News
More announcements and dialogue available at the ATOI mailing list archive.
30 June 2000 30 May 2000 13 October 1999 23 August 1999 25 May 1999 13 February 1999 13 February 1999 15 November 1998
11 March 1998
5 December 1997
24 August 1997
17 August 1997
8 July 1997
23 June 1997
ATOI now has its own Internet radio show! The broadast is on ResaNation (http://www.resanation.com) in 24kBps streaming MP3; the station can handle 100 listeners. The current schedule for our show is:
LIVE Thursdays 11-12pm PST
REPEATED Fridays 12-1pm PST
ARCHIVED at http://www.resanation.com/stations/sfstation/archives/
I plan to mix it up from week to week and keep things interesting: mixes of released and unreleased recordings, live ATOI concerts and ambient montage, and guest DJ-ing from friends & family. I hope that at least some of you will tune in, and welcome any suggestions or feedback on the shows!
The Ambient Temple of Imagination is not just about music!
ATOI is an umbrella-concept designed to stimulate creativity, and it has
always been our intent to incorporate hybridization, collaboration, and
interdisciplinary strategies.
As of June 2000, sponsored by a major corporation, ATOI is actively seeking
video artists to join us for a full-scale, multi-media DVD project.
We can take care of the soundtrack ... but the movie is up to you!
Please submit any samples, demos, or ideas if you are interested in
participating; or, if you happen to know any outstanding video artists,
please feel free to refer them to us. Using existing Mystery School music
as a springboard is strongly encouraged, as such material will likely
comprise the majority of the soundtrack.
Our project coordinator, Mark Wayne of Electronic Acoustic Research, may be
contacted by phone at +1 (925) 682-7081
Text, graphics, or video files may be emailed to me at seofon@a-toi.com
Please post any submissions to the usual mailing address: A TOI Mystery
School / 775 East Blithedale PMB 287 / Mill Valley CA 94941 / USA
What with Emusic.com licensing the catalog of Visible Productions (Mystery
School's original home label), ATOI now has a working relationship with the
MP3 label/distributor. We are excited about the opportunity to make
available releases which might not otherwise make it to press!
Available now is the remastered version of the original Mystery School
volume 1 EP. Originally designed to be released in Europe, this EP has
been expanded to album length, featuring previously unreleased mixes of
tracks from Mystery School, including new versions of "Mantram" and
"Light In Extension" each clocking in at over 18 minutes!
Available soon will be the first of a series of ATOI compilations,
highlighting the individual work of the many talented participants in the
collective, including Supersoul, Freezer, IAO Core, and Pyromania Arts.
Originally produced as bonus mixes for the remastered Mystery School
volumes 1 through 4, we feel that these mixes make a strong statement as to
the diversity and creativity of those who generously contribute their
ingenium to the Ambient Temple.
For these and all forthcoming MP3 releases, please visit ATOI's Emusic
homepage at
http://www.emusic.com/artists/9428/
Finally, we are in the process of signing a distribution deal with a record company
in France, so look for Y2Kaos and Planetary House Nation to soon be
available there. As of today's date, we have exclusive engagements
covering Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, and the United Kingdom.
However, fulfilling this distribution deal means that we are very close to
being sold out of Y2Kaos! If you would like to obtain a copy, please put
your order in soon -- or, if further licensing or distribution deals
materialize, we may be able to repress yet again. If you are involved with
a territory other than the ones listed above, and are interested in
participating in the ATOI Associates Program, please email me
and/or consult http://www.a-toi.com/y2kaos/program.html
Ambient Temple of Imagination is the featured artist this month at the
Ambientrance (a major ambient/electronic/experimental music website)!
http://www.spiderbytes.com/ambientrance
Click on the September update to access an extensive interview with
Richard Sun, Thermal, and myself -- as well as reviews of ATOI Y2KAOS,
Thermal+Freezer+Cue Time Out of Mind, Thermal+Seofon A Monument of
Chance (actually in the August section), and even the early Seofon
Causal Collapse.
In Y2KAOS news:
We have recently initiated our Associates Program, through which you may
become an official ATOI distributor in your home country! For a minimum
purchase of 100, we will sell units of Y2KAOS to associates for 120% of
our cost (far below regular wholesale). For details, please visit:
http://www.a-toi.com/y2kaos/program.html
One final bit of news is that Emusic has licensed ATOI's first two vinyl
releases, which contain several tracks unavailable elsewhere. Updates as
they happen ... !
The Y2KAOS record release party was held this week in conjunction with Boxman and The
Foundry as part of first Archipelago Record Release.
The Archipelago, as conceptualized by Thermal, is a metaphorical entity,
an evolving network of musical trade routes between the tiny islands of
solo electronic musicians, acting against isolation and in favor of
creative cross-pollination. To this end, the Archipelago's mission is to
compile and release the results of collaborative experiments between
unicellular musical entities as installments in a series, as well as
encourage interdisciplinary experiments, music to be modulated by
non-musical theories and practices.
