27 April 2014

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Albums and Singles

Watter is a new trio made up of close friends and collaborators whose collective pedigree reads like a desert island list of must-haves in experimental rock musicians. Multi-instrumentalists Zak Riles (Grails) and Tyler Trotter are anchored by legendary drummer Britt Walford (Slint, Evergreen) on six genre-defying pieces of monolithic mood music.

For Riles and Trotter, it's a chance to dig deeper into the sandbox in which Grails have sculpted many mercurial masterpieces in recent years; for Walford, it's the opportunity to play a substantial role in a new active band for the first time in nearly twenty years.

Written, recorded, and produced entirely in the group's collective studios in Louisville, KY, This World is a stunning combination of heady psychedelic rock, vintage cinematic New Age explorations, and sinister Krautrock, performed with seemingly endless stamina. Born out of many late-night jam sessions, many songs also feature fellow Louisville icons – Rachel Grimes (Rachel's) provides several of the album's most sublime moments, and The For Carnation's Todd Cook lays the heavy, bass-driven foundation for the penultimate epic, "Seawater" – as well as a subtle, sinister contribution from legendary King Crimson bassist Tony Levin. This World is the kind of album that inspires renewed wonder in the mysterious powers of Louisville's water supply. It draws impossibly broad inspiration from decades of Eastern and Western folk, rock, ambient, film score, library music, and neoclassical, and masterfully emerges with an ever-enveloping suite perfectly befitting its constantly curious composers.

Out May 15th.

More information is available here.

27 April 2014

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Albums and Singles

Steve Gunn and Mike Gangloff (Pelt) combine six-and 12-string guitars with gongs, tanpura, singing bowls, shruti box, and banjo fora gorgeous collection of improvised compositions. The two artists took it pretty far off the beaten path for Melodies for a Savage Fix, sequestering themselves for an overnight session in the remote farmhouse/recording studio of noted roots-music engineer Joseph Dejarnette (Carolina Chocolate Drops, Bruce Greene, Curtis Eller) in the countryside of Floyd County, Virginia.

There in the tiny community of Topeka, miles from the county's one traffic light, they set up an assortment of six- and 12-string guitars, gongs and Indian instruments, plus the banjo Gangloff sometimes plays at monthly square dances at a country store just up the road, and settled in for an intense night of improvisation.

More information is available here.

27 April 2014

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Albums and Singles

Acid Mothers Temple & The Melting Paraiso U.F.O.'s new album Astrorgasm From The Inner Space features their original vocalist Cotton Casino and is being released in conjunction with their two-month tour of the USA beginning April 23rd at the Mercury Lounge in New York City. Available on CD and deluxe double LP.

As usual, AMT delivers to Important their most scorching tracks. They've included, appropriately since Important is set to issue Grayfolded on triple vinyl, a brand new recording of "Dark Star Blues" with Cotton Casino.  On Astrorgasm From The Inner Space, Acid Mothers Temple look towards their source (the band turns 19 this year) while also evolving towards their next stage.

More information is available here.

27 April 2014

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Albums and Singles

For reasons that are not immediately apparent to me, Bécs is being billed as the conceptual follow-up to 2001's landmark Endless Summer.  To me, it just sounds like another characteristically likable Fennesz album with a couple of better-than-usual pieces, though it is certainly much brighter in tone than either Venice or Black Sea.  In any case, this is a fine (and welcome) return by one of experimental music's most distinctive voices, but it is not any kind of seismic event.  It is very hard to be revolutionary more than once, I guess.

Editions Mego

If there is a nod to the sun-dappled radiance of Endless Summer, it comes with the opening "Static Kings," which offers up a lazy melody and some strummed acoustic guitars, though they are warped and churned fairly aggressively by Christian's laptoppery.  Unexpectedly, however, "Static" also features a bold new innovation: an actual band…of sorts, anyway, as Fennesz is joined by bassist Werner Dafeldecker and drummer Martin Brandlmayr.Their contributions are fairly subtle and last only for the one song, but Christian is uncharacteristically joined by other musicians twice more before the album runs its course.

