azha

azha - celestial meadows (perfect wave, 2015)

Azha is the collaboration of Kathleen Baird (Spires That In The Sunset Rise, Sapropelic Pycnic) and Andrew Fitzpatrick (Noxroy, Volcano Choir, All Tiny Creatures, Bon Iver). In their debut release, Fitzpatrick processes Baird's flute and vocals through Ableton creating an icy, eerie, celestial ambience. Edition of 50. perfect wave

No se puede negar que en 2015 hemos contemplado un nuevo amanecer para Ka Baird. Siendo honestos, lo cierto es que se venía gestando desde un par de años atrás tras el sendero abierto por Tropical Rock. No obstante, el estallido avant-garde y free-jazz que supuso 'Beast in the Garden' ha liberado un torrente de reencarnaciones (Sapropelic Pycnic) y colaboraciones (Azha) al cobijo de Terry Riley, John Coltrane, Roland Kirk, Cluster o J.D. Emmanuel. Los más de 37 hipnotizantes minutos de la larga suite, secuenciada por Andrew Fitzpatrick sobre las improvisaciones vocales y flautiles de Kathleen, parecen fluctuar entre en un ambient que recorre las profundidades marinas y el espacio exterior. A estos parajes, dispares a priori pero que transmiten sensaciones similares, es a donde a mí me transporta ‘Celestial Meadows'. Flotas ingrávido entre interferencias, loops y disonancias, surgen vocecillas que se asoman para desaparecer rápidamente y vislumbras un arcoíris en la inmensidad helada que va desvaneciéndose paulatinamente. 

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sunmoonstar / maia ibar / sapropelic pycnic

sunmoonstar ~ ibid (twin springs tapes, 2015)

"Twins Springs Tapes is proud to offer this, the debut album from Sunmoonstar (Natasha Home, Sydney, Australia). Panoramic frequencies and percussive surfaces weave satiny landscapes. Pastel planes reflect soft complexities of clouds." 

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maia ibar ~ when you close your eyes / and i see (perfect wave, 2015)

"Maia Ibar of Dual-Split is experimenting with restorative sound voyages. She is interested in assisting you, her, him, them, to come into natural states of balance and harmonies through tones, frequencies and sound. Mysterious but familiar senses of timelessness, traveling through space, or back in the womb... Seeing "when you close your eyes," and "I see." We can always see, we are awake, we are awake."

synths, bells, chimes, drums, tibetan bowls, vocals: Maia Ibar 

guitar, bass: Baptiste Ibar 

vocals: Jean-Pierre Ibar 

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sapropelic pycnic ~ see sun think shadow (perfect wave, 2015)

"Sapropelic Pycnic is the solo project of Kathleen Baird of long running avant psych project Spires That In The Sunset Rise. On her debut release as Sapropelic Pycnic, Baird releases a stunning 8 track record of piano improvisations performed on a Steinway Grand in December of 2011 in a church in her hometown of Decatur, Illinois recorded just days before her father’s passing on December 30, 2011. These improvisations have a raw focus that premiere Baird’s piano training as well as very own style of punctuation, spacing and repetition. Her approach brings to mind the playful, spacious qualities of Emahoy Tsegue-Maryam Guebrou, the unrestraint of Cecil Taylor, the rolling arpeggiations of Alice Coltrane, and the ghostliness of Arvo Part." 

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a year in your garden ~ spring mixtape

va ~ a year in your garden • spring mixtape (calm in trees, mayo 2015)

