Out now: Poppy Ackroyd + Alvaret Ensemble albums

Hello everyone.

Welcome to the last newsletter for 2012. First of all sorry that the The Alvaret Ensemble 2xLPs have not been delivered yet - there was a delay caused by the pressing plant and due to illness we were not able to ship orders last week. All preorders of this item will leave after christmas.

Available now:
:::: Poppy Ackroyd – Escapement Cd | 12'' | MP3
:::: The Alvaret Ensemble – s/t 2xCd | 2x12'' | MP3

Thanks again for the great feedback regarding those two new releases. The Alvaret Ensemble will play a short tour in january to present the album live.

We've attached all new mailorder items for you further below. We've also extented the winter sale with the special discount offers until early January 2013.

Thanks again for your support in 2012. All the best for the new year.
Denovali


www.denovali.com/mailorder
www.denovali.com/mp3shop



POPPY ACKROYD - ESCAPEMENT Cd | 12'' | MP3



Poppy Ackroyd is a performer and composer from London who is currently based in Edinburgh. Classically trained on violin and piano, she fell in love with contemporary piano music and with the piano beyond the keys, discovering the world of sound that could be made from other parts of the instrument. Realising the violin had the same potential, she has spent the last few years composing delicate, intricate and beautifully atmospheric music by manipulating and multi-tracking sounds from these two instruments.

Her debut album 'Escapement' stays true to this idea. Every sound, with the exception of a few field recordings, is created using only either the piano or the violin. The seven tracks are a combination of piano melodies and chords - played both conventionally or created inside the piano using fingers, e-bows and plectrums - violin textures, melodies and pizzicato riffs and finally delicate beats composed of hits, plucks, taps and scrapes made using hands, drumsticks, beaters and small cymbals on either the frame, strings or dampers of the piano. There are often five or more different percussive lines working alongside each other.

In order to compose in this way, Poppy had to learn how to record and produce the music herself, as working with someone else would have been far too time consuming. Having discovered and restored a beautiful but neglected grand piano, she bought a laptop, digital recorder and speakers. Everything from the piano is recorded in her home studio with just this one microphone.

'Escapement' is the part of the mechanism in a piano that enables the hammer to be released, so that the string can vibrate once it is struck. It can also mean the physical act of escaping, and in the context of this album it refers to the release of emotions through the instrument. Field recordings of birds from the Outer Hebrides, and rain recorded whilst driving in Scotland, add to the narrative content of the music which underpins the whole album, giving it a strong emotional resonance.

For the last few years Poppy has been recording and touring extensively with HIDDEN ORCHESTRA (Tru Thoughts Records, Denovali Records), composing and performing live soundtracks for contemporary dance and physical theatre works, and collaborating with other musicians, artists, filmmakers, actors, sound designers and radio documentary producers. Escapement will be released in December 2012 by Denovali Records and she will be touring throughout Europe at the same time.

Stream: www.denovali.com/poppyackroyd
Download: www.denovali.com/mp3shop
Facebook: www.facebook.com/poppyackroydsounds

Vinyl:
::: thick gatefold sleeves; 180g vinyl
::: download code
::: limited edition: 250 copies on white vinyl
::: regular edition: 450 copies on black vinyl
::: price: 17.00 euro

Cd:
::: nice digipak covers
::: price: 13.00 euro



THE ALVARET ENSEMBLE - s/t 2xCd | 2x12'' | MP3



"The Alvaret Ensemble is a new improvisatory collective based around Greg Haines (piano), Jan Kleefstra (voice, poems), Romke Kleefstra (guitar and effects) and Sytze Pruiksma (percussion). This self-titled 2xCD/2xLP is our first release, and was recorded over three nights at the Grunewaldkirche in Berlin by Nils Frahm in August of 2011. In keeping with the spirit of the project, other musicians were invited to the sessions to add their own colour and further add to the spontaneity of the recording. In the end, those collaborators played an important part in defining the sound of the album - Iden Reinhart played violin, as did Peter Broderick, while Hilary Jeffery (Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble etc.) provided the album with its mournful trombone tones. Martyn Heyne, who was just there to help out with recording, ended up unleashing the church's organ and bringing a completely new element and sense of power to the album.
We had been talking about recording together for a long time before finally setting the date and the location, so there was a strong sense of anticipation as we began to set-up the space for recording. Then, without scores or discussion, we began to play. In the beautiful and bright acoustics of the Grunewaldkirche, it soon became clear that even when playing incredibly quietly, the sound still filled the room and the tiny details or blemishes that we began to notice in the sound became the compositional tools that informed the recording. Recorded entirely at night, the candlelit atmosphere further added to the level of concentration and interconnectivity, and quickly the pieces began to take on lives of their own - it was as if with just a little guidance they would play out by themselves; as if the scores were already written and we were simply reciting what we had spent years composing. So many months of thoughts and ideas quickly began to pour out into something that instantly began to feel complete. Of course this feel of completeness was also supplemented with a sense of excitement that the idea was working, that something was beginning to take shape - that an album that we are now all immensely proud was being created right there, in the moment.
We were left with around 12 hours of recordings, which we then spent months immersing ourselves in and began to craft something that would later become two discs - something that can be viewed as two separate entities or as one lengthy statement. When all was in order, Nils Frahm and Greg got together in his workspace, Durton Studio, and mixed and mastered it with the precise attention to detail that the music deserved.” - The Alvaret Ensemble.

