July’s Top 10 selection brings together a diverse selection of music from artists such as The A.Lords, Annelies Monseré and Jannick Schou to name but a few…

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The A.Lords – S/T

What does it mean to use the sounds of birds and of weather as part of nearly every track of an album of music? In the case of The A.Lords’ new self-titled release, it would seem to be an attempt to bring the music closer to nature, to locate its source and its inspiration in the natural environment…

The choice of acoustic instruments, gentle major-key harmonies, and relaxed tempi would also seem a call to return to a simpler way of life, a state of being more in touch with the world that hums and sings all around us. Guitar, piano and glockenspiel meander and jig through the album’s ten tracks, joined now and then by voices human and avian. The press release lists gardens, churches, a summerhouse and a barn as recording locations, and the occasional pattering of rain and the creaking of barn doors are allowed to bleed into the record. The result is the perfect soundtrack to an English summertime. – More info

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Offthesky – Subtle Trees

As a sort of pantheist, or at least an artist who finds great stories hiding in the vast visual subtleties of nature –“ Subtle Trees” is a classical music collage as much as it is an homage to classical music. Its core is created through sounds gathered in the owl hours by sampling ancient instruments whose cores were derived from the trees of nature. – NKR

Subtle Trees offers up more organic fare, engaging a broad range of field textures, instrumental tones, electronic layering, and percussive motifs, with a crisp static and clatter in amongst these elements. There’s a strong dynamic variation in this release, with distinct colours visible from one track to the next.

Standout track ‘Tight Phase of Pollen Inertia’ seems to best embody the ethos of the record, with wooden chimes swaying through the forest-like spectrum, placing you centrally in a Japanese wood at night. ‘Slow Pulse of Epocal Light’ places you in the same wood, closer to the dawn. – More info

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Daniel W J Mackenzie – Teeth Sleep Under Winking Black Eyelid

Daniel W J Mackenzie eschews the filmic freedom and concentrated consistency that is usually associated with the output of his alter ego, Ekca Liena, in order to create an extraordinary proposal that is titled Teeth Sleep Under Winking Black Eyelid…

This recording intends to challenge the listener with its use of contrived footage from two pianos that are abstractly arranged, performed and engineered to create intriguing instances of instrumentational incomprehension. Recognisable resonances are juxtaposed with primed piano proclamations and other mutated musical methodologies. This enigmatic investigation reveals an avant-garde gamut of prevailing acoustic possibilities that are produced when pianos are physically manipulated with tangible entities, hardware effects and post-production processing. – More info

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Myrmyr – Fire Star

Fire Star was recorded at Shasta Mountain in the Spring of last year and the album’s six tracks contain elements which hint at Jakobsons’ and Szelag’s shared Baltic ancestry, while still retaining a firmly West Coast flavour. The album articulates many moods, often within one particular piece and the exploration found in opening three tracks Hot Snow 1, 2 and 3 continues throughout the latter half of Fire Star, mixing ambience, subtle synths and acoustic instruments. At turns melancholic, playful, complex and for some brief moments even almost childishly simple, Jakobsons and Szelag’s songwriting strengths seem to bounce off each other, driving the album onward as each artist provides a counterpoint to the other, giving the necessary spark to inspire music of a rare calibre. Granted, eclectic may be a word overused to cliche, but it does indeed define Myrmyr better than any other.

The fine musicianship of Jakobsons and Szelag is apparent throughout Fire Star, both in what they play and what they do not; At no point does the album lose cohesion, nor does it repeat itself and the pair show a keen talent for arrangement, such as on Fire Serpent’s Tail – the piece beginning with plaintive strings, slow and deliberate, with an accompanying silence. Rather than fill in this silence however, Myrmyr turn the void into an instrument of its own and as the track builds to a moving climax, its inherent frailty is that much more pronounced. – More info

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Annelies Monseré/Richard Youngs – Split Series Volume 3

If one were to look for a single word that best summarises this latest entry into the three:four split series, variation would be a worthy winner. For the record, which is shared between two highly revered musicians of the experimental sound sphere is one that embodies multiple characteristics of the word’s very definition.

On the one hand are a series of tracks composed by multi-instrumentalist Annelies Monseré. Here, the artist produces five takes on the same formula, offering varied compositions of the same song, with each take built through different instrumentation and tone. The song, which is entitled ‘Sand’ is consistent with other Annelies Monseré works, offering eerie and melancholic notes throughout. On three versions of the song, Monseré makes sure her enchanted voice is entwined with the unusual instrumentation that forms the backdrop to her melodies. These songs are built around guitar, piano and organ and with each version one feels an overriding sense of beauty and sorrow. The two other takes are much shorter, instrumental constructions. Using melodica and cello respectively, Monseré ensures there is a deviation from her lyrical numbers, whilst maintaining a consistency in her attention to sound creation. – More info

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Donato Wharton – A White Rainbow Spanning The Dark

A limber tone begins an incredible work by Donato Wharton, flittering and flaying in an obsequious manner, fading out slowly with a gentle throb, before a more powerful tone takes over. The invasive overlap charges up the, otherwise, ominous beginning, and precedes a work that slowly seeps into your consciousness.

Reading ‘A Book of Memories’ by Peter Nadas, I came across this quote that perfectly encapsulates my experience with this album: “What is beauty if not the involuntary giving away of what is hidden even from ourselves?” There seems to be a hidden world pervading Wharton’s work, and only after spending a couple weeks with it was I able to escape my self-imposed seclusion with the record and try to put words to the effect it had on me.

Presenting a work that evokes the sense of being in transit, Wharton begins in stasis, examining “A Vast White Solitude” in the midst of a hurried world. I imagine the busyness and noise constantly revolving around us, people hurrying from one place to another, so that life becomes a series a destinations that we are always speeding to get to. The act of slowing down and projecting our solitude onto the world around us, inviting others to share in the space, allows for an examination or focus on the hidden, the unlikely, the in-between. In effect, I find solitude as a respite to the noise and clatter of the world around me, and to imagine this solitude helps to alleviate being a participant in our sped-up world. Whether or not these are Wharton’s sentiments, I don’t know, but I find solitude to be an enlightening prospect, especially in the face of a claustrophobic world. – More info

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Petrels – Haeligewielle

The one sheet for Petrels – Haeligewielle says the album is comprised of ‘songs of water, songs of stone’. It sounds vague, but in truth that’s all you need to know. To say that Petrels is the solo project of Oliver Barrett of Bleeding Heart Narrative is already saying too much. This, his first solo album, offers up a seriously detailed narrative hinted at with the song titles. Combining post-rock, drone and Americana elements; Haeligewielle pits an all-consuming darkness against the frailest slivers of light to create one of the most immersive listening experiences of 2011 thus far.

In many ways Haeligewielle is an ode to tales of water and stone, but also specifically William Walker, who is mentioned in the title of the albums final song. William Walker (1869-1818) was a British scuba diver famous for shoring up Winchester Cathedral, a task that involved him re-building the foundation of the cathedral while being submerged underwater in total darkness for six hours a day for five years. Also of note: Haeligewielle is an Anglo-Saxon word meaning ‘holy well’.

In a way Walker’s story is an odd one for an electronic musician to take the task of telling, his story is so much about the tension between mankind and nature. Psychically though, the story of a man who works away in total darkness to make some small shred of an impact in the larger world is everybody’s. And maybe that’s what drew Barrett to it. Either way, it was Barrett that picked up the torch and told Walker’s story, and probably it would terrify Walker to hear the sonic equivalent of those claustrophobic hours and years played out so well. The good news for the listener is that Petrels has provided us with what has to be the strongest solo debut from a musician so far in 2011. It’s as if Barrett has launched his solo career as Petrels by giving us his own Sisyphus narrative, and somehow it sounds dreadfully authentic – no small feat. Haeligewielle is an album so dense and immersive you sometimes feel as though you are drowning or being smothered, but that’s exactly the way it’s supposed to feel. – More info

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Daniel Thomas Freeman – The Beauty Of Doubting Yourself

The relationships between depression and art are countless and diverse. Instances of poets, novelists, and musicians quickly spring to mind who have vividly portrayed depression, usually from personal experience of it. Recent research by health experts indicates that artists and musicians are the fifth most likely professionals to suffer with depressive illness. That’s a chart that definitely isn’t ‘top of the pops’ for performers.

Many people are drawn to the arts in order to fulfil a desire for acceptance and affection from their audience; they need that confirmation in order to feel good about themselves. But having a love affair with thousands of people you don’t know is bound to lead to discontent, despair and distress – often as soon as you exit the stage, or go home to an empty mansion.

Alcohol and narcotics have featured in the lifestyles of so many musicians for so long that sometimes it’s difficult to tell if depression is the symptom or the source. The phrase ‘rock and roll lifestyle’ is an all too familiar one in the obituary column when a famous musician dies, usually in tragic circumstances too. Some artists have a ‘swig’ or a ‘sniff’ to steady their nerves before performances; others have a ‘sip’ or a ‘smoke’ to come down from the high of the performance.

So does depression attract them to the arts? Or does making ‘art’ make them depressed? Does true creativity come from a place of suffering? Are the greatest writers, composers and artists the most tortured of souls? None of these questions are easily answered but we do know that Daniel Thomas Freeman (Rameses III) has certainly suffered for his art.

The Beauty of Doubting Yourself, written over six long years, is Freeman’s own personal and at times painful account of depression. The album is laid down into three distinct movements: – More info

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Jannick Schou – Act of Shimmering

The Berserkers were Norse warriors who terrified into submission those unlucky enough to clash with them. The exact details of their lives have been lost in the passage of time, but it is often believed that they dressed in animal skins and worked themselves into a frenzy before battle. Perhaps partaking in the hallucinogenic mushroom known as fly agaric, the warriors would quite literally ‘go berserk’, turning the fierce noise of pre-battle into an awesome cacophony. Danish composer Jannick Schou follows in the footsteps of these ancient Scandinavian combatants, but replaces physical power with a sonic force equally unrelenting…

Appearing under his own name and as Cyclon, Schou has already proven his worth with a slew of releases appearing on Dead Pilot Records, Under The Spire, Rural Colours, Heat Death Records, and the label which Schou co-runs, dotContemporary. Available here on Experimedia, Schou’s uncompromising vision is accentuated by the assertion that The Act Of Shimmering shall only be sold on 12” Vinyl.

Each side of the album contains three pieces cohesive in tone and timbre; do not look for a quiet/loud/quiet sound here, everything is simply at high volume and it is invigorating. The album opens with Enormity Of An Empty Sky,  beginning slowly but soon building up its power and by second number Sky We Are Silent, The Act Of Shimmering will floor the listener with a strength which echos the most abrasive noise-pioneers. – More info

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Bee Mask – Elegy for Beach Friday

Mysterious American musician and director of the cassette label Deception Island, Chris Madak aka Bee Mask, mines his own substantial back catalogue of limited edition tapes and CD-Rs that were released between 2003 and 2010…

‘Elegy for Beach Friday’ is an accomplished anthology that contains eleven tracks of capably blended synthesisers, percussion, piano, guitar, tape, electronics, and Max MSP. These imaginatively re-visualised, revised and reprocessed recordings will delight audiences both old and new.

Deducted from Your Share in Paradise balances a light astral atmosphere of increasing intensity and dark pulses of reverberated drone to form divine gyrations. It pronounces how polar opposites or seemingly contrary forces are interconnected and interdependent in the natural world, and how they give rise to each other in turn. Conceptually the piece is a counter-image of the miseries of human civilization.

Fallen Tree Thursday and the Half-Crushed Arc of the Sky Taking Tea in the Pastoral Index is a convoluted compositional articulation of spiritual acuity. A compound palette of cyclical chimes, organic orientations and oppressive industrial impressions intermingle to give an accelerated sense of time and space that may allude to the apprehension and anxiety incurred when the human mind comprehends the vastness and complexity of the cosmos.

Causes and Cures uses an introspective constant of alien ambience presented in the form of an intense flow of encrypted data, as interstellar interference echoes and explodes deep in hyper space.

…so that We Each Wander through a True Elysium has a field of intense percussive energies and synthesised spirits to represent the ancestral susurration of the underworld, the final resting places of the souls of the heroic and the virtuous. – More info

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The above listing is in no particular order of preference.

The track list in this mix says it all really. Another sublime selection of music from our favorite albums for May.

The list is in no particular order of preference:

Richard Moult – Celestial King For A Year

Following the release of Ethe on Deadslackstring last year, composer, painter and poet Richard Moult returns with Celestial King For A Year, this time making his debut on Second Language Music.

Currently based in rural Scotland, Newcastle-born Moult is an artist with a prolific musical catalogue and has taken part in various bands and ensembles, such as Irish psychedelic folk band United Bible Studies and Dorset experimentalists Plinth. Appearing here solo, Celestial King For A Year takes its name from a poem of Moult’s and originally began life intended for a string quintet, eventually being stripped into three pieces of stirring neo-classical ambience.

When composing the album, Moult was driven to create a work both spiritual and spacious, drawing inspiration from a Christian chant which goes back to the venerable faith’s earliest origins, named Old Roman. He achieves both goals and within three tracks and thirty five minutes, Moult imbues in even the most atheistic listener a sense of the fear and hope surely felt by those generations of people who lived lives as hard as they were short, gathering in the darkness of post-empire Rome to find small relief in the spiritualistic rituals of Christ. – More info

Barn Owl – Shadowland

Down through the centuries the Barn Owl has been recorded in folklore more frequently than any other type of owl.  Ancient writings usually frame the Barn Owl with an ominous status undoubtedly because it is a bird of darkness, and darkness often implies the presence of shadows, evil, or perhaps even of death itself.  Indeed during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, no doubt aided and abetted by poetic usage of the Barn Owl as a favourite “bird of doom,” many people deemed that the shriek or call of an Owl flying past the window of an invalid would signal impending doom.

