Kief with Eric Hardiman (Tape Drift; Rambutan; Century Plants; Burnt Hills and more)

Kief is the game and Eric Hardiman is the name.  With bowls blazing, I'm privileged to present the latest Kief interview with Eric Hardiman of Tape Drift and Rambutan, among many other fine projects.  Back in 2008-09 - when I started collecting tapes after Foxy D provided the impetus - I would wait impatiently by the mailbox for the latest batch of Stunned Records.  It was through Stunned that I was introduced to Rambutan, along with other upstate New Yorkers, Parashi and Chapels.  On a personal level, this interview is extremely meaningful.  Eric was among the first few people - along with Mike Griffin (Skell Records; Parashi; Burnt Hills) and Adam Richards (House of Alchemy; Chapels) - to exhibit belief in me and the things I was trying to accomplish with the blog.  I will always be grateful!  

The bowl is packed tightly and covered with a generous amount of kief.  It presents the ideal condition to congregate as friends, revel in the Rambutan, and feast on the trichomes.  It's high time to fire it up, friends!

Tape Drifter for life.  peace and love to my friends at Humboldt Relief :)

1) You have participated in many different musical projects, you are a contributing writer for Foxy Digitalis, and operate the venerable Tape Drift among other things. How long have you been making music, and do you have a favorite project?

Eric:  I’ve been making music in different forms since I was in high school, although I stopped for a long time out of frustration.  In 2006 I met Ray Hare and then shortly afterwards the Burnt Hills folks, which changed everything for me.  It was a total revelation to be able to make music with such amazing people and now I can’t imagine life without it.  It’s only been since 2007 that I’ve been releasing my music.  I honestly don’t have a favorite project – I love all of them and they each are important to me in different ways.  It’s about the other people I’m playing with and the inspiration I draw from them.

2) Rambutan is one of your most renowned projects. What led you to record as Rambutan, and can you talk about its evolution?

Eric:  Well, there has never been a plan of any sort with Rambutan.  It was more a case of late night home recording experiments and a ridiculous backlog of archival material.  For the past six or seven years, I’ve been fairly obsessed with recording as much as possible.  It’s partly about ritual/habit and partly about getting ideas onto tape so they don’t disappear.  It took at least a year or two before I felt confident enough to let anyone else hear the recordings.  I floated an initial cdr to a handful of friends, mostly other Burnt Hills members.  The feedback was positive, and then after my first live solo set I started releasing tapes and cdrs.  There’s still no big plan to it at all – Rambutan is simply the vehicle for me to explore my own musical ideas.  I feel very fortunate that other labels have been interested enough to release my music too, and I’m genuinely honored whenever someone takes the time to purchase or listen to one of my releases.  Musically, it’s been all over the map – probably too much so.  But on the other hand, that’s part of the process for me.  I never want to feel inhibited to try new things because people might expect my music to sound a certain way.  I just try to follow my interests wherever they lead me.  Hopefully there will always be enough of a running thread in the various styles to make it emerge on the other end as Rambutan music.  I’m incredibly excited to have an LP coming out on Fabrica Records because I have such respect for the label and how it’s run.  I’ve got some other exciting stuff in the works following that too.  And I’m hoping to finally do some collaborative recording this year with Jefferson Pitcher who has been a huge inspiration for me.

3) Your recent split with Fossils From the Sun - Ray Hare of Century Plants and Burnt Hills - on House of Alchemy was a harbinger of sorts to the single-sided and untitled Century Plants LP. Compared with the Locrian split, how was that record different?

Eric:  Well, the House of Alchemy split is something we’re both very proud of.  It comprises live solo recordings from two or three years ago.  Similarly, the split with Locrian feels like ages ago – I think we recorded that material in 2009.  The new Century Plants record is a unique item in our catalog – it’s a one-sided live LP.  I haven’t always loved one-sided LPs in the past, but with this one it made perfect sense.  On the surface, it’s just the recording of a live set with our good friend Phil Donnelly sitting in on drums.  But it’s also more than that – it’s a tribute to bands like Discharge, the hardcore music of 1981/82 that inspired us.  Ray was part of that scene, as the lead singer of Deadline in Washington, DC, and I was an avid follower of the scene having grown up just outside of DC.  Ray’s been my most consistent musical partner through almost all of my projects, and he’s an amazing musician who I feel lucky to play with. 

4) Lesser Halogens, the Sicsic tape of your duo with Mike Griffin, is one of the best tapes of the year. There seems to exist a kinship, a special bond between you and Mike, which is conspicuously audible. What are your feelings on this tape? What is it like to record for Daniel of Sicsic? And, are there plans to record in the near future?

