the one digital service i like, apart from emusic, is bandcamp. it's taken me awhile to appreciate it, and i still find it maddening to separate the wheat from the chaff, but wigits like this discoverinator (terrilble name, btw) help you make sense of the bandcamp universe.
so, let me put a qualifier on my enthusiasm about this discoverinator engine. i love the idea of an "artist-recommended" button, and i still think it could have real value, but breezing thru one subgenre under that tab seems like a circle of mutually-supporting artists, all singing each other's praises (Artist A, "You've got to hear Artist B, we just toured with him and he's great!,"'; Artist B, "If you buy only one new album this year, make is Such-And-Such from Artist A -- brilliant!"). nothing wrong with that, per se, but it may not be entirely disinterested.
in my rush to test this device, i forgot that there are already many ways to check out stuff recommended by artists i like. twitter is the best example, e.g., grimes' twitter feed (she constantly recommends unsigned or underappreciated artists she likes, some of which i really dig).
Sefiroth is a 10-piece electro-acoustic chamber ensemble playing contemporary interpretations of traditional Sephardic (Judeo-Spanish) repertoire, much of which dates back to the Medieval period and draws upon Arabic, Turkish, Greek and Eastern European influences.
Weird, but cool! It shifts between Post-Rock, Jazz and Traditional within the context of each track. I recommend the track Erotokritos, which sounds like a brass band channeling Kashmir through Wetton-era Crismo.
- "Recent world events have done much to emphasise differences between the three Abrahamic world religions Judaism, Christianity and Islam. In contrast, this work is constructed around unifying aspects of these three religious traditions. Alongside the doctrine of monotheism (that there is only one God) and the importance of worship and remembrance of God, it draws inspiration from the role and meaning of angels as glorifiers of God and as Gods messengers.
Using recordings of choristers at Ely Cathedral singing declarations of praise (selected from the Old and New Testaments and Quran), the piece gradually permeates through the cathedrals acoustic to evoke the idea of an angelic presence. Over a twenty minute period singing fills the cathedral through eight loud-speakers placed along the length of the nave. The layering and treatment of the material subtly evolves to form an ethereal but dense musical-angelic web of sound. Although contemporary in its mode of realisation, it is intended as a contemplative and sacred work.
The experience of this piece is to do with questioning ideas of reality and how awareness acts as a filter to understanding. Its clear that conditioning and life experiences shape an individuals views, opinions and knowledge; extending this idea, its easy to argue that there may be realities that our accepted everyday consciousness has become blind to. Of course, a powerful example of this and with which this piece concerns itself, is the realm of angelic activity that forms a central tenet of the Abrahamic religions.
Angels are the unseen glorifiers, mediators and messengers behind every created thing; they bring forth the revelation of Gods signs and the illumination of reality. As if for a moment, a temporary cleft appears in our inability to perceive this world of activity: to encounter the beauty and warm light of angelic illumination and to have raised in us that unique state of consciousness to see what is . The name lumen naturae makes the suggestion that in the soft radiance of natural light (in contrast to the consuming intensity of direct sunlight) there exists a reminder of this particular kind of enlightenment and awakening; an aspect of the spiritual journey that can be understood through the role and meaning of angels."
- http://matthewsansom.com/2004/10/01/lumen-naturae-2004/
To Gain Is To FX Send sampler from Muchausen Sound. I have only just begun to explore this 202 minute sampler, the label tags are "dark noise ambient death industrial experimental harsh noise isolationist minimalism nim no-input feedback no-input mixer." Might appeal to people around here.
The Blue Indian Compilation Vol. 1. I found this looking for Aaron Roche on Bandcamp, he has one song on this volume. There are four volumes in all, so collect them all.
NOW Ensemble - NOW
- "NOW Ensemble has been a prominent member of the New York City indie classical scene for more than four years. With an idiosyncratic instrumenation of flute, clarinet, electric guitar, double bass, and piano, NOW is synonymous with its unique sound, blending five instruments into one virtuosic band. For its long-awaited debut album, the group chose 7 pieces from its core repertoire, a body of work that is helping to redefine chamber music for the 21st century.
