NICOLAS BERNIER
Strings.Lines
CRÓNICA053
Crónica 2010
05 Tracks. 41mins19secs

NICOLAS BERNIER
Courant.Air
AH19
Ahornfelder 2010
08 Tracks. 33mins00secs

NICOLAS BERNIER
Usure.Paysage
HR7963
Hrönir 2011
04 Tracks. 28mins40secs

Strings.Lines
Amazon UK: DLD Amazon US: DLD Boomkat: DLD iTunes: DLD
Courant.Air
Amazon UK: CD | DLD Amazon US: CD | DLD Boomkat: DLD iTunes: DLD

Nicolas Bernier’s passion for sound and for beautiful and intricate structures earned him a honorary mention from the Prix Ars Electronica two years ago for his debut album, Les Arbres. This record was in no way Bernier’s first foray onto the music scene, but until then, his work has mainly constituted of collaborative efforts and of installations. With three releases out in a matter of months, Bernier charts very different aspects of his electro-acoustic work. Continue Reading »

DEAF CENTER
Owl Splinters
TYPE080
Type Recordings 2011
08 Tracks. 43mins17secs

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

It has been over five years since Norwegian duo Deaf Center released their debut album, Pale Ravine, yet the ripples of its impact are still being felt today, so much it has proved at the forefront of a whole movement in contemporary music, its dark textured orchestral bridging the gap between atmospheric electronic music and modern classical. Since, Erik Skodvin, one half of the duo, has, through his solo projects, continued to explore deeply cinematic soundscapes, and has fervently promoted other like-minded artists through Miasmah, the label he originally set up in 1999. Otto Totland has remained more discreet, but he was however noticed as one half of Nest, a project set up with Huw Roberts with whom he released a digital-only mini album a few years ago which they complemented with additional compositions and published as Retold through Roberts’ Serein imprint last year.

Recorded in Nils Frahm’s Durton Studio in Berlin, Owl Splinters is a much more ambitious and accomplished piece of work than its predecessor Continue Reading »

At the beginning of the nineties, Seefeel, originally formed of Mark Clifford, Sarah Peacock, Justin Fletcher and Mark Van Hoen, who was later replaced with Darren Seymour, found themselves treading the boundary between shoegaze, then in its dying days, and the rising electronica movement, releasing three seminal albums and a handful of EPs between 1993 and 1996. Then, although the four never officially split up, Seefeel was put on an indefinite hold. Now back, with two new members, a new album and a forthcoming tour, we took the opportunity to speak with Mark Clifford and Sarah Peacock about the very idea of Seefeel, their renewed focus and what may be the beginning of a new era for the band.

Continue Reading »

It’s been fifteen years since Seefeel last released a record, and even longer since they stopped performing live. The band returned to the stage at the end of 2008 for a unique live performance as part of the Warp20 celebrations in Paris. Prompted by an enthusiastic reception from Warp honcho Steve Beckett, Mark Clifford and Sarah Peacock, now with new members Shigeru Ishihara and Ilda Kazuhisa, got back in the studio and began working on new songs. The result first materialised with Faults last year, then with a self-titled album, both showing a band experimenting with much rawer and angular forms. Coinciding with the release of this fourth album, the band played a headlining performance at Kings Place, ahead of a series of live dates which will take them through the UK, Europe and beyond in the coming months. Continue Reading »