reliefs

In between working on various creative projects, Adam Babar has thoughtfully developed a unique dose of intimately lucid aleatoric electronica. Throughout the years, his solo act Easily Suede has been knitting a boundless audio quilt of sample-based soft beats, warm hushed tones and candid sound collage. See "Reliefs", an album weaved from sunbeam strings that shimmer through cracks in the canopy, shining on keys that crisply cut through the air like leaves in a breeze, and rest upon the biolectronic cadence of a forest floor suppressing endless molten gyrations.

DZ TAPES is proud to present this long overdue physical release, originally put out digitally through Atlanta collective Primitive Patterns. Available March 12 in a limited run of so-fresh-so-clean solid-white cassettes, the album will be accompanied by a brand new collection of Adam's work entitled "Easily" out on Mission Trips the same day. Babar will be celebrating his tandem triumphs at The Mammal Gallery in Atlanta this Saturday with a performance by his side-project Suffer Dragon. In his own words, he describes DZ12:

"[It's] kind of an audio journal of the year 2012. I spent the better part of the year recording it and each track references inside jokes and snippets of my friends from candid recordings on my phone, or inebriated Voxer threads from throughout that year. The entire album was recorded on little-to-no budget. All the tracks were recorded direct into the microphone jack on my laptop, recorded and mixed using Audacity, and mastered by Atlanta pop-smith David Norbery in exchange for a bottle of whiskey."

"Take an immersive listen through headphones and each number reveals nods to high-minded sonic explorers such as Christian Marclay, Philip Glass and Steve Reich; crate-digging hip-hop producers like Madlib and DJ Shadow; audio anthropologists Matmos, and skittering, modern electronica synthesists like Four Tet. Ultimately, Reliefs highlights Babar's effortless, almost accidental approach to capturing audio impulses and shaping them into multi-faceted sonic sketches that function on a number of levels: headphone pop, hip-hop instrumentals, audio pranks, ethereal ambient, and the list goes on." - Creative Loafing

night running

Two quick bits of news here to keep you satisfied until a much bigger reveal later this week:

Pool Holograph have just released a stellar new single "Night Running" in anticipation of their next album due out later this year. Clear your schedule, dive into the song and lose track of time.



It Is Rain In My Face. has a kickstarter going to help him get to Ardent Studios in Memphis to record his next EP. Consider throwing a few duckets Mat's way to help get him back in the studio.

get gooey

The Sweets keep riding their rolling riptide here in early 2014. The band has been spread the love most recently with the Zing Zang EP, one half of a split cassette with fellow North Carolinians Petey, out now on Bleeding Gold Records. They've also got a new track appearing on the If You Fall I'll Fall With You compilation from Edils Recordings, and did an interview with Reverb Raccoon where they discuss all their recent and upcoming releases, including the Greatest Hits and a future project with Goodbye Boozy Records.

Additional news of note coming down the pipeline includes the imminent arrival of DZ12, which is in its final phases of production (more info on that to follow), and It Is Rain In My Face. self-titled cassettes, which are back in stock over on Mat's bandcamp page (along with a snug and stylish new silkscreened t-shirt).

Reservations for the Iron Chic show at The Dougout filled up within hours of going public, but that's not the only upcoming event in Northeast DC worth checking out. If you like pizza and live in the district, you should stop by Hole In The Sky on Saturday, January 22 for the fifth installment of their art show series in which they'll be cooking up a 6 ft. pizza and surrounding it with pizza-themed artworks of the visual, installation and performance persuasion. The gallery will showcase works by artists previously featured here including Sean Berg, Ryan Ford and Red Table Press (who designed the awesome poster below commemorating the event). Come inside from the cold and enjoy some warm and gooey goodness with us!