Christopher Willits - Live On Earth - Vol. 1 (self)

Fans of Christopher Willits rejoice! The San Francisco based musician has something special just for you! If you were one of the lucky 1111 fans to first join the Christopher Willits Fans page on Facebook, this special digital release of live performance recordings is yours! The seven tracks on this self released exclusive album, include live performances from venues around the world over the last few years. Here are some gems from Berlin, Philadelphia, Tokyo, Bangkok, Chicago, Kyoto and Foshan (China). And yes, this release is limited, exactly to the first 1111 people! The album begins with an Improvisation piece, featuring lush layers of smooth ambient pads flowing from Willits' guitar into his custom-designed software. Soon, the waves begin to glitch, triggering themselves at various positions to create unique phrases and textures. On Passage, recorded live in Philadelphia, the patterns of effectuated harmony get backed by a pulsing bass that sends the main melody in a tremolo-like twitching. These are all trademark Willits techniques, which he explores throughout his works, and occasionally shares through his lessons on XLR8R TV, via his multi-part feature, What You Talkin' Bout, Willits? For those not familiar with Christopher's unique sound, you have a whole journey ahead of you! With numerous albums and collaborations, his discography includes releases on Australian Room40 label, Japanese minimal Plop imprint, and Ghostly International. Fans no doubt treasure his collaboration with Taylor Deupree on Listening Garden (Line, 2007) as well as the critically acclaimed work with Ryuichi Sakamoto on Ocean Fire (12k, 2008). I witnessed Christopher perform live this past Spring in Los Angeles. His shows add a whole other dimension to live electronic music. Especially if you think about ambient and experimental textures being performed in front of an audience. For most of the acts, I would close my eyes and absorb the frequency waves emanating from the surround sound system, occasionally waking up, in that red-eye-flight-trance, to see the artist's face illuminated by the laptop. But with Willits I kept my eyes open. After all, he had an instrument - a guitar - which he would play and feed back through DSP hardware. You see the hand strumming, your ear holds on to bits of familiar sounds, and then the rest is like a puzzle, struggling to come together in your mind. This creative process is perfectly captured on the forty-five minutes of Live On Earth. It is especially evident on Orange Lit Space during which the sounds morph into a rhythmic structure, over which the guitar leaps into a soaring solo. This is a treasured acquisition for every Willits fan and a taste of things to come, if there will be more releases as the subtitle Volume 1 suggests. Recommended for fans of the above mentioned artists, as well as Fennesz, Tim Hecker, Stephan Mathieu, Philip Jeck and Christopher Bissonnette.

Also, read Conversations with Christopher Willits.

myspace.com/christopherwillits | christopherwillits.com
facebook.com/christopher.willits.fans

Mechanical Steering - 10:10pm (self)

It seems that bigger labels started to steer away from straight up IDM in the recent years. Perhaps the passing away of Merck, and the resurrection of Neo Ouija may be a testament to that. Even n5MD chilled out and turned towards emotional electronica. In my opinion it has to do with evolution of sound, and the perfection and polishing thereof. You pick a direction and you go with it. So it was a pleasure to stumble upon an exciting and innovative album by an unsigned artist who goes by the name of Mechanical Steering. As always, with amazing self released albums, there is a spark of excitement in the air, the standing waves of sound excited with organic electricity, the crackle of the processed bits bouncing off the porous walls into my body. You feel as if on the tip of discovery. And that discovery is this unknown album by an unsigned name.Designed from sampled urban environmental sounds and digital manipulation, 10:10pm is a poisonous cocktail of melancholic melodies and distorted beats. The sounds break through the web of suffocating percussion and shifting noise, bombarding your ears and mind with complex patterns that resolve into the beauty of their simplicity. Complimented with industrial mechanical sounds, dark passageways, and deep descends, the sound slowly rises to the surface where you find yourself catching 10:10 on the clock again. And again...Konin (Poland) based Mechanical Steering has ben producing electronic music since 1999. Initially creating a few albums under the alias Head, the music slowly matured into the sound of 10:10pm. It's a wonder that this artist has not been snatched by a prominent label yet, as I can totally see his releases on Ad Noiseam, Hymen and Tympanik alike. The album is currently self distributed on Amazon, iTunes, Rhapsody, and lala.com (note: 10:10pm is published under the Head alias). Recommended if you like Hecq, Gridlock, Subheim and Ginormous.

