Operation Sunbeam by Thollem Electric

Aural Films is excited to present, "Operation Sunbeam," by Thollem Electric. An electroacoustic soundtrack that transports the listener to the cold war era. Vintage electronics are used extensively to paint stark electronic soundscapes that are haunting sonic visions of mutated landscapes and deception. Read more on the album from Thollem Electric:

The Nevada Nuclear Test Site is 1,360 square miles on what belonged to, and still legally does, the Shoshone, the original occupants. A total of 1,021 nuclear detonations were conducted from 1951 - 1992. This album is inspired by the wonder of the science behind the splitting of the atom, the tragic ways this knowledge has been tested and put to use and the strangely creative techniques the U.S. government and private corporations employed to sell it to the public. All of the titles are taken directly from names given to areas, instruments and projects at the NTS.

Tracklist

1.	Plutonium Valley	5:26

2.	The Forest, Encore And Grable	4:49

3.	Divine Strake	5:37

4.	Operation Icecap	6:03

5.	Super Kukla	7:17

6.	Survival City Vs. Doomtown	4:13

7.	Ship Of The Desert	10:32

Credits

released February 8, 2016

Thollem Electric - Modified Electric Pianos, Rhodes, Hammond Organ, Analog Effects.

Almost all of this music was made with a chopped Yamaha - PF-10 (thanks to Kevin Zoernig) run through pedals that were given/loaned to by John Dieterich of Deerhoof (Electro Harmonix Frequency Analyzer), BearFoot FX (Fuzz, Distortion and Tremolo) and Analog Outfitters (Super Sarge Guitar Tube Amplifier, and their vibrato scanner, both made from old Hammond Organ parts).

The front cover photo: "part of the promotion of nuclear testing at the
Nevada Test Site, with a mushroom cloud in the background, April 6, 1953.

U.S. Department of Energy photograph. Public domain"

*Operation Sunbeam was the name given to the last series of
above ground nuclear tests conducted July 17th, 1962.

Thollem's widely known as an acoustic piano player, composer, improviser, traveler, author, activist and educator. He has collaborated with hundreds of artists across the stylistic spectrum: musicians, dancers, filmmakers and activists. As a keyboardist Thollem has released albums with a wide array of musicians including: 'Thollem/Cline Trio' with Nels Cline of Wilco; 'Hand To Man Band' with Mike Watt of The Minutemen, fIREHOSE, Iggy and The Stooges, John Dieterich of Deerhoof and Tim Barnes from SIlver Jews; '10,000 Tigers' with Arrington de Dionyso of Old Time Relijun and Malaikat Dan Singha; 'Whistling Joy Jumpers' with Brian Chase of Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Jad Fair of Half Japanese; 'Conformity Contortion' with Sara Lund of Unwound, Corin Tucker Band, Hungry Ghost; 'Tsigoti' with members of Jealousy Party, L'Enfance Rouge and Motociclica Tellacci (Andrea Caprara, Jacopo Andreini, Piero Spitilli and Matteo Bennici), Gino Robair (Tom Waits) and... Read More: thollemelectric.com

Aural Films is an online record label (netlabel) that releases high-quality soundtrack albums for movies that do not exist. We cover a wide range of music styles ranging from ambient to experimental to popular to soundtrack musics. Often on the same albums. You can find our complete catalog of releases online at AuralFilms.com

Aural Films Catalog No. AF0149

License

CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. See the Creative Commons website for details.