'The Lower Lights' is a new compilation album from 36, featuring 10 tracks of vibrant, eclectic ambient music. These are carefully chosen from a larger selection of tracks, made between April 2018 and April 2019 as part of a year-long 'Audio Diary' project. These showcase the more energetic side to 36's production, whilst still retaining that glowing melancholia, which has become the hallmark of the 36 sound. Tunes like 'Galatea' and 'Midnight Helix' unleash the full arsenal of 36's synth capabilities, with an urgency that is quite unlike anything else in his discography. In contrast, tracks like 'Future Love' and 'Minerva' uncover new paths in the darker, more cyberpunk style, with a nod to the future and a wink to the past. For those who enjoy 36's music at it's most blissful, tunes like 'Lahaina Noon' will have you covered. If you enjoy emotionally charged ambient music, that demands your full-focus rather than something to simply ignore or fall asleep to, then 'The Lower Lights' is an album worth taking your time to explore. All tracks have been carefully remixed and re-mastered, for more detail and clarity. The beautiful, minimalist artwork was created by Mario Morales. The record is pressed on double vinyl and is available in 3 different colors: Black, Metallic Silver and Teal. 100 copies of each are available. To reduce shipping costs and keep things internal, USA/ROTW orders will be handled direct by the label, while all UK and EU orders will be distributed by 36 himself.    In addition, a limited edition cassette tape compilation called 'Beneath The Lower Lights' is also available, featuring an alternative selection of tracks, taken from the 'Audio Diary' archive.
"During the months of April 2018 to April 2019, I worked on a new project, which I called an "Audio Diary" documenting all the music I made over a single year. I have always wanted to do something like this, but time constraints and outside commitments always prevented it. Since 2017, I have been fortunate enough to be able to work on music full-time as my sole career, so I figured the time was right to finally crack my knuckles and do it.
My early albums were more like compilations of random tracks I made, but in recent years, I have shifted towards conceptual albums, that have a more focused, curated feeling. This is great for creating a consistent sound from start to end. But as a listener, I have a soft spot for dynamic albums, that shift and swerve in sound, constantly surprising the listener. This is why the idea of an Audio Diary felt appealing to me, because I could just make music without any pretense or grand goal; It was just making music for the sheer joy of it, without any regard for the tracks that come before or after it. It felt like returning to my old method of working, albeit with 10 years of experience on my back! I was expecting to create around one track a month, but during the first 6 months, I was averaging about 1 track a week. When inspiration strikes, I have learned not to fight it! I think a key part of this prolific output is because I created a consistent pattern for how and when I worked. All tunes were made after 8:00pm every evening, when it was quiet and there were no distractions. Most of the tunes were brand new and made on the spot. But I also took the time to browse through my archive of unfinished tracks and see if any of them showed potential. Tracks like 'Galatea' were started years earlier, but along the way, they hit a creative dead-end and were left unfinished. The luxury of time gives birth to many new ideas! This is why I never delete any track I work on, because they can often be the catalyst for future ideas. Everything finds it place eventually. In the end, I made 32 tracks in total. When it came to compiling the tracks for this compilation, I simply chose the tunes I personally played and enjoyed the most over the last 12 months. I made a conscious effort not to speak to fans who had already heard them, or check play counters on Soundcloud to see which were the most popular in terms of play count. This whole concept was a personal journey, so it felt fitting for me to continue this to its final conclusion and choose the selection entirely myself. Whittling 32 tracks down to 10 for a vinyl release isn't easy, but in the end, I chose the tracks closest to my heart and placed them in a run order which I enjoyed listening to from start to finish. The end result is a new compilation album that I titled 'The Lower Lights'. Although these tracks are all quite different in terms of their individual sound, they have a surprisingly cohesive quality when compiled together as an album. I think it's a very dynamic selection and should hit the full gamut of your emotions. This isn't ambient music you can ignore; It demands your full attention and will reward you as a result. I hope you enjoy them!" - 36
Maryam Sirvan ‘Songs of An Empty Room’
This is PITPCD02 | PITP MMXIX CD Series [LISTEN/PURCHASE] 5/24/2019 Past Inside The Present is proud to present ‘Songs of An Empty Room’ from Iranian sound artist extraordinaire Maryam Sirvan, who also serves as half of the electronic duo NUM. ‘Songs of an Empty Room’ is Maryam’s second solo album: a static inner journey into infinity, a story of a secluded room on a dull, grey summer evening. These works delve into the concept of detachment from the outer world and seek tranquility in an imaginary, non-existent inner space―a craving for otherworldly existence and exploration for a personal perception beyond time and space in a hallucinating manner. ‘Songs of An Empty Room’ is an exploration through sonic territories employing limited acoustic sources: obsessively, exclusively, electric guitar and voice. It offers textural structures using digital manipulation and sampling, creating personal atmospheres and soundscapes. -- Composed, recorded, and produced by Maryam Sirvan in 2018-2019 Electric Guitar, Voice, and Processing by Maryam Sirvan Additional engineering by Milad Bagheri Art by Maryam Sirvan and Milad Bagheri Album layout/design by 扎克  PAST INSIDE THE PRESENT SHOWCASE - JUNE 2019
Midwest friends, mark your calendars! PITP will be hosting an artist showcase on June 23 featuring, Steven Kemner (Hotel Neon), Wayne Robert Thomas, Isaac Helsen and Echoed Sycamore. It will be a wonderful, intimate evening of ambient and drone. Date/Time: June 23, 6:00pm Venue: HEALER Address: 3631 E Raymond St. Indianapolis, IN  PITP is very excited to announce that ambient musician & guitarist, Viul is now part of the PITP artist roster!
