Only (very minor) complaint: the track-by-track liner notes are good (not great - serious dearth of info re: what instruments were used, etc) but was surprised by the lack of overarching introductory material; the booklet just sorta dives right into the profiles. I guess I'm used to comps like Nigeria Special and stuff, which frame the music in historical context, but I realize, of course, that's much easier to do when you're dealing with a mere decade of highlife and juju produced by a single region.Guess what I'm saying is I'd v happily read a book about this stuff.― Jimmywine Dyspeptic, Wednesday, November 20, 2013 7:23 AM (2 weeks ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalinkme too, the profiles were pretty interesting! now that you mention it a bit more gear talk would have been nice.― sleeve, Wednesday, November 20, 2013 7:24 AM (2 weeks ago)
Guess what I'm saying is I'd v happily read a book about this stuff.
― Jimmywine Dyspeptic, Wednesday, November 20, 2013 7:23 AM (2 weeks ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
me too, the profiles were pretty interesting! now that you mention it a bit more gear talk would have been nice.
― sleeve, Wednesday, November 20, 2013 7:24 AM (2 weeks ago)
So finally got IATC the other day and gave it a listen today -- truly lovely for all reasons described, etc. I mentioned it on Twitter and tagged Douglas McGowan, the compiler/liner note writer aka the guy behind Yoga Records, and mentioned how I enjoyed that the liner notes weren't exhaustive/specific a la Numero's approach but more impressionistic. His response:
The concept was that the notes are for people 100 years from now, which changes what you write about rather a lot.
I actually like that! Given he links just about all the artists via their own webpages it's not like he doesn't give you further spots to investigate.
― Ned Raggett, Monday, 9 December 2013 03:41 (ten years ago) link
Ha! Well, now that I know it's conceptual, I don't mind as much. Seriously though, I'm not sure I've played a single compilation this much since, err, DGC Rarities. Aside from maybe one or two tracks, this thing is perfect for pretty much every mood. Maybe I'm just getting mellow?
Bought the Laraaji comps, haven't listened yet. The 'bargain basement trip hop' thing the late great mentions upthread is a little scary.
― Jimmywine Dyspeptic, Monday, 9 December 2013 05:27 (ten years ago) link
last track on the second disc = all time greatest music ever
― the Shearer of simulated snowsex etc. (Dwight Yorke), Monday, 9 December 2013 08:09 (ten years ago) link
http://i.imgur.com/v8UuA5c.jpg
Another precious find from Andy Votel’s impeccable Dead-Cert imprint, Kat Epple & Bob Stohl made music for Carl Sagan, composed sound pieces for Planetariums and scored nature documentaries in the early 80’s. Most of their recordings were only ever released on private edition tape, with this selection hand-picked by Andy Votel, remastered and cut by Matt Colton and available on vinyl for the first time ever. Operating in Florida from 1978 until Bob’s untimely passing in 1989 at the age of 34, the husband/wife duo were among the first to blend synthesisers and acoustic instrumentation in a home studio equipped with a variety of early synths and instruments. As lovers and collaborators, the couple created a rich and vivid parallel dimension of new age music borne from the ‘70s prog scene and probably best referred to as “Space Music”. Throughout their unfortunately curtailed career the couple earned a noble crust creating music and mood-pieces for nature programmes, most notably for the legendary Sagan, under the Emerald Web aegis (expect to hear more of this on Finders Keepers later on this year) while continuing to issue numerous tapes to friends and fellow musicians. Following contact with Kat Epple - who still plays concerts at venues ranging from MoMA to Ground Zero - Dead-Cert were made privy to Kat and Bob’s private tapes, drawing for five pieces ranging from brooding deep space scapes to shimmering, gaseous sonics and impressionistic sound murals streaked with progressive traits and an alien, yet pastoral nature. Recorded using an Arp 2600, Mini Moog, EML Synkey, Roland RS202 String Ensemble and Electro-Harmonix Vocoder, plus a range of woodwind (both Kat and Bob were trained flautists, making colourful use of Bill Bernardi’s innovative Lyricon I, a hybrid flute/synthesiser) with some guitar assists here and there by friend and co-composer, Barry Cleveland. Their music is rich and unapolagetically tethered to the Space-Age iconography of their age, the result being a warm and often highly unusual hybrid of Kosmische and Prog signatures, quite distinct from the more austere variants more recently associated with the era.
