Despite being a member of the live-looping community for many years, despite performing at and indeed organising many “loopfests”, despite developing any number of software delays & loopers - despite all this, until this year I had never actually made a tape loop.
This album is the result of my addressing that gap in my experience. Obtaining an old Akai 4000DS Mk-II reel-to-reel recorder from eBay, I set to with a splicing block. The machine came with a few spools of tape, one containing an Abba EP that I didn’t recognise, which became the tape that got chopped up for loops. So each time I recorded new loops for this album, I began the session listening to a looped burst of ‘70s pop, before the tape was wiped. Who knows how this influenced my playing.
After some experimentation I settled on a solution for moving the tape away from the erase head to allow sound-on-sound looping. Then the question was, what to loop? The answer turned out to be contrabass clarinet, through amp simulator and reverb. Almost all the non-synthesiser parts on this record were created with that combination. A few modular synth parts also went through the tape looping process; and the first movement of ‘whispering’ features some tenor sax, not looped at all.
Alongside all this, at the time I was also coming towards the end of the development of a series of analogue synthesiser modules. The tracks here were the final test bed for these, particularly the ‘Lorelei’ VCO, which is why so many of the synth sounds tend towards fairly simple sine tones.
The result? I’ve never been one for message in my music, preferring instead the pure pursuit of beauty - but particularly that special beauty achieved by things that are beautifully ugly. Here, the grunge of the tape, the growl of the contrabass and the contrasting purity of the synths add up to something I find very special.
Dedicated to the memory of Jon Hassell (1937-2021), who passed away just as this album was completed. I had been listening to his “Vernal Equinox” on repeat around that time.
- Andrew Ostler, Edinburgh, October 2021
How much is my shipping?
Shipping costs are calculated automatically at checkout. Simply add items to your cart and proceed to the checkout page, where you'll see the available shipping options and their prices. VAT at the applicable rate for your country will also be displayed at checkout.
European Union orders:
- Standard shipping is free on orders over €100. Express shipping is available on orders over €100, and free on orders over €400.
Poland orders:
- Standard shipping is free on orders over 250 PLN. Express shipping is free on orders over 500 PLN.
What about local taxes?
By default prices on the site include sales tax at 20%. The precise sales tax rate for your country will be calculated at checkout.
Do you ship to my country?
We ship to all EU member states from our warehouse in Warsaw, Poland. Add an item to your cart and enter your country and postcode to see the available shipping options and prices for your location. If you have any questions about shipping to your country, drop us an email at info@signalsounds.eu and we'll be happy to help.
Shipping methods
All EU orders are shipped via UPS. We offer two service levels:
- UPS Standard – our default shipping option. Delivery times vary by country (see estimated delivery times below).
- UPS Express Saver – next business day delivery to most EU destinations.
Each product page shows the estimated delivery time for your location, so you'll always know what to expect before you order.
Estimated delivery times (Standard shipping)
The times below are estimates in working days from dispatch, based on UPS Standard service. Express Saver delivers by the next business day to most destinations.
| Country | Estimated delivery (working days) |
|---|---|
| Austria | 2–3 |
| Belgium | 2 |
| Bulgaria | 4–5 |
| Croatia | 2–4 |
| Cyprus | 10 |
| Czechia | 2–3 |
| Denmark | 3 |
| Estonia | 2–3 |
| Finland | 3–5 |
| France | 2–4 |
| Germany | 2 |
| Greece | 5–7 |
| Hungary | 2–3 |
| Ireland | 4–6 |
| Italy | 3–5 |
| Latvia | 2–3 |
| Lithuania | 1–2 |
| Luxembourg | 2 |
| Malta | 5–7 |
| Netherlands | 2 |
| Poland | 1–2 |
| Portugal | 4–5 |
| Romania | 3–4 |
| Slovakia | 2–3 |
| Slovenia | 2–3 |
| Spain | 4 |
| Sweden | 3–5 |
These times are estimates and are not guaranteed. Delivery may occasionally take a little longer due to customs processing, local conditions, or carrier delays.
Dispatch times
Orders placed before 15:00 CET (Central European Time) on a working day are normally dispatched the same day. Orders placed after 15:00 CET, or on weekends and public holidays, will be dispatched on the next working day.
If you have an urgent order, please email us at info@signalsounds.eu before placing your order and we'll do our best to accommodate you.
Pre-orders
If a product is listed as a pre-order, it means we've ordered it from the supplier but it's not physically in stock yet. The product listing will include an estimated shipping date based on the best information we have from the supplier, but do bear in mind this is subject to change and is not a guaranteed date.
If you place an order containing a mixture of in-stock and pre-order items, we'll normally hold off on shipping anything until the pre-order item(s) have arrived, rather than splitting it into multiple shipments. If you need the in-stock items sooner, we'd recommend placing separate orders. As always, please get in touch at info@signalsounds.eu if you have questions.
