Crepusculum – Sing On In Silhouettes (2009)

12rec.

Archive.org

Bandcamp

• Acoustic pop 
• Art rock 
• Post-rock 
• Improvised music 
• Mood music 
• Epic 
• Baroque pop 
• Chamber pop

Comment: today is Sunday and this 11-track outing is actually a proper way to finish off the day in an ennobling mood. Fred Baty who is artistically known as Crepusculum creates blissful sequences with his guitar by handling the guitar in different ways – from vamping up dreamy and soothing soundscapes to more immersive and slightly sophisticated. The course seems to be seamlessly flowing. Additionally to the guitar you can hear an accordion (or melodica) and brass-induced progressions in one track (Early Days) and glockenspiel flickers, and even light layers of a synth. The issue is quite weird in that sense that the tracks can be considered improvised ones yet all the possible tumultuous facets and heightened moods and frantic turns are hidden below a mellow moody shell. Of course, I would like to listen to such sort of frenetic turns but in the recent case I do not miss them at all by not founding them from there. The set is instrumental except a track called Abaculus Perspective where Julia Kotowski, and Genevieve Schwartz provide their voices in creating a heavenly choir to the ascending guitar chords. The issue is a part of the discography of 12rec., legendary German imprint to have been existed from 2001 to 2011. Beatific moments by any means.

Fuellsand – The Days Are Just Packed (2004)

12rec.

Swift Music

• Indietronica 
• Improvised music 
• Indie pop 
• Alternative pop 
• Lo-fi 
• DIY 
• Musique concrète 
• Cowbell indie 
• Electronic music 
• Hip-hop 
• Krautrock

Comment: if your days are packed then your task is just to unzip them. It does mean that if you are finishing off your any day you can say that you have added (much) more good in comparison to the previous one. For instance, clean up your room, listen to music, make some comments about it and thereof promote other people's music, read the books and think of it, do not pollute the environment, take care of other people, make good job in overall. And of course, take care of yourself. By listening to Fuellsand it can be said the members of it did unzip some new perspectives in indie music. Lo-fi progressions with a guitar and improvisations on a rusty keyboard are accompanied by field recordings, sonic effects, off-kilter orchestrations, hip-hop chants and scratches. At My Algorithmic Arkestra one can hear something that makes difference even in the band's own terms by sounding as if a swarm of digitized bees. The following piece The Approaching Siren (Reprise) reveals their compelling inclination towards krautrock and Miles-esque jazz. The self-titled track pays tribute to Kraftwerk which is backed up by some hip-hop glimpses. The bond between the aforementioned group, and the style is symbolic while it is a well-known fact that early US hip-hop musicians of African descent would find one of their anchors from the music of the legendary Düsseldorf group. This nice playful issue is a part of the discography of 12 rec., and Swift Music

Rob Steady – Ask No Lies (2005)

12rec.

Free Music Archive

• Glitchtronica 
• Folktronica 
• Alternative pop 
• Indie-hop 
• Art pop 
• Electro pop 
• Primitronica 
• Sampledelic 
• Hip-hop 
• Crossover 
• Urban music 
• Acid 
• Chiptune 
• Glitch electro

Comment: I guess the first listening time of this outing may be quite confusing because it is problematic to embrace the nature of the issue. It starts off from nothing as if arduously popping out from glitched-out chords and shrill frequencies and electronic clockwork mechanisms. All is pitched up, all is compressed to a higher sonic range. All seems to be destructed and messed up to create a new foundation for something quite off-kilter and special. At times one can recognise it to be a hectic mix of folk and hip-hop and electronic effects and at a time it will be traded for chiptune-ish bleeps and rusty electro appearances or crawling old school industrial-tinged nihilistic rhythms or unexpected samples to come in and then leave the place as quickly, for example. However, by starting the second round of its listening all seems to be clearly otherwise - the initial words of mine seems to be ridiculous and false (at least partly) because the consciousness of mine has changed throughout the course. Describe no lies. I do not know is it either about a primitive approach or very incisive sophisticated platform. Or these statements are adeptly intermingled with one another. By listening to the issue one will walk the puzzle off. However, you are lifted up from a micro level to the macro level. One is sure – it is an accomplished outing. Get it into your cerebral spheres. The issue is a part of the discography of 12rec. . 

