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porcupine tree's in absentia deluxe vinyl edition
when released in september 2002, porcupine tree's 7th studio album in absentia not only was their first for a major label (lava/warner) but also the one that added a more heavy sound to the band's already eclectic blend of influences that graced previous albums. a sound that would be explored for most of the decade that had just started, and that opened to a whole new audience. the signing to a major meant that little attention was given to vinyl, as the format was in its dark age at the beginning of the century, and the album was only available on wax through lava/warner
in europe for a brief period, in 2003. following classic vinyl editions of fear of a blank planet, the incident, tonefloat now releases porcupine tree's seminal album on vinyl again in a beautiful re-designed package, as always on 180 grams audiophile vinyl.
a regular edition is released on black vinyl, with a special edition of 1,500 copies available on coloured vinyl, and housed in a special spotvarnished gatefold picture sleeve, which uses the original lasse hoile photography and is designed by carl glover. the release date is set to july 12, and both versions can now be pre-ordered directly from our tonefloat shop.
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steven wilson's cover versions 5 and 6
following the first four installments of steven wilson's eclectic series of cover versions and new solo material on 7inch vinyl, tonefloat is proud to announce the final two versions, numbers five and six. as with the first, these singles will be limited to 500 copies each, and as with the previou ones available with large (150 copies) and small (350 copies) center holes, and limited to 500 copies each.
to mark the final two releases in this series, a free post card containing a reproduction from the page on possible cover versions from sw's personal note book will be available with each order. the release date is set to july 12, and the singles can now be pre-ordered directly from our tonefloat shop.
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steven wilson's complete i.e.m. legacy: a 4cd box
described by himself as "a curiosity in my discography", i.e.m. has always been steven wilson's most obscure and mysterious project, active between 1996-2001, but with each release recorded and mixed in only a matter of days. divided into several parts and movements, the epic krautrock-suites of the debut album were equally influenced by the recording processes of early can, neu! and amon duul ii. while these long and constantly evolving pieces were built from inspired solo improvisations in the studio and catered to an anti-analytical production philosophy, arcadia son, featured a more conventional band of flute, drums and pt's colin edwin on bass. as porcupine tree moved more towards songs and structure, meanwhile, i.e.m. took over the experimental side of sw's personality, with 2001's i.e.m. have come for your children, de- and reconstructing instrumental contributions into up to 35-minute long electronic soundscapes. after the release of that album, however, bass communion firmly established itself as steven wilson's main experimental outfit and i.e.m. faded from sight - only to see its cult-status continually rise over the years.
the complete i.e.m. box now contains every single note officially released for the project. presented in a hardback slipcase box, with all four discs delicately packed into japanese style mini albums sleeves with innerbags, and coming with a 60-page booklet, this release is both an homage and a final farewell, and strictly limited to 2.000 copies worldwide, and can now be ordered directly from our tonefloat shop, and is also available from headphone dust.
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the continuum recyclings volume two: justin k. broadrick
the release of continuum recyclings volume two continues an intriguing series of collaborations extending beyond traditional remix projects, this time putting sonic extremist justin k broadrick in the driving seat.
motivated by their immense passion for a wide range of musical styles, continuum has turned into the multi-layered synonym for the collective ambition and vision of dirk serries (microphonics, vidnaObmana, fear falls burning) and steven wilson (porcupine tree, bass communion, blackfield). following in the footsteps of their 2004 debut, continuum two was released in 2007 as the second installment in a series of limited edition cd albums, presented in a beautiful oversized digipack with breathtaking design and artwork by lasse hoile.
next to these duo efforts, meanwhile, a second line of releases has prominently established itself. using an unreleased track by wilson (construct iii - immersion mix) as his point of departure, dirk serries composed a galaxy of ghostly soundscapes in 2006, which would later be published as 2lp set continuum recyclings volume one. tonefloat now continues this series of reconstructions with continuum recyclings volume two (tf51), for which serries and wilson invited justin k. broadrick (jesu, final, godflesh) to add his own unique perspective on their material.
