★Morc Records
Lo Becat
Opening a glimmering window into the brilliant scene currently percolating in Strasbourg, France, Morc Records returns with “Lo Becat”, their first offering from the stunning creative duo of Lise Barkas and Lisa Käuffert. Rendered on two bagpipes, intertwining elements of traditional French folk with the tactics, ideas, and approaches of experimental music, the resulting sounds unfurl a singular iteration of intoxicating long-tone minimalism that leaves you riveted to the core.
Éclipse des Ocelles
An absolutely stunning debut by Roxane Métayer - reissued in a limited edition of 150 vinyl copies by Morc Records - 'Éclipse des Ocelles' is the perfect European counterpoint to Henry Flynt and Tony Conrad, and so much more. Combining field recordings and vocal interventions with thick modulating violin drones, percussive and textural playing, and subtle processing, it's emotive, stunningly beautiful, creatively brilliant, and not to be missed.
♥ / Lamb
Soccer Committee has always been an consistent exercise in restraint, and offering space. And on ‘♥ /Lamb’, this approach has been taken to perfection. The arrangements are still minimal, with plenty of time for the tones and melodies to resonate with maximum impact. Mariska Baars still carefully selects each note, and lets the sound evolve with precise care. Her songs are definitely rooted in the folktradition, but at the same time very ‘ambient’, in the true sense of the word. And still: there…
Split (LP)
**Edition of 200 copies, in process of stocking** Mutual admirers of each other’s work, these titans of Scottish and French dronefolk team up for a split LP, with two tracks by Pefkin and three by Roxane Métayer. The fact that these like-minded artists explore the boundaries of what connects them, makes it a very exciting release. The Pefkin side is Gayle at her most melodic, whereas Roxane goes down a poetic and rhythmical path. Dream combo. The album is pressed on high-quality german vinyl, in…
Luster
Tip!!! * Reissue. Edition of 150. Lush jacket: outer sleeves are screenprinted + letterpressed. Lyric sheet screenprinted in two colours. Comes on high quality German vinyl, mastered by Michael Anderson of 4K mastering * The Belgian folk/dronerock sextet Luster is definitely one of the few bands that gathered a reputation before most people heard them, but eventually manages to exceed the expectations. Started as an informal meeting around 2012 the band worked at a notorious slow pace. Througho…
Hymnes Apophatiques
Tip! *2nd limited edition* During the summer of 2021, Delphine was invited for a residency at the church of St Saphorin (Switzerland), on the occasion of the Jolie Vue Festival. Having the opportunity to fully explore the organ the days before the actual festival, Delphine improvised a long, long series of tracks, of which you’ll find a small selection on ‘hymnes apophatiques’.
She’s definitely full of respect for the organ, at some moments diving deep in the sound traditionally associated with …
A Still From The Film
* 2022 stock. Edition of 150* A Still From The Film is a sort of sister release of 2012’s ‘Detachment’. So you can expect warm and dark drones, mostly guitarbased. But this album is at the same time more abstract, and more accessible. The a-side is one sidelong track. Whereas many artists start out with a melody that degenerates into chaos, Karina ESP builds a subtle melody out of what starts as a vague mix of hiss, crackles and guitarsounds. The b-side of the record is more straightforward, wit…
Kleine
* 2022 stock. Edition of 300* Kleine was released in 2002 on tape only. Though it was recorded over the course of five years, this is probably their most coherent output – the record starts with mostly acoustic parts, mixed with more psychedelic parts. Towards the end, the more direct songs merge perfectly with the tape and drone experiments. On this record, Karin and Jeffrey get support from an impressive list of guest musicians: Alastair Galbraith on violin, B’Eirth (In Gowan Ring, Birch Book)…
Split EP
* 2022 stock. Edition of 200* Before embarking on a European tour, Boduf Songs and Jessica Bailiff re-worked one of their older songs in totally different versions. Boduf Songs presents a stripped own but electric and heavy version of decapitation blues, originally a vibrating and pulsating track. Jessica Bailiff brings a new take on Lakeside Blues, heavily relying on keyboards.
Detachment
* 2022 stock. Edition of 150* It’s fair to say that despite his long history and reputation, Karina ESP hasen’t been the most productive act around. Gowers started working on this record a few years ago, but things did not fall into the right place. Until late 2011, returning from a short Benelux-tour. Gowers travelled to Scotland, where Fraser McGowan of Caught in the Wake Forever and Small Town Boredom managed to record the album in a matter of days. And that’s what Detachment sounds like: thi…
Old Things
* 2022 stock* This record is a collection of rare and unreleased material, mostly recorded between the release of her second and third album. As such, it can be seen as the missing link between the rather droney second record, and the starker Jessica Bailiff record. This is more than ,,just’’ a collection of older material: this records explains why it took her so long to finish her third record: she was also working on these gems which form a regular full length on their own. Songs like Your so…
Music For Empty Rooms
* 2021 stock. Edition of 100* As the fourth Lowered album, Music For Empty Rooms has a more expanded sonic palette to include piano, cello, tam tam, singing bowls and room recordings. However it retains the bleakly ascetic sound of previous works. Developing themes of existential isolation that were explored on debut Lost Seas, new album Music For Empty Rooms takes personal experience as subject matter. The ‘empty rooms’ reference Gowers’ move to a new house in a strange town following the deat…
Tell from the Grass
** Edition of 200 copies. The album is pressed on high-quality vinyl, and all sleeves are screenprinted by hand in two colours, on heavy paper. comes with a download coupon. ** Morc Records presents Tell from the Grass by Soccer Committee. More than a decade after her last solo release, Mariska Baars graces us with a new mini-lp. Her sound is as minimal and spartan as the volume of her output. The songs are still slow, stripped-down and quiet, made with an overwhelming love for tone and sound, f…
Edgar Wappenhalter
** 2021 Stock. Edition of 150 ** Long-awaited return of Steve Marreyt, the grandmaster of psychedelic dronefolk-soundcollages. here he resurfaces with three long and impulsive tracks - mainly based on vocals and samples, but using the same direct and messy approach that made his earlier releases so unique. The entire A-side is taken up by an acapella lamentation for Herman Bisschop, the Dutch artist who passed away in the summer of 2018 and was a personal friend of Marreyt. The B-side thrives on…
Klein Eiland
Klein Eiland comes as a suprise: the past decade, the ROT-members have been playing less shows, and their record output had come to a halt. Not sure why: there has been the occasional gathering and recording session. (this one happened to be the last one feat. Floris Vanhoof as a band member) But: R.O.T. proves that they still manage to capture a specific time and place like no one else does. This session was recorded in a now demolished building in the south of Brussels, and is now replaced by …
Litio Folk
Rob Aiki Aubrey Lowe (Om, 90 Day Men) swiftly proceeds his stunning 'Timon Irnok Manta' side for Type with a humbling, stripped down suite crafted almost entirely from his own vocals, subtly layered with some synth work. 'Lítió Fólk' feels at once vast and intimate: Lowe's vocals resonate deeply, instinctively - quavering notes and curling overtones centre the sound within the body - while the layered and sustained drone structure seems to draw the spirit ever outwards, drawing enchanting melodi…