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CLEERS: I’ve Lived So Long Tonight
New Clear Vinyl + digital download :: 12 songs ::
hand assembled photo-print & recycled jacket
From the mutant mind of Taylor Rouss comes a deep dive into supernatural free jazz.
Cleers is an improv unit led by Rouss on saxophones and game calls with various
collaborators on an array of instruments. This collection offers an eclectic variety of
sounds and group interplay, while achieving a consistent mood through Taylor's sense
of humor and penchant for musical mischief. Character voices chime in out of nowhere
and game call squeals suggest a cartoonish alien language. The album starts off with a
musical dedication to Betty and Barney Hill, the first American couple to report being
abducted by aliens in September of 1961. Things get stranger from there, but eventually
wind up in the midst of performance recordings that capture the organic chemistry of a
unique group, at a certain time and place on planet Earth.
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Witch Grass is an experimental band from Alabama, USA. The project is part of the
Sweet Wreath label, a collective of experimental artists organized by Jasper Lee which
includes his work with Silica Gel and Johnny Coley. Witch Grass features Jasper on bass,
zither and vox, with Walker Yancey on guitar and electronics, James Elliot on drums and
Mika Carpenter on euphonium. Their music is imbued with an atmosphere of twangy
mystery, part folk horror score & part transcendental prayer. Guest players revolve, adding
a range of textures to an evolving ineffable soundscape.
"Surreally fried Southern art music that stays true to its rural roots while
underminin the hell out of them." - Byron Coley, The Wire
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☘︎ Silica Gel’s Wooden Shoe LP
New Clear Vinyl + digital download :: 11 songs ::
hand assembled photo-print & silkscreened jacket with insert
listen here
Wooden Shoe is a playful concoction that warps folk song elements into kaleidoscopic new forms.
The album spins like a cart wheel, traversing a richly varied sonic terrain, moving both forwards and
backwards in time. The sounds are ancient yet futuristic….wurlitzer organ, mandolin and autoharp
combine with bent circuits and digital artifacts in a song cycle that progresses like a hauntological play.
On this their second album, Silica Gel deepen their exploration of art song by using elements of clapping
games, round songs, hockets, vaudeville and folk balladry to fill out a thoroughly hand crafted songbook.
All along, the enchanting voices of Laura and Lauren weave harmonies around the listener like the
dreamy revolution of a glowing carousel.
“Describing Silica Gel's Wooden Shoe is like trying two place to magnets together. Words can get close but the sounds seem to move away just when a connection is near.....Silica Gel transitions with pendulum motion, each track a sweeping smooth swing in another direction. For example, "Fog" to "Steamboat Joe", the most angelic and traditional high choir piece to a jangle of strings and playful story telling ballad. The last track and the longest, "Coming Age" is the most melodic and connective to its medieval foundations. Still, Silica Gel is ready to pounce, easily turning a page to blurred futuristic sound waves.” - Lost In A Sea of Sound
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