02 June 2026: Markus Reuter "Blind Architectures"; Ian Boddy & Markus Reuter "Distant Rituals" (Ambient Mix); Variant "While the Universe Sleeps" QD50

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I am also hosting Rural Electric, so tune in for some great country music from 7-9 before FreeForm! 

Blind Architectures - Markus Reuter

These ambient miniatures were born over two days in May 2026, serving as both a sonic laboratory and a foundational exploration for an upcoming recording session. The guiding principle behind these sessions was the creation of atmosphere through intentional obscuration.

By routing the touch guitar through a heavily altered signal chain, incorporating a new array of effects pedals, deliberate distortion, and manipulated noise floors, the goal was to render sonic environments that evoke distinct "rainscapes" and "cityscapes."

The defining methodology of this collection is the "blind" recording process. The initial improvisations and textures were tracked entirely without monitoring, the faders pulled completely down. The act of composition then became an act of excavation. The music only revealed itself in the final stage, pushing the faders up to make the invisible architectures suddenly, and sometimes startlingly, visible.

The resulting pieces are brief, concentrated vignettes, averaging two to three minutes in length, capturing the exact moment a hidden landscape comes into focus.

credits

released May 21, 2026

Recorded: May 18–19, 2026
Instrumentation: 8-string Touch Guitar, Effects, Faders
Player and composer: Markus Reuter

ambient classical experimental modern jazz Berlin

 

 

Distant Rituals (Ambient Mix)

Markus Reuter & Ian Boddy

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1.

Distant Rituals (Ambient Mix) 36:50

about

Remix produced by Ian Boddy in 2025. The album was originally released in 2000. You can find the original album here:
dinrecords.bandcamp.com/album/distant-rituals-din2

credits

released May 21, 2026

 

Variant - While the Universe Sleeps 

For the fiftieth release in the series, Quiet Details is thrilled to share an extended-length interpretation from a foundational figure in the electronic music world, the Detroit-based Stephen Hitchell, here as variant with while the universe sleeps.

 

Describing the importance of Stephen’s contribution to electronic music is a huge task - born out of the visionary axis between Detroit, Chicago and Berlin, he built on structures laid by those before him to create a universe of vast depth and sonic beauty. Along with many collaborators, his label echospace [detroit] became a home for forwarding-thinking dub-spirited music.

This, and numerous releases on other labels, including the seminal The Coldest Season on Modern Love with regular partner Rod Modell, and ground-breaking live performances everywhere from Berghain to Movement, made Stephen indivisible from any conversation of the most important artists of our time.

Under the guise of variant, we might find Stephen at his deepest, as he puts it:
"score the constellation of mystical events occurring in the depths of space”

With while the universe sleeps, he has achieved something remarkable. As with all the variant music, Stephen takes influence from the vast recesses of the cosmos, both imaginatively and sonically.

Drawing on NASA’s sound archive, “the vast echoes of space have been manipulated and resynthesized throughout the duration of this sonic experience.”

Through decades of dedication to his craft, Stephen has become a producer of almost unparalleled skill - all seen through the lens of formative years immersed in the inception and evolution of techno, house, ambient and countless detours.

All this is brought to bear on while the universe sleeps - a truly masterful deep-space voyage, eighty minutes submerged in cathartic waves of interstellar bliss.

Infinitely spacious - echoing chords and endlessly sustaining pads establish an emotional core, surrounded by highly-processed astral transmissions and organic analogue noise. Always underpinned by sub-bass reminiscent of the lowest frequencies emanating from the studios of Jamiaca, that are also of massive significance to Stephen’s work.

Huge thanks to Stephen, an incredible addition to the series.

The artwork was made as always influenced by the music and idea behind the album - originating from a photo from Stephen 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 six-panel digipack with a separate fine art print too.

The CD also has a special long-form continuous mix of the album, unique and representing the music in its purest form.

From Stephen:
written and produced by variant in ann arbor, mi. [2020-2025]
additional modular synthesis provided by antiquemodulations, detroit, mi. usa.

mixdown and premastering by alex gold. mastered by stephen hitchell in echospace. 

thanks to: alex gold, chris federsen, gerard hanson, martin, richard, jimmy, kevin martin, rod modell, sam valenti, steve barker, tomoko and family at disk union and everyone around the world supporting this sonic art.

Credits:
Music by variant
Mastered by Stephen Hitchell in Echospace and Alex at quiet details studios 

Artwork by quiet details in collaboration with Stephen Hitchell
Design by quiet details
© quiet details 2026 all rights reserved

 

 

 

 

12 May 2026: Focus "Moving Waves"; Agitation Free "Malesch"; Richard Barbieri "Hauntings"

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Focus II (better known by its international title, Moving Waves) is the second studio album by Dutch progressive rock band Focus, released in October 1971 on Imperial Records. Following the departure of original bassist Martin Dresden and drummer Hans Cleuver in 1970, the band recruited Cyril Havermans and Pierre van der Linden, respectively, and prepared material for a new album. Recording took place in London in April and May 1971 with Mike Vernon as producer. The album features "Hocus Pocus" a hard rock song featuring keyboardist Thijs van Leer's yodelling, scat singing, and whistling, and "Eruption", a 22-minute track inspired by the opera Euridice by Italian composer Jacopo Peri.

