion is what Patrick Benolkin is about.
So you won’t be surprised when walls within and without come down, dissolved by the drift inside The Most Beautiful Blue.
The spectral soundfields of grey dimly charted by (free netlabel) debut Warm Warning’s doleful drones and wan washes are opened
up into miles-deep inner-zones, as under Infraction’s curation true textural colours come through. Of the label’s fellow-drifters,
Eluder’s discreet field work and timbral questing place him closest to the “grex” methodologies of Adam Pacione, or perhaps
a more abstract carpenter in an annexe to the sawdust and smoke-rooms frequented by Milieu. But Eluder music is characterised not
by the sound of the bucolic or sylvan, or even the underground, but rather the submarine. The will-to-escape finds an effective
scenographer in Eluder, who offers here a sonic solution in which thoughts, mirroring the music’s mood movements,
may dissolve, float free, and finally submerge, without fear of being taken down." - Alan LockettEdition of 485. [INFX 033]
KILN - Thermals CD (Infraction) U.S. $12.00 [INFX 017]
Back in stock - repressed, 2nd edition.Music is the same as the first edition, but the artwork has been altered just a bit. Easily, one of our most popular releases. Infraction Records is very thrilled to release this disc from Kiln. One staffer remarked “It’s like having 23 different takes on the emotive quality that Eno’s “an ending (descent)” (from Apollo : Atmospheres) provided. The 4 minute mini-film soundtrack that actually lives up to that description.”
[INFX 017]
CRAIG BETHELL - A Day Full of You, A Night Tired of Me CD (Infraction) U.S. $12.00 [INFX 026]
A Day Full Of You, A Night Tired Of Me is the debut album by ex-Locust vocalist, Craig Bethell. The album displays
a plaintive song-writing style that unashamedly croons its way through a set of eleven varied tracks - influenced
as much by avant-pop baritones Scott Walker and David Sylvian as it is by a troubled and melancholic Chet Baker.
Bethell’s vocals are late night deliveries, a haunting idiom of the post-modern torch song.Mark Van Hoen (Locust, Mojave 3, Sing Sing) lends production duties and evokes an atmosphere of ‘low’-era Bowie, (as on the instrumental overture of ‘December’), employs a careful use of Rhodes piano & subtle strings (‘Bad Blood’), as well as vintage synthesizer, distant harp motifs and brushed drums (‘Finding The Light’ & ‘History Repeats Itself’).
London based songwriter/singer Craig Bethell has sporadically written, recorded and performed his songs since 1983. His working life has largely been devoted to magazine publishing. Through demand from different quarters (die-hard Locust fans, new fans via MySpace etc.), Craig was encouraged to revisit the best of hitherto unreleased material from past sessions with Van Hoen. These works were revised, rerecorded, remixed and revamped, along with some completely new material, to make up A Day Full Of You, A Night Tired Of Me, an album many years in the making.
6 panel digipak, cover (‘Bundled’ 1925) courtesy of the Josef & Anni Albers Foundation.
ALOOF PROOF - Piano Text CD (Infraction) U.S. $14.00 [INFX 030]
"There is no ambient record greater than Aloof Proof's Piano Text. I'm not the type of person given to grand, insupportable claims;
this is simply a statement of fact. The album has equals, but no betters, and it is a tragedy that so few listeners have had the
chance to hear this album in its entirety, let alone own a copy for themselves. It is the kind of album that becomes essential
after just the first listen.Since it was quietly released in 1994—a time, remember, dominated by the ambient-techno boom of such artists as the Orb and Future Sound of London—it has achieved a kind of cult status among fans of the genre. This is largely due to the edited versions of the album's two tracks that appeared on Asphodel's sprawling drone compilations, opening the world of Aloof Proof to thousands of eager listeners in the mid-nineties.
The overall sound of "The Ghost Ship" and "The Last Leaf" is simple to describe—the tones of a piano are stretched to the horizon line; long, lingering sounds, the fluttering threads of them in the wind, drifting like subtle perfumes, a dream language culled from a very familiar instrument. In its way, it is also a kind of Mandelbrot image—the briefest segments of the tracks can be listened to (like Eno's Neroli or Thursday Afternoon) to get an accurate idea of the whole. However, the magic of Piano Text is that, when taken as a duo of suites, the larger forms of the piece are revealed to be a classical composition of the utmost drama, suspense, nuance. It is, indeed, the music of the inexplicable dreamworlds we all travel to during sleep.
