Labradford - Labradford (Kranky, 1996)

1		Phantom Channel Crossing (4:43)
2		Midrange (6:29)
3		Pico (5:46)
4		The Cipher (3:12)
5		Lake Speed (6:47)
6		Scenic Recovery (4:52)
7		Battered (7:57)

This eponymously titled Labradford album was actually the group's third, and finds them in chillingly good form. The opening track, 'Phantom Channel Crossing' is a real hair-raiser, ushered in by the sound of rattling chains and shrill percussion. The typically atmospheric mini-epics the band became famous for are just around the corner though: just check out the luscious strings and ghostly organ on 'Mid-Range', or the stately, quasi-gothic textures of 'Lake Speed' for further details. Very, very beautiful indeed.

Boomkat

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Mountains - Sewn (Apestaartje, 2006)

1		Sewn One (3:27)
2		Sewn Two (2:54)
3		Simmer (8:04)
4		Bay (4:01)
5		Below (7:57)
6		Interlude (2:08)
7		Hundred Acre (12:55)
8		Sheets (3:06)

Following on from their indescribably good eponymous LP, the Mountains return with the second part of their startlingly accomplished vision on 'Sewn'; bringing together a genuine love of Eno then fermenting it through a charcoal base of enticing micro-sound bleaching which instantly evokes comparisons to Jan Jelinek, Fennesz et al. The chosen appellation of Brendon Anderegg and Koen Holtkamp, The Mountains have garnered some serious and well deserved praise through their wheezing and gorgeously textured soundscapes, opening 'Sewn' with the effulgent sun-set peaks of 'Sewn One'. Whilst this expansive horizon of frosted-glass noise is fantastically welcome, The Mountains know how to craft a striking contrast; immediately juxtaposing this billowing introduction with the intricate acoustic guitar and dappled forest percussion of 'Sewn Two'. Elsewhere, 'Simmer' crackles with digital lint and fuzz before unfolding into a chiming masterpiece, 'Hundred Acre' moulds wave after wave of splintered beauty around glittered electronic snow-falls, whilst 'Sheets' brings down the lights through a clutch of dulled analogue. The hills are alive...

Boomkat

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Mountains - Mountains (Apestaartje, 2005)

1		Paper Windmill (13:11)
2		Down Under The Manhattan Bridge Overpass (16:40)
3		Blown Glass Typewriter (5:38)
4		Sunday 07.25.04 Live At Tonic (21:15)

Brooklyn's Apestaartje label has been one to watch over the last couple of years, operating a similar music policy to Taylor Deupree's 12k but with a stronger leaning towards electro-acoustic works with an emphasis on live instrumentation. The Mountains are the duo of label owners Brendon Anderegg and Koen Holtkamp who operate elsewhere on the label as Anderegg and Aero. The sound of Mountains emits via instrumentation from the worlds of americana, folk and modern classical music given a subtle electronic filtering mixed with shimmering field recordings. Often sounding like classic Apollo era Brian Eno recorded during a tropical downpour, while at others bringing to mind the glorious sun-drenched layering of genre-master Fennesz, this album evokes the feeling you had as a child when opening boxed presents only to find another box insideand then another ... until you finally reach the gemstone kept heavily under wraps. Housed in a unique styled digipak, this album transcends all usual superlatives and is a definite highlight of 2005 to date. Essential purchase.

Boomkat

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Calder - Lower (Make Mine Music, 2008)

01 system
02 calc
03 vast
04 tuft
05 tone
06 cluster
07 semi
08 drones
09 vessel
10 rowd

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The Gentleman Losers - The Gentleman Losers (Büro, 2006)

An Empire Of Coins (1:39)
Gold Dust Afternoon (6:10)
Mansion On The Dunes (6:09)
Slow Guitars (5:46)
Horses Of Instruction (5:35)
Laureline (5:50)
Silver Mountain (4:48)
Light Fandango (5:36)
Salt Of The Sea (4:33)
Weed Garden (3:16)

When we first heard Finland’s Gentleman Losers it was as if their music had always been familiar to us, bringing to mind the instrumental wonder of Vincent Gallo’s massively overlooked ‘When’ album, coaxing dusty guitars, brushed drums and archive documentary music into an epiphany of childhood nostalgia and blissful daydreaming. To be sure, this has been the sort of album that has charmed and beguiled anyone and everyone who’s just happened to walk into the office when it’s been on – straddling that fine line between twilight beauty and dusky threat. Opening with the creased prologue of 'An Empire of Coins', The Gentleman Losers sound much as you wish Boards of Canada did - taking a water-bled guitar part then incrementally coating it in a queasy blend of crackling aural lint. Recorded at night in a reputedly haunted house that comprises part of Finland’s medieval district, The Gentleman Losers describe their music as "one part 60s movie soundtracks, one part wooden electronica, all recorded through a 50s Telefunken mixer we found abandoned in a basement". ‘The Gentleman Losers’ encapsulate a universe of quiet musical aspirations in a breezy, effortless way that’s all-too rare, managing to distil their sound into a pithy diktat : "we wanted to make music from a past that hasn't happened yet...". Album of the year

Boomkat

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Sylvain Chauveau & Ensemble Nocturne - Down to the Bone (an acoustic tribute to Depeche Mode) (Les Disques du Soleil et de l'Acier, 2005)

1		Stripped (5:01)
2		The Things You Said (3:57)
3		Home (4:55)
4		Policy Of Truth (3:34)
5		Death's Door (3:16)
6		(Enjoy) The Silence (0:45)
7		In Your Room (5:05)
8		Blasphemous Rumours (4:10)
9		Freelove (3:08)
10		Never Let Me Down Again (5:39)
		Enjoy The Silence (4:25) Given that the one thing we have in common with loads of artists and labels that we work with is an absolutely obsessive love of Depeche Mode (hey, one of our closest compadre’s even ran a German Depeche Mode fanzine in his teens!) - and that this is the year of the Piano and all that – you can imagine how we greeted news of this release by the wondrous Sylvain Chauveau. The fourth album proper from the Paris based Chauveau was quite evidently a labour of love to put together, a fact which marbles every aspect of this record; starting with the choked reading of 'Stripped' and ending 45 minutes later with the shuffling instrumentation and high-end clicks of 'Enjoy the Silence'. Chaveau's masterful piano is entwined throughout by Ensemble Nocturne; a classically trained 5-piece whose forlorn accompaniment nonetheless carbonates 'Down to the Bone's unvarnished predilection with enough bite to elevate well beyond the soporific foothills oft associated with such endeavours. With the whole of Depeche Mode's career to gun at, Chauveau has chosen a commendably esoteric selection-box which includes 'Home', 'Enjoy The Silence', ‘Blasphemous Rumours’, ‘Never Let Me Down’, 'Freelove' and 'Death's Door'; all given a lick of paint and presented as new. Whether you're a dedicated Depeche denizen or have never been overly fond of their oeuvre, 'Down to the Bone' provides equal delights as both a gorgeous set of stripped down 21st Century torch songs and as a tribute to these pioneering Basildon Bastards. Yes please. Boomkat try