― karl...arlk...rlka...lkar..., Friday, 31 January 2014 18:30 (ten years ago) link
flute synth!
http://www.dominicsmusic.com/photosdm/5178.jpg
― karl...arlk...rlka...lkar..., Friday, 31 January 2014 18:31 (ten years ago) link
nature documentaries! does anyone know the names of these documentaries or if they're available?
― mambo jumbo (La Lechera), Friday, 31 January 2014 18:32 (ten years ago) link
fantastic news ... but no CD reissue? ;_;
― the late great, Friday, 31 January 2014 18:52 (ten years ago) link
omg link to buy please
― Jimmywine Dyspeptic, Friday, 31 January 2014 23:12 (ten years ago) link
Finders Keepers put it out, right? It was discussed upthread unless I am missing something
― sleeve, Friday, 31 January 2014 23:14 (ten years ago) link
not finders keepers, dead-cert
― the late great, Friday, 31 January 2014 23:26 (ten years ago) link
and it came out last June and appears to now be oop. Dammit. Why would something like this be limited to a mere 700 copies? Nevermind, I know why.
― Jimmywine Dyspeptic, Friday, 31 January 2014 23:37 (ten years ago) link
daryl groetsch has gotta be my fave of the newer artists working in this mode:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voDyboR8Ejc
― original bgm, Friday, 21 November 2014 21:44 (nine years ago) link
^^
Seems to have quite an extensive back catalogue.
Which one(s) do you recommend checking out first?
― groovypanda, Wednesday, 3 December 2014 09:11 (nine years ago) link
aaah, sorry. just getting to this!
forest, mountain, valley is a personal favorite, extremely beautiful:https://pulseemitter.bandcamp.com/album/forest-mountain-valley
the meditative music series is also quite good, particularly #3 & 4. I don't meditate but often put them on while sleeping or if I'm just a little anxious or overwhelmed. they really are relaxing.
and speaking of which, the planetary scale synth hypnosis compilation is also very well curated and includes excerpts from the meditative music albums, amongst many other things.
― original bgm, Monday, 8 December 2014 05:47 (nine years ago) link
alan i've been going through hiroshi yoshimura's discography since you recommended him, he's so wonderful
― (曇り) (clouds), Monday, 8 December 2014 06:21 (nine years ago) link
oh, awesome!
yeah, he's great. have you heard anything past flora 1987? haven't been able to track anything down myself. particularly curious about koto vortex 1
― original bgm, Monday, 8 December 2014 06:36 (nine years ago) link
no, flora is the latest one i've found so far.
― (曇り) (clouds), Monday, 8 December 2014 06:51 (nine years ago) link
ah well
― original bgm, Monday, 8 December 2014 06:54 (nine years ago) link
Holy smokes, this Jordan de la Sierra record is the greatest thing:
http://www.numerogroup.com/products/jordan-de-la-sierra-gymnosphere-song-of-the-rose
― Ottbot jr (NickB), Friday, 2 January 2015 20:45 (nine years ago) link
looooooong cosmically-inclined reverb-heavy piano pieces that are positively satie-esque in their simple beauty
― Ottbot jr (NickB), Friday, 2 January 2015 20:47 (nine years ago) link
― (曇り) (clouds), Sunday, December 7, 2014 10:21 PM (3 weeks ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― (⊙_⊙?) (Alan N), Sunday, December 7, 2014 10:36 PM (3 weeks ago)
hey I missed this post, Alan I have Koto Vortex II and it is beautiful/amazing, PM me if you want a rip or something
― some kind of terrible IDM with guitars (sleeve), Friday, 2 January 2015 21:49 (nine years ago) link
:D
― original bgm, Saturday, 3 January 2015 06:40 (nine years ago) link
had a heavy new age phase about 6 months ago. really want to get as much of the good '70s/'80s stuff as possible – any recommendations for best way to go about completing that?