Skism – Skism EP (2005)

12rec.

• IDM 
• Experimental electronica 
• Alternative 
• Nu jazz 
• Avant-electronica 
• Glitch-hop 
• Crossover
• Experimental hip-hop

Comment: this set of 10 tracks is the only work by David Grogan aka Skism who at once had lost all of his tracks while his PC crashed. Fortunately some of them could have been rescued from the digital pit. This must have been an extremely pitiful incident because the aesthetics unfolding in front of our ears is something truly consistent and bewildering. While listening to it for first times you get information about the album of being very technical and at times massive and even provocative or nihilistic by its nature (jungle-y Shell (Swift Mix)). The more you get immersed in that the more layers will be opened up around you. For me, the issue is a good example or fact to prove the hypothesis that glitch-hop was remarkably influenced by IDM (intelligent dance music) being very prominent throughout the 90s and in the first half of the 00s. Indeed, it is an exuberant lab where David Grogan creates something ahead of its time because in 2005 there was not glitch-hop presented in the underground scene (I guess he was one of the first mavericks within it). There are also up a couple of visions of (nu) jazz music by him, one of them, Stodj is a favourite track on the outing due to cinematic progressions and a lush, sunshiny panorama revolving around the merry axis of rhythms. In truth, the issue does not involve any weak tracks at all. In a word, the album must be considered a classic one and David Grogan is genius. The issue is a part of the discography of 12rec. .

My First Trumpet – Frerk (2007)

Aerotone

Bandcamp

• Indietronica 
• Alternative pop 
• Post-rock 
• Indie 
• Glitch pop 
• Electronic

Comment: Kevin Hamann aka My First Trumpet released a brand new album, Oke on Anette Records in 2016. However, he has been in the field for approximately 10 years representing the tendencies of indie and post-rock music through sublime electronic possibilities. With regard to the netlabel world there were many netlabels of which purpose was to promote artists with the aforementioned intent (Aerotone, 12rec, error! Lo-Fi Recordings, Poni Republic, 23 Seconds). Kevin Hamann`s 11-notch issue could best be understood in terms of balancing between minimal and rough, between simplistic and profound, between incisive and dulcet, between pastel tones and corroded ones. These characteristics could not be without each other to create something to be (nearly) perfect. By the first listening it might sound a bit simplistic but listening to it for more times an extraordinary indie world used to open up in front of your ears. Indeed, Hamann`s chemistry is profound and obsessive because without that there could not be mad professors of teaching us that pop music must be witty, organic, multi-faceted and being made with great dedication. It is well-groomed and lunatic at the same time. Recently I listened to a crosscut vinyl issue by Donovan (Golden Hour Of Donovan) and in comparison to this it could be said it is a reversed version of the legendary British singer-songwriter because Hamann`s approach is instrumental only though being laconic in a similar way. More profoundly, it might sound laconically yet all these elements are craftily fleshed out. The only shortage is it is devoid of trumpets, though. It is an unsuccessful joke of mine, isn’t. The favourite of mine is Muerz because of being sombre by its nature and intention while the rest of the album is rather neutral by its mood. Great classic to be recalled for(ever). 

Hermelin – Hermelin (2008)

12rec.

