sábado, 31 de octubre de 2009

Robin Guthrie – Carousel

















Robin Guthrie – Carousel

Genre : Shoegaze, Space Rock, Post Rock, Ambient, Electronica
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Listen

1
Some Sort Of Paradise 4:04
2
Sparkle 2:21
3
Delight 3:38
4
Close My Eyes And Burn 3:26
5
Search Among The Flowers 3:44
6
Mission Dolores 4:26
7
Autochromes 2:40
8
The Girl With The Little Wings 2:58
9
Waiting By The Carousel 4:20
10
Little Big Fish 5:26


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Robin Guthrie releases a new album of filmic, intricate instrumental music Carousel plus two new limited edition EPs, Angel Falls (released 6/29) and Songs To Help My Children Sleep (11/17). Carousel is the follow up to the critically acclaimed instrumental albums Continental and Imperial. We have a few words to describe Carousel – uplifting, summery, opulent, dreamlike, exquisite, moving – with Guthrie quietly coaxing beauty out of layers of echoes and always inventive soundscaping. Guthrie has been a massive influence on everyone from My Bloody Valentine through to Antony and the Johnsons, new 4AD Act The Big Pink and M83. In recent years he's worked with School Of Seven Bells, John Foxx (on this year's Mirrorball album, described by Q Magazine as 'full of myriad charms . . . encompassing the best of both artists'), Ulrich Schnauss, Harold Budd (with whom he made two albums in 2007, Before The Day Breaks and After The Night Falls) and Brooklyn’s Mahogany and Apollo Heights. Given the quality of Carousel, it's not surprising that as a guitarist and producer, though most people know about his work as the Cocteau Twins principal sound designer, his defining role in the now vogue-ishly fashionable early '90s shoegazing scene with his productions for the likes of Lush and Chapterhouse shouldn't go un-noticed. Guthrie is also developing an impressive reputation as a composer of film soundtracks and in the visual arts. He's scored two movies – Greg Araki's Mysterious Skin and the Dany Saadia directed 3:19 – for both of which he released a soundtrack album, and has performed extensively with Lumière, and its recently premiered successor Galerie, both films that he has created as backdrops for his atmospheric, hypnotic guitar-based instrumental concerts.

Porn Sword Tobacco – Everything Is Music To The Ear

















Porn Sword Tobacco – Everything Is Music To The Ear
Genre : Ambient, Electronica
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01. Welcome 00:56
02. En Ny Morgon 04:27
03. I Love Riding My Bicycle 04:48
04. Sjöbodarna Står Tomma Över Jul 01:16
05. Havet Är Ärligt 04:02
06. Spectrum Campfire 02:51
07. Thats Roadrageous! 00:42
08. The Lavalife 05:01
09. 2 : Casual Claude 05:15
10. Casual Claude
11. Den Kalla Handen 00:42
12. Cave 4b-50 Clicks Northwest 05:12
13. My Week In Zambia 01:19
14. Hästen Som Sprang När Och Vart Den Ville 04:12
15. From Plural To Singular 03:42
16. Goodbye 01:25

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This is the fourth album by Sweden's Henrik Jonsson aka Porn Sword Tobacco. Recorded in the legendary Silence studios with long-time collaborators Patrick and Tommi, Everything Is Music To The Ear came into existence largely without planning or calculation, without much thinking nor hard work -- often improvised on the spot, even the melodies on the characteristic piano that Jonsson claims he never learned to play. He has played in bands before, also releasing a number of records ranging from a leftfield electro EP to two solo albums of laidback electronic dub. Most crucial, however, were his 4 years of travelling across the world as a stage musician for a popular electronic project, playing for numerous audiences on all continents, from Japan to Zambia -- a unique school of music, but also of life, and an experience that nourished a determination to pursue what's really important. In his early years, he swapped violin lessons for a Roland Space Echo, listened to audio plays at the local library, and to his parents' colorful record collection -- The Beach Boys, Eno, Kraftwerk -- this is what forms Porn Sword Tobacco. It's a project that takes a decidedly naive and unabashedly nostalgic position, exploring a dreamy escapism that is undiluted and personal. Porn Sword Tobacco's songs, seemingly field recordings in nightly landscapes of musical sounds, are equally far from ambient and from pop, from retro avant-rock or any other genre. Jonsson hones his songs until they work as loops, or long, rhythmic figures with the heartbeat of classic and modern deep house and electro. Possibly inspired by his relocation to Berlin in 2007, Everything Is Music To The Ear is a statement -- an evolving world of comforting dreams crystallized into comforting audio, exquisitely easy and refined, yet new and unique.

martes, 27 de octubre de 2009

Aerosol-Airborne



















Aerosol-Airborne
Genre : Ambient, Electronica
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Listen

01. Midnight Ride Down the Mental Freeway

02. Airborne

03. Infinite Expanse

04. Psychedelic Coffee Buzz

05. Transition

06. Dreams Flow Wide

07. Let the Seasons Drift

08. Sleepy Sunset

09. Softly Slipping



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Airborne is the 2nd album from Rasmus Rasmussen's Aerosol project. Starting out as a member of the post-rock band Limp (Morr Music) with band mates Jonas Munk (manual), Jakob Skøtt (syntaks) and Jess Kahr, Rasmussen helped incubate a certain sound that the of the four have nurtured in each of their solo endeavors. Rasmussen's take on the sun drenched post-shoegaze of the "post-limp collective" has a more defined sense of psychedelia and openness than his mates. This heightened sense of consciousness-expansion is all without ever being contrived, heavy handed or excessive. There is a self-awareness to Airborne that can be heard in spades on the aptly titled swirly slow-burn of "Psychedelic Coffee Buzz". A song written about a tour around Morocco, were we are very sure that sleep deprivation, sunrises and of course coffee play key roles in its expanses. Tracks like the bookend pieces of "Midnight Ride Down the Mental Freeway" and "Softly Slipping" are blissed-out electronic shoegaze featuring percolating sure-stepped percussion, chiming guitars, synth-lines seemingly made of aether and steadfast acoustic guitar lines. This is personal listening at its best. Every song is a landscape and every one of those hazy landscapes has a story. You'll just need to get Airborne for the anecdote.

