Orto Stro - Deaverchester (TST008)

lost in the haze of these sweet vibes. peace and love to my friends at Humboldt Relief :)

While I have yet to hear the entire discography of Twin Springs Tapes, Deaverchester's mix of hazy ambience, virulent noise and visceral apprehension presents a nice contrast to many of the releases covered here. A somewhat mysterious release on Twin Springs Tapes, a dearth of information is available about Orto Stro, an artist based in Asheville, North Carolina. Though I was unable to locate anything on discogs, the soundcloud page will allow you to sample the foreboding ambient goods that make Deaverchester such an irresistible listen. Orto Stro's music is saturated with palpable disquiet and warm sound; guitar and drone create otherworldly transmissions that momentarily seem lucid, only to be obscured by nascent noise and eventually subsumed by a deluge. Yet, as the noise devours the tape - flecks of memory swirling in the breeze - there's something beautiful that juts up from the sprawling mass of disquietude. Given the intensity of Deaverchester, I recommend leaving your mental luggage at the door and ensuring that the crystal-covered provisions are sufficient. Upon pressing play, solemn, warm guitar drone subtly becomes ensconced in morphing noise. Suddenly, one feels less proximate; not necessarily enveloped by the slowly unfurling intensity, but it reminds me of the manner in which time warps the accurate portrayal of a memory - quite lovely. Sinister screams ravage the tape, and distended voices roar with feral intensity. The listener travels in a noisy kaleidoscope on the flipside. One is shrouded by frenetic noise immediately. When it finally abates, the charred fragments still displaying a crackling afterglow, something dubious emerges; we may need some boots for this. Abruptly, encroaching noise writhes uncontrollably.  

Produced with lots of love, Deaverchester comes in an edition of 50 cassettes and may be purchased directly from Twin Springs.

peace and love, friends :)  

Inner Travels - First Light (TST010)

lightness of being - peace and love to my friends at Humboldt Relief :)

From moments of lucid awareness under brilliant light that flickers to celestial voyages in an azure sky, First Light has proved to be my favorite Twin Springs release. On this cassette, Inner Travels utilizes space and texture adroitly to beget instances of joy, focus and contemplation. Brilliant sparks of life kindle in cupped, trembling hands. It makes one want to hold that energy with eyes shut and to be thankful that you realized something beautiful, even for a brief moment. First Light, much like the most alluring things in life, has a transitory quality.

 Delicate, gauzy rays of sunlight traverse the soul from the time one presses play. Incipient light billows gently. At a distance, the vibrations are misty. Yet, as they approach, the radiance envelops the listener. The glare is ephemeral - a beautiful apparition. Majestic pulsations and voluminous waves saturate the receptors. Reverberations of sonic ellipses encompass the heart in kindness. Luminosity twinkles at the periphery; gradually, it swells among the verdant earth. Sequences of synth swirl benevolently, much like the tenderness heard from one of my musical heroes, Joe Zawinul. The various placid textures that are present in the tracks culminate in crystalline waves. Inner seeking tones burrow deep to reveal the eternal flame. The flipside -the Sky side - is suffused with reverie. Inside the slipstream, cavernous tones combine with evanescent manifestations. Bleary synth bubbles until evaporating. There's a lovely, removed feeling in some of the tracks on the Sky side. Observations from afar approach slowly, glimmer in the inner eye and then ascend into the clouds. Suffering vanishes as variegated energy glitters and expands throughout the soul.    

First Light is the mellifluous bird that beckons at my window in the morning; it infuses my home with tranquility. If you want to touch someones life with music, then I would give them this tape. Created primarily with a PSS-380, First Light is limited to 50 copies. With only a few remaining, secure your copy directly from Twin Springs, one of my favorite tape labels.        

peace and love, friends :)

Andy Loebs - Hibernation Sickness (TST 004)

cannabis sativa mitigates sickness. peace and love to my friends at Humboldt Relief :) 

I hope the seat belt in your spacecraft is made of something strong and durable, like hemp. The peripatetic traveler should prepare for astral analog synth trips in which invention and tone shimmer. Hibernation Sickness from Andy Loebs is a compelling tape that efficaciously couples music and emotion. This tape from early 2013 on Twin Springs Tapes finds Andy working out on the Roland Juno 60. Over two sides of tape, this sonic exploration is concurrently serene, introspective and wistful. Some of these tracks are evocative to the point of producing tears, such as the visceral closer on side B. Yet, this music also precipitates a sense of wonder that is prevalent throughout- especially in the second track on side A.

 Upon commencing the tape, solemn analog waves possess a heaviness. Shortly, pensive patterns combine with the aforementioned and drift languorously. The cosmos are illuminated by sparkling arpeggios and ethereal synth in the second track. Buoyant energy manifests, progressively moving more proximate from the periphery. With all the elements in motion, the listener is swept away in a celestial vortex. As the tape comes to a close, briskly moving arpeggios blur, leaving a vapor trail of luminous ellipses. Before long, Andy adroitly introduces a section of opaque and doleful synth, which coalesces nicely. The manner in which these tracks progress reflects on the acuity of the artist.

Twin Springs bring a lot of love to cassettes - it's audible and conspicuous. Prior to selling all 25 copies, Hibernation Sickness was home-dubbed to order in real time by Twin Springs - a lovely touch. More so, the hand-painted shells by Andy are beautiful. While I do not regularly write about out of print releases, this release is quite affecting. The digital tracks are still available from Twin Springs. Hopefully a reissue will occur.

peace and love, friends :)

Thank you, Ryan, for the good vibe