abasio

I've been loving This this winter! Amazingly well matched to the weather. Hope to go hiking sometime before it gets hotter! I'll definitely take this along with me.

Yeah, last summer, with a bonus track only for Japan

I think Brian Eno said something similar when he described what ambient was. As intreresting as it is ignorable or something like that.

Shulman - Retroscape

Krill.Minima Nautica Native State Records 2007 Tracklist 1 Submarine Poetry (7:34) 2 Nautica (7:08) 3 Octopus And Sextant (6:59) 4 The Escargot's Dream (5:32) 5 Princess Of The Undersea Gardens (8:33) 6 Kalmar (5:47) 7 The Sea Horse And The Soft Coral (7:04) 8 Surface From The Groundless Oceans (8:25) I'd never heard of Krill.Minima until recently with this album described as a deep and dubby ambient journey into sub aquatic worlds and atmospheres, released on Native State Records, the label that brought me one of my all time favourite albums Rena Jones - Driftwood so I was obviously intrigued especially when I saw the beautiful cover. I had heard some reports that it was boring but I took a gamble that I'd find it deep & meaningful & I'm glad I did. 1. Submarine Poetry A cold bleak start, with the sounds of the ocean, seemingly on a cold winter's night, hitting the shore. Hints of melody in the peripheral before some chimes hum a soft haunting melody. This definitely hits the spot with me as I've always loved the sound of the sea & when it used so sublimely in music it just makes me melt inside. The melody slowly evolves but it all generally follows the same theme. Nice as it is, the track is of perfect length. 2. Nautica Slight, random percussion manages to sound like the sonic equivalent of flotsam & jetsam, the mood again is desolate & cold. A magnificent synth slices through the track like a cold dark bassline making it's way menacingly across the ocean. That synth becomes the focal point of the track & evolves into a melody of sorts, the percussion still randomly floating above the sea and the melody deep in the depths of the ocean where the light can not penetrate yet music can bring to life. A very nice track, one of the best on the album. 3. Octopus & Sextant Much more minimal here with an intro that seems to lack, anything but random bleak noise. A slow pounding comes in but doesn't really create any rhythm just adds to the nothingness that emanates from the music thus far. About half way in, the beat is accompanied by a bassline that matches it exactly & this manages somehow to create a bit of rhythm & movement in the track making the nothingness seem like a tangible substance. A bit abstract but good abstract none-the-less. 4. The Escargots Dream A more rhythmic, leisurely & melodic track is up next. Much more music with a steady beat, intricate sub beats & a much warmer feeling than any of the first three tracks. More energy too with the sounds seemingly like they are building to something. That something is a nicely structured melody that makes me feel like riding on the back of a large fish as it rides just under the surface of the sea, close enough to see the glistening sunlight shining through the exterior & into the expanse we are travelling. 5. Princess Of The Undersea Gardens This kinda starts off as a mix between the last two tracks. Random desolation but rhythmical enough to be called musical. The whole track continues in similar fashion with there just being enough melodic input to breathe a beam of light onto an otherwise, dark, cold, desolate atmosphere. The main melody comes in around the halfway mark & instead of driving the atmosphere upwards, manages to plunge it further into the depths of the ocean. Down passed the influence of the sun, where the only light comes from phosphorescent life down that far. Very nice second half of the track, well led into by the first half. 6. Kalmar Melody as if from the sea bed, rushes up like a deep sea vent. Unexpected warmth in the midst of all this cold aquatic wilderness. Little random clicky sounds, feel like inconsequential life summoned to the warmth, feeding off it, here at the bottom of the world. A very nice piece of ambient, descriptive and very welcome, perfectly placed in the album. 7. The Sea Horse & The Soft Coral Stronger beats sound almost dubby, but imagine dub at the bottom of the ocean & you get the atmosphere represented here. Bass synths rise up & disappear, then more rise up & disappear again into the black water overhead. Halfway through the percussion & the glitch gets out of control, unstructured & very whirly, like a school of fish swimming round & round & round in what looks like it should be out of control but that always manages to fix itself before spinning wildly out of sight. As does the music, this chaos restructures itself into a somewhat cohesive unit. Weird stuff. 8. Surface From The Groundless Oceans A very well titled track, this to me really feels like I am resurfacing from my underwater adventure. The sounds of the ocean lapping against the shore can be heard in the distance & the melody is the nicest on the CD yet. Cold yet hopeful, melancholic but encouraging. A very nice way to round of the album, coming out of the depths to the surface, sunlight on our face again, even if I can't feel it's warmth, I can feel it's optimism, it's assurance of life. After the cold lifeless life at the bottom of the ocean, it's a cheery surprise. Well, what a journey. Krill.Minima has managed to create a very nice ambient adventure under, on & around the oceans. Starting out by the shore, diving deep into the depths of the huge expanse of water, riding close to the surface, almost seeing the light, plunging down deeper that we though possible, finding the dark scary life that dwells on the sea bed & the warmth of the deep sea vents that gives life to so many. Finally to resurface to our world, where the sun beats down furiously upon us & everything is easy to comprehend. Krill.Minima has done a great job with a concept I'm always fond of. The sea. You might feel a little bored on this if you give it a casual listen but stick with it, it's definitely a grower.

