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----------Paul
Ellis - From Out Of The Vast Comes Nearness |
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STYLE |
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August
2011
Sequential long form ambient.
From Out Of The Vast Comes Nearness presents a suite of
twinkling electronic streams: some ripple and flow in purposeful
rhythm; others pool and meander in more languid motion;
at times the current almost slows to a halt, heaving idly,
uncertain depths. Using a combination of soft synths and
hardware items in layered threads Paul Ellis weaves a mesmerising,
expansive series of mindscapes that seep into the consciousness
in evolving repetition. The structure is minimalist, airy;
melody emergent, transient. Beats are all but absent, yet
percussive synthesiser notes fleck many of the tracks and
overlaid sequencer patterns sometimes amass into stirring
rhythms. Flute sounds, bird-like squeaks, low chimes, sonic
turbulence and air movement all embellish the rise and fall
of shifting cycles and wafting pads - murmuring bass motifs,
sparse and deeply rooted reaching downward. |
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| ARTWORK |
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From
Out Of The Vast Comes Nearness arrives in a well constructed
card wallet - attractive and sleek. The package opens out
into two panels, the disc neatly slotted into one horizontal
pocket. The cover imagery (which was first conceived when
the album was to be titled Watch The Stars Come One By One)
shows a ragged line of figures in long, dark coats on a
bleak, rugged landscape all staring skyward. Above the clouds
the sky darkens and pin-prick stars can just be made out
- a single shooting star flares in a short arc. The rear
cover holds a similar image, only this time the men are
gone, a telescope in the place of each one; titles are here
with times alongside. The package opens out to reveal two
more photographs of similar terrain; here solitary figures
gaze outward - one at a glimmering galaxy, the other at
sky and distant horizons. Track titles are repeated on the
left inner panel, credits, love and thanks also here. There
is a dedication to Steve Reich, Klaus Schulze, Peter Baumann
and Patrick O'Hearn whose influences can be readily discerned
in the music. Finally the title From Out Of The Vast Comes
Nearness is expanded with the words: An open secret unravelling.
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| OVERALL |
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Released
on Lotuspike, Vancouver based Paul Ellis presents From Out
Of The Vast Comes Nearness as follow-up to Last Hiding Place
of Beauty. Having played as part of the band Dweller at
the Threshold, Paul's back catalogue includes a number of
solo albums and collaborative works with musicians such
as Steve Roach, Craig Padilla, Rudy Adrian, Nemesis, Ron
Boots and Otso Pakarinen. This latest release contains five
tracks gradually increasing in length from the ten-minute-forty-nine
second introduction The Infinite, Minute By Minute to the
twenty-one-minute-seventeen-second conclusion Watch The
Stars Come Out One By One. Hints of Berlin school roots
evident on most tracks are steeped in contemporary ambient
restraint and spacey openness. The Spotted
Peccary website (of which Lotuspike is a subsidiary)
holds audio for each track and the Ambient
Visions website has a lengthy interview with Paul discussing
the creation of the album.
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----------Asmodelle
- Dark Universe |
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STYLE |
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August
2011
Dark ambient music.
Dark Universe is comprised of a series of tenebrous, beatless
expanses. Reverberating chimes and tonal swells emerge in
apparently random measure from a backdrop of deep, evolving
drones and sonic turbulence. Shifting sonic winds and faintly
mechanical textures underpin an electronic thrum and metallic
tinkles. Grumbling low frequency beds emit sci-fi streamers
and ethereal sweeps suggestive of alien vistas. Dark Universe
was recorded live and carries a sense of improvisational experimentation
fuelled by a sense of enigmatic awe. The tenor is one of brooding,
spacey exploration; sometimes vast, abyssal, obscure; sometimes
dense and organic. |
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| ARTWORK |
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Dark
Universe is a jewel case presentation. The sleeve insert has
two panels, artwork following two distinct themes: one on
the outside of black space brimming with the gleam of stars
and the effulgent glow of galactic clouds; one on the inside
of lighter tone as if the whole expanse is illuminated with
star light. Track titles on the rear have times listed alongside
with an explanation that each piece musically depicts distant
cosmological anomalies. Within, the thirteen tracks are laid
out to cover the double page spread of the booklet, a brief
discussion of the subject matter for each building appreciation
for the endeavour of the album. |
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| OVERALL |
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Australian
female artist Estelle Asmodelle is an electronic musician
with a leaning toward recording her compositions live. Asmodelle's
music is by no means confined to ambient, having also released
recordings in the club/dance, chillout, electro and electronica
genres. Having classical training, she employs a mixture
of hardware keyboards and softsynths to create her music.
