Dyadic (bc029)

21 global electronic producers coming together on one album that roams through the electronic music sphere leaving no stone unturned.

"Dyadic" is an album of specially designed collaboration works from a select group of producers on the Bricolage roster.

A true sonic adventure and exploration of sound that, over a 60 minute duration, traverses through all manners of musical landscapes including glitch, DnB, acid, IDM, dub, electronica, trip hop and ambient.

You can stream the album below or at our bandcamp.

If you follow the link you can grab a digital DL of the album for £3 or a very limited edition CD for just £5.

Bricolage (An Ambient Tribute from Hohm Productions)

For the third part of our anniversary mixes we asked Hohm Productions resident Kinoko to weave together a selection of his favourite ambient based works that we've released over the last two years.

Here's what they had to say:"Recently it was the adventurous electronic net label Bricolage Collective's 2nd birthday and to commemorate this they have ask three artists to mix a selection of their favourite releases (Techno, IDM and Ambient mixes respectively). With this they have bestowed the honour of making an ambient mix to HOHM Resident Kinoko from the tracks released so far which he jumped at the chance to do so here it is and thanks Bricolage for this enjoyable opportunity"

You can stream the mix below or at the Hohm mixcloud.



TRACKLISTING

1. Fragile X - The Outer Circle
2. B-Side Boy - Pissholes In The Snow
3. Liapei - When We Were All So Very Different
4. Merriman's Ghost - Owl
5. Microvolt - A Touch Of The Vapours
6. Neon Idol Lodge - Resonances
7. Mute Branches - (I'm Dreaming Of A) Severe Weather Warning
8. Hiramatsu Toshiyuki - Mountain Call
9. Roy Or Bison? - Eidetician
10. Roy Or Bison? - Night Vision
11. International Debris - Hypogeum
12. ...From The Benthic Zone and Mute Branches - Outlines
13. Sleep, Data - The Drone That You Find In The Back Of Your Mind
14. Fragile X - Saturn9ne
15. Mute Branches - Goon Squad (Part 2)
16. Fragile X - Under The Counter Culture (Leit Motif remix)
17. Slow Deep Breath - The Crow Pheasant
18. The Next Commuter - The Dozen Paces
19. Jazzdefector - Lost Without You
20. Nova Noma - Who Are You?
21. Leit Motif - A Lovers Reincarnation
22. Oscurito - The Nihon Shoki

In The Loop : Episode 17

Episode 17 of In The Loop follows on from yesterdays post that looked at what the first half of the contributing artists from Volume 4 have been doing recently. This post focuses on the latest sounds and goings on from the second half of producers.

One look at the soundcloud page of 'Jaffa Kid' is enough to get an idea of the regularity of his output. A lot of people might think that regular output doesn't always mean quality output but if you listen through all the sounds that emanate from Dan Williams' bedroom studio you'd be very hard pushed to find a bad track. It's just a constant flow of high standard, intelligent electronic music. Of all the most recent productions, "Melgar" and "What You Can Do" are our personal favourites here at Bricolage. What's yours? Check out both those tracks below and head to Soundcloud for more.





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'The Oscilloscope' is another producer that constantly churns out top grade electronic works. An artist with a solid backbone of finger drumming skills melded together with an ear for weird, gloopy sounds. "Acid Sorcery" sounds exactly like you think it does. Little acid stabs flirting in and out of a funk laden bassline.



"Crawling" has a squelchy feel to it's harmonies and synth work that overlap each other while a distinctly 80's influenced bassline plods along underneath it.



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'Ra1n' recently uploaded an older track to his Soundcloud page. "Ceylon" was featured on a 2015 compilation for the Easy Summer Limited label. It's another exquisite piece of liquid drum n bass from the Russian producer. Full of ambient grooves, spotlight melodies and delicate percussion. Listen below and if you like what you hear head on over to beatport and grab a copy.



There's also a new episode of his beautiful Ambient Hour sessions to zone out with over on Mixcloud.



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It takes one listen to the 'Octavia Bannon Clark' track from our Volume 4 compilation to sense that you're listening to someone with an eclectic mind. Her track "Heavy Construction" is a joyride through skittery beats and flip flopping bass work. The eclectic element comes to the fore even more so when you check out her Soundcloud page. There's a plethora of electronic sketches that vary from braindance, acid, 80s influenced numbers and jittery IDM. We're sharing the two most recent uploads tonight. "Moon Base Alpha" and "Zenith" both sound like they could have been lifted out of some abstract 80's video game. This sounds like a ridiculous situation but hear me out....... imagine if Warp Records somehow got commissioned to soundtrack the 80s.......this is what it would sound like. It's pure fun, playful vibes over very well thought out IDM structures.





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'Figurate' is currently putting the finishing touches to his debut EP, "There Are Places Other Than Here", that we're releasing here on Bricolage next month. But he's found the time to rustle up a strange brew in the form of his remix of Bjorks 'Mutual Core'. Unrushed ambient organs and that unmistakable voice slowly turn to dust under a simply insane hardcore infused drum pattern before reappearing again to say goodbye.



'An Exist Strategy' is confirmed as the opening track of his imminent EP and it's dark, micro glitch music full of meticulous, ever twisting drums and vivid bass movements.



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"Meat Loops" sounds are hard to describe and I mean that in the best way possible. Amid all the coded and weird titles lies a diverse range of short, strange little electronic scenes that all each have their own distinct style but also manage to have the signature Meat Loops feel about them. We've shared a few of the newest tracks below.





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Last but not least, the elusive 'Mister Left'. His track "This Is Your Captain Speaking" closed out our compilation in fine style, A hypnotic, high energy electronic tool with a simple sounding but very complex rhythm base, sporadic and squidgy keys that fall out to allow a sarcastic pilot sample to appear before the journey kicks back in with a thud and an acid bassline. There's now a remix of the track available by Bricolage resident "Roy Or Bison?" that utilizes the heavier elements of the original and cuts out the extended pilot sample in favour of a more straight forward, no nonsense electro acid affair.



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If you haven't already then be sure to check out the latest compilation featuring all these producers and more on either bandcamp or Soundcloud. Both links below.

Ghost Stories

It's Halloween weekend, or All Saints Day, Samhain, All Hallows Eve or any other of the many names it can be called. Some people love it, some people hate it. Me, personally, I can go with or without. It's not an occasion I immensely look forward to nor is it one that I abhor. I'm not one for dressing up and haven't really made the proper effort to do since my teens. The one thing I do love about this time of year though is the influx of horror films on TV, old and new. Then there's the ghost stories and, of course, Halloween playlists. I've always been a sucker for playlists, especially themed playlists.

So with that in mind, a few days ago we asked a few of the Bricolage artists to give us their Top 5 Halloween type, creepy/eerie songs and a little bit about them. There's a lot of diversity in among the selections. Atmospheric stuff, alt.rock, twisted techno, downright creepiness and childhood memories.

First up with some alternative choices and a video game classic is Mute Branches....

1. Tim Hecker - 'Virginal II'




"From the opening stabs of piano, you should probably have a good idea why I thought this was a good place to start. Like much of Hecker's work, 'Virginal II' is a track that comes to sound compellingly and beautifully hellbent on its own self-destruction. To me, 'Virginal II' paints in my head the image of being chased by something, and sprinting through a nightmarish landscape that gradually degrades into glitching digital noise."

2. Broadcast - 'Black Cat'




"Throughout their tragically short career, Broadcast had pretty close ties to the horror genre. As well as being influenced by films like 'Valerie and Her Week of Wonders' and the cult 70s TV series 'Children of the Stones', the band also soundtracked Peter Strickland's 2012 film 'Berberian Sound Studio'. On 'Black Cat', from 'Tender Buttons', the stripped-down line-up of James Cargill and the late Trish Keenan create a surreal, creeping atmosphere through the lo-fi scrapes and squalls and stutters of creaky electronics. In terms of the lyrics, "awkwardness happening to someone you love" is a brilliant example of the vague sense of threat that emerges through Keenan's cut-up poetry, as well."

3. Akira Yamaoka - 'White Noiz'




Trying to find something that can match the ghostly, bleak, and downright weird atmosphere of 'Silent Hill 2' (or, I suppose, specifically the memory of playing it in a tiny bedroom on a little old tube television) has led me down all kinds of interesting cultural paths both in and out of the horror genre. This track, which opens the game, captures perfectly the air of lonesome dreamlike melancholy that makes 'Silent Hill 2' the classic that it is."

4. Slint - 'For Dinner...'




"'Spiderland' is a mysterious album. The cover art is strange, its backstory is strange... just about everything about 'Spiderland' (and Slint, in general) is strange. The music is no exception: unorthodox time signatures, the whispery spoken word vocals, and the "loud / quiet dynamics" are utilised seemingly with the primary aim of unsettling the listener. 'For Dinner...' is one of the most successful of their efforts: a constant build-up without a crescendo, the instruments always sound like they're creeping up on you, on the verge of striking. Then, just as you're about to turn and look, they disappear again back into the shadowy silence."

5. Sonic Youth - 'Death Valley 69'




"Basically anything from 'Bad Moon Rising' would fit here. Sonic Youth sound pretty convincingly like a band formed in the aftermath of a nuclear apocalypse on this album; and, crucially, the cover art depicts a pumpkin-headed scarecrow man (is there a more Halloween-appropriate image than that?). Having spent much of the album slowly building up a sense of dread, Sonic Youth (with Lydia Lunch) let it all out on 'Death Valley 69' and unleash five minutes of violent, aggressive noise-punk into your ears."

Mute Branches, just yesterday uploaded his own Halloween inspired track to Soundcloud, "Huh? Radio?" is a tense affair with a slow building, foreboding, guitar soundscape that turns into a short burst of white noise and glitchy effects and cut up samples. Listen below.



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Next, Edinburgh techno aficionado and purveyor of deranged electronics, Willy, offers us his Top 5 Halloween-esque techno tracks.

1. Yaleesa Hall - "Fourth Perrin" 




2. Blawan - "Why They Hide Their Bodies Under My Garage"




3. Blacknecks - "Life for Rent"




4. Developer - "Hands of Inevitable Change"



5. Blawan - "Blue Bottle" 




Check out one of his own creations below. "Fiddlin'" is full of creepy climbing arps flowing over rapid fire percussion.



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Bricolage's resident split personality, "Roy Or Bison?" , is next up on the ghost train with his spooky selections....

1. Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster - "Puppy Dog Snails"



"This one starts off straight from the bat with a creepy, almost music box, style guitar and then Guy McKnight's baritone delivery only adds to the mood. For me, the lyrics throw up an image of a coven of witches gathering around their cauldron in an old castle."

2. White Ring - "Ixc999"



"A bit of witch house is always gonna need to find it's way into any Halloween playlists. There's no better track to utilize than this one by White Ring. A buzzing synth, soft whispering about 'my face is falling off'  and an almost child like haunting vocal spouting lyrics and chants. I love the feeling of decay that somehow spreads through this track. The video is also a tad mental!"

3. Aphex Twin - "Gwely Mernans"



"I've always thought this track was a great epitome of eeriness and a weirdly unsettling track that is actually somehow relaxing. Does that make sense??? Sometimes a minimalistic approach is more effective in creating the suitable tension needed for these kinda tracks. The track got even darker for me when I found out the meaning behind the title. I've always thought 'Gwely Mernans' looked Welsh but for whatever reason I never looked it up. Also, AFX, has a tendency to just use random titles or old Cornish language so I thought nothing of it. Then a few years back, a Welsh friend, told me that "gwely" means bed and "mernans" is death. So this track literally translates as "Deathbed". Sweet!"

4. Daniel Avery - Reception (Perc remix)



"Now, this one is just plain raw. A weird sequence of industrial, sawtooth type sounds, a pounding beat and a distorted, creepy vocal lead you up a path which comes to a sudden halt before the main melody from the original dives out on you and is shortly backed up by Perc's take no prisoners percussion and the return of aforementioned creepy voice. It's a very jarring but very interesting composition."

