dead pilot on fluid

http://www.fluid-radio.co.uk/2009/10/label-profile-dead-pilot-records/

Many thanks to Dan for the feature!

our last september night of 2009

So, as we say goodbye to the month of September and hello to the month of October, I’d like to bring a few things to your attention(s).

First off:

Stray Ghost’s fantastic full length “An Avalanche of Swollen Tongues” released a few weeks has had a bloody fantastic review by our friends at Sonic Reverie.

“There are strains of the Japanese aesthetic Wabi Sabi throughout Stray Ghost’s music, the fact that we cannot quite hear what is buried below the synthetic drones and static makes it seem all the more appealing in it’s imperfection. We are forced to press our ears to the speakers and listen closely to catch scintillating frames of the beauty which is buried beneath the kind of harsh protrusion of external noise which invades our hearts and minds on a daily basis.”

Read the full review:

http://sonicreverie.blogspot.com/2009/09/stray-ghost-avalanche-of-swollen.html

Secondly (and whilst on the subject of “…Swollen Tongues”:

You can now purchase the limited, hand numbered, tied with string and with bonus disc version of the album on it’s own WITHOUT a t shirt. So, those of you who like to listen to music topless, but still want the limited edition special-ness and bonus disc, can now purchase it on it’s own!

http://deadpilot.bigcartel.com/artist/stray-ghost

For all the Stray Ghost purchasing options!

Thirdly:

New distro items have been added from the lovely Hibernate records and my favs Small Doses. Check out the distro section for these gems (limted copies of everything!):

http://deadpilot.bigcartel.com/category/distro-items

Lastly:

With the nights drawing in and such (and the amount of amazing and larger scale releases planned over the next few months) I’ve decided to do a bit of a sale to shift the last few copies of some releases and make way for all the lovely new ones.

http://deadpilot.bigcartel.com/category/sale-items

Some stuff is down to just ONE COPY so if anything does take your fancy, get on it or be disappointed!

Also, during this sale time, if you order 3 (THREE) or more items (releases, distro items, sale items, t shirts ANYTHING!), you can use a special discount code: OCT10 for an extra 10% off. PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS ONLY TO BE USED ON ORDERS OF 3 (THREE) OR MORE ITEMS, NO LESS. ANY ORDERS NOT FOLLOWING THESE INSTRUCTIONS WILL NOT BE PROCESSED AND YOU WILL LOSE OUT. SORRY.

Okay, that wasn’t quite last;  final things:

Regarding the re-release of Ekca Liena’s Slow Music; please join the mailing list (on the home/start page) to be kept up to date on when this will be out. Joining the Facebook group and following the Twitter page wouldn’t help either. This way you will be notified of all goings on.

A few new places will be stocking Dead Pilot releases! More info shortly. Mega thanks to those guys for stocking us!

Out next week: Pete Fosco – Crescent Avenue (ltd. 1oo), Archers by the Sea/Pine Smoke Lodge – Split (ltd. 80) and Eyeballs – The Roof of the World re-issue (ltd. 40)

Finally, thanks to everyone for your continued interest and support. Keep it up and keep physical music and the DIY ethic alive!

Orb morning store update. or something

http://phantomchannel.bandcamp.com/album/ekca-liena-orb-night

Phantom Channel marks it’s second physical release with a 3″ CDr by our fav, Ekca Liena. Download it at the above link or buy the disc in the Dead Pilot store now!

http://deadpilot.bigcartel.com/product/ekca-liena-orb-night

Ekca Liena at Smallfish

http://www.smallfish.co.uk/shop/release/?cat=SPIRE009

Ekca Liena’s brilliant “Drones Between Homes” release on UTS gets a great write up at Smallfish!

Howls at Midnight review

http://bjif.fourtwoseven.co.uk/viewitem/3670

Great new review of Timothy C Holehouse – To The Howls at Midnight.

Last few copies are available in the store!

http://deadpilot.bigcartel.com/product/timothy-c-holehouse-to-the-howls-at-midnight

Norman reviews of Ekca Liena, Cylon and Seabuckthorn!

“This record left our Phil feeling ecstatic.