Eric:  That tape is definitely a personal favorite in my back catalog.  Mike and I have become good friends and band mates in several different projects now (Burnt Hills, Mensheviks, Location Ensemble, etc).  He’s an incredibly versatile and engaging musician, and we both just really enjoy creating sound together.  Daniel had originally invited each of us to do solo tapes, and then we pitched the idea of a collaborative tape instead, and he was all for it.  So Mike and I set up for a late night recording session deep in Heron Room North, and what you hear on the tape is almost our entire session, all improvised first take stuff.  Daniel has been nothing but supportive, and did a great job with the packaging and the tape itself.  I’d love to work with him again in the future.  We definitely have plans to record a follow-up this summer.

5) As Rambutan, you were able to cross paths with Phil and Myste of Stunned Records. My introduction to Rambutan occurred through Stunned. They were prolific and released some of the best tapes for many years. What was it like to record for them? And, how do you view their impact on experimental music labels?

Eric:  For me, Stunned was the pinnacle of the tape scene for a long time.  And I don’t think that moment can be recaptured in the same way.  Everything they put out was just incredibly conceptualized, recorded, and packaged.  It all held together as part of a larger body of work, which happens so rarely with labels.  When I look back on Stunned now, I don’t really think of individual tapes, but on all of them as a singular statement.  The art was part of that, but also the sound of the music.  I always got the feel that when somebody recorded for Stunned, they reserved their absolute best work for the label, and that showed.  And for those musicians, Phil and Myste were beyond generous with their praise and support.  My releases on Stunned were huge confidence builders for me simply because of the support and encouragement they showed.  I got the sense that if folks like them dug what I was doing, it was worth me pursuing.  And they always gently pushed me further into doing better work.  Their impact was huge in terms of showing other labels how to run a label the right way – with artistic and personal integrity.

6) Burnt Hills - the psych/noise maelstrom - is quite different in sound compared to your other projects. There is a certain mystique about it. For our readers that are unfamiliar, could you provide some background on this project, the intense live shows, and the Helderberg House? Also, do you have a favorite Burnt Hills recording?

Eric:  Well first of all, for me at least, the band is as much about ritual and friendship as it is about music.  It’s all the vision of Jackson of Flipped Out Records.  Essentially we all get together every Monday night to hang out and jam for a solid hour.  The concept is that simple, but it’s taken on a pretty magical importance for all of us.  The music is intense – we start playing and ride the wave to wherever it takes us, with no plan or discussion about it.  We’ve all developed a style of musical communication that I love.  It’s been running for more years than I even know, but I’ve been involved since late 2006.  At various points, the membership was a bit more fluid, but we’ve really solidified into a stable lineup/band for several years now, with Mike Griffin (Parashi) being the newest member.  It’s an incredibly important part of my week, and very inspiring to create music with such good friends every Monday.  Occasionally Jackson will open things up and invite touring bands to come through the basement and we have a big party.  And every once in a while we’ll put out records, but they’re never the goal – just byproducts of our experience together.  My favorite Burnt Hills recording is always the most recent – we record everything we do, so I have a massive archive of old recordings.  There’s always a new one every week, which is always a blast.  As for the released LPs, “Live at the Elevens” is one I love because it documents a fun and rare out of town appearance for us.  The “Tonite We Ride” CD is also a favorite, even though it’s older, because it gives the whole experience in one extended blast.  They’re all different in their own way, and a lot of our best stuff has never been heard outside of the band members, but that’s alright – it’s never been about product.  We just love playing together, and if nobody else ever listened, that’d be cool too.

7) It has been a successful year for Tape Drift. Your recent batch is outstanding, and the Mason/McLaughlin tape is one of the finest of the year. What are your views on this tape? What can we expect from Tape Drift in the future?

 

Eric:  It’s definitely a favorite amongst the tapes I’ve released, although truthfully I love each and every TD release.  But that tape grabbed a hold of me like very few others have.  It was an unsolicited demo too.  I rarely take those, but I knew within minutes of hearing it that I had to release it.  Something about their attention to detail and the mystery of the sounds drew me in.  I dub all the tapes myself in real time, so I typically get to hear each one many many times.  This one got better with each successive listen, and eventually I absorbed its contents deep into my brain.  Have no idea about future Tape Drift batches – the label’s been on a temporary hiatus while I’m in Scotland.  I’m definitely planning to release Twilight of the Century two-tape set – our first release.  That’s exciting – we’ve been playing sporadically for almost 5 years, and have recorded a ton of material, but just never put anything out.  So I’m very excited about that.  There’s also a Century Plants CD in the works, with some archival live sets that are too long for vinyl.  That’s about it for plans though.

