Crate Digging with bvdub & Mike Cadoo

Brock Van Wey (bvdub) played the closing set on the opening (Thursday) night of Rafael Anton Irisarri's, Substrata festival this year, flying up from the Bay Area and bringing with him an hour of his most beautiful, and powerful sound. It was the first time I've seen him live, and whilst never declaring himself as a 'performer' as such, it was a fitting, immersive and euphoric end to the first night, as Brock sat with his n5MD hoody pulled over his head, carefully melting, weaving, and harmonizing vocals, synths and entire sections of some his greatest records to the backing of Leo Mayberry's visuals.

Playing on the opening night meant Brock was able to relax and enjoy Seattle for the remainder of the week, and given the festival was an evening affair, I was able to tempt Brock into a Crate Digging session - a rare opportunity that I could've only dream't of making happen. He is of course, an absolute gentlemen, and happily obliged in-between a few leisurely beers in the sun, so Brock, Mike Cadoo (n5MD) and I, hit a couple of Seattle's best, including Jive records in Fremont, and Wall of Sound in Capitol Hill.

Whilst we weren't looking for anything specific, we ended up coming across a little IDM treasure-trove, which many of us wouldn't necessarily expect from Brock. With Arovane missing out on the festival due to illness, it was an almost fitting ode to his absence, so here's what we found.

Phonem - Phonetik

One of IDM's most under-rated producers it seems, this was an unknown EP for Brock and I, as we were only familiar with Phonem's albums for the most part, but the Phonetik EP from 1999 was a steal at $8, with this track, Bitstream, my favourite of the day.

Phonem - Bitstream Performed by Phonem to be found on "Phonetik" which was released in 1999. All rights reserved to Phonem.

Accelera Deck ‎– Halo EP 

A completely new artist to me, Brock said he used to listen to Accelera Deck a bunch back in the early 00's. The Halo EP features remixes by Arovane too.

Magnétophone ‎– Temporary Lid Ep

Static Caravan has played host to a wealth of great artists of the years, include ISAN and Manual, but I had never come across Magnétophone before. Brock didn't pick this one out for me, but it was in the same area as many of the others he was digging through, and by now, I was on an IDM trip, so seeing the label and the year (1999) I had to give it a spin. 

If you're into Aphex Twin's 'busier' stuff as AFX or even Caustic Window, then you'll enjoy this EP. A gentle melody backing a bustling, fractured and choppy IDM beat. 

Accelera Deck - Disquieting LP

Another one from Accelera Deck, Brock picked out the Disquieting LP for me, which features some more great stuff from Chris Jeely. My favourite tracks aren't around to stream unfortunately but the track Discordia below, is a good sign of what you can expect - subtle melodies and some intriguing beat work. 

Various ‎– Plug Research & Development

Brock's record knowledge really came to the fore with his last selection - an unmarked double LP from the Plug Research label. I had no idea bout these guys, and looking back now they've played host to some of electronica's greatest including Lustmord, Dntl, John Tejada, Thomas Fehlmann and Flying Lotus.

This was at the bottom of my priority pile (you know how it goes) given how big the stack was getting, so I ended up not purchasing it given the price, but I made sure to remember the one track that stood out on it - this brutal electro/techno track by Lucid Lung.

It wasn't all IDM, as Mike Cadoo treated himself to a Joy Division record amongst others, and Brock was tempted by a couple of Slayer records - I'm sure the magnificent/tattoo-esque artwork was an attraction! I however, managed to pick up a few new bits in the form of Alva Noto, and Alessandro Cortini's highly critisized, Forse 3, a classic from Casino Versus Japan (Go Hawaii), and a long sought-after compilation called Futuristic Experiments #004, featuring Akufen, Donnacha Costello and Sutekh. 

Big thank you to Brock and to Mike for hanging and helping me find some great music I might've otherwise missed, and for a fantastic weekend all-round. 

Substrata 1.5 festival review to follow soon...

(Pictured below- Mike and Brock putting the world to rights, at Jive Records, Seattle)

Selected Ambient Music (new tumblr)

After an immense response to a recent Facebook post introducing Discogs, "Discover: 10 Best Ambient Albums" article, I decided that your hundreds of amazing, additional suggestions needed somewhere to live. So, I created a tumblr site:

 http://selectedambientmusic.tumblr.com/

I've added as many of the suggestions as I could from the Facebook post (currently 130 as I type), and will continue to add more music. The site also accepts your own submissions. It will cover all types of ambient music (many described in my own ambient article), and aim to be an introduction to the genre, as well as a way to discover new, recommended music.

