Interview with Paul Nielsen of Tympanik Audio

Hey Paul... I've been following the output of your label since the very beginning. You kicked off the sound of Tympanik Audio with the Emerging Organisms in December of 2007. Two years later, in 2009, Headphone Commute featured a label profile of Tympanik. Another two years have passed by... How would you say the sound of Tympanik Audio has evolved over these years?
Evolution has always seemed to be a natural state for Tympanik. The concept of the label hasn’t changed much over the past couple years but that’s not to say that it hasn’t evolved – it seems to be constantly morphing and emerging. Tympanik began as an experiment to demonstrate that the many genres of  electronic music could come together, integrate, and ultimately co-exist effectively under one imprint. I like to think we continue to adhere to this model.

What about the label itself? Have you lost or found a new set of helping hands in its day-to-day operations? Has the support staff grown or merely held on to a few dedicated friends?
I’ve always handled all the day-to-day operations of the label and although it seems overwhelming at times, I actually prefer it this way – it’s just easier to maintain control. I do have a lot of support through our artists, graphic designers, audio engineers, and the like, all of whom this label would not function fully without, so I’m certainly grateful for that. Tympanik mainly operates on a network of very creative, selfless human beings who share my passion for delivering exceptional music to as many ears as possible – all around good people who believe in the original concepts and vision of the label as a whole. We are a family and we all work together towards a common goal, which is the fuel that essentially keeps Tympanik alive.

Are you happy with its current stylistic sound, direction and overall scene appeal? Is there a particular aesthetic that you wish to continue to develop or steer clear of?
I always disliked Tympanik being categorized as a certain type of genre label – that’s not our goal. Tympanik is about melding many styles of electronic music and slicing them up into meaty, cerebral aural concoctions that can be digested and enjoyed based on their own individual merits. Being a label that releases a fairly diverse style of music, it seems difficult for some listeners who only pledge allegiance to certain genre camps, to lock into our intended concept, especially if they have only bothered themselves with one or two of our releases. In my mind, each of our releases has their own unique sound and personality.

What can you tell us about the economics of running a label with such a dedicated schedule of physical releases? You managed to put out over 50 albums, and still going. How has the market place been treating you?
It’s been a struggle since the start. In the first couple years, I put a lot of my own money into the label as well as borrowing money and accepting contributions from family and friends to keep things going. These days, the label seems to be sustaining itself just enough to continue releasing music and that was my objective all along. Money really doesn’t hold any appeal for me personally, I’m merely concerned about making enough to keep the label moving forward and I’m very grateful that we have managed to do that so far. The support from everyone all around since the early days still blows my mind and it’s because of this support that we still exist today. The loyalty of our listeners, especially the ones that still buy our releases on CD, is what really keeps this label afloat. Our artists aren’t too concerned about making a fortune from their work; most understand that we are always working on a tight budget and they forgo any assurance of fame and riches. We all help each other for the good of the family and that bond ultimately allows us to continue to bring new sounds to our listeners. Tympanik is perpetuating these days and I have everyone who has ever ordered a CD from us to thank for that – thank you!



Regretfully, the Greek label, Spectraliquid, managed to stay in business for only a few years. How has its demise influenced your approach to managing Tympanik if at all?
Spectraliquid and Tympanik initiated around the same time. After Kostas and I got to know each other through releasing Subheim’s ‘Approach’ album, we often compared notes during those years as fellow label-owners. I loved what Spectraliquid was doing and supported them as they did Tympanik because we truly admired each other’s output. It’s not the first time I’ve seen an exceptional label fall, and Spectraliquid was certainly an exceptional label. I’ve seen it too many times over the years and it’s always poignant. Sometimes such labels burn bright, but half as long as they deserve, yet generally leave
behind a notable body of work in their wake. Their impact on music seems to stir and resonate for years afterwards. Tympanik was originally inspired by such labels as Schematic, n5MD, Component, Pendragon, Merck, Neo Ouija, Skam, Hymen, M-tronic, Xynthetic, Pitchcadet, and Toytronic, yet I can only hope we leave such a lasting legacy when we finally do fade away.

Speaking of our Greek friends... Kostas K's managed to migrate over to Ad Noiseam (which I know you're a fan of), yet you'll always be credited as a starting point for his Subheim project. And I would say that Tympanik is more than just a platform for up-and- coming musicians. What are your thoughts on discovering a newly unheard talent?
It seemed that Subheim and Tympanik were both finding their way at the same time and by chance we happen to congregate and ultimately form a lasting friendship. ‘Approach’ turned out to be a milestone release for Tympanik, but at the time, it was just another young label signing a new talent. I like  presenting new artists to our listeners – there’s a lot of undiscovered musicians out there that deserve to be heard and if I can help a few of them develop and expand their listener base through Tympanik, I am certainly happy to do so.

What are some of the most interesting relationships (human or otherwise) that have been born as a result of running Tympanik Audio?
Almost everyone I have worked with since Tympanik’s inception has proved to be an exceptional human being. These are people that I have come to know very well and respect dearly, both on a professional and personal level. I’ve been involved in various electronic music scenes for a long time and through the label I have had the privilege of getting to know and work with artists and label owners that I’ve admired, much more closely now than I did before as a music fan. Someone once referred to my laptop as “my other girlfriend” and that really stuck with me. My computer and I have a love/hate relationship: it’s my savior and my nemesis at all times. Tympanik takes up an enormous amount of my time and a lot of my personal relationships have suffered because of this thing I have created and obsessed about over the past few years. Running a label means being capable of living under a mountain of never-ending details and still attempting to maintain a personal life, yet you’re destined to fail at any given moment at either one of these things if the balance isn’t just right.

Would you say that you have accomplished your goals? Surpassed your own expectations? Or do you still have a few mountains to climb?
I don’t want to discount what has been accomplished so far, but I do feel like we still have to prove ourselves to the uninitiated, but that’s just a part of the whole process of progress. I always have a plethora of projects and ideas on my mind, there’s just not enough time or resources to make them all materialize and I’ve come to accept that. I’m probably the most critical of Tympanik out of anyone. I’m really happy with what the label and our artists have accomplished so far but to me, there’s always room for improvement. I have made a lot of mistakes over the years, but I suppose that’s just how I learn and grow alongside this thing I have created. Tympanik has surpassed my expectations for sure; I never thought we’d make it this far but I’m really pleased that we have.

[ - s n i p - ]

Read the entire interview on Headphone Commute

Sound Bytes : Tympanik Audio Special

If you have been following Headphone Commute's Podcast you would have witnessed two amazing mixes, back to back, by one of our favorite artists - Access To Arasaka. In the two-part podcast series, AtA showcased some of his influences and favorite tracks through Re:pose and In:spire, the latter of which featured some great sounds from Tympanik Audio - a Chicago based glitch, dark IDM, and post-industrial label that we have been following since its birth, in 2007, with the Emerging Organisms compilation. Since then, Paul Nielsen, the founder Tympanik, has introduced us to some amazing artists, like Subheim, Integral, Stendeck, Access To Arasaka and many, many others. I think it's fair to say that we have heard every single release, out of over 50, from Tympanik, and as many releases have appeared on our numerous Best Of lists throughout the years. Today, we are excited to kick off a two-part Sound Bytes feature, covering our latest favorite releases from the label, beginning (although in alphabetical order, but nevertheless appropriate) with Access To Arasaka's latest...

Access To Arasaka - void();
If you're an avid follower of these pages, the alias of Rob Lioy, Access To Arasaka should be already familiar to you. Last year, this Rochester, New York based producer got picked up by Tympanik and Spectraliquid to bring us some of the finest, detailed, and crisp IDM to date. Access to Arasaka easily fits among the releases by Hecq, Gridlock, Kattoo, Architect and all of our favorite dark and experimental artists - it's almost as if Tympanik snatched Lioy from beneath the tight hold of Hymen's artist roster - and we applaud this mighty score. AtA's music is at once ethereal and technoid, glitching and cutting up the beats across a full atmospheric spectrum of imaginary places, with micro-programmed and delicate effects in all the right places. Following on the heels of Oppidan (2009), this new full length album, is a lot more fluid in structure, bending and folding the proteins of digital organisms through compiled code of neural networks. Inspired by the history and future of system hacking, the titles of the tracks, stripped from a networking I/O library written in C, feature data structures and function calls responsible for low level communications, running an algorithm of asynchronous transmission of information from Rob's brain to yours. I continue to enjoy this album over and over! Highly recommended!