Dark Universe features thirteen pieces that range from around
three and a half minutes to around six and a half - in all
sixty six minutes. The album is released in both CD and
digital formats and can be found via most major outlets
as well as via the artist's
own site. Samples of all tracks can be found here too
along with information regarding Asmodelle's other musical
faces. |
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----------Mythos
- Superkraut Live at Stagge's Hotel 1976 |
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STYLE |
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September
2011
Vintage electronica.
Superkraut Live at Stagge's Hotel 1976 is a recording of the
West Berlin band Mythos in their early days. Performing here
as a three piece with drums, bass and guitar/flute; the sound
is much more rock oriented than the electronica that was to
follow from Mythos. That vivacious, progressive, experimental
sound of the early-mid seventies is ever-present here: at
times reminiscent of Jethro Tull due to the gutsy rhythms
and virtuoso flute work. Mostly instrumental, the album shows
a band keen to let their playing open up the full range of
each player. Robby Luizaga'a bass work is inventive and as
much a lead instrument as Stephan Kaske's. Kaske moves comfortably
from flute to bluesy electric guitar to "prehistoric
synthesiser" and back again. A drum solo was pretty much
obligatory back then for a live album and Paradidel doesn't
fail to satisfy on the concluding track of the album. |
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| ARTWORK |
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The
neat digipack for Superkraut features reworked artwork from
the band's debut album of 1972 entitled Mythos - with one
or two alterations: the seated eyeball figure now clutches
a complete heart atop the Stagge's Hotel building rather than
the original rock formation. The imagery has that authentic
'classic' feel of the progressive, psychedelic era, bold lettering
included. Track titles are found on the rear cover. A generous
twelve page booklet sits in a notch inside the package. This
features photographs of Mythos in their heyday both posed
publicity shots and performing. Sleeve notes are in German
and English providing a little history, a little nostalgia
and relevant contact and website details. |
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| OVERALL |
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The Stagge’s Hotel in Northern Germany
has been the source of a series of concert recordings released
via Sireena Records. Mythos were captured here in 1976 at
the start of their career, the tapes remaining unknown to
even to the band for some time. What a find though - Live
at Stagg's Hotel is the only extant live record of Mythos
from the period. In time growing parallel to such German
pioneers as Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schuze, Mythos here
show a more rugged and rock based approach. The eight tracks
will either bring back some distant treasured memories for
fans of the band, or perhaps open up a whole new aspect
to the polished solo Mythos that Stephan Kaske still runs
today. A number of the tracks performed here were taken
from the 1975 album Dreamlab follow-up to the self titled
debut of 1972. Some other pieces can be found only on this
unique document.
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----------Biomass
- Energy |
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STYLE |
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September 2011
Electronica, industrial ambient instrumentals.
Biomass opens with a steadily massing drone that fades out
of silence into a throbbing arpeggiating zone that pulses
in multiple measures - as soon as the sound state becomes
established however, the pattern dissipates and is gone,
leaving just a faint residual ambient thread. Subsequent
tracks increase gradually in length, each fuller than its
predecessor, building powerfully to an epic conclusion.
The sonic density of Energy is often massive: driving sequences
cycling into persistent thrum in tandem with mechanically
clean, programmed percussion, inseparable at times from
the tonal structures. Spacey strains cut through the intensity,
providing ethereal beams of light among the blunt guts of
the machinery. Repetition into hypnotic familiarity frequently
sees intricate sequences blend into illusory smoothness:
walls of sound alive with minute detail and emergent layers.
Darkness gathers as the final vast abyss of Minechamber
opens up: distant resonant kicks boom in the gloom like
the orc drums of Moria projected into an apocalyptic future.
Drones reminiscent of low grumbling utterances sink this
concluding track way down into dark ambience, sonic turbulence
and heaving winds pouring through the expanse. A rhythmic
environment that permeates the consciousness for a full
twenty two and a half minutes until ebbing away into organic
fade.
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| ARTWORK |
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Energy
is available in both digital and CD format. The CD version
arrives in a jewel case with sharp black-heavy graphics.
