microphones in the trees: grant evans
Showing posts with label grant evans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label grant evans. Show all posts

Thursday, November 22, 2012

the kevin costner suicide pact / crippling


"The Kevin Costner Suicide Pact is a four-piece from Denver, Colorado who turn a massive pile of communally manipulated pedals into a delicate wash of sound. despite (or because of) the number of members, this crew is known for it’s subtlety. And despite the subtlety, the songs on this tape have a presence that only a group so tight-knit could create." hooker vision
  
"a contemplative drone wafts from the collective's floorcore alchemy for guitars that blossoms into a dissonant crescendo of wintery noise sounding like a lo-fi version of Tim Hecker or Lawrence English. on the second half the Pact eschews the guitars for a freak-folk amalgam of bells and Finnish-inspired clatter that morphs into a balefully cinematic conclusion to the tape with deeply resonant loops that speaks to the expansive land in which these gentlemen live, as some sort of cracked, lugubrious reinterpretation of Arthur Honegger's early 20th Century symphonic ode to railroads and trains in Pacific 231. another great find from Hooker Vision." aquarius


sold out ~ try ~ listen ~ download


"Fleeting Talisman was recorded using only the grimiest records and crudest equipment available in west Georgia thrift stores." hooker vision

"the title alone made me curious. and my curiosity was immediately overwhelmed with abstract, sonic beauty. the sound of Crippling is opaque, murky, always threatening to disintegrate; yet it is concurrently beautiful, fascinating and consoling. in the process, the sounds ascend, descend, and throb; however, hope manifests throughout. the first part emits a vibe from a Miles Davis fusion era live show, when the sound of his trumpet would descend among the backdrop of Jarrett and Corea. even then, the intermingled sounds of the band would produce an uplifting sound, a feeling of hope. that feeling is eerily present throughout the rest of the tape: dense, tangled sounds follow the introduction, existing under the hiss before breaking through, descending and reappearing. side B finishes the trip properly as flailing loops and broken sounds imbue the environment, refusing to depart as the mood vacillates." honest bag

sold out ~ try ~ listen ~ download

por las nubes... en Crippling, Grant Evans explora nuevos territorios con la ayuda de poco más que 'el equipo más básico y los vinilos más viejos y desgastados que pudo encontrar en las tiendas de segunda mano de Georgia." precisamente los dos elementos que dan cuerpo y alma a las tres canciones de 'fleeting talisman', un campo lleno distorsiones, astros fugaces, ruido, efectos, zumbidos, pero también melodía y romanticismo. inevitable acordarme de The Caretaker y sus imágenes recurrentes: orquestas de bailes de salón impregnadas de humeantes atmósferas de jazz, salones vacíos, años cincuenta, el crepitar de la aguja sobre el vinilo, el resplandor, cosas bonitas de verdad. 'fleeting talisman' es como el reverso melancólico e introspectivo de 'tactical gamelan', capaz de inventar bandas sonoras que saben emocionar y envolver a fuerza de añadir capas y hacer enrevesadas las estructuras. pequeñito pero apabullante.

the kevin costner suicide me enamoran desde su enigmática portada (un hurra a los diseños de hooker vision, por fin tengo en mis manos 'many moons' de former selves y no puede ser más bonita) y un título cinematográfico, muy muy sugerente: mi mano agarrando una fotografía de la misma imagen. devoción, fe, conexión astral... ¿quienes son estos enigmáticos personajes? vienen de la mano de Grant y Rachel y eso sólo puede ser bueno. cuatro canciones: 'and', que abre el disco, sensual como un baño de espuma, ('good morning, i'm sorry'...), la mínima y acuosa 'minimal water damage', 'man the dam', un encuentro imaginario entre Burial y Sylvia Monnier y 'left out in left field',  posible demostración de que si estuviésemos hablando de cine, la mano que agarra la fotografía sería una peli de culto, llena de misterio y emoción verdadera.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

former selves / quiet evenings

 

"For those only familiar with Paul Skomsvold's hazy tapes of blissful drone, this disc may come as something of a surprise. Recorded prior to Many Moons, Build is the missing link between Paul's early experiments in lo-fi rock and his more recent excursions into pure sound. A perfect soundtrack for the final days of summer."


sold out ~ listen ~ free download


"Descend into the deeply personal sound of Quiet Evenings and experience music in both time and space. Gradually resurface on the sustained, perfumed bubble of Former Selves’ soporific harmonies" costellation tatsu




