Quite a beautiful full-length project by Oh Woe, released by HoloJamz – drifting somewhere between alternative ambient and dream pop, At the End of the Rainbow There’s a Sunset Without Regrets is a masterpiece of melancholy beyond classification. I was hooked the moment I heard a washed out Debussy floating my direction over the airwaves – lots of plunderphonic goodness drenched in a thick haze of nostalgia. Feelings of soggy summer nights, you can almost smell it the atmosphere is so potent….
Hello Music Lovers! I know it’s been a few weeks since sharing anything to this website – the world has weighed me down in all directions – but thing like this only slow us down….. A small thank you to everyone who has stuck with us, this website has been around a long time and we have no intention of going away!
Without further jibber jabber – I am enjoying some really mellow Monday tunes over here, a fresh release from Seouls CHO OYU label – a wonderful little hub for experimental ambient music. สวัสดี 𝐇𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐬 features 6 collaborative tracks created by Lua with assistance from Thai multi-instrumentalist Phayam. The project on a whole is very cozy and warm – touching flavors of hope and melancholy, giving the tracks some proper depth.
There is almost 2 sides to each track – a background is painted with lush textures and pleasing progressions – only to act as a stage for plinking and plucking piano riffs that are ultimately satisfying. Tracks like 𝙉𝙤𝙬 𝙄 𝙐𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙 opt for a more stripped-down approach that I can really appreciate – the meditative nature of 2 hands wandering on a piano combined with the overall vibe of the album leads to quite a blissful mindstate…
The album is available now via CHO OYU’s bandcamp page – do yourself a favor and pick up their discography while you’re there – for about 8 dollars you can get all 10 of their releases including this one – so if you find yourself agreeing with this vibe, go and show some support!
Fresh from the mind of the Shamane is this brand new long player that’s gonna make you thirsty for more, as you should! Cry5sal 1it3 is glimmering brilliant madness, pickled and distilled in the roasting 2020 sun – allow yourself to rest back and soak it in…
The Popular Culture Shamane, for those unfamiliar, is an abstract multimedia artist who has manifested a vibrant world around themself. Pushing artistic limits of electronic music, glitch art and even poetry – Shamane is the quintessential digital age renaissance figure. A brief cruise of the website reveals a universe of exploration, allowing the Shamane to assault each and every one of your senses.
Now that we’re caught up, back to cry5sal 1it3! This latest full-length album finds the Shamane exploring into the stratospheres of sound. Weaving together the ever-unique vocals with synthscapes that are as melodic as they are dissonant. The free-form of the compositions are satisfying and natural, with the tracks finding footing in addicting riffs, proceeding to exploit and explore the surrounding area. At 23 tracks, it’s a healthy stack and a substantial sonic journey.
There is of course an element of humor to the Shamane’s work, showing its head in silly song titles that really speak to the artists poetic nature. You don’t need to read the included 30-page rhyme book to tell, but it certainly helps with the immersion! It’s actually this emotional element to the Shamane’s work that draws me so close, there is both a humor and a sadness to be found. When listening and paying closer attention, you begin to reveal layers of nihilism and melancholy, the stressed and depressed energy of the digital age. Then, on a dime, a flourish of hope and ecstasy – perhaps a smile or a laugh, right around the corner.
Cry5tal 1it3 offers some very subtle and thoughtful pieces. Some personal highlights such as “every allegory needs a bear” and “i’ll cook an 8 course dinner for a horse” open up brilliantly after repeat listens. Headphones encouraged for this puppy. Also if you have a puppy on your lap it couldn’t hurt!
Anyway, you either get it or ya don’t, people! It’s an acquired taste but boy howdy is it delicious. I really encourage you all to cleanse the palette and dive in – give a listen, a watch, a read – however you want to consume – and perhaps the world will grab you like it did me…
Cry5tal 1it3 is available now both Digitally and on Cassette Tape via Virtual Dream Plaza
Beautiful melodic and textural ambient by Lucid Sound Driver (an incredibly appropriate moniker), presented in a variety of formats by Æscape Sounds.
