It’s time to relive April again. Pretend, with me, that this post is not two months late. Thank you, and my apologies if April was a particularly bad time for you and it caused you pain to relive it. For me, April arrived as we returned from Cuba. The return to life back home was immediate and overwhelming, rather forced upon us – I call no fair. Catching up on my last semester of college, the Make Mistakes party with Pheek and Stefny, and the wonderful Communikey festival are what saturate my April memories. Nonetheless, I am now pleased to present to you, dear friends, all of April’s Year of Ten installments.

Inhumed EP

These four tracks are all that remain of a number of tracks I was working on in the middle of 2007. I must have been pleased with myself, for I felt inclined to shower myself in a number of gifts. Namely, a mini-disc recorder for capturing all of those crickly-crackly moments away from the studio / A pair of Beyer Dynamic DT-770 headphones / and a new hard drive. Only the headphones have survived these last three years (though the mini-disc I swear can be repaired…) The recorder and the headphones resulted in an immediate jump in sound quality and enabled a whole new realm of experimentation. I worked away at a number of tracks which I stored on my happily whirring new hard drive. You can guess, I’m sure, that the happy whirring turned to a sad clicking and scratching – and only two weeks after I gifted it to myself. I am apparently a very thoughtless and cheap gift-giver. And this thoughtlessness carries over to my confidence that a backup wasn’t necessary quite yet – the thing is brand new, listen to it whir! So, while the context of this release is rather sad, we can now rejoice in this positive moment – that moment is when I reveal that I had a few WAV files backed up of some songs in their various states of completedness. Inhumed is an EP of four such tracks. I still can’t help but feel saddened by the inability to work these songs to completion; Thief, I think, is one of the more interesting bits I’ve ever done (one of my personal favorites), and the textures in Bearable Parable – I would love to know how I did some of that. So, rejoicing time it is, for I am still proud of what they are and I have listened to them far too many times. I think that you will enjoy them, especially if you’re rejoicing – it can’t help but influence your experience with the music.

(01. canal seat 02. bearable parable 03. cold again, gashed again 04. thief)

DOWNLOAD ZIP or DOWNLOAD RAR

Moonmilk
This is another outtake from the Cold Finishes the Monk sessions. It almost made it, but it didn’t and I don’t have a great narrative about it either. It just didn’t make it. But, hey, ‘moonmilk’ is a strange gooey substance that forms in caves. I learned it was due to bacterial activities, but apparently that’s disputed. Scientists: make up your minds – or are they too full of moonmilk?

Little Diomedian
I really enjoy this track, it stands out to me and has been a favorite of some friends as well. Perhaps it stands out too much, in it has never seemed to relate to anything else I’ve produced, and has just been sitting about for a few years. So, releasing it as part of the Year of Ten seems the perfect thing to do. Oh, and the track title came as I needed a folder name and happened to be watching Michael Palin traveling around the world, spreading his charm. The BBC was there.

Hazel, Hawthorne, Hastened World
A recent re-discovery, found deep in the archives of 2006 I believe. I think I was having a grand time sampling vinyl and seeing what I could do with it. This is what I did with it. I don’t know what else I would do with it, were I to decide to ‘finish it’. So, it’s finished. It’s like releasing a sketch, ok? I’ll be doing that occasionally in this little Year of Ten.

In Illo Tempore
What an apt title, because at the time of making this track, Joshua was playing a whole bunch of cute, pretty, melodic dance music. He was kind of the DJ who ended shows or played at sunrise or some such. I had a number of inspiring moments from those sets and I made a few attempts to channel that inspiration into tracks like this one. Most of the time, these tracks never really made it past this phase – not that it’s such a terrible phase to be in – it’s just… not strong enough to be put on a proper release I suppose. Like a caterpillar track and I only release butterflies (perhaps this is my penance for doing the opposite in real life?) Maybe the style or sound design sounds a little familiar to you? You’re not crazy – it’s because this is from the same time period as L-Msaria B-Lglass, Mshia-F-Lehkla and Makyo. An explosion of new techniques and Reaktor building that remain central to my production even now. Various evolutions and metamorphoses of these ensembles(*.ens), mouse-moves and clever-clicks. I present to you, a cute caterpillar ‘dance’ track… don’t feel obligated to play it at sunrise, it probably won’t fly.


