SUMAC "Love In Shadow" artwork

KEIJI HAINO + SUMAC "American Dollar Bill..."

Very happy to announce the forthcoming collaborative album between Keiji Haino and SUMAC - "American dollar bill - Keep facing sideways, You’re too hideous to look at face on" due out via Thrill Jockey in Feb 2018. We're hoping to have copies available for sale on our upcoming west coast tour with Converge as well. Above and below are previews of the album art generated using recent paintings, photos from our studio session and with design assistance by Faith Coloccia. There will also be some test pressings of this album for sale with the original art created for the album - more on that shortly.

Thank you.

SACRUM PROFANUM + THALASSA INTERVIEW

At this year's Sacrum Profanum Festival in Krakow, PL, "Metapattering for Constellation" - a new composition by Faith Coloccia with Aaron Turner - will be debuted. The piece was commissioned by the festival, and will be performed by a 9 piece ensemble as part of the Post-Indie Classical event on 09/30. More on the festival here. 

From the festival's curatorial text regarding Post-Indie Classical:

"This concert is an attempt at defining, identifying or perhaps even constituting new aesthetics – post indie classical? This type of music is created in opposition to sometimes too predictable modern music, but at the same time to over-aestehticised and following the beaten tracks indie classical, and is written by non-academics from the world of independent music. The concert will be unique for one more reason – as the light goes down, you will not know what to expect. All compositions will be produced by Spółdzielnia Muzyczna as premieres; they have just been commissioned by Sacrum Profanum and are being composed. Their author’s vision of instrumental music will be presented by Faith Coloccia and Aaron Turner (Mamiffer, Sumac) – privately a couple of the pianist and the guitarist – vocalists, graphic artists and composers of music basking in the air of melancholy, situated between ambient and chamber music; Aidan Baker(Nadja) – a multi-instrumentalist, a prolific artist representing many aesthetic styles, first of all ambient, drone, shoegaze and kraut-rock; Toby Driver (Kayo Dot) – a vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and composer of music at the crossing of the avant-garde, jazz and prog-metal; Mika Rättö and Jussi Lehtisalo (Circle, Pharaoh Overlord) – a vocalist and a bassist who play all kinds of music from heavy metal through the improvised avant-garde up to avant-rock; Paweł Kulczyński (Wilhelm Brass) – specialising in modular synthesisers, broken rhythms and sound installations (e.g. last year’s Shibboleth)."

Here also is a new interview with Thalassa, the duo of Aaron Turner and William Fowler Collins. The interview discuses "Bonds of Prosperity" Thalassa's debut album, as well as Megadeth, Hendrix, Ghostbusters and other crucial topics:

Machine Music interview with Thalassa

"NOX", my collaborative album with Daniel Menche, is now available for pre-order. Visit the SIGE Records webstore for details - HERE.

Details and sound samples coming soon.

Thank you.

HOLC video

Ozero from ECHOVIDEA on Vimeo.


A video for an older House of Low Culture track made by ECHOVIRUSES. This was just passed on to me, though made some time back. One of my favorite HOLC tracks - glad someone found another use for it. Thanks.

RECENT INTERVIEWS

photo by: Faith Coloccia


Recent interviews:

Metalsucks podcast

Peer Pleasure podcast

Never Mind The Hype video interview

Thank you.


Recently enjoying: Ryo Murakami "Esto", Basic House "I Could Tell You But Then....", "Labyrinths" Jorge Luis Borges, "Sunburning" Keiler Roberts, Full of Hell + Merzbow, Ghedalia Tazartes "Diasporas", ENDON "Through the Mirror", NORDRA - s/t, Zachary James Watkins - live compositions at The Chapel, Seattle, etc.

THALASSA - ALBUM ART & STREAM

Above: THALASSA "Bonds of Prosperity" 2xLP layout. Artwork by Faith Coloccia, additional artwork and design by A. Turner.

THALASSA is A. Turner and William Fowler Collins. The debut is released officially tomorrow, 5/19 via SIGE Records. Here is a full stream of the album for your listening pleasure.

Thank you.

THALASSA - NEW TRACK AND PRE-ORDER

The THALASSA "Bonds of Prosperity" 2xLP is available for pre-order from SIGE Records HERE.