01 harvest ~ günter schlienz | new song (unreleased, 2015)
02 side a ~ plastic moonrise | plastic moonrise 2 (self-released, 2015)
03 song bird ~ eric allen | happy times (parry music library, 1979)
04 california images 1-5 ~ visible cloaks | 008 (hare akedod, 2015)
05 sleeping frog/cherry blossoms ~ tropical rock | buru (newhive, 2015)
06 river song ~ todd barton & ursula k. le guin | music&poetry of the kesh (valley, 1985)
07 jenny ~ gary atkins | nothin' else around (unknown, 1975)
08 tropical tan / er was eens / baby budha ~ orphan fairytale | tropical tan (pluim, 2014)
09 lazy oasis/rainbowed in the wind ~ pospulenn | sun people sleepwalker (housecraft, 2010)
10 untitled ~ color dream | cloud factory (digitalis, 2008)
11 side b ~ begonia / diminishing shrine recycles ~ james ferraro / coral blade grotto ~ criminals
12 doordarshan's signature tune ~ ustad ali ahmed hussain khan & ravi shankar (1974)
13 carina sayles (vhs video version) ~ palmbomen II | palmbomen II (rvng intl, 2015)
14 stockholm 2024 ~ metro riders | coming soon... (unreleased, 2015)
15 dolphin sea / hot sun / afternoon of sun hot meditation ~ wave temples | spring ritual (2015)
16 fanfare for naran ratan/jam for bwengo ~ naran ratan | trees etc. (tasty morsels, 2015)
17 spacewalkin imagination #5 ~ adrian marcator | imagination (trance, 1984)
18 polaris / crystal ~ jonathan fitoussi | live / parallelograms (pan european, 2014)
19 memories of hurstwood ~ lancashire folklore tapes | vol.IV (floklore tapes, 2015)
20 dusk side a ~ scorpio love child | triple healing mixtape (social harmony, 2014)
21 tropical sea ~ h. takahashi | soundcloud song (unreleased, 2014)
22 (something) ~ mount eerie | sauna (p.w. elverum & sun, ltd., 2015)
23 misleading familiarity ~ les halles | forum (noumenal loom, 2015)
24 jungle longing ~ pulse emitter | digital rainforest (beer on the rug 2015)
25 sol ~ oliwa | eras (illuminated paths, 2015)

26 mental journey to b.c. (medley) ~ x.y.r. | coming soon... (terminal dream, 2015)
27 running late ~ rangefinder | alta vista (unreleased, 2015)
28 garden of delays ~ quentin nicolai (young girls, 2012)
29 tv idents ~ aleksandra domanovic / untamed world outro 1970s ~ mort garson
30 le orme ~ nicola piovani | soundtrack (unknown, 1975)
31 response ~ radio people | fall on mars (centre, 2014)
32 side b ~ mahjoop | mahjoop (cave recordings, 2015)
33 untitled ~ h takahashi & loto retina | soundcloud song (unreleased, 2015)
34 april showers ~ clifford white / night rain ~ deuter (spring fantasy 1987/ecstasy 1979)
35 ...and out come the boards ~ old svrfers | ain't scared of shaka (tranquility tapes, 2015)
36 dal gioco all'esercizio ~ il ritmo nella scuola elementare /unelaul ~ h. jurisalu (1977)
37 expédition bauges/la voix du phénix/première séance/bois enterrés ~ loto retina (2015)
38 la nuit_xylophonstucke ~ carl orff & gunild keetman | flûte à bec & percussions (1971)
39 water drums 1-2 ~ baka forest people of southeast cameroon | heart of the forest (1993)
40 4 mosche di velluto grigio ~ ennio morricone / cats ~ the bugs / tsukasa suzuki
41 9dub ~ el nuevo octeto folklórica del instituto lahmogie | the flukey furlong... (2014)
42 tension against the stream (edit) ~ former selves | three wells (wounded knife, 2015)
43 song four ~ heat sureens | split w/ i am just a pupil (light tapes, 2014)
44 touch me & die ~ kara-lis coverdale | aftertouches (sacred phrases, 2015)
45 unicornis, melankolia/flute theme for princess of egypt (silmäterä) ~ lau nau (2013)
46 hypnosis ~ terlu | split with the solex-mal (bergenost, 2014)
47 song of india ~ the dream dusters featuring kenny at the hammond | organ favorites (1960)
48 tropical paradise ~ nature's course | retreat to the forest (krb music companies, 1995)
49 the magic book ~ black eagle child | playing (scissor tail, 2015)
50 spicks and specks (from walking dead 5x13) ~ bee gees | spicks & specks (csj, 1967)

