تدمر‎ | valley of the tombs | tape out now

very gladly taking the opportunity to announce that my latest release, palmyra - valley of the tombs, is now available as an ultra-limited edition cassette tape and 24bit digital download from my bandcamp page.

two fifteen-minute instrumental compositions, based on the original 'palmyra' piece from my 'sittah sittah sab'ah' album, the release is an instrumental journey into arabian-influenced-dark-jazz-doom-drone.

please do be sure to think about securing yourself one of the twelve hand-crafted cassettes, or a copy of the download which also includes a six-page digital booklet with auxiliary materials. get involved.

jamesreindeer

connewitz, leipzig

29th december 2014

تدمر‎ | valley of the tombs | coming soon

gladly presenting, palmyra - valley of the tombs, and bride of the desert. two sprawling, dream-like re-investigations of the original piece to be found on my 'sittah.sittah.sab'ah' album, and taking us further into the hallucinogenic depths of the spectral desert scene, within the realms of the ancient city. 

valley of the tombs finds us in the misty half-light of the deserted valleys at dawn, eerie droning trumpets and whispering winds of field recordings, slowly joined by monolithic sub-bass and droning oud passages, ushering in the night and changing into a dark, writhing dirge til its conclusion.

bride of the desert, leads us back from the dark of the valley, into the depths of the majestic ancient city at dawn. the oud motifs from the valley transmute into lilting saxophones and vast droning sub-bass that expand and unfold, rising amidst crashing percussive swells and mournful tones and textures, before awkward trumpets and field-recordings slowly lend their steady unease.

available from 29th december as an ongoing digital download, and ultra-limited-edition cassette tape of only twelve copies; be sure to investigate when the time comes, and allow yourself time to be swept up into the ethereal incantations and to bathe in the psychotropic sound-fields.

keep warm . be well

jamesreindeer

leipzig, germany

15th december 2014

جامع حلب الكبير | al jalloum | tape out now

very gladly taking the opportunity to announce that my latest release, the great mosque of aleppo - al jalloum, is now available as an ultra-limited edition cassette tape and 24bit digital download from my bandcamp page.

two fifteen-minute instrumental compositions, based on the original 'great mosque of aleppo' piece from my 'sittah sittah sab'ah' album, the release is an instrumental journey into arabian-influenced-dark-jazz-doom-drone.

please do be sure to think about securing yourself one of the twelve hand-crafted cassettes, or a copy of the download which also includes a six-page digital booklet with auxiliary materials. get involved.

jamesreindeer

connewitz, leipzig

8th december 2014

جامع حلب الكبير | al jalloum | tape coming soon

gladly presenting, the great mosque of aleppo - al jalloum, and nine days in serpent graves. two sprawling, dream-like re-investigations of the original piece to be found on the 'sittah.sittah.sab'ah' album, and taking us further into the hallucinogenic depths of the long desert dark, within the realms of the blackened night. 

al jalloum finds us buried yet deeper within abyssal sub-bass frequencies, slow wailing saxophones, and menacing field recordings that groan and threaten to buckle under their own weight, slowly building into an unnerving incantation from the long desert dark.

nine days in serpent graves, in contrast, finds us caught in a hallucinogenic free-jazz sound-field that seems almost to come from the classical-experimental world, as much as the dark-jazz underworld, before slowly falling away into a dream-like state that looms ominously to its conclusion. 

available from 8th december as an ongoing digital download, and ultra-limited-edition cassette tape of only twelve copies; be sure to investigate when the time comes, and allow yourself time to be swept up into the ethereal incantations and to bathe in the psychotropic sound-fields. 

be well

jamesreindeer

connewitz, leipzig

17th november 2014

central hotel eden - excerpts I - IV

flickering images coming into focus...