The album was released to a mostly positive response and remains one of their most commercially successful albums, reaching No. 2 in the UK, No. 4 in the Netherlands, and No. 8 in the US. "Hocus Pocus" was released as a single in the Netherlands in June 1971, followed by its international release in 1973, where it reached No. 9 in the US and No. 20 in the UK.^[3][4] The album is certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling 500,000 copies in the US.^[5]

Hocus Pocus" is a rock song that features van Leer yodelling, eefing, scat singing, and whistling. The song was written as a rock parody, and it was recorded for the album as it lacked any "outright rock" tracks at that point. The group wanted to incorporate an element of humour in the track because they felt it was missing in the rock genre.^[6] "Le Clochard" is French for "Tramp" and is fully titled "Le Clochard (Bread)". It is a melancholic classical guitar piece by Akkerman with van Leer backing on Mellotron. "Janis" is another Akkerman-penned ballad and features van Leer on the flute. "Moving Waves", a piano and vocal solo by van Leer, features lyrics by Sufi singer, poet, and teacher Inayat Khan. "Focus II" is a classical-jazz fusion instrumental.

Side two contains the 23-minute track "Eruption", a loose rock adaptation of the tale of Orpheus and Euridice from the opera Euridice by Italian composer Jacopo Peri. The track is in fifteen distinct sections, and the suite opens with an uncredited melody from the opera L'Orfeo by Monteverdi. "Tommy" features a guitar solo and was named and written by Tom Barlage of the Dutch fusion band Solution. "Euridice" is a classical lied which segues into the Gregorian-inspired "Dayglow" and followed by van der Linden's drum solo, "Endless Road". The suite ends with a return to its opening themes.

Release

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[7]
MelodicMusic

Moving Waves was released in October 1971 to mainly positive reception. It went on to peak at number 2 on the UK Albums Chart,^[8] number 8 on the US Billboard 200,^[9] and number 4 on the Dutch Album Top 100 chart.^[10]

The single "Hocus Pocus" peaked at number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100.^[11]

Moving Waves came in at number 24 in Q and Mojo's list of "40 Cosmic Rock Albums".^[12]

 

Malesch is the debut album by German rock group Agitation Free. It was released in 1972 on the Vertigo Records [Germany] label. It was reissued on CD in 1992 by the Spalax label and in 2001 by the Garden of Delights label, with another reissue in 2008 by Revisited Records. The album was inspired by the group's travels through Lebanon, Egypt, Greece, and Cyprus.

Track listing

All songs written by Agitation Free.

Side one

1. "You Play for Us Today" – 6:15
2. "Sahara City" – 7:51
3. "Ala Tul" – 4:57

Side two

1. "Pulse" – 4:51
2. "Khan el Khalili" – 5:34
3. "Malesch" – 8:24
4. "Rücksturz" – 2:11   

   Agitation Free's music is psychedelic, experimental krautrock with elements of spaced-out ambient, experimental electronic and drone. The music for the most part consists of driving organ-patterned drone-like rock; seamless psychedelic cosmic musical textures with intricate musicianship and musical variety; hard, driving rock similar to Amon Düül II; and jamming that occasionally invokes the interplay and styles of Garcia, Weir and Lesh of The Grateful Dead and hints at a blues rock base not unlike The Allman Brothers Band. Many of their songs have a trance-inducing, psychedelic feel with sections of driving rock fueled by fiery and melodic moving guitar lines and solid, propelling and intricate drumming and a prominent bass line. All of Agitation Free's songs are instrumental apart from some recitation on "Haunted Island".

   Their first album Malesch features short interludes of recordings from Egypt. Their second, titled 2nd is more laid-back and upbeat, with longer structure, much more of an emphasis on traditional styled jamming like the Grateful Dead and a warmer and more straightforward sound. On Malesch the songs blend together to make a seamlessly flowing, tangential and uninterrupted musical journey, whereas on 2nd songs are more predictably structured, more varied in their sound and stand more as independent works.

   Their sound is similar to, but fairly distinguishable from, other contemporary Krautrock bands such as Ash Ra Tempel, Amon Düül II, Guru Guru, Brainticket, Yatha Sidhra and Kalacakra, as well as the mixed-influence blues-based jam rock of The Grateful Dead and The Allman Brothers noticeable on 2nd, and slightly later and more symphonic bands like Asia Minor and Anyone's Daughter.

    
   

   TND Staff Album Review: ‘Hauntings’ by Richard BarbierApr 14 

     Album Reviews Tyler Roland

   Even if I don't dig everything he's put out, Richard Barbieri is one of my favorite musicians in the world. He's carved out one of those niches that even the most amped-up, pyroclastic keyboardist can't fill. Barbieri's careful, methodical sound design adds an X factor to whatever he's a part of, most notably two rock bands with a devoted following: Japan and Porcupine Tree. In the case of the latter, you rarely hear Barbieri playing piano or organ, which is often delivered by frontman Steven Wilson. Instead, he brings textures which are harder to define, lending a cinematic boost to the vast majority of Porcupine Tree's discography.

   His new solo album, Hauntings (KScope/Snapper), is as good a calling card as any for Barbieri's treatments and services. Some tracks have rhythmic drive, like "Anemoia," but Hauntings takes as much (or more) pleasure in dropping the listener into ambient interludes. Take the track after "Anemoia," "Victorian Wraith," which is little more than a cloud of sound. Rusty samples of clock chimes, thunder, and radio broadcasts decorate what may be my favorite cut, "1890."

