Your Friend, Ten and Tracer [Under Construction]

A Secret Is A Poisonous Snake

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NOTE: To be released Early/Mid 2012 - Tracks with (*) are not available for preview until the album is released. Current songs are unmastered - watch your speakers/ears.

—; (71:30)

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notes - details –

Credits: All songs written and recorded by Jonathan Canupp 2009-2011. Artwork by Jonathan Canupp. Design and Concept by David Last and Jonathan Canupp.
Label: Konque/Acre
Year: 2012
Format: CD, Digital
Notes: A special promotional CDr was given away at Communikey Festival 2011 and a different promotional CDr has been sent randomly to people who have ordered other Ten and Tracer CDs. Links:
www.konque.net
moc.acrerca.com
www.asecretisapoisonoussnake.com

press - reviews –

Initial promotional CDs given away at Communikey Festival 2011 were met with great praise. Reviews will be added when/if they appear. If you have written or know of a review that is not featured here, please let me know.

extra - special –

The website, www.asecretisapoisonoussnake.com was created to allow people to anonymously submit secrets to Ten and Tracer. These secrets served as the inspiration for the artwork included in the various editions available.
Strange promotional videos are also rumored to exist.

purchase - acquire –

Release Date TBA - Will be available digitally and in a wonderful CD package, early-mid 2012.

- 2011 →

Friendless Now

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(~30:39)

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notes - details –

Credits: Written and recorded by Jonathan Canupp, 2007-2009 in Denver and Boulder, Colorado and Austin, Texas / Photography/Artwork by Ian Hawgood with some scribbles by Jonathan Canupp / Design by Christian Roth and Ian Hawgood
Label/Catalog: Nomadic Kids Republic / NKR005
Year: 2011
Format: CD, Digital
Notes:
"My love and thanks to Rachel for finding wonderful tape machines and interesting sounds for me to record. Additional thanks to Layden for loaning me his grandfather's violin. Ok, this is me." - From the liner notes.
Links:
www.nomadickids.com
www.homenormal.com

press - reviews –

Press Release:
"Jonathan Canupp is a name you should know but probably don't, but then again might. He records under Ten and Tracer and I've been into his records for ages and ages now. Back when I was checking out early net label releases, Jonathan came up as one of two people whose work in their entirety I just fell in love with. And funny how he actually works with the other artist now and lives in the same damn city - the person being a certain Jason Corder (offthesky, Juxta Phona) no less. He makes wonderful IDM music and in fact I may have asked him years ago now to make us a 'meaty beaty' record. And along he comes with the very cheek of making some sublimely evolved, subtly woven record using violin, tape machines, guitars, maybe some keyboards and other stuff too. Friendless Now is a beautifully realised work, and one of my favourite Ten and Tracer releases to date." - NKR

purchase - acquire –

Physical:
US: Darla Records - Amazon
UK: Norman Records - Boomkat
Japan: Home Normal Mailorder
Digital: —;.
on iTunes - Boomkat - Amazon

Compilations and Other Projects (2011)

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compilations –

Various: Kanshin
Label/Catalog: HibernateIFluid Audio / HI008
Format: 2xCD/Digital

Offthesky/Ten and Tracer - Therapy Refuge (7:30)

Hibernate Recordings

Various: Evaluation
Label/Catalog:UNOIKI / UI002
Format:CD/Digital

Ten and Tracer - Doving Fluttercotes (5:43)

Unoiki Collective

Various - Redefinition 1 - Undefined
Label/Catalog:UNOIKI / UI003
Format:CD/Digital

Ten and Tracer - Doving Fluttercotes (PierrotheMoon Remix)

Unoiki Collective

Various - Redefinition 2 - Evaluated
Label/Catalog: UNOIKI / UI004
Format: CD/Digital

Ten and Tracer - Doving Fluttercotes (Plaster Remix)

Unoiki Collective

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other projects –

Troy Pierce - Voodoovoodoo EP
I Need A Guide (Les Freres Royales Remix)

- 2010 →

Cold Finishes the Monk

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—; (41:36)

