Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Milieu - Blue White Nights (Free Xmas EP)


MILIEU
BLUE WHITE NIGHTS
MMC001 / 2008

Here comes a funky melodic six-tracker of Milieu doing (that’s right) Christmas songs! Don’t worry, no sign of the tunes you’re scratching your eyeballs out over here, all of the tunes are totally original except “Frostee” which is a funky rework of “Frosty The Snowman”. This EP is A FREE DOWNLOAD, as my personal gift to everyone who has put up with reading these incessant emails all year long. See? I told you there would be surprises! So go grab the EP, have some eggnog, and don’t stay up too late…or else you-know-who might not show up to fill those stockings! He doesn’t like being seen from what I hear…kinda like Jandek! Only…bearded and jolly and full of fun gifts instead of dissonant chords. Right. Don’t know where I was trying to go with that.

ANYWAY, as you can tell I am certifiably insane this time of year, so please put me out of my so-called misery and enjoy this EP. You can get it here:

CLICK

The zipfile contains 192 KBPS MP3 files and a hi-res version of the album art, for printing if you like. Of course, I am aware a lot of you here absolutely hate MP3s (or at least have little to no use for them) and so if any one of you must have a hard-copy version of this for your collection, or if you want it for the lossless sound quality, or if you just want to buy one to have for next year’s festivities, just drop me a reply to this message. I do not intend on making any hard copies available on a public scale, so rest assured if anyone wants a copy, these will be the pinnacle of handmade homemade goodness, made to order just the way you like.

Cheers!

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Round The Bend: VCV Plays Jandek



Some of you reading my blogs here may be interested to know that my band with David Tagg (VCV) has just released a new album of nine instrumental Jandek covers. The album is called ROUND THE BEND and has been officially approved by Corwood Industries themselves. This is VCV's first factory-pressed CD, lovingly done up in an eco-wallet style printed cardstock sleeve with black and white Corwood-style photography and a deep blue CD.

Musically, this record covers a lot of territory that some of you may be surprised to hear me involved in - 20 minute free-jazz jaunts on electric guitars, fretless bass and african harp...handclapping gospel acoustic blues...vocal drones...molten-heavy face ripping doom metal...but, there is also something here for those of you who prefer the more melodic side of things. Some beautiful guitar harmonies and luscious garage reverbs, all that rad stuff. Those of you who require convincing of such a project should head over to the VCV myspace page to listen to "I'm Ready", which is quite possibly a pinnacle of my entire time served in this band with David.

VCV MYSPACE

Of course, for you rabid obsessed Jandek fans (I know you're out there) you can just go straight to the source, and check this record out at our cozy monochrome label INSTALL, because, as Jandek says, "the future's not so bright, but oh, it's the only way you can go..."

ORDER INFO AT INSTALL

Cheers

Friday, November 21, 2008

Lunar Testing Lab Remix


I was asked recently to do a remix for Lunar Testing Lab, and I'm happy to say that he kindly included my remix on his new record! You can check out the album at the fast-growing I, Absentee label, which is also home to several other notable releases. This album really impressed me...lots of super funked out psychedelic beat-trips a la Odd Nosdam, with all sorts of cool pretty ambient in-between tracks to tie the whole experience together. Tons of cool space titles and space sounds and space everything...if you're a space cadet like me, you can't go wrong with this album!

CHECK IT OUT

November's Shop Releases



BRIAN GRAINGER
A GIANT HAND
MML046 / CD-R

Here's one I've been saving and savoring since Spring. Six massive, vulgar and megalithic pieces that would appeal to folks who enjoyed Porch, Porous Variations or the recent Borley Rectory set. Very heavy and untamed at times, but also very diverse and hopefully well-rounded in terms of textures and general moods. A lot of experimentation happening on this record, using synths, drum machines, feedback, AM radio signals and turntables to achieve tonalities, then augmented with deep sub-basslines or guitars. The material is still totally beatless, however through the use of various tremolos and delays, some tracks become quite rhythmic in their own way. A very obtuse and different album, but a very fun one that will likely lead to bigger and better ideas. Limited edition of 50 copies in a jewel case with cardstock inserts.

FOR MP3 CLIPS PHOTOS AND ORDERING INFO: CLICK



BRIAN GRAINGER

OLYMPUS MONS
MML045 / 3" CD-R EP

A three-inch EP contaning three dense guitar/bass drone pieces, recorded between 2006 and 2008. "Moth Cancer" is an outtake from the Porous Variations album, "Roche Moutonnee" was created during the sessions for Nine Billion Names and the title piece is a recorded improvisation from 2006, right around the time David Tagg and I were organizing our recording of The Star Of The King Of The Dead. Very droney and slightly doomy, while still retaining clear melodic elements and tonalities. Limited to 36 copies with corkboard covers.

