Improvisation

Coming soon…Slow Clinic – Discarded Things Once Loved

We’ve another release lined up on Whitelabrecs and this time, we welcome Slow Clinic to the catalog. Discarded Things Once Loved is two longform guitar improvisations; a mixture of texture and beautiful drones. Some of our listeners may recognise Slow Clinic from his releases on Audio Gourmet, Archives or Elm Recordings or perhaps you may have noticed James Armstrong’s name in the credits for mastering on a few Whitelabrecs releases?

You can listen to a preview of the album by using the Soundcloud player below or keep a check on our Facebook or Instagram pages to preview the packaging when we share it.

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
“Slow Clinic is Farnham, UK based artist James Armstrong who also runs the newly formed tape label Rusted Tone Recordings and has works previously released through labels such as Elm Recordings, ARCHIVES, Cruel Nature Recordings and Audio Gourmet. The Slow Clinic sound varies depending on the reason it is being created but typically, James starts by building layers of guitar swells pushed through an endless feedback delay pedal and then into a large reverb pedal. He will then usually improvise loops until something develops, incorporating unconventional techniques along the way such as using violin bows, hand percussion and found objects as a way of conjuring unusual sounds and textures.

‘Discarded Things Once Loved’ was originally created as part one of a two movement composition for a dance production choreographed by Vania Gala at the University of Northampton. Initially, James began making textural recordings by playing various hand percussion instruments and non-musical objects against muted strings. Things like rattles, shakers and hand drums were used to bring out the non-standard qualities of the electric guitar. He added some more conventional drones by sending swells through the usual delay and reverb combination so that it retains some of the characteristics of my previous releases. Everything was improvised and none of the sounds recorded were planned and James would like listeners to treat the album as an opportunity for discovery, to allow the longform recordings time and space to evolve.

All of the items that were used to play the guitar were gifts from an ex-partner and their family. As much as James was trying to avoid thinking about that period of time, there was no escaping it when the items were physically in his hands. From here the title ‘Discarded Things Once Loved’ emerged as the instruments had been hidden away gathering dust for quite some time. James also strived to see what sort of sounds could be created as a result of playing the guitar in such a way that the majority of his control and intention was removed from what came out of the instrument.”

credits
Catalog number WLR036
Written and produced by James Armstrong
Mastered by Alexander Roberts
Photography by Penny Day
Artwork by Harry Towell

Coming soon…Floor Overhead – Uses For Pavement

We’re keen to release more of the exciting collection of albums we have lined up for the summer months and next up our artist roster heads across the pond to Brooklyn, NYC, USA. Floor Overhead is a project by Andrew Farwell and Uses For Pavement is his debut album after a couple of self-released works. This one sees us return to our Ambient roots after a couple of more experimental/musical releases as Andrew’s Guitar drones will recall work by artists such as Tsone, Darren Harper or Field Rotation. You can listen to a preview of the album by using the Soundcloud player below or keep a check on our Facebook page to preview the packaging when we share it.

press release
“Floor Overhead is Brooklyn, USA based artist Andrew Farwell who some may recognise from our recent compilation album ‘Whitelabsounds’. His previous output has seen a few self-released projects on Bandcamp and we’re now pleased to be able to present the debut album ‘Uses For Pavement’

Andrew has been playing guitar since the age of 12 and eventually migrated to making electronic and ambient music on computers some years later. His current approach to sound uses guitar recordings deconstructed and processed with inspiration drawn from industry heavyweights such as Steve Reich, Kevin Drumm, William Basinski and Fennesz.

Uses For Pavement is the product of quiet, happy accidents from guitar recordings that have been gently brushed over with some production to create a collage focused on spacing and permanence.
The album is an attempt to refuse the temptation to alter accident-prone inputs and superimpose the ‘shoulds’ of creation. Like thoughts, inputs are inherently unchangeable while our reaction to those inputs is negotiable. The result of this album is a heavy but structure-less space that serves as a shelter for otherwise lost ideas.”

Catalog number WLR023
Written and produced by Andrew Farwell
Mastered by Tim Diagram
Artwork by John Robert Clark Moore (http://johnrcm.com/)

Out now! WLR022 Covarino/Incorvaia – Granada

After the excitement of releasing our very first compilation which has all but sold out, we’re now keen to press on with the demos we have lined up as the summer months approach. Fittingly, we are pleased to present a live album by Francesco Covarino and Alessandro Incorvaia (Covarino/Incorvaia) entitled Granada which is full of warmth. The cover artwork features Granada’s signature cactus, the prickly pear and provides a focal point to this concept-free set of improvisations for guitar and drums. Granada draws on influences of Post Rock, Ambient and Free Jazz and should appeal to fans of Mogwai, Dirty Three or Godspeed You Black Emperor. It’s available now on Whitelabrecs in a very low run of just 50 CDrs.

At time of writing, copies are still available – to find out more or grab a copy, you can click the link below or on the image above to listen. To avoid missing out on future releases, you can join our mailing list HERE

press release
“Covarino/Incorvaia are musicians Francesco Covarino (drums) and Alessandro Incorvaia (guitar), originally from Perugia in central Italy. Their debut release emerged last year on UK imprint Preserved Sound and was named after the artists’ hometown.
Both artists currently reside in countries further afield now with Alessandro based in London, UK and Francesco in Granada, Spain. So their follow-up album is named after the latter as they focused on a live and more improvised set as a duo, without the additional musicians included in ‘Perugia’.

