Originally released back in January via Veinte 33 Records – Modern Prophecy is a 3-track ambient sound-art project from producer and sound-designer Conducive.
Continue reading “Modern Prophecy, by Conducive”Modern Prophecy, by Conducive
Author: Christopher Hoffmann Jacob
33 Year Old Graphic Designer, Blogger, Artist and Musician based in Long Beach, California! Operating the Eternity Tree blog, as well as the Webelotrax NetLabel
Fresh Batch – May-June, 2023
Hello music lovers! My oh my, has it been a while. Time passes like water under a bridge, as they say. But who are they, anyway?
Anyway! Welcome to the Fresh Batch – an exhaustive list of underground sounds from the past fort-month. There’s something for everyone in the Fresh Batch – so don’t hesitate to have a click around! We’ve tried to make discovering interesting and satisfying new music as easy as possible for you with this quick list.
visit BNDCMPR for a playlist based on these recommendations!
Infinite thanks to all of our readers and supporters – we hope you enjoy these selections.
Continue reading “Fresh Batch – May-June, 2023”
Music for Magnolia Trees, by Various Artists
Music for Magnolia Trees is a compilation of downtempo and ambient electronic music, curated and presented by TRIP FM and Triplicate Records.
This 15-track project is a pleasant journey, peppered with peaks and valleys of mood and energy. Pinging back and forth between ethereal ambience and chill-out beats, the diversity of the artists work is spread out like a fine mixed-berry jam over crispy toast.
While you could not say this is a purely ambient release, the whole track list exudes an ambiance of warmth and comfort, even when the grooves are hitting. The resulting listen is wholesome and enjoyable, whether passively as background music, or actively, perhaps as soundtrack to an afternoon bike ride.
Several of the tracks stand-out in their splendor and composition – such as ‘I’ll See You When The Rains Come‘ by Johnny Fallout, which travels between heartwarming classic ambient and late 90’s IDM sounds, making for quite the electronica odyssey. ‘Different Vibrations‘ by Cathode Ray Tube is another highlight, packed with deeply satisfying percussion delays and textural synth-work.
‘Gone Without A Trace‘ is a personal favorite, swirling together all sorts of instruments and inspirations to create a head-bopping trip-hop track that would not be out of place in a Thievery Corporation DJ set.
There’s a definite old-school electronica energy to the project, and it would likely sit well with fans of Boards of Canada, Squarepusher and Casino versus Japan.
Between the bliss and the beats – there’s a lot to enjoy in Music for Magnolia Trees. Nearly an hour of lovely electronic music, created and curated by talented folks. Hopefully you can make some time to give it a listen – which can be done via the labels Bandcamp page, or streaming on all the popular platforms.
The Spider Room, by Joseph Blane
Released on Cassette via Submarine Recordings – The Spider Room is a sprawling 2-track improvisational project by Scottish Avant-Garde musician Joseph Blane.
The story behind this project is arguably just as interesting as the sounds recorded – with both tracks being completely improvised in a cold, dark abandoned building. Armed with a guitar and a recorder, Joseph expanded on these original guitar recordings by utilizing the environment around him – taking advantage of dusty old instruments to provide intriguing overdubs of piano, violin, glockenspiel and much more to round out the improvisations.
Described by the artist as ‘free-form avant-garde noise jazz‘ – which does pretty much hit the nail on the head. The first track ‘Beneath the Dust’ boasts quite a dark mood, while the latter “Above the Dust” evokes feelings of brightness and hope, with a more prominently focused guitar and melodic riffs on the accompanying instruments.
Both parts are roughly 15 minutes in length, providing plenty of time for both the artist and the listener to dig in and immerse themselves. The result is potent and engaging, turning what could be possibly intimidating ‘free-form avant-garde noise jazz‘ into a very listenable experience.
Unfortunately it appears the Cassette edition is NEARLY sold out (at the time this article is published, there remains 1 single copy for sale!) – however the Digital edition is still available for all to enjoy. You can give it a spin via the Artists personal Bandcamp page or head over to Submarine Recordings to try your luck at scoring a physical!
Miracle Build, by waavypanda
Miracle Build is a new project of short tracks by waavypanda, released both independently and via Engram Recordings in May 2023.
The album is full of fresh and intriguing sounds arranged into unique phrases. The tracks dance delicately between blissful IDM grooves and dissonant chaos with ease. The overall vibe is reminiscent of early 2000’s braindance with plenty of percussion zipping around amidst the playful synth-work.
