Moving / Collected Audio

I've decided to close up shop here on Blogger and am moving to Tumblr in hopes of posting more frequency and expanding beyond just self-serving posting. If you are a member of that community, or just want to update your RSS feed, the new URL is http://editionsshiflet.tumblr.com.

To close the doors on this blog, I figured I'd gather all the audio works I've posted here into one nice concise post. Here they are:

Solo Recordings
Logging Road, Feburary
Brief Blasts
((Noise) (5.12.10))
So Many Seashells, So Much Porcelain
Live at Art Damage 10.25.10
Sunday Afternoon
The City Is All In Your Head
2.4 Seconds for Christmas
The Future of Everything
Guitar, 6.3.11
Twin Karen Carpenters b/w The Trap
Open b/w Enemy
Monday Night Noise


Editions Shiflet Mixtapes
ES Mixtape 01
ES Mixtape 02
ES Mixtape 03
ES Mixtape 04
ES Mixtape 05
ES Mixtape 06
ES Mixtape 07
ES Mixtape 08


Scenic Railroads
Live at ErstQuake 3, September 2006
Gauntlet Closure
Negative Afterlife
Adequate Vibrations
Perform Cage & Cardew
Sidetracked in the Hairfield
Dedicated to the Staff of Cracked Magazine
Deconstruct a Sammich
Body Linguists


Collaborations, etc.
DJ Elitist Snob Mix
TV Pow & Mike Shiflet : Three Pricks and an Asshole
Nishikawa, Olive, Shiflet : Bridge
IHM ctrl_alt_del Mix
Kudler & Shiflet : Live on KUSF
Mike Shiflet & Sven Kahns : Carabar 08.10.11
Scenic Railroads, Jesse Kudler, Chandan Narayan, Chuck Sipperley : Without Ryan Jewell
Sword Pile (16 Bitch Pile-Up/Sword Heaven collab)


And of course there is even more to hear on my BANDCAMP and SOUNDCLOUD pages. Check them out as well. It's been real. Catch me on Tumblr.

The Choir, The Army up on Bandcamp

Under the Spire has started a bandcamp page and uploaded the bulk of their catalog, including my last full length LP The Choir, The Army. Check it, stream it, purchase it if you are so inclined:

Unfolding Cassette Available

New cassette (+download) available from Carbon Records.

Unfolding is a work that got out of control. My original intent was to assemble the collection of harmonic drones as a single track, but the more I listened, the more I felt the elements were conflicting with, rather than complimenting, each other. So I split them up into two sets, "unfolding" the monolithic track. I believe the sides of the tape work much better as individual tracks, but if you're so inclined you can certainly have a go at playing the digital files simultaneously.



Available from Carbon (via handy Bandcamp link above)

Or direct, for $8.00 ppd. (US only.)
Paypal to monumental . documents @ gmail . com

I also have a few remaining copies of my Dithering CDR for $8.00 as well.

Live in Oakland

With the turning of the calendar, I'm hoping to get back to one of the original goals of the blog: posting more music.

To that end, here is one of my favorite sets of 2013, from the Fractal Mind Hut in Oakland. It was one of the few guitar-less performances from last year instead focusing on field recordings made around the Bay Area and in Yosemite National Park.

Enjoy.

Thirteen Favorites

13 : Slow Walkers : Slow Walkers

Inspired by flesh-eating horrors of the silver screen, it’s no surprise that this collaborative effort from Lawrence English and Liz Harris is so visually evocative itself. Outside of the opening noise burst – their aural take on the familiar ‘turning’ sequence in just about every zombie film I gather – it’s all somber drones and beautiful dread executed to perfection.

Peak Oil

12 : Ed Askew : For The World

Ed Askew is a name I’ve recognized – pretty hard one to forget – but never taken the time to investigate. That changed when good friend and man of impeccable taste Jerry DeCicca told me he was producing his latest. My curiosity was finally piqued and was justly rewarded. The finest moments (the two songs in the video above are certainly among the best) are among the greatest in contemporary song craft, and even when the album gets a little too twee, it is never misses the mark by much.

