domingo, 28 de febrero de 2010

Melodium - Palimpse


















Melodium - Palimpse
Genre : Ambient, Electronic, Folk,


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Listen

1. bombs
2. in the forest at night
3. wreckage
4. kissing disease (first version)
5. german voice
6. the hole
7. guitare theme
8. landscapes
9. a soft light
10. endless guitare
11. insomnia

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A new album by French artist Laurent Girard, Melodium, well-known for his fine albums on Audio Dregs, Arbouse Recordings and Autres Directions in Music. The label calls this album his most graceful and elegant.

sábado, 27 de febrero de 2010

Simon Scott - Nivalis



















Simon Scott - Nivalis
Genre : Ambient, Experimental, Electronic


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Listen

01. Nivalis

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Fast forward a few months and Scott is releasing Nivalis (Latin for "covered in snow"), a short, sixteen-minute release created while he was (what else?) snowed in for a couple of days. The piece was created extemporaneously; as the snow fell, Scott continued adding to the pieces, mixing the results as the hours passed and chucking in some field recordings of the event as well. In many ways that mirror Wixel's year long project from last year: it gives us the opportunity to peak into the life of an artist during a delineated amount of time.

On some level it's difficult to be critical of the work because it's so obviously created as an experiment and was not a planned musical moment. But, then again, it is being released for public consumption, so all's fair game, right? What is good about the track is that it's mostly unassuming. Scott does a good job with the production and everything has a impromptu air to it. It's kind of strange hearing an ambient track that's been improvised, but, hey, it's not so bad. What it lacks is almost everything that made me interested in Navigare: subtlety, brevity, purpose, and heart. Since the track was created as the snow raged outside, it's not difficult to find the moments when Scott becomes bored with the project, apparently stunned that the snow is still falling, and returns to his instruments to mash out a few more minutes. It's a nontrivial glimpse into the world of a musician, trapped in this studio for two days, but not something that needs to be tracked down for those who aren't completists.

It's safe to say that Simon Scott has finally kicked the bug that's been following him around since his Slowdive days and can finally step out into the world as a new musician. Navigare is a strong debut, and Nivalis is a welcome experimental release. Scott's on his way to an exciting second career as a solo musician, and something tells me that his best work is ahead of him yet.

Flica - Telepathy Dreams



















Flica - Telepathy Dreams
Genre : Ambient, Electronica,


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Listen

01. Commes
02. Drun
03. Hie
04. In Dreams
05. Ind
06. Istatic
07. Midnight Waving
08. Seing
09. Stairs

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Just like it seemed, at one point, as though every single MySpace-site on the web had been pimped with Thomas' MySpace-editor, one can't help but feel that there's a construction kit for contemporary Post-Classical and Electronica artists out there somewhere. Scores of albums filled with brittle backwards loops, fluffy field recordings, stuttering Guitar samples and deconstructed dabbers of acoustic instruments are being released each day, all carefully packaged in impeccably designed digipacks and distributed in limited, but anything but puny quantities. One should assume that the genre must by default be repeating itself, but remarkably, there are still plenty of producers out there capable of coming up with new forms from the same elements: Yuki Kaneko's „Rut“ (And/Oar) was a visionary free-floating continuum of constantly changing outlines, for example, and at the end of last year, Fjordne's „The Setting Sun“ established itself as the one album everyone could agree on, spanning a grand, conceptual arch from airy Ambient to deep, nocturnal chamber music.

Within this rapidly growing community, Eu Seng Seto has taken on the role of the dreamer. Clearly immersed in the familiar aesthetics of the aforementioned Sound Art scene, his pieces are as immediate and emotional like pop songs, feeding from bittersweet harmonies and undeniable hooks. His albums are anything but installational perpetuum mobiles, which he will lazily put into motion with the click of a mouse and which will continue playing by themselves until someone pulls the plug. Instead, there was a real and tangible human factor shining through previous full-lengths „Nocturnal“ and „Windvane & Window“, unanymously displaying a pronounced preference for timeless values like composition, arrangement and thematic development over technical gadgetry, sound fetishism and complex layering. Instead of focing his audience through an increasingly algebraic web of loosely drifting motives and indecipherable timbral relations, Seto was drawing listeners in with his refined melodies, captivating them through subtle but effective tension archs and a subcutaneous rhythmical pulse, never too obvious to be bland yet always manifesting itself with a healthy dose of physicality.

