Free Downloads At Archive.Org

http://www.archive.org/details/Ch.pm-AlienGenomeProject

ch.pm - Alien Genome Project

The material's galaxial feel and trippy ambiance intensify when distorted voices echo across the limitless expanses of deep space, and nowhere is that epic pitch achieved more intensively than during the title piece which unspools over ten trance-inducing minutes (the sound is so huge, it reduces the voices that occasionally surface to indecipherable mumbles—but the work can be experienced just as easily on purely musical terms as an engrossing exercise in synthetic dronescaping. If anything, its unapologetically pure synth-based sound has more in common with '70s-styled ambient recordings (early Tangerine Dream, say) than a more current release where granular static and other noise might accompany the drones. That Alien Genome Project leaves such a strong impression is due in part to the forceful intensity of its presentation. Textura

The album consists of drones, cosmic synth chords, and disembodied, distorted vocal samples. It has echoes of Kosmische Musik acts like (early) Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze as well as their spiritual descendants such as Pete Namlook. But there are equally nods to Stars of the Lid, Brian Eno's Apollo and Murcof's Cosmos projects. The eight tracks unfold slowly. Some are short and fragile; others, like the title track, have a suitably cosmic grandeur. "Hybrid", the closing section, has a slowed down echoing voice that has the rhythm of whale song, and sounds like the last, fading sounds of a dying civilization. It's quite a spooky end to a seriously trippy suite of music. Music, Musings & Miscellany

ch.pm is the solo project of Craig Murphy, perhaps better known as one half of electro-psychedelic outfit Shoosh. 'Alien Genome Project', however, is like listening to an old-school ambient record, where melodies shift extremely slowly. Indeed, Tangerine Dream and Brian Eno would certainly approve of Murphy's work. Leonard's Lair

http://www.archive.org/details/WeirdFields-DestructScience

Weird Fields - Destruct Science

http://www.archive.org/details/Solipsism-Solarism

Solipsism - Solarism EP

"Crystalism" is the most direct track, coming across like an aggressive, no nonsense Boards of Canada. Those distant synths that hallmark previous releases are intact here, layering themselves almost out of sync with the programmed beats, yet remaining cohesive. "Exit Strategy" is different again, employing thick mid-90's beats over dripping melodies that slightly recall Wendy Carlos' "Clockwork Orange" phase. Angry Ape

this five track EP is Solipsism's most unified effort thus far. The album pivots with the beautifully arranged epilogue "Sun Up", an ambient and emotional sprawl that leaves you with a warm sense of tranquility and profound motivation to hit the Solarism replay button. Sonic Frontiers

http://www.archive.org/details/EdDruryCraigMurphy

Ed Drury & Craig Murphy - A Tree On The Tundra

The adjectives sweeping, cinematic and symphonic come to the fore. This is music suited to the closing credits of a cathartic, two and a half hour movie epic. Doleful piano lines, dramatic synth washes and grandiose crescendos are the order of the day: like Eno's Music For Films given the Cecil B DeMille treatment. The tracks have their individual flavours – the synthetic birds, church bells and crickets of "Dark Sun Rising", for example – but the album works best as a kind of symphony in five movements. It's music designed for looking from a hilltop and watching the shadows of clouds dancing across lush, rolling fields. Stirring and somehow reassuring at the same time. Music, Musings & Miscellany

http://www.archive.org/details/WeirdFields-APlaceToCallHome

Weird Fields - A Place To Call Home

Delicate, lonesome and hitherto monolithic these somnambulant drone-scapes swirl in frosted pirouette formations applying a stately courtship (none more so than 'distant star').....Amid the showcase of glacial tides and sparsely drawn and effecting minimalist washes of lilting electronic symphonies we suggest you stop by at your first opportunity to sample the warming radiance of the playfully orbiting oscillations of the melting 'so long good friend' - bit of a peach by our reckoning appealing to 'magnetic fields' era Jean-Michel Jarre and Vangelis fans alike. Losing Today

