[ Hypnos Forum ]

My wife and I watched the first episode last night. I'm curious and want to see more. Thanks for the tip!

Forrest: I hope you enjoy Fragile Existence. Musically, I think the last two tracks (Brook and Wood) are the highlights of the release. But the photos are what make the experience a true treat.

Recent spins:
Wintersilence - Submental Vol. 2
Excellent drone work with great depth from the El Culto label. This is encoded as one 55 minute track, but there are clearly discrete tracks on here that morph into one another in the smooth ways that I'm accustomed to in some of Tomas' work. I'm not exactly sure who Wintersilence is, but drone on suggested that Grassow is involved and Discogs corroborates that possibility.
Samples/Buy: http://www.el-culto.com/artists/submental/vol2wintersilence.html

Tomas Weiss - Zeitlos (Sleep Edition)
One of my favorite tracks of the year expanded into a 60 minute epic journey. Not an essential purchase if you have the proper Zeitlos album, but a beautiful, supplemental dessert nonetheless.
Samples/Buy: http://www.el-culto.com/artists/tomasweiss/zeitlos-sleep-edition.html

William Basinski - The Disintegration Loops
I bought the first dlp disc when it came out in 2002. I enjoyed it, but didn't find myself listening to it much after the first few spins. The concept and process behind the release captured my imagination more than the music itself. As a result, I did not buy the other discs when they came out. Recently, however, my wife bought me the CD box set for my birthday and I've really been enjoying all of the discs. Hearing them all back-to-back rounds out the experience nicely and gives me a better appreciation for the work.

Otto A. Totland - Pinô
This is a cool new release from Sonic Pieces (DE). The album is comprised of 18 relatively short (i.e., < 3 mins) compositions for piano. The tracks are slow paced, somewhat rustic, and sorrowful in tone. This album would make a good soundtrack to a film about ghosts, nostalgia, or, better yet, nostalgic ghosts.  Adding to the atmosphere are the occasional creeks of old, wooden floorboards, hurried breaths, and the squeaking of the piano bench. Otto Totland is one-half of Deaf Center. If you are a fan of that duo and like the modern composition end of their recordings, you'll find this Pinô to be quite the treat.

Samples/Buy: http://experimedia.net/index.php?main_page=product_music_info&cPath=1&products_id=11271

Thanks for the link, John. I'm not sure how I missed that the first time around!

Mark Harris - The Angry Child
A new release on the n5md label. The title of the album almost makes this seem as if it would be an abrasive album. But, in fact, this is serene, slowly moving, synth-driven ambient. The tracks evolve in an organic way, and, much like a dream, you don't really notice how things have changed until after the fact. Good music for sleeping or spacing out.

Samples/Buy: http://n5md.com/discography/223/The-Angry-Child

Listening to the samples on Bandcamp, thirdsystem. You're right: beautiful.

Faures - Continental Drift
Faures is René Margraff/Pillowdiver, Le Berger, and Elintseeker/Fuzz Lee. This release is beautiful--really unique. The primary form of instrumentation is layers upon layers of guitar, with occasional piano, synth, and glitchy electronics. The result is a shoegazing style "wall of sound," but much more restrained and delicate than what might be expected. The music is thick, but delicate. And the melodies, when they emerge, will melt you. Give this a shot; the first two tracks, in particular, are outstanding.

Listen/Buy: https://homenormal.bandcamp.com/album/continental-drift

I streamed Exit in Gray via Bandcamp and enjoyed it quite a bit--especially the last track.

Playing Today at Work:
R. Andrew Lee - Dennis Johnson's November
This is a four-disc release containing a modern performance of Dennis Johnson's November by pianist and minimalism scholar, R. Andrew Lee. There is a detailed description of the history of the piece on the webpage linked below, but, in a nutshell, the original composition was written in the late 50's, lost in time, recently rediscovered, translated from bad audio cassette to sheet music, and rapidly became beloved among a number of folks. It is an intensely minimal work for piano and, if you're into the kind of experimental modern composition that is often celebrated by labels such as Sonic Pieces, early Type releases, or Hibernate, you'll probably enjoy this greatly.

I was only tangentially aware of this release after reading some rave reviews of it last year. But, while I was in Austin, TX this past week, I stumbled across a live performance by R. Andrew Lee and had the opportunity to hear him play. (He is quite talented, by the way. Sometimes these minimal pieces don't always showcase a performer's true skills.) It was a serendipitous event, to say the least, and I bought the November box set as a way of memorializing and celebrating the occasion.

Sample/Buy: http://recordings.irritablehedgehog.com/album/dennis-johnson-november-2

Sounds like a great experience.