Ginormous - The Sound Of Love Impermanent

Ginormous - The Sound Of Love Impermanent
Genre : Ambient, Electronica, Indie

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01. Every Tooth Is Bared (With Rohner Segnitz) 01:48
02. North-Part 1 06:40
03. Joy When You Come (With Rohner Segnitz) 05:08
04. If The Sky Had Stich Marks 05:36
05. Fallen For Lovers-Part1 03:11
06. So You'll Know Where I Am 06:24
07. Lycanized (With Rohner Segnitz) 01:20
08. North-Part 2 (With Deru) 05:17
09. The Splendor Of Gretel 01:29
10. Fallen For Lovers-Part2 (With Bryant Landers) 04:48
11. Hollow Ashes 05:02
12. A Darkness By Day (With Rohner Segnitz) 04:42
13. The Sound Of Love Impermanent 05:13
14. A Feather Is Re-Glued To The Flight 01:37

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"a few years before the making of this album, lisa wahlander introduced me to the choreography of maria gillespie and her company, oni dance. i immediately connected with maria's work, and was especially drawn to her music selections. i asked lisa to give maria my first two albums as well as a deru album from my good friend ben wynn. some months later in the summer of 2006, maria incorporated my track "to reveal interiors" and deru's "only the circle" into her beautiful, haunting piece "la hora de salir." it was the first time that either ben or i had seen dance choreographed to our music. since i listen to and create my music largely in solitude, i never realized that the experience of having my work filtered through other artists' minds and bodies was something i so craved.

by the fall, the transition to a new studio coupled with a hectic professional life had slowed progress on my third album, "at night, under artificial light." around this time, maria invited lisa and me to a dance performance at the ford amphitheater in hollywood. before the show maria mentioned she was working on a new piece and asked if i would write the entire score. she was accustomed to creating choreography first and adding music late in the process, but with this new work she wanted to start with the music and use that as inspiration for the choreography. i said yes on the spot.

i started working on a sketch the next day, even before i had the benefit of maria's direction. just from seeing her work and hearing the music she selected in the past, i felt like i had enough to go on. i played the sketch to maria and she said, "that's it. that is the main theme of the piece." that sketch became the title track on this album. i put my "artificial light" project on the backburner and started churning out more sketches for maria, with her direction and input.

unlike the sluggish work of finishing my album, the dance score poured out rapidly. creating music for someone else's purposes seemed to be all i needed to gain momentum again. not only did it satisfy a longstanding desire of mine to make more spacious and patient music, but it was also a welcome occasion to incorporate the talents of friends, providing a home for some unfinished, collaborative sketches, and motivating us to make some new music together.

i produced more music than maria could fit in her dance, so we had to cut tracks and edit the remaining ones down to fit into a tight half hour. that process was painful, but i got through it with the knowledge that i would eventually craft a full-length album from the work produced for the score. the dance, titled "the splendor of gretel," premiered to a sold out audience at the ford amphitheater in july 2007. seeing maria's stunning work set to the music i created for her that night was a deeply moving experience."

- bryan konietzko, december 2009 -

even if you will never have the opportunity to watch the dance score, this album works perfectly as a mindscape soundtrack. electronic sounds, classical strings, guitars and gentle vocals are the components for this fascinating work of art. stylistically, 'the sound of love impermanent' can be described as an amalgam of ambient and contemporary orchestral music enriched with the addition of post rock structures. a remarkable release by a well-respected artist - give it a try!

The Boats :: Sleepy Insect Music

The Boats :: Sleepy Insect Music
Genre : Ambient, Electronica, Experimental

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1. palais glide (2006)
2. understand (2008)
3. victor silvester plays for a party (2006)
4. veleta two step (2009)
5. there are tunnels where we live (recorded 2007 / released 2008)
6. birthdays (2003)
7. i did not sleep so soundly (2003)
8. raindrops (2010)
9. on the level (2008)
10. italics mine (2008)
11. george herbert leigh mallory (2009)
12. louise (boats remix) (2008)
13. if all else fails (2008)
14. why you wanna do this (2005)
15. the arrow home (2008)
16. big ben banjo band sing song (2006)

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The Boats are of course the well known duo of Craig Tattersall and Andrew Hargreaves, now joined by Danny Norbury on cello, as well as Chris Stewart and Elaine Reynolds on vocals. Craig has previously recorded under Hood, the Archivist and The Remote Viewer, runs the Cotton Goods label and co-runs the excellent Moteer and Mobeer labels with Andrew Johnson. Andrew Hargreaves records as Beppu and co-runs the Lacies’ label with his partner, Alice. As The Boats they have released various works on Moteer, Our Small Ideas, Flau (’Faulty Toned Radio’) and of course, Home Normal with ‘Words Are Something Else’. The newest member to The Boats as of 2009 is the very talented Danny Norbury. He regularly works with Library Tapes, as well as being one-half of the duo Le Lendemain (with David Wenngren aka Library Tapes), and he has also recorded solo projects for Ono, Static Caravan and last year’s wonderful Light In August release on Lacies’.

A little while after the release of ‘Words Are Something Else’, Andrew, Craig, Danny and myself came together to talk about playing some shows both in the UK, as well as a tour in Japan. It just felt like a nice natural progression really as they are rarely known to play many live shows, and to get them to come to Japan meant a lot to both them and I. What culminated was the great Home Normal night in December (2009) at Café Oto in London, with Danny Norbury and The Boats headlining a very special event indeed. As we met up for the first time in person then, we confirmed how much we wanted to organise the Japan tour and so pushed on with the aid of our mutual friends Yasuhiko Fukuzono (aka Aus) and Masami Shimomura (p*dis).

During the various meetings, phone calls and emails back and forth, we decided that it would be a perfect time to release something of an ‘unknown’ overview of where The Boats are at and what they have done over the years. Yasuhiko Fukuzono (who also runs Flau) and I decided that it would be entirely appropriate to do a one-off collaborative release between Home Normal and Flau, as we are such closely tied labels, mutual friends with The Boats, and as a way of coming together for an album release to tie in with our combined Boats and Danny Norbury Japan tour in May of this year. The result of all this is Sleepy Insect Music, a compilation of unreleased or very limited edition works on compilations and Our Small Ideas, an unreleased remix and reworking of previously released work (’raindrops’). As such it is an essential collection of work for Boats fans and new listeners alike, a wonderful summary of who The Boats are, or the perfect introduction, however you want to view it.

The Boats are: Craig Tattersall and Andrew Hargreaves
With Danny Norbury (Cello on 2, 4, 8, 11, 15) Chris Stewart (Vocals 2, 8, 15)
Elaine Reynolds (Vocals 7)
Remixing: Nive Nielsen (12)

Recorded and Mixed by The Boats at various times and places between 2003-2010
Mastered by Miles Whittaker
Compiled from The Boats Archive Drawer by Theodore and Hamblin

1, 15 Originally appeared o the Our Small Ideas EP ‘Stenography’
5 Originally appeared on the Flau Compilation ‘Little Things’
9, 10, 13 Originally appeared on the Our Small Idea EP ‘Saturation, Hum and Hiss’
11 Originally appeared on the [parvoart] recordings compilation ‘[parvo] art’
12 An unreleased remix of Nive (http://www.myspace.com/nivenielsen)

1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13, 14, 16 Written by Hargreaves/Tattersall
2, 8, 15 Written by Hargreaves/Tattersall/Norbury
12 Written by Nive Nielsen

Jаtun :: Вlаnkеt оf Аsh

Jаtun :: Вlаnkеt оf Аsh
Genre : Shoegaze, Electronica

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01. Blanket of Ash
02. Electricity
03. Try Me, Mental-A
04. Overhead The Air Waves
Side B
05. The King of Nostalgia
06. Circuit Eater
07. The Thin
08. Space Be Gone (Free Digital Bonus)

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Influenced by an expansive range of artists, genres and styles, Alan and Scott have learned to interpret and appreciate sound from a broad perspective. Such open ears have facilitated an understanding of sonic interplay, and acute attention to arrangement and detail. Armed to the teeth with an arsenal of quality, vintage gear and a penchant for capturing the resultant noises, they craft music thoroughly and thoughtfully. Lush, enveloping and hyper-textured, Jatun’s songs blanket themselves around your ears and saturate your head with warm and intoxicating, Orange-tinged tones.