Swod - Sekunden (City Centre Offices, 2007)

A1		Montauk
A2		Ja
A3		Deer
A4		Sekunden
B1		Exit
B2		Insects
B3		Belgien
B4		Frost
B5		Patinage

It seems like we've had to endure an awfully long wait since Swod's debut album "Gehen" came into our lives, but finally Oliver Doerell and Stephan Wohrmann have returned with Sekunden, a second instalment in the duo's ongoing exploration of piano and cinematic scores. This time the Swod sound has expanded to incorporate a more pronounced usage of acoustic drums, bass and even guitar. Fear not however, the nucleus of florid piano elegance and subtle electronic manipulation is still the pervasive element of Wohrmann and Doerell's work, yet this is no Alva Noto + Ryuichi Sakamoto-type affair. Rather than specialising in pristine digital dissections of the instrument, Swod fashion a far more human-sounding set of compositions, with a clear jazz influence informing the rhythmic shifts in the album. 'Ja' serves as a fine early example of this, bristling with minute digital beats, velvetty acoustic bass and tidal undercurrents of drone. At its most experimental the album morphs into melodic soundscaping, as on the windswept melancholy of the title track, yet even in these more abstract moments the two musicians manage to come off sounding grounded in an artful, musicianly discipline. In its final third Sekunden seems to move up a gear, launching into the romanticism and expressive keystrokes of 'Belgien', before the pulsing cinematic motifs of 'Frost' carry us onto the wonderful 'Patinage'. It's classic Swod material, yet finds them reaching towards the next level, achieving a kind of urgency and melodic lyricism hitherto untapped by the duo. Required listening and quite wonderful, as you'd imagine.

Boomkat

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Part Timer - Part Timer (Moteer, 2006)

Unwritten Letter To No.9
We Made A Big Mistake
Daytona
Thinking, Unthinking
When I’ve Breathed My Last (Interlude)
Sad Little Dennis
It Only Means
My Friends
Rain On My Window (Part Two)
Be
Hear To Something
End Of The Line

The latest release from The Remote Viewer's Moteer label sees John McCaffrey (a constituent part of Clickits) going it alone for his debut record under his autonomous moniker of Part Timer. Sounding like a lost English Folk classic, the eponymous LP is a dusty coalition of tender melodies and faded compositions that reveal their vibrant history through subtle flourishes - with McCaffrey instinctively knowing when to leave something out as much as put something in. Opening through 'Unwritten Letter To No. 9', some tape treated guitar is teased into life atop a skipping stone of electronics and warm melodies, with an intimate atmosphere crafted from the hearth-like ingredients. Taking this tender atmosphere and giving it a vocal axis courtesy of the Empress' Nicola Hodgkinson, 'We Made A Big Mistake' is up next and provides a definite highlight - as a water-clogged batch of instrumentation is sent swirling by the poignant lyrics and subtle production flourishes that are best seen from the corner of your eye. Sharing an evident heritage with the likes of Mum and The Boats, 'We Made A Big Mistake' also gives a nod to the aural lint of Jan Jelinek et al. - a situation made all the more pronounced by the next track 'Daytona'. Easing you in through a flutter of mealy crackles, a delicate guitar is soon given room to blossom - never quite peaking as you expect and as such instilling proceedings with a fabulously piquant sense of something being not quite right. Elsewhere, 'Thinking, Unthinking' is another vocal cut that sees the lyrics being spun backwards and forwards to satisfying effect, 'Hear... To Something' is an energetic coming together of EFX, acoustics and ribald beats (think Four Tet's 'Tangle'), whilst 'It Only Means' slips in some old-skool female vocals amongst it's thicket of thrumming instrumentation.

Boomkat

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Melodium - Hum Hum & Bla Bla (Autres Directions in Music, 2005)

Untitled 1 (1:25)
Hellomusic (Ochre Remix) (7:05)
Untitled 2 (2:47)
Interlude Pour [Chiens] Depressifs (Audioroom Remix) (2:56)
Untitled 3 (2:59)
Untitled 4 (2:22)
Untitled 5 (3:41)
La Fin De Tout (Marsen Jules Remix) (4:00)

Here comes the Hum Hum & Bla Bla EP from Melodium, a french artist with his own quirky style of music. His work is a lot more electroacoustic and instrumental than electronic in nature. The instrumental nature of the EP also makes it sound more human.

The EP is also slightly experimental with the use of irregular sounding clicks and pops and lots of other weird but overall mellow sounds. In the midst of all the varied sound sources lies very nice musical arrangements that won’t disappoint.

Favourite tracks:
Hellomusic (Ochre remix)
Sounding almost classical in nature, a strange contrast is brought about in the listening experience by the clicky and poppy percussion that goes on for most of the track. The track transforms itself beautifully as it progresses in an almost strange manner for most electronic music which involves just adding more harmonies and playing louder. Leveraging on the concept of dynamics that most electronic musicians forget about. The only complaint I have about the track is that the percussion doesn’t sit that nicely in the mix during the later parts.

Untitled 5
This track sounds like it started its life as a pop piano piece. Sprinkle in glitchy sounding percussion, strings and uplifting arpeggiated synths and you have a kind of playful pop piece that sounds like it belongs in a vintage videogame.

La fin de tout (Marsen Jules remix)
A perfect ender track for the EP. Guitar chords and melodies are superimposed with the sounds of atmospheric pads and a synth that wails on in the background echoing memories of farewells that are both beautiful and sad at the same time.

Gratisvibes

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Steven R. Smith - Antinomy (Digitalis, 2004)

1 untitled
2 untitled
3 untitled
4 untitled
5 untitled
6 untitled

"Six gorgeous instrumentals, all dark and dreamy, ranging from heavily reverbed Appalachia, to haunting and spare abstract ambience. Electric guitars waver and shimmer in a vast cavern of sympathetic overtones. So beautiful. You can almost picture a lone hooded figure, perched on a small outcropping of rock, playing strange mournful odes by the light of a lantern, serenading all the creatures in the dark, kept at bay by the light, and narcoticized by the tranquil and elegant sounds. So nice." – Aquarius Records

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TwinSisterMoon - When Stars Glide Through Solid (self release, 2007)

1		I Wish I Could Drown The World In Reverberation (4:18)
2		To Breath Underwater (4:42)
3		Frozen Rose (1:29)
4		The Vampire Of Suburbia (10:25)
5		Demonized Nature (4:21)
6		Burn The Place Of The Heart (2:05)
7		The Bitch Is Dead (2:45)
8		Ojibway Ghost Trail Song (4:10)
9		Cruel Brother (5:57)
10		Komuzo (2:50)
11		In Anatomical Order (1:34)
12		Comets (3:02)
13		When Stars Glide Through Solid (6:08)
14		Amikuk (3:37)

