Andy and Leslie's fragile, jittering array of unnamable source. A forest of buzzing machines, dead electronic signal, and maybe some kinda real instrument played at some point? A colorful and confusing dip into the criminals' mind.

Excite Bike

Muted saxophone... to some it is just the horrid sound of dampened, choking, tuneless attempts at what seems like reed music. I dunno, what do you think?

Excite Bike

Six home-made, dark shoegaze songs from Detroit's Adam Pfaff. The heavily distorted sound of abandonment and angst. Go here (myspace.com/sacredspace) to hear songs from this and other Sacred Space tapes.

Excite Bike

Another C90 packed with weird stuff from the studio. A lot of confusing noise. Not exactly clear on what all of this really is, however it includes; Black Leather, Leeches, Pure Skull, Body Morph, and White Boss.

Excite Bike

A split high-five of fried circuit electronics and ??? sound. PM delivers a senseless ocean of glistening tapes, while Hollow Man exhibits his electronic explorer style.

Excite Bike

Side-to-side wild reed styles from Body Morph and Jon Lorenz (tenor mango from bell abuse kings, Wasteland Jazz Unit). My jazz history teacher would have certainly not been into this, the look on his face of deep despair and emptiness, no hope... all is lost.

Excite Bike

Unlimited Options", a self released limited run cassette by Pete Swanson (Yellow Swans). Edited versions of these tracks were later re-issued as part of the "where I was" LP

Dscrmnt

Cassette reissue of the Root Strata LP, which has been out of print after it sold-out shortly following it's release in 2010. I'm particularly happy with this recording and have decided to keep it in print on cassette. The reviews of the album frequently noted the emotional weight and intensity of the music and I get where they're coming from.

Pete Swanson

Mr. Entertainment ", a self released limited run cassette by Pete Swanson (Yellow Swans). Edited versions of these tracks were later re-issued as part of the "where I was" LP

Dscrmnt

"Challenger", a self released limited run cassette by Pete Swanson (Yellow Swans). Back in stock after being unavailable for many months. All tracks are exclusive to this tape.

Dscrmnt

"Signs Of Life", a self released limited run cassette by Pete Swanson (Yellow Swans). Back in stock after being unavailable for many months. Recorded live in Seattle and San Francisco, summer 2009.

Dscrmnt

"Denim Life", a self released limited run cassette by Pete Swanson (Yellow Swans). In stock for the first time here, recorded in January 2009.

Dscrmnt

"Ghost O Clock", a self released limited run cassette by Pete Swanson (Yellow Swans). Back in stock after being unavailable for many months. "Recorded between camping trips when everyone was asleep, June 2010".

Dscrmnt

Originally based in Chicago, Tiny Music developed a uniquely organic performance style, laying out an instrumental smorgasbord on the floor and performing acoustically—an intimate throwback that put the listener in direct contact with the band. In recorded form,Epitaph reveals even more of Tiny Music's sense of structure and dynamics that makes their music so fascinating. The two sidelong pieces flow, as through a house or a silent film, from one musical doorway to the next—sometimes foreboding, sometimes flowering into complex or even composed musicality, but always dense and colorful. Side A meanders from its appealing din into a low drone, and Side B weaves abstract melodies through a hectic sound marketplace, with winding, squeaking, and even laughter dotting the mix, interspersed between plaintive, dark motifs. Tiny Music's homey clatter on Epitaph uniquely mixes group improvisation, folk tradition, and pure exploration.

Notice Recordings

Those with a certain taste will be familiar with Ben Owen's subtle yet stunning design work with his Brooklyn-based Winds Measure Recordings imprint, which also releases his own carefully crafted music in both collaborative and solo form. These are two masterfully textured sidelong pieces exemplifying his attention to craft, process, and detail at the most painstaking levels, while still embracing the sonic imprecision of the cassette tape medium.

"These recordings were made on residency with The Experimental Television Center in Owego, NY during May 2010. This was my third and—unknown to me at the time—last residency, as the Center has now closed. While two of three residencies were in partial an audio/video collaboration with Justin Lincoln, the Birds and Water series is my main body of work created at ETC. The recordings are both sound and sound and image based pieces using David Jones' image processing system. ETC expanded operations in 1974 with the first Jones Colorizer, and in 1975 with a set of keyers, a multi-input syncable sequencer and a bank of oscillators, all designed and constructed by David Jones. The analog system modules coupled with several external op amp generators are heard in these sessions. Numerous patches and variations of each were recorded in extended durations. Side A was recorded direct to cassette tape. Both recordings are presented in their unedited duration.

Thanks to Hank Rudolph, Sherry and Ralph Hocking, Justin Lincoln, Giuseppe Ielasi and Evan Lindorff-Ellery."