Manual :: Drowned In Light

Manual :: Drowned In Light
Genre : Shoegaze, Electronica

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1 Warm Circuits 1:17
2 Afterimages 4:33
3 Biarritz 6:54
4 Phainomenon 9:44
5 Drowned In Light 3:43
6 Empty Inside 4:39
7 Pulsations 7:10
8 Morning Glass 1982 6:14
9 Slow 2:32
10 Blood Run 6:23
11 Sabishisa 2:19
12 Issa 5:04

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Manual, a.k.a. Jonas Munk, is a producer from Odense, Denmark specializing in a unique brand of warm, organic music that fuses elements of new and old, electronic and hand-played, analogue and digital. He made his debut 10 years ago with an EP on Hobby Industries, followed by a handful of releases on Morr Music, both as Manual and with Icebreaker International, as well as his band Limp. Later, Munk signed with Californian label Darla and expanded his work into the area of minimalist ambient music while still perfecting the original Manual sound.

While completely unknown in his native Denmark, Munk is considered an influential artist in the circles of dreampop and electronica, touring all over the world, and collaborating, with artists including Ulrich Schnauss, Robin Guthrie (Cocteau Twins), Auburn Lull and, perhaps more surprisingly, members of Tortoise and Sunburned Hand of the Man. He has also scored a number of documentary films and undertaken production work for other bands and artists. Aside from collaborations, two minimalist ambient albums and a rarities collection from 2007, “Drowned in Light” is the first Manual album in five years. It is also Manual’s first for Make Mine Music, the pioneering artist-led co-operative label that is also home to releases by Piano Magic, Library Tapes, July Skies and Epic45.

Manual’s style has been described as "one of the most recognisable in electronica". At the core of this lies an ongoing desire to fuse electronic music with the structures and compositional elements of rock and pop, and an insistence that electronica can be fresh and innovative without flowing with the latest trends. Never have Munk’s unique strategies been more apparent than on his new album “Drowned in Light”, an ambitious work that showcases Munk’s talent for adventurous compositions, his finely-tuned production skills and aptitude for sound-design. On this latest album, drum machine loops and shimmering guitars (electric, acoustic, 12-string and flamenco) are bathed in analogue synth and modular effects, creating a lush, intoxicating sound that looks back to the 1970s and 1980s without a hint of the usual sleek irony or hip retro-revivalism, whilst simultaneously looking forward to a time when boundaries between programmed and played, and synthetic and organic, have become obsolete.

The family tree of “Drowned in Light” begins with Harmonia, Ash Ra Temple and Ennio Morricone in the 1970s, Durutti Column and Cocteau Twins in the 1980s, through to Seefeel and Slowdive in the 1990s. Manual continues this lineage and pushes into new territories. A prime example is “Biarritz”, where analog synth sequences that could belong in a Tangerine Dream excursion blend with elements of modern electronica, exotica and echoes of 80s’ synth pop. In a similar fashion “Phainomenon” rolls along like a mid-70s Ash Ra Temple jam until halfway, where the mood breaks and the track enters classic dream pop territory, leading to a dizzying climax. “Blood Run” and “Afterimages”, meanwhile, arguably possess some of Munk’s finest guitar playing, whilst “Pulsations” is, without doubt, the most cosmic, distorted and swirling psychedelic moment in the Manual catalogue.

In some ways “Drowned in Light” reaches back to the early Manual days of “Ascend”, a result of Munk’s rediscovered love of working with analogue gear. It is a diverse set, though, bound together by a warm, crystalline production and Munk’s signature guitar playing. Composition and craftsmanship on this level is such a rarity in an overcrowded sea of electronic music. This is the perfect album to accompany any journey into spring…

Past praise for Manual:

“...Sonically, it’s Seefeel meets Sons And Fascination era Simple Minds meets Kevin Shields meets David Sylvian; in other words, it inhabits a world where boundaries blur and where sounds collide and move within and around each other to make something instantly, comfortingly recognizable yet with an abstract sense of the new.” - Tangents Magazine

“The musings of so many of his peers feel conceptually thin and prefabricated in comparison to Manual's wandering, curious anthems.” – Pitchfork

“Think of My Bloody Valentine, but lighter than air. Or think of what Air's soundtrack to The Virgin Suicides might have been like if they spent more time at the beach. Or think about Brian Eno, if he surfed and liked drinks with exotic names and umbrellas in them. Think about Tangerine Dream: their name even more than their sound… and you've got a beautiful, awe-inducing force of nature.” - Erasing Clouds Magazine

