My 2012 In Releases

In 2012 I released two CDs and appeared on three compilations. It is a measure of how busy the year was that I completely forgot to let you know about one of these, so read on for not only a summary, but some "new" music to grab for free.

Though I had plans for more titles, time and financial constraints only allowed the release of two compact disks on my Stolen Mirror imprint. These are made by hand and this takes a good deal of time! (Please support my activities by buying the very reasonably priced limited editions. You can be sure that any funds go directly into future releases.) Both are actually re-issues of work I put out some years ago, but in both cases I wanted to update the contents and packaging.

Marmaros is an hour-long ambient piece derived entirely from a film theme tune, slowed down to reveal the harmonic structure as a deep ocean of sound (thanks to David Toop for that phrase). It was originally released in 2007 in a small edition, now owned mostly by monks (no, really). I wanted to return to this piece since I find it an entirely successful venture in a genre that is often tired. Besides which, I was itching to remix and remaster the disk to bring it into line with my current sound standards. The page at Stolen Mirror has an excerpt.

Device for the Transmission of Electrical Energy Through Air compiles radiophonic experiments made on analogue equipment between 1987 and 2012. These represent the mediums of radio (AM, FM, shortwave) and tape (cassette, microcassette, cart, and open reel) in relationship to the somatic and the linguistic. Two new pieces were included since the first release, in order to bring the material up to date with my current activities. You can hear two very different pieces on the website.

"Perturbation", as played at ISSTA 2012, was released on the digital compilation Somewhere On The Edge by Gruenrekorder, Germany. Read more in my previous post, which contains links to the music.

"Picabia's Hammer", "Propagating The Catastrophe", and "The Nightingale Blockade" are three pieces of exactly one minute duration, released alongside an incredible 260 others, in the massive noise compilation known as SIGNALVOID. Though it was released back on 14 August, for some reason I have forgotten to mention it until now. You can buy the personalised packages on Bandcamp, or download the entire thing for free.

James Catchpole describes the compilation as "a creature with scaly features that resembles something familiar, perhaps of reptilian descent, but is ultimately not of this world" in his review for A Closer Listen.

Finally, "Freeze-Thaw" is yet another sixty second track that was released by Mute Sound Records on the compilation 1 Minute Autohypnosis, out of Zaragoza, Spain. Read my description and interview with label boss Pedro Bericat in a previous post.

My next article will itemise the seven pieces I had played in exhibitions and festivals in 2012.

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