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THE CAT cd

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Davin's old girlfriend had two nice cats that she loved very much. But when she moved into a new apartment that didn't allow cats, VEDA and URCHIN had to find a new home. Luckily Davin worked in a large and friendly record store where the cats could live!!! The nice customers would play with the cats, and they got a lot of attention. On one particularly slow afternoon Davin tied a microphone to URCHIN and recorded the cat's unique happy purring sound. Windy (co-owner of STORMY RECORDS) helped hold the cat down while Davin pulled the ropes tight. Although I wasn't there I imagine for forty-five painful minutes a small cat trying to squeeze and squirm its way out of a seemingly folkways-esque torture device. I know everyone loves their own cat and thinks that its the most special cat in the world, but this cat in question is not my cat. In fact, I'm super allergic to cats and not especially fond of any cat. If I really think about it, I would say I'm actually against the concept of owning pets. All politics aside, this CD is great!!! It's about 45 minutes long and contains two tracks. The recordings capture the sound of a very warm and deep rumbling sound. It sounds distant, mysterious and beautiful. Davin and Windy claim that no harm came to any animals during this recording and that urchin only makes this sound when he's happy and being held nicely by someone he loves and trusts. -Warn Defever

SONGS

  • 1. THE CAT (19:44)
  • 2. THE CAT (22:44)

CREDITS
all tracks recorded by davin, windy and urchin at stormy records, dearborn michigan 2000.
mixed and edited by warn defever 2001
  • released on time stereo in march 2002

    • REVIEWS

    VITAL WEEKLY said:
    Experimental music and cats seem to attract eachother. Many of the musicians I know love cats, rather then dogs (although I must admit I didn't do a scientific research for this), so a release like this is most welcome. Davin (of Princess Dragon Mom's fame) got two lovely cats from his girlfriend, which he let go freely about in the Stormy Records space (the shop run by Windy & Carl). One day Davin decided to tie a microphone to one of the two cats and recorded the animal. No harm to the animal was done in these recordings, it's stressed on the liner notes. It's an initimate, small recording of rumbling sounds with the occassional snorring of the cat while being held by someone who loves the cat. The recordings might be slightly altered in the final edit (maybe some additional reverb was added, I don't know), but the overal recording is one of warm ambience. Little rumbles, little sounds in a cosey, almost household atmosphere. I think there is a huge interest in doing a compilation of artists recording their cats, so who dares? (FdW)

    AQUARIUS RECORDS said:
    Frogs. Demonic and / or cult possessions. Caves. Numbers stations. EVP transmissions. VLF static. These have been the subject matters for AQ's favorites from the "Found Sound / Field Recordings" section. Without a doubt, 'The Cat' ranks as one of those great oddball records alongside the Sounds of North American Frogs or the Ghost Orchid or the Conet Project. This album is simply a 45 minute recording of a purring cat whose contented rumblings have been amplified through the careful placement of a contact microphone. The cat in question is named Urchin and resides at Stormy Records in Dearborn, Michigan. There, Windy Weber (of Windy & Carl fame) and Davin Brainard (who helps run Time Stereo) recorded this amazing document of deep-rumbling cat happiness. Now you can enjoy all the comforting joy of a cat's warm purring without all those nasty hairballs. Allergic? No problem. This cd is hypo-allergenic. No litterbox to clean (or to let get filthy). No fishy cat food to dish out. No unsightly scratching post that the cat will ignore while it shreds your new sofa. What you get instead with The Cat is a marvelous recording of a cat enraptured in drooling bliss. As these recording attest to, Urchin seems to spend a lot of time splashing in water, which isn't normal cat behavior at all. Or at least that's what it sounds like. Maybe he's lapping up milk, or cleaning itself with A LOT of saliva. Anyway, this is a nice disc for you fans of drones and field recordings, who don't have cats of your own to amplify.

    British magazine "the wire" also published a review, but we won't reprint it here since the writer didn't actually listen to the cd.

    ORDERING INFORMATION

    Send TEN DOLLARS ($10.00 us dollars) cash, check, or money order (payable to TIME STEREO) to get your "THE CAT" CD. Please note: if you order other TIME STEREO merchandise along with your "the cat" cd it may be shipped separately, as we do not always have stock on hand of certain TIME STEREO titles. Thanks!!!

                 
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