Greg Haines is a musician and composer based in Berlin. He has released on Miasmah, Sonic Pieces and Preservation, and played concerts around the world, including across Europe, the USA, Japan and Australia. He also has created many scores for dance, including "Day4” with choreographer David Dawson, performed by the Dutch National ballet and the Holland Symfonia.

The Kleefstra Brothers are members of the Dutch improv band Piiptsjilling, as well as working together on numerous releases with musicians such as Celer, Gareth Davis, Peter Broderick, Machinefabriek, Nils Frahm, Greg Haines, Sytze Pruiksma and Anne Chris Bakker. It invariably involves the experimental guitar playing of Romke in combination with the spoken word in Frisian (old European minority language) by Jan.

Sytze Pruiksma is a composer, sound artist and bird-watcher, traditionally educated as a classical percussionist at the conservatory of Amsterdam. After having played as a percussionist in the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Dutch Philharmonic Orchestra (among others), he focussed on his own projects, developing an authentic way of playing that is characterized by a great attention for timbre, inspired on landscapes, nature and birds. For fans of SET FIRE TO FLAMES, RACHELS, ARVO PÄRT and the ECM catalogue in general.

Stream: www.denovali.com/thealvaretensemble
Download: www.denovali.com/mp3shop
Facebook: www.facebook.com/alvaretensemble

Vinyl - 2xLP:
::: thick gatefold sleeves; 180g vinyl
::: download code
::: limited edition: 250 copies on white vinyl
::: regular edition: 450 copies on black vinyl
::: price: 21 Euro

2xCd:
::: nice fold out digipak covers
::: price: 16.00 euro



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STILL ACTUAL

den135 | A Dead Forest Index - Antique Cd | 10''
den136 | The Nest - Music For Drivers Cd | 2x12''
den137 | Carlos Cipa - The Monarch And The Viceroy Cd | 12''
den138 | Sankt Otten - Sequencer Liebe Cd | 12''
den139 | Saffronkeira - A New Life 2xCd | A New Life Part I 2x12''
den140 | Saffronkeira - A New Life Part II 2x12''
den141 | Talvihorros - Some Ambulance 12''
den142 | Talvihorros - Music In Four Movements 12''
den143 | The Contemporary Noise Sextet - Vinyl Collection 4x12''
den144 | Oneirogen - Hypnos 2x12''
den145 | Oneirogen - Veni Nox Anima 12''
den146 | Switchblade - s/t Cd | 2x12''
den147 | Thisquietarmy - Exorcisms 12''
den148 | Thomas Köner - Novaya Zemlya 2x12''
den149 | Blueneck - Epilogue Cd | 12''
den150 | Hidden Orchestra - Archipelago 2x12''
den151 | Lento - Anxiety Despair Languish Cd | 12''
den153 | Iroha - Shepherds & Angels Cd | 12''
den155 | Talvihorros - And It Was So Cd | 12''
den156 | Talvihorros - Let Us Be Thankful We Have Commerce 10''



SPECIAL OFFERS

Crëvecoeur - #2 Cd [6€]
Dominic - Nord Cd [6€]
Her Name Is Calla - The Heritage Cd [6€]
Kidcrash - Snacks Cd [6€]
Kodiak + N - Rn|Xe (Black Vinyl, Special Offer) 12'' [10€]
Kodiak - S/t 2xCd [10€]
Kodiak / Nadja - Split Cd [6€]
Kom - Berry White (Clear Vinyl) 12'' [10€]
Kom - Berry White (Electric Blue Vinyl) 12'' [10€]
Kom - Berry White Cd [6€]
The Coma Lilies - Memento Mori Cd [4€]
White Darkness - ToKAGE Cd [6€]



DISCOUNTED ITEMS

Her Name Is Calla - The Heritage (Black) 12'' (last copies) [10€]
Infinite Light Ltd. - S/t (Black Vinyl) 12'' [10€]
Revok - Bad Books And Empty Pasts (Clear Red/Clear Inside/Outside) 12'' [10€]
Revok - Bad Books And Empty Pasts (Clear Vinyl) 12'' [10€]
September Malevolence - Tomorrow We'll Wonder ... (Clear w/ Grey Haze) 12'' [10€]
September Malevolence - Tomorrow We'll Wonder ... (Clear) 12'' [10€]
White Darkness - ToKAGE (Black Vinyl) 2x12'' [13€]
White Darkness - ToKAGE (White/Grey Vinyl A/B Effect) 2x12'' [13€]