Bandcamp

• Post-rock 
• Alternative rock 
• Indie rock 
• Power pop 
• Epic
• Experimental rock 
• Art rock

Comment: once one previous indie man and later house music and jungle promoter called the post-rock musicians as representatives of the so-called normcore. His statement was made with the purpose to hint at the normality and conventionality of the aforementioned style. By listening to this 9-notch issue by Hannover-based combo Hermelin one could perceive opposite sensations. At times it could sound as a post-rock example in ages, at times it is full of interesting sounds and tumultuous dodges. However, to understand its full value it should be taken back to 2008 when post-rock was still a full-fledged style with inspiring idealism and immense inner burning. The more I am listening to it the more I have to admit to disagreement with the aforementioned indie man about the normality of the style even if it is a little bit worn by time and changes in our understanding. Honestly, the problem is hidden within us but not in music. What is the goal of music in overall? To provide a solid rhythmic accompaniment aligned with the sturdy melody line. That is accomplished over there. In a nutshell, get involved in this forceful tour de force with exquisite pastel hues. It says more than the guys with low self-esteem. The fascinating issue is a part of the discography of 12rec. .  

El Senor Ciuf Ciuf - As Seen From Above (2006)

12rec
Lastfm

9.5

/Indietronica, Art pop, Avant-pop, Electronic pop, Poptronica, Crossover, Experimental indie/

Comment: at the first sight or seen from a remote distance the aesthetics of El Senor Ciuf Ciuf seems like an indietronic one, yet, if you have a more tight focus upon it you can see very joyous elements and effects evoking from within it. The listener can detect Faust-alike brass and free jazz and art rock mixed frantic rock jams, quirky synthetic pop appearances which used to have no temporal anchor jutting out from itself. From this aspect the Italian musician`s outlet can be compared to the likes of Ariel Pink, and Gary Wilson, for instance. Furthermore, at times it is driven by effortless, electric piano driven snippets and compartments and as an example of his pop contrast because he used to take on a more acute, devouring and choking noise`n´tronica (The Unspeakable Chant of A Collapsing Universe). In a more general way, the listener can detect how experimental yet joyous rhythms can be housed in the same pigeonhole. in a word, such an eccentric but highly mesmerizing gem was created in 2006. An unsung ghost from the past.

The Sleeping Tree - Leaves and Roots (2008)

12rec.
Lastfm

8.4

/Art-rock, Indie folk, Singer-songwriter, Folk indie/

Comment: a nice acoustic guitar-based album by the Italian Giulio Frausin. By consisting of 11 tracks which used to chime, conjuring up diverse patterns and sometimes suggestive magic dust. The last usually happens when the fingerpicked strings are backed up with humble melodica drones. Half of ditties are song-centered, half of them are instrumental ones.

Rare Plants Garden - Rare Plants Garden (2011)

Archive.org

Bandcamp

9.0

/Psychedelic pop, Poptronica, Leftfield, Crossover, Chilltronica, Folktronica, Soul, Funk/

Comment: No doubt, RPR is a fine zeitgeist combo from Russia incorporating the elements of modern black music (unconventional soul and funk vibes), shiny laidback-psychedelia/poptronica, lazily shuffling free folk, subtle nu jazz-hued ticking, over-your-head-gliding cosmic/ambient/deep dub and even recorded sounds from the nature. If you like the oeuvres by Panda Bear, Washed Out, Stereolab and other such artists you might find out something joyous for you as well. For instance, Zuko People is a killer track.

Monokle & Galun In Frame (12rec)

