Presenting ... "Seconds (waag_rel027)" by Kevin Lyons

As I write these liner notes, I reflect on the weekend that I have just had ... a weekend of music ... a weekend of cementing social media friendships with physical bonds ... a weekend where I got to meet in the flesh for the first time, so to speak, three chaps that I greatly admire: the musician - Dave Hughes aka Cousin Silas; the painter - Ade Hodges; and the focus of these notes - musician Kevin Lyons.

Believe it or not but Dave and Kevin are the only musicians on weareallghosts that I have actually met in the flesh ... and I only met them a couple of days ago. Its crazy to think this but at the same time in today’s always-connected age it makes perfect sense.

In all my conversations with Kevin over the weekend ... on such topics as role of “the ancient” as filler on “Tales of Topographic Oceans” or the genius of Hayao Miyazaki ... I was struck by how genuinely nice Kevin was. He holds a wealth of information, predominately about films and progressive music, within his Mekon-like noggin. This conversation helped me form the context for “Seconds (waag_rel027)” ... his second release on weareallghosts.

His style of electronic music is broadly ambient and is flavoured by his obsessions with weird fiction, progressive music (especially the Berlin School) and modern sci-fi cinema. All these ingredients come together to form a heady mix of eery darker ambient soundscapes and lighter, more progressive tracks that tell their own individual stories of moments long gone as well as those still to come.

I hope you will enjoy this album as much as I do. I find Kevin’s music to be very visual and take great pleasure in letting my mind wander through the landscapes he paints with sound. It was a pleasure to meet him and it gives me great delight to support and encourage his musical endeavours through weareallghosts.

As before, an MP3 version of this album will be available for free on Archive with a lossless version available on Bandcamp for “pay what you want”. If you do decide to download the album for free then please tell your friends about Kevin’s music and this wee netlabel.

- Tx



http://archive.org/details/waag_rel027

Presenting ... "Dronescape 009 (waag_drs009)" from Cousin Silas

On the 8th instalment of the Dronescape series, Brian Bourassa said this ...

"If your a "Dronie," then Cousin Silas's Drone series should be topping your list. I'd invite you to follow the progression from "Dronescape 001 through Dronescape 008" and beyond."

I couldn't have put it better myself! Thanks Brian.

For the 9th Dronescape ... Cousin Silas has really pulled out all the stops ... creating an utterly engaging longform piece that is exceptionally expansive and filled with ridiculously generous amounts of both grace and light.

I really love this drone ... I love the tone of this piece ... the atmosphere ... the sense of peace it leaves with me long after it is finished. I love the subtle harmonics that twinkle like stars.

I am very proud to release this drone on weareallghosts ... and thank everyone who supports both Cousin Silas and myself in this endeavour.

As before, a MP3 version will be available on Archive for free with a lossless version available here on Bandcamp for 'Pay What You Want' … which does include free. All we would ask is that if you grab it for free then tell everyone you know about the release and the man behind it.

Enjoy

- Thomas

http://archive.org/details/waag_drs009

Presenting ... "Good Friday (waag_rel026)" by Stephen Briggs

"Good Friday was inspired by observing the power of crowds … how the spirit of a crowd can change a person … take over them … make them do things they wouldn't otherwise consider doing. This spirit … the spirit that can turn a respected school teacher into a looter grasping for a TV in a riot … was evident on the first Good Friday … a day when the crowd took over. 

Good Friday was also inspired by the spirit that exists in a room or a building ... be it an incense-rich 15th century church in rural Spain or a grease-filled garage near my home in New Zealand. 

Take, for example, the room I live and work in ... it is full of the memories of souls and conversations … thousands of them. From day old babies to 90+ year olds. Somehow I channel their thoughts and feelings into my music. Just as I try to revive their tired life-force and help them to get better from their injuries … they help and inspire me to create and express what is inside me. 

My music comes from my soul. I hope … in handing what is inside me over to you … that this will act as a catalyst for you … that you may be inspired too." 

- Stephen

"I really connect with Stephen's music … it have connected with it since the first time he let me hear the start of what we now call 'Good Friday (waag_rel026)'. He is a talented musician and a genuinely beautiful human being … someone who gives generously from the deep well of his soul to all who know him. 

I am honoured to know him and am equally honoured to release 'Good Friday (waag_rel026)' on weareallghosts. We always have room for inspired improvisational ambient music. His is a powerful music … a music that comes from all that dwells within him. It is fascinating to listen to. 

To say this is an expression of Briggs' faith would not be entirely accurate … this is an expression of more than his faith … it is an expression of his humanity and his experience … and I am grateful for this whole-of-self expression. It inspires me. 

I hope you are as challenged and inspired by 'Good Friday (waag_rel026)' as I was and am." 

- Thomas

As before, an MP3 version will be available on Archive for free with a lossless version available on Bandcamp for 'pay what you want'. If you decide to download this album for free, and you are able to do so with our blessing, then please tell everyone you know about it … and then tell us. We always enjoy hearing from the folks who've taken the time to download and really listen. Its what we're about afterall.



