tempera

tempera ~ tempera 12'' lp + cd (l'animaux tryst (field) recordings, 2010)

 "when it comes to quality control and prolificacy, one can't imagine a band doing much better on either count than Portland, Maine’s own Tempera. considering the thousands of minutes of original material they’ve committed to tape, microcassette, and hard-drive over the past four years, it's hard to believe that this is still officially Tempera's debut long-playing album. and befitting the band's thorough self-scrutiny the music is decidedly top-tier. this self-titled lp contains two side-long, long-form improvisations, with kraut-rock inspired tom-heavy drumming backing ethereal vocals and synth tones and drones; smooth, blissed-out ambient passages building to cymbal-crashing climaxes. here, Tempera's Nicholas Barker and Corinna Marshall are joined by electric pianist/drummer Robert Stillman (of Robert Stillman's Horses) to hit that ecstatic, transcendent zone." l'animaux tryst

foto: bumbarrels

sold out ~ download

endless caverns

endless caverns ~ chakra ledge (cabin floor esoterica, 2010)

"the buzz of the city is slowly wrapped with the humming body tones of the seven major chakras amplified. percussion, dilruba, trumpet, heartbeat, vocals, electric guitars and bells join in a mass of energies. sky high night jams for the sidewalk crowd recorded this past spring by Matt Lajoie (Herbcraft, Cursillistas, etc.) at the Building of Song in Portland. a dense journey through echoing sea port howls and shaken soul tremours. program repeats on side b. in an edition of 75 hand-painted tapes with an insert in a sewn fabric pouch."

sold out | download

endless caverns ~ magi hymnal (l'animaux tryst, 2010)

"debut release from matthew lajoie. fripp & eno, terry riley, ambient, krautrock, inspired minimalist, composition, conceptual, drone guitar... primarily recorded direct to mono reel-to-reel in an empty frankincense and myrrh smoked out house on christmas eve, chalice toasted to the great north star, this a mediatation on isolation, astrological voyaging, and biblical magick."

sold out | download

(thanks to broadcasts from poor farm for the rip & the upload)

oracle offering | lightning strike lightning

oracle offering ~ howl's angels (l'animaux tryst, 2011)

"Howl's Angels by Oracle Offering, one half of Brainshadows, is a quiet and beautiful meditation for echoing voice, flute and sympathetic strings by a lone female artist. Very spooky-ooky and sure to please fans of the chanteuses of Prisma or Visitations. One gets the feeling of observing an arcane ritual." cassette gods

sold out | listen | download*

* this is only a very small preview, three songs, of the actual tape. The tape is about 40 minutes long, in total. because it was recorded entirely on cassette, mixed and mastered to cassette, and dubbed 1-to-1 on cassette it never actually hit the digital realm. maybe in a few days we'll post all the songs. (thank you matt!)

lightning strike lightning ~ turn myself into the ocean (l'animaux tryst, 2007)

"in which the ghosts in your attic, after leafing through your boxes of can and nnck albums, decide to pick up your broken instruments and make their own music. songs overflow with more sonic ingredients than the recorded medium can hold; guitar overdrive spilling all over banjo riffs, exponential layers of wordless vocals smothering the pristine marxophone, and rumbling percussion dousing the fattest basslines. all is permeated by a warm layer of cathedral reverb and cavern echo, pointing out the space in even the most dense and cluttered compositions."

fotolas: hoy.joy aka 'en mi próxima vidosa quiero ser un cactus'

sold out | download

planets around the sun

planets around the sun ~ we o we (l'animaux tryst, 2011)

"Ditching the domestic life for a stint of wild-abandon nomad drift, Planets Around the Sun departed from Maine in July to unplug and roll on down the line… "We o We" is their parting gift to the musical community that launched them into new orbits...The Ian Paige solo excursion “Agnes” follows, with drones and steel strings lulling raga moves into your atmosphere; once the tablas and electric guitar hits. The B-side hits with “We Owe”, a possession-ceremony standard with netherworld vocal chants circling around watery bass wobbles and wah’ed synth stabs. This flows into “May Day” and its extended doom-dub treatment “Version”, moving from Velvety melodic guitar-scorched psych to a half-tempo high-stepping astral-funk groove. But enough about the past. Planets point to their present/future with the closing track, a cracked lo-fi country-folk tune that serves as their on-the-road calling card. Hand-written (in white paint) cassettes held in a case with full-color pro-printed art, featuring a reproduction of a totally psychedelic needlepoint by Paige’s grandmother."

sold out | name your price

lightning strike lightning

lightning strike lightning ~ creepy power (l’animaux tryst field recordings, 2011)

