Kenneth James Gibson - The Evening Falls

Kompakt's Pop Ambient album series returns with its fourth installment by multi-faceted artist Kenneth James Gibson.

Producing under several aliases, most notably his minimal techno focused, 
[a]pendics.shuffle and as Bell Gardens alongside Stars Of The Lid's Brian McBride; Kenneth has earned the respect of many across multiple genres, but The Evening Falls will be his first full ambient production, and also marks the first Pop Ambient album release by an artist previously not featured on any Kompakt compilation.

With Leandro Fresco, Jens-Uwe Beyer and Thore Pfeiffer preceding this release, The Evening Falls leaves us keen-eared in anticipation from such an esteemed multi-instrumentalist, yet whilst talking with Kenneth, an ambient album seemed to have always been on the horizon: "I have always listened to tons of ambient music and always had plans to produce a full album like The Evening Falls. It just took a little longer then originally planned to get to it. I made this record in my head many years ago, it just didn't physically come out of me till recently. There was nothing stopping me, I just wasn't in the right state of mind to see it through. It took cruising at a slightly different pace then I was at before".

The Pop Ambient sound has seen a slight progression over the past few compilations, and for the album series to continue strongly, it would undoubtedly have to stray into previously unfamiliar ambient territory. With The Evening Falls, we see Pop Ambient's least electronic foray yet, as Kenneth takes us through a range of emotionally charged pieces, simple in format, intense in storytelling, including everything from "guitar, pedal steel, pianos, strings to synths and digital processing", alongside minimal field recordings. 

Spurred by a move away from LA to the town of California's Idyllwild, the album comes from his new-found inspiration amongst the mountains: "I'm surrounded by awesome nature up here in Idyllwild and having more of a connection to that changes everything in your daily life. It's very quiet and very dark here at night. At my cabin, when it's 7 or 8 pm it feels like 2 in the morning. That feeling had a big effect on the record".

The first progression in Pop Ambient sound you'll notice is the modern-classical, soundtrack style approach. Kenneth's music is organic in feel, with only the subtlest, static buzz of synthesizers, accentuating an otherwise purely instrumental album.  Instruments interchange in lead throughout the nine tracks, but one particular sound may spike the ears of the chill-out aficionados amongst us. 

In tracks such as A Conversation Between Friends, you may start to recall a notorious instrument from an infamous '90s album adorned with sheep, Elvis and steel-guitars. When asked about its potential influence, Kenneth tells us, "Kompakt head-honcho, Michael Mayer said one of the reasons he and Wolfgang Voigt liked this record so much was because of the pedal steel and their love for The Chill Out Album, and how the album brought them to a similar place. I only heard that record a few times when it came out but it didn't stick for some reason. I did however go back and listen to it again recently and really enjoyed it. 

I'm a huge classic country music fan and obviously pedal steel is a big part of that sound. I think between country music and Daniel Lanois' use of the instrument was the big inspiration for me on that end. One of my oldest friends David Cuetter was the man behind the steel on this album. He nailed it. We were skateboard kids into punk rock growing up in Texas. I would have never imagined that we would be working on this kind of music together so many years later. I'm also in a band called Bell Gardens and get to work with another awesome steel player named Julian Goldwhite on that stuff. I'm just a big pedal steel fan. It can work well with so many different kinds of music!"

As the steel pedal lulls us across the summer skies, a melancholic piano paints a slow pace in tracks such as, Weighty Repetitions and, Failed To Interrupt; the latter of which benefits from a glorious uplifting synth that acts as an opening scene to the more introspective soundtrack score of my favorite piece, Poured Semi Silently Upon You. 

Layered string textures play a vital role amongst the album, adding the warmth and padding that often comes with any of Kompakt's ambient outputs. Combined with minimal digital processing on tracks like The Art Of Forgetting Yourself, and Long Gone Canadian Summer, you hear the faint distant electronic-echoes that have inspired so many Pop Ambient albums over the years, but in a completely new light, portrayed by a truly talented instrumentalist. No better moments exists than the tense violins of Poured Semi Silently Upon You dramatizing a sublime soundtrack moment you'd come to expect from the likes of Jóhann Jóhannsson, Dustin O'Halloran, or Bell Gardens collaborator Brian McBride. 