These mangled myths and troubled tales are now encouraged and exaggerated by the release of “Shadowland”, a new three track EP by Barn Owl.  Fluid Radio regulars will no doubt have lapped up the recent esoteric enlightenment on offer from the exhilarating solo albums by the founding fathers of Barn Owl; Jon Porras and Evan Caminiti. Plus the celestial annihilation that radiated from the last release by Higuma, Caminiti’s other side project. And surely no-one could have allowed last year’s storming metallic-drone monster of a soundtrack by Barn Owl, Ancestral Star, to pass under their radar.

Opener Void and Devotion sets a mood of menace and cataclysmic spirit with its simple cyclical chord repetition that is reminiscent of a child’s music box or a gent’s pocket watch, mimicking how its appeal might be manifested in the soundtrack of a horror film or a spaghetti western.  Fatalistic low pitched frequencies and contorted vocal chants resonate as a quasi-religious synth modulation goes about its evil work.  Finally ever increasing rays of warbling guitar vibrancy, which distend and compress the distortion envelope, add a baleful depth and emotion to this catastrophic canticle. – More Info

Jóhann Jóhannsson – The Miners’ Hymns

Power…          Is there any geopolitical issue more intractable, any economic or environmental question more omnipresent? Our homes and places of business require warming, our iceboxes need cooling, our purchases must be transported, our nighttime endeavors must be lit. Yet the extraction of energy resources is a complicated, dirty, often dangerous business, which — not incidentally — pays quite well. Interests converge or conflict, difficult questions are put aside for the next election cycle, and physical, sometimes ecological violence results. Or worse. Our lot today is the sum of all choices heretofore; choices that were made under different assumptions, outdated value structures. The expression “carbon footprint” is, in historical terms, quite new, so it is probably fair to assume that the flooding of Maldives was not a primary concern throughout the Industrial Revolution. OPEC is a similarly recent phenomenon.

A new film — which debuts at the Tribeca Film Festival in Lower Manhattan — addresses a not-insignificant component of the energy question: coal. Specifically the history of coal mining in Northeast England, the affiliated labor movement, and the eventual strike of 1984. Coal is a resource that is conspicuously out-of-favor now, a fact not lost on filmmaker Bill Morrison, who drew from a century’s worth of archival black-and-white footage, depicting cycles that “repeated decade after decade – political rallies, going to work, in the mine, going home, playing, organizing, fighting, and ultimately celebrating at the Big Meeting in Durham.” London-based production agency Forma commissioned the film, and Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson provided the score.

It is named The Miners’ Hymns. The film looks to be awe-inspiring. It bears mention here that this is a “documentary with no narration, dialogue or sound effects, only music.” The 52-minute score provides the only audio for this 52-minute film.

Regular Fluid Radio readers should already be familiar with Jóhann Jóhannsson, and for those who aren’t, the prefix “Icelandic composer” is likely reason enough to listen. Jóhannsson has received awards for soundtracks to Varmints (2010) and Dís (2004), and his traditional releases have received wide acclaim. Even still, he is unnecessarily obscure. (As is too often the case with lesser-known talents, the inclusion of his music in a current blockbuster film seeks to correct this.) – Full info

Tokyo Bloodworm – Palestine

Tokyo Bloodworm’s latest album Palestine is of note for two reasons: 1) it’s really damn good, as in year-end best-of list good, and 2) it is the last ever full length for Moteer records. Before we deal with reason one, a few things about reason two: this should leave you slightly heartbroken. For those who know Moteer’s output, there was probably a little pang in your heart when you read those words. For those unfamiliar with the label, their track record speaks volumes. Consider two things: Moteer released debut albums for both Part Timer and The Boats. Those two releases alone are enough to make a label noteworthy but across all 20 Moteer releases (and even all 10 Mobeer releases really), there is a devotion to quality that really borders on unparalleled. Not to mention how many labels Part Timer and The Boats have bolstered since those first releases for Moteer.

When Moteer began in 2003 it specialized in a sort of minimal electronic music that was being hinted at by artists like Boards of Canada and labels like Fat Cat. Moteer took it one step further; the music was more experimental, almost fragile, the rhythms a little weirder. It was music that required a little more time, but rewarded anyone who took the time greatly. In recent years the scope of genres the label released were all over the place – from Yuri Lugovskoy’s extremely underrated debut, which sounds like dub music performed at the bottom of the ocean, to The Ancients and their brand of psych/surf/folk, to Con Cetta’s micro minimalism. The label moved beyond genre boundaries to find artists that were both experimental but also well articulated in their forms. All of this is to say that even though the releases were more sporadic in recent years, the quality never waned and for that reason alone Moteer deserves a serious pat on the back.

And all of that segues back to the first point; the new album from Tokyo Bloodworm is a damn good one and will likely be creeping up on a few best of 2011 lists.  Tokyo Bloodworm’s last release was for Moteer as part of a collaborative album with Brael. It was one of Moteer’s finest moments and an album that one can go back to again and again and still find great rewards. It hinted at what was to come with Palestine. – Full Info

Mountains – Air Museum

We take our word “photography” from the Greek graphos and photos, i.e. “painting” and “light.” If photography is painting with light, Mountains’ forthcoming Air Museums is likely the most photographic album we will hear in 2011.

Mountains are Brendon Anderegg and Koen Holtkamp, co-founders of Apestaartje Records. Each maintains a solo catalog, recording as Anderegg and Aero respectively. The musician-mogul template seems to be getting a fair amount of use lately, but this eclectic pairing precludes any clichés: Holtkamp favors Brian Eno and musique concrète, and claims not to be “a trained musician of any sort.” He describes Anderegg as “more the proper musician,” who, prior to attending the Art Institute of Chicago, played acoustic guitar and listened to folk music.

Does the push-and-pull of these divergent tendencies – music for nightclubs and music for campfires – show through in the finished product? Absolutely. Their technique is prodigious: electric guitar, cello, harmonium, harmonica, accordion, piano, and Anderegg’s acoustic six-string all line up as pre-production sources. Tireless refurbishing, stretching, compressing, mixing, and adding the myriad of effects renders the sources unidentifiable … except for the acoustic guitar. Take some of the tracks from their acclaimed 2009 Choral, say, “Map Table,” to name one. The delicate drone-and-guitar sheen verges toward the cosmic brittleness of New Age music, at times uncomfortably so.

By this measure, Air Museum is a significant departure for Mountains. The one-sheet confirms it, describing a fairly significant course correction: “the album manifests itself sonically as their most ‘electronic’ record yet. Air Museum is also their first record that was made in a studio. Working in the studio expanded their possibilities, giving more room for experimentation.” The experiments have paid off. – Full info

Jon Porras – Undercurrent

“Undercurrent” by Jon Porras is visceral like a coma – epic and dense, and with a similarly all-encompassing hold…

The eight weighty tracks balance melodic drone with apocalyptic distorted guitar, a balancing act managed with flair and grace – no easy feat when the guitars sound at times like they wouldn’t be out of place in an art metal recording. This is accomplished by pushing the guitars far back in the mix, behind the foreground, like it was hidden behind mist. Like that mist, there’s a space visible close to you, but moving further than one step takes you closer to an unseen space that could lead to anywhere.

There seems to be mist and fog around us everywhere, now. Barn Owl, of whom Porras is one half of, speak openly of their love of fog as they relate to it in shoegaze and black metal. Evan Caminiti, the other half, has just completed a project with Lisa McGee called “Pacific Fog Dreams” as Higuma. Keen observers will have noted Lawrence English’s 2008 release “Kiri No Oto” (a Japanese phrase which translates as ‘sound of fog’) has just been rereleased on vinyl.

So fog is a reliable muse it seems, especially for those that call San Francisco home, as Caminiti and Porras do. So how does his approach compare to the others?

The logical comparative point would be Higuma, as it represents one branch of the same tree. Whilst Higuma’s releases have a more emotionally oppressive musical characteristic, weighty in tone, Porras has managed to lean on the more melodic side whilst still injecting heft into the sound. Distorted guitars (when used the right way) have an uplifting grandeur and searing immediacy that is unmatched in the musical spectrum, and here they are harnessed in an intelligent and cohesive fashion. The tracks have emotive weight, but the general ambience is one of exhilaration and release.

Nowhere would this be better demonstrated than the ten minute behemothic opener ‘Grey Dunes’ – there’s a reassuringly hertz-y foreground clean texture mixed with gutturally distorted guitar chords up the back, leading into an extended organ-esque outro – some faint and mournful angelic delayed tones in the distance give the track a lift out of the gloom, whilst keeping it in character. – Full info

Kyle Bobby Dunn – Ways of Meaning

Released on the excellent Desire Path Recordings label, Kyle Bobby Dunn’s latest offering, Ways of Meaning, explores a deep and reflective realm, adding an essential chapter to the young yet impressive discography of the Brooklyn-based composer.

The sound palette is, as usual for Dunn, quite reduced, allegedly made mainly of guitar and organ. The subsequent sound manipulations, stripping those instruments from their timbral qualities, leave them floating ghostly in the form of aether-borne drones, conjuring forgotten memories as if congealed in formaldehyde and kept in a shadowbox. The album’s tone evolve from ascetic and mournful in opener Dropping Sandwiches in Chester Lake to majestic and restrained in closer Touhy’s Theme, and the purposeful lack of tactility gives Dunn’s work quite an hermetic yet encompassing quality.

Upon further explorations, it becomes obvious that Ways of Meaning is the work of a very talented musician, whose skills and intents are evident but not overwhelmingly present, creating for each of the six tracks a subdued and enigmatic narrative arc. New Pures, perhaps the most abstract number here, displays at first an almost imperceptible harmonic progression that unfolds slowly and drifts on the surface of a warm bed of bass, moving in and out of focus. The track reaches a subtle but powerful apex when layered loops of string-like instruments come to the fore and soon dissipate in a hazy cloud of dark and menacing broody synths – a compelling demonstration of Dunn’s talent to develop his work with delicacy and effortlessness.

Throughout the album there are liturgical reminiscences, evident in Statuit which sounds at times like the tearful improvisations of a lonely church organist, or Canyon Meadows which resonates like a spectral decomposition of a change ringing ensemble. The longest and penultimate track, Movement For The Completely Fucked, remains close in tone and intentions to those themes, but shows also more scope in its harmonic development. The lulling organs swells have a strange hypnotic effect on the listener and open vast territories to eventually create a near-mystical emptiness. – Full info

Higuma – Pacific Fog Dreams

The lowest rate of church attendance in the United States occurs in The Pacific Northwest and this vast territory constantly reports the highest percentage of atheism; this occult phenomenon is most prominent in the part of the region west of the Cascades. Current findings reveal that 25% of the population in Washington and Oregon believe in no religion at all.

Religion plays a smaller part in Pacific Northwest politics than in the rest of the United States. The religious right has considerably less political influence than in other regions. Political conservatives in the Pacific Northwest tend to identify more strongly with free-market libertarian values than they do with the reactionary principles of religious social conservatives.

“Pacific Fog Dreams” contains seven sonic slabs of tonal theory that dare to document the experience of “cosmic consciousness,” including the musicians own acoustic account of their ventures into this inward realm. Caminiti creates exquisite walls of celestial guitar to form an emotional meta-drone that echoes and exposes; instinct, intelligence and anxiety. Shifting between honeyed compositional phrase spirits and an electrified sensuality of thrummed annihilation, this sonic symposium reveals questions about the false opposition of the soul and substance. – Full info

Charles-Eric Charrier – Oldman

“Oldman” by Charles-Eric Charrier is certainly something of a departure from the previous album released on Experimedia, “Silver”…

Whilst “Silver” was cerebral post-rock, the new approach sees the artist, seated with a bass, in the middle of a room surrounded by mikes, sans any accompaniment save some sparse bass overdubs, and what seems like some occasional strings or “colour” by partner Beatrice Templé. The approach is brutally honest – a strong characteristic of the record is the sound of the artist breathing in and out, and the sound of hands swiping across the strings, the chair creaking and seemingly the sound of the air moving around the room.

I’m a deep lover of solo bass as an instrument, and once I was past the seeming 180-degree turnaround in musical style I was completely sold on the absolute sincerity in sound. Absolutely no hiding anything with this approach, you’re actually in the room with the artist.

As nothing is hidden, when multiple tracks are being used there are overlapping room sounds – the aforementioned breathing and creaking multilayered over each other is almost like mixed texture/field recording, it’s that tactile. The mikes are hot, white hot, and they pick up every movement and sound Charrier makes. You can hear him whispering to himself.

Musically, the vibe is one of jazz, but as with “Silver” the punk aesthetic fairly seeps out of every pore. The multilayered bass meandering is articulate, emotive and daring, going everywhere and nowhere at once; Charrier displays an amazing ability to stay within melody without overtly demonstrating one. Joint Venture, who are releasing the album, describe the music as “somewhere between instrumental folk and popular tale, African blues and haïku, “chanson française” and contemporary music.” All of which does it justice, but it still fails to convey the singular sound and attitude of it all. – Full info

Evan Caminiti – When California Falls into the Sea

Geologists predict that California will eventually slide away into oblivion in about 50 million years. The Pacific ‘tectonic plate,’ which carries the western sliver of California, is sliding past North America at the rate of about five centimetres per year. One day, ‘Las Californias’ will slide underneath the earth’s crust somewhere near the Aleutian Islands, but don’t start panicking just yet.

Alert audiophiles soon fathom that Caminiti’s ambiguous album title carries no reference to continental drift at all. The song titles and press release indicate that this hazy lyrical guitar led lament is a critique of urban geography and of the “late-capitalist” society that is forced to search for space to live in within its decaying environs. In a shift away from his customary attempts at a musical recreation of the natural landscape, here we see the focus put on to a study of the precise laws and specific effects of the metropolitan geographical environment, consciously organized or not, on the emotions and behaviour of the individual.