I designed the tumblr to show just one video/track/album at a time on purpose, in order to focus attention and not be overwhelmed with more lists, opinions, sub-genres or subjectivity. So once you land on a track, you have the option to play it, or shuffle to the next one.  

You can also follow @_ambientmusic on Twitter to see the latest additions.  

This is an experiment for now, so expect things to evolve. I hope to see your suggestions on new music popping up soon, and any feedback on the site overall is appreciated!

Donnacha Costello - Love From Dust

What seems like an eternity ago, I contributed to Donnacha Costello's fundraising campaign to help him build an album focused on the EMS Synthi - an instrument he had been on the waiting list for 13 years. Despite the overwhelming success of the campaign, Donnacha purchased the Buchla Music Easel instead of the more expensive EMS, but that didn't effect the amazing output which has recently seen the light of day on his latest ambient album, Love From Dust. 

Minimalism, perfected, Love From Dust is a set of warm analog tones, textures and slowly developing pieces that epitomise the vintage sound the synthesizer's creator would have dream't of. This isn't an experimental take on the  synth's capabilities; instead, it's a demonstration of a rare, sought after instrument at the hands of one of it's finest handlers, where all tracks were recorded as live direct to 2-track, with no overdubs or looping. Donnacha's ambient work on his album Together Is The New Alone is testament to his minimal and melodic take on ambient music, and the Buchla Music Easel has enabled Donnacha to take us to even newer places.

His intentions are clear from the very beginning, teasing out a beautiful bouncing melody on Niigata Moment; the warm sound of the synth easing you into the record. Donnacha then dives deeper with my favourite track, Ten Ton. Simple layers build across ten minutes, cascading into a fuzzy drone, demonstrating the elegant, yet raw power of the synthesizer at hand. 

Like the beginning of a sci-fi movie, Asteroid twinkles with mystery with an ominous undercurrent slowly appearing. The beauty of this once far away light, now quickly descending and appearing closer by the second, jarring against the uneasy orchestra that narrates its fall from grace. 

A vivid blinking of lights in Klar picks up the pace, demonstrating subtle changes in tone you'd normally hear underpinning a glowing techno track, helping you picture the Buchla Music Easel at work as Donnacha peers over his instrument, fine-tuning and iterating one button at a time.

Farewell, another favourite of mine, enjoys tones of space ambient we've come to find from the likes of Stellardrone, until the magic of the synthesizer comes to the foreground - a pulsating muddy drone juxtaposes the sparkling, elegant swirls that rise above it. 

Donnacha has always been one to find enjoyable melodies in his ambient works, and he's also one for subtle chord changes across expansive, yet minimal landscapes. This approach comes to fruition in Everything Is Going To Be, as a warping melody slowly degrades over 11-minutes. 

And finally, Unconditional, like a more subdued brother of the opening track, Niigata Moment; the slow rolling synth lulls your eyelids to a close - a perfect book-end to an exemplary album, and one of Donnacha's finest ambient productions yet.  

Available on Bandcamp.

Read more on Donnacha here, where I dive into some of my favourite tracks from his esteemed Color Series.

Arovane & Hior Chronik - In-between (ASIPV003) now available

I'm extremely proud to announce the label's very first artist album is now available, featuring one of my musical heroes, Arovane, and one of the most promising artists to recently emerge, Hior Chronik. In-between, is available on double, pure-white vinyl, housed in a matt-laminated gatefold sleeve (+ download card), and as a digital album through Bandcamp. 

Our very-own Nick Brzstowski was once again at the helm for the ethereal artwork, taking inspiration from photos the artists provided, and Rafael Anton Irisarri added the magic touch to the masters.

There will be a limited amount of vinyl available directly on Bandcamp, but Juno Records will have the majority of stock, with several other stockists coming soon. See the releases page for more information and the latest stockists globally.

Buy vinyl: Juno
Buy digital: Bandcamp

In 2004, Arovane said “Goodbye Forever” with a heartfelt departure on Lilies - his final album on the renowned City Centre Offices label and his most defining piece to date. In 2013, Arovane made a surprising  return with his notorious IDM style for the n5MD label, but we were left asking when, or if, Uwe would ever return to his  ethereal and orchestral productions.

In-between sees Arovane team-up with Greece’s Hior Chronik, known for various productions with Singapore’s Kitchen Label (home to Haruka Nakamura and Aspidistrafly). Hior's debut album, Taking The Veil, released earlier this year on Kitchen, played host to some of the best instrumental partnerships we could've wished for, including Field Rotation and Halo.

