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August 2022 = |
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Empty House
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Sessa
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London Odense
Ensemble
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Michael Tanner
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Oyvind
Holm
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Mick Crossley
& Paul Roland
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Nathan Hall
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Dr.
Space
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Peiriant
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Mark
Lofgren
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Home |
EMPTY
HOUSE – BLUE BAMBOO (Cassette
on Cruel
Nature Recordings)
Fred
Laird has been as ever keeping busy with Taras
Bulba and a range of other solo and
collaborative activities embracing a range of
musical and philosophical influences. Empty
House is a solo project showcasing Fred’s multi
instrumental prowess to create meditative
experiments in sound or more precisely sound
painting which better describes the musical
canvas created. ‘Blue Bamboo’ is the second
Empty House release following on from last
year’s ‘Mushin’ and superficially it takes a
similar path where elements of Kosmische,
haunting folk melodies, ceremonial and ritual
music across cultural boundaries are skilfully
navigated and harvested to create a captivating
ambient soundscape and immersive listening
experience rich in imagery and atmosphere. It
consists of four improvised pieces played on an
array of electronic and acoustic instruments
which form a kind of loose ambient suite. It
comes with a cassette only bonus track, well,
just because Fred likes all of you.
We
begin with Night Fires’ where warm, gently
pulsating Raga-like drones, delicate and
shimmering percussion, wisps of minimal desert
blues guitar and snatches of what could be
ancient Arabic melodies create a dreamy heat
haze, cooled by touches of Harold Budd-esque
piano colours. It’s an intoxicating opener and
conjures up evocative cinematic desert sunsets
or perhaps a fine accompaniment to leafing
through the travel writings of Paul Bowles
amongst other things. ‘Good News People’ follows
and is much more Kosmische oriented with Popol
Vuh coming immediately to mind and again that
Eno or Budd-like stately and minimal use of
simple piano melody with vocal samples.
Celestial choral swells and washes underpinned
with field recordings add a touch of 2001 and
Ligeti informed atmospherics which occasionally
stray into darker more dissonant places. The
title track takes the celestial cosmic choral
mystery a little bit further adding a sparse
spacey surf guitar twang with a deconstructed
Dick Dale twist and more prominent percussive
punctuations with a touch of almost free form
Celtic melody jostling with darker humming
drones and rumbling undertones. ‘Serenity’
amplifies the field recordings to create a
contemplative, looping, pastoral Kosmiche where
echoes of Jon Hassell’s fourth world fusion or
Robert Fripp’s music for quiet moments and
Celtic and far eastern melodic sensibilities
come together to create a piece akin to a
tranquil yet vibrant walk in a woodland or
meadow at dawn or dusk and it concludes a
gorgeous run of music.
The
bonus track ‘Extinction Mantra’ is different in
character and lengthy at more than 16 minutes.
It builds from a folk inspired melody with
electronic undertones into a gently upbeat foot
tapper. Kraftwerk like electronic melodies are
given a mellow makeover and a Chemical Brothers
style rhythm gently but firmly propels the
melody into a gradually more complex layering of
pulses, drones and electronica. Manuel
Gottsching does this very well and so does Fred
Laird.
This
is another excellent release from Fred Laird as
Empty House, embracing the sound world of
‘Mushin’ and taking it subtly but satisfyingly
forward to another level. It’s an improvised
soundscape that could pleasantly accompany an
hour of being busy doing nothing but I urge you
to create some headspace, immerse yourself and
listen closely as there’s a lot of small detail
in this music that deserves your attention and
will reward your time very well. There aren’t
many copies of this cassette so don’t delay if
you want one.
(Francis
Comyn)
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SESSA
– ESTRELA ACESA
(LP/CD/Digital
on Mexican
Summer Records)
Sessa,
aka Sergio Sayeg, the young star from Sao Paulo,
Brazil, brings us his not-difficult second album
Estrela Acesa, and it’s a corker.
If his 2019 debut Grandeza was a
hodgepodge with minimalist tendencies, here he
expands his palette with lush arrangements and
production. He
keeps an eye on the brilliant practitioners of
samba, bossa nova and tropicalia’s heyday, with
the other eye on the here and now.
His music is floating and gauzy, sensual
and dreamy.
