Buy/stream: kompakt.fm/releases/mother

For over two decades Bjørke has cut his own path, as a solo artist and enthusiastic collaborator. Even a cursory listen exposes an impressive, ever-evolving career. However, few expected him to initiate the collaborative ambient / neo-classical project Kasper Bjørke Quartet. In 2018 The Fifty Eleven Project was released on Kompakt Records and the album topped many critics' lists, and was included among The Guardian’s Best Contemporary Albums of the year.

Mother, represents a quantum leap forward. Literally, when you consider the terrestrial shifts that informed it. Six compositions explore what the evolution of our planet sounds like and spans a timeframe from 4.5 billion years ago up to humankind’s impending demise. It hints at how that may be sooner than we think, as well as the earth’s resilience, and the promise of another chapter. 

“Formation” condenses 20 million years of runaway accretion into 20 minutes. It is sublimely padded by feature artist Sofie Birch’s gentle synths. “Abiogenesis” intimates a different type of emergence: the first life to inhabit our nascent planet. The entire cosmos is condensed into the layered choir of Philip|Schneider. Birch returns on “Miocene,” which signals the divergence of proto-humans from primates not with foreboding, but rather cascaded notes and swells adumbrating a pure and curious being, revealing nothing of what the Catch-22 of knowledge will bring. That’s addressed in the diptych of “Anthropocene” and “Tipping Points,” respectively marking the dawn and foreshadowing the probable downfall of homosapians, through wondrous advancements and their climate damaging byproducts. It’s tempting to think the album’s finale, “Requiem,” implies only a dark conclusion, owing to its sparkling verrillon’s coronach, and the return of Philip|Schneider’s empyrean vocals, but its juxtaposition with revolving, enigmatic piano chords infers the earth will enter its next act. 

Mother is a staggering achievement, encouraging contemplative thought.

Out now on digital platforms and as limited edition Double LP with artwork by multidisciplinary artist Trevor Jackson. 

Musician Credits:

- Kasper Bjørke (Synthesizers, Producer and Mixer)

- Davide Rossi (Violin, viola, cello) has collected multiple Grammys,and has studied under Karlheinz Stockhausen and Robert Fripp. He is without parallel as a modern arranger, having worked with Kanye, Alicia Keys, Frank Ocean, Moby, Jon Hopkins, The Verve, Goldfrapp, to name a select few, but may be best known for his long standing relationship with Coldplay.

- Claus Noreen (Synthesizers) has been active in Danish electronic and pop circles for years, as both musician and producer, currently under his brand new Langstrakt moniker.

- Jakob Littauer (Piano) Musician / Composer / Producer who works with artists including Mø and CTM.

- Mathias Friis-Hansen & David Hildebrandt (Marimba on Anthropocene) Versatile, classical musicians, both part of the award winning PACE Percussion Trio.

- Sofie Birch (Features with additional synths on Formation and Miocene) Musician, producer and NTS resident Sofie Birch is a rising artist on the ambient scene. Her new album Holotropica has been praised by the music press, incl. Pitchfork.

- Philip|Schneider (Features with vocals on Abiogenesis and Requiem) Celebrated performance duo Josephine Philip and Hannah Schneider who is known for their seductive spatial voice compositions that engage the body, ears and mind.

Mother

Kasper Bjørke Quartet - Formation feat. Sofie Birch

Bring balance into the new year with this guided sleep meditation. Take the first five minutes to move and stretch in whatever way feels most nourishing at this time as you are gradually guided into stillness and deep rest. Legs up the wall or restorative backbends are excellent postures to prepare for Yoga Nidra. 
Made with soothing gong sounds and solfeggio frequency tuning forks to support and enhance the body's natural process of relaxation and healing.

Wolf Moon Nidra Gong Bath 2023

Poem text and context: https://www.themarginalian.org/2023/02/12/meditation-in-sunlight-may-sarton-amanda-palmer

POEM TEXT / CONTEXT

"Meditation in Sunlight" by May Sarton (read by Amanda Palmer)

Stream "Burning Heart (Breathwork Edit)" on Spotify, Apple Music & Co:

https://leftlukas.biglink.to/burningheart-bv

Keep breathing with Breathwork Beats on:
www.instagram.com/breathwork.beats
www.youtube.com/@BreathworkBeats

BURNING HEART 432 Hz (Breathwork Edit)

In this enthralling collaboration, German ambient artist Logic Moon and Swedish composer and cellist Henrik Meierkord announce the release of their latest EP, "Ewiger Wald". This new offering is an exquisite exploration of ambient soundscapes, seamlessly fused with the rich tones of violin and cello. 

