Welcome to the Touch Newsletter #147. drøne is Mark Van Hoen and Mike Harding. Their debut LP “Reversing Into The Future” is to be released by Anna von Hausswolff’s Pomperipossa Records this Saturday 16th April 2016 as part of Record Store Day, in an edition of 500 copies. Form an orderly queue, please! Remaining physical copies, as well as digital downloads, are to be sold online from 29th April.
Almost out of stock are two T-Shirts from Ash International: DRONE and DRØNE. Limited sizes available. Free drone with each T-Shirt sold.
Hildur Guðnadóttir plays London and York this weekend. Details below.
On 21st April at OHM Berlin, from 10pm until the bitter end The Tapeworm hosts the second instalment of its “Worm Leatherette” night. Featuring Roger Semsroth, Finn Johannsen and Philip Marshall playing “the best fucking music ever”, plus a live PA from Zerocrop. Event info: Facebook / Resident Advisor. Savage Pencil’s artwork for the night features on a limited edition T-shirt now on sale in the TouchShop…
PRLP2 | drøne "Reversing Into The Future"
Limited edition vinyl (500x) – 16th April 2016 (Record Store Day)
High quality download – 29th April 2016 (TouchShop / Bandcamp)
Cover image: Maria von Hausswolff
Cut by Jason @ Transition
Track List:
Side A: This Strange life l [19:53]
Side B: This Strange life ll [19:57]
You can listen to an extract here
and you can read a feature in The Hum here…
Tristan Bath in The Wire wrote: “The buzz of cooling systems working overtime seems to infect the rustlings of Van Hoen’s modular synth, woozy shortwave radio and field recordings. The duo seek out peace, and very nearly find it amid several diversions into melodic territory. The palpable heat never lets up though, making for an unsettling session that always simmers”
tinymixtapes: “...borne out of A/C-less conditions in Los Angeles... Van Hoen (a.k.a. Locust) and Harding reportedly had a limited window in the morning before their equipment started overheating, and they used that time to harness field recordings, short wave radio, and modular synth into a decidedly electronic journey. Anna von Hausswolff of the sponsoring Pomperipossa label calls the album a “jewel.””
Felt Hat: "Drone minimalism has taken its toll in many ways on ambient, noise and improv as well as the so-called synth music that is derived from the ambience of krautrockian voyages of Tangerine Dream or Ash Ra Tempel likes. So how about two dudes from LA doing it their own way. Well, atmospheric as it is sounds really cool and definitely not overproduced overdone, minimalistic and yet very rich. I guess it is the matter of Mark and Mike's elaborate approach towards composition and attention they give to each other. And at the same time it is not at all cliché, it takes you all the way into subterranean underworld that this kind of music should do if it is really good, and it does, hell it does!"
Pomperipossa Records, curated by Anna von Hausswolff, is delighted to announce the forthcoming release of the first album by drøne. Field recordings, short wave radio, modular synth all combine to form an enticing, arresting, moving journey of electrically-charged dissonance, drones and electronic melodies… Anna calls it “a jewel”.
"A very hot day in the hills above Los Angeles… only possible to work in the mornings because of the sweltering afternoon heat, so all a bit frantic, but with a kink in time. There is no wifi-controlled air conditioning; the car is electric-powered and charging up. It has barely rained for months, (if not years) and the hoses are working overtime. Its an analogue session; Mark’s modular synth set up is working furiously and overheating. We are pushing sounds through and seeing what works… and things gradually take shape. The forms seem to determine themselves; how much control do we have? How much do we want? Some peculiar things start to happen and the haze bends. Some of the sounds seem alive and are quick to reform as we struggle to contain them, like trying to stuff snakes into a bag. The sounds moan and sing, forming their own phonemes.”
www.field.nu/drone
@dronefield
www.pomperipossarecords.com
Hildur Guðnadóttir | Live in London and York
16th April 2016, Conway Hall, London
The Richard Thomas Foundation presents a concert of two new compositions by acclaimed Icelandic composers Jóhann Jóhannsson and Hildur Guðnadóttir, at the Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, London, WC1R 4RL on Saturday 16th April at 7.30pm.
