Sunworn by Coppice Halifax

'Sunworn' was a session recorded in Autumn of 2019, undertaken for the Adventurous Music imprint in Leipzig, for their multimedia release 'Relatives Schoensein' that paired a 92-page book of photographs by Signalstoerung with a compilation of original music. The book and compilation were issued in July of the following year, and (as of this writing) a few copies of the book are still available here: https://adventurousmusic.bandcamp.com/album/relatives-schoensein

The label was sent the entire eight-track session to choose the compilation track from, and what is presented here as (Mix 2.2) was mastered and released on 'Relatives Schoensein' and labeled on the release as 'Sunworn.' Until now, the full session in its original mastered form has remained unreleased, and feels apt to publish in the midst of the Summer heat three years later. 'Sunworn' is a two-hour runtime laid across two discs, and beautifully transmuted into visual compost with a new cover by the inimitable Eric Adrian Lee.

Musically, the session emanated from multiple sampler devices - the Volca Sample, KP-2 and ES-1 from Korg, a Boss RC-20 looper, an Akai S2800 - alongside several analog and digital hardware synthesizers, such as Roland's SH-32, a Korg Minilogue and Monologue, and a Boss DS-330 Dr. Synth. Copious amounts of signal processing were used, such as staples like the Alesis Quadraverb, BBE Two Timer delay and Pioneer SR202W spring reverb box, but also more esoteric processors like the Soundblox Tri-Mod phaser, an Ibanez Synth-Wah and PM7 Phase Modulator. The session was recorded in eight live takes with the Peavey FX2 and Mackie ProFX8 mixers, recorded into a Tascam DP008EX and mastered in Goldwave.

Although 'Sunworn' is already three years old, it is filled with a number of textures and sequencing ideas that I am still today exploring, such as a prolific amount of odd metered pattern work, twelve-bit sampling and deliberately lossy recording formats employed for their instability and textural uniqueness, as well as a number of spatial and feedback-oriented approaches that hopefully conjure up visions of sweltering Summer heat, teary-eyed sunshine and wavering vapors coming off the surface of the asphalt.

Tracklist

1.	Sunworn [Mix 1.1]	15:07

2.	Sunworn [Mix 1.2]	14:34

3.	Sunworn [Mix 1.3]	15:37

4.	Sunworn [Mix 2.1]	10:50

5.	Sunworn [Mix 2.2]	15:09

6.	Sunworn [Mix 3.1]	15:50

7.	Sunworn [Mix 3.2]	15:27

8.	Sunworn [Mix 3.3]	15:25

Credits

released August 4, 2023

W/P by Brian Grainger. Recorded at White Pillar, January 2020. Mastered by The Analog Botanist. Mix 2.2 previously released at Adventurous Music, 2020, in a different master from those included here. Text by Brian. Design by Eric Adrian Lee. This is Milieu Music number ABX119. (C) + (P) Oscillog ASCAP 2023. All nights preserved. Special thanks to Ro and Eric for their generosity and continual support of my work.

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