And even more Asteroids…

Yes, there’s more…

Volume 3 has now landed at Bandcamp (HERE) so get across there and grab it as soon as you can :-) Feel free to name your price – just like the other volumes. There are a few more volumes of these on the way. Most likely not until the end of September or into October. But you never know – it just depends how industrious I become – and what uploading stuff is like at my new place. So far it’s been generally ok but it can be a bit hit-and-miss now and again even getting online, as I’m sharing a wireless connection with several other people.

TRACKS:

3 Juno (5:35)
30 Urania (2:27)
43 Ariadne (3:13)
65 Cybele (4:41)
84 Klio (3:09)
93 Minerva (3:02)
109 Felicitas (3:00)
222 Lucia (3:21)
386 Siegene (3:03)
390 Alma (2:15)
623 Chimaera (2:09)
810 Atossa (1:52)
911 Agamemnon (2:02)
1009 Sirene (2:28)
1094 Siberia (4:39)
1298 Nocturna (1:58)
1785 Wurm (3:20)

No individual links here but all the usual full-length previews can be heard over at the linked Bandcamp page just below the picture. I’m working on some more of these – as well as polishing up the ones that are already laying about here waiting to go. So expect at least one more Volume sometime soon. In the meantime, enjoy these…

More Asteroids in August

Yes, the second volume of Asteroids is here. Well, actually it’s HERE, but you know what I mean…

Startled Okapi! Recordings No. 22

Tracks:

2 Pallas
7 Iris
23 Thalia
26 Proserpina
58 Concordia
62 Erato
80 Sappho
123 Brunhild
133 Cyrene
279 Thule
572 Rebekka
824 Anastasia
1004 Belopolskya
1005 Arago
1282 Utopia
1981 Midas
2106 Hugo

Links to all tracks can be found on the Bandcamp page – and all the usual pricing is available.
Be warned, Volume 3 is not too far away…

Asteroids!

So, here it is – at last. This is the first in a series of albums containing tracks named after objects in the Asteroid Belt. There is a second volume already waiting to follow this one and there will be more forthcoming in time.
The first Asteroid track ever written was the last track on this album, 3494 Purple Mountain, which was titled more or less by accident (it’s an observatory in China, if you were wondering). However, once I realized how many named Asteroids there were (I already had a pretty good idea about the large number generally) it became an obvious source of inspiration. Not to mention a massive source of titles…
The numbers at the start of each track are sequential numbers, which are assigned to the asteroid once it’s orbit is secured – the name often follows much later, sometimes after a long period of debate.
The basic sound of this album is pretty much Ambient, but be warned that there are beats now and again (mostly on 12 Victoria on this album anyway) and that discordant sounds do pop up, so it may prove a tad disquieting if you’re just looking to chill. It’s now up on Bandcamp, via Startled Okapi! The link is below…
Each of the 18 tracks has a few notes attached to it regarding it’s Astronomical Namesake and the origin of it’s name – if it’s known of course.

Tracklisting:

6 Hebe 03:43
12 Victoria 03:07
17 Thetis 04:06
55 Pandora 03:35
69 Hesperia 04:10
71 Niobe 04:14
103 Hera 02:50
163 Erigone 03:42
201 Penelope 02:50
216 Kleopatra 02:09
256 Walpurga 03:20
397 Vienna 02:21
402 Chloë 02:08
430 Hybris 01:32
747 Winchester 02:31
1912 Anubis 03:45
2340 Hathor 02:31
3494 Purple Mountain 02:30

Get it HERE – usual pricing structures apply and the whole thing can be previewed there as well.

The Crossfire Era – again…

After seemingly disappearing online (well, I can’t find Datahex any more)  during the time I was away, The Crossfire Era now makes it’s return via Started Okapi:

Now back as SO! No.19. and available here as of now, with the usual price structure, of course. And some decent-quality soundfiles available as well, for those that desire them. This originally came out back in October 2010 and was one of three albums that were released online that year, you can preview it all at the Bandcamp site.

