MNortham - :coyot: (Erewhon, 2001)

1 Observation Of Wind At Molecular States Of Evolution (21:49)
2 Effects Of Atmospheric Pressure On Air-Born Particles Of Solids And Liquids (17:23)
3 The Copulation And Subsequent Conception Of Vacuums Between Wires And Winds (22:05)

En juillet 1998, Michael Mnortham installe sept harpes éoliennes près d'un ancien bunker sur l'île de Suomenlinna, en Finlande, il les enregistre, les amplifie dans le bunker et y mêle des field recordings faits sur place, le tout donne une impression de calme et d'immobilité...

in september 1998, i assembled the sound installation "filtering the current" for the AMORPH98! festival, held on suomenlinna island off the coast of finland. with the help of students from the sibelius academy in helsinki and organizers of the festival, i installed seven aeolian harps on the sod roof of an old and heavily fortified gunpowder bunker named "kaponieeri coyet." each aeolian harp consisted of a wire strung between two planks of wood that focused the wind across the wires, inducing harmonics that were picked up by contact microphones and subsequently mixed and amplified in the interior chamber of the bunker.

over the course of the weekend exhibition, i spent many hours adjusting the sounds and the wires, working late into the night within the massive stonewalls and on the roof. i was listening into the darkness of the sea through the wind that was courting my wires. the bunker was located on a peninsula at the southern extreme of the island, facing the gulf of finland; during the day, i explored the peninsula and made recordings of the rocky coast, the resonant interiors of great cannon barrels, a kite flying in heavy wind, and the grass of quiet little nooks between rolling granite forms that made up the body of the island.

more than a year later, the transmuted sounds and memories of suomenlinna island have evolved into :coyot: -- a sound journey through mnemonic debris blown by winds from a distant place.

mnortham, july 2000

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Milieu - Suntanned Melodies (Milieu Music, 2009)

1 Base Map (6:33)
2 Summer Friends (Mrs Jynx Remix) (5:28)
3 Shade Loop (0:58)
4 Nicepollen (4:34)
5 Color The Waves (Remodelled) (3:00)
6 Jacket Holograph (Ten And Tracer Remix) (4:43)
7 Blue White Nights (4:08)
8 Holograph Dub (4:50)
9 Fortyfive Loop (1:04)
10 Boulevard Haze (Remodelled) (5:55)
11 Cropduster (Obfusc Remix) (4:39)
12 Jacket Holograph (Smoking Neon Mix) (4:30)
13 Cropduster (Drifting Air Version By Forrest) (5:49)

Limited to 25 copies. Included as an exclusive bonus disc with the first pre-orders of Milieu's Colortone album.

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Oöphoi & Klaus Wiese - Wouivre (Aurora, 1999)

1 Nemeton (The Celestial Clearing) (0:25)
2 Llyr (The Dark Stream) (17:40)
3 Taran (The Thunder) (9:03)
4 Llia'g (The Wizard) (6:51)
5 Dheeog Bhair (Hallucinations) (7:17)
6 Guth Ather (Invocation) (18:39)
7 Cruith Ire (The Primordial Harp) (13:40)

Collaboration entre Gianluigi Gasparetti (Oöphoi) et Klaus Wiese qui créent une ambient profonde, subtile et sombre...

Let us begin with something drawn from the inside of the special cover booklet wrapped around the plastic protection sleeve containing the disc. "Stormy winds will fight against each other, and their Sound will reach God's ear" - Merlin. "In Celtic mythology Wouivres the Divine Spirit: like a snake crawling along the ground, the Wouivre runs deep beneath the earth, bringing Life and Fertility. There are places where this hidden and sacred Stream reaches the surface, creating a link between Sky and Earth: on such a place the Templar Knights built the Cathedral of Chartres." A positively enthralling, heady, concept for sacred reverie through headphone listening beckoned at my first reading of these lines. This is where the visions take their shape and the journey begins.

"Nemeton - The Celestial Clearing" is a 0:25 second embarkation piece that opens an inner window to a dimension of startling depth and an immense, all encompassing, voluminous soundscape. The size of the soundstage presented by this piece is alarmingly large and unsettlingly real. This first glimpse of the stage set by the minds eye is incredibly adroit in presenting the spatial concept for what is to follow and hopefully what will come to pass from within the depths of Wouivre.

"Llyr - The Dark Stream" is Oöphoi's solo homage to, and naming of the Wouivre, employing water, Tibetan singing bowls, stones, gongs, and birds. "Llyr" is a definitive study of the world of spacious reverb tails and the endlessly expanding notion of liquidity in sound. Employing dark suggestion "Llyr" is nevertheless a relaxing piece in the purest sense. Readily inducing the contemplation of the myths and mystery that the Earth's elements employ to surround and entertain the inquisitive soul.

Klaus Wiese enters the mix with an upright cello, a bowchime and the monochord as his chosen voice for "Taran - The Thunder". A third voice, that of Rick Rummler, engages the periphery of the soundscape on the bowchime while Oöphoi weaves a spell on electronics, a flute, looping and processing. An extremely organic sounding track that had me casting sidelong glances about the room searching for cues to the impending release of the anticipated peal of thunder. The anticipation was much akin to that which accompanies the sensory overload of a soundtrack that underpins the moment when you as the listener would rather not have anyone open that door or walk in to the open expanse of the waiting glen.

And thus enters the clangorous realm of "Llia'g - The Wizard". A shorter piece in the context of the other tracks but one which is packed with potent visions of being in the presence of one that commands you maintain an unerring eye and keep a watchful vigil lest you be swept away following your bewitched grasp of reality. Track four attempts to focus light on the face of darkness but only magnifies the mysteries cloaked in the unknown by revealing deeper recesses of blackness. "Llia'g" employs the same instrumentation and artists as the previous track minus the monochord yet morphs their sonic identity enough to present a dynamic realm of unearthly voicing.

"Dheoog Bhair - Hallucinations" retains the undercurrent of tension introduced through "Llia'g" with an added dimension of what can only be described as an altered state. Reminiscent of the metallic yet gauze swathed manipulations of sound created by the fever induced hallucinations from the Hong Kong Flu, which I contracted in my youth during an East Coast vacation. The surreal quality created adds another level of tension that is at the same time relaxing and meditative, opening and closing alternative paths to understanding, and also engages ones thoughts in a confusing yet appealing interruption and re-direction of the stream of conscious thought.

"Guth Ather - Invocation" is exactly as the title states. An 18:39 epic wherein I was presented with the possibility of direct contact with, and the inner peace attainable through, the entity of the Divine Spirit.

The closing concept of "Wouivre" is "Guth Ire - The Primordial Harp", also a dedication to Oöphoi's father who is now floating in the "Wouivre". Pastoral and ethereal in its nature "Guth Ire" conjured a corporeal understanding of that which lies within the dimensional planes one usually only postulate's the existence thereof. A voyage beyond yet deep within oneself that was as engaging as it was entertaining. "Wouivre" was an outstanding ride that I plan on returning to again and again. Look not over one's shoulder nor listen to what you cannot hear unless you are ready to reconcile that it quite possibly may be yourself that you encounter within the "Wouivre".
Ambient Visions

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Birds Of Tin : Ene - .Key Ray. (Mystery Sea, 2001)

1 Key Nell (5:07)
2 Open Doors (6:41)
3 Paper Lock (12:43)
4 Clear Passage Through (11:16)
5 Thin Walls (0:14)
6 Entry (7:24)
7 Endless Empty (10:07)
8 Key Ray (11:24)

Pour sa première réalisation Mystery Sea fait collaborer Birds of tin (Brooke Oates) et Ene (Scott Hudgins).... Long flot de sons évoluant et muant lentement....

For its first release, the new belgian dark ambient label Mystery Sea has chosen to present eight track composed together by two american projects, Birds of Tin and Ene.
"Key Ray" is a nice album of flowing drones, very surprising for people who, like me, were expecting something far more rhythmic, considering what Ene's "Cost vs Consciousness" album sounds like.
No beats here, but long soundscapes of dreamy tones,
slightly distorted background ("Open doors") and looped basses.
With its relentless droning of distant tunes and very bleak arrangements, this album sounds like a muffled storm, with a lot of bass and heavy elements gathering in the background, while the front sounds, lighter, are flowing nicely.
The CD is instrumental, with the exception of a long sampled ranting in "Paper lock" and "Clear passage through", which made me think a lot of the kind of things Godspeed You Black Emperor! like to sample (think of "Slow riot for new zero Kanada").
Sometimes getting a bit more in a noisy direction ("Paper lock", "Entry"), sometimes silence-like (the short "Thin walls"),
"Key Ray" is an unexpectedly experimental album that combines both very nice atmospheres and a thicker, somewhat heavier side on which the emphasis is more put on the effects applied to a very distant wall of noise than on the calm tones that dominate some of the tracks (like the melodic beginning of "Endless empty", before it gets full of saturated sounds).
Heavy in its atmospheric part and light in the noise, this album is a weird mixture that stays calm but never gets really relaxing, making the listener uncomfortable about wether a storm is going to break out of the dense elements layered on the tracks.
Not as twisted as Wilt, and darker and more disturbing than Liquid Morphine, this is a nice CD for Mystery Sea to present itself, and something that use bleak tones and drones in a personal way (which is all the more surprising when you consider that two differents acts are responsible for this sound).
A very ambient sea indeed, but that is deep and whose waters are not so calm.
Recycle Your Ears

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Mirror - Live In Bern (Three Poplars, 2003)

1 Live In Bern (47:13)

no need for a review...

