Fovea Hex – Here Is Where We Used To Sing

The music that is presented on “Here Is Where We Used To Sing” is not the kind of music usually presented here on Ambientblog.
But ever since their impressive debut release “Neither Speak Nor Remain Silent” I have a weakness for all things Fovea Hex. 

Apart from that, they are closely connected to the ambient music scene because of the musicians involved in the project, and expecially for the extremely mininal drone remixes that come with the special editions of their albums.

Erik Satie et les Nouveaux Jeunes

Erik Satie et les Nouveaux Jeunes cover

I guest most people listening to ambient and ‘post-classical’ music also have a special place in their heart for the music of Erik Satie. Or at least they should have.

The eccentric genius composer, or “phonometrician” as he called himself,  “the laziest student in the (Paris)Conservatoire” (where he was labelled untalented by his teachers) has left the world some of the most impressive (and introspective) compositions – of which the Gymnopédies and the Gnossiennes are the most famous.
With his ideas about Musique d’ameublement (‘Furniture music’), Satie was one of the real predecessors of ‘ambient’ music.

So any double CD set offering reworkings of his music by some of the best artists in the contemporary experimental ambient/electronic genre immediately has my full interest!

Dentist – Cuts

“Cuts” is the first official release from Washington D.C.’s Dentist.

Lou DiBenedetto began recording as Dentist in 2007 as an outlet for his interest in synthesizers and affection for electronic musician Wolfgang Voigt’s work as Gas.

Kyle Bobby Dunn; Will Long; Kleefstra+Kleefstra+Davis; Kalte; Bgudna

In this “shortlist” section, 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, they deserve your attention: use the links to find more info and hear previews.

Ways of Meaning

Kyle Bobby Dunn – Ways of Meaning
“Kyle Bobby Dunn’s new full-length album is a treatise on the resonance of memory; an attempt to harness the finality of meaning as a shared experience.
Some moments recall church and choral music, others are anthemic in their own quiet way, and sadness finds warm overtones to help quell its cold nature. Spatial qualities are examined thoroughly; clarity is reached when viewing one’s surroundings. The environment comes into focus and a reverie encapsulates the listener.”

When You Fall Out of Love

Will Long – When You Fall Out of Love with Me
The title in itself invokes the sad romantic mood for which this 18 minute track is the perfect soundtrack. Celer-style, in case you need any more recommendation.

Sieleslyk

Gareth Davis, Jan & Romke Kleefstra – Sieleslyk
“Jan and Romke Kleefstra are brothers, currently based in The Netherlands who have previously collaborated with Machinefabriek and Peter Broderick amongst many others. On Sieleslyk they are joined by British artist Gareth Davis (bass and contrabass clarinet) to make some ominous dynamic soundscapes using guitar, clarinet and spoken word.The spoken words of Jan Kleefstra are in Frisian, a minority language spoken in the north of The Netherlands.”
The physical edition is part of the Rural Colours Subscription Set, but non-subscribers can download the digital version for free! (!)  

Amnesia (Mix)


Photo: 'Misty Park' by Michel Banabila

Although it was created in March, this mix shows little signs of “Spring”.

There was no intentional relation, but inevitably the devastating Japan Earthquake, and the frightening nuclear disaster following it, somehow found its way into this mix.
The result: a rather dark overall atmosphere, which seems to leave little room for hope.
But at the same time, in Europe, winter retreats and daylight returns.
Nature shows that it can destroy as well as recuperate.

Sister Waize – The Realignment Series

“The Realignment Series Part I, II and III” is a set of over two and a half hour of “Folding Drone Music”, as David Mekler (Sister Waize) himself calls it.

The impressive set is offered as a free download from his website, along with some suggestions on how to listen to this music to possibly achieve ‘a complete sense of separation from your physical surroundings’.

I can heartily recommend to download and listen to this set to anyone even remotely interested in drone music!

Janek Schaefer – Asleep at the Wheel…

Janek Schaefer’s website presents an impressive list of site-location projects that are very interesting to investigate, because they demonstrate Schaefer’s perfect balance of concept, visual and sound.
(A few of them, Unfolding and Extended Play, were presented on Ambientblog earlier).

As the Artist in Residence for the 2010 Milton Keynes International Festival, Schaefer presented “Asleep at the Wheel…’: a location project for which he completely transformed the deserted Sainsbury’s supermarket into a three-lane highway at night, a ‘ghost road of cars’, where the audio is played from the in-car sound systems. From the car seats, visitors could listen to presentations and interviews thematically dealing with sustainability and the future of the earth, and how we can be able to improve that future. 

“The exhibition is a thought provoking and immersive sound installation for multiple car radios, that contemplates our future. Exhibited in a vast disused supermarket, three-lanes of cars dissect the darkened interior, as the multiple hazard lights illuminate the space, revealing the finite road of our consumer driven daydream.”

Antonymes – The Licence to Interpret Dreams

Although it is his debut for Hidden Shoal Recordings,  the new album by Antonymes – “The Licence to Interpret Dreams“ – is in fact his second full album following up “Beauty Becomes the Enemy of the Future” (or third, if you also count “31: Before the Light Fails”, which was a special project in a limited edition of one (!), and only partly available as a digital download after that).

“The Licence to Interpret Dreams“  fits in perfectly with the best of the recent ‘post-classical’ releases and will have immediate appeal to listeners that also enjoy releases by artists like Johann Johannsson, Max Richter, Peter Broderick and Dustin O’Halloran. 
But to leave it at that description would not do justice to the versatility of this album. It is not “just” a collection beautifully constructed post-classical chamber music.