FOR MP3 CLIPS PHOTOS AND ORDERING INFO: CLICK



BRIAN GRAINGER
BLACK ANTHELION
MML042 / 3" CD-R EP

Continued experiments with the "Anthelion" concept have yielded yet another EP of moody night-time listening. The previous Anthelions aimed to unify the musicality of field recordings with minimal musical embellishment, creating a sound environment that was an both aural and physical art piece. This time, twenty minutes of dark skies, cold wind and planes surround the stereo field, while guitar and bass parts have been added in, tonally working with the slow hum of the aircraft sounds, making it hard to isolate either sound from one another. Altogether a very deep piece of music, packaged in clear plastic sleeves with swirled black and white patterns on the inserts and the disc.


FOR MP3 CLIPS PHOTOS AND ORDERING INFO: CLICK

Monday, October 27, 2008

Happy Halloween



VHOM
BORLEY RECTORY
MML044 / 2xCD-R
LIMITED EDITION OF 38 COPIES

Conceived in 2004, worked on, abandoned, reignited, trashed, reconstructed, abandoned again, regurgitated...and now, complete. A record that, musically, would've been a Brian Grainger album, but arrived at a time when I wasn't quite ready to release works under my own name yet. Having been a work in progress for so long, the amount of material I was faced with shaping into this final product was overwhelming! So, having a fondness for the long-form, I opted to do a double CD set with this. Yes, I know, right on the heels of my collaborative double-album with Jhonn-Paul, but the fact is that this record has been in the waiting line for a lot longer, and my collaborative release was a totally improvised, spur-of-the-moment beast. If I haven't scared you away with this daunting set yet, it might come with some surprise that this project is and has been the pinnacle of my fascination with all manner of dark and occult things. EVPs, videogames like Silent Hill, old library books about haunted houses, getting scared and hearing things at my Dad's house in the country, Stephen King, "Tales From The Darkside", the original 60's run of "The Outer Limits", Murnau's 1922 silent-film "Nosferatu"...all thrown together with musical reference points like Aube, Merzbow, Masonna, Lustmord, Pocahaunted and that creep-out middle part of Pink Floyd's "Echoes". In short, I wanted to create the creepiest, most convincing haunted atmosphere I could, without seeming dated or contrived. Hopefully, it worked, or at least I feel like it might have for me. Even after making this album myself, it still gives me shivers to listen to late at night, alone, reading "The Road Virus Heads North", hearing EVERY SOUND in my house, and being so scared that I have to pull the sheets over my head to sleep! Delivered (hopefully) to you on the best possible night of the year for that, Borley Rectory is a spooky ghost story from me to all of you this Halloween! Limited to only 38 copies, which is a very short run, so they may be gone within the week, but I want to keep this album's appearance short and sweet.

FOR MP3 CLIPS PHOTO/VIDEO AND ORDER INFO:

CLICK!



BRIAN GRAINGER
LATENT CLOAK
MML041 / 3" CD-R
LIMITED EDITION OF 50 COPIES

A pagan wedding song for all of you harvest celebrators here...dressed in pumpkin orange and as loud as a Scotsman who is burning alive in the bowels of a giant wicker man (ha ha), this is something that'll carve itself into your head, Jack-O-Lantern style. And, if you listen carefully enough, under the torrential waves of sound-destruction, you can scratch out the raw sound of Autumn, melted down and flattened into 50 three-inch discs.

FOR MP3 CLIPS PHOTOS AND ORDER INFO:

CLICK!



P.S - I also made a minimal promo video for the track "Baseroom" from Borley Rectory. Check it out!



Wednesday, October 22, 2008

October Shop Releases


MML034 / COPPICE HALIFAX & FOAMEK / LUSH Q TRAX II

Held up via several delayed processes in the last 2-3 months, this little sequel EP is finally here! For those of you who liked the first split with Foamek I did, here's another 21 minutes of funky ambient techno bliss. This time it's slightly more influenced by minimal and dub techno, with the exception of "Marsh Acid", which is probably the most dancefloor-friendly Coppice Halifax track ever recorded. Packaged up in cute soft-plastic mini-cases with pastel colored card inserts and a big blue Q stamped in ink! The first Lush Q release flew off the shelves so don't wait around too long if you want this, it's bound to disappear pretty fast!

