If you follow this blog you’ll know that I’m bit of a fan of Ivan the Tolerable. Despite the year being barely four months old, the band have released two albums. I think that both albums are rather wonderful, check them out below.
Ivan the Tolerable
Ivan the Tolerable
I received a copy of this album a week or two ago and hadn’t sat and listened to it properly, last night I played it during my walk to Marske where I was meeting a friend for a pint. When I arrived at the pub the album hadn’t finished so I kept on walking. The whole album is a stone-cold kosmische killer, the dub track, An Interior, was a total surprise and is just brilliant. The best new album I’ve heard this year.
Ivan the Tolerable – Autodidact II
Ivan the Tolerable aka Oli Heffernan has just released Autodidact II and it’s rather wonderful.
The latest instalment in Oli Heffernan’s prolific ITT project, this album started life as three separate recording sessions in July and August 2021 – work for a soundtrack to a series of films about psychogeography and North Yorkshire folklore, a remote improvised session with Christian Alderson (The Unit Ama/Archipelago) and a solo EP of arpeggiater repeat drones and freak-folk. Originally intended as three EPs, the flow and theme running through them lends itself well as a single album, linking previous release ‘White Tears’, (Library of The Occult) and forthcoming album ‘The Long Year’ (Stolen Body)
NARC Magazine Issue 177
Between October 2021 and January 2022 Oli Heffernan will have released five albums as Ivan the Tolerable, Houseplants and with his work in King Champion Sounds. It’s an eye-watering work ethic by anyone’s standards, but the energy and inspiration is something that seems to flow freely from the Teesside based artist.
NARC #177 October 2021 . Interview by Ben Lowes-Smith. Read it here
The Smell of Water Part 3: Danby Rigg
The Smell of Water Part 2. Hob Hole and the Giants Lapstone
The Smell Of Water Part One: St. Hilda’s Church, Danby, North Yorkshire
Part One of a short series of films made by Bob Fischer and Andrew T Smith for Local History Month.
Each episode also features an original soundtrack written and performed by Oli Heffernan aka Ivan the Tolerable.
Out of Season by Ivan the Tolerable
Another top record from Ivan the Tolerable & His Elastic Band. I’d recommend that you give it a listen. It’s super good
Unease by Ivan the Tolerable
This soundtracked my walk from Redcar to Saltburn today, it’s a bit good.
A message from Oli
Happy Bandcamp no-fees day! I made a new EP and its out today so i can raise the funds to replace my 8-track machine which has all but died after 15 years hard labour. So if you wanna buy it, do it today as all the money goes to the artists for the rest of the day. Its pay what you like so all donations are welcome, and if you are skint and still want it, well thats ok too!
Ivan The Tolerable – 16 Pieces for 16 Pools
A message from Ivan the Tolerable (Oli Heffernan).
Bandcamp are waiving their fees today for one day only so I’m putting my new album out early to make some money to pay my rent and bills cos I work in the private sector which basically means I don’t get paid when there is a downturn in work. Great. Anyway, Shoebox Records are releasing the album on 10” and CD if you want a physical copy (there are only 10 left) but if you want it now for any price you like go to this bandcamp link and get it there. If you can pay something that would be mega but if you are in the same boat as me, feel free to have it for nothing. It’s a big old slab of watery endtimes music. Hope you like it. Thanks and stay safe everyone!
Ivan The Tolerable & The Elastic Band -Rations
June has turned out to be a wonderfully musical month in our house. I received a copy of Rations by Ivan the Tolerable & The Elastic Band. Dense, mesmerizing, motorik, kosmische..it’s a stunner. Get a copy here
The Smell of Water 