German-Icelandic electro-acoustic trio Minua’s new EP Simulacra explores just tuning systems and alternate temperaments. Utilising various instruments like woodwinds, a modular synthesizer, a Bavarian zither or electric bass, the trio stretch barely song-like structures to their limits; the four pieces here move with glacial grandeur, their movement barely perceptible. 

The first half of the record revolves around the element of air. The opening “Order of Instants” utilises layered woodwind instruments to create a harmonic space inspired by an 18th century temperament often used by organ tuners. “Final Service” is an ode to overtones and noise, fusing bass clarinets with modular synthesizer and processed electric bass to calming, slowly modulating effect. 

The second half of the record shifts the trio’s focus to plucked instruments, but the pieces retain their slow-moving, monolithic character. “Sixfold Wilted Rose” features a Bavarian zither, unravelling its shimmering beauty on the bedrock of drone sounds like a rose blooming in parched soil, while the closing “Ascension Point” continues in a similar mood, a droning calmness underpinning the gentle electric guitar plucks. 

Inspired by traditional musics, elements of jazz and contemporary drone, Minua have created a body of work that draws parallels between musical worlds. Simulacra is beautiful, patient music.

Released by Warm Winters Ltd. as WW012 

Fabian Willmann – woodwinds 
Kristinn Kristinsson – guitar, electronics 
Luka Aron – guitar, zither, modular synthesizer 

Tracks 1-3 written by Luka Aron 
Track 4 written by Kristinn Kristinsson 

Recorded by Daniel Nentwig at Butterama Recording Center 
Mixed by Luca Aaron and Kristinn Kristinsson 
Mastered by Rashad Becker at Clunk 
Cover artwork by Nat Marcus

Simulacra

Minua - Final Service

TR188 - gilgul - OS-22 [excerpt]

Atsuko Hatano is a contemporay classical Viola player who works with electronics to add textures and layers to her sound. Located in Tokyo, Japan, she is a commanding instrumentalist and composer who constructs innovative compositions with strings and layered electronics.

Cells #5 is an orchestral collection and sequel to her previous album Cells #2 which will also be released on cassette via Imprec’s Cassauna label. Cells #5 required three years to complete and the work features the artist’s signature methodology where the instrumental performances are gradually enveloped by multiple layers of a string orchestration. 

When not playing solo Atsuko is extremely active recording, collaborating and playing live with Jim O’ Rourke, Eiko Ishibashi, Mocky and many more acts.  


Atsuko Hatano: Violin, Viola, Cello, Contrabass, Piano (track 1), Xylophone, Oscillator and Chorus
Guest Musicians: 
Eiko Ishibashi: Piano, Marimba, Vibraphone
Yuko Ikoma: Accordion 
Natsumi Kudo: Horn and flugelhorn
Icchie: Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Piccolo Trumpet
Tatsuhisa Yamamoto: Snare Drum
Composed and Mixed by Atsuko Hatano
Mastered by Jim O’Rourke 
Cover by Saskia Griepink

Atsuko Hatano  - Tidal Currents - from Cells #5 cassette

In his book 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑟𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐸𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑒, Mark Fisher wrote about the two notions: While the weird is something present where it doesn’t belong—something from outside found on the inside—the eerie has to do specifically with outside space. Something is eerie when there are unanswered questions about agency: Who or what is responsible for the abandonment of this zone? Who or what is crying out in the distance?

Katharina Schmidt’s 𝑇𝑒𝑛𝑛𝑖𝑠 𝐶𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑡𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐻𝑎𝑙𝑓 𝐿𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡, a single, longform track stretching to a near half hour, deftly captures this spatial sense of the eerie. The evolving drone is like coming upon a ruin, circling it, and being drawn inside. There are no surprises, no sudden horrors, just the strange pull of oscillating waveforms that paint a bleak yet soothing landscape.

In certain kinds of listeners, empty, abandoned spaces produce a pleasurable dejection. Maybe this is because spaces where human life is evacuated represent the end result of capital. (It seems to have withered away, but is in fact off to find another shell for its home.) What we’re left with is something new to inhabit, a new infrastructure for freedom. The subtle changes in Schmidt’s recording have less to do with melody and rhythm, more to do with accumulating color and texture of space. And so the half hour can feel like five minutes, or an eternity—time and scale exist differently here.

