Currently listening, part 1

[chris23]

I have gotten a bounty of useful leads on the Hypnos forums over the years (dating back to the old forums!), so I try to document my own explorations as a way of returning the favor.

[Joe R]

"Chris has suddenly become my new music guru- everything he suggests really hits the spot for me."

Couldn't agree more. Though I do have trouble keeping up with his voracious appetite. 

Lol! I have trouble keeping up with him too. He eats music the same way Chris Farley ate cheeseburgers.

[thirdsystem]

Pete Namlook and New Composers - Russian Spring.

Good mix of ambient styles on this one. Wee bit of guitar and bass occasionally with some nice melodic hints throughout. Atmospheric and beautiful.

A real classic FAX ambient release

[drone on]

Hmmmm, don't know if I'd call "Russian Spring" a FAX classic, as it's one of the more obscure projects, which didn't get a whole lot of press.  Nonetheless, it's a good album to chill out to.   

[chris23]

Purl & Deflecktion - Rest in you
A digital-only release from Dewtone, available on bandcamp. Spacious ambient with chilled, minimal beats.

Buy/Stream: http://dewtonerecordings.com/album/rest-in-you-dtr029

[Castleview]

Vidna Obmana- Memories Compiled 2 (Disk 2)

I forgot how good Glance (Opening) was.

[thirdsystem]

Hmmmm, don't know if I'd call "Russian Spring" a FAX classic, as it's one of the more obscure projects, which didn't get a whole lot of press.  Nonetheless, it's a good album to chill out to.   

Should have stated "for me" it is a real classic FAX ambient release. Would agree it is not, in the grand scheme of things, a FAX classic, and may be obscure, but hey I love it man 

Current play - Namlook/Material Object - Elektronik II. Class.

[drone on]

Ahhhh, Elektronik II.  Think this was Peter's last really good release on fax.  Inspired music.

[chris23]

Margins - Fragile Existence
This is a late 2013 collaborative project between Dan Crossley (Facture/Fluid Audio) and Craig Tattersall (The Boats). Once again, this is an amazing product from Facture in which the packaging/art is as central to the release as the music. The music itself is decent, but not remarkable. It largely combines field recordings and tape loops to create a fractured but ambient atmosphere. The Crossley nature prints that accompany the release are absolutely beautiful, however, and are worth checking out on the Fluid Audio site regardless of how you feel about Tattersall.

Sound samples: http://www.fluid-radio.co.uk/2013/12/no-re-press-07-2/
Images samples: http://www.fluid-radio.co.uk/2013/12/fragile-existence/

[Castleview]

Vidna Obmana- The Surreal Sanctuary

The exotic instrumentation really adds to the atmosphere. Great stuff.

[APK]

Margins - Fragile Existence
This is a late 2013 collaborative project between Dan Crossley (Facture/Fluid Audio) and Craig Tattersall (The Boats). Once again, this is an amazing product from Facture in which the packaging/art is as central to the release as the music. The music itself is decent, but not remarkable. It largely combines field recordings and tape loops to create a fractured but ambient atmosphere. The Crossley nature prints that accompany the release are absolutely beautiful, however, and are worth checking out on the Fluid Audio site regardless of how you feel about Tattersall.

Sound samples: http://www.fluid-radio.co.uk/2013/12/no-re-press-07-2/
Images samples: http://www.fluid-radio.co.uk/2013/12/fragile-existence/

Two thumbs up on this.
Many thanks for pointing it out.

[Dave Michuda]

Benoît Pioulard - Hymnal Remixes - excellent collection of artists & styles with remixes by Loscil, Remote Viewer, Field Rotation, Brambles, Segue, The Green Kingdom & more.
Recondite - Hinterland - late night, lonely electronic music with beats, maybe too upbeat for something described as lonely but overall it's a melancholy trip.
stormloop - arctic conditions - pretty much what it sounds like, drone-like arctic ambience.


And one non-ambient release:

Damien Jurado - Brothers and Sisters of the Eternal Son - the first great record of 2014.

[thirdsystem]

The Circular Ruins and Mystified - Fantastic Journey..........this, along with Moss Garden - In The Silence Of The Subconscious, has been on constant play since I discovered same last week. Both really are stunning ambient works.

