Vanishing Twin - Big Moonlight (Ookii Gekkou)

There are strange forces at work, lurking underneath the shiny, impeccable surface of this place: Looming behind all those perfect little fence posts and neighborly smiles, there's a sense of isolation, of emptiness, a hint of claustrophobia, that fear of being in the wrong place, too far removed from where things are really happening. It's true: darkness has fallen upon suburbia. Welcome to the unadorned world of Innhverfi.

Using a play on the Icelandic words for "suburbs" and "introvert" for its title, Innhverfi is the debut solo album from Sigur Rós' and Jónsi's touring keyboard player/percussionist Óbó – in his passport it says Ólafur Björn Ólafsson –, and although comprised of no more than 7 compositions, it does run the gamut of suburban bliss turned upside down: After the LP's minimalistic opener "Úthverfi", a track that melancholically opens up after a long, immensely dark and brooding intro, that ultimately offers some respite in the form of playful Glockenspiel over layers of slow-moving sonic lava, the equally cinematic "Svartur galdur" leaves much room for Óbó's trademark baritone: Like a bespectacled puppeteer with fluffy hair, he seems to shuffle and rearrange home-recorded bits and lullaby-like DIY pieces in front of our very eyes, which can't help but follow, as we move deeper into the somewhat forlorn suburban landscape that has inspired this record. Imagine dark, wet streets, overcast little alleys, and suddenly a cat or a candle on a windowsill, breathing slowly.

Elsewhere, "Gjallarhornin" – all spoken words, piano, strings, vibraphone, rearranged like a whirlwind in slow-motion – makes way for a hopeful oomph deferred and silent-movie era melodies, while "Stilla", an instrumental, commences like early Efterklang, but there's no gaudiness on the horizon: When the subtle electronics and percussions erupt in the end, it all feels just right – if only for a brief moment. Finally, the subdued birdsong and jazz-inspired piano of "Fyrirbo∂i" underline that Ólafsson has worked on motion picture soundtracks in the past – e.g. The Good Heart, Steypa –, and before it all ends, he even throws in a foot-stompin' alt-pop song of sorts ("Rétt e∂a rangt?"). The last stop of this journey into the haunting underbelly of the suburban mind is "Gullregn": A creaking door that opens to unveil his own garden of forking paths, a place where one can still decide, shake things up, jump the fence and run, leave before it's too late. It's pure possibility, presented in a golden light.

Although Innhverfi is his debut effort as a solo artist, Óbó's musical handwriting has been all over the Icelandic map in recent years: A multi-instrumentalist and a wizard on percussions, he studied piano and later composition in various European cities and has performed and recorded with artists such as Sigur Rós, Jónsi, Emiliana Torrini, Stórsveit Nix Noltes, slowblow, Benni Hemm Hemm, múm, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Úlfur Hansson and Valgeir Sigur∂sson, to name a few.

Though few will be able to understand the lyrics in his native Icelandic, one thing is certain: Innhverfi is the very antidote to the affliction and troubles it sketches out. Turns out we've been in the right place all along.

Buy On Itunes

Óbó: Rett Eda Rangt?

Previously unreleased song by El Perro Del Mar from 2005. 
Appears on the reissue 'El Perro Del Mar Deluxe Edition' released February 2015 to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of El Perro Del Mar.

Do The Dog

DADDY

Field Music return with new 14 track album ‘Commontime’, set to be released on 5th February 2016 via Memphis Industries. 
The first song to be taken from the album is ‘The Noisy Days Are Over’, an insistent, sax-punctuated groove and a conversation between two friends struggling to say farewell to the bad old boozy days, when they should “get to bed like everyone else".

 
Over the past four years, North-East siblings Peter and David Brewis have threaded their way through one extra-curricular project after another but were inevitably drawn back to working together on their own songs. "As much fun as we might have had on our own or collaborating, we missed just spending time in the studio, the two of us, trying things out and playing together." explains David.

The space that Field Music vacated in those four years still appears to be empty. No one else really does what Field Music do: the interweaving vocals, the rhythmic gear changes, the slightly off-chords, but with the sensibility that keeps them within touching distance of pop music. But with Commontime, Field Music show off their unashamed love of choruses in a way they’ve only hinted at before.

Written and recorded in spontaneous bursts over six months in their Wearside studio, Commontime is built around the brothers playing and singing together again, but also features a wider array of players, including original Field Music keyboardist Andrew Moore, Peter's wife Jennie Brewis and new member of the live band Liz Corney on vocals, plus a panoply of other players.

“We wanted to embrace being a duo and, perversely, that made us feel more comfortable about all of those conspicuous cameos” reveals David.  Over the fourteen songs of Commontime, real life conversations are replayed, acquaintances come and go, hard won friendships are left to drift and diffuse snap shots of the everyday are pulled together into what must rank amongst Field Music’s best works to date. 

Commontime is available to pre-order at www-field-music.co.uk on limited edition 2 x 180gram green vinyl + download code, CD, and download. The first 250 physical orders include an exclusive signed print.   The album is also available to pre-order on iTunes with an instant download of ‘The Noisy Days Are Over’.



Commontime

The Noisy Days Are Over (Edit)

Field Music - The Noisy Days Are Over (Single Version)

Taken from the forthcoming debut Bodywash EP

Artwork by William Horikawa https://soundcloud.com/masayajunior

High quality download available here: https://bodywashmtl.bandcamp.com/




Nothing At All

First single from their forthcoming third album "Dusk", out September 30th, 2016 via Trouble In Mind Records (www.troubleinmindrecs.com)

Ultimate Painting "Bills" (Trouble In Mind Records)

Seabird (cover)

Can you feel it rising up
following your breath
all of our dreams lay deep within

can you feel it rising up
and flowing back down again
if we open our hearts
would you let me in?

Romantic Era will be out May 18th 

Album art by Sam Velenne 
Mastered by Timothy Stollenwerk

Spiraling

Artist: Anna St. Louis
Album title: If Only There Was a River
woodsist094 / mare003
CD / LP / Digital
Release date: Oct 12, 2018

Anna St. Louis - The Bells

Again

one-woman-quiet-riot / lispector is julie and her recorder.

Seabird (cover)

Lispector

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