deep magic & mohave triangles

 deep magic & mohave triangles ~ split (diatom bath, 2016)

"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

listen/buy mohave triangles ~ listen deep magic ~ buy cassette

grykë pyje

grykë pyje ~ fragments of high sensitivity (ikuisuus / hyster tapes, 2016)

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.

listen ~ buy

mathias grassow & closing the eternity

mathias grassow & closing the eternity ~ self-titled (πάνθεον, 2015)

«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.

listen ~ buy

meta mora

meta mora ~ ocean terminal (cloud bank, 2016)

La música de Meta Mora es misteriosamente descriptiva. Es como pintura paisajística plasmando escenas que su autor hubiera visto en ese estado de asombro que a uno le asalta a veces cuando descubre ante sí una belleza que le deja sin palabras. Los trazos de sonidos analógicos, cálidos y densos con que pinta sus visiones me transmiten precisamente esa impresión de asombro ante imágenes idílicas. A veces de una forma casi espiritual, como en las dos partes de la maravillosa "Eye of the Eagle" de su disco Prismatic. El año pasado sacó dos cintas imponentes, Temperate Worlds en Rainbow Pyramid y Moon Hymns en Twin Springs, que reservo en un espacio íntimo y lunar del micromundo de maravillas musicales que estamos viviendo. Ocean Terminal me suena más luminoso, precisamente como la portada, azul claro transparente, acuático y tropical, y no sólo por los field recordings; esos sintetizadores están totalmente alineados con el olor a playa, el agua fresca, la sensación de relajación y placer al flotar o bucear. Todo dice agua en esta cinta, y eso es una nueva muestra de la destreza para traducir paisajes a música que tiene este artista, y nosotros nos quedamos con ganas de más.

listen ~ buy

channelers / softest / braeyden jae

channelers ~ essex (inner islands, 2016)

«Essex is the 2nd album by Channelers (Ashan, gkfoes vjgoaf, etc). Expansive minimalism. Bridging the synthetic and organic. The repetitive fissle of a stream, the fluidity of its motion, and the clarity of its composition. The collection utilizes a diverse palette, devoting a unique ensemble to each piece. As a whole, it promotes a neutral space in favor of nurturing one’s physicality. Channelers is Sean Conrad, based in Oakland, California». inner islands

When it comes to Inner Islands, I never have doubts about the quality of music presented. Well-established provider of lovely ambient tunes and blissful new age meditations, Sean Conrad – is the man behind the Islands and also behind the Channelers alias. Being a huge fan of everything Sean does I fell in love with "Essex" from the very first minutes. Opening with 11-minute "Rest" composition, it immediately sets the mood to relaxed, so it's not really possible to do something else than nap while it unfolds with beautifully crafted loops. Gentle instrumentations reminds Ashan a lot (another Conrad's project), but stays wordless and beatless most of the time. I always wondered how he manages to create these endless, so nicely selected loops, because they aren't annoying even after very long period of time, they just give you space – to dream, to feel, to stay in peace with yourself and the environment. I'd call it meditation, but this music is not just a tool for certain purpose, there is always something more, about the life itself, about every single day and simple activities like cooking, drinking tea or maybe just looking out the window... When you wake up and see bright sunny morning outside after few weeks of cloudy greyness, this tape will be a perfect start to the day!

listen ~ buy

softest ~ six wishes (inner islands, 2016)

«six wishes is the 2nd full-length release from softest (braeyden jae, WYLD WYZRDZ, etc). The sounds from this project are invariably in sympathy with the name of their maker. Gentle rain on a dark green landscape. A warmth to gather yourself around. The pieces, instrumentally, are comprised of guitar, synths, keyboards, discreet sampling, and field recordings. softest is Braden McKenna, based in Salt Lake City, Utah.”». inner islands

It was a bit surprising to see Braden returning to his softest alias after immense number of releases as Braeyden Jae, but listening to the tape you'll immediately understand the decision. Softest side of Braden's guitar rumble brings here same kind of magic heard on "Essex" tape – slowly unfolding spirals of guitar bliss mixed with pleasant synth pads and field recordings, and once again Inner Islands release makes this world little happier. Usually Braden's ability to hypnotise comes from the same source as Sean's – nicely selected loops and almost invisible change of their flow during the composition. But this time something else comes into play – carefully picked echo intertwined with thorough layering creates another level of perception. And at certain moment it gains more effect in the mix with field recording natural noises. Beauty of the melodic lines drowns in reverberation and tape hiss – just to be born again, to change its state but to remain itself, like rain over the landscape, exactly. Isn't it what we all want?

listen ~ buy

 braeyden jae ~ fog mirror (whited sepulchre, 2016)

