Electronica Unplugged

The thing about netlabels is that they don't find you. You have to find them yourself. So once I settled down with a decent label I can trust, the next sensible thing would be checking out the links section and have a look at the other possibly like-minded labels. That's exactly how I discovered this lovely compilation, courtesy of German netlabel Aerotone. The premise is as self-explanatory as its title: to "combine acoustic music with electronic bits and pieces". And the contributed tracks lived up well to the label's proclaimed statement: 'we love melancholic music'. It's a subtle, low-key, understated affair, but never feels mediocre. In fact, some of the instrumental pieces here have been played more than a few times by me. And let's not forget that all is available for absolutely no costs. Save it for a day out in the park, or just listen in the comfort of your bedroom. It won't change your world, but it certainly makes it more bearable. Sample three of my fave tracks from volume 2, and if it sounds good to you, click on the album titles to download the whole deal.


mié - summer
your hand in mine - the youngest one had a rose in his mouth
balún - sweet ´n low


(Electronica Unplugged 2, 2007)

Here's vol. 1 as well.

I Am Robot And Proud

I Am Robot And Proud is the one-man-band moniker of Shaw-Han Liem, who resides in Ontario, Canada and makes little nuggets of chirpy instrumental laptop pop. Adjectives I would use to describe his sounds are: fun, playful, bubbly and delightful. The kind that I'd love to play during study time. He has released 3 full-lengths and is currently in the works for a new album, so look out for that. For now, check out 3 tracks from his most recent album, 'The Electricity In Your House Wants To Sing', and one bonus from a re-issue, 'The Catch & Spring Summer Autumn Winter'.



I Am Robot And Proud - The Electricity In Your House Wants To Sing
I Am Robot And Proud - The Work
I Am Robot And Proud - Places We're Trying to Find
(The Electricity In Your House Wants To Sing, 2006)

I Am Robot And Proud - The Catch
(The Catch & Spring Summer Autumn Winter, re-issue, 2006)














MySpace


Visit his site for a couple more mp3s. (his music's also available on iTunes)

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I'm sorry for the longtime absence, apparently, I consider this blog to be kinda of a 'side-project' saved for a certain mood, and as that certain mood has stricken me again, hopefully frequent posting will resume. For those who are still around this place, thank you.

soto

oto (previously mentioned here) is back with new materials, albeit this time with new members and a different name, soto. Brand new 4-song EP, self-titled, and totally guilt-free, released by netlabel Creation Centre. More blissful, cozy, texturally rich daydreaming tunes to warm you up. If you enjoy their previous effort, you'll feel the same with these tracks. Remember, in case you dig the two tracks below, feel free to go here and download the rest (and learn more about the band). Happy dreaming.



soto - Only Star
soto - My Blue Plane (soto version)



Official site

The Midnight Mix: Sleepytime

A little mix created with the purpose of lulling myself to sleep. Dreamy & lighthearted. The audio equivalent of a soft, velvety pillow pressed against your face. Lights out. G'night.



Air - Playground Love (Vibraphone Version)
(Playground Love - Single, 2000)
múm - Nightly Cares
(Summer Make Good, 2004)
Piana - Something Is Lost
(Ephemeral, 2005)
Phelan Sheppard - Weaving Song
(Harps Old Master, 2006)
Saint Etienne - Bedfordshire
(Tales From The Turnpike House, 2005)

Flunk

Flunk is a well-known electronica trio hailing from Oslo, Norway. They've released 3 albums to date (bar the remix compilations). The latest one "Personal Stereo", out last year, was quite weak compared to their previous efforts, and I didn't think much of it. However, it has its moments, whose quality can definitely stand alongside their strongest tracks. Here are two of my favorites. Laidback, summery folktronica. Just about what I need right now.


Flunk - Personal Stereo
Flunk - Sit Down
(Personal Stereo, 2007)













MySpace/Buy

The soundtrack for the last 9 minutes and 18 seconds of my 2007

Eluvium - Repose In Blue
(Copia, 2007)


Why: It has fireworks sounds (fireworks!) embedded from around the 5:34 mark.


Happy new year, everyone! It's a brand new beginning...all over again...

Susumu Yokota

Susumu Yokota is a well-respected Japanese ambient composer with works spanning over a decade, and though that pic above, shown on his homepage, might indicate that he has a sense of humor, his music tends to be on the more serious side. 'Love Or Die', his most recent album, was my first proper introduction to him. Experimental, yet not so unreachable, the album's a collection of ambient/electronica/post-rock tracks with lengthy, albeit descriptive titles. It's typically what you would normally expect from a Japanese name like his, something zen-like and vaguely melancholy, which is quite fitting for the winter weather. Play these samples after the night falls down, for that is the appropriate occasion for this kind of music...


Susumu Yokota - For The Other Self Who Is Far Away That I Can Not Reach
Susumu Yokota - The Destiny Of The Little Bird Trapped Inside A Small Cage For Life
Susumu Yokota - A Song Produced While Floating Alone On Christmas Day
(Love Or Die, 2007)













Official site/Buy

Spirited Away OST

The other day I decided to watch Spirited Away, one of my all-time favorite animated movies, again, but this time I chose the English dubbed version. I remembered someone once said to me that Japanese is the cutest language ever, and I think in this case, that is aboslutely right. Though the voice actors did a fine job, it appeared that the original Japanese voice cast was part of its charm. Anyway, this time around, I paid more attention to the score, and it intrigued me enough to go look it up and found out that the composer is Joe Hisaichi, who also composed score for most of Hayao Miyazaki's works. It's funny how there's almost no English websites about him. Eventually, I sit down and spent a whole house listening to all the score, and while some of the more orchestral tracks don't really work on a standalone listening experience, the more serene pieces most certainly do. Every time I hear those, I keep picturing images in my mind: green meadows underneath a deep blue sky, train passing the river after a rainy night, or the train station with quiet, black, intangible spirits...Achingly beautiful...


