Martin Nonstatic – Treeline

MARTIN NONSTATIC | Treeline | Ultimae | Release Date 11.04.20

Martin Nonstatic virtually owns the musical space comprising (and in-between) ambient, dub & minimal techno. The many facets of his atmospheric & musical structures see him weaving dense textures, pulsing sidebars & layered walls of sonance & minimalist dub. His work creates a multi-dimensional atmosphere into which the listener is drawn and, without a map, can easily become lost in (but that’s a good thing!). Track #6, ’Distance C’ made it onto our ambient-dub-minimal techno mix, ‘u r b a n’ (out November 2^nd)

Although perfect for driving on long stretches of highway, earbuds are highly recommended for this new release, Treeline, on Ultimae!
……………………………………………………………………..~Ambient Landscape, 10.16.20
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~ from Ultimae Recordings:

Martin Nonstatic releases “Treeline”, a crispy cinematic and electronic album build upon lucious morphing atmospheres ; ever spiralling, electric glides and audacious rhythmic patterns. A dance at dawn album with a view; deeply rolling on stretched-out dub.

The story got a definite Martin Nonstatic touch to it, you’ll even hear sounds you’ve heard before and think you’re on safe grounds but this time the composer will carry you way beyond your expectations, revealing aspects of his creation with more grit and an adventurous mind.

Neoteric by essence and yet a return to some oneiric trip-hop and the day after, hands up in the air, dancing grooves feeling ; Treeline is the third album signed on French imprint Ultimae, from a rather prolific artist who launched into numerous collaborations including the Ghostwalk EP with James Murray and the Eskostatic album and who, throughout his art, keeps on questioning causes and underlying perceptions.


https://ultimae.com/product/martin-nonstatic-treeline-ultimae-download-24bit/


‘u r b a n’ (minimal techno DJ mix featuring Distance C)

Written and composed by Martin Van Rossum
Mastering by Vincent Villuis @ Ultimae Studios
Artwork by Arnaud Galoppe and Vincent Villuis
P&C 2020 Ultimae

TRACKLISTING
01 Traverse
02 Olakite
03 Crimean Mountains
04 Ancestry
05 Treeline
06 Distance C (included on ‘u r b a n’)
07 Subtleties at Dawn
08 Dissolve
09 Min Us
10 Pulvis
11 Unphysical Body
12 Adventus

‘Pentimento’, by riverrun

I’ve had this on my phone for the past several months & have selected several tracks for upcoming 2021 mix programs.
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‘Pentimento’ was the first riverrun album, originally released in January 2010, and now re-released on a dedicated riverrun Bandcamp page.

Daniel Land’s riverrun project is a series of heavily-composted landscape recordings, that he has been working on for nearly two decades in parallel to his songs. Taking its cue from musique concrète, and building upon the groundwork laid down by Brian Eno’s ‘On Land’ album, riverrun’s music painstakingly layers field recordings and reprocessed studio tracks into a deeply nostalgic exploration of geography and memory.

Read more at: danielland.co.uk/pentimento

Released January 17, 2010

“This album is a culmination of nearly fifteen years’ work, which began with a recording of a thunderstorm in 1995, and which ended in a flurry of activity that caused me to temporarily abandon a body of more traditional song work. Several threads, such as an increasing sense of nostalgia as I got older; a return to the places of my childhood; and a desire to make music that was more organic and in some way related to landscape, all came together at the same time, providing a conceptual framework for a series of secret ambient recordings that I had developed in parallel to my songs.

These tracks were created when my attention was focused somewhere else. Often they began life as experiments – impressionistic gems that appeared when I stumbled upon a new sound-colour and spent a while exploring the ramifications of it. As I searched my tapes for other similar, overlooked works, I began incorporating elements of existing pieces into the mix; completing disregarded, half-finished attempts; sometimes even deconstructing the mix of one of my more traditional pieces into something slower and more environmental. Some of these pieces even began life as songs – the conventional instruments, pushed further and further back in the mix as I uncovered layer upon layer of psychic texture, were gradually located out of earshot. You can hear them sometimes, breaking through. I like it when that happens.

In making a type of music that was more self-consciously environmental, I was acknowledging a central – if previously unconscious – preoccupation of my work, that of the need to construct mental places and situations that I could go to, escape to, re-visit and re-write. Whilst many artists derive inspiration from their romantic history, I have found instead that music itself suggests a physical space, far removed from the cramped confines of the recording studio, which can evoke memories and moods without need for the construction of narrative. Accordingly, in searching for names for these previously untitled pieces, I abandoned my usual ‘lyrical’ titles and began to refer to each track by the name of whichever landscape or memory was in my mind while I was working. What results, for me, is a multi-layered tapestry of sound, each element of which resonates with meaning and memory”.

Sounds from the Global Lockdown

With countless communities and countries around the world entering lockdown and social distancing to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, the world is at present a very different place.

