ALLUVIAL ARCHIVES

 

 

The following are taken from websites and other media that had done small features on Alluvial over the years. 

 

 

Manifold Records (Vince Harrigan, 2000-2001)

 

Interview With Kevin Wienke, Co-Founder of Alluvial Recordings

 

Introduction

Kevin Wienke and a partner created Alluvial Recordings to release material by artists they enjoyed, on a variety of formats, vinyl, cd and cdr.   Weinke is trained in archeology, and the influence is undeniable in the earthy, natural sounding material he has produced. Jeph Jerman scrapes stones together, Seth Nehil harnesses the wind and mud, Tidal unleashes dark forces of nightwater on "Four Rivers", and so on. The label reads like the loud pronouncements of a normally silent earth.    Future releases include a double compact disc release by the ever enigmatic John Hudak titled "Reinterpretations", and certainly more artifacts from the Alluvial Recordings label will be unearthed as time passes.

 

Q: What is an Alluvial formation in geological terms?

Alluvial processes occur when water moves sediment. Generally these processes are what shape rivers and streams and their banks. The deposits are called alluvium. A build up of these sediments is called an alluvial fan.

 

Q: What is an Alluvial formation in terms of your label and its music?

I was kind of tying together a couple of loose ideas when I can up with the name. About four years ago, right before the creation of the label, I was working on an archaeological site in East Central Iowa near the Cedar River. We were excavating to a depth of about 10 feet, which is fairly unusual. We were after a deposit that we knew existed there called a "paleosol". This deposit is usually buried very deep and is most noticable because of its dark, peaty color. It's very rich in nutrients. Any sites from prehistoric America (ie. Paleo or Early Archaic Indian) that exist in that area of the country are generally found in these deposits. Say 8-11,000 years old. So basically, I started thinking about how much alluvial deposits have shaped the way the human beings choose where they're going to live- high ground, well drained and near water. Game is near water, crops are easier to cultivate there, etc. These processes have basically defined what human nature can easily adapt to on a large, thriving scale. No city here thrives without being on a major waterway or ocean (except for maybe Las Vegas, but that's a different story!). I guess I was searching for a word that tied man to nature. Few words describe that relationship as well as this one does. Besides, I like the word!

 

Q: So the Alluvial Recordings label is a labor of love for you?

Most definitely. Neither Scott (co-founder) nor myself make any sort of living from the label. To be honest, I'd be surprised if we ever did! If I may be permitted to pat us on the back for a moment, Scott and I have very similar tastes in music. And I think our taste is rather good. We really only have two goals- release great music, keep it simple and cheap. We're not interested in following any sort of trends or being overly prolific. We choose things carefully. We've made a few technical mistakes, inexperience, but we learn from them and overall we're pleased.

 

Q: what will you be releasing in the future?

Next up is a double cd from John Hudak. The title is changing, but "Reinterpretations" will be in the title. It is an unreleased track from the time of "Don't Worry" along with reinterpretations of it from John, Sukora, Leif Elggren, mbehrens, Eric Lanzillotta, Frans de Waard, Peter Duimelinks, Francisco Lopez, Jason Lescalleet and one other (tba). After that, a cdr from Brian Hanson of Utah as "Brain", another Augur cdr, Envy of Winged Things" and a cdr reissue of the excellent GROSS tape from THU20, "Nancy/ Het Archief". After that, details are sketchy, but a Daniel Menche lp seems likely and something else from John Hudak very possible. I've also bugged Steve Brand of Augur about a project that he and Jeph Jerman completed which blew me away, but we'll see.....

 

 

 

 

The following article was written in 2002 for the City Pages (Minneapolis, Minnesota) by Rod Smith.  It is an informative article called, "This Is A Recording" (pdf) about a handful of local labels of various sizes regarding different realities of running an independent label.  Alluvial was featured about 2/3 of the way in.

 

 

Interview/Label feature on the Plop/Inpartmaint site (Nao Sagimoto, Tokyo, 2003)

View the file here.  (pdf)