Sounds from the edges of culture and between the cracks of category
Latest Releases- Cassette Imprint
LOR131 - Grundik Kasyansky - -Lepus
Composer and innovator Grundik Kasyansky works with tiny sounds created with a "feedback synthesizer" of his own devising, to build totally engrossing works. "Lepus" is a series of solo improvisations for feedback synthesizer. Grundik Kasyansky is based in London and works with some of Europe's leading improvisers, he was a founder of the Israeli electronic duo Grundik and Slava, and plays in the groups Staraya Derevnya, Denis D’or, and Llull Machines. "Lepus" is an utterly unique listening experience... Available on cassette and DL To stream or purchase please visit the release pagelinearobsessional.bandcamp.com/album/lepus
LOR129 - Duncan Chapman -Cove
Duncan Chapman's second release for Linear Obsessional is this beautiful cassette - "Cove" based around recordings made in Cove Park in February 2019. The tracks are a mixture of field recordings, live improvisations, sonification of landscape images and manipulated recordings. The four tracks are bright evocations of landscape, whether a calm pond or a view of mountains - still and haunting, enveloping and luminous. To listen or purchase visit the release page
LOR119 - Richard Sanderson -Compass Rose
Richard Sanderson releases his first solo album for three years. "Compass Rose" consists of three longish tracks for amplified melodeon (diatonic button accordion). Side one has two tracks recorded at Brighton Road Studios in Sussex, whilst side two is an improvisation recorded live at London's IKLECTIK by Saint Austral Sound. The tracks were mixed by Sanderson, with no overdubs or processing, these recordings present the raw sound of the melodeon rendered as a melange of noise, feedback and free-reed dynamics - reminiscent at times of bagpipe music, John Cale's viola, or doom metal, and even occasionally folk music. Recorded in 2019, this is perhaps the purest representation of Sanderson's live sound, and of the influences he has absorbed since taking up the instrument 15 years ago. Available as a limited edition cassette and download. To stream or purchase please go to the release page
LOR132 - Tigersonic -Blipcuts
Linear Obsessional is delighted to present this amazing album of micro-dub, glitch-funk miniatures by the London based producer and musician Tigersonic. Using an technique of carving her tracks down to the essentials Tigersonic eschews the 12" stretch of a lot of dance, dub and electronica and instead produces a set of 20 tracks - (average length two minutes or considerably less) none of which outstay their welcome. Moving through abstract noise, majestic cavernous dub and angular funk the ideas keep flowing, restlessly, inventively and compellingly in a stop/start exercise in 21st century blip dynamics. Early ACR, On-U Sound and PIL may come to mind, along with a post-punk energy and willingness to experiment, but this is mainly an exercise groove based abstractica for the restless and the curious... Released as a limited edition cassette and download with PDF booklet and short videos. To stream or purchase please visit the release page
Latest Releases - Compact Discs and Downloads
LOR145 - Sam Fendrich -Free Blues - 12 Studies
After a series of dense albums of composed music for Linear Obsessional, Sam Fendrich's latest opus couldn't be simpler- twelve free improvisations (studies) played on the piano. No overdubs, no computers- just the flow from brain to fingers. Spiky, anguished and yes, bluesy- raw and uncompromising, but also full of the humanity and wit (sometimes a mordant wit, but wit all the same) present in all of Sam's music. To stream or download visit the release page
LOR114 - Richard Sanderson -Songs 1978 -2010
For the second release in Linear Obsessional's "Retro Linear" series, we present a collection of songs recorded over a 32 year period by Richard Sanderson. The tracks on this collection run from "Hollow Call" recorded by an early version of Drop in 1978 to "Quill" a solo recording from 2010. Other tracks were recorded by the groups Halcyon Days and The Euphoria Case (in several incarnations) The recordings range from 24 track studio recordings to mono cassette recordings. All the recordings have been re-mastered where ever possible from the original tapes." To purchase or stream please visit the release page
LOR130 - Ben Glas -Rhizomatic Music
