Wow, nice sound...this is the musical export genre of Germany;-)

Samaris single Viltu Vitrast released on 7th October 2013.


‘Elegant and unusual, this is a gem’ NME 8/10 
‘Imagine The xx and Little Dragon eloping to that magical forest in Lord of The Rings and you might be getting close to this record’s wonderfully paranormal aesthetic’ The Line of Best Fit 8/10 
‘Samaris specialise in gorgeous, haunting nocturnes’ Drowned In Sound
‘Samaris is superb. It’s fantastic. It’s amazing.’ The 405
‘This is an effortlessly atmospheric album that has all the arty sophistication of any great Icelandic act’ The Fly 4/5
‘An excellent forward thinking record from three talented musicians, not yet out of their teens’ Loud&Quiet  8/10
‘Mesmerisingly breathy groove from the young Icelandic combo, which should lure you to the delicious confections of their self-titled album’ Metro 

Icelandic teenage wunderkind Samaris’ first UK release comes in the shape of an eponymously-titled album on 29th July. Samaris compiles their two Icelandic-released EPs, Hljóma Þú (2011) and Stofnar falla (recorded at Sigur Rós’ Sundlaugin studio with Gunnar Tynes of múm, 2012.

Combining disparate elements of electronics (Þórður Kári Steinþórsson), clarinet (Áslaug Rún Magnúsdóttir) and Jófríður Ákadóttir’s haunting voice, Samaris mix glacial electronica and bold, percussive beats with haunting chant-like vocals - the lyrics culled from nineteenth century Icelandic poems. Viltu Vitrast for example retells an Icelandic folk tale about villages who ask for help from a supernal being, but worry it will choose not to manifest its power on Earth. The effect is simultaneously ancient and modern – an ethereal sound filled with dark spaces and alien atmosphere. 

Formed in 2011 in Reykjavik, within months Samaris had won both the Icelandic Músíktilraunir (past winners include the likes of Of Monsters and Men) and Kraumur Award. The band’s show at Iceland Airwaves in 2012, attracted the attention of Line Of Best Fit, Drowned In Sound and NPR amongst many others. Singer Jófríður also performs with her sister Ásthildur in the more folk-inclined Pascal Pinion.
__________________________

Order new album ‘Silkidrangar’ now!
iTunes: smarturl.it/Samaris-Silkidrangar
CD/Vinyl: bit.ly/skdr-oli

Buy Samaris on iTunes

Samaris - Viltu Vitrast

Caribou Vibration Ensemble Featuring Marshall Allen
Live At All Tomorrow's Parties Monticello, New York, Sept 13th, 2009

Marshall Allen plays alto saxophone, EVI
Ahmed Gallad plays drum kit, percussion, vibraphone
Andy Lloyd plays bass and sings
Brad Weber plays drum kit
Brandon Cunningham sings
Colin Fisher plays tenor saxophone
Dan Snaith plays fender rhodes, drum kit, electric guitar and sings
John Schmersal plays electric guitar and sings
Kieran Hebden plays electronics
Koushik Ghosh plays moog, vibraphone and sings
Kyle Brenders plays soprano saxophone and bass clarinet
Luke Lalonde plays guitar and sings
Peter Mitton plays drum kit, congas, woodblocks, gong and percussion
Rob Piilonen plays flute
Ryan Smith plays electric guitar, mood and fender rhodes
Steve Ward plays trombone

Recorded live by Rob Christiansen on behalf of WFMU on Sept 13th, 2009 at Kutshers Country Club at All Tomorrow's Parties festival curated by the Flaming Lips
Live sound by John Rubuliak
Mixed by David Wrench
Mastered by David Wrench
Cover image by Jane Eastlight
Special thanks to The Flaming Lips, Barry Hogan and everyone at ATP Festivals, Jeremy Greenspan, Michael Parker, Adam Notman, Tim Dempsey and Kathryn Bint.


Melody Day

Close-Up

In the Depths of the Memory

 ¸.•´ ♥ ☆ ♥ Rhoscolyn 2010 (by the sea)

Don't Keep Losing Heart

Buy the vinyl: https://alientransistor.com/shop/
Buy the album on itunes: api.morrmusic.com/itunes/945484393
Between 2008's ‘The Devil, You & Me’ and this year’s 'Close To The Glass', The Notwist not only concentrated on various solo projects, but also worked for several theatre productions and radioplays.
'The Messier Objects' is a compilation of some of these works.

