SUN SEA SKY PRODUCTIONS

Athalia

shawn — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 12:15:12 +0000

Athalia will release their debut full-length this Summer on Sun Sea Sky Productions. Athalia includes former members of Strictly Ballroom, Meow Meow, and Arca along with current members of Dntel, Frankel, and The Minor Canon.

Described as dark, moody and atmospheric, Athalia covers a wide spectrum of textures, dripping in reverb and delay. Click here to preview tracks from the entire album.

Sunday Flood “Advisory” - Ink19

shawn — Sun, 04 May 2008 16:04:41 +0000

This Wisconsin trio pushes out some mean emo tunes. Like smooth soaring vocals that twist into screams, breaking through the stop start rhythm section and flying higher than the soaring guitar. Not totally polished at their sound, but passionate. Overdramatic, but that’s to be expected. Less punk and more rock, but the anger flows through the sky, pushing lyrics like the anguish of poetry. “I’ll suffocate; I can’t breathe, I’m drowning/Gone tomorrow, I’ll wait today�” There’s a hint of an ache, and the stain of beauty, and the sound that fills a thousand broken windows, looking out.

Ink19

Sunday Flood “Velvet Is Falling” - Collective Zine

shawn — Sun, 04 May 2008 16:00:35 +0000

Modern-day melodic emo-rock that’s very much along the lines of Christie Front Drive, Elliott and Sunny Day Real Estate, drifting dreamily along and occasionally building up into rocking parts with desperate, impassioned screams. Sure, they wear their influences on their sleeves but it’s nonetheless cool enough to make me prick up my ears and sniff the air, with enough sleekness and shimmers to catch the interest of all those not quite worn out by the style.

Collective Zine

The Storied Northwest - “With Shining Wires” Live

shawn — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 00:44:42 +0000

The Storied Northwest - “Blue Eyed Lullaby” Live

shawn — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 00:43:13 +0000

The Storied Northwest - “New & Redefined” Live

shawn — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 00:41:49 +0000

The Storied Northwest - “Limbo” Live

shawn — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 00:39:03 +0000

The Storied Northwest - “Hollywood James” Live

shawn — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 00:33:32 +0000

Sun Sea Sky Productions Signs Boc Scadet

shawn — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 03:07:45 +0000

Since the inception of Boc Scadet in 2002 Lawrence Grover has released two ep’s and two albums on his own cdr label clickclickdrone and a mini album on Unlabel. He has also made several appearances on compilations released by Toytronic, October Man Recordings, Boltfish Recordings, Sutemos, Bitlab and Rednetic Recordings.

“high-tech electronic abstractions that sparkle and shine….chock full of melodic manifestations that trickle down a smooth corridor of subtle tweaks, screeches and sublime frequencies” - Igloo

The label will re-release a completely remastered version of Boc Scadet’s much coveted ’Temporary Oceans’ CD which will feature all new artwork and packaging. Plans for a follow-up LP will be announced later in the year.

Preview the entire album here. Also be sure to check out Ships On Fire, Lawrence Grover’s minimalist side project featuring drone/soundscape/beatless electronics, free for download over at Protoplazma.

Mike Allen Announces Plans For Third Album

shawn — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 03:09:34 +0000

Mike Allen is hard at work on his third full-length, ‘Sounds From Home’. The album is tentatively due at the beginning of 2009 and will feature contributions from Seestrings, Boc Scadet, and Boy Is Fiction among others.

While earlier releases Cirrhotic (2003) and Mold (2006) continue to haunt and inspire us, we’re told Allen’s next recordings will include influences and themes not yet investigated on previous efforts including but not limited to his pet cockatiel Norman.

Lights Out Asia - “Lilies Of The Subway” Video

shawn — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 03:05:53 +0000

iTunes, Rhapsody, eMusic, and Amazon

shawn — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 04:45:27 +0000

Sun Sea Sky Productions has formed partnerships with leading digital music retailers iTunes, Rhapsody, eMusic, and Amazon. Soon several out-of-print, current, and exclusive digital releases will be made available through these outlets.

Kaltmiete

shawn — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 06:37:44 +0000

German filmmaker Gregor Buchkremer’s thriller “Kaltmiete” (2006) features music from Mike Allen and Lights Out Asia.

“Kaltmiete” was recently chosen as an official selection of the 21st Fantasy Filmfest. With this impressive mood piece about a young man who wages psychological warfare on his roommates, first-timer Gregory Buchkremer has put himself on the map of German filmmakers to watch.

Preview clips from the movie here.

Curbside Journal - Live @ Koo’s Café + Interview

shawn — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 04:01:29 +0000

Download

Jai Alai - American Apparel Video

shawn — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 04:45:38 +0000

Jai Alai - “Real Job” Video

shawn — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 23:20:21 +0000

Sunday Flood - “Outpatient Belongings” Live

shawn — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 18:34:37 +0000

Jai Alai - Live @ The Hideout (Chicago, IL)

shawn — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 17:45:03 +0000

Jai Alai

An incredible live set from the band while on tour in 2003 showcasing Jai Alai’s knack for creating both timeless and nostalgiac music. Grab your lawn chair, drink of choice, and relax.

DownloadDownload (57.9MB)

The String And Return “Invisible City” - The Zone

shawn — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 05:18:09 +0000

Invisible City is a richly layered, yet subtly understated soundscape. The three guitars (or sometimes two guitars and a keyboard) are precise and distinct without approaching disjointed, busy or flashy. All of the tracks are dreamy, anticlimactic meanderings (”Locked In,” “The Rut”), but about half of them have a little more energy and stir things up a bit (”Lemon Slice,” “Flyweight”). Mike Myers pounds the skins just intensely and tastefully enough to keep the songs moving forward and preserve the spaciousness of the band’s sound. Andrew Ashby’s breathy vocals are a perfect fit musically, and the morose lyrics aren’t obvious enough to make every listen a downer. This stellar work by this all-star group earns four and a half out of a possible five revelations (buy this album if you don’t own it already).

The Zone

The String And Return “Invisible City” - The Pitch

shawn — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 05:16:52 +0000

To listen to Invisible City is to enter a different world — specifically, one where spacing between words is discouraged and everything functions at a slower speed. Adjusting to the group’s snailcore sound takes time, but eventually the charm of its sleepy songs becomes apparent. The springiest tune, “Lemon Slice,” is powered by a bouncy guitar part that brings to mind a sound effect to accompany a video-game character’s jumps, while the most leisurely track, “Everypenny,” unveils melodic elements before starting to crawl late in the proceedings and bowing out at the seven-minute mark. The vocals throughout the album are intentionally faint, and although most of the percussion parts are equally unobtrusive, at times the guitar lines’ sparseness magnifies the drums’ intensity. On “Picture Ends,” the beat breaks into a march, setting a brisk pace while the guitars and vocals stay lazily behind. With several of its tunes nearing progressive-rock length, Invisible City requires both patience and attention to subtle detail. However, once listeners commit to thestringandreturn’s strangely relaxing world, they’ll probably be convinced to return frequently.

The Pitch