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And Now… Mirror Mirror! Surprise Digital Only Release!

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– Posted on January 31, 2011Posted in: Releases

Welcome Mirror Mirror! Primarily composed of guitarist, songwriter Jason Campbell of Olympia, Washington, Mirror Mirror’s sound is drenched and stained in melancholy melodic figures and shadowy lyrics.

Available now is Mirror Mirror’s debut on Aphonia Recordings. For only $0.99 you can download the two track mini EP. Click here.

All Mirror Mirror songs are recorded at home in Olympia, Washington by Jason Campbell. The approach is about solid and melodic songs, the sound is about creating a soundtrack for the night, with Psychedelic, Post-Punk, and Dramatic themes. Mirror Mirror has been influenced by everything from Ennio Morricone to 60′s Psychedelia to The Brian Jonestown Massacre.

Campbell has been a steady musical presence in both Olympia and Spokane, Washington. He has played with the bands Mynx, Fairfax, Airshow and The Nerve among others. Active for many years, Campbell joins the Aphonia Recordings cohort with a series of digital singles, all available for free from Mirror Mirror’s Bandcamp website. Have a listen in the meantime:

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Upcoming Releases: Mangled Bohemians CD, Derek M. Johnson LP, Phantom of the Opera DVD and a New Compilation!

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– Posted on January 15, 2011Posted in: Releases

The first few months of 2011 are going to be exciting for experimental music! We are indoctrinating many new artists and new media into our release schedule, including our first vinyl release and our first DVD/Film release. New to the fold are Rachel Carns, known primarily as an amazing musician, pioneering the Queercore movement in the Western U.S. She is also a graphic designer extraordinaire and post modern Renaissance woman. Derek M. Johnson will also be offering his first ever full length release. Although no stranger to the Aphonia universe by virtue of being the artist most frequently appearing at Aphonia Showcases and sponsored events, Johnson here will offer a full length record for the first time. More on all of this later.

First up, as has been recently announced, is Mangled Bohemians new album At the Edge of Earth currently available for pre-order here. This new venture from James Lee of Portland is a swirling mass of psychedelia, meandering ambient soundscapes and as has been featured as of late in Mangled’s live shows, vocals from Lee.

Also on the way is a brand new series of tracks from Olympia, Washington’s Derek M. Johnson. Mr. Johnson has been cultivating a live performance consisting of hand treated slide mounted film, projected via slide projectors (those who know what it is might get interested in BuyDLP.com) against a melange of acoustic solo cello, looped and destroyed tones, all emanating from Johnson’s cello and massive array of effect pedals. Though Johnson’s live show is abstract and often dark in tone, his new LP (release date forthcoming) is subtly beautiful, timeless and varied. It’s themes cover emotional extremes: beauty, anger, melancholy and rain. It should prove to be a truly exciting release as it will be the first ever vinyl release from Aphonia Recordings. There will a limited first run and we will announce a pre-order sale in the near future.

In addition, is an ensemble piece for the 1925 silent film The Phantom of the Opera. Back in December of 2008 Aphonia Recordings hosted a showcase featuring the ensemble (Rachel Carns, Heather Hall, Daniel Buscher and Derek M. Johnson) at the Gallery 1412 collective in Seattle, Washington’s Central District. The resulting recording and performance was so remarkable that we soon decided to create a DVD release of this live performance. The release has been somewhat delayed but we are now set to release it in the next couple of months. The packaging will include cover and insert designs from Rachel Carns and will be hand assembled by the crack Aphonia Releases & Promotions Lab Team. You can listen to our original podcast previewing the show here – it features portions of the debut performance at the Olympia Film Festival.

Original Show Poster designed by Rachel Carns

And last but not least we will be releasing a sampler compilation that will feature new/unsigned aritsts as well as Aphonia stalwarts Paintings For Animals, KRGA, Desolation Wilderness, Darwinsbitch and much, much more! In fact, it will be so crazy good that you will probably want to buy one for your mom as well.

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Portland’s Mangled Bohemians Announce New Release: At the Edge of Earth

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– Posted on January 13, 2011Posted in: Releases, Shows

Portland’s own Mangled Bohemians are to release their second release on Aphonia with At the Edge of Earth. Here, James Lee (now Mangled Bohemians’ sole member) weaves guitar textures, atmospheric washes, and unlike previous releases, cavernous vocals. Most who have seen Lee perform in the last year or two can attest this reflects a new direction for the Bohemians.

The pre-sale continues until the official release date of January 26th. There are only 100 of this first printing being made available so please visit the release page to purchase before we run out!

In addition, the Bohemians embark on a tour to promote At the Edge of the Earth, which you can listen to here.

West Coast Tour Itinerary:

Wed, Jan 26
Soda Bar
San Diego, CA
Doors Open: 9:00 PM
Ages: 21+

Thu, Jan 27
The Prospector
Long Beach, CA
Doors Open: 8:00 PM
Ages: 21+

Fri, Jan 28
The Cat Club
West Hollywood, CA
Doors Open: 6:00 PM
Ages: All Ages

Sat, Jan 29
Trip Nightclub
Santa Monica, CA
Doors Open: 9:00 PM
Ages: 21+ or w/ adult

Thu, Feb 3
Hemlock Tavern
San Francisco, CA
Doors Open: 8:00 PM
Ages: 21+

Fri, Feb 4
East Nile
Oakland, CA
Doors Open: 9:00 PM
Ages: All Ages

Thu, Feb 10
The Wandering Goat
Eugene, OR
Doors Open: 8:00 PM
Ages: All Ages

Fri, Feb 11
Triangle Inn Salem
Oregon, OR
Doors Open: 9:00 PM
Ages: All Ages

Sat, Feb 12
KPSU
Portland, OR
Doors Open: 12:00 PM
All Ages

Sat, Feb 12
The Artistery
Portland, OR
Doors Open: 7:30 PM
Ages: All Ages

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Release Party & Show in San Francisco for Evon

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– Posted on January 12, 2011Posted in: Releases, Shows

San Francisco, CA –

On January 25th recent Aphonia Recordings artists Evon will be playing at El Rio in SF.  This is a very special show since it is a very belated CD Release show for The Bees Are Coming which Aphonia Recordings released in Autumn 2010.

