One of the most anticipated concerts of this year coming up friday, 21: Stars of the Lid will be performing in Utrecht (my hometown).

There's an extensive European tour proceeding, so quite a few people may have already seen the show by now.

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Koan, the music software that can be credited for creating a musical form that was neither "recorded" nor "live" (see previous post here ) did generate a lot of interesting musical projects.
Brian Eno's diskette-release "Generative Music 1" may have been the most noticeable release, but certainly it wasn't the only one that was interesting.

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Wouter van Veldhoven 's Ruststukken is recently released on the new Belgian label ‘Slaapwel’.

Slaapwel means Sleep well. Label owner Wim Maesschalck tells us:
“I set out, looking for people that would be good at making mind-soothing songs. I ask them to write a sleep-inducing record, I listen to it, and when I fail to reach the end because I fell asleep, I release it as a musical record with whatever means are available to me.”
Well that’s a heart-warming concept to me!

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Stars of the Lid will be performing in Utrecht, Holland on december, 21, 2007!
Yes...read that again!! 
They will be performing at the Huis aan de Werf. 
The Utrecht gig concludes an extensive european tour on which "The Stars" (Adam Wiltzie and Brian McBride) will be performing with a "real live" string quartet.

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Bloom. Huge. Allure. The Explanation. The Discussion. An Answer.
This is quite a special case (literally!).

Carefully scheduled in the last three years, Fovea Hex released three EP’s, each containing three songs, with a bonus cd containing remixes/reworks by The Hafler Trio (H30) for every initial release.
Concluding this series, in 2007, a beautiful box is released (as could be expected) containing all 3 EP’s and, if you want it all, also including the bonus cd’s.

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I recently upgraded my audio system with the NAD C272 power amplifier. I was not quite happy with the standard (stereo) sound performance of the Cambridge Audio 540R surround receiver. A good surround receiver, but a bit flat in the standard stereo performance (though lot of people think otherwise, that's why I chose this particular one). Reverting to a stereo system was no option for me, because I really enjoy surround music when playing movies or electronic multi-channel music.
By adding the C272 for extra power, the performance in playing 'normal' 2-channel music (which I still play 90% of the time) strongly enhanced, so I get 'the best of two worlds".

The NAD power amplifier is stored out of reach, and has a convenient "Sleep/Wake" feature that activates the amplifier when receiving signal and makes it go into sleep mode when there's no signal for 5 minutes.

But there's a downside.

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4AD will re-release Jóhann Jóhannssen’s “Englabörn” in November. Perfectly timed, since the opening track Odi et Amo, which is “sung” by a computer, links seamlessly with the equally beautiful 2006 release “IBM1401 – A User’s manual”.

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There have been quite a few mediocre (‘fans only’) releases by Brian Eno in the last couple of years. The 2004 collaboration with Robert Fripp was a remarkable exception, and so is their collaboration sketches overview “Beyond Even (1996 – 2006)”.
I call this a ‘sketches overview’ because  it feels like that: a collection of works that sound like good yet unfinished ideas. Which does not mean they sound like second hand outtakes that should not have been released. Most of these tracks are very beautiful indeed, and do deserve a life on their own. However some of this tracks still feel a bit outdated, even a bit mushy sometimes.

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“Stofstuk”, a composition for singing bowl, contact mic, vinyl recording and laptop, was one of the many 3” cd’s Rutger “Machinefabriek” Zuydervelt recently unleashed. A beautiful, introspective piece of electronica. Shortly after it’s initial release, this collection of remixes appears.

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2005’s Remembranza was a remarkable release, partly because the warm organic sound that made the music feel quite different. Cosmos has the same sound detail, but it sounds less melancholic and more dark and threatening.
Of course, with a theme and title like this it’s no wonder it sounds like some retro-futuristic science-fiction movie soundtrack. Murcof sets himself a high standard, partly referring to to the great modern composers such as Pärt and Ligeti. The heavy crescendo’s will not appeal to everyone I guess: this is NOT ‘drone’ ambient - No chance to softly dream away.
Still, he’s living up to his reputation easily, settling himself firmly between the great artists of this genre.

BTW – Murcof will be headlining the Interzone Ambient Festival in Utrecht on September, 26.

It's been quite some time since my latest post to this weblog. Holiday time, the obligatory holiday trips ...I obviously had a hard time...

