June’s Top 10

This months top ten post is well worth the wait and see’s the number one slot going to Herion’s exquisite project ‘Out and About’…

Herion – Out and About

Emanuele Errante, Enrico Coniglio, and Elisa Marzorati have created a wonderful album that moves right to the soul of the listener. While I was familiar with Emanuele Errante, who released the excellent Humus album on Somnia in 2008, the other performers were a mystery to me. Marzorati’s piano motifs, mixed with Coniglio’s multi-faceted contributions involving melodica, harmonica, and treated guitar, all meld beautifully with Errante’s orchestral arrangements. Full info

Peter Broderick – Three Film Score Intakes

As a multi-instrumentalist of some distinction it seems unfair to typecast Peter Broderick’s sound, but one could cite two clear genre pools that his music fits within. On the one hand is his acoustic, singer/songwriter guitar based folk music. Records like “Home” and “4 Tracks” fall into this genre. On the other hand his meshing of ambient, electronic sounds with classical instruments like piano and violin can be found on the albums “Docile,” “Float,” and “Music For Falling From Trees.” This sound is also found on his latest record, a super limited edition EP release from Schedios Records entitled “Three Film Score Intakes.” Full info

Mains de Givre – Esther Marie

The classically trained stringed arrangements that flow from Émilie’s violin are the perfect partner, however, as graceful patterns fuse together flawlessly creating a deep sense of hope and light cutting through the impending gloom. This is what makes the whole ‘Esther Marie’ experience so intoxicating, and provides the listener with a great depth of resonating experiences not like anything I have heard or witnessed for some time. Full info

Akira Rabelais – Caduceus

To create Caduceus, Rabelais processed recordings of guitar through the Argeïphontes Lyre, a software instrument of his own design. It’s a decade-old codebase that’s written like a poem and tended like a garden: as Rabelais explains, his work comes from a process of “music driving software, and software feeding music.” “I was always making little instruments as a child, lots of odd stringed things and percussion bits … metal plates along a barbed-wire fence. I think AL descends from this bloodline. It scratches my four year old self’s itch to ring metal plates with a bb-gun.” Full info

Natureboy – Natureboy

Natureboy weaves loops, waves of guitar, synth, bass, and drums with acoustic folk to create a haunting synthesis of moody and intelligent, melodic and angular music. Her lyrics are both starkly emotional and strangely evocative; drawing the listener into a strange and resonant world that persists long after the music is over. Full info

Wreaths – Like Sparks From Throats Falling

Like Sparks From Throats Falling is a truly eclectic collection of sounds with a plethora of arrangements, instruments and ideas, all impeccably executed. This is a challenging, intelligent album that will demand your rapt attention and is all the more rewarding for it. Full info

Taylor Deupree – Shoals

After being invited to an artist residency program at the University of York Music Research Centre in 2009, Taylor Deupree was soon inspired to delve into their collection of Japanese and Balinese gamelan instruments. Deupree decided to restrict himself to using these instruments alone and set about using the Kyma programming language to develop his own looping program for use with the project. Full info

Ghostwriter – The Continuing Adventures Of The Strange Sound Association

It’s amazing how many different instruments are featured in this piece without making the variety appear like a gimmick or without overcrowding the tracks. Melodicas, music-boxes, vintage synths and a lot of other boutique and rare instruments find their way into the 15 tracks of the nearly 40 minutes long album. Full info

Rameses III – For José María

Rameses III have produced a warm and organic piece of music that drifts along effortlessly, giving the impression of genuine sincerity. For Jose Maria is a fitting tribute to a father and husband whose remarkable personality touched all those who knew him. Full info

Simon Scott – Traba

Traba is a beautifully esoteric work of digitally manipulated instruments which have been layered into dense textures that almost, but never quite, overcome the melody present. There are harsh sounds here too, rhythmic and mechanistic, though this listener is left with a sense that buried deep within the loss and the anguish, an ethereal beauty lies beneath the waves. Full info