8) Since 2007, Tape Drift has been running strong. In the intervening years, and from the perspective of a label proprietor, how have things changed within the experimental music community? What advice would you provide to people that are interested in starting a label?

Eric:  It’s tough to step back and say what’s changed within the community.  There are certainly more labels and artists these days, some would say too many.  I’m all for it though – as the means to make music gets easier to access, folks will just have to work harder to stand out among the crowd.  I still find the community just as inspiring, creative, and supportive as ever.  I do worry that with the economic situation and the increased costs of international shipping, people will buy less and less music.  I think it’s really important to support DIY artists, and I try to buy music whenever I can.  But I also get the reality of the situation where it’s just not always possible to shell out for things you want.  I do worry that the smaller distributors will get pushed out and we’ll end up with just one or two bigger distributors calling all the shots.  That won’t be a good thing for anyone, so I’m hoping the smaller places can hold on and keep at it until things improve.  As for advice with starting a label, I’d say just go for it – release music you’re passionate about, put some love and energy into it, and people will respond.

9) Thus far, what are your favorite releases this year?

Eric:  Truthfully I haven’t listened to as much new music as I would have liked so far this year.  But I really dig the new Ensemble Economique record and the Nite Lite LP on Desire Path Recordings is amazing.  The new Wolf Eyes is fantastic too.  I can’t wait to hear the Josh Mason record and Matt Krefting’s LP when I get home in the summer.

10) A while back, you and members of Burnt Hills contributed to Listed on Dusted Magazine. On that occasion, you mentioned Space Ritual from Hawkwind. Along with that, what are some of your favorite recordings?

Eric:  Space Ritual is a magical record.  Besides being one of the best live records ever, it’s also got the most amazing packaging.  Hawkwind has long been a massive influence for me.  Other favorite recordings?  Probably nothing out of the ordinary.  Tough question and I don’t usually think in terms of favorites but if forced I’d have to include Plux Quba by Nuno Canavarro, a bunch of Alastair Galbraith records, some Loren Mazzacane Connors, The Shadow Ring (particularly Lighthouse), Les Rallizes Denudes, Supreme Dicks, Throbbing Gristle, Souled American, Dead C, Sun Ra, etc…  Birchville Cat Motel and Vibracathedral Orchestra records were both very influential in inspiring me to make my own music too.  The list goes on, but those are in my head at the moment.

peace and love, friends :)

The trichomes on my nug begin to glisten at the mention of Flipped Out Records!!  Buy anything Eric Hardiman-related from my brother, Jackson, at Flipped Out!

Lyd - S/T (Sunwest 4635361)

trichome heavy - grip it and rip it style!  peace and love to my friends at Humboldt Relief :)

Wowee Zowee!  After a hiatus, Nug Luv has returned to smoke you out with hairiest, stickiest nuggets.  The bag has been replenished with copious indicas, sativas and hybrids.  Thus, I was not surprised when my fingers were stuck together after pulling the Lyd S/T nug from my bag.  Originally released as a one-side acetate in Hollywood in the late 60's, Lyd is a blazing hash rocket of US acid psych.  This reissue, from Sunwest Studios, is one-sided - just like the original - and includes a reproduction of the original label.  While it is only 20 minutes, it will work your head like the finest hash oil.  Within that interval, the listener has a psych experience unlike any other.  I feel stoned just looking at the sleeve!  Lyd packs a tight, dank bowl that burns brightly as the atmosphere absorbs the preponderance of crystal-covered freakouts comprised of fuzz, wah and super stony vocals.

  The Sunwest reissue sells quickly.  Fusetron and Forced Exposure seem to sell their stock within a day or two - vigilance is important.  I recommend making an inquiry to the excellent Fusetron.  Fusetron is one of my favorite mail distros, as the people are very nice and the tunes always arrive in great condition.  Otherwise, discogs has a variety of listings at affordable prices.  However, enough talk. It's high time (pardon the pun) to grip, rip and trip!                    

peace and love, friends :)

thanks to jeffo0771 and Sami Marliden, respectively, for providing the good vibe.

Pandelindio - Fuego Y Soma (FCR19)

purple power - let it flower in your mind.  peace and love to my friends at Humboldt Relief :)

The field recordings coincide with the initial appearance of light.  Vibrations from the water slowly bring the lethargic body into focus.  As the sun crosses the horizon, the drone peaks in the mind.  Its radiant energy pervades the stained glass portal and refracts in a myriad of directions.  Pandelindio create ritualistic zoners that produce endless symmetrical ripples in the tranquil pond birthed by awareness.  As the tape commences, box tambura, violin, percussion, incantations and other sounds coalesce to breathe life into the still, somnolent body.  A self-described solo and collective project from Argentina - Fuego Y Soma on Feathered Coyote by Pandelindio is comprised of founder Federico Fossati and Pablo Picco, from Ø+yn.  A unique, engaging release, Federico and Pablo utilize a wonderful array of instruments and sounds - with strong Indian and Middle-Eastern influences - including box tambura, didgeridoo, violin, shehnai, bansuri, harmonium, chanting and field recordings.  As the first track animates your soul, the second track - full of mystical beauty - begets intoxicating, intricate patterns that elevate the body from malaise.  Combined with the wind instruments and bansuri, it provides a wonderful contrast to the first track.  The flipside presents an excellent jam comprised of harmonium drone, chanting, bansuri, didgeridoo, and other sounds.

  Lately, I cannot fathom waking to the day without these otherworldly transmissions.  More so, the stellar drones on Fuego Y Soma complete the cycle at dusk - the lucid, flowering breath spiraling to the zenith.  Feathered Coyote is an exemplar.  The latest batch is awesome, and it also boasts an excellent tape by Eric Arn.  For me, this tape along with the Jake Blanchard release are two of the year's best.  Released in a limited edition, Pandelindio is also responsible for the beautiful photography and design .  This release is highly recommended and it may be purchased directly from Feathered Coyote.

peace and love, friends :)

Thoughts on Air - January Man (Worn Habit no. 07)

  digging deep into the bag for that otherworldly nug.  peace and love to my friends at Humboldt Relief :)

The shackles fall to the floor, easily succumbing to the inherent beauty that permeates the atmosphere.  As blissful, dense waves circumscribe the listener, indifference and suffering yield to the moment.  A panacea may not exist in this world.  However, sound in all of its manifestations reverberates and re-calibrates our soul.  Simply put, this music is the analog to the medicine man.  For me, a salient facet of the tape scene is its personal nature.  January Man, by Thoughts on Air and released on the venerable Worn Habit, embodies that characteristic and many others.  In a sky filled with shimmering stars, the warm ambient paeans and folk nuggets that comprise January Man are edifying and visceral. When the dripping wet guitar reverberates through the body, light illuminates the barren corridors.  The august chords and notes glisten in the splintered sunlight, imbuing the day with vitality.  Serene drones meander pleasantly and act as the conduit through which one glides.  Modulating notes extend beyond perception.  At other times, the sky opens and one is blinded by the deluge of tranquil sonics.  In other moments, the listener is ensconced in drifting soporific passages. 

Dear friend, the only habitat for something like this is the top shelf.  The burgeoning spring is upon us and there is an abundance of beautiful energy flowing through this tape.  I foresee many days in the shade garden with this tape by my side.  Furthermore, accolades are due to the proprietor of Worn Habit, and sibling label, House of Sun.  Along with his other musical projects, including the beautiful Knit Prism, the operator of  Worn Habit creates something singular with each transmission.  Though January Man is sold out at the source, trusty Tomentosa will likely have the last copies.  Tomentosa rewards those that have a penchant for refreshing their web browser.

peace and love, friends :)

           

Pierrot Lunaire - This Love of Mine (sicsic042)

Doctor's orders.  peace and love to my friends at CanniCorner :)

The acid fried soundscapes and third-eye zoners billow from the speakers like opaque clouds of hash oil smoke, creating a strata of dank, slow moving haze that consumes the listener.  Pierrot Lunaire's music encompasses a myriad of genres from noise, ambient, new age and free jazz among others.  Anything but linear and all the time entheogenic, when you step through the portal, leave your baggage in the departed dimension.  Once you are positioned comfortably - provisions nearby - take a few deep breaths.  One feels a cool sensation on the inhalation - entrancing drones - followed by a warm sensation on the exhalation - warped black and white anachronisms blending together in the time lag.  With the rhythm of the breath established, all that one needs to do is touch the play button for ascension to commence.  Reticence is a natural response, but trust me friend - we're going to take this trip together, our spirits intertwined in the ether.  And then it occurs: our breath faithfully traces the contours of Pierrot Lunaire's preternatural transmissions.  Some of the transmissions beget smooth shapes, such as the sinuous waves of synth drone that meander indefinitely in the cosmic dust bowl.  Sometimes the wailing, distended sax outlines the contours of nearby constellations.   However, at other times the formations are jagged and tangential.  Even as one floats, warped human forms occasionally echo on the periphery of heaven.  Regardless of the climate, this is experienced much like life.  Each second presents a new possibility.  The only obstacle is the mind.  Ever since the dawn of humanity, the human mind has been an obstacle.  Once you let go, Pierrot Lunaire's world is as lucid and pure as the rising sun.

