Adrian Lane

Out Now! Harry Towell & Friends – Petrologist’s Lens

Here’s our first release of 2023 which is called ‘Petrologist’s Lens‘ by our label owner Harry Towell as Harry Towell & Friends. It was made in collaboration with 12 artists who have had 2 or more releases on Whitelabrecs over the years. This album is out today in two runs of 100 CDrs; a standard gold edition, and a special marble-effect version. Both packaging versions include a 16 page booklet in our gatefold vinyl-effect. If you follow us on Bandcamp (Click HERE) we’ll keep you updated when we have new releases.

press release
“Whitelabrecs label owner Harry Towell is perhaps best renowned for his long-standing Spheruleus project, with a discography listing releases on Lost Tribe Sound, Home Normal, Time Released Sound, Hibernate and Eilean, as well as his collaborations alongside Sven Laux, Guy Gelem, Ekca Liena and more. Harry returns to his own label, following 2021’s ‘Canvas Homes + Supplémentaires’ and EPs ‘Absent Frames’ and ‘Inaugurate’, in this special collaborative album called ‘Petrologist’s Lens’.

January is a month we usually reserve for a compilation album, such as our Sleeplaboratory series. This year Harry decided to invite 12 artists who had contributed more than 2 releases on Whitelabrecs to submit a short sketch or sample, and then he developed these into the tracks that make up this album. As with some of his more recent work, this album is created under his own name, but with ‘& friends’ added to credit the label artists and good friends which he has worked alongside.

The title ‘Petrologist’s Lens’ nods to the concept of this body of work, which is rooted in the ancient geological history of the earth. Harry studied the land history of the areas where his collaborators reside, to help form a title for each piece. Tracks are named after particular fragments of rock or sediments, land regions or fossils for example, and the compositions were developed in a way which mimics the layering of these. The layers tell a story, giving clues of how they came to be. Sonically, filigree details and eroded tape textures ride waves of modern classical orchestration, ambient drones and electronics.

The packaging for this release features cover artwork by Soraya Kornblum, an art student in Adrian Lane’s class, submitted to Whitelabrecs as part of a school project. Each of the 200 editions include a 16 page booklet with words provided by Neil McRoberts, who transcribed his thoughts after listening to the music and reflecting on the concept. Physical copies are split into two runs; a standard gold disc version and a special marble print deluxe edition.“

credits

Written and produced by Harry Towell
Additional production and inspiration provided by Adrian Lane, Andrew Heath, Blochemy, Edu Comelles, Glåsbird, Guy Gelem, James Edward Armstrong, Paweł Pruski, Phil Tomsett, Polaroid Notes, Simon McCorry, Sven Laux

Mastered by James Edward Armstrong
Cover Art by Soraya Kornblum
Booklet Notes by Neil McRoberts
Art and Design by Andrew Heath

Coming soon… Harry Towell & Friends – Petrologist’s Lens

Our first release of 2023 is ‘Petrologist’s Lens‘ by our label owner Harry Towell as Harry Towell & Friends, in collaboration with 12 artists who have had 2 or more releases on Whitelabrecs over the years. This album will be available officially in two runs of 100 CDrs; a standard gold edition, and a special marble-effect version. Both packaging versions include a 16 page booklet in our gatefold vinyl-effect sleeves and will be out officially on Saturday the 14th of January after a pre-order on the 7th of January. If you follow us on Bandcamp (Click HERE) we’ll make sure you’re the first to hear.

credits

Mastered by James Edward Armstrong
Cover Art by Soraya Kornblum
Booklet Notes by Neil McRoberts
Art and Design by Andrew Heath

new mix series! vervine001

Today we’ve launched a new mix series called ‘Vervine’. This will be presented by our label owner Harry Towell, and will cover the full extent of his wide ranging music taste. We can’t say how frequently we’ll make these shows but we’re hoping they’ll appear regularly enough and include one or two interesting features such as themes, vinyl-only shows and guest mixes. Hopefully, the voice-overs should hopefully grow in confidence the more of these we do!

