Notice Recordings

Official Website Announced

2012-01-05T23:03:00.005-06:00

OFFICIAL WEBSITE ANNOUNCED

Meaning this blog will probably not be used much anymore. This old blog will remain here. All information regarding anything related to Notice Recordings and probably some other things will now be located here :

HTTP://NOTICERECORDINGS.COM

Thanks to Nathan McLaughlin for making this site happen.

We could not have done it without him ! Not at all...

Notice Recordings 2011 in Review : Travis Bird

2012-01-02T23:00:00.008-06:00

From Travis Bird:

(for Evan Lindorff-Ellery's list see here or next post.)

Writing for Foxy D. reminds me that the music world in 2011 is thriving. Music is (as it always has been) a teeming ecosystem now deep in the process of shedding major-label shenanigans, just like the food ecosystem is slowly beginning to reject factory farming. For 2012: continue to look closely and go deep…

Best Album

Alvarius B., Baroque Primitiva LP (Poon Village)

Over and over, Alan Bishop’s (Sun City Girls) latest solo album was my favorite listening experience of the year. Even with the second side being made up almost entirely of wispy instrumental pieces. Even with about as much polish as an average 4-track demo. Even being made up of a compilation of tracks recorded over several years in just as many locations. Even with the goofy closing cover of “God Only Knows.” Made me wonder what everything else could be missing, or what Mr. B. possesses. Maybe it’s the same thing that convinced all those women to form that mandala…

Best Song

I will have to admit here that I don’t really listen to individual songs, especially at any point during the last year. Any choices I make would be in the bad conscience of ignorance. I believe in albums! Aughhhh!!! I’ll have to get back to you on this one. 2012 will be the year of the song. I promise.

Best Debut

Black Swan, In 8 Movements LP/CD (Experimedia)

The anonymous Black Swan had me at hello with blurry classical music LP samples, heavy dark drone texture, and a devastating compositional arc. Hearing this you can hear the emotional potential of drone.

Best Reissue

David Sylvian, Died In The Wool 2xCD (SamadhiSound)

Died In The Wool is technically not a reissue, but a reinterpretation of the songs constituting Sylvian’s excellent Manafon. But since they are actually the same pieces, and because I think most reissues are ridiculous—Rolling Stones’ Some Girls on CD, DVD, CD+DVD, BluRay, vinyl, or deluxe vinyl+CD+DVD+BluRay, anyone?—I’m going to take the liberty to once again champion the long-ago lead singer of Japan in my year-end thoughts. Both the concept and execution of Died confirm that he is one of the most innovative artists working today. Collaborating with composer Dai Fujikura, Sylvian reworks the stark electroacoustic minimalism of Manafon into arrangements for string quartet, improvisation by an ever-growing cast of European improvisers, samples, and other sound tools, resulting in a frequently amazing musical complement to Sylvian’s honeyed-with-gravitas voice. The working methods are both personal and cutting-edge, the music striking from start to finish. I venture to say that this is truly important work. Even more surprising, for those on the other side of the pond, is that Sylvian is actually undergoing a March concert tour.

Best Various Artists Compilation

V/A, Ibi Na Bo / Hotter the Battle / The Eyo Beats tapes (Domino Sound)

For these we have to thank Matt Knowles, New Orleans-based eponymous label and Record Shack owner and reggae DJ. This trio of tape compilations of fantastically lovely ‘60s and ‘70s African and Jamaican tunes has been dubbed directly to tape from 45s. Stacked up impressively by the front counter with their eye-catching, sun-faded printing, they invite exploration, discussion, and foster a sense of community, adding to the overall sweet and necessary vibe of the Shack. The store and the comps are a must for any visit to NOLA.

Best Anthology

Merzbow, Merzbient 12xCD (SoleilMoon)

This is a good starting point: this massive output totaling twelve full CDs and a projected fifteen or more LPs—more than the entire discography of most influential bands—was rediscovered by Masami Akita simply laying in a box, as it had done since the early ‘90s. This is better: the pieces on the CDs are revelatory, offering a glimpse into the true depth of Merzbow’s sound-world. This is a person who, to produce “ambient” music, used cheap consumer and broken electronics, homemade sound generators, and even acoustic instruments, generated layered clatter and abstract action-oriented “playing,” stripped away all vestiges of tonality. The point: this sense of “ambient” is truly original, individual, and coherent, an essential side of Merzbow.

Best Cover Art

Rene Hell, The Terminal Symphony LP/CD (Type)

I wasn’t too excited about this category once I remembered that my beloved copy of Douglas Quin’s Fathom (Taiga) had been produced in 2010. But the iconic black violin on the cover of Symphony, besides being iconic, jives perfectly with the structurally and sonically innovative music on the disc. Type had a really fantastic year with releases in general, and they all look amazing, so there’s that too…

Best Vinyl Only

Part Wild Horses Mane On Both Sides, Low Fired Clay Escape LP (Carnivals)

A contemplative and very pleasing set of live pieces by the English duo of Kelly Jones and Pascal Nichols. These two seem to hit their stride regularly, although this was my first exposure to them. I don’t want to reduce any of their contribution to an ethnic fantasy, but portions of these improvisations made up of flute, feedback, and loping percussion, and field recordings remind me of a Japanese film that should have been made in black and white in the Fifties—a soundtrack to a film telling the most Zenlike, contemplative, and revealing story. That’s how vivid they are.

Best CD-R Only

“Field Recordings From Sichuan and Yunnan, China” CDr (Nada)

I got the disc from this whisper of a label with no information or even an identifiable artist, and these are just literally field recordings from China. But they’re very good, even in urban settings, and the anonymity I just like. There is a story behind this release that almost no one knows, perhaps a very personal or interesting one—certainly the best experience I had with a CD-R all year.

Best Cassette Only

SSPS, Highly Sensitive Safeguards Secure tape (Obsolete Units)

Excepter’s Jon Nicholson provides an encyclopedic synth reference without really providing one. That’s just to say that we should reference it. This cassette, thankfully quite long (C74), touches on vintage house, electro, and industrial and snakes all the way up through the present, reminding us of the underground dance roots of electronic music. All the pieces are lean and mean, and it sounds great on tape.

Best Live Show

Morton Subotnick @ Empty Bottle, Chicago, Neon Marshmallow Fest, 12 June 2011

A true master teaching all the boys how it’s done. An incredibly lively and interesting, well-paced set. And to hear the Buchla in the flesh—worth the price of admission alone.

Biggest Disappointment

Cave, Neverendless LP/CD (Drag City)

Living in Chicago from 2007 through 2011, I was fortunate enough to witness all but the very beginnings of Cave. Formed of expats from Columbia, MO, the band once possessed a chaotic, devil-may-care roughness. Early lineups included two drummers, multiple guitarists, three keyboard players. Backed by the excellent Chicago label/record store Permanent, Cave developed an enviable and deserved reputation as the tightest band in Chicagoland, a force capable of harnessing tremendous energy with its hypno-kraut-garage sound. But gradually that energy started to be shaped, and then to be obsessed over. The full extent of the damage is evident on Neverendless, which I was shocked to find is, well, boring. It didn’t rock and didn’t take chances. Don’t get me wrong; the band’s audience is growing through increasingly steady touring and promotion, and I still wish them all the best. And they’re damn good—better than ever. But, pulling themselves up out of the teeming Chicago psych ward, Cave has polished themselves thin and glided through into a dimension that, while more palatable, has lost its edge. Personally, I notice that this seems to parallel my own time in Chicago. Is it just nostalgia I’m feeling?

Biggest Surprise

That I would trumpet the “classic rock” horn in these end-of-year pages. Hey—did you guys know that classic rock is totally amazing? Late-Sixties work of previously prehistoric figures like Zappa, the Stones, Soft Machine, and the Band blew my mind over and over this past year. Have a yearn for a zooming free-jazz groove in 7/8? Check out the second Soft Machine album. Want to hear the true godfather of punk? The proof is in the first Mothers of Invention record, Freak Out! Need to win a debate about the best lead singer of all time? Seriously, look no further than Jagger. Want a lesson in how a band should play together? Dig the Band on their first two albums. To complement the year-end remarks of my friend Nick Zettel, whose 2011 trajectory was a reverse image of mine: sometimes looking back yields just as much excitement as looking forward. The incessant mind demands more!

Most Overrated

New York City prices!

