NILS FRAHM & ANNE MÃœLLER
7fingers
ERATP028
Erased Tapes 2011
09 Tracks. 42mins56secs

Amazon UK: CD | LP |DLD US: CD | LP | DLD Boomkat: CD | LP | DLD iTunes: DLD

In the last couple of years, Berlin-based musician and composer Nils Frahm has become quite a ubiquitous presence, appearing alongside a number of musicians or opening up his studio to them (Peter Broderick, Simon Scott, Greg Haines, F.S. Blumm and Deaf Center to name but a few), as well as releasing his own music on labels such as Sonic Pieces, Kning Disk, Hush Records or Erased Tapes with who he has recently signed.

Originally published on Hush Records and now benefiting of a full release through Erased Tapes, 7fingers is the first collaborative effort between Frahm and Anne Müller, a Berliner herself, and a cellist who has been experimenting with loops, electronics and textures in her performance for some time. Continue Reading »

ALEXANDER SCHUBERT
Plays Sinebag
AH16
Ahornfelder 2011
07 Tracks. 40mins16secs

Amazon UK: CD | DLD US: CD | DLD Boomkat: DLD iTunes: DLD

Alexander Schubert plays Sinebag, or when two projects meet. This last part could very well be the subtitle for Schubert’s latest release as he brings various elements of his work together under one concept and vastly broadens his scope in the process.

Schubert describes Sinebag as his ‘pop-orientated side project’, yet none of the two albums he has released under that name can really qualify as pop in any shape or form. Instead, Milchwolken In Teein (2003) and Près De La Lisière (2005) have been highly refined exercises in micro found sound placement and electro-acoustic experimentation. Here though, Schubert combines this with a more spontaneous and ambitious approach, finding some roots in the some of the projects he has contributed to over the years, especially those based around improvised music. Continue Reading »

WAGON CHRIST
Toomorrow
ZEN163
Ninja Tune 2011
15 Tracks. 60mins51secs

Amazon UK: CD | LP | DLD US: CD | LP | DLD Boomkat: CD | LP | DLD iTunes: DLD

In 1994, a young Luke Vibert was making his first solo foray onto the music scene following his collaboration with Jeremy Simmonds, published on Rephlex only a few months prior, with a collection of lush ambient pieces, but this was more an accident than a conscious choice. Indeed, all Vibert was doing then was to give his then label, Rising High, what they wanted from him. His second album was a different affair altogether as he turned the tables on them by injecting hefty doses of hip-hop beats and grooves. Since, he has appeared under countless guises, each more or less dedicated to a particular genre or take on a genre, collaborated with artists as diverse as BJ Cole or Jean-Jacques Perrey and found his way on labels including Ninja Tune, Planet Mu, Rephlex, Lo Recordings, Warp, Mo Wax, Law & Awder and many more.

Toomorrow marks Vibert’s return to his trademark Wagon Christ sound. Continue Reading »

SIGBJØRN APELAND
Glossolalia
HUBROCD2503
Hubro Music 2011
05 Tracks. 31mins28secs

iTunes: DLD

A regular alongside Norwegian Hardanger fiddler Nils Okland, with whom he has recorded a number of albums, harmonium and organ player Sigbjørn Apeland has over the years performed with a number of Norwegian folk artists, but he has also found himself in much less obvious company, contributing notably to Alog’s Amateur (2007) and more recently to Phonophany’s Kreken. Released on new imprint Hubro Music, Glossolalia is his debut solo record.

The fruit of ten years of work, Glossolalia, from the Greek ‘glossa’ (tongue) and ‘lalia’ (to speak), was recorded using only a type of Norwegian harmoniums produced in Bergen. Although common place in churches during the first half of the twentieth century, the popularity of harmoniums has since waned and they are now a rather rare occurrence. Continue Reading »