I

the old open-air cinema stands alone, isolated in the desert sand beyond the failing port. sandstone amphitheatre, mosaic tiles along the floor and vast, canvas screen billowing in the gentle breeze. with the full moon rising overhead the projector begins to click and whir. flashes of light across the screen begin to take the shape of black and white reels exposing scenes of forgotten times. faces of the long since departed. frozen expressions and ambigous gestures. desert air twists gently around us as we take our seats for the duration. the ruinous port, endless desert and vast sky becoming extensions of the frame. a giant film set, limitless and expanding. the film climbs high into the night air and across the sky, sailing above the city by the ocean. casting frames upon the rooftops, churches, piazzas and across the old town. images dancing amidst the flames and burning timbers.

II

heavy rains fall across the rooftops, spilling into gutters, overflowing from stormdrains along the curbsides, over cobbles, across the marketplace, upon the crumbling spire. we rest in the solace of the attic as the water beats down above us. our eyes heavy in the half-light. warmly distorted tones from the old portable cassette player fill the room as the images of the dreaming slowly start to come in. we row between the sunken buildings in a small coracle, gently buffeted by the dips and swells of the rainwater around us, tramlines and streetlamps but a few feet above us. the sky filled with a feint luminosity, a green-orange glow to warm the scene. gentle warm mists embrace distant street corners as a low crackling sound combined with tape-hiss like gently soothing waves reverberates through the otherwise silent scene. we pause to let our fingers trail in the warm water and watch the streets stretch out far below, submerged in the deep tides.

III

a thousand stars circle the heavens. trailing red and blue, green and amber. the rooftops of the city a myriad geometry trying to describe itself in all directions. each room in the city a vestibule, a portal between worlds. silent communion transpiring in every location simultaneously. the whole city is connected and breathing a gentle passage, repeating across the sky, falling away within itself. a fadng dream stretching out into the distance, a cloud column rising up and away from the world. time stretches itself out as the fires burn brighter and brighter. amber flames turning red, blue, green. the backstreets and alleyways between the buildings of the old town beginning to shift and alter, to converge and come apart, to change direction, to fall away into wild ellipse. the uncertain days beckoning nights of forgetting. the old machinery slowly begins to fail. a timid path drawn out in front of the weary traveller. a distant, fleeting whisp of a dream now lost within the growing imbalance of the failing structures.

IV

at dawn we reached the silent island. the hot sun beginning to rise and casting psychedelic hues across the trailing cloudbanks which sailed gently above us. jade, turquoise, ocre, golden light shapes in contrast to the azure blue steadily building across the vast sky. the silent island beckoned our vessel forwards, the continued droning of the engines now a soundtrack to the coastline revealing itself before us. tranquil beaches and rocky shores, grasslands and wooded regions, ruined fortifications of ancient cultures, previous inhabitants now long since gone away. our vessel passed slowly into the old port, the gentle waves buffeting against the stone walls, the few structures still standing around the dilapidated scene casting images of distant times, fading memories. we stepped off our vessel and paced onto the sandy shore, turning to cast our gaze back towards the ocean, and rest awhile as we watched the ship motor its way back out into the blue drifts.

-

excerpts from 'central hotel eden', a work in progress...

keep safe

jamesreindeer

leipzig germany

16th november 2014

الحمراء‎ | court of the lions | out now

very gladly taking the opportunity to announce that my latest release, alhambra - court of the lions, is now available as an ultra-limited edition cassette tape and digital download from my bandcamp page.

two fifteen-minute instrumental compositions, based on the original 'alhambra' piece from my 'sittah sittah sab'ah' album, the release is an instrumental journey into arabian-influenced-dark-jazz-doom-drone.

please do be sure to think about securing yourself one of the twelve hand-crafted cassettes, or a copy of the download which also includes a six-page digital booklet with auxiliary materials. get involved.

jamesreindeer

connewitz, leipzig
10th november 2014

الحمراء‎ | court of the lions | coming soon

gladly presenting, alhambra - court of the lions, and the architect's garden. two sprawling, dream-like re-investigations of the original piece to be found on the 'sittah.sittah.sab'ah' album, and taking us further into the hallucinogenic depths of the shimmering desert-sea palace by way of psychedelic incantations. 

