d_rradio ::: parts

d_rradio ::: parts
Genre : Classic, Ambient, Electronic

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1. Fading Stars I
2. Better Left Alone
3. Midnight On A Moonless Night
4. Still In A Storm
5. Through Broken Rushes
6. Drawing In The Dark
7. Fading Stars II
8. Parts
9. Death Of The Fair Green Veil
10. See For The Last Time
11. Easy To Fall
12. Ruins Of A Wall Of Sound
13. End Of A Wild Life
14. Up By The Roots
15. Under The Lake Bed
16. The Immense Quiet Of The Dark Blue
17. The Right Way To Lie
18. Rain On The Rocks
19. Returns

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South Shields electronic trio d_rradio return for a brand new album on Distraction Records, and it marks a bit of a change in style. The unassumingly titled Parts takes on a kind of vintage, ghostly ambient feel that at various points brings to mind the likes of Philip Jeck, Leyland Kirby, Janek Schaefer and Klimek. The mention of those sorts of names instantly summons up images of old 78s, cinematic orchestral plunderings and buzzwords that already feel a little past-it and overused like 'hauntology'. In all fairness though, these are all pretty apt points of reference. With this latest long-player d_rradio have masterfully taken hold of that particular sub-section of the ambient genre, drawing you into a sepia-tinted, slightly out of focus musical universe that's full of crackle, surface noise and eerie romance. As Parts unfolds it becomes fairly clear that this is a more immediately listenable and accessible outing than anything you'd encounter by most of those artists mentioned above, but it is a vividly coherent and atmospheric record that's easy to recommend - even to listeners who don't normally find themselves drawn to ambient music.

Monokle ::: Brittle

Monokle ::: Brittle
Genre : Ambient, Electronic

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01/ Floes 05:39
02/ Gray Sparks 05:17
03/ Ferry 06:18
04/ Brook

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A pack of truly emotional ambient tracks, the depth of which is complemented by live instruments filtering through the limpid synthetic atmosphere.

Marcus Fischer ::: Monocoastal

Marcus Fischer ::: Monocoastal
Genre : Classic, Ambient, Electronic

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01. Wave Atlas
02. Mossbank
03. Monocoastal 1
04. Cascadia Obscura
05. Wind and Wake
06. Shape To Shore
07. Between Narrow and Small
08. Monocoastal 2

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Markus Fischer joins the illustrious ranks who've appeared on Taylor Deupree's excellent 12k label, presenting a supremely delicate solo debut. He cites his movements up and down the West coast of America during the last two decades as a major influence on his sound, infusing frayed, fractured and quietly restrained compositions with field recordings and allowing lo-fi noise textures to creep and grow around both the artificial and natural sounds like tiny little organisms which slowly catalyse the whole thing into life. Fischer uses an array of battered, salvaged pianos, a xylophone made of wrenches and other unnamed physical ephemera to create harmonic blurs and the kind of gaseous tones you can almost taste on the tip of the tongue. Like Taylor Deupree's 'Shoals', Solo Andata's s/t album or Seaworthy + Matt Rösner's latest, DSP and obvious use of synthesis are shunned in favour of a warmer, more organic sensation and use of actual physical space and reverb settings to shape his faded polaroid environments.

Yasushi Yoshida ::: Grateful Goodbye

Yasushi Yoshida ::: Grateful Goodbye
Genre : Classic, Ambient, Electronic

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1. Let Go (01:21)
2. Grateful Goodbye (06:52)
3. Staircase (05:39)
4. Embrace Calm Music (05:42)
5. Remembering (00:27)
6. Pieces Of Last Scene Brilliance (03:37)
7. Departure Music (01:29)
8. Round And Chord (01:30)
9. Slow Bird Wonder Words (07:36)
10. Chromatic Chronicle (06:20)
11. For Everything Calm Embrace (03:39)

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Two and a half years from his previous album, “Little Grace”, a breathtakingly beautiful shower of instrumental music with ringing sounds of live instruments performed with film-like eloquence, Yasushi Yoshida will release his newest album, “Grateful Goodbye” from noble label.

Yasushi Yoshida’s music style like a storybook that breathes life into the images of the scene in the listener’s mind has led the way to many collaborations in the area of visual arts including dance, theater, and film. In his third album, “Grateful Goodbye”, each of the tracks have been composed around the concept, “stories of farewell.” A story unfolds in every song, coming together like a puzzle to form one grand story in the end. “Farewells” are captured from different angles and the flowing, three dimensional execution of the stories speak well of the artist’s talent as a story teller.

In orchestration, the style of the previous album has evolved further and now features a vast lineup of live instruments such as guitar, bass, flute, and trumpet composed around the piano, cello, and violin. Approaches like chamber music, dynamic orchestra ensembles, and their emotional melody are not only inspiring but the level of completion and the superior power of expression together prove the sure evolution of Yoshida’s music. Though tranquil and melancholy in mood, the album brings to mind positive images of dynamism and life. It is not a film score. It is not classical music. It is not post-rock. It is pure and beautiful music at its best. A “Grateful Goodbye” to all those living. A masterpiece by Yasushi Yoshida.

