bvdub – All Is Forgiven

 

 

Not only do n5MD cultivate the best musicians from obscurity but they also have knack for bringing in some top artists too. In this instance, it’s the legendary bvdub. A marriage made in heaven; one of my most favourite producers of all time and lets be honest, one of the best labels out there at the moment.

Brock’s first imprint on the label comes in the form of three track release and in typical bvdub fashion, each track is of the ‘extended’ type, with the nineteen minute ‘All Is Forgiven’ being the shortest. For those familiar with Brock’s work, this will come as no surprise, and as with most of his releases, it’s only the subtle differences and themes which can differentiate an entire album.

If i had to try and describe the differences between ‘All Is Forgiven’ and the rest of bvdub’s work i’d find it very hard. I also find it hard to explain how a 30 minute track can keep me so engrossed for so long. It just does, and that’s why I love Brock’s work.

The title track, ‘All Is Forgiven’ pays a lot of attention in bringing non-electronic elements to the forefront. The vocal plays a very big part and guides us over the nineteen minutes. Previously, bvdub liked to use the vocal as another immersed layer but this one works wonders alongside a decayed beat – something that Brock seems to be focusing on a lot lately, and is even complemented by a secondary wispy vocal some eleven minutes in.

‘Today He Felt Life’ begins with a beautiful piano that you believe is going to be the synonymous loop throughout, but this is merely the introduction, as a soaring synth soon takes centre stage. A quarter of the way in, and you’d be forgiven for thinking this was one of the best balearic downtempo tunes you’ve heard in quite a while – a gentle drumming pattern, enveloped by two or three distant vocals that would sink any sunset. Then it disappears, and Brock focuses on playing with the beats, bass and again a neat drum pattern. Over the thirty minutes, the combinations change, some focusing on the vocals, and some on the dense process drums, and before you know it, the thirty minutes is up and the piano is back, playing you out like the end of a film score.

‘Peonies For Kings’ takes much the same structure as the previous but seems to focus on a big introduction which features some big breakbeat-esque drums overlaying a typical vocal atmosphere. After seven minutes, this is broken by a euphoric textured synth that wouldn’t look out of place in a trance production if the levels were pitched higher, and then (and I think this is a first) a male vocal that sounds like it’s been stripped out of a US Soulful House track. It was unexpected, and if the track would’ve ended there I’m not sure if i would have liked it, but in typical bvdub style – this was just the beginning. Brock’s drumming patterns are becoming a favourite part of his productions for me, and again they are soon centre of attention in this track too, with the vocal taking a back seat.

It was an album that epitomises the bvdub sound, but as with every single one of his releases, it was different. Small changes in vocals, more intense drums, and different instruments being brought into the foreground across a mesmerising three, long productions. Thirty minutes that you’d be forgiven thinking were just six minutes long – time flies when you’re lost.

Tracklisting
1.) All is forgiven (19:02)
2.) Today he felt life (31:29)
3.) Peonies fall for kings (26:50)

All Is Forgiven is available November 20th from n5MD.You can preview the entire album over on the n5MD site

 

 

isolatedmix 33 – Heathered Pearls: In Memory Form

As with all isolatedmix curators I invite into the series, they have inspired me in one way or another. Jakub Alexander, is probably the only artist that actually started off inspiring me through words; his posts, his ears and links on ISO50 have been the only longstanding articles to remain in my reader for the last three or four years, constantly unearthing new artists and brilliant music – an approach I aspire to today. Recently, it’s Jakub’s music which has took this admiration to another level.

Jakub’s latest masterpiece is set to be released on Ghostly early next month and i’ve been lucky enough to wrap my ears around it several times already. For those familiar with Heathered Pearls earlier work (‘Vaults‘, or ‘Intervene‘ for example) you would have seen the potential Jakub has been cultivating for some time now. And it’s fair to say, that ‘Loyal’ is Heathered Pearls most defining moment so far.

‘Loyal’ came to life after an introduction to ambient music by his mother ten years ago and the album is Jakub’s dedication to that moment. His love for grainy, repetitive, processed textures is a dream approach for many of us and the most simple pictures come to life with subtle looping melodies and beautifully nurtured sounds that are easily visualised, imagined and immersed in. ‘Beach Shelter for example, available as a free download, is the perfect example of Jakub’s vivid imagination coming to life through constantly crashing, looping waves, a hazy blur from a low sunset, and a slow-motion pan across a heavenly vista. There’s hints of many of our favourite artists throughout Jakub’s work, from early Wolfgang Voigt (Gas), to his self proclaimed influence, Markus Guentner, who has provided a stunning bonus remix on the album alongside the equally legendary Loscil.

Until ‘Loyal’ sees the light of day on December 11th, we’re lucky enough to have an isolatedmix from Jakub, taking us through some of his inspirations. But before you indulge, I recommend you preview ‘Loyal’ over at Ghostly, then jump back into the mix to dissect the many forms and textures that have been instrumental in shaping Heathered Pearls most perfected sound to date.

