William Basinski & Richard Chartier Aurora Liminalis Mentioning William Basinski will probably immediately raise associations with his Disintegration Loops, a project about analogue tape deterioration which became history-linked to the terrifying 9-11-2001 events, found its way into the Metropolitan Museum and recently was re-released in a massive box set with (O, Conceptual Irony!) remastered versions of the original (deteriorated) recordings. But there’s a lot more in the Basinski discography apart from that. Having worked together on the 2008 release Untitled 1-3, this is the second collaboration with Richard Chartier. Aurora Liminalis may translate as ‘liminal light’ – of which the further interpretations may differ depending on what you want to hear. “… the aural equivalent of undulating trails of light. Disintegrating spatial shifts incorporating the two artists’ distinct sonic palettes mesh to create a slow, deep ebb and flow… like some melting spectral transmission.” Stylistically, this is nothing like Basinski’s Disintegration Loops. The album starts from an absolute quiet and slowly emerges, luring you to follow it while it grows into a deafening (yet still somehow quiet) noise. This is clearly not intended to be a background ambient drone: its subtleties are only revealed if you carefully listen behind what’s going on up front. The result is organic: it is impossible to distinguish what is Basinski’s or Chartier’s specific input – a perfect blend of two sound artists interacting.		Richard Chartier Recurrence The very first release published on LINE in 2000 was Richard Chartier‘s Series, a work that explored “an implied silence that is not silent. a quietness that belies the activity and energy of the sounds.” The 51 minute second track of this album, titled “Recurrence (Series)”, reworks original elements from these recordings to an entirely new composition. “Drawn to the original sounds Chartier felt that they could be re-composed. The form they have taken contains isolated and discreet events strewn across the sound field, creating a strange landscape and altered sense of space.” It was presented on different occasions as a multi-channel event: listen to these sounds and try to imagine a 30-channel version of it! The album opens with a 20 minute track, “Recurrence (Room/Crosstones)” which focuses on “room tones and other low frequency wave recordings”. And these are low frequencies indeed! Thick bass slabs resonate in all of their pure sine-wave beauty, vibrating the crevices of structures and skulls. Preferably played back on a decent sound system or a high-end headset, since it won’t perform well on any average portable pair of headphones. If you purchase a CD or a digital lossless copy directly from the LINE shop, you will receive a third, digital bonus track. This release is recommended to all Chartier followers, particularly those appreciating his micro-minimalism and surgically-precise frequency manipulations.
AGF Source Voice The Line Segment is a series of releases on the LINE label “which will highlight some, perhaps, very non-LINE-like works. Works that stray from the norm…” (The ‘LINE-norm’, that is, because most music on LINE itself definitely strays from ‘the’ norm, too!) AGF‘s Source Voice is the second release in this Line Segment series. AGF (Antye Greie-Ripatti, born in East-Germany but now living in Finland) has worked for more than a decade “releasing experiments connecting voice, deconstruction of language, perception, and sound processing”. If her name is new to you, you may have some interesting research to do: she has been working together with artists like Vladislav Delay, Ellen Alien, Gudrun Gut and Eliane Radigue, among many others. [Those familiar enough with Vladislav Delay's real name, Sasu Ripatti, will correctly deduce that Antye and Sasu are married to each other.] All sounds on Source Voice are built from Antye’s voice, but since they are heavily treated and manipulated this is not always very obvious. On this album, only Kaamos is a composition for pure, untreated voice. “Inspired by the ancient folk practice of yoik, AGF started to imitate and voice along with her surrounding wind and weather. Yoik is a mostly wordless form of singing/vocalization by the Sami tribe of northern Scandinavia and considered one of the longest living music traditions in Europe.” But, as expected, none of these tracks sound like the traditional joiks. Source Voice definitely strays from the joik-norm, too!		Simon Whetham El Parque Está Situado En Su Propia Casa Field recordings come in as many colours as nature itself. Some try to stay as close to the original natural sound as possible (and thus are in fact more archival recordings than compositions), at other times the natural sounds are used and reordered to create a collage-like composition – often created an environment that does not really exist: “familiar yet otherworldly”. This (digital-only) release – its title translating as “The Park Is Situated In It’s Own House” – obviously is one of the latter. The recording on this album is a combination of two different aspects of an installation performance recorded march 2012 at Campos de Gutierrez, Colombia: “My piece began as a performance on the exhibition’s opening night, using objects and recordings from Campos de Gutierrez. During the performance, and using transducers, I played sounds through an old guitar from Campos de Gutierrez and an oil drum found at Plazarte, both suspended from the ceiling. For the remainder of the month the piece continued to be exhibited in this way, playing subtle sounds captured during the performance and around the residency house through the objects.” One of the unusual aspects of this 45 minute recording is that the climax appears to be at the beginning. 10 minutes into the composition you’ll risk being blown away by the sounds of what seems to be a gigantic storm, but from things get quiet and quieter, allowing you to explore all of the details in this alienated in-house garden.

lineimprint.com

All text by Peter van Cooten of Ambient Blog.
Additional text on Richard Chartier’s “Recurrence” by HC.
Republished on Headphone Commute with permission of the author.

HC proudly presents the first volume in the Residuum mix series, a collection of isolationist ambiance and reductionist microsound meticulously curated for a deep listening experience. For an optimum indulgence I recommend a dark and quiet place, preferably horizontal positioning, and a really good pair of open-back headphones. This particular voyage is designed for perception drifting, fuzzy consciousness cleaning, and may benefit your mind if you’re suffering from insomnia, jet-lag, or a hangover. Please, do not operate any machinery while listening, as mild disorientation may occur. Please enjoy responsibly and support the featured artists!

~HC

[ S T R E A M ] | [ D O W N L O A D ] | [ P O D C A S T ] | [ i T U N E S ]

Marsen Jules is probably the best known alias of Martin Juhls from Dortmund, Germany, also operating as Falter, krill.minima (don’t forget to check his recent Sekundenschlaf out on Psychonavigation), or the marvelously named Wildach Sonnerkraut. His different aliases allow him to experiment and expand in different directions. The previous (six) releases as Marsen Jules each feature somewhat different instrumentation but all share Juhls’ personal trademark of intricate sound design.

Most tracks on the previous Marsen Jules albums are somewhere around the four to six minutes in length each. But his latest album, The Endless Change of Colour, released on Taylor Deupree’s 12k, is different in this respect: it only features one single uninterrupted composition. The Endless Change of Colour is a perfectly fitting title for this generative composition, created by the kind of systematic rules known from the ambient works of Brian Eno.

The sounds are created from a “single phrase of an old jazz record split into three audio streams. These streams are transformed into loops which break the original instrumentation down into sound resembling pure waves, harmonics and overtones. These loops play to different time signatures to create phasing patterns that continuously move and dance around each other in a constantly-evolving lattice of sound. Despite it being based on a very strict and limited set of rules the music could, in theory, be endless and ever-changing”.

The concept of creating endlessly changing music, and the reference to Brian Eno’s work may be an indication of what you may expect, but on the other hand the sound spectrum presented is clearly that of Marsen Jules himself. Learning the source of his sample, you’d probably expect some of the pops, crackles, clicks and ticks that are so very popular in contemporary electronic music. But, avoiding the obvious, Juhls created a sound that is completely clear, without any distortion. A sound that feels like a comfortable, uninterrupted dream.

“Electronic tones hum with warmth and the softness of slumber. The patterns are there, familiar to our modern ears, but they’re not always what they seem.”

marsenjules.de | 12k.com

Review by Peter van Cooten of Ambient Blog.
Republished on Headphone Commute with permission of the author.

