columns of grey smoke ascending

since my last detailed field report i have been kept busy with a whole host of various strands, all of which do seem to be progressing most satisfactory indeed. so much is occurring at all times that it is hard to keep track. still, how these reports help me to sort the wheat from the chaff and detail the most pertinent elements therein. suffice to say much is still on the horizon, drawing ever nearer, looming with grim intent.

as somewhat of an aside, i actually found myself back in london, england, for the first time in six months. i was due to head back there to attend the wedding of two wonderful friends, but how it gave me cause to catch up with many other friends and family besides, and to wander passed a few spots that have given me great cause for inspiration in the past. london is truly the one city that i could call home yet still how, aside from dear friends and family, it seems as if little more than billowing columns of grey smoke across abandoned sites. however, that is another field report entirely.

gladly, as always, my trusty walkman was with me at all times. there is something very satisfying about listening to the 'six pack o' death' ep whilst riding the underground, crossing london bridge, or staring out of a train-car carriage as the sprawl of south london extends before oneself. i also spent a good deal of time audtitioning my test mixes of the AbSUrd beats for the forthcoming coffin cutters album, and how it will be something truly devastating indeed. gladly still, i also had the wonderful fortune of being armed with a mixtape from decorative stamp's very own nadia d' alò, which added soothing instances in amongst the mayhem, most notably the wonderful 'calvary cross', a personal favourite indeed.

so. it seems that there has been a resurrection of discussions between bill van cutten and myself, regarding the completion of an ep project together which we began in the summer of 2009 with the recording of two, as yet unreleased tracks under the working titles of  'mrs snow' and 'landing land'. it is our intention to prepare a number of further tracks, sound-pieces, field recordings and the like to put together what may hopefully become a vinyl release in the not-too-distant future. expect desperately dark electronic-noise-rap-nihilism in a dickensian vein, or something equally challenging.

i have also turned my attention further towards the upcoming marvel that will be 'decorative stamp volume two', and how it will be a majestic beast indeed. it is my intention to keep the details vague for the time being but, suffice to say it is already beginning to take the shape of something very special. it would only be fair if i were to confess that 'decorative stamp volume one' was very much put together with a view to simply getting something out there to give people an idea about who we are as a collective, whereas volume two will be something much more considered. there is still a fair ways to head down the path yet, but the current list of selections is already displaying signs of something really rather wonderful.

in other news, the absolutely horrifying goats gloom project is continuing to ooze from the furnace in spectral waves; hearing the dual-rantings of dug yuck and babel fishh over waves of the most psychedelic frkse noise is certainly an intense listening experience. i am still outlining the victims in chalk at this stage, but intend to don the chemical suit and manipulate the remains over the next few weeks or so. hopefully, the results will be made available in the not-too-distant future. whatever happens, do expect the darkness to gather and loom heavy as the sky turns red, the seas boil and blood rains down from the turbulent heavens.

possibly just as sinister, although less biblical, i can announce that, upon returning to the safehouse from london, i discovered a package i assume was sent direct from the mysterious iron filings and sellotape hidden compound, containing an assortment of materials; collected papers, blueprints, reports, cassettes, films-reels, slides and still photographs with detailed instructions on how to compile them into what will become the first iron filings and sellotape release, to be issued on the decorative stamp, possibly even next month. i have been instructed that time is of the essence and that these mateials must see the light of day before the end of the summer. i am not wholly sure as to the relevance of this timeline but, needless to say, i am already re-adjusting my agenda to allow this to be a possibility. so, do expect a full-length iron filings and sellotape release, sometime before autumn descends.

in other news, decorative stamp has struck up a splendid deal with the extraordinarily decent folk over at yellow dog in japan. do wander over to their site and find selected decorative stamp releases now lining their virtual shelves, a marvelous development indeed. i have also been having the speakings with three of the outrageously talented wild dogs in winter regarding a host of planned releases and additional ideas, much will transpire, i am quite sure. i also had the wonderful opportunity of getting to spend some time with the legendary 2econd class citizen back in london and how i am hazarding a guess that the two of us might try to turn our attention towards something new over the coming moons. the caterers and coffin cutters projects are both quite healthily underway at this stage, and there should be a few other releases coming out here and there over the rest of the summer months too. and be sure to fix yourself a free download of another lost track from the mighty epilog's 'fehlfarbenfangen' release, this time featuring myself and the superb cocon over an azabeats track by the name of  'zähne'. onwards and upwards then, onwards and upwards.

