Currently listening, part 1

[drone on]

Simple Minds--Theme for a Great City.  2xCD, two shows from 1981 and 1982 in Sydney.  This is simply one of the best live recordings I've ever heard, from any band.  10/10, both performance and sound quality.  Where did they get this stuff?  It must've been from radio shows.  It sounds like it was recorded yesterday, not almost 35 years ago.  The New Gold Dream set is amazing, almost bettering the studio versions.  From about 1981 to 1984 this band was total class.  Experimental, moody, haunting at times, yet accessible.  This was before their sad demise into bland stadium rock and totally selling out, much like U2 from Joshua Tree forward.  Both NGD and Sparkle in the Rain were IMO two of the best rock albums of the 80s. 

Aythar--Astronautica.  On the Carpe Sonum label.  New artist working in the FAX/Namlook sound.  The theme is the Apollo 11 moon landing.  There are some very good tracks on here but also some very bland generic tracks.  His choice of NASA mission transmissions and a sample from Contact with Jodie foster are pretty unoriginal (Namlook already sampled the same Contact snippet on his Planetarium CD).   I'd maybe give this a B- overall.   

[cvac]

Simple Minds--Theme for a Great City.  2xCD, two shows from 1981 and 1982 in Sydney.  This is simply one of the best live recordings I've ever heard, from any band.  10/10, both performance and sound quality.  Where did they get this stuff?  It must've been from radio shows.  It sounds like it was recorded yesterday, not almost 35 years ago.  The New Gold Dream set is amazing, almost bettering the studio versions.  From about 1981 to 1984 this band was total class.  Experimental, moody, haunting at times, yet accessible.  This was before their sad demise into bland stadium rock and totally selling out, much like U2 from Joshua Tree forward.  Both NGD and Sparkle in the Rain were IMO two of the best rock albums of the 80s. 

This sounds great. I am a huge fan of the period of the band from '79-'84. NGD and Sparkle are both great, but my favorite album of theirs is Empires and Dance. A lot of people still don't know about their pre-watered down era, believe it or not. I've turned a few friends onto them by introducing them to those early albums.

[chris23]

Sinepearl - Reflections of Indra
New digital-only release from Björn Ekegren. Björn's first release was on Ishq's Virtual label, a reflection of the fact that Björn's music captures a similar atmosphere and spirit as some of the early Ishq releases. Although Ishq's sound has naturally evolved as a function of the pursuit of esoteric and otherworldly spaces, Sinepearl has managed to distill the essence of that early Ishq spirit and kept it alive, while creating his own signature sound in the process. This new album is beautiful: slow moving textures; hypnotic pulses; and a wide range of sound sources, including the yaylı tambur.

https://sinepearl.bandcamp.com/album/reflections-of-indra

[ffcal]

Erik Wollo - Stars End 2015, again, addicted !!

I like this one, too.  I think it might rank among Erik's best.  Love the floating textures.

Forrest

[cvac]

Sun Ra - Lanquidity

A mellower kind of Sun Ra album, very nice.

Steve Roach & Robert Logan - Biosonic

One listen so far, and I am very impressed overall. Lots of detail, great beat-driven sound on most of the album, mellows out towards the end. If you liked the collaboration albums with Vir Unis this would probably be right up your alley.

Phillip Wilkerson - Waking Across the River

Not as layered as "Sojourner" but very good overall. Subtle, needs more listens.

Beautumn - Bordeaux

Finally managed to get this and agree with all the positive comments thus far. Great album, very subtle in places, good mix of organic and synthetic textures. Definitely the best thing I've heard from Beautumn so far.

Goya Dress - Rooms

Underrated female fronted rock band from the 90s. Really good album, good mix of light and dark.

After The Flood - Vol. 2

A friend gave this to me. Some of it is vaguely reminiscent of This Mortal Coil, some of it is beat-driven electronics, some of it is ambient. Two discs, excellent throughout.

https://www.discogs.com/After-The-Flood-After-The-Flood-2/release/876959

[Castleview]

Simple Minds--Theme for a Great City.  2xCD, two shows from 1981 and 1982 in Sydney.  This is simply one of the best live recordings I've ever heard, from any band.  10/10, both performance and sound quality.  Where did they get this stuff?  It must've been from radio shows.  It sounds like it was recorded yesterday, not almost 35 years ago.  The New Gold Dream set is amazing, almost bettering the studio versions.  From about 1981 to 1984 this band was total class.  Experimental, moody, haunting at times, yet accessible.  This was before their sad demise into bland stadium rock and totally selling out, much like U2 from Joshua Tree forward.  Both NGD and Sparkle in the Rain were IMO two of the best rock albums of the 80s. 

This sounds great. I am a huge fan of the period of the band from '79-'84. NGD and Sparkle are both great, but my favorite album of theirs is Empires and Dance. A lot of people still don't know about their pre-watered down era, believe it or not. I've turned a few friends onto them by introducing them to those early albums.