NOW consists of two pieces by Judd Greenstein and one by Patrick Burke, both of whom serve as the ensembles artistic co-directors, two pieces by the ensembles guitarist Mark Dancigers, and one by Nico Muhly. Each of the pieces have received individual praise by a variety of sources. Greensteins Folk Music and Sing Along have been described respectively as the albums wistful and passionate bookends (Time Out New York), and the former pieces melancholy flute line, above bobbing piano chords is listed as one of the discs highlights. (Time Out Chicago). Time Out Chicago also described Muhlys How About Now as having a poppish sensibility but taking a crack team of player to pull off easy. Burkes All Together Now has been said to artfully emphasize the sense of balance and discipline among the ensembles players (All Music), and Dancigers music for NOW Ensemble has been praised by the New York Times as unabashedly rock influenced.
The album has been praised most for its combination of the formal elegance of chamber music with a pop-honed concision and rhythmic vitality (TONY) which is manifest in all of the ensembles commissions and performances. The albums repertoire was described as plenty deep enough to be dredged on multiple passes without crawling up inside its head so far it misplaces the soul (The Washington Post), and received five-star reviews from Time Out New York and Chicago."
- New Amsterdam Records - 2008
Marco Lucchi - The Golden Eternity - "I was smelling flowers in the yard, and when I stood up I took a deep breath and the blood all rushed to my brain and I woke up dead on my back in the grass. I had apparently fainted, or died, for about sixty seconds. My neighbor saw me but he thought I had just suddenly thrown myself on the grass to enjoy the sun. During that timeless moment of unconsciousness I saw the golden eternity. I saw heaven. In it nothing had ever happened, the events of a million years ago were just as phantom and ungraspable as the events of now, or the events of the next ten minutes. It was perfect, the golden solitude, the golden emptiness, Something-Or- Other, something surely humble. There was a rapturous ring of silence abiding perfectly. There was no question of being alive or not being alive, of likes and dislikes, of near or far, no question of giving or gratitude, no question of mercy or judgment, or of suffering or its opposite or anything. It was the womb itself, aloneness, alaya vijnana the universal store, the Great Free Treasure, the Great Victory, infinite completion, the joyful mysterious essence of Arrangement. It seemed like one smiling smile, one adorable adoration, one gracious and adorable charity, everlasting safety, refreshing afternoon, roses, infinite brilliant immaterial gold ash, the Golden Age. The "golden" came from the sun in my eyelids, and the "eternity" from my sudden instant realization as I woke up that I had just been where it all came from and where it was all returning, the everlasting So, and so never coming or going; therefore I call it the golden eternity but you can call it anything you want. As I regained consciousness I felt so sorry I had a body and a mind suddenly realizing I didn't even have a body and a mind and nothing had ever happened and everything is alright forever and forever and forever, O thank you thank you thank you."
- Marco Lucchi.
I have probably posted this somewhere before.
- However:
- Track 2, STCOTHOTS, is a most brilliant coverversion of Pink Floyd's "Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun"
What can I say about this ? - It's bizzare to the extreme, its funny and very moving . . . and truely amazing !
Steve Beresford Toys, Low Grade Electronics, Sampler, Effects
Anna Homler Vocals, Toys, Objects
Richard Sanderson Toys, Effects, Sampler, Accordion
- "The trio of Californian experimental vocalist Anna Homler and British free improvisers Steve Beresford and Richard Sanderson first met at the Copenhagen Festival of Experimental Music in 1999 in a concert of Toys n Noise put together by the toy player Martin Klapper. They have continued to play together whenever possible and have played at the London Musicians Collective International Festival of Experimental Music at Londons South Bank and at a concert in Liverpool broadcast on BBC Radio 3s Mixing It programme."
- More weird stuff: - "The melodeon is a curious instrument for free improvisation, its determinedly tonal, each button plays two different notes depending on whether the bellows are being pulled or pushed, and its a bugger to amplify. That said it also has its likeable quirks- the clattery keys, the way the notes beat against themselves, and it has a nice noisy air button.
Id been planning a solo melodeon album for a while, and these recordings capture my three main approaches. Some tracks are entirely acoustic, albeit with occasional additions like bells, a music box mechanism and a dictaphone. On others the melodeon is fed live through computer software (Audiomulch), radically altering the sound. The remaining tracks use the set up I employ for live performances with foot-pedals and amplification."
- Richard Sanderson, May 2011
- "Richard Sanderson is an improvising musician based in London, he has recorded with the groups Ticklish (with Phil Durrant, Kev Hopper and Rob Flint), Minnow (with Kelsey Michael, John Edwards, Mark Sanders, Gail Brand and others) and in duos with Mark Spybey and Steve Beresford. He has recorded for several labels including Grob, Textile, Qbico, Lens and Duophonic. He has performed at festivals of experimental music in London, Austria, Denmark, France, Germany and Holland.
He also dances and plays with Blackheath Morris Men.
Comments
in my rush to test this device, i forgot that there are already many ways to check out stuff recommended by artists i like. twitter is the best example, e.g., grimes' twitter feed (she constantly recommends unsigned or underappreciated artists she likes, some of which i really dig).
Nice solo piano music from Alison Doyle; Drowning at Cape Disapointment NYOP
eMusic selects album -- NYOP. Strand of Oaks' BC site also has a demo version of the album and the album Leave Ruins, both NYOP.
Oskar Halbert is the guy with the amazing album 1123581321345589 from 2009 (on Zymogen Netlabel)
Free download and quite a few more albums which I have not checked out yet
Both eps are free and HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Additional Musicians:
Aur
Thanks.
- "Recent world events have done much to emphasise differences between the three Abrahamic world religions Judaism, Christianity and Islam. In contrast, this work is constructed around unifying aspects of these three religious traditions. Alongside the doctrine of monotheism (that there is only one God) and the importance of worship and remembrance of God, it draws inspiration from the role and meaning of angels as glorifiers of God and as Gods messengers.
Using recordings of choristers at Ely Cathedral singing declarations of praise (selected from the Old and New Testaments and Quran), the piece gradually permeates through the cathedrals acoustic to evoke the idea of an angelic presence. Over a twenty minute period singing fills the cathedral through eight loud-speakers placed along the length of the nave. The layering and treatment of the material subtly evolves to form an ethereal but dense musical-angelic web of sound. Although contemporary in its mode of realisation, it is intended as a contemplative and sacred work.
The experience of this piece is to do with questioning ideas of reality and how awareness acts as a filter to understanding. Its clear that conditioning and life experiences shape an individuals views, opinions and knowledge; extending this idea, its easy to argue that there may be realities that our accepted everyday consciousness has become blind to. Of course, a powerful example of this and with which this piece concerns itself, is the realm of angelic activity that forms a central tenet of the Abrahamic religions.
Angels are the unseen glorifiers, mediators and messengers behind every created thing; they bring forth the revelation of Gods signs and the illumination of reality. As if for a moment, a temporary cleft appears in our inability to perceive this world of activity: to encounter the beauty and warm light of angelic illumination and to have raised in us that unique state of consciousness to see what is . The name lumen naturae makes the suggestion that in the soft radiance of natural light (in contrast to the consuming intensity of direct sunlight) there exists a reminder of this particular kind of enlightenment and awakening; an aspect of the spiritual journey that can be understood through the role and meaning of angels."
- http://matthewsansom.com/2004/10/01/lumen-naturae-2004/
The Shadows Left Me by Glowhouse
Slowcore with excellent production from lowercase noises. Highly Recommended. Free/NYOP
To Gain Is To FX Send sampler from Muchausen Sound. I have only just begun to explore this 202 minute sampler, the label tags are "dark noise ambient death industrial experimental harsh noise isolationist minimalism nim no-input feedback no-input mixer." Might appeal to people around here.
The Blue Indian Compilation Vol. 1. I found this looking for Aaron Roche on Bandcamp, he has one song on this volume. There are four volumes in all, so collect them all.
NOW Ensemble - NOW
- "NOW Ensemble has been a prominent member of the New York City indie classical scene for more than four years. With an idiosyncratic instrumenation of flute, clarinet, electric guitar, double bass, and piano, NOW is synonymous with its unique sound, blending five instruments into one virtuosic band. For its long-awaited debut album, the group chose 7 pieces from its core repertoire, a body of work that is helping to redefine chamber music for the 21st century.
NOW consists of two pieces by Judd Greenstein and one by Patrick Burke, both of whom serve as the ensembles artistic co-directors, two pieces by the ensembles guitarist Mark Dancigers, and one by Nico Muhly. Each of the pieces have received individual praise by a variety of sources. Greensteins Folk Music and Sing Along have been described respectively as the albums wistful and passionate bookends (Time Out New York), and the former pieces melancholy flute line, above bobbing piano chords is listed as one of the discs highlights. (Time Out Chicago). Time Out Chicago also described Muhlys How About Now as having a poppish sensibility but taking a crack team of player to pull off easy. Burkes All Together Now has been said to artfully emphasize the sense of balance and discipline among the ensembles players (All Music), and Dancigers music for NOW Ensemble has been praised by the New York Times as unabashedly rock influenced.
