Currently listening, part 1

[Dave Michuda]

The Boats - Do The Boats Dream Of Electric Fritz Pfleumer [Slaapwel]
Niggas With Guitars - Ethnic Frenzy [digitalis]
Demdike Stare - Tryptych 3CD set [modern love]

[drone on]

Simon Scott-Bunny (ex-Slowdive drummer).  Experimental n'shoegazery.
Catherine Wheel-Ferment.
Talk Talk-Spirit of Eden.
Curve-The Way of Curve
Patrick O'Hearn-Beautiful World.

[False Mirror]

Fattest bass ever:
Conforce - Vacuum

[False Mirror]

Certainly one of my most favorite albums this year:

Moritz Von Oswald Trio - Structure 1

[APK]

Or you can step it up a notch and listen to something even better !

Soft Machine - Live in Brussels, 1971

;)

[ffcal]

A couple of old favorites:

Arovane - Atol Scrap
Michael Stearns - Morning Jewel

Forrest

[False Mirror]

Takes me back to one of the best parties this year... awesome track:

Beautiful Swimmers - Swimmers Groove

[petekelly]

'Vitriol' by The Gasman

Free Download from 'Polymerase' EP.
Sounds like Yes might sound if they were still around in 2011 and were on pills.

http://www.thecentrifuge.co.uk/_wp/2010/08/cf049-the-gasman-polymerase-ep-released/

[Dave Michuda]

Various Daytrotter Sessions...
Alexi Murdoch
The Antlers
Cowboy Indian Bear
The Lumineers
Daughter
and many others

ambient listening...
willamette - echo park [infraction] - Fantastic!
tim hecker - dropped pianos [kranky]
chris watson - el tren fantasma [touch]

[| broken harbour |]

I've been on a bit of a Dataobscura binge recently...

The Circular Ruins - Invisible Cities ---> In my opinion one of APK's finest moments, I really like how the field recordings were integrated on this one.  Pretty minimal in instrumentation and movement, which I always like.

APK & Tomas Weiss - Distant Shadows ---> Quite possibly one of the best ambient albums I heard all year, nice artwork too.

Nunc Stans - We leave Without Speaking ---> Nice long form piece, nice to listen to in the dark.

Machinarium OST ---> Soundtrack to a PC game, it's a little short, but it's great, especially the song "By the wall".  Cool game too.

[petekelly]

My Brother very kindly gave me an iTunes card for christmas, so I downloaded a selection of some of me favourite tunes:

Trampled Under Foot - Led Zep
Pack it up (and Go) - UFO
The Sails of Charon - Scorpions
Unchained - Van Halen
The Royal Scam - Steely Dan
Billion Dollar Babies - Alice Cooper
Halo of Flies - Alice Cooper
Escape - Journey
The Rhythm of the Heat - Peter Gabriel
San Jacinto - Peter Gabriel
Mustapha - Queen
Hanging on the Telephone - Blondie
Velvet Green - Jethro Tull
Led Boots - Jeff Beck
Birthday (Icelandic) - Sugarcubes
Snake Dance - The March Violets
Alice - Sisters of Mercy
I'm Nin'Alu - Ofra Haza
God is God - Juno Reactor
Sugar is Sweeter (Original Mix) - CJ Bolland
Cornflake Girl - Tori Amos
Precious Things - Tori Amos
Subdivisions - Rush
Adorations - Killing Joke
European Super State - Killing Joke
A Light in the Black - Rainbow

Lovely stuff !

[Bill Binkelman]

My Brother very kindly gave me an iTunes card for christmas, so I downloaded a selection of some of me favourite tunes:

Trampled Under Foot - Led Zep
Pack it up (and Go) - UFO
The Sails of Charon - Scorpions
Unchained - Van Halen
The Royal Scam - Steely Dan
Billion Dollar Babies - Alice Cooper

Lovely stuff !

Oh yeah...now THAT is a song!  :D

[Anodize DB]

John Foxx/Harold Budd Nighthawks, Translucence & Drift Music (3 CD set) (Edsel)

I already owned the 2-disc version but picked this up (inexpensively) for the Nighthawks material as well. Budd's had something of a career resurgence of late, and although he veers little from his established m.o., this one certainly rises above the others & is absolutely drop-dead gorgeous; get this 3 disc version, as it is all superb, particularly the immersive ambience of Drift Music & Translucence's stately beauty. Suiting the chilly outside night air environs perfectly...

[9dragons]

The most listened to album in my collection: Lullaby for the Moon. Japanese traditional music, had for years and it never gets old.

[APK]

Recently I've been concentrating on

- Maps and Diagrams:: Lights Will Call On You / Town Beneath The Sea.  Sound fine to my ears.
- Casino Versus Japan::  Hitori + Kaiso 1998-2001.  Some excellent CvJ material in this earlier 1:34 set.
- A Winged Victory For The Sullen. It is very good, and in such an easy way.

[Antdude]

I had a good Christmas(thank you, Amazon), so lately, I've been listening to:

- Aix Em Klemm
- A Winged Victory For The Sullen
- Brian McBride - When The Detail Lost Its Freedom, The Effective Disconnect
- Christina Vantzou - No. 1
- The Dead Texan

If I can't have a new Stars of the Lid album, these are a pretty good substitute. I call this my SOTL Offshoots playlist.

[jim02]

sean mccann - sincere world
ishq - and awake  / skyspaces / sama
chandanam - whispers of the silent colors
michael stearns - sustaining cylinders / ancient leaves
steve roach - back to life / immersion : one
peter broderick - music for confluence
bvdub - then
yannick franck - memorabilia


anticipating; (not so much for now..)

bvdub - serenity (again!)
joel tammik - rajaleidja
stephan mathieu & caro mikalef - radioland (panoramico)
alio die - deconsecrated & pure (http://www.aliodie.com/index.php?_w=1&__fidSez=2&cnt=181&__pg=)
hideki umezawa (pawn) - suido-kan
windy & carl - we will always be

[spectral67]

Hectic Zeniths - Hectic Zeniths. Stunning Downtempo album.
Module - Remarkable Engines. Quality Electronica, Trip Hop/Downtempo album.
Pelican Daughters - Bliss. Interesting and atmospheric Ambient/Electronic from 94, free to download as well. http://pelicandaughters.bandcamp.com/album/bliss
Brainworlds - 5. Two long tracks of immersive Ambient/Inner space soundscapes.

[drone on]

Sorry to be negative, but...

re: Alio Die.  I may be in the minority here, but I have been increasingly underwhelmed by his output over the last few years.  I think there are maybe too many releases of average quality and I find myself going back to the early stuff (Sit Tibi Terra Levis, Ritual, etc.) again and again. 

re: bvdub--oversaturation of the marketplace, and overhyped.  Darla has now jumped on the bandwagon and can't release it fast enough.     

[drone on]

Recent spins:

Peter Bjargo-The Architecture of Melancholy (Cyclic Law).  A perfectly depressing, sorrowful and well produced album (lock up all sharp objects in drawers to avoid self-harm)

Atheus-Compile (Silent Season).  Kick ass dub techno that puts me in a heavy trance.

Aes Dana-Aftermath (Ultimae)  Finally downloaded this one as physical CD has been unavailable forever.  Great stuff. 

Namlook/Montana-Labyrinth 4 (Fax)  Some more nice music from Namlook.  Worth a download from iTunes, but not $30 for a surround CD I'll never use...