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ANTHOLOGY

The Nightcrawlers

The Biophonic Boombox Recordings

    Anthology is set to issue a collection of recordings from Philadelphia / New Jersey experimental synth ensemble, The Nightcrawlers, in the Spring of 2017. The retrospective will cull from a staggering amount of material - 40+ cassette tapes - the trio released from 1979 through their demise in the early 90s under their Synkronos Music label imprint.

    Brothers Tom and Peter Gulch began recording as The Nightcrawlers in 1979 and recruited Dave Lunt shortly thereafter. Their collaborations drew influence from the cosmic minimalism of the Berlin School (Klaus Schulze / Tangerine Dream) and other European MIDI forebears (Cluster, Popul Vuh, et al).

    As early 80s Philly leaned hard into radical politics and New Wave zeal, the Nightcrawlers retreated to light-less spaces, capturing their fully improvised, all-nighter sessions on cassette + JVC boombox. Minimal, filmic tones livened with the spacey intricacies of early Moog experimentation ("Phase II: Orbital Descent") were balanced in biotic, New Age themes true to their appellation ("Fungi [Fungus, Molds, Mushrooms]").

    While a Nightcrawlers "reunion" performance is not a viable option, a record release celebration inspired by and in gratitude to this rich yet little-known community will be an exciting addition to the promotion of this project.

    TRACK LISTING

    LP TRACKLISTING
    DISC 1
    1. Phase I: Discovery And Approach
    2. Beckoning Beacon
    3. Luv-Li-Music
    4. Crystal Loop III
    5. Geistesblitz

    DISC 2
    1. Sizzling Highs
    2. Transsonic
    3. Baba Yaga's Flight
    4. Barriers
    5. Awakening

    CD TRACKLISTING
    DISC 1
    1. Phase I: Discovery And Approach
    2. Beckoning Beacon
    3. Geistesblitz
    4. Crystal Loop III
    5. Luv-Li-Music
    6. Zeitgeber
    7. Reprieve

    DISC 2
    1. Sizzling Highs
    2. Transsonic
    3. Baba Yaga's Flight
    4. Spring Torsion
    5. Modern Pre-Flight
    6. Barriers
    7. Awakening

    Mike Sena

    Bali High

      From the ‘50s up until the early ‘80s, most surf film soundtracks were bootlegged straight from the director’s record collection without much thought given to licensing rights or fees. As was the case with Bali High (1981), a visual documentation of three years of chasing waves in Indonesia and Kauai. Filmmaker Stephen Spaulding’s original soundtrack featured favorites from The Rolling Stones, Bob Marley, and Santana, but as the subculture of surfing grew commercial traction, Spaulding had to rethink how to legally sell the film without paying for song rights.

      For the 1984 re-release Spaulding sought out the help of Kauai based musician and producer Michael Sena to compose an original score that could match the action and vibe of his previous soundtrack. Unencumbered by the challenge of interpreting a compilation of various artists into one fluid body of music, Sena wrote, produced, and recorded each song himself in just three months.

      The resulting tracks lend the film its signature flavour and cover an impressive variation of genres, featuring moments of folk, dubby rock, synthesized disco, tropicalia, jazz fusion, and hyper-tempo power rock. Spaulding and Sena’s collaboration leave us with a layered time capsule in surf history, and we are proud to present the first issue of this colourful soundtrack as part of the ongoing Anthology Surf Archive series.


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