Whoa. Album of the year material with this sick collaboration right here. Highly doubtful it will resemble anything close to ambient though.

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/reco...60-nah-und-fern

I had no idea this was coming out. Limited edition vinyl too, for anyone who cares.

Any one of those albums would have been my most anticipated re-release possible if I hadn't give up all hope that it would ever really happen. What a day this is.

Hey my link for the Duane Pitre record is still working, take that along with you too

h__p://www.mediafire.com/?nbmdavb3jw1

No, I haven't ordered it yet. If I get it soon I'll post a pic, maybe Undo's got it?

Thought Id share my current dream score...
Jasper TX - Black Sleep

Gavin Bryars' 'The Sinking of the Titanic' is, and I say this with confidence, one of the finest pieces of music you could ever wish to own. Written in 1969 it has journeyed through the lands of modern classical, experimental and electronic music netting dedicated followers on its way, and each and every time I hear it I become more convinced of its genius. Bryars wrote the piece to mirror the last moments of the doomed voyage, when the Titanic sunk and famously the band played on. According to survivors the music being played was a rendition of 'Autumn', an Episcopal hymn which forms the basis of Bryars' composition. The notes and phrases from the hymn are worked in and out of the piece, sinking through the waters, effected by time, nostalgia and the cavernous reverberations of the ship itself with each scrape and hiss worked into Bryars' incredible vision. For this special performance of the piece we see Bryars (on double bass) alongside Italian ensemble Alter Ego (not to be confused with the German electronic duo of the same name) and experimental turntablist Philip Jeck, and the result is arguably its most stunning rendition to date. The most noticeable addition is Jeck, whose expertise and unique style seems to fit like the final piece of the puzzle as his crackles and motifs melt into the architecture of the recording as if they had always been there. This additional layer of nostalgia brought forth by these found sounds adds a significant sense of history , forcing the mind back into hazy film footage and decomposed photos, a perfect match for the subject matter. Also of note are Alter Ego, who surprised me with their stunning renditions of Philip Glass recently, and work comparable magic here on Bryars' composition, with their ensemble bringing in the sounds of bottles, tape recorders, laptops and percussion on top of more traditional instruments. The sounds are merged together effortlessly to form a fog of harmony and memory, perfectly melting the themes which Bryars intended his piece to convey in the first place. Really words can't do justice to 'The Sinking of the Titanic', like William Basinski's 'The Disintegration Loops' there is a timelessness, a patience and an ineffable beauty to this music that almost impossible to describe. Unique, flawless and totally essential music.

Following eighteen months after Edinburgh-based pianist / composer Max Richter’s last album comes the release of the gorgeous, intriguingly framed ’24 Postcards In Full Colour’. Richter’s fourth album is a dazzling conceptual exercise of great beauty and emotional resonance. Certainly his most concise, ’24 Postcards…’may also be Max’s most coherent and compelling work to date. Beautifully played, richly textured and detailed, the album foregrounds Max’s sheer class as a composer and producer. As though extracting the absolute essence, simple, plaintive piano and string melodies - no excess, no waste, pure concentrate - butt up against passages of rich, borderzone ambience - radio static / voices leaking through dense, shifting drones. At points recalling the likes of Boards Of Canada, Bibio, and Gas (in terms of depth / grain rather than sound or style), at others Minimalism or the Elizabethan instrumental music of Henry Purcell, there’s also something about its nature that brings to mind authors like WG Sebald, Marcel Proust and filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky.

*ALL PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED MATERIAL* If there is any producer who needs no introduction on these pages it's Wolfgang Voigt. Under his Gas moniker Voigt has not only produced some of the most important electronic music of the last quarter-century, but also influenced a generation of awestruck music makers. Without those seminal early recordings it's safe to say ambient electronic music would not look quite the same. Thankfully Kompakt (the label which Voigt heads up) re-issued those classic recordings a few weeks back to much-deserved critical acclaim, but for those of you who already possessed them in some form or another, this Raster Noton release was the one that had us chomping at the bit. I doubt very much that there are any of you out there who have never heard Gas before, but if there are a couple of stragglers you should know this - if you have any interest in ambient music, electronic music, experimental music or whatever you choose to label it, you really owe it to yourself to get this album. From the catalogues of Type and Miasmah to the hallowed ground of Touch and Mego the influence of Wolfgang Voigt spans the whole scene and this release is there to be cherished. Immense.

Certainly no composer today has attained the recognition and ubiquity of works as those of a Bach, Beethoven or Wagner. However, one of the last New Music movements to impact pop culture was the more accessible work of the minimalists. And there is anchored the saga of Nico Muhly, a 20-something prodigy and Juilliard grad who may be one of the few surprises left to emerge from the classical milieu.

