.. F O U N D R Y S I T E .. N E W S .. .. .. invisibility cover .. m bentley's this world cover .. saul stokes' vast cd cover ..
.... foundry indices : foundryshop : reviews : sounds : floating points podcast : : pictures : words : : : the foundry
19 March 2007 - CARL WEINGARTEN AND FORREST FANG INTERVIEWED ON FLOATING POINTS PODCAST!
The latest episode of Floating Points features an interview session with Forrest Fang and Carl Weingarten. Aside from talking about their Foundry release Invisibility, they talk about how they got involved with music, how they met and past past projects both solo and collaborative. Listen in and get a taste of what these great Bay Area artists are up to! For more information visit Foundrysite's podcast page.




28 February 2007 - FLOATING POINTS RETURNS!
Just a quick note to let you know that the Floating Points podcast series has returned with new episodes. Posted in February is the sixth installment titled Lazarus. Here we try to revive tracks that, for one reason or another, never made it into the public arena. With previously unreleased music from Jonathan Hughes, Thermal, Sketch and Foundry founder M. Bentley this should be a fun listen and a great way to re-start the podcast series. You can find the new episode via Foundrysite's podcast page or by pasting feed://www.foundrysite.com/podcasts/floatingpoints.xml into your podcast browser (iTunes, for instance, under the advanced menu's "subscribe to podcast").

Future episodes will include an interview session with Forrest Fang and Carl Weingarten (discussing Invisibility and a lot more), live sets from various Foundry associates and Guest DJ appearances by Seofon and Jonathan Hughes. Stay tuned!




1 January 2007 - HAPPY NEW YEAR! THE FOUNDRY IS A DECADE OLD!
Yes, it's true... The Foundry is celebrating our 10th year in 2007! In connection with this anniversary there are some special projects in the works - new releases (online and hard copy), new podcasts (at last!), and live events. We will be posting details here are soon as they are fully confirmed.

The last 12 months have been eventful, with some great CDs and some amazing live experiences. The 2006 releases continue to get airplay and press coverage. Saul Stokes' album Vast was #7 in Echoes' 25 Essential Echoes CDs for 2006; Invisibility from Forrest Fang and Carl Weingarten is gathering an impressive assortment of reviews, including a blurb in the November 2006 issue of The Wire; and M. Bentley's This World has successfully recovered a "lost" work to much critical praise. All three CDs were listed on Star's End Significant Releases of 2006 and are, together and/or individually, making appearances on many Best of 2006 lists.

Foundrysite will be undergoing some updating during the month of January as well. As we work on this any feedback would most helpful. Are there items you would like but cannot find on our site? What kind of new content would you enjoy? To drop us a line please follow contact us.




2006 NEWS

1 August 2006 - FOUNDRY SHOPPING ALTERNATIVES
In an effort to make it easier to purchase our releases, The Foundry has formed an association with CD Baby. We have found CD Baby to be a reliable online retailer with fast and friendly service. They offer audio samples and an easy shopping interface that securely handles credit card transactions. You can find a large part of The Foundry catalogue at the CD Baby site at our Foundry page.

Several of our recent releases are also available through Amazon, including Invisibility from Forrest Fang & Carl Weingarten, This World from M. Bentley, Vast from Saul Stokes, and Fluidities from Jonathan Hughes and guests.

Of course we will continue to offer the best prices and personal service through Foundryshop, and we appreciate your purchasing directly from us as it goes the furthest in supporting The Foundry and our artists. Thanks for your support!




10 July 2006 - FOUNDRY LIVE EVENING AS PART OF SEAS!
July 29th will find a Foundry contingent taking the stage at Cobalt Sun for an evening of electronic music and video. This event is part of the ongoing Synapse Electronic Arts Series (SEAS) organized by Dwight Loop for Cobalt Sun in Sausalito. Other events in the series include Robert Rich and Steve Roach, among many other distinguished artists and musicians. It should be a great night, we encourage everyone to come out and say hello! Appearing will be Carl Weingarten, Ben Swire, Brian Naas (Egocentric), M. Bentley, Dean Santomieri, Thermal, and Saul Stokes.

Cobalt Sun is located at 411-A Coloma St. in Sausalito, CA. Simple directions: take US-101 to Marin City/Sausalito Exit - This will loop around and take you right onto Bridgeway - stay on Bridgeway, two more lights, turn left at Coloma St. - look on right side last building, center door - look for sign on door and sari blowing in wind. You can find more information online here, and you can call for reservations at 415-332-2362




1 July 2006 - FORREST FANG & CARL WEINGARTEN'S INSIBILITY SET FOR JULY RELEASE!
Well, it has taken longer than expected, but we are at last ready to announce the immanent release of the new project from Forrest Fang and Carl Weingarten titled Invisibility! This album features a unique collaboration that showcases richly layered structures, created largely with the guitar sounds of Carl Weingarten. Forrest Fang has orchestrated this, adding electronic treatments and atmospheres to build deeply satisfying pieces that are at once simple and complex.