FOR MP3 CLIPS PHOTOS AND ORDERING INFO: CLICK

MML039 / BRIAN GRAINGER & JOHN-PAUL KRAMER

A massive slab of bleak drone improvisations stretched across desolate landscapes, recorded almost completely live in the space of one exhausting week at Milieu Music HQ. Four extended pieces on two economically-friendly discs inside a stylish plastic-wallet case, this record is definitely going to appeal to fans of VCV, or albums like "Autumn Soil Feedback", "Porch" or "Porous Variations". Heavy, soft, near and distant all at once. Dense decaying music for nighttime headphone listening! Limited to 100 copies.

FOR MP3 CLIPS PHOTOS AND ORDERING INFO: CLICK


MML042 / BRIAN GRAINGER / RED ANTHELION

Imagine yourself walking blindfolded through a grove filled with cherry trees. It's a windy night, and the more you walk the closer you get to a calm, open clearing where muted bell-tones waft through the air, and the coolness of the temperature is just enough to be pleasant. Somewhere off in the distance, you can hear scrambled radio signals...maybe other people elsewhere in this cherry grove with you...you decide that it's not important, lay down in the tall grass and doze off listening to the sounds around you.

FOR MP3 CLIPS PHOTOS AND ORDERING INFO: CLICK

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Milieu Stash Liquidation Week

So I'm going through my super-cluttered music room, which, in addition to being my creative studio space, it is also my makeshift office for label-related stuff. As you might imagine, I lose and find things all the time, and it's ALWAYS a mess. Given that, I've decided to lighten the load a little bit, and so I've dug out some old gems from my own personal stash to sell on Ebay. All items I'm listing are totally out of print and pretty scarce, so if any of you out there reading this would like to pick up some older records you may have missed out on, now is your chance! The titles I have listed so far are:

MILIEU / NIGHT CURRENTS / ORIGINAL U-COVER EDITION

MILIEU / A WARM WOODEN HOLLOW / INCLUDES BONUS 3"

COPPICE HALIFAX / 1983 / EED PROMO DISC

COPPICE HALIFAX / COPPICE HALIFAX / EED SWIVEL CASE

All of these items have been listed at or around the original price you would've paid for them if you bought them when they came out. They're all up for a weeklong auction and I will ship anywhere in the world. More items will probably be added in the next couple days so when that happens I'll update the list of available titles here.

You can visit my Ebay seller page by clicking HERE, and that should show you all the titles I am selling.

In closing, if anyone reading this is after any other older titles, please feel free to ask, because you never know what I might be able to find in my messy room here. Cheers!

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Nine Billion Names

The long-awaited Nine Billion Names album is finally here. The album Brian started recording as far back as the Eight Thousander sessions, and also the record he has always intended to be written especially for Second Sun. Musically it covers alot of guitar-heavy territories...an epic 70 minute record that cycles through somber drone-beds, backwoods acoustics, gigantic distorted slabs of doom and beautiful bent melodies looping forever. Occasionally through the haze you can make out organs, basslines and field recordings that echo the album's cozy home cover art. This is Brian's first full-length at SSR under his own name, and as such we'd like to consider it his first proper solo album here, with unified concepts of art, sound, memories, locations and numbers all planted firmly in place. It's a very sad record that sounds like it's trying to find its way home again, even though it already knows that place no longer exists. Perfect listening for the advent of Autumn.

FOR MP3 CLIPS PHOTOS AND ORDERING INFO:
CLICK

21MG Series Update

It has just occurred to me that I haven't really posted about my last couple contributions to the 21MG Series at SSR! David and I are still extremely proud of this series and so here's the scoop on the last couple I did...


BRIAN GRAINGER / KERGUELEN PLATEAU
21MG SERIES / PILL-J2
Kerguelen Plateau, named for a continent-size landmass that remains completely underwater, embodies the perfect complement to David's Bathymetry piece. Melodic guitars weave in and out of a warm-water drone, and a bit of Roy Montgomery influence can be traced here. This piece is filled with bright blue and orange tones and accurately conveys the over-100-degree temperatures active in Brian's southern home this summer.
(LINK)


BRIAN GRAINGER / PAINTED GREEN
21MG SERIES / PILL-K2
We present a new 21MG Series installment from Brian in the form of Painted Green. This guitar piece coincidentally goes very hand-in-hand with Nine Billion Names, melodically and texturally, even though they were recorded separately. A sort of an ode to Summer, waving goodbye to the glowing heat and the wet urban lawns that overtook the last 4 months, while welcoming a new season of vibrant colors, festive smells and cooler weather.
(LINK)

