Hello all, we’re back with another round of category price reductions for you. This week’s selections include:
Bruno Sanfilippo – ClarOscuro –$5.99
“Barcelona based piano player and electronic musician Bruno Sanfilippo is a classically trained musician and composer who has been exploring the borders of minimal piano concepts and electro-acoustic music for more then 20 years. His CD series “PianoTextures“ sets him in a direct tradition of artists as Harold Budd and Brian Eno, combining slow piano tunes with electronic soundscapes. With “ClarOscuro“ he now makes his step into the genre of modern classical music by presenting his first composition work for piano trio. Most of the nine tracks on the album feature Sanfilippo accompanied by spanish musicians Manuel del Fresno on violincello and Pere Bardagi on Violin, while some of the tracks still let the sensitive piano playing stand on its own. With the fragility and beauty of some Arvo Pärt compositions and a high cinematic touch, “ClarOscuro” brings the perfect soundtrack for an imaginary movie.” –brunosanfilippo.bandcamp.com
Bruno Sanfilippo – InTRO –$5.99
This release from 2006 offers 54 minutes of engaging ambience. Joining Sanfilippo on this recording is Alio Die on one track. For the first track: softly drifting textures are augmented by dreamy strings and sedate percussives, generating a lush and pleasant dose of ambience. Environmental samples enhance this soothing tuneage, contrasting the aerial violin with placid rainfall. The next track is ushered in by wind chimes winding their way through cyclic electronics breathing in tandem with didgeridoo. The serene tones maintain a steady flux that excellently suits an introspective reverie. The third piece wafts in on a shuddering breeze, orchestral airs vibrating in the distance while fragile electronics lazily cavort in the foreground amid softly ponged bells. Stately piano commands the next track, describing pensive chords in an ethereal fog of wind-borne electronics. Relaxation becomes mandatory. Heavenly hosts rise in the next track to meet a rain-swept wash punctuated by pastoral zephyrs.The next track employs singsong tones to achieve a contemplative milieu that is as captivating as it is dreamlike. The melody sways with tender intention, caressing the psyche with tendrils of sweet resonance.Piano reappears for the final piece, waxing emotional and conspiring with persuasive soundscapes to achieve a sweeping return to externality. superb dose of ambience whose power is understated but vibrant, evoking a series of entries into the inner mind. -Matt Howarth – Sonic Curiosity
Mnortham – Automnal 2003 — $5.99
Highly indicative of the nomadic life that international sound artist Michael Northam has come to know over the past 5 or so years, this release represents a sonic recollection of his life dispersed across a vast geography, pinpointing three specific locations and moments from his long journey:
– Glacier du Trient, Switzerland / France
– Eagle Creek, Indianapolis
– Ils Grosbois, Montreal
At times, this hypnotic release presents meditative, invigorating, and eerie translations of places and experiences in ways that only Northam can poetically convey.
John Hudak – Sand or Stars –$5.99
The first piece of this CD mastered by John’s friend and collaborator Stephan Mathieu (Sirr.ecords, Lucky Kitchen, Hapna, etc), is unlike much of John’s previous work in that it features sharp staccato percussive sounds suddenly dodging in and out, but nevertheless it still has John’s “endless” compositional sense written into it. A subtle sense of humor seems to be inherent in the piece as well, as if some of the sounds hesitate with indecision as to whether or not they should make their presence known or perhaps they are trying to avoid colliding with some of the other sounds. And upon listening to this piece, be careful with volume settings at first listen, because the listener will quickly discover another aspect of this piece that is unlike much of John’s previous work: sudden volume shifts. This seems to suggest that the sounds are also changeable in temperament as well!
The second piece on this CD is perhaps the most meditative of the collection with its muted midrange buzzing that jumps around within the stereo spectrum, perhaps being reminiscent of musical radar signals or sonifications of normally inaudible activity occurring in a planet’s magnetosphere, all the while maintaining a benevolent warmth throughout.
And what could possibly be described as the amplification of rolling ion particle blasts being broadcast via shortwave radio, tells us that we have reached the third and final piece of this collection of what could be considered as being among John Hudak’s finest works.
Nunc Stans – Meridian –$5.99
Nunc Stans has always been inspired by far northern landscapes and the subjective states that accompany or are induced by them. Much of this collection is a sonic analog of those landscapes … drawn in sound across the silence. A sublime journey through expansive soundworlds, rich with detail, immersive atmospheres, and an underlying grandeur. -Dataobscura
The Circular Ruins – Confluence –$5.99
Composed in 2001 and released in 2002 on the Atmoworks/In The Bubble label. This DataObscura re-release has new packaging and artwork. And is also available for the first time as a download. The album is a little more electro-rhythmic than more recent works by TCR, and includes the definitive version of the remarkable and addictive title track, Confluence. -dataobscura.com
Lammergeyer – Borders & Barrens (cdr) –$5.99
Sonic explorations of isolation, distances, and landscapes. The fourth Lammergeyer release.
Borders & Barrens follows the same general style as previous Lammergeyer releases, delving even deeper into sonic explorations of isolation, distance, and the mood of landscapes. The scene is coastlines, misty headlands, desolate marshes, barren moors and their mysterious solitude. The music is richly atmospheric, studded with inventive detail and drawn-out, almost subconscious melodies. It is a music with underlying emotion, and is a journey not to be missed. (Press Release)
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