5. A Place To Bury Strangers - The Falling Sun



"As if their name isn't enough, 'APTBS', go all out dystopian soundscape on this one. A haunting shoegaze soundscape and a droning, depressed vocal make it seem like the end of the world is imminent. And if we're all going to be honest, what is more scary than the world we live in ending?"

'Roy Or Bison?' delivered a dark ambient, haunting track for our winter compilation last year. You can listen to "Night Vision" below.



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Lastly, drone and guitar experimentalist, Sleep, Data gives us his nostalgic take on what Halloween means to him.....

1. AC/DC - "Hells Bells"



"It's always Halloween when you play that in Arkansas."

2. Flash and The Pan - "Jetsetters Ball"



"As a kid growing up the local radio station always had a Halloween party and this was its theme song. So when you heard it you always knew Halloween was coming."

3. "Grinch Is Gonna Get You"



"One of my favourite things about Halloween was cartoons. And I didn't have to get up early to watch them!"

4. Helloween - "Halloween"



"Epic and 30 minutes long! It isn't but that's how I remember it."

5. The Dickies - "Killer Klowns From Outer Space"



"Last but not least, 'Killer Klowns From Outer Space' by The Dickies. Also, one of the greatest movies ever!"

You can check out the immersive "Interpretive Death" from 'Sleep, Data' below.



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Last week we provided you with a 2 hour Halloween themed mix as part of our Headroom mix series. It's an amalgamation of horror cut ups and samples, dark techno, haunting ambience and soundtrack snippets. It's been received rather well and we've been asked a few times now for a download of the mix to made available. You can stream the mix below or at our mixcloud. Read a bit more about the mix and get the full tracklisting fom our previous blog post and grab your free download of the mix here. Perfect for Halloween parties or just giving yourself a good fright!🎃

Bricolage Podcast #10 : Roy Or Bison?

'Roy Or Bison?' previously mixed and curated Vol 2 of our Headroom mixes in January of this year. It was a two hour mix full of a variety of musical twists and turns. Quiet and loud. Light and heavy. This time out for our June podcast he's laid out a format of moody rhythms, rare tracks, new tracks and abstract electronic sculptures mixed in with a few classics, edits and samples. It's a live mix, unplanned, with no set tracklist in mind and tracks that were merely picked on the spot. It merges together into one dewy, mercurial journey full of obscure but accessible music. 

You can stream the mix below or at our mixcloud page.

Roy Or Bison? : Eidetician (Audio/Visual)

Today we premiered our second audio/visual under the "Digi Aye" umbrella. "Eidetician" from 'Roy Or Bison?' is the next in line to be given a visual accompaniment.



The track is a lo-fi electronic escapade with intriguing sounds that ping and bounce all around the place. Marauding little synths lines, glitchy almost deliberately out of time drums and a multitude of odd little sounds ensure that the track is most definitely unique. The video from Digi Aye has provided a suitably unique backdrop of abstract colours, lines and effects to marry in with the song.   



You can stream the full "Barmecide" EP from 'Roy Or Bison?' and grab your free download below or at our bandcamp.

Roy Or Bison? 'Barmecide' (bc010)

Today we put out our tenth release. It's a leap year EP from "Roy Or Bison?" containing four lo-fi electronic escapades.

Barmecide

Adjective
1.
illusory or imaginary and therefore disappointing.

Noun
1.
a person who offers benefits that are illusory or disappointing.

"Barmecide" is a swerve from "RoB?"s last outing on Bricolage. His "Night Vision" track was more on the eerie ambient and drone side of things. 'Barmecide' shows that he's capable of downing the darker and harsher tools in favour of creating more "accessible" sounds. This is "Roy Or Bison?" embracing the playful side of electronica. Intricate little loops, glitched out melodies and scattered drum beats all soaked in reverb and effect. It's a welcome addition to our discography. Some keen followers may recognise the closing track "The Breakfast Show" from our second various artists compilation last November, on which RoB? contributed. The other tracks are "Wanaetheywans" (one of those ones for non-Scottish people) , a funky minutes of an evolving glitchy bassline and prickly drums. "Eidetician" is a more slighly fleshed out affair, melodic layers building up and culminating in a whispy, almost electric sounding ending and "Stratagem", a full on tribute and experiment with electronic beats and time signatures.