“A painstaking labour of love that principally takes Durutti Column and the Cocteau Twins as its key templates and weaves their chiming matrix into a celebratory carnival of lush colour coded ambient structures of the type so rarely heard these days. All at once sensual, invigorating, heart stopping and quite simply perfect.” - Losing Today Magazine

VA :: My private space

VA :: My private space
Genre : Ambient, Electronic

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1. Azure (akira kosemura & haruka nakamura)
2. Left The Wind (no.9)
3. Halo (aus)
4. Good Morning (no.9)
5. An Old Story (uran okajima)
6. Small Promise (no.9)
7. Petrarca (akira kosemura)
8. Distance (kadan)
9. Will You… (Fjordne)
10. Tangeline (yna)
11. Sign (haruka nakamura)
12. Wood, cluster (Fjordne)

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A collection compiled by Japanese record label and distributor p*dis, showcasing a new generation of ”Post Classical/Electronic” Japanese artists, including FJORDNE and Haruka Nakamura among others.

Раwn-А Hum Оf The Librаry

Раwn :: А Hum Оf The Librаry
Genre : Ambient, Electronic

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01.stairs
02.the_book_that_is_never_read
03.the_creak_of_the_chair
04.quiet_room
05.ventilation_fans

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*STRICTLY LIMITED TO 100 INDIVIDUALLY NUMBERED COPIES FOR THE WORLD* And so a brand new Cotton Goods outing comes our way, and this time its an EP length set from Tokyo-based artist Hideki Umezawa under his Pawn guise. Previously Umezawa has released music under the Dynamophone and Symbolic Interaction labels and this new release makes for a great match. Pawn's music is incredibly tender and melodic, grounding itself in the faintest residue of acoustic instruments on opener 'Entrance - Stairs'. Umezawa processes a gently tuneful ambience from piano and room sounds, fashioning an outstandingly immersive and roomy production in so doing. Second track, 'The Book That Is Never Read' strips away much of the electronic presence, allowing distant piano keys to get tangled up in Danny Norbury's cello. Norbury's guest spot on this track proves to be a real highlight, lending a beautifully lugubrious lead melody. After the rainy location recordings of 'The Creak Of The Chair', Umezawa revisits the spatial noises and processed piano submersion of his opening track via 'Quiet Room', leading up to the nine-minute finale that makes up nearly half of the disc's duration. 'Ventilation Fans' grounds itself in the sonorities of the air conditioning system referenced by the title but manages to transform itself from a potentially hum-drum field recording exercise into an overtly harmonious drone piece that duets with faint piano reverberations and the ear-pleasing babble of digital ephemera. As ever with Cotton Goods releases, this won't last long...

False Awakening – So Far, So Close

False Awakening – So Far, So Close
Genre : Post Rock

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01 Through the Ice
02 We're Doing Fine
03 Empty White Streets
04 Winter Window
05 Happy Endings
06 Good Morning Canada

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Damian Valles :: Bow Echoes

Damian Valles :: Bow Echoes
Genre : Ambient, Electronic, Post Rock

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1. Ground Truth
2. A Bow Echo
3. Derechos
4. Debris
5. A Wake Pattern
6. Ridge And Furrow

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Resting Bell is very happy to welcome Damian Valles. Damian is a Canadian multi-instrumentalist who creates ambient/experimental works based mainly on solo guitar. He utilizes a wide range of sources to expand his sound which include a variety of percussive elements, piano, and field recordings. Past releases include a full length on the excellent Under The Spire imprint, and a 3″ EP on Standard Form. The latter being the first in a series of limited 3″ releases called “Rural Routes” that he is curating for the label.

His work “Bow Echoes” contains 6 audio-tracks with a duration of about 40 minutes and a 10-minute video for the opening track “Ground Truth”. Compared to his other releases, Damian put his focus more on drone- and ambient-scapes; however, “Bow Echoes” still has a very, very strong melodic center. The dominant washed-out and fading guitar-work give the whole release a touch of beauty and sublimity. Blurry shades, dimly lit landscapes, and warm colours layer and fade into each other. In addition, the video for “Ground Truth” perfectly visualises the sound and feel of the complete release.

Enjoy this wonderful release, full of warm drones and melodies, and welcome the spring (at least on the northern hemisphere)!

