In solitude, at home, with occasional tools or with the roommates.
Portraits From The Quarantine” is perhaps the most ambitious project ever made by Almost Halloween Time Records. A compilation spread on four cassettes, each lasting 70 minutes, recorded during the lockdown, in solitude, at home, with occasional tools or with the roommates, digging into forgotten archives to find pieces that seemed to be lost.
Sad music, in most cases, even if at times it is possible to glimpse a glimmer of light.
In recent days I posted the preview of the videos of two songs contained in the compilation, today I present one of the covers that will accompany the compilation, portraits of the plague mask struggling with daily chores and everyday life, and some of the artists whose songs are included in the compilation.
Antti Tolvi: Perhaps his contribution is the symbol song, manifesto of the whole collection. A suite for piano and vacuum cleaners that kidnapped and conquered me, listening after listening, by sucking my senses like a speck of dust depositing them in who knows what place or non-place. Apparently this is the only existing recording of this kind of performance and I’m really proud of this. Some people spent the lockdown maniacally cleaning their homes and belongings, Antii went further, using an appliance to make music.
Not sure if Kirigirisu still has copies of Leijunta, but if you want to hear more by this incredible artist, I definitely recommend you try to put your hands on that album.
Peopling: Recorded at a live show in Brooklyn Nov. 2018 but composed in isolation one night in 2018 at a campground in Utah. Peopling makes his debut on Almost Halloween Time after he has stolen a piece of my heart with his live set in Leverano (LE). During the lockdown, Peopling has been making noise in nature. Alone, wearing a mask. These sessions, that are available on his facebook wall, are really worth your time.
Wio: what’s more poignant, heartmelting than a cello? a wio song in which there is the accompaniment of a cello. If you are feeling the lockdown on your skin and it’s raining outside and you are in a nostalgic mood, this song is for you. Personally it also works well in the open air, driving through the countryside around Bari with the sun shining.
You can preorder your copy here.
