NEW CAVE IN SHIRT

above:
new cave in t shirt design based off the art generated for the "planets of old" release. top two images are front and back of the "regular" shirt, to be printed with dark red and gold ink. bottom image is a possible alternate color scheme. the shirt will be part of a pre-order for the CD/DVD version of "planets of old" coming soon to the HHR webstore.

in the next couple days i'll put up some images and info on the long delayed LP version of the mamiffer "hirror enniffer" LP, as well as year end (mostly) fun time lists.

positive recent intake: fugazi "end hits", brutal truth "evolution through revolution", howard zinn on the bill moyers show, friends and family at the wedding party in the desert, harvey milk "small turn", circle "tyrant", old wainds "scalding coldness", nihill "grønd", kerosene 454 "at zero", bohren and der club of gore "dolores", mike cary "the unwritten", etc.

WOOLF, SUPERMEN & THE FINGERS OF DESTINY

Excerpt from Virginia Woolf's "A Room of One's Own" :

"...Life for both sexes... ...is arduous, difficult, a perpetual struggle. It calls for gigantic courage and strength. More than anything, perhaps, creatures of illusion as we are, it calls for confidence in oneself. Without self-confidence we are as babes in the cradle. And how can we generate this imponderable quality, which is yet so invaluable, so quickly? By thinking that other people are inferior to oneself. By feeling that one has some innate superiority - it may be wealth, or rank, a straight nose, or the portrait of a grandfather by Romney - for there is no end to the pathetic devices of the human imagination - over other people. Hence the enormous importance to a patriarch who has to conquer, who has to rule, of feeling that a great number of people, half the human race indeed, are by nature inferior to himself. It must indeed be one of the chief sources of his power. But let me turn the light of this observation on to real life, I thought. Does it help explain some of those psychological puzzles that one notes in the margins of daily life? Does it explain my astonishment the other day when Z, most humane, most modest of men, taking up some book by Rebecca West and reading a passage in it, exclaimed, "The arrant feminist! She says that men are snobs!" The exclamation, to me so surprising - for why was Miss West and arrant feminist for making a possibly true if uncomplimentary statement about the other sex? - was not merely the cry of wounded vanity; it was a protest against some infringement of his power to believe in himself. Women have served all these centuries as looking-glasses possessing the magic and delicious power of reflecting the figure of man at twice its natural size. Without that power probably the earth would still be swamp and jungle. The glories of all our wars would be unknown. We should still be scratching the outlines of deer on the remains of mutton bones and bartering flints for sheepskins or whatever simple ornament took our unsophisticated taste. Supermen and Fingers of Destiny would never have existed. The Czar and the Kaiser would never have worn their crowns or lost them. Whatever may be their use in societies, mirrors are essential to all violent and heroic actions. That is why Napoleon and Mussolini both insist so emphatically upon the inferiority of women, for if they were not inferior, they would cease to enlarge. That serves to explain in part the necessity that women so often are to men. And it serves to explain how restless they are under her criticism; how impossible it is for her to say to them this book is bad, this picture is feeble, or whatever it may be without giving far more pain and rousing far more anger than a man would do who gave the same criticism. For if she begins to tell the truth, the figure in the looking-glass shrinks; his fitness for life is diminished. How is he to go on giving judgment, civilising natives, making laws, writing books, dressing up and speechifying at banquets, unless he can see himself at breakfast and at dinner at least twice the size he really is? ...The looking-glass vision is of supreme importance because it charges the vitality; it stimulates the nervous system. Take it away and man may die, like the drug fiend deprived of his cocaine..."

Lotus Eaters "Mind Control for Infants" 2xLP out now

Above: shots of the now available 2xLP version of the Lotus Eaters album "Mind Control for Infants". Photos courtesy of Stephen O'Malley.

The vinyl is currently available from Taiga Records, and I will hopefully have some soon to bring along for the remainder of the Isis tour currently underway. Thank you Taiga!

PRINT article, OXBOW vinyl

the online version of PRINT magazine has just posted an article about heavy metal design - the article contains interviews snippets with me, stephen o'malley, and seldon hunt, as well as a few selected images of our work. check it here .



as mentioned in the last post, the new oxbow 12" "songs for the french" is now available via oxbow on tour, hydra head mailorder and webstore, etc. above is a picture of the fancy vinyl colors, sleeve and insert. see here for more details of the artwork.

ISIS/Mamiffer/Jodis/Etc

preview of alternate artwork for LP version of the Jodis "Secret House album. to be released via hydra head records in december. cd available now. photos for LP version and design assistance by faith t coloccia. LP (and japanese/daymare cd version) will contain track not included on US cd version.


billboard in slovenia for upcoming isis show. never would have imagined we'd be sharing public space with living colour... or playing in slovenia for that matter. photo courtesy of stephen o'malley. model: peter rehberg.


2 mamiffers on the boat from sweden to finland - photo courtesy of john overstreet. last mamiffer show on the isis tour tonight in prague - thanks for having us along other isis', and thanks to those that came early to listen us play live renditions of mamiffer songs new and old. vinyl version of "hirror enniffer" out now via sige records. all the copies we brought for our portion of the isis tour are sold out. remaining copies soon available via hydra head, conspiracy, select retail outlets, and possibly future mamiffer live shows.


here is a bench in warsaw on a misty night before the isis/mamiffer/dälek show the following day. nice to walk about warsaw at night and nice to play there again as well.


a hairy guy sitting on a zebra print bench with pixelated african nature scene wallpaper behind him on a boat sailing from finland to estonia. photo by faith t coloccia.

some hydra head updates: pyramids with nadja collaborative album available as of 2 weeks ago. available directly from hydra head and vacation vinyl as well as various other outlets. available this week exclusively direct from hydra head & vacation vinyl: everlovely lightningheart "sien weal tallion rue" cd version (limited to 300 copies, handmade packaging) and the new 12" by oxbow entitled "songs for the french".

helpful and/or informative while traveling the lands of perpetual dusk: back bench companion, philip k. dick "divine invasion", marjane satrapi "persepolis", the bug "london zoo", at the gates "slaughter of the soul", bohren and der club of gore "dolores"....

