Crows Labyrinth

It is time to pack. We are going on a journey.

[crowslabyrinth]

New Single Released: "All Will Perish". New Album on the Way

In anticipation of the long-awaited second album, Crows Labyrinth releases the single version of the track "All Will Perish" that will be part of the forthcoming album with the same name.

Bandcamp: https://crowslabyrinth.bandcamp.com/track/all-will-perish-single-version

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/crowslabyrinth/all-will-perish-single-version

The track was recorded in the same tradition as previous Crows Labyrinth music, using bass guitar and effects processing, fully improvised and recorded in one take.

Crows Labyrinth is inspired by many artists. These names are a small selection: Brian Eno, Robert Fripp, Tangerine Dream, Steven Wilson (with his Bass Communion and I.E.M. projects), Tom Heasley, Loscil, Clem Leek.

This music may also be interesting for fans of Atrium Carceri, Raison d'Être, Lustmord and Biosphere.

No synthesizers were harmed while creating this music.

Played, recorded, mixed and mastered by Theo Tol. Production, sound design, composition and cover art by Theo Tol.

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Crows Labyrinth returns with a new EP, this year’s second release. The three tracks span nearly 20 minutes and should please anyone that loves improvised fretless bass playing in an ambient setting. You can stream and buy the new EP from Crows Labyrinth’s Bandcamp page. https://crowslabyrinth.bandcamp.com/album/consolation This EP covers the lighter, more melodic aspect of Crows Labyrinth’s musical output. If you liked the last two tracks of his debut album “Travels”, then you’ll be in for a treat. The first track, “Consolation”, was recorded in the week when an uncle passed away a few months ago. “I can hear the state of mind that I had during that period when I listen it back,” reflects Theo. “The track is dedicated to him, and to everyone that has lost a loved one.” “Stateless” is a more abstract piece of layered improvised bass loops that ease in and out of existence. The EP ends with “Responder”. This track could already be heard on Soundcloud, but is now finally mastered and officially available. Crows Labyrinth is inspired by many artists. These names are a small selection: Brian Eno, Robert Fripp, Tangerine Dream, Steven Wilson (with his Bass Communion and I.E.M. projects), Tom Heasley, Loscil, Clem Leek. This album may also be interesting for fans of Atrium Carceri, Raison d’Être, Lustmord and Biosphere. Track 1 and 3 were recorded live in one take, without additional editing or overdubs. Artwork by Brian Watson of plan A art: https://www.facebook.com/planAart/

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So I received my first streaming statement from BABOOM today. And I can tell you it has a lot of detail in it. It looks very good and it gives a lot of information on a per-stream level.

BABOOM only pays you for track plays from premium/paying subscribers. But on the other hands, pay-out rates per stream are much higher than Spotify's and possibly any other streaming service currently around.

The reason? BABOOM's fair-streaming model. You can see it in action in this little screen shot below from the streaming statement.

For each stream you see how many seconds he/she listened to your track in respect to the total number of seconds he/she streamed in the reported month. This is the 'Fan share %' that you see in the last column. This is the share of that fan's monthly net subscription fee (after deducting taxes) that is assigned to you. BABOOM then pays out 70% of that share, and 90% if you are a premium artist, at the end of the month.

If you are not convinced that this fair-streaming model is far better than Spotify's pay-out model, or from any other streaming company at the moment, then I can recommend reading this post on Medium.

Does this all make a big difference in the end? If you are an indie artist with a huge following that will flock to BABOOM to listen to your music, then it might become interesting.

In my opinion, BABOOM is the streaming equivalent of Bandcamp at the moment. It's an easy to use platform, it features lossless track uploads and playback, and there is no middle-men involved with publishing your music. You have everything in your own hands.

If you are an indie artist, then I would certainly recommend checking it out someday. To get an idea how an artist page looks (and sounds ;) ): here is my ambient music project on BABOOM:

http://baboom.com/crowslabyrinth

Okay, enough talking/typing from my end. Would love to read your comments.

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Today I learned on Twitter that one of my tracks was broadcast on terrestrial radio! My track “Influx” was played on KMUN 91.9 Coast Community Radio in the And Otherness radio show that is hosted by Gregg Skloff. Gregg told me on Twitter that he even got some positive responses on the track from people that called in!

And Otherness is a radio show that plays mostly ambient and experimental music. It is broadcast every week on Friday night between 12AM and 2AM Pacific Time.

