Always an exciting day when a Frequency Domain new release email lands. With its stripped-down beats and precise, calculated bleeps, ‘◯’, masterfully embraces minimalism, creating an immersive sonic landscape that feels both futuristic and meditative. The deliberate restraint in its use of elements allowed each bleep and beat to resonate with significance, highlighting the beauty found in the spaces between the sounds. Something that rewards as a listening experience, but could also work in a minimal techno DJ set.
In his latest release under the moniker Tape Loop Orchestra (TLO), Andrew, a versatile musician with a rich history in various genres, showcases his mastery of minimalism and entrancing sonic landscapes. Using a simple setup of a test tone generator, tape machines, and effects, Andrew crafts a mesmerizing experience. The album, titled “Onde Sinusoïdale Et Bande Magnétique,” explores sustained oscillations, layered with carefully chosen tunings of sine drones that organically evolve, creating new rhythms and harmonic structures.
The musical journey of Anagrams, a collaboration between Shy Layers’ JD Walsh and Atlanta multi-instrumentalist Jeff Crompton, unfolds in their debut album, “Blue Voices.” Co-founded by Philip Sherburne and Albert Salinas of Balmat, Anagrams emerged from a shared appreciation for Shy Layers’ distinctive Balearic pop, leading to the creation of an album that defies easy categorization.
“Blue Voices” may initially appear to be a departure from the electronic landscape associated with Balmat, but it’s a sonic exploration that beckons listeners into a realm that hovers between ambient and non-ambient, depending on the listener’s frame of mind. Walsh and Crompton, brought together in 2016 when Walsh relocated to Atlanta, approach their collaborative music with a shared appreciation for ambiguity. Crompton, a seasoned jazz player, humorously remarks, “I like it because it’s not jazz,” while Walsh appreciates it precisely for its jazz-like qualities.
Crompton, deeply rooted in Georgia’s improvised and experimental music scenes, contributes his skills on alto and tenor saxophone, clarinet, electric piano, and organ. On the other hand, Walsh, known for his work as Shy Layers, embraces his experimental side, wielding acoustic and electric guitars, electric lap steel, bass, Moog Matriarch, modular synth, and programmed drums. Together, they weave a tapestry of richly textured layers and abstract tonal assemblages.
Throughout the 11 tracks of “Blue Voices,” subtle echoes of diverse influences emerge: the atmospheric twang reminiscent of Daniel Lanois’ pedal steel, the mercurial modal runs characteristic of Ethio-jazz, the late-summer calm reminiscent of Fuubutsushi, and the versatility akin to the explorations of musicians like Patrick Shiroishi and Sam Gendel. However, what truly defines “Blue Voices” is the adventurous spirit of two musical minds finding a common language in an uncharted shade of blue.
The album captures the essence of a collaborative journey, as Walsh and Crompton allow their restless musical imaginations to shape the sound spontaneously. “Blue Voices” becomes a testament to the beauty found in the process of creation, where two voices meld into an exploration of an unexplored musical territory, resulting in an album that is as enigmatic as it is compelling.
Sea of Suns EP is reminiscent of Boards of Canada’s distinctive style, effortlessly transporting listeners to a dreamlike realm where nostalgia and futurism coalesce. The artist (of the same name) weaves together intricate electronic textures, ethereal melodies, and sampled drum loops, creating a sonic landscape that feels simultaneously familiar and otherworldly.
Our favourites being the second half of the EP, where the sample loops give way to bring focus on the melodic elements.
This new release from the consistent Dutch drone connoisseurs Winter Light, brings a long player of dark sonic landscapes which envelopes the listener in a haunting and immersive sonic experience. Eerie, ambient tones create a sense of foreboding and mystery, as if navigating through the shadows of an unknown realm.
This December 1st, the official soundtrack for the post-apocalyptic short film “One Day Soon” by Elias Jönsson (aka Take Me There) will be released via Bandcamp. The delicate interplay of soothing melodies and gentle pulses transports to a serene realm, evoking a sense of calm and introspection.
Alongside the release of qd09 observatories (Ian Hawgood and Craig Tattersall), today we have the second run of CDs and cassettes of one of our most-loved quiet details albums, Salt Water Motifs by the wonderful Luke Sanger.
Stalwart of the UK music scene and beyond, Luke has been making music and performing under a number of aliases for years – from deep synthesised psychedelia to jacking techno to the most spaced-out dub-influenced electronica – he’s covered a lot of ground and each time showed his originality and unsurpassed understanding of electronic music.
Here, with Salt Water Motifs, we find we him creating an otherworldly journey with off-kilter fuzzy melodics and morphing auditory illusions – this is heady and beautiful music, taking the quiet details idea and making something truly unique.
Colourful synths, some upfront and others miles away in the ether, mix with highly processed field recordings and other gorgeous sound design, making the most of every space in this nuanced trip through time and space.
Each track is full of elements with their own quirky character and personality, there’s a huge sense of depth in this album and it flows beautifully along with each listen.
Listening parties weren’t a thing when this was released so Luke and I would love to get together with you all, whether you’ve heard it or not, to listen and chat about the album and beyond :)x
Interesting, washed-out radio fuzz trades places with intermittent synth, chimes and drum loops, giving a distinctly haunted vibe. Sometimes nudging towards BoC’s bleaker moments (ala Tommorow’s Harvest), The Xenakis Station keeps things tense, without going full darkside. Not sure if there is any reference to composer Iannis Xenakis here, as the music is certainly not similar, other than in name.. Curious!
Either way, here is the accompanying release blurb:
The Xenakis Station. A long abandoned research station. A place always officially denied. The place now a fiction where shards of disputed truth remain.
The location, still not declassified. Remnants destroyed.
Last winter we got a phone call to say graffiti on an abandoned building on Redpoint Sound states” ‘Xenakis broadcasts were made here’ but official enquiries are still met with silence.
After a couple of years intensely researching, saving (and selling), in 2015 I finally ordered this instrument. The excitement was real and I was totally ready for a complete paradigm shift in making and performing music and the Shared System filled that role, inspiring many records in the process. However in that time, I haven’t made a full release completely focused on it.
All the tracks on this album were recorded in single takes using the Make Noise Shared System and an external spring reverb. Composed in June – August 2023, the motive for recording this album was to focus and build on ideas that would only briefly surface during fleeting moments in a live performance or undocumented jam, giving priority and space to develop those themes. Anyway, hopefully the music will tell it’s own story, but the gear and background info is there for anyone interested!