This is an album that must be listened to—no words can adequately describe how spellbinding the music is, how staggeringly elegant it is." B. Bieniowski
Remastered by Michael Fibe in 2006. This will be a 6 panel full color digipak release in an edition of 900.
ADAM PACIONE - From Stills to Motion CD (Infraction) U.S. $15.00 [INFX 023]
Highly anticipated new release from Adam Pacione. Deluxe packaging. Stoughton style mini-gatefold with 16 page full-color
booklet. Design and layout by Pacione. "An age of virtual audio saturation, of pre-articulated sound. Expressivity, once an array of possible voices, is ever more probabilized. Originality, once primary criterion, is cast from the platform, problematized. Wondering, late in modernity’s day, what does it take to make a noise that matters? A keen-eared recontextualizer, an alchemist who can make sound, found or unfound, to walk its own way, outside the ready-made parade. Adam Pacione is one such - new recruit to a group of like-minded musicians, kindred-spirits Brian Grainger (Milieu), Mike Bennett (Zimiamvian Night), and Kiln, who have brought the ferment from their sound stills to the Infraction table. That label is now streaming a vital strain of New Backwoods Ambient, this latest from deep in the heart of (Hurst) Texas – experimental, but harmonically-inclined, apparently lo-tech, but substantially audio-cratic."(A.Lockett)
NORTHERN - Drawn CD (Infraction) U.S. $14.00 [INFX 024] New Release!
Debut release from Canada's Northern. Northern is all about clean digital samples and warm tones. northern is all about lovely guitar meanderings and skittering textures. Perhaps it is the frozen nature of Canada's landscape or the endearing dismay of the season's discontent that has transformed us. Winter reminds us all of polaroid pictures and places that exist only in dreams.
ZIMIAMVIAN NIGHT - Zimiamvian Night 2 CD (Infraction) U.S. $15.00 [INFX 014] 2.27.07. Limited to 300 copies.
2nd installment in the ever-lasting Zimiamvian Night series. Mike Bennett draws from the harmonium work of New Zealander Christopher Orczy's October release and configures an entirely new piece of ambient drone. A silent sky illuminated by northern lights. All the world is indeed frozen music.
TETSU INOUE - World Receiver CD (Infraction) U.S. $12.50 [INFX 015] Nothing less than an ambient classic! World Receiver has been out of print for far too long. A damn near perfect blend of environmental recordings from literally all over the world with Inoue's nuanced atmospheres surrounding them. This will be an edition of 800 copies, featuring a 6 panel digipak. This is not remastered, retouched or remixed. It is superb as is, it needed no updating - only to be available again.
BEAUTUMN - Northing CD (Infraction) U.S. $14.00 [INFX 020] Edition of 790.
This is a beautiful yet serious record. It is ambience, but not simply ambient. These are cinematic tracks begging for a narrative, often invoking the skeletons of stories with sounds of footsteps, rain, winds, waves, fire and animal life (birds?) alongside metals and the odd machine. The sound is almost always a bit grand and roomy, as if reverbing off of the sky and thickly layered with varied-pitch tones and drones which often become so much a part of the soundscape that they become the foundation of its lushness, sometimes building tension, sometimes delivering an other-worldy, floating quality. As I listen to some of these tracks, I am reminded of times in my childhood during weather warnings when I stared at a dark sky, both menacing and terribly compelling, watching it roil too close to the ground where I stood. The debut Beautumn, "white coffee" is nearly sold out. We have this new full-length to keep us company.
MILIEU - Beyond the Sea Lies the Stars CD (Infraction) U.S. $12.50
Contemplative ambient. Out now. Edition of 505. [INFX 018]
”The rather profoundly titled 'Beyond The Sea Lies The Stars' from Milieu. This sounds well cinematic and is absolute chilled, floaty, spacey ambient bliss. This will make you feel like your floating in embryonic fluid and is absolutley gorgeous. This is produced by Brian Grainger and is on Infraction Records. This is my release of the week and if you don't buy it then you must be a bit chicken oriental. Stunning.” Norman records
ANDREW LILES - New York Doll 2xCD (Infraction) U.S. $16.00Easily the most ambitious and cohesive Liles to date. A recording involving hundreds and spanning continents.
