green-house

green-house ~ a host for all kinds of life (leaving records, 2023)

sé que son muchas las veces que utilizo el término "library music" para describir un disco, y que también son muchas veces las que he dicho a lo largo de estos años... disco del año, de la vida. pero, es que Green-House han creado algo demasiado especial y bonito, un mensaje a modo de protesta pacífica en la que nos invitan a reconectar con la naturaleza. la sinergia entre música, concepto y portada (y library music!) es muy fuerte.

también sé que el término library music, o "música para plantas", ha estado revoloteando desde hace ya mucho tiempo y que casi todos nos hemos enamorado de 'plantasia'. pero en "a host for all kinds of life", Olive y Michael capturan y evocan la esencia misma de esa época mágica y muy especialmente de ese disco. en los primeros segundos de "coquina" (piedra sedimentaria formada a partir de fragmentos de cientos de organismos, "símbolo de la necesidad de coexistencia en un mismo planeta" ),  ya se produce una serenidad indescriptible, una especie de nirvana emocional a golpe de flautilla cual vinilo marino de Bruton. "desire path"es preciosa, todas lo son, pero para "castle song" no tengo palabras..tampoco para la que da título al disco. me viene a la cabeza Raymond Scott, "crystal waves" de David Casper, "green" de Hiroshi Yoshimura, pero sobre todo "el planeta olvidado" de Nino Nardini. en "far more other" y en "everything is okay" caigo redonda: pura melodía y melancolía que revela infinitos detalles cada vez que la escuchas. grabaciones de campo ("lunar clipper" ese crescendo...uf), sintetizadores casio ("utopian synth work" dice Olive), piano, theremin, kalimbas. toda una demostración de que todavía es necesario envolver las lecciones vitales con fantasía y sonidos purificantes para creernos los males que nos acechan, como en los cuentos para niños. aun así, el mensaje 'eco-ambiental' de Michael y Olive sigue siendo de aliento y esperanza. everything is okay. (en su cinta 'Six Songs for Invisible Gardens' incluían semillas silvestres para que las esparciéramos. ¿puede haber un detalle más bonito que ese?)

absorb ~ support

 

"En una era de caos climático desenfrenado provocado por el hombre, la “solastalgia” (el anhelo y la angustia que experimentan las personas como respuesta al cambio o la degradación ambiental) surgió como un concepto útil y semiviral: un término general para referirse a la sensación generalizada de que el mundo, tal y como lo conocemos, no está bien, y cada vez menos. Pero, para muchos de nosotros, existe un problema, una trampa, un vacío ineficaz en el meollo mismo de este concepto/premisa: ¿cómo podemos lamentar (o incluso sentir la pérdida de) aquello que nunca hemos conocido? Especialmente para los urbanitas de toda la vida alejados de la naturaleza que, sin embargo, comprenden la gravedad y complejidad del problema: ¿cómo podrían recordarlo? ¿Cómo podrían lamentarse? Quizás de manera indirecta, es decir, de manera orientativa y no dogmática, Green-House, un proyecto nacido por Olive Ardizoni y ahora un dúo con su viejo amigo, colaborador y confidente Michael Flanagan, busca abordar esta brecha en comprensión.

Six Songs for Invisible Gardens, el EP debut de Green-House cuyo lanzamiento en 2020 coincidió con el confinamiento de Covid-19, respondió a la angustia desenfrenada de la vida humana y vegetal, especialmente en áreas no rurales. La cinta de cassette incluía semillas de flores silvestres para que el oyente las esparciera. Ese gesto (a la vez simple y en consonancia, especialmente si se considera el elemento logístico) existe como testimonio de la sinceridad y seriedad de las convicciones de Ardizoni. En 2021 siguió Music for Living Spaces, el primer LP de Green-House, un refinamiento de la fórmula que consagró Six Songs como un éxito ecológico y de culto. Lanzado el 13 de octubre de 2023 en Leaving Records, regresaron con el LP A Host For All Kinds of Life, una tercera entrada en una serie de lanzamientos cuyos títulos, por cierto, giraron en torno a la construcción "para": un canon no oficial de propuestas, o quizás más bien instrucciones, sobre cómo la música contenida en él podría y debería actuar en la vida del oyente y en sus “espacios vitales”.