myspace.com/mechanicalsteering | mechanicalsteering.com

Silent Land Time Machine - &hope still (Time-Lag / Indian Queen)

At times mysterious, at times complex, but always relaxing, even during its climaxing moments, Silent Land Time Machine is an instrumental rock project that reminds me a lot of A Silver Mt Zion. Except that... Jon is just one man... But upon your first listen you wouldn't know it... Hailing out of Austin, Texas, Jon is a multi-instrumentalist, and is equally comfortable behind the guitar, piano, accordion, and a wide range of stringed instruments. His motivation to master the musical medium and inspirations are credited to Anni Rossi (recently signed to 4AD) and Sophie Trudeau (member of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and a co-founder of Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band), as well as much other output from Constellation and FatCat labels. Jon mangles instrumentals, DSP filtering, and field recordings which create a feeling of a small folksy community gathering, improvising over familiar melodies. The mood of &hope still, is less apocalyptic and political then the above mentioned influences, leaving a lot more room for imagination of the listener. Although some of the sounds appear to be looped, the patterns are not obsessively repetitive and are very organic. Jon takes great care in overdubbing layers and layers of live instrumentation to create his unique blend of post-americana-psyminimal-desktop-folktronica. Yes. I like that for a genre. The debut album has been released this past October, 2008, as a collaborative effort between Time-Lag Records and Jon's very own Indian Queen Records. Recommended if you like experimental pieces from M83, Mogwai, Benoît Pioulard, and Múm.



myspace.com/silentlandtimemachine | time-lagrecords.com
myspace.com/indianqueenrecords | indianqueenrecords.com

Argaman - My Little Forest (self)

It's a quiet forest morning. The birds are chirping. Somewhere a large animal calls out to its mate. Soon the horns sound. The kaleidoscopic circus marches in. The trees begin to bend as they extend into the skies, branching out in rainbow fractals. Everything compacts into a single energy and then explodes again. The psychedelia sets in. Itai Argaman has been working on his psybient album for over two years, no doubt studying the mind-bending sounds of Shpongle, Infected Mushroom, Shulman, Bluetech, Aes Dana, and Ott in the process. Inspired by the Israeli underground psychedelic music scene, Argaman uses classical and orchestral instrumentation to create floating, morphing, and curving sounds combining into psydub-psychill-psydm-and-psy-everything-else. Argaman's musicianship begins at his classical compositions that were promoted to cinematic scores, and continues to develop through continuous study of electronic sound. As I watched Argaman evolve in the last year, I saw him progress from a mere demo of a few tracks into a full polished album, My Little Forest. The slight dementia hiding beneath the covers of My Little Forest clearly reflects the collective insanity of modern society. The interlined thematic tracks reveal the story of both realities - the one perceived and the one beyond our senses. In which one do you live? This is a special treat, as this album is still unsigned to any label, but will be be out soon (follow Argaman via myspazz). Recommended if you enjoy the above mentioned names, or any artists from labels like Twisted, BNE, TIP, Phonokol, or Dragonfly.



myspace.com/argaman | itaiargaman.com

IJO - (Untitled) LP (self)

Queuing up the self released (Untitled) LP by IJO on my iPod, I find that my collection is already sprinkled with tracks from this Lithuanian artist [currently residing in London]. A few of Audrius Vaitiekunas' tracks appear under my favorite Sutemos compilations: Draumar Um Kalt Sumar (Sutemos, 2006) and Intelligent Toys 4 (Sutemos, 2007). And I find that I have already rated those melodic IDM pieces high within an amazing collection of artists. But now I turn to check out IJO's more experimental work, that originally appeared on Plain Productions as a digital Untitled EP in 2006 (still available from this netlabel as a free download), later to be re-released by Vaitiekunas himself, with four more tracks from Quastic! Tracks (Envizagae, 2007), as a pressed 12" LP (this is a limited edition, and I've got mine right here!). IJO rips through the breaks, twisting up triggered percussion and acid bleeps into a whirlpool of distortion, that deserves to be analyzed under a microscope. The deep well of the brilliant Amen Break cutups still hasn't run dry (neither for me, nor for IJO), and when its mayhem detonates into jazzy and melodic interlude, my evil grin melts into a smile. The unheard (Unknown) track on this unsigned (Untitled) is simply unbelievable. It is the unmeasurable uncredible undarkness... er, sorry, got glitched in a groove there... I was trying to say that the (Unknown) track is the absolute highlight of the album for me. It is everything I ever wanted drill'n'bass to be. Evil grinds in the vain of DJ Hidden, lightning rhythmic patterns in the higher frequency, all phased and mashed up into the finest breakcore, as institutionalized by Venetian Snares, Squarepusher and Jega. Highly recommended.