These elements of sheer beauty combine on a score that sits with the very best of composers, peppered with the faintest of electronic influences from its label curators. The Evening Falls welcomes a new dawn for Kompakt and their ongoing Pop Ambient album series as they push into a more experimental/modern-classical sound, whilst simultaneously serving up moments of welcoming reflection to keep you feeling at home.

Luckily for us, this doesn't sound like Kenneth's first and last jump into this majestic sound: "The follow up album is already started. I'll continue to do whatever I'm in the mood for, but there will definitely be more ambient music. There's a new [a]pendics.shuffle album coming out in July called "Aware Sequence Found Life" on my label Adjunct Audio. Lots of things always in the works..."

The Evening Falls will be available on Kompakt on Vinyl, CD and digital formats on April 29th.

Stream a continuos mix of the album in its entirety below.

Tracklist
01. To See You Drift
02. Long Gone Canadian Summer
03. Failed To Interrupt
04. Poured Semi Silently Upon You
05. A Conversation Between Friends
06. Lateral Decomposition
07. Broken Thought
08. Weighty Repetitions
09. The Art Of Forgetting Yourself

Pre-order Merrin Karras / Apex (ASIPV005)

Pre-order is now available for our upcoming release by Merrin Karras, available on limited edition "Balearic Sea' green double vinyl, and digital. 

Please note, for UK/EU customers, there will be plenty of copies available on release date (June 10th) at Juno.co.uk and other fine retailers. So to save on shipping, you can hold out until then - this pre-order is best for US customers (or those desperate to not miss out!)

You can stream the ever-so-epic synth build of Void below.

Full release information can be found here.

Comit - Trip 001

A new label and series from Texas drum'n bass outfit Warm Communications will debut with a very special colored 7" by ASC under the newly created Comit alias. 

Headed by Heath Looney, the label, Short Trips was originally inspired by mid-nineties electronica /IDM and ambient; no doubt the type we came to recognise from the likes of some of our favourites here at ASIP; City Centre Offices, Morr Music and Warp.

Whilst ASC is no stranger to us, this particular style is a new territory to his ever-expanding catalog. ASC has been producing some of the best drum'n bass, ambient and deep techno for a while now, so the release comes with high hopes of equally high production values. Luckily for us, inspiration and genre may change, but his style is as evident as ever.

Kicking off the release, Under Your Spell begins with a melodic synth reminiscent of the structure and style we found in early Hermann and Kleine tracks, but with the confident spaced-out stride of recent artists like Kiyoko / Bering Strait. The rumbling, creeping
atmospheres are pulled straight from the heart of ASC's deepest moments, creating a wonderful juxtaposition between the old and new styles at play.

On the flip, Contact High, comes closest to the style ASC has carved out for himself, with the echoes of a Drum'n Bass style reformulated into a more subdued style of IDM. The progressive pads we're used to seeing in ASC's ambient work for the likes of Silent Season, play the lead role against a sparse, heavy beat. 

The digital bonus, Soft Focus takes an even more patient, darker stance as the echoing pad is slowly adorned with hi-hats, claps and the undercurrent of heavy bass. Like a purposefully slowed drum'n bass track, it's a modern take on the nostalgic sounds you'll associate with the likes of Boards of Canada. Yet, whilst it's easy to imitate, Comit chooses to innovate - a sound that's evidently his, with a clear nod to yesteryear. 

Trip 001 (and all future Trips) will be pressed on 7" vinyl, with 001 featuring an exclusive digital bonus track. We're lucky enough to hold an exclusive stream of the A side, Under Your Spell below, alongside clips of all three tracks. 

We hear Short Trips has releases by Bering Strait and Ulrich Schnauss lined up for the near future too, so stay close to this one. 

