Hidden Shoal News
Kramies New Single ‘Into The Sparks’ Out Now!
It’s a special day when you get to share a new single from our very own dream pop troubadour Kramies. So you can’t hold back our excitement at being able to announce the release of Kramies’ stunning new single ‘Into The Sparks’. A duet with French singer-songwriter Alma Forrer, ‘Into The Sparks’ is a gorgeous anti-gravity ballad. Kramies and Alma’s voices reverberate amidst open acoustic guitar chords, backed by aching synths. Simply beautiful. The release also comes with a special acoustic version of the single.
Head to Kramies’ BandCamp to grab yourself a free download of the single. Be sure to check out Kramies other releases, music videos and news here and listen to more of Alma Forrer’s music here.
“Still” – A Mixtape Curated by Memorybell
With an album due out next month that is an abject lesson in understanding the spaces between things, Grant Hazard Outerbridge (aka Memorybell) is well poised to present this beautiful mixtape, aptly entitled Still. Lets hand it over to the man himself to explain.
“Society these days is in such a rush. We bounce from one thing to the next, often, it seems, with little idea of where we’re going. As an artist I attempt to fold into my process a slowing down, preferably to a stasis where blurred notes and ideas become suspended, frozen in air where I can analyze and manipulate them. The songs included here for me represent stillness in many of its forms: sitting with discomfort, ennui, idleness, sadness, relief, and release. Once distraction is removed, we’re left with our bodies and thoughts which, in turn, can lead us to some unexpected realizations.” – Grant Hazard Outerbridge (Memorybell)
Joe Sampson Joins the Hidden Shoal Family!
We’re excited to announce the signing of the wonderful Joe Sampson to the Hidden Shoal family of artists. Sampson’s music evokes the comfortably sad acoustic tones of Nick Drake or Leonard Cohen, ornamented with often darkly humorous lyrics, intoned in a soft yet road-worn baritone. A champion of the musical understatement, Sampson creates songs that exude a gently mesmerising beauty.
Since his childhood days singing in his family’s barbershop quartet, up through his years collaborating with celebrated musicians like Nathaniel Rateliff and Esme Patterson, Joe Sampson has steadily sharpened his sound and style, becoming one of Denver’s most celebrated songwriters. Westword named him Songwriter of the Year in 2008, describing his work as “combining the emotional weight of acoustic breakup albums like Beck’s Sea Change or Ryan Adams’ Heartbreaker with an aw-fuck-it humour.”
Joe’s sublime new EP Songs of Delay will see release through Hidden Shoal on the 12th of September, with a single dropping in August. Joe Sampson’s music also joins the Hidden Shoal licensing catalogue and is available for all licensing and publishing needs. Read more here.
Antonymes Featured on Radio National’s Inside Sleeve
Antonymes has been featured on the latest edition of Inside Sleeve on ABC Radio National. His work will also feature on the next show which will be dedicated to piano based works. Thanks to the lovely Paul Gough!Hidden Shoal is 10!
Hidden Shoal is extremely excited to be celebrating its 10th birthday this month. It’s hard to believe that back in May 2006, Perth-based musicians Cam Merton, Stuart Medley and Malcolm Riddoch began Hidden Shoal Recordings as a means to put out releases by local artists. Tim Clarke, based in Melbourne, joined the team in 2007. Hidden Shoal has since gone on to become a much-loved independent label and publisher, releasing over 120 albums from a diverse range of international artists and licensing music from its catalogue across film, tv, web and compilation.
Stay tuned for special anniversary announcements in the coming months!
Glanko & Daniel Bailey “Isometrik” EP Out Now!
We’ve been waiting patiently to share this amazing debut collaboration between IDM/glitch/industrial producer Glanko and guitarist Daniel Bailey and now the wait is over. Isometrik is evidence of the kind of alchemy that can only be conjured when two creative minds are perfectly in tune. Rich with textural counterpoint, these brooding yet innately melodic pieces envelope the listener with their intensity and grace. This music exists at the intersection of soundscape and song, where field recordings and loops play as important a role as piano and guitar.