We know that – along with sounds – everyone has their own story to tell.

You can listen to the sounds and read the stories so far on the map below – click on a point to listen to the sound, and hit the “info” symbol to read the story behind it.

Sounds from the Global Lockdown

Click on the link, above, to access this sound-map

Manfred Eicher, Founder of ECM Records, Picks his Top Five Blue Note Albums

Field Studies: Manfred Eicher, Founder of ECM Records, Picks His Top Five Blue Note Albums
~ By Nate Chinen

Manfred Eicher is the founder and producer at ECM Records, but the word that best describes his role at the label might be “auteur.”

For more than 50 years, Eicher has provided the vision and direction for the label, while often obsessing no less over the particulars of a given recording session. And if invoking auteur theory feels like a stretch, consider that Eicher himself has often compared albums to cinema — an inclination that manifests in both the “ECM sound” (famously, at once reverberant and pristine) and the visual aesthetic of the label’s cover art (iconic enough to be subject to parody).

As many have noted, the closest parallel to Eicher’s achievement at ECM is that of Alfred Lion at Blue Note, from its start in 1939 up until his retirement in 1967. Eicher holds Lion’s example in high esteem, and he has a relationship with many of the albums in the Blue Note catalog.

So when the Australian music website ZoneOut asked him to name his five favorite Blue Note albums, he had no problem providing thoughtful answers — just as current Blue Note president Don Was selected his Top Five ECM Albums. (A disclaimer: ZoneOut is owned by Universal Music Australia. WBGO is republishing the list with permission, and received no compensation for doing so.) 

Last year, Jazz Night in America celebrated ECM’s 50th anniversary with help from the Big Ears Festival — and we were aware at every turn that we were really just scratching the surface. The same feels true of Eicher’s bouquet of Blue Note albums below, though he provides astute insights on every single pick.

Ornette Coleman, The Empty Foxhole (1966)
Ornette’s Atlantic albums were so striking that they still overshadow other Coleman discs from the 1960s — including Blue Note’s live recordings from Stockholm’s Golden Circle, and this studio date from 1966. It has Ornette on alto sax, trumpet and violin, Charlie Haden on bass and 10-year-old Denardo Coleman on drums.  It’s a recording that effectively elevates feeling above technique, and it has a purity and a naïve freshness that endures somehow, vibrant as folk art.  Some great tunes here too, including “Zig Zag” and especially “Faithful.”  We introduced the Marcin Wasilewski Trio to this album; they subsequently made “Faithful” the title track of one of their own recordings.
Purchase at Amazon, or stream on YouTube

Anthony Williams, Spring (1966)
An impressive band on Tony Williams’ second Blue Note album, recorded in 1965, with Sam Rivers and Wayne Shorter on saxophones, Herbie Hancock on piano and Gary Peacock on bass. Among other admirable qualities, this album provides one of the best early instances of Peacock’s innovative approach, and you can hear him much better than on Albert Ayler’s ESP- Disk albums released around the same time. In this well-crafted music, Gary is a lead voice from the first moment, interacting with the saxophones, as well as with Williams’ fanatically detailed brushwork.
Purchase at the Blue Note Store, or stream on YouTube

Chick Corea, The Song of Singing (1971)
Featuring the trio with Dave Holland and Barry Altschul, this was recorded in 1970, about six months before ECM’s A.R.C. album. Chick was on fire, creatively, in this period, expanding his artistic reach in many directions. And of course, Dave and Barry were a wonderful combination, too. The three of them were about to be joined by Anthony Braxton to form the great but short-lived band Circle and record Paris Concert.
Purchase or stream here

Don Cherry, Complete Communion (1966)
It’s hard to choose between Complete Communion, Symphony for Improvisers and Where Is Brooklyn? Recorded within the space of a year in 1965 and ‘66, the albums form a trilogy. At the start of the cycle Gato Barbieri is the tenor player, at the end it’s Pharoah Sanders, and on  the middle album it’s both of them. Complete Communion lays out the basic concept. Don’s lyricism and sense of space, and his open ear to the sounds of the world, and Ed Blackwell’s dancing rhythms are the keys to everything. The musical evolution from here to El Corazón and Old and New Dreams is not quite straightforward but poetically logical.
Purchase at the Blue Note Store

Pete La Roca, Basra (1965)
I had loved the combination of drummer Pete La Roca and bassist Steve Swallow on Paul Bley’s Footloose (1963), and on Basra (1965) Pete and Steve reunited to explore more outgoing music, joined by the ever-inspiring Steve Kuhn on piano and Joe Henderson on tenor.  Among the many Blue Notes with Henderson, this one stands out for its spirit and energy. La Roca disappeared from the scene for a long time to study and then practice law. After his return, he played with John Abercrombie and there was talk for a while about a recording project with Pete, John, and Kenny Wheeler – which remained unrealized, unfortunately.
Purchase at the Blue Note Store

Also see: Don Was, President of Blue Note Records, Picks His Top Five ECM Albums
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https://www.wbgo.org/post/field-studies-manfred-eicher-founder-ecm-records-picks-his-top-five-blue-note-albums#stream/0

To All Frequencies I Can Not Sense for Quartet, by Marta Forsberg

“To All Frequencies I Can Not Sense for Quartet” is composed for electric guitar (Ellen Arkbro), electric bass (Emil Skogh), drums (Konrad Agnas), trumpet (Niklas Barnö) and electronics. It is a minimalist piece which deals with lingering spatiality – a meditation on the subtle frequencies which exist outside human perception, but nevertheless surround us, ever-present.

