The First Tuesday of every month we spotlight a classic progressive rock album from the 1970s in the first half of the show.
This week we are featuring Emerson, Lake, & Palmer's classic 1971 release: Tarkus
Tarkus is the second studio album by English progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, released on 14 June 1971 on Island Records.
Following their debut tour across Europe during the second half of
1970, the group paused touring commitments in January 1971 to record a
new album at Advision Studios in London. Greg Lake produced the album with Eddy Offord as engineer.
Side one features the 20-minute conceptual title track written by keyboardist Keith Emerson,
the opening of which created friction between Lake and himself that
almost split the group, but Lake agreed to pursue it and contributed
musical ideas for it and wrote the lyrics. Side two features a
collection of unrelated tracks of different styles. The artwork was
designed by William Neal.
Tarkus went to number one on the UK Albums Chart,
becoming the only album by the band to do so. It was a top 10 album
worldwide, including the US, where it peaked at number 9. The album
reached gold certification in the UK and US, the latter for 500,000
copies sold. It has been reissued and remastered several times,
including a new stereo and 5.1 surround sound edition by Steven Wilson, with bonus and previously unreleased tracks from the original sessions, released in 2012.
You will be hearing the 2012 Steven Wilson stereo mix tonight.
So pleased to announce that next to give us their interpretation of
quiet details is the supremely talented multi-instrumentalist, Andy
Cartwright, here as his widely-loved alias, Seabuckthorn.
Exploring
all manner of experimental techniques and genres, Seabuckthorn has a
string of wonderful releases, on top-tier labels such as LAAPS/IIKKI,
Eilean Rec, Fluid Audio, Lost Tribe Sound and more. This, combined
with regular international live shows and music for film, art shows and
other media, makes him stand out as one of the most intriguing and
forward-thinking artists of recent years.
With ‘this warm, this late’ he’s taken all this experience and deep understanding of music to create something truly stunning. Working
with double bassist and trombonist Phil Cassel, he’s crafted an album
that stands unique in the quiet details series - extended guitar
techniques and incredible melodic intuition leading to twelve tracks
that traverse emotions in the most beautiful way.
The playing is
virtuosic while retaining so much soul and feeling it’s both a
breathtaking and hypnotic listen - delicate tones mix with sounds that
are pushed to the edge of gorgeous harmonic distortion, guitars mixed
with Andy’s ukulele, banjo, clarinet and field recordings - affected and
processed into what could well be felt as transcendental experience. Phil’s
double bass and brass complements it perfectly - two musicians clearly
in lock-step with each other - responding and improvising sections to
become something that’s far more than the sum of its parts. Deep
drones and distant, hard to recognise shadows appear and dissolve as we
move through the album - the first time I heard this I was immediately
in love - hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
The artwork was made
as always influenced by the music and idea behind the album - this time
originating from a picture Andy sent over, which was then captured with
analogue photography and processed here at quiet details studios. I
dearly love this one - a wonderful juxtaposition to some of our other
releases.
A very special album in every regard - huge thanks to Seabuckthorn for everything.
As usual, the album is presented on the physical edition, a custom 6-panel digipack with a separate fine art print too. The CD also has a special long-form continuous mix of the album, representing the music in its purest form.
Recorded and mixed at Studio Kaktus, Jawa Barat, Indonesia 2024
Produced and mastered by Pete Swinton 2024
Photo by Yani Vandenbranden on Unsplash
Tinting and graphic design by Pete Swinton
Copyright 2024 Pete Swinton
All Rights Reserved Pete Swinton 2024
Pete Swinton is a half Hungarian, half Polish man born in London, UK in 1961. Since 2015 he has lived in Jawa, Indonesia. He
began
playing guitar in the '70s. He started playing keyboards in the 2000s.
He makes Ambient and Experimental music. And a cross between the 2 which
he calls Insanbient music. He likes cats and motorbikes.
FreeForm Radio thanks Raffaele Pezzella, The Tapes, Puppy Bordigo, and Low Communication for providing us with copies of their releases for tonight's program.
Alrune Rod is probably one of the most important
Danish rock bands from the psychedelic era, and along with STEPPEULVENE,
generally considered the epitome of Danish psychedelic rock and the
Danish counterculture movement of the1960s and 1970s in general.
Alrune
Rod, colloquially referred to as 'Alrunen', were formed in 1968 by Leif
Roden and are considered to be the pioneers in Danish psychedelic and
artistically oriented rock music, along with acts like BURNIN' RED
IVANHOE , STEPPEULVENE, CULPEPPER'S ORCHARD, BLUE SUN and ACHE. Alrune
Rod debuted with the single 'Tæl Aldrig I Morgen Med' in 1968 and the
full length studio album 'Alrunes Rod' in 1969, followed by the highly
acclaimed 'Hej Du' in 1970 and 'Alrune Rock' in 1971, which was released
in a Danish language version and an English language version. The
remaining three albums 'Spredt For Vinden' from 1972, '4-vejs' from
1974, and 'Tatuba Tapes' from 1975 are generally considered sub par
compared to their earlier releases. Nonetheless, 'Tatuba Tapes' is
notable for being recorded live in the studio.
