Here just a quick little update on all the items mentioned in the "2008 outlook" up above, as we get ready to head into February. I'll follow that with a few items that weren't mentioned when I first posted this topic.
Austere | Solyaris Originally planned for Jan 2008, we've delayed this one until early February to give the Austere guys time to release their box-set, which I'm sure they'll be plugging here on the Forum soon.
M. Griffin | Fabrications All recording and editing is done, and just a few fine-tuning tweaks will be done (EQ and volume, mainly) before this one is sent out to be pressed.
Various Artists | Message From a Subatomic World This second compilation is complete in terms of artist selection, track selection, and track sequence. Some basic mastering is needed to get the tracks to match up, and this will be ready.
Evan Bartholomew | Tidal Phases of the Moon IA recent addition to the release list, this long-form ambient piece should be ready to go soon, but we're fine-tuning some very small issues with the master. We'll be getting CDs manufactured for this one (rather than the usual Hypnos Secret Sounds limited CDR release) so that will take a few extra weeks.
Sense (Robert Logan) | The Sublime (2cdr) This release has been in the works for quite a while (though it wasn't announced until the title was decided, though that's been changed twice subsequently). This too is different in that it's a 2 disc release. Very challenging and exciting sounds... we can't wait to introduce Hypnos listeners to Sense!
Robert Rich | Somnium (dvd)Our initial pressing of 2,000 copies sold out, and we're still selling enough of them that we're pressing another 1,000. That makes this the best-selling Hypnos release ever (as other discs have had 2,000 made, but none sold out the second thousand before).
Jeff Pearce | Daylight SlowlyJeff's first Hypnos disc has been out of print for a while, and we're going to re-press it with different artwork.
Nebula | The Path of White CloudsThis is a re-issue of an out of print album by this Oophoi & Mathias Grassow (and many others) ambient collective. We're going to slightly change the name from "Nebula" to something just barely different, to avoid conflicting with other artists already using that name. This is a beautiful recording, one that definitely deserves to be available.
Various Artists | Echoes of Polyhymnia Hypnos manager Lena is curating this females-only ambient compilation. We're already received some great submissions, and some very promising artists have tracks on the way to us even now. Already confirmed to take part: Gydja, Rose Bolton, Margaret Noble, Stellaria Fennica, Clarissa Borba, Kristin Miltner, Sara Ayres, Floating World, Lena & K. Cornelius.
Various Artists | Nevertime This Binary label compilation will emphasize a more modern and edgy style of electronic music, ranging from minimal, pulsing techno to what some call electronica and some call IDM, to glitch and minimalism.
Viridian Sun | As-Yet-Untitled albumThis will be an album of brand new (late 2007, early 2008) sessions, with a hypnotic, deep, organic feel. More guitar-based, and less electronic, than previous Viridian Sun releases.
M. Griffin & Various Artists | Vapors and Magnetism (video DVD)Much work still remains to be done on this, which will be a collection of abstract videos, each with an exclusive music track by one of our favorite ambient recording artists.
MORE VIRIDIAN SUNAfter the release of the Viridian Sun album just recorded, we will likely finish and release the unreleased album from 5-6 years earlier. First things first! Or actually, last things first.
M. GRIFFIN AND _____I've undertaken two collaborations for this coming year, figuring that these things usually proceed with delays and lulls, which will allow me to work on them one at a time, simultaneously! And it already seems that one of them won't start for a few months, so this should be a matter of working quietly, and not announcing anything until some progress is made mid-year.
BINARY AKA HYPNOS/BINARYFor those of you who don't know, Binary is the sublabel for more dynamic electronic sounds. We're going to put some effort into revving things up on Binary this year, starting with
Nevertime (see above), but leading on to some CDs by some new artists.
BINARY EXPLORER SERIESThis will be a limited CDR imprint related to our Binary sub-label. In other words, Binary Explorer Series is to Binary, as Hypnos Secret Sounds is to Hypnos. We intend to start running BES full-speed starting this spring, right around the time we're recruiting for the
Nevertime comp.
NEW ONLINE STOREWe've reserved the domain for our new dedicated music store (not just an offshoot of the Hypnos site, the way our current Hypnos Online Store works), so before too long there will be an ever-expanding music store at
www.soundswim.com -- it will start off selling much of the same stuff as the Hypnos store, but will quickly broaden out. We'll be selling downloads, too, just Hypnos (and sub-label) tracks at first, but possibly other tracks on other labels at some point, depending on how it goes.