experimental

The Belgian artist Marleen Van Ende (also named Marluna Delfin)started to make video clips called The Snake Moans. She used existing music for her videos but got banned on social media for copyright infringement. So she created her own soundscapes using guitar, piano, Korg and all kinds of toys. Marleen Van Ende is nowadays based in Spain where she, besides her musical and visual activities, also makes artwork from litter.

The Hissing Link has mostly instrumental soundscapes with strange twists and psychedelic influences. The music comes in sonic waves of guitar and electronic sounds with hypnotizing rhythms and percussion.  Angels And The Shedevil, starts the album with a guitar sample from Kloot Per W and exceeds with a catchy baseline into Tarantino like movie sound track. Marleen Van Ende already collaborated with Kloot Per W under name The Claudio Serpentino. They released in 2015 a strange and cocky album with covers of the Beatles, The Wide Album.

Meanwhile, making music is now just as important as the images to the visual artist behind The Snake Moans. We feel the compositions have more to express then a gamut of sounds. The structures of the tracks are experimental but still recognizable enough to produce liquid day dreams with a slight darker and tense atmosphere. Floating voices and spoken word samples push the listener into the strange filmic surroundings of The Snake Moans. Moods switch from psychedelic, playful, experimental and eerie. The mysterious musical landscapes on this album have many forms and influences merging together into a fascinating piece of (art)work.

The Hissing Link comes only on (blue) vinyl. You have to take our word in an old fashioned way because there is at the current moment no streaming possibility to listen to this very good and interesting album. If you are in for some experimental escapism you can buy this vinyl blind. 

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Patsker

In June 2018 I wrote a series of Brieviews ("brief reviews") for Greek label Sound In Silence. This was one of the the first specials we did and several others have followed. Now, after a hiatus in  review writing, I noticed that the label has released six interesting releases available on their bandcamp page. So, this looks like the perfect opportunity to compose six new Brieviews to guide you through the magical world of Sound In Silence.

electronic / ambient / post rock

Released in November 2019, 'Phantom Lights' is a gentle and playful six track EP by Anglo-American act Memory Drawings. The band is the brainchild of Joel Hanson and features guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Richard Adams, violinist Sarah Kemp, pianist Gareth S Brown  and multi-instrumentalist Chris Cole.
The music moves between ambient, folk, classical music and post rock. It never gets heavy, intense or dark but always remains on a blissful, shimmering level. That's what makes this album such a pleasure to listen to. Tunes like 'Two Rooms' and 'The Final Curtain' can easily bring a smile to your face, even in these weird times.

I don't really know if I can draw references to other bands. Perhaps fans of Tortoise, Dakota Suite or Do May Say Think or Bark Psychosis. Fact remains, this is a nice album, destined to light up the gloomy days in your life.

ambient / electronic

Sound In Silence

Hailing from Paris, France, Astatine is the solo project of Stéphane Recrosio, known from the post rock / slowcore band Acetate Zero. On his first album for Sound In Silence, Astatine delivers no less than twenty tracks, varying from gloomy ambient pieces to gritty minimal rock songs. 

I think it's safe to say that this is not the easiest S.I.S. album to digest. With fuzzed out guitars, mumbles, distorted vocals and processed sounds, Astatine creates the atmosphere of many bedroom acts. There is a sense of loneliness here, laced with fear, anger and a constant urge to experiment.

Some of the songs are downright ugly, like grunge tunes without drums or bass, while others reveal the ramblings of a mad mind. In all, it's clear that this is not for everyone but fans of the experimental and avant garde will definitely enjoy these odd tunes.

ambient / electronic / post rock / downtempo

worriedaboutsatan is probably one of my favorite bands from the last decennium. I've seen them a few times at Dunk! festival where their magical sounds filled the forest and got hooked immediately. So, seeing this act appear on one of my favorite labels from the last decennium surely fills my ambient heart with joy.
Crystalline is worriedaboutsatan’s sixth full-length album and judging from the label's bandcamp page one of the most successful releases on Sound In Silence. To me this comes as no surprise. The act already has a loyal following, which is one reason. But, there is also the simple fact that 'Crystalline' is a brilliant album.