Evon is an amazing group of 6 stupendously talented musicians lead by Agnes Szelag and this is their first show and it is a very early show – 7PM! Evon will go on at 8PM.

Audrey Howard’s band Steel Hotcakes will be opening and Eli’s Band will be headlining. For those of you who are used to Agnes Szelag as an experimental artist – this project is rocky and melodic. (See reviews from KFJC 89.7 FM in Los Altos, CA and Textura)

So come one, come all, bring friends!

Go to Evon’s release page for The Bees Are Coming:

Evon - The Bees Are Coming

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K Records Announces Nucular Aminals Release!

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– Posted on December 9, 2010Posted in: Releases

Visit the K Records blog to read about the upcoming Nucular Aminals release in June 2011! We are super happy for our longtime collaborators and pals. Go mutants! Click below to listen to some of their current releases here on Aphonia Recordings:

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Evon review: “Monster movie soundtrack”, “floating and dancing” and “like chamber pop meeting some jazz performers at the symphony for the screening of a film noir.” Agreed.

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– Posted on December 7, 2010Posted in: Releases, Reviews

agnes-profile-web1Read this great review of The Bees Are Coming from KFJC 89.7 FM in Los Altos Hills, CA:

Released in September, 2010, this album by Evon, “The Bees are Coming,” features a number of SF Bay Area artists and is led by composer and artist Agnes Szelag. Agnes composed, performed, recorded and produced this and shows her chops on a dizzying number of instruments (cello, bass, guzheng, harp, guitar, harpsichord, vibraphone, singing bowls, glockenspiel, piano, electronics, etc etc!).

The overall effect is at times heavy, with the album starting up with deep bass sounds that lumber into a monster-movie soundtrack and then twist into beauty with pretty Eastern-flavored plucking, along with warm percussion, marimba, vibraphone and woodblock. Agnes’ vocals then come in, providing a slightly jazzy accent. It can also be atmospheric, with prominent strings and vocals that are at times fuzzy accents, floating and dancing with the music. It’s kind of like chamber pop meeting some jazz performers at the symphony for the screening of a film noir, with the loveliest sounds resulting from that marriage.

bees-square-frontlg

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Derek M. Johnson’s Piece of the Week #5 “We can See Through Time”

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– Posted on November 23, 2010Posted in: Audio, Video

Longtime showcase contributor and Aphonia cohort, Derek M. Johnson braves the recent “snowpocalypse” near his home in Olympia, Washington for this, one of his regular installments of: “Piece of the Week.”  This one is from November 21st, 2010.

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Barn Owl Taps Marielle Jakobsons and The Norman Conquest for their new record “Ancestral Star”

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– Posted on November 2, 2010Posted in: Releases, Reviews

From Pop Matters blog post:

On their new release for Thrill Jockey, Ancestral Star, they continue to explore the Morricone tinged Western soundtrack side of the genre—first pioneered by the heavyweights Earth—that they have done so thoroughly and competently on their previous albums. For this album, Caminiti and Porras took their time in the studio and expanded the instrumentation on the songs by experimenting with bowed guitar, and by inviting Marielle Jakobsons to play violin, the Norman Conquest to contribute eerie chanting vocals, and Portraits to add some nuanced percussion.

Read the whole article here.

These artists have appeared on the following Aphonia Recordings releases:

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Textura on Evon: “suggestive of moody goth-rock”

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– Posted on October 28, 2010Posted in: Reviews, Shows

In issue #73, Textura reviews Agnes Szelag’s new project “Evon: The Bees Are Coming.” Describing Szelag’s work as a “one-person, mini-orchestra” is not an understatement.

If you haven’t heard the new album we welcome you to have a listen over here. Indeed, as the review points out, it is perhaps important that Szelag chose a different moniker other than her birth name, as there are lot of contributions by other artists on the record.

The Norman Conquest provided recording help as well as voice, guitar and percussion. Fellow Aphonia artist Marielle Jakobsons, who also works with Szelag in their duo Myrmyr, provides vocals as well.

Although this is clearly Szelag’s vision, the wide array and cast of characters makes it an ensemble piece, larger than life, not a hobbyist or stripped down side project that merely spotlights the ego of it’s principle creator. No, Evon’s “The Bees Are Coming” is an immense work, encompassing many sonic backcountries and thoroughfares alike and again revealing another layer to the near geologic depth that Szelag’s work encompasses. Enjoy!.

Click to listen!

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Date Palms are Marielle Jakobsons & Gregg Kowalsky

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– Posted on October 25, 2010Posted in: Imagery, Releases, Reviews

Marielle Jakobsons and Gregg Kowalsky are Date Palms. Of course we know Marielle from Darwinsbitch and as a member of myrmyr with Agnes Szelag. Now the blog “Raven Sings the Blues” has reviewed Date Palms release Of Psalms. Rachel Swan from the East Bay Express has a lot more to say about their new release as well but I suggest looking into these Oakland based artists and get that LP while you can! Highly recommended!

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