The following releases are sold out from Alluvial.  Some of our distributors may still have some of these titles available.

 

Koji Marutani Pataphysics CD ALL 002

Our first release for 2000, this is from Japanese composer Koji Marutani, who also runs the Digital Narcis label. Here, he presents a group of recordings of wide variation. He continues his series of "Scenes" recordings which incorporate field and locational recordings with electronic elements. The first piece is inspired by the radical piano work of Eric Satie. Other pieces includes cool, flowing ambiance and cut up's of American, Japanese and European TV and radio broadcasts. There is also his attempt at adding a warm, human element to the often tired Electro- Blip sound. It's packaged in a perfect balance of austere lights and earthy tones in an edition of 500.

REVIEWS

Vince Harrigan (Manifold Records, USA)

An extremely varied disc for Marutani, and I must say my favorite so far. The difference in track style is astounding, but then what makes it great is the way they just drip and melt into each other. The first piece is very musical, a minimalist piano piece, with bland notes banged one at a time, some light, some deep, some loud, some far away. Then after a bit this is layered over by sounds of wind, rain and birds…we're outdoors somehow and the piano is still there but fading (Excellent!). There is then the sound of a man typing on an old typewriter, speaking each note as he types it in what sounds like French. Then theres a train, loudspeakers in some european station. Then bells in some dawn courtyard. Then childrens feet going up and down stairs. A winch pulled and rolled up. Japanese voices from a scratchy television speaker. Cups of water dipped into a brook. Then the man typing again. The final work is almost a sort of cut-up track that uses lounge music to create a very surreal 1950's tiki, bachelor pad sort of misalignment. Astounding work, simply perfect in that zen sort of way location work should be.

 

 

The Lumbering Intransitive Dream of the Alial Straa CDr ALL 003

This release begins a series of releases for Alluvial in which we will be reissuing old cassette materials and other rarities. The packaging is simple, but attractive and available at a lower price. Each will be available for one year from its date of issue, which is indicated in each release. This particular project stems from the Orogenetic Collective of artists involved in many facets of sound, the physical arts, theory and installation. For this release, AS is Seth Nehil and John Grzinich. It is a more electronic work, rather than incorporating the usual field recording methods and manipulation of physical materials usually associated with them. At 57 minutes, it is a set of compositions which are primarily made up of long, shifting drones, very satisfying.  Roughly 200 of these where printed. 

 

 

REVIEWS :

Vince Harrigan (Manifold Records, USA)

The text/story/myth about what the Alial Straa is found on the card inside the jacket is great, I love it when releases have pointed, relevant literature that succeeds in directing my imagination as I listen to the work. Like some surreal Tolkien/Native American myth….Alial Straa is a collaborative venture of Seth Nehil and John Grzinich. You might remember Grzinich from a colab with Mnortham, Stomach of The sky to be exact. I love this stuff; organic, spooky, sheltered natural-ambient. Struck stones, wind, rustling leaves and groaning gritty ambient swells and waves. A recording that reads like a deep, dark river, currents changing, scenery changing, sounds steady and physical but subtly different in each channel and inlet. Put this right next to IAM Umbrella, Augur, maybe a Rapoon with no beats? Great stuff. In a basic brown sleeve with card inside.

 

 

 

Alial Straa  Tunnels/Stairwell CDr ALL004

Our second AS reissue is another tape originally released by the Orogenetics Collective in a very small edition. This time, contributions come from Seth Nehil, John Grzinich, Michael Northam and Olivia Block. As the first is very smooth
with moving, shifting drones, this is more oriented toward filed recordings and improvised instrumentation from Block. Between the two, there is an excellent contrast apparent between the various recording techniques and sonic dynamics that this group of artists explore.  Roughly 200 of these where printed. 

 

 

REVIEWS :

Vince Harrigan (Manifold Records, USA)

Some great work is being done in the vast silence of this under-distributed, experimental frontier, particularly on cdr. Its like the taper underground of the 80's that involved Illusion Of Safety, Tietchens, Greif, Jeph Jerman and countless others is starting silently again but with new artists and perspectives. Seth Nehil and John Grzinich work with Mnortham on this one, a grey, naturalist work in two sections. Struck stones, rubbed sticks, pale, ragged instrumentation as minimal ornaments in the background. We go from lair to city, cave to tunnel, sky to stairwell in sound. All progression and change, but staying within a composed Jeph Jerman/His Masters Voice sound, natural and barely affected. Like being hypnotized by the wise ghosts of ancient animals, moving with them in spirit through the structures of humankind, feeling the smooth stone and concrete of sidewalls, nature badly transformed into temporary spaces. A hard one to describe, but one that promisesmany plays before its secrets even begin to be revealed.

