Remember these guys? Their first album was a somber British addition to the gy!be-style post-rock binge back in 2007. They finally released their second. Sounds less forced/more melodic so far, and has singing.
Mispriced at a dollar for each of the four tracks at Amazon US.
Ian William Craig has a new one out. Same vein as the last couple (Pitchfork calls it Tim Hecker/Fennesz + vocals), maybe more song-like...last two were excellent.
Otherwise unreleased new material from Dustin O'Halloran, Set Fire to Flames, Hauschka, Sylvain Chauveau, Max Richter, Ian William Craig, Jóhann Jóhannsson, and others.
In 1914 Luigi Russolo wrote his famous 'Art Of Noise' manifest. The 100th anniversary of 'Futurism' was celebrated all over the world but also in Tilburg, The Netherlands. Wieman was invited to perform their meltpot of futurist noise and since Tilburg is the hometown of their close friend Jos Smolders, and since he has switched to modular synthesis (and his synthesizer looks like a space ship control unit anyway), it was decided we would join forces for this project. In the usual fashion of home preparation and then spending a day to sort out the sequence of the tracks, Wieman and Smolders set to work, plundering freely from recordings of Russolo's original 'Intonarumori' instruments, via the sixties soundtracks of sci-fi movies (Star Trek, 2001 A Space Odyssey), Vivenza's machine recordings, industrial music and afro futurism, Wieman applied their usual meltpop techniques, while Smolders added his modular synth madness. It's bursting with mechanical rhythms, spacey choirs, and machine noise as well as sampled spoken word. In accordance with true meltpop the guessing game (hmmm, where have I hear this before?) is yours.
Wieman is the project ofRoel Meelkop & Frans de Waard; the logical runner-up to Goem, first called Zèbra, but in 2012 they changed their name to Wieman. They call their music meltpop and take conceptual approaches to create new music. They created new pieces out of the catalogue of Factory Records, worked with music that had the word 'music' in it, remixed music from the cassette label Limbabwe Tapes, provided music for a performance leading up to screening of 'El Topo' by Alejandro Jodorowsky (together with Ben Schot), worked with Wally van Middendorp (of Minny Pops), reworked Cybe (80s synth musician) for an LP, dissected classical notions in pop music and even mined their own Goem catalogue as the source of music for a new piece of music. They only work on commissioned music.
Jos Smoldersis a composer and mastering engineer, who recorded for Korm Plastics, Quiet Artworks and Staalplaat, is a member of THU20 and WaSm (together with Frans de Waard) and whose motto is that "Getting into the headspace and understanding the perspective of the artist is essential". His mastering clients include Merzbow, Pierre Henry and Scanner among many others.
For their sixth album, garbage-pop veterans AJJ chose to reinforce their
strengths and leave any limp frivolities behind. They reconvened with
producer John Congleton (St. Vincent, Xiu Xiu, Chelsea Wolfe), who
oversaw 2014’s sonically expansive Christmas Island, but recorded and
mixed the album in a mere nine days, having arranged most of the songs
during tour sound checks and down-time in the van. This made for a
confident stride into more elaborate arrangements and wider dynamics
while staying just as dour. They also opted, amid some sensation, for
the simplified band acronym (previously Andrew Jackson Jihad). Singer
Sean Bonnette told The A.V. Club that, among many reasons, the change
cleared a space for new imagery and allowed their music to define them,
not their band name.
As a result, their new album, The Bible 2, is their most ambitious and
assured collection of scuzzy punk screeds, employing even more
production heft while sparing none of the vulnerability. The album’s
mantra is placed right at the center: “No More Shame, No More Fear, No
More Dread”. The Bible 2 finds the band choosing intimacy over
isolation, gravity over the vacuum, the stage instead of the scene. The
album is also an examination of boyhood from an adult distance, putting
some of its tumult and pain to rest.
It’s also the most impressive work of Bonnette’s, who has honed his
confessional lyrical prowess into a punk inflected mire of Trent
Reznor’s unrestrained turmoil, Jamie Stewart’s profane gallows humor and
a touch of David Berman’s surreal quotidian imagery.
This album is a must for Tuxedomoon fans and the most brilliant "reworked" album I've heard in a very long time . . .
"Give me new noise, give me new affection
Strange new toys from another world
I need to see more than just three dimensions
Stranger than fiction
Faster than light."
In 1980, Tuxedomooncreated a sensation with their masterpiece debut album Half-Mute, which immediately established them as one of the leading avant-garde pop bands.
36
years later, in the spring of 2016, Tuxedomoon’s original members,
Steven Brown, Peter Principle and Blaine Reininger, joined by Luc van
Lieshout, will get together to revisit Half-Mute and perform it live on a
series of exclusive shows around Europe.
On this occasion, Half-Mute will be reissued, along with GIVE ME NEW NOISE,
a tribute album for which 13 artists have specially created covers of
all songs from Half-Mute and from the album’s associated singles.
The
contributors include Foetus/JG Thirlwell, Aksak Maboul, Simon Fisher
Turner, DopplAr (feat. 2 members from Amatorski), Cult With No Name and
others, with special appearances by the three makers of Half-Mute,
Steven Brown, Peter Principle and Blaine Reininger.
GIVE ME NEW NOISE was conceived and curated by Philippe Perreaudin, a founding member of French band Palo Alto.
Philippe
Perreaudin has loved the music of Tuxedomoon ever since Patrick Roques
beautiful artwork drove him to listen to Half-Mute, sometime in the
mid-80s. In 2006, he put together Next To Nothing, a tribute
album to the band. In 2015, he came up with the idea to assemble a
tribute to Half-Mute, to celebrate the album’s 35th anniversary, without
knowing at the time that Tuxedomoon would decide to revisit the album
in concert.