The releases being celebrated were:
Ambient Temple of Imagination Y2KAOS (Mystery School) 2xCD
eM Motor Sessions e.p. (The Foundry) 7"/CDR
Knots [a tribute to Gentle Giant, featuring mixes by Thermal +
eM](Thousand) CD
The Foundry Mote (The Foundry) CD
Thermal + Seofon A Monument of Chance (Boxman/Thousand) CD
More details and official website URL on the Archipelago will be
forthcoming. For the time being, consult:
Thermal/Boxman homepage - http://www.boxmanstudies.com/archipelago
The Foundry homepage - http://www.foundrysite.com/archipelago
We've come to resolution on the reissue project!: it's going to be a
double-disc set, incorporating extracts from Volumes 1 through 5. All of
the tracks are at least remastered, and where possible we have included new
versions or improved edits, so as to make this a worthwhile package even
for those that may have the complete Silent Records issues.
It will also be our first independent ATOI release! We plan to make it
available through the website, Amazon.com, and other mail-order outlets,
and will get it into the industry distribution circuitry as soon as
possible. We're very excited about this release, and look foward to it
being ready in early July!
http://www.a-toi.com/y2kaos
Also, the promoters of the 'Gaia' event, at which the material on Volume 4
was recorded, have expressed interest in funding a limited edition issue of
this previously unreleased volume! Meanwhile, an extract appears on Y2KAOS
(tracks 18-21, to be precise).
Thermal and Seofon will be releasing a collaborative side-project on
Thousand, the new label presented by Charles of World Domination
Recordings, scheduled for release in March. The album is titled
A Monument of Chance, and includes reinterpretations of material from
the 'Planetary House Nation' concert. Consult Thermal's website for
further information and availability ... http://www.boxmanstudies.com
A-TOI Mystery School's first official mixtape is now available exclusively through this website! Side A consists of processed music collage in the original ATOI chill-room environment style -- recorded live at the Gathering 6-year anniversary party in San Francisco (exactly one year after the Planetary House Nation concert) -- mixing aboriginal atmospheres, spoken word, and past-present-future music references into an informational psychedelic survey. Side B consists of a rhythmic ambient DJ mix by Seofon, including accompanying video extracts. To order a copy of this 90-minute cassette, please send an email, being sure to include your mailing address.
In a landmark achievement, Germany's Pyromania Arts Foundation and Sha Ka Ree have released The Alchemical Congress: A Cybertribe Logfile. This combination CD-ROM/audio compilation interactive multimedia package, more than three years in the making, is a definitive document in psychedelic history and charting the future, featuring Timothy Leary, Terence McKenna, Albert Hoffmann, William Burroughs, Genesis P-Orridge, and a variety of international artists, musicians, and visionaries. It is currently available only in German-language edition, but we are supporting a dedicated effort to bring it to the USA. For complete details and ordering information, please visit the Alchemical Congress webpage.
The exclusive European CD-e.p. of Volume 1 is ready for release by Artelier Media! We will post information on availability as soon as we have it. Meanwhile, the collaboration with Vidna Obmana continues to progress, leading to the initiation of a large-scale collective project. Check out the new interview with Richard Sun from Lotus Magazine and an old one from KZSC radio, and our favorite living food links. You are the master of your own mind and body! Use them well.
Apologies for the long period of silence! Many interesting things are happening, but unfortunately nothing solid to report. We are currently conceptualizing Volume 6, possibly going on a short European tour with Pyromania Arts, and Vidna Obmana has just finished a remix of "In Finite Self" from Volume 5. Updates as they come in ... meanwhile, check out some of our new links and webrings. Support raw food consciousness!
We are currently in the process of putting together a deal for the reissue of Mystery School Volumes One through Four! All of the discs are remastered, and include exclusive bonus mixes. I will post details as they become available. Also, all are invited to the next live Ambient Temple will be at the 6 year anniversary of the Gathering on 20 December.
Thanks to all who attended the live Ambient Temple on Saturday 23 August 1997 at the Area 51 Journey Home in Oakland, CA. Almighty thanks to IAO Core for their presence and performance of The Rite of the Black Sun: April Q Dawn (Saturn), Johannes Ayres (Pan), Alaska Yamada (Neptune), Aimee Hornberger (Venus), Mikhelle Taylor (Luna), Nathan Bjorge, Michael Miller, Eric Stanley, Devin Sinclaire, & Sena Weidkamp.
ATOI Volume 5, recorded live at the Gathering, is now out on Mindspore Records! Visit your local retailer, or mail order through: Worlds Music (800-742-6663), Backroads Music (800-767-4748), and Moonsong Music (800-910-7512).
Area Entertainment GmbH will be releasing an ATOI maxi-e.p. in Europe, including
versions, reworkings, and remixes of Mystery School's earliest work. We are very
excited that these full-length versions will be seeing the light
of day! Consult the discography for details.
Volume 4 is complete. It is composed from live material recorded at E.A.R.'s
Gaia event, conceptualized and arranged by Mark Wayne. Expect to see
it included with an ATOI reissue set.
inward
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