Available

2011-11-09T17:52:00.002-08:00

Bedroom - Solipsist c30
TQ21: Edition of 100

After last year's split with Afterlife, Bedroom finally returns with a second missive. Flying solo this time around, Brooklyn's Michael Chau presents two long-form pieces on Solipsist that showcase his ability to make engrossing synthscapes with both maximal and minimal sensibilities. Chau effectively harnesses the power of the Moog in an impressive variety of ways, churning out passages of spine-tingling melody, mechanical sequences, and drones that hover high above the clouds. It all flows together magnificently, and what's left behind is an expressive, complex work that's as sensitive and beautiful as it is muscular and intense. Pro-dubbed and imprinted chrome cassettes, featuring designs by Caroline Teagle.

Bedroom - Solipsist c30 clips by tranquilitytapes

Shingles/Spectrum Tickets - Split c36
TQ19: Edition of 100

This split collects new directions from two guys who are certainly no strangers to frying brains with sound. Jesse DeRosa (Grasshopper) starts with a little late night music. Armed with little more than his Electronic Valve Instrument, DeRosa layers absolutely gorgeous melodies that swell and move together in dramatic, sweeping fashion. Themes of isolation and mystery run deep through these tracks, yet there is plenty warmth to be found within. Mike Haley (Wether) soundtracks the awakening of sentient cyborgs on the flip side. Haley develops an atmosphere that is colder and bleaker than DeRosa's, but certainly no less engrossing. Synthesized patterns and drum machine rhythms stay locked into one another, plowing forth toward a new technological dawn. Pro-dubbed and imprinted chrome cassettes, featuring designs by Caroline Teagle.

Shingles/Spectrum Tickets - Split c36 clips by tranquilitytapes

Gone (check distro links)

2010-07-30T03:50:00.001-07:00

Ghostrider - Voices c33
TQ22: Edition of 100

Germany's Jens Pauly seemed to appear out of nowhere in 2011 with two of the year's best synth tapes on Hobo Cult and Digitalis Ltd. Voices finds Pauly honing his craft even further with seven new meticulously composed pieces. Each track immediately springs to life with vivid, cinematic detail. Pulsing, heavily sequenced numbers call forth images of high-speed drives through neon-lit urban jungles, while more restrained and amorphous tracks bring to mind slow strolls through a foggy hillsides. Steering clear of the slightest bit of excess, Pauly is truly a master at conveying moods that resonate deeply without wasting a single second. Pro-dubbed and imprinted chrome cassettes, featuring designs by Caroline Teagle.

Ghostrider - Voices c33 clips by tranquilitytapes

The Aloha Spirit - Under Wild Skies c25
TQ20: Edition of 100

Through his thoughtfully curated c60 Radio program, Austin's Brad Barry has been closely affiliated with experimental music and cassette culture for the past several years. Now, with The Aloha Spirit, he's sharing his own personal sounds with the world, and what a wonderful thing it is. Under Wild Skies finds Barry arranging synth loops carefully and confidently, conjuring placid tones and giving them space to gently buzz and gradually intermingle with one another. This is unabashed relaxation music, teeming with positive vibrations and basking in the radiance of the earth. Pro-dubbed and imprinted chrome cassettes, featuring designs by Caroline Teagle.

The Aloha Spirit - Under Wild Skies c25 clips by tranquilitytapes

Emuul – Two Studies for Order and Chaos c30
TQ18: Edition of 100

Seattle’s Kyle Iman returns with one of his most charming and minimal works to date. Eschewing much of the subtle darkness that often permeates his work, Two Studies for Order and Chaos finds Iman harnessing his modular synth to bask in the simple glories of melody and soothing drone. Each side-length track gradually builds to its own shimmering climax, but Iman also takes great pleasure in the journey itself. Sequences gently bounce about in playful, lulling fashion, and pure analog tones are unveiled and layered with commendable patience. Not one to tread the same path twice, Iman has added another enthralling piece to an already remarkably consistent catalog. Pro-dubbed and imprinted chrome cassettes, featuring designs by Caroline Teagle.

