Split LP of modular synth explorations with Matt Carlson guiding you through dangerous overgrown jungles and Jason E Anderson maxing out your brain’s auditory perception circuits.

DISSOCIATIVE SYNTHESIS
MATT CARLSON / JASON E ANDERSON
12″ LP SPLIT, SWEDISH IMPORT
MASTERED & CUT BY RASHAD BECKER AT D&M
RELEASED FEBRUARY 27, 2012
UFO MONGO 024 (BÖRFT)

PURCHASE HERE

SIDE A: CARLSON, Mycelium

SIDE B: ANDERSON, Arthritides

*ALSO AVAILABLE AT WWW.BORFT.COM (EU) OR WWW.BUCKETFACTORY.COM (US) & COMING SOON TO US DISTRIBUTORS

Merv (Matt Carlson’s alter-ego as a self-help guru) and the amazing folks at Experimental 1/2 Hour have totally upped the ante in this new video. Think Particle Language insert², performed live in front of a studio audience with patients and a modular synthesizer. Deep, hilarious, mind-warp hypnosis…

RM Francis, Microtopies
DRAFT D013, 42 minute tape, 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.

Stefan Tcherepnin & Christopher DeLaurenti, Bleed the Capacitors: Heavy Analog Electronics Vols. 2 and 3
DRAFT D015, 35 minute tape, edition of 125
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.

Available at draftrecords.com

UPCOMING: Tapes by Lander 5 (Scott Goodwin) & Geoff Mullen.

Yesterday I made the trip down to Portland to see Matt Carlson perform at his release party–and deliver his records!  As to be expected, Carlson delivered a ridiculously shreddy set of atonal burblings, vocoded-squelching, schizophrenic FM drops to the attentive listeners packed inside a local drum shop–part of the Outset Series presented by the Revival Drum Shop and Portland’s Creative Music Guild.  Building upon sparse tones, he sifted through an array of modular techniques, giving rise to punchy, layered collisions of synthesis.  As the piece progressed, he stood up from his hunched position and started ripping into his keyboard, unleashing a fury of tweaked percussives, then leaving us in spinning stereo-void of broken voice cracks and hissing robotics.  Amazing set.

Matt Carlson, Particle Language
DRAFT D012 / LP

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.

I’ve known Matt Carlson since 2003. Ever since then I’ve been blown away by his role in every creative context I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing. From solo performances to 12-hour improvisations to standup comedy/free improv to music for dance to performances of his modern classical compositions, he is all over the map. His wildly diverse musical curiosities have lead to his involvement with numerous collaborations, including the drone trio Bonus, the eccentric pop group Parenthetical Girls, the Portland art collective Oregon Painting Society, and his current role in the amazing Golden Retriever. Over the years, I’ve come to recognize that Carlson’s musical ability far outweighs that of any of my peers, but more significantly, I’ve seen his artistic vision develop into something entirely unique and original–and it is this vision that I am especially excited to present to you.
Jason E Anderson, Gift Tapes/DRAFT

Mastered by Timothy Stollenwerk
LP, 40 minutes :: DMM pressing, color jacket & labels, insert, clear plastic outer sleeve, edition of 500
Artist website: bucketfactory.com

$15 Retail // Prices including shipping/handling: $18 USA – $21 Canada/Mexico – $28 Europe/Japan/World
Available at draftrecords.com

*Also, we’ll have 3 new tapes available within the next few weeks from RM Francis, Scott Goodwin & Christopher Delaurenti/Stefan Tcherepnin.  Keep posted to the blog for details.

Thank you for your support!

A few months back DRAFT’s sister-label Gift Tapes presented a night of music at Seattle’s Chapel Performance space that featured two solo performers: Matt Carlson & RM Francis (May 13, 2011).  GT managed to convince a friend to help document the event so we could share it with you.

Matt Carlson (also a member of Golden Retriever) performed on modular synthesizer, vocoder and an array of delays effects, generating massive fields of bugged-out electronic sound.  Here is his set in its entirety – solo modular synth for 46 minutes!

Matt Carlson at The Chapel Performance Space, Seattle from Ian Halloran on Vimeo.

RM Francis debuted his solo project that evening, creating real-time works for computer.  His unique approach references early automatic-music, carefully toning self-generating  patches to craft immersive environments of abstract sound.  Here is his set:

RM Francis at The Chapel Performance Space, Seattle from Ian Halloran on Vimeo.

Thanks to Ian Halloran for the videography & editing.

*Keep posted for future DRAFT releases from both artists coming this Summer/Fall.

GREG DAVIS, STATES (3)

[C26 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.

States (part 5), excerpt:

TELECULT POWERS, STARS ARE THE EYES OF GOD
*Special collab tape with Lala Ryan & John Elliot!

[C48 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.

Initiation of the Temple of Pei, excerpt:

ALEX BARNETT, PUSH

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

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.

Alex Barnett, Temple:

Local Seattle musician Adam Svenson is hosting a show at Cairo on July 8th.  The stellar lineup includes the kosmiche-pop jams of Radio People (Sam Goldberg, Mist), the abstract digital hymns of Carl Calm (member of Caboladies, Palmetto Moon Electronic Group), improv synth energies of Harpoon Pole Vault (Gift Tapes/Brother Raven) and the new trio of Jermaine Blair, Matthew Ford & Adam Svenson called Same Species.

Cairo / 507 East Mercer Street / Seattle, Washington 98102

Visitation Rites posted a brief preview of the upcoming Telecult Powers collab tape Stars Are the Eyes of God, due out on DRAFT this July (also posted on A.Z.).  The duo of Witchbeam & Mister Matthews reaches new levels as they shape-shift into new entities: Hecate’s Fountain is Telecult joined by Lala Ryan of Excepter; Inner Spaced is Telecult and John Elliott of Outer Space/Emeralds.  This tape sees the ultra-abstract-space-music duo enter into new territory, while simultaneously providing a new dimension to both their work as a duo and the work of their collaborators.  Stars Are the Eyes of God, coming to DRAFT this July.