ng-r  10  ‘Takuma’

Takuma Sato is the name of a formula one racing driver. Dan Hopkins is a fan of formula one and anything to do with roads. Sato is known in the racing world for his chaotic performances and spectacular mistakes. His current driving is for the team Super Aguri a team that is using four-year-old second hand cars. If they finish they have won.

HL,
HL is behind the noground-r label; Dan Hopkins is an artist working in many art forms. This release is a double 3” containing a CD and DVD. The CD is four tracks of music that have been put together over the last 12 months. These tracks are of melancholy, ambience and slow moving textures. The DVD contains a film called ‘fields that speak’, which is an ambient ten-minute journey around the fields of Somerset. More information is on the separate press release for the film. Also on the DVD is a data section containing a variety of extras, films, the soundtrack of the film as mp3 and various source materials.

For Samples go to the myspace page here

http://myspace.com/landcrash

video clip of fields that speak film here

ng-r 07

John Barnes,

Early 2005 Mountain Men Anonymous split up, with only two great records released and a whole lot of promise, from the ashes of MMA will be several muscial projects one that has always ran along side MMA is 'John Barnes'.

John Barnes is Sam Arnold's solo project. A project named after the wonderful football player. This release has been along time coming with many changes along the way, but it's here finally.

Remotely Classical, Heartfelt, Jungle,

He has had releases on other labels notibly Machine Records

Samples here and here

To be released in late March 2006

One track that omitted from the ep, which is a personal favourite of noground-r is here not forgotten..

Sunday.mp3

ng-r 04

HL and Fickle, 'distraction'

Audio Sample here

Live set from HL and Fickle in February 2004.

Audio and Data Disc. Audio section 10 minute edited version Data section Full live set as mp3.

Fickle is from Stoke on Trent, that is known, His music is of a sprawling archaic nature. To coin it in one phrase ‘noise folk’ maybe. He uses a mixture of Dansette record players, skipping cd’s, and old effects units to create a sound unlike any other.
Fickle has also released records on First Person Records and Evelyn Records, and has also done remixes for the Fence Collective.

This live recording is a meeting of two minds. In a dark February 2004 in support of two bands Mountain Men Anonymous and Epic 45 at the Talbot Hotel Stoke.

HL was testing new ground on this night, trying to work out how to play live with his new laptop, and guitar. This cd is a hybrid cd with 2 sections on it. The first section is a normal audio cd that can play in cd players this contains an edit of the live show, the second section is a data section which includes an mp3 file containing the whole concert.

Reviews to come.

This CD has had airplay on the following Radio stations.

Darkness Drops Again on Radio AKROPOLIS.. (CZ)

ng-r 06

Hurra Caine Landcrash, 'Moving'

Audio Samples

311204 Waiting

Seminar 4

March

Violet

HL releases this full length album nearly a year after it was made.  This record was made about sadness and hope about moving on in life.  Moving was recorded during 2002 and 2004 where a lot happened to HL in that time. He moved house, he went back to studying, he bought a new computer.  All these changes made this record so. These moving on in life changes. Advances.

Reviews to come...

ng-r 05

'Close to the edge'

Development of Shape /Daniel Hopkins

This release from noground-r is a DVD video release, the first from us.
The Development of Shape are a Derby/UK Based instrumental two piece creating slow drifting guitar led structures. Using just guitar (Steve Little) and drums (Elvis Beetham-Wallace) The Development of Shape suggest cinema when you listen to them.
Which is good for this release as it is accompanied by the sublime video work of Daniel Hopkins. This collaboration came about through many live shows where Hopkins provided live visuals for the Development of Shape. Hopkins decided that this collaboration worked so well he decided to create the film that is this release.
Elvis is also known as the drummer in several other acts most notably Twinkie and Lords.

Clip of the video here

Reviews of the work have said...

Frame sizes for the images mutate, abstract golden slivers bleeding into full-screen footage of nocturnal streetscapes, as the voice briefly re-appears. Blurred snatches of neon illuminations then flit across the screen as the music becomes jagged, bluesy scars. Close to the Edge reaches a peaceful close with panoramic vistas of open plains suggesting that the trip is far from over.

textura

ng-r 03

Sticker Club, 'Song time two'

Audio Samples here here and here.

