Deep Earth, Brian Grainger - Subscription (Malfokusita)

For those who haven't yet discovered him, Brian Grainger (aka Milieu Music, Coppice Halifax) is one of the most prolific and forward thinking musicians working today and he continues to explore more deeply the sounds that can be made with machines.

He has just offered up a monthly subscription service with one annual payment which enables you to experience whatever it is that he uncovers.

Giriu Dvasios tried this, with mild success. Cut Records still offers a similar service, though have adapted their terms lately. I also subscribe to the Dub Techno Blog helping them to keep the weekly Dub Techno Blog Live show rolling.

From the subscription page:

DEEP EARTH is a new monthly series by COPPICE HALIFAX, serving as a record of my explorations with live electronic music produced on retrograde hardware and special analog equipment. No computers, no boundaries - freedom with and without. For the very first time, I'm offering the option of a subscription service for the entirety of DEEP EARTH, however long and tangential it may become. 

Subscribers will receive: 

1. Digital downloads of every DEEP EARTH release from May 2014-May 2015. No matter when you subscribe, the entire catalog up to the present moment will be available to you. 

2. A 15% discount on all physical items from the DEEP EARTH catalog. Unlike prior series at Milieu Music, DEEP EARTH will not necessarily be confined to a single format. Standard 5" CD-R, 3" CD-R, "business card" CD-R and cassette are all possible terrain for DEEP EARTH music to exist on. Like a scouting report from an expedition of explorers, the DEEP EARTH releases may vary in length from month to month on their physical counterparts, although the digital releases will all remain uniform in length (plus or minus 20 minutes). 

3. Immediate download of a selection of COPPICE HALIFAX releases that serve as a precursor to the DEEP EARTH concept and sound palette. (1983 / Bedroom Carpet / Cedar Mast Reduced / Inland By Night) 

4. Exclusive access to downloadable outtakes from the recording sessions, as well as bonus remixes/versions made by myself or by other like-minded musicians (surprises are always fun!). 

5. A special CD-R release called ANTAŬPAROLO, which canonically appears prior to the DEEP EARTH catalog and sets the atmosphere for what is to follow. ANTAŬPAROLO will not be available outside of the subscription for it's duration, digitally or otherwise, and your CD-R will be mailed to you within 2 weeks of joining the subscription (US customers pay no shipping, UK/ROW pay a small shipping fee that is bundled with your subscription fee at the time of purchase).

It's an exciting proposition. Give it some consideration and check it out 

HERE

It's a beautiful sight when, after subscribing, your BC page looks like this:

Thanks, Brian, for keeping the genuine spirit of music alive.

weareallghosts

If you like your ambient/drone long and drawn out, look no further.

Similar in spirit to Terminal Windows, this is a fan based creation, all 'Name Your Price' offerings.

I listed one of their donation based releases that was to assist someone in trouble (a really cool thing about the netlabel universe) but this is another prompt as their releases continue to be top notch and worth supporting.

From the label:

Founded by music fan Thomas Mathie aka Headphonaught as a means of giving back to the independent music community...... weareallghosts.co.uk is a small netlabel and private press based in Motherwell, Scotland that specialises in ambient electronic soundscapes but is open to other styles of music.

Check it out 

HERE 

Kreislauf Netlabel - Thanks For N0theen

Been a bit busy as of late so haven't been able to post like I want. 

Aside from that I'm finally getting around to committing to leaving the cult of Apple. Leaning toward Foobar2000 and the Fiio option. Foobar2000 looks awesome but, like all things open source, it's going to take some time (that I don't have) to learn the ins and outs of it. Hoping the payoff is worth it.

Like the idea of a non-hard drive mp3 player with lossless capability. Hard drives and mp3 players are not equipped to handle the volume of traffic my experimenting causes and it seems as if I tear these hard drives up. I have way too much music for the other portable options (phones and the like).

Anyhow, this is definitely one of the better stumble upon finds in the netlabel universe. It's a wormhole so go deep. Solid.

Along with the Mogwai hört compilations, these will keep you entranced for days:

Daystream (2009)

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Nightstream (2009)

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Check out the rest of the site

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Trim Silence - 10 Years

One of my favorite discoveries of recent years was a release by this artist called Walking On Thin Air. As is often the case, I dug into the back catalogue. I was a little late getting to this compilation on his BC page as it has since vanished but was able to track it down through some virtual digging.

For your ease, I post it here.

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He also has a new release out on his BC page called Memory Imprints which you can get at a 'Name Your Price' offering. Strange thing, I tried paying for it but the PayPal behemoth appears to refuse payment for some reason. Let me know if you figure out a trick as his music is worth a purchase.

HERE

Electric Calm

Going back a few years on this one, didn't realize there was a Volume 5.

When 'chillout' - and GU - was still refreshing.

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A Reach Beyond the Beyond™

Saturday 23 May 2015 21:00 - 06:00

Detroit.

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Meltdown

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Love Lost

Great story behind this oh so brief label.

In its brief existence it left its mark on the world.

Don't sleep.

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RA Podcasts

All of 'em..

The Labyrinth (2011)

From the festival I will (jealously) no doubt never attend.

Refined techno into pure essence.

Essential.

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GradUally

He's been at this for a while.

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Just The Facts

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Ambient Meditations

Some of the best ambient compilations ever sounding as good, perhaps even better, today than when they were originally released. They sound good, even without chemical assistance (or perhaps these take me back to a different time and place).

Each mix has a definite "spiritual" element to them in that late 90s retro-psy, eastern-ish kind of way which adds to their overall vibe.

All are essential but check out the who's who of the mixers of the last three volumes. The final volume took some work tracking down and prices still tend to be high for the CD but there is no need any longer.

