Hidden Shoal News
Apricot Rail Charts at Number 4 on the Radio 1190 Top 30!
Apricot Rail’s utterly beautiful sophomore album Quarrels has been starting to stir up some US radio love of late, recently featuring in a number of college radio Top 30’s. The album’s most recent chart entry at Radio 1190 in Denver saw it hold the number 4 spot! Yet another example of independent radio understanding music outside of the obvious and constrained.
If you’ve not yet given your ears and mind the treasures that Quarrels holds then here’s a path to happiness for you – download the free single ‘Basket Press’, stream the album trailer below, then grab the album for yourself on CD or digital (FLAC + MP3).
Markus Mehr Reverie & New Reviews
Markus Mehr‘s Off may be his most accomplished to date. And if you sense any hesitation it is only because of the bewildering talent and depth he displays across all 4 of his releases. If we take a different tact then we could say that Off is a beautiful and haunting distillation of all that went before it. All the grandeur, all the subtleties, all the melodic immersion and all carefully constructed and conducted noise. Off is 42 minutes of uninterrupted (literally) sonic and melodic immersion and engagement. It gives as much as it asks of its listeners and then some. And we’re not the only ones that have such thoughts! Check out this fantastic review of Off over at the always excellent Textura and then step over to DOA for this excellent review by the equally excellent Jon Gordon.
Off is available now in digital formats and as a limited edition custom package CD through the Hidden Shoal Store. CD stock is limited so if you are interested the sooner option is better than the later option.
Stunning New Single & Music Video from Jumpel (feat. Chloe March)
‘Blue Ceiling’ is the new single, with accompanying music video, by German minimal ambient-electronica maestro Jumpel, taken from his forthcoming fourth album Bloc4 (June 4 2013). On ‘Blue Ceiling’, Joe Dürbeck continues his breathtaking collaboration with Chloë March(who contributed vocals to the 2010 single, ‘Edinburgh’). ‘Blue Ceiling’ has an utterly heartbreaking drift, its pellucid atmosphere like winter sunlight refracting through raindrops on a window pane.
Download ‘Blue Ceiling’ for free from the Hidden Shoal Store, stream it on SoundCloud and watch the beautiful music video for the track on Youtube or Vimeo.
”Jo Durbeck’s music is welcoming and gentle, even as it challenges. Deuxieme Bureau explores the positive sounds that are always there, even in the silence, even in sadness” – Foxy Digitalis
Jumpel’s forthcoming album Bloc4 (June 4 2013) centres around the elevated yet lonely world of a tower block, each track poetically investigating its multi-faceted elements and spaces. The songs were written throughout 2012, with ideas collated, reviewed, developed and remixed. Following the wonderful results of his collaboration with Chloë March on Europa single ‘Edinburgh’, Joe Dürbeck presented the ideas for Bloc4 to March and invited her to select tracks and develop vocal ideas. The results are stunning – and offer a perfect counterbalance to the more melancholic, spacious instrumental pieces.
Jumpel – ‘Blue Ceiling’ from Hidden Shoal Recordings on Vimeo.
Scott Solter Resets Erik Friedlander
Scott Solter’s brazen experimentalism is only equaled by his innate sense of musicality. Marry this to the genius of Erik Friedlander and we have No Compass: Solter Resets Friedlander an EP of five tracks from Erik Friedlander’s 2008 Broken Arm Trio CD completely reinvented by Solter. In his hands the acoustic cello, bass and drums trio tracks have become vertigo-inducing panoramas — kaleidoscopic recompositions. 5 striking examples of Solter’s fearless studio craft.
The release is available now as a limited edition 10″ vinyl as well as CD and digital formats. Check out availability in the Hidden Shoal Store and while you’re there, don’t forget to check out Solter’s stunning solo release One River.
Markus Mehr's "On" Hits KZSU's Top 10!
Markus Mehr’s brilliant 2012 release On is still making waves. The album is number 7 on the KZSU Main chart and number 1 on their experimental chart. That not only says a lot for what is an amazing album, but also a lot about what a truly fantastic station KZSU is. True supporters of music at its broadest definitions.
Check out all Markus Mehr releases including On and his latest, Off, at the Hidden Shoal Store.
Markus Mehr – ‘Only For a While’
Apricot Rail and Circus Devils Featured on the Ken McGuire Blog
The lovely Ken McGuire has featured two Hidden Shoal artists over the last week on his Listening Post blog. The first single taken from the forthcoming I Razor soundtrack, Circus Devils ‘All The Good Ones Are Gone’, was given a lovely little write up, followed by love for the Apricot Rail track ‘Running With an Egg on a Spoon’ and their new album Quarrels.