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Mirror - Pedestrian / Nocturne (Three Poplars, 2000)

A Pedestrian (4:41)
B Nocturne (6:21)

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Mirror - Islands (bonus 7") (Die Stadt, 2001)

1 Untitled
2 Untitled

the album is here

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Aidan Baker - Same River Twice (Drone Records, 2004)

A Same River Twice (7:49)
B Some Of My Best Friends Are ¾ Water (7:50)

Boucles de guitare sur la première face, un côté plus tribal sur la seconde avec les percussion et l'utilisation de flûtes...

We never find enough artists where the phenomena of being writers as well musicians intersect but the Canadian AIDAN BAKER is one of them. Since he began to release music (solo or with his band-project ARC) he has shown poetic sensibility and many emotional levels while creating this elegant & beautiful guitarish-drone-harmonics. The two pieces here on his very first vinyl-release are thus inspired by literature titles plunged us into the sound-waves of some of the most mysterious shimmering daydreaming episodes. Dare diving in these warm-colourful travelling fluids... Each cover comes with an handwritten piece of poetry by the artist.
Drone Records

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Vibracathedral Orchestra - Vibracathedral String Band / Vibracathedral Drum Troupe (Freedom From, 2000)

A1 Vibracathedral String Band (4:33)
B1 Vibracathedral Drum Troupe (4:33)

Une face drone, une face percu en liberté...

Two fragments from the full orchestra step out alone. One side is droney string-bow action, while the other is a full-throttle drum/bell/shaker shakedown.

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Vibracathedral Orchestra - Øyenstikker Utbrudd (self release, 2005)

1 Live At The Brudenell Social Club, Leeds On 21 October 2003 (37:01)
2 Live At The Non-Political Club, Sheffield On 26 March 2004 (40:29)

Two live performances... Limited to 50 copies for distribution only in Oslo and Bergen...

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Another Kind Of Language: Dedicated To Andrei Tarkovsky (and/OAR, 2003)

1-01 MNortham When Inaccessible (15:20)
1-02 Jon Tulchin Mnemonic Cartography (7:25)
1-03 Yannick Dauby Bruissements (7:13)
1-04 Dale Lloyd Smoldering Ardor (7:05)
1-05 John Hudak In The Dream (21:17)
1-06 Kiyoshi Mizutani Nicholai (8:30)
2-01 Rsundin Spegeln (7:18)
2-02 V.V. We Were Young (6:11)
2-03 Magali Babin At The End Of The Rope (6:41)
2-04 Duul_drv Staring Into The Field, Waiting, Travelling, Listening (4:52)
2-05 Josh Russell Objects (18:22)
2-06 Phillip Pietruschka Recondite Geometry (6:44)
2-07 Sawako Mirror (5:50)
2-08 Logoplasm Sacrifice (10:57)

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Eco E Narciso. Presenze Sonore (Wire Magazine, 2006)

1 Bruno Dorella,Marco Milanesio & Fabrizio Modonese Palumbo Canale Cavour (15:09)
2 John Duncan & Valerio Tricoli The Garden (Excerpt) (9:59)
3 Jacob Kirkegaard Ravine (11:00)
4 Stephan Mathieu Die Sonne Toent Nach Alter Weise (Excerpt From A Shortwave Radio Landscape) (13:00)
5 Steve Roden 22 Letters And The Resonance Of A Three Pointed Star (12:58)

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John Hudak - Brooklyn Bridge (Shirocoal Recordings, 1998)

1 Untitled (17:03)
2 Untitled (15:17)
3 Untitled (11:00)
4 Untitled (16:33)

John Hudak inspiré par le trfic sur le pont de Brooklyn...

John Hudak inspired by the traffic crossing Brooklyn Bridge....

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Id Battery - Inferno From An Occult Diary (Siwa, 1999)

A1 Untitled
A2 Untitled
A3 Untitled
A4 Untitled
B1 Untitled

L'alchimie du duo Brandon LaBelle - Loren Chasse fonctionne à plein pour créer des drones lo-fi paisibles....