This Love of Mine, a double cassette release from Pierrot Lunaire on venerable Sicsic, exhibits somewhat of a comprehensive view of this beautiful artist.  Regardless of the label, Pierrot Lunaire's music is highly experiential.  His music contains a myriad of facets.  If you have yet to bow in obeisance to a Pierrot Lunaire release, then there is no better time than the present.  Loops of blurred anachronistic sonic missives are analogous to the pulsating periphery of the psilocybin experience, as the Blue side commences. Various colors begin to glow intensely.  Strange nights and vibrations in this floating halcyon.  The variegated stars seem to twinkle for eternity in this cosmic ballroom.  Soon, the listener is catapulted into an amalgam of warped incantations and distorted radio waves.  As the Yellow side begins, the tears begin to accumulate and a cosmic deluge is proximate.  I love this aspect of Pierrot Lunaire's music, which is reminiscent of his split on Koppklys with Sky Stadium.  Fuzz-encrusted electronics pulsate, while the fried synth plays notes, each successive one a touchstone that leads to the apex - those who admire Peaking Lights will dig this section. The perceptions are frenetic and sorted in some type of random chronology.  Brief bursts of piercing sax transform into ghastly, distorted incantations buttressed by noise.  One may refer to the Green side as schizophrenic.  Sometimes the inherent beauty of music makes want be ensconced in the middle.  However, I invite the listener to remove themselves from the floor level, where the vibrations are visceral, to the unencumbered sky, which affords a beautiful view of the Green side. Pierrot is in the grid, and the medicine man's sagacity plays out like a psychonaut's dream.  Sax leads into shamanic grooves with serene tones glistening on the periphery.  Next, another sax part gives way to percussion and incantations that emit a vapor trail.  That trail leads to an oasis of fried cosmic transmissions and noise.  What may seem like a vacuum is the glistening breath in all its beauty.  Lastly, the Red side is comprised of a wonderful sax section.  It almost sounds like breaking waves in the background.  A woozy loop and obscured vocals are the last exit of this otherworldly journey.           

Frédéric Cordier's artwork is beautiful.  It does an excellent job of illustrating the music. Though my search was far from exhaustive, S.O.L Sound is probably one of the only distros with a copy for sale. However, one may purchase the digital version at the Sicsic Bandcamp page.

peace and love, friends :)

Aqua Nebula Oscillator - Excavation (Assommer 003)

fuzzy nugs covered in hash oil.  peace and love to my friends at Humboldt Relief :)

Funeral Folkers and French psychonauts, Aqua Nebula Oscillator, pack it tightly with four trichome encrusted jams unearthed from the catacombs and presented on Assommer.  Purveyors of a wild amalgamation consisting of psych garage, punk and space rock, these raw, fuzzed-out jams were recorded in the caves in 2007.  Excavations is one of those heavy psych rock albums that sit on the top shelf, where the trichomes glisten.  The hyper wah-fuzz explorations and krauty rhythms accelerate deep into the recesses of the mind.  Once they find the destination these hash oil missives billow, such is the coalescence of the recording quality and raw, obliterating psych.

Side A consists of 'Girl', a blazing hash rocket to the head!  The guitars are full of fuzz and wah, reverberating in your skin; the percussion is propulsive; the bass makes hypnotic forms; and the vocals are beautiful for this type of music.  Admirers of the good days of Comets on Fire will find much to enjoy here.  Side B immediately explodes over your weary head - Anfang style - with wah-fuzz ferocity and a heavy groove.  The next track, 'Bordel', features piercing synth, which is eviscerated by smoldering fuzz and shredding that seems to envelop everything - beautiful!  Lost in Space succumbs to fate, ascending through formations of voluminous  tones and wah-fuzz crystals.