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notes - details –

Credits: All songs written and recorded by Jonathan Canupp 2009-2010. Artwork by Jonathan Canupp and The Acre Collective / Some violin and guitar bits were recorded with Layden Bryant. Keith Kenniff played piano on Stay With Me Almanac and contributed piano recordings that I used in Say Farewell To Your Use / Some violin from recordings with Lauren Higgins.
Label/Catalog: CARE/CARECOL
Year: 2010
Format: CD, Digital
Notes: Two physical editions were produced. One came with the bonus EP, Our Eyes Well Skinned.
Links:
www.acrerca.com

press - reviews –

extra - special –

Cold Finishes the Monk Photo Shoot

purchase - acquire –

Physical edition currently sold out.
From Archive.org (free download)

Our Eyes Well Skinned

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—; (31:26)

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notes - details –

Credits: All songs written and recorded by Jonathan Canupp 2009-2010. Artwork by Jonathan Canupp and The Acre Collective.
Label/Catalog: CARE/CAREOUR
Year: 2010
Format: CD-only
Notes: Included with the special edition of Cold Finishes the Monk. A variety of copies and forms were given to friends and sent randomly with other orders. 'An Exercise In True Character' is the idea I took to mind when creating this. I decided it was best to create it entirely from the mistakes that were made throughout the many processes of making Cold Finishes the Monk. What is more genuine than the aberrant and random behavior of machines and softwares? Well, probably quite a number of things are more genuine - but I hope you understand what I was trying to get at there.
Links:
moc.acrerca.com

Thunderpony

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— (14:52)

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notes - details –

Credits: All songs written and recorded by Jonathan Canupp 2009-2010. Artwork by Jonathan Canupp and The Acre Collective.
Label/Catalog:KONQUE/KQ008
Year: 2010
Format: Digital-only
Notes:
Written and recorded by Jonathan Canupp between 2008 and 2010 in Denver, Colorado. Mastered by David Last.
Links:
www.konque.com
www.davidlast.net

press - reviews –

Press Release:
"Ten and Tracer's Konque debut is a display case of deeply detailed tribalisch audio knick knacks. Skins of hand drums vibrate within oddly shifting polyrhythmic frames, cut with the finest mechanical precision. Some warped reed instruments are connected to a chamber of hot steam. They play back from the room next door through a dodgy speakerphone connection. A young man pouring with sweat holds a portable tape recorder and hops up and down with his eyes closed. He blows a lungfull of air into clouds of heavy moisture and smiles, still looking at nothing.

Funky, soulful & raw, yet incredibly clean and precise, this is a striking work of audio art."

extra - special –

Thunderpony Thunderposter from Konque - DOWNLOAD.

"Thunderpony" comes from some jokes being made about a Dethklok setlist I found on the floor of a venue. They have a number of brilliantly titled songs, as you may or may not know, and one such song is Thunderhorse. They ended their set with Thunderhorse, I believe, and I found it to be the perfect placement for a song with such a title. Purely based on the titles here, I am not so much familiar with the music I suppose. Anyhow... one thing leads to another, Thunderhorse -> Thunderpony, and now you've got yourself an EP title that in no way is as cool as Thunderhorse. But, there it is - it makes me laugh. Fun with knowledge, right there.

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From

Beatport

Sky Channel Transmission

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—; (*)

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notes - details –

Credits: All songs written and recorded by Jonathan Canupp 2002-2010. Artwork by Jonathan Canupp / Layden Bryant
Label/Catalog: ~
Year: 2010
Format: 2xCD, Digital
Notes: The satellites depicted in the artwork are located just outside of Boulder/Niwot, Colorado where I lived for many years. Driving by or walking around them was always a special thing.

press - reviews –

The Onion A/V Club:
"For a collection of "lost" tracks, outtakes, and other miscellany collected over the past eight years, Ten And Tracer's Sky Channel Transmission manages to hold together remarkably well as an actual album. The 39 tracks here span nearly the entire career of the prolific IDM producer, demonstrating a consistent vision and aesthetic that underlies his widely divergent output. Indeed, most listeners would be hard-pressed to guess which of these tracks originate in his early years and which might be of a more recent vintage.

The tracks collected here showcase a brooding, restrained sound that has its roots in the early days of Warp Records. Alternating warm and cold synthesizer timbres, peculiar percussion sounds, and an embrace of minimalism that borders on ambient are the hallmarks of this material. Slow tempos allow the songs to unfold at a relaxed pace, invoking a mood that's perfect for studying, relaxation, or treating your glaucoma through legal, alternative medical practices.

