tf072, a review (14)

begin jaren tachtig werd ik diep geraakt door het geluid van mekanik kommando. militant? absoluut niet. het paste in het tijdsbeeld. doemdenkerig en muzikaal dwars. na het neerdalen van de mechanische as zijn peter en simon van vliet uit nijmegen hun talenten gaan presenteren onder de naam the use of ashes. ze hebben een inspirerend onderkomen gevonden binnen de muren van het tonefloat-label. en na enkele voorgaande producties is er nu het album white nights: glowing lights. verfijnde klassiek melodische songpareltjes, fragmentarisch opgebouwd rond akoestische instrumenten als gitaren, orgels en oosterse snaarinstrumenten, analoge synthesizers en de stem van peter van vliet. muziek voor mensen die van een muzikaal avontuur houden. ongehoord! (hessel veldman)

source: fret

tf077, a review (22)

es ist und bleibt beängstigend, in welcher geschwindigkeit der gute dirk serries projekte realisiert und ideen in releases umsetzt. 3 seconds of air ist ein weiteres neues brainchild, welches aus martina verhoeven (bass), paul van den berg (gitarre) und serries (gitarre) besteht. wenn auch anscheinend als idee bereits seit einigen jahren im schwange, so geht the flight of song doch auf zwei konzerte in einer kleinen kapelle in belgien im februar 09 zurück. es gibt auch eine limitierte lp variante, die zwei lange andere tracks enthält und bereits ausverkauft sein dürfte. the flight of song liefert uns superb aufgenommenen dronesound der filigranen sorte. messerscharf entweichen die sirrenden töne in die luft; gespenstisch ist es, dass kein anfang und kein ende wahrzunehmen ist, diese musik ist in ihrer archaischen reduktion wie ein “fünftes element” – immer schon da gewesen. kaum zu glauben, dass dies alles live eingespielt wurde. toll!

source: auf abwegen

dirk serries' microphonics tour 2010

most of dirk serries' time and energy in the first half of 2010 will be dedicated to microphonics, with a 13-date european tour in april, and a selected number of single dates until then.

to celebrate the european tour, a limited (300 copies) tour edition 10inch with new music will be on sale from april 10 at the concerts. remaining copies (if any) will be on sale from tonefloat only after the tour.

meanwhile, a cd edition of the debut album microphonics i-v, with extended versions, will be on sale from 16 of february in deluxe mini album cardboard sleeve with obi. connecting the mid-period ambient-moods of dirk serries' former outfit vidna obmana with the more melancholic side of his current guitar drones, microphonics i-v was, at the time of its release, welcomed as a congenial addition to his catalogue - with belgian monthly gonzo circus considering the album a logical successor to vidna obmana classic »the river of appearance«.

coinciding with the extensive european tour later this year, tonefloat is now offering microphonics i-v as a luxuriously packaged cd. all tracks included on the disc are slightly longer than the original versions, approximating the atmospheric microphonics live-sets and allowing for an even more immersive journey into what canadian magazine textura called "a glimpse into the meditative heart beating at the center of serries' music".

pre-orders are taken now from our tonefloat shop.

open strings festival, theater kikker, the netherlands, 22.01.10
cd presentation, sjaak overgaauw, wijnegem, belgium, 20.02.10
2nd european live looping festival, antwerp, belgium, 06.03.10
oude sint-martinus pastorij, westmalle, belgium, 10.04.10
living room concert, goor, the netherlands, 17.04.10
planearihomegigs, habarcq, france, 18.04.10
homey, antwerp, belgium, 19.04.10
anthony's, gent, belgium, 20.04.10
audio unit, hamburg, germany, 21.04.10
nordkraft, aalborg, denmark, 22.04.10
flowering, stockholm, sweden, 23.04.10
drone bar, copenhagen, denmark, 24.04.10
bis aufs messer, berlin, germany, 25.04.10
wendel, berlin, germany, 26.04.10
werkhaus, krefeld, germany, 27.04.10
tonefloat label night, paradox, tilburg, the netherlands, 28.04.10

sand snowman cd reissues

in an interview for our very own tonefloat magazine, sand snowman claimed that „all art is in some way artifice“. his highly praised psychedelic folk-works i'm not here and the twilight game made the ideas behind this statement very clear: hazy songwriting was complemented by dreamy ambient and disturbing sound art, opening gateways to strange and distant lands. limited to a mere 500 copies, these delicate gems were always going to turn into collector's items soon, so tonefloat is now making both of these albums available on cd in new carl glover designed mini album cardboard sleeves. track listings and technical details are the same as on the respective vinyl-versions, that have been carefully mastered by steven wilson.