Available May 13th on 7" yellow vinyl + digital. Follow the Short Trips Facebook page for more info or http://warmandred.com/

Aboutface - Are Birds Singing In Their Sleep?

Often comprising of field recordings and live experimentation, we've featured aboutface's sets before on ASIP, but unlike the previous weird and wonderful journeys through electronica and ambient, his latest improvised set is geared towards a recent sleep experiment in London. 

A perfect follow-up to our recent Music For Sleeping feature, Ben and his aboutface moniker recently took part in the below Soporose event which was much more than your regular ambient gig:

“Although many people will encounter a listening phenomenon at some point in their life, little is known about the environment or conditions that create these experiences.

Soporose is a research into the altered listening experiences that can sometimes be had during deep relaxation and dreaming states. It will revive the essence of early sleeping temples, like Asclepion from ancient Greece, and explore a form of secular spirituality through ritual and immersion. Each guest will have an assigned bed where they can rest and sleep while being carefully navigated through a night of film screenings, guided meditation, and live performances from sound artists.

This sleeping research concert is reserved for only 20 participants that will be selected after completion of a research questionnaire.”

— Soporose

Ben's set was designed around the birdsong, "using the rhythm to trigger synths and drums, then improvising with hardware and acoustic instruments against the back drop of field recordings". His set began at 5am and ended at 8am and a result, you'll hear the subtle beginnings and the slightly more detailed ending as people started to wake up. 

The field recordings were made from recent visits in London, Slovakia and India, and some of the instruments used were closely tied to the locations, with the Hapi Drum, Indian Bansuri Flute and a poem all playing parts alongside your more familiar KorgMS2000, a Prophet 8 and an Electro Harmonix 45000 multi-track looper. 

The result is an intrinsic and detailed journey through several different stages; some with nothing but field recordings, and others with slowly churning synths and effects, all set to a very simple yet evolving melody. It's a shamanic experience, requiring an attentive yet relaxing listen. I'm sure this would've been pretty special event to experience first hand. 

More info and future events available through http://www.eightfoldway.org/

Portals: Music For Sleeping

The easiest way to describe ambient music to somebody who isn't aware of it, is often to explain it as background music, or music that puts you to sleep. I find myself in that situation regularly, be it with taxi drivers asking about the show I'm heading off to ("so you don't dance - you just listen?!") family members asking about the music I put on the label, or pretty much anyone who only listens to nothing but pop music and think this stuff doesn't exist... However, when you explain it as "music for sleeping", it doesn't do the genre any justice whatsoever. Just take a look on Youtube, or Google "music for sleeping"; it's packed full of generic new-age type material that probably does the job for the many mums out there, but isn't a true reflection of some of the amazing coma-inducing music available. Let's open this world up a little more.

Music for sleeping doesn't necessarily mean music with the least obtrusive manner, or the most unnoticeable of noise. In my experience, you can probably fall asleep to any music you personally enjoy, feel comfort in, and can zone out to - be it full-on techno, subtle field recordings, ancient chanting or never-ending guitar loops. I think I've fallen asleep to all of the above at some point. 

During this exploration, I found several themes or styles of music that I enjoy falling asleep to. So instead of listing out individual tracks in a random order,  I've separated out the music by the five stages of the sleep cycle and given them each a theme / style of music that matches. 

Sleep cycles are apparently 90-minutes long, so you'll find two mixes accompanying this feature, (two cycles each consisting of 90-minutes) with each mix made up of the five sleep stages. The selection includes some of my favorites, as well as suggestions from a few readers via Facebook and Twitter. Thank you to all who suggested albums, and made compiling this feature a new journey for me in many instances. 
 

Stage 1 "Fragmented Visuals" 

“Light sleep; we drift in and out of sleep and can be awakened easily. Our eyes move very slowly and muscle activity slows. People awakened from stage 1 sleep often remember fragmented visual images. Many also experience sudden muscle contractions called hypnic myoclonia, often preceded by a sensation of starting to fall”

For stage one, I've chosen music that creates detailed and immersive textures. Music that's been crafted with pictures in mind, often including field recordings, giving you the sense of something happening, painting the world you're about to enter. These tracks have just enough detail for you to tune into whilst awake, but enough texture and unknown space to zone out to.

