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Machinefabriek, Nerf (3" CDR Machinefabriek)

Although generally very impressed with his long-form works, I´ve always felt the best way to enjoy Machinefabriek is in small bites, in the seemingly unending stream of three-inch discs issuing from his Dutch factory. Each is like a little work-in-progress, a status report. The content may turn up... [read]
Posted by Stephen Fruitman at 07:55, 18 Mar 2010

Alio Die, Tempus Rei (Hic Sunt Leones)

Tempus Rei is further evidence that the ambient artist known as Alio Die is in fact the reincarnation of a very old soul, Elizabethan at the very latest but more likely High Medieval. The matter-of-fact list of devices used to make this extraordinary album - "drones and loops, zither and field... [read]
Posted by Stephen Fruitman at 02:35, 17 Mar 2010

DJ Spooky, The Secret Song (CD & DVD Thirsty Ear)

Another hugely ambitious project by Paul D. Miller, aka DJ Spooky, which means plenty of food for thought, much savoury delight, and some flavour combinations which leave your palate flabbergasted. As usual, he throws in everything and then some more. Usually the plethora of artists appearing on... [read]
Posted by Stephen Fruitman at 02:30, 15 Mar 2010

Yukitomo Hamasaki, d+p (mAtter)

mAtter is the brainchild of Tokyo´s Yukitomo Hamasaki and is more than a "mere" record label, gathering writers, architects, video artists as well as experimental electronic composers who design buildings and commercial products with as much seriousness as they invest in their music. That there... [read]
Posted by Stephen Fruitman at 01:24, 14 Mar 2010

Náhvalur, Aboideau (CDR Mystery Sea)

A perfectly amphibious album - splashing about in and around the water - harmoniously constructed by Alexandre Rito and Matthew Ellis as Náhvalur, "narwhal" in Icelandic and Faroese. ”Roth Ramach” achieves admirable aquatic stillness with nothing but a low rumble disturbed only by the... [read]
Posted by Stephen Fruitman at 03:18, 10 Mar 2010

Nils Frahm, Dauw (business card CDR Machinefabriek)

German pianist Nils Frahm´s piano transcription of Machinefabriek´s "Dauw" (from the long-player of the same name) is infused with quiet passion, an interesting contrast to the stately intellectualism of the original. His interpretation, stating the track´s simple four-note theme then digressing... [read]
Posted by Stephen Fruitman at 09:01, 08 Mar 2010

Cone, Massimo (3" CDR Fieldmuzick)

Massimo is the record of a Dutchman on vacation in Sicily, where he captured and mixed a handful of field recordings over which he plays simple, musing abstractions. These field recordings rise and fade into the background, giving unusual depth to Cone´s instrumentals. On "Bus Stop Wake Up", an... [read]
Posted by Stephen Fruitman at 08:50, 06 Mar 2010