Product Overview
Despite being a member of the live-looping community for many years, despite performing at and indeed organising many “loopfests”, despite developing any number of software delays & loopers - despite all this, until this year I had never actually made a tape loop.
This album is the result of my addressing that gap in my experience. Obtaining an old Akai 4000DS Mk-II reel-to-reel recorder from eBay, I set to with a splicing block. The machine came with a few spools of tape, one containing an Abba EP that I didn’t recognise, which became the tape that got chopped up for loops. So each time I recorded new loops for this album, I began the session listening to a looped burst of ‘70s pop, before the tape was wiped. Who knows how this influenced my playing.
After some experimentation I settled on a solution for moving the tape away from the erase head to allow sound-on-sound looping. Then the question was, what to loop? The answer turned out to be contrabass clarinet, through amp simulator and reverb. Almost all the non-synthesiser parts on this record were created with that combination. A few modular synth parts also went through the tape looping process; and the first movement of ‘whispering’ features some tenor sax, not looped at all.
Alongside all this, at the time I was also coming towards the end of the development of a series of analogue synthesiser modules. The tracks here were the final test bed for these, particularly the ‘Lorelei’ VCO, which is why so many of the synth sounds tend towards fairly simple sine tones.
The result? I’ve never been one for message in my music, preferring instead the pure pursuit of beauty - but particularly that special beauty achieved by things that are beautifully ugly. Here, the grunge of the tape, the growl of the contrabass and the contrasting purity of the synths add up to something I find very special.
Dedicated to the memory of Jon Hassell (1937-2021), who passed away just as this album was completed. I had been listening to his “Vernal Equinox” on repeat around that time.
- Andrew Ostler, Edinburgh, October 2021
Technical Specs
Shipping Details
How much is my shipping?
Shipping costs are calculated automatically at checkout. Simply add items to your cart and proceed to the checkout page, where you'll see the available shipping options and their prices. VAT at the applicable rate for your country will also be displayed at checkout.
European Union orders:
- Standard shipping is free on orders over €100. Express shipping is available on orders over €100, and free on orders over €400.
Poland orders:
- Standard shipping is free on orders over 250 PLN. Express shipping is free on orders over 500 PLN.
What about local taxes?
By default prices on the site include sales tax at 20%. The precise sales tax rate for your country will be calculated at checkout.
Do you ship to my country?
We ship to all EU member states from our warehouse in Warsaw, Poland. Add an item to your cart and enter your country and postcode to see the available shipping options and prices for your location. If you have any questions about shipping to your country, drop us an email at info@signalsounds.eu and we'll be happy to help.
Shipping methods
All EU orders are shipped via UPS. We offer two service levels:
- UPS Standard – our default shipping option. Delivery times vary by country (see estimated delivery times below).
- UPS Express Saver – next business day delivery to most EU destinations.
Each product page shows the estimated delivery time for your location, so you'll always know what to expect before you order.
Estimated delivery times (Standard shipping)
The times below are estimates in working days from dispatch, based on UPS Standard service. Express Saver delivers by the next business day to most destinations.
| Country | Estimated delivery (working days) |
|---|---|
| Austria | 2–3 |
| Belgium | 2 |
| Bulgaria | 4–5 |
| Croatia | 2–4 |
| Cyprus | 10 |
| Czechia | 2–3 |
| Denmark | 3 |
| Estonia | 2–3 |
| Finland | 3–5 |
| France | 2–4 |
| Germany | 2 |
| Greece | 5–7 |
| Hungary | 2–3 |
| Ireland | 4–6 |
| Italy | 3–5 |
| Latvia | 2–3 |
| Lithuania | 1–2 |
| Luxembourg | 2 |
| Malta | 5–7 |
| Netherlands | 2 |
| Poland | 1–2 |
| Portugal | 4–5 |
| Romania | 3–4 |
| Slovakia | 2–3 |
| Slovenia | 2–3 |
| Spain | 4 |
| Sweden | 3–5 |
These times are estimates and are not guaranteed. Delivery may occasionally take a little longer due to customs processing, local conditions, or carrier delays.
Dispatch times
Orders placed before 15:00 CET (Central European Time) on a working day are normally dispatched the same day. Orders placed after 15:00 CET, or on weekends and public holidays, will be dispatched on the next working day.
If you have an urgent order, please email us at info@signalsounds.eu before placing your order and we'll do our best to accommodate you.
Pre-orders
If a product is listed as a pre-order, it means we've ordered it from the supplier but it's not physically in stock yet. The product listing will include an estimated shipping date based on the best information we have from the supplier, but do bear in mind this is subject to change and is not a guaranteed date.
If you place an order containing a mixture of in-stock and pre-order items, we'll normally hold off on shipping anything until the pre-order item(s) have arrived, rather than splitting it into multiple shipments. If you need the in-stock items sooner, we'd recommend placing separate orders. As always, please get in touch at info@signalsounds.eu if you have questions.