Their musical
style is often described as a hybrid between THE GRATEFUL DEAD and early
PINK FLOYD. They initially composed fairly long songs, typically of 10
to 13 minutes of length which blended the heaviness of the blues rock
with the complexity of art rock, some of their compositions bordering on
bein symphonic. 'Hej Du' is considered their masterpiece with
compositions like hard rocking 'Du Taler Og Siger' and the almost
twenty-two minutes long 'Perlesøen'. While their early efforts are
characterized by a relatively dark atmosphere, their post-'Hej Du'
albums contain shorter, livelier and more accessible tunes, which
nonetheless retain several progressive elements. Lyrically, Alrune Rod
dealt with complex topics like the human psyche as well as society and
politics but were not above addressing more trivial topics like love and
rock 'n' roll rebellion.
While not having released any studio
album since the mid 1970s, Alrune Rod still occasionally perform live
shows at typically packed and sold out venues.
From the artist:
"I draw inspiration for my music mainly from my life. These are the
moments that I have experienced, felt and which allowed me not to lose
heart, but to live on. Each track is a presentation of a diverse stream
of my thoughts. Some of them are metaphorical and some are real. For
example, I don't like "Ignorance", so I made this track as gloomy as
possible, but the track "Just Another Day" is already a more major
version, it gives hope for what will happen tomorrow. Also everyone can
interpret the composition "Rainbow Swing" as they want, although it has a
syncopation that is inherent in jazz music, but it can also be a swing
on which children have fun."
"To write music, I use only Ableton for arrangement, vst plugins, midi
keyboard and Studio One for mixing. Very rarely, when I have a clear
vision of my future work, I usually sit down, open a certain digital
synthesizer and start turning the knobs until an interesting sound
appears, then I start from there and try to create a full-fledged
composition. Most of all, I like strings, for them I use vst's k1 and
halion. Also, most of the tracks are recorded using FM8 and Novation
V-Station, Jup-8, Mini, CS-80 (the last three are from Arturia)."
credits
released March 18, 2024
All music written and composed by Bohdan Linchevskiy, aka Low Communication.
Cover with original painting by Marina Harkavenko.
Something new with my friends Marco, Daniel and Wilfired. A kind of continuity of the previous album.
After almost ten months, we finally found our way to be again active in
the music world. This new album as the previous one, is a sort of
reflection about life out of the grid, and some other ideas.
Thanks Marco, Wlifried, Daniel and Scarlett for joining this adventure.
Also thanks to our friends and family, and everyone involved.
credits
released November 3, 2023
All music by Puppy Bordiga, except tracks 3, 6 and 7 as indicated on the tracks.
Puppy Bordiga: Guitars, Keyboards, Samples.
Marco Lucchi: Keyboards
Daniel Fumega: Guitar, Samples
Wilfried Hanrath & I, Eternal: Band
Scarlett Chapman: Muted Voice on tracks 1 and 6
Mixed and Mastered at Enterprise Sounds Lab, B.A., Argentina
Image by Tiny Catskill Cabin on FB.
The
project "The Tapes" by Giancarlo Drago developed over a span of 10
years, between 1982 and 1992, before being revived in 2016 in Genoa,
Italy. In 1982, Drago was 16 years old and recorded his first tape using
toy instruments and creating loops with cassettes, influenced by
industrial and new wave music. During that time, a friend gave him a
self-built analogue echo unit that produced an incredible background
noise, which would become a hallmark of many compositions, along with
the radio that Drago constantly used as a sound source in the years to
come. Later, Drago incorporated analogue instruments such as the Korg
MS-20, the Roland SH-101, a Roland TR-707 drum machine, and the Casio
SK-1, which introduced him to sampling (which he would extensively use
in his future productions), along with a Tascam 4-track for recording.
Chance and error as a form of art are recurring themes in The Tapes'
work. "The screeching of a car outside, my mother passing by, while I'm
recording, and talking to me. I manipulate the sounds and keep
everything." (author's quote)
The production of The Tapes during the 1980s was extensive, even though
only a few things were actually published. One tape for Technological
Feeling of F:A.R. in Savona, a tape for
Minus Habens by Ivan Iusco, a track on the vinyl "Amen 8" by the Amen
collective in Milan, and other tracks on compilations associated with
fanzines of the time.
In the final years of the decade, Giancarlo's brother, Roberto, joined
The Tapes project, merging his artistic identity with Giancarlo's.
Compositions from 1989 onwards were recorded on an 8-track reel-to-reel
recorder and using a "real" sampler. The best production from that
period came together on the tape "Il tempio," revised and corrected over
time, and reissued by Luce Sia in 2017 with the title "Time Out of
Joint."
