The opening track of ‘SAMA SADJA‘ , ‘Seimbang’, slowly unfolds reminiscent of a vintage Klaus Schulze track, but the similarity does not last for long. The album takes an unexpected turn, delving deep into Indonesian traditional culture, with fascinating and hypnotizing musical result.
It’s definitely no ‘roots music’ from Indonesia. But it’s not your average ambient drone, either!
“A Winged Victory for the Sullen”, “Sleep Hills of Vicodin Tears”, “Requiem for the Static King” … If titles like that remind you of the Stars of the Lid, you are right. Almost.
For this project, Lid’s Adam Bryanbaum Wiltzie teams up with Dustin O’Halloran. No real surprise, since they already worked together on O’Halloran’s latest album (“Lumiere” ).
With the help of some familiar (Peter Broderick, Hildur Gudnadottir) and some less familiar contributors the duo presents “A Winged Victory for the Sullen“ – which will obviously appeal to all Stars of the Lid fans. And a lot more people that probably don’t know this album even exists.
There are many different ways to create (and enjoy) ambient/electronic music.
On “Symmetry-Breaking” (Dr.!) Guy Birkin has an academic approach, bringing him and his music somewhat in line with that of music on the raster-noton label.
In his work for the Nottingham Trent University (UK), Birkin investigates ‘complexity as an aesthetic property, using information theory as an approach to understanding the complexity of artworks’
For his doctoral thesis he studied ‘visual complexity’, but his current research uses his experimental method to explore the complexity of sound and music.
The question is, of course: does an academic approach like this also produce academic (as in ‘difficult’) music?
After studying the liner notes and trying to get a grasp of the underlying theories and creation techniques, I was almost relieved to conclude that the answer to that is “No, not necessarily.”
“Aion” is the DVD companion to Kirkegaard’s CD release “Four Rooms” (Touch, 2006).
Inspired by Alvin Lucier’s “I am sitting in a Room” , Kirkegaard recorded the sound of deserted rooms: a church, an auditorium, a swimming pool and a gymnasium.
He then re-recorded the sound played back in the same room over and over again, multiple times, until the sound of the room became a constant drone, ultimately revealing what may be the “soul” of the room.
That is, of course, a fascinating concept in itself. But there’s another dimension to this project.
Starting out as a netlabel, distributing free releases such as the original Nest EP, Serein took an unexpected sudden turn and resurfaced as a ‘standard’ label.
“Re-Told” – a remastered version (with additional tracks) of the original Nest EP – was their incredible “initial”release and immediately set themselves a difficult high standard.
Re-Told was immediately and widely recognised as a classic release and got sort of legendary status for all those that found it. (To modestly illustrate this: the short review from 2009 has been on top of the ‘most read’ ambientblog list ever since).
(Only) Three other releases have followed since this initial masterpiece – and then, finally, a new Nest release called“Body Pilot” was announced.
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.
Marcus Mohall – Hinna
Sometimes it is amazing to find the most beautiful sounds just floating around to be downloaded for free. Like these two short drone-tracks from the EP called “Hinna” (“Catch”) by Marcus Mohall, from Sweden.
Deep, spacious drones, based on field recordings, chords from a Nord Modular G1 and lots of reverb. These EP’s 20 minutes leave you wanting for more.
Bvdub – I Remember (Translations of ‘Mørketid’)
“Translations” (not ‘remixes’) of the original 2007 album Mørketid‘ by Netherworld (Alessandro Tedeschi).
80 minutes of multi-layered washings referring to the period of the year “when the Arctic winter cold encases everything and the sun doesn’t rise over the horizon” – so what better label could there be for this release than Glacial Movements?!
The original work is used “as a base, and it is indeed interwoven in the translations, but my translations serve more as my own narratives on the memories and feelings his original work evoked. The translations are about memories… memories of dreams lost, and never fulfilled… but also the beauty in knowing that dreams exist…as whether they come true or not, it’s in their pursuit that life means anything.”
Two releases on the Ephre Imprint label, and a collaboration from the label curator Nigel Samways with Ennio Mazzon. That’s a lot of fascinating material!
Pleq and Lauki – The Gravity Lens
Though they have never worked together (as far as I know), there’s a remarkable resemblance between Pleq (Bartosz Dziadosz from Poland) and Machinefabriek (Rutger Zuydervelt from Holland). Both are very prolific artists (their discographies can easily fill a single blog), not afraid to combine gritty electronics with aesthetic acoustic sounds and field recordings, and both are collaborating with a surprising array of adventurous artists.
On “The Gravity Lens“, Pleq teams up with Lauki (Barcelona), to create a cinematographic “single longform piece which moves through several mournful, atmospheric sections. The arching melodies and harmonics reveal themselves further over time, rising in and out of submerged bass notes and fizzing field recordings.“
Pleq and Lauki – The Gravity Lens (Excerpt)
“Teloorgang” is a beautiful dutch word that can be best translated with “Loss” or “Decay”.
Some say there is beauty in decay….This may be true, but in fact only when watched from a safe distance – the ‘decay’ not regarding ourselves or our own environment..
It is, of course, tempting to relate the theme of this mix to the current state of our (western) society.
But that may just be coincidence: this word “Teloorgang” came to mind when listening back the mix after it was finished.
True: this mix is a somewhat darker than some of the others published here. Thus, it perfectly fits in with the season that is up ahead: summer retreats, autumn kicks in, nights getting darker and colder.
Sit back, close your eyes and immerse yourself in the beauty of decay and loss.
(The picture was taken in a small town nearYusufeli (Turkey): an near-desolate area that will be covered with water in the near future when the Dam Project will be completed)
Room40, the Australian based ambient/electronic/experimental label (run by Lawrence English) kicks off the after-summer season with a batch of fascinating releases. Among these are the beautiful drone-based albums by Chihei Hatakeyama and Steinbrüchel:
Chihei Hatakeyama – Mirror
Chihei Hatakeyama has earned himself quite a reputation with his earlier albums (on Room40, as well as Home Normal, Hibernate and Kranky). Described as a minimalist with a “formidable reputation as a fearless textural experimentalist”, you might expect some loudness – but Mirror is about the opposite of loudness.
The deep drones (or polychromic and memory-evoking soundscapes if you prefer) are like a mirror indeed.
“Taking layers of composed instrumental passages and then re-recording them in a variety of reverberant spaces, Hatakeyama sought to accentuate and amplify the harmonic qualities of the sounds. Overtones were shaped by these spaces and rich fluctuations emerged from the original recorded elements.”
Some shorter field recordings mark the points of arrival and departure between the composed pieces. Together they present a fascinatingly calm and introspective album.
Chihei Hatakeyama – Alchemy
