In the Shortlist sections, I will mention the albums that I enjoyed listening to, but couldn’t find the time (or the right words) for a “full” review for. Still, I definitely think they deserve your attention, with ór without extra words!
RAISON D’ÊTRE – MISE EN ABYME
Another voyage into darkness by Raison D’Être (Peter Andersson, Sweden, who has been recording music since 1992). “Mise en Abyme” (“Placed into the abyss”) “is an inner journey down to the most hidden and dark parts of the Self. But even in the darkest and chaotic places in the depths, there are small shades of light, hope and understanding.”
Four tracks, somewhere around 15 minutes each. Some of the vocal parts in the second half of the album (‘Katharos’ and ‘Agraphos’) brought the classic“Being Dufay“ album by Ambrose Field & John Potter back to mind – which made me wish these parts could’ve been performed by John Potter instead of using slowed down voice recordings..
But still: deep, sacral, ritualistic and, above all, impressive.
MACHINEFABRIEK – DUBBELTJES
Apart from Rutger Zuyderveld himself, I don’t think there will be many people that can keep up with Machinefabriek‘s release output. It’s easy to lose track of the numerous CD’s, 3″-CD’s, cassettes, digital albums, vinyl singles, USB-sticks and whatever other release format possible. So we’re lucky that every now and then a compilation album is released combining some of this (often hard to find or sold out) output.
“Dubbeltjes” (subtitled “Gathered Eccentrics 2008-2013) is a demonstration of the many faces of Rutger. Though all tracks have his characteristic approach, the sound of each track is very different. Just compare the guitar from the Huiswerk 7-inch, the trombone sound drones (as performed by Hilary Jeffery), the abstract thunder and choral samples of “Ontrafelde Tonen”.
And that’s only the first half of this amazing compilation album – you haven’t even heard the haunting rendition of “My Funny Valentine yet (featuring Gareth Davis on bass clarinet).
ARCHE – FIRST CAUSE
35 Minute EP by Arche (John Dalton), with four tracks “with the purpose of capturing, and reproducing, certain states of mind”.
Which definitely succeeds because every track has its own characteristic feature, a soundscape focussing on strangely alienating and hypnotic effects. The tracks are largely improvised, with edits and rearrangements kept to a minimum.
Arche – Observation
SÕZU PROJECT – TERRA AUSTRALIS
If the title doesn’t give it away, the cover image does: this albums gets its inspiration from the arctic landscapes. Sõzu Project (Paolo Masolini) takes the pictures and sound recordings from french photographer and antarctic researcher Dominique Filippi as the starting point of this album.
A self-released project that would have perfectly fitted the Glacial Movements label. Though the inspiring landscapes may be cold and desolate, the music definitely isn’t.
ZENJUNGLE – LEAVING STATIONS
“Zenjungles 3 track release “Leaving Stations” combines such elements as field recordings of Hong Kong traffic lights, bike day in Munich, people talking in Athens, random noise, tenor saxophone, piano and electric guitar.”
Precision on “Mise en Abyme: the translation you gave is too literal. It should be:
“containment of an entity within another identical entity : image of an image.”