Ilictromix: Matthew Prain (2014)

A re-post and archival of one of the series of mixes Adam sourced for us a long time ago. There's a couple more of these in the archives but I will spread them out between new posts! In the meantime, stay safe and enjoy the music. -CVF

This year I have been on a huge Drone/Ambient kick, so I'm really excited for this weeks Ilictromix! It comes to us from Matthew Prain a 23 year old Brisbane resident. I never knew that such moody dense music was coming out of Australia's scene, but after listening to his EP's and this mix my ears and attention are going down under. Also Surprising is how bright and cheery he is for how dark the material is that he puts out. I was introduced to his work after I fell in with the track "You Should Have Told Me (From The Beginning)" So I asked him a couple of questions and invited him to make a mix for us and luckily he agreed.

IL: So how did you get started and how long have you been producing? 

MP:  I started producing music in 2007, but I was really just messing around with pre-made loops and remixing Nine Inch Nails' songs at that point. I made some albums along the way under many lame pseudonyms until I finally got into film music in 2011.

IL: Minimalist and drone are some hard sub-genres to get into though what led you down that road? 

MP: I've always been interested in minimalist music where it's fairly repetitive in nature with only slight changes over time. The synthesizer I used in the EP (the Buchla Music Easel) was basically perfect for that style.

IL: So what are you listening to now then? 

MP: Lately I've been intrigued by the sounds of Death Grips and Tune-Yards, but my most recent favorite album would have to be Half-Eaten Guitar by Wyrd Visions - it's easily the most unique thing I've heard in a long time.

IL:  Oh you know how much we love Death Grips here! So then if right now you could work with any artists who would it be? 

MP:  I would have to say Phil Elverum of Mount Eerie, since I always go back to listening to his music at some point. Plus, it would be pretty cool to combine more electronic elements with his style of music...

IL: So how do you find inspiration for such dense textures and creating moody atmospheres? 

MP:  I guess the inspiration came from wanting to do an electronic album that was more personal and revealing, which I've always tended to avoid doing with most of my music. I was also inspired by Alessandro Cortini's solo albums to restrict myself creatively with using only a Buchla synthesizer, as well attempting to make it somewhat more performable live. Sound-wise, my inspiration comes from a combination of non-electronic artists like Mount Eerie and Wyrd Visions, and electronic artists like Tim Hecker, Andy Stott, and Boards of Canada.

IL: Oh ok that makes sense, So what Equipment are you using? 

MP: Apart from the Buchla Music Easel and a EHX Cathedral reverb pedal, I record with Ableton Live on a Mac. Tracks 2 and 4 were the only tracks that were multitracked while tracks 1, 3, and 5 were performed live in one take.

IL: If you could mail a letter to yourself 5 years ago what would it say? 

MP:  "You will stop listening to NIN in a few years time."

IL: Do you have a favorite flavor of Ice-Cream? 

MP: Chocolate easily, but sometimes vanilla depending on the mood. No extra gnarly toppings though - I like my ice cream to be minimal as well!

IL: So the EP is just stellar! Whats next for you? Rumors have it your going to sell out and make a Trap album? 

MP: I'm currently working on "Part 2" of Thoughts, so I can turn it into a complete album. The rumors are true - I'm planning on working with Kenny G to make a new style of trap music called "easy listening trap".

Tracklist: 
Andy Stott - Numb
Oval - Textuell
Boards of Canada - Reach For The Dead
Andy Stott - Execution
Tim Hecker - October, Part 1
Tim Hecker - October, Part 2
Aphex Twin - "Rhubarb"
Tim Hecker - Black Refraction

You can find more of Matthew Prain here: 

Soundcloud
Twitter
Website

-Adam

Lush V.20

Note: this is a Re-post of an article from 2014 that you can find the original of here. It's still a solid selection, but you'll notice 2014 me was a lot less wordy than current me, so apologies for the comparatively short post! In the meantime, Stay safe and enjoy the music! -CVF

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Syd Mead - Mobilage

Starting with an album I long struggled to add to my collection due to the ridiculous mark-up on it: Global Communication's 76:14 (So called because that is it's total length, the tracks follow suit,though annoyingly they don't match on spotify!). Not that it isn't well deserved mind, it's a gorgeous record throughout and no doubt a fine example of the ambient style of the time. Echoes of The KLF's Chill Out all over this one, combined with that mid to late 90's sense of futurism before the turn of the millennium. Tune in, switch off.



