Categories
Avant Garde Electro-Acoustic Minimal Review

SEBASTIAN MULLAERT & HENRIK FRENDIN – HIND

Magical plucked, bowed, and granulated strings weave their way across compressed and weighty beats, in this gorgeous collaboration between Swedish Grammy-nominated musicians Sebastian Mullaert (of Minilogue fame) and Henrik Frendin (one of Scandinavia´s leading violists).

releases May 24, 2024

pre-orders at bandcamp now

Categories
Review Software

The Crow Hill Company – String Murmurations

The Crow Hill Company is a new audio instrument company led by Christian Henson, formerly of Spitfire Audio and an established filem music producer/sound designer in his own right. I’ve been following Spitfire Audio since their inception and own many of their instruments, the ones I still tend to gravitate toward are the more off-piste offerings, such as their amazing Dust Bundle plugins (the v1, not v2 which sucked in comparison), not to mention their free offerings.
So it was amazing to see The Crow Hill Company following this tangent in earnest, already putting out some VERY interesting and unique paid and free instruments.


String Murmurations caught my ear as I’d stumbled across a little demo of it on their youtube channel and it instantly sounded different to the ‘usual’ orchestral plugins (which obviously have their place, but how many 50+ gig orchestral libraries does one need?).

On installing, the first thing that jumped out was the interface – very clean, fun and inviting-looking parameters and a huge one for me: not hindered by “that” ubiquitous and frankly tired Kontakt wrapper! (I still loath automating params on Kontakt)

Secondly, running multiple voices on this only hits around 9% on my i9 MacBook pro, which seems insanely efficient, considering the sound quality and sample lengths here are both high! Whether this is a result of not using Kontakt and their own backend optimisations, I have no idea, but hats off to them for this, as not everyone has the latest and greatest machines.

With a focus on capturing the subtleties of human performance, SMALL STRING GESTURES really invites you to create music that resonates with your own unique voice, without imposing it’s own signature too strongly.

There’s a real warmth and character of live performance that comes across in these samples, lots of expression and gesture! Which I’m really looking forward to using in my own compositions.

Categories
Ambient Review

Maps and Diagrams – if all will be lost

In this new offering from the ever-consistent Quiet Details – Maps and Diagrams, the alias of the esteemed electronic music veteran Tim Martin, presents a mesmerizing journey through meticulously crafted soundscapes.
Martin’s diverse palette of elements, from metallic tones to ethereal synths and organic field recordings, converges seamlessly, creating an immersive sonic tapestry.
Each track unfolds like a carefully orchestrated symphony, oscillating between psychedelic reveries and serene contemplation.

Categories
Avant Garde Drone Experimental Minimal Review

MINING – Chimet

Crafted from weather data collected during a storm sequence off the south coast of the UK in October 2017, the album is a mesmerizing 74-minute journey through the elemental forces of nature. Craig Kirkpatrick-Whitby and PJ Davy’s sonification of the data, combined with Matthew Bourne’s intuitive piano and cello improvisations, results in a powerful, meditative, and immersive sonic experience. With each note, ‘Chimet’ encapsulates the ebb and flow of the storm, offering a captivating blend of tension and serenity that resonates on a primal level.

Released 8th March via Leaf Label

Categories
Ambient Drone Review

awakened souls – if you feel lost

Surprise package from James and Cynthia aka ‘awakened souls’.
5 tracks of carefully considered drones, created on 6 string bass, synth, guitar, vocals and synth.
Out now via bandcamp

Categories
Ambient Review Synth

Loula Yorke – Volta

Refining her setup and sound, Lou has been beavering away over the border in Suffolk on a more minimalist approach to her compositional process. Channeling early Kosmiche sensibilities, with a modern twist, Yorke conjures mesmerizing, arpeggio-driven realms that beckon listeners into the cyclical embrace of time itself.

Categories
Ambient Electro-Acoustic Review

Sedibus – SETI

Navigating the cosmic expanse, this ethereal odyssey unfolds within the embrace of Orb OG’s Alex Paterson and Andy Falconer. ‘SETI’ emanates both cold darkness and radiance, as if aboard a candlelit spacecraft meandering through the infinite cosmos, where the duo, in communion with acoustic instruments and nostalgic samples, transcend the boundaries between the familiar and uncharted realms.

The journey unfolds as a rootsy, folky, electronic, processed, minimalist, and composerly voyage, defying earthly categorizations. Dr. Paterson, reflecting on the album’s genesis, reveals the organic synergy with Falconer, describing their collaboration as an easy and intuitive exploration of musical ambiance.

Released: 23rd February 2024

Ltd edition blue LP / Ltd edition orange LP / CD / download / stream via Orbscure Recordings

Categories
Documentary Minimal

Tones Drones and Arpeggios – The Magic of Minimalism

Categories
Ambient Beats Documentary Dub Electro Synth

Modulations: Cinema For The Ear (1998)

Modulations is a feature-length documentary that captures a moment in history where humans and machines are fusing to create today’s most exciting sounds.

It traces the evolution of electronic music as one of the most profound artistic developments of the twentieth century. By cutting back and forth between avant-garde composers, Kraftwerk’s innovative synthesizer drones, Giorgio Moroder’s glacial Euro-disco, Afrika Bambaataa’s electro-funk, and Prodigy’s current worldwide superstarstardom, Modulations celebrates, replicates, and illuminates the nomadic drift of the post-human techno sound.

The film examines the kids who have turned the turntable into a musical instrument, disillusioned disco lovers who created acid house out of primitive synthesizers, Motor City mavericks who saw the drum machine as their escape route out of urban neglect, and a generation of British youth who transformed these blips and bleeps into dance floor anthems of their own alienation.

Modulations provides a sense of history and context in which today’s electronic music can be understood. It entertains the converted and remixes the mindset of electronica’s nay-sayers.

Categories
Minimal Review Synth

Egil Kalman – Forest of Tines (Egil Kalman plays the Buchla 200)

Behold the enchanting Buchla symphonies, woven by the mystical hands of Egil Kalman, a maestro of otherworldly melodies. In this magical opus, Kalman guides us through realms where traditional harmonies intertwine with the ethereal. The mystical additive wave folding timbres, originating from the enchanting ELECTRIC MUSIC BOX, Series 200, resonate throughout the very fabric of these compositions.

Bandcamp for the vinyl (only a handful left!) and digital.