«On Fog Mirror, SLC based musician Braden McKenna, has crafted a weighted, textural album of architectural drone punctuated with stirring washes of crackling static and arcing tones that gather like visible precipitation on an early morning windshield. Fog Mirror is braeyden jae's most deliberately paced, emotionally resonant record to date; the aural equivalent of watching a thick gray blanket envelop some distant, cliffed coastline». whited sepulchre

You may know Ryan Hall, who started Whited Sepulchre as founder of the fellow blog Tome to the Weather Machine, charity netlabel Heligator Records and co-founder of Denver-based Goldrush Music Festival. First two releases at his new label Whited Sepulchre are Fog Mirror vinyl and Braden's cassette split with Ant'lrd. Fog Mirror starts at the territory where softest ends – lush of pink noise covers every melody and every riff produced by Braden's guitar and melts all magic loops into thawing crunch of late spring snow. Overall composition here acts like variable high-level wind, changing directions and power, but always staying way too high to notice any small detail. Everything drowns in everything. Forests, lakes, mountains... Reverb takes part in it too, gaining subtle melodies to the level of this wind, giving them almost astronomical scale, wrapping whole planet into cocoon of dense magnetic fields, cosmic rays, gliding at the atmosphere, meteor showers... At the same time someone standing at the bus stop far away from city, hears thunder, sees lightning and thinks of the endlessness of time, of connection between people, of home... Breathing clean air charged with electricity. Someone small in the endless corridor of the two mirrors facing each other: mirrors of perception and thoughts about it, surfaces of feelings and contemplation on them. Music permeates these surfaces, but can we do the same? Or it will another reflection, or reflection of the reflection, finally faded in the fog? Infinite is not something big, it's here, right now – in every gaze, in every touch, in every tiny drop of fog... Music knows it.

listen ~ buy

chihei hatakeyama / thousand foot whale claw / havenaire

chihei hatakeyama ~ you're still in it (constellation tatsu, 2016)

«Hatakeyama's music is characteristically very slow, composed by repeatedly processing guitars, pianos, and vibraphones on a laptop. The result is a mix of droning chords and sparse single instruments rising above the mix. His music may be classified as either post-ambient experimental music or new-age music». ctatsu

What is definitely true from that press-release is the fact that Chihei's compositions are very slow. Yes, there are few quite experimental albums in his portfolio which may be called "post-ambient", but what Mr. Hatakeyama released in recent years is one hundred percent drone ambient, pure, innocent and absolutely blissful. His recent collaboration with Dirk Serries made me faint in admiration and now this tape – maybe a bit simpler and minimalistic, but at the same time reaching total stillness and serenity in its vibe. Someone may call such music emotionless or even aloof, but it's only a surface look. Unfocused, expectation-free listening to it may reveal huge dimension which are not that really hidden. It's like paying attention to your own breathing – can be useless in a daily routine, but definitely worth trying if you want to feel yourself (and the world around) much deeper and interconnected... Music created by Chihei Hatakeyama is just a glimpse on that topic, yet so captivating and so fleeting that you would be obliged to press repeat button. 

listen ~ buy

thousand foot whale claw ~ cosmic winds (constellation tatsu, 2016)

«Thousand Foot Whale Claw, an Austin 4 piece, have masterfully wrangled their mountain of synths and guitars on stage for a couple of years now. With a lineup including members of Pure X and Troller, TFWC have cut their own path, playing diverse sets of delicate minimalism to krauty trance to full-spectrum drone. They have recently released a cassette, Lost in Those Dunes, on their own Holodeck Records imprint. Upcoming release Cosmic Winds on Constellation Tatsu takes space rock to the next level». ctatsu

Have you ever felt that cassette drone scene suffered sensible damage when Emeralds went off the stage? Okay, there are Bitchin Bajas, High Wolf, Cliffsides, Mind Over Mirrors and guys like Enumclaw, but still... Thousand Foot Whale Claw's album for Constellation Tatsu is something so exciting that it's hard to put in words all pleasure I had listening to it. Here you can find everything one might expect from strong psychedelic drone stuff: huge walls of synth sound, layered guitars and bass and overwhelming spirals of composition. I wonder how it all may sound on the stage! At the beginning of '90s such music might easily fit into freshly invented "post-rock" category, because what they do is much more timbre and texture oriented than melodic/riff attitude of psychedelic or space rock. But today, when everything is blended with something (completely) different, such music may remain in underground for a long time without having recognition as something really special. And maybe that's even better, because I can't imagine stadium crowd tripping in those vibes. Good, I can, but this will cause such huge amount of "matrix disconnections" that FBI would eventually take over the whole city... Then friendly UFO's are coming to rescue ones enlightened by music and here space journey begins, taking place among colourful nebulae and galaxies full of glowing stardust. At the end of this story we see another planet with huge stadiums built for Thousand Foot Whale Claw gigs filled with billions of aliens tripping in the kilowatts of sound... Okay, think you got the idea!