Notice Recordings 2011 in Review : Evan Lindorff-Ellery

2012-01-02T19:41:00.022-06:00

From Evan Lindorff-Ellery:

(for Travis Bird's list see here or previous post.)

Needless to say, this certainly is not a "Best Of" list, as there is so much fantastic electroacoustic improv, techno/dance, jazz and archival releases/reissues I didn't hear this year, but wanted to and couldn't due to lack of time and/or money. Therefore, inevitably—like many other year-end lists—this is what I enjoyed the most, culled from what I was able to add to my collection over the past year.

Pierre Gerard and Andy Graydon - Untitled, (Magnetisms) (Winds Measure)
My mind has flexed itself trying to wrap around this release's many convolutions and multi-tiered, pock-marked constructs. Moreover, the music stretches across a great deal of musical territory—not just the mental territory I've created from its sounds. Side B has sections which recall Basic Channel's extremely sparse dub-inflected moments, and much of the tape recalls early-'50s electronic and tape pieces, but there is something that separates it from that period entirely. I can't figure it out. I find this release to be extremely original.

アンドリュー チョーク (Andrew Chalk) - 夜のバイオリン (Violin By Night) (Faraway Press)
By far my favorite Andrew Chalk release. I'm having a hard time explaining why this album is so wonderful to me. Its distant and recurrent radio-like sounds, its fractured and interwoven textures give it a peculiar domestic foundation. At times, the sounds are released into the air with just enough time to take on forms in multiple ways and give different stories. Then they come back down. Andrew Chalk creates amorphous and oddly exaggerated emotions, yet they thrive on a separate plane than that of most mental concerns.

Haptic - Scilens (Entr'acte)

Anne Guthrie - Perhaps A Favorable Organic Moment (Copy For Your Records)

Anne Guthrie - Baronfelix (Soundcloud page)

Seth Cluett - Objects Of Memory (Line)
I went out and saw the branches, delicate as telephone wires, each half-golden with the contour created by streetlight. Angles swept down to the center of the night from the rooftops, placed firmly within the blue-black sky. Maybe one star shone, but I did not see it. I have so many things from the past hanging on my walls and sitting on my shelves. As things sit on shelves, their lives are extended. A strange cold emerged in the night and moved a wet leaf across concrete and into a small corner. I can hear a bird singing. I am travelling now. Turtles climb toward a plant. I see a forest, and patches of light spot the floor.

Steve Roden / Various - ... I Listen To The Wind That Obliterates My Traces - Music In Vernacular Photographs, 1880-1955 (Dust-To-Digital)

Jean-Luc Guionnet / Seijiro Murayama - Window Dressing (Potlatch)

Scott Smallwood/Sawako/Seth Cluett/Ben Owen/Civylu Kkliu - Phonography Meeting 070823 (Winds Measure)

Grouper - A I A : Dream Loss (Yellow Electric)
Grouper - A I A : Alien Observer (Yellow Electric)
Or maybe rocks on the edge of a river. Or maybe one large rock with pits and falls and curves and sections of lakewater collected in pools. The sky was dark grey, and the horizon was an ending. We were climbing over the rocks late on a Saturday afternoon, as we often did. He climbed up a portion of the rocks and into a hollowed out area with golden light inside. To do this, he had to climb over a tall stack of old glass bottles and glass rocks—also illuminated by the light—which were situated at a kind of entrance to this place. Once he got in, he was crouched down and doing something. I tried to follow, but I was afraid I'd topple over the bottles and glass rocks. I couldn't step around and over them like he did. So I decided to take the wall apart in order to get through. Each bottle and glass rock was illuminated by the light of this place. Some were green, clear, blue and a few were red.

Jason Kahn, 류한길 (Ryu Hankil), 진상태 (Jin Sangtae), 홍철기 (Hong Chulki), 최준용 (Choi Joonyong), 박승준 (Park Seungjun) - Dotolim (Balloon & Needle)

Angharad Davies, Julia Eckhardt, Dominic Lash, Stefan Thut - Four Quartets And Four Soli (Compost and Height)

Tiziana Bertoncini, Thomas Lehn - Horsky Park (Another Timbre)

Matt Earle, Jason Kahn & Adam Sussmann - Concerts Melbourne+Sydney (Avant Whatever)

Sandro Perri - Impossible Spaces (Constellation)

Prurient - Bermuda Drain (Hydra Head Records)
Excess, excess, guilty pleasure. Nights containing razor-sharp shifting mental spaces, their translucencies overlapping to create a foundation of clouds.

Cooly G - Landscapes / It's Serious (Hyerdub)

Rustie - Glass Swords (Warp Records)

Machinedrum - Room(s) (Planet Mu)

Lone - Echolocations (R & S Records)

James Blake - James Blake (Atlas Recordings / A&M Records)

Kuedo - Severant (Planet Mu)
This is an album that mind-bogglingly succeeds at integrating the skittering rhythms and energy of Chicago Juke/Footwork into classic early-'80s electronic and ambient music, stabilizing the entire package with cinematic elements that are not, surprisingly, cheesy at all. During 2011 and 2010, I found it very interesting how dance producers are approaching the Juke/Footwork aesthetic currently gaining amazing amounts of international critique, and either recontextualising the style into a more popular one or, like the label Planet Mu, taking it on almost as their child savant, giving it space to grow and show off its raw and unadulterated talent. Planet Mu also gives the hi-fi vinyl treatment to straight-up Chicago Juke and Footwork which popularized itself by cellphone and Youtube videos—what a riot, that is. From what I can gather, this style has taken a saturation of pop and hip hop music inevitably found throughout the South Side of Chicago (and, like, everywhere else) and set it out to dry—no, wrung it tight in strong hands, forced dry in seconds—letting any remaining dampness bake and sizzle in the sun. The crustiness of the scorched pop and hip hop rag begins to disintegrate, and each particle is used to decorate urban monuments of fractured, perpetually crumbling mainstream relics. To this decorating, Kuedo contributes using long, wide brushstrokes of syrupy, oil-based paint.

Holy Other - With U (Tri Angle)

Hieroglyphic Being - Primitif Nous Sommes (Music From Mathematics)

Hype Williams - One Nation (Hippos In Tanks)

Andy Stott - Passed Me By (Modern Love)

Mark Fell - Manitutshu (Editions Mego)

Mark Fell and Peter Rehberg - Kubu / Zikir (Editions Mego)

Various - Jess & Crabbe Present Bazzerk - African Digital Dance (Mental Groove Records)

Luc Ferrari (perf. Musiques Nouvelles / Scottish Flute Trio / Li Ping Ting) - Madame De Shanghai/Après Presque Rien/Visage 2 (Mode)

Morton Feldman (perf. Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin) - Orchestra (Mode)

John Cage (perf. Percussion Group Cincinnati) - The Works for Percussion 1 (Mode)

Miloš Karadaglic - Mediterráneo (Deutsche Grammophon)
Aside from the dumb title, uninspired cover art, generic design (another fine example of a mainstream classical label's visual aesthetic disintegrating sometime after the early to mid-'90s), this collection of classical guitar pieces was immensely enjoyable and, from what I can tell, supremely played. Just divine, as some folks would say. I could be wrong ! But I don't care. My lack of knowledge regarding classical guitar, its history, or any of these compositions except for Albéniz's "Asturias" gives me the liberty of enjoying this album based exclusively on personal reasons and its aesthetically pleasing aural contours. "Asturias" is a nocturnal piece for me, as it became a regular midnight companion on many Winter nights of 2011—an emotionally tumultuous time—during which I found myself listening to classical music and Chicago's WFMT FM constantly (on which "Asturias" is played every midnight); and through the candle-lit reflections of my plants and picture frames in the blackness of my bedroom window its sound became diffuse.

So many releases from labels like Another Timbre, Consumer Waste, Entr'acte, Erstwhile, Edition Wandelweiser, Engraved Glass and many more, that I did not get a chance to explore. Also Eliane Radigue's Transamorem - Transmortem. I would love to hear that at some stage.

Still amazed at how much innovative, "brand new", challenging, entertaining, and even "accessible" music exists in so many areas of the musical spectrum, yet the everyday person still does not know any of it exists. Somehow they're content thinking that the mainstream music industry is still capable of producing quality products for consumption, or they're too apathetic/indifferent to seek out anything better. With a few glistening exceptions—if everything was as chromatic and visceral as some of the Beyoncé and Nicki Minaj singles, there wouldn't be as much of a problem—I can't see how the mainstream music industry is satisfying anyone's needs.

