Though the birthday was absolutely dour, I managed to cheer myself up with a release of experiments done by Hans-Joachim Roedelius, the beloved magus of ambient music. These were sketches, apparently, that he would record, analyze, and then turn into new ideas. Comfortable listening.
Electronic
Jettenbach – Extracts from The Diary of Mars
Our friends at Jettenbach, a fascinating project from England, have prepared for us a Martian travelogue. The concept sounds like something taken directly from a sci-fi movie, dialog and all, and it’s quite an interesting thing to hear. The music drifts from floating experimental ambient to hard-beat. This shifts genres Continue Reading
Robert Scott Thompson – Placid
Robert Scott Thompson, the ambient music alchemist, has released several new albums recently, but I wanted to start with Placid, a rather chilling work that references works by the maestros (Steve Roach, Robert Rich, Klaus Schulze), a touch of Warszawa-period Brian Eno/David Bowie, and his own more musical compositional bent.
Domenique Dumont – People on Sunday
I came across a “composer” (really, a duo) based in Riga, Latvia called Domenique Dumont. The pair consist of Latvian multi-instrumentalist and producer Arturs Liepins and vocalist, ethnomusicologist Anete Stuce, and they have produced a shimmering, gentle piece of electronic music. From the release’s Bandcamp site: “People On Sunday is Continue Reading
øjeRum – Vågnende Jeg Ser De Døde
Danish composer øjeRum has recorded for and with some of the best ambient and electronic music labels active today, and this latest release is published by the estimable Room40 Records out of Australia. From the release Bandcamp site: “While recording, radio waves and static electricity interfered with the signal – Continue Reading
Various Artists – TogoPop: Marche Noire
I realized I didn’t have many records from Togo listed on the blog, so, going down the rabbit hole, I found this curious compilation on TogoPop Records. It sounds NOTHING like what I was expecting. If anything, the artists on this compilation sound more like they were influenced by French Continue Reading
The End Of Eternity – Hide & Tweak
Friend of the blog Gianpiero De Filippo, who records as The End Of Eternity, goes into a different direction with this recording. It’s less Berlin school and more techno, and very well done.
Leisure Time 閒暇 – Normal Music
Taiwanese band Leisure Time 閒暇 produce a music that sits in that hazy area between real and fake jazz. I think the quote the band used by the legendary Donald Fagen of Steely Dan sums up their sound best: “There was sort of cheap music, tv music, movie music. By Continue Reading
Chihei Hatakeyama – The Ancient Forest V
I can’t say I’ve ever had the pleasure of introducing Chihei Hatakeyama to my readers before, but he is a master of elegant sound design. These three compositions are based on his travel to Amami Oshima, north of Okinawa.
Christian Fiesel – Avant Que Nous Soyons Tous Partis Pour Toujours
Hail! to our friends at Kalamine Records in France for producing yet another fine dark ambient/drone/post-Industrial masterpiece. There’s a lot of drama and pathos in this recording by Christian Fiesel, sounding very much like it would be a fine updated soundtrack to any good expressionist film of the early 1920s Continue Reading