This first show features a range of musical styles including Ambient, Electro Acoustic, Funk, Jazz, Modern Classical, World. The tracks are not arranged in a particular order, so it should feel pretty varied throughout and within the tracklist there are a few recent Whitelabrecs releases from the likes of Sven Laux, Adrian Lane, Fred Baty and John Reidar Holmes. Not to mention the opening track which is a premiere of our next release on the 19th of November, which is by Tapes and Topographies! Click the picture above or the player below:

Tracklist:
01 Tapes and Topographies – Diffraction
02 Kiyoshi Yamaya/Toshiko Yonekawa/Kifu Mitsuhashi – Nanbu Ushioi-Uta
03 Lucien Johnson – Magnificent Moon
04 Vega Trails – Love Your Grace
05 Feras Charestan – Zekrayat
06 Adrian Lane – White Winter Cloudy
07 Fred Baty – To Feel at a Distance
08 Dandelion – All You Know
09 Wax Machine – Gaian Dream
10 Jaubi – Straight Path
11 Black Flower – Morning In The Jungle (ft. Meskerem Mees)
12 Kolumbo – Evening Time
13 Jonny Nash & Teguh Permana – Air
14 John Reidar Holmes – Goodbye To Cape Farewell
15 Ralph Heidel – Wenn Ich Wach Werde (ft. Hannah Weiss)
16 Sven Laux – The Hope
17 Duelling Ants – Reise
18 Hiroshi Ebina – It 2
19 Julien Dyne – Beecon
20 Surprise Chef – Goldie’s Lullaby
21 Malcolm Pearson – Fleeting Thoughts
22 Lissom – Big Sleep
23 Naima Bock – Enter The House
24 Channelers – Diguised As Another
25 Misha Panfilov – Amphibian Girl
26 Liquid Saloon – Shaiza (ft. Elyasaf Bashari)
27 Djavan – Nereci (Case’s Edit)
28 Jef Gilson & Malagasy – Valiha Ny Dada
29 Philou Louzolo – Queens Of Zomba

Out Now! Adrian Lane – Missing The Crows

Here’s the second of two new editions for October, with ‘Missing The Crows‘ by Adrian Lane being a fourteen track modern classical album which fuses orchestral strings and piano with a subtle use of electronics. It’s out now in a run of 100 gatefold vinyl-effect CDrs after a short pre-order last week. If you click here: mailing list, we’ll make sure you’re the first to hear.

press release
“Following last year’s release ‘The Fleet’, we welcome back UK based composer and visual artist with a new concept album. Alongside long-since sold-out The Fleet, Adrian also contributed to our Home Diaries series and has recent releases on other UK labels including Preserved Sound and Hibernate. Adrian’s sound is characterised by elegant modern classical arrangements, pairing acoustic instrument textures with a hint of electronics drawing inspiration from composers such as Jóhann Jóhannsson and Max Richter.

In ‘Missing The Crows’ we have what Adrian describes as a follow-up to The Fleet, in terms of the recording process and sound palette used, in that strings and piano dominate. Yet in this new collection of 14 pieces, there is a bit more of an emphasis on synths and light electronic effects. Neither the synthetic, nor the acoustic instrument sounds take centre stage at any given time, with the intention being to paint a coherent whole in which neither taking precedence.

The story behind the title of the album sprang up following regular walks to a local park, where there are always lots and lots of crows. This former Ministry Of Defence land by the sea wall is left to grow naturally and Adrian had decided to go there with his camera to photograph some of these crows, as source material for his visual artwork. On arrival, he realised that he should have taken his telephoto lens, as he kept missing the crows; they’d fly away before he got close enough. He returned on another occasion with the telephoto lens and managed to get some decent images and these appear in the mixed media painting in the album cover artwork.

There is a lot of negative symbolism associated with crows, but they are fascinating creatures; they are intelligent, can problem solve and warn each other of danger. The natural landscape has always been an influence on Adrian’s music and certain specific reference such as the crows appear in the tracks. In another reference, ‘Godeuleum’ (meaning ‘Icicle’ in Korean) was written when it was particularly cold, and his wife (who is Korean) used the word when pointing to them, hanging from the gutters of their home.

