Written and performed by Blake Ewing

Cello performances by Ben Osterhouse

Poems by Esther Ra and Matthias Claudius
Reading by Stefan Michalak

Mastered by Mike Monseur at Axis Audio

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REDSHIFT

"Restive is about patterns of thought: the flow of words and the stream of consciousness within our minds. There is an underlying expression of a certain amount of turmoil, but also that of optimism as we juggle between concerns, variables and positive outcomes."

@juliagjertsen on her newest piece ; it's out now as part of our Piano Day collection Splices and you can find the recording anywhere you listen to music: orcd.co/jg-restive

https://modernarecords.bandcamp.com/album/splices

Restive

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Julia Gjertsen - Restive

Hyde Street

The world has become bombastic. Ironically, even among the most minimalist and ambient communities. The labels trying to out-shout one another: “listen to meeee!” they proclaim, sometimes in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, with descriptions in press releases spanning multiple pages of concepts and tales. And I don’t really blame them for that – it’s impossible to stand out these days, to “capture” your attention (the most important currency we “pay”), and to turn that focus into plays [what comes after, is a whole other story]. And then there are artists (and labels) that seem to continue their modest and humble quest for the essence that we may extract from this wonder we call ‘music’. They come unexpecting to share the love. One of such imprints remains the Québec-based Moderna, which searches the globe for the next hidden gem. It has introduced me to many new and up-and-coming composers, which have remained on my playlists and Best of the Year lists. Their latest small gift comes in a form of a four-track EP from a Dutch musician Jeroen Dirrix (he’s put out some singles and appeared on Moderna’s compilations before). It’s a 20-minute glimpse into a place behind the space that occupies the concrete jungle of the cities where we dwell. In this particular case, it is his city of Rotterdam (which I find to be architecturally beautiful, by the way), that quietly yearns for the nature which has since receded in urban defeat.

"Jeroen Dirrix dreams up an imaginary escape from his urban studio centred around the acoustic piano, with the soothing sounds of analog synthesizers and field recordings weaving their way meditatively through the soundscape."

A Hidden Place

TRACK PREMIERE : Jeroen Dirrix - Call the Flood

Blake Ewing's demo is a naked demo using only the sounds from Sonespheres 4 - Direction.

Sonespheres 4 - Direction is the next evolution of the series in collaboration with Film/TV composer Blake Ewing. This volume is an absolute inspiration machine for modern classical, ambient, and film score material.

Blake Ewing - Midnight Sun (Library Only) - Sonespheres 4 - Direction

Following the warmly-received Paces (1631 Recordings/Decca Publishing) and the collaborative Stadsbilder (Time Released Sound), Swedish composer and multi-instrumentalist Jakob Lindhagen presents his second solo full-length album Memory Constructions on piano and coffee records.

Recorded together with German brother-duo Sebastian and Daniel Selke (aka CEEYS, whose collaborations also include Ólafur Arnalds and Spitfire) and longtime artistic collaborator Sofia Nystrand (Vargkvint), the album merges elements of neoclassical and ambient music, with a foundation of intimate piano works paired with violoncello and vocal synth, expanded with musical saw, kantele, bowed glockenspiel and sound experiments, recorded to analogue equipment. 

”Memories are an equally complicated as fascinating aspect of the human mind. After realizing a couple of memories from my childhood surroundings simply didn’t add up - the timeline didn’t make sense so I couldn’t have been in that place at that time, or a block of houses not being placed where they actually were - I became slightly obsessed with memory research. Our memories play such a huge part of our identities, yet they are extremely unreliable, change and fade over time, and are easily influenced and manipulated. And yet I couldn’t help myself also finding beauty in the fact that I both completely trust and distrust my own memories, that make up who I am. So digging from these slightly contradicting feelings, and from where my own memories are either constructed, fading, forgotten, rewritten, made up or completely true, this album was concieved.” 

