SELECTED TRACKS FROM NEW TONEFLOAT RELEASES

THE TONEFLOAT INTERVIEWS

a series of exclusive tonefloat interviews, by tobias fischer.

SAND SNOWMAN - 4 november 2011
AKHET - 3 november 2011

FEAR FALLS BURNING: DISORDER OF ROOTS 2x10", CD + CONCERT

born in 2004 in the wake of the ambitious dante trilogy on relapse records, dirk serries conceptualised fear falls burning as a follow-up to his vidnaObmana moniker. unleashing a maelstrom of hypnotically pulsating guitar drones, the project would turn develop a tireless live activity and spawn a dizzying array of releases, most of them on vinyl. on 2008’s frenzy of the absolute, today widely considered a classic, the project reached its peak, fusing its by then trademark sound with live drums and guest musicians from the realms of the contemporary underground metal scene.

at the same time, frenzy of the absolute marked the end of fear falls burning. over the course of its four years, Serries’s ongoing search for the essence of his sound had resulted in the founding of a new project called microphonics. harking back to his more intimate, minimalist ambient phase, it represented a sum and summary of his past and present embodied his musical personality more fully than any of his previous aliases. clearly, fear falls burning had fulfilled its mission and reached its point of destination.

and yet, with the end in sight, serries has resurrected fear falls burning for a concluding album statement entitled disorder of roots, and a last salute. on june 2, 2012 at the paradox club in tilburg, fear falls burning will return for a gig involving three of the guest musicians on the record - tim bertilsson (drums), frank kimenai (electric bass) and michiel eikenaar (vocals).

to anyone who's been part of the journey, the event will present a welcome occasion to bid fear falls burning a well-deserved and final farewell. a visitors will receive a free 7inch with additional exclusive tracks!

concert details and reservation infos can be found here.

the album itself will be available from april 6 as a limited edition clear vinyl double 10inch in gatefold sleeve, complete with a cd copy of the album (limited to 200 copies), and a cd in a deluxe mini album gatefold sleeve. pre-order details will be announced shortly.

BASS COMMUNION: CENOTAPH

described by steven wilson as a sequel to ghosts on magnetic tape, cenotaph is, in fact, far more than that. just like its renowned predecessor, still regarded by wilson as an all-time favourite in his oeuvre, the new album turns spatial relations upside down, with otherworldly fields of microscopic crackle hovering in the foreground, as cavernous drones ominously flow underneath like steaming streams of molten metal. but whereas ghosts on magnetic tape would transform haunting passages found on old vinyl records into concise and highly organic textures, wilson has considerably expanded the dimensions of the music this time. carving out vast aural sculptures – cenotaphs of sound – from them, the album is made up of four massive compositions around the twenty-minute mark. each of them is a world onto itself, marked by the gradual appearance, temporary continuation and eventual decay of events within a non-linear continuum. and, for the first time in bass communion history, these mysterious cycles are propelled by a slow, brooding rhythmical pulse.

the subcutaneous sense of motion – a distant heartbeat rather than a fully-fledged groove - is complemented by a refined and highly variegated colorplay: cenotaph, perhaps uniquely in the bass communion discography, combines and reconciles the light-drone- and dark-ambient-sides of the project, with nocturnal atmospheres and blissful hums standing side by side. this dual nature of the record matches its pervasive feeling of emotional ambiguity and if there's a concept at work here, it is never spelled out in full. instead, the album remains true to the gut feeling wilson has always considered vital for his endeavours. as he puts it himself: "the sound is amorphous, spectral, "old", like clouds of rust and decay. it's ghosts hovering above the tower. music that broods and transforms the room you play it in into a place where time stands still and phantom orchestras beam carrion crow unease into your soul from a time long ago."

steven wilson on facebook: "it's a very dark and spectral album, four 20 minute clouds of brooding drones, perhaps closest in style to previous albums such as ghosts on magnetic tape and loss, but looser in a way. there will also be a limited 700 copy double vinyl edition using a different mix - i tried several different approaches during the development of the music, the mix selected for the cd makes more use of rhythm, while the vinyl mix is more ambient."

the release date is november 10, and the release is available for pre-order now from our store. copies should also be available on most of the dates on steven wilson's upcoming solo tour.