"A Touch of Despair" dates back to 1986. It was recorded live on a
standard 2-track cassette recorder, using a 4-channel Fostex mixer, the
infamous echo unit, a Korg MS-20, and toy instruments like a plastic
trumpet. It is undoubtedly the darkest and most industrial work in The
Tapes' production. The cover features a photo of what the musician saw
from his bedroom window (where he recorded): the rooftops of industrial
factories, with a distant steel mill emitting smoke. Immersed in the
music and industrial culture of the time (Throbbing Gristle, Cabaret
Voltaire, W.S. Burroughs, J.G. Ballard, W. Gibson, B. Sterling, P.K.
Dick), "A Touch of Despair" represents one of the brightest examples of
the Italian "tape culture" of the 1980s, as well as a significant
testament to creating music that defies the passage of time by
experimenting with extremely limited technical means and relying on
passion, motivation, and creativity. Reissued on CD in collaboration
between the Unexplained Sounds Group and Luce Sia, with mastering by
Raffaele Pezzella, the cd features three additional unreleased tracks
from the same period when the tracks of "A Touch of Despair" were
composed, providing valuable material for enthusiasts of the genre.
The two lengthy tracks of "A Touch of Despair" were recorded nearly
forty years ago, yet they have a contemporary feeling as if they were
produced yesterday. The music of The Tapes serves as an ideal soundtrack
for my darkest and most solitary nocturnal reflections.
Raffaele Pezzella
Vitaly Weekly
The music uses a primitive setup of a four-channel mixer, a self-built
analogue echo unit, a Korg MS20 and toy instruments, all going into a
two-track tape. Perhaps a limited setup but with some excellent results,
efficiently meeting with the best of that time. This could be an early
example of what we later would call ambient industrial.
www.vitalweekly.net/number-1425
This is Darkness
A Touch of Despair was recorded in 1986, on a standard 2-track cassette
recorder, using a 4-channel Fostex mixer (the infamous “echo unit”), a
Korg MS-20, and toy instruments. The album has now been remastered and
re-released, and is well worth checking out – the music may be almost 40
years old, but it sounds as fresh and exciting as anything being
released today, with it’s analogue tones and strange other-worldliness
creating a haunting listening experience that is deep and multi-layered
and dream-like in nature. Absolutely stunning!
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The music you hear on tonight's show is available on the artists' Bandcamp pages and websites. (links below)
We urge you to support the musicians you hear on FreeForm Radio.
This week I am also hosting the Rural Electric (Mostly) Country show from 7-9 pm, this week featuring Kacey Musgraves' new release: Deeper Well. Spotify playlist here.
Find playlists for my shows on Spotify by searching "FreeForm Radio".
Progressive Art Rock luminaries The Pineapple Thief return with new album ‘It Leads To This’ out February 9th on Kscope.
The Pineapple Thief revel in opposing forces. Muscle and fragility.
Chaos and precision. Distorted introspection and warm, dreamlike
expanse. Conceived in 1999 by Bruce Soord, the progressive quartet
underwent a rebirth in 2017 with the arrival of Gavin Harrison (King
Crimson, Porcupine Tree) on drums. Completed by bassist Jon Sykes and
keyboardist Steve Kitch, they’ve honed a lean yet lush, quietly timeless
sound that soars on It Leads To This.
The Pineapple Thief had the following to say regarding the new single:
“We worked on these new songs for nearly 3 years. It was the most
intense time I can remember within The Pineapple Thief. Personally I
was being pushed well beyond my known limits, which is great from an
artistic perspective but also very very challenging from a personal
perspective.
Bruce continues:
Conceptually ‘It Leads To This’ continues my desire to observe
and (try to) make sense of life and the world around me. It’s all there
in the lyrics.
The initial concept for the songs came together very quickly but
the final lyrical and musical elements took a huge amount of work to
piece together between the four of us, at least to a point where we were
all satisfied. After so long in the business, being ‘satisfied’ is
constantly being pushed further, constantly redefined. That’s the thing,
we just kept pushing…”
To coincide with their formidable return, the band reveal a
beautifully shot, compelling video for the first chapter of ‘It Leads To
This’ in the form of ‘The Frost’. The video for the new single shot by
Jeremy George brings the vibrant landscape of Iceland to life in the
post-apocalyptic world pictured on the cover.
It all feeds into It Leads To This. Comprising eight
fat-free epics – all about five minutes long, mixing rock urgency with
delicate atmospherics, pensive keys and captivating melodies – it finds
Soord looking back and fearing for the world his children will inherit.
His lyrics also drew from literature: accounts of Ancient Rome, John
Williams’ classic Stoner and epistolary Augustus. All
conveyed through Soord’s fragile yet penetrative tenor, nodding to
storytellers like Nick Drake, Thom Yorke and Katatonia’s Jonas Renkse.
In a way, that’s The Pineapple Thief all over. Idiosyncratic but
relatable. Devastating and life-affirming, in the same breath. Not
married to a single genre, just melody served by tones and textures.
Music that only the four of them could make.