court of the lions finds us buried deep within abyssal sub-bass frequencies, wailing trumpets and doom-like oud passages, that so very slowly build into a vast dirge of monolithic proportions, yet one so measured and deliberate in its intent to crush. 

the architect's garden, in contrast, finds us caught in a shimmering sunlit dream of droning saxophone and oud, field recordings and hazy, blissful recollections of distant shores slowly coming into focus, before trailing back away into a lilting still. 

available from monday as an ongoing digital download, and ultra-limited-edition cassette tape of only twelve copies; be sure to investigate immediately, and allow yourself time to be swept up into the thunderous storm and to bathe in the warming radiance. get involved. 

jamesreindeer

Connewitz, Leipzig

Winter 2014

mism records no.10 | 12" vinyl | out now

might we most jubilantly announce that our highly-esteemed dear brothers over at mism records have gladly released their fifth anniversary celebration vinyl compilation, in the form of a beautiful 12" record, containing six tracks of pure musical wonder for your listening pleasure.

featuring contributions from papervehicle, bleubird, babelfishh, reindeer, tenshun, glen porter, maki, and soso, the release is awash with soon-to-be classic bangers for your eternal entertainment. be sure to fix yourself a copy as soon as time and funds permit, only 200 pieces exist worldwide.

get involved

jamesreindeer

leipzig, germany

november, 2014

my education: a book of dreams

When you unsaid the day and split the hour

I thought, What do seconds do after hours?

And I thought, Minutes are here to go.

So told Edgar Allan Poe

In a brief time before the dead eons

blamed the live months for nothing and everything

But nobody and nothing could heal the split

as time blubbered like severed coral

And there was no time left to mend

the wounds of punctured time spilling

into the void of used razor blades in

the heart of bellowing Texas 

For theirs is not an ill for mending

Better take it to the waves that

soothe the Band-Aids of rainy afternoons

And consummate the spray paint's despairing

flares across the tilted ponds of

Despond and mercurial pollutions

For there is no balm in suburbia

for the lost bougainvillea's purple lament

For it was after all present and pre-

written eons ago with broken stone hoe

bowed by the weight of centuries he stands

and offers to you his pre-callused

hands that mar the bubble gum's

affreuse, frivolity, with false teeth

in a screaming skull, molten lead

in the screaming ear and brittle

nuance of greasy fear. It is not

too late to turn the page.

from My Education: A Book of Dreams

by William S. Burroughs

standing stones EU tour

might we very proudly, and very excitedly, announce the standing stones european tour, featuring the combined talents of 2econd class citizen, jamesreindeer and asbest the moor king, representing the united kingdom, and combined together live on stage for the very first time.

having already performed together in separate constellations in locations ranging from glastonbury festival, bochum, and brighton; this tour will finally see them together as a trio, operating both seperately and together, in venues across germany, switzerland, austria and the czech republic.

having also already secured their reputations individually, both on record and within the live arena, we are now poised to witness a full-length tour that shall display the current heights of their own solo performances, as well as giving us ample opportunity to witness live collaborations, both pre-planned and improvised, which shall pitch and sway, vary and alter between shows; spontenaity will abound.

be sure to seriously think about trying to find yourself at one of these performances, and should you be a promoter, then please do not hesitate to contact any one of the artists involved in order to help us secure shows for the last few spare days currently laying unbooked. be sure to get involved in any and every capacity possible, and please do help spread the word, this is surely some 'once-in-a-lifetime' business for sure.

be well

jamesreindeer

leipzig, germany

october 2014

dyxz.born.rndr - european tour 2013 - eight-hundred years on the banks of the aare

we followed the autobahn on its curve south-west through the myriad delights of the swiss landscapes on our path towards the always-stunning second-home of bern and the twin mism and luana headquarters of the living legend that is mich moser. how the storm-clouds still loomed ominous on the horizon but the rain kept its distance as we followed the winding path into the city, through its magnificent streets, shrouded in such stunning architecture and across the always beatuiful aare flowing through its whole before reaching the always-welcoming safehouse of captain mich; directly at the door ready to greet us with welcoming hugs and talk of what we could only immediately realise would be a stunning dinner at the broadspectrum surrounding compound already waiting for us. we directly grabbed what we needed from the car and then headed off by foot into the stunning depths of the city.

