Deep eklypsis

29 May 2009

Maybeshewill - Sing The Word Hope In Four-Part Harmony

Newest release by the UK based electro post-rock group Maybeshewill, especially for fans of 65daysofstatic & Co.

MYSPACE


posted by minimalview at 01:22 0 comments

The Field - Yesterday And Today

The Field's second album that has just finished being mixed down by Jörg "The Modernist" Burger here in Cologne @ Kompakt Studios. Titled "Yesterday & Today" folks can expect to buy it 25-May, 2009 courtesy of Kompakt...fans should expect a much more organic sounding affair if compared to it's predecessor, with some surprises that include the mighty John Stanier from Battles.




posted by minimalview at 01:15 0 comments

Stafrænn Hákon…


Once described as “frequently mesmerizing, seamlessly interwoven combination of electronica and ambient guitar..” by the legendary Wire magazine. Stafrænn Hákon has indeed through the last 6 years been described as a mix of post-rock, lo-fi, ambient guitar & electronica. The Icelandic born Ólafur Josephsson has been recording music since 1999 under the name Stafrænn Hákon (sometimes stafraenn hakon, stafrann hakon) which has often confused the media, due to the confusing Icelandic origin.

Late in 2005 and Stafrænn Hákon is hard at work on his 5th album entitled “Gummi”. Ólafur drives up to the countryside in Iceland to meet up with his friend Lárus Sigurðsson in a church to record harps into the opening song of “Gummi”. Still there is no sign of any elf or a ghost there, the reason is simple, and there is no such thing. The delicate and subtle sound of Lárus harps spread over crunchy ambient guitars in opening tones of “Járn” and make the song one of the most complete songs Ólafur has ever written.

The more acoustic alive sound on the album can be clearly heard when Birgir Hilmarsson of Blindfold and Ampop plays the last notes on the harmonium as he stands up and exits the studio in the closing track “Veggur”. The climax of the song comes with Birgir singing harmony vocals over the enormous guitar layers and crunchy drums from Daniel Lovegrove (aka Dialect). Samúel White a long time collaborator and vital part of the Stafrænn Hákon project is delivering one of his most elaborative works with his beautiful picked guitar parts. In the intense melody of “Hausi” Samúel..s guitar is sounding huge with vocals contributed from Minco Eggersman.

“P-rofi” collaboration with the Danish based Efterklang ties the album together with the advanced sonic structure and subtle use of instruments. When Ólafur enters Daniel..s studio to complete the album with additional production, he knows this album is going to be the most complete and solid record he has ever done. With Daniel..s drums and production, the sound stretches to new dimension in Stafrænn Hákon..s soundworld.

After the college indie rock band “Sullaveiki Bandormurinn” disbanded in 1999, Ólafur continued experimenting with his 4-track recorder in his basement. Tapes started piling up in the drawer and finally Ólafur compiled a few songs on a CD to sell at the local record store. Stafrænn Hákon..s first album “eignast jeppa” received some hype around it..s lo-fi DIY production in 2001. Recorded on his 4-track recorder using guitar, bass, melodica and drum machine with the 5th instrument mostly being the tape hiss. The atmosphere was dreamy and laid back with thick guitar layers swirling around the lo-fi drum machine sounds. Two albums followed within the next year of the debut album.

“Í ástandi rjúpunnar” and “Skvettir edik á ref” were a huge development from the lo-fi sound of “eignast jeppa”. Focusing more on ambient driven guitar layers and occasional synthesizer the two albums were more complete and the sound world was more definite for Stafrænn Hákon. Eventually all of them were reissued worldwide on 2 different labels. Resonant Records in the U.K reissued “Í ástandi rjúpunnar” and “Skvettir edik á ref”. The U.S based indie label Secret Eye reissued the debut. In 2003 Ólafur was recording material for forthcoming album to be released on Resonant.

The album was later to become Stafrænn..s most successful album to date. “Ventill/Poki” received staggering reviews and was followed with a 3 week tour in the U.K in September 2004. The album was the first to be completed in a proper studio with live drums recorded and played by Daniel.