A Host For All Kinds of Life, el disco más expansivo de Green-House (ya solo por el título del LP y la portada caleidoscópica y fractal diseñada por Flanagan), cuestiona la noción misma de “música ambiental” ¿Qué pasa si la aparente delicadeza de una canción constituye su punto mordaz? ¿Qué pasaría si el placer contemplativo y tranquilo pudiera cambiar radicalmente nuestra forma de pensar, nuestro propio papel como sujetos mundanos? Basándose en las obras de Lynn Margulis y nuestra creciente comprensión del papel evolutivo del mutualismo biológico (asociaciones entre especies en las que ambas se benefician), A Host For All Kinds of Life es una suite de canciones profundamente arraigada y con bases políticas. Y, de hecho, aquí hay canciones diferenciadas, con estructura, impulso e influencia definidos; fíjate en el arabesco melódico que evoca los dorados años sesenta de “Everything is Okay” (que, por cierto, termina con la única voz humana del lanzamiento: un tierno mensaje que su madre le dejó a Ardizoni).

Ardizoni habla a menudo del papel tan importante de la alegría: que la existencia misma de Green-House se remonta a una decisión consciente que tomaron no sólo de elegir la alegría como un acto de rebelión, sino también de encontrar esa alegría en cualquier planta a la que pudieran acceder en su entorno más cercano. En este sentido, todos los discos de Green-House (y especialmente A Host for All Kinds of Life) encarnan una radicalidad que puede alejar al oyente casual o primerizo. Elegir, modelar y expresar alegría en un mundo enfermo requiere valentía, una valentía que debe guardarse celosamente y reponerse constantemente. Anima al oyente a reducir el ritmo, hacer un balance, sintonizarse con el mundo que le rodea y reunir coraje y alegría frente a la incertidumbre que se avecina." leaving records

"In an era of rampant, man-made climate chaos, “solastalgia” (the longing and distress experienced by individuals as a response to environmental change/degradation) has emerged as a useful, semi-viral concept — a catch-all term for the pervasive sense that the world as we know it is far from well, and only growing less so. But, for many of us, a problem, a trap, an ineffable hollowness, exists at the very crux of this concept/premise: how can we mourn (or even sense the loss of) that which we have never known? Especially for lifelong urbanites estranged from nature, who nevertheless grasp the severity and complexity of the problem—how might they remember? How might they mourn? Perhaps indirectly—that is to say, in an exploratory and non-dogmatic fashion—Green-House, a project birthed by Olive Ardizoni and now officially a duo project featuring long-time collaborator and confidant, Michael Flanagan, seeks to address this gap in understanding.

Six Songs for Invisible Gardens, the debut Green-House EP whose 2020 release coincided with the depths of Covid-19 “lockdown,” responded to the rampant heartsickness of human and plant life, especially in non-rural areas. The packaging of the cassette release famously included wildflower seeds for the listener to scatter. This gesture (at once simple and daring, especially when one considers the logistical element) exists as testament to the sincerity and seriousness of Ardizoni’s convictions. Music for Living Spaces, the first full-length Green-House LP, followed in 2021— a refinement of the formula that enshrined Six Songs as a cult, eco-ambient hit. Out October 13, 2023 on Leaving Records, they have returned with the LP A Host For All Kinds of Life, a third entry in a series of releases whose titles have incidentally all revolved around the “for” construction: an unofficial canon of offerings, or maybe rather instructions as to how the music contained therein might, could, and should operate in/on the listener’s life and “living space(s).

”Decidedly the most expansive Green-House release — one need only consider the LP’s title and the kaleidoscopic, fractal cover art designed by Flanagan—A Host For All Kinds of Life troubles the very notion of “ambient music,” a category with whom Green-House has always existed in some degree of tension. What if a song’s seeming softness constitutes its biting edge? What if easeful, contemplative pleasure can radically alter our mindset? Our very role as worldly subjects? Drawing on the works of Lynn Margulis and our burgeoning understanding of the evolutionary role of biological mutualism (associations between species in which both species benefit), A Host For All Kinds of Life is a deeply entrenched and politically grounded song suite. And there are indeed discrete songs here, with defined structure, momentum, and sway; see the gilded, sixties-evoking melodic arabesque of the record’s ninth and penultimate track, “Everything is Okay” (which incidentally ends with the release’s only human voice—a tender message left for Ardizoni by their mother).

