BLACK DEER レコード& CD

Review: Rush Hour Distribution's No 'Label' operation is on one at the moment with recent arrivals from Jordan GCZ and Dublin pair Morgan Buckley & Olmo Devin fine additions to the label's discography. We can now add this sublime release from William Burnett's Black Deer project to our list of No 'Label' highlights. The four track Pray For Us sees the WT Records man venture further into the great sonic unknown and commences in truly spiritual fashion with the healing handclaps of the title cut. From here Burnett veers into shoegazy wave territory on "Leaving The Station" whilst "Frost To Mist" sounds like a cosmiche instrumental cover version of Timmy Thomas jam "Why Can't We Live Together". Final track "Second Time Around" veers off into sublime ambient territory. A quite wonderful record.

Review: Following the critical success of last years mini-LP The Last Tortuga, Black Deer is back on Emotional Response with a 4 track remix EP featuring friends and alumni Nacho Patrol, Luke Wyatt, Sad City and Valet. William Burnett returns to the label in the form of a remixes EP that takes his original productions and hands it to a broad selection of today's finest electronic producers, plus a rare outing from one of the label's favourite pyschedelic experimentalists. While Danny Wolfer's Legowelt project needs little introduction, it was only right that his inclusion on the label came from a more cosmic outlook. With must have EPs and a long player offered, his afro-infused Nacho Patrol moniker is a must check. In Circle Dance the original is taken by the hand down to an afro-tech-funk'n'breaks basement for one of his best remixes to date and rightly so for one of his old buds. Luke Wyatt follows with an uplifting and warped retake on Meditation. The kraut influence of the original is built on with fuzz guitar and a solo that builds across the track to a higher peak. Play this at sunrise for reaffirmation of life itself. Next is a big favourite of the label, catching the ear from his first release on Underwater Peoples
and a lush follow up for Phonica. His pure ambience of a remix strips everything back and lets the 4th World shine. With a 2nd EP due on Phonica, look out for something on this label soon. Finally, one of the main influences on the label when it started a few years back. Valet aka Portland multi-instrumentalist and mum, Honey Owens offers a deep, beautiful and haunting retake, adding whispers, drones, guitar, toms, keys and intonations to swallow you whole.

Review: Allegedly run "by a number of Brians," the Peak Oil Records label emerged in style last year, issuing long players from Strategy and the Personable alias of M. Geddes Gengras. The Los Angeles-based label's dedication to underground strains of US experimental electronics is further demonstrated here with a wonderfully presented collection of Black Deer material from WT Records boss William Burnett. First adopting the name on a release for Rush Hour's No 'Label' series, Burnett's inspiration for Black Deer is the apparent lack of patriotism in contemporary America and it's been some of his most compelling work of recent times. This six track collection is presented as Burnett's debut album as Black Deer and draws you deep into a world of hypnotic, kraut indebted synth explorations and psychedelic box jams and is dominated by the opening sixteen minute track "It's Like the Way It Used to Be".

Review: With releases on a who's who list of labels that are pushing experimental, underground house and techno including L.I.E.S, Creme Organisation, Echovolt and Strange Life, William Burnett has been steadily putting out releases that have gained a lot of respect without having to shout too loud about it. So much so that as well as running his own stella WT Records label, William is now often cited as a producer's producer. Deep and full of dub aesthetics that encompasses a world of it's own, his music is not just driven by a need to keep the floor moving, but are also about taking your headspace somewhere else. Progressing things a stage further is the Black Deer project. Recently launched, but in gestation for some time, it's introspective slant, plus loose referencing to his upbringing in Texas, allows William more freedom for experimentation. The Last Tortuga is taken from the same sessions that yielded the Willie Burns The Overlord EP on Trilogy Tapes as well as Black Deer's Trail Of Tears EP on Rush Hour, this 6 track EP has been due on the label for sometime, but it's been worth the wait as his sound has developed and expanded to take in ambient, drone and krautrock and highlights his musicianship in a new light.

Review: This Tail Of Tears 12" sees WT Records boss William Burnett adopt the Black Deer name for the No Label series that intermittently emits from Rush Hour HQ. The somewhat mysterious No Label series acts as a primer for music that essentially transcends label or genre, and has issued the tape saturated meanderings of Inga Copeland, jagged ragga techno from Aardvarck and the heavily psychedelic electronics of Stellar Om Source. Ths Black Deer record from Burnett certainly adheres to the expect the unexpected ethos of the No Label series, offering a more experimental side to the New Yorker's production palette than last year's exceptional Willie Burns release for The Trilogy Tapes. Burnett himself calls the Tail Of Tears 12" the results of some experiments with "12 string acoustic guitar with effects and synth" whilst Rush Hour call it "sympathetic storytelling for the real Americans".