the land of label

New previews

justin@thelandof.org (My Fun) — Thu, 07 May 2009 14:25:00 +0000

All of the release pages now have a streaming preview track if you'd like to have a listen. Or just check out the below. Happy listening.

My Fun @ bandcamp

justin@thelandof.org (My Fun) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 14:50:00 +0000

<a href="http://myfun.bandcamp.com/album/sonorine">Musik-Postkarten by My Fun</a>

The Land Of radio special - 19th of Feb

justin@thelandof.org (My Fun) — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 20:21:00 +0000

On the 19th of Feb, Conzertzender in Amsterdam will be featuring a radio special on our label. Hopefully this will be available as a podcast as well. Thanks Conzertzender!

11:00 - 12:00 Nieuwe Muziek Actua
Nieuwe Muziek n.a.v. Actuele gebeurtenissen. Nieuw Amerikaans label The Land Of heeft als motto “exploring the detail and beauty in everyday sound”. Dit betekent dat op het label minimal, ambient en atmosferische soundcapes een vooraanstaande plaats innemen. Uitgaven van My Fun, Darren McClure, Asher, The Green Kingdom en Off The Sky vullen de prille catalogus. In deze Actua een overzicht met de “Introductions”CD van The Land Of en stukken van de meest recente uitgave van Off The Sky genaamd ”Creek Caught Fire”.

offthesky on Sands-zine.com

justin@thelandof.org (My Fun) — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 15:01:00 +0000

There is a great review of Creek Caught Fire by offthesky in Italian over at Sands-zine.

Entered into babelfish translator, it reads something like this:

For the little of you that they have read “a walk between the forests”, funny and beautifulst book of the written Bill Bryson, the montuosa chain of the Appalachians is a known and fascinating place. Honestly in the little notes of the CD or the site Km of mountains is not explained in which of the 2500 has been recorded these sounds, but little it imports in the moment in which their limpid beauty is appraised. And it does not interest to never deepen like Jason Corder, in Offthesky art, has had bislacca the idea to use instruments in order to find elettroencefalogramma and the heartbeats cardiaci, let alone of the thermal sensors, to the aim of the volumes, the several intensity and other parameters of the sounds recorded there. All things that to the maximum can add fascination (or make sorridere in their bizzarria) to a disc that is supported however in virtue of the quality of the sounds and the composition.

It is strange however to discover it also the much melodico one than the premises would make to foresee, since every trace is cosparsa of tenuous melodie of school 12k (is for theirs netlabel “Term” that has exited the disc precedence), let alone of guitar notes that they make every now and then capolino. Not a slobber, not an excess, not a repetition too much in a disc infinitely delicate and that, all things considered, it fully succeeds also in the attempt to render the atmosphere pacific, solitary let alone humid and probably wild of mountains in which the wilderness it is still intact. Although the field recordings at times they are not recognizable as a result of the applied filterings, the disc remembers also sure tests of the most famous Chris Watson, whose fan they will find bread for their teeth here.

I only add that huge label “the Land Of” is definitively entering in the group of our preferred ones, also in virtue of the fact that the disc professionally has a beautifulst crude and printed confection in cartoncino, but with the matita title written it to, copy for copy. If it does not interest to you, you can unload all to 8 dollars from Internet, but it would be a true sin.

New review on textura.org

justin@thelandof.org (My Fun) — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 18:04:00 +0000

Textura.org is featuring Offthesky's Creek Caught Fire and Color Cassette releases in their latest update. Check it out here.

The Land Of on Last.FM

justin@thelandof.org (My Fun) — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 21:43:00 +0000

You can now stream all of The Land Of releases over at Last.FM!

ILOG!

justin@thelandof.org (My Fun) — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 02:38:00 +0000

I can't tell you much I'd enjoy one of these. Looks like they just built one for Philip Jeck. Check out the video below.

offthesky interview

justin@thelandof.org (My Fun) — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 02:12:00 +0000

Can you tell us a bit more about the ideas behind "Creek Caught Fire " and how it branched off from the Creek Studies release?

It’s safe to say the creek caught fire is the bigger brother to the creek studies. All the sounds came from the same set of recording experiments surrounding an intense period of time where all the source media was reaped to generate calories for those two bodies of work. That was also a personal phase of exercising minimal deconstruction during which the root fundamental sound source - the sine wave - served as a sole starting point for most of the pieces; much like starting a painting off with a simple gesso on wood approach.

