Epic45 ::: Weathering

Epic45 ::: Weathering
Genre : Post Rock, Electronic

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01. People Say This Place Is Slowly Dying [0:07:07.94]
02. The Village Is Asleep [0:06:37.89]
03. Evening Silhouettes [0:02:31.29]
04. With Our Backs To The City [0:06:22.04]
05. Summer Message [0:02:41.96]
06. Afternoon, Shadowed [0:01:49.68]
07. The Weather Is Not Your Friend [0:02:57.49]
08. These Walks Saved Us [0:03:05.18]
09. Ghosts I Have Known [0:02:34.18]
10. Weathering [0:08:40.94]
11. Washed Up [0:08:48.89]

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I was going to try and write this review without shoe-horning the word pastoral in, just as a bit of a challenge. I've given up pretty quickly as you can see. It's like talking about the Second World War and not mentioning Hitler. You can't do it. Oh and I'm reasonably sure Epic 45 and Hitler have no connections before you try and detect one and accuse them of being a bit dodgy. Nothing could be further from the truth, as the their brand new CD 'Weathering' is sat here all bright and sparkly looking at me. And an epic journey it is I'll tell you that! I've been enjoying this in my car over the last week and it works best at the sun's going down. Suddenly the music comes into its own and you're transported to a place of special. I think this is the bands most cohesive album and also possibly their most adventurous and accomplished. There are tracks on this album which do the Hood and Talk Talk thing (and Sigur Ros at moments) which you'd kind of expect but there's other gems to be found within! For Example 'With Our backs To The City' featuring Stephen Jones (Baby Bird!) on vocals. It's a diamond of a pop tune and by far my favourite one on the album. It just totally works.

Mid-way through the album you get a weird experimental dark ambient number which splits the album up neatly into two halves. I love it, very different for them. The album is rammed full of inventive and interesting ideas, songs are super layered with so many things going on, yet nothing sounds cluttered. Everything has it's place and no particular element impeaches on the other's musical territory. The music is mainly comprised of layered vocals, strings, field recordings, electronics, acoustic guitars, drums, samples but there's plenty more going on!

Essentially though this is an indie pop album with a lot of bells and whistles. It's a gentle record steeped in countryside romanticism and one which I think many people will cherish over the years. Oh guest stars! I knew I had something else to say! The album features Stephen Jones (which you know about!) as well as Richard Vincent Adams (Declining Winter), Antony Harding (July Skies), Andrew Johnson (Remote Viewer), Craig Tattersall (The Boats & Remote Viewer), Sarah Kemp (Brave Timbers) and lots more. A star studded cast playing a whole plethora of different instruments (hammered dulcimer, clarinet, violin, brass, glockenspiel, xylophone etc) as well as the Epic 45 boys playing a million different instruments, using samples, field recordings and all kinds of shenanigans reckon the boys (and girl) have done good with this 'un.

Tape ::: Revelationes

Tape ::: Revelationes
Genre : Electroacoustic, Ambient

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01 - Dust and Light
02 - Companions
03 - Hotels
04 - Byhalia
05 - In Valleys
06 - The Wild Palms
07 - Gone Gone

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Since 2008's gorgeous 'Luminarium', Swedish troupe Tape have been holed up in their Summa studio in Stockholm, studiously busying themselves hand-crafting a follow up. And what a sequel it is; 'Revelationes' is everything you would hope for from the band and more, finding the well-worn sound of brothers Andreas and Johan Berthling pushing into darker, more downtrodden territory. The overwhelming prettiness of Tape's back catalogue has been pushed aside; echoes of Slint's genre-defining 'Spiderland' haunt the opening notes of 'Dust and Light', but when the signature organs and electronics finally make an appearance it is a markedly more subtle and melancholy affair than we might have expected from the band. 'Revelationes' is somehow deeply sad and incredibly affecting, but is a record flecked with hope - the curiously uplifting vibraphones, wavering theramin and jazz-tinged drums offering an occasional and much needed counterpoint to the mood. The band have refined their craft over an enviable selection of full-lengths, and 'Revelationes', which clocks in at an economical thirty-two minutes, is easily their most focused to date. No song drags or outstays its welcome, instead their pieces are pointed and enjoyable, bringing to mind Tortoise at their very best.

36 ::: Cocoon / Saphron 7" Vinyl

36 ::: Cocoon / Saphron 7" Vinyl
Genre : Electronic, Ambient

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1 Cocoon
2 Saphron
3 Drowning

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The “3six Seven” series is a collection of 7″ vinyl releases. These will be limited to 100 copies, in carefully printed full-colour sleeves, matt laminated, with stunning artwork, curated by various artists around the world. Hand numbered by the artist. No represses will be made in this format. The first release features the tracks “Cocoon” and “Saphron”. Artwork by Masaki Okezawa.