Now in late 2006 and Stafrænn Hákon has completed his 5th album and has previously toured U.K and played few festivals around Europe, his new album is ready to hit the stores and a tour to coincide the new album is in the planning stage.

“A wall of beautiful, hard-to-describe sound fills the air……..It’s music of such delicacy and intricate delivery that can just turn, like that, into music of such power and ferocity” (http://www.leedsmusicscene.net/article/3123/)

posted by minimalview at 01:05 0 comments

ELUVIUM…


Highly anticipated and long-overdue, Life Through Bombardment collects virtually every Eluvium song ever released (plus a bunch of rare and unreleased non-album tracks) into one stunning 7xLP set, all on vinyl for the first and only time. Each record is packaged in its own full-color jacket, featuring exquisite new artwork from Jeannie Lynn Paske, drawn exclusively for this set.

The seven jackets are then bound into a beautiful dark green hardbound, linen-cover book, with metallic gold foil stamping and embossed text on the spine, and a beautiful full-color print embossed into the front cover. The inside front cover includes a removable old-fashioned library card, complete with personalized signatures from the artists and designers involved in the creation of this package.

The final name on the library card will belong to the purchaser, hand-written and dated when purchased. The inside back cover includes a mind-blowing 12×36″ foldout double-sided full-color poster insert, featuring more artwork from Ms. Paske.

In addition, each copy of this set will include a unique digital code to download high-quality mp3s of the entire box set collection. This is limited to a one-time pressing of 1,000 copies, pressed onto 100% virgin black vinyl.

posted by minimalview at 01:03 0 comments

Epic45…


(1995 – present) Epic45 joined together as a band in 1995 in high school but only began playing live and recording tracks to tape in 1998. From there they have gone on to record tracks for almost 20 releases (including splits with Laudanum, 100 Pets and Avaray) and done remixes for people such as Portal and Glider. They now have four full albums released, the latest being “May Your Heart Be The Map”, released on Make Mine Records in July 2007.

posted by minimalview at 00:58 0 comments

Dead Can Dance…


Melbourne, Australia (1981 – 1998, 2005 – present)

Dead Can Dance was a band formed in Melbourne, Australia in 1981 by Brendan Perry (baritone) together with Simon Monroe and Paul Erikson later to be joined by Lisa Gerrard (contralto). They disbanded in 1998, and temporarily reunited to do a highly successful world tour in 2005 with a view to recording another studio album together. But due to ongoing personal differences between Perry and Gerrard, Perry decided to finally put to rest any prospect of a future collaboration in order to concentrate on a solo career.

After a somewhat muted response to their music in Australia, Dead Can Dance moved to London in 1982, where they signed up to alternative rock label 4AD, a legendary label on the alternative music scene, where it became one of the most important bands on the label alongside the Cocteau Twins. They continued to work closely together, until later in the 1990s when they started to grow apart following the breakup of their personal relationship.

Gerrard returned to Australia, while Perry moved to Ireland, where he had renovated an old church at Quivvy, where he lives and works. It is speculated that the distance between the members was an influence in the band’s eventual break-up, with an argument following the recording sessions for an unreleased album being the final straw, although Perry himself said that distance helped in maintaining a certain individual freedom in creativity.

posted by minimalview at 00:56 0 comments

28 May 2009

Do Make Say Think…


Do Make Say Think is an instrumental group from Toronto, Ontario. The band formed in the 1990s as a recording project for one of the members’ sound engineering classes in college. Their first rehearsals took place in an empty schoolroom where four basic verbs — Do, Make, Say and Think — adorned the walls. The group subsequently adopted the words as a name. Their music combines jazz-style drums with electric bass, synthesizers, electric guitars, wind instruments, and electronic effects.
Do Make Say Think consists of Ohad Benchetrit (guitar, bass, saxophone and flute), David Mitchell (drums), James Payment (drums), Justin Small (guitar) and Charles Spearin (bass, guitar and trumpet). Jason Mackenzie (keyboards and effects) departed after the first album. Justin Small is also involved in a side project entitled Lullabye Arkestra, as a drummer with his partner, bassist Katia Taylor. They have been produced by Benchetrit, who — along with Spearin — records and tours with the Toronto supergroup Broken Social Scene.
Do Make Say Think are routinely joined onstage by Brian Cram, who performs with James Payment in a metal band called Gesundheit. Spearin, Mitchell and Benchetrit recorded an album together in 1997 under the moniker Microgroove.
The song “Chinatown” from 2002’s & Yet & Yet is featured in the movie Syriana, starring George Clooney, as well as The Corporation.
posted by minimalview at 03:40 0 comments

