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 ofRafael 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.
It's not just the national cricket team working up a head of steam down under as the year closes. Lately Australia's Room40, LMYE's label of 2011 (joint with Experimedia, trainspotters!), has unleashed a gleaming raft of essential 'editions' that add lustre not only to an already benchmark catalogue but to 2013's output more generally...
This new batch underlines the label's characteristic anti-generic open-earedness. From Eugene Carchesio's manic glitching to Heinz Riegler's therapeutic lullabies, via major statements from Simon James Philips (the gloriously, grandly pealing Chair) & Rafael Anton Irisarri(the crepuscular, clankingly pensive Unintentional Sea), this disparate outpouring somehow reaffirms the uniqueness of Room40's voice.
Moreover, the label still has the great Chris Herbert's Constants to come (some earlier blather). A delectable, delicate freebie EP, Wintex-Cimex 83, only stokes the appetite for the return of an all too rare releaser - now due in February... & that's not even to mention head honcho Lawrence English's magnificent collaboration with Liz Harris (Grouper), Slow Walkers - though that's a somewhat less recent vintage (even more so in the video below)...