This is not the first time that San Francisco based multimedia artist Christopher Willits and the New York slash Tokyo based Japanese award-winning film composer Ryuichi Sakamoto have collaborated together on a project. Five years prior the duo released a record, Ocean Fire, which appeared on 12k. This time, Ancient Future is released on Ann Arbor (Michigan, US) based label, Ghostly International, which has been popping up on my radar a lot lately, and not just for its crunchy IDM and downtempo records. If you’re a fan of Japanese cinema, than Sakamoto needs no introduction. When I went to see his live performance in New York, the line of Japanese fans snaked around the corner, and they were not aware of his [separate] musical career in the modern classical and ambient scenes. I actually felt a little out-of-place as well, because I only know this piano master for his non-film works.

On Ancient Future I hear the good ol’ Sakamoto-san behind the keyboard, sparsely filling the silence with his abstract melodies and chords. There’s a resonating presence in the mid-range, at times skydiving into deep and rumbling bass. The atmosphere is filled with ambiance of Christopher’s reverberated guitar. And the two instruments take turns plucking at the notes between the slowly thumping heartbeat. The recordings appear to sound like an improvisational performance, but at the same time well orchestrated and produced. This later phenomenon is explained in the process behind Ancient Future. The music on the album is “built around a series of piano pieces that Sakamoto sent to Willits after the release of the duo’s first record together, 2008′s Ocean Fire.”

“As a whole, Ancient Future functions as a piece about the creation, acceptance and completion of one’s fate and all of life’s experiences, following a trajectory through inner conflict, resolution and, ultimately, acceptance. The six-song cycle moves through a narrative of sorts, each piece with a story to tell and an aspect of life to explore.”

Fans of intricate textures, slightly jazzy keys, and gratuitous atmospherics will appreciate the environment produced by Ancient Future. It is a meditative state in which without thoughts one can become aware of awareness. It is a daytime dream in which the major tones radiate in  soft sunlight. It is a tranquil place where one becomes the one with the one and only. And the thumping pulse beats on…

If you’re [somehow] new to both musicians, may I recommend you explore Willits’ past catalog starting with his three collaborations with Taylor Deupree: Invisible Architecture #8 (Audiosphere, 2003), Mujo (Plop, 2004) and Listening Garden (LINE, 2007). Sakamoto’s catalog, on the other hand, is rather enormous, with records dating back to 1978. However, you absolutely must hear his works with Christian Fennesz: Cendre (Touch, 2007) and Flumina (Touch, 2011); as well as his celebrated collaboration with Carsten Nicolai as Alva Noto: Vrioon (Raster-Noton, 2002), Insen (Raster-Noton, 2008) and Summvs (Raster-Noton, 2011). I promise, you will not be disappointed.

christopherwillits.com | sitesakamoto.com | ghostly.com

Happy Tuesday and welcome to another installment in Headphone Commute mixes. Today I’ve got another special treat for you – one I know that you’ll enjoy for the years to come (and yes, I do mean years). After gracing these pages and your ears with his staple post-IDM DSP-rich crunchy sounds, Roel Funcken returns with a fantastic selection of ambient, modern classical and experimental music. I suppose somewhere in the back of my mind I knew that Funcken appreciated all ‘good’ music, but I was not fully aware that his taste was so aligned with my own. And that makes me all warm and fuzzy inside [especially as I dust off some of the earlier Funckarma records which are so precious in my vinyl collection]. As I skim down the track list I recognize many of the artists which frequent my playlists and, of course, my own headphone commute.

Please enjoy responsibly and support the featured artists!
Artwork by Bob Bell

p.s. If you listen carefully and recognize the used pieces, you should also pick up on the fact that Roel used additional effects and processing to shape this journey!

roelfuncken.com | funckarma.com

[ S T R E A M ] | [ D O W N L O A D ] | [ P O D C A S T ] | [ i T U N E S ]

Hey Dag, how is it going? Where are you right now and what are you working on?

At the moment it’s actually quite all right, but it’s of course a bit hit and miss to be honest. Some days are better, some are worse, but that’s just how life goes isn’t it. At the moment I’m at home in Gothenburg, Sweden and here spring has finally arrived after a brutally cold start of 2013. Some years you become painfully aware that you’re living in a city just 1400 km south of the Arctic Circle.

At the moment I’m working on a lot of different stuff actually. For a very long time I didn’t really make any music. I just felt I didn’t have anything to say, which was of course quite painful but also necessary. Sometimes you just need to take a step back to see the whole picture. I’m working on new music of my own but it’s a bit early to say which direction it’s going. But there are drums and synthesizer on them, and lot’s of it…

Other than that we’re basically in the finishing stages of the new From The Mouth of The Sun album. There are seven finished tracks and another two more that we’re working on at the moment. People who liked the last one will recognize the sounds but we’ve tried to push ourselves a bit more with this one. I’m also making music with Edinburgh based sound artist Matthew Collings. We have a lot of material so we just basically need to sit down and go through it and see what we can do with it. I also have a few other collaborative projects but they’re still in the bud so I will have to come back on that. This summer I’m also working with a performance group called sirenscrossing. They’re doing site specific performances and I’m scoring a piece they will be premiering in July in a small town just an hour north of Gothenburg. So next week I’m heading up there to record some massive water turbines that will be the basic foundation for the piece. I think it’s gonna be beautiful.

Can you talk a little about the decision to retire your Jasper TX project?

The decision to retire Jasper TX came to me slowly. After the release of The Black Sun Transmissions in May 2011 I was spent. The album took so much out of me to get out there and after completing the recordings of it I suffered from severe writer’s block. At the same time there was also a family member who had fallen very ill during summer 2010 and that eventually passed away in June 2011. With so many things going on at the same time, I started thinking about what I was doing and why. All of a sudden I felt that there were expectations on me to come up with new material, to be prolific, make remixes and to jump on board various musical projects. And personally I just wanted to be left alone. Looking back at it now I can clearly see that I suffered some kind of depression. Bottom line was: I was tired of this persona that had taken on a life of his own and something had to change. So I started thinking about why I was doing what I was doing, when all the joy had disappeared from doing it. What I realized was that I needed to retire Jasper TX, to get a fresh start, to basically start from scratch again. Clean slate, tabula rasa.

Jasper TX had grown into something I felt more and more disconnected to. Who was Jasper TX and who was Dag Rosenqvist? At times it felt very schizophrenic to be honest. I never wanted to turn making music into a career. I’m not saying I had a “career” as Jasper TX though, but at certain points it felt like that, and it scared the shit out of me. The thing is I don’t wanna be dependent on my music to pay my bills, I don’t wanna have to make something just to make ends meet. I fear that can cloud your judgment, making you do things that you would normally not do or stand behind. I want to be free to do whatever I want whenever I want and with whomever I want to do it. And once I had made the decision to retire Jasper TX I felt as though a weight had been lifted from me. You leave something behind and just keep walking.

I also felt that The Black Sun Transmissions felt like the definitive statement, the end of a trajectory started many years before. I had said what I wanted to say and it was time to move on.

And it was kind of nice to put it to rest. To let that musical period of my life end and move into the next, wherever that brings me. That’s why working on compiling and sequencing An Index Of Failure was so much fun. I could finally allow myself to see me from the outside and I could close the book on this the way I choose to, on my own terms. I associate all the albums I’ve done with anxiety, mainly due to the, often painful, process of making them. But with An Index Of Failure it was enjoyable all the way as I got it sounding and looking even better than I could ever have imagined.

And, to confirm, we’ll still hear from De La Mancha, The Silence Set and From The Mouth Of The Sun, right? Can you share any definitive upcoming albums and release dates?