Everything
on Estrela Acesa (which translates from
Portuguese to Burning Star) sounds romantic,
even when some of the lyrics are actually about
breakups and frustration.
At the core of all the tracks are Sessa’s
nylon guitar, Marcelo Cabral’s bass, and
producer Biel Basile’s drums and percussion.
He has a talented team to conjure
impressionistic paintings in filling in the
soundscapes. Soft
strings, flutes, more percussion, and female
background vocals are applied with the utmost in
taste, sophistication and restraint for just the
right balance.
A
fine example of his art is on “Sereia
Sentimental” (Sentimental Mermaid).
Sessa’s featherlight vocals and light
strumming are accompanied by lovely strings in a
very 60s-70s style arrangement, and the soft,
sensitive background vocals by Ciça
Góes,
Ina, Paloma Mecozzi, and Lau Ra.
Those singers are all over the album, and
lend a great deal of warmth to Sessa’s images of
lazy, sparkling seas and sand.
The
jaw-droppingly gorgeous semi-instrumental Helena
starts out perhaps evoking composer Erik Satie’s
Gymnopédies,
but drifts off gently with the swells of those
dreamy strings (really must give a shout-out
here to the album’s arrangers, Simon Hanes and
Alex Chumak – Chumak arranged Helena).
I say semi-instrumental because the
background singers purr along tenderly.
The track is like swaying slowly in a
hammock in the hot sun on a tropical beach.
“Dor
Fodida,” likewise, is so relaxing, even an
alluring psychedelic, opium-laced haze in its
mellowness, that you’d never guess it translates
to “fucking pain.”
Breakup song “Que Lado Você
Dorme?” (On What Side Do You Sleep?) is enhanced
by two enchanting interludes switching to waltz
time, with the background singers meandering
away, and sounding like they’re as far off in
the distance as they can be but still be
audible. The
song finishes in a beautiful instrumental touch
with Sessa’s guitar and the strings.
On the closer and title track, Sessa
sounds somewhat playful, not taking himself or
the world too seriously.
Sessa
makes it all look easy with this album.
Whether imagined as a late-night
superchill among murky lights or a sun dappled
daydream in the haze, both descriptions work.
The music is rhythmic and timeless.
The production and top performances by
his contributors are superb.
If this is what he’s capable of on his
second album, the lad’s going far.
(Mark
Feingold)
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LONDON
ODENSE ENSEMBLE – JAIYEDE SESSIONS, VOL. 1
(LP/CD/Digital
on El
Paraiso
Records)
With
certain brilliant artists, whether they be film
directors, authors or musicians many of us reach
a point that when that artist releases their
latest work, you just don’t ask questions and
you check it out.
Usually, you’ll be handsomely rewarded by
the experience, as in this record.
It comes from the collaboration between
Denmark’s El Paraiso Records stalwarts Jonas
Munk (guitar and studio wizardry) and Jakob Skøtt
(drums, art design) of Causa Sui; Martin Rude
(bass with Sun River and sometimes Causa Sui);
with London jazz scene standouts Tamar Osborn
(baritone sax, flute); and Al MacSween
(keyboards and synths).
The
Odense folks love to do collaborations, their
past work sometimes including the London players
– see Rude Skøtt
Osborn Trio, Ellis/Munk Ensemble, and Chicago
Odense Ensemble.
The world is a better place for them, but
this one raises the bar higher, and is another
career peak – for all of them.
It’s
a delicious gumbo of spiritual jazz à
la Alice Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders,
psychedelic rock, with dashes of prog and Herbie
Hancock/Chick Corea/Mahavishnu Orchestra jazz
fusion. Why
wait? – the album kicks off with the immense
highlight, the combined seventeen-minute-plus
“Jaiyede Suite, Parts 1 and 2.”
This massive piece swings and sways in a
head-spinning trip, with all five musicians
going for broke.
Munk’s guitar wah-wahs away, while Osborn
lays down some swampy bottom with the baritone
sax on Part 1, swapping it for flute in Part 2.
MacSween’s electric piano work has some
Lalo Schifrin qualities, and he, too alternates
with groovy synths.
All the while, Rude and Skøtt
anchor
the proceedings on a rhythmic groove and somehow
keep everything from skipping off the atmosphere
out of the solar system.
It’s an unforgettable piece.
