Trapist - "The Golden Years"

'If Morton Feldman, John Cage and David Tudor had formed a rock band, they might have sounded a bit like this.' (Peter Marsh/BBC)

Restraint is a key word in the Trapist musical vocabulary which is no wonder as the group's name relates to the Trappist fraternity whose devotion is demonstrated by their silence. Whereas on previous albums the group often relied on drastical editing and melodic ornamentation in order to escape restraint, 'The Golden Years' displays a newly gained maturity which is breathtaking: Trapist bring the attack and release game to a climax never heard before. Sharp shocks of black and white with some golden silence in between.

Drawing from both a wide variety of influences ranging from space rock to improvised minimal music, and from folk-influenced psychedelia to noise as well as the members' numerous collaborations the band has managed to establish an unique ensemble sound defying categorization, blending both acoustic and electronic instruments as well as blurring the gaps between improvisational music and prestructured forms. Their blend of sparse improvisation and delicate electronics is a welcome and refreshing change for fans of electronic and free music of all types.

link

AARON DILLOWAY / JASON LESCALLEET 'Grapes And Snakes'

Aaron Dilloway: synth and tapes recorded at Tarker Mills, Oberlin OH
Jason Lescalleet: synth, tapes, and Dell XPS recorded and mixed at Glistening Labs, Berwick ME 

‘Grapes and Snakes’ is the first collaborative work of two of the most respected American underground experimental/noise artists, Aaron Dilloway and Jason Lescalleet. Using purely analog synths and tape manipulation, they build a foggy psychoacoustic mass that lies between dynamic yet patiently treated tape-music and industrial howl. 

Jason Lescalleet's sound world occupies a space between noise, contemporary composition, and minimal electronics. Using decidedly primitive tactics and equipment (e.g. antiquated reel-to-reel recorders, damaged tape, etc.), his work focuses on extreme frequencies and microscopic audio detail. He's been a member of Due Process, performed and recorded with Keith Rowe, Joe Colley, Jason Kahn, John Hudak, Bhob Rainey and Greg Kelley (both separately and as Nmperign), and most recently Graham Lambkin in their Breadwinner project which has yielded unprecedented and glorious results in the electroacoustic music of today. He lives and works in the state of Maine. 

Phenomenal live performer and recording artist, Aaron Dilloway utilizes magnetic tape, synths, contact mic growls, and various other electronics and evocative sounds to create experimental noise and electronic sets that tend to start with a slow burn and build to mindmelting climaxes of intense energy and catharsis. A very physical and versatile performer who has shared the stage and collaborated with a who's who in noise and experimental electronic sound, audiences tend to walk away from Aaron's sets completely dumbfounded. He is a former member of the band Wolf Eyes, and currently also works with his solo modular synth project Spine Scavenger and an ever-changing cast of sound artists under the name The Nevari Butchers. 

The LP is mastered and cut by Rashad Becker at D&M, pressed on 140g vinyl and it is packaged in a pro-press color jacket which itself is housed in a silkscreened pvc sleeve. 

link

MARCUS SCHMICKLER "Bari Workshop" LP

Bari Workshop hosted a group of medieval miniature manuscript painters who were amongst the experts in the recording of the history of science and who circulated knowledge around the world and across cultures. 
Greek texts on Euclidean geometry were translated into Arabic, and medieval Arabic manuscripts on optics and geometry migrated to Western Europe, where, translated into Latin, they contributed to the development of perspective in Renaissance Italy.

link