Hello friends,

How’s it going? We hope you’re doing well at this special time of year. Following Joshua’s recent inclusion in the Phlow 2008 Advent Calendar we decided it was a fine time to begin rolling out new Rope Swing Cities features. The first piece of which we’d like to introduce you to today is our brand new label store through Necodo. To kick off this new feature of Rope Swing Cities, we’re offering the new album by Electricwest, so, check it out because it’s amazing!

(artwork: Pat Benolkin)

01. Down We Go
02. Light Lesson
03. Foxfire

Cover.

Download the release as a .zip file.

Electricwest comes to Rope Swing Cities with the haunting and beautiful album Moth3r. Available for free here on the site is a three track EP sampler to whet your appetite for the full release.

Eleven tracks of meticulously composed IDM music, Moth3r is a perfect example of an artist’s synthesis of influences into an original whole. Pat Benolkin has crafted an album filled with lush tones, deep rumbling bass and skittering, dissonant percussion. At times moody and dark, the tone is balanced with pieces of calm, hope and contemplation. All throughout, Electricwest has created an immersive listening environment for both new and old fans of this emerging artist’s work.

So, check out the EP, purchase the full, awesome album and enjoy! For more on Electricwest click here.

(The full album will become available on the site for free as VBR MP3s in March of 2009.)

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01. Airport: Early Arrival
02. Fall Into the City
03. Fountains
04. Pedestrian Bridge
05. Outside Garden Memories
06. Statues and Architecture
07. Riding Fireflies
08. Language All Know
09. Immersed in the Morning Quiet
10. Absolute Silence
11. Departure: One Week Early

Front cover. Back cover.

Download the entire release as a .zip file.

Steve Scherrelies returns to Rope Swing Cities with One Week Early his second release of beautifully nostalgic guitar based soundscapes. We’ve been waiting for more since the debut of A View of the River last summer, and we couldn’t be happier with the eleven well-crafted songs that comprise this album.

Eleven Steps always features his manipulations of the guitar at the center of his pieces, weaving a tapestry of field recordings and other sound creations around the focus of each track. With almost no percussion to speak of, the rhythm of each piece is communicated in the motion of the tones and washes of sound, creating an atmosphere of the peaceful swish-swaying of leaves in the breeze. Inspired by travel and the exploration of the world and oneself, Scherrelies presents a contemplative train ride through the country side, or a hushed wander through the anonymous bustle of the city streets.

Please enjoy our newest release, and look out for the limited edition handmade CD +remixes coming soon! Steve has a website you can check out. He is a great guy, so you probably should click here to see more about him.

(Artwork and animation by joshua twentythree)

(genre: idm)

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01. Hotslash
02. Ashtonfield
03. Station 0I0II0
04. Sunday
05. Moonlight
06. Flower and Reappear
07. Snake Rolls

Download the entire release as a .zip file.

Front cover. Back cover.

French artist Lexithimie debuts on Rope Swing Cities with The Poems of Longfellow a stunning EP of emotionally engaging IDM music, perfect for the end of summer and the encroaching winter.

Lexithimie’s production is peppered with Snow flake pitter patters of percussion which gently guide us through the snow fields of tone and melody. Soft and thoughtful songs filled with a hopeful longing for what comes next. The opening track, Hotslash, opens the release in perfect style; inviting washes of sound give way to a gently pulsing four four, ushering the listener on to explore the further landscapes contained in The Poems of Longfellow. And likewise, Snake Rolls, releases the listener at the end, a comforting sleepy ending to a marvelous musical journey.

With these ever so charming words in mind, please join us in welcoming a new member to the Rope Swing Cities family, Lexithimie, with the thoughtful and cuddly EP The Poems of Longfellow. For more about Lexithimie, you can check out his myspace page, here.

(Artwork by sarah h.dot animation by jason corder)

(genre: ambient, experimental)

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01. Enter Off Color Tear
02. Swallow Shallows
03. Lite Gemut Cycle
04. Tight Phases of Pollen
05. Resting Grass
06. Slow Pulse of Epochal Light
07. Symphony for Exiting Entropies

download the entire release as a .zip file.

Rope Swing Cities is proud to present a new EP of soothing electronic landscapes by Kentucky artist, OffTheSky. With releases on labels such as Resting Bell and Autoplate and most recently an album on Databloem, Jason Corder comes to RSC with a longstanding reputation of creating quietly emotional music.