“Sojourner”
is ushered in by MacSween’s swirling synths and
Osborn’s flutes, while Munk adds guitar colors
and Skøtt
plays almost exclusively on the toms and
cymbals. It’s
more affirming and positive than the startling
voodoo of its predecessor.
It’s still a psychedelic headphone trip,
albeit one played out in the sunshine, rather
than the Jaiyede Suite’s stark moonlight.
Side
Two is the more experimental side, dominated by
the fifteen-minute “Enter Momentum.”
Osborn and MacSween initially trade stabs
on flute and keyboards, respectively.
Osborn later switches to the baritone sax
(and later back to flute again).
The Odense guys get their turn next, and
the two international factions alternate between
soloing and supporting.
Again, Skøtt’s
drumming
is exemplary throughout the extended
free-floating jamming.
Closer “Celestial Navigation” features a
mass of squiggly analogue synths heading off in
different directions into the cosmos, while the
other players do their bits, notably Jonas Munk
guiding the way at one point on guitar.
We
can only hope there’s a Jaiyede Sessions Volume
2 coming. Volume
1 launches you clean into the heart of a
flowing, vibrating, pulsing spiritual Space Is
The Place land played by peerless masters.
It’s another gem from El Paraiso, one of
their finest yet.
(Mark
Feingold)
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MICHAEL
TANNER – VESPERS / THE
BLACKENING
(cassette
from Objects
Forever )
I
rather fear this little gem is sold out at
source, but there's a download available (which
I've provided a link to, above) so those of you
who, unlike yours truly, don't have your heads
stubbornly stuck in the analogue sand and are
quite happy wallowing around in the digital sea
can at least hear it, even if you are missing
the beautiful printed card sleeve or indeed
anything that you can feel, touch, hold, smell
or see. The good news is however that Michael
Tanner is a perfectly adept spirit guide,
channeling those very feelings and emotions
through his music.
It's
only fair to say at the outset that the
Terrascope has a very long-standing affinity
with Mr Tanner; his various projects and
side-lines (Plinth, Thalassing, Cloisters) have
graced many of our pages and stages, and his
performances with friends and artists as revered
as United Bible Studies, Sharron Kraus and
Alison Cotton are the stuff of legend. So you're
hardly going to expect an unbiased review here.
Trust me though, this one really is rather
special.
Vespers
/ The Blackening are the latest, and allegedly
final, two mini-albums by Michael Tanner
performing as Michael Tanner. 'Vespers' was
recorded in 2020 but has only just surfaced,
while 'The Blackening' has previously only been
available digitally (and therefore, I would
argue, is previously unreleased. I'd probably
lose the argument against the sheer weight of
the evidence, but like I said above, I'm a
stubborn old bugger) Objects Forever is to be
applauded for releasing the two on cassette.
“I
made these recordings for Vespers due to the
sheer inanity of lockdown - they arrived fully
formed and unexpected, like all good
improvisational pieces should be I guess. It’s a
worn cliche, but they genuinely weren’t meant to
be heard by the outside world. In fact, I sat on
it a year so as to not get swept up in the
deluge of lockdown albums that were already
popping up left right and centre. As with any
album I put out, if I still want to listen to it
after a year then the chances are other people
will too.
“Bar the church organ opening, the album was
recorded entirely on a slab atop a family vault
in the graveyard at the end of my street. Always
at dusk, when the birds in the trees overhead
were at their most animated. I’m not a big one
for ‘studio trickery’ but this was my first
experience with ping-pong delay - borne from the
fact that I just really missed playing music
with other people, and the call and response
nature of it had a somewhat similar sensation;
making a sound into the void and it having it
bounce back at you, making you then react, think
on your feet.
“You can hear twigs snapping below as I had to
shift, mid-recording, as ants bit my ankles.
It’s a snapshot of a few days in Spring: no
agony, very little tweaking and probably the
most honest thing I’ve recorded".
I
have to say, it's the birdsong and ambience that
really elevates these recordings into the realms
of the extraordinary for me, rendering the music
somehow spiritually entwined with nature itself.
There's a deftness to Michael's playing that
seems lifted by the animation of the birds, as
if they are willing the hurdy gurdy, zither,
autoharp and other acoustic instruments to join
in with their conversation. Alison Cotton's
viola on 'Vespers Part 2' (overdubbed, I think)
also adds a glorious tonal texture.
