Presenting ... Dusty Fallout (waag_rel143) by Eraser Ears

 

When Jaime Munárriz came to me and offered up another live recording from his Eraser Ears [Orejas Borradoras] collective, I jumped at the chance.

I love the soundscapes that they produce because they remind me of Tangerine Dream's seminal mid-70s period: albums like "Rubycon" and "Phaedra" were instrumental in my love and understanding of the broad church called "ambient music" ... and Eraser Ears do remind me of these spontaneous adventures in sound.

"Dusty Fallout" as this most recent session has been called is split over two 35+ minute pieces. It would have been one whole piece but Bandcamp's file-size limitation necessitated a break in proceedings.

These soundscapes are to be savoured and enjoyed ... preferably on headphones. Let them take you on a journey ... let them take you, as they have me, to another place.

I hope you enjoy these soundscapes as much as I have.

A 320kbps version of this release will be available, for free, over on Archive with a lossless version available on Bandcamp for ‘pay what you want’.

- Thomas

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Album Credits

Eraser Ears [Orejas Borradoras]

Tino Varela: Elektron Digitakt, Orbitador, processed micro-percussion.
Richi F. Martin: DIY Modular & piezos, Crave, Volca FM.
David Llorente: VCV Rack.
Jaime Munárriz: Microbrute, pedal effects.

Eraser Ears is a project of LiSD/Codelab, the image and sound experimental laboratory directed by Jaime Munárriz, based at the Fine Arts faculty, Universidad Complutense de Madrid.

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Archive

Presenting ... Cousin Silas & Friends volume 8 part 4 (waag_rel142)

At summer's end, as the nights draw in, we need as much light and hope as possible. As the UK endures a second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic and restrictions are being reintroduced, we need something to keep us going ... something to remind us that the sun is still shining above the clouds.

And it is in this environment, that Cousin Silas brings the fourth part of his " ... and friends, volume eight", a wonderful mix of the familiar ("Portland (Rework)" by Cousin Silas & Wilfried Hanrath); delightfully gentle ambience ("A New Day In A New City" by Cousin Silas & Ron Shaylor or "Westford Morning" by Cousin Silas & Adam Steinberg); Berlin School style synths ("Majestic Antares" by Cousin Silas & OneAmbient4); and the vibrant and quirky ("Across The Wastelands" by Cousin Silas & Kevin Lyons or "An Apocalypse Is An Opportunity (To Move To A Higher Level)" by Cousin Silas & Reader Advisor);

This volume just gets better and better.

As with the third part, there is just so much beauty on this album and I, for one, think our world needs this right now.

- Thomas

PS ... Volume 8 in all its parts will be "pay what you want" ... I would rather you download this album for free and pay it forward by using the money you may have spent to donate to a charity doing something positive in these strange days. I also want this album to be accessible to folks who may have financial concerns as a result of the pandemic ... please take the album for free and may it be a help and blessing to you in these uncertain times.

Archive

Presenting ... Dronescape 045 (waag_drs045) by Cousin Silas

 

Earlier in the year, August to be exact, I had the privilege of spending a few days in Fife, Scotland; As we drove to our digs in a farmhouse near Glenrothes, we decided to stop off in the beautiful village of Culross for a picnic lunch. 

The rain that day did not stop but that didn't deter us from exploring the village. We wandered around the cobbled streets and spent some time in the Palace's Gardens, which were kindly opened by the National Trust for Scotland, the custodians of said Palace. 

Afterwards, rather than heading back (we had visited the Palace before) we explored further and ended up in these wonderfully eerie and deathly quiet back lanes: lanes with cobbles that we treacherously slick with rain and green with various forms of intentional and unintentional flora ... lanes where no car could go ... lanes where you felt in another time and place, out of step and just passing through;

It is a wonderful memory that came to me almost immediately when I played the latest Dronescape from Cousin Silas ... a piece that reminds of the peace and quiet of these lanes, so much so that it informed the artwork for the release.

Dronescape 045 is a wonderfully gentle piece: vivid and yet relaxing; it is the perfect soundscape for these anxious times that we are living in ... music to relax with ... music to be enjoyed with headphones and minimal distractions ... the perfect accompaniment for "me time" whether your 71 minutes involves of a sound-bath or a bubble-bath ... or wandering with your camera in the back lanes of a historic village.