Yui Onodera & Celer ::: Generic City

Yui Onodera & Celer ::: Generic City
Genre :

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01.An Imaginary Tale Of Lost Vernacular 16:55
02.Waiting Until Something Else Happens 11:52
03.The Street Of A Rainy, Gray Day 09:15
04.A Renewed Awareness Of Home 09:49

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Celer's archival output over recent times has been prolific to say the least, and now Will Long (one-half of the duo) sets up his own label, Two Acorns. For this new imprint's inaugural release Celer collaborated with Japanese artist Yui Onodera, with mastering duties performed by 12k boss Taylor Deupree. While much of the established Celer sound centres upon thoughtful, droning austerity this album is given a very different shape by extensive field recording work from both Los Angeles and Japaninvolved. Woven into this tapestry of environmental sounds and floating tonality you'll hear migratory birds, ice breaking on a frozen lake, temple bells and sounds made by people in restaurants or on public transport systems. It's becoming difficult to keep up with Celer's release schedule, but it's still well worth trying to maintain pace - Generic City benefits from Onodera's additional pair of ears, and the final mix strikes up a deftly poised balance between beautiful ambience and more revelatory acousmatic material; in its finest moments Generic City offers an absorbing, occasionally hallucinatory portal into the audio topography of urban spaces.

Upward arrows ::: Upward arrows

Upward arrows ::: Upward arrows
Genre : Electroacoustic, Ambient

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01 - ^ - 2010
02 - ^^ - 2010
03 - ^^^ - 2010
04 - ^^^^ - 2010
05 - ^^^^^ - 2010
06 - ^^^^^^ - 2010
07 - ^^^^^^^ - 2010
08 - ^^^^^^^^ - 2010
09 - ^^^^^^^^^ - 2010
10 - ^^^^^^^^^^ - 2010

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Part Timer's John McCaffrey unveils a new guise for the Under The Spire, delivering an album specifically with that label's agenda in mind. Even the project's name references Under The Spire: "the name Upward Arrows is an allusion to the thousands of church spires that pepper the world, all pointing upwards like arrows aimed at the sky" says McCaffrey. In musical terms McCaffrey has adapted his musical strategy to what he perceives as in-keeping with the Under The Spire sound, venturing into the border territories between the modern classical and ambient genres. Taking as his starting point unfinished pieces from his hard drive, field recordings and even sounds provided by William Ryan Fritch (a contributor to Asthmatic Kitty's Library Catalog Music Series) and the Fourplay String Quartet, McCaffrey takes a step in a new direction without totally abandoning the tone of his established oeuvre. You'll still hear snatches of the kind of fluttering, processed guitars you'd find on a Part Timer record, and a similarly warm, melodious atmosphere is conjured along the way, but Upward Arrows feels a little more ambitious, embracing hazy, Tim Hecker-like expanses of reverb and a kind of slow, stately orchestral feel that at times recalls Stars Of The Lid. Delightful stuff that's sure to please both Part Timer and UtS fans.

Part Timer ::: Real to Reel

Part Timer ::: Real to Reel
Genre : Electroacoustic, Ambient, Experimental

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1. The Distance Between One (feat. Danielle McCaffrey)
2. Campsite Sundown
3. Unfound (feat. Heidi Elva and Aaron Martin)
4. A Long Inhalation
5. Suspended Belief
6. The Runner (feat. Heidi Elva and Aaron Martin)
7. Where We Used To Go (feat. Nicola Hodgkinson and Aaron Martin)
8. Interalia (feat. Aaron Martin)
9. In Your Hand
10. Untold, Unfold (feat. Danielle McCaffrey)
11. It’s A Storm
12. Never Meant To Be (feat. Heidi Elva and Aaron Martin)
13. Taken Along Quietly

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Brand new album of folk-tinged electronic love songs featuring contributions from Nicola Hodgkinson, aka Empress, Aaron Martin and Heidi Elva on vocals and harp* Starting out as a member of sorely missed Northern duo Clickits, John McCaffrey has redefined himself over the last few years as a prime purveyor of beautiful, folk-tinged electronic love songs. Yes, songs, I said it – these three-to-four minute slices of bliss are far from the directionless vignettes you might expect from an ‘electronic musician’, they have a beginning, middle, end and even choruses. Who’d have thought? The impeccable production McCaffrey has exhibited throughout his career is utilized here maybe better than ever before. Nicola Hodgkinson (aka Empress) and John’s wife Danielle each contribute vocals which wisp graciously over McCaffrey’s stuttering percussion and staccato string plucks like billows of smoke from a French cigarette. It is Empress who I might say is the best reference point here, it’s been a while since we've heard her bleak tones on record and they're matched beautifully by McCaffrey's productions -coming across as both painfully sad and delicately optimistic. Let Part Timer wrap you up in dusty ¼” tape and sink into a deep blissful state...

IJO - Delay Preform

IJO - Delay Preform
Genre : Electronic, IDM,

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1 Kemmu 4:22
2 Tier Valey 4:53
3 Mille Teck 4:56
4 Sunler 4:56
5 Mountains Of Peru 3:09
6 Forey 5:54
7 Coscom 5:15
8 Huntig Pletoria 3:51

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Console - Herself

Console - Herself
Genre : Electronic

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01 She Saw
02 A Homeless Ghost
03 Walking The Equator
04 Cutting Time
05 Bit For Bit
06 Dropped Down
07 Upon
08 Her Eyes
09 Leaving A Century
10 Of Time
11 For Herself

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Tuluum Shimmering - Heart Of Sky Heart Of Earth

Tuluum Shimmering - Heart Of Sky Heart Of Earth
Genre : Ambient, Drone, Experimental,