Back to OPN for a bit from Rifts. I adore that album because it's just so dense, I had it in rotation from when I got it in like December '09 and only took it out maybe two years later. The 27 track, 3 album compilation may be too big to digest in one sitting, but it's chock full of little moments that are just brilliant. Prime example here, this track is just beautiful.



I can't believe I've neglected to mention the grandaddy of ambient so far. Eno may not have been the progenitor of Ambient but he coined the term, and his influence is plain to see. the album this is taken from is themed around space and the moon landings and that vibe is captured excellently here. This predates the Global Communication track by 11 years but the foundation is largely the same, albeit minus a drumbeat. Listening to them both back to back is pretty interesting, I definitely recommend it.



-Claude Van Foxbat

Self Promotion

I never did get around to posting my ambient EP after I finished it. So here we are. After a four year hiatus I dusted off some half finished things on my HDD, made some new ones and actually got around to putting all of my audio releases on a bandcamp page for all to enjoy (all my releases are pay what you want and always will be, so feel free to pick them up for free if you'd like). I'm going to actually quote the release page now:

"Started as a quick follow up and a return to me making music, it's been an often delayed project interspersed with moments of great productivity. It's finished now though.

A much more sample-oriented than my previous works, partially because of the huge influx of new music I acquired between the last release and this one. I think this EP also more closely resembles my original inspirations for creating ambient, that being Rifts-era Oneohtrix Point Never. I hope you enjoy."

I'm currently trying to make more audio things right now too actually, granted this will probably bite me in the back as this EP did but if I keep mentioning it I'll remember to work on it!, embedding the player below:

And finally before I forget, a list of samples used for those interested in spotting them. Some more obvious than others, and as mentioned above each track has a sample in it, happy hunting!

Track 1 contains a sample of "Prototype J" by Akira Takemoto

Track 2 contains a sample of 'Aya's Diary' by Naoshi Mizuta

Track 3 contains samples of 'Tears Stained Eyes' by Konami Kukeiha Club and 'boundaries and limitations [sunday driver]' by Echochamber

Track 4 Contains a sample of "In Heaven" by SiLC

Track 5 Contains a sample of "Can You See" by R·O·N

-Claude Van Foxbat

The New Guy

Hello! My name is Jakob and I'm the new guy (so to speak). I hail from the land-in-the-north-but-not-quite-there called Denmark. As I told Claude when I first proposed the idea to write a few posts for the blog, I'm not new to the site. I have been following it on and off since sometime in 2009. I'm an avid fan of primarily - but not limited to - electronic music, currently enrolled at the University of Southern Denmark. But enough about me, let's get to the music!

In these first few posts I will be focusing on the electronic music scene of Denmark (perhaps spiced up with some of my favorite non-electronic acts). To kick this whole thing off is Spleen United: An electronic band with roots in drone, rock and techno (think Soulwax with better lyrics). Probably alot of other stuff too! This is one of my all time favorites from them called "Gold Ring". It's from their first(of three) album "Godspeed Into The Mainstream".



Even if this isn't your cup of tea I urge you to check out their other stuff - their third album "School of Euphoria" has a much more contemporary sound, with alot of inspiration from the 90's rave scene. This means a ****ton of 303 synthesizer sounds and really great dancetunes. Here's the opening track - "Days Of Thunder"



-Jakob

MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY

fiWe made it! Finals are all wrapping up, flowers are finally blooming, we made it through winter and then all of the April showers. Spring is finally here and the summer sounds are going to be rolling in hotter than a heat wave! So what should you be listening to in preparation of spring? I'm glad you asked!

