Peaceful, serene, warm and endearing. I wonder if there's a farm where Thomas Morr harvests all the prettiest electronic music composers. Although Schnauss' album is actually released from City Centre Offices, Morr Music (you remember, that Lali Puna album you keep meaning to pick up) handles the worldwide distribution outside of the UK.
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A looped deep dark voice underpinned by unintelligible high pitchedreversed chatterings comprises the door opener "Halzaphron". "Plague"seeps mournfully in flanged droning, like Eno in hell chased by thegong bashing ghosts of Plotkin and Null because they want their rareThrobbing Gristle bootleg tapes back. There are phantom organists andfiery rumbles a plenty here!
Cavendish Sanguine reveals another grey world flecked with reflectingmetallic mirrors where odd looking hermetic explorers summon tendrilledbeasts from tombs and set them looming in places where Coil's attackingSennapods left a trail of ectoplasmic spittle. On the penultimate"FerroCello" virtual hell breaks loose with strings attached, rising toa mutant crescendo of sonic cyber splurge. This track is all the moreimpressive when it's revealed that rather than heavily effect ladenbowed strings, it's actually all sourced from a short short wave radiotransmission minced through the digital grinder. These crusts o'vitriolwould be ideal soundtracks for some horror flick set in dripping dankcaverns where foul demons lurk.
The entire CD-R can also be heard online at a well known MP3 site which you can find via Fflint Central.
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The three with subtitles happen to be the most striking and make thedisc worth owning. "Allegro Vivace", 'drum 'n bass for grandorchestra', is just that, a clever explosion of d n' b rhythms lacedwith piano, horns and other orchestral instrumentation. "The TerminalBeach", 'permutazione for chamber ensemble', is of course based upon(and borrows lines from) the book of the same name by science fictionwriter J.G. Ballard. Here Koschka conjures up a dramatic amalgamationof beats, break downs, piano flurries, dancing bells and woodwinds invarying tempos. "Homage a Morton F.", 'ambiento con una frase forchamber orchestra', is obviously an homage to legendary NYC basedcomposer Morton Feldman. Slowly piecing together piano chords, strings,harpsichord strums and a slow jazzy rhythm, the highly cinematic trackis a fitting conclusion.
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Stars of the Lid make the finest drone-rock around, and everyone knows it. I remember hearing them for the first time and turning to a friend and saying "Who needs drugs when you can listen to music like this?"
Upon experiencing them live and then hearing "Gravitational Pull vs. the Desire for an Aquatic Life" a few years ago, SotL redefined for me the aesthetic of 'ambient' music and just how beautiful it can be. Now Adam Wiltzie and Brian McBride (and others, including previous collaborator painter Jon McCafferty and film artist Luke Savisky) return with 124 more minutes of sleepy soliloquy.
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Although this release came out first in 1999 through Origin in Sweden, it has only been picked up by Apollo (an R&S sub-label) earlier this year. Graham Lewis (Wire/Dome/He Said) and Andreas Karperyd (Omala) have teamed up again, but not as He Said Omala this time. While I have been a Wire fan for nearly two decades, the Graham Lewis material can always be hit or miss, yet when he's paired up with a good collaborator, the results can be incredible. Fortunately, the collection of ten songs deftly combines the strengths of the Karperyd's undeniably hypnotic electronics and the super sexy voice of Lewis.
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Anita Lane first came to music circa the late '70s via the Nick Cave-led posse The Birthday Party and later as a founding member of his solo band The Bad Seeds. Since the mid-'80s she has recorded some singles and the solo album Dirty Pearl and has collaborated with Die Haut, Bad Seed Mick Harvey, Barry Adamson, Einstüzende Neubauten and Gudrun Gut. In particular, Harvey is her longtime musical guru and is once again responsible for production and much of the instrumentation for this 10 song album.
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