In conversation, Ardizoni speaks often of the centrality of joy—that Green-House’s very existence can be traced to a conscious decision they made to not only choose joy as an act of rebellion, but to find that joy in whatever plant life they could access in their immediate environment. In this sense, all of Green-House’s releases (and A Host for All Kinds of Life especially) embody a radicality that may elude the casual or first-time listener. To choose, model, and express joy in an ailing world requires courage, a courage that must be jealously guarded and constantly replenished. A Host For all Kinds of Life encourages the listener to slow down, take stock, tune in to the more-than-human world around them, and gather their courage and joy in light of the uncertainty to come."

orphan fairytale / nico georis

orphan fairytale ~ tune in tree ears ((K-RAA-K)³, 2023)

"Eva Van Deuren has been wayfaring as Orphan Fairytale for the past 15 years and counting. With her electronic psychedelia that deftly teeters between the bubbly and the eerie, Van Deuren is a prolific presence in our spheres and her music is a constant which irrefutably touches and enchants all those who encounter it. Over the past few years she has integrated the Celtic harp into her repertoire, crafting new sounds that seamlessly meld into the narrative of her unique sonic trajectory.

Tune In Tree Ears, Orphan Fairytale’s first LP on KRAAK, presents these harp pieces that were first heard in the context of open air concerts in the summer, where the delicate melodies could float into the trees above and soar beyond to spaces unhindered. The ancestral character of the instrument adds new depths to an already complex musical universe that has always embraced tragedy and fantasy in equal measures. A bridge between the electronic elements that always defined her sound and a new direction born from a deep connection with earthly elements, Tune In Tree Ears brims with a wistfulness that uncovers new directions in Orphan Fairytale’s ever-unfolding dream world, allowing it to flourish through the natural extension of paths already paved. Released in tandem with Titania Moon, Orphan Fairytale’s latest hippietronic venture on Ultra Eczema!"

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nico georis - cloud suites (leaving records, 2003)

"California’s Nico Georis has always straddled (or, rather, negotiated) multiple dimensions. As a child, Georis flitted between the rigors of classical training and DIY experimentation—studying under a disciple of Franz Lizst (a mentorship that would enshrine the piano as his primary instrument), then squirreling away to the basement of his childhood home, strewn as it was with his father’s instruments and home-audio equipment, to play and record freely. Despite his evident virtuosity as a trained pianist, Georis has, across numerous projects, stints, incarnations, and chapters, persisted in this gentle and exploratory approach to music-making. Foregoing the pursuit of technical mastery and acclaim within the confines of the contemporary classical world, he has dedicated his talents to songcraft, broadly-defined — channeling unseen (or inaugurating altogether new) worlds through melody and repetition.

 

Conceived after an isolating, five-year struggle with a severe case of Lyme disease, Cloud Suites (out June 9th on Leaving Records) documents Georis’s initial return to experimental ambient keyboard compositions. Conceptually, there is little ambiguity here: the songs—the “suites”—are clouds, or, rather, reflections of clouds, each named after a particular formation. Track titles range from the meteorologically specific to the expressive: “Cumuloids,” “Sundog,” and “Soft Yellow Gazers.” Georis composed the suites in real-time, peering out the windows of his Big Sur cabin-home/recording studio (dubbed The Sky Shed), responding improvisationally to render specific clouds as music—in effect to pluck them from the sky. Georis has referred to this process as a kind of musical game, and, indeed, its end product conveys the recurring and joyful revelations of play."

 

 

me encantan estos dos discos. me encanta que nico georis sea al piano lo que orphan fairytale al harpa. me encanta los rosas y los azules algodonosos de las portadas y que la música encaje perfectamente con ellas (es música para levitar, literalmente). me encanta visualizar las delicadas melodías de 'tune in tree ears' flotando entre los árboles porque son grabaciones de conciertos al aire libre. incluso me encanta que 'cloud suites' esté agotado. y me encanta haber descubierto elmuelle1931, una pequeña tienda de santiago, y haber podido ver, tocar y llevarme a casa el disco de orphan fairytale. la voz etérea de eva van deuren, el harpa en cascada,  los sintes modulares, una guitarra, melodías absolutamente hermosas y melancólicas ('vlinder en vleermuis' no es de este mundo, 'aeolus', tan Miaux, tampoco), instrumentos destinados a evocar bosques mágicos. hay un profundo misterio y un gran cuidado en la composición y es, para mí, lo más bonito que ha hecho nunca Eva van Deuren.

escuchar el piano de Nico Georis me produce el mismo estado de ánimo que escuchar un disco de library music de los años 70, o a Norma Lyon...es una auténtica barbaridad. 'soft purple gazers'  suena como un extraño preludio instrumental. hay una calidad elemental y sobria en la música que, combinada con todo el ruido superficial del vinilo y las vocecillas folk de 'flight', le dan un tono pastoral e impresionista inexplicable. en 'ice crystals' las teclas del piano se acarician suavemente y me recuerdan las profundidades del océano, grupos de notas de nuevo en cascada, como un banco de peces en movimiento.