Recorded almost two years ago, "Inferno From An Occult Diary" is the fourth album from the lo-fi dronologist outfit Id Battery. Here, Loren Chasse and Brandon La Belle present their alchemical duets crafted around field recordings, slow rumbling bells, creeping organ drones, and the lo-fi errors of cable buzz. Between the seemingly placid aquatic sounds of rain tumbling onto sheet metal and the sounds of electricity, an ominous realization occurs that these sounds - however tranquil - are also charged with a certain life threatening danger. Recommended as with the rest of Id Battery catalogue!
Aquarius Records

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Id Battery - Last Blue Before Black (Unique Ancient Tavern, 1998)

1 Untitled (5:46)
2 Untitled (18:48)
3 Untitled (5:06)
4 Untitled (17:42)
5 Untitled (9:49)

Drones subtils, bruit mininal pour impact maximal...

Architectural ruins, industrial detritus, trodden footpaths are turned into sonorous landscapes, and combined with minimal electronics, we get the latest environmental/ambient journey from this increasingly well-known duo of sonic investigators. ID BATTERY's instrument consists of nothing more than their ears and a belief in the moment.
Unique Ancient Tavern

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Some tracks by Kira

Reçu quelques morceaux par Kira de Moscou, par mail / Received some tracks by Kira from Moscow, by mail...
Give it a listen !

My name is Kira. I was born in Moscow in 1983.
I started my experiments with sound in 2000 (i think).
I use different music synths and soft and sometimes live sounds as many other people who make something like this.
This is a several last tracks writen in fall 2008 - spring 2009.
I think you will like them.


Wave : http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/749343/wave.wav

Once : http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/749343/once_.wav

Untitled (written with ps_h) : http://www.mediafire.com/?ajytzinmqiq

Tracking : http://narod.ru/disk/8829438000/tracking.wav.html or http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/749343/tracking.wav

Troum & Christian Renou - Dissolution (Fario, 2005)

1 Christian Renou Himmelweg (Le Chemin Du Ciel) Part 1 (1:23)
2 Christian Renou Himmelweg (Le Chemin Du Ciel) Part 2 (4:16)
3 Christian Renou Himmelweg (Le Chemin Du Ciel) Part 3 (12:47)
4 Christian Renou Himmelweg (Le Chemin Du Ciel) Part 4 (7:36)
5 Troum & Christian Renou Dissolution Part 1 (6:32)
6 Troum & Christian Renou Dissolution Part 2 (7:41)
7 Troum In-Galeikon (27:26)

Plus connu par le passé sous le pseudo Brume, Christian Renou explore les textures frissonnantes et les lignes mélodiques fuyantes d'une musique essentiellement composée de field-recordings, où l'introduction de subtils motifs répétitifs, de percussions métalliques discrètes, vient apporter une profondeur chatoyante et un contraste respiratoire à une approche initialement plutôt sombre. Ses quatre compositions solos présentes sur le disque, et regroupées sous le titre Himmelweg (Le chemin du paradis) offrent ainsi une introduction parfaite, encore suffisamment aérienne et volatile, à un album des plus elliptiques, où se dévoilent progressivement derrière des ondulations sonores paradoxalement lumineuses des interrogations plus sournoises questionnant la vie, la mort ou la souffrance. A ce titre, la musique du duo Troum constitue un palier supplémentaire dans ce jeu de combinaison musicale. Les deux anciens Maeror Tri évoluent dans un registre plus magmatique, mélange de drones vacillantes et de nappes sonores rituelles et exploratoires, évoquant les circonvolutions trance chamaniques d'un Rapoon par exemple. Avec ses 27 minutes, leur pièce In-Galeikon qui vient conclure le disque, induit donc parfaitement leur goût pour les climat épiques et ambivalents, où l'ambiance musicale oscille dans un équilibre constant et précautionneux entre l'ombre et la lumière.En bénéficiant des sonorités plus lisses de Christian Renou, Troum conduit donc l'élaboration des deux volets de la pièce commune Dissolution dans un contexte encore davantage pourvu en douces vibrations mélancoliques. Finissant ainsi par adjoindre à cette prérégrination aux limites abstraites et mélodiques du genre dark-ambient, une autre quête initiatique, celle qui va traquer la lumière aux confins des ténèbres les plus noires.
Octopus

Christian Renou and Troum are veterans of the post-industrial / avant-garde cassette culture from the '80s, as the members of German drone outfit Troum previously recorded as Maeror Tri while the French composer Renou produced countless cassettes as Brume back then. The two received a commission from Fario to join forces for their first collaboration, which they developed from the weighty themes of melancholia and death. Renou begins the album with a four part solo series entitled "Himmelweg" (Way To Heaven), stretching metallic chimes and musique concrete abstractions into ghostly melodic drones. As grey and rainy as Renou's compositions appear, Troum's expansive ambience on Dissolution is all the more grim, morose, and blackened. Their heavy ominous sounds of guitar, voice, and accordion cycle through doomy melodies erupting over atavistic percussive loops, expressing a far less optimistic outlook on life and death. On the two collaborative tracks with Renou, Troum remix and manipulate source material from Renou's "Himmelweg" tracks, imploding those dreamtime sounds with nightmarish rumblings and subterranean echoings. Troum conclude the album with the darkest track on the album, an extended, all-consuming drone-mantra whose gravity field slowly sucks everything into its monochromatic void. Bleak to say the least.
Aquarius Records