"slow motion nostalgia from Former Selves...soundtracks to lost love scenes, blurry 8mm film montages of carousel rides, memories of a beach sunset. highly accessible, emotive synth movements, that seem impossible to resist. the soundscape is thick, and full, but never crowded or overbearing. a beautiful confluence of warm layers and clean, crisp delicate sounds. there is an elegant simplicity in the four track c20. peaceful, honest compositions, absolutely meant to be enjoyed, and effortlessly successful. stunning physical product. retro futurist art, pro printed, pro dubbed limited to sixty copies. grab directly from Rotifer." guide me little tape

siempre es motivo de alegría cualquier cosa que salga de los dedos mágicos de rachel y grant, hooker vision, rotifer y el recién llegado costellation tatsu (hakobune, cankun), pero former selves, el mago de la nostalgia por excelencia, es una debilidad personal... qué bonita 'future nostalgia', el perfecto equilibrio entre sensibilidad y ciencia, una de esas melodías que dejan huella de verdad. las imágenes que lleva dentro y que desencadenan un estado de ánimo de melancolía y emoción son pura ciencia ficción musical, la demostración empírica de que existen otros planetas ambient. y están aquí. porque el cambio a partir del minuto cinco me deja sin respiración, capas y capas de teclados entrelazándose con una tímida percusión que avanza dulce y delicada, conscientemente anacrónica y triste. sólo un deseo, que siga el estado de gracia de paul skomsvold (al que pronto tendremos de gira por españa y también en portugal, porto) y que siga haciéndonos levitar por mucho tiempo

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

peyote cristal / euglossine


"ong-awaited collaboration between Adam of Sacred Phrases/Dry Valleys and Grant Evans (Quiet Evenings, Nova Scotian Arms, Crippling). twisted channels straight to/from subconscious networks employing a myriad of mysterious and organic elements conjure a streaming dark/vivid/nostalgic and, of course, psychedelic state of mind."



"Tristan Whitehill represents/maintains a unique facet of Gainesville, FL sound. following up his debut solo release on Rotifer, 'Floridian Abstract' digs deep into new fidelities. complexities never outweigh aesthetic charm and restraint but the abstract and articulate muscles flex hard. much heart, much sweat. warm and welcoming vignettes all around."


fotos: kevin hsia

Monday, April 16, 2012

moss swarm


"grant evans (nova scotian arms) uncovers hidden psychic terrain through shamanic dirges and spiritual strains of tribal feedback set against the hum of agriculture. bowed veins scratch forests of moss and statues of the deceased dance under the pagan moon. wine and hexagonal tranquilizers on the altar of the hive are consumed blindly by the righteous many below howling winds of witch instrumentals." hooker vision


"psych-folk drone-zone work from grant evans. more twining branches and curling smoke than the other, more new age-y stuff of his I had heard, and this is a good thing, adding quite a bit of grit and substance. again, two tracks, succinct and to the point. nice variety of sounds and textures, all in all a jewelled antler, last visible dog vibe done pleasantly if unassumingly." eggy records

Saturday, March 31, 2012

quiet evenings | seziki tetrasheaf


"Quiet Evenings are back with a reissue of a tape that was previously released in a hand-numbered edition of 12 for the Foogmess festival in Asheville. two sprawling sides of minimal electronic bliss." hooker vision

 
 
"in celebration of Rotifer's 50th and Hooker Vision's 100th releases, the two labels have teamed up to offer a commemorative split lp between the labels' flagship bands, Seziki Tetrasheaf and Quiet Evenings.
the a side begins with Seziki's lost and found shuffle of mildewed grooves. hazy recollections. deep humidity. on the flip, Quiet Evenings cool things down a bit with a bubbling hymn to the ocean and her mysteries. lost in waves. floating."

Monday, March 26, 2012

former selves


"following a recent string of cassettes and dvds, california audio/video artist Paul Skomsvold delivers the goods with some of his finest work to date. meditative synth compositions for total relaxation and contemplation." hooker vision

"Many Moons is another example for Former Selves’s impressing comprehension of the correlation of our visual and aural senses. made with a technique called “video feedback”, the muffled, warm synth meanderings blend smoothly into the faintly psychedelic frames that are almost exclusively held in soothing pastel shades. truly mesmerizing." no fear of pop



la preciosa portada diseñada por grant y rachel evans lo dice todo. sé que la lista es inmensa y que hay muchos discos mejores del año pero ahora mismo los primeros acordes de 'earth rotation/terranova' son, junto 'otavaiset otsakkaha' de nuojuva, también en hooker vision (sello favorindo junto a inner islands, cabin floor esoterica y l'animaux tryst) lo más bonito y emocionante del mundo. o ese tramo que empieza a partir del minuto ocho, capas y burbujas de sintetizadores que invitan a cerrar los ojos y viajar flotando hasta la luna