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cd -- selection MAY 2006 |
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| Artist: |
CHARALAMBIDES |
| Title: |
A Vintage
Burden |
| Label: |
KRANKY |
| Format: |
CD |
| Price: |
17,5€ |
| Catalog #: |
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Charalambides are free-folk
royalty, widely regarded as originators of this ever-mystifying
scene. The band even included Volcanic Tongue’s co-founder
Heather Leigh Murray in it’s ranks, but on ‘A
Vintage Burden’ we are down to the original pairing
of ex-couple Tom and Christina Carter. ‘A Vintage Burden’
is their most intimate and accessible album yet, kicking off
with the subtle and timid ‘There Is No End’; lightly
plucked electric guitar encased in Christina’s gorgeous
multitracked vocals. The band have always been labelled as
being influenced by early American blues and folk, however
this album has transcended the influence somehow – and
although there are very strong folk resonances, the two have
worked hard in carving themselves a niche that encapsulates
a variation of traditional post-rock and fine, utterly involving
music. Their finest, most rewarding album to date - a must
for all fans of Kranky and this maverick band. |
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| Artist: |
AIDAN BAKER |
| Title: |
THE SEA
SWELLS A BIT… |
| Label: |
A SILENT
PLACE |
| Format: |
CD |
| Price: |
17,5€ |
| Catalog #: |
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A Silent Place proudly presents the new AIDAN BAKER cd album!
Aidan Baker is one of the most important emergent artist of
the last years...! Probably this is the most important "musical"
Aidan Baker release..., in fact here the sound is comparable
to the best (obscure) psychedelic post-rock releases including
great droning, hypnotic and honeiric atmospheres. Spontaneously
composed by Aidan, who plays guitar (electric & acoustic),
bass, tapeloops, drum machine and percussion in his droning
'fashion soup'. In this album Aidan uses (as usual) his guitar
but also other instruments and tools like tapeloops and sampled
dialogue. The result is the three long and beautiful tracks
that constructs this album. 44 minutes of hypnotic ambient
drone textures in a deep psychedelic & post-rock attitude.
His guitar treatments and amazing looping work get more and
more marvellous, as the droning increasing percussions take
the listener to a peaceful state of mind. The sound rises
all around as the stream floods to the seaside, giving refuge
to emotions through numbing clouds of murmuring electric voices.
Aidan's performances high standards and his instantly recognizable
style are here well confirmed, adding to the excellent level
of his discography! |
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| Artist: |
M.
HOLTERBACH |
| Title: |
AARE
AM MARZILIBAD |
| Label: |
EREWHON |
| Format: |
CD |
| Price: |
9,5€ |
| Catalog #: |
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Manu Holterbach is a young French sound artist who proposes
his many-faceted talents since already more than 10 years.
He invents new instruments, spatialization devices and mutant
loudspeakers that were showed around the world in diverse
installations and performances, in solo or in collaboration
with a.o. Sophie Durand, Pierre Berthet, Jean-François
Laporte, David Maranha.
Manu
also composes pieces realized with natural and industrial
environmental sound recordings, like the one we proudly
propose on erewhon, Aare am Marzilibad.
This piece realized in 2003 is a ready-made recording of
a Swiss choppy river, the Aare, done with a microphone hermetically
locked into a bottle. What you can hear is the sound of
thousands of pebbles that knock together in the powerful
stream. It illustrates perfectly Manu's focus on microscopic
events and fragility.
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| Artist: |
SOME TWEETLOVE |
| Title: |
Cafard mondial |
| Label: |
Matamore |
| Format: |
CD |
| Price: |
13 euro |
| Catalog #: |
Mtm06 |
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First full album of the belgian classic avant-rock combo. 40 minutes of beautiful melodic and melancholic instrumental music. |
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| Artist: |
THANKSGIVING |
| Title: |
Cave days and moments |
| Label: |
Marriage records |
| Format: |
CD |
| Price: |
17 euro |
| Catalog #: |
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Adrian Orange, the person behind the music of Thanksgiving, is one young and prolific artist. I dare you to look up his discography and not be amazed-all of this work done by the age of 19. Of course, some may cringe due to the overwhelming amount of material. Some of it has got to be bad, doesn't it? No, it doesn't. Adrian doesn't release everything just to get it out there; he has a gift of making great 3-minute rock songs that break the mold. This talent is on full display throughout Cave Days & Moments, perhaps Adrian's most cohesive and relevant release to date.
