Vector Lovers: Afterglow

I got this album almost year ago, fell in love with it, and then shelved it for some reason (problem of being a music junkie (too much music, too little time)). My Second Go with this album is really, really nice. It is like rediscovering why ice cream tastes so good. The album starts off minimal and ambient, almost expecting a more "Tim Hecker"/"Biosphere" release. Then all of a sudden, the second track hits, entitled "Far Side of the Tracks"... The sound reminds me of a mixture of the Melodic IDM artists such as "Proem" and "Lusine ICL", but with the emotive and production quality of the electronic artist "Trentemoller". For the most part it goes back in forth between structural and abstract tracks. Sometimes even vocals are inserted in there, the track "Hush Now" comes to mind; it has an indie sensibility about it, but keeps true to the overall tone to the album. The thing I like most about this album (which, ironically, is maybe why I almost forgot about it) is that it doesn't try to prove anything or work to impress you. It is just there. If the artist behind "Vector Lovers", "Martin Wheeler", wants to give you a house-inspired, indie-inspired, or IDM inspired he will... but with his own flavor added to it to keep the overflow theme of the album consistent. Sometimes with artists (Moby comes to mind)... they try to do some serious 'genre-bending' in an album and it just does NOT work. The album here is definitely an exception. I believe the artist is aware of this fine line of varying influences and is able to skate along it very carefully.

» album @ emusic
» artist profile @ last.fm

Node: Node

How can an album produced and co-written by Flood (The guy behind production of U2 and Nine Inch Nails) in 1995 of really cool electro-ambient have only 2,250 scrobbles (how many times it was played through last.fm users). I think the problem is distribution (I lucked out and found a used copy at the now long gone "Armageddon Records" in Chicago in 1997). I looked for a link for someone to legitimately download the album and I came up with nothing (Anyone with knowledge where to get it through Internet, lemme know). You can, however, listen to most of the amazing E.P. through last.fm (though three bands show up with the same name, and a bad b-w photo of a metal band is the photo). From the first listen, parallels with Henke's "Monolake" and some of the more experimental "Plasticman" come to mind, but then I think about when it was produced and that makes this album all the more appreciative. The first track starts with ominous electronic percussion and then gradually builds with Alien textures and blips and distorted synths. The mastering and "spacial-ness" is nothing but masterful. This is how electronic albums Should sound and what they need to aspire to. The second track Olivine comes in with tubular and bell noises. Reminds me vaguely of the the Nine Inch Nails album "Fixed" with how the frequencies are panned and how the reverb sounds (which makes sense since both albums came out around the same time and produced by same person). The rest of the album is just as well thought out and produced. "Slapback" is more aggressive to the point of it being almost progressive dance music without the four-on-the-floor drum beat. Levy and Propane are similar to the first two with the cinematic approach (each track is 8minutes+). Try and find this album... or at least listen to it on Last.fm.

» album listen @ last.fm
» artist profile @ last.fm

Hecate vs. Lustmord: Law Of the Battle of Conquest

Since my last podcast was based on the darker side of ambient, I decided this review should go in the same direction. I think I made the right choice in picking this album that came out in 2002. These are both definitely prolific artists on their own. Lustmord is known for his organic, creepy textural ambience. Hecate is known for her absolutely brutal programming. Both bring very dark elements to the table and the mixture works so well. The album starts with the usual Lustmord wall of Evil noise followed by tribal distorted rhythms very typical by Hecate. With a lot of music collaborations, you can usually hear more of one artist than the other. This is a definite exception. It almost feels as if it is an extremely well made mash-up. Both artists really stand out clearly, yet the sounds meld so perfectly together. I highly recommend this E.P. if you really enjoy early industrial (Skinny Puppy, FLA, and a lot of the Zoth omog stuff (leaether strip, etc)), beatcore (Venetian Snares), and/or dark ambient in general. By the end of the album, I felt beat up, worn out, yet yearning for more! It looks like you can preview this entire album at last.fm so definitely give it a listen.