Look for more details as the date draws neared, and remember that Carl Weingarten is part of the line-up of our Foundry Night at Cobalt Sun on July 29th!




10 June 2006 - M. BENTLEY'S CHRONOS & KAIROS VIDEO FEATURED IN VIDEO SHOWCASE!
A quick update to let you know that the long-form video piece Chronos & Kairos, the soundtrack of which is on M. Bentley's latest CD (titled This World), will be shown in it's entirety as part of Cobalt Sun's Sound & Vision night on Saturday 17 June 2006. This night of videos which were created by composers is part of the Synapse Electronic Arts Series that is taking place during the summer at Cobalt Sun. In fact there will be a Foundry Night on July 29th as part of this series, more details on that to come later.

View the full press release here for details of time and location. More info at the Cobalt Sun website. Should be a great evening, and be sure to tell them The Foundry sent you!




17 March 2006 - NEW M. BENTLEY CD!
After a VERY long production period filled with all sorts of twists and turns M. Bentley's This World has finally been released! This CD can be ordered directly from Foundryshop's This World page where you will find audio samples and other information about this project.




1 March 2006 - NEW SAUL STOKES CD!
We are pleased to announce the release of Saul Stokes' great new album Vast! This CD can be ordered directly from Foundryshop's Vast page where you will find audio samples and other information about Saul's latest project.

Next up on the Foundry schedule will be M. Bentley's long awaited This World, due for release on 3/25/06, and after that the new collaboration between Forrest Fang and Carl Weingarten titled Invisibility. More information will posted soon.




1 February 2006 - 2006 FOUNDRY NEWS
Apologies for the lack of updates in recent months. Despite the dirth of posts there has been a lot of activity behind the scenes!

First and foremost, Saul Stokes' new album Vast has been completed and is in production. We are in the process of updating the Vast page and will be adding audio samples and other information in the next week or so.

In addition the two part interview with Saul, part of the Floating Points podcast series, has been published and is available now. It's easy to subscribe by pasting our RSS feed address (see below) into iTunes or some other audio player. You can also download directly from our Floating Points page.
RSS FEED: feed://www.foundrysite.com/podcasts/floatingpoints.xml

One last Saul Stokes related item - Saul will be performing on 25 March in Philadelphia along with Foundry founder Michael Bentley. This concert is part of The Gatherings concert series and more information can be found here.

Before I sign off, another tidbit. A little later in the year we will release Invisibility a new collaboration between Forrest Fang and Carl Weingarten. More information on this exciting project will be forthcoming soon.




1 November 2005 - FOUNDRY BUDGET LINE
As part of The Foundry's 8th Anniversary I am inaugurating the Foundry Budget Line. All of our CD releases from catalogue FOU.01 to FOU.14 are now $5/CD... the same great music and packaging at half the price. This is an excellent chance to catch up with all the critically acclaimed Foundry releases while they are still in print. To order please visit the Foundryshop

CDs included are:
  • eM - Djinn
  • V/A - Eclectronica
  • The Apiary - Descent
  • Rhomb - Hidden Topographies
  • eM - Greater than zero, less than one
  • The Foundry - Mote
  • V/A - Lost and Found ($10 - 2CD set)
  • Dean Santomieri - The Boy Beneath the Sea
  • eM - All the Stars Burning Bright
  • Mollusk - Accretions
*Seofon - Zero Point is OOP and therefore not included




1 September 2005 - INTRODUCING FLOATING POINTS - THE FOUNDRY PODCAST
We're pleased to announce the debut of Floating Points, the Foundry podcast series. Our first episode is now available online, for further details and instructions please visit our Floating Points page.

In coming months we will be presenting interviews, live performances, and other special features as part of this ongoing series. New installments will be posted approximately every two weeks. Happy listening!




5 August 2005 - THIS WORLD RELEASE CANCELLED
It's with deep regret that I announce the indefinite shelving of my This World release.

