Review: A decade ago, legendary horror movie composer/director John Carpenter joined forces with son Cody and godson Daniel Davies to make Lost Themes, a collection of new musical compositions to "soundtrack the movies in your mind". It kick-started a prolific period of musical activity which included both real soundtracks and music made for imaginary ones. Lost Themes IV sits in the latter camp, with the trio delivering music inspired by the aesthetic of "noir" movies. While Carpenter senior's suspenseful, paired-down drum machine rhythms and clandestine synthesiser sounds are still present, they work in harmony with creepy effects, immersive sound effects and additional instrumentation. For proof, see the growling guitars on 'My name IS Death' and the exotic classical guitars and sitars of 'He Walks. By Night'.
Review: Los Angeles-based sound designer, experimental musician and ambient explorer Richard Chartier - considered by some to be one of the world's leading exponents of "minimalist sound art" - recorded much of On Leaving, his 24th solo set, while his friend and fellow sound artist Steve Roden was dying. The album is naturally dedicated to him, and its hazy thickset collages of reprocessed found sound, ghostly tones and melancholic, slowly shifting ambient textures are for the most part poignant - a kind of audio translation of slipping in and out of consciousness while fading away. It's an arresting listen, best enjoyed with a good pair of headphones, full of impeccable sonic details and the creeping darkness of approaching grief.
Review: .By its very nature, Tenkiller is a very different beast to Chat Pile's other releases. Recorded in the winter of 2020 to be the soundtrack to Tenkiller, an indie movie about the lives of ordinary people in small-town America, it sees the noise-rock/post-hardcore combo focus on mood and tone, rather than form and function. As a result, fuzzy and forthright cuts of the sort you'd expect come supplemented by dystopian, industrial-influenced soundscapes, lo-fi alt-country, guitar-laden mood pieces, low-slung and effects-laden creepiness, intense electronica and the kind of slow-burn ambient-not-ambient that was once the preserve of cult bands such as Labradford.
Jarvis Cocker/David Cunningham - "The Interrogative Mood"
The Katzenjammers - "Cars"
Joseph & Louise Spence - "Won't That Be A Happy Time"
Andrew Wartts & The Gospel Storytellers - "Peter & John"
Bob Welch - "Don't Wait Too Long"
Alternative TV - "Cold Rain"
Serafina Steer - "Day Glo"
The Kings Singers - "After The Gold Rush"
Miranda July - "Rock Intro"
Morgana King - "It's A Quiet Thing"
Nina Simone - "Baltimore"
Art Garfunkel - "Waters Of March"
The Legendary Tigerman - "The Whole World's Got Eyes On You"
Cabaret Voltaire - "The Single"
Derek Cain/Derek Bowskill - "December"
Deanna Storey/John Brion - "Little Person"
Jake Thakray - "Old Molly Metcalf"
The Camarata Contemporary Chamber Group - "Gymnopedie No 3"
The Phoenix Foundation/Christopher Hitchens - "Corale/Thoughts On Religion"
Headless Heroes - "True Love Will Find You In The End"
Review: He will forever be known as the frontman of Pulp, but for many music lovers Jarvis Cocker has also won our affections with his erudite selections for his BBC 6 Music show. Entitled Jarvis Cocker's Sunday Service, it ran every week from 2010 to 2017 and now a selection of his personal favourites get the compilation treatment. Reflecting the mood of most Sundays, the music is soothing, soft and mellow, but always high quality. There are stunning covers or Beyonce by Anthony & the Jonsons and Gary Numan's "Cars" on steel drums, plaintive piano pieces from John Baker and a classic from Nina Simone amongst a whole treasure trove of gems.
Review: New CD edition of Musick to Play in the Dark Vol. 2, the 2000 studio album from Coil and. As with Part 1, it was described by the band as "moon musick." This contrasts to earlier work which was solar rather than lunar inspired, but either way, it was another classic from Peter 'Sleazy' Christopherson and John Balance. Their partnership remains one of electronic music's most magically alchemic and after a quiet start, this album slowly but surely takes its hold on listeners. 'Ether' and 'Paranoid Inlay' are confessional tone in tone while the final two 'Where Are You?' and 'Batwings (A Limnal Hymn)' are brilliantly haunting. Fact fans might know that the latter was actually played at John Balance's funeral service.
Review: First released 22 years ago at the turn of the millennium, Constant Shallowness Leads To Evil has been described as one of Coil's most "mind-altering creations"; given the fiercely experimental and often otherworldly nature of their catalogue, that's some going. The album, which has now been fully remastered, was one of the first things Coil recorded following their relocation to Weston-super-Mare, and sonically it's as bleak, windswept, and barren as the town itself seems out of season. It's full of droning tones, modular blips, metallic melodies, slowly shifting ambient textures and musical motifs that lap in and out like waves. Furthermore, the album's standout moment, the near 14-minute 'I Am The Green Child', is like some mutant, experimental sea shanty crossed with a hypnotic ambient-industrial raga.
Review: Heart Dance Recordings is a genuinely unique proposition: a new age, ambient and spiritual music label run by, and for, women, offering up decidedly calming music from an ever-growing roster of artists. The Phoenix-based imprint's latest full-length excursion was created by a trio of musicians: flautist Sherry Finzer, percussionist and vocalist Karasvana (real name Ella Hunt) and synthesizer enthusiast-come-guitarist City of Dawn (Damian Duque). There's much to admire about The Journeying Sun, from the daybreak beauty of 'Memory of Awakening' and the immersive, enveloping bliss of 'On Seashores of Endless Worlds', with its haunting chimes and drifting vocal refrains, to wide-eyed aural wonder of 'Resident Wandering' and the simultaneously pastoral and ethereal 'Indefiniteness'.
Review: Certain Path is a serene, piano-driven album by collaborators zake (aka label head Zach Frizzell), From Overseas which is Kevin Sery and City of Dawn aka Damien Duque. This reflective collection of seven pieces invites deep contemplation with tender piano motifs and subtle drones creating a meditative atmosphere. Opening with 'Where Time Slows Down,' the album blends delicate melodies with layered guitar textures. Inspired by Frizzell's wife, the title track offers heartfelt emotion, while 'Avec l'aide de Vincent' honours a close mentor. Throughout, the artists employ nocturnal recording sessions, field recordings and analogue treatments to craft an introspective, evocative listening experience.
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