» album @ emusic
» artist profile @ last.fm

Max Richter: 24 Postcards In Full Colour

If I had to have someone/band do a soundtrack to my life, my first choice would be Max Richter. This man captures the slightest emotions and moments so eloquently in his compositions. Even though this album was billed as somewhat of a novelty, it is definitely no exception to his other masterful works. What I mean by novelty is that Max, himself, billed this album as a "ringtone" album; making smaller tracks so you can play them as your, well... ring tones on cell phone. I find it to be so much more than just that. I really see them as tiny glimpses of different times, feelings, and emotions that were recorded at just the optimal time. Besides this album being a smaller format than his normal 7+ minute compositions he normally does, there is a wide arrangement of sound (he tends to relagate mainly to strings/piano with very slight ambient washes used sparingly). Some tracks even go into the realm of complete abstract post-ambient, a-la "Tim Hecker". He sometimes brings in both his conservative and avante-garde writing such as the track, "A Sudden Manhattan Of The Mind"; the playing of a single violin over a wash of ambient noise perfectly puts you in the head of this composer. Another good example is "In Louisville At 7"; it sounds as if you are tapping into a radio transmission of that certain moment only to find it lost as soon as you see it clearly. I would draw comparisons with "Goldmund","Johann Johannson","Eluvium", and even "Benoit Piolard", but his stuff really tends to really stand on its own. I can't recommend this album enough. It is a must have for fans of ambient, modern classical and minimal music.

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Below The Sea: Endings E.P.

This E.P. starts off with a delayed guitar repeating a simple three note riff, and through the next 5 minutes on the track it builds to a beautiful organic crescendo. The second track, "Until You Call It Quits", has the same guitar tone as before (reminiscent of the softer shoegaze artists such as "Slow Dive" and "Hammock"), and the percussion is a distorted noise rhythm very similar to what "Pan American" does a lot (though much less obtrusive). The feel of their overall sound makes me think that this is what "Ulrich Schnauss" would sound like if he put down the synths and picked up a Guitar and Bass. This album definitely skates on the fine line that is post-modern ambient and post-rock. At times the melodies of the guitars and bass are familiar to post-rock bands such as "Mono" and "Explosions in the Sky". Though the condensed nature of the tracks and semi-abstract flow of the compositions tend to meld this music more in the background than a lot of Post Rock that is out there. My one gripe is that the play time of this release is a quick 22 minutes; I wish that they would have extended the tracks slightly. I can understand why that chose to refrain from longer songs in order to prevent recundancy. This is definitely a recommend to add to your collection if you are a lover of atmospheric music.

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» artist profile @ last.fm

Recue: All the Wrong Places

This album came out in summer 2008 through the Rednetic label. Once you click play (do we "press" play anymore?), it starts with lush, well crafted melodies and textures and doesn't let up at all. The artist, Riku Annala, really has a great grasp on tonalities and full spectrum of sound. For the most part he follows the formula to create good melodic electronic IDM music. Let's go through the list: Glitchy analog beats with sprinkles of 64th beat (really fast) hi hats and glitch in place of hi-hats (check), rolling deep slinky melody driven bass lines (check), ambient pads filling the spectrum throughout each track (check), and interesting counter melodies of the bass played by monophonic leads drenched in verb (check). In other words, if you like artists like "Proem" and "Diagrams of Suburban Chaos", you will not be disappointed in the least bit. The album lacks slightly on innovation, but makes up for really capturing what makes this genre (if you can call it that) one of my favorites to listen to. Standout tracks include "Gbliss" and "Savant". In order to get a copy, you go the label's site for download and then pick the album. You can get his other album (really good too!)Here for free!

» artist site
» album @ rednetic
» artist profile @ last.fm

Loscil: Submers

This Album originally came out in 2002. When it comes to ominous minimal ambient drone albums, this one is truly a must have. The sounds for the most part are synthetic and have quite an analog feel, but with the amount of sustain on the notes and the layer of effects, they come across as quite organic and natural. This artist plays a lot with alternating rhythms pulsing in and out throughout each track. It almost reminds me of "Steve Reich"'s "Music for 18 Musicians" where patterns start phasing in and out of each creating an almost hypnotic feel. Overall it is dark in nature, but in no way does make you feel uneasy (as least for this listener). I would equate it more with "Biosphere"'s moodiness than with some of "Lustmord"'s more Ambient stuff. Every track on this album is a must listen from the minimal house-esque track "Gymnote" to the dubby track "Nautilus". My favorite track on this album is "La Plongeur", it has a beautiful bass line and great harmonies that cascade in and out.

» album @ e-music
» artist profile @ last.fm