MAILORDER NEWS / BACK IN STOCK

AmenRa - Mass V Cd [15.5€]
Anthony Braxton / Max Roach - Birth and Rebirth 12''+Cd [19.5€]
Baton Rouge - Amer / Contrepied 7'' [6.5€]
Bell Witch - Longing Cd [15.5€]
Ben Frost - By The Throat Cd [15.5€]
Ben Frost - Theory of Machines Cd [15.5€]
Ben Frost / Daniel Bjarnas - Solaris 12'' [16€]
Bernard Hermann - Taxi Driver OST 12'' [19€]
Boduf Songs - Internal Memo 10'' [15€]
Boris / Joe Volk - Split 12'' [19.5€]
Brian Eno - Lux 2x12'' [21€]
Burial - One / Two 12'' [12.5€]
Charlatan - Isolatarium 12'' [18€]
Christian Loefller & Steffen Kirchhoff - Ki Split Serie No. 2 (Baltic Sea) 12'' [10.5€]
Chromatics - Night Drive 2x12'' [19.5€]
Dadavistic Orchestra - Dokument .02 3x12'' [28€]
David Murray Octet - Ming 12''+Cd [19.5€]
Don Don Cherry / Dewey Redman / Charlie Haden / Ed Blackwell - Old And New Dreams 12''+Cd [19.5€]
Dream Boat - Eclipsing 12'' [16.5€]
DVVLLXNS (Jon Porras) - Lxtvny 12'' [17€]
Egisto Macchi - Voix 12'' [26€]
ERAAS - S/t 12'' [16.5€]
Farewell Poetry - Hoping For The Invisible To Ignite 12''+Dvd [18.5€]
Farewell Poetry - Hoping For The Invisible To Ignite Cd+Dvd [17€]
Félicia Atkinson - Summer eyes 12'' [15€]
Four Tet - Jupiters (Happa Remix) / Lions (Jamie XX Remix) 12'' [11.5€]
Gareth Hardwick / P Jørgensen - Split 12'' [17€]
Grails / Pharaoh Overlord - Black Tar Prophecies 5 12'' [21€]
Helios - Remixed Cd [15.5€]
Henri-Pierre Noel - Piano 12'' [16.5€]
Herbie Hancock - Takin' Off 12'' [21€]
Interlude - A La Deriva 12'' [12€]
John Carpenter / Alan Howarth - Prince of Darkness (OST) 12'' [23€]
Jon Porras - Orilla Oscura 12'' [18.5€]
Julia Holter - Goddess Eyes 12'' [10€]
Keiji Haino / Jim O'Rourke / Oren Ambarchi - Imikuzushi Cd [16.5€]
Kreng - Monster 10'' [12.5€]
Le Reveil Des Tropiques - S/t 2x12'' [16€]
Lichens - Lítiõ fólk 12'' [16€]
Machinefabriek - Secret Photographs Cd [15.5€]
Majeure - Solar Maximum 12'' [17€]
Marsen Jules - Nostalgia Cd [15.5€]
Marsen Jules - Yara Cd [15.5€]
Nico Muhly - Drones Cd [16€]
Norbert Möslang - Indoor_Outdoor 12'' [17€]
Rites Wild - Ways Of Being 12'' [18€]
Rolo Tomassi - Astraea 12'' [18€]
Sonic Youth - Smart Bar Chicago 1985 2x12'' [23.5€]
Symmetry - Themes For An Imaginary Film 3x12'' [24€]
Tesa - IV 12'' [12€]
The Greg Foat Group - Girl And Robot With Flowers 12'' [22€]
Tim Hecker & Daniel Lopatin - Instrumental Tourist 2x12'' [23.5€]
V.A. - Lost In The Humming Air (Music inspired by Harold Budd) Cd [15.5€]
Vladislav Delay - Kuopio Cd [17.5€]
White Hills - Abstractions & Mutations 12'' [18.5€]
Why? - Mumps, etc. 12'' [17€]
Wolfgang Voigt - Freiland-Klaviermusic 12'' [10.5€]
Zombie Zombie - Rituels D'un Nouveau Monde 12'' [17€]



ON THE ROAD

THE ALVARET ENSEMBLE (uk/nl)

14.01.13 Prag (cz) - Palac Akropolis
15.01.13 Budapest (hu) - Akvarium
18.01.13 Essen (ger) - Weststadthalle Cafe
20.01.13 Köln (ger) - Ambientfestival

Cross Linx Festival Tour
01.03.13 Eindhoven (nl) - Muziekgebouw
02.03.13 Amsterdam (nl) - Paradiso
03.03.13 Rotterdam (nl) - De Doelen
04.03.13 Groningen (nl) - De Oosterpoort