This tranche of tonal dexterity attempts to teach people to see beyond the broken glass, urine puddles, derelict buildings, drug dealers, detritus, and cacophony of modern living. These mazy, sardonic, caustic and pessimistic riffs hover effortlessly across the faded landscape of “The Golden State”. Riddled with a postmodern sense of melancholy, paradoxically a beguiling sense of mischievous happiness exists in this surface of these sentient strings. Retrospective rhythms and considered chords urge us to seek out and discover a sense of awe and beauty in the everyday things that we take for granted: the very ordinariness that we walk past a thousand times, ignore and never pause to contemplate. – Full info

This months top ten selection was another seriously hard choice due to so many great releases gracing the Fluid ranks of late. The list below is what we finally narrowed things down to and is in no particular order…

Carousell – Black Swallow & Other Songs

In the last decade or so, Richard Skelton has cemented his place as one of experimental music’s most favored sons. Through a multitude of projects (under his own name and otherwise) and his own Sustain Release label there has been an absolute treasure trove of music to sink your teeth into. The first project of Skelton’s that I heard back in 2005 was Carousell (and the lovely A Dead Bridges Into Dust album) so it felt poetic that the first thing we worked on through Digitalis was a reissue of the latest Carousell album, Black Swallow & Other Songs.

Originally issued on Sustain Release in the criminally low run of 100 CDs, Black Swallow & Other Songs is a soft and sparse exercise in understated melodies. This is music rich in texture and heavy on the emotional impact it makes. The nearly-nine minute “Artery” opens the album and slowly coalesces from a fractured whisper to leave its marks in your skin. Blurry violin notes stretch to the breaking point while Skelton loosely strums and plucks his guitar into a warm, aural embrace. The title track continues with this theme, but adds a heavy dose of nostalgic melancholy to the proceedings. It’s like you have to look back, accept things and head down the winding path to a new future.

Even with a certain somberness at the heart of these songs is an underlying mirth. On the closing suite, “Owl Lanterns” and “The Clearing,” we get a full dose of this hopefulness. A child’s laughter flickers by while the bowed strings add an unfaltering lightness. Skelton’s guitar plucks are floating on clouds, passing by with a buoyant spirit. As Autumn Grieve’s wordless vocals bring everything to a close there is nowhere else to go but up. Her voice is the exclamation mark, powerful and restrained as it leads the minimal bowed & plucked strings to rest. – More

Implodes – Black Earth

Implodes are an experimental rock quartet based in Chicago who defy all attempts at pigeonholing…

Centred around core members Matt Jencik and Ken Camden, Implodes settled into their current lineup in 2009
and began practicing and writing in isolation until becoming the tight unit they are today. Having performed a number of live shows, they then went on to release a self-titled cassette that received positive reviews and it is with great anticipation that fans have awaited a full length album. Black Earth rises to the occasion and is a work which will entice listeners to delve into the band’s world of deep, dark and dare I say it, cinematic music.

Though it is a word overused almost to the point of cliche, Implodes are indeed eclectic within the realm of guitar driven Rock and at times the band can sound like the logical successor to early Sonic Youth at their dissonant best. They also contain shades of influential Noise-Rock band Swans and perhaps something of the melancholic ambience of The Jesus And Mary Chain, but they are not reduced to the sum of their influences. No, they appear to learn the lessons of each precursor and move onwards, forging a new sound entirely their own.

‘Open The Door’ serves as introduction with a short atmospheric track of repeated chord progressions hidden beneath a surface of delay, and it is not until succeeding number ‘Marker’ that the band throw themselves into their performance. The guitars are naturally the focal point here and they sound powerful but just out of reach behind echo and reverb, while the bass and drum rhythm section have the difficult task of keeping time with such intangible audio. Despite the discord and frequently unintelligible vocals, usually delivered spoken or snarling, there is most often a catchy melody to encourage spontaneous involuntary head movement. With this mixture of challenging material wrapped in melodic verse, one imagines the band must be a real tour-de-force live. -  More

Christina Carter – Texas Blues Working

Quite simply one of my all time favourite releases on Blackest Rainbow from one of this generations most amazing artists gets the upgrade from cassette to double vinyl LP, featuring the original 6 tracks from the original release, along with an additional brand new amazing track.

The original edition on tape received some fantastic reviews, so its great to finally have this out on vinyl, as it really is a superb recording, which came out around one of Christina’s most amazingly active recording periods, self releasing fantastic discs like Masque Femine, Two Nights Film and A Blossom Fell as well as Kranky releasing Original Darkness in 2008.

Texas Blues Working features six tracks of stunningly haunting guitar and vocals, creating an immensely deep and emotional listening experience. The previously unreleased track, the sublime 21 minute ‘Ladyfriend’, is another example of Christina’s incredible voice and guitar playing. Her voice is just unreal, so deeply emotional and mournful it gives you goosebumps.

Pressed on heavyweight virgin vinyl and housed in a gatefold sleeve featuring a series of black and white photographs by Joe Blanchard.

Ekca Liena – Slow Music For Rapid Eye Movement

Ambient musician Daniel Mackenzie returns once again as Ekca Liena with this re-issue of the critically acclaimed Slow Music For Rapid Eye Movement…

Originally released on Dead Pilot Records on a limited edition of 100 CDr in 2008, Slow Music For Rapid Eye Movement has been remastered and expanded for the label once again in a further run of 300, now featuring an extra disc of covers and remixes by artists such as Clem Leek, Nick Hudson and Duncan Harrison. With past releases on Under The Spire, Phantom Channel and Dead Pilot Records, Mackenzie’s work has been gathering favourable reviews and increasing attention, most recently on the full length Sleep Paralysis.

Working with heavily distorted guitar and synthesizers, Mackenzie sculpts his harsh sound into unexpectedly digestible rhythms and melodies, the material nodding subtly toward artists such as Tim Hecker and Fennesz. Once again dealing with a stage of sleep, the music is well suited to this subject and the use of reverb-laden guitar lines suit the atmosphere perfectly without becoming overly concerned with the theme.

Following the ambient dirge of opener Unfolding, Fire Emerging From Mist is a track epic in scope. Beginning at first with electronic static awash, this static is succeeded by a repetitive guitar riff which continues for some minutes until it is at first threatened with, and then ultimately destroyed by, sweeping modulated distortion. The mammoth Further Longer blends an eastern mysticism with noise for an almost EP length of seventeen minutes before the album closes with Missing Ending / Unfolding Revisited. – More

Natural Snow Buildings – Waves of the Random Sea

Stunning new record from Natural Snow Buildings, the collaborative project between Mehdi Ameziane and Solange Gularte, the minds behind Twinsistermoon and Isengrind respectively…

This new epic from the French duo is their first physical release since 2009?s well received ‘Shadow Kingdom’, also issued by us here at Blackest Rainbow, and it follows on from 2010?s download only ‘The Centauri Agent’ and both Twinsistermoon and Isengrind full length LPs. So 2010 has been a relatively quiet year for Natural Snow Buildings in comparison to 2008 and 2009.

Mehdi and Solange have been working on ‘Waves of the Random Sea’ for us for quite sometime, both in terms of art and audio, and it really has come together beautifully. Solange has created a truly stunning series of artworks that spread across the 4 panels of the gatefold sleeve, and the music is a gorgeous tapestry of dreamy drone blurred with their enchanting ethereal folk balladry.

This release continues to show how important every aspect of a Natural Snow Buildings release means to them, I was blown away by the standard of the music and artwork. Pressed on heavyweight virgin vinyl, and housed in a beautiful gatefold sleeve featuring artwork by Solange. – More

The Doomed Bird Of Providence – Will Ever Pray

Having been mightily impressed with Doomed Bird of Providence in a live setting, I couldn’t help but wonder how their macabre tales of early Australian history would translate to a recording as so much of their sound relies on the rawness of a live performance. However, this intimate feeling has been perfectly retained; with a rough recording style and no overly finessed production values to sap the life out of Kluzek’s growling vocal or the rag-tag instrumentalists.

Split into two halves, Will Ever Pray opens with four dark tales. From the suitably scratchy layered strings of ‘On A Moonlit, Ragged Sea’ to the lilting accordion and guitar of ‘On the Deathbed of Janus Weathercock’, these modern day sea shanties manage to convey the gruesome nature of the stories whilst maintaining a stunningly immersive beauty. Kluzek’s superb vocal style nestles comfortably within the wonderfully orchestrated instrumental layers, leaving the listener able to follow the tale without the vocal being over-bearing. ‘Fedicia Exine’ closes the first half, flitting between a funereal march to an intricate guitar line and beyond, trying to create a sense of identity for the lost soul behind this sorry tale.

The second half of the album consists of a five part portrayal of the massacre on board The Sea Horse as described by a broadsheet of the time. Opening with a sprawling instrumental piece full of foreboding, the scene is set by harsh droning strings and, later on, accordion. A fragment of melody is heard before blossoming into a hopeful theme, all the while a sense of unease underlying this feeling. – More

Heidi Harris – Sand In The Line

Sand In The Line is the latest full length release from Brooklyn, New York based singer-songwriter and visual artist Heidi Harris, who is also a member of the experimental chamber folk trio Cutleri.,,

The album opens with the upbeat Strum, a song featuring carefree singing and acoustic guitar played in the laid-back, almost lazy manner exclusive to those with a natural talent for the instrument. At various times throughout Sand In The Line, Harris is joined by flute, lap harp, field recordings and other discrete backing instruments, making use of natural reverb and singing partners also.

Lullaby Tones is noteworthy for its pairing of abstract vocal harmonies with delicate instrumentation and the sounds of an infant child. The title track also impresses with powerful, dynamic vocals offset by field recordings. Vocals are not always present however and on Naptime In A Foxhole for example, Harris concentrates on creating just over four minutes of charming experimentation, without choosing to sing.

Though the music here can be categorised as folk, Harris also echos hints of blues legends such as Son House in addition to more abstract influences. Perhaps due in part to these wide influences, one is treated to a remarkable depth and variety of sound. The artist appears to embrace a simple DIY method of recording, in a comparable manner to PJ Harvey’s 4-track demos or Will Oldham’s earliest works. The music suits this stripped down method of capturing sound and rather than being found wanting in any way, the artist is revealed as a real talent. – More

Birds of Passage – Without the World

It would be extremely safe to say that Denovali have a keen eye (ear to be more accurate) for musical talent. They have come to boast one of the strongest rosters among instrumental/experimental record labels with names like Blueneck, Her Name is Calla, Heirs, Hidden Orchestra and The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble all gracing their list of artists. Last year’s Swingfest was every music fan’s dream come true, a concoction of post-metal, experimental, post-rock of the highest standard. The label’s newest addition New Zealand’s Alicia Merz keeps that trend of brilliance going.

Operating under the Birds of Passage moniker, “Without the World” is as the album’s press release describes “singer songwriter for people who don’t like singer songwriter music”. One can’t help but think of Alicia as the female equivalent of Thomas Meluch (more commonly known as Benoît Pioulard). The kind of music that provokes all kinds of emotions as the album goes on without ever getting boring or repetitive. The experimentations in drones and soundscapes with varied instruments like organ, guitar and harmonica imposed over them keep things interesting throughout the duration of the album. The notes change subtly and the interaction between all the elements is done with a maturity that many artists don’t reach by their second or third albums.

The tracks wander between the minimal and dense, between those where the vocals steal the spotlight and others where the vocals are buried below everything only to accent certain words or communicate a particular message. Many fans of experimental music would consider the presence of vocals a turn off. Vocals bring to mind fears of neglected music in favor of lyric, the same old verse/chorus/verse/chorus structure, the same things many readers of this website try to escape in seeking something that will allow them to script their own lyrics to the music rather than have their emotions dictated to them. Alicia definitely realises that and from her musical palette one can definitely infer that she as well realizes the pitfalls other musicians can fall into when deciding to introduce vocals into their music. – More

Jeremy Bible & Jason Henry – Vryashn

Pronounced, fittingly, “variation,” Jeremy Bible and Jason Henry’s Vryashn first appeared courtesy of Gears of Sand Recordings in 2008. Bible is the founder and owner of the Experimedia label, which carries recent, excellent releases by Charles-Eric Charrier, Shinobu Nemoto, and Black Swan. Henry collaborates frequently with Bible, and records his solo material under the pseudonym Half Adder. During this first run, Vryashn was only available in CDR format, and in limited quantities. The album’s 54-minute weight was divided into two similar movements, “Vryashn 1? and “Vryashn 2,” each clocking in at well over 20 minutes.

The literature and past reviews surrounding Vryashn tell of a piano-heavy composition, although the listener can hardly tell. Indeed, in a 2008 interview, co-creator Bible listed “piano, recordings of water line pipes, wine glasses, rain on a window, and a garage lamp” as sound sources, all of which sound about right. The installation is mostly abstract, largely subdued, and leans toward the middle of the piano range. It is devoid of vocals, and the only traces of percussion are implied. There are no time signatures, few modules, and even fewer hooks: all positive omens, so far.

“Vryashn 1? begins slowly, almost delicately. Sparse piano notes are processed to the point that the hammer strike against the strings is mislaid, and the sound character of the instrument is luxuriously stretched beyond any familiarity. The effect is that of a solo cellist with an effects board, resembling in these first minutes one of Adam Hurst’s more ambient-sounding works. Previous listeners have described this effect as “a drowned world”, and “subaquatic”, and indeed, the muted music heard during our fleeting occasions spent underwater are as good a first comparison as any. The instrumentation here comes in waves, not in measures, while fine threads of what we’ll loosely define as “field recordings” run concurrently with the acoustic material. These samples are unrecognizable and employed with restraint.