Once again combining elements from downtempo electronics, post rock and ambient, this album contains eight tracks. 'Open The Door' pretty much serves as an intro, luring the listener with sweet soundscapes. 'Steps Inside' places worriedaboutsatan right next to acts like Boards Of Canada, Plaid and Biosphere. This tune is a downtempo delight. 'Cali' is a beautiful guitar base ambient loop and 'Mirrors' perfectly combines these worlds. Oh well, let's just face it, this is a perfect worriedaboutsatan album, one I recommend to every self respecting slow music fan...

ambient / electronic / shoegaze

Vancouver based solo project Test Card is the brainchild of  Lee Nicholson. He returns for his third fill-length, his second on Sound In Silence. 'Music For The Towers' contains eight tracks and combines soothing ambient with gentle post rock. This is one of those albums to enjoy with your eyes closed. It's warm, calm and relaxing. What else could an ambient fan possibly desire?
Here the focus lies on hazy electronics, playful guitar loops and soft soundscapes, created with field recordings, synths and here and there some glitchy electronic noises. The result is something fans of Biosphere, Carbon Based Lifeforms and so on. Music for the soul...

ambient / electronic

This is already the seventh album by Ukrainian act Endless Melancholy, although it's his Sound In Silence debut. Fans of the project already know what to expect, namely exactly what the bandname promises. Soundscapes, synths and a gloomy atmosphere create an absolute beauty.
'A Perception Of Everything' contains nine tracks in which piano, field recordings and synths attempt to guide the listener on a journey through him/herself. Of these, 'Immersion' is probably my favorite but that's a tough decision to make. The whole album tells an interesting story, sometimes calm, sometimes experimental but always worth your attention.

ambient / electronic

I'm afraid that this edition of Brieviews specials is becoming an endless repetition of words like "soundscapes", "beautiful", "atmosphere", "drones", and so on. Like most other releases on this edition, this album by Manchester residing act Halftribe is a sweet and soothing ambient album, containing everything fans like about this genre. 
The album, another S.I.S. debut but already Halftribe's fifth, contains eleven tracks. Some of them remind me of acts like Stars Of The Lid while in others the sounds of Tim Hecker and Fennesz seem to have been an inspiration. Perfect music for a lazy and hazy Sunday afternoon, or any moment of any day for that matter.

Serge

ambient / dark folk / cinematic

So, if the first three tracks of a four track EP already remind me of acts like Nick Cave, Penitent, Raison d'ètre, Aphex Twin and Biosphere, I guess it's alright to call this a pretty damn varied release. And then comes 'Synchronism', a goosebumps inducing dark pop anthem with vocals by Raya. In all, '...Unfolds' indicates a more than welcome return for a highly exciting ambient project. Recommended? Dûh!

alternative rock / punk / grunge

thrash metal

dark ambient / drone

Signora Ward Records

drone / ambient / soundtrack

drone / ambient

bandcamp

industrial / dark ambient / noise

HGM Music

drone / dark ambient

ambient

Belgian Neu Music

RHEA (not to be confused with the Belgian rock band Rhea founded in 2015) was founded in 1988 by Marc de Wit, who has been involved in electronic space music for 40 years.

He is co-founder of the Belgian electronic festival B-Wave and the organizer of Cosmic Nights that for seven years (2012-2019) presented itself as a Belgian electronic music festival in unique locations. Marc de Wit was also a member of the trio Purfoze that bridged the gap between the electronics of the Berlin school and ambient during the 1980s. 



Traveling is inspiring for RHEA to compose his sonic exhalations. Close To Moving Ice is a recording of a live performance in the old Post X post building in Merelbeke Ghent Belgium. The cosmic music of this recording are the impressions of a trip to Greenland and the Arctic waters. The ambient oriented music meanders through the ice floes, resulting in a floating and pleasant atmosphere. For many this will sound like background music to a documentary or nature film, but the music has just that little bit more content not to sound sleep-inducing. During the live session, the performance was accompanied by a photo collage with fascinating images of desolated places that further enhanced the cosmic sounds.

Close To Moving Ice is not a highlight but the album does contain a nice package of unctuous ambient sounds. This is headphone music where one can fully relieve stress and relax while dreaming away. This third distribution of Littl 'Antenna Records is under the wing of Wool-E Discs (BELGIAN NeuMusik).