That wraps it up for April. I have everything for May all prepared as well but this seems like a saturation enough as it is so I’ll be posting it in a few days. Then we’re back on schedule, friends.

The great Sutemos label has released the next installment of Intelligent Toys called We Make Music. It features a mind-numbingly great roster of artists like Michael Fakesch, AGF/Delay, Ontayso, Jan Jelinek, Praveen, EU, on and on and on the list goes – (51 tracks in all) – including two tracks by Ten and Tracer. Perhaps most shocking of all, it’s FREE to download from their
website! > http://www.sutemos.net < Get your mouses clicking and your ears tricking.

It was a month: March. Rachel and I traveled to Cuba for two weeks. A truly amazing and surreal adventure it was and we both returned travel-shocked and overwhelmed by our immediate need to return to our normal lives. Looking at things here, I see that I have not followed through on three tracks for March – that’s a shame. Let me know if you have a different count. I also see that April is lacking a release and tracks. These will come soon, friends. As much as I don’t want to leave, March shall have to do for this eve.

Natura Naturata:
An outtake from Cold Finishes the Monk; not because I didn’t like it, but because of a truly mysterious hard-drive something or other (it’s that mysterious I don’t even know a general term with which to describe it – are you getting a sense of this mystery!?). I am left (we are left) now with only this precious export from somewhere along the way. It really had some potential and I was excited to take it somewhere, but the session file is somehow gone – leaving this file as evidence that it ever existed. Ok, there’s more evidence than that but it is not helpful when I’m biased towards masking this in mystery and drama. Evidence, schmevidence… What happened to the missing files? No one will ever know. Ever. But, I hope you do enjoy this track; it’s still a lovely piece, really on its way towards a respectable bit of sleepy music. Now, it’s probably only noteworthy.

Seeper Whale:
First, what is the deal with this track title? Surely I was rushing and had to put some words in for a new folder, but Seeper Whale… I just don’t know why I would do a thing like type those words on a computer. Well, try not to judge the track ahead of time just because of the name – it’s a cool track. I dabble in hip-hop beats from time to time. There are some MCs I’d like to work with, but whenever I try to make an instrumental track to give to them, it’s too weird, too dense, too dense with weirdness. And so I never give it to them and I work on it like a Ten and Tracer track. Or sometimes I am pretty deliberate about it from the start. I don’t know which this is. It’s all full of vinyl bits and sloppy hi-hats, getting off the ‘grid’ if you know what that is. Don’t worry if you don’t. So, check it, don’t wreck it, dig the tale, of Seeper Whale.

Superglam Superglimpse:
From the autumn of 2006 comes this glitchy track full of ideas, but not quite there, I suppose. I made with live shows in mind and I remember asking Joshua (Time for Trees) if he thought people would dance to it. He commented on how it’s only 22bpm or something so slow – I should not expect people to dance to that. At least not in 2006. I’m surprised Joshua did not laugh me out his door and into the leafy streets but he didn’t. He was very understanding of my dance naivete which persists to this day – but he is still very tolerant about how I always try to make dance tracks into walls of sound design with a kick drum that isn’t loud enough – or when we play and I fail to ‘bring it’ and he has to re-’bring it’ even though he just mixed out his ‘it’ because I was supposed to have something comparable. This track shows that I was starting to have an interest in actually engaging an audience instead of playing whatever the hell I wanted and giving all of the responsibility of ‘having a good time’ to the audience. I thought that I was bringing ‘it’ usually, but really maybe only for two people. I would not count this track as a success, however, and I don’t think I ever did play it out. It never would have worked. At least not in 2006.

Hope you find something to enjoy here. I’ll be doing some more catching up as soon as possible.

I don’t have any April Fool’s joking to do, maybe I’ll think of something later. For now, just a quick update to report I am back from travels and catching up on all orders and the Year of Ten updates and other bits that were left unfinished, unanswered, undone-like. You know how it goes, bloggy.

