Dave Wesley – Laranja Swadhisthana 67_5 – EPv1 (Arctic Dub (Sursumcorda) 18 August 2017)

Arctic Dub (Sursumcorda) New Dave Wesley Single is a Sacred Geometry-Inspired Dreamscape

Arctic Dub (Sursumcorda) has announced it will release a new single from Dave Wesley, a veteran experimental dub techno and ambient producer and DJ from Minneapolis, who is now based in Porto, Portugal.

Called “Laranja Swadhisthana 67_5 – EPv1”, this new single is comprised of two tracks, transmitted to us from a beautiful but “lonely ceremony place”. The spectacular single is, in his words, “constructed with the principles of sacred geometry and tuning… using parts of the north and the south… and with the fury.”

Dave Wesley’s music style integrates chill, dub techno, experimental, and ambient genres. His music revolves in the same realm as Michael Brook, Brian Eno, Passion-era Peter Gabriel, Deepchord (a.k.a. Rod Modell), output from Echospace Recordings and Basic Channel. It is also shares similar vibes as the work of Philip Glass, for whom Wesley even remixed ‘Why Are We Here?’ for the Philip Glass album ‘Glass: Glasscuts’, released on his own label Orange Mountain Music, in addition to DJing at the NYC release party for this album.

Known for his adventurous DJ sets, Dave performs regularly in Portugal and Europe. He produces under several different names: Dave Wesley(ambient dub techno), Existente (ambient), Xerography (dark cinematic techno), and The Mayhem Lecture Series (experimental and field recordings). He’s also teamed up with Casey Borchert under the moniker The Push. As an active DJ and performer, he mixes eclectic deep sets and also performs live space ambient guitar with TV Crush, an experimental and an improvisational chill music ensemble.

Using production techniques based on the principles of sacred geometry, Dave’s music is captivating, seamlessly exploring evolving soundscapes, iteration and meditation, and seducing the imagination forward into transcendental realms.

“This EP was born out of the sweltering summer heat of inland Portugal and a recent trip to Lisbon, where African tribal rhythmic influence is strong in the air and in the airwaves.  I strive to create music that has multiple utility (i.e. for grooving, dancefloor, background ambiance, active listening, etc),” explains Dave Wesley. “I’m greatly influenced by minimalism and iterative process oriented art – and strive to create pieces that, on the surface, are repetitive, while deeper listening reveals a subtly evolving cinematic scene.  I’m also obsessed with the contradistinction of contemporary clean digital sonics within beds and layers of lo-fi aural contexts and field recordings, which I think is apparent in this release.”

Arctic Dub (Sursumcorda) is the sister label to Sursumcorda Recordings. The latter is also a magazine. Sursumcorda is focused on finding and curating cool and interesting music and culture across genres through frequent posts in their online magazine, periodic vinyl compilations and other releases. Arctic Dub (Sursumcorda) releases deep, dark, lo-fi, ambient, cinematic, meditative and experimental music that germinates from dub techno origins. It also puts out monthly releases, and is becoming known for live streaming events. It has just launched a series of live stream events, called ‘Arctic Dub Continuum Live’.

PLAYLIST
1. Laranja Swadhisthana 67_5 Session v1

2. Laranja Swadhisthana 67_5 Ceremony v1

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68creep – Goodnight, Sweet Betty (Kiss/Kill/Repeat Records Release: 22 September 2017)

68Creep Announce Debut Album, Preview First Single ‘Black Cat’

NYC outfit 68creep have announced their debut LP ‘Goodnight, Sweet Betty’ and are teasing the album’s first single ‘Black Cat’. 

It says a lot about an artist when those trying to catch their essence in a witty sound bite move from being concise and descriptive into the realm of high literary art. Any band that can be metaphorically described as sounding like “murder at midnight” and “beautiful melodies telling me terrible things” makes for a tantalising proposition. NYC’s 68creep are indeed that. Inspired by numerous artists, including PJ Harvey, Dead Weather, Beach House, The Misfits, Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper andThe Cramps, they offer a fusion of dark emotions, doom-laden pop, acid-laced musical retro-mania, and the dark underbelly of the hippy dream turned bad.

‘Black Cat’ is inspired by lack of love and the persistence of hope and humor, ringing through in lyrics like “I wanna make you mine. You lovely waste of time”.

The spirit of filmmaker and musician David Lynch seems to hover above everything the band does like a mercurial patron and spiritual advisor. “What would David do?” has even become the band mantra for swerving creative blocks, ensuring that the music brims with the same essence as one of his films.

68creep’s backstory even starts with a very Lynchian starting point, with John McRandle and Patrick Casey meeting at a New York City advertising agency, where they were marketing drugs designed to combat schizophrenia. The Kiss/Kill/Repeat label gave the band the backing and impetus they needed and very soon they were pushing their heavy, surreal, carny, creepcore to like-minded music fans.

Adding to 68creep’s intense sound is Colyn Hunt on bass and Kimberly Seewald on vocals. “Kim’s pretty soft-spoken; well, except when she laughs,” says Patrick Casey. “But once she opens her mouth to sing, she can pin you up against a wall.” She’s more than pure power though. “Kim’s got versatile skills. Our softer, more melodic, melancholy songs really show that off.”

Following up their debut EP ‘The Rumors Are True’ is the perfect storm coming in the forthcoming long-play album ‘Goodnight, Sweet Betty’, the title of which derives from a quote from the David Lynch film ‘Mulholland Drive’. This LP promises more of the same dark and heavy, ethereal weird beauty and slightly tongue in cheek qualities that have become the band’s hallmark.