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Patsker

post hardcore

If a band’s name is Quietus (the quiet one) and they say they play some kind of post-hardcore, it’s my time to step onto the plate. And man, I was not disappointed with this release as Quietus from Charleville Mezières, France, really listened well to what their predecessors had to say – and even more importantly, what they had to play. The quartet really knows how to build intriguing soundscapes around interesting song structures. Sometimes they just simply stop the song after a marching drum part, just to let the simple three chords echo into eternity and then go back into a near-pop punk only to kick the accelerator back into full swing with a high-octane ending. You will recognize some blastbeats to show an even more aggressive and spitting outlet. With the first four songs the band has already shown more ideas in roughly 18 minutes than other bands on a full record. 
However, one should note that the band needs to incorporate the lyrics a bit better because they lack something that a lot of hardcore records lack when it comes to the vocals: A clear position within the sound, not trying to say that the band has a bad singer/shouter, it’s just that he might be more in the center of attention in order to get his message across. 
If you like some bands in the middle between Thursday and Converge, this French outlet might be just the thing for you. Get on the wagon, before you are said to be a bandwagoneer!

doom

Buzzov*en plus Weedeater plus a tinge of Primitive Man – that is Atomic Trip on their second record, simply called Strike #2, released a few months ago on Wooaaargh. One other band that can be heard on this two track, 41 minute (!) assault is Earth, because the trio Lyonais from French epicenter of good taste displays the same good taste in their choice of tuning and performing a style that can – in parts – hold on to the path that the forefathers of said genre – doomy, sludgy, slow, distorted, reverb-ladden metal – paved and that Atomic Trip is following. However, the threesome also show a sense of humor (stage names are e.g. Jean-Claude van Doom or Gary McDoom) and that is something that they share with some of the best. Do not take yourself too seriously if you play some kind of pissed-off and pissed-yourself sound that shall scare and attract people at the same time. If you like anything in the vein of the bands mentioned above and can also live without vocals, then Atomic Trip is definitely something for you to check out. Nothing new on planet doom but they surely keep the paths open and maybe at some point other bands will even use them for reference in times to come. 

shoegaze / doom

Brooklyn trio Spotlights has been in the spotlight for quite some time now. Three years ago they signed to Ipecac for the release of “Seismic”, they then toured their butts off (including a stint supporting the Melvins) and released the awe-inspiring “Love and Decay” last year. Now the trip of the Quintero couple (Mario and Sarah) and drummer Chris Enriquez (of On the Might of Princes-fame) release an EP exclusively for the brilliant Post-Wax Series on Blues Funeral Recordings (this year’s edition will also have exclusives by Elder and Big Scenic Nowhere plus four more relevant records). As expected the record is heavy but not crushing, it’s soothing but not putting one to sleep. The short heavy, upwards-reaching ends of the riffs are intoxicating and the drumming is bluesy and au point. The EP shows four doomy tracks with brilliant little images in it (like the short, oriental percussion elements at the beginning of “Part III” which sparkle in a certain light), yet there are also these gut-wrenching screams in “Part I” or the near-punk-intro to “Part IV” with its driving piano intro and the simple riff just to open up when the vocals show that this is not some strange punk band on mescaline but a doom band playing a sludge-song. This band belongs in the spotlight!

drone / ambient / doom

There seems to be a little of a trend going on over the course of the last six months for bands to release multiple split EPs either on the same day or shortly after each other – one famous example would be Panopticon and their splits with Aerial Ruin and Nechochwen. A less famous band, but doing some awesome splits is [ B O L T ] who released a split with Morasth from Mainz at the end of last year and one with N at the beginning of 2020. The latter is the seventh release in this ongoing series of collaborations between the drone artist N and [ B O L T ] (who are both, like Morasth, from Western Germany) and the sound is very droney, a bit ambient but always with a bit more soul than a pure electronic version of said genre.

The way that [ B O L T ]’s two basses reverb on this record is just mind-bending. The band that jumps to mind as a reference would be AUN. The split with Morasth on the other band is very doom, very rich in harsh riffs and very dark, here the instrumentation is clearly very agitated and not meant to keep the sounds going but let the waves collapse and break off one after the other. The first reference that comes to my mind would be Black Shape of Nexus. The facts that both splits were released by dunk!records just shows how open that label is, and if you then add the total length of both split, which both clock in after circa 40 minutes, you know that you are deep in a listening session you will not forget.


