NEW PRE-ORDERS: CURSILLISTAS & TEMPERA; PLUS CURSILLISTAS & WHITE LIGHT TOUR 2009

Hey folks,
Thanks for sticking with us during the silent film era.

Some exciting announcements; first and foremost, a big hullabaloo hootenanny going down tomorrow night at Space Gallery for all you Portland (Maine) folks:

We're converting SPACE into a living room house party for a night; quilts, afghans, pillows, rugs, and tea by lamplight as you enjoy live performances from TEMPERA, WHITE LIGHT, and CURSILLISTAS.

Then, we kick up a dance storm with a performance from AM FRANK (members of VISITATIONS) ... those analog-synth-punk No-Wave party starters with a bagful of dance moves, strobe lights, and a great reverence for Vega/Rev.

And, finally, the return of MOD NIGHT, Ian Paige's 60's soul, garage, and general Nuggets-Stax-Motown throwdown dance party DJ set. We'll wrap things up with a special DJ set from the Joint Chiefs (members of Cursillistas); moving your dance pants into obscuro-70's territory with some hard funk, heavy psych, classic rock, and dub-reggae jams.

Should be a fun trip for all you heads... Doors at 8pm, music starts at 8:30 sharp, with DJ sets starting around 11pm. 18+ and $6 cover!


Of course, I should mention that this is all in celebration of L'animaux Tryst's first three full-length 12"LP vinyl releases and a tour kickoff for Cursillistas and White Light... details on the records a little furthur down; but here's the tour info:



CURSILLISTAS & WHITE LIGHT: TRAVEL LIGHT TOUR 2009
6/12 - Portland, ME @ Space Gallery [w. Tempera & AM Frank]
6/13 - Northampton, MA @ King St. Manor [w. Nathan Blehar (Hobbs)]
6/14 - Montague, MA @ Montague Bookmill [w. MV & EE]
6/15 - Delaware Water Gap, PA @ La Societe Expeditionnaire HQ [w. Lewis & Clarke]
6/16 - Brooklyn, NY @ Monster Island Basement [w. Predator Vision & Sudden Oak]
6/17 - Philadelphia, PA @ The Marvelous
6/18 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Morning Glory Coffeehouse [w. Tom Carter, Steve Gunn, Shawn David McMillen, & Gorman]
6/20 - Bloomington, IN @ The Clinic [w. Elephant Micah & Gorman]
6/21 - Knoxville, TN @ The Birdhouse [w. Gorman]
6/23 - Loudenville, OH @ The Gorge Overlook at Mohican State Park [w. Gorman & Requiltings]
6/25 - Kittery, ME @ Buoy [w. Tempera]
6/27 - New Sweden, ME @ Thomas Park [Arootsakoostik Festival; w. Chriss Sutherland, Dead End Armory, many others]

Added incentive for coming out to these shows: Cursillistas & White Light will have a special, very limited edition [150 copies] tour split 12"LP entitled TRAVEL LIGHT, which will only be available on this tour. (If there are copies left after the tour, some may be made available through L'animaux). Come on out and say hi! We'll also have lots of presents for anyone who provides us with a place to crash (or a yard to pitch a tent in) for a night, or a shower, or a vegan meal, or wireless internet. Road trips.


PRE-ORDERS ON NEW L'ANIMAUX GOODS:

LTFR-1201
CURSILLISTAS' LES BICHES
12"LP & CD

L'animaux Tryst's first-ever release, Cursillistas' Les Biches, sold out over two years ago and has remained out-of-print until this deluxe reissue courtesy of Time-Lag Records and L'animaux Tryst. Each track has been remixed and analog-remastered from the original souce audio, with four previously-unreleased bonus tracks from Les Biches-era recording sessions added on. The songs themselves marked a transitional period for Cursillistas, where early folk influences were beginning to be pushed into the realm of psychedelic improvisations, live looping, and bizarre instrument choices [three of the songs are led by toy xylophone]. While still rooted in acid-folk-pop, the album marked a clear shift to more experimental tendencies and a more "full band" sound. Pressed onto 180-gram heavyweight black vinyl, packaged in a letterpressed three-fold art paper jacket (with hand-sewn button enclosure and vellum insert mounted over a silkscreened design), and including a CD version of the album, this pressing is limited to 300 copies. [CD version is also sold seperately].