 

 

 

Seth Nehil From Cloud To Seed LP ALL005

This is the first new release from Seth since 1998. Seth was part of a 1998 multimedia installation in Los Angeles at
which he presented a series of six drawings titled "Basic Materials" in addition to a tape concert of this composition. The work is a study of the origins of life, degeneration and decay- themes often explored in Seth's work. The composition is distinct and striking from the onset. He utilizes a vast array of sonorities to produce a flowing piece of quiet hums and cracklings accented with loud blasts of crinkling leaves, snapping wood and breaking glass. It is an interesting blend of
natural sounds, electronics and traditional instrumentation with contributions from mnortham, jgrzinich, Josh Ronsen, Olivia Block and Doug Easterly. Four of the original six drawings are reproduced on heavy, textured paper as a two part sleeve. It is a numbered edition of 300.

 

REVIEWS :

Vince Harrigan (Manifold Records, USA)

The sound of bottles falling up stairs covered in mud and blankets. An ocean of mumbling blackbirds flying by…rivers of sand and teeth. This fantastic work of organic environments and natural ambient is immersive and tense., rich and crafted. It features sounds and instrumentation by Mnortham, John Grzinich and others. These lps are limited to 300 numbered copies, each with a double cover, two covers folded in on each other in other words. Looks like hand sketched charcoal art? I cant tell. Fantastic. One of those really cool collectible things that ten years from now someone will press to cd as a classic reissue.

 

Bob Morlock  www.bobmorlock.com

Nehil is an american visual, performance and sound artist. He is strongly connected and collaborating with other artists working similarly with field recordings as J .Grinzich or mnortham (more info on these artists at kaon.org). On each side, three tracks of music shifting from chord-based drones to loud natural field recordings. The delicate mixing and rich tonalities are noticeable. Nehil manages to magnify our microscopic environment through his electroacoustic approach of natural sounds. Even fire cracklings and objects rubbing achieve a musical texture with his sound treatment. To compare with, the sound definitely reminds Organum and its calm/ambient works (without flutes however !!!).

 

 

augur  a slender thread of silence CDr ALL006

Augur is Steve Brand, an artist based out of Kansas City. He has mostly released tapes and CDR's on his own. This one is of his very few recordings to have been issued to a wider audience. He often explores a wider range of sounds
and dynamics than other artists might. With this recording, he has chosen a quieter approach which brings to mind the work of Meelkop, Lopez and Lucier. The pieces are long and building with subtle changes and a wide variety of sounds- field recordings, found instruments and voice. That said, it is 76 minutes in length and one of his strongest works to date. Approximately 150 copies were produced.

 

 REVIEWS :

Vince Harrigan (Manifold Records, USA)

Halted, startling natural concrete sounds, strained over a razor-thin environment of nothing. More of the airy, white, spacious blank page from the Augur arsenal. Tiny sounds and sometimes character-less bits and pieces strewn over a randonmly viewed landscape like bits of bark and dirt. Often a resonating tone pulls through the scene, like an affecting color trying to breathe life into dead things. Odd, hard to pin down. Has it's own flavor that doesn't lend itself to easy notice.

 

Richard di Santo (Incursion.org, USA)

These recordings were inspired by a statement made in a lecture by the Jungian scholar Robert Bly: "All great works of art contain a slender thread of silence." Steve Brand aka Augur has taken this statement and made it his central theme for this release on CDR by Alluvial Recordings. Composed using a variety of sound sources (location recordings, flutes, toy piano, chimes, tapes, microphones...), each piece begins in silence, and builds slowly on that foundation. In the first track, minimal tones, sparse clicks and crackles, and a deep drone create a cold atmosphere. The second track begins with all the quiet of a still and sullen night: crickets chirp, an owl passes by, the silence remains. Then slowly, out of the night, the sounds escalate and intensify, the chirping of crickets turns into the buzzing of bees, the tranquil setting comes to life with great intensity and darkness. Rumblings, shufflings, smooth frequencies, the sounds of objects being moved around, the soft cries of a kitten... these are what compliment the void of silence throughout these five intriguing recordings. These pieces are beautifully produced with subtle compositional touches, perfect at a low volume, but even better with the volume turned up. Following this release on Alluvial, Augur has just released another two records, also on CDR (and available from Soleilmoon). The work of an artist full of ideas and talent, this record leaves me very curious to hear more.

