Tim Coster - Rowboat/Blackberry

CDR 3" from CLaudia (CLaudi_012)

Archived item from CLaudia

First released on New Zealand's CMR a year ago as a lathe-cut 7" in an edition of 60, this is now re-released as a 3" CDR in another edition of 60 on CLaudia. Two short tracks of flickering hum and nostalgic crackle. "These two tracks, originally released on a limited lathe-cut 7" in late 2005 and now reissued on Coster's own Claudia imprint, still feel like his most significant recordings to date. They're particularly potent examples of his approach to sound arrangement, where field recordings, drones of unidentified origin, crystalline glitches and loops of near-melody all lock together, providing a gorgeous hand-rendered road map of Coster's aesthetic interests. I couldn't tell you whether the repeating figure on "Blackberry" was sourced from piano, or guitar, or something far more unusual, but it's beautifully humid and hypnotic." Review from THE WIRE, 275, January 2007 "This 3" CDR is a reissue on Coster's CLaudia imprint of an earlier 7" lathe-cut on CMR. The packaging is straightforward and efficient with the disc in a plastic sleeve containing a reproduction of an old photograph of two women manoeuvring in a rowboat. First thought upon receiving this little goodie in the mail-bag was "Oh CRAP I have to review a New Zealand release" – it's a small community y'dig and it's never easy to look a brother in the face after you've dissed him in print. The excellent thing about "Rowboat/Blackberry", the thing which – almost immediately I had flipped it on – alleviated all hand-wringing for the duration of its 9:44 and thenceforth some little while – was that it is almost perfect. Infact its perfection is such that there is very little left to actually say about it. Rowboat commences with a ringing tone, a flurry of electronic leaves, a quick toot on a melodica, a latch flicking open, a wax cylinder playing back in a sudden whirl of clicks and pops.. all these conglomerate to give the indelible impression of great age, a timelessness, when you suddenly fall into a vortex of pulsating drone. You are held, transfixed, until with a couple of key changes, an indistinct voice, and a jaunty bird the wax cylinder's playback slowly trails off. Your timepiece indicates that several minutes have passed; where DID they go? Blackberry is an exercise in plotting vectors in three dimensional-space. A high electronic tone pulses its keening song which weaves in and out of contact-mic rustle and quiet bursts of white noise and glitch. A simple clunking piano motif repeats over and over, up and down, up and down. Life continues undisturbed thisaway, save for an extremely-effective compositional breakdown around the mid-way mark. Suddenly five minutes is up on the time axis and the work space in your mind's-eye rolls-up and vanishes. The only way I think this could be any better would be if it was actually the original lathe-cut; kudos to Coster for originally acknowledging the limitations of the polycarbonate medium with the lovely lo-fi elements of the production, and also responding to the limitations of the 3" format with the brevity of the material – it's nice to hear something which doesn't sound like half-an-hour's worth of music stuffed – straining at the seams – into 19.5 minutes. 9/10 Review from FOXY DIGITALIS (16 January, 2007) "...new release is by Tim Coster, the man behind the CLaudia label, but also a solo artist as well as a member of Plains. 'Rowboat/Blackberry' was already released as a lathe cut 7" on CMR last year, but luckily it's re-issued on a 3"CDR. How much I love lathe cut records, they aren't always easy to play. Perhaps I am all wrong but I wouldn't be too surprised to learn that the source material for 'Rowboat' was indeed recorded at such a vehicle. The water splattering against the sides recorded through the use of crackling contact microphones, set to a backdrop of humming tones. 'Blackberry' may then again not use blackberries, but how would I know? Here too humming tones, sine wave like, but also something that could reflect a melody played on a guitar. Careful tunes, both of them, and very microsound, but pretty strong stuff. And for audio freaks: good to see them in the digital domain." Review from VITAL WEEKLY, 547 "I couldn't find a website for the Compact Listening audio label (or CLaudia as it appears most everywhere). If you're lucky there may be some copies of this left at a few distros. It was first pressed as a lathe-cut 7" in an edition of 60 and now reissued on 3" CD-R in a second edition of 60. "Rowboat" is on the Tim Hecker/Fennesz tip, encompassing digital dronescapes with some cloudy distortion. "Blackberry" sounds more akin to Oren Ambarchi. Regardless of the obvious reference points, the ten minutes of music here are well worth the price of admission." review from Delusions of Adequacy CMR said: "Tim Coster, hailing from Auckland, New Zealand, presents on CMR his third solo release in the form of an acetate 7". Coster is a sound artist and improviser involved in a number of different projects: Plains (see new CD on www.scarcelight.org), his record label CLaudia, and solo practice recording works for CD, sound installation and performance. Working primarily with field recordings and various instruments Coster concentrates on short segments of recorded sound which he dissects, processes and loops. Over these he adds granular tones, field hums and live crackles creating delicate and peaceable sound works. This acetate is produced by Peter King in Mt Somers, NZ and shows Coster at his more musical, with two fantastic 5min songs showing his talent in the subtle mixing of tone and texture."