The package includes a two panel insert. Most of the imagery
is made up of interlocking curves and bands that initially
suggest letter forms. Abundant grey frameworks support complex
coloured projections that appear to recede deeply into the
darkness of the page. The rear cover holds track titles
in a horizontal band: each has running time below. This
list is repeated vertically on the back of the insert. Innermost
we find a page of credits, websites and contacts and two
dense paragraphs given over to like-minded individuals and
artists. |
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| OVERALL |
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Biomass
is the Los Angeles based project of musician Walter ovtha
woodz. Having been in existence since 1990, the project
features both audio and visual artistry which especially
comes into its own through live performance. Synth player
Keyth McGrew of Second Culture takes on duties as synth
player to deliver shows where projected imagery, PVC sculpture
and dense, mesmeric music combine to create an immersive
experience. Energy is released via the band's own label
and benefits from the mastering skills of ambient legend
Robert Rich. Opening with the two minute one second Soar
Acido, each of the six tracks broadens in scope and length
up to the twenty two minute thirty three second conclusion
Minechamber. The band's
bandcamp site allows listeners to explore the whole
album and to download the music in a wide range of formats.
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| AUDIO |
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| TRACKLIST |
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1. Soar
Acido 2:01
2. Serpent Sphinx 4:03
3. Serpentetraspeed 7:59
4. Phaseloc 11:24
5. Aquapolar 10:27
6. Minechamber 22:33 |
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| LINKS |
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biometrax@yahoo.com
Official Website:
http://www.biomassmusic.com
http://www.facebook.com/biomassmusic
http://biomass.bandcamp.com
http://soundcloud.com/biomass
CD & Digital Download online retail distribution through
CD baby & its affiliates
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/biomass1 |
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----------Cuts
- Hold The Sun |
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STYLE |
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September
2011
Downtempo alternative vocal electronica.
The complex electronic soundscapes of Hold The Sun amply balance
the strong vocal content here, so that, although this is an
album of songs, it is equally an album of hypnotic instrumental
beauty. Omri Klein's melancholy vocal style is perhaps the
most immediate feature: distantly reminiscent of Coldplay
yet with a more introspective edge set deep into the mix.
Guitars, bass and drums bring a rock sound to many of the
tracks; yet the synths and programming are more prominent
and adventurous than much mainstream rock. Digital beats,
bass drones and exploratory audio-crafting at times steer
the music in the direction of ambient groove or chilled pop.
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| IN
DEPTH |
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Opening
with a pattern of sonar-like blips and guitar fingering, the
title track builds gradually into a sleepy downtempo rhythm
with looming bass waves and layered vocals. Subsequent pieces
range from the alternative pop of Religious Standards and
Solid Steel through the bluesy guts and slide guitar of Shades
of Black, the bold strings and big beat of A Devil Inside
to the very tranquil synthetics of Every Time I'm Stuck. Violet
Vision collaborates with Cuts on The Wheels Will Turn: a floating
daydream vision with effected vocals and thrumming drones
set against mesmerising guitar chords. A cover of the John
Lennon track Love concludes the album - emotive and wistful
- lush electric guitar strums resonate upon a bed of peculiar
electronica whilst sharp string stabs gradually well up leaving
a disquieting, uneasy peace. |
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| ARTWORK |
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The
jewel case for Hold The Sun contains a three panel, fold
up insert with art work in pale metallic blue. Imaginary
urban elements and suited figures hint at the strongly contemporary
musical content. The track list is presented on both the
back cover and on the insert; inside are also website details
and full credits. The flip side of the insert gives over
a full panel to thanks from Aleph Zero and a second to technical
and contact information. The middle section sees the front
cover power towers interspersed with the letters 'cuts':
concentric red rings emanate outward from the central c
like spreading ripples. |
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| OVERALL |
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Cuts
is the new project of musician, producer and sound master,
Nadav Katz. Katz is well known for his work with such acts
as Unoccupied, Violet Vision, Kob, Mode 7 and Que. Working
here with vocalist and songwriter Omri Klein, Hold The Sun
is a dreamy collection of twelve lush electo-songs. The album
is released via Aleph Zero Records, demonstrating that the
label is constantly aware of broadening the genres offered.
In collaboration with violinist Gal Binyamin, Santur player
Barak Rozen and programmer Shay Raviv, among others, Cuts
presents an album of broad sonic vision tightly bound by a
rather unique style. You can find more about this release
at the Aleph
Zero web site where all the tracks are available to sample,
or you can explore Nadav's other projects at his
personal website. |
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| ARTIST'S
THOUGHTS |
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| TRACKLIST |
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1. Hold
the Sun
2. Religious Standards
3. Shades of Black
4. Solid Steel
5. The Worst is Behind Us
6. A Devil Inside
7. The Wheels will Turn (feat. Violet Vision)
8. Your Wickedness
9. Closer
10. Every Time I'm stuck
11. Swallow your Pride
12. Love |
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| AUDIO |
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| LINKS |
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www.facebook.com/cutsproject
www.myspace.com/cutsproject
www.nadavkatz.com
www.aleph-zero.info |
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----------Aligning
Minds - Universal Automation |
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STYLE |
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September
2011
Ethereal downtempo IDM electronica.