keep safe

jamesreindeer

audio88 & reindeer

another long lost song has surfaced from deep within the vaults, it would seem. many long moons ago the prolific audio88 and i recorded a track over a beat by tillevision, with a view to it appearing on an album tentatively titled 'audio88 has friends', a 'concept' album insofaras each song would feature audio88 and a guest vocalist, which even came so far has to having a track-listing posted and tentative news of a release. still, for one reason or another, this release never came about and our song, along with many others, seemed to fall away into the archives indefinitely.

i cannot exactly recall when we recorded this track, although i would hazard a guess that it must have been somewhere between spring and autumn of 2008. i do still clearly remember first crossing paths with audio88 though our mutual associate captain james p honey. he and i had first crossed paths ourselves in october of 2007. we had met up for the first time and found ourselves recording what would be the first song on the 'rough tongue surfaces' album. we had bid each other farewell and things went quiet for a while, but then, around christmastime, i took an unexpected telephone call from him, and how we talked for a goodly while on musical plans and the like.

honey informed me that he was currently a good ways through making an album with audio88, whose name i had seen online a number of times, which had given rise to me checking out some of his work. honey extended the invitation for me to contribute a verse for the album, the chance of which i jumped at, naturally. this lead to a dialogue starting up between audio88 and myself, which in turn lead to a number of exchanges regarding the possibilities of different song collaborations. one of these was the tillevision beat, for a track named 'winter'. which has now, after all these years, re-emerged on the audio88 & tillevision release, entitled 'fuer eine handvoll spucke', now available for free download, right here.

listening back to the song now, for the first time outside of demo form, it seems like such a wonderfully curious piece. somehow strange in comparison to the other songs on which audio88 and i have collaborated. how, thematically and stylistically it is very much a 'snapshot' of the work i was producing at a very particular time in my artistic endevours, yet so far away and strange, an image from another time which i am only now glancing upon the the very first time. still, i am greatly fond of it, it would seem. my own voice from the past, speaking of thoughts and memories once accumulated under a distant moon.

be sure to download the whole ep, for free, right here

keep safe, be well

jamesreindeer

a brief transmission from the safehouse

almost mid-july already. it frightens and confuses me how the days, weeks and moons can race by so fast... and how i am constantly spinning so many plates that i find it hard to make time to be able to detail my exploits in these field reports. still, better to be too busy making things happen to be able to write on it, than trying to file a field report with nothing occurring...

so, very, very excitingly, i have officially finished mixing the upcoming album from AbSUrd, and how i am most pleased with my efforts indeed. given the level of complexity of the task, along with my other commitments, i am actually really pleased with myself from bringing it through the mix so quickly... just a matter of months to tackle seventeen songs of pure, psychedelic madness.

my only regret is that we have not scheduled the album for release on the decorative stamp until september. it suddenly seems a long time to wait for the world to be able to hear how astonishing a collection of songs AbSUrd has crafted. suffice to say that it will be absolutely worth the wait though, the album is just the most staggering journey through musical soundscapes hitherto unimagined.

also, bubbling up from the rotten firmament is the unrelentingly dark and hideous project that is the goats gloom. should you not be familiar yet, it is an absolutely brutal project featuring dug yuck and babel fishh chewing their most darkest verses over the grinding, doomy, psychedelic production of the impossibly talented frkse. i am currently thick within the process of treating the four-track cassette recordings, ready to bring them through the mixing stage, and how it will be something darkly disturbing indeed.

the beastmaster and i are also now officially in the midst of collecting writings in preparation to record our vocals for the caterers. the project has been in the development stages for the longest while, but finally the time has come to be able to assemble the words we already have, along with penning a host of new lines, in anticipation of beginning the recording process as soon as possible.

i guess that the majority of my time these last weeks, perhaps unsurprisingly, has been directed towards the decorative stamp, and how there have been a great number of behind-the-scenes developments indeed. the majority of it must be kept hush hush at this stage, but how i can assure you that the most exciting things are afoot, and that jubilant announcements will be made sooner rather than later.

i'm so very sure that there is a great deal more i could detail but, even now, other commitments are bearing down on me at an alarming rate, so i must end this transmission here. as always, i am most grateful for your interest and am keenly looking forward to outlining additional facts in the case as soon as further time permits. onwards and upwards then.

jamesreindeer

there is a tape recorder inside the sun

another busy week or two indeed. the latest reports are flooding in. it has been a whirlwind of complex organisation, alongside much musical endevour, both stressful and most jovial indeed. desperately late nights and slow dawns, alongside sun-steeped afternoons and gentle dusk hours. suffice to say, things are coming along in leaps and bounds and why ever not.

