giovedì 13 agosto 2009

Various - The Tandem Series Box Set













Label: Boltfish
Catalog#: BOLTBUND002
Country: UK
Released: 31 Jan 2007
Genre: Electronic
Style: Glitch, IDM, Downtempo, Experimental, Ambient

Tracklisting:

The Tandems Series 1
1 Test Pressing Veselo (5:03)
2 Test Pressing Dinonoke (6:28)
3 Test Pressing Sad Stream Which Is Going To Become The River (5:54)
4 Test Pressing Leaving Home (3:32)
5 October Man Let's Go Out (5:10)
6 October Man Ointment (4:18)
7 October Man False (3:57)
8 October Man Somewhere To Stay (3:25)
9 October Man Things To Remember (2:32)

Test Pressing is a project of electronic musician Pavel Malamanov from Murmansk (North-West of Russia).
For the past 3 years Test Pressing has achieved recognition both from the clubbing generation, and from the world of audiophiles/music collectors.
The project does not exhaust itself in the framework of a single style, but aims to maintain its "own" sound, which can be conveyed through all modern experimental music (IDM, Electronica, Glitch etc.)
Using various noises and crackles, children's voices, sounds of old consoles, melodious digital and acoustic tools in his compositions, Test Pressing has succeeded in creating beautiful futuristic soundscapes and delicate fragile miniatures.

October ManOctober Man are Dave and Jay, based on the outskirts of Durham City (UK). They began recording in 2003, inspired by the Babybird box set ‘The Original Lo-Fi.’ They produce softly emotional electronica with elements of live instrumentation, subtly treated found sounds and samples, melodic synth lines and crisp beats.
Dave and Jay also run October Man Recordings, which releases limited edition electronica and electro-acoustic CDRs in lovingly handmade packaging.
Previous October Man releases include the ‘magnetic culture ep’ and ‘tests for colour blindness’ album on their own label, ‘cynical days ep’ on clickclickdrone, ‘removal from disturbances ep’ on lacedmilk technologies, and part two of Quiet Records’ ‘quiet clams’ series. Their tracks have also appeared on compilations from October Man Recordings, clickclickdrone and Boltfish’s ‘Mercury Scales.’

The Tandem Series 2
10 Damien Shingleton Agra (3:29)
11 Damien Shingleton 2 For Joy (4:50)
12 Damien Shingleton Art Park Swing (5:33)
13 Damien Shingleton Static (0:30)
14 Lum Mlel Volm (4:44)
15 Lum Darko (2:43)
16 Lum Cefone (3:16)
17 Lum Xec 4 (4:39)

Damien Shingleton lives in Cornwall, UK.
As well as 2 years living in Japan he has also travelled around Europe and the USA.
More recently he spent 6 months in India and Nepal collecting various field recordings and writing new music... "on a rooftop overlooking the Taj Mahal at sunrise. Nice and pretentious."
He has released tracks on various independent record labels including Lost Dog, Benbecula, Worm Interface, Minus Habens and others he can't remember.
As well as a track featured on a Radio 3 compilation he has also recorded extensively with net label Hippocamp.
Although he used to DJ for a living he says it "Bores the crap out of me now".

Lum's basement is the happy home of one twisted obsessive, sunlight-deprived audio experimentalist and he cordially invites you back into his darkened studio to examine the delicious crudity of his extremely abrasive style.
An indelicate collection of drones, harmonics, clicks and feedback that confront reality in a decidedly disrespectful manner. An exploration into electronic and organic sound manipulation. A unique collection of meticulously produced eclectic, morphing and shapeshifting electronica, that ranges in style from extreme experimentation to pleasant melodies to minimalist soundscapes.
Previous Lum releases include the ‘Glow’ e.p. for clickclickdrone and appearances on ‘blue chair red chair’ (Clickclickdrone) and ‘Red Planet 2’ (Laverna). Lum also runs experimental electronic label Filament Recordings.