I have the new orb album, it's pretty good. A few cheesy track but overall a decent listen.

Krill.Minima - Nautica

Expecting these soon Ian Ion - Gringo Locomotion Jairamji - Kindred Spirits Pan Electric - Conscious Pilot Various Artists - Bioluminescence Various Artists - Left Coast Liquid Vol. 1 Really looking forward to this batch

I'm looking forward to going to the edge of the old world on the first warm day this year (that I have off work) to watch the sunset listening to Rena Jones - Driftwood

I've not really heard their rock stuff, but I'm sure it'll be something I prefer to regular rock.

nah! too many people can't make their minds up. I have to deal with them all day at work & it pisses me off. My polls don't have the cop out option. Choose long or short! If your feeling is 51% Short, 49% Long then choose Short

Hell, I'm looking forward to this. I loved labyrinth. JR has talent, whatever JR makes will be class I'm sure. If you don't think you'll like it, I bet you wont

Yes! Yes! Yes! I love it when spring comes & I get in the mood for lighter tunes. But I'm still in winter mode, listening to a lot of bleak ambient & it really fits my mood. It's a bit cold yet to be looking for spring. I'll be thinking about it in a month when the temperature in Japan just jumps like 15 degrees over night & we have spring underway. I suppose I'll be listening to my more fluffy music then too

Maybe someone did :wank:

Not pre ordered yet

Secede - Tryshasla

Just thought I'd give him the benefit of the doubt!

You didn't like Violent Relaxation?

Damn! Not listened to that in ages! Do you have the original on blue room or the re-release on Inpsyde Media?

