Tag: Orchestral

Out Now! Hoshiko Yamane – Reflections

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Our next release is ‘Reflections‘ by Hoshiko Yamane who is based in Berlin, Germany and who performs violin as part of Tangerine Dream and this record is a special collaboration between Whitelabrecs and 1631 Recordings. This album features Hoshiko’s violin performances, alongside a group of musicians and the album looks back to the period in which it was created, during and shortly after the Covid-19 pandemic. This album will be available officially in a run of 100 CDrs in our signature gatefold vinyl-effect sleeves and in a limited run of vinyl copies, created and supplied by 1631. The CDs have all sold out however, you can still check out the digital version. If you follow us on Bandcamp (Click HERE) we’ll make sure you’re the first to hear.

press release
“Hoshiko Yamane is a Japanese composer who has been based in Berlin, Germany since 2006.
She has released collaborative music with Mikael Lind and Eraldo Bernocchi on Time Released Sound and Denovali respectively, as well as solo material on 1631 Recordings who have facilitated this latest album, a split release with Whitelabrecs.

Hoshiko has toured for many years as a violinist with Tangerine Dream and also working with Jane Birkin, before she began to write electronic music as Tukico. Around five years ago, she began to compose music which returned to a musical upbringing which began with learning the violin at the age of four. She has studied classical music for many years and this was the reason for moving to Berlin, drawn to the city through a love of Bach and Brahms.

Whilst her work develops to incorporate many layers of instrumentation and other canvas-filling sonic details, Hoshiko’s music typically starts life as an improvised violin sketch. The sketches that formed the spine of this new album ‘Reflections’ emerged from the otherworldly backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, back in the early stages around March and April 2020. People were losing their lives every day and the world was praying in hope, whilst each day revisiting the quiet, apocalyptic reality of the world at that time. This album is not about the pandemic specifically. Instead, it was born from it. During that time Hoshiko was able to reflect upon herself, seeing inside her own being including the thoughts of hope she held for others. Like many around her, she was able to see life’s necessities; what is needed to get by, what is important and what life is all about. She was able to reconnect with the things that had previously been lost to the routine of daily life. These reflections urged for the inner-peace of everyday life never to be taken for granted again.

At that strange time, the violin sketches had been developed into full sheet music, waiting to one day be performed by a real ensemble. This was the first time that Hoshiko had put her ability to produce sheet music into practice and fittingly, as time progressed, she was able to assemble a string quartet to perform her music in person. Dreams of physical performance became a reality, as the ribbons of the players’ violin, viola and cello performances filled the room, intertwining triumphantly with one another, as if the pressure of isolation had built into a forcefield of musical energy. The album is cemented by the cover artwork, in which Hoshiko walks freely forward, with her own reflections now available for the world to experience, overlayed with our own.“

credits

Hoshiko Yamane – 1st Violin, Voice, Electronics
Cecilia Ferron – 2nd Violin
So Fukushima – Viola
Sebastian Selke – Cello

All tracks composed and mixed by Hoshiko Yamane
Mastered by Wil Bolton
Recorded 2022 at UFO Sound Studios in Berlin
Recording engineer Fabian G. Knof

Cover photo by Kei Sugimoto
Art and design by Andrew Heath

eRecord016 glåsbird – sirena

Today we have a new edition in our digital-only series, eRecords!
‘sirena’ is a two track EP from anonymous artist Glåsbird, a deep dive into Pacific Ocean seascapes, with wondrous, sleepy Ambient drones.

eRecords is a digital record series created by Whitelabrecs, to run alongside our physical releases. These editions aim to transform the digital format into something that can be experienced in a similar way to a listener’s interaction with a real, white label vinyl record. Each edition includes a special PDF scrapbook including polaroids and liner notes.

We do not publish details about the concepts or production methods of a release so that the liner notes and content in each scrapbook will reveal the background of each edition in the series.

catalog: eR016
artist: glåsbird
release title: sirena
release type: ep
location: unknown

released february 19, 2023

Written and produced by Glåsbird
Mastered by James Edward Armstrong
Artwork by Harry Towell
Art and design by Harry Towell

You can find out more information about eRecords in our landing page link, below:

https://whitelabrecs.com/erecord-series/

Out Now! Guy Gelem – Passing by and Through

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Here’s the second of our two new releases for February, with this one being from Israel’s Guy Gelem. We’ve been working with Guy Gelem for years now; in fact, ever since 2016 when his album ‘Entirety’ helped kick-off the label in its inaugural year. His latest album ‘Passing by and Through‘ blends cello and guitar with casio keyboard sounds and field recordings, rounded off by the specially painted cover artwork from Amit. The album is out today in a run of 100 gold edition vinyl-effect CDrs. If you follow us on Bandcamp (Click HERE) we’ll keep you updated when we have new releases.