This one is highly recommended and rare - 500 copies.  For purchasing options, I suggest contacting Eclipse Records.  If unsuccessful, then discogs has a list of sellers.  Around $30 should do the trick for a mint copy.

peace and love, friends :)    
  

Herbcraft - The Astral Body Electric (WOODSIST 066); Celebration - Old Green Village (TIME-LAG 060); Ellie Daniels - Both Sides of the Coin (TIME-LAG 061)

i like to take my Herbcraft into the Time-Lag.  peace and love to my friends at Humboldt Relief :)

As a person that loves music, I imagine it is not an aberration to say that there are times when one realizes the beauty - not of an individual record - but the coalescence of a few lps.  Each lp is very special: they make one smile, dream, exult, ruminate, and cry.  For almost every night of the past month, I have purposefully experienced these three lps in succession.  The ascendant psych of Herbcraft is the sonic vehicle that delivers us in style to the land of Time-Lag.

 The Astral Body Electric, from Herbcraft on Woodsist, has a singular energy.  After Flowering, the The Astral Body Electric sees the full band take flight - Matt Lajoie, Dawn Aquarius, Nicholas Barker and Corinna Marshall.  Not only is every track wonderful, but the A side is the hottest thing around - three tracks that feel more like one experience.  Matt Lajoie's musical ideas and the full band sound -  mastered by MV in Spectrasound -take Herbcraft to the next strata.  If somebody were to inquire about the best record I have heard this year, my answer, without hesitation, would be The Astral Body Electric.  The vibe disseminated by Herbcraft is analogous to the precipitous ascent.  Removing oneself from the otherworldly psych of this record and observing the trajectory, The Astral Body Electric witnesses the flowering of seeds planted back in the days of Discovers the Bitter Water of Agartha.  Tracks one and two are the real deal.  A heavyweight duo united.  It's the entrance into the sanctuary followed by riding the breath through kraut bliss formations and Japanese psych shredding.  'Mother's Gate' is the setting where the cool and warm sensations of conscious breathing are magnified by eastern tinged tones and rhythms.  The haze and splendor are palpable as track two is a moment of realization.  It drifts through several stages, all the while floating on the sonic carpet, replete with intricate patterns stitched by Dawn's lovely tones.  The rhythms are hypnotic and Matt's beautiful, diligent playing is felt viscerally.  There's nothing quite like this track!  These mellifluous tracks transport one to the acute perceptions of 'Impermanence', a track of pastoral acoustic strings and flute.  The flipside commences with calm resonance of 'No Land' before a majestic wave delivers one into the sacred drift of 'The Body Electric'.  The last track, 'Full Circle (Eternally)', is also one of the best on the lp.  It's the last stop on this journey where luminous incantations are coupled with beautiful guitars, rhythms that are assertive, yet also restrained - reminiscent of Eternal Tapestry.  The wonderful album art by Nicholas Barker makes The Astral Body Electric complete - I always keep this nearby when listening.  With my highest recommendation, secure your copy directly at Woodsist.   The Astral Body Electric is the only fuel that can take one to that special place - the place where two other gorgeous lps meet at the cross-section.

  After Herbcraft scorches your head with six heavy crystal-covered zoners, one is delivered into an idyllic setting. Old Green Village, by Celebration, is a reissue on Time-Lag of an obscure French private press from 1976.  A one-off recording, the lovely vibe makes one feel proximate to the music.  It commences with a mellifluous instrumental, comprised of gently floating flute and pastoral guitar.  It's followed by some beautiful acid folk tracks and then traditional folk.

After drifting through the sweet environs of Old Green Village, the final stop on the journey leaves one in awe.  Both Sides of the Coin, from Ellie Daniels on Time-Lag, is an lp of female loner folk.  Her beautiful  and versatile voice, lyrical facility and incredible self-taught finger picked guitar style - in the liner notes, Ellie mentions only practicing under a blanket -  make this a true gem!  The beautiful story presented in the insert is worth the price of the vinyl.  In the Time-Lag canon, there is nothing quite like Both Sides of the Coin.   Along with the Bill Quick reissue, for me, this is positioned at the peak of the Time-Lag mountain.  Do not hesitate to purchase this lp.

  My good friend, Nemo of Time-Lag, wrote two excellent and informative descriptions for each of the Time-Lag lps.  His wonderful writing captures the essence of these reissues.  I highly recommend reading his wonderful reviews.  As with all Time-Lag releases, they are painstakingly hand-crafted. The presentation is of high quality, which is due to the meticulous work of Nemo.

Dear friends, I hope you will join me on this wonderful journey.

peace and love, friends :)

thanks to forcefieldpr for the good vibe!

thanks to lyrkoss for the sweet vibe!