At the heart of this release is John McRandle’s big, earthmoving baritone guitar. It can churn out a song’s sludgy riff, or sparsely sprinkle it with a chilly melody. Drummer Patrick Casey leans into his work, riding his toms taiko style, while giving even the heaviest grooves a good hard swing. Colyn Hunt anchors the foundation with deep-in-the-pocket grooves and a taste for airy, melodic runs. Riding on top of this swell is Kimberly Seewald’s vocals. Together, 68creep wails and soars, hitting the listener hard, but every so often, also comfort and console.

“This album wouldn’t have sounded like this if it weren’t written in New York. We are always talking about how a relationship with New York is love/hate. And it’s a real relationship. This environment is gonna seep into your songs, like an ex lover might slip into a dream. Whether you want them there or not,” says Casey. “To me, New York seems to be constantly saying, ‘I’m gonna hook you up with the most talented, mind-blowing people on the planet. But don’t look for a happy ending here’…”

Who knows? Perhaps somewhere out there, David Lynch is even listening. ‘Goodnight, Sweet Betty’ will be released on September 22 and is already available for pre-order via 68creep’s Bandcamp.

TRACK LIST

1. Stone Cold Kiss

2. Black Cat

3. Welcome to my Nightmare/Halloween (Alice Cooper/Dead Kennedys)

4. Birthday

5. I Put a Spell on You (Screamin’ Jay Hawkins)

6. Sarina Said [Bushwick Manor Mix]

7. Watch You Fall [Bushwick Manor Mix c]

CREDITS
Kimberly Seewald, John McRandle, Colyn Hunt, Patrick Casey
With melodic contributions from Sara Aridi, Anya Kaz, Fiona Silver, Carrie Slimski, and Anna Maliere
Managed by Tracey Keevan
Album painting by Calina Hiriza

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Darto – Human Giving (Aagoo Records 8 September 2017)

Aagoo Records to release Darto ‘Human Giving’ LP and joint Darto / WAND 7”
U.S. release on September 8.  U.K. release on September 22.

Aagoo Records has announced two releases to be issued simultaneously on September 8. The first is ‘Human Giving’, a full length album from Seattle-based four-piece Darto. The second is the ‘Follow Up / Hush’ 7” featuring Darto and WAND, who wrote and performed these tracks together.

The first LP is preceded by the single ‘I Am’, which The Big Takeover Magazine calls “a catchy sultry melancholic downtempo synth-infused psych-trip combining the best of Cate Le Bon, The Velvet Underground, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, and The Black Ryder”.

The album’s mood is immediately clear from the first note of ‘GDLS’, enveloping the space around the listener. By the time ‘I Am’ enters, the sound and feeling transitions from lush and inviting, to focused and intentional with the keyboards and strings propelling the movement. The lyrics and accompanying melodies float along seamlessly like being lulled into a dream.

“Despite all of its catchy qualities, ‘Human Giving’ is a difficult album to pin down. The lyrical phrasing, and melodies have been stuck in my head for months,” says Alec Dartley of Aagoo Records. “It takes me to a place filled with light, despite the psych realms the band takes us”.

As the record progresses, splashes of Americana seem to emerge, painting subtle pictures of the American West, or a vast expanse that we would associate it with. It’s a momentary visit to those places as Darto keeps moving, exploring new worlds. The album closes in a cinematic soft way, where the constant is an emotional hook that dives into the human condition. This is an open story, suggestive but with room for the listener to fill in the blanks.

“We didn’t play shows or hardly go to shows for a year and a half so we could write and record the album,” says Darto’s Gordon De Los Santos. “The album comes from the places within us where hope and love exist. Where the focus is not on the self, and where everything is possible. Humans giving themselves to other humans. The power of listening on all fronts. The desired effect is and was to bring hope in some capacity.”

“We are extremely proud of this record. Writing, recording, mixing and mastering was the most intentional musical experience we have had to date. We took a lot of chances on it, and grew exponentially in the process,” says Gregory Flores. It felt, and feels like we walked through many doors while working on it, and the place we ended up is very similar to the place where we were as young people first deciding to create. A vulnerable first step towards something larger.”

‘Human Giving’ was recorded by Darto between September 2015 and January 2016 in a cabin in Cle Elum, WA and their home in Seattle. The ‘Follow Up / Hush’ 7″ was written, performed and recorded by Darto and Wand at Comp-ny in Burbank, CA in April 2017. It was engineered and recorded by Be Hussey. Both releases were mixed by Cory Hanson at Comp-ny and mastered by JJ Golden at Golden Mastering in Ventura, CA.

“We smashed together in Los Angeles and wrote these two songs; repurposed lyrics we wrote in the studio together.  A lot of people got to sing who had never sung on record before,” says Cory Hanson of WAND. “All in all, this was a successful collaboration I think. The spirit of both bands made it onto the tape together, intact.  We ate breakfast burritos the next morning, then Darto flew away.  I went to go to the beach but our car died in Topanga Canyon”.

Aagoo Records is home to vinyl releases by Xiu Xiu, Lucky Dragons, The Use with Rachelm Mason, Philippe Petit and more.

Darto Members
Gordon De Los Santos
Gregory Flores
Candace Harter
Nicholas Merz

WAND Members
Cory Hanson
Robert Cody
Sofia Arreguin
Lee Landey
Evan Burrows

DARTO ‘HUMAN GIVING’ TRACK LIST
1. GLDS
2. I Am
3. Omniscient
4. Fell III
5. Truss
6. No Self
7: Human Becoming
8. Character Study
9. Guiding Light
10. Aging
11. Within Without
12. American Storyteller

WAND/ DARTO 7″ TRACK LIST
1. Follow Up
2. Hush

Keep up with Darto 

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