this time, however, the task was even more daunting, as the project not just encompassed a single track, but was based on the sources of continuum's entire second full length album. while the original already expanded into dark and relentlessly extreme territories, broadrick has embarked on even more incisive explorations, drilling straight into the music's marrow and extracting nothing but its naked and undiluted essence. the result is a stunningly coherent new work in its own right spanning four monolithic tracks of epic proportions.
as with continuum recyclings volume one, continuum recyclings volume two is a vinyl only release, and limited to 500 copies on coloured 180grams vinyl a stunning carl glover designed gatefold picture sleeve. the album can be ordered directly from our tonefloat shop.
listen to samples at the continuum myspace.
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travis and fripp's broad chalke and bishop's cleeve live albums
having succesfully recorded and released their first collaborative album thread, london based saxophonist, flautist and composer theo travis, and composer and founding member of seminal rock band king crimson robert fripp embarked on a short tour of churches in may 2009. two shows that were organised towards a performance at coventry cathedral (which is out on cd through panegyric recordings) are now released on limited vinyl edition through tonefloat.
following on from the previous evening’s performance at wimborne minster, travis & fripp decamp to broad chalke. perhaps due to differences of venues, times and the occasion (this was ostensibly a fund-raiser for the local school), the music seemed lighter in tone compared to the more sombre mood struck the previous evening. that said, the appearance of soprano saxophone is almost unbearably poignant on the slowly unfurling interior travelogue of in a field of green. route 23 offers a more oblique insight into their practice as notes and runs move away from each other, in cautious elliptical orbits. the offering presents a game in three sections: writhing solo flute figures which gradually coalesce into to slow snaking loops; clipped guitar chords, and then the final section wherein fripp unleashes some patented angular side-swipe soloing.
perhaps the biggest surprise in this series of concerts was the inclusion of moonchild. more of a meditation on the main theme than a cover version of the kc original.fripp’s conversion of a single note into a soaring stratospheric-bound whistle hurtling into the blue at around 4.50 may well be reason enough to grab this gig. long term listeners of the churchscape series will be especially interested in how theo’s presence alters and enhances the end of time themes which bring this concert to a spellbinding conclusion.
although the titles to several of the tracks may be the same as those at broad chalke, the performance in front of a large audience at bishop’s cleeve has a much grander and at times, darker feel, to the previous evening. the difference can be heard almost immediately in the opening track. whereas, the apparent chaos of stone was a more languorous affair at broad chalke, here at bishop’s cleeve, fripp begins to throw some startling curve-balls of pensive guitar after only a few minutes. given the slow silky tones that makes up much of the opening piece it can be easy to miss some of the detailed interplay that occurs between the two players. as lines are smoothly looped and manipulated, there’s nevertheless some real skirmishing taking place. the three ascending notes that fripp fires off at around the 6.41 mark are immediately seized upon by travis, who offers a descending counterpart, demonstrating the extent of each other’s listening. on the offering, the soprano sax pushes harder against the soundscapes creating a useful tension and contrast within the music as a whole. the blue calm area of playing may be shorter than the previous evening but it’s also more focused and intense. route 42 has pastoral moments which sound as though they could be out-takes john cameron’s haunting score for the film, kes, and there’s a contrasting highlight right at the end of the piece when silence comes to call. both audience and musicians are held spellbound in a strangely exhilarating, and oddly precious moment.
the travis and fripp releases will be out as a limited edition of 250 copies each on 180grams vinyl in custom stamped and numbered sleeves. the albums can be ordered directly from our tonefloat shop.