The volume and tension build until the six-minute mark, where the piece introduces a percussive effect by striking the piano strings directly (with dulcimer hammers, most likely, although it is fun to speculate that this is where Bible and Henry put the wine glasses to good use). The level of clarity of this motif is exquisite: those interested can all but count the number of ridges along the coiled string simply by listening. It is here that the composition truly begins to resonate, both figuratively and otherwise. The canyon of echoes behind this more literal mallet work is exhilarating, and continues after the percussion work stops. The waves return for the third act, far more urgent now, until silence begins to envelope the piece over a five-minute conclusion. – More

A Dancing Beggar – Follow the Dark As If It Were Light

“Follow the Dark As If It Were Light” is the second full-length for James Simmons under the A Dancing Beggar moniker. Across the seven songs that make up the album Simmons resists the verse chorus structure in favour of what he calls ‘adventures’…

The album seems firmly rooted in the post-rock tradition, a tough genre to get right. But Simmons knows the formula and has enough conviction in his songwriting to keep it fresh and relevant. And as far as evolution of an artist goes, this one could be a contender for revelation of the year as Simmons shows growth in leaps and bounds and delivers an album that lingers with the listener long after the music stops.

From note one of “Follow the Dark…” it’s clear that this is an album of nuance and texture. Often the songs seem to move in layers; A layer may consist of, say, guitar and piano, rather than a single instrument. Each layer seems to build on a particular melody. As a result, it’s as if each melody is a voice adding to a choir.

To talk about the album in terms of individual songs is near pointless as this is an album that will have you listening from beginning to end each time you hit play. And in return what Simmons delivers is a moving album where quality never waivers. Now, in fairness, the album does take a slight detour with “Empty Boats” which doesn’t quite evolve the same way the other songs do. It has the most prominent vocal track on the album and seems unsure whether it wants to be a traditional A-B pop-song or an instrumental post-rock composition. As a result, what we get is something that’s stuck in between the two approaches and thus lacks direction. But even that is not enough to slow the album down.

“Returning” and “Here Come the Wolves” are probably the best contenders for singles from the album as both work as stand-alones but also serve well as microcosms of the album as a whole. Both songs are just note-perfect and seem to know exactly when to evolve. And each evolution, each new layer, seems to add weight to the emotional thrust of the songs. – More

February’s top ten selection is jam packed with heavyweight titles and if the recent batch of releases that have come our way are a sign of what’s to come in 2011 then boy are we in for one hell of a good year! The list below highlights some of our favorite albums that have been added to the latest channel 1 playlist and are in no particular order…

Anne Garner – Trusting A Twirled World

Following her 2005 debut album ‘Remaking The Pearl’, Anne Garner returns with ‘Trusting A Twirled World’, an album comprising six hauntingly beautiful pieces defined by delicate vocals, piano and manipulated sound. London based Garner was born in Burnley to a Baptist minister and then subsequently raised in Glossop, Derbyshire. A move to Sheffield coincided with the artists’s artistic blossoming and her early adulthood was spent performing, painting and composing until the devastating loss of her mother prompted songwriting with a new focus and resolve.

‘Trusting A Twirled World’ is a labour of love created over a two year period, with the input of experimental music producer and owner of Slowcraft Records, James Murray. Originally consisting of piano and vocals, the tracks were then stripped to their elements before being carefully reconstructed with layered textures of complimentary acoustic and electronic structures. This painstaking method has given life to an album experimental in nature but anchored with an almost pop sensibility, comparable to Joanna Newsom’s earlier material, albeit from a different perspective distinctive to Garner and Murray. – More info

Dustin O’Halloran – Lumiere

In 2010, Dustin O’Halloran made the heads of contemporary classical fans, piano aficionados, and beautiful music lovers in general turn in awe and bow in appreciation for his breathtaking live album Vorleben. Almost ten months later, the solo piano effort of epic emotional effect and dream inducing melodies is being featured on experimental music websites’ year end lists everywhere, including here at Fluid Radio, and now, as if to reserve his place in next year’s lists he presents us with Lumiere.

Lumiere is an expansion of the sound Dustin O’Halloran had established in his first two albums, and gives the listener deeper insight into his abilities as a composer. With the strings of New York’s ACME ensemble, Stars of the Lid’s Adam Wiltzie’s guitar, the violin of Peter Broderick and the mixing abilities of Jóhann Johannsson all aiding in making O’Halloran’s compositions come to life, this is a work of the highest order. Forty three minutes of expansive, utterly flawless music.

The piano is still there; oh it’s still there, smack dab at the center of almost every movement. Fading in and out at the exact right moments and accented by the other instruments’ performances. That’s not to say that the other instruments are only there to as supporting cast, not at all, but their presence makes the piano shine in all its glory. Every note is made more significant and each song all the more fuller. Take “We Move Lightly” for example, at heart it is a simple piano melody, moving as naturally and briskly as possible; a projection of O’Halloran state of mind at a given point in time. Nothing is forced or over complicated yet the song has a unique richness to it. The main reason behind that lies in the highly intelligent placement of the string swells, their entrance and their subtlety. On listening to it, one can’t imagine it without these added elements, the texture they add can’t be compromised. – More info

SMM: Context

SMM: Context is the first release in Ghostly International’s new yearly compilation series of evocative, exploratory music. In 2004, Ghostly International introduced SMM, an unknown acronym used to evaporate the already-unspooling musical boundaries between classical minimalism, electronic and drone composition, film soundtracks, and fragile imaginary landscapes. SMM: Context features a hand-picked selection of some of the world’s finest musicians from Poland, Germany, Denmark, Norway, North America and the UK who traffic in SMM’s slow-moving, texture-focused compositions, simple in instrumentation, but infinitely complex in execution.

Svarte Greiner’s “Halves” creates a David Lynch-ian dreamscape out of slowly undulating drones and distant creaks and scratches. Wire magazine favorite Leyland Kirby contributes “Polaroid”, a wide-open vista of barely plucked nylon strings and deep synthesizer swells. Guitar-and-turntables duo The Fun Years patiently fold loops and spy-guitar noodles into “Cornelia Amygdaloid”, a patient, minimalist take on psychedelia. Rafael Anton Irisarri (aka The Sight Below , the compilation’s lone Ghostly artist) tips his hat to “furniture music” pioneer Erik Satie in “Moments Descend on My Windowpane”, a soulful piano-and-noise meditation. Context closes with Peter Broderick’s “Pause”, a time-stopping slice of acoustic-guitar melancholia.

The songs on SMM: Context can’t be categorized. They do their work in a multitude of ways, seeming to change depending on when and how they’re listened to, providing a backdrop for life’s small movies, or—if you’re not into the whole “ambient as life soundtrack” thing—acting as their own context, existing simply as elegant, heartbreakingly beautiful music. – Full review soon

Deaf Center – Owl Splinters

In the most simple of terms, ‘Owl Splinters’ is a great album. This latest work from Norwegian duo Deaf Center, builds on the illustrious reputation they set when they released ‘Pale Ravine’ six years ago. Now regarded as masters of creating bleak atmospheric audio worlds full of gloomy and mysterious imagery, ‘Owl Splinters’ presents itself as a brilliant sounding record and one that displays a maturing collaboration between its two creators…

Having had the opportunity to delve deep into ‘Owl Splinters,’ perhaps its most striking quality is in its production value. The lo-fi techniques found in ‘Pale Revine’ are souped-up considerably thanks to the music being recorded at Nils Frahm’s Durton studio in Berlin. This is evident from album opener ‘Divider’ where Erik Skovdin’s cello loops itself in foreboding fashion to create a sea of blackness. The sound is sharp, layered and loud, and a stereoscopic sense of foreboding is conjured. Having this play on full volume is recommended as these sounds will completely envelop the listener.

In addition to the quality of the production, where one can hear the minutest of sounds, the other underlying attributes of this album are both in its ambition and scope. On ‘New Beginning (Tidal Darkness)’ we are taken on journey deep into a place of mystery as the cadaverous bass of Otto Totland’s piano initially work to support Skovdin’s cello.  In the end the two come together with the creepy high notes of piano balanced by a swirling darkness of strings. – More info

Tasogare: Live In Tokyo

“Tasogare: Live In Tokyo” are five tracks by five 12k artists, recorded live over two nights in temples in Tokyo, Japan in April 2010…

Initial impression? The major thing that separates “Tasogare” from a conventional live recording is a notable absence of any crowd noise. The primary defining characteristic of all other live shows you’ve heard in the past is the crowd chatter that opens tracks, before the music becomes the primary focus and the rabble stops to listen. The fact that this is missing speaks volumes about the project, and reinforces the reverent tone that flows through the DNA of the record. Even the closing track fades out gently without any audience interaction.

Reverent is the word, indeed; every artist bring their best foot forward and plant it carefully and wisely in very much the same space. Each brings character and mood of their own (which stops it from becoming stale or tedious). The sedate and respectful mood of the record is what differentiates this from studio excursions that possess more frenetic experimentation.

Minamo opens with some faintly piercing alarm tones, counterpointed with some mature flourishes. If you are a fan of insistent noise, you’ll find this to your liking. There’s some endearing complexity.

Sawako+Hofli provide a total counterpoint. After a diversion of an opening, the track opens up into a cinematic blanket of sound. The mood is elegant and considered, and the light chimes and drones are capable of totally distracting you from the outside world if you allow them to. The guitar and bird noise that closes the track (along with the gentle vocal work) gives the listener a nice melodic hook to hang onto.

Moskitoo’s track is an intelligent edit of three performances: a shivering electronic introduction mirrors her frail vocal contributions, before a clever arrangement of percussion and melody combine with her voice to become a texture. The closing third of her fifteen-minute opener is serene, thoughtful and affecting. – More info

Damian Valles – Fixtures

Damian Valles is the curator of the ‘Rural Route’ series on Standard Form. Judging by the artists involved with the series it would be safe to assume that Damian knows what is up when it comes to ambient music, in terms of both listening and creating. Of course, being Canadian and therefore by default immediately under the shadow of Tim Hecker and Aidan Baker is probably a difficult thing to contend with, but he seems to be handling it really rather well; having released one physical full length with the mighty Under the Spire and various other EPs and free downloads with labels such as Resting Bell and Audio Gourmet.

“Fixtures” is an extremely varied set of compositions that straddle the lines between ambient and experimental; using a combination of piano, guitar, field recordings and all the other usual suspects, Damian has set fourth capturing a very winter based sound set but applying that atmosphere and that tone to a bunch of different textures and soundscapes. Opener “Black Locust” looms slowly in with its bleak gradient of crystallized distortion and leads you through a vast fog laden forest of claustrophobic blackness. “Adzes” wakes you from this death-trance and you suddenly find yourself immersed in a glassy toned river bed, over looking endless clear skies and a horizon cover in bright white snow. It’s an incredibly refreshing piece and is a stark contrast to the heaviness of “Black Locust”. – More info

Tim Hecker – Ravedeath, 1972

If there’s one thing that characterises Tim Hecker’s music, it’s a spirit of dichotomy, sitting comfortably betwixt smooth, rounded ambient edges and jagged points of noise. Ravedeath, 1972 continues that dichotomy, and embodies another one, combining the effervescent caprice of live improvisation with the cool consideration subsequently brought to bear on it in the studio.

From the outset, this album makes it clear that noise is going to be the order of the day. First track “The Piano Drop”—presumably named for the curious event on the cover—unveils material pushed into overload, although it’s neither harsh nor forbidding, bludgeoning the ears with all the force of a pillow fight. Its spinning surface quickly erodes away due to its own constriction into a more shimmering, pulsating kind of object, that seems to fade rather too quickly (i could happily have listened to this develop for a lot longer).

Hecker includes two triptychs on the album, the first of which, “In the Fog”, is the only point where field recordings feature in a demonstrably recognisable way, its chugging boat sounds (which act as book-ends to the triptych) establishing a palpable sense of voyage. ‘Fog’ is certainly an appropriate word for what that voyage comprises, its delicate opening quickly attracting more and more layers around it, including a prominently heard piano. Hecker’s fog is fascinating, with an ever-shifting density that occasionally affords glimpses far into the distance. The sound of a pipe organ—the recording took place in an Icelandic church—protrudes abruptly through the central panel, placing chords that are caught up in incessant loops, accumulating more layers of dirt. Although they form a crust, it’s ultimately shrugged off by the power of the organ pedals, which force their way into the foreground; at the end, it doesn’t so much fade as—appropriate for a fog—dissipate, returning to the boat from whence it began.

These first few tracks have packed a real punch, captivating and engrossing, conveying their ideas—despite the obfuscation that cakes them—with vivid clarity. But that can’t be said for everything on Ravedeath, 1972. Originating as it does in a day of improvisation, there are times when the music lacks a distinct idea, becoming all about texture, and there’s a concomitant tendency to find one’s attention mirroring the music’s lack of focus. Yet equally there are times when it’s precisely this kind of sonic obstinacy that pays the richest dividends. – More info

Barn Owl & The Infinite Strings Ensemble – The Headlands

”The Headlands” is the most recent appearance by Fluid favorites Barn Owl, a behemoth of textured drones mixing their signature guitar sound with the Long String Instrument, a creation of performer and sound artist Ellen Fullman. Ably assisting them on this outing are producer The Norman Conquest, also cellist and improviser Theresa Wong, all contributing to the four-track vinyl release.

The project is described as “deep material of a complexly emotional nature”, and  “eternal ragas for the infinite now”.  The concept of infinity is definitely addressed within the tracks – burring drones of nine or so minutes each, all with sufficient spacious depth to become lost in for an indefinite period and all with sufficient textural complexity to warrant the listener doing so.