The Tandem Series 3
18 Loveless Luh (3:05)
19 Loveless I Am John's Memory (3:44)
20 Loveless Arms Of Cain (3:39)
21 Loveless Monday (5:10)
22 Loveless Leave Recorded (3:49)
23 Hatchelt Sound 28a (5:23)
24 Hatchelt Faith (3:24)
25 Hatchelt Notsad (5:41)
26 Hatchelt Do Whatever You Can (6:59)

Loveless are a 3/4 piece collective from Colchester, Essex, UK. Matt, Nath and Kieron take care of the music and live visuals are courtesy of Adam.
The roots of the band were in guitars, drums, bass and vocals....then after developing more and more of a love for electronic music it was decided to move toward a sound that reflected that.
They are just trying to get sounds out of their heads that they think someone else might enjoy hearing too.
And sometimes they try to get sounds out of their heads that they think someone else might not enjoy hearing....
the film "the conversation" is what they would want their music to look like...

Bristol-based artist Hatchelt builds deeply textured downtempo soundscapes with elements of guitar, piano, strings, field recordings and electronics. His debut release ‘Everything’s Exactly As You Left It’ was released on Barcelona-based label Spark in 2001.
Hatchelt worries that “creativity may by finite. If this is the case, and if we have no say in how long we have it for, then every single piece of output is important and should be enjoyed to it's fullest, treated like it is the last. Because when it's gone, it's gone and all that's left is ‘Best Of...’ albums and Pop Idol...the music world already has more than enough of that crap as it is.”

The Tandem Series 4
27 Mise en Scene Under Stretching Frequencies (3:56)
28 Mise en Scene Landscape TV (4:40)
29 Mise en Scene Yoyo (4:01)
30 Mise en Scene Organical Shift (4:41)
31 Mise en Scene E.K.P. (2:50)
32 dooQ Januar (4:42)
33 dooQ Prowler (5:12)
34 dooQ Ekaarian (4:11)
35 dooQ Syfon (5:34)

Mise en scene is Shay Nassi from the city of Haifa in Israel.
Shay has been creating experimental IDM and melodic glitch since 2000.
He began to study the art of sound engineering at Jordan Valley College in the north of Israel, where he gained a degree in Practical Sound Engineering.
The skills obtained there are clearly visible in the quality and acoustic depth of his production and sound design.
Shay’s tracks for Boltfish combine fluid synth melodies with complex glitchy polyrhythms and dark ambient atmospherics.

dooQ - from the UK and born in 2006.
dooQ is the side project of one half of the electronica outfit “soundhacker”.
dooQ’s music is often (but not always) glitchy, intricate, rhythmic, melodic and frequently explores the integration of electronics with more "conventional" instruments.
The dooQ project was begun as a feeble excuse to spend even more time in the studio playing with toys, widgets n gizmos…….

The Tandem Series 5
36 Milieu Threw Ourselves Into The Sun (6:07)
37 Milieu Rain Metre (3:19)
38 Milieu Saltwater (5:11)
39 Milieu Charcoal (5:14)
40 Milieu Schoolbells (5:30)
41 ENV(itre) Salecareal (3:59)
42 ENV(itre) Oaetometq (3:33)
43 ENV(itre) Loyr Vacn (4:50)
44 ENV(itre) Cipramil (4:14)

Milieu a.k.a. Brian Grainger started making music somewhere after his parents' divorce in 1997. He played multiple instruments in a number of different bands and projects, teaching himself how to play guitar, drums, bass and keyboard without the aid of classical training. In 2001, Brian began dabbling in psychedelic and ambient music, and by 2002 he became interested in writing computer-produced (but still organic) songs.
His music has seen releases at U-Cover, Infraction Records, a number of weblabels and now Boltfish Recordings, adding to an already extensive catalogue of works. Brian enjoys vintage science-fiction, gourmet food and wine, and currently lives with his wife Sophia and his pets in Columbia, South Carolina.