   Vocals are few and far between throughout Hauntings, since Barbieri isn't a singer. The track "Artificial Obsession" has some disquieting, sampled spoken-word stuff that may not be for everyone. "Perfect Toys" weaves some into the mix as well, on a more subtle level. There's something to be said about how instrumental music is leagues more difficult to sell than songs with vocals front and center. But, for some reason, I find Barbieri shines brightest on Hauntings without any decipherable words.

   "Paris Sketch" is more of a full-blown Paris painting, as one of the most expansive tracks. There's even what the kids might call a "beat switch" near the end of the piece. How about that! Another great moment arrives at the album's conclusion, in the form of "A New Simulation." Hear the slide guitar? That's Porcupine Tree bandmate Wilson.

   While I believe that Barbieri's Stranger Inside (2008) is his greatest solo album, this is in strong contention for the silver medal. His first LP, Things Buried from 2004, has a too-cold, too-lifeless approach. His albums between Stranger and Hauntings don't have too many memorable moments going for them. Between 2017's Planets + Persona and 2021's Under a Spell, there are only a handful of tracks I'd call all-time Barbieri works. His series of EPs, released from 2017-18 and referred to as "Variants," are a lot more rewarding.

   Hauntings sees Barbieri present, with few frills, the flights of fancy he's best at arranging. The jazz and percussion tinges are there on compositions like "Snakes & Ladders," but they don't eclipse moods you'd swear were created from a director's chair. How can something be both opulent and sparse at once? Just take a listen.

   Light to decent 7/10. Order here.

   
   
   
   

 

29 April 2025: Out of Focus "Four Letter Monday Afternoon"; Richard Begin "Déjà vu"

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Out Of Focus biography
This awesome band came from Munich and made three extraordinary albums on the super-collectable Kuckuk label plus another that never got released until recently. Hennes Herring on KB (mainly Hammond organ), Remi Dreschler on guitars, Moran Neumuller on vocals and winds, Klaus Spöri and Stefan Wisheu on drums and bass respectively made an incredibly tight unit although they were prone to a lot of improvisation moments also. Their music is somewhat similar to early British prog but will gradually evolve to a certain jazz-rock while staying very politically and socially conscious (in the typical German style of those years) although the singing does not hold a big place in their music, their third release (a double) being mostly instrumental. They released three albums on the legendary Kuckuk label, the same one that also reissued them in Cd format.

After their third album, OOF suffered their first major line-up change with keyboardist Hennes Herring leaving the band to join SAHARA (another excellent group that will release two very solid albums), and he was replaced by yet another guitarist Wolfgang Gohringer (that made double guitar and double horn attack), but if it affected the group's sound a bit, it was nothing drastic either. A fourth (excellent) album was recorded in the spring of 74, but for some reasons it was never released - until Ultima Thule/Cosmic Egg would in 99. Sadly these events lead towards a slow decline of the group who would gradually slow down activities, recording just one more single and playing their last concerts in 78.

The musicians went their way, but in the mid-80's, three of them met and participated to Kontrast and recorded one of the best Krautrock album of that decade, according to the experts. This album and its intended suite just got a second life by getting a reissue, again on the Cosmic Egg label. Among the other posthumous releases is the left-overs from FLMA albums (Rat Roads) and a Live in Palerme 72, both excellent records appearing on the great Garden Of Delight Label.

Let me quote D-E Asbjornssen in Cosmic Dreams At Play and use his final comment about OOF: "what an awesome band they were" and I fully adhere to that opinion.


: : : Hugues Chantraine, BELGIUM : : :



Highly recommended by Dag-Erik Asbjornsen in his great book Cosmic Dreams At Play, and by myself to every progheads infatuated with the early 70's way of making music. Simply awesome!

Four Letter Monday Afternoon Review by BrufordFreak
Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

The peak of achievement from this uber-talented band from München, Bundesrepublik Deutschland: a 94-minute of finely polished music. Just remember that there was at least another 94 minutes of excess music from these recording sessions that was left on the cutting room floor or studio shelves gathering dust until someone saw fit to dust them off and publish them on two albums, released in 1999 and 2002, respectively.

LP 1 (46:07): 1. "L.S.B." (17:37) very much like some evolved Big Band jazz--taking Don Ellis a bit further in terms of incorporating elements of avant/free jazz and electronics, but also quite a bit more reigned in in terms of the use of odd time signatures. Still, the song is quite entertaining for its multiple sax-connected multiple motifs covering a range of styles and tempos. There are a lot of elements of blues-rock at the core of a lot of this music (one can still hear the band that did Wake Up! just two years before). I really like the KINGSTON WALL-like vocal motif in the last third of the song. (31.75/35)

2. "When I'm Sleeping" (4:04) sounds like THE ROLLING STONES if they tried covering PETER HAMMILL song as well as a smooth Motown tune for the chorus and instrumental section. Hennse Hering's old-time saloon-like piano play in the background is a delight, as is Stephen Wishen's bass JAMES JAMERSON-like play and the sax work. I don't know why, but the recording of the drums is rather poor. This may be my favorite vocal performance from Moran. (9/10)

