Tag: Drone

Out Now! Tropic of Coldness – Human Kindness

Completing the line-up for these two last-gasp October editions, we welcome Brussels-based duo Tropic of Coldness. The artists, David and Giovanni have released with labels such as Cathedral Transmissions, Organic Industries, Shimmering Moods, Glacial Movements and Krysalisound. Their album ‘Human Kindness‘ will be out this Saturday the 31st of October and features improvised guitar drones tread the finest lines: between hope and despair, fragility and strength.

This limited edition CDr edition makes use of photography provided by the artists, a strikingly blue macro water scene with bold, modern typography and complete with a minimal white vinyl-effect disc.

Our 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 or you can click HERE

press release
“Tropic of Coldness is an Italian-US duo both based in Brussels, Belgium. David Gutman and Giovanni La Placa have been recording together since 2011 and have released through labels such as Cathedral Transmissions, Organic Industries, Shimmering Moods, Glacial Movements and Krysalisound. Their live performances have taken them across the Belgian cities as well as London, Paris, Berlin, Vienna, Frankfurt, and a couple of venues in The Netherlands.

Their new album ‘Human Kindness’ has been inspired by the current social and political framework, in particular the rise and mainstreaming of far-right political movements with their disheartening racism, authoritarianism, intolerance, bigotry and science-denialism, just to name a few of their contributions to the regression of mankind.

It is also dedicated to all the people who, everywhere in the world, are trying to peacefully resist and oppose the deterioration of our societies by being kind, empathic and helpful towards their fellow human beings.

In this sense, each song title is the outcome of a reflection on one of the above mentioned issues or has been inspired by a particular event. The sounds are slow and evolving as a long process of fully improvised guitar patterns are finely tuned into cathartic drones.

These pieces are landscapes that tread the finest lines: between hope and despair, fragility and strength. In between these lines are each one of us and the choices we make.“

credits
Recorded and mixed in Brussels by Tropic of Coldness between September 2018 and December 2019.
Mastered by Alessandro Rorato in December 2019.
Artwork by Tropic of Coldness
Packaging design by Harry Towell

Out Now! Glacis & Gavin Miller – Nothing Hurts Forever

We’re just about to head into the penultimate month of a crazy 2020 and we will do so, with our penultimate batch of two releases. First up, due out this Saturday the 31st of October is a collaboration between British artists Glacis and Gavin Miller. ‘Nothing Hurts Forever‘ was originally planned for the early part of this year before we halted our catalog and somehow, summer didn’t feel the right time to release this. The tail-end of October on the other hand is perfect… expect raw and honest piano accounts from a family home, joined by textured strings, licks of guitar and the occasional drone.

This limited edition CDr edition makes use of photography by Ali Safavi against a minimal white border, with dark green inner panels with contrasting text and a beautiful gold vinyl-effect disc.

Our 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 or you can join our mailing list by clicking HERE.

 

press release
“Glacis is Euan Millar-McMeeken, originally from Dundee but currently residing in London after a recent move South. Gavin Miller is an artist from Bradford, a city tucked away in the shadow of Leeds and he also records as Worriedaboutsatan. This British duo have released solo records through labels such as Lost Tribe Sound, Sound In Silence, Fluid Audio, Facture and Shimmering Moods to name but a few and in ‘Nothing Hurts Forever’ they have undertaken an exercise of collaboration, to sensitively compliment one another’s sound.

The result is a raw and intimate set of ten pieces for piano, strings, guitar and drone, which stop just short of what you might call modern classical music. Euan’s piano compositions retain an authentic character which deliberately documents the original recording environment, as marks are left on this album by creaking chairs, scraping floors and a family environment. Gavin’s strings and guitar adornments add a richness to these, emphasising texture and heightening a melancholic mood.

‘Nothing Hurts Forever’ is free from a clear concept, as Euan wrestled with homesickness having moved to England and was looking for a creative outlet in which to channel his feelings, or perhaps escape them. He was struck one day whilst listening to Frightened Rabbit, whose lead singer Scott Hutchinson had passed away in 2018. He recalled words that were said back then: ‘nothing hurts forever’. He remembered thinking at the time of Scott’s death that this wasn’t always true, as some things do in fact hurt forever. Perhaps this statement is more useful, to provide reassurance during a period of discomfort or unease. Adapting to changes, such as moving home or changing jobs for example. For bigger things, perhaps the hurt can lessen or fade over time or perhaps it never truly goes. From this point, the record felt like a follow-on to the previous Glacis album ‘The World Is A Little Lonelier Without You’, a tribute to his father.

