Erstwhile Records

Erstwhile Records Announces Retrospective Toshiya Tsunoda Box Set

Erstwhile Records Announces Retrospective Toshiya Tsunoda Box Set

Last week, Erstwhile Records announced that they were launching a new imprint called ErstPast. An archival Shadow Ring box set was announced, and they’ve also just revealed that a Toshiya Tsunoda box set is the other release set to come out in 2019. The box set will contain five discs that contain Tsunoda’s Extract from Field Recording Archive series.

The first three discs of the box set will contain the first three albums from the series, all of which had been previously released between 1997-2001. The fourth disc will contain unreleased material from that era, and the fifth will feature new recordings that find Tsunoda revisiting the original project. The box set will come with a new set of liner notes in both English and Japanese. More information to come closer to the release date.

Erstwhile Records Announces The Shadow Ring Box Set on New Imprint ErstPast

Erstwhile Records Announces The Shadow Ring Box Set on New Imprint ErstPast

Erstwhile Records has announced a new imprint called ErstPast. As is hinted at by the name, ErstPast will focus primarily on archival releases. They have two major releases planned for 2019, one of which has been announced today: a boxset containing the complete recorded works of The Shadow Ring. The Shadow Ring were formed in England in 1992 and featured Graham Lambkin and Darren Harris after having performed together as Footprint. Tim Goss joined the lineup in 1996, and the trio would continue to make music together until their disbandment in 2003.

This boxset will contain 12 CDs and 1 DVD, marking the first time that the band’s complete recordings have been released in one place. Graham Lambkin had previously released two compilations on his now-defunct label Kye. The boxset will contain all material found on previous records—City Lights, Put The Music In It's Coffin, Wax-Work Echoes, Live in U.S.A., Hold Onto I.D., Lighthouse, Lindus, I'm Some Songs, and Remains Unchanged. There will also be previously unreleased material in the boxset.

As a note, much of the material that The Shadow Ring recorded was not mastered. As such, these recordings will be mastered (or remastered) for this release. The boxset is projected to be released in 2019. There will be more details closer to the release date.

Erstwhile Records Announces New Keith Rowe Album

Erstwhile Records Announces New Keith Rowe Album

Erstwhile Records has announced a new album on its ErstClass imprint. The album finds Keith Rowe performing a composition by Frank Abbinanti entitled “City Music.” Rowe performed a piece by the same composer and with the same title on his 1990 album A Dimension Of Perfectly Ordinary Reality. This composition is, however, different despite sharing the same title. Rowe performed the piece in Chicago earlier this decade, a video of which you can see below. Jon Abbey of Erstwhile has stated that the recording that will appear on this new album will be “very different” from what was heard in Chicago. No release date is confirmed as of yet.

Keith Rowe last released an album on Erstwhile in 2017, a collaboration with Michael Pisaro entitled 13 Thirteen. Earlier this year, he released a collaborative album with John Tilbury and Kjell Bjørgeengen on Sofa entitled Sissel.

Erstwhile Announces New Imprint: revErst

 
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Erstwhile Records has announced a new label imprint: revErst. revErst will be the exclusive home to projects featuring both Matthew Revert and Erstwhile founder Jon Abbey. All other projects featuring Matthew Revert will be issued on Erstwhile's other imprints.

The above image was created to announce the news. It features superimposed portraits of Revert and Abbey, drawn by Revert himself. The first release from the sublabel marks the first time that Jon Abbey has had an artist credit on a project.

Matthew Revert released Earnest Rubbish with Vanessa Rossetto on Erstwhile back in 2016. You can listen to an excerpt from that album's "Secret Celebrity Facebook Accounts" below. The two have another collaborative album coming soon on Erstwhile.

 
 

Erstwhile Records Announce New Five Disc Jürg Frey Album

 
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Erstwhile Records has just announced a new album for its ErstClass imprint. It's by Jürg Frey and entitled l'àme est sans retenue I. According to Google Translate, it means "the soul is unrestrained". The album is composed of a single piece that lasts approximately six hours and spans five discs. It's the longest piece Frey has written in his 40+ years of composing and is also the longest piece on any Erstwhile imprint. It's also the first archival release for the record label. Erstwhile owner Jon Abbey states that the album will hopefully be released in October.

Earlier this year, Frey released Ephemeral Constructions on Edition Wandelweiser Records.


