Tag: Anthéne

Out Now! anthéne & simon mccorry – the equation of time

Today we announce the latest new addition to our series, which sees the return of anthéne who has joined forces with cellist and composer Simon McCorry.

‘The Equation Of Time‘ is an album which combines processed guitar and cello, to contemplate the enormity of time. It’s rounded off by the stunning collage artwork of Tom Tebby, who also designed the CD packaging which we’ll be revealing the packaging on release day.

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
“We’re pleased to welcome back Toronto, Canada’s anthéne in the form of this collaborative album with UK cellist and composer Simon McCorry. Between them, they have released solo recordings on labels such as Home Normal, Archives, Past Inside The Present, Naviar and Fallen Moon. They’ve also both released on Polar Seas, a label helmed by Brad Deschamps, the man behind anthéne.

Both artists are comfortable collaborators, having worked alongside the likes of Ian Hawgood, Andrew Tasselmyer and Andrew Heath. It was in 2020 when their remote recording sessions translated into The Equation Of Time, combining and processing Brad’s guitar and Simon’s cello into a collage of droning textures. A concept sprang from their work together, during the unfolding pandemic and its resulting lockdowns, where time itself seemed to stand still, go backwards and go forwards, all at once. Add to this the the sheer geographical distance and time zones separating these artists, the often-explored artistic muse of time and space became the central theme.

The title ‘The Equation Of Time’ relates to the differences between the day of the earliest sun rise, the day of the latest sunset, the longest day. Each of these days are different, noted by the ancient Greeks and the Persians before them. The enormity of time and the ability for humans to occupy the same space as multiple predecessors is particularly fascinating when faced with something ancient, such as a cave painting, a forest or the ruins of a fallen civilisation. The track titles are aptly borrowed from parts of T.S. Eliot’s 4 Quartets, which also deals with the contemplation of time. You can surmise from these poems that ideally, one would focus only on the present, in order to make the most of each turn of the clock; the past cannot be altered and the future is unknown. Our memory can subconsciously serve us back our own recollection of past times, which can result in nostalgia, melancholy or both. Our minds can also influence our perception of the future, with feelings of either fear, excitement or both.

The Equation Of Time grapples at these themes and ideas without the intention of ever truly being able to define time. A wash of faded memories, unknowns and current thoughts stir into one-another; ambient music itself always seems so able to reflect and evoke a sense of wonder, at things far bigger than we can ever comprehend.”

credits
Written and Produced by Brad Deschamps and Simon McCorry
Mastered by Ian Hawgood
Artwork by Tom Tebby
Packaging design by Tom Tebby

Coming soon… anthéne & simon mccorry – the equation of time

Cover

It seems to have been a while since we last released a CD in our catalog so we’re excited to announce this new addition to our series, which sees the return of anthéne who has joined forces with cellist and composer Simon McCorry.

‘The Equation Of Time‘ is an album which combines processed guitar and cello, to contemplate the enormity of time. It’s rounded off by the stunning collage artwork of Tom Tebby, who also designed the CD packaging which we’ll be revealing the packaging on release day.

The Equation Of Time will be released on Saturday the 22nd of May with no pre-order. If you join our mailing list using the link below, we’ll make sure you’re the first to hear.

press release
“We’re pleased to welcome back Toronto, Canada’s anthéne in the form of this collaborative album with UK cellist and composer Simon McCorry. Between them, they have released solo recordings on labels such as Home Normal, Archives, Past Inside The Present, Naviar and Fallen Moon. They’ve also both released on Polar Seas, a label helmed by Brad Deschamps, the man behind anthéne.

Both artists are comfortable collaborators, having worked alongside the likes of Ian Hawgood, Andrew Tasselmyer and Andrew Heath. It was in 2020 when their remote recording sessions translated into The Equation Of Time, combining and processing Brad’s guitar and Simon’s cello into a collage of droning textures. A concept sprang from their work together, during the unfolding pandemic and its resulting lockdowns, where time itself seemed to stand still, go backwards and go forwards, all at once. Add to this the the sheer geographical distance and time zones separating these artists, the often-explored artistic muse of time and space became the central theme.

