Currently listening, part 1

[Castleview]

Aidan Baker - Letters

If you can appreciate slightly noisy guitar ambience, this is an excellent album.

[thirdsystem]

Yet another listen to Tangerine Dream - Sorcerer 2014

Disc 2. The music that was written down for the film but never recorded or released. Some really great stuff on this.

Steve Hillage--Rainbow Dome Musick.  This timeless masterpiece is high on my all-time faves list.  Stunningly beautiful two long tracks.  Ethereal in the extreme.

Love it !! Listen to Rainbow Dome often.

[richardgurtler]

Wow... I'll bet that's really good. Is it along the lines of Trances And Drones? I'm gonna pass on this one, simply because I don't feel like buying a turntable again. If I had known years ago that vinyl was going to make a reappearance, I would have kept my turntable...

Joe, is an all-inclusive set featuring recordings ranging from deeply immersing dronesculpting through rather ear-bending experimental improvisations to more uplifting sequencer based compositions. Actually, Vinyl On Demand website features three sound samples and you can find there also in-depth stories behind each track, it's definitely a very interesting reading even without owning the box set.

Richard

[chris23]

Recent plays:

Vir Unis - The Drift Inside
A favorite of mine. The last track, Deepest Dreams, blows me away.

Jaja - Stars
Nice deep space ambient.

Wintersilence - Submental Vol. 2
Drones on top of drones.

--

Speaking of Robert Rich and buying turntables, etc. I was one of those sad people who held on to my VHS player instead of buying a DVD player until Robert Rich's Somnium was released on DVD in 2001. That was the event that led me to finally update my system!

According to Robert's newsletter, Premonitions will be available digitally once the vinyl is sold out. I'm tempted to buy the vinyl, but it has a hefty price. And I'll probably regret passing on it years from now. 

[Joe R]

I can understand bringing back the vinyl record format, simply because so many people claim that vinyl has a fuller sound, with higher frequencies and lower lows. I'd love to hear feedback from forum members here who hold that view. But what I don't understand is... WHY DID THEY RESURRECT THE CASSETTE TAPE? In my opinion, it's a very flawed format that I was glad to see dead and buried. Does anyone else remember painstakingly rewinding, by hand, the cassette tapes that had been "eaten" by your cassette player? You seemingly had miles of tape to wind back in without tangling it up. Sometimes you were successful, but the tape never sounded quite the same because of the wrinkles that occurred during the rewinding. Grrrr... and back then I was a real stoner, and rewinding the tape was a real buzz-kill.

What's next? Re-introducing the 8-track tape? 

[Castleview]

I can understand bringing back the vinyl record format, simply because so many people claim that vinyl has a fuller sound, with higher frequencies and lower lows. I'd love to hear feedback from forum members here who hold that view. But what I don't understand is... WHY DID THEY RESURRECT THE CASSETTE TAPE? In my opinion, it's a very flawed format that I was glad to see dead and buried. Does anyone else remember painstakingly rewinding, by hand, the cassette tapes that had been "eaten" by your cassette player? You seemingly had miles of tape to wind back in without tangling it up. Sometimes you were successful, but the tape never sounded quite the same because of the wrinkles that occurred during the rewinding. Grrrr... and back then I was a real stoner, and rewinding the tape was a real buzz-kill.

What's next? Re-introducing the 8-track tape?

Yeah, I feel the same way as you do about cassette tapes. I know of a few labels and musicians that have done this but I don't get it at all. I get the appeal of vinyl even though I don't have an old record player but cassette tapes should stay in the past.

[chris23]

I hear you, Joe and Castleview. And although I completely agree with you, I have a confession to make: I ordered a cassette recently because doing so was the only way to get the download code for the album. A bit clunky, I suppose, but it was a means to an end.

The album in question, by the way, is fantastic: Letna's Horizont on Sunshine Ltd. Samples here: http://sunshineltd.info/?sunshine_product=horizont

I will never listen to the cassette, however. It is a nice artifact, if nothing else. I would rather have had a CD version to buy.

[drone on]

Expo70, an ambient spacerock artist, has released lots of tapes.  His music is pretty lo-fi anyway, but I think the tapes are a way to put out a lot of music for the hardcore fans.  He does have official CD releases on various labels, in addition to limited vinyl pressings and digital downloads.  But yeah, who wants to bother with cheap tapes?  And who actually has a tape deck anymore???  Haven't had one for at least 25 years.

[Seren]

Vir Unis - The Drift Inside
A favorite of mine. The last track, Deepest Dreams, blows me away.

One of my favourite albums - I used to leave it on low volume repeat overnight.....

