Browse by Label: CROUTON

Artist:	IRR.APP.(EXT.)
Title:	Dust Pincher Appliances
Label:	CROUTON
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.50
Catalog #:	CROU 021CD

Repressed! "Dust Pincher Appliances was originally released in 1998 in a shorter, alternate form, via a now impossible to find 10" vinyl on Something Weird Records, Iceland. This CD edition on Crouton reveals different versions of the original recordings, as well as three tracks not present on the 10" edition. Some might say that anything graphic artist, sound artist, and writer Matt Waldron produces is peculiar, and his work as irr. app. (ext.) is no exception. Each minute of these startlingly Dadaist compositions reveals unexpected surprises. The instrumentation, who knows? A bit of everything really, except the standard ones. However, the style is not a mess, but rather an obsessively scrutinized audio story, aural painting, or sound experience, which is quite devastating to take in. Waldron began this recording project in 1991. Some will recognize his name as the one co-responsible for the recent Nurse With Wound CD, Chance Meeting of a Defective Tape Machine and Migrane on the United Dairies label. He has also worked with the likes of Stillupsteypa and Coil."

Artist:	KAHN AND JON MUELLER, JASON
Title:	Papercuts
Label:	CROUTON
Format:	CD
Price:	$11.00
Catalog #:	CROU 022CD

"Over the years, both Jason Kahn and Jon Mueller have explored different means of percussion, finding texture and rhythm in not only acoustic drums, but in their relation to electronic devices. This pursuit also included work with other, non-drum related material. Papercuts is a critical document of this pursuit. Recorded over the course of a year, it was created entirely with various grades of handmade and commercial paper. With an extensive and delicate approach to mixing and electronic processing, this work retains the source of the recording, the grit and feel of dried pulp, and the texture of its interaction with movement and malleability. Here rhythms appear naturally, without intentional effort, to create a new discovery in the world of percussion."

Artist:	MUELLER/BHOB RAINEY/JIM SCHOENECKER, JON
Title:
Label:	CROUTON
Format:	CD
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	CROU 023CD

"Recorded in a 110 degree room after a nearly sleepless 17 hour drive. Yet, the material on this CD has nothing to do with that. Here, Bhob Rainey perfects the form of transforming the saxophone into a metal tube, Jon Mueller plays snare drums with a home stereo system, and Jim Schoenecker sits across the room and stares at you, creepily. Meanwhile, Boston was melting under the relentless sadism of the sun. For the musicians, this recording involved discovery, survival, and Dustin Hoffman. Its organization was the direct result of caffeine and unemployment. For the listener, it might very well be the impossible made possible. For in this recording lies a sense of urgent contact; a message understood, yet surely incredible to decipher. Happy faces appear on food items. Inanimate objects come actively to life."

Artist:	CHARTIER, RICHARD
Title:	Archival 1991
Label:	CROUTON
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	CROU 024CD

"Richard Chartier is a designer, an artist, and perhaps, a neat freak. Throughout his recent work, Chartier has continued to present sound as design -- clean, simple design, implying colors and direct lines and shapes; a spotless, modern room; a series of colored screens. His release on Crouton predates this taste, when things were a bit more complex, a bit more intense. And as his recent work sucks the listener into white space, Archival1991 takes you straight into a black hole, in the most comfortable way imaginable. This is a different kind of clean simplicity. The work is beautiful, stunning, and most of all, complexly powerful. The recording is based on two compositions from 1991, using analog and digital synthesizers. In 2003, these original pieces were used as source material for this new work, resulting in an extremely intriguing revisit, and aesthetically true to much of his work from the same period."

Artist:	DIE ENTTAUSCHUNG
Title:	Die Enttauschung
Label:	CROUTON
Format:	LP
Price:	$14.00
Catalog #:	CROU 025LP

"Die Enttäuschung is modern jazz at its peak. The quartet consists of highly skilled, internationally known players Axel Dörner, trumpet; Rudi Mahall, bass clarinet; Jan Roder, bass; and the always imaginative Uli Jenneßen on drums. Similar to their analysis of Monk, with their own work, the group find a comfortable balance between the smooth and the rough. An expected downbeat turns into an instigation, and frenzy somehow becomes a groove. But, this isn't a head-scratching guessing game or open-fire intensity. It's just a good time."