Be sure to check out Headphone Commute's review of Oppidan.
Read also Two and a Half Questions with Access To Arasaka.

Anklebiter - I Will Wait
In 2010, Portland based Tanner Volz joined the Tympanik family with his latest release, I Will Wait. With its impressive cinematic soundtrack quality (and I promise not to overuse 'cinematic' too much), the album tells a very personal and emotional story. Drawing on the themes of nostalgia, Volz takes listeners through minor harmonic progressions wrapped in intricate, warm and seasoned electronica. Although Anklebiter may be a relatively new project for Volz, he has been producing music, together with Laird Sheldahl and Rian Callahan, under the group's name ML, and the experience is clearly reflected in his production techniques. A little more withered, a little more laid back, and at the same time confident and mature, the sound of I Will Wait will impress followers of his work through past releases on Toast And Jam, Piehead, and yes, n5MD and its digital offshoot, En:peg. Ah, yes, perhaps the name dropping of the last label names will give you an idea of what's in store for you. I Will Wait is Volz's only second full length solo release, and it's already gaining recognition with remixes from Keef Baker, WNY, and subtractiveLAD. Fans of emotional electronica will enjoy...

Autoclav1.1 - All Standing Room In The Goodnight Saloon
Tony Young, recording as Autoclav1.1, has been a familiar name to followers of Tympanik Audio's catalog. Since his signing to the label back in 2008 with Love No Longer Lives Here, Young released a remix album, Broken Beats For Broken Hearts on Hive Records, and then a followup, Where Once Were Exit Wounds, back on Tympanik in 2009. This year he returns with his sixth full length album (third for the label), All Standing Room In The Goodnight Saloon, which is his most polished work to date. The signature piano melodies are blended with those tough, post-industrial electronic rhythms, synthetic orchestral passages, distorted guitar riffs, and a few occasional soul-wrenching vocals. Across eleven tracks, Young sifts through a variety of styles, blending cinematic passages with exploration of electronic / IDM / EBM sound, all while "battling with insomnia and thought processes within that..." Flipping through the latest promo photos of Autoclav1.1, I can see that Tony is an interesting character - someone I would definitely invite to my next Thanksgiving dinner. And if those pictures project his outer images, his music shows truly what lies within. Feed your insomnia...

C.H. District - Conclusion
For his fourth full length release, Mirosław Matyasik, recording under the alias C.H. District, blends intelligent electronic beats with solid dark electro and industrial rhythms. His previous album, Slides was released on the French M-Tronic label, five years ago, and now returning with Conclusion (on both, M-Tronic and Tympanik), Matyasik pulls out all the stops to create one of the most captivating albums. Seamlessly fitting for home listening and a club atmosphere, the album traverses synthetic lines, uplifting production, and dance oriented grooves. "The heavy, popping basslines and robotic creaks maneuver each track with thoughtful precision while crafty electro-styled overtones and moderately distorted synth pads create a perfect balance of energy, melody, and flow." Thoroughly enjoyable from beginning to end, Matyasik's latest offering stands as one of my favorite releases from Tympanik, propelling the label to the top of the trend setters once again. Fans of Architect's sound will feel right at home, and one only hopes that Conclusion is not a final chapter in the works of C. H. District. Be sure to check out Matyasik's collaboration with Paweł Kmiecik on their project, Wieloryb and the latest self-released CDr, Empty (2010).

Dirk Geiger - Autumn Field
Any album that begins with rain and thunder grabs my attention from the start. Carefully placed piano phrases only hyper focus my interest further. And as suspected, after the very first track, I fall in love with Dirk Geiger's first album for Tympanik, Autumn Fields. Backed by detailed field recordings, each track glitches and clicks through warm electronic pads, washed out ambiance, and sharp IDM percussion. Tübingen (Germany) born Geiger creates a film score for chilly evening strolls, and early morning [headphone] commute, where the music leaks out of your headphones into the world, mixes in with the external sound, and seeps back into your ears again. Geiger is not a newcomer to the scene. In 2002 he formed his own label, Raumklang Music, releasing music under his own name (see Geiger's 2008 album, Dondukov 15), as well as albums from Kraftmaschine (an industrial group he formed a few years prior). On Autumn Fields, Geiger continues his explorations with fuzzy noise, experimental beats, and extensive field recordings, wrapping it all up into a neatly packaged listening experience. The album gets polished off with two remixes: from Svart1 and Access To Arasaka. Recommended!

Famine - Nature's Twin Tendencies
Entering the mysterious world of Famine, is like being welcomed into the depths of the unknown, where life, and ultimately death, fight over each other's turn to play with the spirit and the flesh. The weather is perfect - lush synthetic pads are cut through sharp, precision savvy glitch and triggered percussion; where IDM elements and metal breakcore create chaos, synthesized strings and chorus raise the listener's spirits from the fatigue of an ongoing noise onslaught. Nature's Twin Tendencies explores sonic landscapes oozing with slimy leeches and prickly porcupines, all trying to grab onto your skin, first for a local anesthesia with the melody, then for a deep bite with the beat. This is the sophomore release for Toronto based Famine on Tympanik Audio. "Distinctive, turbulent, and unwavering, each chapter of Nature's Twin Tendencies offers a diverse new tale full of compelling elements that will seize your senses and grasp your attention at every twist and turn." I definitely agree with that. For comparisons and recommendations, my mind travels to the early discovery of Hecq, Gridlock, and Venetian Snares whose intricate harmonic compositions are ripped through a torrent of DSP-heavy beats. Check out Famine's Every Mirror Turns Black out on Toronto's industrial label, Bugs Crawling Out Of People in 2008.

Tapage & Meander - Etched In Salt
The hypnotic beat and flowing melodies are just the beginnings of the foundation laid by Tijs Ham and Conrad Hoyer, collectively producing under their Tapage & Meander monikers. Their first work together was the Hydromedusa EP released by Meta0 in 2006. Celebrating Tympanik's 50th compact disc release, the album by the duo nicely wraps all the dark, cinematic, and surreal explorations of sound that Tympanik is known for. On Etched in Salt, the newly formed group explores vast soundscapes, rising from the blank canvas with mathematical precision, like distant mountains constantly warping in their occupied area of frequencies. Add to that electro driven sharp rhythms and IDM percussion, and the listening experience guides the explorer to climb higher, where the peaks hide in the clouds, and the sky becomes the inverted ocean. And all of a sudden you fall... up... "This fantastic pairing of two beautiful minds produces steady waves of beat-driven melodies captured in a net of heavy atmospheres and complex rhythms that mimic the power of the tides themselves." Truly inspiring work for all up and coming musicians interested in keeping with the experimental nature of music. Check out Tapage's previous releases on Tympanik: The Institute of Random Events (2008), Fallen Clouds (2009), and his very recent digital release, Seven out on Raumklang Music. Meander's previous work can be heard on his Dreaming In Reverse EP, out on Low Res Records.

Undermathic - 10:10pm
It feels a bit peculiar. Didn't I write about an album titled 10:10pm before? This feeling reminds me of that moment in the night, when you wake up at a seemingly random time, yet the alarm clock always beams in red, 10:10pm. Undermathic did in fact record the same titled album before he was signed to Tympanik, but it was a self-released album, at times lacking the self confidence and pride that an independent label can provide. From the composition and production perspective, the sophomore release by this Poland native Maciej Paszkiewicz, offers the listener a transparent view into the world of multiple dimensions and spectrum of sound. Complex textures and sonic treatments blanket the surface sprinkled with rhythm and intricate percussion, until the central theme seeps through and carries you away with its cinematic undertones, and you hear the seagulls by the beach, and forget that you are merely on a commuter train with a screaming baby in the seat behind you. With the album's "massive washes of ambiance and infection beatwork mixed with brooding melodies and heavy synth lines," the second album by Undermathic for the label is a lot more mature than his previous, Return To Childhood (2009). I will definitely continue keeping my eye on the music from Undermathic, as this artist continues to develop his inevitable brilliant future.

