ambient / folk

A band that is as much Wardruna, Heilung and Tenhi as it is Boards of Canada, Plaid and Tim Hecker is definitely a very interesting idea. Often there are musical realms whose ideas or rather the concepts which they indirect represent are in a way diametric. Pagan folk is a music tied to a world long gone, lost before the Dark Ages and the final rise of Christianity after the first millenium AD. Ambient artists on the other hand are very often associated with a futuristic idea of mankind, a mankind post-mankind where a kind of mechanical, spherical interpretation of human life and interaction has become the norm. 

Now sometimes a band can combine such disconnected realms and thus challenge our concepts of music and what is stands for. Osi and the Jupiter, the two-man project from the woods and hills of Ohio is such a band. Fronted by multi-instrumentalist/singer Sean Kratz, the band is able to purvey such an authentic image of Scandinavian pagan music that it is not primarily ritualistic like Heilung’s but rather contemplative like Wardruna’s that one can hardly believe that Kratz and his companion Kakophonix (what a stage name!) are from North America. You need to listen very closely to the vocal parts in order to hear some kind of American accent. 

The attentive reader will challenge my notion of an ambient act – and that might even be true, but there are moments of ambient in this record. Listen to the soft pluckering and spacious background for opening track “Fjörgyn” or the intro to “Nordlige Eik Tre”. This is definitely ambient but they are so perfectly surrounded by natural sounds like a violin or even some field recordings that it is really hard to grasp the electronic nature of these sounds. And that is something where I must admit being a bit awestruck by Osi and the Jupiter. They combine these two worlds and in some way it makes sense. The pagan origins of their music and the post-Christian idea of ambient music blend in their denial of values dictated by the Roman church and all its antecedents. This is a kind of post-modern pagan music, connecting two different sound systems with equally anti-Roman ideals and an idea of mankind trying to look for its lost destiny. An idea deeply rooted in the notion that man must live in connection to nature – but not deny the beauty of modern achievements. Eisenwald Tonschmiede has released yet another eclectic non-hectic musical masterpiece. 


Thorsten

folk / experimental / classical

Another return to the impressive stable of Sound In Silence is 'Human, Insignificant' by Sweeney, the solo project of Jason Sweeney (Panoptique Electrical, Other People’s Children and Simpático). Sweeney has been making music for over twenty years, sometimes solo, sometimes with friends.

With this album, spanning around twenty-six minutes, Sweeney delivers eight emotional songs, all gritty, gloomy and accompanied with piano and soundscapes. The result is something so down to earth that you would think it's unearthly. It's folk, shoegaze and ballad pop, but most of all, it's an assault on your tear glands.

The eight songs here all seem to follow a similar path. In the back ground, you can find unidentified noises and soundscapes while the piano is set on "minimal". Then, Sweeney unleashes his fragile, emotional voice. His vocal style is something between singing and crying, which for some people will hit the exact right spot. For others, this might be a bit too intimate to enjoy to the fullest. For those, I will recommend the title track, which could be one of those illegal recordings of Elvis jamming solo on a drunk Sunday night.

In all, 'Human, Insignificant' is a daring album. It could be a big risk to bask in this melancholic sound because truth is, this is not a happy, joyful album. Yet, if you love what people like Luka Bloom do, plus love to dwell into gloomy classical music, this one will hit your right in the feels. Just listen to the alternative tear jerker 'Desire, Decayed' and you'll know what I mean. If you're in for a 26 minutes lasting emotional cleansing, this album is definitely a must-have...


​Serge

post rock / folk

You might think that in these days of musical abundance, the post rock genre could no longer produce anything refreshing and unique, right? Well, probably. I mean, if bands experiment much further they would eventually become another genre. But, then again, sometimes something fascinating appears. 

Hailing from Norway, Monograf blends post rock with traditional folk music, something I've previously heard black metal bands do. The result is an album that needs to grow on you, needs time to be explored and absorbed completely. But once you take the time to do that, you'll be in love.

The album opens with 'Grails', an elaborate post rock tune featuring a plethora of instruments. In that aspect, the music somewhat reminds me of Wang Wen, in the sense that both bands take their time to narrate and compose brilliant pieces of music. Another band that comes to mind is Sigur Ros, mainly because of the vocal aspects. That's probably another thing that sets Monograf apart from many other bands, the use of voices. Title track 'Nadir' is a song, one that takes you back to ancient times but also fits right on a modern post rock stage.

