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
World Carousel by Orvang Halmer is a collection of lovely and playful psychedelic noise tracks.
I found myself drifting deeply into a new world while listening to this one. I felt like perhaps I had become an NPC in some abandoned massively multiplayer realm, left to my own devices long after the player had wandered off. Tones, riffs, moods, energies and flavors all drift in and out of view as I stand firmly in my designated spot.
The sounds themselves are a healthy balance of humble nostalgia and brave experimentation. Synthesized melodies bend and warp around each other, briskly dissolving into the hazy atmosphere.
Lucky for us, the album is available on tape from the family at Ingrown Records! Order yourself a copy or stream the digital version now via Bandcamp.
Luscious lo-fi drones from Cyparissus – blood year is a 4 track album with a heavy, brooding atmosphere.
The style is hazy and rustic – dusty and crusty textures layered atop waves of melancholy synth pads. The melodies and progressions take a backseat to quite prominent “field recordings” and other textural oddities. From dribbling rain and distant rolling thunder to crunchy and compressed tape sounds, Cyparissus utilizes a vast array of audio cues to evoke some potent emotions.
When the calm pads do overtake the noisy drones, they are quite placid and comforting! This provides a beautiful base for the rest of the textural sounds to stretch their legs.
If you’re a fan of slightly-dark ambient, or you’d like some noisy drone music that isn’t too harsh, I highly recommend checking out both blood year and the rest of Cyparissus’ discography, which is available on Bandcamp.
This month we find ourselves unintentionally focused on the more experimental side of things.
When it comes to music, experimenting can take many forms. It becomes a very broad umbrella terms for sounds that are created with “less-than-commercial” intentions.
Experimental does not necessarily mean complex. Nor does it mean the sounds need to push the boundaries of creation. While these things commonly happen simply given the nature of experimenting, they are not necessary conclusions.
To experiment with music means to create without boundaries or limits. To create with self-satisfaction as the only goal in mind. Creating and manifesting sounds that provide pure pleasure to the creator, and sometimes the listener as well…
At least that’s the definition we follow here!
How do you feel about the experimental process in music and art? Do you find it makes the underground landscape less accessible, or perhaps more interesting? Let us know in the comments, we would love to hear from you…
Sometimes, you just want to kick back and listen to some musicians jam.
One night I found myself in this mood, and discovered The Space Boat House Band. They were a Jazz-Fusion outfit from Minneapolis, Minnesota with a gift for modest experimentation and chill jam sessions.
Of all these sessions, projects and sonic-doodles, I landed knee-deep in Waste – a 5 track project from the group, resulting in a meandering and satisfying experience.
I felt as if I was sitting in a basement with old friends as they plucked, pounded and noodled away on a collection of instruments, floating along wherever the energy of the atmosphere took them…
The group do a nice job of grafting together sloppy jazz improvisations with borderline industrial sound experiments.
Tracks like Landfill serve to be almost entirely atmospheric – with an emphasis on deconstruction and sparse use of found sounds. By contrast, the two FNW tracks are considerably more tight and focused. Waste I perfectly balances the two sides of the coin – with sounds evolving across an impressive diversity of musical ideas and formidable guitar effects.
Waste is a lovely little listening experience that will likely put a smile on your face. I know personally it conjured up some nostalgic feelings for me – a sound soaked in both innocence and purpose….
Unfortunately, between the time I discovered Waste and the writing of this article, The Space Boat House Band are broken up. I look forward to hearing what the members will do moving forward, and wish them all the best!
We are incredibly excited to present you a brand-new single Dunk by Pittsburgh’s Sleep Movies (Skyler Brimmeier) off his upcoming album Melt Transmission, coming July 2nd on Crafted Sounds records!
Dunk is a beautifully spacious and psychedelic track that soars to magnificent heights within its 3 minutes of playtime.
Lo-fi bass thumps and slides around, syncing perfectly with the downtempo drums propelling the journey forward, all build upon the foundation of some slightly gritty guitar riffs.
The vocals are absolutely slathered in buttery reverb and echos, adding layers to the already hazy dense atmosphere. It’s a delicious balance between head-bopping downtempo jam and utterly ethereal psychedelic wandering.
You can stream Dunk NOW as well as 2 other advanced singles, 5G DAYDREAM and Darkness (feat. Lys Scott) which both sound pretty fantastic.