Artist:	HAMPSON + STEVEN HESS, ROBERT
Title:	Robert Hampson + Steven Hess
Label:	CROUTON
Format:	CD
Price:	$12.00
Catalog #:	CROU 031CD

"A sensible combination, brought to light by a chance contact resulting in a fairly lengthy process of recording, listening, and mixing. Robert Hampson, is, of course, the visionary behind sound behemoths Loop and Main, and even served a highly productive position within Godflesh, Organum, and also collaborated with Jim O'Rourke. Steven Hess is a percussionist who provides comfortably obscure rhythms and textures for Pan American, Fessenden, On, and Haptic. Together, Hampson and Hess create a delightful peephole into the space where resonance from various percussions exist. These are the indirect moments that are just as real as those obvious times when a drummer nails the snare drum in 4/4 time. This is the stuff that for without, the attack, the beat, the percussion itself, would be lifeless pricks of meaningless sound. These recordings are filled with the active and excited ghost of interaction with material; highly unreal at times, and undeniably human at others. For those familiar with their previous endeavors, this is certain to please. For others, you are about to hear the collaboration of two people who know exactly what they are doing, and have created an even more powerful joined effort."

Artist:	MENCHE, DANIEL
Title:	Creatures of Cadence
Label:	CROUTON
Format:	CD
Price:	$16.00
Catalog #:	CROU 032CD

"Despite what the title might suggest, Creatures of Cadence is not about endings, completion, or finality. Instead we find Menche inviting a slew of new mediators into his cathartic miasma. The medium now extends beyond the rich and unfathomable depths of somatic sound. His ongoing dialogue between body and mind has found sympathetic resonators in a myriad of instruments (percussion, cello, horns, and zither) that have proven through the ages of being capable of channeling both our most ecstatic joy and profoundest grief. Creatures of Cadence finds Menche in full exploratory mode; excavating well-concealed networks of sonorous information through a systematic deconstruction of drone and pulse. In the process, he further erases any perceived division between hearing/feeling and performer/instrument. The result, if consumed at the appropriate amplitude, is nothing less than a sixty-minute journey through a voluptuous and pristine mania."

Artist:	RM74/RLW
Title:	Pirouetten
Label:	CROUTON
Format:	CD
Price:	$16.00
Catalog #:	CROU 033CD

"Pirouetten was started in September 2003, when Reto Mäder aka RM74 wanted to visit Ralf Wehowsky aka RLW in his solid green middle-class garden. Pirouetten exploits the authors' long-lasting dedication to the unpure tradition of centurial folkways. The 8 pieces were developed by juxtaposing crude instrumental raw materials under strict electro-acoustic control. They are songs of songs about loyalty to the grey area between music and noise, Lacan and Freud, stubbornness and penance, grey burgundy and Rolf Benz. RM74: organ, accordion, piano, cello, (bass-) guitar, harmonica, transformations, composition. RLW: gamelan, sitar, paper, guitar, trombone, chimes, recordings of populated fields, transformations, composition. Released in an edition of 300 with 8 photographic printed cards housed inside an oversized clear plastic display box." Limited stock, deleted item.

Artist:	RAMMEL, HAL
Title:	Like Water Tightly Wound
Label:	CROUTON
Format:	10"
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	CROU 034EP

"Visual artist and musician Hal Rammel has been involved in the creative arts for the past 40 years. Like Water Tightly Wound marks Rammel's latest installment of his recorded documentation of solo Sound Palette studies. Beginning with a series of three separate 7" records (titled Lost Data), released on his own Penumbra Music in early 2006, Like Water Tightly Wound captures every nuance of this intriguing instrument. Invented and built by Rammel, these instruments are as curious for their sounds, as they are as artifacts -- finely crafted wood and metal devices one would expect to find in an obscure section of a museum. Melodic, yet buzzing with texture, these Sound Palette recordings represent an overview of artistic endeavor, ranging from electro-acoustic theory and practice, to sculpture and craftsmanship. Released in a limited, numbered edition of 300 with an exclusive photographic print by Hal Rammel. Extended liner notes included, housed inside an antique-themed 78 record package."