Whilst Adrian has never aspired to be a film composer, he does listen to a lot of film/drama soundtracks and he feels this cinematic quality comes across in the music. In film music, themes and phrases are often repeated, with melodies appearing in different forms across numerous tracks. This approach was embraced in sketching out the concept for ‘Missing The Crows’, in the hope that listeners may recognise sections of this album, building a sense of familiarity. The work is both charming and intelligent like the crow, with a character soaring high beyond the mere colour of black and its associated darkness.“

credits
Written and Produced by Adrian Lane
Mastered by James Edward Armstrong
Painting by Adrian Lane
Art and Design by Andrew Heath

Coming soon… Adrian Lane – Missing The Crows

Our new release ‘Missing The Crows‘ by Adrian Lane will be available officially in one of our typically low runs of 100 gatefold vinyl-effect CDrs on Saturday the 15th of October after a pre-order for Bandcamp Friday on the 7th of October. If you click here: mailing list, we’ll make sure you’re the first to hear.

credits
Written and Produced by Adrian Lane
Mastered by James Edward Armstrong
Painting by Adrian Lane
Art and Design by Andrew Heath

out now! various artists – sleeplaboratory3.0

Released today is a various artists compilation album called sleeplaboratory3.0. This is the third in the series, after a two year break and the concept for these albums is for the curated artists to produce their interpretation of sleep music. The result is CDr packed full of tracks designed to help induce the listener to sleep and this edition features work by the likes of Federico Mosconi, The Lifted Index, Stijn Hüwels, Tapes and Topographies, Andrew Heath and Ian Hawgood, who also mastered the album.

sleeplaboratory3.0 is out now in a run of 100 copies! The best way to keep informed about our low-run releases, is to join our mailing list, and we’ll make sure you’re the first to hear!

press release
“Sleeplaboratory3.0 is the third edition of Whitelabrecs’ long-standing concept compilation, a series that aims to induce the listener into a peaceful sleep. The series began in 2019 to mark the 50th release in the label’s catalog and was followed up with a second edition in 2020. It has seen contributions from the likes of Offthesky, Janek Schaefer, M.grig, The Green Kingdom, Warmth and Halftribe as well as artists from the label, including Mikael Lind, Gray Acres, Sven Laux, Glåsbird and Valotihkuu.

Sleeplaboratory compilations are typically released in January and after a two year break, 3.0 continues the themes established in the previous two records. Each artist in the line-up takes the brief of creating ‘sleep music’ and paints the sonic field with their own ideas. Some artists develop restful electro-acoustic compositions, whilst others sketch out soothing drones or vacant ambient textures. With a varied spectrum of warmth and cold, light and floaty, weighted and deep, this new collection features label-regulars such as Andrew Heath, blochemy and Pruski alongside the likes of Ian Hawgood, The Lifted Index, Federico Mosconi and Stijn Huwels. The track titles tend to tie back to the central album theme with words synonymous with rest, phases of sleep or calm places. This album can be experienced in many ways, such as at low volume with headphones, or streamed through hi-fi in a dimly lit room, consciously, or subconsciously.“

credits
All rights reserved with the artists
Mastered by Ian Hawgood
Curated by Harry Towell
Art and design by Tom Tebby

Coming soon… various artists – sleeplaboratory3.0

We kick off what is sure to be another exciting year of releases, with the long-awaited return of our Sleeplaboratory compilation series. We’ve had a two year break since the last edition, and we welcome 3.0 to the series, and a line-up including label artists such as Andrew Heath, Tapes and Topographies, Lauge and Simon McCorry as well as artists that are new to the label, such as Ian Hawgood, The Lifted Index, Federico Mosconi and Stijn Hüwels. This compilation album will be available for pre-order on Friday the 7th of January and if the previous two releases are anything to go by, this will be quick to sell-out.

‘sleeplaboratory3.0‘ will be available in one of our typically low runs of 100 gatefold vinyl-effect CDrs, complete with art and design by Tom Tebby.

It will be released officially on Saturday the 15th of January. If you join our mailing list using the link below, we’ll make sure you’re the first to hear.

credits
All rights reserved with the artists
Mastered by Ian Hawgood
Curated by Harry Towell
Art and design by Tom Tebby

Out Now! Adrian Lane – The Fleet

On the 6th of August, we also had a new album called ‘The Fleet‘ by Adrian Lane up for pre-order, available in our usual low run of 100 gatefold vinyl-effect CDrs. This one has an epic and undefined nautical theme, brought to life through exquisite Modern Classical composition and hand-painted cover artwork from the artist themselves.

