Currently listening, part 1

[Seren]

Nono Orchestra - Angels Breakin'

Oophoi - The Spirals of Time.

Lutmord - Dark Places of the Earth.

[darren bergstein]

Earlier this evening:

- Cluster/Farnbauer Live in Vienna 1980 (Important) • absolutely superb rescued relic that showcases a very experimental set by Moebius, Roedelius & the obscure Farnbauer...very Kluster-esque in form, feel, and content, exploratory, strangely spacey & unique.

- DMX Krew Wave Funk (Rephlex) • irresistible beatbox workouts & squiggly synth-drenched electro - 2 discs, 35 trax, in case you just can't enough (reference intended ).

NP:

- Aun Black Pyramid (Cyclic Law) • dense, atmospheric, and gripping soundscapes composed of guitar & synths/processing from the continually enterprising Aun and the always reliable Cyclic Law imprint...not as dark as other C.L. releases, more like glimpsing the fringes of kaleidoscopic fragments at the end of the tunnel...

[ffcal]

Jefre-Cantu Ledesma & Paul Clipson - Within Mirrors DVD (two-hours of unusual abstract videos + music (my version also has a bonus 3", though there aren't too many of these); Ledesma's music is evenly split between very noisey guitar ambient and slow-moving droney guitar ambient a la LaMonte Young.  The 20 minute "Phantom Harp" is probably the most musical--reminds of Andrew Chalk in a good way.  A lot of drone to wade through, though.  The visuals are pretty interesting in small doses)

Hugh Hopper (of Soft Machine fame)- The Gift of Purpose (a very nice benefit CD put out by Steve Feigenbaum of Cuneiform for the late Hugh Hopper's family, to help them pay for his medical bills; some great music from his group Bone's next to last show.  More info at waysidemusic.com)

Forrest

[darren bergstein]

Galaxy Everlasting Tone (Chillcode) • totally gorgeous ambient electronica on the label that gave us Entheogenic & others...there remains a vital group of artists working the early 90s genres of what is usually (& erroneously) nicked 'chillout' or 'ambient trance'. Galaxy has been around for some time, and his compositional skills are quite sophisticated at this point...beautiful late night listening thanks to varied rhythmic textures & pillowy synths.

[Dave Michuda]

The Orb Featuring David Gilmour - Metallic Spheres
Willy Porter & Carpe Diem - Live at Boma
The Avett Brothers - Live, Volume 3

[darren bergstein]

Coppice Halifax & Axs Outward Residence (Other Heights) CDR

Totally brilliant, deepdeep dusky slo-mo ambient dub in the vein of Gas, Yagya, Fatih Tuter, projects on Echocord, etc., but *extremely* well done, combining aspects of mutant reggae, Basic Channel production techniques, and enormous atmosphere. Depth charge bass drum hits, sinuous & snaky basslines, and vast, submersible drones spin a decidedly eerie web around the ear. Utterly immersive and mesmerising.

[APK]

- Tom waits :: Rain Dogs

Yep.

[9dragons]

Tons of Black Sabbath. And especially Heaven and Hell and Mob Rules. Rest in peace, o mighty Dio...you are still loved greatly.

[ffcal]

Joseph, was listening to this one this week and it should be up your alley:

Invisible Face of the Beloved - Classical Music of the Tajiks and Uzbeks (Music of Central Asia Vol. 2)(very beautiful small ensemble with male and female singers; it's part of a Smithsonian series; comes with a short DVD documentary, like the others in the series)

Forrest

[APK]

- Max Richter :: Memoryhouse

- Roedelius :: Jardin au Fou

Couple of perennial favourites.

[matthew]

Tangerine Dream - Encore
I don't know much about Tangerine Dream but I do know the formation has changed a lot over the years. There's albums I really like and then there are those that have the sound, but still hardly register. This is one of those albums that always gets under my skin; the granular sound, the whole 70's vibe (I assume it is in fact a 70's album) and the variation in instruments. The playing is superb as are the sounds and moods.

Dreamstate - A decade dreaming
From ultra crisp to moody dulls, this album seems to cover all the colours and environments that I find interesting in Ambient music. The inclusion of instruments and the huge variation in tracks elevate it well above ambient backgrounds and drones.

[judd stephens]

Alio Die- Aura Seminalis 

Just listening now to the first track.  This is really pretty so far- would make a great compliment to another album of ambient featuring the "recyclings" of choir monks, that being The Convolving Universe by Diatonis.

[darren bergstein]

Got Erik Wøllo over the house and we've been checking out a number of things both old & new, such as the recent Orb/David Gilmour collab, quite excellent, as well chestnuts such as My Life in the Bush of Ghosts (specifically that last piece, "Mountain Of Needles", three near-perfect minutes of hushed atmosphere) and Holdsworth's Wardenclyffe Tower. NP: Jerry Harrison's classic and *vastly* underrated The Red and the Black, practically a sequel to the Heads' Remain in Light, still sounding brilliant after all these years.

[APK]

- Last days :: These Places Are Now Ruins

Be good to have something new from Mr. Richardson in the near future.

[headonist]

Harold Budd - Avalon Sutra

[jdh]

Can we get a description of the orb- gilmour cd?anyone buy the 360 degree version?

[drone on]

The Orb/Gilmour disc sounds like...someone really into Pink Floyd making an electronic soundscape album.  This disc would be really good for an acid trip (or a nice flashback!)--heady, spaced out, multi-layered, journey-like.  Exceeded my expectations. Recommended.

[Scott M2]

The "360" degrees version doesn't come out until next week.

I'm waiting to get that version - although I listened to their sample file
and while I could "imagine" a bit of extra surround, when I switched over to
an mp3 of a live group-recording we made the week before, it sounded about the same.

I'm, therefore, more interested just because it has been described as a different mix
and besides being a fan of earlier Orb, Gilmour remains my fave guitarist.

[Scott M2]

Tangerine Dream - Encore
I don't know much about Tangerine Dream but I do know the formation has changed a lot over the years. There's albums I really like and then there are those that have the sound, but still hardly register. This is one of those albums that always gets under my skin; the granular sound, the whole 70's vibe (I assume it is in fact a 70's album) and the variation in instruments. The playing is superb as are the sounds and moods.

Dreamstate - A decade dreaming
From ultra crisp to moody dulls, this album seems to cover all the colours and environments that I find interesting in Ambient music. The inclusion of instruments and the huge variation in tracks elevate it well above ambient backgrounds and drones.

Hi Matthew - Thanks for including your thoughts on the new dreamSTATE!

After reading your TD Encore thoughts, I pulled the CD out and was enjoying the vibe and the sequencing (although it's not as intricate as Richochet). I actually saw that tour when it came through Ottawa in the 70s and as a synth-guy seeing/hearing the big modulars live was a great experience. Another excellent TD double-live album is Poland - with Schmoelling instead of Baumann.

[headonist]

Tuu - Invocation



Ambient with soft tribal parts, and flute.