Mountains - Etching


















Mountains - Etching
Genre : Ambient, Electronica
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Listen

1. Etching

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The project of New York-based Brendon Anderegg and Koen Holtkamp, Mountains have, in the four years since they first appeared, gained much critical acclaim for their impressionist sound formations. While their first two albums were published on their own imprint, Apestaartje, their third opus proper, Choral, materialised on Chicago’s Thrill Jockey. In early 2009, Mountains recorded a long improvisation in Anderegg’s studio, in live condition. The resulting piece, Etching, was then sold, as a CDR, during the tour coinciding with the release of Choral. This recording aiming to document the band in a similar setting to that of the tour, is now made available once again through Thrill Jockey as a very limited LP-only release. Originally consisting of just one long live improvised piece, which was split into two sequences for the vinyl version, Etching is typical of the work of Brendon Anderegg and Koen Holtkamp. Built from a sound pool consisting of acoustic and electric guitars, and various other acoustic instruments and electronics, processed and treated live and assembled into an ever changing piece, Etching harks back to the band’s self-titled debut album, which consisted primarily of long compositions, often stretching well past the fifteen minute mark. Here though, the sonic progression is much more nuanced as the piece gently ebbs and flows over its all course, making the most of the time scale to emphasised the various tones and moods that are often found in their shorter tracks. Etching opens with a gentle layering of acoustic guitars, which grows slowly as new elements are progressively swallowed to become intrinsic part of a rolling melodic formation. By the four minute mark, the nucleus of the piece has become totally smooth and uniform, allowing for shimmering electronics to ripple on its surface before settling into a second layer of sediment. From there on, this stratification process is repeated over and over until Etching reaches its first peak, ten minutes in, and is subjected to a meticulous erosion from there on as its first segment rapidly fades away. The piece quickly regains momentum though, and this time Anderegg and Holtkamp deploy an even richer set of sounds. Very much like on Choral, the original sources are pretty impossible to isolate or identify fully here, apart for the recurring textural guitar components which give Etching a superb outline, contributing to the ethereal character of the piece. Developed over just under forty minutes, its poetic meanders and evocative tones brought to life like never before, Etching is a composition without equal in Mountains’ work. TheMilkFactory

domingo, 25 de octubre de 2009

Konntinent | Lonely in the Shallows |

















Konntinent | Lonely in the Shallows
Genre : Ambient, Electronica
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Listen

01. lonely in the Shallow

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A new epic from Konntinent, Lonely in the Shallows drifts, moves and shifts seamlessly. Recalling the raw organic beauty of Talk Talk's seminal 'Laughing Stock' and the unrequited emotion of avant composer Harold Budd, Antony Harrsion has succeeded in creating a new palette without the aid of digital instruments and effects. Experimenting with an open ended writing approach, Harrison now presents us with this cathartic and sweeping stroll through internal musings, thoughts and wanderings.

As a limited editon of 100, the package includes clear liner notes and a individual glass slide from the posthumous works of travel photographer Sam Van Elgort.

viernes, 23 de octubre de 2009

Richard Moult - Suite For Titouan















Richard Moult - Suite For Titouan
Genre : Ambient, Clásica, Piano
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01 Suite For Titouan I.
02 Suite For Titouan II.
03 Suite For Titouan III.
04 Suite For Titouan IV.
05 Suite For Titouan V.

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Suite for Titouan" is a suite for solo piano which consists of five improvised movements. This music might sound minimal in its approach, but in reality it's full of shades and feelings, intimate but at the same time maintaining an austere and elegant approach. It's a timeless music because it's deeply emotional, and emotions go beyond time itself. Richard Moult, through his compositions, paintings, collaborations (David Tibet, United Bible Studies, Agitated Radio Pilot, Sol Invictus...) and personal works , travels on a path based on honesty, with that feeling which we hope will never abandon the human essence.

Flica - Telepathy Dreams

















Flica - Telepathy Dreams
Genre : Ambient, Electronica
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1. Commes

2. Drun

3. Hie

4. In Dreams

5. Ind

6. Istatic

7. Midnight Waving

8. Seing

9. Stairs


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“In the absence of telepathy, there will be no traces of us in our hearts, and perhaps only in dreams, the splendor will remain.” Those are the beautiful words that only Flica can deliver through his music. With the release of Flica’s latest effort, Telepathy Dreams, he explores your soul and mind on a level only he can explore. This self-released ambient and modern classic album takes on a serious musical approach. Telepathy Dreams showcases a darker side of Flica, as compared to his previous releases such as Windvane & Window and Nocturnal.
Listening to this new album would be like a reflection of flipping through black and white photographs, which is both warm and cold. This flipside of intense emotions is prevailed through this 9-tracks album. Flica is taking on an emotional journey and you this album prove to be exceptional. The entirety of Telepathy Dreams is produced, recorded, arranged, programmed, mixed and designed by Euseng Seto a.k.a. Flica himself. Started in November 2008 and completed in June 2009, this album is a musical avant garde.

jueves, 22 de octubre de 2009

Slow - Dual box



















Slow - Dual box
Genre : Ambient, Electronica, Experimental
Listen

1. chinatown
2. loma
3. dreaming
4. insomnia
5. miracle
6. you can’t say no to

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You might remember slow by his “room phive”-release on Resting Bell last December, or for the “Love”-EP on Autoplate. If not, slow is the moniker of Sergey Suokas, a russian composer in the fields of techno (as Suokas) and soulful and hypnotic ambient-music (as slow).

