Spring mix

for the first day of Spring:

Spring 2012 from nateabels on 8tracks.

Got that on tape

Here it is 2012, and I'm writing about cassette tapes. New music on cassette... who would have thought? In the last couple of years quite a few small tape labels have been springing up - mostly making small editioned tapes in numbers of fifty to one hundred. The appeal of this format is the cost (most I've bought have been around $4-6 with shipping), the fuzz/grain of the tape, and of course probably a little nostalgia. There's also some appeal to having an object rather than just digital files. Personally, I like to bring my little tape player with us camping and on road trips.

I don't think every new album would sound good on tape, but this format is favorable to a lot of the music coming out on cassette. Most of the music I buy on tape is quiet, ambient, drone, field recordings, etc and are well suited to the format. Recently I purchased a couple from Avant Archive - who is selling any of their tapes made prior to this year for half off (making them five bucks with shipping within the US). The Olli Aarni tape is beautiful - I highly recommend it. If you don't have a tape player you can get one at a thrift store for a few dollars- so all together you would have the tape, and the tape player for the price of one LP. If you're not sold on the idea of going back to tapes, Avant Archive offers their albums in digital formats as well (The Olli Aarni album is only $3).

A few other tape labels doing good work that I'd recommend include Bridgetown Records, Wil-ru recording company (who has the awesome Morriconez tape), Sweat Lodge Guru, Hooker Vision, Space Slave Editions, Fadeaway Tapes, Goldtimers tapes, and Mirror Universe (who released the new War on Drugs album with an exclusive b-side).

Paintings by Alexander Tinei

Alexander Tinei, Hair, 2012. 100 x 80 cm. Oil on canvas

Def ace is weeping. 2009. 120 x 100 cm. Oil on canvas (Nick Cave)

and one of Tinei's I saw at the Armory show Friday:

Thomas Hylander

Cellar Door, 2011, Acrylic on Canvas, 40x30cm

Soffit, 2011, Acrylic on Canvas, 35x45 cm

Singing In Your Sleep, 2007, acrylic on canvas, 40.5 x 35.5 cm

Milk, 2006, acrylic on canvas, 45 x 35 cm

Pip of the Core, 2012, Acrylic on Canvas, 60x50 cm (my photo from the Armory show in NY)

other photos from David Risley gallery and Vilma Gold

New Album art for Black Swan

The album art is a combination of my drawing ("Half-Seeing") and a moon/text added by Black Swan. Get a preview of the exceptional new album here:

A few highlights from NY

I spent the weekend at the art fairs in NY - visiting the Armory, Volta, Scope and the Dependent. As with any art fair(s), there is a huge range of work in terms of style, subject matter, quality, etc. The fairs were bustling and everyone you asked had a different opinion about which was best (my favorite was Volta). Overall, it was a great trip. Here are a few highlights:

Friend and fellow SCAD grad, Michael Scoggin's show at Freight and Volume

Alec Soth at Sean Kelly -where I also was able to watch the documentary "Somewhere to Disappear" :



The Soth show was my favorite gallery show - Soth describes it this way; "It's not really about running away, it's about having the desire to run away"

I liked these quiet, dry, semi-abstract paintings in the Norwegian section of the Armory (my favorite section) by Thomas Hylander ( pictured: "Donder", 2012, Acrylic on Canvas 16x20")

Fritjof Nansen by Gisle Harr at No gallery.

There were a lot of photographers in the fairs, but these dream-like painterly photographs by German photographer Stefan Krauth were my favorites- with all kinds of grain/dust/scratches


This painting (left) by Niall McClelland was a memorable one from Scope ("Trash Bulbs 1", 2011; aerosol paint and broken light bulbs on raw canvas; 56 x 40 inches) via Envoy Enterprises

Certainly there was a lot more art than I'm picturing here- I should also probably say that a lot of the great work being shown/made here in Denver easily stood up to what was being exhibited in the art fairs in NY - so you don't have to travel far to see great art. On that note, check out Mindy Bray's current exhibit at Rule!

