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The Complicated Bicycle

by Nick Butcher

supported by
Gregory Elizabeth
Gregory Elizabeth thumbnail
Gregory Elizabeth Don't feel the need to "justify" this album, I dig it. I first heard Nick Butcher's "Minutes Overlap" on the "This is Hometapes: An Introductory Sampler" back in 2007 or 2008 and I dug it. I was stoked to find Butcher's "Complicated Bicycle" on bandcamp.
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  • Streaming + Download

    Immediate download of 8-track album in your choice of 320k mp3, FLAC, or just about any other format you could possibly desire.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $7 USD  or more

     

  • Nick Butcher "The Complicated Bicycle" BOOK + CDs
    Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    The remaining 183 copies of the 2005 release were transformed into this special 5-year anniversary edition in 2010. This edition includes a 24-page multi-color hand-screened/hand-bound book , the original 8-song CD, PLUS a bonus disc entitled “Automatic Music,“ featuring 45 minutes of unreleased songs, sketches, textural experiments and source material from "The Complicated Bicycle” and “Bee Removal” recording sessions. Also includes a NEW screen print culled from the “The Complicated Bicycle” days. All by Nick Butcher, who you now know as the world-renowned artist behind Sonnenzimmer (www.sonnenzimmer.com).

    Includes unlimited streaming of The Complicated Bicycle via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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about

"This project marked the culmination of my experiments in art and music from 2002-2004. Having just moved to Chicago from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, I was processing tons of new inputfragmented urban sound scapes, bold city shapes, and an amazingly vibrant art and music community. Working out of The Bird Machine, I was surrounded by a truly fantastic group of artists; Jay Ryan, Mat Daly, Dan Sinker, Dan Grzeca, and Nadine Nakanishi. The amount of creative actively going on here completely blew me away. I had never been around such hard working artists before… The energy was amazing…and the environment proved to be a perfect place for big ideas.

I had been making pictures and music for as long as I can remember, but never really thought to combine them. This all changed when I got to Chicago. The images I was making at this time were influence by my recent move. Physically processing these images became part of their creation. Crudely drawn airplanes, bicycles, and houses where pushed through countless photocopiers. Copies were cut up, rearranged, and copied again, creating unplanned structures and line work that pushed the pictures into a completely new realm. The culmination of these experiments would become the foundation for the book portion of 'The Complicated Bicycle.'

When I wasn’t at The Bird Machine, I was at home recording music. Writing songs had never come easy to me, but for the first time I was discovering ways around my limitations. Influenced by the amazing music I was hearing in the city, mostly free jazz and improvised music, I was discovering a something totally new to me, a music that relied just as heavily on intuition as musical prowess. I was hooked. Rough improvisations were pecked out on dying keyboards, air organ, and guitar. These automatic compositions were captured on cassette tape loops and primitive samplers, forming hazy accidental structures. It sounds weird, but it was almost as if the music already existed somewhere in the machines. I just had to find it.

With the support of Sara and Adam from Hometapes, I was able to merge these experiments into something tangible. 'The Complicated Bicycle' a 24-page hand-bound screen printed book with an accompanying 8-song CD. It was printed in an edition of 500 and has enjoyed a slow and steady reception since its release in 2005. The year 2010 marks five years since its release, and, to celebrate, Hometapes will be issuing a limited number of 'The Complicated Bicycle Anniversary Edition.' This special edition will include a bonus disc entitled “Automatic Music,“ featuring 45 minutes of unreleased songs, sketches, textural experiments and source material from 'The Complicated Bicycle' and 'Bee Removal”'recording sessions, and a screen print culled from the 'The Complicated Bicycle' days. The anniversary edition is limited to the 183 remaining copies of the original release."

-Nick Butcher

credits

released April 5, 2005

license

all rights reserved

tags

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