ENV(itre) is Miroslaw Majewski. He was born in 1980 in Kattowice, Poland and moved to Eschwege, Germany in 1987. As a child he was fascinated by the 8bit sounds of the Atari. He was drawn into the world of electronic music and began creating his own tracks in 1997, compiled entirely from edited sampled sounds. Since then he has worked continuously on improving the knowledge and skills required to produce his distinctive sound, a development which he says is far from being complete.
ENV(itre) has several solo releases on tonatom.net and released his debut CD album on Aphorism Records in 2003. He has also appeared on compilations on Neo Ouija, Databloem and Sutemos. His remix of Metamatics’ ‘Blue Moon Rising’ was included on ‘Rewired In My Manor’ (Hydrogen Dukebox) and Lackluster’s remix of his track ‘Nighthiker’ was released on ‘RemixSelection_One’ (Psychonavigation).

The Tandem Series 6
45 Taborshell Humans Are History (7:03)
46 Taborshell Robot Reality (5:13)
47 Taborshell Intelligence Idolised (4:11)
48 Taborshell Man Magnificent (5:22)
49 Sektor Ilohi Teshel (5:46)
50 Sektor Three Pole (2:59)
51 Sektor Kikish (5:38)
52 Sektor Ekol Iton (6:13)


Taborshell is Chris Massey, based in Hoxton, London, UK.
His music is an elegant mixture of glitches, stuttering beats and melodies. In part mechanical, with an electro edge, but also warm and atmospheric.
He has been involved in music production and creation since 2005 when he finally took the plunge and decided to make his own contribution to the electronic melting pot that is ‘glitch’. His core approach involves destruction, experimentation, and re-composition – in that order, stating that "Conception is an ongoing process."
"I have an initial direction, or at least a vague idea about what I want to produce, but more often than not the final product of my labour is strikingly different to my initial edits. And it’s through this direction that I hope my music develops and grows. Consideration and reinterpretation is paramount in this process.
"The Tandem Series 6 release exhibits four tracks that attempt to develop these ideas. It’s fair to say my work is never quite complete, at least in my mind, but essentially I hope a sense of optimism is perceived. Each track attempts to offer the listener a journey; because ultimately that’s all music really is – a euphonic wrist watch counting us through our own individual journeys."
In 2007 Taborshell aims to produce new solo as well as collaboration releases.

Plamen Marinov, aka Sektor became fond of the electronic sound at an early age. He has been producing IDM, Electronica and Experimental music since 2001.
Formerly he used to play music as a DJ, but with a growing interest in sequencing he decided to leave behind the turntables. He develops his skills together with his friends, participates in forums and discussions, and makes his brutal experiments at home.
He organises some local events and has performed live at these. A constant change of place for his music creation reflects in different ways in his productions.
After his debut on Tonatom in the middle of 2004, a small ep on Uran97 and a split ep with ILI on Camomille music, he then released albums on kahvi collective -"under the moonlight","embrion dream" and "Iloe", plus the forthcoming "sektor-colour variations" on the same netlabel. He has also released 2 digital albums -"Nostalgia Ep" and "Koli", distributed from several online shops such as Beatport, ITunes and others, via Kahvi records.

mercoledì 10 giugno 2009

Pleq

Based in Katowice, Poland; Pleq has developed his highly-synthetic competencies through a series of dis-reality attempts, monastery supervision and a romantic way of handling peer pressure. His motives in sound resemble an abandoned ironworks garage during the industrial revolution, where melancholy is paired with harmonies of magnetizing structure. Pleq's initial exposure began with a weekly residency at Elektro Klub, a nationally recognized sanctuary for circuit-fitted audience. Pleq, (Bartosz Dziadosz) is an ingenious experimental project, is showing his talent on his album called "The fallen love". Every track is well thought creation of very organic sounding electronica. It is very nice and deeply layered with glitchy patterns of clicks and warm synthetics. Vocal lines and voice cuts pop-up from time to time to lift these tracks to even a more warm happening to listen to. How cold his home country can be during wintertime, the more warmth he brings with every track that is deployed on this album. Pleq's music is the final answer to understanding social obedience trough sound. superb !
Pleq - The Fallen Love