[INFX 013]
ULTRA MILKMAIDS & AIDAN BAKER - At home with... CD (Infraction) U.S. $12.00
Canadian Aidan Baker's pastoral guitar work shredded to glorious bits by the French. Environmental recordings paint the background with various voices and distant church bells.
[INFX 010]
BEEQUEEN - Music for the Head Ballet CD (Infraction) U.S. $12.00
Reissue, remastered with bonus track. The bonus track is quite possibly the most blissful excerpt of music by Beequeen ever. No kidding. Edition of 500.
[INFX 009]
POTTER, COLIN- See CD (Infraction) U.S. $12.002nd edition. Limited to 200 numbered copies.
[INFX 005]
ZAMMUTO - Solutiore of Stareau : Disc One CD (Infraction) U.S. $10.00
[INFX 002]
PRE-ORDER Non-Infraction / Infraction related :
Non-Infraction / Infraction related :
ALIO DIE & FESTINA LENTE - Il Sogno Di Un Piano Veneziano A Parigi CD (Hic Sunt Leones) ITY $15.00 [HSL030] ALIO DIE & JACK OR JIVE - Mei-Jyu CD (Projekt) U.S. $15.00 [PRO 167] ALIO DIE & WERNER DURAND - Aqua Planing CD (Hic Sunt Leones) ITY $15.00 [HSL 029] BEEQUEEN - Seltenturm Beesides 1989-2000 2xCD (Plinkity Plonk) NETH $18.00 [PLONK 22]
Restock 7.18.09 Nice pressed double CD set on the Bees knees Plinkity label. Rounding up all sorts of rarities from the Surrough Gate, White Tusk, Mappa
Mundi releases and more. CELER - Pockets of Wheat CD (Soundscaping) NORWAY $14.00 [Sound 002]
New 1.17.10 Roughly five hours of recordings of cello, violin, piano, bells, crickets, and wind were then applied the idea of an ‘always changing but always the same’ idea to it. Splicing the recordings to about hundred 5-10 second tape loops, the loops were then played back from laptops and repeated in arbitrarily selected order by the two musicians without predetermined order. As such, the movements of the wheat in the fields by the winds were mimicked: always similar, but constantly changing.
In oversized cardstock folder. [Sound 002] CELER - In Escaping Lakes CD (Slow Flow) JAPAN $14.00 [WW 1001]
New 12.21.09 ‘In Escaping Lakes’ is the sequel to ‘Cursory Asperses’, previously released on Slow Flow. Where ‘Cursory Asperses’ focused on the slow movement primarily of streams, and other field recordings, ‘In Escaping Lakes’ continues this pathway to expand into a deeper subject, of lakes and their surroundings. Inspired by a painting by Anthony Feyer, ‘In Escaping Lakes’ was made to demonstrate enclosure, depth, and closeness in still places. CELER - Mane Blooms 7" (Low Point) U.K. $8.00 [LP 029]
New 10.28.09 Seen by Celer as an 'outdoor' companion piece to ‘Brittle’, the duo’s album recently released on Low Point, the music on ‘Mane Blooms’ was created by multiple layers of cello and piano, which were then processed and played back at differing speeds. Also contained within the tracks are field recordings taken whilst Dani rode horses along the Californian coastline, a weekly pursuit that acted as a form of self-therapy and enjoyment.
With the music composed specifically with the vinyl medium in mind, the two sides of the record act as a mirror image. For the B side, Celer approached the music of the first track in reverse, inverting the structure and musical motifs established within the first piece. Altering the playback speed of the vinyl brings previously hidden textures to the fore, providing each of the tracks with a new identity and a different reflection of memory.
CELER - Close Proximity and the Unhindered Care-all CD (SRA) U.S. $15.00 [SRA 014]
New 10.23.09 New release by Celer on the SRA label. The packaging is probably their most extensive to date (save for the fantastic homemade editions they did
over the past few years) with a pressed CD in an 8 panel digipak. Lovely sepia tones, reminds me of a minimal v23 design. As for the sounds, utilization of Dani's environmental
collection along with a by-now-patented array of hovering stringed instrumentation. Celer had developed a brand of ambience that is reminiscent of the best, but is
altogether their own. This is no different and continues that brilliance. Well done and recommended.
CELER - Brittle CD (Low Point) U.K. $15.00 [LP 028]
New 8.26.09 New release by Celer on the U.K. Low Point label. "The album is arranged to move in a specific way, not simply section by section, but by subtle movements that swell and sway calmly. Instead of creating an environment to sink into, Celer hope that the piece will instead act as a blanket, moving with the listener through gentle sways, shifting tones and small spaces of silence that are as unpredictable as thought."
