[LIVE SET ARCHIVES]

About the archive.

The archive is an audio record of the all the artists who've performed at slow sound system over the past few years. More sets will be added over the coming months, from our recordings and from new material that we curate. We hope you enjoy it.

Thanks to our friends at Archive.org for hosting ...

Sebastien Roux. Listen. Download.

By day, Sebastien Roux is a programmer at the IRCAM lab in Paris. In his spare time, he puts together beautiful, low-key pieces on laptop and hand-built electronics. Fragments of piano and guitar are looped, tweaked, processed and overlaid into a rippling pool of sound. With releases for 12k and Apestaartje under his belt, Sebastien has played in the UK a few times in the past year, and has gone down a storm every time. This brief set for slow sound system was no exception.

Crucial Felix. Listen. Download.

Crucial Felix is Chris Sattinger, better known as Tigerbeat6 / Shockout / Orthlong artist Timeblind. Chris has released a slew of bass-heavy rhythm experiments on these labels, rewiring hiphop, ragga and dub through filthy noise and dsp. When he visited slow sound system, however, he came up with something completely different - a sublime set of free jazz sax and SuperCollider patches, building jagged riffs over vast clouds of static and low-end rumble. It's reminiscent of Supersilent, Deathprod, Vladislav Delay, Pharoah Sanders and Get Up On It-era Miles - but really existing in a space all its own.

Duff Parka. Listen. Download.

Duff Parka - the enigmatic Scottish laptop wizard - is rumoured to be connected to the seminal 8bitrecs netlabel, HighpointLowlife and various other London-based projects. Nobody really knows. Whatever, he emerged from his bedroom earlier this year to give slow sound system a taste of his new sound. It's a relaxed soundscape, with drones, guitar figures and heavy beats the major landmarks. Think Morr Music, City Centre Offices or Aesthetics, but probably better.

Adam Butler. Listen. Download.

Adam Butler is better known as Mouse On Mars collaborator Vert, and has released albums on their Sonig label. He also records a kind of laptop piano jazz under his own name. His reworking of Keith Jarrett's 'Koln Konzert' was one of The Wire's Records of the Year in 2000, and his followup, 'Schmoozing With The Apres-Garde', on Ekkehard Ehlers' superb Whatness label, follows in the same vein - music at the intersection of cocktail bar jazz, Satie and digital collage. This recording was made at a slow sound system session in The Foundry, East London on a Sunday afternoon, giving it a proper post-lounge feeling.

Motion / Recon. Listen. Download.

As Motion, Chris Coode records compelling minimalist sound constructions. Recent releases on 12k, L-ne and Fat Cat place him at the forefront of the microsound scene. As Recon, he departs from the Motion template to pursue a stripped-down, dubbed-out techno reminiscent of the Basic Channel and Chain Reaction canon. This set for slow sound system, recorded on a cold February afternoon in London, seamlessly combines both styles. Check out the HighpointLowlife release 'White Label' - getting rave reviews from The Wire, BBCi, Vital and others - for more more of the same.

Paul Hood. Listen. Download.

Paul Hood is one of the prime movers on the London Improv scene. He started working with vintage record players in the early 1990s and has since continued to use turntables as his primary instrument. He's recently put out records on the super-label Japan Improv (with Toshimaru Nakamura and Tetuzi Akiyama) and with Joel Stern, Anthony Guerra and others on Paradisc and TwoThousandAnd. His set for slow sound system is in the same vein - turntables, rubber bands, bows and assorted objects create an intricate, warm and crackly soundworld.

Dual. Listen. Download.

Processed guitar, drones and found objects from Colin Bradley and (sometimes) Georgina Richardson. Dual have two excellent records out on linked label Coombe Recordings, plus a host of other releases on various underground labels. This set for slow sound system is a good flavour of their sound - dark soundscaping and sonic detritus in the vein of early Autechre, :zoviet*france: or Kevin Shields. Plus a cover of a very well-known piece of electronica deep in the mix ...

Fred K.U. Listen. Download.

On the London circuit since 1999, Fred Shoeber comes from a French underground Techno background. While over here he's moved into playing a wide range of electronica, is a member of acclaimed local act Dorp and plays out regularly at clubs like Moonpalace. He brought slow sound system his own live act. 'Evolved music for elaborated people', he says - that translates as soundscaping, breaks and razor-sharp turntable skills.

Murmer. Listen. Download.

Murmer, aka Patrick McGinley has a growing reputation as a sound manipulator. With four records under his belt - for Ground Fault, S'Agita, Absurd and Bake microlabels - he also runs the Framework show on Resonance FM. His work concentrates on framing environmental sounds which normally pass through our ears unnoticed and unremarked, but which out of context become unrecognisable, alien and extraordinary: crackling charcoal, a squeaking escalator, a buzzing insect, or one's own breath. This set for slow sound system is a classic example of his craft.

Gagarin. Listen. Download.

Warm electronica and soundscaping from Gagarin, aka London-based Graham Dowdall, who's worked with Nico, Sons of Arqua, John Cale and Caberet Voltaire, among others. The Gagarin sound is produced pretty much live, with drum patterns tapped out and samples triggered on the spot. This set for slow sound sound system showcases tracks from the cult album Earthling. Relax and enjoy.

We're Breaking Up. Listen. Download.

We’re Breaking Up is Michael Rodgers, multi-instrumentalist, free improviser and (with Anthony Guerra) co-founder of the outstanding London-Sydney label TwoThousandAnd. Living in London since 2000, he’s now a fixture of the electronica / impro / microsound scene - key collaborators include Paul Hood, Anthony Guerra, Pedro Lourenço and Manuel Mota. Much of Michael's own music reflects personal ideas of distance, human relationships, density, and things that are invisible. His set for us is terrific, blending field recordings, objects, electronics, drones and trademark low-level noise. Many sounds were freshly sampled that morning at the Chinese New Year celebrations ...

Cheapmachines. Listen. Download.

One of the UK's premier noise artists. Cheapmachines has been in existence since 1997, acting at the interface between noise electronics, generative software, field recordings, tape music and drones. On this Sunday afternon, we were shaken up by stark, stunning soundscaping and musique concrete. Be warned - this is a challenging sonic journey, but well worth it.

John Chantler. Listen. Download.

Resident of Brisbane, rural Japan and now South London, John Chantler has developed his sound from organic electronics to his current interests in exploratory electro-acoustics, messy guitars and a loose spin on rhythm. With releases out on Room40, Piehead, Fat Cat and his own Inventing Zero label, John's also performed alongside Mum, Janek Schaefer, DJ Olive, Ami Yoshida, Taku Sugimoto - and most recently, Room40 boss Lawrence English and Japanese avant-pop diva Tujiko Noriko. This short set for slow sound system showcases finds him in top form, laying down long, hypnotic guitar figures over loose rhythm patterns and organic ambience.

More to come. Watch this space ...