And, below is "Face Obscure" the third track from the album.
Thank you.

SUMAC - JAPANESE TOUR

Very excited to be heading back to Japan  with SUMAC - especially so considering we'll be touring with ENDON and playing a collaborative set with Keiji Haino. Dates and details below. Poster image by Faith Coloccia. Thank you.

6/30: Tokyo @ Bush Bash, w/ FRIENDSHIP, BLACK PHONE 666
7/01: Nagoya @ Huck Finn w/ ENDON
7/02: Osaka @ Conpass w/ ENDON
7/03: Tokyo @ Fever w/ENDON, collab set w/ Keiji Haino

THALASSA - SHOWS AND NEW TRACK

THALASSA is my duo collaboration with William Fowler Collins. We will be playing two shows this month (listed above). 

Below is the first track from our forthcoming album "Bonds of Prosperity", coming out May 19th on SIGE Records. Pre-orders for the vinyl version will be gin this coming Monday 3/20.

Thank you.

SUMAC/OXBOW Europe 2017

I have neglected my blog for a long while. This is my attempt to get back to updating it regularly. 

Poster image above - art by F. Coloccia, design by me.

Here are the dates for the upcoming SUMAC / Oxbow European tour. Thank you.

SUMAC/OXBOW 

EUROPE 2017

20/04 - PRAGUE, CZ

21/04 - LEIPZIG, DE

22/04 - KARLSRUHE, DE

23/04 - TILBURG, NL

24/04 - BRUSSELS, BE

25/04 - LONDON, UK

26/04 - LEEDS, UK

27/04 - BRIGHTON, UK

28/04 - PARIS, FR

29/04 - CREIL, FR

01/05 - MILAN, IT

02/05 - RAVENNA, IT

03/05 - LAUSANNE, CH

04/05 - MUNICH, DE

05/05 - BERLIN, DE

06/05 - COPENHAGEN, DK

SUMAC EAST COAST TOUR

SUMAC east coast tour begins next week. Dates and info below. Thank you.

Aug. 5 - Portsmouth, NH - 3S Artspace *
Aug. 6 - Montreal, QC - Bar Le Ritz PDB *
Aug. 7 - Toronto, ON - The Garrison *
Aug. 8 - Detroit, MI - El Club *
Aug. 9 - Chicago, IL - Township *
Aug. 10 - Chicago, IL - Township *
Aug. 11 - Columbus, OH - Double Happiness *
Aug. 12 - Nashville, TN - The End *
Aug. 13 - Atlanta, GA - The Earl †
Aug. 14 - Durham, NC - The Pinhook #
Aug. 15 - Richmond, VA - Strange Matter #
Aug. 16 - Washington, DC - DC9 Nightclub #
Aug. 18 - Brooklyn, NY - Saint Vitus Bar #
Aug. 19 - Philadelphia, PA - Boot & Saddle #
Aug. 20 - Allston, MA - Great Scott #

* w/ Jon Mueller, nordra
# w/ Jaye Jayle, nordra
† w/ nordra, Deafheaven

SUMAC "WHAT ONE BECOMES" CS ART PREVIEW

Above: color separation proofs from the SUMAC "What One Becomes" cassette version.

SUMAC "THE DEAL" TEST PRESS PAINTED EDITIONS

Above - paintings for the test press versions of SUMAC's "The Deal" 2xLP (SIGE 037). 
Edition of 7, ink/plaka on paper.

Enjoying: Hander som vardar "Aristokrat", Grimes "Art Angels", Shape of Despair "Monotony Fields", Harry Pussy "One Plus One", Kowloon Walled City "Grievances", Neutral s/t, Akhlys "The Dreaming I", Mt Erie "Sauna", Mt Erie "Ocean Roar", etc. 

MAMIFFER "THE WORLD UNSEEN" PRE-ORDER

PRE-ORDER HERE 

Above: elements from the album art for Mamiffer's "The World Unseen" - painting, photography and design by Faith Coloccia.

After working on this album for several years, I'm very happy (and relieved) to see it nearing release. It's currently up for pre-order here via the SIGE webshop. We'll also be bringing copies with us on tour later this month (see previous posts for dates). 

Thank you.

