Debut is the first solo release from Anthony Shadduck who has performed with Joe Biaza, Emily Hay, ellul, I Heart Lung, Create (!) and many others.

Shadduck’s singular introduction to the world as a bandleader is an intimate and explosive quartet recording featuring Nels Cline (Wilco), Lynn Johnston (Red Krayola) and Ches Smith (John Zorn, Marc Ribot). Creative corkscrews, harmonic u-turns and rhythmic regurgitation inside!

Nels Cline- Electric Guitar, Electronics
Lynn Johnston- Clarinet
Anthony Shadduck- Acoustic Bass
Ches Smith- Acoustic Drums, Percussion

Produced and Engineered by Chris Schlarb

Recorded on June 11th, 2006
at the Johnson Family Conservatory of Music (El Segundo, CA.)

Artwork by Tom Steck
Layout by Jonathan Dueck

Track Listing
01. The Stars of Stage, Screen, and Radiology
02. Half & Half & Half [mp3]
03. The Girl with the Sky Blue Tears
04. Mr. Limb’s Sad News
05. Styrofoam Audience

Press
“Anthony Shadduck’s quartet successfully maintains the tension and excitement of traversing the high wire without ever falling into the abyss of over-exuberance and excess which often mars the best intentions of improvised-music makers. This is fearless experimental music, brash and unapologetic improvisation.”- Ian Patterson, All About Jazz

“Amplification and strong rock elements figure prominently into the music and the album has a proggish feel similar to some of Cline’s projects for Crytpogramphone. Dynamic fluctuations from stentorian to soft, so common to this style of improv, also factor in, but Shadduck varies the framework with some fresh facades and close attention to the spatial relationships of the instruments… Shadduck’s well-structured effort successfully primes the ears for more.”- Derek Taylor, Bagatellen

A timeless collection of holiday cheer. Recorded in one afternoon and mixed in another, this five song EP includes four Christmas standards as well as the I Heart Lung original, “Santa Claus Vs. Dracula.”

An album destined to be included in the popular holiday lexicon with Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole and King Crimson, put this on at your next ornament exchange or Jello-swap and watch eyes, hearts and lungs fill up with the Christmas spirit!

Chris Schlarb- electric guitar, bells
Anthony Shadduck- acoustic bass, bells
Tom Steck- acoustic drums (no bells!)

Produced and Engineered by Chris Schlarb

Artwork by Tom Steck

Track Listing
01. Let It Snow [mp3]
02. Carol of the Bells [mp3]
03. Little Drummer Boy [mp3]
04. Silent Night, Holy Night [mp3]
05. Santa Claus Vs. Dracula [mp3]

Press
“I Heart Lung’s Christmas EP is full of free-form improvisations based loosely on themes from Christmas carols. “Little Drummer Boy” is the most interesting and coherent of the bunch. It takes its time getting around to the theme from the actual song, first delivered on hovering e-bowed guitar around four minutes in. Even then, you really have to concentrate to realize that the drawn-out phrases are echoing the “pah-rum-pah-pum-pums” we’re all used to. 3 out of 5 stars”- Pitchforkmedia.com

Recorded in vaulted hill top church, an industrial warehouse, a community center and a living room, up and down the California coast, over the course of five months, ellul’s self titled debut is surprisingly established. Produced and engineered by Chris Schlarb the group added his electric guitar to contributions from Adam Garcia (Timonium, belltower) on drums and Anthony Shadduck (Nels Cline, I Heart Lung) on bass.

Dueling live/programmed drum patterns, shimmering guitar distortions and stunning choral harmonies are unearthed upon repeated listens. ellul have crafted a stunning debut album that reveals heavy doses of progressive electro-acoustic musicianship with each spin.

ellul is:
Joel Brown-Tarman- vocals, acoustic piano, organ, sythesizer, melodica, programming, drums, radio
Joel St. Julien- vocals, electric & acoustic guitar, electric bass, drums, programming

with:
Adam Garcia- acoustic drums
Chris Schlarb- electric guitar, electronics, drums, radio
Anthony Shadduck- electric & acoustic guitar

Produced and engineered by Chris Schlarb
Artwork by Matias Coduri

Track Listing
01. Ballet Faces
02. Maniacs Collide
03. Blood
04. Esophagus [mp3]
05. Listen
06. Freedom
07. Swamp King [mp3]
08. Around The Bend
09. Fragrance
10. Enamel On Iron

Press
“…nothing short of masterpieces of the songwriting craft. This is soul music for the turbulent 2000s. If quality equated with sales then Ellul would sell by the bucket-load… “- Ian Patterson, All About Jazz

