hello:
i am broke as a bloke and i am offering a GREAT deal for fans of
experimental/ambient/abstract music. get all the following as a
package for $25ppd.
dsp_esp: 4 cdr set by: instruction shuttle (astromass records)
-4 cdrs (3 audio, one multimedia)
-hand-painted custom quad-case
igloo audio cdr by: instruction shuttle (astromass records)
activnoi-se ep cdr by: instruction shuttle (zenapolae records)
bound sound ep cdr by: instruction shuttle (zenapolae records)
black citrus 7” ep by: instruction shuttle (astromass records)
plus i will include 3-4 other cds by other artists from other labels.
so, basically you get NO FEWER than 10 cds and a 7” record of
underground ambient/experimental music for $25 postage paid...am i
smoking crack? you bet!
uk folks please add $5 for shipping.
please log on to
http://www.astromass.com/superspecial.html for
payment (paypal verified) or contact me for info.
thanks for your support! +()Dd
http://www.astromass.com/superspecial.html
reviews/press:
activnoi-se ep (zenapolae)
Grooves Experimental Electronic Music Magazine, Oct 2003
Samples of all manner of odds and ends easily become plundered ambient
booty here: a cardioid microphone eavesdrops on coins poured from a
can, answering machine voice fragments filtered with tape noise,
marbles clacking together, the mindless automata of washing machines,
windshield wipers, vacuum cleaners, Slinky toys, and old school dot
matrix printers skittering and decaying about. These found sounds are
all looped and layered into dreamy, apneic arrangements, lulling the
listener into a breathless hypnosis.
A serene, spliff-enhanced daydream, Todd Christopher's Activenoi-SE
single is ultimately a work of headphone sculpture, about external
activity and internal stillness all at once. The music sneaks a brief
look at the existence of "dead" machines around us while we look the
other way, our attention span focused elsewhere. Only when we sit quiet
and pay attention can the scraps of noise made by these inanimate
objects be recycled, fragments that come back to life in a meaningful
and fresh ways.
Alex Reynolds, Grooves Experimental Electronic Music Magazine 10/03
AmbiEntrance, Aug 2003
While many of the sound sources are too mutated to discern, I recognize
(or so I think) some of the sonic materials, often mechanical elements,
interwoven into Instruction Shuttle's cryptic collages;
semi-rhythmically clattering Exodus contains sounds like a dot matrix
printer and elevator thumps and dings, while Activnoi-SE sounds like
someone running a vacuum in the engine room of a supertanker (which is
sizzling alot). Cardioid Log (10:17) shuffles around in a soft
otherworld of clicking appliances, sometimes emitting the odd musical
essence like toy-xylo chimes or guitar strums, though more often just
random occurrences like thumps, coughs, clanks and tinkles. The
patently weird bleeps and distorted/layered vocal growls of Answering
Machine (3:14) leave more questions than answers. 26:10 of more audio
curiosities from Todd Christopher.
David J Opdyke
bound sound ep (zenapolae)
AmbiEntrance, May 2002
Whorling clouds of dark grit are united with other mysteriously
grumbling vapors in the opening piece of this 38 minute set from todd
christopher, enigmatically teaching/traveling as instruction shuttle.
Unintelligible robotspeak is woven into the streaming sheets of
wireless weirdness. Murkily stretched scenes stutter as they extend
through the nearly-pretty billows of houswobble hymn, an 8-minute
immersion into ebbing/flowing depths.
Bleepy twinkles are submerged beneath the ripples and faraway metallic
squeaks of aquillabreather (1:56), getting a little rhythmic/robotic
before melting into u are careless in the way u shine (14:08); the
lengthier closing piece shimmers in ghostly curtains of unknowable
soundsources blown by vague windshapes, occasionally parting to
partially reveal what may have been a human chorus in some other life.
Seven slices of very obtuse listening may repel or attract as personal
tastes dictate. I'm leaning over the fence here, with high points for
sincerity in deformation tilting the scale up to a B-.
David J. Opdyke, AmbiEntrance
Grooves Experimental Electronic Music Magazine, Jan 2002
The somewhat elusive Zenapolae label continues its forays into
intriguing constellations of sonic detritus with this fine CD-R release
from Instruction Shuttle (New Yorker Todd Christopher). With barely a
rhythm in sight, the emphasis is entirely on developing a range of
atmospheres through the use of assorted dark ambient techniques. Rather
than spend an age working elements together, Bound Sound mostly cuts
straight to the chase. Hence, on "Ed Wood's Meditation," the fluttering
electronics that make up the forground of the track take hold at the
very start and remain the focus of attention for the full duration.
The real highlight is "Housewobble Hymn," which sounds like a more
easy-going Main with its soft, powerline textures and half-buried organ
pulses. It's the kind of dreamy density that is very easy to get lost
in for hours. Perhaps the prickly belching of "Year of the Serpent"
might have been sacrificed in the interests of quality control, but
it's the only downer on an otherwise varied and interesting record.
Bound Sound engages the attention throughout and marks Christopher out
as a potential one to watch. Pretty good for a measly five bucks.
John Gibson, Grooves Experimental Electronic Music Magazine
Black Citrus 7” ep
the wire uk 6/2002
As far as can be discovered, Instruction Shuttle is the solo project of
Philadelphia-based composer Todd Christopher. He has reportedly
released over a dozen album-length projects on his astromass label, but
the first 7” is the Black Citrus EP. The record is playable at any
speed, but 33 sounds pretty much the best to my ears. At that pace,
the two pieces come off like center sections lifted from some out of
sync mid-70’s prog jams. The atmosphere in which the pieces are placed
is thick with butter fog, but there are hints of out of time
‘standard’ instrumentation, as well as hawkwind-style orgone
accumulation, and ghosts of found sounds. the combination works
especially well on side B, where there are passages that recall prime
Vorhaus 9if there is such a thing). (BC)