---

After years of playing drums and piano in various bands, Katharina Schmidt's solo work is influenced by indie, experimental, and improvised music. Exploring interests in storytelling, sonic topographies, and generative techniques, her music uses electronics, field recordings, and self-built interfaces alongside acoustic instruments. From sonifications to lullabies, her work is poised between formal experimentation and narratives cued by literature and pop culture, and can be heard in installations, film music, and radiophonic pieces, as well as releases on labels such as Flag Day Recordings, Slaapwel Records, and Focused Silence.

Katharina holds a master’s degree in Sound Studies from the Berlin University of the Arts and hosts resident shows at Cashmere Radio and SVS Radio.

katharina-schmidt.net
katharinaschmidt.bandcamp.com  

artwork by Stefan Lingg
audio finalized by Glyn Maier

all proceeds to The Homeless Period Project (Greenville, SC, US) - www.homelessperiodproject.org

Tennis Courts in the Half Light

Katharina Schmidt - Tennis Courts In The Half Light [Excerpt] (ENMD03)

Midori Hirano / @midorihirano

Sonmi451 - Seven Signals In The Sky
Claire Rousay - preston ave
Grey Frequency - Telekinetic
Gesellschaft Zur Emanzipation Des Samples - GonnaDieWithMyHammerInMyHand
FRKTL - Fire Upon The Deep
HÜMA UTKU - Truth From The Deepest Source
james K - I Can Not Remember
SABIWA - Enigma
Svetlana Maraš - Opening
Natalie Beridze - Be Airborn
MARTINA BERTONI - Distant Tropics

Midori Hirano ~ Correspondence Nº32

SDG 15 - Created for SOUNDS SUSTAINABLE
la durabilité pour l’oreille
Nachhaltigkeit für’s Ohr

https://trnstn.ch/trnstn-box/

Life On Land

Satomimagae - Dango (Colloid Version)
Learn more: https://smarturl.it/rvngnl89

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Lyrics

うなばらまであと少し 
うなばらまであと少しだけ　
行こう (着こう)
落ちて (うなばらまで)
転がり落ちて (弾むステップ)
落ちていくステップ (弾むステップ)
いびつなステップで (落ちていくステップ)
行こう

転がり落ちて
いびつなステップで
転がり落ちて
いびつなステップで
うなばらまであと少しだけ (行こう)


Almost there to the ocean
Almost there to the ocean
Let’s go (Let's be there)

Falling (Toward the ocean)
Rolling down (Bouncy steps)
Steps of falling (Bouncy steps)
With the awkward steps (Steps of falling)
Let’s go

Rolling down
With the awkward steps
Rolling down
With the awkward steps
Almost there to the ocean (Let’s go)

Colloid

Dango (Colloid Version)

Satomimagae - Dango (Colloid Version)

A2 Rave Industries - Nenuphores2b Clip

Track list:
Modeste - Reverence
Precipitation - Falling
EVITCELES - Нелюбов
FH HF - 13 Syrupy Rings In The Glass Shield
Eyyes - Omma
Glyn Maier - Arranges & Processes excerpt
Anasisana - Stay (ft. Zhe Pechorin)
bad lsd trips - Lavadora Levitando
Nils Quak - Ghosts Walk Among Us
Night Foundation - Sonder
El Fugue - Fulcanelli
doris dana - t.s. eliot in marseille intermezzo
Geklaper - Ordonnance
doris dana - lullabye
Little Annie meets Night Foundation - Inertia dub

Noir Age on Internet Public Radio - March edition

souj5 alt (18-2-21) "sequndle"

An alternative mix of a track from the recent album "What is the Light of ?" The full album is available on iTunes and other digital retailers. 

Another Length Of Wire

Songs, artifacts, and debris from an artificial past. Over 30 years of fake resurrection.

Another Length Of Wire

Fossil Aerosol Mining Project