His new release “dual box“ can be seen as a meditation on the “Flower of Life“. This geometrical figure is a composition of multiple evenly-spaced, overlapping circles, that are arranged so that they form a flower-like pattern with a sixfold symmetry like a hexagon. In combination with triangles and cubes you get a sacred geometry which has references in most of the commons religions and spiritual ways.

Every single track on “dual box“ is dedicated to a circle in the geometrical figure. Starting with “chinatown“, you get from a very clam and percussive piece to warm multiple guitar-layers, repetitive synth-elements and little miniature compositions. A beautiful and complete concept.

miércoles, 21 de octubre de 2009

Ian Hawgood - Before I Let The Sunshine Rot



















Ian Hawgood - Before I Let The Sunshine Rot
Genre : Ambient, Electronica, Experimental

1. Before I Let The Sunshine Rot
2. Airguns After Supper
3. Seoul I
4. The Latin Quarter
5. Pirouette Of Cotton 1
6. Seoul II
7. Ginseng and polaramin, and one long slumber
8. Thank You Sara

Ian Hawgood curates not one, but three labels, including the highly regarded Home Normal and calls both Tokyo and London his home. A stalwart of the netlabel scene with releases on several labels including 12rec and Resting Bell and a serial collaborator, Hawgood's music incorprorates a myriad of organic instrumentations marrying the abstract with the melodic, fashioning music that is nostalgic, cultured, passionate and honest.

Recorded in numerous locations, from Seoul to Lecce & Paris to Pennsylvania, multi-instrumentalist Ian Hawgood returns to his roots on 'Before I Let The Sunshine Rot' to capture the memories of these places; the sights, the smells, the sounds but, most importantly, the people he considers friends.

A deeply personal journey, but one in which Ian invites you to join him in remembering the good times as he basks in the draping, folk guitar, ethereal, hazy drones and poignant nostalgia encapsulated in this release.


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martes, 20 de octubre de 2009

Solo Andata - Solo Andata


















Solo Andata - Solo Andata
Genre : Ambient, Electronica, Experimental
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01 Ablation
02 Hydraulic Fluctuations
03 Canal Rocks
04 Beyond This Window
05 In The Light Storming
06 Look For Me Here
07 Loom
08 Woods Flesh Bone


link removed by request

12k presents Australian duo Solo Andata along with their second album, self-titled. Translated literally from the Italian as “one way”, Solo Andata portrays the theme of a one-way journey that moves from (and represents a thread between) water and land, fluid/stasis, cold/hot. Following Solo Andata’s debut album Fyris Swan (Hefty, 2006) and their 12k inception on Live in Melbourne, Solo Andata presents us with an ambient affair, with dark drones coupled with ethereal sonic environments.

It could be said that Solo Andata is carefully sequenced to a narrative structure: beginning on boat in the cold, arctic night of “Ablation,” and then ending on foot in the hot wilderness of “Woods, Flesh, Bone.” However, concepts and narratives that seem clear to the artists are often left oblique to the listeners. This is perhaps why Solo Andata represented this narrative in a strict sense by recording what the titles literally refer to. For example, “Woods Flesh, Bone” presents us with sweltering woodlands, the sound of a fresh carcass being torn apart and the clattering of bones. The same can be said of “Hydraulic Fluctuations,” “Canal Rocks,” “Ablation” and “In the Light Storming.” These organic sources, then, help tie music and concept together.

Solo Andata utilizes very little, if any, electronic instruments. Acoustic guitar, piano, cello and the natural resonances of organic materials (usually by way of a violin bow, pluck, or home-made contraption) become their main instruments, and as their live shows often attest to, Solo Andata can turn almost any object into an instrument capable of producing beautiful, other-worldly music.

Solo Andata is being released simultaneously with Look For Me Here (12k2014), a limited edition CD-Single that contains the album mix of “Look For Me Here” as well as remixes from legendary Japanese musician Ryuichi Sakamoto and 12k’s visionary Giuseppe Ielasi.

Solo Andata was created between Perth, Western Australia, Melbourne, Victoria and New York City.

sábado, 17 de octubre de 2009

Corey Larkin – Pnomoneya



















Corey Larkin – Pnomoneya

Genre : Ambient, Electronica, Experimental
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1. First Movement – 28:43
2. Second Movement – 18:45
3. Third Movement – 23:25
4. Fourth Movement – 6:13

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Corey Larkin’s Pnomoneya is a captivating work of microtonal stasis and decay, clocking in at an hour and seventeen minutes. The initial idea behind the piece comes from a field recording made on a subway – sounds of droning metal-on-metal friction. From there, Corey set out to create a work that emulates these sounds, utilizing an array of bowed gongs, bells, and singing bowls. Over the three day recording period, Pnomoneya was completely improvised from his isolated apartment which had been frozen with thick layers of ice. The piece itself feels like a single tone, frozen within these thick layers and exposed to the listener in tiny increments. Each of the four sections of Pnomoneya isolate the listener as different pitches wax and wane. Overall the piece is completely fluid and weightless with influences from minimalist composer La Monte Young.