It Leads To This will be available in a multitude of formats that are as follows:
Limited Edition Deluxe 4 Disc set featuring: DISC 1: CD Album DISC 2: Bonus CD ‘Y Aqui Estamos’ – Alternate Versions DISC
3: Blu-ray – It Leads To This + bonus album “Y Aqui Estamos”
(reworkings of album session recordings): Dolby Atmos-DTS-HD MA
5.1-24/48 PCM Stereo mixes created by Bruce Soord DISC 4: DVD – It Leads to This and Y Aqui Estamos: DTS 5.1-24/48 PCM Stereo 52 page book
Limited edition brick red vinyl LP (exclusive to The Pineapple Thief and Kscope stores) Limited edition green vinyl LP (exclusive to worldwide independent record shops) Limited edition cream vinyl LP (exclusive to Germany & Austria)
Blu Ray – Includes “It Leads To This” and bonus album “Y Aqui
Estamos” . All in hi-res dolby atmos, dts-hd 5.1 and stereo created by
Bruce Soord
The next release in the quiet details series has been created by two
of the most well-respected artists currently in modern ambient and
experimental music, Ian Hawgood and James Murray, here as Slow Reels.
Ian
is one of the people behind the legendary label Home Normal, plus has a
vast discography of releases under his own name and in collaborations. A
masterful exponent of magnetic tape, synthesisers and electro-acoustics
- Ian is loved across the musical world for his deeply thoughtful
production and curation. James runs the wonderful
Slowcraft label, another fantastic outlet for some of the best
ambient-leaning music around. His own productions are also of the
highest calibre, exploring analogue and digital techniques to
breath-taking effect. Also working on film scores and more, James is an
artist with many talents.
Together
they complement each other perfectly, as shown by the previous two Slow
Reels releases - Farewell Islands (Morr Music) and Sustain (Fluid Audio). This is continued in stunning fashion here, they have made something quite wonderful with their latest album, Everyday Exotic.
Bringing
all their melodic and textural sensibilities, they have created an
album that’s full of beautiful and deeply moving moments, always
evolving yet giving you enough time to fully immerse yourself in the
harmonic wonder and the vast open spaces only artists of their skill and
experience can achieve.
Piano,
electro-acoustics and field recordings meet incredibly creative
synth-work and granular processing, creating a peerless marriage of
layers and textures - you can feel the respect and affection these
artists have for each other coming through every element - some
collaborations just work and this is easily one of my most loved.
Each
track moves gently and seamlessly into the next, the pacing and range
of emotions are again a sign of musicians with full command of not only
their tools, but also the human feeling behind what they are aiming to
express.
To me, this is as close to sonic bliss as you can get, it’s my great honour to share it with you.
The
artwork was made as always influenced by the music and idea behind the
album - this time originating from a picture of James’ beautiful
cockatiel friend Coco, which was then captured with analogue photography
and processed here at quiet details studios.
As usual, the album is presented on the physical edition, a custom 6-panel digipack with a separate fine art print too. The CD also has a special long-form continuous mix of the album, representing the music in its purest form. Find it here on Bandcamp.
Our thanks to Alex at quiet details with providing us with a copy of this release to share with our listeners.
Among
the musicians I have appreciated the most in recent years, a special
place is undoubtedly reserved for Lars Bröndum and David Lee Myers. From
2015 onwards, I had the pleasure of playing their songs on the radio
transmission The Recognition Test frequently, and inviting them to
participate in numerous compilations published by the Unexplained Sounds
network. Over time, I realized that, albeit in different ways and
forms, their music could integrate and complement that of my Sonologyst
project. This led me to the idea of inviting them to collectively
produce tracks. From our exchanges of samples, audio experiments, music
segments, a long piece of over 20 minutes emerged, which I believe
effectively encapsulates how our musical sensibilities complemented each
other. We then added individually composed tracks, resulting in this
album, "Unus Et Trinus," in which the listeners can hear the music of
each of the three participants separately but also the collective piece.
This allows them to get an "almost real-time" idea of how three
different sonic worlds can create a synthesis.
Raffaele Pezzella
credits
released February 29, 2024
Our thanks to Raffele Pezzella (Sonologyst) for providing us with a copy of this release to share with our listeners.
David Lee Myers, hailing from New York City, is an accomplished sound
and visual artist. His journey in sound manipulation began in 1980,
utilizing electronic circuitry of his own design for sound production,
both under his name and as Arcane Device. Since 1987, he has pioneered
"Feedback Music," a distinctive approach that predates the "no-input
mixer" trend by several years. In this genre, audio processors feed off
their own outputs and those of other processors via custom-built matrix
mixers, enabling these devices to create their unique sonic narratives.
More recently, Myers has incorporated modified video circuits to produce
complementary visual presentations during his performances. He has an
extensive discography, with over thirty recordings released by prominent
labels such as Generator, Recommended, Line, Silent, Pogus, RRRecords,
Staalplaat, Monochrome Vision, and more. Notably, he has collaborated
with electronic music pioneer Tod Dockstader, as well as artists like
Gen Ken Montgomery, Thomas Dimuzio, Ellen Band, guitarist Marco
Oppedisano, and Dirk Serries (Vidna Obmana).