As an indispensable assistant to Philip Glass -- for whom he toiled as editor, keyboardist and conductor since his sophomore year at Columbia -- Muhly learned the necessary tedium of the composing business, feeding Glass' transcriptions into a computer program. But interestingly, even as a professed "nonbeliever," as much of Muhly's influences came from his days as a church choirboy as they did from the insistent pulse of Steve Reich and John Adams (who calls Muhly's music "eclectic and nondenominational," in the sense that it doesn't subscribe to any orthodoxies).

Another of Muhly's great loves is Iceland, a country in which he's spent a lot of time and from which he's recruited many musicians and producers, including Valgeir Sigurdsson, who co-produced "Mothertongue," Muhly's second album. So it makes sense that below the busy, neurotic chatter of the Glass-ish Morse Code vocalizations on the CD's title track, there's a tranquil sense of glistening, almost electronic lushness, somewhat like one might find on a record by Icelandic post-rock bands Sigur Ros and Mum (in fact, Muhly did work on Bjork's "Medulla"), albeit with intentional jarrings and thunder sounds to keep the process disquieting.

The ambient-drone subgenre seems to evolve just as glacially as the songs of artists that work in this particular field produce. In a genre where subtlety is king, it often seems that artists deliberately avoid making advances in the field – that seems too much like avoiding subtlety altogether. But to assume that the listener will appreciate this dogmatic adherence to the drone forever is wishful thinking, at best. All that is needed is one spark, and the complacency of the listeners in the face of the slowly-evolving scene will burst into a flame of passionate attempts at change. That spark has arrived in the form of thisquietarmy's first full-length release, Unconquered. Already known for experimenting within the generally static fields of ambient drone, thisquietarmy proves that this type of experimentation can be sustained successfully throughout the course of a large scale release, bringing a fresh look at a gorgeous genre to anyone who dares to listen.Unconquered is a fitting name for the release – it presents unheard-of territory within the confines of the ambient-drone subgenre, and quickly thisquietarmy claims it as his own. The release is so fresh, so satisfying, that it makes you wonder why no one else has tried any of this (on this scale) before. I can't answer that question, but I do know this: there will be a lot of artists following in the footprints left by this album. It may not be a perfect album, but the most adventurous ones never are – perfection requires a commitment that musical explorers cannot make, and to fault them for pushing the boundaries of genre is to have gravely mistaken priorities. There is still so much territory left unconquered by experimental musicians, and hopefully this release will inspire more daring, more risk taking within every genre, rather than merely trying to claim and develop ground that has already been covered. thisquietarmy has set the bar – can you reach it?

Every once in a while something extraordinary manages to come my way with a power that is hard to deny. Such is the case with this London-based band's debut album, a stratospheric collection of musically mature, beautifully crafted, and subtly layered compositions that refuse to remain earthbound. This is the vision and brainchild of just one individual—Oliver Barrett, only in his early 20s and literally fresh out of University. This is a marvellously complex album, displaying a compositional maturity usually garnered through decades of experience and learning. In some respects, Barrett has indeed compiled a couple of decades of musical exploration already, having started learning cello at age four. What singles him out, though, is the fact that rather than staying within the rigid confines of classical music, he broke out into rock in his teen years. Couple the taking on of all those influences with an additional delve into the experimental end of the spectrum, and it could be concluded that his musical education has inevitably become broader than many. All these seemingly disparate elements coalesce and merge together here, and what results is a startling album that certainly in my view stands head and shoulders above many a debut.

I still don't know how to pronounce Mika Vainio's pseudonym of choice for this project, but under the Ø moniker he has proffered some of the finest electronic music known to mankind since way back in 1993 with the template setting series of 12"s for his native Sahko imprint. Now we're in 2008 and the man can't help but shock us to the core again with an album of pristine darkside industrial Electronic purism deeply engraved with signature drones and enveloping atmospheres that still sound quite unlike anything else on the planet. Over the course of 12 tracks Ø cross-hatches between shades of the original Pan Sonic heavy industrial sound, with the more delicate tones of his explorative ambience heard on the fabulous 'Kantamoinen' album, in classic Vainio style, marrying the two and birthing a perfect balance of Teutonic techno darkness and seasoned Finnish solitude from his base in Berlin. Our favourite tracks here would have to be the stern Kraftwerkian electro melodies of 'U-Bahn' or maybe the irreplaceable electro acoustic atmospheres of 'Koituva' but then there's the final run of three pitch black ambient mind melters that will leave you in an shivering mess. Basically it's just way too much to pick from, come back to me in a years time and i may have a few tried and tested faves. Fans of everything from Aphex's most out-there moments on Drukqs to Deathprod's stranded sonic isolations will be in their element with this album, we can't recommend it enough. Get properly darked - an incredible album from Sahko once again.