On „Telepathy Dreams“, published independently but professionally distributed through a network of specialised retailers, Seto is taking this recognisable and highly refreshing style to perfection. You can clearly hear how several of these tracks were written from the perspective of a Pianist, with delicate layers of drones and micro-clicks entwining themselves around romantic chord progressions, how they are moving towards a resolution instead of just aimlessly lingering in the air. Even an outwardly pure Ambient piece like „Hie“, built on little more than a richly resonating organ drone, a field of joyfully ringing harmonics and a deep Bass swell, is carried by a distinct narrative told through a carefully measured melody on the baby grand which gradually surges to blissful cascades of euphoric notes. On other occasions, his preferences are becoming even more openly visible, as electronic manipulations are turning into accompaniment to almost classical compositions and percussive pulses coalescing into slow, Rock-like rhythms.

On the other hand, Seto is by no means as „incapable of Sound Design“ as he apparently likes to believe himself. In fact, „Telepathy Dreams“ benefits greatly from his capacity of melding the worlds of textural experiments and songwriting into a completely organic amalgam. Just four-minute short „Drun“ is a perfect example. Starting out with thick, beguilingly perfumed drones, the second part of the track superimposes a framework of sensual grooves and erotic Wave-Guitars on this foundation, turning the music into a slice of touching Dream-Pop akin to what some of the leading bands on legendary British imprint 4AD were doing so compellingly in the mid-80s and early 90s. And even though some of the longer cuts on the album seem to be yearning for a liberating outburst of orchestral fortes and emotional cescendi, nothing ever rises beyond the level of a whisper. It is this reticence which marks Eu Seng Seto as a wanderer between between the worlds of Sound Art and Composition: In his world, one can't exist without the other.

Akira Kosemura - Grassland

















Akira Kosemura - Grassland
Genre : Ambient, Electronica,


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Listen

01 Grassland
02 Petrarca
03 Light
04 Marriage
05 Xiao Ge Er
06 Little Dipper
07 Ballet
08 Over The Horizon
09 Just A Few Minutes
10 Amour
11 Ensemble


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viernes, 26 de febrero de 2010

LOSCIL - Endless Falls


















LOSCIL - Endless Falls
Genre : Ambient, Electronica, Experimental,


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Listen

1. Endless Falls
2. Estuarine
3. Shallow Water Blackout
4. Dub For Cascadia
5. Fern And Robin
6. Lake Orchard
7. Showers Of Ink
8. Graupel (vinyl Only)
9. Kinematics (vinyl Only)
10. The Making Of Grief Point

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One of Kranky's longest standing artists, Scott Morgan returns for a fifth album for the label, and it's quite superb, even by Loscil's already high standards. Regular Kranky followers will no doubt find themselves suitably bewitched, but this music's equally likely to appeal to followers of BJ Nilsen, Stephan Mathieu, Kyle Bobby Dunn and Celer. Endless Falls is bookended by recordings of rainfall, something which mirrors the droplet-obscured sleeve. This sort of imagery is a handy visual metaphor for ambient music of this variety: in the photograph a form of interference displaces the content of the picture as its true subject, and so it goes in Loscil's music. While Morgan's string sections and looping melodic gestures make up the fabric of these recordings it's the muffling and masking of them that draws the true beauty out of this music. 'Estuarine's minimal and plaintive piano phrases wouldn't be nearly so alluring were they not partially hidden away from you, and the stretched-out violins of the title track only function as beautifully as they do because they're cradled by a low, warm hum of filtered out, ambient sound matter. Rather than merely revelling in protracted linear drone exercises, Morgan latches his music to subtle rhythmic elements throughout the album, most prominently highlighted by 'Dub For Cascadia' - whose melancholy chord surges, crackling waves of static and contoured bass throbs sound like Stars Of The Lid playing along to something from the first three Pole albums. It's difficult to contemplate such a thing, but Endless Falls might be that rarest of things: an album whose best track is a spoken-word piece. In this case Destroyer's Daniel Bejar takes to the mic for the nine-minute closing piece. 'The Making Of Grief Point' is nine minutes of dramatically-charged, glitching, Biosphere-like drone, spun from downplayed neo-classical instrumentation and filtered loops, all accompanying Bejar's typically elliptical, digression-prone and fractured lyrics. Wonderful stuff throughout - highly recommended.

