Tag: Ambient music

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…Ennio’s Muse

Ennio’s muse: Cinematic Sounds of Sea and Sardinia

Today, the 4th of January 2021 marks exactly 100 years since D.H Lawrence set out with his wife Freida to travel through Sardinia. He captured the thoughts, sights and events of his journey in the book Sea and Sardinia and now, a century later, a return exploration of the locations in the book is planned.

Daniele Marzeddu and his team plan to retrace Lawrence’s steps this year and will capture their experiences through photography and a documentary film. The music to accompany the film will be composed by Whitelabrecs’ very own Glåsbird and so we’re keen to help with the fund raising efforts required realise this exciting project. Click the button below to find out more:

https://seaandsardinia.org/

We are pleased to announce that as a precursor to the film and Glåsbird soundtrack, we are curating a compilation album called Ennio’s Muse. The album will feature artists from our roster, some we plan to work with later this year and friends of the label. It will be digital only and all money raised will be donated to the Return to Sea and Sardinia team for a period of 12 months. We’ll announce more news soon, including a preview of some of the tracks and confirmation of the release date.

The compilation draws influence from film scores and modern composition, inspired by the late Maestro, Ennio Morricone as well as glistening or atmospheric Ambient sounds. The cover artwork was taken by Daniele Marzeddu; a pedalo just out to shore under the starry Mediterranean sky. Early contributions to the compilation include work by artists such as Logic Moon, Autistici, Lauge, Glåsbird and Adrian Lane. More names will join soon and we’re actively looking for submissions; if artists wish to get in touch, please visit our contact page.

In the meantime, there is a Go Fund Me page if you wish to support the project directly and there are some extra opportunities listed below, depending on the amount you choose. You can click on the link button below to find out more and any support you can give is greatly appreciated:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/return-to-sea-and-sardinia

  • £20.00 / €25 gives you a funders credit on the travel guide/photo book. (includes a copy or the limited edition of the book)
  • £50.00 / €60 gives you a funders credit on the Return to Sea and Sardinia. (includes a limited edition of the film
  • £125.00 / €140 gives you a funders credit on both the Return to Sea and Sardinia film and photo book. (includes both a limited edition of the film and copy of the book)
  • £400.00 / €430 gives you a 4-day photography tuition class aboard the train routes Lawrence used while travelling in Sardinia (the Trenino Verde).

Supporters of the project will be given an opportunity to have themselves credited on the book and/or film produced as record.

Compilation album Press Release

Ennio’s Muse is a digital compilation album, released by British record label Whitelabrecs, as a means to generate funds and interest into an ambitious project called Return to Sea and Sardinia. 2021 marks 100 years since D.H Lawrence’s travel book Sea and Sardinia, in which he documents his travels from Sicily, through the Mediterranean Sea and up through Sardinia, before returning to his Sicilian home.

In Return to Sea and Sardinia, photographer and film maker Daniele Marzeddu plans to retrace Lawrence’s steps, a full century on since the original voyage. The journey will be captured through photography and a documentary film, which will be scored by Glåsbird. This ambitious plan is currently underway as we work together to hopefully obtain the funding needed to realise it.

Whitelabrecs have decided to curate a digital compilation, in which all proceeds will be donated to Return to Sea and Sardinia for a period of 12 months. The album is themed on cinematic scoring, inspired by the late great Ennio Morricone and throwing forward the themes of Mediterranean travel that lie ahead. The artists invited have been asked to produce a piece of music, as if they are scoring for an imaginary film. The result is a series of dream-infused pieces, in which you can expect modern classical composition and ambient moods, all draped under a clear-night-sky canopy of stars. The artists each pull in their own direction but collectively, Ennio’s Muse is bound as a cohesive whole.

End of 2020 Sale – 30% Off

On Friday for Bandcamp day, we announced our winter sale for the month of December and into January before we begin our schedule for 2021. This year’s sale double’s the amount off from last year; a massive 30%!

The reason we’ve gone over the top this year is by way of thanks for all the support we received to keep us going in a tough year, but also, because our storage cupboard is overflowing with unloved CDs!

So until midnight on the 14th of January 2021, you can enjoy an extra 30% off all of our catalog, both physical and digital.

Simply enter the following code into the discount box provided when you check out to access the 30% reduction on all items:

CODE: extra30
LINK: https://whitelabrecs.bandcamp.com/merch

If you’re new to the label and not sure where to begin, please see a few select items from our 2020 catalog that are low on stock. These might be a good place to start if you want to check out our catalog – simply take a look below and hit ‘play’ on the embedded mini players. You can then click the player or image to be transported to the release page.

Various Artists “Home Diaries”
April-June| Digital Only

A feature to pretty much everyone’s 2020 has been the outbreak of Covid-19, it goes without saying. In March we had to stop all of our planned CDr releases, due to the closure of our local post-office. With nothing to release and bills to pay, we launched the Home Diaries series, in which 30 artists contributed an EP or album which we sold digitally. Each record in the series featured a recurring image of a lonely house in a field, with varying colour filters and there’s a bonus PDF interview with the artist included with each one.
This details what the artist’s situation was during lockdown or social distancing conditions, as well as their plans and what equipment they used to create their work.

You can check out a landing page below, which summarises each release in this series. We’ll be releasing a double compilation album in January next year, featuring a track from each album, so watch this space!

https://mailchi.mp/971a27fff884/homediaries

Glåsbird “Novaya Zemlya”
September | 15 copies left

Now having landed at 4 different geographical locations, Glåsbird’s most recent edition to this series is a trip to the isolated and sparsely populated island Novaya Zemlya. This destination is two islands split in two by the Matochkin Strait. The northern island is pretty much all glacier whereas the southern island is currently inhabited by just over 2000 people and was also the site of the largest ever nuclear bomb test, the Tsar Bomba. Glåsbird uses icy static, strings and hints of brass to weave some of their most dramatic compositions yet.

thme “that’s what it will be like”
September | 30 copies left

Something which may have escaped the radar, this tonal, textured Ambient record by Parisian artist thme has been enjoyed by those who have checked it out with some nice feedback being received. Field recordings, samples and damaged piano keys drape over this idyllic but surreal soundtrack, with collage artwork provided by artist Arctic Sun.

Polaroid Notes “Ghost Sounds”
November | 10 copies left

These have literally been flying out the door since we released this latest album by Polaroid Notes last month. Although not intended to necessarily be festive, this record feels apt for this kind of year as we’re in winter holiday season, or at least over here in Europe anyway. Polaroid Notes used piano and synth to create deep and cinematic soundscapes, with some spooky undertones. The cover artwork is particularly striking we think, with the artist providing photography from the Black Mountain region of Southern Germany across the four panels of this package.

Mikael Lind “Give Shape To Space”
July | 10 copies left

We were thrilled to be working on the release of this album by Iceland’s Mikael Lind, an artist whose work featured right at the top of our favourite albums of 2019. Unfortunately we had to delay the release of ‘Give Shape To Space’ and we’re thankful Mikael stayed patient with us. This record features a generous selection of strings, synth and textural sounds along with artwork by his partner, Sigga Björg

Jens Pauly “Below”
June| 21 Copies Remaining

In June, we were delighted to get going again with our CDr releases. First on the list was the return of Jens Pauly, who had contributed ‘Vihne’ to our catalog last year. As with his last release, Jens completed the full packaging creation himself and put together a combination of black and white photography with sleek, minimal design. The music is a further selection of electro-acoustic manipulations, carefully blended with filigree detail.