Hidden Shoal News
Elisa Luu Rocking The US College Radio Charts!
Elisa Luu’s stunning new album Un Giorno Sospeso continues to impress in the US as it takes its place in the Top 30 and specialty charts at a range of US college radio stations. Here’s a sample from the last few weeks – 9 on the WCBN Top 30 chart, 4 on the CJSW Experimental Chart, 3 on the Ashville FM Experimental chart and 25 on their Top30, 27 on the KDVS Top 30 charts, 10 on the CFRU Electronic chart, 8 on the CHUO Electronic chart. We’ll post more as we hunt them down!
Un Giorno Sospeso is available now as a limited edition CD (with immediate FLAC or MP3 download) as well in most digital formats including lossless. Head to the Hidden Shoal Store for all details including the freely downloadable single ‘Se fosse per me…‘.
New Single From Slowcore Marvels Half Film – Free Download
Hidden Shoal Recordings is proud to announce the release of free single ‘Machines, Hawks and the Perfect Equation’ by San Franciscan slowcore trio Half Film. The track is lifted from their soon to be reissued sophomore album of 2000, The Road to the Crater. Hidden Shoal is lovingly reissuing Half Film’s two acclaimed albums – East of Monument (1998) and The Road to the Crater (2000) – as a double CD package on 31 October 2012.
‘Machines…’ distills the Half Film aesthetic into four minutes of shadowy, see-sawing guitar splendour. The song’s slowburn never yields an easy payoff, the tension becoming its own reward, as the insistent, nagging riff roils beautifully, occasionally flaring into strummed chords before coiling back inside its brittle shell.
“Low-key underground guitar atmos that’s very moody indeed… Stark like Joy Division and darkly melodic like Neil Young” – Melody Maker on Half Film’s second album, The Road to the Crater
The history of Half Film began in 1995 when guitarist/vocalist Conor Devlin and bassist Eimer Devlin (now of [The] Caseworker) moved to San Francisco from the UK, based on their love of two bands from that city: Swell and American Music Club. There they were introduced to Jason Lakis. The trio recorded a demo in 1997, which was picked up by Buzz Records in Chicago. East of Monument, their debut album, was recorded in San Francisco over a weekend and released in spring 1998. Second album The Road to the Crater was laid to tape with Jim Putnam (of the Radar Bros) in LA, followed by a six-week European tour with Swell. After Conor and Eimer took a three-month break in Spain in February 2000, all three members decided to call it a day. And that was that.
‘Machines, Hawks and the Perfect Equation’ is available for free download from the Hidden Shoal Store. East of Monument and The Road to the Crater are released as a double CD and in digital formats on 31 October, with CD pre-orders available on 18 October.
Hidden Shoal to Reissue Albums by Half Film
Hidden Shoal is proud to announce the forthcoming reissue of the two acclaimed studio albums by Half Film – the slowcore trio fronted by [The] Caseworker’s Conor and Eimer Devlin – who made dark waves in the US indie circuit in the latter part of the ’90s. East of Monument and The Road to the Crater are released on 18 October, preceded by the release of single ‘Machines, Hawks and the Perfect Equation’ on 6 September.
“Low-key underground guitar atmos that’s very moody indeed… Stark like Joy Division and darkly melodic like Neil Young” – Melody Maker on Half Film’s second album, The Road to the Crater
The history of Half Film began in 1995 when guitarist/vocalist Conor Devlin and bassist Eimer Devlin moved to San Francisco from the UK, based on their love of two bands from that city: Swell and American Music Club. There they were introduced to Jason Lakis. All three members of the band learned how to play their respective instruments together, with Half Film’s sound and songs developing from that inexperience.
The trio recorded a demo in 1997, which was picked up by Buzz Records in Chicago. East of Monument, their debut album, was recorded in San Francisco over a weekend and released in spring 1998. Second album The Road to the Crater was laid to tape with Jim Putnam (of the Radar Bros) in LA, followed by a six-week European tour with Swell. After Conor and Eimer took a three-month break in Spain in February 2000, all three members decided to call it a day. And that was that.
Single ‘Machines, Hawks and the Perfect Equation’ is released for free download from the Hidden Shoal Store on 6 September. East of Monument and The Road to the Crater are released as a double CD and in digital formats on 31 October, with CD pre-orders available on 18 October.
Gilded Single Release – Free Download
Hidden Shoal Recordings is proud to announce the release of ‘Cluttered Room’, the new freely downloadable single by Australian experimental/ambient duo Gilded, taken from their debut album Terrane, to be released on 8 October (CD pre-orders on 25 September). Buoyant and sun-dappled, ‘Cluttered Room’ takes a handful of gleaming musical elements – ride cymbal, banjo, bass, melodica, acoustic guitar – and builds them into a wonderfully considered and thoroughly melodic structure. Akin to the most accessible tracks by acclaimed Swedish trio Tape, Gilded’s debut single is an inviting entry point into their detailed and emotionally resonant soundworld.
