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.
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!
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
Gorgeous hand-printed cassette sleeves, which accompany the raw, crunchy dadaism of T.Jervell and ChromaDots with their magical wooden machines. Limited tapes available now at SteepGloss Bandcamp
Sounds from an old wooden house situated in the rural North Norwegian countryside, as heard by a Norwegian and an Irelander.
Field recordings, found sounds, and Tetrax recorded on a Sony M-670 microcassette recorder, in Faksfjord summer 2022.
On Faksfjord the source material is cut up and rearranged utilizing an 8-bit hardware sampler, in Gravdal, Lofoten.
A collection of hiss and crackles, textures, and sound.
Fragsfjord involves breaking down the sounds found on the Faksfjord tapes to their smallest form and organising these sonic fragments using sections of the original recordings as a source of triggers, while recapturing them within a new space, in Munich.
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.
Recording situation: Midnight small town sounds. In the distance the hum of a factory on the night shift can be heard, occasional passing traffic and sounds of nature. Recorded for World Listening Day 2023.
Micro listening is the practice of deliberately focussing on elements of a sound environment that may pass unnoticed in everyday experience. Listening to sounds in this way can lead to a magnification of our experiences. The finer details of sound become magnified enabling us to notice the effects these may have on the psyche. Any sound can be the subject of a micro-listening, recorded sounds or real-life ambiences function equally as well. There is no preference for ‘natural’ or ‘artificial’ sounds as there is no ‘nature’ from which human beings are separate from, just one universe which acts upon and is acted upon by us. The point of a micro-listening is to remind the listener that they and the sound form part of the same acoustic environment.
Taking prompts from walks in the wild, Sundheim armed with an iphone and recording app, brings home quiet and considered blends of found sound and synthesised accompaniment. “Glades of Flowering Stone is a like a gentle forest bath, dissolving any tension and restoring balance.”
“radio.earth is a participatory radio art project concerning the ecological crisis, its effects on our environment and on the possibilities for action. The project aims to establish a network of collaboration between individuals and organisations interested and engaged in these subjects, with all their respective practices from art and science to activism.
The radio.earth mobilemic is at a periferic location south of Amsterdam, at an allotment near the former village Driemond and along the Amsterdam-Rijn canal, one of the busiest shiproutes in the Netherlands. The allotment is sided by a sort of artificial nature park that suffers from exessive nitrogen deposit. Lot’s of brambles and nettles. operating artist: michiel huijsman”
Watch and listen to the 12 hour ambient stream here:
