3 New Things for January 2024

A new album, a podcast appearance, and some 2024 plans

Readers of Sound Methods, I’d like to sincerely thank you for the amazing support shown in 2023. I started this newsletter as a way to offer context, background, and a detailed written connection to the sounds I share on other platforms like Bandcamp and YouTube, and I couldn’t be happier with its reception so far. I intentionally started it from scratch without bulk additions of all the emails I’ve collected from other places, and I’m so glad it’s grown organically into what it is right now. Thank you, once again, for being here! If you feel so inclined, I’d be deeply appreciative if you shared it with others that may be interested in this kind of writing and show-and-tell.

After a bit of a pause here in recent months mostly due to parenthood, I plan to be much more active on YouTube and with studio diary write ups in the months ahead. New music provides a great basis to work from, so stay tuned for a lot more activity here in the new year. Thanks for sticking with me so far despite some recent slowdown!

In the meantime, and in the spirit of all the opportunity a new year brings us, I thought I’d spend some time shedding light on new projects I’m working on: some recently finished, and some soon to be shared.

A new album:

On January 30, I’ll have a new album out called “Where Substance Meets Emptiness.” It’s been in the works for nearly a year and I’m proud of it for a variety of reasons, but I think more than anything, it represents a pretty major shift in technique and style - by my standards, at least. There is a far greater emphasis on rhythmic and percussive elements than anything else I’ve done to date, and although this won’t show up in any tangible or measurable way to anybody but myself, I think I’ve challenged myself and learned more from making it than anything else I’ve released to date.

Paid subscribers have already heard some pre-mastered sneak peeks of this album in a past post, but it’s now been mastered by

taylor deupree

and sounds better than I could’ve hoped. It’s now ready for prime time on cassette, CD, and digital formats, and will be released by an amazing label based in Las Vegas called Mystery Circles.

Here’s the press release and album art to whet your appetite:

Andrew Tasselmyer is a musician from Baltimore, MD currently living in Philadelphia, PA. He utilizes samplers, field recordings, and lo-fi recording techniques to make textured and tactile sounds.

In addition to his solo catalog on labels such as Laaps, Seil Records, Eilean Recs, Constellation Tatsu, Home Normal, and more, he is a member of Hotel Neon, Gray Acres, and Mordançage.

“Beyond the edge of the world there’s a space where emptiness and substance neatly overlap, where past and future form a continuous, endless loop. And, hovering about, there are signs no one has ever read, chords no one has ever heard.” - Haruki Murakami (Kafka on the Shore)

Inspired by Murakami's ability to transform mundane moments into surreal, almost mystical plot lines, prolific Philadelphia musician Andrew Tasselmyer negotiates the space between what is-- and what could be. This is the heart and core of Where Substance Meets Emptiness. Here, sounds creep to the edge and onto a blank canvas, warping them into otherworldly forms. 

Simple drum patterns are blurred and sliced; synthesizers are time-stretched and filtered; field recordings and samples are crushed, destroyed, and made new into textures that couldn't exist in the real world. Combining these disparate elements and exploring their potential is what propels Tasselmyer into new experimental territories and workflows.

Whereas his earliest recordings were often diaristic efforts to "capture the moment" by centering unaltered field recordings taken during his travels, this album is an attempt to imagine the unseen and write new stories. For this project, Tasselmyer tasked his friends with collecting sounds unrecognizable in their context and without any personal attachments. Unseen settings and new stories emerge from the unfamiliar, and much like Kafka wandering into the dense forests of Kochi, eloquently described by Murakami in Kafka on the Shore, a deep sense of adventure and exploration are felt throughout the architecture of the album.

Using familiar tools (hardware samplers and software synthesizers) in new ways, placing heavy emphasis on rhythm and percussion, Tasselmyer works to propel the pieces forward into new territories beyond their typical ambient comfort zones. Here, ordinary methods and immediate results are ditched along with their traditional maps in order to reach uncharted places of the imagination.

Music by Andrew Tasselmyer

Mastered by Taylor Deupree

Cover photo by Michael Tasselmyer

Field recordings in track 1 by Steven Kemner in Norfolk, VA

Field recordings in track 4 by Dave Mantel in Albuquerque, NM

Field recordings in track 6 by Andrew Tasselmyer in unknown location

Field recordings in track 8 by Sean Galloway in Connemara, Ireland

A new podcast interview:

Shortly before Christmas, I had the opportunity to sit down with Brady Kendall of Alaskan Tapes for an interview on his podcast, “We All Speak in Poems.” I’ve been a fan of his music for years now, so it was a real pleasure to finally sit down and chat with him. The conversation touches on a variety of topics, including my collaborative work, musical background, thoughts on the current environment for music distribution, and the value of labels in a world of decentralized music-making and consumption.

You can listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or whatever other app(s) you prefer. Here’s a link to the show with a few embeds below.

Other new things on the horizon

• In addition to the one mentioned above, I have 2 additional in-flight albums that should see release in 2024 through labels I love. It’s too early to share anything concrete yet, but rest assured that I’ll be detailing some of that here in due time.

• 2024 will see the return of one of my side projects, Gray Acres, with new music and (hopefully) some performances. For the uninitiated, this is a duo with my twin brother Mike. We’ve released 3 albums to date through Sound in Silence, Whitelabrecs, and Archives, and you can hear them all on streaming services and our Bandcamp page.

• Finally, I’m also looking forward to reviving my Bandcamp subscription, as well. Expect a flow of monthly EPs/exclusives similar to the first half of 2023.

Thanks again for your support. I’m looking forward to all that this year has in store!