listen ~ buy

havenaire ~ tremolo (constellation tatsu, 2016)

«Tremolo is the debut release from Havenaire, the Stockholm based musician John Roger Olsson. With his new alias, he is working with slow moving atmospheric melodies and shoegazing sonics. The most vital component to the layered sound of Tremolo is the classic vintage synth Roland Juno-106 which is also the primary source of sound. Mixed with Moog SubPhatty, effect drenched upright piano and white noise». ctatsu

After few very successful albums of noisy ambient like Tim Hecker's "Harmony in Ultraviolet" many artists started to experiment with distortion. Sure, there were examples of such formula before, but at the end of '00s there were so many distorted synth projects that I even had separate folder for them. But with the course of time it became so common to include such element even in quite traditional ambient structures that moment of unexpectedness was lost. Such albums, like "Wilderness of Mirrors" by Lawrence English is a great example, when you quickly adapt to the harshness of sound and start floating in it as freely as you may do it with any traditional ambient work. Same goes to Havenaire debut, which is quite strong and very well composed, filled with noise as much as with music in its conditional meaning. At certain point it reminds some tape from Sundrips huge discography, but then shifts from pure drone to more composed stuff and you can actually feel a lot of emotional movement behind the scenes, which is constantly decayed, dissociated and deconstructed. My suggestion is that this music have such good therapeutic effect on its author that it may be transferred further – to the listener, because you never know the source of those emotions, there are no story told behind, just pure essence of the feelings. It's quite powerful and universal, which makes this tape worthwhile of attentive listening at huge volume more than just few times.

listen ~ buy

a.shark / you c + foresteppe

a.shark ~ 45 (o minor, 2016)

«This album was born to show main direction of O Minor's musical mood, to demonstrate what are spiritual music for us» o minor

Today's post is about two new born Russian labels, which music I'd like to share with Microphones community. They both share similar aesthetics in sound – using tape loops, acoustic instruments, synths and field recording to achieve peaceful aural landscape where one can travel endlessly. First one is A.Shark (Alexander Akulenko) with 90 minutes of warm summer field recordings combined with subtle instrumentations, which brings to mind many childhood memories, reminiscences of happy moments we all have during the lifetime. Music floats between simple impressionism and playful naivety, but always brings a bit of psychedelic atmosphere in its flow – fast bicycle ride through the park, heady dances of the sunlight between the leaves and branches, kaleidoscope of emotions experienced without reflection, just as they are, pure and innocent. Regarding this I must say that listening to such kind of music always takes much more than just entertainment, it definitely has certain therapeutic effect, like being transcended through your memory, experiencing "then" and "now" in one single moment, a superposition of everything that happened and will happen... Inspiring and simply beautiful music which brings sunlight even to cloudy winter days.

listen ~ buy ~ download: part 1 ~ part 2

you c + foresteppe ~ seven sleepers (шалаш, 2016)

«Inspired by a story about a group of Christian youths who hid inside a cave outside the city of Ephesus around 250 AD, to escape persecution. There they fell into a miraculous sleep for almost two hundred years» шалаш

Bela Uncle Cat (you c) and Egor Klochikhin (Foresteppe) had many releases and art projects before and you may already know well-praised Foresteppe album Diafilms as well as Bela's animations and collages she made to complete her own music creations. Now it's time for collaboration which combines love to collage music and visual art with tape looping approach and folk instrumentation. Being a first release of new born Egor's label ШАЛАШ, this album is presented in cassette tape and reel-to-reel editions, both housed in lovely handmade packaging. Once again we hear a blissful lullaby of floating sounds, starting from accordion and ukulele and ending its spectrum in subtle field recordings and recycled tape hiss. Music unfolds very slowly, gently pulling one thread after another, keeping things down and sleepy all the time. Many artists started to explore "sleep music" genre recently and usually it is some kinds of drone/ambient sounds, but this tape brings different view. Why should we record 8-hour long album if we can do just one very good 23-minute loop? And "seven sleepers" does it very well. Side B repeats the side A and if you push repeat button on your deck this tape would play forever. Or, at least, for two hundred years. I warned!

listen ~ buy ~ download

tuluum shimmering / the exhalers

 tuluum shimmering ~ space is the place / prince of peace (branch tapes, 2015)

