David Rothbaum // Miniatures (2016-2020) TAPE

This is a reissue cassette released in May 2023 by David Rothbaum, an ambient writer from LA, USA, with a limited edition of 5 copies from the ambient label Mystery Circles in Las Vegas, the country. (originally released in 50)

Contains 40 modular ambient songs. DL code included.

Mastering isNathan Moody, design by Joe Potts, typography by Ben Owen.

The following is a commentary by the writer himself.

"'Miniatures 2016-2020' is a collection of music excerpts from the works I have posted on social media over the past four years (mainly Instagram). Since starting this format, I have composed and posted over 4 pieces. This collection contains 300 of my favorite songs, all written and recorded in one session, sometimes remotely, always live on 40 tracks with no overdubs or multitracks. It was a recording.

I have always taken these compositions seriously and feel they contain some of my best work.I always like to be concise in my recordings and performances, so the one-minute format was a natural fit for me.Inspired by John Zorn's Gob of Spit (Naked City) and Webern's short pieces. ) My intention is to write a complete piece of about 1 minute.I rarely post excerpts of long works, but I do see them here and there.

The problem with social media for music is that it's not the ideal way to listen.Most people don't use headphones or anything like that, they listen on their mobile phones.Needless to say, both audio and video are compressed.So when Lightbath started his Selected Public Works series, I was inspired to give it a try myself.That is, presenting it in a way that the music can be heard the way it was meant to be heard.Of course, when I asked him if it was okay for me to do something like this, he took it calmly, except for changing the original title ("Selected Public Works that Lightbath did not do"). I was.In fact, he seems even okay with this title.

My background is in improvisation and these pieces reflect that.It's not as improvisational as free improvisation, but it's also not that far off.As a result, there are mistakes and gaffes, both technically and musically.As a listener, I like that kind of thing, so this work is also expressed in that way.

The idea is that these little things, done over a considerable amount of time, together make up a coherent whole (Nathan Moody's mastering help is obvious).

I hope you enjoy it and thank you for listening.

Special thanks to Mystery Circles, the wonderful label for releasing this piece, Ben Owen for the gorgeous typography/die-cutting work on the tape, and Joe Potts for design feedback and font suggestions.And finally, I would like to thank his daughter Penelope for inspiring me to look at things more positively and forcing me to spend my time in the studio more economically. "

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. 2nd edition of 50.

Artist statement by David Rothbaum
4.3.21:

"Miniatures 2016-2020 is a collection of tracks taken from the work that I have posted to social media over the last 4 years (primarily Instagram). Since I started with the format I have composed and posted over 300 pieces. This collection is my favorite 40 of them. All of them were composed and recorded in one session, oftentimes in some remote location and always live to 2-track with no overdubs or multi-tracking.

I have always taken these compositions seriously and I feel that contained within them is some of the best work I have done. I have always been a fan of brevity in recordings and performances and so I took to the 1-minute format quite naturally. Zorn's Gob of Spit (Naked City) and the short works of Webern come to mind as inspirations. :) My intent is to write complete pieces that are about a minute long. I rarely post excerpts of longer pieces, though there have been a scattered few of those.

The problem with social media for music is that it is a less than ideal way to listen.
that is done to both audio and video. So, after being inspired when Lightbath started his “Selected Public Works” series, I That is, present this music in a way that it can be heard as it was intended. Needless to say, I talked to him to make sure he was okay with my doing this and aside from my changing my original title (“Selected Public Works that Lightbath did not do”), he was cool with it.

My background is in improvisation and these pieces reflect that. Not as instant as free improvisation, but not very far removed either. As a result, there are mistakes and gaffes, both technically and musically.

The idea here is that all of these little things done over a pretty decent span of time when presented together make up a coherent whole (with the obvious help of Nathan
Moody's mastering).

I hope you enjoy and thanks for listening.

Thank you to the wonderful Mystery Circles label for releasing it, Ben Owen on the gorgeous letterpress / die cut work for the tape and Joe Potts for the feedback and font suggestions on the design. And lastly to my daughter Penelope for inspiring me to see things in a more positive light as well as forcing me to be more economic with my time in the studio. ;)"

Artist : david rothbaum

Label: Mystery Circles