Memory Constructions has been supported by the Swedish Arts Council, and is coming out digitally and on limited edition vinyl on the 23rd of September, featuring artwork by Sofia Nystrand and desing/layout by Celia Bayo.

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Jakob Lindhagen - Tomorrow

I often think about childhood experiences. Don't you? Remember those magical moments of discovery of how something in this universe truly works or the slow disintegration of fiction into reality or the self-guided journey into a fantasy, knowing full well that it's really imaginary and yet completely giving in, and letting it absorb you into other worlds? For me, there were adventures into outer space, of alien planets and improbable lands, of other beings just like us, and yet completely different in every way. It's no wonder that many of my fantastical voyages were accompanied by music, made, of course, by instruments unknown. This "space music" is what continues to attract me to some aspects of the cinematic, electronic, and experimental sounds of today. It's no wonder I still attempt to recreate each voyage with the lush pads of my synths. For British composer and musician Angus MacRae, this reflection on childhood imagination comes in a form of his new album, Vivarium. Across twelve pieces, each representing a specific memory, MacRae uses the immediate presence of acoustic instrumentation (piano, strings, woodwinds, and even voice) to capture the emotional experience of the unreal worlds. Today I am premiering a track from the album titled "Flame" which is due out as a single on September 1st. This is a gorgeous and dynamic piece, pairing a gently wavering piano melody in a whirlwind of a rising emotional gust. Listening to this piece you can't help but get lifted into a torrent of a sentimental storm and get carried away into those other worlds. "Written against the backdrop of a changing world, this need to escape inside the vivarium, to recapture the magic and mystery within, and to ultimately learn the limits of the glass - seemed to me more important than ever."

Vivarium

Flame

TRACK PREMIERE : Angus MacRae - Flame

Written and performed by Blake Ewing
Cello performances by Ben Osterhouse

Mastered by Mike Monseur at Axis Audio

Redshift

Fractals

Written and performed by Blake Ewing

Poem - "postcard containing a mouthful of night" by Esther Ra
Reading - Stefan Michalak

Mastered by Mike Monseur at Axis Audio

I Was Born, Then Burnt

Written and performed by Blake Ewing

Mastered by Mike Monseur at Axis Audio

The Beautiful Nothing

Written and performed by Blake Ewing

Mastered by Mike Monseur at Axis Audio

Lyrics:

if i had a house on the moon
i'd stay up late and watch you
and the rest of earth come around
on the horizon of my new town

i'd send a ship for supplies
and wish for a postcard tucked inside
i'd hope my lungs would unfold
from a cycle of breathing shallow

it's easier said than done
remembering those far from home
and i won't blame you for finding someone
no i can't blame you

Breathing Shallow

The Darkest Descent by Snorri Hallgrímsson. This gripping 2nd single from his upcoming LP moves from mournful solo piano to a soaring climax with sweeping orchestral strings. It is about how choosing to fight for what you believe in can be the hardest choice to make, and how staying true to that choice over time will make you feel less alone. 

🎧 moderna.ampl.ink/descent

I Am Weary, Don't Let Me Rest

The Darkest Descent

Streaming Platforms

Snorri Hallgrímsson - The Darkest Descent

Wavering

Helios - Every Hair On Your Head (Ben Boysen Remix)

LINKS:
https://beacons.ai/blakeewing

Licenses: https://musicbed.com/artists/blake-ewing/5757

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/11ReFzDfYn4ZuUVgJhnFA5

Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/blake-ewing/219552663

Insta: https://www.instagram.com/blakeewingmusic/

Website: http://blakeewingmusic.com

Store: http://blakeewingmusic.com/store


I'm an American composer creating music for visual media. My compositions have been commissioned, licensed and well-received by film directors, videographers, advertising firms, corporate brands, and sample developers from around the world.

I believe in music - and in its wonderful power to support and elevate life and storytelling.

You can find out more about me and my work at:

http://blakeewingmusic.com


All compositions - © Blake Ewing Music.
All recordings - ℗ Forthwest Music

I Was Born, Then Burnt

Blake Ewing

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