Turning
the cassette over, Michael observes: “The
Blackening is a piece of music recorded between
2014 and 2016 in the UK and Italy, mostly as a
duo with Alison Cotton. Overdubs were added by
my friend and constant inspiration Lino Capra
Vaccina in 2016.” It's extraordinarily gentle
music, lapping the shore like the sea, receding
and advancing and - and no doubt, eventually
covering my head as it lies there, buried in the
sand.
I
do hope this is a pause rather than a farewell
for Michael Tanner, who describes them as "my
final albums for the foreseeable future"
(leaving me wondering, in my usual pedantic way,
if we can't at least hope for a second
Thalassing album even if there's to be no more
Tanners) but, whatever the case, it's a gorgeous
collection.
(Phil)
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OYVIND
HOLM - THE UNRELIABLE NARRATOR
(LP/CD/DL
from
HOME | My
Site (oyvindholm.com) )
Well
known
to readers [and utterly revered by your editor!]
through his work with/as Dipsomaniacs, Deleted
Waveform Gatherings, Sugarfoot and Pink Moon,
amongst others, his latest release finds Oyvind
Holm working under his own name and creating a
majestic and intricate collection of songs based
around the loose theme of separating fact from
fiction, reality from lies.
Opening with a chugging riff and growling
saxophone, “Ghost Dance” is a classic Psych Pop
tune, the lyrics taking the tune into darker
more paranoid realms with the saxophone work
echoing that feeling. With some beautiful
rolling bass at its heart, “The Stranger”
sparkles with delight,sweet melodies enhanced by
excellent vocals from both Oyvind and Kirsti
Huke, the song a personal favourite from
the collection.
Moving on, “ilove” has a cloak of
stuttering, shimmering sounds that enhance the
tune as they move around the room drawing the
listener in beautifully.
Throughout this majestic album, there is
a very thoughtful production that brings the
best from each song, the quality of the music
matched by the precisely written lyrics, the
attention to detail obvious throughout, creating
a rich and satisfying journey that gets better
every time.
Whilst
I could go in to more detail about individual
tunes, it is the album s a whole that works so
well, the continuity and quality of the music
harmonising across twelve tracks in timeless
fashion creating a future lost classic.
If the quality of the tunes was not
reason enough to buy the album, the artwork and
packaging is equally fabulous with a die cut
sleeve, inserts, lyrics and a three track 7”
single, both pieces of vinyl pressed on gorgeous
translucent coloured vinyl, the music on the
single maintaining the standards set by the
album.
An album destined for my end of year
list; go get one.
(Simon
Lewis)
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MICK
CROSSLEY & PAUL
ROLAND – THROUGH THE SPECTRAL GATE
PAUL
ROLAND – NOSFERATU (OR THE STRANGE TALE OF
JONATHEN HARKER)
PAUL
ROLAND – LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM
(Dark
Companion CDs www.darkcompanion.com
)
Paul
Roland will be well known to readers of
Terrascope having had quite a few positive
reviews over the years. For those that don’t
know, Paul is an English singer songwriter whose
music is often dark and gothic in nature.
Crepuscular songs populated by strange
characters and their stories. The first of these
releases Through
The Spectral Gate sees Paul once again
team up with Mick Crossley (who will be better
known still, having released records on Woronzow
as the Flyte Reaction) for a pretty fab
psychedelic romp. In fact this one is mostly
written by Mick, who also produced and
engineered the record, and I think it’s a bit of
a modern day classic.
It
opens with a spacey ‘Open The Spectral Gate’
which has Hawkwind meets King Crimson vibe, this
is echoed on the more acoustic first part of the
second track ‘Come Into My Mind & The
Flickering Light’, with its misty mellotron, the
track then goes into a great wig out. We are
back in firm Paul territory on ‘Echo Forest (He
Knows My Name)’ where we meet a wise wizard, the
organ laying down some suitably gothic
atmosphere. We then encounter ‘Silver Surfer
Parts 1 and 2’, these are the kind of songs
which Paul does so well, full of wonder at the
man in the silver suit. The music is restrained,
with arabesque motifs suggested; it also has a
lengthy space rock passage towards its climax.