Keith Kenniff - The Last Survivor (Circle Into Square)

Maybe you have missed the latest release by the prolific Keith Kenniff, but this little gem did not escape my ears. In fact, I don't think there's a single release from this Portland based composer that I have not fallen in love with. From his solo piano works composed under the Goldmund alias, to beautiful electronica sprinkled with light beats released under the Helios moniker, Kenniff's works have been in my rotation since his debut release Unomia, on Merck back in 2004. By the time John Twells has signed Kenniff for his Type Records, Helios and his amazing Eingya album (2006), was a household name among the hungry collectors of modern classical and ambient electronica alike. The Last Survivor is actually a feature-length documentary, following the lives of people surviving four genocides - The Holocaust, Rwanda, Darfur and Congo. In this collaboration with the directors of the film, Michael Kleiman and Michael Pertnoy, Kenniff is presented yet another opportunity to compose a score, and he easily surpasses all of the expectations, effortlessly gliding between his known monikers and finally producing under his real name. Where solo piano pieces continue to be signed off as Goldmund, most of the soundtrack is saturated with original music composed by Keith Kenniff. The Last Survivor score follows the four main characters of the film, providing the soundtrack for their sorrows and triumphs. At times serving as a comforting blanket, at times as a fuel for revival. At the core of the film and the music is a story about life. Life with all of its ups and downs, treading along the unknown, one ticking second at a time: The music itself acts an extension of the characters' inward journey as they deal with death, redemption and new beginnings. Employing a wide range of sounds and instrumentation, the pieces range from achingly beautiful piano-led compositions to ambient string passages and haunting synth drones as Kenniff creates a score that is as contemplative and diverse as the characters and their experiences. Here are all of the elements of Kenniff's sound that I love. At times seeped in sadness, the piano sings at the center stage of most tracks, at times complimented by full blown orchestration, at times left completely alone, even if it's for a few minutes in length. If the story of The Last Survivors weighs heavily on your soul, it's easy to detach the music from the film, and enjoy the album as the soundtrack to your own struggles. And that's the beauty of this score. For Kenniff's entire discography, make sure you visit his site, Unseen. There you can browse through his music releases, as well as film and commercial works, ranging from corporate names as big as Honda, Coca-Cola and American Express. While there, I recommend that you pick up my personal favorites: Unleft (2010) and Live At The Triple Door (2009) released as Helios, Famous Places (2010) and The Malady Of Elegance (2008) released as Goldmund (see our review), and Keith's collaboration with his wife, Hollie, Songs About Snow (2009), released as Mint Julep. We're looking forward to the forthcoming Save Your Season from the couple out in 2011. Be sure to check out the most recent Adorn by Mint Julep.

unseen-music.com | circleintosquare.com

More on Headphone Commute

• Interview with Keith Kenniff
• Two and a Half Questions with Keith Kenniff
• Goldmund – The Malady Of Elegance (Type)
• Reflections on 2009 : Keith Kenniff

Interview with Keith Kenniff

In our last interview, you revealed that the compositions behind the Goldmund moniker are "basically just solo piano", whereas your Helios output is "song structure and electronics, guitars and beats". I have to ask, what prompted you to release this album under your real name?
I chose to use my own name because it was sort of a mix of different material and didn't fit comfortably into any one moniker, so with the scores for films that I've done I'm just kind of lumping it into one name. There are cues that sound like Goldmund, and there are some that may sound like the more ambient material of Helios, but then there are some others that don't fit in with either.

I also recognize a few of the Goldmund pieces that previously appeared on Famous Places and Corduroy Road. How did these selections make it onto The Last Survivor?
The directors had used some existing Goldmund tracks from Corduroy Road as temp music for the film initially and it ended up working well so we left it in there and just did some editing and whatnot to match it to the film a bit better. While doing the film I was also working on "Famous Places" at the same time, so those pieces kind of overlapped where I would take a song I was writing for the record and expand it or edit it to fit the mood of the film.

I know you have composed scores for film before. Tell us how you got involved with this particular project.
The directors, Michael Kleiman and Michael Pertnoy, were fans of my music and had put a lot of pre-existing music of mine to the film while they were editing but also wanted to have quite a bit of music composed specifically for the film. They called me up and we chatted a few times and it seemed like we were all on the same page about the musical direction for the film. It was a really fun process and they were very easy to work with and clear about what they wanted.

How were the pieces composed? Were they written for specific scenes in the film? Did you have the particular characters and their experiences in mind when you were writing them?
The directors and I talked at length about what they wanted for specific scenes, so they would give me an idea of how they saw the mood/tempo/instrumentation for a scene and I would go to work at interpreting it from there. The film was basically already shot, so I had the scenes to work from. Each one of the characters in the film had gone through a lot of personal struggle, loss, disintegration / redefinition of their own culture, and family so the overall mood of the music as a whole ranged quite a bit but was meant to be quite emotional and highlight their own stories.

Who plays some of the instruments (strings, guitar) on the album?
I'm playing all the instruments, and the strings are largely samples that I've cut up from samples or sample instruments.

Your Mint Julep project with your wife, Hollie, has an entirely different sound from your other output. Tell us about the recent Adorn EP.
Yeah, my other projects, Helios and Goldmund are somewhat similar in that they quiet and instrumental, but Mint Julep is more of a rockish/electronic project that Hollie and I have been writing for a few years and is quite different. The songs have a lot of layers, is a little more aggressive and beat-driven and Hollie sings on all the tracks, so it's a bit more song-based. We just released a little EP with a few tracks which folks can buy via my website, and later on this year our full length, "Save Your Season" will be out. We're excited about it; it's been a fun process for both of us to do together.

How do you find the time to work on so many different projects?
I think if someone's committed to something they tend to make the time for things when they can. I'm no good at sitting still, I'm best when I'm busy. I enjoy what I do, I work on a lot of different projects, but I like the challenge and the reward even if it means staying up all night and walking around like a zombie the day afterward.

[ - s n i p - ]

Read the entire interview on Headphone Commute

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unseen-music.com

Also on Headphone Commute

• Keith Kenniff - The Last Survivor (Circle Into Square)
• Two and a Half Questions with Keith Kenniff
• Goldmund – The Malady Of Elegance (Type)
• Reflections on 2009 : Keith Kenniff

Emanuele Errante - Time Elapsing Handheld (Karaoke Kalk)

The truth is, I've been meaning to review an album from Berlin's Karaoke Kalk for quite some time now. And it's not only because some of my favorite artists found a home on this label, like Hauschka for his debut Substantial (2004), Senking for a self-titled debut Senking (1998), and Dakota Suite for The End Of Trying (2009) and their amazing collection of remix artists for The Night Just Keeps Coming In (2010)... but because all of the unmentioned artists in its roster deserve to be heard. So it wasn't long before I couldn't resist talking about this amazing label any longer. Especially now that they signed a long time favorite of mine, Italian experimental musician, Emanuele Errante. Errante's music, first introduced to me through Apegenine's Migrations (2007), and then Somnia's Humus (2008), stands to be in its own sub-category of minimal ambient and experimental modern classical compositions. Lo-fi noises, scratching on the strings of a gently weeping guitar, clicking field recordings, and cascading ambient atmospheres, penetrate through the walls and carpet, raising dust and killing mites (perhaps I should lower the volume a bit). Whether consumed as a sonic installation or an abstract piece of sound art, Time Elapsing Handheld captures the moment with its seven titles, creating a path which is "Leaving The Nowhere" through the "Memoirs", a bit "Counterclockwise", sometimes "Later, Earlier", and always "Inner". Lush soundscapes loop and breathe through organic piano tones, guitar strums, and harp plucks, drowning in a generous sweep of synthetic strings, sampled noise, and dripping effects. Centered around the theme of passing time (as the album's title suggests), the music hypnotizes the listener, bringing him a little closer into the notion of now, and then subsides, letting him simply float among the sounds of rewinding moments. Be still... and feel that... that's right... Here's Errante with a few of his own words: "Time is a relative concept. The recording of a song makes infinite the moment of its execution. But man has not yet succeeded in inventing a device that can accelerate the passing of time." Hmm. I thought that a device for "accelerating the passing of time" was television, and that we're all more concerned with a device for decelerating the passing of time, but I'm not going to argue with the composer here. His Time Elapsing Handheld may be that device after all, without his knowing... So... shhhh! Don't say a word... and listen... The digital version of this release contains two more tracks, "Egostatsy" and "Hidden Sun". Oh, and in case this review was not sufficient in piquing your interest, it is worth mentioning that Simon Scott appears on the album, collaborating with Errante on a track, "Made To Give". Highly recommended for fans of Marsen Jules, Deaf Center, Rudi Arapahoe, and Rafael Anton Irisarri.

Be sure to read Interview with Emanuele Errante
Also, check out Emanuele Errante's Sound Postcard

maisound.com/errante | myspace.com/eerrante
karaokekalk.de | myspace.com/karaokekalk

Interview with Emanuele Errante

Your 2008 release Humus was an ambient masterpiece sprinkled with elements of electronica and IDM. In addition to synth soundscapes, your latest album features a lot more acoustic instruments. Tell us a bit about that progression.
In my works I have always tried to find the right balance between acoustic sounds and electronic sounds. The tracks of my previous album, "Migrations " and "Humus", consist of different themes played with acoustic instruments (piano, guitar, harmonica, flute, strings, sometimes even my voice), but each sound has been processed and loaded with effects. In "Time Elapsing Handheld" I choose to make my compositional approach clearer, by leaving the acoustic sounds mostly unchanged. Electronics give no limits to the creativity of a musician, but I think warmth and vibes of acoustic instruments are unique. That's why mine is a constant research for compromises between acoustic and electronic.

Where are some of the field recordings from? Is that windshield wipers I hear on "Later, Earlier"?
Most of the field recordings have been captured in rural contexts, in Central and Southern Italy. I'm glad you asked me this question about "Later, Earlier". I was in a little town near Terracina, at a friend's house on a hill. We were outside at night. Suddenly I hear a sound that repeats regularly, like a crafted loop. I asked my friend where that sound came from and he replied that it was a bug! I could not believe my ears. That sound had an incredible rhythm. I took my MicroTrack recorder and I captured it. I still do not know what kind of bug it is, but the sound you hear in "Later, Earlier " was not manipulated at all, it is exactly as is.

Tell us how you came upon collaborating with Simon Scott on "Made to Give".
With Simon we were in contact to explore the possibilities of live performances to propose together. The collaboration came about spontaneously. We started working on a draft that slowly took shape and became "Made to Give".

Let's talk about "time". First of all, what does the name behind the album "Time Elapsing Handheld" represent?
The concept behind it comes from a dream I had. In my dream I had a little time handheld that allowed me to make short time-jumps (10-15 minutes). When I woke up I thought that such an handheld would be precious for the human beings. Imagine you're stuck in the traffic: you just press a button and you're back home relaxing on your sopha. Imagine you're attending a very boring meeting: just press the button and you're suddenly in the bar drinking an after-work beer with your friends. Maybe people would be a little bit happier... And I thought that, after all, music is a sort of time elapsing handheld because while listening to it you get completely lost for the whole length of the album and when you "wake up" you realize that music gave you the capability to "freeze" a certain moment of your life and to "wake up" in a different situation, with a different mood and with different feelings.

What are your thoughts on passing time, and what are the proper tools for altering its perceived rate?
We all would like to stop time, but in certain situations we would pay to make it go faster. Both factors are obviously impossible to get so we use little tricks to cheat time and altering its rate according to our needs. I don't think it's the case to afford deep physical and philosophical concepts and their resulting paradox here but I can tell you that music is absolutely my "time machine", my main mean to cancel time. The hardest thing to talk about is the effect that canceling time might produce, because if I freeze a certain moment of my life by any means, when I get the clock to start running again my perception is that the clock hands run faster than before...

[ - s n i p - ]

Read the entire interview on Headphone Commute

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Interview with Emanuele Errante by HC. Photography by Silvano Caiazzo.

maisound.com/errante | myspace.com/eerrante

Also on Headphone Commute

• Time Elapsing Handheld
• Emanuele Errante's Sound Postcard

Tim Hecker - Ravedeath, 1972 (Kranky)

When winter arrives and the sky goes grey I like to close the blinds of my apartment, turn the heater up to eleven and cuddle up in my bed. Usually this custom of mine goes together with the computer placed on my bed and a thick blanket of music that fills up the air around me. When this morning I glanced outside and there was no apparent source of sunlight to be seen, the never-ending stretch of clouds had me a little bit excited as I figured this would be the perfect moment to experience the new Tim Hecker release, on the Chicago based Kranky imprint. Ravedeath, 1972 is the result of a live improvisation session in a church in Reykjavik and the studio process that followed afterward. Recorded with the support of none other than Ben Frost, I anticipated a throwback to the guitar themed noise that was so prominent with Hecker in his early EP, My Love is Rotten to the Core (Substractif, 2002). The two installments of “Hatred of Music”, “Analog Paralysis” and “Studio Suicide” also had me brace for a grim listening experience much like Frost's By the Throat (Bedroom Community, 2009). But when the heavily edited organs start to buzz through my room, it seldom had me grind my teeth. Not that this is a bad thing. Hecker playfully combines his characteristic chromatic chords and dissonant layering of sounds with the special qualities of the 'studio'. The acoustic of the recording location rubs off on the already churchly character of Hecker's work. He takes full effect of the reverb that the church permits, creating even more dense structures with each layer of sound folding up on itself. The record does not get violent or grim, instead it feels like a careful study of different motives that entrance the listener. “In the Fog” is a suite consisting of three pieces that starts out with a landscape of sounds that has different tones colliding with one another much like waves hitting other waves near a cliff. At the end of the first installment, a rhythmic pulse sets in and the music becomes more fluent. This sine wave, that reminds me a lot of the pulse used by Jim O'Rourke in I am Happy and I am Singing and a 1, 2, 3, 4. (Mego, 2001), gradually fades out during the following section, before coming back in “In the Fog III”. The inclusion of touches of the piano at the start of the third section is maybe a sign of Frost's presence. This together with the buzzing pulse and a growing almost dronish noise makes this the standout track for me. “Hatred of Music” starts out with high pitched ethereal waves of noise in which textures slowly turn into something darker. The light tones are transformed into multiple layers of sound that take shape in a grim dissonant sound sculpture. It is the first and only sign of the unnerving atmosphere I anticipated when putting on the record, but the moment is fleeting and quickly dissipates growing into a calm yet dark soundscape. The triptych “In the Air” functions as some kind of closing piece of the album. It starts off really accessible with nice soothing tones, but gradually gets filled with Hecker's heavy chromatic chords. Ravedeath, 1972 very much builds up on his previous work. The typical dense layering of sound is something Hecker has mastered like no other and the abstract form of his music creates a different experience for every listener and on each listen. I feel as if Ben Frost's major influence was in the inclusion of some more pure tones. Both the touches of piano in “In The Fog” and the steady guitar based drones that are present in “Hatred of Music”. This is good music to listen to or rather experience on a day when the weather does not let up. Recommended for listeners that enjoy Fennesz, Stars of the Lid and Lawrence English.

sunblind.net | kranky.net

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Review prepared by Caspar Menkman exclusively for Headphone Commute.

Also on Headphone Commute:

• Interview with Tim Hecker
• Tim Hecker – An Imaginary Country (Kranky)
• Two and a Half Questions with Tim Hecker (April, 2010)
• Aidan Baker And Tim Hecker – Fantasma Parastasie (Alien8)
• Event : MUTEK 2010
• Event : In Between Time

Interview with Tim Hecker

Editor's Note: In June of 2010, I attended MUTEK, an international festival of electronic music, taking place in Montreal, Canada. During my stay, I interviewed many artists in person (yes, I know, I've failed to share many of these gems). Among them, I had an opportunity to talk with Tim Hecker. The following is a transcription of our conversation.

Talk a little bit about your upcoming performance tonight, at MUTEK.
Well, I'm playing a concert... I'm trying to make it a special thing because I don't play here very often. It's about once a year lately - this is my hometown - and I played at MUTEK maybe five or six times, so it's kind of strange. I've been here so many times, it's almost a déjà vu, although in this case, the venue is a bit different.

And how has it evolved over the years?
Well it's grown in both, the organizational structure and the size of the audience... as well as in its curatorial aspect. It has definitely changed with music shifting a bit.

MUTEK represents a sort of marriage between Music and Technology. What does it represent to you?
I'm not so crazy about the "technology" being the most important thing. Every musician uses technology, so why do we need to talk about technology in electronic music? Is it more interesting than the guitar's wood resonance? That's technology also - a more organic form of amplification. Do you know what I mean?