today's breaking news is that, after long moons of both formal and informal discussion with my dear friend luke payne from the awesome wild dogs in winter,  we can now gladly announce that the mighty thverfellshorn is officially a part of the decorative stamp family. so do expect a rather splendid release to emerge at the end of the summer, and a full album sometime throughout the winter and more besides. until then, to whet your appetites, be sure to download the first ep for free, right here.

last week also saw the beginnings of a very special release from the masterful epilog of son kas. a collection of recordings entitled 'fehlfarbenfangen', gathered together from scraps of unfinished projects, one-off collaborations and the like. he and i had written a number of songs together, but were always too busy spinning other plates to bring a full release to fruition. i believe that these songs shall all slowly see the light of day in this collection. the first to re-emerge into the world is a really nice song by the name of 'widerspruch', which features a sublime production effort from dj extend. be sure to fix yourself a free download, and await more gems slowly rising to the surface in due course.

the abSUrd album has also be coming on in leaps and bounds. we are now deep into the mixing stages, and how i have been having a most splendid time recording guitar, sitar, synthesiser and percussion parts to compliment the already staggering instrumental array. we haven't set ourselves a specific release schedule, but i am sincerely hoping to get the mixes finished in the next four weeks or thereabouts. and how we will be looking at a very special release via decorative stamp and cooler than cucumbers.

i also had the wonderful privilege of spending the best part of the weekend with the truly wonderful oskar ohlson and winterismyname. i had been graciously invited to their mainz stronghold to collaborate on a song for their current album in production, and how it was a splendid success indeed. meiki winter and i had been talking of collaborating on a song together for more than two years, and how finally the time had come. almost needless to say, it was a good deal of fun, and how going by even the rough demo we recorded, it shall be a mighty song for sure.

in other news things are most definitely happening over at planck length records, i hear that the vinyl test pressings of the book of marion have arrived, and are sounding lovely and looking gorgeous in some sort of grey swirling form. then the ovate & staplemouth release must also be somewhere nearing the release stages. plus, the cogs are finally officially turning in the direction of 'decorative stamp volume two' as well. much afoot indeed. here's to the coming moon then.

keep safe

jamesreindeer

typewriter keys clattering beneath a ceiling fan whirring

in an earnest effort to try to maintain more regular posts, might i spend a short amount of time detailing the events of the past week, with regard to my latest activities as well as towards the latest news of future developments. as always, much is rapidly transpiring, a cause for great jubilation indeed. there is nothing more satisfying that days filled with a feeling of 'getting things done'. productivity can be seen as key at every stage it would seem.

so, the murmur breeze 'foreshore reverie' album is finally out there in the world at last. the limited edition gatefold cd is looking wonderful, and here's to all of the kind souls who have ordered themselves a copy so far. we are most grateful indeed... and how decorative stamp and cooler than cucumbers are currently deep in the planning stages of the super-deluxe vinyl edition which shall grace the world sometime sooner rather than later.

the album has also garnered some really nice reviews and kind praise so far too. be sure to read the reviews over at beats, breaks & big smiles, as well as this honourable mention and brand new glowing review at indierockmag... and should you still be in the dark as to what all the fuss is about, be sure to stream the album in its entirety, as well as potentially make a purchase, over at the decorative stamp online store.

i am also now fully immersed in the mix of the forthcoming debut album from abSUrd, and how it really is a wonderful beast indeed. seventeen songs which showcase the kind of astonishing production which graced the duration of the 'foreshore reverie', but this time featuring a multitude of vocal performances from an allstar line-up of babel fishh, bleubird, ceschi ramos, filkoe, james p honey, jamesreindeer, papervehicle [edison, home, mildew, the beastmaster] and univac.

gladly, i have reached the stage already where rough first passes of all of the songs are complete, and how i am now moving on to the stage of fine-tuning, adding effects and generally appraising the songs in terms of overall sound as well as continuity. the first meeting has also been undertaken with miss nadia d'alò regarding field recordings and additional live instrumentation, and how word has been sent out to michael rea too. it is going to be something very special indeed. more news will follow over the coming weeks.

i've also been working towards the printing of 'nova conditions', as well as moving towards preparing some more written works to see the light of day. there has also been some stirring over at the iron filings and sellotape camp which will need to be investigated. most excitingly, there has also been a communication from the brutal goats gloom, and how it seems i might well have been enlisted to aid and abet the release of their forthcoming debut opus.

for all the day-to-day latest breaking snippets of news, be sure to 'like' my facebook page, and do be sure to bookmark the decorative stamp site, as it contains a veritable treasure trove of facts and figures, links, videos and images of the wider goings-on pertaining to my, as well as the whole families undertakings. here's to the next transmission then. there is still very much everything to play for.