A few tracks diverge from this formula, such as "Mimosa"—with its excellent burbling bassline and dark, quasi-menacing synths—or "Slideshow Of New Automobiles," which pushes the beats forward to almost danceable levels, then uses that to support an engaging synth riff before suddenly stopping right as the whole thing gets going. More typical songs rely on a quiet, unassuming blend of elegant synthesizer arrangements, intricate beats, and fine textural details that reward close listening without drawing attention to themselves.

For longtime Ten And Tracer fans, Sky Channel Transmission is an intriguing document of the material that didn't make it on his releases. For newcomers who already like IDM, it's a decent introduction to one of the genre's more interesting acts. And for newcomers to the sound, it's a pleasant, solid collection of highly listenable—if not always riveting—material that could spark an interest in not just the deep, rewarding genre of IDM, but also in a local artist that's something of a master of it." (B) - Cory Casciato

extra - special –

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Will be available again shortly (RSC is under the weather). Please stand by for transmission.

April Kids

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—; (35:40)

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notes - details –

Credits: All songs written and recorded by Jonathan Canupp 2000-2003. Artwork by Jonathan Canupp and I,Absentee. Photos taken by a young Ten and Tracer, circa 1988.
Label/Catalog: I,Absentee / IA028
Year: 2010
Format: CD, Digital
Notes: Was originally an EP intended for vinyl release on the now defunct Tundra-Music label. The EP, plus the Electric Avenue EP (Duotone Records) and a couple of other rarities and unreleased tracks were all collected together here under the April Kids banner. Links:
www.i-absentee.com

press - reviews –

From Textura.org (Review of April Kids|Telecine Bus/Redix Reports|Quotidiennes):

One is invariably reminded of Boards of Canada when listening to Ten And Tracer's analog electronica, especially when Jonathan Canupp invests his tracks with the kind of trippy wooziness that's so indelibly associated with the Warp act's output. But more often than not the Denver, Colorado-based Canupp goes his own way by downplaying the psychedelic dimension of the Ten And Tracer sound and emphasing its melodic IDM qualities. The three releases provide an encompassing portrait of Ten And Tracer's classic IDM sound—don't confuse classic with dated, by the way—with the I, Absentee collection, April Kids, a resurrection of material created during the 2000-03 period and the U-cover discs presenting the Ten And Tracer sound in both its 2002-04 and recent forms.

The first half of April Kids re-presents the tracks from the 2003 Japan-only, three-inch release Electric Avenue Chapter 7 and supplements it with unreleased material produced during the same period. In the release's dozen tracks, hazy synth melodies and crisp electronic beats dominate in tracks that Canupp commendably keeps free of extraneous clutter. An occasional voice sample surfaces (as occurs during "No Magic Martin (Cross Reprise)," a third version of the classic track from 2002's An Hour Brighter) but not over-intrusively, and tracks like "Jessica Six" and "East Glacr Plart" roll off the electronic tongue with an effortless, enveloping ease that makes them hard to resist, regardless of one's feelings about the IDM-electronica genre.

Like April Kids, the hour-long U-cover full-length, Telecine Bus / Redix Reports, compiles previously issued (in this case already issued vinyl-only tracks) and unreleased material. Specifically, the opening six tracks originally appeared on the Keylemon Reports twelve-inch, while others come from vinyl releases (An Hour Brighter, Bubble Plus Bus) that other labels planned to issue but didn't for one reason or another. Though some if it extends as far back as 2002, the material sounds as fresh as the day it was born, with Canupp digging deep into a downtempo tip for settings both dreamy ("Two Medicine") and funky ("Cine Fil (Third Edit)"). At times, a darker vibe seeps into a given song ("Signal Red Volunteers (Version Two)," for example) but generally the Ten And Tracer sound remains breezy and free of portent, as the light-footed outro "Free Agent" indicates. The stylistic similarities between Ten And Tracer and Boards of Canada are again clearly evident in certain songs ("Redix Winter" and "Ledix Winter" could easily have snuck onto Geogaddi without anyone batting an eye). It goes without saying that, with all of their tracks having been produced during the same time period, April Kids and Telecine Bus / Redix Reports are complementary recordings and the quality level of the two matches up as closely as one would expect.