Describe your working methods/process when you're working on new material?

I always make a note to begin with a field recording, or a melody taken from an acoustic instrument. However I feel that all rules are meant to implode upon themselves eventually so typically a new subtly evolved approach presents itself at the outset of each song/album. Again, a prominent theme with these two releases is the twine of the sine tone that ties much of the content together on a frequency plain. Specifically speaking, Ableton coupled with a slew of home made Reaktor patches makes for a good base where as all the acoustic elements add in subtle flavors. I recently acquired an old de-funkt player piano and vibraphone that are already shaping the nature of the releases that I’ll present in 2010.

How did your Kentucky surroundings influence the project?

Well certainly bourbon always helps to create a good warm mood that helps ideas flow. Seriously, there is a rich lush flora that sits atop a massive tectonic playground -i.e. the Appalachian mountain range. Since I’ve pretty much grown up around this uneven earth I’ve become curious for a time as to how the subtle seismic movements have affected the landscape, the culture, etc - but I think to truly musically capture that effect; one would have to create a piece of music that spanned a thousand years.

How are the live shows going? Did you get a good response at the Decibel Festival?

This past year I’ve had the opportunity to perform under several different projects/monikers that have lent many important lessons and ideas. Aside from the slew of more local events, I was able to open for Matmos in Boulder with a performance installation concept that entailed several painters on stage slinging paint on a giant canvas while I processed the sounds coming from several sensor microphones affixed to the back of it. We had a live drummer and a live projection visual element that made for a super weird show. The sound was certainly more akin to this juxta phona band I’ve been working with briefly as of late. This show was a great production feat overall however I realized that an artist certainly needs an encompassing solid working contract to make sure that all financial angles are covered in the end as sometimes unseen issues arise. The "business aspect" of traveling and getting compensated is certainly the most annoying part of any gig but with any production where budgets are needed, all bases should be covered first and foremost.

At other points in the year, I was also able to travel to Mutek to perform live video mixing which is paving the way for a series of offthesky videos and a DVD release later in 2009. Decibel was certainly the most successful performance in terms of critical feedback - though I’m not yet convinced that playing live shows, Even the prestigious festivals, does as much for an experimental musician's career compared to more permanent magazine write-ups or album releases. Though certainly there are bragging rights attached to playing along side more established artists, I will always put more attention to making music and spending time alone in the studio as opposed to the more superficial communications that come with live pa.

What other projects are you working on?

Currently I’m finishing and gearing up for 5 offthesky releases in 2009. The most difficult part is coordinating with all the various record labels exactly when to put the record out so that each record gets its due sale/exposure. I’ve found that at least 2-3 months between each release works really well and keeps the global audiences' interest. I’ve also found that with experimental music it's certainly important for an artist to release through many different outlets - though some labels do not like this and want an artist to focus in with them - I’ve found that now a day this is counter productive for artists trying to get established. Each label has a different unique distribution angle and promotional angle that can, in time generate awareness to help get an artist to the public. Enough spread out releases, if they are consistently interesting, will help generate traffic to all the various labels involved with that artist so it's all good for everybody in the end.

But aside from my personal views on the business approaches of an artist's career, I’m most excited about the "offthesky - geometry of echoes" DVD release coming out on Anticipate Recordings Fall '09. It’s my first foray into the realm of film capturing, editing, etc. I’ve enlisted the help of a collaborative multimedia expert partner, Sarah H.Dot from Denver Colorado. She and I are scouring archives and collecting a large array of textures and film clips based upon the idea of paranormal activity and resonance in a space. This concept started out with the dwelling spells Zymogen release and we're taking it to a higher level via filmmaking. My goal is to have it featured in an Imax theatre at some point - I guess there’s nothing wrong with aiming big?

Whiteline review

justin@thelandof.org (My Fun) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 12:14:00 +0000

Whiteline AKA Level (pictured) has some great comments on Offthesky's Creek Caught Fire over on his blog. It's been a great resource for new music and covers a lot of releases you can't read about anywhere else.