 

 

Download.

Tracknotes by Heathered Pearls:

1. Mr. Rogers Speech to Congress
My hero when I was little, I always tried to picture myself being able to deliver a speech like this, impossible.

2. KIDS Soundtrack – Second To Last Scene
This song always stuck with me, its one of those songs on my short list of songs I wish I made

3. Foxes In Fiction – Static Cults
Warren beautifully put together a state of in limbo in music form

4. Steve Hauschildt – The Impossible Flower
One of my favorite releases from last year, glides along with these perfect dips

5. Yagya – Rigning Níu
Yagya and a few others make up the 3% of newer trance that is well done

6. Cuppcave – Circuit Fade
I found this song to be that missing link to what I wish I made, the lo-fi silence with a pulse slowly swelling in and out, I truly wonder if it didn’t end I wonder how long i’d let it play for? 1 day? 1 week? who knows.

7. Pub – Derail
Pub is up there with Wolfgang Voigt, Erik Kowalski and Scott Morgan as my main reason I love to make music, when I first heard Derail I was soo floored by the control of how steady he kept this song, how he never used extremes but the whole song sounds like your standing in 100ft+ tall wind tunnel.

8. C V L T S – Realiser
lo-fi digital meditation zone

9. The Sight Below – Unforetold
The master of giving the ambient of shoegaze a pulse

10. Piano Magic – Halloween Boat
I have a soft spot for arpeggios and water

11. Loscil – Coyote
Scott has a way of making it okay to drop everything you’re doing and calm down, i’m sure if you were at work and your boss saw you stop working and then heard what you were listening to he’d understand and let the song finish, always powerful, heavy and genuine.

12. Heathered Pearls – Raising Our Ashes
The song title always felt a bit morbid after seeing it written down but has grown on me since thats the visual I get when I hear it again. This track was written when I wanted to imagine a song to play out that the whole venue could slowly leave the ground and it would be the last you’d ever hear because you’d just have tinnitus for the rest of your life.

13. Solar Year – Currents
These guys are my latest favorites, such a pleasure to hear vocals slowly swirling, I hope to work with them in the near future.

14. Boards Of Canada – Unknown
I got an email from Marcus once after sending BoC a package of Ghostly vinyl and cds, would it be odd to frame an email?

Heathered Pearls on Ghostly | Facebook | Twitter | Soundcloud | Bandcamp

ASIP020 Odd Shapes - Desert Plant

 

Sometimes inspiration peeks out of the ordinary, finding you at a point where you least expect it. It doesn’t always have to be the flash of the Eureka! moment, just the growing creep of realisation and a willingness to look beyond the standard wash of the everyday. 

“Sometimes I take a particular street, leading away from the city, when I walk. It has these old wooden sheds all the way down along one side and I was immediately drawn to this mysterious feeling, as if somebody was trying to hide something on this empty street with all these poorly constructed sheds,” Asger explains. 

It’s a feeling that underpins the eerie dissension and mystery of ‘Desert Plant’. Humming with a dark tension, Asger’s field recordings of a busy city contrast against the desolate, rail track-guided path on its outskirts. 

“The street is close to the rail track and at some point it becomes a path, which lets you cross under a bridge,” he continues, “under that bridge, I recorded these great low-frequency sounds – a mix of the cars going over and the wind blowing beneath the bridge, with the sirens and city noises contributing to the soundscape. 

“As I went along the road, literally, the ideas started building up inside my head. I remember feeling like slowly returning to reality when walking back that day.” 

Those field recordings create an angry dissension, the agitated whip of the wind interrupting the mournful call of the vocals, gnashing over the dead space between stabbing, percussive beats. 

A track wired by dark and low frequencies, it feels like you’ve stumbled across a place where horrible things happen and are hid, the ghosts of those actions lingering only until they’re discovered. 

“It's called Desert Plant because of the place feeling like it was completely deserted, yet it offered me so much in the form of atmosphere and inspiration. There’s life but you have to find it, and acknowledge it.” 

Erased Tapes 5th Anniversary Tour at Hackney Empire

I’m not an expert at reviews, especially gig reviews, but on Thursday I was lucky enough to go see the Erased Tapes 5th Anniversary Tour at Hackney Empire in London, and I feel compelled to put down my thoughts after one witnessing a rather special evening.

I have to admit, before Thursday’s concert, I wouldn’t have claimed to be a typical fan-boy of any of the artists on the lineup. I love Erased Tapes as a whole, A Winged Victory For The Sullen released one of my favourite albums of late, Nils Frahm has conjured some of my favourite pieces to date, and Ólafur Arnalds has master-minded many-a-gem recently, especially when collaborating with Nils on ‘Stare’. But, unlike most of the gigs I book-up months in advance, I probably wouldn’t be able to tell you every song which is being played, and I could be mistaken for walking past any of these guys at the bar….