I’m in the process of getting together a better web presence both with Acre and this site. You’ll look better, blog, and I’ll make you more useful. The collective has also been silently putting together a strange webzine and we will continue to silently do so until we shout about it. For now, we’ll be going about doing some proper promotion for Cold Finishes the Monk and spreading the word about other fine releases to come. Thanks to everyone for your support! It has been a very happy year so far.

Finally, it’s here. Weeks late. And as I complete this, I am off on an adventure to the tropics. See you in two weeks. Orders will be shipping while I’m away but some delays may occur.

Cold Finishes the Monk by Ten and Tracer is the follow-up to last year’s critically acclaimed Tsotsitaal album. Across these eleven tracks, Ten and Tracer channels several powerful influences of the last year: Namely, the writings of Nishida Kitaro and Dogen, and his studies in evolution, genetics and developmental biology. This influence, combined with his ever growing collection of tape recorders, strange films, warped records, and custom-built software has resulted in an un-paralleled work of Ten and Tracer’s ambient explorations. It represents an evolution in process, as well as sound – a further exploration of his fascination with spontaneity and finite details. The music is at times orchestral and cinematic, and at others, meditative and surreal. Throughout the process, a psychedelic strain began to appear which was further refined, becoming a fundamental aspect of the music. Cold Finishes the Monk is a warm, powerfully emotional narrative – it stands out as one of the most refined and thoughtful releases of Ten and Tracer’s career.

Several tracks include contributions and collaborations with Keith Kenniff (aka Helios, Goldmund), Layden Bryant (Able), and Lauren Higgins.

Digital Delivery:
The release is available as a free MP3 download from www.acrerca.com
Uncompressed audio is available on a donation basis (including free, of course) The Acre Collective’s bandcamp site: theacrecollective.bandcamp.com

Physical Package:
The Standard Edition comes with a 16+ page booklet, one or more ‘Zen’ paintings, and an assortment of other art by Ten and Tracer

The Special Edition is 44+ page booklet, one original hand-drawn page, one or more ‘Zen’ paintings, and the usual variety, spontaneity and madness one may be familiar with from Tsotsitaal.

The special edition also contains a bonus CDr, Our Eyes Well Skinned, which features a collection of unexpected beauty resulting from the processes involved in the creation of this release. It is a collection of strange artifacts, tape malfunctions, and the many wonders that occur and inspire throughout the creative process. It is for this reason, the subtext of Our Eyes Well Skinned is ‘An Exercise in True Character’ – a concept that is repeated throughout the philosophies of self-cultivation. It is in many ways the presentation of the behavior of the machines and processes themselves. These moments of ‘true character’ were then compiled and arranged with care by Ten and Tracer and presented with an additional painting, cover drawing and insert page.

Many copies are ready and have already shipped, but due to the highly personalized nature of each copy, we ask that a maximum of six weeks be allowed for shipping. This estimate is based on the many problems incurred throughout the Tsotsitaal process, resulting in several copies taking unacceptably long to deliver. We apologize for that and Ten and Tracer has taken many steps to ensure that these delays are not endemic to this release as well.

No no, it’s not some statement about the economic conditions of our world – it’s just a silly title. If I were to attempt to collapse our economic conditions into a song title it would be a lot more convoluted than that, give me some credit, blog. No, I don’t mean credit in the economic sense. We’ve just really set this off on the wrong foot here, blog. I just wanted to give you this song for the week. It’s another ambient bit to get in the mood for next week’s release: Cold Finishes the Monk mini-album MP3/CDr release on CARE. A follow-up to Tsotsitaal and a sibling of a couple of other releases floating about, getting ready for their introduction into the world by other labels.

This song represents somewhere along some experimentation with records. Later experiments actually made it onto some forthcoming releases, but this is a lovely little bit of crackles and flutes. Somehow I left it so eerily unrefined and there are some wonderful contradictions that I would never allow in my present mode of production. But, I respect it, blog. I am pleased with what I did and how I thought it was an ok thing to do to leave it full of trouble, yet delicate as china. This is clearly the point where I get to typing nonsense which is also the point when I wrap it up. Thanks for listening and look forward to a new release next week!