He is solo again for the second piece, "The Liar," which brutally erases all traces of any kind of summery vibe.  Consisting primarily of gnarled, buzzing swells that gradually grow in power below an obscured haze of melody, "The Liar" instantly makes itself known as one of Bécs’ clear highlights.  The other clear highlight follows immediately after in the album's 10-minute centerpiece "Liminality," which balances melancholy drones with a surprisingly simple, beautiful, and unprocessed guitar melody.The playing and the melody are themselves straightforward, yet the production is decidedly not, as Christian works some very impressive magic with texture, attack, and dynamics.  The overall effect gradually becomes that of a lovely guitar motif struggling in vain to be heard though an escalating squall of static.  It is not quite a perfect piece, but it is intermittently damn close, falling just shy of being a masterpiece.

After that, however, Christian’s inspiration seems to wane a bit, as the remaining four pieces do not quite offer anything new, just more variations on the established themes or single ideas explored without significant development.  "Palles Athene," for example, is a lengthy bit of brooding, spacey ambient that just drifts along ominously for six minutes, while the title piece evolves from jarring, quavering single notes into yet another roaring torrent of static that conceals a poignant melody.  It is admittedly almost as great as "Liminality," but its impact is dulled a bit by the fact that Christian has already pulled this particular rabbit from his hat once before.

Bécs winds down with "Sav," a grainy, rattling, and crackling soundscape duet with guest Cédric Stevens on modular synth, and the brief "Paroles," a pleasant acoustic guitar-driven reprise of "Static Kings."  Both pieces are likable in their own ways, but neither quite catches fire, though I do like the sputtering and unpredictable electronics that gradually invade "Paroles."  The vibrant textures that Fennesz and Stevens lay down for "Sav" are very impressive too, but the melodic component seems to have been little more than an afterthought, so the promising foundation remains only that.

All of that basically adds up to yet another solid, enjoyable Fennesz album.  It may even be a great album, but it is impossible for me to tell without completely fresh ears, as I have been listening to Christian for 15 years now and I am too desensitized to his aesthetic to be appropriately dazzled anymore.  For the uninitiated, however, Bécs is probably an excellent place to start (as is Endless Summer, of course).  As for those who are already converted, Bécs will not disappoint.  It probably will not rekindle an intense passion either, but it certainly adds at least a few more gems to Christian's already-teetering heap.

• The Liar
• B√©cs
• Paroles

 

27 April 2014

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Albums and Singles

Adam Wiltzie and Dustin O'Halloran's latest offering is a rather lean one, but it is surprisingly beautiful and satisfying nonetheless.  Atomos VII offers up essentially just one new song (a short piece from the forthcoming Atomos full-length) backed by an old outtake and a lengthy Ben Frost reinterpretation of the title piece.  All are enjoyable, but it is the Ben Frost collaboration that elevates this brief EP into something more than just a teaser of what is to come.

Kranky/Erased Tapes

The Atomos album (due this coming fall) is a score to a dance piece choreographed by the Royal Ballet's Wayne McGregor, an enthusiastic fan of AWVftS's debut.  While it is impossible to say what the rest of that album will sound like, "Atomos VII" sounds almost exactly how I would expect a new Winged Victory piece to sound, as the aesthetic leap from "neo-classical business-as-usual" to "dance score" is virtually a non-existent one for Adam and Dustin.  In fact, the only truly significant change is that "Atomos VII" is entirely devoid of piano, opting instead to augment its warm, serene drones with nothing but a languorously unfolding series of string swells that slowly builds to a crescendo (before, of course, dissipating once more into tranquil ambiance).