Coast Community Radio is a group of non-commercial, local public radio stations serving the coastal areas of southwest Washington and northwest Oregon.

You can listen to last Friday’s broadcast on Mixcloud: https://www.mixcloud.com/andotherness/episode-109/

The And Otherness blog with an archive of previous episodes can be found here: http://andotherness.blogspot.nl/

More information on Coast Community Radio: http://coastradio.org/

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Since my last work was released over a year ago, I felt I had to upload this demo to give you an idea of the ideas that have been going through my mind in the past few months. And to wet your appetite for more of course. ;-)

This demo track is the result of experimenting with my new recording setup. I have integrated SooperLooper and a Yamaha MIDI foot controller into my setup. This will give me more flexibility in sound creation and enables hands-free operation of my DAW and plugins, which will be needed when I am taking Crows Labyrinth music on the road. Playing this music live is something that I have been dreaming of for years. I hope this will happen someday in the future.

As usual, the track is played and recorded in one single take.

Enjoy, my friends!

No synthesizers were harmed while creating this track.

crowslabyrinth.com crowslabyrinth.bandcamp.com facebook.com/CrowsLabyrinth crowslabyrinth.tumblr.com twitter.com/crowslabyrinth last.fm/music/Crows+Labyrinth

[crowslabyrinth]

Crows Labyrinth Signs Publishing Deal with MusicDIRECTOR

Today I can announce that Crows Labyrinth has signed a publishing deal with MusicDIRECTOR. MusicDIRECTOR is specialized in delivering music and sound effects for use in commercials, movies and documentaries, for radio and television, and advertising agencies and audio-visual companies. MusicDIRECTOR selects sounds from a diverse catalogue of existing music. You can also have tailor-made music composed. The company works together with a large number of leading composers all over the world. Moreover, MusicDIRECTOR offers ready-made online solutions, making it easier to search for the right music.

I got into contact with the people at MusicDIRECTOR a few months ago and asked them if they would be interested in adding my ambient tracks to their catalogue. They liked what they heard on my Bandcamp page and I was invited to their offices for a meeting. Fast forward a few months and the contracts were signed!

My ambient tracks are now available in their catalogue and their online music library at their website, and can now be licensed for use in commercials, movies, documentaries and other audio-visual productions.

MusicDIRECTOR website: http://www.musicdirector.nl/gb/home

Crows Labyrinth website: http://crowslabyrinth.com

Crows Labyrinth music: http://crowslabyrinth.bandcamp.com

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According to the new music aggregator website blitzr.com these are my similar artists. Too funny. :-) http://www.blitzr.com/artist/crows-labyrinth

[crowslabyrinth]

Second Ambient Guest Mix Released as Part of Circumambient Series

My second ambient guest mix is now online on Mixcloud!

This time the mix is released by Thomas Mathie, a.k.a. @headphonaught, as part of his Circumambient series. A big "thank you" goes out to Thomas for giving me the opportunity to do a guest mix for his lovely ambient podcast series.

Just as in the first mix I have included tracks of indie ambients that I like very much and I believe deserve more attention. All tracks have been released in the past two years. Artists included in this mix are Misleading Structures, April Larson, Jake Beamish, Saito Koji & Sima Kim, Tim Rowe, Hilyard, Nimon, Microvolt and Above, Convenience Store. And a track by yours truly of course. ;-)

Go check out these artists if you like what you hear and buy/download their music!

Enjoy!

Circumambient 026 (guest mix by crows labyrinth) by Headphonaught on Mixcloud

Full tracklist

00:00 Misleading Structures - Decay of the Ancient Sun

https://misleadingstructures.bandcamp.com/album/constant-liquid-stratus

05:43 April Larson - Children Of Starlight (The Grey Elves Of Beleriand) http://aprillarson.bandcamp.com/album/a-light-that-illuminates-nothing

09:47 Crows Labyrinth - Heliograph http://crowslabyrinth.bandcamp.com/album/travels

16:02 Jake Beamish - Lament https://jakebeamish.bandcamp.com/album/the-space-ep

20:20 Saito Koji & Sima Kim - on the sea (excerpt) https://simakim.bandcamp.com/album/on-the-sea

26:07 Tim Rowe - Goede Buren (Good Neighbours) https://soundcloud.com/innervox/goede-buren-good-neighbours

31:15 Hilyard - Flow: Part 2 (excerpt) https://hilyard.bandcamp.com/album/flow

37:42 Nimon - internalising an explosion http://ant-zen.bandcamp.com/album/the-king-is-dead

44:34 Microvolt - Day drift https://microvolt.bandcamp.com/album/peacedrifts

51:01 Above, Convenience Store! - Arvedalki Beaivvada https://sparkwoodrecords.bandcamp.com/album/building-in-search-of-the-sun

[crowslabyrinth]

First Dark Ambient Guest Podcast Is Now Online

Hello my friends! Finally my first guest podcast is online!