NTR022 & NTR021 - Windmill • Waterwheel & 56K

2011-12-22T19:14:00.020-06:00

Prices are 7$ North America / 9$ World

Sale for these tapes is purchasing both for 12$ North America / 16$ World

Paypal : noticerecordings [at] gmail [dot] com

Or use our brand new, very modern Paypal buttons :

( Notice #22 ) — Windmill • Waterwheel : " Waterwheel • Windmill " (C40)

One may be aware of Kirk Marrison’s work through Fibreforms and Kiln. During the mid-'90s, Marrison collaborated with NYC guitarist Charlie Nash (Arsenal/Rhys Chatham) on two releases slated for Alley Sweeper Records. The first, Waterwheel – Panchroma, was released, but due to the disintegration of the label, the second was not. " Waterwheel • Windmill " is that release, finally emerging in 2011 under the Windmill • Waterwheel moniker. Combining rhythmic explorations with some seriously alive processing and textures, these pieces still feel fresh today, 15 years after they were recorded.

Nash moved to the Midwest, but his influence on the late-‘70s No Wave New York scene has been noted. Here, he provides a variety of musical textures with objects, prepared and played guitar, and guitar as transmitter of beauty. Marrison sculpts these into teeming atmospherics, constantly dipping in and out of amorphous spaces; at times sounding like a forest and at times like clippings of forgotten landscapes, sewn together by threads of hot water.

- Artwork by E. Lindorff-Ellery. Pro-printed on heavy stock.

- Pro-dubbed, imprinted cassettes with classic Notice attire.

- Type II Cobalt

- Edition of 100

Larger cover art is available here

( Notice #21 ) — 56K : " Generations Lost " (C30)

Generations Lost is the debut Notice Recordings release of 56K, the new project of Josh Burke. Over the past few years, Burke has released dozens of tapes under several aliases—Sky Limousine, Ocean Diamond, Silk Fountain, etc—showcasing his ethereal synth constructions. As this tape’s title suggests, 56K continues Burke’s explorations on themes related to memory, perception, and reproduction. Highlights from the half-dozen tracks include the trancelike unfolding epic “A Dream Within A Dream,” the retro-gaming arpeggiated breakdown of the title track, and “Angel,” a bold and mysterious New Age homage. Elusive and dreamlike, these half-recognized zones emerge organically from the musical framework of Burke’s pieces.

- Collaborative artwork by E. Lindorff-Ellery and Josh Burke. Pro-printed on heavy stock.

- Pro-dubbed, imprinted cassettes with classic Notice attire.

- Type II Cobalt

- Edition of 100

Larger cover art is available here

Copies of some of our back catalogue is available as well. Contact us. Deals may be had.

Items :

- We now have a Facebook account. Use it however you Like; with Facebook the world is your oyster, apparently. Our actual website is still in the works.

- Dense Reduction has a nearly-released tape entitled " Aina Exchange ", released on The Offices Of Moore & Moore. Should be available from them soon, and us a bit later on.

Happy Holidays to all. Spread positive energy and pay attention to the small lights at night.

56K and windmill<>waterwheel: sound samples

2011-12-21T15:22:00.002-06:00

The upcoming Notice pair of 56K and windmill<>waterwheel; sound samples here.

More info in a moment...

Ben Owen - "Birds and Water, 1" Reviews

2011-12-13T21:44:00.013-06:00

Reviews have been posted here :

Brian Olewnick / Just Outside, here

Jesse Goin / Crow With No Mouth, here

Frans de Waard / Vital Weekly, here

BW Diedrich / Everything in Generalities, here

This release is still available for those interested.

Tape Mix by Discrepant

2011-11-10T08:52:00.011-06:00

Discrepant has posted a tape mix made by Quiet Evenings, the husband/wife duo which comprises Grant and Rachel Evans. It's a lovely mix of fairly recent releases, and makes us think of the "tape scene" circa 2008. So long ago, right ?

Good for, well, quiet evenings, perhaps in the countryside. At times an urbanness appears, albiet cloaked in at least two decades old garments, emitting a strange light. Strange light.

It can be downloaded here.

Appearing in this mix is Organ of Species' Notice Recordings tape, "Random Selection". You can see it thirdly placed amongst the other tapes in the image above. We have a few more copies of this available, so please get in touch if you'd like one. Deals may be had if ordering other releases !

noticerecordings [at] gmail [dot] com is our Paypal and email.

Tiny Music - "Epitaph" reviews

2011-11-08T17:57:00.004-06:00

Bobby Power has written a review for a recently released tape by Tiny Music, called "Epitaph". Release information for this tape can be found here, and the review can be found here.

It is still available for purchase, so please get in touch.

noticerecordings [at] gmail [dot] com

Update :

Animal Psi has also posted a review here.

NTR018 - Ben Owen - "Birds and Water, 1"

2011-10-18T10:34:00.014-05:00

Price is 7$ North America / 10$ World

Paypal : noticerecordings [at] gmail [dot] com

http://noticerecordings.blogspot.com/

Shipping Costs

#1 : ( Notice #18 ) Ben Owen : " Birds and Water, 1 " (C94)

Those with a certain taste will be familiar with Ben Owen’s subtle yet stunning design work with his Brooklyn-based Winds Measure Recordings imprint, which also releases his own carefully crafted music in both collaborative and solo form. These are two masterfully textured sidelong pieces exemplifying his attention to craft, process, and detail at the most painstaking levels, while still embracing the sonic imprecision of the cassette tape medium.

"These recordings were made on residency with The Experimental Television Center in Owego, NY during May 2010. This was my third and—unknown to me at the time—last residency, as the Center has now closed. While two of three residencies were in partial an audio/video collaboration with Justin Lincoln, the Birds and Water series is my main body of work created at ETC. The recordings are both sound and sound and image based pieces using David Jones' image processing system. ETC expanded operations in 1974 with the first Jones Colorizer, and in 1975 with a set of keyers, a multi-input syncable sequencer and a bank of oscillators, all designed and constructed by David Jones. The analog system modules coupled with several external op amp generators are heard in these sessions. Numerous patches and variations of each were recorded in extended durations. Side A was recorded direct to cassette tape. Both recordings are presented in their unedited duration.

Thanks to Hank Rudolph, Sherry and Ralph Hocking, Justin Lincoln, Giuseppe Ielasi and Evan Lindorff-Ellery."

- Ben Owen

Tracklist :

Side A : cs-100507-s1 (46:47)

Side B : 100509-07 (47:39)

Mastered by Giuseppe Ielasi. This release features collaborative artwork by Owen and Evan Lindorff-Ellery.

Cover art silk screen printed by the fine folks at Sonnenzimmer print studio in Chicago. Thanks to them for their help.

- Silk screen printed sleeve designed by Lindorff-Ellery. Two inserts included featuring video stills by Owen

- An edition of 200

- Type II Chrome cassette tape, C94

Larger and additional art is available using these links :

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g290/thecoloroflight/Cover_full_large_JPG.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g290/thecoloroflight/Card01_small_JPG.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g290/thecoloroflight/Card02_Small_jpg.jpg

Sound samples :

http://soundcloud.com/notice-recordings

Copies of some tapes in our back catalogue are also available. Contact us. Deals may be had.

Items of Interest :

- TOUR Travis Bird and Evan Lindorff-Ellery (and sometimes as Dense Reduction) are still on tour with Super-8mm filmmaker Jaap Pieters. Our tour is about half over. Currently writing this from Pittsburgh. So far we've received wonderful reception from the films and sound. If you're in or near a city that finds us making a stop, please come by for the screening. The shows are cheap or by donation.

- Photographs of the tour may be found on Evan's blog and the "official" tour blog directed by Jaap.

- Forthcoming releases by Sound Collision Alliance, Josh Burke, Illusion of Safety, John Cage's "One3", Derek Ho's string quartets, Anne Guthrie, Jez Riley French, Waterwheel/Windmill (a Kiln-related project), Seth Cluett, Ryan Jewell and more.

- Our website is currently still (still !) in the works. Nathan McLaughlin has been an invaluable guide during this venture into unknown territory, which is website coding. Seems to be on hold for the moment...