Philippe’s idea was to create a mirror image of the
album by asking ten artists to each cover one of the songs from
Half-Mute. In order to stay close to the Tuxedomoon atmosphere, he first
turned to some of the band’s friends and collaborators, as well as to
some artists associated with Palo Alto.
He also asked the three
creators of Half-Mute (Steven Brown, Blaine L. Reininger and Peter
Principle) to take part in the project, they kindly accepted.
To
complete the track list, he then commissioned cover versions of two
songs which came out on singles around the release of Half-Mute in 1980,
Crash and Dark Companion.
Finally, excited by the resurrection of Aksak Maboul, he asked Marc Hollander to cover a song of his choice, Marc opted for Tritone (Musica Diablo).
Give Me New Noise : Half-Mute Reflected
comes out in three formats: as a stand-alone vinyl LP (with covers of
the original 10 songs, plus two bonuses contained on a 7“ vinyl inserted
in the LP), as a digital album (with three bonus tracks), and as part
of the new CD edition of Half-Mute, along with the remastered original
album. The CD edition also contains the three bonuses. Some of the
tracks come in different versions according to the format.
Brilliant new album from the super intense and passionate Wowenhand:
About 14 years ago Wovenhand showed it’s first sign of life with their self-titled debut album. David Eugene Edwards’ main band 16 Horsepower
was still active at that time, but their three members were slowly
drifting apart. Yet in the same year they still managed to release
„Folklore“ – a blistering album and their studio swansong. Long since
has the former solo-project stepped out of 16 Horsepower’s long shadow.
Over the last two decades, Edwards’ prolific work in
both bands has influenced and inspired a generation of musicians. His
music has always had an unparalleled intensity. His rich, billowing and
emotive voice is always the driving force of his music, but it’s
catapulted by his spellbinding ability to transform instruments that
many people might consider mundane relics - be it banjo, accordion,
lesser-known folk instruments from around the world, or even an electric
guitar - into devices of dark fury and poignant beauty. Wovenhand
cannot be described in traditional terms. Their sound is a sweeping
tapestry of gothic Americana, neo-folk, punk, alternative country and
psych.
Two years have passed since the release to the critically acclaimed “Refractory Obdurate”,
11 new songs were recorded. Sounds that despite their power and
heavyness have lost nothing of its magic and hypnotics. From the
apocalyptic revivification of antique Americana of 16 Horsepower in the
90s to the threadbare balladry of Wovenhand’s early releases, Edwards’
music has maintained its celestial heaviness as it evolved. But now in
its current incarnation, Wovenhand is a band that fully
expands that power with exacting and inventive skill. It’s a sound so
distinctive and compellingly crushing that even the heaviest of metal
bands can’t match. Those who thought there could be no progression after
“Refractory Obdurate” will be convinced otherwise…
„Star Treatment“ kicks off full tilt with the anthemic charge of “Come Brave”
- the song’s galloping four-on-the-floor drums driving churning swells
of droning, chiming guitars and organ as Edwards’ soaring voice compels
us to rise and join the fray. “The Hired Hand” takes a
more Western bent with swaggering guitars awash in reverb and a
throbbing bass line before the chorus erupts with massive open guitar
chords. Further, “Crystal Palace” sounds like Eastern
European folk driven through a massive wall of amplifiers while a full
gospel choir sings just beneath the gurgling surface of guitars. “Crook and Flail” sounds exotic in its twanging acoustic instruments and tabla/dumbec drum pattern. Elsewhere, “Golden Blossom”
is a lush and beautifully unabashed love song, strummed out in a
simple, catchy melody that builds to crescendo with the chorus refrain, “only you, my love and your light.” Throughout, Wovenhand deftly merge the outer reaches of rock and world folk sounds with increasing urgency and force.
While Wovenhand ought to be a familiar name to anyone interested in forward-thinking music, the album title „Star Treatment“
isn’t a reference to our celebrity culture obsession. Rather, it’s a
clever reference to concepts of astrolatry, or humanity’s enduring
interest in the stars of the night sky: “It’s ethereal in its concept,” Edwards explains. “There
are many layers, as always. I’ve been paying attention to the stars in
the sky and in literature, and it’s a theme throughout the album.”
The current lineup includes guitarist Chuck French, bassist Neil Keener (both of Planes Mistaken For Stars) and drummer Ordy Garrison, now joined by piano/synth player Matthew Smith (Crime & The City Solution). „Star Treatment“ was recorded at Steve Albini’s legendary Electrical Audio in Chicago with engineer Sanford Parker, who also helmed Wovenhand’s 2014 album “Refractory Obdurate”.
„Star Treatment“ will be released as a joint release and collaboration between Sargent House (US) and Glitterhouse Records (EU) on Sep 9th. When asked about the forthcoming album and the following tour Edwards simply replied "give up your dead!".
- "Finders Keepers invite you to witness the incredible first ever
Buchla synthesiser concerts/demonstrations providing a distinctive
feminine alternative to The Silver Apples Of The Moon if they had ever
been presented in phonographic form. This is history in the remaking.
This spring Finders Keepers Records are proud to release an archival
project that not only redefines musical history but boasts genuine claim
to the overused buzzwords such as pioneering, maverick, experimental,
groundbreaking and esoteric, while questioning social politics and the
evolution of music technology as we’ve come to understand it. To
describe this records as a game-changer is an understatement. This
record represents a musical revolution, a scientific benchmark and a
trophy in the cabinet of counter culture creativity. This record is a
triumphant yardstick in the synthesiser space race and the untold story
of the first woman on the proverbial moon. While pondering the early
accolades of this record it’s daunting to learn that this record was in
fact not a record at all… It was a manifesto and a gateway to a new
world, that somehow never quite opened. If the unfamiliar, modernistic,
melodic, pulses, tones and harmonics found on this 1975 live
presentation/grant application/educational demonstration had been placed
in a phonographic context alongside the promoted work of Morton
Subotnick, Walter Carlos or Tomita then the name Suzanne Ciani and her
influence would have already radically changed the shape, sound and
gender of our record collections. Hopefully there is still chance.
