howlround: a creak in time

Comprised of Robin The Fog, Chris Weaver, and four reel-to-reel tape machines, Howlround create unique and immersive compositions and performances by direct manipulation of natural acoustic sounds on magnetic tape, with additional effects and artificial reverb strictly forbidden. For the soundtrack of Steven McInerney's A Creak In Time, their most ambitious yet, the group have created a striking body of work made entirely from field recordings of different objects creaking: tiny and insignificant sounds that, when amplified and extended via magnetically charged oxide particles, begin to take on a curious new identity. Taken from source material discovered in London, Yosemite, and the Mojave desert, these sounds, through simple manipulation, gradually cast off their moorings and head into space, leaving their original identities far behind and chiming perfectly with the film's recurring themes of transformation and altered perception, switching scale from microscopic topography to the vast distances of the cosmos. Shot entirely on 16mm film with a musique concréte soundtrack, it's both science and fiction, marking a dramatic new direction for all involved. Psyché Tropes is an independent label and film project run by Steven McInerney (Merkaba Macabre) dedicated to exploring the synesthetic intersections between sound and its visual counterpart. Comes on 180 gram vinyl.