― soyrev, Saturday, 3 January 2015 14:33 (nine years ago) link
http://www.factmag.com/2015/01/03/hear-extracts-from-a-long-lost-12-hour-private-soundtrack-by-vangelis/
These new clips from Vangelis, quick ticket to transcendence
― fgti, Saturday, 3 January 2015 15:57 (nine years ago) link
ambient/new age gorgeousness from last year that i enjoyed :
http://phaeleh.bandcamp.com/
― mark e, Saturday, 3 January 2015 20:26 (nine years ago) link
I love the Vangelis Tegos Tapes
I found that Jordan De La Sierra box set in the early 90's and was a little let down by it at the time -- the cover had me expecting a lost 'harp of new albion' or 'well-tuned piano' but it sounded more just heavy chorus processing than legit just intonation. But my copy was also a bad pressing, this sounds so good on CD, and the liner notes spelling out the context with mid-70's Mills college & him showing up at an early episode of Stephen Hill's Hearts of Space and asking to play the piano in Studio B, and Bob Orban helping them mix the reverb live at Grace Cathedral all help sell it for me as a legend
― Milton Parker, Saturday, 3 January 2015 22:48 (nine years ago) link
hey whoever emailed me w/the username of "mister brevis" (clouds?), you need to include an email address in yr message
― some kind of terrible IDM with guitars (sleeve), Sunday, 4 January 2015 00:54 (nine years ago) link
oh haha! oops. yhm.
― mister brevis (clouds), Sunday, 4 January 2015 05:32 (nine years ago) link
mister brevis do u know mister l'homme arme and mister pangae lingua?
― a drug by the name of WORLD WITHOUT END (Jon Lewis), Monday, 5 January 2015 20:05 (nine years ago) link
nickb otm re: jordan de la sierra
― the late great, Sunday, 18 January 2015 22:55 (nine years ago) link
Yeah it's something, I went in with slightly lowered expectations but it's quite breathtaking.
― Ned Raggett, Sunday, 18 January 2015 23:02 (nine years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlTdeFY9lMw
This surprised me, but early Deuter made some pretty cool stuff
― CoolRadio, Monday, 26 January 2015 02:41 (nine years ago) link
http://www.thesirenssound.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Jocelyn-Pook-Untold-Things.jpg
had this hidden away in the archive for years and each time I remember it and play it just knocks me sideways.
the mix of unexpected instrumentation, and treated vocals layers, make this a very different and unique listen.
love it.
― mark e, Tuesday, 25 August 2015 18:03 (eight years ago) link
album : Jocelyn Pook - Untold Things
― mark e, Tuesday, 25 August 2015 18:04 (eight years ago) link
Environments (especially #2 - Tintinnabulation)
― Milton Parker, Thursday, January 8, 2009 3:56 PM (6 years ago)
YES. i never expected to see a reference to this anywhere, but it is very, very good. picked it up for just a few dollars the other day, on a whim, knowing nothing about it, fulling expecting it to be more of a novelty record than anything. side one (with the bells) is just the best. i'll be forever on the lookout for all the others in the series - 11 in all, with one environment per side, right?
― 1994 ball boy (Karl Malone), Tuesday, 25 August 2015 18:29 (eight years ago) link
i know i bumped the Vangelis thread earlier, but i'm adding reaction to the Voices album here as it's far more appropriate.
to start, the stina nordenstam vocal track ('ask the mountains' : the most new age-y name for a track ever ?) is absolutely gorgeous.at first i thought it sampled ZOOLOOK in its use of very short digital vocal samples, but then as the track progresses it's clear that the samples are of stina. the result is perfect ear candy. i was a little worried when i saw that paul young provided vocals for one of the tracks, 'losing sleep', but the sonics are so massive and warm and his presence is so embedded within the big fat synths that it matters not.
oh, and the opening track featuring a vocal choir, Athens opera company, is just insanely brilliant.
yes, the album features lots of the digital presets that the genre is known for, but mixed in with bladerunner-esque synth lines, it all works rather well.
summary : well worth the coin i had to hand over for it.