[thirdsystem]

Interesting about cassettes. Have to confess I quite like the format. Mainly probably for sentimental reasons. I still have all my old cassettes that I bought as a teenager and still play them occasionally. First ever album purchase, Venus and Mars - Wings  . I recently bought a further pioneer twin deck to augment my Aiwa deck just in case it becomes impossible to source the hardware. These should suffice till the end of days. I do remember having some problems with tapes but those were perhaps ones that had been bought second hand or not looked after. If cared for and the cassette deck maintained then some very good sounds indeed can be produced. This is still the case with my 39 year old wings tape, although it is showing signs of ageing much like myself. I still buy the occasional cassette.

Vinyl is possibly my favourite format now. I find despite the occasional flaws the sound quality really cannot be bettered, I do however also love CDs and digital downloads. Think I possibly need a bigger house for storage purposes although the hard drive helps a bit.

Might check out some of my cassettes tonight 

[TheBigLow]

It's funny how much I've enjoyed the resurgence of cassette culture. I completely recognize the limitations of the medium - heck, I can't even play tapes in my car anymore - but there's something oddly fun about getting a box of tapes in the mail after all these years of CDs and records (not to mention digital files). I've definitely picked up more tapes in the last year than any other medium. There are some great cassette-centered labels out there; two of my favorites are Tranquility Tapes (http://tranquilitytapes.bandcamp.com/) and Constellation Tatsu (http://ctatsu.bandcamp.com/), both dealing in borderline-New Agey and bedroom-synth drone and ambient exploration. I'm particularly fond of Cask's self-titled album on Tranquility.

Thanks for the recommendation of Jaja's "Stars." That's satisfying a craving I didn't know I had.

Peter

[Joe R]

Interesting to hear from those who still appreciate cassettes. I always took good care of my cassettes, but STILL they got "eaten" more times than I care to remember. I also cleaned the cassette head, but never did clean the capstans, (I believe they were called). Perhaps that's the source of my problems.

Also I had several cassettes where the felt pad fell off of the copper band that supported the tape. Grrr...

From a business standpoint alone, it seems unwise to sell a product in a format that, right off the bat, eliminates maybe 80% of your potential clientele. On the other hand, these little cassette music labels keep chugging right along, so there must be a big enough market to support them.

Last night I listened to: Specta Ciera & The Circular Ruins- Middle Distance. Pure magic!

[thirdsystem]

Last night I listened to: Specta Ciera & The Circular Ruins- Middle Distance. Pure magic!

Brilliant album, play it frequently.

Currently checking out...... Castleview- Oceanscape . Dark, deep and interesting.

Then it will be two of my favourite ambient albums of all time to chill and fall asleep to.

   

Thom Brennan - Vibrant Water and Mist Two stunning albums of ambient beauty.

[Joe R]

Last night I listened to: Specta Ciera & The Circular Ruins- Middle Distance. Pure magic!

Brilliant album, play it frequently.

Have you ever heard Anthony's disc, calledDescription Without Place- Filaments? Check it out on Dataobscura, it's amazing.

[Joe R]

Okay, I screwed up the quote and reply thing, but I recommend you to check out Description Without Place on Dataobscura.

[chris23]

I second that Description Without Place recommendation!

Yair Elazar Glotman - Northern Gulfs
Super interesting album from Glacial Movements. It combines three things I love: isolationist ambiance, field recordings, and Geiger counter-like clicks and static. This is a true stand-out album; the last track in particular, Home Port, is a jewel.

Steam/Buy: https://glacialmovements.bandcamp.com/album/northern-gulfs

[Castleview]

Currently checking out...... Castleview- Oceanscape . Dark, deep and interesting.

Thanks!

NP: Windy & Carl - I Have Been Waiting To Hear Your Voice

[jkn]

playing Periskop again... from his 40 album release...  massively amazing stuff.  I still haven't heard all 40 - many I've heard over and over because I love them and just don't move on.  Discovering some of the others in more depth.

http://periskop.cc

Yep - they're all free.  It's Danny Kreutzfeldt who's released on APK's label a couple times under earlier names.

So far - I've found only 2 out of the 40 that didn't connect with me.  I've probably heard 30 of them so far.

[thirdsystem]

Okay, I screwed up the quote and reply thing, but I recommend you to check out Description Without Place on Dataobscura.

Checked out the "Description Without Place" samples Joe. Nice, on the list (extensive  )

Currently listening to The Circular Ruins: Retrospective 2009 Some really great stuff on this free download.

[Castleview]

Alio Die- Suspended Feathers

A true standout in Alio Die's huge discography.

Yair Elazar Glotman - Northern Gulfs
Super interesting album from Glacial Movements. It combines three things I love: isolationist ambiance, field recordings, and Geiger counter-like clicks and static. This is a true stand-out album; the last track in particular, Home Port, is a jewel.

Steam/Buy: https://glacialmovements.bandcamp.com/album/northern-gulfs

I listened to the opener earlier and it was really cool. I need to find the time to listen to the rest of it.