Vladislav Kudryatsev & Aleksandr Kumach aka the Arkhangelsk-based combo Monokle`s third album Tesaurus (under Id.eology) was one of the best albums of 2009. Now Kumach has left the band and Kudryatsev is joined by a former beatboxnik and otherwise versatile artist Sergey Galunenko aka Galun and the result does seem even in better way to be sound. 12 tracks give testimony of prominent examples of songwriting, balancing between post-rock, poptronica, chillout, downtempo, indie rock. It is used to be continually dense, and warm, and mostly it is so intensely loaded with dreams that the soundscape does seem a bit lazy in the good manner sounding up very nostalgic and relaxing to my ears, conjuring up gratifying listening memories from the past by approximately 10-12 years ago. The tracks like Crossed Fingers, and Means are reminiscent of the manner by Brendan Perry, and the beatific times when I spent the most of my time in the bibliothek of the Tartu University for listening to Dead Can Dance among others. Regarding the next track (Justalite) I shall have to ask you do you remember Louis Armstrong`s great track We Have all the Time in the World for one of the James Bond-related soundtrack? (It was also covered by My Bloody Valentine). Regarding the motive of this track you can see really close similarity with it. Get At Will remembers one of the toughest work, being grew up from the Estonian underground scene Bizarre`s sophomore album Cafe de Flor (1996, Forwards), especially the track Airs Of Arabia with otherworldly chanting female voice and shoegazers` atmospheric guitar swayings. In a nutshell, one of the best works of the 2010.

Listen to it here

9.8

Milhaven Milhaven (12rec/Valeot)

Christoph Freudenberg, Jens Reichelt, Hannes Zagermann ning Andreas Fanter ehk Bochum`ist pärit post-rock-ansambel Milhaven on jõudnud oma kolmanda üllitiseni. 2004. aastal reliisitud "Bars Closing Down" (12rec) ja kaks aastat hilisem "I.M. Wagner" EP (12rec) peegeldasid instrumentaalse post-rock`i ajastuvaimu, vaimustust ja kvaliteeti, tõsi, mis oli tasapisi dekadentsi langemas.
Ei ole juba aastaid huvitunud, kas ja kuidas on täiendust saanud Mogwai, Explosions In The Sky või Mono diskograafiad. Kuigi laivansamblitena on nad eeldatavasti jätkuvalt suurepärased - näiteks Mono üle-eelmise aasta esinemine festivalil Plink-Plonk oli lihtsalt sõnulseletamatu!

Hoolimata tõigast, et 4 pikka aastat on möödunud, hoiab Saksa ansambel jätkuvalt vanu raudu tules. 49 minuti sisse mahtuvad elemendid on piinlikult samad - aegamööda koguvad ja rulluvad kitarrid, et mingist hetkest lahvatada pool-crescendo`deks (heakene küll, Count to Infinity, Twice suudab pakkuda ka ühe raskemalt lajatava tõusuminuti). Väheke kitarri-distortion`it ja pinnapealseid efekte tüünesse kulgemisse ei muuda üldsuunda- ja pilti (Supervulkan). Jutusämplid loo Miami Jesus helipildis annavad ennekõike märku mainitud žanri pöördumatust allakäigust ning ideede puudusest. "Milhaven" lihtsalt liigub lõpuni. Isegi kui lõpulugudes on midagigi, nullib albumi esimene pool igasuguse tajuteravuse. Siin ei ole kahjuks juletud riskida ega areneda - samahästi piisanuks Milhaven`i kahest varasemast üllitisest. Ka eepiline tasand on jäänud poolde vinna pidama, mis teisiti võinuks ju albumi üldmainet parandada. Hea seegi, et kuulajatele on halastatud ning üle 10-minutiliste lugudega ei tüüdata. Seevastu plaadiümbris on küll väga armas.

Kuula albumit siit

6.4

Bernier + Trottier ... et retrouvé en fôret (12rec)

