Wednesday, April 9, 2025

ballast nvp075 (vertonen) and 076 (Pope Joanna) now available!

excited to share these two new releases, which are, coincidentally, both in 5" reel to reel boxes...

ballastnvp075—vertonen: on company business (CDR, 3” CDR, booklet)

the full-length CDR component of this release is an unabashed homage to the audio work of Eric Lunde. first, 80 to 90% of the audio was processed using the opycay device Eric gave me some 10 years ago. those familiar with Eric’s work will easily recognize its unmistakable aural signature. (for those unfamiliar, think of a device that accelerates the process of duplication exemplified by Alvin Lucier’s “I am sitting in a room.”)

layers of cut-up, duplicated, and distorted voices and cassette players churning, sputtering, and dying, obscuring and uncovering elements of communication and language à la the cut-up text ideas of William Burroughs and others.

the 3” CDR explores one of the outgrowths of “mind control” projects of the CIA’s MKULTRA project, and the booklet features cut-ups from declassified CIA documents.

edition of 24 signed and numbered copies.

$16 ppd US, overseas, let’s be in touch.




 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 
 

ballastnvp076—Pope Joanna: Holy Furnace (CDR, booklet, ephemera)

honest to goodness power electronics. I have known Clarisse (Pope Joanna) for almost 25 years—we performed two shows in CA in 2002, did a very short east coast tour a year later, and then she pretty much put the project to rest and focused on her academic career. although we never fell out of communication, our chatting picked up a bit after she released a split cassette in 2010. I had long hoped Clarisse would make a recording of Sermon I—the piece she performed at the two shows in CA—partially because I had fond memories of the shows but also because it seemed a glaring gap in her fairly thin recorded output.

over the course of nine years, Clarisse recorded an iteration of Sermon I along with seven other pieces and has deemed this release the conclusion of Pope Joanna.

The lyrics, as Clarisse states, “are almost all based on the hypocrisy of religion and cloaked in the tropes of religious texts: sermons, prayers, etc.”

In addition to a booklet of lyrics and a thorough interview, the release comes with a reliquary of sorts: Clarisse cut up elements of her Pope Joanna costume (pontifical gloves, stole, and mitre) and attached them to the inside bottom of the box.

Edition of 26 signed and numbered copies.

$16 ppd US, overseas, let’s be in touch.


 

 

 








Monday, February 24, 2025

just released: ballastnvp072—tac: soundofnoise (7” lathe, CDR)

almost one year ago I released a 7” lathe and CDR set by tac entitled vibrations. and, lo and behold, I'm excited to share that a new tac 7” lathe and CDR is here!

soundofnoise further explores audio in what I would consider tac’s signature style: a focused capturing of source material, either organically produced or constructed by tom, that is sometimes treated—or combined with other recordings. the result? one might recognize a sound, but there’s something just a bit disorienting at play. the lathe has four shorter tracks (approx. 3 minutes each) that are focused distillations of this process, and the CDR (approx. 60 minutes) further weaves and juxtaposes audio past and current into a long-form aural terrain. 

as with almost all tac releases, the packaging is part of the puzzle…for this release, fire played a role in sealing the perimeter of the packaging (see photos for reference) and the inserts provide additional insight (and clues) into the audio on this release.

edition of 22 copies, $30 ppd in the us—folks overseas get in touch so we can figure out shipping.

(also, there are very limited copies of vibrations remaining. if you want to grab both releases, let me know.)



Tuesday, February 11, 2025

evicshen 10” lathe (nvp066), vertonen CDR (nvp073)

super excited to share that the evicshen lathe has landed! side 1 has two tracks that, for me, really do justice to the breadth of audio victoria creates.  

(if you aren’t familiar with her work, watch this.)

side two is a cut-up 7” flexi that has both tracks from side one of the 10” on it….so,
if you have a portable turntable with no tracking features, a needle that isn’t one you’d leave in a will, and something to bump the tonearm back in place, you’ll enjoy some pretty chaotic stuff.

edition of 25 numbered copies, $50 ppd in the us. overseas, let’s be in touch.




second, a new vertonen cdr, “crevarsse,” is now available. field recordings (direct, embellished, or enhanced), shortwave, drone, and damaged electronics. it’s also the prologue to a trilogy, “phothuum,” which will be released as a 3 CDR boxed set later this year.

edition of 32 signed and numbered copies, $12 ppd in the us. overseas, let’s be in touch.


Sunday, September 1, 2024

ballastnvp068 and 069 now available!