September Shop Updates


MML037 / BRIAN GRAINGER / HUMIDITY
3" CD-R Single
Something to herald the end of the Summer and the beginning of Autumn. A very melodic ambient piece called "Humidity" that sits very much in the same vein as records like Of The Apple or Eight Thousander. Lots of deep buried tonalities under cloudy chords and a really textural field recording of some of the rain that Brian's city has gotten along with the recent hurricanes. Guitars and organ pedalbass, limited to 100 copies!
(LINK)


MML038 / VHOM / FAALOPIAN TILS
CD-R Album
The very first hardcopy full-length Vhom album is finally here. Years in the making, Faalopian is not going to be something that appeals to everyone. Over an hour of 31 untitled tracks, all joined together in a seamless collage flow, and packaged in a jewel case with heavy duty corrugated cardboard for the inserts. Musically this record might resemble the sound of pouring boiling water in your ears, and I'm not quite sure why anyone (including me) would want to listen to that! For fans of things like BRTLMN/Wordsalad/Sagmo B, early Throbbing Gristle, Cylob's "Industrial Folk Songs" or Aphex Twin's "Classics". Heck, maybe even a little of Merzbow's "Pulse Demon" in there too. An absolute mindfuck of a record that is best enjoyed on a very loud stereo system. Putting the "concrete" back into musique concrete, 100 copies at a time.
(LINK)


MMX006 / MILIEU / DUSTYBOX TRACKS
3" CD-R EP
Already up to numero seis in the Dustybox Tracks series! This time it's more like the very first EP that started the series, in that it's a small collection of remixes I did as Milieu for Asymmetrical Head, Track53 and Phasen. Melodies and beats are all over the place on these tracks, and they'd definitely appeal to anyone who is after the "classic Milieu sound". As usual with the series, it's only a fiver to get some catchy tunes that can fit in your pocket.
(LINK)


**BACK IN STOCK**
MML015 / BRIAN GRAINGER / AUTUMN SOIL FEEDBACK (SECOND EDITION)
CD-R Album
Repackaged in a more standard shop look with the original decals and stamping, and this time it's only $5! For anyone who missed out on this run of 50 before, this second edition is another run of 50 and will probably go pretty fast! For those of you who like your drones buried under walls of radio static, vinyl surface-noise, tape hiss, VLF recordings and 16-RPM orchestras, this is just for you.
(LINK)

Saturday, September 6, 2008

EED's Summer Vacation '08



I've recently had the pleasure of banding together with a bunch of friends who happen to be brilliant musicians and assembling a really awesome compilation of Summer-toned electronic music. Some of my very favorite people contributed to this disc, so check it out! From EED:

Summer is ending, and here at EED we've had a really eventful season. Everyone is eager for Autumn to come, ready for the leaves to change color and for the air to get a little cooler. So before that happens, we'd like to offer you a family photo album of sorts, to look back on what all of us did this Summer: The EED Summer Vacation compilation album of 2008!

Everyone from the EED-family-and-friends makes an appearance here...playful sunny melodies and beats from Mrs Jynx, Am-Boy, Milieu, EOD and Obfusc play alongside cleancut and grassy-green organic techno from Electricwest, Y
imino, Ten And Tracer and Thisket, with homegrown suntanned sleepy pieces from David Tagg, Canyon Country, Biathalon and Coppice Halifax closing the showcase. Lots of accessible feel-good music to go around for everyone, the end of Summer has never been so action-packed! So grab a copy, curl up with your loved one or go for a walk and enjoy the season change, EED style!

CLICK TO ORDER
All orders will start shipping the week of September 8th.



Milieu Meets Euki, The Psychedelic Eco Warrior




Trailer For Euki

The good folks behind Isoceles have concocted yet another warped visual experience, and graciously included some of my music in their efforts. Some info from the creators:

"EuKi is a rebellious hyper-active teenage hacker living in the near future, where both the most positive possibilities, and the most negative, have become manifest in two separate competing worlds; Ecotopia and Dystopia. She uses a self-programmed PDA and her intellectual robo-cat SupaKitty to hack the dimensions of the world around her and fight to restore balance to Earth’s teetering eco-systems."

Additionally, they have also informed me that their previous installment "Zombie Dasein" has been updated as well. This short-film also features music of mine fleshed together in an interesting way, so for those who have not seen it, check it out here.

Out Of Print!

Since the last update here, several shop items have sold out. If you're looking for the following items, I would suggest visiting Norman Records or contacting me personally if all else fails.