(liner notes with thanks to sid smith)
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dirk serries' microphonics xii tour edition 10inch
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tonefloat label night 2010: 28 april at the paradox, tilburg!
last year's tonefloat label night turned out to be a celebration of intricately layered and imaginatively looped music with performances by theo travis, fear falls burning, and sand snowman. this year's edition will focus on the zone between songs and sounds, and we are proud to have some of the finest tonefloat recording artists on board: tim bowness & band (england), microphonics (belgium), and the use of ashes (the netherlands).
in-house dj's for the night will be kink fm x-rated dj bob rusche and tonefloat and signum recording artist maarten van der vleuten!
for fans of tim bowness & band, the gig will even constitute one of those highly anticipated one-off performance that have come to define bowness’ exclusive live-schedule. over the past two decades as a performer and composer, bowness has gained fame and critical acclaim as a vocalist and co-writer with continually evolving formation no-man as well as a longstanding musical partner of porcupine tree's steven wilson. in addition to his progressive-rock-oriented work with no-man and osi, tim has also collaborated with folk legend judy dyble of fairport convention. his band consists of an illustrous cast of equally experienced colleagues: peter chilvers (piano) has recorded with no-man and bowness/chilvers (samuel smiles) and is currently working with brian eno. michael bearpark (guitar) and steve bingham (violin, string loops) are an integral part of the no-man live band (featured on the current double-dvd, mixtaped). for the tonefloat label night, this formation will perform a selection of songs from the expansive catalogues of no-man, samuel smiles, as well as tim bowness' solo album my hotel year.
compared to the more traditional song-structures of bowness, dirk serries, the creative force behind vidnaobmana and fear falls burning, has his mind set to different horizons for his microphonics-project. equipped with nothing but a gibson les paul and a few effect pedals, he turns clubs, art galleries, unusual performance spaces and concert houses into intimate spaces of sonic echoes and shimmering overtones. allowing for the music to grow from the moment, each performance is unique and makes full use of the ambiance and acoustic characteristics of a venue. tonight’s gig will be infused with some additional energy, as it will mark the grand final of a 13-date european tour taking him to belgium, france, germany, denmark, and sweden.
the use of ashes' previous full-length »white nights: the hand of tzafkiël« (2008) saw them return to their roots as a psychedelic folk ensemble. still marked by their experimental excursions into the realms of sound art and remixes, it was also an eccentric and gloomy work, combining tender melodic pieces with ghostly drones and surreal collages. »white nights: glowing lights« (2009) is a direct continuation of its predecessor's approach, but places even greater importance on the band's talents as intuitive songsmiths. working on a live studio recording to complete the white nights trilogy, the current line-up (peter van vliet, maarten scherrenburg, and simon van vliet) will perform a select number of live dates.
links:
tim bowness and band
dirk serries' microphonics
the use of ashes
paradox
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dirk serries' microphonics tour
most of dirk serries' time and energy in the first half of 2010 will be dedicated to microphonics, with a 13-date european tour in april, and a selected number of single dates until then.
to celebrate the european tour, a limited (250 copies) tour edition 10inch with new music will be on sale from april 10 at the concerts. remaining copies (if any) will be on sale from tonefloat only after the tour. meanwhile, a cd edition of the debut album microphonics i-v, with extended versions, will be on sale from 16 february in deluxe mini album cardboard sleeve with obi. connecting the mid-period ambient-moods of dirk serries' former outfit vidna obmana with the more melancholic side of his current guitar drones, microphonics i-v was, at the time of its release, welcomed as a congenial addition to his catalogue - with belgian monthly gonzo circus considering the album a logical successor to vidna obmana classic »the river of appearance«. all tracks included on the disc are slightly longer than the original versions, approximating the atmospheric microphonics live-sets and allowing for an even more immersive journey into what canadian magazine textura called "a glimpse into the meditative heart beating at the center of serries' music".
orders are taken from our tonefloat shop.