Label: vu-us
Catalog#: VU-US015
Country: Belgium
Released: 2009
Genre: Electronic
Style: Glitch, IDM, Ambient, Modern Classical

Tracklisting:

1 Fragment In My Life
2 Red Dog (feat. hiiro tent)
3 The Butterfly
4 Goodbye Nedai
5 Snow Story
6 Aspect Of Life
7 Do You Remember Your Dreams
8 Poems
9 Meet The Shark (feat. Magnitophono)
10 Pleq Is Dead
11 I Hear Her At The Door Now
12 The Seed (feat. Segue)
13 Don't Leave Me
14 The Fallen Love

Take

Take (Pooh Bah) brings to the stage his alter ego Thomas 2000. "The Dirty Decibels of Thomas Two Thousand" is a fat eight tracked 12" EP featuring refined, detailed artwork by Kutmah (Dublab) and an unbelievable remix by Dimlite (Sonar Kolletiv). Take gets heavier on the beats, vocals and sampling and strikes a less serious tone with his Thomas 2000 alter ego. "The Dirty Decibels of Thomas Two Thousand" is a laid back and fun record. He has has one of the liveliest sounds in new leftfield hiphop and experimental beats. Whether it's like on his album "Earthtones & Concrete", cohesive and composed, or in the more lighthearted manner of this Thomas 2000, his music always seems to come together in the most natural way... Take featured on "Twin Earth Atlantic", Eat Concrete's second full length released earlier this year and ever since there's been talk of further collaboration. We're happy to announce that "The Dirty Decibels..." is preceding a full length by Take coming out later this year (2008).

Take - The Dirty Decibels Of Thomas Two Thousand
Label: Eat Concrete
Catalog#: EAT-DIG-008
Country: Netherlands
Released: 15 Jan 2009
Genre: Electronic, Hip Hop
Style: Instrumental, Hip Hop, Experimental

Tracklisting:

1 Intro
2 Make Believe
3 Lie-Twerx
4 After Words
5 All Around
6 Fall In Love Again
7 Sugar Flower
8 Speak Low
9 Make Believe (Dimlite's Unbelievable Re-Make)

lunedì 8 giugno 2009

Fabio Orsi

Audio For Lovers is a profoundly emotive double album. It sings with a pristine clarity, the musical medium transmitting feeling and atmosphere with a distilled purity. This is music straight from the heart, and indeed at times the album transcends all artistic form and becomes like a direct and untranslated expressive transmission. The first disc presents a slew of tracks, each a vignette of a particular mode of love in its polymorphic pathos. Curiously, every track is 1:40, 6:24 or 8:00 long, and the symmetries this produces are marvellous, ranging from short auditory haikus to more verdant and luxurious sound paintings. The music is dominated by slowly-unfolding synths, pads, organs, drones and the like; Orsi deploys deep banks and drifts of sound. Curiously, the effect is not so much to evoke atmosphere or a sense of horizon as such arrangements often do; rather the music plugs straight into the brain so that an emotional kinaesthesia is induced. Interwoven with the keys are some of the most subtle and delicately played pianos, guitars and basses I think I have every heard. Orsi relies heavily on repetition to draw the moment into maximal fullness and his subtle compositions draw us into different moods and atmospheres with grace. The theme might be love, but Orsi conveys great depth and, stained with the salt of suffering, the music never teeters into sentimentality or schmaltz. He weaves complex affective tapestries, knitting together different feelings with attentive and gentle brilliance. There is a profound joy running through this disc, but it is tempered by shadow and the result is unalloyed emotional apotheosis. Disc two presents only four tracks, though their combined duration is still about an hour. This disc is more heavily synth driven and ambient; while disc one generally maintains slow tempos and minimal structures, disc two really opens out and is perhaps a little less disciplined in this respect. The track titles are perfect illustrations of the experiences of the songs; “2 or 3 Moments in 1 Day”, for example, truly instils one’s spirit with the pensive existential weather of being human and alive. That said I did prefer disc one; I feel that thematically it is a little more coherent and compositionally the additional discipline enables it to pack more into less. Honestly, though, if this album only comprised disc two I would still really like, even if the deeper magic is on disc one.

