LUNAR ATRIUM

2011 Favorites

2011-12-22T14:13:00.000-08:00

Since I don't have a record ready to post yet (coming early next year), I thought I'd pause and reflect on the new music this past year. I felt there were numerous fantastic albums coming from all angles. I realize this blog is dedicated to sounds from the past (and I will never upload and share anything new/recent/in-print here), but over the past couple of years I've been getting more and more back into new/contemporary music after having gone through a very long phase of devouring, researching and obsessing over vintage records. Sure, a good portion of new music I enjoy now is directly influenced by the type of albums I share on this blog, so I guess it's all very cyclical in the end, anyway.

I'm actually having trouble remembering some new music that I'm pretty sure I loved upon hearing. It's just that sitting near a pile (physically and hard-drive related) of it all can be daunting, and sure, some amazing things get lost along the way. These entries are not in any order. I made separate lists for Lps and tapes. I bought/traded/downloaded/streamed about a million tapes this year, and while there were so many great ones, I tried to narrow it down to the titles I felt were the strongest; relying less on predictable sounds, or just doing a familiar sound very well. All of this is, of course, is extremely subjective. I'm not saying "this is the definitive 2011" or anything silly, but since the entire world is cobbling together various lists I thought I'd join the game as a little holdover until my next post early next year. As always, thanks for stopping by!!

LPs:
Imaginary Softwoods The Path of Spectrolite (Amethyst Sunset)
John Elliott from Emeralds makes and releases a ton of music, but for me this is his crowning achievement thus far; a beautiful collection of modern experimental new-age synth what-have-you. Glassy and shimmering, but very propulsive and above all just great listening. Fans of Iasos and the like would very much enjoy these tones I'm sure.

Steve Moore Primitive Neural Pathways (Static Caravan)
*Technically this came out in late December 2010, but I don't think it had a fair chance last year. Here the Zombi synth master really kills it on this brief LP of smooth J.M. Jarre/Berlin school/minimal synth tunes. Very well composed, infectious and just great. Will someone please hire him to compose the soundtrack to a new epic sci-fi film already please?

Forma Forma (Spectrum Spools)
Excellent debut LP from this NYC trio of synths and drum machines. Forma compose very taut and direct music that is equally driving and contemplative, but never static or generic. I like the juxtaposition of mid-80's drum machines against the spacey analog synth mist, which gives a fresh perspective to all this "kosmische" jargon. It's a nice merging of post-punk and experimental electronics. Reminds me quite a bit of parts of Craig Leon's album Visiting, which I posted here a couple of years ago.

The Advisory Circle As the Crow Flies (Ghost Box)
Just a beautiful collection of tunes lovingly produced into a film-like narrative, like most of the Advisory Circle works. Jon Brooks knows his way around a synthesizer or two and can really coax the most heartbreaking sounds out of them. One minute it's all Wicker Man pastoral folk, then it's down into the scary depths of Radiophonic Workshop hell, with many incredible, anthemic tracks in between. After the introduction tone, the opening song charges out of the gate with such pounding majesty and a brilliant hook, that you nearly want to fist-pump in the air. A very solid album from one of my long-time favorites!

Bitchin Bajas Water Wrackets (Kallistei)
A brief but concise musical interpretation of Peter Greenaway's 1975 short film of the same name, about a mythical tribe of people in some unnamed time. Of course, the film only consists of idyllic nature shots of rippling water and leafy wilderness with narration recalling the detailed and strange story. I don't really know how Cooper Crane's solo work as Bitchin Bajas comes into the picture in relation to the film, but on its own merits this is a fantastic album of murky organ-led vignettes and blurry synth warble. Often pensive and sparse, and at turns upbeat and utterly cosmic, this is a very appealing and engrossing sound.

Matt Carlson Particle Language (Draft)
Portland, Oregon's Matt Carlson is the synth half of the synth/Clarinet duo Golden Retriever, and although that project consists of more placcid and majestic drones, here he unleashes his most intense and focused modular synth mastery with insane and nearly absurd brilliance, covering ground from pure concrete bleep to futuristic vocoder robot hell, to dense, completely realized electronic zones that fill the entire stereo-field with micro details of oscillators flying off into all directions, and compressed voids dripping with spent electronic detritus. Truly amazing, and one of the boldest electronic albums in a long time.

Nate Young Regression vol. 2 (NNA)
Spooky and brooding sounds from Wolf Eyes member. I like this in part because it has such a similar quality to some of the dark concrete library and soundtrack works from Egisto Macchi or Giuliano Sorgini; rumbling and buzzing tones that are really bleak and spare but strangely hypnotizing.

Le Révélateur Fictions (Gneiss Things)
Epic synth works from Roger Tellier-Craig. Fictions consists of three long-form compositions that unfold slowly and magically like an epic celestial journey. Layers of airtight sequences overlap and propel rhythms amid a rich bed of swelling organ patterns and buzzing oscillations. Truly larger than life. If you can imagine the dense, swirling sounds of Terry Riley and Ariel Kalma mixed with more cosmic electronics you can get a good idea, but that sounds like a lazy comparison, so I'll leave it at that.

Jonas Palm De-Compositions (reissue/archival)(Börft)
Archival issue of a "lost" 1981 album of nice spacey minimal synth in the vein of other early 80's euro tape-scene gods Cybe or Enno Velthuys. Solid.

Conrad Schnitzler Live ’72 (Further Records) (archival)
Further Records truly nailed it with this monster double LP issue of a previously unreleased live performance. There is a little for everyone here; you can hear early versions of music that would later show up on the classic Con LP, as well as many familiar strains from the then-contemporary color series (Rot, Blau, etc...). The brilliance of the music is only matched by the incredible mastering/sound and presentation. This is a veritable best-of, covering the many moods of Schnitzler, from cold metallic skree to the more rhythmic bounce of later works. To be honest, I've had difficulty in believing this is actually from 1972 and not, say, 1978, since many of the tracks feature sequences and sounds that seem a bit early for 1972. But that could just speak to his forward-thinking brilliance! Essential.

He passed away this year. RIP Con.

1958-2009 1958-2009 (Amethyst Sunset)
A beautifully blissed-out ambient guitar/synth record from this collaborative duo of Earn/Ekhein tapes' Matthew Sullivan and Mirror to Mirror/Jugular Forest's Alex Twomey. 1958-2009 is the lifespan of Michael Jackson, for whom they draw inspiration from on this project, and whose likeness appears on this LP as well as several tapes.

No UFO’s Mind Controls the Flood (Public Information)
Great short LP (or EP?) of tweaked electronics and kosmische trash, and the second release on the new Public Information label, whose debut release Solitary Pursuits, by ADR, is a fantastic slab of retro/modern sci-fi library sounds. Here, Konrad Jandavs unleashes a wide variety of sounds, from abrasive electronics to blips of detroit techno, to head-scratching ambient bliss, but with a unique focus and vision. Also look out for the recent LP reissue of the 2010 tape Soft Coast on Spectrum Spools. I love the energy and unpredictable nature of his sound. Can't wait for the next album.

Pulse Emitter Spiritual Vistas (Cylindrical Habitat Modules/Expansive)
The most concise and beautiful Pulse Emitter work yet, here showcasing a spare and cosmic ambient sound: very patient and slowly unfolding clusters of focused modular synth lines, that really do seem to imbue a sense of nature and wonder, but also keep your head firmly in the cosmos, as it should be.

Hans-Joachim Roedelius Wasser im Wind (reissue/archival)(Bureau B)
Yet another vintage Roedelius album appears, brought back to light from an endless well of early 80's productivity, and in keeping with his nature, this is quite different than the last. The production is crisp, there is added instrumentation (sax!) and some guitar, though the focus falls squarely on Roedelius' patented keyboard warble, complete with accompaniment from the same ancient drum machine that likely trudged its way through Zuckerzeit. Really great!

Matsuo Ohno I Saw the Outer Limits (reissue/archival)(EM)
Beautiful LP reissue (courtesy of impeccable Japanese label EM) by this legendary Japanese "sound artist", who, on this 1978 album created a virtual tour of the galaxy, recreating the deep and scary sounds of space utilizing an army of synthesizers. This is by no means ambient music, instead coming more from a tape/concrete approach, although to me it is highly listenable and really breathtaking. I won't waste time going into details since information has been presented very succinctly over here.

