Marcus Fischer’s On Falling was originally self-released as a tour cassette in the fall of 2018. 12k is proud to offer this new version that contains the original release on side A combined with a 30-minute live recording on side B.

Marcus is known for his releases of carefully constructed studio works and tape manipulation, yet his process also embraces randomness, incidental, and found sounds. On Falling is an exploration of the latter techniques that allow for improvisation and capture the results in a single stereo take. This reproduces the experience of his live performances.

The improvised work on On Falling is as captivating as Fischer’s studio work—the presence of physical contact between body and instrument with musical notes that undulate in the stereo field, never resolving the same way. Despite the irregular nature of his compositions, the music is patient and gentle, while staying alert and engaging. Fischer’s acoustic instrumentation and understanding of the digital and tape manipulation process makes the nature of the sounds something new entirely, something that falls outside of standard definitions.

The live performance “On April 29th” (presented on side B of the cassette) contains many of the elements found on the first four tracks (guitar, tape loops, modular synthesizer and field recordings) as well as the voices from one of Fischer’s installations. For this performance, Marcus focused on textures centered around extended guitar techniques. Using objects placed under and on top of strings, he creates sympathetic overtones, transforms his guitar sound into a chorus of bells beneath pipe organ drones. Amid dusty musical passages and the swells of his prepared guitar, the performance draws to a close in a wash of analog tape delay from a repurposed reel to reel recorder.

12k presents On Falling as a limited edition of 100 cassettes which will live on in digital and streaming formats.

Album Credits

Side A was created Fall 2018 in Portland, Oregon 

Recorded direct to 4MS Wav Recorder

Side B was recorded on April 29th, 2019
at Holocene in Portland, Oregon by Calvin Erdal.

Voice by Patricia Wolf
speaking words written by Alyson Provax
All other sounds by Marcus Fischer
Mastered by Taylor Deupree 

Thank you for the support.

Artist

Marcus Fischer

Marcus Fischer (b.1977) is a musician & multimedia artist currently based in Portland, Oregon. With early beginnings in the LA independent music scene, Fischer moved from there to Olympia, Washington where in addition to drumming in various bands he found new opportunities to further experiment with sound, using tape loops and electronics. The journey led next to Portland, Oregon, where he continues to refine his experimentations. Field recordings, chance, and DIY instruments, coupled with acoustic…

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