Available

Everything on the blog is available contact sloowtapes "at" gmail "dot" com

Necessary Animals

Necessary Animals
The Songs That Brought Us Home
Sloow Tapes - CS 50

Sapphire wine spilling over from the cup of Hastings' Necessary Animals. Multicoloured drops dissolve in multi-refractions of 23 Skidoo, New Jazz Experience, Alabama 3 and Good Missionaries. Crystal stars reflecting on blue-green liquids of origin growing myths of psychedelia from the primordial abyss of inner time. Edition of 70.

sloowtapes · Necessary Animals

David Erdos

David Erdos
Divided By One
Sloow Tapes - CS 60

David Erdos's work has been published and performed around the world and he has collaborated with Harold Pinter, Heathcote Williams, Alan Moore, Malcolm Ritchie, Jan Herman and Iain Sinclair among others. Also active in music Erdos worked with Pete Brown, David Tibet, Joy Payne, Steve Hackett etc. He is also a contributing editor for The International Times. As Heathcote Williams writes 'David Erdos assiduously pulls together each thread in the Great Chain of Being. His poems are terrific, atmospheric and far reaching and the reader soon learns that the writer is well informed on very many levels and that he's in safe hands for what proves to be a rewarding, penetrating and often breath-taking ride.' Edition of 50 copies.

sloowtapes · David Erdos

Mia Kirsi Stageberg

Mia Kirsi Stageberg
After The Promise
Sloow Tapes - CS 45

According to family legend Mia Kirsi Stageberg's name in Norway’s Trøndelag dialect means “stepmountain,” for steps cut into rocks at their home Stågeberget, since even goats found it hard to climb. Stageberg has lived in Israel, Canada and several US cities, from New Mexico to San Francisco. She was a regular contributor to periodicals artscanada, New Directions and Caracol in the 1960s and 1970s, published poetry and novels Candles and Landlords, and edited Book of Itzolin: Life and Works of Itzolin Valdemar García and Ronnie Burk's poetry collection Sky Boat. Edition of 50 copies.

sloowtapes · Mia Kirsi Stageberg

Niko Karlsson

Niko Karlsson
Two Moons for Eyes
Sloow Tapes - CS 50

The sweet night thickens like boiling jam. Two muted moons transmute into silent eyes, its rays glowing through different stages of reality. A path through haze unfolds as Niko Karlsson's gentle guitar unfolds like a twisted flower and recedes back into invisibility under a shower of fern's seeds. Edition of 70 copies.

