minamo - durée

on my turntable

minamo
durée
12k1058

image: ©japanese forms

Another superb disc of electroacoustic soundscaping from the very wonderful Japanese quartet, Minamo. Relaxing ambient minimalism at it's best. Another gem in the 12k catalogue. Wonderful design and photography by 12k mainman, Taylor Deupree. one2zero

"Durée, their last studio work since 2007’s collaboration with Tape, and their follow-up to Shining on 12k (12k1031, now out of print), takes influence from the French philosopher Henri-Louis Bergson’s concept of “pure durée,” an idea that one’s consciousness is a constant flow and not something that can be divided, reversed, or measured. Minamo used these ideas in creating their music, despite the contradiction of the time-stamped CD format, to try to subvert the ideas of compartmentalized “time” and “space.” With a strong sense of non-linearity and flow taken from Bergson’s ideas, Minamo have created a colorful, skittering wash of music, noise, and texture that embraces a sense of out-there-ness." © 12k

Web: minamo 12k website taylor deupree


Buy or Download:
12k
Boomkat

william basinski - vivian & ondine

on the turntable:

william basinski
vivian & ondine
2062.0902

Buy / Order:
2062
boomkat

image:© japanese forms






william basinski

Tape loops recorded live at Musex International, Los Angeles, California, September 2008. Commissioned by Lauren Bon and The Metabolic Studio for Strawberry Flag at the United States Veterans Administration Hospital, Los Angeles, California. If you like Basinski,and his avant-garde ambient soundscapes, as I do, you'll love this. Sounds a lot like Basinski's masterpiece, The Disintegration Loops; but that's not such a bad thing. one2zero.
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"A brand new album from one of the most revered and acclaimed ambient composers of our time, Vivian & Ondine takes the form of a single, three-quarter hour piece, once again constructed from William Basinski's signature style of tape loop manipulation. While the narrative ebb and flow is largely pinned to a single tape fragment, Basinski merged a further "dozen or so" that sunk into the mix in just the right way, adding to the aura of fluctuation and continuous evolution that's so essential to this man's work." ©boomkat

leyland kirby - sadly, the future is no longer what it was

on my turntable

leyland kirby
sadly, the future is no longer what it was
haftw001

Buy: boomkat
Download : boomkat


image: ©japanese forms

Triple-CD modern classical, ambient masterpiece from the artist formally known as The Caretaker and V/VM. Reminds me a bit of some of William Basinski's hauntingly beautiful recordings; with that eerie background of tape-loops recorded from old vinyl. Spread over three albums it consists of almost four hours of of ambient, hauntologic, modern classical wonders. Utterly fabulous. one2zero

... there's echoes of Eno, Koner, Deathprod, Debussy, Badalamenti and Lynch executed with a dark yet emotional determination encapsulating the spirit of a Berlin or Manchester nightscape... © boomkat

Web:
history always favours the winners myspace

harmonia & eno '76 - tracks and traces

on my turntable

harmonia & eno '76
tracks and traces
cdgron102

image: ©japanese forms

One of those reissues you just can't miss out on is this remastered edition of these legendary 1976 recordings. Eno; who was on his way to Montreux to work on Low with Bowie, met up with Harmonia at their studio in the rural hamlet of Forst in Germany’s Weserbergland where they laid down the tracks on this album. Not intended to be released commercially the album was initially released in 1997 and featured clips from the the original recordings; this version includes the full remastered-by-Roedelius sessions.

"...33 years after these recordings were created, we finally have an all-around satisfying version of a long believed lost treasure of the krautrock era.
(© grönland records)

grönland records hans-joachim roedelius dieter moebius michael rother brian eno

wiki

broadcast and the focus group - investigate witch cults of the radio age

on my turntable

broadcast and
the focus group
investigate witch cults
of the radio age
warpcd189


image: ©japanese forms

I'm not too keen on the "best of..." lists that nearly every magazine prints at the end of each year -what one likes or dislikes is all very subjective so I never really bother about choosing a personal top ten, or twenty, or whatever. However, in my opinion, I'll go along with The Wire* in stating that this is one of the best albums released in 2009. Released a couple of months ago, I didn't pick up my copy until recently as the the local (shitty, chain) stores didn't have any copies in stock when I happened to drop in on any my rare visits to them. Thankfully Amazon, and the internet in general, exists. Anyhow, this 50-minute, 23-track album is really something special; probably the best ever by Broadcast. Of course, the selection of extra-special, added sound ingredients, by Ghost Box and The Focus Group mainman Julian House, enhance this recording immensely with Trish Keenan's voice making it an essential buy. one2zero

* "It really is quite fabulous… (Broadcast) crowned themselves dark monarchs of hauntology’s expanding kingdom" ALBUM OF THE YEAR – The Wire

Web:
warp/broadcast the focus group ghost box broadcast myspace