Emuul - Two Studies for Order and Chaos c30 clips by franklinteagle

Dozens/Confused Kundalini – Split c50
TQ17: Edition of 100

Three talented lads offer two zonked out sides on this split. Dozens, the Montreal duo of Francesco De Gallo (Hobo Cubes) and Ryan Connolly (Sundrips), kick off with dynamic psychedelic drifts for guitar and synth. Occasionally channeling their city’s post-rock ghosts, other times locking in on strange melodic passages that sound as though they’re from another dimension, Oulellette and Connolly revel in the joys and bewilderment of improvisation at once. Fort Wayne’s Adam Meyer (Dry Valleys) takes command on the flip side with his new side project, Confused Kundalini. CK takes the new age synth bliss crafted through DV and warps it entirely with the addition of strange field recordings and vocal incantations. Something like a soundtrack for a yoga session in hell, Meyer mixes loops of sublime chord progressions with deliciously bizarre sounds from who-knows-where across five fascinating pieces. Pro-dubbed and imprinted chrome cassettes, featuring designs by Caroline Teagle.

Dozens/Confused Kundalini - Split c50 clips by franklinteagle

Venn Rain – Place in World c40
TQ16: Edition of 100

Though it doesn’t stray too far from the blissful sonic territory mined by his primary guise, Tidal, loops are the chief focus of Jimmy Billingham’s latest project, Venn Rain. Billingham takes the listener for a whirling ride as he presents each loop and affects it gradually, adding new loops into the mix with careful precision and ultimately building each track to a billowing climax. A wide variety of moods and sounds are explored throughout Place in World, from jangly guitars, to lush Cocteau worship, to infectious synth pop grooves. With only short bites of sound and a relatively simple premise, Billingham crafts four sprawling works that manage to engross and even surprise throughout their duration. Pro-dubbed and imprinted chrome cassettes, featuring designs by Caroline Teagle.

Venn Rain - Place in World c40 clips by franklinteagle

Panabrite – Wind Rider c32
TQ15: Edition of 150

Seattle’s Norm Chambers and his project Panabrite seemed to appear out of nowhere last year, displaying awe-inspiring synth wizardry across a handful of cassettes. Wind Rider builds upon that foundation and expands Panabrite’s horizons even further. Only briefly flirting with the oceanic themes prevalent in much of his work, Chambers instead takes to the skies. Soaring arpeggios mix with warm synth pads and even vocoder to form seven concise, fully realized pieces. It’s simply amazing how many gorgeous melodic passages Chambers is able to unleash in a single track while still managing to keep the composition light and airy. Homage to new age and kosmiche pioneers is apparent throughout, but Panabrite is so much more than a retro synth project. Chambers manages to combine these influences with his own well-developed compositional ability for a sound that’s personal, progressive, and entirely satisfying to the ears. Pro-dubbed and imprinted chrome cassettes, featuring designs by Caroline Teagle.

Panabrite - Wind Rider c32 clips by franklinteagle

Pulse Emitter - Forest, Mountain, Valley c50
TQ14: Edition of 150

It’s an honor to present new work by one of the most talented and dedicated purveyors of synthesizer music working today: Portland’s Daryl Groetsch. Inspired by the environmental majesty surrounding Groetsch’s home in the Pacific Northwest, Forest, Mountain, Valley explores the allure and mystery of nature through three long form compositions. Each movement unfolds with utmost patience, utilizing space brilliantly as they are paradoxically minimal in structure and dynamics, yet bursting at the seams with raw beauty and emotion. Recorded in pristine fidelity and played with precision, synthesizer tones are stunningly present, allowing gorgeous melodies to envelop the ears entirely. In just under an hour, Groetsch takes the listener on an entire journey: from the climb, to the vista, and finally to the descent. Just sit back and let the master be your guide. On pro-dubbed and imprinted chrome cassettes, featuring designs by Caroline Teagle.

