Mirko Uhlig - Gyokuro (Gears Of Sand, 2009)

1 Do Birds 3:26
2 Practice 6:29
3 Their Songs 6:53
4 While They 7:43
5 Sleep 2:05
6 In The Gardens Of Gyokuro 6:27

The first EP we have ever released. We are typically very reluctant to release anything under an hour, but this intoxicating conceptual work of ambience by one of our favorite artists persuaded us to defy GoS conventions. On Gyokuro, Mirko Uhlig's 6 interconnected pieces comprise an admittedly short but no less realized composition that trigger thoughts of the tranquil, oxygenated tones of the more ambient works of Yui Onodera or even Celer; very minimal tones that are beautifully arranged to captivate the listener in a sea of field recordings and warm, lazy Sunday morning bliss. "Practice" presents a very catchy minimal motiff that begins to buzz and morph into a more abstract but no less enthralling evolution in the form of "Their Songs." "While They" shifts gears into a more haunting melody that recalls Milieu's "Beyond the Sea Lies the Stars" and then a full on symphonic wall of thick and warming cascades takes us deep, deep into finale, "The Gardens of Gyokuro." Mirko Uhlig once again shows his versatility as a sound artist who can craft very abstract, dark minimal compositions as in his recent Mystery Sea release, "The Nightmiller"- sprinkled far more sparsely here-to something unabashedly arcing and, indeed, ecstatic with "Gyokuro." Yes, this is audio ecstasy that conjures a most subtle and utterly sublime space that we find ourselves returning to often.
Mirko Uhlig

It has been remarked in the pages of Vital Weekly before, but the man to watch when it comes to producing some interesting drone music is Germany's Mirko Uhlig. Recently he did a 7" with [N], and already has a small catalogue of works (of which the great 'VIVMMI' will soon be re-issued on LP) and 'Gyokuro' is the latest in a series of these works. Again he works with relative minimal means to generate the pieces of music. An organ perhaps in 'In The Gardens Of Gyokuro'? That seems to be it. Maybe the processed bird call in 'Do Birds' (actually the title for these six pieces can be read as one sentence: 'Do Birds Practice Their Songs While They Sleep In The Gardens Of Gyokuro'). Uhlig knows how use a few sounds and still create a great piece of atmospheric music. And, you may ask, does it sound like anything else, or is it completely new? Well, no. In this particular line of music, nothing much new is done. That is perhaps also not the goal of this kind of music. Does it produce a great piece of music? Yes, it does. Whereas some of the current drone artists take too much time or use too much sounds, Uhlig knows how to play a few delicate sounds and set the tone right. Short pieces, each with their own character, yet as a whole, the album has a great distinct sound, an uniformed entity. Another fine work.
Vital Weekly

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Cordell Klier - Espionage (Gears Of Sand, 2007)

1 Untitled One 0:21
2 Untitled Two 5:00
3 Untitled Three 4:04
4 Untitled Four 4:31
5 Untitled Five 4:12
6 Untitled Six 2:00
7 Untitled Seven 3:38
8 Untitled Eight 5:08
9 Untitled Nine 3:56
10 Untitled Ten 2:28
11 Untitled Eleven 10:00
12 Untitled Twelve 4:29

Many and various are the credentials and designations paraded by Cordell Klier, who appears to have been around the media arts and musical genre block a few times. Experimental sound artist is, for our purposes, the most salient signage for this digi-art-punk-pop proteus, his latest incarnation coming on the back of a gamut-run of 90s-00s genres, taking in various types of pop and a few tips of hop. Klier has alighted upon minimal drone and glitch as his currently preferred mixer flavors, pushing Espionage into the area of what he describes as ‘cold pop music.’ He brings to bear his predilection for minimal drone and Raster-ized microsound and glitchscapes on a series of emptied-out virtual song structures with occasional spoken word interleaving. The result is a kind of brittle cybernetic nearly-pop that dips its own-bristled brush largely into the palette of another’s stick-figure sensuality and freeze-dried (r)emotion (12k/Line). The artist’s personality emerges towards the end as a somewhat arch, even threatening entity. Glitches, drones, twangs, and found sounds cohabitate, though the notoriously annoying yowl of a siamese cat resonates the longest. Espionage is a bit like the difficult kid in the class, in an idiosyncratic, occasionally discomfiting collection that both compels and repels, sometimes simultaneously.
e|i magazine

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Matt Borghi & Ben Fleury-Steiner - What The Night Leaves Behind (Gears of Sand, 2007)

1 Broken Connection
2 Tracer
3 Have You
4 Coastal
5 Eyes Of Night

Of course we came across the name Matt Borghi in the recent weekly's and Ben Fleury-Steiner shouldn't be unknown either, as he is our man behind the excellent Gears Of Sand label.
Not much info can be found on the cover here as to how this collaborative work was conceived.
Maybe the opening piece 'Broken Connection' says it? Through the internet and exchange of sound files? It's a bit of rough edged ambient piece that one, but it's quite nice because of that.
It's the start of journey to five deep ambient landscapes, with the use of analogue and digital synths an samples that add that rough edge to the pieces.
It's ambient that has it's ties, if only very loosely, to industrial music, as it's not always easy sit back and enjoy here. It's a bit stranger than that, but of course not too alarmingly different.
It's a very nice, a bit more experimental ambient than some others, and standing in a longer tradition of ambient industrial of darker ambient.
Vital Weekly

Two well established craftsmen of ambient atmospherics join forces to create a gorgeous paean to the fleeting night sky. Slobor media co-owner and accomplished soundsmith Matt Borghi teams up in a long awaited collaborative with Gears of Sand founder, Ben Fleury-Steiner. Both artists have nearly 20 releases between them, but this one posseses a special sublime energy. Indeed, the results speak for themselves: Gorgeous, enveloping drones that reveal a complex array of moods. This is journey music, a mysterious voyage into a harbor of haunting darkness and waking light. A fitting way to celebrate Gears of Sand's 30th release.
Experimedia

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Ben Fleury-Steiner - To Reach The Other Shore (Gears of Sand, 2004)

1 Red Moon Echoes (9:55)
2 Glocio (6:26)
3 Kairos (9:00)
4 Khole & Logia (3:44)
5 ... To Whisper One Thousand Shimmering Births (1:52)
6 Anemos (6:18)
7 Tzippor (2:56)
8 Shadows Of A Luminescent Warmth (7:31)

Ben Fleury-Steiner is a regular participant in the lively – and sometimes comical – debates on The Hypnos Forum. He is also a serious electronic musician recording as Paradin. … To Reach the Other Shore is his first set that he has made available to the public on his new label - Gears of Sand. It is a wonderful disc! He weaves subtle drones, experimental sounds, field recordings and atmospheres around and through each other. He processes the sounds – adding panache and charm to the soundscapes. His sound design is reserved yet he gets a full-bodied sound. This CD is an early candidate for debut of the year!
Ambient Visions

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