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Book
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R 087BK
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Wildweeds is the first art book by musician Loren Connors. Following a series of LPs on Recital showcasing Loren's haunting guitar playing, Recital present a proper collection of his Wildweed drawings. Connors' visual art has occasionally been included as little prints and pamphlets inside his LPs and CDs; though, always explored in a shade, an appendage to his music. Combusted bulbs of purple and yellow flower heads over wild grey stems, as fragile and beautiful as his music. As Loren explains the Wildweeds; "The way they move and say something, they're all separate and they're all the same." Foreword by Sean McCann and an essay by Jay Sanders. 9"x12" perfect soft bound; 120 pages; first edition of 150; hand-numbered.
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LP
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FTR 258LP
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"Here is the second volume of protean solo improvisations recorded by Loren Connors in his artist's garret in New Haven, Connecticut. Like the first volume, it was committed to tape and pressed to vinyl in 1979. Never having seen a copy of this record, and having pressed it before we discovered a master cassette exists, this is as good a transfer as can be had for the nonce. Loren's chair creaks like rusty crow and the amount of random tapping and thumping during the original session just about drove Jim O'Rourke and Jeremy Lemos crazy when they were working on it. But they persisted, and we all owe them a debt of gratitude. Although most people cannot help themselves from believing all nine volumes of this series are of a piece, the second volume sounds quite different from its predecessor. For one thing, it is truly solo. There's no sign of Kath Bloom's voice or recorder to be found. The guitar attack is much more active here, as is the vocalizing. Loren gives off a vibe most easily compared to Bud Powell's manner of vocally emphasizing his piano runs. This style of accompaniment has much less of a blues-counterpoint to it, serving more as way to amplify the strange melodic arc of the guitar as it moves through dark space. Some of the instrumental phrases and tag-lines here are surprisingly similar to elements of Eugene Chadbourne's Parachute-era solo improvisations, although Loren is usually reluctant to describe his efforts in terms of overt avant gardism. He was, however, cavorting and collaborating during this period with known avant gardists, so perhaps we are best left to draw our own aesthetic conclusions from just listening. Whatever it is he was doing in the dark of Daggett Street, I think we can agree it was incredible. And if you can't dig it, well... have a nice life." --Byron Coley, 2021
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LP
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FTR 257LP
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"Here is the first volume of protean solo improvisations recorded by Loren Connors in his artist's garret in New Haven, Connecticut. It was committed to tape on February 20, 1979 and pressed to vinyl soon after. As with the two earlier LPs on Loren's Daggett label, singer/recorder-player Kath Bloom also appears on this record, although only on the second side. Those prior LPs were both issued in 1978, The first was Acoustic Guitar/Gifts a split LP with Loren solo on one side and with Kath joining him on the flip. The second was Fields, which I have been assured uses the same split format. Although most people cannot help themselves from believing all nine volumes of this series (all of which we will be reissuing) are of a piece, the first volume represents a real declaration of identity for Loren. He was introducing himself publicly as a guitar player, although his approach was still very much dictated by the influence of the painter, Mark Rothko, who Loren once described as using a minimal palette to create vital art. The music on Unaccompanied Acoustic Guitar Vol. 1 is less violent than the solo side of the Acoustic Guitar/Gifts split. I've never been able to hear a copy of Fields, so I can't compare that one. But the feel to this session is bluesy, in as much as Loren's wordless vocals have a surface similarity to a hellhound's, and while he was not using a slide, most of the notes he plays are bent to the edges of their known range. Fahey always said blues was 'about' anger, however and there's not really any of that here. I am more reminded of this Rothko quote. 'You've got sadness in you, I've got sadness in me ... and my works of art are places where the two sadnesses can meet, and therefore both of us need to feel less sad.' The first side is solo. On the second Loren is joined for a bit by Kath on hums and recorder. The music brims with sorrow more than anything else. And while it's clear Loren was embracing an abstract avant garde aesthetic vis-a-vis his playing, the urge to communicate seems to lie at its roots. Whatever you choose to call it, this is the beginning of something quite beautiful." --Byron Coley, 2020
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LP
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R 029LP
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Recital present the first-time vinyl issue of Loren Connors's Evangeline, originally released as a limited CD in 1998. Evangeline finds Connors working in a narrative structure. This album trails the story of Evangeline, the heroine of an epic-poem written in 1847. Loren's guitar tone follows the weary landscapes and mournful souls of the characters. Thematically, Evangeline falls in line with the other romantic Connors LPs Recital has published, Airs (2015) and Lullaby (2016), though with a defining arc in direction. Parallel guitar preludes begin this collection, leading to distant ballads in spheres of reverb. Suzanne Langille softly singing on the first track sets this album as a child's fable. As longing, clouded in dreams of loss and devotion. Includes an 8.5"x11" insert: a story written by Suzanne Langille based on the epic poem, Evangeline; Includes restored audio and new artwork by Loren Connors; Remastered for vinyl by Sean McCann; Edition of 500.
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