http://www.lanimauxtryst.com/cursillistaslesbiches.htm



LTFR-1202
TEMPERA'S TEMPERA
12"LP & CD
When it comes to quality control and prolificacy, one can't imagine a band doing much better on either count than Portland, Maine's own Tempera. Considering the thousands of minutes of original material they've committed to tape, microcassette, and hard-drive over the past four years, it's hard to believe that this is still officially Tempera's debut long-playing album. And befitting the band's thorough self-scrutiny (in itself a rare characteristic amongst experimental improv groups in this era) the music is decidedly top-tier. This self-titled LP contains two side-long, long-form improvisations, with kraut-rock inspired tom-heavy drumming backing ethereal vocals and synth tones and drones; smooth, blissed-out ambient passages building to cymbal crashing climaxes. Here, Tempera's Nicholas Barker and Corinna Marshall are joined by electric pianist/drummer Robert Stillman [of Robert Stillman's Horses] to hit that ecstatic, transcendent zone. Pressed onto crystal clear 12" vinyl (and including a CD version of the album with a bonus track), packaged in a silkscreened art paper "poster-style" fold-over sleeve, and limited to 300 copies.

http://www.lanimauxtryst.com/temperatempera.htm


BOTH TITLES ARE NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER; ALL PRE-ORDERS WILL SHIP OUT ON OR BEFORE JULY 7TH. PLEASE VISIT HTTP://WWW.LANIMAUXTRYST.COM/ORDER.HTM TO PLACE YOUR ORDER.

In other news, you may notice that the website's gotten a bit of a re-vamp.. We're still working on it so please excuse the broken links. Email lanimaux[at]gmail[dot]com with questions...

Also, as mentioned in a previous blog post, the Sequin Trails tape that was sent out with a few of the Summer Haunt subscriptions has been recalled, and will be replaced with an exclusive new Cursillistas cassette entitled "Peace Pipers". 45 minutes of incense-soaked blissed desert wanderings on acoustic guitar, electric slide guitar, baglama [saz], and voice, from the Cursillistas duo that will be bringing you the JOINT CHIEFS LP on Digitalis later this year. Think of "Peace Pipers" as a prequel, or addendum to that LP, with no material repeated. We'll be assembling tapes as soon as we're back from tour, so they'll ship when the new Tempera and Cursillistas LPs & CDs are ready. If you send your copy of "Slumber Beneath The Leaves" back to us, you'll get the Cursillistas cassette sent to you + a shipping credit for whatever it cost to return the tape to us. [Please use the cheapest shipping rate available to you]. Thanks! For now there are no plans to make "Peace Pipers" available to the world at large, so you Tryst Haunt subscribers are getting a real exclusive here. We're only making 75 copies, for the first 75 subscribers to the series.

Speaking of the Tryst Haunt Series, we're having a special sale going on for the next couple weeks: all seasonal sets of three 7" records are available for just $15 + shipping while supplies last... it's a good time to complete the set if you've ordered just one or two seasons so far. The total translates to $18 US [media mail], $21 [US Priority, or Canada], and $24 [Worldwide]. Visit http://www.lanimauxtryst.com/trysthaunt.htm to order.


Other specials going on: Order the Tempera LP + CD and get their split single with Bad Bus from the Tryst Haunt Series for just $4. And for US orders, if you pre-order both the Tempera and Cursillistas LP + CD sets, shipping is FREE via Media Mail. Those specials are at the pre-orders and specials page of the site.

Cursillistas' Maia Maiestas series is now SOLD OUT! Now cross-pollenate those buds, lil' bumblebees... Share share as you'd like. Get in touch if you'd like to make your tape available for all to hear on the L'animaux site.

Coming up soon in '09:
*L'animaux 12" vinyl debuts from CURSILLISTAS (co-released with Time-Lag) and TEMPERA. Look for pre-orders to start in March. Both exquisitely packaged and supremely limited to 300 copies.
*PLANETS AROUND THE SUN, BAD BUS, and ST. MARY'S limited edition CD-Rs.
*SACRED BASIL and CURSILLISTAS tapes.

all sometime between March and June.