martes, 23 de febrero de 2010

Aidan Baker – Blue Figures

















Aidan Baker – Blue Figures
Genre : Ambient, Electronica, Experimental,


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Listen

1 Figures Part 1 19:52
2 Figures Part 2 17:52
3 Untitled Drone 15:12
4 Gathering Blue 12:28

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“[CA] after weeks of delay, the new massive live album from Aidan Baker is finally available ! it consists of two live sets (70 min +), one with “figures” and the other with an unreleased drone and “gathering blue”. both sets recorded last spring during his extensive european tour, solo or with Nadja.
i have to confess that i’ve never been a sucker for live albums, it’s pretty rare when i find them really interesting or better than the original studio versions. but of course, there are a few exceptions and Aidan Baker is one of them. his live performances are always surprising, not to say amazing. and his previous live albums are perfect exemples of what he is capable of when he’s on stage. you already know the songs but it’s always a bit different, there are variations, extensions, improvisations. Aidan dig in his own material to find a new vision. and you won’t be disappointed here ! last but not least, the sound quality is stunning.”

domingo, 21 de febrero de 2010

Ruxpin - where do we float from here?



















Ruxpin - where do we float from here?
Genre : Ambient, Electronica, Experimental,


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01 I Saw Her Standing There
02 Her Body Smells of Cinnamon
03 We All Carry Our Ghost
04 Chasing Dandelions
05 Those Angel Wings Look Comfortable
06 My Tricycle Can Float from Planet to Planet
07 She Danced the Waltz
08 Where the Wild Things Are
09 She Played This Song for Me When I Was Five
10 I Noticed You Hovering Above Me
11 The View Looks Good From Up Here
12 Underwater Playground (Starfishes are invited)
13 The Boy Who Gazed at the Eclipse
14 Who Did You See in the Mist®
15 A Sunrise (and They Turned into Stones)
16 Now I Turn To You

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Due to an overwhelming demand, Ruxpin's "Where Do We Float From Here?" (originally released in 2009 on n5MD's digital imprint Enpeg Digital) is being rereleased on CD. Ruxpin is Icleandic electronic music composer Jonas Thor Gudmundsson and Where do We Float From Here? is his 6th long play. Gudmundsson has released on labels such as Uni:form Recordings, Elektrolux and Mikrolux, had many compilation appearances and has done many remixes for artists such as Mum and Worm is Green. Ruxpin's sound is firmly planted in the classic braindance subgenre of IDM. Although, there is an undeniably Icelandic twist to the music and enough emotion to fit within the n5MD emotional ethos. Where Do We Float From Here? is 16 tracks of finely tuned, well crafted electronica from a highly underrated artist.

sábado, 13 de febrero de 2010

SubtractiveLAD - Life At The End Of The World



















SubtractiveLAD - Life At The End Of The World
Genre : Ambient, Electronica, Experimental,


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Listen

1 Beginning Again 4:37
2 Those Who Lose Dreaming Are Lost 6:13
3 Summer In Your Mouth 7:13
4 Ne Plus Ultra 5:56
5 The Deep And Lovely Quiet 5:23
6 Nautilus 5:32
7 With Eternal Lids Apart 6:46
8 Once The Stars Have Been Washed From The Sky 8:27
9 Life At The End Of The World 3:14
10 Always Ending 9:53

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In the beginning, it was impossible to predict subtractiveLAD's musical evolution. It was as if his first album 'Giving Up The Ghost' was the initial splash from a pebble thrown into a pond and each subsequent album a ripple which grew broader in scope, became less disruptive and more meditative. They have all had one key aspect in that Stephen Hummel, the man who records as subtractiveLAD, has always been genuine in the projection of emotions in his music. He does record for the ever emotionally driven n5MD imprint after all. On "Life At the End of the World," Hummel's 6th album, percussive elements, pretense of genre, and theoretical pollutants that could cloud the candid nature of this current ripple in Hummel's pond are a thing of the past. The result is one of subtractiveLad's most lush yet thread bare albums to date. Eno could be referenced, although Hummel now prefers the guitar as his main instrument. Further, "Life At the End of the World" is not all ambient movements and variations on a theme. At the three quarters point the album takes a tense turn with passages that would not be out of place on albums from Ben Frost or Jasper Tx. One wonders what is really at the end of Hummel's world? "Life at the end of the world" is Hummel's catharsis, anxiety, and joy. We can hear that he is at a crossroads in his life and subsequently has created his largest most majestic ripple in the pond yet.

