05 May 2026: Far East Family Band "Parallel Worlds"; Sulk Rooms "Songs of Soil" (Quiet Details 49); "Music for Ancient Catacombs"

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The music you hear on tonight's show is available on the artists' Bandcamp pages and websites. (links below) 

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Musical Style and Influence

The album features long, hypnotic tracks that reflect the band's experimental approach. It draws inspiration from the psychedelic sounds of early Pink Floyd and the electronic experimentation of Klaus Schulze. The music is characterized by its immersive soundscapes and intricate arrangements, making it a significant work in the progressive rock genre.

 Review by Proghead
PROG REVIEWER 

This is without a doubt the best album FAR EAST FAMILY BAND has ever done. Unlike other albums where the band focused mainly on ballads influenced by PINK FLOYD, on "Parallel World" they decided to merge the prog rock style of the time with electronic music in the vein of Klaus SCHULZE. And just like their previous album, "Nipponjin", this album was also produced by SCHULZE, and you could swear he actually played on the album (he didn't). All the synth duties here are Fumio Miya[&*!#]a (who also played guitar and sang), Akira Ito, and Masanori Takasaki (who we all know as the future New Age star of the '80s and '90s, that is KITARO).

For "Parallel World", the band went to England to record at Richard Branson's Manor Studios to strike a deal with Virgin Records. Unfortunately Virgin rejected the album (their loss), so it was left released only in Japan (with two different album covers, depending what you got, mines is the lesser known one with the peering eyes cover). About these two different album covers, I am unable to determine if what I own is a reissue, but probably is. Let's say this new electronic direction for the band was an excellent move as they produced their ultimate masterpiece. Here you get "Metempsychosis" which shows the band in a more experimental setting, complete with synth drones and percussion. "Entering" and "Times" will fool you for SCHULZE's own works, Shizuo Takasaki's drumming often reminds me of Harald Großkopf (WALLENSTEIN member who was often found playing on SCHULZE's albums), and it's packed with same kind of space electronic effects found on a SCHULZE album. It's the presence of guitar (from Fumio Miya[&*!#]a and Hirohito Fukushima) that separates this from a SCHULZE album. Then you have "Kokoro", which harkens back to their earlier works. This is basically a slow ballad, sung in Japanese that could easily fit on "The Cave: Down to the Earth". This is the only song like this on "Parallel World".

And then you get the 30 minute title track that is just so amazing that it totally justifies the five star rating I give this album! Here the band goes on a lengthy jam, with the Akira Fukakusa's bass dominating with tons of killer synths, lots of great spacy string synths and Moog. After about halfway through this piece, the bass and drums gives away to straigh-up synth experiments. Somewhere you hear some chanting and references to Zen Buddhism. There are some truly mindblowing use of Mellotron that pop up on occasions, and this one synth solo I am pretty sure none other than KITARO is responsible for. I can't believe this album, it's hard to believe that a guy whose later music is often dismissed as New Age fluff (KITARO, that is) is on this album. Truly a wonderful album and if the description of this album sounds good to you, find a copy. 

Next up in the quiet details series, with a beautifully crafted interpretation, is the UK-based musician, Thomas Ragsdale, here as Sulk Rooms with Songs of Soil. (Quiet Details 49)

Full release 6th May 2026.

A mainstay of the UK electronic music and live performance scenes - Thomas has been releasing music for well over a decade and established himself as one of our most important voices, making what he describes as “luminescent electronica”. 

Releasing on a range of excellent labels (Waxing Crescent, Werra Foxma,  Subexotic and more), plus loads of self-releases, has created a deep back-catalogue - and he’s a regular fixture playing live across the country alongside some of the biggest names around. He also plays in the band Pijn and runs his own Frosti label.

His quiet details interpretation, Songs of Soil, is a reflection on his life living in rural Yorkshire and his connection to nature - in his own words this “is an album dedicated to the majesty of worms”. 

Making extensive use of field recordings of these essential parts of the ecosystem in his allotment, Thomas imprints the organic chaos of their hidden world - sounds rarely heard by humans, amplified and shaped into captivating and mesmerising soundscapes.

These worlds are both delicate and evocative of unknown space and are the perfect compliment to the ethereal and powerful sonic atmospherics Sulk Rooms does so well. Using a range of synthesisers, guitars and effects, the album winds its way though a huge range of emotions. Vast dynamics - from time-stopping euphoria to soft introspection - Thomas’s command of his instruments is absolute.

Melodic, textural and deeply moving - this is Sulk Rooms at his very best.

Undulating synthetic motifs unfold to effervesce waves of bliss; choral pads draw you into psychedelic stasis; soft piano evokes gorgeous melancholy - all mixed with the potent textures from the worms and their ceaseless movement.

