INTRODUCING an exciting new project from Los Angeles comprising of a film composer Michael Deragon and a sound designer/composer Daniel Lea (member of L A N D with releases on Important Records). Both members of this duo are not new to the highly textured sonic models of cinematic proportions. Throw in a dynamically rich mixing of Ben Frost and the magic touch of Valgeir Sigurdsson‘s mastering and you’ve got an album worthy of a movie night. Turn down the lights, turn up the volume, sit back and let this ride unfold. I’ve heard the full album already, which shares a title with the track I am premiering for you today, We Become Mist, but until it’s out Bedroom Community in about a month’s time (September 10th), we’ll just survive with this short teaser. Nevertheless, it is a perfect sampling of the things to come, just like its beautifully showcased album cover – thick layers of subdued dissolving hues, merging in frequencies with time and spectral motion, some edges scattered in the rough, while others smooth to glistening perfection. I wouldn’t be surprised if this was pitched as an original film score, but I am more than grateful to absorb it as an album. It may be otherworldly or possibly from Earth, but in a way, it doesn’t matter, because I’m still discovering new places previously unknown. “We Become Mist is nothing short of the progression from a souterrain awakening to the terraformed sound of a new world coming into existence.”

Album’s titles hint at extroversive and introspective worlds, exploring dreams, hallucinations, and perceptions of reality as “We Remain Beneath”, and later on “We Become Mist” and finally “We Become Matter”. Your ears will aglow with all the analogue and digital refinements. “The name Heliochrysum evokes the Latin for sunflower but also a healing tincture: in the overlaid orchestration and distorted lightness, the roiling, life-giving pour of the sun can be heard. Simplicity washed with emotional intensity, the remembered dreams of far-off, science-fictive discoveries.”

"We Become Mist sounds like the great machine that moves the universe. It slowly awakens, sending delicate rays of light into the sky, into the blood, while creating a choir of shooting stars and dense breathing matter… all moving through time."

Once again, the album is out on September 3rd, available as a limited edition clear vinyl and 50 copies on cassette! I’m always excited to discover new artists, but in this case, also be the one to introduce them to the world! Can’t wait for you to dive into the whole thing!

We Become Mist

TRACK PREMIERE : Heliochrysum - We Become Mist

Between containment and release, the pulse becomes its own mirror. Shadows fold beneath translucent skies, revealing the architecture of intention beneath each breath. Time thickens, dissolves, and recomposes, tracing the delicate balance between control and surrender. At that serene boundary where instinct meets conscience, each impulse becomes light.

Glass Horizon

In School

OXE 002 "Coypu" / vinyl 12" limited edition 180gr + digital
Music composed and recorded by Alex Smoke, Maarten Vos
Mastered by Rashad Becker
Artwork by Marcel Rusu
Order: https://oxmose.bandcamp.com/album/coypu-oxe-002

Alex Smoke, Maarten Vos - IV

Taken from the upcoming album 'Chapters' on Fluid Audio...

Music: Und_Ne
Mastering: Ian Hawgood
Design: Daniel Crossley

www.fluidaudio.bigcartel.com/mailing-list

Chapters

und_ne - Chapter 5

low flame

Kostas Katsikas returns with his fourth full-length LP to the German Denovali imprint. I am immensely excited to hear the continuous evolution of this Greek musician’s sound, whom I have followed first through the Tympanik debut Approach (2008), then to the Ad Noiseam sophomore release, No Land Called Home (2010), and lastly via the Denovali release of Foray (2015). Four years since Subheim offers nine delicious, moody tracks, that capture the shadowy crawl through a modern metropolis. The album is titled after the last segment of that word, metro + polis, or, rather correctly, from Greek, μήτηρ (“mother”) + πόλις (“city”), aiming to capture “the unspoken tension between longing to escape and being trapped in some kind of concrete stasis.” I know exactly what Katsikas means. Having lived in numerous concrete jungles, from Kyiv to New York to Chicago and London, and having visited his home city of Athens [er, why did I forget to reach out?] there is a certain grittiness to all this man-made beauty. Millions upon millions of conscious [and, well, not so conscious] minds, each with their own distinctive story, together, yet alone [and in this lockdown we’re alone together], reflecting on the lives we’ve built around us from the past. Subheim recognizes this concealing darkness, and he attempts to scratch it out with sound, which is at once grungy, with its great use of mild distortion, and cinematically alluring, with epic chords, towering organic progressions, and insistent beats. Today I am premiering a piece called “Vertigo”, which elegantly captures that overwhelming sense.

"Despite the album being born out of a feeling of alienation from one’s surroundings, it’s impossible to ignore the sense of hope that runs through this LP. In ΠΟΛΙΣ, we hear an arrival at a deeper understanding of oneself, an inner peace amidst the decay and cautious optimism that comes from someone who just happens to feel most at home in darkness."