3. "Tsajama" (9:23) a great guitar and flute intro leads into an awesome motif with heavy organ and low bass notes weighing things down beneath the flute, guitars, and smoothly-drawn lines coming from the full horn section. Awesome in a Brian Auger/Eumir Deodato kind of way. Remigius Drechsler leads the way with his searing guitar play in the second and third minutes before Hennse's Hammond and the orgasmically-smooth horn section join in to double and back him. Such a great groove! In the second half of the sixth minute the horns, Hammond, and guitars back off and Moran enters in a singing capacity, using Japanese as his language. Interesting. Then he runs off into some poorly-synched scatting in the seventh minute before returning to leading the smoother, multi-channel melody in Japanese in the eighth. But then the band ramps up the pace and breadth of sound dynamics with a return of the horn section, inspiring Moran to gallop off with some more interesting horse-like vocalese scatting(?). (19/20)

4. "Black Cards" (9:38) a gentle weave of organ and electric guitar arpeggi opens this before flute, hand drums, and a second guitar join in. At the one-minute mark the bass jumps on board, ushering the band into a full blues-rock sound palette over which Moran turns back to his Mick Jagger voice for another vocal performance that reminds me of Mick singing his Slow Horses theme song. A return to the opening theme at the end of the third minute allows for a kind of 30-second reset from which they emerge with a VAN MORRISON "Moondance"-like motif over which Hennse solos on his Wurlitzer-sounding organ. This is a great, extended instrumental section with some gorgeous and dynamic flute soloing throughout. At the end we return to the blues swing theme for Moran to finish things off with his Moves Like Jagger. (18/20)

5. "Where Have You Been" (5:35) a gorgeous folk-rock song with one of Moran's most moving and melodic vocal performances. Powerful. Incredible flute solo in the "C" part: heart-wrenching. I know that Moran (and maybe his bandmates) had a very strong moral compass. We are so blessed to have the legacy of their passion and courage. (9.5/10)

Disc One earns itself a five star rating.

LP 2 (48:09): 6. "A Huchen 55" (9:19) opens with mutliple flutes winding and wending their way through a rondo weave for two minutes before giving way to a faded in psychedelic blues-rock jam (that was already in progress). Hammond organ takes the first solo over the bass, drums, and guitar support. At the three-minute mark, a panoply of horns join in, each playing their own melody line but securing their comraderie through mutually-respective pauses and breaks. The music coming from the rhythm section beneath kind of hits a "I'm a Man" pulse-and-let-off pattern as the horns continue their fascinating and almost humorous interplay. In the seventh minute, electric guitar and Hammond start to inject their own flourishes and melodic ideas. By the eighth minute the horn players are starting to tire--and eventually peter out for a full minute or more while the Hammond and sassy electric guitar share a quirky little conversation of quips and epithets. At the end of the ninth minute, then, the bluesy jazz music is fadeout (the same way it came in) replaced by the flute weave that opened the song. (18/20)

7. "Huchen 55, B" (14:32) opening with the flute weave from the previous song bleeding over, a new already-in- progress R&B jam is faded in. The James Jamerson-like bass play that drives the music is once again emitting waves of groovy Motown sound, but this soon fades out to be replaced by Moran's solo flute play. He sounds so much as if he's trying to imitate the breathy play of maestro Jean-Pierre Rampal. Jazz guitars, trumpet, Hammond, each take their turn joining in beneath Moran's increasingly-avat garde flute stylings. In the seventh minute trumpeter Jimmy Polivka tries usurping the lead from Moran, but it is not that easy: Moran is riding along on pure inspiration. So Jimmy gives up. Hennse and Remigius each take their own turns, trying to nudge Moran out, but Herr Hering only seems to get stronger--until the 9:00 mark: then he gives way, sits back and lets the music unfold without him. The band seem to rise to the occasion with a JEFFERSON AIRPLANE-like creativity: slowly, carefully, deliberately. Hennse's excited Hammond is kept at bay via repressed volume, which allows the horns to have their time. In the twelfth minute Remigius steps to the fore and lays out one awesome blues-rock solo. The band is really into the jam here: fully entrained with everyone clicking--expelling their full creative juices. Awesome! Despite its looseness and lack of plan or developmental structure, this song plays out with some infectious power. Moran's multi-flute weave is once again used to bridge this song with the next one. (27/30)

8. "Huchen 55, C" (24:18) What a jam! Wild and crazy: from Moran's lyrics and vocal performance (sounding like a reckless/uninhibited Mick Jagger channeling PETER HAMMILL through DAMO SUZUKI) to the reckless abandon with which everyone blasts and grooves out their passion. I mean, it feels as if everyone, all at once, is given the total green light to play whatever they feel inspired to play. This makes for some very creative and memorable solos--especially from the horn players (the multitude of saxes are of special note), percussionist, and Hennse's Hammond organ. Definitely Krautrock. Definitely hypnotic in a "Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys"-kind of way--a sound that would also seem to indicate the use of mind altering substances. The song's final three minutes are particularly entertaining for the frenetic yet-respectful free-for-all that gradually peters out, making way for yet another reprise of Moran's multi-flute weave. (45.5/50)

Disc Two earns itself a 4.5/5 star rating.