Yeps, that was a little hint towards our friends from Dunk! festival. In my imagination, I see plenty of post rock bands play on one of those stages because let's face it, Dunk! is that best thing to discover and enjoy this kind of music. But let's be honest, a tune like 'The Golden Calf' with enchant  the entire forest with its fiddles, it's emotive atmosphere and it's unique sound. Check out the video below and judge for yourself, if you like. This music is so well composed that it seems to come from a different time, or place.

Between 'The Golden Calf' and closer 'Horde' a short 'Intermission' appears. This song also takes you back to the Norwegian forests and times long gone. But the absolute magnum opus of this excellent album is 'Horde'. Opening with ambient soundscapes, this think slowly evolves into a sonic adventure, second to none. In all, this album is pretty much uncompareable. Nothing comes close to the elaborate palette of Monograf. I'm sure that this release will gain this band a heap of followers and I'm sure it will lift many people's spirits.


​Serge

dungeon synth / folk / ambient

Inheritor is an album released on December 1, by a dungeon synth artist, known only by the alias of Urrnil. A very concise album – only half an hour long –, Inheritor has ten tracks: 1) Thunder Howls; 2) Silver Paths; 3) The Ravenous Might; 4) Estë; 5) Born of Stone; 6) Worthy Inheritor; 7) (Wrath) Brought Upon; 8) Blood Written Oaths; 9) A Forest Where Time is no Lord (Remastered); 10) Hidden, Forgotten, Sequestered (Seamless Mix). With a great and profusely dense medieval soundscape, this album displays a very dynamic, diluted and epic style, that definitely establishes more ambitious and personal standards for the genre. Discreetly, but passionately consecrating its lurid and expansive musical layout as an audacious exemplar of an expressively more modernist and authorial quest for stylistic features, Inheritor emerges as an interesting work of art, whose sound is abundant in innovative and authentic elements, vigorously injecting a vivacious outlook into a genre that is in constant need of reshaping itself. 

With a natural, vigorous and creative splendor, the music of Urrnil is an esoteric voyage to the outer limits of time; to glorious periods of hereditary dynasties, distant realms, equestrian nobilities and majestic kings. A place where a sensible, grandiloquent and tender reality do exist, all elements of chivalry are brought back to the present, in a deeply surreal sonorous journey of lucid and invariable conquests, where the essence and the integrity of life are rescued by the genuine benevolence of noble spirits. 

Formidably capturing the imperative essence of a time full of splendorous cosmogonies and codes of honor, Inheritor definitely propitiates to its audience an undeniable return to a glorious past. With a consistent, restless and expansive, but gracefully imaginative and captivating sound, Urrnil delivers on this album a veraciously relevant and genuine collection of medieval symphonies, that strikes the spirit with the beauty of lost centuries, and the simplicity of an ephemeral moment of sincere human exhilaration.    

Definitely one of the best dungeon synth albums that I have heard, Inheritor doesn’t display the limitations and the stagnant dispositions usually so prevalent in the genre. With a more dynamic, sober and vivacious style, this is a very enjoyable album, whose sound is a pleasure to hear, all the way through. With versatile qualities and a very sensible intuitive timing, its harmonies are simple, but graciously aggrandizing, and its virtuous melodic polyphonies are beautifully extended into an everlasting universe of salutary serenities, that becomes more and more cohesive, as the music gradually unfolds its own singular, infinite and altruistic essence. 

 

Wagner

dark ambient / noise / drone / experimental

Cold Spring

The Cold Spring label celebrates their 250th release with a 29 track double CD. This UK label is specialized in all kinds of extreme music. This compilation contains a broad view of artists who create uncompromising underground music. All the tracks were already previously released. The only exclusive and unheard song is from Coil with Spastiche (Trumpo).

The songs are drowned in the darkest  and coldest atmospheres you can imagine. From the harsh noise of Merzbow to the addictive dark ambient sounds of Sonologyst, or from the doom punk escapades of Zeni Geva & Steve Albini to the creepy sounds of MZ.412. There is enough to discover on this sampler.