The album is a perfect soundtrack to your reclusive walks, preferably through dark and dingy alleys, abandoned subways, and corroded ducts. There’s even an appearance by Ben Lukas Boysen, as Hecq on a piece called “Daughter,” which is a fantastic collaboration showcasing both of these composer’s talents – melodically harmonious and lush. ΠΟΛΙΣ is out on October 30th, available from Denovali on digital, CD, and black 12″. Highly recommended for these confusing times! A perfect candidate for my selections in “Music For Crawling Through Abandoned Cities.” I’m sure we’ll see it there soon!

ΠΟΛΙΣ

TRACK PREMIERE : Subheim - Vertigo

@DougThomasOffical curates our latest guest mix with a beautiful selection of tracks which has inspired his new record 'Portraits' a collaboration with @music-affan and released on @ lonelyswallow. The album is a collection of eight modern classical piano sketches by Doug Thomas conceived as “portraits” of his composer heroes. 
On his guest mix you can hear tracks from Tamar Halperin, Jóhan Jóhannsson, Nils Frahm, Bruce Bubaker, Max Richter and much more.

Purchase Portraits here: https://lonelyswallow.bandcamp.com/album/portraits

"I once read that Tarantino stole from every movie he had ever seen. An autodidact composer, I follow a similar approach; each of my projects is an attempt at growing and learning from those who inspire me. This is a playlist with some of the pianistic influences for Portraits and previous projects Angles, Cassiopeia, Ballades and The Seasons. Welcome to my world of nostalgia".

01 Tamar Halperin, “Gymnopédie No. 1” — Inspired Angles (00:00)
02 Gonzales, “Gogol” (03:24)
03 David Greilsammer, “Les Barricades Mystérieuses” — Inspired Portraits (05:27)
04 Youhwa Lee, “Spiegel im Spiegel” — Inspired Cassiopeia (07:38)
05 Jóhan Jóhannsson, “Flight from the City” (17:28)
06 Maria João Pires, “Piano Sonata No. 2” — Inspired Portraits (23:59)
07 Yann Tiersen, “Penn ar Lann” — Inspired Ballades (28:43)
08 Edouard Ferlet, “Harpsichord Concerto No. 5” (32:41)
09 Murray Perahia, “Lieder ohne Worte No. 6” — Inspired Portraits (36:46)
10 Nils Frahm, “Ode” — Inspired The Seasons (39:40)
11 Max Richter, “Written on the Sky” (44:15)
12 Bruce Brubaker, “Metamorphosis No. 2” — Inspired Portraits (46:03)

Contemplative Classical Mix

Doug Thomas - Contemplative Classical Guest Mix

This morning I am spending some time in the company of Pleq (that’s Bartosz Dziadosz) and Hakobune (Takahiro Yorifuji). Their 2012 album, titled Adrift, was originally released by the Nomadic Kids Republic sublabel of Home Normal, and now, eight years later, it’s not only remastered [and textured] by Ian Hawgood but also complemented with reworks by Olan Mill, Polar M, and the remix I am premiering for you today, by Jason Corder, aka offthesky. So yeah, a bunch of characters on this one. Adrift is an album of organic ambiance, warm texture, and minuscule glitch that sounds as gorgeous and regal as it did back when it was first released. Well, maybe a little more regal. For this edition, Ian has painstakingly reworked the pieces “from the original masters to reel-to-reel for a wholly new, more open and nuanced experience.” All that expensive analog gear put to good use there, eh? The result is a showcase of modern ambiance that still sounds fresh and new, with Corder’s remix adding in a touch of sub-particle-sized arrangement in subtle sonics and reminiscent din. The whole package is rounded off with brand new cover art by Giulio Aldinucci, which is too beautiful not to include here in its larger form. Thank heavens for Home Normal.

Adrift (Remastered + Remixed)

Horizon Line

TRACK PREMIERE : Pleq & Hakobune - Adrift (offthesky Remix feat. Silverness)

The full, raw audio from a recent live stream improvisation by Andy from Digitonal.

Regular Friday night sessions on twitch.tv/andydigitonal.  In which Andy hooks all his boxes up and sees what happens.

The tracks are quite long as they develop slowly, much in the manner of how I write a lot of music actually. Sometimes they are messy and experimental, sometimes they form into tunes. This one is one of the more tuneful ones so I thought I'd make it publicly available for once.

More stream highlights can be found on the Twitch channel along with video footage of how it's done and a full kit list.

Streams

Live Improvisation Stream - Jan21

Taken from Origamibiro's LP Miscellany on Denovali Records, out March 26.

More: www.orbmag.com/music/

@origamibiro
@denovali

Miscellany

Listen more

Premiere: Origamibiro - Attract/Repel

Here are some original solo piano pieces...  some mixes from my podcast... some exclusive track premieres...  and some tracks from the albums I review on Headphone Commute... Enjoy!