Subtle Trees continues this tradition with seven tracks incorporating artfully processed strings and piano keys with swelling synthetic waves to form minimalist paintings of sound. Seven calming pieces of music to pierce the heat of summer and offer a cooling respite from the sweltering sun. Subtle Trees is an exploration of nature as translated through Jason’s own observations of the teeming world around him.

Please join RSC in welcoming OffTheSky to our family of artists by spending a little quiet time alone with Subtle Trees as the soundtrack to your dreamy day. For more about OffTheSky and Jason Corder, check out this biz right here.

(Artwork by J. Scott Smith, animation by joshua twentythree)

(genre: idm)

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01. Ueve
02. Omura
03. We Were Warm (Sun Showers)
04. 2802
05. Ancord Point

Download the entire release as a .zip file

Full art. Front cover. Back cover.

Welcome to summer time at Rope Swing Cities! To start off our favorite time of year, we offer you a wonderful EP of beautiful, cool, IDM from Track53. We Were Warm is a perfect compliment to the rising temperatures and growth of summer.

The sound of Track53 is of wavering mirages in the distance; hypnotic percussion surrounding itself with dream like pads and synths, granting each track a unique hold on the listener. At once enchanting and compelling; a languid walk through the swaying trees, filtered light dancing around.

So, join us in celebrating the times of our lives by taking a listen to Track53. We Were Warm is an invigorating taste of what’s to come, rejuvenating and lively without ever being overwhelming. Enjoy!

Come and join us for the most fun you will have all summer, Gemini! every year the gemini party never fails to deliver some of the best music colorado has to offer in one of the most beautiful settings for a party of all time. Check it! and see you there!

(animation by joshua twentythree)

(genre: ambient, experimental, field recordings)

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Sonambulo

download Sonambulo and animation as a .zip file

Jamie Drouin debuts on Rope Swing Cities with an amazingly beautiful and haunting composition, Sonambulo A thirty-three minute ambient masterpiece, Sonambulo is a stunning piece of art.

Jamie Drouin first came to our attention at 2007’s Mutek, where he performed with Yann Novak. It was such a beautiful performance that we not only arranged for his recent appearance with Karl Kliem at the inaugural Communikey Festival of Electronic Arts in Boulder, Colorado, we now have one of his wonderful compositions in the Rope Swing Cities family.

The first in a series of pieces concerning sleepwalking, Sonambulo is composed entirely of field recordings taken in the rain forests of Costa Rica during a recent trip. As the name suggests, Sonambulo is a meandering journey through dream states. The piece stands as an immersive and engaging path through the mind of the sleepwalker. The recordings float between clean and processed, creating a feeling of the mind drifting in and out of reality. Brief moments of rain and wind, the sounds of the forest, bugs and birds give way to otherworldly drones. Sonambulo represents deconstruction of the mind’s cohesion into an empty vessel, to be peacefully refilled.

If this glowing review of Sonambulo has piqued your interest, well, you should go check out more about Jamie Drouin by clicking here. We have also produced a limited edition CD version of Sonambulo, which you can purchase in our store! We hope you enjoy this release as much as we have.

(Photo by Luke Hazard, Animation by Joshua Twentythree)

(Brian Grainger and David Tagg - Sawdust Aromatics)
(Genre: IDM)

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01. Summer’s Parting Ways
02. Autumn Harmonic Mirage
03. Brittle Harvest Memory
04. Vision Through Cloth

Download the entire release as .zip file.

Cover

For day three of our Communikey Festival of Electronic Arts extravaganza Brian Grainger (Milieu, Coppice Halifax and on and on ) returns to Rope Swing Cities with partner David Tagg to present us with a beautiful, warm EP of ambient sounds and subtle layers of strings and guitar.

With nary a concrete rhythm in sight, the sounds that make up the four tracks on this EP create an internal cyclic rhythm, building on spontaniety to create a cohesive whole. Sawdust Aromatics represents a place of safety and comfort that exists inside all of us. The nostalgic magic of childhood can most always be felt in Brian’s music, and he has found a perfect partner in David Tagg. Flowing timeless music, perfect for exploration of the inner core; we recommend headphones and darkness and a little bit of empty time to fully take in the lovely Sawdust Aromatics ep.

Brian and David have been running a label of their own these days, if you aren’t checking it out, you most definitely should be, you can do that by going here.