Assembled by hand, one copy at a time, in the White Pillar Workshop! Two white 5" recordable discs, duplicated and printed via an Imation D20, held inside a clear cast-polypropylene sleeve with a cloth membrane between the discs, bearing two hand-cut white paperstock inserts with custom text sticker work on the front and back cover.
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BACCHUS TAPES 6 reaches land with POSEIDEON, the longest and possibly the deepest entry in the catalog to date, with six extended sessions (as opposed to the usual two) that add up to a total running time of 2 hours, 12 minutes and 11 seconds.
Constructed using only the sound generated from an SSM-1750 Optimus mixing board (manufactured by Radio Shack) feeding back on itself through two input channels with no external input source. A Nady MM14-FX unit was utilized in the signal chain to both boost volume and modulate the feedback slightly with an analog delay. The mixer's internal slapback-style delay was also used on a couple of the recordings for the same purpose. The sonic assault was tamed and shaped into tonal drones that were left to self-oscillate for between 10-30 minutes each, and this material was then overdubbed on multitrack tape using a Vesta Fire MR-10B tape machine, where each recorded input of the drone-feedback signal was assigned a different pitch than the last, forming a five-voice chord when the tape dubs were overlaid with the SSM's live voice. From there, all four of the taped/pitched drones were panned in pairs of two for the duration of the session, creating a dense, swirling environment that is just as physical as it is audible.
Designed to be played back at either very low or very high decibel levels, POSEIDEON offers literal churning oceans of electricity and mirror-on-mirror signal amplification. Inspired by drone pioneers like Eliane Radigue, David Burraston and Eleh, as well as feedback masters Aube, Acre and Sunn O))), POSEIDEON represents a pinnacle moment for the BACCHUS series, and a fascinating application of older out-of-phase recording equipment, illustrating proof-positive sound designs that could have been made over 20 years ago.
credits
released June 1, 2020
W/P by Brian Grainger. Recorded at White Pillar, May 2020, using an SSM-1750 Optimus mixer, a Nady MM-14FX mixer, a Vesta Fire MR-10B multitrack tape machine and a Peavey FX2 mixer. Mastered by The Analog Botanist. Text and design by ABM&D. This is CO_RD Tapes number β06, 6th in the Bacchus Tapes series of recordings.