By now if you’ve been a semi-regular reader here then chances are you’ve heard of SFI Recordings. If you’re not a regular reader and stumbled by because you searched “anxiety”, “Midwest”, “sad, middle-aged guy”, or “heavy synth”, then welcome! Glad you stumbled upon my little spot along the information super highway. Regardless if you’re a regular or not, getting to know Seattle’s preeminent vibe-heavy record label is a must.
Quick recap: SFI Recordings started out as a spot for Andrew Crawshaw to release music for his various musical endeavors, such as SOMAFREE INSTITUTE, Meridian Arc, and New Frontiers. But the idea and label expanded from there. He reissued classic cassette-only releases from Steve Moore and Majeure, new releases from artists as diverse as Deathcount In Silicon Valley, Justin Sweatt, Paul Riedl, Old Dark House, Blutbraüer, Neil Lord, Phaseshifter, Timothy Fife, and many, many more. Plus new albums from Michael C Sharp, Jake Schrock, Marco Egeberg, Zombi, Justin Sweatt and Hunter Complex are on the horizon.
I’ve interviewed many of the artists on SFI’s roster, as well as Andrew himself about the label, his musical background, and his work behind the scenes. You can find them all with a little rummaging around the search function. Today I just wanted to share a few tracks from the SFI roster as a little cosmic sampler platter. A taste of what SFI Recording and Andrew Crawshaw are offering up, because in my opinion SFI is one of the most-forward thinking labels “in the game”, as the kids say.
I feel a truly great record label establishes an aesthetic early on. When a new release is dropping you know it’s going to be your bread and butter, because the label caters to a vibe, feel, and mood. Each artist is truly individual and has their own musical “trip”, yet all the music somehow locks in with each other and SFI is the sonic glue that brings them together. Some of my favorite record labels are spots like El Paraiso Records, Azure Vista Records, Past Inside The Present, zake drone recordings, Moon Glyph, and Holodeck(though I’m not sure what’s happening there anymore.) Each of these labels opened doors to their clubs and let me in and enjoy their sonic delights. Whenever they release something it’s always exciting for me, as I know it’s going to be good fucking great.
SFI Recordings is at the top of that list.
So go grab a cup of coffee and let’s take a ride, shall we? Below I talk about 14 different tracks from 14 different SFI Recordings releases. Go explore, then afterwards feel free to hit up SFI at their Bandcamp page and check out the roster even further. Heavy synth, ambient, drone, Gothic, imagined soundtrack,…pick your sonic flavor.
Neil Lord : “For Violet Sage(Preface)”
“For Violet Sage(Preface)” opens the album, a slow build of wavering electronics and vast sonic space. Lord knows his way around all kind of instruments, and he uses those skills beautifully here by setting the tone of the trip we’re about to take. Simple, yet evocative.”
Paul Riedl : “Saudade(Journey To Peace)”
“The final track is the nearly 15-minute “Saudade(Journey to Peace)”, a meditation on longing and melancholy through buzzing lights and circuital discovery. Drones and distant melodies make their way through the haze of electronics, building to a subtle, wavering end.”
SOMAFREE INSTITUTE : “Beta Testing Program”
“‘Beta Testing Program’ goes for an almost rock strut as Crawshaw and Kleine build this layer of chromed-out synth sheen while Tim Call sets a solid percussive foundation. I get Zombi Escape Velocity vibes here.”
Mnemonic Pulse : “Truth Sayer“
“‘Truth Sayer’ is contemplative and ominous at the same time. Light notes waver in the air as a kind of darkness begins to encapsulate everything. The cosmos devouring itself in a galactic display of self destruction.”
Delta IV : “Giants Walk Here”
“The wobbly, dreamy aspect of this amazing track pulls you into The Electron Coast‘s steely rock-meets-electronic world. From the big drum sound to the ethereal synths to the melancholy/mechanic feel, Delta IV’s “Giants Walk Here” makes big strides with subtle touches.
Phaseshifter : “An Island In The Sea of Time”
“An Island In The Sea Of Time” is side B’s heady trip, and what a trip it is. 20 minutes of pure sonic bliss; exaltations from the cosmos, reaching down into oneself and finding that hidden light under the darkness. “There’s a feeling of going full circle here, where we started in the blackness of space we’ve now entered a kind of contentment in the void. Succumbing to what we can’t control and embracing what we can, which sounds like enlightenment to me.”
Deathcount In Silicon Valley : “Descending Upon The Abyssal Zone”
“The epic “Descending Upon The Abyssal Zone” closes out the journey Deathcount In Silicon Valley has taken us on. Over 13-minutes of cascading synths and crystalline light that sets us in a cloud of circuital bliss.”
Timothy Fife : “The Things That You’ve Done”
Swirls of ambient texture and cosmic blasts of synthetic light come through in Tim Fife’s eclectic and alien track “The Things That You’ve Done”. Touches of 80s Schulze pepper this amazing track and turn it into something both organically rich and dreamily ethereal.
Corey J Brewer : “Dune Buggy”
Take a Gothic ride on the most haunted beach in the US with Corey J Brewer’s “Dune Buggy”. A driving, motorik beat keeps us grooving along as an ominous synth line lays out a journey into darkness. The eerie heartbeat that keeps the album on a course of full moon madness.
Old Dark House : “Through The Trees”
Corey J Brewer and Andrew Crawshaw’s Gothic project Old Dark House sets out to give us a cross between Bauhaus, Depeche Mode, and Panic Priest with just a touch of Hammer Horror films spirit. “Through The Trees” seethes and wheezes late night vibes, complete with flickering candelabras, long shadows, and with an Absinthe chaser.
MCS : “Love Overwhelming”
Michael C Sharp delivers his SFI debut with Late Horizon. “Love Overwhelming” opens on a wavering, rich synth and crystalline guitar, building into a gorgeous Komische song that covers everything from Ash Ra Tempel to Michael Rother and back again. MCS delivers the vibes, and then some.
Blutbraüer : “Wolfsangriff”
What can I say? This insane “lost” soundtrack to a movie Andy Warhol probably had nothing to do with is the Giallo score for a non-existent Giallo you didn’t know you needed. You can drop the needle on any of these cuts and get the vibe immediately, but “Wolfsangriff” is a great primer for what you’ll get lost in here. Think Frizzi, think Goblin, and then throw in some of Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad’s Luke Cage score for good measure. Add some nudity and gore and you’re off.
Meridian Arc : “Vast Unknown(Departure)”
The heady sounds of Andrew Crawshaw’s Meridian Arc project swell with heady synths and heady intentions. On 2020’s Vast Unknown he centered the two-track album around heavy synth structures, letting a Eurorack Modular System and Moog Matriarch do the talking. Opening track “Vast Unknown(Departure)” sways in Vangelis vibes with bits of “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” peppered throughout. But this cosmic blast of 70s-inspired synth music is a must for the space traveler.
New Frontiers : “Celestial Bodies”
Andrew Crawshaw and Justin Kleine’s ode to New Age nihilism and 70s/80s Private Press releases is the acid-tinged musical drop into ambient music you need in your life. “Celestial Bodies” floats along on good vibe intentions with just a hint of spiritual self indulgence. Hazy synths and celestial good tidings are abound. They await your arrival.
Discover more from Complex Distractions
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