miércoles, 10 de febrero de 2010

Ian Hawgood - Slow Films In Low Light

















Ian Hawgood - Slow Films In Low Light

Genre : Ambient, Electronica, Experimental,


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01. A Film by Federico Durand
02. A Film by Pan Am Scan
03. A Film by The Remote Viewer
04. A Film by Danny Norbury
05. A Film by Color Cassette
06. A Film by Geskia!
07. A Film by Hannu
08. A Film by Yuri Miyauchi
09. A Film by Miko
10. A Film by The Green Kingdom
11. A Film by Library Tapes
12. A Film by Ten and Tracer
13. A Film by Chihei Hatakeyama
14. A Film by He Can Jog feat. Nick Sanborn


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‘Slow Films In Low Light’ is a collection of remixes and re-workings by friends and artists from my now deleted album ‘Soundtrack To A Film In My Head Which Will Never Get Made’. The original album was released on the lovely Rope Swing Cities but I decided I wanted it to be a temporary release given the nature of the album. RSC and I decided to do a small release to coincide with the original, as a limited run CD-R featuring re-workings and remixes of the pieces by friends, namely The Remote Viewer, Geskia!, Ten and Tracer and Pan Am Scan.

Over time it became apparent that this project needed to spread its wings, and with lots of support from the lovely Yasuhiko Fukuzono (Aus), and other close friends, I decided to ask more friends to join in with the project. I’m so lucky that all the friends I wanted and asked agreed to be involved, creating highly unique pieces from the original sources (sometimes changing them completely). As such I suddenly found myself with this amazing album, featuring past, present and future Home Normal, Tokyo Droning and Nomadic Kids Republic artists and good friends.

The grand result is a really nice review of where Home Normal is at in some ways I guess, as well as highlighting where I am at musically too, albeit through the voices of others who know me. One of the results of these artists giving their time and enormous talents so freely to this was that I decided that this release should be for charity.

In 1982 my father set up The Archway Foundation, a charity that focused on helping those in various walks of life who are deeply affected by loneliness. They hold weekly social events, organise dinners, visits, drivers to take people to places and all sorts of support work. I grew up attending and helping out the various events, but have less to do with them after my parent’s retirement and my moving away from Oxford. In these difficult economical times, charities, which rely on the donations of others, are suffering terribly. But these people still need all the support they can get, so I guess I just figure that, even if it’s a small level of support we can provide, at least we can try.


Mnemonic - Denkmodell

















Mnemonic - Denkmodell

Genre : Electronic, IDM


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01. Denkmodell
02. Stille Tage
03. Die Kunst des Schweigens
04. Lautlos
05. Entdeckung der Einsamkeit
06. Ein Hauch von Poesie
07. Im Augenblick
08. Lichtblick
09. Phlegma
10. Ein Ich aus Glas
11. Tuchfьhlung

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The project MNEMONIC, based around Michal Belletz and Sebastian Schulz, has been around on the electronic music scene for quite a while now, with ever increasing resonance and respect from both fans and media. The first two MNEMONIC albums "Identifikationsstörung" and "Konstruktive Vergangenheitsbewältigung" were published by Alfa Matrix. They are very different to the third album "Monokultur", released on French label M-Tronic. On this new, very limited release on Halbsicht Records, MNEMONIC further develop their unique sound, based on the foundations laid in "Monokultur". The song structure appears less chiseled and thereby creates a transparent ambience where catchy tunes form a perfect symbiosis with intelligent entangled beats, casting a spell over the audience.

Aidan Baker – Liminoid/Lifeforms

















Aidan Baker – Liminoid/Lifeforms
Genre :Ambient, Electronic, Experimental
Listen
Buy It!

01.Liminoid (Part I)
02.Liminoid (Part II)
03.Liminoid (Part III)
04.Liminoid (Part IV)
05.Lifeforms

Download


While Alien8 Recordings has had the pleasure of releasing three full-length albums by Aidan Baker’s ambient doom project Nadja, as well as his collaborative effort Fantasma Parastasie with Tim Hecker, this marks our first solo release with the artist.

Although we consider Liminoid/Lifeforms to be a solo effort, there are in fact no less than eight guest musicians helping out on the recording. These include Canadian noise legend Knurl (a.k.a. Alan Bloor) who has been released three times on Alien8 Recordings prior to this recording, as well as members of Arc, Picastro, Forest City Lovers and Whisper Room.

