2020 * 2021 * 2022 * 2023 * Music Exchange Guidelines
Our 2022 Exchange is coming soon. Here’s the tentative playlist:
01: January: Cornelius F. Van Stafrin III – Specimen of Sentience
(discogs.com/artist/1856749-Cornelius-F-Van-Stafrin-III)
While we might have received this a little late, all things considered, our January release is by none other than Cornelius F. Van Stafrin III, who delivered one of my favorite releases of 2021, and has upped the game this year with 20 minutes of new compositions, that came packaged with a plant! Cornelius is always producing incredible work, and the sounds on the tape are nothing short of what you would expect: beautiful, textured drones that evoke time and place very vividly. And excellent start to the 2022 line-up!
02: February: Lob Instagon
03: March: Max Julian Eastman
This unusual piece for our exchange group comes from Tribe Tapes guru Max Eastman, who has been experimenting with 5″ lathe cut records for a while now. For this release, inside a plastic bag in an original photograph and a record, where you need to cut out the center hole in order to listen to it. (I used a penknife, and the record plays very well, now.)
Probably one of the most unique items to have arrived in our exchange group, these loops and grooves are “playable at any speed,” giving the listener a few options for playback and enjoyment. This is an excellent item in general, and a perfect item for our group.
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04: April: Le Petit Sac – Easter
This Easter-themed release from Le Petit Sac has everything you’ve come to expect from their output, including squealing electronics, wormy vocals, and they combine in the perfect blend of lo-fi weirdness and modern-age performance. Always a pleasure to enjoy new releases from the Sac, and this one is something special. Make sure to put this one on next year, around Easter, to let the neighbors know how you feel.
05: May: Stone Soup + Satanic Aperitif Compilation CD
What began as a quick collection of a few bonus tracks, to fill a hole in our calendar, quickly evolved into this “Eight Inch” CD release, collecting some odds and sods from things that our various group members have done, but didn’t fit in anywhere else.
There’s even a sort of theme to this collection, but really, it’s an excuse to get more band for your buck in this exchange. There’s even a couple new projects that came together for this project, and plenty of other cool material, featuring quite a few of us with a lot more to say. Maybe we’ll do this more often in the future? This came together very quickly, and was quite a lot of fun, too.
06: June: 
07: July: formaldehydra – wilderness
Another excellent release by Formaldehydra, that clocks in at just over 20 minutes. A combination of drones, cut-ups, field recordings and other noise making devices, this 3″ CD features an excellent dose of much needed joy from this Florida experimental maverick. I often say this, but there isn’t a release by Dylan yet that I didn’t like.
08: August: Clodewerks – Texturewerks
Clodewerks is often exploring a number of themes and notions when they are performing, and in this case, the textures are not just sound; the disc itself is wrapped in a piece of sandpaper, ready to lash out at the musical artwork you try to store around it (but like the first track). But Clodewerks – who also helps organize the local loopfest here in Portland and Corvallis every year – is never far from including loops and horns, to create a varied and unique record. I would say that the first and last tracks explore new realms that are both confrontational and beautiful, and the entire work absolutely explores texture in a number of fascinating ways.
09: September: Ellen “Dryad” Klowden / I Died / Mini-Mutations Split Month
(discogs.com/artist/483889-I-Died) / (wtbc.bandcamp.com)
What began as a split month (where I Died and Mini-Mutations decided to collaborate) has become, essentially, as six-way split CD, featuring work by Ellen, I Died and Austin Rich as solo artists, then each of them collaborating with the other, with “Psithurism” (Ellen & Austin), “Bast Awakening” (Ellen & I Died), and lastly, “DEATH MUTATIONS,” (I Died & Austin). The result is nearly an hour of new fall sounds, perfect to help you manage during the most difficult part of the year.
10: October: {AN} EeL
(panpanpanaviandistresscall.bandcamp.com)
No stranger to our group, {AN} EeL delivered one of my favorite releases from last year, and this disc is no exception: a pretty incredible collection of wonderfully exotic and beautifully assembled songs produced in only the way that {AN} EeL can. Nearly 40 minutes of excellent tunes that demand your attention, and blend genres and sounds in ways that you need to hear.
11: November: TanukiSpiderCat
This CD contains a recording of a live performance that really must be heard to be believed. A hypnotic and beautiful blend of electronic, pre-recorded sounds and live instruments to create a wonderful soundscape that is immersive and takes you on an incredible journey. I recommend setting aside some time to get to know this disc. It has sounds that need to be heard.
12: December: Jocko Homomorphism
(jocko-homomorphism.bandcamp.com)
No stranger to our group, it is always exciting to get a new release in the mail from Jocko Homomorphism, who really takes electronic music and the way we define it into new and exciting places. This is one of those CDs that you will appreciate more if you put it on, and give it your full attention. At least, the music itself demands at least that much from you.
12: December: Le Petit Sac – Christmas
Bonus sac? For Christmas? It’s a harsh noise Christmas miracle, and you can enjoy this excellent, unexpected slab of music as you wrap presents and try to make it through the most terrifying time of the year. Thanks again, Sac! This one rocks.
12: December: Aversion To Reality
(aversiontoreality.bandcamp.com)
Our final release for 2022 is ANOTHER lathe cut disc, from Canada! And: another holiday release! We just can’t get enough of the holidays around here. This lathe is pretty sweet, and is totally worth checking out.
And, as if that weren’t enough, it comes packaged with a bonus disc, a full HOUR of other material, not on the lathe! It’s a miracle that only Santaa can deliver? Apparently! With so much to listen to, this truly is an incredibly exchange.
Austin Rich 