News
06.02.09
In 2004, a group of musicians and curiosity-seekers went to the
Belvidere Theatre in Central City, CO because it was rumored to be one
of the most haunted buildings in the state. Our initial goal was to
attempt to record Electromagnetic Voice Phenomena, but the project
eventually took on a much different cast. We never succeeded in
capturing any ghostly voices, but we reassembled the recordings into
new compositions that captured the haunted spaciousness of the theatre.
That’s where 139 Nevada began. We returned to record in the
theatre two more times while making these two records. Even if the
spirits never raised their voices, we hope they were entertained by our
presence. The release consists of two discs, "masked mirror" by encomiast and "slam your doors in golden silence" by The Copper Thieves, a coalition including members of encomiast and Mandible Chatter. Both collections mine the rich sonic bed of the Belvidere Theatre, but each one takes its own clear path.
The Copper Thieves - "When Everybody is Sleeping..."
encomiast - "a nervous light"
139 Nevada is packaged in a 5x6 hand-stamped jewelry box with two postcard inserts and is being released in conjunction with Lens Records. The physical edition is limited to 200 copies.
To celebrate both this release and the tenth (!) anniversary of encomiast,
I am offering this release as part of a larger package. This package includes copies of the last
three encomiast releases (139 Nevada, encomiast, & bathed in sunlight) and encomiast side-project Spawn of the Matriarch's release Samtliche Werke,
none of which is packaged in a boring jewel case! The whole package is
only $25 incl. shipping.
Click the button below to order the 3-album package via Paypal
To order 139 Nevada by itself ($20)
04.17.09
Working on updating and revamping the site (ecommerce! new albums! proper text display!) Patience appreciated as always. In the meantime check us out on Facebook!
01.08.08
Bathed in sunlight is finally out! Personally, I think I'm a little thankful that there has been this distance in time between the album's creation and its release. Making it was a draining yet necessary endeavor, and the past few years gave me space to decide what I really wanted to do with it. There's also something curious to me about the fact that although this is a "new" album, for me it's a nostalgic journey through places, people, sounds, and ideas that reside in a particular point in the past. It couldn't have come from another time, although that's true of anything I suppose. But of course I'm sure you will find something in it that is unique to your experience. And I have to mention my intense gratitude to Adam at Crucialbliss for his assistance in putting together the release. Here's what he has to say about it at the Crucialbliss site:
"Bathed In Sunlight is the breath-takingly beautiful new full length from the longrunning Denver drone ensemble Encomiast, featuring five lengthy tracks of instrumental bliss from Ross Hagen and company that bring together slowly drifting drones speckled with shifting layers of angelic female vocal harmonies, lilting Loveless-esque melodies, ominous ambience floating over simple hand drum rhythms, dramatic dark pop with strummed acoustic guitars and Ross' deep crooning vocals...and more of the ghostly flute playing that has always set Encomiast apart from the rest of the drone/ambient underground. Fans of Encomiast's previous releases are going to be surprised when they hear songs like "Laughter In The Storm" , whose droning psychedelic folk is unlike anything that Ross has done before, a thoroughly entracing combination of droning electronics and brooding acoustic strum. And then there's the stunning finale "Evergreen", opening with gently acoustic guitar swimming in delay before a gorgeous female voice enters under a slight veil of distortion, like she's singing from the other end of a long distance phone call, the distortion then lifting revealing her voice in perfect clarity. A simple but perfect effect. The melody in this song is likewise simple but perfect, a melancholy hook that is gradually joined by drums and electronic drones as the song evolves, turning into a amazing piece of dreamy ambient post-rock pop. Fans of Encomiast's previous droneworks and the kind of evocative ambient rock that Temporary Residence is known for will LOVE Bathed In Sunlight, which travels the luminescent ley lines between ambient dronescapes, folk music, and post-rock.
The packaging for this release is pretty damn great, if I do say so myself, with mysterious images and artwork provided by Ross presented in a labor-intensive hand-sewn heavy paper sleeve designed by us at Crucial Blast (in the same style as the Havens disc), and released in a limited edition of 200 copies."
The packaging for this release is pretty damn great, if I do say so myself, with mysterious images and artwork provided by Ross presented in a labor-intensive hand-sewn heavy paper sleeve designed by us at Crucial Blast (in the same style as the Havens disc), and released in a limited edition of 200 copies."