recuerdo cuando vladimir nos sorprendía con 'calm in trees', un regalo muy muy especial que inauguraba 'a window open'. hoy es 'harvest' de nuestro querido Günter Schlienz, con cariño para los micrófonos. y es preciosa. de cuando la expresión 'ir por el aire' se queda infradiminuta. esa eterna sensación de estar acariciando las notas sin llegar a tocarlas... más no puedo decir, tan sólo gracias por formar parte de este compilado primaveral. "I started to work on 'harvest' last autumn, and as always this time around the year i was thrown back a bit to childhood memories. grow up on a farm to which belonged lots of vines. the harvest time for the grapes was a highlight for me as a kid, lots of people around which helped, everybody was in a good mood and very talkative. so it was definitely a highlight, but always a bit overshadowed by melancholy, because you knew that the harsh winter was just around the corner. so with this track i've tried to capture this special mixture of my feelings in those days. ok, it's not that much a story for some spring mix tape! actually i thought about to rename it because of this, but i can't. for me this track will always be connected with this concept, so i decided to keep the name."  günter schlienz 

el resto de canciones tienen, casi todas, una característica común: suenan bajitas, brumosas, siguiendo la estela de aquella insólita cosecha del inframundo que brotaba con fuerza en el 2009 (baja fidelidad, alta emotividad) y daba sus últimos coletazos en el 2011. quería centrarme sólo en ellas, pero al final, por suerte, hay tantas canciones que aparecen cada día que ha sido imposible. de vez en cuando se cuelan diálogos y fugaces momentos musicales arrancados de películas antiguas, sintonías,... buscando la inspiración en palmbomen II (ay) y en josh burke. pero sobre todo en muchas páginas, sellos y mixtapes que me hacen feliz: toys and tecniques (todos los mixtapes que ha ido subiendo a lo largo de los años están aquí, actualizados), voices of the silence, russian mind, dispokino (ojo a su sección 'tv ident of the month'), pattern & shape, a sound awareness, luzzzalig, waxwing arts, edições cn, gift tapes, the growing bin, pontone (spectral cassettes), dublab, the sum of your life, tabs out cassette podcast, continuo, y tantas y tantas. pelos de punta cuando escucho la sintonía de Ustad Ali Ahmed Hussain Khan & Pt. Ravi Shankar. gracias a Mark de unearthed in the atomic attic por regalarnos 'song of india' cuando ya casi había desfallecido... y gracias también a Kathleen por compartir las canciones de 'buru', el nuevo disco de Tropical Rock junto a Camilla Padgitt-Coles. imposible desligarlas de las imágenes: esa ranita durmiente... chin chin!

fotos: kaśka maniak & cynthia wood

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spires that in the sunset rise

spires that in the sunset rise ~ beasts in the garden (alt.vinyl, 2015)

"Beasts in the Garden is the seventh full length record by Midwest visionaries Spires That In The Sunset Rise. Since 2010, Spires have operated primarily as a duo consisting of long time members Kathleen Baird and Taralie Peterson. After releasing two lush, string based albums Ancient Patience Wills It Again Part 1 and 2 in 2012 and 2013, the Spires have returned with a definitively new direction inspired greatly by two years of exploring improvisation with members of the free jazz community in Chicago, Madison and Milwaukee..." alt.vinyl

As a long-time STITSR fan, who still come back from time to time to those rituals where they used to invoke Comus, let me start by saying that 'Beast in the Garden' is their most experimental and overwhelming recording. Even though the duo introduces a new sound and aesthetic, you will be able to recognize that Kathleen (on flute) and Taralie (on alto saxophone) are behind of this. For instance, the instrumentation remains as varied as always. Nevertheless, everything in the album turns around free-jazz in a dreamy ecstatic dimension with some avant-garde elements in it. In fact, the duo has been exploring new directions for the last two years inspired by members of the free-jazz community in Chicago, Madison and Milwaukee. Anyway, Terry Riley seems to have been a major influence. The title track and ‘Schluss’ have the typical Kathleen’s haunting vocals but in a more operatic style, with tons of loops and some fascinating flute and sax passages. There seems to be an imaginary collaboration between Lol Coxhill and Slapp Happy. A darker reincarnation of Kathleen's parallel project Tropical Rock appears in ‘Bitchin’ (For Suma)’ by means of dense soundscapes. On cuts like 'Portabittaclog’ (which is probably my favourite) and ‘White on White’, the spirit of Roscoe Mitchell and Albert Ayler set the pace while the duo passing through ambient paths. Another highlight of the album is ‘Promise Land’; here you can find a lush combination of instruments chants and loops creating a mysterious landscape. Finally, discordant textures and quirky improvisations emerge in ‘The Sun’. All in all, ‘Best in the Garden’ sticks out as a very imaginative and unorthodox shift towards new musical directions, but also as their best album to date.