- or -

http://archive.org/details/waag_rel026

Presenting... Dronescape 008 (waag_drs008) by Cousin Silas

I genuinely get excited when I get a wee message from Cousin Silas telling me that his latest dronescape is in our shared dropbox folder.

I have grown very fond of these longform drones and consider them an utter treat to listen to … and I hope you will enjoy the eighth instalment as much as I do!

As before, a MP3 version will be available on Archive for free with a lossless version available on Bandcamp for 'Pay What You Want' … which does include free. All we would ask is that if you grab it for free then tell everyone you know about the release and the man behind it.

Enjoy

- Thomas

Presenting ... "Some Hollow Lullabies (waag_rel025)" by emptywhale

I have a black-and-blue mark on my arm … its been there for a long while and won't be disappearing any time soon. Its there as a result of my need to pinch myself each and every time I listen to the music on weareallghosts.

I need to pinch myself to ensure I am not dreaming … that this wee netlabel isn't in fact some ridiculous fantasy of the calibre of an episode of Dallas. The music I have had the privilege to release is truly exceptional and some of my favourite music from the last year and a bit. I don't say this enough but I am so honoured that folks have chosen waag to release their content … it is nothing without their contribution.

Take "Some Hollow Lullabies (waag_rel025)" by emptywhale for example … what a belter of an album this is. I've had it for a wee while and it astounds me every time I listen to it.

"Some Hollow Lullabies (waag_rel025)" has an otherworldly quality about it that just fascinates me  … I hear something new with each subsequent listen.

From the opening refrain of "The Boy Who Could Hear Colours" through to the closing of "Seeking Reason" I am captivated by the care and attention emptywhale has poured into this release. His piano playing is exemplary and his use of sound to convey an atmosphere is simply remarkable - it is dark and brooding … almost Lovecraftian in suggestion.

This release could so easily be the soundtrack to some spooking French drama like Les Revenants … this is not to decry Mogwai's stellar soundtrack but to point out that "Some Hollow Lullabies (waag_rel025)" has a similar power … an equally eerie ability to astound whilst simultaneously entertaining.

I also love the artwork that was prepared for this release. I'm only responsible for releasing this album ... the photo used on the cover is by Melissa Ricquier and the art direction was by CK aka emptywhale himself. I think its stunning and I'm not alone ... whilst I'd love to take the credit, I can't.

I hope you enjoy every second of this release as I have and continue to do.

As always an MP3 version is available on Archive for free with a lossless version available over on Bandcamp for 'pay what you want'.

In addition, please note that emptywhale has ascribed this release with a Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0) license. This license lets anyone remix, tweak, and build upon "Some Hollow Lullabies (waag_rel025)" non-commercially, as long as they credit emptywhale and license their new creations under the identical terms. If you are interested in remixing "Some Hollow Lullabies (waag_rel025)" or tracks from it, please let me know … I may release it on waag!

- Thomas



http://archive.org/details/waag_rel025

Presenting... "Dronescape 007 (waag_drs007)" by Cousin Silas

I have discovered a new pleasure ... lying in my hammock in my backgarden listening to Cousin Silas' dronescapes.

I live in Scotland so I don't get many opportunities but when I do ... like I did today ... it was simply stunning.

The 7th instalment in Silas' Dronescapes takes the series forward ... it is 72 minutes of floaty, blissed-out, musical sunshine. It fitted perfectly with a lazy rest-filled day in the garden ... reading and recharging in the sun.

I've never liked the tag 'chill out music' ... I've always considered it a lazy term ... but today, after experiencing a wonderfully chilled out experience, I can happily call this dronescape 'chill out music'.

It is music for rest ... and I, for one, have benefitted considerably from it. I hope you do too.

As before, an MP3 version is available over on Archive ... with a lossless version available over on Bandcamp for 'pay what you want'. Feel free to pay £0 for it ... but if you do ... please tell everyone you know about it.

Presenting ... "Like a pelican of the wilderness (waag_rel024)" by Scott Lawlor

My sincere apologies to Scott for not posting this sooner ... but life got in the way last night with our washing machine packing in.

That aside ... this is a cracking longform ambient soundscape ... a real belter from Mr Lawlor and I am proud to have it within the waag canon.

Here's what I had to say over the weekend:

Sometimes only a longform ambient drone will do. 

This is a thought that I regularly have when I need to be in *the* zone … the special place that I visit when I need to get deep and concentrate.

I am blessed at weareallghosts to have so many options for a soundtrack to this special place … and I am proud to add - "like a pelican of the wilderness" from Scott Lawlor - to my arsenal. 

It is an utterly beautiful piece … full of light. It is the soundscape for a truly open space. There is, however, an air of mystery … a sense of the unknown that underpins this space.

Think Dyer and Danforth as they scale the heights of those mountains in H.P. Lovecraft's seminal classic … "At the Mountains of Madness" … and arrive at that cyclopean city in the sky ... and you'll get what I mean. 

I love it. It makes my heart sing and brings me the sense of contentment I need to achieve and maintain focus ... and I am grateful to Scott for bringing this piece to waag.

As before, a copy of this release will be available as an MP3 for free over on Archive … with a lossless version available on Bandcamp for 'pay what you want'. Have a wee listen below.

Tx


or

http://archive.org/details/waag_rel024