having ascended the steep hill from mich's place into the city center, it was only a brief excursion for beverages before we made our way to the wonderfully cosy apartment and broadspectrum surrounding compound of the absolutely wonderful can and nicole; a truly wonderfully kind-hearted couple indeed. we were welcomed immediately with the warmest of hugs, hot tea and much marvelous conversation before soon sitting down to an epic meal of home-baked pizzas and salat, wine, saft, coffee, yet more tea before we then found ourselves magically gazing out over the skyline diorama of the city center from their astonishing rooftop vantage point, a spell-binding instant to frame an outrageous series of developments of our evening indeed.

still, how the night held much more in store for us besides. we gathered ourselves up as a group and headed out into the cool of the evening to meet with some of the legendary everest records family over at the mighty reitschule complex; a stunning location which really needs to be on the list of essential spots to visit, and the perfect location to meet up with such marvelous souls indeed. still, how the night was a little cool and the spot a little too chaotic with some kind of minimal-chemical-party occurring out the front of the complex and so how we all retired to the magnificently cosy apartment and kitchen of captain matu to spend the last of the evening sharing drinks and ever-more amusing conversation til the early hours began to beckon. with weary heads we began to wend our ways back to our sleeping places, ready to get some sleep before the show tomorrow.

for my own part, i had the honour of sleeping at the mism/luana safehouse and slept long indeed, not awakening until it was almost time to take to the day to begin our busy schedule. mich and i walked back up into the city to collect dyxz and martin from the compound and how we made our way to the splendid raum to set-up and get a healthy soundcheck happening and to shake hands with the tastatur captains before taking a most-relaxed walk over to the everest records safehouse to chill and take tea with captain matu a while longer and generally take in their whole operation which, was certainly most-impressive indeed. but how the day was racing-by indeed and how we soon found ourself safely back at can and nicole's place for a staggeringly epic home-cooked indian meal with the extended bern family circle. shockingly fantastic tasty treats indeed.

still, showtime beckoned and how we made our way en mass back down to the raum and started to relax with the splendid folk who slowly began to gather in the cosy half-light of this most-intimate and wonderful of locations as the mighty mich began to spin a sinister collection of vinyl for our listening pleasure. still before long we did indeed take to the stage and slowly concocted a drone-heavy invocation filled with as many subtle hues as we could filter through the sound-system, building a steadily rising hymn to fill the raum with a slow and permeating unease of blackened arid lands. in truth, some technical difficulties on our part sadly plagued the performance a little, but how we did indeed muster over the length of the performance and managed to satisfy the ungods with a suitably darkened tone poem of careful duration.

but the night was still so young and how we were subsequently treated to the rhythmic tones of the local masters tastatur as we gladly began to spend the rest of the evening putting our feet up, chatting cheerily, watching the party-madness unfold and eventually taking to the dancefloor as the killer broadspectrum surrounding dj-team took their rightful place on the 1210's and treated us to endless party sounds as the night wore steadily on into the long early hours. how it was a great night indeed and an honour to be finding ourselves again rubbing shoulders with the mighty everest records family members matu and mich meienberg, no less. but how we slowly grew weary and ready for the sleeping, and how myself, mich and the lovely soumy bid farewell to the others and made our weary way back to the mism/luana safehouse for some much-needed sleep. still, how there was indeed enough time for one last tea in the still of his kitchen as we chatted cheerily for a few last minutes to the sounds of the true legend that is fbcfabric, the horror... into the dreaming then.