TwinSisterMoon is the solo project of Mehdi Ameziane, one-half of the fantastic Natural Snow Buildings from Vitre, France. (Accompanist Solange Gularte is here in spirit, providing the meticulously hand-crafted art work which conceals the disc, and the most reasonable explanation as to why this little miracle is limited to only 30 copies.) Where Natural Snow Building’s latest ‘The Dance of the Moon and the Sun' holds an entire galaxy of sounds in its two discs, the songs of ‘When Stars Glide Through Solid’ flicker from a single firmament of acoustic guitar and Mehdi’s androgynous voice, tastefully embellished with a few stringed knick-knacks and a few mixing effects. Signaling this tangential relationship, lead-in song “I Wish I Could Drown the World in Reverberation” suggests the Kranky essence of NSB’s ‘Dance’, though through a tapering aperture as the drone symphony compartmentalizes into discrete components of percussion, guitar, keys; come track 2, “To Breath Underwater”, we have quickly arrived in the intimacy of a single star in this Constellation where the hush of Mehdi’s Vaseline microphones and self-harmonizing sounds like Sigur Ros unplugged (and though his lyrics are in English, the heavy reverb of the recording make each word near impossible without aid of the lyric sheet). The voiced hook of “The Vampire of Suburbia” makes it an early highlight, with Mehdi’s dark, warm picking smartly embossed as it vanishes in swells of bass. With quasi-occultist lyrics, he compliments the shaggy mysticism of Vashti Bunyan and The Tree People, as well as current folk-acolytes Espers, Feathers, and Fursaxa: “Demonized Nature” is another endulgant melody, a bohemian dance of banjoline and tambourine like one from White Magic’s debut EP; “The Bitch is Dead” could very well be a on-the-fly cover of Lubelski or Nadler; “Komuzo” suggests a scraping, spooky singalong in the dark vein of HRSTA. Latter tracks “In Anatomical Order” and the behemoth “When Stars Glide Through Solid” return to the cosmic abstractions of Windy and Carl and Labradford - the former seemingly a drone variation on the melody of Duran Duran’s “Save a Prayer”, the latter evolving into a jubilant drum and banjo revelry befitting Cerberus Shoal in full band formation; banjo miniatures “Comets” and closer “Amekuk” come laced between the two, reifying Mehdi’s fit in songs of all sizes. ‘When Stars Glide Through Solid’ is a color-labelled, blue-bottom CDr, housed in an embossed, double-thick handmade envelope with hand-lettering and drawings (the cover image an unusual Matt Groening-like bunny character), a thick, hand-lettered lyrics insert, and a beautiful ink print on hand-made paper, all bundled with a satin ribbon and star charm. Recommended without reservation, if you can get yr hands on one. (self-released CDr, available where ?); Solange solo work coming soon!)

Animal Psi

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Black Forest / Black Sea - Black Forest / Black Sea (Secret Eye Records / Last Visible Dog, 2003)

On their debut, Providence-based Black Forest/Black Sea offer seven chilly field recordings placed within a half-improvised framework of guitar, cello and sundry accented glitches. After piecing together a magnificent patchwork tent of bark, calico fabric, twisted vines, and fallen stars, the duo-- featuring ex-members of experimental folk troupe Iditarod-- sets up an austere camp in the enchanted psych-folk glen also inhabited by Ghost, Charalambides, Six Organs of Admittance, Fursaxa, and the Jewelled Antler Collective. In addition to Jeffrey Alexander's guitar (finger-picked and bowed) and Miriam Goldberg's cello (pitch-shifted and ring modulated), Black Forest/Black Sea incorporate hissing short-wave radio, omnichord, haunting vocal melodies, saxophone, rusty percussion, 8-rpm phonograph, reel-to-reel noise, drone, feedback, fireside crackles, and some general knob turning.

Catchier, darker, and less composed than their Iditarod forebears, Black Forest/Black Seas's diminutive freak-outs are surprisingly addictive. "Sevastopol", which reverences the Ukranian Black Sea fishing port, is an autumnal patch of creepy chamber-music woven with repetitious arpeggios, sturdy cello, backward loops, and the scent of a woodsy bacchanalia. The heavily-plucked "Blackbird on Gray Sky" employs female vocals and swirling instrumentation to lock into its groove, a straightforward troubadour piece until the vocals double and crunchy percussion begins to accompany what sounds like a warped singing saw, bird calls, spectral voices, and shimmering electronics. "Beautiful Here", meanwhile, is more trebly and compressed, a muffled sonic effect like the strains of Medieval bards leaking to your eardrum from someone else's headphones. The lyrics capture the deceptively simple remembrance of a forestal epiphany: the song ends with a field recording of birds, breezes, trees. Here and elsewhere, Black Forest/Black Sea tweak a silvan melancholy; even when the players are happy, it's depressing.

Though each song is successful in its own small way, on "Sunday Market", the acid-folk finally explodes outward with a jangling astronomy. Locating the bedroom version of Magic Hour's transcendent density, a quick Casio beat and snowballing of layered sounds-- alto sax, jarring spring reverb, and caterwauling feedback pretending to be a pack of crows-- catapult the listener into quaking treetops. If every track reached these heights, this record would be required listening; triple the length of "Sunday Market" and godhead is not simple hyperbole. The finale, "Lump in Throat", neatly brings the vibe back down to earth; its organ drones and synthesized drum beat lay a foundation for end-time stargazing, intuitively capturing the fragile rhythms of cracked branches: place a pillow over your head, grab your water-damaged copy of The House of The Seven Gables, and await your next personal witch hunt.

Regardless of the modest earlier tracks and the brevity of the whole affair, there's plenty of beauty shot through this old-world sleepwalk. Especially impressive as a debut, at this point Black Forest/Black Sea offers a gorgeous snapshot of the free psych underground, one of the purest spaces of otherworldly terrain in the current musical landscape. I look forward to future incantations.

