We have another compilation album of sorts lined-up to begin this new year. This one is a concept album called A Speechless Bodyan idea originally conceived by Argentinian artist Mi Cosa de Resistance who then invited Andrew Heath, Ciro Berenguer, Hymns57 and Pepo Galan to create 2 tracks each, relating back to the previous track. The idea is that the album plays as a series of ‘chapters’, as if it were a book and this compilation album will be available for pre-order on Friday the 7th of January.
‘A Speechless Body‘ will be available in one of our typically low runs of 100 gatefold vinyl-effect CDrs, complete with art and design by Andrew Heath.
It will be released officially on Saturday the 15th of January. If you join our mailing listusing the link below, we’ll make sure you’re the first to hear.
press release “Take five ambient composers from around the world. Ask them to create two pieces or chapters each which in turn relate, just as in a book, to the previous chapter but all constructed in two halves as a palindrome and you have an amazing and intriguing ambient work – A Speechless Body.
Originally conceived by the Argentinian experimental musician, Mi Cosa de Resistance, it quickly grew to include Ciro Berenguer, Pepo Galán, Hymns 57 and Andrew Heath and became an incredible journey from one place to another and then back again, taking in some beautiful ambient scenes along the way.
Diverse? Yes but delightfully so and it’s testament to these artist’s wonderful craft that everything works seamlessly. It guides you along this stunning ambient journey and is finally set into its own cohesive world by the mastering skills of James Edward Armstrong who frames the work perfectly. The stories and narrative within these ‘chapters’ is told through track titles, sound and the album artwork only. The rest, is to your own imagination.“
credits Written and produced by Mi Cosa de Resistance, Andrew Heath, Ciro Berenguer, Hymns 57, Pepo Galán Mastered by James Edward Armstrong Art and design by Andrew Heath
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 Mosconiand 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 listusing the link below, 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
Our final release of a busy 2021 will be available for pre-order on Friday the 3rd of December, a special double albumfrom UK artists Darkroom. We have been planning this one for quite a while now and during the height of the pandemic, Andrew Ostlerand Michael Bearpark, the duo behind this project, created the 29th edition of our Home Diariesseries.
‘The Last Sense To Fade‘ will be available in one of our typically low runs of 100 gatefold vinyl-effect CDrs, complete with art and design by Andrew Heath.
It will be released officially on Saturday the 11th of December. If you join our mailing listusing the link below, we’ll make sure you’re the first to hear.
press release “Darkroom is a duo, each hailing from a UK capital city, with Andrew Ostler based in Edinburgh and Michael Bearpark from London. They have been active since the late nineties with music released through labels such as 3rd Stone, Champion Version and Burning Shed as well as their own Bandcamp. Their evolving live performances have been a particular feature for Darkroom, and much of their studio work begins with live performances. Those live performances had to cease in 2020 as a result of the pandemic and this prompted them to join our Home Diaries, in which they provided the penultimate edition of the series.
We had been in discussion with Darkroom prior to this point for some time, with the intention to release an album of their work and this also had to be paused as a result of the pandemic. This period of time provided an opportunity for all of us to reflect and prepare for something special, against a backdrop of uncertainty and disappointment. It is therefore fitting that this double album includes guitar extracts from the last live Darkroom duo performance to date, re-set into a new context in which remote performance and distant communication became not just workarounds but offer new ways of working for the future. Further live takes have been repurposed or adapted, alongside guest musicians and new material. The old and the new burn together alongside one another, like memories.
The seed for this album was Billy Connolly’s ‘Made In Scotland’ documentary, and these are the thoughts he shared about his neurodegenerative illness:
“My life is slipping away. But it doesn’t frighten me. It’s as if I’m being prepared for something, some other adventure, which is over the hill. I’ve got all this stuff to lose first, and then I’ll be at the shadowy side of the hill doing the next step or summat in the spirit world.”
After watching this deeply affecting meditation, Mike created the extended guitar improvisation that initiated this album. As part of a performance by Andrew, this became ‘The Shadowy Side Of The Hill’ as the first album piece completed. Additional guitars were recorded by Jon Durant when he visited the UK and by Bill Walker remotely from Santa Cruz in California. By chance, the album’s title was identified; it’s left deliberately ambiguous as to whether ‘The Last Sense To Fade’ is about dying, or sleeping. By late 2019, the first of what became two discs had been completed and the mood felt dark, both in the recordings themselves and the world around.
A balancing light slowly emerged as Darkroom began to explore their ideas for the second disc. A key part of concluding this double album was coming to terms with the loss of deep connections, and of damage catching up after a long time – when, for a time, it became difficult to think at all, compounded by pandemic lockdown restrictions. The decisive creative moment came in realising that the album was somehow about all of this, such that completing it took on a new and urgent significance. The closing thoughts of Connolly’s documentary seemed an apt spearhead with which to move on:
“You can volunteer to take life seriously, but it’s going to get you. You know they’re going to win over you. It’s harsh. You can either break down and complain about how miserable your life is, or have a go at it and survive. I think that’s the basis of it all.”
‘The Last Sense To Fade’ in its completed form is more positive than almost anything Darkroom has ever recorded. It is very much of its time, and a reaction to it, while also managing to stand outside of being defined by any particular time. The cover photography was taken less than two years before the album’s release and the world looked so different. Now, in retrospect, this image captures something of that difference; of foundations about to give way. The warm and beautiful evening light anticipates the next day’s sunrise, but also suggests destruction, both personal and global; a familiar landscape being transformed before our eyes. This album came from a new determination that it’s nevertheless worth creating in response to this, that loss is an open door but also an invitation, and that there will be new ways of seeing the world even if they won’t last forever.”
credits Recorded by Andrew Ostler Additional guitars recorded by Michael Bearpark and Bill Walker Edited, mixed, and produced by Darkroom Mastered by James Edward Armstrong
Music: Andrew Ostler – bass clarinet, tenor saxophone, modular synths, laptop Michael Bearpark – guitar, field recordings Jon Durant – fretless guitar Bill Walker – slide guitar
Cover photograph – Michael Bearpark 51°36’56.8″N 0°17’11.7″E Photo restoration – Arber Darkroom portrait – Rob Blackham Art and Design – Andrew Heath
Special thanks: Elif, Jon, Bill, Kamil Kowalczyk (Soundscapism), Ian Faragher (Sonic Imperfections, Telegraph Hill), Anil Prasad, Arber / Curated Doom, Rob, Mike Whitfield, Billy Connolly, Neil the Professor, Looper’s Delight, H&K Red Box, SG8’s Jubilee Wood and Long Barrow, EB / JB / ZB. And dearest LB: after ten thousand days, we lost our way… this is dedicated to what we could share, before our damage caught up.
whitelabrecs.com 