Tour imminent

2011-10-01T18:23:00.007-05:00

Larger image available here
Below are tour dates for the upcoming tour, now "The Eye of Amsterdam Super 8 U.S. Tour." The Eye of Amsterdam, of course, refers to our traveling companion, Jaap Pieters. Be sure to catch Travis & Evan accompanying his amazing films if we pass your way.
Dates below...
Autumn tour with Jaap Pieters and Dense Reduction and solo
October 5 – New York - Anthology Film Archives, 32 Second Avenue, 10003 (films only)
October 6 – New York - Anthology Film Archives, 32 Second Avenue, 10003 (films only)
October 9 – Brooklyn – Vaudeville Park, 26 Bushwick Avenue, 11211 (music with Dense Reduction, w/ Ben Owen, Yellow Crystal Star, Anne Guthrie)
October 10 - Middletown Springs, VT - Dogstar Arts, 277 Spruce Knob Rd, 05757 (films, Travis and Evan accompaniment)
October 12 – Boston – O’Brien’s Pub, 3 Harvard Avenue, 02134 (music with Dense Reduction, w/ Xela, Veiled, Abromiax, Double Awake), 8 PM/$7
October 13 – Boston - Spectacle, 128 Brookside, 02130 (films, Travis and Evan accompaniment)
October 14 – Philadelphia – TBA (films, Travia and Evan accompaniment)
October 17 – Pittsburgh - Melwood Screening Room @ Pittsburgh Filmmakers, 477 Melwood, 15213 (films, Travis and Evan accompaniment)
October 18 – Pittsburgh – TBA (music with Dense Reduction)
October 19 – Toledo - Robinwood Concert House, 2564 Robinwood Ave, 43610 (films, Travis and Evan accompaniment)
October 21 – Chicago - Cinema Borealis, 1550 N. Milwaukee, 60622 (films, Travis and Evan accompaniment)
October 22 – Chicago - Enemy, 1550 N. Milwaukee, 60622 (music with Dense Reduction), 7 PM
October 25 – Madison – Good Style Shop (solo music)
October 26 – Madison - Union South, 1308 W. Dayton St, 53715 (films, Travis accompaniment)
October 29 - Milwaukee - Mitchell Hall at UWM, Room B-91, 3203 N. Downer Avenue, 53211 (films, Travis accompaniment)

Updates, News UPDATED

2011-09-12T12:27:00.022-05:00

Some tapes are still available, specifically the two just announced, so please send us an email for purchase if you're interested. We also have some back stock available at discounted prices.

*Paypal and contact is: noticerecordings [at] gmail [dot] com

A few things which have developed recently and are worth mentioning here :

Travis Bird and Evan Lindorff-Ellery will be touring with Dutch filmmaker Jaap Pieters, playing sound and music to his silent Super-8 films. This is a collaboration which developed after Travis' meeting with him at the Media City Film Festival in Windsor, Ontario. We will be playing some Dense Reduction material, but primarily more improv-based sound works to accompany his films.

In other news, an email-conducted interview by Foxy Digitalis / Digitalis Industries has been posted on their site. A fine example of how we see things, now:

http://www.foxydigitalis.com/foxyd/?p=17044

The Wire magazine has posted two of our tapes on their "Sleeves Received" blog, featuring "gems" received in their "mailbag". A great, simple blog, highlighting some of the fantastic printing and design work on so many records, CDs, and cassette tapes these days. Here: http://thewiremagazine.tumblr.com/post/9921335615/the-wire-magazine-notice-recordings

Thank you

Notice #16 & #19 - Evan Lindorff-Ellery & Tiny Music

2011-09-04T08:31:00.011-05:00

Two new tapes for the late Summer

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Prices are 6.5$ North America / 9.5$ World

Sale : Both for 11$ North America / 16$ World

noticerecordings [at] gmail [dot] com

http://noticerecordings.blogspot.com/

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#1 : ( Notice #16 ) Evan Lindorff-Ellery : " The Tea Merchant and His Atmospheres " (C90)

Notice’s own resident artist returns with his second solo tape. The Tea Merchant and His Atmospheres is a fully realized and personal work of minimal, expressionist sound art that incorporates elements from the artist’s life, including field recordings from his home and travels as well as layers of at-home processing, including the use of radio static, room tone, and cassettes that he’s developed as half of Dense Reduction. Minimal yet highly textured sound environments run up against each other loftily like waves against foreign shores. As the pieces deepen over the course of each side, Lindorff-Ellery unfolds the mysterious connections that make up a sense of home and a sense of self. Non-narrative, nonrepresentational, closely observed and resolutely analog. Through the use of these elements, Lindorff-Ellery is mapping his life and environments. - Artwork by E. Lindorff-Ellery. Pro-printed on heavy stock. - An edition of 100. - Pro-dubbed, imprinted cassettes with classic Notice attire.

Larger cover art is available using this link :
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g290/ ... full-1.jpg
------------------------------------------------

#2 : ( Notice #19 ) Tiny Music : " Epitaph " (C32)

Originally based in Chicago, Tiny Music developed a uniquely organic performance style, laying out an instrumental smorgasbord on the floor and performing acoustically—an intimate throwback that put the listener in direct contact with the band. In recorded form,Epitaph reveals even more of Tiny Music’s sense of structure and dynamics that makes their music so fascinating. The two sidelong pieces flow, as through a house or a silent film, from one musical doorway to the next—sometimes foreboding, sometimes flowering into complex or even composed musicality, but always dense and colorful. Side A meanders from its appealing din into a low drone, and Side B weaves abstract melodies through a hectic sound marketplace, with winding, squeaking, and even laughter dotting the mix, interspersed between plaintive, dark motifs. Tiny Music’s homey clatter on Epitaph uniquely mixes group improvisation, folk tradition, and pure exploration. -Artwork by E. Lindorff-Ellery. Pro-printed on heavy stock. - An edition of 100. - Pro-dubbed, imprinted cassettes with classic Notice attire.

Larger cover art is available using this link :

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g290/ ... 00full.jpg
------------------------------------------------

Sound samples :

http://soundcloud.com/notice-recordings/sets/evan-lindorff-ellery-the-tea/

------------------------------------------------

Copies of the following tapes are available :

NTR007 - Dense Reduction, Shadows of Shipwrecks in Napkins on Shore (few) NTR011 – Yellow Crystal Star, Pathway To Celestial Towers (few) NTR014 - Godseye, No More Cake Here (few) NTR015 - Organ of Species, Random Selection NTR017 - Nathan McLaughlin, Echolocation #5

If you’re interested in any of these, let us know. Deals may be had.

Items of Interest :

- Dense Reduction duo Travis Bird and Evan Lindorff-Ellery will be performing soundtrack accompaniment to Jaap Pieters' films during the month of October. This will start in New York City, briefly travelling to a barn in Vermont, and then back South through Pennsylvania, Ohio and finishing in Chicago. DR will also be embarking on a tour throughout parts of the Southern and Western United States during the month of January.

- Forthcoming releases by Ben Owen, Sound Collision Alliance, Josh Burke, Illusion of Safety, John Cage's "One3", Derek Ho's string quartets, Anne Guthrie, Jez Riley French and many more.

- We have been featured in a series about tape labels based in Chicago by The Onion's online AV Club. This video interview can be seen here : http://www.avclub.com/chicago/articles/notice-recordings,54973/ The interview occurred last Spring.

- Notice Recordings co-owner and sound and visual artist Evan Lindorff-Ellery currently has his drawings featured in Jez Riley French's online art zine. They may be viewed here : http://issuu.com/engravedglass/docs/tristesse_august_issue_?viewMode=magazine

- Our website is currently still in the works. Nathan McLaughlin has been an invaluable guide during this venture into unknown territory, which is website coding.

NOW

2011-08-17T11:08:00.004-05:00

Hello...

If you've ben referred here from a forum post or other type of internet promotion, please know that these tapes are currently available ! We have not had a chance to announce them here, as we're both in the midst of a busy week of moving. The tapes are all set and ready to go, so please place an order. Our Paypal address is noticerecordings at gmail dot com.

THANKS

For information regarding these tapes, please see the following sites :

http://fangsandarrows.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4813

http://www.discogs.com/label/Notice+Recordings

Organ of Species

2011-08-03T11:39:00.004-05:00

A review for the Organ Of Species tape has been posted, unbeknownst to us, way back in June on the Animal Psi website.