You can stream and download a copy for free below or at our bandcamp.

Bricolage Showcase

Last week we posted about our friend and label supporter Mark Shields reaching 100 episodes of his Monday Graveyard radio show/podcast. A real milestone and a gem of a show to go with it. Episode 101 of the Monday Graveyard is also a very special episode as far as Bricolage is concerned. Mark very kindly gave us the opportunity to have a full hour to ourselves....

We're proud to be able to present a mix made up exclusively of music from our members. It's an hour that consists of just some of the unique music that we've released in our first 6 months. It manages to encapsulate what the label and collective is all about. A diverse selection spanning the electronic genres. The hour long show was curated and mixed by, label head, Fragile X and features some of his own music alongside Subsequent, Kure, Intl. Debris, Hiramatsu Toshiyuki, Slow Deep Breath, get-effect, The Next Commuter, Roy Or Bison?, Oscurito and H.ICH. There's ambient, vaporwave, some dub, shoegazed tinged electronics, glitch, drones, darkness, guitars and, of course, what better way to round it off then some techno. 

Thanks go to Mark for allowing us the chance to showcase some of our sounds on his show. Be sure to check out his blog and the shows Twitter account for more info on future shows and his general online escapades. Stream the mix in full below or at The Monday Graveyard mixcloud.



Tracklisting in full is as follows:

1. Subsequent - Smallbatch 
2. Kure - Moon Acid 
3. Intl. Debris - Thursday Morning, Taylor Swift Part 1 
4. Hiramatsu Toshiyuki - Mountain Call 
5. Slow Deep Breath - The Crow Pheasant 
6. get-effect - No One Leaves Here Empty Handed 
7. Fragile X - Amygdala (Lo-Jacker remix) 
8. The Next Commuter - A Dozen Paces 
9. Roy Or Bison? - Night Vision 
10. Oscurito - Octopus 
11. H.ICH - Ladyland Part II (Mental Mix) 
12. Alan Watts
13. Fragile X - Theory Of Colour
    
    And don't forget, you can download the majority of the music featured in this mix from the Bricolage bandcamp site free of charge.
    
    Stay tuned next weekend for a special blog post that details the beginnings of Bricolage.

In The Loop : Episode 11

Our first "In The Loop" episode of 2016 is a bumper edition with lots to catch up on from the tail end of 2015 and the start of 2016.

First up is a fresh track from International Debris."Glass Tower" is a cut from the upcoming album 'Curtain Moon'. It's a mixture of hard vaporwave and modern garage style drums. You can grab a free download of it on Soundcloud.



A fortnight or so ago, there was also "A Song" uploaded by Ross. Literally, a song. It's a 20 year old mash up type effort (circa 1996) that has a strange and certain appeal to it. Listen below.


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Next up is Fragile X, to round off 2015, the Bricolage founder wrote and recorded a song inspired by synesthesia called "Theory of Colour". It's an experimental techno/electronic affair that was created in the space of one late December afternoon. Chunky rhythms, a huge melodic breakdown and Alan Watts samples are at the forefront.



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On the subject of Fragile X.....any followers of his mixcloud account may well be aware of his long running Cult Zer0es mix series. The last 3 or 4 sessions have saw guest mixes from some of his musical friends and Volume 17 is no different. He's recruited fellow Bricolage label mate Lo-Jacker to provide a follow up of sorts to his inaugural Bricolage podcast from September 2015. It's another hour full of choice electronic cuts put together in the fun style of Lo-Jackers mixing techniques.

Cult Zer0es (Volume 17) "Lo-Jacker" Guest Mix by Fragile X on Mixcloud

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January saw Kure make a very important announcement or two....





"One Very Important Announcement" and "Dreamliner" are quality returns to SC for the Danish experimentalist. They offer a sneak preview into his vision of a "new Jet Age". Stay tuned for more.