― mark e, Tuesday, 25 August 2015 18:42 (eight years ago) link
next up : seen celestial vibrations cd reissue going cheap, so rather tempted to go back and pick that up now !
i looooooove the environments series! i have two. the one with the heartbeat is super intense.
― La Lechera, Tuesday, 25 August 2015 20:26 (eight years ago) link
ok, what is this "environments" series, as the only one i know is the FSOL series.
same thing ?
i suspect not.
― mark e, Tuesday, 25 August 2015 20:32 (eight years ago) link
http://www.discogs.com/label/423531-Environments
I love those as well, I have around half a dozen and always pick them up when I see them
― sleeve, Tuesday, 25 August 2015 20:36 (eight years ago) link
cheers sleeve ! basically, i am never going to see those in my local HMV, or charity shop.was beginning to think i had missed out on something i could have joined in with.summary : as you were.
― mark e, Tuesday, 25 August 2015 20:39 (eight years ago) link
they have the coolest covers!!
― La Lechera, Tuesday, 25 August 2015 20:42 (eight years ago) link
ha! Irv Teibel has now been retroactively credited as the author. His name never appears anywhere in the packaging, but Syntonic Research Inc. was essentially a one man operation. I've had some conversations with the guy who's recently inherited the library / organization; they're looking for a good label to handle a complete box reissue. For a series that sold in the millions and that was so ridiculously influential, it is a little silly how under the radar they all fly now
I have the CD issue of 'Tintinabulation'; they mastered it at the 16.666 rpm speed, lasts an hour, good move. 'Intonation' also sounds good slow. I have a set of the vinyl but I don't have some of the later cassettes, man do I want to hear 'Alpine Blizzard', what in hell does that even sound like
― Milton Parker, Tuesday, 25 August 2015 20:43 (eight years ago) link
think i prefer the FSOL Environment sleeves ;-)
not that i have any of the FSOL series either ..
xp
― mark e, Tuesday, 25 August 2015 20:44 (eight years ago) link
Hah those "Environments" records have been popping up in conversations a lot these days. I really like the one that is recorded on a wooden sailboat/ship. Good stuff.
― grandavis, Tuesday, 25 August 2015 20:45 (eight years ago) link
some of the first ones went platinum once they were picked up by Atlantic; completely pioneering. fantastic, obsessively detailed liner notes. they won't stay obscure for long.
the guy manning the library says there were tons of unreleased, even crazier concepts for albums; can't wait
― Milton Parker, Tuesday, 25 August 2015 20:48 (eight years ago) link
ooh! that's good news
― La Lechera, Tuesday, 25 August 2015 20:50 (eight years ago) link
ok, another archive find today ..
http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/736x/2e/df/c7/2edfc732a87f4f131b56f6fd415c612b.jpg
ambient or new age ?
given that this is a rising high release, I guess its regarded as part of the ambient/house era.
not that it matters, as its bloody wonderful.
― mark e, Tuesday, 25 August 2015 20:51 (eight years ago) link
however, with its rich synthetic sonics, tribal drums, and widescreen soundscapes,this steve roach/elmar Schulte release has to be part of the new age genre :
http://static.qobuz.com/images/covers/20/13/0617026201320_600.jpg
alternative cover that I have :
http://www.kompaktkiste.de/cd/_abc/_s/sr9341.jpg
bottom line : despite the excess of FAX material, I wish I had more of this kind of stuff.
― mark e, Tuesday, 25 August 2015 21:01 (eight years ago) link