Georis, de formación musical clásica (cuenta la leyenda que estudió con un discípulo de Franz Lizst) compuso las suites en tiempo real, mirando por la ventana de su cabaña/estudio de grabación en Big Sur (llamado The Sky Shed), de forma improvisada, convirtiendo las formas de las nubes en música, como si las arrancase del cielo. para él, una especie de juego musical. para mí, un disco  flotante e ingrávido que siempre irá unido a 'tune in tree ears' de orphan fairytale.

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golden pear

omni gardens ~ golden pear (moon glyph, 2023)

"moon glyph records head Steve Rosborough returns as Omni Gardens with a brand new album entitled “Golden Pear”. The fuzzy, warm and buoyant moog timbres of “Moss King” return but “Golden Pear” is a dreamier and more lush affair; incorporating a wider palette including mellotron flutes, vibraphones, marimbas and self-captured field recordings. a tranquil, pop atmosphere permeates the album as the songs flutter between bleary, unhurried tunes, warbly soundscapes and odes to lazy afternoons. created for relaxed home listening, this is “Golden Pear”." ~ moon glyph

the universe of music made [for/inspired by] plants is expanding and moon glyph is definitely a place to go when looking for some organic ambience. you can find music for marshes there, music for corals and other sea creatures, and basically all kinds of sounds to please adventurous cassette music enthusiast. you can as well simply explore our blog as we featured this label on numerous occasions. compared to "Moss King" this album is definitely more ripe and juicy, i can feel how full of nutritional goods it is, how it fills my body with a vital energy. joking-not-joking, but my lemon tree has began to ripen since this cassette came in the mail. you can say it's a coincidence, but i say - natural synchrony! with music like this, it's hard to stay skeptic, no matter where exactly you are on the New Age coordinates. it simply leaves you no chance to wither but fills with warmth and joy. i'd even go further into nutrition analogy and say that if "you are what you eat", then same applies to what you hear. so while you play this tape for your plants or make a breakfast listening to it, you may also notice that if you yourself stay hydrated, get enough sunlight and fresh air ~ the world starts looking like a pretty good place. 

absorb ~ support

food people

food people ~ luminous immediate (glarc, 2023)

"Luminous Immediate is eight songs of wind, string, whistle, tape manipulation, poems and field recordings. At times the album feels quite emotionally convivial, small glances of support and wordless encouragement, a riff like a ruffle of the hair. At other points the songs become disquieting, sinister, the early morning dialogues of a an anxious brain, whirring its way through recent conversations (lots of words now). Throughout, Luminous Immediate invites you into the songs and their process - several hands stirring the pot – a beautiful tomographic snapshot of Food People's back-garden compost."

transportada a los good old days de second family band, davenport, ...escuchad si no 'candle in the bovine eye' o 'summer flume'. o el sentimiento 'estamos flotando en el espacio rural' de la preciosísima 'light hazzles' (guitarra acústica a muy baja fidelidad, samples de una voz femenina, shep and me meets child of microtones). cinta que destila melancolía y de la que no te apetece salir: "ocho canciones de viento, cuerda, silbato, manipulación de cintas, poesía y grabaciones de campo."

explore ~ support ~ watch this beautiful video

music for mimosa pudica & codariocalyx

david edren ~ music for mimosa pudica & codariocalyx
(kankyo records, 2023 reissue)

"in the making of this album, david erden was influenced by mort garson, known for his plant music, and the film "the secret life of plants" and jack mitsch's documentary "mind of plants," among others, and he sprouted kodalyocalyx and mimosa pudica (tussock) seeds and documented their growth. this work, based on these observations and experiences, is a fresh ambient that gives a bird's-eye view of a small, lovely, boxy world and the activities of these plants with their mysterious moving properties" ~ kankyo records

ana has already posted this album when it originally came out on CD (8 years ago!) accompanying a book and now it sees a reissue on cassette with a beautiful booklet at this great japanese label/store run by h. takahashi.

