Bibio, Geotic, Paneye, Radere
Today, we focus our energies on stopping time, on capturing moments, plucking context and emotion from out of thin air. With these hypnotic, textured, highly-emotive soundscapes, we can frame states of being like mental photographs. Have you ever found yourself in a situation you realized was sweet in some way and that you wanted to preserve it? Outside in a beautiful place perhaps, in a city you know you won’t be in much longer. You close your eyes for a moment like the shutter of a camera lens.
Bibio – Mind Bokeh – Mind Bokeh
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‘s newest album, Mind Bokeh, was released recently to some rather mixed reviews. Having blown away so many people with his previous full-length, Ambivalence Avenue, and his ability to push out beyond his comfort zone, expectations were understandably lofty. Even if it isn’t quite as prolific as Ambivalence, Mind Bokeh definitely isn’t absent of some incredible ideas and sounds, ranging Stephen James Wilkinson’s increasingly broad musical palette. I can’t get enough of the shared childhood memories stored in all our collective unconscious being conjured forth with this intoxicating drifter.
Geotic – Beaming Husband – Mend
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A while back when I was entirely too busy to be blogging, I caught wind of , the ambient-leaning alter-ego of Baths. Having not heard too much of Baths prior to first hearing Geotic, I was drawn into this album, Mend, very quickly. The warmth and romance in this music is present everywhere, even in track titles, making it the perfect soundtrack for cuddling, and drifting either in or out of sleep. The best part is that the entire album was being given away for free/donation on his website.
Paneye – Adrift In A Vast Square – Lost In A Dark Aquarium
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Another worthwhile release that came out back at the end of 2010 when I was swamped with schoolwork came out on my good buddy Warren (Foxes in Fiction)’s label, Orchid Tapes. It’s by Paneye, an Australian musician who appeared on my Mount Vision Ambient Mix. I’ve followed many of his releases over the years, but few have impressed me like Lost In A Dark Aquarium, perhaps his most engrossing and cohesive release yet. Interestingly, Will told me about his time in Japan, living in a tiny guest house, that forms the story expressed in the album. The 27 tracks, often short and fleeting, work like snapshots of context like mentioned above, reminding us that our minds often can’t record such things for more than a few minutes maximum…
Radere – A Jolly Gentleman Of Home And Orchard – Our Imaginary Birds
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…That is, unless your name is Radere, whose newly-released Moodgadget debut I’ve saved for last because it clocks in at over 18 minutes. If you’re still reading this post, than clearly you have an appreciation for the subtle and organic, the beauty in the minimal, and this is precisely what Philadelphia-based dronemaster Carl Ritger brings to the table. The album art I created for this release is intended visually to be derived entirely from the music. I wished to represent the two tracks of the release somehow, maintaining a color palette that was minimal, cold, but rife with subtle organic texture that becomes more apparent with focused attention. The two tracks sort of blend one into the other, and if left on repeat, creates a sustained ambiance that turns and rotates like the sun and the moon.
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