keep safe

jamesreindeer

the mechanism is chewing the tape to ribbons

i cannot be entirely sure as to how more than a month has gone by since i have been able to make time to type up a new field report. everything has been unbridled chaos it would seem, or possibly a very loosely controlled chaos, as there have been a great many advancements since my last transmission. how i should very much like to detail all the facts in the case, but i fear that it might quickly develop into a lengthy essay on to-ings and fro-ings, so might i thusly skirt around the current facts in the case with some degree of brevity.

the new murmur breeze album is officially upon us... and what a lengthy journey it has been. i still vividly recall hearing news from captain honey on the telephone all those long moons ago telling me that six new songs had been recorded, or how i was formally charged with the task of mixing the album at the house of abSUrd whilst he was living in nancy, france and we were stopping off on tour. or even receiving the first stems in preparation of the mixing process... or finally beginning to begin the challenge in the wake of the collapse of the galloping halfwits west coast tour.

i begun the mixing process at around the stage where three quarters of the album had been recorded, and found myself taking charge of newer and better and stronger songs as each moon passed. it was simply magical to be able to work with abSUrd's production, as well as to be able to have exclusive detailed listening time with captain honey's latest prose. it was also a great pleasure to have such free reign in terms of my own control of the mix and of being able to record additional musical parts, both by myself and with the immensely talented multi-instrumentalists michael rea and nadia d'alò.

so, the time has finally arrived for decorative stamp to launch the highly limited gatefold cd edition, painstakingly hand-crafted by both abSUrd and myself. i must say that i do believe it to be the strongest release so far on the label, if only in terms of such sustained high quality throughout its lengthy duration. please do order yourself a copy should sufficient monetary funds be in your possession. i can assure you that you shall not be in the least bit disappointed.

i guess it would be fair to say that the vast majority of my time this month has indeed been devoted to maintaining the clattering beast that is the decorative stamp. how surprising it is that such a modest enterprise can demand such a great amount of time, if only to allow the simplest of procedures to transpire. still, looking ever forwards, next month will see the release of the incredible 'order lost' album from visitor. since it landed in my inbox a few moons ago, i have had it on constant rotation, and cannot wait to unleash it on an unsuspecting audience very soon indeed. further details are as yet unavailable, but i believe we are looking at a 6th june release date.

i have also been burning the midnight oil in the studio whilst working on the mix of the forthcoming debut solo album from abSUrd, which really is something of a monster indeed. entitled 'close to distantly' and featuring around seventeen songs; a perfect mix of instrumental pieces and vocal tracks, it really is going to be an extraordinary companion piece to the latest murmur breeze, but still shining bright in its own right quite easily. featuring some of his strongest compositions to date as well as a mouth-watering roster of guest vocalists. my aim is to finish the mix as soon as possible, that we might get it out there to stagger and astonish ever more widening audiences.

my first book 'nova conditions' is also achingly clawing its way towards release, although it has taken a slightly different path to the one i had originally foreseen. it had always been my intention for the book to be hand-made by myself in a lovingly laborious fashion, but financial costs and sheer hours involved have lead me to realise that it shall be an impossibility. so, i am taking to having the book printed professionally, and have received a few attractive quotes already. a few small formatting changes will need to take place for the manuscript to be workable at the printing press, but i still anticipate the release to be as soon as is possible. and, as an added delight, it should now enable me to produce both paperback and hardback editions, giving the reader a broader choice as to what might suits their tastes. more news will follow.

i am sure that there are a great many more threads i could detail besides, but i believe that is the bulk of it. other than news that the beat i created for ovate & staplemouth is complete and will feature on their upcoming cd and vinyl release on planck length records, a uk label which will also release the james p honey & joel simeus album entitled 'book of marion' which i had the honour of mixing back when the winter was still melting. there is also a posse-cut in the works for moshe, which will feature a whole host of emcees, including noah23, riddlore, ancient mith, swordplay, myself and others. there is also a little something coming out on knertz, a small collaboration between myself and miss nadia d'alò. mmmn, and there is also much talk occuring with oskar ohlson and winterismyname regarding collaborations for their next album project.

so, onwards and upwards then. how i shall attempt to report back more frequently with less lengthy entries in the future. i just need to find some way of introducing more hours into a day, perhaps more days into a week too. let us see what the coming moon unfolds and hope that things won't be quite so desperately manic across the summer months. as always, i greatly appreciate your interest and look forward to feedback on all my latest various endevours. til next time then.

keep safe

jamesreindeer