Sticker Club is Rory Phillips, Quite Well know spinner of records at a variety of club nights worldwide.  Rory is mostly known as a DJ at ‘Trash’ a club night at ‘the end’ a nightclub in London UK. Sticker Club presents us with a fusion on game boy beats, melancholic guitars and wistful synths.
 This release moves us from fun pop to thoughtful post rock, and works like a sketchbook of short ideas from Phillips. Rory is also active in a number of other acts the most recent being the group ‘Pups’ which have had one release on ‘tomlab’ so far with others in the pipeline.

Rory Phillips is best known for DJing around the world. He is found every monday at Trash (London UK) and every Friday at Our Disco, (London UK) playing a unique style of awkward pop, forgotten post-punk classics and electronic oddities.

Reviews of the work have said...

Sticker Club seems to pack an album's worth of material into eighteen minutes on Song Time Two, with eight songs ranging between punchy guitar pop (“Happy Song (Demo)”), elegant guitar swing (“Somos Nostros Hombres?”), and various synth-pop styles in between.

textura

Offering a more straight up eight songs, opening with the glitchy, Moog-driven Poorly Song that recalls electro types The Knife and the slw-burning Pooty II which is a lovely class in post-rock meddling. With the choppy melodies of Fage, Sticker Club pulls off the art of making cerebral electronic electronic music you don't need a Masters in Engineering to appreciate, Wonderful.

Sound Nation

ng-r 08

Gymnastic Decompostion TBC release

Comprising of members of the groups Cementimental and Snork Maiden. GD make a noise that could be called grindcore comedy bUT! There is much more to there music than comedy grind. Built into the sound is a hidden depth and a interesting electronic sound that transends genre. Taking references equally from Napalm Death, Carcass, Lawnmower Deth, and on the otherside of fence the releases of Austrian label Mego...

ng-r 09

Vase..... TBC

ng-r 02

PFM 'Pre FM Tracks'

Audio samples click to download here here and here.

PFM stands for Poor Father Material.

This release is a selection of tracks from PFM's album cdr release PRE-FM, which was released to friends in 2000.

Reviews of the work have said...

Quite simple and effective ambient music, in the best Eno tradition

Vital Weekly

'My Favourite Memory' mixes a serene electronic soundscape with what sounds like a faulty telephone exchange as noise levels swell and relent in pleasing fashion. With nods to Eno and Kraftwerk, this is worthwhile music ready-made for the cinema and small screen.

Leonards Lair

'Pre FM Tracks'. Reminiscent on the 10 minute opener of Harold Budd & Brian Eno, a beatless Hermann & Kleine, William Orbit's neo classical synth excursions, Vangelis & erm freakin' John Michelle Jar. track 2's a winner, soft twinkling keys & guitar samples over a relaxing cyclic refrain overlaid with some alienated but soft synth. See Yellow 6 & July Skies. Even finer is final tune 'My Favourite Memory', a gurgling space rock beauty, like Windy & Carl stuck in a malfunctioning telephone receiver. Classy & well realised stuff!!!

Norman Records

This CD has had airplay on the following Radio stations.

The Chiller Cabinet, Classic FM. (UK)

Darkness Drops Again on Radio AKROPOLIS.. (CZ)

Resonance FM's Xanµrtsian Nights show (UK)

ng-r 01
HL.............A449/19 (Work In Progress)

Sample click to download here,

The A449 is a road between Newport and Monmouth in South Wales. This road lasts for 19 miles, during this road you cannot turn around and go back to the place you have left.
There is no access from one side of the road to another.
Over the past year (2003) this road has been the basis of Dan Hopkins work.
Forming the structure of a film, a live performance sound piece, a piece of music and an ongoing installation piece.
The works generated are based on visual and audio recordings of the said road, while travelling upon it, all the recordings are made while moving. Creating constant movement within the works.
No ground release this project as a 3’ cdr which contains a 20 minute version of the piece.

Reviews of the work have said..

It's an excellent work, whose crafty assemblage and emotional content are both the indication of a thorough groundwork.

Touching Extremes

When the field recordings return after a few minutes they are looped and treated with delay, creating an almost lo fi repetitious rhythmic pulse which then oscillates between various effects to quite mesmerizing effect.

Cyclic Defrost

More Reviews on the Review Pages..

This CD has also had airplay on the following shows

Resonance FM's Frequenzen.. (UK)

Darkness Drops Again on Radio AKROPOLIS.. (CZ)