CELER - Capri CD (Humming Conch) GER $14.00 [LP 028]
Restock 9.13.09 Excellent full-length by Celer from earlier this year...last copies.
CELER & MATHIEU RUHLMANN - Mesoscaphe CD (Spekk) JAPAN $16.00 [KK 014]
Restock 7.18.09 Have you seen Spekk releases? Superb packaging in appx. 7.5" x 5.5" folders. Like small
books. Not to mention incredible sound documents. I've only heard a few (Opitope, this Celer collab. here and a comp.) and they're
top notch. More titles soon with any luck. Far east ambience. O.k. Celer & M. Ruhlmann here... "The album 'Mesoscaphe' is a sound work dedicated to the 1969 voyage of the Ben Franklin, the naturally-propelled submarine created to explore the currents of the Gulf Stream, and the nature of the sea. Half of the sound is composed of original pieces of music, meant to symbolize a deepening human element culled from memory, from strings, pianos, and electronics. The other half of the sound is composed of natural field recordings, of the Ben Franklin itself, as well as the surrounding oceans and habitats, with the intention of providing realism through sound, just as if it were an actual document from the voyage, of the surrounding ocean." (CHALK, ANDREW) FERIAL CONFINE - First, Second and Third Drop CD (Siren) JAPAN $23.00 [Siren 14]
New 9.13.09A return of a few of this oop disc to Chalk and then on to us, we can now offer up this early
beautiful beast. Packaged in Faraway Press splendor and OBI grace, Ferial Confine is just a pseudonym of Andrew Chalk in his early excursions into
noisy ambience... "Before his current blurred visions of grace, Andrew Chalk had already intuited that unrefined yet enthralling forms of beauty lie in the cross-pollination of noisy structures and latent tranquillities. First, Second And Third Drop was a firm gesture towards the non-believer, the invitation to a feast of bowed metal, wooden flutes, hissing steam and shifting drones that finds many points in common with that other legendary lone wolf named David Jackman, not coincidentally a subsequent collaborator. The five tracks of this strong album - originally recorded in 1986 and only now out of the archives - seem to symbolize the stages of an initiation. CHALK, ANDREW - Goldfall CD (Faraway Press) U.K. $23.00 [FP 06]
Restock 3.27.09 Repressed in classic Faraway Press style. This features a die cut sleeve with 2 crossed ribbon OBI strips with Japanese text. I have
no idea what it says. I can tell you that 'Goldfall' is a highly recommended recording, and that it's been quite some time since it has been in stock.
CHALK, ANDREW - The River that Flows into the Sands II CD (Faraway Press) U.K. $23.00 [FP 07]
Restock 9.18.09. CD press of the super ltd Cassette. Ditch your walkman and rejoice the digital issue. Handmade FP packaging, OBI natch. Perfect.
CHALK, ANDREW - East of the Sun CD (Faraway Press) U.K. $23.00 [FP 08]
Repressed, new in stock 9.18.09. This was originally released on Alio Die's 'hic sunt leones' label back in the mid-90's
A stunning handmade packaging reissue with completely different artwork. All of the packages (on Faraway Press) are extremely
well-done and hand-made from Chalk. Gatefold sleeve with a small OBI strip. We buy directly from Andrew and support his
very worthy label.
CHALK, ANDREW - Vega CD (Faraway Press) U.K. $23.00 [FP 03]
Restock! 9.18.09Faraway press. Pressed CD reissued of the limited CDR that Chalk did a few years back. The packaging is still handmade, but the quality is so damn good you cannot tell. Oversized gatefold mini-lp packaging. Top notch all the way around and straight outta the U.K. The price is steep, but they come that way and you'll likely not complain once you see/hear it.
CHALK, ANDREW - Blue Eyes of the March CD (Faraway Press) U.K. $23.00 [No Cat. #]
11.24.08 Restock.
These new editions of 'blue eyes' are now in a moss green cover, gatefold sleeve with OBI strip in Japanese text. Fantastic! Faraway press. Stunning handmade packaging w/ onion skin OBI. Worth every single pence.
CHALK, ANDREW & DAISUKE SUZUKI - The Days After CD (Faraway Press) U.K. $23.00 [FP 11]
Restock 12.8.08
An earlier collab. with Daisuke Suzuki originally on Three Poplars. Reissued in glorious packaging on Faraway Press.