Ambient Meditations (1998)

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Ambient Meditations 2 (1999)

Mixed by Dr Alex Paterson

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Ambient Meditations 3 (2000)

Mixed by Youth

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Ambient Meditations 4 - God Bless The Chilled (2002)

Mixed by Mixmaster Morris

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Those parts of Hawaii you don't see...

Somewhere between leftfield, dnb, dub tech and electronic drones.

Perfect alchemy.

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This Is Techno Volume 8: International Trance & Tribal (1994)

After Eon, after Moby, after discovering the whole rave thing in Seattle, this was my first actual purchase of a DJ mix. Mine was originally on cassette but I noticed the webosphere was lacking this one so tracked down a CD version and here ya' go.

Played it in full last night and it sounded good. I'm not there anymore but, and perhaps it's blissful reminisce, this was right in the heart of when this sound was fresh and energizing. By the end of the decade the sound would be "over" and glutted as it moved toward the mass popularity we see so ubiquitous today, the death knoll being that a Grammy category was created to embrace it.

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Vaporwave

I stumbled across this music a few months back and it's been infiltrating my shuffle and I have really locked into its vibe. Vaporware is a term for computer software or hardware announced to the general public but never officially offered and this music carries that reference as a social critique. You can see the essence of vaporware here.

If you lived through the 80s you'll recognize the vibe instantly, especially if you were a fan of a certain television show. I'm not a retro guy by any means but this is retro in a good way as it deconstructs the vapidness by turning it inside out (although that could be 30 years of acquired cynicism projected into my listening experience).

The genre, though obviously diverse, has been interpreted as "a dystopian critique of capitalism in the vein of cyberpunk" which takes "the hollowness of global capitalism to its natural conclusion" and aligns quite correctly with my current immersion into the Sense/Net netlabel.

As for the vaporwave genre, music writer Adam Harper describes the genre as 

"ironic and satirical or truly accelerationist", and that the name "vaporwave" itself is a nod to both vaporware, products that are announced but never actually manufactured or cancelled, and to the idea of libidinal energy being subjected to relentless sublimation under capitalism." Source

You'll feel the vibe instantly when you hear it and pay attention to the artwork, song/album titles and the equipment used to make the music.

For a taste of the sound, check out the mix below and head to the Dream Catalogue Bandcamp page for a full immersion. All are 'Name Your Price' offerings but if you want to go a step further into retro cassettes are available (though they sell out quickly).

VHS Keep Dreaming Mix

Imagine my surprise when about 29 minutes into the mix this morning it gradually dawned on me that I was hearing the keyboard riff for the hold music for our IT company.

The sound may seem too obvious, though that may be the whole point, and it may be easy to consume it without the irony but it contains a punk enough ethos behind it, in a William Gibson-ish kind of way, that deconstructs the past in which I grew up to make it a worthwhile venture.

P.S. All sealed.

iO

ADSR (90 Minutes In The Eyes Of iO) (1995)

Some deeper cuts from the Mo Wax era. 

The two Mo Wax tracks (see below) do not represent their overall sound but this compilation gives good insight into the fresh and developing sound that emerged throughout 90s.

Other than those two tracks this one, while certainly not rare, is really, especially outside of the Mo Wax umbrella, under the radar.

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Claire / Libre (1995)

The Mo Wax tracks on vinyl with a few remixes from some Mo Wax staples. 

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Bless You

Easily one of the best electronic albums of the past ten years, especially one with vocals. This is not the pop fluff vocal type album but one that takes a walk on the darker dubbier side with vocals supporting that vibe.

Take a listen to the depth of interpretations of the lead track and track down the album if you don't already own it. 

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Rhythm & Sound

The 12" originals in their original context that made up this.

Go deep.

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Simplicity Is The Key (2008)

From the now defunct smallfish label that was able to sneak a few quality dub techno releases, including this one, through.

The label introduced artists such as cv313, bvdub and the three found here, all of whom would move on to bigger things, to a growing audience.

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Belekaip - Carbon Dub (2014)

A nice, chilled low slinging dub oriented release from Elektrosfera, a label highlighting electronic artists from Lithuania such as Girius Dvasios, Vejopatis and Vytis, among others.

The Photosynthesis and Kitas Krantas compilations are essential introductions to the label.

Granted, 'dub' and 'dub techno' are everywhere nowadays like the background din of the world around us but you'll like this one. Check it out at a 'Name Your Price' offering 

HERE

London Roundhouse. England 28.02.2008

A few years back there was a series of live albums, many released almost immediately following the shows. Some dude on discogs hit me up almost as soon as I added this one to my want list. £250? 

Let's just say it's no longer in my want list nor does it need to be in yours.

All are essential.

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An edited version of the opening night show in Bristol we attended is up.

Rick Smith was ill (as you'll hear Karl mention in the video) so Darrin Price manned the controls. Will always wonder if it would have made any difference but this music still sounds just as good after all these years.

Hoping there'll be a 20th for Second Toughest so we can have an excuse to travel the globe again.

Enjoy:

Underworld - Bootleg Babies (2001)

A fan based collection of live recordings with Underworld in their heyday, essential to bring back the spirit of those days.

In 2001 several members on the rtsr-trade mailing list started this project. They wanted to release the best live recordings by Underworld gathered over the years. A bit like Underworld did with Everything, Everything. It kept the list busy for a while, since all the tracks where chosen with extensive polls. The members chose which track would be included; from which source; the name of the cd and the artwork. The cd was distributed from fan to fan around the world. Around 150 copies were made.

It doesn't matter how many times I hear these songs it always takes me to that happy place.

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This Is A Test

Only a test.

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SomaComa

Was revisiting the original of Track 6 and was reminded of this compilation.

Solid tracks from some solid artists, great intro to the label, one of the staples in the electronic universe, if you aren't already familiar with it.

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