Overall a stunning and wonderfully constructed piece of work - a true album and exploration into the creativity of Sulk Rooms.

Huge thanks to Thomas.

The artwork was made as always influenced by the music and idea behind the album - originating from a photo from Thomas which was then captured with analogue photography and processed here at quiet details studios.

Credits:

Music by Sulk Rooms

Mastered by Alex at quiet details studios

Artwork by quiet details in collaboration with Thomas Ragsdale

Design by quiet details

© quiet details 2026 all rights reserved 

FreeForm Radio thanks Alex for a complimentary copy of this release.

Album - https://quietdetails.bandcamp.com/album/songs-of-soil

 

 

 

 

Across centuries, catacombs have exerted a powerful fascination on the human imagination. These underground networks, carved beneath cities and landscapes, have served as places of burial, devotion, secrecy, and contemplation. Their presence continues to resonate strongly today, inspiring artists, writers, and musicians who perceive them as symbolic spaces where history, spirituality, and the passage of time converge. The silence of stone corridors, the weight of centuries, and the sense of suspended time still speak vividly to contemporary sensibilities.
“Music For Ancient Catacombs” is conceived as a descent into subterranean spaces where time, memory, and silence accumulate layer after layer. The catacomb emerges as a resonant chamber in which sound takes the form of ritual, meditation, and threshold. These underground architectures, both imagined and real, evoke permanence and decay at the same time, spaces carved to preserve the dead and to host a deep sense of continuity beyond human presence.
Featuring contributions from key figures of the dark ambient scene whose work has long explored liminal zones between sound, spirituality, and darkness, the compilation shapes a coherent sonic environment built from drones, distant harmonics, and slow-moving textures. Each piece unfolds as a chamber within a wider underground complex, distinct yet interconnected, guiding the listener through a continuous immersive experience.

In the same series:

Music For Abandoned Monasteries
eighthtowerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/music-for-abandoned-monasteries

Music For Haunted Asylums
eighthtowerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/music-for-haunted-asylums

Music For Alien Temples
eighthtowerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/music-for-alien-temples  

credits

FreeForm Radio thanks Raffaele Pezzella for a promo copy of this release. 

releases May 14, 2026

REVIEWS

Bizarrechats:
bizarrechats.blogspot.com/2026/05/eighth-towers-music-for-ancient.html




Published by Eighth Tower Records.
Curated and mastered by Raffaele Pezzella.
Photos: The Catacombs of Paris and Naples; the Capuchin Crypt, Rome. Layout by Matteo Mariano.
Cat. Num. ETR071.
2026 All Rights Reserved.

ambient dark ambient drone ambient electronic music industrial noise ambient Italy

 

 

07 October 2025: The Black Noodle Project "Divided We Fall"; Scanner "Forces, Reactions, Deflections (quiet details 40); Codex of Pleasure and Pain - A Sonic Tribute to Clive Barker's "Hellraiser"

Be sure to follow KMXT FreeForm Radio on Facebook and Bandcamp and Spotify.  

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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. 

I will also be hosting Rural Electric (Mostly) Country Music from 7-9 pm after the Island Messenger.  I'll be spotlighting Amanda Shires' new release: Nobody's Girl

The album is deeply personal, addressing themes of loss, resilience, self-discovery, and empowerment following a public divorce. 

Review by kev rowland
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Prog Reviewer / Special Collaborator

 Four years on from their last album and Jérémie Grima (guitars, voice, programming) and Sébastien Bourdeix (guitars) are back with the sixth studio album. They are the only survivors from the line-up that recorded 'Ghosts & Memories', and here they are joined by Tommy Rizzitelli (drums) and Frédéric Motte (bass). The band was originally a solo outing by Jérémie, and we were first in contact at about the time of the debut album back in 2004. I have always enjoyed their music, but this time they appear to have taken it to another level. They have always been heavily influenced by the likes of Pink Floyd and Porcupine Tree, but this time I believe we need to add Muse to the mix plus a real feeling of self-awareness and control. Heavily instrumental, this is an emotional album with the guitar often at the forefront, with just a few notes plucked from the ether to create something that is very special indeed.

From the very first sounds of "Isolation" I felt that I was onto something very special indeed and decided to not listen to the album until I could sit and give it the sole attention it deserved. I decided against headphones, but instead sat quietly in the middle of a room and let the sound wash over me (accompanied just by a rather large glass of rum, just to keep me company). There is a presence and self-control in this album that other bands need to pay attention to: there is no need to play five thousand notes to the bar when every note is placed with such perfection. There is a deep melancholy within this, with emotions let rampant, and a crying guitar that David Gilmour would be proud of. I have found it hard to write the review as I keep stopping just to bask in the splendour of this release.

