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.
“To West and Blue“ is Rapoon’s 50th (!) album, and his fifth for Zoharum.Seven tracks, with varying soundscapes describing the area where he grew up in the UK:
“…a peninsula of land which stuck out into the Solway Firth. Surrounded by the sea when the tide was in and surrounded by endless mudflats when the tide was out. When the water covered the ground the line between the sea and the sky was almost non-existent.”
Inevitably, there are some field recordings included, but they are hardly audible. The soundscapes are varying in style, but all of them are mysteriously dark and somewhat puzzling, particularly those with the stretched voice samples.
They are not always sounding explicitly “natural”, so I guess Solay Firth must be a mysterious view at times!.
AQUAVOICE – GREY
Another fine example of what the Zoharum label has to offer.
Although “Grey” is Tadeusz Luczejko‘s first album on Zoharum, Aquavoice already originated in 1999 and became Tadeusz’ solo project from 2001.
His own electronic music has earned him several awards, and his broad musical experience (having worked alongside people like Tomasz Stanko, Robin Guthrie /Cocteau Twins, Banco de Gaia and Higher Intelligence Agency) can clearly be felt this fascinating album.
The inspiration from films as well as literature gives the opening track “S.E.T.I. Project” a great ‘Solaris-like’ atmosphere! On “Grey“, Aquavoice explores a wide range of electronic/experimental music.
Apart from making music, Tadeusz Luczejko is also the main organiser and art director of the AMBIENT music festival in Gorlice, Poland since 2003.
MAREK X. MARCHOFF – FUNERAL MUSIK FUR JENNY MARCHOFF
This album is presented as “the most atypical album in Marek Xavier Marchoff’s discography”, but since I’m not familiar with his other albums I can’t really comment on that.
Jenny Marchoff was Marek’s grandmother, and this music was created right after she passed away.
It was recorded in one single nightly recording session using analogue field generator, guitar, tubs, screen, bulbs, sampler, tapes, machines, as well as “backlight ghost” and “room silence”. That was fifteen years ago.
The resulting music has been kept hidden, until now.
It is, of course, a very personal statement – this may definitely not everyone’s ‘funeral music’ of choice.
But the way it was recorded, the instruments used, results in a beautiful analogue Lo-Fi atmosphere that was (fortunately) left untreated. This is exactly what may give this album its sincere honesty.