In short, Suzanne was a self-imposed twenty-year-old employee of the
Buchla modular synthesiser company, San Francisco’s neck and neck
contender to New York’s Moog. Buchla was run by a community of festival
freaks and academic acid eaters whose roots in new age lifestyles and
the reinvention of art and music replaced the business acumen enjoyed by
its likeminded East Coasters. In the eyes of the consumer the creative
refusal to adopt rudimentary facets like a piano keyboard controller
rendered the Buchla synthesiser the more obscure stubborn sister of the
synth marathon, steering these incredible units away from the mainstream
into the homes and studios of free music aficionados, art house
composers and die-hard revolutionaries. Championed and semi-showcased by
composer Morton Subotnick on his albums The Bull and Silver Apples Of
The Moon, Buchla’s versatility began to open the minds of a new
generation, but the high-end design features and no-compromise modus
operandi was often confused with incompatibility and, in the pulsating
shadow of Moog’s marketing, the revolution would not be televised nor
patronised. Suzanne Ciani, as one of the very few female composers on
the frontline (and also providing the back line) did not lose faith.
These “concerts” are the epitome of rare music technology historic
documents, performed by a real musician whose skills and academic
education in classical composition already outweighed her male
synthesiser contemporaries of twice her age. At the very start of her
fragile career these recordings are nothing short of sacrificial ode to
her mentor and machine, sonic pickets of the revolution and love letters
to an absolutely genuine vision of and ‘alternative’ musical future. In
denouncing her own precocious polymathmatic past in a bid to persuade
the world to sing from a new hymn sheet, Suzanne Ciani created a
bi-product of never before heard music that would render the pigeon
holes “ambient” and “futuristic” utterly inadequate. Providing nothing
short of an entirely different feminine take on the experimental
“records” of Morton Subotnick and proving to a small, judgmental
audience and jury the true versatility of one of the most radical and
idiosyncratic musical instruments of the 20th century. These recordings
have not been heard since then.
The importance of these genuinely lost pieces of electronic musics
puzzle almost eclipses the glaring detail of Suzanne’s gender as a
distinct minority in an almost exclusively male dominated, faceless,
coldly scientific landscape. Those familiar with Suzanne’s work, a vast
vault of previously unpublished “non-records”, will already know how the
creative politics in her art of “being” simultaneously reshaped the
worlds of synth design, advertising and film composition before anyone
had even dropped a stylus in her groove. Needless to say this record,
finally commanding the archival format of choice, courtesy of the Ciani
and Finders Keepers longstanding unison, was not the last “first” with
which this hugely important composer would gift society, and the future
of a wide range of exciting evolving creative disciplines.
You have found a holy grail of electronic music and a female musical
pioneer who was too proactive to take the trophies. With the light of
Buchla and Ciani’s initial flame Finders Keepers continues to take a
torch through the vaults of this lesser-celebrated music legacy shining a
beam on these “non-records” that evaded the limelight for almost half a
century. You can’t write history when you are too busy making it. With
fresh ink in the bottomless well, let’s start at the beginning. Again.
You, are invited! "
- "Suzanne
Ciani is a composer, recording artist, and pioneer in the field
of electronic music and sound design. She is best loved for her
fifteen albums of original music which feature her performances
in a broad array of expressions: pure electronic, solo piano,
piano with orchestra, and piano with jazz ensemble. Her music,
renowned for its romantic, healing, and aesthetic qualities,
has found a rapidly growing international audience, and her performances
include numerous benefits for humanitarian causes.
Currently
Ciani resides in Northern California where, in 1995, she established
her own record label, Seventh Wave. Ciani felt the need to own
and control her own creative work. "In many ways, this label
represents the culmination of the long journey of my evolution
as a recording artist," says Ciani.
In
the eighties and early nineties, in order to finance her recording
projects, Ciani brought her expertise to Madison Avenue. Her
New York-based commercial production company, Ciani-Musica, Inc.,
was the leader in the field of sound design and TV spot scoring,
creating award-winning music for a host of high profile Fortune
500 clients, including Coca-Cola, Merrill Lynch, A T & T and
General Electric. Additionally, Ciani has scored the Lily Tomlin
feature 'The Incredible Shrinking Woman,' and 'Mother
Teresa',
as well as scoring for the TV daytime serial 'One Life to Live'.
n
the early nineties Ciani re-located to northern California to
concentrate on her artistic career from her sea-side studio.
She has toured throughout the United States, Italy, Spain, and
Asia.
Her
many recognitions include five Grammy nominations for Best New
Age Album, an INDIE
award for Best New Age Album, numerous Clios,
a Golden Globe, and Keyboard Magazine's "New Age Keyboardist
of the Year."
Ciani
is a graduate of Wellesley College and holds a Masters in Music
Composition from the University of California at Berkeley."
Wow! thanks for the heads up. Perfect timing with Emusic's latest double booster sale.
Wow indeed !
Cabaret Contemporain is a five french musicians band from Paris who are
playing électro music with acoustic prepared instruments (piano,
electric guitar, drums, 2 doublebasses). The band started to play in
2012 and used to play different sets crossing electro-music and
classic-music (John Cage Project with Etienne Jaumet, Terry Riley
revisited with Chateau flight, The Man Machine with Linda Olah and
Tribute to Moondog with Linda Olah and Isabel Sörling). The band used to
play all over the countries which are curious to discover this new
approach of LIVE Music.