Ricardo Donoso Progress Chance (Digitalis)
Super sharp, focused and hypnotic set of electronic bliss. It's been described as techno/rave jams with the beats removed, and I can't really add anything to that, other than the compositions are beautiful, thoughtful, wistful and just kick-ass. Not a moment is wasted on extraneous ambience or bleepy sounds. Also, this is one of the most amazing sounding records I've spun in years.

Helm Cryptography (Kye)
Beautifully bleak and disorienting, but very immersive. There is a peculiar quality to this LP that keeps me coming back. It's great ambient but is too overtly involved to be merely background music, and isn't necessarily "pleasant" most of the time. At any rate a solid "drone" album in a sea of dime-a-dozens. Kye rules!

Call Back the Giants Rise (Kye)
Second Kye release on this list, and second LP from this ex-Shadow Ring member! Here the focus is on zoned out synth mayhem, with spooked spoken word and mildly psychedelic detritus sort of crumbling all around you. There's an "off" charm to this stuff that really works in its favor. The not-quite-rhythms stumble around, keyboard motifs sort of wander off into a cosmic stupor and the occasional words hang over everything like some evil guide. In other words... great!!

The Caretaker An Empty Bliss Beyond This World (History Always Favours The Winners)
An album that's been showing up on many end-of-year lists, and an inclusion I can get behind. I've long been a fan of this type of sound (Philip Jeck's ancient turntable collages come to mind). I think a full album's worth of this thing may seem gimmicky, or be a bit of overkill, but for what's it's worth, the tracks here are executed brilliantly and the mood created is equally blissful and unsettling. Sure, the Shining references abound, but they really are apt in a good way; capturing that deeply spooked feeling, barring any sort of romantic nostalgia. I mean downright UNSETTLING.

*Sidenote/rant: I'm a little burned on the record crackle/sample thing, though. I guess I devoured too many Mille Plateaux and Chain Reaction glitch albums in the 90's to the point where now if I hear a lot of crackle-glitch I get a little twitchy, if you know what I mean.

Mandelbrot & Skyy OD Axis (Digitalis)
Modest kosmische-esque side-project of Jeff "Rene Hell" Witscher and Darren "Driphouse" Ho, balancing between bouncy and strangely accessible electronics to more abstract synth explorations. Pretty solid!

TAPES/CDS:
Secret Pyramid – Silent March CS (Nice Up Int'l)
As others have noted, this is like the perfect marriage between Aguirre-era Popol Vuh and blown out dream-noise work by Flying Saucer Attack. Planet-sized guitar distortion rips across the horizon as the choir roars underneath. Intense and beautiful.
Bill Doob – Virtually Underwater CS (Inspired School of Astral Music)
Portland-based Bill Doob has been putting out some quality (and quantity!) zoned-out, mind-void tonefloat drone recently, and this is my favorite, and not only because I have a "thing" for underwater music. You could say it's very similar to the tape-eroded prism jams made by Josh Burke, but it's just fine as is.
Ken Seeno - Invisible Surfer on an Invisible Wave CS (NNA)
A breath of fresh air in the zoned-out/droned-out tape world, Ken Seeno offers a clean slab of thoughtful guitar/synth compositions that carry a breezy 80's vibe, but through a weird filter to keep it interesting.
Hobo Cubes - Timeless/Mindless CD (Debacle)
Album number 1,394 from Hobo Frank sees him delving further into the vortex hinted at on early works, while simultaneously trying out some wonderful new, almost-melodic sounds. One of his strongest statements! Great sleeve too.
Earn – Hell on Earth CS (Ekhein)
Pure bliss-float. I don't know how he keeps a sustainted tone so rich, while you can almost hear little patterns sticking out now and then. Truly transcendental.
Radio People - Avalon CS (Centre)
A great, concise collection of strong, anthemic synth-tunes hinting at the sophistication to come on the Hazel Lp, though this one still really sticks out from the pack.
Femminielli - Carte Blanche Aux Désirs CS (Los Discos Enfantasmes)
What else can you say other than this is the sexiest shit ever?? It's all here: epic kraut-synth journeys, pumping minimal synth, decadent post-Moroder disco void, etc...
Water Lily Jaguar - Voyage Of Hope / Voyage Of Discovery CSX2 (Sound Holes)
Epic double cassette of lo-fi new age synth warble, caught between Dolphins into the Future and Josh Burke, but with a unique enough approach to set it apart. I really like this project, and have enjoyed all the tapes I've heard.
Element Kuuda – Flight 2 CS (Fadeaway Tapes)
Another classy set of electronic drift by Montreal's Christian Richer. Here two side-long tracks slowly unfold with warm synths and micro details skittering all around. So good.
Cloudland Ballroom - Illusion Circles CS (Aguirre)
Wonderful, heavy cosmic synthesizer pieces courtesy of James Moore. Brief and fresh, and yet so ancient sounding.
Brain Fruit - 1.1 CD (Debacle)
Super tight and taut cosmic synth jams with strains of pumping techno.
Dry Valleys – Aqua Aura CS (Hooker Vision)
Really beautiful drone ambient bliss that stands out from the pack. Nicely done!
Mpala Garoo – Ou Du Monde CS (Sweat Lodge Guru)
Another great change of pace from the usual tape stuff. Here there's a hazy summer-like vibe of lazy guitars, dub-echo and warm beds of ambient sound with slight percussive elements in places. Someone needs to do an LP issue of this.
Lunar Miasma – Gateway CS (Digitalis)
Beautiful, epic electronic mantras from this modern day Greek synth-wizard.
Ghostrider – Demons CS (Hobo Cult)
Fantastic, thoughtful electronic compositions from Germany's Jens Pauly. There's an attention to detail that's very admirable. Really great.

Missing post...

2011-11-14T16:50:00.000-08:00

In case anyone was looking for the Lunar Atrium 2 mix posted below several months ago, apparently there was a content/copyright complaint, so blogger deleted it a couple weeks ago.

More stuff coming here soon...

Various Artists - Insound 1: Electronic/Computer Music (Edipan, Italy) 1982

2011-08-13T09:06:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of Bruno Nicolai's library label Edipan comes the first installment in the three-part Insound series, showcasing early 80's Italian electronic composers utilizing computer technology to realize their compositions. The four tracks here range from minimal rumble to full-tilt drone. It's not necessarily easy listening but provides a very interesting look into the world of conceptual and intellectual electronic ideas. Why this was on a library label known for more breezy jazz and soundtrack material is a mystery, but it also makes Nicolai even more of a badass in my eyes (although I'm not sure to what extent he oversaw everything on this label). Please view the extensive notes on the sleeve and insert for additional info (photos below). Intense stuff...

*I apologize for the loud surface noise on some tracks! It's the best I could do, but hopefully you can get a good idea of the experience.

Insound 1

Joel Chadabe/Randall McClellan - Ideas of Movement at Bolton Landing/Distant Voices (Opus One, USA) 1974

2011-08-13T08:47:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of long-form modular synth compositions by two distinguished artists. It's very deliberate, slow moving and very sparse, similar to other early 70's conceptual, semi-academic synth pieces. Equally shy and somewhat shrill, those with a fondness for the work of Douglas Leedy, Steve Birchall, Subotnick, etc... may find some interesting tones...

*This is a very quiet record and the music is very sparse, so there may be a little surface noise here and there.

Chadabe/McClellan

Kha-Ym - 10" GMT (FLVM, France) 1979

2011-08-09T22:56:00.001-07:00

Here's another quirky one that's also been shared on a couple other blogs. I just sold my copy, but made sure to rip it first. This is a curiosity; a really strange combination of wide-eyed post punk synth/guitar experimentalism with some really odd prog-like flourishes (odd tempos, crazy drumming). Together these characteristics create a really unique sound and approach. The production somehow veers from boombox level fidelity to decent 4-track quality, sometimes in the same track. Some tracks embrace a more electronic approach, with awkward and often shrill casio type pads juxtaposed with pleasant folk guitar, or a synth and drum kit workout that predates "post rock" by a good sixteen years or so. There's also some bugged-out RIO type manoeuvres; cut and paste voices and various field recordings thrown in the mix.

There's a great and informative overview of this record over at Holy Warbles.

