Midnight Letters, by Andrew Tasselmyer & Blurstem

Midnight Letters

by Andrew Tasselmyer & Blurstem

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Samuel Death (Tides) Midnight Letters is a tender, evocative masterpiece that sweeps the listener into a world of nostalgia and joy. Each note feels carefully placed, like whispers of memory carried through the night. The musicianship and production are nothing short of breathtaking—every detail resonates with precision and warmth, crafting an immersive experience that lingers long after the music stops. This record gently beckons you back, time again, unveiling new layers of beauty with each listen.

marine eyes an album i always come back to—gentle, meditative and simultaneously perfect for the open road 🧡 thank you for this gift, gentlemen!

Hyponova Gorgeous, warm, airy and authentic - and so strangely moving, Emotional without cloying or trying to convince you of anything... Gives me that feeling you get when you think you are about to cry then you realize you have no reason to - I think that's because - beauty.

deathcabbage I'm sad I missed the listening party due to a busy work day but it has been really nice listening to this afterword at night. Very nice dreamy feel to this one. I love Andrew's solo work as well as his work in Hotel Neon and Gray Acres. Blurstem is new to me but his guitar work is lovely. Nice job you two. ♥

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Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Threewave, The Disappearing Collective Vol. II, Cantus for Winter in Six Parts, Past/Present 2025 Compilation, Oblivion, Collected Orchestral Works, Vol. I, Thinking Like a Mountain, Letters Home, and 173 more. , and , .

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Solid gray cassette with black imprinting, housed in a clear norelco box. Loaded with FerroMaster C456™ super ferric, ultra-high performance type-1 music grade analog tape. Shrinkwrapped.

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	1.	Dawn In Eastern Sky 05:36
	2.	Midnight Letters 06:40
	3.	Lonesome October 05:28
	4.	Aurora 06:50
	5.	Paper Rain 03:28
	6.	Kardis 05:09
	7.	I Witness and Wait 05:30

about

It’s 2023, and if there’s anything that feels like an impossibility, it’s the avoidance of getting caught up in the rat race of technology and utilization of the latest digital tools. This is all the more true for music creators. Getting overwhelmed and bombarded by the endless onslaught of new instruments, pedals, synthesizers, plugins, and software is all too easy. And yet, staying true to a calling, and embracing the tools that are creatively inspiring, could be the antidote to the other end of the spectrum of entirely abandoning ship.

In an attempt to not only find a fulfilling balance of both old and new, but to dive in fully to each creatively inspiring side of technology - and lack thereof - Minneapolis’ Chris Bartels (Elskavon, Olma), writing as Blurstem, and Philadelphia’s Andrew Tasselmyer (Hotel Neon, Gray Acres) return for a second album together, Midnight Letters. With a heavier emphasis of original concepts on guitar, and in processing and experimenting with an analog tape machine that’s been running audio through it decades before he was even born, Bartels unintentionally gave the album its more nostalgic and natural roots. Tasselmyer then seasoned the concepts and sounds with his uniquely minimal-yet-extensive setup with iPad audio processing apps, samplers, and Ableton software, fleshing out the initial ideas into songs in their collaborative lane of experimental-heavy, compositional ambient.

Sent back to Bartels, they were then mixed, again, like on their debut album Duets, on the laptop out on the back patio table, a fitting method for this sonic journey between the old and new. And that’s really what Midnight Letters is: a journey.

With no initial intentions of pursuing the contrast of past and present technology, Bartels and Tasselmyer simply have found a space to creatively inspire each other, and to embrace the freedom in utilizing the tools and instruments that feel right in the moment, bring a unique touch to the sound, and ultimately give life to something memorable.

credits

released October 25, 2023

Written, recorded, and produced by Andrew Tasselmyer & Blurstem (Chris Bartels)
Mastered at Ambient Mountain House by James Bernard
Expired polaroid photo cover taken by Cynthia Bernard
Layout and design by zakè

© 2023 Past Inside the Present
℗ 2023 Past Inside the Present Publishing (BMI)
This is PITP-C027 | MMXXIII
pastinsidethepresent.com
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andrewtasselmyer.bandcamp.com
blurstem.bandcamp.com

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Past Inside the Present Indianapolis, Indiana

Past Inside the Present is the home of a passionate, collaborative artistic community in pursuit of the world’s most inventive and engaging quiet music.

Distribution through Juno Records (UK), Norman Records (UK), Soundohm (EU), PITP.US (US), Tobira Records (JP), and others. ... more

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