PITP artist Benoît Pioulard's micro-label, Disques d'Honoré, released Viul's beautiful album 'Bright Decline' last month. This collection of pastoral arrangements are saturated with darkly beautiful, looped guitar work. You can expect more of these gorgeous tones and movements from an upcoming Viul release on PITP!  PITP is very excited to announce that guitar and tape-based ambient musician, Black Brunswicker is now part of the PITP artist roster!
Black Brunswicker is the moniker of midwest-based ambient guitarist Ethan Helfrich. He creates lush billows of lofi soundscapes primarily from a digest of recorded tape loops, a myriad of effects pedals and acoustic guitar. The result is a stunning array of warm, nostalgic sound treatments and rustic hymns. His compositions beautifully complement the warm traits of magnetic tape and you can expect new arrangements on a cassette release in the near future!  PITP is excited to announce that Isaac Helsen has been hired as our in-house content writer and will also be taking on artist promotions. You can reach out to Isaac for exclusive PITP features, album premieres, demos, and promotional inquiries at: press@pastinsidethepresent.com
Isaac Helsen is a multi-disciplinary artist from Michigan, creating music, photography, paintings, and more. He studied Audio for Visual Media at Columbia College Chicago and has lived, worked, and created in various cities nationwide. As a composer, Isaac seeks to consistently push his own boundaries, as well as the boundaries of his listeners. A brief involvement in Chicago's experimental music scene led to a significant shift in his technique, focusing on improvisation and embracing failure, while representing themes of nostalgia, loss, and mental illness, and taking inspiration from significant locations in his life. Isaac has created original scores for dozens of short films and advertisements. His work has been featured by online ambient music curators and in several gallery spaces.
PITP is pleased to present ‘Remnants Vol. I' and 'Remnants Vol. II’ by Isaac Helsen. These arrangements have taken several forms over many years: A full-length album and a double album, before it was scrapped entirely; reborn as a four-part series of EPs, and scrapped again; finally, taking form as 'Remnants', an eight-part series to be released over the course of 2019 on Past Inside the Present. The project is both an autobiographical examination of the artist’s struggles with mental health and an attempt to deconstruct the idea of an album, creating a new series of sounds by collecting broken pieces of varying styles and in scattered stages of completion. The individual eight volumes will be released sporadically and unpredictably throughout the remainder of 2019, noting both the sporadic and unpredictable nature of these collections of sound as well as the processes in which they were conceived. 50% of all proceeds for the ‘Remnants’ series will be donated to Active Minds, a charity focused on opening the conversation about mental health through support services and education, aimed at students aged 14-25.
NUM 'False Awakening' This is PITP-CD01 PITP MMXIX CD Series [LISTEN/PURCHASE] 05/01/2019 PITP is excited to offer ‘False Awakening’ by NUM in both CD & digital formats. Limited to 50 units. NUM’s latest effort is a haunting journey into the dark silhouettes of avant-noise; if there was a soundtrack to accompany a journey into a black hole, ‘False Awakening’ would be it. NUM have created an ominous sound that goes far beyond any beaten path, stretching and exceeding uncharted territories that spirals into an infinite abyss. The 32 minute arrangement is comprised of two movements that incorporate processed voice, electric guitar, field recordings, electronics and saxophone. ‘False Awakening’ is an electroacoustic experience that creates a cinematic aural scene depicting a chain of real dreams. NUM is an electronic duo formed by Milad Bagheri and Maryam Sirvan in 2010 in northern Iran where the Alborz mountains meet the Caspian sea. The duo is now based in the city of Tbilisi. The concentration of NUM is on experimental music where they can create unique atmospheres by combining processed acoustic sounds and natural sonic materials with electronics. Credits: Maryam Sirvan: Composer, Voice, Text, Electric Guitar, Field Recordings, Electronics Milad Bagheri: Composer, Audio Engineering, Electronics Featuring Rezo Kiknadze: Saxophone, Electronics Studios: NUM space (Tbilisi) / Tbilisi State Conservatoire Art: NUM / 扎克 -- Past Inside the Present This is PITP-CD01 | MMXIX PITP.bandcamp.com www.pastinsidethepresent.com
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