Yes, you will indeed hear more from all of the above. As I mentioned earlier we’re in the finishing stages of completing the second From The Mouth of The Sun album, although at this point we don’t have a label for it. As for de la Mancha we’re gonna start working on new material this summer. There are a bunch of half finished sketches and there are ideas on how it’s gonna sound. And this time we really want to make it sound more like a duo and a studio project than with the previous albums so expect drum machines and loads of synthesizers. We have a finished album with The Silence Set but as of yet we haven’t actually found anyone interested in putting it out which is a shame since I think it’s an absolutely gem of an album with wonderful contributions from both Heather Woods Broderick and Nils Frahm. I guess most people don’t know in which category to place it so that makes them a bit tentative regarding investing money in it. I’m not worried though, one day we’ll find a nice home for it. So basically no set dates for any of these projects at the moment but be sure to keep an eye on my blog every now and then for updates.

Tell us about your upcoming solo release under your real name, Fall Into Fire. Are we to expect a drastically different stylistic approach than that of Jasper TX?

I wouldn’t say drastically different, but definitely different. I think my love for Neurosis finally shines through a bit more, although I may be the only one who hears that. I would say the album is a bit more skewed and grainy than previous works. Things reel back and fourth, collapsing only to pick up momentum again. I would say it’s quite an ugly album in some ways, it’s not entirely enjoyable I guess. There is of course beauty in there as well, but of a different quality than before. I’ve played around a lot with acoustic instruments filtered through broken analogue equipment and there are also more drums on it, rock and sludge type drums… It’s kind of hard to describe but in some ways I wanted it to resemble the musical equivalence of a bad trip.

It’s once again a heavily conceptual album and as always it’s about death. I still haven’t come to terms with the notion that I one day will die, but I’m getting there slowly. There’s also a love story in there and there’s the notion that we can never change who we truly are, no matter other circumstances or other people’s interventions. Some are bound to die young and some to get their life torn to piece, and very little can stop that. Not even you yourself can stop that. I don’t believe that things naturally happen for a reason, I don’t believe it’s all part of some grand universal plan. But I do think that certain events in life trigger reactions in people and from there on, these reactions become actions following a set trajectory. And you can try and intervene, beg and plead, but eventually that which go up, must come crashing down.

I guess I veered off a bit there… Anyway, right now we’re getting the album mastered by Edinburgh based sound artist Matthew Collings. Matt also assisted me in the making of this album with invaluable input regarding structure and sounds. It’s actually the first time ever that I let anyone else meddle with my music in the creative process, but it was a really good and valuable experience. Painful at times when your ego gets hurt, but very good for how the album turned out. If you haven’t already, check out his music at http://matthewcollings.bandcamp.com

There is no set date for when this will be released, but it will be released on Fang Bomb and at the moment we’re discussing format and cover ideas. Keep an eye on my web page for updates and I’ll let you know more as soon as I know more..

A lot of your work is guitar driven. Can you share some recording technique and production processes?

Well, I think the main thing, as with everything in life, is figuring out what you want to do. How do you want the guitar to sound, where will it be in the mix? You always need to consider this in relation to what you have previously recorded for the track and where it’s heading. Quite early on I started buying good quality microphones and to me that made all the difference. What I do is I’ll record a sound in the best possible way, capturing all the frequencies correctly. If I then decide to cut out all of the bass frequencies from that recording, I will still have a good mid and a good high end to play around with. This will enable me to “push” these frequencies and still have them sounding good. The thing with most digital eq’s is that when you’re using them to exaggerate frequencies they can sound absolutely horrible so my advice is to, rather than exaggerate the frequencies you want to emphasize, cut out then ones you don’t. That way you’re more likely to end up with a more balanced mix overall.

But then again, if I know the guitar will just be something very subtle in the mix, and I want it to have a more narrow scope, I’ll just stick a cheap microphone in front of it or even a pair of headphones to record it with. The bottom line regarding this is to try out things. Buy a couple of good microphones, buy a couple of cheap ones, get some contact mic’s, turn some old small speakers into microphones. Just play around and see where it takes you. It’s all about finding your own voice in this. Always try out new things. What happens if I run this recording through an old tape recorder, what happens if I run it through this broken mixing desk? What if I change the order of my effect pedals, what if I line the guitar straight into the sound card? Buy old stuff, new stuff, cheap stuff, expensive stuff and broken stuff. Invent your own methods and try out things to see what floats your boat. I’ve always been a hands-on person in terms of recording. I use a computer for recording, editing a processing my songs but I don’t use any virtual instruments or midi programming. Not because there’s anything wrong with it, I just don’t like it. There’s no physical feeling there, and there’s no room for chaos and coincidence. It’s all algorithms and zero’s and one’s. Give me knobs, switches and faders. Tape echoes and reel-to-reel tape machines. And broken things, I love and adore broken things, because you never know what they’re gonna give you. Chance and chaos are the best allies in creating art.

So basically, there really are no ready-made solutions for this. But diverse, both in regards of brand, quality and interface, and good quality equipment in terms of sound card, pre-amp’s and other outboard, instruments, amps, microphones and a healthy dose of curiosity, obsessive behavior and stubbornness will get you a long way. I don’t know if this was even remotely helpful to anyone really, but my point is that there are no right or wrong’s, you just have to find your way of approaching what you want to do.

Here’s a very open-ended question: what role does the music as a whole play in your life?

One of the best things I know is, when you’ve been out record shopping or picked up a package from the local postal office, you fix some coffee or open a beer, sit down in the sofa and just listen to the music you’ve just bought. Maybe go through the booklet and read all the info where it’s been recorded and who played on it and so on. But other than that, just sit there in silence and listen. Let the music fill the room and your senses. How often do we really take the time to do that these days? I bet 95 percent of all the music that’s being consumed today is listened to on iPhones on your way to work or school. With crappy or semi crappy headphones. I’m no sound geek in that aspect, I don’t have an expensive stereo. But what I’m talking about here is really listening to the music, not just use it to block out other commuters. Don’t get me wrong, I do it myself to get some peace when riding the tram to work. But there’s nothing that beats the feeling when you sit there in your sofa, and the music opens up to you and at that exact moment you just feel it, through and through.

Music plays a very big role in my life in general. Ever since I was a kid music has been very important to me. I started playing the double bass when I was 9 and that opened up a whole new world to me. Both my parents listened quite a lot to music and when we grew up my brothers and I were always allowed to listen to anything we wanted at home, even when we go into death and black metal. At one point we even rehearsed in the basement, which must have sounded absolutely horrible. But they let us do it and I think to me that has been the most important thing, that encouragement from my parents. Without them supporting that so much, I would never have been what I am today. And they’re still just as supportive. And as for my father, he’s still curious about new music. A lot of people just stop at a certain age. They loose interest, but not him. He’ll phone me up telling me that Supersilent or Mats Gustafsson has released a new album. I hope I can keep that curiosity throughout my life.

Are there any upcoming live performances where we can catch you?

I’m actually playing a show in Cologne on May 16th that will be my first under my own name, but other than that there’s nothing planned at the moment. The thing is I’ve always struggled performing live, it’s hard to come to terms with your own flaws and imperfections and in a live situation there are a million things that could go wrong. And I’ve really been working on trying to deal with that, but every time something goes wrong, and it will, it kills me. I also found that after the last shows I did as Jasper TX a year ago I had kind of had it with playing live for a while. So I decided to take a break from it to try and figure out what I wanted to and how I wanted to do it. There were of course other factors at play and since retiring Jasper TX I just felt I needed some time off in general, to sort of get away from everything for a while. It would be nice to do some shows again, but I’m taking my time at the moment, just so I’m sure I know what I want to do.

Be sure to read Headphone Commute review of An Index of Failure

dagrosenqvist.wordpress.com

Most, if not all of the above methods strip some of the dynamic content that I usually embed alongside the text. The images and text formatting come through just fine. But some of the embedded audio samples via Bandcamp, Soundcloud, or other plugins, as well as YouTube and Vimeo videos are completely stripped out. I’m not saying that you should abandon your favorite app and always visit the website, I’m just pointing out that you may be unknowingly missing some content (including the ability to comment on a particular post).