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01 – Heart Of Sky Heart Of Earth A
02 – Heart Of Sky Heart Of Earth B

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Brian mcbride ::: The effective disconnect

Brian mcbride ::: The effective disconnect
Genre : Ambient, Electronic

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01 – melodrames telegraphies (in b major 7th) part 1
02 – melodrames telegraphies (in b major 7th) part 2
03 – girl nap
04 – several tries (in an unelevated style)
05 – supposed essay on the piano (b major piano adagietto)
06 – toil theme part 1
07 – toil theme part 2
08 – toil theme part 3
09 – beekeepers vs warfare chemicals
10 – i know that you don’t like the future like i do
11 – chamber minuet

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From Brian McBride: When George and Myriam approached me to compose for their film they suggested I concentrate on four different themes: the gloriousness of the bees, the endurance and hardships of traditional beekeepers, pesticides and the holistic nature of non-industrial agriculture. I was especially intrigued with the idea of combining some of their mournful aspirations with something more serene. Composing began in May of 2009. I had decided to start fresh not using anything that I had already recorded. Preparing the music for the film, I knew that I needed to provide more built-in changes in the structure of the pieces to give George and Myriam more flexibility. As I worked, I purposely distanced myself from the more continuous architecture employed in my previous recordings in favor of several mini-suites. In the thinking about the music, I hoped that the pieces would do justice to the 'gloriousness of the bees' theme, striving for a more overt hopeful quality. But old traditions die-hard and the hopeful side of the music was eventually more subsumed by the lamentable. I should also mention that if you have seen the film, this record will not contain all the music used and scored for this film. I am incredibly honored to be a part of this project even if the final compositions turned out to be more appropriate for a different and more forlorn film. I know you have a lot to think about in this world but if you care about food or the world around us, you deserve to at least consider the arguments within this honest and real piece of film-making.

36 ::: MemoriesInWidescreen

36 ::: MemoriesInWidescreen
Genre : Ambient, Electronic

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1 Before Time 5:33
2 After Time 9:06
3 Drifta 6:20
4 Drowning 5:18
5 Disappear 4:54
6 The Mirror 3:19
7 Lucid 4:43
8 Memories In Widescreen 5:11
9 Melt 5:48
10 Slide 4:46
11 Vesl 7:03
12 Revert Time 4:29
13 It's You (It's Me) 3:26

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"Memories In Widescreen" is the first vinyl-exclusive album from 36,
with 13 tracks spanning 70 minutes of material.

The intense, bitter-sweet melancholia of "After Time" converses with the
touching, dreamlike quality of "Lucid", whilst the huge bass drones of
"Vesl" preclude the haunting "Revert Time", bringing the album to it's
heart breaking conclusion.

"Memories In Widescreen" is available in limited edition 2xLP picture
disc vinyl. The record includes a free coupon to download the digital
version for free, including 2 exclusive bonus tracks. Each record is
individually hand numbered from the artist, with the first 50 records
including a bonus CD, with unreleased tracks, never heard before

Pospulenn - Sun People Sleepwalker

Pospulenn - Sun People Sleepwalker
Genre : Ambient, Electronic,Electroacoustic,

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A1		Farther Twig And Grasshopper Song
A2		Feather Gem Drift
A3		Luno's Outer Scale
A4		Rainbowed For A Fish In The Wind
A5		Flown/Flewn
A6		This Is How I Sing To The Moment
A7		Frozen Beach
B1		Mint Mountain
B2		Silver Lake
B3		Lazy Oasis
B4		Frozen Beach Pt. 2
B5		Porcelain Solar Halo (Live 10/07)
B6		Safe In The Cedar Alcove (Live 10/07)

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Once again, the fine folks at Housecraft have put out a release that is unnecessarily limited. Each release on the label is unique to one another, in that they all bring the listener into a new environment completely of their own. Artists like Xiphiidae, Peat Raamur, and Samsara Vista all have an eerie yet enveloping feel in their sound. Pospulenn's Sun People Sleepwalker is of a completely different breed.

Pospulenn was an alias of Kane Pour (of Tricorn & Queue and Hundreds) that was mainly guitar-based in its sound. Sun People Sleepwalker is a compilation of Kane Pour's recordings under the Pospulenn name, which total up to over an hour in length. This release, I would say, is the best work I have ever heard from Kane Pour as of yet. In all 13 tracks, melodies are layered over one another as the songs build, and each one hits every single note in its key. In the midst of the guitars, field recordings faintly add density. This combination creates a dream-like feeling that seems completely new to me. During their slow builds, the songs begin to sound so lush that they form a drone that is absolute ecstasy. For its entire 69 minutes, Sun People Sleepwalker never loses its momentum.

I would highly recommend seeking this out, though unfortunately due to its limited amount of 50 copies, I doubt many distributors still have this tape in stock. Due to this, I hope Sun People Sleepwalker receives a proper vinyl release someday. However, if this can be found at the right price, grab it immediately... it's a gem.

