jgrzinich – time’s arrow landing (1998/2009)

Maaheli
Lastfm

9.7

/Abstract, Found sound, Drone, Ambient, Musique concrete, Ambient drone, Sound-art, Experimentalism, Non-music, Acousmatic, Avant-garde, Experimentalism, Microtonal, Minimalism/

Comment: John Grzinich comes from USA, though, having shared the residing place between his native country and Estonia during the last years respectively. However, besides being a builder of amplified piano wire instruments he is known as an avid music enthusiast, theorist-philosopher, sound-artist and the organizer of different installations and workshops.

This set of 4 long-running tracks has managed to running on ambient approach, concrete sound-relied fibrillatings and elementally droning hiss-backed sonic tissues (generated with an old sine wave compressor), however, either being lopsided toward different parts or being "pliable" enough to be overgrown into each other at times. All in all, the release seems to be searching for a transitional area between the nature and machines, however, cleansing a listener`s mood and bringing into order his/her thoughts.

Native Bells - Lost in the Sky (2011)

CLLCT
Bandcamp
Mediafire

9.2

/Avant-garde, Doo wop, No Wave, Psychedelia, New Weird America, Acousmatic, Sampledelic, Cut and paste, Experimentalism, Sound collage, Avant-electronica/

Comment: Native Bells (by listening to it, however, I have a permanent temptation to name it as Native Belle) is a New York-based project having played out one of the most refreshing albums of the year 2011 to date. They have managed to specialize in concept records and extended plays making out Faust-esque rhythm structures, Free Design-hued doo wop and a capella choppiness, careless jazz overthrows, carnival whirls and curves, cock-eyed pace outbursts, vanguard electronica/experiments with sine waves, lush ethno/sampledelica notches, in a nutshell juxtaposing all the stuff off somewhere against Animal Collective and Gang Gang Dance and krautrock and plunderphonics and BBC Radiophonic Workshop and the No Wave tradition. People let`s dance.

The Satellite Eye - Animal (2009)

Bandcamp
Lastfm

8.7

/Alt-folk, Indie folk, Folk indie, Singer-songwriter/

Comment: This is the 4-track leadoff EP by the singer-songwriter Bryan Dalle Molle introducing some fine themes of folk music augmented by indie-alike attributs. Suggestive guitar grounds are accompanied by slightly noisy or sunshiny progressions and tapping sounds. Mostly the whole is used to be restrainted, sometimes exploding into a floating wide-scaled choruses veering from introspective minor key outlook to mirthy appearances. The favorite of mine is Consequent through its jubilant rolling. All in all, it is a simple yet effusive effort which was recorded in Molle`s basement.

Federsen - Gravity Mass Weight

Multi-Panel - Retain Mist (2011)

No-Source
Lastfm

9.2

/Folktronica, Electronic, Indietronica, Experimental indie, Indie pop/

Comment: This is Ludo Maas`s fourth release and his second for the No-Source label. However, similarly to his previous workouts the Dutch is not dispensed with limber and mesmerizing electronic-infused folk and indie tunes which sometime sprout, having the growth and subsequently evolving into an orchestrated form of the beauty which being segmented with full- and half-tones and variegated with mirthy and murky shades. And assisted by Pien Feith, of course.

Phillip Wilkerson - New Smyrna (2008)

Clinical Archives

9.5

/Ambient, Downtempo, IDM, Experimental electronica, Minimal electronica, Avant-electronica/

Comment: The US-based producer/musician Phillip Wilkerson started off his recording career in the ending part of 2005 since it being very profilic, i.e having issued more than 10 releases during this short-running timespan. However, this production of 12 tracks refects upon vigorous progressive music ideas within the realm of ambient- and IDM-based experiments. Most of the tracks are used to be long-running ones, toying with minimalist changes, austere grooves and repeated patterns, which at times will develop into full-scaled hypnotic treats. Moreover, it is really tense and gets growing to the point where it is problematic to distinguish the "real" sounds from the manipulations of your consciousness. A high-qualified output indeed.

Teepee - Morals (Deluxe Edition) (2011)

Bandcamp
Lastfm

9.2

/Avant-garde, Psych-music, Avant-rock, Lo-fi, New Weird America, Psychedelia, Experimentalism, Post-psychedelic electronica, DIY, Drone/

Comment: Behind Teepee is in Miami residing Eric Lopez-Zareno who swings behind electric guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals, drum machines, and flutes. Lopez-Zareon`s sound can be considered as a part of the New Weird America movement, though, if this way it would be a peripherical side of this movement. Besides it there can be detected for tough lo-fi attitude (and pop inside it in the vein of R Stevie Moore), psyched-out rock, tape manipulations and delay- and reverb-drunken experiments, reserved psychedelia, atmospherical lineages and droning sound loops. All in all, it is a kind of nowadays vanguard music having apparent appeal toward pop-induced realms. Zeitgeist music, what else could it be regarded for?

How To Destroy Angels - The Space in Between

Chenard Walcker - Haut Le Coeur (2002/2006)

Free Sample Zone

9.2

/Mash-up, Plunderphonics, Avant-garde, Crossover, Sound collage, Samplecore, Sampledelic, Cut and paste/

Comment: Chenard Walcker was a French artist, thinker, visionary and fervent protagonist for the copyleft movement. He had basically been active in the first half of 00`s before he was diagnosed with the serious health condition. More detailly, he created a blog named Free Sample Zone and having had approximately 30-40 albums on his own account. In fact, a true legend in any cases and one heroes of mine.

This album contains of 18 tracks within 71 minutes, lifting its core from the Gregorian chants, old school soul music, rumbling pace shufflings, film score samples, easy listening, hip-hop, psychedelia, near-ethnic/ethno-pop and much more to be chopped up and re-conceptualized into a new form. Actually any of his tracks would freely be a subject for the quizzes with the purpose to figure out all of those hints coming forth from the concrete track.

brunk - Winter EP (2009)

Resting Bell
Lastfm

9.5

/Ambient, Ambient rock, Post-rock, Musique concrete, Found sound, Epic, Experimental rock, Experimentalism, Microtonal/

Comment: brunk is Bert Vanden Berghe, a DIY homerecording musician and sound artist from Ghent, Flanders, Belgium. Besides involving in various less and more pop-induced groups, however, by his solo enterprises he is known as noisenik (Passive Cable Theory) and as improvisational artist (invertebrata) and as cutting edge musician (brunk) either. However, this release being issued for Resting Bell in the second half of 2009 reflects upon his desires toward more atmospherical point of view (ambient folk/ambient rock/spherical angles-edges of post-rock, concrete sound-infused epic bars). Moreover, those stretched guitar chords which can be found from here at times do evoke similar perceptions to the Labradford, or microtonal, otherworldly pulsating overgrowths into the kind of still life are getting very close to Pan American. All in all, it is a powerful 4-track miracle indeed.