http://www.archive.org/details/Solipsism-Crystalism

Solipsism - Crystalism EP

http://www.archive.org/details/Solipsism-Huxley

Solipsism - Huxley Video

http://www.archive.org/details/Kingbastard-Exit

Kingbastard - Exit Video

http://www.archive.org/details/Kingbastard-DownUp

Kingbastard - Down Up Video

I remember the good old minimalist days of electronic music videos where all you'd see was an amorphous digital blob spinning across a swiftly tilting background. Kingbastard's latest video seems to recall those abstract times, even though there's something much more complex with what Chris Weeks and Weird Fields are doing with [ downup ]. The flashing, subtle cues have a message tied somehow to the words explore, exploit, explode, before somewhere along the way you find yourself saying, "I love Big Brother." Ogbetty

http://www.archive.org/details/Solipsism-ExitStrategy

Solipsism - Exit Strategy

http://www.archive.org/details/Solipsism-FreeEp_707

Free EP

Solipsism

Reinteprism Review

Music, Musings & Miscellany

Here’s another excellent freebie. Solipsism is an alter-ego of Scot Craig Murphy whose Alien Genome Project I reviewed back in July. Billed as an EP, the four originals and five remixes that make up Reinteprism actually run to over 50 minutes making it an album in my book.

This is downtempo, home-listening electronica, but with an edge. Lead track “Bastardism”, a collaboration with Kingbastard, is all steam-punk beats and abstract, cosmic synths. The ENV(itre) and Victer Manderline remixes are cooler, mellower affairs, whereas the charmingly named “Raped by a Woman” remix by Psychotronic is an uncomfortable, glitchy treatment.

“Organicism” comes in two versions. The Pleq remix is the stronger, chugging and spluttering along like an eccentric piece of machinery. The naive Casiotone melody of the original is absent, giving a darker, more solemn piece. “Crabs” harks back to peak period Future Sound of London with abstract washes of spacey sound overlaying a complex rhythm. The Salz remix doesn’t really change that much, merely adding a few tweaks and glitches here and there. The final track, “At The Beach”, is a fittingly summery, optimistic piece to finish with. Its deep beats and engaging melody a dreamily lethargic reminder of lazy days of sunshine (if you have a long enough memory to remember those).

This excellent release is available as a free download from the German electronica label Envizagae Records.

Tracks
1. Bastardism feat. Kingbastard 5:32
2. Bastardism (ENV(itre) remix) 4:09
3. Bastardism (Victer Manderline remix) 6:06
4. Organicism 5:58
5. Organicism (Pleq remix) 4:35
6. Bastardism (raped by a woman mix by Psychotronic) 8:18
7. Crabs 5:06
8. Crabs (remix by Salz) 6:37
9. At the Beach (2007 Remaster) 5:19

Website
http://www.envizagae.de/

Solipsism

Solipsism - Reinteprism Remix EP On Envizagae

ENVNET003 Solipsism - Reinteprism

Remixes by Pleq, (ENV(itre), Victer Manderline, Psychotronic & Salz
Download

1.Bastardism feat. kingbastard

2.Bastardism (ENV(itre) remix)

3.Bastardism (victer manderline rmx)

4.Organicism

5.Organicism (Pleq remix)

6.Bastardism (raped by a women mix by Psychotronic)

7.Crabs

8.crabs (remix by Salz)

9.At the beach (2007 Re-master)


Envizagae

Sonic Frontiers Volume 3

Hi,

just a quick message to let you know about a new compilation that my band shoosh are featured on, that's available for free download from Sonic Frontiers.



Sonic Frontiers
Volume 3: Untitled

Released: August 5, 2008
Download (80mb)


After months of seeking out the best new tracks the world wide web had to offer, we are proud to introduce our third installation of the Sonic Frontiers compilation series. Featuring sounds that span electronic, acoustic, polyrhythmic, vocal and instrumental techniques, Sonic Frontiers: Volume 3 is by far our most diverse and experimental compilation yet. The release features 10 tracks clocking a total of 54 minutes, and showcase some of the most adventurous approaches to music this year has seen.