08.21.07
Hello folks, The title says it all, we're reissuing the self-titled encomiast album from 1999 at the end of the month! Personally I often find myself a little leery of "self-titled" albums. There's too much riding on it, as an eponymous album seems to attempt to be an authoritative statement, the ultimate album from Band X. All too often, it doesn't live up to its intentions. In my own case, this album is "self-titled" for the simple reason that I didn't know I was going to make any more of them. In 1999, it was the ultimate encomiast album, and I don't want to take that away from it! 7 years and a bunch of releases later, I'm surprised at how strong it still sounds given that it contains the first ambient tracks I ever recorded. So in a few short weeks, the reissue of the 1999 debut album will be released on Lens Records, the label that gave encomiast it's first proper release in 2001 with winter's end. It's been shined up, remastered and remixed where necessary, and generally made more presentable, and packaged in a special clear sleeve with a vellum insert. To be sure, it is a far cry from the photocopied inserts and poor quality MP3.com CDRs of the original release! This material has been out of circulation for years, and Rob from Lens and I are proud to bring it to you in this new package! The advance reviews are coming in strong, so check out the tracks and pre-order here:
"This disc arrived with no accompanying press release or descriptive information...so we'll just say it as we play it. This music was recorded way back in 1999 by Ross Hagen and Nick Paul and apparently edited/updated in 2006 for this CD release. Encomiast features over an hour's worth of material...all of which is atmospheric, spooky, and slightly surreal. The best way of describing this might be to say that this could very well be the soundtrack to a very bizarre horror film. The sounds are soft and almost soothing...but the dissonant, peculiar material is ultimately rather unsettling. This disc features six perplexing tracks: "Aesthesia," "Suborbit," "Azazel," "Zero," "Concupere," and "Amnios." The closer we listen...the more interesting this becomes. And the louder we play it...the higher our mental elevation. Fascinating noise experiments from two fellows who aren't interested in playing by the rules..." (Rating: 5+) - www.LMNOP.com
"I remember Encomiast back when they sent me their album off of MP3.com. The Colorado natives were fucking great then and they're even more fucking great now. Dark ambient pieces that weave in and out from silence to abject disharmony. Eerie soundscapes surround you, beckoning you to come a little closer, only to ensnare you with their soft yet dark grasps. Some of these songs were included in that album, recorded back in '99, but now edited and reworked in 2006 for this re-release on Lens Records. Who knew that Boulder, Colorado would be the .."it.." spot for dark ambient?" - www.smother.net
"The hardest albums in the world to review are ambient albums, even though I love them so. How much can really be said about aural exploration that most people would consider "background noise" at a bare minimum? There are really only two sides of the fence when it comes to atmospheric /ambient albums, either you like them or you don't get them at all. There's no grey area, no way to say "eh, it's not bad". It's white or black, dead or alive, yes or no.
Encomiast's self titled effort was originally recorded in 1999 by Nick Paul and Ross Hagen, then uncovered and edited in 2006 to be released by Lens Records in the fall of 2007. The album will play a lot of your senses, mixing in sounds that trigger different parts of your mind, if you're listening close enough. It's certain that this is more than just background noise, it's a different side of the coin, and this is the musical companion to exploration. With every dive and turn it takes, you discover new layers and textures, different ways they've played with a particular ambient sound. It's odd just how the use of a wind sound in the background or a stirring noise can change the musical landscape of a song, or how a sound that some would consider to be useless can define an entire album. I have to say, in my experience with ambient/atmospheric albums, I've got to rank this one up there. My apologies for how blaringly short this review is, but there's only so much you can say about an ambient release, but this is one of the good ones. Definitely worth a listen if this is your jam." - www.riseandrevolt.com
"Hmm, tough gig, writing a review of ambient sounds. Still it's NN's job, so stiff upper lip, cup of tea and away we go.
'Encomiast' is an album some of mainman Ross Hagen's older material reworked and released. Each of the six tracks create audio landscapes with atmospheric drones and electronic sounds; not "songs" in any classical understanding of the word, more like themes.
'Azazel' has a cinematic feel to it, like the soundtrack to a really dark and sinister film, with eerie rough edges and the slow repetition of half-remembered nightmares. NN had images of being deep underground, in some dark, greasy tomb surrounded by slow implied threat. The composition of subtlety takes you to places in your own head that the pop cultural train doesn't stop at.
And the more you listen and the deeper you're submerged within the details of the desolation, the more personal the experience becomes. It's as much an exploration as anything. 'Zero' is almost up-tempo by the standards of the rest of the album. A pulsing softened beat, sweeping atmospherics and harsh electronic sounds, perhaps the hint of some mad laughing horse; the sounds are distorting off the walls down here.
'Concupere' reminds us of the Terminator soundtrack by Brad Feidel. The same menace vibrates around in the dark throbbing atmospherics, the deadened crashing percussion and the harsh metallic impacts. But it's nebulous -  there's no triumphant melody to carry you through, you're alone down here with the unnamed and unnameable.
If you like songs, you know, with things like choruses and melodies, then maybe you'll find this catatonically depressing and just not see the point of it all -Â Encomiast, music, life, pretty much all of it. But if you're into a bit of introspective relaxation and taking a guided journey into some of the darker corners of that broken-beyond-fixing thinking machine of yours, then give this a go." - www.new-noise.net
07.10.07
transit bed is now available from Gears of Sand. This is the press blurb:
"Transit Bed begins in a haunted theatre in an old mining town, moves briefly to a small apartment in Boulder, lounges with a group of familiar strangers in a garage on the outskirts of town, ponders the nature of human "progress," and finally ends up at a dive bar in downtown Denver, among friends both new and old. An epically improbable journey, to be sure, but it is one that we all must undertake at some point. The result is a disheveled yet densely woven collection, relying heavily on treated live performances and including contributions from a motley assortment of characters playing a similarly divergent range of instruments. Guitars, mandolins, hand percussion, songs from the American Civil War, Balinese instruments, flutes, a prepared piano stringboard, and a diabolical instrument known as the Necroharp all make significant appearances. The kitchen sink is conspicuously absent from this album, but we don't feel it suffers as a result since many sinks remain silent in the background, making their contribution in a more subtle and important manner by providing water for hydration and cleaning purposes. Enjoy!"
Daniel from Mystery Sea reminded me that mers de sommeil is not sold out; he has about 30 or so left.