MML006 / MILIEU / DUB MMX
MML008 / MILIEU / THREE SPACE SONGS
MML011 / COPPICE HALIFAX / HONEYSOIL
MML015 / BRIAN GRAINGER / AUTUMN SOIL FEEDBACK
MMD001-B / MILIEU / NEW DRUGS (2ND EDITION)
MM013 / COPPICE HALIFAX / NETTLES

Alternatively, if you'd just like to hear the material from the Coppice Halifax and Milieu singles, those have been compiled on two CD-R issues in the shop (Paperbacks and Singles).

Almighty Shop Update - End Of Summer

This space has sadly gone without updating for a while now...mostly due to me being busier than one man should ever be, but I suppose that was what Summer was all about...nonetheless, here are all the new shop releases since the last update. A few things have also gone out of print since I last posted here, but I'll outline those items in a different post.

ABOUT THE FOLLOWING TWO ITEMS:
Due to the manufacturer that supplies my 24-minute mini-CD-R's discontinuing them, many of the EPs in the Milieu Music catalog that utilize this format will no longer be available. I've "consolidated" 6 releases so far to accommodate this change, and they will now be available as full-length compilations on standard 5" CD-Rs at a lower price than what you'd pay for all of them separately. Anyone wishing to buy the original EPs should either contact me personally or check with my distributors, as they will probably have copies.


MML028 / MILIEU / PAPERBACKS
CD-R Compilation
Compiling songs from Three Space Songs, Dub Mmx and Muted Travels, this disc contains an hour of classic Milieu. Lots of bouncy beats covered in melodic loops, basslines, guitars and organs. The best kind of warped feelgood music for those of us who never want the Summer to end!
(LINK)


MML029 / COPPICE HALIFAX / SINGLES
CD-R Compilation
A second compilation disc, this time bringing together music from Nettles, Honeysoil and Cedarmill Dub. Musically this disc visits alot of terrain...from spacious ambient techno to dubby bass-and-breaks and crumbling drone-castles.
(LINK)


MML030 / PARALLAX / THE SOFT MACHINES
CD-R
Sitting quietly in a box since 2004, this Parallax album has been remastered and properly issued here for the first time ever. Packed to the brim with songs going as far back as 1999, The Soft Machines is a pleasant and simple look into what Brian was doing well before Milieu was ever a thought in his head. Lots of warm pads and pretty looped synth melodies over minimal drum accompaniment, as well as a couple (hopefully) forgivable moments that might date this music for some listeners. Cleaned up and affectionately packaged, this album is limited to 100 copies.
(LINK)


MML031 / PARALLAX / REVOLVING CLOUDS
3" CD-R EP
In locating and remastering The Soft Machines, a couple hours of unreleased Parallax material also surfaced. Of that, these six tracks caught Brian's ear somehow and so here they are, never before released and pressed up on a super-intimate run of 50 copies. A quaint little companion disc to The Soft Machines, complete with an alternate version of the TSM track "Palm To Fourhead Hex".
(LINK)


MML032 / OPHIBRE & BRIAN GRAINGER / MAINE/SANDER
CD-R Expanded Reissue
Housed in a really cool jewel case with doublesided pattern-card inserts, this CD-R is a filled to-the-brim 80 minute disc of drones. Technically a reissue of the first split I did with Ophibre, however that release was limited to a 50 copy run of cassettes, this version is now on a much more accessible format along with an extra track from each of us not previously released. As an extra bonus way to involve you, the listener, we've included a baggie of 12 small scrap pieces of paper, all with the same designs that the CDs themselves have. Anyone who assembles these 12 pieces into a collage of some kind and mails it back to Milieu Music HQ will be rewarded with a bonus MP3-release of around 40 minutes of music not included on the disc! That's right - we want you to be creative. Each "collage" should size up to be about as big as a jewel-case CD insert, and I'd love to have some cool stuff to hang on my walls in the studio here. Limited to 100 copies!
(LINK)


MML033 / BRIAN GRAINGER / POROUS VARIATIONS
3xCD-R Triple-Album Set
I know what a lot of you are thinking - THREE DISCS? You read correctly. This epic album contains FOUR HOURS of brand new music stretched across three discs in a unique jewel case with pattern-card inserts. No two copies look the same either. Since there's a lot more work and materials involved in making a triple-album, I am doing these in batches of 25. So any of you who get in on the "first edition", your copies will feature black and white artwork, keeping them distinct from later editions. Musically this record amounts to some of the thickest most rock-solid drone work I think I've ever done. Completely live and improvised on only guitar, organ and pedalbass, with some tracks clocking in at 46 and 76 minutes, surprisingly. I'm sure an album this big will keep you busy for a long time, as I know I certainly don't have four hours any day of the week to devote to music listening alone, but that's sort of the charm of this album I think. Not only is it something that you can go back to quite a bit, but it's also meant to be played at VERY high volumes, if at all possible. A lot of the low end and wobbly microtonal stuff happens
very deep in the mix, so at a high decibel level it's sure to be more entertaining. It was REALLY loud when I was recording it! Limited edition of 100.

