The
world is awash in sound. Some sounds comfort us. They lift you up and
make you smile. Others agitate us. They boil the liquid in your eyes and
make your teeth scream.
Right now I'm sitting in an inner-city cafe
and I can distinguish somewhere around a dozen sounds. There is the
chatter of customers, the assured clink of cup on dish as the staff
clean up another empty, the welcoming robotic pleasantries of the
counter staff, the looping buzz of the fan above my head, footsteps ( high heels most likely ) from the floor upstairs, the 90s acid-jazz
soundtrack from the speaker to my left and the crinkle of a crisp
wrapper a toddler is fingering to my right.
When you think of sound like
that you begin to wonder how people relax at cafes at all. Yet relax I
do. As we all do. The modern world is so flooded with sound that we have evolved to
ignore most of it unless we stop to pay attention.
Music can be noise. We all know music we consider aggravating. One
person's Miles Davis is another person's Miley Virus. Yet it isn't something
we can't easily tune out from as we can with other daily distractions. Music is more personal. We form opinions and setup
roadblocks.
The
music of noise is a curious thing. It's not really my cup of tea. It's a
big thing here in Japan though and some of the biggest names in the biz
can be heard playing at a bar not far from my doorstep. I ventured in
there a few times - to that dark, angry basement. I always left feeling
generally dizzy, disturbed and fortunate not to have payed an entry
fee.
So
when I was invited to listen to the latest offering of music from
Australian ambient artist Closer ( Liam Daly ), who describes his music as using noise
and tape-hiss, I wasn't exactly scrambling for my headphones.
Posted on
17.4.15
by PsyAmb TAG :
Interview
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American duo Desert Dwellers recently released their newest full length album titled "The Great Mystery". In support of the album they are currently touring across the U.S so be sure to check out their tour page for a location near you.
If you have never heard of Desert Dwellers before then you should immediately check them out online as their music is some of the finest in the downtempo, psydub, global bass genres you are likely to hear. They can also pump out a rocking four-four dance track too which they are known to bust out when playing live.
I recently asked DD member Amani Friend a few questions about all things past, present and future from the DD duo. Read on for some interesting insight into one of the hottest acts on the circuit today.
PsyAmb : How does the new album differ to previous ones ? I heard there might be some more uptempo tribal tech numbers on it ? What was the overall vision in regard to creating this album ?
DD : The Great Mystery is a special release in the vast Desert Dwellers music catalog. This album marks the first time that the two of us (Amani Friend and Treavor Moontribe) have collaborated on a full length album together from start to finish, even though we have been producing music together since 1999 in a wide range of styles. Up until now our productions have gone into the world as either singles, EPs, or on various artist compilations.
Posted on
29.3.15
by PsyAmb TAG :
Interview
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Perhaps
better known as one half of the Danish duo Lauge and Baba Gnohm, Lauge (
Henrik Laugesen ) recently released his second solo album, Pusterum, as a self
released issue on Bandcamp.
Pusterum
translates from Danish as "respite" in English which is a perfectly apt
name for such a harmonious, relaxing album. When I asked Henrik about
the intent behind the album he said that it was created specifically to
help his girlfriend sleep. She had been suffering from Insomnia and they
noticed ambient music helped her to relax and get to sleep easier.
So
an entire album was crafted of beautiful ambient landscapes to help induce
a restful nights sleep. What a nice thing to do ! And now we can all benefit from Henrik's endeavors too. I can certainly attest to its sleep inducing
powers. Turn off the lights, put this album on and drift away, wrapped in
clouds of soft ambient light .
I
began writing a review of individual tracks for this album but gave up
towards the end as it's not that kind of album. It's a album where all
the tracks combine into a single ambient journey. That is not to say
there aren't any standout tracks because there are. However this is like
a finely balanced work of art that is best appreciated in quiet
contemplation.
Posted on
19.3.15
by PsyAmb TAG :
Reviews
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