10" GMT

Claudio Rocchi - Suoni di Frontiera (Ariston, Italy) 1976

2011-08-07T19:05:00.000-07:00

So, it's been a while! I am back with some more records (will be posting more here and there in the upcoming weeks). I recently sold some records that are dear to me (financial reasons...), so for the sake of posterity I decided to rip many of them, then realized I may as well share them. This Rocchi has been shared elsewhere, and even got a fancy CD reissue a few years ago, though this is now out-of-print. This is my rip of the OG release.

Rocchi has been heavily active in the prog-folk-pop world in Italy since the early 70's, having established himself as an icon, alongside other stalwarts such as Battiato, etc... This relatively early work finds him eschewing any proper sense of form, and instead he goes into full-on electronic experimental mode, utilizing an EMS VCS3 to glorious effect, alongside many strange tape edits, garbled and effected vocal lines, and general zonked out synth bloop. This isn't in any way ambient music, though the whole thing maintains a strange sense of elegance and restraint. One moment a harsh and disorienting wave of oscillation bobs up and down, and the next it's a haunting, soothing Roedelius-like melodic line emerging from the din, only to be mangled by some gnarly synth patching after a few minutes. There's a certain familiar tone overall, like that muted, alien magic created by Harmonia or parts of Moroder's Einzelganger album. Really fascinating and confounding stuff. I've never been able to wrap my head around this, and I think that may be why I like it so much.

Suoni di Frontiera

Two new aquatic releases!

2011-06-16T11:48:00.000-07:00

Since the topic is fresh on my mind (re: the mix posted below), I thought it would be worth noting that there are two new aquatic-themed albums out now on LP:

The first is a really incredibly packaged, deluxe vinyl re-issue of a short run cassette release from earlier in the year by Bitchin' Bajas (don't let the silly name fool you...). BB is the alias of Cooper Crane, who creates dizzying, magical synth and organ compositions that recall early electronic music tinkerers as well as some 70's-era German synthesists; part wistful new age shimmer and spooked Terry Riley-esque organ dirges. For this album, Water Wrackets, Crane was commissioned to create a soundtrack to Peter Greenaway's classic 1975 short film Water Wrackets, after having only seen a 30-second snippet of the film. The results are beautiful; ranging from deep and brooding swathes of synth and organ rumble to pastoral swells of sound, to upbeat percussive passages that propel you further into the aquatic unknown. Comes with a poster and DVD, all presented in a seriously heavy-duty gatefold sleeve.

Available at Boomkat

The second release is a reissue of a long-forgotten private press album from 1982,by German composer Jürgen Müller. With this album he tried to capture that sort of hazy dreamlike quality of being out at sea. Müller recorded this album at home and pressed 100 copies, hoping to break into the library/production music business. All music was composed on modest synthesizer equipment and recorded onto tape machines of varying quality, giving the sound a slightly lo-fi, grainy feel... but a sound that captured an enchanted vision of nature. Remastered by Brad Rose for Digitalis, in an edition of 500. The first couple hundred copies are on clear orange vinyl.

Available at Boomkat

*ALSO... please note that I actually DO promise to have some fresh album posts/rips soon, and another mix too.

Mix #3 (Aquatic Sounds)

2011-04-19T17:17:00.000-07:00

Here is one last mix before I actually post another album. I've had this one kicking around for a couple years. Even before that I made a series of three separate, long Aquatic-themed mixes, but this one is shorter and more concise. I'm sure nobody is dying to listen to over three hours worth of mixes, anyway. This focuses on library music from the 60's and 70's, much of it electronic, folky or orchestral but with that distinct sound.

Tracklist:
Intro
Roger Davy - En Jouant Au Cerceau Sur Neptune
Peter Reno - Secrets of the Deep
Jean Humenry - Musique et cris d'oiseaux
A.R. Luciani - Bancs de Corail
Jean Humenry - Generique de Debut
Alessandro Alessandroni - Acquario
Janko Nilovic - L'aquarium Géant
Joel Vandroogenbroeck - Marina Fauna
Gaston Borreani - Aquarium
Eugen Thomas - Tiefenrausch
Eric Towren - Cosmos Aquatique
Mladen Franko - Fish of Prey

Stream here:

Lunar Atrium mix 3: Aquatic Sounds by LUNAR-ATRIUM

Download HERE

More stuff on the horizon!

2011-04-06T17:42:00.001-07:00

Er, um... so it's been a while! Look at the months just flying by. I actually do have some stuff to post soon, but I've just been unable to do it at any length. Stay tuned! In the meantime please enjoy this nice Peter Schmidt watercolor...

Galaxyactivatorconnexionmix

2011-01-04T22:10:00.000-08:00

Here's a mix I made about a month ago with a bunch of electronic library tracks blended together. It's sort of hazy and spaced out with some proggy passages and scientific PSA-like bleeps here and there. Some are from my own vinyl rips, and some not. Just a little something until the next proper post...

Tracklist:
1) Harry Forbes - Technicality #1
2) Phil Davies - Journey
3) Paride Miglioli - Astrofisica
4) ? (Hibou library) - Day First A
5) Harry Forbes - Prototype
6) Robin Artuss/Paul Kass - Activator
7) Teddy Lasry - Chinese Connexion
8) Philippe Feret - Etat D'ame
9) Raskovich - Temporalesca
10) Karl Jenkins & Mike Ratledge - Space Walk
11) Claude Perraudin - Troglodytes
12) Harry Forbes - Moving Parts
13) Walter Waal & Otto Sieben - Strato
14) ? (Hibou Library) - Take my Dream
15) Adrian Wagner - Galaxy
16) Harry Forbes - Conveyor Belt
17) Harry Forbes - Tomorrow's Achievements

Download here

Inoyama Land - Danzindan Pojidon (Yen Records, Japan) 1983

2010-12-19T16:21:00.001-08:00

Inoyama Land were a fairly obscure 80's synth duo from Japan, both having served in the avant garde group Hikashu. It appears they only issued a couple of albums, as well as a posthumous compilation of live and previously unreleased material. This is the first album (as far as I know), and it has the distinct honor of being produced by none other than the highly esteemed Haruomi Hosono (he of YMO, Happy End fame, among seemingly HUNDREDS of other noteable, groundbreaking musical ventures).

The music here is very plain, relaxed, simple and often quite naive. I keep visualizing Hosono producing a children's album by Cluster, circa 1982. There are sweet little melodies, slightly queasy electronic patterns, classic ambient/new age sparkles, synthetic koto-like patterns, little string synth miniatures... all with a very distinct Japanese sensibility. Hosono's hands are clearly all over this one. It's very restrained and up-front, with absolutely zero clutter, and nothing feels tacked on for the sake of dressing. It simply shows up to do its thing then goes quietly on its way. Sky-era Cluster would actually be a great starting point for comparison, with the queasy melodies bouncing along a spooky edge. I'm even reminded of Spiritualized (!) on the last track, that droning organ a nice hypnotic diversion while little tinkly bells chime once in a while. One track to reconsider may be "Pon", with its insufferable "little-Susie-walking-to-the-candy-store" cuteness. Otherwise this is really interesting and solid synth music; a little ambient, a little experimental, a little easy listening...

There is a really interesting insert that details Hosono's unique production ideas for this album. See the pic above to try to get an idea of how it works...

Danzindan Pojidon

David Casper - Crystal Waves (Hummingbird Records, USA) 1984

2010-12-19T09:23:00.000-08:00

I don't know much about David Casper, other than he made about four or five albums in the early 80's for Hummingbird Records, mostly of the ultra mellow folk/new-age variety. Some have a more ethnic and slightly jazzy bent, and a few others - such as this - are firmly rooted in meditative relaxation music. This album consists of two extended suites, with long, soft unfurling organ drones carrying a subtle marimba, mournful cello, enchanting ch'in and distant ocharina. This is truly beautiful, effective music, and considering that the other Casper albums I've heard have been not-so-good to fair, this is a really inspired journey. Like many private press new age albums from the early 80's (Peter Davison,et al) there's a strong sense of mysticism, a bold approach to drone techniques and a strong melodic, highly listenable flavor that creates a nice whole experience. This isn't a cheesy endeavor in the slightest.

*I apologize for some of the bothersome surface noise that appears in the middle and near the end of the album.

Crystal Waves

Yan Tregger - To the Land of No Return (Musical Touch Sound, France) 197?