To demonstrate this particular behavior I am publishing this note with embedded examples of such content. If you can’t see it, chances are your reader is stripping it out…

[-- Begin Image --]

Most if not all of you should see an image above this line.

[-- Begin Soundcloud --]

You should be able to stream a track from Soundcloud above this line.

[-- Begin Bandcamp --]

You should be able to stream an album from Bandcamp above this line.

[-- Begin YouTube --]

You should be able to watch a YouTube video above this line.

[-- Begin Vimeo --]

Alright, kids. That’s all I really wanted to bring your attention to. We now return to our regularly scheduled programming!

~HC

A certain kind of music stands throughout time. I’ve been fascinated with my own journey in discovering these sounds. At first I searched for that wonder, occasionally landing on a somewhat random treasure or gem. Then music seemed to find me back, bombarding my ears and mailbox with an endless torrent of promos. Yet throughout this unbound hurricane of countless releases few managed to stand out while fleeing the rest. My own purpose morphed into a filter, combing through a series of sounds arranged on a whim. And although I still manage to listen through many submissions, it is the ones I return to over and over that warrant my praise.

I discovered Christoph Berg thanks to Fluid Audio back in 2009, when under his moniker Field Rotation he released his first EP, Licht Und Schatten. Berg’s debut full-length, Acoustic Tales, appeared on Fluid Audio in 2011. He then managed to migrate to hibernate with Why Things Are Different (2010), And Tomorrow I Will Sleep (2011). In September of 2011, I invited Berg for an exclusive Headphone Commute Mix, and then to contribute a track towards my benefit compilation, … and darkness came. In 2013, Field Rotation released a full length on Denovali, and I’m really looking forward to meeting him at the upcoming Denovali Swingfest in Berlin on April 6th. But it is his last album on Facture, under his real name, that is the focus of this specific review.

On Paraphrases Berg distances himself from synthetic and electronic instruments in favor of acoustic and chamber sounds, composing one of the most beautiful modern classical works in a while. Delicately captured strings are carefully submerged in just a touch of reverb, finally landing in the hands of Ian Hawgood for his mastering touch. Single piano keys add to the melancholy of a weeping violin and a consoling double bass. Gentle sprinkles of field recordings paint an atmosphere of unraveling moments captured in time. Then the crow announces his entrance. Music flows on, while moments stand still.

“Christoph Berg scores the history of eight narrow worlds, carved only from wood. [...] Completed in the brief escapes allowed by gaps in graduate study, “Paraphrases” is a recontextualisation of the experience of exhaustion, written in other words.”

Composed and captured over a period of two years, Paraphrases collects pieces recorded through numerous sessions “in a small room in northern Germany near the Baltic Sea.” The album captures the proximity of a human performance with all of its chance imperfections, like soft clothing shuffles and wooden bench creaks. These highly personal works, like the incredibly intimate title track, ”Paraphrases (on vinyl)“, with its solo piano, violin, vinyl crackles and ticking clock, give us a sonic glimpse into composer’s world, preserving moments of solitude, introspection and muse.

Complimented with remixes by aus and P Jørgensen, the album was originally released as a deluxe vinyl edition, which is now sold out. The follow-up CD version release is still available on an embossed letter-pressed compact disk with fold-out booklet featuring photography by Aela Labbe along with scent, card and download code containing audio and PDFs. While shopping in the label’s store, I recommend you drop its past releases into your cart as well, such as Scissors And Sellotape‘s For The Tired And Ill At Ease (2011), Olan Mill‘s Paths (2012), and the most recent album by Tape Loop Orchestra, In A Lonely Place. Highly recommended.

christophberg.com | fac-ture.co.uk

It should be no secret by now that besides the melancholic modern classical or meditative ambient works I also listen to the darker, harder end of sound. Enter Ad Noiseam, a Berlin-based label run and operated by Nicolas Chevreux, which I have been following almost since its inception back in 2001. But it wasn’t until about 2006 when I began hungrily consuming every release by the label. In the process I was subjected and graced to the sounds of Bong-Ra, DJ Hidden, Aaron Spectre, Detritus, Scorn, Mothboy, Broken Note, The Teknoist, Enduser, and of course Hecq and The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble, among the many others. Today I took a quick look back at some of my favorite latest releases from the label, and hopefully open up your ears to some beautiful agony within…

Igorrr Hallelujah I’ve been listening to Gautier Serre’s rabid musings as Igorrr since his 2006 self-released debut, Poisson Soluble. Since then, I followed this French radical to Acroplane Recordings [check out Moisissure (2009)] and finally, Ad Noiseam label [see Nostril (2010)], where he clearly belongs. So how does one describe Gautier’s beautiful agony and is there a one-word genre name that would fit? Barrocore? That is the closest thing that I could think of. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word ‘baroque’ is derived from the Portuguese ‘barroco‘ which roughly translates to an ‘imperfect pearl‘. And that’s precisely what this fourth album is – a rare and unnaturally occurring gem. On Hallelujah Igorrr perfects his art of combining black metal growls, drilling hardcore breaks, Spanish guitar, classically baroque instruments and operatic soprano vocals. Intrigued? You definitely should be! But what’s more amazing about this incredible fusion of styles is how well executed and cohesive it becomes. Gautier Serre is a wizard’s scholar, a deranged magician, a psychotic genius. And I love every single note of it! A single listen through the last album track, “Infinite Loop”, will cement him as a master of aural manipulations in your mind. Featuring many guest musicians, this magnum opus is the climax of Serre’s current career, and only hope he keeps going higher! I can’t recommend this album highly enough!		Ruby My Dear Remains Of Shapes To Come Once again I am much obliged to Ad Noiseam for introducing me to new sounds. If it wasn’t for the label’s keen eye, I would have missed Julien Chastagnol’s work as Ruby My Dear, since I haven’t been up to date with many digital released on labels such as Acroplane, Peace Off, and Braincore, where Chastagnol has enjoyed much success in the last few years. Thus, getting signed to Ad Noiseam yields a debut full length release, titled Remains Of Shapes To Come, and I’m immediately intrigued by the past and future of this French producer. Carrying forward the torch of the genre (while certain snares just seem to be hibernating), Chastagnol brings forth a fresh breath of air with a little ragga flavah and a bit of his own insanity in the mix. Whether it’s tinkering with DSP-heavy IDM, or the neuron-misfiring frenzy of drilling breakcore, or glitch-heavy terrorizing riddims that drop into distorted hardcore kicks ["...and now Batman's hands got plans for me!"], Ruby My Dear puts on a performance which is above all intelligent, and by no means boring. This is not simply a collection of sped-up rhythms, cut-up beats, and growling bass – there is a seemingly fluid story being told throughout and between the tracks. And I personally welcome this much needed rebirth of the genre – bring back the jungle, bring back the Amen break! Highly recommended for fans of Enduser, Bong-Ra, The Teknoist, and of course Venetian Snares.
The Outside Agency The Dogs Are Listening Leave it to Ad Noiseam to scoop up one of the darkest acts to grace these ears. The Outside Agency is a culmination of two of my favorite artists: Frank Nitzinsky and Noël Wessels. The former is a hard d’n'b and hardcore techno producer known as Eye-D, with many releases on a range of labels such as Citrus, Black Sun Empire and Evol Intent. The latter is none other than DJ Hidden (also recording under Semiomime) with plenty of highlights on Ruff-Teck, Independenza, PRSPCT and of course Ad Noiseam. Together, as The Outside Agency, the duo delivers one of the hardest albums spanning genre boundaries. With stylistic elements ranging from hardstyle to darkstep and breakcore, the percolating evil oozes out in crystal clear frequencies and drops onto the pulsating surface of my cranium like an acid rain. Filled with adrenalin, my raging fist pounds into the wall of sound. This is some post-traumatic angry music that my mind occasionally craves. But among the distorted kicks and fuzzy bass, my ear clearly discerns fantastic production values, and purposeful intent, which is why this album stands above the rest. Always re-inventing their sound, Nitzinsky and Wessels tirelessly push the envelope beyond the sound of copycats, who are stuck within the common structures and congruent bpm. This is the album which “we might not deserve, but which we need.”		Fausten Fausten Stumbling, mischievous and bitter, the music of Fausten treads on amidst industrial relish of dust, dirt and smoke. The passage is hallow, metallic and cold; the trembling hand grasps a dingy, rusty pipe, only to snap back in frostbite, lament and wail. This is an uninhabited world of Fausten, void of kindness, ease and warmth. But among the dense and riveting rhythms, there’s clear intelligence, reason and grace. Fausten is a brainchild of London-based Monster X and Stormfield. Separately, the artists have released experimental and menacing frequencies: Monster X on Mutant Sniper, Peace Off, and Tigerbeat6; and Stormfield on his very own Combat Recordings. Together, the self-titled Fausten is a realization of individual accomplishments into a single climactic event. The result is heavy, noisy and oppressive – the values that yours truly loves to embrace. It’s as if the earlier industrial, dark breakbeat and illbient works I used to share my angst with got upgraded with a heavier dose of modern signal processing. The debut release includes three remixes by Oyaarss, Dadub and Ontal, as well as a music video for the “Punishment” track. “[...] a colossal, smart and twisted monster of coldness and inhumanity, of distortion, beats and subtle details.” Recommended if you dig Displacer, Architect, Millipede and Black Lung.