It’s hard to isolate the star of the project. The tones all compliment themselves equally, and it’s been mixed in such a way that no one instrument is given priority over the other. The guitars of Evan Caminiti and Jon Porras are identifiable when their various feedback hums rise to the surface, and the occasional ebowed slide work really sings when it pokes it head out. After a few listens I found it easier to decipher the different instruments operating in tandem with each other, but on an initial listen I was somewhat perplexed. Probably adding to the confusion was my own expectation that the record would sound like “Ancestral Star”, which is not the case. – Full info

Juv – Juv

The halls are flooded with a foreboding resonance, permeating the pores; the wallpaper becomes unglued and the doors, unhinged. Juv, two men who shut themselves in for days at a time almost 14 years ago, recording in darkness, fine tuning this craggy beast of an album that harnesses discordant sounds, decided that it should finally be unveiled to the world courtesy of Miasmah; gasps and shudders ensue.

Who or what is Juv? I wasn’t prepared for this pallid provocation and onslaught of noise. I faced the billowing groans of sound, the unnerving ripple of drone lying dormant in the background that creeps under your skin, rising and falling like the tides and sending me sputtering out into a sea of darkness. The mechanic undertow drifts along waiting for its prey, and I surrendered. There is a push and pull; the screeching in the foreground lulls you out even further. I was scared of the depths this music would reach. Would I return?

A heavy-handed tension builds through “Los” and “Juv”, as the former acts as a sort of overture to the proceedings with looping guitars that cackle and fade. This is very much a Miasmah release but it is much more forceful than anything they’ve unveiled before. “Juv” sways with a persistent iridescent light and blinks on and off while machines tumble in the background.

On “Infinitiv”, the tension veers towards a breaking point. Each shift in tone threw my mind and body off balance. The anticipation was too much, waiting for what would happen. After each subsequent change in sound, a breath could be taken, feeling returned to my legs. But at a certain point in the piece, my mind went black, my body went numb, and I succumbed to the music and left my body completely. “Revolusjoner” is alarming in its magnitude; the cascade of noise reaches a pinnacle before easing off and allowing the listener to catch their breath as it ends, and through it’s segue into “Knute”. As the album reaches its halfway point, the rush of blood has subsided, the tension has been released, and my cuticles have been chewed off. The moonlight shines in ever so slightly through the window blinds, and as I open them wider, “Forvarsel” gradually begins its ascent. – More info

Fabio Orsi – Stand Before Me, Oh My Soul

For some, expressing oneself is a difficult task. It takes away any aspect of security one may have been clinging on to and opens up your inner being to be displayed in all its detail. For others it comes naturally; and be it through some form of art, it is quite a beautiful thing to behold. Experimental, Avant Garde or simply music that doesn’t follow traditional structures or sounds is, to my mind, the most spectacular form of expressionism. Sure, words can be more intimate and accessible, but allowing your thoughts, feelings and emotions to control an instrument is raw and empowering. This is what Fabio Orsi’s latest work feels like to me; a trip through memories, deep thoughts and heavy emotions. This album is ecstatic, it’s uplifting and it sounds so pure and rich; this sound coupled with the album and track names seems as though he poured his entire soul into it.

Perhaps better known for his Drone work, here Orsi takes us on a wild trip through pummelling drums, tectonic noise crescendos, glimmering sheets of white out guitars and bleeding edge psychedelic wonderment. At times heavy, dark and angry and at others kaleidoscopic, shimmering and bright, “Fabio Orsi – Stand Before Me, Oh My Soul” is a testament to an artist at the top of his game. The addition of Rich Baker on drums truly takes Orsi’s sound to another dimension, previously unreachable perhaps through more minimalist set ups, but this is another beast altogether.

Beginning with “Naked Trance”, where a creeping static tricks you into a false sense of solitude, you are thrown into a psychedelic space freak out immediately as the drums crash into motion. The track is hypnotic with its repetitive rhythms and synth passages merging together to form a collage of bizarre colours and imagery. “Papa, show me your Blues LPs” is a beast of a track, with wailing noise and thunderous drums forcing you against a wall, battering you with their force and intensity. “My Awesome Drugs Propaganda” sees Fabio & Rich reaching full on Punk Rock territory with the darkest and heaviest track on the album, combining a foreboding doom bass line with clattering drums. The final 3 tracks on the album offer up some solitude, with “Please Could You Hide That Ghost Noise?” bringing a glazed melodic drone to the album that is so welcomed and so earned after the first half of the album. – Full info

The last of this years monthly top 10 posts brings together an impressive selection of releases from artists such as Grouper, Gurun Gurun and Danny Saul to name but a few. Watch out for our end of year ‘Best Of’ compilation coming in the next few weeks…

Machinefabriek, Kleefstra/Bakker/Kleefstra, Liondialer – That it Stays Winter Forever

‘That it Stays Winter Forever’ is a group of three individual recordings by artists Machinefabriek, Kleefstra/Bakker/Kleefstra and Liondialer…

Limited to just 300 copies and set to accompany a forthcoming tour of the Far East, we’re delighted to provide an exclusive review of this record which marks the conclusion of a strong year for Manchester based White Box Recordings.

Labelled as the ‘Masters of the Dark Arts’, there can be no denying the ambition and scope of the tracks presented by each of the artists here. Machinefabriek provides a 17 minute drone fest to open the proceedings with a track labeled ‘Instuif.’ Laced with an accessible, warm and fuzzy loop of electronic haze, the track builds slowly with minute glitches and crackles. The immediate effect of this is a meditative trance that is inflicted on the listener. As the music builds and the listener becomes more enveloped in the sound, the frequency of these glitches increase, while occasional drones fuse into this mesh of electronic glow. Certainly one of the more comforting recordings from the huge outpouring of music we’ve come to hear from Machinefabriek, ‘Instuif’ evokes thoughts of luminous colours such as oranges and yellows whilst still maintaining the coolness of a winter sun. One senses the flickering light of a burning wood fire, its spitting flames and the moody shadows it gives off, as the track comes to its slow conclusion. – Read more

Grouper – Hold/Sick

There’s no denying the aching beauty in the music of Grouper aka Liz Harris from Portland, Oregon…

I can’t recall a single piece of her music that hasn’t resonated with me. Her distant and hazey compositions have been a firm favourite of mine since I first lay my ears on the first album proper, the fittingly titled “Way Their Crept” on Free Porcupine (re-released in 2007 by Type Records); a strange trip through echoing vocals and muffled keyboard psychedelics.

Most recently, the latest full length, titled “Dragging a Dead Dear up a Hill” for Type Records saw her put more emphasis on vocals as less of a textural element and more of a communicative output; as her lyrics become much clearer and concise. This was an unexpected move to more dream pop territory but with it she blew the genre apart and wowed listeners who may not have previously been aware of her.

“Hold/Sick” is a 7” released by Room 40 in highly limited numbers and is also available as a download. In her own words, Liz describes the release as being “…about feeling like an observer of one’s own emotions”. Honestly, I can’t think of a better way of describing it! The opening guitar of “Hold” creeps in through layers of damp fog producing a wondrously soft atmosphere; each sound dissipates it’s self  into the other as her voice mournfully breathes its luscious drone-like tones. – Read more

Monolyth & Cobalt – The Clyde Parker Project 3

This two disc set is the third release in “The Clyde Parker Project” series from French artist Monolyth & Cobalt. The release sees Mathias build on the collaborative model developed over his previous two releases, casting his net wide across the globe and inviting participation from a huge range of artists. The listener will note some familiar and some not-so-familiar names across the albums twenty four tracks, including some Fluid Radio favourites; Keepsakes, Hannu, Pawn, Con_Cetta, Dawn Smithson, Saddleback, M. Ostermeier…the line-up is really terribly impressive.

The music is reflective of the quality of artists involved – excellent. Tracks range from degraded tape hiss pop (akin to releases this year from Laura Gibson +Ethan Rose and Fieldhead), through deep and evocative cello treatments, subtle and beautiful exercises in glitched piano composition, shimmering tonal workouts and reflective chopped guitar.

It would be impossible to do justice to this release except by analysing it track by track – which I’m not going to do! I will instead pick out a few highlights, with the proviso that an album of such consistent quality and diversity deserves more than a mere sampling. – Read more

Hessien – Home Is Where The Ghost Is

The ever prolific Hessien follow up last month’s Broken with their debut full-length album Home Is Where The Ghost Is…

Working under their Hessien guise, acoustic sound artists Charles Sage and Tim Diagram produce beautifully crafted works that merge the acoustic and electronic together to form a seamless whole. Home… is noticeably sparser than Hessien’s previous works, allowing the album to grow as a whole over a longer period of time. Fragments of melody appear and retreat amongst a gentle hum of ambient noise and softly distorted guitars drift through the distance, while static crackles flit all around.

As on previous Hessien releases, what stands out here is the lack of processing on much of the guitar work. This is taken to a new level on Home… with its distinctly instrumental leaning and although there are plenty of electronically processed sounds there is a noticeable human element that can so often be lacking in much of what is termed organic electronica. Through a more minimal approach, the sounds at work here are given room to flourish, allowing each minute sound to be heard and develop fully.

The duo have confessed to seeing this album as an American New Wave film; the kind that goes on for hours with no obvious plot, instead comprising a series of beautifully grainy wide-screen shots of neverending landscapes and this seems a very fitting analogy. The work as a whole immerses the listener, taking them on a journey through an imaginary film full of endless dusty roads, alienated suburbs and setting suns. Themes come and go throughout the album, be it a dissected guitar melody or fragment of noise, creating a unified work that becomes more and more familiar over time. – Read more

Gurun Gurun – Gurun Gurun

Gurun Gurun is a Czech-based experimental, weird ambient & improvised music collective formed in the autumn 2007 by guitarist Tomas Knoflicek and keyboardist Jara Tarnovski…

Their musical work combines guitars, analogue synthesizers, turntables, acoustic instruments and digital effects to span musical spaces ranging from hypno-minimalist atmospheres to warm tones of slow moving, repetitive melodic stanzas.

Their twelve track debut album is a balancing act of frenetic yet sedate melodic layering that dances between chaotic and considered; multiple tones vie for space around central melodies that sound as though they could have been sampled from multiple genres of film soundtrack.

Track one, ‘Fu’, featuring vocals by Japanese sound and melody artist Moskitoo, is a loping and cyclical excursion in beeping and sliding textures, all resting on an at times staccato electronic pulse.

‘Karumi’ leads in with some recording hiss and clatter, then slides into stringed and woodwind exchanges that are anchored by bass drops and glitchy beeping and bubbling. The arrangement coheres nicely at about the three minute mark and brings in new layers which seem to be mobile phone interference (!) and GYBE-esque Tesla cello.

‘Emoto’ is a haunted toybox leading into the melodic ‘Kodomo’, voiced by Japanese chanteuse Rurarakiss; an almost conventional melody and structure carefully covered in effects and incongruous musical layers, deconstructed to centre around evocative wood lines. Singular tracks pepper the peripheries with multiple indecipherable interjections. – Read more

Marta Mist – Fawn / Marta’s Lament

Marta Mist have made the choice to remain as anonymous as possible. They choose to give as little away about themselves as they can; all that is known about them is that they are a “collective” and they are based in Leeds. I’m a firm believer that it doesn’t matter who is behind the music; whoever they are and whatever they’ve done or do shouldn’t effect one’s enjoyment of their music. And why should it? Of course there are limits, but at the end of the day, it’s the music you take enjoyment from, not the personality or actions of the people making said music.

So what happens when this is turned around? With removing all trace of identity have Marta Mist perhaps elevated my enjoyment of their music? By pronouncing themselves as anonymous as they have, it’s added an air of pretension to, well, everything about them. Even their web presence, as minimal as it is, is soaked in attention seeking mystique. What is, on the one hand an interesting promotional idea, is on the other, terribly and unfortunately so, incredibly pretentious. Of course this has absolutely nothing to do with the music, rightfully so, but it seems a bit of a shame they have almost had to manufacture this character around their music; because it doesn’t need it and can be a distraction from the music. – Read more

Part Timer – Reel to Reel

Barely two months on from his Upward Arrows release for the Under The Spire label John McCaffrey gives us another stunner with this new Part Timer release for the Lost Tribe label…

Upward Arrows fits with the grand narrative of the UTS sound (thus far) and was clearly designed to achieve such ends. Similarly, Real to Reel emphasizes the more stripped down and pastoral aspects of McCaffrey’s work, making it an ideal fit for Lost Tribe label. Here, McCaffrey places his guitar work right out front across Real to Reel’s 13 tracks and gives us some of his gentlest and sparsest acoustic playing to date. As with all the output from Part Timer up to this point, this is a solid piece of work which is consistent from beginning to end.

Whenever I think of McCaffrey’s work as Part Timer I can’t help but compare the composition of his songs to that of a photograph; in simplest terms, there is the background and then there is the foreground. In the foreground of the Part Timer sound is McCaffrey’s guitar playing, usually in sharp focus, while the background consists of the layers of minimal electronics and other instruments he uses to add layers and texture to his songs. Real to Reel thrives on the tension between these two counterpoints to give an album that is intensely focused and fits nicely within the context of the gently evolving sound of McCaffrey’s work under the Part Timer moniker. – Read more

Taishi Kamiya – Spectra of Air

The opening track, ‘Calm’, has a piercing tone that gradually morphs into the mesmerising sound mentioned above. My initial impression was that the sax sound had been pitched down and sounded like a didgeridoo, but this impression faded after the track had wore on for a few minutes. The occasional bursts of hiss and electronic texture break the sound up well, and the organic tone of the sax is still faintly present; lots of mid bass hum and a really great use of panning – it seems to sit as the centrepiece and the remaining parts hover to either side.

