Flatland Frequencies
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
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
Another fine year for music here in the flatlands.
Here are our ten most frequented frequencies of the past 12 months. Go check them out and support the artists!
1. Tape Loop Orchestra – Onde Sinusoïdale Et Bande Magnétique
2. S. Costa – The Radiant Point
3. Cate Brooks – Easel Studies
4. T.Jervell & ChromaDots – Faksfjord / Fragsfjord
5. Field Lines Cartographer – Tone Maps
6. Elia Piana – Sotto l’Albero Tutto Si Copre
7. Anagrams – Blue Voices
8. Night Gestalt – The Staring Night
9. VirusMoto – ◯
10. Sundheim – Glades of Flowering Stone
Nehalennia documents the second meeting of the The Cley Project. We were able to meet and play again in the inspiring surrounds of the same artist’s house we used last year in Cley.
These tracks are a development of the music we made last year and utilise more prepared musical elements in the improvisations. More time has also been spent on producing and mixing the tracks.
Joseph Myoushin Sanger – Shakuhachi
Dave Pullin – Bass
Harralulu – Electronics
Recorded & mixed by Cley Project
Available now at Bandcamp
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.
I recently stayed in a caravan on the rugged Norfolk coast and the promo of this album accompanied my trip. I ended up listening to it multiple times (on headphones) and was totally drawn into the prepared pianos and those crystal flurries that pierce through. Lovely stuff, an amazing mix + master.
Here is the blurb:
Night Gestalt wants to create simple, transparent music. Music that is as straightforward to experience as light. And as beautiful.
With his new album Staring Light he takes the idea even further. The music was recorded during the spring of 2022 with the aim to follow the light as the days in Sweden became longer and longer – investigating the different shades and gradients of the coming spring – and in the music. Now the ritual will be completed with the release of the music exactly one year later – mirroring the recording of the songs, and once again following the light.
The first single – False Azure – is released on the spring equinox (March 20) – and the album on the summer solstice (June 21) – those magical 24 hours consisting of one endless bright summer night.
The album is spacious and quiet, using a few selected synthesizers and a small piano.
“I sort of promised myself to never record an album with a piano again. But then I was intrigued to see how much I could change the process and still end up with the sound of a piano. And it was a lot! The piano is prepared with tape and small parts – think John Cage or Aphex Twin. And played with thumbs and fingers as much as with the keys. On top of that, it’s heavily processed with effects”, says Night Gestalt.
Night Gestalt started as a love affair for arpeggios, and Staring Light is staying true to the idea. Apart from one song, there is only one note at a time throughout the whole record.
“I love how arpeggios are so simple and yet consist of everything needed to make interesting music: rhythm, melody, harmony, and sound. And I love how you can hear every note. Nothing is hidden. The music is not trying to be anything it’s not, or trying to show off. It just exists, just like light.”
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.
Release Date: 06/10/2023
Via: Woodford Halse
More Ciat-Lonbarde based experiments that we’ve come to know and love, from the Maestro, Trond Jervell. VERY Limited cassettes up now on Moonside Tapes bandcamp
First published in 1617, Atalanta Fugiens is a collection of 50 alchemical discourses, each with its own illustration, verse, and musical composition. This release is a realisation of the first 10 of these Fugues, performed using circuit-bent Yamaha home keyboards and a variety of acoustic instruments.
| Name | Artist | Album | Year |
| Coded Music Apparatus: Patterns On The Pitch Graph | Hugh Le Caine | Compositions Demonstrations 1946-1974 | 1955 |
| like lightning | Adam Bosarge | Structures Without Rooms | 2023 |
| Interview 1963 (WRVR, Riverside Radio, NYC) | Tod Dockstader | Interview 1963 (WRVR, Riverside Radio, NYC) | 1963 |
| Sunrise Of The Planetary Dream Collector | Terry Riley & Don Cherry | Live Köln 1975 | 1975 |
| A Room of One’s Own | Ed Herbers | Coming of Age | 2023 |
| Windy broad (Field Recording) | Luke Sanger | Field Recordings SD702T | 2014 |
| polymer | arovane | polymer | 2023 |
| The Oak Of The Golden Dreams | Richard Maxfield / Harold Budd | The Oak Of The Golden Dreams | 1970 |
| Mouth Cavity Oscillator With MKI Touch Sensitive Organ | Hugh Le Caine | Compositions Demonstrations 1946-1974 | 1955 |
| bend toward the light. | Adam Bosarge | Structures Without Rooms | 2023 |
| ajatik | arovane | polymer | 2023 |
| Angel Fix | Pauline Oliveros | Reverberations: Tape & Electronic Music 1961-1970 | 2012 |
| Perseids | S. Costa | The Radiant Point | 2023 |
| Pipes | Tod Dockstader | Aerial #2 | 2005 |
| The Radiant Point | S. Costa | The Radiant Point | 2023 |
| Music For Expo | Hugh Le Caine | Compositions Demonstrations 1946-1974 | 1967 |
| Sitting in the dunes (Field Recording) | Luke Sanger | Field Recordings SD702T | 2014 |
| Fantasy In Space | Luening | Tape Recorder Music | 1955 |
| 물먹는하마 | Yetsuby | Water Flash EP | 2023 |
| Field Recording | Luke Sanger | Field Recordings SD702T | 2014 |