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soundscapes

The Floating World * The Wood Beyond The World (cd 2013)

This new album of The Floating World is even softer than the previous album that I reviewed. I decided to ‘tag’ this “ambient” rather than “dark ambient”. What you get are very soft soundscapes with flutes and sometimes vocals. It all comes to me a bit ‘new agey’, “meditation music” like. Not really my kind of ambient. It is not terribly boring though, so perhaps if you do like your ambient less dark, you might be interested in Amanda Votta’s latest release.
Links: The Floating World, Cyclic Law

De Geconcentreerde Consumentenbond & Donné et Desirée & Syntax Pony ‎* 3×12 (cdr 2012)

On Discogs I saw that Peter Johan Nijland has another project (together with Oscar Wyers) besides Distel and Hadewych and that a cd has recently been released with this project on it. “3×12” Is a weird release. It comes in a cdr package with cardboard glued to it and has three tracks of about 12 minutes, hence the title. The opening track is of De Geconcentreerde Consumentenbond (‘the concentrated consumers’ society’) and is a strange sound-collage / soundscape kind of thing. Next up is an even more minimalistic sound-collage / soundscape kind of thing of a project that recently seems to have released an album that Discogs has tagged as “free jazz”. The third track is of Nijland/Wyers’ Syntax Pony and they too made a 12 minute sound-collage. This is the more interesting of the three, but I am not too good with sound-collages. Syntax Pony made more of a composition though than the other two projects. If you do enjoy such a release, you can get this album from the label’s Bandcamp and if you prefer a hardcopy, that is possible too.
Link: Oggy Records (also on Soundcloud and Facebook)

Pas Musique * Abandoned Bird Egg (cd 2013)

Like a little over a year ago I got an email from Alrealon Musique if I was interested in reviewing some of their material. Of the musical snippets that I could listen to, most stuff was way too weird for me, but PAS Musique (or simply Pas) sounded interesting enough to ask for the rest of the release. Well, “Abandoned Bird Egg” is a pretty damn, weird release. The music is mostly ‘soundscapish’ with all kinds of strange sounds and little structure, but other tracks are more post-industrial and some go in the direction of IDM. Perhaps this is a relatively ‘easy’ release for the label, but it remains weird music for weird people.
Links: PAS @ Facebook, Alrealon Musique

Kristus Kut * Oneironaut (2012)

Kristus Kut is an extremely active Dutch project of an even more extremely active man. KK releases tons of releases in all kinds of different ways. Apparently “Oneironaut” was supposed to be released on a label, but in the end became a ‘name your price’ Bandcamp release. I do not think I have heard much of the music since the 2008 Bone Structure cd, so I decided to check out the new album, especially since it is announced as being: “full off tribal noise created by acoustic instruments”. Just as on the other album that I reviewed, this one contains good tracks and annoying ones. I am in particular no fond of the over-use of porn samples (and themes) which tend to get weary quickly, but there are also very nice and dark soundscapes and some nice industrial noise tracks to be found and indeed, also tribal elements. Since you can name your price and you can listen to the album on Bandcamp first, you might want to have a look at this weird noisy album.
Kristus Kut / Het Donkse Oog, Bandcamp

Zenial * Connection Reset By Peer (cd 2012)

The latest Zenial contains live recordings and remixes. I did not really know Zenial and however as I will describe the music, this will sound not too much of my liking, I do really like “Connection Reset By Peer”. The cd opens with a “noisescape”, a monotous, minimalistic soundscape but then noisy. No power electronics or electronic terror, more a soft kind of noise. Usually when I write “monotous” and “minimalistic” I am of the opinion that not enough happens, but in this case I like the recording. There is a problem with it however, it contains a range of very high tones that just keep going and I really do not like high tones in noise, especially not when two or more tones just keep hammering my ears (that already have such tones themselves anyway). So going to track two I am delighted to be able to ascertain that Zenial is working more with lower frequencies and slow, industrial rhythms. The third track is even better, a slightly noisy, soft industrial track. The fourth track is annoyingly noisy though. The remixes are again softly noisy industrial with a soothing rhythm. A very interesting album!
Links: Zenial, Zoharum

Philippe Petit * Eugénie (10″ 2012)

I got an email of Alrealon Musique if I was interested in reviewing a release of theirs. Some experimental indierock album, interesting, but not my taste, so I kindly turned down the offer. Then they said they have another release of Philippe Petit that may interest me more. Petit proves to be an active musician with numerous releases on his name. I think this is the first that I hear from him. He makes soundtracks too, so perhaps I have heard music of the man in some other way. The press sheet says: “Philippe Petit: processed acoustics/field recordings + electronics + turntables & glass manipulations + keys”, so I guess that debunks my original idea that this is modern classical music, but there are real instruments on this recording other than a whole range of strange experimental sounds. The music reminds of bit of the strange post-industrial sounds with violin of Hermann Kopp here and there, but it is mostly very strange soundscapes made with a whole range of things that make noise, rather than electronics. Strange stuff for people who like the more experimental side of music. This 10″ comes with a download link and lasts for about 25 minutes.
Links: Philippe Petit, Alrealon Musique

Beyond Sensory Experience * Modern Day Diabolists (cd 2012)

I did not really know B.S.E., but I have known them by name a long time. This is their seventh album, so that is not so strange. “Modern Day Diabolists” opens with a trance-ambient track, but that is not how the entire album sounds, “soundscapes” is a good description of the sound of the larger part of this album. Stretched sounds, vocal samples and here and there a more industrial-like rhythm (the very nice title track is even somewhat noisy) makes “Modern Day Diabolists” a varried ambient album. Unfortunately much of the music are somewhat soft ambient and not entirely my thing.
Links: Beyond Sensory Experience, Cyclic Law

Marek X. Marchoff & MJ Caroline Rider * Voxfields (cd 2012)

Just when spring is in the air, the temperatures are too high for the time of the year and the sun shines all day, Zoharum sends me two dark ambient soundscapes releases. Is that not more music for fall or winter? Both names are new to me, but Marchoff plays in a handfull of other projects as well. “Voxfields” contains soundscapes, or better: soundcollages. They are pretty dark, also pretty weird, but also not uninteresting. An industrial atmosphere created by low beats, the sounds of machines (or something), somewhat of a rhythm here and there. Indeed, this is quite alright for a soundcollages album.
Link: Zoharum

Ab Intra * Supremus (cd 2012)

After a slightly noisy opening, “Supremus” is a soundscape album. Stretched sounds, a flinch of dark ambient or drone, but mostly minimalistic and continuing sounds. Here and there the album is somewhat dark. Not entirely my cup of tea.
Links: Ab Intra, Zoharum

The Floating World * The Apparition (cd 2012)

The Floating World is a new name to me. A girl making dark ambient, that is not too common, but it works in the case of Allseits. So far Amanda Votta released three cdr’s under this name and she has or used to have a project with Gustaf Hildebrand. “The Apparation” contains very soft and monotous soundscapes, sometimes with a flute or vocals, a sample or a deep drone on the background. I am not too fond of the ‘lighter’ tracks, the darker tracks in the beginning are more of my taste. Overall the stretched-sounds soundscapes are too monotous for me. The cd has it moments though.
Links: The Floating World, Cyclic Law