It was previously stated that the above picture was the album cover; it is merely a promotional image.

Graham Lambkin and Áine O'Dwyer Announce New Collaborative Album

 
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Erstwhile Records has just announced that a new collaborative album between Graham Lambkin and Áine O'Dwyer is to come in 2018. This marks the first time O'Dwyer will be featured on the label. Erstwhile had the following text accompanying the announcement:

Áine O’Dwyer and Graham Lambkin are multi-disciplinary artists whose work explores the nexus between music, text, illustration, theater, and the dissolution of the audience/performer divide. Both individually and in collaboration they have explored the latent potential of acoustical space, transforming both fantastical and mundane environments into aesthetic centrums of possibility.

O'Dwyer and Lambkin began their collaborative endeavors in December 2016 with a performance at the First Unitarian Congregational Society in Brooklyn, NY, and have since gone on to present their work in London at Cafe OTO and the Horse Hospital, and most recently on the Greek island of Syros where they were the invited artists in residence for the 10 day Sound Paths workshop. 

The pair will be visiting Ireland this September to undertake the creation of a topographical 'sound map' connecting real and imagined Irish heritages through a series of localized site-specific performances that mark O'Dwyer's first homeland concerts in over a year, and Lambkin's debut in the country. The resultant work will see publication in 2018 through the esteemed Erstwhile label.

Graham Lambkin released an album with Taku Unami entitled The Whistler earlier this year. Lambkin is also slated to have a release with Michael Pisaro and another with Jürg Frey for Erstwhile Records. Áine O'Dwyer recently released Beast Diaries via her Bandcamp page.

 

Erstwhile Records Releases New Albums from Matthew Revert/Vanessa Rossetto and Christian Wolff/Michael Pisaro

Erstwhile Records, Tone Glow's favorite record label of 2015, has just released pre-orders for two new albums. The first comes from Matthew Revert and Vanessa Rossetto. It's entitled Earnest Rubbish and spans 40 minutes across three tracks. The album was mastered by Giuseppe Ielasi and Revert himself designed the cover. Earnest Rubbish marks the first time Revert has appeared on Erstwhile Records. The second new album comes from Christian Wolff and Michael Pisaro. It's entitled Looking Around and features two tracks, both of which are about 28 minutes long. The album was mastered by Joe Panzner and designed by Yuko Zama. You can stream the first two minutes of both albums above. Tracklists for both albums can be found below.

You can pre-order both albums by emailing Jon Abbey at erstrecs@aol.com. All orders will come with an instant digital download. Erstwhile Records is also hosting its annual sale. Aside from these two new albums, all releases on all imprints can be purchased at a discounted price. The sale will last through the end of February. More information can be found here.


Earnest Rubbish tracklist:

1. Secret Celebrity Facebook Accounts
2. Minor Ox
3. Making A Documentary


Looking Around tracklist:

1. Looking East
2. Looking West

Takahiro Kawaguchi/Utah Kawasaki's Amorphous Spores & Kevin Drumm/Jason Lescalleet's Busman's Holiday Out Now

To solidify itself even further as the best record label of the year, Erstwhile Records has just released two new albums. The first comes from Takahiro Kawaguchi and Utah Kawasaki and is entitled Amorphous Spores. This marks the second time Kawaguchi has appeared on Erstwhile. His first appearance was n 2011 when he collaborated with Taku Unami on Teatro Assente. This is, however, Kawasaki's first time on the label. Kawasaki released the charming U as in Utah last year with Ju Sei.

The second new album comes from Kevin Drumm and Jason Lescalleet and is entitled Busman's Holiday. This is a follow up to The Abyss, the ambitious double album they released last year on Erstwhile. The album has 6 tracks and is about 52 minutes long. The album covers for both Amorphous Spores and Busman's Holiday are above.

You can pre-order both albums now by contacting label owner Jon Abbey at erstrecs@aol.com. Pre-ordering Amorphous Spores comes with an immediate digital download (note: it's .wav files). Busman's Holiday, however, needs to reach 100 pre-orders before digital copies will be given out. Tracklists for both albums are below.

 

Amorphous Spores tracklist:

1. 12:32
2. 10:59
3. 4:17
4. 10:01
5. 5:20


Busman's Holiday tracklist:

1. The Hunt
2. Powerless
3. The Wait
4. The Push
5. Belligerence
6. Honest Toil