Murralin Lane - Our House Is On The Wall

Murralin Lane - Our House Is On The Wall
Genre : Ambient, Electronic

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01-murralin_lane-all_we_hear_are_birds
02-murralin_lane-folding_paper_planes
03-murralin_lane-she_was_climbing
04-murralin_lane-our_house_is_on_the_wall
05-murralin_lane-in_the_woods
06-murralin_lane-she_collected
07-murralin_lane-when_i_told_you

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Our House Is On The Wall is the debut release from Swedes Murralin Lane, a duo formed by David Wenngren and Yiva Wiklund. While regular followers of Wenngren's main project, Library Tapes, will no doubt be expecting some of his signature piano work, Our House Is On The Wall makes a clean break from that sound, instead framing Wiklund's vocal pieces within crumbling lo-fi tracts fashioned from distorted tones and drones. The vocals themselves take on a certain abstract beauty, often calling upon decay-fixated effects or ramshackle recording scenarios (e.g. directly into a mobile phone). The resultant sound of these pieces (you could probably call them songs, in fact) is quite hard to define. While the prospect of faded vocals and corroded, droning backdrops might seem like a fairly familiar concept there's something in the execution of this album that's very fresh. Perhaps it's to do with the kind of 'lo-fi' sound being explored here. Generally when that term gets thrown around it's in reference to cassette or other such analogue aesthetics, yet everything that greets the ear on Our House... is very digitised; instead of muffled tape sounds you encounter heavy spectral filtering or the kind of sonic side-effects caused by noise reduction plugins. Perhaps if Fennesz and Grouper got together to record some tracks the end result would be something along the lines of 'She Was Climbing' or 'She Collected'. Another very fine 12k release.

Oathless - Standing Where Our Paths Shall Meet

Oathless - Standing Where Our Paths Shall Meet
Genre : Ambient, Electroacoustic, Electronic

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1. Under Porcelain Wings
2. Cascading Skies
3. A Single Rose
4. Winter (A Prelude)
5. White Horizons
6. Tigerlily
7. Winter Into Autumn
8. Ghost Providence

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When Oathless was initially conceived as an acoustic folk effort in late 2006 by Simon Housley, the current sound associated with the project that has constantly evolved in the past four years would have been hard to imagine with the raw and simplistic sound that once existed. “Standing Where Our Paths Shall Meet” is an ambient release of much more sophistication and quality than the original three-track demo released in 2007. From the moment the first resonating ambient sounds of 'Under Porcelain Wings' reach your ears, there is a much darker sound than heard in previous releases. Following on from 'Zephyr' (the last release by Oathless), the sound of the album focuses on the upcoming cold of autumn and winter, embodied in particular in the aforementioned opening track and 'Tigerlily'. What has become a theme of more recent releases is still present, the slow, reverb-drenched strings that ooze. Heavily processed piano also underlies a number of tracks, none more so than the album's closer 'Ghost Providence', which ends the album in a very minimalist style to evoke a feeling of isolation and cold as winter approaches. Through subtle melodies and slow, reverberated chord changes, Standing Where Our Paths Shall Meet is an album that the listener can either choose to sit down and relax to use as a soundtrack for autumn and winter, or to listen to in more depth and to find more meaning in the sound after each listen, maybe attributing and associating their own experiences to the sound encapsulating them.

apparat / telefon tel aviv - Sayulita EP

Apparat / Telefon tel aviv - Sayulita EP
Genre : Electronic

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01 - Apparat - Sayulita (DJ-KiCKS)
02 - Telefon Tel Aviv - Lengthening Shadows
03 - Apparat - Circles

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Collecting the exclusive tracks from Sascha Ring's new DJ Kicks compilation, this EP brings you unmixed versions of both Apparat cuts, plus the previously unreleased Telefon Tel Aviv contribution. 'Sayulita' is typically clinical in its pristine, spacious production, but the chiming guitar melodies give the track a driving, emotional edge that takes the track beyond the confines of a dancefloor-focused mindset. 'Circles' is less beat-oriented, instead treading into Four Tet territory with its spiralling string plucks; otherworldly vocals and scrappy percussion join in too, making the piece all the more abstract. Telefon Tel Aviv are in great form for 'Lengthening Shadows'; its undoubtedly cut from a similar cloth to Apparat's work, shaping crystalline electronics around a kind of vapourised song structure - when it all comes together it all sounds pretty massive.

VA - n5MD: The Reconstruction of Fives

VA - n5MD: The Reconstruction of Fives
Genre : Electronic, Experimental, Drone

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CD 1 - Cover Versions

01. Pale Sketcher - Secret Knots 5:18
02. Nadja - I Used To Be Sad 7:00
03. Architect - Blood Tracer 5:45
04. Worriedaboutsatan - 63 (She Was Trying To Sleep, I Was Trying To Breathe) 7:47
05. Bersarin Quartett - The Deep And Lovely Quiet 4:10
06. Ben Lukas Boysen - And By Sweet I Mean 6:06
07. Jasper TX – Colder 8:01
08. Rafael Anton Irisarri - A Storm Tore This House 5:19
09. Dalot – XX 7:28
10. Winterlight - National Geographic 5:45
11. Boy Is Fiction - Oh! Toronto 6:17
12. Miwon - Amidst 4:45

CD 2 - Original Versions

01. Proem - Secret Knots 3:06
02. Port-Royal - I Used To Be Sad 4:41
03. Tobias Lilja - Blood Tracer 8:55
04. Plastik Joy - 63 (she was trying to sleep, i was trying to breathe) 7:31
05. SubtractiveLAD - The Deep And Lovely Quiet 5:25
06. Proem - And By Sweet I Mean 13:44
07. Bitcrush - Colder 4:13
08. Last Days - A Storm Tore This House 5:45
09. Hologram - XX 6:04
10. Run_Return - National Geographic 2:41
11. Lights Out Asia - Oh! Toronto 3:53
12. Another Electronic Musician - Amidst 5:13