press release
“Guy Gelem is a composer from Israel, who returns to the Whitelabrecs discography following digital release ‘Scenario’ and 2016’s ‘Entirety’. Guy has also created music for labels including Rural Colours, Split Femur, Quiet Design, Mini 50 ,Time Released Sound and Polar Seas. With the latter, he collaborated alongside Whitelabrecs owner Harry Towell, in an album called ‘Restful Spaces’.

Guy performs cello as part of ensembles and also comes from a background of playing electric guitar in bands. Since focusing on his own solo compositions, he typically combines both of these instruments together in his work, influenced by many styles including neo classical, jazz, electronic, post rock, Arabic and North African music.

For his latest album ‘Passing by and Through’, Guy began by recording layers of organic sounds, such as field recordings and some experiments on a Casio Earl 90 keyboard, as well as cello and guitar performances. Improvisation and an experimental approach was central to the creation of this music, focusing on a central nostalgic theme as the creative force. This album is dedicated to Guy’s personal journey in life so far, a fusion of periods, places, chapters, situations and other sentimental motifs. Each track title gives the listener clues about the detail that inspired the music. Nostalgia often brings about melancholy feelings but Guy wanted this record to glance optimistically towards the future too.“

credits

Written and produced by Guy Gelem
Mastered by James Edward Armstrong
Artwork by Amit
Art and design by Andrew Heath

Coming soon… Hoshiko Yamane – Reflections

Our next release is ‘Reflections‘ by Hoshiko Yamane who is based in Berlin, Germany and who performs violin as part of Tangerine Dream and this record is a special collaboration between Whitelabrecs and 1631 Recordings. This album features Hoshiko’s violin performances, alongside a group of musicians and the album looks back to the period in which it was created, during and shortly after the Covid-19 pandemic. This album will be available officially in a run of 100 CDrs in our signature gatefold vinyl-effect sleeves and in a limited run of vinyl copies, created and supplied by 1631. The album will be out officially on Saturday the 3rd of March after a pre-order on the 25th of February. If you follow us on Bandcamp (Click HERE) we’ll make sure you’re the first to hear.

press release
“Hoshiko Yamane is a Japanese composer who has been based in Berlin, Germany since 2006.
She has released collaborative music with Mikael Lind and Eraldo Bernocchi on Time Released Sound and Denovali respectively, as well as solo material on 1631 Recordings who have facilitated this latest album, a split release with Whitelabrecs.

Hoshiko has toured for many years as a violinist with Tangerine Dream and also working with Jane Birkin, before she began to write electronic music as Tukico. Around five years ago, she began to compose music which returned to a musical upbringing which began with learning the violin at the age of four. She has studied classical music for many years and this was the reason for moving to Berlin, drawn to the city through a love of Bach and Brahms.

Whilst her work develops to incorporate many layers of instrumentation and other canvas-filling sonic details, Hoshiko’s music typically starts life as an improvised violin sketch. The sketches that formed the spine of this new album ‘Reflections’ emerged from the otherworldly backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, back in the early stages around March and April 2020. People were losing their lives every day and the world was praying in hope, whilst each day revisiting the quiet, apocalyptic reality of the world at that time. This album is not about the pandemic specifically. Instead, it was born from it. During that time Hoshiko was able to reflect upon herself, seeing inside her own being including the thoughts of hope she held for others. Like many around her, she was able to see life’s necessities; what is needed to get by, what is important and what life is all about. She was able to reconnect with the things that had previously been lost to the routine of daily life. These reflections urged for the inner-peace of everyday life never to be taken for granted again.

