Tag: arctic

ambient music, RECOMMENDATIONS

Machinefabriek + Esther Kokmeijer – Stillness

Sometimes, a certain kind of ambient soundscapes are referred to as “glacial”. Often, these are dark, slowly evolving soundscapes that evoke a desolate, solitary, atmosphere that can be associated with the vast arctic landscapes (although the sounds are not necessarily ‘cold’).

“Stillness” , a multimedia project by Esther Kokmeijer (cinematic landscapes) and Rutger “Machinefabriek” Zuydervelt (music) is literally “glacial”, because it documents Esther Kokmeijer’s journey to Antarctica in january 2013 and to Greenland in june 2013.
The video in 5 parts documenting these trips are subtitled “Millions of Winters, two summers” – with a perfectly fitting musical score performed by Rutger Zuydervelt.

ambient music, RECOMMENDATIONS

Yuya Ota – Arctic April Mother


Arctic April Mother

Presenting “glacial and isolationist ambient”, the Glacial Movements label – run and curated by Alessandro Tedeschi – has presented over 15 albums since 2006, from artists like Lull, Rapoon, Francisco López, BvDub, Loscil, Pjusk, Celer and then some.

Different kind of artists, different kind of sounds, but what they have in common here is the “glacial feel and atmosphere” – which is often described as cold and desolate.

Their latest release (digital only this time)is “Arctic April Mother“by Yuya Ota from Tokyo.

ambient music, RECOMMENDATIONS

Thomas Koener – Nunatak – Teimo – Permafrost


Koener

It’s not really a shame when you missed these albums when they were originally released in 1990/92/93.
Even though the original label (Barooni) was located in my hometown, I did not notice these releases until they were re-released on Mille Plateaux a few years later. 

With following album releases, Thomas Köner’s immersive drones found wider attention, and gained more and more recognistion. Albums like Kaamos, Daikan, Unerforschtes Gebiet, Nuuk and, more recently, La Barca) firmly established Köner’s reputation as the absolute master of immersive deep dronescapes.
And thus the interest in his back catalogue also grew. 

Recently, Type Records have re-released Köner’s first three albums on vinyl. For those that prefer the CD format, a 3-CD version of these remastered albums is now also available. 

So don’t let them pass you by this time: these albums are definitely classics of electronic and drone music!