"reissue of 2 cdrs previously issued separately by artist. several years back Jake (Tuluum Shimmering) offered to send recordings out to those who sent him something in the mail. I went ahead and sent some things and in return got an amazing box back several weeks later. Included were these two discs. two single track long pieces that just blew me away and continue to blow me away to this day. over the years the discs Ive owned have become worn or almost lost in the chaos and the need to have these recordings given a second life, especially on a physical format became important in my mind. Tuluum Shimmering recordings always seems to head towards somewhere very sacred and these two recordings are some of the strongest journeys for me. much thanks for the chance to release this." josh/ tomentosa

'la música de tuluum shimmering parece dirigirse siempre hacia un lugar muy sagrado, y estas dos grabaciones son, para mí,  dos de sus viajes más poderosos. muchas gracias por darme la oportunidad de reeditarlas."

out of stock ~ listen ~ download

 the exhalers ~ bay of light, frases de entretanto (branch tapes, 2015)

"I sat on my stoop at dusk last night remarking on the loss of the divine. how the landscape in front of me now so heavily civilized, felt razed and distant. within moments the landscape shifted and the power lines and buildings seeped into the background and muted as the landscape exerted it’s true continuous nature that I had just been unable to see. these recording seem to bridge that gap; expressing that which is razed but also paying homage to something greater that runs beneath it all. there’s a piece on the second side that took me many listens to even hear, to really listen and have set in to my conscious to the point of it being my most favorite part of the tape. It was always there but only the shift of my own perspective brought about true appreciation. the artwork, dubbing and putting together of this tape went from deliberate ideas to something that existed beyond my immediate vision; something that brought me out of the sky and down to the point where the sea laps at your feet and the landscape folds out behind your back strong but ebbing at the shore. many thanks for the chance to release this." josh/tomentosa

algo me dice que la canción a la que se refiere josh es 'moonshine tale'. demasiado especial para describirla, tan sólo las palabras de josh. pura melancolía.

out of stock ~ listen ~ download

stag hare ~ tapestry

stag hare ~ tapestry (inner islands, 2015) [4-tape box compilation]

«This is a collaborative project entirely compelled forward by those individuals who have commissioned the tracks. It could not and would not have been created without this communal effort. All pieces were recorded from December 2014 to July 2015. Each track was individually commissioned for creation and recorded under the inspiration and direction of each patron.» stag hare

The idea of artist making living of its art always was important – not just for artists themselves, which is obvious, but for the audience as well. Time we live now affords many new levels of communication, and if yesterday your favourite musician existed in some sort of parallel universe – unreachable, available only on special occasions, today we have a slightly different situation. Yes, there are still super-stars, but the majority of artist you admire have same facebook pages as you do – posting kittens, sharing vacation photos and so on. And you won't believe how many of them have same problems as you do. Music making for most of diy/tape/lo-fi  scene artist is an actual luxury, free time devotion often taken away from family, regular day job or simply of outside walk. Instead being as lazy, as all we sometimes do, artists are often forced to superpose. Despite the common idea that music-making is fun and relaxing, it requires much more, even if (or especially if!) you do experimental music. You can't just hold one note on cheapest keyboard and say "hey, that's drone", it will be boring and no one would like that. People invent, they always try and research. But with understanding of such topics, there are still huge difference between music-making and 'normal job'. Many new methods of artist support exists today – fundraising, patron system, simple donation buttons, but sudden growth of the cassette tapes manufacture hints that people prefer to have something more that just music files in exchange. They want a connection, communication, and it must go both ways. Holding something in hands helps that, especially if this thing was made by artist himself. 

What Stag Hare did for this project was simple – you can get 15-minutes drone track recorded personally for you just for few dollars. And for few more you can get a tape with this track directly from Stag Hare's bedroom – signed and hand-painted. This is actually almost genius in terms of modern world communication. Fast and direct. When artist releases an album, it's always about something personal – but for artist himself, while such commissioned tracks seem to be more about the person who wanted it. This is  interaction that comes to artist's mind even on subtle level: "what this guy like? what sounds good for him?"... Of course, small labels are offering very similar thing, they do limited editions and their customers are usually same people from one release to another. There is certain level of trust in it, which never existed in major label industry. I doubt that anyone gets new cars from running tape label, but when people feel this interaction it makes life easier – for the musician, for label owner and for the listener as well. Sleepless nighttime spent over the blinking synths and pedals doesn't pay bills and maybe bothers your relatives, but it must be much easier to get up early after it for regular job, knowing that there are people who appreciate and value your efforts.

Each 'Tapestry' track was made for someone, but releasing whole thing for the world by Inner Islands brings it to broader perspective. This is not about people trying to make living from their art any more. This is about life itself, unfolding its ways, evolving its ideas further to interconnectedness of everything. One small step in the search of new ways of existence of art in our world. Music artists are same as everyone else, but the music itself is something much more! A place where we all meet each other.