Artist:	BOSETTI, ALESSANDRO
Title:	Her Name
Label:	CROUTON
Format:	CD
Price:	$16.00
Catalog #:	CROU 035CD

"Her Name is a record founded on meetings and voices. Having toured extensively throughout Europe, China, Japan, and the U.S., Bosetti's performances consisted of some of the music you'll hear within. During the performances he sat, with a computer sitting on a table next to him, his voice at the aural focus, coming from his mouth in the middle of his face, he translated the recorded voices of the people he's met along the way. Those voices appear in this recording. However, many more things also appear: guitar, piano, harmonium, double bass, trumpet, electronics, cello and field recordings combine in small ensembles and reconstructed jazz groups to create songs (yes, really!) that take the listener on an amazing trip around this world and others. Recorded in Amsterdam, Sangha, Berlin, Milan, and Baltimore and featuring a full cast of guest musicians and vocalists such as Ernst Karel, Koen Nutters, Morten J. Olsen, Ana Djangouno Dolo, Ibe, Adachi Tomomi, Mariangela Tinelli, Paul Glazer, Ayako Fukunaga, Chico Mello, Fernanda Farah and Die Maulwerker, Her Name is a powerful record about the collective voice, cohesively honed into an amazing listening experience that speaks to everyone. Beautiful recordings craftfully mixed by Alessandro Bosetti and Giuseppe Ielasi and mastered by Giuseppe Ielasi. Her Name is released in an edition of 500, packaged in an oversized die cut wallet designed by Jim Schoenecker."

Artist:	DIJKSTRA, RAYMOND
Title:	Maskenstilleben
Label:	CROUTON
Format:	LP
Price:	$120.00
Catalog #:	CROU 036LP

"Enchanting special edition LP from sculptor, painter, drawer and composer, Raymond Dijkstra. Since 2003, his recorded work has been released in very grandly designed (though extremely small editions) on the Le Souffleur label, all of which are out of print and not easy to obtain. Those who have, discovered the odd, yet personal world of Raymond Dijkstra, whose recorded output relies heavily on the acoustic side of electro-acoustic music. In Dijkstra's own words: 'My overall philosophy is to keep my kitchen closed. And the lid on the pot. I need to build up pressure; the only time I release pressure is when playing music. It's all about transformation. I guess I need to have some distance between me/my music and the public. In fact I like to see the public as non-existent. Releasing my work I only do for metaphysical reasons; to keep all psychic and physical channels open, and maintaining a healthy system. It is not much more then relieving yourself in the toilet. If not, there'll soon or later come a point when your system gets clogged, the energy flow will cease, and the transformation into music stops... I need complete isolation to protect my work.' Maskenstilleben is released in a limited numbered edition of 100 in a painted wooden box on 200 gram virgin vinyl. Raymond Dijkstra is a self-taught composer, musician, painter, drawer and sculptor, born in Sneek, (Netherlands). He works in the field of electro-acoustic music with high emphasis on the word acoustic. He has collaborated with Timo van Luijk (Af Ursin), Keith Connolly (NNCK), Dave Nuss (NNCK). Since 2003, he has run the music label Le Souffleur."