Tin Angel

11 : Roly Porter : Life Cycle of A Massive Star

A concept album about a celestial body that manages to completely avoid kosmiche cliché? Yes, please. The title is both remarkably accurate and a bit misleading in that regard. An array of pulses, thumps and skittish tones guide us through the early stages of the Life Cycle before it drones into maturity and eventually goes Giant. Synthetic and symphonic, this one is a dense undertaking.

Subtext

10 : Sylvain Chauveau : Kogetsudai

The electronics on Kogetsudai are exceptionally crisp, spatial and minimal, a trio that I absolutely adore. Paired with Chauveau’s intense baritone vocals, they become absolutely otherworldly. This album certainly isn’t for everyone – and it’s not hard to imagine people outright hating it – but I cannot get enough of it. In fact, the only downside is its brevity. I want more.

Brocoli

09 : Circuit Des Yeux : Overdue

I am perhaps a bit biased towards the overwhelming Overdue. This fall, I shared a handful of bills with Ms. Haley Fohr and heard a number of these songs performed in an utterly jaw-dropping fashion each night. That said, the record holds up on its own. One dark heavy-hitter after another, I would call the album an emotional rollercoaster, but that implies it goes up at some point. Emotional base-jumping seems more appropriate.

CDY

08 : John Tilbury & Oren Ambarchi : The Just Reproach

When I bought this album the proprietor of the shop confessed bewilderment upon its release. He was in attendance at the concert in question and was pretty surprised the exceptionally quiet set could be captured with any amount of fidelity. Indeed the stray cough and chair shuffling definitely make their obligatory appearances, but the overall quality of the recording is as astounding as the performance. Tilbury leads the way and Ambarchi’s restrained electronic accompaniments are absolutely stellar, constantly heightening.

Black Truffle

07 : Olivia Block : Karren

When field recordings, electronics and orchestras come together in the right hands, magnificent things are bound to happen. And there aren’t many hands more capable than Block’s. Chaotic and serene elements jostle for dominance across the pair of side-long self-referential pieces, eventually striking a delicate balance in the waning moments. It’s a journey, this one, and a meditation, an electro-acoustic marvel.

Sedimental

06 : Body/Head : Coming Apart

My love of Sonic Youth is no secret. And as this is the best thing to come out of the SY camp in damn near a decade (I’m going with ‘since Rather Ripped’ here) it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that I am all about it. Drawing on the power of singularity, both the lyrics and guitar phrases entrench themselves, refraining until the point has long been made beyond clear. Individually monolithic, the tracks collectively reveal exceptional depth. The narrowing of scope benefits the album immensely.

Matador

05 : Jim Haynes : The Wires Cracked

As apt a title as Roly Porter’s, this album truly is a series of wires cracking. Cracking in the most glorious way, of course. Field recordings are processed and layered beyond recognition, distorting and ‘rusting’ (a term Mr. Haynes is fond of) along the way, before being reassembled into one of the finer noise documents in recent memory. Northern California is overflowing with talented sound artists, and Haynes has been behind the scenes (Helen Scarsdale Society, 23Five) more often more than not. Hopefully the Mego attention will pull him even further out of the shadows.

Editions Mego

04 : Deafheaven : Sunbather

Probably the second most talked about album this year (behind Yeezus (in circles I pay attention to anyway)), and I don’t think I have much else to add to the discussion. I will just say that this was an early contender for album of the year, but it couldn’t hold up against strong competition. I hope their next album is even more shoegaze-y and even more people complain that it isn’t black metal.

Deathwish

03 : Joe Panzner & Greg Stuart : Dystonia Duos

I omitted Panzner’s Clearing, Polluted from my list last year due to our close personal and professional relationship, but have no such familiarity with Mr. Stuart, so fair game this time around. This album’s density and complexity are still unraveling. Its percussive and electronic elements are indecipherable from one another and as far as I can tell most attempts end up confusing one for the other. A challenging listen for sure, but and infinitely rewarding one.

Erstwhile

02 : Locrian : Return to Annihilation

I love that an album that is clearly such a giant step forward for Locrian has such an amazingly regressive title. They may not have gone into full on obliteration mode, but the band clearly whittled away previous excess and pulled its core to the forefront, coming across as a completely different, more honest, version of itself in the process. This sounds like the band Locrian was meant to be. And that band is awesome.