adnoiseam.net

If you have been following my musings throughout the years, you know that I have previously sang praises to the Australian Enig’matik Records run and operated by Jake Rose, aka Sun in Aquarius. Specializing in spectacular sound design, glitchy IDM, and emotional electronica, the label has been trudging along with a steady release schedule of digital EPs and compilations. For today’s podcast, Sun In Aquarius prepares an exclusive mix showcasing much of the upcoming music from the label. I hope that you enjoy these sounds and in the process support the label – it’s an important platform for the evolution of music.

enigmatikrecords.com

[ S T R E A M ] | [ D O W N L O A D ] | [ P O D C A S T ] | [ i T U N E S ]

When did the piano first come into your life and how has been your journey with it?
We had a family piano which my father would use for writing music… It was part of the furniture in which I lounged upon from a young age and it flowed from there… The journey was an introverted one in which I was always quite shy to play or perform in front of family and friends but was something I always loved and continue to love.

What finally drove you to compose and release solo works?
Regardless of what was to become of my pieces at first the initial drive was that I wanted them documented/ recorded so that one day when I’m old and grey sitting back in my rocking chair I could look back and reflect on what I was expressing and know it hadn’t been wasted… I’ve lost so many pieces over the years from not noting them… It still happens all the time. So the drive has increased a little more than being old and looking back! I really enjoy recording. It’s been really lovely receiving feedback on the enjoyment other listeners receive upon reflecting on them too. So I’m glad the procrastinating didn’t forego the eventual recording.

How did you end up on Preservation records?
I was chatting to Andrew who runs Preservation about the Album who in turn listened to it and it went from there…

How is the music scene in Sydney? Do you often play out live?
The music scene for this type of music is some what fickle in Sydney. Not a lot of venues have acoustic pianos so I don’t push the live arena. I do perform, just not that often… I am heading to Japan though for some shows in July… early August which will be fun.

Tell us a bit about ‘Shadowed’, a film directed by your brother, Scott.
My brother Scott has a immense love of music. He’s a photographer… He’s very talented at visualising sound and developing it in a creative nostalgic way. I came up with the concept which started with the idea of an old abandoned house and a young girl out in the middle of know where… Open skies verses open landscapes. I like instrumental footage to have some form of obscurity so that the visual is more a form of emotion. I’d like reflection and imagination to be left up to the viewer which hopefully it does that…… It was very curative and beautiful discovering and filming in a such uninhabited open space.

And what about the cover art of Night Sky…
Preservation has a vision stylistically with their album artwork so when they approach cover work it needs to fit into the Preservation Family… With Night Sky, the approach and imagery came from the results of Preservation’s Art Director Mark Gowing interviewing me and capturing what he felt I was expressing. We chatted and I dribbled out words of expression relating to late nights and coloured tones of Purples, Charcoals with tiny elements of light etc clouds of thought so to speak with out set definition and finally Mark said… “So kind of like the feeling of when you close your eyes and squeeze them so tightly you get the dark blurry star like sensation”…. I said “perfect analogy”…

What are you working on right now?
I don’t like to have definite plans. I’m writing if that tells anything…

Read Headphone Commute review of Night Sky

sophiehutchings.com

Headphone Commute is honored to premiere a new music video collaboration between a Swedish composer Marcus Fjellström and Dutch graphic artist Bas Mantel, taken from the upcoming Epilogue -M- EP to be released on Aagoo Records on May 28th, 2013.

Fjellström has been a long time favorite artist, with his releases on Lampse, Kafkagarden and of course, Miasmah. On the upcoming six-track EP, Fjellström “explores the cold thin space of ambience and melody, texture and silence, haunting synth and orchestral audio constructions coupled with driven percussion and creaky background noise.” Mantel, in turn, has interpreted the compositions into “graphic interstellar maps”, the product of which is demonstrated in this exclusive music video.

Epilogue -M- exposes a dark and frightening ambient universe, an outer space of exploding galaxies, vaporizing masses, magnitudes, the interior of gravitation, and floating emotions in an apparently silent sea of white light, full of grace and dark black anxious endings.

OK, ok. Enough, chatter. Here it is, Marcus Fjellström’s “Dance Music 3″:

epilogue-m.com | kafkagarden.com | aagoo.com

In January of 2013, Dag Rosenqvist wrote about the very last album that he ever intends to release as Jasper TX. Rosenqvist had a very tough year. But besides being circumstantially difficult (you can read all about specific life events on his blog), Dag has been too hard on himself. This self-inflicting judgement is revealed in the title of this album – An Index Of Failure. As the final “transmission” to ever come out of this particular project, the album compiles pieces recorded over the last six years that have never made it out of his studio before. Thankfully there is no mention of retiring The Silence Set, From The Mouth Of The Sun, De La Mancha, or any collaboration releases under his real name (in fact Dag reveals that he just finished his first solo album as Rosenqvist tntiteld Fall Into Fire). In his own words, the album also serves as a “monument of my own personal failure“.

“The title was originally intended as somewhat a joke regarding my own inability to ever have any real distance to what I do. My inability to accept the flaws in the records I’ve done over the years. In my mind almost all of my records are failures in some way or another and I very rarely listen to any of them. But as life came crashing down on me this summer, this album truly became my own personal index of failure, a chronicle of everything lost and broken, a eulogy over these last six years.”

So back to Rosenqvist being too hard on himself. As any of his fans will eagerly agree with me, I think I can confidently proclaim that any and all of Rosenqvist’s works are anything but failures. But if they were indeed futile and vain, perhaps I’m a failure as well, for having to notice their ineffectiveness on my life. Perhaps what Dag Rosenqvist fails at the most is convincing the world that he failed in his quest to hinder and disappoint. And if I fail at interpreting the literal meaning of this album’s title, then I don’t when it comes to the music.