The rest of this brief release is rounded out by an outtake from the duo's debut ("Minuet for a Cheap Piano, Number One") and the aforementioned (and comparatively lengthy) Ben Frost collaboration.  The prosaically titled "Minuet" delivers exactly what it promises: a lovely, understated solo piano piece, albeit one floating in a warm haze of ambiance.  More importantly, it makes perfect sense as a companion piece for "Atomos VII," ably furthering this EP’s themes of simplicity, elegance, fragility, and understatement.  The same cannot be said for Frost's stab at re-envisioning the title piece, but "Greenhouse Reinterpretation" works quite wonderfully as a densely roiling and dynamic counterbalance.  Ben is an unexpected participant in this endeavor, as he is not someone I normally associate with quiet or subtle music, though he has worked with McGregor before.  Everything he touches these days sounds great, however, as he has a distinct knack for bringing out the best in anyone fortunate enough to collaborate with him.  That trend continues unabated with "Greenhouse."

Despite its brevity, I think I actually prefer Atomos VII to Winged Victory's debut...or perhaps precisely because of its brevity (and its variety).  While it certainly seems to end too soon, I find myself immediately starting it again as soon as it ends, whereas the self-titled full-length felt a bit too one-dimensional and overlong for me to fully embrace.  It is hard to say how much of this EP's success is due to its truncated length and the presence of Frost and how much is due to Winged Victory's evolution as a band, as all are significant, but I suppose that riddle will be answered when the full-length Atomos eventually surfaces.  In any case, it will have a tough act to follow, as Atomos VII is the rare teaser EP that completely succeeds as its own self-contained release.

• Atomos VII
• Minuet for a Cheap Piano No. 1
• Atomos VII (Greenhouse Re-Interpretation) w/ Ben Frost

 

22 April 2014

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Albums and Singles

An all instrumental offering from Carl Hultgren (one half of Windy & Carl) is set for release on 20th MAY 2014. A Limited Edition Double LP of 500 copies (one album on ORANGE VINYL, the other on BLACK VINYL) will include a DOWNLOAD CODE of the complete album, along with 6 ADDITIONAL BONUS SONGS recorded during the same sessions.WITH THE ADDITION OF THESE EXTRA SONGS, IT BRINGS THE RUNNING TIME OF THIS AT JUST UNDER 2 HOURS LONG *** THESE DOWNLOAD ONLY BONUS SONGS ARE AVAILABLE ONLY WITH THE PHYSICAL VINYL OR CD PURCHASE.

http://windyandcarl.bandcamp.com/album/tomorrow-full-length-release

A change of scenery can change a person. It reshapes their mind, shifts emotions, and brings forth new modes of creation.

Tomorrow was started in 2011, shortly after moving to a new neighborhood and into an enchanting 1930s Art Deco inspired Tudor. Orignally known as The Elmdale, its casement windows and recessed plaster cove ceilings combined to reshape Carl's thoughts and views. Surrounded by beautiful old trees and shimmering sunlight, Carl started working on Tomorrow. Its tracks are a manifestations of tranquility and joy, of an assuredness in forward motion.

It is instantly apparent to any long time listener of Windy and Carl that these new tracks show a marked change from the 20 years of dense guitar drones and and walls of sound the duo have released. Carl's first solo album is instead a lighter, more stripped down affair – the tracks showcasing his new found humility and confidence. There are touchstones - in tracks like "No Other" and "As Sure As" the cascading guitars hint at LC era Durutti Column, in "Spirits" you can hear a nod to early 4AD Dif Juz in all its reverb and atmosphere, while "In This Land" has a Gene Clark psychedelic country twang.

Tomorrow is not all about a love for guitars – "Hidden" brings together glimpses of Wolfgang Voigt's GAS project with the industrial percussion of Einsturzende Neubauten's Perpetuum Mobile album.

A change of scenery has meant the freedom to explore new lands and be completely comfortable in them. Keyboards and found sounds sit very contentedly next to airy guitar compositions.

