Sunday 17 January 2010

Functions of Hedgerow - Andrew Paine (SOR31)



Functions of Hedgerow - Andrew Paine (SOR31)

"Functions of Hedgerow... overgrown... structurally diverse... have been found to support large populations of breeding birds... providing song posts... nesting and feeding sites... functions of hedgerow... six hundred plant species... fifteen hundred insects... sixty-five species of birds and mammals... functions of hedgerow... food... medicine... shelter."

Sonic Oyster is delighted to announce a new album by Andrew Paine; the final part of a loosely structured trilogy which began with the release of Five Perspectives (On the Same Event) on Apollolaan Recordings, continued with Weekend World on the Bellshill label and concludes with Functions of Hedgerow on Sonic Oyster Records.

The cost of the CD is £5.00 plus postage & packaging and is released on the 25 January 2010 and can be pre-ordered now.

(In the UK, please add 50p towards p&p for one disc, £1 for 2 or more. Outside the UK, please add £1 towards p&p for one disc, £2 for 2 or more).

Paypal is preferred - the address is sonicoysterrecords (at) yahoo (dot) co (dot) uk. This is also the address if you wish to make contact for any other reason or you can message me here.

'Functions of Hedgerow' is a strictly limited edition of 50.

Wednesday 13 January 2010

A Brief History: Phosphorous



Alistair Crosbie & Andrew Paine - Phosphorous

Processed & Edited in Glasgow: January - August 2006

Instrumentation: Farfisa Organ & Computerised Organ

A Brief History: 1958


A Brief History: Part 3

Andrew Paine & Richard Youngs - 1958

Recorded in Glasgow: June - July 2006 Instrumentation: Electric Guitar, Electric Bass Guitar, Keys, Percussion, Shakuhachi

Friday 8 January 2010

A Brief History: Santos


Santos

Recorded in Glasgow, March to May 2006. Instrumentation: cymbals, drums, gongs, percussion, ring modulation, shakuhachi and shortwaves.

Wednesday 6 January 2010

A Brief History: Collodion Positives Volume I


"In lieu of more traditional means of communication, I imagine Richard Youngs and Andrew Paine engage in otherworldly sonic conversations.
The excellent 'Collodion Positives' CD-R is the first of several 2006 artifacts to deliver, what I presume to be, transcripts of their musical exchanges. This particular session captures two near 20-minute episodes of a shifting, drunken waltz. Somehow (well, with great skill), the duo manages to employ a mess of distinctive instruments yet still perfect a singular aura. Both tracks on the album carry an eerie sense of cool: like a score for swirling threads of silhouetted cigarette smoke. But this isn't a mere soundtrack, Youngs and Paine's sphere of sound will damn near swallow your senses.

Meet the main characters: a punch-drunk guitar, a totally lost electric bass, and the meanest flute I've ever heard. The first track, 'Collodion Blues,' begins with the sustained whisper of Youngs' shakuhachi, a beautiful Japanese bamboo flute, which soon expands into a delightful sputter and squeal that'll remain front and center for the whole odyssey.

The persistence of the shakuhachi is contrasted by Paine's half-crazed guitar picking and the bleary electric bass. The instrument combination results in a full-on invasion of your psyche. This is the type of skilled improv that can be both consuming and atmospheric (foreground and back). Track two, 'Collodion Positives,' is the least playful of the couple; it's less about narrative and more about the moody overcast.

Nagging, ear-perking punctuations of piano complement the less prevalent bass and guitar, while Paine's whoozy Theremin swish-swashes around the whole mix. Youngs' shakuhachi reappears as well; its presence serves to loosen the alien tension a bit before it dips from the scene.When everyone in a crowd is trying to tell their own version of the story, no one comes across perfectly clear. But taken together, it's obvious that the scene is busy with independent thought. That's basically how Youngs and Paine collaborate. The two distinctive multi-instrumentalists forego their individualism in search of some higher cohesion.. (Youngs does edge upon spaz-out flute soloing during track two.)

The songs are at their best when there's no clear beginning, and no clear end: just one spooked interzone. When 'Volume 1' reaches its pinnacle of cohesion, it's hard to tell whether sounds are coming or going.

Thanks to Paine's nascent, but ultra-productive imprint, Sonic Oyster, I'm assured my ears will again be privy to one of these long, strange, and brilliant collaborations."

9/10 -- Andrew Meehan (16 October, 2006: Foxy Digitalis)