New Smalltown Supersound tote bag

September 24, 2010Comments Off

We have new tote bags with our logo. You can buy them from our mailorder here

Bjørn Torske new album Kokning out 15. November

September 13, 2010Comments Off

We are happy to announce the brand new studio album by Bjørn Torske. To get more info about the album go to Fact Magazine here. The album will be released on CD, limited edition LP and download.

Bjørn Torske: Kokning (15. Nov)

September 13, 2010Comments Off

Bjorn Torske is a special artist with a special name. He was born in northern Norway where fishing has been the main industry for hundreds of years and his name literally translates as “Bear Cod”. Even making dinner is unique in Norway: you put the potatoes on to boil, go out to sea and catch a fish, then return to prepare the meal…This process is known as “kokning”. To say that northern Norwegians do things their own way would be putting it lightly…To say that Bjorn Torske is making music his own way would be exactly right.

Kokning was conceived between the release of Feil Knapp and the beginning of 2010. Through series of studio sessions of experimenting with different sounds; instruments, objects of different textures, whose sounds were played within different spaces of various acoustics. The results were then edited into basic rhythm tracks which then were overdubbed with new series of recordings in similar manner. The album it involves more organic/ acoustic sound basics and less programmed patterns than Feil Knapp.

Since Feil Knapp he has been working on a number of remixes for other artists, including Sunburned Hand of the Man, Lindstrøm, Crimea X, Big Robot feat. Conrad Schnitzler etc. Also working with music and soundscapes for a stage production, as well as touring with my own band, Bjørn Torske Band.

Kokning starts out beautifully. It’s both melodic and melancholic with a warm, slow ambiance. Soft psychedelics and a Balearic rhythm are introduced before it fades into Torske’s signature skrangle-house* and then ends with what can only be described as “Moondog disco” (imagine if Moondog and Count Ossie got together to make disco).

Kokning is Torske’s most fulfilled album and by far his best. This release takes avant-disco, weirdo-dub, post-punk, and quirky electronica — all elements found on his previous albums (Nedi Myra / Ferox, 1999, Trøbbel / Telle, 2001, Feil Knapp / Smalltown Supersound, 2007) — and mixes them into the ultimate Bjørn Torske album.

The first 12” from the album will feature a remix by DJ Harvey. The cover for the album is made by Kim Hiorthøy.

* Along with the late Erot, Bjørn Torske invented a genre known as “skrangle-house” (“rattle house” direct translated from Norwegian) and translates as a bit of everything from dub to disco, jammed within a resonate floor-friendly house pulse. This four-four Scando-movement began at Oslo venue Skansen, inspired by club regulars The Idjut Boys, and the term “skrangle-house” was henceforth associated with Torske and Erot. Torske’s underground hit “Søppelmann” (Svek) quickly became the skrangle-house anthem and the movement later became the foundation for the next generation of space disco artists such as Lindstrøm, Todd Terje, Prins Thomas, and Diskjokke.

Bjørn Torske Biography:
Bjørn Torske comes from Tromsø, a small area north of the artic circle and the capital of Norway’s electronic music scene. This town has bred great artists such as Mental Overdrive, Biosphere, and Royksopp. Torske was put in touch with SSR/Crammed Discs in Belgium through Geir Jenssen, and in 1991 he appeared on two separate 12″ singles on the label. From there, Dutch label Djax-Up-Beats picked up on the talented young Norwegian, and in the following years Torske released a string of underground 12″ singles on Djax-Up-Beats, as well as Reinforced Records, run by Mark & Dego of 4Hero.

The early 90’s found Torske in Bergen playing synthesizer in Biosphere’s live shows and touring with Geir Jenssen. After releasing an album on Djax-Up-Beats in 1995, Torske concentrated on DJing for a couple of years, releasing only one single on Per Martinsen’s Love OD label. His hiatus did have a noticeable impact, when “Fleet” became a club hit in Amsterdam and was pumped regularly by DJs Dimitri and Derrick May. Eventually Ferox’s Russ Gabriel was introduced to Torske’s music and an on-the-spot phone call led to the release of Nedi Myra in 1999.

Back in Norway, Röyksopp’s Svein Berge and Torbjørn Brundtland followed Torske’s lead and moved from Tromsø to Bergen. New acts, clubs, and labels were emerging, transforming the otherwise sleepy university town on Norway’s west coast to the hippest place to be. Meanwhile, Torske had begun releasing singles through prestigious house label SVEK and on Bergen’s own Tellé Records and released “Disco Members” (2000, Tellé Records) and “Aerosoles” (2000,SVEK). In the same period, Torske produced his next album, Trøbbel (Tellé Records, 2001), as well as remixing his studio-partner’s Røyksopp`s first hit single “Eple”. Torske also toured Europe with Royksopp in the spring of 2002, but soon after he went underground for a few years. When Prins Thomas was asked: “What is the most desirable artist to sign, if money grew on trees?” by Fact Magazine, his answer was: “if I could lure him out of his cave for a second, I wouldn’t mind getting some new stuff from Bjorn Torske”. Thankfully, Smalltown Supersound managed to lure him out of that cave to return with the critically acclaimed Feil Knapp album in 2007.