‘Northern Nature’ has quite the delicate opening that then branches into multiple layers of drone. Pulsing melody hums away in the background, hinting at a break into conventional instrumentation that arrives in the form of chiming click and electronica. These first two tracks both break the ten minute mark, and act as a good “gateway” into the release, acclimatising you to the low temperature and occasional wind. Some lovely organ drops towards the tail end, a concession to harmony with some flittering sax lines.

I’m with Home Normal on this one – definitely a cut above.

‘Misty Morning’ is perhaps more representative of what I was expecting from the project when first reading about it – the sound still maintains the evocative tones of the previous two, but has a more reedy aspect that I found easier to identify with as a woodwind instrument. The swirling electronics and hiss act as the highlights, and provide a faintly insistent groove that almost demands some percussion to accompany it. The artist should be proud of this one. – Read more

Danny Saul: Kinison – Goldthwait

To have the names of two of the most famous comedians of the 1980’s, let alone two engaged in one of the harshest feuds ever between any comedians as the title of the album, with artwork to match, could leave the prospective listener with a number of different notions regarding the music contained in this album. Personally speaking, having never heard any of Danny Saul’s previous albums, the first thing that came to mind prior to listening to this release was that it could be an electronica influenced album, with lots of tension and relief, and loads of samples by both comedians embedded randomly within the music. I couldn’t have been any farther from the truth…

“Kinison – Goldthwait” is Danny Saul’s second full length under his name, and the latest in many releases that he’s been part of, such as Tsuji Giri, Xela, and Liondialer. That last one being a collaboration with the excellent Greg Haines, who earlier this year gave us one of his finest albums, “Until the Point of Hushed Support” (a definite must have/hear/love). “Kinison…” is also Danny’s first release on Hibernate records, who have also provided us with some excellent records, most notably Marta Mist’s “Distance / Skeletal / Union”. Something I should’ve noted prior to making my dark ambient / electronica assumption, as this album continues the label’s trend in releasing fine drone drenched experimental music. – Read more

The Declining Winter – Scenes from the Back Bedroom Window

I’m always excited to hear new material from The Declining Winter – Richard Adams’ previous albums are firm favourites in this reviewer’s house. Melancholic, resolutely Northern, and exuding a warm familiarity, Richard’s music has always sounded like an extension of that produced during his Hood days, albeit with an idiosyncratic twist.

This EP, then, marks an interesting point in The Declining Winter’s development as a project. Whereas previous releases have concentrated on establishing a solid and fairly traditional “band” sound, “Scenes from the Back Bedroom Window” appears to be an endeavour to blur this template and create something which, whilst maintaining continuity with the already laid foundations, exhibits a qualitatively different character.

Seemingly influenced by bandmate Paul Elam’s Fieldhead project, “Scenes from the Back Bedroom Window” has a deep, near ambient, textural feel to it. Opener “Leave” could easily have featured on Fieldhead’s recent “Riser” EP.  Organ chords, granulated vocals, and judiciously applied reverbs combine to form a slow burning, steady state piece – elemental and commanding, this is a far cry from anything released under the Declining Winter moniker thus far. – Read more

October's Top 10 by Fluid Radio on Mixcloud

Many apologies for the lateness of this months Top 10 selection. I would love to sit here and make up some bizarre excuse but the simple truth is we forgot! Anyway I hope you will agree that October’s edition was worth the wait and includes another strong line up from the likes of Barn Owl, Padang Food Tigers, Winter’s Day and Upward Arrows…

Padang Food Tigers – Born Music

Padang Food Tigers, better known as Spencer Grady and Steven Lewis from Rameses III, follow up their EP from this year, Go Down, Moses…

Born Music is a somber and meditative collection of enigmatic field recordings, mixed with sparse and elegant instrumentation. It’s themed well, with the tones of the recordings consistent throughout. The guitar and banjo have a great thump to them, and on the whole feels considered and assured.

Born Music is certainly a more expansive effort than their previous release, which was enjoyable but brief (under ten minutes in length). It sees Grady and Lewis expanding further on the Food Tigers’ sound, and can widely be considered a success on most fronts. Their use of found sounds, or field recording layers, is both skillful and restrained, and balances the minimalist instrumentation out well.  Recommended. Full info

Winter’s Day – Winter’s Day 7″

This new ep from Winter’s Day introduces us to the exciting, if somewhat unlikely pairing, of Aaron Martin and Dawn Smithson…

At just two tracks long and available on only 250 7” pressings, a succinct pair of tracks leaves the listener intrigued by what may follow from this talented duet.

When Dawn Smithson burst on to the scene five years ago with her Kranky debut ‘Safer Here’ listeners were provided with a heart wrenching selection of love songs which married her distinctive voice with acoustic guitar. Last year this was followed up by ‘Earth Machine’ an album I struggled to track down. By contrast Aaron Martin’s output has been prolific with multiple LPs and collaborations in his armoury.

The two tracks on Winter’s Day see Smithson’s minimal acoustic guitar combine with Martin’s expansive strings which entangle themselves with her ghostly vocals. Both tracks display the more sombre and melancholic qualities of these musicians, however there is a definite beauty within this sadness both conveyed in the lyricism and instrumentation. Full info

Brave Timbers – For Everyday You Lost

Change is upon us. Those long, drawn out, dusty summer days are slowly being replaced by a lower sun, a cooling air and a transfer in mood. As we prepare to migrate to this seasonal shift that promises new colours, smells and thoughts, a piece of music announces itself and effortlessly captures this sense of reformation. The album ‘For Everyday You Lost’ by Brave Timbers is quite simply a remarkable work of heartfelt, intimate encouragement that will no doubt be remembered as one of the most honest and beautiful creations of the year.

Brave Timbers is the performing and recording alias of multi-instrumentalist Sarah Kemp. Having already worked with the likes of The Declining Winter and Fieldhead, this solo debut from Sarah sees her combine violin, tenor guitar and piano to create 11 contemporary classical compositions which in their entirety will also hold their own amongst the canons of great acoustic folk recordings.

From the album’s opening track ‘More Like Oak Than The Willow’ the elegance of this music is immediately apparent. The delicate plucking of guitar feels like an early dawn and the sounds that follow, including some of the warmest and most comforting string play thanks to Sarah’s violin, create a sense of the day coming to life. Indeed, the homely nature of this creation evokes images of farmyards and wildlife growing within a time lapse frame. In short, the opening track is the album’s genesis, and the proceeding tracks continue on this theme of nature, rural life and a general feel for a quintessentially British landscape. Full info

Upward Arrows – Upward Arrows

For Upward Arrows, John McCaffrey moves away from his work as Part-Timer to design a clearing, flooded throughout with an omnipotence of sound. Created as an outlet to move into sparser, drone territory, where folk tendencies intermingle with modern classical motifs, Upward Arrows deftly constructs gentle arrangements that live and exist in thin air…

To carry on the theme included in the description of the album, the church spires, that give the label its namesake, point heavenward, the music follows suit, leaving the listener consumed with feelings of transcendence. Practically devoid of all the familiar qualities of Part-Timer (electronic leanings, crystalline production), McCaffrey concocts a mixture of organic sounds and assorted field recordings to augment the unique orchestral flourishes, which rise up and fade quite effortlessly. The tracks titles are cleverly designed to reflect the idea of “upward arrows” as they are just a series of circumflexes, or, as I’ve come to discover, clarets (^). For instance, the rickety plucks of guitar that swirl and beckon the arrival of a distant wane of strings, opens the album and is designated by one “upward arrow.” The far-away drone that acts as an undercurrent allows the focus and clarity of the seesawing strings to glisten and shine through and weave in and out, making “^^” a highlight for sure. Full info

Hessien – Obelisk/Stelea

Under the lamplight, which is a small, insignificant light, yet enough to light the whole room, the distant sound of a guitar rumbles throughout, shaking the core, reaching the bone. Hessien are providing the impetus to remove oneself with their new release “Obelisk/Stelea”; an album that engulfs the listener in blinding rays of light that peek through a perceived pallor and solemnity. As Hessien, Charles Sage & Tim Diagram deliver obtuse soundscapes, augmented by hazy textures, and an ever-evolving penchant for disorientation and serene exploration.

Positing the listener in a tranquil stasis, the opener “Gazed and Pale Reflections” reveals a darkness permeated by shiny consonance, guitars ring out over and beneath one another, the listener drifts off, leaving the lamplight behind. As the title suggests, we revert to a pensive mood, pleasing thoughts replace the guttural voices and images weighing heavily on our mind. As the first of four original pieces on this release – the four remaining works are reimaginings by Solo Andata, Jasper TX, Zelienople, and Konntinent – “Gazed and Pale Reflections” sets the tone for this remarkable work. Leading into “A Letter from Engels”, a simple recurring sound, with a somewhat jarring effect, marks the arrival of a captivating mixture of sounds that slowly build walls around the listener to touch and feel, sending shivers down the spine. Full info

Barn Owl – Ancestral Star

Evan Caminiti (guitars, vocals) and Jon Porras (guitars, vocals, drums, harmonium) met in San Francisco in 2006 and immediately started playing music together. Over the next four years, the two gradually sculpted a vast collection of hazy desert sky meditations – ominous, barren expanses of music for desert walks at dusk, and dark, pastoral passages embellished with
psychedelic and atmospheric wash. A mixture between devotional ragas and dusty stomp with atmosphere and production that references shoegaze and black metal influences.

Ancestral Star, their third LP, marks the evolution of the Barn Owl sound into a territory where it has become wholly its own, transcending the sum of its influences and taking on a life of its own. At the same time, it is a more realized extension of that sound. Caminiti and Porras paid close attention to the composition of each track and its flow within the album as a whole.
Engaging throughout, every moment contributes to an overall feeling of mysterious desert expanse and a sonic narrative that unfurls like a cinematic metaphysical western. – Full review/Interview coming in the next few days

The Ghost Of 29 Megacycles – The Hummingbird Dream

‘The Hummingbird Dream’, is an epic and tender two track EP that is a rival to any drone release for the year – dense, moving and cavernous. Protagonist Greg Taw constructs the two tracks, with assistance from Jessyca Hutchins, Rupert Thomas and Rebecca Orchard on the second. The tracks are described as having been “born from sleepless nights, morning silence and sadness”, and the vast 24-minute opener ‘Part 1’ certainly reminds of the both the panic and calm of insomnia. It also hints the possibility of a positive outcome, with the bird-sound that ends the track, and fades into the second.

‘Part 2’ is likely the day following in slow motion, spent in an exhausted and subliminal state. The vocals of Orchard, Taw and Hutchins fade in and out of the speakers, guided ably by the mixing of both Crispin Wellington & Matt Rosner and the mastering of Taylor Deupree.

It is both surprising and impressive – going into it with no preconceptions left me pleasantly stunned. So, when the opportunity came up to discuss the release in detail with Greg Taw, I jumped at the chance. Full info

Brian McBride – The Effective Disconnect

From Brian McBride: When George and Myriam approached me to compose for their film they suggested I concentrate on four different themes: the gloriousness of the bees, the endurance and hardships of traditional beekeepers, pesticides and the holistic nature of non-industrial agriculture. I was especially intrigued with the idea of combining some of their mournful aspirations with something more serene.

Composing began in May of 2009. I had decided to start fresh not using anything that I had already recorded. Preparing the music for the film, I knew that I needed to provide more built-in changes in the structure of the pieces to give George and Myriam more flexibility. As I worked, I purposely distanced myself from the more continuous architecture employed in my previous recordings in favor of several mini-suites. In the thinking about the music, I hoped that the pieces would do justice to the “gloriousness of the bees” theme, striving for a more overt hopeful quality. But old traditions die-hard and the hopeful side of the music was eventually more subsumed by the lamentable. – Full review coming this weekend

Andrea Ferraris and Matteo Uggeri – Autumn is Coming We’re All in Slow Motion

Experimental music, by its very nature, is often unconcerned with melody; other qualities of sound and music are explored, taken apart and reconstructed with the intent of presenting the listener with surprising new ways to engage with the listening experience. Many commendable aural experiences have been produced by mere tweaking of single variables within sound; much of the ambient canon relies on a relatively minimal bag of tricks. It is, however, clear from the outset that “Autumn is Coming…” is a very different beast indeed.

Andrea Ferraris and Matteo Uggeri have crafted an album that is as much concerned with homespun melody as it is with inspired experimentation. The tension between these opposing forces has been perfectly calibrated to provide a delightfully balanced and engaging collection of tracks.

Ferraris and Uggeri push field recordings to the fore and every track is concerned with the interplay between the sounds of the world around us and acoustic instrumentation. The true magic of this album is the way that both of these elements are integrated through finely judged electronic manipulation. Field recordings subtly morph to reflect musical patterns, loop to develop rhythmic accompaniment or wax and wane to provide moments of introspective focus on the melodic elements. Likewise, the guitar, piano, cello and voices that make up the bulk of the melodic components are subjected to an array of manipulative tricks that allow them to dance, stutter, dissolve and expand within the frame provided by the field recordings. There is not a note or sound out of place across any of the tracks which range from mournful cello-led laments, through expansive vocal ambience, to intimate plucked guitar pieces. This collection of approaches prevents the album from becoming bogged down in any one style, yet there is an unmistakeable unity to the pieces here – a real coherence amongst the variety on display. Full info

Andrew Hargreaves – Defragment

Fragility is a beautiful thing. Like the delicate nature of a spiders web, built so immaculately, or the innocence of a child yet to experience the world. Things that can so easily be taken away or destroyed; things that have an inevitable tragedy are seductive and heart breaking. “Defragment” by Andrew Hargreaves is exactly this; seductive and heart breaking. It’s achingly beautiful and impossibly charming, yet sounds so fragile and ready to break and fall to pieces at any given moment. It’s like a snowflake gracefully floating downwards, settling and then slowly evaporating into the ground; both joyous and sad all at once.