Fabio Orsi - Audio For Lovers

Label: Last Visible Dog
Catalog#: LVD128-129
Country: US
Released: Sep 2008
Genre: Electronic, Folk, World, & Country
Style: Abstract, Drone, Experimental, Minimal, Ambient
Disc One

01 Yesterday Love
02 Rising Love
03 Secret Love
04 Pure Love
05 Lost Love
06 Young Love
07 Tender Love
08 Last Love
09 Shining Love
10 Tomorrow Love

Disc Two

01 2or 3 Moments in 1 Day
02 The Psychedelic Power Of Bubbles (You And Me)
03 Before Long, Before Anyone, The Stars Will Be Walls In My Mind
04 Last Dream Lost Carefully

mercoledì 3 giugno 2009

Off Land

Blue Narration is Off Land's 7th release since the project's inception back in 2004. Tim Dwyer, who is the man behind Off Land, has been quoted saying that Stars of the Lid, Woob and Selected Ambient Works II era Aphex Twin are inspirations for Blue Narration. We also hear some Namlook and Biosphoere in there too but Blue Narration is not a mere amalgam and reproduction exercise. Each influence, technique and theme seem to seamlessly melt into the next by way of Dwyers dusty production. It's time you tried listening off the map. Go Off Land...

Off Land - Blue Narration
Label: En:peg Digital
Catalog#: EN42
Country: Canada
Released: 15 Dec 2008
Genre: Electronic
Style: Drone, Ambient

Tracklisting:

1 Fog (7:38)
2 Contrail (5:54)
3 Kites (6:34)
4 It's Him (8:40)
5 Mid Point (4:31)
6 Cactus (10:46)
7 Tall Building (5:40)
8 Stray (7:31)
9 Marriage (8:15)
10 Off Spring (5:00)

martedì 2 giugno 2009

Molly Berg + Stephen Vitiello

Followers of electronic music should already be acquainted with the distinguished output of musician and sound artist Stephen Vitiello. His work has previously been published via labels such as Sub Rosa, while sound installations have been exhibited at the Whitney Biennial. Add to this collaborations with Machinefabriek and Lawrence English and Vitiello's CV reads very nicely indeed. Molly Berg comes from a very different background, having previously appeared on recordings by Cracker and Magnolia Electric Co. songwriter Jason Molina. The two Virginia-based artists came together for a soundtrack project commissioned by Brazilian video artist Eder Santos, whose video portrait of a lonely, zoo-dwelling gorilla (named Idi Amin) was the starting point. Although only a three-minute piece was required of the duo, they improvised their way through forty minutes of guitar, clarinet, vocals, field recording and electronics, the results of which then became the basis for this charming and beguiling album. The sound field on The Gorilla Variations carries an enormous amount of depth, with each piece representing a finely tuned balance of instrumentation, processing and sounds from the natural world. Above all else this is an approachably musical album, casting electroacoustics in a wholly accessible light - the pieces each take their different instrumental focuses and delve into collaged composition, playing melody against acousmatic timbre for a sonically gratifying intertwining of song structure and soundscape. Highly recommended.