These songs are able to stretch and bend to fit Adrian's will. The root of each track lies in the eerie desperation and loneliness of the acoustic guitar coupled with Adrian's low bellow. "You Will Find Me," and "The Old Graveyard," echo an old, traditional sound of the Dust Bowl ballads. The envelope pushing "Caves," saunters down a dirty and muddled bass beat that is just a hair away from exploding, but somehow Adrian is able to refrain from hitting the trigger.
Thanksgiving's largest musical asset lies in the use of percussion, much like that of Adrian's influential running buddy, Phil Elverum. The mysterious, yet danceable beat of "(You Belong to the) Blood," is dominated by rhythmic percussion before turning the floor over to the lighter pickings of the ever-present acoustic guitar. "(Fleeting) Moments," mirrors the drum circle of "(You Belong to the) Blood," without yielding the dusky undertones or downtrodden lyrics.
The Wild West wishes it had a soundtrack as wistful and foreboding as Cave Days & Moments. As vague as the music may sound in print, it's nowhere as vague as in sound. What you're hearing and what you'll process will be two separate experiences, thus giving the album an intangible that even Adrian may not have aimed to create. Cave Days & Moments is as clean as is it dirty, as happy as it is sad, as hard as it is soft-though no of that will cure the heartfelt isolation expressed in Adrian's songwriting. And it's that isolation that makes this album welcomed and appreciated. In the loneliness, no one will ever really be alone.
Also available: nothing CD
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| Artist: |
STRONEN, THOMAS |
| Title: |
Pohlitz |
| Label: |
RUNE GRAMMOFON (NORWAY) |
| Format: |
CD |
| Price: |
18,5 E |
| Catalog #: |
RCD 2051CD |
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This is the first solo release from Thomas Strønen who is founder and leader of the Norwegian/British band Food. Strønen has since long established himself as much more than a traditional drummer, but also as a composer of percussion and electronics, as well as an active contributor to other major projects including the Humcrush duo with Supersilent keyboardist Ståle Storløkken, the Maria Kannegaard Trio and Parish, the quartet he leads with ace Swedish pianist Bobo Stenson. Strønen has also worked with trumpeter Tomasz Stanko, the Cikada String quartet and singer Silje Nergaard. Pohlitz marks the 30th release Strønen has appeared on, and the eight tracks show a mature writer and arranger, the music sharing some possible references with minimalists such as Steve Reich, traditional gamelan music as well as fellow Norwegian Arne Nordheim's classic electronic exercises. From jazz, to improv, to electronics, each detail and melodic element is an important part of the whole picture. Thomas Strønen has already done several solo live shows under the Pohlitz name and will continue to do so in the future, all the music being played and processed live in real-time. |
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| Artist: |
HALF ASLEEP |
| Title: |
Just before we learn to swim
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| Label: |
MATAMORE (BE)
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| Format: |
CD |
| Price: |
13 E
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| Catalog #: |
MAT005 |
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“Taking a short brake from the busy Herman Dune schedule David has crafted his second solo album. The eight tracks of heartbreak, humor and insight are recorded with a slight yet intricate texture made up of guitar, ukulele, recorder, fiddle, piano and the backup of the Dunes little sister Lisa Li-Lund. Following up his first solo album “Ya Ya” 2005 sees the intriguingly titled “Demented Abduction, Nova Scotia runs for gold”, a compelling and considered collection of songs. The whole album is accompanied by a 28-page comic book by David the story referencing lyrics and songs. A new Herman Dune album is out now on Track & Field”
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