Total Time: 94:16

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of wonderfully-creative First Wave Jazz-Rock Fusion. One can definitely trace the influences and inspirations for each song on several levels but in the end the boys have achieved a mastery of their instruments and goals, enabling them to merge admirably their Krautrock influences with the Blues-Rock and Jazz- Rock Fusion trends they've been hearing. As with every other reviewer I've read, it's too bad this band didn't stay together.

With regards to the controversy of whether or not this album (or band) deserves to belong to the Jazz-Rock Fusion sub-genre, I will only say that over the course of the band's three album evolution it has definitely flowed toward Jazz-Rock (though it has also picked up a strong Krautrock foundation as well). This is 1972! Jazz-Rock Fusion was still in it's childhood! The dominant styles and sounds were still as-yet undecided. Herbie Hancock and Mahavishnu John McLaughlin were still evolving! Rapidly! Many bands like Out Of Focus were offering up a wide range of their own personal interpretations--which is one of the most exciting and refreshing aspects of J-R F's "First Wave." 

 

Déjà vu is a fleeting yet profound sensation, a moment when time seems to fold in on itself, between past and present. It is a phenomenon of memory—both elusive and deeply personal—where recognition and strangeness coexist. Few artistic mediums can evoke this liminal state as powerfully as ambient music, where repetition, decay, and texture shape sonic landscapes that mirror the ghostly presence of the past within the present.
Canadian composer Richard Bégin has been steadily building a reputation in the realm of ambient music for his explorations of memory, crafting soundscapes that feel like echoes from a distant past, lost yet eerily familiar. His latest work, centered on the concept of déjà vu, follows in the tradition of artists like Boards of Canada, Fennesz, Philip Jeck, and William Basinski—musicians who have sculpted time-worn textures, fragile loops, and sonic artifacts to capture the essence of recollection and its inevitable dissolution.
Like Basinski’s Disintegration Loops, which document the slow decay of recorded memory, or Jeck’s ghostly turntable manipulations that awaken forgotten voices from the grooves of old records, Bégin’s music invites listeners into an auditory space where time is fluid. Fennesz’s digital deconstructions and Boards of Canada’s nostalgia-tinted melodies find an echo in Bégin’s work, which similarly embraces imperfection, layering textures that drift between clarity and erosion keeping the listener between the comfort of recognition and the disquieting realization that the past is always just out of reach. 

credits

released April 16, 2025
Our thanks to Raffaele Pezzella for providing FreeForm Radio with a copy of this release.
REVIEWS

Avant Music News

avantmusicnews.com/2025/04/20/amn-reviews-richard-begin-deja-vu-2025-reverse-alignment


Music by Richard Bégin
Published by Reverse Alignment.
Mastering by Raffaele Pezzella
Cat. Num. RA69.
© 2025. All rights reserved.

license

all rights reserved

tags

Tags

ambient dark ambient drone ambient electronic music field recordings industrial Sweden

 

03 December 2024: Chris Squire's Swiss Choir; California Guitar Trio; Markus Reuter

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From Wikipedia:

Chris Squire's Swiss Choir is the second and final solo album by Chris Squire. An album of traditional Christmas music, it was released in 2007 and includes former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett, future King Crimson drummer and keyboardist Jeremy Stacey and the English Baroque Choir.

All tracks were arranged by Chris Squire and Gerard Johnson

Review by lazland
PROG REVIEWER

Whilst browsing the site, I was surprised to see this LP hasn't been rated.

It is not a true prog album, but it is a fine musical treat, especially at Christmas time. I had it brought for me at 2007 Christmas, and we all enjoyed listening. The album certainly highlights what a fine vocalist Squire is in his own right - Run With The Fox (easily the most recognisable prog track) is fantastic and has attracted quite a bit of UK radio airplay.

The album does what it says on the tin - a collection of mainly Christmas songs arranged, with a distinct rock twist, with Swiss Choral choirs, except there is no Swiss choral choir on it!

Steve Hackett is the most recognisable and distinct guest on the album, and I can't wait for their next promised collaboration.

You will likely only get this LP out at Christmas, aside from Run With The Fox, but you will be rewarded with an enjoyable collection of songs and arrangements from one of the finest musicians of his or any other generation.

Fun! 

 California Guitar Trio - 10 Christmas Songs

AllMusic Review by Glenn Astarita

Not that there is an abundance of progressive rock-tinged acoustic guitar trios among the ranks, but this aggregation stands tall among its peers as the guitarists' inventiveness surges forward with this altogether warmhearted reckoning of Christmas carols and other pleasantries. The guitarists' nimble yet at times forceful approach is wholly evident during their highly rhythmic spin on "Jingle Bells." They perform the classic "Greensleeves" with a sensitive, chamber-like approach while also tackling the Lennon/Ono favorite "Happy X-Mas (War Is Over)." However, part of the magic resides within the trio's ability to delve into the inherent frameworks of each song, while also reformulating themes and rhythms into personalized statements. Essentially, the artists have produced a rather poignant Christmas outing, awash with interweaving lines and lilting harmonies, as they complement their superior artisanship and forward-thinking deployments with a cheerfully rendered collection of holiday favorites.

