Steve Jansen, the co-founder of new wave legends Japan and bona fide collaboration multi-hyphenate,
is reissuing his first two solo studio albums: Slope and Tender Extinction.

Released by The state51 Conspiracy, these are slated to land in November on double 12’’ heavyweight vinyl 
with new redesigned artwork by Carl Glover and remastered tracks by James Ginzburg on Tender Extinction.

Slope, his debut, was described by The Observer upon its release in 2007 as “unclassifiable”, a description that
goes some way to detailing the album’s crystalline synthetic peaks, dusty analogue depths, and wide experimental
sweep. To hear the icy IDM of ‘Grip’ rubbing up against the drone-led modern classical in ‘Sow The Salt’, and the
strange sound experiments in ‘Gap of Cloud’ juxtaposed with the fractured emotion of ‘Playground Martyrs’ is to
hear an artist capable of ploughing his own unique furrow through music. 

Tender Extinction is a more meditative affair than its predecessor, one where comet tails of synthesiser stretch across
a song and fathomless sonic depths simmer and roll like an ocean. James Ginzburg’s brand new remaster will render
the hiemal beauty and sumptuous arrangements of tracks such as ‘And Birds Sing All Night’,‘Captured’, and ‘Her
Distance’ even more perfectly than before. 

But why these albums and why now? Both are special pieces of work, and place the talents of an artist that often
stays in the shadows front and centre. Jansen is someone whose every action is in service of The Project, shapeshifting
and adapting in relation to how he can improve the music. He’s said in the past that:
“I remove myself from any references to other people or popular culture.
I explore sound and composition without any preconceptions about the finished piece or its place in the world.”
Though this is a humble approach that clearly pays dividends (as evinced by his mixing, session, and collaborative
work) Slope and Tender Extinction allow for the full range of his influences, experimentation, and ideas to come to
the fore. These reissues are timely and necessary, bringing particularly gorgeous high points of Steve Jansen’s
sparkling oeuvre into new light.

 

Steve Jansen's most recent collaborative work with Maiya Hershey - Neither Present Nor Abesnt -
is also now available on 12'' heavyweight vinyl album.