Tuesday, September 29, 2009

JUST GOT MARRIED






SO EXCITE!
since sep 22 2009




abct + fetc

Friday, September 18, 2009

Cave In & Greymachine PT 2







above: various views of the greymachine "disconnected" cd package
below (previous post): various views of the cave in "planets of old" 12" package

i realized that though i often post preview images of layout projects or the foundational elements for them (such as illustrations or type treatments), i rarely post documentation of the finished artifacts. this post and its predecessor are attempts to rectify that oversight - though i will admit the photographic representations of these albums are not entirely accurate.

here are some project details on both:

-greymachine: 12 page booklet on high gloss/UV coated stock with a vellum booklet cover and tray card. all pieces are black and white + a metallic pantone spot color (silver PMS 877). video stills for the layout provided by justin broadrick. vinyl version forthcoming.

-cave in: single LP stoughton "tipon" style jacket + innersleeve. both printed on high gloss/UV coated stock with 4 color process "hospital green" + metallic pantone spot color (copper PMS 876). CD version forthcoming.

i didn't intentionally use similar specs for both projects (UV coated stock, metallic spot, etc), i just tried to select elements which would suit each layout and the music they were housing/representing. however, i have noticed a tendency in my working process to run with particular aesthetic choices in phases, sometimes only noticing this in retrospect when i look back at a group of projects in tandem. i guess this is my coated stock + metallic color phase?

for those unfamiliar with the music/groups associated with the imagery above and below here are some useful links:

-greymachine: reviewed in decible , and a few tracks can be previewed here

-cave in: reviewed here , and you can listen to some cave in here

...and...

life supporting resources: bohren and der club of gore "dolores", mary shelly "frankenstein" (w/bernie wrightson illustrations), megadeth "endgame", various "wednesday comics", oxbow "songs for the french", fovea hex EPs, late luncheon at plum, stumptown, ashpool "saturns slave", adbusters, etc.

Cave In & Greymachine PT 1





Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Mamiffer studio documents







above from top to bottom:

• mamiffer takes a break from the studio - snoqualamie, wa - pic by sera timms
• guest vocalist sera timms w/mamiffer at aleph studio - pic by j bennett
• playing knobs and buttons at aleph - pic by f. coloccia
• don mcgreevy and randall dunn take a break from the math maps - west seattle - pic by a. turner
• faith coloccia and randall dunn at the piano, studio litho - pic by a. turner

phase one of mamiffer album tracking complete. faith has finished all the foundational piano tracks. portions of other instrumentation/sounds also completed. aside from core members, contributors so far include don mcgreevy and sera timms with more folks coming in for phase two. engineering and production duties being handled by randall dunn with assistance from mell dettmar and sean at litho. piano tracked at studio litho, seattle, and all other tracking so far at aleph studio, west seattle. we hope to finish the album in january 2010 followed by the release of the album in the late spring. more updates soon.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

OXBOW "Songs for the French"








above: finished designs and source illustration from the forthcoming oxbow "songs for the french" 12".

"songs for the french" to be released via hydra head records fall/winter 2009. illustration and type done by hand. design completed with assistance from f. coloccia. the LP includes 3 new tracks on the A side and on the B side 4 live tracks from oxbow's 2008 european tour.

Lotus Eaters, Mamiffer, ISIS, Neely Tape






above: lotus eaters "mind control for infants" LP layout, mamiffer - practice/charting, isis "live V" cover, "corpsegrinder" cassette compilation cover art by tom neely.

-the lotus eaters album "mind control for infants" (originally released by neurot recordings in 2002) is finally going to see release on the vinyl format. the vinyl version features revamped artwork, alternate mixes of the orginal album tracks and a bonus track (an alternate mix of a track originally released on the infernal proteus comp [ajna offensive]). the release is coming out via the fantastic taiga records label some time this fall/early winter, though no definitive date has been set at this point. lotus eaters were and are: james plotkin, aaron turner and stephen o'malley.

-mamiffer have been busy preparing to record our new album and starting tomorrow the session finally begins. the kind and masterful randall dunn will be at the helm for this one and we're very excited to be working with him. there is no exact end date for the recording as of yet but we're hoping to have the album completed by early next year and released several months there after. the vinyl version of the previous album "hirror enniffer" is finally coming out via SIGE records and will hopefully be available in time for the live shows mamiffer will be playing with ISIS in november.

-also being prepared for release in conjunction with the ISIS european fall tour is the "live V" CD/2xLP. this is the latest installment in a series of live releases by ISIS, the CD versions of which have all been self released, and the vinyl versions which have been released by various labels. the vinyl version of this particular installment is coming out on viva hate records , so thanks to them for that. the audio on this release came from an ISIS performance in london from a couple years ago where we played "oceanic" in its entirety. the recordings from that night were later mixed and mastered by justin broadrick who also plays on the version of "weight" appearing on this release.


-the illustrious and talented tom neely has compiled an excellent metal mix tape for inkstuds.com and created a fine graphic assemblage to go along with it. tom is also working on artwork for a project called "the wolf" for which i am supposed to be composing music. i haven't recorded anything yet tom, and i'm sorry... but when i do you'll be even more sorry....

helpful materials: hildur gudnadottir "without sinking", oxbow "fuckfest", eleh "homage to the sine wave", keelhaul's "triumphant return to obscurity", amesoeurs s/t, the perry bible fellowship almanack by nicholas gurewitch, hiems "worship or die" (except for the last 2 tracks), barn owl - live....