Programme:
1. New composition for voice and cello, composed and performed by Hildur Guðnadóttir (world premiere)
2. “12 Conversations with Thilo Heinzmann” - a string quartet composed by Jóhann Jóhannsson (world premiere). The quartet will be performed by Thomas Gould (violin) Sara Wolstenhome (violin) Ruth Gibson (viola) and Peter Gregson (cello)
Further information and tickets: www.conwayhall.org.uk
17th April 2016, National Centre for Early Music, York
“Hildur Guðnadóttir is an Icelandic cello player, composer, singer and software manipulator at the forefront of experimental contemporary music. She draws out a broad spectrum of sounds from her instrument, ranging from intimate simplicity to huge soundscapes. Hildur has composed for theatre, dance and film with the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra, Tate Modern and British Film Institute amongst the high-profile commissioners. She has released four critically acclaimed solo albums, which are all released on Touch.”
Promoted in partnership with Late Music.
Further information and tickets: tickets.ncem.co.uk
“Worm Leatherette II” | OHM Berlin, 21st April 2016
On 21st April 2016, The Tapeworm presents a night of the best fucking music ever, at OHM Berlin.
Köpenicker Str. 70,
10179 Berlin
From 22h00, €5 on the door
Your DJs for the night:
Roger Semsroth [Sleeparchive, once worked at Hard Wax]
Finn Johannsen [Macro, still works at Hard Wax]
Philip Marshall [The Tapeworm, unemployable]
Plus, a special live P.A. from the incomparable Zerocrop.
What to expect? Read more…
Download an electronic flyer here [.pdf]
Facebook event page
Resident Advisor event page
TTS#05 | Savage Pencil “Worm Leatherette II” T-shirt
To celebrate The Tapeworm’s "Worm Leatherette II" club night at OHM Berlin, 21st April 2016, the one and only Savage Pencil has drawn up a new white-on-black T-shirt, in an edition of 20. Shipping mid-April.
Sizes available: S, M, L, XL
Printed in white ink on a Fruit of the Loom Super Premium in black.
Front illustration: Center Chest, 20cm wide
Back type below neck
Buy Savage Pencil “Worm Leatherette II” T-shirt in the TouchShop
Touch Conference | USA 30th April - 10th May 2016
A series of conferences featuring Touch artists on the west coast of America presenting and demonstrating their work to a discerning audience:
Touch (est. 1982) is one of the last surviving labels from the turbulent new wave period in London, which uniquely fused art, design and music. Hear artists from the label roster present and demonstrate their work to a discerning audience.
Philip Jeck uses turntables and sampler to create a unique sonic improvisation, both emotionally captivating and technically involving.
Mark Van Hoen, with modular synth and software pushed the analogue/digital envelope to create damaged melodies, drones and dense claustrophobia.
Simon Scott explores the creative process of actively listening, the implications of recording the natural world using technology and the manipulation of natural sounds used for musical composition.
Daniel Menche - In a genre known for its randomness and chaotic structure, Daniel Menche has established himself as a musician with an uncharacteristic sense of focus and determination. Rather than creating "noise," he strives for order and cohesiveness. Aural intensity is not a representation of confusion or the chaotic, but a concerted effort to provoke and stimulate the listener’s imagination by generating intensely powerful sounds and music.
Bethan Parkes - Her work spans across field recording, sound design, ambisonic composition and multichannel sound installation practices, drawing a focus on sonic spatial experience. Her works are designed to open out spaces with sound, exploring spatial aesthetics and the interactions between sonic and visually articulated spaces.
April 29th, Aeterna Gallery, Los Angeles
Philip Jeck
Jon Wozencroft (photography exhibition, part of Touch Retrospective April 9th on...)
