Steven Christopher Stamper

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Customer reviews
Press release
Soundclips

4...according to our Phil on Wed 08 Feb, 2012.

This is one of those nice brown cardboardy foldy things on Runningonair and it's hand numbered of 100. So there's the physical facts sorted. This is Mr Stamper's debut release and what you get is 11 tracks of experimental electronics and recordings. Electro acoustic business is afoot here in some of the tracks whilst others have a darker almost celestial edge to them. Strange droneworks with lots of crackles and fizzles and the odd twinkle as well. It's an interesting and varied listen (compared to some drone releases) with each track taking you to a different place. There's some nice (vintage sounding) electronics in there as well adding an extra dimension to the mix. It's very otherwordly and I'd say if you're into things on labels like 12K and Room 40 you should maybe check this out.

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Possibly the most otherworldly release from Runningonair to date, “Begin Anywhere,” Stephen Christopher
Stamper’s debut, evokes imagery of desert landscapes, star-filled skies and the solar wind buffeting the earth's
magnetic field. Ranging from harsh, crackly soundscapes to music of an almost religious intensity, the variety is
quite stunning. At the same time, reoccurring harmonic material helps to bind the album together into a cohesive
whole. Emotionally the work is rich, subtle and complex, revealing new facets on repeated listening.

Here, Stephen outlines his working method:

“An interest in natural VLF radio phenomena and the work of Stephen P. McGreevy, algorithmic composition, Karplus-Strong string
synthesis and open-source software led to a period of prolonged experimentation with the Debian GNU/Linux operating system, Miller
Puckette's Pure Data visual programming language and the Audacity audio editor.”

This album collects together 11 of the most successful of these many and varied audio experiments, combining
them to form an intriguing work of the highest quality.

The Release:

The CD-R release is made using recycled card covers and quality “Aquaguard” matt finish CD-Rs.

Tracklisting:

1. Whistler
2. Laughing Stock
3. A Sailor's Life
4. Growing
5. Fata Morgana
6. Black/Doom/Drone
7. Riley
8. Crackle On And On (Version 1)
9. Cantus In Memoriam
10. Crackle On And On (Version 2)
11. Shell

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