Sunday 30 January 2011

Jesu, Christmas EP


Wales, 2010.

"Jesu's sound is heavily layered and textured, drawing from and incorporating an eclectic mix of influences, ranging from ambient music, post-metal and drone doom, to shoegazing, downtempo and industrial music. Broadrick himself has made it known that he does not consider Jesu to fall into any of these categories and that he has been intentionally writing what he considers to be coherent and structured pop songs."

Playlist:

1. Christmas
2. Christmas (Pale Sketcher Remix)
3. Christmas (FINAL Remix)

Link.

more...

Saturday 22 January 2011

Apparat Organ Quartet, Pólýfónía


Iceland, 2010.

"Apparat Organ Quartet is a 5 piece band: 4 organists and 1 drummer. Their music is sometimes described as “Machine Rock and Roll" but the standard definition of their sound is “Organ Quartet Music", a completely new genre."

The truth is, words cannot describe how awesome this music is. A crossover between nintendocore and Kraftwerk on acids. I strongly recommend this album.

Playlist:

1. Babbage
2. Cargo Frakt
3. Konami
4. Pólýnesía
5. Pentatróník
6. Macht Parat den Apparat
7. Síríus Alfa
8. 123 Forever
9. Söngur Geimunglingsins

Link.

more...

Sunday 16 January 2011

Clint Mansell, Black Swan Original Motion Picture Soundtrack


England, 2010.

Mansell was introduced to film scoring when director Darren Aronofsky hired him to score his debut film, π. And scoring Aronofsky's movies is all he's been pretty much doing ever since.

"Black Swan" revolves around a Swan Lake production by a ballet company. As a result, the soundtrack is heavily influenced by Tchaikovsky's ballet, sometimes even including variations of the original music. This is really amazing stuff.

Playlist:

1. Nina's Dream
2. Mother Me
3. The New Season
4. A Room of Her Own
5. A New Swan Queen
6. Lose Yourself
7. Cruel Mistress
8. Power, Seduction, Cries
9. The Double
10. Opposites Attract
11. Night of Terror
12. Stumbled Beginnings...
13. It's My Time
14. A Swan Is Born
15. Perfection
16. A Swan Song (for Nina)

Link.

more...

Wednesday 12 January 2011

kaneda's top 10 of 2010

Unlike my fellow bloggers, and while i agree that 2010 wasn´t the beat all end all year for music, still there were some pretty amazing album releases. Here´s my top-10 for 2010:

10. Brandt Brauer Frick, You Make Me Real


Released: December, Germany

Ambient techno with a huge organic feel to it and a high emphasis on piano, jagged percussion , weird rhythmic structures and improvisation.

9. Gonjasufi, A Sufi And A Killer



Released: March, US

Coming straight from the all-mighty "Warp Records" and produced by the magic fingers of "The Gaslamp Killer", Gonjasufi´s first album took the music world by storm with his enormous mix of styles and flavours all wrapped up on a "Flying Lotus" kind of musical envelope while being able to sound entirely unique. Truly wonderfull music.


8. Panopticon, On The Subject Of Mortality


Released: November, US

The brightest of all the "usbm" records that came out in 2010 (and there were some stellar ones), the solo moniker of Austin Lundr continues to prove that when it comes to convey absolutely beautiful melodies (the "bluegrass" moments in here, nham!) with the feeling of absolute despair, he is one of the best. Although the lo-fi production may turn some heads, do not stray away from this record. To give a redundant representation of Panopticon´s sound, think Wolves In The Throne Room by the way of Katatonia and Alcest.


7. The NULLL Collective, De Monstris


Released: June, Belgium/US

Dark opressive spacey atmosphere, drum tempos that flow between a snail like pace to a cybergrind drum-machine, vocals that came from the darkest pits of hell buried between a wall of sound. The NULLL Collective debut album "De Montris" throws the "Doom" genre to another new level of perception. This album´s truly a sensorial experience, better listened at night gazing into the blackness of the space.


6. Bardo Pond, Bardo Pond

Released: December, US

I love Bardo Pond, and i love their new album. It´s nice to see them kinda putting all their monstrous reverb and psychadelic vein a little bit aside thus making all their sound more "clear". Still, "Cracker Wrist" is a model when it comes to true "sludge" and standouts like"The Stars Behind" and "Sleeping" figure between the most beautiful tracks that i heard from 2010.


5. Pan Galactic Straw Boss, Reverberator


Release: November, US

A very young three piece from Norfolk "PGSB" play a blend of post-rock and noise and they play it with such maturity, cohesiveness and passion that seem that they´ve been doing this for years. I may seem overly enthusiastic about these guys, but they are truly amazing and, if they continue to sound like this, the time for them to be one of the driving forces of american post-rock is not too far ahead.