Jesu

Abergele, Wales, UK (2003 – present)
Jesu is a band formed in 2003 in Abergele, Wales, UK by Justin Broadrick following the breakup of Godflesh. Jesu was the name of the last song on the final Godflesh release, Hymns, and Broadrick decided to adopt it as the name of his new project.
The first release, the Heart Ache EP, was released in 2004 and featured Broadrick playing all of the instruments. It was followed in 2005 by the full-length self-titled LP, which featured the addition of bassist Diarmuid Dalton and drummer Ted Parsons, although not every song featured both new members.
With their third release, 2006’s four song Silver EP, Jesu took a more melodic and layered approach, gaining comparison to shoegazing band My Bloody Valentine.
Their second full-length album, titled Conqueror, was released in February 2007 in the US, UK, in Europe and Japan. The Japanese edition also contained a bonus disc featuring the two tracks that constitute the ‘Sun Down’ / ‘Sun Rise’ EP, released elsewhere as a 12” album on April 23.
The band made their United States live debut, in March of 2007, as an opening act for Isis, although work permit problems caused them to miss the first three weeks of the tour. Neither Ted Parsons nor Diarmuid Dalton were able to participate in the tour and were temporarily replaced by Danny Walker, of Intronaut, and long time Broadrick collaborator, Dave Cochrane, respectively. During this tour, Jesu also made its South by Southwest debut as part of a Hydra Head showcase.
‘Pale Sketches’, a collection of older solo works from 2000-2007 was released in October 2007 on Justin Broadrick’s own label, Avalanche along with a new four song EP entitled Lifeline, released by Hydra Head in the United States and Daymare in Japan.
Broadrick has also contributed remixes of songs, using the Jesu name, for Agoraphobic Nosebleed and Explosions in the Sky. Future releases include split 12” albums with both Eluvium and Battle of Mice.
posted by minimalview at 03:20 0 comments

Sinewave Latest Updates





posted by minimalview at 03:11 0 comments

Yann Tiersen

Tiersen was born in Brittany, France, in 1970 and received classical training at several musical academies, including those in Rennes, Nantes, and Boulogne.[4] Before releasing scores under his own name, Tiersen recorded background music for a number of plays and short films, such as La Vie Rêvée des Anges (1998, Erick Zonca), Alice et Martin (1998, André Téchiné), Qui Plume la Lune? (Christine Carrière, 1999).
He rose to domestic fame upon the release of his third album, Le Phare, but remained relatively unknown outside France until the release of his score for Le fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain in 2001, which was a mixture of both new and previously released material.
Tiersen favors the piano, accordion, and violin, but is also known for his experimentation and use of obscure and found instruments like the ondes martenot and the typewriter.
Yann Tiersen’s list of collaborators continues to grow album after album (see discography below for details). While composing his fifth album, L’absente, Tiersen lent his musical talent to Françoiz Breut and Les Têtes Raides for their own albums. His 2005 album, Les Retrouvailles, featured vocals from Stuart Staples of Tindersticks, Jane Birkin, and Elizabeth Fraser, formerly of Cocteau Twins. Tiersen also played piano on Staples’ solo album, Lucky Dog Recordings 03-04.
His live performances vary greatly. Sometimes he is accompanied by an orchestra and many guest collaborators, like Dominique A. Others, he offers the more frequent minimalistic sessions, usually accompanied only by a drummer/bassist and a guitarist, with Tiersen switching seamlessly between piano, accordion, and violin for his lighter songs, and electric guitar for his louder pieces (where his Avant-Garde Music meet some rock sonorities).
posted by minimalview at 03:08 0 comments