Hello again, friends! This week I present a ‘contemporary’ track in that I made it last week. I’ve been eying one of those ‘electronic bow’ devices for some time now and I finally went ahead and bought one. This track here is my first e-bow test, a smooth little droning cut and paste bit of fun that I thought would break up those aberrant beats I’ve been throwing at you this month. Hopefully you enjoy this little glimpse into my hard drive/studio life. I’ll be doing another lovely ambient track next week (if all goes as planned) gearing up for a special release in March. For Colorado people, I’m playing as Ten and Tracer tonight at the Catacombs in Boulder. Check this link for details.

This week’s track, Twin Cities Twin, is a bit of a snapshot in time for me. I made it in Minneapolis, Minnesota when my mother, sister and I traveled there for my grandmother’s funeral in 2006. The night after the service, I sat at the desk in the hotel room and clicked around, melancholy and pensive. It really came out sounding like some classic 1996 IDM or something, I suppose. Indeed, it’s a bit ’short’ and a bit ‘unfinished’ but I felt inclined to include it as part of the series this year because it is meaningful and unique in its history and influence. This one goes out to the woman who brought my mother into the world – and probably then ultimately to all the mothers out there… listening. (?)

See you next week. Much respect and happy Valentine’s Day to those who celebrate.

Ten and Tracer - Makyo

It has come time again for us to discuss the matter of a new release. It is a new month: February. And with each month I have promised a full release of music alongside an unreleased track weekly. I am really glad, just real glad here, to present to you this new EP of music, Makyo. It’s a collection of tracks that may be rightfully seen as a companion release to L-Msaria B-Lglass (on Archipel) and Mshia-F-Lehkla (on Rope Swing Cities). These six tracks are some of the ‘outtakes’ from those two EPs and now they’ve come together to tell a new little story in Makyo.

What story? I’m not to say, but I’ll tell you a different story while I have your attention. You see those titles? ‘Mshia-F-Lehkla’, ‘L-Msaria B-Lglass’? They probably look like nonsense, the product of a demented mind, or the result of throwing alphabet soup at the wall and writing down the results… but it isn’t so! Instead, it’s a lesson in another language – great fun! Those titles come from a book about a girl growing up in a Moroccan brothel. These two titles were her escape from the oppression of her home. ‘L-Msaria B-Lglass’ is ‘The Sitting Promenade’ and ‘Mshia-F-Lehkla’ translates as ‘A Walk In the Meadow’ (a rare occurrence in her early life). Look it up if you don’t believe me! I hope that you do because you are curious, not out of a lack of trust between us. If that’s the case, we shouldn’t be talking about silly releases but instead working on building trust. Or… I can stop this gabbing all together and let you listen to the release. I hope you enjoy and thanks for listening. Let’s check in again next week and talk about a new track.

Ten and Tracer . Makyo
01. Brixton For You
02. Semi-Fabulous Witches
03. Pastor Killing Town
04. Kunstenares
05. Prole Drift
06. Make Our Senses Swim

Download all songs and artwork:

This week we’re going even further back – back – back all the way to 2003.  Can you even remember what 2003 was like?  Think about it and report back, I’m curious to know.  One thing is for certain, with whatever mind I had at the time, I made this little track here.  It was called ‘Are You Quiz’, but some years ago I decided to organize it with its partner track Buttondrum for which I used the same set of sounds.  For both tracks, I made a majority (if not all) of the tonal, synth-like sounds from a hearing test tone.  Just a tiny little beep did all that, yes sir/madam/undeclared.

Maybe there’s a lesson to learn from that hearing test tone – content in their humble duty, but capable of infinity.  It just takes someone curious to catalyze your pursuit of broadened sonic application… or something.  I clearly don’t have much to reflect upon, I don’t remember 2003.  It was probably one of those years lost to unsettling relationships or so… so… so it goes.  Now, in 2010, may the fruits of 2003 bring joy, happiness, thought, all those verbs we all love verbing.  Next week is another full release as its a new month in the Year of Ten.  Cheers all.