aufbruch [an emergence]

a u f b r u c h [an emergence] | post-rock/noise/glitch/soft-techno/ambient | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77:29

A remix or, more precisely, a repositioning of several of the tracks from the J. Peter Schwalm/Markus Reuter release (our review of the album can be found here); mixed with some new Robert Fripp/Grid, Rain Dogs (thanks Gareth), Nicola Di Croce (from 901 Editions), Iluiteq (courtesy of n5MD) & several other newer releases (as well as a few older chestnuts) that have hit the studio’s inbox as of late.

The f-l-o-w & installation of music always has to make sense to me: that usually takes the form of slow-to-fast, & softest-to-loudest — and this follows a similarly pattered pathway of aural exploration.

Thanks to Lee @ RareNoise Records for the promo pack that allowed me to steep in this while selecting the five tracks utilized for the project. The goal was to create a tribute to the album, while at the same time crafting a stand-alone mix/podcast; hopefully we have achieved those ends.

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01 Atmospheric Disturbances – Yuichiro’s Pupils Dilated Rapidly
02 Robert Fripp/Ambient Landscape – Water Music (swag+vocal edit)
03 Brian Eno with Daniel Lanois & Roger Eno – Signals
04 J. Peter Schwalm & Markus Reuter – Lebewohl
05 The Rain Dogs – Colour Fields ii
06 The Grid & Robert Fripp – Empire
07 Nicola Di Croce – Tone IV (excerpt)
08 J. Peter Schwalm & Markus Reuter – Von Anbeginn (excerpt)
09 Iluiteq – Glacier Ice Falling into the Sea
10 Robert Fripp & The Grid – Milkwood
11 J. Peter Schwalm & Markus Reuter – Abbau
12 David Torn – O.K. Shorty
13 J. Peter Schwalm & Markus Reuter – Der lange Weg
14 Ümlaut – To Leave it as It Is
15 J. Peter Schwalm & Markus Reuter – Der Aufbruch

(D/L link embedded in podcast time-stamp, above)

Aufbruch (official video)

Video by Daniel Hartlaub | Album info RareNoiseRecords | Purchase Aufbruch

Aufbruch . . . a Review

“Aufbruch” translates from German into “departure” or “emergence.”

In listening to the 9 tracks that make up this new release (July 16th on RareNoise Records) from J. Peter Schwalm & Markus Reuter, what “emerges” is deconstruction; what emerges is fragmentation; and what emerges  are the disjointed pieces of a disunited culture, reassembled into artistically crafted slabs of slightly caustic, slightly melodic & sometimes jarring sound.  

The nine predominantly post-rock/experimental techno aural constructions are seamlessly blended; incorporating Reuter’s touch guitar (and its plethora of sounds, from electric/acoustic to atmospheric drone) & Schwalm’s multiple & leveraged electronic contributions. Some titles (Der Aufbruch, Von Anbeginn, Der lange Weg & Abbau) are painted with a darker perspective, others (Lebewohl & Abschied) are lighter while still others (Ruckzug, Losgelost & perhaps Ein Riss) occupy a “middle ground“ of timbre & tension.

As for my personal favorites . . . the reader/listener will have to wait until after the album’s release, as we’re crafting a mix/podcast to encapsulate our audiological thoughts on this masterwork.

ALL of the futuristic pieces are enjoyable for the experimental/soft-techno & slightly caustic sound-loving sonic aficionado: dark swashes of chaos, subtle bass-like groanings, explosions of gritty sonance, electro-acoustic strumming, fragmented beats and dulled thuds & thumps (along with several instances of angelic vocals) create a realistic look at the present environment while casting a vision & pointing us toward a better, more united & sustainable tomorrow.

The listener will be the final arbiter of what emerges for them – but for this listener a real sense of departure from industrialization to a not totally clear, slightly dystopian future emerges; yet with a glimmer of hope for humankind.

. . . and all that in under fifty minutes!              

~Ambient Landscape, June 30^th, 2021

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File under #MinimalTechno / #DarkAmbient / #PostRock / #TechNoise / #Glitch

Review Rating: 4.5 (of 5)

J. Peter Schwalm: Synths, Pianos, live treatments, electronic percussion and programming
Markus Reuter: Touch Guitars® AU8 and U8 Deluxe, Soundscapes, Electronics
Sophie Tassignon: Vocals on „Lebewohl“ and „Losgelöst“

Aufbruch (samples), by J. Peter Schwalm & Markus Reuter
Bandcamp (pre-order)
Soundcloud

Gyral, by Scorn

An old favorite . . .. right proper minimal techno & experimental ambient; released October 31, 1995

p a r a l l e l

p a r a l l e l | ambient/electronica/experimental | 77:28

Parallel vector derivatives and breach recontextualization merged with scarred hyper-productivity & bi-linear sonic access forms the aural basis for this new mix collective (featuring 2 from Neuro…No Neuro’s new album ‘Object Models‘).