Cover artwork provided by Justin Gray of Amok Recordings.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tracklist

1. Kingbastard - "[ o n c e a' ]"
2. Justin Gray & The USB Orchestra - "cbcbc"
3. Shoosh - "Snake Eyes"
4. Tupolev - "Reaset"
5. Renfro - "Broken Little Pieces"
6. The Brothers Pus - "A Lonely Night's Drive"
7. Chuter - "Reel In"
8. con_cetta - "sad.ay"
9. Automassage - "Death in 7/4"
10. Forming Meteors - "Sung in Silent Whispers"

Solipsism

Kingbastard - Exit Video

hello,

here's the new video i've done for Kingbastard. This will be the last video for a wee while as i go back to concentrating on my new album.

Kingbastard - [ e x i t ]
Uploaded by WeirdFields

Solipsism

Kingbastard - [ E x ! t ]

Hi,

here's the video i've did for Kingbastard. This will be the last video for a wee while as I need to get back to the new album i'm working on titled Alien Genome Project.

Kingbastard - [ e x i t ]
Uploaded by WeirdFields

Solipsism

2 Short Review Of The New Kingbastard Video

hello,

here's 2 short reviews i found of the [ d o w n u p ] video randomly on google. For those of you who haven't seen the vid, here it is again.

I remember the good old minimalist days of electronic music videos where all you'd see was an amorphous digital blob spinning across a swiftly tilting background. Kingbastard's latest video seems to recall those abstract times, even though there's something much more complex with what Chris Weeks and Weird Fields are doing with [ downup ]. The flashing, subtle cues have a message tied somehow to the words explore, exploit, explode, before somewhere along the way you find yourself saying, "I love Big Brother."

http://ogbetty.blogspot.com/

This time Herb Recordings' Kingbastard is the subject: the track used is '[ d o w n u p ]' and the video has a series of flashing pictures, cryptic symbols and phrases. Weird Fields has probably filled the whole thing with subliminal messages too, so who knows what he's brainwashed us into...

http://angryape.com/media/2008/05/14/kingbastard--d-o-w-n-u-p-

Kingbastard - [downup]
Uploaded by WeirdFields

Solipsism

Kingbastard Video

Hello,

here's a new video i did for Kingbastard.

Interview With Craig Murphy At Sonic Frontiers

Sonic Frontiers Interview

Craig Murphy
Interview by Sean Butze
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For those who don’t know, Craig Murphy is a British composer of ambient electronica and IDM, as well as the founder of Herb Recordings and Ambidextrous Records. He records under two different projects, Weird Fields and Solipsism, and is also a member of the experimental folk band Shoosh. While preparing to release his next album, Craig was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule to fill us in on his roles as a composer and record label operator.

----

SF: As a music artist, you’re involved in several different projects. Could you talk a little bit about your role in each, as well as what significance they hold for you?

Craig Murphy: The three main projects that I’m involved with are Solipsism, Shoosh and Weird Fields. Solipsism was always my main project, but over the past 6 months or so, I’ve been slowly winding it down as I don’t plan on doing any new Solipsism material for the foreseeable future. However, I won’t rule it out permanently. Weird Fields and Shoosh both grew out of the Solipsism project in many ways. I always did ambient tracks as Solipsism, usually between one and three on each release. However as time went on, I felt more and more that these tracks didn’t really flow with the main solipsism material and despite the fact that I often preferred these tracks personally, I couldn’t see where they fitted on the Solipsism project any longer. Therefore, Weird Fields in the first instance was simply my outlet for doing more ambient material.

There was interest in Weird Fields quite early on and that inspired me really to expand the project beyond what was originally planned and give it more focus. My first Weird Fields EP “Destruct Science” was meant to be released on an American label, but things never worked out as planned and I decided to start Ambidextrous Records, simply to give it a platform. Both of the Weird Fields EPs are now being released on the American netlabel Zenapolae, www.zenapolae.com. Who incidentally are celebrating their 10th Anniversary this year or next, I’m not 100%. I’ve known the label since I first came online almost and I’m very pleased with the development.

Shoosh is what I consider the main project now, the band I’m in with multi-instrumentalist Ed Drury and singer/lyricist Neil Carlill. That’s mainly because we’re working on a new album right now which should hopefully be finished for around March 2009. For those of you unfamiliar with the Shoosh project, it could loosely be defined as psychedelic folk music and it’s probably the most experimental project I’ve been involved with. It’s also the project I’ve enjoyed working on the most. We’ve had mild success so far, with the release of the Split EP on 3” CD along with Boltfish Recordings’ Cheju, available now on Awkward Silence Recordings which received good press if that’s anything to go by. We’re hoping that our first album titled “Orpheum Circuit” will be released this year, but can’t make any promises.

