wave~seed III
an audio-visual compilation for breath (released 07/02/2021)

The videos can be found here:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxlWzfx92UfPaUefIwWVafLKzDr6Y-BWY
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Update:

We have donated $600 to Coimbatore COVID Aid's 'Help Tiruppur Breathe' campaign to bring it to full funding. Thank you to those who have contributed!

Payment for these releases going forward will go towards Microtones releases.

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Ithaca-based event series and label Microtones announce their third volume of wave~seed, a fundraising compilation series. This volume is a meditative audio-visual compilation fundraising for Coimbatore COVID Aid, a student-run initiative based in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, that seeks to undertake COVID relief and aid operations in and around the district (aidcbe.org).

We encourage people to directly donate to Coimbatore COVID Aid and send us a receipt via instagram (@microtones.ith) to receive the album.

Donation link: milaap.org/fundraisers/support-civil-hospitals-tiruppur-district

The compilation features work from:
Ciel (video by Elekktronaut)
Detroit Bureau of Sound (video by otodojo)
Zahremaar (video by Jon Coop)
Deepak Sharma (video by Impakt)
にこやかな蛙 (Smiling Frog)
pReconnect (video by Philip Rugo)

Microtones and Acid Camp affiliate otodojo shares a bit about the compilation:

"in a conversation with my friend Jo in May we found we shared a deep urge to further support of donations and lend visibility to the catastrophic situation with COVID-19 in India. Along with sharing and directly donating to causes, we wanted to convert our daily practice of music into tangible support. Although fundraising albums are not as effective in raising funds as direct donations, we hope that we could provide at least the equivalent of one oxygen machine through this album as well as provide something meditative for people to listen to and watch, that puts them closer in touch with themselves and what people may be going through."

We’re working with Bandcamp to maximize the donation amount that gets through to these organizations. if you’re unable to financially commit to this compilation and desire to download the tracks, please send us a message on instagram (@microtones.ith). Again we encourage you to donate direct to Coimbatore COVID Aid, show us the receipt, and we'll send you a download code.

Ciel - 'sketches from dayanta', is an ode to nature using samples of magpies from Ciel’s trip to the wild goose pagoda in xi'an (‘dayanta’ in Chinese). The samples are washed with ethereal keys and layered with a pulsing rumble of bass. Elekktronaut’s paired meditative vignette slowly ripples to the energy of the track alongside soft color shifts that match the environment of dayanta.

Detroit Bureau of Sound – ‘Mayasura’ is based on a king referenced in ancient Indian texts such as the Ramayana. He is known as a the great architect of the Palace of Illusion and is credited as the author of the Surya Siddhanta, a treatise on astrology, or the science of keeping time. Sound as an object of time, or in other words, music, is perfect to get lost in. And perhaps the most adept music for losing oneself to time would be Techno. DBS used an idea from Arvo Pärt’s “Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten”, a descending minor scale suspended over the barline - a simple, haunting melody which felt right as an homage to the suffering of the people in India. The kick drum, back beat, and melodic rhythms are all sequenced with slow triangle waves in rhythms abiding to the golden ratio numbers from nature, which is DBS’ way of portraying the grandness of the ancient king, Mayasura’s architecture with sounds. The accompanying video by otodojo explores fractal spaces and fractal generated clouds.

Deepak Sharma – ‘Tony Uncle’ is named in honor of Deepak’s late uncle Tony who passed to COVID complications in India 17 days after leaving the ICU. The track contains a torrent of evolving bass mixed with driving hats and piercing stabs. Despite the track’s intensity, it maintains a balanced and calming nature.

Zahremaar - ‘Vaaxan’ (the way ‘vaccine’ is pronounced in farsi) has a meditative and focus-inducing minimal sound that is reminiscent of Plastikman. The arrangement was performed live using the Analog Rytm MK1 with most of the sounds synthesized within the machine. Each track was then exported out to Ableton for post FX and additional effects / processing added to each layer. Joncoop’s corresponding collection of hand animated stills that correlate with the beat take the viewer through a beautiful collection of forms, shapes, and colors.

pReconnect – ‘Siva’ is a lush collection pad textures and mantras:
ॐ नमः शिवाय
ॐ Om (sacred sound of sacred SOURCE / universal one-ness and connection)
नमः Namah (humble bow down in sanskrit)
शिव Siva (pronounced Shiva - is deity of destruction and creation)
ॐ गं गणपतये नमः
Om gam ganapataye namaha - (om i bow down to the remover of obstacles - ganesha- the child of shiva and mountain goddess)

にこやかな蛙 (Smiling Frog) - 呼吸法 (Breathwork) is a lingering meditative sketch that explores sequencing of throat singing alongside a stereoscopic bass.