I was asked by the owner of the Niteshade Inc website to create a mix of dark and experimental ambient music. The result can be listened below and on the Niteshade Inc website.

The mix contains tracks by indie ambient artists that deserve more attention in my humble opinion. You will hear tracks by April Larson, Grey Frequency, Roofhare, Wolfgang Merx, Ian Haygreen, Schemawound, Eigenfrequenz and Aldfrith. And a track by yours truly of course. ;-)

Go check these artists out if you like what you hear and buy/download their music!

Enjoy!

Niteshade Inc Podcast 32 - Crows Labyrinth by Niteshadeinc on Mixcloud

Full tracklist

00:00 April Larson - Morning Mist https://aprillarson.bandcamp.com/album/temp-te

06:34 Chroma Key - Hell Mary http://www.discogs.com/Chroma-Key-Dead-Air-For-Radios/master/206857

10:33 Grey Frequency - When Do We Dream https://greyfrequency.bandcamp.com/album/when-do-we-dream

20:58 Roofhare- No Silver Lining https://soundcloud.com/roofhare/no-silver-lining-extrospection-may-2014

26:49 Crows Labyrinth - Influx http://crowslabyrinth.bandcamp.com/album/travels

35:18 Wolfgang Merx - Drone State https://wolfgangmerx.bandcamp.com/album/security

40:11 Ian Haygreen - Lone Voice in the Night https://ianhaygreen.bandcamp.com/album/shadows-in-the-dark

43:38 Schemawound - Poisoned By The Sun http://music.schemawound.com/album/i-meant-to-break-your-will-never-your-heart

51:55 Eigenfrequenz - Frequenz 12: Delayed Reaction http://eigenfrequenz.bandcamp.com/track/frequenz-12-delayed-reaction

1:00:05 Aldfrith - High-Dimensional Quasi-Random Induction https://aldfrith.bandcamp.com/album/combinatorial-explosion-may-result-in-the-curse-of-dimensionality

[crowslabyrinth]

50 posts!

[crowslabyrinth]

My track "Heliograph" has been added to the playlist of ambient Internet radio station Ambientesque Radio. This radio station features mostly beatless drone, psybient, space and classic ambient soundscapes. A wonderful radio stream to relax to.

Listen online here: http://www.ambientesque.com/

Or via iTunes by picking up this file: http://listen.radionomy.com/ambientesque.m3u

"Heliograph" is the closing track on the "Travels" album.

Listen to the album on Bandcamp here: https://crowslabyrinth.bandcamp.com/album/travels

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Zach Shildwachter Releases New Horror Short Film, "SCUM", Featuring Two Tracks From "Travels"

Director Zach Shildwachter shot a new horror short film titled "SCUM" and released it on Vimeo. The soundtrack of "SCUM" features two tracks from my ambient album "Travels": "Frontier" and "Stratagem". WARNING: the video is definitely NSFW with graphic violence, explicit language, drug use, and sexual situations. Synopsis: Exploring the horrifying capabilities of a man pushed too far and comprised of dialogue solely from interview quotes from actual serial killers, SCUM brutally exposes how close we all are from becoming monsters in the blink of an eye. Watch "SCUM" below, or watch it in HD here: http://vimeo.com/97877182

You may remember that Zach Shildwachter did a short movie last year too featuring my music. In case you missed that, you can read up on that and watch the movie on my Tumblr: http://crowslabyrinth.tumblr.com/post/53959865857/horror-short-film-thrill-kill-features-two-tracks

If you are interested in hearing the tracks and the rest of the "Travels" album, then check out my Bandcamp page at: http://crowslabyrinth.bandcamp.com

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Andrew Lloyd, blogger and electronica artist who creates music as Geeky Disco, wrote a beautiful review of my ambient album “Travels”. It’s wonderful when people like your music so much and write it down like this!

