|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
LP
|
|
HTRA 015LP
|
Grey Matter is a series of Snapchat filters created by artist Karen Vanderborght that explores the poetic and existential potential of AR (Augmented Reality) and social media -- suggesting selfies as self-reflective mirrors informed by the wisdom of our elders. These filters, soundtracked by ACT!, were released exclusively to Snapchat in 2019 and are here now on vinyl. Beginning in 2018 -- Karen filmed and interviewed ten seniors who brought diverse and universal wisdom to some of life's biggest questions. Andrew; an Ojibwe leader who lived through the residential school program, Alf; a church organist who publicly came out as gay at 80, Anne; the first black Senator in Canada -- all the seniors provide unique and profound perspectives on life and aging. See their words, thoughts, and appearances transpose and intersect with your selfie in an edifying engagement on themes of age, memory, time, regret, and resilience.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
LP
|
|
HTRA 008LP
|
Universalist is the first album by ACT! Baroque, kaleidoscope electronics; material sound for a disembodied world. The energy is optimistic and positive -- even naive -- a statement of unity in the age of psychic dislocation. Ten tracks of phosphorus MIDI and brittle digital textures feel indebted in spirit to the masters of psychic jazz as much as the physical euphoria of the club. Above all, this album belongs to the catalog of Halocline Trance, yet subtle references connect it to a larger lineage of free sound. The empty, divine heaviness of songs like "Ecstatica / On Patrol" invokes Yusef Lateef's Little Symphony (1987), while the computerized spontaneity of "Lava Valley" feels somehow connected to Yasuaki Shimizu's Music For Commercials (1987). Non-musical sounds and evocative melodies sit side-by-side -- new psychedelia for love and life in the digital jet stream. ACT! is a project from Toronto-based musician David Psutka. Building on a diverse body of releases as Egyptrixx, Ceramic TL, Anamai, and various other collaborations, ACT! denotes a new chapter of creative output from Psutka and the Halocline Trance label. Universalist follows a prolific string of releases in 2017 with Anamai's What Mountain; Ceramic TL + Ipek Gorgun's Perfect Lung; and Egyptrixx's Pure, Beyond Reproach, and synthesizes recurring themes of materiality and the unifying potential of sound.
|