 

listen ~ buy

julia bloop

 julia bloop ~ bllop (rotifer, 2016)

.... 

'let's forget the past' es tan 'variations of the one essence'

(worn habit, forming, reedbeds, las primeras cintas de monster rally ('like a vanished day'), peat raamur, tuluum shimmering, bandicoor trail, journey of mind... ¿y si michael pouw tuviera un poquito de julia bloop?.

listen ~ buy

furthers / fellirium / ugasanie & spiral of time

furthers ~ pineal dreamer (πάνθεον, 2015)

«Dedicated to coniferous structures, graceful pinewoods covered with moss, to cypresses shining in the sun along the mountain roads. We name this recording «pineal dreamer» and dedicate it to visionaries and dreamers, to all who draw their dreams and hallucinations from the gifts of the pineal gland. Shamans, dancing in the coniferous forests of their souls, and all kind of unseen creatures that came to us from the fabulous recesses of subconsciousness». furthers

Furthers are duo from Kyiv, Ukraine which music sparkles somewhere behind closed eyelids. Inspired by visionary art and ideas of Rick Strassman, always glorifying nature (especially coniferous, as you may noticed), it sounds like endless jam somewhere in the night woods, under the stars and milky way. With many instruments and effects used, totally improvised, the result may seem a bit lo-fi, but it suits the overall atmosphere very well – we hear the interaction between distant and nearby events, but they all connected by patterns of hallucinatory haziness. Every track has its own story as part one one huge trip through the subconsciousness and some track names give clear images of what is happening there – take "lovely emerald birds and velvet dolphins", for example. Slight touch of experimental new age (of kind that Rainbow Pyramid label releases) and few darker moments will keep your imagination busy. Actually, this music is kind of visionary painting itself, constantly changing, having many layers that become visible only at certain angles. Blissful and thoughtful, full of light and coniferous aromas, 80-minutes continuum to explore.

listen ~ buy ~ download

fellirium ~ mermaids (πάνθεον, 2015)

«Music that reveals horizons of unseen landscapes, silhouettes of sailboats travelling to distant lands, quietly and slowly emerging from the fog and thousands of blooming shades of sea blueness... Silent melodies and clear echoes are woven into net, that gently pulls the sea secrets from abyss of the depths». πάνθεον

Marine theme seems to be very attractive for ambient artists and it's understandable – being kind of impressionism, ambient music tends to natural landscapes, to non-verbal images of serene places and situations. At least brian-eno-type of ambient, when music is more about creating background for disctracted listener, working on subconscious level. You may be not even listening, but the certain effect will emerge afterwards. I always liked the idea, but what is even more interesting, is attentive listening to something that seems just beautiful background. Some ambient music reveals simple synth pad put on hold (and even then it may be interesting!), but Felliruim hides much more than that behind seemingly serene surface of quiet sounds. Subtle acoustic instrumentation and attentiveness to details reveals that work has been done very carefully, still making the result quiet and not too splashy. Marine landscape, that tells a story, image where every details reflects sunlight, like those paintings of Aivazovsky. Not so impressionist after all! Somewhere in between, maybe:  it's hard to put in terms of painting, because music is something always changing. Though, next listening to this disc may give me another impression, different mood and that is a very good thing. With this in mind, I have to say that Fellirium's "Mermaids" is no less, than a great example of pure ambient music.

listen ~ buy ~ download

spiral of time & ugasanie ~ in the aftersounds of echo (πάνθεον, 2015)

«Damp air of this cloudy day hovered over the grey stones, becoming a trap for sounds, even hum of sea waves crashing on the rocks seemed to be inexpressibly farther. Beside the fog only stones were visible and the grass under one's feet, also fingertips felt the rough texture of labyrinth stone walls. Curving all the time it led away and further, freeing head from thoughts, taking away fears and memories...» πάνθεον

Here everything goes a bit darker. Siberian project Спираль Времени (Spiral of Time) was simply obliged to release a collaborative album with Ugasanie – both artists are so good in transmitting vibrations of archaic and still unknown North, that every time you listen to them, your subconscious begins to pull some words and symbols from the depths of collective memory, drawing strange signs before the eyes. Balancing between classic dark ambient formulas and electronic shamanism, Ugasanie crafts his music in own distinctive style known for his releases at Cryo Chamber label. But this part goes later on the disc, while Spiral of Time fills first five tracks with foggy aural substance holding on something what seems to be neoclassical instrumentation. You may feel cold, drenched and freezing – just like Stalker in Tarkovsky movie, – but there are some romantic about that for sure. And right when you start to feel little more comfortable, Ugasanie leads you into thick forest where archaic magic creatures rule. Just read track names: "mermaid's slough", "other side of the mushroom"... Yes, these mermaids are not those cute ones from Fellirium's album – but Russian wild-forest-kind ones, be careful!