‘Witches Brew Part 1 and 2’, features has some
fine electric violin playing by Geoffrey
Richardson of Caravan; it’s a bubbling cauldron
of delight. ‘Mantra’ sits well on the record, a
trippy dense tune which demonstrates what a fine
guitarist Mick is. Drowsy sitar drones announce
‘Third Eye & Blessings’, a sardonic tale of
mystics and guru’s. This features some wonderful
keyboard and guitar playing. ‘Never Flown So
High Before’, is grade A space rock. We head out
east for ‘The Cave Song & Carlos’, which
veers into Floydian territory. The record ends
with the lengthy atmospheric ‘Crystal &
Silent Star’.
Paul’s
music is well suited to a dark musical ballet,
which is the case for Nosferatu
(Or The Strange Case Of Jonathan Harker
A gothic ballet in three acts. Paul was
encouraged by his record label Dark Companions
to record this Grimm fairy tale fantasy for
orchestra, attempting and succeeding to record
some magical, orchestrated songs. The songs are
performed by Paul Roland and the Cigarbox
Orchestra and are broken up with narration,
linking the songs and lending cohesion to the
project. It succeeds because it can be listened
to as an album but would also benefit from being
watched in a theatre, with real ballet dancers
enacting the songs. It was composed over an
intense three month period. It is a not a rock
record, closer to classical really. I enjoyed it
immensely, from the haunting ‘Mina’s Theme’, the
cracked angst of ‘Renfield’s Delerium’ to the
dramatic ‘Nosferatu’s Theme’. It differs from
other renditions of Nosferatu, because it’s from
the view of the victim, Jonathan Harker.
Also
due to be reissued next month by PRAS is his
2020 album Lair
Of The White Worm. An album which passed
many of us by, including his long time fans, so
it’s nice that it is to receive a reissue. It is
based on the legend of The Lampton Worm. Echoes
of Robyn Hitchcock abound on this concept album,
be careful what you fish for.
The
legend sees a fisherman catch a strange, lamprey
type eel with nine holes in its head which he
duly divests himself of by throwing it away down
a well, but it mutates into something terrifying
and strange tales emerge of disappearing
livestock.
The
music is suitably gothic and baroque; it rocks
and has some searing passages of lead guitar but
it also has some gentle pastoral moments. Male
and female voices combine to deliver these
haunting songs. Paul is one of our most
imaginative songwriters who has never quite
received the exposure that I feel he deserves, I
for one would love to hear stuff like this
played on the radio. He remains under the radar,
his fans can’t get enough of him, which
fortunately, being quite a prolific musician,
they can satiate their needs. Fluty flutes,
misty mellotrons, lashings of electronics,
organs, guitars and clever percussion are the
order of the day, the vocals have been very well
arranged throughout and the songs have a
freshness and energy about them. The songs are
linked by Interludes with recurring themes and
melodies. ‘Moon Child’, ‘Leda & The Swan’,
‘Bewitched’, ‘In Memory Of A Time Traveller’ and
‘Madman’s Lullaby’ are current favourites.
(Andrew
Young)
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NATHAN
HALL & THE SINISTER LOCALS – GOLDEN FLEECE
(The
Hip Replacement CD
www.nathanhallandthesinisterlocals.bandcamp.com
)
A
new album by Welsh wizard Nathan Hall is always
welcome around here and his new self released
record is due out very soon. Nathan was the main
singer and songwriter in The Soft Hearted
Scientists and this is his 6th album
with his Sinister Locals.
The
opening track ‘California Time Machine’ is a
gently humorous tale of life in Laurel Canyon in
1967 from the point of view of a transported
Welshman. Arthur Lee and Jim McGuinn and David
Crosby, Jim Morrison and Peter Tork and Joni
Mitchell goes the refrain. A nice squelchy organ
spews all over it.
The following song ‘Apples On The
Motorway’, slows things down a bit before the
melodic ‘Castles In My Head’, with its flanged
guitars and acoustic strummery. Nathan plays
electric and acoustic guitars, organ, Fender
Rhodes, synths, pianos, effects, electronics,
drones, percussion and sings, the sinister local
he is joined by here once again is Michael
Bailey on Bass. Hash Pipes and flying unicorns
inform the next song ‘Sand Dune Song’, a sort of
breezy, bossa nova/mamba affair. How could you
not love a tune with the title of ‘Green Goblin
Blues’? It turns out to be a psychedelic
delight. ‘Song For Janet Margolin’, is a
whimsical, pastoral elegy.
