electronic / downtempo / ambient

Monday morning, one of the hottest days of the year. I have been cursing the sun and planning to go live in a cool cave somewhere. Hot summer days are nice, but not when they last for weeks without rain, wind or any temperature drop. For now, my living room is fine but in a few hours it will turn into a greenhouse, practically unbearable to sit in. So I guess I'll do my review work now and spend my evening in a summer bar nearby. There, I actually wouldn't be surprised to hear pieces of this album flowing through the speakers. This is perhaps one of the most modern sounding albums I have reviewed in the past few years, even Lords Of Acid sound old compared to this.

Band of Orson's Machines is a side project for Urs Wild, who we know for his impending dark ambient sounds. This album contains no less than sixteen songs, all between three and a bit over six minutes long. Here, the focus is on electronics, beats and thick bass melodies. Furthermore there are vocals samples and dreamyu ambient passages, together creating a soundtrack for a dystopian, futuristic movie.

Musically, Band of Orson's Machines delves into the same pool as acts like Burial, Sumach, Bonobo and so on. The music drives on these lengthy and deep basses while the rest of the music adds a bit of variation to the whole thing. That being said, the album isn't very varied but I don't think that is to be expected from this genre. The main elements and set-up for most of the songs is similar but that doesn't seem to harm the overall quality.

I does make it tough to pick out a favorite track. 'Playground' perhaps, with the sounds of children playing and yelling. Or opener 'Monument' which immediately sets the gloomy and immersive tone. Or maybe 'Moths' which covers the searing hot sun with ice cold darkness. In fact, I'm quite sure that all these tracks soon end up in my day-to-day playlist, along with other downtempo acts like Autechre, Boards Of Canada and Kode9. I suggest you do the same for this is an interesting marriage between modern day electronics and vintage ambient sounds.


​Serge

ambient / drone

There is something amazing going on in Belgium and I'm not even talking about the performances of our national football team. I'm talking about music, ambient music to be specific. Of course, this country has always delivered high quality music, in many styles and genres. In the ambient scene, our bedroom producers have been extremely active since the invention of the bedroom, which has resulted in a breathtaking amount of breathtaking releases.

Yet, in recent years, they have been stepping out of their bedrooms and into the open. They started meeting each other in real life, at concerts and festivals. They had lovely conversations about music and eventually the cooperative nature of Belgians gained the high ground, resulting in even more breathtaking music. Now that our chieftain Dirk Serries is exploring the jazz scene, people like Stratosphere, Ashtoreth and this Distant Fires Burning are stepping into his footsteps. Today, the Antwerp Ambient scene, so to speak, is loaded with co-operations and new bands. Hell, even I have a place in there. My own project, Misantronics, has clearly gained some respect and adoration. 

I have not named these artists by coincidence. This album by bass-ambient producer Distant Fires Burning (Gert De Meester) is backed by that mutual respect. Ashtoreth channeled 'Any', Misantronics freestyled the danceable 'I Would Move' and Stratosphere put his teeth in two other tracks. The four remixes provide a neat overview of what this cooperative nature is capable of and thus promises great things for the near future. More about that later, for now let's just dig into the droning beauty that 'For The Love Of...' has become.

The album opens with 'K&J', a slowly meandering drone-ambient tune in the vein of most of your favorite minimalists. Lasting over nine minutes, this track is a splendid opener, slowly luring the listener in. It's almost an i-dose tune, one that could cause some nice hallucinations. But then, Gert showcases his love for other sounds. It is not a coincidence that I chose 'I Would Move' for a remix. This is one of the funkiest ambient tunes ever composed and I had to use that slapping bass in a dance tune. 'Any' then nudges towards ritual ambient, complete with singing bowl.

'Mountain' is a cheerful piece of string-plucking music, Tortoise without rhythm section perhaps.  'And More' flirts with the entire dark jazz scene but in the end evolves something more funky again. Right before the remixes begin, 'Each Day' gently purls towards the end of the regular record. For me, this is a classic ambient tune, one for fans of everything between Eno and Helios and perhaps far beyond those two too. So, up until now, you already have an excellent, varied and immersive ambient album, already massively recommended.

