There are a couple of really interesting records that have come out on 12K records that are worthy of note. The first is Lawrence English’s latest record called A Colour for Autumn, which is a beautiful, sombre meditation on the season. It notably features Fennesz on one of the tracks, a pairing which sounds wonderful. Here’s some more info:
A Colour For Autumn is the second in a series of editions from Australian sound artist Lawrence English that trace the experience of seasonal transit. Following on from For Varying Degrees of Winter (published by Baskaru), A Colour For Autumn reflects on and explores the transitory nature of Autumn – counterpointing the uniformity of the ‘term’ with the varied qualities expressed by landscapes in different countries.
Like all environmental phenomena, seasonal variation is highly localised, and expressed not only visually through vegetation etc, but also sonically as insect life, leaves under foot and fauna all change in response to the climatic shifts. Northern and southern hemisphere experiences of Autumn are strikingly different and it’s also this contrast which rests at the very centre of A Colour For Autumn.
Recorded between 2007-2009, this series of pieces acts almost as small auditory portraits of given spaces in the often gentle throes of Autumn – ‘Droplet’ for example features field recordings gathered in Notre-Dame De La Garde in Marseilles, capturing the infamous ‘Mistral’ wind as it blows the first cooler breezes of Autumn into the city in 2007. By contrast ‘Watching It Unfold’ measures a more Australian experience of Autumn – a series of open static phrases, shifting ever so slightly – a reflection of the slow changes of the season around English’s home of Brisbane.
Working with a range of analog approaches, A Colour For Autumn is a tonally rich affair, sourcing much of it’s sounds from a mixture of instruments, field recordings and assorted electronics. A Colour For Autumn also features contributions from New Zealand’s Dean Roberts (whose vocals adorn the opening moments of the album) and Viennese musician Christian Fennesz, who offers intricate clusters of electronics in ‘The Surface Of Everything’.
This is an album of subtle variation, graded hues and tonal warmth, all of which act as an invitation for the listener to consider their own localised transition of Autumn.
[LINK]
The second release on 12K that I want to point out is Seaworthy’s 1897. Seaworthy is a group of Australian based soundscape artists, and is one of the best currently active at the moment. Here’s the description 12K have given their new record:
1897 is the second full length album on 12k from Australian soundscapists Seaworthy. Primarily the recording project of Cameron Webb, Seaworthy have continued to develop their sound over the last eight years with move towards a greater emphasis on minimalism in their improvisation and composition of guitar, electronics and field recordings.
In the winter of 2007, Webb commenced recording in and around a 100 year old decommissioned ammunitions bunker in Newington, Australia. Constructed in 1897 to store gunpowder, the bunkers were in use by the Australian navy until recently, including the Gulf War of the 1990s. In stark contrast to the cold dark interiors of the ammunitions bunkers, surrounding the building are extensive remnant wetland and forest environments that provide locally important habitats for a number of endangered and internationally protected wildlife. These areas are essentially off limits to the general public.
During a three month period as an ‘Artist in Residence’ with the Sydney Olympic Park Authoirity’s Arts Program, Webb undertook a series of improvisations, compositions and field recordings within the bunkers and surrounding natural environment. As well as pieces of looped guitar and electronics, installations of field recordings played back with the bunkers were also recorded, using the natural reverb of the large rooms as a way of processing the sounds of birds, insects and wind through trees. The large sandstone bunkers were infused with so much natural reverberation that even the gentlest footstep seemed to take on a life of its own.
Over 6 hours of 4-track cassette, minidisk and computer recordings resulted from the sessions and the processing, assemblage and mixing of the tracks that make up 1897 took most of 2008 to complete. The process was made more difficult with the recording and post-production sessions punctuated by the birth of Webb’s first child. As a result, most of the post-production was completed under the haze of sleep deprivation and was a long, drawn out process.
Unlike the warm pastoral sounds on Map in Hand (12k1040), 1897 is a starker, more melancholic album. Some tracks stripped back to a single guitar track while others feature a colder, abrasive approached to drone pieces. Generally more minimal compositions that reflect the emptiness of the bunkers and the eerie quiet that so often descends on the natural world within the depth of winter.
Since the release of Map in Hand, Seaworthy have increasingly stepped out to perform live with a diverse range of artists including Philip Jeck, Christopher Willits, Birchville Cat Motel, ii, Love of Diagrams, Papa M, Rand and Holland, Tujiko Noriko, Adrian Klumpes and Because of Ghosts.
A small, 64-page, book of photographs, shot by Webb, from the bunker and surrounding areas is available in a limited edition of 50 alongside the 1897 CD.
[LINK]
Filed under: Lawrence English, Seaworthy