This tape is still available, and is perfect for the steady growth of summer environments. Get in touch if you'd like to purchase a copy. It would be 6.5$ for North America, and 9.5$ for International purchase. A deal may be had if purchased with other tapes. Contact us at noticerecordings [at] gmail [dot] com

Evan Lindorff-Ellery's Drawings on Tristesse Engraved

2011-08-01T14:22:00.019-05:00

" Summer Travels Abound "

Notice Recordings artist and co-owner Evan James Lindorff-Ellery currently has drawings featured in the new issue of Tristesse Engraved, an online art magazine curated by sound artist and composer Jez Riley French. Some of these drawings have been featured on Notice Recordings' release artwork, and all of them have been sourced from similar frames of mind.

Links embedded in the text above.
Stay tuned for more and take care.

Dense Reduction : "Shadows Of Shipwrecks In Napkins On Shore"

2011-07-23T17:47:00.006-05:00

A review for Dense Reduction's tape "Shadows of Shipwrecks in Napkins on Shore" has been posted on the Foxy Digitalis website here. A flattering and oddly both inaccurate and accurate review. Never have DR been considered "ultra-leftfield dance" and "minimal wave". Amusing ! Thank you Jan-Arne Sohns for the kind review.

The financial benefit for us in this review would be Sohns' mention of the current availability of this tape. Indeed, it is. Available. You may purchase this, and other tapes, buy *clicking this button*

In other news, Travis Bird has been enjoying his solo tour on the East Coast, and had a recent radio programme with Joe Houpert of Loud & Sad on WPRB, which may be available as streaming audio here, at some point.

Announcements for two new tapes will made next week.
After that, in August, will be Yellow Crystal Star and Josh Burke.

Hopefully everyone is enjoying their summer. It has been oppressively hot in Chicago.

Travis Bird on Tour

2011-07-14T09:16:00.004-05:00

Travis Bird, co-owner of this label and one half of Dense Reduction, is currently embarking upon a solo tour through the East Coast. The performances will consist of guitar and amplified object sound work, including objects accumulated along the way.

The dates are listed here :

July 15, FRI – Roup House, Pittsburgh, PA, w/ Alex Barnett, Brett Naucke, Hunted Creatures, Coyotes By The Way ; 7 PM, $5 suggested

July 18, Mon – The Silent Barn, New York, NY w/ Forma, Millions, Dads Against Vietnam ; 9 PM

July 19, Tues – Sprout, Richmond, VA ; 10 PM (two sets?)

July 20, Wed – O’Brien’s Pub, Boston, MA w/ Ophibre, Middle Kingdom, Luke Moldof ; 10 PM

July 21, Thur – York, PA, TBA w/ Joe Houpert

July 22, Fri – Princeton, NJ, TBA w/ Joe Houpert

Illusion of Safety at Impala Gallery

2011-06-30T13:17:00.008-05:00

Notice Recordings recording artist Illusion of Safety will be performing at the Impala Gallery, as part of the Kaleid Series. This is a wonderful series in a beautiful venue located in Roger's Park. Attendance is highly recommended. Neil Jendon and Green Pasture Happiness are known to put on extraordinary performances as well. We have no idea who Swim Ignorant Fire is.

Hope to see you there.

Dense Reduction at Enemy next week

2011-05-27T08:29:00.004-05:00

Notice nom de bruit Dense Reduction will be playing at Enemy in Chicago next Saturday, June 4 at 9 PM. We're extremely excited to share the bill with Yellow Crystal Star (Pathway to Celestial Towers - NTR011) and Pregnant Spore, one of the many incarnations of Maryland's Justin Marc Lloyd (Rainbow Bridge Recordings).

Enemy - 1550 N. Milwaukee, third floor. Donation and BYOB.

2011-05-09T11:19:00.008-05:00

Dense Reduction now has its own Soundcloud page. Extremely minor news, but might as well mention it :

http://soundcloud.com/dense-reduction

Electric Temple Japan Benefit Project

2011-05-03T16:49:00.017-05:00

Electric Temple have released a very finely curated benefit for the recovery of Japan after its recent devastating natural disaster.

Titled "Gaman : A Ceremony for Japan", it features some fantastic sound artists and musicians including Animal Hospital, Steven R. Smith, Derek Rogers, Loren Conners, Reuben Son, The North Sea, and Chicago locals Zelienople, among many other wonderful artists. All proceeds go to Shelterbox, who provide emergency shelter and lifesaving supplies for families across the world affected by disasters.

Apparently National Audio Company donated all 200 tapes for this benefit. What fine folks they are.

There is also a digital version available for all those of you who are visiting our blog and don't own cassette players.

Electric Temple's original post is here.

Please consider supporting this benefit, and benefits for the welfare of the earth in general.

Travis Bird, "Two Tidal States"

2011-05-03T12:43:00.008-05:00

Travis Bird has released a tape on Digitalis Industries. It is entitled "Two Tidal States". These pieces were recorded at Elmwood in the Autumn of 2010, utilising his Korg MS2000R, analogue delay and tube reverb.

The tape is available via Digitalis Limited Editions, us, and probably a ton of distributors.

Sound samples are available here :

Travis Bird "High, Never Reached" (multiple excerpts) by foxydigitalis

Travis Bird "Low, Evaporated" (Excerpt) by foxydigitalis

In addition to this tape, we have a number of others available. Get in touch.

Notice tapes available in Chicago

2011-04-29T14:40:00.005-05:00

For all you local Chicago folk, three Notice titles--Dense Reduction's Shadows of Shipwrecks In Napkins On Shore (NTR007), Red Electric Rainbow Sky Underneath (NTR012), and Godseye's No More Cake Here (NTR014)--are now available at the Milwaukee Ave. location of Reckless Records. Now you can make Notice Recordings part of your next Chicago scavenger hunt.

In other late-notice Notice news, Jon Mueller (NTR013 - Halves) will be playing tonight--Friday, April 30--at Enemy, 1550 N. Milwaukee, third floor. He is supporting his upcoming second full-length on Type. He will share the bill with Corridors, the excellent multi-channel audio immersion project of New Yorker Byron Westbrook.

Happy weekend, and thanks to all the positive response to our A.V. Club interview.

Notice Recordings Explained

2011-04-26T18:01:00.009-05:00

We have been featured in a video as part of a series called "Tapes 'n' Tapes", which is part of the AV Club, a subsection of The Onion online. The series documents and presents various Chicago-based cassette labels.

Thanks very much to Leor Galil for all his hard work and kind interactions.

Full coverage may be read by following this link :
http://tiny.cc/bgbld/

The video is on YouTube as well :
http://youtu.be/k5EpV63FO2c

Enjoy

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T15:01:00.001-05:00

Dense Reduction on 2:00 AM Tapes

2011-04-21T12:48:00.005-05:00

Notice Recordings "house band" Dense Reduction now has a tape available on 2:00 AM Tapes. It is entitled " Shifting Interior ", and was recorded in the early Summer of 2010 in Edgewater, Chicago.

The above image displays both the cover and the second, fold-over panel. Photography by Travis Bird and Evan Lindorff-Ellery, from Argentina and South Korea, respectively.

Track listing :
A : Vulnch Pihnt
B : Fine Threads in a River

Purchase those over at 2:00 AM tapes, here.

Danke from Germany

2011-04-20T11:43:00.003-05:00

Notice #17 & #15 - Nathan McLaughlin and Organ of Species

2011-04-09T14:22:00.021-05:00

Two new tapes for the Spring

Prices are 6.5$ North America / 9.5$ World

Sale : Both for 11$ North America / 16$ World

noticerecordings [at] gmail [dot] com

#1 : ( Notice #17 ) Nathan McLaughlin : " Echolocation #5 " (C60)

This is Nathan McLaughlin’s latest installment of his Echolocation series. Following releases on Digitalis and Gift Tapes, #5 also continues the organic and thoughtful work of his duo Loud & Sad. Focused on tape loops, layers of delay, and some chordal forms, each piece is meticulously and methodically built, with each sonic element given its due. This sense of pacing and care given to every moment is a crucial element of McLaughlin’s work, and it’s deeply attuned here. The pieces reflect the environment in which they were composed, tight-knit and rural; they mass like storm clouds, and then are barely there, leaving just the fluttering of a distant echo. Stretches of silence, and windblown expanses. Rich chords swell into deeply contemplative passages that are gradually stripped away. A gorgeous, hushed set of tape music.

