Sad Souls - Apeiron

Easily the most beautiful thing I've heard in quite some time.  From Tom Auty of Ann Arbor, who records ambient loops as Sad Souls.  Fans of Geotic will certainly appreciate this.  Follow Sad Souls on bandcamp, SoundCloud and Twitter.

  Apeiron by Sad Souls 

(via The Apiary)

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

new Magic Places - Melodrama EP

Magic Places sent over his new Melodrama EP at the absolute perfect time.  With the final space shuttle mission in progress, many are focused on celestial travel, which is perhaps the defining theme of Magic Places' epic electronic soundscapes.  It's the first thing I think of whenever I listen to his music, anyway.  That I received the EP on a night when I had no electricity in my apartment and had to listen in the soft candescence of moonlight was a coincidence that was only too fitting.  Like The Time-Traveler's Pocket Guidebook album and 2071 EP before it, the Melodrama EP is another blissful breeze through the land of 80s nostalgia on the back of Falkor, the luck dragon.  Fans of bygone era-beats and shimmering synth pop have got to get on board.  Stream three songs below; grab the whole thing here.  

MP3: Magic Places - Pitchwhite Lumens
MP3: Magic Places - Lovetrial
MP3: Magic Places - On The Verge

Magic Places on bandcamp / Facebook / MySpace / SoundCloud

Pink Priest - "Tell Me Something Awesome Before I Go To Sleep" (BALAM ACAB Remix)

William Cody Watson may have put the wraps on his Pink Priest project, but for the moment, it lives on with this remix by Tri Angle Records artist BALAM ACAB, who takes the original's alien, ethereal tones and soothes them with some aqueous bubbling.

Tell Me Something Awesome Before I Go To Sleep (BALAM ACAB Remix) by BALAM ACAB

E&E - Various Songs

In addition to having that new Gang Gang Dance record on full blast for the past week, I've had Los Angeles-based producer Elijah Crampton's music as E&E on constant repeat.  It's safe to say I've obsessed over his ambient re-works of popular R&B from artists such as The-Dream, Destiny's Child and INOJ.  Seems like Crampton takes a cappella versions of these songs and adds his own layers of ambient sounds to the mix.  The results are breathtakingly brilliant.  Makes you wonder why the song wasn't produced as such from the beginning.  Take a listen:

MP3: E&E - The Dreem
MP3: E&E - Destine+e
MP3: E&E - Love U Down

Crampton's original creations are frighteningly good, too.

MP3: E&E - Reina (Tape Cut)
MP3: E&E - Submerging Cathedral

Follow E&E MySpace and SoundCloud.

Team Rockit - "första hjälpen" & "leviathan"

All-time favorite Swedish pop stars Air France just started a tumblr, and today they recommended the music of fellow Sincerely Yours-signees Team Rockit.  I'm at an absolute loss for words over how to describe "första hjälpen" and "leviathan," the two songs that make up their new 7", but the words ambient, dancehall, hip-hop and majestic come to mind.  Grab the MP3s below; buy the 7" here.

MP3: Team Rockit - första hjälpen
MP3: Team Rockit - leviathan

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. 

new Sumsun - "Lulla Drone"

I can't imagine a better song to fall asleep or wake up to than this demo from Florida-based beatmaker, Sumsun.  From an upcoming tape release, "Lulla Drone" is composed of "just synths," a tinkering lullaby that twinkles in the night sky or the early morning light.

  Lulla Drone Demo by Sumsun

Follow Sumsun on Facebook / Last.fm / MySpace / SoundCloud / Tumblr

Lee Forest - Leaf Auras EP

I saw Lee Forest on Weed Temple last night, and I've had the melodic, meditative synth meanderings of the Chicago-based artist on repeat all day.  His Leaf Auras EP is available for free download at bandcamp.  The six song EP strikes a perfect balance between disorienting waves of cold, metallic oscillations and warmer, more enveloping transmissions that comfort like a fuzzy blanket.  Stream the whole thing below; grab a free download and follow Lee Forest here.

new Forest Spirits - EP

Behold, Forest Spirits' debut EP is upon us. Available for free download at bandcamp, the EP consists of seven songs, five of which are brand new and two that you may have heard if you follow Forest Spirits closely.  All are brilliant.  I described Forest Spirits' Summer Sleep/Storm Clouds single as "dreamstep": that applies to the EP as well, though the songs are a bit livelier.  I like the fact that artist Liam Richardson has the EP tagged as "ambient" and "electronica" as two separate entries, because while this is electronically generated music that has ambient elements, it is far too engaged, even jittery, to be "ambient electronica."  A subtle but important difference.  Stream the swirling, Soca-synth jam "A Diet Of Seeds" and the 2-step, 8-bit bouncer "All You Could Do" below; grab the rest of the excellent EP here.

MP3: Forest Spirits - A Diet Of Seeds
MP3: Forest Spirits - All You Could Do  

Being There - "Sad Prayer"

Almost a week ago, Don't Die Wondering posted Being There's "Sad Prayer," and it's been holed up inside my head since then.  The song's warmly wavering synthesizers, woodblock beats and slithering, stuttering vocal samples are as expressive as any song with discernible lyrics.  A prayer, yes, but I find it more placative than plaintive.  Either way, it's a hauntingly beautiful listen. 