At that strange time, the violin sketches had been developed into full sheet music, waiting to one day be performed by a real ensemble. This was the first time that Hoshiko had put her ability to produce sheet music into practice and fittingly, as time progressed, she was able to assemble a string quartet to perform her music in person. Dreams of physical performance became a reality, as the ribbons of the players’ violin, viola and cello performances filled the room, intertwining triumphantly with one another, as if the pressure of isolation had built into a forcefield of musical energy. The album is cemented by the cover artwork, in which Hoshiko walks freely forward, with her own reflections now available for the world to experience, overlayed with our own.“

credits

Hoshiko Yamane – 1st Violin, Voice, Electronics
Cecilia Ferron – 2nd Violin
So Fukushima – Viola
Sebastian Selke – Cello

All tracks composed and mixed by Hoshiko Yamane
Mastered by Wil Bolton
Recorded 2022 at UFO Sound Studios in Berlin
Recording engineer Fabian G. Knof

Cover photo by Kei Sugimoto
Art and design by Andrew Heath

Out Now! Harry Towell & Friends – Petrologist’s Lens

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Here’s our first release of 2023 which is called ‘Petrologist’s Lens‘ by our label owner Harry Towell as Harry Towell & Friends. It was made in collaboration with 12 artists who have had 2 or more releases on Whitelabrecs over the years. This album is out today in two runs of 100 CDrs; a standard gold edition, and a special marble-effect version. Both packaging versions include a 16 page booklet in our gatefold vinyl-effect. If you follow us on Bandcamp (Click HERE) we’ll keep you updated when we have new releases.

press release
“Whitelabrecs label owner Harry Towell is perhaps best renowned for his long-standing Spheruleus project, with a discography listing releases on Lost Tribe Sound, Home Normal, Time Released Sound, Hibernate and Eilean, as well as his collaborations alongside Sven Laux, Guy Gelem, Ekca Liena and more. Harry returns to his own label, following 2021’s ‘Canvas Homes + Supplémentaires’ and EPs ‘Absent Frames’ and ‘Inaugurate’, in this special collaborative album called ‘Petrologist’s Lens’.

January is a month we usually reserve for a compilation album, such as our Sleeplaboratory series. This year Harry decided to invite 12 artists who had contributed more than 2 releases on Whitelabrecs to submit a short sketch or sample, and then he developed these into the tracks that make up this album. As with some of his more recent work, this album is created under his own name, but with ‘& friends’ added to credit the label artists and good friends which he has worked alongside.

The title ‘Petrologist’s Lens’ nods to the concept of this body of work, which is rooted in the ancient geological history of the earth. Harry studied the land history of the areas where his collaborators reside, to help form a title for each piece. Tracks are named after particular fragments of rock or sediments, land regions or fossils for example, and the compositions were developed in a way which mimics the layering of these. The layers tell a story, giving clues of how they came to be. Sonically, filigree details and eroded tape textures ride waves of modern classical orchestration, ambient drones and electronics.

The packaging for this release features cover artwork by Soraya Kornblum, an art student in Adrian Lane’s class, submitted to Whitelabrecs as part of a school project. Each of the 200 editions include a 16 page booklet with words provided by Neil McRoberts, who transcribed his thoughts after listening to the music and reflecting on the concept. Physical copies are split into two runs; a standard gold disc version and a special marble print deluxe edition.“

credits

Written and produced by Harry Towell
Additional production and inspiration provided by Adrian Lane, Andrew Heath, Blochemy, Edu Comelles, Glåsbird, Guy Gelem, James Edward Armstrong, Paweł Pruski, Phil Tomsett, Polaroid Notes, Simon McCorry, Sven Laux

Mastered by James Edward Armstrong
Cover Art by Soraya Kornblum
Booklet Notes by Neil McRoberts
Art and Design by Andrew Heath

Coming soon… Harry Towell & Friends – Petrologist’s Lens

Our first release of 2023 is ‘Petrologist’s Lens‘ by our label owner Harry Towell as Harry Towell & Friends, in collaboration with 12 artists who have had 2 or more releases on Whitelabrecs over the years. This album will be available officially in two runs of 100 CDrs; a standard gold edition, and a special marble-effect version. Both packaging versions include a 16 page booklet in our gatefold vinyl-effect sleeves and will be out officially on Saturday the 14th of January after a pre-order on the 7th of January. If you follow us on Bandcamp (Click HERE) we’ll make sure you’re the first to hear.

press release
“Whitelabrecs label owner Harry Towell is perhaps best renowned for his long-standing Spheruleus project, with a discography listing releases on Lost Tribe Sound, Home Normal, Time Released Sound, Hibernate and Eilean, as well as his collaborations alongside Sven Laux, Guy Gelem, Ekca Liena and more. Harry returns to his own label, following 2021’s ‘Canvas Homes + Supplémentaires’ and EPs ‘Absent Frames’ and ‘Inaugurate’, in this special collaborative album called ‘Petrologist’s Lens’.