music for plants seems to establish itself as a standalone genre already, with its roots being as deep as Mort Garson's famous Plantasia. this genre assumes that plants enjoy simplistic/minimalist and playful analog synth sounds and it's hard to tell if there's hard evidence to that or it's because Plantasia sounded that way ~ probably a mixture of both. plants do seem to react better to the pure tones rather than complex polyphony but there's clearly not enough studies on that. though, in case of this cassette it's more closer to the reality, as David Edren actually played his music sketches to two plants known for their sensitivity to movement and touch, including the movement of air. once again it's up to human's interpretation whether plants liked those sounds or not, but going by intuition it is possible (i believe) to draw an outline. in the end, David tells in the interview that with such music what's more important is to positively affect not the plants themselves but our relationship with them. ~ piedpaper (tape_stuff)

enjoy ~ support

 

atoris

atoris ~ sea & forest (moon glyph, 2022)

“kankyō ongaku” means “environmental music” in japanese, and this is, essentially, ambient music ~ but still with an emphasis on the natural environment (not urban), so in this genre of electronic music very often the music is supplemented with the sounds of nature and is, as a kind of continuation of them. classics of the genre came in the 80s and early 90s (Hiroshi Yoshimura, Takashi Kokubo, Fumio, Inoyama Land...) but it continues to exist now, having opened a second breath with the advent of a new interest in everything japanese, the popularity of “music for plants”, and of course, environmental problems which are more tangible now than ever ~ so the search for some balance with nature manifests itself in the form of interest in such music. 

the Atoris trio consists of already quite famous artists, one of whom, H. Takahashi, is probably familiar to those who have been following the cassette music of our time for a long time. Kohei Oyamada and Yudai Osawa have some really good cassettes as well, so i'm looking to add them to my collection for sure. i'd say that this album even has the element of german kosmische music, side A gets real groovy in the middle but with the start of side B we plunge into new age-y vibes again and it doesn't get any worse because of that ~ only better! it's a fresh touch on how adventurous new age & ambient music can be if it doesn't serve "spa & massage" product category, and returns to it's origins, the exploratory feeling of creating new timbres Mother Nature never heard before, thus enriching the air and the biosphere with something new, harmonious, evolving along other forms of life.

listen ~ support

 

 

turner williams jr.

turner williams jr. - ensoleillée (les disques omnison, 2023)

aunque solo fuera por la portada☀️...pero: 'galaxie á 8h'.

el resto es, casi, igual de bonito. alabama soul, avant/appalachian-folk de la pradera con cítara india. vinilo artesanal limitado a 100 copias, con el sol pintado de diferente color. pero ya no quedan...

"Alabama-born musician Turner Williams Jr. (now based in Marseille) manages to pay respects to the rich tradition of American folk music whilst adding his own unique spin, indebted to years spent travelling and living overseas.  His instrument of choice, the Shahi baaja, is an electrified Indian zither that is rich in overtones and timbre.  Each of the six pieces here eschew any typical song structure in favour of cylindrical forms, relying on heavy use of repetition and time-based effects to create a sound that is rich both in improvisation and atmospherics.  It’s an odd cultural hotchpotch that’s difficult to place, feint echoes of Celtic hammered Dulcimer (Dorothy Carter) or Michael O’Shea’s geographical dislocated Mo Chara pieces via the traditional Appalachian folk of Basho / John Fahey, Pierre Jean Croset’s shimmering harmonic lyre recordings or the most recent hit from Megabasse.  Limited to 100, very handmade." all night flight records

"Where does Turner Williams Jr. fit ? Let's put it this way: in a lineage where the history of strings, via folk but not only, goes back to Roscoe Holcomb and John Jacob Niles (it doesn't matter if they don't play exactly the same instruments, or if they built them themselves or not), before it was extended by John Fahey, Robbie Basho, Peter Walker, or enriched by Sandy Bull's own effects, with whom the Appalachians, India or the spirit of certain Celtic-influenced ballads cohabit seamlessly with repetitive, and why not noisy, structures. Of the latter, Turner Williams Jr. continues the syncretism from Marseille, where he has lived since leaving the United States and his native Alabama. In fact, his instrument of choice, the shahi baaja, is of Indian origin, which explains why some of his many limited-edition recordings evoke a fantastical Orient. What's more, although the shahi baaja is played from a sort of retro-futuristic typewriter keyboard, its strings are akin to the dulcimer and the Vosges spruce, providing a link between his homeland, Japan, France and Pakistan - among others. The drone and sympathetic strings, reminiscent of the bulbul tarang once electrified, are reminiscent of Michael Flower, Hans Reichel's daxophone or - above all - the self-produced cassettes of the duo Davey Williams and LaDonna Smith."