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The Franciscan Hobbies- At The World's End (PseudoArcana, 2002)

1 Omens From Birds (4:36)
2 Centaur Envy (3:46)
3 The Black Chimes (4:34)
4 Seekers In Darkness (3:31)
5 The Unicorn Murders (6:24)
6 False-Hearted Love (7:43)
7 Echippus (0:43)
8 Table Of Figures (2:53)
9 Secret Of The Rose Window (5:10)

Le collectif Jewelled Antler sous une des ses incarnations les plus free...

The Franciscan Hobbies are one of the more anarchistic manifestations of the Jewelled Antler 'collective', The Hobbies themselves being a free-form, free-wheeling group of variable membership that turns idyllic nature excursions into documents of magical, improv folk psych. At The World's End comes by way of New Zealand cd-r label PseudoArcana, and this time around The Hobbies include 3 of the 4 members of Thuja, plus a bunch of their friends, including Donovan Quinn (Skygreen Leopards), Greg Bianchini (The Muons), and Cole Palme (Factrix). However, whoever's present on this recording isn't all that important, as they meld into a very relaxed communal music-making clan. Furthermore, discussion of instruments and techniques would seemingly convey less of a sense of what the Hobbies sound like than more poetic allusions to damp moss and dry leaves. Imagine napping in the undergrowth of a forest, dreaming drones and fractured melodies. Theirs is a drifting, indirect music, more hints and haunts than songs per se. And, we ask, how can you not love a record with a track entitled "The Unicorn Murders"??
Aquarius Records

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The Child Readers - Memory And Fantasy (Mallard Lake, 2004)

1 Voyaging (The Reds, Pinks And Purples) (10:54)
2 The Rainy Valley (Including Gale At Dawn) (7:26)
3 Death´s Death (5:11)
4 Sexual Anguish (Including The Psychic Castle) (4:02)
5 Mystery (2:06)
6 The Shark Airplane (Including The Children Of Argol; Jewel-Like Colors) (5:58)
7 Pouring Out Living Flowers (5:08)
8 Cry Of Mind/The Winter Capital (7:04)

Arriver a mettre la main sur ce disque ne peut etre du qu'au hasard. Ce premier disque de the Child Readers sort en effet sur le tres confidentiel label suedois Mallard Lake. Une visite sur le site du label peut permettre a l'auditeur curieux, de plus facilement apprehender la plongee en apnee dans ce disque dirons nous etrange. Memory and fantasy peut faire peur. Quelques bruits par ci par la, quelques echos de xylophone, de harpe, de mandoline, puis de temps en temps, un superbe morceau avec une simple guitare et une voix comme Mystery ou le premier chapitre de Voyaging. Mais peu importe la maniere il regne tout au long du disque une ambiance particuliere, assez sombre, inquietante, comme la route qui doit mener au chateau qui illustre la pochette. Ici rien n'est facile, ni l'ecoute, ni la comprehension, mais l'attrait du cote obscur est le plus fort. Memory and fantasy est un grand disque, tout simplement parce qu'il vous fait ressentir tellement de choses a la fois, qu'on en est bouleverse. Ce disque est derangeant, et superbe en meme temps. Difficile a decrire, a vivre, mais terriblement passionnant quand on en saisit toutes les subtilites, Memory and Fantasy est un disque fantastique et surtout hors norme. A decouvrir absolument. En vous remerciant.
A Découvrir Absolument

In a castle by the sea is where you'll find Loren Chasse and Jason Honea on their latest creation as The Child Readers. "Memory & Fantasy" leans more toward the latter, but it certainly evokes memories of my childhood as well. Like the branches of an ancient oak, these songs grow from the earth and lift their arms toward the sky. This, like most projects related to the Jewelled Antler label, is full of the inspiration found in nature. Chasse is one of the world's foremost sound sculptors when it comes to using natural objects, and that influence is felt all over "Memory & Fantasy." Through a variety of instruments and voices, Chasse & Honea create their own fantasy world in which nothing is more sacred than the earth.
Like previous albums, "Dark Laughter" and "Boy on a Cliff," "Memory & Fantasy" relies heavily on the organic sounds of a variety of acoustic instruments. However, where the two former albums had a heavy dose of field recordings mixed in, this new record uses more voice samples instead. For example, "Pouring Out Living Flowers" opens with a short clip of a German woman speaking. The effect of such a snippet is that it immediately sets off an array of images of pre-war Germany in my head. It's a brilliant use of something seemingly insignificant. But because of this woman's voice, I imagine the duo playing this song under the grey skies of 1930Õs Berlin. Cobblestone streets line the city and beautiful brick buildings line the streets. You feel like you're there, and Chasse and Honea are minstrels marching through the city, serenading anyone who will listen. It's well done.
While "Pouring Out Living Flowers" has a city feel to it, the rest of this album is deeply immersed in a fictitious forest. The opening epic, "Voyaging (the Reds, Pinks, and Purples)" is like the soundtrack to a slow summer stroll underneath a thick canopy of trees. The smell of impending rain is in the air. This 11 minute track embodies all the things I love about The Child Readers and Jewelled Antler in general. Clanging guitars with a droning hum underneath open this long piece and give the effect of leaves falling all around you. With the subtle sounds of a bubbling creek buried deep in the background, you can't help but smell the scent of cedar. Bowed strings add to the organic atmosphere and give the piece a hypnotic edge. Midway through, Chasse's trademarked percussive elements enter into the fray. He uses various natural elements to bring in another texture to an already dense piece. It's like walking along this forest path, watching as woodland creatures scurry away and watch from a distance out of curiosity. When the chiming of the acoustic guitar comes back in, and the flowing creek returns, it's like you've emerged from the most treacherous part of the journey. Now, you've come across an area covered in wildflowers, where the sun is shining and birds are singing. In the distance, you can see overgrown grass covering once-majestic statues. It's like utopia for anyone who loves the outdoors. "Voyaging" is the perfect soundtrack for the expedition to find this hallowed ground. This track is a summation for all that is great about The Child Readers.
The other side of The Child Readers is centered around more structured pieces, like "Sexual Anguish (including the Psychic Castle)." It opens with vocals, melodica, and quiet piano chords. There's a sense of melancholy spattered all over this track, especially as Honea or Chasse (I'm honestly not sure which voice is which) sings. I feel like I've been in this place before. You can feel the storm clouds forming overhead, and you can't help but feel the need to run for cover. As drums fade in, the skies open up and rain their mess down upon you. It's cleansing and frustrating at the same time. This short (by Child Readers standards, anyway) piece is definitely one of the most memorable on this disc.
Foxy Digitalis

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Loren Chasse - Script Lichen (Edition Graphon, 2005)

1 Script Lichen (19:34)

Délicate musique, faite d'objets trouvés en pleine nature (pierres, branches, herbages, mousse, ...), aux micromélodies à peine discernables...

There's no better way to visually represent the music of Jewelled Antler's Loren Chasse than with the various bits and fragments of nature's detritus, stones, pebbles, sticks, leaves, branches, dust and dirt. This newest release from Chasse goes a step further, encapsulating the disc itself (a little 3" cd) along with a sponge and a piece of lichen gathered from the German countryside in an actual petri dish, all in a sealed medical baggy. Wow. And the music inside is just as meticulously assembled as the packaging. Delicate and crystalline, intricate structures, microscopic movements, gentle reverberations, subtle scrapings, abstract shimmer and barely discernable micromelodies. It's almost impossible to tell which parts are natural ambience, and which parts are Chasse reacting and responding to nature, but that's what makes his work so vital and fascinating and what makes Script Lichen such an engrossing listen. And like the rest of Chasse's work, this is not something you just throw on (although you could), this music requires deep listening, active listening, the act of listening akin to a slow, exploratory wander through a sonic forest, every step causing brambles to shimmer and rub against each other, breezes to send leaves drifting earthward, the crunch of each step, the forest, and the earth around it, shifting slightly, the sonic evidence of such minute movements deftly captured by Chasse and reworked into a subtly different soundworld. So nice.
Each 3" cd comes packaged as we said in a petri dish with a sponge and a piece of lichen, wrapped in a medical baggy, every one with a sticker, and hand numbered...
Aquarius Records

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Dale Lloyd - Semper (and/OAR / Alluvial Recordings, 2005)

1 Semper (25:32)
2 Magnesian Recumbit (8:09)

Disques de field recordings, xylophone jouet, sons électroniques et objets trouvés... s'attachant aux détails les plus microscopiques....