The shortest of the three releases, the three-inch Quotidiennes EP, distances itself radically from the others in style. In contrast to the svelte IDM of the full-lengths, the EP's five tracks feel busier, more hyperactive, and more experimental. Apparently, Canupp created each track in one day and did so by constructing the pieces using completely different methods than usual. In this newer material, there's a greater focus on sound design and texture and less emphasis on melody as the primary element. The biggest departure is "Mother Liquor," where micro-noises writhe in almost wholly arhythmic manner, while the other four pieces use regulated beat structures to stabilize their explorative meander. If the earlier material indicates kinship with Boards of Canada, tracks like "Nohuref" and "Wimiref" liken this year's Ten And Tracer model to an Autechre-styled outfit with a preference for brevity (only one of the EP's tracks exceeds four minutes). By ending the EP with a slinky snapshot of Chiastic Slide digi-funk, "Gosmaref " reveals just how far Canupp's Ten And Tracer sound has changed since the early 2000s."
-March 2010

From Norman Records:

Ten & Tracer have released loads of stuff over the years (about 20 releases) and most of 'em we've not been able to get! We've managed to get hold of their new CD on I, Absentee which is an interesting release as it features their Duotone 3" CD (Japanese label from a while back who released some cool shit!) plus a new 5 track EP. So it's 12 tracks in total and if you've not got the Duotone EP then it's essentially a new album for you. They specialise in melodic electronica of the sort that was popular a few years back when everyone was browning over Boards of Canada and 'April Kids' is more of the same. They do it well though as the other bits I've heard by 'em are top quality. That redix winter 7" they did on Civik years ago was excellent! Check out the U Cover releases as well. So if you're a fan of that Boards esque style melodic electronica this band do it very well indeed and you should consider it's face." (4/5 Stars) - Phil

extra - special –

purchase - acquire –

Physical: –.
Digital: —;.

You'll Be A Hero Soon, Speaker

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notes - details –

Credits: All songs written and recorded by Jonathan Canupp 2000-2004. Artwork by Jonathan Canupp.
Label/Catalog: Archaic Horizon/AH037
Year: 2010
Format: Digital
Notes: ~ Links:

extra - special –

Keep your eyes peeled.

download –

From Archive.org –.

Makyo

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—; (~)

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notes - details –

Credits: Written and Recorded by Jonathan Canupp 2xxx-2010
Label/Catalog: CARE/CAREMAK
Year: 2010
Format: Digital
Notes: Released as part of the Year of Ten. Brixton For You is a remixing of Hoxton For You from the Keylemon Reports EP (2001).
Links:
Year Of Ten Minisite

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From Archive.org–
Year Of Ten Microsite –
(Free Download)

Inhumed

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—; (18:46)

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notes - details –

Credits: Written and Recorded by Jonathan Canupp 2008
Label/Catalog: CARE/CAREINH
Year: 2010
Format: Digital
Notes: Released as part of the Year of Ten. Four tracks that were lost in a hard drive crash. Released 'as they were' at the time of the crash, thoughtless titles and all.
Links:
Year Of Ten Minisite

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Year Of Ten Microsite (Soon)
(Free Download) –

Compilations and Other Projects (2010)

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compilations –

Various: ~
Label/Catalog: ~
Format: 2xCD/Digital

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other projects –

Tsotsitaal

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—; (53:00)

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notes - details –

Credits: All songs written and recorded by Jonathan Canupp 2008-2009. Artwork by Jonathan Canupp and the Acre Collective.
Some bits of piano were played by Twosheds. Clarinet and Violin loaned by Able. Some other recordings may have come from other members of the Acre Collective and so should be given credit.
Label/Catalog: CARE/CARETSO (TSOE/TSOSSE)
Year: 2009
Format: CD/Digital
Notes: CD was sold in three different physical formats. The regular edition came with a twelve page booklet of original art, prose and photographs. The Special Edition came with a 32-page book, and the Super Special Edition came with a 76-page booklet and the bonus EP, The Lowing Buffalo. Only 10 copies of the Super Special Edition were sold. Links:
The Acre Collective

press - reviews –

Press Release: from Hiddenplace Music Blog: "Ten and Tracer is a very prolific netaudio artist with releases on labels such as 8bitpeoples, Zymogen, Archipel, and Rope Swing Cities, as well as numerous remixes. most of his work so far comes from the experimental idm realm - heavily processed bitcrushed glitches and brittle, fractured beats. on hit latest commercial album, he has altered his style quite dramatically, the glitchy clicks and cuts are dissolved into layers of soft pink noise and nestled deeply in a luxurious couch of smooth minimal drones. lovely "opium-ambient-bliss" for unexplored realms of consciousness.

