|
|
|
|
viewing 1 To 8 of 8 items
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
LP
|
|
NNA 073LP
|
"Palace of Wind is a piece that not only transcends genres, but also transcends time and space. Existing in the cracks between contemporary classical music, avant-garde jazz, black metal, ambient, and world music, Palace of Wind is an album-length composition that pushes the four saxophonists to the limit, shedding new light on the saxophone as an ensemble instrument. The players use circular breathing to build continuous, hypnotic waves of sound; multiphonics layer to create intricate textures that seem to come from an ancient time; and blisteringly fast lines seem to liquefy into each other. Unorthodox articulations and unusual fingerings are also part of the vast sonic vocabulary that the members of Battle Trance have painstakingly mastered. However, Palace of Wind isn't merely concerned with demonstrating the virtuosity of the ensemble, nor with impressing or entertaining the listener. Instead, it is meant to be a portal of resonance where there is no separation between the listener and the sound. Since many of the techniques used in the piece are nearly impossible to notate in traditional form, Palace of Wind was transmitted via the oral tradition. The rehearsals were much like martial arts training: intricate sounds were rigorously copied and repeated by the ensemble members until they perfected the techniques. Many hours were spent building the sheer strength required to sustain continuous circular breathing for extended periods. Likewise, a steady focus on physicality was required to repeat rapid note patterns for long periods without sacrificing speed. Palace of Wind is such a demanding composition that there is a high risk of physically burning out before the piece concludes, as once it begins there is no opportunity for rest or even a quick drink of water. There was also extensive training in dissolving the distinct individual identities of the players into the greater collective sound: The band did various long-tone exercises, similar to group meditation, the purpose being to blend together into one sound, so that the origin of the collective sound's components is completely impossible to discern -- even by the members of the ensemble." Includes mp3 download code.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
LP
|
|
NNA 070LP
|
"High End is the latest musical installment from the People's Higher Order of Royal Kinship, as facilitated by Los Angeles producer Neal Reinalda. With recent releases on Opal Tapes and Orange Milk, as well as two previous NNA full-length cassettes under his belt, we are pleased to offer PHORK's debut vinyl record to the masses. On High End, Reinalda digs deeper still into the established PHORK sound world, procuring a modern conceptual take on the idea of 'ambient music' as constructed with pieces of the dance music and musique concrete sonic palettes. The process unfolds in an almost visual manner where short blocks of sound are sculpted into assorted shapes and sizes, then stacked and arranged meticulously to create a skyline of rigid musical architecture. Whether they are electronically generated or captured in the field, the sounds are given the same treatment of deconstruction and reassembly to create new lenses of context. Scenic and situational field recordings are used to explicitly depict the world of the modern human, tapping into the nostalgic and almost mundane facets of daily life, extracting them from their associations, and allowing the listener find new meaning by examining them in a musical setting. Dripping water, a Fourth of July fireworks celebration, the motherly sound of a female voice, the shrill buzz of modern machinery... although these sounds are firmly grounded and not at all otherworldly, they are often coupled and blended in a subversive manner. In the stylistic tradition of the People's Higher Order, these organic sounds are interlaced with a latticework of dry electronica, using traditional techno materials to establish a rhythmic and melodic foundation with an emphasis on inhuman flatness and non-dynamics. Layers are built up and repeated, interacting with other layers as the resulting compounds are patiently added and subtracted, driving onward in a perpetual cycle of blooming and wilting. The resulting creation of a surreal narrative is something rare and unique in such a functional genre as dance music. Always the trickster, PHORK has tendency to embrace juxtaposition and luxuriate in the discomfort of hearing sounds play themselves out. High End succeeds in utilizing music to take on an anthropological voice, meditating on the routine and mediocrity of modern American society in an age of nihilism and discontent. The Royal Kinship often prides itself on generating more questions than answers."
