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Part 2

Today we have a set by Colorado old-schooler Jasun Lovejoy from Love Potion 2009 that went down in denver. This cat and Denoument are working hard to bring back an old times house music rave party vibe to things up in CO, it’s much appreciated.

Enjoy!

An amazing Colorado artist and friend of Rope Swing Cities, Mad King, has launched an online merchandise store. If you are interested in t-shirts, skateboards and posters with awesomely cool, clean, artwork, you should most definitely check out his site.

Hello, friends, as RSC starts making its transitions in life from strictly a netlabel, to a variety of things such as a clearing house for all of the cool projects done by RSC friends and family, we’d like to present the first release coming from Acre, the brain child of Mr. Ten and Tracer. Please read Mr. Tracer’s statement below, explore the Acre site and the Tsotsitaal release, and please consider buying a copy to help support an amazing young artist, always one of the RSC favs.

The music:
Tsotsitaal is a collection of soft drones and patient textures sourced from old synths, tapes, violin, acoustic guitar, flute, and field recordings. Each source has been carefully manipulated in a variety of ways. Some were subjected to deconstruction and wearing using reels and recorders, sound-on-sound layering, microphone mischief and the like. Others were sent through Ten and Tracer’s collection of home-made Reaktor patches and a cascade of other novel digital processes all performed live. Each session resulted in dozens of layers which were then edited down and detailed. The sound is almost wholly organic in nature, reflective and meditative. It is a bath of pleasantries with distinct opiate sensibility. Calm and warm. Deeply personal and full of heart.

The package:
The package is backed by a sturdy piece of wood or board upon which there lies a cork or balsa wood button to hold the CD (there are a few different versions). The booklet is sewn together on the front, attached to the backing, and sealed on top with another piece of sturdy wood. The CDr is either a black-bottom CDr with a clear label top, or a lightscribe CDr with some clever 3D tricks we suspect you’ve never seen before.

Additional drawings, stickers, photos, pressed leaves and flowers to be thrown in on a whim without discretion. We do things dangerously.

The book:
The books are composed from a selection of more than one-hundred-and-fifty different photographs, digital works, drawings and bits of prose - all by Ten and Tracer himself. Every copy includes one-of-a-kind personal hand-drawings and writings.

The book is printed on fine photo paper for the color pages and sturdy, wonderfully white as white paper with lovely inks that won’t fade too quickly, we’re sure. The books are sewn together with sturdy strings and attached neatly to the CD case.

The release comes in three different physical editions and will be released digitally very soon. Initially the digital release will be sold for a small fee, and a month later will be given away for free. Some of the artwork will be put online, and much of the online content will be exclusive the digital release (and subsequently given away for free of course).

Purchase Tsotsitaal
The Acre Collective
Ten and Tracer

Hello everyone,

RSC is going to be going on hiatus for some time. It is in an unfortunate necessity at this time. I’d like to thank everyone out there who has released on RSC or has enjoyed the music as much as I have. It’s been a great 3 1/2 years, and hopefully sometime in the near future we will be kicking things back into gear here.

In the meantime, please enjoy our huge, wonderful archive of releases and DJ mixes and keep a look out for all of the new projects of artists in the Rope Swing Cities family, as they are the only reason that this label has been worth checking out in the first place.

We’ll see you soon, enjoy the coming spring.

-joshua.

Hello friends,

How’s it going? We hope you’re doing well at this special time of year. Following Joshua’s recent inclusion in the Phlow 2008 Advent Calendar we decided it was a fine time to begin rolling out new Rope Swing Cities features. The first piece of which we’d like to introduce you to today is our brand new label store through Necodo. To kick off this new feature of Rope Swing Cities, we’re offering the new album by Electricwest, so, check it out because it’s amazing!

(artwork: Pat Benolkin)

01. Down We Go
02. Light Lesson
03. Foxfire

Cover.

Download the release as a .zip file.

Electricwest comes to Rope Swing Cities with the haunting and beautiful album Moth3r. Available for free here on the site is a three track EP sampler to whet your appetite for the full release.