But the new season has a promising start:
If you live near Utrecht, Holland you should keep an eye on the following events
(and if you don't live in Holland but are interested still, keep an ear on the FOLIO webstream as linked below):

• Interzone Ambient Festival - 29 / 30 september, Theater Kikker, Utrecht
  This is a 2 day festival that has a promising line-up. Murcof will be there, probably to promote his new release: Cosmos. Other performers on saturday are Jessica Bailiff, Klimek and  Shuttle 358.
  Sunday will bring us a Ahornfelder showcase, with performances by Sinebag, Semuin, F.S. Blumm, Marcel Turkowsky.
  Radio 6' Folio will preview this festival on september, 4

• Tivoli De Helling programs a performance by Cluster (Dieter Moebius / Hans-Joachim Roedelius) on November, 7
  Don't know what to expect on this concert, but both Moebius and Roedelius were there to define 'ambient' in the time their music was called 'Krautrock'. They partnered with Brian Eno, worked with legendary producer Conny Plank, and their 30+ years of musical output is quite difficult to survey. Again, the night before this concert, Folio will present a musical preview.

Sounds promising, doesn't it?

Sleep Research Facility should be credited for one of the best names in ambient music. Apart from that, Kevin Doherty was also responsible for the Nostromo release a few years ago. Nostromo was based on the first minutes of sound from the first Alien movie (Nostromo was the name of the spaceship) (*), and the music was as deep as outer space. (By the way: you cannot find this release anymore by now, but Cold Spring Records has announced a re-release later this year).

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Two new releases of ambient pioneer Robert Rich recently caught my attention. Both are related to visual performances, and while they are very different, they represent the many facets of this prolific ambient music legend.

First, there's the CD accompanying Michael Somoroff's Illumination installations. The installation was originally created for the Rothko Chapel, but when moved to the Aldrich Contemporary Arts Museum in Ridgefield Robert Rich created this music especially for that occasion. Not much is know of the installation apart from a short description and the stills in the liner notes, but regarding the music it must be quite 'deep'. This is Robert Rich at his most dark (as this music is often called, though I do not really experience it as such myself). Slowly evolving and stretched beyond patience. As ambient as any ambient shoud be - a beautiful release.

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In 2006, Cold Spring records has re-released a record from 1993. It only recently came to my attention, so I would not have written about it on this weblog (for it would be ‘old news’) - if it’s thematic content wouldn't be so shocking.
John Watermann's album is called ‘Calcutta Gas Chamber’ - and that about says all.  Story goes that the recording artist has visited India in the early 90’s and came across nightmare-ish giant gas chambers that the Indian government used for ‘population control’.

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Currently, I am preparing the Folio radiobroadcast for june, 26, which will feature some work played by Hilary Jeffery.
Jeffery is an English trombone player, currently living in Amsterdam. He plays quite a lot of different line-ups: with Jimi Tenor as well as with the Kilimanjaro Dark Jazz Ensemble, to name just two.
His musical output is equally diverse, ranging from experimental improvisational jazz to quiet drones.
One of his influences is trombone player James Fulkerson (who surprisingly also lives in the Netherlands!), with whom he also studied.

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‘Sistereis’ is the opposite of a ship’s maiden voyage. It’s a ship’s doomed final voyage.

“All was as it had been upon my previous visit, save that the picture which I have described as having hung at the end of his bed had been cut out of it’s frame, as with a knife, and was gone. With this last link in a strange chain of evidence I close my diary of the voyage”

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"Weleer" (Formerly, in old times) is the well chosen title for the 2CD selection of work from more than 30 3"-cd's that Rutger "machinefabriek" Zuydervelt released last years. Most of these will be very hard to find, so this album is a good starting point for those that want to know what sort of stuff the machinefabriek produces.

This prolific musician (from Arnhem, Holland) draws some international attention (how do foreigners pronounce titles like "gruis uit het plafond"?) with his noise and drone experiments, as well as with his lovely naïve electro-acoustics (not unlike Colleen or Goldmund).

Weleer is a varied collection, but not for the faint of heart: not everyone will like all of the tracks. It's impressing that one man can deliver so much great work in such short time. Machinefabriek deserves all respect and praise for his work, and not only from Holland!