The title ‘The Equation Of Time’ relates to the differences between the day of the earliest sun rise, the day of the latest sunset, the longest day. Each of these days are different, noted by the ancient Greeks and the Persians before them. The enormity of time and the ability for humans to occupy the same space as multiple predecessors is particularly fascinating when faced with something ancient, such as a cave painting, a forest or the ruins of a fallen civilisation. The track titles are aptly borrowed from parts of T.S. Eliot’s 4 Quartets, which also deals with the contemplation of time. You can surmise from these poems that ideally, one would focus only on the present, in order to make the most of each turn of the clock; the past cannot be altered and the future is unknown. Our memory can subconsciously serve us back our own recollection of past times, which can result in nostalgia, melancholy or both. Our minds can also influence our perception of the future, with feelings of either fear, excitement or both.

The Equation Of Time grapples at these themes and ideas without the intention of ever truly being able to define time. A wash of faded memories, unknowns and current thoughts stir into one-another; ambient music itself always seems so able to reflect and evoke a sense of wonder, at things far bigger than we can ever comprehend.”

credits
Written and Produced by Brad Deschamps and Simon McCorry
Mastered by Ian Hawgood
Artwork by Tom Tebby
Packaging design by Tom Tebby

End of 2019 Winter Sale – 15% Off

2019 is just about finished, with just a few weeks left to run. We have decided not to run any releases in December and draw a bit of breath ahead of what will surely be another exciting year in 2020.

We decided that a good way to close out this landmark year for us, in which we increased our run count of 100 copies of every release, each in a premium gatefold-LP style vinyl-effect CDr packaging, was to run a winter sale!
So until midnight on the 31st of December 2019, you can enjoy an extra 15% off all of our catalog, both physical and digital.

Simply enter the following code into the discount box provided when you check out to enjoy a 15% reduction on all items:

CODE: anextra15
LINK: https://whitelabrecs.bandcamp.com/merch

If you’re in a rush or new to the label and not sure where to start, please see below for a run down of all our releases!

Various Artists “Sleeplaboratory1.0”
January | Sold Out

We kicked off both 2019 and our new Sleeplaboratory compilation series. The album is themed around sleep as we strive to make this series a snoozy, lulling listen. It begins with a piece from Janek Schaefer and includes work by other renowned artists such as Darkroom, Maps and Diagrams, M. Grig and Tropic of Coldness as well as Whitelabrecs favourites such as Sven Laux, Valotihkuu, Anthéne and Ben Rath. It sold out in no time so there are no CDrs left however, you can check it out digitally here:


Glåsbird “Grønland”
February | Sold Out

Our new-look gatefold LP style packaging did so well for our compilation release, that we decided that all of our albums would run in this way for 2019. The first artist in this year’s discography was a debut for Glåsbird and things went a bit nuts! All CDrs were gobbled up in no time and you can’t even locate these on Discogs; you can check it out a digital copy here:

Jens Pauly “Vihne”
March | Sold Out

In March we welcomed aboard Cologne, Germany based artist Jens Pauly with Vihne. The packaging was designed entirely by the artist and the music is a tapestry of electro-acoustics. When we first heard Jens’ sound we knew it was going to be something special and sure enough, it’s sold out at source now. You can listen or purchase a digital copy here:

anthéne “asymmetry”
April | Sold Out

In April Canadian artist Brad Deschamps as anthéne joined aboard with asymmetry, an album which features the photography of Peter Nejedly. The record is a collection of beautiful drones, from an industrious artist who has worked on other labels such as Archives and Home Normal this year. With so much great output this year, it’s easy to see why this one’s sold out. You can stream or purchase a digital copy here:

Ben Rath “Any Given Moment”
April | Available

For the first time in April we decided to run with two albums in a calendar month. We welcomed back British artist Ben Rath who had previously released with us as Slow Heart Music. ‘Any Given Moment’ covers warm, acoustic ground via the use of a guitar and drones. A few copies are still available as well as a digital copy which you can check out here:

Hipnotic Earth “Suspended In Silence”
May | 12 Copies Remaining

In May we moved towards the warmer months with a delicate and beautiful album by Hipnotic Earth, a project by Cosmos Rennert. Suspended In Silence is presented as an electro-acoustic record centred around what appears to be prepared piano sounds, bird song and light synth decorations. The last few copies are available at the time of writing and a digital version too, which you can check out here:

Samsuo “The Other Gold Side”
May | Available

Towards the end of May we released the debut album by Cambridge artist Samsuo. Entitled ‘The Other Gold Side’, this Ambient/Drone record saw us welcome back Peter Nejedly on photography duty and the rotating ceramic dish which features across the four panels suitably reflects the looping, spherical drones created by this artist. There are some copies left at the time of writing as well as a digital version too, which you can check out here:

Sven Laux “ODD”
June | 16 Copies Remaining

After the success of Sven Laux’s ‘Schachmatt’ which we released in 2018, we were delighted to welcome Sven back with his follow-up album, ‘ODD’. Whilst Schachmatt was an album steeped in modern composition, ODD adapted this with a slightly more contemporary electronic feel in places. We’re down to the last 16 copies at the time of writing and you can also stream or download a digital version, which you can check out here:

Old Amica “Taiga”
June | Available

We were excited to welcome aboard Swedish duo Old Amica, who split their discography between folk-tinged post rock and cinematic Ambient. For us, they turned in a beautiful instrumental album featuring piano, guitar and synth and stunning artwork, arranged by the artists’ friend J. M Almqvist. We’ve still got some copies left as it stands and you can also check out their video and a digital version here:

Logic Moon “I See Planets”
July | 12 Copies Remaining

We returned to deep drone with this one by Logic Moon in some of the sleepiest music we’ve released to date. Tobias Lorsbach, the man behind the project created an album with a retro-futuristic theme and we decided to splash out on talented collage artist Thom Easton to provide the artwork. Just a few copies remind and you can check them out, as well as the usual stream/digital versions here:

Spring Quintet “Raven, Raven, Raven”
July | Available

We chopped back to modern classical with this one, with a live performance by Montreal’s Stefan Christoff and several other musicians being handed to Italian sound artist Matteo Uggeri to assist with post production. The result is a playful electro-acoustic piece with several movements across half an hour, complete with artwork by painter Chris Day. Some copies are still around in our shop, which you can buy or stream a digital version here:

Glåsbird “Svalbarð”
August | Sold Out

Somehow after a debut album, Glåsbird manages to follow it up with a second album in a year. The first album was a sonic expedition to Greenland and in August, the trip continued to the Arctic isles of Svalbard. Just like the last one, this album was gobbled up quickly by our listeners and is unavailable physically. You can stream or buy a digital version here, however:

Emanuele Errante “This World”
August | Available

We were really excited to release ‘This World’ by Naples, Italy based artist Emanuele Errante, whose work we’d admired for years. Emanuele teamed up with Peppe Trotta of So What magazine for the cover artwork and also invited guest musicians Bruno Sanfilippo and Max Fuschetto to feature in this magical electro-acoustic recording. Copies are available still at the time of writing or you can stream/buy a digital version here:

xu “embodying formlessness”
September | Available

In a hat-trick of releases by Italian artists for 2019, we welcomed back Nicola Fornasari who had collaborated for the La Petite Vague release which we put out in 2016. This one’s a lovely minimal album of toy ukulele and careful sound design that rewards repeated listening. You can still grab a copy at the moment or stream/buy a digital version here:

Gray Acres “Material Forces”
October | Sold Out

Not due to the talent of the Tasselmyer brothers and a helping hand from Bandcamp’s ‘Best of Ambient’ feature, this album by Gray Acres sold out in a flash. It’s a wonderful collection of tactile drones with far-flung field recordings, mastered by Ian Hawgood. There are no physical versions left but you can stream it or own a digital version here:

Jazzdefector and Slow Clinic “Green Echo”
October | Available

We’re always really pleased to see our artists return with another demo but when two came along at once and as a collaboration, we were particularly excited! ‘Green Echo’ combines moody guitar Ambience by Jazzdefector with the sound design expertise of Slow Clinic across 6 tracks. There are some CDrs left or you may prefer to stream or own a digital version:

Luis Miehlich “Timecuts”
November | Available

Silences by Luis Miehlich was simply one of our favourite records from 2018. So we were delighted when his demo ‘Timecuts’ came in and over time, Luis arranged remixes by the likes of Gallery Six, Erder, SineRider and our very own Glåsbird to complete the package. The album flits between Ambient/Drone, Electro Acoustic and Modern Classical and the remixes carefully compliment the originals as every bit a part of the album experience. Some physical copies are available or if you prefer, you can stream or own a digital version by clicking here:

Jack Hyde “Lowlands”
November | Available

Last but not least, we closed out this busy year with our 18th release, courtesy of Jack Hyde. Lowlands is a debut album from this Edinburgh, UK based artist and it covers Ambient, Dub and Field Recording territory in a careful, fascinating record. We have physical copies available as well as the option to stream or download here:

Out Now! Various Artists – Sleeplaboratory1.0

In our first release of 2019, we’re pleased to be celebrating our 50th release since the label began 3 years ago! Sleeplaboratory1.0 is a concept album compilation in which we invited label artists and friends to create a piece of sleepy music. It’s out now in a run of 100 copies after having been released last weekend to our mailing list. We wanted the compilation to help relax and lull our listener and we’re delighted with the result – we hope you will be too. This one features artwork by our regular collaborator Federica Jeanne de Luca and sound art from a line-up which includes Janek Schaefer, Sven Laux, M. Grig, Maps and Diagrams and Daniela Orvin. The album is presented in a special gatefold-LP style CD, similar to the Paper Relics special edition we did last year. We love this style of packaging and so prepare to see more of this for 2019…

This album was announced to our mailing list last weekend and has done extremely well – we’ve only got 25 copies left! You can listen to the album in full by hitting play above or clicking the link below, where you can purchase a physical or digital version. To avoid missing out on our future releases, you can join our mailing list HERE

https://whitelabrecs.bandcamp.com/album/sleeplaboratory10

press release
Whitelabrecs began in January 2016 and since our first limited edition release three years ago, we’re proud to announce our fiftieth edition in the form of a special compilation album. Previously we’d released ‘Whitelabsounds’, which had no particular theme; a cross section of label artists and friends. This time, our label owner Harry Towell wanted to curate something with a specific theme so that this occasion was marked by a concept album.

‘Sleeplaboratory1.0’ is a sixteen track cross section of modern Ambient artists touching on everything from minimalist drone and modern classical cinematics to electro acoustic and synth influenced works. It is released in a run of 100 physical copies, as we’ve chosen to create a ‘gatefold LP’ styled CD package, complete with beautiful artwork provided over 4 panels by our regular collaborator Federica Jeanne de Luca. The album is also available digitally in a range of formats, carefully mastered by Tim Diagram who also contributes a track as Maps and Diagrams.

This album is intended as a relaxing companion for either conscious or sub-conscious listening, with contributing artists briefed to create something vacant which is likely to induce sleep. Harry selected the artists with the theme in mind and to help them understand his vision, he shared a link to Janek Schaefer’s ‘Lay-by Lullaby’ released on 12k back in 2014. It is an album which has been a huge part of his personal sleep routine, with him playing it at low volume on his iPod in bed ever since it was released so it seemed to be the perfect starting point.

Harry’s motivation behind creating this sleepy album was primarily due to his fascination on the relationship between Ambient music and sleep: Robert Rich, Max Richter and Tanner Menard all performed notable sleep concerts for starters. Harry was particularly honoured when Janek Schaefer agreed to provide the opening track to this accumulation of calming works and it was he that introduced the National Geographic edition at the time which had a large article about the science of sleep and how it sits in modern society.
Additionally, Harry was expecting the arrival of his first child during the production stages of Sleeplaboratory1.0 and he wanted the album to be particularly calming for babies.

