http://www.objectifiedfilm.com/about/

I’ve highlighted this album in the past, but it’s well worth mentioning again. Still one of the best albums I’ve ever heard:

Mountains : Etching [Thrill Jockey, THRILL226LP, 2009]

Rameses III – I Could Not Love You More

http://www.marciokogan.com.br/

http://www.contemporist.com/2009/09/08/the-paraty-house-by-marcio-kogan-architects/

Robert Ryman: Used Paint

In this first book-length study of Robert Ryman, Suzanne Hudson traces the artist’s production from his first paintings in the early 1950s, many of which have never been exhibited or reproduced, to his more recent gallery shows. Ryman’s largely white-on-white paintings represent his careful working over of painting’s conventions at their most radically reduced. Through close readings of the work, Hudson casts Ryman as a painter for whom painting was conducted as a continuous personal investigation. Ryman’s method—an act of “learning by doing”—as well as his conception of painting as “used paint” set him apart from second-generation abstract expressionists, minimalists, or conceptualists.

Ryman (born in 1930) is a self-taught artist who began to paint in earnest while working as a guard at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in the 1950s. Hudson argues that Ryman’s approach to painting developed from quotidian contact with the story of modern painting as assembled by MoMA director and curator Alfred Barr and rendered widely accessible by director of the education department Victor D’Amico and colleagues. Ryman’s introduction to artistic practice within the (white) walls of MoMA, Hudson contends, was shaped by an institutional ethos of experiential learning. (Others who worked at MoMA during these years include Lucy Lippard, who married Ryman in 1961; Dan Flavin, another guard; and Sol LeWitt, a desk assistant.)

Hudson’s chapters—”Primer,” “Paint,” “Support,” “Edge,” and “Wall,” named after the most basic elements of the artist’s work—eloquently explore Ryman’s ongoing experiment in what makes a painting a painting. Ryman’s work, Hudson argues, tests the medium’s material and conceptual possibilities. It neither signals the end of painting nor guarantees its continued longevity but keeps the prospect of painting an open question, answerable only through the production of new paintings.

While we all anxiously await Wolfgang Voigt’s arrival on US soil later this month, we at CCROW Networks would like to highlight two albums which are well worth revisiting in 2009. Both are by the young Markus Guentner.

The oldest (and probably finest) of the two is “In Moll“:

The latter is “1981” (a fine year indeed):

File under: do not listen to while operating heavy machinery.

Apologies for dropping the ball big time on my best of 2008. Some say better late than never.

Looking over this list, it seems most of music I listen to these days sounds the same – sorry about that anonymous internet dude! Some say uniformity is the spice of life!

My Top Five Albums:

Stephan Matheiu – Radioland

Easily my favorite ambient album of the year. This was a difficult album to track down – well worth it given the standout packaging.

Aidan Baker & Tim Hecker – Fantasma Parastasie

Superb pairing. Fairly loud album at any volume.

Fennesz – Black Sea

A little darker, slower moving than his earlier work. Not as instantly accessible as Venice or Endless Summer. Just as strong in my opinion. Reminds me a bit of Cendre in places.

Mountains – Mountains Mountains Mountains 12″ LP

Super release, unfortunately limited to 500 copies. This is probably my favorite collection of Mountains tracks – and that saying a lot. Great sound for vinyl, as well.

Oren Ambarchi – Destinationless Desire 7″ LP

By far my favorite of the Touch 7-inch releases….Too short!

In No Particular Order:

Mark Kozelek – The Finally LP
Philip Jeck – Sand
C. Willits + R. Sakamoto – Ocean Fire
Lawrence English – Kiri No Oto
NHK – Unununium
Belong – Same Places (Slow Version) 12″ LP
Growing – Lateral
K. Holtkamp – Field Rituals
Ryoji Ikeda – Test Pattern

Most listened to, but not from 2008:

Beruit – The Flying Club Cup + Lon Gisland

I haven’t really come across anyone who doesn’t like the Flying Club Cup.

Oval – Aero Deko USA
Oval – Szenariodisk

Two classics by Oval. Still sounds super fresh.

Tim Hecker – Norberg

Seriously, this is one of the best 21-minutes ever recorded.

Finally, I greatly enjoyed revisiting:

Gas – Nah Und Fern
Pole – 1, 2, 3

From the official Thrill Jockey site:

A love of sculpting sound in front of an audience is at the heart of Mountains. The group’s third album, Choral, (their first self-titled release and second album Sewn were both on Apestaartje), is the culmination of their work to date and a balanced mix of the first two efforts. Mountains is often compared to artists such as Brian Eno and Fennesz citing their extended melodies and their unique broad guitar work. Mountains seamlessly blend pastoral electronic sounds with both field recordings and a plethora of acoustic instruments. The resulting soundscapes are broad in scope and rich in detail. The effect is incredibly sublime and hypnotic as the sounds slowly wrap themselves around each other and alter themselves in the mind of the listener. Choral is a uniquely soothing and addicting listening experience and an aural crazy quilt: warm and inviting with many details to discover and explore.

Recorded by the duo entirely in the winter and spring of 2008 at home in Brooklyn, Choral is largely live and performed in real time, with only a few overdubs to create a more “choral” effect. The opening title-track carries the weight of a full orchestra gradually drawing their bows across a field of strings. The subtle undulations produce a warm blank canvas and create an impending sense of what’s to come. As the percolating electronic melodies creep into the track, they’re soon joined by field recordings, organ, electric piano, synthesizer, accordion and then later by the gentle strum of a guitar. This densely layered and textured song contains over 30 tracks of material. On the quiet and more guitar oriented “Map Table”, the band ‘play’ ice water and books by recording the sounds of them flipping through the pages. The calming “Telescope” actually features the sound of an intense thunderstorm recorded in the desert in Arizona. Guiding us through sonic peaks and valleys, the band takes us on a journey through their realm of experimentation, occasionally crossing over into psychedelic and kosmiche (Harmonia, Cluster, Popol Vuh) territory. Choral is the sound of an adventuresome duo, who is equally invested in melody and discovery.

“Masterpiece”

Koen Holtkamp – Field Rituals [Type]:

Johann Johannsson РFordl̢ndia [4AD]:

Stephan Mathieu – Radioland [Die Schachtel]:

Aidan Baker + Tim Hecker – Fantasma Parastasie [Alien8 Recordings]: