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PITP-C027 |
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ARTIST:
Andrew Tasselmyer & Blurstem ALBUM NAME: Midnight Letters CATALOGUE NUMBER: PITP-C027 RELEASE DATE: October 25, 2023 1:00pm EDT CONTACT: Past Inside the Present 1701 E. Edgewood Ave., #17712 Indianapolis, IN 46217 USA contact@pastinsidethepresent.com |
FORMAT:
Limited Edition Cassette Digital Download [at] pitp.bandcamp.com Streaming through all major digital streaming platforms DISTRIBUTION: Past Inside the Present D2C (US), A Thousand Arms (US), Juno Records (UK), Phonica (UK), HHV (DE), Soundohm (IT), Tobira Records (JP), Linus Records (JP), Redeye (UK), and others PUBLISHING: © 2023 Past Inside the Present ℗ 2023 Past Inside the Present Publishing (BMI) CREDITS: Written, recorded, and produced by Andrew Tasselmyer & Blurstem (Chris Bartels) Mastered at Ambient Mountain House by James Bernard Expired polaroid photo cover, layout, and design by zakè |
Midnight Letters
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ANDREW TASSELMYER & BLURSTEN – MIDNIGHT LETTERS
(Past Inside the Present, 2023) It’s 2023, and if there’s anything that feels like an impossibility, it’s the avoidance of getting caught up in the rat race of technology and utilization of the latest digital tools. This is all the more true for music creators. Getting overwhelmed and bombarded by the endless onslaught of new instruments, pedals, synthesizers, plugins, and software is all too easy. And yet, staying true to a calling, and embracing the tools that are creatively inspiring, could be the antidote to the other end of the spectrum of entirely abandoning ship. In an attempt to not only find a fulfilling balance of both old and new, but to dive in fully to each creatively inspiring side of technology - and lack thereof - Minneapolis’ Chris Bartels (Elskavon, Olma), writing as Blurstem, and Philadelphia’s Andrew Tasselmyer (Hotel Neon, Gray Acres) return for a second album together, Midnight Letters. |
With a heavier emphasis of original concepts on guitar, and in processing and experimenting with an analog tape machine that’s been running audio through it decades before he was even born, Bartels unintentionally gave the album its more nostalgic and natural roots. Tasselmyer then seasoned the concepts and sounds with his uniquely minimal-yet-extensive setup with iPad audio processing apps, samplers, and Ableton software, fleshing out the initial ideas into songs in their collaborative lane of experimental-heavy, compositional ambient.
Sent back to Bartels, they were then mixed, again, like on their debut album Duets, on the laptop out on the back patio table, a fitting method for this sonic journey between the old and new. And that’s really what Midnight Letters is: a journey. With no initial intentions of pursuing the contrast of past and present technology, Bartels and Tasselmyer simply have found a space to creatively inspire each other, and to embrace the freedom in utilizing the tools and instruments that feel right in the moment, bring a unique touch to the sound, and ultimately give life to something memorable.
Sent back to Bartels, they were then mixed, again, like on their debut album Duets, on the laptop out on the back patio table, a fitting method for this sonic journey between the old and new. And that’s really what Midnight Letters is: a journey. With no initial intentions of pursuing the contrast of past and present technology, Bartels and Tasselmyer simply have found a space to creatively inspire each other, and to embrace the freedom in utilizing the tools and instruments that feel right in the moment, bring a unique touch to the sound, and ultimately give life to something memorable.
✦
"Minneapolis' Chris Bartels aka Blurstem, and Philadelphia's Andrew Tasselmyer of the likes of Hotel Neon and Gray Acres have hooked up once more for a second collaborative album Midnight Letters. This album's starting point was original concepts played out on guitar which were then processed and experimented with through an ages-old analog tape machine. Add in an array of audio processing apps, samplers, and software and you have a perfect mix of tools to serve up a sonic journey that perfectly merges the old with the new. The resulting ambient soundscapes are immersive and sparse but packed with subtle details that convey all manner of emotions."
– Juno Records
"Minimal, peaceful, deliberate ambience, and slow blossoming drones. Perfect textural and meditative works."
– Headphone Commute
"Andrew puts out consistently fine works that are always worth a thoughtful listen. Elegant and subtly immersive, his arrangements are beautifully balanced that resonate more with each listen"
– Stationary Travels
"Sometimes you come across music that just feels like home right from the first note – one you know you are going to keep close at hand and retreat into often. With warm confluence of melody, mood, and texture and delicate blending of electroacoustic minimalism with cinematic flourish, Chris Bartels, aka Blurstem, is that kind of artist."
– Stationary Travels
"Minneapolis' Chris Bartels aka Blurstem, and Philadelphia's Andrew Tasselmyer of the likes of Hotel Neon and Gray Acres have hooked up once more for a second collaborative album Midnight Letters. This album's starting point was original concepts played out on guitar which were then processed and experimented with through an ages-old analog tape machine. Add in an array of audio processing apps, samplers, and software and you have a perfect mix of tools to serve up a sonic journey that perfectly merges the old with the new. The resulting ambient soundscapes are immersive and sparse but packed with subtle details that convey all manner of emotions."
– Juno Records
"Minimal, peaceful, deliberate ambience, and slow blossoming drones. Perfect textural and meditative works."
– Headphone Commute
"Andrew puts out consistently fine works that are always worth a thoughtful listen. Elegant and subtly immersive, his arrangements are beautifully balanced that resonate more with each listen"
– Stationary Travels
"Sometimes you come across music that just feels like home right from the first note – one you know you are going to keep close at hand and retreat into often. With warm confluence of melody, mood, and texture and delicate blending of electroacoustic minimalism with cinematic flourish, Chris Bartels, aka Blurstem, is that kind of artist."
– Stationary Travels
RIYL:
Hotel Neon, Taylor Deupree, Wil Bolton, T.R. Jordan, Benoît Pioulard
Hotel Neon, Taylor Deupree, Wil Bolton, T.R. Jordan, Benoît Pioulard
Selected PITP Works
Bloom | Fold (as part of Hotel Neon) PITP22
Bloom | Fold (as part of Hotel Neon) PITP22
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