Autistici - Complex Tone Test

















Autistici - Complex Tone Test
Genre : Ambient, Electronica, Experimental
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01 Key For A Lockable Cabinet
02 Meticule
03 Resonating Wire
04 Closing
05 La Spaziale S1 Vivaldi.
06 Refractory
07 Disintegrated Interest
08 Annualized Light (2.2)
09 Meadow Bed

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A follow-up to the Volume Objects 12K album release that arrived at the very beginning of the year, Autistici's Complex Tone Test continues to explore a broad spectrum of electroacoustic phenomena, derived from digital, instrumental and naturally occurring sounds. 'Key For A Lockable Cabinet' is an especially striking confluence of these elements, sounding like a study of intermingled woodwind, mellotron and environmental crackle while preserving the implicitly melodic qualities that illuminated the 12K long-player. Delving into more synthetic areas of sound design 'Meticule' takes pulsing oscillations and layers them into a Raster Noton-like network of more rigid glitch rhythms, setting the whole thing off into an escalating, motorised pattern that acquires a thudding backbeat for a few moments. Following this unexpectedly robust sequence of events, 'Resonating Wire' brings us back to a delicate microsound universe, characterised by close-miced, atomised percussive gstures, gauzy beams of hiss and eventually, some rather lovely bowed strings. As the album continues it seems to alternate between strict experimentalism and more ornamental sound designs, striking up a smart balance between the head-flooding machinations of 'La Spaziale S1 Vivaldi' and the prettier, more decorative likes of 'Meadow Bed'. Two of the finest pieces arrive late on: Disintegrated Interest' is a relatively short dissection of instrumental sources, reminiscent of early academic tape music, while 'Annualized Light' is a delightful ear massage that incorporates thin, elastic synth textures continuously panning far-left to far-right while processed recordings of sneezes, speech and electronic tones fill the space in between.

viernes, 16 de octubre de 2009

Mountains – Mountains, Mountains, Mountains



















Mountains – Mountains, Mountains, Mountains

Genre : Ambient, Electronica, Experimental
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Listen

01 The Whale Years
02 Nest
03 Millions Of Time
04 Hive

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Mountains, the duo of Brendon Anderegg and Koen Holtkamp, have been making some of the most beautifully epic music of the past four years. The two blend acoustic instrumentation with field recordings, subtle electronics and live sampling to create something otherworldly. You’ve probably heard a lot of people running acoustic instruments through their computers and are probably pretty bored with that whole concept at this point. The last thing Catsup Plate would foist on the world is another twee laptop-folk project. Mountains is an altogether different entity. The Wire magazine described their music as “infinite sheets of grainy sound build and renew themselves to immensely pleasing effect,” and that pretty much sums it up for us here at C Plate.

Mountains Mountains Mountains, though it feels of a piece, is actually a compilation of sorts. The whole of side B (“Millions of Time” and “Hive”) constitutes the entirety of a 3” CDR the band put together for a month long tour towards the end of 2005. And interestingly, “The Whale Years,” the album’s first track, was improvised in a hotel room in southern Georgia on that same tour (if only all improvisations sounded so beautiful and composed!). “Nest” was recorded in NYC in late 2007.

Those who are familiar with Mountains will notice a more muscular sound on Mountains Mountains Mountains. Much of “The Whale Years” is built around a phased guitar line that, through manipulation of an unknown sort, takes on an overwhelming celestial grandeur. “Nest” finds Mountains returning to a fingerpicked acoustic guitar line, but with a ringing urgency that eventually falls away as the side runs out. “Millions of Time” is based on a motorik-style repeating sample, upon which the band hangs huge washes of guitar that recall something like the dissonant melodies of early 90s Shoegaze or the recent work of Axolotl. And the album ends with “Hive” which may be the most forceful piece they have recorded. The first two and a half minutes begin with a ringing cloud of layered guitar picking that dies away momentarily, at which point a howl of dissonance and guitar wail envelops the song, eventually pushing the piece to a monumental drone that is totally unexpected and amazing.

Edition of 500 LP-only copies in two color silkscreened sleeves. Yes, the white is silkscreened. Mountains text by a mostly unknown cast of hundreds. Many thanks if you contributed.

jueves, 15 de octubre de 2009

Fjordne – The Setting Sun



















Fjordne – The Setting Sun
Genre : Ambient, Clásica, Electroacoustic
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Listen

1 Collide 4:57
2 A Woman, A Girl 6:35
3 Trees See All 9:09
4 After You 5:37
5 Torn Out 6:47
6 Vivid Memories 4:38
7 Will You… 4:17
8 Rustle Of Leaves (After Sunset) 6:53
9 Autumn; Grace 6:20
10 Last Sun

