C-Shape – Brittany
Multifaceted ambient that incorporates field recordings, post rock, and IDM elements into its hypnotic formula. Comprising a set of four slow, patient pieces, the EP create a warm, inviting space to spend a little time in.
Simple, minimal percussion, bass guitar (probably) and a little electric guitar with a hint of twang form the heart of most of it; electronic tones, field recordings, and the like fill in some of the empty spaces but leave plenty of room to breathe. A quiet, pleasant set of unusual ambient.
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autumnal_city – autumnal_city_02
Intense post-ambient droning abstract soundscapes that border on sound bath. This is literally powerful music – it had multiple items on my desk resonating in sympathy at various times (and no, that’s not a typical occurrence). Big sounds of unknown origin – is that maybe a distorted synth? Could this be a granular choir? – are the order of the day.
There’s a lot of movement to this but not much melody, rhythm or even pulse – there is a bit of harmony, tho, and some dissonance. Sounds rise and fall as the intensity waxes and wanes while staying mostly in the red and it always has an incredible presence. Definitely one to play on the best speakers or phones you can.
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MacheteBath – “The Stunt”
Smart, tightly produced deep/tech house track with lots of little surprises to discover. The energy is great but it’s quite restrained thru the whole thing – no monster builds, no epic breakdown. That, plus the minimal patterns and arrangements, loads of changeups and a somehow jazzy vibe contribute to my suspicion this is what the kids call “dad house.”
I certainly don’t mean any insult, tho; I am a dad, and this is definitely my kinda house music. Anyway, an absolutely delightful track that made me want more.
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Carlos Severe Marcelin – Cascadia Suite
A ten-track suite of guitar-led instrumental music drawing from rock, prog and ambient/New Age, all mixed into a single, seamless, 26-minute whole. (Also available as individual tracks for those of you commitment phobic.) Guitars and other stringed instruments are the star players, but there are also some synths, flutes, nature sounds, and the like.
Percussion and drums, when present, are minimal and way in the background. At times this almost feels like it wants to edge into jam band territory (and I have no doubt the artist could jam out on these if called to do so!) but it never tips over. It’s pretty and goes down easy, in any case.
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Jeffrey Wentworth Stevens – my mylar lungs
Moody, minimal experimental-leaning techno with a subdued, almost lo-fi production vibe. The liner notes prominently mention two vintage Casio samplers, and other vintage gear, which explains a lot of that vibe. The rest is down to the excellent production, which balances the tiny details of the music deftly.
The majority of these tracks are, at heart, relatively straight beat-forward techno but draped with bits of field recording, noise, and hazy synth sounds. The few outliers –one midway thru, the other the closer – veer into ambient, or at least ambient adjacent, territory with the same vibe and sound palette, to similarly excellent effect.
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