Out Now! Ashlar – Distant Scenes

Our next release sees the collaboration between Wil Bolton and Phil Edwards (owner of Assembly Field Recordings) continue, under their Ashlar alias. This follows previous material which had appeared on  Time Released Sound (2012) and Hibernate Recordings (2014). Distant Scenes shows a progression in their sound: whilst the previous material was recorded via jam sessions in Liverpool, their latest work was recorded in distant locations after Wil had moved to London. The sound is a beautiful collection of piano and guitar drones, with field recordings also taking centre stage. This might be one for those who enjoy work by Ian Hawgood, David Newlyn or Caught In The Wake Forever.

The vinyl-effect CDr version of this release is unfortunately sold out, however you can listen to a preview of the album by using the Soundcloud player below or grab a digital version by clicking the bandcamp player above or the link below.

This album was announced to our mailing list last weekend and it had completely sold out at source 2 days before release day! To avoid missing out on our future releases, you can join our mailing list HERE

https://whitelabrecs.bandcamp.com/album/distant-scenes

press release
Ashlar are British duo Wil Bolton from London and Phil Edwards from The Wirral, Liverpool. They began collaborating around 2011 ahead of their debut release ‘Saturday Drones’ on Time Released Sound and followed this up with ‘St. James’ Gardens’ on Hibernate Recordings in 2014.

These albums were the result of lazy Saturday afternoons spent in various public houses in Liverpool’s Georgian Quarter which were followed by evenings spent jamming in Wil’s studio. In the early days, both artists were residents of the city, meaning impromptu recording sessions could be arranged with relative ease. However, after the first two albums Wil relocated back to London, which meant that when they began to work together again, a very different approach was necessary. Instead of jamming and producing together, they worked remotely, usually initiated by the sharing of recordings, which were then added to, processed and bounced back and forth until the final tracks emerged.

With ‘Distant Scenes’ most of the sounds began as piano loops (played by Wil) and acoustic guitar parts (played by Phil), which were heavily processed and re-processed several times using both software effects and guitar pedals. Where the first two albums featured environmental sounds from the local area, the field recordings here were made by both artists separately, in wildly varied locations including Japan, Korea and the UK.
Unlike their initial work, this new method of working has taken a great deal longer to fully realise, given that the process was less immediate and more meticulous.

Distant Scenes is an album built around distance, time and space as their different recording locations inspired new but separate ideas. A warm but blurry canvas has been woven over a four year period, as time has rusted the memories of the good old days spent jamming on their earlier albums and newer ideas have been corroded into a melancholic fuzz.

credits
Written and produced by Wil Bolton and Phil Edwards
Mastered by Wil Bolton
Artwork by Wil Bolton

Coming soon…Ashlar – Distant Scenes

Our next release sees the collaboration between Wil Bolton and Phil Edwards (owner of Assembly Field Recordings) continue, under their Ashlar alias. This follows previous material which had appeared on  Time Released Sound (2012) and Hibernate Recordings (2014). Distant Scenes shows a progression in their sound: whilst the previous material was recorded via jam sessions in Liverpool, their latest work was recorded in distant locations after Wil had moved to London. The sound is a beautiful collection of piano and guitar drones, with field recordings also taking centre stage. This might be one for those who enjoy work by Ian Hawgood, David Newlyn or Caught In The Wake Forever.

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
Ashlar are British duo Wil Bolton from London and Phil Edwards from The Wirral, Liverpool. They began collaborating around 2011 ahead of their debut release ‘Saturday Drones’ on Time Released Sound and followed this up with ‘St. James’ Gardens’ on Hibernate Recordings in 2014.

These albums were the result of lazy Saturday afternoons spent in various public houses in Liverpool’s Georgian Quarter which were followed by evenings spent jamming in Wil’s studio. In the early days, both artists were residents of the city, meaning impromptu recording sessions could be arranged with relative ease. However, after the first two albums Wil relocated back to London, which meant that when they began to work together again, a very different approach was necessary. Instead of jamming and producing together, they worked remotely, usually initiated by the sharing of recordings, which were then added to, processed and bounced back and forth until the final tracks emerged.

With ‘Distant Scenes’ most of the sounds began as piano loops (played by Wil) and acoustic guitar parts (played by Phil), which were heavily processed and re-processed several times using both software effects and guitar pedals. Where the first two albums featured environmental sounds from the local area, the field recordings here were made by both artists separately, in wildly varied locations including Japan, Korea and the UK.
Unlike their initial work, this new method of working has taken a great deal longer to fully realise, given that the process was less immediate and more meticulous.

Distant Scenes is an album built around distance, time and space as their different recording locations inspired new but separate ideas. A warm but blurry canvas has been woven over a four year period, as time has rusted the memories of the good old days spent jamming on their earlier albums and newer ideas have been corroded into a melancholic fuzz.

credits
Written and produced by Wil Bolton and Phil Edwards
Mastered by Wil Bolton
Artwork by Wil Bolton

Out now! WLR021 Various Artists – Whitelabsounds

This is a proud day for us at Whitelabrecs HQ – we’ve been working hard behind the scenes for a while on our very first compilation album and for this, our packaging/design takes a slight turn. This release continues along the lines of vinyl-effect CDrs of course but this time, we’ve splashed out on creating a small scale fine-art vinyl imitation CDr, which is presented exactly as a professional vinyl LP would, only smaller!