- Brandon Stosuy, October 6, 2003, Pitchforkmedia

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Jasper TX - In a Cool Monsoon (Pumpkin Seeds in the Sand, 2007)

1		Still A Tiny Light? (1:24)
2		Bending Spoons (6:44)
3		Summer (6:00)
4		I Will Be Birds When I Die (8:58)
5		Waking Up (11:55)
6		And Still A Tiny Light (7:26)
7		Falling From The Sky Like A Flock Of Burning Birds (11:39)

A serious contender for his best album so far, Jasper TX's In A Cool Monsoon is possibly his most varied and accessible work to date, appropriating a more pop-oriented sound than on prior outings. There's a heightened attention to song structure on this album, with Dag Rosenqvist's multi-instrumental sound tapestries more clearly defined, penetrating the electronic mist. The Fennesz /Tim Hecker comparisons are still there to be made, and 'Still A Tiny Light?' certainly invites that, but pieces like the beautiful 'Bending Spoons' demonstrate that Rosenqvist has outgrown merely being a sum of his influences. Scrappy drums back up reverberating melodica lines while guitars plot out an atmospheric tension, it's not quite post-rock, but nor is it discernibly electronica. The organic drones and haunting chord sequences of 'Summer' are similarly charged with a sense of mod and location, functioning as an acoustic counterpart to the elegiac digital resonance of 'I Will Be Birds When I Die', which takes its shape from swathes of shimmering synthesizer and muddy field recordings. At around twelve minutes 'Waking Up' is the longest piece here, and perhaps as a result of this, one of the weaker contributions. No major damage is done, but the key to much of the album's success is in its focus and clarity, but in this instance you get the sense that Rosenqvist is placing too great an emphasis on the repetition of a floating tremolo guitar motif which isn't necessarily enough of a foundation for such a lengthy piece. Far, far more successful is the gorgeous 'And Still A Tiny Light', a delightful tangle of noise, glacial melodies and understated glockenspiel melodies - it's the kind of thing you'd expect to hear as an instrumental interlude on a Sigur Ros album. As a follow-up, and grand finale, 'Falling From The Sky Like A Flock Of Burning Birds' makes for a wonderful, extended coda. After a deep grey, nebulous beginning, shards of sonorous sparkle effervesce from the mix in the form of tiny glockenspiel gestures, only for the piece to suddenly accumulate a more direct sense of momentum and purpose by a final few moments of escalating guitar phrases. Excellent.

Boomkat

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Natural Snow Buildings - The Dance of the Moon and the Sun (self release, 2006)

1.01		Carved Heart (1:06)
1.02		Cut Joint Sinews & Divided Reincarnation (15:19)
1.03		Interstate Roads (3:15)
1.04		Wisconsin (11:58)
1.05		Rain Serenade (3:21)
1.06		Dance Of The Moon & The Sun (6:26)
1.07		Felt Presence, Ghostly Humming (25:14)
1.08		Breaking Waters (2:46)
1.09		Eu Un Miroir, Obscurement (4:38)
1.10		The Cover-Up (5:09)
2.01		Tupilak (2:12)
2.02		Wandering Souls (3:48)
2.03		A Ten Guardian-Spirits Motherfucker (9:33)
2.04		Mary Brown (1:07)
2.05		Gary Webb (4:56)
2.06		Whose Eyes Are Flowers (5:23)
2.07		The Cursed Bell (2:16)
2.08		All Animals In The Form Of Water (4:39)
2.09		Lie There (3:37)
2.10		John Carpenter (12:06)
2.11		Away, My Ghosts (2:52)
2.12		My Bones Are Yours (4:47)
2.13		Search For Me (4:02)
2.14		Tunneling Into The Structure Until It Falls (7:04)
2.15		Remains In The Ditch Of The Dead (9:50)

French duo Natural Snow Buildings shame the world with this huge endeavor. ‘The Dance of the Moon and the Sun’ is a sleepy giant of a third release: two CDrs, each filled to the 80-minute brim with a complete genre of sounds. NSB runs closely alongside the catalog of the Franco-friendly Constellation and its American lesser-half Kranky, threading simple melodies between rich, swollen instrumentals. Made of Solange and Mehdi, the band enjoys the highest qualities of small collaboration and total mind-meld. Sung in modest, perfect English, the band’s littler songs are straight-forward contractions of the bigger forms which fill the bulk of the discs; nevertheless, the band has a skill for both styles, cramming as much into the velocity of a two-minute track that they do in twenty.

From the top, songs like the unofficial 15-minute opener “Cut joint sinews & divided Reincarnation” spell out the bands thesis “what was ‘Post-Rock’?”; this track in particular playing out like latter Tarentel with persistent, grounded percussion and smothering space-atmosphere. There is an equal distribution of droning raga-sagas and near-traditional downbeat pop songs, with the more condensed tunes acting as segues between moments like the spacious Sigur Ros of “Wisconsin.” Despite the diversity of tone and timbre from track to track, songs of both form notch into a progressive harmony like in the groove of an LP - such as when the title-track emerges from the stellar-feedback of the mounting predecessors, breaking open into a ghost-ship chorus uncannily reminiscent of Constellation’s HRSTA. The epic “Felt presence, ghostly Humming” is a total release in itself, with 25-minutes of black & purple Labradford-like kaleidoscope and slithering chords of electric guitar. Incredibly, the track evolves beyond all precedent, as the glistening washes come into focus with angelic chants and blooms of plucked strings. A handful of voice/acoustic sketches follow like the band resurfacing: a smear of melancholy, rainy-day melodies leading into the second disc.

“Tupilak” is a short yet sinister transition into the graying center of this opus, with lupine howls and winds buzzing in the murk. Windy & Carl are felt in the ancient rite of “Wandering Souls”, and like a global conniption of tribal spirit, the opening Tarentelic dance is reprised in “A ten guardian-spirits motherfucker” with the sequined percussion of bodies stomping the earth, bleeding into golden tones and exotic strings. “The cursed Bell” comes midway this side and rings out with clarity so sharp and a voice so sincere it hurts, following the fantasy which precedes it. “My Bones are yours” alights like a jet-rocket with a wall of glittery guitar that lifts the back of this album up above whatever higher ground it had settled itself to; “Tunneling into the structure until it falls” and “Remains in the Ditch of the Dead” exit this collection on high - despite the titles - disintegrating into the air, ready to reform and recycle into the first disc’s “Carved Heart”.

It is advisable to play the discs back-to-back (to back-to-back), as any seam is likely unintended and would falsely partition these 25 pieces necessarily recorded to two discs. Perhaps the most valuable citation would be last year’s fantastic ‘We Lowered a Microphone into the Ground' by Reigns; still, the breadth of ‘The Dance of the Moon and the Sun’ is so great and the emotion so vast, references inevitably fail to describe the experience. Printed labels on the discs, hand-printed, hand-assembled, hand-drawn covers and bound booklet with lyrics - this is an incredibly crafted work of art holding an even greater body of music. Tremendously recommended. The one pictured is red and I believe all gone, I’ve got a blue one in an edition of 19 and is surely disappeared by this point… there be rumor of a Time-Lag release (re-release?) in the future, so stay awake until that moment. (self-released dbl-CDr, that’s it)

Animal Psi

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Stephan Mathieu - Radioland (Die Schachtel, 2008)

1		Raphael (10:04)
2		Gabriel (10:02)
3		Michael (10:08)
4		Promenade (5:06)
5		Auf Der Gasse (5:03)
6		Licht Und Finsternis Zum Auge (8:20)
7		Prolog Im Himmel (7:05)

