Ambient

Best of the Cloud 08 12 2019

Markus JB & Siobhan Dakay

from 'Odham's Standard' [CD|LP|DIGITAL]
Denovali Records · den191
available on all formats at [http://denovali.com/origamibiro]

Origamibiro is a collaborative project consisting of three core members: musician, soundtrack composer and producer Tom Hill, visual artist and filmmaker The Joy Of Box, and multi-instrumentalist Andy Tytherleigh. Originally started as a solo project for Tom, Origamibiro has since evolved into an audio-visual collective, producing studio music, art objects, interactive installations and hauntingly original live audio-visual performances. Origamibiro like to create work with an array of unorthodox processes and contraptions, found objects, video feeds and multi instrumentalism. Their unique live performances involve treated books, typewriters, found celluloid, paper, eerie wildlife recordings, home movies, sellotape and bespoke visual contraptions. All of these things had been added, adapted, even destroyed as a way to generate images and audio that could evoke a feeling, a response, an understanding or perhaps a question from audiences.

2014 sees the re-release of Origamibiro's entire back catalogue - the albums ‘Cracked Mirrors and Stopped Clocks’, ‘Shakkei’ and ‘Shakkei Remixed’ - through Denovali and also the release of their fourth studio album 'Odham's Standard'. Discussions concerning tone and theme took place much earlier in the writing process this time around and unbeknown to each other, both Tom and Jim were taking an interest in more supernatural aspects of audio and video material generation. Jim had begun to research into spirit photography, where images of deceased spirits are apparently imprinted onto photographic plates through the presence of a medium. Looking for an audio equivalent, Tom began looking into EVP or electronic voice phenomenon whereby hidden voices from deceased spirits appear to present themselves in audio recordings. What is fascinating about this process is not how legitimate the phenomenon actually is but how dependant it is on the decision or need of the viewer or listener to believe it is significant or even personal.

Interestingly, there have been many attempts over the years to debunk or disprove the validity of spirit photography and yet for every court case there are also a number of witnesses willing to passionately testify that not only is the phenomenon real but that it applied directly to them. Arthur Conan Doyle was the creator of the most famous detective in the world and, conversely, a staunch defendant of the validity of spirit photography. In his infamous treatise 'The Case For Spirit Photography' he is both naive and strangely prescient: “Victorian science would have left the world hard and clean and bare, like a landscape in the moon. (however) There is nothing scientifically impossible, so far as I can see, in some people seeing things that are invisible to others. One or two consequences are obvious, the experiences of children will be taken more seriously. Cameras will be forthcoming. These folk who appear to be our neighbours, with only some small difference of vibration to separate us, will become familiar.”


Odham's Standard

Origamibiro - Butterfly Jar

A Winged Victory for the Sullen – 'Atomos' out on October 6, 2014.

ORDER the album now on CD/2xLP/DL and Ltd. 500 edition clear vinyl via our store: www.erasedtapes.com/store/index/ERATP061
Or via iTunes: http://snip.ftpromo.net/atomositms

TOUR DATES: 
www.facebook.com/awvfts/app_123966167614127

After releasing a first glimpse in the form of the ‘Atomos VII’ EP earlier this year, A Winged Victory For The Sullen finally reveal their second full-length album entitled ‘Atomos’, which besides familiar piano, string and drone sounds also sees the duo introduce flurries of electronics, harp and modular synthesisers.

Wayne McGregor, founder of Random Dance Company and resident choreographer at the Royal Ballet, chose to play the album repeatedly during practices with his core group of dancers. After noticing the group's reaction with the music, he contacted Adam and Dustin to see if they could write the score for his new oeuvre. The duo were given complete artistic freedom and they treated the score with the same care and attention as their debut album. They recorded more than sixty minutes of music over a four-month period during the summer of 2013 across studios in Brussels, Berlin and Reykjavik, with the help of their long time collaborative sound engineer Francesco Donadello. During the recording process they realised, that this would become their official second studio album. McGregor provided them with the inspiration to expand their sound palette into more electronic territory, whilst keeping their signature chamber sound, resulting in a very unique record.

“As a wise man once said, one who procrastinates their own choosing will inevitably have their choice served to them by circumstance. We had virtually no time for second guessing ourselves. That being said, we tried to balance the discordance between being creative, and fulfilling our duties for a commissioned soundtrack with a very strict deadline, and all the while staying true to our collective melancholy.‘’ – Adam Bryanbaum Wiltzie

“We never imagined 2013 would be such an explosively creative year. The first record took us two years from start to finish, but in the micro span of time over last summer we were able to change the formula for the way we write, record, and let go. It was incredibly liberating.” – Dustin O’Halloran

OFFICIAL WEBSITES: awvfts.com · erasedtapes.com

Atomos

Atomos VI

Buy 2xLP/CD/DL

A Winged Victory For The Sullen – Atomos VI

from 'Nomad Frequencies' [CD|2xLP|DIGITAL]
Denovali Records · den237
available in September on all formats at [http://denovali.com/johnlemke]

An ardent moulder of sound, John Lemke began carving out a very unique music blend on his debut album 'People Do' (2013) and its follow up EP 'Walizka' (2014). Informed by his work as a sound designer & composer for documentary films and his natural inclination towards fusing rhythm with rich textures and emotive melodies, he set out on a musical path that had been long in the making and is ever evolving.

The quest for unusual, inspiring sound sources has always been at the heart of John's process, however the genesis of his second album 'Nomad Frequencies' was rooted in much more inadvertent circumstances. In the summer of 2014, forced to indefinitely evacuate his Glasgow flat and studio due to structural damage from one hour to the next, with nothing more than a laptop and a bag of clothes, John embarked on a six month odyssey of soul searching, couch surfing and spending an extended period of time in his old hometown of Berlin for the first time in years - it was to be an odyssey that would help ferment and distill the ideas of his second album on which work had just begun. 

A year of particular global turmoil and upheaval, combined with John's personal, albeit very minor, 'displacement', caused a lot of questioning, frustration and anger, which somehow found its way onto the new material: a more confrontational, at times aggressive sound, paired on the other hand with a yearning for harmony, balance and space. Other influences came less from the world of music, but rather in visual form, through the densely textural art of Anselm Kiefer and the political, yet poetic musings of film maker Adam Curtis.

Intent on refining his sound toward a more minimal, bolder style, John set out to limit his sonic palate to a handful of carefully chosen elements. At the centre of this new direction remains the muted piano already introduced on his debut, but in a much more purified and raw form. This organic base is adorned by the warm fuzzing and wavering of analogue synthesisers, tape echoes, meditative tuning forks, field recordings from John's 'exile' period and percussion based on his rigid approach to sampling, which started developing on 'Walizka'. The guiding principle of his orthodox style of recording and sampling is to only use home-made sounds by utilising his own field recordings, applying contact microphones or hydrophones to objects and instruments, running them through different kinds of speakers and re-recording the sounds to arrive at a 'lived in' quality, often misunderstood as plainly 'lo-fi'. Touches of viola and woodwinds parts (Kim Moore of WOLF and Andrew Baker respectively) provide melody fragments and subtle details throughout the journey.

With John's healthy disregard for genre boundaries, the array of influences on 'Nomad Frequencies' is vast, but never over-powering. From the meditative tuning fork that starts proceedings on 'Of Elsewhere', the dub echoes to the hints of minimalism, free jazz explosions to the Lynchian atmospherics, all elements serve nothing more than the album's narrative journey between friction and harmony, best appreciated in its entirety. A rhythmic backbone collides with rich ambience and melody, often infectious and jarring at the same time, forging a soulful whole which most likely only reveals its true self after multiple spins.

Nomad Frequencies

John Lemke - The Unwinding

Buy Album: https://muteforest.bandcamp.com/album/reforestation-ep

Also, order Deforestation on vinyl or digital:
Bandcamp: http://smarturl.it/deforest-bc
Norman (UK): http://smarturl.it/deforest-norman
Darla (Distribution): http://smarturl.it/deforest-darla
Itunes: http://smarturl.it/mf-itunes
GooglePlay: http://smarturl.it/deforest-gplay
Spotify: http://smarturl.it/deforest-spotify

Artist Website: http://kaelsmithmusic.com
Artist Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MuteForest

Lost Tribe Sound and Mute Forest announce the 'Reforestation EP', which presents a carefully selected group of musicians to remix songs from the upcoming full-length 'Deforestation'. 