myspace.com/theijo | plainaudio.com/ijo
myspace.com/plainaudio | plainaudio.com

The Ideal Setback - Window Seat (self)

Somehow Todd Chappell managed to squeeze out another ambient release this year. Maybe "squeeze out" is not such a great term. He simply opened the windows and let the inspiration fly in. After all, this Memphis artist seems to write a couple of tracks a week. In Window Seat, Chappell creates lighter melodies with an uplifting character of a major chord. Personally, I like things a bit darker and gloomier, a note with which Chappell closed up his debut, Dream Dialogue. With Window Seat he promises a glimpse of a better day. The sophomore release for Chapelle, composing under the alias The Ideal Setback, opens up its petals in a morning glory after a heavy midnight storm. For me, the two albums encompass the yin and yang of Chapelle's awakening to the complex beauty of the simplicity within minimal ambient sound. One, measured with darker and brooding dissonance; the other, with basic ratios of baroque tonality. Both are in play, depending on the mood. In Window Seat, Chappell attempts to touch the essence within Brian Eno's words: "Ambient Music must be able to accommodate many levels of listening attention without enforcing one in particular; it must be as ignorable as it is interesting." These words were printed back in 1978, within the liner notes of Eno's Music for Airports - one of my all-time favorite ambient pieces till this day. Thirty years later, Chappell keeps these ideas going. Recommended for super early mornings, when you haven't slept all night, and your mind is overly tired, but still awake.

myspace.com/theidealsetback | cdbaby.com/all/theidealsetback

Igorrr - Moisissure (self)

Slap! What an album... I'm really out of words. Let me attempt. Track one - Valse En Décomposition - baroque organ chords with a low-fi trip-hop beat followed by a bee buzzing turning into glitchy classical piece. Track two - Oesophage De Tourterelle - light piano arpeggios, tremolos and octave scaling progressions turning into insane breakcore. Track three - Putrefiunt - solo monk voice over a flamenco guitar exploding into hardcore death metal cookie-monster mayhem. Or how about 40's gramophone swing laced with gabber? And then there are eight more tracks! I haven't heard such a collection of molded styles before, and it's working... it's working really well! Gautier "Igorrr" Tighten, is a French (unsigned!) producer skillfully experimenting with samples, beats, breaks, and genres. Tighten is also the founder of a speedcore death electro metal/nica project WHOURKR with a single album Naät (self, 2007). Look, I absolutely love Venetian Snares and any crazy juxtaposition of hard styles, but when I happen to venture outside of the leading names, I encounter mostly noise and thoughtless production. Igorrr changes all that. He brings the fun back into breakcore and intelligence into design. Igorrr is a sonic painter who throws nails into aged strawberry jam, lets the slime dribble over your favorite toy, and serves it on a silver plated toilet seat. With a goat shake on the side. Eat it. Moisissure is so fun, you'll be back for more. Perhaps you're secure a copy of his 2006 release, Poisson Soluble. Recommended for the fans of V.Snares, Bong-Ra, Enduser, and Doormouse. Have fun chasing flies with your mouse on Igorrr's web site.



myspace.com/igorrrrrrrrrr | igorrr-music.com

The Ideal Setback - Dream Dialogue (self)