Arp: The Soft Wave (out now)

September 13, 2010Comments Off

You can buy the CD and LP here

When ARP’s In Light came out in late 2007, it stood out, marrying an eye–catching prismatic pop art/New Age aesthetic with glowing exercises in coastal analog synth minimalism, appealing to fans of Krautrock, avant pop, cosmic, Balaeric, drone, and those generally inclined towards minimalism. The artwork (with hand–drawn neon text by artist Tauba Auerbach) simultaneously evoked Ed Ruscha, Harmonia’s Deluxe and the otherworldly sunset in Eric Rohmer’s film The Green Ray.

In the intervening years, Alexis Georgopoulos, the man behind the music, hasn’t stood still. After all, this is someone who’s released 10 albums and as many singles in various incarnations over the past 7 years on labels such as DFA, RVNG INTL, Troubleman Unlimited, Lo, Rong, Type, Root Strata,Eskimo, and Deitch Projects, to name a few.
Recorded as Georgopoulos relocated from San Francisco to New York, The Soft Wave is expansive in scope, unfolding like a collection of short stories or filmic vignettes, each piece building upon the other. Whereas In Light was made with only vintage analog synthesizers, The Soft Wave incorporates guitars, piano, flute, and Ebows to create a dense brocade of sound. Georgopoulos even steps up to the mic for the gorgeous centerpiece “From A Balcony Overlooking The Sea”, calling to mind classic John Cale and Brian Eno along the way. Though Georgopoulos still has a knack for creating environments in which you want to recline, hammock–style, he’s also peppered The Soft Wave with soft blasts of blissed–out fuzz. Recorded to 2–inch tape, it’s warm glow and blown–out formalism will undoubtedly appeal to a broad, sophisticated range of tastes.
Leading up to the release of The Soft Wave, Georgopoulos composed his first score for modern dance in Replica, a duet between Merce Cunningham andTrisha Brown dancers, which debuted at New York’s New Museum. He played a live score to artist Doug Aitken’s film Migration at 303 Gallery (New York), participated in the Boredoms-curated 8.8.08 88-drummer extravaganza in Los Angeles, and remixed Lindstrøm. His music was featured in directorGary Hurstwit’s film Objectified. He also made music in Q&A (formerly Expanding Head Band), his new DFA project with partner Quinn Luke, and his band The Alps released two albums III & Le Voyage (Type) to critical acclaim. ARP shared bills with Cluster on the coast of Big Sur, Sonic Boom, White Rainbow, Four Tet, Lucky Dragons, Growing, and Wooden Ships, among others. The track “Potentialities” from In Light was recently featured on James Holden’s DJ KICKS. Most recently, he released FRKWYS Volume III, a collaborative album with minimalist composer Anthony Moore, as part of RVNG’s new FRKWYS series. The duo recently performed with a string section as part of New York City’s Wordless Music Festival.

The 12-inch single Pastoral Symphony will be released in August and will feature remixes by Swedish luminaries Studio (Information), Carl Craig chumEtienne Jaumet (Domino) and Mauve Deep, the alias of visual artist Keegan Mchargue (Metro Pictures).

The Soft Wave tracklisting:
01 Pastoral Symphony: I. Dominoes II. Infinity Room
02 White Light
03 Alfa (Dusted)
04 Catch Wave
05 High Life
06 Grapefruit
07 Summer Girl
08 From A Balcony Overlooking The Sea
09 Silver Clouds

THE PRESS ABOUT IN LIGHT:

“Georgopoulos has a very specific vibe in mind for Arp, and he uses whatever works; though a small, simple record on the one hand, In Light, on its own terms, is a big success. The sort of thing I hope becomes a trend in electronic music.” – Pitchfork

“Arp’s no-overdub/analog-gear approach to electronic music and his solemn devotion to less-is-more composition ensure that In Light emits a sun-dappled warmth, evoking an eternal dawn of optimism.” – XLR8R

“A pristine, organic electronic journey through vintage arts past. . . a piercingly beautiful series of tracks that seamlessly wed nature with machine” – Filter

“There’s been a resurgence of arty ambient music on the West Coast lately, with groups like Arp, White Rainbow, and Lucky Dragons foregrounding pastoral synths and loops. Georgopoulos (aka ARP) has been a tastemaker.” — Flavorpill

“Contagious . . . Cosmic Dream Pop.” – Anthem

“Shimmering. 9/10″ – Vice

“Top 20 Underground Albums of the Year” – Uncut

Smalltown Supersound labelnight in Berlin

September 3, 2010Comments Off

ARP photos + 2 tracks on Brooklyn Vegan

September 3, 2010Comments Off

Check out the photos of ARP’s Brooklyn show with Oneohtrix Point Never at Brooklyn Vegan, and get two tracks from the upcoming “The Soft Wave” album here