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
LP
|
|
NNA 068LP
|
"Washed up on the shores of Brighton UK, we find A Slab About Being Held Captive laying there quietly in the sand. This soaking enigma is the latest creation of Louis Johnstone, following up an influx of recent vinyl on Opal Tapes, Notown, Where To Now?, and Svetlana Industries. Since their debut release Bass Urine on NNA in 2011, Wanda and the girls have matured to a new point of refinement, sinking deeper into the careful organization of disconcerting sounds. A Slab truly is a seasick collage, with a pervading aqueous essence flowing throughout the two side-long pieces, carrying along with it fragments of field and domestic recordings and sample clutter. Syrupy waves of sound meld into one another with cinematic pacing, forming a gelatinous backdrop for hard cut interjections of concréte style sample manipulation, lending themselves to an air of confusing tension. As the liquid bath abruptly turns to slate, a group of gulls squawk at a bubble filled with muffled porno moans as they glide by. Body sounds and animal conversations are drowned out by the mechanical purrs of an industrial assembly line, sputtering and choking their last breaths as they struggle to stay afloat. Maddening tones seem to permeate from within, sizzling their way through the stereo field like two magnets dancing, drilling through the headspace. This hypnotic phenomenon forces the mind inward, reducing it to a skull full of opiate brain mush and half-cooked soggy memories. These collections of moments may fall shamelessly into near-nothingness at any given time, eventually refilling themselves with sound in a cyclical rising and falling, perhaps acting as an abstract reflection on mental states of indifference, alienation, or just general life terror and bleakness. Wanda's ability to maintain compositional fluidity throughout such a dynamic range of materials is reinforced by an original sense of movement and pacing, and the ability to form a creative symbiosis between cold sterility and organic warmth." Includes mp3 download.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
LP
|
|
NNA 065LP
|
"Migrations in Rust is Jesse Allen. As a member of the Red Light District collective in Queens, NY (which has included some of the best in modern experimental musicians such as Yellow Tears, Pharmakon, John Mannion, Diaphragm, DJ Dog Dick, and a slurry of other side projects, solo projects, and collaborations), former member of the Cathode Terror Secretion and current performer in Cowards, in addition to producing and performing under the guise of several other solo projects (Hollow Seed, Goldeater, etc), Jesse has been actively pursuing many diverse avenues for his musical expression. Migrations in Rust, whose original sonic intentions could have at one time been more easily categorized as ambient music, has slowly shifted towards the unrecognizable. Migrations in Rust has ascertained as Jesse's longest running solo endeavor and holds as his most personal, having transformed from merely a study of emotion and a practice of understanding emotions into something altogether more grand and wholly personal. Three years in the making, during which Jesse relocated from New York City to the valley of Western Massachusetts, Two Shadows communicates the yolk of this transformation. The elements of interplay between turmoil and tranquility, and the means of composing organically to achieve these results, have been filtered through new approaches in an attempt to reach closer to a finer understanding of grace, and towards more precisely using music and sound as a vessel of psychic emotional transmission. Throughout the record, orchestral landscapes blend with rustling concrete textures, settling in a purgatory between melancholy bleakness and slow-burning serenity. Each second is densely packed with incredible detail and carefully-layered instrumentation, crafted with an expansive palette of acoustic, electronic, and naturally-occurring sound sources. Amorphous melodic passages travel with well-paced fluidity from one idea to the next, producing a dream-like narrative. At times placid and evocative, Two Shadows also has a tendency to teeter on the edge of powerful ferocity, sometimes brewing with crackling fury while tastefully maintaining the restraint not to explode into outright violence. This shifting temper is constructed with elements of noise, ambient, hip hop, musique concréte, and sci-fi R&B, all finding their place in the innovative tapestry that unfolds across Two Shadows."
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
LP
|
|
NNA 066LP
|
"The latest full-length from Ben Greenberg's Hubble project. Having cut his teeth in numerous bands such as Pygmy Shrews, Zs, and most recently with The Men, Greenberg has been fostering and cultivating his own unique reexamination of the the guitar as an instrument, resulting in a minimalist and truly psychedelic whirlwind of notes, first displayed on his debut release Hubble Linger on NNA in 2011. Since then, the Hubble sound has matured and expanded, taking in new ideas and influences while still retaining the rock and roll hypnotism of its 'one man and his guitar' rawness. On Hubble Eagle we hear Greenberg launching his guitar mantra even further into uncharted territory. Opening with the side-long 'A Star or Two Beside,' Hubble trades in his trusted electric and opts for acoustic guitar, which when subjected to Greenberg's turbulent tapping chops, yields incredible and unexpected sonic results. Complex percussive patterns begin to emerge, creating a raw rhythmic backbone for a constantly shifting vortex of overtones and harmonic weavings. These dulcimer-like pluckings ping-pong back and forth across a vast stereo field, creating a whirlwind effect that sweeps over the listener like river rapids; bubbling, rushing, chaotic, and endlessly flowing. After some immersion, the barrage of notes can start to feel automated or even electronic, until brief pauses and subtle flourishes break the hypnotic spell, reminding the listener of the human nature of this music. Side B opens with the breaking of more new ground on the track 'A Long Way from Home' originally by The Kinks, Hubble's first cover song. Inspired by Greenberg's rigorous touring schedule on the open road, Hubble meditates on the feelings of isolation and melancholy set forth in the original song. By deconstructing the riffs and rebuilding them in the Hubble framework, the track turns into an electro-acoustic hybrid that is entirely new in sound, employing alternate tunings and adding vocals for the first time in the project's history. The result opens newharmonic gateways for the notes to flow through a psych-rock atmosphere. Closing off with the title track 'Hubble Eagle,' Hubble is in its truest form with a powerful electric guitar exercise. The playing is mechanical in its relentless repetition, creating guitar fractals that seem to crystallize around themselves like the formation of a galaxy." Includes an mp3 download card.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