Pulse Emitter - Forest, Mountain, Valley c50 clips by franklinteagle

Sparkling Wide Pressure - Sing What You Remind Me Of c40
TQ13: Edition of 100

Few have a style as singular and consistently fascinating as Tennessee’s Frank Baugh. With a formidable discography under his belt, Baugh has utilized his Sparkling Wide Pressure moniker to explore spaces that are as eccentric and alien as they are beautiful and comforting. Sing What You Remind Me Of finds Baugh pushing the project further into left-field pop territory while retaining the strange, psychedelic glory that has already made believers out of many underground sound eaters. Intricately realized pieces for guitar, bass, voice, and electronics carry sweeping, nostalgic melodies that convey warmth, yet feel as though they could collapse into abstraction at any moment. This combination of compositional prowess, improvisational tendency, and ability to take the listener to realms both familiar and unsettling at once always keeps Baugh’s work deeply engrossing and utterly addictive. On pro-dubbed and imprinted chrome cassettes, featuring designs by Caroline Teagle.

Sparkling Wide Pressure - Sing What You Remind Me Of c40 clips by franklinteagle

Big Sky - Creepy Crawl c27
TQ12: Edition of 100

This shadowy Texas duo concocts an especially potent blend from a wide variety of influences on their debut release. With dub music and cult films on the brain in heavy doses, Big Sky loaded Creepy Crawl with lumbering, skeletal instrumental pieces that constantly teeter on the edge of bliss and gloom. Guitars ring out shimmering, chiming passages while the rhythm section holds down a steady molasses groove. Slowed vocal samples and keys occasionally seep into the mix, infusing the sound with a deliciously warped, experimental pop sensibility. Quite simply refusing to fit comfortably into any one genre or trend, Big Sky is blazing its own sun-baked trail and this is a wonderful start. Try to imagine the flavors of King Tubby, PIL, Slint, and DJ Screw mixed into a vat of cough syrup, fake blood, and jerk sauce and you’re on the right track. On pro-dubbed and imprinted chrome cassettes, featuring designs by Caroline Teagle.

Big Sky - Creepy Crawl c27 clips by franklinteagle

Motion Sickness of Time Travel/Tidal - Split c30
TQ11: First edition of 100, second edition of 50

Here, two rapidly blossoming projects from both sides of the Atlantic present deep, complimentary reflections on ethereal beauty. Georgia's Rachel Evans (Quiet Evenings) kicks off the affair via her Motion Sickness of Time Travel project and four distinct ambient pop gems. Synth swells and arpeggios cascade across the ears, while Evans' bewitching voice seeps in like an apparition on the horizon, only to disappear and leave its memory coursing through your veins. Under his Tidal alias, Brighton's Jimmy Billingham continues with three haunting synth pieces. Thoroughly washed out melodies laced with feedback conjure up a dense grey atmosphere, yet an unmistakable warmth radiates from the center of each track. Pro-dubbed and imprinted chrome cassettes, featuring designs by Caroline Teagle.

Motion Sickness of Time Travel/Tidal - Split c30 clips by franklinteagle

Christopher Merritt/Reedbeds - Split c42
TQ10: Edition of 100

Acoustic guitar is the common thread on this split, as played by two young gentlemen from both coasts. Over a few recent cassette releases, Brooklyn's Christopher Merritt has quickly proved he's an accomplished alchemist of digital sound. Here Merritt pushes his sound to the next level as he fluidly mixes guitar, synth, and field recordings into a rushing river of glorious euphoria. Sacramento's Carter Mullin (Past Utopia) utilizes a decidedly stripped-down approach as Reedbeds. Armed with a guitar and looper, Mullin crafts two pieces that layer simple, stereo-panned melodies repeatedly to create a tangled, textured web of nostalgic sound. This is surely a perfect soundtrack for springtime, and for springtime dreaming the rest of the year. Pro-dubbed and imprinted chrome cassettes, featuring designs by Caroline Teagle.

