KILN - Astral Welder [Limited Edition (300 Worldwide) Orange Rust Color Vinyl]

Kevin Hayes, Kirk Marrison and Clark Rehberg III began collaborating under the KILN moniker in central Michigan in the early 1990s. The trio released its self-titled debut EP on the Roomtone label in 1997, further developing their sound — via naturalist recording techniques and nascent digital workstation methods — across subsequent releases in the early 2000s. KILN signed to Ghostly International for 2004 LP, Sunbox, which established the label’s ambient “SMM” tributary, going on to reach their most consistent stretch from 2007’s Dusker through 2013’s meadow:watt. They make their long-awaited return to Ghostly with Astral Welder, a fizzing, electro-charged gallery of propulsion and abraded tone, offering eleven rotating constellations of force, groove and color that infuse the listener with a buoyant sense of now.

As a means to refresh their sonic troika, the pieces that make up Astral Welder forgo the standard KILN approach to composition in favor of a more ambitious, intuitive strategy rooted in strict 16-and 32-bar loop forms. The collection was incepted as densely-layered loops employing the use of self-sourced found sound and environmental recordings, then expanded through more traditional multi-tracking methods and instrumentation. 

01. Mud Dauber 02. Oceantumblers 03. Beachglass 04. Plum Hax 05. Open Field 06. Twin Sister Manifold 07. Saturator 08. Cartoon Garden 09. Koi 10. Sunseam 11. Ekkomoon