For those who don’t know (such as me), Andrew Hargreaves is one half of The Boats. The Boats has been one of those names I’ve seen everywhere, followed by high praises, but I’ve never actually listened to them. If this solo album from Andrew is anything to go by, I will surely be delving into their catalogue as soon as I can.

“Defragment” sees Andrew merging solo piano playing with sharp electronic flutters and stutters and occasional dub influenced beats and bass lines. The piano playing is stark and lo fi. Each note and motif is played out with a sense of purpose and is given just the right amount of space to breathe and play out so that the listener is fully submerged and engrossed in what is being played. On a handful of tracks Andrews piano playing and electronics are joined by the cello of Danny Norbury; most notably on the track entitled “Confusion in Consequence”, where it adds graceful warmth to contrast the otherwise cold music on this album. Full info

September's Top 10 by Fluid Radio on Mixcloud

This month has without doubt been the hardest choice in a very long time with regards to selecting just ten albums in our top 10 list. Their seems to be so much good music doing the rounds on the Fluid playlists of late, and after much deliberation the list below is our current favs for September…

Erik K. Skodvin – Flare

The album as a whole bears the hallmark of someone who is not experimenting per se, but has a VERY CLEAR VISION of what is to be achieved at the end of the creative process. This record did not happen by accident, nor could it. I’d be curious to find out where and how it was recorded, as it has a really strong character of sound.

It is mentioned fairly regularly on articles on the net that this record represents a “friendlier” side to the artist, and is “only moderately dark”. I’d suggest to maybe not taking that statement at face value, as it is by nature pretty brooding, heavy and pensive.  Those of you familiar with his work would not be surprised by what is on offer here, but those coming to it for the first time may find that it is not quite what they were expecting.

In saying that, it is a work of some considerable skill, and those not afraid of a few cobwebs and shadows will find the musicianship on offer rewarding. A perfect cinematic accompaniment to someone lost in the desert at night. Full info

Piiptsjilling – Wurdskrieme

Wurdskrieme is one of two new releases from Piiptsjilling, a quartet that is formed of Jan and Romke Kleefstra, Mariska Baars and Rutger Zuydervelt. The name Piiptsjilling (pronounced ‘peep-chilling’) is Frisian; a language which Jan Kleefstra uses for the poetry he reads to accompany the improvised sonic worlds that the remaining three members create with guitars, effects, loopers and the voice…

In March 2010 the band took to an intensive 2-day improvised recording session with the goal of creating nothing more than beautiful, challenging music. The session resulted in two-and-a-half hours of material which was mixed and edited into two separate albums. Did they succeed with their simple goal? Yes. Yes they did.

Piiptsjilling’s first album, self-titled and released in 2008, was a fairly post-rock induced affair with weeping guitars and suppressed desperation by the bucket-load. This time around, the post-rock influence has disappeared and the guitars, at times, are used as a percussion instrument in a prepared- style à la Keith Rowe on tracks such as the graciously atmospheric Sangerjende wyn and Utsakke bui. Full info

Arkhonia – Trails/Trace

Arkhonia’s “Trails/Traces” fulfils the much promised, but seldom delivered, remit of large portions of ambient music – “to take the listener on a journey”…

From the deep rumblings of the album’s opener to the final decaying notes and crackles of its closing track, all manner of mood-shifting experimentation directs (and occasionally derails) the listener along a sonic path that is at times unnerving and, at others, warmly welcoming.

Each piece leads neatly into the next and one would not suspect that this album was assembled from material produced over the span of the last decade – the production values on display in the oldest pieces are qualitatively indistinguishable from the most recent and all are invested with a luscious, finely honed depth of texture.

Conventional song structures are eschewed and supplanted by morphing, reverberating assemblages that, whilst never sounding instrumentally “organic”, appear to have been grown rather than written. Tellingly, the only track which appears (slightly) more conventionally musical is a remix/reworking of a live recording taken from a Liondialer release on the same label. Even so, the Blade Runner-styled epic futurism of ‘GDLadyburn’ never exactly bursts into pop hook territory – its brooding, expansive synths and onslaught of widescreen ambience conjuring up neon-lit, midnight cityscapes more readily than falling back on the gentle pastoral stylings of so many other acts operating in this musical sphere. Full info

Boduf Songs – This Alone Above All Else In Spite Of Everything

Mat Sweet is rather good at creating a true feeling of isolation, and this is definitely true of the new record; the feeling of being lost in a dusky forest, wandering aimlessly, surrounded by nothing and with nothing guiding you; everything within TAAAEISoE is carefully placed to invoke this feeling. However, I feel that what lets the album down, only twice in its duration mind you, is the choice of percussion elements Sweet uses for tracks Absolutely Null and Utterly Void and They Get on Slowly. I felt that with the sense of space that the other instrumentation gives to the tracks, juxtaposed by the restricted closeness of the voice, the percussion is somewhat clumsily thrown in the middle with little thought about the plain it occupies.

The album as a whole has a considerably more electronic influence than previous releases as electric guitar is favoured over the acoustic and everything appears to be slightly more processed, more fabricated and the world of sound that Sweet is creating takes as much focus as the lyrics do. This can be heard in the smaller sounds hidden layers down in the mix and even in the way that the whispering breaths pan through the speakers. It’s certainly no secret that Mat prefers the single microphone set-up and this can be heard in previous releases but here it’s a little more obscure. Full info

Peter Broderick – How They Are

The new album from Peter Broderick, How They Are, is the result of an enforced convalescence during the recording of another. It’s an exercise in concise, direct simplicity, and is one of the best arguments against overproduction you will ever hear. As mentioned, whilst Broderick was recording his forthcoming album he was forced to take a number of months off to recover from complications from knee surgery. The record fully tracked, enforced inactivity prompted a creative burst separate to the project at hand, a number of songs worked up from words to music.

Due to the relative simplicity of the material, it was then all tracked in ONE DAY in a studio in Portland, Oregon, put down live to tape after Broderick was well enough to return to activity.

The results are amazing in a number of respects – the musicianship is incredible, with some quite moving piano work. The vocals are strong without being overwrought. The production has character in spades – lots of shuffling and clunking around before and after takes, and a reassuring hum from the tape flows through the album, segueing the tracks together. The instruments are captured cleanly with a lot of natural sounding reverb, and in some instances you can seemingly hear the fingers on the keys and the strings. Full info

M. Ostermeier – Chance Reconstruction

M. Ostermeier has had a busy year; we’re only 8 months in and he’s already released two records and is about to release his third, Chance Reconstruction…

His first two releases Percolate and Lakefront released on Parvo Art and Hibernate respectively had a definite style and feel that portrayed itself clearly throughout. However, Chance Reconstruction immediately feels more ripened than its predecessors and also feels like an album in which Ostermeier wanted to push the boundaries of what he had learnt making the first two records. This results in something which is non-definable by such a word as ambient or classical or any combination of the two.

Chance Reconstruction is an atmospheric affair; bathing the listener in brooding textures and wavering piano motifs. As is the general style of Ostermeier his compositions are laden with carefully placed field recordings that tie the melodic motifs to something more tangible (is that the clanging of a radiator I hear?).

What Ostermeier is always best at though, even if it is not immediately noticeable, is his sense of texture and rhythm. His first release Percolate was full of glitches and sputters from more traditional percussion techniques, however, when he moved on from these elements the sense of rhythm still remained, and that is in part due to Ostermeier’s ability to utilise granular field recordings that add a definite movement which, of course, was the role that the percussion played in previous releases. Full info

Seaworthy & Matt Rösner – Two Lakes

Two Lakes is the brainchild of Seaworthy (Cameron Webb) and Matt Rösner, an audio study of water ecosystems on the South Coast of Australia from April 2010…

The two sound artists spent days at the two coastal locations of Lakes Meroo and Termeil using a variety of microphones, then manipulated the results and added layers of instrumentation recorded during breaks in the field. The instruments listed as being used are acoustic and electric guitars, ukulele and electronics. On the last day of the trip, with the experience of the recording process still fresh in mind, rough arrangements were created from the field recordings and improvised sets. Rosier then took these arrangements back to his studio in Myalup – a small coastal town on the opposite side of the Australian continent – to mix and finalize the production.

The results are strikingly original – I can honestly say that I have never heard anything like this before. It sounds as though multiple layers of field noise have been used in some tracks (“Meroo Sedgeland Pt. 1”), and different improvised musical parts have been combined also. Common themes do run through the tracks, so there is consistency to them, but the way it is presented is diverse and challenging. Full info

Padang Food Tigers – Born Music

Padang Food Tigers, better known as Spencer Grady and Steven Lewis from Rameses III, follow up their EP from this year, Go Down, Moses.

Born Music is a somber and meditative collection of enigmatic field recordings, mixed with sparse and elegant instrumentation. It’s themed well, with the tones of the recordings consistent throughout. The guitar and banjo have a great thump to them, and on the whole feels considered and assured.

The sound of running water in the title track starts proceedings, with some banjo and piano gently bringing up the rear. The sound is strong and fades in and out cleanly.

The next track “Rise Before the Rain” is a clever follow on, the suggestion of hiss or rain behind the ambient instrumentation sounding like a continuation of the water tones of the first.  The mood of the piece is fantastic, with great guitar tones sliding across the speakers.

“Every Heaven I’ve Ever Seen” is a great collection of organic tones, with marvelous recording character – some well caught string swipes and shuffle in the middle balance out the ambience of the piece.  The rise and fall is hypnotic, with a number of hooks to latch on to.

“Corpse Light Breaker” changes tone with a solitary piano to start, then some dueling banjo and guitar. The tones of both are captured with great precision, with a child singing out in the background at one point. Great stuff. A metallic drone hovers at the tail end, a lovely counterpoint to the earthy background hiss. Full info

Rafael Anton Irisarri – The North Bend

New album “The North Bend” released on the Room40 label sees Irisarri fully realise the sound hinted at on the “Reverie” mini album; focusing heavily on textures and drones. The classical sound is still there (appearing on one track) but it’s more refined and subtle and is shown mostly in the melodic development and subtle textural elements of the tracks. It’s that melodic aspect that makes this album so warm and vivid, overflowing with imagery. Each track on the album paints a picture and tells a story, unravelling slowly and carefully to reveal its complete depth. It’s hard for me to imagine exactly what this audio postcard looks like that Irisarri was going for; I’ve never visited the states and I’m not a Lynch fan, but I can imagine my own version of it incorporating the same ideas and influences but from areas of the world that I am familiar with. That’s what this album has in abundance; familiarity in the sounds. It’s like the feeling of remembering something heart warming from the past that you had once forgotten about, be it a person or a place and looking back at a photo or postcard to remind yourself.

Accurately describing the music on this album is difficult. It’s not that it is extremely abstract; it’s more to do with the overall feeling. Plenty of artists have intertwined classical elements with drone orientated ambiance (Eluvium springs to mind) but none of them have captured this bleak yet someone uplifting sound that Irisarri has conjured. There are big textures and big melodies here and lots of development that many artists in the drone style fail to create. With every play through I discover another element hidden under the grain and the haze and it makes me want to go back to hear it again, and again until I discover another layer of hidden wonder. Full info

Murralin Lane – Our House Is On The Wall

Our House Is On The Wall is the debut release from Swedish duo Murralin Lane. While the project is new, Murralin Lane’s David Wenngren is no stranger to the scene. Recording solo as Library Tapes for Kning Disk and Home Normal he has established a loyal following with his piano-based experimentalism where he puts texture, distance and longing to good effect in its melodic, grainy ambiance. Murralin Lane is Wenngren’s latest project which was formed in 2009 when he paired up with partner Ylva Wiklund and set aside the piano to take on new, collaborative audio explorations. Instead of the trademark piano that Wenngren has become known for, Murralin Lane thrives on highly distressed, lo-fi beauty formed by a more process intensive creation. Wiklund supplies vocals, (sometimes recorded through a mobile phone for effect), that are as pretty as they are creepy, adding an otherworldly sense of fragility to the dark and melancholic compositions made of noisy, tonal layers that sound as though they’re on the verge of breaking apart.

Recorded in the wee hours of the morning, Our House Is On The Wall pushes the boundaries that 12k has set with its tactile, electro-acoustic, ambient minimalism, touching on the label’s occasional forays into more pop territory yet bringing something decidedly darker to the table. – Full review coming to Fluid Radio very soon

It seems to get harder and harder each month to select our favourite ten releases. August was no exception to the rule and after much deliberation we finally made our choice with artists such as Goldmund, Noveller, Chris Abrahams and Aaron Martin making the grade…

Goldmund – Famous Places

Keith Kenniff follows up 2008’s “The Malady of Elegance” with the third album under his Goldmund guise. Where Helios, his other key musical alias, takes on long form compositions which blend piano, guitar and electronics, Goldmund has always been about compact, concise piano music. On “Famous Places,” released this August on Western Vinyl, this is no different and may yet prove to be the best Goldmund album to date.

With fifteen beautifully crafted tracks, each around three minutes in duration, the deliberate capturing of piano pedals and hammers and captivating melodies all on display, the classic Goldmund sound is in full effect. Thankfully however Keith hasn’t opted for just more of the same. Instead he has introduced subtle uses of electronic manipulation and light doses of other ambient sounds which, while only minimal in use, add a rich layer of texture to his music. Full info here

Twinsistermoon – Then Fell The Ashes

This is the third Twinsistermoon release since 2009?s The Hollow Mountain LP and Bride of Spirits 7? which were both released on the excellent Dull Knife label…

Following on from these two gems, various obscure self released items and CDs on Digitalis and Students of Decay, Ameziane’s sound has grown somewhat darker at times with this LP featuring nearly 50 minutes of brand new material. The A-side features 6 tracks, where as the B side is complemented with a huge, almost 25 minute track.

