microphones in the trees: April 2016

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

paa annandalii ~ cavernous fruits



I always had deep respect to Robert's work, first of all because of Mohave Triangles – it was so huge and intense and dazed and trippy... No words to describe its magic, just pure joy for any drone-maniac! After long hiatus Paa Annandalii appeared, continuing synth-driven drone journey even deeper, through caverns of human mind – searching for pineal treasures, subconscious revelations and simply relaxing the listener to the state of all-pervading radiance. Which we all are, as a matter of fact! No new age philosophy needed to explain that, just look at everything from the quantum physics point of view. And don't forget that the act of observation itself has an impact on observed. So there is no "reality" behind music actually, and that's why we can't live without it. Music reminds us our nature, especially if it is truly continuous music, reduced to basic formula of intertwined frequencies, breathing inside one cluster of tones. Going that way we may feel disembodied, omnipresent energy, that fills everything without any border. Have you ever felt that? It's refreshing and inspiring, no matter how often you do it! I suppose this is the point from where this music radiates, waving its way to unknown... And you always welcome to join that ship.

Sunday, April 17, 2016

hybrid palms



Sounds of the Dawn, ese lugar mágico donde encontrar tesoros redescubiertos de la época dorada de la new age music, es ahora además un sello musical dedicado a dar luz a nuevas gemas actuales que vibran en frecuencias afines. Esta primera cinta que publican es una delicia de principio a fin, un lienzo de pinceladas azules, verdes, luminosas, una experiencia sonora que transmite sensaciones de paz y relajación entretejidas de olor a mar y visiones de reflejos del sol en el agua. Es difícil escoger una canción porque cada una de ellas refleja la totalidad de ese mundo cálido y azul. Un mundo tal vez entrevisto en fotografías vintage de un mar de otro tiempo impregnado de vibraciones de calma y placidez.

En general me es difícil hablar de la música que me gusta en términos que no parezcan una carta de amor. Últimamente mucho más, me cuesta hablar de música, y desde luego me es imposible juzgarla con objetividad, si es que existe tal cosa. De todos modos, ¿para qué? Lo que aquí suena es belleza y ya lo único que encuentro energía para hacer en este ámbito es invitar a escuchar y gozar de la experiencia concreta sugiriendo las buenas sensaciones que me despierta. Puedo decir que "Ocean Plaza" es enorme y que sus últimos minutos me evocan algo muy bonito que no sé definir, y que está presente en las más mágicas grabaciones de esta tendencia artística maravillosa que experimenta en los territorios vibratorios de la intención luminosa. Pero la magia no decae en ningún momento, como decía cada pista es una imagen de exquisita profundidad en la que perderse. Esas melodías sutiles de sintetizadores y sonidos percusivos que apenas destacan entre un fondo de grabaciones de la naturaleza, que invitan a abandonarse entre el entramado brumoso de su sonoridad. Los cantos de los pájaros, el crepitar, el agua y la música, todo conforma un todo indistinguible, ese entramado, esos arpegiadores al servicio de la sensación de maravilla y placer, y ese suave sonido melódico tipo viento que asoma de vez en cuando para acariciar con su melodía indefinida imbuida de serenidad, en "Ocean Plaza" y en "Turquoise Lagoon".

Para mí, esta cinta de Hybrid Palms es una de las más bonitas de lo que llevamos de año. Un año que musicalmente está siendo increíblemente rico, muchos proyectos están dando frutos maduros y otros más nuevos, como este, tienen la gran capacidad de sorprender y maravillar en una escena tan prolífica. Es además un inicio de lujo para Sounds of the Dawn, a quien hay que agradecer la constancia y el esfuerzo para traernos estos sonidos de paz y magia, belleza evocadora que los pobres humanos siempre necesitamos y hoy más que nunca.

Thursday, April 14, 2016

deep magic & mohave triangles


"final release for Mohave Triangles & probably the last release of Deep Magic as well. this one was in the works for quite some time; so long that it has become a portal into the past, even better though a chance to once again come full circle. 


Diatom Bath has been slowly churning the waters for some time and with this release brings the end of these projects up to the surface & really pulls into question the idea of progression. most importantly pushing forth the feeling to linger a little longer. to bath in this now. sit in the meadow and watch this sun set today on these grasses and these flowers & these companions." tomentosa



Monday, April 11, 2016

grykë pyje



After nice tape released at Ginjoha almost four years ago, Jani Hirvonen (well know as Uton) and Johannes Schebler (same, as Baldruin) made a glorious return with exquisitely decorated vinyl, which looks like illustration from famous "Kunstformen der Natur" book. And same can be said about music – huge universe of tiny sounds dancing around the head in constant changing, meticulous mix of bright sparkles and huge atmospheric phenomena. All you now about Baldruin goes here in weird manner of Uton's world and from the very first moments of this album you are somewhere deep in thickets, surrounded by mossy giants. Trail is lost, but that is completely okay... Whole planet's life can be found in the scale of tiny drop water, evolution repeats its pattern at each and every step of magnification. Would it be whole galaxy or just your backyard, something is going on there all the time. This album reflects this ever-unfolding ornament of life with soulful naturalism and not without humour. Some may call it "noise", but it's too subtle. Maybe ambient? Nope, too cacophonous. Folk? Missed again! There are strong feeling of something archaic about it, which makes "Fragments of High Sensitivity" definitely pre-something, proto-music of some kind. Like those radiolaria in the "Kunstformen" – tiny and fragile inhabitants of the oceans for the last 500 million years, creatures of amazing symmetry. What they heard when there were no people on this planet? Symphony of life, unfolding in every direction. It's easy to imagine during this stunningly beautiful cacophony, which reveals new secrets every time you listen to it.



Friday, April 01, 2016

mathias grassow & closing the eternity



«Inspired by the astonishing nature of Ural region and folk stories from "The Malachite Box" cycle by Pavel Bazhov, this collaboration between German drone maestro Mathias Grassow and prominent Russian project Closing The Eternity reveals thoroughly crafted aural world, where deep chthonic drones interact with huge ambiences and multiple percussion sounds. Constantly breathing, organic, always changing and yet truly monolithic sound, which tells stories about hidden secrets
of the earth».
pantheon

In the deepness of the earth, among the mountain roots, between the sleeping ore deposits, colourful minerals and clear crystals slowly growing... There are empty corridors, dimly illuminated with green light; luxurious halls, decorated with rare gems and mineral patterns, strange stone trees, changing their colours... Who lives there, who owns these treasures of the deep? No one knows the entrance, but at the vernal equinox, in certain hour of night, it opens for a while. Mountain moans under huge starry sky, humming and roaring, startling sleeping birds in the nearby woods, making pine crowns bow to the wind. Ancient spirit emerges among the mossy rocks, crawling its way down, where the village dogs are looking anxiously at the forest edge. Filling with rustles of leaves and chimes of unseen bells, night disguises the mystery and no one knows what exactly happens at this time. Strange lights are wandering between the cliffs, green lizard eyes might sparkle in the dark... Only rays of morning reveal strange trail of gold pebbles and shining gems on the slopes, as if giant snake made a track by its stone scales, scattering the treasures of the underworld.

Limited edition of 77 chrome tapes in handmade packaging
with several inserts.