Artist:	CATLIN AND JON MUELLER, TIM
Title:	Plates and Wires
Label:	CROUTON
Format:	CD
Price:	$16.00
Catalog #:	CROU 037CD

"Following Tim Catlin's recent solo release Radio Ghosts on 23five, comes this collaboration between the Australian guitarist and American percussionist Jon Mueller. Catlin and Mueller's approach to their instruments is based on their shared interest in the vibration of material and the changes in sound that result in modifying those vibrations. Over a year in the making, the recording features a series of different situations involving guitars, gongs, snare drums, and bass drum, and their resonant effect upon one another. Plates and Wires was mastered by James Plotkin (Khanate/Phantomsmasher/Khlyst) and is released in an edition of 300 in a 10x10" package featuring artwork from painter Thomas Kovacich. Kovacich's practice of dragging paint with devices over large dissused planks of furniture creates a visual cohesion with the layers of milky and gritty sounds heard within the recording."

Artist:	JERMAN & JON MUELLER, JEPH
Title:	Nodes and Anti-Nodes
Label:	CROUTON
Format:	DVD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	CROU 038DVD

"After years of working with sound and vibrations, and documenting prepared and unprepared situations on recordings, Jeph Jerman and Jon Mueller now present a tapestry of visualizations to these sounds with Nodes and Anti-Nodes. The DVD shows close-up views of the subtle actions in vibrating bodies, both audible and not. These scenes are glimpses into situations that Ernst Chladni and Hans Jenny might have pursued in a more scientific direction. But for the lay viewer, it's simply interesting to watch the real-time relationship between sound and material, and the juxtaposition of the results of natural movements paired with absolute silence. For those that would enjoy listening to the audio portion on the go, an individual MP3 file of the audio can be pulled from the disc. The DVD is packaged in a 7" letter pressed and numbered chip board case and is limited to an edition of 300 copies." This all-region NTSC DVD video can be played in any standard DVD player or drive.

Artist:	OSSO EXOTICO & Z'EV
Title:	Osso Exótico & Z'ev
Label:	CROUTON
Format:	CD
Price:	$16.00
Catalog #:	CROU 039CD

"Since 1989, the Portugal avant garde ensemble Osso Exótico have created a stunning body of work. Current members are André Maranha, David Maranha and Patricia Machás, but besides the recordings, very little historical information can be found about the group. Rather, the music speaks for itself. Percussionist Z'ev, who has spent the better part of 40 years finding ways to coax sound out of material, and then creating a mystic cacophony out of it, also uses sound as communication. Together, this grouping produces quite a statement, as sound becomes something unexplained by words, yet shared as an experience. Here, long stretches of rhythmic and bubbling organ are matched by large bass drum patterns that culminate in an expansive psychedelic pool of sound. This isn't glassine drone music. It spews the grit of Tony Conrad and the trance of Terry Riley, while radiating the experience of a sweat lodge in a behemoth explosion of tribal minimalism; only digressing for a segment of spatial hums and large frequencies rubbed from the surfaces of metal, before it dives back into oblivion. With no sound processing, the result is a highly natural, grossly enigmatic, and deeply energized recording. The power is yours for the taking. Released in an edition of 500 and packaged in an offset printed chipboard envelope."

Artist:	HAIGH, ROBERT
Title:	Written On Water
Label:	CROUTON
Format:	CD
Price:	$16.00
Catalog #:	CROU 042CD

"In the early '80s, Robert Haigh released a handful of recordings under his own name, as well as the monikers Sema, Fote, and Truth Club. His atmospheric piano, guitar and sound arrangements were in a class of their own, but ranked among the quality level of other experimentalists such as Nurse With Wound, Current 93, and The Hafler Trio (coincidentally with whom he also collaborated). These recordings quickly developed a cult following and even today are scarce, some fetching high prices on the collector's market. Haigh departed this work in the '90s, moving into an entirely different sound under the moniker Omni Trio. Signing with the esteemed electronic label Moving Shadow, Haigh became highly regarded as one of the originators of drum and bass music, although his style during this time continued to reflect his use of fluid melody and space. And now, Crouton is absolutely delighted to present his newest work, Written On Water. Within these songs, listeners will hear nods to the distinct melodicism of his early Valentine Out of Season-era solo piano work, while also referencing like-minded composers such as Eric Satie, Steve Reich, and Harold Budd. Gone are the drum machines of his '90s work, yet this new music is as much about rhythm as it is about melody."

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