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rest in paradise, Iasos

 

Iasos ~ 1947-2024

some of you may already know that last saturday, jan 6th, New Age legend Iasos passed away. he's considered one of the creators of new age music as we know it, especially the electronic kind. his music set up a vibe for several generations of spiritual music makers. 

from the very beginning of his career Iasos claimed that he's only a medium for the higher-dimensional being named Vista with whom he was in telepathic contact his whole life. Vista is an enlightened being whose main occupation is to play music over our whole galaxy. the mission of Iasos on Earth was to translate this music into something humans can perceive and to elevate our consciousness to the higher planes. you may believe him or not about this connection or about recording an actual fairy laughter or many his other cool stories, but for me and many others, Iasos' music was a huge inspiration and influence. from ambient to vaporwave, his trademark otherworldly tunes are echoing for almost 50 years now... 

but what is time? just an illusion. it all happens now, and it is now Iasos plays this angelic music for the first time, it is now you're listening to it, it is now Iasos is united with Vista and Crystal in their beautiful purple-shaded world. and it's only a rest point for him towards the diamond center of the universe... 

thank you for everything, for your music and the way you laugh especially =)

watch Iasos trippy music videos

listen on bandcamp

visit iasos.com
(for lots of awesome new age content)

 

günter schlienz

 

günter schlienz - orph​é​e aux enfers (moon glyph, 2020)

"On "Orphée aux Enfers", Schlienz combines his synthesizers with numerous acoustic instruments: viola, strings, piano, voices and undefined textures. Bringing in these acoustic sounds allowed Schlienz to collaborate with many musicians lending their unique talents. The results are hypnotizing, a casual stroll through a wash of otherwordly melodies and unique soundscapes of looped voices, circular strings and resonant synthesizer passages. There’s a sophistication and light touch across "Orphée aux Enfers" giving the album it’s purposeful aesthetic and casual grace."

"Orphée Aux Enfers is a comic operetta and satirical treatment of the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus by French composer Jacques Offenbach. The classic story of Orpheus concerns a renowned musician who is so distraught over the death of his wife, Eurydice, that he attempts to rescue her from the Underworld, the place of the dead. It’s a myth of enduring love between Orpheus and Eurydice that has inspired artists, writers and composers such as Günter."

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günter schlienz - hundstage (blue marble 1972, 2023)

Günter Schlienz, a DIY synth wizard from Stuttgard, has released numerous tape, CD and vinyl editions under his own name since 2010, and gathered quite a fanbase looking for cosmic sonic textures. His latest offering "Hundstage" is miles apart from the minimalist debut, "The Sardinian Tapes". Over the years he added new sonic elements to his collection of DIY modular synth sounds. On "Hundstage" you can hear lots of various percussions, both male and female voice, acoustic piano, guitar + the usual synth/field recordings combo. The 9 track presented on the album have both nostalgic and contemporaneous feel to them, as if they exist outside of time. They may both appeal to listeners of original krautrock electronica, such as Cluster or Harmonia, and also those seeking similar atmospheric vibes to Grouper, William Basinski or Taylor Deupree. "Hundstage" is almost an hour of real cosmic music for astronauts who can't leave the Earth.

This edition is strictly limited to 200 copies.