The American Dollar…

With slow undulations of sonic relief and rich textures that are light as snow, The American Dollar paints a breathtaking aural landscape that is unmistakably their own. Having played together for the past seven years, John Emanuele (drum, keyboard, bass, guitar) and Rich Cupolo (guitar, keyboard, bass, percussion) show their seemingly effortless musical talents through their expressive songwriting.
The American Dollar started as a side project for the two friends in 2005, but the discovery of emotional cimenatic works – the kinds that range from ambient electronic passages to orchestral, full band climaxes – transformed this into their full-time passion. Their first finished composition as The American Dollar was “Everyone Gets Shot,” and within a day of posting it around on the Internet, MTV immediately picked it up for its Battlegrounds television program.
Since then, the responses from listeners around the world have been very much the same. Their Last FM and MySpace are frequented by an enthusiastic, international fanbase that appreciates a wide variety of music. Even though their homebase is in Queens, NY, their two previous LPs managed to gain huge popularity at the independent Tokyo record store, Linus Records. Freely reverberating like echoes in a chamber, The American Dollar’s music spares no audible gaps in their instrumental parts, leaving only an immaculate, yet malleable slate of sound.

posted by minimalview at 03:05 0 comments

Envy…

Since their formation in 1992, Envy (エンヴィ) has become a dominant band in the independent hardcore and screamo scene in Japan. Their music has evolved over the years to incorporate hardcore, screamo, and most recently, the epic tendencies of post-rock. Envy is characterized by their ability to master screamo’s loud-soft dynamic to evoke both crushing brutality and gentle beauty, often within the same song. Much has been made of vocalist Tetsuya Fukugawa’s own skill at commanding this dichotomy and thusly their live shows have grown in legend over the years. The band is also noted for their deep and poetic lyrics.
The band has become increasingly popular among the post rock scene in the last few years for their incorporation of Mogwai-esque sound and composition dynamics into more traditional screamo songs. This new influence can be most easily identified on their last three releases, “All The Footprints You’ve Ever Left And The Fear Expecting Ahead” released by Dim Mak,”A Dead Sinking Story” released on Level Plane and “Insomniac Doze” released on Temporary Residence Limited.
The band has since become friends with Mogwai and vocalist Tetsuya Fukagawa was featured on a track from Mogwai’s 2006 album “Mr. Beast.”
In March of 2006, it was announced that Envy had signed to Temporary Residence Limited for American distribution of Insomniac Doze (though it was released by Mogwai’s Rock Action label in Europe and Envy’s own Sonzai Records in Japan).


posted by minimalview at 03:00 0 comments

24 May 2009

MONO…

Japanese: MONO are a post-rock group from Tokyo, Japan. The songs, all of which are instrumental, are usually focused on layered guitar melodies. Strings and pianos are also prominently featured in some songs. MONO are known for their powerful live shows and their complex guitar work.

Their first EP, titled “Hey, you” appeared in September, 2000. So far, they have released four full albums: “Under The Pipal Tree”, “One Step More And You Die”, “Walking cloud and deep red sky, Flag fluttered and the sun shined” and “You Are There”. They also have several other records, including a remix album, a collaborative split record with Pelican, an album collaborating with World’s end girlfriend and another EP, titled “Memorie dal Futuro”. For more information, visit their Official Website.


posted by minimalview at 02:51 0 comments

Sigur Rós…

Sigur Rós is an icelandic slow-motion rock band (according to the band’s own definition) with post-rock and shoegaze elements. The name is derived from the name of lead vocalist Jónsi Birgisson’s little sister Sigurrós. According to their website, it is pronounced “si-ur rose”. They hail from the same creative and vibrant Icelandic music scene as múm and Amiina. They released their first ever foray into film-making with their tour documentary, Heima in late 2007.

History

Jón Þór (Jónsi) Birgisson, Georg Hólm and Ágúst Ævar Gunnarsson formed the group in Reykjavík, Iceland in August 1994. They soon won a record deal with a local record label, Bad Taste. In 1997, they released Von (Hope) and in 1998 a remix collection named Von brigði. The name is Icelandic wordplay: Vonbrigði means “disappointment”, but Von brigði means “hope alteration”. (In English, the album is sometimes known by the alternative name “Recycle Bin”.)