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William Basinski has built almost his entire oeuvre on deteriorating copies of original tape recordings. (The Disintegration Loops may be the best example).
So, when reading about the new Alva Noto release, Xerrox, I had to suppress a ‘not again’ yawn..

“Via the technique of duplication the copy often contains mistakes and glitches that differ from the original. The mutating copy emerges as a new original and thereby provides space for development”

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from Brian Eno's "Oblique Strategies" card set.

Another one I like: 
"Honour thy mistakes as hidden intentions"

I don’t know if you have noticed the links to various weblogs on the "Links" page, but if you did, you have probably found the Low Light Mixes, and treasure them like I do. All mixes are worth the download, but the latest one, A Drift on the Signal, is especially rewarding.

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It’s hard to tell what it is exactly that touches me everytime I hear the songs of The Innocence Mission. Is it the pureness (innocence?) of singer-songwriter Karen’s voice, reminding me of early 10.000 Maniacs? (This connection is no coincidence: Karen and Don Peris contributed to Natalie Merchant’s Ophelia).
Is it the open, seemingly simple, acoustic arrangements played by Don Peris on guitar and Mike Bitts on bass?
Is it the combination? Does it matter, anyway? 
What really matters is that The Innocence Mission released at least TEN records, and that none of these gained any serious attention in Europe. Please, notice them! You can start with 'We Walked in Song' and work backwards from there...

Ambient music collectors no longer visit the local record shop to find the latest releases. Most of the times, the titles are not even stocked. Still, the genre is lively and growing bigger than it ever was. Not through the 'old' distribution channels and brick and mortar shops, but through the internet mostly. This weblog only covers a small tip of the iceberg of the music available.

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If you want a good impression of the new STARS OF THE LID album  '..and their refinement of the decline...' that was released this week, you can listen to a one hour mix of it from dutch radio program NPS-FOLIO! (You may skip the first minute: that's part of the preceding news).

The stream will be available until tuesday night april, 10. (After that it'll be replaced with the new Folio program (which may be interesting too, of course..)

The past winter here was not very cold; it didn't feel like 'Winter' at all. Australian composer Lawrence English must have foreseen this when he recorded the music for this album "For Varying degrees of Winter", full of beautiful haunting electro acoustic music.

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On this third solo project Arve Henriksen is accompanied by two fellow Supersilent members: Helge Sten (a.k.a. DeathProd) and Ståle Storløkken. Unlike most of the Supersilent albums Strjon breathes a natural, Zen-like balance and peacefulness.
Henriksen’s trumpet-playing is perfectly balanced with the almost chilling sound sculptures accompanying it.

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Looking at the cover should be your first warning. Steingarten shows the kind of castle even Disney would have considered 'over the top'. In a landscape you could never even imagine.
The warning seems to serve a purpose, because at first casual listen this album feels far more lightweight than earlier Pole albums. We did not expect this kind of poppy electronics from Stefan Betke!
Well: time to adjust the expectations and retry.

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The old weblog skin was not exactly cross-browser compatible, and has done it's work for quite some time now, so it's time for a new skin. You're looking at it now.
Hope you like it!

Thanks to Marco van Hylckama Vlieg for creating this template.
The header picture is a part of Ui a Pen, photographed by Mindfulness .

Good news for those of you that are fascinated by the current Buddha Machine hype (like me) : there's a free download available of the album Uhrwerk by Pocka here.
It may not be as layered as Robert Henke's 'Layering Buddha', but the sound of these Buddha Machine interpretations is very comfortable and authentic.
The recognisable Buddha Machine loops are enhanced by subtle bass guitar, piano, guitar pedals and software effects.

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These "Six Drummers" have quite a different view about "environmental music".

Just shows that music can be found all around you!

(no ambient content)

Stars of the Lid may be one of the most important names of the Kranky label. Their previous releases are all worthwile, some of them are genre masterpieces. "The Tired Sounds of..." has set a standard hard to match, but regarding this preview "Apreludes (in C Sharp Major)" , their new album "And Their Refinement of the Decline" could prove to be just as beautiful. Or even better...

The 2CD /3LP album will be released in april, with Catalogue # 100.
Definitely looking forward to this!

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I had not heard Rudy Adrian’s name before, although this New Zealand’s musician seems to be around for a while. But when a single name pops up more than a few times in various ambient circles, you know it’s time to check out the release people are talking about.

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