http://www.boomkat.com/item.cfm?id=234508

A couple of months back 12k gave us a preview of this album via the single release of ‘Hikari No Hana’. The version of the song that appears on this album is a different mix, side-stepping the single release’s skipping electronic beats in favour of more plainly articulated acoustic material. For the most part however, this Japanese duo thrive in an electrified soundworld, concocting such fluttering J-pop delights as ‘Life’, which combines filtered synths with worn-out drum machines for a muted, more organic feel than the kind of material Taylor Deupree released via his old Happy sub-label, or the 12k output of fellow Japanese popsters like Moskitoo. There’s an almost folksy simplicity to the arrangements and recording style here, resulting in atmospheric acoustic tracts such as the lovely ‘Heaven Knows’, while elsewhere, only the very lightest of electronic touches is detectable, as on tracks like the beat-puntuated, accordion-driven ‘Daisy’ and the Wechsel Garland-like ‘Amaoto’. ‘In Light’ must rank as one of 12k’s most resoundingly successful forays into music of this ilk, and that’s largely attributable to the comparatively diminutive role played by digital production. Here the songs succeed because there’s no unnecessarily flashy post-production interfering with their effective and simple construction. Another excellent transmission from 12k – highly recommended.

12k has issued a digital re-release of the wonderful “Stengel” from Sogar (originally released on List Records (FR). You can find the links to all of our usual digital download services from the 12k newsletter:

http://mim.io/d3171?fe=1&pact=336243413

By day, Dr. Cameron Webb works as a medical entomologist, investigating the impact of disease-carrying mosquitos on the wetland regions of New South Wales. In the process he finds himself in strange, deserted landscapes, which provide inspiration for the thirtysomething’s other job, as guitarist in Sydney three-piece Seaworthy. 2006’s Map In Hand used Webb’s field recordings of dawn bird-song as the jumping off point for a dreamlike guitar and electronics pastorale. With 1897 he’s done deeper, starker, crafting a series of guitar improvisations within a 100-year-old decommissioned sandstone ammunitions bunker in Newington, Australia. Using the dark-toned reverb of the bunker and the eeir, rustling quiet of the surrounding marshes, he has created an organic ghostly fantasia, a creaking, chiming chamber piece of rich, lulling melancholy. – Andrew Male

REVIEW ON MUSIQUEMACHINE
12K ONLINE SHOP
PILLOWDIVER RELEASE PAGE

Sleeping Pills offers up nine wonderfullly focused & often emotional felt guitar based tracks of: post-rock ambience, emotive blues tinged guitar scapes & harmonic yet melancholy tinged drifts. This is the first release from this German based project that centres around guitarist & mood-maker René Margraff.

The main focus and centre of all of the tracks here is a Fender Jazzmaster guitar to which is added subtle traces of synth glow & minimal field recording matter. Each track here unfolds in such a slow, dreamy and often melancholy tinged manner. Yet it’s never gets too dark or gloomy in it’s flow, with often rich harmonic trails appearing in the often simply looped guitar patterns, which are delivered with great emotional understanding & care. Unlike some of the guitar ambient works that have appeared on the 12k label- Pilllodiver’s sound is left untouched by electronics or post production; meaning it has a very honest & organic feel to it’s unfold & drift, so you can really imagine most of the time a guitarist with a simply set-up playing his heart out in the connor of your listening space.

So Sleeping Pills is sonically simply yet emotional rich & atmospherically touched collection of guitar pieces which drifts somewhere between: ambience, slowed post- rock drifts, melodic & woozy indie rock. Really it’s a great début album & another great release on the always consistent 12k label.

http://www.boomkat.com/item.cfm?id=234508

A couple of months back 12k gave us a preview of this album via the single release of ‘Hikari No Hana’. The version of the song that appears on this album is a different mix, side-stepping the single release’s skipping electronic beats in favour of more plainly articulated acoustic material. For the most part however, this Japanese duo thrive in an electrified soundworld, concocting such fluttering J-pop delights as ‘Life’, which combines filtered synths with worn-out drum machines for a muted, more organic feel than the kind of material Taylor Deupree released via his old Happy sub-label, or the 12k output of fellow Japanese popsters like Moskitoo. There’s an almost folksy simplicity to the arrangements and recording style here, resulting in atmospheric acoustic tracts such as the lovely ‘Heaven Knows’, while elsewhere, only the very lightest of electronic touches is detectable, as on tracks like the beat-puntuated, accordion-driven ‘Daisy’ and the Wechsel Garland-like ‘Amaoto’. ‘In Light’ must rank as one of 12k’s most resoundingly successful forays into music of this ilk, and that’s largely attributable to the comparatively diminutive role played by digital production. Here the songs succeed because there’s no unnecessarily flashy post-production interfering with their effective and simple construction. Another excellent transmission from 12k – highly recommended.

www.12k.com/onesoundeachday

OCTOBER 18
Pound Ridge, NY, 12:42pm

a music box resting on the strings of an old acoustic guitar. the microphone were inside the guitar body.

OCTOBER 19
North Salem, NY, around 3pm

the Mt. Lakes park, on a cliffside overlooking the valley.

OCTOBER 20
Pound Ridge, NY, 1pm

acorns in my hand.

OCTOBER 21
Pound Ridge, NY, ?

no idea what this sound is. outside, in the leaves…? broken pottery at the beginning? i’ve forgotten!

OCTOBER 22
Pound Ridge, NY, 11:54am

a coffee-can rattle my son made in school last year.

OCTOBER 23
Somers, NY, early afternoon

at the beatiful Angle Fly Preserve in Somers. stunning autumn day, stillness, color, sunshine and a stream snaking through the woods.

OCTOBER 24
Croton on the Hudson, NY, around 7pm

recorded in very low quality on my iPhone at a halloween pumpkin festival in the rain.

we found out today that eMusic, who is currently hosting Small Color’s “Hikari No Hana” as a free download, is not available in all countries, so we have put the single on 12k’s website as a free download for everyone worldwide.

you can find the info and file here:

http://www.12k.com/3007.html