What do you think about the state of electronic music today? Do you pay attention to the trends?
No. I don't even know what 'electronic music' really means. When one refers to aspects of traditional electronic music - what does one mean by that? Synthesizers? Computers? I can give you a million examples, and I can give you a million ways in which electronics have been integrated into what we call 'mainstream' music. And I don't even know if that word means anything anymore. I tend to think of my work, not as electronic music, but as something like fake church music, neo metal drone, satanic pagan sacrificial rights music... I'm joking about that, of course. But with electronic music... it's hard to say.

What are some of the challenges in doing a live show?
It's definitely a challenge for me. I'm honest about the fact that I'm first and foremost a studio artist. I work on crafting documents that are usually around 60 minutes long, designed for a CD or vinyl. And that's my main form of work, where I put my greatest labor and love into. And performing live is a great change, a refreshing way of putting works out there in a different sense - it's more physical, overbearing and loud. It gives me a chance to really push things, to almost the threshold of sometimes pain and sometimes pleasure.

When you put together music, is it meant to be conceptually from beginning to the end, and do you expect listeners to consume it as such?
Well I hope that they would. I'm kind of nostalgic about that. I hold on to the idea of works of longer duration, where an album is not just a collection of hit songs with eleven B-sides attached to it. I like a long flow that has repetition, cycles, returns, counter points and bridges. And I think of an album as a big song, and always constructed them in that way.

Do you think there's an ideal setting where someone should consume your music?
Absolutely not. I try not to set too much interpretive framework around the work, so it's not overly conceptual, so that it's a more of an open context, it's open to a million interpretations, and also makes it more possible to be enigmatic in certain ways, than when it's totally pinned down and has an attached meaning or structure.

[ - s n i p - ]

Read the entire interview on Headphone Commute

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sunblind.net

Also on Headphone Commute

• Tim Hecker – Ravedeath, 1972 (Kranky)
• Tim Hecker – An Imaginary Country (Kranky)
• Aidan Baker And Tim Hecker – Fantasma Parastasie (Alien8)
• Two and a Half Questions with Tim Hecker (April, 2010)
• Event : MUTEK 2010
• Event : In Between Time

Sound Postcard : Taylor Deupree - Single Sound

Headphone Commute's Sound Postcards project was inspired by Taylor Deupree's One Sound Each Day project, where for a year, Deupree would record a sound, regardless of how 'mundane' it at first appeared. As the owner of the amazing 12k label, and one of the pioneers behind the ambient and minimal genres, it's only suitable for Deupree to enjoy every single sound produced by organic and inanimate objects. We are honored to host an installment from Deupree for today's Sound Postcard!

Listen to this Sound Postcard on Headphone Commute

Dustin O'Halloran - Lumiere (130701)

I first discovered Dustin O'Halloran when his beautiful track appeared on Explorer's Club series, from Loaf (on which I accidentally landed after an appearance from Hauschka, Nils Frahm and Jóhann Jóhannsson). I then gravitated towards O'Halloran's release on Sonic Pieces, titled Vorleben, and immediately fell in love with his music. His album was later featured in Headphone Commute's Best of 2010 : Music For Watching The Snow Slowly Fall In The Moonlight. So when I heard that his newest album, Lumiere, was to be released on FatCat's post-classical imprint, 130701, I wasn't even surprised. It's where O'Halloran belongs. Welcome home. With nine beautiful pieces, spanning a 43 minute album, O'Halloran pours his heart and soul through the delicate piano keys, making love to the music, the instruments, and my mind. It seems that even the mere mention of a solo piano album may evoke a passive response in avid followers of experimental and instrumental music. But true connoisseurs pick up on the slightest hint of the rising aroma from the padded hammers and the dusty strings. And Dustin plays for them. Where the piano can execute a variety of moods and genres as commanded by its player, in the hands of O'Halloran it gently weeps. Add to that a few string harmonies and a brooding cello, and you've got a cocktail for magnificent despair, that's, oh, so welcome, on these winter nights. Accompanied by New York's acclaimed American Contemporary Music Ensemble (previously appearing on works by Nico Muhly, Max Richter, and Hauschka), the album employs subtle electronics, guitar from Stars of the Lid's Adam Wiltzie and violin from yet another favorite of ours, Peter Broderick. The album ties this incredible collective of amazing appearances with a mixing hand from Jóhann Jóhannsson - and we immediately have a classic record on our hands... I mean, seriously, who's missing here? Nils Frahm? Oops, sorry, he also gets an engineering credit on Lumiere!!! O'Halloran has been playing piano since the age of 7, performing his own compositions at 11. Enrolling to study art at California's Santa Monica College, O'Halloran continued his life intertwined with music. Recording Lumiere during the last three years, at the ancient Grunewald Church in Berlin, an old farm house in Italy, an old book shop in New York, and at his homes, O'Halloran suddenly became aware of a new phenomenon - he could hear music as colors. Synesthesia is a neurological condition in which one involuntarily experiences one sense in another cognitive pathway. Famous synesthetes include Liszt, Rimsky-Korsakov, as well as Pink Floyd's Syd Barrett and the ever elusive Richard D James (Aphex Twin). Composing for an ensemble, O'Halloran evoked a new sensory palette of sound: Somehow in composing I had always viewed the work similar to how a painter would approach it, adding colors, texture, adding space, painting over the whole thing and maybe leaving just a corner. O'Halloran may be a new name among the circles of neo and modern-classical circles, but he's certainly no stranger to the street. He has previously composed music for Sofia Coppola's film, Marie Antoinette (2006), William Olsen's An American Afair (2010) and Drake Doreumus' Like Crazy (2011). There are also two volumes of Piano Solos released by Splinter Records in 2004 and Bellan Union in 2006, and of course, the above mentioned Vorleben. He's also a member of Dévics, where, together with Sarah Lov, they have released three albums on Bella Union: My Beautiful Sinking Ship (2001), The Stars At Saint Andrea (2003) and Push The Heart (2006).

Read also Headphone Commute's Interview with Dustin O’Halloran

dustinohalloran.com

Interview with Dustin O'Halloran

Talk about the moment when you discovered that you had synesthesia. How has this condition affected your composition?
I always had this condition, but never really understood it or knew there was so much information about it until I started to study painters with this same condition. It really opened up a whole new world that connected painting and music, sound and color. I really started to read a lot about this connection when I was asked to perform at the Guggenheim in NY for their 50th anniversary, it was also the opening of the Kandinsky exhibition at the same time. Walking through this retrospective it was incredible how musical these paintings were, and how his series of "compositions", which he felt were his musical interpretations, how they really FEEL orchestral.

In my own compositions it helped me to have more freedom expressing these ideas and perhaps also help me get ideas across to other musicians that I work with. It's a language I understand, and I suppose since I am not formally trained it gave me some grounding in what I believe is a really important part of music and composing.

Describe your process of composing solo piano pieces. Do you improvise by the piano for hours? Does a single melody simply come out of nowhere?
I think all pieces start from improvising, and slowly start to take form over time. I do like to get them to a place where there is an idea and structure… sometimes that can change at the last-minute in the recording process. But I like the idea of every note being important, and no note is treated as a throw away… I want them all to count and mean something to the piece. I guess that's also why I work in a minimal way... I think a lot of music has unnecessary notes that just seem to be there for the sake of making a piece more ornamental. I am interested in the core of what makes music work.

From your earlier solo works, I can hear a lot of classical influences in your sound. Who are your favorite classical composers and why?
Yeah I spent a lot of time listening to the classical composers, and of course it's found its way into my work. I love this deep sense of composition which I think really was unique to that time... no film, tv, radio, or all these external distractions we have now. Does anyone have years to develop a single piece of music anymore in this world where everything must happen so fast?

As for composers I love: Gavin Bryars, Chopin, Bach, John Cage, Steve Riech, Arvo Part, Morton Feldman, Stravinsky, Debussy, Erik Satie, Philip Glass to name a few...

Did you like studying the piano when you were a kid? Were the lessons something you looked forward to, or did it feel like a chore? What were the other kids doing in your neighborhood while you practiced for hours? And finally (I know this is a loaded question), how do you think this has affected your childhood, and inevitably your adult life?
An interesting question... I didn't really have serious piano studies, so it was really my choice to learn. Just simple lessons from our church organist, no conservatory or anything. I really loved to play... of course there were times when I didn't want to practice... I just wanted to be able to play instantly, and of course you have to put the time in. Most of time I was pretty happy to... but yeah, your friends are going out to play and I would stay in, that's always hard when you're a kid. But it was not a really rigid schedule I had, and perhaps now I wish I had so that I could have had a better training when I was young, as I am catching up to a lot of lost time now.