'K&J (Stratosphere Cave Mix)' takes the mysterious sound of the album's opener and adds some layers of gloom. This is what I was talking about in the opening paragraph. This cooperation is brilliant, currently one of my all-time favorite tracks within this genre. Soon after, you'll hear Ashtoreth's typical shamanistic voice as he kicks off his enigmatic version of 'Any'. This is another fantastic cooperation by two artists who can complement one another. 'I Would Move (Misantronics Remix)' is definitely the most danceable tune here, beats and all.  In the end, the Stratosphere plus remix of 'Mountain' is friendly enough to wave goodnight and welcome you back again soon.

Well, this has been an interesting adventure, one that apparently resulted in a quite long review. As I always say, great music works inspiring and that surely is the case on 'For The Love Of...'. I could end by saying that there will indeed by nice things coming forward from this, but that's because, just like on this album, I will be a part of those nice things. For now, all that matters is finding people to recommend this album to, which is a piece of cake. Ambient fans, bass guitars lovers, droners around the world: you want this thing, believe me...


​Serge

post rock 

Amaranthine is an album by American post rock group Ninth Moon Black. Fifty-one minutes long, the record has seven tracks: Under the Aphotic Veil, Amaranthine, Sorrow's Provenance, Patient Are the Forlorn, Trod (The Ash of Ruin), Upon Addled Ground and Crestfallen Is This World. With interesting, exasperating, exceedingly dense, cutting edge restless harmonies, that at the same time appear to be sober, quiet and slow, Ninth Moon Black practices solid, unpretentious and enthusiastic post rock, with a clear, crystalline and relevant set of harmonies, that levitates above the melancholic, and strictly abrasive premises of its own modest structure. 

Despite its apparent, even mordacious simplicity, the album is coherent on the delivery of its latent musical proposal, and all of its harmonies are present in a very idyllic, serene proverbial context. The band has a very intelligent and singular style, and its guitar lines are especially lancinating and thoroughly consistent. The group also aggregates progressive elements into the musical atmosphere, generating an interesting effect. Nevertheless, I must say that there is nothing astoundingly exceptional about this work, although Amaranthine cab be gracefully experienced with enormous satisfaction, and without any hesitation or fear of disappointment. The group greatly stands at the highest standards of the genre, and knows how to engrave in the sonorous waves of its anatomy a decent level of stylish uniqueness. 

In the end, the sound of the album is excessively uniform for my personal taste, but the band does not disappoint. Their style is amazingly clean, introspective and precisely dense, full of interesting harmonious nuances. Overall, they project a vehement presence over their fluent and salutary incorporating density, which gives the illusion of the sound becoming apparently even more sentimental, rough and palpable. Their technical proficiency is also very practical, and stands side by side with their logical and reasonably experimental artistic approach.   

Their musical objectivity, sidelined with dramatic beauty, is elevating, intense and properly elegant. Like I wrote some lines above, this album will probably not impress you, but almost certainly will enchant you. It deserves a respectable level of attention, the band is fully compromised in delivering to its audience a terrific, formidable and excellent sound.    


​Wagner
  

post rock / progressive rock

Into the Known is an album released on June 1st by German post rock group Planisphere. Almost fifty minutes long, the album has eight tracks: The Future Needs Roots, Festive And Peaceless, [A]maze, Nautical Jaunt, Chin Up, Chest Out, Looming Lights, Juncture and Origins Embraced. With beautiful, sensible and straddling guitar lines, the group in this work presents wonderful melodic qualities. The harmony lines are relatively simple, but quite symbolic, symmetric and elegant, and the general rhythmic sophistication delivered easily outstands itself smoothly, with marvelous, serene and stylish elements that gives the group unique musical features.    

Although at first they seem to follow the general conventional principles of the genre, soon you perceive that they have a very singular identity, as they vividly play with progressive elements in their music as well, and with competent security. There is also a colorful sentimental component in their sound that makes impossible not to feel enthusiastic while listening to it. The guitar lines, indeed, are quite splendid at times, and the creative musical features that group presents to its audience throughout this superb sonorous journey showcases a wide range of abilities and artistic appetite, that doesn’t fear at all being experimental and genuine, at the essence of its nature.    

This album certainly exhibits secure musicians in their best form, exposing a tremendous amount of organic synergy between them, that shows how they converge exceedingly well together, and how they are amazingly synchronized. The style can be defined as quite impeccable, and – despite a few moments of monotony – the album highlights itself by the greatest amount of masterful and splendorous originality presented by its daring and fearless style.