SLUMBER BENEATH THE LEAVES cassette has been recalled. Please get in touch at lanimaux@gmail.com with questions and to return the tape for a refund. Thank you.

Summer Tryst Haunt orders have started to ship... starting with earliest subscribers. Everyone who's ordered as of today should receive their records and Tunnels w. Sequin Trails cassette by January 20th.

Still plenty of records available, though the tape is nearly sold out. And there are currently 8 of the Cursillistas Maia Maiestas tapes left... get in touch soon if interested. lanimaux (at) gmail (dot) com.

2008 year-end L'animaux Tryst update: CURSILLISTAS' MAIA MAIESTAS CASSETTE SERIES, THE FINAL HAUNT

First things first:

l-t-(f)-r 018: CURSILLISTAS' Maia Maiestas cassette series
The explanation is fully here, but here's the short-form typed version: once a day for the 31 days of May 2008, Cursillistas sat down before a cassette recorder and improvised a 20-minute performance onto a white c-20 cassette tape. These master tapes were then hand-painted by Dawn Marna, and packaged in or with items found throughout the course of that day. These 31 master tapes are now on sale in the most limited of editions - one of one - each hand painted and packaged uniquely to match the unique performance captured on each tape.
The tapes are not going up auction-style, but because there is only one copy available of each tape it's a strict first-come, first-served deal. Limit is one per customer, so if you're interested in more than one tape, please rank them in the order in which you'd like them - in the event your first choice has already sold, you will receive your #2, and so on. The price is $15 US or $18 Worldwide, postage paid. If we're shipping your tape with your Tryst Haunt 7"s the price is $13.
There are images, explanations, and sound samples (1.5 minutes from each side of each tape) online here - just click on the date to open a page with images and streaming audio. Once you know what tape you want, email lanimaux@gmail.com with your ranked list and we'll give you further instructions.

And other business:
Things didn't go quite as planned, and the FINAL Tryst Haunt 7" set is coming out about six months late. Thanks to all subscribers for your patience... the time has almost come! But, as it gets dangerous to ship stuff around the Winter Solstice holidays, with under three weeks left till 2009 we're gonna put all shipments on hold until January 2nd. Subscribers, your appreciated patience will be rewarded with a free copy of:

*****NOTE: THE "SLUMBER BENEATH THE LEAVES" CASSETTE HAS BEEN RECALLED, AND IS NOT AVAILABLE. APOLOGIES FOR THE WEIRDNESS AND INCONVENIENCE. PLEASE GET IN TOUCH AT LANIMAUX@GMAIL.COM FOR MORE INFO****

and those final Tryst Haunt 7"s for your consideration:

LTH 710: ghq's "requiem for bhopal"
this brooklyn all-star duo of marcia bassett (zaimph, hototogisu, double leopards, zaika) and steve gunn (check the solo digitalis cd sundowner) have been killing it on releases on time-lag, three-lobed, not not fun and others since their debut in 2005. the extended-playing 45 (six minutes on each side) finds ghq hitting that bliss-drift stride, with droned-out atmospheres of guitar layers soothing your headspace into a fully-conscious trance. occasional vocals just barely peak through the blanket, and there's definitely enough noise to remind you this ain't just about good vibes. black 7" vinyl record is held in a black art paper sleeve, with gold-ink offset printing on the back and a paste-on full-color cover. limited edition hand-numbered to 300; embossed for authenticity.




LTH 711: vollmar's "new best friend b/w flood punch & holy blessing"
justin vollmar's recordings often sound wonderfully and pleasantly small-scale; they begin with gentle strums like a feathered wing brushing a rusted-out six-string, soon joined by the fragile voice of a reluctant singer who's got only one person's ear in mind. occasionally calling to mind lo-fi songwriters like oldham and elverum, vollmar's songs are focused on the intimate and intricate, and recently his presentation has become fleshed out with full-band-type arrangements - modest drums, mini-synths and warm electric guitars in service to the songs. this 7" single presents alternate, more pared-down versions of three songs from his upcoming tell the dirt lp. black 7" record held in a tri-fold chipboard sleeve, in-house screenprinted on front and back, with full-color paste-on photo on front and a hand-written note on the third fold. limited edition, hand-numbered to 300, with embossed dust sleeves.