Berlin based Japanese artist Ryoichi Kurokawa and Athens based
artist Thanasis Kaproulias (working under the moniker Novi_sad)
collaborate to create immersive audiovisual works that combine digitally
generated video
by Kurokawa and sound explorations by Novi_sad.
Ryoichi Kurokawa and Novi_sad collaborate
to create Sirens, an impressive body of work comprising five
audiovisual pieces which explore the aesthetics of data. Sirens is a
collection of digitally rendered visual formations and sound
compositions whose intensity fluctuates as in relation to the
unfoldingof the economic downturn. Tied to the fate of the global
markets, the more the economy fails (as represented by data and
indexes); the more developed and complex the coupled sounds and visual
sequences become. Any disintegration of financial fortunes leads
directly to the emergence of a greater creative energy in an inverse
'tug-of-war'. Sirens elucidates the relationship between generative
visualisation and cinematic practices, as this computer generated video
work transforms our understanding of the relationship between moving
image, data and the cinematic. By immersing the spectator in an
audiovisual scape and narrative, the work heightens the performativity
of processes, be they 'technological'or 'natural'. The title of the
work is inspired by the Greek mythological creatures that seduce sailors
ashore into danger, as a metaphor formarket fervour leading to economic
collapse.
The source audio belongs to Richard Chartier, CM von Hausswolff, Jacob Kirkegaard, Helge Sten (Deathprod, Supersilent) and Beckie Foon (A Silver Mt. Zion, Set Fire to Flames). The book includes texts from Thanasis Kaproulias and Ryoichi Kurokawa, Lucas Bambozzi, CM von Hausswolff, Guy Marc Hinant and David Quiles Guillo.
- "Following on from 2015's Flailing Tomb LP, which appeared in numerous
'best of the year' lists, Petrels – the solo project of London-based
musician and illustrator, Oliver Barrett – returns with new album, Jörð.
From
the ethereal choral build of 'A Little Dust' (adapted from words by W.
B. Yeats), to the euphoric aural scree of 'The Last Shard Falls', and
the driving, long-form song structures, interwoven arrangements and
mythological trappings of 'The Long Man', previous listeners of
Barrett's work will find much to welcome in a record that builds on the
distinctive, ecstatic Petrels sound.
Elsewhere, Barrett teases
this sound into new shapes; 'Terra Nullius' takes an oscillating
woodwind cluster and hangs from it a defiant and densely constructed
(almost)pop song; 'Waldgeist' slowly unravels a deceptively simple
string refrain in an elegiac and gently expanding, haunted pastoral
arrangement; and 'Seithenyn Sleeps' encapsulates the joyously
overwhelming live Petrels sound into a swirling, enveloping closer.
Drawing
together the numerous strands of Petrels releases so far whilst
confidently weaving them together into something new that promises even
more to come, Jörð is another singular release from this restlessly
inventive and inventively restless artist.
Since releasing his
debut Haeligewielle in 2011, Petrels has toured across Europe and shared
a stage with the likes of Tim Hecker, FIRE!, Nate Young (Wolf Eyes),
Trouble Books, Demdike Stare, Nadja, and Hans-Joachim Roedelius
(Cluster). Having also collaborated with and provided remixes for
artists as varied as Duane Pitre, Brassica, Talvihorros and Max Cooper,
Petrels' output is proving to be thrillingly eclectic and unpredictable."
I'm Oliver Barrett and grew up in the past-its-prime seaside town of
Weston-super-Mare in Somerset before moving to London ten years ago
where I studied a degree in sound art. Since then I've played in various
different bands/projectssome of which are still ongoingand put out my
first album under the moniker of Petrels Haeligewiellelast April.
What:
My
first instrument was/is the cello, and I've been using this as a basis
to combine my interest in classical music with electronics/synthesised
instruments and improv/noise. I'm interested in telling stories,
contrasting different elements and approaches and in the tensions you
can create by placing sounds together that might initially seem
opposedwith Haeligewielle I focused quite a bit on trying to make the
acoustic instruments sound as synthesized as possible and visa-versa,
for example. Mainly I'm constantly striving to create something
all-encompassing and immersive that I can lose myself in.
Influences and inspirations:
This
list could go on for pages and pages but here're a few that are maybe
more Petrels-specific (in no particular order): Vaughan Williams,
Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Todd Dockstader, Lau Nau, Ernst Reijseger,
Tsai Ming-Liang, Belong, BusRatch, Arthur Russell, Angela Carter,
Kuupuu, Vibracathedral Orchestra, John Carpenter, Markus Popp, William
Vollmann, travelling, walking, eating, listening.
Track 1: Studio recording, 1978 Track 2: Live recording, 1978 Track 3:Studio recording, 1981 Track 4: Live recording, 1982
- "Recital is proud to publish the first
album of American Gamelan composer Daniel Schmidt (b. 1942). Schmidt,
who emerged in the Bay Area music scene in the 1970s, wove the
threads of traditional Eastern Gamelan music together with American
Minimalism (repetitive music). Schmidt was (and is still) a prime figure
in the development of American Gamelan music – studying and
collaborating with Lou Harrison, Jody Diamond, and Paul Dresher. He
currently is a teacher at Mills College, teaching instrument building.
The recordings on Flowers date from 1978 – 1982,
selected directly from Schmidt’s personal cassette archive. It holds two
studio tracks, along with two live performances. The first track, Dawn
(commissioned by composer John Adams), employs an early digital sampler
provided by Pauline Oliveros. It holds the sound of a string quartet.
The nature of this piece is breathtaking, an ocean of strings pulsing
beneath the gliding bells of the gamelan – such a lovely interplay.
