Oxtail Recordings

TODAZE THE DAY

Come thru to to celebrate 10 years of ambient noise and broken songs with an incredible lineup of Oxtail friends and fam. See you in the basement 🔊✨

4:00 Doors
4:30 Mike Nigro
5:15 Banana
6:00 JWPaton
6:45 Zoltan Fecso
7:45 The Mocassin Band

This Sunday: Oxtail Recordings celebrates 10 years of ambient noise and broken songs with a showcase of label artists and DIY legends at our favorite Inner West noise bunker, .

Featuring:

Zoltan Fecso
Oxtail is thrilled to welcome back to Eora after his excellent “Other Air” launch performances here last year. A modern master of mediums and methods: expect anything from modular synthesis to guitar and piano to processed field recordings. Always thoughtful, curious and compelling.

The Mocassin Band
After releasing “Full Stop” on Oxtail earlier this year, set fire to his legendary Low Flung moniker and has re-emerged as Mocassin, presented here in collaborative form. Come watch the multi-headed phoenix rise.

JWPaton
Ancient futurism from one of NSW’s heaviest sonic wranglers . An expertly guided tour through the conceptual ouroboroi of nature and technology, rural and urban, past and present.

Banana
and join forces as the alchemical sound duo Banana. Conjuring field recordings, contact mics, and tape loops into a haze of sound-things with a smile and a wink.

Mike Nigro
Kosmische-inflected tones and zones from Oxtail Recordings head , drawing inspiration from the minimalists, early synthesizer pioneers, and contemporary experimental underground. Analog worship for the digital age.

Sunday, August 11
4-9 PM
The Petersham Bowling Club
$20

1. Today is the 10th birthday of Oxtail Recordings, which has me thinking about the early days. I started the label in 2014 not long after moving to NYC from Delaware, and I was living with my friend who was crucial to getting the label off the ground. We were both high on the big city life and getting sucked into the new-to-us world of experimental and ambient music. We spent countless hours in the (windowless) living room of our apartment listening to records and tapes, trying to understand the transmissions and the people that were sending them.

2, 3, 4. Owen put together the original Oxtail logo based on my sketches and designed the first few batches of tapes. He taught me how to lay out artwork for printing and how to cut and score j-cards. The label might not have ever happened if it wasn’t for his friendship and support.

5, 6. Initially I assembled everything by hand and dubbed tapes on a daisy-chained stack of used cassette decks that all ran at different speeds which drove me insane.

7, 8, 9. I launched the label in coordination with the Mope Lounge tour I did with , and we recorded material for the third Oxtail release on that tour. Mope Lounge was self-releasing tapes and booking our own shows and I think that experience made me realize that I could, and should, start a project to turn the one-offs into a body of work.

10. The first Oxtail release was my just-moved-to-NYC meltdown tape Meeker, the name of the street (Interstate highway off-ramp, more accurately) directly outside my bedroom window, whose sounds are brick-walled into the recording, and whose soot settled into a gritty black layer on everything I owned until I learned to keep my windows closed.

11. So it makes some kind of weird full-circle sense that I release my latest album, Leaving/Returning, on the label’s 10th anniversary. This one trades the hyper-local concerns of Meeker for a much more expansive view, both sonically and conceptually. These days I live in Sydney, and much of the album was recorded during, and inspired by, long-haul air travel and the associated headspaces. “Oxtail Worldwide,” I suppose you could say.

Out Now: Mike Nigro - Leaving/Returning 🔁

Oxtail Recordings head Mike Nigro celebrates the label's 10th birthday with the release of his latest album: Leaving/Returning is a soundtrack to going somewhere but being nowhere: continuous music inspired by the frictionless spaces of airport lounges, hotel lobbies and public transit.

Composed on airplanes, in airports, and at home in between flights during a period of extensive international travel, it’s the sound of staring out the window, drifting off, snapping back, and asking yourself “how did I get here?”

It’s also a piece that evokes having your mind in two places at once, never knowing if you’re coming or going; circular, repetitive, chiastic music that expresses the longing to return when you can never go home, in both form and feeling.

As always, stream and grip cassettes on Bandcamp.

Design and layout by Josh Paton
Mastered by OVRSCN

.randall is an incredibly thoughtful and articulate artist, which is made clear in her latest interview with 15 Questions. But these quotes specifically made me laugh (and think) so hard that I had to go ahead and post just the hot takes.

Incredible review of .randall’s “Her Water Dream/Image of a Blue Thumbs-Up” now up on !

“by savoring that very ambiguity between mind trip and meaning, Ariadne Randall’s courageous release shares intimate insights into her personal processes of transition and empowerment; their epiphenomena and uncertainties, including the invitation to decode all manner of preconceptions – also in contemporary composition.”

Announcing: Mike Nigro - Leaving/Returning 🔁
Available July 19

Leaving/Returning is a soundtrack to going somewhere but being nowhere: continuous music inspired by the frictionless spaces of airport lounges, hotel lobbies and public transit.

Composed on airplanes, in airports, and at home in between flights during a period of extensive international travel, it’s the sound of staring out the window, drifting off, snapping back, and asking yourself “how did I get here?”

