WHAT YOUR EARS SAY & THE COVER LOOKS LIKE

WHAT WE SAY

The unostentatious instrumentation is in no rush to reveal its quality & subtle depths, & graciously allows all ears to focus on Jana Horn's softly sung vocals, as she tells refined tales of everyday & beyond with an easiness that invites immediate attention & an eloquent charm that encourages you to stay. An important reissue by No Quarter for a voice that deserves a wider audience.

WHAT THE RELEASE NOTES SAY

Horn says the LP, "seemed to come about indirectly, almost in passing, a feeling of being in-between things. I was really mobile at that time, living wherever... I had just discovered, late, Raymond Carver Broadcast, Sybil Baier, Annette Peacock, Richard & Linda Thompson, a short story called “Car Crash While Hitchhiking” by Denis Johnson. I had “Heart Needs a Home” in mind, “The Great Valerio;” I was just really moving through the world, hanging in the shadows of the people I wanted to be. Hoping, looking out, this is Optimism. I was looking for anything." ​

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Check the playlist on Spotify, Apple Music, Youtube, Deezer or Soundcloud

WHAT YOUR EARS SAY & THE COVER LOOKS LIKE

WHAT WE SAY

Free flowing, cosmic vibration attuned, cinematically inclined, quickly recorded but sure to be long remembered, toad licked orchestral folk fusion from Swedish collective The Second Hand Orchestra for Sing a song fighter. If you need me I'll be immersed in their back catalogue this weekend, please leave a message.

WHAT THE RELEASE NOTES SAY

In 2020 Karl Jonas invited the brilliant Scottish songwriter and artist James Yorkston to his small club in Stockholm, Sweden. 
And the second hand orchestra was asked to support J.Y that very night.. 
So we did, but what was not expected was that we also ended up, improvising, on stage with James for his encore numbers. 
Was a great night. 

So, something clicked between us and we all quickly went into a studio the morning after to "start up something".... 
James played us new songs and we all listened and then tried to back him up . And that was the start of the album "the wide, wide river" by James Yorkston & the second hand orchestra. We did one more recording session with him and the album was finished. Like a whirlwind... 

Then came the Pandemic. 
James wrote us a month later and asked if we wanted to do an instrumental dub version of a track from the album. 
We went back to the same lovely studio where we recorded the album with James (Lars Fredrik Swahn's studio in Solna) and tried to remember and revisit the songs we recorded with him a month earlier. 

And not wanting to copy what we previously did, we focused on fragments we remembered and improvised around it. 
And started building our own instrumental songs around the original. 
Very loose and free. No rule in this school. 

We recorded it live in two days. The last track "The secret beach" was recorded at the main recording sessions with James, but did not end up on his album, so we figured it should be on this, instead. 
 CreditsThe Second Hand Orchestra players on this album: 

Karl Jonas Winqvist - drums on "there is no upside"and the first part of "Old fashioned blues", backing vocals, siel cruise synth, bass harmonica, hammered dulcimer, percussion. 
Annarella Sörlin - flute 
Daniel "Våldet" Holmström - trumpet, fluegelhorn, drums on "A droplet forms" and the last part of "Old fashioned blues" 
Emma Nordenstam - cello, piano, vocals on "the secret beach",backing vocals 
Peter Morén - guitars and backing vocals 
Ulrika "Ullis" Gyllenberg - violin and backing vocals 
Per Lager - drums on "the secret beach" 
Cecilia Österholm - nyckelharpa, backing vocals 
Viktor Brobacke - trombone, melodica and backing vocals 
Cecilia Klingspor - mandola guitar, electric guitar on "a droplet forms", vocals at the end of "there is no upside" 
Felix Wickman - backing vocals on "the secret beach" 
Ylva Ceder - oboe, backing vocals 
Lars Fredrik Swahn - bass and backing vocals 
James Yorkston - vocals on "the secret beach" 
--- ---- -------- 
All tracks were originally written by James Yorkston for the Domino Records album "The wide, wide river" by James Yorkston and The Second Hand Orchestra. 
--- 
Track 1-6 was recorded and mixed by Lars Fredrik Swahn at his studio in Solna, Sweden. 
Track 7 was recorded live and mixed in Studio Rymden by Daniel Bengtson. 
Mastered by Daniel Ögren. 
Artwork and shipbuilding: Nathaniel Russell 
Produced by Karl Jonas Winqvist 
--- 
Thank you: James Yorkston for writing the original songs and for inviting us for the wild and joyous ride. 
Bart & Domino records. Nathaniel for the amazing art! 
Everyone involved in this album being made and everyone listening. 
Love over gold, always!