the album is available for free MP3 download (donations welcome!), as well as uncompressed download or cd for a very reasonable price. if you purchase a physical copy of the album, you can choose between several "special editions" which include a book of artwork also created by the artist."
→ visit Hiddenplace
Was cited in a number of 2009 Best Of charts - including Taylor Deupree (12k) and Keith Kenniff (Helios, Goldmund)
Press Release: "The word "Tsotsitaal" means "criminal language," but the music couldn't be more distant from such. Tsotsitaal is a collection of soft drones and patient textures sourced from old synths, tapes, violin, acoustic guitar, flute, broken music boxes and field recordings. Each source has been carefully manipulated in a variety of ways. Some were subjected to deconstruction and wearing using reels and recorders, sound-on-sound layering, microphone mischief and the like. Others were sent through Ten and Tracer's collection of home-made Reaktor patches and a cascade of other novel digital processes all performed live.

Each session resulted in dozens of layers (and hours) which were then edited down and detailed. The sound is almost wholly organic in nature, reflective and meditative. It is a bath of pleasantries with a distinct opiate sensibility. Calm and warm. Deeply personal and full of heart."

extra - special –

Gallery of original drawings sent with copies of Tsotsitaal.

I typically tend to saturate my music and artwork with hidden, subliminal messages and obscured meaning. It's something entertaining for me to do and I've always been attracted to music that exhibited that kind of attention to detail. With some of these releases, I intend to reveal a bit about these details and the processes behind them.

download –

from archive.org–

The Lowing Buffalo

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— (11:10)

notes - details –

Credits: All songs written and recorded by Jonathan Canupp 2010.
Label/Catalog:CARE/CARELOW
Year: 2009
Format: CD(3")
Notes: This EP was included with the Super-Special-Edition of Tsotsitaal. Only 10 copies were sold.

extra - special –

There will be Lowing

To All the Twelve Year Old Girls Who Buy Our Tapes

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— (-:--)

notes - details –

Credits:Music By Jason Corder and Jonathan Canupp / Photography by Jason Corder
Label/Catalog:Hibernate|Rural Colors / RC020
Year: 2010
Format: CD
Notes:~
Links:
offthesky
rural colours
hibernate

extra - special –

Got a couple different edits of tracks around here somewhere for you.

The Mendicant's Speech

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— (-:--)

notes - details –

Credits: All songs written and recorded by Jonathan Canupp 2010.
Label/Catalog:Escala / [1:4]
Year: 2010
Format: CD
Notes: This EP was included with the Super-Special-Edition of Tsotsitaal. Only 10 copies were sold.

Links:
escala netlabel

extra - special –

The Mendicant's Speech Wallpapers
click here to download

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click here

Photographs

Nature

Colorado is a beautiful place to live.

Wander

Out and about, wandering around various places I've lived.

Abstract

Some deliberately aberrant photographs and a selection of those obscure, indistinguishable images that always seem to turn up.

Drawings and Paintings

From the moment I was capable, I took to drawing and crafting and any form of creation that was easily accessible to me. And, I also began to archive as much of my creative work as possible. I finally began scanning this massive archive, the earliest drawings are from 1986, when I was four. It's not just a few drawings either, it's hundreds of drawings and books that I wrote from 4-6 years old. After that I began publishing my first 'zines, Whale Wonders and another about the Solar System.

I printed them at our school and put them in the library for free. They also had a laminator and binder to make books with actually laminated covers! It was an incredible thing for me to be able to publish things and I did this for a couple of years before I took to drawing comic books.

Drawing and painting have been the other really meditative, creative things for me as I can draw practically anywhere while music has always had to wait until after school or after work.

Anyhow, I've been scanning all of this stuff and organizing it into galleries.

Moving Images

I've taken thousands of hours of film over the years and never had the software, hardware or time to edit more than a few things in that time. I'm now proud to possess all of the necessary things to do video work now and I intend to take the opportunity to do so.

Ten and Tracer Music in Other Films:

Semi-Fabulous Witches from my Makyo release was used by filmmaker Egor Protsko in the short film 'M'.
Watch 'M' on Vimeo
Visit Egor Protsko

My song Falling Asleep In Sadness from Tsotsitaal was used in the documentary, Cultures of Resistance.
Watch Official Trailer
Cultures of Resistance Website

I did almost all of the music for a short film called The Reunion. It played at the Sundance Film Festival in 2002 and I was able to travel to see it on the somewhat large screen.
Watch The Reunion on Youtube