Emotionally charged and incredibly personal, the five collected pieces on the album tell a cinematic story of a broken man. A tale that many of us are familiar with at one point or another. A sonic journey where even the greatest of accomplishments throughout the lifetime seem so feeble and faint in comparison to our own expectations. That little voice in our heads that says “You could have done more! You could have been better!” We are most critical of ourselves. We are our worst enemy.

. . . . . . .

Usually, at about this portion of a review, I spend some time talking about the instrumentation, the aesthetics, and the overall feel of the album. This is where I praise the label’s particular packaging or pressing efforts, or regurgitate a piece of the artist’s history and back catalog. But today I don’t feel like following my own formula. Today I feel like accepting these words as they come. Because if everything I’ve said so far still sounds dubious and unconvincing [about this album], then maybe, just maybe, I’ll say nothing at all.

Be sure to read Interview with Dag Rosenqvist

dagrosenqvist.wordpress.com | handmadebirds.com

After his very inspiring and beautiful tribute to Brock Van Wey, Saimon Saimonse returns to our sonic waves with a selection of his favorite modern classical and cinematic music. And the best part about this mix is that most (if not all) of the pieces are some of our favorites as well! Here you will find selections from Deaf Center, Brambles, Fabrizio Paterlini, Nest, Helios, Clint Mansell and many others… We hope that you will find it as gorgeous as we do, and in the process discover and support the featured artists. As usual, music speaks louder than words. Enjoy!

soundcloud.com/saimonse

[ S T R E A M ] | [ D O W N L O A D ] | [ P O D C A S T ] | [ i T U N E S ]

Kanding / Bretschneider Auxiliary Blue The first release in this column which grabbed my attention is the one by Ejnar Kanding and Frank Bretschneider. The former is a Danish electro-acoustic composer known for intermixing visual and auditory mediums. The latter is none other than co-founder of the German raster-noton label (along with Olaf Bender and Carsten Nicolai), with a multitude of releases on Mille Plateaux, 12k, and Line. The release collects the duo’s cooperative works, where one artist works with the materials of the other. The result includes some strikingly dark, tense and obscure cinematic pieces, most notable of which is Auxiliary Blue, an audio-visual installation originally commissioned for the Dexia skyscraper in Brussels, and in 2008 adapted by Kanding as an electro-acoustic piece for bass clarinet, percussion, violin and double bass (executed by members of Kanding’s Contemporánia ensemble). As you can expect from the master of the staple raster-noton sound, the intricate micro glitchy clicks are sprinkled throughout a repetitive and hypnotic rhythm of acoustic instruments. A challenging but cohesive minimalist record.		Katrine Ring A Hand for Holmboe In order to appreciate the full scale of A Hand for Holmboe, one must begin listening to this release with the included bonus CD, which features original chamber concertos by Vagn Holmboe, a Danish neo-classical composer. After an hour-long performance, which is not the subject of this review, one may turn their attention to the actual album. The ten pieces on A Hand for Holmboe are Katrine Ring’s interpretations of selected Holmboe’s works. By remixing suitable movements, Ring created a collage of arranged and triggered samples that evoke particular state of recognition of original works within the final juxtaposed puzzle. Additional field recordings, such as the purring of a cat and the sounds of tea being poured into cups (on the appropriately titled “A Nice Cup of Tea, Please!”) are sprinkled over this functional deconstruction. The result is a DJ inspired loop-based composition which works within the context of classical and electronic music techniques. Picture a techno surgeon working his splicing skills on works by Philip Glass, and you’ve got just a glimpse of A Hand for Holmboe.
Birgitte Alsted Agnete’s Laughter Agnete’s Laughter is a six-movement composition employing computer-processed sounds and vocals by Birgitte Alsted, a Danish electro-acoustic composer and graduate of the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen. The pieces offer a glimpse into a hallucinogenic and at times even nightmare laden dream-world of experimental music laced with dripping water and schizophrenic voices. Alas, the darkness of these sounds and words are not so negative per se – the ability to capture the voices of another dimension and weave them into a sonic quilt is almost supernatural in effort. This sound collage is inspired by literature and poetry, drawing roots for this specific piece from Danish ballad, “Agnete and the Merman”, in which Agnete leaves behind her husband and children and dies of a broken heart. An underwater sculpture by Suste Bonnén at the bottom of Frederiksholm Canal is another interpretation of the poem, to which Alsted plays a tribute with the sounds of water. The compact disc release collects three other works by Alsted: Melencolia, Sorgsang V and Belletter.		Electronic Music Produced at DIEM 1987-2012 Just like the title proclaims, this double-disc compilation collects electronic music produced at The Danish Institute of Electronic Music (DIEM) between the years 1987 and 2012. This is a rather broad selection of genres, featuring everything from experimental sound art to ambient electro-acoustic works to even techno and IDM, documenting twenty five years of artistic production completed at the institution. “The story of DIEM is ambiguous, extremely loud but still at the edge of the audible; a story about meeting with the conception of the sublime.” Among the twenty archived pieces I barely recognize a few names – among them a collaboration between Puzzleweasel and Richard Divine, which is a DSP-rich hypnotizing [and previously unreleased] glitch heaven. The earlier works preserve the sounds and production techniques of DIEM studio’s analogue equipment, such as the Otari MTR 90 24-track analog tape machine, Yamaha DX7 FM synth and Oberheim Xpander hybrid synth, and serves as a good aural resource for all electronic music history buffs. Fans of early electronica will enjoy.

dacapo-records.dk

Hi Julia. Tell us a bit about your journey with music. How did you start playing the cello?
I started playing cello at the age of six or so, and studied classically for many years, then, after moving to New York, began playing with nonclassical groups–rock bands, improvising collectives, and so forth. After discovering a whole new world of improvised music, I never looked back!

What prompted you to compose such a personal and introspective album?
I think all my music is very personal, but, yes, this album feels particularly introspective. Rather than being inspired by an external concept or atmosphere, it definitely came from within — it represents a sort of internal emotional world.

Is there a particular fiction narrative within your music in which you are a character?
In making this album, I had the idea that we are, in a way, all characters in the narratives of our lives, but that we don’t have control over that narrative in the way an author might. So, it doesn’t represent a particular fictional narrative, but, instead, the idea of life itself as a narrative. Whether or not that narrative is fictional I guess depends on your philosophical view!

What are some of the field recordings used on the album?
Because the album is so internal, rather than using field recordings from outside environments, as I did on previous records, I used a lot of found sounds which I then processed. They range from the sound of a match being struck, to wineglasses, to the scratch of pen on paper, to various objects used as percussion.

If it’s not a secret, what tools do you use in your studio for looping and layering techniques?
Though I use looping to perform live, via a laptop running Ableton Live and a plugin called Sooperlooper, in the studio I recreate the process of looping through actual repetition, as I’ve never found a satisfactory way of looping within Pro Tools, which is what I use to record. So I use looping to develop the initial ideas for pieces, then, as I record, things get developed and layered–and then ultimately I have to figure out how to recreate all those layers to perform the pieces live. So it’s a bit of a circular process!

What are your thoughts on the little accidents encountered during repetition in looped phrases?
I find those accidents fascinating, because sometimes repetition can make an accident become integral. That kind of serendipity can take the music in unexpected and interesting directions.

Who and what inspires you and your music?
I’m constantly inspired by everything around me. I travel alone a lot, and I find that makes me quite aware of and sensitive to the sounds I encounter that way. So I’m often inspired by those kinds of sonic environments. Even when it’s a cacophony of ringtones on an Italian train, which is what I’m experiencing right now…

What have you been up to lately in New York?
I recently completed a couple of film scores, one for a documentary and one for a feature, and I am about to embark on a collaboration with a New York City-based choreographer. But right now I’m touring in Europe, mostly in Italy, and discussing some collaborations over here in the fields of theatre and dance.