It may have come out right at the end of the year, but possibly that makes it the perfect Christmas present for the discerning proghead who doesn't know what he/she is missing out on? They riff when they need to, and there is so much space within the layers that the proverbial truck could waltz right through, while the rhythm section not only when to crunch into life, but also when to sit quietly drinking their caf' au lait, and let the two guys at the front create some real magic. Album of the year? Well, there have been some great releases and I would have to go back and play them all to be sure. But, easily in my Top Ten and I have reviewed nearly 600 in 2017. Wonderful, amazing, indispensable, and if you enjoy any of the bands listed above then you simply have to get this

An album that fans of late 70's Pink Floyd should take note of and check out at some point.  If you liked this album check out And Life Goes On (Remastered 2024)

The Black Noodle Project on Bandcamp

Forces, Reactions, Deflections (quiet details 40)

by Scanner

Credits:

FreeForm Radio thanks Alex for a complimentary copy of this release
Music by Robin Rimbaud
Mastered by Alex at quiet details studios
Artwork by quiet details in collaboration with Robin Rimbaud
Design by quiet details
© quiet details 2025 all rights reserved

Elated to welcome one of the most enduringly creative and boundary-pushing artists of the last few decades to quiet details, Robin Rimbaud, otherwise known as Scanner.

A towering figure in the worlds of music, sonic and visual art, dance, installation and a myriad of other disciplines - Robin has covered a huge amount of artistic ground since his earliest forays into our consciousness in 1991.

From countless albums and projects as a solo artist and in many collaborations, including the likes of Brian Ferry, Michale Nyman, Steve McQueen, Stella McCartney, Laurie Anderson and Hussein Chalayan, and Pauline Oliveros; to the first Sound Art commission at the Tate Modern London; scoring a dance piece for the UK Olympics; the list of his critically-acclaimed achievements goes on and on.

At the core of his work is always a deep curiosity, the ability to make cognitive leaps into the creative unknown and fashion something beautiful - it’s with this sense of wonder he’s made something truly incredible for quiet details.

The album is a stunning sonic exploration of the world around him, another fundamental element running through his work - realising the majesty contained within structures that has always been there, now brought to life.

As Robin says:

This album is forged entirely from the resonant clangs, echoes, and whispers of a stainless steel staircase at home, transforming everyday architecture into an unexpected orchestra.

By coaxing rhythm, tone, and atmosphere from the metallic body of a staircase, the work reimagines movement between floors as a passage through sound.

No synthesisers were used in the creation, only the natural sound of the staircase using a geophone seismic microphone and the gentle assistance of the occasional resonant filter and sample software.

This has led to an album of enveloping beauty - highly textured drones meet distant pulses; metallic fragments merge with hauntingly evocative melody. Physical architecture translated to harmonic structures in the most breathtaking way imaginable.

There’s so much to admire here - from the beauty of the original recordings to the highest level of craft to turn them into something so musically engaging - a true masterpiece from one of our finest artistic minds.

Huge thanks to Robin for being part of the series.

The artwork was made as always influenced by the music and idea behind the album - originating from a photo from Robin 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, created by the artist and representing the music in its purest form.

scanner.bandcamp.com  

credits

released October 1, 2025

In Hellraiser, Barker introduced a world in which reality fractures under the weight of forbidden desire. The puzzle box – the Lament Configuration – is both a gateway and a warning, opening a portal to a dimension ruled by the Cenobites, beings who transcend the binary of agony and ecstasy. The film challenged conventional horror by embedding philosophical and existential questions within its gore-soaked narrative: What lies beyond the threshold of human experience? Can suffering be a form of transcendence? Is pleasure meaningful without pain?
Codex Of Pleasure And Pain. A Sonic Tribute to Clive Barker’s Hellraiser is a dark sonic journey inspired by one of the most iconic and disturbing visions in modern horror cinema. Drawing from the imagery, themes, and atmosphere of Clive Barker’s Hellraiser (1987), this compilation assembles 11 projects from the dark ambient, experimental, and post-industrial scenes to create an immersive experience that echoes the film’s haunting exploration of pain, pleasure, and the limits of human sensation.
The artists in Codex Of Pleasure And Pain offer abstract, oblique responses to its aesthetic and philosophical implications. The compilation functions as a sonic codex, an aural grimoire of sorts, where each piece contributes to a broader cosmology of the Hellraiser universe.
The release is accompanied by a printed volume of original short stories, also inspired by Clive Barker’s universe and the themes of Hellraiser, offering a powerful literary counterpart to the music. 

