Distinct energy

As if a Julius Eastman find were not enough, another reason to celebrate Bandcamp's inspiring $700k fundraiser for Transgender Law Center back in August: the flood of outstanding new (not so new now, admittedly...) music from artists in the LMYE pantheon - some of it explicitly part of the initiative, some more understatedly pushed out on the day, but all worth your time.

The moment has long passed for qualifying purchases, of course (though no doubt TLC would appreciate anything you want to donate directly). But the generosity & creativity on display that day are still resonant.

Highlights: the first new sounds from Alex Cobb & Mike Shiflet in a while (the former all rich, enveloping warmth, the latter an intense, splintering immersion); Ryan Potts' Aquarelle resurfacing after an even longer absence with the glorious, strikingly 'composed' Leave Corners; a glowing, gradually unfurling long-form piece by anthene (one of the artists these ears have spent most time with this year); the subdued/subsuming debut of Gailes (the duo of Rafael Anton Irisarri & Benoit Pioulard/Thomas Meluch); a joyfully lugubrious "waiting area soundtrack until the next full length Pinkcourtesyphone album this Fall" from Richard Chartier; & a forgotten Grouper delicacy (mastered by Irisarri, incidentally) that "amidst chaotic and painful political times, while working on another project, reemerged & made more sense."

Important: LMYE only makes music available that artists/labels have chosen to share freely. Let us know if something here shouldn't be.

Lend Me Four Sequence

More plenitude from Futuresequence - a fourth gargantuan freepilation (ahem) from the increasingly active magazine-cum-label (now up to six commercial releases). Like its predecessors, SEQUENCE4 is a somewhat overwhelming, sprawling 42-track smorgasbord (yes, fellow trainspotter, 2 did indeed have a sequence-upsetting extra serving: but anyway...).


With a slight bias to Canadian contributors - less a late acknowledgement of Canada Day, more a reflection of LMYE's 'taste' - here's what these ears & eyes grabbed on to on a first pass: intensely building Aquarelle, fuzzily bucolic Black Elk, divertingly clonky Le Berger, finely restrained Radere, aptly lyrical Nobuto Suda & darkly hovering Damian Valles (whose Nonparallel on Experimedia is even better & demands its own post...), plus videos of the finely filmic Loscil & Wolf Maps' warm washes. 


But with another four such octets on offer (Raven's chewy Sleeping Dogs Lie is in another post in preparation here, to take just one example...), plus change, this baggy monster clearly merits a deeper dig. 



Halocline from Daniel Hopkins





















Wolf Maps - Arc from Bengalfuel & Friends


Important: LMYE only makes music available that artists/labels have chosen to share freely. Let us know if something here shouldn't be.

Ben and Cobb

Getting high on Ben Fleury-Steiner, Alex Cobb & Aquarelle’s heady deliveries on Low Point, LMYE label of 2010, the former with The Places That Find You, download here and white vinyl LP released tomorrow, the latter with a Split EP, download here, also with LP to follow.

Previously on LMYE, heads were upped to Ben’s Infraction gem, Keep a Weather Eye Open. Now, ‘drawing upon his deep love of minimalism and influenced by the work of Mirror, Jonathan Coleclough and Tim Hecker,’ with ‘a mixture of instrumentation, including the use of the kalimba and the various sounds produced when played in the manner of a prepared guitar, coupled with more modern electronic instruments including effects pedals and synths,’ we find The Places That Find You:

The Places That Find You (Album Preview) by Low Point

Celer’s Will Long words the blurb: “First impressions pull closer, strings and fizzles fall, carrying you, reaching further and ending up in an all-new place. Time is simple and less than a moment, with the lasting habit of a worn-out keepsake but nonetheless you are still immediately there again, inside those open arms and a world you have always dreamed of.
In homage to minimalism and imagination, 'The Places That Find You' by Ben Fleury-Steiner embodies an ultimate trance, the ability to connect directly with the listener and the truth behind the feeling of music from the heart. Far away but incredibly close, the five tracks forming this album never return to the ordinary but move, invert and grow, through time-lapse expressions and faded visions.
Some listeners want to be transported to other places through music, whilst others hear the technical artistry and find inspiration to delve deeper into the creative process. Without any direction and by simply following your own natural instincts, 'The Places That Find You' is a guide that places you instantly, allowing each listener to find more, not only through the music but from inside themselves.”

MDME#40 - Memory from Marco Douma on Vimeo.

The collusion of Alex Cobb & Aquarelle on Split LP is not their first association, with Students of Decay boss Cobb releasing the latter’s last waxing (see your LMYE scribe’s scribblings here, and, while you’re at it, there’s previous here). Aquarelle is sound artist and curator of Rest + Noise, Ryan Potts, originally from Wisconsin and currently a resident of Toronto, Canada. Alex Cobb, previously recording as Taiga Remains, under which alias he gave us Ribbons of Dust one of the finest ever minimal guitar drone albums (clips here, and here), originally separate 3”s on his own Students of Decay, then later collected as a full-length on Root Strata.

Split LP (Album Preview) by Low Point

Sam Landry, aka LMYE mucker Le Berger, with blurb verbiage: “Artists sharing a split record are akin to being roommates, with their share of common spaces yet separate headquarters. Such an undertaking tends to bring about elements of juxtaposition, contrast and union. This Low Point release from Alex Cobb & Aquarelle encompasses these and many more in a seamless fashion, breathing an ease of cohabitation throughout.
One side of the vinyl LP picks up where the other left off and there is a manifest impression of torch-bearing with a common decisiveness within these pieces. Their work may be seen not in opposition, but rather as an alternative to the otherwise microwaved and unimaginative drones steadily filling up the modern musical landscape.
Gracing upon themes of immanence, embodiment and metamorphosis, it embarks the listener into deeply immersive sonic territory. The shades and nuances are undeniably subtle but also rich and vast, which makes entering the dwelling of these artists both a mystifying, yet coherent experience all at once.”



Coming soon to a Low Point near you: another split LP, this from Jefre Cantu-Ledesma (previously) with another friend of LMYE, P Jørgensen; there’s also the promise of further Pointed Lowings from Kyle Bobby Dunn, Nickolas Mohanna. and Ex-Easter Island Head.


Hear some here:

Low Point 2011 Preview by Low Point

And for good measure here’s some more Aquarelle from the SoD release:

With Verticals by Students of Decay



Important: LMYE only makes music available that artists/labels have chosen to share freely. Let us know if something here shouldn't be.