Notice Recordings

Notice's own resident artist returns with his second solo tape. The Tea Merchant and His Atmospheres is a fully realized and personal work of minimal, expressionist sound art that incorporates elements from the artist's life, including field recordings from his home and travels as well as layers of at-home processing, including the use of radio static, room tone, and cassettes that he's developed as half of Dense Reduction. Minimal yet highly textured sound environments run up against each other loftily like waves against foreign shores. As the pieces deepen over the course of each side, Lindorff-Ellery unfolds the mysterious connections that make up a sense of home and a sense of self. Non-narrative, nonrepresentational, closely observed and resolutely analog. Through the use of these elements, Lindorff-Ellery is mapping his life and environments.

Notice Recordings

This new Tim Hecker release is composed of sketch pieces recorded in 2010 in preparation for what would become the Ravedeath, 1972 album. All of the compositions are piano driven and minimal in nature.

This is not a new Tim Hecker album, but rather a peek behind the curtains into the working process. That these pieces stand on their own as compelling soundworks is a testament to the fact that Tim Hecker is at the absolute top of his game at the moment.

Kranky records

The title "Tragedy & Geometry" is an ambiguous but subtle reference to Melpomene (Muse of Tragedy) & Polyhymnia (Muse of Geometry), or more specifically the collision/overlap of what they invoke. The opening track is also a direct reference to "Polyhymnia, Muse of Eloquence," the painting by the French artist Charles Meynier on display at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

The album is a treatise on the idea that technology is becoming more disposable as it's becoming more accessible, and how this circumstance has a more evident/direct effect on the interpersonal, i.e. relations, with others in the so-called 'Age of Information.'

What results is a gorgeous, flowing, floating world of post-kosmische musik, Steve Hauschildt's first widely available release, and his first major statement as a solo artist.

Kranky records

First time vinyl release for this classic Low holiday recording. We would suggest that few bands from an ostensibly "indie rock" background should release Christmas music, if not out of respect for the holiday or material then at least out of a sense of self-esteem. Low, however, were made for this. Their attention to musical detail combined with the heavenly vocal harmonies of Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker are perfectly attuned to both traditional carols like "Silent Night" and more contemporary tunes such as "Blue Christmas."

Christmas contains a selection of seasonal songs, including four originals by the band, mostly recorded at Low's 20° Below studio in Duluth, MN. "If You Were Born Today" and "Blue Christmas" were released as a 7 inch single in 1997 on the English Wurlitzer Jukebox label, while "Taking Down The Tree" is taken from a 1998 compilation of live recordings issue by the Dutch VPRO radio station.

Kranky records

A requiem for the abandoned dance-floor. Slow pulsations for weary minds and focused movement. Cast your vapid glances at the cloudy skies of a new dawn for electronic sound. All is bliss.

sweat lodge guru

Moon Tides' debut has been rising on the horizon all season long, painting the waves with golden colors and the impossible promise of an endless summer. Sink your toes a little deeper into the sand, watch the last waves crest as the driftwood bonfire at your back burns down to its dieing embers.

sweat lodge guru

Listening to new work from Sean McCann is always an exciting prospect. Go far back into this young pioneer's catalog and you'll without a doubt uncover a collection of music as diverse as it is long. What you may also notice is the consistency with which Sean portrays himself.

His music is always fearless, frank and personal. Sincere World is another turn toward Sean's signature earnestness. Open Resolve and The Capital, both cleverly laced with swirling filter manipulation and confounding superimposition of manic and sloth-like compositions, exposed us to a more playful side of McCann's persona. These works are on the surface a bit zany, but deeper down they still maintain a charming character—something that draws the listener in magically. Sincere World is the somber younger brother to these two. Sincere World is adrift on Badalamenti-like lethargy, skeptical of the world around and unsure of what to do about it. But despite his bashfulness, he is every bit as charming and perhaps even more so, for there are no rough edges on him. In six movements, Sean takes us from under the bed to behind the bleachers and finally, to the bottom of the sea. Recorded mostly in 2009,

Sincere World has after two years in hiding, finally mustered the audacity to come out into the open. This is the world Sean McCann lives in, and I want to do everything I can to live there too.

Michael Jantz / Black Eagle Child

Al (Albert Schatz) from Bird Names and Wham City artist April Camlin used to be called Altered States (presumably named after the trippy 1980 film starring William Hurt), then they were called Wumme (presumably named after German city where Faust formed), and now they've dropped an 'm' and they're simple called Wume (prounounced 'woom'). Regardless of what they're calling themselves these days, Wume are currently making some of the most tasteful (read: not cheesy) music under the "mutant new age music" umbrella. Bits of Wume's debut LP could've scored "2001: A Space Odyssey", or more contemporaneously, "Moon" perfectly! The influence of synth maestros and Krautrock legends like Cluster, Brian Eno, Popol Vuh, Klaus Schulze and Tangerine Dream is very apparent, but Wume have taken these influences and combined them with what can only be described as a Goblin / John Carptenter-esque cinematic quality that puts them in a league of their own. "Distance" may be a document of new, new age music, but it ain't no drone record. Wume wisely chose to keep the motorik beat. If Simeon from Silver Apples had been slipped more Benzos, "Contact" may have sounded a lot more like "Distance". Eash listen definitely makes the heart grow fonder. In case you haven't already noticed, punks are listening to new age music in 2011. Even Nostradamus couldn't have predicted it, but maybe punk wouldn't have died such a quick death had it's progenitors spent more time with their Terry Riley, Steve Reich, Philip Glass, and YMO records. Records like "Distance" make the life last longer. Recommended for folks who prefer to drink from the fountain of youth.