In recent years Stephan Mathieu has composed some of the very finest examples of what the microsound movement has to offer: most recently 2006's Hidden Name (Cronica) with Janek Schaefer, and before that 2004's Pieces Of Winter (Sirr) with John Hudak. Until now, the release of The Sad Mac on Japanese imprint Headz was the most recent solo recording from Mathieu, and deservingly, it found him a good deal of acclaim in the press, but Radioland sounds like a real step up for the composer and is without question one of the most beautiful albums you'll see and hear in 2008. The album takes shortwave radio signals as its starting point, meaning Mathieu instantly invites comparisons with Tod Dockstader and William Basinski, but while there's often a grainy, hazed over murk to those works, Mathieu somehow brings a luminosity and brightness out of his sources. The opening trilogy of pieces (each named after an archangel) makes for an utterly absorbing half-hour sequence, each composition spanning an immersive ten minutes of analogue-mastered, carefully processed signals. To some of the less ardent drone disciples out there, it might be difficult to accept that certain records ascribing to that format can be radically better than others, but Radioland really is. The detail, subtlety and physicality of this music transcends the norm by quite some measure, with the most involved, elaborate pieces sounding positively symphonic. Further to that, a special mention should be given to the presentation of this album: it comes in a beautiful, oversized plexiglass case with an acetate foldout cover, and the CD itself is transparent - I don't really understand what devilry makes that possible but apparently it is. In any case, this is a thing of luxurious, opulence and beauty, but doesn't nearly match the effervescent brilliance of the music it houses. Brought to you with the highest possible recommendation - "Radioland" is a real treasure that should not be missed.

Boomkat

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Current 93 - Thunder Perfect Mind (Durtro, 1992 (2003 reissue x 2CD)

A Beginning (0:44)
The Descent Of Long Satan And Babylon (3:00)
A Sadness Song (4:14)
A Song For Douglas After He's Dead (4:58)
In The Heart Of The Wood And What I Found There (2:50)
Mary Waits In Silence (2:56)
A Silence Song (5:27)
A Lament For My Suzanne (4:20)
Riverdeadbank (3:46)
All The Stars Are Dead Now (9:06)
Rosy Star Tears From Heaven (3:05)
When The May Rain Comes (3:24)
Thunder Perfect Mind I (5:05)
Thunder Perfect Mind II (2:21)
Hitler As Kalki (SDM) (16:28)
A Sad Sadness Song (4:40)
An Ending (2:21)

Suzanne: She And I In Darkness We Lay And Lie (4:26)
Red House (0:28)
Our Lady Of Horsies (6:34)
Anyway, People Die (1:46)
Silence As Christine (2:24)
Maldoror Is Ded Ded Ded Ded (12:10)
They Return To Their Earth (6:18)
In Sadness Sang (4:19)
'Khor Ba'i Nyes Dmigs (1:28)
Lament For Her (3:59)
A Song For Douglas After He's Dead (6:14)
They Return To Their Earth (For My Christ Thorn) (6:52)
A Song For Douglas After He's Dead (Rebirth) (5:43)

Thunder Perfect Mind is an album by the English group Current 93. It is generally considered Current 93's crowning achievement amongst fans and critics alike. It contains two tracks based on the Gnostic poem The Thunder, Perfect Mind, from which the album name comes from. Thunder Perfect Mind has a companion album by the same name recorded by Nurse With Wound, released at the same time, though they have little in common with each other.

The album is one of David Tibet's more personal records, with several songs dedicated to friends, colleagues and people he had met. "All The Stars Are Dead Now" consists of a startling prophecy given to Tibet one night by the Planh of William Blake, while the epic "Hitler As Kalki (SDM)" is dedicated to "my father, who fought Hitler." The liner notes indicate that some believed Hitler was Kalki, the tenth and final incarnation of Vishnu, who would destroy the cosmos upon a white horse at the end of each world cycle.

Original pressings contained a portrait of David Tibet's face, while later pressings contained a drawing of a startled cat drawn by Louis Wain. On its 2003 re-release, the cover sported Tibet's face again, though a second re-issue a year later on Durtro Jnana Records (due to World Serpent's sudden disappearance) featured a beige-toned pattern across the portrait. These later pressings included a bonus disc titled The Thunder, Perfect Mind which contained outtakes and alternate mixes of songs, as well as five live tracks recorded in Paris on December 15, 1990. All of the studio tracks save "Red House" and an acoustic version of "Anyway, People Die" had previously appeared on Emblems: The Menstrual Years.

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Off The Sky - The Geist Cycles (Databloem, 2007)

Fallopian Silent Film (3:00)
Saturday Morning Indoctrination (6:26)
Mother's Milk Stain (4:52)
Feather In A Needle (3:32)
The Persistence Of Visions (6:04)
Of Acids And Angels (7:16)
Smoke Span (2:22)
At The Foot Of An Eastern Elevator (5:22)
Geist Taxi (4:44)
Waltzing The White Light (5:33)

Jason Corder sounds like a pretty fun guy. Sniff around on the internet long enough and you'll start to discover some pretty interesting things about this boy wonder. On the surface, Corder looks normal enough: Kentucky based musician involved with several projects, most well known for his electronic moniker Off the Sky, slowly gaining recognition on the internet by releasing material on the likes of Autoplate, Term/12k, Databloem, and Stilll, yada yada yada... A vague and leading comment on the internet implies that Corder at one point in time attempted to create his own production software, which only resulted in a frustrating mess before he accepted 'conventional' means. This not only shows a large dedication to his craft, as well as an incredibly control oriented (possibly obsessively so...) personality, but also reveals that he's not just some art guru who stumbled onto Ableton Live.

Which is not to say that Corder is not an art guru. A quick look at his influences cite legends such as Jackson Pollock, David Lynch, T.S. Elliot, Edgar Allen Poe, Vincent Van Gogh, Darren Aronofsky, and so on. I know what you're thinking, they are all pretty hip and trendy artists to claim as your inspirations, but it still counts for something. Doesn't it? At the very least, Corder at least pretends to have a deeper appreciation for art, which is more than I can say for most people I have the pleasure of reviewing. So I imagine this Corder guy would be a nice chap to sit down and have a dinner with, engage in full on discourse, and pick his mind for the better part of an hour or two. Countless individuals undoubtedly qualify for the standard pint of beer, but how many would you really care to sit down and dine with? Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to pick up Mr. Corder, quite the contrary, my interest is purely Platonic.

In perhaps what is one of the most off hand comments ever made in an attempt to describe the process behind creating music, Corder claims that Off the Sky is a project that is -- in some manner -- fueled by Chaos Theory and weather patterns. If you don't know much about either one of those, then the comment probably bounces right off the skin. But those of us 'in the know' raise an eye brow, because, although Chaos Theory may be good for creating some pretty pictures to set as your desktop background, I certainly don't foresee it as being a brilliant musical discovery. Yet I prepare to stand corrected...

