Hildur Gudnadóttir 's latest release on the Touch label features two tracks:  the 4 minute introduction ("Prelude") and the 35 minute title track: "Leyfdu Ljósinu" . 

The track division seems is somewhat artificial, since the "Prelude" closing chord seamlessly introduces the start of the main title track. 
This recording is in fact a "live" recording (with no audience present. which means no distractive audience sounds).
It's "just" Hildur performing over her multi-track recordings - no "post tampering" was applied afterwards.

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Misfortune struck last week when Heart and Soul and Feedbackloop label curator Leonardo Rosado got robbed and found that the burglars took his laptop and SLR camera.

Though he was wise enough to have his files backed up elsewhere (be honest: do you store your important personal files in a location outside your house? Please do so!) - for a label owner in this digital age this is a downright disaster. 

Leonardo had just finished his own solo album "The Blue Nature of Everyday"  (which sounds like an appropriate title now).
So, unintended, this album is now also his own charity release to help fund his new laptop and camera.

[read more...]

In the Shortlist sections, I will mention some of the albums that I enjoyed listening to, but couldn't find the time (or the right words) for a "full" review for. Still, I think they deserve your attention: use the links to find more info and hear previews.

Peter James - Landfall
Well-balanced, deep and extremely relaxing drones on this 25th Relaxed Machinery release.
"I’ve always considered landfall to be a part of a journey, not the final part, or the start, just a part of it .... Not now. Not then. Just sometime, somewhere, someplace. "

Wil Bolton - Under A Name That Hides Her
Combining drone backgrounds with environmental sounds and sparkling guitar themens, Wil Bolton manages to create music that sounds every bit as fresh as the cover image indicates.
"He wanted to create something that sonically presents his nostalgia, sounding submerged or decaying, as if heard through a veil the way memories and images become distorted over time. The album title ‘Under A Name That Hides Her’ is a quote from ‘The Space of Literature’ by Maurice Blanchot and is a reference to the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice."
(Vinyl album; release date May 16)

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It was a rather casual remark from Pleq, promoting his own track on this set, that led me to "Escala 2.3" . 

Following his advice, I found an amazing set of 3 albums, presented by the Escalared netlabel and Sísmógrapho Radio 3 from Spain. 

46 tracks of new ambient, drone, soundscape and electro-acoustic music - over 4 hours of music in a free download package ... you can even choose to download it in MP3, OGG or FLAC format!

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It's almost impossible to keep up with the speed of Will 'Celer' Long and Rutger 'Machinefabriek' Zuydervelt. 
By the time I have finished writing this review, I guess probably at least three new releases will have emerged which are all also worth hearing... 

Following up their 7" collaboration ("Maastunnel - Mt. Mitake" ), they recently did a short tour through Holland (and Brussel).
Recordings of these sets have now been released simultaneously with the duo's second 7" single "Numa - Penarie". 

And, to conclude this batch: the CDR "Bliksem", recorded by Celer especially for this tour (in a very limited physical edition of 10) is now also available as a digital download.

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"Paths" is the follow-up to Olan Mill's debut release "Pine" (released in 2010 on the Serein label). 
Their second release (now on Facture) continues to explore their "unashamedly romantic music", with a well-merged blend of violin, pipe organ and processed guitar.

Olan Mill's sound is somewhat comparable to the sound of the Stars of the Lid and A Winged Victory for the Sullen and will definitely appeal to the same audience.

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Stefan Ruggeri is a classically trained pianist "with a core of teenage rebellion, and a love for rock’n'roll."
"I was used to going to the conservatory with Pearl Jam on the headphones and, a few seconds later, trying to climb to an impervious prelude of Rachmaninov".

As afarOne, he has been working for three years on his debut release "Lucen", recently released by German label Karl Records. 

"Lucen" is one of those albums that immediately stand out on the very first listen - the kind that get stuck on 'repeat' almost automatically.

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The very first release on a brand new label called Eat, Sleep, Repeat brings together two remarkable men from the electronic/improv scene: Steve Roden and Machinefabriek (Rutger Zuydervelt)

"Lichtung" is the soundtrack created for an audio-visual installation at  Galerie Vayhinger, featuring visuals by Sabine Bürger, inspired by the Mindelsee lake in Germany.

This CD version does not feature the video part of the installation, but the images from the inlay booklet  are a good impression of how beautiful this installation must have been.

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In 2008, no-one knew what to expect from this "Bersarin Quartett" and, although it received unmatched critical acclaim,  it has always been somewhat below the radar - a "cult" release that still deserves to find a much larger audience.
(Don't worry: it is still available as CD or digital download. A special limited 2 x 12" vinyl picture disc edition can also be pre-ordered!)

