Ballast NVP055: vertonen – Black Patti 8056 (10” lathe, CDR) now available.

It’s been at least four years since I first had the notion that it would be “neat” to own a Black Patti 78. It’s a select slice of Chicago recording history, they’re ridiculously difficult to come by, and they do have one of the more beautiful logos. However, they also sell for sums of money that I can certainly put to better use, so I’m at peace with a Black Patti 78 not being in my possession.
Or am I?
Black Patti 8056 is the first lathe in the 10” lathe series.
I originally thought I would build the tracks from recordings of what many consider the rarest Black Patti, 8030, because the music was not previously (or subsequently, or contemporaneously) released by any other labels. However, after some less than satisfying results, I opted to start with some piano recordings I‘d made in winter 2022 and some other permutated sample materials.
The title of side B, “frying bacon blues,” is a nod to the description frequently given to surface noise on 78 RPM shellac records.
The lathe’s labels, of course, had to pay homage to the original Black Patti labels: huge thanks are due to my friend Ryan Bahrke for his design prowess.
And finally, the hand-printed manila sleeve is my take on a “reproduction” of a Black Patti sleeve—which are actually rarer than many of the 78s.
(Also, the title, Black Patti 8056, is in reference to the last Black Patti catalog number of 8055.)
The accompanying CDR contains two pieces, approx. 20 minutes each, that build off some of the elements / themes on the lathe.
Edition of 25 signed and numbered copies, $50 ppd in the US.
If you subscribe to the lathe series, the price per lathe drops drastically and guarantees you will get copies of each release in the series, which includes Relay for Death, Aaron Dilloway, Evicshen, Olivia Block & Adam Sonderberg, and MV Carbon. See this post for more information.

10" lathe series subscriptions now available

With the 7” lathe series coming to a conclusion (almost two years after it was launched, cough cough) I figured a 10” lathe series made total sense.

the participants are as follows:

evicshen
relay for death
aaron dilloway
mv carbon
olivia block and adam sonderberg
vertonen

there will be 25 numbered copies of each release, with 19 available for sale.

each release will:
1) come with supplemental, complementary embellishments from each artist (be it audio, video, textural, or combinations thereof) 

2) be signed by the artist, and 

3) have packaging designed (and in some cases created) by the artist.
as with any ballast release, reflecting the artist’s vision and intention is the umbrella under which I operate.

each release will be priced at $50.

however, there is a prepaid subscription option of all six for $222, which bring the price down to $37 ea (within the US, shipping included).

I am open to discussing payment plans so as not to overwhelm anyone's bank account.

Please contact me at vertonen@earthlink.net before arranging payment: I absolutely don’t want to oversubscribe.


if you are outside of the US, I want to avoid astronomically horrendous shipping costs. most folks who have ordered from overseas have worked out shipping plans with larger orders from other labels in the US, and I’m glad to keep on that path.

last but not least, from the 7” lathe lessons learned department, this series is operating on a much more clearly explicit timeframe.

to wit, I asked all artists to provide their lathe audio to me by April 15, and with the exception of one artist (who is on tour in europe), everyone is slated to do so. which means the prospect of this series being completed in the calendar year is much stronger.