We will not make any recommendation on how our listeners might best enjoy this record and so it’s down to you to choose the best environment to listen, whether this be late at night with headphones, on a loud system or perhaps played through Bluetooth speakers in and around your home.

credits
Curated by Harry Towell
Mastered by Tim Diagram
Artwork by Federica Jeanne de Luca

Coming soon…Various Artists – Sleeplaboratory1.0

Happy New Year to anyone who’s reading – we’re all set for 2019 as we plan an exciting schedule! We’re working on plans on a few new ideas but firstly, we’ve some celebrating to do: we’re about to achieve our 50th album release! Sleeplaboratory1.0 is a concept album compilation in which we invited label artists and friends to create a piece of sleepy music. It releases on January 26th 2019 in a run of 100 copies. We wanted the compilation to help relax and lull our listener and we’re delighted with the result – we hope you will be too. This one features artwork by our regular collaborator Federica Jeanne de Luca and sound art from a line-up which includes Janek Schaefer, Sven Laux, M. Grig, Maps and Diagrams and Daniela Orvin. The album is presented in a special gatefold-LP style CD, similar to the Paper Relics special edition we did last year. We love this style of packaging and we’re toying with the idea of making this option a more regular thing…

Whitelabrecs low-run releases will be made available suddenly without official release dates, meaning they’re 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.

press release
Whitelabrecs began in January 2016 and since our first limited edition release three years ago, we’re proud to announce our fiftieth edition in the form of a special compilation album. Previously we’d released ‘Whitelabsounds’, which had no particular theme; a cross section of label artists and friends. This time, our label owner Harry Towell wanted to curate something with a specific theme so that this occasion was marked by a concept album.

‘Sleeplaboratory1.0’ is a sixteen track cross section of modern Ambient artists touching on everything from minimalist drone and modern classical cinematics to electro acoustic and synth influenced works. It is released in a run of 100 physical copies, as we’ve chosen to create a ‘gatefold LP’ styled CD package, complete with beautiful artwork provided over 4 panels by our regular collaborator Federica Jeanne de Luca. The album is also available digitally in a range of formats, carefully mastered by Tim Diagram who also contributes a track as Maps and Diagrams.

This album is intended as a relaxing companion for either conscious or sub-conscious listening, with contributing artists briefed to create something vacant which is likely to induce sleep. Harry selected the artists with the theme in mind and to help them understand his vision, he shared a link to Janek Schaefer’s ‘Lay-by Lullaby’ released on 12k back in 2014. It is an album which has been a huge part of his personal sleep routine, with him playing it at low volume on his iPod in bed ever since it was released so it seemed to be the perfect starting point.

Harry’s motivation behind creating this sleepy album was primarily due to his fascination on the relationship between Ambient music and sleep: Robert Rich, Max Richter and Tanner Menard all performed notable sleep concerts for starters. Harry was particularly honoured when Janek Schaefer agreed to provide the opening track to this accumulation of calming works and it was he that introduced the National Geographic edition at the time which had a large article about the science of sleep and how it sits in modern society.
Additionally, Harry was expecting the arrival of his first child during the production stages of Sleeplaboratory1.0 and he wanted the album to be particularly calming for babies.

We will not make any recommendation on how our listeners might best enjoy this record and so it’s down to you to choose the best environment to listen, whether this be late at night with headphones, on a loud system or perhaps played through Bluetooth speakers in and around your home.

credits
Curated by Harry Towell
Mastered by Tim Diagram
Artwork by Federica Jeanne de Luca

A New Arrival!

On the 25th of September we’re proud to announce the birth of our beautiful baby daughter Isla!

In the run up to the birth, Harry created a relaxing Ambient mix as he and his wife had looked into ‘hypnobirthing‘ during antenatal classes. The mix includes plenty of warm, relaxing material from Whitelabrecs as well as works from the likes of Taylor Deupree, Ghost and Tape and Sven Laux. It was blended using harmonic mixing techniques in Traktor 2 to create a continuous, flowing listening experience.

You can check out the mix by hitting the play button on the Mixcloud player above and float away for half an hour or so.

Tracklist
01 Valotihkuu – Deep Phase [Unreleased]
02 Steve Pacheco – Aspen Grove [Whitelabrecs]
03 The Prairie Lines – Stop Haunting My Door [Whitelabrecs]
04 Jose Silva – Two Feel Studies [Whitelabrecs]
05 Valotihkuu – Sitting On The Grass Under The Stars [Whitelabrecs]
06 Tone Color – Voigt-Kampff [Assembly Field]
07 Anthéne – Surfacing [Unreleased]
08 Taylor Deupree – Unearth [Spekk]
09 Helios – Dreams [Ghostly International]
10 Ghost and Tape – Anemone [Home Normal]
11 Sven Laux – She Was Here [Archives]