CHALK, ANDREW & DAISUKE SUZUKI - Senshu CD (Faraway Press) U.K. $23.00 [FP 04]
Restock 12.8.08
Faraway press. New Andrew Chalk...kind of! An earlier collab. with Daisuke Suzuki under the nom 'Ghosts on Water', this was originally a super limited CDR back in '04 or so in this very deluxe hardback booklet. It's a great recording that Chalk decided to give the repress/reissue treatment and this 2nd edition is no less stunning. First 250 copies or so come in a gatefold FP sleeve. Fantastic.
CHALK, ANDREW, DAISUKE SUZUKI, NAOKO SUZUKI - Ghosts on Water CD (Faraway Press) U.K. $19.00 [FP 12]
Restock! 1.16.08
Chalk collabs. again with Suzuki & Suzuki. A sort of follow-up to the ridiculously ltd. Senshou that came out a year or so ago for 15 minutes or so and then was gone. This is another in what has to be patented (by now) lovely packaging from the Faraway Press clan. It's more of a mini-lp clocking in at around 20 minutes, thus the slightly lower price. But it's a CD and the $19 is still alot for a disc when you could just illegally download it. Right. Your conscious shouldn't mind and either should Chalk and the amazing Suzuki duo's livelihood either.
LOREN DENT - Empires and Milk CD (Contract Killers) U.S. $12.00 [no cat #]
New Infraction signee Loren Dent with his debut disc. Those with a predilection for Stars of the Lid will embrace 'Work Song: Holmes Mill', and admirers of the New Melancholy's poster-boy Eluvium will likely take "Masters and Slaves"ť to their hearts. The more ambient domain of post-rock acts like Mogwai and Marconi Union could easily host "Love Song: Kinetics and Hope". Ultimately, though, sound all mapped, sources traced, what "Loren Dent" might be "about" is ineffable. But Dent is covered by his forebears: "It's too difficult to sum it up in a statement about our message. The message is like the music, maybe you have to drown in it before you can understand it." alan lockett/furthernoise.org
DOROSOTO - Sounds Look Similar 3"CDR (i, absentee) U.S. $8.00 [IA015]
New 6.28.09 "Limited to 25 copies initially. Repressed at an additional 25. Each copy is hand-made by Dorosoto and features a unique transparency from the original artwork. One of two possible designs were used on the disc prints. All music brought to life by Dorosoto April - October 2008. Equipment used: Roland Juno-60, Roland SP-808, Tascam digital 8-track, effects pedals, Roland CR-8000." This is the first edition.
KILN - Twinewheel : Lost-Sides and Dusty-Gems 1994-2005 LP (Division Sound) U.S. $15.00 Another Restock! 9.18.09 Limited to 500 numbered copies [DVS-02]
LIBRARY TAPES - Sketches (Home Normal) U.K. $14.00Audio sketching for light snowfall. Modern. Classical. Ambient. [home_n001]
LILES, ANDREW & WANDER - The Astronomical Entomologist PIC 7" (Beta-Lactam Ring Records) U.S. $14.003.4.07 $14 for a 7inch??! Yep, but it's a picture 7inch and it's as heavy as a brick and thick as a dinner plate. Wander is Beequeen and so now Wander is doing what Beequeen used to do (ambient drone) and Liles does whatev the f*ck he wants, which in this case is a krautrock diddy. Fantastic. Limited to 150, I have a mere 3...tis been out for awhile, this will be all I get though. [mt 106]
THE WARDROBE (ANDREW LILES & TONY WAKEFORD) - A Sandwich Short CD (Tursa) U.K. $16.0012.15.06New collaboration between Sol Invictus' Wakeford and Mr. Liles. 2006. [TE 002]
TOR LUNDVALL - Under the Shadows of Trees CD (Eternal Autumn Editions) U.K. $15.00Restock 8.26.09 "The music follows the slow progression of a Summer day from morning through evening. While most of the tracks have pastoral themes, tracks such as "The City" and "Game Room" evoke memories of hiding out in air conditioned rooms awayf from the pounding heat, while digital clocks and video games blinked in the cook darkness. Many of the songs were constructed around the after-effects of pure reverb, giving the music a soft and hazy quality. I encourage the listener to play this album outside when the Summer sun sets, just as the evening ghosts call softly from the woods." - tor lundvall [EAE 005]
TOR LUNDVALL - Mizuko Jizo 7" (Ars Benevola Mater) ITALY $10.00 [MJ01]In stock 9.27.09 Small amount of stock of this oop 7" from 2008. Great presentation in a gatefold w/ silk screening print. Limited to 350 copies for the universe.
