i hate this

wish i could be there

first single from orchid mantis LP9, more info coming soon

https://orchid-mantis.bandcamp.com/track/another-life-ft-sign-crushes-motorist-2

i only remember the good parts

another life

another life (ft. sign crushes motorist)

Recently, I've been going through my older posts, circa 2009 or so, re-reading my thoughts on the music of yesteryear. It is slightly self-indulgent, I'll admit, but this _is_ indeed a blog of mine, and this was its purpose all along—to capture a moment in time with words and music. It's interesting to note how my tastes evolved, how familiarity with the artists I covered, and my experience in music production have coloured my perception of these sounds. I can tell you that mostly they have stayed the same. And as the genres evolve and musicians move on, others fill in the void with the sounds that allure me in my particular corner of the universe. For example, I see that Nils has announced yet another live album, capturing the energy he brings to the stage with the performance. Although I appreciate documenting these events, I always return to the early studio albums. Meanwhile, Augsburg-based composer Linus Alberg captures my heart with his unique essence of modern classical warmth and sensibility. While I cannot deny the influence of giants in his music (I hear Jóhann Jóhannsson, I hear Max Richter... of course, I hear Frahm), there is indeed sentimentality that is uniquely him. This is only his second release for the beloved Moderna label, with the debut, Elements, premiering here in 2023. It gently drifts from the upright piano, inviting strings, Wurlitzer, Harmonium and synths to carry you along. There are only five pieces on this 23-minute EP, and yet it perfectly conveys an intimate moment that Alberg cares to share. That's all I ever want... that's all I ever ask of music...

Read more on Headphone Commute:
https://headphonecommute.com/2024/11/08/linus-alberg-signs-from-outer-space/

Signs from Outer Space

TRACK PREMIERE : Linus Alberg - signs from outer space

... and here we are, at the end of the Xerrox series. For those who have been all along on the ride, the fifth and final volume concludes an incredible journey which Alva Noto started back in 2007, with the exploration between the original and the copy, the distinction between the two in the analogue and digital world, and the context which each one holds. This was before the concept of non-fungible tokens designed to represent proof of authenticity for the original [digital] art, music, and collectables. Nearly two decades in the making, the five albums capture Carsten Nicolai's evolving philosophy around the method and the system. "The copying process is now less visible through software manipulation; rather, it unfolds as the artist describes melodic and acoustic images that are then manipulated, copied, and transformed into new patterns during composition." I've covered Vol. 2, Vol. 3, and Vol 4 in detail, in the last of which I have predicted that this fifth and final volume will come out in 2025. So, I am delighted and a little sad to feature this exclusive premiere of a track from the final entry as the voyage approached dissolution. This is an emotional experience filled with moments of melancholy and the bittersweet feelings of goodbye, not the least of which are influenced by the connection to the passing of Ryuichi Sakamoto, who was a fan of this series.

Read more on Headphone Commute:
https://headphonecommute.com/2024/11/25/alva-noto-xerrox-nausicaa/

Xerrox Vol. 5

Xerrox Nausicaa

TRACK PREMIERE : Alva Noto - Xerrox Nausicaa

Sometimes I wake up in a different bed, in a different city, at a different time. Everything around me is new and there is excitement about all the possibilities. But there’s also a bit of anxiety and maybe even dread. My anchor is gone, and I am drifting with the current, afloat among the unfamiliar waters. This is when I turn back towards music. Music that makes me feel like I am safe, serene and cosy. Music that I often call my home. This is precisely what I hear in the soft piano keys of the Norwegian pianist and composer Øystein Skar, who has announced his upcoming debut album, titled Hem. I may not know him as a person, and yet his playing makes me calm. I may not truly know his story, and yet his story’s somehow mine. And while I navigate the stormy weather, this ray of sunshine points the way. In these turbulent and truly anxious times, I turn back towards home. I turn back towards music.

Composed during winter’s embrace in his woodland home outside Oslo (I imagine a hushed sanctuary of a snow-draped retreat), the piece embodies the album’s central theme of homecoming – not merely to a physical place, but to essential truths long carried within. In its patient build and emotional resolution, “Levva” invites listeners into the intimate geography of Skar’s personal mindspace. The piece stands as testimony to what becomes possible when an artist, after years of outward exploration, turns the compass needle toward the territories of the heart.

"Levva, meaning “to live well,” is a longer, more experimental track blending classical, improvisational, and electronic music. Anchored by a synth arpeggiation and a piano melody, the piece has two parts with the second evolving into an expansive, percussive, and dreamy landscape created with an array of synths. For me, it’s about embracing strength through authenticity." — Øystein Skar

TRACK PREMIERE : Øystein Skar - Levva

For over two decades, the Osnabrück duo of Stephan Otten and Oliver Klemm has inhabited the sacred intersection of Krautrock's motorik pulse, ambient's expansive consciousness, and contemporary electronica's limitless possibility. Their approach to composition mirrors the architectural precision I've celebrated in my previous coverage on HC, where each element serves both structural and emotional purposes. In the liminal hours between consciousness and dream, Sankt Otten crafts sonic territories that feel both ancient and impossibly futuristic. "Die Gute Fee War Schon Da" (The Good Fairy Was Already There) emerges from their forthcoming album Tote Winkel like a meditation on synthetic breath. Long sighs and deep breathing from a machine that carries an undercurrent of foreboding beauty. This particular piece unfolds with the hypnotic inevitability of oncoming headlights—mesmerizing yet tinged with existential unease. Recorded predominantly live with Martin Schmeing spontaneously contributing DX7 textures, the track embodies Sankt Otten's evolution toward more organic creation methods. The fairy tale reference in the title suggests narrative completion. As their fourteenth album approaches on Denovali, Sankt Otten continues to prove that the most profound electronic music emerges not from technological innovation alone, but from the spaces where human vulnerability meets synthetic precision. Fans of synth-based explorations of future-retro sound will agree.

TRACK PREMIERE : Sankt Otten - Die Gute Fee War Schon Da

COLD GEM

holograph tapes vol. 1

i was above my body

https://orchid-mantis.bandcamp.com/album/compositions-on-midi-and-tape

nothing really goes away

I didn't make this track. All credit goes to Patricia Taxxon, who licensed this track under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license, which allows me to legally post and redistribute this track.
You may redistribute or adapt this track with attribution, provided that adaption is licensed under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license. Read the license: creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Sounds familiar? Music in the public domain is often used in things like YouTube videos.
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Wavetable

Wavetable (by Patricia Taxxon) (free download; read description)

CIRC makes electronic songs that tell so much with only a few elements without sounding repetitive. It's addictive and you just want more.

circ.music@gmail.com

COLD GEM

CIRC

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