Liminoid is a composition for large ensemble exploring sonic immersion in drones and textures, rhythms and pulsations. Incorporating composed and improvised segments, the piece uses elongation of sound and layered polyphony in an attempt to create a liminal and/or numinous state. This recording of Liminoid is from its premier at The Music Gallery’s X-Avant Festival in Toronto, October 25, 2008. The piece features a powerful vocal performance with every member sharing the vocal duties. The lyrics have been adapted from 5th-8th century Coptic Christian texts and inspired by the book Ancient Christian Magic by by Marvin W. Meyer & Richard Smith.

The ensemble members for this performance were: Aidan Baker (guitar/voice), Clara Engel (guitar/voice), Nick Storring (cello/voice), Jakob Thiesen (drums/voice), Richard Baker (drums/voice), Tillman Lewis (cello/voice), Laura Bates (violin/voice) and Jonathan Demers (guitar/voice).

Lifeforms is a composition for strings, prepared/effected guitar, and amplified metal works. Likewise incorporating written and improvised material, the piece was originally commissioned and performed by The Penderecki Quartet in 2003. This recording was made in August 2008 at Commonwealth Studios in Toronto. The performers were: Aidan Baker (guitar), Nick Storring (cello), Mika Posen (violin) and Alan Bloor (metal works). alien8


martes, 9 de febrero de 2010

Nest - Retold

















Nest - Retold

Genre :Ambient, Classic
Listen
Buy It!

01.Lodge
02.Kyoto
03.Marefjellet
04.Charlotte
05.Cad Goddeu Revised
06.Trans Siberian
07.Wheatstone
08.The Helwick
09.Far From Land
10.The Twelve 11.Amroth

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We all know about Erik Skodvin's activities outside of Deaf Center - he's carved out quite a solo career for himself as Svarte Greiner - but what of the Norwegian duo's other member, Otto Totland? For the past couple of years he's worked as part of the duo, Nest, with Huw Roberts, releasing their eponymous debut EP in 2007 on Roberts' own Serein label. Now the two artists at last follow up that release with this wonderful full-length, which lifts its first six tracks from the EP (with one newly reworked) and adds a further five new compositions. Retold is something of a masterpiece within its field. Even on early inspections this record excels on every level as a piece of cinematic, ambient contemporary classical composition. From the writing, performances and sparing arrangements right down to the deeply atmospheric production this is an album that followers of cinematic score-work/modern-classical music will absolutely relish, combining memorable deployments of both melody and texture with a kind of scrupulous minimalism that never overplays its hand. 'Lodge' serves as an apt introduction to the album, setting out with muffled, bell-like piano phrases, pining horns and the gentlest current of strings, but by the time we arrive at 'Marefjellet' the duo have really hit their stride, conjuring suspenseful, filmic passages populated by rhythmic keying figures, deep, bass-heavy harps and vintage-style electronic processing. At times it's as if you're listening to a cross between Biosphere's Insomnia soundtrack and his album, Shenzhou, and in terms of ambient music, that must surely be regarded as a compliment of the highest order. Elsewhere, more abstract pieces arrive with the likes of 'Trans Siberian', where the influence of sound collage takes hold: early outbreaks of wintry drone merge with passing locomotive sounds, before an evocative mixture of coarse, filtered strings, fractured piano and field recordings start to flow. The previously unreleased material on the disc proves to be more than up to the task of following up the earlier EP tracks: 'Wheatstone' is full of immaculately produced, aloof romanticism, while 'The Helwick' takes on a blizzard-like feel with its musty, Deathprod-like approach to engineering. Possibly the most extroverted of all the recordings here is 'Far From Land', a composition that's just achingly beautiful as it builds up to a choral midway point that's guaranteed to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand to attention. Retold is sure to enthrall followers of Deaf Center's ambient audio-sculpting, but it's also bound to resonate strongly with anyone who follows the work of artists like Peter Broderick, Johann Johannsson and Max Richter too. Very hghly recommended.

lunes, 8 de febrero de 2010

TAYLOR DEUPREE & SAVVAS YSATIS - Hourglass



















TAYLOR DEUPREE & SAVVAS YSATIS - Hourglass

Genre :Ambient, Electronic,Folk
Listen
Buy It!