These days I find myself spending a lot of time contemplating stillness, the nature of now, and the peace of being. With that, certain sound becomes my companion and a closer friend. Music without boundaries, concepts and hidden messages is best for clearing out my head of thoughts and instead turning them on within. Is it then a simple coincidence, that an album conceived for such moments lands itself in my demo bin, or is it something others may wont to call "a sign". Todd Chappell is the man behind this solo instrumental ambient project called The Ideal Setback. Hailing from Memphis, Tennessee, Todd blends minimal soundscapes, swelling pads, and simple melodies with guitar infused shoegaze. The mood of the album is calm, measured, and enlightened. Somewhere, half way between nothingness and dissociated bliss, the distortion slowly creeps in, takes a bow, and steps aside for bass, only to drop you into a reverb saturated oblivion once again. Chappell is definitely crafting some of the exemplary pieces where "less" is always "more". Dream Dialogue is a perfect soundtrack for your meditations, and I can only look forward to Chappell's future output as he perfects and tweaks his skill of ambient production. Similar projects that immediately come to mind are Hammock, Stars Of The Lid, Belong and Evan Bartholomew. A previously released Demo CD is available as a free download from the Ideal Setback myspace page.

cdbaby.com/cd/idealsetback | myspace.com/theidealsetback

Armen Nalbandian Trio - Manchester Born (Blacksmith Brother Music)

Armen Nalbandian has recently turned 30. The career of this improvisational and experimental jazz musician spans over a decade of over 600 original compositions and performances. Born in Manchester, England, Armen has dedicated his life to music, recently rising to the position of Musical Director of California's Fresno Art Museum. A protégé of jazz legend John Hicks, Armen has experience playing with members of the Classic Coltrane Quartet, Ornette Coleman Quartet and Charles Mingus' ensemble. For Manchester Born, Armen comfortably settles behind Fender Rhodes, while Kevin Hill joins him on the upright bass and Brian Hamada on the drums (I just love his brushed ride cymbals). The collection of ten tracks is upbeat and light, transforming musicians' inner moods into gliding fingers, plucked strings, and gentle taps. This child of contemporary jazz skillfully folds the familiar influences into an interpretation curated for a modern ear. The playful and organic sound instantly reminds me of the limitless possibilities that can be achieved with just three instruments, leaving me afterward humming my own improvisations to the rhythm buried in my mind. Armen's latest solo album, Young Kings Get Their Heads Cut Off, is an abstract and experimental improvisation for prepared Fender Rhodes, full of distorted reverb, controlled delays, noisy feedback and altered hammers for a unique percussion, all recorded live with no post-production - John Cage would have been proud.

armennalbandian.com | myspace.com/armennalbandian

Under Languid Lights - Diver Demo (self)

There are only three short instrumental post-rock tracks on this demo from a German group based out of Köln (Cologne) and Düsseldorf, calling themselves Under Languid Lights. The mood is airy, upbeat and lighthearted. There are no brooding crescendos, apocalyptic messages, nor melancholic images. Instead, each track on the Diver Demo offers a controlled melodic progression that folds neatly within an individual story. But forgive me for just a moment to digress and talk about the packaging. Yes, it's that important. Every cover of the demo is handmade artwork and is undeniably unique. If you check out the photos on the band's myspazz, you'll witness the process of package design and creation, each piece personally labored over. Somehow that adds that much more value to each copy, in not just in eyes of a collector, but music lover as well. In this digital world of limitless copies and aliased illusions, this little touch matters. And if it was the cover that got me to listen to the album, before I chose another album from a queue of submitted uploads... then it worked. And now I've heard the demo a dozen times and enjoyed it enough to tell you about it. Of course, the music will speak for itself. This time a little louder.

myspace.com/underlanguidlights

Mountain Mirrors - Dreadnought (self)

Talking up rock, slightly dipped in psychedelic dementia, and roasted with a metal torch is a first for me. So it must mean something. Jeff Sanders's third album, Dreadnought, is a total surprise to me. I think the most unbelievable fact is that I really like it. And I never thought that I would enjoy music, the influence of which came from metal artists like Anthrax and Metallica. Prior to writing, Jeff has played in a cover band, until the bug of creation finally bit him. All the years gliding over riffs and familiar chords finally paid off. With the help of a couple of friends, Jeff formed Mountain Mirrors, and set out to produce his "twisted acoustic rock music from the woods of Massachusetts." The instruments are skillfully controlled, the mixing quality is superb, and even and the lyrics are haunting [I say 'even', because you know how I feel about lyrics]. Bottom line is this: either Dreadnought is a very special album, or this genre of music has grown on me after hours of playing Guitar Hero. I'd like to think that the former is true. One way to find out - check out this album and tell me what you think. Jeff's additional current influences include High on Fire, Opeth, Mastodon, and Megadeath.