I could tell you what their twitter profile looked like, what the last thing posted to their Facebook page was or how long each MP3 is on their latest album [I have iTunes OCD] but, this was for me, an experience that the digital age is guilty of overshadowing and the type of gig that needs to be treasured, respected and above-all, experienced by everyone who loves this type of music. Erased Tapes, and its more-impressive than ever roster showed me what it truly means to have talent, and what no Soundcloud waveform will ever be able to communicate.

A Winged Victory For The Sullen began the night. Taking to the stage, were around thirteen performers, flighted by Dustin O’Hallaran on Piano and Adam Wiltzie on guitar accompanied by a cello and numerous violinists. What followed were tracks from their much-respected self-titled album, blanketing the anticipating crowd with emotion from the-off. Every performer on the stage was absorbed and the crowd quickly followed. The immense force of the combined strings, piano and feedback amid touches of delicacy was enough to make you sit back in your seat and just smile.

Every good performance has an unexpected moment, and for AWVFTS it came with a cover of Gavin Bryars “Jesus’ Blood (never failed me yet)“. A little jarring at first, the crackling sample was the first non-instrument to grace our ears, but it soon became enveloped in what seemed like an eternity of beautiful instruments.

I was with a friend who was relatively new to everyone she was about to see, and both her and I were astounded at such a start. Dustin ended by saying ‘we’ve only got one record’, and this was the only moment of disappointment I felt all night.

Ólafur Arnalds followed, and immediately charmed the crowd with his Icelandic wit. I wasn’t sure what to expect from Ólafur and as if to take advantage of this unknowing, he began by getting the crowd to ‘arrrrr’, recorded and looped it, creating the first texture to then lay his delicate piano on to. Several tracks featured my much loved electronic ‘punches’ of his, carefully balanced by Anne Müller on cello along with violinist, Viktor Orri Arnason, who also played an unbelievable solo piece. Olafur had continued the night with examples of beautiful piano playing and his emotional, self-immersed stature peaked at a ‘song for Grandma’, where I paid witness to the many memories flowing from his head to his hands. I was on the front row, and after each of their performances I could often hear the faint gasp of breathe as another spellbinding moment came to an end.

Nils began with more comedy introductions and by now, I was just blind-jealous of this super-talented, down-to-earth collective. Everyone who took to the stage was genuinely having the time of their lives, and this made the performances and overall night, that extra bit special.

Yet more unexpectedness followed, as Nils began to use the Piano as percussion, drumming the wood, the mics and anything else which was just out of my sight to an amazing beat. His following set was quite simply unreal. I’m no piano-player, and I haven’t seen many ‘pure-piano’ performances like tonight, but I was lost and mesmerised in Nils’ talent. I don’t think I blinked, and I probably didn’t even take a breathe through his whole set. Music that progressed from simple piano chords took whole new meanings, new journeys and when he began playing two pianos at the same-time I had to laugh… this was ridiculous. I was paying witness to a talent that has undoubtedly taken years to develop, and i’m not sure if this was him at his peak, but I couldn’t imagine it being any better. Nils was in his own world, sweat dripping from his forehead as he smashed the keys and put the entire audience in a trance, gently rocking back and forth with the odd glance at the accompanying Anne Müller – he was playing a masterpiece.

The night ended with the collective on stage playing together. But by now, the solo pieces were still racking around in my head as I took a prolonged few minutes to gather what had just happened. It was big, it was loud and of course it was a perfect end to the night, but I would prefer to see every person on that stage play alone again.

The unexpected simplicity of the entire night was what made it so special. Never before had I witnessed such talented people portray so many beautiful moments, and often just with one instrument. This was a night which was as far away from the electronic world as you may wish for, and it couldn’t have been any better. Erased Tapes proved that a live performance by a talented musician will always be a world apart from any recording you’ll ever own.

 

 

 

 

ASIP019 Norge - 165 Minutes With You

 

Beauty has always had a poetic power. Whether it’s slowing time to a stand still or offering a striking contrast to the aesthetics of the ordinary, it’s a quality Norge is mesmerised and seduced by. 

“It was about 10:30 pm and I was walking down the street with a young lady, near my house at Stachek Prospect,” he explains. “I was walking, looking into eyes of this girl, dissolved in the atmosphere of the beautiful streets. I think the architecture of this district is just unbelievable as the houses there were built in time of USSR.”The surrounding beauty isn’t immediately apparent in ‘165 Minutes With You’, even if the track’s title casts a lovelorn shadow. Darkness lurks in the dense slow build of the eight minutes, the drone of traffic and insect-song washing over a passionate sense of anticipation. 

“I was inspired by the atmosphere of that evening and the sounds that you can hear in my track are vibrations which were occurring in my head that night,” Norge adds. Saturating ambient static makes this an immersive listen, with the subtle details buried deep within. And while you’d presume he didn’t count down the minutes, the force of feeling makes it feel like a lifetime.