Touch
Jon Wozencroft will not be present
Further details on Facebook and in Artillery Magazine
April 30th, Volume, Los Angeles
Philip Jeck
Mark Van Hoen
Bethan Parkes
Touch
May 1st, Aquarius, San Francisco
Philip Jeck
Mark Van Hoen
Simon Scott
Touch
May 2nd, The Gray Area, San Francisco
Philip Jeck
Mark Van Hoen
Simon Scott
Touch
May 3rd, private location (invitation only), San Francisco
Philip Jeck
Mark Van Hoen
Touch
May 4th, Holocene, Portland
Philip Jeck
Mark Van Hoen
Simon Scott
Daniel Menche
Touch
May 7th, Chapel Space, Seattle
Philip Jeck
Mark Van Hoen
Daniel Menche
Touch
May 10th Dublab, Los Angeles (Radio)
Philip Jeck
Touch
www.philipjeck.com
www.markvanhoen.com
www.simonscott.org
danielmenche.blogspot.com
www.bethanparkes.net
TTW#83 | Cristian Vogel “’mist Tape”
Cassette only – limited edition
Illustration – grohs
Track List
A: Part I [47m08s]
B: Part II [47m11s]
“I found some talking books out on the street – someone was throwing them away. They had been in the sun a while. Perfect. I took one home and recorded over it with sketches and ideas. This isn’t a mix tape – it’s a ’mist tape.” – Cristian Vogel, Copenhagen, 27 August 2015.
Cristian Vogel is a long-term innovator in the composition, mixing and performance of electronic sounds. His professional career as an independent creator working in advanced music and technology has established him as an outstanding influence in the fields of composition for stage, club culture and studio. Born in Chile 1972 and raised in the UK, he is now based in Copenhagen.
All music composed and recorded directly to cassette by Cristian Vogel 2014-2015, except for the slamming beat at 3’27” of side one, which is a short clip of SØS Gunver Ryberg mixing one of her tracks in Vogel’s studio – used with kind permission.
Buy Cristian Vogel “’mist Tape” in the TouchShop
More information on www.tapeworm.org.uk
cristianvogel.tumblr.com
TTW#84 | UnicaZürn “Omegapavilion”
Cassette only – limited edition
Illustration – Danielle Dax
Track List
A: Extract From Eternal Conumbra
B1: Heliomantra
B2: Phosphor AKS
UnicaZürn is Stephen Thrower and David Knight. Recorded during March 2015 in Battersea, London.
The tracks for the “Omegapavilion” cassette are three improvisations played, recorded and edited by UnicaZürn specifically for this release across one weekend in March 2015. Instrumentation comprised an ARP Solina String Ensemble, EMS Synthi AKS, electric guitar, and two iPads.
Here’s Joe Banks, writing about the group for The Quietus: “UnicaZürn is an ongoing collaboration between David Knight and Stephen Thrower, two musicians with some serious avant rock credentials – Knight was a key member of Shock Headed Peters and songwriting partner to the divine Danielle Dax, while Thrower was with Coil for eight years and is also one half of Cyclobe. The music they make together using a variety of vintage keys and reed instruments is a viscerally organic strain of proto-ambient, strongly influenced by the pre-sequencer Tangerine Dream of “Zeit” and “Atem”. We’re firmly in drone territory here, but a long way away from throwing a few synth loops into GarageBand and hoping for the best.”
Buy UnicaZürn “Omegapavilion” in the TouchShop
More information on www.tapeworm.org.uk
www.unicazurn.com
Guerrilla Audio
Guerrilla Audio is a new series of audio raids by Simon Fisher Turner.
guer·ril·la
ɡəˈrilə/
noun
noun: guerilla
a member of a small independent group taking part in irregular fighting, typically against larger regular forces.
Each audio edit will be posted for 14 days and then removed from the site, although the information about each guerrilla activity will be archived, but without the audio. There will be two postings per month with the first (also featuring Klara Lewis & Rainier Lericolais) on 1st August 2015, so please check in regularly to listen to the latest offering.
Guerrilla Audio
www.simonfisherturner.com
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The previous Touch NewsLetter can be found here.
