Flatland Frequencies
Polypores Live 2023 showcases a departure from his previously released musical endeavors, opting for an exploratory approach rooted in improvisation and continual discovery. A patchwork quilt of modular delight, the snippets of each live performance incorporate selective repetitions, ensuring that each rendition remains a unique and distinct experience.
https://quietdetails.bandcamp.com/merch/qd03-luke-sanger-salt-water-motifs-listening-party
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
Hope you can join us!
Much love
Luke and Alex
Live performance of Karlheinz Essl’s “Coastline” project for modular synth patched as an unstable dynamic system. Performed in the CMS assembly hall SX55 in front of the CMS life size image (18m x 18m) at CERN P5- CMS (Compact Muon Solenoid experiment) at CERN, the European Centre for Particle Physics on August 17, 2023. Filmed by Michael Hoch.
https://www.essl.at/works/coastlines.html
Flatland Freq’s editor Luke gets his feet wet with the awesome orgnwrms script (by andrewcs_ 🪱) for Monome Norns open-source sound computer and appreciates the contrast and interplay of the analog vs digital FM between the two instruments.
Loula just released a live modular jam on YouTube to coincide with launching a bandcamp subscriber page. Go and check it out and sign up for her updates on eurorack modular and amazing laser visuals.
Live recording taken from the desk at Chantry Hall, Norwich for the Even Launch event on 22/10/22.
‘Empty Theatre’ is the final track from Sulk Rooms’ forthcoming album on Edinburgh’s Werra Foxma Records. Take a look at this live performance, and if you like what you hear the full album is available on October 28th.
Luke Sanger exclusive live session for Electronic Sound Magazine has been released on their website. In this set he used a Make Noise Shared System and Ciat-Lonbarde Sidrax for a 20 minute improvisation. Subscribers have access to the full set.
Read more about it and access the full set here
This was originally streamed as a live improv on Bandcamp Live. In hindsight, I think it’s an OK set, with range of moods and timbres. My fave sections are the looser unpredictable bits (mostly phonogene-related weirdness) and in the future will try to focus in more on these techniques. Maybe a bit overkill on the pentatonics, but there we go…
Things used: