Today, my friend Jay Bodley, an occasional contributor around Blog.H34, and Moodgadget veteran recording artist, A Setting Sun, releases his newest EP, Flower Garden of Doom.  Also, in anticipation of the EP, Jay released the forth and final installment of his Men and Women ambient/low level mix series, which I created the artwork for back in 2008.  So, in light of all this, we’ll do a slightly different format for today’s post and focus on a few things surrounding this release, my involvement, and our goals at Moodgadget with this type of music.

A Setting Sun – Raspberry

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First up, perhaps most appropriately, the newest A Setting Sun release, Flower Garden of Doom.  While the title may initially seem like some kind of playful joke, it is actually a meticulously constructed meditation on the extremes inherent in the rich singularity of existence.  From Jay’s perspective, one cannot exist without the other, like the lotus flower rising from the filthy mud of the swamp, beauty and darkness coexist in perfect balance in the Flower Garden of Doom.  The music mirrors the message of the title and the the imagery of the cover, balancing texture and noise with blankets of pristine melody, and incorporating more guitar and field recordings than ever before.  Tipping the cap to many of Jay’s primary influences, from David Lynch films to doom metal acts like Ulver, the result is wrought with the sort of emotion and vision that places certain ambient releases above countless others in terms of timeless quality.  By no means is A Setting Sun the sort of easy listening, ethereal new age slop, many unfamiliar listeners associate with the genre.  Instead he chooses to stand among the badasses of ambient, crafting soundscapes that could score a film, or help you see hope and clarity in even some of the most complicated and hopeless of times.

A Setting Sun – Men and Women Seek Happiness (mix)

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I am fortunate to have collaborated with Jay on quite a few occasions, to create a visual side to accompany the music, and the message therein.  After his last release, a collaborative split EP with Shigeto called , Jay asked me if I was interested in working with him on a series of album covers for a collection of four mixes he had planned to record and release over the course of a year.  We wanted to keep things simple, without being sparse, with a focus on color, and an absence of type, sort of a balance between a minimalist layout and a maximalist attention to color and texture.  The visual side of things I created is meant to evoke a feeling of abstract context, imagery which anyone can relate to.  It is astounding that it wasn’t much more than a year ago that these covers were completed, back in the end of 2008, it’s interesting to look at my work since then.  These covers are like a time capsule of some sort, which has only now been released as a whole, with the release of these forth and final mix, Men and Women Seek Happiness.  While the titles once again might have some folks scratching their head (like me, when I first heard about the series), they can rest assured, that there is meaning behind the titles, and it is explained in detail on Jay’s blog Sun Hammer Pounding, which you can read while you listen… Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.

An Ambient Moodcast – Presented by Moodgadget – Hosted and Mixed by Alex / HeadUp

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As a big fan of ambient sounds, who overcame insomnia and stress with music, I have jumped on any opportunity Moodgadget has offered me to get involved with the label’s unique brand of ambient music, low levels.  I find ambient and low level music not only to be very conducive to my workflow, but also very harmonious with my aesthetic style.  Famed for its diverse (yet selective) catalog, which transcends the notion of “electronic music” as a genre, Moodgadget instead positions it as a means of production that manifests within many genres.  The unique ambient cross-section of the catalog known as low levels includes , , , with contributions from , , , , , and many others.  Inspired by efforts like Kompakt’s annual Pop Ambient series, the sounds of low levels are often (but not always) more lo-fi, more textured, and sometimes more repetitive and gradual.  Those interested in hearing more, check out the compilation Expanse at Low Levels, or you can always check out , which is hosted here on Blog.H34 and on Percussion Lab.  Also, Thursday January 21st, there will be a special slightly more ambient installment of the Moodgadget Monthly at Coco66, with hosts A Setting Sun & Shigeto and special guest this month, Kyle Bobby Dunn.  I have seen KBD live at Coco66 before, the venue has amazing sound and space that gets comfortable and low-key for these types of performances.

Posted in Design and Moodgadget and Music Posted by on Jan 12 2010 12:00 pm

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