CEILING RELEASES CURRENTLY AVAILABLE

The most recent project embarked upon by The Ceiling is a series of split mini-CDRs (originally intended as a series of a 7"s, which remains in the artwork), between The Infant Cycle and other artists in the southern Ontario region of Canada, working mainly in the arena of CDRs, MP3s, and less in larger-circulation formats. The series intends to bring together artists working outside existing genres and subgenres, working in areas of their own. The intent is to unify the series with a sense of adventure and challenge, and not necessarily a stylistic consistency.

The series is also intended to function somewhat as a sort of newspaper, a snapshot of where each project is at the time of issue. The series can be viewed as sidebar releases by the artists- perhaps a progress report.

THE INFANT CYCLE has been in operation since 1992, producing numerous CDRs, CDs, vinyl, cassette and MP3 releases, alongside many compilation appearances for labels all over the planet. The Infant Cycle creates eccentric sound-worlds from disparate strands of instrumental phrases, field recordings, and everything in between; composition mixing with improvisation, influenced by happy accidents and technical failures. The piece contained is a mixing of previously recorded tracks, rethinking the past and foreshadowing future releases.

ARC is a Toronto group comprising Aidan Baker, Richard Baker and Christopher Kukiel, and in the past few years have created numerous evocative soundscapes flowing from the rudiments of percussion and guitar. Most of their music is created live in real time: discreet elements are introduced in loops, guitar cascades meshing with gradually shifting polyrhythms. Their "side" is an early take of material recorded live, that was later worked on in the studio for their "The Circle Is Not Round" CD on Italy's Small Voices label.

All releases in the Periodical series are "budget" priced releases of 80 copies only.

CEIL029 THE INFANT CYCLE/JARED DAVISON- Periodical I 3" CDR sold out

The first issue of the Periodical series.

THE INFANT CYCLE has been in operation since 1992, producing numerous CDRs, CDs, vinyl, cassette and MP3 releases, alongside many compilation appearances for labels all over the planet. The Infant Cycle creates eccentric sound-worlds from disparate strands of instrumental phrases, field recordings, and everything in between; composition mixing with improvisation, influenced by happy accidents and technical failures. The piece contained is a mixing of previously recorded tracks, rethinking the past and foreshadowing future releases.

JARED DAVISON has followed an uncompromising path from his time as founder and mainstay of the many incarnations of Mind Skelp-cher, through various short-term projects, to his current work under his own name. While quiet for the past few year, he is re-emerging with material focused narrowly on particular sounds isolated from their sources, and projected into unpredictable shapes and atmospheres. "Phonography" is an uneasy and sometimes violent soundscape based entirely on the crackle and hum hiding amidst the grooves of your favourite vintage vinyl.

All releases in the Periodical series are "budget" priced releases of 80 copies only.

CEIL028 THE INFANT CYCLE- Clear Triangle 8" one-sided triangular shaped EP sold out

The final installment in the "clear shape" trilogy points three way equally- rhythmic accelaration, fields of ambiguous drones, chotic and unexpected interjections. Based on a collaboration with the early Orphx, the tapes were sped up and reworked and redubbed endlessly, then re-assembled with new elements into what it is now: prickly, rhythmic drone dream-material that never lets the listener off the hook... as usual, no easy answers. One-sided triangle-shaped clear lathe-cut 8" record. Limited edition of 40 copies.

Continuing the quest for the answer to "which surface noise is prerecorded and which is live?" begun on last year's "Clear Square", the shape series continues with a new droned-out permutation of malleted water tank, feedback, ultra-low Poly-800 pulses, and crackly rhythmic playout groove. 4/4 gooves assemble and disassemble as waves of sounds pass in and out of orbit of each other. One-sided hexagon-shaped clear lathe-cut 8" record. Limited edition of 40 copies.

In its continuing need to release high-fidelity music on low-fidelity mediums, The Infant Cycle presents a new, free lathe-cut taster of the "Playout" project (an earlier taster appeared on the CD supplement of Paris' Fear Drop magazine). Using the source of one carved record's playout groove, two brief snapshots of its transformation, returned to the snap, crackle and pop gene pool. The full versions should be available on CD in 2004 courtesy of Merchants of Sound/Mutant Music. Limited to 40 copies.