Relapse

01 : Wrekmeister Harmonies : You’ve Always Meant So Much to Me

Album of the year by an enormous landslide. No offense to the other 12 albums listed here, or anything else that came out this year, but nothing came even remotely close to touching this. A single 38-minute piece that starts with the simplest of drones, swells slowly over the first 22 minutes and balloons into scathing overture before returning to its original form, You’ve Always Meant So Much to Me is an album of truly epic proportions. I can’t help but think of Charles Mingus when listening. J.R. Robinson: Metal Mingus.

Thrill Jockey

Out There

Sorry for the infrequency of posts here. A lot going on.

I do tend to make appearance slightly more often on various social medias:

On twitter: @mshiflet

On facebook: Mike Shiflet

On instagram: @mikeshiflet

I'll be back here shortly with a year end list. Exciting things in 2014.

Remains

I'm back from a spectacular week on the road and there is some leftover merchandise post-tour. If you'd like copies of any of the following, they are all $8 ppd. in the US, $12 ppd. international. Audio samples below.

Email/paypal: monumental . documents @ gmail . com

DITHERING CDR (self-released)
THE OCEAN DOESN’T CARE THAT YOU'RE DROWNING CS (spirit throne)
HAWKMOTH CDR (noisendo)

UPDATE: Cassette sold out. CDRs still available. Thanks all.

September Mini-Tour

Sunday, 9.1

Dayton, OH

Smiles for Miles

119 watervliet Ave.

with Contrarian, Kommunist, and John Moloney/Inbreeder collab
Facebook Invite

Monday, 9.2

Louisville, KY
Radio Performance

Damaged Goods on ARTxFM

http://www.artxfm.com/, 6:00 -8:00

Tuesday, 9.3
Nashville, TN

TBC

Definitely happening just working out some last minute details)

Wednesday, 9.4

Atlanta, GA

Eyedrum

115 MLK Jr. Dr. SW

with Well. Wail. Whale

eyedrum.org

Facebook Invite

Thursday, 9.5

Raleigh, NC

King’s Barcade

(Hopscotch Festival)

14 W. Martin St.

with Boyzone, Merzbow, and Wolf Eyes
http://hopscotchmusicfest.com

Off the Grid / Advance Notice

I'm about to leave the friendly confines of Ohio for a week in Yosemite National Park. While I'm out that way I'll also be playing in a show in the Bay Area, Oakland to be exact. Since I'll be offline for some time, I wanted to give advance notice of that show and a couple others here in Ohio upon my return. One of them features my new band, or rather a band of which I am new member, ASURYA and the other is a first time duo with Scioto Records bossman Keith Hanlon. I'm very excited for all three.

7.20
Totally Intense Fractal Mindgaze Hut
Oakland, CA (other venue info eludes me, do check FB page...)
with Bad News, Pod Blotz, MHSR, Jim Haynes and DJ Kit Clayton
Facebook Invite

7.25
Legion of Doom
1579 Indianola Ave., Columbus,
Ohio Gas Up Your Hearse, Asurya, Making Friends, Fever Nest
Facebook Invite (with a lot of audio links)

8.1
Used Kids
1980 N. High Street, Columbus, Ohio
6:00 Early show
The Caribbean, Mike Shiflet/Keith Hanlon Duo
Facebook Invite

6.22

Hawkmoth

Hawkmoth CDR will be out any day now on Noisendo. Though cut into seven tracks, it is really one 44-minute piece, the first long-form recording I've done in some time, a bit of a sizzler. Here's an clip:



I'll post when it is officially available from the label and when I have copies for sale direct.

Rumi / Lamar

"The same with the fightings of mankind.
It's a squabble with play-swords.
No purpose, totally futile."
– Rumi, A Children's Game

"What the fuck are you fighting for?
Ain't nobody gonna win that war."
– Kendrick Lamar, Fuck Your Ethnicity

A Children's Game full text  

Upcoming Live Shows

Some upcoming actions. Trying to specify what is in store for each as I'm toying with a couple different sets at the moment.