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Shifting, reversed sounds of serene and simple piano melodies, fused with light as summer breeze female vocals, field recordings of forest walks and nature scenes with chirping birds amidst another cacophony of tweeting beeps and clicks are some of the first impressions after listening to the beginning of Fjordne’s new album on Singaporean label and art tank, Kitchen., curated by Ricks Angalongside photographer April Lee, who many will recognise as the duo behind aspidistrafly who we reviewed in connection with the inauguration of this lovely label. And the album comes in an amazing hard-cover sleeve with recycled, coarse paper (ed. always love the smell of this paper!) folded in accordion-style with several quadratic photos of the aforementioned Lee capturing moments of sunsets and domestic still life, vintage clocks and old shoes, tulips and nature viewed from city scenes.Fjordne may not be a name many are well-versed with, but nonetheless a growing prominent figure of Japanese electronic music, and behind this naturesque moniker, we find the Tokyo-based solo artist, Fujimoto Shunichiro who now treats us to his fourth album, with prior releases on Ryoondo Tea, Dynamophone and U-Cover. And there is something so harmonious and heartfelt over Fjordne’s music, that it brings out the childlike and curious in the listener. At once, treated to the lush and personal soundscapes of Fjordne on a leisurely saunter throughout nature and everyday life, the listener could feel transported into a Japanese anime and display the same show of fascination as all the little children when faced with those marvellous inventions of, say, Hayao Miyazaki (directory of Ponyo on the Cliff, Howl’s Moving Castle, etc.). Or take for instance the ingenious mind and ideas of Haruki Murakami; Fjordne’s music becomes like a soundtrack – much like I cited the works of label-colleagues aspidistrafly on their first release. There is something overtly Japanese at work, the music sounds nothing like what I am used to, whether it stems from an inherently child-like view on the compositional process or cultural differences, one can only feel grateful for discovering such albums at times.The music of Fjordne also shows Fujimoto has matured with the releases he has on his repertoire now, the vivid sound artistry is sprinkled with broken jazz fragments and rolling piano and guitar chords in post-classical themes appearing like broken and sprinkled inspirations of say, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Goldmund, Library Tapes and Yasushi Yoshida and guitar heaven of the likes conjured by Helios. Attention-wise, I felt glued to the speakers from the onset of the first track, “Collide”, and over the course of ten songs Fjordne invited me along to see nature from his perspective, assisted by the gentle and delightfully elegant photography of April Lee. “Last Sun” then comes in conclusion to end this lovely adventure to the most tranquil of setting suns and though it is the end of Fjordne’s fourth album, his musicianship is far from over and we warmly recommend this release as Kitchen. deliver with their second release.soundscaping

miércoles, 14 de octubre de 2009

Teruyuki Nobuchika – Morceau



















Teruyuki Nobuchika – Morceau
Genre : Ambient, Clásica, Electroacoustic
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Listen

01. pola
02. tainy fairy
03. in the park
04. tranquille
05. half moon
06. piano bit
07. deauville
08. p2d
09. hypnotique
10. bagatelle no.1
11. reposer
12. nocturne

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Teruyuki Nobuchika is a musician, composer and producer, based in tokyo. He composes mainly the soundtrack of the TV drama and the movie.

Aoki Takamasa - RN Rhythm-Variations



















Aoki Takamasa - RN Rhythm-Variations
Genre : Electronica, Experimental,
Buy It!

side A
01: RN-09 pt1 + pt2 (5:37)
02: RN3-09 (5:03)

sideB
03 : RN4-09 (5:38)

04 : RN5-09 (6:09)

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Incredible 25-minute percussion and bass variations from Japanese uber-producer Aoki Takamasa, new on Raster Noton!* Hugely respected percussive technician Aoki Takamasa has released a stream of rhythmic electronic expressions on labels like Fat Cat and Progressive Form since 2001. This is his first set of productions for the Raster Noton imprint, released as part of their 'Unun' series, after previous installments from Grischa Lichtenberg and NHK. 'RN-Rhythm-Variations' explores body-enveloping digital rhythms reminding us of SND's autistic funk rewired with the hi-brow hip-hop swing of Frank Bretschneider. The succinctly titled 'RN2-09 PT1 + PT2' may be of most interest to any DJ's due to the 130bpm tempo setting and heavily swung robo-step rhythms, crafting irresistibly funky patterns from the sheerest digital processing, before 'RN3-09' settles down into a bass-shaped blue groove reminding us of Farben if he had a stronger taste for licks of caustic digital noise. On the flip 'RN4-09' concentrates on a heavily swung and Bretschneider-style hiphop rhythm with cyber-squalls of distortion, while 'RN5-09' sounds like a Tin Man track reprocessed by NHK. This EP retains the impeccable quality of the series so far and comes highly recommended to any fans of Autechre, Alva Noto or Pan Sonic. Play Loud!

Simon Scott - Navigare



















Simon Scott - Navigare
Genre : Ambient, Post Rock, Shoegaze, Experimental
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1
Introduction Of Cambridge 4:00
2
Under Crumbling Skies 4:00
3
Flood Inn 4:00
4
Derelict Days 4:00
5
Repulse 3:00
6
The ACC 4:00
7
The Old Jug And Drum 5:00
8
Ashma 4:00
9
Spring Stars 5:00
10
The Night And The Artificial Light 5:00