LP
|
|
NNA 059LP
|
"Over the past few years, iconic noise artist Nate Young has been carefully crafting his own signature solo sound, as evidenced through his progressive recordings and performances with American experimental music staples such as Wolf Eyes, Stare Case, Demons, and Moon Pool & Dead Band. Regression 'Blinding Confusion' enters a new era, retaining the techniques and studies from his previous work and raising them to new levels. Intense compositional building and structure seep through each track, traversing new ground melodically while still upholding Nate's patented over-bearing weight of dread and slow-burning darkness at all the right moments. Deep, percussive brutality and pulsing neurosis mesh with somber burial hymns, held together by Young's technical prowess and mastery of his chosen gear. Each frequency is given its own unique role and characteristic voice, deeply chilled by the arid space of decay via tape manipulation/disintegration, howling its way through the grooves of the record like a cold wind of dead space that billows throughout, unrelenting. Atonal, morphing, and modulating bass lines pulse and plod their way through, like the unseen presence of the undead ascending a creaking stairway, leading upwards toward a nebulous void. This establishes a truly horrific atmosphere while honoring primitive technology, refined with a thick dose of originality." Includes digital download code.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
LP
|
|
NNA 054LP
|
"NNA is honored to be releasing the latest full-length solo recording from Anthony Child, UK electronic music legend perhaps best known for his forward-thinking techno production as Surgeon. A native of Northamptonshire England, Child has been at the helm as a DJ, writer, and producer of electronic music for nearly 20 years, creating works for reputable labels such as Counterbalance, Tresor, and Downwards. Aside from dancefloor-commanding techno, Anthony has also been creating a private collection of tone-based experimental works over the years, much of which has become the backbone for his latest solo album. The Space Between People and Things finds Child revisiting his collection of unreleased experimental studies from the last 16 years, collaging them into an entirely new framework. Using a sound palette reminiscent to his techno works, Child focuses in on the molecules within the sonic textures and frequencies, delicately emphasizing the negative space that surrounds them. These sounds are then intensified to form vast new worlds, enveloping the listener with bright, crystalline detail and clarity. These two side-long pieces seem to exist and not exist simultaneously, filling the listening space as an almost physical presence, to a point where they blend harmoniously with the air that surrounds you. The brainchild of intense focus and exploration, this record serves as an artifact that gives the listener a very personal glimpse into the mind of one of electronic music's most creative producers. According to Child himself, this record 'consists of location recordings, tonal experiments, and thought-forms from many different positions in space and time. It is the sound of the space between people and things.' Mastered and cut by Lupo at Dubplates & Mastering, Berlin."
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
LP
|
|
NNA 051LP
|
"NNA's second split LP unites two American artists on the cutting edge of experimental electronic music: Brooklyn's Oneohtrix Point Never and Los Angeles' Rene Hell. Daniel Lopatin and Jeff Witscher have each been working tirelessly in the US underground for the last several years, releasing progressive, forward-thinking, and highly acclaimed music under a wide variety of guises and manifestations. In 2012, we see them each offering their respective unique visions and interpretations of digital music in the modern world, processing the world around us through the lens of technology and modern sound. Oneohtrix Point Never brings us 'Music For Reliquary House,' which consists of sonic reworkings from the Reliquary House audio/visual installation, a collaboration between Lopatin and video artist Nate Boyce. In a series of five pieces, Lopatin delivers a sequence of hallucinatory informatic assaults, a satirical re-envisioning of modernist sculpture. Picking up where 2011's Replica left off, OPN uses digital technology to dissect human speech patterns and timbres almost beyond recognition. Via computer, Lopatin converts pieces of text to human speech, only to dismantle it entirely, surgically reassembling the scraps of frequencies and the shrapnel of pure sound into something new altogether. Starkly melodic at times, but altogether harsh and inhuman as a whole. Rene Hell presents 'In 1980 I Was a Blue Square,' a suite of five pieces for piano, synthesizer, and computer. Juxtaposing mid 20th century classical music with chaotic electronic blasts, Witscher creates his own style of contemporary music that is peaceful and violent on top of itself, creating a rift of confusion that sits nicely between more vast, soundscape-like vignettes. Witscher's previous forays into the worlds of noise and ambient are tastefully apparent here, indicative of an artist who is able to retain a broad array of influences and use them in a way that is both personal and original." Full-color printed innersleeve.
|
|
|
|