2010-11-14T23:59:00.000-08:00

This one is bananas, issued on the equally strange Musical Touch Sound library (purveyors of really odd cover art). Here library veteran Tregger decides to fiddle with synthesizers like a madman, creating an unholy, queasy nightmare sound; mostly pre-industrial plink-plonk with plenty of bleeps and bloops and little formal structure. It's entirely electronic and very claustrophobic, nearly paranoia inducing in its true-to-the-title frankness. Taking a cue from other established library and film composer/musicians such as Umiliani, Alessandroni, Boneschi, etc... he's not afraid to experiment with unconventional sounds alongside the more standard jazz and rock-based library fare. I also get the feeling that he could crank out records like this in a couple of hours when needed; a seemingly simple palette of phased whooshes, echoed clavinet stabs, random electro fizz and even some almost sci-fi synth themes somewhere in the mess.

I decided to post this album since it was already ripped (I'll get to the new age goodness soon...). I no longer own this one and didn't get a picture of it, so this one will have to suffice. Sorry, no back pic.

Step inside if you dare!

To the Land of No Return

Spell - Time Waves (Tsunami Records, USA) 1979

2010-10-07T10:08:00.000-07:00

Here is a private press synth curiosity from Jacksonville, Florida that I'd been tracking down for a while, before finally scoring a copy recently. It didn't entirely live up to the promise held by the cool cover illustration and instrumentation noted on the back, but few things ever really do. For the most part this really is a solid and listenable electronic record, dipping heavily into the early new-age/space music/Berlin school dramatics of the era with a slight prog touch. Another fascinating element that pulled me in was learning this album was created to be played in a planetarium (The Alexander Brest Planetarium). This may explain some of the crazy panning/stereo business going on in a track or two: Loud swooshes ebb and flow causing an often jarring but brief volume jump (it's not my rip, but the actual sound), most evident near the end of the 14-minute epic "Soft Moments" (what a great title!). I'm not certain that it has any relation to the planetarium or its intended listening function, but is an interesting mix idea nonetheless.

If you're like me and you don't get really excited about heavy piano use in electronics, then you may be put off a little by all the fanciful ivory tinkling, aurally caressing their charms around your brain. I appreciate piano very much (maybe more in a subtle Satie sense), yet here the grand piano sort of gives everything a regal sensibility, or hints at drama that may be a bit obvious (think Tubular Bells-like suspense building) at certain times... and at others there's an almost minimalist Eno or Sakamoto thing happening. Mind you the playing is top notch through and through! Elsewhere, there are classic analog synth sounds dripping from this record. The opening track just oozes out of nowhere with spacey bleeps and bloops before a very shrill string-synth melody comes in and sort of carries the tune off into a more upbeat, almost inspirational (and slightly cheesy) direction before being engulfed by the buzz and sputter of bassy synth mayhem. Several times while listening I thought this could almost pass for a more sedate John Carpenter soundtrack. There are cinematic buildups, moody spatial passages, frantic sci-fi arpeggios and plenty of the aforementioned piano magic.

If you're into electronics with a more sedate new-age flair this may be up your alley. If you're into more "edgy" private press synth works then go seek out Tom Cameron's Music to Wash Dishes By or the Iatrogenics lp.

I don't know much about the two composer/musicians, Joe Deihl and Jack Tamul, however there is a Jack Tamul album at Continuo's blog, in addition to a lot more informative details on the musician. I'm not sure how similar that album is, since I haven't heard it, but I'm certainly keen on investigating now...

Time Waves

Pauline Anna Strom - Trans-Millenia Consort (Ether Ship Records, USA) 1982

2010-09-21T20:25:00.000-07:00

Pauline Anna Strom is a blind composer/keyboardist who made a few new age albums in the Bay area in the early-to-mid 80's. From the looks of everything you'd half expect something on the rainbows-and-unicorns side of things, but this is simply really nice electronic music, from long ambient passages with atmospheric tones to more slightly rhythmic pulses. Twinkly Rhodes mingles with the colorful palette, evoking an almost tropical scene at times, and others almost like a more sci-fi oriented ambient-era Eno. Really nice, quality work.

I apologize for some of the surface noise in places. It's not the cleanest copy. And the cover is actually white, so don't mind the terrible photo...

Trans-Millenia Consort

Coming up... some new age goodness

2010-09-17T09:50:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm actually planning to post something by the end of the weekend! I will be taking a break from the library stuff to share some early 80's electronic new age records I've been enjoying...

Yet another extended break...

2010-08-05T13:39:00.000-07:00

Hi all, I plan to continue posting at some point. I just haven't had much time to commit to this blog over the past couple of months (my how time flies...)and have been trying to enjoy the nice weather. I hope to have some stuff ready to go within the coming weeks. Thanks again for stopping by!

Serge Bulot - Sanctuaire d'Éole (PSI, France) 1980

2010-06-01T21:17:00.000-07:00

Here's the other solo library album by Bulot, this preceeding the one I posted a few months ago here. Not your typical library, here Bulot once again brings you into a strange mythical land where spooked post-punk bass flange meets elf-prog nylon guitars and gypsy wizard synth; a dreamlike place where violins and xylophones mingle with electronics in very subtle ways. It's an impressive feat of Bulot having performed all the myriad of instruments by himself. It's prog, it's new-age, it's folk, it's experimental electronic...

All praise aside, I must confess I'm not a really big fan of the sort of semi-celtic violin sounds that occur throughout this album, although they sound seamless and dreamy. I am not at all a fan of celtic music. There, I said it. However, that is not to say that this is necessarily a celtic-tinged album. I'll shut up now. Enjoy...

Sanctuaire d'Éole

Dominique Laurent - Azur et Tenebres (Unidisc, France) 1982

2010-06-01T19:35:00.000-07:00

Unidisc was a strange and very intriguing library label, putting out several interesting titles from the mid 70's to early 80's (not to mention amazing graphic design on the covers!). It seems they focused more on instructional and educational type albums, many with a children focus (exercise, dancing, etc...), and others devoted to modern/interpretive dance accompaniment. With these albums there seems to be a very tenuous line between electronic experimentation and more standard approaches with composition. Many albums hover over an uneasy ambient synthesizer field with spooky results, while others cling to an odd Philip Glass/minimalist plink-plonk-cum-folksy approach or a confounding "hauntological" atmosphere.

The noted French mimes Pinok and Matho (or Pinok et Matho) appeared on numerous albums in this vein, many of them with composer Dominique Laurent, a person I know nothing of, and whose internet searches have yielded very little helpful information. Now believe you me, I don't really understand how mimes can be on a sound recording... unless they were present in the creation of the music, dancing around silently in the recording booth, perhaps? At any rate, the music on this album is mostly electronic, with thick analog tones and tinkly electric piano making up the bulk of the sounds, creating strange little vignettes that move along slowly or bounce along with primitive drum machine patter. It's often very pensive and introspective music; pretty melodies gliding alongside weird bursts of humor and animal sounds. A couple moments even remind me of Moebius/Plank's Rastakrautpasta, with woozy synth lines teetering on absurdity, following a drunken bass line. It's all ambient and queasy but thanks to that odd Unidisc appeal it can really capture your imagination. This Unidisc is not to be confused with the Canadian label Unidisc, who issue dance, disco and R & B music.

There's some more knowledgeable information about these folks to be found here in this post.

*I apologize for the crackling and surface noise throughout this record. It's about as clean as I can get it.

*UPDATE: For a CLEANED UP RIP please look in the comments. Thanks to "Anonymous" for the assistance!

Azur et Tenebres

Eugen Thomass - Sound Music Album Nr. 10 (Golden Ring Records, Germany) 1976

2010-05-25T21:56:00.000-07:00

Here's an interesting one by the German composer. There's a general harsh electronic din that's pervasive throughout, yet it's presented with an ambient sensibility, creating a queasy, yet spooky flow with a low-fi, trebly sound . Side A creeps along with little rhythmic form, opting for an industrial clang and drone with some subtle synth arpeggiations; music for science labs. Side B offers more tuneful fare, from jaunty sci-fi synth themes to more out-there moments similar to the first side. There are a few repeated themes that may grate after a while, with little to no variation. It's not a bad album, but for me loses steam near the end. Still, it's an interesting listen. I also have his Sound Music Album Nr. 12 and will post soon. It's similar but maybe leans more toward Switched-On... type fare, which is good and bad... well maybe mostly bad!

*Pardon the slight buzz in some quiet parts, and a few skips here and there. The vinyl isn't in prime shape throughout.

Sound Music Album Nr. 10

Underwater Series, 6th Installment: Fabio Fabor - Aquarium (Hard, Italy) 197?

2010-05-25T18:41:00.001-07:00

Okay, so maybe this isn't the best album for my return post after a long absence, though it may tide over some of those underwater record cravings that some people (such as me) tend to have. There's no date but I'm guessing late 70's if the disco production and instrumentation are any indication (brassy Moog, tinkly Rhodes, string synths, wah wah effects on everything, etc...). Fabio Fabor is (was?) a session percussionist/composer who made numerous libraries (among them the mind-melting Pape Satan). There's a good portion of cheese to wade through here, though occasionally a few floating ambient pieces emerge with an impressive glow, such as "Angelo di Mare" with its soft free-jazz drum shuffling and woozy ambient electronic pulse. Elsewhere you can hear faint strains of wobbly Stereolab shuffles, typical nature documentary incidentals, a few awkward dancefloor numbers, and even some late-night Love Boat jams. Not the best album hands down, but it has some nice moments.

Aquarium

Update

2010-05-14T07:14:00.000-07:00

Feels like it's been ages, but it looks like I'll have some new posts sometime over the weekend.

Shameless Self-Promotion!

2010-04-06T13:59:00.001-07:00

Is it possible to spam your own blog??

At any rate... since I am still unable to post records I've decided to take this opportunity to mention that I have a new cassette out on the wonderful Hobo Cult Records, out of Montreal. It is a split release with their flagship artist Hobo Cubes, entitled Sub-Aquatic Meditation/Soma Satori. Like the title(s) suggest, this is a weird, watery affair for the most part; by turns soothingly electronic new age/ambient and inner-space/blast furnace mind-melt.

Feel free to listen here and here.

More info.

Notice!

2010-03-12T10:44:00.000-08:00

Due to some real-life issues, this blog will be taking a bit of a break for the time being. I'll try to have something new in the coming weeks...

Thanks again!

Underwater Series, 5th Installment: Michel Redolfi - Sonic Waters (Hat Art, USA) 1984

2010-03-08T09:36:00.000-08:00

Here is a beautiful, epic double concept lp by the French sound artist and composer Redolfi. He's dedicated much of his musical life to aquatic-inspired sounds. After having experimented with electronic sound and the way we both approach and hear sound, he emigrated to San Diego following a US tour with his group G.M.E.M., and quickly met up with some other electro luminaries such as Jon Appleton, who composed the entertaining liner notes on the back of this lp.

Pursuing his love of the water he somehow got the French Government to fund his underwater acoustics project at the University of California, where he devised strange and revolutionary methods of underwater recording and sound manipulation, as well as putting the audience directly in the process. Here is a small snippet from the extensive notes:

In water specially heated to 90 degrees, 120 concert-goers drift in the reflections of the sunset. An underwater cameraman moves cautiously under the listeners, filming the performance for the French television network Antenne 2. Thanks to a microphone mounted inside his face mask, this excerpt from the concert recreates a scuba diver's perception of his environment: the music, filtered by the glass of the mask, takes on the rhythm of the bubbles produced by compressed air breathing.

Despite the diver's continuous motion throughout the pool, bone conduction listening freezes the acoustic space perception within the center of his head.

Make of that what you will, but rest assured there was some serious planning and meticulous labor going into this gloriously strange ambient music. What we get are four roughly 23-minute pieces of actual underwater sounds, samples mixed with electronics (including Redolfi's heavy use of the Synclavier), strangely soothing new age tones and a couple of live performances captured in the manner described above. Recorded over the span of 1982 to '83, this was released the following year in a stunning box-set package from Hat Art, which even came with a postcard featuring a speedo-clad Redolfi swimming around with a large piece of equipment. There's a sort of humorous glow to the whole thing, yet it's very interesting -- and top of all -- a great listen.

Sonic Waters

Roger Davy - Patchwork Orchestra 5: Cosmic Sounds/China Moods (Disques Magellan, France) 1972

2010-03-01T10:29:00.001-08:00

Here is a special one, an early entry in the Patchwork library series. The first five - up to and including this one - were actually issued by Disques Magellan, before switching over to the name Patchwork. A friend of mine made a nice detailed list of Patchwork albums here.

French session guitarist and composer Davy made several library albums in the 70's, his most characteristic trait being the cosmic guitar twang that graces all of his albums (well, not necessarily on Montparnasse 2000's Regeneration). This album is split conceptually between the sides. The first, Cosmic Sounds, is the one to hear, and is some of my favorite 15 minutes in all of library music, actually. It deals with a loose outerspace/underwater theme, meaning we get to hear majestic harps, lovely flutes, vibrating bells, and tons of amazing electronics from primitive, pulsing arpeggios to tape-music/concrete-like scree and echo (lots of tape echo!). This fifteen minutes is quite a journey. His signature guitar just glides along and fits perfectly with all of the enchanting arrangements. There's even some damaged drum machine putter on the first tune, near the end just as it fades away. Somehow in each of these two-minute miniatures you're transported somewhere eerie, dreamlike and expansive.

the China Moods side is more hit-and-miss. Kicking off with a happy face dopey Moogsploitation ditty that bounces it's way to the candy store, we soon stumble onto some nice - if not somewhat stereotypical - far east sounds, with lots of hand percussion and eastern style guitar fuzz twang. This side seems caught between a goofy and relatively serious mood, often creating a weird flow. Ultimately, the good tunes win out, since you really can't dislike that uppity guitar.

Patchwork 5

Underwater Series, 4th Installment: Armando Sciascia - Sea Fantasy (Vedette, Italy) 1972

2010-02-21T19:06:00.000-08:00

Here is yet another underwater library gem. This time the general feeling is one of a classic Italian soundtrack based more in a baroque (harp, spinette) jazz setting, with symphonic flourishes. However, in keeping with other Italian greats like Alessandroni, Umiliani and Morricone there are many interesting and/or unorthodox sounds happening alongside the effortless compositions, things you wouldn't normally expect in a library or soundtrack that at first appears to be a relatively straight album dedicated to il mare, namely the use of squelchy electronics, which are sprinkled all over this record in both subtle and not-too-subtle ways. There are some sunny groove moments, some dramatic, majestic orchestral sequences that soar by like a seabird off the Mediterranean coast, a little bit of floating sub-aquatic ambience, and some deep-sea science lab action to round it off. There are many, many incredible Italian underwater libraries floating around out there. I have a few more, though many continue to allude me.

Consider this a cousin to Libaek's Inner Space masterpiece, or Volume 2 of the Sonoton Library Underwater series (Sam Sklair, Otto Sieben, Mladen Franko); excellent, high quality material that will definitely set your imagination afloat. It's not necessarily a crazy electronic thrill-ride, yet a classic, majestic piece that you can imagine soundtracking a strange sun-bleached film of your youth...

Sea Fantasy

Cool blog alert!

2010-02-21T17:30:00.000-08:00

My friend who has amazing taste and who has hipped me to dozens of amazing albums over the past several years, has started a blog where he will share his great mixes of uber-rare goodness (library, OST, psych folk, etc...) as well as some other delectable nuggets. Check out Toys and Techniques

Orlando Kimber/John Keliehor - East Meets West (Bruton, UK) 1984

2010-02-16T22:35:00.000-08:00

Here is a very atypical Bruton library. In a world of generic car-chase funk and space-age fusion, this album was a pleasant surprise. I was beginning to think Brutons were only good for their cover art. This album reminds me of a more Easternized Steve Reich in places (see "One Language"), and Eno new-age daydream music in others ("Heavenly Clouds"). From interlocking marimbas to icy synth tones, there is a wide variety of ground covered here; simultaneously a travelogue collection of traditional "pan-Asian" sounds and a really interesting ambient album with minimalist tendencies... or a mid 80's Asian action film soundtrack. Not groundbreaking in any way, but a solid album nonetheless.

*Pardon the crackle during some of the quiet parts

East Meets West

V/A - New Technology Volumes 1 & 2 (Parry Music, Canada) 1981

2010-02-14T01:01:00.000-08:00

Canadian library label Parry Music recently popped up on my radar, a label I hadn't previously looked into. I think early on a few people tried to steer me away from this 80's stuff, but as time has gone by I've grown to very much appreciate a few 80's libraries, as opposed to many generic 70's funky jazz titles, which started to bore the pants off me a while ago.

There's a strange connection between 70's prog and experimental 80's electronic sounds, and I think there's a great balance of this on here, a rollercoaster ride of interesting science and nature documentary-oriented sounds. There's squelchy electronics-a-plenty for all you synth freaks, as well as some really great tunes and arrangements in general. Listen to "Activator" and tell me that isn't the coolest tune you've heard in months; an exercise in crystalline new-age, synth noodling and a cool bass drone. Harry Forbes' "Micrometer" is another catchy tune with great electronics.

The majority of the work here is composed by Forbes, and the duo of Robin Artuss and Paul Kass, with a scant couple of others getting a track here and there. It's fresh and interesting enough to maintain continued interest, though here and there a couple of repeated themes pop up that don't really add up to much. Some of these tunes would make amazing sci-fi themes, and others are perfect for incidental music soundtracking a lens-flared camera pan across a nuclear power plant, or laboratory shot. I can even imagine a few of these tracks in some new-age relaxation video. Cool stuff.

*Both volumes are included in the zip:

New Technology 1 & 2

Craig Leon - Visiting (Arbitor/Thunderbolt, USA) 1982

2010-02-08T17:28:00.001-08:00

Craig Leon was incredibly busy as a producer and composer in the 70's and 80's, having worked with Blondie, The Ramones, Talking Heads and so on. The list of his credits goes on forever it seems. Visit his Wikipedia page for more considered biographical information.

Following on from his debut solo outing on Takoma Records, Nommos, this album is similar, yet more ambient and minimal, merging an almost new-age aesthetic with elements of minimal-synth and even some jaunty new-wave in parts. There are plenty of long, sustained synth swells that build up to create rich, numbing atmospheres, often punctuated by primitive drum machine pitter-patter. With only these elements he builds hypnotic, developed pieces that stretch out and create a bed of sound very inviting, yet a bit odd; listening to this it's difficult to pin down, yet it's all so simple...

Visiting

Carl Weingarten & Gale Ormiston - Windfalls (Multiphase, USA) 1983

2010-02-08T17:06:00.001-08:00

Following on from the more ambient and spacious Submergings, here Weingarten and oft-creative partner Ormiston tackle more aggressive electronic sounds. The stamp of Richard Pinhas-via-Robert Fripp is unmistakable here with its Frippertronics meets Berlin School pulse combination. It's a bit more out-there and whimsical in places, but certainly leans toward a heady synth-prog set as played by experimenting new-wavers. See this post on The Growing Bin for yet another (and equally different) early 80's excursion by Weingarten and cohorts.

Windfalls

Serge Bulot - Les légendes de Brocéliande (Sonimage, France) 1981

2010-01-31T21:26:00.001-08:00

Here's a special album, a library album that doesn't really feel like one. This is a thoughtful, pensive and experimental merging of acoustic stringed instruments, hand percussion and lots of squelchy electronics. In my mind this album exists in a sort of dreamlike world where frollicking elves mingle with future-Utopia people from Logan's Run, and make weird steam-powered synthesizers while being serenaded next to a campfire in some mythical forest.

There's a strong sort of ethnic-prog feeling here, but it's never showy or busy, mostly opting for a mellow, weird groove (and don't let the back cover photo fool you, because there is a lot of electronic business here!). From the dreamy baroque-folk of "Euryale" to the awkward folk-groove of "Rhinoceros funky" and the sample-and-hold wobble of "Echos", there's much to admire on this album. It's jaunty and colorful, yet intriguingly creepy at its core.

Around the same time, Bulot made another "solo" library album on PSI, called Sanctuaire d'Eole (a future post), which addresses similar styles and arrangements. He's still quite active to this day, according to his myspace page. A very talented and unique multi-instrumentalist and composer...

Les légendes de Brocéliande

V/A - Panorama (Montparnasse 2000, France) 197X

2010-01-24T20:26:00.001-08:00

Here is a really solid various-artist compilation on Montparnasse 2000, the first in an unofficial series of three albums, all of them simply titled Panorama. There is no date on here but I'm guessing mid 70's. The material is varied and almost seems like random leftovers from other sessions. Side one pretty much belongs to J.P. Decerf and cohorts, blasting through half a dozen highly memorable and solid tunes that feature an early sort of electronic rock sound, with guitar riffs and synth lines going haywire. Side two sees a few cuts from Janko Nilovic in full on happy-summer-scat-folk mode, and a few more nice folksy guitar pieces, before finishing out with more cosmic Decerf magic.

*I apologize for the stubborn surface crackle throughout the record.

Panorama

Philippe Feret - Alchimie Floue (Auvidis/Chicago 2000, France) 1979

2010-01-24T20:05:00.001-08:00

This is a weird one; sort of a cosmic-synth/prog library album, consisting of semi-proggy electronic tunes that veer awfully close to mid-70's German territory at times, both the sequencer/Berlin School and avant-electronics camps (Cluster, etc...). In fact, a couple of tunes heavily recall Cluster or Roedelius at their most wobbly and queasy (check "La Fete du Printemps"!). There's a low-budget basement studio vibe here, complete with trebly highs and foggy mids. There's more than a passing resemblance to J.P. Decerf as well, if some of the synth tones and timbres are any indication. You could call this a long-lost Decerf/Cluster collaboration, in fact (man I would like to hear a real one!).

Being that this is a library album you shouldn't be surprised that there are a few stinkers; jaunty tunes that seem to be stuck in "renaissance faire" mode, complete with syrupy synth overkill, although filtered into a cutting treble blast. Those missteps aside, there are some really cool tracks here, including a few truly zonked-out excursions of beatless bleep bloop space ambience.

Alchimie Floue

Jean-Pierre Decerf - Accélération (Patchwork, France) 1981

2010-01-24T09:50:00.000-08:00

Here is an upbeat excursion by the inimitable Decerf (with two tracks by Gérard Gésina, additionally), here showcasing some fun, if not sort of goofy, futuristic sporting theme/Euro-rock sounds. Now, normally this type of thing isn't for me, but these tunes are so catchy that you can't deny some sort of appeal. The title track is the most majestic, with an infectious synth-led theme that could be out of some parallel dimension Rocky film, when suddenly a hot guitar lick comes into the picture and then it seems like a guest appearance (not really, but just for comparison) by Michael Rother of Neu! playing simple lines reminiscent of his solo albums. The track "South of the Border" literally could pass for a cosmic-synth approximation of Steely Dan, with those clever changes and guitar/synth arrangements. Don't let that scare you away, though! Also, if you're into cheesy guitar shredding there's much to love near the end of side two! Oh boy, this is an interesting one...

*New link below. Hopefully this one works better:

Acceleration

Electronic Music Research, Inc. (Bill Reddie) - Atlantis Revisited (Channel 1, USA) 1972

2010-01-21T19:36:00.000-08:00

I don't know a whole lot about Bill Reddie, except that he ran a small label called Channel 1 Records out of Las Vegas in the 70's. According to some who are wise to this man's work, Channel 1 albums were meant as sort of healing or therapy music. He did a few more regarded albums, most notably Starbody, and Ascent into Now, some of them featuring spoken word. Another common bond between these records is the use of electronics. Most of the music on these albums was created using an early Arp synthesizer.

Many consider this music to be somewhat "proto-new age" with its gentle tones and strange, otherworldly ambience. Personally, this album reminds me of a moog novelty record on quaaludes; blending the bleeps of the analog mono-synth with a very languid pacing and phrasing, creating an uneasy alien soundscape that sounds at once familiar and oddly different. Many of the tunes wander around until they find a groove, others sort of mull around in place, lending the whole thing a sort of improvised vibe.

There's also some serious hard-panning/stereo-separation going on, with two entirely different things going on per channel. It can be disorienting, but only adds to the organic sound atmosphere. A few tracks go on for a minute on the left channel before anything happens on the right.

Atlantis Revisited

Di Jarrell - April Orchestra présente RCA Sound Vol. 5 (April Music/RCA, Italy) 1976

2010-01-21T14:29:00.000-08:00

Di Jarrell is an alias of Amedeo Tommasi, the long established Italian keyboardist and composer of numerous library and soundtrack sessions. He also issued a small run of self-produced library albums on his Rotary label in the early/mid 70’s.

This album is strange; mostly filled with dark synthesizer and rhythm machine-based industrial bleeps and drones, although the first tracks on either side have a more upbeat feel, complete with classic spinette jabs and smooth synth backing. There isn't an ounce of "jazz" or "groove" here really, mostly atmospheric pieces that are very interesting nonetheless, maybe especially for those who don't desire yet more scat-bossa lounge library music in their lives. For something really out there, check out his Spazio album from 1973, with its pure outer-space science lab sounds.

Jarrell

John Tender - Fantasyland Vol. 1 (Coloursound, Germany) 198X

2010-01-20T21:59:00.000-08:00

Perfectly encapsulating the mysterious Coloursound vibe, this mellow album plows through several brief themes (repeated many times in alternate versions) of synthesizers, rhythm boxes, analog squelch, electric pianos and some twang guitar (oddly enough the track "Fantasy in Pink" sounds like Yo La Tengo!), creating a nice tropical feeling not unlike the cover illustration. Many early Coloursound albums had that perfect blend of strange exploratory electronics, early new age ambient drifts, and some nice lite-prog dynamics. Joel Vandroogenbroeck nailed several different moods on his numerous Coloursound albums . According to him Coloursound was a label started by a friend with the intent of releasing Joel's background music. Soon the label took off and continued releasing albums by numerous artists well into the 90's (I believe). Coloursound is a highly varied label, with sounds and style reaching all over, but I must say that there is an enchanting feel to the early releases that I find uncanny, a feeling helped by the strange and often goofy cover paintings, which are very distinct and kind of charming.

I have no idea who John Tender is, but I'm assuming it's just another alias for a (somewhat) notable composer, perhaps? Also, I don’t have vol. 2 but would be interested in hearing it.

Fantasyland Vol. 1

Trevor Duncan - Other Worlds (Impress, UK) 1981

2010-01-20T21:43:00.001-08:00

Trevor Duncan was an esteemed British composer who did numerous library sessions and soundtracks, usually of the big-band pop variety (blasting horns, dramatic fanfare, etc…), but he also composed some more forward looking sessions. One early 70’s album on Boosey and Hawkes featured an almost proto-Stereolab sound, with space-age synthesizers blazing along next to EZ brass (an album I intend to post soon) in a sort of utopian cosmopolitan vein.

This album, on the other hand is mainly electronic, a sort of loose sci-fi themed library. The brass is still present, though less frequent and in subtle tones, replaced by pensive and ambient passages, which are incidentally my favorites. Some of the sci-fi fanfare tunes can get a bit corny, but hey this man was well into his twilight years when he made this, so those are good odds!

Other Worlds

Douglas Wood - Industrial Underscore: Rythm (Studio G, UK) 1976

2010-01-16T09:26:00.000-08:00

I know next to nothing about Douglas Wood aside from the Studio G work he did and some other random libraries on different labels where his name pops up, although there might be more than one Douglas Wood among us. He seems to approach music from a sort of lite-prog vibe with a touch of soft funk and sunny easy listening, though on this album there is a strong electronic flavor with a cosmopolitan futuristic vibe.

I would say that about 60% of this album is just amazing and the rest ranges from okay to sort of goofy, but given that it is a library album those are decent odds, especially when the good stuff is really good. Apparently Jonny Trunk likes this album so much he put a good portion of it on his Trunk Label's recent Studio G anthology, G-Spots. During the mid-70's quite a few prog/fusion and pop/rock composers created tons of library albums, often under aliases (contrary to popular belief, not all libraries were created by crusty old soundtrack guys). Mike Vickers made several (including an amazing electro-prog album on the Standard Library label, which I'll post soon), as did Soft Machine alums Karl Jenkins and Mike Rutledge, who made some pretty good-to-plain terrible electro-fusion albums on de Wolfe. And of course Brainticket's Joel Vandroogenbroeck created dozens of albums on Germany's Coloursound library, which are mostly excellent and extremely varied in style and sound.

*my apologies for some of the surface noise and cracks here and there

Rythm

Underwater Series, 3rd Installment: Eugen Thomass - Sound Music Album 23: Unterwasser (Golden Ring, Germany) 1979

2010-01-16T09:01:00.001-08:00

This is a very solid electronic ambient record, the perfect accompaniment to some long lost beta-max nature documentary about marine life. It's always quite hard to tell how often library music was actually utilized. To think of so much interesting music being made only to end up sitting on a shelf is absurd, but for those interested in searching out intriguing vintage sounds, it's a goldmine.

Thomass (not an alias for fellow German and Golden Ring composer Peter Thomas) was a noted German film composer in his own right who was quite active in the 50's and 60's, with dozens of scores to his name, and like many aging composers in the 70's he seemed to enjoy experimenting with electronics, this album striking a very nice balance between spaced out bleep and highly listenable ambient music.

He composed a few more albums for Golden Ring, two more of which I will rip and share down the road at some point. This one is the best, in my opinion. Given my silly fascination with aquatic themed music, and the strength of this album, I'd say we have a winner here!

*my apologies for the small skip near the end of track 2, and for some occasional low end background bumps, things I hadn't noticed when ripping!

Unterwasser

Michael Stearns - Ancient Leaves (Continuum Montage, USA) 1977

2010-01-14T11:14:00.000-08:00

Stearns' Planetary Unfolding is one of my all-time favorite new age/electronic albums. This one, however, came a few years earlier, the first on his Continuum Montage label. Here, two epic tracks slowly unfold and sweep you up into their proto-new age womb. It's relaxing and spaced-out.

Side one starts out with a gentle rumble before leading into a weird choral passage, until soon you're drifting in deep space with phased synths overlapping; like the middle section to an early Tangerine Dream or Schulze album, though here this feeling is sustained and there are no dramatic sequencers that fade in. Near the end of side one a beautiful harp fades in and takes things into an even more majestic direction. Side two consists of a very calm drone for the most part, with lots of subtle shifts and additional instrumentation, though it remains dark and mysterious for most of the journey. These early Stearns albums are stunning.

Ancient Leaves

William Strickland - An Electronic Visit to the Zoo/Sound Hypnosis (Spectrum, USA) 1979

2010-01-13T12:15:00.000-08:00

This is a crazy one. From the looks of the cover and title you'd almost expect a children's educational album of funny sounds... but you would be greatly mistaken. This is pure analog static and hiss; aggressive electronics dashing and darting with speckles of oscillating tones quivering above an abstract, hazy background. Picture a sound scientist down in his lab tending to banks of modular gear, pulling switches, patching cords, adjusting knobs, with no regard for the audience or for any commonly accepted "form". I'm immediately reminded of Gil Melle's jagged and squelchy soundtrack for The Andromeda Strain, itself a free-wheeling lab experiment, or something from Dutch electronic composers like Tom Dissevelt or Kid Baltan. Oddly enough, the album is from 1979, although the look of the record and sound of the music would place it a good decade earlier. Maybe it sat in the vaults all that time?

According to the notes on the back (see back cover pic), this was a sort of improvisation with a loose "inspiration" from zoo animals, though executed with a bleak, mysterious abandon. Side B goes for more of an improvised concept, and this is where the real magic is. Kicking things off with the scratchy rhymthic shuffle of "Insistence" you may think you're listening to an ancient Cecil Leuter track. From there you're sent through the ringer and back. An interesting ride.

This album seems especially strange considering Strickland was a renowned composer and arranger for relatively standard orchestras and combos back in the 40's, 50's and so on. Needless to say, doing an album like this must have been quite a shock to some listeners. For him, perhaps it was a way to blow off some analog steam.

Strickland

Tom Hamilton/Rich O'Donnell/J.D. Parran - Formal & Informal Music (Somnath, USA) 1981

2010-01-12T23:36:00.000-08:00

An excellent album of free-wheeling analog electronics with woodwinds and hand percussion. Like its predecessor Music for Kohn, here the focus is Hamilton's deft control over his synthesizers, coaxing truly animated, rhythmic and bleepy tones, which coast along perfectly with the wheezing woodwinds and subtle rhythmic underside. The two sidelong tracks are very distinct, with side two's "Crimson Sterling" starting out in an almost spiritual jazz feel before soon getting swallowed by the impending bleep-bloop. The whole thing has a sort of spaced-out/cosmic loft jam session vibe; an earthy, woodsy charm augmented by a demented machine sputter that powers along yet never truly overtakes everything else enough to become "the token synth part making weird sounds" routine. Here, the electronics are integral to the cause, as on the title track (all of side one), where oscillations come flinging out of every corner. Excellent stuff. Think along the lines of a frenetic Terry Riley keyboard sound crossed with a damaged dot matrix printer.

*Link removed due to a recent re-issue of this and Pieces for Kohn on one CD. Read more here.

Georges Rodi - Actual (Mondiophone/Creasound, France) 197X

2010-01-11T20:34:00.000-08:00

Here we have another in a long line of weirdo electronic queue music albums from the Mondiophone/Creasound axis. Albums like these are about as generic as they come in terms of very dry presentation; almost like an old science book, but in a good way, with the track titles and info laid out like some scientific chart, complete with the strange looking bubble formation on the cover. I've always loved the Creasound "look", with the random stock photos and the cold, utilitarian helvetica type hovering above. And, in keeping with many library trends there isn't a date to be found on the thing. Looking at this, and comparing it with some other contemporary libraries, I'm guessing mid 70's. It certainly sounds a good decade removed from Actual 2, which incorporated more disco-era funk and electro aspects. This album is like the egghead lab-partner to that smooth character.

Actual is made up of twenty three brief blasts of strange industrial electronics, soft ambient passages, dopey circus music, two groovy electro ditties and even a rockin' number with awkward guitar licks. The one constant is some sort of analog electronic tone blurping all over the place, which is a good thing, mind you. A majority of the tunes are under two minutes, not giving sufficient time to materialize into much, though they mostly create wonderful evocative mindscapes.

Rodi was later a member of Arpadys, the slap-bass space-disco machine (also featuring Sauveur Mallia), and did some more libraries both before and after this one. He may have even used an alias along the way...

Actual

Paul Nelson – Vortex (Optiman Systems Inc., USA) 1981

2010-01-11T18:49:00.000-08:00

Oregon isn’t the first state that pops into your mind when you think about late 70’s/early 80’s cosmic synth music, but judging from this release by Paul Nelson (as well as the many by fellow Northwesterner /Oregonite Michael Garrison) there was something in the water back in those days that led many to stargaze and live out their modular synthesizer and sequencer fantasies. Like Garrison, Nelson’s music seems to balance a love of cosmic ambience with early synth pop; one minute you’re traveling along on a synth prog journey through the deep cosmos, the next you’re sporting a new wedge haircut at your favorite dance club. Songs like “Automated Man’ borrow quite liberally from Gary Numan’s “Cars”, but then again even Numan blatantly ripped off Kraftwek (as did everyone else!), so it’s all a non-issue…

I know absolutely nothing about Nelson, and internet searches have yielded nothing really, especially considering his name is relatively common. I picked this up in a thrift shop a few years ago, and had to have it at first site. I mean, look at that back cover, with the mouthwatering array of synth gear, and his pouty “I am cyborg” look… priceless. Personally I prefer some of the longer, more spaced-out passages. At any rate this is solid synth material, and is really well produced for a private press.

Vortex

Underwater Series, 2nd Installment: Various Artists - Biologia Marina (Rhombus, Italy) 1973

2010-01-11T18:30:00.000-08:00

Here’s an earlier blurb I wrote on my library music list:
Featuring spooky, sub-aquatic themed concrete-esque soundscapes by some of the greatest in the Italian library/soundtrack biz (Alessandroni, Umiliani, Tommasi), there's a unifying sound here that's challenging and strangely soothing. The first track ( by Alessandroni) comes blasting out of the deep-sea worm tube with effervescent bubble spatter mimicked perfectly by vaporous oscillatated synth pings, perfectly underpinned by a pensive and droning acoustic guitar figure. It's really nice, and so utterly reminiscent of watching strange deep sea documentaries during my childhood (mid 70's), with the faded film color and old sound lending it the perfect amount of tension: some Rhodes sonar pings here, a little echoplexed tuba blast there... and the whole thing is finished off with a beautiful little baroque piano ditty that's oddly out of place, but somehow makes it all very tidy.

The artist name listings are a bit obtuse here, with some tunes credited to Alessandroni, Tommasi, Atmo, Braen, Tamponi, etc… Actually Alessandroni is Braen, (Amedeo) Tommasi is Atmo, but I’m not entirely certain about Tamponi. When it comes to library music, there are incredible amounts of artist aliases. I think Piero Umiliani may hold the record…

This is the twin album to Ittiologia; both albums based on the same sessions. There are many similar tunes with different versions between both albums. Ittiologia (the study of fish?) was posted on the old library209 blog, but I will rip and post my copy soon. Needless to say they go together just perfectly!

Biologia Marina

Aminadav Aloni - Once (Cinema Internationale, USA), 1974

2010-01-10T10:52:00.000-08:00

This is the soundtrack to an obscure art-film from 1974. I have not seen this, no matter how many times I've tried to get a hold of it (either physically or digitally). Here is a brief blurb I found online: Filmed on a California beach, this arty outing features loin-cloth wearing actors silently telling the allegorical love story between Creation and Humanity on a lonely California beach.

The music on this soundtrack is composed entirely on a modular synthesizer, with rich analog whirs, bleeps and little mono-synth hooks bouncing around. It's very much in a beatless ambient zone, with a melancholic, romantic feel, and pervasive "early electronics" egghead atmosphere, not unlike a more spaced out Mort Garson, Doulgas Leedy, a more tidy Morton Subotnick, or some obscure library composer. While not being either too brash or too mellow it exists in its own little world, much like the film, I presume. At once extremely minimal and stark, this music also creates a magical, almost mythical aura.

If anyone is interested in hearing some more spacey Aloni music, check out the strange 1978 documentary called Lost City of Atlantis. I don't think there was an official soundtrack release, but there should have been!

Once

Carl Weingarten/Gale Ormistion/Phil Neon - Submergings (Multiphase, USA) 1981

2010-01-10T09:06:00.001-08:00

I picked up this curiosity in a thrift shop a year ago or so. I don't know much about these composers, but this album fits squarely into a sort of quasi-academic ambient drone vibe, with long, drawn out analog electronics, spacious field recordings and voice samples all combined into a dreamlike sequence. Extended quiet passages suddenly give way to sharp electronic arpeggios, nearly veering into Berlin School territory, though keeping things a bit more restrained and mysterious.

Submergings

Underwater Series, 1st Installment: Gaston Borreani - Rêve Abyssal (Montparnasse 2000, France) 1979

2010-01-09T16:44:00.000-08:00

I don't know much about Gaston Borreani (other than he has a perfect Italo disco name!), though this sea/underwater-themed album came at a strange time for library music, when it was simultaneously progressive, experimental, and far from the days of jazzy incidental music. This is fully immersive, strangely psychedelic listening that's very heavy on electronics and effects, the most persistent vibe being one of paranoid-yet-relaxed ambience. There are hints of the then-burgeoning new-age scene, with shimmering, floating synth swells, occasional voice sounds, soft guitar... as well as a short series of very brief "jingles". Oh, and there's even an extended disco tune! I'd very much love to find an old oceanographic nature doc with this as the score.

Rêve Abyssal

Milpatte/Serge Bulot - April Orchestra Vol. 47 (CBS Music , France) 1982

2010-01-09T15:28:00.001-08:00

Those familiar with Bernard Fevre's two albums on Muzax (Suspense and Cosmos 2043) will recognize these tunes, here retitled, resequenced and issued under his Milpatte alias, a name which he used on several single releases in the early 80's, none of which I've heard. He also made another album on April Orchestra around 1986, but I'm not a fan of that one. Those not familar can expect incredibly precise, playful yet sophisticated cosmic electronic pop in its highest form. Clavinets, Moogs, string synths... it's all here.

On the other side is an amazing batch of tunes by Serge Bulot, an ethnic instrument-wielding one-man band powerhouse. Not only does he utilize an enchanting wealth of analog electronics, but the way he weaves it around beautiful ethnic folk sounds is incredible and utterly unique. He also made two solo library albums in the early 80's that are both wonderful and worth seeking out (on PSI and Sonimage). All in all, both sides are very different yet compliment one another perfectly.

Vol. 47