​The most curious artist on this release is Barry Adamson, former bass player of The Bad Seeds (Nick Cave). In collaboration with Pan Sonic, Barry Adamson composed this ice cold vocal song, The Hymn Of The Seventh Illusion, that ends this compilation in beautiful darkness. The sampler is a true guide in dark music for beginners and for experienced listeners. This double CD,  limited to 4000 copies in a gate fold Eco-pack is more than worth its money!

black metal / industrial metal

Debemur Morti Productions

During the darkest days of the year a flock of blood sucking bats were released with the compilation of Servants Of Chaos II. The French label Debemur Morti Productions indicates fifteen years of dedication to dark metal music. In fact, this is a very original release that contains fifteen exclusive tracks of fourteen bands. Au Champ Des Mort has the honor of having two hunting and atmospheric black metal tracks on the album. The variety of this extreme metal compilation is high. The psychoactive guitar riffs of Blut Aus Nord and Throane next to the more experimental and industrial approach of Terra Tennebrosa and Manes and the old school attitude of Behexen and Wallachia, show us the broad spectrum of the label in extreme metal. With no doubt Servants Of Chaos II leads the black metal fans to a dark and scorched heaven.

folk / celtic

With a fiddle and Hardanger fiddle as the only instruments used on Solo, Sara-Jane Summers shows her diverse talents on these folk instruments. She has already made several  live performances at rock, jazz, folk, country, and noise festivals worldwide. Sarah-Jane Summers  is releasing music as a duo with her husband Juhani Silvola and solo since 2008. She has made already many recording contributions in the folk-scene. Her playing  embraces the historical Celtic melancholic mood.  This release of old folk covers received an intelligent input. From happy dancing tunes to the sad sounding fiddle vibes, Solo, has the wisdom not to be boring or sleepy. Sarah-Jane Summers  managed to revive Celtic music from a different perspective. 

folk / acoustic

Stvannyr is a project of the Hungarian guitar player István ‘Musicformessier’ Csarnogursky. This artist from the Carpathian basin is a multi active guitar player involved in several projects. From guitar ambient (Musicformessier) to black metal (Realm Of Wolves) and much more (Silent Island, Black Hill). István Csarnogursky has the talent to create special floating guitar sounds that make you drift away.  With Secrets Of Black Ruins he brings a more  folk touch to the ambient guitar licks known from his other project Musicformessier. Six beautiful atmospheric folk instrumentals overwhelmed us with day-dreaming peace. Only available as digital download. Do not hesitate to have a listen to this artist’s other projects.

ambient / electronic

bandcamp

Evan Bartholomew has been performing electronic music for nearly 20 years as Bluetech. He has also credits in composing music for video games and TV/movie scores. With Liquid Geometries this American electronica artist from Portland joined the DiN label of Ian Boddy. Evan Bartholomew explores the electronic sounds  like the old masters of the Berlin School did. A lot of sequenced vibes  are put together into an interesting trip of soundscapes. Nothing new on the horizon but the recording has a high quality production and sounds refreshing. Bluetech  provided nicely constructed and moody tracks on this release. This is a grower. 

heavy metal

Athrox plays a groovy kind of old school metal, a mixture between Armored Saint and Anthrax. This hardworking band from Italy released with Through the Mirror their second album. The songs have lots of variety in style and tempo. When they speed up  you can feel and hear fragments of Metal Church. Athrox perform their music with finesse and deliver good melodic tracks. The down tempo songs don’t lose strength and have no disturbing effect on the album. Some compositions contain a welcome input of thrash metal. Athrox released with Through the Mirror an old school metal album carrying a wide range how heavy metal should sound. Nice work.

​Patsker

drone / ambient

death metal / grindcore

death industrial / dark ambient

Exabyss Records

post rock / ambient / electronic

ambient / classical

funeral doom

gothic rock / alternative / metal

drone / ambient / folk

dark ambient 

alternative rock / funk rock

facebook

indie / dreampop

industrial / electronic

Perc Trax

​Serge (2 & 3 by Patsker)

drone / ambient / folk

electronic / ambient/ synthwave

bandcamp

bandcamp

acoustic / folk

post punk

post punk

funeral doom

shoegaze / dreampop

electronic / house / synth

hard rock

math rock / alternative rock / experimental / noise rock / punk

​Serge

doom / sludge metal / drone / dark ambient

This EP, or single, is long, seventy minutes but in that timespan Boobs Of Doom takes you on a trip through your own darkest imagination. Just download the album, because this is a full length, turn the volume knob to neighbour levels and drift away. Carrie will appreciate it, Boobs Of Doom will appreciate it.

drone / ambient

death metal

gothic rock

bandcamp

drone / dark ambient

Sombre Soniks

drone / dark ambient

dark ambient / ritual / drone

death metal / black metal

drone / dark ambient

ambient / experimental / downtempo

dark rock / art rock / blackgaze

traditional / folk 

post rock / drone / post metal

Ever since the first days of Merchants Of Air, I have been fascinated by one man projects and their often surprising output. Not only noise and ambient artists but also musicians in the fields of post rock, black metal, classical music and doom. There are heaps of talented people out there and most of them rarely get the attention they deserve.
So when I saw this album by Polish project Noche Oscura in my mailbox, I immediately became interested. The project, formed by Wojciech Szachowski also seems to roam in the post-rock/metal regions. Besides, the artwork by Michał Szymański is pretty stunning too, so I just had to check this one out.