The title of Gilded’s debut album Terrane comes from a geological formation that has become dislocated from its original position and sutured onto a new landscape. It retains its own distinctive form and contrasts against those around it, whilst also finding a new place, a new home. The compositions that make up this record strike at the heart of how it feels to be in a period of transition, of watching a subtle change, a shift in texture. There are moments of quietude and reflection – held together by the austere and alternately punctuated by shifts toward the uplifting and revelatory. Terrane deftly operates around the intersections of melody and texture, movement and pause.
Gilded will be supporting the release of Terrane with a national tour in October:
Perth – Sunday October 7 @ the Bird w/Benoit Pioulard, Chris and Stina & Cycle~440 + Kynan Tan
Canberra – Saturday October 20 @ The Street Theatre w/Mornings
Melbourne – Sunday October 21 @ The Gasometer w/Regional Curse & Infinite Decimals
Sydney – Friday October 26 @ 107 Projects w/Seaworthy, Pimmon & Raven
Brisbane – Saturday October 27 @ Brisbane Powerhouse for Restrung: Sounds Unbound
Grab the single from the Hidden Shoal Store and read a full press release here.
Gilded – ‘Cluttered Room’
Slow Dancing Society "Laterna Magica" CD Pre-Orders
Hidden Shoal is excited to announce the availability of CD pre-orders for the new Slow Dancing Society album Laterna Magica. CD pre-orders include an immediate digital download of the album in MP3 or FLAC formats.
Slow Dancing Society’s fifth album Laterna Magica demonstrates another key progression in the Slow Dancing Society discography, which is becoming one of the essential bodies of work in contemporary ambient music. The tracks are underpinned by gorgeous guitar drift and warm synth wash, sparingly propelled by throbbing electronic undercurrents. From the soft-focus exhalation of ‘A Few Moments’, via the gleaming musical universe of recently released single ‘I’ll Leave A Light On’, through to the hypnotic pulse and drifting melancholic piano of finale ‘Tomorrow’s Another Day’, Laterna Magica is a definitive Slow Dancing Society release.
“Like the glow of sunlight filtered through the slowly undulating waves of blue crystalline water, Under The Sodium Lights is less an auditory adventure and more a rich and imaginative musical daydream.” – Delusions of Adequacy on Under The Sodium Lights
“a complexity of sound that allows it to stand out from traditionally ambient music… It is easy to get dissolved in this album, to let yourself fall into meditation as the music plays… an aural delight” – The Silent Ballet on Priest Lake Circa ’88
Laterna Magica is available now for CD pre-order (inc. immediate MP3 or FLAC download). The CD comes as a beautiful 4 panel wallet with stunning artwork by Stuart Medley. Pre-order shipping and official release (inc digital) is set for 18th September. Head to the Hidden Shoal Store for all orders, release details and a free track download.
Slow Dancing Society – ‘There’s A Place For Us’
Markus Mehr Live in Stockholm This Weekend!
If you’re lucky enough to be in the beautiful city of Stockholm this weekend, then you must get along to the Stoff (Fringe) Festival. Markus Mehr is playing on Friday night, with Stefanie Sixt on visuals. This will be Markus and Stefanie’s third time playing there – it’s going to be tremendous!
Hidden Shoal Releases In The Charts!
Current Hidden Shoal releases are doing good things in the US college radio charts at the moment. Here’s a small taste – Elisa Luu’s Un Giorno Sospeso has entered the KDVS Top 30 at number 16, Todd Tobias’s Medicine Show is at number 8 on the CJSW Experimental Chart, Wizards of Time’s Will The Soft Curse Plague On? is number 23 on the KPSC Top 30 and is also charting over at WKNC and Markus Mehr’s On has been added to rotation at a number of stations (and getting lots of spins on Triple J’s SoundLab).
More charting news soon!
Gilded "Terrane" Album Teaser
We’re all excitedly gearing up for the upcoming release of Terrane, the new album by West Australian experimental/ambient duo Gilded. To whet your appetite before we drop the first single and announce CD pre-orders we’ve prepared an album teaser for your delectation. You can hop over to SoundCloud or YouTube and get a small taste of what is a truly beautiful album.
For the uninitiated, Gilded brings together the similar but distinct musical directions of West Australian experimental musicians Matt Rösner and Adam Trainer. The pair have released work separately on labels such as 12K, Room40, hellosQuare, New Weird Australia, and Feral Media. Terrane will be officially released on the 8th of October with CD pre-orders on the 25th of September. The first single from the album, ‘Cluttered Room’ will be available as a free download on the 31st of August. Be sure to subscribe the Hidden Shoal email list to be the first to get the single download and CD pre-order details.
Kramies Interview in The Facets Magazine
There’s a cracking interview with Hidden Shoal’s very own Kramies in the new issue of The Facets magazine, which you can read online here. Simply go to page 57 to read an insightful piece about Kramies’ 20-year music-making journey. Kramies’ The European EP is available in digital and limited edition CD format from the Hidden Shoal Store.
New Reviews of Markus Mehr's On
Markus Mehr’s latest album On, which is part two in an ambitious but ridiculously awesome trilogy, has just received some foaming reviews over at the Petal and Leonard’s Lair music blogs. Pop along to the blogs to read the reviews, or you can scoot over to Markus’s reviews section to read these and more.
On, part one of the trilogy In, and debut album Lava are all available in CD and digital format from the Hidden Shoal Store.
Hidden Shoal MixTape