Ever since I announced this release publicly the project has been plagued with technical problems leading to significant delays. I expected challenges given that this was the first DVD on which I had worked and the time limitations of the one-man operation, but the situation recently took a serious turn for the worse. In the middle of a major archiving session my primary back-up drive suffered a catastrophic crash and I lost (at least partially) much of my work from the past six months, including the Chronos & Kairos DVD draft. I hope to recover this work by piecing together my various archives and using data recovery services as time and finances allow, and it is very disappointing to have to leave this project unfinished when completion was so close at hand, but for the moment I must move on to other commitments.

My apologies to those of you who have expressed interest in, and given your support to, this project. Someday we will visit This World together.

- Michael Bentley




30 June 2005 - THING ASUNDER & POSTERS IN FOUNDRYSHOP
We have made several additions to Foundryshop during this past month, including the long awaited Thing Asunder CD. Also added are two poster/banners: the Thing Asunder Poster and an image designed during the making of Greater than zero, less than one titled Digital Sea and Sky. Check them all out!




20 April 2005 - CHARLES BROWNING AT JACK THE PELICAN PRESENTS
In addition to the Open Studios event listed in the last news item, Charles Browning will be having a show at the well-known Jack The Pelican Presents in Brooklyn. The show, titled Weasel Pop, will be on display from May 6th until June 6th, and there will be an opening reception on Friday May 6 from 7-9 PM. Jack the Pelican Presents is located at 487 Driggs St. (between N 9th and N 10th) in Brooklyn, NY - directions to the gallery can be found here. You can see the latest of Charles' paintings here and read the gallery's press release here.




9 April 2005 - FOUNDRY NEWS UPDATES
Despite the relative silence (apologies for that), there has been a lot of activity behind the scenes at The Foundry. Here are a few items of interest...
  • THING ASUNDER NEARS COMPLETION
    After various delays (due in part to technical problems in the Foundry studio) this project has entered the final mastering stage. Thing Asunder began several years back with the assembling of a cut-up story using the collage technique (as employed by Dadaist and Surrealist artists) of cutting up text from various sources and assembling it randomly to create a new story. The resulting chapbook was then shared amongst a handful of sound artists and this lead to the idea of a CD. Participants include Ben Swire, Earwicker (Seofon and Kimoscio), Steve Brand (formerly Augur), and M. Bentley. We will also be presenting an extensive chapbook which will explore the ideas of Thing Asunder as well as including the original text. Live shows will also expand on the project with improvised performances and accompanying video, further details to be announced during the summer.

  • SAUL STOKES' NEW CD TO BE RELEASED ON THE FOUNDRY
    I am very excited to announce that Saul Stokes' next album, titled Vast, will be released on CD by the Foundry in the late summer of 2005. Having heard about half of the tracks in rough mixes I can say that this is going to be a very strong release. Saul is at once expanding his compositional voice and employing his trademark palette of unique sounds. Having been an avid listener for many years, and having enjoyed working with Saul on both the SUB.TERRA and Fluidities projects, I am pleased to get a chance to work on a full-length Saul Stokes album. More information will be added as it becomes available.

  • SAUL STOKES LIVE EVENT
    Thursday, April 14, 8 PM
    The Drum Machine Museumıs Whitebox Lounge ACT XIII
    The LAB - 2948 16th Street, San Francisco, CA 94103 [415.864.8855 ]
    The Drum Machine Museum presents a unique night of performance curated by Mickey T. This evening's exquisite sonic experiments will be augmented by synchronized visual improvisations. Lights will feature Tom Heasley on processed and looped tuba paired with Anna Geyer's 16 mm film set. Life includes Saul Stokes on modular synthesizer and rhythm machine with Caroluna Michelson's video accompaniment. Performances will take place inside of installations curated by Gregory Cowley, including "See the Elephant" by Ryan Junell and Erik Adigard's "Adoriction." Attendees will also witness a film production in progress as the performance is simultaneously filmed and projected in what the Drum Machine Museum terms a "real-time documentary." Installations open for viewing at 7 PM. More event info here.

  • NEW WORK FROM CHARLES BROWNING AND OPEN STUDIO EVENT
    Foundry associate Charles Browning has been busy creating new paintings in his Brooklyn studio and will be participating in an Open Studio event at the end of this month. This is a great chance to get to see a variety of art (there are many studios in this building) and especially to view some of Charles' work in person. The Open Studios will be held Friday April 29 (from 5 - 9 PM) and Saturday April 30 (from 12 - 5 PM) at 87 Richardson Street in Brooklyn, NY... only a short walk from the Lorimer St. subway stop (subway from Manhattan: L train to Lorimer St. - Lorimer exit. Go west on Lorimer under the BQE to Richardson. Right on Richardson. 37 Richardson is in the second block on the left). You can get a preview of Charles work here.