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To mark the imprint's 10th anniversary n5MD has assembled a very special budget priced compilation with a slightly different viewpoint. “The Reconstruction of Fives” features songs from the n5MD catalog covered by a hand picked group of like minded and personally admired artists. Pale Sketcher (Justin Broadrick/Jesu/Final), Nadja, Architect (Daniel Myer/Haujobb), worriedaboutsatan, Bersarin Quartett, Ben Lukas Boysen (Hecq), Jasper TX, Rafael Anton Irisarri (The Sight Below), Boy Is Fiction, and Miwon all re-envision their favorite n5MD tracks in their own signature styles. Two of n5MD latest signings Dalot and Winterlight also weigh in on covers from two of the label's alumni. A different perspective on n5MD's output which is a must have for fans of the label or any of the participating artist's bodies of work.

library tapes - Like Green Grass Against Blue Sky

library tapes - Like Green Grass Against Blue Sky
Genre : Ambient, Electronica,

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1. Terese
2. 02
3. Enslig
4. Klosterg.
5. Like grass straws against a blue sky
6. Om du är en fågel
7. Accidental theme pt.1
8. Ren tystnad
9. 09

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Self-released on his Aeutic label, this is the 5th album from David Wenngren's project, Library Tapes. Lasting just under half an hour, Wenngren has slowly refined his ideas into one of the more distinctive modern classical variants we've heard in recent months. Simple but evocative piano motifs hover over field recordings and other indeterminable sounds, lulling the listener into a semi-conscious state. Long-term fans will be glad to know that the two long tracks, '02' and '09', feature long-term collaborator and esteemed artist in his own right - Danny Norbury, who adds his haunting cello arrangements to flesh out the piano and swirling drones in inspired style. Followers of Peter Broderick, Max Richter and Sylvain Chauveau would do well to check in on this fine album, a gorgeous swirling and soothing release to wrap yourselves in as the cold winter nights draw in.

Taylor Deupree - Shoals

Taylor Deupree - Shoals
Genre : Ambient, Electronica,

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01. Shoals 11:28
02. Rusted Oak 9:37
03. A Fading Found 12:07
04. Falls Touching Grasses 12:06

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Almost 3 years have passed since the release of Northern, Taylor Deupree’s last proper full-length album on 12k. For Deupree, Northern was a particularly personal work, with the added pressure of following up what many considered to be his seminal album, Stil. By many accounts, Northern was even more widely praised than its predecessor and set Deupree on a path of a more tactile organic sound. Since Northern, Deupree has released a number of short solo works: Sea Last (12k2011), 1am (12k2004), and Live1:Mapping (12k3006), as well as the remixed reissue of Northern (12k2009). These works have seen Deupree incorporate more acoustic instrumentation into his sound world, culminating with Weather & Worn (12k2012), which not only saw its release on vinyl (a first for 12k) but was also Deupree’s first work created without synthesizers.

The path then had been laid for Shoals, an album referencing the sonic and emotional world that can be discovered by scraping away surfaces to reveal a worn interior of comfort and time.

Shoal: a sandbank or sand bar in the bed of a body of water, especially one that is exposed above the surface of the water at low tide.

Shoals is perhaps Deupree’s most specific album in material concept and sound. In late 2009, he was invited to an artist residency program at the University of York (UK) Music Research Center. He was given the freedom to create a project with the resources of the University and staff at his disposal. The idea was to find a unique idea that he would be unable to realize in his own studio – and this was when he discovered the University’s extensive collection of Javanese and Balinese gamelan instruments. Without hesitation, the groundwork was established for his project at the residency: he would create an album using only these instruments by developing a simple yet powerful audio looping program in the Kyma programming language to capture it all and provide the structure for the finished pieces.

After the first day in the studio, Deupree quickly realized that he was less interested in the traditional ways these instruments were played and more fascinated by the sounds of the surfaces of the instruments. And so he began to utilize their edges and undersides and find their flaws, such as broken strings. These instruments, played by scraping, tapping, or with an eBow, became the basis for long and meditative looping beds of sound. In addition, the microphones in the studio would by accident occasionally pick up the sounds of Deupree moving around, brushing the edge of an instrument or setting down mallets. These incidental sounds became as important as the instruments themselves and lend an incredibly physical element to the recordings. Much of Shoals is the sound of microphones in a room as Deupree loops and composes live.

The software Deupree developed in Kyma allowed him to very simply layer loops and change pitches of his sounds, often transposing them down 2 or 3 octaves to further emphasize the cracks and fragments. After recording many hours of densely layered loops during the residency, Deupree returned to his 12k studio and finessed the works into the 4 tracks on Shoals, each based around one of the loops.

The result is an album that has the slow pace of Stil. mixed with the acoustic imperfections of Weather & Worn and the randomness of Occur. Particles of percussive sounds – bells, wood, mallets – are caught by the loop and repeated into a hypnotic underbelly that is coated with a loosely strung Celempung droned by an eBow. The unexpected and almost playful sounds of the instruments’ natural surfaces and room sounds are in stark contrast to the smooth tonal melodic elements, yet together they create an immersive space that seems to offer a microcosm of exploration.

Given the strict instrumental concept Deupree placed on himself, Shoals is certainly one of the most challenging and singular visions he has created. Abandoning any hint of the “pop” elements that have sometimes crept into his music in recent years, he has combined the structure of his past with the sounds of his present to create a truly warm and alluring album (that Deupree recommends for night-time listening) that connects the floating dots of his most important work into a cohesive and definitive statement.