Como fan de Spires That in The Sunset Rise que aún regresa de vez en cuando a aquellos oscuros rituales donde el por entonces cuarteto solía invocar a Comus desde un aquelarre, me gustaría empezar esta reseña señalando que 'Beast in the Garden' es indudablemente su grabación más experimental y sobrecogedora. Aunque el dúo emerge con estética y coordenadas musicales renovadas, todavía hay suficientes elementos para reconocer que Kathleen Baird (flauta) y Taralie Peterson (saxo alto) son las artífices de todo esto. Valga como ejemplo que la instrumentación sigue siendo tan ecléctica como siempre. No obstante, ahora todo gira en torno a un free-jazz nebuloso y fluctuante que parece lindar con el avant-garde. De hecho, este nuevo rumbo ha venido propiciado por diferentes inmersiones del dúo en comunidades free-jazz de Chicago, Madison y Milwaukee. De todos modos, Terry Riley parece haber sido la fuerza oculta y omnipresente detrás de todo. Así, la canción que da título al disco y ‘Schluss’ presentan a Kathleen con sus típicos y evocadores juegos vocales hacia el infinito, pero en un tono más operístico, y rodeado de cientos de loops y fascinantes pasajes de flauta y saxo. Lo cierto es que me viene a la mente una colaboración imaginaria en los confines del canterbury entre Lol Coxhil y Slapp Happy. ‘Bitchin’ (For Suma)’ emerge como una reencarnación más lúgubre del proyecto paralelo de Kathleen, Tropical Rock, pero igual de placentera. A continuación, nos topamos con ‘Portabittaclog’, probablemente mi corte favorito, y ‘White on White’, donde el saxo de Taralie alcanza la inmortalidad y los espíritus de Roscoe Mitchell y Albert Ayler iluminan el camino a través de senderos en clave ambient. Otro punto álgido es ‘Promise Land’ con su exuberante instrumentación, cánticos y loops que dibujan un paisaje brumoso y misterioso. ‘The Sun’ regresa a la experimentación con texturas discordantes y descontroladas improvisaciones. Una vez terminado ‘Beasts in the Garden’, no queda más que postrarse ante la magia poco convencional de Taralie y Kathleen, reconociendo de paso que estamos ante su mejor álbum hasta la fecha.

listen ~ out in may

river of god

va • river of god [luzzzalig/calm in trees, marzo 2015]

lo prometido es deuda, compilado de chicas!

:: por la ponita de los 4 vientos y filomena montañas :: 

01 heraaminen pitka • lau nau | silmäterä (princess of egypt) soundtrack [2013]
02  sailing away • jennifer castle | pink city [no quarter / idée fixe, 2014]
03 down the road • mary mccaslin | way out west [philo, 1973]
04  isn't it good to be lost in the woods • pefkin | inner circle outer circle morc, 2014]
05 colorado blue • alela diane | about farewell [rusted blue, 2013]
06 seven moons • sunhiilow | invisible totem [om ha sva ha ksha ma la va ra yam, 2015]
07 imperial smoke town (20131125）• ichiko aoba | ライブアルバム「0%」 [speedstar records, 2014]
08 head & heart • vashti bunyan | johnny boy would love this  [hole in the rain music ltd., 2011]
09 parade of the blood red sorrows • jane weaver | la rose de fer... [disposable music, 2013]
10 el desierto • lhasa de sela | la llorona [atlantic, 1997]
11 children • linda perhacs | the soul of all natural things [asthmatic kitty records, 2014]
12 carter's blues • kathy & carol | kathy & carol [elektra, 1965]
13 beasts in the garden • spires that in the sunset rise | beasts in the garden | [alt.vinyl, 2015]
14 coucou • josette dayde et le quintette du hot club de france  [1940]
15 hole in the bucket • collie ryan | takin' your turn 'round... [rainbow recording, 1973]
16 run run se fue pa'l norte • violeta parra | las últimas composiciones [rca victor, 1966]
17 mattachin • delia derbyshire | bbc radiophonic music [bbc records, 2002]
18 air recording • ylangylang | am i being overdramatic? [inyrdisk, 2014]
19 rotolock • daphne oram | oramics [paradigm discs, 2007‎]
20 take me away • emma tricca | relic [bird records ‎,2014]
21 the vigilante • judee sill | heart food [asylum records, 1973]
22 i wish i knew how it would feel to be free • nina simone | the very best [music brokers, 2006]
23 pantomime • clara rockmore | the art of the theremin [delos, 1987]
24 opening • essie jain  | to love [self-released, 2015]
25 as i went out one morning • mira billotte | i'm not there [columbia, 2007]

