Create (!)- A Prospect of Freedom (SAA1126)

On the 19th of December, 2004, Create (!), augmented by Raymond Raposa of Castanets, Lynn Johnston and Kris Tiner, recorded its first full length album since 2001’s Patterns. A Prospect of Freedom is a beautifully dense album that birthed equally stunning musicianship over the album’s eight tracks. This music surprises and seem to bridge the gap between Steve Reich’s Music For 18 Musicians and Ornette Coleman’s Free Jazz. Coupled with their collaborative release with Liz Janes on Asthmatic Kitty, released in September of 2005, Create (!) have entered another phase of hyperactivity. Their long-awaited, rumoured and beloved studio full length looks to be their next chapter.

Strata- A Young Person’s Guide To Experimental Music (SAA1125)

An ambitious compilation of noise, electronic, hip-hop, free jazz, prog and experimental music, Strata- A Young Person’s Guide To Experimental Music is a primer for those of any age. Featuring rare, new and unreleased tracks from: Create (!), Bizzart, Melk The G6-49, Lafcadio, Soul-Junk, MakeShift:Shelter, Manners For Husbands, Receptor Sight, Electric iLL and others. Collected from the Sounds Are Active and Joyful Noise record labels, Strata- A Young Person’s Guide To Experimental Music, presents both previously unreleased and downloadable tracks with album cuts.

I Heart Lung- Blood & Light (SAA1121)

Recorded in a single three hour session at a now abandoned rehearsal studio, Blood & Light is the result of long-simmering mutual admiration and a strange turn of events. The recording session that produced this album wasn’t even supposed to have taken place. However after an aborted performance and with newfound time on their hands Blood & Light became. The sounds, textures and improvisations collected here were created without premeditation. Recorded with no overdubs or effects Blood & Light tells stories of subway trains, angels, gnomes, drones, miracles, hopes, glassy voices and fears.

Sounds Are Active/Asthmatic Kitty Sampler (AS001)

Sounds Are Active and sister label Asthmatic Kitty have pooled their collective talents to put something beautiful into the world: the 2004 Sampler. Over over 74 minutes of music from these two unceasingly original record labels. The Asthmatic Kitty “Side” features songs from Sufjan Stevens’ first three albums, as well as three tracks from the unrelentingly joyous Half-Handed Cloud. Songs by Liz Janes, Castanets and Viva Voce round out the 11 tracks- 3 heretofore unreleased. 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.

Xn.- ideas without numbers (SAA1118)

A collection of five short ambient guitar pieces from Chris Schlarb recorded in 1999 and released as a limited edition album totaling less than 10 minutes. Built around the unorthodox but simple sounds coaxed out of the electric guitar the original album was meant to be listened to repeatedly. After the limited release sold out, Schlarb contacted a number of different experimental, electronic and hip-hop artists to gauge interest in remixes and reinterpretations.

Bizzart- Ear Drung (SAA1116)

Live free-jazz breakouts and lo-fi bass heavy glitch combine with Bizzart’s complex/abstract lyrical patterns. Ear Drung contains over 40 minutes of experimental hip-hop for fans of Bjork, PiL, Squarepusher and CAN. Over a 6 years in the making (yes, six), the album features incredible contributions and collaborations with DJ ESP, who appears on 4 tracks, Soul-Junk who produce “Nivek” and co-produce “Pink Summer in Hell” with Accident. Galaxalag also contributes vocals to “Nivek” along side other M.C.’s Freedom80 (of Non-Conformists), on “Negative Gravity” and Zane (of Tunnel Rats) on the incredibly dirty “Infinite Zero”. Also contributing to the sounds and structures are NOTICE contributors Peter Chan who lays down saxophones and clarinets on 5 cuts, Justice Constantine and Andrew Pompey who play live drums on one track each (”Protocol” and “Infinite Zero” respectively). Create (!) performs on the groove-based deconstruction that is “Stock Options on the Inner Reconstruction of Man” and Slo-Ro (of Soul-Junk) also contributes sounds to two additional tracks (”Ear Drung/Illuminate” and “Infinite Zero”).

Xn./Deneir- flowers (eating) words (SAA1115)

flowers (eating) words has been on and off hold for over 2 years, waiting for technology, time and purpose to bring ten short songs together. Clocking in at a robust 11 1/2 minutes each of the tracks was designed to fit into the close confines of sixty seconds each. Xn. and Deneir each contribute four abbreviated pieces in addition to one collaborative composition. On “gold in mirror” Deneir takes Xn.’s sloth-sound and pumps it full of rocks and cymbal shimmer. “Internal Chattering” reveals on repeated listens: Xn.’s bubbling guitar haikus threading Deneir’s LFO gurgle.

Xn.- Opening Up (SAA1112)

So called anti-guitar guitar music, Chris Schlarb’s solo electric guitar project has brought forth its first fruit on the ambient/melodic/spatial axis. All pieces were recorded in one sitting (normally within a 2-3 hours each) and contain roughly five guitars as a kind of minimalist orchestra. Guitars take shape as birds singing, little explosions and thinking machines. With simple treatments and spare- but lush- arrangements these pieces are part of a concerted effort to approach the instrument of electric guitar as a guitar in name only. The album features unique interpretations of songs by Neil Young (”Round & Round”) and Curtis Mayfield (”People Get Ready”) as well as three original compositions. opening up is and album full of phasing harmonies and subtle warmth.

Bizzart- L.A. Approach 12″ (SAA1108)

This little gem of an E.P. is not the norm from your everyday “Man yo, I’m ill! I’m the hardest! And other such hyperbole!” type M.C. You know what I’m sayin’? Anyhow, what we have here is a 6 track 12″ that features the very catchy and unconventional “L.A. Approach” produced by Fourever and an incredibly dirty digital/analog experimental track from Accident called “Wax.” The Accident Reconstruction of “Wax” is a rare instrumental reworking of the track that would later appear on Bizzart’s groundbreaking album Ear Drung. The 12″ also includes another non-album track with the classic spoken word a cappella “You Suck.”

themorningcall/My Marathon- split 7″ (SAA1107)

The first split 7″ released on Sounds Are Active comes from two very different instrumental ensembles: My Marathon, based out of San Francisco, is a moody four piece which includes former Halo Friendlies drummer, Deanna Lewis now on guitar. These two slippery songs recorded by Havalina’s Matt Wignall in Long Beach, shout and murmur with highly melodic guitar interplay and a propulsive rhythm section work from Justin Lewis (bass) and Colin Dobrin (drums). Also mastered by The Album Leaf’s Jimmy Lavalle. Chris Schlarb’s themorningcall is a distinctly different musical statement from one of Create (!)’s co-founders. With Chris playing all instruments (except drums on “August” which are played by Long Beach area rapper Zyrun Jackson) themorningcall’s music transitions from brisk fusion breaks on “Sometimes…” to the acoustic piano driven “August” which also includes a 4-part clarinet section before falling into backward cymbal washes and keyboard melodies.