Touch

tokafi.com | Eleh & Denis Blackham: mastering Location Momentum

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 19:40:30 +0000

Tokafi have published an interview with Denis Blackham where he discusses mastering the recent Eleh CD and his working relationship with Touch. Read the article on www.tokafi.com www.skyemastering.com www.eleh.org

Philip Jeck | The Bubbly Blue and Green rehearsal and podcast

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 10:27:02 +0000

The Bubbly Blue and Green is a four-day festival of eclectic “water music” influenced by shipwrecks, rivers, waves and lighthouses. Housed in the halls of Kings Place, the festival runs from the 24th to 27th February 2010 and features Philip Jeck and Hildur Guðnadóttir amongst others… Touch recording artist Philip Jeck is an awarding winning turntablist feted for collaborations with the likes of Gavin Bryars. Using dusty vinyl records and processed Dansette record players the Liverpudlian conjures a galaxy of poignant, immersive textures - not least on An Ark for the Listener, a new work inspired by Gerard Manley Hopkins’ poem The Wreck Of The Deutschland. Promoters The Arctic Circle have uploaded “Ark Overture” to soundcloud.com – a rehearsal/work in progress of what to expect from Jeck at Kings Place. Philip Jeck - Ark Overture by arcticcircle In addition, they have interviewed Jeck for “The Bubbly Blue and Green - Day 1” podcast. The Bubbly Blue and Green - Day 1 by arcticcircle More info and tickets at www.kingsplace.co.uk www.jointhecircle.net www.philipjeck.com www.hildurness.com

TO:80 - Eleh "Location Momentum"

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 13:04:58 +0000

CD - 5 tracks - 60m 28s (not available for download) 6-panel digipak Artwork & Photography by Jon Wozencroft Track listing: 1. HeleneleH 2. Linear to Circular/Vertical Axis 3. Circle One: Summer Transcience 4. Observation Wheel 5. Rotational Change for Windmill Eleh has been an enigma since the first record under that name was released in 2006. In numbered editions with letterpressed sleeves, usually on Important Records from the U.S.A., these vinyl-only releases were evidently a labour of love and attention. Further recordings have been released on the labels Taiga and Touch, making 11 vinyl editions in all. Eleh began as long ago as 1999 as an exploration of analog synthesis, emphasising low frequency oscillation and resonant acoustic phenomenae. Eleh highlights the physical presence of sound as it has been inspired by the physical world. There is also something ‘cathedral-like’ and cosmos-inducing in the sound built. Following the recent 12” release, “Observations and Momentum”, Eleh has chosen to release the first digital recordings on Touch – 'Location Momentum' is a set of five new recordings which will be made openly available on CD. "The stuff that Eleh sets in motion from whatever electronic sound generators he/she deploys represents a measured and methodical paring away of all that might appear superfluous, baroque and rococo. Each of the tracks here consists of just a handful and discrete (and discreet) but highly charged sound events that emerge, overlap, recede and reverberate at critical frequencies over extended durations. At certain crucial points this approach serves as a formula for opening a portal what David Toop has referred to as the dark void, that spectral realm magicked into being (or exposed by) the drone, in which audio apparitions and chimeras dance through smoke and mirrors, suggesting the existence of occult planes and dimensions, multiple other realities, worlds within worlds." (Tony Herrington in The Wire) You can download a MP3 extract of Heleneleh by clicking here. Buy Location Momentum in the TouchShop www.eleh.org

Chris Watson | Doves remix

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 06:04:58 +0000

Caught by the River, in association with Heavenly Recordings, is pleased to make available for the first time a collaboration between Chris Watson and the aptly named Doves. This is a remix that Chris has done of the song “Birds Flew Backwards” from Doves' last album “Kingdom of Rust”. This remix can be heard over at www.caughtbytheriver.net and, for one week only, downloaded at www.heavenlyrecordings.com

Touch Radio 49 | Chris Watson

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 18:23:48 +0000

08.02.10 - A Journey South – 50:21 - 192 kbps Chris Watson journeys to the South Pole for the forthcoming David Attenborough series “The Frozen Planet” (BBC, 2011). Here he reports back with his experiences… Photos by Chris Watson & Jason Roberts. Subscribe to the TouchPod podcast of TouchRadio via the iTunes Music Store Play "A Journey South" www.chriswatson.net

T-Phone 1 - Biosphere "Outside By The Fjord"

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 19:22:12 +0000

1 track .m4v video, digital download for iPod/iPhone Track listing: 1: Outside By The Fjord - 25:09 From a field recording trip in Sørfjorden, near Tromsø, Norway. Commissioned by Fondazione Musica per Roma, 2008. Buy Outside By The Fjord in the TouchShop www.biosphere.no

