matthew barlow / ashan

matthew barlow ~ hatha (inner islands, 2016)

«Just being, without striving. A place of stillness». inner islands

Focusing on sound healing practices, Matt Barlow took a vacation with his renowned Twin Springs Tapes label and started recording more and more music, which takes new turn in unfolding American New Age music. His latest tape for Inner Islands gives you not only the opportunity to relax and get nice background music for 30 minutes but also the possibility of deepest meditation on the nature of music. Combining simple drones with electronic melodies and contemplative flute playing, this tape reflects the idea, which I run through my haed so many times, while listening to some good ambient records - you don't need to be focused, to perceive everything in this flow of aural sensations, but at the same time, staying out any activity in mind and environment you actually start feeling everything so clearly! I think this state cannot be achieved by means of intentional focusing, so this state feels much more natural and I'm always so childishly happy when it happens. Of course, not only music can bring it, nature can too - bird songs, streaming water, whisper of the leaves... And you can actually hear and feel same energies in these two compositions. There is nothing supernatural about it, but still I have no other word than magic.

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ashan ~ death is new life (heavy mess, 2016)

 «Sean Conrad (Channelers, Orra, Inner Islands) returns as Ashan with a collection of new songs exploring where the physical meets the spiritual and how the two influence and dialogue each other». heavy mess

For the new label run by Braeyden Jae (former boss of Inner Islands label), Sean Conrad (current Inner Islands mastermind) put an exclusive recording which brings to light new facet of his Ashan alias. Usually taking place somewhere far from city hum and electricity circuits, Ashan (almost) always was about instrumental psych-new-age jams, self-invented mantra singing and celebration of simple joys of life – this time Sean takes electric guitar, some distortion and drums, blending the rock music benefits with Ashan's usual sound. You already curious how it sounds? Okay, just hit play on Bandcamp and read further. And I'll continue playing this on repeat, each time wondering how same energy can take so many forms. This is obviously same Ashan I used to and behind all those walls of sounds, electronic drones, krautrock beats and psychedelic solos I hear same magic, that once entered this complicate world with "To Return To" album. Folk music can take many forms and I suppose that there is nothing hard for experienced artist as Mr. Conrad to transform his music into powerful rock outfit without losing primary inspiration. Actually this is fun synchronism between to friends – putting softest side of Braeyden Jae's music at Inner Islands and heavier side of Ashan on Heavy Mess. Consider this as "anti-unplugged" album and simply enjoy it!

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sunmoonstar / maia ibar / sapropelic pycnic

sunmoonstar ~ ibid (twin springs tapes, 2015)

"Twins Springs Tapes is proud to offer this, the debut album from Sunmoonstar (Natasha Home, Sydney, Australia). Panoramic frequencies and percussive surfaces weave satiny landscapes. Pastel planes reflect soft complexities of clouds." 

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maia ibar ~ when you close your eyes / and i see (perfect wave, 2015)

"Maia Ibar of Dual-Split is experimenting with restorative sound voyages. She is interested in assisting you, her, him, them, to come into natural states of balance and harmonies through tones, frequencies and sound. Mysterious but familiar senses of timelessness, traveling through space, or back in the womb... Seeing "when you close your eyes," and "I see." We can always see, we are awake, we are awake."

synths, bells, chimes, drums, tibetan bowls, vocals: Maia Ibar 

guitar, bass: Baptiste Ibar 

vocals: Jean-Pierre Ibar 

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sapropelic pycnic ~ see sun think shadow (perfect wave, 2015)

"Sapropelic Pycnic is the solo project of Kathleen Baird of long running avant psych project Spires That In The Sunset Rise. On her debut release as Sapropelic Pycnic, Baird releases a stunning 8 track record of piano improvisations performed on a Steinway Grand in December of 2011 in a church in her hometown of Decatur, Illinois recorded just days before her father’s passing on December 30, 2011. These improvisations have a raw focus that premiere Baird’s piano training as well as very own style of punctuation, spacing and repetition. Her approach brings to mind the playful, spacious qualities of Emahoy Tsegue-Maryam Guebrou, the unrestraint of Cecil Taylor, the rolling arpeggiations of Alice Coltrane, and the ghostliness of Arvo Part." 

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matthew barlow / dan melchior

 matthew barlow ~ no age (phinery, 2015)

"Now Age is the latest offering from Asheville, NC sound artist, Matthew Barlow. The 50 minute long release is comprised of four pieces ~ each performed using original synth patches (created by Matthew) derived from a singular granular sample. Threaded throughout the four pieces are field recordings ~ including birds, ocean surf, crickets, and more ~ recorded by Barlow either at his home in the country or out during his travels.

The title Now Age could be considered as a commentary of New Age music ~ specifically it’s spiritual nature ~ yet the title’s true intent may best be interpreted as a dismissal altogether of New Age music’s mystical ideologies. However, the album by no means wishes to present a brash, atheistic agenda. Content with suspending supernatural belief for a moment, Now Age contemplates the nature of life, and marvels at the idea that we ~ conscious beings ~ are all composed of and a part of a majestic cosmos. No mysticism need be invoked should we desire to be amazed by our existence in this world. It is that we exist at all in this expansive universe and that we are connected to it ~ these are the meditations of Now Age. Above all, Now Age hopes the listener may deepen their understanding of humankind’s connection with the cosmos and our story within it." Phinery 

'we are a way for the cosmos to know itself.'  ~ Carl Sagan

art: kristina lee

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dan melchior ~ happiness is overrated lp (ultra eczema, 2015)

"originally from the land of throwing sausages, eggs, beans and tomatoes on one plate for breakfast, though residing in the land of the freaks, Dan Melchior travelled many roads, between wreckless R&R bands or duo's with Wild Billy Childish, to solo collages on Chocolate Monk or Kye records, to the beautiful collaborative works he created with Letha Diane Rodman Melchior, Dan's partner who sadly passed away in November 2014, and who this record is dedicated to.

Knowing this makes it uneasy to write something about these incredible recordings, whether happiness is over rated or overrated, on a personal note: these beautiful recordings sink as deep as some of Robert Wyatt's recordings do, possessed by a natural melancholia, the horror of saying goodbye translated in a incredible psychedelic sea of field recordings, guitar, synth and recordings of Letha Diane Rodman Melchior's voice."

~ this album is dedicated to the memory of Letha Diane Rodman Melchior ~

artwork: dennis tyfus

listen ~ try ~ buy limited edition 12'' lp

sabía que después de 'sun showers' cualquier cosa de Matthew Barlow me dejaría sin aliento. pero el impacto de 'now age', todo mimo y detallismo, tan sugerente desde el título, es inmenso. decía Tim Six que es como la respiración que circula en silencio a través nuestro cuerpo. y poco más puedo decir... dos mini sinfonías que transcurren suavemente como si el tiempo no existiese. una producción cristalina como la de Alabaster Falcons y Dura, un punto de partida esencialista como 'hartful' de soy sólo un pupilo, una nueva forma de meditación, un momento de caerse redonda: a partir del minuto dieciséis de 'continuum, a personal voyage parts I & II'. un drone eterno, grabaciones de campo, el cri cri de los grillos, y a partir de ahí el éxtasis, unas teclas de piano que aceleran el ritmo poco a poco, hasta que se desvanece entre olas de mar y el sonido hueco de algo que golpea, tal vez un micrófono de contacto. la 'cara b' 'grounding, the cosmos consciousness' empieza con pajaritos y un drone tan dulce que parece un murmullo. un drone lento y flotante que induce a un plácido estado de duermevela. el trino de los pájaros se transforma en silbido, parece una flauta, una coreografía ensayada. irreal, ...grillos, los ladridos de un perro. y otra vez ese piano... un guiño a Terry Riley y sus larguísimos desarrollos, a 'structures from silence' de Steve Roach. un piano que flota y se desvanece en un drone aéreo, sordo, que acaba envolviéndolo. 'now age' riza el rizo de lo bonito, un disco puro, tan limpio y minimal como perfecto.

si 'now age' de Matthew Barlow es sol, un cielo y un mar azul, 'happiness is overrated' es lluvioso, más de calles vacías e invierno. tan iguales y diferentes que, aunque sólo fuera por la portada y el nivel de belleza que hay dentro, antes o después acaban desembocando en el mismo lugar. en realidad hace tiempo que quería hablar de Dan Melchior y Letha Rodman, en concreto de 'rodman melchior melchior', una cinta irreal editada en fabrica el año pasado. escuchad este trocito (minuto 3:52 en adelante), la tristeza infinita, y me entenderéis. la historia de Dan y Letha me recuerda inevitablemente a la de Danielle Baquet Long y Will Long de Celer. parejas unidas por la música que un día se enfrentan a la pérdida de uno de ellos. 'happiness is overrated', cual elegía, demuestra hasta qué punto el dolor puede originar algo tan hermoso. la 'cara a' clava la imagen del vacío mediante el reverb de un piano lo-fi, el rasgueo de una guitarra tan emocional como la de Charalambides, paisajes pastorales, melodías efímeras, extractos de tiempo fugaces, un viaje al abismo de la tristeza. en sus notas vulnerables hay oscuridad pero también esperanza, inevitable y necesaria tras la pena y el dolor de la ausencia. guitarras, teclados, grabaciones de campo, la voz de Letha...Dan Melchior ordena esos sonidos y los convierte en algo romántico, permanente. Letha ya no está, pero su recuerdo permanecerá gracias a cosas tan bonitas como ese momento en el que se cuela un sample de su voz, muy muy lejana, como una retransmisión perdida en el espacio, en 'ldrm'.

