Archive for the ‘experimental’ Category

Nathan Larson

Wednesday, February 27th, 2008 by Paul Irish

film music // melodic contemporary

First, watch:

While this video made the rounds late last year, the song stuck with me ever since. After some sleuthing (thx, brandon!), we know know that Mr. Nathan Larson is responsible for the delightful audio (and lernert for the video). He composed it originally for the 2004 film Palindromes by indie fave Todd Solondz. Inside the song, a lonely piano plays a somber waltz whilst a desperate female voice offers a most beautiful melody.

Lyrics that belie their melody’s beauty.
Nathan Larson - Aviva Pastoral
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Label Spotlight: Exponential Records

Tuesday, February 19th, 2008 by Kyle

electronic // idm // trip-hop

Certain labels came to mind as I browsed Exponential Records: Ninja Tune, M3rck, Eastern Developments, Chocolate Industries. Started by Ernest Gonzales in 2000, aka Theory of Everything, Exponential’s aim was to be an art-and-music collaboration, having shows where art and music coincide. Every artist on this label has a unique and well-developed style, ranging with backgrounds as world-traveling DJs, graffiti artists, designers, heavy thinkers, phreakers, and family men. While the beats are what initially drew me in, I was surprisingly delighted to find an 8-bit twist that I thoroughly enjoyed, in a genre which usually entices me less than Gyromite. To bring things a step further, the same person creating the Edo track below and that 8-bit melody has also crafted an ep titled Lullaby, for his newborn baby to fall asleep to.

Deep-fried and delicious! beats and melodies from Texas.
A.M. Architect - Unspoken
Theory of Everything - Taking It Back To Edo
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Samsara Sound System

Saturday, January 19th, 2008 by Kyle

persian illbient // worldbeat

The Daf, Santur, and Bazantar are some instruments you’ll hear alongside turntables and synthesizers in this Brooklyn-grown sound of a man called Professor Shehab. He’s no stranger to music; having performed with Qaballah Steppers, Scarab, and The Baraka Orchestra, and he’s not alone here. Friends like Alan Kushan, Bill Laswell, DXT, Mark Deutsch, and Mark Pistel of Meat Beat Manifesto lend their talents, cultivating elements of Turkish, Arabic, and Persian resonance into a unique illbient mood.

Tantalizing synapsis of the Middle East and Brooklyn.
Samsara Sound System - Shiraz
Samsara Sound System - Cycle In Progress
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Kreidler

Tuesday, January 15th, 2008 by Andrew Ladd

electronic // experimental

Kreidler has one of those sounds that teeters on the edge of being irritatingly experimental, but is pulled back by some solid acoustic instrumentation and a good sense of beat and build. Their debut, Weekend showcases an odd mix of chirps and clicks, along with some more conventional driving bass and lightly rocky drums. Some of it’s a bit Four Tet-ish, but it’s a little meaner with its melodies than the English artist, and the overall effect is something slightly darker.

German innovation.
Kreidler - La Capital
Kreidler - Sand Colour Classic
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Susumu Yokota

Thursday, January 3rd, 2008 by Andrew Ladd

electronic // ambient // soundscape

Susumu Yokota has released a somewhat ridiculous thirty (ish) albums over the last fourteen years, mainly in Japan and mainly in the house/techno genre. Over here in Angloland, though, he’s best known for his ambient electronica that’s a chilling sort of blend of The K&D Sessions and the Myst soundtrack. It’s all layers of hum, echoing bells, and sparsely shaken beats, and blends dreamily into one, beautifully rich canvas of sounds. The tracks here are from his 2002 The Boy and the Tree; his other ambient albums are Sakura, Grinning Cat, and Magic Thread.

Eerily hypnotic.
Susumu Yokota - Grass, Tree And Stone
Susumu Yokota - The Colour of Pomegranates
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Phon°noir

Sunday, December 30th, 2007 by Kyle

electro-acoustic // experimental

Distant echoes return with a subdued haze, in an audible maze that approaches your ear. Matthias Grübel’s voice sparingly appears to direct and translate, through his Phon°noir dialect, as songs often build, unfold, surprise and sometimes delight with a scattered, spackled, mysterious transformation of blips, glitches, instrumental and skyward noises that become waves and bursts, then disappear. He credits Leonard Cohen and Four Tet as influences; I agree.

Suspicious and mesmerizing collages of reminiscent tinkerings.
Phon°noir - My Paperhouse On Fire
Phon°noir - The Objects Don’t Need Us

Update! 2008.06.21: Annie points us to an excellent video of the former track:
Phon°noir - My Paperhouse On Fire (video)
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Erik Enocksson

Sunday, November 25th, 2007 by Julija

shoegazing // experimental

Throughout his strongly evocative pieces for the soundtrack of Farväl Falkenberg, Stockholm-based composer Erik Enocksson reverberates the stories of a small sea-town life. As Erik Enocksson merges his minimalist folk tunes, sweeping instrumentation of acoustic guitars, piano, creaky wood, ethereal choir chant, and the simplicity of whistles and hand claps, he perfectly captures the feelings of isolation and hopefulness. Influenced by the coastal area, the soundscapes stimulate the sensation of brooding notes and a subtle hint of threat.

Losing yourself in a cinematic-shoegaze experience.
Erik Enocksson - The Joy of D.H. Lawrence
Erik Enocksson - The Lingering Procession
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El Ten Eleven

Sunday, November 11th, 2007 by Anne Cloudman

post-rock // instrumental

While post-rock fans have been enjoying El Ten Eleven’s textured, atmospheric instrumentals since their 2004 self-titled debut album, it wasn’t until I saw Helvetica, which heavily features tracks from 2007’s Every Direction is North, that I discovered this creative duo. The music meanders and crescendos, calms and invigorates, adding layer after layer to an emotional journey. You can’t help but want to go along for the ride.

Double neck bass guitar, electric drums, and effects pedaling delight.
El Ten Eleven - My Only Swerving
El Ten Eleven - Living on Credit Blues
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J. Ralph

Wednesday, October 31st, 2007 by Kyle

classical // experimental

Do you recall the beat of Busta Rhymes’ Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See? Now imagine a man and woman singing operatically over that beat in Italian, with a gently plucked classical guitar and accordion filling the air. If you’ve seen Volkswagen’s Big Day commercial, you’re one million miles closer to what’s in store with this adventure. So take a trip with a thrift shop warrior and hear what happens when an average Josh takes command of an 85 piece orchestra, as only part of his medium.

Evocative soundscapes with lush, orchestral backdrops.
J. Ralph - Mi Ricordo
J. Ralph - Thrift Shop Warrior (Instrumental)
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Julia Kent

Friday, October 19th, 2007 by Kyle

orchestral // experimental

Cellos excitedly dance and play as subtle sounds find their way, like clouds taking shape in the sky, a vivacious harmony is perceived as Julia shares her Delay. She’s contributed music to Leona Naess, Devendra Banhart, Rufus Wainwright, among many others, and is currently performing with Antony and the Johnsons. If her name seems familiar elsewhere, you may remember her as an original member of Rasputina. All tracks on Delay were composed and performed by Julia, at home, in-between touring and traveling for about a year. An abundant warmth and persistence bellies this music, making most songs feel like a soundtrack in themselves.

Cellos folding like clouds rolling.
Julia Kent - Idlewild
Julia Kent - Dorval
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