26 wave crashed on rocks • meg baird | meet the philly elite [(k-raa-k)³, 2009]
27 i'm your puppet • dionne warwick | walk on by: definitive collection [arista, 1999‎]
28 om supreme • alice coltrane | eternity [warner, 1975]
29 night swimmer • beth jeans houghton | golden 7'' [static caravan, 2009]
30 midnight blues • liz green | o, devotion! [play it again sam, 2011]
31 she rises like the dolphin • kate wolf | safe at anchor [kaleidoscope records, 1979]
32 jugar a la vida • amparo ochoa | el cancionero popular [discos pueblo, 1975]
33 to b without a hitch • bridget st. john | ask me no questions [dandelion records, 1969]

34 the white balloon • mary lattimore and jeff zeigler | slant of light [thrill jockey, 2014]
35 cult of isis • pauline anna strom | trans-millenia consort [ether ship records, 1982]
36 clearing • grouper | ruins [kranky/ yellow electric, 2014]
37 where you are • marianne nowottny | for lee jackson in space [2012]
38 geometría del universo • colleen | the weighing of the heart [second language, 2013]
39 yeh come t'be • jeanne lee | conspiracy [earthform records, 1975]
40 mamacitacity • annie shaw | bush cow milk [2010]
41 over. round, in a room. found. • tara jane o'neil | where shine new lights [kranky, 2014]
42 bláklukkurnar • sigríður níelsdóttir | grandma lo-fi: the basement tapes [hornbuckle, 2014]
43 congregation • itasca | unmoored by the wind [new images, 2014]
44 river of god • linda perhacs | the soul of all natural things [asthmatic kitty records, 2014]
45 vague a l'ame • tara king th. | hirondelle et beretta [moon glyph, 2013]
46 you are song • angel olsen | half way home [bathetic records, 2012]
47 isn't it nice • barbara dane | barbara dane & the chambers brothers [folkways records, 1966]
48 sparta • jennifer castle | pink city [no quarter / idée fixe, 2014]
49 ticket agent • cora mae bryant | the last and lost blues survivors [dixiefrog, 2005]
50 solidao • amália rodrigues | les amants du tage  [columbia, 1955]
51 la suicida • liliana felipe | las horas de belén [fonarte latino, 1999]

52 meridian • madalyn merkey | valley girl [new images, 2014]
53 with my eyes wide open i'm dreaming • virginia astley | from gardens.. [happy valley, 1983‎]
54 the owls • félicia atkinson | the owls [wunderkammer 2012]
55 nightlight • miaux | cassette van antwerpen [ultra eczema, 2014]
56 part I • tropical rock | suma love [perfect wave, 2015] 

57 säteet • kuupuu | lumen tähden [time-lag, 2009]
58 kola (lighthouse version) • amiina | the lighthouse project [sound of  handshake, 2013]
59 jellyfish • vashti bunyan | heartleap [fatcat, 2014]

