The Volume Settings Folder & Tanner Garza – Springtime Return

The Volume Settings Folder is the project of Italian M. Beckmann, who makes ambient music that you can delve into here. Tanner Garza is an American experimental musician with a plethora of releases in various projects, including Texas Harsh Noisefuckers Black Leather Jesus (!). You can find a nice collection of stuff to explore here. Both artists are prolific as they are talented, and it’s well worth spending some time getting to know their work.

[NB. The underground experimental scene (that contains acts like Texas Harsh Noisefuckers Black Leather Jesus) is a fascinating, one, and a real eye-opener to the boundaries of music (you could would do well to start here, a nice interview with Svartvit on InLog.org). Be warned, this is something of an internet rabbit hole, and reading about increasingly bizarre acts is strangely addictive].

Springtime Return is a great example of ambient music done well. Using field recordings in conjunction with drone, the pair create four tracks that are atmospheric, ethereal and haunting. There is an irony here: for a project conducted primarily on computers or other electronic equipment, and indeed a collaboration that took place across half of the globe via email, Springtime Return is fundamentally organic. It is so layered and nuanced that it sounds like nature; like something ancient and important yet simple, the earth spinning, time passing, drip of water as ice melts on spring’s return.

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The release is available in two lovely modes: a handcrafted CD or a tape from Bookend Recordings. For those of you without the necessary spare change can download a digital version via Bandcamp.