JODIS "secret house" released

last tuesday the jodis "secret house" album was released via hydra head. took quite a while to finish this one and finally get it out, but i think all involved are pleased that it has finally arrived, and hopefully some others will be as well. above are some photos of the final package for the CD (albeit poor taken ones), a review from british magazine rock-a-rolla, and you can hear a clip here . vinyl is in the works as well, and will hopefully be done by the end of the year assuming production goes according to schedule. the 2xLP version will include an alternate layout rounded out with photos by f. coloccia and a track not included on the CD version of the release.

currently on the road with isis and quite enjoying ireland.

sustenance on the road: zak sally "like a dog", imre kertesz "kaddish for an unborn child".

torche/boris - art preview

above - preview images from the layout for the torche/boris split 10".
from top to bottom:

1. front cover
2. interior foldout
3. backside of innersleeve
4. unused composition from early version of the layout

project specs and info:

-oversized double sided poster style fold out - 20.5" x 20.5 ", folded into quarters around vinyl and inserted into plastic sleeve / matte coated paper w/spot UV gloss on both sides of the poster foldout / heavy weight printed innersleeve for vinyl / full color 10" labels and multiple colors of vinyl (hopefully) matching colors used in the layout. lettering and layout assistance by faith coloccia.

in other news:

to be released via hydra head on tuesday oct 13: jodis "secret house" - the long delayed debut album. pics of the finished layout and more info in the next couple days. also recently released on hydra head : oxbow "fuckfest" reissue, nihill "krach" and "grond", and just around the corner, the vinyl version of the recently released album by keelhaul "triumphant return to obscurity".

tonight at vacation vinyl in los angeles, ca: skeleton witch live instore. and tomorrow: nadja. if you are a resident of the los angeles area come on down, the shows are free....

-

currently enjoying: married life, alegria, local, converge "axe to fall", the austerity program - new EP, megadeth "endgame", nahvalr "s/t".

JUST GOT MARRIED

SO EXCITE!
since sep 22 2009




abct + fetc

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

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.

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....

MAMIFFER SHOW TONIGHT

mamiffer show tonight in seattle - location: the josephine, (608 nw 65th st n, ballard) - with: barn owl and tecumseh. show time: 9:00 pm. mamiffer line up for this evening's performance: faith coloccia, travis rommereim, aaron turner. come see music...

*photo by Krzysztof Zatycki from Mamiffer show in Wroclaw, PL - 04/29/09

new drawings: boris/torche split

above: 3 illustrations for the forthcoming boris/torche split ep. the split is to be released in the US on cd/10" vinyl via hydra head records, and on cd in japan by daymare records (with alternate artwork by fangsanalsatan)....

nutritive: aura noir " black thrash attack", extended bed rest, mz.412 "burning the temple of god", tim hecker "an imaginary country", rätto ja lehtisalo "pari lepakkoa transylvaniassa", daughters - new album (holy shit!), local's spicy fries, shane mehling's reviews for decibel, wold "imperator", kreng "l'autopsie phenomenale de dieu", backyard lawn therapy....

poster by neely, caretaker, GM cassette, notes from the end of the road

above:

1. poster by tom neely for the final show of the isis 2009 US summer tour. tom is a good man and a good artist. this poster was a great way to end the tour poster series and simultaneously announce our (subjectively) triumphant homecoming. tom is also responsible for the "treehead" t-shirt/sweatshirt design we were selling on the above mentioned tour as well as the european tour that preceded it. for more info on tom please check out his blog in the above right links section >

2. cover for a greymachine "vultures descend" cassette single to be given away with copies of the forthcoming greymachine album via orders placed through the hydra head webstore. the audio is the same as the material featured on the limited 12" of the same name. design by james o'mara. CD version of the album (+ cassette) available for preorder soon.

3. james o'mara + orange + robot. james works for hydra head. he is also a great man. robot and orange live in my house and are looked after by james when i am on tour. for this service (and a great many others), i am eternal indebted to james. thanks jimmy.


currently in helsinki on the eve of the final isis show in our summer european tour. we've played a handful of festivals (furia, roskilde, dour, etc), and a small number of club dates with our friend and fellow noisemaker destructo swarmbots in tow. thanks to DS, our road crew, and all those who willingly (or not so willingly), came to listen to our music. we enjoyed ourselves for the most part as hopefully the audiences did too, saw some other great bands/artists perform, and had some amusing/exciting adventures with swimming, soccer, and italian border guards. a well deserved break for isis will follow this tour, though a good many things will surely be accomplished by the various members in the interim between this tour and the next which will follow in the late fall....

while on the road the following have been enjoyed/absorbed: destructo swarmbots - live and in the van, oakenthrone vol 6 - magazine + CD compilation, phonophoni "oak or rock", "valis" by philip k. dick, "the filth" by grant morrison, "hellblazer: rake at the gates of hell" by garth ennis and steve dillon, new material by torche and xasthur and boris, arvo pärt "triodion", circle "prospect", etc...