Recommended Listening

Scubadevils · 15-01-2010 10:14PM #1

Just thought I'd start a thread for recommended albums etc. I picked up a CD during the week and wanted to mention it here but don't want to start a new thread for all new discoveries!

Anyway, I got a copy of 'Radio Fore' by Rod Modell and Michael Mantra from boomkat this week. Bought it on the strength of both artists and also the luring boomkat description - which I appreciate can be taken with a pinch of salt as they are a sales company but given the quality of both artists I thought I'd go for it.

It was originally released in 2003 in limited numbers. Now reissued on the 'Silentes' label...

http://www.discogs.com/Rod-Modell-Michael-Mantra-Radio-Fore/release/2045302

A reissue of the original, limited release on Weird Amplexus from 2003.

Insert Notes:

RADIO FORE IS A PSYCHOACOUSTIC JOURNEY INTO A DEEP SWIRLING POOL OF 40HZ TONES AND BINAURAL BEATS. THE TWO EXTENDED LENGTH ATMOSPHERIC SOUNDSCAPES EXPLORE THE MYSTERIOUS SONIC PHENOMENON THAT HAS BEEN DOCUMENTED AT HUNDREDS OF UFO SIGHTINGS. TRACK ONE TAKES YOU FOR AN OVERNIGHT STAY IN NORTH, NORTH-WEST PUERTO RICO, AT THE ARECIBO OBSERVATORY AND TRACK TWO TAKES YOU TO THE SANDY SHORES OF GULF-BREEZE FLORIDA IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, TWO PLACES OF HIGHLY ACTIVE UFO ACTIVITY.

The boomkat hype...

*LIMITED REISSUE OF THIS RARE, HUGELY IMMERSIVE DRONE TRANSMISSION FROM ROD MODELL AND MICHAEL MANTRA* Back in 2003 Deepchord's Rod Modell and drone explorer Michael Mantra embarked on one of their most intriguing projects. The results, captured on 'Radio Fore', have been given a much needed reissue, giving the world another chance to witness their psychoacoustic journey, recorded at the Arecibo observatory in north, north-west Puerto Rico and Gulf-Breeze, Florida, two sites famed for their high levels of UFO activity. Modell's work as part of the Deepchord axis has long been fascinated with the sounds of paranormal happenings, incorporating field recordings made at haunted locations to enhance the ghostly dub sound, while Mantra is a long time ambient devotee, noted for creating tools for "brain hemisphere synchronization". This joint efforts are divided into 30 minute+ sections exploring the two locations. 'Arecibo (Sleeping Under The Big Dish)' is a purely beatless composition, focussed on immense 40Hz bass tone modulations and ethereal harmonic drifts, creating an expansive scape that easily lives up to the majestic imagery of its location. The second piece, 'Gulf Sonar Breeze', is by contrast, a far more sublime construction, coated with the environmental sounds of the sea and surrounding wildlife, while synth tones flicker and dance in the foreground and humming subbass tones create an unheimlich sense of atmosphere, reminding of classic early work by Dave Moufang. Deep listening afficionados will be in their element with this album, finding an artificial and alien, yet entirely welcoming sonic environment to explore themselves. Highly Recommended.
http://www.boomkat.com/item.cfm?id=252327

My hype...

Very nice ambience, breathtaking :pac:

Anima · 16-01-2010 01:58AM

Sounds good, I'll have a listen!

c_o_ck p_i_ss chillage · 19-01-2010 01:34PM

Ben Frost - Killshot

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43YG2bsEQtM

Loved the album, "By the Throat". Very uneasy listening but so rewarding. One of my favourites of last year.

rcaz · 19-01-2010 02:56PM

I've heard great things about By The Throat, it's definitely on my list of albums to get.

I got Endless Summer by Fennesz last week, and I'm really liking it. From all the photography on the packaging, I thought it'd be ambient Ulrich Schnauss-y stuff, I was a little off the mark. Ambient yes, but gritty and noisy too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKSSU3wK35k

Scubadevils · 19-01-2010 05:06PM

Yeah I've heard great things about By The Throat too, had it in my hand the other day and bought 'Investigate Witch Cults Of The Radio Age' by Broadcast & The Focus Group instead which I am not enjoying at all, well, the one listen it has got anyway did nothing for me!

Endless Summer is a great album too.

Scubadevils · 19-01-2010 05:41PM

Another artist I highly recommend is Loscil. All stunning albums but I will post 'Plume' first as I was only recently listening to this one.

About loscil
Loscil started in 1998 as part of Vancouver's "Multiplex" multimedia collective. In 2001, loscil joined Chicago's Kranky label and released "Triple Point". There have been 3 subsequent Kranky releases; "Submers" in 2002, "First Narrows" in 2004 and most recently, "Plume" in 2006. Along with these full length CD releases with Kranky, loscil has released a vinyl only EP with New Zealand's Involve records and made several compilation appearances including the recently released "Idol Tryouts 2" by Ghostly International. There is also a net-only release of drones on the net label one
Loscil has performed live at festivals such as Mutek, Decibel and New Forms and has toured Europe with Kranky label-mates Stars of the Lid.
http://www.myspace.com/loscil

http://www.discogs.com/Loscil-Plume/release/665961

Charlie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQFIOUMk8aY

Motoc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7rUrh5AouY

c_o_ck p_i_ss chillage · 20-01-2010 05:29AM

Fennesz and Loscil would be old regulars on the show alright. Haven't really heard anything bad by either.

Scubadevils · 24-01-2010 10:10PM

Almost bought 'By The Throat' when I was in Tower yesterday but decided against. Had a listen to a track from it last night on youtube and realized my mistake! - Back into town today to find it was sold out

Anyway, all was not lost as I picked up 'Black Sea' by Fennesz which I am really enjoying... should have bought this a lot sooner, great album.

http://www.discogs.com/Fennesz-Black-Sea/master/847

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6MFrYeCt_E

John · 24-01-2010 11:04PM

I don't think you can really go wrong with Fennesz at all but I did find Black Sea harder to get into than his earlier ones. Still a cracking album though.

bogmanfan · 25-01-2010 04:43PM

Been listening to this Jim O'Rourke album again recently. I'm Happy and I'm Singing and a 1, 2, 3, 4 on Mego records

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsZD-MBRMU0

DominoDub · 03-02-2010 12:22AM

Love all of the above, Ben Frost (love the Wolves at night :eek:) but if you like the idea of Biosphere or Fennesz mixed with The Hilliard Ensemble you got to check this one out on ECM records.

61F7v3BTDML._SS400_.jpg

http://www.beingdufay.com/Biography.html

old gregg · 05-02-2010 03:01PM

DominoDub wrote: »

Love all of the above, Ben Frost (love the Wolves at night :eek:) but if you like the idea of Biosphere or Fennesz mixed with The Hilliard Ensemble you got to check this one out on ECM records.
http://www.beingdufay.com/Biography.html

I've been trying to find somewhere like myspace, amazon, youtube, etc where I can hear some of this streamed prior to flailing around with my maxed out credit card and so far been unlucky. Sorry of this is obvious but if you've a link I'd be saying 'thank ya kindly'

Scubadevils · 05-02-2010 09:19PM

Yeah I've got a couple of very interesting releases on ECM over the last few months - this one in particular is really excellent...

Jon Hassell - Power Spot

http://www.discogs.com/Jon-Hassell-Power-Spot/release/1777285

Scubadevils · 05-02-2010 09:25PM

Another I was listening to again recently which gets better every listen is 'Loop-Finding-Jazz-Records' by Jan Jelinek, amazing album.

http://www.discogs.com/Jan-Jelinek-Loop-finding-jazz-records/master/11367

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkpaDpwdSUI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNXQNe0YYRU

Allmusic review...

Though he shares an interest in sonic byproduct with artists like SND, Sutekh, and Pole, Jan Jelinek sets himself apart by probing the warm and luminous corners of the digital landscape. So while his music may well be just as theory-based as his peers, Jelinek's work has a strong emotional component that at times verges on the sentimental. Loop-Finding-Jazz-Records is Jelinek's first full-length under his own name, but it's not far from his fine records as Farben and Gramm. The rhythms are more varied here, and Jelinek is working with a richer sound palette centered on warm, fuzzy chords and static. Leadoff track "Moiré," which is built around nervous, unsteady drones (possibly sampled from an organ) and a bed of slowly shifting noise, slowly undulates between dread and comfort. "Rock in the Video Age" reprises the gently insistent house thump featured more prominently on Gramm's Personal Rock, and undercuts the beat with surging chords and unpredictable percussive accents. "Do Dekor" is another highlight, with marked dub inflection, an aggressive, tearing bassline, and gentle tones modulating between three chords on top. Each listen to Loop-Finding-Jazz-Records reveals another intriguing layer, and this is certainly one of the more inviting records in the world of electronic listening music.
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:d9fqxq80ldhe

DominoDub · 06-02-2010 04:08PM

old gregg wrote: »

I've been trying to find somewhere like myspace, amazon, youtube, etc where I can hear some of this streamed prior to flailing around with my maxed out credit card and so far been unlucky. Sorry of this is obvious but if you've a link I'd be saying 'thank ya kindly'

Yeah it was on YouTube but has been removed , if I find one I will post link !

old gregg · 09-02-2010 12:43PM

... been giving this a spin over the last day or two and enjoying it considerably:
http://www.serein.co.uk/releases/sere001/nest-retold/

and a link to their Souncloud page where you can catch one of the tracks in decent quality:
http://soundcloud.com/serein/nest-the-twelve

DominoDub · 09-02-2010 07:30PM

old gregg wrote: »

... been giving this a spin over the last day or two and enjoying it considerably:
http://www.serein.co.uk/releases/sere001/nest-retold/

and a link to their Souncloud page where you can catch one of the tracks in decent quality:
http://soundcloud.com/serein/nest-the-twelve

The 1st NEST EP is great ,,,and a FREE download :cool
and I love the artwork.

http://www.archive.org/details/ser013

or http://serein.co.uk/compress/ser013

old gregg · 10-02-2010 09:44AM

wow, many thanks mate. I'd not seen that freebie.

Scubadevils · 22-02-2010 09:42PM

c_o_ck p_i_ss chillage wrote: »

Ben Frost - Killshot

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43YG2bsEQtM

Loved the album, "By the Throat". Very uneasy listening but so rewarding. One of my favourites of last year.

Finally got this today - certainly is an uneasy but rewarding listen as you say. Currently on track 4 with the headphones on... many moments so far where my heart is racing with anticipation and then eases off again to something more soothing! Excellent stuff.

old gregg · 15-03-2010 02:26PM

discovered these over the last week or so
http://www.discogs.com/artist/Pjusk

a random example of their stuff, I'm not familiar enough yet to pick out the best or most representative:

yea, it's got strong and understandable Biosphere leanings but not so derivative as to be annoying, imho.

Darmstrong · 12-05-2010 11:53PM

http://yooouuutuuube.com/v/?rows=20&cols=18&id=jt7AF2RCMhg&fmt=37&startZoom=1

Check this out, best played in Full Screen because the accompanying video is ace :d

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