 

 

Daniel Menche October's Larynx CD ALL007

The first new full length release from Menche in more than two years. Here, Daniel presents five untitled pieces of powerful sonic continuity. From the beginning of the first track, we hear richly layered electronic drones that echo amid
buzzing, furious textures built around his signature, playful darkness. Over the entire hour, the intensity builds in a dense ebb and flow until the pinnacle is reached at the beginning of the last track- a single bell chimes and continues to grow into a massive, overpowering Zen- like hum. With this release, we are undoubtedly hearing one of Menche's finest moments thus far. A beautiful edition of 500 with artwork from Erik Stotik.  Approximately 400 of these were available for sale.

 

REVIEWS :

Massimo Ricci (Touching Extremes, Rome)
    What a beautiful record. Menche discards every colour except black, white and grey; puts his already excellent releases behind and presents us with almost one hour of ever-changing drone creations. What starts like water in a pan

 becomes a slow, distorted rumble; dark vibrating frequencies are looped for a hellish eternity. Sound springs from unknown sources and you’re forced to live with it, like it or not. A tiny sun ray comes at the beginning of the final track, courtesy of metallic bell tolling, but then it’s treated as usual and looped to render it dark grey – again. Shockingly good stuff.

 

Vince Harrigan (Manifold Records, USA)

The most introspective thing i may have heard from Menche. October's Larynx slowly flashes into oblivion, like the droning, silenced wailing in a faroff canyon. Deep groans and tinkling myriads gather in the foreground of the listeners hearing. Things grow up, lean out and dissolve. Haunting, desolate, spooky. The running course of this disc makes it seem short, but so much packed into its length. Such is the temporal distortion of this dreamy, deathlike opus. Ambient? Yes, but very organic, seeming to still harbor the violent face of Menches work somehow....and always dark. Great artwork by the way. Like Edward Gorey, but not so whimsical.

 

 

 

Hands To  Croatoan CDr ALL008

"If Cahokia was not a full fledged city, it was well on its way to becoming one. Some 200 earthen mounds, platforms and pyramids were spread across its seven square miles. In the core of the settlement was the largest of the pyramids, covering more than 14 acres, containing over 50 million cubic meters of earth, and rising more than 30 meters over the river flood plain. From its summit one can still gaze out upon a large open plaza encompassed by large mounds: flat topped pyramids, conical mounds and low lying earthworks. At its peak, Cahokia was a city of 10,000 and perhaps as many as 30,000 inhabitants, including priests, artisans, merchants, farmers and Kings. Its rulers were buried in sumptuous splendor in log- lined tombs with gifts of stone, shell and copper. One ruler was laid out on a cape made of
over 12,000 drilled and sewn beads. Around his grave were the remains of more than 60 other people, all killed to accompany the King into the afterlife. With its food surplus, stratification and dense settlement, Cahokia has the appearance of an important stage of early North American civilisation. Cahokia is located on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River just east of St. Louis, Missouri. More than 500 years ago, it was the center of Native American life" (Feder/ Park 1989:332-333). This is a reissue of a cassette from Jeph Jerman's own Animist Recordings. His Hands To project differs from more recent projects as Hands To uses electronic techniques to manipulate source material derived from the natural elements. In this case, field recordings from the Cahokia Complex that were collected by Steve and Jill Brand in 1997. It is a fascinating trip through Jeph's interest in sound culled from natural objects and his interest in animism, totemism, Native American culture and pre-history. Approximately 150 copies were made available.

 

REVIEWS :

Vince Harrigan (Namifold Records, USA)

Singular examinations of places and things in the Jeph Jerman style; dissonant, fourtrack humming and wind-shadows, sticks and footsteps across desert gravel, but cleaned up so every clank and rustle of weeds and sticks comes through. And it changes suddenly and completely many times, which is nice. Lots of different places here. You can almost smell the dust of some remote audio-archeological dig-site, Jerman as the conductor and explorer, piles of rocks and dead cacti all about. It is so hard to convey to the uninitiated what Jerman does, and how refreshing it is to hear something that has no regard for entertainment, but rather sets up a situation where each sound is appreciated on its own. How perfect it is to move into these spaces Jerman provides, these simple, strange, common and yet shamanist soundworlds. Croatan is ambient, but in the strictest sense, its all location/outdoor sound recording. With some human interaction.