With the adaptation and sensitive expansion of Euan’s piano environments, Gavin has retained all of the personal character which is so important to his peer. Yet the stories are given an extra dimension and something so personal becoming a collaboration opens this out to be a space for our own interpretation as the moods and track titles provide food for thought.“

credits
Written and produced by Euan Millar-McMeeken
Mastered by Gavin Miller
Photography by Ali Safavi
Packaging Design by Harry Towell

Coming soon…Tropic of Coldness – Human Kindness

Completing the line-up for these two last-gasp October editions, we welcome Brussels-based duo Tropic of Coldness. The artists, David and Giovanni have released with labels such as Cathedral Transmissions, Organic Industries, Shimmering Moods, Glacial Movements and Krysalisound. Their album ‘Human Kindness‘ will be out this Saturday the 31st of October and features improvised guitar drones tread the finest lines: between hope and despair, fragility and strength.

This limited edition CDr edition makes use of photography provided by the artists, a strikingly blue macro water scene with bold, modern typography and complete with a minimal white vinyl-effect disc.

The album will be released on Saturday the 31st of October with no pre-order. If you join our mailing list using the link below, we’ll make sure you’re the first to hear.

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
“Tropic of Coldness is an Italian-US duo both based in Brussels, Belgium. David Gutman and Giovanni La Placa have been recording together since 2011 and have released through labels such as Cathedral Transmissions, Organic Industries, Shimmering Moods, Glacial Movements and Krysalisound. Their live performances have taken them across the Belgian cities as well as London, Paris, Berlin, Vienna, Frankfurt, and a couple of venues in The Netherlands.

Their new album ‘Human Kindness’ has been inspired by the current social and political framework, in particular the rise and mainstreaming of far-right political movements with their disheartening racism, authoritarianism, intolerance, bigotry and science-denialism, just to name a few of their contributions to the regression of mankind.

It is also dedicated to all the people who, everywhere in the world, are trying to peacefully resist and oppose the deterioration of our societies by being kind, empathic and helpful towards their fellow human beings.

In this sense, each song title is the outcome of a reflection on one of the above mentioned issues or has been inspired by a particular event. The sounds are slow and evolving as a long process of fully improvised guitar patterns are finely tuned into cathartic drones.

These pieces are landscapes that tread the finest lines: between hope and despair, fragility and strength. In between these lines are each one of us and the choices we make.“

credits
Recorded and mixed in Brussels by Tropic of Coldness between September 2018 and December 2019.
Mastered by Alessandro Rorato in December 2019.
Artwork by Tropic of Coldness
Packaging design by Harry Towell

Coming soon…Glacis & Gavin Miller – Nothing Hurts Forever

We’re just about to head into the penultimate month of a crazy 2020 and we will do so, with our penultimate batch of two releases. First up, due out this Saturday the 31st of October is a collaboration between British artists Glacis and Gavin Miller. ‘Nothing Hurts Forever‘ was originally planned for the early part of this year before we halted our catalog and somehow, summer didn’t feel the right time to release this. The tail-end of October on the other hand is perfect… expect raw and honest piano accounts from a family home, joined by textured strings, licks of guitar and the occasional drone.

This limited edition CDr edition makes use of photography by Ali Safavi against a minimal white border, with dark green inner panels with contrasting text and a beautiful gold vinyl-effect disc.

The album will be released on Saturday the 31st of October with no pre-order. If you join our mailing list using the link below, we’ll make sure you’re the first to hear.

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
“Glacis is Euan Millar-McMeeken, originally from Dundee but currently residing in London after a recent move South. Gavin Miller is an artist from Bradford, a city tucked away in the shadow of Leeds and he also records as Worriedaboutsatan. This British duo have released solo records through labels such as Lost Tribe Sound, Sound In Silence, Fluid Audio, Facture and Shimmering Moods to name but a few and in ‘Nothing Hurts Forever’ they have undertaken an exercise of collaboration, to sensitively compliment one another’s sound.

The result is a raw and intimate set of ten pieces for piano, strings, guitar and drone, which stop just short of what you might call modern classical music. Euan’s piano compositions retain an authentic character which deliberately documents the original recording environment, as marks are left on this album by creaking chairs, scraping floors and a family environment. Gavin’s strings and guitar adornments add a richness to these, emphasising texture and heightening a melancholic mood.

‘Nothing Hurts Forever’ is free from a clear concept, as Euan wrestled with homesickness having moved to England and was looking for a creative outlet in which to channel his feelings, or perhaps escape them. He was struck one day whilst listening to Frightened Rabbit, whose lead singer Scott Hutchinson had passed away in 2018. He recalled words that were said back then: ‘nothing hurts forever’. He remembered thinking at the time of Scott’s death that this wasn’t always true, as some things do in fact hurt forever. Perhaps this statement is more useful, to provide reassurance during a period of discomfort or unease. Adapting to changes, such as moving home or changing jobs for example. For bigger things, perhaps the hurt can lessen or fade over time or perhaps it never truly goes. From this point, the record felt like a follow-on to the previous Glacis album ‘The World Is A Little Lonelier Without You’, a tribute to his father.

With the adaptation and sensitive expansion of Euan’s piano environments, Gavin has retained all of the personal character which is so important to his peer. Yet the stories are given an extra dimension and something so personal becoming a collaboration opens this out to be a space for our own interpretation as the moods and track titles provide food for thought.“

credits
Written and produced by Euan Millar-McMeeken
Mastered by Gavin Miller
Photography by Ali Safavi
Packaging Design by Harry Towell

Out Now! Glåsbird – Novaya Zemlya

We’re excited to announce the latest Glåsbird, out now! For those not yet familiar, Glåsbird is an anonymous artist who is currently creating a series of albums, each themed as an imaginary soundtrack to a geographical location. The latest far-flung land to receive the spotlight from this artist is Novaya Zemlya and this album sees the artist create some of their most dramatic work, set around this Russian-owned Arctic island.

Our 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 or you can click HERE

press release
“The fictitious tour of far-away lands continues, as anonymous artist Glåsbird follows the scratchy, folk-ambience of Norskfjǫrðr with a return to lonely arctic-island sounds. Novaya Zemlya is a Russian-owned island, stretching from just off the mainland between the Kara and Barents seas, with two islands split by the Matochkin Strait.

The Southern island Yuzhny is the home of a few inhabitants whereas the Northern counterpart Severny is pretty much all glacier. The added complication of sea-ice during Arctic winters have made certain parts of this land very difficult to navigate. There are accounts stretching back to the 16th century when explorer Willem Barentsz died on an expedition and his body is rumoured to have been buried on Severny.
Into more recent times, Novaya Zemlya has been a sensitive military area throughout the cold war as well as a nuclear testing site. In 1961 the world’s most powerful nuclear weapon was detonated, the ‘Tsar Bomba’.

In this album, Glåsbird composes a soundtrack which transcends the years of history, combining themes of explorers and Barentsz’s tragic demise, isolation, climate change and polar bears, underpinned by radio broadcasts to give a slightly unsettling undercurrent, hinting back to the cold war. The track Vanya is named after a code name the Russians had for the Tsar Bomba detonation project and this piece sits at the centre of this album, in some of the most dramatic soundtrack work this artist has made to date.

The cover artwork and bonus images within the CD packaging were taken by photographer Uliana Prokhorova, who visited a few locations on the island. As always, this album uses the sounds, photography and track titles to build an imaginary soundtrack in your mind as you listen and immerse yourself in this latest sonic exploration.”

credits
Written and produced by Glåsbird
Mastered by James Edward Armstrong
Photography by Uliana Prokhorova
Packaging Design by Harry Towell

Out Now! thme – that’s what it will be like

We’re pleased to announce the debut album by Paris, France based artist thme is out today! That’s what it will be like is a daydream soundtrack of slow and blurry guitar and piano drones which will place the listener into an idealistic but melancholic state. The album is accompanied by a retro-futurist collage cover artwork, provided by Arctic Sun.

That’s What It’ll Be Like is available on Whitelabrecs now along with another CD release by Glåsbird, which you can check out by clicking here. If you order both releases there will be no extra shipping costs and we will post them together. Click on the link below to check out this new release:

Our 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 or you can click HERE

https://whitelabrecs.bandcamp.com/album/thats-what-it-will-be-like

 

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press release
“‘That’s what it will be like’ is the debut album from emerging French artist Théo Martin, who records was thme. Théo was originally raised in the Parisians suburbs and now resides inside the city itself. He has lived a life with music at the fore since childhood, with learning guitar progressing to playing in a band for several years, before he started solo music production as part of a student exchange program.

Théo’s sound gravitates towards melancholic atmospheres, slowly evolving drones and time worn textures. Damaged piano pieces and micro/macro sound environments provide a dreamy backdrop for the listener, as a kind of spiritual shelter to travel to and rest.