Since may is filled with random cold days to remind you that summer is not quite here yet, here is a downer from friend of the site, and drone expert; Matthew Prain.




Like Claude, I've also been on a huge 80's kick so here are some fantastic jams to get you shaking that winter fat off!







And then finally some deeper tracks until next time....











-Adam 

Gloomy Sundays Vol. II

Another week, another weekend session to sit down and get sad. Not sure if Adam's gonna knock up some for ya as well but here we go with my picks.

Alex Colville - Pacific (1967)

More Dania Shapes, where here OPN apes long time buddy and sometimes collaborator Tim Hecker with a piano piece. I recall seeing OPN say somewhere he loves Pianos, and one of the first tracks he recorded as OPN called Grief And Repetition shows this off well. This one is a solid addition to that lineage, sounds like a lo-fi Nanou 2 from Aphex Twin's Drukqs



No mention of ambient is complete without the grandfather of all Ambient as we know it today. Eno has a lot of Ambient under his belt, this one is taken from the soundtrack he made for NASA's documentary For All Mankind. A few times on the album Eno injects some Americana via a country sounding guitar, think The KLF's Madrugada Eterna only more spacey.



And finally with Röyksopp announcing a return to the dark and and introspective end of their conventional studio albums with their upcoming and suitably moody titled The Inevitable End let's look back on their last full on ambient release Senior. I remember most of the tracks here being warm sounding, but right at the end things take a very cold turn indeed. It may not be the best track on the LP, but I can't think of a better way to say goodbye.



-Claude Van Foxbat

G'night

It got real late before I remembered I should have posted today, have a speedy sleepy playlist I've just thrown together, but first some more gorgeous extreme high res art from Ed Hopper.

Edward Hopper - Nighthawks (1942)
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Starting off with soundtrack piece from OPN, this one's been a mainstay for around a year now and I still love it just as much every time, it's full of lush synths and other electronic goodies. Here's hoping Lopatin gets picked up for more soundtracking duties in future, he clearly has a knack for it.



Standout midpoint from The KLF's aptly named Chill Out. Bit of an odd choice of sounds for a post dancefloor comedown record, but they make it work in top form. Fits in amazingly well with the overall 'imaginary USA roadtrip' theme the album has running throughout.



With the new Aphex Twin record on the horizon, now would be a good time to reflect on what is possibly the highlight of the man's career. Even after doing an in depth review on every one of his albums on Warp I still have nothing but love for Selected Ambient Works Vol. II. Considering AFX is normally known for his experimental streak, it's nice to hear him tackle something more sedate. CHeck the album out if this is your fist exposure, it's reputation is well deserved.



-Claude Van Foxbat

Sad

Not been too sure how I feel the past couple of days. It's not upbeat that's for sure, but I'm not sinking into a pool of sadness either. Rest assured i's not exactly the time for four to the floor hard house, here's some choice picks of the last 48 hours.

Gregory Crewdson - Untitled (From the Beneath The Roses series)

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I know Oneohtrix Point Never comes up a lot as one of my favourite ambient dealers but I cannot stress enough how well Daniel Lopatin does what he does. Take this rare bit from short lived side project Dania Shapes. It's gorgeously put together with lush synths being the order of the day here. However the Dania Shapes stuff he did has a certain glitchy element to it, one that gets more pronounced in this track as it goes on.



The same applies here. When another of my favourite ambient crafters gets involved with OPN the result is just magical. The intro to this LP is absolutely beautiful as is the track itself, the melody introduced around 46 seconds in is unmistakably Lopatin. It has a glitchy side but feels much more naturalistic than the digital artifacts of the Dania Shapes material.



More from Noise-rock group HEALTH's ambient soundtrack catalogue now. It's not often I can say I've seen ambient sensibilities applied to actual instruments, but this is certainly one if not the only example I have. Definitely a much rougher sounding beast in comparison to the previous The guitar work may not be incredibly complex, but it is very effective when setting the atmosphere, much like Pills and Pain from the same soundtrack.



