For their 12th release HellosQuare has put together ‘Asleep On Trains’. It’s a celebration of the year 2007 and looking back why not? Shoeb Ahmad, the Canberra artist who runs the label, has been playing shows all over the place and HellosQuare has come of age with some great releases this year. Compilations have the power to set the tone for a label. As a sampler for the uninitiated they can encourage digging into a label’s catalogue or turn off their audience spectacularly. Shoeb has put together an awesome showing and chosen the track order well.
‘Asleep On Trains’ is a heady mix of minimal acoustics and processed sound to pure drone. It features the work of Morning Stalker, Adam Trainer, Leafcutter John collaborating with Sebastien Roux (who were superb on their recent tour of Australia), Gareth Hardwick & M. Rösner. From the opening track by Morning Stalker there is a shimmering guitar sound present. This sound drifts throughout the release (and indeed is a heavy source sound for Shoeb’s own work) but is tempered by organic electronics and drones. There is a sort of drift going on – the sensation of being between sleep and awake on a train is an apt analogy. The feeling that you can’t quite keep your eyes open and are entering a strange dreamlike world. Stand-out tracks are always hard to choose but Spartak’s ‘Soldier Dub’ (a collaboration between Shoeb & drummer Evan Dorrian), the Leafcutter & Roux collab, and M. Rösner’s track are all favorites.
‘Asleep On Trains’ is available from http://www.myspace.com/hellosquarerecordings now – limited to 125 copies.
