a r t i s t : VA
t i t l e : Tsuki No Seika Volume One
d a t e : 2009
l a b e l : Root Strata
c a t : RS-53
s o u r c e : Vinyl
g e n r e : A capella/Avantgarde
r l s. d a t e : Nov/2009
t r a c k s : 02
b i t r a t e : VBRkbps
s i z e : 12,2 MB
_______________________________________________________________________
Strictly speaking, this split 7" from Grouper and Xela is a
subscription-only release, and so shouldn't really be
available to shops, but we've managed to grab a handful from
the super generous Root Strata label (bearing in mind that it
is actually limited to 300 copies for the world). This record
marks the very first installment of Root Strata's 'Tsuki No
Seika' series, a sequence of four 7"s that will go on to
include contributions from Christina Carter, Richard Youngs,
Islaja, Zelienople, Hisato Higuchi and Valet. The common theme
running throughout is a restriction to acappella compositions,
and the overall air of autonomy and self-sufficiency is even
carried over into the artwork: each artist illustrates their
own side of the sleeve. Grouper's musical contribution has
something faintly festive about it, sounding like the warm-up
hum of undead Christmas carollers. The piece acquires the
seamless, fog-caked, drone-like quality that characterised Liz
Harris' earliest output, momentarily abandoning her more
songwriterly instincts for a return to the brilliantly
intangible and esoteric qualities of 'Way Their Crept'. The
Xela side is more discernible as a vocals-only piece, and
avoiding droned-out abstraction he layers darkly reverberant
falsetto recordings that tap into the almost Arvo Part-like
streak recurrent in his work of late. The tone encroaches on
something that's at least similar to ecclesiastical music,
taking on the improbable aesthetic of a one-man church choir
from the fourteenth century. Only the song's title upsets that
logic: it's called 'I Drowned Her In A Dreamless Sleep'. This
all makes for an exceptional start to the series, and with the
likes of Carter and Youngs - both seasoned purveyors of
unaccompanied vocal recordings - waiting in the wings, this
bears all the hallmarks of an absolutely classic collectors
edition. Grab one while you can.
Tsuki No Seika - A Capella 7" Subscription Series
Wow, this has really been a long time in the making. It's
great to finally see this project reach the light of day.
Originally conceived as a 7" box set, 'Tsuki No Seika' will
now be offered up as a subscription only 7" series in four
installments. Each 7" will be a split, and each artist has
contributed an a capella track. That is to say, vocals only!
In addition, all of the artwork is done by the artist. Copies
will not be sold in stores, or via mp3 download sites, and we
have no plans to re-release this material in another format in
the future. The contributing artists are:
* Grouper
* Christina Carter
* Richard Youngs
* Islaja
* Xelas
* Zelienople
* Hisato Higuchi
* Valet
_______________________________________________________________________
01-Grouper - Pale Through [03:57]
02-Xela - I Drowned Her In A Dreamless Sleep [05:27]
-------
09:24 min
09:24 min