Reptilian Snack Records proudly presents Camping in Antarctica: a previously-unreleased compilation of snow-covered explorations by Claude Glasse. After our re-release of Claude’s first record–”grasshopperairplane”--we’ve carefully mined his archive unreleased projects to assemble this new release, the first of many in a planned series of compilations of his many unreleased works.

      Claude Glasse defines himself as a largely-unsuccessful amatuer soundtrack composer from Montreal, Canada. After the original 1981 release of his first record failed to attract a listenership, Glasse lost interest in pressing his music, and fell back into obscurity. Although he wasn’t releasing new music, Glasse certainly did not stop recording, accumulating over 40 hours of tape experiments in his home studio. The composer organized these tapes by year and theme. Though some of these themed categories revolved around emotional states–such as “anxiety,” “solitude,” or “contentedness”–most were situated around loose settings: clear favorites included “space,” “marine,” and “forest.” While digitizing his many tapes, we stumbled upon a small handful of tapes from the late 80s simply labeled “Music for an Antarctic Expedition.” These uniquely-focused tapes comprise the vast majority of this release.

      The pronounced synth obsession that Glasse acquired while constructing his previous work carries over into most of his tape archive–his extensive interactions with the modular Moog unit in a Musichouse studio prompted him to purchase his own Minimoog and an ARP 2600 in the early 80s. These classic units comprise the backbone of Glasse’s own synthesizer workshop, and these instruments appear in some form on every track on “Camping in Antarctica.”

      A number of songs on this compilation–most notably tracks three, four and seven–feature contributions from guitarist Hazel Lochwood, who prefers to play slide guitar improvisations. Lochwood would insist on keeping one of the first three takes, in order to preserve the purity and freshness of musical discovery and improvisation. The guitarist’s roughshod, instinctual playing provides a necessary contrast to Glasse’s repetitious and calculated approach. We’ve worked in close collaboration with Glasse and Rothman in order to ensure that the tracks retain their unique lo-fi texture throughout the digitization and mastering processes. 

      What this collection of recordings lacks in professionalism, it makes up for with an excess of charm, fresh ideas, and a palpable curiosity that flows through each synth arpeggio, bass riff, and piano pattern. Claude’s simplistic arrangements make use of gently-undulating drones and minimalist patterns, in an attempt to reflect the subtle shifts and changes in the sublime Antarctic landscape. No musical element is completely distinct; the rhythms and melodies are cloaked in a snowy sheet of noise, hiss, and buzz. These tracks synthesize the studious and conceptual origins of early ambient music with the joyous self-discovery of amateur lo-fi tape recording. The crackling circuitry, the popping spring reverb and the gentle flutter of the tapes, transport the listener most immediately to Claude’s cramped, intimate, and delicately-assembled studio space. 

      But tucked in amongst these ever-present flaws, there exist a number of small portholes that provide a sweeping, bird’s eye view of a massive landscape, sliding and shifting at the limits of our comprehension. It’s hard to take it all in at once, but if you look out for long enough, you can just start to see an iceberg breaking off on its own, a craggy peak losing its edge, or the purposeful movement of a snow-dune across the sprawling tundra.