Christopher Merritt/Reedbeds - Split c42 clips by franklinteagle

Cliffsides/Cenote Glow - Split c36
TQ09: Edition of 100

Consider this Afterlife's DNA split and spread across two sides. Solo treks through self-contained realms of life that exist both beyond and beneath the earth. Ryan McGill brings his (inter)stellar Cliffsides project out of a brief hibernation with gusto. He fires on every cylinder and digs a cosmic rabbit hole utilizing sequencer and MFOS synth. Dizzying filtered sequences dissolve into one another beautifully, each one satisfying and beguiling in its own unique way. Franklin Teagle's Cenote Glow debuts on the flip side. Inspired by travels and the natural world, these synth pieces flow between emotive washes of melody and passages of abstract strangeness. Bubbling odes to transcendent moments and memories forged away from home. Pro-dubbed and imprinted chrome cassettes, featuring designs by Caroline Teagle.

Cliffsides/Cenote Glow - Split c36 clips by franklinteagle

Brian Lavelle/Nova Scotian Arms - Split c60
TQ08: Edition of 100

Here we have richly varied, transoceanic transmissions from a Scotsman and a Southerner. Edinburgh's Brian Lavelle begins the hour-long affair with a beautifully composed set of electronics. Billowing, Voigt-ian clouds of synth and guitar ultimately give way to delicate sequences and organ patterns that swirl majestically around field recordings. Lavelle has been releasing experimental music for more than 20 years and his masterful ability to digitally blend and degrade sonics to the point of perfection is well evidenced herein. Georgia's Grant Evans (Quiet Evenings) answers boldly via his Nova Scotian Arms project with an utterly disorienting curve ball. Dissonance is the recurring theme here, with synth loops and burnt guitar riffs weaving in and out of each other and gradually pushing toward a hazy enlightenment. Like a high gravity brew, these two sides work in tandem to leave you at once blissed and dizzy. Pro-dubbed and imprinted chrome cassettes, featuring designs by Caroline Teagle.

Brian Lavelle/Nova Scotian Arms - Split c60 clips by franklinteagle

Sundrips/Sound Out Light - Split c20
TQ07: Edition of 100

Though this is the shortest tape of the batch, diminished length doesn't detract a bit of the monolithic power contained within. Montreal's Sundrips (Nick Maturo on synths, Ryan Connolly on guitar) set the tone with two slow motion, analog meditations. The duo builds patiently off one another, carefully layering warm melodies while allowing them the space to rise gently and shimmer gracefully. Delaware's Dave Doyen (Vales) utilizes his Sound Out Light project to add an industrial flair to the proceedings. Buzz saw synth drone builds steadily while oscillations twist about and a clanging drum machine shoots sparks in every direction as this massive track pushes forth relentlessly. Pro-dubbed and imprinted chrome cassettes, featuring designs by Caroline Teagle.

Sundrips/Sound Out Light - Split c20 clips by franklinteagle

Softlight Reveries/Cyque-Sage - Split c25
TQ06: Edition of 100

The wonderful sounds of Canadian artists Scott Johnson (Thoughts on Air) and Mike Pouw (Knit Prism) just seem meant to be together. This split brings together two of their newer projects which almost act as alter egos to their more prolific ones. Johnson's Softlight Reveries begins with an engrossing subversion of ToA's psychedelic folk aesthetic. Sparkling clean guitar passages unfold and intertwine freely. Shimmering organ creeps into the mix as the piece gradually builds to a cathartic noise climax. Pouw's Cyque-Sage adds a heavy dose of field recordings to KP's "motionless meditation" style. Effected guitar that almost sounds like a synth stays locked into warm, dense chords. Uneffected sounds from the wilderness and pure analog fidelity both play a major role in Pouw's mysterious workings. Tune in and soak up the positive vibrations from these two brothers from the Great White North. Pro-dubbed and imprinted, featuring designs by Caroline Teagle.

Softlight Reveries/Cyque-Sage - Split c25 clips by franklinteagle

Quiet Evenings - Pillars at Night c30
TQ05: First edition of 100, second edition of 50

Straight out of my home state of Georgia, husband and wife Grant (Nova Scotian Arms) and Rachel (Motion Sickness of Time Travel) Evans record together as Quiet Evenings. 2010 has been a landmark year for them musically, with a grip of wonderful releases on Digitalis Ltd. and their own imprint, Hooker Vision. It's a pleasure to present a capstone to their busy year with Pillars at Night. Employing dual synths, guitar, and field recordings, the Evans duo lays down three hypnotic slow burners that evoke the smoldering outdoors on summer nights down south. Showing an impressive knack for minimalism, they utilize repetition and gradual change to allow tones to sink extra deep into your psyche. Whispering melodies creep in, but texture is the clear focus here, resulting in a work that feels distinctly organic and otherwordly at once. Pro-dubbed and imprinted chrome cassettes, featuring designs by Caroline Teagle.

