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
Avant Garde Experimental Minimal Synth

Benge – Forms 16

This is an album exploring the interplay between random events and deliberate human intervention, something which, in the electronic music field, I call cybersynthesis. I saw it’s creation as being analogous to creating pictures using the medium of Watercolour, whereby the various pigments are allowed to flow randomly in water with the hand of the painter guiding the proceedings with an eye on satisfying various criteria. These criteria define the artist’s intention. The work is the result

The music was made on the Serge Modular Paperface system, with most of the modules being made in the early-to-mid 1970s. However, one panel of the nine used is a modern unit formatted to the Serge standard, made by the British synthesiser manufacturer Loudest Warning. This panel was assembled on my instruction, a service happily provided by the manufacturer, and contains cybernetic functions that I felt were lacking in the other modules in my system, but which fit in with the spirit of the Serge. They were designed to aid in the composition of self-generating melodic and rhythmic patterns

These functions are as follows:

Two Gated Comparators, each one slightly different from the other. These modules take in pitch data, and hold it in memory to be passed out at a sequentially gated step, with up to 8 steps. They create a semi-random series of notes and gates and can be used in conjunction with other modules such as the Quantizer

Window Comparator: This takes a clock input and puts out up to 8 new gates based upon a range set by external CV. It can be used to create complex rhythmic patterns which again are semi-random in nature

And-Comparator. This takes multiple gate events and outputs a new gate only if all inputs fire together. It is useful for selectively thinning out complex events into simpler rhythmic events, also known as rhythmic quantizing

The Slope Detector takes any variable CV and generates various gates depending on the rise and fall time of the input

73 EG. A complex envelope generator based on the original Serge design from 1973. It allows voltage control over most parameters and also generates extra gate outputs under voltage control. In cycle mode it can be used as a complex VC-LFO

Having this extra panel added to my system has opened up the compositional potential of the instrument to a very large extent. All of the melodic elements you hear on this album were generated using what I call ‘cybersynthesis’ principles, which is a fascinating area of electronic music that I have greatly enjoyed exploring on this record

Download form Bandcamp includes full colour 10 page PDF booklet!

Categories
Art Culture Experimental

Korg Volca Modular and Mushroom

Mushrooms think, therefore they ambient.

Categories
Ambient Avant Garde Electro-Acoustic Experimental Field Recording Minimal Review

Top Freqs of 2023

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 Sinusoi​̈​dale Et Bande Magne​́​tique

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

Categories
Documentary Drone Experimental Film Synth

Eliane Radigue – IMA Fiction Portrait #04 (2006)

Fourth in the IMA Portraits series, this short introduces us to the life and work of electronic/contemporary composer Eliane Radigue. Radigue discusses methods of composition, the challenges and difficulties of live electronic music, as well as biographical episodes with Pierre Henry and her own goals in soundscape production and consumption. A lucid portrait of a dream manufacturer.

Categories
Ambient Avant Garde Experimental Review Spoken Word

Maya Hardinge & David Louis Zuckerman – Penny (Original Soundtrack)

Very interesting spoken word narrative over synth, guitar and eastern instrumental ambient scapes. Each track on “Penny” resonates with emotional depth and musical richness, creating a compelling soundscape that captures the essence of Penny’s life.

Maya Hardinge & David Louis Zuckerman skillfully use a diverse range of minimalist arrangements to evoke the various stages of Penny’s journey, from the soulful melodies representing her introspective moments to the rhythmic beats mirroring the pulse of her adventurous encounters.

Categories
Electro-Acoustic Experimental Jazz

Cley Project – Nehalennia

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

Categories
Avant Garde Experimental Review

Elia Piana – Sotto l​’​Albero Tutto Si CopreElia Piana –

Elia immerses listeners into a sonic odyssey, Sotto l​’​Albero Tutto Si Copre weaves a mesmerizing tapestry of avant-garde soundscapes that transcend the boundaries of conventional music. A daring fusion of esoteric instruments from makers like Ciat-Lonbarde and Monome creates an otherworldly atmosphere, transporting the audience to uncharted realms of auditory exploration. This album stands as a bold testament to the artist’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of sonic artistry, inviting us to embark on a transcendental sonic adventure.

Cassettes and digital at: Bandcamp

Categories
Beats Experimental Review Synth

Nick Joliat – Casio Music 2

Casio Music 2, the latest addition to Nick Joliat’s series, unfolds as a heartfelt exploration of obsolescence, a poignant reflection on musical identity, a meticulous investigation into polyrhythms and timbre, and a poignant transmission from the secluded realm of chronic illness.

Out now via Bandcamp

Categories
Drone Experimental Minimal Review

Tape Loop Orchestra – Onde Sinusoi​̈​dale Et Bande Magne​́​tique


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.

Out now via Quiet Details