i am just a pupil

 i am just a pupil ~ heartful (twin springs tapes, 2014)

"the sun rises in a clear sky. breathe in deeply as all of Nature resounds in harmony with the multiverse. you are the center, your heart full of life and love. now exhale. manifest peace with every breath. feel the kaleidoscope of consciousness flowing through your being. the nuclear age is passing, the New Age has ascended. light some incense, meditate, and smile. let your heart be full..." twin springs tapes 

 ~ excited to announce the release of an Asheville jam full of bliss, emotion, and satire ~
 

'heartful' de soy sólo un pupilo (qué bien pupilo, como humito) significa muchas cosas: estar en conexión con tu corazón, sentirse a gusto, cordialidad, amor... y así es. samples, field recordings, pajaritos, pianos que suenan bajísimos, arpas suspendidas en el cielo y tocadas por ángeles, relajación, voces sanadoras de guías espirituales como las de Transmuteo, y de vez en cuando se cuela Satie. todo con un punto de ironía y cariño ("our new tape is a wash of genuine emotion bathed in New Age parody & satire. enjoy the sounds...), todo envuelto en un halo atemporal y new age bucólico pastoril muy 'from gardens where we feel secure' de Virginia Astley y al mismo tiempo muy Worn Habit... una locura. muchas, muchísimas ganas de hacer un rewind.

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inner travels

  inner travels ~ first light (twin springs tapes, 2014) 

"I recently discovered Lawrence Jordan’s “Winter Light,” and now I think that might have been a better title for the Inner Travels debut. But I chose “First Light” because it means dawn, which is my favorite time of day. Also, it’s the first of what I hope to be many albums of “light” music. Jordan’s 1983 short film, with its sweeping camera movements and hazy, colorful images of nature, evoke the same responses I have to the music of “First Light” ~ warmth, peace, discovery. This is not the kind of winter we have here in Wisconsin, which oscillates from snowfall to subzero chills on a weekly basis. But both winters have their own beauty. The cover image may look like mountains, but it's actually the towering snow banks along Illinois Route 47.   I played keyboards and ran tape loops through outboard effects boxes, twiddling knobs in the hopes that these machines would take me someplace warmer, more tranquil and relaxing, like Jordan’s winter. I hope this album takes all who listen to it there, too." steve targo 

"be transported to realms within, and listen as your innermost being dissolves into pure light: the First Light. this radiant energy flows from the eternal essence of Being, and breathes life & harmony into all things ~ it is the very soul of the universe. see that you are the cosmos becoming aware of itself. breathe in, let go. allow Inner Travels to guide you on a journey of deep contemplation and serene revelation immersed in sound tranquility. Enter the Light..." twin springs tapes

estoy abrumada...la cantidad de discos preciosos que se han ido acumulando estos meses es tal que reconozco que a veces me generan hasta ansiedad, pero también me motivan, me inspiran, me dan alegría. ojalá pudiera abarcarlos todos, recomendarlos todos, dedicarles a todos las palabras bonitas que sin duda se merecen. pero soy consciente de que al final la realidad es que no hay tiempo suficiente, ni palabras suficientes. en fin, he aquí uno de ellos: Inner Travels, el nuevo proyecto, para mí soñado, de Steve Targo de Riot Meadows. un vuelco al corazón a la altura de Tim Robertson. un flechazo. 'first light' parece uno de esos tesoros largamente escondidos con los que Sounds of the Dawn nos deleita y nos sorprende de vez en cuando (los detalles, el sonido, la intención, incluso la tipografía), pero tiene el espíritu de las cosas nuevas, estimulantes, la frescura de las cintas grabadas en casa, en la cocina, en el porche al amanecer, o al atardecer. la prueba más elocuente de que hasta imitando a los músicos más inimitables se puede crear un estilo propio. diez canciones como diez soles que duran un suspiro y suenan como clásicos de hace tres décadas, de hecho la número tres, o la preciosísima numero cuatro,  me recuerdan a 'clouds' y 'crystals' de Craig Kupka. tanta es la magia.  'first light', que está inspirado en 'winter light', un corto de 1983 de Lawrence Jordan, posee el encanto, y el asombro, y esa sensación de flotar en el espacio de los viejos discos de new age. sé que corre el riesgo de acabar traspapelado entre la avalancha de cintas que, día tras día, hace del ambient y el new age un socorrido e hiperpoblado lugar común, y de verdad que sería una pena...el cariño a los discos así de bonitos y con tan buenas influencias no se le puede perder. pero no insisto más, no vaya a ser que de tanto elogio se os quiten las ganas de escucharlo.

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