January is a month we usually reserve for a compilation album, such as our Sleeplaboratory series. This year Harry decided to invite 12 artists who had contributed more than 2 releases on Whitelabrecs to submit a short sketch or sample, and then he developed these into the tracks that make up this album. As with some of his more recent work, this album is created under his own name, but with ‘& friends’ added to credit the label artists and good friends which he has worked alongside.

The title ‘Petrologist’s Lens’ nods to the concept of this body of work, which is rooted in the ancient geological history of the earth. Harry studied the land history of the areas where his collaborators reside, to help form a title for each piece. Tracks are named after particular fragments of rock or sediments, land regions or fossils for example, and the compositions were developed in a way which mimics the layering of these. The layers tell a story, giving clues of how they came to be. Sonically, filigree details and eroded tape textures ride waves of modern classical orchestration, ambient drones and electronics.

The packaging for this release features cover artwork by Soraya Kornblum, an art student in Adrian Lane’s class, submitted to Whitelabrecs as part of a school project. Each of the 200 editions include a 16 page booklet with words provided by Neil McRoberts, who transcribed his thoughts after listening to the music and reflecting on the concept. Physical copies are split into two runs; a standard gold disc version and a special marble print deluxe edition.“

credits

Written and produced by Harry Towell
Additional production and inspiration provided by Adrian Lane, Andrew Heath, Blochemy, Edu Comelles, Glåsbird, Guy Gelem, James Edward Armstrong, Paweł Pruski, Phil Tomsett, Polaroid Notes, Simon McCorry, Sven Laux

Mastered by James Edward Armstrong
Cover Art by Soraya Kornblum
Booklet Notes by Neil McRoberts
Art and Design by Andrew Heath

Out Now! Adrian Lane – Missing The Crows


Here’s the second of two new editions for October, with ‘Missing The Crows‘ by Adrian Lane being a fourteen track modern classical album which fuses orchestral strings and piano with a subtle use of electronics. It’s out now in a run of 100 gatefold vinyl-effect CDrs after a short pre-order last week. If you click here: mailing list, we’ll make sure you’re the first to hear.

press release
“Following last year’s release ‘The Fleet’, we welcome back UK based composer and visual artist with a new concept album. Alongside long-since sold-out The Fleet, Adrian also contributed to our Home Diaries series and has recent releases on other UK labels including Preserved Sound and Hibernate. Adrian’s sound is characterised by elegant modern classical arrangements, pairing acoustic instrument textures with a hint of electronics drawing inspiration from composers such as Jóhann Jóhannsson and Max Richter.

In ‘Missing The Crows’ we have what Adrian describes as a follow-up to The Fleet, in terms of the recording process and sound palette used, in that strings and piano dominate. Yet in this new collection of 14 pieces, there is a bit more of an emphasis on synths and light electronic effects. Neither the synthetic, nor the acoustic instrument sounds take centre stage at any given time, with the intention being to paint a coherent whole in which neither taking precedence.

The story behind the title of the album sprang up following regular walks to a local park, where there are always lots and lots of crows. This former Ministry Of Defence land by the sea wall is left to grow naturally and Adrian had decided to go there with his camera to photograph some of these crows, as source material for his visual artwork. On arrival, he realised that he should have taken his telephoto lens, as he kept missing the crows; they’d fly away before he got close enough. He returned on another occasion with the telephoto lens and managed to get some decent images and these appear in the mixed media painting in the album cover artwork.

There is a lot of negative symbolism associated with crows, but they are fascinating creatures; they are intelligent, can problem solve and warn each other of danger. The natural landscape has always been an influence on Adrian’s music and certain specific reference such as the crows appear in the tracks. In another reference, ‘Godeuleum’ (meaning ‘Icicle’ in Korean) was written when it was particularly cold, and his wife (who is Korean) used the word when pointing to them, hanging from the gutters of their home.

Whilst Adrian has never aspired to be a film composer, he does listen to a lot of film/drama soundtracks and he feels this cinematic quality comes across in the music. In film music, themes and phrases are often repeated, with melodies appearing in different forms across numerous tracks. This approach was embraced in sketching out the concept for ‘Missing The Crows’, in the hope that listeners may recognise sections of this album, building a sense of familiarity. The work is both charming and intelligent like the crow, with a character soaring high beyond the mere colour of black and its associated darkness.“

credits
Written and Produced by Adrian Lane
Mastered by James Edward Armstrong
Painting by Adrian Lane
Art and Design by Andrew Heath

