A new slaapwel release!

Dear sleepy friends!

It’s been a while, but we’re still around and yes, we have an exciting announcement. We proudly present ’Periphery’ (slaapwel xiv) by Danny Clay, a composer and teaching artist from Ohio currently based in San Francisco. His work is deeply rooted in curiosity, collaboration and the sheer joy of making things.

I’ve been a fan of Danny’s work for a long time. A few years ago, I had the honor to work with him on a collaborative album. This went so well that asking Danny for making a sleepy soundtrack felt like a logical step. And guess what: he said yes and came up with ‘Periphery’, which consists of 4 realizations of the same score, performed with flute, cello, piano and tones.

Danny: “Periphery takes a simple tune that I heard at my grandparents’ church as a child and unravels it, leaving the remnants to drift among each other and the original to loom as a kind of vague feeling at the edge of the senses.”

In other words: ‘Periphery’ is a perfect companion to fall asleep with.

The album comes in a hand folded and stitched limited edition of 250 copies. Artwork by Jon Fischer, design by ORDNER, mastering by Ian Hawgood.

Get your copy here!

//Stijn, Slaapwel Records

Slaapwel xiii: 'Filament' by Gareth Davis

Dear sleepy friends!

Last year, somewhere in october, I attended a very interesting performance by clarinetist Gareth Davis (Miasmah, collaborations with Machinefabriek, Merzbow etc.) and Erik Skodvin. I was, however, suffering from a very nasty jetlag - which made the performance even more interesting, hovering between sleep and being awake.

Afterwards, Gareth coincidentally (or not?) offered me a piece he made for Slaapwel, called 'Filament':

"A short while back I was doing some work on a theatre project and one of the tracks was all about ending/finality and so on. It's kind of dark perhaps for sleeping but, that being said, it seemed like maybe it could still work as part of the series!"

And, well, yes, it is!

We proudly present you slaapwel xiii: 'Filament' by Gareth Davis.

CD comes in handfolded arigatopack with stitched cover. Mastered by Ian Hawgood, Photography by Frédéric D. Oberland, Design by ORDNER. 

Order your copy / download here.

Enjoy + have a good sleep!

//Stijn, Slaapwel Records

Do The Boats Dream Of Electric Fritz Pfleumer?

The Boats are British duo Andrew Hargreaves & Craig Tattersall. They’ve been on our radar for a long, looong time and finally we’re able to announce that they’ve finished an incredible nighttime soundtrack for slaapwel records. Do The Boats Dream Of Electric Fritz Pfleumer? is a 36 minute composition based on tape loops - their trademark sound covered in (star)dust, gentle static and muffled magnetism. Think William Basinski & Wouter Van Veldhoven.

To accompany the thin border between being asleep & lying awake, they translated the function of dreams into sound. According to one theory about dreams, they act as a way for the brain to discard all of its thoughts, making space for another day of ideas and impressions. This led them to use tape loops and a rudimentary tape delay unit to soundtrack and re-create a soft reset of your brain.

The CD comes in a cardboard sleeve, with a stitched photograph and a brief explanation by The Boats themselves. It's yours for the sweet price of 8 euro + shipping. We've printed 300 copies and they are available now at our webstore.

New Release! Sonmi451's "Ruis"

Dear Sleepyheads, 
I'm very happy to announce a new and essential addition to your bedroom (aka the room where the magic happens if you're an mtv cribs dude). Slaapwel Records newest item is Sonmi451's RUIS. It contains a cd, digital download and a Louis Reith print. Pricetag is 8 euro (+ shipping). It is also made in an edition of 500 copies. Sooo... if you want to have it, ... (yes the pretty thing below), ... then you should ... 

BUY NOW
seriously, don't sleep on it! 
(hahaha, you won't believe how long i waited to make this joke!) 

But in all honesty, why I believe you should consider a purchase: Because it simply works! Put the cd on and drift off... The 32 minute piece is a wonderful walk along slowly pulsating sine waves, lingering piano loops, cradling strings and the solar warmth of little cracks, pops and soft hisses. At first it seems to be nothing more but a lovely track, “ordinary” prettiness, though once you are well in your bed, it becomes as essential as your pillow or your favorite blanket. It is probably the most efficient piece we’ve had the chance to release. A lush, soft and hypnotic path into unconsciousness. Also, the CD comes with artwork by dutch designer louis reith, because if you have to look for this cd on a daily basis, it'd better look good. Also, as a side note be sure to visit or 'like' our fancy facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/slaapwel. It's good for our web 2.0 score.

Thanks + have a good rest,

Wim - Jo - Ulrike

A New Release by Peter Broderick

 

We’re rather happy to present you with another wonderful addition to the Slaapwel Records set. Peter Broderick is a talented musician to say the least. He knows how to make wonderful folk songs (“Home”), hauntingly beautiful piano & string compositions (“Float”) and he rocks the violin with Efterklang. But is he also up to the task of making music to fall asleep to? You betcha!

With “Music for a Sleeping Sculpture of Peter Broderick” he delivers the goods. Upon hearing this slow-paced work for vocals, piano and field recordings, I immediately decided this would be an indispensable part of my nighty night set. Toothbrush, pyjama’s, Lars (my secret teddy bear) and "Music for a ..." ! That’s the way it’s gotta be. It’s one long 30 minute piece that slowly evolves and really draws you into the breathtaking dreamworld of Peter Broderick.

This time we’ve made 500 copies. It comes in a hand assembled package with a high quality CD and 3 inserts in a beautiful cardboard box with a picture of a sleeping sculpture of Peter Broderick. You can get yours through the slaapwel records store. Thanks to modern technology, you can download and listen to it immediately if you buy the CD for 10€.  Click this link for a sample, some pictures and shipping options. If you run into problems or if you have any question at all, just send us an e-mail through the contact page.

The record will be shipped next Monday. People who attend the slaapwel records labelnights in Leuven will be able to get it there.