In its early days in the late 60s and early 70s, electronic music served as the soundtrack of a generation that was ready to conquer space. Neil Armstrong has just set his foot on the moon, and artists like Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, and Jean-Michel Jarre defined the open horizon of a completely new kind of sonic adventure that was about to become the real "classical" music of the 20th century. The genre evolved into myriads of styles, and most of them are defined as Ambient music these days.
The Italian composer Massimo Ruberti brings back this classic space sound on his latest release "Autour de la Lune"; and if you happen to read a book every now and then, you might already have realized that this is also the original title of the well-known science fiction novel "Around the Moon" by Jules Verne, the story of three brave astronauts, who embark on a five-dray trip to the moon (which they never reach by the way). Massimo Ruberti put their adventures into music, and together with his musical "partners in crime" Fabio Leonardi, Roberto Mangoni, Alessandra Donati, Sandro Nullo Vincenzoni Sainati, and Laura Lo Conte he delivers a breathtaking soundtrack to the book. Warm analogue sounds are everywhere, sweeping around your head and guiding your imagination into space.
But Massimo and his crew don't just pretend to be true to the original spirit, they even used a bunch of classic synths from that "space era" like the Korg Polysix, the Sequential Circuits Pro-One, or the rare Concertmate MG-1. On one track, Massimo Ruberti even plays a Theremin, which is regarded as one of the first electronic instruments of all time - no good (or bad) SciFi movie from the 60s and 70s could do without its howling sound.
"Autour de la Lune" is a masterpiece of its genre and without any doubt one of the best releases of the year. If you're ready for some sonic adventures, you simply can't afford to miss it. Jean-Michel Jarre would kill for it, I'm sure.
When he closed down one of the most respected netlabels back in 2009, Vincent Fugère was done with the netlabel scene. Putting out new releases in a restless manner, he started to get frustrated over the decreasing quality of the demos he received. Being part of the netaudio movement from its very beginnings, Vincent finally lost his enthusiasm for both of his labels, Camomille and Apegenine, and even decided to say farewell to his musical alter ego known as Muhr. He didn’t know how to go on and where he lost the key to his own sonic universe. So he embarked on a journey to retrieve his passion for music. And now that he’s been reaching a different shore, he also regained his new-old love. Camomille is back. And it’s back for good.
I talked with Vincent Fugère aka Muhr about the reasons for his strategic withdrawal back in 2009, the return of Camomille, and why he pulled the plug of his sequencer.
circlesandlines recordings is another shining example of the emerging Russian netlabel scene, which established itself in the past few years as one of the main sources for fine free and legal music. Russia just seems to be bursting with undiscovered talents these days, and especially the electronic music scene holds a lot of them.
Founded back in 2008, circlesandlines concentrates on classic, airy Ambient music and its various more experimental sub-styles. While the label put out its first two releases as a set of limited CDs, it's been transforming into a digital-only netlabel since then, releasing all of its music for free. And while the label's website design might be refreshingly minimal and simple, you'll notice that the makers behind circlesandlines care about the quality of their music simply by the fact that all of their releases are available as "traditional" MP3 as well as improved FLAC downloads. So no matter if you just want to feed your iPod or if you're looking for the highest quality available for your home entertainment pleasure, circlesandlines holds the right kind of package for you.
This October, the Russian netlabel released its 25th release already, so join the quiet celebration by browsing through their fine back catalogue. It's kind of hard to make a specific recommendation, as all of the label's EPs are worth spending some time on, but I surely love Vidasm's "In the Sky EP" as well as the experimental collaboration of Saffron Slumber, Spectra Sierra, and Carl Sagan's Ghost. Another good place to start is the last compilation circleandlines put out in 2009 - "More Than Feelings" will give you a good idea about the label's sound and style.
... tweet. I don't know about you, but I'm surrounded by good music each and every day, because I dedicated my life to listen to music, write about music, and even produce music. But when you've buried your head long enough into your own magic sonic sand, you sometimes run the risk of losing out on the really exciting stuff out there, because you're too busy with articles, releases and your drooling digital audio workstation.
Thus I was pretty happy that my friend Eric 'HipGnosis' Young shot a link to a smooth mixture of bouncing Hip-Hop beats and groaning Electronica synth sounds under the name of 'The Wires EP' by an Oregon based guy who calls himself 'The Great Mundane'. And you know just how shallow-brained I am sometimes - I fell in love with the cover artwork and thus gave it a try and was ... a-m-a-z-e-d! And I was even more happy to find out that The Great Mundane trooped his creative super powers once again this very October to release another complete EP called 'This is So You'.
But let's hear what the artist writes about himself, because who could say it any better? "Video game deprived and pop culturally challenged, The Great Mundane grew up in a southeastern Michigan home where TV was made of cardboard boxes, the tree in the backyard was his best friend, and the words “I am bored” were household blasphemy. Aside from occasional piano lessons, he passed time deep in his own imagination and on spontaneous road trips, a.k.a his mother’s famous mystery van rides, that seem to have provoked his current state of restlessness. Itching to hit the road, The Great Mundane left his Hip-hop roots in Michigan to delve into Chicago’s House/Techno scene before arriving in the Pacific Northwest. Now based in Portland, Oregon he takes listeners on a journey exploring the complexities and intricacies of his minimalist and innovative approach to beatmaking. He invents fractured, heady instrumentals laced with lush synthesizer work that navigate the terrain of forward thinking Hip-hop and Electro/House, all while exhibiting genuine emotion and talented production skills. Each arrangement is collaged with friends, found sounds, synthesizers, and samples meticulously programmed to convey what it might feel like to fall in love with a tree, travel through a wormhole, or to never be bored again."
'This is So You' is another mighty proof of The Great Mundane's ever growing creativity. If you're searching for some sluggish yet extremely funky grooves and the fattest synth bass sounds you can think of in a Hip-hop-esque environment with some naughty 8-bit-playfulness and Electronica-style naughtiness, then this is definitely your release. I just love the surprises it contains each and every minute, so you'll never know what's around the next beat's corner. Therefore be prepared to see those six tracks falling apart every now and then, shimmering like a sweet box of jewels, stuttering like your sick Toyota, stopping altogether, only to be gathered again to a frolic bouncing ball of musically weird fun.
And while you're there (downloading your lossless FLAC or ALAC versions of this fine collection of extravaganza), don't forget to explore The Great Mundane's other releases on his Bandcamp page. That's what I'll do right now, and I hope you'll follow me into the direction of more good music.