AKHET'S ELECTRONIC GARAGE MUSIC. A ONE-OFF ON 2 LP's

one night in 2007, dirk serries and paul van den berg visited marc verhaeghen at his lab - a studio space where, for over two decades, belgian music history had been written. what was supposed to be nothing but a friendly visit spontaneously turned into an extensive jam session. hardly a single note of it even remotely sounded like their individual voices, neither like the epic drones serries was working on at the time nor the darkly captivating ebm of verhaeghen's underground supergroup the klinik. instead, the four fifteen-minute tracks culled from the encounter can be said to represent the missing link between klaus schulze and a dirty garage band, with verhaeghen twisting and turning the knobs to lay down a bed of glowing rhythmical sequencer pulses for van den berg's tormented guitar lines and serries's intense atmospherics.

it was the first time the trio were playing in this constellation. and yet, there had been points of contact in the past. prior to akhet, verhaeghen had already embarked on an ambitious collaboration with vidnaObmana, resulting in two albums on which industrial ambient collided with technoid beats. and just a year earlier, serries joined forces with van den berg, a well-known name on the local blues scene, in a duo effort which would eventually be worked into fear falls burning's the amplifier drone. in a way, therefore, this performance sees the three musicians at a crossroads, rebelling against routine and looking for new approaches to explore. no wonder, then, that the project's name akhet (egyptian for horizon) refers to the title of an experimental klinik double album from 2003, on which verhaeghen opened up an important new chapter in his discography.

for no more than a single night, their paths would intersect before forking out into different directions again. there were to be no follow-up or repeats: akhet would remain a once-in-a-lifetime-experience – which you can now re-live for yourself on this 2lp set, to be released on november 10, in a one-off limited edition of 265 copies, and available for pre-orders now from our store.

SAND SNOWMAN: THE WORLD'S NOT WORTH IT

the world’s not worth it sees gavan kearney working with a handpicked cast of collaborators - including long-time muse moonswift, porcupine tree’s steven wilson, eden house vocalist amandine ferrari and use of ashes guitarist maarten scherrenburg (on drums) - to create a blissful world of unconventional, yet instantly beguiling compositions. whilst still working within a by now familiar territory delineated by folk, ambient and progressive rock at a chambermusical volume, elements from the world of classical music are featuring more prominently than ever, taking the project into a new direction: kearney’s reverence for the groundbreaking inventions of romantic composers ravel, debussy and theosophic genius alexander scriabin shows through in extended solo-piano and guitar passages, adventurous chord progressions as well as a tender clarinet-solo on events in a skyline. just like scriabin would take the harmonic system to its limits, these pieces explore the outer limits of the song format, working with controlled stylistic collisions rather than a schematic chorus/refrain approach - such as on under the stares, which explores what’d happen "if bach bumped into messiaen".

in keeping with the classical tradition of more popular inner and slightly more obscure outer works, the first 500 copies of the album are accompanied by full length companion entitled vanished chapters, recorded in perfect isolation in kearney’s east london studio room and featuring a similar, albeit even more labyrinthine and withdrawn sound. taken together, these albums combine into an epic and ambitious journey, firmly grounded in three centuries of music while simultaneously tending towards a new sonic language.

the vinyl edition of the world's not worth it comes in a limited edition on 180grams clear vinyl, housed in a deluxe gatefold sleeve and with a bonus cd copy of the album. the release date is set for november 10, and available for pre-orders now from our store.

» the world's not worth it release info

PORCUPINE TREE ANESTHETIZE 4LP BOX

porcupine tree concluded 18 months of touring fear of a blank planet with a short european tour in october 2008. both shows at the 013 in tilburg were filmed and highlights were released as the acclaimed anesthetize film on dvd and blu-ray in may 2010. tonefloat are now making available the complete audio soundtrack on vinyl as a lavish 20-track four disc set in separate picture sleeves, and housed in a deluxe hardback box, complete with 12x12inch booklet. the soundtrack was previously only available on cd in the long sold out deluxe book edition of anesthetize, and like that edition the vinyl set includes a bonus track prodigal that is not featured in the film, making a total of 2 hours 15 minutes of music across 8 sides of vinyl. this release is strictly limited to 3000 copies only, and will be deleted once sold out. anesthetize can be pre-ordered now from the tonefloat store. all pre-orders have been shipped.

please note: we realise that a heavy box like this (over 2 kilograms) costs a fortune to ship overseas, but for the occasion (until 1 july), we have lowered the rates for the 2-5 kilogram section for both the airmail and registered airmail rates for non european customers.

THE USE OF ASHES FLAKE OF ETERNITY 7"

the use of ashes are in the midst of recording their 3rd and final installment in the white nights series. a glimpse of what is to can be heard on their newest 7inch single flake of eternity (also the title of the upcoming album due later this year). the single will be released in a super limited quantity of 144 copies, spread over 12 different designs on deluxe linen printed sleeve. the release date is set for 21st june, and available to pre-order from the tonefloat store. the use of ashes will take part in lux in wonderland at the lux theater, sharing a bill with fellow nijmegen acts the legendary pink dots and beequeen.