​Thorsten

drone / ambient / experimental

With a release title that makes you open your mind during the 'stay at your place' period in Europe and further, Music For Installations still sprinkles some tantalizing pepper in our electronic noses. Pieter Gyselinck is not only the man behind the ambient project Lounasan and the second half of the electronic duo Cycles Of Moebius, he also shows a lurid and experimental side of himself with Music For Installations.

Fractions Of Unity consists of ten sonic fractals that open up as infinite sound compositions filled with the reflection of a split personality. We already noticed the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde feeling in the various other projects of Gyselinck, which are further explored in Fractions Of Unity. The undulating soundscapes alternate with dark drones that produce an eerie atmosphere of madness. By means of mysterious signals, samples and percussion, Gyselinck's sound constructions scratched permanent scars in various places on our hard disk.

No lack of experiment, we were glued to the synthetic and threatening sound pulses that slowly brought all kinds of dust particles to the surface containing disturbed alien sounds. The unearthly rumble buzzed like mechanical bees back and forth between the eardrums. The dark and machine-like constructions of the tracks was encapsulated with bizarre signals that generated a strong sense of panic choking.

Fractions Of Unity listens as an experimental ambient drone trip that was rolled into an exciting and threatening electronic block full of stimuli. Music For Installations is unfortunately, still in the box unknown is unloved. With Fractions Of Unity there may certainly be some change. A Belgian quality release in the genre.  

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Patsker

ambient

The Dutch Databloem label marked its birth in 2002 and is specialized in high quality ambient and electronica releases. Nowadays the label is still active in releasing beautiful pieces of electronic music on CD(r) with stunning artwork covers. The most known electronic music artists who released work on Databloem are Oophoi, Mathias Grassow, Yamaoka and Nacht Plank.

To us the less known creators of electronic productions could be the most interesting. Petter Friberg is Motionfield and a well-known musician of the Swedish ambient scene with already several releases since 2006. He is also active with the IDM project Arctic Surfers. Like a lot of Scandinavian artists, Friberg is inspired by the vast Nordic landscapes and its nature which give the music on Always There a touch of bearable emptiness. The slow but impressive soundscapes have detailed injections of field recordings and squeaky vibrations. 

Always There has ten parts with floating ambient structures translating the extreme contrasts of the Scandinavian seasons into dreamy sound landscapes using modular synthesizers and samples. Petter Friberg takes us to a filmic trip with healing sounds, emotional vibes and dreamy deep listening parts. The sonic scenery of Motionfield guides the listeners into an extraordinary world of rippling and peaceful sound structures. In any case, this album has a mind digging effect and sounds like ear candy during the quarantine days. We very much advice you to check out more of the unknown pearls on the Databloem label’s Bandcamp page. A new interesting ambient world is what Motionfield presents. This lovely ambient work was (only) on digital format released on October 17, 2019. 

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Patsker

pop / ambient / shoegaze

Midwives are able to help giving birth to new life and enduring all the pain one (woman) can bear. They transform all the pain into the most joyous of moments. Madeline Johnston chose that name as her stage moniker several years ago and has since released two full-lengths and a b-side collection as Midwife after using Sister Grotto for several years.

Midwife’s music is different in a way, and that becomes clear from the very beginning of “Forever”: “2018” starts with a piano melody in minor keys before the ambient spheres starts in the background and Madeline sings “This is really happening… to me” as if she wants reality to fall apart and away under her vocals. You can already hear her despair under all the distorted singing, she is not going to sing about the beautiful sides of life. She is moaning, accusing life of all the negative things she is going through, like the loss of the beloved creative working/living space Rhinoceropolis in Denver in 2016 and, even harder for her, the suicide of her friend Colin Ward, who she shared an apartment at Rhinoceropolis with, in 2018. Ward can be heard reading out a poem on “C.R.F.W.” (his initials) for about four minutes until a simple drone sets in spiraling upwards accompanied by simple guitar lines and no additional words – a kind of wordless mourning. 

