2020 in Review // Label Mix by Atlantic Rhythms
2020 in Review // Label Mix by Atlantic Rhythms

2020 in Review // Label Mix by Atlantic Rhythms

Atlantic Rhythms Record Label Logo

Four years ago, Sean Peoples put his record label, Sockets Records, to rest. At the time, he told City Paper that “making a record label sustainable (not necessarily profitable) is expensive. And, at this point, sustainability requires the kind of resources that neither Sockets, nor the bands currently have banked.”

But now, Peoples is back with a brand new label, and a renewed sense of vigor for putting out music. Socket Records is dead, long live Atlantic Rhythms.

After Sockets ended, Peoples moved back home to New Jersey for personal reasons, and during that time thought a lot about how to put out new music, without getting into a lot of the financial burden he had with Sockets. “I’ve been thinking about doing another label for a while, one that was much more streamlined and narrowed in focus,” he tells City Paper. – Washington City Paper


Nearly an hour’s worth of warmth from the Atlantic Rhythms catalog. This mix includes a selection of previously unreleased tracks along with songs that span the lifetime of the label. Expect leftfield electronic explorations from Cofaxx, Amy Reid, Jackson Ryland, and George Cory Todd; neo-classical compositions from Evan Zierk, Gus Callahan, HALCYON, Zekarias Thompson, and Landon Caldwell; as well as meditative deepness from Nakata, Dura, Susan Alcorn, Janel Leppin, and Six Six.

Tracklist

Gus Callahan – Endless Pattern (ft. Carolyn Hietter)

From REMOTE RHYTHMS Benefit Compilation

See also – Chris Kissel — Contact Wave w/guest Atlantic Rhythms


Zekarias Thompson – Signs of Reasonable Decay (Snippet)


Amy Reid – Water Talks

Composed when Amy Reid was living on the island of Monhegan off the coast of Maine, the 19 minutes of Isolated Bliss are a bittersweet ode to the futility of escape. With time, the spotless simplicity of an elsewhere – the bright sun, the glittering water – start to accrue the complexities of yet another here. Idyllic locations lose their novelty as the days churn by, eventually becoming the next refuge for familiar sensations of introspective restlessness. Stay still for long enough and home will always settle back into the bones. – ATTN  Magazine


Jackson Ryland – Carefree

Jackson Ryland is an electronic producer based in DC whose work explores the different shades of club music. A member of Superabundance and Rush Plus, Ryland is no rookie. His exhaustive knowledge of house and techno pushes him to tinker with the genre and explore its limits, which is exactly the point of his new record A Million Questions, of which he highlights its “pathfinding quality”. It’s so far so good based on what we’ve heard. – highclouds


HALCYON – A Bottom So Lovely (Remix of George Cory Todd)


Dura – Mercury (Octaves and Grains)

Mercury finds Dura (Mattson Ogg) continuing their exploration of interior and exterior spaces. Even as we try to orient ourselves, navigate or slow down, everything continues to move and cycle around us. With Mercury, Dura interprets our spatial structures through a prism of acoustic processes and performer interactions. The results form lightly distracted and oblique inner monologues rendered via guitar and delay into colorful voids across two tape sides.


Six Six – Before (Snippet)

Luke Stewart is one busy musician.

The multi-instrumentalist splits his time between a dizzying number of bands. So many, in fact, that trying to keep up with them all would prove challenging for even the most ardent Discogs contributor. – We Fought the Big One

One of the younger modern guitar maestros, Anthony Pirog knows nothing of stylistic limitations—his music is beyond category, embracing not only jazz, but avant-garde and indie rock, free improvisation, electronic sound, and ambient soundscapes.

Pirog has himself established with his work as one-half of the duo Janel & Anthony, the electric jazz improvisational Five Times Surprise, the classic DC-scene twang inspired Music From The Anacostia Delta, and the exciting trio Messthetics, with Brendan Canty and Joe Lally, the rhythmic section from Fugazi. – Guitar Moderne


Cofaxx – Avis

Spanning the worlds of house, ambient, downtempo and spaced out hip hop, Cofaxx is an alias I have been releasing music through since 2016. With two vinyl releases and various singles/EPs, this is my outlet for musical freedom and experimentation.


Landon Caldwell – Unity II

Utilizing modality and intuition, Caldwell delivers something mind-bending and engrossing — a rich exploration of sound and the hidden continuity behind the facade of difference. – Joyful Union Cassette Blog


Nakata – The Flood Invades My Spirit Pt. 1 (Snippet)

This short, yet evocative recording offers a colourful path from ambient strips of noise, through free-jazz variations, to cumulated sounds. This is a spontaneous meeting, with aptly weighed proportions: from peace to excitement. – Nowe idzi od morza


Susan Alcorn and Janel Leppin – Live at 2640: Improvisation 4

Sister Mirror collects two previously unreleased collaborations featuring Janel Leppin, Susan Alcorn, and Meghan Habibzai. “Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5,” recorded by cellist Janel Leppin and soprano vocalist Meghan Habibzai, interprets Heitor Villa-Lobos’ Brazilian masterwork into something all their own — hauntingly beautiful and otherworldly.


Evan Zierk – Traces

Drifting/Bending simulates a loss of gravity, akin to an out of body experience, hovering as an observer. Zierk’s gliding arpeggios dance from ear to ear, their pulse moving like a newly formed organism. Evan Zierk is joined by longtime collaborator Nate Mendelsohn playing alto saxophone, whose presence further adds to the feeling of drift, “Bending” causes an awareness of the complexities of perception and sensation. Spatial cognition is left behind, these deeply transfixing and spiritual tones drown out any other input. – AdHoc


George Cory Todd – Show Them A Mirror

george cory todd is a musician and sound artist based in Berkeley, California. He utilizes various computer-based musical elements to forge new sounds. Born in Maryland, george has studied, performed, and toured throughout the world as both an instrumentalist and composer. – the backroom

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