‘House
On The Hill’, is a worrisome waltz, about
portent and escape. The title track ‘Golden
Fleece’, has a gentle curl of sitar, before a
jaunty romp about Jason and his Argonauts
appears, it’s also about playing the guitar and
being left in peace, a lovely Wurlitzer sounding
lounge organ wheezes away as it progresses. ‘I
Won’t Take You For Granted’, is a cool
instrumental, with plenty of squelching synth.
‘Go Ape’, appears to be about joyriding a Ferris
wheel in Cardiff and features a spoken word
section.
‘A
Long Time To wait’, is a song about joy
deferred, sounding like a certain Californian
surfing band with cabin fever, a gently lilting,
haiku like song. .
‘New Eyes’, parks itself firmly in fab four
territory, and dispenses some sound advice
before the excellent ‘The Jellyfish’ appears,
all Fender Rhodes, flanged guitar, bleeps and
squiggles. The album ends with ‘Fire Escape
Friends’, the longest song on the album at 4.40,
it’s ostensibly a song about blocking out the
insanity of the world. A fine way to spend an
hour, great stuff Nathan.
(Andrew
Young)
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DR
SPACE'S ALIEN PLANET
TRIP VOL 6 – SPACE WITH BASS 2
(DL/CD
from bandcamp
)
Scott
Heller aka Dr Space plays with several bands
including Oresund Space Collective, and Black
Moon Circle as well as adding guest on many
other projects. However this alias is a place
for his solo work, this time joined on bass by
William Kopecky (Kopecky, Yeti Rain) and Hasse
Horrigmoe (Tangle Edge), not on the same tracks,
the musicians creating a collection of
ambient, spacey soundscapes that twinkle and
rumble in a delightful way.
With a creeping drone and flashes of
synths, “Crying Fireflies” sets the scene
beautifully allowing the listener to drift off
into other realms, a rumbling bass ading depth
to the recording, whilst a lack of traditional
melodies and very few sequences means the music
is formless and free flowing whilst maintaining
the listeners interest due the the variety of
sounds within the track.
Bringing sequencers into play, “3rd
Ear to the 4th Dimension” has a
throbbing electronic pulse at its heart, this
pulse augmented by Bass Guitar making difficult
to distinguish the source of the low end whilst
synths creak and groan above. However it is
created the tracks moves forward with purpose
reminding me of classic seventies electronics
from the famed German scene. Following on,
“Raindrops on my Cortex” begins with an
electronic thunderstorm before morphing into an
intense cosmic train ride, just sit back in your
seat and enjoy the scenery for seven glorious
minutes, hash cookies are optional.
By now the listener should be feeling
mellow and comfortable as “Homer Sets Sail”
allows you to drift away into a sea of tranquil
electronics before the finely named “Roasted
Dust Muffin” takes you to another galaxy, an
intense and droning slice of sound giving way to
a more ambient deep space section, time to pop
out for that moon walk you've been planning to
take, although be sure to be back in the capsule
before the last, intense 90 seconds.
Finally, if you buy the download, “Cats
In The Pudding” pulses wonderfully underneath a
sweet melodic electric bass solo before turning
into a weird psychedelic trance tune complete
with bass beat and rhythmic sequences, bringing
a different texture to the album, think late
seventies Tangerine Dream meeting Eat Static,
getting you dancing back to Earth with a smile.
Interestingly the CD has two bonus
tracks, with “Bleak Future, Bright Day” spinning
you in circles before bleeping and
twinkling around your brain, whilst “Exploding
Floors to Open Doors”
is a relaxed droning piece led by some
delightful Bass work, a shimmering heat haze of
electronic bliss and a perfect way to end the CD
version.
With excellent Bass dynamics
throughout, this album sounds excellent, great
care taken with its production, meaning the
music is vibrant and seems to fill the room it
plays in, a thoroughly enjoyable journey from
start to finish.
(Simon
Lewis)
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PEIRIANT
- RIVER SONGS
(
EP from bandcamp
)
Peiriant
are an experimental duo consisting of Rose and
Dan Linn-Pearl, the music centred around the
tensions created by Electric Guitar and Violin,
the sounds of the two instruments weaving
together to create some beautiful moments a well
as harsher passages of sound.