“If you can imagine a vocal, instrumental, and lyrical collaboration between Radiohead and Neutral Milk Hotel, I think you’re about halfway to ellul’s sound… There is a beautiful balance of acoustic and electronic sounds throughout… I’m reluctant to highlight individual tracks because I think this set of songs is best enjoyed as a whole. There is a true sense of mood and flow here as one song carries flawlessly to the next… Skipping anything would just be missing out on a strong piece of the album. 9 out of 10″- Foxy Digitalis

“…an enjoyable if not totally surprising debut… the continuum can be more accurately labeled as the kind of not-unknown but not-top 40 version of rock and roll moodiness of bands like the Flaming Lips as well, fitting in a niche while not being entirely part of it.”- Ned Raggett, All Music Guide

“Over time, the LP proves itself as interested in hooks as much as atmosphere. And hooky or not, it is most often beautifully scary.”- Stereo Subversion

“Ellul’s music may be slow and quiet most of the time, but it is engaging enough to resist fading into the background. 4 our of 5″- Owl Magazine

“Ellul have created an utterly surprising collection of songs for their self titled debut album. Ranging in emotion and composition, the album has amazing production values…”- The Deli Magazine

“The production value of the album is stunning. Ellul manages to skirt the line between experimental and minimalist pop, mastering the ability to dip into both sides while maintaining the breathy subtlety that is the band’s signature.”- West Coast Performer Magazine

“Somewhere in between the darker side of late ‘90s indie rock and dissonant shoegaze comes the San Francisco duo Ellul. The band’s self-titled debut was recorded along the California coast in places as diverse as churches, industrial warehouses, and living rooms–which isn’t too surprising given the the guys’ lust for indie guitarscapes…”- XLR8R Magazine

“This is the sound of clouds not burning off. The sound of sleep seeds building up in the corners of your eyes. The sound of that last five minutes and five seconds before your alarm goes off. The sound of empty impossibility and pregnant pauses.”- Music For Robots

“Just another Radiohead rip-off? Only until you grasp Ellul’s reasons for calling its style “contemporary vocal music” by digging into upfront lyrics about “the painful history of a transplanted Haitian son.” Intriguing music and vocals give this debut two legs to stand on.”- East Bay Express

Recorded in Long Beach immediately following the return from their 2005 tour with Castanets and Wooden Wand & the Vanishing Voice.

John Kannenberg- field recordings
Chris Schlarb- electric guitar
Anthony Shadduck- acoustic bass
Tom Steck- drums

Produced and engineered by Chris Schlarb
Recorded at Tackyland, Long Beach, CA.
Artwork by Tom Steck

Track Listing
01. The Illusion of Going Somewhere
02. Skipping Harrison [mp3]
03. Veronica
04. The Use and Abuse of Materials
05. Deluge Ex Machina
06. Serpentine Walk

Press
None at this time.

The Sounds Are Active “Side” teems with spastic new work from Melk The G6-49, Bizzart and Deneir. New and unreleased tracks from Soul-Junk, Vla Hemia and Create (!). Softer pieces contributed by Xn. (featuring a slick remix from hip-hop producer supreme Omid) and the brooding “Two Planes for Elliott Smith” by the Constantine/Levin/Phillips/Schlarb/Shadduck quintet.

Track Listing
Asthmatic Kitty Side
01. Sufjan Stevens - All Good Naysayers, Speak Up! Or Forever Hold Your Peace!
02. Half-Handed Cloud - Let’s Build A Planet
03. Viva Voce - Red D-Lish
04. Liz Janes - Guitar Guitar
05. Castanets - I’ll Be Just Where You Are
06. Sufjan Stevens - Happy Birthday
07. Half-Handed Cloud - Pressing Into It
08. Liz Janes - Vine
09. Viva Voce - Welcome Mat
10. Half-Handed Cloud - Here’s A List
11. Sufjan Stevens - Year of the Tiger
Sounds Are Active Side
12. Deneir - Random Object Subject
13. Patagonian - Hands in the Face of Time
14. Xn. - gone home early (Omid Remix)
15. Vla Hemia - Break Loose
16. Soul-Junk - Nova (Evig Poesi Remix)
17. Bizzart - Pink Summer in Hell
18. Melk the G6-49 - Henry
19. Create(!) - Three Butterflies, Seven Mockingbirds
20. Constantine/Levin/Phillips/Schlarb/Shadduck - Two Planes for Elliot Smith

Press
“Proving that sisterhood is powerful, sibling labels Sounds Are Active and Asthmatic Kitty cram a grab bag of sounds- everything from hip-hop to free jazz to folky weirdness- onto one sampler. The Sounds Are Active half buzzes with new tracks from Soul-Junk, Bizzart, Vla Hemia and others.”- XLR8R