Bleed the Capacitors: Heavy Analog Electronics Vols. 2 and 3 is the second release in a series of tapes by Stefan Tcherepnin and Christopher DeLaurenti that document their work as an improvising duo (following up their first volume on Banned Productions). Performing on Serge analog synth and touch-controlled transistor circuit boards respectively, the duo launch raw electronic sounds that dance around the stereo field with jagged logic. Dense noise bursts collide and fracture within tight response dynamics, interspersed with silence. Reminiscent of early noise pioneers, this work fuses noisy textures and active improvisation to create a finely crafted set of music with jarring momentum.

[C35 TAPE :: pro-dubbed, imprinted, edition of 125]

Newcomer RM Francis debuts his first solo release, Microtopies, a meticulously constructed set of works that took an entire year to complete. Using the computer to generate software patches and process hacked thrift-store keyboards, Francis layers time-stretched timbres that aimlessly warble within odd, congealed masses of compressed texture. Sound surfaces reveal the micro-artifacts inherent in digital audio processes, which take on a life of their own. These sounds are then crafted into rich, miniature sound worlds that seem as organic as they do chemical. Ghostly meditations lift, weightlessly shape-shifting, gently deposited into cloudy pools of resonance. At times melodic, at times academic, this hybrid of automated sounds and finely tuned craftsmanship leads to a fresh approach, and an excellent listen.

[C42 TAPE :: pro-dubbed, imprinted, edition of 125]

DRAFT is pleased to announce the release of Matt Carlson’s solo debut LP release, Particle Language. Following up his stellar solo works for Gift Tapes, including Stereo Face and Gecko Dream Levels, Carlson advances his signature electronic compositions, venturing into weirder, tweaked realms of morphing synthesis and bent perception. Particle Language guides the listener through an effervescent cauldron of unstable energies and molten, robotic detritus into a shifting stereoized vacuum-space. Sounds effortlessly arch and skim this reflective pathway, propelling us into the depths of our unconscious minds. Embedded with outsider music reference points and metaphysical undercurrents, Carlson’s modular synthesizer mastery and ingenious use of tape and vocoder has unearthed grey-void atmospheres overflowing with otherworldly aural apocrypha—a uniquely warped vision.

Mastered by Timothy Stollenwerk.

[40m LP :: DMM pressing / full color jacket & labels with insert, edition of 500]

Chicago-based Alex Barnett had remained under the radar until last year, when he unleashed four striking synth tapes known as the Section series for labels Catholic Tapes, Nihilist, Pizza Night and Chronic Boom Soundsystem. Primarily focused on his work with noise band Oakeater over the past few years, he has secretly been crafting his own solo vision. Taking hints from classic synth soundtrack visionaries, his music takes the form of brooding b-movie soundtrack miniatures, but without the use of sequencers (in his live performances you’ll find him juggling multiple keyboards).

Push stays true to the dark synth roots of Barnett’s previous releases, utilizing duration and repetition to build powerful music from simple yet heavy progressions. The side-length title track opens up with a pensive set of keyboard stabs, slowly transforming into an ultra-badass hijacker jam with a minimal techno undercurrent. On side B, “Temple”s creeping midnight brawler fuses strings with crumbling synth patches to give rise to an ominous stalker death stare, while “Unseen Forces” continues where the first side left off, another heavy cut for the sketchers that haunt the Chicago nights.

[C20 TAPE :: pro-dubbed, imprinted, edition of 200]

Performing with custom-built synthesizers, occult synth duo Telecult Powers creates abstract electronic music to explore mysteries, mystic states and magickal systems. After forming out of early collaborations between members Mister Matthews and Witchbeam, the duo moved from Cleveland to Brooklyn where they continued to develop their work over the past few years. Currently based in both Brooklyn and New Orleans , Telecult Powers remains an active creative force in the underground community. Telecult’s recorded work can be found on their own label Temple of Pei, as well as Deception Island, Baked Tapes, Pizza Night, and a few others.