Interesting for enthusiasts of the progressive and post rock genres, Into the Known is a very mature and solid work of art, that really exhibits a coherent group – secure of its abilities and uniqueness –, that really knows how to create, deliver and display a sincere, cohesive and fascinating work of art.  
 

Wagner

psychedelic rock / stoner rock

bandcamp

Death Trip is an album by Greek stoner rock band Hazy Sea, released on June 20. Thirty six minutes long, the record has seven tracks: Dolphin On The Fly, Siren, The Aviator, Nothing's Done Until It's Over, Samothraki, The Promise and Memories Of A Different Life. With very beautiful, precise and vividly organic melodies, Death Trip is quite a beautiful, sincere and elegant album, with a very serene, colorful and charming atmosphere. With a very unique musical gravity, definitely this state of the art work can be qualified as one of the best albums of the year. On the first few seconds listening to it, you are completely persuaded by the splendorous density of its extraordinary beauty. 

The harmonies are exceedingly energetic, pulsating and intense, although they can be sensationally moderate at the same time. The group has a very acute and graceful sense of timing, and the guitar lines that adorns the music gives to its graciously dynamic features a very singular and fantastic shape. Definitely, just in a few moments into the album, it’s impossible not to love nor appreciate this amazingly expansive, creative, sagacious and wonderfully marvelous work of art.  

The synergy between the harmonies are simply a major quality within the work. With a signature sound that runs between the audacity of a majorly peculiar creativity and the outline of a traditional rock savagery – as the album progresses –, Death Trip reveals itself to be more and more surprising, elegant, sober and lucid, with consolidated principles of artistry that really leaves the listener undoubtedly thrilled and amazed.   

With some passages that I would like to qualify as primordial to the development of the genre, the album presents some interesting stylistic features, that gives to the sound a more impulsive, natural and genuine outlook on the spontaneous vivacity of the music. The result is a tremendously effective and sensitive sonorous journey, that breaks away entirely from the predictability of its patterns.   

Although the album is a little too short – it’s one and only negative aspect – you can listen again as soon as the album is over, and then again, and again and again. You will hardly have enough of Death Trip. It’s a fantastic journey throughout a very vibrating and authorial rock album. 


Wagner  

progressive / doom / sludge

A Crypt in the Stars is an album released on July 6th, by British progressive doom metal trio Lowen. A relatively concise album – only about thirty five minutes long – the record has five more or less extensive tracks: Ashurbanipal's Request, Krenko's Command, The Fortress of Blood, A Crypt in the Stars and In Perpetual Bloom.

​An interesting record, indeed, a very beautiful one, whose musical echoes dance over a fearless and genuine style, a little experimental, for sure, the proverbial, intense and calm melodic reverberations present on the harmonies are ostensibly captivating, and the serene, but at the same time exceedingly consistent and heavy pace of their mainly slow rhythmic lines, is also a major stylish feature.

Possibly, the serenity present in their music is their most outstanding quality. But they are very skilled in the dilapidation of more peripheral areas of their music as well, like their conscious abilities to display the honest beauty of their dramatic sensibilities. The female vocals proves to be a formidable and very splendid virtue, and their lengthy appeal gives a sense of solitary displacement to the heart, that seems to be the perfect place of exile for the soul. The deliberate lethargy engraves a tranquility into the sonorous atmosphere, that functions like a major sedative for the senses, propitiating a peaceful quietness that seems to take over the universe by assault.

Since A Crypt in the Stars isn’t a heavy album – on the contrary, it is quite melodic, simple and completely destitute of empty ambitions –, it has a more “easy listening” vibe, that certainly can attract and appeal to a wider audience. The musical competence of the group is beyond any question, and the length of the album is also a major intelligent intuitive artistic fact check. Given the nature of their style, exceptionally frozen, atmospheric and slow, it certainly would have been monotonous and tedious, if they had made it considerably longer.  

Certainly one of the most beautiful, moderate and dense that I had the pleasure of listening in the style, I highlight A Crypt in the Stars, by Lowen, as an excellent work, of the highest quality. The sound is astonishing, the atmosphere is profound and consecrating, and the honest nature of their style clearly exhibits their exponential, latent and natural talent, throughout a very organic, expansive, direct and plausible sound. 