Naono :: Sleepy Pebbles

Naono :: Sleepy Pebbles
Genre : Electronic, Experimental

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1.Healing Process
2.Hobo the Hermit
3.Ocean Tapes
4.Random Lullabies
5.Sellotape Unicorn
6.Tender Telescope
7. Untitled Merrow

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With an inward flow, Naono's 'Sleepy Pebbles' is a solitary ambient album focused on the inner self. It's lonesome yet comforting in its ability to convey a sense of familiarity through quiet and calming sounds. Gradual shifts in pace and beats that whirl like the eddies of a current, 'Sleepy Pebbles' goes with the flow. Sonics are soft and smooth as if worn by time and the natural elements. Naono forms atmospheres of blues and greys and invokes a hermetical sound that places the listener into a state comfort and inner unity.

Asuna + Opitope - Sunroom

Asuna + Opitope - Sunroom
Genre : Ambient, Electronic

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1. Photon 4:06
2 .The Water Molecule 9:15
3 . In The Small Train 5:11
4 . Mirage Of A Liquid 4:08
5 . Town And Country 3:51
6 . Twilight 4:36
7 . Crickets, Moth And Frogs 4:01
8. Cloud Shadow In The Night 6:46
9. Column Of Air 2:53

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This is the first collaborative full-length release by Japan’s Opitope, the duo of Chihei Hatakeyama (Kranky, Room40) and Tomoyoshi Date (FlyRec), and Asuna (spekk, Headz). Listeners familiar with Opitope’s majestic 2007 release “Hau,” or any of the more recent output by Asuna, Hatakeyama or Date, will find much to love here. Across the albums’ nine tracks, gossamer webs of treated sound (made from all manner of plaintive piano, rubbed strings, delicately picked guitars and evocative accordian, vibraphone and sampling) hover, resonate, ebb and disperse. Paradoxical as it may seem, there is a painstaking effortlessness to this music. In some ways, “Sunroom” feels like a perfect followup to “Hau,” with one critical distinction. Where that previous release, as with Asuna’s wonderful “THIS” double disc and much of Hatakeyama’s recent solo work, focused principally on textures and abstraction, here an added emphasis is placed on songcraft. Ultimately, we might best situate these recordings alongside Date’s 2008 masterpiece “Human Being,” as there is, to be sure, a similar playfulness, deftness of juxtaposition, accessibility, and sincere reverence to be found in the radiant compositions of “Sunroom.” Throughout the album’s duration, the masterful, capable hands of Date, Hatakeyama and Asuna, craft miniature, effervescent gems of songs which swell and bloom like the changing of seasons or the passage of time in memory.

My Fun - Sound Journal Edits

My Fun - Sound Journal Edits
Genre : Ambient, Electronic

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01 – Part 1
02 – Part 2
03 – Part 3
04 – Part 4
05 – Part 5
06 – Part 6
07 – Part 7
08 – Part 8

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For the past few years I've kept an online sound journal where I've posted field recordings, improv sessions, late night vinyl loops, radio noises and basically any sound around me. For a while I've been trying to think of another way to present some of this work and decided to create a single full-length release featuring compositions made from these recordings.

Not really a greatest hits record or is it? Consider this free release as a thank you for the ongoing support of my work and The Land Of label.

Boas - Boas

Boas - Boas
Genre : Electronic, Experimental

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01. Remains (Creaching)

02. Five Trees

03. Imagine Fire

04. Reaching

05. Dipole

06. Sleaching

07. Cherphies

08. Forming A Curse

09. Equinox (Mametou)

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Stray Ghost – Nothing, But Death

Stray Ghost – Nothing, But Death
Genre : Ambient, Electronic

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01 – Part 1
02 – Part 2
03 – Part 3
04 – Part 4
05 – Part 5
06 – Part 6
07 – Part 7
08 – Part 8

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Nothing, But Death is the epic full-length follow-up to Stray Ghost’s widely acclaimed 2008 album Losthilde. On his immersive new release, Anthony Saggers mines the rich depths of melancholy and longing, crafting a slow, sad drift of distant melodies, cloaked in smoky ambience. The album signals further development in Saggers’ masterful handling of drone, minimalism, shoegaze, ambient and electro-acoustic music, leading the listener through highly emotive soundscapes, rich in cinematic sound design. This is essential music of almost unbearable poignancy and colossal scope that rewards deep listening.