"The trio of Jason Corder (composer and producer), Jordan Munson (noise textures), and Colin Cambell (percussive samples) make up the intriguing unit known as Off The Sky. This delightful album, Creek Caught Fire, although continuing The Land Of’s lo-fi packaging aesthetic, demands focussed and concentrated listening on hi-fidelity equipment. Here we have a music akin to much of the early 12k output, combining delicate, minimal slices of instrumentation, filtered through a scree of texture and fine sampling manipulation. This is not unlike early Sogar, Taylor Deupree, or Sebastien Roux in feel, as carefully crafted pieces are dissected and dessicated into fine slivers of elegant sound, tumbling around in a froth and foam of ethereal organic textures. These gently decaying pieces would certainly not be out of place amongst some of the higher end minimalism emerging from labels such as 12k, NVO, Room 40 , and a host of others, and this further enhances the reputation of a small label rapidly emerging as a contender for larger audiences, by introducing an ever stronger roster of talented artists.

With titles like Willow Piece, Cloud Spotting, and Red River, it would be all to easy to assume that these are pastoral pieces, borne of a kind of backwoods electro-folk aesthetic – far from it, Off The Sky present us with eight carefully rendered sound tracts that although not entirely original, are beautifully sculpted, and sophisticated layers and fracturings, perfectly paced for passive listening in a meditative environment, the ideal backdrop for a chilled winter afternoon by the fire, or even as a pre-sleep come down – neither too intrusive, nor too demanding on the ear, yet utterly fascinating and immersive listening, particularly standing up to close scrutiny under headphones. One of the year’s finest minimal/ambient/crossover albums, that I have played several times per day since it arrived at my door. Most excellent. BGN"

Year end lists

justin@thelandof.org (My Fun) — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 23:08:00 +0000

KILN had some kind words about The Green Kingdom's Laminae album as part of Textura.org's 2008 Artists' Picks. Check out the full list here.

"The Green Kingdom: Laminae (the land of): This record was the runaway favourite this year. Combining beautiful, elastic waves of tone with knocks, clicks, and field noise. All these elements are rooted by the most interesting and tasteful use of filtered, cut-up guitar. Perfect. Michael Cottone's previous full-lengths, Meadowview and The Green Kingdom hint at the niceness still to arrive which then congealed on Laminae. Manufactured by the land of imprint, this limited-edition disc even comes in a raw, cardstock sleeve letter-pressed with silver ink which gives the first impression that each unit is hand drawn."

Happy New Year!

People Like Us - Work, Rest & Play (2007)

justin@thelandof.org (My Fun) — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 04:03:00 +0000

People Like Us (Vicki Bennett) never fails to amaze me. Check out this piece courtesy of UBU web.

The Green Kingdom - CD review

justin@thelandof.org (My Fun) — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 15:13:00 +0000

Tofaki has a great piece on two releases by The Green Kingdom including "Laminae" from The Land Of. Thanks Tofaki!

“Laminae” is so much more than an aural refuge for stressed-out ears, however. The result of years of continued reconsidering, recombining, recomposing and eventually returning to the simplicity of the first, inspired moment, it manages to peal structure and immediacy from essentially free-flowing ambient clouds. Cottone is unafraid of allowing the occasional dissonant Piano tone and impurely plucked Guitar string into his soundscapes, he uses whispery thunderstorms and silently babbling brooks for instruments, sends out pulsating waves on his cosmic Rhodes and builds tension through a careful friction between complete outward harmony and a galaxy of diversely interrelated micro-events underneath the surface. Nothing lasts forever here and sometimes, you find yourself reminiscing that one, irresistible moment of bliss which will never return. But isn't such a moment sufficient for the whole of a man's life?"

Sympathy for the Devil

justin@thelandof.org (My Fun) — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 03:29:00 +0000

This past weekend I was able to check out Sympathy for the Devil: Art and Rock and Roll Since 1967 at Musée d'art contemporain in Montréal. I can't recommend this enough! It ends Jan 11th. I took the above photo before a security guard had a few words but once I put the camera away I checked out some Christian Marclay collages, paintings by Robert Longo (above), some of the original Peter Saville work for New Order's Power Corruption & Lies and much more.

From the site:

"Among the New York artists featured are Rita Ackermann, Robert Longo, Richard Prince, Christian Marclay, Adam Pendleton, Mika Tajima and Jack Pierson. A group of portrait photographs by Richard Prince depicts such legendary art and music figures as Brian Eno, David Byrne, Dee Dee Ramone, Tina Weymouth, Adele Bertei, Kate Pierson, Cindy Wilson and Laurie Anderson. Also on display are photographs from Richard Kern’s New York Girls series and stills from his film Submit to Me Now, as well as Christian Marclay’s Untitled (1987-2007), made up of vinyl LP albums spread over a gallery floor."