Eleven tracks of meticulously composed IDM music, Moth3r is a perfect example of an artist’s synthesis of influences into an original whole. Pat Benolkin has crafted an album filled with lush tones, deep rumbling bass and skittering, dissonant percussion. At times moody and dark, the tone is balanced with pieces of calm, hope and contemplation. All throughout, Electricwest has created an immersive listening environment for both new and old fans of this emerging artist’s work.

So, check out the EP, purchase the full, awesome album and enjoy! For more on Electricwest click here.

(The full album will become available on the site for free as VBR MP3s in March of 2009.)

(right-click “save as…” to save.)

01. Airport: Early Arrival
02. Fall Into the City
03. Fountains
04. Pedestrian Bridge
05. Outside Garden Memories
06. Statues and Architecture
07. Riding Fireflies
08. Language All Know
09. Immersed in the Morning Quiet
10. Absolute Silence
11. Departure: One Week Early

Front cover. Back cover.

Download the entire release as a .zip file.

Steve Scherrelies returns to Rope Swing Cities with One Week Early his second release of beautifully nostalgic guitar based soundscapes. We’ve been waiting for more since the debut of A View of the River last summer, and we couldn’t be happier with the eleven well-crafted songs that comprise this album.

Eleven Steps always features his manipulations of the guitar at the center of his pieces, weaving a tapestry of field recordings and other sound creations around the focus of each track. With almost no percussion to speak of, the rhythm of each piece is communicated in the motion of the tones and washes of sound, creating an atmosphere of the peaceful swish-swaying of leaves in the breeze. Inspired by travel and the exploration of the world and oneself, Scherrelies presents a contemplative train ride through the country side, or a hushed wander through the anonymous bustle of the city streets.

Please enjoy our newest release, and look out for the limited edition handmade CD +remixes coming soon! Steve has a website you can check out. He is a great guy, so you probably should click here to see more about him.

(Artwork and animation by joshua twentythree)

(genre: idm)

(right-click “save as…” to save)

01. Hotslash
02. Ashtonfield
03. Station 0I0II0
04. Sunday
05. Moonlight
06. Flower and Reappear
07. Snake Rolls

Download the entire release as a .zip file.

Front cover. Back cover.

French artist Lexithimie debuts on Rope Swing Cities with The Poems of Longfellow a stunning EP of emotionally engaging IDM music, perfect for the end of summer and the encroaching winter.

Lexithimie’s production is peppered with Snow flake pitter patters of percussion which gently guide us through the snow fields of tone and melody. Soft and thoughtful songs filled with a hopeful longing for what comes next. The opening track, Hotslash, opens the release in perfect style; inviting washes of sound give way to a gently pulsing four four, ushering the listener on to explore the further landscapes contained in The Poems of Longfellow. And likewise, Snake Rolls, releases the listener at the end, a comforting sleepy ending to a marvelous musical journey.

With these ever so charming words in mind, please join us in welcoming a new member to the Rope Swing Cities family, Lexithimie, with the thoughtful and cuddly EP The Poems of Longfellow. For more about Lexithimie, you can check out his myspace page, here.

CD Re-release coming soon from Ian Hawgood’s new label Home Normal, check it out!

(Artwork by sarah h.dot animation by jason corder)

(genre: ambient, experimental)

(right click “save as…” to save)

01. Enter Off Color Tear
02. Swallow Shallows
03. Lite Gemut Cycle
04. Tight Phases of Pollen
05. Resting Grass
06. Slow Pulse of Epochal Light
07. Symphony for Exiting Entropies

download the entire release as a .zip file.

Rope Swing Cities is proud to present a new EP of soothing electronic landscapes by Kentucky artist, OffTheSky. With releases on labels such as Resting Bell and Autoplate and most recently an album on Databloem, Jason Corder comes to RSC with a longstanding reputation of creating quietly emotional music.

Subtle Trees continues this tradition with seven tracks incorporating artfully processed strings and piano keys with swelling synthetic waves to form minimalist paintings of sound. Seven calming pieces of music to pierce the heat of summer and offer a cooling respite from the sweltering sun. Subtle Trees is an exploration of nature as translated through Jason’s own observations of the teeming world around him.

Please join RSC in welcoming OffTheSky to our family of artists by spending a little quiet time alone with Subtle Trees as the soundtrack to your dreamy day. For more about OffTheSky and Jason Corder, check out this biz right here.