The album's opus is undoubtedly "Transparency And Light". Coming in at over 18 minutes and filling a full side of the double lp, it is Carl's most accomplished work. Restrained, refined, glistening guitar tones that ebb and flow like the rings of skipping rocks on a lake. Placid. Genuinely beautiful. A masterpiece.

Throughout the 12 tracks, Tomorrow shows the confidence of Carl's compositions, of his use of restraint and an edict that less is more. The songs are like postcards from a lover – each with a story all it's own, written from the adventure of a lifetime. Songs that tell the story of change. Of beauty and light. A new day. Tomorrow.

21 April 2014

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Albums and Singles

Released earlier this year as a single 120 minute cassette, the two variations on Pisaro's composition for guitar, performed by Barry Chabala, appears as a gorgeous new two CD reissue on the Winds Measure label. While it may lose a bit in its transition from analog to digital, the clarity of the CD format actually enhances the contrast between the two separate versions.

Winds Measure

"Black, White, Red, Green, Blue" is an hour long, five part composition for electric guitar that is focused on specific tones, but was open to interpretation by the performer as far as tempo and pacing goes.Besides the notes used, each part differs with the method of guitar playing utilized.For the first part, a soft, repeating malleted chord is used, almost mimicking a tolling church bell that conjures a lot of warmth in its sparseness.

For the second movement, the piece shifts to light, gliding tones from single played notes.The dynamics shift from quiet to almost silent, with long passages of actual silence between the sounds.By the third movement, the sounds moves more into actual pseudo-chords while retaining its long gaps of silence.The depth and intensity builds as Chabala switches to an ebow, staying low but into thicker, vibrating moments before switching back to a mallet, resulting in an ending similar to the opening.

Most of the original piece remains intact on the second piece, "Voyelles," but processed cassette tape hiss and other incidental sounds gleaned from that dated format are added in.While "Black, White…" was sparse and pure, "Voyelles" is a bit more ragged and messy in the best possible way.Right from the onset, the repeated note is paired with a rough, grinding type sound of a cassette tape motor above it.

The sound of tape noise appears via slight processing throughout:soon the aforementioned motor sound is replaced by what sounds like tape hiss amplified to imitate surging rain, before reassembling into an almost painful, super high frequency like an ancient, slightly off-track audio tape.The addition of the analog noise pushes the piece into an entirely different direction, but never loses its original character.

"Black, White, Red, Green, Blue" in its original form surely benefits greatly from the clarity of the CD format, emphasizing the silent spaces and low tones with digital purity, something that may have been obscured in the original cassette format.On the other piece, however, the innate tape noise would have made each playing different depending on conditions and equipment.Even with the clarity, "Voyelles" works wonderfully, and I have to admit to favoring that version of Pisaro’s composition, the contrast between pure guitar and raw textural noise works perfectly.

samples:

• Black, White, Red, Green, Blue
• Voyelles (Excerpt 1)
• Voyelles (Excerpt 2)

 

21 April 2014

Administrator

Albums and Singles

Straddling the line between carefully programmed electronic rhythms and aggressive dissonance, this EP strikes an odd, yet fascinating balance between the two. Parts of the album are familiar, reminiscent of late 1990s electronica, but Damaskin takes the final product in a different direction, however, and puts a unique spin on a familiar sound.

Unknown Precept

I could not help but detect a bit of drum and bass influence to the sound of Unseen Warfare, though it would not necessarily sit too nicely amongst the classics of that genre.While the skittering rhythms on "Glory" might fit into that same rhythmic template, the standard drum and synth samples are replaced with sloshing water and cricket like noises to resemble something entirely different.

The same complex, chaotic rhythms appear on the title song as well, heavily panned and bouncing erratically from left to right.The careful, deliberate rhythm programming is not too far removed from the likes of older Photek or Source Direct, but again the sound is made up of a slew of violent and aggressive noises rather than anything clearly identifiable or traditional.