 

 

animist quartets CDr ALL009

Another work from Jeph Jerman, this one previously unreleased. While projects like Hands To use electronic methods to manipulate field recordings and sounds from natural objects, animist quartets allows the natural objects used in the creative process to stand on their own. No electronic modifications are used with these recordings. The variety of sounds that Jeph (along with others here) can coax out of seeds, shells, pods and stones is truly fascinating. The compositions are wove in a rich tapestry that sounds like the earth gently vibrating in the middle of no where.  Approximately 200 copies of this were produced. 

 

REVIEWS :

Vince Harrigan (Manifold Records, USA)

Primitive runic characterizations and patterns salted over a clear sheet, the other side has text, the credits tell you that this is Jeph Jerman, playing these instruments: cowparsnip chime, sea shells, stones, driftwood, yucca flower stalks, pine cones...and so on, a ton of other natural objects. What it sounds like could be Hands To, but it seems to move around a lot more. A few minutes will be stones rolled around in a hand, a few minutes is sticks moved slightly. A few minutes of bamboo chimes and water. And the odd part of Animist Quartets is that I almost seem to hear multi-tracking in some pieces...like he has melted together a few different actions onto one piece. Very calm, very restful. I only partially try to understand each sound. And I am gratified by the period of enchantment where jerman puts me in a chair, in a backyard, in Arizona, watching three dopplegangers of him move slowly around the ground, manipulating different mounds of objects, each looking at the other from time to time and nodding as if they found some obtuse "groove". I just sit there and listen.

 

 

 

Tidal  The Four Rivers CDr ALL010

This is a project of New York composer David Brownstead. This is his first release as "Tidal" aside from a privately released cassette from a few years ago. The concept behind these recordings are "The Four Rivers" as defined by
Japanese author, playwright and cultural icon Yukio Mishima. These rivers are the converging philosophies that Mishima chose to live by and illustrated so well in his considerable body of work. These recordings present moods- sonic meditations, to accompany the ideas present in Mishima's writing. David tends to use older, analogue equipment to record with. Here, he loops dark, gentle, ambient drones that are repetitive and quietly reflective. This is David's effort to
explore the complicated, strained life of the author and mirrors a part of his own personality and intense interest in Eastern Philosophy and Arts.  Approximately 250 copies of this were produced.

 

 

 REVIEWS :

Vince Harrigan (Manifold Records, USA)

Artist D. Brownstead invokes four ideas through four different tracks, each I think inspired by the Japanese writer and nationalist Yukio Mishima, who commited ritual suicide in 1970. The brooding, atonal submarine inflection of 'River of Writing', the first track, seem ominous even without these dieas. Indeed, it sounds like a river, a river at night..a very distant bell, so distant that it almost sounds like its outside my window, from across the street as i play this disc, tolls gently behind that soft rumble and caress. I proceed from this atonal stream into the barrier of 'River of Theater', which has a sublime, hawkish groan at periodic cycles beneath winds. Two more tracks simmer and move and call like klaxon dirges piercing the nightveil between this and the place of the dead spirits. If ever a piece of music had the power to raise those who have passed on, this is it. I can't wait to hear more Tidal, but for now, I'll be soaking in this great, haunting work for a while.

 

 

augur  The Envy of Winged Things CDr A12

Augur, otherwise known as Steve Brand, has been releasing his own music on tape and CDR for sometime. Based in Kansas City, he has released around 10 CDR's. This body of work includes his first release for Alluvial, "A Slender Thread of Silence". He has also collaborated with Birds of Tin (Manifold label) and Jeph Jerman. Brand and Jerman have recently put together a startling double CD which may be among the finest compositions from either artist. Here, we find Augur in a much different mood than on "Slender". As is typical of his work, he composes in a variety of electronic styles, but always unmistakenly his own. "Envy" is harmonically more varied than "Slender". It is audibly louder, but similar in texture. "Envy" weaves delicately constructed tapestries of sound that have a unifying feel and a common theme. Here, Steve explores surrealism. Containing artwork from Steve, a small first edition is packaged in an envelope on high quality paper that beautifully reflects the mood of the release. For additional information, we highly recommend visting his website.  Approximately 100 to 150 copies of this were produced.  The first 50 came in a handmade paper sleeve with two inserts.  The rest came in the "standard" brown Alluvial sleeve.