Jeff is kind enough to share with you the Dreadnought Promo.

myspace.com/mountainmirrors | mountainmirrors.com

Sidewaytown - Years In the Wall (Skygaze Music)

Feeling like an outsider, "a stranger on sideways", and inspired by Sigur Rós live performances and their unique constructed language, Markus Baltes builds his own world, calling it Sidewaytown. Instead of brooding shoegaze, Baltes adds edgy guitars and creates Germany’s first skygazing post-rock, layered with his vocals. After years of trial and error, in frustration of previously failed attempts, Baltes thrusts himself into a studio with Markus Stock (Ulf Theodor Schwadorf), to rerecord his opus. At first the album seemed a bit blend to me, but the more I listened, the more I picked out the melodies, and the story unfolded. I definitely prefer to be blown away by an album from the start, but there are also some instances where the intricate details can be marveled upon only after repeated and detailed examination. Like a sip of wine that initially overwhelms, yet upon additional tasting opens its bouquet for your buds to dance to. So does the story of Sidewaytown unfolds. In addition to Sigur Rós, Baltes names My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Oceansize, and David Lynch to be among his many influences. Support the artist by buying the album directly from the official website.

myspace.com/sidewaytown | sidewaytown.com

Woven - Aftermath EP (self) [+2.5]

I honestly have trouble placing the album into a specific genre bin, and I think that fact alone is refreshing. The EP starts off sounding like an instrumental indie band with a post-rock influence, but soon the beat breaks and vocals come in. Readers of my reviews may be familiar with my habit of too quickly dismissing any vocal pop sounding track [the radio is saturated with formulas for the masses]. So just when I’m ready to brush  the Aftermath aside, the beat picks up again, this time distinctly cut with micro beat programming, and my ears instantly prick up. By the time the EP is over, I’ve taken a trip through all of my favorite genres, from shoegaze to breaks to illbient and back to soothing electronica, and I press play again. When the chords and percussion explode into almost nu-metal chorus followed by a snare roll, I realize that Woven has covered all of their bases, and done masterfully with a high end production and precision. Based out of Los Angeles, Woven is a five-piece band that describes its sound as "travel[ing] a path from guitar-driven drum and bass to syncopated, sparse IDM, ending in a dark and brooding dreamstate." In 2003, the band managed to land a maxi-single, EPrime, with Interscope Records. Tracks appearing on Aftermath EP are just a sample of what’s to come from the group’s full length release, Designer Codes. Perhaps because I’ve never heard anything like it, I am a bit at loss for my typical cloud of RIYL artists, but see the question posed to Woven below. Favorite track: Machine Room (I played this track alone a dozen times!)

Read Two and a Half With Woven only on headphonecommute.com

myspace.com/woven | wovenmusic.com

The Refractors - All Colors Run (self) [+2.5]

Once in a while I receive an unsigned demo that blows away the commercial steam, and gives me hope that music will keep breathing, no matter how strong the industry's chain-hold is hanging around its neck. The Refractors are Joseph and Kayline Martinez of Pacifica California, who turn running colors, abandoned sounds, and loose threads back into art. The sixteen minute All Colors Run EP is a collection of vignettes and gentle sketches feeding analog instruments and field recordings into cold machines. The sound is described by the artists as "vegetation coming up through the cracks of man-made structures." On this Sunday morning, the music of soft crackles, waking lap steel guitar, and wobbling strums of piano with reverse reverb, is a great breakfast for my sleepy mind. The last track on the EP, I Shutter To Think, is composed of oil refinery sounds and the camera shutter of a 1940's Leica. I am really excited about The Refractors' first full length album, Eight Year Sleep, which is still in the works and is due out sometime in 2008. All Colors Run EP is available as a digital download from iTunes, Amazon, eMusic and other digital outlets. Highly recommended for the likes of Deaf Center, Elegi, and Porn Sword Tobacco.

Two and a Half Questions With The Refractors

What is the most interesting sound that you have sampled or worked with?
Recently it would be water receding from a rock bed.

How does the atmosphere of your music shape your daily life, and vice versa?
Regardless of the artist's medium, music has been at one time or another a contributing factor to ideas.