The flip side of this vinyl leans into more of a traditional techno sound, but maintains the same ugly, unique identity.On "Remembrance of Death," there is a looser, slightly off kilter sense to the song, overall, that at times almost seems to drift off-beat in a way that keeps things on edge.The rhythm is more conventional, but features some wonderfully processed handclap sounds that violently slice through the mix.

"Contra Theatra" closes the record, and initially is heavily steeped in repetition.Thin, brittle rhythms at first lock in solidly atop a distorted synth pattern that could almost work on a dance floor.Soon, however, pieces come and go, layers shift in dynamics, and everything around that steady beat keeps changing and evolving to excellent effect.

A quick Google search did not manage to uncover much about the member(s) of Damaskin, and admittedly the mystery made Unseen Warfare all the more intriguing.With the proliferation of clichéd electronic music, I appreciated the ties to genres past without sounding like everyone else.Best of all there is this excellent, dirty edge to these four songs that puts this record into a world unto itself, and gives me faith that this genre may still have a meaningful future to it.

samples:

• Unseen Warfare
• Glory
• Contra Theatra

 

20 April 2014

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Albums and Singles

It's been nearly 5 years since Brock's highly acclaimed White Clouds Drift On And On debuted on Echospace earning a plethora of critical acclaim including many coveted top albums of the year list from RA to The Wire.  Brock returns in beautiful form with what he's said to us is his most personal and self-defining moment in his fruitful musical career. This album, however, strikes on a very different chord from the last: rather than find contentment in repeating himself, he's sculpted a unique sound slightly out of focus from his previous work, a sound one could only say is like drifting in and out of consciousness. A place where early LSD experiments reveal third dimensions of the mind and evoke emotions so powerful they haunt you forever.

Here we see Brock's true dedication to vision, maturity and growth, the reason why so many people have gravitated to his heart-tugging productions. On Home, he paints a near 3-hour exploration so beautiful and hypnotic the listener feels as if only moments passed by, a second to forever. This is a welcome return to form in the one place Brock refers to as "Home": here on Echospace. If Burial were to meet Eno in the studio of a BBC radio workshop session with Tape masters sent to Steve Roach for further deconstruction, this might be the unique result, residing somewhere in the ether. Brock has truly blown us away yet again with another stunning masterpiece.

More information is available here.

20 April 2014

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Albums and Singles

Visibility Is A Trap is the new EP by Dalhous, comprised of four originals together with a masterfully understated Regis remix of "He Was Human And Belonged With Humans."

The EP heralds the arrival of the Edinburgh-based project's sophomore album, Will To Be Well, due out on Blackest Ever Black in early Summer 2014.

Dalhous first announced its existence in 2012 with the Mitchell Heisman 10", and last year released its debut full-length: An Ambassador For Laing.  Both Visibility Is A Trap and the upcoming Will To Be Well LP reflect writer-producer Marc Dall's continued interest in the language and imagery of self-help, R.D. Laing and the anti-psychiatry movement.

Though recorded after Will To Be Well, the tracks on Visibility Is A Trap at first appear to have more in common with the blue ethereal drift of Ambassador.  While "Information Is Forever" and "A Change Of Attitude" are firmly in the ambient mode, "Active Discovering" fizzes with arpeggiated energy, and a battery of percussion disrupts the calm surface of "Sight Of Hirta."  Something is up.  Things are not as they seem.

The Regis remix of Ambassador highlight "He Was A Human And Belonged With Humans" finds Karl O'Connor in unusually pensive mood.  In fact, it's fair to say that this near-beatless, dubwise version is unlike anything he has put his name to before.  Discarding the rhythmic skeleton of Dalhous's original, he gives the weeping saxophone more space to roam and resonate, adding off-beat, sleep-deprived keys, murmured vocal fragments and swells of sub-bass pressure.  It could be construed as a love letter to his former home in West Berlin; certainly it evokes and effortlessly updates the drugsick grandeur of later Neubauten or Low side 2.

More information can be found here.