 

REVIEWS :

Vital Weekly 345, Netherlands, Frans de Waard

Joint Review with AUGUR - SACRED ENGINES (CDR-Private)

After last week's Re:Source vs Augur, here two releases by

Augur themselves. 'Sacred Engines' is a self-released CDR. Augur is Steve Brand and he has various CDR releases on labels such as Pyhrric Victory, Solipsism and The Rectrix, aswell as Alluvial, which we also discuss here. The main interest of Augur seems to be in creating drone music of various kinds with various inputs. Using beside traditional instruments also found and handmade objects, toys, voice and field recordings, he creates interesting fields of repeating sound blocks, but at the same time also closely amplified objects which scratch, rub and which are slowly fed to effect boxes to add delay, reverb and other nice sound elements to come up with the almighty drone. Music for the head this is. Dark ambient with a strong touch of musique concrete. Due to it's primitive recording nature the sound is quite thick and a bit primitive. However that's no problem, it never sounds bad. For those who like zoviet*france,Beequeen, old Maeror Tri this is a place to be.The other release by Augur is on Alluvial. Here the six tracks are more open ended and the dynamics are stronger. Track three 'Ladder Hands, Flower-Fingers' is almost just a soft tinkling piano piece, that is barely audible. The drone is present here too, but always more spacious and more open. Drone on this release is more a means then an end, I guess. It's nice to see the difference between these two releases. From a point of liking one over the other, I can't say I a favourite. I think 'The Envy Of Winged Things' is of the two the more experimental, and the more innovative one. The sound is less raw, and more care has been given to the details of the pieces.  

 

 

brain CDr A13

brain is composer Brian Hanson out of Salt Lake City, Utah. This is a project he started in 1991 with a performance at the Skozey Fetisch Festival, a part of the Utah Arts Festival. He has released three CDR's on his own, "brain", "errata", and "livebrain", all in extremely small editions. He also runs the "Absolute Elsewhere" radio show on KRCL 91 FM
out of Salt Lake City. Alluvial is proud to re-issue his first CDR, simply titled "brain". This work is, quite simply, one of the strongest and most pleasing we have heard in some time. The work has a consistency and flow that is sorely missed in much of what is released today, in our humble opinion. The densely layered sounds almost shimmer and float. Each fills all of the air in the room. These are mellow, subtly intense ambient pieces with rich, melting harmonics. We would dare mention some of the early work of the Hafler Trio or Zoviet France as a point of reference. Limited edition with full color photos from Brian. Check out his website.  Approximately 100 to 150 of these were produced.

 

 REVIEWS :

Vital Weekly #337, Netherlands, Frans de Waard

The information you get when you buy this release is kinda really nothing. You are learned that the band is called 'Brain' and the catalogue number is a13 and it's a release by Alluvial (there is a small catalogue inside) and that's it. I can report that Brain is one Brian Hanson out of Salt Lake City, who has been working as Brain since 1991, releasing three ultra limited CDRs, 'brain', 'errata' and 'livebrain'. This release on Alluvial is a re-issue of the first one. I really have no idea why his output is so small over the course of eleven years, but what is presented on this release is quite interesting. Brain's music is kinda like an electronic Hafler Trio, spiced with Zoviet*France electronics and a whole string of other ambient industrialists (Illusion Of Safety is another name that springs to mind). Although this work is indexed with 34 marks, it hears like one long work. Shimmering tones, abstract layers of sound, mostly dense, but very refined in playing. It easily meets the best work of the three names I mentioned to compare it with. A much ignored release that gets better everytime I play it.

 

 

THU20 Nancy/Het Archief CDr A14

Sometime around 1987, Peter Duimelinks, Roel Meelkop, Guido Doesborg, Jac van Bussel, and IOS Smoulders came together to create a live improvisation group that performed throughout Europe. The records, CD's, and tapes that the group released came in small editions on various labels that went relatively unnoticed in the States. One of those releases was the "Nancy/Het Archief" cassette originally released in an edition of 200 on the Japanese label, G.R.O.S.S. Tapes in the early 1990's. This brings together one of their finest collections of live performances, most notably, the entire performance in Nancy, France. This is one of their richest live performances with usual focus and clarity, particularly in regards to the field of musical improvisation. Long pieces are constructed with warm, flowing electronics and tape music that are beautifully intertwined. A top listening experience from one of the most underrated improv groups playing electronic music today. This edition includes the original liner notes, a great commentary from Frans de Waard who often recorded the group live, and a complete discography complied by Jac van Bussel. The discography includes not only musical releases, but also compilation appearances, live performances, and radio plays.  Approximately 150 copies of this were produced.  The first 50 to 75 came in a paper sleeve that was sealed with wax and stamped.