In a way, the influence of Chaos Theory is almost audible on The Geist Cycles. And I stress almost, because it actually isn't, but after listening to the album fifteen times or so, I'm pretty convinced that I can hear JFK telling me the shooter was behind the grassy knoll. So I'll digress on this point. Weather does appear to have a more central role in Off the Sky's atmospheric, experimental themes, in all of its obtuse manifestations. The Geist Cycles, in particular, reports to deal with "people interacting to interpret an idea of life in transit to an afterlife." Apparently this is a bleak, foggy experience, as it's extremely difficult to predict Off the Sky's movement outside of the current bar. Things are predominantly minimal, sometimes ambient, sometimes experimental, and often droney. After awhile, it becomes abundantly clear that the subtle shifts in styles is just as important if not moreso than the shifts in instrumentation itself.

The tracks themselves are of little consequence. Corder's intent was that this transit is one large experience which cannot readily be broken down into several different pieces. Although the tracks themselves aren't linear, it's not to say that the cloth from which they were cut is not a single entity. Comparing tracks is as tedious as pulling apart clouds, if only to attempt to discover their 'inner secrets'. Some sparkle, some dazzle, some merely exist, but they all play a part in a larger body of work. Conceptually, the proposed framework becomes somewhat dislodged from the actual presentation of the music, but I suppose that is just a drawback of working with the chaos.

For the average listener, Off the Sky will sound like just another run of the mill electronic musician, probably barely worthy of a second glance. Those wishing to dine with Corder and enter his bizarre world will discover a different side to his recordings, one which is more coherent and impressive than previously imagined. Still, in an ideal world this division is mended and Corder is able to satisfy all with a single, swift spin of a compact disc, yet this is not it. But, probably someday soon it will be a tangible goal well within his grasp, if he so chooses that route.

Lee Whittefield, The Silent Ballet

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Colleen - Les Ondes Silencieuses (Leaf, 2007)

1		This Place In Time (2:33)
2		Le Labyrinthe (5:15)
3		Sun Against My Eyes (4:22)
4		Les Ondes Silencieuses (6:09)
5		Blue Sands (5:16)
6		Echoes And Coral (3:09)
7		Sea Of Tranquillity (5:46)
8		Past The Long Black Land (3:41)
9		Le Bateau (7:09)
10		Unfold Out (5:36)
11		Serpentine (6:04)
12		I'll Read You A Story (5:18)

Our love affair with Cécile Schott (known to the world as Colleen) is well documented - all it took was her charming debut album 'Everyone Alive Wants Answers' and we were totally hooked. The Gallic mistress of modern electronic music had introduced a feminine side to a staid masculine world, and we had found an album we could sink into and fall in love with. Her use of samples was totally unique - rather than overlay sound upon sound to create a dense soup of noise she appeared totally happy letting the small silences speak for themselves, and it was this restraint that gave her an originality which would see her quickly become one of the most organic producers around. With her second album 'The Golden Morning Breaks' her status was cemented, but instead of pillaging samples from an extensive record collection this time she was manning the instruments herself, and the results were breathtaking. 'Les Ondes Silencieuses' is Schott's third full-length album (following the delightful Music Box sequences of last year's mini-album "..Et Les Boites A Musique") and is by some distance her most refined, mature and successful emission to date. Schott has been released from the trappings of 'electronic music' - 'Les Ondes Silenceuses' is built around minimal acoustic composition : not quite modern classical, avant folk, restrained rock or psychedelia (although it probably absorbs little tiny parts of almost all of these) and in its wilful subtlety it's one of the most beautiful records we've heard this year. Utilising an array of instruments ranging from what sound like Tibetan singing bowls (I think they're actually Crystal glasses) through to gently strummed acoustic guitar, chimes, cello, violin, the spinet (a smaller relative of the harpsichord) and Clarinet - Cécile plays every note on this incredible album and the arrangements and compositions are so restrained and timeless it's quite hard to believe that this is the same artist who relied so heavily on samples a few years back. Schott has always displayed an understanding of timing and harmony, but here it feels like this talent is finally explored to its fullest; every change and every note of every distinct segment is there for a reason and takes you into deeper realms of her emotional landscape. There is nothing twee or unnecessarily bijou about this album - in fact in places it's almost uncompromising in its vision - but the end result is a sequence of tracks that's magical to listen to, and we mean that in the most literal sense. One of the loveliest record you'll hear this year - this comes to you with our highest recommendation. Gorgeous.

Boomkat

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Colleen - Mort Aux Vaches (Mort Aux Vaches, 2006)

1		A Little Mechanical Waltz (2:35)
2		The Zither Song (5:13)
3		The Bowing Song (3:44)
4		The Melodica Song (8:02)
5		The Thumb Piano Song (5:33)
6		The Ukulele Song (3:39)
7		The Cello Song (3:34)
8		Petite Fleur (6:23)

Back in stock. It is always exciting when we have a lavishly packaged Mort Aux Vaches cd drop into the office; especially when it is by an artist we are all so passionate about. Colleen’s offering for the ongoing series is housed in a thick hardback book style case, draped in sublime textured wallpaper straight out of an early 20th century collection and is all held together by that all important split pin. The music is of course as you’d expect from Miss Cecile Schott; beautifully measured compositions using unusual instruments, all played by Schott herself (Zither, Thumb Piano, Ukulele etc). Each track (bar the last) is based around an instrument, and the tracks were recorded live for Dutch radio station VPRO so there are no overdubs here! The work is very similar to her last album on Leaf ‘The Golden Morning Breaks’ but feels even more stripped down, raw and emotional. The tracks seem spontaneous, and that makes them feel incredibly intimate and striking. This has to be one of the finest Mort Aux Vaches cds in the series and is another reason why we love the lady from Paris, let yourself get swept away by Colleen.

Boomkat

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Colleen - Colleen Et Les Boîtes À Musique (Leaf, 2006)

1		John Levers The Ratchet (0:30)
2		What Is A Componium? - Part 1 (6:45)
3		Charles's Birthday Card (0:48)
4		Will You Gamelan For Me? (3:02)
5		The Sad Panther (1:53)
6		Under The Roof (3:09)
7		What Is A Componium? - Part 2 (3:06)
8		A Bear Is Trapped (1:04)
9		Please Gamelan Again (2:30)
10		Your Heart Is So Loud (3:56)
11		Calypso In A Box (0:47)
12		Bicycle Bells (2:28)
13		Happiness Nuggets (2:13)
14		I'll Read You A Story (6:51)

Colleen aka Cecile Schott is a lady we've always had a fondness for, throughout her last two endearing albums she defined a sound, an unpretentious delicate weaving of instruments and samples which tickled our eardrums in the most ethereal way imaginable. Armed with a loop pedal and a cache of instrumental weaponry she layered whimsical sound over whimsical sound and subtly carved out a niche for herself in the overpopulated world of electronic music. 'Colleen Et Les Boites A Musique' ("Colleen and the music boxes"), however, is her most arresting and sublime offering to date - constructed entirely from the impossibly beautiful sounds of chiming music boxes. Opening with the clanking and winding of 'John Levers the Ratchet', this is the perfect introduction, as if the record were being wound like a music box to run across its 40 minute life-span before returning to stillness. The music box has, of course, been used before within a contemporary framework (Aphex Twin's breathtaking "Nanou" for one), but the way Schott composes seems so obviously matched with the mechanical and naïve qualities we hear that she seems to own the concept. "Colleen Et Les Boites A Musique" is in fact so sublime that her output to date seems to have been merely leading up to this serendipitous moment - concept and execution coming together for a wondrous display of simplicity and beauty. Like the soundtrack to your favourite half-remembered fairytale, you won't find a warmer, more inviting record this year.

Boomkat

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Colleen - Everyone Alive Wants Answers (Leaf, 2003)

A1		Everyone Alive Wants Answers (3:32)
A2		Ritournelle (3:09)
A3		Carry-Cot (1:54)
A4		Your Heart On Your Sleeve (2:47)
A5		Goodbye Sunshine (2:49)
A6		One Night And It's Gone (3:42)
A7		Long Live Mice In The Metro (2:51)
B1		I Was Deep In A Dream And I Didn't Know It (2:56)
B2		Babies (3:34)
B3		Sometimes On A Happy Cloud (1:56)
B4		A Swimming Pool Down The Railway Track (4:15)
B5		In The Train With No Lights (2:02

“Everyone Alive Wants Answers” is the haunting work of 26-year-old Parisienne Cecile Schott. Her debut album release, she has previously released a gem of a 7" single (Babies) on Active Suspension, which brought her to the attention of The Leaf Label. An effortlessly charming album, naive instrumentals filled with warmth , melody and soul, played on a broken music box, a glockenspiel or a guitar. The recordings seem pieced together from an array of field recordings and home tapes, melodies and aroma’s slowly infused to create a homespun exercise in delicacy, beauty and a joyously moving appeal to nostalgic sensibilities and abandon. Gorgeous stuff, highly recommended.

Boomkat

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Colleen - Babies (Active Suspension, 2002)

A1		Babies
A2		Roulette
B1		Good Morning Sunshine

Another fine discovery by Active Suspension. Cecile Schott allows us a glimpse onto her inner world of imaginary sounds and suggested images, an intense personal universe that maps out a magnificant 3 track debut. Maniacally crafted from obsessive loops, her minimal music is one of barely peceptible subtle shifts and marginal details - instrumental sequences of recorded ritornellas played on a broken down music box, glockenspiels or guitars phasing in and out, vast desert spaces enclosed by pale grey skies threatening blackness – or a blurred dream of nostalgic emotion shifting into nightmare. Think biosphere with twisted intent, or David Lynch playing cracked pop 78s on an old victrola gramophone.

Boomkat

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Hannu - Worms in my Piano (Osaka, 2006)

1		Sumu (2:56)
2		Haapavesi (3:44)
3		Metsä (3:22)
4		Worms In My Piano (2:32)
5		Lyhty (3:41)
6		Ikuisuus (4:36)
7		Suruista Suurin (3:00)
8		Winter Song (2:58)
9		Välisoitto (2:56)
10		Uusi Aamu (4:24)
11		Junassa (4:27)

Back in stock. Deary me, another artist debut that has literally floored all of us in the office - a shimmering, homespun amalgam of delicate twilight music that fans of Colleen, Deaf Center, Max Richter, Marsen Jules, Brian Eno, Greg Haines, Stars of The Lid and so on will absolutely adore. Hannu (real name Hannu) is from that Scandinavian snowy vodka-logged tundra which we have all fallen in love with, and luckily the music here evokes similarly icy imagery. Like Hannu's countrymen The Gentlemen Losers, this music perfectly evokes a crackling log fire, burning away as you peruse old photo albums and eat hot soup, or even a summery night of quiet contemplation. Taking cues from Colleen's or Es's horizontal loop-laden adventures Hannu takes us on picturesque journeys through his musical landscapes, each song an audio poem to unseen vistas, to drifting seas and crimson skies, to secret gardens and to bottomless wardrobes. His music is beautiful in that exciting, mystifying sense - music which genuinely gives you a sense of awe and romance at the big wide world. If you don't believe me just lend your ears to 'Haapavesi', the album's second track and one of its most perfectly crafted moments - tiny glockenspiels echo over hisses and crackles before being joined by low-slung guitar melodies and deep, booming bass with everything sounding like it has been filtered through some decomposed music box or other. Elsewhere we are treated to the harrowing acoustic doom of 'Lyhti', with bells and high pitched string sounds that would give Svarte Greiner a run for his money, and the unusual harpsichord-led jazz shuffle of 'Winter Song', but this is an album that tells a tale and one which is best enjoyed in one sitting, from beginning to end. 'Worms in my Piano' is a fascinating debut from an artist who is sure to go from strength to strength, and although it might be getting close to summer this is a disc you're going to be able to enjoy all year long, just remember to bring the vodka. Absolutely beautiful stuff and just about indispensable for fans of Type, Miasmah or Buro...

Boomkat

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Woodcraft Folk - Trough of Bowland (Earworm, 2006)

Love The Monk (3:28)
Old House At Home I (2:57)
An Up And Coming Concern (7:40)
Blokflute (4:10)
Tracy Finger (1:40)
Willow Beauty (2:24)
Wee Maker (6:00)
Village Of Mells (8:31)
Milk Floats (3:25)
Conroy Plays Vibes (4:42)
Reindeer On The Roof (3:02)
Reigned-In (5:21)
Old House At Home II (11:41)


XXX limited edition? Check. Handcrafted, sealed envelope packaging? Check? An intelligent and craftily addictive take on modern folk enclosed within? Check. Get it clicked. Check. Having sold-out an initial run of 150 earlier this year, the top-brass over at Earworm have ordered a re-print, giving all those who missed out first time round a chance to own a bit of Woodcraft Folk's electronically-founded take on 'folk'. The pseudonym of Florian Fricke and Daniel Fichelscher, Woodcraft Folk may sound like the kind of band you'd see leering in the background whilst Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall barters 2 barrels of cider for some sheep guts, but they are in reality forward facing musicians with a keen appreciation for past aural glories; allowing 'Trough of Bowland' to effortlessly slide in and out of styles without causing a crease to the ears. Opening with 'Love The Monk', Woodcraft Folk sound not unlike a post-folk band getting to grips with the Animals' 'House of The Rising Sun' and the theme-tune from 'Tales of the Unexpected' simultaneously (a good thing we assure you), before flipping the script altogether for 'Old House At Home'; an electronic sliver of goodness which recalls the less winsome oeuvre dealt up by Iceland's Mum. Elsewhere, 'An Up and Coming Concern' firmly establishes their Kraftwerk fan-club membership, 'Willow Beauty' revisits the glade of Nick Drake (melodica in hand), whilst 'Reindeer on the Roof' is a charming electronic squiggle that drips waterlogged digitalis over a charming central melody. Closing with 'Old House At Home II' (as close to Broadcast as you'll come without copyright infringement), the Woodcraft Folk have proved that homespun charm can have a sharp, cutting edge.