DIRK SERRIES MICROPHONICS XIX: DORTMUND

in tie with the upcoming european tour as a special guest to mono, we are releasing the fourth and penultimate intallment of our series of live albums that mark the journey from dirk serries' 2008 microphonics debut and its follow-up that is slated for 2012/2013. microphonics xix was recorded on the final night of a tour with n (hellmut neidhardt) at mex/künstlerhaus, dortmund, on december 11, 2011. microphonics xix is issued in three editions of golden, white and silver vinyl, limited to 100 copies each. the release date is may 24, and available to pre-order from the tonefloat store.

3 SECONDS OF AIR - WE ARE DUST UNDER THE DYING SUN

we are dust under the dying sun is 3 seconds of air's second album for tonefloat, but, against initial plans, it is not a straight-forward continuation of their a flight of song debut. manifesting itself on we are dust under the dying sun, which, again features martina verhoeven, dirk serries and paul van den berg, is a striking shift in perspective. its most apparent harbinger is verhoeven's bass, which has moved prominently to the foreground, considerably gained in agility and now spans a wide sonic space behind which her partners' guitars strike up a hypnotic dialogue.

for we are dust under the dying sun, they have now left the st theobaldus chapel and its cathedral resonance behind them and made serries's private home studio the latest addition to their line-up. recorded mainly using close-mic'ing, the album consequently has a palpably more immediate, intimate and physical presence to it – on some instances, you can literally hear the movement of chairs across the floor. this, in turn, has simultaneously created a tendency towards more pronounced composition, while maintaining the strict rules of no post-editing and overdubbing. ultimately, it has implied an entirely new way of interacting: while the chapel would seamlessly fuse their individual voices, in the studio-setting every single note shone through, demanding an even more carefully-measured approach. the consequences are as stimulating as they are risky: on this effort, 3 seconds of air are constantly walking on the razor's edge. the reflections of its blade are revealing the different characters of the band with a new sense of clarity: we are dust under the dying sun is the story of three musicians growing not just as a group, but as individuals.

the band will premier the new album with a one-off (free admission) release show at theater luchtbal in antwerp, on march 25 for which you are invited. the new album will be released on that very date. as with the flight of song, we are dust under the dying sun consists of a three track cd plus a two track vinyl compendium with tracks not on the cd. we have a very limited quantity of special packages available that also includes the promo only one-side one-track 7inch under the dying sun, that was issued to radio stations and reviewers late last year. a number of these special packs can also be bought at the concert (we are not taking any reservations for that). you can pre-order this release now at tonefloat.com. pre-orders will be shipped march 28.

meanwhile, there's more info and tracks available from www.3secondsofair.com

TF100 - THANK YOU AND GOOD NIGHT

reviews for the tf100 festival have appeared on gonzo circus, dark entries, vpro 3voor12, and roarezine. pictures to be found at the pages of leon versmissen, andre seesink, every colour you are, fileunder, and herman stehouwer.

TF100: BOOK + DOUBLE ALBUM

in the rotterdam home of tonefloat, 100th anniversaries are typically referred to as 'seeing methuselah'. you can be sure, however, that when the corks are unscrewed on february 27th at the release party for tf100, the label won't show any signs of turning into an old man. if anything, this celebratory publication proves that over the past fourteen years, tonefloat may have gone through many different stages, but has always foremost done things their own way. the one hundred first entries in the catalogue include curious little items such as the tonefloat website (tf006), a t-shirt (tf025), an album of acoustic pink floyd covers which got lost when the pc containing the master crashed (tf017) and even a long stretch of silence (tf015) - the years between 2000 and 2004, in which not a single new album was added to the discography. most of all, they include a lot of alluring music by strikingly creative personalities who've always understood that releasing lavish vinyl editions was never a retro trend or a temporary fad, but all about treating music with respect and as a form of art.