"L’animaux Tryst has put out a total of 3 releases by Lightning Strike Lightning. All three of these have been huge favorites here. The newest of which was put out recently in an edition of 33, now sold out at the label. Each copy includes a unique poloroid with hand-written tracklisting on it’s backside, all housed in a fabric sleeve. More great banjo/drum/vocal drone goodness with tasteful additions of electric guitars, a great follow up to “Turn Myself Into The Ocean”." broadcasts from poor farm

"...moments of breathless spectral visitation bloom alongside forest-folk recitations, bell loops drawn out to time-bending drone, heavy dirge remembrance, and general free-form folkery. While the murk of of the previous recordings has been dialed back a bit on Creepy Power, the gossamer echo chamber that remains—combined with the slightly-higher-fidelit—makes for a smoother ride and headier drift; this is one to get lost in. Special One-Time-Only Art Edition: Clear cassettes with in-house screen-printed labels, held in a case with double-sided reversible pro-printed j-card, each with a one-of-a-kind Land camera photograph taken by band member Sean Turley with tracklisting handwritten on back, held in a sewn fabric sleeve. Limited to 33." l'animaux tryst field recordings

sold out | free download 

(this is a gift from the beautiful broadcasts from poor farm)

tunnels with sequin trails

tunnels with sequin trails ~ slumber beneath the leaves (l'animaux tryst 2008)

"Sequin Trails is the project of Oregon artist, musician, and mystic Janina Angel Bath. On this gorgeous self-release with Tunnels, wrapped in a gold fabric bag adorned with a stitched line of sequins; the imagery and the song titles reveal much about what you can expect from the music, infused with mysticism, folk psychedelia, and magic. Beautiful washes of sound will hypnotize you, taking you on a journey with Ms. Bath. Schooled in piano, Native American flute, and Indian classical vocal music; Janina (flutes, keyboards, vocals, percussion and bells) and Nick Bindeman (guitars, percussion, effects, viola, bells) create a lovely soundtrack for meditation, with the pleasant instrumentation and chant-like vocals." lombard

foto: rebeca horn

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cursillistas

cursillistas ~ peace pipers (l'animaux tryst field recordings 2009)

"I know a couple months back I said these would be exclusive to the Tryst Haunt subscribers, but thanks to a print shop that gave us a bunch of extra sleeves, combined with the fact that some folks haven't taken advantage of the free tape swap option, there are a few extras kicking around that should be in your hands. Exclusive Cursillistas jams that add up to a prequel or addendum to the Joint Chiefs LP out on Digitalis later this year (see below for more info on that). 45 minutes of headspace dustbowl jams that are a perfect complement to your zoned-out summer heatwave evenings. Limited to 100 copies on transparent sapphire-blue tapes, wrapped in a full-color printed textured art paper sleeve, held together with a piece of golden yarn; few left. $6 + shipping." tryst field

foto: transformerkat

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cursillistas

cursillistas ~ les biches (time-lag 2009)

"deluxe & expanded vinyl version co-released with matt lajoie's own l'animaux tryst (field) recordings label. originally presented in 2006 as the first l'animaux tryst release, an extremely limited 3inch cdr. this new version fills out the album with four previously unreleased bonus tracks from the original recording sessions. each track is newly mixed and whole album features super nice warm analog remastering for the ultimate in hi-fi lo-fi. these recordings represent a definite turning point in the cursillisitas trajectory, with the sparser intimate acid-folk-pop sound of the earliest releases blending easily into a more filled-out and improvisation based psychedelia. heavy use of layered overdubs, xylophone, live looping, and more experimental atmospheres added to the reverbed vocals, acoustic guitar, and crude percussion push things towards the more free-wheelin' full band sound of the present… a drifting trip that wobbles between the dark & the light… pressed on 180gm vinyl. packaged in a totally deluxe letter press printed tri-fold art paper cover with metallic screen printed interior, photo-mounted vellum insert, and all sealed up with a hand-sewn button enclosure. this vinyl version also includes a cd version of the album packaged in a stark hand-stamped art paper cover. hand numbered edition of 300 copies." time-lag

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cursillistas / white light

cursillistas/white light ~ travel light (l’animaux tryst (field) recordings 2009)

"Cursillistas and White Light are hitting the road with a limited 12" split LP to celebrate the occasion. 150 copies large, Travel Light gives each band their own side to showcase their latest material. Your chance to nab a copy depends on the tour dates below--if you can make it to a show, you'll have a shot at hearing this beautiful wonder. If you can't make it out to see Cursillistas and White Light, then keep your fingers crossed that L'animaux Tryst has a few extra copies post-tour they are willing to part with.