TOR LUNDVALL - Evening/Leaves PIC 7" (Eternal Autumn Editions) U.K. $10.00 [EAE 004]In stock 9.27.09 Small amount of stock of this oop PICTURE DISC 7" from 2002. Artwork by Lundvall. Limited to 500 copies.
TOR LUNDVALL - Insect Wings, Leaf Matter & Broken Twigs CD (Eternal Autumn Editions) U.S. $15.00New 5.27.09 "I've also released a CD privately called "Insect Wings, Leaf Matter & Broken Twigs". An odd but fitting title, this album gathers together some of my earliest ambient recordings from 1991-1994. The CD comes in a matte digipak and is limited to 300 copies." - tor lundvall
Each digipak is hand-numbered. 27 tracks total! [EAE 006]
TOR LUNDVALL - The Seasons Unfold CD (Strange Fortune) U.S. $8.00New 8.22.09 This is a 4 track sampler of alternate mixes of previously heard tracks that was for a planned Lundvall box set. The box set fell through, but there were some samplers made. Now a bit scarce... [SF 5]
TOR LUNDVALL - Empty City CD (Strange Fortune) U.S. $14.00In stock 5.27.09 "Tor Lundvall’s latest release “Empty City” has clearly reached an even higher plane than his previous works. Just 45 seconds into this record and I knew it was special. The description “Ghost Ambient” is an appropriate description. The music is flowing, soothing yet interesting. This is a composition that expands the boundaries of ambient music when it would seem that such limits have already been reached. Only a truly creative mind can accomplish such a feat. “Empty City” is a perfect medium to relax and meditate to; a marvelous and engaging sound that firmly holds one’s interest. While it is most definitely ambient in nature, there’s a complex character throughout that is hard to describe. This disc can be played over and over while maintaining a secure embrace on the listeners senses. An undeniably exotic, superb listen." - Sombunya (discogs.com) [SF 3]
ADAM PACIONE - Dobranoc LP (Elevator Bath) U.S. $17.00New! This is for a post-paid purchase of the LP in the U.S. & Canada. Beautiful picture disc LP featuring all new material from Adam Pacione.
Dobranoc contains more than 40 minutes of new music utilizing field recordings, guitars, shortwave radio, analog keyboards & Moog filters. Haunting and yet serene, overflowing with contemplative and melodic tones, these are mostly long-form pieces: "Always" builds slowly into a monolithic block of sound, while in the title track, layer after layer of warm atmosphere appears and then unravels into a sea of tranquility. This is three-dimensional music, strikingly elegant, from a modern master of the art. This picture disc LP is adorned with Pacione's lovely full-color macro photography circa 1995. The colorful sounds and images are bound together into a unified abstraction, dreamlike in its beauty. Adam Pacione has been a fixture in the upper echelon of ambient drone for the last five years with releases on Elevator Bath, Infraction, and his own Bee Eater Recordings imprint. Pacione is also a highly skilled photographer with solo exhibitions and nearly a lifetime of experience under his belt. He lives in Fort Worth, Texas.
