Tag: wil_bolton

ambient music, RECOMMENDATIONS

Anzio Green – A Day without Distance

Right after the light-hearted opener soundscape “Morning Tea”, “A Day Without Distance“ takes a somewat unexpected turn: “Fall Down” (with vocals by Kate Tustain) is a mysterious pop-oriented track that reminisces the sound of the 4AD label (or This Mortal Coil, to be more specific) in the mid-80’s.

After this track one would expect more ‘ambient-pop’ like this, but surprisingly the album takes a fairly radical turn into more experimental soundscapes.
But – even though Kate Tustain’s vocals are not reappearing – it never loses touch with the ‘accessible’ side. This is obviously what International DJ Magazine meant when they described the Rednetic label as “the subtle marriage of the adventurous with the accessible”.

ambient music, RECOMMENDATIONS

Peter James, Wil Bolton, Tomoko Sauvage, Five Pieces, Elements 01

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.

Landfall

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. “

Under a Name...

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)

ambient music, RECOMMENDATIONS

Wil Bolton, Benjamin Dauer, Savaran, Roger Martinez, Karl Verkade

In this “shortlist” section, 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).

Melt cover

Wil Bolton – Melt
Another great release in the Rural Colours subscription series, perfectly timed for the spring and summer season.
“‘Melt’ is a single long-form track of warm, overlapping tones created with a toy keyboard, a synthesizer, analogue delay and looper pedals, and some minimal laptop processing. Glitches and signal problems were welcomed into the process, shrouding the fragmented yet lyrical keyboard melodies in a gentle mist of fuzz, clicks and hiss.”

Saturation Event

Benjamin Dauer – Saturation Event
“..A series of explorations in tape saturation – that place where the audio begins to slightly fall apart – not harsh digital distortion, but rather, that warm and blurry type of analog distortion only possible w/tape (or tape emulation). As you listen, at times the audio in the lower frequencies might fall apart while the upper register remains crystal clear. On others you might not notice anything but maybe the slightest hint of added analog warmth.”