Sonologyst is the brainchild of Italian producer Raffaele Pezzella,
known for his meticulous exploration of the intersection between music
and contemporary mythologies. Sonologyst's sonic landscape spans from
Fortean documentary-style soundscapes to the creation of post-industrial
auditory experiences. He fuses various technologies, including analog
machines, software, and, more recently, AI, drawing inspiration from the
early electronic music pioneers. Since 2014, Pezzella has curated
Unexplained Sounds, a 'Global Network of Aural Disorientation.' Under
this umbrella, Unexplained Sounds Group was founded in 2015, now
encompassing subsidiary labels like Eighth Tower Records, ZeroK, and
Reverse Alignment. Pezzella is also a publisher of books and hosts a
streaming radio program titled 'The Recognition Test.' Sonologyst's
works have been published by various labels, including Cold Spring
Records, Unexplained Sounds Group, Eighth Tower Records, Gravity's
Rainbow Tapes, and Attenuation Circuit.
Lars Bröndum, PhD, is a versatile artist, serving as a composer, live
electronics performer, theorist, and guitarist. His compositions have
graced international stages in countries such as Sweden, Japan, Germany,
Scotland, Lithuania, Russia, Latvia, England, USA, Spain, and Mexico.
They have also found their way onto the airwaves, being broadcast on
radio and webradio in Germany, England, Italy, Sweden, and the USA. Lars
Bröndum's music is a captivating exploration of the interplay between
acoustic and electronic instruments, residing on the boundary between
structured compositions and spontaneous improvisation. His works are
characterized by cyclic processes, irregular ostinatos, fragmented
gestures, and microtonal clusters. Bröndum is actively involved in the
electroacoustic music scene, notably at EMS (Electroacoustic Music in
Sweden), and he has held positions on the boards of Fylkingen (a society
for new music and intermedia art), SEAMS (Society of Electroacoustic
Music in Sweden), and VEMS (Composers at EMS) from 2007 to 2008. He has
also contributed as a board member to the Swedish Section of ICEM
(International Confederation for Electronic Music). Bröndum often
composes for and collaborates with ensembles such as ReSurge, ExSurge,
AGAIG, and Spiral Cycle. He is a key figure in projects like the
"Ensemble SFW" and maintains a duo partnership with Sten-Olof Hellstrom.
His dedication to the craft has earned him composer grants from
Konstnärsnämnden (Swedish Art Council), STIM (Swedish Performing Rights
Society), and accolades from FST (Swedish Composer's Society). Moreover,
Lars Bröndum is the founder of the independent record label Antennae
Media.
Midway through Steve Hackett’s dazzling new album, “The Circus and
the Nightwhale,” the legendary ex-Genesis guitarist delivers a
three-part musical suite that perfectly demonstrates that, at 74, he is
still at the top of his game, challenging himself and his fans by
breaking new ground.
The trilogy opens with, “Found and Lost,” a spare classical-guitar
piece that evolves into a cabaret-style jazz ballad about fleeting first
love. The track would have fit nicely on any 1950s-era Blue Note
standards album, replete with muffled trumpet strains and a smoldering
vocal from Hackett that would give Mel “The Velvet Fog” Torme a run for
his money. This shotgun marriage of nylon-string guitar and smoky film
noir ambience leads directly to a shimmering 12-string/piano-driven
piece, “Enter the Ring,” overlaid with lush vocal harmonies that call to
mind the Genesis classic, “Entangled” (co-written by Hackett and Tony
Banks in the mid-1970s). From here, the track builds in intensity to
become a prog-rock workout, featuring shifting time signatures and dirty
hummed-through flute lines that echo Ian Anderson. And if that isn’t
sufficiently wide ranging, this rocky break gives way to a lysergic
mashup of quirky circus themes and Brahmsian orchestral-rock that sets
up the heaviest tune on the album, “Get Me Out,” helmed by Hackett’s
scorching sustain-on-steroids electric fretwork.
The result is an astonishing tour-de-force that takes your breath
away. What is most remarkable, however, is not just how well Hackett
merges these disparate genres, but the way each piece leads seamlessly
to the next, without sounding forced or contrived.
This quality of Hackett’s music — the musical derring-do and ease with
which he stitches together contrasting musical styles — is what sets him
apart. It’s also what makes his new album as strong as anything Hackett
has produced over the past 55 years, inside and outside of his former
main musical squeeze, Genesis.
Lyrically, “The Circus and the Nightwhale” is a rite-of-passage
concept album built around the surrealistic adventures of a young
character named Travla (get it?) that Hackett acknowledges is
semi-autobiographical. On the surface, the premise might sound familiar;
the record comes 50 years after the release of the mother of all
prog-rock concept albums, “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway,” the 1974
Genesis double album that many fans consider the band’s finest studio
effort (with Hackett launching a “Genesis Revisited” tour later this
year that will feature highlights from the landmark record, as well as
selections from his solo career).
But musically, the 13 tracks on the “The Circus and the Nightwhale”
are more eclectic than anything Hackett and his Genesis mates ever
produced back in the day. The album combines quiet ballads, acoustic
etudes, jazz fusion, blues, high-energy prog, symphonic and theatrical
rock, and even world-beat music in a mix that is cinematic in sweep and
scope (exemplifying what Hackett calls “films for the ear”).