Day Of The River
The Sixth Station
A Road To Somewhere













Buy

Don Peris

Mid-Novemeber. It's about time we torched the holiday spirit again, no?

Don Peris is the guitarist of The Innocence Mission/husband of their singer, Karen Peris. As you can see, they've been around long enough to be called 'veterans'. Under his own name, Don has released two solo albums to date and the latest and third one, to be released soon this winter, will be holiday-themed. It's entitled "Brighter Visions Beam Afar", a collection of 15 Christmas carols, all arranged and performed solo with his acoustic guitar. After having a sneak peek at two preview tracks, I can say that this album's bound to be a lovely, heartwarming gift for this Christmas, especially when a portion of the profit will be collected for charity. Fans of the band shouldn't miss this release, neither should fans of simplistically wonderful acoustic guitar instrumental. The two following tracks are available on his MySpace, but to save you all the trouble of badly tagged mp3s and difficult download systems, I've tagged them properly and uploaded them myself. It's probably a bit too early, but hey, better be prepared.

Don Peris - Silent Night
Don Peris - Angels We Heard On High











MySpace/Buy/More mp3s at his official site

As a bonus, here's one more ditty, from his second album, "Go When the Morning Shineth ":

Don Peris - Day Trip

lanterna

lanterna (which means 'magic lantern') is the solo project of Illinois-based guitarist Henry Frayne. With a delay pedal and a guitar, he creates what I'd like to call 'day trip music'. Instrumental and spacey, his music is the perfect soundtrack for those highway journeys, when you feel like "Okay, I've had it with all the noise and hurry of the city, let's just take a few days off, and drive to the countryside, on those winding roads". It's lively, it's sunny, it makes you feel so warm inside. lanterna has made a total of five albums to date, the most recent one being the 2006 'Desert Ocean', out on the instrumental label 'Jemez Mountain'. I surprisingly like his stuff considering I hardly ever got into anything like this before. If you're not convinced, then just try 'Brightness' first, and grab the rest if you're not afraid for more.


Highways (2004):
lanterna
"Brightness" (mp3)
from "Highways"
(Badman Recording Co)
Buy at Insound

Brooklyn (mp3)
Canyons (mp3)


Sands (2002):
lanterna
"Greek Island" (mp3)
from "Sands"
(Badman Recording Co)
Buy at Insound



elm street (2001):
lanterna
"B Minor" (mp3)
from "elm street"
(Badman Recording Co)
Buy at Insound


Desert Ocean (2006)
Luminous

The Midnight Mix: 2007 Halloween Mix - Part 2

The Bamboo Orchestra is back after the long break, and what a better time to come back than the Halloween night, with a new Midnight Mix? This is part 2 of my annual Halloween mix, (you can view part 1 here).
The overall mood is: dark, sinister and mystical. Various tones throughout the mix, ranging from German IDM to horror movie score. Most of the five tracks are wordless, with the exception of the closer, a haunting classic from Cibo Matto. For a setting, think of an empty, winding road. Dark clouds rolling above. The clapping of leaves. The spine-tingling, crying wind. Echoes coming from afar. The rest is up to your imagination. Enjoy. Have a happy Halloween!


Trentemoller - Vamp
(The Last Resort, 2006)
Boards Of Canada - The Devil Is In The Details
(Geogaddi - 2002)
Hans Zimmer - This Is Going To Hurt
(The Ring/The Ring Two OST - 2005)
Clark - Vengeance Drools
(Body Riddle, 2006)
Cibo Matto - Sugar Water
(Viva! La Woman, 1996)

oto

The idea of netlabels is quite interesting, innit? Basically, it's about screwing all the major, painstaking steps of having a cd out the traditional way - packaging, distributing and all. All you need is to rip your tracks to DRM-free mp3s with acceptable quality, make a cover in jpeg format, zip them all and upload the final product to the interwebs. Much more economical, especially for bands whose main priority is just to be heard. However, the drawback is that since it's so easy, it takes time to find something obscure that's worth your time, to find a label whose taste you can trust. And also, most releases available are EPs only, plus netlabels seem to be existing exclusively for experimental/electronic fields.
Anyway, every now and then, I bumped into some good stuff, and oto is definitely one of those gems. They're a 4-piece California-based Japanese outfit who makes tiny ambient music "using live instruments such as guitar, xylophone and melodica along with electronic sounds and field recordings". Their first EP, 'Sketch #1', was also the first web release of Creation Centre, the netlabel offshoot of a little NY independent experimental label named Music Related. The music is mostly instrumental, organic, and tranquil. Here's how they describe it, in all of its copy-and-paste glory: "this EP would best be enjoyed on a late summer evening, sitting by a river. alone, or with friends." Well, I couldn't say it better. Save it for the next trip with your family to the countryside or somewhere else far from the city noises, personally I found the tracks to sound quite lovely in autumn, too. If you like what you hear, then you can go here to download one more track (since the EP consists of only 3), or download it as a zip with two choices, 128kps mp3 and 192kps iTunes-friendly m4a. You can also donate to them, if you feel a bit guilty. I hope these guys release a full-length soon...

oto - Color
oto - My Blue Plane













MySpace/Official site
(more tracks for your streaming pleasure there)