1. Clouds
2. Hourglass

B SIDE:
1. Like Ice On A Summer's Day
2. Somewhere On Earth


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Strictly limited hand numbered vinyl pressing - 400 copies for the world* An extremely rare 12" outing for 12k, this EP reunites label boss Taylor Deupree with his long-term collaborative partner Savvas Ysatis. 'Hourglass' sees the duo returning to the lush, modified song-based material highlighted by their 2007 mini album, The Sleeping Morning. 'Clouds' might be the best actual 'song' these two have come out with to date, taking on a kind of downbeat hyper-real feel that casts acoustic instrumentation and vocals in an unnaturally glossy sheen, giving only a few small gestures towards the kind of electronic complexities we might have come to expect from Deupree. Instead, beautifully cinematic autoharp and harmonica are more prevalent here than anything sourced from computers - part of an organic setup that's previously seemed like an uneasy arrangement for these two accomplished electronic musicians. Completing the first side is 'Hourglass', the longest track here and probably the best of the bunch too, drifting along in a gusty, ambient fashion with plenty of studious improvisational detail coming through in the mix. The B-side begins with another vocally-led piece, 'Like Ice On A Summer's Day', and finally, the duo return to instrumental endeavours, summoning up another blissful soundscape for 'Somewhere On Earth', leaving you with a more organic take on the experimental material they're better known for. Limited to a mere 400 copies for the world, this 12" comes with a download coupon for the four tracks in both MP3 and FLAC formats directly from the label. Beautiful music - very highly recommended.

sábado, 6 de febrero de 2010

Roll the dice – Roll the dice



















Roll the dice – Roll the dice
Genre : Electronic
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01 The New Black 06:10
02 Swing 09:44
03 Guadeloupe 06:32
04 Into the Ground 03:16
05 Axee 06:16
06 After 07:09
07 Undertow

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The keener eyed among you will recognise Mannerfelt from his involvement with the stunning Fever Ray project, while Pardon is known for his work as a behind-the-scenes producer of music for film and TV. They’ve shared a studio in southern Stockholm for several years so it only seemed logical to combine their passions for analog electronic music beyond the odd techno track they’d been known to make. So the decision to construct an album using only synths and piano was made, resulting in a semi-improvised opus that ranks alongside recent releases by Emeralds and strongly harks back to the minimal expressions of later Roedelius or the intuitive drama of John Carpenter. A working method was established where the duo would enter the studio with no pro-conceived ideas, inspiring a freeform aesthetic which found structure in repetition and understated progression, sometimes blooming like a spiritual Arvo Pärt composition, as with ‘After’, or at times conducting their feelings via Basic Channel styled metallic bass throbs reflecting chromatic synth patterns as vividly cinematic as the northern lights, namely with ‘Swing’. The absence of drum machines and computer sequencing means that the duo rely on innate precision, guided by the same sort of kosmiche spirit that made Cluster’s heavenly transportations so spectacular, and which they manage to parallel in the majestic ascent of hypnotic piano and subtly swelling synths on ‘Undertow’. Giving a final shape to the product, the project was finished on the legendary API desk of Gröndal studios in west Stockholm, the desk of choice for Timbaland outside of the US, giving a hallucinatory hi-end gleam to their widescreen vision. Essential Purchase!

viernes, 5 de febrero de 2010

Deru - Say Goodbye To Useless



















Deru - Say Goodbye To Useless

Genre : Electronic, IDM
Listen
Buy It!

01. I Wold Like
02. I Want
03. Peanut Butter & Patience
04. Hello
05. Basically, Fuck You
06. Walk
07. Fadeaway
08. Days, Then...
09. What Happens When You Ask
10. Cottonmouth Lothario
11. Goodbye

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Say Goodbye To Useless is Deru’s third full-length release, and his first for Mush Records. While you will find similar aesthetics to his previous releases – moody, atmospheric sounds, haunting melodies and organic textures – they are augmented by his most mature song-writing and cutting-edge beats to date. The album pays homage to classic genres and structures while cultivating a 22nd century smart-party ethic that will snatch the ear of the snobbiest beat head. Deru’s listeners will continue to appreciate his drive for challenging them as much as he challenges himself.