oude sint-martinus pastorij, westmalle, belgium, 10.04.10
living room concert, goor, the netherlands, 17.04.10
planearihomegigs, habarcq, france, 18.04.10 (with yellow 6)
homey, antwerp, belgium, 19.04.10 (with yellow 6)
anthony’s, gent, belgium, 20.04.10 (with yellow 6)
audio unit, hamburg, germany, 21.04.10
art cinema biffen, nordkraft, aalborg, denmark, 22.04.10
flowering, stockholm, sweden, 23.04.10
det poetiske bureau, copenhagen, denmark, 24.04.10
bis aufs messer, berlin, germany, 25.04.10 (with n)
wendel, berlin, germany, 26.04.10 (with n)
kulturhafen, werkhaus, krefeld, germany, 27.04.10 (with the use of ashes)
tonefloating, paradox, tilburg, the netherlands, 28.04.10 (with the use of ashes, and no-man’s tim bowness)
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classic mekanik kommando debut finally available again
a new light on the use of ashes' predecessors
with the re-release on cd of mekanik kommando's it would be quiet in the woods if only a few birds sing as well as the very first publication of the blue bananas 10inch thirty years after its inception, tonefloat is paying homage to a highly underrated historic period. the trip goes all the way back to 1979, a seminal year for dutch music. amsterdam has, by then, turned into the focal point of the post-punk-influenced ultra-movement and the minny pops into its figurehead formation. it is in this phase of departure that multi-instrumentalist peter van vliet teams up with bassist and singer lasika panyigay to form mekanik kommando. founded in nijmegen, the group develop a personal script which immediately distinguishes them from the amsterdam-scene: serious yet playful, eccentric yet accessible, dark but highly diverse. recorded at home, their debut full-length it would be quiet in the woods if only a few birds sing, contains some of their most memorable material. even though traditional song structures have mostly been discarded in favour of a free-form approach, there is something catchy about stand-out pieces like "microbes" and "white soldier", which rely heavily on the mechanical pulse of a rhythm machine and the razorsharp staccato of peter van vliet's bass. while "birds" marks their closely observed entry onto the scene, culminating in a contract with emi, the tracks from their 1979 cassette-demo are never officially released. tonefloat is now making these early works available for the first time as a 10inch under the name of blue bananas. more rough, edgy and avantgardistic than the band's later work, all tracks seamlessly flow together into a charmingly lofi and colourfully psychedelic sonic quilt with remarkable references to follow-up formation the use of ashes.
the mekanik kommando releases are out as a limited edition of 475 copies on clear vinyl 10inch ( blue bananas) in custom printed pvc sleeve, and a mini album cardboard sleeve cd ( it would be quiet in the woods if only a few birds sing). the release date for both is march 16. the album can be ordered directly from our tonefloat shop.
links:
mekanik kommando
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still light's debut on tonefloat with a c imprint release
as 2009 was drawing to a close, critics were falling over themselves to include an album in their "end of the year" lists which had been printed in the ridiculously tiny print run of 50 copies: still light's lything was a hideaway in sepia colours, a private world of heartbroken guitars, light-filled drones, ancient whispers and echoes of folk, country, progrock and ambient. firmly rooted in the world of song, these at first simple structures would sometimes branch out into soundscape-territory within the blink of an eye, while always retaining their melancholic melodic charm. so warm and organic was this combination that many were led to believe it had to have been written and recorded by the three musicians in the same room. as it turned out, however, lything was the result of a long-distance partnership between edinburgh-based singer/songwriter lucy hague, colorado's kirill nikolai and london-based artist sand snowman, known from his psychedelic folk suites on tonefloat. by freely passing around ideas, concepts and files, the album slowly attained its cinematic beauty through a process of gradual refinement. thanks to this re-release, their music is sure to finally meet a lot more interested ears this time - and turn into a hot contender for 2010's end of the year lists again.
lything is out on tonefloat's c imprint on clear 180grams vinyl in handmade sleeve with lacquered and stamped insert. the release date is march 16. the album can be ordered directly from our tonefloat shop.
