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LP
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MIA 052LP
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2022 restock. Neon City is the debut release by Erik K Skodvin and Otto A Totland's Deaf Center project, finally reissued 18 years since its first appearance in 2004. Listening to Neon City in 2022 is like taking a melancholy journey down rainy city streets of the early naughts, made by the then two young Norwegians in their mid-20s after spending time together in a basement full of vintage items. Armed with young optimism and a sense of musical experimentation, they started sampling everything around them, be it an old television broadcaster, tape recorders, a game of table tennis or conversations on film and merging it with pianos, plucked guitar, strings and anything in-between. The record turned out as something unique in the fields bordering post classical and ambient music, though without landing on any set genre. The record was filling a place in music that was barely touched upon and made them further experiment with samples and classical music which landed them on the 2005's classic Pale Ravine. Although Erik and Otto both had been making music solo before, Neon City was the start of their more focused future paths as purveyors of both light and darkness in music that seeps through your soul to battle the anxieties of the world. The record comes with a remix of the opener track "Dial" by Helios aka Keith Keniff, taken from the same original. Remastered featuring new artwork; includes download code; edition of 500.
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2LP
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MIA 035LP
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2022 repress of the extended 2016 Miasmah double LP edition of Pale Ravine, the classic debut album by Deaf Center (Erik K Skodvin and Otto A Totland), originally released on Type records in 2005. More recently Skodvin and Totland are known for solo recordings under their own names on the Sonic Pieces label. Pale Ravine, made back in their mid-twenties, is an otherworldly sound collagé to Norwegian nature, theatricality and old silent films. The two musicians looked deep into their own family histories to piece together a dusty and nostalgic epic, blending elements of classical and electronic music with an array of field recordings and a lot of fog. Full-length album version, includes the tracks that were previously only on the CD edition. Includes a 20 minute side of unreleased material from the same time-frame. Gatefold sleeve; includes download code; edition of 300.
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LP
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SONIC 028LP
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Low Distance is Deaf Center's third full-length studio album and perhaps the most focused effort by the Norwegian duo to date. After their last record Owl Splinters (2011), which was quite an eclectic endeavor, Erik K Skodvin and Otto A Totland draw their sound back into something quieter and more minimal. The record starts with a piece of sweeping analog electronics. It's a spacious, yet dynamic opener that leads directly into the static tones and piano motifs of "Entity Voice", which balances a new sense of abstraction with the classic Deaf Center sound. It´s warm and close while sounding like it's set in the outer horizon. Overall, Low Distance feels both alien and familiar with its atonal synths, close pianos, and drowned-out noises. After meeting in studio for the first time since 2011, the recordings came out of a three-day session in 2017. It was then mixed at both EMS Stockholm and at Erik's home studio over a longer period to create a blend of deeply layered as well as stripped-down pieces. Both Erik and Otto have been active individually since their last meeting as Deaf Center: Otto has released two solo piano albums, while Erik has furthered his descent into musical abstraction both under his own name and as Svarte Greiner. It's long overdue to hear them connect their personalities into something new. Low Distance is a welcome return replete with beauty, mystery, and uncertainty. Full tone cover artwork; Includes printed inner sleeve. Includes download code.
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CD
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PATT 001CD
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Deaf Center is seemingly never of the times. Whether it's the nostalgic component often associated with Pale Ravine and Owl Splinters, or the time between releases, waiting and remembering are part of the experience. Recount is a bridge between full albums, where time and familiarity are mesmerizingly suspended. Recorded during rehearsal sessions in 2012 and 2008, "Follow Still" and "Oblivion" make full use of the Deaf Center spectrum. In the direction of a live performance, Recount plays off of experience and reaction; a balancing act of improvisation, sonic detail, and emotion. "Follow Still," recorded in Berlin 2012, brings you to a recent past. The 13-minute track leads you down a melancholic pathway and into tunnels of memory. Minimal piano passages and warm repeating organ sounds are at the core, slowly blurring your sense of time while faint guitar amp noise and the sound of effect-pedals switching off and on makes you feel present at the recording. Engraved with intricate details and quiet moments, "Follow Still" pursues the night until dawn. "Oblivion," recorded 2008 in Oslo, recalls the live sets that followed the release of Pale Ravine. With this era condensed into one long track, the piece is an overwhelming mass of orchestral haze, crying strings and droning bass. The dense fog doesn't burden but calms, and as it starts to clear, reveals a true grandiosity. Recount is both a division and fusion of sound and time. Two tracks, two years, two people, two cities; ultimately, Deaf Center straddles worlds to lead to something unquantifiable and timeless.
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LP
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PATT 001LP
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LP version. Packaged in die-cut outer sleeve and printed inner sleeve. Includes download code.
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