It’s also a piece that evokes having your mind in two places at once, never knowing if you’re coming or going: circular, repetitive, chiastic music that expresses the longing to return when you can never go home, in both form and feeling.

Featuring design and layout by the legend Josh Paton.

Ariadne Randall gets an A from SPIN, along with some heavy experimental music name-checks!

"Transfixing and beautiful, portraying not a struggle but an arrival"

Ariadne Randall’s Drones and Dreams - SPIN Multimedia artist Ariadne Randall finds epiphanies on 'Her Water Dream/Image of a Blue Thumbs-Up.'

"Since 2014" t-shirt now available for preorder. Super soft white t-shirts with Oxtail logo chest print and upper-back detail paying homage to a decade of ambient noise and broken songs.

Preorders close this Saturday Sept. 15, shipping in early July.

Stylish embroidered Oxtail Recordings hats now available for preorder! Stay sun safe and let everyone in town know you’re a real “head" at the same time.

Preorders close this Saturday Sept. 15, shipping in early July.

Out Now: Ariadne Randall - Her Water Dream / Image of a Blue Thumbs-Up

Today we celebrate the release of one of the most ambitious projects in Oxtail history: Ariadne Randall's double EP Her Water Dream / Image of a Blue Thumbs-Up. The first release under her chosen name, Her Water Dream / Image of a Blue Thumbs-Up is an extensive, captivating collection that explores the tension inherent in being the q***r child of "a traveling apocalyptic evangelist and a Gospel singer who roamed America’s Bible Belt" via improvisations on voice, modular synthesizer, and laptop. The double EP (a term which might downplay that it contains over an hour of music) is available on cassette and digitally now.

At long last, the very first batch of Oxtail Recordings merch has arrived, just in time to celebrate our 10th anniversary!

Soft white t-shirts with Oxtail logo chest print and upper-back detail paying homage to a decade of ambient noise and broken songs.

Stylish embroidered caps to let everyone in town know you’re a real “head.”

And of course you there’s a sweet sweet bundle deal so you can rock the whole set.

Logo design by the legend Joe Bastardo.

Preorders are open until June 15th, with shipping expected in early July.

https://oxtailrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/oxtail-merch

Announcing: Ariadne Randall - Her Water Dream / Image of a Blue Thumbs-Up 👾
Available May 31

The first release under her chosen name, Her Water Dream / Image of a Blue Thumbs-Up is an extensive, captivating collection that explores the tension inherent in being the q***r child of “a traveling apocalyptic evangelist and a Gospel singer who roamed America’s Bible Belt” via improvisations on modular synthesizer, laptop, and voice. The double EP is available on cassette (with extensive technical notes, conceptual background, and lyrics on a massive 9-panel fold-out j-card) and digital May 31 and is available for preorder now.

https://oxtailrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/her-water-dream-image-of-a-blue-thumbs-up

Listen to “[h2.1] her water dream” and preorder on Bandcamp.

Out Now: Rhucle - Place 🏙️

Today we're stoked to release the latest from our old friend and labelmate, legendary Japanese ambient producer Rhucle. Place is yet another masterful entry into Rhucle's catalog, which sees him continuing to distill his already minimalist palette of field recordings, piano, and synthesizer into a singular, refined sound. All roads lead to here; this must be the place.

The album is available digitally and on limited edition cassette with incredible art by Jo Jarosinksa.

As always, you can stream Place or grip a copy on cassette or digital on Bandcamp.

https://rhucle.bandcamp.com/album/place

Announcing: Rhucle - Place 🏙️
Available April 26

"Place is a different album from other albums.
Oxtail and my relationship started in 2015. Four albums have been released from Oxtail so far. I think that listeners can understand the evolution of my sounds via those albums. Oxtail has supported my activities for so many years, I appreciate Mike Nigro.

"I made those tracks in Summer to Winter 2023.
My equipment is getting simpler year after year. The sound of the tracks was made by some software synthesizers, samples and nature sounds recorded by myself.
My interest is what I make rather than what I use. I focus on how to make limited material and sounds.

"Anyway, I focused on making listeners feel relaxed.
I hope that listeners feel like this music is their place."

- Rhucle

Listen to "Slow Wave" and preorder on Bandcamp:
https://oxtailrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/place
Art & design by Jo Jarosinska

Low Flung - Full Stop 🌱 Out Now!

Low Flung's Danny Wild is an absolute force in the Australian DIY scene and we're so stoked to share his latest release with the world. Picking up where The Wheel (on his own Snail Editions) and Microscope Impressions ( ) left off, here we see Wild give in completely to his love of texture and detail, zoning in/out so deeply on the fraying edges of sound.

Danny's own thoughtful & articulate words on the album are below - a must-read for anyone interested in the state of progressive music and its place in our current culture.

To celebrate the release, we're hosting a special outdoor concert Saturday in Warren Park, Marrickville, NSW - please join us for tunes and hangs if you can.

