In their relatively short existence (about 1.5 year now), the Moscow based Dronarivm label (curated by Bartosz ‘Pleq’ Dziadosz) has quickly worked itself to the upper category of quality labels focussing on contemporary ambient and modern classical music.
“15 Shades of White“, a collection of 15 tracks (or 17, counting the bonus tracks with the digital download) – “different in atmosphere and sound but united by a common winter mood” – demonstrates why.
This album is far from recent: I don’t know why but somehow it just slipped through.
Stephan Mathieu’s “The Falling Rocket“ was released in march 2013, followed by a vinyl edition in June.
Of all ‘drone’ albums released in 2013, this must be one of the very best. If not the very best.
So I guess there’s no excuse for not mentioning it now, even if it’s almost a year later. Better late than never, I guess..
Ian Hawgood will probably be a familiar name to most: apart from making ambient music he’s also running the well-respected Home Normal label. Ryo Nakata’s name might not immediately ring a bell, but he may be better knows as Ryonkt.
With “Fireflies“, released on the Hibernate label, the duo works together for the first time as Rion.
“Fireflies“ is “inspired by the magic of low light periods and the quietude of a summer spent in the countryside.”
While this description may sound like an introduction to any average drone-ambient album, the result of this collaboration is remarkably different from most others.
RAPOON – TO WEST AND BLUE
Zoharum is a Polish label releasing experimental music since 2007, its catalogue boasting over 70 titles now, a wealthy collection to explore. It’s remarkable how flourishing the experimental and electronic music scene seems to be in Eastern Europe (Poland, in the case of Zoharum)!
Not all Zoharum artists come from Poland: among the many unknown artists and bands, Rapoon (Robin Storey, UK) might be the best-known.
NILS FRAHM – SPACES
Possibly the most well-known artist mentioned here is keyboard wizard Nils Frahm. Whoever has seen him perform live will definitely remember that performance clearly. His music can be extremely melodic, making it accessible to a wide audience, yet he’s not afraid to search for some extremes during the process.
After each performance, people often asked him which of his albums best represented what they had just witnessed. Since such an album did not really exist, “Spaces“ was specifically assembled with that question in mind. And indeed it perfectly captures a Nils Frahm performance.
Beginning his career in the early 80’s, Michel Banabila‘s albums covered many different styles.
So many, in fact, that his place in music was a bit difficult to pinpoint which sometimes seemed to confuse critics as well as potential audiences.
His albums presented world music, jazz, theatre play soundtracks as well as electronic music of the abstract or ambient kind – all kinds of genres which Banabila seems to be able to cross over with ease.
There’s a big different between ‘just music’ and ‘sound art’ – the latter requiring active participation of the listener/visitor.
A release on Richard Chartier’s Line Imprint label is not something you just take for granted, consuming it playing in the background while being distracted by many other things.
So, it may take some time and serious effort investigating the works presented on “Liquified Sky” before these audio-visual works can be fully appreciated. But it’s worth the effort!
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!
FEDERICO DURAND – EL IDIOMA DE LAS LUCÉRNAGAS
“El Idioma de las Lucérnagas” translates as “The Language of Fireflies”, which is a most appropriate description for this album full of environmental soundscapes and peaceful associations.
“When Durand opens up his music box, the crickets breathe through it. ‘El idioma de las luciernagas’ creates a place where wind chimes, stray guitars, and dropped thoughts fall like rain. The music makes me think of eyes as olives and wonder what they would see. These are microambient sounds because they puncture air holes in the glass jar of the world and we can breathe through it, pausing and passing through the punctuation that makes the language of fireflies a language of light.“
2014 will see the 10th anniversary of “Spellewauerynsherde“ by Akira Rabelais, released in 2004 on David Sylvian‘s Samadhisound label. After 10 years, the album still sounds as mysteriously and haunting as ever. It is one of the few albums that never seems to lose its magic – however much I play it. (If you don’t know it, be sure to find it and check it out!)
In 2009, I was proud to offer an exclusive Cristmasse mix of the same material on Ambientblog. It was available as a free download only for three weeks then, and deleted on december 26.
To celebrate Christmas and the forthcoming 10th anniversary of “Spellewauerynsherde“, Akira Rabelais has generously agreed to make this mix available as a free download Christmas gift again.
So if you missed it first time around, be sure to grab this exclusive free download now: the file will be deleted right after Christmas!