Semper is Alluvial's first release of 2005 and is co-released with the and/OAR label. Seattle-based composer Dale Lloyd has collaborated in the past with people such as Yannick Dauby and Michael Northam, and has had work released by labels such as Bremsstrahlung Recordings, Staalplaat and Sirr.ecords. For the past 5 years, Lloyd has played a quietbut strong role in bringing new life to the notion of "environmental recordings as sound art" (or "Phonography") with the highly regarded compilations produced for Phonography.org, as well as other projects and activities. The first piece entitled "Semper", is mostly a quiet and contemplative work, yet it contains sprawling builds from near silent ebbs and flows to thunderous crescendos. Also heard are delicate field recordings and found objects transformed and woven into intricate electronic tapestries.The second and shorter piece titled "Magnesian Recumbit" is a slowly building ambient work with a unique sense of melancholy that makes fora perfect ending."For me, Semper basically illustrates a series of self-searching questions (with subtle epiphanies) followed by a somewhat enigmatic resolve or 'answer', of which I believe we have all encountered in our lives in one way or another."- Dale Lloyd
Alluvial Recordings

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Kiyoshi Mizutani - Scenery Of The Border: Environment And Folklore Of The Tanzawa Mountains (and/OAR, 2006)

1-1 Kurokura Power Plant (3:04)
1-2 In The Tunnel At Kurokura Path (5:55)
1-3 The Chain At Mt. Ohishi (5:08)
1-4 Hail At Mt. Tanzawa (3:25)
1-5 Wind At Dohdaira (5:04)
1-6 Birds At Dohkaku Mountain Ridge (6:30)
1-7 Classical Dance Music At The Festival Of Aburi Shrine (7:35)
1-8 Substation At Shibusawa (2:20)
1-9 Birds At Yozuku Path (4:31)
1-10 Ohdana (Large Waterfall) (5:56)
1-11 Lower Stream Of Ohdana (4:41)
1-12 Yozuku River (4:10)
2-1 Watering Place At Haragoya-Daira (3:55)
2-2 At The Foot Of Mt. Yakeyama (6:12)
2-3 Yabusame Of Murou Shrine In Rain (4:12)
2-4 View Of Nakagawa River From Under A Hohki-Sugi (4:02)
2-5 Million Times Invocation Of Yozuku (5:23)
2-6 West Tanzawa In Rain. Nishizawa And Nakagawa River (5:57)
2-7 Yamabushi At The Top Of Mt. Tohnodake (9:46)
2-8 Blue-And-White Flycatcher At Shiomizu Pass (6:07)
2-9 Narcissus Flycatcher At Dohdaira (5:33)
2-10 Watering Place Under Kannogawa-Nokkoshi (5:22)
2-11 Cicada At Mt. Hinokiboramaru (5:54)
2-12 Indian Tree Pipit At Mt. Hinokiboramaru (2:49)

Kiyoshi Mizutani rend compte d'un voyage dans les monts Tanzawa, une région aujourd'hui dépeuplée, mais qui eut une longue histoire et un certain rayonnement spirituel, hantée de légendes... Il se concentre sur trois types de sons: la nature, le folklore, incluant des rituels shinto ou bouddhistes, et les "pollutions" sonores humaines... Un disque enchanteur...

and/OAR is very pleased to present this double CD release by Japanese sound artist Kiyoshi Mizutani. The second CD is a cross platform enhanced CD containing audio that can be played on a regular CD player, plus two PDFs that can be viewed on a computer.

One PDF contains a photo gallery of Kiyoshi's journey around the Tanzawa mountain region of Japan. The second PDF contains a very large topographic map with recording points corresponding to the track numbers. Since the map is a very large file size, it is recommended that you drag the PDF onto your desktop for faster viewing. The closer into the map one goes, the more detail of the landscape one sees. Both the audio and the PDFs can be accessed at the
same time on a computer. The insert also contains a quick reference map corresponding to each track number.

The audio portion of this release relays a kind of tranquil and introspective sonic journey through the rugged yet mystical terrain. The region is full of historical significance, natural beauty and folklore (as referred to in the title). Although this release mostly features straight field recordings, there are also some composed impressionistic moments that have been inherent in much of Kiyoshi's previous work.

Also presented are recordings of certain Shinto and Buddhist ceremonies and rituals rarely heard outside of Japan.


"These just released field recordings were made in the Tanzawa region southwest of Tokyo. The Tanzawa range, a group of isolated mountains separating the areas formerly known as Kai, Musashi, and Sagami, has a vivid history. It was the scene of many historic conflicts, including the battle between Takeda and Hojo; a home and hiding place for defeated soldiers fleeing the enemy; and the site of such legends as the tragedy of the losing army's princess. It was also the location of the Hasuge and Hinata ascetics' route, a few traces of which can still be found. The recordings came about as a result of my interest in this mountainous "border" region - the people who have lived there, the natural features, the scenery. In addition to presenting
Tanzawa as it is today, it sheds light on the area's past. The recorded sounds can be divided into categories such as natural occurrences, animals, man-made structures, and folk traditions. The combination of elements found in a particular location determines the character of its atmosphere. To make this CD, I put the different combinations together in a manner of a sonic photo book. Rather than looking for a meaning in individual sounds, I suggest listening with the feeling of gazing at various landscapes, one after another. In any case, the cognitive consistency one maintains when listening to contemporary music is not a requirement here." (Kiyoshi Mizutani)
and/OAR

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Isolde - Untitled (Penny Poppet, 2005)

A1 Untitled (11:27)
A2 Untitled (9:30)
B1 Untitled (8:46)
B2 Untitled (6:05)

Groupe formé par Andrew Chalk et Robin Barnes... Inutile d'y chercher du drone, l'acccent est avant tout mis sur les improvisations de guitare...