Evan Bartholomew Caverns of Time Somnia 2007 Tracklist 1 We Set Out Into The Caverns Of Time (17:42) 2 Leaving Behind Ourselves (9:52) 3 Leaving Behind Our Memories (11:49) 4 Elusive And Effervescent Is Our Destination (13:00) 5 Descending Deeper In Search Of The Timeless (8:56) 6 Reborn, We Fluctuate And Fade (10:40) Evan Bartholomew, of Bluetech fame is out with a beatless ambient album. Now beatless ambient can often be boring, long winded shite without anything going on & with some pretty lengthy tracks has Evan managed to avoid the pitfalls of yawnbient? Has he managed to create the textures & soundscapes I'm sure he's capable of? 1. We Set Out Into The Caverns Of Time We start this ambient journey with a long droning synth that initially fluctuates a lot but straightens out with just a few bobbles. These bobbles become more pronounced as the intro goes on. Other synths join in after a while managing to sound like voices crying out. More voices join in what sounds like an angelic choir of Seraphim singing the music of spheres. It's a really beautiful sound if unreal & distant. The angelical feeling passes into a much darker sound though & the cries that sounded angelic before sound more like cries of despair. A much more real sound, the same as it was yet different that it can ever be. As different as it was at first, it changes again. It sounds very much the same yet somehow it has sunk further into the earth, giving it a much more surreal quality. The slightly higher pitch of the cries seem to come through walls & the ever present drone in the background acts as a sounding board for them to echo off of. A great 18 minute odyssey of beatless wonder through the heavens down passed our imperfect world & into the depths of the underworld. Serene choirs crying out in joy, despair & rapture! 2. Leaving Behind Ourselves Like wind rushing through a chasm as the first light of dawn tries to make it's way through it also. The light sounds seem to rise up like leaves on the breeze while the heavy sounds seem to sink like shadows on a wall. The ever onward march of the dawn light prevails against the shadows as it always does but it only compliments the cold rush of the wind, never managing to bring it's warmth. This is a bright track, yes, but very cold at the same time. 3. Leaving Behind Our Memories The start again sounds like vocals coming from hidden places. Vocals that are not vocals yet have a very human yet distorted quality. Both singular & multiple at the same time, the voices sound like a mass of people all shouting through the one voice. Difficult to describe such an incredible sound, one you just have to hear to understand but as best I can that is it. Imagine a hundred people crying through as single hole in the wall & you might come close. The tome of the voice rises & falls like a wave on the sea and I, as the listener must ride the wave to fully understand it. I must let go & be carried away by the current. Floating on a sea of souls, listening to the mourning cries. What memories we leave behind. 4. Elusive And Effervescent Is Our Destination Water pours down outside, a distant beat pulsates very slowly. From the beatless half hour that has passed before, the very slow rhythm seems to move a lot more than it would if you listened to it separately. Still the rain pours down. One of my favourite sounds in the world is the steady stream of rain. To hear it in music like this is just lush as I can enjoy the sound at any time, not having to wait for mother nature to bless me with a downpour. The distant pulse has changed into more of a bubbly chime but keeping the same rhythm as before. Always with the rain outside. I'm happy, very happy with this track, even when it tries to get a bit glitchy (probably as glitchy as you can at this level of relaxed soundscapes). I'm not usually a fan of glitch but at this relaxed pace it sounds really cool, innovative & a nice change of pace. 5. Descending Deeper In Search Of The Timeless A long hard synth cascades down again & again as a melody tries to play in the background. Suddenly the melody is the strongest thing to come yet from the caverns of time but as strong as they come they fail to stay as melodies & become one with the cascade. The melodies try to reform in a more structured, centered & calm way but it seems they always want to blast too hard & end up cascading down with the rest of the sounds. After a while it becomes clear that the cascade has become the melody & the other sounds are becoming part of it, the longer it goes on the more sounds enter & the more leave giving us a progression that oozes class & keeps me coming back for more time & time again. 6. Reborn, We Fluctuate And Fade WOW! I mean, WOW! The vocals (real vocals, not the synths that sounded to me like vocals) in this track are by Sasha Rose & put me in mind of some Celtic movie I've seen at one time or another as the scene rolls over beautiful fields & deserted hills. The real voice seems to be mixed in with the unreal synth voices & at times it's hard to tell which is which. Like the movies I'm put in mind of, this music is very reflective, nostalgic & melancholic in an immortal kind of way. At first it seems almost like a clichéd ambient ending but it turns into so much more. It turns into the best track on the album, it turns into an ending to end time. The sort of track that if played on my death bed would surely take me over to that eternal summer of forgotten memories. So Evan easily managed to avoid the yawnbient trap. Here he has made a beatless album that not only isn't boring but actually makes me want to listen to it again & again & try to truly understand what he's getting at. I've tried to put down in words where I am with this album after about 15 listens, I feel like I've got a good grasp of where this music is trying to take me. I'm under no delusions that the journey it has taken me on is the same as the journey it will take others on & I'm sure that the journey will change, evolving as I listen to it more. A great piece of ambient. Just about as beatless as it gets with lots of synths, drones & ambients soundscapes. Limited to 777 copies, it's time to get yours.

Well, no there is some truly beatless ambient out there. No beat, not even the hint of percussion. Just because you haven't heard it doesn't mean that there is always a beat. Although, a lot of what people describe as beatless actually has subtle beats. I've heard Ultimae described as beatless ambient but most tracks on ultimae are quite beaty. Even ishq & his other monikers have slight percussion. Take Evan Bartholomew's recent work though & you'll see there is nothing in the way of percussion at all for long long periods. maybe there is a hidden BPM but there is no beat

Evan Bartholomew Caverns of Time

LOL Maybe some wanker will buy it