Dura - Silver/Lawns (Cut#10)

start your week with these kind vibes. peace and love to my friends at Humboldt Relief :)

When the sun is mostly enveloped by clouds, strokes of light escape the opacity. Vivid burnt orange and yellow streaks swirl within a murky formation. As the shrouded warmth breaks through subtly, tranquil energy contacts the bare skin. Then, all one can feel is light and unabated warmth. The soul of the solar system lighting the path that leads to kindness. Silver/Lawns resonates deeply with nature. Fused with the outdoors, this tape assumes a majestic quality. Dura's recent release on Warsaw's Wounded Knife puts the listener in a dreamy state for a little less than one hour. On Silver/Lawns, Dura uses layers of guitar and lustrous loops to make the speakers breath. Placid waves of guitar drone cascade and solitary strings glisten in the morning dew. Shimmering strings are worked into a dither, while kind american primitive guitar plays over top of ethereal drone. As the sustained sonic energy abates, the strings still smoldering, lovely patterns emerge.    

Wounded Knife produces tapes for tape lovers. This label based in Warsaw exerts tremendous effort to create a memorable audio-visual experience. I highly recommend Wounded Knife to readers of this blog. Limited to 50 copies, it is already sold out at the source. However, digital files may be obtained from the artist. Also, I am in the possession of two copies. If anybody would like the second copy, then send me an email. The first person to email me will receive the tape.

peace and love, friends :)  

Les Halles - Invisible Cities (PURR 042)

tranquil energy that permeates the radiant, yearning soul. peace and love to my friends at Humboldt Relief :)

Whether shards of sunshine illuminate the quiescent soul or opaque, introspective clouds muddle the tempo of the breath, Les Halles, to borrow a phrase from the beautiful Pema Chödrön, makes music to help the listener start where you are. Invisible Cities, by Les Halles on Constellation Tatsu, utilizes flute and strings among other instruments. Introspective, languorous waves of flute flutter in a hazy atmosphere and dissipate in the palpable crackle and hiss. As we begin the climb this morning to the zenith of 4/20, the sun is engulfed by ubiquitous sonic fog. Yet, Invisible Cities is the perfect accompaniment for a journey over a tortuous route that leads one to the light.  

 Waves of warm hiss and crackle combine with mellifluous flute that billows lightly through the head in the opening track, "Between Two Deserts." Jovial voices circulate harmoniously. The hiss bubbles and surges, spraying the exterior with a fine mist. In the following track, patient strings exude calmness and mix with looped flute, the wavelength of which stretches from the speakers to the soul. Layers of placid energy echo and meander over the fragile resonance of plucked strings. "Wave from Memories" presents music that is intertwined with the breath. As swaths of equanimity multiply, rippling peaceful energy engulfs the listener. In the final track on side A, meditative tones twinkle and abut mystical loops. The flipside commences with my favorite track, "Grow in Lightness." Serene beams of sunlight are spread wide across the blue sky, breathing life into the still, dormant body. Contemplative tones with a light and airy character circulate while  faint strings whisper in the penultimate track. Flute ripples softly dissolving in the opaque atmosphere. The final track, "Illusion of Movement" is notable for its adroit use of space. Flowery, inner seeking waves drift lazily and slowly disperse. Occasionally, the hushed murmur of brushed strings is audible - lovely!

Constellation Tatsu tapes are omnipresent in my cassette deck. Released as part of Constellation Tatsu's spring batch, the artwork and design are credited to Dieter Durinck. Invisible Cities is highly recommended and may be purchased directly from Constellation Tatsu.  
  

peace and love, friends :)

Ant'lrd - Biblioteca Nod Out (Baro33)

a tasty nug for high times. peace and love to my friends at Humboldt Relief :)

Churning clouds are strewn over pulsating ambient collages that exude murky warm hues and dusty emanations on Biblioteca Nod Out, from Ant'lrd, the project of Chicago's Colin Blanton. Recently released on BARO Records, Biblioteca Nod Out covers some blissful terrain - different from many ambient tapes I've heard lately - characterized by a dreamy quiescence that suffuses the atmosphere throughout. Fans of the SCKE// release on Kiks/GFR will dig these vibes. This tape is a tale of two sides. Where as side A drifts through the inviting haze with the collages merging below the radar, the flipside contains two long-form tracks comprised of loops. Side A starts with foggy tape moves that whirl frenetically as opaque tones sit in the back. Blurry waves, beats and samples negotiate the engulfing opacity. Incipient energy glimmers in the indica haze and soon becomes concentrated. Shortly, clouds impinge to make the bass and drone loops faint. Before long, light and airy vibrations circulate torpidly. The latter parts of side A are excellent; pale tones chime frantically vacillating in a gale before giving way to unstable ambient energy burning brightly in the navy sky above undulating waves. Two longer compositions - A Mellow Hum for Cycling in the City pt. 1 and pt. 2 - are contained on the flipside. In pt.1, warm and airy waves of ambient sound are cloaked by persistently encroaching haze. Occasional buoyant tones jut out from the clouds. Obtuse tones wallow pleasantly, often buoyed by intermittent waves of luminous energy in the latter.

Released in an edition of 100 cassettes with orange shells, the heady artwork by Charlie Megna matches the vibes on offer. Biblioteca Nod Out may be purchased directly from BARO.

peace and love, friends :)

Cody Yantis - Resonant Memory (PT004)

Planted's seeds sprouted the super bud of tapes. Peace and love to my friends at Humboldt Relief :)

Planted Tapes returns in style with a lovely cassette by Cody Yantis. Admittedly, one of the most salient attributes across some of my favorite releases is the manner in which an artist explores the relationship between the texture of a tone and space. Resonant Memory is exemplary among recent releases of this type; the fragility of a resonant murky string juxtaposed to variegated sustained tones that dance among chirping birds; bolts of sonic lightening erupting from the guitar in the manner of Steven R. Smith; withered piano chords decompose, their energy redolent. Additionally, the banjo is notable on this release. Yantis' approach to recording Resonant Memory utilizes piano, banjo, electric guitar, and percussion among other instruments with the Akai GX - 4000D reel-to-reel tape machine. Upon pressing play, the sound bellows as one merges to the vibrations with alacrity. Yantis' heartfelt banjo melodies and crafting of the atmosphere evoke memories of listening to Tape and the Hapna label. One of my favorite sections occurs near the end of side A as withered tones fracture in the air next to a field recording of children playing - quite lovely.
                  
While you're perusing the goods on offer at Planted, check out the informative and exclusive Q&A with Cody Yantis. Planted Tapes has a permanent spot on my top shelf - trichome heaven. Resonant Memory comes in an edition of 100 tapes. Assembled meticulously by the Planted crew, the photographs are credited to Cody Yantis. One may purchase a copy directly from Planted Tapes. 

peace and love, friends :)