Hidden Shoal News
More US Radio Love for Team Shoal!
KBRP (Arizona) loving for Hidden Shoal as Gilded get a CMJ rotation add , Slow Dancing Society sit at 22 on the Top 30 and Elisa Luu sits at number 4 and Slow Dancing Society number 7 on the Electronic Chart. Go team!
Pre-Orders Available for Slowcore Masters Half Film Double CD Reissue
Hidden Shoal Recordings is proud to announce CD pre-orders for the reissue of two late 90’s slowcore masterpieces East of Monument and The Road to the Crater by San Franciscan trio Half Film. Both albums will be released as a specially priced double CD and singley in digital format. All CD pre-orders come with an immediate download of both albums. The albums will see official release on 31st of October.
Before releasing music on Hidden Shoal as [The] Caseworker, Conor and Eimer Devlin, along with drummer Jason Lakis, made up slowcore trio Half Film. Their two acclaimed albums – East of Monument and The Road to the Crater – are now lovingly reissued by Hidden Shoal. With a sound mapped out so definitively, it’s difficult not to immerse yourself completely in this music’s shadowy topography.
“Low-key underground guitar atmos that’s very moody indeed… Stark like Joy Division and darkly melodic like Neil Young – 4/5” – Melody Maker on Half Film’s second album, The Road to the Crater
Right from East of Monument’s languid opener ‘Weather Patterns’, it’s clear there’s a deliberate, measured and deeply rewarding melodic map unfolding, akin to classic releases by Codeine and Low. This aesthetic is explored, refined and distilled across the two records, and by the time The Road to the Crater’s finale ‘Themselves’ has played out, the special pocket of indie-rock that Half Film inhabited completely in the late ’90s has been revealed anew.
Head to the Hidden Shoal Store to pre-order your copy now and stream both albums in full.
Half Film – ‘Coated’
Gilded Reviews, Track by Track and Tour
Gilded‘s stunning debut album Terrane has been garnering a plethora of plaudits all over the shop lately. Well, when I say ‘shop’ I mean ‘Internet’. And more specifically, websites Delusions of Adequacy, Fluid Radio and Cool Perth Nights. There’s also a rather excellent track-by-track article on Mess+Noise. And, if that wasn’t enough, Gilded recently launched the album in Perth and are coming to other Australian cities later in the month. How good is that? Super-good. Tour dates as follows:
Saturday 20 October @ The Street Theatre, Canberra
Sunday 21 October @ Gasometer, Melbourne
Friday 26 October @ 107 Projects, Sydney
Saturday 27 October @ Powerhouse, Brisbane
Slow Dancing Society Reviewed at A Closer Listen
Another glowing review has rolled in for Slow Dancing Society’s 5th opus, Laterna Magica. Check out the review at the always excellent A Closer Listen and listen to the album here.
Hidden Shoal 3View at Igloo Magazine
A lovely little Hidden Shoal three way over at Igloo Magazine as they review the latest releases by Markus Mehr, Wes Willenbring and Slow Dancing Society. Check the reviews in full here and head to the Hidden Shoal Store to stream the releases in full.
Slow Dancing Society "Laterna Magica" Reviews
Slow Dancing Society‘s fifth, and dare we say his best, album Laterna Magica has been drumming up some wonderful press since its release with more on its way soon. Check out a few glowing reviews for the album at Igloo Magazine, NowLikePhotographs, Music Review Database. In related news, the album is one of the Darla top 20 sellers!
Laterna Magica has also started to make an impact on US college radio and has just charted at WCBN and is beginning to receive rotations at a number of key US college stations. Speaking of radio, if you missed the wonderful interview with Drew Sullivan (aka Slow Dancing Society) on the Fade To Yellow show on Koop radio recently then you can re-stream it here.
You can stream this beautiful thing in its entirety at the Hidden Shoal Store as well as download a free single and buy the CD and digital versions. Slow Dancing Society fans should also check out the sale we currently have on as all previous SDS releases (CD + Digital) are included in the discounts. Good times!
