Back in 2009 Dirk Driesen sent a demo ep to XS Records (Portuguese netlabel) and when Tiago and I received it I immediately said that we were going to go ahead with it. Almost 3 years later FeedbackLoop Label proudly presents you a new BpOlar release the Dhūpa ep.
Welsh electroacoustic artist Mark Walters aka Savaran comes to Feedbackloop with a five track EP 'Resonances' after a number of netlabel releases over the past year. Utilising both digital and analogue instrumentation with field recordings, samples and an array of effects, Mark develops refined micro-soundscapes, tightly knit into granular textures which demand an attentive ear. In Resonances he marks waypoints in the contours of his own life, describing personal experiences - memories of events and locations - and his own interests in history, astronomy and geology.
Opener 'The Forest' is closely grounded in nature, a perpetually moving and shifting piece - being more and more ethereal. 'Aurora' cinematically depicts the sound of the lights in the sky created by particles passing through the atmosphere. A granular focus that is present also in the micro movements suggested in 'Tectonic'. Constructed literally from the vibrations of earthquakes through a custom built digital effect, the track offers a kind of cathartis, made all the more relevant with the recent happenings in Japan. 'Graaw' is a childhood place remembered and revisted, illustrated with a careful eye, and representative of Mark's unique observational style.
In last track 'Delphic' we've travelled as far from earthly groundings as we can, to otherworldly dimensions set within Greek mythology. Delphi was the seat of the oracle, housed in the temple of Apollo. Inspired by this historic reference - Mark translates these dramatic visuals into an exciting sonic experience.
Resonances is deeply personal, born from historic and personal interest which reveals itself to be emotionally evocative and intriguing for the listener. By allowing us this intimate insight into these parts of himself, Mark achieves a brilliant expression of his own history, memory and self.
Savaran is Mark Walters from Wales, UK. He is an electronic musician, sound designer, sound artist and full-time archaeologist recording from his small home studio on the Welsh border near Shrewsbury.
His music crosses many of the electronic genres but leans toward the ambient, experimental, electro-acoustic, cinematic and soundscaping styles of production. Inspiration comes from many directions including the random daily events that life throws at you, landscapes, environment, atmosphere, geology, astronomy, past cultures, or just the indefinable need to make music. The music itself is created on a variety of digital and analog instruments and blended with field recordings, sampled sounds and an array of effects. The end result is a textured palette of sounds derived from visual and audible references which explore our own world and the universe beyond at the macro and micro levels.
“Lie with care” is far away from being a mere “short EP” as the artist humbly says – the total length of the 5 tracks (more than 30 minutes), entitles it to be considered a full album, with its own, clear and strong personality. This is the first adjective I had while listening to the first track of the EP: personality.
Bernadette’s style, far away from being labeled as “common” or “mainstream”, consists, at a first glimpse, in a restless stream of piano notes, that keep falling like water drops in the ocean, during a heavy rainy day.
Luca Nasciuti’s compositions are musical events, unfolding in time, much like natural phenomena. They conjure a world of glacial motion, of ebb and flow: evolving sound-worlds with their own biotic life span.
FeedbackLoop Label proudly presents Brave New World its second compilation. Twenty one very talented artists accepted the challenge to compose a music based on two poems I've written about my fascination for cities, and twenty pictures Jessica Aliaga Lavrijsen chose to illustrate the poems. The result is a two hour collection of Poetic Urban Landscapes that span from magical moments one can find if enjoying the moods of the city, into verbal expressions and different everyday life situations.
FeedbackLoop Label proudly presents you the first ep of 2011 by Monolyth and Cobalt. And I couldn't think of a better way to start 2011, as Monolyth and Cobalt is such a talented artist, that isn't afraid of expanding the boundaries of ambient and classical music.
A journey is a beautiful thing. In most cases the journey is as important as the destination it takes you, or the final copy of something you create. The silhouette that the leaves make against the sky takes you through a number of journeys over the course of twenty-two minutes, and each one of these is breathtaking.
I decided to go on an expedition of my own, accompanied by the music of Daniel Hopkins aka Landcrash. I began by walking the streets of my town without knowledge of where I was going or how I was going to get there, and as each track played out before me like a mini narrative I felt compelled to write about the stories that came to my mind, illustrated by this release.
In the distance I could hear the echoing thud of tools against wood, a carpenter slowly shaping his creation one knock at a time, guiding himself through a creative process which would end in something timeless. Walking further I pictured a young child with his head held high in awe of the passing clouds, on a journey of his own. As the final seconds of the record fade away I felt I had come far enough and my own short journey was over.
In listening to this release, Landcrash has illustrated to me pockets of discovery and creation. And so I leave you with one suggestion, wherever and whenever your next journey takes you, let The silhouette that the leaves make against the sky accompany that journey, it will make it all the more sweeter.
I grew up mixed with my father’s poetry and vinyl records of great musician poets. Ever since, I have been attracted to spoken word, not the kind that uses speeches as another instrument or decoration, but the kind where you can take a ride and dream your own experiences, hypnotized by the voice, like listening to a siren. As such, it is with great honor that I present you The Dwindlers Dreams – more than spoken word they gift us with short stories filled with magic. Benjamin Dauer brings the music with such precision that it reminds me of a clock ticking perfectly whilst the voice of Michelle Seaman is allowed to wander in our imagination.
The combination of two or more ideas that seem contradictory is always a good starting point to arise to new perspectives and different points of view, which ultimately lead us to think about our own actions and feelings. In my opinion, Philipp Teister’s work revolves around this concept, and his Farewell ep is nothing more than one proof of concept. The combination of an apparent innocent guitar with electronic harsh sounds, take us into a post-modern world, where anything can happen. From being kissed by a stranger passing by, to witnessing a building collapse. And after listening to the whole ep we can imagine this world, a post-romantic place that revolves around ourselves.
When talking with Philipp Teister aka ldetm about his work and Farewell two things striked me as very interesting. The first was that part of his inspiration comes from Bob Dylan’s work and the second one is that he would like to have orange in the cover of the ep, more specifically an orange Sun. These fragments of unstructured questions and answers are astonishingly coherent with his work in Farewell, because although I cannot describe exactly why he said that two things, I totally agree, that this is in fact an infected rock ep, infected by life itself, by its imperfections but nonetheless a vibrant world.
Landrecorder announces the importance of framing in his technique at the album's outset, when "Morning" begins with an acoustic guitar part on repeat, as if a needle has been set down more than once at the same place on an old piece of vinyl. A similar sense of nostalgia is infused in all three tracks, from the mournful harmonica on "Morning" to the distant chatter of children on "Afternoon," to the way the sound of a car driving past brings "Evening" (and, hence, the full set) to a close.
This compositional technique mirrors the process of memory, things combined in unlikely combinations, and in unlikely proportions: sometimes warped, sometimes laid bare. And both approaches, in Landrecorder's hands, lead to tantalizing results.
I’ve Lost makes music for serious listening, and not merely background or ambience. This music takes you places where you need to go. It explores the heart of Inner Space. It will make you think.