Though the tracks are, for the most part, quite short – waavypanda does a great job packing and stacking sounds into 2-minute vignettes. And if you just can’t get enough, I’d highly recommend pairing this one with waavypanda’s other recent album ‘angelmech tears‘, as it carries a very similar style heavily informed by ambient and acid sounds.
You can Download and Stream the album now via Engram Recordings bandcamp, or the artists personal bandcamp page!
The World Company I, by The World Company
Toronto based label Adhesive Sounds presents a 6-track vaporfunk tape from The World Company.
Lovely classic-computer sounds on this one. While certainly not classic vaporwave in the traditional sense, the project utilizes sampling tropes and general tone while expanding into funk and midiwave. The tracks evoke timeless midi tunes like Canyon.mid, embracing classic tones commonly utilized in late 90’s computer music.
What elevates this tape above other vaporfunk projects is its restraint, being mixed and structured very modestly, along with a very deep rhythmic understanding and satisfying percussive ideas packed into the vapor-haze.
You can download/stream the project now from Adhesive Sounds Bandcamp, along with a limited run (30 copies) of cassette tapes as well.
Colorless Blood, by Lost Phosphor
Colorless Blood is an abstract and contemplative experimental electronic album from Ukrainian producer Lost Phosphor, self released on May 17th 2023.
The 7 track project has a unique tone to it – unbridled creativity nested in avant-garde structure with a healthy sprinkle of dissonance.
Much of the project feels refreshingly free-form, with a distinct absence of grooves in favor of surprisingly pleasant rigidity. Percussion, strings and pianos plink and plonk steadily along the timeline, evoking luminescent patches of wilderness and soggy villages in the dead of night.
Though mostly instrumental, the final track Resurrection takes the steam built up from the previous tracks and channels it into a dubby-techno jam complete with vocals and hard hitting drums.
You can Download/Stream the album via Bandcamp now! Downloads are available at name-your-own-price which is awfully generous – go show some support!
Cradle, by Solarein
Cradle is a 2-track ambient/downtempo EP from San Francisco’s Solarein, self-released on May 13th, 2023.
The project is tight and lush, with atmospherics and textures taking center stage, surrounded by chilled beats and slowly-evolving synths. Speaking of textures, the sonic feeling of this record is pretty phenomenal, with lots of room in the mix for clicks and pops to fly around in between the more melodic and utilitarian sounds.
Both tracks borrow themes from one-another, from the progression to the vibe, like two sides of the same coin. Heavy yet hopeful. The songs return to motifs seamlessly, looping back around on themselves and their melodies. Some of my favorite moments were when guitar blissfully swept its way into the mix, soaring above the established structure and injecting heavy emotional energy with its distorted riffs.
For fans of downtempo electronics like Boards of Canada, Casino Vs Japan and Kiln – Cradle is likely to put a smile on the listeners face, if only for 15 minutes.
Veiled Witch Dies In Illusion, by Backwire
Chilled and soothing sound experiments from British Colombian producer Backwire.
Coined as “A collection of BACKWIRE material recorded from 2019-2022 using various guitars, pedals, 4 tracks, synthesizers” – Veiled Witch Dies In Illusion is a 6-track project of minimalist tunes that dance between psychedelic soundscapes and percussive ambience with emotional grace.
The short tracks carry a heavy weight – Strident Realm in particular exudes a melancholy mood, allowing the listener to settle in and pontificate as the progression loops for a few meditative minutes.
It’s raw and emotional for sure, and a solid listen for fans of this type of ambient. You can stream/download the digital version of the album now via bandcamp – with a mention of physical editions sometime in the future. Lets hope that means cassettes, I feel like this project would sound great on tape!
Twenty Twenty, by Congregation of Drones
Beautiful off-kilter modern classical from the duo of violinist Pauline Kim Harris and experimental producer Jesse Stiles together as Congregation of Drones.
This 4 track epic is packed with electroacoustic wandering, sonic exploration and drone studies. The densely populated songs take their time making their presence known and settling in, like a friendly poltergeist.
Anyone who reads EternityTree knows that I am a sucker for electro-acoustics – when producers fuse together the ethereal world of ambience with the very tangible and visceral acoustic realm. Bitcrushed pads encircle the listener while scraping and plucking strings push the sonic movement ahead.
Jesse leaves plenty of room for his counterpart to breath and explore the possibilities of a violin – often eschewing traditional viewpoints for more skewed and experimental phrases. Crisp and sharp at times, soft and wholesome at others, perfectly balancing presence between melody and rhythm.
Twenty Twenty is named after the year it was recorded, releasing 2 years later. With a digital edition dropped along side a sleek double-LP, this one deserves a place in your collection.
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