But . . . never mind all that edjamacational rigamarole . . . please enjoy the simple pleasure of listening via your favorite pair of ear-buds!

01 Jon Mueller – Black Glass
02 Michael Peters & Fabio Anile – Secret Forest
03 Music for Sleep – A Kindly Exit
04 The Inventors Of Aircraft – No Returns
05 Neuro…No Nero – Calcified
06 arbee – Moutons Sur le Lac
07 Clarice Jensen – Sleep
08 O Yuki Conjugate – Estuary
09 Neuro…No Nero – All The Missing Words
10 Cinchel – A Defining Pattern
11 Encym – Tender
12 Strië – Man With the Thick Glasses
13 Alessandro Adriani – Make Words Split & Crack (edit)
14 Stefano Giampietro – Inertia (edit)
15 Scorn – SA70 (w/ Trondheim-Gävle intro)

BuzzSprout
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1774454/episodes/8460371-p-a-r-a-l-l-e-l-ambient-experimental

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Download bia Bandcamp:

Listen via Mixcloud

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Neuro…No Neuro – Object Models (review)

This new album from electronic sound artist Neuro…No Neuro could almost be categorized as an album of short, electronic stories. The tracks fit together cohesively and I find it extremely listenable in its entirety (and that from someone who rarely listens to entire albums;  mostly previewing tracks for inclusion on upcoming mix projects).

Kirk (the mastermind behind Neuro…No Neuro) weaves in subtle tapestries of electronica: landscapes of pops, quirky shifts & layers of sonic carpeting that blend, seamlessly into one another . . . as well as the next track.

This body of work represents a slightly new aural direction for Mr. Markarian — but damned if I can tell you exactly how & why: be it the progressive maturation of the composer, a relaxing of overall sound & structure or an intentional & deliberate new approach to shaping his craft . . . it works; and it works very well!

My 2 favorites from this Neuro collective are ‘All the Missing Words’ & ‘Calcified’ (in fact, both will more than likely appear on an end-of-year ambient/electronic mix). They lay within a bed of quiet, sonic solitude and whisper their nuanced changes with electronic tinkering that moves the respective compositions forward like the trim-tab of a great ship of state.
I don’t know this to be the case, but it’s as if Kirk created several, smaller audio files & then grafted them together with a surgeon’s skill until they narrate their own short story – but one that, like James Joyce’s ‘Dubliners’, play individually as well as to the work in whole.

‘Object Models’ (out next week on Audiobulb) is at once imaginative, introspective and, most noticeably . . . IMMERSIVE. Brief lengths of landscape, drawing the listener in while allowing for independent thought even as you’re enjoying the electronic gear-shifting which passes by almost imperceptibly, then grabs your attention once again (which is why it stands up to repeated listening).

It’s like a movie you’re enjoying . . . but you’re not 100% conscious as to “why”.

~Ambient Landscape, March 2021

D E 5 I G N

an Ambient/Electronic mix project | 79:07 | Part 1 of 3

This was designed and constructed around the July 3rd release of ‘Superscience‘, a single track, ambient/electronica mashup by Minamo. Using a water-cooled ambient aural saw, we shaved the composition into pieces & then reconstructed the project utilizing similar sounding noise & intro pieces to create a sound installation.

Longer-than-usual fade sequences helped to incorporate an organic “feel” to the mix; with assorted, subtle treatments (outtakes, snippets, elongated intros & excerptions) sprinkled here & there, as needed, to facilitate the segues.
We also found ourselves utilizing tracks from the studio’s vault we wouldn’t normally choose for a work-a-day ambient mix . . .

. . . all that to communicate the fact that this isn’t a “straight up” mix, but rather an experimental project; an assembly of sound.

