The world has become bombastic. Ironically, even among the most minimalist and ambient communities. The labels trying to out-shout one another: “listen to meeee!” they proclaim, sometimes in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, with descriptions in press releases spanning multiple pages of concepts and tales. And I don’t really blame them for that – it’s impossible to stand out these days, to “capture” your attention (the most important currency we “pay”), and to turn that focus into plays [what comes after, is a whole other story]. And then there are artists (and labels) that seem to continue their modest and humble quest for the essence that we may extract from this wonder we call ‘music’. They come unexpecting to share the love. One of such imprints remains the Québec-based Moderna, which searches the globe for the next hidden gem. It has introduced me to many new and up-and-coming composers, which have remained on my playlists and Best of the Year lists. Their latest small gift comes in a form of a four-track EP from a Dutch musician Jeroen Dirrix (he’s put out some singles and appeared on Moderna’s compilations before). It’s a 20-minute glimpse into a place behind the space that occupies the concrete jungle of the cities where we dwell. In this particular case, it is his city of Rotterdam (which I find to be architecturally beautiful, by the way), that quietly yearns for the nature which has since receded in urban defeat.

"Jeroen Dirrix dreams up an imaginary escape from his urban studio centred around the acoustic piano, with the soothing sounds of analog synthesizers and field recordings weaving their way meditatively through the soundscape."

A Hidden Place

TRACK PREMIERE : Jeroen Dirrix - Call the Flood

A WINGED VICTORY FOR THE SULLEN - 'ATOMOS VII'
12"/digital out now.

ORDER: www.erasedtapes.com/store/index/ERATP056

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: 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 VII

A Winged Victory For The Sullen – Atomos VII

Unreleased Demo of "You'll Miss Us One day".
The final version is released on "Gravity" / Ad Noiseam Nr.168.
http://www.adnoiseam.net/adn168

Ben Lukas Boysen - Variation (Unreleased)

Plastikman · Richie Hawtin -I Nxtro (Prada FW21 Womenswear Version)(remix2024525)

Recorded for Gonzalo Bénard for his art video 'Distichous - Mind vs. Consciousness'

Vimeo Link: https://vimeo.com/134122061
Youtube Link: https://yout.be/IrPex57oeE0

G's Website: www.gbenard.com

Beautiful Storm in the Ocean

Buy / Stream Album: https://lnk.to/wsmsettlers

Follow WSM on Bandcamp: http://westernskiesmotel.bandcamp.com
 
'Settlers' is the new album from Western Skies Motel in a limited edition of 170 gatefold 180gram vinyl, CD and digital formats.  'Settlers' was mastered for vinyl and digital by Taylor Deupree, with master lacquers cut by Roger Siebel at SAE.  The first 50 Vinyl & CD's ordered come with a bonus EP, 'Generations' mastered by Kirk Marrison of Kiln.

In the dry desert of Arizona that Lost Tribe Sound calls home, a letter is received from guitarist René Gonzàlez Schelbeck who’s eager to share a collection of intimately composed songs, titled 'Settlers'. Upon listening, we are immediately enthralled. There’s a timeworn, arid, and almost badlands quality to Schelbeck’s hypnotic, cyclical guitar style. It seems to perfectly capture the lonely, barren landscape of the American West. 

Yet, there are curious dynamics at play here as Schelbeck, who makes music under the alias Western Skies Motel, is from Denmark and far removed from any upbringing in the rough-hewn Americana style of folk guitar. Conceivably, his music has more in common with the lonesome, calculated tone of Berlin's modern classical scene or the rainy day folk of the UK. Those are intriguing parallels, since the collective mood of Western Skies Motel's music would adapt so well to either environment. 

Words hardly do justice to the rich, immersive experience of 'Settlers'; yet a few may help to set the stage. Schelbeck is a remarkably well rounded instrumentalist, who spent his early days losing his hearing in local punk rock bands. This youthful love for walls of sound and discordant guitar squalls survives in his modern sound palette. However, a more mature approach to these techniques brings moments of palpable tension, adding in uneasy waves of guitar feedback and droning harmonium. 

But ultimately, the truth of what Schelbeck hopes to convey through his music may rest rmly in his subconscious. In hindsight, 'Settlers' is about moving between worlds: not in the dimensional sense, but more as a constant change in form. Each influence and sound Schelbeck incorporates into his music feels native to the delicate ecosystem of these songs and each turn feels as organic and nuanced as that of the natural world. Just as a tree’s leaves wither and fall; a fire sparks and expands only to expend its last bit of fuel, extinguished and left for ash. So true are the parallels we find in our own existence, the complex ritual of growing old and returning to dirt. Decay is inevitable for all life, yet through this it becomes the rich soil for all things proceeding. Western Skies Motel's weighty instrumental mantras may root in this and other meanings yet to be culled. One thing is clear, this music contains signicant power, and, regardless of our conceived themes or geographic locations, it tells a story that is lasting and instantly familiar. 

'Settlers' sees a 180-gram heavy weight gatefold release very similar to the recent Mute Forest debut, 'Deforestation'. The acetate and test pressings were scrutinized for anomalies on world-class vinyl setups at Arizona’s esteemed audio dealer, Arizona Hi-Fi.

Western Skies Motel is building upon a busy year in 2015, having released two very different full-length albums 'Prism' (Preserved Sound) and 'Buried and Resurrected' (Twice Removed).

Settlers

Whirl

Buy Album

Western Skies Motel - Whirl (from Settlers)

Autumn

Autumn Sky

Buy on Bandcamp

Madeleine Cococlas - Autumn Sky

Ninetysix Percent

Albecq is the project of Angus MacRae, James Jones, and Thom Robson, three London-based experimental artists and composers. The collective was formed in late 2016 based on a love of vintage synths, unhurried free-flowing soundscapes, and the pioneering ambient expeditions of Basinski and Stars Of The Lid. 

Taken from their debut album - A Distant, Guiding Sun - released 7th September.

Pre-order: https://albecq.bandcamp.com
albecqmusic.com

LACE

We are so pleased to announce American composer and producer n-So's new LP 'Out of the Valley' - due out on June 12th ! This record is a profound artistic statement, weaving introspection and quiet moments with cinematic drama ; blurring sounds old and new, acoustic and electronic ; and pushing against the conventions of genre through explorations of novel textures, rhythms and forms. The record accompanies an imaginary protagonist through a metaphysical journey into a deep valley surrounded by impossibly tall mountains, driven to find a path home through uncharted terrain. 

You can pre-order it now and take the plunge with the album's lead single : https://orcd.co/into-the-valley

Out of the Valley

Into the Valley

Download

n-So - Into the Valley

Christina Vantzou is 1/2 of The Dead Texan (a project shared with Adam Wiltzie of Stars of the Lid). Christina explores similar terrain with "11 Generations Of My Fathers" which is taken from the compilation, 'SMM: Context", due March 1, 2011 of Ghostly International.   

Christina Vantzou - 11 Generations Of My Fathers

say hello / licensing / demos 
modernarecords@gmail.com

We're here to trace a line from electronic sound designers to classical composers, connecting them through the realms of ambient & cinematic music.

n-So - Into the Valley

Moderna Records

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