New Markus Mehr Single and Music Video!
Hidden Shoal Recordings is excited to present ‘Duck Became Swan’, the second single by German experimental ambient artist Markus Mehr, taken from his latest album On, along with its accompanying video by the brilliant German video artist Stefanie Sixt. The track is available for free download and the video can be streamed on Vimeo and Youtube.
‘Duck Became Swan’ is perhaps one of the most expansive and moving pieces on Markus Mehr’s new album On. Across nine mesmerising minutes, the track masterfully mutates between two wildly different musical environments. The heavy distortion that intermittently tears through at the opening of the track gradually gives way to a heartstoppingly beautiful orchestral refrain and open-ended guitar figure, before being subsumed again into fizzing, electric chaos. ‘Duck Became Swan’ continues Mehr’s ongoing exploration of texture versus melody.
“a cornucopia of samples, field recordings and distorted drones, and is highly recommended to fans of William Basinski, Tim Hecker and Fennesz.” – My Old Kentucky Blog on ON
The accompanying video, created by visual artist Stefanie Sixt, is like a hypnotic animated re-imagining of the cover of Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures, an electric monochrome dream/nightmare that vibrates with life in synch with the track’s ecstatic convulsions.
‘Duck Became Swan’ is available for free download from the Hidden Shoal Store. On is also available on CD and digital formats through Hidden Shoal.
Gilded "Terrane" Official Release and Digital Availability
Hidden Shoal Recordings is proud to announce the official release of Terrane, the debut album by Australian experimental/ambient duo Gilded. The album is now available for purchase on CD and digitally.
Gilded brings together the similar but distinct musical directions of West Australian experimental musicians Matt Rösner and Adam Trainer, forging a new approach to composition and sound creation that is based as much around rhythm and repetition as it is around drone and abstraction. The pair have released work seperately on labels such as 12K, Room40, hellosQuare, New Weird Australia, and Feral Media.
“There are worlds in here, in this record. Microscopic examinations of simple figures and patterns, that could fill whole sides; a focus and determination that wraps everything up in 45 minutes. Beautiful, simple, deep, Terrane is simply one of the best albums you’ll hear this year. Highly recommended!” – Fluid Radio on Terrane
“Terrane is a work of adeptly inspired craftsmanship that’s very nearly breathtaking in its evolving forms, ambient without being soporific, containing an evocative and far from melancholic energy at its core…Hidden Shoal never disappoint in their releases but Terrane is a remarkable work even by their established and finely honed standards. ” – DOA on Terrane
Head to the Hidden Shoal Store for all CD and digital orders, to stream the album in full and to download the first single from the album ‘Cluttered Room’. All CD orders through Hidden Shoal include an immediate download of the album in FLAC or Mp3. The album is also available from iTunes, eMusic, Amazon, Bandcamp and other reputable online stores.
Markus Mehr's "On" Reviewed in Latest Textura
Markus Mehr’s latest opus On has just received a wonderful review in the latest Textura. This comes ahead of the release of a new single and music video from the album this week. More on that very soon.
“Some moments of remarkable beauty occur, most memorably during the orchestrally rich settings “Only For A While” and “Tunnels,” while the cut-up collage-styled character of the recording is most blatantly displayed during the brief rhythmic stutters of “Olympia.”… Having eight separate pieces at his disposal affords Mehr the latitude to easily and abruptly shift gears in both style and mood, and consequently the samples-heavy On covers a wide range of experimental ground in its heady forty-five minutes. It’ll be interesting to hear how Off picks up where On leaves off.” – Textura
Head over to the Hidden Shoal Store to stream the album in full and listen to more Mehr!
Gilded Interview on Triple J's Sound Lab
Tune in to Triple J’s awesome Sound Lab show this Sunday night to hear an interview with Gilded. The boys will be phoning in almost directly after they step off stage from their album launch in Perth. How’s that for post neo-classical rock n roll! Listen in from 11pm AEST or re-stream it next week if you miss it. All details can be found on The Sound Lab website.