TLR 089: bardo pond + tom carter — 4/23/03 2xLP with 4/25/03 CD + download
2xLP and CD released january 24, 2012 in a limited edition of approximately 700 copies. out of print. available as a digital download or for streaming from bandcamp.
three lobed recordings is exceptionally proud to bring the landmark 2004 drone epic 4/23/03 from bardo pond and tom carter to vinyl for the very first time. while both of these artists have spent decades carving out corners of the american underground, the album collects the output of a single magical day nearly a decade ago when these stalwart voices shared a lengthy day cranking out a unique set of psych excursions. simply stated, 4/23/03 is a special moment in both artists’ vast catalogs. but don’t just take our word for it…
“at first glance, the 2003 collaborative LP between bardo pond and charalambides’ tom carter seems a bit non-descript. its title is the date of the session and songs are named by their durations. the music sounds like another day at the bardo pond office known as the lemur house, the philadelphia space where this and nearly all of the band’s other records have been made.
but once you intently listen to these slow-burning, sky-reaching jams you’ll start to realize that maybe that is exactly the point. carter fits his guitar pieces into the bardo pond puzzle so naturally that this truly is one of the great lemur house séances. you get the sense that everyone involved realized that connection from the very first note and nobody wanted to get in the way of the magic they had all locked into. names and titles would just distract; let people sink into these deep clouds with nothing but their open ears.
almost nine years later, there’s still a lot of depths for listeners to plumb on 4/23/03. and even though this session still sounds completely natural and up to bardo pond’s high standards, there’s something different about what happened during the week of carter’s 2003 visit to philadelphia. whatever ghost it is these guys were able to conjure, it stuck; all the music they made together has a stirring, ineffable vibe that never fades. you can hear it throughout the album’s entirety, including the bonus track to this reissue – the misty, quaking “8:28” – and especially in the CD of live material taken from the tritone just two days later. by then, the bardo - carter mind-meld was so strong that 40 minutes of uninterrupted jamming could just fly by.
the great work both parties have done in the decade since indicates it’s high time for mr. carter to check back in at the lemur house to revisit this collaborative spirit. until then, diving farther into this ever-expanding edition 4/23/03 should last you just fine.”
-marc masters-
this new edition of 4/23/03 is pressed on two slabs of american vinyl pressed by united record pressing and housed within a handsome two color silkscreened gatefold jacket bearing artwork replicating that from the album’s original CD incarnation. the album, from an edition of approximately 700 copies, presents the entire contents of the original CD version plus a “new” additional track from the original recording sessions. all copies of the 4/23/03 2xLP are accompanied by the hour long 4/25/03 CD presenting a blistering collaborative live set from bardo pond and tom carter recorded at philadelphia’s tritone two days following the album’s studio sessions and gloriously exploring like-minded sonic territory. the package is also accompanied by a download coupon redeemable for DRM-free MP3s of the album. this one will be released on january 24, but copies pre-ordered from three lobed will ship as soon as they are on hand, likely the first week-ish of january. this title costs $26 postpaid in the US, $32.50 postpaid to canada and $41.50 postpaid to any non-US, non-canadian address.
iä! shub-niggurath!