the release date is february 16. both reissues can be pre-ordered directly from our tonefloat shop with a special package deal available.

fear falls burning cd reissues

the first batch of fear falls burning reissues was gratefully welcomed by dirk serries' growing legion of fans as a second chance to catch up with the very first releases of his guitar drone project. tonefloat now proudly presents the second installment of the ongoing effort of making these long-gone vinyl-classics available again. making full use of the additional storage space of a cd, even owners of the originals will find plenty of intriguing new details in tracks they thought they knew by heart.

woes of the desolate mourner, originally the only 7inch in the fear falls burning catalogue, for example, will finally be presented in the full 20-minute version and both sides of serries' 2006-album the rainbow mirrors a burning heart have been delicately tweaked and extended. needless to say, both cds do additionally include bonus tracks from the same period, including a rare performance at the sju jazz club and a studio cut. the drone legacy continues - again wrapped in elegant mini album cardboard sleeves and a stylish obi-strip.

the release date is february 16. both reissues can be pre-ordered directly from our tonefloat shop with a special package deal available.

dag van het vinyl

rock venue 013 (tilburg, the netherlands) hosts a day that celebrates vinyl in all of its glory: "dag van het vinyl". the daytime event (1p to 6pm) is stacked with workshops, record stalls, and live performances by tonefloat artist the use of ashes, plus young 60s psyche retro rockers dewolff. tonefloat/crazy diamond will be present during the day with a stall. a special clear vinyl 7inch with a track each by the use of ashes and dewolff will available for free to the first 300 visitors.

links:
dag van het vinyl
013

tonefloat label night

last year's tonefloat label night turned out to be a celebration of intricately layered and imaginatively looped music with performances by theo travis, fear falls burning, and sand snowman. this year's edition will focus on the zone between songs and sounds, and we are proud to have some of the finest tonefloat recording artists on board: tim bowness & band (england), microphonics (belgium), and the use of ashes (the netherlands).

for fans of tim bowness & band, the gig will even constitute one of those highly anticipated one-off performance that have come to define bowness’ exclusive live-schedule. over the past two decades as a performer and composer, bowness has gained fame and critical acclaim as a vocalist and co-writer with continually evolving formation no-man as well as a longstanding musical partner of porcupine tree's steven wilson. in addition to his progressive-rock-oriented work with no-man and osi, tim has also collaborated with folk legend judy dyble of fairport convention. his band consists of an illustrous cast of equally experienced colleagues: peter chilvers (piano) has recorded with no-man and bowness/chilvers (samuel smiles) and is currently working with brian eno. michael bearpark (guitar) and steve bingham (violin, string loops) are an integral part of the no-man live band (featured on the current double-dvd, mixtaped). for the tonefloat label night, this formation will perform a selection of songs from the expansive catalogues of no-man, samuel smiles, as well as tim bowness' solo album my hotel year.

compared to the more traditional song-structures of bowness, dirk serries, the creative force behind vidnaobmana and fear falls burning, has his mind set to different horizons for his microphonics-project. equipped with nothing but a gibson les paul and a few effect pedals, he turns clubs, art galleries, unusual performance spaces and concert houses into intimate spaces of sonic echoes and shimmering overtones. allowing for the music to grow from the moment, each performance is unique and makes full use of the ambiance and acoustic characteristics of a venue. tonight’s gig will be infused with some additional energy, as it will mark the grand final of a 13-date european tour taking him to belgium, france, germany, denmark, and sweden.

the use of ashes' previous full-length »white nights: the hand of tzafkiël« (2008) saw them return to their roots as a psychedelic folk ensemble. still marked by their experimental excursions into the realms of sound art and remixes, it was also an eccentric and gloomy work, combining tender melodic pieces with ghostly drones and surreal collages. »white nights: glowing lights« (2009) is a direct continuation of its predecessor's approach, but places even greater importance on the band's talents as intuitive songsmiths. working on a live studio recording to complete the white nights trilogy, the current line-up (peter van vliet, maarten scherrenburg, and simon van vliet) will perform a select number of live dates.

defined by the intimate setting of the legendary jazz and improvised music club paradox in tilburg, the netherlands, there will only be a very limited numbered of tickets available for the tonefloat label night. they can be obtained directly from our tonefloat shop at the friendly price of a mere 10 euros.

links:
tim bowness and band
dirk serries' microphonics
the use of ashes
paradox