MP3: Being There - Sad Prayer

Grab another song and follow Being There at bandcamp.

(via Don't Die Wondering)

new Forest Spirits - "Soda Spooks"

Brand new track from Auckland's Forest Spirits, the first we've heard since last year's excellent Summer Sleep/Storm Clouds release.  Taut with a giddy, fidgety beat, a constantly repeating female vocal sample and melodic synth tones and tweaks, "Soda Spooks" is a freshly-oiled robot fumbling about, or The Postal Service on Prozac.  Follow Forest Spirits on bandcamp. 

Forest Spirits - Soda Spooks

D/R/U/G/S - Love/Lust 12"

Been waiting on D/R/U/G/S' debut release ever since I heard "Love/Lust" way back when ALTERED ZONES was born.  Well, the moment has finally arrived.  D/R/U/G/S' Love/Lust 12" is out May 9 on Moshi Moshi / Tender Age.  It features a crisper, cleaner rework of "Love/Lust" as well as new tracks "Velodrome I" and "Velodrome II."  The latter two tracks are suprisingly sci-fi-inspired and spaced-out compared to D/R/U/G/S darker output.  Incredibly fresh-sounding and tightly-stitched electronica of the highest quality.  Stream the whole thing below; pre-order it here. 

D/R/U/G/S Love / Lust by wearemachinemusic

Pedro Magina - "Miyagi"

The Animal Collective fan in me will likely always remember Lisbon as the place Panda Bear picked to record Person Pitch and to live with his wife and child.  But now I can add Pedro Magina and his music to my list of Lisbon-based associations.  Magina's Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five tape is out now on Not Not Fun Records, and though his music is nowhere near the sunburned, tropic-tinged sounds of Person Pitch, it manages to be just as meditative and every bit as excellent.  Britt of Not Not Fun was nice enough to send over "Miyagi," and its undulating synthesizers have been transporting me ever since.  Fans of the spaced-out sounds of Megazord, Oneohtrix Point Never and Zonotope should enjoy it.  Meanwhile, the other songs streaming at Magina's MySpace sound a bit more subdued.  Regardless, these are blissfully ambient songs that shimmer and soar even as they're soused in Lisbon's coastal waters.  Buy Magina's Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five tape from Not Not Fun.

  Pedro Magina - Miyagi by casketcrashvigil

Hyperdelic Records

Almost a week ago, I got an email from Daniel Smith, who records "face melting" music as Red Electric Rainbow and runs the cassette-only label Neon Blossom. Smith and Matt Kimmel of Acid Marshmallow curated last year's Neon Marshmallow Festival, and now they're collaborating on a new ambient/drone/noise/synth label called Hyperdelic Records.  Hyperdelic's first six releases are available now and include cassettes from Red Electric Rainbow, Mark Bradley, Headboggle, Netherfriends, Seabat and Mike Shiflet.  Other information was hard to come by, but I was able to hunt down tracks from 5 of 6 artists.  Note: not all songs are necessarily featured on the artists' Hyperdelic release.  They were just the most readily available songs and are intended to demonstrate the artists' work. 

Red Electric Rainbow - Ferris Wheel
Mark Bradley - No Words
Netherfriends - Wednesday

RxRy - Alpha + guest mixtape

Over the weekend, Casket Crash Vigil favorite RxRy made his Alpha "microLP/megaEP" available for download at his blog.  (UPDATE: On Monday afternoon, the download was taken down, as Alpha is now due for release on vinyl this May!)  As the artist described in an interview with GIMME TINNITUS, Alpha is "comprised of samples taken from an AM radio and manipulated via midi sequencing."  Having had the chance to hear Alpha, I can say that the resulting sounds are the most sonically saturated we've heard from RxRy.  They are also quite possibly his best work to date.  If the sound-canceling properties of outer space somehow enabled the transmission of noise from producer to consumer, this is doubtless what we'd hear as spaceships stretched into star-bending warp speed. I have a feeling, though, that the artist himself hears these sounds as more earthly than extraterrestrial.  In keeping with Mother Earth, then, these are the sounds of a future in which the biological and technological have become one and the same.  Witness the cybernetic crickets on "L.2_Evaporated" for an example.  Stream that and "A2.2_Phase" below; stay tuned for news on Alpha's vinyl release.

RxRy - L.2_Evaporated
RxRy - A2.2_Phase

---

In the meantime, RxRy was kind enough to make a guest mix for me.  I asked him around 12:40 PM on Saturday; it was in my inbox before 10:00 PM that night.  Featuring Aphex Twin, Atlas Sound, Black Moth Super Rainbow, Tim Hecker and others, it was inspired by "the subtle shift in light between 3:32pm and 5.58pm."  Listen/download below.

RxRy's The Subtle Shift In Light Between 3.32pm and 5.58pm Mixtape

Artwork/tracklist after the jump:

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