DreamScenes 2014-12
The third of the monthly broadcasts, with some great tracks from new and forthcoming releases.
Various Artists – Touched Two
Charity compilations come in all forms & sizes, but “Touched Two” is one of truly megalomaniac proportions. I really don’t know where to begin here. This “review” is the very first I ever write without having listened to the album at least a few times. How can anyone éver review a 255 track compilation that presents over 22 hours of music?
John Luther Adams – Become Ocean
“Become Ocean” was inspired by the oceans of Alaska and the Pacific Northwest, and the references to the endless oceanic movement are clear from the very beginning. Like there are different ways to look at the ocean’s movement, there are also are different ways to listen to this piece: you can just ‘follow the larger structure’, but you can also focus on the multitude of details underneath it..
“It may be the loveliest apocalypse in musical history” – Alex Ross, The New Yorker
Frond – The Second Continent
An album “blending gentle acoustics, intense electronics and field recordings… a personal journey through a landscape of forgotten melodies and vivid textures”.
A Zoharum Quartet
Zoharum is a Polish label founded in 2007, specialising in experimental music. Their catalogue, close to 100 releases, is often dedicated to the promotion of Polish artists, new as well as renowned, but they are also releasing works from other artists. New albums as well as re-releases: a wealth of a collection to explore if you’re into ambient, industrial, experimental, electroacoustic, IDM, or all other kinds of music adventurous and unpredictable.
Disproduction – Whorl: A LoopDiary Selection
Being a big fan of the Fripp & Eno loop-based recordings from the early seventies, Disproduction (David Hodnett) has managed to re-create a comparable atmosphere with his guitar improvisations, various effects and recurring delays. His experiments were created in the form of a musical diary (originally recorded between 2005 and 2009) which can be found on his four extensive “Loopdiary Archives” albums. A Respectful tribute that can easily claim its own place.
Poppy Ackroyd – Feathers
Barely one month after the DVD (re-)release of “Escapement”, Poppy Ackroyd pops up again with her newest full album release “Feathers” . Time for a quick update, an ‘addendum’ to the previous post.
Robert Rich – Perpetual (A Somnium Continuum)
Robert Rich‘s “Somnium” – released in 2001 – was (and still is) one of the landmark monuments of ambient music. Based on his experience playing sleep concerts since 1982, this 7 hour work was especially composed to be your companion during the night, following the natural flow of sleep cycles.
The original Somnium DVD (that was the only format then that could hold such an amount of music) has long sold out now.
But the good news is: there is a successor to this project now: “Perpetual” (and its physical release also contains the original “Somnium” recordings)!