SF: When did you first get involved in composing electronic music? What is it about electronic composition that you prefer over conventional instrumentation?

CM: I first started recording electronic music about 6 or 7 years ago now, though I’d flirted with it briefly in my late teens/early 20s. I was a massive fan of techno when I was younger and like many electronic artists, techno was my first conceived output. However, as my listening habits evolved, so did the style and it simply developed from that. I don’t prefer electronic composition over conventional instrumentation, ideally these days I prefer a blend of electro and acoustic, hence the direction of Shoosh. But both have their pros and cons and it’s really best to work with whatever you are most comfortable and importantly, have available at your disposal.

SF: As someone who records under multiple project names, how do you differentiate between the music you compose for each? Do you sit down and say “Okay, I’m going to write a track for Weird Fields, or for Solipsism” or do you just write what you want and worry about where it will fit later?

CM: Solipsism and Weird Fields were always interchangeable. Mainly because Weird Fields really started as an ambient extension of Solipsism. Though 9 times out of 10, I know which project I’m going to be working on when I start it. Shoosh isn’t interchangeable with the other projects though, simply because it’s so different.

For people who listen closely, they may have noticed that the tracks "Sun Up" from my Solipsism EP Solarism and "Over The Horizon" from my Weird Fields EP Destruct Science are essentially the same melody. I took the melody from "Sun Up" in midi format and slowed it down to 70bpm. I then changed the dynamics of the sound on it and did the Weird Fields track with it. It wasn’t a conscious decision to do this, it just happened. But there have been maybe 2 or 3 occasions when I’ve done similar.

SF: In addition to composing music, you’re a video artist as well. The videos you’ve done for your various projects all feature a very experimental and abstract visual approach. How you go about creating these videos? What inspires you to create visuals in this way?

CM: I honestly don’t see myself as a video artist as such, I enjoy working on videos for people from time to time and I get a great deal of satisfaction from them but it’s really just a hobby that allows me to promote myself and artists/bands I like through another medium. I’ve always been fascinated by abstract artists and I don’t just mean in a visual sense. I’ve been heavily inspired by people who had strong abstract and psychedelic themes in their work, be that visual, audio or literature and anything in between. People like Frank Zappa, Ken Kesey, Aldous Huxley, Salvador Dali & Pink Floyd have all been a huge influence, though I’m certain many more have filtered in throughout the years, many of which will be purely subliminal.

I try to make the videos look like abstract/impressionist paintings coming to life if that makes sense, or moving paintings more bluntly. I’ve always hated the stereotypical music video as they became so clichéd over the years and I simply wanted to try something that was slightly different and visually appealing, something that other people would like and appreciate too. I’ve been surprised with how popular they’ve been though, the video I did for the Glasgow Shoegaze band Ursula Minor even got a mention on the radio!

The process itself involves taking everyday mundane footage mostly, then processing it through repeatedly filtering, layering and overlapping, while continually adjusting the colour and contrast. I use what I would consider, very basic techniques to be honest. But try to deliver them in an original and eye-catching style that will hopefully resonate with the person watching it.

SF: You also run two record labels, Herb Recordings and Ambidextrous Records. Considering both labels release very similar music, what are the distinctions between the two? How do you go about deciding what to release on each label?

I actually co-run Herb today, all decisions are reached jointly between me and my partners Mark and Gordon, who are better known to most people probably as Rubens. I founded the label in 2006 and Mark and Gordon came on board not long after that and together we built the label up from a small digital only operation, to the point now where we have physical distribution in Europe, North America and the Far East. More recently, we’ve also been joined by Mark Millar who does a fantastic job as our press officer and he’s helped us get exposure that small labels could often only dream about. Of course, the fantastic music we release on Herb is a huge help too!

