New Batch – Constellation Tatsu
11.13.15 by Mike Haley

You’ve been battling gelatinous blobs and winged creatures for weeks, searching for the Ω stone. The sole object that is foretold to bring balance back to the planet. To once and for all wipe out the virus that no one has bothered to name. But after giving so much you have nothing to show. That’s because the Ω stone does not exist. It never did. And instead of toiling through wretched caves and swamps, you should have e-hiked over to the Constellation Tatsu website and checked out their fall batch; A fascinating triple-set equipped with massive healing forces. That would have been so much easier. You are so stupid…

So what exactly are these three tapes that rival the restorative forces of the Ω stone? Well, first of all, remember that the Ω stone doesn’t really exist. We went over that already. Let’s talk about the rejuvenation techniques of these three cassettes.

Step one in this mending process is an extended player (about an hour and a half!) from Paul R. Marcano and Andre Martin. This split works as a yoga/hypnosis combo equivalent of sorts. Marcano’s piece, a 45-minute recording from 1973 called Valley Flutes, is an expansion of consciousness through satiny ambiance. After recording himself playing a recorder on a reel-to-reel at slow, medium, and high speeds, Marcano took those flute sounds and sorted them into a fragile pattern that wavers and lurches like colored smoke under bright hot lights. It’s really quite the body high. Andre Martin takes a similar trajectory with a track from his personal archive, As It Is. If Paul Marcano filled the room with smoke, then Andre is hovering on it. He moves so slowly as to no disrupt the nearly nonexistent surface of each cloud. Even with that smoothness on full display, sounds so mellow and sweet they don’t even penetrate mist, they’ll dig right inside of you. They’ll fill you with a vibrant intensity through restraint and ethereal kindness. The smoke never clears. Everything is beautiful, and warm, and we’re only 1/3 of the way into the process…

Now that you’ve detached from the thought of pain it’s time for Step Two: Andrew Weathers “I Am Happy When I Am Moving”. Weathers takes you outside for some good old fashioned fresh air on this seven-song tape. He treks through rickety ghost towns and serene deep woods, with his determined, minimal guitar plucking and genial synthesis leading the way. background jitters and the occasional deep breath are almost nonexistent while he casually chugs along, determined to reach placid peaks. Easy comparisons could be made to similar recordings by Daniel Higgs, but you gotta give it up to Andrew Weathers for forming structures that are unique and beautiful.

For the most part, you should be feeling pretty fucking good right now. This new Constellation Tatsu batch has stretched out your mind and muscles. Now to top it off with a medicinal nightcap. Step Three is “Union Of Worlds” by Majeure. Plenty of space is filled with the tension of sinister, atmospheric synth on “Union Of Worlds”. Majeure definitely has a way with forming pressure and stress through chilling methods. But the snow-melting arpeggio blasts, like on the bombastic track Physis, are also genuinely crafted and equally stunning. Definitely one of the better synthesizer tapes this year.

So the Ω stone was a bust. Oh well. These tapes will make up for that with their killer sounds and artwork. They are available individually or as a batch.