The album, which arrives nearly more than two years after Hackett’s
last release, “Surrender of Silence,” features what has become his main
touring band: Roger King (keyboards, programming and orchestral
arrangements), Rob Townsend (sax), Jonas Reingold (bass), Nad Sylvan
(vocals), Craig Blundell (drums), Amanda Lehmann on vocals and John
Hackett (Steve’s brother) on flute. A few guesting musicians also lend a
hand (or two): Nick D’Virgilio and Hugo Degenhardt on drums, engineer
Benedict Fenner on keyboards and Malik Mansurov on Middle Eastern tar, a
long-necked sitar-like lute native to the Middle East. But the engine
that drives this train, as ever, is Hackett, whose compositional vision
is matched by his stellar work on electric and acoustic guitars,
12-string, mandolin, harmonica, percussion, bass and lead vocals.
The album opens with the propulsive “People of The Smoke,” a sweeping
cinematic mini epic that conjures up the post-war London of Hackett’s
childhood. Vintage 1950s-era radio station cut-ins, a baby’s cries, a
woman’s voice (asking: “Are you sitting comfortably?”) and the sounds of
a steam-train engine gaining speed introduce the listener to the
musical journey that follows. Hackett’s vocals here and elsewhere are
strong and more confident than ever. While more limited in range than,
say, Sylvan’s (who can go from a velvety baritone to sky-scaping
falsetto in a flash), Hackett’s vocal style is theatrical, affecting and
well-suited to the music and narrative throughout the album.
Next up is “These Passing Clouds,” a rocky 90-second instrumental
propelled by Hackett’s emotive electric guitar lines. It sets up “Taking
You Down,” a darkly sardonic story-song about an unscrupulous childhood
friend that showcases a haunting vocal from Sylvan and a wild wailing
sax solo from Townsend.
The three-song triptych — “Found and Lost/Enter the Ring/Get Me Out” —
follows, before we’re treated to the most Genesis-like track on the
album, “Ghost Moon and Living Love,” a lovely ballad featuring a
celestial-choir intro delivered by Amanda Lehman. The opening melody,
which Hackett says came to him in a fever dream, is a heavenly
mini-oratorio that would fit neatly alongside Handel’s “Messiah.” It’s a
heady introduction the mid-tempo rocker to come.
It’s followed by “Circo Inferno,” a fiery prog-metal rocker that
opens with a frenzied melody from Mansurov plucked on Middle Eastern tar
that builds steadily into a wild wall of sound that blows in like a
musical scirocco. Two brief but intense instrumentals are next —
“Breakout,” carried along by a relentlessly propulsive drum line from —
and “All at Sea,” featuring a Hackett solo guitar line that approximates
whale calls.
These short interludes set up another three-song cycle that closes
out the album. The first in the series, “Into the Nightwhale,” explores
the challenges of confronting personal demons and the transformational
power of love. The song, which is the proggiest on the album, builds to a
noisy climax that ultimately gives way to a lush Yes-like
ambient-nature soundscape that echoes the opening strains of “Close to
the Edge,” as Hackett intones: “Visions of love beyond word…I’ll be
there when the darkness surrounds you.”
It’s followed by “Wherever You Are,” an unabashedly romantic love
song that ranks among Hackett’s finest works. But it also features
lyrics that read like a declaration of musical purpose for the legendary
guitarist: “What are we living for, why do we strive? Can a song travel
to the ends of the Earth?” Finally, Hackett ends the album with the
gorgeous “White Dove,” another solo classical guitar piece that plays
like a musical sequel to his Bach-like etude, “Horizons,” from the 1972
Genesis classic “Foxtrot.”
In interviews, Hackett has made no secret of the autobiographical
nature of album — his 30th as a solo artist and easily one of his top
five (in this writer’s opinion). Consequently, it seems only fitting to
give him the final word here:
“I love this album. It says the things I’ve been wanting to say for a
very long time,” he says, adding: “It’s a lovely journey that starts
dirty, scratchy and smoky and becomes heavenly and divine. How can you
resist it?”
Recorded between Hackett’s “Genesis Revisited” tours in 2022 and 2023
at Siren studio in the U.K. – with guest parts coming in from Sweden,
Austria, the U.S., Azerbaijan and Denmark — the new album is available
in several different formats. Among them: A limited-edition CD/Blu-ray
media book (including 5.1 surround sound and 24-bit high resolution
stereo mixes), standard CD jewel case, gatefold 180g vinyl LP and as
digital album.
Released on February 16th 2024, via InsideOut Music.