Wagner

progressive rock / trip hop / electronic / rock

Apart from the complete lack of salary, being a music reviewer is the most awesome job in the world. You receive new music on an hourly basis (for real!). Once you picked out an album to review, it gets easy as hell. Press play and start typing whatever comes up in your mind. There are billions of references to choose from, hundreds of genres to link to and thousands of words waiting to fall down on the keyboard. Easy-peasy. But then there are bands like Manes, whose only goal is to make categorization as complicated and impossible as it can possibly be. Those are not only the hardest ones but usually also the most interesting. 

I mean, the album opens with 'Endetidstegn' which begins with something Autechre could have written. Then the song drags in elements from trip-hop and progressive rock, quite often gracefully balancing on the thin edge between rock and metal. A little further on in the record, by the time 'Chemical Heritage' has kicked off, my mind is comparing this to a whole festival of bands, as if the aforementioned Autechre joins the line-up of Tricky, Queensryche, Massive Attack, Archive, Porcupine Tree, Black Sabbath and David Bowie.

That is indeed a whole lot of variation, perhaps risking to tumble into an overkill of different sounds. However, Manes seems to have everything under control. In fact, they managed so blend all these different influences into one unique sound. Besides, it's frightening how much the vocals sound like Ozzy in 'Therapism'. This is one of my favorite tracks on this album, not only because of those vocals but also because of the psytrance-sequence that supports the whole thing. Yes, that's possible and it's brilliant.

Perhaps the most "normal" song on this album is the rock ballad 'Last Resort' (not in any way related to the Papa Roach tune). This partially acoustic driven song reminds me of another unique band from back in the days, namely Thought Industry, or perhaps of a power ballad by Death Angel together with The Gathering. Fact remains, this isn't even my favorite track on the album but it still is a masterfully crafted musical epos. There is a stunning sense of grandeur and bombast present allover the album.

Another one of my favorites is 'Night Vision', mainly because of the weird and dark overtone. I mean, here some of the bands from my gothic-era come to mind, especially the guitars based ones. I can easily imagine my young self headbanging to this stuff, even if it is slow. And all of that with clean vocals, reminiscent mostly of indie rock bands. Varied you say? Actually, not really. Sure, there are a lot of different elements in this music (noise too? Yes, in 'Ater', where Archive meets Merzbow meets Author and Punisher) but the most surprising aspect of it all is how coherent it all sounds. 

Right, that surely was a challenge. I had to dig deep into my own musical history to find references. Yet, somehow I don't think I needed to do that. The truth is that this album completely took me by surprise. I didn't know Manes before so for me this was a first listen. Many more will follow, undoubtedly as I love the hell out of this album. So I can only recommend it to all... well, to everybody who loves original and immersive music, be it rock or metal or trip hop or power pop. Stunning piece of work, that's for sure.


​Serge

dark ambient

In recent months, I have been binge-watching documentaries. First I devoured several episodes of Time Team each night and currently the dark and obscure history of Europe appears on my computer screen. From the downfall of the Roman empire over the Knight's Templar and the Holy Grail to the inhuman circumstances of World War One, I take it all in. Over the ages, the human race has been so decadent, so evil, so vile, it's almost inimaginable. You might now wonder why I'm writing about this, or why I'm watching these things in the first place. For me, a writer, these documentaries work inspiring. Also for me, a fan of dark music, some of these come with epic soundtracks.

This album by Moloch Conspiracy, released on the Italian quality label Eighth Tower Records, could be one of those epic soundtracks. In fact, parts of it have been recorded in World War One forts near Verdun, which somehow perfectly illustrates the entire atmosphere of the album. It's almost as if pieces of that angsty history have been recorded too, as if spirits of the past shines through in the music. 'Kulullû' for example is a grim piece of dark ambient with an overwhelming feeling of solitude and madness. A soldier slowly ascends into desillusion, despair and insanity. For him, all hope is lost and in the end he patiently awaits his ultimate faith while the sounds of the battlefield fade away in the distance.