NP
 

Harold Budd - Avalon Sutra. For some reason I have not played this very often at all. Looking forward to hearing it again. Love the album cover.

I will thereafter be checking out the music in all the posts above 

[thirdsystem]

Ahhhh, Elektronik II.  Think this was Peter's last really good release on fax.  Inspired music.

The Cartesian I-III tracks really are superb elektronik FAX music  The fourth track "Planular" is a bit of a challenge I find. Quite dark and disturbing. Interesting though.

Last FAX release I bought direct from Pete was Labyrinth V from the superb series with Lorenzo Montana. I was then waiting on delivery of the then new Autumn Of Communion. Wondering why it was taking so long which was highly unusual. Emailed Pete to see if all was okay only to learn later that day he had passed on a few days previousy. Devastated, even now over a year on I still get upset listening to his music  .

[Castleview]

Aidan Baker- Aneira

It's amazing that his only sound source was a 12 string guitar.

Also, I redesigned my Bandcamp page. I wasn't sure if it was worth its topic but I think everyone should find it more aesthetically pleasing. Feel free to tell me what you guys think of it.

[APK]

The Circular Ruins and Mystified - Fantastic Journey..........this, along with Moss Garden - In The Silence Of The Subconscious, has been on constant play since I discovered same last week. Both really are stunning ambient works.

Very pleased to hear Fantastic Journey is getting some serious listening !
Thanks.

[chris23]

Some listening from today:

E and I - Putting Off Stars
2013 EP from Cotton Goods featuring Emmanuel Witzhum and Craig Tattersall. This is an 18-minute piece based mostly on viola, dusted tape loops, and other assorted samples. The music is quite sorrowful and wistful. The process by which the music was created is noteworthy; here is a brief description from Boomkat: "The score was generated by transcribing the poem into musical notes using a Hermes Baby typewriter, the letters on the keyboard being replaced with musical notes and the poem being retyped into music. Emmanuel played the score on his viola and the pair processed the strings back-and-forth with tape loops and digital manipulations." Sometimes I'm a bit skeptical about things that seem excessively artsy, as if the process, rather than the result, is the purpose. But there is always something playful yet sincere about Tattersall's work that continues to appeal to me on multiple levels. Samples: http://tape-dust.tumblr.com/mf01

Marsen Jules - Les Fleurs
A 2006 release from City Centre Offices. Great stuff: looped and processed acoustic samples that evolve into layered, complex structures. Constructed with patience. One of my favorites from him.
Samples/Digital: http://marsenjules.bandcamp.com/album/les-fleurs

[judd stephens]

Aglaia - Hymns
This is a pretty cool release, but out of sync with the typical Aglaia vibe. Throughout each track there is a highly processed voice submerged in the mix. I can't understand what it is saying (if it is saying anything in particular), but it has a spooky, robotic quality to it. That voice, combined with the more typical Aglaia synth work, gives this album a really unique sound--something that is both alien and yet strangely familiar. I imagine this is what hymns may sound like if they were performed by humanoid insects on another planet.

Samples/Buy: http://www.aliodie.com/index.php?_l=1&_w=1&__fidSez=89&cnt=203&__pg=

Strange that you should mention that; I've been breeding humanoid insects from other planets as a hobby, and strangely, they DO have an affinity for singing hymns. The damn things are keeping us awake at night! I have to throw cold water on them to quiet 'em down  ...but seriously, I love that description, will have to look that up.

This prompted me to check out Aglaia's Hymns, actually it was a debate which to buy now, that or Alio Die's Amidst the Circling Spires, the samples of which also sound great.  Something about humanoid insects though just spoke to me....

Through a first listen I'd say the voices also remind me of what would happen if the Cylons from Battlestar Galactica were somehow reprogrammed to be peaceful and they all joined a hippy love cult- and I mean that in the best way possible. 

[Castleview]

Item caligo- Self Deception As Rescue

http://gv-sound.bandcamp.com/album/self-deception-as-rescue

GV Sound is an excellent netlabel IMO.

[Castleview]

Har & Altus- Shadow District

https://archive.org/details/earman198

A true standout in the dark ambient genre.