Mniej znaczy więcej” powiedzenie, aforyzm, który zna każdy z nas. Słyszymy go dosłownie wszędzie i o każdej porze dnia, nocy. A i dotyczy zarówno wielu aspektów naszego życia personalnego, jak i działań artystycznych, czegokolwiek. Interpretacji jest wiele. Będąc w strefie dźwiękowej nie możemy tego bezpośrednio łączyć czy nazwać minimalizmem, chociaż pewne powiązania czy podobieństwa występują. Nieważne. Osobiście, pojawienie się najnowszej taśmy Niko Karlssona samoczynnie wpasowało się w ramy powyższego motto.
Aktywny od wielu lat, ale stroniący od bezpośredniego wyjścia na światło, Niko stanowi „niewidzialną” część doskonałej, fińskiej sceny folk/psych/drone. Przez niektórych nazywanej też: forest czy avant folk. Jego udział słyszalny jest na płytach Lau Nau, Kiila, Brelo, Navigations, Altaat… W odsłonie solowej i na przestrzeni czasu Two moons for Eyes jest zaledwie, albo aż (w zależności od punktu widzenia) szóstym tytułem (licząc split Lp z Topiasem Tiheasalo) sygnowanym własnym imieniem i nazwiskiem. Chociaż tutaj warto dodać, że przy okazji wydawania jednej z poprzednich taśmy Its Own Phantom sam muzyk zaproponował, aby ukazała się ona anonimowo.
Co zawsze i natychmiast przykuwa uwagę potencjalnego słuchacza to jego hipnotyczna gra na rozmaitych instrumentach strunowych: banjo, kantele, smyczkowe, a w szczególności gitara akustyczna grana techniką fingerpicking. Jego pierwsza propozycja solowa Illan Aurinko Aamun Kuu została bardziej osadzona w rejonach american primitive, to był to dopiero początek, zwiastun nadchodzącej podróży, która dopiero się „rozpoczęła”. Two moons for Eyes zdaje się być zwieńczeniem, a może kolejnym etapem rozpoczętym na wspomnianym Its Own Phantom i kontynuowanym na Burning With Gold. Oba tytuły dosłownie wchodzą w pogłębiający się atawistyczny cień. Rozszerzeniu ulega paleta brzmieniowa dzięki wykorzystaniu gongów, przeróżnych talerzy perkusyjnych i perkusjonaliów. Dochodzi powściągliwa, preparowana elektronika kreująca dodatkowe wymiary, do tej pory czekające na swoje odkrycie.
Two Moons For Eyes zaskakuje wibracją od pierwszych sekund. Transmisja z miejsca, czy wymiaru, którego lokalizacja jest znana tylko samemu wykonawcy. Czarna dziura, materia w której wszystko się kończy, ale i co najważniejsze zaczyna. Brak czasu i jego trywialnego postrzegania. Odwieczna wibracja powstająca ze swobodnie wygrywanych figur gitary akustycznej, ich konfiguracje powoli umiejscowione w przestrzeni wybrzmiewają bez pośpiechu. Najważniejszy jest ich wydźwięk, rezonans pozostawiający smugi niepokojącego akustycznego dronu. Niko dozuje kolejne uderzenia strun w oczekiwaniu na ożywający w tle feedback, który staje się jego odbiciem, partnerem w grze.
Niekiedy pochody gitary zatrzymują się nagle, jak niedopowiedziane, w połowie przerwane zdania, oczekując odpowiedzi, która nadchodzi w momencie ponownego uderzenia w struny.
Materiał w całości jest fantastycznie nagrany, zrealizowany. Brak tu jakiejś hi-tech produkcji, ale poszczególne elementy tej taśmy są idealnie umiejscowione w miksie, posiadając swoje miejsce w tej przestrzeni, ożywając w niej, doprowadzając do interakcji kreującej ten ekstra animistyczny wymiar. Wspomniane wcześniej rozszerzone instrumentarium, w fachowych rękach wypełnia, uzupełnia, dodaje dodatkowego kolorytu całości. Uderzane, potraktowane smyczkiem perkusjonalia wybrzmiewają, szumią, generując odległe horyzonty albo wysokotonowe sprzęgi idealnie towarzyszące gitarowym / banjo podróżom – oszałamiające zderzenie barw i faktur sonicznych. Kiedy banjo przejmuje prowadzenie, zderzamy się z powolnie spiralującymi melodiami i minimalistycznymi cyklami rytmicznymi. Wszystko uzupełnione sporadycznymi uderzeniami gongu i wtedy pojawia się głos, spokojny, jakby wyciszony. Cofnięty w miksie staje się chwilowym objawieniem, rodzajem deklaracji, ale i początkiem eskalacji dźwiękowej narastającego jakby apogeum. Upust nagromadzonej energii: mroczne drony i szorstka tekstura preparowanej gitary.
Kiedy wydaje się, że skwierczący prepar zakończy tą przejażdżkę w nicość z otchłani ciszy wyłania się prawdziwe zakończenie Two moons For Eyes. Monolityczny, statyczny na pierwszy rzut oka dron budził się do życia. Jego struktura zaczyna lśnić i wibrować, rozrastać się i przebijać przez kolejne wymiary, płaszczyzny, zakątki nie znając żadnej granicy czy umiaru. Nieskończoność.
(Marek “Lokis” Nawrot Anxious Magzine)

sloowtapes · Niko Karlsson

Electronic Sound Session

Electronic Sound Session
2018-2022
Zesde Kolonne Records/Pravdada/sloow Tapes Co-release

Selection of live improv sessions from 2018 to 2022 on various synths and other strange electronic devices by Jan d'Hooghe, Luk Sponselee, Bart De Paepe, Edwin van Eck, Jean-Pierre vann Rumste, Youri van Uffelen, Lars Senders and Paul Cornelis. Recorded in exotic under the radar places like Hulst, Terneuzen and Kattendijke. Belgium/Holland collaboration.

sloowtapes · Electronic Sound Session

Mascara Snake

Mascara Snake
Mountain Diary
Sloow Tapes - CS 25

Not to be confused with the sometimes Captain Beefheart clarinetist of the same name, this particular Mascara Snake makes instrumental and atmospheric sound collages, influenced especially by Moondog, Penguin Cafe Orchestra and Luc Ferrari. As the snake sheds its skin Pacôme Genty reveals himself, who you might remember from the just as enigmatic La Non-pareille lp he released last year with his duo Des édens (together with Antoine Cortes). Edition of 60 copies.

