DRAFT TAPES
I'm so behind here at Eggy HQ that this news is no longer new -- Gift Tapes main-man Jason Anderson has started a sister label called Draft as a haven for artists to go beyond their accustomed sound and try new things. Batch number two is already a reality, so be sure to scope those at the Draft site.

Frak - Dry Vanadis/Tournament City - Draft Tapes
If I'm not mistaken, Frak is the flagship band of the Swedish Borft label, which I've been curious about for quite a while now, but that curiosity running up against international shipping rates and sheer ignorance about where to start with the label. So already I was eager to listen to this tape before I even set the reels in motion. And my instincts were not wrong -- Dry Vanadis/Tournament City has been in heavy rotation since Jason sent along a pre-release Draft care package many moons ago. Frak are a Swedish trio playing synthesizer and drum-machine instrumental(for the most part) pop that perfectly sates a yen I didn't even know I had. The charm of this music is ultimately its simplicity -- the songs here were all recorded to 4-track using a huge pile of analog gear -- and it's freshness -- the snappy, linear drum-machine beats and choppy sequencer lines light up a whole web of early synth-pop/electro associations, from Yellow Magic Orchestra to the Normal, but Frak take such a lively, wide-eyed approach to their sound that it never feels dated or overly referential. Sides A and B are each EPs in themselves, one recorded in 2010, the other 2007-8, not sure if they've ever been released before, but it makes for a nice, full tape. Recommended! $7

A. Diller - Still Life - Draft Tapes
"Still Life" belongs to a genre of music that exists mostly in my head at this point but that includes the music that Justin Meyers is doing right now, and to a lesser extend Graham Lambkin's recent work, all of which is very exciting stuff to me. The two elements coming together here are collaged field recordings and gentle synthesizer work, each making the other more interesting by its presence. Not a whole lot more I want to say about it, it's really a very interesting and dynamic tape that mostly speaks for itself. Another one that I can whole-heartedly recommend, very happy to have it in stock. $7