Ben Chatwin announces new album Heat & Entropy

Ben Chatwin Heat & EntropyExperimental Edinburgh based composer Ben Chatwin, who previously released music as Talvihorros, has announced the release of a new album entitled Heat & Entropy. Due on July 29th via Ba Da Bing Records, it marks the second album release under his own name, following last year’s The Sleeper Awakes. The contrasts between organic and artificial, between acoustic and electronic influenced Heat & Entropy. Its title “refers to how introducing heat (energy) and entropy (chaos) into any given system can create life”, explains the press release, “exploring the blurring lines between man and machine”. Speaking about it, Chatwin said this:

“We live in an age where technology is everywhere and it’s becoming so integrated into our lives that we now find ourselves on the cusp of life-changing developments in artificial intelligence and implantable technologies. That’s something I tried to reflect with this album.”

Written and recorded at The Vennel Studio near his hometown of Queensferry, Heat & Entropy also draws influences from his surroundings, namely the nearby historical Forth Rail Bridge over the Firth of Forth.

“I walked under the Forth Rail Bridge everyday whilst making the record. The idea of people creating a structure or machine in an attempt to dominate a natural element certainly helped to emphasize the idea of contrast between acoustic instruments and electronics. When the tide was out I would walk miles towards Edinburgh along these beautiful secluded beaches that would emerge from the water. I found it fascinating how the landscape was so changeable and under influence from the tides, which of course is in a very strong relationship with our moon more than 200,000 miles away.”

Ahead of the album’s release, Ben Chatwin has shared the magically wonderful opening track ‘Inflexion’ Listen to it now.

Jason Sharp joins Constellation Records, debut album out this Autumn

Jason SharpAfter a quieter start of the year, the ever wonderful Constellation Records appears to have a fruitful second half of the year in store for us. Montréal composer, improviser and saxophonist Jason Sharp is one of the recent incredible additions to the label. His connection to Constellation is not new though, having previously worked and recorded with now label mates Matana Roberts, Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra, and Sam Shalabi’s Land Of Kush.
A long-time presence in the Montréal experimental/improv scene, Sharp has developed and uses breathing techniques and custom-built equipment “to translate breath and heart rate into sonic triggers”, as the label says, “alongside other modes of signal processing in tandem with traditional instrumentation”.

This Autumn will see the release of Sharp’s debut album under his own name, and he’s offering a tremendous glimpse of it with ‘A Boat Upon Its Blood (Pt. 3)’, featuring guest contributions from fellow Montréal musicians Josh Zubot and Joe Grass. We’ll be on the lookout for more details. Now listen to ‘A Boat Upon Its Blood (Pt. 3)’.

Listen to Holy Fuck’s new single ‘Caught Up’, new album arrives next week

Holy FuckHoly Fuck‘s new album, Congrats, is nearing its release and as you might have noticed, we’ve been itching with excitement. After teasing us a couple of years ago with the storming ‘Sabbatics‘, the Canadian quartet shared earlier this year another two mighty cuts from the album, ‘Tom Tom‘ and ‘Xed Eyes‘.
With just over a week to go until Congrats drops, Holy Fuck have shared a brand new beast of a track off it called ‘Caught Up’. Excuse us while we listen to it over and over again!

Congrats is out on May 27th via Innovative Leisure and Last Gang.

Sandro Perri unveils collaborative project Off World

Off WorldBrilliant musician and producer Sandro Perri has unveiled an exciting new project. With an immense work stylistically diverse under his belt, Perri has been prolific in his solo work, using his own name and other monikers, and also collaboratively working with many different musicians. Entitled Off World, the new project assembles a collection of Perri’s collaborative work with other producers, including Lorenz Peter (Corpusse, Processor), Drew Brown (Lower Dens, Blonde Redhead, Beck), Susumu Mukai (Zongamin), M J Silver (Mickey Moonlight) and Craig Dunsmuir (Glissandro 70, Kanada 70), and musicians Eric Chenaux and Jesse Zubot .
Off World will be released in three volumes, with the first one seeing the light of day through Constellation this Autumn. We can already get a taste of what’s on offer with the incredible first single ‘Wonder Farm’, a collaboration with Drew Brown and Susumu Mukai.