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Chrome Wings — Time Patterns c30 (Stunned no. 82) —out of stock—Nothing is exempt from evolution, and Portland’s Chrome Wings are a prime example of that principle when they take simple amoeboid sounds and swiftly sculpt them into electric body parts & sets of hi-fi feathers for the dance floor. With the magic and levity of storm clouds parting way to a rainbow or a kiss from a lover, ‘Time Patterns’ approaches unassumingly, yet leaves the listener breathless and wanting more a half-hour later. It’s a sound that’s taken Chrome Wings personal time & dedicated evolution to arrive at, obvious to all who’ve caught their recent live performances. Rhythms this juicy and soundforms this hypnotic in arrangement offer proof that we higher-primates can ascend toward the very stuff of dreams — in the club, at home, in the car, all of the above. Limited edition of 111 pro-dubbed & imprinted c30 tapes with double-sided color jcard and insert.
_______________________interviews/reviews:
— The Stranger
— The Oregonian
Queen Victoria — There Will Come Soft Rains c28 (Stunned no. 81) —out of stock—Nick Malkin of Queen Victoria shares: "Ambling along the line where song meets drone, ‘There Will Come Soft Rains’ is a delicate union of human noise, field recording and vague narrative. Six pieces of desert folk recorded with guitar, percussion, violin, keys and voice in a room colored with the distinct presence of something natural and unknowable, there and unthere. It is one ethereal document of an autumn in Los Angeles that leads Queen Victoria through examination and expression both within the frame of structure and without." Limited edition of 111 pro-dubbed & imprinted c28 tapes with insert and double-sided jcard, cover photo by the band.
_______________________review:
— Tiny Mix Tapes
Xiphiidae — Iiustus / Transresonance Formation c90 + c25 (Stunned no. 80) —out of stock—A field-recording trip with Xiphiidae into the Florida wilderness soon provides abduction from the physical plane, blissfully suspended between-time & between-space, nearing the energetic heart of earth. ‘Iisutus’ is neither past nor future, and though one may think they’ve held or heard it, it was never here — it can only exist There. Direct apprehension of its presence eludes one throughout this 90-minute exploration of the inner-Terrestrial. Contact with ‘Iiustus’ seems only to be understood through the multiplicity of effects it has on ourselves later, quickening in deep interior realms. Following as a comparatively brief coda, ‘Transresonance Formation’ confirms mutational exposure to Xiphiidae at cell-level. In celebration, the double-helix begins to unknot & disentangle; the serpent spits its own tail from its mouth and grows brilliantly plumed wings. A year after its 1st issuing here on Stunned, ‘Transresonance Formation’ gets rescued from the medium of compact disc and is properly lodged hereon in analog fidelity, with all new artwork. Two years after its 1st issuing on Object Tapes as a home-dubbed edition of 45, we’ve taken ‘Iiustus’ and professionally transferred it to high bias chrome tape from the original master, as well as providing it artwork. Let’s just say it’s the least we can do with material of such personal connectivity & timeless essence. Limited edition set of 111 pro-dubbed & imprinted c90 + c25 tapes in butterfly case with double-sided jcards.
Duck Dive / Edibles — split c43 (Stunned no. 79) —out of stock—Indonesia might seem an unlikely locale for the discovery of an analog synth recording artist who’s keeping abreast with our corner of cassette culture. But in the capital city of Jakarta, a man known as Gonzo is doing just that, and doing it pretty damn well. We were tipped off to Gonzo’s rad project Duck Dive by Dewey Mahood (of Portland’s Eternal Tapestry & Plankton Wat), who shares this split tape as newly-founded groove/dub vehicle Edibles. Here both jammers align themselves as global poles of mellow in order to slow the clock with clear-air visions of eternal summer & worldwide chill-out. Let the guitar, synthesizer, hand drums, jungle calls, and bird songs found on this c43 drive every bummer away. Limited edition of 111 pro-dubbed & imprinted c43 tapes with double-sided jcard and insert.
_______________________reviews:
— Auxiliary Out— Tiny Mix Tapes
— The Stranger
Archers by the Sea — Sometimes We Should Dance c48 (Stunned no. 78) —out of stock—Vincent Caylet has kept us on our toes the last three years, steadily morphing his inscrutable sound and sidestepping any expectation as to where it may lead next. When this Monks of the Balhill member flies solo as “V”, The Pistil Cosmos, or Archers by the Sea as he does here, he consistently summons huge atmospheres of perplexing, unpredictable beauty. Riddled with infectious cycles of surf guitar, stoned beats, and vocal ellipses, ‘Sometimes We Should Dance’ is similar in spirit to V’s lineage of weird. And yet it can be perceived that something has also recently changed within the Archers by the Sea multiverse, and much for the better. Whether its Vincent’s recent fatherhood, the onset of a new summer in France, or the combo of both, this cassette is guided toward ecstatically dazed ends by elevating every moment into the sunlight. If ever there was a time to dance, it would be now. Limited edition of 111 pro-dubbed & imprinted c48 tapes with double-sided jcard and insert.
_______________________review:
— Animal Psi