(LINK)


MML035 / COPPICE HALIFAX / CMX
CD-R Compilation
Born out of necessity as well as accumulation and time passing, Cmx is a compilation of remixes done under the Coppice Halifax moniker that either are webrelease-only or are now out of print on whatever hardcopy issues they appeared on previously. A few remixes are also not yet released, making this compilation more exclusive and hopefully more complete for a longer period of time. Additionally, two versions of Coppice Halifax tracks appear here for the first time as well - the original more ambient version of "Dayglo Daze" and the original uncut version of "Canal". Altogether, this compilation flows more like an album than a collection of remixes, since the nature of my remixes usually allows for more unique material to surface over the original source sounds...making this a respectable Coppice Halifax release in its own right. This record comes lovingly packaged in a sleek jewel case with patterned/inkstamped cardstock inserts and blue discs, and limited to 100 copies.
(LINK)


MML036 / COPPICE HALIFAX / TREADER VERSIONS
3" CD-R EP
A small companion EP to the Cmx release, these four versions of the track "Treader" predate the self-titled Coppice Halifax album. In a similar process as "Nettles", several sketches and varying angles on the same idea were worked on until the final album-piece became apparent. In these early versions, it is possible to hear the electric piano, overcompressed field recordings of wind and water, bell melodies and muffled organ drones that all comprised the final version of "Treader", separated and displayed in four tracks that might as well be new songs altogether. Edition of 100 copies on 3" CD-R with inkstamped cardstock insert.
(LINK)


MMX004 / MILIEU / DUSTYBOX TRACKS
3" CD-R EP
The fourth volume of the Dustybox Tracks EP series, this time featuring three outstanding remixes by Lithium Enchantment, Lunar Testing Lab and the ever-impressive David Tagg! Lithium Enchantment turns in a stellar electro presentation of "Elep" (Remodelled version, not SWFITS), and Lunar Testing Lab phones-home with a slower hip-hop version of "Greenscreen Boredoms" from Sophiesongs that will make you swear you're in a gravity-free environment. Closing the disc is David Tagg's version of "Stone Chapel" from Of The Apple, which wouldn't be out of place on SSR somewhere, as it's very similar to his Waist Deep Seas Of Milk CD.
(LINK)


MMX005 / BRIAN GRAINGER / DUSTYBOX TRACKS
3" CD-R EP
Now for the fifth EP in the Dustybox Tracks series - this time two Brian Grainger mixes instead of Milieu. The first is an abrasive scatterbrained collage-assemblage of the "Porchsuite" material from my Porch split CD-R with Ophibre. Christopher Byler is the responsible party here, and he calls his work on the subject "domestic decompression". Secondly I weigh in with a 12+ minute drone version of one of Christopher's tracks, "Vengeance", which is very much in the vein of Autumn Soil Feedback or Porch and would definitely appeal to fans of either release!
(LINK)

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Milieu - Beyond The Stars - Reissued




Over 2 years since it was obscurely released as a bonus disc for the Beyond The Sea Lies The Stars album, Milieu's companion album Beyond The Stars Lies The Sea has been reissued, remastered and redecorated for SSR! An initial run of 150 copies went quickly out of print before the preorder for them was even finished in 2006, and until now the music was left completely unavailable outside of expensive collectors' circles and file sharing networks. This reissue of the album has been completely remastered from Brian's original session tapes, and two songs originally removed from the lineup appear here as well. The sequence is a bit different, and the CD sports all new photography by Brian himself. Altogether it feels more like its own album now rather than an extension of Beyond The Sea. The music has that same dusky nautical feel, however here things get a bit darker. Black monolithic space overtakes salt water and sails until all we're left with are pure colorful memories. The album begins with a ship leaving port and ends somewhere beyond the infinite, after space itself.

Available directly from Brian here:
CLICK

Shop Redesign & New Releases

As you may have been able to tell, I recently redesigned the entire Milieu Music shop page, so now it functions alot better as a more "label looking" site complete with a catalog and pictures of my pets! And, as you might have expected, it's chock-full of new releases too, all affordably priced at $5-$8.