It was coined as a post rock, post metal album but the first tones seemed to pour directly out the noise scene. Opener 'End' is strange, something between noise, guitar drones and post rock. I'm not sure if it is an intro but it is a quite unique tune. There is a drummer, Mateusz Mazur, but his work seems to be rather limited. The post-scene is far away but somehow that doesn't matter. Besides, the true beauty of Noche Oscura still has to bloom.

And that happens on 'Suspension', a song that contains violins by Katarzyna Gronowska and seems to be inspired by many of today's drone-ambient acts (Syndrome, Thisquietarmy, N) but also by Mike Oldfield. What? Well, much like Oldfield, Noche Oscura doesn't limit itself to elaborate droning ambient tunes. Here, the artists tried to tell stories, mainly with the narrative sound of the guitars. It's different, it's nice and it's certainly interesting.

My personal favorite here is 'Before', an ambient drone tune that also borrows elements from the music of Amenra or Neurosis but also the dark folk of Barn Owl and the post rock of God Is An Astronaut. Mind you, all still without the drums, making me wonder how massive this track would sound with a full live band. That must be bloody impressive, if you ask me. Same goes for closer 'Gate', an impending track, nudging to the doom scene.

Although coined as something for fans of Sunn O))), Amenra, Ulver and Neuroris, I'd probably place this album in my ambient/dark folk collection. That is not a bad thing, on the very contrary. I enjoyed every second of this album, even the confusing chaos of the opener. I'm just afraid that this artist limits himself a bit too much. If he forms a full blown band with this material, they'll be on big ass stages in no time, but for now, let's all enjoy these sounds in the quiet comforts of our own homes...


​Serge

alternative / dreampop / folk / blues

Transitions is an album by American musician Andrew Rothschild, released on June 22. Almost sixty five minutes long, the record has fourteen tracks: Nu, Get Up, Acceptance, Growth, Routine, Suwanee, Roots, Devil Behind Your Smile, Memories, Home, Fall, Crimson, Natural and Encore. Working dedicatedly in the development of a genre he defines as bluestronica – which is the combination of blues music’s graceful intricacies with electronic music devices – Rothschild is a primordially intuitive, sagacious and innovative musician, that has no fear diving deeply on underground and genuine methodical experimentalism. With melodies that works vividly fantastic and exponentially fragmented sonorous intonations within a wider melodic diagram, Transitions can be described initially as a calm, serene and relaxing album, although rapidly becomes much more than that. The horizon of a new musical sensibility that integrates into the apparent simplicity of its content projects the expansion of a rational, sensational and lucid authorial work, that filters on the antagonism of its paradoxical tenacity the beautiful and elevating disposition of a vivacious style of music, that impresses for its formidable level of creativity, flexibility and audacity. Transitions is a majestic masterpiece, and this becomes evident already on the first few songs of the album.   

With an energetic, irreplaceable and synergic punctuating premise that wonders throughout the ambivalence of its own passionate sonorous dissidence, the eloquence, the profoundness, the vitality, the consistence and the originality of Andrew Rothschild’s music is beyond ordinary categorizations. With a polyvalent degree of artistry that combines different elements from several apparently disparate genres, the artist deliberates gracefully over the harmonies of its own musical emancipation, creating a totally different and surprisingly original sensorial treasure of sonorous possibilities.  

Generally departing from the educated elegance of lounge music, the sound of Andrew Rothschild incorporates elements of folk, trip hop, world fusion and electronica – amongst other genres –, in such a personal way, that you can almost say he invented his own peculiar style of music. Fearlessly innovating and bravely intense, the sensibility, the versatility and the authenticity present on this album will make you feel your life as a projected conscious dream.

The sixth track – Suwanee, possibly my favorite – is simply a wonderful journey throughout a different form of sensibility. In fact, each and every song on this album is a monumental flavor for the soul, a sentimental gift of nature exposed over a silent universe that echoes endlessly inside the most fundamental principles of a sincere conscience. But, strictly speaking, no words or written evaluation could do justice to this marvelously aggrandizing and excellent state of the art work. You just have to listen by yourself. You will be thrilled, be sure about that. 


Wagner