I can never spell Ekca Liena right. I always spell one of the words wrong and then I have to go and correct myself. There’s only nine characters in there as well so it’s not hard. The urge to put the C before the K is strong….The last Ekca CD blew my face off and we gave it album of the week… We sold out in a day!! Here is his proper follow up album called Sleep Paralysis on the Dead Pilot label. The album lulls you into a false sense of security with the opener being a warm floaty drone track sucking you into it’s niceness before track two (‘Ceiling Ghosts’) comes in with some dark droney forboding pulsing fuzz which will have you caked in fecal fun. It’s intense stuff alright. the production is amazing and it becomes completely clear on ‘Heavy Weather’ where some backwards guitar intertwines with some melodic electronics to stunning effect. Later in the track some thunderously loud drums come in and it’s starting to remind me a of track from Boards of Canada’s Geogaddi. That is until the walls of guitars which have slowly built up hit you in the face like a hammer shapped fist. The whole album has a dark feel to it…. like there’s some evil presence hanging around. I think fans of Sunn O))), Utech etc will like this as there’s a metal influence in there lurking ‘n all. It’s a damned special album! Comes in a diecut cardboard gatefold sleeve limited to 250 copies! CD only!!”

http://www.normanrecords.com/records/110150

This record left our Ant feeling happy.

There is a whole ton of dreamy drifty ambient type gear in this week. We’re literally drowning it… Hey there’s some good stuff though…. Cyclon is Jannick Schou and his ‘Resonanz’ album for Dead Pilot will have you floating away in no time. It’s basically some really subtle, ultra chilled ambient gear to get lost in. It’s quality stuff and the way it gradually evolves is real nice. Limited to 250 copies in stamped hand numbered sleeve.

http://www.normanrecords.com/records/110119

This record left our Phil feeling ecstatic.

Dead Pilot really has come into its own lately with almost every release on the label being super good. I just plucked the Seabuckthorn out of the review pile mainly cos I liked the name. The opener is a stunning track where you’re thrown into a dark jangly folk inspired romp with pounding drums that sound like someone is beating on your head…..Then some wierd Plaid-ish fuzzy electronics kick in and then it turns into an acoustic guitar raga. It’s an incredible piece of music which ducks and dives and does things you wouldn’t expect. That’s just the first track as well! It’s quite cinematic in its approach and the rest of the album follows a similar suit. The percussion that’s on the albm is nice and loud in the mix which is something I’m a fan of. The tracks veer from solo acoustic guitar workouts to weird electronic folk in the blink of an eye. Somersaault of Thought is an amazing tune which is very Fahey-esque and if you’ve been digging the recent folks like Cam Deas and Spoono doing such things then you’ll enjoy this. ‘Distant Summer Storm’ is a cracking album which comes with my total recommendation yah. Well good!!

http://www.normanrecords.com/records/110149

Huge thanks to Phil and the team at Norman records!

An Avalanche of Swollen Tongues

Anthony Saggers aka Stray Ghost was one of those random Myspace finds for me, back when I was first starting up Dead Pilot. I was immediately impressed with his claustrophobic Hecker style drones and contacted him promptly about the label. We had planned a split record between him and another ambient artist I had been in contact with. This, however, never saw the light of day but instead Ant gave me a 2 track disc entitled “Fabula/Sjuzhet”, which featured 2 tracks of fierce and dark textured ambience. I loved it, but was itching for more. Ant was working on various other projects for other labels around the time, but the wait was worth it.

When Ant first hinted at what this album may be like, I was overwhelmed with his ambition. The early demo I heard was staggering. When Ant uploaded a rough version of the full album, I was blown away.

“An Avalanche of Swollen Tongues” opens with the 23 minute long title track of kaleidoscopic spectral ambiance. Swells of celestial tones reach back and forth around your mind, surrounding your sense in a warm glow. The glorious “Grains and Waves” follows. An outstanding piece of melodic genius; euphoric and intense and filled with overwhelming emotion. At around the 5 and a half minute mark in this track, your hairs will stand on end and you will be lifted out of your body and mind, transcending into pure bliss.