WHAT YOUR EARS SAY & THE COVER LOOKS LIKE

WHAT WE SAY

A second round of cosmic interpretations of the story of Kumoko, spirit of the clouds. Ranging from drippy hippy New Age whispers to megaphone like jump up drum and bass (but generally mellow), it's quite the ride, and a meeting of some very fine Japanese & US musical minds. The image is actually from Vol. 1 but had to include it as I love it so.

WHAT THE RELEASE NOTES SAY

The world of KUMOKO goes electronic. 

ELECTRONIC KUMOKO cloudchild is Vol. 2 of the KUMOKO compilation series that was first released in 2016 and is a compilation of 22 songs inspired by KUMOKO, an imaginary spirit of the clouds created by SunEye (Akiko & Hashim Bharoocha). 

Born from the eye of the clouds, KUMOKO is a child and artist of the sky. She spontaneously creates art using clouds, paints the sky in vibrant colors, and uses thunder to express her fury. 

21 artists from the US and Japan interpreted the story of KUMOKO into electronic soundscapes that range from ambient, minimal, electro-funk, dance, experimental, and environmental music. 

The compilation features IMA (4-year-old artist from Brooklyn), Mioko Yamaguchi & Hideki Matsutake (Yamaguchi is known for her techno-pop albums from the 80s and Matsutake is known for his work with YMO), Ray Barbee (pro skater and musician), Sam Prekop (from The Sea and Cake), Jeremiah Chiu(graphic artist and musician), Carlos Niño (Carlos Niño and Friends), TENTENKO (J-pop idol turned experimental electronic artist), techno artist John Tejada, West Coast funk artists BOY DUDE and XL Middleton, YOKUBARI (Hisham Akira Bharoocha from Soft Circle), Rob Mazurek (Exploding Star Orchestra), Brin & Matthewdavid (Leaving Records), Jira >< (aka jazz pianist Jamael Dean), lucky dragons (visual and sound artist duo), r beny(Northern California ambient artist), Yumi Iwaki & Eishi Segawa(film & electronic composers), Money Mark (Beastie Boys, Jack Johnson), Takashi Kokubo (legendary environmental music composer from Japan), Turn on the Sunlight(Jesse Peterson), and SunEye. 

 Credits
Curated and Produced by: SunEye 
Artwork by: akikounico 
Layout by: Shiro Kojima 
Mastered by: AZZURO @ Limone Lab​

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Playlist on Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, Youtube and Soundcloud

WHAT YOUR EARS SAY & THE COVER LOOKS LIKE

WHAT WE SAY

Ambient music has really hit the ground running in 2022. Here's another gem, this time from Seil Records chief architect, Jogging House that is really hitting the eyes closed (not while driving), headphones on sweet spot.

WHAT THE RELEASE NOTES SAY

Between melancholy and hope. Among friends. 

Made with Elektron Octatrack and Analog Four, Ciat Lonbarde Cocoquantus, Microphonic Soundbox, Cooper FX Generation Loss, OTO Bim and Bam. Recorded Straight to 1/4" tape in single takes.