Both artists grew up together and were in a band in the late nineties before it disbanded. It wasn’t until 2015 until Francesco and Alessandro re-united to work together musically as they set about recording over several sessions during the Christmas holidays. Their musical influences of Post Rock, Indie, Free Jazz and Ambient collide and spiral fluidly into the material that can be heard within ‘Granada’.
Over the course of six unedited live tracks, percussion and warm guitar meld together beautifully in one afternoon session, best enjoyed in daylight when there is at least a glimmer of sunshine. The cover artwork was fittingly taken in Granada, of a Prickly Pear Cactus plant on a clear-sky day.

The album is simply named after the location it was recorded and since it was spontaneous, the tracks do not have specific titles as the artists wish to leave the album as free from a concept as possible. It was felt that to add some fabric or stories to their work post-production would devalue the fact that this record was made off the cuff.”

Catalog number WLR021
Francesco Covarino: Drums, Classical guitar on #6
Alessandro Incorvaia: GuitarRecorded in Granada, may 1st, 2016, at Sonobalance by Marcos Muniz
Mixed by Marcos Muniz at Love Thy Neighbour Labs
Mastered at KadiforniaCover photo by Francesco Covarino

Coming soon…Covarino/Incorvaia – Granada

After the excitement of releasing our very first compilation which has all but sold out, we’re now keen to press on with the demos we have lined up as the summer months approach. Fittingly, we are pleased to present a live album by Francesco Covarino and Alessandro Incorvaia (Covarino/Incorvaia) entitled Granada which is full of warmth. The cover artwork features Granada’s signature cactus, the prickly pear and provides a focal point to this concept-free set of improvisations for guitar and drums. Granada draws on influences of Post Rock, Ambient and Free Jazz and should appeal to fans of Mogwai, Dirty Three or Godspeed You Black Emperor. You can listen to a preview of the album by using the Soundcloud player below or keep a check on our Facebook page to preview the packaging when we share it.

Catalog number WLR021
Francesco Covarino: Drums, Classical guitar on #6
Alessandro Incorvaia: Guitar

Recorded in Granada, may 1st, 2016, at Sonobalance by Marcos Muniz
Mixed by Marcos Muniz at Love Thy Neighbour Labs
Mastered at Kadifornia

Cover photo by Francesco Covarino

Out Now! WLR013 Jazzdefector – Solo

We recently posted up a preview of our next release which is by Leicester, UK based guitarist Sebastian Buccheri, under his Jazzdefector guise. In ‘Solo’ we have a short album of late night reverb-drenched guitar improvisations that will appeal to fans of Robin Guthrie, Loren Connors or Harold Budd. It’s available now on Whitelabrecs in a very low run of just 50 CDrs.

We released the album to our mailing-list subscribers last weekend and many copies have sold already. At time of writing there are some left – to find out more or to secure your copy, you can click the link below or on the image above to listen. To avoid missing out on future releases, you can join our mailing list HERE

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

press release
“Jazzdefector is a Leicestershire based guitarist called Sebastian Buccheri. Sebastian’s most recent work includes an album for Cathedral Transmissions, an EP on our sister label Audio Gourmet and he’s also had a record out on Assembly Field.
His sound is typically reverb-drenched guitar but not necessarily pure drone; instead, Sebastian’s work sees the guitar compositions take centre stage. He has recently begun performing live with artists such as Yellow6 and Cluster and in his album for Whitelabrecs, much of the work is improvised live and fed through a chain of pedals and plugins.

In ‘Solo’, you’ll be struck on the jazzy yet intimate tone of the 12 short pieces which is best enjoyed late at night in solitude. Fripp, Eno and Budd are inevitable influences but Sebastian also enlists Jazz greats Miles Davis and John Coltrane as guitar legend Jimi Hendrix.
He wanted Solo to adopt a loose label of ‘Ambient love songs’, focusing on love as an emotion but without being too specific. This means that individual interpretation can allow it to relate to the listener.“

credits
Catalog number: WLR013
Written and produced by Sebastian Buccheri
Mastered by Tim Diagram
Photography by Milan Očenáš

Coming soon…Jazzdefector | Solo

We’re just about set up in our new HQ and ready to press on with more highly limited releases. Next up we’ve an album of late night reverb-drenched guitar improvisations from Leicester, UK based artist Jazzdefector. Sebastian Buccheri the man behind the project is nothing short of prolific as a glance at his Soundcloud page will prove; we’ve worked with him to select an album of 12 short tracks showcasing his signature style. This one will appeal to fans of Robin Guthrie, Loren Connors or Harold Budd. You can listen to a preview of the album by using the Soundcloud player below or keep a check on our Facebook page to preview the packaging when we share it.

press release
“Jazzdefector is a Leicestershire based guitarist called Sebastian Buccheri. Sebastian’s most recent work includes an album for Cathedral Transmissions, an EP on our sister label Audio Gourmet and he’s also had a record out on Assembly Field.
His sound is typically reverb-drenched guitar but not necessarily pure drone; instead, Sebastian’s work sees the guitar compositions take centre stage. He has recently begun performing live with artists such as Yellow6 and Cluster and in his album for Whitelabrecs, much of the work is improvised live and fed through a chain of pedals and plugins.

Tag: Improvisation