Be sure to read Headphone Commute review of Character

juliakent.com

I’ve been obsessed with cello lately. Enough that I’m actually considering taking some lessons. I’ve been playing the piano ever since I can remember. But the longer I study my favorite instrument, the deeper I understand its percussive nature, and need some pulled and trembling strings. I’ve played the double bass before (in high school orchestra), and till this day something draws me towards the lower register of all bowed sounds. Thankfully, until my desire to break the bank and buy the instrument subsides, I have all this music to weave my dreams to.

Julia Kent is a Canadian born, NYC based cellist who came on the scene in 2007, with her debut solo album, Delay, released on Shayo records. Four years later she followed up with Green And Grey on Important Records. I first became familiar with Kent’s sound when she performed at the Unsound Festival in New York in 2012. This year Kent gets picked up by the lovely Leaf Label, already home to many of my favorite artists, such as Susumu Yokota, Murcof, Triosk, Sutekh, Vladislav Delay, Roll The Dice, and Efterklang.

Appropriately titled, Character, is a retrospective album. Layered and looped cello strings are complimented by organic found sounds, minimal electronic percussion and an occasional piano notes. The soundscape of Character is minor in chord progression, major in cinematic undertones, and neutral in acceptance of things as they are. There is a certain meditative aspect to the music, which at times rejects its nature and picks up in pace, only to stop chasing, catching its breath, and subsiding again. The pieces become a soundtrack to our daily trepidation, perhaps in facing the fictitious story that we live.

“I ended up thinking about the process of life,” explains Kent. “How sometimes a narrative in fiction is meant to mirror the chronology of human life, and how our lives, in a way, can resemble works of fiction, but without the possibility of controlling the outcome the way an author can.”

Recording alone in her studio, Kent is faced with a reflective narrative – a darkness audible in “Kingdom”, a sadness on an “Only Child”, a resolution and assertion on “Intent”. The approach to looped recordings continues to reveal Kent’s pleasure in recurring patterns. The subtle lapse becomes the core in repetition, embracing lovely accidents along the way. This, too, can be reflected in our lives. Sometimes mistakes are nothing more than predetermined outcomes, and expectations are the only rein. Recommended for fans of Danny Norbury, Greg Haines, Zoë Keating, Richard Skelton and of course, Hildur Guðnadóttir.

Be sure to read Interview with Julia Kent

juliakent.com | theleaflabel.com

After my previous review of HiFiMAN’s EF-2A Headphone Amp, I decided to explore this company’s offering in headphones. After all, they specialize in the award-winning planar-magnetic series of cans, which start at $400 and go up to $1,300. But before I dive into the world of high-end drivers, I decided to check out the HE-300 - HiFiMAN’s low impedance full size dynamic offering at only $249 USD (MSRP). It’s important to note that although HiFiMAN is a small company, it is responsible for designing and manufacturing its own custom dynamic driver. Again, my aim here is to find and recommend a beautiful set of headphones without breaking your bank, while staying within the bands of the same-priced over-hyped celebrity-branded tuna cans.

What immediately impressed me is the look of these open-back cans. The perfectly round, silver-colored and velour padded ear-cups are definitely sexy. The pair comes with a beautifully braided silver coated copper cable (yes, you’ve read it correctly – actual silver coated), with individual channel inputs under each ear-pad! This cable alone is worth over a hundred bucks! The set is somewhat medium weighted (about 270g), and at only 50 Ohms can be driven by your favorite portable device. But remember, since this is an open-back set, the sound will leak in (and out), so I don’t recommend walking around with these on the street. Plus, you’ll probably look pretty ridiculous with the big cups over your ears.

So how do they sound? In one word: fantastic! I’ve now listened to HE-300 for more than a few weeks, and compared them with two other open-back pairs [these will eventually make it to my site as recommendations], but what’s immediately attractive (besides the above mentioned features) is a price-point at which this pair is immediately accessible! I’ve dragged the HE-300 through my collection of ambient, post-rock, and IDM: the highs are crisp and crystal clear, with the warm mids a bit set back, and the bass deep and tight. I even had a pair growl a bit with some techno and dubstep, and although the low-range wasn’t as thick and full as a closed-back pair can offer (see Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO), it never once stumbled over the rumbling frequencies.

I especially enjoyed using the HE-300 while listening to piano and modern-classical music. The sound seeped out in transparent and textured currents, freely mixing in with ambient atmosphere around my head, like a slow curling smoke of an incense,  burning in a quiet humid temple. The music seemed to be within me, the performer’s fingers lightly touching the keyboard, a foot on the pedal, a barely audible breath captured by chance. After a few minutes you’ll forget that you’re wearing the headphones, and that’s when the magic sets in.

With the HE-300, HiFiMAN aims to deliver the similar family sonic signature of its top-of-the-line reference models, such as HE-500 and HE-6. I’m sure that comparing the models side-by-side will reveal the slight benefits of the higher-priced offerings (something I’m actually looking forward to), but until then I don’t see why one should not be happy with this gorgeous entry-level pair. Again, HiFiMAN opens up a world of listening that even a seasoned commuter should embrace with an awe. Everything up until this point simply fell on deaf ears – now one must go and re-listen again!

MSRP – $249 USD
hifiman.com

Hi guys, first of all, who are you, where are you, and how are you?
Greetings from Lyon! Sandrine here, the label manager. Doing pretty good actually. Just spent a lovely week with Miktek who came to work on his album in our studio. Spring is finally here and the town is vibrant !

Let’s start at the very beginning. What prompted the birth of Ultimae label and how did you come up with the name?
Back in 99 Asura had their first full length album ready and several label interested, but none giving them the real go ahead. Tired of promises and also with the idea of the creation of a portal for ambient lovers Vincent Villuis decided to set up a record label, release the album and open a website. Vince and I met when they were putting the final touch to the cover. We started as Infinium Records and worked under that banner for about 18 months until we received a legal notice asking for us to destroy anything bearing the name Infinium. We went offline and on a trip in Montreal spent much time in a nice coffee place with our Latin dictionaries till we find the expression Ultimae terrae, meaning the furthest piece of land you can reach. We liked it very much and decided to go for the short version, Ultimae.

So the Asura’s album was the very first release… How was it put together?
Vince was part of the band at the time with Charles and another friend. They’d been working on tracks for a few years, had released some on various compilations and got the complete album story ready late 99. At the time it was only a CD album release as digital platforms weren’t in existence yet. When Code Eternity was released Vince and I immediately started working on Fahrenheit Project part 1. The original title was Fahrenheit but as we worked on it we got the habit of calling it the Fahrenheit Project and kept this title in the end. As long-term fans of electronic music and ambient specifically we had a pretty good idea of the people we wanted to work with but also went discovering on MP3.com That’s where we found Solar Fields…

Tell us more about the Fahrenheit Project series and how it has grown over the multiple volumes.
Vince always wanted to do a series of seven compilations with an idea of temperature in sound. It took us over ten years to complete the collection. Compilations are for us an interesting way to introduce the work of artists new to music composition or simply new to our label and fans. Often, this led to signing an album with us. Now that we’re done with Fahrenheit Project we are starting to think about the next series but I can’t tell you much, as we’ve not fully defined the idea.

What is the aesthetic of sound behind the label and how did it evolve over the last 10+ years?
We always released music in the ambient downtempo genre that touched us deeply. We can’t release something that would be just pleasing to the ear. Some albums which got released on other labels were first offered to us and the feedback they got was : make it deeper, put your guts out!!! We enjoy music that is wide, deep, emotional, melancholic, intense, spacious, ethereal… That’s where we started and I think that’s where we’ll always be.