This picture disc LP has been released in an edition of 268 copies. Total running time: 44 minutes [eeaoa029]
ADAM PACIONE - Still Life #5: Evening Colours 3"CDR (Bee Eater Recordings) U.S. $8.004th release in the monthly "STILL LIFE" series. 3" CD-R Limited to 100 sequentially numbered and signed copies. Packaged in heavy clear vinyl sleeve with 2 folded inserts. Recorded during 2005. [bet: 07]
ADAM PACIONE - Still Life #6: Thinning Silver 3"CDR (Bee Eater Recordings) U.S. $8.005th release in the monthly "STILL LIFE" series. 3" CD-R Limited to 100 sequentially numbered and signed copies. Packaged in heavy clear vinyl sleeve with 2 folded inserts. Recorded during August, 2008. [bet: 08]
ADAM PACIONE - Still Life #7: Emulsions 3"CDR (Bee Eater Recordings) U.S. $8.006th release in the monthly "STILL LIFE" series. 3" CD-R Limited to 100 sequentially numbered and signed copies. Packaged in heavy clear vinyl sleeve with 2 folded inserts. [bet: 09]
ADAM PACIONE - Still Life #8: Ferro Organ 3"CDR (Bee Eater Recordings) U.S. $8.007th release in the monthly "STILL LIFE" series. 3" CD-R Limited to 100 sequentially numbered and signed copies. Packaged in heavy clear vinyl sleeve with 2 folded inserts. Recorded March 2002. [bet: 10]
ADAM PACIONE - Still Life #9: Green then Blue 3"CDR (Bee Eater Recordings) U.S. $8.008th release in the monthly "STILL LIFE" series. 3" CD-R Limited to 100 sequentially numbered and signed copies. Packaged in heavy clear vinyl sleeve with 2 folded inserts. Recorded March November, 2008. [bet: 11]
DAVID TAGG - Bell Island 3"CDR (Second-Sun Recordings) U.S. $8.00"Second Sun Recordings is proud to introduce the 21MG Series. For the ambient die-hards out there who may not want to take any chances on our regular CD catalog being too varied and experimental, this is for you. An ongoing series of three-inch "white sleeping pills" that is guaranteed to be 100% ambient, for maximum aural sedation. Our recommended dosage is one 21MG per month, as the substances contained are in a "time-release" format for your ease and pleasure." [Pill - B1]
DARREN TATE - When an Insect Visits Your Window CDR (Fungal) U.K. $17.00 [Fungal 035] Restock, last copies!! Numbered edition of 75 copies. "For me Darren is at his best when he's utterly absorbed in his two favourite toys, his guitar and his keyboard - especially his keyboard. When he really gets into the depths of his synth he pulls out some truly mesmerising sounds as is fortunately the case here. Darren has produced an album worthy of any of the early 70's kosmiche pioneers. His guitar makes an occasional appearance but it is the pulses and swoops of his electronics that carry the ambience towards the stars. His choice of sounds walk a narrow line between being horribly dated and supra-contemporary, luckily in hands as capable as his it is the latter that comes to the fore." - (Ian Holloway)
DARREN TATE - Trees Kissing Trees CDR (Fungal) U.K. $17.00 [Fungal 018]
Warehouse find!Sometimes things just *appear*. Just a few here. Clamshell case with gold 'fungal' sticker. DARREN TATE - Organ of Sight CDR (Fungal) U.K. $17.00 [Fungal 027] Another new Tate!1st edition with photograph and black insert. CDR only release in clear sleeve. Tate, the see-through organ and Fungal in it's 27th form.
DARREN TATE - Small Worlds CDR (Quiet World) U.K. $17.00 [SW two] New Tate! CDR only release in clear sleeve with full color printed inserts. Tate, the lions and small worlds on quiet world.
DARREN TATE - The Elves are Coming CDR (Twenty Hertz) U.K. $17.00 [TH 013] Restock. CDR only release in jewel case with full color printed inserts. Tate and the elves.
VARIOUS ARTISTS - A Cleansing Ascension CD (Elevator Bath) U.S. $13.00 [eeaoa040] New in stock 8.22.09 Superb compilation on the consistently strong Elevator Bath imprint. 10 tracks, 73 minutes. Exclusive tracks from Adam Pacione, Keith Berry, Matt Shoemaker, Jim Haynes, Dale Lloyd, Colin Andrew Sheffield to name a few. Limited to 650. Soy ink on 100% recyclable packaging. [eeaoa040]
The fine details of shipping :
If you're shopping from outside of the U.S.A. or Canada, please add $3.00 PER CD TITLE for the first 4 CD selections...if you buy 5 titles or more your shipping is entirely free! *The only exception to this is LP's. We do not carry many vinyls, but they are much heavier and cost a bit more to ship - so for those vinyls, read on...
1 CD title postage for overseas & Rest of World ($3.00)
2 CD titles postage for overseas & Rest of World ($6.00)
3 CD titles postage for overseas & Rest of World ($9.00)
4 CD titles postage for overseas & Rest of World ($12.00)
1 LP, 2 LPs, or a 2xLP set U.S. & Canada (media mail in the U.S., Canadian standard mail) $5.00
Each additional piece of vinyl U.S. & Canada (media mail in the U.S., Canadian standard mail) $2.00
1 LP, 2 LPs, or a 2xLP set overseas (1st class international) $15.00
Each additional piece of vinyl overseas (1st class international) $5.00