S&S Presents: Dreams

Bali

Blue 13-14 (demo)

'I the Storm'
Simon McCorry
See Blue Audio SBA 045

1. The Earth's Sorrow for All Things That Pass
2. Misericordia
3. These Scalding Tears
4. The Ever-Evolving Reflecting Mirror

Release date: 22 September 2023

lnk.to/SBA045

See Blue Audio: ambient / electronic / beatless / cinematic / downtempo / eclectic / introspective… Shade rather than light...

As summer fades and the nights draw in, our collective consciousness can take a turn towards the melancholic. We may feel this cyclical change at both a micro, individual level and as part of a greater cosmic dimension, but its presence is undeniable. We can find ourselves in the eye of a storm, and that storm could well be within us. This is the theme of the forty-fifth release on See Blue Audio: 'I the Storm' by Simon McCorry.

Mixed ethnicity, part-British, part-Indian, and "cellist sound-sculptor of ambiguous environments", this is Simon's third release on See Blue Audio. It follows a prolific couple of years of releases on respected labels on the ambient music scene like Oscarson, Shimmering Moods, Whitelabrecs, Hidden Vibes, Rusted Tone Recordings and Polar Seas. As with Simon's first release on See Blue Audio, the 'Nature in Nature' EP from 2021, where the title track was created for a short film featuring Japanese contemporary dance artist Satoko Fukuda, so 'I the Storm' began its life in the theatre. All four compositions were written while collaborating with choreographer Travis Clausen-Knight on 'I the Storm', part of the Fabula Collective production 'Momentum'. Although not originally intended for the show, they ended up using 'These Scalding Tears' in its entirety alongside other original music from Simon, with 'Momentum' receiving its premiere at Sadlers Wells Theatre in London in September 2022.

Another important component in the backstory to 'I the Storm' is the serious health issues and periods in hospital Simon experienced at the end of 2021. As disharmony in the body can also lead to disharmony in the mind, this became a time of deep personal confusion for the artist. Seeking spiritual answers, 'I the Storm' is largely influenced and indebted to the sacred music of the 12th century Benedictine writer and visionary Hildegard von Bingen, even though it has a veneer of contemporary sonic landscapes.

'I the Storm' consists of four beatless compositions of varying length based around asynchronous live looping with the cello, a method Simon has been experimenting with for a number of years. This new work takes the process in another direction as all the loops remain 'open' in overdub mode. Five loops of five different lengths always recording and adding new material as the older material slowly fades away on each repeat. Sounds cascade and circle around each other in a network of loop and delay; sometimes like a call and response, sometimes like reverb or an audio smudge, or a choir of cellos, or dense string orchestration and harmonisation. There are moments where the music is on the edge of going out of control and tipping into chaos; a tightrope is being walked.

All the tracks on 'I the Storm' were played and recorded in one sitting. The chaotic nature of the method means this is the only way, but each piece also exists as its own dramatic whole, while contained within are smaller sections or movements travelling through different emotional states and spaces.

'I the Storm' was not conceived or executed as background ambience; this is not linear or gentle listening. Nothing is hidden, all emotions are raw, and it was designed to be experienced by the listener as such. As the track titles show, ours is a world of tumult and turmoil, of agitation and upheaval, and where the storm that's within us all ebbs and flows throughout life.

Mastered by Taylor Deupree at 12k Mastering.

Image: the Sound Camp.

I the Storm

'I the Storm' (preview) – Simon McCorry (See Blue Audio SBA #045)

anaott.bandcamp.com.

Make You Stay is a cycle of eight experimental recitatives and instrumental pieces by cellist and composer Emily Wittbrodt. The compositions are based on baroque forms, transferred to the sound of a contemporary band (electronics, electric guitar, drums, cello, electric organ and chest organ). In terms of content, the cycle deals with forms of separation. In the four recitatives, texts of the 20th and 21st centuries were set to music: Poems by E.E. Cummings and Stine Sampers, fragments of lyrics by Astrud Gilberto and a text by Emily Wittbrodt herself. The four recitatives are each performed by one of the band members, so that all four musicians have a singing or speaking role.

All recitatives are followed by an "aria", without singing, purely instrumental: in this - according to the historical model - the content of the recitatives is musically processed and further spun.

The result is music that in a weird way may be reminiscent of early classical music due to its inner structure and the sound of the chest organ, but is clearly rooted in contemporary music. With the band consisting of Annie Bloch (vocals, electric organ, chest organ), Jan Philipp (vocals and drums), Wolfgang Pérez (vocals, electric guitar, electronics) and Emily Wittbrodt (voice, cello) active musicians of Germanys experimental pop and improvisation scene can be heard on the record.

Make You Stay

Emily Wittbrodt - Foolish

"not so much damn reverb" mix of track 10 from silent panic in public spaces. The original mix was bugging me.

trying to say i'm sorry (nsmdr mix)

Track 4 taken from the album, "A place with no guns".
Released October 29, 2023 on Moolakii Club Audio Interface Record Label
Limited edition gold cassette & CD available now:
https://cabbaggage.bandcamp.com/album/a-place-with-no-guns-3

There Was Nothing

Funeral Tape 1 - Arrival Of The Casket

A Flower Blooms In Complete Darkness

Shit I'm Dreaming

Pre order:
https://artificialowlrecordings.bandcamp.com/releases

Niko Dalagelis aka One Of Them has been creating music for over 20 years and has numerous Electronic and Ambient EP releases on various record labels. Sithabo will be his first Ambient LP and will be released on his own Artificial Owl Recordings which will be focused on experimental and electronica music. Each track on the album represents a moment inspired by Niko's past 3 years of touring and traveling in places like Tokyo, Berlin, Okinawa, Fiji and more.

All 12 tracks in Sithabo ( Greek for "Dusk" ) were written, produced and mastered by Niko in New York using the Yamaha CS, the Roland TR-8S and Zoia Empress and numerous fx plugins used on live recording taken from nature and indoor recordings ( Niko's shitty refrigerator in NY and night birds in Okinawa Japan ).

Track List

Side A
A1: Sala P.T
Influenced by a Thursday Evening at Phuket Thailand.
A2: Tawewa Hill
Influenced by a Sunset on a Hill at Tawewa island in Fiji.
A3: Kreuzberg Nacht
Influenced by a night out in Berlin ending in Tresor.
A4: Vermont Fields
Influenced by a long drive in Vermont US on a summer day.
A5: Expressing On Narita
Influenced by the train ride on Narita Express in Tokyo.
A6: Grace Bay
Influenced by a morning walk on Grace Bay on Turks and Caicos.

Side B

B1: Tomo.Me
Influenced by a saver panic attack ending at a great night at Contact in Tokyo.
B2: Sawa I Lau Cave
Influenced by a hidden cave on a small island at Fiji.
B3: Atal Setu
Influenced by the colors of the sky while crossing Atal Setu Bridge in Goa India.
B4: Tokashiki
Influenced by a swim with sea turtles at Tokashiki Island in Okinawa Japan.
B5: High In Keizersgracht
Influenced by a stoned bike riding night in Amsterdam.
B6: Maggie Is Napping
Influenced by watching Maggie taking a summer evening nap in Brooklyn New York.

There Was Nothing

Cabbaggage

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