4. Deathspell Omega, Paracletus


Release: November, France

The much awaited final chapter of the "metaphysical" trilogy focusing on the relatioship of Man with God and The Devil is chaotic, angular, dark and ugly as it always is with them, but on "Paracletus" DsO pushed, just a little bit, back on the impenetrable chaos of drums and never-ending riffage, giving some time for the listener to breathe. The result is a brilliant album, one more from this prophets of hell.


3. Chelsea Wolfe, Apokalypsis


Release: December, US

OH MY GOD, this record! "Apokalypsis" is one of two albums released in 2010 by Chelsea Wolfe (the other being "The Grime And The Glow") and while i enjoy the former, i end up liking "Apokalypsis" a little bit more because of it´s amazing production, i mean this thing growls with menace, relishes on the thickness of the low end and it all sounds so crisp, that when i realize that this album comes from someone who released her two first albums this year, my mind boggles.
Musically she plays dark-folk, think Marissa Nadler with the ferocity of Rose Kemp permeated with a menacing black-metal atmosphere.
As a side note, her cover of Burzum´s "Black Spell Of Destruction" is nothing short of amazing!


2. Brian Mcbride, The Effective Disconnect


Release: October, US

Being one of the halfs of ambient/drone heavywights "Stars Of The Lid" Brian Mcbride crafted a beautiful, delicate, soul-reaching album that is sure to put anyone on a daydreaming state. Was there anything else to expect apart from absolute magnificence? I think not.


1. A Forest Of Stars, Opportunistic Thieves of Sping


Release: June, UK

I already posted this album in here and at the time i stated that it was my favourite album of 2010. My feelings still haven´t changed regarding this album, it is an absolute masterpiece and everyone should listen to this. It´s as simple as that.

more...

Sunday 9 January 2011

kollaps' top 10 of 2010

2009 was an incredible year for album releases. 2010... not so much.

Perhaps that is a slightly egoistic statement, but I felt that there just weren't that many memorable albums this year. Nevertheless, here are the few ones worth mentioning:

#10 - Agalloch: Marrow of the Spirit


November 2010, United States.

Combining the traditional elements of black metal, folk and post-rock altogether, Agalloch created yet another epic, dark and atmospheric masterpiece.

#9 - 65daysofstatic: We Were Exploding Anyway


April 2010, England.

"The band intersperses heavy, progressive, guitar-driven instrumental sections with both idm-esque programmed and live drums." This album, however, moved away from post-rock sounds and into elaborate electronics.

#8 - Arcade Fire: The Suburbs


August 2010, Canada.

I hadn't liked an Arcade Fire album this much since their debut, "Funeral". "The Suburbs" brings out a rockier and more layered sound than previous albums.

#7 - Efterklang: Magic Chairs


February 2010, Denmark.

"Magic Chairs" is Efterklang's most pop-oriented release yet. Whilst its compositions are admittedly less intricate than in previous releases, the album is filled with exquisite and alluring moments.

#6 - Caribou: Swim


April 2010, Canada.

Caribou is the stage name of Daniel Victor Snaith, a mathematician as well as musician. "Swim" was my first introduction to Caribou, but immediately got me hooked.


#5 - Amiina: Puzzle


September 2010, Iceland.

Amiina's second full-length album was definitely one of my most played records this year. "Puzzle" combines electronics with absolutely perfect chamber instrumentation.

#4 - Alcest: Écailles de Lune


March 2010, France.

A great successor to "Souvenirs d'un Autre Monde". A melancholic album that fuses black metal with shoegaze in a fantasy wonderland setting.

#3 - Kvelertak: Kvelertak


June 2010, Norway.

This was a pleasant surprise. Kvelertak's eponymous debut album introduced me to a genre I wasn't entirely acquainted with: black 'n' roll.

#2 - Les Discrets: Septembre et Ses Dernières Pensées


March 2010, France.

Catapulted by fellow French band Alcest, Les Discrets released their absolutely amazing debut in 2010. "Septembre et Ses Dernières Pensées" is a mix of shoegaze, post-rock and black metal that takes you to a surreal place filled with furry, whimsical creatures.


#1 - Crippled Black Phoenix: I, Vigilante


September 2010, England.

Hands down my most acclaimed album of 2010 and the driving force behind me wanting to do a 2010's Top 10. If you still haven't listened to this album, I urge you to do it now.

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Thursday 6 January 2011

Tombs, Winter Hours


US, 2009

Tombs is a sludge/post-metal band hailing from Brooklyn, NY.

Playlist:

1. Gossamer
2. Golden Eyes
3. Beneath the Toxic Jungle
4. The Great Silence
5. Story of a Room
6. The Divide

7. Merrimack
8. Filled With Secrets
9. Seven Stars the Angel of Death
10. Old Dominion

Link.

more...