This remix EP will releases on the exact same day as 'Deforestation' and is available exclusively through Bandcamp for the time being, or comes with all physical editions of the 'Deforestation' vinyl. 

We are incredible honored to have brilliance of Kirk Marrison of Kiln at the mastering helm for this remix EP. Enjoy!

Physical purchases of the 'Deforestation' vinyl also receive a Bandcamp download code card for the Reforestation EP, including remixes from Kiln, Western Skies Motel, Mombi, Spheruleus, Porya Hatami, plus two bonus songs from Mute Forest. Also, see the home page for 'Deforestation for more details here: http://muteforest.bandcamp.com/album/deforestation-4

Reforestation EP

Glass of Sand Water

Buy Album

Mute Forest - Glass of Sand Water (from the Reforestation EP)

first excerpt from upcoming 'elephant' by Dag Rosenqvist.

Cello by Aaron Martin
Saxophone by Lisen Rylander Löve
Mastered by Taylor Deupree

order here - https://dronarivm.bandcamp.com/album/elephant

Buy CD

Dag Rosenqvist - Come Silence (from 'elephant' CD)

This track is a modern protest song and is about what is going on with us and our society right now. Why have we started to build walls instead of bringing them down? 

Lyrics:
RAISED WALLS

No place here for the others
Outside of us
Just secure our borders
As an excuse

No place here for the mothers
They are not ours
Just secure our borders
Raise the walls

We are turning away from humanity
We are turning away from solidarity

No place here for the sisters
No one listen to their calls
Just secure our borders
And let it show

We are turning away from humanity
We are turning away from solidarity

No place here for the brothers
They don't abide the laws
Just secure our borders
Stop the boats

No place here for the children
We know how it goes
Just secure our borders
More barbed wires

We are turning away from humanity
We are turning away from solidarity

We are alone

Vocals, lyrics and composition: Marcus JB
Production and additional instruments: Siobhan Dakay

Raised Walls

Raised Walls - Marcus JB & Siobhan Dakay

All Rights Reserved & Copyright 2017 Marcus JB & Siobhan Dakay. Production Siobhan Dakay. Songwriter and guitar Marcus JB

Photo by https://unsplash.com/@vladcalin

Silent Suburbia

Silent Suburbia - Marcus JB & Siobhan Dakay

Neon Lights

Sometimes I drift away at night
Drawn to the flickering neon lights
Among those twisted shadows
Beside the matchstick sparks

Seeing fallen minds, empty parts
Broken glasses, shattered hearts
Lost crooked and twisted dreams
Left to rustle so it seem

Seeking some kind of verification
Seeking some kind of peace
This is my place of redemption
This is my place of redemption

Seeking some kind of verification
Seeking some kind of peace
This is my place of redemption
This is my place of redemption


Producer Siobhan Dakay. 

Neon Lights - All Rights Reserved & Copyright 2019 Marcus JB & Siobhan Dakay.

Photo: Nick Hidalgo Unsplash

Neon Lights - Marcus JB & Siobhan Dakay

Nowhere

Winter's pounding
I'm heading back home
All is cold and empty
Turning to stone

Freezing distant 
Summer memories
Sleeping silent 
In the winter tomb

This is the road from nowhere
This is the road from my nowhere

Dancing shadows, in the glowing headlights
Hidden stories, whispering old times
Sweet secluded, my old friend
You will be with me to the end

This is the road from nowhere
This is the road from my nowhere

Producer Siobhan Dakay. All Rights Reserved & Copyright 2019 Marcus JB & Siobhan Dakay

Photo by Johan Arthursson on Unsplash

Nowhere - Marcus JB & Siobhan Dakay

Jorja Smith - Lost (PH2 Alternative Edit) Boosted

Music, mixing, illustration: Dan-T @dan-t-3
Lyrics, vocals, mixing and mastering: Lukowig www.facebook.com/Lukowig/ twitter.com/Lukowig

Comme tous les dimanches, je pressens le vide funeste du jour qui s'achève. J'entends les pâles lamentations du temps, perdu, qui ne saura jamais se situer en ces dimanches soir revenant d'une manière fatale, comme par malédiction ?
Les âmes vivent derrière les murs des maisons, closes, aux yeux fermés pour faire ressortir davantage l'atmosphère froide des rues sous l'éclairage lunaire.
Les âmes vivent mais se cachent, du monde et d'elles-même. Leur chant hurle...