The project drops July 2nd and Crafted Sounds has some beautiful Tapes and CD’s in store for us, you can catch a preview on the pre-order page or their website!
Crafted Sounds were also kind enough to give our listeners some download codes ~ so redeem yours now to get your pre-order locked in.
Wholesome and lush ambience is absolutely overflowing from this new release by 夢范例 (Dream Paradigm)
夢迴想 (Dream Recollection) is a 4 track longform ambient project presented by DreamSphere net label.
The album itself is very soft and expansive, like a fuzzy weighted blanket. Foamy synthesizers, churning back and forth between swells of hope and receding melancholy, droning tones inducing a trance-like state…
Despite being only 4 tracks, the projects playtime is longer than most full-length records, sitting at 60 minutes flat. This hearty runtime paired with the incredibly relaxed nature of the sounds makes it a perfect companion for morning coffee or a yoga session.
The style of ambience is truly quite pure – as the label describes, Dreamtone – which is perhaps a new genre, or a self-assigned tag. Whatever the source, it’s a fitting name to bestow such sounds – with a focus on the beauty and the emotional possibilities of subtlety.
Hyperdrive is a new full-length record from Los Angeles Singer/Songwriter Spooky Tavi, brought to us by Doom TripRecords!
It’s a fun and humble psychedelic trip spanning 10 magnificent tracks. Built on a foundation of pure bedroom pop – Spooky Tavi then takes the structures and concepts to swirl them around in a hazy magical storm.
Hyperdrive itself is a microcosm of a massive journey – akin to taking a long spiritual road trip in the comfort of your bedroom. Melodies and progressions are swollen with blurry nostalgia. Guitars twang and drums pitter-patter from the corner of the room. Vocals float in amplified by a rotating, unknown presence.
The energy within the tracks ebbs and flows. Even on songs with slightly more urgency and up-ticked tempo, the project maintains it’s ethereal sense of wonder. Atmospherics work together with rhythms, lending an almost *psychedelic jam band* quality to some of the instrumentals.
Personal highlights include Smi²le – an energetic and funky track with a tasty disco beat, along with Behind The Waterfall – a New Age Folk track with a mystical healing energy and beautiful basslines.
On a whole, Hyperdrive sounds like a dream collaboration between a slightly LSD-influenced Bibio gets in the studio with Children of Alice and Brian Eno. I challenge you to listen to this one and not get at least ONE song stuck in your head – the earworms on this record are no joke…
If you were looking for your 2021 summer soundtrack, look no further. Hyperdrive is a fantastic record with big replay-ability. You can pick the album up digitally or on delicious yellow cassette tapes via Bandcamp!
Brought to us by Submarine Broadcasting Company – Clear Muted Sine Recovery is quite an interesting project, and a fun listen!
Following the mission statement of “the intention of being played quietly“, the sounds have a unique wholesomeness to them. Almost how music created for old video games can instill a sense of claustrophobia – the mix focusing on cramming sounds densely onto a tiny cartridge, only to be looped as background music to a greater adventure.
Within the soft tones and wandering song structure lies some brilliant lo-fi psychedelic sounds. Simply put, it’s non-jazz noodling in the best possible way.
I adore electronic music when it sheds all semblance of structure – shifting the spotlight onto other aspects of the sound. This album accomplishes this and THEN SOME. I found myself doing the opposite of the suggestion advice of listening quietly, instead opting to crank up the sounds in my nicest pair of headphones – soaking in each individual tone and synth patch.
Clear Muted Sine Recovery is an excellent exploration in outsider ambient and experimental electronics – focusing on a soft yet unique palette of sounds. The resulting listening experience is quite thoughtful and sometimes meditative. Dark enough to encourage wandering thoughts, but not enough to feel brooding or manic.
Last month had some seriously wonderful drops, and the beat goes on!
The amount of music that is created, released and distributed nowadays can be as breathtaking as it is overwhelming. It’s a constant challenge to keep an open eye, ear and heart for new voices in sound.
Whenever I get overwhelmed, I always remind myself of the days when I was younger and it was much more difficult to discover new music. Scraping the various tags and underbellies of websites like myspace and purevolume – to find people pursuing their creative goals with a DIY spirit…
Fast forward! We really are in an amazing era with incredible tools to create, curate and share to a massive audience, which is inspiring in itself! It’s casual thoughts like this that propel me forward.
Anyway, I have rambled enough! Without further delay, enjoy this months FRESH BATCH!
Eternity Tree 