These types of tracks are often in the purest of ambient form consisting of simple textures made famous by many of the early ambient pioneers, such as Brian Eno, Aphex Twin, The KLF and Biosphere. 

To help keep things interesting in this stage, the veterans sit alongside some more recent ambient/experimental artists such as Robert Rich, Gallery Six and Sage Taylor (Textural Being's more ambient guise). 
 

Stage 2 "Slowly floating"

“When we enter stage 2 sleep, our eye movements stop and our brain waves (fluctuations of electrical activity that can be measured by electrodes) become slower, with occasional bursts of rapid waves called sleep spindles. ”

By now, I start to drift off and for this stage I've chosen the purest of ambient music focused on soft melodies and colorful textures - the easiest type of ambient music to fall asleep to due to its cloud-like feelings. It can range from simple synthesizer music, to orchestral scores, all uplifting and comforting in tone and texture; nothing too dark, and all very welcoming. 

This type of music ranges in style, from a more electronic feel to more instrumental. Kompakt's Pop Ambient Series is a great place to start (pretty much any of their stuff) and Pass Into Silence feature here alongside more soft electronic processing from Altus,  Home Normal's, Chronovalve, the widely regarded Disintegration Loops from William Basinski, one of my favourite tracks from Helios and perhaps my most played album at bedtime by Jonas Munk's Billow Observatory project. 

Some of the more instrumental pieces that offer gentle, drifting lullabies include Hammock's inviting guitar drones, or beautiful soundtracks from Jon Hopkins and Stars Of The Lid's, Brian McBride - each a delicate balance between comforting melodies and a poignant attention-grabbing movie score. 
 

Stage 3 "Rhythmic waves"

“In stage 3, extremely slow brain waves called delta waves begin to appear, interspersed with smaller, faster waves.”

After drifting, comes the gentle trance-like repetition. For this stage I've chosen tracks with subtle rhythm, ambient pulses, or the gentle enveloping warmth of beats. It's hard to find music that doesn't disrupt within this style (an art it seems). Some will find this style too busy, whilst some will find the repetition soothing and comforting. 

This stage includes my personal favourite bedtime album from Yagya, the undercurrent of Wolfgang Voigt's, Gas project and fellow german Markus Guentner's pulsing ambient, the ethereal, angelic progression of bvdub and one of Loscil's finest ambient projects to date, Fern & Robin, taken from his album Endless Falls. 

Stage 4 "Into The Deep"

“By stage 4, the brain produces delta waves almost exclusively. It is very difficult to wake someone during stages 3 and 4, which together are called deep sleep. There is no eye movement or muscle activity”

The second stage of deep sleep requires indulging atmospheres, so the theme of this stage suited more intense sounds, erring on the side of drone music in many instances. These are the washes of sound that remove the finer details and blanket you with color and texture to confirm your paralyses. 

This stage includes the deep electronic experiments of Alva Noto, Line's Tu 'M, and Thomas Koner, alongside the drone gods of Rafael Anton Irisarri and the infamous Stars Of The Lid.  

Stage 5 (REM) "The Other Worlds"

 

“When we switch into REM sleep, our breathing becomes more rapid, irregular, and shallow, our eyes jerk rapidly in various directions, and our limb muscles become temporarily paralyzed. Our heart rate increases and our blood pressure rises. When people awaken during REM sleep, they often describe bizarre and illogical tales – dreams.”

By now, you're starting to dream, which calls for new worlds and vivid landscapes. This is perhaps one of the more popular styles of sleep music looking back at what's out there already. The psychedelic worlds and space-like ambient music is often the stereotype for escapism and outer-world experiences and along with meditation and relaxation. 

For this stage I've chosen the space-like sounds of Global Communication, Biosphere, Neel, Carbon Based Lifeforms, Solar Fields and Stellardrone, alongside the eery melody of Aphex Twin's Blue Calx - potentially the softest-ever travel pillow.