Winter Solstice EP from Markus Reuter:  Soundscape versions of traditional songs usually associated with this time of year, at least here in Germany. In addition to the meditative soundscapes (which are based on the series of pitches of each tune) I've also overdubbed straight versions of the original melodies. Enjoy this parallel universe... It's strangely hypnotizing. Only available from December 1st to December 31st.

 

5.1 surround mix available here:
surroundmusic.one/album/winter-solstice/

credits

released December 17, 2018

christmas jul merry natale noel weihnachten weihnachtslied yule yuletide Berlin

10 September 2024: Gilgamesh; M.B. & Sonologyst; Markus Reuter & Stephan Thelen

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I am also hosting Rural Electric (Mostly) Country Music after the Meet the Candidates live broadcast beginning around 8 pm.

Gilgamesh (1972–1975, 1977–1978) were a British jazz fusion band in the 1970s led by keyboardist Alan Gowen, part of the Canterbury scene.

History

The original basis of Gilgamesh was keyboardist Alan Gowen and drummer Mike Travis, the two working together on a band project with guitarist Rick Morcombe. The original Gilgamesh line-up consisted of Gowen, Travis, Morcombe, Jeff Clyne and Alan Wakeman on saxophone.^[1]

Review by sgtpepper

Gilgamesh was formed at the peak of progressive rock era when ambitions met with sophisticated and maturity. That characteristics matches their music well. Though labeled as Cantebury band (and they definitely match that comparison when looking at the line-up), they are actually closer to the jazz-rock/fusion area. Music on that album is quite nuanced with proficient playing that is exploratory rather than rigorous, more atmospheric than energetic. It is one of the less accessible "Canterbury" music which may be an advantage for instrumental freaks and may put off folks looking for good compositions. The first composition (over 10-minutes) is, in my opinion, the landmark of Gilgamesh, blending several advanced motives to create an impressive instrumental suite. Shorter pieces are less substantial but we still have two tracks well worth attention - number 5 and 7 (their names are too long to write here ;-)). The 5th track evolves from a fine jazzy keyboard-guitar tandem into a "Hatfieldesque" fiery upbeat piece. The seventh track graces us with the female vocals again in the "Hatfield" way, but before that, I must again highlight the excellent guitar leads supported by Rhodes. Really tight playing by all band members.

I wanted to give it 3.5 stars but due to highly proficient playing, will round it up to 4. 

                                                    Forme by M.B. & Sonologyst
 

Maurizio Bianchi, referred to as the father of Italian electronic music, rarely looks backward. When asked where to start exploring his extensive discography, he recommends an album from his early period in the 1980s and whatever release is his latest. This relentless push for novelty has been at the core of his experimentalism for almost five decades. Despite his long career, he remains in the vanguard. Bianchi’s early work is a departure from traditional musical forms, using a textural and process-oriented approach. His pieces explore psychological states, using sound as a medium. He often discusses his music as a form of resistance against the commodification of culture, seeking to maintain an integrity that challenges both the listener and prevailing norms. Bianchi’s intellectual and artistic independence is central to his explorations of sound, technology, and their impact on emotion.
A similar form of unquiet exploration has defined the career of Raffaele Pezzella. In addition to music recorded under various pseudonyms, Pezzella publishes two or three releases per month across the four labels making up his Unexplained Sounds Network. Pezzella is curator in addition to sound engineer, artist, and label head, finding a wide variety of music from around the world that falls somewhere in the Venn diagram of ambient, acousmatic, post-industrial, sound art, and the outright weird. His Sound Mapping project consists of more thirty-five releases, a valuable document of modern sonic avant-garde from around the world. As Sonologyst, Pezzella integrates digital methods with analog instruments, producing abstract, dreamlike soundscapes haunted by phantoms of the mind. His work is deeply influenced by musique concrète, sound libraries of old documentaries, and he looks to figures such as Brian Eno, Pauline Oliveros, Terry Riley, Jon Hassel and - of course - Bianchi as inspiration. His interdisciplinary approach also draws from literature (Lovecraft, Burroughs, Ballard), film (Tarkowskij, Cronenberg), philosophy (hauntology, nihilism), and science (particle physics).
While Bianchi and Pezzella differ in generation and sound, their artistic philosophies align - the urge to innovate and willingness to push against artificial boundaries of genre are manifested in restless manipulations of the raw fabric of sound. While from different eras, the Euclidean distance between Bianchi and Pezzella in musical space is quite small.

Forme is the first collaboration between this duo. It is not so much a combination of discrete contributions from Bianchi and Pezzella as a deep integration between two minds. There is no roadmap to where Bianchi ends and Pezzella begins - Forme is not a Frankenstein’s monster constructed on an ad-hoc basis from spare parts. Instead, their musical processes and philosophies merge to the point of being largely indivisible. The resulting seven tracks fit well into either’s oeuvre. The album includes electronics and hypnotic bassy oscillations, suggesting themes of psychological horror, societal breakdown, and dystopian futures. The compositions use dense, layered soundscapes that incorporate industrial noises, shifting sound walls, and detailed textures, evoking a range of sensations from cosmic expanses to the claustrophobic intensity of sleep paralysis.
Culturally and aesthetically important art asks you to think and feel differently. It can be challenging, difficult, and even frustrating. It does not spoonfeed its message and it may not provide any answers. But this type of art is the most worthwhile. While Forme may be challenging and difficult, when approached with a curious mind it is also intriguing and immensely enjoyable. The previous works of both Bianchi and Pezzella have consistently engaged with fundamental questions about the very nature and potential of music. Forme not only continues this exploration of music's essence and its boundless possibilities but also invites listeners to actively participate in these inquiries.

