MICHAEL PRICE - 'ENTANGLEMENT'

Formats

• ERATP067LP - LP

  4050486110171

• ERATP067CD - CD

  4050486110164

Details

“No click tracks, no headphones, and no film. Just the spontaneity of performance and the sound of musicians hearing, connecting and responding.” ‘Entanglement’, the debut album by Michael Price fulfills his long-term desire to explore new musical territories, featuring Michael on the piano, with the addition of cello, soprano voice, string orchestra, modular synth, tape effects and electronics. Throughout the record you will hear street sounds from ‘Budapest’ captured and processed on Michael’s mobile phone, as well as chamber music recorded direct to tape with vintage microphones in single takes. ‘The Attachment’ was partly recorded onto a 1940s magnetic disc recorder, which immediately connected the piece back to a pre-digital musical age. Many of the titles and underlying concepts behind the tracks come from Michael’s love of science and physics, and fascination with how science often can give us intriguing metaphors for human relationships. “Entanglement is a very personal expression of my obsessions: music, love, physics and the inter-connectedness of things. There is structure and freedom, chaos and control, and the beauty of ancient instruments set against impassive machines.” Collaboration and connection with musicians has always been a crucial element to Michael’s music making, and in ‘Entanglement’ the cello and soprano vocal parts were written specifically and directly for cellist Peter Gregson and vocalist Ashley Knight, whose expressive voice features on tracks ‘Maitri‘ and ‘The Uncertainly Principle’. The lyrics for both songs are Japanese poetry sung in English, dealing with age, loss and the inevitable fading of beauty. Michael wanted to further extend the sound world of Ashley’s voice with tape effects and natural reverbs, so that although the music could have been performed in any era, the interpretation was contemporary. ‘Entanglement’ was written over a period of two years on paper and by hand with Michael exploring oldest and the newest technology at Abbey Road Studios and Snap Studios in London, before most of the recording and mixing took place at Vox-Ton in Berlin. Joe Rubel’s involvement from the beginning of the project, along with Nick Hill, was crucial in bringing the ideas, intact and prepared, to the Berlin sessions with Francesco Donadello at Vox-Ton – a haven for creating music that can stand on its own, outside any era or genre. “I wanted to make an album that sounded like a dark, Berlin record store discovery from the 30s. Something that had timeless emotive power, and pre-digital rawness. Something that I hope would make a deeper connection in superficially networked times. I think there is a duty for artists to be honest, and vulnerable. Because then there is a possibility of real connection. Entanglement is both honest and vulnerable and to go through the two year process of writing, refining and recording an album has been more intense and more beautiful than I could have possibly imagined.” – Michael Price ‘Entanglement’ will be released on Vinyl, CD and Download via Erased Tapes on April 13th, 2015.

Tracks

01. Tape Overture
02. Easter
03. Little Warm Thing
04. Budapest
05. The Attachment
06. Maitri
07. Digital Birdsl
08. The Uncertainty Principle
09. Entanglement

Press

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JOHN ANDREWS & THE YAWNS - 'BIT BY THE FANG'

Formats

• WOODSIST078 - LP

  655035077819

Details

"Bit by the Fang is the first solo album from singer / songwriter John Andrews and his imaginary backup band The Yawns. Andrews began recording the album in 2013 while working at a Salvation Army in the Amish country of Lancaster, PA, his home at the time. As the new year rolled around, he followed a demanding schedule of writing, recording and touring with both Quilt (drums) and Woods (keys). It wasn’t until a well-earned break that he found the time and energy to complete the solo record he started months before. He recounts the difficulties involved: ‘Traveling so much caused my whole living scenario in PA to kind of fall apart,’ he tells, lamenting over the comfort only home can provide. As he moved back to his hometown of Yardville, NJ, he set up camp in his grandparents’ empty living room to record and perform everything entirely by himself once again. “Warm acoustic guitars, honky-tonk piano, lap steel, singing saw and fluttering violins all sing together on this well crafted, yet comfortingly sloppy, psych-country / R&B record. A self-taught piano player, Andrews maneuvers with the precision of a player well beyond his years. Lyrically and stylistically he tackles the subject of death with the lightheartedness of a Saturday morning cartoon in ‘”I’ll Go to Your Funeral (If You Go to Mine).’ It’s hard not to conjure comparisons to Michael Hurley, Daniel Johnston or Kevin Ayers. This album is a great introduction to the grandiose fables of characters at the mercy of Andrews’s oddball mind.”—Jeffrey Silverstein 

