catalogue

BATES, STEVE

ALL THE THINGS THAT HAPPEN (CONSTELLATION)

BATES, STEVE - ALL THE THINGS THAT HAPPEN 153682
format:
1 LP
release:
23.09.2022
label:
CONSTELLATION
genre:
Independent
item ID:
153682
barcode:
0666561016715
Musician and sound/video installation artist Steve Batespresents a solo ambient/noise album ofmelodic smear, radiostatic blur, panoramic noise clouds and dissolving tones.

Made primarilyunder the self-imposed 'limitation' of a Casio SK-1, this is his first entirely solo full-length albumin almost a decade.

All The Things That Happen showcases the more deliberate, intensive, noise-clustered side of Bates' wide-ranging sonic sensibilities and practices.

An isolation record (like so many), itcombines an ineffable melancholy with claustrophobictension and simmering political rage.Powerfully composed from layers of glistening distortion-drenched melody, pulsing and droningoscillation, bursts of blown-out chords, sweeps of static and sheets of crackling hiss, Bates hasmade an impressively dynamic, ardent and iridescent noise album of real depth and underlyingdevastation."This was supposed to be an ambient record; quiet, minimal and sad.

These tracks all startedoff that way but I kept reaching for more texture and noise. Somehow the noisier the record got,the less sad it was also.

I was listening to, and loving, a lot of music by Andrew Chalk and I hadfinished a year-long run of listening to Eno's 1 and 4.

I preferOn LandtoMusic for Airportsalthough I love both.On Landjust has a darkness and uncertainty that appeals to me.

Addingmore noise also got me excited about ways this material could be played live even though italso felt like that could never happen again.In 2022, I opened for Godspeed You! BlackEmperor in Saskatoon to give it a try and waspleasantly pleased to hear it all live and loud."A fixture of Winnipeg's burgeoning punk and social justice community in the 80s-90s, Batesplayed in hardcore and indie rock bands (Pull My Daisy, Bulletproof Nothing) prior to foundingthe Send + Receivefestival in 1998.

A crucial development in putting Winnipeg on the map foravant music and sound art, Bates helmed Send + Receive for seven years, then moved toTiohti:áke/Montréal, became Sound Coordinator at Hexagram (Concordia University), releasedsolowork on Oral and two albums with his Black Seas Ensemble on Dim Coast, and pursuedmyriad other ongoing audio research, installation and collaborative projects.

Relocating toTreaty 6/Saskatoon the year before pandemic,All The Things That Happenis Bates' mostrecent purposive and purely 'recorded' work.Thanks for listening.
 
  • Tracklisting
  • 1.1. GROVES OF....EVERYTHING!
  • 1.2. THESE PROBLEMS ARE MULTIPLIED BY THE DIFFICULTY I HAVE IN FRONT OF A TAPE
  • 1.3. RECORDER
  • 1.4. GLISTENING
  • 1.5. COVERED IN SILT AND WEED
  • 1.6. DESTROY THE PALACE
  • 1.7. GLIMPSE AN END
  • 1.8. BRING ON BLACK FLAMES
  • 1.9. WE DO NOT, NOR TO HIDE
  • 1.10. SEPTEMBER THROUGH SEPTEMBER