Too dense and sumptuous to be labeled ambient music, what Los Angeles’ own bu.re_ offers is a ride on the clouds on your way to something approximating Heaven. The drones emanating from these works are some of the warmest tones I’ve heard this year. Bravo.
I don’t know much about Kink Gong, though maybe they have some relations with the legendary Sublime Frequencies record label, but I do like that they’re busy releasing some amazing music from neglected parts of the world. This installment comes from Xinjang, in the news for all the wrong reasons, yet a fascinating culture worth delving into. The music shares much in common with fellow Central Asian Turkic groups like the Kazakhs or Uzbeks, but also carries some elements of Mongolian, Persian, and of course, Chinese music.
Duncan Blachford is an Australian intuitive musician who delivers a gentle track of piano improvisation. Not bad at all for a non-pianist, I must say, as the track held my attention for its entirety.
Two of Italy’s best dark /ritual ambient projects, CHAIGIDEL and NERATERRÆ, have joined forces and created a deeply evocative ritualistic opus rich in various aural elements and sceneries. The title “Lamaŝtu” pays tribute to the Mesopotamian mythological malevolent goddess, the most terrible of all female demons, daughter of the sky god Anu and lover of Pazuzu.
CHAIGIDEL is Mattia Giovanni Accinni, devoted to the most evocative side of music; sonic offerings for Qliphotic rituals from the depths of occultism and the left-hand path. On his fourth release on Cyclic Law, Alessio Antoni’s NERATERRÆ joins compatriot CHAIGIDEL on this trance-like-state inducing aural experience, seeking for knowledge by unearthing the roots of all evil.
Black mantras, organic drones, tuvan throat singing, tibetan bells, doumbek, balaban, maaponim, shofar and ritual drums are the earthly tools chosen to cut through the soil of human beliefs and comprehension, and to reach for the purest and obscure states of being.
It is an incredibly dark album, but engaging nonetheless.
This Moment Records is a record label, “… which is dedicated to producing and promoting field recordings from around the world, in addition to crafting innovative soundscapes for relaxation and meditation,” at least according to their Bandcamp site. As we have never reviewed any music from Gabon before, I looked forward to what I would be hearing, and was, of course, not at all disappointed.
Again, from the Bandcamp site:
“This collection of music comes from the Missoko Bwiti tradition of Gabon, a spiritual path that includes five different branches, spanning over a thousand years in equatorial Central West Africa. Central to this oral tradition is the use of root bark of the psychoactive shrub Iboga (tabernathe iboga), which is used in a variety of ceremonies. Within this tradition, it is said that Iboga taught the Bwiti how to construct the instruments they play, in addition to conveying the musically rich language utilized to awaken the connection to the spirit world. The recordings presented in this collection were made by Tenali Hrenak and Kristen Blinne in 2018 in Gabon whilst they underwent full initiations into the Missoko Bwiti tradition with 10th generation Bwiti Shaman, Moughenda Mikala.”
A compilation of new music out of avant-garde China. From the Old Heaven Books Bandcamp site:
“A creative collaboration of producer Tu Fei and artist Liu Qingyuan. Event organization by Tu Fei, artwork for promotion and production by Liu Qingyuan. Event programs include talks, screenings, forums, workshops, musicians’ commission creation and live performance, recording, publishing, and many more.
Admiring tradition and exploring the future, the duo’s goal is to bring music to various places, from village to city, from square to factory, from bookstore to family altar, from theater to village hall, and from gallery to drying field…”
It’s wonderful to hear one of my favorite sound designers, Maryam Sirvan come up with new material. She is paired with fellow expatriate Hadi Bastani in this 20-minute mini-LP of electroacoustics and field recordings. From the release’s Bandcamp site:
“Stretching from Berlin to Tbilisi, trans.placed starts with the simple act of opening a door. This everyday gesture forms the fabric of this dense, meticulous and profound work which obsesses over the dramatic sonic transitions which occur when we move from outside to indoors. What sounds come with us as we make this transition? What new soundscapes do we encounter? And what sounds fade away as we move through different spaces? These are the questions trans.placed with its carefully crafted sonic trajectories asks us to meditate on. Built from soundwalks, field recordings and electronics trans.placed is the first collaboration between Iranian composers Hadi Bastani and Maryam Sirvan.”
We have had the pleasure of reviewing the work on cellist Aaron Martin in the past, but it’s nice to see a new release with him collaborating on a project with accordeonist Phil Tomsett which, ironically, began in London. From the release’s Bandcamp site:
“At Sea grew out of my walks along a particular part of the coastline. I took this walk at least once a day and over time built up a relationship with the sea, as if it were a sentient being observing me as much as I was observing it. Here I was trapped on dry land and the sea was another realm entirely, free from and uninterested in whatever dramas were going on in my world. It was this indifference, (which i’ve often found in nature but particularly with the sea) that became the main theme for the album- the unknown and the unknowable.”
As the name implies, Pete Swinton’s latest album is a series of gorgeous soundscapes that remind one of a more organic version of artists like Steve Roach and Robert Rich, but with more of a field recording vibe. Very nice for headphones.
I’m used to expecting amazing things from composer and multi-instrumentalist Jeff Gburek, and certainly so when he pairs with violinist Karolina Ossowska, but this is a shockingly good album even with such expectations.
The album has four compositions which are about as gentle and pleasing as anything I’ve heard in the past few years. It’s farther out than, say, Kosmische Musik, yet elegantly restrained. This is music for taking an inner journey and finding what terrain lies inside of yourself.
Don’t think of missing this one, I implore you.