Cursillistas' side begins with previously-unreleased live favorite "Crutches" (hand-picked by White Light for this split), and then follows up with a bummer-folk quartet of their most recently-recorded material. White Light presents four previously-unreleased songs on their side of the split, which mark their first official output since a well-received 7" single in the Tryst Haunt Series over a year ago. A warm lo-fi glow cushions these psych-soul-pop tunes, which mix communal spaced-out jams with heavy loner meditations." electronic voice phenomenon

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tempera

tempera - live at tryst haunt + bonus tracks (l' animaux tryst (field) recordings 2008)

"...tempera buzzes its way through lo-fi live loops, beats backing aetherial vocals, a complete electro mindgroove. five drummers/droners on three-and-a-half drum kits, a cello, violin, flute, citara, moog prodigy, woodchimes, dilruba (bowed sitar), loopers, bells, bowls, pedal boards, and more...'more' being fantastic new temperans matt lajoie of cursillistas, chris l. of visitations, and ed knisely of a primitive and savage land! we will make a joyous noise" tryst haunt (field) recordings

foto: suruei

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kelly nesbitt

kelly nesbitt - beaks that could smile (l'animaux tryst 2008)

"Kelly Nesbitt's debut on L'animaux Tryst is a beautiful lullaby of an album, which I mean in the best of all possible ways. Really, a dreamy haze permeates the entirety of "Beaks that Could Smile" and Nesbitt's subtle, well-crafted music makes it all to easy to be drawn into the enticing world of this album. While most songs make use of only her amazing voice and acoustic guitar, Nesbitt still manages to incorporate elements as far-flung as field recordings and kazoo into her folk sound, and makes it all work together.

The disc opens with the lighthearted "Wishy Washy," which is a minimal song backed by a simple acoustic guitar line. Nesbitt declares, "I'm an animated fool who believes / while my loveliness fades from memory / and impostors grab hold of me." This is just the first of many of the great lyrics. "Glorified Renter" is the next song and it shifts into much darker lyrical content and atmosphere than the opener. She sings, "biting the bullet, leaping with faith, / if this is growing up then I'll do what it takes / in the dirty old stinking old town."

There's something special in every one of the songs on this album, but I'll try and focus on just a few more tracks. In particular, one standout is "Earbait #4," which has lyrics that were allegedly taken "from a note found in a beer can in a parking lot." What makes this track great, aside from the crude, funny lyrics, is the use of light strings to back up Nesbitt's acoustic guitar. Also, the song is punctuated by background recordings of laughing voices and the ambient sound of crickets, imparting a calm, dusky feeling. Another winner is "Tabloids," featuring dual lead vocals, light guitar, and an eerie saw part. In the lyrics, Nesbitt begs, "no don't let the tabloids cause your cancer / or the fluorescent creep".

 ...there aren't enough nice things to say about this album. It's emotional, it's thoughtful, it's pretty, and at times, it's even funny. What could be better? "Beaks that Could Smile" is a an extremely strong, ambitious effort and it leaves me excited to hear more music from Kelly Nesbitt. Get your hands on this one, if you can. 10/10" foxy digitalis

un disco para derretirse de lo bonito y perfecto que es. canciones como "Kelly goes country" o "Wishy Washy" ayudan a no echar tanto de menos a Castlemusic. merece la pena comprar una de las cincuenta copias limitadas en preciosos sobres de felpa, y acercarse a the Gargoylez por esa curiosa versión de Violeta Parra y porque, además de Kelly, también está la fotógrafa Somira Sao.

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cursillistas

cursillistas - thrush chimes in the field haunt (time-lag cdr 2006)

Cursillistas es en realidad Matthew John LaJoie, un duende de Portland con lazos y sentimientos británicos. en Thrush Times demuestra su fascinación por el pasado, por las grabaciones de Harry Smith, por el psych folk británico y la música tradicional india. construye su música, al igual que Joshua Burkett, Justin Vollmar, The Skygreen Leopards, Ethereal Planes Indian o Hush Arbors, sobre una montaña de folk psicodélico, rupestre, tribal, repleto de tonadillas desnudas que se inspiran por momentos en Palace Brothers o en Greg Ashley (esa voz tan dulce...). acústicas, organillo, vientos, títulos extraños, banjos a la deriva...y aunque para mí sea un desconocido, todo estaba escrito ya en el delicioso Rotary and Gems. sólo puedo recomendaros que hagáis todo lo posible por escuchar la preciosa Hands (haunt) Feet.

 

'Heard Palace Brothers' Days In The Wake. Made music. Interned at Time-Lag Records. Heard music. Made music. Recorded Rotary and Gems as gift for friends and family. Time-Lag distributed, and the 10 copies available sold out in two hours. Brad Rose heard Rotary and Gems. Wrote that it was "an excellent introduction to what promises to be one of my favorite folk-inspired projects around" and awarded it a 9 out of 10 in a foxydigitalis review. Wrote more songs. 14 songs finished for upcoming album Thrush Chimes in the Field Haunt, which was released by Time-Lag Records in July 2006.'