primera hornada del recién estrenado sello polaco y nada más y nada menos que con Günter. así cualquiera :)  últimamente no dejo de pensar que Günter Schlienz, workaholic sin remedio y talento sinfín, es el planeta alrededor del cual han orbitado multitud de artistas y sellos minúsculos desde hace unos años, con ese bonito resurgir de las cintas de cassette y los vinilos comestibles. un diálogo entre lo moderno y lo ancestral que asimila e invita a participar en sus discos con su proverbial humildad. porque este disco (y Orph​é​e aux Enfers) para mí, significan una suma de su poliédrica personalidad. en ambos encontramos esencialmente todo: la calidez y melancolía del jazz, la experimentación sonora añadiendo voces (Ronnie Oliveras, Ruth-Maria Adam, Elisabeth von Stritzky y Teresa Smolnik), guitarras, saxo, field recordings, platillos jazzy, el crepitar de la aguja, hasta un theremin que supongo será su sinte modular y que tanto me recuerda a Clara Rockmore.. es que hay de todo. esa libertad musical que también y tan bien borda en 'husdstage', lienzo experimental que destila un sonido evocador, fluido y emocionante. pero, sobre todo, un sonido que reconoces al instante como suyo, inconfundible. destaco ese interludio library music evocador hasta el infinito que es 'don't look back', la temblorosa intro de 'eurydike' (en mi mundo particular de asociaciones les halles meets la sinfonía nº 40 primer movimiento de Mozart (!) (cuenta la leyenda: un 'tape loop' hecho con una cinta comprada de segunda mano cuyo carrete no estaba etiquetado correctamente, solo ponía "mozart" escrito a mano en su caja...visualizo ese momento perfectamente), 'winterreise' (ay..Low), la preciosíma 'ostereierfarbene lampions' y esas dos barbaridades llamadas 'erdfarbene ewigkeit' (harmonia!) y 'sirius' (debilidad).

acerca de Orfeo en el Inframundo...me encanta lo que dicen en su página de bandcamp, que Günter ha compuesto un disco como una obra de teatro mudo, sumamente narrativo sin decir una sola palabra. yo digo que algún día alguien dirá lo afortunados que fuimos quienes vivimos en tiempo real la evolución de un músico así. tendrá razón, pero lo que importa es que esta música está hecha para quedarse, la escuchemos ahora o dentro de veinte años.

(para no perder las viejas costumbres y puestos a soñar...una colaboración en el futuro de Sam Jones (Inspired School of Astral Music), Miaux y Günter. si tuviera un sello sería mi primer split. en vinilo. no puedo imaginar algo más bonito ^^. tampoco hay manera más bonita de dar la bienvenida al 2024) 

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smolnik & schlienz

  smolnik & schlienz ~ smolnik & schlienz (cosmic winnetou, 2021)

"teresa smolnik delivers her stories with alto voice and proper cries, with spoken words and quiet whispers, with eloquent passion and deep human wisdom. günter schlienz delivers his modular emissions and tape wrengling madness. together they walk into surreal landscapes full of hate and anger, love and redemption. voice & synth mash-up on colored vinyl. for your stereo, for your mind."

 teresa smolnik, voice; günter schlienz, synthesizer, tape machine, field recording, found sound.

 "Is all that we see or seem but a dream within a dream? Teresa Smolnik and Guenter Schlienz push thoughts to this question posed by Edgar Allan Poe over one hundred and seventy years ago. Music formed from ambient drifts. Sonic mass shaped like mountains reaching misty pinnacles of piano notes drifting away into the atmosphere. Stories softly sung and spoken, whispering thoughtful observations with a love filled emotion for the most obscure details. Birds chirping on communication lines, unaware of countless conversations of joy and sorrow beneath their talons. This composition simply titled Smolnik & Schlienz gently ignites the fractures of reality. The glowing details of small cracks and crevices reveal infinite worlds within minuscule dimensions. Inner beauty asking listeners to hear the dreams within and question who is listening to us.

...this is a cosmic winnetou release in a very limited edition of one hundred. very surprised to be describing this composition and still have copies available to purchase. the vinyl is transparent with multi colored splatter. a beautifully done album in both presentation and sound." lost in a sea of sound

a día de hoy me cuestiono sobre la necesidad de escribir sobre música, pero claro, aparecen discos tan bonitos y lo que más me apetece es compartirlos. y el caso es que sí, quiero (siempre desde la emoción más que de la reflexión). smolnik & schlienz es un disco en duermevela (¿es todo lo que vemos o parecemos solo un sueño dentro de un sueño?), otra muestra de irrealidad de un mago que siempre hace música desde el otro lado, un monumento a las sensaciones sobrenaturales: la trompeta de 'calliope calls' me pone los pelos de punta y me recuerda al clima y la atmósfera de "angel heart"....estamos en Nueva Orleans, 1955. y poco más puedo decir de esta maravillosa conexión entre la voz recitada de teresa y el sintetizador, las grabaciones de campo y los 'sonidos encontrados' de günter.."una tarde embriagada de armonía"...y tanto que sí. (p.d.: suscribo lo que dice lost in a sea of sound: sorprende que todavía queden copias de este vinilo transparente tan bonito por dentro y por fuera. hay que hacer algo. es lo que se suele llamar la guinda del pastel.

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