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Simon Scott is something of a hero in underground music circles, having made his name as part of Slowdive - one of shoegaze's genre-defining acts - only to remain an intensely active presence on the scene through his collaborations with Rafael Anton Irisarri (as part of The Sight Below's live band) and Isan's Antony Ryan (recording together as Seavault). In addition to these projects, Scott curates the label Kesh, releasing works from the likes of Sebastian Roux, Hannu, Mark Templeton and Aus. Throughout all these various elements of Scott's work you can trace a common thread running throughout; there's a fixation on the more sculpted, textural aspects of sound. 'Navigare' fully embraces the idea of sound-sculpting whilst retaining the more suggestively song-driven impetus of Scott's past, and the resultant album marks a new evolutionary step for Erik Skodvin's Miasmah imprint. 'Introduction Of Cambridge' sets the album on its course, flooding the speakers with a sun-dappled, ventilated drone sound that shifts around harmoniously until guitars and eventually very quietly mixed drums emerge from the distance - it could almost be a post-rock track were it not for the blurry edges and the disproportionate volume difference between the monolithic central droning soundscape and the more conventional instruments. When 'Flood Inn' fires up a fuzzy, scratchy old drum sample is at the heart of the mix, swaddled in Gas-like ambient textures and heated-up crackle. While much of the Miasmah catalogue to date has tended to emerge from darkness, skulking in shadowy electroacoustic recesses, Navigare is a brighter affair - the gravitas and sheer sonic density remains familiarly in place but there's a certain quality of iridescence to these productions that binds them to the dream-pop movement. This link is never clearer than on 'The ACC', which takes slow-mo drums and trad rock band dynamics only to dissolve them into a thick, goopy sonic splurge reminiscent of My Bloody Valentine or Fennesz. Another great entry into Miasmah's rock-solid catalogue, and a wonderfully rich ambient record in its own right - one whose residual echoes of a shoegaze past give it an appeal that transcends the usual parameters of drone music.

martes, 13 de octubre de 2009

OBFUSC & David Tagg - Split














OBFUSC & David Tagg - Split
Genre : Ambient, Electronica
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1 - Obfusc - Alto Plano (11:58)
2 - David Tagg - Magic Interval (14:58)

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The latest addition my split series at INSTALL features none other then Obfusc. Know for his for his releases at Static Caravan and Boltfish he has definitely made his mark with his own signature brand of minimal electronica. With this split Obfusc takes a turn to ambient music with very successful results. -David Tagg
There are only 40 copies of this for sale so if you would like one do not wait or risk being disappointed.

lunes, 12 de octubre de 2009

Cylon - Resonanz

















Cylon - Resonanz

Genre : Ambient, Electronica
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Listen

1) I (7:18)
2) II (7:54)
3) III (3:44)
4) IV (2:58)
5) V (7:50)
6) VI (8:26)

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Cylon is danish musician and net label co-founder Jannick Schou. I first heard his music through Ian who runs Heat Death, who sent me a copy of a demo Jannick had sent him. I was instantly in love with what I heard; 6 tracks of totally amazing subtle ambiance. I'm pretty lost for words when I think about this release, but I can say that it is totally ethereal and mesmerizing. I have lost my self in this album several times and each time I discovered new depths to it. It sounds like floating in clouds, it really does. Magical, elegant and uplifting; Jannick has created something really wonderful here and it gives me great pleasure to release it.

Limited to just 250 copies, packaged in a hand numbered and hand stamped 4 panel recycled card digipak with inserts.

Newworldaquarium - The Force (Ame Remixes)



















Newworldaquarium - The Force (Ame Remixes)
Genre : Electronica, IDM, Techno, Ambient
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A The Force (Ame Remix) 7:59
AA The Force (Alternative Version) 9:41

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NWAQ's mind-blowing 'Dead Bears' LP continues to blossom and bear fruit with two further remixes from Ame, taking 'The Force' for two essential remix trips. Jochem Peteri's original version is the majestic opener to said album, creating a memorable introduction with head-pressurised technohouse vibes ripe for a remix job from some capable hands. Ame prove they're the right fellas for the job with a pair of utterly sublime revisions diverging the track in opposite directions. The first mix imagines 'The Force' as a rolling breakbeat disco special, taking hefty influences from Carl Craig's 69 project and A'dam's Aaradvarck, programming crisp funky drums with that German kink. Much like their 'Fiori' track for Ostgut, we're sure this is going to held as one of the finest examples of their work for a long time to come. On the flip they take a very different tack, swiping away any trace of percussion for a haunting 'Alternative Version', remaking the track as an infinitely effective set opener or closer for the DJs, or a sublime piece of home listening for everyone else. Well recommended and strictly limited!

domingo, 11 de octubre de 2009

Grischa Lichtenberger - Treibgut



















Grischa Lichtenberger - Treibgut
Genre : Electronica, Experimental, Noise
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1. 0406_01_RS_!
2. 1205_10
3. 0607_LV_1_RE
4. Calipso
5. 0106_12_LV_3 Sand Ausheben

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Back in stock. The inimitable Raster Noton label picks up it's Unun series with five tracks of utterly sick digital spasms and oblique hi-end processing from Grischa Lichtenberger following on from the devastating NHK 12" last year. Via various methods and processes Lichtenberger manipulates field recordings and musique concrete sampled from the world around him such as a sliding tabletop, the noise of a radiator or the humming of a broken device before transforming them into sound-giving instruments. The resultant sound swerves from a cacophany of autistic rhythms and unfathomably complex textures to almost poppy experimentalism and intricately funked syncopations edging on the territory of Autechre, Alva Noto or CoH mixed with the coarse textures of Yasunao Tone. The title 'Triebgut' refers to a German proverb describing a piece of wood floating in a river or the sea. In this sense it expresses a relation to things: between the observer and the floating thing, which has obliterated its functionality, there is no immediate connection - there is a lack of unifying meaning. Of it, the observer always only sees aspects, while the thing, without him on its mind, drifts by. In other words, this will take a while to sink in but digital dancefloor fiends and armchair consumers alike will find something to plug into here.

no.9 – http://9-9-9-9-9.com



















no.9 – http://9-9-9-9-9.com
Genre : Electronica,
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01 urban nature [ 5:34 ]
02 will [ 5:00 ]
03 hikari sasu michi e [ 5:11 ]
04 flower shop [ 4:00 ]
05 tomorrow land [ 6:54 ]
06 Re: Bug Beats [ 6:40 ]
07 auto tech [ 3:38 ]
08 last song ( album ver. ) [ 8:01 ]
09 melodion [ 6:30 ]

