This collaboration starts out warm and calm, like a soundtrack to weightlessness in a pleasant area out of time. And it remains to evoke this kind of mood.
Fredy Studer/ Ami Yoshida – Duos 21-27
The last two records from For 4 Ears Records didn’t really get a positive (short) review by me. The label’s releases are just to damn inaccessible. I consider myself to be incapable of reviewing this stuff.
Dead Eye – A lick is good for the soul
A spooky, uncanny openingstrack really fetches my attention immediately, as I play ‘A lick is good for the soul’. The track is called ‘Spook is now’ and it is probably created out of manipulated electric guitar.
Aidan Baker – Traumerei
Records of Aidan Baker are always welcome in my collection. Baker has established a reputation as a very prolific composer of all kinds of soundscapes. ‘Traumerei’ is party a lush and ethnic ambient album, partly a ambient-pop album.
Rondel Kilgore & Heath Yonaites – Damaged Lethal Harmonies
On this release, Rondel Kilgore and Heath Yonaites are supported by The Melbourne Subterrenean Childrens Choir (on a picture on the back sleeve they are shown temporarily above ground).
Stelladrine – You’ll never see your world again
Stelladrine is a project that chose for a humoristic angle in their release. The entire concept of ‘You’ll never see your world again’ is that of a bad science fiction movie from the fifties.
Kyle Dawkins – Walls became the world
As a music reviewer, sometimes a lack of words to describe the music is a problem. Especially when it concerns experimental music.
Charlie Beresford – The room is empty
‘The room is empty’ by Charlie Beresford is an unique album. Beresford blends elements of folk and haunting, contemplating pop into a brooding sonic mixture.
Animal Collective – Feels
‘Feels’ is the seventh album by the Animal collective, but I’ve never heard from them before. What’s presented by this band can be described as pop, for there is a band, a quite conventional instrument line-up (meaning almost no electronics) and a singer with a good voice and a very broad vocal range. But then again: is it played as pop? The songs are all dense, energetic and up tempo…
Tetuzi Akiyama – Jason Kahn – Till we meet again
Again an effort from the For4ears label. More minimalism and experimentation, but this time created out of acoustic guitar, analogue synthesizer and with percussion. Heaving resonating gongs and guitar plucks are the ingredients of the soundscapes.
Conure – 49 minutes (until release)
‘A composition in eleven parts’ with the first track being an exercise in reverberation. Yes, lots of reverb effects and electronic moderation imposed upon a slow pounding beat…
Samartzis – Müller – Voice Crack – Wireless within
An electronic reflection of a visit to the rainforest is presented here. Laptop minimalism by Guhl and Möslang in collaboration with Günter Müller and the Australian sound artist Philip Samartzis.
Dream System – Traveling after Midnight
The additional info states that ‘Dream system is probably the best embodiment of Foreshadow’s [the label’s] slogan: dark, bleak, emotional.’ I would say this isn’t completely true. The music is definitely dark, but when I think of bleak and emotional music I think of acts such as Raison d’Etre, Land, Cold Meat acts for example and slow doom or slow post-rock…
Baker, Aidan – Figures
I knew Aidan Baker as the composer of high quality ambient structures, such as his split ‘Undercurrents’ with Matt Borghi. His twentieth solo release ‘Figures’ is no exception when speaking of quality, although it’s somewhat different than ‘ordinary’ ambient…
Hinsidan – God is in the details
The double album ‘God is in the details/ Music for ghosts’ comes in a nice sleeve packaging with ten inserts. The inserts are single-sided and contain (parts of the) ‘lyrics’ used in Hinsidan’s songs. Mostly I loathe lyrics in ambient/ industrial music but in Hisidan’s case the lyrics are nicely altered by effects and accompany the whole atmosphere, which is (of course) quite cold and dark…
V/A – Another Gizya
‘Eleven artists colonize the liquid sphere’s Gizya.’ What meant is: at the end of 2003 and the beginning of 2004, ten artists were sent a copy of Liquid Sphere’s ‘Gizya’ and/or the sounds and field recordings used in the creation of that album…
Sigur Rós – Takk
Waiting for new releases of your favourite bands can be a pleasant hell…
V/A – Monosyllabic 002
Most bands on this cd are local to Arcata, California, so it’s probably no wonder I’ve never heard from them. The bands presented from that area are Level Anchorage, A is for Algorithm, Zach Meints, Swimming, Stereoprimer and Xandicus. The other bands are total alien to me as well, probably because this records is based solely on ‘undiscovered talent’…
Build Buildings – There is a problem with my tape recorder
Ben Tweel is the man behind Build Buildings. ‘There is a problem with my tape recorder’ is his third release under this moniker. As far as I can see, this record is very professionally self-released. Although not totally hearable, all electronic sounds are derived from computers, instruments and household noises…
Freiband / Boca Raton – Product
Freiband is the digital-electronic ‘remix’ project of Frans de Waard (of Bequeen and Kapotte Muziek fame). Boca Raton is an unknown project to me. Presented here is a pair of live recordings from a performance as part of the Earational 2004 festival for electronic music and audio art. It might as well have been a studio-recording since the production quality is superb…