03.02.13 - Recommended Albums
Below is an aggregation of recommended albums (some new, some not) that I’ve listened to often these last few months.
Stephan Mathieu + David Sylvian : Wandermüde
From Boomkat:
A decade since the original was conceived, Stephen Mathieu renders instrumental source material from David Sylvian’s seminal ‘Blemish’ LP into the free-floating, trans-dimensional spaces of ‘Wandermüde’. Intended as an ambient score to a display of Sylvian’s photography, Mathieu’s diffuses the drones and guitar parts of ‘Blemish’ into gaseous harmonics and sensurreal spatial simulations, removing those stark, nerve-ringing vocals but somehow leaving vapourous traces of Sylvian’s melancholic personality within the room(s), as he explains: “my work with computers is always live… i’m feeding selected material into a software process and record the output, which I either take as is, or discard completely. I don’t multitrack, edit or re-arrange, i’m interested in self-evolving sound with all its rough and sometimes fault qualities. I never use effects like artificial reverb in my music, so what you hear is rather a piling up of spaces that surround the individual inputs used for me processes.” Dispersed into the digital ether, the material on ‘Wandermüde’ takes form as an infinitely miasmic and terrifically beautiful soundworld, a reflective hall of mirrors where everything is heard glinting a millions times in a constellation of itself, an enveloping bed of starry light and black holes culminating with the cameo appearance of Christian Fennesz in the exquisite, chimeric ambient pop of ‘Deceleration’.
Food (Thomas Strønen + Iain Ballamy + Nils Petter Molvær + Christian Fennesz) : Quiet Inlet
Mountains : Centralia LP + Live at Bottletree CD
From Boomkat:
Brendon Anderegg and Koen Holtkamp trace tranquil kosmische vectors on their seventh full length album as Mountains. Much like Emeralds’ lofty stargazers, Mountains’ is a wide open sound connecting with post-rock, countryfied folk and ambient traditions, pairing towering analogue modular synth shapes and tones with hypnotic acoustic refrains and the lushest intentions to melancholy, wistful effect. Make no mistake; ‘Centralia’ is a sumptuous, complex piece of work, richly melodic and super spacious, not afraid to get lost in noisier cosmic quadrants but always guided to safety by an underlying positive force over seven varied parts taking in the sort of pastoral loveliness heard on Bruce Langhorn’s ‘The Hired Hand OST’ alongside purer modular synth and guitar compositions harking back to classic Ash Ra Tempel or Franco Falsini.
Grouper : The Man Who Died in His Boat
Pantha Du Prince And The Bell Laboratory : Elements Of Light
From Boomkat:
Bell-fancier Hendrik Weber marks up his most ambitious project, marrying campanology and feathered techno on ‘Elements Of Light’ for Rough Trade. Collaborating with Norwegian musicians The Bell Laboratory, he created this symphony for electronics, percussion, and bell carillon – a three-tonne instrument comprising 50 bronze bells. There’s an obvious resonance with the work of Steve Reich, also chiming with Moondog’s rhythmic minimalism and the works of LaMonte Young, taking inspiration as they did from jazz, new music, gamelan and western sacred music. It’s a sophisticated step forward from PDP’s acclaimed ‘Black Noise’ LP, refining and tempering its richly rhythmelodic structures to create gossamer fine microtones and that sing over velvet cushioned and pendulous bass patterns fit for adventurous clubs and solitary listening experience, really coming into its own on the rippling trance ascendance of ‘Spectral Split’ and the succinctly arranged ‘Photon’.