I had a long period where I didn't play piano as I was moving around a lot in my teenage years, and it was not until later when I started to get into playing guitar and playing in a band that I came back to it. Now in my adult life I am trying to learn all the things I wished I had done when I was younger, but I guess the positive thing about that is I really want to, and its a pleasure to stay in play.

[ - s n i p - ]

Read the entire interview on Headphone Commute

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Read Headphone Commute's review of Lumiere

dustinohalloran.com

Two and a Half Questions with Asura

You have been producing music for well over a decade now. How has your sound evolved over the years?
I think my music has always been a mixture of numerous influences, styles. I love electronic music, space and trance, but too, world music, classical, even pop rock. I guess that, since 1996, when  Asura was created, the evolution was natural, cause it's not commercial music, so it has no boundaries, no limits. I too tried many synths and gears, and for something like 5 or 6 years, many virtual ones. So my sound changed with my various experiments.

360 is an album in two parts. What do the chapters "Before" and "After" signify?
It's a very personal reason in fact. This album is a tribute to my father who passed away in 2009. He taught me love of music, and I share what I know in part thank to him with my listeners. You are  born, you live, and you die. But you give a message. It's like a loop. A circle. Life in 360. "Before" is when he was there, and "after" is... you guess what!

And what about the name itself - are you referring to a full cycle, return to the origin, as well as the unity of beginning and an end?
I don't want to keep my music enclosed in a formatted style. "Code Eternity", for example, belongs to the past, with its almost exclusive 4/4 beats, acid and loud basslines. We are in 2010 now, no more in the 2000's. I changed and my music with me. I will keep making this kind of music of course, cause I love it, but essentially for compilations, live acts, for the dance floor too. So now I want to go deeper in a mix of World Music, Trance Ambient, Trip Hop, Classical, Glitch, everything that I think can fit with my soul. I would like it to be a panoramic vision of music, at 360 degrees. That's why my 2011 album will be very different too, a spacey one. I will come back to a rhythmic album, as it's the case in "360", in 2013.

Talk a little about your collaboration with Ayten on El-Hai.
It was a virtual meeting at first, cause we met via Myspace. I send here some drones and she sang (divinely) on it. So we decided to make a track together, and it gave "El Hai", which means "Living God" in hebrew. And it won't be the last time. She has a heavenly voice, polymorphic I would say, and i am eager to collaborate on several other tracks, and maybe to released an album with her in the future.

[ - s n i p - ]

Read the entire interview on Headphone Commute

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Be sure to read Headphone Commute review of Asura's 360

asura-music.com

Interview with Boy Is Fiction

What have been the greatest musical influences on your music?
For as long as I can remember I've been really easily distracted. My attention span is average at the best of times but music was always different. When I was growing up my folks had a huge collection of vinyl and discs that I'd disappear into and I guess because of that I've developed a fairly eclectic taste. I've never really given a shit who wrote the music or where it came from as long as it made me feel something. As a kid I remember listening to tracks over and over in an old pair of headphones for that reason alone.

I think the biggest shift for me was in my teens when I started to listen to bands like ministry. I was a die-hard metal fan so when I heard the mix of samples, synths and textures I was gone. I'd started playing guitar a few years earlier but from that point on I wanted to be able to do it all. My drumming sucked so I bought a drum machine / sampler and over time taught myself to play piano. As a guitarist I've gone downhill but spreading myself thinly over multiple instruments was the only way I could do what I wanted to do. These days I listen to everything from Godspeed to Leonard Cohen. There's so much good stuff out there, it's just a matter of filtering your way through it.

You seem to be a one man shop, doing all the writing, playing, and production yourself. Did anyone join you on Broadcasts in Colour? I hear a cello on "In" and a different voice on "Until Morning Comes." Is that all you? How many different instruments were employed to create the cinematic sweep of Broadcasts in Colour?
Boy is Fiction is just me. I've toyed with the idea of bringing in other musicians but it's such a personal project and so much of it comes from what I've seen and done. There are definitely people I'd love to work with and I wouldn't rule it out - but it's hard to do when you're in your own little world. In saying that I've spent some pretty late and messy nights with the people close to me picking their brains. It's a great way to sound out ideas but ultimately I'm stubborn and I tend to run with my heart.

To date the strings have been digital but that's definitely something I'd look at given the chance. Having started as a guitarist I still get a lot of textures from electrics, my keys are synth based and percussion is a mix of digital and acoustic. Over the years I've recorded a few kits and I still use them a lot when I'm after an open or live kit sound. The glitchy and broken beats come from a special place after a lot of hard liquor and shit talking.

Is your work drawn from your own life, or are they externally influenced?
Absolutely my own life, but music is a funny thing. I'm never really sure how a track will make someone feel so I just lay it all down emotionally. Why not? Once a piece is out there, people will interpret differently and I guess that's the beauty of music. Obviously adding vocals makes it easier to tell a story or whatever but I think if they're minimal enough the focus remains on the track as a whole. Everyone has moments and experiences they'll never forget. I have memories that I wish I could relive over and over, just as I have memories I wish I could outrun.

[ - s n i p - ]

Read the entire interview on Headphone Commute

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Interview prepared by Elizabeth Klisiewicz for Headphone Commute.

Check out Headphone Commute's review of Broadcasts In Colour

boyisfiction.com

Sound Bytes : Asura, Boxharp, Arc of Doves and Boy Is Fiction

Here, at Headphone Commute offices, our bins are overflowing with promos, our mailboxes are screaming with "listen to meeee!" subjects, and our hard-drives are constantly churning, fragmenting and archiving. We have given up a long time ago on listening to _ALL_ of the music out there, and complaining about its abundance is also a sin... Thankfully, Elizabeth Klisiewicz comes to the rescue once more, dusting off a few of the albums that truly deserve recognition among these pages. With this first Sound Bytes entry of the year, we tip our hats off to our favorites by Asura, Boxharp, Arc of Doves and Boy Is Fiction.

Asura - 360 (Ultimae)
In my tiny corner of the world, snow is falling and winter has settled around me. Cold penetrates my very essence, and it is times such as these when I need emotional sustenance. 360 is a fourth album from Asura, which neatly fills that void. It is a musical cloak of many colors that opens with the stunning El Hau, featuring vocalist Ayten, who easily surfs the waters of Lisa Gerrard's Whale Rider period, finished with a Middle Eastern twist. Asura is the vision of one man, Lyon (France) based musician Charles Farewell, who guides listeners through beautiful vistas studded with psychedelic morning trance, IDM, and world beats. There is something for everyone, from the lush ambient strains of Halley Road to the global reach of Altered State, whose punchy back beats are gilded with Celtic airs. Atlantis Child's lazy, sun-dazed beats entangle these glad ears before yanking the rug from under me and catching me unawares with the uneasy, psybient strains of Longing for Silence. Robot tones usher in the final third of this piece, which veers from paranoia to melancholia. 360 tickles the pleasure center before it slides the stiletto silently through your emotional heart. Wonderful, woeful, and in constant rotation on my personal playlist. Stop by Ultimae to explore Asura's previous releases for the label. This album has been featured on Headphone Commute's Best of 2010 : Music For Awakened Spirits And Open Minds.

Check out our Two and a Half Questions with Asura

Boxharp - The Green (Hidden Shoal Recordings)
Boxharp is singer/songwriter Wendy Allen and producer/engineer Scott Solter. It is also a dulcimer style harp that frequently appears in the band's intriguing mix of modern beats, Celtic/Appalachian folk, and antique musical renderings. Like other artists that have married unusual musical genres, such as Afro Celt Sound System's West African-Celtic melange, Boxharp deftly mixes ghostly vocals with warm, ambient tones. Wendy and Scott meander through Burl Ives, poet Vachel Lindsay, and dive back to 1733 for the Leatherwing Bat (also known as The Bird's Courting Song). The ghost of Sandy Denny also seems to flit in and out of this antique ditty, which would slot nicely onto Fairport Convention's brilliant Liege and Lief (Island, 1969) album. Allen's personal ghosts also inform some of her lyrics, and surround music box tones with a mystical air. All these elements fit together into a logical whole and make for an uneasy but always engaging listen. With no less a dignitary than David Bowie lauding them, Boxharp seems poised for a bright future in the ambient, folktronic, and experimental music space. Pick up your copy directly from Hidden Shoal's online store, where you can also download five label sampler albums completely for free!