Released in a tiny edition of only 30 copies on expensive metal tape, this release probably slipped right by die-hard Andrew Chalk collectors until they saw mention of it when the Isolde 3" CD came out. In some ways the edition size makes sense though. Aside from the high cost of the cassettes used, this is a very private feeling music. Though the strains of Chalk's e-bowed guitar can be heard in here, the primary focus is on gently unfolding improvised guitar work. Paired with quiet wildlife recordings and seemingly filtered as to remove a lot of the high end, this has a very distant feel to it. The rising and falling strummed and plucked notes on the guitar provide this release with more activity and a following of the line than the soundscapes one can get lost in that Chalk is better known for. Of course all of this is probably due to Andrew collaborating with Robin Barnes for this project. Rather than say that one of them is responsible for certain aspects or not, I would say this is a lovely marriage of two people's talents. The results would probably appeal more to fans of Christina Carter's more spacious moments than those are hunting for drones.
Eric Lanzillota

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Christoph Heemann & Andrew Chalk - Mirror Of The Sea (Robot Records, 2000)

A Mirror Of The Sea Pt. 1 (19:20)
B Mirror Of The Sea Pt. 2 (20:41)

Quand le duo Mirror décide de sortir un disque sous leur vrai nom à l'occasion de concerts donnés à Austin en 2000, cloches, gongs, drones de guitare, field recordings...

Andrew Chalk and Christoph Heemann have been collaborating extensively as Mirror over the past year, so it seems odd that the two of them have suddenly decided to release an album under their given names. It would make sense if they deviated from their work as Mirror. The source material for this album, bowed bells, gongs, and distant guitar drones, differs, and while the overall beauty and concept reveal a definite Mirror-like desire to capture an elusive spirutual voice through the resonance of drones. Extended organ chords, gentle creaking of an old wooden floors, and long reverberations of breathy flutes make for a more baroque tonal quality than the typicalChalk / Heemann sound. "The Mirror Of The Sea" is a beautiful picture disc with drawings by Andrew Chalk on each side. Of course, it's recommended.
Aquarius Records

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John Hudak - Pond (Meme, 1998)

1 Pond (61:19)

John Hudak joue avec des insectes aquatiques et des drones...

John Hudak playing with aquatic insects and drones....

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Dust/Omit - Deformed (Corpus Hermeticum, 1996)

1 The Rising Of Massed Deformities [Sway Out Of Control In So Damaging Themselves Upon A Raised Platform Of Barbed Hooks Fading Out Into Feedback] (16:20)
2 Calling Master Aliboron [For A Jug Of Wine] (6:36)
3 I Was Already Waiting For You Forever (7:14)
4 Black Shaft Depletion (15:18)
5 The Malformation Of Lost Territory [Post-Depletion] (14:53)
6 Resumes Offscreen (1:37)
7 Disordered (2:25)
8 Disordered Throwback (2:46)
9 The Dispersal Of Signals Now Fall Into Blackness (3:54)

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Omit - Rejector (Anomalous Records, 2002)

1 Bridge Rectifier (8:21)
2 Uniselector (3:27)
3 Full Relay (3:15)
4 Timer-Run (4:06)
5 Divider (4:01)
6 Isolator (6:21)
7 A/D Unit (3:16)
8 Pivot Cycle (3:43)
9 Rejector (7:24)
10 NanoPut (9:21)
11 Shell (3:51)
12 Ripple (6:48)
13 Bistable (3:13)

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Omit - Zero (Deepskin Conceptual Mindmusic, 2001)

A1 Decent Towards A Cycle Like Futility
B1 Foothold Lost
B2 The Exhalation Of The Null Outline / Inline
B3 Pre Zero
C1 Null Matrix
C2 Total Zero
D1 The Falling First, Into Futility
D2 From Zero To Nullism

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Omit - Transmogrification (Deepskin Conceptual Mindmusic, 1993)

A1 Section:One. Premetamorphosis
B1 Section:Two. Transformation
B2 Section:Three. Postmetamorphosis

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Omit - Signals (Deepskin Conceptual Mindmusic, 1990)

1 Left Side
2 Right Side

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