sloowtapes · Mascara Snake

Alek Novak

Alek Novak
Pod Vodom
Sloow Tapes - CS 54

Serbian dystopian bedroom psychedelia from the one man band Alek Novak that fits these gnarly times very well. Poetic lyrics (so i've been told, I don't speak Serbian) over a psychedelic rock/noise sauce makes perfect listening while walking through shady corners of Belgrade, tasting the last drops of your bottle rakia. 70 copies.

sloowtapes · Alek Novak

Mike Hovancsek

Mike Hovancsek
Texture Studies
Sloow Tapes - CS 90

Late night atmospheric soundtracks for two short movies. 'Aea' is an acoustic improvisation with tons of illustrious instruments and contributions on shamisen and shakuhachi by Lydia Schneider and slide guitar by Mohonbeena Soumalaya Mukherjee. 'Antroposcene' is a meditation of floating electronics on our disastrous pollution of the world. Mike Hovancsek is a former member of Pointless Orchestra and collaborated with Egyptian composer Halim El-Dabh (who composed some of the earliest tape music in 1944). 70 copies.

He has releases on Pointless Music (and he was a member of the Pointless Orchestra) as early as 1991, and Infinite Number Of Sounds Recording Company, and yet this is his seventh release only. The four lengthy pieces receive some liner notes in which he mentions that he plays all the instruments but doesn't specify these. There are some guest players, such as Lydia Schneider on the shakuhachi and shamisen and Mohonbeena Soumalaya Mukherjee on slide guitar. The first side is all acoustic, and the second is electronic. What ties these sides together is Hovancsek's rather free approach to sound. On the electronic side, with two versions of a piece called 'Anthroposcene', the music is all about modular synthesizers, resembling all things living on this planet but under attack by humans. The sound changes constantly and sounds like a swarm of bees (or ants, but is that a swarm?) and a great piece. The two pieces, on the other side, are quite different. While also constructed freely, from many recordings stuck together, especially in the title piece, the music has a relatively reflective mood and the most in 'Aea - Espiral'. There is a raga-like drone machine, and on top, we hear what seems to be the processed sounds of the wind instruments. With the slide guitar, this free-style, hippie-like element gets more confirmation in the title piece. Maybe a bit too much on the incense side for my taste, but there is a fine touch of experimentalism to each piece, which saved it in the end. (Vital Weekly)

Based on the bits I’d heard from American artist Hovancsek, I was expecting something of a similar tenor. But this release is split into acoustic and electronic sides, the former featuring wood flutes, dreamy percussion and Indian slide guitar, giving it a bit of an acid folk heft in the vein of Daniel De Vore. The electronic suite is pretty spacy, with lots of oscillator-like bloops and the sort of Bading-esque squiggles you might hear in the background of a classic Star Trek episode. Which is, of course, cool by me. (Byron Coley, The Wire)

sloowtapes · Mike Hovancsek

Seirios Savvaidis

Seirios Savvaidis
Mesourania/Wendy's Wedding
Sloow Tapes CS 40

Compiling two EP's (Mesourania (2019) and Wendy's Wedding (2016) by Seirios Savvaidis (who also plays in The Dead Ends), one of Greece's best kept secrets. Some mind expanding songs that reflect deep knowledge of traditional Greek music by way of sixties and seventies pychedelia and cosmic folk troubadours. Savvaidis's relaxed Greek vocals make you float all the way up Mount Paggaio. Edition of 70 copies.


Seirios Savvaidis is a Greek musician whose work borrows liberally from psych rock of the 60s and 70s, complemented by the more cosmically written folk artists of the time. Compiling 2019's in 2016's Γάμος της Γουέντυ, Sloow Tapes gives a radiant look to his music with this double EP cassette. There are overt nods to traditional Greek music here. Gently surging acoustic ruminate comfortably alongside more muscular bits of personal introspection. Through the complex mechanism of these two EPs, we hear how multiple genres occupy the same space within songs. He even brings in some Laurel Canyon vibes to soften the transitions from sound to sound - he contains these living, breathing worlds, which seem to always exist. It's a definitive ride as we are carried on the backs of his inspirations and watch him interpolate their various lineages. (Beats Per Minute)