MML023 / BRIAN GRAINGER / YELLOWED
A warm hour of tonal feedback drones, completely improvised and lovingly laid to tape. Packaged in yellow paper sleeves with yellow stamped inserts and limited to 50 copies.
(LINK)


MML024 / WATERSTRIDER / KOJIRO

Four unearthed gems from 2005, and a proper introduction to the long unidentified collaboration between Milieu and Ten And Tracer: Waterstrider. Comprised of a single track the boys recorded three years ago and filed away, and three long sought-after Milieu remixes of the Ten And Tracer track "A Distant Monarch". All material has never before been released and appears here in the form of a 3" CD-R with a blue cardstock insert. Limited edition of 100 copies, in three shades of blue.
(LINK)


MML025 / COPPICE HALIFAX & CASIO COMMANDER / NEON NITES AND DAYGLO DAZE
Hot on the heels of the bouncy Lush Q Trax split with Foamek, Coppice Halifax returns once again for a split 3" CD-R with fellow ambient technologist Casio Commander. Two original tracks and two remixes paint a picture of a drugged out night in neon danceclubs and a slow comedown as the sun rises, maybe in Miami, maybe in the Summer. Probably in the 80's. Packaged with hot-pink inks on royal purple cardstock with a shiny ribbon insert, and a special first edition of 12 copies with steel-blue cardstock. Limited to 50.
(LINK)


MMX002 / MILIEU / DUSTYBOX TRACKS
The second part of the ongoing Dustybox Tracks series of 3" CD-Rs. This time around the dust in question has been cleaned off of five remixes of Milieu tracks, some done years ago and never released. Beautiful remixing work graciously done by Galerie Stratique, Pizgah, Scup Bucket, Fieldtriqp and Am-Boy.
(LINK)


MML026 / VHOM / SALT/DECAY
Recorded in 2006 and built using only drums as the sound source, this Vhom EP fills half an hour with the sounds of alien machinery in a damp dark room, sputtering in and out of operation, while dry gusts of sickly-sweet air form a droning purple fog. Very spooky dense music for nighttime headphone listening. Packaged in standard paper shop sleeves with a stamped clock insert, and limited to 50 copies.
(LINK)


MML027 / MILIEU / CALICO FOUNTAIN MELANGE
An "expanded single" of three tracks from the vaults! "Albatrosses" and "Counting Lights" were originally written to be included on Aurora Borealis and Night Currents, respectively, and then they were meant to be included on several other releases since then, but never quite made it. Still kicking today and frustrated at not being picked so many times, these tracks have grown together in a way, and now they appear together here complemented by an almost-70 minute (!!!) mixset of Milieu songs, seamlessly and masterfully woven together by Mr. Kernel32 in the UK. Packaged in a clear plastic sleeve with a colorful inkstamped rainbow card, limited to 50 copies.
(LINK)


MMX003 / MILIEU / DUSTYBOX TRACKS
The third installment of the ongoing Dustybox Tracks series. This time with three psychedelic mixes by Foamek, Am-Boy and Eric Poplin Spies. Very much in the vein of long hazy summer music, and definitely appealing to folks who liked this series so far. Packaged in the same layout as the first two in the series.
(LINK)

Milieu & The Dandelion Council - Awkward 27

The super-awesome UK split-label Awkward Silence recently asked me to contribute 10 minutes of music to a split EP with The Dandelion Council. I turned out two very beachy pieces called "Coastline" and "Night Winds Detuned", both of which really remind me of walking on the shores back in Myrtle Beach and Pawley's Island where I grew up. The tunes by The Dandelion Council are more folky with guitars and such, so there's something here for everyone! This split is limited to 300 copies and is available directly from Awkward Silence for not even 5 pounds, and that's if you live outside of Europe! It's even cheaper if you live on that side of the pond...anyway, go check it out!

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Dyson

Messrs. Alex May and Rudolf Kremers have taken part in an online competition to develop an original freeware video game, Dyson, and being fans of my work, asked me to contribute music and sound effects to their game. I'm a pretty avid gamer and I've never done anything like this before, so I gave it a shot! I think the result is pretty interesting, as the game looks very cleancut and futuristic, while still maintaining a nice organic feel. I remixed the track "Singsong Waters Of An Endless Sea" from the Beyond The Sea Lies The Stars album to work with this game, and also created a number of loops and sound events that are all in tune with the track, so as you play through the game, the music sort of "recomposes" itself as you trigger various notes and clips. Anyway, as I said before it's a free game so go check it out!

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Sunday, June 15, 2008

Help Thisket!

I have just found out that my musicmaking pal Thisket returned to his Louisiana home to find it had been broken into and completely raided, and to add insult to injury, the thieves left his water running so his entire house was flooded as well. This sadly includes all of his music equipment - synths, drum machines, the whole bit - GONE. Thankfully, they had insurance on the house and that *should* cover a number of things that *should* bring Mr. Williams' life back to normal (hopefully), but unfortunately most of you probably understand how little insurance companies really care and how little he'll probably get back for his equipment.