“River Songs”, their latest work, is a
four track EP that takes the River Wye as its
inspiration with opening track “(Max) on the
Water” setting the tone with an aching violin
line and rippling guitar, the music flowing
gently on with a wistful, autumnal feel, As the
pieces continues the guitar begins to drone
underneath creating tension then releasing it
again, the music remaining fluid and full of
life for seven delightful minutes.
With harsh guitar sounds ushering it
in, “Chwyrnu” is a jolt to the senses some thing
that is soon soothed by some looped and melodic
guitar lines , the noise fading into the
background , the violin adding sweet textures to
the music, the song finding a rhythm and balance
that works beautifully before we are finally
left with the sound of silence.
With a definite nod to Minimalism,
“Dron” has a repetitive, looping violin line and
rumbling guitar at its heart over which other
sounds are improvised, the track a dense slice
of sound that has vitality and passion and a
timeless quality easy to get lost in.
To close the EP, “Hydref” sees the
return of the aching violin, a beautiful and
nostalgic tune that slows down time as the sun
sets over the river signalling the end of
something special, memories slowly fading into
the twilight. Definitely the highlight of a
great collection that will stand the test of
time.
Also available is the self-titled
album, recorded before the EP, the collection
showcasing a band finding their sound, with some
fully improvised moments such as the scritch
scratching of “Gwifren”, the spoken word of “The
Same” and several pieces where one instrument is
more prominent than the other. It is definitely
worth hearing but the EP is where Rose and Dan
perfect their sound and present it to the world.
Just for clarity I have to say that I
have known both Dan and Rose for many years and
recently had the pleasure of seeing them live,
they were excellent bringing their music to life
on stage to a small but enthusiastic audience.
In case you were wondering Peiriant is Welsh for
Machine, an interesting name as the music is
very organic in texture, at least to my ears.
(Simon
Lewis)
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MARK
LOFGREN - BLACK MOON BOOK II
(Available
via Bandcamp
)
Third
solo album from Luck Of Eden Hall bassist and a
nominal sequel to 2000’s Black
Moon Book, Lofgren moves away from the
mostly acoustic, pastoral vibes of the previous
album, adding piano and electric guitars to give
the album a more vibrant, livelier atmosphere.
The recordings don’t suffer from the typical
constraints of home studio productions, with
double-tracked vocals, synth flourishes,
overdubbed guitars, and sedate drums rounding
out Lofgren’s intimate tales of love, isolation,
and hope for a brighter future. This is not a
collection of bedsit
recordings whipped up on some computer software
and proffered on CD-Rs at the back of a club
gig. This has a real professional feel, from the
gentle, Beatlesque aura hovering about ‘Rhapsody
Confused’, to the snappy, 80’s-styled synth pop
groove of ‘We Don’t Leave The Yard’, the
happiest tale of self-isolation you’re likely to
hear during these frustrating, self-imposed
lockdown days.
Tracks like the effervescent ‘Saint
Albatross’ have a giddy arrangement like a
children’s symphony marching around a fairground
calliope (kazoos are prominent) and spring happy
thoughts of fellow pop punster Anton Barbeau to
the foreground and ‘Proceed Home’ isn’t afraid
to drop in a familiar Giorgio Moroder-styled
synth run to beckon all comers to the nearest
dance floor. ‘New Ice Age Between Us’ sidles
along a mournful piano melody and
all-too-familiar feelings of isolation in these
days of loneliness and standoffish fear of
contact: “Strangers pass, we drop our heads/New
ice age between us.” The theme continues on
‘Plastic Castles’: “Strangers pass us like
storms/and leave us standing alone.”
‘The Static Age’ brings out the
acoustic guitar (with some dreamy synth
flourishes) and a distinctly Lennonesque vocal
inflection (cf. ‘Across The Universe’) for a
minstrelsy stroll through Grantchester Meadows
on a sunny afternoon with Lofgren donning his
psychedelic Pied Piper persona to wrap up an
enthusiastic set of hopeful songs tempered with
caution. An essential addition to all Luck of
Eden Hall fans’ record collections as well as
fans of thought-provoking pop tunes with a
message that ultimately suggests “this, too,
will pass.”
(Jeff
Penczak)
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