“Piano intros always get me. So too has All The Good Ones Are Gone the latest single release from Circus Devils, led by Guided By Voices’ Robert Pollard. Steeped in melancholy, this is the first track to come from the I Razor soundtrack which features works from brothers Tim and Todd Tobias (on piano and synth here) and Circus Devils.” – Ken McGuire on Circus Devils ‘All The Good Ones Are Gone’
Circus Devils ‘All The Good Ones Are Gone’ is available now for free download ahead of the I Razor soundtrack release on the 16th May. Apricot Rail’s stunning sophomore album Quarrels is available now in CD and digital formats and the first single ‘Basket Press’ is also available for free download.
Apricot Rail – ‘Running With An Egg On A Spoon’
Circus Devils ‘All The Good Ones Are Gone’
Markus Mehr's "Off" Reviewed at Cultural Terrorism
Markus Mehr’s sublime 2013 release Off has just received another glowing review, this time over at the excellent German blog Cultural Terrorism. The review is in German however we have some translated excerpts here.
There are still a small amount of of the limited edition CD release of Off so please head to the Hidden Shoal Store to secure your copy. If digital is your thing we also have the the album available in mp3 & FLAC formats.
Markus Mehr Off (excerpt)
New Circus Devils Single Featuring Robert Pollard – Free Download!
Hidden Shoal Recordings is excited to announced the release of the new single ‘All The Good Ones Are Gone’ by Robert Pollard-led Circus Devils, taken from the forthcoming I Razor soundtrack. Fans can download the track for free from the Hidden Shoal Store.
‘All The Good Ones Are Gone’ is the first official cut from the soundtrack to I Razor, the no-budget experimental feature film directed by Todd Tobias. The track finds Circus Devils at their most introspective, as Robert Pollard’s unmistakably commanding and affecting vocals and wonderful lyrical play roll out over beds of melancholic sequenced piano and synth courtesy of Todd Tobias. ‘All The Good Ones Are Gone’ soundtracks the final sequence of I Razor, providing a beautifully reflective and suitably dreamy cinematic finale. This is some of Pollard and Tobias’s most nuanced work to date.
“Wistful, pretty, and melancholy, Pollard lets loose a truly affecting melody with a wonderfully natural delivery. It’s been said over and over again that he makes it look easy — and even after years and years of songwriting, tracks like ‘You First’ indicate that he’s far from reaching a brick wall.” – Pitchfork on Ringworm Interiors
The I Razor soundtrack, to be released by Hidden Shoal in May 2013, comprises work by Todd Tobias and Circus Devils, featuring vocals from Robert Pollard (Guided By Voices) as well as instrumental versions of some of the band’s existing songs. The album is a cinematic feast within itself, uncompromising, redemptive and always engaging.
Circus Devils – ‘All The Good Ones Are Gone’
Circus Devils Music Video Featured at Magnet Magazine
The brilliant music video for Circus Devils ‘Let’s Go Back To Bed’ lifted off the forthcoming I Razor soundtrack has been featured in the always reliable Magnet Magazine. This comes just days before the first official single from the I Razor soundtrack is released (14th March), the Circus Devils track ‘All The Good Ones Are Gone’.
For the uninitiated I Razor is the no-budget experimental feature film directed by Todd Tobias. The I Razor soundtrack, to be released by Hidden Shoal in May 2013, comprises work by Todd Tobias and Circus Devils featuring vocals from Robert Pollard (Guided by Voices) as well as instrumental versions of some of the bands existing songs. The album is a cinematic feast within itself, uncompromising, redemptive and always engaging.
Markus Mehr's "Off" Reviewed in Hypnagogue
Markus Mehr’s sublime new album Off has received another glowing and wonderfully engaged review, this time over at the always excellent Hypnagogue. Check out the excerpt below to get you started, then read the whole review here.
“Listening to Off is a challenge, but it’s an incredibly rewarding one. The balance is tricky, because the opposite ends of this equation are the far ends, but Mehr makes its work perfectly. You are pummeled with the unyielding intrusion of blatantly non-musical noise, and you are salved with the reassuring solidity of the piano, and somehow it makes sense. Yes, it requires an open approach to music. If you like it pat and simple, this won’t work for you. And maybe it’s not supposed to. The triptych as a whole has been slim on easy access points, but that’s also a hallmark of Mehr’s work–he’s not easy to listen to. He is, however, well worth the effort, and Off is perhaps Mehr at his most stunning.” – Hypangogue
Stream Off and get your copy of the limited edition CD release or digital package here.
Hidden Shoal MixTape