i greeted the sunday morning with the weariest of eyes to find mich and suomy ready for action and how we made a weary walk back to the broadspectrum surrounding safehouse once more, to link up for some splendid breakfast action with the others and to think about one last stroll through the city before we would have to think about gathering ourselves up for the drive back north across the border. how we were blessed with a sunny afternoon for it though and gladly bore ourselves a suitably relaxed path through the architectural delights of the altstadt, within the myriad wonders of the berner münster, up to the steadily widening views of the magnificent rosengarten for a spot of tea and relaxing, then back along the aare to our starting point; a marvelous sunday-afternoon jaunt indeed. but time had defeated us, and how we were forced to bid the gang the dearest of farewells before taking ourselves back to the car and making the steady drive back to the rhein-main after such a truly wonderful weekend indeed.

so, might we once again take the opportunity to offer our most-sincerest of thanks and so much love to the dear captain mich, the mism/luana family, the wonderful, wonderful broadspectrum surrounding family, the effortlessly kind everest records family, miss soumy, the tastatur captains and everyone who made it down to the show, a truly magical time indeed.

next field report - returning to the steel heart of the republic

jamesreindeer
connewitz, leipzig, deutschland
23rd june, 2013

dyxz.rndr - european tour 2013 - buried deep within the eternal drone

oh, what long, strange and beautiful days and nights we find ourselves amidst. how the road has extended out before us in magical waves and how so many tales have found their way into our hearts, so many beautiful moments to carry and treasure for the evermore. once again i find myself briefly back at the decorative stamp safehouse and with some moments to ponder, to recollect and to try to detail further facts in the case of the dyxz.rndr tour, which most-gladly became the dyxz.born.rndr tour in time for us to travel through deutschland, switzerland and the czech republic in the time since i have been able to word my last transmission.

how it seems so magnificently curious to have to cast ones mind back to only some weeks ago for it to feel like so many moons, but how i can only state that the majestic throes of the 55mm2 festival in mulheim do feel like some beautifully distant dream of a thousand lifetimes ago now. still, how a magnificent time it truly was, a glorious enterprise and how it afforded us such musical treats, such astonishing atmospheres and such warm times with the dearest skribble-pott family members, the souslespaves family members and the whole ruhrpott extended family indeed; not to mention a host of staggeringly talented musicians from near and far.

spread across two days at the AZ in mulheim, the festival was put together by the ever-marvelous souslespaves folk and featured a mouth-watering line-up of stoner-sludge-doom-drone-experiemental-dark-jazz-metal-improv bands, installations, artwork exhibitions and an afterparty effortlessly guided by the skibble-dj's twin-powerhouses in the form of tofuland and frau keludowig. an event to be keenly anticipated for sure and how expectations were soon met and subsequently vastly overwhelmed by the final magnificence of the overall experience.

dyxz and i were scheduled to play on the saturday, but were particularly keen to find ourselves in attendance on friday night that we could witness the observatory take to the stage in all their unrelenting majesty. should you be unfamiliar with the sounds of these astonishingly wonderful folk from singapore then i can only wholeheartedly recommend you investigate their material directly. how they effortless transcend styles and genres, but this night saw them evoking a monolithic display of doomy-stoner riffs juxtaposed with improv-jazz passages and ethereal soothing moments of fragile beauty; a truly hypnotic and mesmerising performance indeed.

with our appetites truly whetted for the saturday, dyxz and i were sure to find ourselves at the AZ in good times and were quickly exchanging the glad-hand with all and sundry and getting ourselves set up onstage in time for our opening-act performance. before long the whole ruhrpott family began to arrive in their droves; far, far too many dear souls to mention individually, but how it soon felt very much like a family gathering in a wonderfully familiar location and a full evening of astonishing music to look forward to. such magical times indeed.

still, how time was marching on and dyxz and i quickly took to the stage, had the lights set down to the darkest possible red hues and began our set; our second official performance together. with great fortune we had managed to have ourselves a particularly successful soundcheck and thusly the performance was nothing less than an absolute pleasure. as i recall we kept the whole performance pretty blackened, carefully extracting the darkest atmospheres we could and evoking a long ease only punctuated by some moments of frightening still. how it felt like the ceremony had worked and the spell had successfully elicited dreams of distant spectral lands, but, moreover, how the response from our dear audience was most enthusiastic and offered us the greatest warmth imaginable. a true honour and delight indeed.