-Claude Van Foxbat

Lush V.2

Same deal as last time here, more chiller stuff I just adore the sound of. That was a short intro. Well you know the drill, tracks and words after the mandatory eye candy!

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Syd Mead - Mobilage

Starting with an album I long struggled to add to my collection due to the ridiculous mark-up on it: Global Communication's 76:14(So called because that is it's total length, the tracks follow suit,though annoyingly they don't match on spotify!). Not that it isn't well deserved mind, it's a gorgeous record throughout and no doubt a fine example of the ambient style of the time. Echoes of The KLF's Chill Out all over this one, combined with that mid to late 90's sense of futurism before the turn of the millennium. Tune in, switch off.



Back to OPN for a bit from Rifts. I adore that album because it's just so dense, I had it in rotation from when I got it in like December '09 and only took it out maybe two years later. The 27 track, 3 album compilation may be too big to digest in one sitting, but it's chock full of little moments that are just brilliant. Prime example here, this track is just beautiful.



I can't believe I've neglected to mention the grandaddy of ambient so far. Eno may not have been the progenitor of Ambient but he coined the term, and his influence is plain to see. the album this is taken from is themed around space and the moon landings and that vibe is captured excellently here. This predates the Global Communication track by 11 years but the foundation is largely the same, albeit minus a drumbeat. Listening to them both back to back is pretty interesting, I definitely recommend it.



-Claude Van Foxbat

Ilictromix: Matthew Prain

This year I have been on a huge Drone/Ambient kick, so I'm really excited for this weeks Ilictromix! It comes to us from Matthew Prain a 23 year old Brisbane resident. I never knew that such moody dense music was coming out of Australia's scene, but after listening to his EP's and this mix my ears and attention are going down under. Also Surprising is how bright and cheery he is for how dark the material is that he puts out. I was introduced to his work after I fell in with the track "You Should Have Told Me (From The Beginning)" So I asked him a couple of questions and invited him to make a mix for us and luckily he agreed.

IL: So how did you get started and how long have you been producing? 

MP:  I started producing music in 2007, but I was really just messing around with pre-made loops and remixing Nine Inch Nails' songs at that point. I made some albums along the way under many lame pseudonyms until I finally got into film music in 2011.

IL: Minimalist and drone are some hard sub-genres to get into though what led you down that road? 

MP: I've always been interested in minimalist music where it's fairly repetitive in nature with only slight changes over time. The synthesizer I used in the EP (the Buchla Music Easel) was basically perfect for that style.

IL: So what are you listening to now then? 

MP: Lately I've been intrigued by the sounds of Death Grips and Tune-Yards, but my most recent favorite album would have to be Half-Eaten Guitar by Wyrd Visions - it's easily the most unique thing I've heard in a long time.

IL:  Oh you know how much we love Death Grips here! So then if right now you could work with any artists who would it be? 

MP:  I would have to say Phil Elverum of Mount Eerie, since I always go back to listening to his music at some point. Plus, it would be pretty cool to combine more electronic elements with his style of music...

IL: So how do you find inspiration for such dense textures and creating moody atmospheres? 

MP:  I guess the inspiration came from wanting to do an electronic album that was more personal and revealing, which I've always tended to avoid doing with most of my music. I was also inspired by Alessandro Cortini's solo albums to restrict myself creatively with using only a Buchla synthesizer, as well attempting to make it somewhat more performable live. Sound-wise, my inspiration comes from a combination of non-electronic artists like Mount Eerie and Wyrd Visions, and electronic artists like Tim Hecker, Andy Stott, and Boards of Canada.

IL: Oh ok that makes sense, So what Equipment are you using? 

MP: Apart from the Buchla Music Easel and a EHX Cathedral reverb pedal, I record with Ableton Live on a Mac. Tracks 2 and 4 were the only tracks that were multitracked while tracks 1, 3, and 5 were performed live in one take.

