2021 Exchange

2020 * 2021 * 2022 * 2023 * 2024 * Music Exchange Guidelines

Our 2021 Exchange is Underway! Here is our Playlist for this year:

01: January: Mini-Mutations

(austinrich.org/mini-mutations)

To kick our our exchange, here is a new release by Mini-Mutations. “Reading Nancy Comics And Listening To Irv Teibel,” is a collection of live performances, with one brand new studio composition, that are all currently unavailable elsewhere. Over an hour of Mutations that are as serious as they are funny. This collection is avaialble to group members first, and will be available for wider distribution later this year.

* * * * * *

02: February: Dylan Houser

(dhouser.bandcamp.com)
The incredibly prolific Dylan Houser delivers another dose of incredible music, this time a series of guitar explorations that take the instrument to places that are near and dear to Dylan’s heart, while offering some compelling drive and excellent textures to give this disc excellent sound with repeated listenings. I recommend playing this one loud, to soak in the dynamic range.
* * * * * *

03: March: Clodewerks

(clodewerks.com)

“Numberwerks” is a series of experimental performances by Kyle Linneman, who explores sound and music with his horn, producing a release that is equally transcendent and calculated, at the same time. this is a fascinating release, unlike most of the stuff we’ve had in this exchange, and a welcome change of pace.

* * * * * *

04: April: Fiver’s Stereo & The Glyph – Off Guard

(jaypeele.bandcamp.com)

This collaborative release between Jay Peele and Aaron Abrams is over 30 minutes of electronic, pulsing, wonderfully strange sounds and textures, that build up to be something very fun to listen to, in small sections, or all at once. Austin helped out on this one, too, on professionally duplicated CDs that sound great!

* * * * * *

05: May: Cornelius F. Van Stafrin III

(discogs.com/artist/1856749-Cornelius-F-Van-Stafrin-III)
This new release by Cornelius F. Van Stafrin III is a truly remarkable piece of art! On the USB drive is about an hour of video performances by Cornelius F. Van Stafrin III, and the box provides the final component for listening: to add a tactile and auditory overlay to the video you’re watching, you can manipulate the materials in the box. A truly outstanding release, this one is a LOT of fun.

* * * * * *

06: June: {AN} EeL

(panpanpanaviandistresscall.bandcamp.com)

Part of a growing number of Canadian experimental artists that I’m quite a fan of, {AN} EeL is a very prolific, and extremely dedicated artist, who is often producing compilations and albums side by side contributing to collaborations, split-releases, and a number of other projects. I was very excited that they were interested in this exchange this year, and they sent out a fantastic pro-duplicated disc that is unique to this exchange! How cool is that?
* * * * * *

07: July: Sqriations

(sqriations.wixsite.com/sqri)

A beautiful, haunting, and fantastic electronic release by Sqriations, a new addition to the group this year, who is using synths and other exciting tools to create these propulsive, inventive collection of tunes that would be at place on an experimental video game as much as they would fit on a release like this. The CD allows you to enjoy the music now, but there’s a download code if you want to get the tracks that way. Sounds great BOTH WAYS.

* * * * * *

End of Summer Bonus Release: IVO – Salientia / Sweatband Records Package

As a special bonus this year, we have a new release by a new project that is new this year: IVO, the collaboration between Le Petit Sac and Austin Rich. Out on Sweatband Records, this cassette only release is titled, “Salientia,” is a moody, ghostly, eerie and noisy release that comes packaged with some current Sweatband releases, that are in everyone’s stereo this summer. But IVO is more about mood, in preparation for the Halloween Season to come. Boy that building sure looks familiar. “Salientia,” is the gift that keeps on giving, and I’m excited to have it in our exchange this year.

* * * * * *

08: August: My Burning Bush

(hearmyburningbush.bandcamp.com)

The rather prolific My Burning Bush’s new release is finally here! An hour of electronic drones, down-tempo electronic explorations, and noisy jams that explore more of their on-going efforts, that now feels somewhat of a piece. I’ve been watching this group evolve for almost five years now, and William seems to be working toward something with the overall theme and sounds this group produces. I’m very excited to get to know this disc better.

* * * * * *

09: September: Aversion To Reality

(aversiontoreality.bandcamp.com)

Last year’s Aversion To Reality disc was a wonderful slab of electronic strangeness, and in a way, he has continued that tradition… and gone in another direction with it. Certainly electronic, and certainly strange, this covers a more improvisational, and in a way, a more “raw” sound. But it still has moments of transcendent beauty, and that is the kind of thing that we love to experience in our group.

* * * * * *

10: October: I Died / Chris Gierig

(discogs.com/artist/483889-I-Died)
One of the first people to join this exchange group, here is another excellent cassette release from I Died. Hand made covers, and I’m guessing the tapes were painted, too. I Died always operates at a pretty excellent level, and this release is not exception. Excellent for listening to early in the morning, just after you’ve woken up, or as a final nightcap to a long and unusual day.
* * * * * *

11: November: Major Entertainer – “T-Shirts For Sale” Remix Single

(sweatbandrecords.bandcamp.com)

This Remix Single for the incredibly popular, “T-Shirts For Sale,” song by Major Entertainer was THE SINGLE to be rocking in 2021. With remixes by Le Petit Sac and The Ether Creeps, there were plenty of reasons that this disc never left your CD player, and the prank glue included with the disc almost had nothing to do with it.

* * * * * *

12: December: TanukiSpiderCat – Forget What You Never Had

(www.tanukispidercat.com)

Beautiful, loud, enchanting and texturally fascinating, this album by TanukiSpiderCat is engaging and fun to listen to, and keeps you guessing as the environments develop and change over the release. Samples, synths and drums… plus all sorts of wonderful sounds. It’s a great release that delivers each time you listen.

Leave a comment