[crowslabyrinth]

Giving Away 50 Digital Downloads of "Travels" to Bandcamp Fans

I am a fan of Bandcamp. Not only as an artist but also as a listener. I love discovering new music on the platform, preferably (but not only) ambient music.

One of the cool things about Bandcamp is that you can show off your collection on your Bandcamp Fan profile page, view and follow other fan's collections and explore and discover new music by using the music feed, showing what other fans you follow recently bought. Click here to learn more about these and other awesome Bandcamp Fan features.

To express my love as a Bandcamp artist and fan, I have decided to give away 50 digital downloads of my debut album "Travels" to other Bandcamp Fans. All you have to do is follow these steps:

Step 1) Go to the album page of "Travels" and put it on your Wishlist.

Step 2) Show me your Bandcamp Wishlist to get a download code.

If you are on Twitter: follow me on Twitter and send me the link to your Bandcamp Fan profile page. (If you don't follow me, I cannot send you a download code.)

If you are on Facebook: paste the link to your Bandcamp Fan profile page as a reply to this post. I will send you the download code in a private message on Facebook.

First come, first served!

[crowslabyrinth]

This one nearly slipped my mind!

Thomas Mathie -- ambient music enthusiast and founder of netlabel We Are All Ghosts -- compiled and released his latest podcast titled "Circumambient 007" on January 8th. This edition features the latest collaboration track "We Are All Spacedust Anyway" that I recorded with English ambient artist Microvolt.

You can listen and download the podcast for free here: http://www.circumambient.co.uk/2014/01/circumambient-007.html

If you like the new track, please take a minute to like and share the track on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/crowslabyrinth/crows-labyrinth-microvolt-we

Listen and buy Crows Labyrinth's debut album at: http://crowslabyrinth.bandcamp.com/album/travels

Listen and buy Microvolt's music at: http://microvolt.bandcamp.com/

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The new track that Microvolt and Crows Labyrinth recorded is now up on Soundcloud. https://soundcloud.com/crowslabyrinth/crows-labyrinth-microvolt-we

See this news post on this Tumblr for more information: http://crowslabyrinth.tumblr.com/post/71901206844/crows-labyrinth-and-microvolt-release-collaboration

Like it and share it, folks! ;)

[crowslabyrinth]

Crows Labyrinth and Microvolt Release Collaboration Track on New Ambient Compilation Album

We Are All Ghosts -- a small non-commercial netlabel based in Motherwell, Scotland -- released its end-of-year compilation album titled "...ending the year on a high 2013" on New Year's Day. The compilation album features a collaboration track that Crows Labyrinth worked on late last year with English ambient artist Microvolt.

Download the compilation album for free on Bandcamp: http://weareallghosts.bandcamp.com/album/ending-the-year-on-a-high-2013-waag-com002

The new track is called "We Are All Spacedust Anyway" and was recorded together with fellow ambient artist Microvolt from England. Microvolt provided the ambient landscape and gave Crows Labyrinth an excellent opportunity to deliver improvised fretless bass that matches the soundscape. The end result sounds very organic where the whole is definitely greater than the sum of its parts.

Crows Labyrinth on the new track: "I loved working on this collaboration track very much and keep my options open to work with Microvolt again in the future."

Check out Microvolt's beautiful ambient releases on Bandcamp: http://microvolt.bandcamp.com/

His albums "Peacedrifts" and "Dissipate" are among Crows Labyrinth's personal favorites and were among his favorite releases of the year 2013.

Here are some more details about this end-of-year compilation album.

Thomas Mathie, founder of We Are All Ghosts:

" When I put out the call for submissions for the end-of-year compilation, I never thought I would receive what I did: tracks from artists like Cousin Silas, Scott Lawlor, and Kevin Lyons - the very backbone of weareallghosts; new creations from Jack Hertz, and Mystified - pillars of the Ambient music community; an inspired remix from Wolfgang Merx of a decidedly creepy yet fun track from Infinite Decay; an equally inspired collaboration between Crows Labyrinth & Microvolt; a new track from Apta alongside new music from Ade Hodges - both rising stars in their own ways; and last but not least a contribution from Row Boat, an artist whose post-rock soundscapes have captivated my ears in 2013;

I could not have asked for more.

... Here's to 2014. Here's to the music. "

Read the full liner notes of the album page on Bandcamp: http://weareallghosts.bandcamp.com/album/ending-the-year-on-a-high-2013-waag-com002

Visit Crows Labyrinth's official website and Bandcamp page for more information on his own music and other collaborations.