Montreal on eripalgeline metropol. Montreal`il on palju seda, mida teistel linnadel ei ole – Montreal on olnud EXPO-ning olümpialinn. Montreal on jäähoki sünnikodu. Montreal`i on kummitanud isegi terroristlik liikumine, mis võitles Quebec`i provintsi iseseisvuse eest 60ndate lõpus ning 70ndate alul, mis kulmineerus provintsi üks ministri röövimise ning mõrvamisega. Kuigi Quebec`i provintsi suurim linn, mille 3 miljonilisest elanikkonnast üle 70% on prantsuskeelsed, on Montreal`i elanikkonnast valdavas enamuses need, kes ei poolda lahkulöömist Kanadast (võrdluseks - ülejäänud quebeclastest ligi 90% pooldab seda). Montreal on Kanada territoriaalse terviklikkuse/või siis Quebec`i iseseisvuse kaalukeel. Mäletatavasti 1995. aasta referendumil oli tulemus napp - 49,3% iseseisvuse poolt ning 50,7% vastu. Vastuolulised signaalid. Aga vastuolud on vajalikud selleks, et elu edasi areneks. Süntees on dekadentsi surm. Siin on Kanada kultuuri moodne kese. Siinkirjutaja jaoks tähendab Montreal ennekõike jäähokiklubi Montreal Canadiens`it, mille fänn on oldud juba 20 aastat (mille paadunud fännid muuseas on ka näitleja Viggo Mortensen ning Mercury Rev`i laulja Jonathan Donaghue – kellele meeldib ka vabal ajal litrit taga ajada) ning muusika. Ennekõike eksperimentaalrock ning -elektroonika. Godspeed You! Black Emperor, (Le) Fly Pan Am ning Tim Hecker. Mõistusliku aspekti ning tunnetuse segunemise tipud viimasel kümnendil. Boreaalse rajajoone avanemine ajukurdudes.

Nicolas Bernier ning Simon Trottier on eksimatult olnud osa Montreal`ist ning selle südametunnistusest. Esimese albumi “Objet Abandonné en Mer” (2007) helikeelt iseloomustas ohter segmenteeritus. Laptop-folk, eksperimentaalne indie, folktroonika. Naturaalsus vaheldumas masinlikkusega. Näiline närvilisus vaheldumas imelise kerglusega. Ohter tämbritekstuur ning rütmimuutuste kuhi. Popijärgne popmuusika - oleks kõige lihtsam konstanteerida.

“... Et Retrouvé En Fôret” jätkab üldjoontes sama liini. Avalugu Racines kolistab-prõgistab-ragistab vanas vaimus rapitud akustiliste kitarrikäikude saatel-sees. Loos Bois Mort üllatab duo uue elemendiga – massiivse müra saatel veeretakse kuulajast sulnilt üle. No crescendos anymore! Lõpu lähenedes hakkab lugu raskust kaotama, lõppedes tüüne voona. Enchantée – vaikelu, mida "häirivad" perioodilised kidra-strumming`ud, akustilise kitarri sillerdused ning lõpuosas ilmestab kõike seda taamal liikuv inimhääl-tekst. Foret Citadine – paks ning tuvastamatu keskkond ümbritseb kitarrisõrmitsusi; poole pealt asi muutub – ruumilised, samas konkreetsed elektrikitarrisaundid annavad loole märksa selgemad piirjooned. Lõpulugu Mousse kõlab nagu Weekend Guitar Trio – kusagil akadeemilise taustaga kitarritegelaste ning eksperimentaalse roki vahepeal. Lugu areneb, paisub – ühel hetkel ärkan hüpnoosist, et taibata – massiivne helilaine on mulle peale langenud, et seejärel tüünes tempos laiali valguda. Kuulamise poole pealt oli eelmine album ligipääsetavam – käesolev album on oma eksperimenteerivuses märksa vastandlikum. Kuid ei ole sellest hoolimata kuidagi kehvem. Vastandlikkus konkreetsel juhul ei tähenda hea ja halva, tugevate ning nõrkade külgede esile mängimist. Lihtsalt albumi struktuuri osad ei ole teineteise suhtes niivõrd orgaaniliselt positsioneeritud. Tehnilise külje pealt on asi põnevalt esitatud ning sisult soliidne. Viimase albumiga võrreldes annan siiski pool punkti vähem. Aga sittadele kidrameestele kohustuslik kuulamine. Ka soovitan huvitujaile viia end kurssi meeste kõrvalprojektidega.

Kuula albumit siit

9.0