New Mix

March 2012 from nateabels on 8tracks. - I know it's not quite March, but close enough.

Mamma Andersson

Dazzle, 2011
Mixed media on panel, 99x184.5 cm
Doldrums, 2011
Mixed media on panel, 107x195 cm
Ramble On, 2011
Mixed media on panel, 111,5x228,5 cm

Images via Galleri Magnus Karlsson exhibit, "Dog Days".

My good friend Jason Stopa had the opportunity to interview the exceptional painter Mamma Andersson for NY Arts Magazine recently and the result is a fascinating insight into her work and process. One particular part of the interview stuck with me, in which Andersson says,

"It is just daily life that interests me, all those days that just go on. It is in them that great events take place, right in front of us, but we hardly notice them. At its best, we understand afterwards what happened. It applies to love, degradation, persecution, actually everything. Suddenly, it is summer and we never noticed that spring passed."

Opening Friday

Opening February 24, 2012 at Hinterland
1st Friday March 2
running through March 16

Song of the Day

The new Damien Jurado album came out yesterday - highly recommended.

Art Inspiration of Late

Ana Cabaleiro

Merlin James

Jason Stopa, Winter Jacket (for nathan), Oil on Canvas, 2012.

Carsten Nicolai, Pionier I, 2011. Wind machine, panels, parachute, dimensions variable.

“Salome,” by Henry Ossawa Tanner

New Work, News

Artopia went well - I exhibited a dozen new or never-before-shown works for a little over three hours. It was a little crazy, but overall -a good motivation to get new works finished. Here's a few:

“Untitled”, Acrylic on Canvas, 16x20”

“Somewhere when your heart glowed the hope", Acrylic on Canvas, 18x24"

"Gathering Light",16x20", Acrylic on Canvas

"Attic Ghost”, Acrylic on Canvas, 16x20”

And a (cropped) view of the display. I'll be back to posting fairly regularly now - lots to share. Thanks for your patience.

You got me

Thanks for the love, I'll return to posting here after my next show. For the next couple weeks I need to focus on painting. You can see my work at the upcoming Artopia on Saturday, February 18.

If all goes according to my very fuzzy plan, there should be half a dozen new small works at the show. These are pretty abstract, and quite a departure (or detour?) for my work. Looking forward to sharing them with you. Thanks for the support everyone.

Favorites of the Year: 2011

These are my favorite albums and eps of the year:



1.The War on Drugs, "Slave Ambient"

• The perfect road trip album. It flows together so naturally- without seeming monochromatic. "Slave Ambient" has real staying power - I imagine I will be playing this album many years from now.

2.Timber Timbre "Creep on Creepin' On"

• Similar to "Slave Ambient", this album has very well considered transitions from track to track - making a re-listenable, cohesive album overall. A bit of a nod to Nick Cave - but less sinister. It seems like this album did not get the recognition it deserved on other lists this year.

3.Kurt Vile, "Smoke Ring for my Halo"

• Similar in tone to the War on Drugs (his former band), but a little more laid back. Great lyrics too.

4.James Blake (self titled)

• Tracks like, "The Wilhelm Scream" are really exceptional, but as an entire album there are tracks that don't grab me in the same way. If I were to make this list in June this year I would have put this at the top, but I've listened to it a bit less over time.

5.Blood Orange, "Coastal Grooves"

• Chilled out with a bit of an 80s vibe, but still upbeat and even danceable.

6.Julianna Barwick, "The Magic Place"

• A beautiful layered choral work. Really exceptional.
  

7.Dirty Beaches, "Badlands" + "Lone Runner"

• Music for a dimly lit smokey bar in a black and white movie.

8.Pontiak, "Comecrudos" (ep)

• "Part III" has become our new mountain-driving anthem. Listen below -the first track on my favorite tracks of the year mix.

9.Handsome Furs, "Sound Kapital"

• A great album to sing along to.