These tracks were recorded during an intense period of work and Théo considered his studio as a space where time could slow down, to almost grind to a halt. This experience is captured inside these seven recordings, where time stands on end and the mind can wander. The retrofuturistic artwork (by Arctic Sun) which accompanies this album reflects this perfectly, in a surreal but dreamy glimpse of a daydream set in the clouds. That’s what it will be like.”

credits
Written and produced by Théo Martin
Mastered by James Edward Armstrong
Artwork by Arctic Sun
Packaging Design by Harry Towell

Coming soon…Glåsbird – Novaya Zemlya

We’re excited to announce the latest Glåsbird album set for release on Saturday the 26th of September. For those not yet familiar, Glåsbird is an anonymous artist who is currently creating a series of albums, each themed as an imaginary soundtrack to a geographical location. The latest far-flung land to receive the spotlight from this artist is Novaya Zemlya and this album sees the artist create some of their most dramatic work, set around this Russian-owned Arctic island.

The album will be released on Saturday the 26th of September with no pre-order. If you join our mailing list using the link below, we’ll make sure you’re the first to hear.

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
“The fictitious tour of far-away lands continues, as anonymous artist Glåsbird follows the scratchy, folk-ambience of Norskfjǫrðr with a return to lonely arctic-island sounds. Novaya Zemlya is a Russian-owned island, stretching from just off the mainland between the Kara and Barents seas, with two islands split by the Matochkin Strait.

The Southern island Yuzhny is the home of a few inhabitants whereas the Northern counterpart Severny is pretty much all glacier. The added complication of sea-ice during Arctic winters have made certain parts of this land very difficult to navigate. There are accounts stretching back to the 16th century when explorer Willem Barentsz died on an expedition and his body is rumoured to have been buried on Severny.
Into more recent times, Novaya Zemlya has been a sensitive military area throughout the cold war as well as a nuclear testing site. In 1961 the world’s most powerful nuclear weapon was detonated, the ‘Tsar Bomba’.

In this album, Glåsbird composes a soundtrack which transcends the years of history, combining themes of explorers and Barentsz’s tragic demise, isolation, climate change and polar bears, underpinned by radio broadcasts to give a slightly unsettling undercurrent, hinting back to the cold war. The track Vanya is named after a code name the Russians had for the Tsar Bomba detonation project and this piece sits at the centre of this album, in some of the most dramatic soundtrack work this artist has made to date.

The cover artwork and bonus images within the CD packaging were taken by photographer Uliana Prokhorova, who visited a few locations on the island. As always, this album uses the sounds, photography and track titles to build an imaginary soundtrack in your mind as you listen and immerse yourself in this latest sonic exploration.”

credits
Written and produced by Glåsbird
Mastered by James Edward Armstrong
Photography by Uliana Prokhorova
Packaging Design by Harry Towell

Coming soon…thme – that’s what it will be like

We’re pleased to announce thedebut album due out on Saturday the 26th of September by Paris, France based artist thme. That’s what it will be like is a daydream soundtrack of slow and blurry guitar and piano drones which will place the listener into an idealistic but melancholic state. The album is accompanied by a retro-futurist collage cover artwork, provided by Arctic Sun.

The album will be released on Saturday the 26th of September with no pre-order. If you join our mailing list using the link below, we’ll make sure you’re the first to hear.

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
“‘That’s what it will be like’ is the debut album from emerging French artist Théo Martin, who records was thme. Théo was originally raised in the Parisians suburbs and now resides inside the city itself. He has lived a life with music at the fore since childhood, with learning guitar progressing to playing in a band for several years, before he started solo music production as part of a student exchange program.

Théo’s sound gravitates towards melancholic atmospheres, slowly evolving drones and time worn textures. Damaged piano pieces and micro/macro sound environments provide a dreamy backdrop for the listener, as a kind of spiritual shelter to travel to and rest.

These tracks were recorded during an intense period of work and Théo considered his studio as a space where time could slow down, to almost grind to a halt. This experience is captured inside these seven recordings, where time stands on end and the mind can wander. The retrofuturistic artwork (by Arctic Sun) which accompanies this album reflects this perfectly, in a surreal but dreamy glimpse of a daydream set in the clouds. That’s what it will be like.”

credits
Written and produced by Théo Martin
Mastered by James Edward Armstrong
Artwork by Arctic Sun
Packaging Design by Harry Towell