Mike Borella

In music, the definition of "form" describes a musical structure in two or more sections, with various characteristics in the articulation, melody, and rhythm of a composition. But when it intersects with experimentation, the form takes on a more autonomous and uncompromising characteristic, so that a connotation of such research is the meeting between tradition and innovation. This is intended to be "Forme," a work pervaded by investigative exploration of the unknown electro-modulatory. And the user of such emotional torrentiality will be able to receive an existential fulfillment that leads to formal irrationality.

Maurizio Bianchi 

credits

released July 25, 2024
Our thanks to Raffaele Pezzella for providing us with a copy of this release.
REVIEWS

Vital Weekly
Does Maurizio Bianchi need an introduction? I hope this name is familiar, playing unsettling electronic music since the late 1970s. Raffaele Pezzella is from the next generation of likewise unsettling electronic musicians and works as Sonologyst. His work was also reviewed a lot. The two of them would one day work together, and it’s perhaps a mystery why this didn’t happen sooner. Whereas Bianchi’s influences may lie in very early industrial music and musique concrète, without any specific names, for Pezzella, it’s a lot more, Brian Eno, Pauline Oliveros, Terry Riley, Jon Hassel and, no surprise, Bianchi, besides influences from films books, philosophy (hauntology, nihilism), and science (particle physics). “Forme” is a work pervaded by investigative exploration of the unknown electro-modulatory. And the user of such emotional torrentiality will be able to receive an existential fulfillment that leads to formal irrationality”, which is, I guess to say there isn’t much form here, but more of a flow of sounds, electronic in nature. Who does what on these seven tracks is unclear and hardly necessary. Whatever they do, it all blends well. There is a consistent flow in these pieces, rather than tight composing, almost as if mistakes were left in, creating odd shifts. Maybe I read too much into it, and is all of this carefully planned? I love this sort of rusty spaceship accident waiting to happen soundtrack; the leaky nuclear reactor minutes before combustion and we feel the burn slowly arriving. Enough metaphors to describe the music, and I am sure you’ll get my drift. Bianchi, in particular, produced a massive catalogue in his 40-plus career, and pinpointing the masterpieces was not easy. I couldn’t say if this is one of those, partly because I haven’t heard all of his output. I can say I enjoyed this one a lot! (FdW)

Avant Music News
avantmusicnews.com/2024/07/26/amn-reviews-m-b-maurizio-bianchi-sonologyst-forme-2024-unexplained-sounds-group

Ver Sacrum
www.versacrum.com/vs/2024/08/maurizio-bianchi-sonologyst-forme.html

This Is Darkness
The latest release on the wonderful Unexplained Sounds Group label is this delightful album from M.B. & Sonologyst in which playful electronic music is blended with dark ambient undertones. The end result is absolutely gorgeous and reminds me in places of early 19070’s Tangerine Dream. This is one of those albums that reveals something new with each and every listen, and deserves to be listened to as you lie back in a darkened room and lose yourself to the unfolding music. Stunning!



FreeForm Radio thanks Raffaele Pezzella for providing us with a copy of this release.
M.B. music credits.
Material composed at the beginning of the second decade of the third millennium, using digitized equipment mixed with outdoor soundscapes. Amorphous collages, compiled at the beginning of 2024.

Sonologyst music credits
Analog synths, processing, sampling, mix intersections, and mastering.

Special thanks to P.U.M.A. for contributing to the tracks "Forma Farraginosa" and "Forma Farraginosa Estesa". Also thanks to Monica Calanni Rindina for making M.B. and Sonologyst terrestrial forms interact on so many planes; and to Mikko Saarikoski for the electric guitar part in "Forma Siderale".


Published by ©Unexplained Sounds Group
Mastered by Raffaele Pezzella (Sonologyst)
Artwork (Policromie) by Maurizio Bianchi
Layout by Matteo Mariano
Cat. Num. USG098
© 2024. All rights reserved.

license

all rights reserved

tags

Tags

experimental avant-garde drone improvisation musique concrete sound art Italy

 

ROTHKO SPACES, VOLUME 2

American painter Mark Rothko famously said that “the only theme noble enough for art is tragedy.” This is what I told Markus when we met on April 22, 2024 at Castle Studios close to Dresden, Germany, and what he had in mind when he improvised the pieces that became the foundations for the 6 tracks on this album.

The original concept of the ‘Rothko Spaces’ project - realized in volume 1 with David Torn - was to combine electric guitar performances (played with a massive amount of feedback and distortion) with the sounds of a string orchestra. For volume 2 and the involvement of Markus, the guitar was of course going to be replaced by

touch guitar. Markus also took the feedback idea to the next level by setting up a sound system consisting of 5 cranked-up tube amps that made the whole tracking room a vibrating and unpredictable instrument with a sonic life of its own. There were microphones everywhere, including inside the grand piano (with the sustain pedal held down by a brick) and in the cellar (where you can hear the occasional car going by).