Touch Radio 48 | Biosphere

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 19:22:10 +0000

28.01.10 - Live in Den Haag – 37:05 - 192 kbps Born in Tromso (Norway), Geir Jenssen is better known as Biosphere, a key figure in contemporary Norwegian music. In 1992, Jenssen shot to fame with his Biosphere-debut album "Microgravity", becoming one of the pioneering ambient artists from the 90's. He was one of the first to come up with the mix of soundscapes, voice samples and atmospheric noise with trancey melodies and solid beats. Touch Live on September 26th 2009 at Todaysart 09, Den Haag featured Biosphere, Philip Jeck, Hildur Gudnadottir, Jana Winderen & The Eternal Chord. Biosphere gave an intimate performance in the Lutherse Kerk, a very small church. Recorded straight from the mixing desk to an Ares Pll Nagra digital recorder. Subscribe to the TouchPod podcast of TouchRadio via the iTunes Music Store Play “Live in Den Haag” www.biosphere.no

Biosphere film soundtrack @ Berlin Film Festival | February 2010

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 13:45:14 +0000

Im Schatten (In the Shadows) by Thomas Arslan, Germany (WP) appears as part of A world in pieces: the films of the 40th Berlinale Forum, with music by Geir Jenssen (published by Touch Music). www.arsenal-berlin.de www.biosphere.no

Philip Jeck & Hildur Gudnadottir live in London | February 2010

Thu, 14 Jan 2010 14:38:56 +0000

Arctic Circle - The Resonance of Music with Water Kings Place, 80 York Way, London NW1 Wednesday 24th February 2010 Philip Jeck Time: 20:00 Venue: Hall One An Ark for the Listener, a new work inspired by Gerard Manley Hopkins’ poem The Wreck Of The Deutschland. "An aspiration in answer to an inspiration, out of music shaped by all the sea has claimed, as is the inevitable shipwreck of our existence. Salvaged out of vinyl, by way of ear, hand and electricity." "And I have asked to be... out of the swing of the sea." (G M Hopkins) Thursday 25 February Time: 20:00 Venue: Hall One Hauschka with Hildur Guðnadóttir Haushka is the alias of Dusseldorf keyboardist Volker Bertelman. His critically-acclaimed albums on the 130701 imprint evince a playfully accessible approach to the often austere realm of the prepared piano. Haushka is joined tonight by gifted Icelandic cellist Hildur Guðnadóttir for a major new, aquatically-themed commission. Saturday 27 February Hildur Guðnadóttir Time: 19:00 Venue: Hall One Icelandic cellist Hildur Guðnadóttir has collaborated with the likes of Throbbing Gristle, Múm and Haushka. She released her debut solo album in 2007. An electronic-tinged follow-up, Without Sinking, appeared in 2009 on the Touch label. More info and tickets at www.kingsplace.co.uk www.jointhecircle.net www.philipjeck.com www.hildurness.com

TO:77 - BJNilsen "The Invisible City"

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 17:26:45 +0000

CD - 8 tracks - 1:04:57 Jewel case with concertina insert Artwork & Photography by Jon Wozencroft Plus bonus 320kbps .mp3 download - 1 track - 33:44 TO:77DL - BJNilsen "Live at Café Oto", Atmospheres 3, 7.xii.09 Available only when purchasing "The Invisible City" via the TouchShop. Track listing: 1. Gravity Station 2. Phase and Amplitude 3. Scientia 4. Virtual Resistance 5. Meter Reading 6. Into Its Coloured Rays 7. Gradient 8. The Invisible City About this release: Recorded and Mixed during 2008-2009 in Berlin. All tracks composed by BJNilsen using Tape Recorders, Computer, Organ, Acoustic Guitar, Electronics, Viola, Subharchord. Field recordings from; Sweden, Iceland, Norway, UK, Japan, Portugal and Germany. The Subharchord was recorded in the EAM Studio @ Adk, Berlin. Viola played by Hildur I. Gudnadottir. Mastered by Denis Blackham at Skye Published by Touch Music [MCPS] You can download a MP3 of Meter Reading by clicking here. Buy The Invisible City plus bonus live MP3 download in the TouchShop www.bjnilsen.com