5.22
Solo Guitar
The Garden Theater - Columbus

1187 North High St

with Minerva (Trio), Bennett/Jewell, Aaron Quinn
Facebook

5.28
Field Recordings and Electronics
The Goat Club - Dayton
2155 N. BellBrook Rd., Spring Valley
with Crank Sturgeon, PCRV, John Maloney, Mandible
Facebook

6.1
Guitar/Electronics
DÜNGEÖN FEST, The Summit  - Columbus
2210 and 2216 Summit St, Columbus
with Kevin Failure, Developer, Mumber Toes, Murderous Vision, many more...
Facebook

6.8
Guitar/Electronics/Projection
Cafe Bourbon Street - Columbus
2210 and 2216 Summit St, Columbus
with A. Bill Miller and more
(More info soon)

6.22
TBD - Columbus
with Shedding
(More info soon)

6.29
Guitar/Electronics
Louisville Experimental Music Festival - Dreamland Film Center
810 E Market St., Louisville
with Aaron Dilloway, Darin Gray, Raw Thug and more
Facebook


I'll try to fill in some of those blanks soon, but as you can see, busy June ahead. Looking forward to it.
 

 

Joe Panzner Audio Mastering (and Live Assaults)

This is ancient news by modern standards, but it seems like as good a post as any to breathe some life back into the stagnant ES blog. Joe Panzner – the man responsible for making my last four full lengths sound so utterly amazing – is now offering his services to one and all. 

Check out his page and inquire from there.

Also, if you are in the NYC/Philly area, Joe will be making some rare East Coast appearances this week. All performances are duos with Greg Stuart. Do your brain a favor and give your ears a beating.

Friday, 5/24
AUX Performance Space
319 N. 11th Street, 3rd Floor, Philadelphia
Facebook

Saturday, 5/25
ErstAEU Fest at Issue Project Room
22 Boerum Place, Brooklyn, NY
FacebookSunday, 5/26
Wandelweiser und so weiter III
La Grotta,1535 Decatur St, Apt 2LL, Ridgewood, NY 11385
Facebook

Recordables

Some new(-ish) offerings on CDR.



Mike Shiflet/Mykel Boyd Split
CDR version of previously released limited 12". Edition of 100, same as the original.


With Frogs (SOLD OUT)
Lightly processed and manipulated frog field recordings. These were used as source for many 2012 performances and the disc was previously sold only at shows. I found a couple extras tucked away, so offering them here for the first time. (Sorry, no audio.)


Blurred & Scorched
Released last year on Germany's Wachsender Prozess label, but only making their way to my doorstep now... International postage can be a real bitch.

$10 each or $18 for pair. US shipping only.
Email/Paypal to monumental . documents at gmail.com

Thanks.

02.26.13

I'm performing with Mountains in Cincinnati on Thursday (link) and recorded a bit of this evening's practice. Pretty keen on this and thinking of fleshing it out into something a bit more full. Stay tuned.

Friends Without Benefits

From now until the end of the month, all sales on my Bandcamp site are going to help a couple Ohio experimental music brethren with some serious medical costs looming over them, Ryan Jewell and Luke Tandy.

I've added a new album to entice you over to the page, one of my less-widely spread discs from 2012, Blurred & Scorched. If you've been on the fence about grabbing some stuff from the Bandcamp page, now you have a very excellent reason to do so.

A lot of people have been doing a lot of great things for these guys and I'm a bit late to the game, but I wanted to get that album uploaded before making the offer. 

 
 

OUT

Just a quick note to say that I am out of The Choir, The Army. I might pick up a few more from the label, but I'm not sure if/when that will happen. Thanks for all the recent interest. More soon.

Antrim (Guitar Rehearsal)

Prepping for a show, dusting off a gem.



If you're in Columbus, come here it sound infinitely more massive Tuesday, the 29th, at Ace of Cups.

Upcoming Columbus Shows

Friday, January 11
C. Lavender
Mike Shiflet
Ryan Jewell

It Looks Like It's Open
13 East Tulane
8:00-10:00
Facebook event


Tuesday, January 29
Mike Shiflet
Asurya
VES

Ace of Cups
2619 N. High St.
10:00
Facebook Event

These are going to be two very different experiences (gallery/improv vs. bar/metal) and I'm really excited for both. Swing by if you're local.