Boomkat

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Peter Wright - Beauty, Desolation, Violence (Ikuisuus, 2005)

1		Above Lewis Pass
2		Adrift At 30,000 Ft
3		Like Clockwork
4		Kashmir
5		Point Blank
6		South From A Bedsit Window
7		Evening At Ben Ohau
8		Leaving Town

Peter Wright never fails to amaze. With a 3 disc retrospective looming on the horizon from Last Visible Dog, and the reissue of this essential side (originally released on cd-r as Foxglove 026), it looks like the New Zealand expatriate may finally get his well deserved due. Perhaps the most striking elements of Wright?s work are the overwhelming senses of serenity and control which permeate his recordings. ?Desolation Beauty Violence? is a prime example of Wright?s sonic mastery, showcasing both his inimitable finesse and the diversity of his evocative palette.

?Above Lewis Pass? opens the album, beginning with a plaintive guitar melody and the looping squeal of birdsong. Wright effortlessly works the piece into a billowing dirge by adding layer after layer of his signature Danelectro twelve string. The piece morphs into a haze of echoing tones before dying down to focus on the diminished refrain heard in the opening seconds. ?Adrift at 3000 Ft.? segues seamlessly out of denouement of track one. The title of this piece proves entirely apt. Wright unleashes layers of pure sound from his guitar, sheets of shimmering bell tones and brooding drones. The results are simply beautiful.

?Like Clockwork? functions as a brief but engaging interlude, composed of clattery, ringing guitar chords. ?Kashmir? follows, a dense web of iridescent microtonal drone, which subsides into polyrhythmic field recordings around the five-minute mark. The superb ?Point Blank? sounds a bit like ?Womblife?-era Fahey, all frozen chords and mournful drones. ?Evening at Ben Ohay? is the centerpiece of the album, a twenty-minute meditation on a scintillating, velvety guitar drone. The piece has an almost cinematic feel to it, and its sweeping, atmospheric tones are completely transportive and otherworldly. ?Leaving Town? concludes the album, a stunning flight propelled by Wright?s meticulous picking and brilliant sense of space.

?Desolation Beauty Violence? is a wonderful album. One of its strongest facets is the diverse terrain it traverses while remaining entirely cohesive. Wright?s constructions are quite masterful, ranging from stunning melodic laments to warm, solar drone flights. Ikuisuus has done a fantastic job with this much-needed reissue. 9/10 -Alex Cobb (27 June, 2006), Foxy Digitalis

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Tuva: Among the Spirits, Sound, Music and Nature in Sakha and Tuva (Smithsonian Folkways, 1998)

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Melodium - La Tête qui Flotte (Autres Directions in Music, 2005)

Hellomusic (4:06)
Les Psychotropes Sont Mes Amis, Puis Mes Ennemis... (3:46)
Se Rayer Provisoirement De La Liste Des Vivants (3:33)
Kill Me With A Smile (3:36)
Emptykuerten (3:36)
Le Creux Est Ma Matière Première (3:34)
L’Attachement Aux Symptômes (3:42)
Mon Baromètre Mental (2:51)
Interlude Pour Dépressifs (2:08)
Gamm-recomposé (4:56)
Marcher A L’Envers Dans Nantes-Atlantique (2:28)
Greg Davis > Craig David (1:32)
La Chanson De Laïs-Salomé (1:19)
La Fin De Tout (2:46)
La Vie Est Plus Belle Depuis... (2:40)

Most electronic music is preoccupied with the beat. There are a number of reasons for this, both historical and technological, but it has only been in recent years that musicians have begun to truly explore the possibilities of melody in an electronic context. In the past few years artists such as Four Tet and M83 (to name just a couple) have successfully placed the concept of melody-driven electronic music at the forefront of the scene. This is not to say that they were the first artists to do so—but the creation of an entire subgenre of electronic music dedicated to the manipulation of acoustic—or pseudo-acoustic—melodies is definitely a recent development.

Electronic music hinges on the malleability of sound, the ability of musicians to take simple and familiar sounds and transform them into something unfamiliar, exotic and provocative. There’s no reason why the acoustic guitar and piano shouldn’t be as ripe with potential as the drum kit and synthesizer. The creation of an entire new sub-genre—the deceptively named “folktronica”—to describe this phenomenon was inevitable, given the rapid, maniacal drive towards speciation in the electronic music community. It’s not a particularly accurate or descriptive label, but hey, neither are IDM or UK garage / two-step (whu-huh?).

In any event, Melodium’s La T&#234te Qui Flotte is a veritable feast of fragile, intricate melodic composition. Melodium (a contraction of “melody” and “medium"), is Laurent Giraud, and with the exception of a handful of vocal bits and string samples, every noise on La T&#234te Qui Flotte has been created, processed and edited by him. The effect is startling, sparse and ethereal.

Many tracks, such as “Les psychotropes sont mes ami, puis mes ennemis...” and “Le creux est ma mati&#232re premi&#232re”, begin with a familiar acoustic noise, such as a gentle piano melody or acoustic guitar chord being fingered, and then elaborate on said melody, introducing layers of altered sound until the entire song is filled. Percussion is created from what sounds like a wide variety of found noises—hand claps, snapping fingers, knocking on wood—morphed and transformed into something unmistakably organic. The patterns are intricate but by no means distracting. The overall effect is pleasingly pastoral.

In other instances, the tracks begin strangely and expands outward. For instance, “Se rayer provisoirement de la liste des vivants” begins with a droning wheeze, like a bit of phantom guitar feedback, until suddenly transforming into a pendulous guitar chord strumming against the backdrop of haunting, discordant string samples. Even when more conventional percussion is utilized, as on “Kill me with a smile”, which features something resembling a conventional electronic breakbeat, the effect is alien. Juxtaposed against the universe of warped acoustics on display, the comparatively normal elements are transformed.

Certainly, La T&#234te Qui Flotte is nowhere near as ambitious as it could have been. Girard seems happy, in most cases, to craft comparatively minor arrangements, at least in comparison to some of his more cosmic-minded peers in the world of electronic music. But still, on tracks like “Emptykuerten” and “La vie est plus belle depuis...”, Melodium succeeds in opening up entirely new vistas through surprisingly humble means. The overall effect is invigorating.

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