Kangding Ray / Alva Noto / Ben Frost - Pruitt Igoe

Kangding Ray / Alva Noto / Ben Frost - Pruitt Igoe
Genre : Electronic, Experimental

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01-kangding_kay-pruitt_igoe_(rise)
02-kangding_kay-pruitt_igoe_(alva_noto_remodel)
03-kangding_kay-pruitt_igoe_(fall)
04-kangding_kay-pruitt_igoe_(ben_frost_demolition)

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Enhanced and incredibly produced bass music from the Raster Noton camp courtesy of Kangding Ray, reinforced with stunning remixes from Alva Noto and Ben Frost. With 'Pruitt Igoe' Kangding Ray augments his sound to Raster's current avant-techno agenda, logging onto the 'floor with the burly swing of 'Rise' and 'Fall', both echoing Dubstep's move into slower tempos and elevated groove technology like some uncompromising Teutonic cousin to Pinch's 'Croydon House' sound or a steel-plated Shackleton rhythm trip. Of course this is all in line with Raster's overriding agenda of intense, considered minimalism, striving to eke the optimised impact from every sound and eschewing the need for any unnecessarily conventional melody or harmony. On the remixes, Alva Noto continues a streak of rhythmically charged form, following remixes for Greie Gut Fraktion and Vladislav Delay with a colossal remodel of 'Rise', filtering the original's distorted field recordings of street singers from Uttar Pradesh into something like an inverted version of Ancient Methods' stentorian techno funk. Finally, Ben Frost returns Kangding Ray's programming favour on his 'By The Throat' album with a gripping refix of 'Fall', placing kicks like boulders strewn on arctic tundra while dynamically contorting the ghoulish synths into nightmarish figures looming from the inky blackness. As you can probably tell, this is pushing our buttons, hard. So good.

Scone - Maze Ambients

Scone - Maze Ambients
Genre : Electronic, IDM, Ambient

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01 D90 Ambient
02 Why Ambient
03 Blando Ambient
04 Do Ambient
05 Sprak Ambient
06 Luttel Ambient
07 Maze Ambient
08 Night B4 Celine Ambient
09 Snth 65 Ambient
10 Ketayson Seaming Ambient
11 Bice Ambient
12 Second Ambient
13 Sowieso Ambient
14 Halfkriel Ambient
15 Dramstuk Ambient
16 Lisen Ambient

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Finally, after some of these tracks spent a long time in the vaults, we are ready to share this ambient drift into the melodic realms we explored with Kettel as Scone. The full original album is there, plus 3 unreleased tracks, including a Vade ambient with Halfkriel joining this brew.

Peter Broderick ::: Music For Contemporary Dance

Peter Broderick ::: Music For Contemporary Dance
Genre : Electrocoustic, Ambient, Classic

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CD 1: Music For Falling From Trees

Part 1: An Introduction To The Patient
Part 2: Patient Observation
Part 3: Pill Induced Slumber
Part 4: The Dream
Part 5: Awaken/Panic/Restraint
Part 6: Electroconvulsive Shock
Part 7: The Path To Recovery

CD 2: Music For Congregation

Part 1: Discovery
Part 2: Understanding
Part 3: Differences
Part 4: Disappearance

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Music For Contemporary Dance packages together Peter Broderick's compositions for soundtracking choreography. The two scores compiled for this release are Music For Falling From Trees and Music For Congregation, the first being a suite for piano and strings previously released by Erased Tapes to great acclaim (on this very site, among a good many others), while the latter is a new work, commissioned by artists Kit Monkman and Tom Wexler, aka KMA. Congregation is said to be "The world's first ever ballet designed, choreographed and composed entirely for pedestrian performers" and is set to debut simultaneously in Shanghai and Bournemouth before further performances at Tate Britain. After the swooningly grand and emotive Falling From Trees, the score to Congregation feels more fully developed in terms of its arrangements and perhaps slightly more experimental in tone too. As you'll no doubt have come to expect from Broderick, his take on contemporary classical music never fails to be accessible, and sure enough, this four-part cycle is ravishingly lovely to the ear, peaking with the almost Sigur Ros-like post-rock ascent of 'Part 3: Differences'.

Helios ::: Ayres

Helios ::: Ayres
Genre : Ambient, Electronic

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01. A Rising Wind
02. Woods And Gives Away
03. Signed I Will You Well
04. Soft Collared Neck
05. The Obeisant Vine
06. In Heaven

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It hasn’t been long since Keith Kenniff’s gorgeous collection of gauzy, cinematic sound-poems ‘Eingya’ slipped into the consciousness. In a short space of time the Boston based multi-instrumentalist has become awash with acclaim and been invited to perform numerous live dates around Europe, something which gave life and inspiration to this latest collection of work. Those who managed to catch him on the most recent tour will already be aware that Keith has just taken up his most breathtaking instrument yet – his voice, and ‘Ayres’ is his first exploration of this new-found talent. ‘Eingya’ managed with the simplest of means to show just how crushing Keith’s songwriting was, but here he pieces together five gorgeous ‘songs’ and one inspired cover with devastating results.