Universal Automation ranges naturally across a broad spectrum
of instrumental electronica, tracks connected by a blissful,
dreaminess that floats above a variety of intricate, sinewy
programmed beats. Melodic material appears on the surface
to be simple and unhurried; synthetic intertwined tones, chimes
and brief pads. Often the beats work somewhere between contrast
and sympathy; in places strong and urgent, almost heavy; next
light and lazy, trickling along with the themes; then dissipated,
dropping away to nothingness. The percussive aspect of the
music calls to mind releases from the excellent Sutemos catalogue:
blips and glitch flecks working among 'real' drum sounds and
various digital FX. There are voices in varying degrees of
prominence scattered through the tracks, some faint and manipulated
into obscurity, others fleeting snatches or used instrumentally;
on Happy Hollow the reverberating vocals of Marcio Alvarado
are given centre stage - clear lyrics, wistful tone. |
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| IN
DEPTH |
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This
is a melodically strong album; very beautiful in places -
ethereal phrases and complementary harmonic touches often
drifting in lazy curves like coloured smoke from an extinguished
candle. The sonic colour is rich and saturated, which, when
combined with the hypnotic meandering nature of the music
makes for a very evocative, transporting headphones experience.
That said, much of the material here is rhythmic enough to
command a dance floor or sufficiently dynamic to demand complete
attention. The opening track Malavek's Movement fades in from
silence: a fractured, ponderous glitchy beat and shifting
dronescape - haunting and enigmatic. The next track sees the
pace pick up, a little the music warm and tranquil. Conversant
Dilemma follows with the most sleepy and sublimely beautiful
piece of the album. The intensity gathers around the midpoint,
building to a blunt crescendo. The final third returns to
downtempo serenity heading inexorably toward the uneasy, soporific
space of Just A Glimpse. |
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| ARTWORK |
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The
physical version of Universal Automation arrives in a jewel
case with two panel insert. Front cover artwork places the
viewer in an elevated position, as if gazing down weightless
from an easy height. A single figure in silhouette looks up,
enshrouded in effulgent light patterns - star points dots
the background and the darkness within the figure. Track titles
are on the opposing face of the insert and on the rear cover;
technical details, credits and websites also on these panels
in small font. The inner panels of the insert feature a large
disc framing a purple line drawing of a cross-legged figure,
its six arms frozen in multiple significant gestures. To the
left is the verse Universal Automation by Andrew Blunt footed
by credits and contacts. The right side holds generous paragraphs
of thanks and shoutouts. |
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| OVERALL |
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Aligning
Minds is the joint project of US based producers Daniel
Merrill and Michael Folk. The duo have a history of live
performance as well as collaborative and remix experience
that explains the incredibly high standard of this debut
album. Released via the Beats and Pieces Records label,
Universal Automation delivers eleven mid-length tracks that
"fuses elements of downtempo, dubstep, breakbeat and
IDM, but without the need for formulaic restrictions".
A most enjoyable album with broad appeal, balancing just
the right amount of light and darkness, exploring sufficient
musical genres without losing clear focus. You can dig deeper
by visiting the Beats
and Pieces website where there are sound samples for
each track. The band also has a Myspace
page where you can discover some of their compilation
appearances over recent years. |
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| ARTIST'S
THOUGHTS |
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| TRACKLIST |
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1. Malavek's
Movement
2. Fortune and Solitude
3. Conversant Dilemma
4. You'll Wade through It
5. A World of Progress
6. Myan Dreams
7. Happy Hollow
8. Vaida Unison
9. A Secret Society
10. My Blue June
11. Just A Glimpse |
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| AUDIO |
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| LINKS/TECHNICAL |
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Label: Beats Pieces
Format: Album
Style: Electronic, Ambient, Chillout
Quality: MP3 VBR V0 Stereo
Size: 130 Mb
http://www.bnprecords.com/releases.html
Myspace - http://www.myspace.com/aligningminds
Beat Port - http://www.beatport.com/release/universal-automation/435346
Itunes - http://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/universal-automation/id455992758
Juno - http://www.junodownload.com/products/universal-automation/1806584-02/
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