 

excited to share two new releases. 

first up, ballast nvp068—dead edits: “Everybody, this has been one of the greatest tours of our life. We really, first, I’d like to thank the band. I’d like to thank our road crew. And I’d like to thank our lighting people. Of all the shows on this tour, this particular show will remain with us the longest, because  not only is it the last show of the tour, but it's the last show that we'll ever do. Thank you.” (7” square picture disc lathe)

 

yes, that’s the title. 

 

 as with most dead edits releases, this started with a conversation—broadly about david bowie, but specifically about how utterly impeccable his “farewell speech,” as it’s come to be known, was delivered during what would be the last performance of the spiders from mars.

side one employs reduplicative strategies to degrade and evolve the “farewell speech” with various playback and recording methods to produced distorted and time adjusted “iterations” of the speech.

on the other side—because nothing can follow the farewell speech besides “rock and roll suicide,” dead edits approaches the song—as captured from the Odeon performance—with our own distinct treatment.

edition of 28 numbered copies, $22

ballast nvp069
—vertonen: irreversibility (2 x CDR).

responses to death, of course, are situationally variable. irreversibility is, for me, one such response. disc one, “irreversible,” leans more towards recent work with layered, raw, or processed “small” sounds mixed with field recordings and various electronic disturbances. disc two, “death tick,” is a linked trilogy of pieces built primarily from tonal sine wave manipulation and was heavily inspired by the 1977 electronic music album Pythagoron.

edition of 22 signed and numbered copies, $12.

 

if you’re ordering from overseas, please get in touch so we can calculate shipping.

thanks as always for your support and interest!




Monday, August 19, 2024

new Eric Lunde (in collab/ with Zack Hansen, Precarian Cuts): emptiness of emptiness 3 x 7" lathe

New goodies from Mr. Lunde:

emptiness of emptiness (in collaboration with Zack Hansen, Precarian Cuts)

triple 7” lathe set: handmade/handprinted edition with a collection of prints

 

besides being an incredible art object, this release encapsulates so much of eric’s artistic aesthetic: reduplication, accidents, and the absurd—and an appreciation and expansion of all three.


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

handy guide to what’s inside:

sleeve zero
printed empty matter

sleeve one
disc one: side 0, empty
disc one, side 1: track 0 pure lathe cut—only the sound of the lathe track itself

sleeve two
disc two, side 2: track 1: audio recording of lathe cut being played; track 2, recording of the recording of the lathe cut
disc two, side 3, track 3: recording of the recording of the recording of the lathe cut; track 4, recording of the recording of the recording of the recording of the lathe cut

sleeve three
disc three, side 4, track 5: sound of track 4 being cut into the disc
disc three, side 5: empty 

 

$60 ppd us: rest of world, get in touch for shipping!

kanshiketsu! built! released by ballast! much limited edition....

Also, check out eric’s various web presences AND zack’s website too: he’s cut every ballast lathe thus far and is a delightful person...

 

https://endythekid.blogspot.com/      

 https://kanshiketsu.bandcamp.com/

https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/lunde

http://www.precariancuts.com/

Tuesday, July 23, 2024

new ballast co-release: eric lunde - eat the copy! redux (3 x CDR, 2 x books, linocut print)

Eric Lunde is one brilliant writer and artist, and I am thrilled to help distribute this item into the world.

eric lunde: eat the copy redux (3 x CDR, 2 x books, linocut print)

this release is readings and provocations from and about the book somnium 3: eat the copy!  by eric lunde.

 

the book somnium 3: eat the copy! is an account of eric lunde’s experience through high-grade covid infection that landed him in the ICU for the first week of December 2023. In Eric's own words:

 

the third installment in the somnium™ series, series 3 follows the somnium template of 137 episodes of 137 words (think physics not psychics....the significance being that in physics 137 was once believed to be the exact value of the fine-structure constant, a number which, according to leon lederman, "shows up naked all over the place.”) the series follows the authors adventures in covid-induced hallucinations until arriving at the obvious conclusion: we are the virus! we are all copies of the virus! eat the copy!

 

it is a poetic rendering of the experience, hallucinatory and ultimately enlightening for mr. lunde.

 

this release includes somnium 3 (208 pages); eat the copy! redux (124 pages, textual and textual/visual rendering of elements of somnium 3) a print, and three CDRs:

 

disc 1: 137 degradations by eric lunde

disc 2: “137 at 137 inches” by blake edwards: four layered microcassette to microcassette recordings of layered readings of somnium 3 redlined and then mixed

disc 3: various expositions by j soliday, blake edwards, karl paloucek, and jeph jerman, framing selected readings from somnium 3.

just look at this party:













the release is in a limited edition and is $30 ppd in the US: overseas, please get in touch about shipping!

thanks,

Blake












Tuesday, March 19, 2024

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