Arc of Doves - Impressions (Quietus Recordings)
Frequent moments of unimaginable beauty populate this debut album from producer Tetsuya Nakamura's Arc of Doves project. Released in 2009 on Brock Van Wey's (bvdub) Quietus Recordings imprint, it's a fitting companion piece to bvdub's own work (White Clouds Drift On And On). Ranging from piano scapes a la Goldmund to cinematic noir dub, this is a recording that settles around you like a velvet cloak, enfolding you with warm, organic swells of sound. The stark piano of "Introducing" slides into "Word of Mouth" with watery ease, treating listeners to an eclectic melange of modern classical, minimalist dub, and IDM. Impressions is the perfect soundtrack for a massage, or a soul-cleansing walk in the wilderness. Hints of Brian Eno and Harold Budd come into play, but Impressions is an original work populated with fluid tone poems and impressionistic soundscapes. Highly recommended if you like Christopher Hipgrave, Danny Norbury, Rudi Arapahoe and Rafael Anton Irisarri. See if you can track down a limited edition Arc of Doves release, Mille Plateaux (ROH²S!, 2009) as well as the latest, The Lights (AY, 2010), selected as one of the entries in Headphone Commute's Best of 2010 : Music For The Frosty Night When I Miss Your Warm Light.

Boy Is Fiction - Broadcasts In Colour (Sun Sea Sky Productions)
Broadcasts in Color is the second release from Melbourne-based musician/producer Alex Gillett, recording under the moniker Boy Is Fiction. Warm, organic tones mesh with frosty synth sounds and shift seamlessly between blissful beats and darker undercurrents. I have listened to this release numerous times over the past month, and am surprised and pleased by its staying power. That such lovely and accessible music has gone unnoticed by many is a mystery. "Feeling Lazy" is reminiscent of Brian Eno, and its message and affable melody will stick with you long after the last notes have faded away. Lovely piano, ghostly vocals, and a swath of strings augment this fragile centerpiece. Piano and synthesizer are the common elements in most tracks, underpinning everything from the airiness of "Pinprick" to the gritty, industrial sheen of "Rat". Bright and dark passages swarm your senses like migrating butterflies, and you are not released until the final strains of "For My Friend" set you down. Musical touchstones include Helios, Proem, Subheim, Pleq and Ginormous, but all fans of lush, ethereal electronic music will find something to relish here. The album is released by Illinois based Sun Sea Sky Productions, which has previously released Lights Out Asia's Garmonia (2003), and has recently announced an upcoming release by Melorman.  Check out Gillett's debut on the same label, Boy Is Fiction (2007). Broadcasts In Colour is featured on Headphone Commute's Best of 2010 : Music For Withered Leaves And Lonely Fishtanks.

Read also Elizabeth's Interview with Boy Is Fiction

Be sure to read this entry directly on Headphone Commute for audio track samples.

Cepia - Cepia (Cepia Music)

Huntley Miller's 2007 debut, Natura Morta, on Ghostly International as Cepia ends with Untitled II. His sophomore release on his own Cepia Music, self-titled Cepia, begins with Untitled III. Perhaps it is meant to tie the three years together, perhaps it's nothing more than a lack of words for the titles, or maybe there is no coincidence at all, and I'm reading into something that is not actually there. Afterall, Miller doesn't seem to be lost when it comes to naming tracks - there is the exclaiming "You Don't Know What It Means To Win", "Incurvatus in se", and "Me And My Gin" (sounds delicious). So let's pretend we didn't have this conversation and skip right to the music. Cepia is an album that grows on you with every listen. The only logical comparison I can make is to that one single event in your life - the first time you ever heard Autechre. Do you remember? Were you, like, huh, you know? But then grew up a bit and realized the beauty hidden in the layers? Miller's evolved sound relies on meticulously engineered sounds, micro programmed synthetic percussion, and patiently designed acoustic spaces. The sound is incredibly abstract, and indeed experimental in nature, showcasing ever molding branches of electronic music. Yes, I hear a bit of Autechre influence in there, as well as maybe some melodic flavors of Arovane, the synth folding lines of Wisp, and a little glitch hop from Lusine. But these comparisons only draw parallels of an invisible web of auditory nodes, colliding at the hub of Cepia's sound. Here's a blurb from a previous press release, courtesy of Ghostly: Cepia (pronounced “SEP-ee-uh”) is the sound of industry meeting with the vague memories that rest somewhere in the back of everyone’s mind. Processed bells lilt and chime at their whim, while kick drums skitter and scramble to catch up. Infinite layers of clicks and drones provide the glue that holds it all together perfectly. Miller's discography consists mainly of the above mentioned Notura Morta, a few EPs on Ghostly Inernational, and a remix compilation, Atlantic Blood, on The Flashbulb's Sublight Records from 2006. The latter collects Cepia's reworks of tracks by Mr. Projectile, Tiki Obmar, Tim Koch, and others, while being mastered by Richard Devine - it feels like a gathering of good ol' friends from the era of Merck. Cepia's 30-minute tightly packed 10-track release is a little puff of fresh air into the community of IDM explorers, a bit fatigued from following a beaten path. Just what the doctor ordered.

Read Two and a Half Questions with Cepia

cepiamusic.com

Two and a Half Questions with Cepia

What is the main theme behind the album, and why did you choose to go with a self-titled approach?
There isn't a main theme behind the album, but to me, it's an album in the classic sense where all the pieces are related and it's designed to be listened to all the way through. It's self-titled because it's very close to the core or essence of this music that I want to hear. Somewhere between the density of my first release and the minimalism of the last album.

Can you talk a bit about sound design? What software / hardware do you employ in your studio?
Everything is synthesized and sequenced in Max/MSP, bussed out to analog preamps, compressors and EQs, and then back in the computer for a more traditional mixing process with Logic. The album was not mastered for maximum level and because of that it retains a lot of punch, you want to turn it up when it comes on.

Describe your composition process. What are the inspirations? What is the approach at attacking a specific idea?
The harmonic stuff is written on a keyboard and the percussion in Max. Sometimes it's really hashing out a chord progression over a couple weeks, other times it's getting up in the middle of the night with something stuck in my head. The inspiration is all over the place from The Meters to Phillip Glass to The Band.

Besides Gin, what is your other choice of poison? :)
Whiskey.

[ - s n i p - ]

Read the entire interview on Headphone Commute

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Be sure to read Headphone Commute's review of Cepia.

cepiamusic.com

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I just wanted to drop a quick line and apologize for not updating this mirror in a while. It's not exactly an automated process, so it takes a couple of hours to manually update individual posts. Since it fell off my radar, the reviews and interviews on here are lagging behind by about four months. I know many of you use this site to as your RSS source, so I'll do my best and attempt to catch up as soon as I can! Meanwhile, perhaps you'd consider adding our main site: reviews.headphonecommute.com to your portable RSS reader, so that you can stay up to date with the latest publications!

Tipper - Broken Soul Jamboree (Tippermusic)

Load up that rubber band gun with a stretched-out bass and snap the trigger on the dropping rhythm - the wobble bubble hip-bop is in the house! The 10th studio album from Dave Tipper, Broken Soul Jamboree, is about to slap you across the face, with its top notch production, acoustically rich other world themes, and of course, those staple (dare I say) glitch-hop downtempo beats, that have made Tipper a household name among the trip hop and nuskool breaks junkies alike. From acoustic instruments to CPU-intensive DSP rendering, the music prepares the listener for yet another mind trip, with captain Tipper behind the knobs and gas pedals. What could be said about this UK producer that hasn't been said before? How careful must I be with my words, in order not to reclassify the descriptions of the past? Should I attempt to write this review composed entirely of questions? You think? While Tipper follows his self-imposed rule of producing and releasing whatever he feels like on his own Tippermusic, I follow mine, and write about the music that simply makes me feel. The product of it all is just an auxiliary function. There is no other hidden agenda. It was through this self guided journey that I have discovered Surrounded back in 2003, and immediately fell in love with Tipper's music (I can still hear Forty Winks just by thinking about it). Since then, he released five more albums - the latest recommendations being Tertiary Noise and Wobble Factor (both released as digital only downloads in 2008). But it is with Broken Soul Jamboree that Tipper returns with his sound, and I feel like I am back running through the morning forest, looking for my sleeping friend's dew covered tent. Since Surrounded, Tipper has perfected his production techniques, paying a little more attention to the low-frequency space where the bass wobbles, and a little less attention to the direction of the rest of the world. Where others are concerned with following the latest trend (if you haven't noticed, dubstep managed to creep its dirty tail into every genre), Tipper is mostly concerned with making music that he loves. And that's where his perseverance prevails. On Broken Soul Jamboree, Tipper appears a bit more wise, mature, and even more confident in his sound than before. And through this confidence, Tipper is not afraid to show a little emotion, be it nostalgia or melancholia, while exploring the farthest corners of his mind (and ours).