--

"As time moves forward, my relationship with sound and creating music has become more complex. I often see my music as unnecessary in what is becoming an unavoidably intense world. Other issues demand immediate attention. Family and community care, fighting the injustice of the oppressed, deadly climate disasters and the cost of living as just a few examples. But as my priority turns to address these things I have become aware of the importance of rest and reflection. Both are essential in making actions sustainable and productive. I’d like to think that this album exists to encourage this rest. The last album I made, ‘The Wheel,’ and now ‘Full Stop’ might be misread as ‘Ambient music’. A type of music originally created to pacify shopping mall visitors into a world of comfort as you spend your money. But rather than escape to a world based in idealism, I like to think the songs presented are far more rooted in the in-escapable noise of the world. The feeling of sitting with thoughts and ideas that might not necessarily be enjoyable. A process that I think is important in that it builds strength and is restorative."

- Danny Wild, Low Flung

Video for Low Flung's "Understanding" premiered today on the legendary Foxy Digitalis. Full Stop is out Friday 🌱

Video Premiere: Low Flung “Understanding” Fragmented moments stutter off in all directions, like a period of meditation interrupted by everyday horror and intensity. Looping guitars etch out chord progressions that take root in our minds, …

Super special outdoor show to celebrate the release of “Full Stop” by Low Flung coming up on March 16. No cost, good hangs, excellent music 🌱

Announcing: Low Flung - Full Stop 🌱
Available March 15
Special Sydney Launch Gig March 16 - Details TBD

"As time moves forward, my relationship with sound and creating music has become more complex. I often see my music as unnecessary in what is becoming an unavoidably intense world. Other issues demand immediate attention: family and community care, fighting the injustice of the oppressed, deadly climate disasters and the cost of living as just a few examples. But as my priority turns to address these things, I have become aware of the importance of rest and reflection. Both are essential in making actions sustainable and productive.

"The songs on “Full Stop” are a depiction of what happens when you try to stop and take a breath in contemporary society. Much like the effect of looking out the window of a moving train after it stops. Everything around does not join your pause, it continues to move in a forceful manner. This album is as much a reflection on my inability to stop as it is a reflection on this feeling."

- Danny Wild, Low Flung

Wire Hums by featured in today’s Acid Test alongside some incredible label friends and fam 🙌

Bandcamp Friday is still on the clock for a few more hours - no better time to grab a DL for yourself.

David Bird’s full length Wire Hums is out on Friday, and we’ve just released “Superposition” to get you familiar with his futuristic vision.

Wire Hums embarks on a mission to deconstruct the cello’s familiar and tangible nature, resulting in a fresh repurposing and reimagining of this iconic instrument. Using generative and algorithmic procedures to push a physically modeled cello to its limits, Bird obliterates the lines between real and unreal, physical and digital, order and chaos.

Join the Oxtail Recordings family tomorrow for a late afternoon hang at Prop Records to celebrate an incredible year of releases with Mike Nigro, Zoltan Fecso, and Gentleforce. Zones, drifts, vibes (and tapes) for all 🔊✨🌇

https://www.facebook.com/events/714960739996986

Mike Nigro - Low Light 🎆 Out Now!

"Sometimes a record crystalizes a sensibility rather than forging a new one - it can be difficult from up close to see the evolution of an artist’s work but our luck is that we get to listen. Low Light is Oxtail label head Mike Nigro’s 8th full-length record, and the sonic signatures of Nigro’s practice are all present: rippling arpeggios, cloud-soft chords, self-schooled sound design in the 00s American noise vernacular, and a tonal sensibility indebted to the 70s kosmische canon. Low Light conjures fresh magic from these familiar touchstones; this is the sound of an artist in tune with their materials and purpose. Grounded music; arranged in the stars." - R. Coast

Design & layout by Josh Paton
Mastering by OVRSCN (Holosuite Mastering)
Photo by Marcus Miller
https://oxtailrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/low-light

Stoked to announce an Oxtail family affair - October 28 at Prop Records in Ashfield 🎉

Mike Nigro and Zolan Fecso with the Sydney launch of both of their new albums, plus Gentleforce on the decks with a massive stack of mellow bangers.

Come for the tones, stay for the zones ✨

New logo alert ✨

Huge thank you to Oxtail fam for refreshing our logo and typeface🙏

Announcing: David Bird - Wire Hums 💥🎻
Available November 10

On Wire Hums, NYC & Chicago-based composer David Bird embarks on a mission to deconstruct the cello’s familiar and tangible nature, resulting in a fresh repurposing and reimagining of this iconic instrument. Using generative and algorithmic procedures to push a physically modeled cello to its limits, Bird obliterates the lines between real and unreal, physical and digital, order and chaos.

Bird is a founding member of the New York-based chamber ensemble TAK and collaborates with Qubit New Music, a non-profit group that curates and produces experimental music events in New York City. His previous work has received praise from The Wire (“Intense yet finely detailed”), An Earful (“Inventive, mind-expanding electroacoustic soundscapes”) and Best of Bandcamp (“Bird never settles”).

Listen to "Aetheric Resonance" on Bandcamp now.

Album Art by Arman Chakhalyan
Mastered by Christopher Botta
Artist Photo by Keith Gray