adventurous music from secret pockets of the globe
Spectropol is back after hiatus with another installment in the Possible Worlds xenharmonic series as a name-your-price download.
As usual, stylistic variety and different approaches to xen practice are showcased in a collection of engaging tracks from nine international artists.
Years in the making, Bruce Hamilton’s Lanes is finally available.
munk punq tezilo (2014) for clarinet, sax, accordion, piano and percussion [Ensemble Kompulz]
Attractors (2013) for vibraphone, piano, and recorded sounds
[Iktus Piano & Percussion Duo]
Still Life (1994) for solo clarinet
[Tasha Warren]
osbatt (2015) [processed keyboard improvisation; Bruce Hamilton]
Four Pieces (2015) for flute, bassoon, violin, double bass, and electric piano [Bellingham Chamber Music Society]
released December 14, 2017
Holiday surprise, as without warning I’m putting out this album featuring some of my own texture-focused ambient electronic tracks. I’d been sitting on it for a while and the time felt right…heck, it’s Spectropol’s 40th album!
Winding is a collection of tracks recorded between 2009 and 2012. Despite marked contrasts between them they comprise a coherent playlist of “ambient” electronic music. Some of the pieces work well for meditation, others are themselves meditations on sounds or ideas. Many of the works employ continuous slow-change forms and drones, others are keyboard-centered and have faster moving harmonies; some employ field recordings and most embrace noise. Microtonal elements are also present throughout, in different forms, including just intonation (this, muuf, window, furse, koni); mixed tunings (hoomz, hae, ronqq), and micro-inflections (elegy, furse, ronqq, dropov). As a whole I think of it as an ambient album realized with an avant-garde electroacoustic aesthetic.
Mastered by Rafael Anton Irisarri.
It’s available now as a name-your-price download. You can also purchase ($10+s/h) an extremely limited edition CD-R (shipping in January).
The Digipaks of Joe Evans’ compelling new Spectropol release are here and ready to ship. Designed by Evans, the CDR packages are very attractive and sell for only $11 plus shipping (includes digital download).
Have a listen below.
The third installment in Spectropol’s microtonal compilation series, this collection is another highly varied snapshot of current xenharmonic practice from international artists. As with the previous albums in the series, the stylistically diverse tracks here explore just intonation, equal divisions of the octave, mixed tunings, fretless instruments, and extended playing techniques.
The music here ranges from chamber ensemble spectralism to catchy electronica, from surreal soundscapes to strange funk, intimate classical guitar work to electric feedback, and from free improvisation to evolving drones.
With contributions from Taylor Brook, Paulo Chagas, Brendan Byrnes, Susan Ann Brewster, Greg Hooper, Jon Lyle Smith, Agustín Castilla-Ávila/Giacomo Fiore, Elis Czerniak, MonoNeon, Ben Wylie and Peter Nagle.
We hope you enjoy this playlist as much as we do; please share widely!
SpecT 32, May 2014
Spectropol is excited about the release of Marcus Rubio’s “I don’t think I see a difference” next Saturday (April 19). It’s a compelling album of banjo/voice-centered deconstructed pop songs that’s as pleasing as it is challenging.
Here’s a tiny teaser:
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Here’s a cool piece on Marcus from last summer.
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Meanwhile, here’s a nice review of LiL’s THE SPACE BETWEEN from What’s Up! Magazine.
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And here are some thoughts on the tracks of Possible Worlds Vol. 2 from the esteemed Music Street Journal.
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Get the albums here:
The latest installment in our ongoing presentation of some of the finest contemporary xenharmonic (not 12-tone equal tempered) music available. Spanning five continents and showcasing a diversity of styles/genres, these twelve tracks provide multiple entry points into worlds inhabiting novel pitch space.
With music by Jacky Ligon, Mirjam Tally, Lewis Krauthamer, Lois Lancaster, Karen Keyhani, Christian Molenaar, Todd Harrop, Scott A. Moore, D. Edward Davis, Claudi Meneghin, Michael Vick and Kraig Grady.
Check out this sampler track from Spectropol’s upcoming (11/15) microtonal compilation, featuring excerpts from Jacky Ligon, Mirjam Tally, Lewis Krauthamer, Lois Lancaster, Karen Keyhani, Christian Molenaar, Todd Harrop, Scott A. Moore, D. Edward Davis, Claudi Meneghin, Michael Vick and Kraig Grady.
As promised earlier, there are three more microtonal compilations on the way. The first will be ready on 11/15 and is packed with xen/micro/JI wonderment! Have a look at the playlist:
More information will be available leading up to the release, and before long the next two playlists will be made public as well (for December and early 2014 release).
And if you haven’t heard Vol. 1 from 2011, check it here:
The response to the call for micro/xen/JI works was overwhelming. Because I received such a large collection of interesting and quality pieces, and because I’m not in favor of putting out a marathon playlist, Spectropol will be releasing two or possibly three separate compilations a few months apart starting in late October. These may be Possible Worlds Vol. 2-3 (or 4); or I may title them separately.
Stay tuned! [I will contact individual artists.]
spectropol records 