credits

releases October 16, 2025

REVIEWS

Avant Music News
avantmusicnews.com/2025/10/04/amn-reviews-various-artists-codex-of-pleasure-and-pain-a-sonic-tribute-to-clive-barkers-hellraiser-2025-eighth-tower-records/

Bizzarrechats
bizarrechats.blogspot.com/2025/10/codex-of-pleasure-and-pain-tales-music.html

FreeForm thanks Raffaele Pezzella (Sonologyst) for a complimentary copy of this release
Curated and mastered by Raffaele Pezzella (Sonologyst).
Published by Eighth Tower Records.
Layout by Matteo Mariano.
Cat. Number ETR066.
© 2025. All rights reserved.

14 May 2024: Ozric Tentacles; Michael Rutherford; øjeRum

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Please support FreeForm Radio and KMXT by going to www.KMXT.org and pledging your support.

The music you hear on tonight's show is available on the artists' Bandcamp pages and websites and Spotify. 

We urge you to support the musicians you hear on FreeForm Radio. 

I am also hosting Rural Electric (Mostly) Country from 7:15-9:00 pm before FreeForm.

 Tonight's theme is "Outlaw Country" - Spotify Playlist here.

 

Review by Rick Eaglestone for MPM

Instrumental intergalactic travellers Ozric Tentacles return with 6 new tracks constructed in their very own blue bubble for new album Lotus Unfolding

Opening track Storm in a Teacup is wonderfully familiar of which I feel that I am transported back to the groups Jurassic Shift era with soundscapes incredibly reminiscent of when I discovered them in my teenage years back in the mid 90’s.

it’s one of the albums longest tracks but is so varied and well-structured that the entrancing waves feel that no real time has passed.

The first time I listened to this album was in the stillness of the night in complete darkness and because of this became engulfed in follow up track Deep Blue Shade

Halfway point of the album opens up for the albums title track Lotus Unfolding which is deeply hypnotic and easily my highlight track of the release it has a real calming presence with prominent bass and swirling solo’s which is then complimented by the albums longest track the majestic near 10-minute chaotic nature of Crumplepenny

The albums final duo really hone in on the quintessential essence of Ozric Tentacles journey through planes of melodies and musicianship Green Incantation is a wonderful blend of experience and experimentation with the album final venture Burundi Spaceport end this particular chapter with an air of hypnotic serenity sprinkled with just a dash of showmanship and artistic flair.

Ed Wynne comments: 

The concept is, as usually wide & open to interpretation but basically is a sonically illustrated excursion through some of the musical realms we found ourselves in this time around.

Designed to elevate and delight the senses, should that be required, because if the day feels like an unfolding lotus, it’s probably going to be a good one!

A rather splendid astral journey via the aural senses.

 Smallcreep's Day is the first studio album by English guitarist and songwriter Mike Rutherford, released in February 1980 on Charisma Records. It was recorded in 1979 during a period of inactivity from his rock band Genesis, during which Rutherford and keyboardist Tony Banks recorded their first solo albums. The 24-minute title track is based on the 1965 novel Smallcreep's Day by Peter Currell Brown which tells the story of Mr. Smallcreep and the journey of self-discovery he takes through the assembly line of the factory he has worked in for forty years. 

Rutherford played all lead and bass guitars on the album which included an acoustic 6-string Ovation, an electric 12-string Alvarez, his custom made Shergold double neck bass, a Fender Stratocaster for lead parts, an Ibanez,^[3] and a Roland guitar synthesiser, from which he acquired a string sound that reminded him of a Polymoog synthesiser.^[5][3] He also borrowed a few models from a keyboard roadie who was an avid guitar collector.^[2]

Smallcreep's Day opens with the 24-minute title track that has seven distinct movements.^[5] It is based on the 1965 novel Smallcreep's Day, the only book written by Peter Currell Brown.^[5] A satire on modern industrial life, the story follows Pinquean Smallcreep who has worked in the same factory for forty years and embarks on a journey of self-discovery as he follows its assembly line to find out what the factory produces.^[4] Brown had in fact worked in a factory for forty years himself.^[3] Rutherford had read the book roughly three years prior to starting work on the album, noting it had similarities to the Gormenghast series of fantasy novels by Mervyn Peake.^[1] Though he considered it "hardly a great piece of literature", he was more impressed with its spirit and the atmosphere it presented as a reader.^[7] He also chose the book as its story and setting were something he could work and develop from and adapted it to have a happy ending.^[1][8] He later noted a strong contrast in themes between the factory and machine-oriented imagery on his album and the more romantic and fantasy-inspired Genesis songs typical of the time.^[3] Rutherford had attempted to pass lines from the book as lyrics, but abandoned the idea as they failed to work effectively.^[3]

En Sten for Solen (A Stone To The Sun)

 

 Next in the quiet details series we have something very special - an incredible interpretation from the musician and visual artist, øjeRum.