Furthermore, the title track, Flowers, features the addition of a rebab, a traditional bowed instrument, which reels through the piece, netted and taught.
The final two works are strictly gamelan compositions. Ghosts
is a a dynamic piece; rife with dexterous euphoria- it well displays
the skillset of the percussionists heard on the LP. The closing work, Faint Impressions,
is a somber elegy. Demonstrating the fragility and grace possible with
the gamelan; sounding almost as an evening piano sonata.
This is album is unique document from an under-represented
movement of American New Music. An account of the curious beauty and
woven emotions hidden within resonating pieces of metal."
There's a track already posted here and another here. Strong material.
Morgan said the inspiration for this next album started with the famous experimental nature film Koyaanisqatsi. Specifically, it was an old VHS copy that warped and distorted Philip Glass’ famous film score to delightful results....The album comes from a period when life-threatening illnesses were effecting some of Morgan’s friends and family and mortality weighs heavily throughout. (FACT Magazine)
Dave Pietro - piccolo, flute, alto flute, bass flute, soprano sax, alto sax Rob Wilkerson - flute, clarinet, soprano sax, alto sax Sam Sadigursky - E♭ clarinet, B♭ clarinet, A clarinet, tenor sax John Ellis -clarinet, bass clarinet, tenor sax Carl Maraghi - clarinet, bass clarinet, baritone saxophone
Seneca Black - trumpet, flugelhorn Jonathan Powell - trumpet, flugelhorn Matt Holman - trumpet, flugelhorn Nadje Noordhuis - trumpet, flugelhorn Ingrid Jensen - trumpet, flugelhorn
Mike Fahie - trombone Ryan Keberle - trombone Jacob Garchik - trombone, tuba Jennifer Wharton - bass trombone, tuba
Sebastian Noelle - acoustic & electric guitar Adam Birnbaum - acoustic & electric piano, FM synth Matt Clohesy - contrabass & electric bass, bass synth Jon Wikan - drum set, cajón, misc. percussion
James Urbaniak - narrator on Who Do You Trust? and You Are Here reprise Darcy James Argue - composer, conductor
- "Real Enemies debuted as a multimedia performance (co-created by Argue with writer/director Isaac Butler and filmmaker Peter Nigrini) to impressive acclaim at BAM’s 2015 Next Wave Festival. Taking its title from Kathryn Olmsted’s 2009 book Real Enemies: Conspiracy Theories and American Democracy, World War I to 9/11,
the project is the product of extensive research into a broad range of
conspiracies, from the familiar and well-documented to the speculative
to the outlandish. Real Enemies traces the historical roots,
iconography, and language of conspiracies, and examines conspiratorial
thinking as a distinct political ideology. It chronicles a shadow
history of postwar America, touching on everything from COINTELPRO to
the the CIA-Contra cocaine trafficking ring to secret weather control
machines to reptilian shape-shifters from Alpha Draconis infiltrating
our government at the highest level. Real Enemies invites the listener to explore and engage with the conspiratorial mindset. Argue explains:
“Belief
in conspiracies is one of the defining aspects of modern culture. It
transcends political, economic, and other divides. Conservative or
liberal, rich or poor, across all races and backgrounds there exists a
conspiratorial strain of thought that believes there are forces secretly
plotting against us. Conspiracy theories often take hold because they
provide an explanation for disturbing realities. They tell a story about
why the world is the way it is. Paradoxically, it’s often more
comforting to believe that bad things happen because they are part of a
hidden agenda than it is to believe that they came about as a result of
mistakes, ineptitude, or random chance.”
As befitting a journey into postwar paranoia, Real Enemies
draws heavily on 12-tone techniques, a compositional system based on a
tone rows — a sequence of all 12 pitches in the chromatic scale —
devised by Arnold Schoenberg in the aftermath of World War I and
embraced by American composers during the conspiracy-rich postwar
era. However, Argue’s wide-ranging score exhibits a mischievous
disregard for how those techniques have been traditionally deployed.
Other musical touchstones include the paranoia-inducing film scores of
Michael Small (The Parallax View) and David Shire (All The President’s Men),
the revolutionary songs of Nicaraguan singer-songwriter Luis Enrique
Mejía Godoy, the psychedelic space-jazz of Sun Ra, the FM synth-fueled
grooves of early 1980’s LA electro funk-influenced hip hop, and much
more. Significant pieces of spoken text from figures like JFK, Frank
Church, George H. W. Bush, and Dick Cheney are expertly woven throughout
the robust and provocative score, with a concluding voice-over
narration provided by actor James Urbaniak. Real Enemies is an
intense musical and sensory experience that spins and explores a web of
paranoia and distrust, and resonates long after its last note"
Out today from The Orb on Kompakt - Sounds as The Orb is in great shape and has delivered one of their strongest albums. (based on one spin)
Being pioneers with a new album created in no more than 6 months, THE
ORB are bound to be exposed to fan expectations running high, while
quizzical questions about little fluffy clouds and the good old times
take over. It's especially jarring as the duo of accomplished
soundsmiths Alex Paterson and Thomas Fehlmann has become known for its
genre-bending curiosity and surprising sonic detours, exploring
experimental soundscapes as well as club-friendly beats. The funny thing
is, though, that whatever the context, you know a track from THE ORB
when you hear it. Case in point: COW / CHILL OUT, WORLD!, their latest
full-length offering - a masterful ambient album that branches out in
many directions, but unmistakably sounds like THE ORB in either ear (and
probably to your third ear, too).