Four years later, suddenly there's the follow up, the 'difficult second album' - simply named "II". 
The big difference: this time we're prepared!  

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When the relatively short opening track from "Digressions" slowly fades into the second track, "Caden Cotard", an unexpected, jaw-dropping massiveness starts to build - a full orchestral sound that I did not expect to hear on this third Greg Haines album.

It's not 'loud', it's not 'noise' - it's beautifully restrained, but it's just...massive.

But then, within the same track, the intensity drops to a much quieter level to become much more intimate. 
With this flow of tension and release, "Digressions" somehow compares to a post-rock album, however with a different instrumentation.
Musically, it feels more like it's a full classical symphony.

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"Winterreise" is Atom TM 's (Uwe Schmidt, a.k.a. Senor Coconut) follow up to 2009's "Liedgut". 
It will be released as a standard CD on Raster-Noton, in their familiar classy packaging, but has previously been  available in the form of a "Play Button": a new music medium combining the classic pin-button with a built-in music player. 

Musically, "Winterreise" is quite different from "Liedgut". 
It's far more abstract and experimental, with more accents on textures and soundscapes (and less direct  references to the music of Kraftwerk). 
It's more 'serious', in a way, although it never gets too serious - you can definitely trust Uwe to find a perfect balance between 'art' and 'fun'.

[read more...]

In the Shortlist sections, I will mention some of the albums that I enjoyed listening to, but couldn't find the time (or the right words) for a "full" review for. Still, I think they deserve your attention: use the links to find more info and hear previews.

James McDougall & Hiroku Sasajima - Injya
Using environmental sounds from Australia and Japan, McDougall and Sasajima create a new virtual world by rearranging and manipulating the original recordings. Their carefully crafted collages manage to maintain the 'natural' feeling of the recordings yet at the same times creates a non-existent landscape that is fascinating to listen to. One of the best environmental soundscapes I know.

Various Artists - Hydrophones
Using only (publicly available) recordings from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), carefully manipulating the underwater sounds of ships, earthquakes, "air guns", whale sounds and some unknown sources, this free download includes three immersive sub-aquatic ambient soundscapes created by Michael Hendley, Beau Finley and Keep.

[read more...]

Like its predecessor from early 2011, "Hidden Landscapes", this second Audio Gourmet/Hibernate compilation offers a stunning palette of contemporary abstract impressionist music.

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A closer look on this latest Listening Mirror album called "What's Wrong with Miracles?"  shows that this is in fact one side of the mirror: there's no trace of Kate Tustain's soft heavenly vocals on this release. 
(For that, you may want to check out the beautiful recent compilation overview "Resting in Aspic" ) 

Compared to the soft vocal counterparts on the previous releases, Jeff Stonehouse presents a rather dark mirror on this new release.

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Grouper (Liz Harris) is quite "Hot".
And with that, I am not referring to the fact that she is female, which obviously is a rare feat in the male dominated world of ambient music (listeners, as well as musicians).

She's 'hot' because she manages to appeal to a (relatively) large audience by merging different backgrounds, combining sleepy bedroom folk with laptop lo-fi and electronic minimalism. 

Her recent performance (in my hometown) sold out quicky and raised a relatively fair amount of buzz. In her performance  she did not touch any guitar, did not sing any tune - she just shuffled and mixed some cassette-tape recordings into an uncompromisingly minimal, William Basinski-like set of "Sleep"  (from "Violet Replacement").

Looking around and watching a silent (!) crowd (of about 150) listening to this slowly deteriorating piece, most of them with eyes closed, I could not help but wonder why I did not see most of these people at other ambient music performances.
Two days earlier I enjoyed a brilliant performance of Machinefabriek, Celer and Kleefstra-Bakker-Kleefstra - with only some 20 other people in the audience. Which was a shame, because this deserved to be heard by a lot more - I realised that most of this Grouper audience definitely would have enjoyed that performance too!

Most of Grouper's previous recordings are not as minimal as this performance of "Sleep". The fact that she's crossing over from hazy bedroom electronics may very well be the reason why she guides her audience into the deep and sleepy realms of minimalist ambient music. Almost unnoticed..

Until yesterday, I had some doubts about reviewing "Foreign Body", a new release by Mirrorring (a duo featuring Liz 'Grouper' Harris and Jesy 'Tiny Vipers' Fortino (these two names together should obviously raise attention), because it's not an 'ambient' album as most on this blog.

But with these thoughts about the recent Grouper performance in mind, I decided  this album was well worth the attention, because it will probably appeal to a lot of ambient music listeners, too.