1. People of the Smoke (4:51)
2. These Passing Clouds (1:34)
3. Taking You Down (4:17)
4. Found and Lost (1:50)
5. Enter the Ring (3:52)
6. Get Me Out (4:15)
7. Ghost Moon and Living Love (6:43)
8. Circo Inferno (2:30)
9. Breakout (1:37)
10. All at Sea (1:46)
11. Into the Nightwhale (4:06)
12. Wherever You Are (4:18)
13. White Dove (3:13)
Total Time 44:52
Line-up / Musicians
– Steve Hackett / electric and acoustic guitars, 12-string, mandolin, harmonica, percussion, bass, vocals
Roger King / keyboards, programming, orchestral arrangements
Rob Townsend / saxophone
Jonas Reingold / bass
Nad Sylvan (Agents of Mercy, Unifaun) / vocals
Amanda Lehmann / vocals
Benedict Fenner / keyboards
John Hackett / flute
Malik Mansurov / tar
Craig Blundell / drums
Hugo Degenhardt / drums
Nick D’Virgilio / drums
This
new release from synthesist Dave Bessell sees him completing a quartet
of albums loosely based on the Greek philosophy of the Four Elements,
namely Fire, Water, Earth and Air. There’s certainly no doubting that
“Chromatic Lightning Cage” with its vivid cover is referencing Fire but
this personal odyssey started with the concept of Water on his inaugural
solo album, “Analogue” released in 2010. This was followed by “Black
Horses Of The Sun” (DiN47) - Air, and “Reality Engine” (DiN62) - Earth.
Bessell has also released two collaborations with Parallel Worlds on the
DiN imprint as well as being part of the synth supergroup Node. It is
interesting that whilst the Berlin School inspired sequencer riffs of
the latter dominate the soundstage Bessell largely eschews this approach
on his own albums. Rather on this and his other DiN solo releases he
explores interesting harmonic progressions with a series of interlocking
delicate arpeggios. This is most evident on the opening track “After
Hours” as well as the beautiful closing piece “Elegy”. Elsewhere Bessell
blurs the line between guitar and synth using his stringed instruments
as controllers for his modular systems. His music has always had an
element of the soundtrack to it and this is certainly highlighted in the
track “Ariel” which has a
mystical, unearthly quality to its soundscapes. Bessell has noted that
the ghosts of Amon Tobin and Nils Frahm wander through this album at
times which is certainly an intriguing thought.
Always one to push the boundaries Bessell has included a QR code in the
Bandcamp download version of the album that opens up an augmented
reality vista from the cover image. Lovers of Electronica, Downtempo,
Ambient and Soundtracks will find much to admire in “Chromatic Lightning
Cage” and this new album once again showcases the unique talent of this
highly individual musician.
credits
Our thanks to Ian Boddy for providing us with a copy of this release.
releases March 15, 2024
All tracks composed and played by Dave Bessell.
Augmented Reality layer for the CD cover image created by Tanya Krzywinska.
"Lavrador"
is a Portuguese term signifying peasant, plowman, or cultivator.
Additionally, it is the name of the explorer João Fernandes Lavrador,
associated with Labrador, a continental region in eastern Canada.
Despite having a population of fewer than 30,000 inhabitants over an
expansive area of nearly 300,000 square kilometers, this polar and
subarctic expanse in the North Atlantic captivates with its dreamlike
landscapes, vastness, tranquility, and solitude. Inspired by this
immense terrain and the lives of the solitary peasants and isolated
communities within it, each track on this album seeks to convey the
essence of an ecology simultaneously fragile, merciless, and sublime.
The title track incorporates samples from Kathryn O'Hara's radio
documentary for CBC, titled "The Land God Gave to Cain, A Documentary
Journey Down the Coast of Labrador" (1983).
The album Lavrador aims to evoke a broader sense of being lost — lost in
one's own home, in solitude, amidst work and isolation. It acknowledges
that every region on the planet has its own Lavrador, a place of
profound personal significance and introspection.
credits
Our thanks to Raffaele Pezzella for providing us with a copy of this release.
released January 18, 2024
REVIEWS
This is Darkness:
New from the ever awesome Reverse Alignment label is Lavrador by Richard Bégin – an album inspired by the polar and subarctic expanse of
Labrador, a continental region in eastern Canada. Each track on this
remarkable album “seeks to convey the essence of an ecology
simultaneously fragile, merciless, and sublime” – combining drones,
synths, and field recordings to create deep and textured music that is
quite simply breath-taking. This is is one of those albums that is
stunning from start to finish. Very highly recommended for those who
like a sense of solitude and introspection in their music. Magnificent!
Born in Quebec city, Richard Bégin is a professor of media and film
studies at the University of Montreal and a researcher-creator in art
and sound design. “Phase 5” is the result of his research on disaster as
a medium of perception. Working as much from electronic instruments,
analog sound devices and field recordings, he arranges and combines
sounds in such a way as to generate affects related to memory, loss and
fragmentation. Inspired by both hauntology, the post-apocalyptic
imagination, noise, Frank Zappa and the smell of wet wood, his work is
the sound accompaniment of Paul Valery's phrase: " the future is not
what it used to be".
Greek
synthesist Bakis Sirros who records under the name of Parallel Worlds
has become a familiar name to followers of the DiN label. His debut
release was “Obsessive Surrealism” (DiN26) back in 2007 and since then
he has released two further solo albums, “Shade” (DiN32) and “Plector”
(DiN76), as well as several collaborative albums with different artists
including DiN label boss Ian Boddy & Node guru Dave Bessell.