60 fools rush in • peggy lee | gold collection [musicrama, 2002]
61 for the living • rio en medio | peace sequence [womens work, 2013]
62 klias wetlands • sophie cooper | our aquarius [wild silence, 2014]
63 volver a los 17 • violeta parra | las últimas composiciones [rca victor, 1966]
64 why feel alone • diane cluck | boneset [not on label, 2014]
66 yes yes • kelly nesbitt | kell's bells [reverb worship, 2008]
67 slona/leto • kot kot | kунь  [jozik, 2014]
68 return to fugue • áine dwyer | music for church cleaners mie music, 2015]
69 it's gonna rain • collie ryan | indian harvest [rainbow recording, 1973]
70 drunken conclusions • emma tricca | relic [bird, 2014]
71 woman to woman • tammy wynette | woman to woman [epic, 1974]
72 jai rama chandra • alice coltrane | turiya sings [aquamarin, 1982]
73 me and my shadow • peggy lee | is that all there is / me and my shadow [capitol records, 1969]
74 III • melanie velarde | some [temporary archives, 2013]
75 o superman (for massenet) • laurie anderson | big science [nwarner, 1982]
76 punkte • ursula bogner | recordings 1969-1988 [faitiche, 2008]
 

77 leopard • ela orleans | tumult in the clouds  [clan destine, 2012]
78 keplana • księżyc | księżyc [obuh, 1996]

79 summer's lease • sarah angliss | down to the silver sea [gecophonic, 2013]
80 gossamer silk • pauline anna strom | trans-millenia consort ether ship, 1982‎]
81 song of the planets • linda perhacs | the soul of all natural things [asthmatic kitty, 2014]
82 the visit • marcey hamm | z [not on label, 1986]
83 meet you at midnight • julianna barwick | rosabi ep [dead oceans, 2014] 

84 shasta • suzanne doucet | shasta: sacred mountain vol. 1 [only new age music, 2006]
85 song for hyperion • inez lightfoot | three weaving at the well [biological radio, 2012]
86 elemental finding • tara jane o'neil | where shine new lights [kranky, 2014]
87 capable of murder • christina carter | original darkness [kranky, 2008]
88 interlude • isengrind | underflesh [was ist das?, 2014]
89 aye fond kyss • bridget hayden | god damn, i hate the blues [(k-raa-k), 2011]
90 love letters • ketty lester |  am gold 1962 [time life music, 1991]
91 leicht • sarah davachi | august harp [important, 2014]
92 day colored celery • aloonaluna | a house made of cloud and bone [digitalis limited, 2013]
93 ghost riders in the sky • the space lady | greatest hists [night school, 2013]
94 taivut • kuupuu | sisar [em, 2013]
95 the chord and the centre (imperial topaz remix) • msott | remixes [tabs out, 2013]
96 puella • caterina barbieri | ruota [not on label, 2014]
97 broken drum • je suis le petit chevalier | dark morse [shelter press, 2013]
98 existencial angst • white poppy | white poppy [not not fun, 2013]
99 princess with orange feet • suzanne ciani | lixiviation [finders keepers, 2012]

100 thank you blessings • katarina | aspects [not on label, 2010]

ilustraciones: silvana ávila

download part I   •   download part II

tropical rock

 tropical rock ~ 'suma love' (perfect wave, 2015)

 "new project featuring Kathleen Baird of Spires That in the Sunset Rise and Camilla Padgitt-Coles. keyboard/tenori-on/flute/vocal space-scapes" all events

 listen ~ name your price

tropical rock

tropical rock ~ 3 lewej (perfect wave, 2014)

Kathleen Baird ~ Casio PX800, Camilla Padgitt-Coles ~ Tenori-on

"a sonic journey birthed under the auspices of frog possession in the lush confines of the cyberjungle. playful and minimal, Tropical Rock is an earpath, improvisational frequency route into some kind of alternative reality." perfect wave

 "I'm getting more involved with Perfect Wave and I'm helping with some releases coming up. there is a release, just a cassette, of something totally different that I've never done before, just really minimal ambient keyboard stuff with my friend Camilla Padgitt-Coles, and it's this project we have called Tropical Rock." entrevista con kathleen

 un casio, un tenori-on y tres nanas preciosas. colleen, roj, plastic moonrise, madalyn merkey...

listen ~ buy