Within a fortress of analog gear somewhere in LA, Tim Phillips and George Jensen link up their rigs and let the healing ambient vibes pour out into the open air. Looped synth melodies hang in the mix for minutes at a time, compounding with steel drum patches and pan flutes into pristine New Age jams. Patra stands apart from an ocean of drone meditations by virtue of its clear dynamic structures. Phillips & Jensen seek not only to introduce tones and let them air out — they’re interested in how different textures interact, how a session can shift into new territories with only the slightest adjustment to harmony or timbre. As the duo layers their pieces even thicker with hissing field recordings and nature sounds, the lo-fi and hi-fi elements of their system congeal into a hybridized palette capable of conjuring both physical and internal expanses.
Texas native Derek Rogers makes his label debut with A Physical Ascension, a collection of deep, experimental synth, and electronics workouts. Think the Caretaker minus the spooky Shining concept, this tape deconstructs and processes the sounds of commonly used instruments (guitar, piano, organ, etc.) and creates a decidedly unsettling atmosphere that’s equal parts William Basinski and Actress. Ok, it’s kinda spooky like The Shining, but I don’t want to think about that movie and wake up screaming into my pillow tonight.
When I heard the first excerpt of Skullcaster’s Revaluation, I couldn’t help but think that it was something I would —for sure— hear at 3AM during Burning Man. Now that I’ve heard the whole thing, I can say that it’s not quite on that Burning Man tip, although I can’t get the image of half naked hippies dancing to this music in the desert out of my head, so I’ll just go with that. Skullcaster, no doubt, just dropped some new era EDM for the hippy raver in all of us, so get out the blacklights, your raver pants, and that bonfire blazin’ :)
ALSO, Holodeck Records is offering a “batch deal” on all three cassettes, so scope here!
• Phillips & Jensen: http://phillipsandjensen.com
• Derek Rogers: http://derekrogers.bandcamp.com
• Skullcaster: https://skullcaster.bandcamp.com
• Holodeck Records: http://holodeckrecords.com
More about: Derek Rogers, Phillips & Jensen, Skullcaster, Tim Phillips