- Artwork by E. Lindorff-Ellery and N. McLaughlin. Foil stamped on heavy stock

- An edition of 100

- Pro-dubbed, imprinted cassettes with classic Notice attire

#2 : ( Notice #15 ) Organ of Species : " Random Selection " (C30)

Organ of Species is the newest musical incarnation of Scott Cloud (Thoughts On Air; Cloud Valley Recordings). For OOS’ debut release, Scott focuses on documenting, or even mirroring, natural processes through his organic and unhurried pieces. The bases for these tracks are woolly, thick organ drones and heavy outdoor ambience that are constantly, subtly regenerating. There is the path, and there are constant divergences from the path. Overgrown textures roll along with occasional mutations, interruptions, and overtakings. Just as suddenly, things cut and shift entirely, forming a series of non-narrative snapshots into a process that is constantly occurring, resolutely alive. With minimal human interference, the music breathes on its own. A few foreboding elements toward the end of each side point to a disturbance, but we can’t read too much into it—this is just the nature of things.

- Artwork by E. Lindorff-Ellery. Foil stamp overlay on pro-printed, full-color card stock

- An edition of 100

- Pro-dubbed, imprinted cassettes with classic Notice attire

Samples :

Godseye and Dense Reduction tapes are still available. Let us know if you want all 4, and we'll do a discount.

Show reminder ; Pre-Orders

2011-04-05T12:38:00.008-05:00

Frans de Waard over at Vital Weekly, with his superhuman turnaround, has posted reviews for 3 tapes, including two which have not been released yet. If anyone by chance has arrived at this site with the intention of purchasing Organ Of Species - " Random Selection " or Nathan Mclaughlin - " Echolocation #5 ", you may certainly place a pre-order right now. Both of those tapes will be officially announced when we get to it, no later than the end of this week. The Godseye tape, " No More Cake Here " is also still available. Please email us : noticerecordings [at] gmail [dot] com

In Dense Reduction news, please accept a quick reminder that they'll be playing a show at the Impala Gallery in Rogers Park, Chicago. This is part of the Kaleid Series. Winters In Osaka and Crucifagium are also performing. That's the 7th of April, this Thursday at 1768 West Greenleaf Ave, Rogers Park. Way north ! Doors @ 9 ; Bands @ 10.

Organ of Species

2011-03-29T12:53:00.007-05:00

Into colour

(albeit out-of-focus)

Soon, with " Echolocation #5 "

~ ~

Tuesday's concert

2011-03-24T11:17:00.012-05:00

Dense Reduction performing an apparently Feldman-esque piece (thank you Hubble) during Tuesday's concert at Glowsticks, in Chicago.
Photographs thanks to Kelley !

It was a pleasure to meet Nathan Mclaughlin and Joe Houpert, who just finished up their mini-tour in support of two independent projects. Both put on serene, well-paced and very organic performances.

Nathan's tape "Echolocation #5" will be announced shortly.

SHOW : Nathan McLaughlin and Dense Reduction live

2011-03-17T13:25:00.011-05:00

Notice Recordings artists Nathan McLaughlin and Dense Reduction will be playing a show in Chicago next Tuesday, the 22nd of March. Nathan's forthcoming Notice Recordings release, "Echolocation #5" will be released on this date, as well. In addition to this release, we will also be releasing the Organ of Species tape, "Random Selection". Organ of Species is a project of Scott Cloud, owner of Cloud Valley / Maggot Valley Recordings.

Information :

Glowsticks

1376 N. Dean St., # 3F

(Near Milwaukee & Wood)

Nathan McLaughlin (MN)

Joe Houpert (MN)

Toby Aronson (VT)

Hubble (NYC)

Tooth Ache (VT)

Jason Soliday

Dense Reduction

DJ sets by Joel Gardner, Ryan Chupick & Daniel Smith

Party @ 8pm / Music @ 8:30

$5 (for the touring artists)

Joe Houpert & Nathan McLaughlin

The Slow Burn Tour 2011

Performances of Prayer & Echolocation

SHOW : Dense Reduction live at Kaleid Series

2011-03-14T13:17:00.003-05:00

More on this soon.
Until now, see here.

Tapes are still available. Get in touch so we can clear out and move on. Thanks for the support !

Godseye and Dense Reduction. Two new tapes

2011-03-01T09:37:00.029-06:00

As the winter slowly thaws and the local squirrels reappear in increasing numbers, we are proud to offer our first releases of 2011—two new tapes by Godseye and Dense Reduction. We also have some newly available back stock.

#1 : (Notice #14) Godseye : " No More Cake Here " (C40)

Godseye (Eden Hemming Rose, Brad Rose, and Nathan Young) has wowed us with their first two releases focused on spoken-word readings. With No More Cake Here, texts from Natalie Diaz, Edward Kuznetsov, Emma Goldman, and Seth Abramson are read over beautifully crafted synth textures. From the opening words of the title track, the intensity present in the slow, even readings and barely concealed chaos is unmistakable. Beneath wells of feedback and roiling synths, occasional bursts of light emerge on “Prison Diaries 20^th December.” “A Menace To Liberty” delivers a pointedly defiant text from Goldman, and “Gideon Asleep By The River” is contemplative and yearning, almost like a requiem, but perhaps hopeful. This tape mines beauty in the darkness lurking in all corners. Unique and very compelling.

- Artwork by E. Lindorff-Ellery. Foil stamped on heavy stock.

- An edition of 100.
- Pro-dubbed, imprinted cassettes with classic Notice attire.

#2 : (Notice #7) Dense Reduction : " Shadows of Shipwrecks in Napkins on Shore " (C25)

Notice Recordings house band Dense Reduction have explored much new territory recently (mostly yet-to-be released), but they return to their signature sounds on Shadows Of Shipwrecks In Napkins on Shore. The A-side delivers their unique brand of texture and energy, shifting through AM radio, synthesizer squeals, looped bells and Theremin, and no-input mixing. The B-side shows off the extremes of Dense Reduction, building from a quiet, ambiguous synth figure to a wave of noise that simmers, lying in wait until the very last seconds. Recorded almost one year ago, and initially slated for release in 2010, Shadows of Shipwrecks can now be seen as a summation of Dense Reduction’s early-period work.

- Artwork by E. Lindorff-Ellery. Foil stamped on heavy stock.

- An edition of 60.
- Pro-dubbed, imprinted cassettes with classic Notice attire.

Prices are 6.5$ North America / 9.5$ World

Sale : Both for 11$ North America / 16$ World

noticerecordings [at] gmail [dot] com

Samples :

Two months into 2011. Our label has existed for about a year, and we are thoroughly enjoying our existence.

We thank all visitors for their support!

We have also uncovered some copies of previously sold-out titles. Copies of the following tapes are now available—

NTR001 – Dense Reduction, Dense Reduction (only 1)

NTR003 – Dense Reduction, Hobbes Diamond (only 4)

NTR004 – Dense Reduction, Cornerstone Mill (only 4)

NTR008 – Leavitt Ours, Movement (only 2)

NTR010 – The North Sea, Relinquished Sparks (only 3)

NTR011 – Yellow Crystal Star, Pathway To Celestial Towers (only 8)

NTR012 – Red Electric Rainbow, Sky Underneath (only 11)

NTR-R-IOS01 – Illusion of Safety, Repairs (only 2)

If you’re interested in any of these, let us know. They are available at discounted prices.

Crow with no Mouth / A Ceremony is a Book

2011-02-23T10:20:00.004-06:00

Jesse Goin, at his wonderful and thought-provoking blog, crow with no mouth, has posted reflections on Jon Mueller's recent performances and releases, including Halves. Well worth the read, as is the rest of his blog :
http://crowwithnomouth-jesse.blogspot.com/2011/02/ceremony-is-book.html

Been away; back now

2011-02-14T14:36:00.011-06:00

We have been spread thin lately, geographically speaking. Evan was snowed in in Chicago. Travis was in Argentina.

But we are emerging and are back on track. We are VERY SOON to release an excellent trio of tapes by in-house duo Dense Reduction (in conjunction with their forthcoming release on 2:00AM Tapes), Organ of Species (the new alias of Scott Cloud), and Godseye. More announcements when the actual releases drop, which, again, will be VERY SOON.

For those who couldn't get enough of 2010, here is a link to some more extensive year-end remarks by Travis on the Foxy Digitalis site, for which he writes and edits. More commentary to be found there as well.