See, I told you these documentaries and this music work inspiring. Other songs on this album can easily evoke other fantasies too, like ancient rituals at Stonehenge in 'Apsû' or mystifying adventures in remote forests in 'At The Entrance To The Cave'. All you really need is your imagination and this album can take you to every single mysterious world you can possibly imagine, even fearsome and haunting ones with 'The Awful Ritual'. I can say that this is an interesting album for fans of everything between Raison D'Etre, Ashtoreth and Rapoon. That would be rightful too but I guess I'll just go with the phrase "an outstanding piece of ritual dark ambient". Fans of the genre will know more than enough with that.

Still, for the late-understanders: absolute recommended album!!!


​Serge

stoner rock 

Man, I'm a sucker for instrumental music. Whenever I see a line-up without a vocalist, I get immediately interested. It's probably no surprise that most of my favorite bands are voiceless. It's not that I despise vocalists. Not all vocalists. Vocals can make or break pretty much everything, depending on the singer's talents, a problem that occurs much less in instrumental music.

So yeah, I'm quite pleased with the new wave of instrumental stoner rock bands, especially the ones that sound so vintage and retro that time seems to stand still.

Six Months Of Sun is a trio from Switzerland. Armed with the usual suspects, drums, guitar, bass and a tank of fuzz, these guys successfully ride today's stoner rock wave. Opening with 'Riddle Of Steel' the album borrows the freshest ingredients from doom, psychedelic rock and stoner rock. Soon in, you'll notice that the drummer is the most energetic member of the band. His performance in a track like 'Anvil Of War' is quite stunning. That guy can easily smash that anvil to bits while the rest of us bang our skulls to pieces.

Because yeah, while references to bands like Monkey3 and Karma To Burn are not far away, Six Months Of Sun isn't scared of some fierce rock 'n' roll riffing. Sure, that rumbling bass helps a lot but the whole thing quite often nudges to punk and hard rock, another good aspect if you ask me. Then, since we're throwing in other influences, 'The Barbarian' and 'Savage Sword' harbour tiny bits of progressive Tool rock, which obviously is strike three and as we all know, three is a party. A masterfully crafted party too if you ask me.

If you're into instrumental stoner rock, this album should definitely be a part of your collection. I'm quite sure of that. Besides, the album ends with my personal favorite, 'Birth Of Doom', a megalithic beast that gracefully finishes what 'Riddle Of Steel' started. So let yourself go and surf on the sonic waves of Six Months Of Sun. You know you want to...


​Serge

drone / ambient / experimental

It has been a while since I've seen Ashtoreth. It must have been Stratosphere's 'Collaborations I' release party where the creme de la creme of the drone ambient scene had a sweet get-together. That evening was absolute magic and is generated some interesting things for the future too.
But more about that later, now it's time to check out what Ashtoreth has been doing in the past few months or so. Among other activities, he recorded this sonic journey, along with Grey Malkin, of The Hare And The Moon fame. Simply and aptly titled 'Pilgrim', this album is a wonderful and immersive trip through ambient, funeral folk, drone and shamanism.

The whole thing opens with 'I Am The Story'. This rather short but enigmatic track slowly lures you in, driving on the typical Ashtoreth sounds. However, soon other sounds appear and before you realize it, you're being immersed in sonic visions from ancient European tribes. From then on, the music turns into narratives, into imaginative stories of darkness, catharsis and rituals. The overall atmosphere is obviously quite gloomy, and in 'The Stars Turn Towards Their Ending' things even tend to get rather scary, which in this case is a good thing.

If you want comparisons, I have to disappoint you. I could compare it to Ashtoreth and The Hare And The Moon played simultaneously and being surprisingly well adjusted to one-another.  The whole thing digs deep into the world of dark folk, dark ambient and drone while occasionally showcasing elements from noise, post rock and musique concrete. All I can say with absolute certainty is that this is a remarkable album, one every fan of the genre(s) should add to his already massive collection.

I think both artists add the right elements to the other one's musical ideas and that is probably the absolute definition of cooperation. I'm not going to pick out a favorite track, although I seem to enjoy the title track the most. But if you want my advice, it will be this: if you have about forty minutes to spare and you want to roam through a completely different world, a whole new fantasy, this album is a perfect soundtrack. Press play, lay down, close your eyes and allow the mastercraft of these two talented artists guide you through your own imagination. It will be worth it...


​Serge