Combining his many musical loves, Keith manages somehow to bring in the warring elements of indie-pop, experimental electronics, folk and world music resulting in a sound which is distinctly his own; these might be songs in the traditional sense, but there’s little traditional about the way they have been produced. Decaying synthesizer sounds trip up over carefully strummed guitars and expertly carved percussion – take opening track ‘A Rising Wind’ which is maybe the most effortless display of Keith’s talents; this is a slow burning epic, beginning with the simplest of sound-palettes and growing into a jubilant dream-pop masterpiece. Elsewhere, standout track ‘The Obeisant Vine’ blends the hazy nostalgic electronics of the Brian Eno with the songwriting heart of the Innocence Mission leaving you gasping for more. By the time the mini-album ends with a cover of ‘In Heaven’, ‘that’ song from David Lynch’s seminal ‘Eraserhead’, you realize you have spent half an hour in Helios’s world, and it’s a world you’ll want to escape to again and again.

Miko ::: Chandalier

Miko ::: Chandalier
Genre : Electroacoustic, Folk

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01. Sea House [3:30]
02. New Town [3:19]
03. Kikoeru [3:26]
04. Keshiki [3:22]
05. Cherries [3:34]
06. America [2:17]
07. Humming [3:17]
08. Ashitaga Hare Demo [3:50]

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Miko (Rie Mitsutake) composes her songs in shades of light and dark. Based on the outskirts of Tokyo, she seeks out vibrant harmony and shimmering rhythms that coalesce to create micro-universes in song-form.

On her sophomore album Chandelier, Miko creates a luminescent collection of songs that expand the unique and personal sound she explored on her debut album (issued by Plop). Working with organic instrumentation, led by voice, harmonic piano and restrained guitar lines, Miko utilises other less conventional elements (field recordings, unconventional percussion and more) to transform her songs from the everyday into something imaginary and evocative.

Choosing the name ‘Chandelier’ both for its sound when said and its association with light, Miko’s new album sees her inhabit an entirely warm and atmospheric song space. Its shapes and instruments bring to mind a new kind of folk music – in which the sounds of the spaces that fill her day connect with and influence the songs she writes. This is a profoundly enticing and personal space in which she is working and one that is illuminated by Miko’s imagined song worlds.

Philip Jeck ::: An Ark For The Listener

Philip Jeck ::: An Ark For The Listener
Genre : Ambient, Electronic, Drone,

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1. pilot/dark blue night 8:47
2. ark 4:21
3. twentyninth 2:36
4. dark rehearsal 7:36
5. thirtieth/pilot reprise 2:56
6. the all of water 8:29
7. the pilot (among our shoals) 4:33

coda:

8. all that's allowed (released) 3:24
9. chime, chime (re-rung) 7:34

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On his sixth solo album for Touch, Jeck continues his perfection of using the record player as an instrument (not as a DJ) to create a long-form piece that has no sense of gimmick or cliché, but instead is a hazy, but warm and inviting piece of captivating music that is unlike the work of anyone else. Originally intended for live performance, this studio reconstruction is amazing on its own.

Having never seen performances nor read intimate details of his compositional technique, I’m fascinated by exactly how Jeck coaxes the sounds he does out of his rudimentary instrumentation. On this album, the requisite record players were used, along with the infamous Casio SK1 keyboard, mini-disc recorders, and a bass guitar with only a few effects. How this becomes the gauzy atmospheric music that is presented here, I don’t know, and I think I’ll be happy not knowing as long as the music keeps coming.

A recurring motif throughout the seven "main" songs here is a lo-fi melodic undercurrent that is absolutely immersed in reverb, giving a feeling that’s not unlike the Cocteau Twins or My Bloody Valentine but without sounding like either one of them. In these massive and heavy, but warm waves of sound, occasionally a bit of music is allowed to pass through. Percussion is hinted at on "Pilot/Dark Blue Night" but never fully appears until the closing "The Pilot (Among Our Shoals)" where it takes the form of snappy snare drum loops, with what resembles time-stretched harp plucks and violin notes as accompaniment.

As aforementioned, sometimes the musical source material shines through to the surface, such as on "Twentyninth," where the big reverberated sounds and cascading guitar tones could be a careful study and dissection of 1980s hair metal, reduced to its most base elements and rebuilt into something entirely different and far more compelling. "Thirtieth/Pilot Reprise" continues this, focusing on hidden melodies and Jeck's overdriven bass guitar playing with a guitar-like squall and a thin, brittle closing section.

Other pieces are less discernable, such as the dramatic swells of indecipherable sound of "Dark Rehearsal," which are preceded by some subtle, delicate melodies. "Pilot Reprise/The All of Water" is a chaotic pastiche of layered sound, immediately surging heavily and then continuing on with the same intensity, the sharp waves of sound battle one another over the dramatically drifting undercurrent.

For the album's coda, two remixes of tracks from Suite: Live in Liverpool are included, sounding noticeably different than the preceding album, but just as strong on their own. Mostly eschewing the hazy ambience of the other tracks, "All That's Allowed (Remix)" shapes shimmering passages of crystal sound into swirling melodies, keeping a very clean, sharp feel over a dynamic undercurrent. "Chime, Chime (Re-Rung)" focuses on beautifully tactile static bursts covering a bell ringing alongside twinkling wind chimes with the occasional bit of squealing feedback. There is a different sort of audio grime that appears, and the whole song is more loop/sample focused than the other ones, which felt like they had more of an organic drift to them.