I actually think Once Upon A Time is their best. It's a really consistent batch of pop songs and it wasn't that far off from Sparkle In The Rain in sound. After that, they definitely got way worse. I just think the decline really started with Street Fighting Years, while many of their diehard fans would say Once Upon The Time. 

[cvac]

I actually think Once Upon A Time is their best. It's a really consistent batch of pop songs and it wasn't that far off from Sparkle In The Rain in sound. After that, they definitely got way worse. I just think the decline really started with Street Fighting Years, while many of their diehard fans would say Once Upon The Time. 

I just can't get into OUAT, too slick and seems like too much of a step down. I know the album has its fans though. Street Fighting Years I have heard bits and pieces of, I remember thinking it was okay. I've been told there are gems here and there in the latter day catalog. I didn't even like Sparkle that much when I first heard it, but it has grown on me a lot over the years. I still need to get the 5x5 live set.

I would rank the early catalog as follows:

1. Empires and Dance
2. New Gold Dream
3. Sons and Fascination/Sister Feelings Call
4. Sparkle in the Rain
5. Real to Real Cacophony
6. Life in a Day

[APK]

Tapes and Topographies :: Soft Decibels  -- this works for me !

[darkenedsoul]

Blind Guardian - Beyond the Red Mirror (and A Twist in the Myth or something like that). These guys bring it top to bottom! Saw them for 2nd time last year in Worcester, MA at the Palladium, check for youtube videos. FABULOUS show, 2+ hrs for them alone. Hansi came out in a white jumpsuit and big doo a-la Elvis, rest of the band were also in costume. AMAZING! And one of his comments was "hope it won't be another 5 yrs before we come back" relating to the last time (about 5 yrs) they were here with Symphony-X on the bill (gr8 show too). I love these guys, great presentation and execution in all parts. If you like power metal and haven't heard of them, get your ass in gear for a helluva ride!

[DeepR]

Ravel - Le Tombeau de Couperin orchestrated
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wkt8T38aaMw

My favorites are Prelude and Toccata

[chris23]

Steve Roach and Robert Logan - Second Nature + Biosonic
I'm enjoying both of these releases quite a bit. Second Nature is exactly what I had hoped Etheric Imprints would be: slow moving piano compositions, loops, and incidentals that seem mysterious and frozen in time. I'm having a tough time turning this one off.

Biosonic is nice too, but has a completely different atmosphere. As Robert noted in another thread, there is A LOT of attention to detail on this release. Rhythms, pulses, and pads: everything has its place and merits a careful listen. My favorites here are the first and third tracks.

[cvac]

Jeff Pearce - The Hidden Rift
Jeff Pearce - Vestiges

Two OOP albums available through Bandcamp, both great guitar-based instrumental music. Some more structured melodic tracks as well as some more abstract, ambient/drone type tracks. There are still some OOP albums that are not available yet, i.e. Tenderness & Fatality, Daylight Slowly, and the collaboration with Vidna Obmana. I am hoping these will eventually show up on his Bandcamp page.

https://jeffpearcemusic.bandcamp.com/album/the-hidden-rift

https://jeffpearcemusic.bandcamp.com/album/vestiges


A Produce - Inscape and Landscape CD

Fantastic ambient album, quite dark but accessible. Beautiful packaging too. Never explored this artist until recently, which is sort of shame since he's sadly no longer around. Looking forward to checking out more from his catalog in the future.

Herion - Out and About CD

Picked this up during the recent sale, very nice fusion of classical instrument textures and experimental ambient. Too bad this group never made a follow up album. I know some of the members have recorded individually, but I'm not familiar with their work at all.

Nebulae - Path of White Clouds CD

"Supergroup" collaborative drone project featuring two big name artists that are no longer around. Admittedly I was attracted to this due to Oophoi's name on it, but this is a bit different than the handful of Oophoi albums I have. Not much to say other than I really like it.

Miktek - Elsewhere FLAC

Very nice ambient techno with some very slight dub-techno-ish textures here and there. At times it's a bit too slick but overall very well composed and put together and a very good album. Looking forward to the next album from this artist.

https://ultimae.bandcamp.com/album/elsewhere

Martin Nonstatic - Granite FLAC

Much more advanced than anything else I've heard from this artist, which didn't really wow me. However, this album is very, very good and goes way beyond the usual GAS/Basic Channel/Maurizio tribute stuff in dub techno. I would say this is probably about 20% or less dub techno, which is good. Lots going on - experimental/non-musical elements, ambient, glitches, even some Warp-style IDM-ish textures. Overall a very nice album.

https://ultimae.bandcamp.com/album/granite

Cell - Hanging Masses FLAC

This reminds me of an early/mid 90s ambient techno album, but much more refined and slickly produced. Very well done though and there is enough individuality and personality to make it stand out. Anyone know why the artist hasn't followed this up with a new album?