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Towards the end of last year, Glass Mammoth uploaded a few new tracks. One of the stand outs from them was the tribal chillout of "Zen". With it's rolling percussion and blissed out melodies providing a melancholic meditative landscape to get lost in.


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As mentioned before on this blog, jazzdefector is a constant source of musical output and 2016 has started no differently for him. No less than 5 new instrumentals have made their way on to his Soundcloud this past month. My personal favourites are the the ambient canvas of "3 +hree" and the beautifully constructed "Einsteins Blackboard" which was inspired by a visit to the Museum of the History of Science.





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Merrimans Ghost is another artist who has some seriously regular musical output. One of his latest offerings was the intriguing "Delirium Tremens". Full of wistful arpeggios and soft delay. It's a late night track to drift off with.


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Last but not least, last months Headroom mix from "Roy Or Bison?" is now available for free download to take on the go with you. You may remember our blog post from last month where we outlined our new download host website for all our mixes, hearthis.at.  Our mixes are still exclusively uploaded to Mixcloud but will appear on there (hearthis.at) for free download. Our full catalogue is available on there now and Headroom 02 is the latest addition. It's a head melting, genre mashing 2 hour trip that's bound to stretch your skulls a little....

Headroom 02 - Roy Or Bison? presents 'Ego Death' by Bricolage Collective on hearthis.at

Hear This

Earlier this week, our podcasts/mixes found a new home for storage and download. We're now using "hearthis" as our primary download source in place of podomatic. It's an easier interface for both uploaders and listeners to navigate through and there's no storage limit. As always, any podcasts and mixes will still originally be uploaded to our mixcloud account for streaming and two weeks after release the mixes will be available for free download on "hearthis". We're looking forward to giving you the opportunity to download and take our mixes on the go with you once more.

I spent a few hours uploading our previous podcasts from Lo-Jacker, Fragile X, Subsequent, get-effect and Oscurito on to the Bricolage account and also the first Volume 1 of our Headroom mixes by International Debris.

The latest volume of Headroom from "Roy Or Bison?" will be available as a download in 2 weeks time.

Headroom 02: Roy Or Bison? presents "Ego Death" by Bricolage Collective on Mixcloud

Headroom 02 : Roy Or Bison? presents "Ego Death"

The second volume of our Headroom mix series sees the evasive "Roy Or Bison?" take you on a mind bending two hour headphone journey. This particular mix is the essence of what Headroom is all about. No stone left unturned. No sounds left unplayed. It's a glimpse inside the vortex. A ride around the rims of the music spectrum. There's nature sounds, film samples, tribal voices, a barrage of dark drum n bass, metallic industrial elements, field recordings, all kinds of techno, layers of fast paced intensity, moments of quiet reflection, an Urdu/Hindi poem and much much more. There's never a dull moment.

It's a full on musical endeavour that may stretch your skulls a little...

You can stream it below or at our mixcloud account. Full details of all tracks also below.

Headroom 02: Roy Or Bison? presents "Ego Death" by Bricolage Collective on Mixcloud

Full tracklisting below

CHAPTER 1: 'This Is The Story Of A Young Man...'

1. Forss - Journeyman
2. Sam KDC - Servant
3. Aïsha Devi - Aurat
4. Inlakesh - Dwelling Place Of The Radiant Mind
5. Nmesh - アンチ技術のマジェスティックビューティー
6. Slow Deep Breath -The Crow Pheasant

CHAPTER 2 : 'Angels Carrying Savage Weapons'

7. Stratosphonic - Speedscape
8. Powell - Club Music  (Ancient Methods 'Körpersäure91' mix)
9. Tzusing - Four Floors Of Whores
10. Emika - Battles (Kamikaze Space Programme remix)
11. Ken Karter - MX-04.11
12. Ken Karter - MX-01.11

CHAPTER 3 : 'I Feel A Bit Lightheaded'

13. Falling Skies - Land Of The Lost
14. Falling Skies - Tremor

CHAPTER 4 : 'Everyone Here Is Mad'

15. Fjaak - Gewerbe 15
16. YYY - The Terms Of Our Surrender
17. Unknown Artist - Handstands

CHAPTER 5 : 'Mr Sandman'

18. Luke Wyatt - The Music You Hear At Sea World And Never Forget (Tropical Hi-Fi remix)
19. Sofie Letitre - Slip (Steelan remix)
20. AHMD - Death Drive

CHAPTER 6 : 'I Feel Bad Now'

21. N1L - Iguana Love Bite
22. Bloempot - R3V3R5 Y0UR 8R07H3R5
23. Stargate - Driving Hyperreality

In The Loop : Episode 10 (Advent Calendar Part 5)

The last part of our Facebook advent calendar round up takes us up to the 24th and a very special treat...

