new Double Entendre - Irene EP

The artist-centric New York City may have been spared the brunt of Hurricane Irene's destruction, but the storm did seem to wreak havoc on weekend plans.  A definite benefit: musicians cooped up in their digs, pondering the approaching apocalypse, hopefully making some music, right?  That was certainly the case with Ryan Daniels AKA Double Entendre, who emailed me this morning about the existence of a new EP, born as Daniels sought shelter from the storm.  "The Calm" and "Rain Shields," in particular, may well be Daniels' best work to date.  The former is an experiment in repeating a riff until it's omnipresent, and then subtly changing emphasis to break the spell.  It reminds me, most pleasantly, of the warmly distorted guitars on Brian Eno's Here Come the Warm Jets.  "Rain Shields" ventures into Eno's other territory of sound, that being ambient and/or New Age.  The higher-pitched synth meanderings recall J.D. Emmanuel and Michel Genest*, while the industrial haze that muddies up the song's second half is straight from Sean McCann's aural encyclopedia.  Two of five songs below; stream the whole thing and purchase it here.

  Double Entendre - The Calm by casketcrashvigil

  Double Entendre - Rain Shields by casketcrashvigil

*Infinite thanks are due to Chocolate Bobka for pointing me towards these artists and their records

new Diamond Messages - "Untitled"

Brand new untitled piano essay from Diamond Messages. It's plenty chill, but it's not chillwave. Or, if there is a wave, it's in the way these majestic mediatations curl and fold into one another like raindrops running off deep green leaves. Part of a compilation celebrating Spontaneous Rhythm's first birthday.

MP3: Diamond Messages - Untitled

Moon Gangs - "Sea" & "Sky"

I am remiss to have not posted Moon Gangs immediately upon hearing "Sea" on 20jazzfunkgreats, and further to have not posted it in the interim.  I've been listening to it A LOT.  At least once a day, but usually much more.  Via car stereo, computer speakers, headphones and phone speakers.  Paranoid waves of steely cool sound, placated by warmer oscillations of a sun-burnt hue.  Like the slip of sun that banishes the shiver of night and sets in motion the scurry of a summer's day.  Ambient, kosmische, meditative, New Age, synth, etc.  Free download below; extremely limited run of 50 cassettes from Where to Now?

MP3: Moon Gangs - Sea
MP3: Moon Gangs - Sky

Moon Gangs on SoundCloud / Tumblr

Meadowlands - Music for Seasonal Allergy Relief

Totally at peace as a result of these ambient field recordings by Meadowlands. "Pt. 1 (Synthesizer & Field Recordings)" is a classically ambient synth session, where layers of silky-smooth sounds appear, build, bend and fade into one another.  Meanwhile, "Pt. 2 (Field Recordings)" is a trip to the beach, where the sounds of wind and water become one and the only interruption is the occasional bird call.  These could indeed function as mental field trips for the agoraphobic or severely allergic, but they could also be called "Music to Escape the Confines of Your Cubicle," because right now, I'm lying on a blanket in a field or on a towel at the beach, for all I know.  If the disciplines of spirituality and science manufactured a device to implant in one's ear to enable him or her to hear such ambient bliss all the time, I'd be zoned-out 24/7.  Listen to part one below and then grab both for free here. 

Music for Seasonal Allergy Relief Pt. 1 (Synthesizer & Field Recordings) by meadowlands

Follow Meadowland on SoundCloud and Tumblr. 

new Double Entendre - Street Music EP

Rolled out of bed this morning, checked my email and was very happy to see some correspondence from Ryan Daniels, aka Double Entendre.  Daniels' new Street Music EP is now streaming at bandcamp, available for download or in an incredibly limited run of just 15 cassettes.  There's something for everyone here, from the spin-inducing psychedelics of the title track to the more heavenly, harp-like oscillations of "This Perfect Day."  Faltering swells of acidic synths make up "Breathing in the Ether," while the fuzzed-up tin pan workout that is "Sometimes, Happy Times" took me back to Konono N°1's Congotronics in the best way possible.  "3-4 tbsp" is an ambient interlude complete with chirping birds and burnt-out key tones; "Onboard Currency" is an inspirational jam that chugs on and on towards the horizon.  Daniels offers up "Sometimes, Happy Times" and his remix of Andy & Zeus' "MCMLXXXI Choir" for free, but you should support the arts by buying the MP3s for $5 or a tape for just $6.  If you've ever bought anything from The Curatorial Club, NNA Tapes or Sweat Lodge Guru, you simply must buy this. 

Glass Animals - "Drips"

Oxford/South London's Glass Animals shared "Drips" with me (and 90+ others) via SoundCloud.  The song's aqueous, echoing key tones immediately captured my attention.  Then came the distinctively British-sounding, smooth-as-silk vocals, and suddenly "Drips" was the most hauntingly beautiful thing I'd heard all week.  Sounds a bit like Morrissey writing some ambient New Age while cooped up in a cave.  Creepy yet gorgeous.  Listen to "Drips" below; get more Glass Animals at their SoundCloud. 

  Drips by Glass Animals

Follow Glass Animals on Facebook / MySpace / SoundCloud / Twitter

Evan Abeele - Lineage EP

Evan Abeele of dream-pop trio Memoryhouse justed posted a new solo EP at his bandcamp.  You can stream his Lineage EP below and then support Abeele by buying a download for $5 (or more).  This is gorgeous-sounding ambient/classical/meditative/New Age-type stuff, perfect for your next chill-out session.  Fans of Ambient-era Eno will know and love it at first listen.



(via @inmemoryhouse on Twitter)