Also at Startled Okapi! now is Arctic Circles, another album by A Plot Of Knives – one of many recorded during 2013 that will pretty much all see the light this year, depending on circumstances. My internet connection here is still spotty and I’m looking at alternatives right now.

There will be more Thee Crumb online soon as well, not just the long-promised first of the Asteroids albums but at least one other new release too, which will be up early next month.

Rising From The Deep (again)

Rising From The Deep – Startled Okapi! No. 18

Originally recorded for the RPM Challenge back in February 2008, and then issued on Hallo Excentrico! later the same year. And now it’s back again on Startled Okapi! Here. With a couple of bonus tracks not available on any other version of it, firstly Rodents Probed Melanie, which was released as part of the Roughly Produced Masterpieces by Very Us Artists, which was another RPM contribution from the same year, which started my association with Very Us Artists which eventually led to Foreshadows.

The other bonus track, Uppercrust, is an early version of Ghosts Of Horses, which I found recently in the original files for this album and had never previously made public. You’ll need to download the entire album to get these two.

The only other out-take from the album was Cradle, which was later released on the first Catacombs album. Ana all being well, there ought to be another Catacombs albums along early next year.

The plan is, as I’ve mentioned before, to have all the albums up at Bandcamp so they can all be found in one place. There are a few more reissues planned for later on this year, as well as a couple of new albums. In fact, they may well be a new album up this month. But as I’m looking at moving sometime in the next few weeks all plans are provisional.

While I’m here, I should also mention that A Plot of Knives now has its own Bandcamp page and there’s already a release there. The Footprints Ended In The Middle Of The Field – which was recorded during June 2013. Once again, the plan is to add all the albums to this page – there’ll be should another within a couple of weeks – and at some point, I’ll add a separate page here for APOK as well as a discography.

And finally, just to prove I’m making new stuff and not just plugging my old stuff :-) here’s a new track. Via Soundcloud, as WordPress seem to have now decided that I can’t upload any MP3 tracks without setting up a dedicated music site (or something like that it appears) – despite the fact I’ve been uploading MP3s on here for years. Oh well…

New Album

Well, as I pass over again, it’s time to release the album that I promised for July last year – it’s called Quixotic and can be found on the Bandcamp page – right about here in fact…

Tracklisting:

1 – Red Serpent – 2:40
2 – Wax Museum Shadow– 3:45
3 – Beak Of Bronze – 3:40
4 – View From A Low-Flying Aircraft#10– 1:36
5 – Alternate Timeline – 3:19
6 – The Lodge – 2:03
7 – Afraid Of Heights – 4:36
8 – Early Morning Light Paints A Harsh Picture – 3:01
9 – Run Aground – 2:01
10 – Amanita – 3:13
11 – Waves At Pevensey Bay – 1:31
12 – View From A Low-Flying Aircraft#8 – 2:04
13 – Orphic Egg – 3:38
14 – Golden Hind – 1:51
15 – The Oak Panelled Room – 5:03

Everything on here was recorded between December 2014 and May 2015 and was lined up to be released sometime in July or August last year before other events got in the way. I’ve posted a couple of these track on here before but full-length previews can be had on the Bandcamp link above. And yes, Waves At Pevensey Bay is an accurate description of the contents of that track.

Following this, I’m looking at releasing few of the older previously-unissued albums and putting most if not all of my other albums up at Bandcamp too, not to mention a few oddities. More on this when it actually happens.

Both RPM Challenge albums…

…are now up for download on Bandcamp. The page is Here – so go and get them if you’re so inclined. The usual price structures apply of course.

RPM Challenge 15 – Day 13 plus…

…The very last (at least I think it is anyway) Digital Vomit compilation.