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viernes, 9 de octubre de 2009

Loscil - Strathcona Variations



















Loscil - Strathcona Variations
Genre : Ambient, Electronica,
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01. Strathcona
02. Union Dusk
03. Midnight on Princess

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Loscil’s ambient compositions exist between worlds. Both electronic and naturalistic, drone-based and melodic, rhythmic and adrift, the Vancouver producer’s three-track Strathcona Variations is both placid and filled with dread, a suite of gentle, barely-there compositions whose odd, surreal beauty can’t be underestimated. Initially, each track on Strathcona Variations appears smooth, a flawless surface whose variations are imperceptibly gradual at best. Closer inspection, though, reveals a world of subtle mood-shifts, distant blips and clicks, and orchestral flourishes disguised as synthesizer tones (and vice versa). Opener “Strathcona” is a fine slice of minimalism, spreading two alternating, undulating organ chords out over eight minutes, adding a miniscule electronic click and a series of room-temp synth passages whose cloud-like interactions become the track’s focus. “Union Dusk” overlays a series of gently stuttering samples and drones, building to a vibraphone-led climax that evokes a tiny, electronic Steve Reich. Closer “Midnight on Princess” has a cinematic lift to its otherwise dirge-like swells of strings and drone. At only three tracks, Loscil’s Strathcona Variations is decidedly brief, but its sense of space and emotion is bottomless. ghostly

bRUNA - and it matters to me to see you smiling


















bRUNA - and it matters to me to see you smiling
Genre : Electronica
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01 - the innocence mission
02 - andaari
03 - forgiveness
04 - crossed messages
05 - how to seek answers from signals
06 - lost and found
07 - as something reminds of a past failure
08 - it could have been better
09 - for the day we met
10 - i need you (out of my head)
11 - settle for nothing else
12 - i knew it would never last
13 - don't give up
14 - about dealing with private emotions
15 - please don't make me sorry
16 - 1989

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bRUNA is Barcelona based young artist and he’s really an absolute growing name in Spanish electronica scene. As a DJ his talent was recognized opening Sonar 2006 and next year he was selected for the Red Bull Academy Toronto. Since then he has been focusing his interests in making music more than in playing other’s stuff.

Now spa.RK has the honor to present his first album and we are sure that is’t gonna make waves. With just a couple of tracks on his myspace, he became rapidly a favorite of local critics and the most anticipated name in the press. Finally he delivered a 12” for Marc Marzenit’s Paradigma Musik label (Heartbreak EP, exploring his interest on the more danceable sounds of his music, but always melancholic, personal and elegant) that has been very well received. So now is the moment to prove his value in this CD. First word to come to our mind is passionate: in this electronica world full of promenairs and dilettantes, bRUNA establish himself as an absolute music lover, and without absurd detours he goes straight to the bone, to make the only music he wants to make, the only music that really commits yourself in the listening and the experience of loving it.
With a lot of well distilled influences and a master work in composition, bRUNA is everything he has been listening since he was a kid and everything that music can be nowadays: no prejudices, no style boundaries constrain his work and the result is an album absolutely enjoyable, addictive till the end of the day, concise and extremely concentrated. Thirty minutes with no low moments, full of intensity and brightness. This way you can fulfill the hunger it leaves at the end of the listening and you are more than ready to listen to it again!

BVDUB - We Were The Sun



















BVDUB - We Were The Sun
Genre : Electronica, Ambient
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01. It Mattered Once
02. Will You Know Where To Find Me
03. Live To See The Day
04. Time Will Tell
05. I Knew You Then
06. Lest You Forget

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Brock Van Wey has amassed a quietly rabid following for his muted output on the Quietus label. These recordings remain separate to his dancefloor productions for Meanwhile and Styrax, instead exploring beautifully tempered zones of twilight ambient and drifting electronica comparable to his peers like Stephen Hitchell and Rod Modell. As the label states in its manifesto it's "...music that represents their true voice... not just that which they feel others will accept", meaning Quietus music is lovingly crafted with a personal touch, made to communicate with the few who understand it, as opposed to the masses who either don't, or are too cynical to fall for its charms. Aside from the final track, each composition has a lengthy average time of 15 minutes, giving Van Wey space to calmly develop majestic cloud-like structures of droning synth tones with hazy washes of reverbed harps on 'It Mattered Once', or billowing dub chords stretched to the horizon on 'You Will Know Where To Find Me'. 'Live To See The Day' is guided by the cinematic reverie of composers like Harold Budd, and the ebb and flow of 'Time Will Tell' will appeal to anyone familiar with Eno. As ever, these copies are in very short supply and once they're gone... Gorgeous.

jueves, 8 de octubre de 2009

Klimek – Movies is Magic




















Klimek – Movies is Magic
Genre : Electronica, Ambient, Experimental
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01. Abyss of Anxiety (Unfolding the Magic)
02. Exposed to Life In It’s Brutal Meaninglessness
03. Exploding Unbearable Desires
04. Pathetic and Dangerous
05. Greed, Mutation, Betrayal
06. A Lament
07. True Enemies and False Friends
08. Sound of Confusion
09. For Whom the Bells Toll
10. Tears of Happiness (Dismissed Into Mundanity)

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Sebastian Meissner returns to his Klimek moniker with an ambitious follow-up to his Dedications album, picking up exactly where he left off, continuing and expanding upon the final track, “for Steven Spielberg & Azza El-Hassan”. Movies is Magic deals both directly and peripherally with ideas of film music: its purpose, its meaning, its uses. Though the music is furthered by the concepts underpinning it, it stands on its own two sonic feet with swathes and swells of cinematic, expansive melodies: from the bold to the understated, the shades of grey to the brightly direct, the string-laden to the piano-driven – some with sprinkles of subtle percussion and others which run through the barest of themes in order to produce giant results. Movies is Magic renders itself as a comment on the idea of cinema sound, bringing it into a present-day home listening experience that is more concerned with conjuring new images than accompanying existing ones. Resonating in myriad directions, the traces of its musical, conceptual and visual inspirations remain, haunting the complete work. This confluence of cultural influences and sound productions is an indication of where Movies is Magic takes both the listener and the artist behind the experience.

