Tag: Electronic Music

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Music

Joachim Spieth – Textures [Sound Library]

Saturday afternoons tend to be a great time for me to let my mind wander a bit while I’m doing minor chores.  This Saturday’s release comes from Joachim Spieth, DJ extraordinaire, remixer and owner of Affin Records, one of my favorite modern techno labels.  This album is a departure from his normal oeuvre.  We have 57 tracks, most less than a minute in length, of ambient music which can be shuffled for hours of truly easy listening.  It’s not audible wallpaper like most ambient music is supposed to be, but it serves as a good soundtrack for drifting the day away.

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David San – Frabulloso EP

Thanks to our dear friends at Colombia’s fine techno label, Miniline, for introducing us to the work of David San.  This is a one-track release of danceable tech-house from a composer, whom I believe, works out of Colombia.  There seems to be an amazingly active electronic music scene popping up, to go along with the other, more traditional music which the country is noted for.

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Subact – Life EP

Subact are based out of Dresden, Germany, and are friends of myself and my former blog, A Miscellany Of Tasteful Music.  They produce a very hyperactive electronic music sound, and the energy given out is dance-floor-friendly.  As well as dubstep, one can hear ragga, jungle, and if you can believe it, Krautrock.  Yes!  They have managed to be one of the few bands who have legitimately modernized the genre, rather than serve as retro band copying the masters (which I have no problem with, to be honest).  It’s good that the lads have managed to keep evolving as any good artist should be doing, and this EP is a natural progression for the band.

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subduxtion – Deep Space

Philippe Gerber comes back to us with a new project called subduxtion which flows in a very different direction from other works on his label. subduxtion is the monicker of Christopher Gilmore, a composer I’m very new to.  This tends to go more into tech-house and minimal dub, and the beats are pretty vicious.  An impressive one-off.

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Sean Khan – Starchild

I came across Sean Khan’s work a couple of years ago when he paired up with Brazilian jazz legend Hermeto Pascoal on a phenomenal record called Palmares Fantasy. He’s back on his own a new Samba-infused track and a remix of it for your listening pleasure.

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James Lindsay – Torus

April 23, 2021 is a bit of a long way from today, but waiting three and a half weeks for what is a very impressive album is a small price to pay.

James Lindsay is a Scottish folk musician who absolutely transcends the genre.  Having had the pleasure of hearing some of these tracks in advance, I have to say that James not only masters folk music incredibly well, but he manages to shift directions into contemporary jazz, fusion (a touch), Nu-Jazz and even hints of ambient music.

I’m old enough to remember Scottish folk as being something quite different (something I love, mind you), but I have a feeling James will be attracting a lot of attention with this disc because this is as unique an album I’ve heard in the genre.

The only bad news is that only one track is available at the moment, but I heartily recommend you to bookmark the Bandcamp site, wait until the 23rd, and enjoy a breathtaking record.

London has received a lot of well-deserved attention with its jazz resurgence, but perhaps it’s time to focus up north for a spell.

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Rettward von Doernberg – Night Drive

Because this isn’t a Bandcamp release, and because I should be exploring more sites so that readers can enjoy an ever-widening array of music, I am happy to offer for your ears a track by Berlin-based composer (and an alum from the Musician’s Institute in my home town of Los Angeles), Rettward von Doernberg.

Though the headline in his webpage had me a bit worried, reading “Indian, Chinese, Electronica and Orchestra: Four Musical Traditions – One Piece of Music,” it turns out that Rettward has the skill to blend these traditions into a quite workable piece of music. I do hope to hear more work from him in the future, and there are several links where you can hear his music.

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Music

Manne Skafvenstedt – Archway

This was a happy surprise.  Manne Skafvenstedt is a Swedish pianist, composer and producer who works in the fields of jazz, ambient, electronics and sound design.  His latest album, Archway, is a calming experience.  There is a sort of sweetness to this music, where the listener actually feels good enjoying these sounds.  It’s not the sugary nonsense one hears in lower quality New Age or modern ambient music.  This resonates, and it might be because he is also a professional sound designer while he’s not busy composing.

I have no doubt that those who enjoy the works of Robert Rich, Alio Die or even such progressive rock giants as Popol Vuh would enjoy this release a lot.  This has been a really good listening experience.  I’d file it under ‘thinking music’.

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Music

Yu Su – Yellow River Blue

Chinese-Canadian composer Yu Su produces an album that left me pleasantly surprised by.  Though I found this download under “ambient” music, it turns out that it may have more to do with the motorik music of Neu! quietly subdued by elements of dub, dance music and wee touches of Chinese traditional music buried underneath.  She has launched her own record label, bié Records, which is based in my working location, Beijing, China. As I plan to return in June, provided the government there opens the doors again, I’ll have to look the label up and see what else is coming down the road.

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Music

Various Artists – Mailbox Records: Music for Another Sky

This collection of ambient music is curated by British record label Mailbox Records.  From their Bandcamp site:

About this release:

This compilation has been put together in order to raise awareness and/or raise money for the UK charity, Refuge. This means 100% of proceeds from all sales will go to them (after the standard deductions from Bandcamp and PayPal).

It was 1971 when Refuge opened the world’s first safe house, so this year marks the 50th year they’ve been helping women and children escape a life of abuse and violence; the first to make the point that violence in the home was no longer “a private matter” for society to simply turn a blind eye.

Refuge’s reputation of helping vulnerable people comes at a time where domestic violence (globally) has increased recently by nearly 30%, according to the UN; this is due in no small part to the government lockdowns brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic. Victims often now find themselves under constant surveillance by their abuser where phones are regularly checked and/or confiscated, making it harder than ever to call or text for help.

The title, Music for Another Sky, is derived from the 1890 poem There is Another Sky by Emily Dickinson. It’s a poem where Emily is addressing her brother, yet it appears to tap into the same sentiment of hope I imagine considered by many a domestic violence survivor; the hope and possibility of living another life without fear or worry.

There is another sky,
Ever serene and fair,
And there is another sunshine,
Though it be darkness there;
Never mind faded forests, Austin,
Never mind silent fields –
Here is a little forest,
Whose leaf is evergreen;
Here is a brighter garden,
Where not a frost has been;
In its unfading flowers
I hear the bright bee hum:
Please, my brother,
Into my garden come!

Credits:

Mastered* by Nathan Moody at Obsidian Sound
obsidiansound.net.

*Rodrigo Stradiotto & Karen Vogt – Noctilucent, mastered by Rodrigo Stradiotto
(instagram.com/r_stradiotto)

*Rosalina Teche – Slightly Affected, mastered by Francis M. Gri (krysalisound.com/mastering)

Artwork/cover by J. Nathan Dziedzic
instagram.com/formandtype

This is a worthy cause for people on any side of the political spectrum. Please contribute if you can.