Download via Bandcamp


Listen via Mixcloud

01 Robert Fripp – Evensong (Sutton 3 Jun 2006), edit
02 Minamo – Superscience: excerpts 1+2 (echo & overlap)
03 Motorpig – Neutron Tide
04 Tomotsugu Nakamura – Touch with Slow Hand
05 Futuregrapher – Steinbitur
06 Federico Durand – Un Pequeño Bosque de Lengas
……(A Small Forest of Lengas)
07 Neuro…No Neuro – Much-Needed Recharge (v2)
08 Minamo – Superscience; excerpt 3 (subtle bottom edge)
09 Shinpal – Seven Sealed
10 Minamo – Superscience; excerpt 4 (drifting zones)
11 M. Grigg – Response
12 Minamo – Superscience; excerpt 5 (noise crest manifesto)
13 Eiichi Abhuraya – Shoshin Wasuru Bekarazu
……(Don’t Forget Your Original Intention), excerpt
14 Joel Tammik – Temple on the Coast

evaporation

evaporation | Experimental/Ambient/Noise/Glitch | 78:21

Happy 2021! Here’s hoping this brand new year brings you to the threshold of your dreams & goals . . . & beyond!

This is a culling of various, vaporous, ambient artifacts, relics & cherished sacrificial aural ceremonies from years gone by and 3 more recent tracks (1, 3 & 11); meshing/mashing experimental derivatives with the vast ambient landscape.

Constructed over this past Thanksgiving break.

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• 01 Nicola Di Croce – Deus Sive Natura (excerpt)
• 02 Juta Takahashi – Silence
• 03 Harold Budd – Yellow
• 04 Jeff Greinke – City Light
• 05 Tomas Weiss & Anthony Kerby – Vision 4
• 06 Brian Eno – Written, Forgotten
• 07 Max Corbacho – One True Light (edit)
• 08 Steve Roach – Cloud Cover
• 09 Jacob Newman & Devin Underwood – Tracing Memory
• 10 Mystified – Earthwaves.3
• 11 .foundation – Vesper Hymn
• 12 The Circular Ruins – Perpetuum Mobile

Post-COVID constructular emanations . . .

the vicinity of bLue

the vicinity of b L u e | ambient/glitch/noise/experimental | 80:44
(releases December 1st . . . but don’t tell anyone you got early access!)

An experimental outing of slicing, dicing, arranging & rearranging compositional segments of sound, until the audiological effect was . . .
“just right”!

It represents not so much the emotional/psychological state of “being” blue . . . but the empty sparseness the color can invoke (e.g. “Blue, blue, ‘lectric blue; that’s the color of my room — where I will live”*).

Glitch. Space. Drift. Some Ether-Jazz . . . and nuanced Ambient Drone
(with a new film composition from Brian Eno).

All shades . . . all hues . . . all bLue.

Download from Bandcamp

01 Slow City, 2nd Stack: 3 tracks, simultaneously
……a. Fabio Perletta + Luigi Turra – Ma pt 3
……b. Fripp, Buck, Chalenor, Chamberlain, Rieflin & Zazou –
………..The Slow Music Project
……c. Richard Chartier – Second End
02 Serries, Verhoeven & Webster – Fissure
03 Lowered – Distance Flooded Us
04 Brian Eno – Decline and Fall [extended remix]
05 Christopher Bissonnette – Consequence
06 Focus on the Breath – Waves
07 Ethereal Ephemera – A Place Where Strangers Gather to Watch the Sunrise (excerpt)
08 Hollie Kenniff – Aubade
09 Scott Lawlor – Morning Calm (excerpt)
10 Gimmick – La peau de la femme (excerpt)
11 Keys for Eclipse – Social Amnesia
12 Cryptic Scenery – Hospitals 1 (edit)
13 Robert Fripp & Brian Eno – Terebellum
14 Motorpig – Tesla Coil
15 Jonas Meyer – Strömung

u r b a n

u r b a n | Minimal Techno/Noise/Techno | 77:24

Extraneous aural lamentations from an isolated, undisclosed, non-rural municipality.

. . . and (more to the point) gritty turbulence & granular causticity, constantly grating across the listener’s ear so as to create a state of sonacular trance.
(earbuds will prove most helpful on this auditory excursion!)

Download via Bandcamp

01 Aes Dana – Beneath
02 Simon Šerc – Greybody Fit (excerpt)
03 Tonaliens – Vesta part 1 (excerpt)
04 Miktek – Serene
05 Rag Dun – The Echo that Swings
06 Ebauche – Umbilical Transfer
07 Nine Inch Nails – Temp Fix
08 J Peter Schwalm – Gangesthal
……(w/ Eivind Aarset & Tim Harries)
09 Lingua Lustra – Return
10 Ümlaut – If the Eye Never Sleeps
11 David Torn – Outsider (excerpt)
12 Neuro…No Neuro – Showers
13 Martin Nonstatic – Distance C
……(extended edit)
14 Eskostatic – Shadow
15 Vcam – Coreceptor_Env