“Cocoon” uses low-end pressure and dub-like delay to create an ever-rising, constantly evolving sound, with an intensity matched only by it’s sensitivity. “Saphron” is pure melancholia, with melodic padwork and drifting textures, reminiscent of the most haunting moments from Hypersona, but taken even deeper into the abyss.

The digital version includes the bonus track “Saphron Drowning” which is a moodier, darker edit of the original. It is music for the earliest of hours, lighting a candle of sound that illuminates any headspace.

Stendeck ::: Scintilla

Stendeck ::: Scintilla
Genre : Electronic, IDM

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1 hold my hand high in the sky ready for the deep dive
2 feel the flames burning inside me
3 catch the midnight girl
4 tired figures wave goodbye in the backdrop of a sinking boat
5 tight around her throat she slips away
6 like snowflakes on my fingers
7 run amok (against time rebels)
8 swimmers in a sleepless hour
9 voiceless wishes flicker in the shattered mist
10 six-door bedroom
11 that foolish fascination of a ghost light collector
12 why did we get so far?
13 learning how to walk through walls
14 last night an angel fell on a motorway
15 thieves of watercolour memories
16 the silence after this
17 crimson clouds cascade

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Two years after the release of the widely-acclaimed ‘Sonnambula‘ album, Stendeck returns with his highly-anticipated new full-length titled ‘Scintilla‘. Once again, Stendeck presents another outstanding mix of generous beats and emotional electronica, accentuated by deep, flowing atmospheres, heart-seizing melodies, expertly-placed noise elements, and lush synthlines.

‘Scintilla‘ is an energetic spark of creativity full of passion, life, and hope. The creation of a fantastic blaze of emotion, alluring and serendipitous; a spark that creates an everlasting fire that won’t soon fade away.

17 stunning new tracks on compact disc packaged in a beautifully-designed 6-panel digipak by Kostas K. of Subheim.

Seefeel - Seefeel

Seefeel - Seefeel
Genre : Shoegaze, Electronic

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01 O-on One
02 Dead Guitars
03 Step Up
04 Faults
05 Gzaug
06 Rip-Run
07 Making
08 Step Down
09 Airless
10 Aug30
11 Sway

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Conceived by Mark Clifford and Sarah Peacock in the early 90's, Seefeel immediately became groundbreaking leaders of the divergent quasi-movement known as "shoegaze", by amalgamating electronics in ways most of their peers in traditional bands would never dream of. They managed to fuse the early Acid House and techno sounds with guitar, drums and bass into urgent melodic waves that on early releases like Quique and Succour oscillated between hopefulness, introspection and downright menace. Now comes the all new self-titled full length, as a new generation of young bands the world over look once again to building their own walls of sound, Seefeel stand ready again to play not only the inspired outsiders, but also the inspirational forerunners. With much talk of implied mysticism abound in music these days, Seefeel deals this out in sonic revelations. From the glacial "Airless" to the lumbering intensity of "Dead Guitars" and the ghostly harmonics of "Faults" each step feels of deeply personal progression. Mark Clifford, "There is a real dynamic, creative process that’s exciting. I feel the music we have made for these initial releases is just the very start and we already have a number of ideas/tracks in place for future releases that I feel push our own boundaries even further. As well as this, we are growing as a live band, adding elements of improvisation and looser structures unimaginable to us a few years back, and with continued touring I'm excited to see how we develop in that direction."

Úrsula - Hasta Que La Soledad Nos Separe

Úrsula - Hasta Que La Soledad Nos Separe
Genre : Electronic, Ambient

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01 Capítulo siete
02 Humildad y paciencia
03 Teoría del sufrimiento
04 Insomnio de verano
05 Reflexiones permanentes
06 Un final decepcionante

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Úrsula has managed to move finely between neoclassicism, ambient, minimalism and, enclosed, certain contemporary reminiscences. They have made a simple language which only object is to transport the public across a path replete with sensations in which their participation is going to be indispensable, establishing one dialog sutil and accurately between the musician and the listener. As one of their models, Górecki, Úrsula do not walk among complicated harmonys and have managed to absorb the essence of Bártok's Neoclassicism. Echoes are guessed to Terry Riley and Steve Reich, besides a distant inspiration in Cage, and have assumed perfectly Webern's sonorous economy at the time that they approach to the beginnings of Arvo Pärt. From the beginning they appreciate an extremely precise and imaginative use of the tremolo and the delay, among other effects, which are the base of the sound of the guitar, which constructs, without scarcely developments, clear and superposed textures. It´s here where more we perceive the influence of bands as The Sight Below, whose principal member - Rafael Anton Irisarri - has masterized the record.

Halls - Halls EP

Halls - Halls EP
Genre : Ambient, Electronic, Dub

Halls - Halls EP - 01 Warsaw Radio Mast
Halls - Halls EP - 02 Shiner
Halls - Halls EP - 03 Cave Days
Halls - Halls EP - 04 Chakra Drums
Halls - Halls EP - 05 Kaleidoscope
Halls - Halls EP - 06 Rise

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