two new ballast releases (nvp63 and nvp65), and...bandcamp!

thrilled to announce two new ballast releases.

ballastnvp063: vertonen: she would have made such a lovely bride 
(5” x 7” postcard lathe, 2 x CDR)

there were four elements of the Eras Tour I attended june 2, 2023 that I wanted to capture with audio, but an unexpected fifth one—the crowd response at the end of “Champagne Problems”—is what set this release in motion.

as far as I knew, this song didn’t particularly carry the gravitas of other Swift songs, so after about 15 or so seconds of applause I decided to start recording the audience (and Swift’s) response. 

About a month or so later, I learned that “Champagne Problems” had become a song in the setlist for which audiences really went off the deep end with their applause. Swift, a consummate performer and no stranger to working a crowd, responded accordingly as the tour went on. 

 

The audio on the picture disc postcard is the “Champagne Problems” audience response I recorded in chicago.

disc 1, american crowd work, is a collection of “Champagne Problems” audience / Swift interactions I pulled from youtube: many have been taken down (due to, understandably, copyright violation of the recording of the song). as luck would have it, I was able to grab the first and last night of the 2023 US portion of the tour.

disc 2, the idea you had of me—who was she?  is the most traditionally “musical” component of the release: a continuation of my interest in piano—specifically the work of Conlon Nancarrow and Steven Reich. disc 2 is multiple phasing layers of two two-second Swift piano loops (from “Champagne Problems” and “Last Great American Dynasty”) anchored by drones built off the bass line from “All Too Well.”

Edition of 30 copies, $18 ppd in the US.

 

ballastnvp065 modelbau: groef (CDR)

after Frans de Waard reviewed a copy of my 30th anniversary release, he mentioned he had started making tape loops from some of the lock grooves—was I interest in a collaboration? I agreed, but when he sent me the files, the way he’d transformed / modified / permutated the source material—well beyond recognition—was to such a level that not only did I feel any further efforts by me would have been gilding the lily but, in fact, not of any concrete value, which puts us at this release as it sits.
(fun fact: groef is dutch for groove.)

edition of 47 numbered copies, $10 ppd in the US.

 

overseas, please get in touch so I can calculate shipping.

 

as a side note, I've finally joined 2008 and vertonen is now on bandcamp. 

no ballast releases, of course, but old CIP titles and (soon) audio exclusivew to that platform.

thanks as always for your interest and time.

blake