Clear Square was recorded in 1997, and was originally contributed to a compilation that never materialized. This is the more rhythmic side of The Infant Cycle: the track is centered around a rhythm from a commercial hip hop record, sliced-up and spinning at 78 rpm, the sound gradually changing as the needle (designed for hard 78s) wears out the groove. The song mutates with voice recordings transmogrified into warm drones floating and fluctuating throughout, cut-up by blitzes of static and primitive oscillator. A lathe-cut of 40 copies on a clear polycarbonate square. Which surface noise is prerecorded and which is live?

Chronic Remorse was Paul Verma (later in Plasma Lamp) and Jim DeJong (later in The Infant Cycle). This disc is a compilation of tracks that initially appeared on various cassettes in the early to mid '90s, as well as unreleased material from the same area. Although C.R.'s early material reveled in chaotic noise, hints of melody and structure peek through the grime, showing an interest in contorted ambiance that both members would later explore in different degrees in their later work. In folder cover with liner notes from Richard Oddie of Orphx. Limited to 75 copies- a co-release with Apogee Recordings.

Britain's Delphium have been active since the early '90s, with a steady stream of releases, including three CDs, and enough vinyl EPs to drain the planet's petroleum supply for good.

Delphium's music has always been hard to peg (frustrating for critics, but wonderful for the aurally adventurous), while easily identifiable as Delphium: sampled rhythms that misbehave in an uncommonly organic way, deep and churning basslines, melodic fragments of melody, and abrasive textures. Terms like "post-rock" and "industrial" have been used quite often by the press, but one can also hear the group's affection for dub and punk-rock roots.

That big mouthful said, their past has always been a take-off point for new vistas, as evidenced on the new recordings for this EP. "Bleep 27" is one of the most aggressive tracks Delphium have recorded: jungle rhythms sped and roughened up to an almost-grindcore pitch, wayward basslines that sound like they will snap loose from the track at any moment, and a generally loud assault on the cranium. "Kill.All.Scooter.Riders" is almost happy in comparison, and highlights the group's affection for common 303 and 909 textures, but placed in such unconventional patterns, that they sound as alien as they originally sounded before they became commonplace. "Green Lane With Delphium" may have the most relation with previous recordings. A longer, more complex piece, featuring basslines and sampled rhythms that don't swing so much as lurch, along with some beautifully echoing musical fragments and a queasy string overlay. If dance music stopped being made for the ecstasy crowd, and instead for those who abuse stuff found in their parent's medicine cabinet, this would be it. Limited to 500 copies

The Lens Cleaner Trio hail from Argentina, a country that we have discovered has a great deal of unusual experimental musical emanating from within.

This LP has its genesis in an improvised session conducted in 1999 by Jose Marchi (guitar), Marcelo Aguirre (drums). and C.D. (electronics). After the initial recordings, C.D. took the recordings and disassembled them, constructing new sound shapes from the various puzzle pieces.

The results are what C.D. calls "electro-acoustic rock"; we have a hard time coming up with any type of descriptive term. Early tracks on side A are faithful to the original recordings; strange polymorphous jams featuring nimble but muscular drumming, and a large vocabulary of guitar scrapes and molten distortion, but soon we start to hear the tracks fold into themselves, the sense of time and space distorting as if some powerful psychotropic drug is starting to kick in. Emerging from these folds in space, the listener enters new locations; guitars that echo like chimes through radio static into places both soothing and menacing, organic and manufactured- a deeply ambient space, yet jagged as broken glass.

Even if there are no easy classifications, "C.D. + Lens Cleaner" is a release that holds up to countless listenings, each play revealing something new and encouraging even more spins of the disc. Limited to 300 copies

It has been a long time coming, but we believe it was worth the wait. This LP is the continuation of earlier collaborations between Marcus Murkes (Dronaement) and Jim DeJong (The Infant Cycle) that appeared on releases by Drone Records (side one of Dronaement's Wassermond EP) and EE Tapes (a track on the second Ambient Intimacy CDR). This is a combination of electronics and acoustic sources melded together, always moving and changing, travelling simultaneously into the dark past and towards the uncertain future. Beautiful handmade covers by Marcus Murkes and clear vinyl. Limited to 300 copies.

After a brief existence on the now-defunct label, Austenite Recordings, "Old Plus Four" is available again. Comprising of material from two deleted cassette singles along with additional material, The Infant Cycle's debut CD release is layers of non-MIDI rhythms from scratched records and drums, and tones from feedback and sources. Simultaneously soothing and jarring; this is something for the adventurous listener operating outside of genre norms. The Ceiling edition is now sold out, but we got in some copies of the EE edition (100 copies, numbered).