Alongside Uwe, Hior brings a modern-classical, delicate prowess to Arovane’s detailed, electronic, analog power - a beautiful and ethereal combination. 

Pianos, field-recordings and strings amongst modular synthesizers create a shimmering canvas of ambient music, touching the heart, and transporting you to the musical equilibrium that exists between these two good friends. Crafted in Berlin, through multiple improvised studio sessions, In-between started as an experiment and finished as a harmonious journey between places and producers alike.

Mastered by Rafael Anton Irisarri
Artwork by Nick Brzostwoski
Cat: ASIPV003/ASIPV003-DLD

Tracklist:
01. A Day, November 2013
02. Wunderland
03. After Tomorrow
04. Pendel
05. Past Creates The Future (Feat. Aaron Martin on Cello)
06. Plennt Road
07. Scale
08. Maedra
09. A Winter day
10. Relief
11. Velvve

36 - Void Dance

It's fascinating to hear and follow an artist's journey in real-time. Imagine how many hours we all spend reflecting on notorious albums; analyzing their sound; when it changed; when it got better; which albums started to resonate; which albums you wished they didn't make. Boards of Canada, for example - a fascinating story of development; from the defining sound of Music Has The Right To Children, to the more psychedelic Geogaddi and the apocalyptic tone of Tomorrow's Harvest; it's the nuances in an artist's sound which help us relate and grow alongside them. But more often that not, it's done in retrospect. 

Some fifteen-plus releases after 36's (Dennis Huddleston) 2009 album Hypersona, I'm still hanging on to his ever-evolving catalog with attentive ears. I'm not sure if Dennis feels the same way about this album, but Void Dance, is, a defining moment for me as a listener and voyeur of his beautiful sound.

Void Dance begins with a very recognizable, yet distinctly more refined 36 sound. The soaring strings of Hold On reminding us of Dennis' Places Series release, Heather Spa - echoing desolation and destruction. The intensity quietens for Equinox, as if the event we just witnessed billows plumes of slowly spiralling smoke, and debris is washed ashore a quiet, yet previously beautiful beach, as you peer down from a tiny window miles above. 

Stasis Eject, taken from the previously released EP Pulse Dive (as is the title track Pulse Dive), marks the beginning of the more electronic sounding tracks; lifted straight from an empty shuttle hurtling around Earth's atmosphere - tension, shrouded in an envelope of silence, slowly growing as your suspected realization quickens. 

An interlude of BoC sounding synths signals a change in horizon - a new earth, a new planet maybe, in Meshi Echelon. The inquisitive and melodic Nova, sparkles and quickens with intrepidation, setting up the majestic Pulse Dive. This track, as mentioned before, was taken from 36's earlier EP and is a shining example of Dennis's new approach. Compare with early Global Communication if you will, it's productions like Pulse Dive that will go on to define Dennis' evolution, and when surrounded a quality album such as this, are given the true space and light to stand-out. 

The new life; the new planet; you paid witness to with Pulse Dive, is brought back down to ground level with Tomorrow's World, again, teasing another special moment in the following title track Void Dance. Featuring significantly more distinct elements than previous tracks, and evolving throughout the six-minutes, the evocative strings and glorious melody pair nicely as significant book-ends with the earlier Pulse Dive.

The first day draws to dusk, and a curtain of Diamond Rain slowly descends into the unrecognizable valleys you're sat beneath, spurring a moment of reflection in Sine Dust, finished with a soft gentle whisper from a fellow traveller, or indeed your inner-self.

As the album comes to a close, so does your journey into this new world as you slowly settle down for the night, and the soft, yet haunting sound of The Last Light, lulls you into a dreary state.

I often find Dennis' work to make for perfect mix endings - his introspective emotion is so vivid, especially in previous albums. Ending Void Dance; Endless, is however, one of his most evocative tracks yet, and a perfect reminder of the 36 power. Gone is the melancholy and instead, a feeling of fulfilment and opportunity, amongst the slowly descending pads and soaring synths, tethering a fine-line between all-out trance and bvdub style euphoria.

As you can probably tell by now from my own personal narrative, Void Dance is a masterpiece in storytelling. The 36 sound we've followed for years has evolved, and with it, born brilliant tracks such as Pulse Dive and the title track Void Dance. But more importantly, Dennis didn't let these tracks sit alone or amongst a sub-par album. Instead, he has crafted an articulate journey that accentuates this new style - the innovative, the norm, the style we recognize and the tracks we don't, into an album worth a thousand visuals. It's one thing crafting a couple of tracks and moving your sound forward, it's another positioning this within an entire record.

Void Dance is available to pre-order on CD and digital now at 3six.net