"The idea was simply to make an ambient album", Dr Paterson explains,
"we didn't look back and study earlier recordings, but wanted a more
spontaneous approach, a focus on THE ORB today, our vibe in 2016." In
contrast to their much-acclaimed previous full-length MOONBUILDING 2703
AD (KOMPAKT 330 CD 124) - which took years to prepare and finetune -,
the new album was produced over the course of only five sessions in six
months, directly following the like-minded ALPINE EP (KOMPAKT 339): "it
got so spontaneous that a track like 9 ELMS OVER RIVER ENO (CHANNEL 9)
consisted only of material collected at North Carolina's Moogfest in May
– second-hand records from local stores, field recordings, live samples
from gigs that we liked, and of course an excursion to the Eno River,
which actually exists. This geographic intimacy and the spontaneity are
among the top reasons why we love this album so much."
Herr Fehlmann sees the duo's relentless gigging schedule as a formative
influence on the new album: "the countless performances we've played in
the last years - probably up to 300 - have brought us closer as a
musical unit. The spice of our concerts is improvisation - a fertile
process that we’ve brought to the studio, where we operate with very
simple rules of engagement (in this case "ambient") and go wherever the
flow takes us." It's an approach that one might expect from traditional
acoustic instrumentation, not necessarily an electronic set-up, but for
THE ORB it works wonders: "we're quite happy and also a little bit proud
that we've reached this level of unscripted levity with purely
electronic means. We're finessing ourselves, sort of, always looking for
the next sonic surprise that leaves us rubbing our eyes about how the
heck we got there."
Once more, THE ORB's trademark playfulness is on full display on COW /
CHILL OUT, WORLD!, and it doesn't limit itself to the multi-layered
sampling and psychedelic sound composites that the duo has become known
for - you'll find it in the album title as well. The simple invitation
(or order?) to chill out (relax? Calm the eff down?) is converted into
an acronym – and the cow that you might expect to find on a Pink Floyd
cover or with iconic UK chill-out/dance pranksters The KLF. It's not so
much an obscure trope coming full circle as a perfect example for THE
ORB's multitimbral approach to sound and meaning - a compelling,
immersive journey to diverse places and impressions. Each track title is
a conceptual work in its own right, playing with multiple references,
some of which remain highly personal and mysterious. But the greatest
feat of THE ORB's latest outing might just be how all this semantic
doodling never gets in the way of the actual listening, at all times
directly relating the artists' sonic vitality and cheerful nosiness.
Chill out world! and treat yourself to an outstanding new ambient
experience from THE ORB.
MONO - "are a band driven by intangible conflicts. Their albums have found inspiration in the inescapable coexistence
of love and loss, faith and hopelessness, light and darkness. Fittingly,
their new album, Requiem For Hell, incorporates all of those conflicts
into the one universal inevitability in life: Birth, and death.
Requiem For Hell finds MONO returning to longtime friend and collaborator, Steve Albini. After MONO and Albini's band, Shellac,
toured Japan together last year, they realized how much they missed the
(often wordless) creative dialogue they shared during the making of
many of their most memorable albums – beginning with Walking Cloud and Deep Red Sky... (2004) and culminating with Hymn To Immortal Wind (2009). The rebirth of the Albini collaboration for Requiem For Hell
also coincided with the birth of a close friend's first child, whose
actual in utero heartbeat serves as the foundation for the aptly named
"Ely's Heartbeat." For MONO, it all felt so right, so inevitable.
Requiem For Hell is undeniably heavier and scarier than most of MONO's
output to this point – hear the dizzying 18-minute title track for
example – but it also carries some of their most sublime moments. This
dichotomy is how one band’s obsession with conflict has manifested
itself into one of underground music's simultaneously quietest and
loudest catalogs."
On Dronarivm. If I could justify the music budget to automatically buy everything certain labels put out, this would be one of the labels I would target (I do have more than half of their releases).
"I often view my favorite music as a means to be mentally transported to an elusive, ethereal place for a period of time in a world that makes it increasingly difficult to do so. Early on during the recording process, I decided that I wanted this album to provide the feeling of floating on gentle and welcoming waters rather than a being a refuge to hide away in. The reverberant guitar chords and occasional lulling rhythms are all meant to contribute to the sense of calmly drifting away. The album art, courtesy of the of the ever stunning "ambient dream photography" of Brian Young is the perfect visual accompaniment- rolling waves giving way to hazy peaks, all bathed in a wash of monochromatic blue. It should come as no surprise that the title Harbor is an homage to the Cocteau Twins' Echoes in a Shallow Bay". - Michael Cottone releases November 1, 2016 tags: ambient ambient electronic drone ambient electroacoustic experimental modern classical Москва
You guys are so good at finding stuff, that sometimes when I see I missed a key release, my first reaction is "huh, why did no one at emusers mention this?" This is one of those.
It’s easy to forget that Norway shares a short stretch of frontier with Russia, right at the northernmost tip of the country. That region is where Geir Jenssen, the Norwegian electronic producer behind Biosphere, comes from, and where he has been composing his austere, disturbing and deeply textured ambience since the early 1980s. Biosphere has released many albums to date including 'Substrata,' voted the greatest ambient album of all time on the Hyperreal website, and has collaborated with Arne Nordheim, Higher Intelligence Agency, Deathprod, Pete Namlook and Bel Canto. His 12th album 'Departed Glories' is his first in almost five years and marks a new deal with the Oslo independent label Smalltown Supersound. On the cover is a photo of the Russian landscape taken more than a hundred years ago. It’s part of an incredible cache of recently discovered images by the photographer Sergei Prokudin-Gorsky, who pioneered a form of colour photography using three sheets of glass, and left us with a collection of hauntingly beautiful pictures of a vanished world that could have been taken on an iPhone.