The Fleet is out today and there are a few copies left at the time of writing. Whitelabrecs low-run releases are likely to sell out fast. The best way to keep informed is to join our mailing list which can be located through our website menu or you can click HERE

press release
“In summer 2020 we released Adrian Lane’s Home Diaries album ‘Indigo and Salt Peter’ and we’re now pleased to welcome him back with a new album. Adrian, from Southend-on-Sea, UK has also released music with Preserved Sound and Hibernate. His sound has been honed over many years, taking influences in from modern contemporaries such as Jóhann Jóhannsson, Philip Glass, Erik Satie and Max Richter.

Compositions begin at his home studio, using a variety of real instruments alongside virtual instruments, blended with the intention that the listener will be unable to discern which are which. For this new album ‘The Fleet’, Adrian wrote the initial compositions with a strings section as a starting point, to be the intended focal point of the album. The pieces were developed with acoustic instruments such as bowed acoustic guitar, piano, violin and bowed psaltery and variety added in the form of piano and subtle organic synths. The music was built as a collage, with layers and components arranged piece by piece. Once completed, the final presentation was cemented with the help expertise of friend and mixing engineer John Hannon, who sadly passed away recently.

Whilst this album was created as a means of escapism during lockdown rather than with an exact theme in mind, The Fleet plays out as a soundtrack experience to a film that was never written. Adrian’s walks to the sea front inevitably drew in the salty air and cloudy skies, as a nautical theme of maritime drama unfolds throughout. This melancholy epic is full of cinematic detail, telling tales of discovery, open seas, romance, tragedy, and indeed, whatever else you the listener might concoct.

The Fleet is compete, with the cover artwork and inner sleeve texture having been painted by Adrian inside his home art studio.“

credits
Written and produced by Adrian Lane
Mixed by John Hannon
Mastered by James Edward Armstrong
Artwork by Adrian Lane
Design by Andrew Heath

August Pre-orders: Adrian Lane and Glåsbird

Today we have two new albums available to pre-order, especially for Bandcamp Friday. They are from artists who have both released in our catalog before, with Adrian Lane following up his Home Diaries edition ‘Indigo and Salt Peter’, and Glåsbird providing the next instalment of their Sonic Expedition series.

Both of these vinyl effect CDrs are available in a limited run of 100 copies and more information about each album can be gleaned below. The packaging images above are mock examples, as we await the delivery of these items and so it should be pointed out that the CD colour is going to be different (Adrian Lane Gold, Glåsbird White). The albums will both release officially on Saturday the 28th of August.

What is Bandcamp Friday?
For those unaware, this initiative was set-up by Bandcamp as a way to support artists, musicians and labels throughout the pandemic. Once a month they were waiving their commission charged to platform users. Recently these have been more infrequent but Bandcamp are still committed to providing support and so August the 6th has been a date in the diary for some time.

Adrian Lane – The Fleet

“The Fleet is a Modern Classical album that is equally steeped in drama and melancholy, with soaring strings, pensive piano and subtle soft synths. Composer Adrian Lane lives by the sea and the coastal air gave rise to an unexpected nautical theme, which is brought together by the artwork, which he hand-painted in his studio.”

whitelabrecs.bandcamp.com/album/the-fleet

Glåsbird – Siberia

“Siberia is the 5th edition of anonymous artist Glåsbird’s Sonic Expedition series, soundtracking imaginary films from different geographic locations. This album spans over two discs, with the first one focusing on the beauty of this huge region and disc two provoking thoughts about climate change.”

whitelabrecs.bandcamp.com/album/siberia

Coming soon… Adrian Lane – The Fleet

We have two new physical editions lined up for pre-order on the 6th of August, just in time for Bandcamp Friday.

Firstly, we have ‘The Fleet‘ by Adrian Lane, which will be available in our usual low run of 100 gatefold vinyl-effect CDrs, with its epic and undefined nautical theme brought to life through exquisite Modern Classical composition and hand-painted cover artwork from the artist themselves.

The Fleet will be released for pre-order on Friday the 6th of August. If you join our mailing list using the link below, we’ll make sure you’re the first to hear.