IL: If you could mail a letter to yourself 5 years ago what would it say? 

MP:  "You will stop listening to NIN in a few years time."

IL: Do you have a favorite flavor of Ice-Cream? 

MP: Chocolate easily, but sometimes vanilla depending on the mood. No extra gnarly toppings though - I like my ice cream to be minimal as well!

IL: So the EP is just stellar! Whats next for you? Rumors have it your going to sell out and make a Trap album? 

MP: I'm currently working on "Part 2" of Thoughts, so I can turn it into a complete album. The rumors are true - I'm planning on working with Kenny G to make a new style of trap music called "easy listening trap".

Tracklist: 
Andy Stott - Numb
Oval - Textuell
Boards of Canada - Reach For The Dead
Andy Stott - Execution
Tim Hecker - October, Part 1
Tim Hecker - October, Part 2
Aphex Twin - "Rhubarb"
Tim Hecker - Black Refraction

You can find more of Matthew Prain here: 

Soundcloud
Twitter
Website

-Adam

Snowpocalypse

The first winter snow of the new year fell yesterday in the great city of Chicago. Ever since I moved here over the summer I knew this day would come; the season everyone has been warning me about, "The Chicago winter". I'm not even a full month into it and already it's absolutely miserable. Canadian Drone and Ambient artist Tim Hecker is going to make it a lot worse.

Heckers music is hard to describe in words because it's a very emotional listen. To me it's like a midnight blizzard: cold, howling and swirling, dreadful, introspective, and ultimately beautiful. It's hard to choose which tracks to recommend since each of his albums have different moods and should be listened to in their entirety.

The first track is from the album Ravedeath 1972. A majority of the album was written with pipe organ in an Icelandic cathedral, so everything sounds distant, old, and suffocating. The track starts off abrasive and grainy, but then a melody starts to form, and then pulsates in this breathtaking track.  

The next track is from the follow up album Virgins. Virgins, is a lot more in your face. Louder tracks that are very jarring, surreal, and absolutely depressing. The track black refraction is one of the quietest and loneliest spots on the album so its easy to recommend  I could go on and on about how I love the piano loop that gets distorted, the haunting noises in the far corners... But instead you'll just have to listen for yourself and check out the rest of his work.

-Adam

It's Gonna Be A Long Time

Afternoon folks, gonna be a short one today, you'll soon see why. So I got curious and filtered my collection by length; holding the number one spot is a near two hour bootleg of a Mr. Oizo set, and a ton of others. In fact it's a while before you get to the actual tracks, but there is some gold when you do finally get down to it.



First is the 48MB monster that kicks off Goldie's D&B classic Timeless. Well, it's actually three tracks in one (Inner City Life, Pressure and Jah) but it is one of the best intros to an album I have. When it all kicks off around 2:40 you know you're in for a hell of a ride.



Follwing that we have the penultimate track from OPN's Rifts, this isn't gonna be for everyone and I'll admit this one does go a bit overboard with the whole layered arpeggios, in fact I sed to find it annoying. Then one day I it came up n shuffle and I had it quiet enough that the apeggios functioned as quasi-percussion and I kinda liked it. The track really shines in it's second half around ten minutes in, and the sounds towards the eventual climax are just fantastic. In summary: great title, rocky start, gets better as it goes on.



Ah, good old Moroder. E=MC² has a ton of synth work in it, as you'd expect from Giorgio. Being from 1979 and all, a lot f the vocal disco stuff hasn't aged well, but the end to this LP is something real special. A quarter of an hour instrumental that's chock full of guitars, synths and more. An early highlight is about 5 minutes in, where everything peaks and there's a complete change in sound, a guitar solo and even a little cowbell in the back.

GiorgioMoroder · Giorgio Moroder - Evolution (1978)

And I'm afraid that's gonna have to be it, that's 107 MB of stuff and if I brought anymore to the party that would only get bigger.

How're You?
-Claude Van Foxbat