Rova: Bruce Ackley; soprano sax; Steve Adams, alto sax; Larry Ochs, tenor sax; Jon Raskin, baritone sax
+
Tara
Flandreau, viola; Christina Stanley, violin; Alex Kelly, cello; Scott
Walton, acoustic bass; John Shiurba, electric guitar; Jason Hoopes,
electric bass; Jordan Glenn, drums; Gino Robair, conduction (on Nothing
Stopped / But A Future)
No Favorites pays homage to one of the most original creators
in improvised music, Lawrence "Butch" Morris (1947-2013), inventor of
Conduction, a method for organizing large-ensemble improvisation that he
took to the world. The program represents a working relationship that
Rova began with Morris in 1988 and also reflects parallel working
processes reaching back to the mid-1970s.
Rova do more than simply
pay tribute. The quartet's members build on their own work in
structured improvisation, incorporate other methods of organization -
from graphic scores to conventional notation - and expand their palette
from the saxophone quartet to include a string quartet and an electric
power trio. Extending the possibilities of large-ensemble improvisation,
the combined groups create music of both depth and an ever changing
surface, the fruit of both intense commitment and a highly creative,
heterodox methodology. Like previous Rova expansions, it achieves
complex music that both requires and rewards active listening.
Each
of the three extended pieces here includes a high degree of
improvisation while embodying different compositional principles, the
first and third (Nothing Stopped / But a Future and Contours of the Glass Head) employing conduction, the second graphic notation and simultaneity.
Heh, bn, I was one of the early listeners enlisted to help determine (vote) order of the tracks on the cd. Larry Ochs sent me my thank-you copy of the cd just a couple days ago. Just checked - I'm thanked on the 2nd-to-last page of the liners.
Heh, bn, I was one of the early listeners enlisted to help determine (vote) order of the tracks on the cd. Larry Ochs sent me my thank-you copy of the cd just a couple days ago. Just checked - I'm thanked on the 2nd-to-last page of the liners.
Cool ! . . .
- News from another artist I'd never heard of, if it wasn't for your input (probably):
"Fall" is the latest release from Devin Sarno. Available as a limited
edition cassette (25 copies) and as digital download (thru Bandcamp).
"Fall" consists of 2 tracks: "Running Embrace" and "Entanglement" which
were recorded in July 2016 comprised of layered electronics, guitar and
found sound.
Guide Me Little Tape writes: "The
drones come in subtle shades and guitar tones shift ever so slightly
all the while lulling you like a serpent, keeping your gaze - you're
never quite sure if it will strike..."
Devin Sarno originally began recording & performing under the name “CRIB” in
1990 as a solo bass sound project focusing on improvised subsonics.
Over time, this music evolved from high volume feedback experimentation
to a sonic examination of the meditative properties of low-end drone
music. Inspired by the unexpected nature of everyday ambience as well as
the value of silence, Sarno’s sound work embraces the subtle and
atmospheric.
Sarno has toured both coasts of the United States,
sharing concert bills with artists as diverse as: Thurston Moore (of
Sonic Youth), Charles Gayle, Z’EV, Nels Cline (of Wilco), Foetus,
Merzbow, Borbetomagus, Blonde Redhead, Pauline Oliveros, Masonna, Ben
Harper, Gus Gus, William Hooker, Kato Hideki, Carla Bozulich, Banyan
(feat. Mike Watt & Stephen Perkins), White Out & many others.
In
recent years, Sarno’s compositions have been featured in numerous
commercial & short film projects that have been screened at renowned
venues such as the Toronto & Venice Film Festivals and broadcast on
network television (Bravo, CBS) as well as featured on the NYC Times
Square Jumbotron.
Alan Licht: guitar, electronics
Tetuzi Akiyama: guitar
Oren Ambarchi: guitar on “Blues Deceiver”
Rob Mazurek: cornet on “Tomorrow Outside Tomorrow”
- "Over the years Alan Licht (USA) and Tetuzi Akiyama (Japan) have
individually explored the lines that divide improvisation, composition,
folk, blues and experimental music. It was inevitable their careers and
styles would cross paths. Tomorrow Outside Tomorrow captures a meeting
of minds and techniques landing two extended works which blur genre and
cliche.
Blues Deceiver presents itself as a dank blues: a dirty crawling mass of
feedback, fluctuating vibrations, garage frequencies and distant
interference. Featuring Oren Ambarchi the various musical and nonmusical
elements weave about creating a music showcasing individual
contributions hovering as a holistic whole. There is beauty in this
beast.
Tomorrow Outside Tomorrow features the talents of Rob Mazurek in the
guest role. Here the trio expand on the workshop blues drone with Rob
placing a sombre jazz card on the table. What begins as a loose sound
study evolves into an introverted and melancholic exploration of mood,
atmosphere, interwoven notes, texture, sound, guitar and electronics.
Tomorrow Outside Tomorrow unveils a nebulous new music."
Track 1: City of Vorticity (with soloists): Al
Margolis (If, Bwana) – violin; Alan Zimmerman - percussion, prepared
hammer dulcimer; Peter Zummo - trombone, didgeridoo; Tom
Hamilton – electronic sound environment.
Track 2: City of
Vorticity (electronic sound environment): for listening
alone or as an accompaniment
- "Pogus is extremely pleased to release a new CD by composer
Tom Hamilton, City of
Vorticity. The
Wire has described Hamilton's music as "colourful
and seductive," and Gramophone
has noted that "the results bubble with energy, a veritable
counterpoint of indeterminacy." These brief descriptions are
a great entryway into City
of Vorticity, as it presents a collection of
electronic sound events, all occurring independently, and
gradually shifting through kaleidoscopic rearrangement.
This dynamically changing “aural score” can also serve as
the foundation for a group of improvising performers. In the
first track, we hear one version of this with soloists Al
Margolis, Alan Zimmerman, and Peter Zummo. The second track
is offered here for listening alone and as a published sound
environment for other musicians wishing to perform this
piece."