Loved for his music as much as his stunning collages, øjeRum has a deep back-catalogue of releases spanning labels such as Room40, Opal Tapes, Fluid Audio and many more - all exploring his unique minimal and deeply textural style.

With En Sten for Solen (A Stone To The Sun, translated from his native Danish) we find an album which builds on his already finely-honed sensibilities and creates an emotive and introspective journey through his refined creativity.

Beginning with what feels like rhythmic footsteps into the immersive worlds he’s so adept at conjuring, you quickly fall deeper into these mesmerising and all-encompassing narcotic soundscapes.

Gaseous clouds mix with disintegrating melodic phrases, beautifully designed auditory illusions come in and out of focus - all perfectly paced and subtly shifting as time goes on and the music draws you further in.

This music, like his artwork, has an almost mystical feeling, verging on the supernatural - it’s timeless and has a way of speaking to people regardless of background or culture - it’s purely human and moving beyond words.

The production is as we’ve come to expect from øjeRum - dense yet soft, with bright rays of light beaming through the nebulous mist.

Living up to his reputation as an artist that traverses media with great skill, along with the album he wrote these poetic words:

I hold a stone to the sun / so I cannot see
the sun for the stone / but only its outline
that vibrates and shapes / the stone bigger and smaller
organic and graceful as / an angel in the snow
until the point where / the stone seems to disappear
too real to be / real and / now I hold the sun
the sun for the stone / and the angel in the snow
is dancing with the sun / in the stone

Huge thanks to øjeRum for everything, a truly complete and wonderful addition to the series.

The artwork was made as always influenced by the music and idea behind the album - this time it was very special as øjeRum is so well-know for his visual art - he gave me the honour of using one of his original collages to use as the basis of the piece - which was then captured with analogue photography and processed here at quiet details studios.
We’re both very happy with the results and so pleased to share it with you.

Our thanks to Alex at quiet details for providing us with a copy of this release.

øjeRum - A Stone To The Sun

1 The Sun’s Light Behind My Eyelids
2 A Hundred Years From Now
3 When Bodies Of Glass Contract
4 Out Crawls The Day
5 Under The Dream
6 A Stone To The Sun

oejerum.bandcamp.com  

credits

released May 8, 2024

copyright © quiet details 2024 

Digital half price until 17th May x

Music by øjeRum
Mastered by Alex at quiet details studios
Artwork by quiet details in collaboration with øjeRum
Design by quiet details 

 

Tags

ambient denmark chill-out downtempo drone electronic field recordings quiet details øjerum United Kingdom

 

 

 

26 March 2024: Alrune Rod; Low Communication; Puppy Bordiga; The Tapes

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Please support FreeForm Radio and KMXT by going to KMXT.org and pledging your support.

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. 

 

 Find playlists for my shows on Spotify by searching "KMXT FreeForm Radio".

 

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.

Hear Ragnarok here.

Bio written by Time Signature, Denmark.

 

Low Communication Just Another Day

 

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.

license

all rights reserved

tags

Tags

electronic ambient downtempo experimental new age trip hop Berlin

 

Midnight Fire by Puppy Bordiga et al

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.

Marco Lucchi
marcolucchi.bandcamp.com

Daniel Fumega
danielfumega.bandcamp.com

Wilfried Hanrath
wilfriedhanrath.bandcamp.com

Scarlett Chapman
bandcamp.com/scarlett_chapman

license

some rights reserved

tags

Tags

ambient drone electroacustic guitar Buenos Aires

 

A Touch of Despair by The Tapes

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 

credits

released February 1, 2024

REVIEWS

Avant Music News
avantmusicnews.com/2024/02/25/amn-reviews-the-tapes-a-touch-of-despair-1986-2024-unexplained-sounds-group/

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

Luminous Dash
luminousdash.be/reviews/the-tapes-a-touch-of-despair-unexplained-sounds/

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!

Ver Sacrum
www.versacrum.com/vs/2024/03/the-tapes-a-touch-of-despair.html



Published by ©Unexplained Sounds Group and Luce Sia
Curated by Raffaele Pezzella in collaboration with Sacha Rovelli e Giancarlo Drago
Cat. Num. USG093
Artwork by Maura Santini
Layout by Matteo Mariano
© 2024. All rights reserved

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experimental avant-garde drone improvisation musique concrete sound art Italy