TAPE

Swedish trio Tape was set up in 2000 by brothers Andreas and Johan Berthling with Tomas Hallonsten. Taking cues both from pop, experimentalism, and minimalism their sound has become recognized internationally and is clearly something of its own.

Their first album Opera was released on the Häpna imprint (which Johan is a co-owner of) in 2002. Working intuitive, all by themselves, they created mini symphonies out of electronic sounds paired with a stunning melodic lyricism. With an array of electronic and acoustic instruments at hand they recorded at a small stone barn on the island of Öland, east of Sweden. 2003 saw the release of Milieu, recorded at the very same barn. These recordings had a more arranged feeling and a clear pop sensibility in some parts.

In 2005 they went to Cologne to have Marcus Schmickler produce and record their third album Rideau. This was done in his Piethopraxis studio in Cologne and his involvement left traces; an almost architectonical approach was taken and some of the intimacy that characterized the first two albums were replaced by a harder edge.

In 2006 they collaborated with Japanese duo Tenniscoats on their album Tan–Tan Therapy. The same year they recorded in Tokyo with Japanese quartet Minamo, which resulted in the record Birds of a feather. In the years, their touring has taken them to places like Japan, Taiwan, USA and most parts of Europe. Since Luminarium (2008) they are working out of their own Summa studio in Stockholm and during the last two years they´ve recorded what has become Revelationes, their 5th album.



www.hapna.com/H44.html

ÁINE O'DWYER

Hailing from Ireland , but resident in London , Áine O'Dwyer is an instrumentalist and singer, a long time member of the Irish free folk collective United Bible studies and collaborator of numerous musical projects including The Cloisters, Mark Fry and the A-Lords.

Effectively the follow-up to her 2011 album of improvised organ etudes, Music for Church Cleaners the vivid, aptly titled Anything bright or startling? was released on the Second Language label this year and is Áine’s first album with vocals. Her mesmeric, crystalline, often acrobatic voice and dreamlike poetic lyrics punctuate the album’s four lengthy, serpentine song suites of harp playing, piano, pipe organ, glockenspiel and tin whistle.

"'Anything bright or startling?' is her first vocal release, and reveals her as a hypnotic performer, unafraid to incorporate something of her Irish origins into the melodies and the oiled grain of her voice." - Rob Young, THE WIRE

"A long-time purveyor of quality tapes and audio curiosities, Robin Dickinson has been cleverly snapped up by the very good Exotic Pylon records and it’s a good thing too. ‘The Long Rain’ might be the most complete vision he’s come up with to date, as he blends a sensitive ear for decomposing drones (think an atonal William Basinski) with a keen understanding of music concrete and noise. The most marvelous thing about ‘The Long Rain’ is the very character of the sounds, and even in the digital realm it plays like a warped Dictaphone tape with bell sounds warbling and fluttering and crunching percussive sounds coming across like Leatherface’s chains draped around your neck before he drags you into the killing room. We’re probably making it sound much darker than it is, but that’s just the thing – Dickinson has left so much to the listener themselves; the music is at times just low end warbles, radio interference and other-worldly tones, so it depends on our references for those sounds how we actually hear them, and that’s a very good thing indeed. A stunning piece of music, one for fans of Geoff Mullen, PAN or Kevin Drumm – seriously, don’t sleep" - Boomkat