This thread needs some CPR. Here are some of my favorites from this year thus far. None of the links are mine.

Has anyone gotten the CD set? If so, would you mind describing the packaging and prints a bit and maybe even upping a photo? I'm not talking about something of high quality, but I am really curious to see what one gets. I am thinking about buying this as a gift for a friend and some nice packaging could be what decides it (he already has the original cds). Many thanks for any help!

Susuma Yokota-Skin Tone Collection

Whoa. Album of the year material with this sick collaboration right here. Highly doubtful it will resemble anything close to ambient though.

Preorder here. White vinyl limited to 500 if you're the type that gets off on that.

THANK YOU for the heads up on this. I just ordered the Vinyl. $20 + $7 shipping. Steep, I guess that's why they do this limited edition shit.

The Vinyl and the CD version come with a free download of the album too.

Eluvium - Life Through Bombardment 7 LP box set

Highly anticipated and long-overdue, Life Through Bombardment collects virtually every Eluvium song ever released (plus a bunch of rare and unreleased non-album tracks) into one stunning 7xLP set, all on vinyl for the first and only time. Each record is packaged in its own full-color jacket, featuring exquisite new artwork from Jeannie Lynn Paske, drawn exclusively for this set. The seven jackets are then bound into a beautiful dark green hardbound, linen-cover book, with metallic gold foil stamping and embossed text on the spine, and a beautiful full-color print embossed into the front cover. The inside front cover includes a removable old-fashioned library card, complete with personalized signatures from the artists and designers involved in the creation of this package. The final name on the library card will belong to the purchaser, hand-written and dated when purchased. The inside back cover includes a mind-blowing 12x36" foldout double-sided full-color poster insert, featuring more artwork from Ms. Paske. In addition, each copy of this set will include a unique digital code to download high-quality mp3s of the entire box set collection. This is limited to a one-time pressing of 1,000 copies, pressed onto 100% virgin black vinyl.

This was posted much earlier in the thread but is now dead. So for those who missed it:



Arvo Pärt - Alina
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=YKS2FHS5

and another, this one a sacred vocal composition originally for a Bach festival. Not really ambient, but this seemed as good a place for it as any around here:



Arvo Pärt - Litany
http://www.mediafire.com/?jkdy9mynjlm

I'm not the biggest Eluvium fan but I'm tempted to pick up this new vinyl box set for the package alone. Sounds pretty amazing and it's only $120 shipped in the US. Available from Temporary Residence.

Oh man, I'm definitely ordering that.

THANK YOU for the heads up on this. I just ordered the Vinyl. $20 + $7 shipping. Steep, I guess that's why they do this limited edition shit.

The Vinyl and the CD version come with a free download of the album too.

Wondering if Hecker has anything beyond Harmony and this that I should be listening to

This arrived in the post yesterday morning and I’m dying to share it. Can't be arsed to rip and up 10 7"s but I found some mp3s....

Various Artists – Recovery (10x7” Box Set)



What happens when you ask 20 electronic artists, each renowned for their own inimitable style, to cover a song from the past that holds particular significance to them? Recovery is a series of cover versions, tributes and appropriations of classic hits from the 70s, 80s and 90s, by the following artists:

Tracklisting:

A1 B J Nilsen - Heart and Soul [Joy division]
A2 People Like Us & Ergo Phizmiz - Mull of Kintyre [Wings]

B1 Fennesz - Hunting High and Low [a-ha]
B2 :Zoviet*france: - Bomber [Motorhead]

C1 Ryoji Ikeda - Back in Black [ac/dc]
C2 Mika Vanio - Running up That Hill [Kate Bush]

D1 Robert Henke - Lucifer [Alan Parsons]
D2 Susan Stenger - My Sharona [The Knack]

E1 Jenny Hoysten's Paradise Island - Dream Tree [Buffy St Marie]
E2 alva noto - Planet Rock [Afrika Bambaataa]

F1 Matmos - C30, C60, C90, Go! [Bow Wow Wow]
F2 Barbara Morgenstern - Temptation [New Order]

G1 Carter Tutti - Lucifer Sam [Pink Floyd]
G2 Robert Lippok feat. Caroline Thorpe - Freedom! '90 [Wham]

H1 snd - Billie Jean [Michael Jackson]
H2 Richard Chartier & CoH - Bleak is My Favourite Cliché [Soft Cell]

I1 Momus & Germlin - Ashes to Ashes [David Bowie]
I2 Jason Forrest Damn Love [10cc]

J1 J.G.Thirlwell - Warm Leatherette [The Normal]
J2 Johann Johannsson - Souvenir [OMD]



The artist list alone must have resulted in some jism-related drowning incidents at the Wire HQ. As you can imagine, with any project of this nature, the results are of varying quality but on the whole they are inspired interpretations. You can read more about the selections from the artists themselves at the Fractured Recordings site (I’m not including a link for obvious reasons).