this celebratory package not only reflects these aspects by going back in time, but also points towards the future. on the one hand, a 108-page hardcover book tells the tonefloat story from the very first release – the use of ashes' moongarden - to recent full-lengths by artists like astralasia, anja garbarek, microphonics, theo travis & robert fripp, porcupine tree and no man, covering a period in which the music industry as a whole underwent massive changes. on the other hand, the real core of the tf100 set are the two 10inches of exclusive material, which have been carefully included in the book – friends of the luxurious insurgentes vinyl set will know what to expect. to mark the occasion, the leading artists on tonefloat have teamed up in various constellations and in promptu line-ups. tf100 now includes collaborations between, among others, steven wilson, theo travis and sand snowman and a duo between dirk serries and maarten van der vleuten. these contributions depict the full range of musical emotions which have come to define the label's eclectic yet recognisable voice, from eleven-minute folk-epic 'song for john fahey' by wilson and sand snowman to the barely two and a half minute short quirky techno of peter van vliet's 'through the eyes of the duck'. there's nothing nostalgic about this music at all - some of these tunes could even get metusaleh dancing.

tf100 will be available as a deluxe hardback and cloth-bound 11x11inch 108-page book, containg the 7-track album over two 10inches. the official release date for the album is february 27, 2011, and is available from the tonefloat store. pre-orders will be shipped on march 1, and the album will be available on the tonefloat festival.

MARCH: LIFE BEYOND THE USE OF ASHES AND MERCY GIANTS

maarten scherrenburg has never been the most prolific songwriter around. both in his activities as a member of the use of ashes and experimental quartet mercy giants, friends of his work have by now become accustomed to occasionally extensive periods of silence in between albums. and yet, merely a few months after the use of ashes' recent conceptual comeback cycle white nights, his debut under the march moniker doesn't just mark plenty of fresh material, but an entirely new project: while the last mercy giants' full-length running in slomo was praised for its dark and hallucinatory blend of post- and indie-rock, march rather constitutes the more folk- and singer-songwriter-oriented flipside to white night material. the recognisably dreamy and mysterious guitar lines as well as some of the psychedelic aspects of the the latter's pieces have carried over into these compositions (most notably on hazy vision 'think about yourself girl'), with influences and references ranging from pink floyd's soundtracks to david gilmour's intimate solo pastorale on an island. and yet, scherrenburg seamlessly weaves these points of departure into eight highly personal and spacious songs with far more tangible lyrics. on 'structures and layers' as well as 'go to sleep', furthermore, elements from jazz and electronica organically seep into the pointedly sober acoustic arrangements, adding colour and a drifting quality to the material. he may not be the most prolific songwriter around, but maarten scherrenburg has again put the time in between albums to good use.

march will be available as a limited edition of 300 copies on 180 grams black vinyl in mounted sleeve, with free cd copy of the album, and a regular edition on cd in japanese style mini album cardboard. the official release date for the album is march 7, 2011, and it is available from the tonefloat store. pre-orders will be shipped on march 1, and the album will be available on the tonefloat festival.

RON GEESIN: RONCYCLE1 THE JOURNEY OF A MELODY CD + LP

every interviewer will start out by crediting ron geesin with being one of the most creative and original artists of our time - after which they will invariably focus exclusively on his work with pink floyd on atom heart mother, which geesin famously co-wrote and orchestrated. when gauged against his imposing body of work, this must seem a striking case of historical injustice - albeit one which cannot come as surprise to someone who, already as early as 1970, berated the floyd for turning into a commercial machine and always chose the path of the individual expressionist. and yet, even in a career now spanning almost half a century, roncycle1: the journey of a melody, represents one of his most ambitious projects to date.

it is an integral suite composed of sixteen pieces - some of them a mere minute short. geesin has himself, in fact, referred to his latest creation as “a monster from the deep”. elements and influences from his entire career are passing by the audience’s ears, ranging from puristic folk and proto-funk to orchestral meditations and the complex metrics of progressive rock. thanks to a clearly defined narrative, which geesin readily expounds upon in the liner notes, the result has nonetheless turned out entirely coherent.

geesin began work on the album in 1986: “the reason that it has all taken so long is that, as it grew, it frightened me so much that i had to walk away for long periods”. working with a variety of compositional approaches and with a little help from edgar allan poe, the music did not develop in a linear fashion, but rather proliferated outward from a handful of creative centres. technical issues meant parts of the work had to be transferred from their original tape to computer and, according to geesin, “the whole digi-structure was becoming overwhelmingly complicated”. meeting mark ayres, known for his contribution to the bbc’s dr. who, proved to be the solution. ayres took care of final arrangements in his studio, bringing a twenty five year long epic journey to a satisfying end.

needless to say, roncycle1: the journey of a melody won’t save geesin from his association with atom heart mother either. but taking into consideration that every step on his way has always seemed to be good for something, why should it?

roncycle1: the journey of a melody will be available as a limited edition of 300 copies on 180 grams black vinyl in mounted sleeve, with free cd copy of the album, and a regular edition on cd in japanese style mini album gatefold cardboard. the official release date for the album is march 7, 2011, and it is available from the tonefloat store. pre-orders will be shipped on march 1, and the album will be available on the tonefloat festival.

