After a five year absence, Ohio-based Meadow Argus returns with “Meadow Argus II”. Warm and woozy sounds unspool across a half hour of experimental musique concrete. Heavy on muddy tape loops that slowly shift as odd sounds flutter in and out. Slow, warm tones and rich textures from a dying polyphonic air/reed organ and other alien unexplainable sounds floating around from field recordings, keyboards, a coconut thumb piano, and other weird things. Best listened to with headphones on and eyes closed to fully zone out and float away.

Recorded Nov 2020 – Jan 2021 at Lilleypad Studios in Columbus, Ohio. Artwork by Pearl Morgan.

Meadow Argus is the solo project of Tynan Krakoff (Columbus, OH). His debut tape was released on DNT Records (2015) and is out of print.

Meadow Argus II (2021, Purple Akronym)

Side A (17:30)
we could never sing before
interlude
graham

Side B (17:30)
amber
northbound train
shingle beach

Contact: meadowargus47@gmail.com
Purple Akronym (@purpleakronym on instagram // purpleakronym@gmail.com

released April 28, 2021

https://meadowargus47.bandcamp.com/album/meadow-argus-ii

Reviews:

Tabs Out review:
““Warmth and woozies,” that’s what Meadow Argus is made of! Tynan Krakoff of Columbus, OH recently revived that ol’ solo moniker for a followup to his tape from over five years ago. And yeah, there’s already a Meadow Argus III on the way! But today, we’re looking at the Meadow Argus II self-release from back in April. It’s a simple C35 kind of affair; one that is legitimately keeping me on edge as I type this up.You see, I recently swapped boomboxes and while this older Sony model plays immaculate, the Meadow Argus tape stutters and drones before swallowing itself whole. Over and over! Perhaps it is a result of the dying polyphonic air/reed organ that ties the tape together? Well, Krakoff has also stuffed this with a litany of field recordings, pianos, and alien DNA equally as demented and destitute. Either way, it’s a listening tactic that keeps the tape’s two sides from ever letting things fall into a lull, while opening up an expansive journey through recorded warbly artifacts.Headphones are understandably recommended and noteworthy for how well they untangle these sounds and the tape’s six tracks. Afterall, Krakoff isn’t just doing “noise for the sake of noise” here. Take Side B’s nocturnal suite. It seamlessly moves from the quicksand rupture of “amber” until a foghorn signals that it’s time for a twilight lift from a “northbound train,” a junker scaling through soot, scruff, and scowls. By the time it’s finally made landing at “shingle beach,” the previous 14-odd minutes of previous tape loops and manipulation are all elements pushing to the horizon line; things are clearing up, with a layer of what could only seem to be ham radio static and frail, busted keys guiding this cruise down to a terminal plane.” www.tabsout.com?p=26119

The Answer Is In The Beat review:
“The second release from the project of DNT Records’ Tynan Krakoff opens with a series of warm, thick, rolling tape loops accompanied by momentary flashes of a kid singing silly songs, conjuring up wild flashbacks of early summer vacation memories. From there, the tape waves get heavier and more curdled, until a sparkling melodic chime reveals itself. It gets looped for a while, constantly resurfacing like a recurring memory of a jewel being stumbled upon, or a filmic interpretation of such event. The second side is an extremely distorted loop of a funereal foghorn, with full stops and starts, but every time it comes back, you strain to dig deeper and uncover a new element. Suddenly, a different set of loops fades in, this one with gently clunking drums, distorted voices that almost sound like throat singing, and lots of other coded transmissions. The tape is so engrossing that both sides end a lot quicker than you expect, and the whole thing brings a unique perspective on how memories are interpreted through sound.” theanswerisinthebeat.net/2021/07/12/meadow-argus-meadow-argus-ii-tape-purple-akronym-art-collective-2021/

Comes with Bandcamp code

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tape manipulation

Meadow Argus “II” cassette (Purple Akronym)