Chihei hatakeyama - Ghostly garden



















Chihei hatakeyama - Ghostly garden

Genre : Electronic , Ambient
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1 Shadows
2 Voices
3 Cave
4 Slight Trail
5 Voices Ii
6 Stone Wall Island
7 Sacred Flowers
8 Ghostly Garden

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The incredibly industrious Chihei Hatakeyama cues up yet another sublime collection of introspective ambient electronics, having given us his previous effort (the no less delightful A Long Journey, on the Home Normal label) as recently as last week. Ghostly Garden combines new sound sources with older, recycled files that have appeared in prior releases, yet Hatakeyama's music retains its freshness, achieving that rare sense of stillness and depth that only the very best exponents of micro-drone come close to. First track, 'Shadows' is typically seductive, transmitting hypnotic flickers of warm tonality that don't really go anywhere in a narrative sense, yet fix your attention regardless. In addition to this Japanese composer's now customary hushed electroacoustics, this album features a strong showing of more luscious, effervescent material too, even approaching abrasion on the billowing 'Stone Wall Island' and the chaotic melange of field recordings that is 'Slight Trail', which offers up a rainbow of electroacoustic hues. Another fine addition to this man's rapidly swelling discography, and a release that's easy to recommend to all fans of Room40, 12k, Spekk and Home Normal, all of which, incidentally, are labels Hatakeyama has already contributed to - a fact that's a sure indicator of just how integral to this scene the Japanese artist has become.

miércoles, 3 de febrero de 2010

Lexithimie - no matter how many times, repeat



















Lexithimie - no matter how many times, repeat

Genre : Electronic , Ambient
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01. Scale1
02 . Scale2
03. Scale3
04 . Scale4

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Spread over a perfectly judged twenty-two minutes, this three-inch offering from Lexithimie is a pocket-size refuge of warm, harmonious drones. Divided into four immersive parts the disc doesn't necessarily reinvent the ambient genre, but it embraces melody with an elegant immediacy that's not easy to come by. From the very beginning London-based French expat Alexis Béchu drapes his languid tones with a sense of the uncanny, always suggesting something's about to happen, or that at any given time he's concealing something from the listener. After an opener that's full of stillness and potential energy, the second part introduces itself with a bassline progression that imposes some sense of rhythmic order on the piece. From here delayed pulses contribute to an internal sense of motion that offsets the otherwise static temperament that colours much of the disc. Emerging from the muffled low-end passages a third piece offers a needling, steely brightness, signalling the most clear-cut major-key moment before the final track draws us back into a slightly colder, more metallic soundworld that oozes minimalist ambiguity. This is Béchu's third release to date, and it certainly whets the appetite for longer, fully developed album works.


Another Electronic Musician – States Of Space



















Another Electronic Musician – States Of Space

Genre : Electronic
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Buy It!

01 … Late Monday 4:54
02 … Fields And Axioms 6:32
03 … Inflationary 4:03
04 … Treading 5:36
05 … Fnctnl 5:10
06 … Memetic 4:05
07 … Atheos 6:42
08 … She Said 4:35
09 … Fourteen Waters 4:03
10 … Venatici 5:58

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Springing from a desire to creatively temper the effects of his increasingly scientific world view, Jase Rex’s musical metallurgy began in 2001, while deep in his study of physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Adopting the moniker ‘Another Electronic Musician’ (or ‘AEM’), Rex cut his teeth releasing on net labels (hippocamp, en:pegDigital), lending his talent to various artist comps (Audiobulb, Igloomag, nophi), and generally pimping his work on message boards to anyone who would listen. The name, Rex explains, came less out of an ironic sense of modesty, than an attempt to “have my music taken at face value” by preempting the “negative connotations” often associated with the post-millennial glut of electronic bedroom producers.

In September 2004, after three years of honing his unique combination of found sounds, an essentialist “minimal aesthetic”, and a subtle dash of undeniable groove, Rex successfully separated himself from the pack with the release of his surprisingly mature and meticulously crafted debut “Use” on Oakland’s n5MD label. Inspired by his urban adolescence in Inglewood, CA (LA’s SW suburban sister) and the mechanistic physical concepts of his academic life, “Use’s” stark, moving melodies, underwater dub grooves, and elastic beat collisions combine to capture the “warm and emotional aspects of the city” that Rex believes are all- too-often ignored in modern representations of urban life. Expansive, yet intimate, “Use” is an album of fragile, abstract soundscapes that recall the early work of Lusine and Pole, while refusing to conform to either artists’ style.

Building on the foundation of “Use”, Rex’s sophomore effort “Patience” was released in September 2006. Culled from an original cache of 36 working pieces, “Patience’s” 9 tracks are organized as a seamless multi- movement work, outlining an emotional arch that peaks with the gorgeous “Green and Olive” before introducing the dark and ominous lullabies of its second half (particularly “Slave” and “Birthing”). Offering a listening experience described by n5MD as “akin to standing still as urban inhabitants pass you by at hyperspeed”, “Patience’s” depth and precision eclipse expectations of an artist this early in their career.