"Ewiger Wald" is an auditory journey through a spectrum of emotions, from the profound depths to the luminously friendly, encapsulating a wide range of modern ambient music. The EP is a testament to the artistic synergy between Logic Moon and Meierkord, who have meticulously blended their unique sounds to create something truly ethereal. 

Written and produced by Henrik Meierkord (cello, violin) and Tobias Lorsbach (electronics). 
Mastered by Tobias Lorsbach

Buy mCD/DL

Sternenjubel

A Alhamdolellah

Fans of the Berlin based Nils Frahm are by now familiar with his beguiling live shows where more often than not fellow touring artists are encouraged to join Frahm on stage – the likes of Rachel Grimes, Rob Lowe of Balmorhea as well as label colleagues Peter Broderick and Ólafur Arnalds have all obliged with fascinating results. It will come as no surprise then that Nils Frahm, an accomplished composer and producer who signed to Erased Tapes in 2009, has extended his collaborative live musings to encompass the recording studio, working for the first time with noted cellist and fellow Berliner Anne Müller to produce 7fingers. 

With their first collective release Frahm and Müller have built a world where modern classical and electronica collide creating an ‘intoxicating and delicious’ collection of songs. Primarily a pianist Nils Frahm provides evidence with 7fingers that he can effortlessly turn electric throwing in loops, samples and glitches to accompany and showcase Müller on cello. Anne Müller, a renowned musician noted for her work with the Wolf-Ferrari-Ensemble, Phillip Boa and recent tours with Agnes Obel, proves an amp musical partner for Frahm. 

As the recognition continues to grow for Nils Frahm’s previous solo piano works Wintermusik and The Bells, 2011 sees a new side to this young talent as he embarks on a detour into strings, symphonies and glitch beats alongside the estimable Anne Müller.



PRESS:

‘The combined talents of wunderkind pianist Frahm and Anne Müller here produce a subtle, seductive chamber music sporadically interleaved with electronic glitches’ **** – Mojo

'Ludwig Van draped in velveteen electronic violence. A record of fractured beauty. A worthwhile venture' (7/10) - Drowned In Sound

‎'Imaginative and surprising collaboration. It teases out goose-bumps in way that alone gives rise to a hope this won’t be the last time we see the two working together' – BBC Music

‘An album that sees headphone electronica, modern classical, and soundtrack music all converge to beautiful, intelligent, often terrifying effect’ Track Of The Day – The Line Of Best Fit

‘One of the most emotionally-evoking neoclassic records of the year’  8/10 – The Silent Ballet

‘7 Fingers is an absolute necessity and will surely stand as one of the better releases of the year’ –  Fluid Radio

‘I can’t recommend it more… Intoxicating and delicious’ – Headphone Commute


7fingers

Teeth

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Nils Frahm & Anne Müller - Teeth

In this meditative audio track listen to affirmations for life purpose and soul mission. This track contains both audible and subliminal suggestions.  

Please feel free to download and listen as often as you wish. Please feel free to share this track with your friends.

Affirmations are a great way to reprogramme the unconscious mind with new more positively orientated thoughts and possibilities. This track was produced by Steve Ahnael Nobel.

Affirmations: Soul Purpose, Life Mission and Global Service.

Poem text and proper context: https://www.brainpickings.org/2017/04/26/the-mushroom-hunters-neil-gaiman/

Original poem written for and recorded at "The Universe in Verse" (brainpickings.org/the-universe-in-verse/) – an evening of poetry celebrating science and the scientists who have taken us to where we are today, and a protest against the silencing of science and the defunding of the arts, with all proceeds donated to the Academy of American Poets and the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Photograph by Molly Walsh, Academy of American Poets

Amanda Palmer reads "The Mushroom Hunters" by Neil Gaiman

brainpicker

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