listen ~ buy ~ download

uton / antti tolvi / lieven m. moana

uton ~ ummet ja lammet (ikuisuus, 2015)

«Experimental electronic studies with psychedelic flavours. Connections to the cosmic currents and invisible beings from the other worlds and dimensions, our collective dimension included. Music to help listener to breathe through its energy centers (chakras), or even from the core of the existence. Sounds to travel in astral ways, and explore the unknown, eyes closed or open - works well with both ways». ikuisuus

I always felt something ironic behind those weird sounds of Uton. Flirting with new age terms and ideas and still remaining truly Finnish noise in composition & sound – I can clearly imagine some yoga coach woman playing this tape in afternoon patio for her pupils... Eyes closed, all sitting in lotus posture... Listening to true inner selves... And suddenly alien invasion begins, starting from that patio: huge UFOs descending out of nowhere, lasers blasting all over the place, screams and panic and that tape continues to roll meanwhile. 

Maybe I listened too much new age tapes from '80s, but seriously – what meditation and yoga practice have in common with these collages of weird noises, playful sound effects and overall atmosphere of kindergarten merriment? But okay, let's not be boring and say that this tape is actual true and 100% new age, but from another solar system. Why not? We sent them gold plate with Bach, after all... If you ever read to vedic literature, it says that there are billions of planets with different kinds of intelligent creatures, but all of them share idea of Hinduism in a way, all being part of Brahman creation and Vedic cosmology. So, if we have chakras and they do, maybe we should establish connection not with prohibitively expensive antennas and computers, but in meditation state? Same energy, same vibrations, only different languages. But prana is universal, meditation state is universal, so let's use it as new internet! Actually, I almost sure that Jani Hirvonen already does it in his cosy apartment. And maybe they already here, among us. Who knows? The truth is out there. 

 

try ~ buy tape 

antti tolvi / lieven m. moana ~ tolvi moana (edicoes cn, 2015)

«To get to know the people, is to walk in their footsteps. Thus by walking Corvo Island’s only road, the Estrada Do Caldeirão, I entered the mind of her dwellers». lieven m. moana

«The idea for these pieces came up when I heard Lieven’s side – early version – for this split cassette. The idea was to make music which is the same as, and also totally different from Lieven’s side. I decided to make different set ups with my analog synths, and let them play themselves. Then do field recordings out of those». antti tolvi

Many artists are working with field recording genre nowadays. Why not, when it seems so easy – buy recorder, go to some place exotic, keep your mouth shut and ears open. But, of course, this is only the surface. There are many field recordings serving as documentation of places and events, released without any editing. And there is completely different thing, when field recordings are used as composition material: not as sample, which may be processed through many effects, but as an instrument itself. Idea is not new, there are some huge names like Francisco López or Slawek Kwi working that way, but work of Lieven M. Moana is probably something different, and not only because he prefers tape recorders and lo-fi aesthetics. Moana creates certain mythology, timeless presence of something bigger than just impression of the place. His recordings have pauses of silence, where you can actually feel more. Going back to John Cage's idea that music is everywhere where listener is, Moana finds another dimension of ever-present listener. He explores it, while visiting geographic locations and finds harmonic interaction between being subjective composer and detached field recordist. We don't have to be educated to feel harmony in things, but sometimes we need someone who will point at it. When  pause appear, you start hearing your own "island" – the one you live in. Have you listened to it today? 

And this brings us to the idea behind Antti Tolvi side of this tape – recording his synths playing themselves. Okay, he admits that failed in being independent observer and turned some knobs during the process, but this is what we do, when we walk away from crowded street, isn't it? Always turning knobs of our aural environment, we may forget doing that, thinking that everything just happens. Which brings us to John Cage again – if we found some sounds musical and other not, we acting like egoists, judging things for being noisy or uninteresting. Try to listen something you find unpleasant for your ears and ask yourself why you don't like it. Okay, this may go far into philosophy, and what we actually have on this tape is nice analogue drones and psychedelic ambient passages between them. But listening to this after Lieven's side makes difference. I can imagine these sounds being field recordings of some astronomical scale location, showing the huge picture of million-year-old nebula evolution with galaxies swirling all around it. And yes, I find it much more ear-pleasing than my neighbours yelling behind the wall. Am I egoist?