Be sure to read our Two and a Half Questions with Tipper

tippermusic.net

Two and a Half Questions with Tipper

Last night I had a dream that I was checked into rehab for overdosing on music. I think you were there as well. What were you in for?
I'm the janitor there.

What would be a perfect musical performance for your funeral, and who should we book to perform?
I don't give a fuck 'cos i'll be dead, but for the purpose of your own entertainment, you may want to book this talent : manualist plays the bee gees

Seriously now, how Big is the Question, and how small is the head?
The question is about the size of a small wood pigeon and the head is about the size of a frustrated raisin.

On Broken Soul Jamboree I hear a few neat-sounding metallic percussion instruments. Who was your favorite Ninja Turtle and why?
Never watched it, but after some extensive research, probably Raphael, as he is purported to be both sullen and pissed off… these emotional traits stemming from an existential crisis that came about as a result of being one of only four anthropomorphic turtles in existence. Fair game.

[ - s n i p - ]

Read the entire interview with Headphone Commute

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Read Headphone Commute's review of Broken Soul Jamboree

tippermusic.net

Eskmo - Eskmo (Ninja Tune)

Brendan Angelides may be a new artist to Ninja Tune's roster, but he's certainly not a new name to me. I met Brendan in Portland in the summer of 2007, back when I was already a fan of his music released as Welder on Cyberset and Native State Records (see Vines And Streams and Bamboo Snow EP respectively). His San Francisco sound already had all of the bass-driven punch, perfectly mixed with a base of beautiful and haunting melodies. There is no way of pigeonholing this musician into any sub-style of electronica. He has the glitch; he has the beats; he has the sound my body needs. Breeding a whole new child from the lineage of dubstep, IDM, and west-coast instrumental hip-hop, Angelides cuts through the layers of deep bass with his own ethereal vocals. His unique style opens up your ears, and unlocks the withered bones, ready to pop into a mannequin stance at the drop of the beat. Somewhere between the spacecrunk funkadelia and ghostep dreamhoptronica, there's the world of sound that steers clear from dance floor anthems and instead floats into a sonic space of frequency-rich headphone listening experience. "The album was written over a six month stretch, in the middle of a whole bunch of personal relationship-type stuff, a lot of deep life-experience type stuff happening that helped the music just bleed out of me. I just poured all those feelings into the music, it’s very cathartic. I allowed myself to let go of DJ structure – it’s not a ‘dance club’ album, because that kind of stuff hasn’t inspired me in years. This is the first full body of work where I’m singing all over it, and allowing myself to get over that furlough of expression has been really liberating." Ninja Tune raced to lock in this amazing talent after a split with Eprom on Warp and a 12" Let Them Sing EP on Planet Mu. We may also attribute the label signage to Amon Tobin, after he collaborated with Eskmo as ESKAMON (see Fine Objects released by Brendan's own Ancestor), and a Colorbrain Mix that Brendan made for Flying Lotus' Brainfeeder Sessions. "Before Warp and Planet Mu I kind of fell into the game of making tracks to get released on smaller dance labels, having to cater to ‘dance’ formulas. Over this past couple of years, I feel I’ve let go of that, and am just writing the songs I want to write. I got back to what excited me about making electronic music when I started out, creating these little universes with sound and writing songs." Let's talk about those Ninja choons for a second. The London-based independent label, run and operated by Matt Black and Jonathan More (aka Coldcut), had a dry spell in the last couple of years. In 2008 we were teased with You Don't Know: Ninja Cuts compilation promising many great albums to come. There was The Bug's London Zoo, Daedelus' Love To Make Music To, and The Qemists' Join The Q. In 2009 there were Blockhead's The Music Scene, Fink's Sort Of Revolution, and Yppah's They Know What Ghosts Know. But I guess what the label was really preparing for is their 20 year birthday celebration with Ninja Tune XX (I am a proud collector of the entire boxset). Not that any of the above albums are not noteworthy. It just didn't feel like the good 'ol Ninja Tune output until, perhaps, Bonobo's Black Sands in 2010. It seems that with Eskmo, the label that introduced the world to so many great new artists is back on track! Let's hope for a prosperous 2011! I'm already looking forward to Matilda by Stateless and Toomorrow by Wagon Christ!!!

See also Headphone Commute's Interview with Eskmo.

eskmo.com | ninjatune.net

Interview with Eskmo

I noticed that you're using vocals on the album (your own voice, right?). How has the Eskmo sound evolved over the years?
Yep I'm singing. I've had tracks along the way since the beginning where I put my vocal in there as a hook, but this recent album was the first full on diving in to take it to another place. I know the sound right now in the electronic world (for the most part) is all on the r'n'b tip with vocals, but that's not what inspires me. The idea of 'characters' inspires me no matter what the sound, so I took that and ran with it. Ultimately the music has always stayed true to being a reflection and metaphor of an inner process that has been happening within me over 10 years. The ways in which it has changed would be, the most obvious, in terms of production levels / concepts. But more deep than that would be the way I approach the tracks. Whether from a place of 2005 or 2008 and trying to write something that sounded 'heavy' and could make the dance floor go wild, to the more recent material which explores some more emotional terrain. Lately I've really allowed the idea of storytelling and memes to come through no matter if that places the track into a gentle area or the opposite, an uncomfortable or challenging one. Either way, I feel more is being said than me still going down the route of dj oriented tracks. (Not like I would ever get that big in that world anyways cause my stuff was always a bit 'odd' for most of dj crowd).

The latest music video by Cyriak Harris for "We Got More" kicks Inception's butt... Tell us more about videos that are now featured with your album. How have these complimented your music?
The first was "Cloudlight" which was directed by my friend Dugan Oneal. The 2nd was the video you mention. I've been real blessed to have been able to work with these two directors. Each song definitely comes from its own little world and different intention was put into each. We (Ninja and I) wanted to show 2 very different sides to the Eskmo character. Cloudlight comes from a very personal subtle sorta place. There is lots of story behind that one. I knew before the album was even done Cloudlight needed a video, but Pete at Ninja convinced me to do one for We Got More. They knew Cyriak (I hadn't heard of him before), and I trusted his judgment that it would be a good fit. And luckily it definitely was. I feel he nailed the exact quirky vibe I was hoping to achieve in tune.

Your signing on to Ninja Tune has definitely brought more attention to your music. Talk about the new opportunities that have presented themselves since the signing.
Signing with them has been a great experience. Their presence is so well established already and the fact that they are putting in a whole new level of focus into the brand and label these past couple years is just exciting. Through this I've been able to travel to new spots in Europe and Japan as well as meet a whole new crew of musicians I may have not encountered otherwise. It has also has brought its own set of challenges, which I also try to see as opportunities to grow. Releasing the music to such a large audience and with this much force behind the release brings a lot of leering eyes. Your work just gets examined in a different way. Especially if you don't give critics what they were expecting. I look at all this as chances to expand my sound and view of what this all means to me and how I might grow from it.

Do you think we'll see more material from your other project, Welder? Also, how would you classify the separation of sound between Welder and Eskmo?
I'm currently diving into another full length Welder release right now. Welder is the gentle, inward, very organic sound in me. No attention paid (for the most part) to bass lines or anything that feels the need to make a track 'hit' on the dance floor, where sonically or to make people bug out. Once you enter than sort of territory, the whole game changes. Eskmo, is the more open, outward, big sound. He understands the dance world and intentionally messes with it, where as Welder doesn't even acknowledge a need for playing with the rules, cause there aren't any. At one point I thought to make them extreme opposites from each other, but I could never bring Eskmo to be an annoying dance anthem character and still be ok with myself. I'm curious to see the direction of this next Welder album.

[ - s n i p - ]

Read the entire interview on Headphone Commute

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See also Headphone Commute's review of Eskmo

eskmo.com | ninjatune.net