So - how's that for a lengthy introduction?

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With 41 tracks and over 4 hours of experimental music, the Sequence 3 compilation could be a bit too much to chew at once. 
So (unless you simply can't get enough) it's probably best to digest it in smaller portions at the time.

Or, create your own sub-selection according to your liking, because, with such a diverse offering, it's clear that not every track can be for everyone's taste. But there is so much to choose from it's easy to compile your own sub-compilation!

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With previous releases by Rapoon, Lull, Skare, Bvdub, Loscil and Stormloop, the Glacialmovements label (founded by Alessandro Tedeschi) has become a sort of quality trademark in itself. A trademark for"glacial and isolationist ambient". 

Pjusk's "Tele", the label's latest release, firmly establishes this reputation.

For non-norwegians, "Tele" may not have the right associations: it is the Norwegian wordt describing frozen underground water. 

"Tele is a journey of snow, ice and cold."
 ...and the beauty within, I might add.

[read more...]

In the Shortlist sections, I will mention some of the albums that I enjoyed listening to, but couldn't find the time (or the right words) for a "full" review for. Still, I think they deserve your attention: use the links to find more info and hear previews.

Marow - Inter
"Marow's new 6-track release narrates disappearing structures and delusive fears, whose spirit reveals the beginning of a warm experience. Inter invites your consciousness to rest in a cosy moment for a little while. The breathing soundscapes transform life into a transcendental, peaceful journey ~ no grand wisdom ~ just lovely listening.
[Free download]

Invisible Hands - Non-Rapid Eye Movement Sleep
"Debut from Invisible Hands, an ambient/drone act based in Almere, Netherlands. These three tracks correspond to the stages in sleep called NREM and are designed to be listened while falling asleep or concentrating." 

[read more...]

Mentioning Andrej Tarkovsky's 1972 movie "Solaris" as a source of inspiration has become a bit of cliche somehow. This classic movie (we're talking the original Russian 1972 version now) has inspired numerous people, in various fields of art, in its 40 years of existence.

The sparse music soundtrack, created by Edward Artemyev, and the overall meditative ambient atmosphere has also inspired a great deal of ambient music artists.
It also inspired this mix-collage.
Referring to Solaris from a mix like this may not really be in the 'true spirit' of what Tarkovsky meant to achieve: he originally wanted to make the movie entirely without using music at all, and asked composer Artemyev to orchestrate the ambient sounds as a musical score. The latter proposed subtly introducing orchestral music. (source).

The sparse use of musical background, together with the length and slow pace of the movie (a 'meditative psychological drama') has always had a strange effect on me: it puts me in some kind of half-sleep, a kind of state in which where it is difficult to distinguish details, to separate reality from images less 'real'.
A half-conscious state of mind that perfectly matches the movie's theme.

This mix includes many different sources. Some parts of the originals Artemyev soundtrack are linked to fragments of the beautiful game soundtrack from Skyrim, by Jeremy Soule. The cinematic parts are alternated with various electronic soundscape fragments - familiar and less familiar.
Together with many tiny fragments from your own memory, a new - and strictly personal- alternate reality may be created, which (like in Solaris) may be hard to distinguish from real life...

Solaris was originally released in march 1972.
This tribute mix is celebrating this inspiring movie's 40th anniversary!

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If you are in any way familiar with ambient music, Celer will probably be familiar too. The discography boasts about 80 titles, most (if not all) of these well worth the listen. 

Celer started out as a husband-and-wife duo in 2005. After the tragic death of Danielle Baquet-Long in 2009 (she died of heart failure at the age of 27), Will Long has released music they had previously recorded together, as well as music he recorded later. 

"Evaporate and Wonder" was originally recorded in may, 2009, only a few months before Danielle's death. The source material was limited to improvised synthesizer and field recordings, but two tracks (about 20 minutes each) have all the warm aesthetic qualities that have become the Celer-trademark from the very beginning. A sound well-balanced and harmonically pleasant - 'utterly devoid of rough edges'.

[read more...]

"A Dream in Blood" is the second release on the brand new (and very promising) Future Sequence label (or fourth if you count both massive Sequence  compilations).

Operating as Sun Hammer is experimental sound artist Jay Bodley, who previously has also recorded as The Setting Sun.  

The album title and the cover experience might suggest some extreme dark ambient here, but the album presents a fascinating mix of experimental and adventurous electronic music. I would not call this 'dark' ambient myself - though on the other hand I would not call it 'light-hearted' either..

[read more...]

In the Shortlist sections, I will mention some of the albums that I enjoyed listening to, but couldn't find the time (or the right words) for a "full" review for. Still, I think they deserve your attention: use the links to find more info and hear previews.

