Fennesz – "Bécs" new album April 2014

I took it to mean the seemingly all-frequency buzz/roar that I hear in both of those artists, so yeah harmonic

I'd guess a lot of this stuff is mastered close to 0 db as well

not sure abt the original post

yeah, the mostly tonal/harmonic content of it. I suppose it's more of an issue with Tim Hecker, where his last couple albums feel very monotonous throughout. Regarding "saturation," complaining about the ever-present swaths of distorted harmonic noise that just sort of take over. Several tracks on bécs build into these frenzied washes that, while they're harmonically "sweet," there's not much tonal variety or concision to their conclusions. Of course, there may be exceptions on the album and there are some really fine details. Really liked the track "July" from his last ep.

I was expecting to like this but actually on first listen I love this. None of his other albums have ever grabbed me this quickly and forcefully.

Most of the tracks are harmonically compatible with the array of audio signals used on the local transit system (trains) in salt lake city. "The Liar" is actually in key with the beeping of the release mechanism for the rental bike docks located downtown. Tonal saturation.

an odd phenomenon, when i play "liminality" on the stereo, sometimes the lead guitar sounds all reverbed out, lacking any attack and definition, sort of diffused and in the background. it happens both with the cd as well as an mp3 played through a shitty little portable speaker. other times the tracks plays/sounds as i first heard it, the lead guitar is ultra pronounced, right up in the foreground. never seen/heard this sort of playback variation before.

maybe a 5.5, if they were realistic.

― braunld (Lowell N. Behold'n), Tuesday, 29 April 2014 05:00 (1 month ago) Permalink

is this nu-ILX humor?

it's what i was feeling at the time... but i guess it does what a Fennesz record is supposed to do, and that is probably enough. what constitutes "nu-ILX humor" ?

I've come around on this album -- I love the intensity, the sense of barely controlled chaos in contrast to "Endless Summer"'s relative calm ...the title track could be the finest work of his career.

En killed this shit on Already Gone.

I finally got this and I love it. I think Fennesz does for me what MBV does for some people. "Liminality" is my favourite so far.

Came across Fennesz's "Seven" EP on Touch, which includes an early version of "Liminality."

New album Agora to be released in March. A medley of the album's four tracks is available on bandcamp.

Apparently, it's his back-to-basics album :)

Fennesz writes: “Its a simple story. i had temporarily lost a proper studio workspace and had to move all my gear back to a small bedroom in my flat where I recorded this album. It was all done on headphones, which was rather a frustrating situation at first but later on it felt like back in the day when I produced my first records in the 1990s. In the end it was inspiring. I used very minimal equipment; I didn't even have the courage to plug in all the gear and instruments which were at my disposal. I just used what was to hand.”

Looking forward to the Fennesz "oozing sobriety" press photo :)

Solo acoustic Fennesz? Sign me up.

Just one guy in a studio, making music, the way it used to be.

To me, Black Sea is his masterpiece. Thought he was overrated af until that dropped, and it's probably on my top 10 00's albums list. I hope this focus brings him back to that level textural immersion and pristine melodic beauty he sustained for that record.

Venice was my entry point and still fave. Endless Summer is good but a work with a particular flavor, and Black Sea is a smoothed out and extended version of Venice moments

I have a cd of Bécs that I value because I wanted to support a cool record store when I was traveling and they only had the listening station copy. They gave it to me for free with my purchases and it has a characteristic corner punch <3

His masterpiece is the "...Plays" single.

my music library Iittered with interpretational covers and I am going to have to say no. it’s interesting as a release but it seems very dismissive of excellent work to make that call

agreed, Plays is a certain peak of hype & moment but I don't think it holds up quite as well now. I started buying this stuff in the Hotel Parallel and Touch Records era and Plays was exciting because it showed a new direction forward, but I dig the Endless Summer/Venice/Black Sea trifecta way more

Plays? Come on... seriously put Black Sea on with some headphones and immerse. Each song is extremely visual, with the title track and Glide as absolute pinnacles of his sound, compositionally and texturally. Glide in particular is an amazing build up and tear down. Visually, I feel like I'm in some forest at night and some bright light or space ship arrives and shines its light on me only to fly away and leave me breathless and with a sense of awe. It's a record dying to be heard from beginning to end, and is his most consistent.

it's highly dependent on whether you like the king midas sound album, but the full-album rework by fennesz is pretty good. it's a lot less fenneszy, and could use a little stretching in some moments

So, new one... I was excited by the p4k "80's new wave" references but this is very much the continuation of Becs and Black Sea I would say - perhaps a bit too slow and abstract for my taste at this point.

Yeah, I'm not feeling this one, unfortunately (and I liked Black Sea) and I agree the 80s new wave references were a tad misleading

It isn't happening in bite-sized chunks - and abstract it certainly is

I thought it relocated Fennesz back to a context of Gas, Chain Reaction and Porter Ricks

When the glinting neon bliss arrives, as it does in the second halves of Rainfall and We Trigger the Sun, it is truly wonderful

Worth a relook

Yeah this is absolutely blowing me away right now. I don't think it's so abstract, I was struck by how immediate the appeal was. Vast and enfolding and gorgeous. Time to re-run the ambient albums poll.

aaaand today I find out a "concert extravaganza" for Agora is coming my way

ooh he's doing a festival near here!