HAPPENINGS...

Everything seems to converge around May... maybe it's the solar energy charging everyone's souls, or maybe it's just the fact that going outside won't result in slow, frozen death, either way, we've got a bunch of stuff coming up, so I thought now might be a good time to collect my thoughts here in one place.

There are a few shows on the horizon:
5/9 Gay Shapes - Hotel Vernon, Worcester, with Isa Christ + more.
5/10 Gay Shapes - Washington St. Arts Center, Somerville with TVE + more
5/18 Homeowner - Firehouse, Worcester with Work/Death, TVE + more
5/29 LOOKS REALISTIC - Where Does It Come From? - Special Film Screening! Aviary Gallery, Jamaica Plain

In terms of tapes there are a few things coming up. Soon we will be releasing solo albums from Micky O'Hara and Abdul Sherzai both of Gay Shapes.

Then later on in the year we will be releasing the solo full length debut of Ryan Mulhall (half of Looks Realistic) who previously released music as Three Fourths Tigers. This will be his new fucked-up pop project called SAVERS.

Also later on in the year we will be releasing the next album from Jimmy Hughes' Dinners project.

A new Bastian Void tape is nearing completion. A new Gay Shapes cassette is in the works as always.  And a new Looks Realistic album is under way. Plus a few secret projects are brewing as well. Really excited to share more info on all that soon!

Just got more copies of Homeowner's "Themes from 172" as well as the final copies of Looks Realistic's "Where Does It Come From?" Pick those up at a show or at the respective bandcamp pages.

Stay tuned for more updates as they come! Twitter and Facebook pages updated every once in a while too!

Peace!
-Joe

Homeowner - Themes from 172

The new Homeowner tape is out now on Orange Milk Records!
Copies are available at the Orange Milk Store and at the Homeowner Bandcamp.

"Homeowner is the project of Joe Bastardo, also of Bastian Void, Gay Shapes, and the Moss Archive label. His newest album, Themes from 172, finds a halfway point between seemingly aleatoric computer squawks and more compositional frameworks. It reminds me of early experiments in electronic music; very exploratory, sometimes clinical or 'theoretical' sounding -- as if an intricate computer code was behind it all -- but also paradoxically carefree and fun. Maybe it's Joe's perfectionist nature meeting the intrinsic chaos in non-traditional music that creates such a wonderful clash of sensibilities. Whatever the case, we are happy to present this album to you." - Orange Milk Records

 Pro-dubbed chrome tape. Edition of 100. All tacks preformed on analog synthesizers with some piano and tape recordings too. Recorded and edited at Moss Archive. Mastered by Brad Rose. Art by Keith Rankin and Joe Bastardo.

Looks Realistic - Where Does It Come From?

PURR-0020 "Where Does It Come From?" by LOOKS REALISTIC

The album is OUT NOW on limited cassette and VHS from Constellation Tatsu.
The VHS edition of the album features videos created by none other than Joshua Rogers of Broken Machine Films.

The tape is limited to 150 pro-dubbed chrome cassettes. The VHS is limited to 100 hand-numbered copies.

"Joseph Bastardo and Ryan Mulhall erase the earth from all directions, drawing in a home where mountains grow, rainbows bow, and melodies play throughout the land."

//SOLD OUT//

Bastian Void - Fluorescent Bells

Bastian Void - Fluorescent Bells. Released on cassette from Field Hymns!

Digital download available at the Bastian Void Bandcamp.

"Sweet-smelling, chilly vapors softly effervescing from pools of synth... Fluorescent Bells is absolutely terrific, one of Field Hymns’ finest dedications to cassette tape yet, which is saying a lot." -Tiny Mix Tapes

"A strong lovely tribute to a time when experimental and emotion were one." - Beach Sloth

"Really I could not recommend this album more. Fluorescent Bells is an ambient album that is chock full of character where each song becomes an entity amongst itself. Arguably a top 10 ambient album for 2012." - Selective Memory

Atrium (Demo Version) by Bastian Void
FH029 Bastian Void - Respirit by Field Hymns Records
Fluorescent Bells by Bastian Void

Visitors by Bastian Void

New Moss Batch

[MOSS 007] SAM GAS CAN - "Life of a Dog"

Sam Gas Can brews a blend of bedroom pop that is both subtly humorous and deeply personal, operating in the grey area between intimacy and obscurity. From the tape recorder confessional of "How Does A Dog Know How To Get Big?" to the punkish blast of "Look At A Rat, Look At A Snake," or the droning mantra of "I feel Like Crying," the listener is always left with a feeling of genuine sincerity. This might be Sam's boldest pop statement to date and I couldn't be more proud to release it.

Edition of 50 hand-stamped cassettes. Designed, printed, assembled and dubbed at Moss Archive. December 2012

///SOLD OUT///

[MOSS 009] BANG! BROS - "Hard Rocks Vol. 2: Bang of America!"

World record breaking Whitehaus homies Ed Roland and Thom Simon bring it. Hard. "Bang of America!" is Volume 2 in the epic "HARD ROCKS" saga. You must ask yourself if your heart and soul are even ready for this. Just watch:
Edition of 50 hand-stamped cassettes. Designed, printed, assembled and dubbed at Moss Archive. December 2012

Shipping

//SOLD OUT//

ANASTASIA CARAS - "WALDEINSAMKEIT"
We are also proud to announce our first ever printed zine. Selected photographs from Photographer / Designer Anastasia Caras.

Limited edition of 150. Full color. Printed and assembled at Moss Archive. Included in all future orders.

[moss006] Gay Shapes

  

 Gay Shapes - Moss 006 (c27)
ORDER: Tomentosa Records 
DOWNLOAD: Bandcamp

Joe Bastardo, Mickey O'Hara, and Abdul Sherzai comprise Gay Shapes. The Worcester, MA trio skirts the line between peaceful emptiness and absolute darkness. Circuit-bent electronics, samples, and analog synthesizers merge together, creating a massive atmosphere that shifts between vast, open spaces, and claustrophobic caverns of doom. Mind-numbing frequency blasts and fizzy electronic splatter fuse together to create a uniquely organic wall of sound.

Over the past two years, the band has played countless shows, and they have been refining their song with each performance. These electronic zones have been crystallizing at a deliberately nonchalant pace. Past releases were assembled in piecemeal fashion: live recordings merged with solo creations, blurred with field noise, etc. This latest cassette showcases the band in its pure, live setup. Recorded straight to tape one summer night at the Firehouse, these recordings feature no overdubs; minor edits were made only for the sake of tape length. MOSS 006 is a document of Gay Shapes in their truest form. 

Edition of 50 hand-stamped cassettes. Designed, printed, assembled, and dubbed at Moss Archive.
Recorded, mixed and edited at the Firehouse. July 2012.