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former selves ~ morriña

former selves ~ morriña (auasca, 2016)

«Morriña, the Galician word from the region in Spain, used to describe an intense longing for something that is no longer there. Like being homesick. Arriving in Spain with no instruments, field recordings from daily walks in the Spanish countryside form the base of this album. Field recordings were arranged into compositions before hitting a single note of an instrument. This is his most unconventional Former Selves release to date». auasca

Indeed, this album sounds unusual. As long-time follower of Former Selves output I can surely tell that. Yet, this is still ambient/drone music, but its aesthetics goes far away from regular "lo-fi cassette drone jams". The way it was created and the resulting sound reminds Dragon's Eye Recordings catalogue and solo works of Yann Novak - the man behind it. Quietly unfolding layers of pure, undistorted drone, subtle presence of field recordings and amazing space between the resonances, which gives huge space for one's imagination. What is hidden behind those hums? Was it river speaking its own language with the sky or dry leaves, whispering stories about summer? Or just bare wind, hiding in the branches? Images are easily replaceable, but sound here keep its own vibe, slowly blending the edges of what we used to call 'reality'. Map is always smaller than territory, but symbolic interpretation of landscape and what it represents (subjectively, of course) may cause a wave of universes, going through one's mind. Or, maybe, mind goes though universes, causing music to be manifested at certain points of space-time? Reflecting on this even for the short time of this cassette playback, one can easily feel that actually his own self is missing, lost somewhere at the journey with these tunes... Which brings us to idea, so beautifully reflected in Paul's project name - Former Selves. Yes, this is exactly who we are. One moment ago, two moments ago... While you thinking of yourself, your 'real' self is already not there. So, probably this Morriña longing that we may feel, is not about something, but, in first place, about our selves.

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azha

azha - celestial meadows (perfect wave, 2015)

Azha is the collaboration of Kathleen Baird (Spires That In The Sunset Rise, Sapropelic Pycnic) and Andrew Fitzpatrick (Noxroy, Volcano Choir, All Tiny Creatures, Bon Iver). In their debut release, Fitzpatrick processes Baird's flute and vocals through Ableton creating an icy, eerie, celestial ambience. Edition of 50. perfect wave

No se puede negar que en 2015 hemos contemplado un nuevo amanecer para Ka Baird. Siendo honestos, lo cierto es que se venía gestando desde un par de años atrás tras el sendero abierto por Tropical Rock. No obstante, el estallido avant-garde y free-jazz que supuso 'Beast in the Garden' ha liberado un torrente de reencarnaciones (Sapropelic Pycnic) y colaboraciones (Azha) al cobijo de Terry Riley, John Coltrane, Roland Kirk, Cluster o J.D. Emmanuel. Los más de 37 hipnotizantes minutos de la larga suite, secuenciada por Andrew Fitzpatrick sobre las improvisaciones vocales y flautiles de Kathleen, parecen fluctuar entre en un ambient que recorre las profundidades marinas y el espacio exterior. A estos parajes, dispares a priori pero que transmiten sensaciones similares, es a donde a mí me transporta ‘Celestial Meadows'. Flotas ingrávido entre interferencias, loops y disonancias, surgen vocecillas que se asoman para desaparecer rápidamente y vislumbras un arcoíris en la inmensidad helada que va desvaneciéndose paulatinamente. 

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Top 2015 by Steve Targo (Inner Travels)

Happy New Year, dear readers and listeners! Things were slowing down lately at Microphones due to the number of reasons, but we still listen to new music a lot! Our passion is stronger than ever and 2015 was really huge experience – tons of wonderful music released and lots of new names blossomed. We continue to dive this vibe, always searching, listening, perceiving and trying to share. It's always hard to choose 'best' among things so unique, that every piece takes you to another dimension, telling its own story, so we still contemplating on the task of posting our favourite pieces. Today we asked Steve Targo, one of our favourite musicians, to help with this and share his own thoughts about aural discoveries in 2015. Soon there will be more, keep well and enjoy your holidays!

«I couldn’t listen to everything I wanted to in 2015, but what I heard was magical. No other word to describe it. 2015 was such a magical year for my kind of music. So much came out that I'll need another year to catch up. My best of 2015 list is simply based on what I listened to the most. I'd be remiss to not mention such wonderful offerings by Meta Mora, Pulse Emitter, Panabrite, Opaline, Tropical Rock, Reuben Son, Maia Ibar, Inspired School of Astral Music, Dragontime, Kiyomitsu Miyashita, the “Skyward Territories” 4-way split … and so many others. For now, let’s just stick to 10. Or 11, depending on how you look at my tie for second, since it includes a collection that wasn't officially released but can be streamed».