Telecult Powers’ newest release, Stars are the Eyes of God, enlists the help of two prolific collaborators: Hecate’s Fountain is Telecult joined by Lala Ryan (of Excepter); Inner Spaced is Telecult and John Elliott (of Emeralds, Outer Space, and Imaginary Softwoods). On side A, Hecate’s Fountain’s “Initiation to the Temple of Pei” spins spheres of spacious textures which serve as a bed for Lala Ryan’s tripped-out acid-tinged Dadaist vocals. Reminiscent of Cosmic Joker’s Gilles Zeitschiff, the trio concocts the perfect blend of alchemical theatrics and kosmiche music. On side B, Inner Spaced launches into “No Sleep Til Nibiru,” opening with a gushing wall of white noise that shape-shifts into an array of cyclical sounds. The three synth players craft a heavy dark-matter space, with slow, methodical pacing and intention. This tape traverses new landscapes of abstract synth and space music, as wholly engulfing side-length tracks provide an expanded Telecult universe.

[C48 TAPE :: pro-dubbed, imprinted, edition of 200]

Greg Davis’ spate of recent works for modular synth have been a DRAFT favorite over the past year, beginning with a completely mind-blowing performance we witnessed in Seattle last August during his Summer 2010 West Coast tour (modular synth and processed voice!). Since that time he has released a significant body of solo work, for labels Agents of Chaos, Ekhein, Goldtimers, Cassauna, and now DRAFT. States (3) is the third tape in a series of works; States (1) was released on Cassauna in July 2011 and States (2) was released on Goldtimers in May 2011.

States (3) stands out in the series as an extremely concise set of spaces that cut and morph through time. Using a computer to control his modular synthesizer, Davis crafts an architectural atmosphere of intricate sonic detail and psycho-acoustic phenomena. Form and structure take precedence, as synthesized textures spiral and dissect an emerging three-dimensional soundworld.

Recorded, edited & mixed in Burlington, Vermont, between February & June 2011 using a computer controlled Eurorack / Doepfer modular synthesizer system.

[C26 TAPE :: pro-dubbed, imprinted, edition of 200]

DRAFT is pleased to announce the release of Pacific Support, a benefit compilation tape created in support of the ongoing disaster relief efforts in Japan. All proceeds will be donated to the Red Cross to help fund those efforts. The compilation consists of 13 unreleased tracks by experimental electronic musicians featuring: Rene Hell, Pulse Emitter, Keith Fullerton Whitman, Greg Davis, Matt Carlson, The North Sea, solo tracks by both members of the Caboladies (Carl Calm & Flower Man), Panabrite, Temporal Marauder, Golden Retriever, Brother Raven, and a new duo project by Geoff Mullen & Sakiko Mori called Make a New Memory. Support Japan and purchase some amazing music! Available at here and coming soon to Mimaroglu Music Sales and Discriminate Music. Special thanks to the artists involved for donating their work, our distributors for donating their services, and National Audio Company for generously donating the entire 300-edition run.

[C75 TAPE :: pro-dubbed, imprinted, edition of 300]

Over the past few years, Portland resident Josh Hanson has developed his own completely unique voice, crafting beautiful music with a Blacet modular synthesizer and tape loops. Josh Hanson follows up last year’s Gift Tapes release with his latest album, New Ruined Maps (Collected 2009-2010), is a collection of compositional ideas wound together to form unfamiliar terrestrial landscapes that feel as futuristic as they do ancient. Taking inspiration from ’70s synth music and ethnic musics, New Ruined Maps travels through melodic passages, soft timbres and moments of complex rhythmic patterns like a lucid dream. Captured in pristine fidelity and professionally mastered to tape by Timothy Stollenwerk at Stereophonic Sound.

[C30 TAPE :: pro-dubbed, imprinted, edition of 150]

Tulsa-based Digitalis head Brad Rose has been an insanely productive artist over the past few years, releasing tons of music on his label and still managing to create a constant stream of solo work as North Sea, Charlatan, and Ajilvsga, on top of seemingly endless collaborations. Now add to that list his new project: Atlantic Triangular Trade.