permanent records

Another stunning 35 minutes of clatter & chaos from Christmas Decorations' Nick Forte'. A vast arrangement of sounds lying somewhere between free jazz improvisation and sound collage, Forte' really takes it somewhere else with Mongrel Faun. Continuing a very similar aesthetic to his 2010 LP "Defeated", here, Nick really utilizes a fantastic world of sounds all while working with the cassette medium. A truly exiting release!

catholic Tapes

For the 3rd installment of the Catholic Tapes BOX series comes double dose from Cincinnati, Ohio's Wasteland Jazz Unit. The duo comprised of Jon Lorenz on Saxophones & John Rich on Clarinets present another blown-out amalgamation of buzz and burl that could peel the paint off walls. Following their first full length LP on Nashazphone just months back, the Unit are back in full force with their pure-volume reed-assault like nobody else. The originality of both the process of the Unit is not to be understated, nor is their uncompromising and evolving sound. The sonic extremities of this release is on par with that of a screeching train derailing into another in slow motion. Incredibly stunning and captivating sounds coming from a completely unique place. Tape II features percussionist Chris Adams on the skins adding a completely new dynamic to the already glass-shattering sounds of the duo. Horns on a hellride through the desert at full force. Truly wonderful work. One of the heaviest and relentless releases I've had the pleasure in releasing.

catholic tapes

Mike Vallera has been a sensational new face on the Chicago scene this last year with his projects Cleared (With Steven Hess of Haptic, releases on Immune Recordings ) and his dual guitar collaborations with David Daniel (Table of the Elements). "Don't Call This Home" finds Mike in much more dark and haunting state of compositional guitar & sample works, more so than his other experimentations. The repetition of harmonic patterns amidst a black sea of reverb and decay make this release a thoughtful one, slowly embarking on new sonic territories in a near-blackout wash. Cavernous and special around every turn. A dark car ride through the fog, voices all around.

catholic tapes

Second release from this faux-Italian duo following the 2xcs "Plays Theme From Dino & Nic" released earlier this year. The duo consisting of Nic Llamb (the videographer alias of Chris Bush from Caboladies, Flower Man) and Dino St. Claire (the culinary alias of Brett Naucke from catholic tapes, etc) present another analog-modeled mess with a lacking attention span that rivals the first release. While at times The Arc… explores the same odd rhythmic territory that made up a large percent of the first release, it also finds itself into extremely spaced out Nic Raecevic-worship zones with the duo in some uncharted underwater territory. A digital boat ride through Caribbean nights on someone else's boat. Strange zone; weird brand.

catholic tapes

Stunning ULTRA minimal prepared guitar work by this midwest master. nothing else like it. part of a new ongoing series for him exploring minimal concepts and sounds. very unique.

catholic tapes

Marthyan Reign is the debut release from Seth Sher's (Coughs, Panicsville, Ga'an. Oakeater) amazingly progressive Psychic Steel Project. Here, Seth manages to play drums, synthesizers, and vocals simultaneously into a whirlwind of progressive polyrhythmic madness. Vocal chants and repetitive sequencing mixed with seths heavy keys and drums make this an undoubtably unusual and original listen. Very exiting and upbeat while equally alluring and psychadellic. Definitely for fans of Magma & Christian Vander. Killer 3 panel artwork by Jason Schaufele.

catholic tapes

Orchestral and nostalgic, these tracks, in their composite simplicity, bring on the sense of a life once lived in grandeur. Obscured and muffled, the drones have a markedly ancient tone about them that alludes to the multi-layered, yet monochromatic, nature of the piece.

Sacred Phrases

These tracks take the listeners on a post-ritual journey in the form of astral story telling. The listener is inserted into raw and mesmerizing, but obscured, strings accentuated by grainy electronics, which transport them on this late-night odyssey.

Sacred Phrases

Nova Scotian Arms: Fast-paced inner travels, rife with lucid visions that take the listener on a ride towards the light of self-knowledge. Permanent Bedhead: Rattles of thought sway across this track's borderless landscape, while blips, like distant transmissions, tune in and out throughout the journey.

Sacred Phrases

These recordings, lofty and unearthly, are serene vibrations and echoing keys that promote a peaceful, idyllic focus.

Sacred Phrases

Transmissions from distant planes pulse, transferring energy, propagating their call, inviting all who hear to join on their total journey into other realms.

Sacred Phrases

Scattered notes, fragmented, circulate around this auditory eddy. Amidst the sooty turbid sounds, a repetitive astral lariat presents itself, at first close and then far off, pulling itself in towards the listeners and then drifting away again.

Sacred Phrases