  • M. BENTLEY INTERVIEWED FOR ELECTROAMBIENT SPACE
    Recently Phil Derby, a long-time reviewer, asked me to answer some questions for his ezine Electroambient Space. The resulting interview has been posted as part of the latest EAS issue (posted here on 4/6/05). Topics include my musical background, origins of The Foundry and my approach to creating music. In addition to interviews Electroambient Space presents monthly features and CD reviews.

  • BONUS MATERIAL FOR JONATHAN HUGHES' FLUIDITIES PROJECT
    Jonathan Hughes continues to present new bonus tracks for his wonderful Fluidities 2CD project. Now available for a limited time are MP3s from High Skies and Rob Lynch, as well as tracks from Hussalonia and Naryan Padmanabha (both in collaboration with Jonathan). For links visit the Foundryshop Fluidities page, or go to Jonathan Hughes' Dronelab Fluidities page.

    More news soon!




5 January 2005 - TEMPORARY INTERRUPTIONS TO FOUNDRYSHOP/FOUNDRYSITE
Due to holiday virus activity (guess they like the festivities as much as anyone) our site was out of commission during some of the last few weeks of December. Our ISP assures us that no data was compromised and no permanent damage was done, so we're back to normal operations! If you had any problems with the site just drop us a line here and we can sort it out. Thanks for your patience!




18 November 2004 - THE WIRE/THE FOUNDRY - M. BENTLEY APPEARS ON NEW WIRE TAPPER CD
Today the 250th issue of The Wire is released in the UK (Europe/World soon thereafter) and with it a 2CD Wire Tapper compilation. Foundry founder and artist M. Bentley is one of the featured contributors to Wire Tapper 12, represented by a remixed version of Piano Ship, a track from his upcoming This World CD/DVD release. Piano Ship was initially presented (in a somewhat different form) on the Foundry compilation Lost & Found. More information on this forthcoming release and the rest of the Foundry catalogue can be found via Foundryshop.

More information on The Wire #250, the Wire Tapper series, and subscriptions can be found at The Wire's website. Please support this great magazine, and tell them The Foundry sent you!

the wire #250 cover




2 November 2004 - M. BENTLEY APPEARS ON MARTIAN GARDENS RADIO SHOW
Foundry label head Michael Bentley (who also records as eM) will be appearing on WMUA's Martian Gardens radio program on Sunday 11/07/2004. This wonderful show features music from the experimental, glitch, ambient and avant garde genres and is hosted by Max Shea every Sunday night from 9PM to midnight.Michael will be presenting a short Fluidities set featuring some tracks from Jonathan Hughes' Fluidities 2CD release as well as some unreleased but related material of his own.

Martian Gardens is broadcast on 91.1 FM from Amherst, Massachusetts. For folks out of the area WMUA has a streaming audio feed available online at http://wmua.org/listen/index.html





15 October 2004 - DEAN SANTOMIERI PERFORMS
Dean Santomieri performs as part of the Berkeley Arts Festival on Thursday, October, 28th, at 2324 Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley. The Show, titled Panopticon, consists of six pieces and features the writing of Hollis Frampton, Diane Arbus, Herve Guibert and Dean Santomieri. Quoting from the press release:
An evening of stories written by photographers and filmmakers, performed by Dean Santomieri and accompanied by his music and video. "The theme of the eternal return looms largely in the selection of stories I have chosen to present for this evening. There is also something of the nature of film itself implicit in the writing: the frozen moment, the endless repetition... the film artifact capable of attaching it's beginning to it's end and showing continuously until it burns up or deteriorates."
The show begins at 8 P.M. and costs $10.





12 October 2004 - eM's RETROGRAD RELEASE ONLINE
In late 2002 eM (M. Bentley) put together a project for Slapart, the first installment in the Slaptape cassette series. This limited release sold out almost immediately and has now been posted as downloadable MP3s here. Quoting the press info:
In this first installment of the slaptape series, ambient/glitch musician Michael Bentley (The Foundry, Fällt, No Type) contributes a one-sided 34 minute work based on some old Russian and Hungarian folk vinyl he found at an Oakland library sale. The work is divided into 3 tracks of various lengths. As a whole, the work combines layered digital processing of samples with elements of slow motion free improvisation to create a moody reflection on a time and place that never actually existed.
eM's Retrograd release/download page.