BLACK SPIRITUALS "BLACK TREATMENT" EP

Above: Black Spirituals "Black Treatment" CS. Design by A. Turner using original art elements by F. Coloccia.

Haven't been able to do as much design work as I'd like lately, so I was happy when the opportunity arose to create the sleeve for a tour CS EP by Black Spirituals. For now it's a cassette only release and currently available for order here. Thanks to Black Spirituals for asking me to do this, and to Faith for providing some excellent source materials! New Black Spirituals studio album in the works for later this year, also due for release via SIGE.


Recent enriching intake: ENDON - live, Black Spirituals - live, Sarah Ferrick - "Odette" and various comics, Champagne Mirrors "Extended Communication Techniques", Mount Eerie "Clear Moon", Circle "Pharaoh Overlord", Stilla "Ensamhetens Andar", Klaus Lang "einfalt. still.", Luigi Archetti "Null III", etc.  

MAMIFFER "FLOWER OF THE FIELD II"

A new Mamiffer track "Flower of the Field II" has premiered today via Tiny Mix Tapes - here. This is the second track to be released in advance of the forthcoming album "The World Unseen". A pre-order for the album will be launched on March 1st via SIGE Records. Thank you.

SUMAC TOUR POSTPONED

It is with great regret that we are announcing the postponement of our tour that was to set begin this week - we will only be able play the Vancouver date on 2/19. In our collective careers none of us has ever had to do this, and wouldn't do so without very good reason. Here's what happened - 1: We've been applying for a visa for Nick so he can legally play in the US - as some of you may know he is Canadian. We started this process almost a year ago and were assured it would come through in time for this tour. It didn't. We can't risk him being barred from the country for good by bringing him over for this tour without one. 2: One of us has had a health crisis within our very immediate family - one that requires being close to home for the foreseeable future. One of these reasons alone would've been enough to shut the tour down, the two combined makes it basically impossible. Believe us when we say no one is more disappointed than we are, and we WILL make this up in the very near future, once the above obstacles have been overcome. In the meantime come see us in Vancouver this weekend if you can, and please go see our great friends ENDON and Black Spirituals who will be doing the rest of the tour without us. They are two of the best bands going at the moment and very worthy of your time and attention. Both have done a lot to make this tour happen (ENDON coming all the way from Japan), and would love your attendance at the remaining shows. Thank you all for your support and we look forward to seeing you very soon.

-SUMAC

p.s. we'll have some good news about our other activities to share with you later this week...

MAMIFFER ALBUM, TRACK + TOUR

Mamiffer's new album "The World Unseen" is in the works for an April 1st release via SIGE Records, and Daymare Recordings in Japan. The album was recorded by Randall Dunn, and by us in our home studio - mixed by Randall as well. Once again the band core is Faith Coloccia and myself, with contributions on select tracks from Eyvind Kang, Joe Preston and Genevieve Beaulieu. Album art and design by F. Coloccia.We've been working on this album off and on since 2012 - very happy it's finally complete and looking forward to getting it out into the world. We're doing a US run in March/April in conjunction with the album release - dates below. You can also preview a track from the album below. Thank you!







MAMIFFER - US - March/April 2016

March 22 Portland,OR @ High Water Mark
March 24 Boise, ID @ Treefort Music Festival
March 25 Salt Lake City, UT @ Diabolical Records
March 26 Denver, CO @ Lost Lake
March 28 Omaha, NE @ O'Leavers
March 29 Columbia, MO @ Club Berlin
March 30 St. Louis, MO @ Foam
March 31 Knoxville, TN @ Big Ears Festival
April 1 Cincinnati, OH @ Northside Yacht Club
April 2 Chicago, IL @ Co-Prosperity Sphere
April 3 Milwaukee, WI @ Cactus Club
April 4 Minneapolis, MN @ Icehouse
April 5-9 Iowa City, IA @ Mission Creek Festival

2015 LIVE FAVORITES

Here's a short piece about some of my favorite live experiences from 2015:

AARON TURNER’S TOP 10 LIVE ACTS, FROM MERZBOW & FULL OF HELL TO JON MUELLER

Thanks to Self-Titled for hosting this and F. Coloccia for the picture.

Looking forward to 2016.....