Je respire le parfum inodore de la mort se répandant dans l'air. Je devinne son odeur forte : volatile éther...

Comme tous les dimanches, plus rien à brasser dans l'air absent qui se lit dans mes yeux...
Le temps hagard s'égare, se gare sans même savoir où choir...
Attends demain, au petit matin, dans le ronronnement des véhicules, dans les soupirs des bus, les claquements de pas dans les rues, se relèvera la foule et avec elle l'humanité entière, tirée de son sommeil dominical. A nouveau, les cliquetis des machines, les toux grasses, les portes claquantes, les baisers couïnants, les battements de paupière, les ébattement de corps, les battements de cœur rythmeront le temps pour une ère nouvelle : la même que la semaine dernière...
J'espère alors qu'elle sera la dernière.
J'attends avec une conviction profonde une mort dominicale, sous le râle des étoiles...

Affliction [Dan-T and Lukowig]

Motion X - Reptilia Cryptodira - Recorded 10/3/19
Photo by Jakob Owens
Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IN-a52pBRjs

Reptilia Cryptodira

YouTube

Motion X - Reptilia Cryptodira (Video Link)

And now for something completely different...

Such an honour having my buddies Martijn Balsters (guitar) and Robert Spaninks (drums) join me in this jazz rock adventure. I'd say they did a great job!! Hope you'll enjoy!

Listen to Martijn's work here: 
@martijn-balsters

(and for the lovers of more ambient sounds.... I'll be back to that shortly ;) )

Original picture by Marc-Olivier Jodoin on Unsplash

Outside the Lines (with Robert Spaninks & Martijn Balsters)

This composition was inspired by a reading of the poem, "The Swan" by Mary Oliver.

The Swan

Did you too see it, drifting, all night, on the black river?
Did you see it in the morning, rising into the silvery air -
An armful of white blossoms,
A perfect commotion of silk and linen as it leaned
into the bondage of its wings; a snowbank, a bank of lilies,
Biting the air with its black beak?
Did you hear it, fluting and whistling
A shrill dark music - like the rain pelting the trees - like a waterfall
Knifing down the black ledges?
And did you see it, finally, just under the clouds -
A white cross Streaming across the sky, its feet
Like black leaves, its wings Like the stretching light of the river?
And did you feel it, in your heart, how it pertained to everything?
And have you too finally figured out what beauty is for?
And have you changed your life?

So Says the Swan

A big thanks to Siobhan Dakay and his fantastic production. 

En röst i mörkret (från framtidens byråkrat)

Lampan lyser med starkt rött sken.
Ännu en båt i nöd och kval.
Jag blundar hårt en kort sekund.
Inget val.

Mitt jobb är att trycka på knappen.
En liten grå knapp. En hemsk symbol.
Förr fanns det hopp och en hamn att ta skydd i.
Ett mål.

Nu återstår bara ett stort svart mörker,
ett kaos i världen som ännu finns nu.
En rädsla så stark att den omsluter oss.
Jag rivs itu.

Det är de eller vi har ni tydligt proklamerat.
Ingen annan möjlighet finns idag.
Rädslan är för stor och mörkret för djupt.
Och det är lag.

Mitt jobb är att trycka på knappen.
Den enda uppgift som givits mig här.
En skakande hand med pulserande ådror.
Ett gevär.

Photo by Ian Espinosa on Unsplash
All Rights Reserved & Copyright 2019
Marcus JB
Johanna Juneke
Siobhan Dakay

En röst i mörkret (från framtidens byråkrat) - Marcus JB & Siobhan Dakay

Musician of sorts from the north.

Reviews:

"..melancholic and dark singer-songwriter music. Fits perfectly when hanging out at home drinking tea. His debut album "Silver Lining" will be released 2018".  www.eclat-mag.de

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"You never fail to touch me with your dusty guitar and husky, lamenting vocals. Such control in your vocal delivery, such tenderness as always. Love this to death!" Jake Dasilva on 'No More Flowers'

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