Take time out to listen to Cousin Silas' latest Dronescape, I doubt you will regret it. I certainly haven't.

Please Note:

weareallghosts is funded through the money we receive for albums and dronescapes such as this. For us to realistically continue to put out this level of quality in the quantity that we do, we need to levy a small charge for some of our releases. Please help out by buying the dronescape. 

That said, if you aren’t able to then please note a 320kbps version of this release will be available in the next couple of days over on Archive (archive.org/details/we-are-all-ghosts) for free. 

- Thomas

Archive

Presenting ... Cousin Silas & Friends volume 8 part 3 (waag_rel141)

In August, when I released part 2 of this compilation, things seemed to be getting better ... restrictions were being lifted and people were accepting the "new normal".

I didn't think that we would see a resurgence in the virus but we did, and with that came more restrictions. 

And now, in September, in the midst of all the renewed uncertainty and worry, I am proud to release another of Cousin Silas' exceptional " ... and friends" albums.

Volume 8, part 3 is the prefect balm for the broken, anxious soul ... it is, for the most part, a predominately ambient affair that kicks off with the truly beautiful "Midsummer" by Cousin Silas & Raymond Russell and takes us on a journey that ends with a transcendental soundscape called "Freedom Without Movement" by Cousin Silas and WAAG alumnus, Scott Lawler. There are beats: Tim Kays' exquisite "After the storm" has a Berlin School feel that is very welcome and the ambient "supergroup" of Cousin Silas, Kevin Lyons, Martin Nuehold, Puppy Bordiga & Carbonates Of Mars take things in a refreshingly different direction with "Waving Goodbye To Time". 

There is just so much beauty on this album and I, for one, think our world needs this right now ... may this become the soundtrack to your time at home. 

- Thomas 

PS ... Volume 8 in all its parts will be "pay what you want" ... I would rather you download this album for free and pay it forward by using the money you may have spent to donate to a charity doing something positive in these strange days. 

I also want this album to be accessible to folks who may have financial concerns as a result of the pandemic ... please take the album for free and may it be a help and blessing to you in these uncertain times. 

**Tracklist**

01. Cousin Silas & Raymond Russell - Midsummer 04:33

02. Cousin Silas & Tim Kays - After The Storm 05:49

03. Cousin Silas & Sergio Mariani - Ego - Charis - Arkeo 05:49

04. Cousin Silas & Kevin Lyons - First Night on LV 426 - LV 09:47

05. Cousin Silas & Walter Fini - The Mystery And The Enchantment 06:27

06. Cousin Silas, Kevin Lyons & Tim Jones - Shuttered Concepts 14:29

07. Cousin Silas, Kevin Lyons, Martin Nuehold, Puppy Bordiga & Carbonates Of Mars - Waving Goodbye To Time 05:37

08. Cousin Silas & Ron Shayler - Movements Of Sunlit Shadows 07:10

09. Cousin Silas & Adam Steinberg - The Quiet Skyline 05:36

10. Cousin Silas & Scott Lawler - Freedom Without Movement 06:47

Archive

Weareallghosts · Cousin Silas & Friends volume 8 part 3 (waag_rel141)

Presenting ... Cousin Silas & Friends volume 8 part 2 (waag_rel140)

 

In April, I spoke of strange days requiring strange music ... that uneasy listening is ideally for the uneasy times that we experience. 

I didn't think that, in what is now the second-half of 2020, things would remain so utterly weird: 

Whilst our shops and restaurants and cafes and pubs open up ... we have face-masks and hand-sanitiser and still cannot hug our loved ones. Our movements are tracked and whole towns have been locked back down due to a resurgence in the virus. We have people grateful for the relaxation in the rules, trying as best they can to get back to some sense of normality and we also have people protesting having to wear a mask as if looking after both yourself and your neighbour is a bad thing. 

And in response to these strange and uncertain times, Cousin Silas amassed a group of his friends to create, in collaboration and at a distance, another of his exceptional " ... and friends" albums.

Together, alone ... this group of friends has created music that speaks to this day with ambient sounds, beats, guitar and bass. I welcome more music from Cousin Silas and his friends, and thank him for this: the second part of Volume 8 ... may this become the soundtrack to your time at home. 

