Andrew Tasselmyer // Where Substance Meets Emptiness TAPE / CD

Andrew Tasselmyer, an ambient artist from Pennsylvania, USA who also works under the name Hotel Neon, released an album in January 2024 from the ambient label Mystery Circles in Las Vegas, USA..

Contains 8 dreamy downtempo ~ ambient / IDM ~ ambient songs using field recordings, synths, and modest beats. DL code included.

Below is a commentary by the label.

"Beyond the edge of the world, there is a space where nothingness and substance neatly overlap, forming an endless loop of continuous past and future. And there are signs that no one has read, no one has heard. There are chords floating in the air." - Haruki Murakami ("Kafka on the Shore")

Inspired by Murakami's ability to transform mundane moments into surreal, almost mystical plots, prolific Philadelphia musician Andrew Tasselmyer negotiates the space between "what is" and "what could be." do. This is the crux of Where Substance Meets Emptiness. Here, sound creeps to the edges and onto the blank canvas, distorting it into otherworldly shapes.

Simple drum patterns are blurred and sliced, synthesizers are time-stretched and filtered, and field recordings and samples are shattered and destroyed into textures that could never exist in the real world. Combining these disparate elements and exploring their possibilities propels Tasselmyer into new experimental areas and workflows.

His early recordings were mostly diary-like efforts to ``capture the moment'', mainly field recordings taken while traveling, but this album is about imagining the invisible and creating new stories. This is an attempt to write. For this project, Tasselmyer tasked his friends with collecting sounds that were unrecognizable in their context and had no personal attachment to them. Much like Kafka lost in the jungles of Kochi, so eloquently portrayed by Haruki Murakami in Kafka on the Shore, the structure of this album conveys a deep sense of adventure and exploration.

By using familiar tools (hardware samplers and software synthesizers) in new ways and emphasizing rhythm and percussion, Tasselmyer pushes his work into new realms beyond typical ambient comfort zones. Here, usual methods and immediate results are thrown away, along with traditional maps, to reach the unknown places of the imagination. "

Labels and other worksplease use this form. ///Click here to see more Mystery Circles releases available at Tobira. 

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Includes DL code. Cassette in norelco case. CD in digipak.

Tracklist:

1. Just Dusting Things Off 06:36
2. Trying to Outrun Time 05:40
3. Flowers in a Storm 05:28
4. Illusions Become Form 05:54
5. On A Knife's Edge 04:38
6. All That Surrounds You 04:43
7. Photographs From a Dream 05:49
8. Where Substance Meets Emptiness 03:05

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Mystery Circles:

“Beyond the edge of the world there's a space where emptiness and substance neatly overlap, where past and future form a continuous, endless loop. And, hovering about, there are signs no one has ever read, chords no one has ever heard.” - Haruki Murakami (Kafka on the Shore)

Inspired by Murakami's ability to transform mundane moments into surreal, almost mystical plot lines, prolific Philadelphia musician Andrew Tasselmyer negotiates the space between what is-- and what could be. This is the heart and core of 'Where Substance Meets Emptiness'. Here, sounds creep to the edge and onto a blank canvas, warping them into otherworldly forms.

Simple drum patterns are blurred and sliced; synthesizers are time-stretched and filtered; field recordings and samples are crushed, destroyed, and made new into textures that couldn't exist in the real world. Combining these disparate elements and exploring their potential is what propels Tasselmyer into new experimental territories and workflows.

Although his earliest recordings were often diaristic efforts to "capture the moment" by centering unaltered field recordings taken during his travels, this album is an attempt to imagine the unseen and write new stories. For this project, Tasselmyer tasked his friends with collecting sounds unrecognizable in their context and without any personal attachments. Unseen settings and new stories emerge from the unfamiliar, and much like Kafka wandering into the dense forests of Kochi, eloquently described by Murakami in Kafka on the Shore, a deep sense of adventure and exploration are felt throughout the architecture of the album.

Using familiar tools (hardware samplers and software synthesizers) in new ways, placing heavy emphasis on rhythm and percussion, Tasselmyer works to propel the pieces forward into new territories beyond their typical ambient comfort zones. Here, ordinary methods and immediate results are ditched along with their traditional maps in order to reach uncharted places of the imagination. "

Artist: Andrew Tasselmyer

Label: Mystery Circles