Buy the record

The Notwist: Das Spiel Ist Aus

Portico Quartet - Line

Release Date : 23rd February 2015

Grasscut, the duo of Andrew Phillips and Marcus O’Dair, return in February with a new single, Curlews/September Night’s Sky – the first single from the band’s forthcoming third album, Everyone Was A Bird, to be released by Lo Recordings in May 2015. 

Whilst first performed in collaboration with the Kronos Quartet to over 4,000 people in a warehouse in Poland, Curlews origins lie much closer to home. It’s meditative piano intro, soaring strings and sense of open skies and distant horizons inspired by the British coastline. “I’d started it on the train from Birmingham to Wales,” say Phillips, “and as I reworked it later for the album the music, especially the piano and string rhythms, kept pulling me back back to the Mawddach Estuary. I kept stripping layers and layers away, till eventually the melody, mood, and words were exposed – like they'd always been there.”

“The poet Harriet Tarlo cautions against the lazy use of ornithological metaphors for human emotion, but watching the curlews on the estuary, I really thought: this is me, digging around in the mud till I find it. I hope that's not lazy.”

That sense of place and belonging resonates throughout much of Grasscut’s work, and the forthcoming album features liner notes from the renowned landscape writer Robert Macfarlane. 

Alongside Curlews comes September's Night Sky, a story of a spring equinox in the Southern Hemisphere. Scored by fragmented keyboards, guitars and sweeping strings it brings to mind the sense of both majesty and fragility that a starry night can inspire.

http://www.grasscutmusic.com
http://www.lorecordings.com  

www.grasscutmusic.com

www.facebook.com/GrasscutMusic
www.twitter.com/GrasscutMusic
www.youtube.com/GrasscutMusic

September's Night Sky

'Sionara' by Maiians
Released as D/L April 20th 2015 via Beard Museum

Double drum-propelled live electronica stars Maiians return with hypnotic single 'Sionara'

"One of the most exciting instrumental groups around." - London in Stereo
"Intricate rhythms, heady bass lines and squealing, kaleidoscopic synth lines mix into a hypnotic recipe...Maiians demand attention." - The Line of Best Fit

Following their debut 'Tokyo' EP, Oxford 5-piece Maiians return with new single 'Sionara' on April 20th. 
Clocking in at just under 7 minutes, the epic track is a masterclass in musical mind control and filmic elegance. Building in pace piece by piece, 'Sionara' teeters on the edge of the storm before soaring up into a haze of post-rock guitar, ground-shaking beats and jagged synths. With musical nods to Four Tet, Holy Fuck and Mogwai, 'Sionara' somehow manages to be both hypnotic and ear-worm immediate all at once.

Since their conception in early 2014, Maiians have been turning heads with their double-drum propelled electronica and arresting live performances. The band are set to play three UK dates this April in support of the single:

April 17th - The Bullingdon, Oxford
April 18th - Are You Listening? Festival, Reading
April 21st - The Lexington, London

Recorded by Richard Neuberg 
Mixed by Bartosz Kruczynski

http://maiians.com
facebook.com/wearemaiians
twitter.com/maiians

Sionara

One Percent - Gogo Pinguin

Nils Frahm - "Familiar" (Dave Harrington edit)

Trentemøller is a wizard and should need no further introduction.

This incredible remix he did of Efterkang's song Raincoats was part of a remix swop, where Efterklang remixed his song Tide in return. Attached to the swop was a also an artwork contest, where the winner's artwork would be used for the iTunes release of this remix swop. You can watch all the winners and submitted artworks at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/artworkcontest/

The original version of Efterklang's Raincoats can be found on their third album 'Magic Chairs' (2010, 4AD & Rumraket).

The original version of Trentemøller's song Tide, can be found on his album 'Into The Great Wide Yonder' - http://www.anderstrentemoller.com/

Raincoats (Trentemøller Remix)

Alien Transistor was founded in 2003 by Markus and Micha Acher from The Notwist.The labels concept is to produce music that has a musical or personal relation to the Notwist- microcosm: From electronic soundscapes through abstract hip-hop to laptop-treated contemporary, from processed oriental music to Nick Drake-inspired-songwriting: Alien Transistor doesn’t respect any musical boundaries.

The Notwist: Das Spiel Ist Aus

alientransistor

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