sloowtapes · Seirios Savvaidis

Wendingen 1918

Wendingen 1918
Recherche Dans Le Rêve
Sloowax 008

After a couple of limited art releases on Des Astres D’Or (now Astres d’Or) this is the first more widely available release of Wendingen 1918. Aural analogue surreal investigations by the trio of Raymond Dijkstra (Asra, bhaavitaaH bhuutasthaH, Santasede), Bart De Paepe (Ilta Hämärä, Innercity, Bombay Lunatic Asylum) and Frédérique Bruyas (Emmanuel Dilhac, La Poupée Vivante, Nivritti Marga). A hybrid mix of dynamic electronics, spatial sounds and poetry expressing a dazzling physical whole. Wendingen 1918 is dedicated to the early 20th century Dutch architectural magazine Wendingen that was associated with expressionistic architecture: it attempted to distort reality to express subjective, emotional experience. Edition of 300.

Best of 2021 (Soundohm)

This LP is the third LP by Wendingen 1918. Band member Raymond Dijkstra released the two previous LPs were released on his Des Astres d'Or. As with many of the releases on that particular enterprise, these are highly limited (25-40 copies) and usually don't make it to these pages. Of this new LP, 300 were made, so my first introduction to their music; may also be the case for more people. The other two members are Bart de Paepe and Frederique Bruyas. The latter is a regular collaborator of Dijkstra, and I must admit I don't know too much about De Paepe, other than he worked with Timo van Luijk as Ilta Hämärä (see Vital Weekly 1137). Wendingen 1918 refers to a Dutch magazine for architects and designers, and the first issue is from 1918. [wiki:] "Wendingen initially was an important platform for Dutch expressionism, also known as the Amsterdam School, and later endorsed the New Objectivity." As with much of the music I heard from Dijkstra (solo and others), this is another improvisation work. The four pieces are quite different. 'Je M'abandonne à la Fièvre Des Rêves' opens up here and a play of strings and percussion, rambling and rattling, and it comes with a bunch of delay and reverb, so it has a bit of a distant sound. 'Recherche Dans Le Rêve' (at seventeen minutes the most extended piece; this side of the record is over twenty-four minutes) reminded me of Nurse With Wound, with similar studio improvisations. Lots of drums rolling about, lots of cymbals, Bruyas' voice and the studio used as an additional instrument. It cuts random bits of sound in and out of the mix. The shortest piece is 'My Days Have Been a Dream' is also the quietest piece here, with slow violin moves, doubling and drifting away. This piece could have been a solo piece. Following the quietest is the loudest piece, 'Façons D'éveillé', which is a Korg Monotron synthesizer manifestation. The first few minutes are subtle, with some piano notes, but it's there alright when it starts. The piano and, later, string instruments stay there as well, but the biting sine waves of the synthesizer leave a strong imprint. Do not expect the sort of noise that Jliat would review, but it is louder than the three previous pieces. I must say it is also not the sort of improvisation that I thought was that great. Everything that happened in the background sounded of more interest to me but was too distant to reach. Despite that, I thought this was a very good record, full of exciting improvisations. (Vital Weekly)

sloowtapes · Wendingen 1918

Keiko Higuchi x Manuel Knapp

Keiko Higuchi x Manuel Knapp
Summoning Ancient Spirits
Sloow Tapes – CS 72

Sprawling sublime archaic noise electronics from visual artist Manuel Knapp (C.C.C.C, Tim Blechmann, Government Alpha) and vocal acrobatics by Keiko Highuchi (Albedo Fantastica (with Sachiko)and lots of others). Floating somewhere beyond harsh and hazy psychedelic dreams into the blackness of a Japanese night. Edition of 70 copies.

sloowtapes · Keiko Higuchi x Manuel Knapp

Vibration of Words

Vibration of Words
Jazz Poetry from Hungary
Sloow Tapes – CS 50

Classic recording of Hungarian-American poet/translator Gabor G. Gyukics together with Hungarian improvisers Béla Ágoston, Viktor Bori and Csaba Pengő, exhaling words and sounds in surreal late night jazz clouds of instant composition. Gabor G. Gyukics is a minimalist nature poet with a philosophical beat outlook. He translated Attila József, Endre Kukorelly and Attila Balogh in English, and Ira Cohen in Hungarian. Edition of 70.

sloowtapes · Vibration of Words