- Thomas 

PS ... Volume 8 in all its parts will be "pay what you want" ... I would rather you download this album for free and pay it forward by using the money you may have spent to donate to a charity doing something positive in these strange days. 

I also want this album to be accessible to folks who may have financial concerns as a result of the pandemic ... please take the album for free and may it be a help and blessing to you in these uncertain times. 

**Tracklist**

01. Cousin Silas & Glove Of Bones - Intermission 3 - Nails 03:11

02. Cousin Silas & Autonomaton - Storm Of Days 05:04

03. Cousin Silas, Glenn Sogge, Ron Shayler, Puppy Bordiga, & Jaime Munárriz - Urban Suburban 04:45

04. Cousin Silas & Adam Steinberg - Drak Bonsere 06:32

05. Cousin Silas, Tubby Myers, Ron Shayler, & Puppy Bordiga - Where has Everyone Gone 06:01

06. Cousin Silas & computerchemist - Goodbye Home Service 07:40

07. Cousin Silas, Tubby Myers & Altocirrus - Downbeat 07:37

08. Cousin Silas & Wilfried Hanrath - Holy Moly, She Said And.. 08:14

09. Cousin Silas & Pete Swinton - Sharks In Venice (Part 2) 05:03

10. Cousin Silas & Pendro - Leo McKern's Kegs 12:06

11. Cousin Silas & Adam Steinberg - Approaching Metropolis 05:59

https://archive.org/details/waag_rel140b

Weareallghosts · Cousin Silas & Friends volume 8 part 2 (waag_rel140)

Presenting ... "Emporium Sampler (waag_EMP001)" by Cousin Silas

One of my main motivations, when I first talked about setting up weareallghosts, was to bring all the music of Cousin Silas under one roof or, at the very least, give a home to a good, sizeable chunk of it ... I felt Silas deserved some stability.

All these years later and Cousin Silas is finally bringing all his music, well most of his music, under one roof: his own. And, in doing so, remastering then rereleasing some of his seminal works with additional bonus tracks to enjoy.

The reasons for him doing so are varied: we've lost Candy and the future of her netlabel is uncertain ... there is also the desire to refresh the work (with my other hat on, I've been involved ... creating new album covers and seeking to build a unique visual identity for him) ... and a real desire to bring all his albums back together, all bar the ones on waag.

As such, the "Emporium Sampler" is quite simply that: a sampler of the music on Cousin Silas' netlabel ... it is an introduction to his non-waag music in the off-chance that you may not have heard it before now and wish to expand your collection.

I hope you enjoy the music on offer and take some time to explore the music Cousin Silas' has to offer over on his Bandcamp page: https://cousinsilas1.bandcamp.com

This album will not be available on Archive.

Thomas

Presenting ... Tales of Space Exploration 43​-​50 (waag_rel139) by Brother Saturn

 It's been a while ... more than four years since the last instalment in the "Tales of Space Exploration" series from Brother Saturn aka Drew Miller ... and in that time Drew has grown as a musician and as a person.

We have heard from Drew in the intervening time ... "Unstable Lands (waag_rel087)", "Apollo, can you hear me? (waag_rel104)", and "Music for Sleep (waag_rel130)" ... but there has always been a desire, at least for me, to revisit the familiar themes of travel, desolation, home and of loneliness; the themes the "Tales of ..." series so eloquently describe.

I am so glad that the series continues ... and hope you are too?

I am delighted to welcome Mason Van Kraayenburg who contributes to the track "Night Owls & Hummingbirds" and gives us all the feels with his guitar playing ... it is a collaboration that shows a new level of maturity from Miller, one that I welcome with open arms.

I also welcome Adam Howie's artwork and am so grateful that he agreed to work with us again ... it just wouldn't be the same without his masterful illustration gracing the cover of the latest "Tales of ..." release. His piece - "The Unknown Meaning of the Journey" is available to purchase and I would heartily encourage you to support Howie's art. Go here > linktr.ee/kimded < for more information.

A 320kbps version of this release will be available, for free, over on Archive with a lossless version available on Bandcamp for ‘pay what you want’.

- Thomas

https://archive.org/details/waag_rel139

Weareallghosts · Tales of Space Exploration 43​-​50 (waag_rel139) by Brother Saturn