Linear Obsessional is delighted to present the second album on this label from the extraordinary American composer Ben Glas. Rhizomatic Music explores further his interest in philosophical themes, and playful, interactive music. "...This work is an attempt at a type of music that allows for listeners and active participants to drift in and out of a rhizomatic structure, in an egalitarian manner. These compositions consist of a series of static pentatonic tones and their fluctuating acoustic beating counterparts. “Rhizomatic Music (0-∞)” is seemingly stagnant, at first listen. Polyrhythmic standing waves fill space and make for a myriad of various listening perspectives. The acoustic beating allows for a spatial polyrhythmic experience, allowing the listener to mentally move through different time signatures, as well as physically moving through space to navigate the physicality of the tones and their unfolding patterns in spacetime..." From the notes by Ben Glas To purchase or stream please visit the release page
LOR127 - Jude Cowan Montague -To India
Linear Obsessional is delighted to present a solo album by Jude Cowan Monague (of Montague Armstrong who released the acclaimed "Hammond Hits" on LinOb last year. "To India" was originally self released as a very limited CDr - this re-issue includes the original CDr packaging as jpg files. Mixing Jude's trademark mix of quirky travel reportage, poetry and a fascination with archaic keyboard instruments, "To India" is a joyous collection of songs from this unstoppable and endlessly creative artist. To stream or to download please visit the release page
LOR144 - Cyff Gwawd Cyff Gwawd
Cyff Gwawd is Stuart Estell, a piano, and a couple of barely-functional tape machines. The project draws on his love of Satie, Cage, Feldman and Basinski while also being a logical step from his compositions for drone/doom tuba outfit ORE, which he left in 2014. Cyff Gwawd is named in tribute to Mark Hollis. It means “Laughing Stock” in Welsh. The pieces on this release started as miniatures, some of the material freely composed, and some of it restricted to sets of just four pitch classes. In performance, however, they took on a life of their own and didn’t seem to want to be constrained to what had been written down — resulting in what might be better described as planned improvisations.
The same side of the same C90 — an old and far-from-clean TDK SA90, naturally — was used to record all four pieces. The older cassette machine’s completely unreliable motor and faulty tape head resulted in some happy accidents (speed changes, incomplete erasure) that would be impossible to reproduce. Apart from EQ, some additional reverb and the occasional overlaying of additional tracks (from the same source material), the only editing here has been structural. Other than that, what you hear is how it happened. Availble as free/name-your-price download. For more information, to listen or download please visit the release page
LOR125 - The Original Beekeepers - Fear For The Future
The long awaited new album by Linear Obsessional's token pop group, The Original Beekeepers. "Fear for the Future" continues to hone their brand of exquisitely constructed English chamber pop, sardonic lyrics and wonderful arrangements. The subject here is the encroachment of middle age, the narrowing of ambitions and the acception of limitations. With brass sections, extra vocals, samples and found sounds, and a stunning cover design this is the Beekeepers' most ambitious album yet. Available on CD and DL To stream or purchase please visit the release page
LOR133 - Paula Garcia Stone -Undercurrent
Available as a limited edition CD The much anticipated follow up to last year's extremely well recieved ("album of the year!" TQ) "I Hear You", Kassia Flux's "Ergot in the Wine" is another deep dive into the world of this hugely imaginative and fascinating artist/scientist. Featuring songs, field recordings and improvisations - with recordings ranging from a luthier at work to the sounds of an English coastal town overlaid with violin, guitars and electronics. Haunting, ecstatic and life affirming experimentation at its finest. Released as a limited edition CD in Eco-Pack and download with PDF booklet. To stream or to purchase please visit the release page
Forthcoming Releases
LOR136 - Various Artists ->>>>>Self Isolating Compilation<<<<<
Musicians, sound makers and artists isolated and creating. Solo sound works all recorded at home. Volume 2 will bring the artists together.
The arrival of Covid 19 is already proving to make life difficult for musicians, generally by their nature social animals. Live gigs have stopped completely, and many of us are self isolating, I propose a compilation o be released on Linear Obsessional as a free/name-your-price download.
Please send me a solo recording made in your house, of up to 3 and a half minutes.
All tracks received before April 1st will go on the compilation. A second album will be released later of mixes & mashups