Like an orchestra restructured in the digital domain, the remnants at the core of each piece lend themselves less to conservatory comparisons than filmic ones. Ambiences reside inside, but are never left untouched or undeveloped, subverting expectations and leaving trails of themselves long after each song ends. Large, picturesque settings produce emotionally compelling mini-narratives, while warm, open progressions balance with the multi-layered shadows that are expected from a Klimek album. A careful percussive phrase, the occasional menacing horn, a tentatively sustained tone, or renching vocal murmur arrange these pieces between intersecting musical camps, while rustling backgrounds creep up to remind one where they stand. The material is the product of a variety of allegiances and alliances: from soundtracks to the range of electro-acoustic and electronic sensibilities that produce such works as these, the multiples of moods and directions all further the frame of the project and the Klimek sound.

While the album is the singular vision of Sebastian Meissner, the project wouldn’t be possible without the value of his collaborators, which include: Scott Arford, Steve Heather, Zeitblom, Robert Curgenven, Gerard Lebik, Dawid Frydryk, Marta Collica, Hugo Race, Ran Slavin and Ursula Maurer. The CD comes packaged with a 14″ x 9″ fold-out poster with an alternate cover photo image – revealing another layer of the release – and an essay detailing the full scope of Movies is Magic. The essay, album and track titles take direct inspiration from Slavoj Zizek, whose analysis of cinema was a strong beginning point for the project.

World's End Girlfriend - 空気人形 (Air Doll) / O.S.T.




















World's End Girlfriend - 空気人形 (Air Doll) / O.S.T.
Genre : Clásica, Soundtrack
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1 風と共に目覚め
2 誕生の日に
3 叶えられた祈り
4 傘は
5 空洞の坂に
6 光を映す影
7 交差する
8 冒険の彩り
9 追憶の記録
10 道
11 誕生会の夢
12 点在について
13 雨に唄わず
14 少し早足になって
15 水の中へ
16 百年の窒息
17 夜は問い
18 いくつかの答え
19 再来の風
20 呼吸
21 水の線路 (詩:吉野弘「生命は」より / 朗読:ペ・ドゥナ )

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Air Doll (空気人形) is a 2009 Japanese film directed by Hirokazu Koreeda. It is based on a manga by Yoshiie Gōda, which was serialized in the seinen manga magazine Big Comic Original,[1] and is about an inflatable doll that develops a soul and falls in love. The movie debuted in the Un Certain Regard section at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival.

miércoles, 7 de octubre de 2009

A Dancing Beggar - What We Left Behind


















A Dancing Beggar - What We Left Behind
Genre : Shoegaze, Post Rock, Electroacoustic
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1.Tuesday Rollers and Strollers
2.Major Spillage
3.All The Boogies In The World
4.Monday Boogies Forward Forever

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A Dancing Beggar is the musical project of 21-year-old musician, James Simmons. Having played a mixture of drums and guitar in previous bands, a solo project seemed the next step in achieving other creative goals. Using just a laptop, a couple of guitars and a cheap microphone, everything is written, recorded, mixed and produced in his bedroom.

Influenced by seminal post-rock artists like Maps, Sigur Ros, Amusement Parks On Fire, and Epic45, A Dancing Beggar began in summer 2007. After the purchase of some recording equipment a number of songs were written, recorded and distributed across MySpace. It wasn’t until early 2008 that a collection of songs seemed to link together for a possible release. These were recorded and subsequently turned into the 5 track EP ‘How They Grow’ which has been described by The Stool Pigeon as a ‘post rock treat’. In late 2008 the entire EP was re-mixed, and on the 23rd February 2009 Grand Independent released ‘How They Grow’, as a 6 track EP on iTunes. ‘How They Grow’ takes elements of post-rock and shoegaze and has been compared to the sounds of Mogwai, Explosions in the Sky, Ulrich Schnauss and July Skies.

As of March 2009, work had begun on new songs for A Dancing Beggar’s eagerly anticipated full-length album, ‘What We Left Behind’. These songs are more acoustic based, less distorted and euphoric with emphasis on a more organic sound. Composed and mixed by James, all eleven tracks were recorded in James’ bedroom again using an acoustic and electric guitar, microphone and laptop, between November 2008 and June 2009. This time incorporating field recordings by artists Peter Caeldries, Adam Danz and Cynthia Lawson, samples of which can be heard on ‘Our Distant Memories’, ‘Skinny Trees’ and ‘Branches and Nettles’. Notably an extract of ‘Day 16 - Recall Your Favorite Childhood Memory’ by Cynthia Lawson, a story about how she nearly jumped into a swimming pool with no water in it when she was very young. Such samples only compliment the ethereal sounds of ‘What We Left Behind’, marking a turning point in the maturity of A Dancing Beggar’s music which in most parts navigates around the concept of nostalgia.