Year-End Lists and Reflections

2010-12-30T12:41:00.013-06:00

Notice Recordings' Year End “Best Of” List, 2010. And some reflections/reviews.

In no order :

EVAN LINDORFF-ELLERY :

Graham Lambkin / Jason Lescalleet - Air Supply (Erstwhile)

Once again these two (Gentleman) have created something completely unique, despite a similar textural palette used from Breadwinner -- (but maybe they can't help that). I am completely taken into and within these sounds. All the miniature atmospherics coalesce into something slightly industrious and unfamiliar while remaining mostly pastoral and domestic. Everything works in conflict and compliment. Furthermore, the compositional placement of sound is flawless to my ears -- certainly a subjective analysis -- but I feel every sound fares better based on what came before and what is to come.

Totally original and innovative yet folkish and firmly grounded in the "high-class" of the contemporary music tradition, whatever that is.

Rhodri Davies / John Butcher - Carliol (Ftarri)

Annette Krebs / Taku Unami - Motubachii (Erstwhile)

Harley Gaber - Indra's Net (Edition RZ)

John Cage / (Ulrich Krieger) - A Cage of Saxophones, Vols. 3 & 4 (Mode Records)

Although seeming a bit sonically disconnected from what John Cage might have intended, I'm sure that's far from an issue. The performances and sounds on this CD are complete perfection and a fantastic display of the saxophone's capabilities, especially on the Number Pieces. Fittingly comfortable amongst modern "contemporary" releases, and an interesting contribution to John Cage's recorded history.

John Cage / Terry Jennings (perf. by John Tilbury / Sebastian Lexer) - Lost Daylight (Another Timbre)

John Cage (perf. by Friedrich Gauwerky / Mark Knoop) - Etudes Boreales / Harmonies / 10'40.3'' (Wergo)

John Cage (perf. by Annelie Gahl / Klaus Lang) - Melodies & Harmonies (Col Legno)

I'm unsure how I feel about this release. The compositions presented, Six Melodies and Thirteen Harmonies (taken from Apartment House 1776), are some of my favourite Cage pieces, and their respective histories are fascinating. That's another story. I question, however, the choice of the Fender Rhodes as the "keyboard" accompaniment to Annelie Gahl's vibrato-less violin. Klaus Lang's playing is lovingly sparse and well-paced, but it at times displaces and isolates the violin's more homey, traditional sound. There are wonderful moments, however, which somehow work, such as during the nearly epic Harmony 5. I have conflicting feelings in the end. At times I feel that the monochromatic spherical shapes produced by the Rhodes allow the violin to freely wander throughout the remaining spaces -- and yet sometimes the Rhodes is so pure and unforgiving that the amorphous resonance of the sounds produced by the violin's wooden chamber have no reasonable place to go. Lastly, I feel the sequencing of the tracks is all wrong. Scattering Six Melodies into disconnected parts makes their small movements seem less like miniature fascinations with melody and more like fragments of something far greater. The disc is lovingly presented, very well recorded by Christoph Amann, and I have the utmost respect for approaching these pieces in this way. However, my issues still hold precedence.

Rolf Julius - Music For The Ears - ( Small Music No. 1 ) (Western Vinyl)

Michael Pisaro, Barry Chabala - Black, White, Red, Green, Blue (Voyelles) (Winds Measure Recordings)

John Butcher - Trace (Tapeworm)

This is why the cassette tape medium can often function so well. These are glimpses into Butcher's experiments with the saxophone body's resonance, controlled feedback and breathing techniques. I don't find these ready for the traditional LP format, but it's wonderful that they're available and moreover relegated to specific "sides" of physical media. Cassette tapes allow artists to put forth examples of experiments in sound without worrying about the conceptual baggage of the finished, often overworked LP, and this release is a fine example of that.

Eleh - Location Momentum (Touch)

Jana Winderen - Energy Field (Touch)

Infinite Body - Carve Out The Face Of My God (Post Present Medium)

Mark Fell - Multistability (Raster Noton)

Still confounding, monumental, arrogant and beautiful. Thanks for this one.

Oneohtrix Point Never - Returnal (Editions Mego)

Hecker - 3 Track 12" (Editions Mego)

Various - Monkeytek Hi-fi Volume 1 (Mississippi Records)

Ada Van Hoorebeke / L.R.J. Martens - De Eeuwige Jachtvelden (Cetacean Nation Cassettes)

Mirror to Mirror - Heart (Ekhein)

Talugung - Mole Crickets ( House of Sun)

Thoughts on Air - Mallo Yallo (Cloud Valley)

Harmonizer - [ Self-titled ] (NNA Tapes)

Thank you Jon Hassell for laying the other-worldly sonic groundwork for releases like this.

Marcel Türkowsky / Dolphins Into The Future - In Search Of The Miraculous / Fourth Possible Musics (Stenze Quo Musik)
My favourite tape of the year.
Tuluum Shimmering - Heart Of Sky Heart Of Earth (Housecraft Records)

During the past year I have been wholeheartedly enjoying an extensive (re)-discovery of the music of John Cage, exploring through and within his presence as a composer and an extraordinarily intelligent and warm individual. Thanks to such labels as Mode, Wergo, Hathut, and Musikproduktion Dabringhaus und Grimm (MDG), I have been provided enlightening and revelatory means to no end with this man's work. His compositions are as unending as the cosmos and as grounded as the roots below us. Thank you John Cage.

I didn't listen to a whole lot of new pop-oriented music, let alone anything "rock"-oriented this year. In the past, I tend to enjoy a great deal of Techno and some Dubstep, but even that was far from my musical radar for some reason. In this area, however, I was quite impressed by records from Broken Social Scene, Real Estate, Matthew Dear, Robyn, James Blake, Joy Orbison (extraordinary tracks from this one), and Oneohtrix Point Never (including Antony's gripping version of the track "Returnal" (not so much the Fennesz version), and Dan's amazing Games tracks with Joel Ford and Laurel Halo). I mean, seriously, I cannot stop listening to Strawberry Skies. Perfection.

Despite the complete rubbish in the current mainstream music industry, I am still hopeful for the state of things. Not sure why exactly.

TRAVIS BIRD :

Giuseppe Ielasi - Aix (Minority Records)

Expo 70 - Where Does The Mind Go ? (Immune Recordings)

Akira Rabelais - Caduceus (Samadhisound)

Jon Mueller - The Whole (Type)

Ashley Paul - To Much Togethers (R.E.L Records)

Thomas Koener - Nunatak • Teimo • Permafrost (Type)

Joshua Abrams - Natural Information (Eremite)

Friedrich Cerha - Spiegel (Kairos)

Corridors - Corridors (Sedimental Records)

Pikelet - Stem (Chapter)

Mike Reed's Loose Assembly w/ Roscoe Mitchell - Empathetic Parts (482 Music)

Early Winter Season sound compositions 2010

2010-12-25T21:38:00.011-06:00

Tinmouth Church, Vermont

PLEASE NOTE

As of 9 November 2011 :

Most of these have been removed and/or expired. They are still available for free download/donation. Please contact us to work something out. noticerecordings [at] gmail [dot] com. Thanks !!

For the season, here are some compositions, both old and new, available for download.

More information, some photographs and hopefully more tracks to come, as well as our year-end lists and reflections.

~ Enjoy your holidays

For download from Evan Lindorff-Ellery :
1 Carillon Project (made using only recordings from a church Carillon sounding on Christmas Eve, recorded with a very poor quality digital camera, capturing video.)
http://www.sendspace.com/file/4zbdrt

2 Opera and Rain 2
http://www.sendspace.com/file/r5x6r6

3 Variation on a Counterpoint Christmas (made using only tracks from Counterpoint's Christmas album, directed by Robert DeCormier)
http://www.sendspace.com/file/t3mli1

4 Radiator in November 1206_215914
http://www.sendspace.com/file/lqdm78

5 Composition For Field Drones And Domestic Recordings
http://www.sendspace.com/file/rxe6cf

6 Recordings Together
http://www.sendspace.com/file/kvel7r

For download from Bird & Bird :
1 http://www.sendspace.com/file/ywp0rz

Merry Christmas

2010-12-24T21:41:00.001-06:00

Tinmouth Church Carillon ; 24 December from Notice Recordings on Vimeo.

Winter season

2010-12-04T13:48:00.006-06:00

Saturday morning snowfall along the Chicago River, near Notice Recordings' HQ, in the neighbourhood of Ravenswood.

