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