Released: 22/04/22
2012 marks 20 years of Thrill Jockey. The label continue to celebrate by offering another out of print classic title on vinyl once again. Tortoise’s 2004 album ‘It’s All Around You’ is back on LP. Pressed on high quality virgin vinyl and packaged in a high gloss jacket with artworked inner sleeve and download coupon. Written largely in the studio, ‘It’s All Around You’ was crafted over the course of a full year, and allowed Tortoise the use of John McEntire’s Soma Electronic Music Studios (whose clients have included Wilco and Stereolab among others) in serving not just as a state-of-the-art recording facility, but as a compositional tool as well. It took months of continuous writing, recording, tinkering, mixing, and perfecting to bring ‘It’s All Around You’ to its finalised state. Tortoise are one of the only bands of their size and status who have always produced their own records, and it’s largely because of this that they are able to achieve and maintain such a distinct and precise sound. The band’s extensive knowledge of the studio’s equipment and their ability to feel at home without a restrictive deadline allowed them to explore a multitude of approaches in the composing, editing, and colouring process of their compositions. The results of this process are clear in the lush, orchestrated tones, intricate melodies, and densely elaborate rhythms. These songs build deliberately and consistently, amassing music of great detail. While the members of Tortoise are perpetually involved with multiple other musical projects, from Brokeback and Chicago Underground Quartet / Trio to A Grape Dope and The Sea And Cake, make no mistake about it, Tortoise is and always will be the main focus of these five distinctly visionary musicians. ‘It’s All Around You’ took them to places they’ve never been and shows them synergistically united like never before.