MAARTEN VAN DER VLEUTEN: THE SCARS REMAIN 2LP

some wounds will never heal: maarten van der vleuten has dedicated his second release for tonefloat under his civilian name to physical and psychological scars, ranging from personal grief to severe pain of entire peoples, some of them passed on from one generation to the next. a programmatic double album - however “not a concept album in the true meaning of the word”, as van der vleuten points out - the scars remain takes its audience on a hypnotic ride through both intimate and historical scenes. from the time of the crusades to early 20th century genocides, van der vleuten regularly touches upon the fine line where sound art becomes political and individual lives are inseparably connected to the fate of nations. but in the end, his message is that suffering is both universal and subjective and and that everyone will have to find their own way of dealing with it.

musically, the scars remain revisits the intense and occasionally outright claustrophobic soundscapes of its predecessor, high intolerance towards low energies, but juxtaposes them with various pieces combining martial drum rolls and sweeping brass fanfares, sentimental strings, sacral chanting and the artist’s own voice. partly the result of a meticulous production process – van der vleuten tends to regard the studio as his instrument of choice – the work also puts various external sources to highly effective use: ‘drumfire at smallwater’ contains samples of monks chanting the gregorian ‘cantemus domino’, while ‘der tod ist keine himmelsversicherung’ incorporates out-takes of a sermon by german evangelist anton schulte. the result is a hallucinogenic trip spread out over four sides of vinyl, setting the audience’s synapses on fire and refusing to let them go until they’ve faced the inevitable conclusion: that one can never completely leave one’s past behind, because, as the lyrics to the title track put it, even “when the bleeding stops, the scars remain”.

the scars remain, pressed on two 180 grams black vinyl discs, is released in a deluxe two panel sleeve. the official release date for the album (which is limited to 200 copies) is february 27, 2011, and is available from the tonefloat store. pre-orders will be shipped on march 1, and the album will be available on the tonefloat festival.

CHASING THE ODYSSEE: VIDNAOBMANA 8LP BOX AVAILABLE NOW

all pre-orders have been shipped!

this is arguably the biggest project ever released on tonefloat. first announced as early as 2006, chasing the odyssee comprises 37 tracks on eight vinyl discs and an oversized 24-page booklet featuring exclusive liner notes. covering the years 1987 to 2007 and following in the footsteps of an earlier set dedicated to the project's obscure tape years, it documents dirk serries's gradual development from an industrial sound sculptor to an artist equally at home in the world of electronica and contemporary composition. over the course of these 20 years, he would influence the gradual growth of ambient from nothing but a fleeting idea by brian eno to an established and challenging genre, sell 10,000 copies of his classic the river of appearance, write a soundtrack for the giant aquarium of the antwerp zoo and work with the likes of steve roach, steven wilson and a symphonic orchestra. most of all, he would efficiently demonstrate that stylistic limitations are purely rooted in a lack of imagination.

to make these developments and changes transparent, chasing the odyssee has been divided into four chapters. while two records present a selection of pieces recorded and originally released before 2000, four sides have been reserved for a variety of previously unreleased justin k. broadrick remixes and live tracks providing for a hands-on impression of how powerfully the vidnaObmana studio sound translated to the stage. meanwhile, highlights from two unique cycles make up the extensive middle section of the box: the dante trilogy, a collaboration with ground breaking extreme metal label relapse, as well as serries's opera for four fusion works, an uncompromising stint into the world of the avant garde. many of these pieces have long been out of print, but merely compiling oddities is not the aim of chasing the odyssee. rather, it intends to present the music on the format they would have been released on in an ideal world in the first place and at premium acoustic quality – vidnaObmana has certainly never sounded better.

rather than resting on his laurels for the rest of his career, serries decided to end the journey at its peak. now, you can relive the experience. from the liner notes: "listening to these records from beginning to end will take you on a personal journey, which, despite its occasional twists and turns, is devoid of stereotypical cliches and mythical transfigurations. chasing the odyssee is not just a collector’s item. cinematic, evocatively physical and full of memories, it is a perfect representation of everything that vidnaObmana has stood for over the last 23 years."

chasing the odyssee, pressed on eight 180 grams black vinyl discs, is packed in a hardback box with lid, and comes with a 24-page booklet. the release date for the box (which is limited to 400 copies) is january 24, 2011, and is available from the tonefloat store at the introductory price of only 49.99 euros (plus postage). the first 200 copies come have the booklet numbered and signed by dirk serries!