Ash 8.5 | Paul Williams - Pillars of Wisdom

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 16:54:03 +0000

1 track .m4v video, digital download for iPod/iPhone Track listing: 1: Pillars of Wisdom - 5m27s Filmed and edited by Paul Williams on location in Abu Dhabi. Soundtrack: Gel by Philip Marshall, published by Touch Music [MCPS]. Paul Williams writes: "Arriving in Abu Dhabi my initial reaction, standing on the balcony of my hotel room on the 20th floor, was disorientation and near-vertigo. Laid out before me was a building site on a scale I had never seen before; a small island was under construction. This was “a room with a view” of a very different kind. Not some picturesque vista illustrating historical achievement but a vast, stark scene of becoming; a display of the knowledge, effort and will required to alter the landscape and create a new world. The skyscrapers I was watching turn from plans into reality suggested the phrase “Pillars of Wisdom”, adapted from the title of T.E. Lawrence’s account of his life in Arabia. As the days went by the view became a site of contemplation. There was always something going on, some detail that warranted attention: the endless comings and goings of the work-crews, the slow gestures of the cranes, the shifting patterns of aircraft warning lights. I wanted to capture something of what I was witnessing so, as you survey these monuments rising from the white sand, look closely and you will see tiny events occurring: the slow trajectory of a car's headlights, the flare of a welder's torch at night, even a bird flying across the face of the sun… As I have come to know this landscape I am continually reminded that even though we live beneath the gaze of giants, made with our own minds and hands, it is our simple joys that continue to define us as human." Buy Pillars of Wisdom in the TouchShop www.ashinternational.com

Touch Radio 47 | Pascal Wyse and Tom Haines

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 16:51:39 +0000

01.01.10 - A Rock and a Hard Place – 11:45 - 201 kbps [VBR] Eighty miles off the coast of mainland Scotland, the archipelago of St Kilda is host to almost a million seabirds each summer. Beginning underwater, this journey takes in the remote island group – with its gurgling seawash, gannets and storm petrel – before sailing east to the Shiants, home to puffins, guillemots, fulmars and razorbills. Finally, a mix of the exotic and commonplace – Carrion crow, wren, herring gulls. heron, ringed plover, cuckoo, oystercatcher, song thrush, common sandpiper – heard at dawn on the island of Rhona.  Sound and photography: Pascal Wyse and Tom Haines. Recorded in June 2009 with Dolphin Ear hydrophones, Sennheiser and DPA microphones and Sound Devices recorders. Subscribe to the TouchPod podcast of TouchRadio via the iTunes Music Store Play “A Rock and a Hard Place” www.bergerandwyse.com www.brainsandhunch.com www.myspace.com/thelondonsnorkellingteam

Ash 8.6 | Stephan Mathieu - 10 Minutes

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 15:40:13 +0000

9x .m4v videos, digital download for iPod/iPhone Track listing: I. Crepuscule light, curtain, wind audio: Amelita Galli-Curci sings Massenet 78rpm from 1921 II. Screen 16mm projector, b/w flicker, projection audio: Stephan Mathieu III. Eye light, reflection audio: Stephan Mathieu plays Sylvain Chauveau (excerpt) IV. Sonnenschatten light, mobile, shade audio: Heinrich Isaac 78rpm from von 1928 V. Licht kitchen cabinet, sunlight reflection audio: (silent) VI. Hoch garden, picnic gramophone, 78rpm record with bird song audio: unknown throssle captured on 78rpm shellac in 1932 VII. Sonne light, mobile audio: Stephan Mathieu, text by Yoko Ono VIII. Two Dots empty turntable audio: François Couperin, "Le Carillion de Chitere" 78rpm from 1934 IX. Code 16mm projector, b/w flicker, puzzled webcam audio: Stephan Mathieu (from “Process”) “Nine webcam movies for handheld devices shot with my laptop's camera between September and October 2009. The soundtrack is basically what was playing then. 10 Minutes is dedicated to Anna Carolina Mikalef.” Buy 10 Minutes in the TouchShop www.bitsteam.de www.ashinternational.com

LCO perform Biosphere | Roundhouse, London, 23rd January 2010

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 13:40:13 +0000

On 23rd January 2010, the London Contemporary Orchestra, one of the UK’s youngest and most adventurous ensembles, make their Roundhouse debut. “Shhoctavoski” is the first piece for orchestra that Biosphere, aka Geir Jenssen has composed and is given here its UK premiere with the Roundhouse Experimental Choir. The same evening sees London Contemporary Orchestra also perform the world premiere of Shiva Feshareki’s “TTKonzert” (a concerto for turntables and orchestra), alongside performances of Steve Reich's “Different Trains” and the UK premiere of John Cage's “Seventy-Four”. These performances are part of the Roundhouse's Reverb series, which “explores the many sides of music at the Roundhouse through world and UK premieres, genre-defying performances, fresh collaborations and a new approach to classical music.” More info and tickets at www.roundhouse.org.uk www.lcorchestra.co.uk www.biosphere.no

Hildur Gudnadottir | Without Sinking wins Kraumur Award in Iceland

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 14:59:55 +0000

Hildur Guðnadóttir's “Without Sinking” wins the Kraumur award in Iceland. It is also in The Wire's Top 50 of 2009… This chart is compiled by all the staff and contributors at The Wire. Stephen O'Malley voted it his album of the year for Boomkat. Below – a video for “Opaque” from “Without Sinking”, directed by Markus Wambsganss. Hildur Guðnadóttir in the TouchShop www.hildurness.com