Ambidextrous isn’t a label in any real sense of the word. As I mentioned earlier, I set up Ambidextrous originally as a small platform for my Weird Fields release that was meant to be going out on the American label. It was always going to be for promotion only and I expanded it slightly to include a few more projects…mainly more of my own projects, but Kingbastard, an artist I have great admiration for, recently did a release for us and there’s a couple of new guys going to be doing stuff too. It was and still is though for promotion only, I will try and help the artists get some reviews and I’ll post their music on last fm, myspace etc but that’s it basically, a small window of opportunity. There’s no policy with the releases I promote through Ambidextrous with regards to genre either. If I like the music and feel what the artist is doing is worthwhile, regardless of genre or medium for that matter (I’d gladly promote other art forms), then I would let them use ambidextrous as a promotional tool.

SF: Ambidextrous Records is what many would call a non-commercial “netlabel.” That is, you release all the music digitally and free of charge. As both a label owner and an artist, what do you feel are the advantages of offering music for free? Do you think all artists and labels should do the same?

CM: I don’t really consider Ambidextrous to even be a netlabel to be honest. In my opinion, netlabels are labels who operate along a similar structure to regular music labels with the only real difference being, they give the music away for free. All of the releases on Ambidextrous can be removed at any time by the artists, as it’s only for promotion. Ambidextrous isn’t about ambidextrous and creating a brand that people want to attach themselves too, it’s all about the artists and each artist can be as individual and diverse as they like as there is no release policy, other than me liking what they do. I have very diverse tastes, ranging from classical to 300bpm techno mayhem, so anything is possible.

Quite honestly, there’s very little advantage to serious artists by releasing free music, other than the small amount of exposure you may get through it and the satisfaction of knowing that people are listening to your stuff. But it must be the only job in the world where people expect you to work for free and frown upon you for expecting to be paid. The advantages of doing free releases are diminishing rapidly also as the market is completely saturated now and people are finding it harder to get music they like. The major labels have recently signed an agreement with a company called Q Trax which will see their entire catalogues be available for free download. So the age of universal free downloads is only around the corner anyway and then independent artists will find that the free download/promotional route is an even trickier path to tread, when they’re going head to head with huge bands and vying for people’s attention.

I would say though that when you are first starting out, releasing free music is really the way to go now as you have an instant audience in the internet. It’s something no bands in the past could ever have dreamed of and it’s the quickest and best way to get yourself some exposure and cut your teeth. Once you’ve spent a while developing online, you can then think seriously about taking it to the next level and decide whether you want to go for a commercial release or not. I don’t think however, that all artists and labels should just give their music away for free.

SF: What’s currently on the horizon for you in terms of upcoming releases, projects, etc.?

CM: On a personal level I’m currently busy working on the new Shoosh album and I’ve also started a new project that’s still in early development under a new name. It’s only going to be a one off project though, so I’ll let you know about it when it’s finished!

On the label front, I’m really busy with Herb as we have a lot of new releases coming out over the next few months, kicking off with Engine7 and then we have releases coming from Rubens (re-release of CD), Kingbastard, Shamanic Technology, Skytree and Zerova. We may have a few surprises in the pipeline too, so stay tuned!

Ambidextrous Records

Hello,

Ambidextrous Records is a new venture set up by Craig Murphy & Chris Weeks, to showcase their multimedia projects including music, film and graphic arts.

The music previewed on the site is either available as free download, or Hi-Fi streaming from Last FM. The albums or tracks that are clips only, are currently licensed elsewhere.

Vist the music section to grab some free albums.

cheers
craig

2 New Videos

Happy Holidays

Here's 2 new videos i've done recently. The first one is for a track by Mosca called Another Winter Spent In Hibernation and the second is for a Kingbastard track called Buildings.

Hope you enjoy them!

cheers
craig

Bastardism Video

Here's the new video I did for my Bastardism track that features Kingbastard. We're going to be working on some new material together in 2008, so I'll keep you posted on the developments.

Kingbastard Videos

Here's a couple of videos I done recently for Kingbastard.

[Luctisonousman]



[Inthemiddleofnowhereyouarestillsomewhere]



He never makes things easy for me with his titles but you need to live and let live! If you haven't heard Kingbastard's stuff before, go check it out on the link above, it's excellent.