26 September 2004 - FOUNDRY INTERVIEWS ARCHIVED
As part of the revisions/updates being carried out as part of The Foundry's seventh birthday, we have collected (and some cases re-posted) the interviews that M. Bentley and several other Foundry artists have given during that time. Thanks to all the interviewers for allowing us a chance to talk about our projects and ideas!
    Chronologically (old to new):

  • M. Bentley interview published in AmbiEntrance (conducted by David Opdyke in 1998)

  • M. Bentley interview transcribed from Spanish radio programme LA REBELION DE LOS ANTIOXIDANTES (conducted by Isabel Garcia in 2000)

  • Dean Santomieri radio interview about the creation and evolution of The Boy Beneath the Sea (courtesy of Discreet Music/KPFA from 2002) [11.38 - 2.6MB (mono/32kbps)]

  • US Robotics Pt. 3, M. Bentley interview published in the Disquiet ezine (conducted by Marc Weidenbaum in 2002)

  • Foundry feature (including interviews with M. Bentley, Seofon, Dean Santomieri, and Nathan Kreisberg) published in Ambient Visions ezine (conducted by Jim Brenholts in 2002)

  • M. Bentley/Foundry interview published in the Bip-Hop e-zine (conducted by Philippe Petit in 2002)





14 September 2004 - THE SKY WITHIN THE GROUND EP RELEASED
Newly arrived at the Foundryshop is Egocentric's The Sky Within the Ground EP. This debut from San Francisco composer and musician Brian Naas is the third in the Foundry EP Series. Audio samples and cover art are available here.




18 August 2004 - EGOCENTRIC'S THE SKY WITHIN THE GROUND EP
MP3 excerpts from Egocentric's The Sky Within the Ground EP have been posted, along with cover art. This is the debut release from Egocentric (SF composer and musician Brian Naas) and the third in the Foundry EP Series. Expected release date is 14 September 2004




13 August 2004 - eM's BROKEN MOMENTS - MP3 RELEASE
Broken Moments was originally released through .tiln in 2000 but seems to have been lost in the revamping that site has undergone in the years since. So now this eight track MP3 suite, similar in style to eM's Greater than zero, less than one release, is available again through Foundrysite here.




1 August 2004 - FLUIDITIES RELEASED / FOUNDRYSHOP ONLINE / MAJOR SITE REVISIONS
Long overdue, much anticipated, and major accomplishments all!
  • Jonathan Hughes' Fluidities 2CD is released!
    Long aniticpated this is Jonathan's first release since Trillium. Together with a host of international guests, including Tetsu Inoue, Ian Boddy, and High Skies (Mat Jarvis) to name but a few, Jonathan delivers a unique project designed so that both CDs can be played individually or together in order to create new compositions. Visit the Fluidities page for more information and audio samples!

  • Foundryshop opens!
    After much work Foundryshop is open for business. It is now possible to order Foundry releases directly online using credit card or PayPal payment services. For more information go here.

  • Timelight photo gallery
    A selection from M. Bentley's recent photographic series.

  • Site revisions throughout Foundrysite
    Major revisions are going on throughout Foundrysite, adding new content and streamlining the overall structure. Stay tuned for new additions!




28 April 2004 - FOUNDRYSITE UPDATES
A rash of updates to Foundrysite signal the coming of spring and summer. Visit the following pages for a breath of fresh air...




21 January 2004 (updated 6 February 2004) - ARCHIPELAGO PROJECTS
2004 is beginning with a flurry of activity from the Archipelago (a loose collective of Bay Area sound artists). First of all the Bibimbap compilation has entered production this past week and should find its way into stores and mail order outlets in February. Our official release date is Friday the 13th of February and coincides with our release party, to be held at the Musician's Union Hall (116 Ninth St. in San Francisco). The Bibimbap release party kicks off a series of Archipelago events to be held the 2nd Friday of each month through the summer.

Here's a list of all the dates (all FRIDAYS)...
  • 2/13/04 - BIBIMBAP RELEASE PARTY
    Come and join us in celebrating this great compilation, meet the artists, and enjoy an evening of music and visual art. A tracklisting and audio samples can be found here.

  • 3/12/04 - THE ARCHIPELAGO LIVE
    Performers will include Earwicker, Chris Degiere, Thermal, Dean Santomieri, and M. Bentley/eM with others to be announced soon.

  • 4/16/04 - VIDEO NIGHT
    This evening will feature the work of Dean Santomieri, M. Bentley, Ben Swire, and others.

  • 5/14/04 - WORDS AND SOUNDS
    Participants will include Seofon, Thermal, Dean Santomieri, Ben Swire, M. Bentley and others.

  • 6/11/04 - AN ARCHIPELAGO SALON
    Details to be announced.

Details about these events to follow. Information about future gigs can also be found on our Live webpage.