10. M83, "Hurry Up, We're Dreaming"

• A huge electronically based double album with all kinds of ups and downs. Some songs are pumped up and dancey (as in "hurry up"), others more dreamlike (also like the title of the album implies). Looking forward to their live show in the Spring of 2012.

11. Wye Oak, "Civilian"

• Definitely one of the best live shows I saw this year.

12. St. Vincent, "Strange Mercy"

• Edgier and more tense than her previous albums - and much more memorable to me.
  

13. Austra, "Feel it Break"

• Very confident and composed performers whose voices are just as powerful live as they are on the album.
  

14. Jjango Cleefworth Morriconez/Jeffrey Wentworth Stevens, The Poquito Pioneer ep + Highway Driveway ep

• Two projects by the same Denver-based guy- Jeffrey Wentworth Stevens, who is now going by just Morriconez - sounds like (as he recently put it), "a cloud of dust rollin' across the desert." Looking forward to a full-length in 2012. In the mean time you can get these on bandcamp from the artist for free.
  

15. Idiot Wind, ep

• Exceptional singer-songwriter music from Sweden.

Worth mentioning:

• PJ Harvey, "Let England Shake" (I was late to this one- it's still sinking in)
• Hard Mix, "Defaults"
• Chrysta Bell, "This Train" (produced by David Lynch and much better than his own disappointing release this year)
• Die Jungen, "$", "As Long as You Want", "Just a Dream" eps
• Liturgy, "Aesthetica"

Wordless/Instrumental:

1. A Winged Victory for the Sullen (self titled)
2. Dustin O'Halloran, "Lumiere"
3. Caretaker, "An Empty Bliss Beyond This World"
4. Black Eagle Child, "Pages on a Plane" + "Lobelia" (you can find my artwork on the "Pages on a Plane" LP)
5. Black Swan, "The Quiet Divide"
6. Field Rotation, "Acoustic Tales"
7. Christina Vantzou, "No. 1"
8. Johann Johannsson, "The Miner's Hymns"
9. Aria Rostami, "Form"
10. Ryonkt, "North Small Town"

Worth Mentioning:

• Stag Hare, "Spirit Canoes"

Colorado Based bands/artists/performers I enjoyed this year:
Adam Cayton-Holland (comedy)
Jeffery Wentworth Stevens/Morriconez +George and Caplin
Bonnie Gregory/The Horse Latitudes
Candy Claws

Tracks:


Some of the best live shows I saw this year:
Arcade Fire, The War on Drugs, Lovers, Givers, Horse Latitudes, Liturgy, Wye Oak, Dressy Bessy/the Babysitters, Hedia, Adam Cayton-Holland, and Anthony Jeselnik.

My favorite movies of the year:
1. Another Earth
2. Martha Marcy May Marlene
3. Drive
4. Melancholia
5. Tree of Life

Favorites from 2010, 2009 , and 2008.

New music by Ryonkt - album art by me

This new ambient guitar track by ryonkt features a photo as the album art by me. I've been listening to his very soft ambient music since first posting it as a part of my "music for your studio" a couple years ago, so I'm excited to be a small part of it.

Two film photos from Rome

Last year at this time, I was finishing up the semester (as I am now) and getting ready for our trip to Rome. Here's a couple of film photos I took while there with my plastic Diana camera.

Painting(s) of the Day by Terri Brooks

Terri Brooks, Neapolitan, 2011. Oil, enamel, pigment and PVA on canvas, 127x176 cm, Polyptych.

Untitled (bells), Acrylic on Canvas on Panel, 24x36"

Untitled (bells), Acrylic on Canvas on Panel, 24x36", originally uploaded by nathanabels.

New Painting for Benefit

"Sleeping Elk", Acrylic on Canvas, 11x14", 2011
To be auctioned for Colorado Gives Day tomorrow, December 6th, to benefit Firefly Autism. I will post a link when available. My first elk painting after 5 years in Colorado!

"Moon Rocks" - New Work

"Moon Rocks" , originally uploaded by nathanabels.

4 canvases, each 16x20"