The album has been praised most for its combination of the formal elegance of chamber music with a pop-honed concision and rhythmic vitality (TONY) which is manifest in all of the ensembles commissions and performances. The albums repertoire was described as plenty deep enough to be dredged on multiple passes without crawling up inside its head so far it misplaces the soul (The Washington Post), and received five-star reviews from Time Out New York and Chicago."
- New Amsterdam Records - 2008
Additionally this led me to the actual Lightning Bolt bandcamp page which has a couple NYOP home recordings.
Marco Lucchi - The Golden Eternity
- "I was smelling flowers in the yard, and when I stood up I took a deep breath and the blood all rushed to my brain and I woke up dead on my back in the grass. I had apparently fainted, or died, for about sixty seconds. My neighbor saw me but he thought I had just suddenly thrown myself on the grass to enjoy the sun. During that timeless moment of unconsciousness I saw the golden eternity. I saw heaven. In it nothing had ever happened, the events of a million years ago were just as phantom and ungraspable as the events of now, or the events of the next ten minutes. It was perfect, the golden solitude, the golden emptiness, Something-Or- Other, something surely humble. There was a rapturous ring of silence abiding perfectly. There was no question of being alive or not being alive, of likes and dislikes, of near or far, no question of giving or gratitude, no question of mercy or judgment, or of suffering or its opposite or anything. It was the womb itself, aloneness, alaya vijnana the universal store, the Great Free Treasure, the Great Victory, infinite completion, the joyful mysterious essence of Arrangement. It seemed like one smiling smile, one adorable adoration, one gracious and adorable charity, everlasting safety, refreshing afternoon, roses, infinite brilliant immaterial gold ash, the Golden Age. The "golden" came from the sun in my eyelids, and the "eternity" from my sudden instant realization as I woke up that I had just been where it all came from and where it was all returning, the everlasting So, and so never coming or going; therefore I call it the golden eternity but you can call it anything you want. As I regained consciousness I felt so sorry I had a body and a mind suddenly realizing I didn't even have a body and a mind and nothing had ever happened and everything is alright forever and forever and forever, O thank you thank you thank you."
- Marco Lucchi.
A live recording by CSM for all you 30 somethings, brings back great memories NYOP
- However:
- Track 2, STCOTHOTS, is a most brilliant coverversion of Pink Floyd's "Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun"
Gosia Winter and Barry Chabala - Ananke
Steve Beresford Toys, Low Grade Electronics, Sampler, Effects
Anna Homler Vocals, Toys, Objects
Richard Sanderson Toys, Effects, Sampler, Accordion
- "The trio of Californian experimental vocalist Anna Homler and British free improvisers Steve Beresford and Richard Sanderson first met at the Copenhagen Festival of Experimental Music in 1999 in a concert of Toys n Noise put together by the toy player Martin Klapper. They have continued to play together whenever possible and have played at the London Musicians Collective International Festival of Experimental Music at Londons South Bank and at a concert in Liverpool broadcast on BBC Radio 3s Mixing It programme."
- "The melodeon is a curious instrument for free improvisation, its determinedly tonal, each button plays two different notes depending on whether the bellows are being pulled or pushed, and its a bugger to amplify. That said it also has its likeable quirks- the clattery keys, the way the notes beat against themselves, and it has a nice noisy air button.
Id been planning a solo melodeon album for a while, and these recordings capture my three main approaches. Some tracks are entirely acoustic, albeit with occasional additions like bells, a music box mechanism and a dictaphone. On others the melodeon is fed live through computer software (Audiomulch), radically altering the sound. The remaining tracks use the set up I employ for live performances with foot-pedals and amplification."
- Richard Sanderson, May 2011
- "Richard Sanderson is an improvising musician based in London, he has recorded with the groups Ticklish (with Phil Durrant, Kev Hopper and Rob Flint), Minnow (with Kelsey Michael, John Edwards, Mark Sanders, Gail Brand and others) and in duos with Mark Spybey and Steve Beresford. He has recorded for several labels including Grob, Textile, Qbico, Lens and Duophonic. He has performed at festivals of experimental music in London, Austria, Denmark, France, Germany and Holland.
He also dances and plays with Blackheath Morris Men.
He is the curator of Linear Obsessional Recordings."