Lush new age with a thick atmosphere, dense with emotion and nostalgia. My favorite type of ambient, really – the kind that can set the mood comfortably in the background, or deeply appreciated when more attention is payed. The 6 tracks, though not brief by any means, left me wanting more as the phased synthesizers guided me towards the light beyond the darkness.
The 3-part opening trilogy of tracks are quite strong – even going so far as to destroy one of my biggest bothers in music – the inclusion of police/ambulance sirens, turning it into something quite atmospherically beautiful. There’s even a Sangam feature on this record, but interestingly enough I found that to be the weakest track of the project – feeling almost uninspired and lacking the polish of the rest of the record. It’s still a good track, perhaps I got my hopes up a little too high!
I do adore the generous use of field recordings around this record – gentle breeze, dripping rain and passing vehicles. At times it can be triumphant, while taking mysterious brooding turns towards angst and grief. A story is surely being told, but you can put the pieces together yourself.
You can get the record now Digitally at name-your-own price – or if you choose to support, you can get a Cassette Tape, a CD or Vinyl (all of which are still in stock at the time of this posting) – or even get a beautiful looking poster for only a couple dollars!
Emerald is the latest full-length project from electronic producer boycalledcrow. Had this one recommended a little while back and I have been thoroughly enjoying it ever since! It’s a playfully vibrant collection of tracks that evokes lofty feelings of magic cyber fantasy – at many times I felt the world around me was transforming into a N64 platformer.
There is a big video game vibe on this one – with melodic synths ringing over the tracks like wind chimes – buzzing bass guiding us around this strange new world. Subtle energy is also a big theme, with vibes and feelings flourishing rather than being smothered by overcompensation. Percussion is often sparse and merely a suggestion – rhythms and energies being delegated across the sonic spectrum.
I adore boycalledcrows wide spectrum of sounds – with acoustic instruments mingling flawlessly with lush electronics – it’s not electroacoustic but it definitely adds some premium texture and depth when in appears! The whole thing is very mellow, with a relaxed positive aesthetic and all around ease, making it wonderful for repeat listens.
The CD edition of the album is available via Wormhole World Records
Shamane back y’all! A proclamation stated on the releases bandcamp page – ultra extra is the latest full length project from prolific techno-weirdo Pop Culture Shamane! Lush with psychedelic electronic exploration and noodling, it is easy to get lost in this project. Dense textures wash over innocent melodies, all being propelled forward by deconstructed club grooves. It’s truly a satisfying listen from start-to-finish. The album has just been released via Ingrown Records, if you download via bandcamp you will receive a 27-page booklet of shamane rhymes “i can eat my slang” which is equally as twisted-brilliant. If you aren’t familiar with the work of Shamane NOW IS THE TIME!!
popularcultureshaman.com/
Discography
Youtube
Soundcloud
Spotify
Fresh from Lillerne Tapes out of Chicago, Tint is a gorgeous ambient album by Tokyo producer Rhucle. The project is a beautiful collection of 7 relaxing tracks, all of which do a great job painting a sonic picture as blissful and relaxing as the Album Artwork.
Rhucle does a magnificent job blending sweet melodies with natural recordings. The result is meditative and relaxing. At this moment, you can still pick up the project on Cassette Tape, or download the Digital Edition via Lillerne Tapes Bandcamp.
I first heard of Tokyo’s Rhucle through 2015’s Summer Candle CS via Oxtail Recordings. The perfect mixture of natural sounds and outdoor field recordings set against quietly drifting synth melodies struck a chord immediately and I was hooked. Tint is another reflection on the power of these natural elements and recordings in relation to the emotive and soothing musical accompaniment floating nearby. These are intricate compositions made with great care and consideration—both humbling and cathartic at the same time. Edition of 50 pro-dubbed Type II/Chrome cassettes with full-color, double-sided artwork.