December 21st

Liapei - Habit Is All That Holds Us Together

"Habit Is All That Holds Us Together" is a huge sounding ambient instrumental from the Liapei album 'Eschatology'.


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December 22nd

Roy Or Bison? - Behind Every Man Stands 30 Ghosts

An eerie and atmospheric track from the darker side of the "Roy Or Bison?" repertoire.


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December 23rd

Oscurito - Octopus

Oscurito releases his debut EP on Bricolage early next year. Here's a taster of what you've got coming your way.


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December 24th

The Bricolage Collective wordsearch

Everybody loves word searches, right? The last advent is a very special Bricolage based wordsearch with 30 terms hidden inside it. Included are the 27 artists that have released in some form or another on the label this year and a few other words. Full alphabetical list below. Happy hunting!

1. Bloempot
2. Bricolage Collective
3. B-Side Boy
4. Chairman Cow
5. Fragile X
6. Gabriel Simão
7. geteffect
8. Gewatte
9. Glasgow
10. Glass Mammoth
11. HICH
12. Hiramatsu Toshiyuki
13. International Debris
14. Jazzdefector
15. Korean West Hill
16. Kure
17. Liapei
18. Lo-Jacker
19. Merrimans Ghost
20. Microvolt
21. Mute Branches
22. Neon Idol Lodge
23. Oscurito
24. Roy Or Bison?
25. Sleep, Data
26. Sleep Maps
27. Slow Deep Breath
28. Subsequent
29. Thank You
30. The Next Commuter

All the best for Christmas from everyone at Bricolage. Stay tuned.

BRICOLAGE : VA "The Longest Night" Winter Solstice Compilation (bc005)

The Winter Solstice occurs little more than a week away from now on the 22nd of December.

The shortest day and the longest night of the year where the dark almost completely takes over the light and winter truly arrives. Here at Bricolage we're providing an early Christmas present, in the form of our own personal solstice soundtrack, from us to you. Back in November I asked the artists on the label if they would like to encapsulate, in music, what the solstice means to them. The results are nothing short of beautiful. 11 different tracks created specifically for the yearly phenomenon. It's free download at our bandcamp as always. There's a track by track breakdown below and some streaming links to bandcamp and soundcloud.



You can stream a preview a minute or so of each track from our our soundcloud below.



1. Liapei - If You Asked
Liapei start off the compilation with crunchy winter footprints, chirping birds and a beautiful solstice inspired spoken word piece. Warm synths soon appear alongside a calming drum track. The youthful Glasgow accent makes this track all the more poignant. The perfect opening track.

2. Sleep Maps - The Brief Sun
Another Sleep Maps track, another epic. "The Brief Sun" picks up the pace nicely with bright melodies, resonating guitars, rumbling bass and precision drums that throw up images of the low December morning sun.

3. Fragile X - Yalda
"Yalda" is an Eastern tinged instrumental guitar piece with it's roots firmly in lo-fi shoegaze. Swathed in echo and delay, the guitars simmer along gently and are paired with swirling melodious feedback remains to create a gentle winter calling. It's worth noting that "Yalda" is the Iranian term for the solstice, where families and friends come together to eat, drink and read poetry. It's a fitting title.

4. Mute Branches - (I'm Dreaming Of A ) Severe Weather Warning
A woozy and dreamy take on the solstice with chopped up vocal samples, experimental sounds and beautifully dazed sounding effects. The layers keep building in this intricate instrumental.

5. Chairman Cow - Dark Morning
Perfectly picked guitar notes and some flashing chords give way to a booming bass that has a dance hall feel. It's winter reggae! A wonderfully performed dub infused rhythm section and one hell of a hook on the most feel good track on the album.

6. International Debris - Daylight Sector 9999 [Further Verification Required]
A mysterious, spaced out number from our very own expert in that particular field. It's progressive keys are hypnotic and come across as almost symphonic. There's a mystical sounding element throughout that only serves to add to the enigmatic vibe.

7. Roy Or Bison? - Night Vision
An eerie hum and a thundering bell start off the darkest track on the compilation. Primal noises and atmospherics flutter their way in and out for the duration. Shadowy drones, murky electronic sounds and a load of tenebrous effects round off this ghostly track. Don't listen to it alone in the dark.

8. Jazzdefector - The Edge Of A Winters Night
A stunning drone based effort that drifts along flawlessly. Full of wonderful textures and emotion, it's a soaring and grand ode to the longest night of the year.

9. Microvolt - A Calm Place (For Jules)
This ambient track provides you with breathing space. It's a quietly vast piece that transports the listener to a very comfortable place. The sounds have been expertly sculptured and restrained to the absolute optimum level. A slow burner that you'll never want to end.

10. B-Side Boy - P*ssholes In The Snow
B-Side Boy is a new name on the collective. He's another pseudonym of the aforementioned Chairman Cow. Here, the guitar is once again his main weapon of choice but that's not all.....it starts off a little more melancholic than "Dark Morning" before taking a sharp turn into harmonica and glockenspiel based territories. It's by far and away the most Christmas type song on the release and the compilation is all the better for it. Someone get the mince pies!

11. Merriman's Ghost - The Shortest Day
A beat wanders along nicely, the atmospherics fade in and out in perfect harmony and then it lifts off with delayed guitars that provide a thermal glow. It's an introspective and poetic piece of music. Heartfelt and ethereal. A fitting ending to the compilation.

Major thanks go out to all the artists involved in making the release possible.

BRICOLAGE: VA: Volume 2 (bc004)

Today saw the release of our second compilation of various artists. It provides another wealth of music from an ever growing and eclectic pool of musicians. Once again covering a vast array of styles with contributions from artists far and wide. The release starts with chilled out drum n bass, dizzy electronica, funky, playful house and obscure, abstract techno. All of which are laden with melody. There's a post rock excursion in the middle and it comes to a close with a more modern classical, drone and ambient feel that is full of wide open soundscapes.



It's a compilation that is truly rich in all kind of sounds and textures. Many thanks go out to our 9 new artists that contributed and helped make the release happen.

Available for unlimited streaming and free download as always over at our bandcamp or below.

Introducing The Collective 24-26

The next 3 members we're introducing to you include some of our most mysterious yet.

24. Sleep, Data



Sleep, Data is the music project of a man known only as Arkansas Shawn. All we know is that he plays guitar in a band called "Zombienaut" and in his spare time he makes guitar/drone tracks under the Sleep, Data moniker.

Sleep, Data (Soundcloud)

Sleep, Data (Facebook)

Sleep, Data (Reverb Nation)

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25. Bloempot



Bloempot is another mysterious addition to our already eclectic roster. A purveyor of "abstract rhythms and aleatoric hypersentimentalism", he makes obscure, intense, beat driven electronic music that takes no prisoners. It's a refreshing assault on the senses. Bloempot is someone who is VERY different from most standard techno producers and is someone that Bricolage was aiming at recruiting for a very long time. We're glad to have got him on board :)

Bloempot (Soundcloud)

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26. Roy Or Bison?




Meet Royston Bisonicus IV. A rat in a maze of noise that has no idea what kind of sounds he's turning into next. With a back catalogue that covers a diverse range of music from harsh noise, dizzy electronica, 20 minute drones, lo-fi mash ups, obscure drones and a tonne of odd sounds, he's someone we're looking forward to hearing a lot more sounds from in the future.

Roy Or Bison? (Soundcloud)

Roy Or Bison? (Mixcloud)

Roy Or Bison? (Bandcamp)