https://ultimae.bandcamp.com/album/hanging-masses

ASC - Fervent Dream FLAC

This guy gets a lot of praise for his ambient albums as well as his beat-driven d 'n b influenced work, but I've never really listened to him until now. I have to say I was very, very impressed with this album. It breaks no new ground really, but it is so well done I can't complain. Hardly any rhythm at all on this until you get very near the end of the album.

http://shop.silentseason.com/album/fervent-dream

Shaded Explorer - Empatia FLAC

Not super familiar with other work by this artist, but the little I checked out didn't grab me. This albums seems like a big step forward though, and I was very impressed with it. Definitely on the melodic side of ambient techno, very accessible, probably 15-20% dub techno thrown in for good measure but generally avoiding rip-off cliches. Not necessarily earth shattering, but again, very well done.

http://shop.silentseason.com/album/empatia

Dronny Darko - Neuroplasticity FLAC

Industrial influenced dark ambient stuff, lots of digital/electrical sounding noises, fairly abstract, a lot different than the more standard sounding dark ambient type stuff this artist has done previously. If you're familiar with the Italian project Bad Sector, this actually reminds me a bit of that, though not quite as refined. FYI this is 50% on Cryo Chamber's Bandcamp site right now, along with the other albums by this artist that have been released through the label.

https://cryochamber.bandcamp.com/album/neuroplasticity

[chris23]

cvac: Check out ASC's Time Heals All. Really amazing stuff. If you liked the new one, you'll really love this.

http://shop.silentseason.com/album/time-heals-all-sscd14

[cvac]

cvac: Check out ASC's Time Heals All. Really amazing stuff. If you liked the new one, you'll really love this.

http://shop.silentseason.com/album/time-heals-all-sscd14

I will try to make that one next on my list. All the ASC stuff on Silent Season is now on my Bandcamp Wishlist after hearing this latest album. Would've bought it all in one go but my music budget is pretty tight these days.

[jdh]

AOC-Broken Apart by Sunlight on BC.5 long form tracks that I much prefer to Polydeuces.Very spacey and FAX like.Excellent.Buy do not stream.

Roger Waters-The Wall live in 2015.Great versions of the album we all know.I saw the live show in Quebec and it is well worth checking out the Blu ray.Not just for the live footage but the story Waters weaves through it.

Joy Division-Closer.Still sounds modern today due to Martin Hannett.I cannot listen to this one very often as it is very dark but a true work of art.

[cvac]

Joy Division-Closer.Still sounds modern today due to Martin Hannett.I cannot listen to this one very often as it is very dark but a true work of art.

I am with you on this. In general I cannot listen to JD as often as I used to but still count them as one of my very favorite bands. A lot of my favorites are things that I might not necessarily listen to all the time...have to be in the right mood.

[chris23]

AOC-Broken Apart by Sunlight on BC.5 long form tracks that I much prefer to Polydeuces.Very spacey and FAX like.Excellent.Buy do not stream.

I've been listening to this all weekend too. Fantastic work! Like you said, much more spacey than Polydeuces. A bit more experimental too, which I like a lot. I'm particularly fond on the second track, KELT-4Ab.

[chris23]

cvac: Kevan Revis just told me that he knows you from your WI days. Crazy, small world: He and I went to high school and college together.

Speaking of which:

Kevan Revis - Sollicitudo
Experimental soundscapes with a lot of ear candy. Not necessarily ambient, but likely to appeal to those who like the Hafler Trio, Organum, NWW, and other outfits that helped define a unique form of sound sculptures in the 80s/90s.
https://kevanrevis.bandcamp.com/album/sollicitudo

[cvac]

cvac: Kevan Revis just told me that he knows you from your WI days. Crazy, small world: He and I went to high school and college together.

Yes, very small world indeed.

Speaking of which:

Kevan Revis - Sollicitudo
Experimental soundscapes with a lot of ear candy. Not necessarily ambient, but likely to appeal to those who like the Hafler Trio, Organum, NWW, and other outfits that helped define a unique form of sound sculptures in the 80s/90s.
https://kevanrevis.bandcamp.com/album/sollicitudo

I tend to think of ambient music as part of a continuum where all kinds of things exist, and this kind of stuff is just on another part of the same continuum as ambient. I really enjoy his album too. The vinyl LP version is very nice for those that have a turntable. I think he might still have a few copies left through his store, Boxer Records.

[chris23]

Murkok - Dialectic and assorted works
I decided to hunt down some material for this guy after ...txt announced they were releasing his first proper CD. This is some really cool stuff. It is mostly slow-moving ambient soundscapes, but processed in some creative ways. As a result, it seems traditional and novel at the same time. I hope his new CD will sell well. I like the way Lee is investing in artists who haven't had the opportunity to have properly pressed CDs.

Of the various albums on bandcamp, dialectic stands out:
https://murkok.bandcamp.com/album/dialectic