I like this explanation from snd:

Anyone have any thoughts on this Hecker/Baker split? I only listened to the cd rip once and it didn't seem to do much for me. Though I wasn't paying close attention, mind you.

It looks like we may be hearing from FENNESZ this year after all, and quite soon:

Johann Johannsson has been making music for many years, during which time he has become an indispensable part of the Reykjavik music scene. Johannsson’s resume is diverse, as he is not only a co-leader of the Kitchen Motors stable, but also a singer, a soundtrack artist and a member of Apparat Motor Quartet. His solo work (with the exception of Dis) has been marked by a stately grace, utilizing the efforts of orchestras, occasional solo artists and, on his last album, a dying computer.

Fordlandia combines the best of Johannsson’s three orchestral albums. Echoes of Englaborn are found in the eight concise tracks, topping out with the choral excesses of “The Great God Pan is Dead.” The other three tracks are long and languid, a la Virthulega Foresetar, but much less minimal. Last year’s elegiac IBM 1401: A User’s Manual made stunning use of a 60-piece orchestra, favoring the organic over the electronic; on Fordlandia, Johannsson delves even further into the realm of modern classical.

Six years ago, when Johannsson was asked to compose the soundtrack to Englaborn (an Icelandic play), he chose to balance the rough hewn edges of the script with sonic tenderness. This tone has continued through subsequent recordings, and has slowly become the Johannsson “sound,” as bittersweet as a retired Viking drinking mead in a converted brothel. While listening to Fordlandia, one may encounter unbidden tears, or encounter lofty thoughts of fields and fjords.

Young countrymate ‘Olafur Arnalds rides the same carousel. While the vocoder of Arnald’s Variations of Static seemed an obvious nod to IBM 1401, the occasional piano on Fordlandia seems a shout-out to Eulogy for Evolution. Each artist is stingy with percussion, preferring to program beats only to punctuate later tracks. Each prefers the movement to the standalone statement. Despite the difference in age, each artist taps into a mourning for things gone by, and manages to capture the simultaneous sadness and yearning that is found in funeral music. This is never more obvious than in the organ tones of Johannsson’s “Chimaerica,” but it is present throughout Fordlandia’s soarings and swoons.

Listening to Fordlandia is a majestic, all-enveloping experience. The mostly-wordless suite, which includes both overture and finale, is meant to tell a story, but is better enjoyed without an imposed narrative. The album’s contemplative nature lends itself well to introspection. By the time the symphony ends, with the slowly receding notes of “How We Left Fordlandia,” listeners may feel as if they have been transported in time, either backwards in memory or forward in imagination.

It’s been a long time coming, but Johann Johannsson has finally produced his masterpiece. Previous releases have bordered on brilliance, but the cross-stitching of Fordlandia creates an end result greater than the sum of its parts. In the field of modern composition, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a finer album this year.

-Richard Allen (The Silent Ballet) - Score: 8.5/10

Anyone have any thoughts on this Hecker/Baker split? I only listened to the cd rip once and it didn't seem to do much for me. Though I wasn't paying close attention, mind you.


It looks like we may be hearing from FENNESZ this year after all, and quite soon:

Pitchfork are premiering an exclusive stream of "Saffron Revolution", from Fennesz's forthcoming "Black Sea" album, scheduled for release at the end of November [Touch # TO:76, CD and vinyl].

Pitchfork's Mark Richardson writes: "… this lead track certainly keeps expectations very high. Beginning with some of Fennesz' trademark neo-industrial gurgles, it folds in bits of guitar and strings rather beautifully, creating a cluster of sound that trembles, seeming to wait for something. And that something moves in gradually in the form of a massive cloud of distortion, a fine white mist of harmonics mixed with a dark undercurrent of rumbling bass. The tension between these elements is so well balanced, each individual element remaining in the mix even as the sound field becomes impossibly dense, that it's no surprise that it takes a while to get it just right. And as it begins to draw down about five minutes in, you can't help but wish that another full Fennesz album was following behind it. Soon."

Preview "Saffron Revolution" on www.pitchforkmedia.com
http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/down...volution-stream