The opening track ‘Black Nebulae’ is a gorgeously textured psychedelic drone-based piece, followed by a short, quieter, guitar plucked piece with vocals, but no words, entitled ’1976?. ‘Ghost That Was Your Life’ is a stunning beautiful layered guitar piece with Ameziane’s astounding beautiful vocals shining through. ‘Big Sand’ opens as one of the darker pieces, with an occult feeling to its sound, swirling vocal drones, almost like a choir at times, and in come those stunning warm and distinctive gutar sounds with layered ghostly sound scapes, that haunt much of Ameziane’s solo and NSB recordings. Full info here

Imbogodom – The Metallic Year

“The Metallic Year” is a collection of eerie but affecting tracks, where sound collage and unraveling songs present a haunted world of spooling atmospheres, warped instrumentation, and disembodied voices, generated by the UK’s Alexander Tucker and New Zealand’s Daniel Beban…

The genesis of the project can be traced to the pair’s time at BBC’s Bush House, where Beban worked nights as a world service radio engineer. The basis for the project is manually spliced analogue tape loops, manipulated manually to different speeds, also accompanied by Dictaphones, instrumentation and voices.

The strong impact of the tape loops is incredibly effective, and it brings a imperceptible strength to the record – multiple listens reveal a tangible organic feel that simply would not be present had the same effects been created digitally. It’s the sort of affectionate charm old warped vinyl had – an endearing imperfection that works on multiple levels, if you’re conscious of it at all. Full info here

Chris Abrahams – Play Scar

“Play Scar” by Chris Abrahams is a demanding but rewarding beast, at first inspection appearing to be a collection of disparate and incongruous elements. On further listens it reveals itself as a deft exercise in experimentation and virtuosity…

Abrahams, obviously best known for his work with The Necks, has collected eight tracks of varying length for his second release on the Room40 label, following on from “Thrown” in 2005. Whilst “Thrown” had a more exploratory feel, with a greater emphasis on wind instruments and textures, “Play Scar” is record of considerable weight and focus, worthy of the many listens required to digest it completely.

The overall impression is a collection of vibrant ideas explored fully, recorded outside the context that Abrahams often works in. A great deal of electroacoustic music can often be defined by a few common elements – electronic drones, hiss and strings (to overgeneralize). Not so here – the bulk of the instrumentation is organic and textile, with the instrumentation listed as Hammond, Rhode and church organs, piano, guitar, tambourine, bells, vintage synths and Autoharp. Full info here

Part Timer -  The Runner Remixes

The most recent release from Fluid favorite and Moteer representative Part Timer is a seven tracker featuring multiple remixes of the song “The Runner”, from the forthcoming album “Real to Reel”. If the quality of the material that appears here is any indication, the album will certainly be something to look out for…

The tracks revolve around a central vocal stanza provided by frequent Part Timer collaborator, the fascinating Heidi Elva, who possesses a haunting tone in the same league of a Lou Rhodes or a Beth Gibbons.

The central theme appears to be one of homesickness -

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been home/And I’ve been wishing for the sky to turn grey/So I can hide quietly away/ I run from you/I run from me.”

Seven treatments of the same track could in lesser hands become tedious, so it’s a good demonstration of the skill of all involved that the whole release flows smoothly, consistently and never at any stage fails to engage and draw you in. In fact, the overall effect is one of a Chinese Whisper – the story emerging at the end is still linked to the one told at the beginning, but taken on a life of its own with distinct characteristics still able to be traced from the original.

One of the major strengths of the whole proceedings is the audible DEPTH in the tracks – they all seems to stretch for a mile from foreground to background, and span a long way from left to right. Either a happy accident that everyone involved is a great mixer, or the masterer really has a real knack for soundscapes. There are multiple layers in play at most points, and trying to identify and contextualize them is both rewarding and challenging. There’s a lot of presence from the bottom end, and the top is pretty crisp. Full info here

Aaron Martin – The Night Erased Them All

Aaron Martin’s new record “Night Erased Them All,” is another fine addition to his already expansive body of work. Proceeding “Worried About The Fire” which was released earlier this year, his latest recording is a detailed 30 minutes of sound manipulation and cello wizardry that will be sold as a limited cassette and CD-r release through Sonic Meditations.

On “Night Erased Them All” Aaron designed the tracks to be listened while driving alone at night. Unfortunately I sold my car a few short months ago, so without a means of listening to the record as intended, I set about playing it in different places all which in some way were linked to the road or travel.

On Friday night I took a perfectly timed half hour bus journey through London. Sitting at the front of the top deck, I wanted to connect the music’s sounds with my vision of the road. Typically, being rush hour, the stop start nature of the journey was unlikely to reflect the freeness of the open Kansas highways that this album would have been built around, so I shut my eyes and let my imagination be fuelled by the creative sounds. Full info here

The Green Kingdom – Prismatic

Following the beautiful Twig and Twine (November 2009, Own Records), Michael Cottone returns with Prismatic, his latest work under the moniker The Green Kingdom. The Detroit based sound artist has once again mixed many disparate influences and ideas into a wonderfully creative album…

Opening track Bonfire sets the tone of what’s to come. Unhurried sound manipulation and complex melodies contrast with guitar which at times sounds slightly reminiscent of Fennesz and conjures a similar optimistic spirit which is present on Fennesz’s Endless Summer, but in Cottone’s unique way.

Crystalline chimes open Bells And Thoughts, which then evolves with unconventional beats and delicate guitar, leaving the listener uplifted.

Claudes Ghost is a slow burning number which features a beautiful keyboard riff complemented with field recordings, the effect hypnotic. Mid-way through, the pace changes and the piece begins to ascend, a cacophony of sound seeing out the remainder of the track.

Radiance Reflected begins with an enchanting melody, the wide stereo image helping notes to echo in each ear. Though there’s no simple hook to the track, the artist delights with inventive uses of an arrhythmic beat. – Full info here

Noveller – Desert Fires

When we talk about Ambient music, most people think of music that can be played in the background and ignored. Music that requires zero attention so we can go about our every day tasks without silence….

Noise music; being avant-garde in nature, therefore almost always demands the listener’s full attention, whether through choice or not. It is obtrusive and abrasive. It certainly can create an atmosphere in a room much like Ambient music can, but in a distracting sense rather than a meditative or relaxing sense, such as we require from Ambient music.

For her previous album Sarah Lipstate aka Noveller created something that definitely demanded your attention. It was loud and noisy and at times quite harsh. With her new album “Desert Fires” it feels as though she has attempted to try and reach almost the exact opposite of that. The passages of piercing white noise are gone. The sharp textures are gone. Instead she has created something that is; though still rich in texture and timbre, much more subdued, serene and relaxing. The feeling of anxiety created by the noise on the first record is swapped for a feeling of peacefulness and tranquillity, inner calm and stillness. Full info here

Max Richter – Infra

Genuine OPENING TRACKS to albums are a comparative scarcity in this day and age, something of a lost art. Pieces that slowly introduce tone, mood and the instrumentation, setting the pace for the record as a whole and the stage for the themes to follow. Since the advent of digital distribution, the concept of the album itself is a less important one, and opening tracks seem to have been deemed to be a lesser concern.

So to be greeted with the opener “Infra 1”, from Max Richter’s new album is something of a pleasant shock.

Two shortwave radio loops panned to each side slowly creep up in volume.  Morse code. Feedback squalls. Some faint drone in the background, then some further feedback. There’s a swell of strings, and then – the bottom end drops.

Tape warmth. Immaculate playing. Brilliant arrangements. Clever mixing.

Magic. It’s like being lost at sea.

And as quickly as it’s there, it fades again, the best opening to a record I’ve heard so far this year. The immediate reaction is to try and process the multiple impressions and incredible production, as the strings and piano parts sound as though they’re actually in the room with you. The cinematic sweep and the emotional engagement that are present in all of his previous works are here in spades. I’ve seen it written that the music on this release presents itself in a stronger light without the spoken word work of Kafka and Murakami, and that’s fair comment – the minimalist structures assume the central role that they deserve. Full info here

Field Rotation – Why Things Are Different

Christoph Berg’s most recent release “Why Things Are Different” is a blend of acoustic instruments, field recordings and electronic processing techniques used to construct a small but thoughtful soundtrack to winter; slow, deep drones painted with subtle hiss and texture work…

“When The Clouds Clear” is a simple, ephemeral piece based around a drone that lifts after about two minutes. Some disconcerting micro noise then settles into the far corners after panning around for a few minutes; it then mixes in shuddering metallic tones and peaks upward – all the tracks crescendo before it fades out at about the six-minute mark. Good opener.

“Never Build A Bridge Into Nothingness” is (aside from being a great song title) more demanding – a windy and grey storm that blows through the entire spectrum before the rain hits hard at about the two-minute mark. The tone is oppressive, yet there’s a lot of warmth in the bottom end and this track would come up well for those lucky enough to have good stereos or headphones.

“Sleepless” is a marked change in mood, and the highlight of the outing. Some repeating high tone drones mixed with some guttural and insistent bass texture, with some occasional hiss flares in the peripheries. Halfway in, the introductory tones fade out and you’re left with some interesting and affecting central hovering. Clever stuff. Here the relevance of the title begins to be clear, a hypnotic half state punctuated by the odd burst of hiss across the speakers. Then, returning to the introductory piece to close. Full information here

The last few weeks have most definitely seen some of the best releases so far this year which in turn has made this months selection that much tuffer to select…

No.1:  Nils Frahm and Anne Müller – 7 Fingers

The album is sequenced in an extraordinary way; alternating between introspective classical pieces and glitchy, propulsive hallucinations creating an all-around, complete listening experience. 7 Fingers is an absolute necessity and will surely stand as one of the better releases of the year. Full info

No.2: Fieldhead – Riser

There is still, amongst the grainy production and experimental techniques, a defiantly pop sensibility at play in this EP. The tracks are catchy and simple but, with Elam’s production shaping and distorting them, they become something other than pop – they sound like they could fall apart in your hands. I had the opportunity to review the digital version of this EP but there is a real physicality, a real presence, to the Fieldhead sound which is strangely incongruent with contemporary music formats.  My advice? Snap up the vinyl if you can – otherwise buy the download and transfer it to tape for a proper listening experience. Full info

No.3: Marta Mist – Distance/Skeletal/Union

This is beautiful, exploratory sound art of a kind unthinkable within the constraints of the short form music I have until recently been accustomed to. Marta Mist have made music that deserves to be actively engaged with rather than simply ‘heard’, and I can only recommend “Distance-Skeletal-Union” with highest praise of the most sincere kind. Full info

No.4: Hummingbird – Our Fearful Symmetry

Hummingbird’s marriage of restrained classicism and contemporary electronic atmospheric manipulation means that “Our Fearful Symmetry” is very much a record of the moment – the ambient/electro-acoustic scene abounds with artists mining the same vein of inspiration – however, while many acts aspire to the creation of reminiscence-evoking beauty it is an uncommon achievement. The artist behind Hummingbird accomplishes a startling ubiquity of grace throughout this album and though it is a debut outing for the project, the strength of the material and its connotative power betray the unmistakable hand of a master at work. Full info

No.5: F.S.Blumm & Nils Frahm – Music For Lovers Music Versus Time

This is certainly a “different” album and thankfully despite this it doesn’t feel forced. F.S Blumm and Nils Frahm have found a way through their collaboration, to showcase their passion for music and in turn provide their listeners with an opportunity to enjoy their work in a way that is by no means conventional. The album encourages listeners to love the sounds they listen to and by taking time to soak up the creativity and appreciate the artistry at work, the depth of the work on display here comes to life. Full info

No.6: Evan Caminiti – West Winds

Evan Caminiti is a guitarist full of big ideas and even bigger sounds. currently known as one-half of the San Francisco Bay Area avant droners Barn Owl, Caminiti has spent a great deal of time the past few years playing and recording gorgeous solo explorations focused primarily on the guitar, but, when need be, accented by additional instrumentation. Full info

No 7: Sonmi451 – Ruis

The piece is a wonderful walk along slowly pulsating sine waves, lingering piano loops, cradling strings and the solar warmth of little cracks, pops and soft hisses. Ruis truly is a hidden treasure. At first it seems to be nothing more but a lovely track, “ordinary” prettiness, though once you put it on while you’re trying to sleep, it becomes as essential as your pillow or your favorite blanket. It is probably the most efficient piece we’ve had the chance to release. A lush, soft and hypnotic path into unconsciousness. More info

No. 8: The Green Kingdom – Prismatic

Following the beautiful Twig and Twine (November 2009, Own Records), Michael Cottone returns with Prismatic, his latest work under the moniker The Green Kingdom. The Detroit based sound artist has once again mixed many disparate influences and ideas into a wonderfully creative album. More info

No 9: Scott Cortez and Thisquietarmy – Meridians

Where as the first piece was mainly made up of droning low ends and sharp high end swells, this piece features intertwining melodic passages of enveloping warmth, sharp digital fuzz and beautiful distant distortion. This track is exactly what I was hoping for from the collaboration between these two projects; 13 minutes of blissful ambient shoegaze. The tones and textures created on this piece are sublime, reminiscent of shimmering sea water lapping against a breath taking landscape or bright sun glare through a frosted window. More info

No.10: Daphne Oram – Oramics (Deluxe Vinyl Edition)

As this remarkable 44-track collection shows, however, her work ranks amongst the most varied and pioneering ever made, and it’s quite incredible to think that this is the first time any of these precious recordings have been available on vinyl. 155 minutes/8 sides of vinyl cut by Lupo at D&M, housed in a heavyweight 300 gram gatefold sleeve, featuring rare archive photographs. More info

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