While Markus was recording his improvisations in the studio, I started to hear a choir in my head, so when I started working on the pieces in Zurich, I expanded the original concept to include voices and also some orchestral percussion. Thanks also to our friend Jon Durant, who contributed his signature ‘cloud guitar’ to some of the pieces.

Stephan Thelen, Bucharest, July 5th, 2024

—
Markus Reuter: Touch Guitars© AU8
Stephan Thelen: Orchestra and Choir Samples, Guitar, Arrangements

All tracks written by Reuter/Thelen, except ‘A Safe Haven’ and ‘No Way Out, Part 2’, written by Reuter/Thelen/Durant

Markus‘ touch guitar was recorded on April 22, 2024 at Castle Studios, Röhrsdorf, Germany Engineer: Arno Jordan

Mixed by Stephan Thelen, May/June 2024 in Zurich, Switzerland / Mastered by Alexandr Vatagin, June 2024 in Vienna, Austria / Dolby Atmos mix by Neeraj Khajanchi

—
Special thanks to Jon Durant for additional samples, cloud guitar on ‘A Safe Haven’ and inspiration for the fugue-like theme on ‘No Way Out, Part 2’. His cloud guitar on ‘A Safe Haven’ was recorded on April 26, 2024 at Dead Aunt Thelma‘s studio in Portland, Oregon. 

FreeForm Radio thanks Markus Reuter for providing us with a copy of this release.

—
RELEASE DATE: September 6, 2024
https://iapetus.bandcamp.com https://www.markusreuter.com https://www.youtube.com/markusreuter

 

02 July 2024: Jethro Tull, Thick as a Brick (Steven Wilson Remix); quiet details 20: Plant43, The Unfading Spark

 
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Thick as a Brick is the fifth studio album by the British rock band Jethro Tull, released on 3 March 1972. The album contains one continuous piece of music, split over two sides of an LP record, and is intended as a parody of the concept album genre. The original packaging, designed as a 12-page newspaper, claims the album to be a musical adaptation of an epic poem by fictional eight-year-old genius Gerald Bostock, though the lyrics were actually written by the band's frontman, Ian Anderson.

The album was recorded in late 1971, featuring music composed by Anderson and arranged with the contribution of all band members. The album was the band's first to include drummer Barrie "Barriemore" Barlow, replacing the band's previous drummer Clive Bunker. The live show promoting the album included the playing of the full suite, with various comic interludes. Thick as a Brick is considered by critics to be the first Jethro Tull release to entirely consist of progressive rock music. It received mixed reviews upon its release, but was a commercial success and topped various charts in 1972. Today it is regarded as a classic of progressive rock, and has received several accolades. Anderson produced a follow-up to the album in 2012, focusing on the adult life of the fictional Gerald Bostock, and being released as Anderson's solo album instead of as Jethro Tull's album.

quiet details 20 - Plant43 - The Unfading Spark 

(our thanks to alex at quiet details for a copy of this release)

 

 Very happy to say that next up in the quiet details series is the wonderful producer and live performer of everything from the deepest ambience to true dance-floor electro, Emile Facey, otherwise known as Plant43.

Resident of the legendary Berlin club and cultural institution, Tresor, with nearly twenty years of cutting-edge releases across genres, and untouchable international live performances of pure energy - Plant43 is one of the leaders at bringing authentic electronic music culture to our ears in the most genuine way possible.
He also runs and does the graphic design for his label Plant43 Recordings and is a co-founder of the Bleep43 crew who, originating from techno/electro sessions with regulars such as Surgeon and Convextion/ERP, now regularly put on some of the best and most wide-ranging deep-listening events around.

The Unfading Spark shows this immense and honest experience realised to stunning effect. An instant post-club classic, his innate melodic and textural understanding mixes perfectly with a sense of build and release, the album moving through its own indelible world of space-time to completely immerse the listener in its expanding beauty.

Influenced directly by his experiences at Tresor, with the first half of the album made as he went through the timeline of the experience playing there, here we see the impeccable marriage of widescreen synths, elastic bass and minimal syncopated percussion nodding to classic electro sound-design, with vast and polychromatic atmospheres, sparkling digital synthesis and ever-shifting distant landscapes - emotionally the quiet moments are as important as the loud and he finds the spaces between in a way that everyone who has experienced such moments can relate to.

The album feels like watching your favourite film, each track being a distinct scene with a story to tell, moving seamlessly from moment-to-moment, keeping you fully engaged for the duration and leaving you with an almost indescribable after-glow when it’s over. An example of thoughtful and mesmerising parts somehow creating something even more beautiful when combined so skilfully.

In Plant43’s own words:
Carried on soft strings this unfading spark takes hold. Like wisps of vapour carrying spells on the wind, we move and listen, together. Voices from high above fill the air and cradled by love from afar, we keep the spark alive.
Thanks to Paul Ćinske and all of the caring staff at Tresor, Berlin. To Jo, Alex and Mike for your support and love.

This album is wonderful example of an artist taking the quiet details idea and making it their own - there are no limits to people that can be involved or the styles that can be incorporated, just musicians we love and their unique take on the idea.

Huge thanks to Plant43 for everything, a fantastic and evolutionary addition to the series.

Mastered at quiet details studio.

The artwork was made as always influenced by the music and idea behind the album - originating from a photo from Emile 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.

As a label we support the Cancer Centre - Milton Keynes University Hospital and all their wonderful NHS staff.