LTH 712: elephant micah's "in midnight b/w ocean floor"
as consistently great a songwriter as we've had this decade, elephant micah's joe o'connell is always affecting and almost unbelievably right-on, with a subtle vocal delivery, modest home-tracked recording fidelity, and slight country-western touches. which is what makes this 7" release so intriguing - this is elephant micah interpreting two songs written by friends of his (time and temperature & microwave background), and they are his most recently-recorded works. as expected, elephant micah truly makes these songs his own through no subtle re-interpretation. synth tones, backwards noise guitar, and even a trumpet solo set these songs apart from both their original versions and elephant micah's past work, and yet joe's voice and vision comes through as accurate as always. befitting the "recycling" theme of the songs, this black 7" record comes packaged in discarded 12" LP sleeves, which have been cut down to 7" jacket size, and then in-house screenprinted over with the release info. limited edition, hand-numbered to 300.


As always, these are available as a three-record set, bound with hemp twine, for $24 US, $28 World. BUT, the good news is that if you've held out on buying the full 12-record subscription until now, the original price included shipping for four separate packages. These twelve records will ship together media mail in the US, so if you're a new subscriber and want all twelve records, you can have 'em for $65 total. Worldwide, it's $85. If you're a US customer and you prefer to have your records go Priority Mail and insured, it'll still be the original $75 for all twelve. Email me if interested - I will put up new Paypal buttons on the site when I have the chance.

A quick update:

*Contrary to the rumours, this site did not live-blog the final US Presidential debate last night. Sorry for the confusion.

*The Summer 2008 Tryst Haunt 7"s are coming along... still. I can at least promise that it won't be Winter yet by the time you subscribers receive them. We're looking at mid-November if all goes well. And to thank you subscribers for your patience, you'll get a secret present with your final shipment.

*The L'animaux Tryst website had a slight update yesterday, with the order and upcoming pages updated to reflect most recent changes. We only have about 5 copies of the "Expanses Growing" cassette from Sloow Tapes left, so order soon if you're interested. Quantities are also very limited for the Bad Bus #2 & 8 (Back Hoe) 3"cdr (co-released with Digitalis in an edition of 75 - we only have 15 copies left). As always, shipping is included in the prices, so you can email me at lanimaux(at)gmail(dot)com if you want to combine shipping on multiple items. That will usually knock a couple bucks off your total.

*Expect the next big update in November, when we will reveal: the final Tryst Haunt 45s (along with that secret bonus release), the Maia Maiestas cassette series from Cursillistas and friends, and pre-order details for our first full-length 12" vinyl and CD releases from Cursillistas and Tempera.

*If you're in the Portland area, come out to some L'animaux shows:

Sunday Oct. 19th -

CURSILLISTAS
Longfellow Kucz (formerly "Garm"; member of Visitations with assistance from Thee Planets' King)
Dead Western (from Cali)
Snowblink (Canada!)

@ Strange Maine, 578 Congress St., Portland, ME
8:00pm, free but $5 suggested donation for travelers, all ages.


Sunday Oct. 26th -

CURSILLISTAS, opening for:
Castanets (awesome) &
Dylan Metrano & Paper Birds (members of Tigersaw & South China/Brown Bird)

@ Meg Perry Center, 644 Congress St., Portland, ME
8:00pm, $6, all ages.

L'animaux Tryst UPDATE, June 2008: BIG BLOOD & VISITATIONS, PRISMA/DRONA PARVA, AND THE NORTH SEA/CORSICAN PAINTBRUSH 7"s IN THE (much-delayed) SPRING 2008 TRYST HAUNT!

"It's been a long time comin'". Illnesses, uprootings, and numerous pressing & production delays have all led to this: a two-months-late Spring installment of the Tryst Haunt Series. Yes, it's now officially Summer. But they're all the better for the extra time spent on them. All the packages are beautiful, and these scans don't nearly do justice to what these things look and feel like in "real" life.