Here is some fresh meditative ambient from French producer Ujjaya. As with his other works, the project is drenched in spiritual vibes and mystical soundscapes. The 9 tracks serve as a window into Ujjaya’s journey, sometimes contemplative and other times simply relaxing. Also good news for producers, this one’s released under a CC license for creative use
You can download the project via Archive.org
Ujjaya is a french ethno-ambient musician with malagasy roots. His music is mainly a reflection of his yoga practice and of his travel through Asia for spiritual purposes .
Before becoming public as Ujjaya in 2011 , Hery Randraimbololona stayed in seclusion for 15 years coming out for pilgrimage and once in a year for a live radio show. The Landing Zone is a testimony of this era.
Bing Satellites has presented us with another piece of his ever evolving “Twilight Sessions” with this volume 20. 3 tracks of blissful new age chillout, with round melodic notes leading the loops through time. Name your own price for this download, or pick up a quality CD for about 10 bucks.
Almost an hour of blissful, chilled out ambient music.More details / alternative downloads:www.bingsatellites.com/releases/twilightsessionsvolume20
The twentieth volume in the ever-expanding Twilight Sessions series, available on CD and download.
Further tales from the refurbished studio.
After too many months, I rewired my studio and connected everything together, along with a few new toys. This is the first album in many months that takes advantage of the range of synths I have on offer.
The music on this album is completely improvised.
I press record and play notes into a long, slowly decaying loop and see where the music takes me.credits
released January 6, 2017All music written, performed and produced by Bing Satellites at MCos, Manchester, August 2016
Design and cover photography by Bing Satellites
Cover photograph: Sunrise over Greenland, December 2016.
Denmark Netlabel Phinery recently put out a slew of tapes simultaneously for December, and among the brilliant batch was this release “Through the Portal” by Pulse Emitter.
This meditative electronic project is satisfying and melodic. 8 tracks fronted by synth chimes and drones, accompanied by hollow percussion and pulsing bass tones. Some tracks have more traditional composition, with others venturing into much more experimental territory. All in all its a great listen from start to finish, and it probably sounds even better on Cassette!
You can purchase the Digital Album/Cassette via Phinery’s Bandcamp. Also available is a fantastic December Tape bundle, this tape plus 4 others for only $25 bucks!
There is a constant struggle between the organic and inorganic aspects of our personal nature—an effort aided by the drive to define our own physical boundaries through intangible experiences and ephemeral thoughts. But for Portland-based musician Daryl Groetsch—who records curiously reassuring and intricate synthesizer music as Pulse Emitter—this determination isn’t given credence by volume or density but by an emotional center around which everything else revolves. He peers deeply into our relationship with our environment and positions himself as a mediator of sorts between the fierce wilds of our instincts and the calming constancy of nature. He possesses a particular fascination with the hold that the environment and memory hold over people and discovers mesmerizing ways in which to link each influence to certain emotions.Scattered across the tracks of his latest release, “Through the Portal,” Groetsch maintains an intimate connection with both his audience and their perceptions of his freewheeling rhythmic insight. Over the course of eight songs, he applies his new age prudence to determine whether individuals have an innate need for natural connections, or whether we’re simply a collection of pinging neurons in the service of a dispassionate body. He surmises that there could be a case made for either reality, but he’s certainly offering us evidence to support the former supposition. Imbued with glacial synth melodies, found sound maneuverings and a mischievous sense of imagination, “Through the Portal” finds Groetsch supplanting all doubts with one of the most beautiful and electronically pastoral releases you’re likely to hear this year.
credits
released December 12, 2016Recorded July 2015 – March 2016 in Portland, Oregon
Instruments: Roland JV-2080, VirSyn Addictive, Ensoniq VFX-SD, Waldorf Blofeld, E-mu Morpheus, Yamaha PSS-560, and global acoustic instruments
Pulse Emitter is Daryl Groetsch
Art by Pia-Mélissa Laroche
piamelissalaroche.fr
piamelissalaroche@gmail.com