~

The list, and the mixes could have gone on forever but I had to stop somewhere, so maybe there will be a time for future sleep cycles if you enjoy them. For now, here's two to see you through a couple of horizontal sessions. 

As described previously, the mixes are split into the above sleep stages in a hope they mirror the overall sleep cycle. I'm no doctor or expert in sleep, so this is by no way mean't to actually be a prescriptive sleep session! It was just a nice way to structure the approach, and you never know, it might work for you. 

Once you've listened, feel free to comment below with your experience and if the mixes did the job. Of course, you probably wouldn't know if they did... 

Cycle 1 (90 mins) Download

astrangelyisolatedplace · ASIP - Portals Episode 3: Music For Sleeping (Cycle 1)

Tracklist:
Stage 1.1 Brian Eno - Drift (Apollo A&S) 
Stage 1.2 Aphex Twin - Rhubarb (SAW II)
Stage 1.3 Sage Taylor - Raintime Ten (Raintime)
Stage 1.4 Gallery Six - The Frozen Lake (The Fogbound Island)
Stage 2.1 Pass Into Silence - Iceblink (Pop Ambient 2006)
Stage 2.2 Chronovalve - The Gravity Of Dreams (Trace of Light)
Stage 2.3 Billow Observatory - Pankalia (Billow Observatory)
Stage 3.1 Gas - Pop 3 (Pop)
Stage 3.2 Yagya - Rigning tiu (Rigning)  
Stage 4.1 Tu M’ - Monochrome #01 (Monochrome Vol.1)
Stage 4.2 Alva Noto - Xerrox Radieuse (Xerrox Vol.3)
Stage 5.1 Carbon Based Lifeforms - Somewhere in Russia (Twentythree)
Stage 5.2 Global Communication - 9.39 (76.14)
Stage 5.3 Neel - The Secret Revealed (Phobos)
Stage 5.4 Biosphere - Kobresia (Substrata) 
 

Cycle 2 (90 mins) Download

astrangelyisolatedplace · ASIP - Portals Episode 3: Music For Sleeping (Cycle 2)

Tracklist:
Stage 1.1 Biosphere - ’t Schop (The Hilvarenbeek Recordings)
Stage 1.2 Robert Rich - Summer Thunder (Echo Of Small Things)
Stage 1.3 The KLF - Six Hours to Louisiana, Black (Chill Out)
Stage 2.1 William Basinski - The Disintegration Loops 3 (The Disintegration Loops)
Stage 2.2 Helios - Vargtimme (Eingya)
Stage 2.3 Brian McBride - Girl Nap (The Effective Disconnect) 
Stage 2.4 Jon Hopkins - Campfire (Monsters OST)
Stage 2.5 Hammock - Maybe They Will Sing For Us Tomorrow (Maybe They Will Sing For Us Tomorrow)
Stage 2.6 Altus - Sodium Glow (Black Trees Among Amber Skies)
Stage 3.1 Markus Guentner - Dockside (Talking Clouds EP)
Stage 3.2 bvdub - I Would Have Waited (Songs For A Friend I Left Behind)
Stage 3.3 Loscil - Fern & Robin (Endless Falls)
Stage 4.1 Rafael Anton Irisarri - Persistence (Unsaid EP)
Stage 4.2 Thomas Koner - Nuuk Air (Nuuk)
Stage 4.3 Stars Of The Lid - The Artificial Pine Arch Song (The Ballasted Orchestra)
Stage 5.1 Solar Fields - Silent Walking (Origin #1)
Stage 5.2 Stellardrone - Nightscape (Echoes)
Stage 5.3 Aphex Twin - Blue Calx (SAW II)

Spotify playlist featuring a majority of music from this post:

Feature image by Dorian Denes. T-shirts with the Music For Sleeping design are now available on his website.

If you're new to ambient music or would like more of the same, try our in-depth feature, Neither Scene Nor Heard : a journey through ambient music