"Aix is the latest work from Italian artist Giuseppe Ielasi and the follow-up to 2007’s August (12k, 12k1044). WIth Aix we see Ielasi building his layered, atmospheric music around rhythmic grids. Most of the time these are quite irregular and the pulses are not neccessarily stable or clear. Where his previous work approached sound in a linear fashion Aix imposes a strong vertical development with the aforementioned grid and a production consisting of ons and offs, employing as much improvisation as Ielasi’s previous work, but in a different way.

Despite the self-imposed grid structure, Aix relies heavily on randomization. Not in the traditional sense of sound placement but instead of the spatialization of sounds, echoes, reverbs and the stereo image. As a result, Aix has an amazing sense and clarity of space as the small fragments of sound breathe and find their own place in the mix, thanks to Ielasi’s sublime skills as a mixer and engineer.

Ielasi relied heavily on numerous short samples and combining them in ways that fell into his groove; some found from others' recordings and many more recorded during the past year. We hear fragments of percussive (acoustic) objects, drums, piano, trumpet, guitar, and, of course, synthetic textures. Although there is a distinct rhythmic pulse to Aix, Ielasi manages to mold it into something wonderfully languid and warm... and strangely inviting."

-12k

the audio:
Not content to merely order a re-pressing of the same masters on hand at the cd manufacturer, Taylor Deupree set out to create what he calls the “director’s cut” of one of the most important cds in his catalog. The idea was to open the now-2-year-old computer files to re-mix and re-master the tracks. Of course over the course of years computers change, formats change, and Deupree found himself faced with missing plug-ins, errored sound files and other oddities that made working with the files difficult. What first seemed like roadblocks turned into a mission to work with what was there and re-do what was not. The result is a “Northern” that will, on the surface, seem quite similar to the original, however listeners will hear new sounds, extended endings, shortened endings and most of all, an overall mix that presents these works with a new clarity and spaciousness. Mastering in the analog domain has given the work a new found sense of delicacy and detail.

the package:
A heavyweight cardboard wallet with debossed typography on the front cover. Inside are two pockets, one for the CD and one for a 24-page booklet of photography, credits, and lots of white space. All printing, as with the original, is in black and white."

-12k

Something about getting three solo artists together, or maybe something about what rehearsing for so long in a freezing Collingwood warehouse does to the brain, caused the pop-bred members of Amplifier Machine to spiral out into a peculiar music of inquisitive, atmospheric, half-improvised mini-epics.

Amplifier Machine is a self-described experiment inanemocratic process and near-improvisation (anemocracy = rule by whim or the wind). Through earnest discussion and endless unending jams, Amplifier Machine came upon The Rule: that when the other two members have settled, it’s your turn to change.

The Rule was found to be useful, not only in musical terms, but also as a strategy in discussion, advocacy for the devil, and reducto absurdums. Each members’ musical approach is informed by knowledge of various artistic process, including: visual art, drama, the written word, carpentry and car maintenance. Thus, in music and in discussion, Amplifier Machine tends to start with a thesis, then to spiral out into varying antitheses, to arrive at some sort of synthesis. At least, that’s the idea.

Somewhat of a departure, in terms of sound, for 12k, Her Mouth Is An Outlaw breezes darkly languid chords over a post-rock-meets-experimental structure that is decidedly lacking in micro-electronics. These echoes reach for new 12k-heights while the spirit of ambience and space remain familiar."

-12k

"Rutger and Stephen sort of accidentally met through e-mail. A simple note regarding an ordering question for a CD led to an enthusiastic e-mail conversation and climaxed in a musical collaboration. This all happened in a very short period, both musicians being very inspired by the concept of “exchange,” as a means to cross space and time -- Rutger living in the Netherlands and Stephen in Virginia. Most of the time, when (electronic) musicians work together it’s a matter of swapping digital files. In this case they decided to do something different and sent each other a box full of (mostly non-musical, or musically non-functional) objects and recordings, with the “assignment” to make music with those objects and all as source materials. As the titles tell, we’re talking about an egg cutter, thumb piano, a broken kraakle box, rice, chocolate sprinkles, old cassette tapes, a broken 7” record, etcetera, etcetera. Both musicians made two of their own solo tracks with the box they received, and the last track was done together by Rutger adding sounds and processing to a piece started by Stephen. For Rutger/Machinefabriek this is part of his most delicate work. For Stephen, it was a new and extremely enjoyable form of long-distance collaboration."

-12k

"Expertly realized and designed, Volume Objects is loose and organic and demands careful listening. Melody and form are hinted at and then in a whisper, a crackle, are gone. A sense of narrative and place created as if a hundred tiny objects are scattered in front of you, a fractured story that you thought you once remembered.

The packaging for this release includes an 8-page booklet of black & white photography by Taylor Deupree inspired by the music and titles of the audio pieces. All printed materials in this package have been printed on 100% recycled paper."

-12k

"12k presents the latest solo work from Italian composer Giuseppe Ielasi. August is the 4th full-length cd from Ielasi following his critically acclaimed debut Plans (Sedimental, 2003) and the stunning Gesine and s/t (Häpna, 2005, 2006).

August takes a more linear approach to Ielasi’s composing with sounds stretched like like layers of gauze forming a thick, soft blanket. Utilizing piano, hammond organ, guitars, dobro, synthesizers and shortwave radio, Ielasi creates deep, warm drones and suspended, scratchy melodies with a hint of despair and melancholy that make this a very introspective album. His trademark guitar and live approach to instrumentation are in the forefront yet set behind an expertly processed veil of subtle electronics. The textures are unabashedly acoustic but buried and moody enough as to question their origin.

August is a haunting, but beautiful album that falls neatly between the starkness of Gesine and the scattering rhythmic complexity of s/t. LIke music for a farewell, an ending of ends, August is moody, static, slow and emotional."

-12k

"Songs is the much-anticipated follow-up to Parisian sound designer and musician Sébastien Roux’s beautiful cd Pillow (Apestaartje, 2004). The simple title of Songs hides a deep work that Roux states is based in mathematics, symmetry (and assymetry) and organized randomness. Songs is a skillfully and beautifully rendered album of gentle and sometimes not-so-gentle acoustic instruments and melodic granular clouds. Each song is titled simply by the instruments that make it, thus stressing the process involved in their production. From the ubiquitous guitars, piano, and drums to the more exotic metallophone, harp and contrabass, Roux combines these acoustic instruments with digital sounds and makes a point to keep the focus on the instruments themselves, allowing for their subtleties and idiosyncrasies to come to the forefront.

Roux’s music is personal and multi-faceted; From warm and drowsy ambient tones to digital fests of errors and erratic rhythms to a more song-structured approach hinting at a distant relative of submereged pop music. His influences include musique concrete, folk songs, and electronic music and his work at IRCAM in Paris wraps his ecclectic tastes into an expertly produced work of digital sound that does not rely on one particular sound or motif but rather highlights a breadth of processes and unique sonic juxtaposititons."

-12k