ben vida

ben vida ~ music for a soft epic (root strata 2011)

"Originally composed in 2008 as a soundtrack to a 5-Channel synchronized video projection 'The Soft Epic or: Savages of the Pacific West' by Nadia Hironaka and Matthew Suib. Two long tracks of classic environmental ambiance. Get lost on a lunar safari." root strata

"...the label describes it as some kind of sonic safari, and it really does sound like it, maybe like some synth/flute performance, taking place in some remote forest glade, the entire thing recorded onto a four track with dying batteries, the results, a dreamily druggy, atmospheric ambience, a warped ritualistic Jewelled Antler styled new age, and a seriously divine soft epic." aquarius

ben vida, synthesizers of the atlantic east, pajarindos!

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higuma

higuma ~ pacific fog dreams

"Over the past few years Higuma's Evan Caminiti (of Barn Owl) & Lisa McGee have slowly evolved their sound from shamanistic acoustic dirges into shimmering metallic blast-off hymns, hair raising eulogies to the cosmos. 'Pacific Fog Dreams' is a set of seven such songs, all beautifully distant and drenched in layers of earth toned echo, balanced in dream time between melodies and all out electric whitewash. Delayed strums hang in a beyond background, a ghost world of songs from some other place and time, channeled onto the hiss of a cassette tape to remind you. Caminiti's guitar is often on the verge of taking the whole thing down, sporadically billowing into colorful feedback, huge blocks of impenetrable sound. McGee's vocals are sometimes discovered, but just as distant smears, or riding the peaks, coaxing out phrases of hidden origin.. maybe singing of intimacy, memory, nature or magic." root strata

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christina carter / islaja

christina carter / islaja ~ tsuki no seika 7" (root strata 2010)

"Limited edition of 100 copies split 7”, only officially available direct from the label. Christina’s side is one of her weirdest tracks, a ‘protest’ song scored for multiple overdubbed voices that move from catatonic Jandek-isms through haunted choral styles. Islaja contributes a spare, intimate vocal piece with a twisted folk melody illuminated by smears of backing vocals." volcanic tongue

foto: lauren treece

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ilyas ahmed

ilyas ahmed ~ live at on land 2009 (root strata 2010)

"A stellar document of this trio's slow burn set from last years On Land festival. Ahmed on guitar & vocals is accompanied by Honey Owens (Valet/Miracles Club) on guitar and Jed Bindeman (Heavy Winged / Eternal Tapestry) on drums. Each cover is a unique collage by Ahmed with hand painted text on the back. No two are the same. These are not lathe cut records, and not lacquer dub plates, but a very small run of 10" vinyl records. All proceeds go to funding this year's On Land festival, and these are only available directly from us. Please drop us an email if you would like to order one. $100 each, does not include shipping! Edition of 25." root strata

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barn owl

barn owl • the conjurer [root strata 2009]

"The Conjurer is the latest offering by Bay Area duo Barn Owl. This new long player finds Evan Caminiti & Jon Porras finally (by way of an actual recording studio) documenting something that is a bit closer to their very heavy live sets, with expanded peaks of white light distortion and enormous valleys of bottom end. Each side opens with a brief funeral dirge to set the mood, a procession of bare-bones drum beats and bell-like guitar statements that bridge the gap to the wider open spaces of the almost side long 'Across The Desert Of Ash' and 'Ancient Of Days'. Apocalyptic westerns, mother nature fever dreams, it all seems to come to mind amid the evening guitar passages, incantations, flute tones, and finally, the solo piano that emerges lost among the electric mayhem to close the album. Considering the amount of terrain, The Conjurer is far from being scattered or rushed sounding. The record as a whole moves at a crafted even rhythm, slowly merging from one scene of violence to the next of almost silent recovery, then back up the mountain again. Edition of 500 LPs, half colored deep red, half black. Cover etching by Evan Caminiti." root strata

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fotola: daelimae

higuma

higuma - haze valley (root strata 2008)

"Higuma is Evan Caminiti (of Barn Owl) & Lisa McGee. Cast in a dark space in SF, Haze Valley holds rather true to its name, filling the edges with smoked out vocals, guitar delays and any number of drone layered acoustics. Very much a distant sound, with distortions burnished down to smooth horizontal planes that lift the music to higher summits. Not at all dissimilar from some of Barn Owl's recent excursions, but with the addition of Lisa's vocals, this goes somewhere else completely. Offset printed sleeve with silver on white." root strata

"Haze Valley" is a totally perfect autumn bummer. Crystal drones and bones to soak up all that smoke you've been exhaling. " brad rose

foto: people folk

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