Over its 4-track, 23-minute runtime, Isometrik delivers an immersive musical narrative. Opener ‘In Eboli’ conveys a bustling and brooding nocturnal scene, before ‘Vaucanson’ evokes the sunrise of the morning after – but one coloured by melancholy. On ‘Consunzione’, the cave-like ambience of echoing voices and field recordings is overwhelmed by guitar drones, synths and percussion, which accumulates into a majestic wall of sound. And on mesmerising closer ‘Adiaphora’, Glanko constructs a towering edifice of reverb and glitch around Daniel Bailey’s deliciously languid guitar loops.
Head to the artists’ profile for all stream and buy links and to read more about the collaboration. Isometrik also joins the Hidden Shoal licensing catalogue and we have no doubt these songs will find themselves perfectly matched to many a visual sequence!
The October Solution ‘Lost’ Music Video Up for Awards!
We’re excited to announce that the brilliant music video for The October Solution track ‘Lost’ by the CINEMÂCHÉ team has been nominated for Best Music Video in this years South Australian Screen Awards! CINEMÂCHÉ have also been nominated for Best Editor, Best Production Design and Best Director of Cinematography for ‘Lost’!
‘Lost’ is taken from the sumptuous dream pop extravaganza that is The October Solution’s 2015 album Axis Swim Scar.
Markus Mehr “Re-Directed” Out Now!
We’re proud to announce the official release of the powerful new work from German experimentalist Markus Mehr. Re-Directed is a confrontational soundwork of digital surrealism, underpinned by a potent and timely theme: our dependence upon digital technology and communication, and how this dependence renders us vulnerable to exploitation. The project originated as an audiovisual performance with long-time collaborator Stefanie Sixt, for which Markus Mehr recorded hours of sound from servers, hard disks and mobile phones using induction microphones, rendering the inaudible audible and bringing the background noise of digital life into focus. Mehr’s lens is trained on our uncritical reliance upon the invisible systems that infiltrate our everyday lives, silently eating away at our capacity for self-determination.
“pushing his emotionally-charged sonic sculptures into much more dangerous and unpredictable territory… Totally mesmerizing and beautiful.” – Decoder Magazine on Binary Rooms
Perhaps the most confrontational and abstract release in Mehr’s discography thus far, Re-Directed challenges the narrow confines of music, moving towards the realm of musique concrète. It demands active engagement from the listener, alongside acknowledgement of its conceptual nature. As challenging and complex as it may be, Re-Directed is an incredibly powerful and immersive listening experience for those willing to undertake the journey on Mehr’s terms.
The album is available now in CD and digital formats. Head to Markus Mehr’s BandCamp to secure yourself a copy of this brilliant release.
Slow Dancing Society Featured on Latest Cafe del Mar Release
We’re excited to announce that yet another Hidden Shoal artist has been featured on a Cafe del Mar compilation. The gorgeous Slow Dancing Society track ‘Be There’ takes pride of place on Cafe del Mar’s newest compilation Ambience. The album also features work by the likes of Carbon Based Life Forms, Robert Rich, Chris Coco, Kodomo (as remixed by Loscil) and many more wonderful artists.
Check out a trailer for the album here and buy the album on iTunes. Don’t forget to check out the sublime debut Slow Dancing Society album that ‘Be There’ is cut from, The Sound of Lights When Dim. It’s hard to believe that the album has it’s 10th anniversary at the end of this year!
Antonymes Featured on the Gideon Coe Show (BBC Radio)
Another of our artists continues to gets some love on BBC Radio. Antonymes‘ ‘Towards Tragedy and Dissolution’, taken from his stunning new album (For Now We See) Through A Glass Dimly, has just been featured on Gideon Coe’s BBC Radio show. The show is available for streaming for short time on the BBC website.
Read more about Antonymes and stream and purchase his new album here.