10. H. Takahashi ~ Sea Meditation

9. Sunmoonstar ~ Gymnasium Flower

8. Hybrid Palms ~ Rainbow Breeze

7. Warren Michael Defever ~ Sunship

6. Selaroda ~ viaje a través de sonidos transportative

5. Water Bureau ~ Water Bureau

4. Kyle Landstra ~ Unshared Properties Vol. I-IV

3. David Edren ~ Music For Mimosa Pudica & Codariocalyx

2. Matt Barlow ~ Of Waves & his Sound Meditations playlist

1. Laraaji ~ All In One Peace

~ by Steve Targo  (Inner Travels, ex-riot_meadows)

morton feldman

morton feldman -rothko chapel / why patterns? [1971] (keep tapes alive, 2015)

Morton Feldman's 1971 commissioned piece for the Rothko Chapel is one of the most sublime works in his vast catalog of recordings. In tribute to the chapel and to his friend the painter Mark Rothko who killed himself a year before the chapel opened, Feldman uses tonal rhythms, bells, viola and a chorus in stark but lyrical consort with the reverential acoustics provided by the chapel itself. Long fascinated by the sonorous qualities of tones and how they decay and diminish over time, Feldman shared with his friend Rothko the aim to unveil the mystery of perception. Performed with a slowly unfolding arc of restrained movements and silences, there has never been a more appropriate matching of acoustics and vision than the pairing of these two 20th century mavericks. aquarius

"Think you dont like "classical" music? think again... Morton Feldman (1926-1287) NYC, is like no other. beautiful compositions constructed with patience and beauty. Theres no other mind like his, he turned composition and standard methods of composing on it's head. He used Persian rugs, artwork, silence and space as influences while most others used Bach or Beethoven. Playing alot with "in-between notes" and off kilter timing. He creates an unmatched world. You pretty much can't go wrong with any of his work. (...) A soundtrack for viewing and being in the presence of art! amazing (..) Elegant, beautiful and refreshing. A must have for any music fans collection. Limited to 100 copies on high bias chrome tape." sanity muffin

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exit to exist / the sunrise

 

exit to exist ~ self-titled (πάνθεον, 2015)

«Mirage-album, with music like laminating fog, that involves listeners to a walk in the aural forest. There's dark and pathless ocean of green everywhere around, and only music, which is mixed with silver haze, runs the show of slightly visible trail». pantheon

This album is the first tape release for Exit To Exist project hailing from Minsk, Belarus. Despite almost 10-year history of music making under Exit To Exist and many other aliases (Insumthinmagma, Nemertis, Golova!, Owl Majesty, Winter War in Tibet), Vitaut Starovojtau (the man behind E2E) released almost all his albums only in digital format, except maybe just one limited edition cdr collab with Creation VI, done by australian Twice Removed Records. This album was made with traditional guitar ambient approach – warm, soft and lo-fi sound, often so quiet that it's easy to fall asleep while listening to it. However, there are uncertain moments of dizziness and anxiety unfolding all around, so you can feel soil slipping from under your feet, turning into a hazy texture, illusory and unreliable. All of this seems very similar to a long night walk under the the rain, when small droplets dim the view and everything turns into a shiny surfaces buried in the unstable fog. Water blends houses, streets, sky and trees into a single whole... In the right mood this music works same way, filling gaps in space with soft haziness that transforms all visible objects into some vague twins. It's very easy to lose a moment when reality becomes a dream. But if you catch it and stay in it - time ceases to exist and everything occurs at the same time - with you, but at the same time with someone else. Aural paradox, mystery album. Recommended on repeat playback.

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the sunrise ~ field's silence (warmshelf records, 2015)

«The last album about fields. It's filled with all experiences about summer and nostalgic memories». the sunrise

 

 As the name suggest, here goes field recording album. Mostly natural sounds and atmospheres mixed with quiet ambient passages and loop manipulations – once again very traditional, but, at the same time, nicely working approach to ambient music making. All sounds were created & manipulated by Ivan Vavilov from Samara, Russia – short pieces of music, arranged in a way similar to portable recorder files. They may start with a click of 'rec' button and finish abruptly, but it doesn't seem unnatural. Only disadvantage here is the overall playing time of 26 minutes, but this may be explained as the part of the idea of "plein air sketches" - they might be short but it's enough to capture the beautifulness and overall impression. Listening to this tape at the beginning of snowy December brings warmest memories about summer, spent out of the city: in the steppe, by the sea, listening to wild pigeons, humming bees, evening crickets and night dogs, barking in the distance under the huge starry skies. At some point these sounds may form a kaleidoscope of tiny quanta of impressions and memories so densely intertwined, that it allows you to travel through space-time of the memory and reach some long-abandoned territories of childhood experiences – wordless, nameless, full of sunlight and life that goes in its naturally silent way. And you feel yourself as organic part of it, without reflecting on it, without any knowledge at all – just perceiving, just daydreaming, simply being alive... Such experience worth a lot and if music can bring it so easily, it deserves attention of everyone who needs such simple magic in its life.

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