Ant has channeled some deep emotions into his work on this album. It’s intensity, along with it’s fragility, evokes otherworldly imagery and feelings. “Sunday’s Tape Hiss” sounds like the exploration of wreckage’s and ruins; finding small hints of what was once there. Ghostly, dark and deeply catastrophic.

Released on PRO REPLICATED CD (NOT CDr), limited to 500 copies, packaged in 4 panel brown recycled card digipak.

http://www.myspace.com/strayghost

http://www.last.fm/music/Stray+Ghost/An+Avalanche+of+Swollen+Tongues

Timothy C Holehouse – To The Howls… review

Just found this review of To The Howls At Midnight by Timothy C Holehouse as well!

http://cowsarejustfood.wordpress.com/2009/05/21/timothy-c-holehouse-to-the-howls-at-midnight-dead-pilot-records/

xx

Message to Bears – Departures review!

Check out this lovely write up about Departures:

http://sonicreverie.blogspot.com/2009/07/chat-with-message-to-bears.html

Thanks xx

Message to Bears – Departures

A very kind review written by Colin MacKinnon over at Oxfordbands.com
http://www.oxfordbands.com/2009/03/07/message-to-bears-departures/

“Jerome Alexander’s ‘Message to Bears‘ project provided Oxfordshire music with one of its finest records of 2008 in the shape of ‘EP One’, a collection of hushed, hypnotic instrumentals, dominated by dreamlike strings and translucent acoustic guitars with a dash of scratchy electronica. Everyone I’ve played it to has loved it, whether they were seen-it-all-before music producers, professional scientists or Christmas party animals. ‘Departures’ the full-length album that follows that first-rate debut, is every bit as wonderful as its predecessor.

Despite the title, there is no great departure in style from the earlier record. The recording is significantly more professional (less stool-squeaking), and the string arrangements are lusher, but the almost-painful pastoralism, the craftsmanship in construction and above all the cinematic potential are all present in spades. Songs like ‘Autumn’ almost make one want to go off and write a screenplay. You simply can’t live in Oxfordshire and listen to music like this without thinking of the landscapes near Uffington, the chalk downs above Blewbury or even those strange villas observable from the train between Cholsey and Goring. This music may be timeless but it’s anything but placeless.

Highlights are too many to mention. ‘Hidden Beneath’ plays with a four-to-the-floor dance beat, but what really matters is Alexander’s guitar-picking, a shining, bell-like sound so distinctive he could almost patent it. ‘Pretend to Forget’ is heart-crackingly desolate, with a gorgeously dissonant cello and violin part to complement the intricate guitar work. ‘Hope’ dispenses with the guitars, leaving the strings to work the magic. Beginning with a series of mighty, sustained chords redolent of Barrington Pheloung’s scores for Inspector Morse, the track then expands majestically with the introduction of tremoloed triple-time violins and further deepening of the chord structure by the addition of inner parts. This is the sound of a popular composer at his meridian.

Elsewhere on the record, Alexander allows himself to depart from formula a little. ‘November’ uses piano as the main rhythm instrument, rather than his usual guitar, taking him temporarily into Eric Satie territory, while remaining consistent with the vision of the album. On ‘At the Top of This Hill’, he even allows himself to sing a little (hum, really) and his sister Gemma is pressed into vocal service on the otherwise slightly dull track ‘Snowdonia’. The record ends with an eerie little sequence of high-frequency Rhodes piano chords, with the title ‘Lost Birds’.

So finishes a magnificent piece of modern-day musical impressionism. This is music of depth, vision and humanity: I find it hard to think that anyone could fail to be touched by the second half of ‘Hope’ or all of ‘Autumn’. Find it, buy it, love it.”

By Colin MacKinnon

PREORDER NOW! http://deadpilot.bigcartel.com/product/message-to-bears-departures-pre-order

Tracklisting:

1.Running Through Woodland
2.Hidden Beneath
3.Pretend To Forget
4.Hope
5.Autumn
6.At The Top Of This Hill
7.November
8.Snowdonia
9.Find Our Way Home
10.Lost Birds

Limited to 500 copies on pro replicated CD (NOT cdr!) and housed in an Arigato Pak.

Shipping late May!