So... Analog or Digital?
Some legitimately mourn the loss of musicians that play analog instruments and record to tape. We think analog and digital sound can have a symbiotic relationship. Utilizing both has proven to be rewarding for us. The way people listen to music is changing. A growing number can't even discern the audio quality of an MP3. The CD is now being talked about in the past tense. To our ears, nothing has been able to replace the warmth of a vinyl record. Our admission is not based on sound proof, it is only a longing for the past and an appreciation for all things analog.

myspace.com/therefractors

Aquilone - Untitled (Unsigned)

Cyril Guillory is a Rennes (France) based unsigned musician, who goes by the name of Aquilone. The thirteen track demo disc that I received in the mail features a unique blend of electronic and organic instruments with an occasional vocal interlude, incorporating saturated pads, filtered noise, loopbacks and a familiar analog rhythms. The heavy and raw synth lines remind me a bit of Ulrich Schnauss, while the near distorted and overdriven guitars flash with a flavor of Belong and Ben Frost. Guillory includes a handful of artists for his inspirations, among them I recognize Pan Sonic, The Notwist, A Silver Mt. Zion and múm. But I also can't help but hear a heavy Radiohead and Thom Yorke influence. Check out some tracks on his myspace, while I'll keep my eye out for his first album.

myspace.com/aquilone

Death In Public - Instrumental in Silence EP (self released)

A two member band out of Lancaster, UK, had everything lined up for an EP but the drummer. But that didn't stop Julian Dicken and Josh Longton from going forward on this instrumental release falling somewhere between post-rock and post-metal. Armed with a drum machine, the duo added solid beats to mellow atmospheric shoegaze and explosive attitude grinding chords using everything in their arsenal - including drilling snare rolls (try that with a drummer). And in my humble opinion, it is exactly the element of a unique programming approach that made it stand out among the dozen of promos that line my studio floor. Taking a slight detour, I turn my attention towards their latest single, Biometrics [specifically Motion Sickness track] in which Death In Public have evolved a bit with slightly tighter production, deeper bass, a real drummer, and a vocal line. Yet continuously being biased towards lyrics, I'll just anxiously await an instrumental full length. Thumbs up for the likes of My Bloody Valentine, Mogwai and Pelican. Favorite tracks: Everything Is Tired In Its Own Way and Motion Sickness (from Biometrics EP).

myspace.com/deathinpublicmusic

worriedaboutsatan - EP02 (self released)

The UK band, worriedaboutsatan, has a very unique and unexpected sound. Gavin Miller and Tom Ragsdale skillfully blend elements of post-rock, intelligent electronica, and noise, with a layer of minimal, tightly mastered beats. Sounds intriguing? You bet! The fusion of genres is usually a dangerous territory if not executed correctly, but worriedaboutsatan surprise me over and over with their perfect control of instruments, programming technique, and dynamic range. The tracks on EP02 seamlessly merge into one another, and are best absorbed in a single thirty-plus-minute journey... that is until your senses are interrupted by Paul Marshall's vocals... and the beat picks up again. The band is taking on the scene singlehandedly, filling one order at a time (also available on iTunes), so grab a piece of history before they explode in a kaleidoscope of colors! For the likes of The Album Leaf, Kashiwa Daisuke and World's End Girlfriend. Favorite tracks: Relative Minors, Morwenna (Part 2) and The Last Song (First Song Remix).

myspace.com/worriedaboutsatan

Beware Of Safety - It Is Curtains (self)

The Silent Ballet announces their Top 50 Releases of 2007 and I frantically spend weeks just trying to catch up to the albums I missed. Among the many, rated at number sixteen (seriously, screw the numbers, huh?) comes a self released album from a Los Angeles based band. Just when I thought I've heard enough post-rock last year, BoS releases an album that makes me want to thrust it into the hands of music-agnostic-listeners and shout, "Here... here is an album that breaks through, regardless of the packaging, regardless of the wide distribution, regardless of the overblown pricing that never trickles down to the artist.. here is an album that is what it has always been about - music". Compared to the likes of Joy Wants Eternity, Explosions In The Sky, and This Will Destroy You, the four piece band skillfully controls dynamics, and the circulation of repetitive melodies and rhythm. Anxiously awaiting an LP. Favorite tracks: Kaura, The Difference Between Mind and Rain and To the Roof! Let's jump and Fall.

myspace.com/bewareofsafety