Initially conceived as a more open-ended project, Springthaw manifested itself as four near-half-hour pieces that herald the arrival of Spring. This second volume contains the third and fourth pieces recorded for the project – Dark Room and Wind Hues – both bubbling over with organic textures and floral hiss. Deep dub techno basslines and rhythms anchor a drifting pastoral landscape of melting ice, blossoming color and bounding green hills.
Springthaw was improvised and captured live in the White Pillar Workshop, using a Gemini PDT-6000 turntable to select sides of heavily processed vinyl (solo piano pieces and chamber music) which set an atmospheric tone above/below a Korg ER-1 drum machine, Yamaha QY-70 sequencer, Grass S10CTCMA and a Unisonic “Chippendale” 8-track receiver (channeling local AM radio stations), augmented by FX units including three Moogerfoogers, Alesis Quadraverb, Pioneer spring reverb box, Boss RV-3, SL-20 & RC-20 and a Behringer US600. Everything was mixed on a Peavey FX24 hybrid mixer, and resident collaborator John-Paul Kramer (Coal, Casio Commander) assisted with pitch and modulation of the vinyl sides during three of the four performances.
Springthaw is (at present) a two-volume set, much like the previous Earthworks, Autochromata and the as-yet-unpublished Cedar Mastodon. Time, and seasonal change, will tell whether or not there will be further installments next year. The two volumes make a solid companion/postscript to the recently reinstated 24xCD-R set Dripping Earth, which also venerates Spring in its own way.
W/P by Brian Grainger. Recorded live at White Pillar Workshop, March 2017. Assisted by John-Paul Kramer on “Dark Room”. Mastered by The Analog Botanist, April 2017. Photograph by Brian, Dayton 2017. This is Milieu Music number ABX63.