Rotten Fish Head – DVR129

Memory. Mechanical Memory. Malfunction. Bit Rot. Big Data. Lifelogging. Cloud Disorder.
Digital Dementia. Data Compression. Memory Distortion, Recording Technology…
Rotten Fish Heah is a compilation around the theme of memory, decay and entropy,
inspired by the mechanical failure of hard drives.

Get it at either Bandcamp or Archive.org

As for RPM… well, it’s coming along. I’ve got 9 finished tracks now which add up to a shade over 29 minutes in total. So, if I’m still looking at making 2 albums, that means I’m about a third of the way there. Which is a little troubling as tomorrow is the halfway point and I still need to make nearly another hour’s worth of music. And hardly any free time on any of the 3 Saturdays left? Hmm…

Oh well, at least it actually will be a challenge this year.

The finished tracks, I hear you ask? Well, here are 2 of them.

Analysis Paralysis

The Unfamiliar

Catacombs Volume 3

As promised in the last post, Catacombs Volume 3 is now up on Bandcamp – the download page, with full track previews, is HERE – the usual pay-as-much-or-as little-as-you-want applies…

Tracklisting:

1 – Brewing By Arclights – 2:29
2 – The Astrologer In Full – 4:44
3 – A Locked-Room Mystery – 2:29
4 – Storks Fly Into The Night – 7:18
5 – Sleeper Cell Radio – 1:29
6 – Balsa Wood Hills – 3:01
7 – Undecided – 2:01
8 – Travels In One Direction Only (Full-Length Version) – 7:01
9 – Fragile – 4:14
10 – They Had Ventured Into The Forest – 5:03
11 – Leave The Flag – 2:30
12 – Between Two Points – 3:18
13 – Quagga – 3:21
14 – And Then… Nothing Happened – 3:05

The vast majority of these were recorded between 2011 and last year, with Travels… being the extended version of a track that was on the Digital Vomit ambient compilation back in 2010. Sleeper Cell Radio, Balsa Wood Hills and Leave The Flag were all off-cuts from previous RPM projects – which is a roundabout way of saying that this year’s challenge starts on February 1st and I will be posting the usual round of demos and updates on here as the month progresses. This year, just to stretch myself a little bit more, I’m going to attempt to record two albums instead of one. I’ve no idea how this is going to pan out right now – or even if it’s feasible. It may just be that the second ends up being a remix version of the first or just one long track. I do my best not to plan these albums too much in advance as it never turns out the way you expect it to. So it’ll be just as much of a surprise to me as everybody else.

I also couldn’t end this post without mentioning the death last week of Edgar Froese. Now, I’ve mentioned before that I don’t usually remark on the passing of every musician I’ve been influenced by as this blog would most likely consist of nothing else but obituaries, however, Tangerine Dream were one of my favourite bands and have been a massive influence on me ever since I bought a second-hand copy of Rubycon in our local junkshop for £1 when I was 14. So RIP Edgar – and thanks for everything…

Ecfundo Postremus Is Here

The final (well almost) Digital Vomit compilation, serving up 34 tracks of goodness, has landed at Bandcamp:

The link is Here so go and grab it now – you’ll be very glad you did. There’s tracks there from both Thee Crumb and A Plot of Knives.

In other news, I’ve had a change of heart regarding the RPM Challenge, so it looks like I’ll be lining up for the ninth year in a row – although I’m trying to think of a way to stretch myself a bit more this year. I’ll see what I come up with between now and the start of February. And as for the retrospective of the former ones I’ve been promising – well, I’ve decided to let that idea go. I’m not ready for a retrospective of anything just yet. That can wait for twenty years or so maybe…

Despite the imminent demise of Digital Vomit, let me assure you that Startled Okapi! is alive and, well, sort of twitching. A bit. The next thing that will be emerging is the third volume of Catacombs, most likely within a week or two. Certainly before the end of the month.

Here are the obligatory new tracks to round things off:

Beak Of Bronze

Run Aground