Together, the four musicians create a detailed timbral environment encompassing both complexity and simplicity, a contemplative evolution of a dynamic sound-world that is characterised by a shifting emphasis between tones, chords and noise.

Coming from the minimalist tradition of drone music, Marta Forsberg moves between composing for instrumental ensembles (Serenus Zeitblom Oktett, Berlin), creating sound and light installations (Konserthuset, Stockholm) and an ongoing solo practice (3HD festival – Berlin, Unconscious Archives festival – London). As the initiator of the feminist network Konstmusiksystrar, she also actively works for gender equality within the Contemporary Music scene.

Each digital copy of ”To All Frequencies I Can Not Sense for Quartet” includes a limited-edition large pattern print by Swedish artist and illustrator Elvira Varghans.

With support from Kulturrådet.

Released November 3, 2017

Composition and electronics: Marta Forsberg
Ensemble: Niklas Barnö – trumpet, Ellen Arkbro – electric guitar, Konrad Agnas – drums, Emil Skogh – electric bass
Mix: David Granström
Master: Saintpid Mastering
Album cover: Elvira Varghans
Photo: Selma Grönlund

elements_graphic

elements_graphic | Ether-Jazz & Jazz-ish Noise | 67:48

Aurally graphic examples of ether-jazz, noise & dangerously cacophonous din (listener discretion advised!).
: ) (inside joke!)

This is predominantly TONUS (who are releasing the albums represented here on Tuesday, October 20th) in construction . . . with some alternative guitar sonance (Rypdal & Torn) included as . . . sonic bookends.

These are my favorite TONUS releases thus far – – the group is progressively moving through this “New Wave of Jazz” at breakneck speed & compositional improvisation . . .

. . . Well done!

01 Terje Rypdal – Dawn
02 Colin Webster & Andrew Lisle – Kuggar
03 Rubicon Quartet – Airs Out
04 Ward, Verhoeven, Serries & Roberts – Imaginary Junction, pt 2 (edit)
05 Russell, Keune & Vanderstraeten – On Sunday, pt 2 (edit)
06 Benedict Taylor & Dirk Serries – Puncture Cycle IV
07 Rubicon Quartet – Made Dream
08 Colin Webster & Andrew Lisle – Zennor
09 David Torn – Swayed

music for images, by ryan ferreira

the music on this album was recorded at home in brooklyn (october 2008 – april 2010) and during a residency at the helene wurlizter foundation (january – april 2011) in taos, new mexico. the image for the illustration / CD is from a photo i took during my time in taos.

Released July 1, 2012

recorded / mixed: rf
illustration: mar wei
cd design: maddy sturm
mastered by randy merrill at masterdisk

tʌntrə, by various artists

Nice!
An entire series of ambient & drone, posting under the moniker ‘tʌntrə’ can be found drilling down into this label.

This volume released December 22, 2019

i n v i s i b l e . 2

i n v i s i b l e 2 | 85:11

Part II – leveraging long-form pieces by which to create another sonic space; this time elongated with infinite segues, edits, overdubs & echoes that challenge even the parameters of linear quantum physics.

Begun whilst tinkering with the Roach composition (layered & ghost edited), recording the live Serries piece last April & then discovering the riverrun back-catalog (wonderful!). I often utilize these types of mixes (as well as part 1), as backdrops on the stereo when working from home.

Download via Bandcamp

01 riverrun – Marina Way Garden
02 Dirk Serries – Serries Live; April 05, 2020 (excerpt)
03 Steve Roach – This Place To Be, (remixed excerpt)
04 Max Corbacho – Dreaming Spaces (excerpt)
05 Hammock – Without Form and Void
06 Scott Lawlor – Perfect Calm
07 riverrun – Bae Treaddur
08 .foundation & Keys for Eclipse – Disintegration Patterns

Beautiful, by Minamo

Originally released in 2003 on the Apestaartje label, “Beautiful” is aptly named. As the clicks-and-cuts scene started to humanize, Minamo were at the forefront combining acoustics into the DSP-driven techniques of the time. 12k is happy to make “Beautiful” available again along with a new track, “Hum,” that wasn’t available on the original release.

Released July 3, 2020