Molly Berg + Stephen Vitiello - The Gorilla Variations

Enjoy: Part 1, Part 2
Label: 12k
Catalog#: 12k2013
Country: US
Released: Apr 2009
Genre: Electronic
Style: Abstract, Minimal, Ambient

Tracklisting:

1 Gorilla/Variation 1 (For Éder Santos)
2 Kora
3 Variation 2
4 E- VA
5 Variation 3
6 Geese
7 Variation 4
8 Horns/End
9 Variation 5
10 Dogs/Last Clarinet

venerdì 29 maggio 2009

Harold Budd & Clive Wright

Harold Budd, the so-called “Godfather of Ambient Music”, is squelching any rumors of his retirement as he keeps releasing records, this time hooking up with former Cock Robin guitarist Clive Wright. Together they have fashioned a peaceful musical excursion that explores the inner spaces of ambient bliss. As expected from someone considered to have helped found a genre, A Song For Lost Blossoms is not a typical ambient release by any means. These artists take a few chances by including a couple of live tracks, one even has some audience applause at the end, and a title track that includes a spoken word poetry reading recited by the author, Anna LaCazio. But these don’t take anything away from this CD being an excellently pleasing and ambient aural experience. In fact they serve as an attention grabber since the soothing soundscapes often compel the listener to drift through various levels of consciousness while still being aware of their surroundings. Like a musical daydream. The union of these two musicians is like a match made in heaven as Budd’s sublimely treated keyboard tones meld seamlessly with Wright’s heavily-reverbed, shimmering guitar washes. Their imaginations and compositional skills coalesce into waves of meditative, hypnotic and majestic harmonies, with serene and subtly shifting sonic textures that include vibrant tonal swells among a peaceful backdrop of sounds. The slumberous timbres ebb and flow in a delicate electronic soundscape while glissando guitar accents flutter overhead. In fact the appeal here lies in the way the tangible, Frippertronic-like passages and the surreal, soothing backgrounds are intertwined in such perfect balance that these tracks can be either actively listened to with attention at higher volumes or enjoyed at lower volumes while straddling the line between awake and asleep. But either way, A Song For Lost Blossoms shouldn’t be missed. Candylion contrasts previous work, A Song for Lost Blossoms, in that it is more thoughtful and structured. Still, it constantly surprises the listener with a fresh collage of aural landscapes and moods. Sometimes it evokes the feeling of a traditional Japanese piece, or the mood of a gentile, 60s, British film, or a Renaissance cathedral with cloisters reverberating a choral ensemble. Harold Budd and Clive Wright use new colors to paint Canylion's soundscapes: Harp, strings and even drums. If A Song for Lost Blossoms reminds listeners familiar with Harold Budd's previous works of his collaboration with Brian Eno, then Candylion may serve as a continuation of the spirit of Avalon Sutra; warm, glistening, meditative and alive. Art beautiful Art! Harold Budd is recognized as "The Godfather of Ambient Music". His works are the cornerstones of the modern minimal and ambient canon. Clive Wright is a founding member of the platinum selling pop/rock band Cock Robin and has worked as writer, producer and guitarist with Human Drama, Tears for Fears members, Montell Jordan, The Black Eyed Peas and Peter Gabriel.

Harold Budd & Clive Wright - Candylion
Label: Darla
Catalog#: DRL221
Country: US
Released: May 26 May 2009
Genre: Electronic
Style: New Age, Ambient

Tracklist:

1. Sunday After the War (3:52)
2. Exit Plan (Perfume) (3:21)
3. On Ships That Sail Away (3:37)
4. Eaux d'Artifice (6:06)
5. Beautiful Intruder (5:01)
6. Candylion (5:42)
7. Ribbons Everywhere (3:35)
8. The Bells (5:25)
9. She Slipped Through the Door (5:13)
10. Mlle. Ice (4:29)
11. Orange Portal (3:38)
12. In the Midst of Life (2:15)

Harold Budd & Clive Wright - A Song For Lost Blossoms
Label: Darla
Catalog#: DRL198
Country: US
Released: 07 Oct 2008
Genre: Electronic
Style: New Age, Ambient

Tracklist:

1 Pensive Aphrodite (32:15)
2 A Song For Lost Blossoms (4:39)
3 Forever Hold My Breath (9:51)
4 At This Moment (6:44)
5 Of Many Mirrors (4:22)
6 The Saint Of Whispers (9:45)
7 Blind Flowers (7:02)