So with that said, I urge any and all of you to go visit Daniel's shop page, where you can buy really cool hand-decorated and lossless-master-sourced CD-Rs and cassettes of his releases. He's made alot of really top-notch music in my opinion and most of it has gone criminally underappreciated. All of his shop items are very cheap ($5 plus shipping) and you'd not only be directly supporting an artist, but also REALLY helping him get back on his feet after this awful disaster. You can check out his super-easy and reasonable shop page here:

http://thisket.com/4/444/buy.html

(I highly recommend "NMB")

And you can even download three of his albums for free here:

http://disco.thisket.com/

("The Golden Afternoon" and "Summer Revue" are simply two of the best webrelease albums ever made)

Anyway, please help Daniel out. He's a really awesome guy and a talented musician who really could better the world with more stunning bedroom techno!

This Might Be A Blog Post

And so it came to pass that Sophia, Angie and I all attended the They Might Be Giants appearance in Charlotte at the Visulite Theatre on June 14th. Having seen them 5 or 6 times previously, Soph has entertained me with promises of a great show and a varied selection of songs from their *extensive* catalog. I went in prepared to be indoctrinated into the school of happy TMBG fans who all jump around, sing and clap their hands like ecstatic kids who have just found a radio station playing their favorite song.

The venue was nice, air conditioned and not at all cramped. We had a very easy time grabbing a couple beers and just setting up camp right on stage right, directly below John Linnell's keyboard rig. They came on at quarter to 10 and played for over 2 hours, with 2 encores. I began the night expecting three things: good entertainment from a band that's been around since 1982, a good live mix on the instrumentation, and maybe to hear a few songs I knew well enough to sing along to. I was more than satisfied as these guys made quick work of any naysayers, immediately ripping the stage wide open with "Doctor Worm" and "Why Does The Sun Shine?" (the latter of which contained some hilarious bits about Decepticons, and more Decepticons). It's hard to believe how old these guys are, and even harder to think about a band that made it through the eighties AND the nineties completely intact - untarnished by record industry pressures, production sounds, lineup changes, drugs/alcohol, anything you can think of actually. TMBG have always existed happily inside their own little musical universe where not much sounds like them except the bands that grew up listening to their records. In fact it's pretty amazing how sincere and genuine the whole show was - right down to John and John going back and forth about how to proceed with songs, as it was clear they didn't really rehearse *everything* and were totally comfortable just goofing off - especially since this is a band that has basically made rocking shows and writing pop songs their job, and they do that job perfectly.

The mixing on the band was extremely good. Tight and loud, but not like, ear-shattering. It made a really big difference in songs like "Ana Ng" and "Particle Man" to have a really prominent bass and drum sound. Plus their lead guitarist was a very proficient guy on his own, playing both electric and acoustic guitars, keyboard, synth and even doing some vocals. The high quality of the Johns' compositional talents was completely enhanced through the lens of this super-tight band. I mean can you even imagine how many songs this band has to know how to play at ALL TIMES? Not to mention they have to be good at improvising too. Kudos to them.

It's also worth noting that TMBG's catalog of mostly shorter (under 3 minute) tracks worked to their advantage as they just rip through song after song, hook after hook. It's hard to imagine ANYONE going to a show like this and getting bored or not having even a little fun. The crowd were all very nice people, from the couple I bumped into and spoke with. They all seemed varied in age as well as social-circle - everyone from preppy khaki-pant parents to tattooed shirtless punks to nerdy bearded guys with long hair (yours truly included) was bouncing around, and singing along with almost every line of every song! I should hope I end up so lucky, to be in my forties and have a clear connection with FOUR generations of people without any artistic compromise. These guys are one of the best bands I've ever seen live without a doubt and even if you're not as familiar or not really a fan, you're missing out if you don't go see them when they come around!

Finally, below is the ONE photo of the show I took - Mr. Linnell playing his keyboard and singing. Pictured above my blog post is the very nifty sheet printed and taped to their mixer which reads "This Might Be An Input List".

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Electronic Explorations


Mr. Rob Booth has just done a big podcast radio show with spotlight on my favorite electronic lady, Mrs. Jynx! He gave Jynx an opportunity to create her own mini-mixset as well. I was pretty flattered that she wanted to play the remix of Kites I did in her own mixset, and then Rob contacted me and asked for some more Milieu tunes to play! I gave him five different ones but he decided on Pinwheel Carousels from Echo Spectrum. It's way cool to be included in this podcast so go check it out!

CLICK!