(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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

(Design by nodeOne)

(Ed Colmar - Everything Has Another Meaning)
(Genre: IDM)

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01. Christopher Willits - Colors Shifting (Ed Colmar Remix)
02. Cultivate/Demolish
03. Embrace/Withdraw
04. Avoidance
05. Nourish/Crisis

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Front Cover. Back Cover.

Continuing our week of new releases in celebration of the Communikey Festival of Electronic Arts we are proud to present Ed Colmar’s debut on Rope Swing Cities, Everything Has Another Meaning.

Ed Colmar is an adherent to the continual cycle of creation and destruction, and this preoccupation shows itself in his music. Everything Has Another Meaning is a collection of atmospheric soundscapes, dissonant at times, soothing at others. Rhythmic but erratic drum programming, gives way to hissing waves of sound and aggressive synth stabs.

Ed Colmar brings an exciting new sound to the RSC roster, bringing a more hard, and driving sound to the table. We hope you enjoy this excursion into the darker, more industrial realms of electronic music, at once dissolution and coalesence.

For more on Ed, go here. And don’t forget to check out Ed and the Trust Collective family camp out this summer in Stanislaus Forest, California.

(Art and Animation by Joshua Twentythree)

(Loafeye - A Valid Life)
(Genre: ambient, idm, lo-fi)

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01. Dark Hours Turn To Sounds
02. Red Fox Walks
03. Dashes
04. A Valid Life
05. Familiar Pain
06. Small Sacrifice
07. Rest, You Are Home
08. Grayshade
09. Different Hopes Of Voice
10. Still Water Town
11. Trinimazeroeight
12. Broken Shed
13. Here Today
14. Don’t Lose Time
15. Rest, You Are Home (Coppice Halifax Remix)
16. Red Fox Walks (Ten and Tracer’s Red Fox Rests Remix)

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front cover back cover

Rope Swing Cities kicks off its Communikey Festival of Electronic Arts Super Duper release extravaganza in fine style with the newest album from longstanding RSC cohort, Loafeye.

A Valid Life, Loafeye’s third full length for RSC, continues the artists exploration of the darker, more bleak side of electronic music. Fusing supressed hissing and mournful synth pads with subtly jarring drums, Loafeye has carved out a particular sound to call his own. In his compositions, the mysterious Loafster draws on many influences while staying true to his own musical aesthetics.

The music of Loafeye calls to waking up from the dream world, feeling confused and lost, unsure of oneself. IDM music for those darker moments, not of anger, but of longing and frustration. With Loafeye though, there is always the lingering feeling in the back of ones mind that the world can still be a wondrous place, bathed in the warmth of the sun. Loafeye fans will not be disappointed, while new listeners may discover a new love. Enjoy!

Form more on Loafeye, as always, poke your head over here.

And, hey, take some time to look at the Communikey Festival of Electronic Arts featuring a relaxing afternoon showcase of all Rope Swing Cities artists at the wonderful Trilogy Wine Bar. Maybe we’ll see you there!

Stay tuned all week for new releases!

Rope Swing Cities was recently chosen as Denver’s Best Record Label in Westword’s Best of Denver 2008 awards.

Check it out!

for more Rope Swing Cities an Colorado radness, check out the upcoming Communikey Festival of Electronic Arts this April in Colorado. It’s going to be amazing!