links:
still light
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return to format for astralasia, with a new release on tonefloat
originally founded as a dub-oriented side-project to the uk's legendary psychedelic rock-ensemble magic mushroom band, astralasia have quickly gone on to outlive and creatively outflank their former mothership. the group's music is a high-energy concoction of trance-infused electronic wizardry, intoxicating live-grooves and well-chilled moments of sheer sonic bliss. in 1993, the project garnered international attention thanks to their classic remix of porcupine tree's breakthrough track voyage 34 and since then, the six-piece have never ceased to further develop and refine their sound.
on a coloured in dream, they are now presenting their most ambitious work yet. the side-spanning title track alone runs through various permutations of an ecstatic beat, eventually taking on board a cosmic guitar solo before slowly fading into an expansive ambient-sequence mirroring the opening bars of pink floyd's sheep and combining it with a meditative sax solo. after a string of more openly vocal-oriented albums, a coloured in dream, returns to the band's roots, with the entire second side dedicated to dark and mysterious states between waking and dreaming, between ambient and space-jazz, between black-hole-rock and a total sonic brain-meltdown. and attentive listeners will even be able to detect the return of the infamous voyage 34 sample that introduced the band to the world almost twenty years ago.
a coloured in dream is available in 3 different 180grams vinyl editions on white/blue marbled (50 copies), white vinyl (100 copies) and blue vinyl (250 copies) in a beautiful carl glover designed gatefold picture sleeve. the release date is march 16. a coloured in dream can be ordered directly from our tonefloat shop.
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vinyl celebration day (24 january at 013, tilburg) with special tonefloat single
rock venue 013 (tilburg, the netherlands) hosts a day that celebrates vinyl in all of its glory: "dag van het vinyl". the daytime event (1pm to 6pm) is stacked with workshops, record stalls, and live performances by tonefloat artist the use of ashes, plus young 60s psyche retro rockers dewolff. tonefloat/crazy diamond will be present during the day with a stall. a special clear vinyl 7inch with a track each by the use of ashes and dewolff will be available for free to the first 300 visitors.
on top of that we are pleased to announce that tonefloat's own maarten van der vleuten will unleash a dj set from noon to 1pm.
links:
dag van het vinyl
013
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the second batch of the fear falls burning cd reissues
the first batch of fear falls burning reissues was gratefully welcomed by dirk serries' growing legion of fans as a second chance to catch up with the very first releases of his guitar drone project. tonefloat now proudly presents the second installment of the ongoing effort of making these long-gone vinyl-classics available again. making full use of the additional storage space of a cd, even owners of the originals will find plenty of intriguing new details in tracks they thought they knew by heart. woes of the desolate mourner, originally the only 7inch in the fear falls burning catalogue, for example, will finally be presented in the full 20-minute version and both sides of serries' 2006-album the rainbow mirrors a burning heart have been delicately tweaked and extended. needless to say, both cds do additionally include bonus tracks from the same period, including a rare performance at the sju jazz club and a studio cut. the drone legacy continues - again wrapped in elegant mini album cardboard sleeves and a stylish obi-strip.
the release date is february 16. both reissues can be ordered directly from our tonefloat shop with a special package deal available.
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sand snowman vinyl releases now also available on cd
in an interview for our very own tonefloat magazine, sand snowman claimed that „all art is in some way artifice“. his highly praised psychedelic folk-works i'm not here and the twilight game made the ideas behind this statement very clear: hazy songwriting was complemented by dreamy ambient and disturbing sound art, opening gateways to strange and distant lands. limited to a mere 500 copies, these delicate gems were always going to turn into collector's items soon, so tonefloat is now making both of these albums available on cd in new carl glover designed mini album cardboard sleeves. track listings and technical details are the same as on the respective vinyl-versions, that have been carefully mastered by steven wilson.
the release date is february 16. both reissues can be ordered directly from our tonefloat shop with a special package deal available.
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for 2009 news please click here.
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