Quiet Evenings - Pillars at Night c30 clips by franklinteagle

Softland City Singers - Parting the Veil of Isis c49
TQ04: Edition of 100

One half of glorious Texas duo Blood on Tape, Kevin O'Sullivan flies solo on the first release from his project Softland City Singers. On both of the lengthy tracks that comprise Parting the Veil of Isis, O'Sullivan is unafraid to let the sounds unfold with utmost patience, utilizing guitar, synth, vocals, and hand percussion. Paradoxically monolithic and subtle at once, perfect harmonies slowly emerge from billowing clouds of gentle feedback, ultimately enveloping the listener and reaching a point of overwhelming beauty. This is an absolutely stunning, refined debut and it's sure to please fans of minimal ambient projects like Stars of the Lid and Marble Sky. Pro-dubbed and imprinted, featuring designs by Caroline Teagle.

Softland City Singers - Parting the Veil of Isis c49 clips by franklinteagle

Water Lily Jaguar - Digging Up Atlantis c30
TQ03: Edition of 100

With his project Gitche-Anahmi-Bezheu and former excursions as Dream Safari, New York's Ian Najdzionek is no stranger to traversing vividly imagined plains through sound. Where G-A-B tends toward "murky depths," Najdzionek himself describes his new Water Lily Jaguar project as the "shimmering surface" of his creative universe. I can't imagine a better description for the two pieces that make up Digging Up Atlantis. Using sampling keyboards and effects, Najdzionek sends us down a placid river shrouded in vegetation. Trickling keys are looped and gradually molded into soothing drones. Unidentifiable birds call out in the distance, reminding us that we're still in the grips of the wild as we drift enamored through tropical realms. Pro-dubbed and imprinted, featuring designs by Caroline Teagle.

Water Lily Jaguar - Digging Up Atlantis c30 clips by franklinteagle

Afterlife/Bedroom - Split c34
TQ02: Edition of 100

Two Brooklyn synth duos send oscillations across the borough in three-part suites. Ryan McGill (Cliffsides) and Franklin Teagle’s Afterlife gets the ball rolling with an epic journey that glides through gentle sequencing, bubbling abstractions, and nostalgic melodies. Steadfastly adhering to the code of repetition and ultra-subtle dynamics, each piece gradually pushes toward deeper levels of entrancement. On the project’s debut, Michael Chau (Liquid Days) and Jeremy Mills’ Bedroom answers from high atop the clouds with pure Eno-inspired tone float. With remarkable focus and a knack for dramatic, sweeping melodies, the duo shifts eloquently from minimal passages to ones dense with cosmic atmosphere. Each piece unfolds like a tale from a distant plane and is packed with intense beauty. Jump into the vortex and stay awhile. On pro-dubbed, imprinted cassettes with artwork by Caroline Teagle.

Afterlife/Bedroom - Split c34 clips by franklinteagle

Charlatan - Romances c34
TQ01: Edition of 100

The lothario has been unmasked and Brad Rose’s (The North Sea, ALTAR EAGLE) Charlatan is free to spread melodic synth glory outside the confines of mystery. On one of the most widely available releases from the project to date, Rose explores and indulges in many avenues of romance and beauty through sound. A brilliant balance is achieved as moods drift smoothly from warm and embraced to pensive and isolated. Some tracks shimmer like finely tuned pop gems, while others contently soak in the ether and allow tones and field recordings to sink in extra deep. All in all, this is the perfect summer excursion, serving some ice cold bliss to help fight the heat. On pro-dubbed, imprinted cassettes with artwork by Caroline Teagle.

Charlatan - Romances c34 Clips by franklinteagle

tranquility tapes

Available

Gone (check distro links)