Velvet Satellite is a strictly digital venture. It’s an immersion of computer electronics, MIDI sequencing and VST processing, melding both computer generated techno and distanced soundscapes into colorful lights and carnival melodies. In this odd universe, fragments of data intersect amidst an undercurrent of techno pulses and spinning beats. These wandering circular shapes create a definable dizziness within the auditory cortex.

[C30 TAPE :: pro-dubbed, imprinted, edition of 100]

Swedish composer Joel Brindefalk has been working in the realm of electronic music since the early 90’s, creating techno, sound art and electroacoustic music. Among the many aliases he has operated under over the years, his early techno project Ü and more recent cutup noise collage works as C.P.U. (Contemporary Punk Unit) are often cited as some of his best work, released on labels such as Börft and Ideal Recordings. He is currently focused on creating computer music, sound art and installation while pursing an MFA at the Gothenburg University.

Brindefalk’s recent explorations in the areas of generative music have yielded his beautiful new work, A Rough Patch. Created with an extensive MAX/MSP patch while under the influence of painkillers (prescribed for back pain), Brindefalk has woven gestural fields of electricity into a rich sonic environment. Heavy arcs of gray matter resonance cut through the icy freeze-frame reverberations of an abandoned warehouse. This is music for collapsing concrete structures, a wholly original vision and fresh approach to computer music.

[C30 TAPE :: pro-dubbed, imprinted, edition of 100]

KPLR takes synth music and electronics to a new extreme. This San Francisco based duo blends analog electronics with digital processing to create an odd cutup of semi-random, sometimes harsh, particles of sound. KPLR ventures into cold, uninhabited, automated realms that seem to shift focus from one second to the next. Voltaic Fits moves like a free jazz drummer at maximum speed, but sounds like a computer OD’n on amperes.

KPLR (pronounced Kepler after the Kepler Mission) is Dexter Brightman and Jair Espinoza.

[C30 TAPE :: pro-dubbed, labeled, edition of 100]

Still Life is an outsider’s sampling of half forgotten urban environments, cracked electronic soundscapes that form abandoned cities replete with radioactive fallout. Brooklyn-based Adam Diller leans toward his more experimental side, creating his first cassette release from a variety of sound sources: field recordings, synth, electric piano & sampling keyboards. Layered synth passages, textures, and melodies seamlessly mix, often making it difficult to distinguish the source. The result is a truly innovative soundscape work.

Diller’s diverse background consists of free improvised music (BNSF on Locust), ultra minimal acoustic improv (Doublends Vert on Line/12K), deformed free jazz/hip hop fusion ($.99 Dreams, self-released CDs & LPs), and audio production.

[C60 TAPE :: pro-dubbed, labeled, edition of 100]

Special limited-edition video disc containing FRAK’s video for Digitry, the first track on Dry Vanadis, made on a Commodore 64! This is the perfect opportunity to get a good vibe on what FRAK is all about, through animated ultra lo-tech graphics. Just about as odd and hilarious as it gets! Covers are printed on recycled index tabs. Came as a FREE GIFT with the first 50 copies of D001.

[DVD-R :: hand-duplicated, labeled, numbered edition of 50]

Swedish electronic music project FRAK has been releasing experimental music since 1987. Back then, their first release jump started Börft Records, initiated by Jan Svensson. Twenty-three years later, in homage to Börft, FRAK’s most recent release launches DRAFT.

Bouncing back and forth between techno, electro, and sound collage, FRAK approaches dance music from an alien perspective. As experimentalists and DJs in their own right, FRAK tends to teeter on the edge between minimal beat driven music and frenetic tendencies often associated with noise music.

Essentially two tapes in one, FRAK offers up a tape of underground, schizoid dance music, produced by the classic FRAK lineup: Birre, Zwarre and Sture. Keeping true to the DIY tradition of recording to 4-track, FRAK’s tape is a hybrid of analog and digital recording: side A’s Dry Vanadis was recorded to a 4-track analog cassette recorder, while side B’s Tournament City was recorded to a 4-track digital recorder.

[C60 TAPE :: pro-dubbed, imprinted, edition of 150]

Releases available for purchase at draftrecords.com