CreditsMusic by Jogging House 
Mastered by SALZ Mastering 
Artwork by Boris Potschubay 
Design by Aoki & Matsumoto 

Published by Seil Records 
© All Rights Reserved 


*** 10% of Seil Records earnings go to charity. *** 
It is our goal to make the world a more optimistic place. And music is one way to reach it. But we also want to help good people do good things. So every quarter we donate 10% of our label earnings to support a small non-profit organization, as there even humble amounts can make a real difference. These are organizations in the fields of helping the environment, fighting racism or providing music education to underprivileged groups. On our social media channels we let you know every six months to which charity our donation went and help spread the word about their work.​

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​
Solo guitar LPs are rarely as listenable as the new J.R. Bohannon LP for Astral Spirits. Considering the spaces between the often sparse notes carry equal weight to the finger picked notes, it's a surprise he hails from New York & not the southern wilds, although big city tension, rush hour & constant hum make the odd appearance when he opens the LPs windows.

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Lovely microdosed, sometimes double dosed, intimate singer songwriter fare from Joe Kenkel for Earth Libraries. Cobbled together in a lo-fi alt-folk fashion with a bit of country twang for good measure it really is a charming, disarming listen, like one of those occasional strangers you meet & end up chatting to like an old friend after five minutes. Big thanks to the reliable source of great new music New Commute for the tip.

WHAT THE RELEASE NOTES SAY

​Mastering: Trevor Richardson 
Producer: Joe Kenkel & Ross Collier 
Engineer: Ross Collier 
Mixing: Ross Collier

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WHAT YOUR EARS SAY & WHAT THE THE COVER LOOKS LIKE

WHAT WE SAY


I recommend this annual sleeplaboratory compilation from Whitelabrecs every year, but when it consistently contains such high quality ambient music from some of the genre's big names & emanates from one of the established homes of horizontal music it's a bit of a no brainer. Perfect for a lazy Sunday.

WHAT THE RELEASE NOTES SAY

Sleeplaboratory3.0 is the third edition of Whitelabrecs’ long-standing concept compilation, a series that aims to induce the listener into a peaceful sleep. The series began in 2019 to mark the 50th release in the label’s catalog and was followed up with a second edition in 2020. It has seen contributions from the likes of Offthesky, Janek Schaefer, M.grig, The Green Kingdom, Warmth and Halftribe as well as artists from the label, including Mikael Lind, Gray Acres, Sven Laux, Glåsbird and Valotihkuu. 

Sleeplaboratory compilations are typically released in January and after a two year break, 3.0 continues the themes established in the previous two records. Each artist in the line-up takes the brief of creating ‘sleep music’ and paints the sonic field with their own ideas. Some artists develop restful electro-acoustic compositions, whilst others sketch out soothing drones or vacant ambient textures. With a varied spectrum of warmth and cold, light and floaty, weighted and deep, this new collection features label-regulars such as Andrew Heath, blochemy and Pruski alongside the likes of Ian Hawgood, The Lifted Index, Federico Mosconi and Stijn Huwels. The track titles tend to tie back to the central album theme with words synonymous with rest, phases of sleep or calm places. This album can be experienced in many ways, such as at low volume with headphones, or streamed through hi-fi in a dimly lit room, consciously, or subconsciously.

Credits
​Mastered by Ian Hawgood 
Curated by Harry Towell 
Art and design by Tom Tebby​

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​So as well as the new Ben McElroy LP & The Howard Hughes Suite's new single on our label you should also check out the lovely dreamy post rock and ambient kosmische vibrations emanating from Copenhagen's Papir on Stickman Records. I've just stumbled across them, you should too - they're a really lovely laid back listen.

WHAT THE RELEASE NOTES SAY

Many aspects of Papir’s music seem to have much in common with the sea - be it a wilful association by the Copenhagen-based trio or not. Their output moves in waves, sometimes fierce and blustery, sometimes gentle and calming, but always performed with unforced, organic talent. 

Over the course of their 7 full-length albums, the band sways between psychedelic guitar meltdowns and long atmospheric passages with grace and ease. 7, with its blurred aquatic cover artwork is of course no exception to this rule, and the album is comprised of four long songs that return to calming waters after 2021’s heavier Jams.