Philip Jeck's work continues to sound like no one else's, in the best possible way. Regardless of the instruments used, he constructs beautiful, tactile sound that spreads out and engulfs its surroundings, demanding full attention. Few albums I have heard this year are as immersive and captivating as this one. [Creaig Dunton]

Concern ::: Caesarean

Concern ::: Caesarean
Genre : Ambient, Electronic, Drone,

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01.Discrete Memorial 09:50
02.Mending 07:32
03.From Warmth And From Violence 16:47
04.Immersed In Envy, Porous With 33:52
Forgetfulness
05.Leaving Gold 08:37

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Rather than stringing out drones from analogue synths, soft synths or field recordings, Concern’s Gordon Ashworth instead calls upon the services of various acoustic sound sources (clarinet, banjo, guitars, organs and more), all collaged together in an almost tangibly physical recording environment that seems a million miles away from the computer-dominated soundscapes this genre generally throws your way. It’s only the start of a very long journey (the album isn’t too far off maxing out the disc), but you might have trouble moving on from ‘Discrete Memorial’. It’s really quite wonderful; full of faults and dropouts, an introductory piano riff fires up in a stuttering loop, before languid woodwind tones join in. In theory this would all sound a bit derivative of William Basinski, but Ashworth ably asserts a very different voice on these pieces and certainly doesn’t adhere to any strictly repetitious loop-driven formula. Even on more conventionally drone-driven compositions like ‘Mending’ or ‘Leaving Gold’ there’s very evidently something special about those shimmering harmonics and endlessly sustaining strings; as much as the music itself, it’s to do with the production and the way the instruments dissolve into one another as Ashworth pieces the different elements together. Using both cassettes and quarter-inch tape, the album layers various crumbling stretches of acoustic sounds – perhaps never more adeptly than on the finely spliced ‘From Warmth And From Violence’ and its half-hour-plus follow-up ‘Immersed In Envy, Porous With Forgetfulness’, a formidable, slow-moving montage of ideas and sonic environments. Opening with ten minutes or so of dazzling metallic thrum, Ashworth goes on to pool sparse, untreated concrete sounds with overspilling harmonium chords to tremendous effect. Like Caesarian as a whole, it’s not easy to pinpoint precisely what it is about all this that distinguishes Concern as something special, but take a listen and it’ll soon become self-evident.

Dryft :: Ventricle

Dryft :: Ventricle
Genre : Ambient, Electronic

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01. Recalcify (4:52)
02. Marked Velotin (5:53)
03. Knives As Gifts (7:41)
04. No Bargains, No Pleas (feat. Xiescive) (7:05)
05. Vector Step (Regeneration) (6:35)
06. Vapours And Waste (6:42)
07. Transmission (5:55)
08. ...And Again (4:40)
09. (Re)prise (3:37)

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Ventricle is the latest album from Mike Cadoo's long dormant Dryft side-project. The album deviates from Cadoo's current main project Bitcrush just as previous Dryft efforts strayed from his previous group Gridlock. This time, however, it’s fair to describe Dryft as bearing more resemblance to Cadoo’s past than to any passing flirtation with fringe genres. Moreover, like a message in a bottle, it is as though all that Cadoo had failed to completely express through Gridlock had been stored away subconsciously and now, as Ventricle, that bottle has finally washed ashore. While Cadoo is the first to acknowledge the stylistic similarities between Ventricle and his contributions to Gridlock, he warns against making specific comparisons. This is new music. Caveats aside, the massive, enveloping drones and rusty clatter that anchored his former band are omnipresent. Powered by overdriven, symphonic walls of slowly evolving melodies matched with rhythms that recall the drum-n-bass of Cell (2000), the industrial battery of Gridlock and the jammed funk of his Mytotyc Exyt EP (2002), Ventricle is a true opus that offers revolution and retrospective in one. No matter the degree of hyperbole applied, the term “side-project” has never felt more out of place.

Helios - Unleft

Helios - Unleft
Genre : Ambient, Electronic

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1 Convivium 4:16

2 Cross The Ocean 5:21

3 The Evening Walk 3:53

4 Bounce Dive 5:45

5 Every Hair On Your Head 3:58

6 South Tree 4:03

7 Friedel 5:46

8 Distance 4:28

9 Carry With Us 4:03

10 The Jaguar Sun 4:28

11 The Morning Room 4:49

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On Unleft, Keith Kenniff collects previously unreleased Helios material recorded between 2000 and 2009, sequencing the resultant tracks as a self-contained album. The resultant fifty minutes plays out as a wonderfully varied sequence that focusses on melodically resonant electronic music. You'll hear some of the compositional techniques Kenniff has become known for at work, cutting a tuneful, glitched-up swathe through opener 'Convivium', while the crunchily filtered, slow-core beats of 'Friedel' and 'Distance' channel a hazy, opiated quality. Taking this a little further, the creaking deep bass and beautiful electronic post-rock of 'Cross The Ocean' is touched by the influence of Boards Of Canada, something that could also be said of the downtempo, beat-heavy ambience of 'Bounce Dive', though there's a more playful and openly tuneful quality to Kenniff's music compared to that of the Brothers Eoin, something highlighted by the airier, brighter productions of the Portlander's music. There's also a pronounced cinematic quality to all this, and you can well imagine Kenniff being recruited to score a film at some point down the line, especially given beautifully crafted, acoustic guitar-driven pieces like 'South Tree' or the upbeat, piano-heavy 'The Morning Room', both of which showcase this side of his output very strongly.