How would you categorize the genre of the music in which you focus and what are your thoughts on the word ‘psybient’?
We tend to tag our releases with genres such as ambient, cinematic downtempo, IDM, atmospheric electronica. Progressive and psychedelic trance and deep techno also for some releases or individual tracks from artists such as AES Dana or Solar Fields. Some fans tag us with the term psybient but we don’t feel it’s really adequate for our music… or maybe a few tracks on some comps. To me psybient music contains more of these little psychedelic tweaks and effects which we don’t have.

You’ve managed to maintain a consistent presentation with all of your albums. Tell us about the packaging and artwork of all your releases.
Vince creates all of the artwork, sometimes at the beginning with his brother Mat. We changed last year, or the year before, can’t quite remember. We had enough of the black borders. At first we used them to show the cinematic, 16.9° style of our music but eventually they became a barrier to our creativity. Some of the pictures we wanted to use looked awesome standing alone and lost their strength within the borders. And after a good 10 years, a change is welcome. Sub88, a French designer worked on covers for I Awake and Cells albums. It was the choice of the artists to work with him as they really appreciate his mix of cold synthetic 3D type of objects and nature. Vince and I are really into photography, hence our choices.

How do you go about signing other musicians to Ultimae? Any particular names that you wish to release in the future?
I did tell you that we must be deeply moved by the music. Another essential point is the human encounter. We can’t work with an artist if we don’t get on. If he / she could never be a friend. In the music we somehow feel if we have a certain sensitivity in common, meetings often lead to lasting friendships. Exactly what just happened with Mihalis Aikaterinis aka Miktek or with Magnus Solar Fields who happens to be our daughter’s godfather. I Awake contacted us for his first album and came home to Lyon to visit us. That’s when we decided to sign him. Cell was doing internship with Huby Sea, we met him at the studio, invited him to a party at home and have been like family ever since. We hope we could work with Offthesky, we’re in love with his music. At the same time he seems to be in a good collaboration with Databloem and Hibernate, so we wouldn’t want to interfere.

What were some of the hardest lessons learned in running a label during the last decade?
Hahahahahaha… Nah that’s not for a simple interview, let’s write an essay!!! Make sure your name is unique. That was a proper lesson, luckily it didn’t cost us too much. Signing a license of the whole catalogue to a Russian company – with all due respect to my Russian friends, fans and partners – that was baaaaaad! The guys still sell our stuff and we never saw a single penny on our account. Reprinting 3000 copies of a release for a special order from a Canadian distributor which closed down, luckily we got the CDs back!!! Signing a worldwide distribution agreement with one company – you know that old expression, never put all your eggs in the same basket. We got lucky here too, that French distributor closed down but we were already selling direct from our website and to a few other websites such as Chaos Unlimited and Psyshop. That saved us.

Can you reflect on the current state of economics when it comes to running a label as a business?
Ultimae isn’t just a label. We run a record shop in the Lyon town center (funny thing, as I write, a psychology student doing is homework just fell asleep listening to Paul Kalkbrenner, sweet!!!), we have an online shop and ship worldwide every day, we sell not only our releases but also distribute about 80 self-produced artists and labels, we are publishers, run a mastering studio, write articles for music magazines… We’re rather independent and free, there is no exclusive distribution agreement with anyone for any country – you know why from the hard lesson learned question! Even on our digital distribution agreement with INgrooves we can go direct with a new platform if we feel we must for the good of Ultimae.

We’re doing well economically speaking. We are a team of 4 people, 3 full-time, 1 part-time. Several of our artists earn enough with royalties and performance fees to concentrate on their creation only. I studied business and law and had several experiences as manager in various companies which helped when it came to running our own. I do all the administration (with an assistant now) and legal matters, it’s my cup of tea. I keep a little bit of time for artistic work though, just so I don’t blow up! In 13 years of running a business only twice did we end up with a negative balance.

This being said, the current situation didn’t happen from day one, or by a twist of my magic wand. HARD WORK is the key. For 7 years both Vince and I had another full-time job and worked every night, week-end, bank holiday, holiday on the label. When we finally were able to take the vital minimum as wages we still worked crazy. It’s only when our daughter turned 3 that we decided to take a break for Christmas. Now we also take a break in the summer for a family escapade. Still today we are aware that we can’t just sit back and enjoy the ride drinking coffee and cracking jokes. We’re workaholics and with the help of Cécile and Arnaud have a dedicated team for the Ultimae mission.

What advice would you give to someone who’s interested in starting their own?
Run, you fool!

Tell us about Ultimae Subscription Program.
We just started the subscription programs following requests from old-time fans and friends who wanted to receive all our releases automatically. This to make sure they would not miss any, especially the limited editions. We have a 5 CD and a 10 CD subscription to accommodate with everyone’s financial means. People on the 10 CD program receive a collector item. We create small quantities of merchandising items, sometimes just 10 copies like the Pollen mugs, so it makes the gift very special.

What do you have lined up for 2013?
Next in line is the digital release of Aftermath 2.0, remastered version with addition of track # 08 originally released on Albedo. Then comes Miktek’s album [ Elsewhere ]… I Awake is working on an album, so are Scann-Tec, AES Dana, Asura. Miktek and Circular on an EP. Nova and I on compilations. I can’t promise everything will be released this year. Maybe we’ll even release something we didn’t plan!

Thank you for your time! Any last words for readers of Headphone Commute?
If you have suggestions of releases we should definitely sell in the shop, let us know! Anyone serious about running a record label can contact me with questions (info@ultimae.com). By serious I mean people who do intend to pay royalties to their artists, sign decent agreements which they’ll respect, … It’s a mad job but I love it to bits! Keep following Headphone Commute, the team has a very interesting view on music :)

ultimae.com | ultimae.bandcamp.com

Breathe in… Close your eyes and picture a beautiful land covered in warm pulsing smoke. You must enter this space slowly, while holding your breath. But don’t worry, in your dream all oxygen is optional. Only silence is suffocating. Instead put on your headphones and breathe with your ears. Let mgnovenie gradually penetrate your every cell, until its rhythm becomes your heartbeat, until the glitch becomes your synapse, and the bass becomes your step. This is the land where r.roo paints with sounds. Where spastic and electric clicks jump around the skeleton structure which surrounds the crying violin. Where jittery beats propel the piano forward while the smoke recedes by noon. Breathe out…

I’ve had my eyes on releases from Chicago based Tympanik Audio for almost six years now. This is the label that brought you music by Subheim, Access To Arasaka, Undermathic and Dirk Geiger. Throughout the years the label has established itself as a premier outlet for all of your IDM, dark ambient, and industrial needs – or rather it’s a poisonous cocktail of all three of the genres. So it’s no surprise that the latest magical potion comes from r.roo.

Shadowed in soulful piano movements, twitches of violin, random static and strange radio voices, accented perfectly by crushing beats and a meticulous stitching of glitchy misfires, ‘mgnovenie’ (translated as “The Moment”) proves itself as the ideal soundtrack for intentional mental defections.

Andrey Rugaroo is a Kiev (Ukraine) based electronic musician with a handful of (mostly) digital releases on labels such as Abstract Reflections, Raumklang Music and Someone Records. His fifth full-lentgh, mgnovenie, is a digital release as well, with a compact disk being pressed by popular demand. The production on the album is exceptional – and it’s not just the DSP heavy processing which should satisfy all of the glitch heads. It’s also the lovely melodic progressions that float in atmospheric ether, and never let go. Of course the strings and piano only add the cinematic quality for which the above mentioned artists from Tympanik are already known.

If you’re new to the label, may I recommend you start with its compilations, especially the latest digital release, Accretion and then traverse the Emerging Organisms volumes. Meanwhile, this past weekend I’ve been listening to the debut release from the latest signing, Atiq & EnK. Also, stay tuned for a followup release from r.roo titled Innerheaven hitting the streets in 2013.

tympanikaudio.com