AEM’s third full length album, entitled “Five”, will be released on November 5th 2008 by the n5MD imprint. Returning to the more minimal, beat-driven approach of his debut, Rex avoids simply rehashing the past by infusing “Five” with unexpected stylistic shifts into Techno, Electro and even House all the while maintaining the chaotic, but recognizable patterns of noise that have characterized his releases in the past.

martes, 2 de febrero de 2010

Celer - Pockets of wheat



















Celer - Pockets of wheat

Genre : Electronic, Ambient,
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01.excerpt1

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Celer is the sound, visual, literary, and artistic endeavor of the husband and wife duo of Will Long and Danielle Baquet-Long. The album was recorded during a three day journey driving across the US from California to Mississippi, while the musician couple spent their days at a small hotel in Northern Texas. During these three days, they realized the concept of ‘Pockets of Wheat/Exteriors’, created illustrations for their intent of the music and penned down a library of notes and structures to use. Hence, made many field recordings and string recordings with equipment brought along, while other piano pieces were recorded later on an old, unused family piano.
From their room at the back of the hotel, they saw endless stretches of wheat fields. With open windows, the couple noticed the constant sound of the wheat blowing from the wind, an almost gentle, yet persistent, crackling and fuzz, but also changed constantly. Creating music in their original form, drawing on feelings of togetherness, intimacy, and the expansiveness surrounding them, with the ever-changing landscape, the concept of ‘Pockets of Wheat/Exteriors’ was perceived. With associations to the ghost of Algernon Blackwood’s The Willows, in entirety founded in nature, perceptions arose through constant interpretation of the sounds of nature; aggression, subtlety, intimacy, and distance.
Roughly five hours of recordings of cello, violin, piano, bells, crickets, and wind were then applied the idea of an ‘always changing but always the same’ idea to it. Splicing the recordings to about hundred 5-10 second tape loops, the loops were then played back from laptops and repeated in arbitrarily selected order by the two musicians without predetermined order. As such, the movements of the wheat in the fields by the winds were mimicked: always similar, but constantly changing.
The enclosed recording contains 7 movements, though they are strung together not to break the continuity. The several layers found within the recording are not always discernible, but are still there, just more subtle, as is the case with details in nature. Nature’s presence is also an imperative, though not the sole inspiration, but in the end the music of Celer in Pockets of Wheat expresses purely their feelings, identity and the atmosphere surrounding these moments, and in keeping with a continuous recording, captures the essence of what is heard in our daily lives, essentially one singular thing: sound. experimedia

lunes, 1 de febrero de 2010

Post-foetus - the fabric



















Post-foetus - the fabric

Genre : Electronic, Ambient, Indie
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01. Migration
02. Endearment Endure
03. All of the World
04. Douse
05. Hill Views
06. Physicist
07. Kiki
08. The Water
09. Felix and the Mural
10. Haruka

Joy, true joy, is a difficult emotion to genuinely express in music. It reaches beyond those familiar poppish chords and notes and melodies, beyond a mere line of words in a set of lyrics, beyond a mere suggestion.

Yet joy is precisely what 20-year-old Will Wiesenfeld, a.k.a [Post-foetus] emanates from his album, The Fabric, a beautifully crafted, multi-instrument emotional music playground of pure joy and absolute beauty.

A sonic adventure so pure, so genuine, so intimate yet so magnificent in all its delicate layers of inviting voices, warm sounds, playful beats and dreamy, blissful melodies, that it flows like breaths of splendid zephyrs, wondrous waves and waves of true joy from the speakers straight to that timeless place of smiles we all keep in our heart of hearts.

[Post-foetus] presents a perfectly balanced blend of classical instruments and dream-pop electronica, a vibrant sonic tapestry of heart-throbbing viola, piano, upright bass and guitar melodies trailing, cruising and ingeniously intertwined, layered with moving electronic percussions, ambient sounds and sampled voices, as well as a dreamy, expressive and honest vocal performance that wears its heart naturally on its sleeve.

This album is mü-nest's first American artiste's release. Though still deeply rooted in mü-nest's core niche of sweet, melodious electro-acoustic music, it marks an expansion to mü-nest's usual repertoire with joyous, solid sounds that holds a presence in the air while maintaining a strong emotional sensitivity.

Smiles. Smiles is what The Fabric would simply render.

For joy comes from asserting the longings of the heart, the unspoken hopes, the dreams, the fantasies, the intimate moments we hold dear, and thus is The Fabric.

mü-nest