Tag: environmental

ambient music, RECOMMENDATIONS

Marcus Mohall; Bvdub; Keith Freund; Anonymeye; Volkan Zorlu

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.


Hinna

Marcus Mohall – Hinna
Sometimes it is amazing to find the most beautiful sounds just floating around to be downloaded for free. Like these two short drone-tracks from the EP called “Hinna”  (“Catch”) by Marcus Mohall, from Sweden. 
Deep, spacious drones, based on field recordings, chords from a Nord Modular G1 and lots of reverb. These EP’s 20 minutes leave you wanting for more.


Bvdub - I Remember

Bvdub – I Remember (Translations of ‘Mørketid’)
“Translations” (not ‘remixes’) of the original 2007 album Mørketid‘ by Netherworld (Alessandro Tedeschi).
80 minutes of multi-layered washings referring to the period of the year “when the Arctic winter cold encases everything and the sun doesn’t rise over the horizon” – so what better label could there be for this release than Glacial Movements?!
The original work is used “as a base, and it is indeed interwoven in the translations, but my translations serve more as my own narratives on the memories and feelings his original work evoked. The translations are about memories… memories of dreams lost, and never fulfilled… but also the beauty in knowing that dreams exist…as whether they come true or not, it’s in their pursuit that life means anything.”

ambient music, RECOMMENDATIONS

Loscil – Coast/Range/Arc

Although seemingly operating somewhat below the radar in terms of release frequency, Glacial  Movements  has earned their status when it comes to quality standards.
In the past, they released albums by Rapoon, Lull, BVDUB, Francisco Lopez (among others) – the future will see new releases by BVDUB. Pjusk and Thomas Köner.

Like the name suggests, Glacial  Movements chooses to release albums that thematically deal with vast, deserted (and mostly cold) landscapes:
“Places that man has forgotten…icy landscapes…fields of flowers covered eternally with ice… Icebergs colliding amongst themselves…” “Glacial Movements is a label born to describe and spread these thoughts/images through sound.”

Knowing this, it is no surprise that Glacial  Movements is the label to release Loscil’s latest release,  “Coast/Range/Arc“. It is a perfect match.

ambient music, other-news, RECOMMENDATIONS

Janek Schaefer – Asleep at the Wheel…

Janek Schaefer’s website presents an impressive list of site-location projects that are very interesting to investigate, because they demonstrate Schaefer’s perfect balance of concept, visual and sound.
(A few of them, Unfolding and Extended Play, were presented on Ambientblog earlier).

As the Artist in Residence for the 2010 Milton Keynes International Festival, Schaefer presented “Asleep at the Wheel…’: a location project for which he completely transformed the deserted Sainsbury’s supermarket into a three-lane highway at night, a ‘ghost road of cars’, where the audio is played from the in-car sound systems. From the car seats, visitors could listen to presentations and interviews thematically dealing with sustainability and the future of the earth, and how we can be able to improve that future. 

“The exhibition is a thought provoking and immersive sound installation for multiple car radios, that contemplates our future. Exhibited in a vast disused supermarket, three-lanes of cars dissect the darkened interior, as the multiple hazard lights illuminate the space, revealing the finite road of our consumer driven daydream.”

ambient music, RECOMMENDATIONS

Clem Leek – Home Outside

The Rural Colours  3-inch CD subscription series continues to deliver high quality releases, most of which are sold out immediately after their release.
Luckily for those that do NOT have a subscription to these physical releases, they continue to be available as digital downloads through Bandcamp. 

“Home Outside” is Clem Leek‘s contribution to the Rural Route series: it was released on january 23 as part of ‘subscription pack 7’ (and of course quickly sold out too).

ambient music, other-music, RECOMMENDATIONS

*AR – Wolf Notes

*AR is the “collective pseudonym” of Autumn Richardson & Richard Skelton, and “Wolf Notes”  is their first abum together. 

But *AR is also “an archaic place-name element found in river names. (…) It is thought to mean ‘starting up, springing up, setting in motion’ “. 

A further quote from the liner notes explains what this music is about:
It “is inspired by the landscape of Ulpha – a region of spare, rugged beauty in the west uplands of Cumbria, in Northern England. Wolf Notes derives its title from the word ulpha itself, while it is understood to mean ‘the hill frequented by wolves’.”

ambient music, MIXES, surround

Dawn Secrets (Mix)

What exactly happens at the moment night changes back into day again, when darkness slowly retreats and light comes back in? 
Are we aware of what happens outside, at that time of day most of us are still sleeping? 
What sort of animals or creatures are hiding from the light, and what sort finally dare to come out again? 
Would we discover “Dawn Secrets” when we’d leave our own safe and familiar surroundings?

To be honest, I did not start this mix with this theme in mind…it just ‘dawned’ on me when listening to it when it was almost finished…But from the start, I wanted this mix to have a strong ‘environmental’ feel (but not only include field recordings).

ambient music, RECOMMENDATIONS

Wil Bolton – Time Lapse

“Time Lapse” is the first album released under his own name, but Wil Bolton is no stranger to music.
Since 2004, he has been recording as Cheju, but a he also created quite a lot of fascinating site-specific works.
Some beautiful examples can he heard on Bolton’s website (I strongly suggest you take your time to listen to all sound samples provided there!)

Although “Time Lapse is labeled as Bolton’s debut release, every single track (of which there are nine) demonstrates his experience in music and sound design. 
And the power of restraint.