The album sees us make good use of the full space on the disc as we’ve approached our own artists, label friends and established artists alike. The final product sees well-known producers such as Offthesky, Darkroom and The Green Kingdom line up alongside our very own David Kolhne, Jose Soberanes and Ondrej Zajac. We couldn’t be happier with the packaging and the quality of the tones contained on the disc and we hope you will be too.

As you can imagine, most of the 100 copies have been gobbled up by our subscribers however, at the time of writing copies of this album 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

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

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
“Since we began running Whitelabrecs in January 2016 we’ve managed to put out 20 albums covering the varied ground of the Ambient scene and featuring artists both new and established. Usually by the time that this many releases have amassed, most labels will have created at least one compilation or sampler but rest assured, we’ve been working behind the scenes for several months on our very own ‘Whitelabsounds’.

Our very first compilation album features a CDr full of top drawer Ambient and Experimental music featuring well known artists in the scene such as Offthesky, Maps and Diagrams, The Green Kingdom, Wil Bolton and Darkroom as well as contributors to our discography and other friends.
The album is presented as a small-scale fine-art vinyl LP imitation package, with a printed outer photographic/graphic sleeve, white card inner sleeve and a printed vinyl-effect CDr. There’s not a rubber stamp or white label in sight, as we wanted to present something truly special and hopefully, the start of a series.

The sounds contained within the disk are to be seen as a mood board of the various shades of modern Ambient music, with darker drones concocted from electronics and light noise sitting alongside beautiful electro-acoustic pieces, framed as a sort of mosaic. Every tile tells a story as each artist’s environment, experience and influence helps shape their sound. Somehow, the whole body of work becomes greater than the sum of its parts and that brings us to the artwork, a photograph of tessellating mosaic tiles taken in Pompeii, Italy.
Some tiles are worn and disintegrated whereas some are smooth and clear, perfectly reflecting the tones that can be heard on this inaugural Whitelabsounds compilation.”

Catalog number WLR021
Mastered by Tim Diagram
Photography by Bethany Towell
Artwork by Harry Towell

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Coming soon…Various Artists | Whitelabsounds

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This is a proud day for us at Whitelabrecs HQ – we’ve been working hard behind the scenes for a while on our very first compilation album and for this, our packaging/design takes a slight turn. This release continues along the lines of vinyl-effect CDrs of course but this time, we’ve splashed out on creating a small scale fine-art vinyl imitation CDr, which is presented exactly as a professional vinyl LP would, only smaller!

The album sees us make good use of the full space on the disc as we’ve approached our own artists, label friends and established artists alike. The final product sees well-known producers such as Offthesky, Darkroom and The Green Kingdom line up alongside our very own David Kolhne, Jose Soberanes and Ondrej Zajac. We couldn’t be happier with the packaging and the quality of the tones contained on the disc and we hope you will be too.

This will be released to our subscribers first, so to avoid missing out be sure to sign up to our mailing list so you hear about it first!

Please note, this is a CDr, not a vinyl record!

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
“Since we began running Whitelabrecs in January 2016 we’ve managed to put out 20 albums covering the varied ground of the Ambient scene and featuring artists both new and established. Usually by the time that this many releases have amassed, most labels will have created at least one compilation or sampler but rest assured, we’ve been working behind the scenes for several months on our very own ‘Whitelabsounds’.

Our very first compilation album features a CDr full of top drawer Ambient and Experimental music featuring well known artists in the scene such as Offthesky, Maps and Diagrams, The Green Kingdom, Wil Bolton and Darkroom as well as contributors to our discography and other friends.
The album is presented as a small-scale fine-art vinyl LP imitation package, with a printed outer photographic/graphic sleeve, white card inner sleeve and a printed vinyl-effect CDr. There’s not a rubber stamp or white label in sight, as we wanted to present something truly special and hopefully, the start of a series.

The sounds contained within the disk are to be seen as a mood board of the various shades of modern Ambient music, with darker drones concocted from electronics and light noise sitting alongside beautiful electro-acoustic pieces, framed as a sort of mosaic. Every tile tells a story as each artist’s environment, experience and influence helps shape their sound. Somehow, the whole body of work becomes greater than the sum of its parts and that brings us to the artwork, a photograph of tessellating mosaic tiles taken in Pompeii, Italy.
Some tiles are worn and disintegrated whereas some are smooth and clear, perfectly reflecting the tones that can be heard on this inaugural Whitelabsounds compilation.”

Catalog number WLR021
Mastered by Tim Diagram
Photography by Bethany Towell
Artwork by Harry Towell

Coming soon… Various Artists | Whitelabsounds

We’re keeping further details fairly close to our chest, but we wanted to share a project that will be ready to drop very soon: our very first compilation album!

This will be released in a bigger run than our usual fifty copies and will include work from Whitelabrecs’ contributors such as Spheruleus, David Kolhne, Ondrej Zajac and La Petite Vague as well as a few friends we’ve drafted in such as The Green Kingdom, Offthesky, Maps and Diagrams and Darkroom.