International acclaim came with 1999’s Ágætis Byrjun (“An alright start”) for which the band were joined by Kjartan Sveinsson. The album’s reputation slowly spread by word of mouth over the next two years. Soon many critics worldwide hailed it as one of the best albums of its time and the band was playing with Radiohead and other big names. Drummer Ágúst left the band after the recording of Ágætis Byrjun and was replaced by Orri Páll Dýrason.

After the release of Ágætis Byrjun, the band became perhaps most well known for Birgisson’s signature style of playing guitar with the bow from a cello, accentuated with reverb, creating a sweeping, fluid sound that is unique for an electric guitar.

In early 2001, Sigur Rós set out to record some songs in their newly-completed álafoss swimming pool studio with their friend Steindór Andersen who is a fisherman and chairman of the Icelandic poetry society, called Iðunn. Steindór is a chanter/singer of the traditional Icelandic epic poetry form called Rímur. Only 1000 copies of the EP were printed and sold in the spring tour of 2001.

In 2002, their highly anticipated follow-up album ( ) was released. Upon release all tracks on the album were untitled, though the band later published song names on their website. Famously all of the lyrics on ( ) are sung in vonlenska (“Hopelandic”), nonsensical vocalisations which resemble the sound of the Icelandic language. It has also been said that the listener is supposed to interpret their own meanings of the lyrics which can then be written in the blank pages in the album booklet.

In October of 2003, Sigur Rós joined Radiohead in composing music for Merce Cunningham’s dance piece Split Sides; Sigur Rós’s three tracks were named Ba Ba Ti Ki Di Do and released in March of 2004. The three tracks (Ba Ba Ti Ki Di Do) are separate endeavours, but the band intended that all three be played at the same time to form one single track. The band’s 1997 debut album Von also finally found a U.S. and U.K. release in October of 2004. Their latest full-length album, Takk… (Thanks…), was released on September 13, 2005, with a legal download of their first single, Glósóli, made available on August 15. For North American fans, Sæglópur was made available for download on August 16. Hoppípolla, the second official single from Takk…, was released on November 28 alongside a new studio remake of Hafsól, a song which was previously released on the band’s 1997 debut, Von.

An extended Sæglópur EP was released on July 10th in most parts of the world and on August 8th in the United States. Its original release date was May 8th, but because of the sudden demand of “Hoppípolla”, especially in the UK due to its inclusion on BBC’s ‘Planet Earth’, it was pushed back from that date. Sigur Rós recorded three new songs for the EP (Refur, Ófriður, and Kafari).

The Hvarf/Heim double album was released on November 5th 2007, comprising two separate albums. Hvarf contains reworkings of songs dating back to the bands’ first album, whereas Heim contains live acoustic versions of more well known songs. The double album was an accompaniment to the film Heima.


———(Sigur Rós has sold over 2.5 million albums worldwide.)———

posted by minimalview at 02:48 0 comments

Explosions In The Sky…

Hailing from the sultry metropolitan landscape of Austin, TX, Explosions In The Sky are some of the most sincere folks you will ever meet. Aside from being nice guys, they play some of the most
passionate, powerful instrumental music you will ever hear. Equal parts romance and tragedy, their beautiful melodies have the tendency to ignite into head-spinning walls of noise. Easily one of the most intense live bands ever, their sound proves to be every bit as triumphant as their name implies.

Band Members are:
Mark Smith: Guitar
Michael James: Bass
Munaf Rayani: Guitar
Christopher Hrasky: Drums

Discography:
How Strange Innocence (Album) [2000]
Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Live Forever (Album) [2001]
The Earth is Not a Cold, Dead Place (Album) [2003]
Thank You (Compilation) [2004]
Friday Night Lights (OST) [2004]
The Rescue (EP) [2005]
All of a Sudden, I Miss Everyone (Album) [2007]

posted by minimalview at 00:59 0 comments

65daysofstatic…

Sheffield, United Kingdom (2001 – present)

65daysofstatic began in Sheffield, United Kingdom in 2001 as Iain Armstrong, Paul Wolinski and Joe Fro. Contrary to popular belief, they did not originally form to try to write music to fit the unreleased and little known John Carpenter film, ‘Stealth Bomber’ (starring Kurt Russell). Instead, they took their name from the 1954 CIA-backed coup d’etat in Guatemala. There, the CIA put a white book instrument to use in which 65 days of disabling the communication systems of a nation while spreading propaganda is enough to overthrow a country.