Ohrwurms

justin@thelandof.org (My Fun) — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 03:05:00 +0000

The WSJ has a interesting article on the psychological effects of music that covers everything from holiday music torture to the future of social interaction through music.

Kitchen Daily Blog

justin@thelandof.org (My Fun) — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 16:58:00 +0000

I've really been enjoying April Lee's Kitchen Daily photo blog. In addition to her beautiful photography work she is also 1/2 of the group Aspidistrafly and a designer as well. Check it out.

Startling Moniker

justin@thelandof.org (My Fun) — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 14:21:00 +0000

Dave X runs the It's Too Damn Early show in Chicago which is an excellent source for a broad range of new experimental music. He recently played the entire Offthesky album on his show and has some nice and interesting things to say about the label and the release.

" Currently playing the first track, “Willow Piece,” from Off the Sky’s “Creek Caught Fire”. This disc is out on one of my very favorite labels, The Land Of, which it seems I am constantly recommending. For this disc, Off the Sky’s Jason Corder gathered a wide variety of data on an area of the Appalachians, data which was then utilised to drive and modify various sounds which otherwise have no obvious aural connection to the landscape. Appalachians as envelope, I guess you might say. Although I’m enjoying it, my gut feeling is that this album would have been even more interesting had it employed natural sounds gathered from the same location, but perhaps this method was discarded for some good reason I have yet to discover."

Thanksgiving Prayer

justin@thelandof.org (My Fun) — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 13:09:00 +0000

Recommended - Darren McClure - Unmoored

justin@thelandof.org (My Fun) — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 01:34:00 +0000

This release is a couple of years old but was one of the first that really started in interest in Darren's work. You can download the entire release for free over at the Test Tube label. From the site: "Oddly enough, Darren's music doesn't fit the genre as we'd expect. His pieces are rather short, never getting to see the six minutes mark. They're concise, compact, everything included. In such a way that we'll come back for more, repeatedly. One of my personal favorites this year. Thank you, Darren.» - Pedro Leitão."

Darren McClure

The Land Of on Tofaki

justin@thelandof.org (My Fun) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 14:01:00 +0000

Tofaki.com did a great feature on our Introductions compilation which features tracks from all of our previous releases to date.

You can download the entire release for free here. A CDr version will be sent with any CDr order from the site. Check out the feature/interview here. Thanks Tofaki!

recommended: the jack bohlen book club

justin@thelandof.org (My Fun) — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 15:25:00 +0000

"Sweet relief comes in the form of Allegory & Violence, the first hardcopy release by The Jack Bohlen Book Club. Being somewhat of an elusive figure, we won't focus too much on the man behind the JBBC, but what that leaves us with is an intriguing collection of field recordings, found sounds and numbers-stations, all either obscuring or collectively building tonalities, drones, little dissonances and hidden melodies that could be accidentally recorded from some distant brittle radio signal just as easily as they could be composed and performed. A true cross-pollination of academic sound-collage and careful compositional placement happens here, and we're pleased to be the ones to bring it to you." - Installsound.net

Also, be sure to check out his other releases (as free downloads) including 'Lion and Lamb' and 1979. Hopefully we can talk him into releasing something on The Land Of!

Marcel Duchamp - Anemic Cinema

justin@thelandof.org (My Fun) — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 23:00:00 +0000

New Release!

justin@thelandof.org (My Fun) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 21:00:00 +0000

offthesky (LND006)

CREEK CAUGHT FIRE is the full-length follow up to the 12k.term ep ‘Creek Studies’. It expands upon the popular idea of extracting subjective/objective inspiration and creative abstraction from vast natural space; but specifically that of the Appalachian (red river) area. The use of an EEG system served to drive different sonic dynamics on the record. A heart rate monitor captured an essence of loose time. Temperature sensors left out for days shaped volume levels. Through articulate consciousness cataloging on numerous media the compositions eventually followed suit over several seasons. A series of drawings, photographs, field recordings, and writings about the smells, weather patterns, and cultural climate all became source material for this release.

Download: Midlight from the Introductions compilation.

The Rest Is Noise

justin@thelandof.org (My Fun) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 22:12:00 +0000

"I am not a musician, I have therefore no acoustical predilictions, nor any works to defend. I am a Futurist painter using a much loved art to project my determination to renew everything. And so, bolder than a professional musician could be, unconcerned by my apparent incompetence and convinced that all rights and possibilities open up to daring, I have been able to initiate the great renewal of music by means of the Art of Noises."

- Luigi Russolo