'Dash'
Bagaski
See Blue Audio SBA 030

1. Debusian
2. Campan

Release date: 21 January 2022

lnk.to/SBA030

See Blue Audio: ambient / electronic / beatless / cinematic / downtempo / eclectic / introspective… Shade rather than light...

If the closing release of 2021 on See Blue Audio, 'Cold Sleet on Old Slate' by Isolated Community, provided a musical depiction of the harsh and unforgiving beauty of winter, the same can also be said of its successor. Continuing this theme of light flickering through shadow and distant ghosts re-emerging, the thirtieth release on the label and the first of the new year sees the return of Bagaski with 'Dash'. As alluded to in the title, this new release also represents a process of transformation for the artist.

Back in April 2020, the Berlin-based producer released his 'Final' album on See Blue Audio, and it added a further dimension to the label’s musical ethos of shade rather than light. Taking influences from lo-fi, exotica, vaporwave, synth noise, cold wave electronics and experimental soundscapes, 'Final' is an intensely atmospheric set of audio stories expressed through the aesthetics of the synthesizer. Since then, Bagaski has released the 'Evoke*' album on the Submarine Broadcasting Company label in November, and 'Dash' will be followed by another album for See Blue Audio in the spring. With this timeline, 'Dash' acts as a prelude to the forthcoming album: a chapter in the artist’s life is concluded and a new one can begin.

A dash is also a punctuation mark indicating an independent clause within a sentence, and this is a useful metaphor for the two tracks that comprise this release. Both are extended aural landscapes, beatless in form, and more expansive than previous releases, but they still retain the distinctive Bagaski sense of imagination and use of improvisation. His studio techniques make use of field recordings and samples as well as modular and digital synthesis.

The winter theme should not be taken too literally, however: as with all Bagaski releases the contrasting environments of Berlin and his childhood home of Crete provide equal inspiration. Long walks in nature also helped to shape these tracks, and the abrasive tones of 'Debusian' have a frosty quality evocative of forests in winter. At times misty and at others gothic, it takes a meandering path through strange lands, while celestial melodies float underneath.

'Campan', meanwhile, is more cinematic in character with its hypnotic haze and undulating synth waves, and it seems to portray a kind of spiritual metamorphosis. On both tracks, the feeing of transformation is evident throughout the music, even when it takes on a nihilistic edge and the future appears uncertain. Transformation as personal, physical, psychological, metaphysical... all gates are open.

'Dash' can be seen as the capturing of specific moments in space and time, and then putting the emotions they provoke into musical form. It can also be seen a signpost to future sonic explorations, which will be revealed on the next Bagaski album. In the meantime, these two pieces may provide solace and revelation as we wait for the depths of winter to pass.

Photography: Bagaski.

Dash

'Dash' (preview) – Bagaski (See Blue Audio SBA #030)

Dreamscape

Vanyashi - Until Last

Music possesses transforming powers. By moving its sound waves in time, it's able to guide us through the past and the future. For example, it's been nearly eight years since I listened to the Daughter's 2016 release, Not To Disappear - an album that was tightly intertwined with a particular set of circumstances and some potent feelings in my life. An album which I purposely buried deep in my memory [and some cardboard boxes] so that, at last, I can breathe. The other day, I uncovered this snapshot of time and relistened to it in one sitting. And all of the walls I've built fell apart, and all has returned, once again, with those feelings. It's good, and it's bad, as music can heal, but it also can pick at the scabs with its incessant weeping. And so, instead, I pick out a brand new release, one which I use like a thick coat of paint to brush over the wounds and repair. In this particular case, the remedy comes courtesy of Glowworm, a duo of guitarist Kevin Scott Davis and pianist and vocalist Asia Dojnikowska. That healing begins from the very first track, as the soft, warming tones wash over the edges. From the deep-heated bass to the light-whispered voice, every guitar strum, and each piano key, the music of Harvest is an instant relief for the wandering mind. And even though I admit, I take some sort of unexplainable pleasure in melancholy, darkness and gloom, I also enjoy to be basked in the light of a particular type of wistful, positive, and powerful music. If you are a fan of Hammock, Slow Meadow and Sigur Rós, then you'll know what I mean and will instantly appreciate the sound of Glowworm.

Harvest

Sierpień

TRACK PREMIERE : Glowworm - Sierpień

Vonleo - Liyoo

From "Response", now available from planetboelex.bandcamp.com

Hope

From the latest Ulrich Schnauss & Jonas Munk collaboration, entitled "Passage", out now on Azure Vista Records!

Get it from: www.azurevistarecords.bandcamp.com

Passage

Ulrich Schnauss & Jonas Munk: "Anywhere But Here"

lluvia / Illuvia [Eternell]

12 tracks 
76 minutes 
A loving presence behind every sound 

Most of the music on this album came to me during a depression. Music has always been my illuminated path out of the darker patterns of mind. Together with the sounds streaming through my mind like light shining through the cracks of a wall came a new name to highlight this power of music to lead us on and lift us up, no matter how far from the light we perceive ourselves to be. 
The illuminated path is always right here. 

~ Illuvia

Written and produced by Ludvig Cimbrelius

Illuvia

Illuvia album

Isla Nocturna

Woke up with music in my heart, best to record it before the day carries me away...

Borderland

Kärlekens Vingslag

Forest Single.

Forest

Pay what you like

Hometown

Dawn Chorus and the Infallible Sea: "Liberamente" out on Azure Vista Records on October 16! Available on CD/LP/download. Preorder from azurevistarecords.bandcamp.com

Info:

"Second album from American trio Dawn Chorus and the Infallible Sea, consisting of zakè, Marc Ertel and Damien Duque. Together they're creating soft-textured and slowly unfolding sonic landscapes, somewhere between guitar-oriented drone music and modern classical. Liberamente is the kind of album that demands attention and patience from the listener, yet it's ultimately a very rewarding one. 

Stylistically Dawn Chorus and the Infallible Sea sums up several decades of American soundscape and drone music, taking threads from Windy & Carl, Auburn Lull, and Stars of the Lid then weaves them into a contemporary, and sonically adventurous whole. On the surface it suggests simplicity, but dig deeper and the seven pieces on Liberamente reveals a rare compositional dexterity. This is minimalism at its finest."

Dawn Chorus and the Infallible Sea: "Liberamente"

Ambient / electronic / beatless / cinematic / downtempo / eclectic / introspective… Shade rather than light... Established 2019.

Submissions: contact@seeblueaudio.com

'Dash' (preview) – Bagaski (See Blue Audio SBA #030)

See Blue Audio

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