landcrash

Records currently available and odd things I have for sale.

This is a old record of mine that i have recently been able to get some old copies off record shops. 

This was a small release on my label noground-r it was a 3” inch cdr release, and came in a little plastic case that Ive not seen many of. 

Available to order via paypal. click here to order

Press Release info

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

This CD has also had airplay on the following shows

Resonance FM’s Frequenzen.. (UK)

Darkness Drops Again on Radio AKROPOLIS.. (CZ)

Full Reviews

http://www.cyclicdefrost.com/review.php?review=1027

Cyclic Defrost

The No Ground-r is a Welsh cdr and dvdr label renowned for some gorgeous gentle ambient releases on 3-inch cdr. The title, A449/19 apparently refers to a 19 mile stretch of road in South Wales and it appears that the field recordings which comprise this work were gathered from this very location. HL is the work of sound artist Daniel Hopkins who makes use of the steady rumbling traffic to create deep bass drones, augmented by the odd closer engine sound, which he appears to have looped, and the occasional burst of wind. The sounds have also been computer manipulated as a clearly treated transcendental drone appears midway through the sixteen minute piece, a crisp warm clarity to the lo fi untreated recordings. It’s at this point the piece alters dramatically, a respite from the unpredictability of the field recordings. 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.

Bob Baker Fish 

http://spazioinwind.libero.it/extremes/touchingEK.htm

Touching Extremes 

Almost all the sounds used for this interesting 3-inch CD were recorded by Dan Hopkins on the road between Newport and Monmouth (South Wales), hence the title. The A449/19, explains Hopkins, is a 19-mile no u-turn road; its sense of predefined destiny - no chance of returning once entered - hovers all around the composition, mostly built upon engine loops in their low-frequency detachment, related environmental effects and what I believe is an organ (or a synth) which, about halfway from the beginning, gently sustains the pleasant regularity of the other noises, just for a little while. It’s an excellent work, whose crafty assemblage and emotional content are both the indication of a thorough groundwork.

Massimo Ricci

From Staalplaat’s weekly email magazine. ‘Vital Weekly’ 

Review of ngr-01 and ngr-02 review by Frans de Waard.

HL - A449/19 (WORK IN PROGRESS) (3”CDR by No Ground)

PFM - PRE FM TRACKS (3”CDR by No Ground)

The No Ground label is a small label that works with economical means, that is CDRs, both audio and DVD. The label-founder Dan Hopkins is responsible for the first two releases. His own ‘A449/19’ is presented as a work in progress. I am not sure how this should be seen. Is the work still in progress and if so how will changes be made public then? The twenty minute piece comes from nothing and slowly builds up. It seems to me that field recordings, in particular wind sounds are the basis of this recording. They are transformed by computer means until a thick mass of sound occurs. A nice piece, although maybe a bit too much in the realms of Francisco Lopez, but then more audible.

The second release is by one Myk Thomas, offering three pure ambient tracks on his ‘Pre FM Tracks’. Waving, meandering and shifting synthesizer tones are his main ingredients, despite the vague piano tinkle in ‘Prophet Making’. Quite simple and effective ambient music, in the best Eno tradition and for that matter stuff that could have been released on Hypnos Records. It stands very much in a tradition, and that might be the only real objection against it. (FdW)

In it’s Original Context here

From Chain D.L.K Gray area music website. 

Review of ngr-01 by Eugenio Maggi

Artist: HL

Title: A449/19 (Work in Progress)

Format: 3” MiniCD

Label: no ground-r

hl is UK artist, and founding member of No Ground Processes label itself, Dan Hopkins, here creating an interesting soundscape out of the A449/19, which 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”. Must be a cool place to visit, eh! Sound sources are not easy to detect at all, but there must be some heavily manipulated field recording of cars passing. The 20’30” piece is quite basic in its form, and maybe a bit more composition and layering could have helped - but it does hit the right spots and keep you interested until the end. Heavy on bass frequencies, the sound samples are looped and filtered (in real time?) throughout, with a good control of minimal variations, quiet parts and aggressive bursts. Quite nice for sure, and if this is a work in progress I’d like to hear its next steps.

In it’s original context here

From Norman Records Mail order record store and reviews.

Review of ngr-01 and ngr-02 by Brian?

God there’s nowt nicer than a dinky slab of minimalist nothingness to begin yer reviews. A 3” CD on No Ground by HL, snappily entitled ‘A449/19 (Work In Progress)’ If I was checking this out at 4pm I’d be dribbling over this keyboard in a pre-slumber near-coma. As it happens, this is music for people who like nothing more arresting than distant 3am in a deserted factory next to a motorway type noises to remind them that the closest a field mouse gets to audio heaven is post industrial bliss such as this. PFM provide the other installment (Hey, what’s with the uber minimal monikers too?) ‘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!!!

From The Electronic Dessert, Swedish Webzine. 

hl | A449/19 | No Ground-R – NG-R01 | CD | 2003 |

“A449/19” is the title of the very first No Ground-R release an independent label activated in Great Britain. Releasing music and visuals on their main format of choice 3” discs. “A449/19” features ambient and slightly menacing soundscapes drowned in low frequency assemblies playing the leading role of structure. According to the background information the 20 min long track is based on the experiences and surroundings of the A449. A road between Newport and Monmouth in South Wales and it lasts for 19 miles (30,5km), during this distance it is not possible to turn around and go back to the place of origin. This is excellent ambient music with rich bass textures and very subtle rhythm. And you just got to love the 3” disc format and the level of ambition of the entire No Ground undertaking of which No Ground-R is an integral part.

Bell 03

In its original context here