We present:

LTH 707: visitations & big blood's "'lectric 'lashes"
in the true spirit of the occasion, southern maine's outerworldly psych-folk beacons visitations and big blood decide to forgo the concept of the "split" release and instead launch forth into a mindbending collaborative effort. the bands are not new to performing together: they've toured together and have even backed each other up under various names. but this release marks the first physical release by their combined forces, and, unbelievably enough, is big blood's first vinyl release ever. the ease with which the bands complement each other is astounding - five clear voices reaching together to guide the record through a buzz-guitar singalong, a breathless pastoral folk tune, a chugging nightmare rock-dirge, and a sweetly-lighthearted vocal exercise. this 33rpm 7" record contains four tracks in a 14-minute official runtime, but will play forever if you let it. in addition, the record comes with a bonus cd-r of tracks from the late-night jam session that pre-dated the recording sessions for the 7", as well as the four tracks from the 7" itself in digital form. a one-of-a-kind package, with each record sleeve offset printed with the bands' artwork in dark blue ink on colorful, individually hand-painted sheets of heavy art paper. embossed, hand-numbered limited edition of 300 record/cd-r sets.

LTH 708: prisma & drona parva's "best buds" 7"
the two spectral ladies of prisma mark their debut release with this 7" split with drona parva. prisma has been performing the quietest shows in and around portland for a couple years now, mixing softly echoing vocals with flute drones, only the gentlest plucking of various stringed instruments, and the occasional analog noise rumble. their a-side track resonates with beautiful restraint and delicacy; the stunning debut all of us entranced by their live show have hoped for. on the b-side, drona parva--the long-running solo project of time-lag records' nemo bidstrup--turns in a blissed-out muti-tracked free-flowing guitar composition. trance-inducing acoustic plucks and strums eventually give way to shimmering waves of fuzz guitar until the whole thing becomes impossibly beautiful. the minimal packaging for the record complements the gentle touch of the recordings held within: the 45rpm 7" record is a custom, slightly-marbled avocado green color with a yellow-green mandala-design center-label. the record is held in a semi-transparent vellum sleeve that has been hand-punched on the corners, giving a soft mask to the striking colors on the record itself, and hand-numbered to 300.

LTH 709: the north sea's "nikolette (reborn)" b/w corsican paintbrush's "under storm skies"
anyone familiar with the extensive north sea discography is aware of brad rose's keen ability to mix it up between eastern-tinged folk instrumentals and more straightforward strummers, which usually feature rose's classic low-in-the-mix mumble-drunk vocals and charmingly loose playing. "nikolette (reborn)" finds him revising a beautiful, quivering folk song from 2007's baby blue bones cd (mymwly) with the more-confident-than-ever vocals now at the forefront, and an army of acoustic strings and hand percussion backing this boxtop prophet's hymn. corsican paintbrush's contribution follows suit, foregrounding eden hemming rose's soft, lilting vocal melody and some rhythm-keeping strums while keeping a lush, hazy swell of drones and cave-echo vocals as the backdrop. equally ethereal and dusty, like 4AD dream-pop marred by dirt under fingernails and ash from the campfire turning cheeks black. black 7" vinyl record has a hand-stamped center label, and comes packaged in a textured black art paper sleeve with flower petal inclusions, with line-drawings and stamped titles in white ink, and an embossed screenprinted insert featuring liner notes and a topographic street map of tulsa. limited edition hand-numbered to 300.

THE SPRING 2008 TRYST HAUNT (THE ABOVE THREE 7" RECORDS):

USA - $24, SHIPPING INCLUDED

WORLDWIDE - $28, SHIPPING INCLUDED

The first two editions of the Tryst Haunt Series are still available, as are full subscriptions for this year's twelve 7" records (still to come: GHQ, Vollmar, and Elephant Micah in September). Please visit the new "work-in-progress" label website at http://www.lanimauxtryst.com/order.htm for more information and to order.

Finally, it pains me to announce this, but the Tryst Haunt Series will go on indefinite hiatus after the Summer 2008 installment. There are many reasons for this, not the least of which being that I've gotten the itch to start focusing on album-length vinyl releases for our artists. Please feel free to email me at lanimaux (at ) gmail (dot) com with any questions and I'll try to clarify.