This fourth sonic journey from Sirros on the DiN imprint sees him
focusing in on his modular synthesiser systems, especially the Eurorack
format with some able support from Buchla. These massive constructed
patches live and breath like a crepuscular organism waking from its
slumber. Indeed “Fragmented” is bookended by two wonderfully deep,
textural tracks appropriately titled “Dawning” and “Sunset”. With the
exception of the organ-like drone soundscape of “Time Flow” the
remaining seven tracks encapsulate everything we have come to expect
from this unique artist, namely dark, menacing bass lines overlaid with
glitchy percussive patterns and beguiling, floating melody lines. It has
certainly be noted before, but is worth reiterating, that there is a
certain John Carpenter like soundtrack quality to the music of Sirros.
Seemingly simplistic they shroud a wealth of detail and beauty that is revealed over repeated listening.
Lovers of Electronica, Dark Techno, Downtempo & IDM will find much
to admire in “Fragmented” and this new album once again showcases the
unique talent of this highly individual musician.
credits
released February 16, 2024
All tracks composed, arranged and produced by Bakis Sirros during 2023.
Mastered by Ian Boddy October 2023.
Thanks to: friends and family, John Sirros, Ian Boddy, Mamonu, Ingo Zobel & Dimitris Pavlidis.
Machines used:
Eurorack modular (including modules by Make Noise, Instruo, Noise
Engineering, Qu-Bit, Endorphin, Doepfer, Verbos, 4ms, Intellijel, Xaoc
devices, Malekko, Mutable Instruments, Synthesis Technology, Rossum,
Erica synths and others)
Analogue Systems RS-Integrator modular
Buchla modular (including 200e modules, 200 and 100 series clone
modules, Verbos, Kilpatrick, Eardrill and Northern Light Modular
modules)
Music by Ian Boddy
Mastered by Alex at quiet details studios
Artwork by quiet details in collaboration with Wendy Carroll
Design by quiet details
For the next interpretation of quiet details, we have a true innovator
active in the music world since the late 70s - the pioneering composer
and sound artist, Ian Boddy.
Since the early days experimenting with synths and tape machines
inspired by the likes of Tangerine Dream, Ian has forged a career at the
leading edge of analogue synthesis, digital sound design and beyond -
recording many solo albums and running the iconic DiN label, bridging
the gap between the early synth records and modern explorations.
He’s also a highly-accomplished live performer - playing all over the world to much acclaim.
With Modal Operandi, he has made a truly wonderful and deeply thoughtful
interpretation - entirely in the analogue domain, with each track based
on a highly- processed field recording.
The album is constructed in the key of C Major, with each successive track moving through the musical modes of that scale - as is apparent in track names - Ionian, Dorian and so on.
Ian is a master synthesist - each track uses a stunning array of classic
and modern synth and effects - from classic Roland and EMS, to Serge
and Eurorack modular, to modern Moog and Buchla to name a few. Vast and
strange worlds are conjured with rich and highly textured synthesis and
by using multiple reverbs and delay, again all analogue to create
organic and beautifully vibrant soundscapes.
Ian is one of few technical geniuses that has the capacity to use these
skills in a uniquely musical way - melodies and harmonies blend
perfectly with each other as each track develops - this is an album of
beauty in every respect.
As Ian says: “a sonic journey in seven musical modes”
Full kit list:
Roland system 100-M, Serge & Eurorack modulars Moog Matriarch & Voyager
Buchla Easel Command, VCS3 & Resonant Garden French Connection & 0-coast
Treated field recordings
Analogue phaser & flanger
BBD & tape echo
Spring reverb
Huge thanks to Ian for this wonderful album and being a part of the series.
The artwork was made as always influenced by the music and idea behind
the album - we started with an original piece of art by Ian’s partner,
Wendy Carroll, a hugely talented artist, which was then captured with
analogue photography and processed here at quiet details studios.
As usual, the album is presented on the physical edition, a custom 6-panel digipack with a separate fine art print too.
The CD also has a special long-form continuous mix of the album, representing the music in its purest form.
Unexplained
Sounds is proud to announce the results of the IDIL Music Award 2024,
award for electronic and electroacoustic music sponsored by Eighth Tower
Magazine and Avant Music News, in collaboration with Raffaele Pezzella,
Mike Borella, Bepi Crespan, DJ Space Terrapin, Brambo Cell,
Ambientblog, The Institute of Spectrasonic-Sonic Sound, The Dungeon In
Deep Space, This Is Darkness, Paul Casey, Dominic Castelli, Ivan Tibos,
Katja Babicz, Maja Maiore.
Winners:
First Place - Richard Bégin
Second Place - Ignoto Militi
Third Place - The Black Monolith
The overall ranking is listed in the compilation published on Bandcamp in descending order.
On behalf of the entire team (musicians, jury, collaborators, and
supporters), we express great satisfaction for six months of selection
work and hope to make a small contribution to the development of
experimental underground music.
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