65daysofstatic (also known by the abbreviation 65dos) are an instrumental electronic and post-rock band from Sheffield, UK. Their debut album, The Fall of Math, was released to critical acclaim and they have released a second album, One Time For All Time, which has also been well received.

The band intersperses heavy, progressive, guitar-driven instrumental sections with both idm-esque programmed and live drums. Their albums, as a result, maintain a distinctively gritty, almost industrial feel.

Armstrong left in May 2003, Feedle then joined for a brief period and played a part in writing the band’s first single from The Fall of Math, Retreat! Retreat! (video here). By the end of 2003 Rob Jones (drums) and Gareth (bass) had been recruited, increasing the band to four members. Gareth left around the time of the release of their debut album, The Fall of Math, to be replaced by Simon Wright. In 2005 they remixed Burn from the album Crimson by Alkaline Trio. The track appears on one 7inch vinyl out of a set of 2.


posted by minimalview at 00:56 0 comments

Glasvegas - Live on Swedish Radio

posted by minimalview at 00:50 0 comments

A Place To Bury Strangers - To Fix The Gash In Your Head

posted by minimalview at 00:48 0 comments

23 May 2009

The Longest Day - Night Falls

The Longest Day is a two-piece band from Australia, which formed in Sydney in 1997. The band could be described as somewhere between postrock and spacerock, if that means anything to you. The band draws its inspiration from groups such as Flying Saucer Attack, Mogwai and Sigur Ros, and attempts to produce songs and soundscapes that captivate, move, soothe and inspire.

The players are Brad and Jay, who have been writing and playing music together under various guises since they were 16. When Jay moved to Canberra in 2002, the longest day seemed to have died a quiet, natural death. However neither Brad nor Jay were satisfied with the tiny musical footprint they had left on the world, and decided to get together in August 2005 to finish what they had begun years earlier.

The result was their first recording – “Slumber” – recorded in a week, and utilising old 4-track-recorded drums and sampled loops. While the core of the album was comprised of songs from years past, the opening and closing tracks were new. Copies were distributed free of charge to anyone who expressed an interest in hearing this document of times past.

Wanting to pursue their artistic collaboration further, and spurred by the feedback given to “Slumber”, Brad and Jay decided to get together again to musically document very different but equally inspiring times. “Sounds of Jupiter” was written, recorded and mixed in a week in the winter of 2006. The disc reflects the band’s contemporary musical headspace, and continues the reverbed, ethereal sensibilities of their first recording.

The band’s aim is to continue to explore the musical realms of the universe, and to take as many other like-minded souls along as possible. thelongestday.com.au


posted by minimalview at 13:36 0 comments

Yeti Island - NRK P3 Urørt

Norwegian band consisting of 4 music loving friends, was formed on a wednesday in autumn 2006. About the same time as Stian where introduced by Martin to bands such as: Slowdive, Anekdoten and Explosions in The Sky, The name Yeti Island was taken. Post/Shoegaze/Ambient/Desert- and Stoner Rock where fused together to create the sound, and “The Truth About Mogul followed shortly after. 

Yeti Island have finished three demos, and are currently working on the last and final one. In the making of the demos, they’ve gotten big help from Morten Brekke Stensland (http://www.brekkelyd.no) , and Stig-Erik Steimler, which took care of the recording & mixing of the songs.

posted by minimalview at 13:29 0 comments

6 May 2009

Sinewave Latest updates









posted by minimalview at 02:26 0 comments

3 May 2009

Aesthesys - An exceptional Simple theory of everything

Aesthesys is a project of russian musician Nickholas Koniwzski, founded in 2007.
The name is derived from the abbreviation AESTHE (An Exceptionally Simple Theory of Everything) and it looks like misspelled word ‘aesthetic’. Aesthesys’ music can be described as instrumental post-rock with ambient and neoclassical influences.
posted by minimalview at 23:41 1 comments