but it was only the beginning. the night continued with truly marvelous performances from all of the acts; not all of which i was able to catch in full, but i can wholeheartedly report that the mighty colaris did perform exceptionally, perhaps my own favourite performance of the night was from the exceptional orange swan, who i would very much recommend checking out if you can imagine a perfect marriage of stoner-doom and post-rock and a lot more betwixt. perhaps n & [ b o l t ] offered the most hypnotic and mesmerising performance of the night with their astonishing ambient explorations of ulow-frequencies, evoking the path that the legendary earth and sunn o))) have opened up for us all. still, the mighty blckwvs also unleashed epic riffs of low-end majesty to conclude the live room ceremonyltra-. but, furthermore, how each of these performances were effortleslly punctuated by improv sessions from the wonderful dharma and bani from the observatory, treating us to guitar, clarinet and percussion invocations of endlessly permutating fascination; a very real treat indeed.

yet still, the night switched gears in astonishingly effortless fashion as the stage was cleared and the twin skribble-dj legends tofuland and frau keludowig began their back-to-back dj set and how i can only report that they absolutely destroyed the dancefloor for the rest of the evening. an impossibly effortless blend of astonshing idm-related sounds which only served to offer the party people such magnificent rhythms to dance to, but also offered astonishingly mind-bending sounds for the avid listener to try to get their heads around; art and dance beautifully married in one cohesive whole, as always. the skribble-dj teams speciality indeed. for my own part i found myself moving between the dancefloor and the comfort of the sofas to take in the myriad hypnotic sounds and the always fascinating and warming conversations with the skribble-family.

but the night grew later and later and how we were all slowly reduced to administering the farewell hugs in increasing waves. how it had been such a special time, and how fitting it seemed as a final farewell to the skribble-pott family for dyxz and i as it would mark the beginning of our touring officially, our next stop being karlsruhe and then beyond. but what better way to temporarily end our time in our spiritual home than to share such a dear and wonderful evening with such dear and wonderful souls. how we would ride south with a great warmth in our hearts and a flickering light to which we knew would would soon return.

...so, might we once again offer such great thanks, warmth and love to the whole skribble-family, the whole souslespaves family, the whole shiny toys family and the whole extended ruhrpott family... glory days and nights indeed...

next field report - blackened tone poems from the industrial district

jamesreindeer,
mainz, deutshland
14th june 2013

video evidence from stö6, leipzig

gentle readers. might i delightedly reveal this very awesome piece of video footage which was captured on the leipzig leg of my most recent tour of deutschland, as part of the 'summer of discontent' proceedings alongside the mighty babelfishh, winterismyname and oskar ohlson.

wonderfully capturing a solid performance of 'helicopter gunships', the video really does splendidly convey the dream-like atmosphere of the stö6, a surely very special place indeed, and might i take a moment to extend a big 'thank you' to ronnie for keeping the lens steady.

keep safe

jamesreindeer

initial facts in the case of throne burner

gentle readers, might i stop to take a moment to begin to outline the initial facts in the case of the 'throne burner' project which babelfishh and myself have just unleashed upon the world. everything is true, everything is permitted. after long years of friendship, touring and collaborations, the two of us are finally sinking our teeth and nails into a full, ongoing project together under the throne burner banner and shall be revealing a sinister collection of musical, literal and visual works over the coming three moons and long after.

some kind of project between us had long been on the cards but the throne burner came quickly as an unexpected force of nature which has swept us up into the darkest-black turmoil of the chew and drone. at this stage we are gathering materials, writing, developing different waves of the terror, but will keenly be unveiling our first single in the coming few weeks, as well as an audio-visual collaboration with one of our favourite maniacs as well as formulating discussions with others besides.

so, stay poised for imminent developments, be sure to 'like' the facebook page to keep up to date with all that shall soon transpire, be sure to spread the word, cower not in terror, but rather walk out into the blazing heat, soak up the sinister drone and bathe in the blackest-radiance. six hundred and sixty-seven black candles flickering on a raised dais.

keep 667

jamesreindeer