Out Soon: Rural Route No.6

It's October, which means it's been close to one year since we started the Rural Route series and we must say that we feel very fortunate to have released such great music from quality artists. It seems serendipitous that on this anniversary the sixth release in the series will be from the highly respected and prolific Machinefabriek, the pseudonym of Rutger Zuydervelt. This Rotterdam artist truly needs no introduction due to the sheer quantity and quality of music he has released within the ambient/experimental field over a relatively short period of time. With releases on labels like Type, 12K and Home Normal, Rural Route No.6 is wonderful addition to his ever-growing canon. Officially available on October 26th, it is comprised of one 17 minute track entitled Halfslaap. The piece began as a one minute soundtrack for a video poem by Jani Sipilä. Sounds reminiscent of a music box provide a long form lullaby for the hazy journey from reality to the dreamworld. It is a score for the strange sensation of heavy limbs as sleep slowly washes over the body.




We must highly stress that this release is limited to only 150 physical copies and is a definite must-have for fans of his work and fans of experimental music in general!

Check out an excerpt here.

...and there has already been a review, check it out here.

www.machinefabriek.nu

UPDATE: We are now accepting preorders here.

New Release!: Rural Route No. 5 by The Gentleman Losers

It is with great pleasure that we announce the next installment in the Rural Route's series. It is by the wonderful Finnish duo of Samu and Ville Kuukka, who perform under the name The Gentleman Losers, and will be released on Sept 14th, 2010. The brothers have collaborated on a multitude of projects over the years, including, but not limited to, music for films and dance, sound design, and remixing. As The Gentleman Losers they have released two highly regarded full-length albums to date for the respected City Centre Offices imprint and its sister label, Büro. The three tracks that comprise Rural Route No.5 are highly atmospheric, ambient instrumentals with delicate guitar melodies that weave themselves in and out over its course. They are a travelogue mapping paths taken in Europe during the past year or so. Snapshots, based on improvisations drawing inspiration from the quieter moments of a nomadic life: a snowstorm in Helsinki, a hot September night in Berlin and a dusk in the Swiss countryside outside of Lucerne. The Kuukkas were finding homes away from home and longing back to one that was never there.

Click here to purchase the physical or digital version.



Limited to 150 physical copies (comes with free download).
Available Sept.14, 2010.
www.gentlemanlosers.com

New reviews!

We are pleased to see that Kyle Bobby Dunn's Rural Route No. 2 has garnered some great reviews! Check them out below.

The Pop Stalinist
AmbientBlog
Audio Gourmet
The Silent Ballet
Skeleton Crew Quarterly
Anti-Gravity Bunny
Pitchfork
Textura
Norman Records
Coke Machine Glow
All Fer teh Lulz

Rural Route No.4 by Alex Durlak

Quickly following the release of Rural Route No.3 by Martin Clarke, comes the fourth installment in the series. A single drone piece entitled Catalyst by artist and musician Alex Durlak who is best known for his contributions to various Toronto bands and his work within the local arts community.

Recorded at the tail end of a bleak winter in a single improvised take, this recording marks the first stirrings from Durlak’s long hibernation from solo work. His guitar playing is sampled and processed in real time using a series of granular synthesis patches to create densely layered and dark sounds not easily associated with their original source.



Available for purchase and download here.

Alex Durlak performs at The Central in Toronto this Sunday, July 18th.

Rural Route No.3 by Martin Clarke

The third installment of the Rural Routes series is officially available today!

These field recordings were made in Shetland in December 2006 and draw their inspiration from the music and recordings of Australian sound artist Alan Lamb. Martin Clarke is a sound artist and filmmaker based in London, UK. His work makes extensive use of real-world, environmental material to create semi-abstract non-representational spaces.

Clarke studied composition with Robert Dow at the University of Edinburgh and completed his PhD with Jonty Harrison at the University of Birmingham in 2008. He is currently based in London and is a member of BECTU, The Diary Agency and an associate member of the Institute of Broadcast Sound.



As always, this release is a 3" CD-R and is limited to 150 copies.

Available for purchase and download here.

'Rural Route No.2' by Kyle Bobby Dunn

The second installment of the Rural Routes 3 inch series is almost ready to go and is set to be released in April by artist Kyle Bobby Dunn.

During the composing and recording process of these two special works, Dunn revisited various spots and dimensions of an Albertan childhood that seemed smeared out and ghostly. The impact of these feelings and sightings wander prominently into the moody and eerie chord droppings of guitar, strings, radio mutations, and organ. The visions and times are suspended in between the icy notes of these two works. Refreshingly clear but horrifyingly mysterious and obscured at the same time....

Closely following the much praised release, A Young Person's Guide To..., on the Low Point label, fans of his work shouldn't hesitate on picking this one up as it is limited to 150 copies.

Rural Route No.2 will be available from our distributors in April. The album is available from our website here.

Juno Nomination!!

Yesterday morning was slightly interesting, turns out Canaille's album Potential Things has been nominated for a Juno in the Recording Package of the Year category.

Check it out!

Couldn't think of a more fitting use of the acronym WTF!!

Hot off the Binder: The Taxali 300

It's been some long days scrambling to get it all done in time, but we are happy to show off a booklet by local artist Gary Taxali published by Magic Pony. The book is a catalogue for his show at Pony's Narwal Art Projects gallery. The opening is tomorrow, January 28th, and runs until February 28th. Narwhal is located at 680 Queen Street West. Hope to see you there!

Rural Route No.2 & No.3 coming soon!

We are pleased to announce the next two titles in the ongoing 'Rural Route' series. All releases come in a 3" CD-R format and are limited to 150 copies.

More info on release dates soon, in the meantime please check out the details below:

'Rural Route No.2' by Kyle Bobby Dunn
"Canadian born Kyle Bobby Dunn is a 21st century composer and sound artist living in New York City. He has performed his work in live settings, including outdoor and site specific environments, throughout the United States and Canada. Kyle has released works on respected labels like Kning Disk, Moodgadget and, most recently, a wonderful double CD on Low Point"
http://www.myspace.com/kbdunn

'Rural Route No.3' by Martin Clarke
"Martin Clarke is a sound artist, recordist and filmmaker based in London. His work makes extensive use of environmental sound and video material to create layered, abstract, formal spaces which are often representational in appearance and have been screened, performed, installed and broadcast internationally in concert, at festivals and on radio."
http://www.rockscottage.net/

Also, you can still get your hands on 'Rural Route No.1' by Damian Valles but hurry because there are only a handful left! Order it and other SF titles here: The Blue House

Reviews!

We've been getting some great reviews of our latest batch of releases, check them out:

etaoin shrdlu Mating Calls
Chart Attack
Exclaim 1
Exclaim 2

Canaille Potential Things
Adequacy
Soundscapes
Eye Magazine
Exclaim

An Interview with Canaille's Jeremy Strachan:
Zoilus

Muskox 5 Pieces
Exclaim
Steel Bananas
Soundscapes
Montreal Mirror

This one features both Canaille and Muskox:
Textura

Damian Valles Rural Route #1
Textura
Cyclic Defrost
Exclaim!