Out Now! Sven Laux – What Remains


Here’s the first of two new releases out today on Whitelabrecs. This one’s a cinematic modern classical album called ‘What Remains‘ by Sven Laux, combining piano and strings arrangements with sensitively placed electronics. It’s out now in a run of 100 gatefold vinyl-effect CDrs after a short pre-order last week. If you click here: mailing list, we’ll make sure you’re the first to hear.

press release
“Since 2018 we’ve released five albums from Berlin, Germany based composer Sven Laux, including his most recent collaboration with Fione and solo albums ‘Schachmatt’, ‘ODD’, his Home Diaries edition and 2020 and the extended version, Scattered Fragments of Separation (The Complete Story). Sven’s sound design has found its home in short films, advertisement and in audio branding but he also maintains his discography as an artist, focusing on deeply stirring cinematic themes.

A well-balanced contemporary sound awaits you in this latest edition ‘What Remains’ and you are urged by the title to consider what you think about when something is left over? The record uses a depth of sprawling orchestral timbres, across its at-first cryptically titled tracks, to set out the phases of processing an event. At first there is ‘patience’ and ‘hope’, then there is the passing of the event (‘the goodbye’) followed by ‘what remains’; the now. Memory may serve ‘the return’ and perhaps ‘the cohesion’ and for some, there may be ‘the ending’.

You may choose a past experience to relate with these titles or, you might choose to allow it to relate to the present day. It does not matter whether you think positively about something from the past, or whether you mourn something afterwards in a sad or melancholy way. Whether negative, positive or even indifferent, it is the contemplative environment that each track brings which will allow this record to become a thinking space; a ceremonial framework to process events.“

credits
Written and Produced by Sven Laux
Mastered by James Edward Armstrong
Artwork by Zoë Heath
Art and Design by Andrew Heath

Coming soon… Adrian Lane – Missing The Crows

Our new release ‘Missing The Crows‘ by Adrian Lane will be available officially in one of our typically low runs of 100 gatefold vinyl-effect CDrs on Saturday the 15th of October after a pre-order for Bandcamp Friday on the 7th of October. If you click here: mailing list, we’ll make sure you’re the first to hear.

press release
“Following last year’s release ‘The Fleet’, we welcome back UK based composer and visual artist with a new concept album. Alongside long-since sold-out The Fleet, Adrian also contributed to our Home Diaries series and has recent releases on other UK labels including Preserved Sound and Hibernate. Adrian’s sound is characterised by elegant modern classical arrangements, pairing acoustic instrument textures with a hint of electronics drawing inspiration from composers such as Jóhann Jóhannsson and Max Richter.

In ‘Missing The Crows’ we have what Adrian describes as a follow-up to The Fleet, in terms of the recording process and sound palette used, in that strings and piano dominate. Yet in this new collection of 14 pieces, there is a bit more of an emphasis on synths and light electronic effects. Neither the synthetic, nor the acoustic instrument sounds take centre stage at any given time, with the intention being to paint a coherent whole in which neither taking precedence.

The story behind the title of the album sprang up following regular walks to a local park, where there are always lots and lots of crows. This former Ministry Of Defence land by the sea wall is left to grow naturally and Adrian had decided to go there with his camera to photograph some of these crows, as source material for his visual artwork. On arrival, he realised that he should have taken his telephoto lens, as he kept missing the crows; they’d fly away before he got close enough. He returned on another occasion with the telephoto lens and managed to get some decent images and these appear in the mixed media painting in the album cover artwork.

There is a lot of negative symbolism associated with crows, but they are fascinating creatures; they are intelligent, can problem solve and warn each other of danger. The natural landscape has always been an influence on Adrian’s music and certain specific reference such as the crows appear in the tracks. In another reference, ‘Godeuleum’ (meaning ‘Icicle’ in Korean) was written when it was particularly cold, and his wife (who is Korean) used the word when pointing to them, hanging from the gutters of their home.

Whilst Adrian has never aspired to be a film composer, he does listen to a lot of film/drama soundtracks and he feels this cinematic quality comes across in the music. In film music, themes and phrases are often repeated, with melodies appearing in different forms across numerous tracks. This approach was embraced in sketching out the concept for ‘Missing The Crows’, in the hope that listeners may recognise sections of this album, building a sense of familiarity. The work is both charming and intelligent like the crow, with a character soaring high beyond the mere colour of black and its associated darkness.“

credits
Written and Produced by Adrian Lane
Mastered by James Edward Armstrong
Painting by Adrian Lane
Art and Design by Andrew Heath