Good Weather for an Airstrike - Underneath the Stars
Tom Honey (Hampshire, UK) originally set up Good Weather for an Airstrike to create deliberately soothing music to help ease the tinnitus problems he suffers from. His main influences are artists like Sigur Ros, Eluvium, Hammock and Stars of the Lid. "Underneath the Stars" melds "dreamy strings with hints of fragmented guitar tone, soft drones and a set of subtle field recordings."

Seconds Before Awakening - Nine
As Seconds Before Awakening, Michael S. Walley creates a "soundtrack for dreams and dreamers alike". "Nine" - the 10th album in the series that started counting from Zero -  is a 59 minutes long, slowly evolving deep drone. "I almost feel like this is the sound of nebulae and galaxies frozen for us to contemplate the shifting energy and interplay between matter and nothingness. These sounds remind me that infinity is real, here and now."  
[Free Download]

[read more...]

Following up Leonardo Rosado's "Mute Words", this is the second release on the Heart and Soul label, which was founded to release projects that combine music and poetry. 

The Dwindlers are a duo consisting of Michelle Seaman, poet, and Benjamin Dauer, composer and multi-instrumentalist. Although they have been working together since 2002, "Allegories" is their second album, following up their 2010 debut release "Dreams".

[read more...]

This collaboration by Szymon Kaliski (electronics) and Stefan Wesolowski (violin) - released as a limited  (50 only) edition on Few Quiet People - was commissioned especially to promote the new spatial audiovisual controller called the Dodecaudion.
A gesture-based controller which, by the looks of it, can best be described as some sort of nowadays Theremin. 

[read more...]

Although relatively young (they formed in the beginning of 2010), Listening Mirror (a duo consisting of Jeff Stonehouse and Kate Tustain) is quickly becoming a 'reference point' in environmental ambient music.

Basically, their new album "Resting in Aspic" is a collection of previously released material (although in different versions, remastered by Wil Bolton, and also including a new track: "Without Saying Goodbye").
But together, these tracks are a perfectly balanced album - a great introduction for those new to Listening Mirror, and a welcome addition to those that were already familiar with their style.

[read more...]

The original Muzak, aka Elevator Music, may represent all the music you don't want to listen to actively.
Intended and created as unobtrusive music played in shopping malls, designed to make you feel good and spend more money without realising you hear anything at all, this kind of music definitely has it's own -conceptual-  kind of charm.  

Simon Whetham's  latest release,  "Mall Muzak" is about the exact opposite of that kind of music.

[read more...]

Well here's a little gem that will definitely be a collector's item quickly: 

Celer (Will Long) and Machinefabriek (Rutger Zuydervelt) - two giants of the ambient-electronic improv scene - met and performed together in Tokyo in 2010, and decided to collaborate on these tracks about a year later. Exchanging an reconstructing each others audio files has resulted in this 7" vinyl release: "Maastunnel-Mt. Mitake".
An impressive, though short, 'audio bridge' between Rotterdam and Tokyo.

[read more...]

In the Shortlist sections, I will mention some of the albums that I enjoyed listening to, but couldn't find the time (or the right words) for a "full" review for. Still, I think they deserve your attention: use the links to find more info and hear previews.

Hior Chronik - Unspoken Words 
On his second album, Hior Chronik (Greece) combines the finest elements to create a well-balanced palette of ambient soundscapes, acoustic elements and melancholic themes. 
The enthousiastic recommendations by Hauschka ("Definitely a part of my soundtrack for this year autumn and dark winter times."), Nils Frahm ("Essential experimental music!" ), Sawako and Will Long (Celer) may indicate that this is an album that should not be missed. And it definitely is!

Kane Ikin - Contrail 
Also known as half of the Solo Andata duo, Kane Ikin presents his first solo project as a 4-track EP release: two tracks on a clear vinyl 7", the other two as additional download tracks. For this 20+ minute album, "he recorded everything through and onto old technology — aged analog consoles, reel-to-reel tape — and all heard through a hazy science fiction filter."

[read more...]

Markus Mehr's new album "In" is the promising first part of a trilogy: it will be followed by "On" (june 2012) and "Off" (january 2013), so the entire trilogy will take an exact year to complete. 

"In" features two long tracks, "Komo" and"Ostinato", about 25 minutes each.
At first listen, two albums come to mind that explore a similar compositional process: Gavin Bryars' "Jesus Blood Never Failed Me Yet" and William Basinski's "Disintegration Loops". 
But the comparision fails, because Mehr chooses quite a different approach to 'minimal loops repeating'.

[read more...]

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