Things slowed down towards the end of the summer and into Autumn, but all that should change soon. We should have some holiday download-only releases posted soon, the two aforementioned Godseye and Organ of Species releases listed below, and much more after the turn into a new year.

Update : Godseye, Organ of Species

2010-11-29T10:42:00.017-06:00

In the works are two tapes by Brad Rose and Eden Hemming's Godseye project, and Scott "Cloud" Johnson's new alias Organ of Species. These should hopefully be available by the end of the year.

(Notice #14) : Godseye - "No More Cake Here" (C40)

(Notice #15) : Organ of Species - "Random Selection" (C30)

We also just noticed that Tomentosa has copies of Evan Lindorff-Ellery's tape "Conflicts and Interrelationships" (NTR002). This is sold out at Discriminate Music, and we don't have any copies left. So they're the last ones.

Look for more Lindorff-Ellery, on a forthcoming project with Travis Bird, featuring solo works, and on the solo tape "The Tea Merchant and His Atmospheres".

Here is a preview of the Godseye tape, as posted on Foxy Digitalis / Peyote Tapes :

Halves

2010-10-31T10:49:00.007-05:00

Discriminate Music and Winds Measure Recordings' online shop is now selling the Jon Mueller cassette.

As previously mentioned, we are sold out.

Thoughts : Jon Mueller, Olivia Block in performance

2010-10-22T11:48:00.002-05:00

In the Internet world, it’s been an eternity since I saw the Olivia Block/Jon Mueller in-store performance at Chicago’s Saki Records. In fact, it’s only been since last Saturday (16 October 2010), and because of the remarkable convergence of several really exciting elements, I’m still excited about it as I write this tardy review.

Saki is a relatively new shop that has been hosting a great series of in-stores, drawing such diverse and respected Chicago artists as Ken Vandermark and Zelienople. The store itself, it must be said, is very tempting—the ratio of items on the shelf to things items I would buy is by far the highest in the city, and doesn’t limit itself to any particular niche. The selection of modern jazz and improv, indie rock, garage, and experimental is equally weighed, and Saki simply seems to have the best of everything. So wandering the aisles in between sets was the icing on the cake here.

Notice has been fortunate enough to be involved in Jon Mueller’s extraordinary recent phase of work, culminating in the recent Type release of “The Whole,” an album that captures many facets of his art in such a complete and lucid way that it simply has to be considered essential. As a loose companion release, Notice’s “Halves” cassette finds Mueller working with the tape elements of his recent performances to craft some intricate and powerful drones. Both of these documents play into his live shows, which find extraordinary tension between a long drum roll and cassette drones.

Many of the reviews of “The Whole” have been extremely positive, but they must be reviews of the CD version, because they exclude mention of the CD remix by Chicago sound artist Olivia Block that comes with the LP. Block is another musician who is capable of extraordinary complexity and depth, and on her 30-minute remix of “The Whole,” she reorganizes the raw sounds used in Mueller’s recordings to create a completely different kind of piece. Gone is Mueller’s driving percussive attack and vocal incantations, replaced with an ever-changing dronescape—subtly and distinctively textured, well-paced, and essential on its own.

Both were captivating at Saki. Block created an extraordinarily immersive sound environment using multiple small speaker pairs and at least one boombox in addition to the PA. Like fellow Chicagoans Haptic, she deftly blurred the line between industrial and organic textures, punctuating the soundscape with plucked notes on autoharp. Mueller’s unusually long set featured the physicality, precision, and simplicity of his craft that never fail to create a memorable experience. Although they performed separately, there was a sense that both solitary, exacting artists were somehow connected, with both employing rigorous technique and organic development in addition to precise preplanned structures. Here’s hoping that leads both of them onward as they move into their next phases.

The North Sea distribution and availability

2010-10-14T14:06:00.003-05:00

The North Sea's tape "Relinquished Sparks" has been seen recently around the internet being sold much higher than it should be. Before paying extravagant prices, please look for the distributors first and see if they have copies still. They need the support, not those with inflated prices.

http://www.discriminatemusic.com/noticerecordings.html

http://www.colourride.co.uk/notice_recordings.html

One day Boomkat might have The North Sea release, but that'll be another story.

Thanks

At times

2010-10-12T13:34:00.009-05:00

Who held most of all went forth sister shelter above my terry cut of the feather without much satisfaction. I've not heard much from either ; their rooms are sought to behold a wealth of indignity and virtue. At least the mice have a festering sensibility to be so certain during these difficult times. I've nothing. Have to with is to close mine or yours -- the doors are open all times. But ever if we try oh so very hard, I'll say certainly there will be not an emptiness in my sight be the light is held in the

Jon Mueller : "Halves"

2010-09-28T12:10:00.023-05:00

This release is now sold out. Please contact distributors for copies. Discriminate Music and Winds Measure Recordings' online shop should have a few copies, but *not yet*. In a week or so. Possibly more than those two ; we're still working it all out. Thanks to everyone who placed and order and your support ! More to come soon ...

(Notice #13) — Jon Mueller : " Halves "

Notice Recordings is very proud to release these pieces by Jon Mueller. For those who have been lucky enough to experience his recent live performances, you may have an idea of what to expect. Based on a simple setup featuring a bracing, undulating drumroll, layers of gleaming aural textures gradually accumulate within themselves, variegated by softly shifting rhythmic patterns. Such a body of sound translates well on magnetic tape ; the thick infrastructure of this music will only change with time and chosen methods of playback.

- Artwork by E. Lindorff-Ellery, packaging concept by Travis Bird. 3-colour letterpress printed on heavy stock.
- Insert comes in two halves : one side featuring metallic gold ink, the other side featuring metallic silver ink. These two halves meet and form a whole within the cassette tape case.
- An edition of 60.

- Pro-dubbed, imprinted clear cassettes.

Sound samples can be found here : Jon Mueller - Excerpt 01 by Notice Recordings
Jon Mueller - Excerpt 02 by Notice Recordings

~~Prices are 7.5$ North America / 10.5$ World. As always, please send payment to noticerecordings[at]gmail[dot]com. Please contact us for cash or trade orders or other arrangements...~~
SOLD OUT

We have a slight price increase this time due to a double print-run and significantly more time spent assembling and cutting the inserts. Normal prices to resume next time.

All orders will receive stickers, while supplies last. Letterpress cards featuring new artwork will be available in the future.

Thanks

Social media is annoying

2010-09-20T16:44:00.001-05:00

Goddamnit.
Stop it.

Notice Recordings

Official Website Announced

Notice Recordings 2011 in Review : Travis Bird

Notice Recordings 2011 in Review : Evan Lindorff-Ellery

NTR022 & NTR021 - Windmill • Waterwheel & 56K

56K and windmill<>waterwheel: sound samples

Ben Owen - "Birds and Water, 1" Reviews

Tape Mix by Discrepant

Tiny Music - "Epitaph" reviews

NTR018 - Ben Owen - "Birds and Water, 1"

Tour imminent

Updates, News *UPDATED*

Notice #16 & #19 - Evan Lindorff-Ellery & Tiny Music

NOW

Organ of Species

Evan Lindorff-Ellery's Drawings on Tristesse Engraved

Dense Reduction : "Shadows Of Shipwrecks In Napkins On Shore"

Travis Bird on Tour

Illusion of Safety at Impala Gallery

Dense Reduction at Enemy next week

Electric Temple Japan Benefit Project

Travis Bird, "Two Tidal States"

Notice tapes available in Chicago

Notice Recordings Explained

Happy Easter

Dense Reduction on 2:00 AM Tapes

Danke from Germany

Notice #17 & #15 - Nathan McLaughlin and Organ of Species

Show reminder ; Pre-Orders

Organ of Species

Tuesday's concert

SHOW : Nathan McLaughlin and Dense Reduction live

SHOW : Dense Reduction live at Kaleid Series

Godseye and Dense Reduction. Two new tapes

Crow with no Mouth / A Ceremony is a Book

Been away; back now

Year-End Lists and Reflections

Early Winter Season sound compositions 2010

Merry Christmas

Winter season

Update : Godseye, Organ of Species

Halves

Thoughts : Jon Mueller, Olivia Block in performance

The North Sea distribution and availability

At times

Jon Mueller : "Halves"

Social media is annoying

Updates, News UPDATED