Pain and beauty – the two sides to Midwife. The drones have slightly harsh endings just before they ebb away beautifully. The guitar lines are steady but never boring as the are often supported by a delicate echo that makes them reverb into open space. Johnston’s compositions float through the air not being tied to any earthly weight so that you watch them for hours on end without being bored at all. On the other side, the lyrics can have a very different effect because they are among the saddest in a long time. Forget all those black metal bands who are trying to tell you how dark their lives are – Midwife’s songs are real because they are honest and one truly feels afraid for what is going to happen to her next. 

This might be the catharsis of the year, the one record which tells you how shitty life is and how you are not able to run away from it. But talking about it at least opens your chest for a breath of fresh air while looking up at the beautiful blue sky outside. Beautiful moments in painful phases of life – Midwife. 


Thorsten

ambient / soundtrack

Perhaps some artists don't like to read this, but over the years I found some of my favorite albums in the sales-bin at record shops. Quite often, those albums are slightly different than most releases, a bit off-beat and experimental. That is also where I discovered Polish composer Jacaszek. His 2012 album 'Glimmer' was on sale, along with several other ambient and downtempo electronic releases. I spent quite some money that day and I went home with a backpack filled with CDs. From that batch, 'Glimmer' has become one of my favorites and  since then several other Jacaszek releases have been added to my collection. Now, 'Music For Film' will join them.

So, Michal Jacaszek is no stranger in this household. His approach here, a mix of gloomy electronics, ambient, classical music and often glitchy soundscapes feels otherworldly yet soothing. On 'Music For Film', a collection of soundtrack compositions, that trademark is still present, although sometimes it does feel like Jacaszek had a slightly different audience in mind while working on these pieces of music: the movie critics. Most tracks on 'Music For Film' are listener friendly, pushing the strangeness of some earlier releases somewhat to the back.

​Which does not mean that this is a sweet, easy listening album. Opener '49' explores the piano in a melancholic and nostalgic way, aided by mild strings. 'The Iron Bridge', second in line, is one of the weirder tunes. Although it contains a certain rhythm it might be best to categorize these sounds as "musique concrete". 'November Early' feels like a piece of classical music written for dark jazz fans. That being said, I'm one of those dark jazz fans and I absolutely adore this track. 'Twelve Years' is a slow and gloomy piece of work, driving on a sluggish beat and lingering strings.

'Dance' combines mild noise with a chamber orchestra, so it seems, and 'Christ Blood Theme' takes us to dark monasteries. 'Liina' excels in minimalism while, another one of my favorites here, 'Encounter Me in The Orchard' visits mystical lands and biospheres. For the last two tracks, I'll have to repeat the words dark jazz and classical music. Yet, don't worry, they're equally enchanting and interesting as the rest if this album.

So, this is 'Music For Film', not only an excellent album but also a great argument when stating that Michal Jacaszek can easily compete with the Zimmers and Elfmans of this world. He can, believe me. 'Music For Film' contains pieces from Rainer Sarnet’s 2017 black-and-white fantasy drama November and the 2019 documentary He Dreams of Giants, among others. If you're a fan of either ambient, dark jazz, gloomy electronics or classical music, you need to check this out.


​Serge

electronic / ambient / Berlin School

Belgian NeuMusik

The brand new label Littl' Antenna Records is the result of the live sessions of Littl' Antenna that take place in an old post office (PostX)in Merelbeke near Ghent Belgium. The Belgian electronic music world has a brand  new music label, on which Hyperkube's PostX try-out set was released both digitally and on CD under the title Remnants.

Hyperkube is the project of bedroom artist Tom Coppens who mainly focuses on producing electronic sounds treated in the Berlin School style. Remnants shows a collection of cosmic sound structures fed by sequencers and pulsating synths. The atmosphere on this live recording is affectionate, cheerful and has dreamy structures. However, we cannot speak of real floaty ambient here because of the emphatic penetration of the used sequencers.

The organizer of the PostX sessions (Alain Kinet) saw Tom Coppens at work during an atmospheric performance in the church of Herent and asked to perform this set again in the old post office. The unknown Tom Coppens apparently left a strong impression with his slightly dramatically boosted electronic tones. Hyperkube took the inspiration of greats such as Vangelis, Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze. With this legacy a brave, rippling mix of electronic music was molded.

The distribution of the Littl' Antenna Records releases (there will be more) is done under the wings of the Wool-E Discs label.

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Patsker