Tom Hamilton
- "has
composed and performed electronic music for over 40 years.
His ongoing series of concerts, installations and recordings
contrast structure with improvisation and textural
electronics with acoustic instruments. Hamilton makes “aural
scores” to connect performers to a changing context of
electronic sound. Rather than addressing traditional modes
of expression, presentation and observation, Hamilton often
explores the interaction of many simultaneous layers of
activity, prompting the use of “present-time listening” on
the part of both performer and listener.
Hamilton has released 15 CDs of his music; his CD London
Fix received an award in the Prix Ars Electronica,
and a 2 CD set of his electronic music of the 1970s was
named one of The Wire’s
Top 50 Reissues of 2010. He is a fellow of the Civitella
Ranieri Foundation.
Since 1990, Hamilton has been a member of the late composer
Robert Ashley's opera ensemble, performing as the company
sound designer and mixer."
There's a recent new compilation on Audiobulb called Evidence of Intense Beauty. The label's home page describes it thus:
Evidence of intense beauty is a series of exquisite compositions from pioneers in the field of ambient microsound and modern classical. Each piece is a self-selected exemplar chosen by the artist to represent their conceptual sense of beauty. Clem Leek. Wil Bolton. sawako. The OO-Ray. A Dancing Beggar. Taylor Deupree. Autistici. Causeyoufair. Richard Chartier. Ian Hawgood. Marcus Fischer. Melodium. Monty Adkins. Porya Hatami. Antonymes. Listening Mirror. Pascal Savy.
98 minutes for $6.49 on emusic US. Note that it is a compilation of previously released tracks rather than new ones, so if you already have a lot by these folks check for overlaps.
Federico Durand - Jardín de invierno New on Spekk. At at time in which bluster and bombast seems to be prevailing, this tiny, fragile, beautiful music seems all the more important.
Comments
Yndi Halda - Under Summer
Remember these guys? Their first album was a somber British addition to the gy!be-style post-rock binge back in 2007. They finally released their second. Sounds less forced/more melodic so far, and has singing.
Mispriced at a dollar for each of the four tracks at Amazon US.
Review
(Soundcloud)
Ian William Craig has a new one out. Same vein as the last couple (Pitchfork calls it Tim Hecker/Fennesz + vocals), maybe more song-like...last two were excellent.
Bandcamp.
Eleven into Fifteen: a 130701 Compilation
Otherwise unreleased new material from Dustin O'Halloran, Set Fire to Flames, Hauschka, Sylvain Chauveau, Max Richter, Ian William Craig, Jóhann Jóhannsson, and others.
More Wieman at Emusers
New release from Marconi Union, currently bargain-/mis-priced at Google Play.
Bandcamp stream.
Various Artists.
Includes tracks by loscil, Rhian Sheehan, Taylor Deupree & Marcus Fischer, The Green Kingdom, Olan Mill, Library Tapes, etc.
http://wovenhandband.com/home
- Finders Keepers Records
- Sub Rosa - More Novi_Sad at Emusers.
http://novi-sad.net/projects/sirens/
about Ryoichi Kurokawa at my site if you want to learn more.
rheo: 5 horizons
and a long 90 minute forum talk that features himin the video beginning at the 30 minute mark.
PRIX FORUM DIGITAL MUSICS AND SOUND ART
Petrels - Jörð
What:
Influences and inspirations:
- Textura
Koen Holtkamp - Voice Model
Nicely done review here.
Track 2: Live recording, 1978
Track 3:Studio recording, 1981
Track 4: Live recording, 1982
- Recital Program
http://centerfornewmusic.com/gallery/american-gamelan-by-daniel-schmidt/Norman Records review
- With thanks to @rostasi . . .
Due out November 11 on Kranky. Excellent news.
There's a track already posted here and another here. Strong material.
Rob Wilkerson - flute, clarinet, soprano sax, alto sax
Sam Sadigursky - E♭ clarinet, B♭ clarinet, A clarinet, tenor sax
John Ellis - clarinet, bass clarinet, tenor sax
Carl Maraghi - clarinet, bass clarinet, baritone saxophone
Jonathan Powell - trumpet, flugelhorn
Matt Holman - trumpet, flugelhorn
Nadje Noordhuis - trumpet, flugelhorn
Ingrid Jensen - trumpet, flugelhorn
Ryan Keberle - trombone
Jacob Garchik - trombone, tuba
Jennifer Wharton - bass trombone, tuba
Adam Birnbaum - acoustic & electric piano, FM synth
Matt Clohesy - contrabass & electric bass, bass synth
Jon Wikan - drum set, cajón, misc. percussion
Darcy James Argue - composer, conductor
- Sounds as The Orb is in great shape and has delivered one of their strongest albums.
(based on one spin)
- Emusic
Harbor
by The Green Kingdom
On Dronarivm. If I could justify the music budget to automatically buy everything certain labels put out, this would be one of the labels I would target (I do have more than half of their releases).Biosphere - Departed Glories
Pitchfork review.
Bandcamp.
- New World Records.
- News from another artist I'd never heard of, if it wasn't for your input (probably):
From Absence of Wax founder Devin Sarno:
- Also on Emusic.
Tetuzi Akiyama: guitar
Rob Mazurek: cornet on “Tomorrow Outside Tomorrow”
- Editions Mego
Track 2: City of Vorticity (electronic sound environment): for listening alone or as an accompaniment
Pogus Productions
There's a recent new compilation on Audiobulb called Evidence of Intense Beauty. The label's home page describes it thus:
Federico Durand - Jardín de invierno
New on Spekk.
At at time in which bluster and bombast seems to be prevailing, this tiny, fragile, beautiful music seems all the more important.