Archive for October, 2011
Having released music on labels such as Highpoint Lowlife, Phantom Channel, Dead Pilot and Hidden Shoal Recordings, the English composer Anthony Saggers, recording under the moniker Stray Ghost sends a unique Sound Postcard to readers of Headphone Commute. Named after the street where Saggers is staying while living in Paris, the recording is an entire [...]
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Miasmah Label Special
Norwegian independent label, Miasmah, continues to enchant our salivating ears with a unique aesthetic of sonic bliss. Started back n 1999 as a free netlabel by Erik K. Skodvin (aka Xhale, Svarte Greiner and one half of Deaf Center), Miasmah officially converted to a full fledged record label in 2006 with a showcase compilation, titled [...]
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If you haven’t been properly spooked by the previously reviewed Grimoire from Kreng, well perhaps this little gem will do the trick. At times borderline creepy, the hair-raising screeching howls of Kaboom Karavan convey an atmosphere already painted on its cover (courtesy of the label’s head, Erik K Skodvin): an unidentifiable feathered being, with a [...]
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Tags: cinematic, dark ambient, hauntology
Kreng – Grimoire (Miasmah)
Listening to the music of Pepijn Caudron can be a bit discomforting. The story of Grimoire begins with an echo of a poignant voice, a rasping breath, a howling bass, nails clinging to a metal stool, darkness enveloping the heart, “Can you hear me? You died. Do you remember that? Don’t be afraid. Let go [...]
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Tags: cinematic, dark ambient, hauntology
Interview with Kreng
Your first album, L’Autopsie Phénoménale De Dieu, seemed to surface out of nowhere. Yet from its production quality I can tell that you have been recording for quiet some time now. What made you to make the move from arranging music for theater to a solo debut album? I’ve been listening to too much music [...]
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Simon Scott – Bunny (Miasmah)
Having just witnessed a live performance by Simon Scott at Seattle’s Decibel Festival, I was preparing myself for forty minutes of blissful drone and pacified ambient. Imagine my surprise when Bunny opened up with an almost jazzy groove! I shall, however, curb my revelations – this is, after all a release on Miasmah, a label [...]
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Tags: ambient, jazzy
Mix : Cole Pierce – WORD
Today we welcome back Cole Pierce for his fourth podcast on Headphone Commute to tickle our ears with is unique selection of obscure sounds that would otherwise have escaped us. Cole’s mixes are always more than just a collection of tracks – it’s a whole story wrapped in an enigma only as mysterious as its [...]
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Excuse me, do you have a minute?
Here’s to the tweeting generation of micro blogging and attention deficit society! The following albums have all appeared on my rotations, but alas may never get a well deserved detailed review. So treat these as quick recommendations, splattered on paper in limited allowance of real estate! For those lucky enough to have access to Spotify, [...]
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What Opiuo‘s music does first and foremost is entertain me. And sometimes that’s what great music is supposed to be – fun, quirky, and [most importantly] intelligent! In all its playful rhythms and funky beats its Opiuo’s confidence that shines through the grimey bass wobble and synth stabs. For his debut full length release, Slurp [...]
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Tags: breaks, downtempo, glitch, psy-hop
I’ve been following Machinedrum since his debut on the now defunct influential IDM label, Merck. From 2001 to 2006, Travis Stewart released five full length albums on Merck: Now You Know (2001), Urban Biology (2002), Half The Battle (2002), Bidnezz (2004) and Mergerz & Acquisitionz (2006). When Merck closed its doors in January of 2007, [...]
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Tags: dubstep, footwork
Interview with Riverrun
The title of your latest release means, The Sea. Can you tell us why water is featured so heavily as a theme in your work? The tracks are named after favourite places of mine; places that I like or consider to have an atmosphere. The first album was more land-oriented, and this one, I suppose, [...]
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La Mer is Daniel Land‘s latest release from his riverrun project. It flows like the cold North Sea between short, introspective pieces (Hollow Ponds) to long, meandering mood compositions (Dancing Ledge). Like its predecessor, Pentimento (Saint Cecilia, 2010), it is steeped in misty morning walks, feet drenched by the dew as one trudges through daydream [...]
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Tags: ambient, electronica
I initially intended to review this compilation by Demdike Stare along instrumental hip-hip and West Coast Brainfeeder style producers. Ranging from hypnotic beats, to dubbed out rhythms, to eclectic ethnic sounds, the duo of Sean Canty and Miles Whittaker have been turning heads since their release on Modern Love, titled Symbiosis (2009). But it is their take [...]
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Tags: ambient techno, cinematic, dark ambient, dub techno, hauntology
Marcus Fjellström first appeared on my radar after his 2010 release on Miasmah, titled Schattenspieler. His dark, moody and always beautiful passages quickly captured my attention and remained at the top of my rotation queue. Appropriately, Schattenspieler appeared on Headphone Commute’s Best of 2010 : Music For The Film Behind Closed Eyelids. Needless to say that I [...]
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Tags: ambient, hauntology, modern classical
James Leyland Kirby has established quite a rapport with his experimental and sound collage project, V/Vm. Released mostly on his own V/Vm Test Records, Kirby’s numerous records range from pig noise to pure destruction of contemporary pop-songs. But his output as The Caretaker is of completely different character. Collecting “stolen memories and feelings from within [...]
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Tags: ambient, experimental, hauntology, modern classical
The traditional record industry is still having major trouble finding its place in the new age of music distribution. But while they’re fighting what seems to be a death struggle, the artists that did not rely on this business in the first place seem to have settled for two different kinds of distribution. The first [...]
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Tags: ambient, modern classical
My face is wet and cold, fighting through the wind of my grouchy commute, but my mind is hazy and warm, gently nodding away to the rhythms of jazzy riffs in an underground cafe. There, the soft smoke rises up and mixes with the sweet aroma of freshly ground coffee, and the slightly spicy perfume. [...]
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Tags: jazzy, modern classical
Is it possible that nearly six years have passed since I first heard Deaf Center’s Pale Ravine (Type, 2005). At the time, the mysterious sound of Erik K. Skodvin and Otto Totland was almost defining the birth of cinematic dark ambient, haunting modern classical and eerie nostalgia for day dreams and false memories. Perhaps the [...]
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Tags: dark ambient, modern classical
Marsen Jules – Nostalgia (Oktaf)
Following his last album, Golden (Genesungswerk, 2007), Dortmund (Germany) based Martin Juhls returns for his sixth full-length release as Marsen Jules. Released by his very own Oktaf label, Nostalgia is billed as a followup of Juhls’ 2005 debut, Herbstlaub, originally appearing on Berlin’s monumental City Centre Offices label. With Herbstlaub lauded as the “blueprint” for [...]
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Tags: ambient, modern classical
Well, here’s indeed something special! The wonderful folks at Oktaf are releasing tracks in a new Sketches series into the world one at a time, and we got our dirty hands on the fourth installment from Marsen Jules, titled Serenade, exclusively for Headphone Commute! That’s right – this is the _ONLY_ place where you can [...]
Filed under: EPs, Exclusive Articles | 1 Comment
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