Tracks

1. Don't Spook The Horses
2. Peace of Mind
3. Angel
4. I'll Go To Your Funeral (If You Go To Mine)
5. Trouble (Yapes)
6. Hear Me Out
7. Bit By The Fang
8. Judy & Judy
9. Quitting The Circus
10. Pennsylvania
11. No Gun

Press

Audio & Video

NILS FRAHM - 'SOLO'

Formats

• ERATP065CD - CD

  4050486110195

• ERATP065LP - LP

  4050486110126

Details

Nils Frahm reveals new ‘Solo’ album and the ‘Klavins 450’ piano project on the world’s first Piano Day! Berlin-based composer Nils Frahm has fast become know as a prolific performer and recording artist with the piano at the core. Piano Day is an official body created by Nils and his closest friends, and will house various exciting, piano-related projects. The first project revealed by the Piano Day team is the building of what will be world’s tallest piano: the Klavins 450. As the life-long dream of David Klavins, it even exceeds the currently largest upright piano there is, the Klavins M370. Situated in Germany, Tübingen, 1.8 tons in weight, 3.7 meters high, its longest strings are about 10 feet in length. And it was on this piano that Nils recorded eight improvised piano motifs in one sitting, which form his new ‘Solo’ album – available for free download on the world’s first Piano Day on the 88th day (March 29, 2015) from www.pianoday.org. Once recorded, Nils began to think of ways to release the album as a gift to his fans, similarly to his 2012 release ‘Screws’, and that’s when Nils came up with the idea of Piano Day. With a target of 100.000 euros to reach, Nils eases his fans into sharing their money for the project with this free release. All direct donations and a portion from any record sales will go to the Klavins 450 project until the target has been hit. LINER NOTES: Situated in Germany, Tübingen, 1.8 tons in weight, 3.7 meters high: the Klavins M370 is probably the largest upright piano there is. Its longest strings are about 10 feet in length. This colossus was initially built to evaluate a useful maximum size of the piano. Driven by the assumption that pianos could sound better, David got to work in 1985 and finished his instrument 2 years later. Back then I was 5 years old, having no idea how much I would fall in love with it. When I finally met David Klavins and his enormous piano 27 years later, in the very beginning of 2014, I arrived with empty hands. I didn't know what music, what songs I was about to record in the next 3 days. Every piano has unique features and certain strengths. Some have more, some have less of them, but there is no bad piano out there, although I do moan about them almost all the time. Some simply hide their secrets better than others. These thoughts made me start to write music when I am with the particular instrument, the tape running. The 8 pieces featured on this album were selected out of hours of improvising, happy hours as I recollect. The joy of playing and listening to the sound of the instrument made me play slower and slower, softer and softer, as almost every new note was destroying the immense beauty and sustain of the previous note. I was preparing the instrument with parts of my felt collection, carefully tuning mic positions with the help of my dear friend and recording gear wizard Matthias Hahn and simply playing whatever came to my mind. In conversations about this I am still struggling for words in order to praise David’s instrument. Words simply don’t do it justice, so listen for yourself. With lots of love, Nils Frahm

Tracks

01. Ode
02. Some
03. Circling
04. Merry
05. Chant
06. Wall
07. Immerse!
08. Four Hands

Press

Audio & Video