As Parliament returns so many new MPs posting pictures of themselves getting on trains to go to London. It’s like freshers off to Uni. There’s the odd train cancellation in the social media posts, so Imprevisti from Le Pietre di Mara about an Italian cancelled train seemed suitable accompaniment.
Le Pietre di Mara is from Italy and his Spotify biog says “Astro sfoghi direttamente dal Portello” on which Google translate was no help. Any translations gratefully received.
The track Imprevisti relates to a cancelled train. Le Pietre Di Mara explains “”Imprevisti” was inspired by a cancelled train on a rainy day. A live sample of a platform announcement is woven into the track, adding authenticity. Its ironic tone turns frustration into a whimsical”.
Actually, it’s not a whimsical track. It has a slow, stuck-on-the-platform vibe as the station announcement comes. A lofi beat, some rippling keyboards and even some dreaded sax can’t dampen my enthusiasm for this cheerily melancholic little tune.
The sax rolls on in a mournful manner. The keyboards run on as the beats stop and that’s your lot. Hardly long enough to cover the wait for the next train but cute nonetheless.
I know Ambient Sunday was yesterday but let’s have something that sites on the border between Ambient and Chillwave from Lo-Fox.
Lo-Fox is Landon Fox from Gainesville, FL, United States. Last year he released an album On Time from which the featured track is taken.
The track is To Lose Is To Gain. There are hefty beats but what gives it that ambient feel is the slow unhurried pace of the track. Melodies wrap themselves around the beats but with no incentive to move things along. There’s bird song which gives it that stop and stare vibe.
The melody soars but only slowly with an air of unfurling organically. Guitar gives it a light touch and even a little mouth harp for extra backwoods feel. It’s all very sultry and too hot to move.
Ambient Sunday has a bit of old and new with the returning charms of Dren McDonald and new to here Danny Van Rysselberghe.
Dren McDonald from the US does some lovely beatless tunes. He has a reputation for video game scores (CounterStrike Global Offensive, Ghost Recon Commander, Stranger Things VR), but he’s also written music for film, VR experiences, and theme parks.
Last time he was here a month ago we had Orcinus Bulla (Orca jawbone) from his Oceanic album out later this month. Here’s a new track also taken from the album with a sea creature background. The track is Physeter Coda. Dren explains that “the use of the word ‘coda’ in the title, which is obviously a musical term but also used to describe the series of clicks and pauses used by Sperm Whales (Physeter, their partial scientific name), to communicate with each other.”
Physter Coda is another lovely beatless track. It has that effortlessly liquid sound but with a bass that matches the enormity of whales. The bass is less droning away and more of a physical presence looming out of the darkness.
Around that deep sound are shimmering modular synth sounds. Dren explains that “This is another piece that began with modular synth tweaking, which layers edited sequences that were recorded over a few hours. There is a stronger semblance of tempo and pulse in this composition, compared to others on the record.”
This track has a definite throb as it moves along. It’s the master of all it surveys. Ambient as a perfect marriage between deep dark sounds and light ripples of sound. Sparkling.
New here is Danny Van Rysselberghe. He’s from Belgium but I know no more than that. Here’s The Book – Chapter 6 from his album The Book. This is more downtempo than strictly ambient but it’s laid back enough to gracefully slip in to the Ambient Sunday series.
The Book – Chapter 6 is a languid read/listen. It’s that part of the book that doesn’t need to set scenarios or characters but can afford to just let them live a little. Musically, it’s a one note intro with a melodic almost deep house keyboard sound.
This develops into a lovely slow melody with accompanying ripples. There are beats but they’re soft and not too intrusive. A slow bass adds texture and adds to that laid back feeling.
This is a book suitable for a Sunday afternoon snooze. And at my age that sort of relaxation is to be encouraged. Lovely work.
Here’s a track from OPENSTATE_ which is described as “528Hz frequency, binaural beats, and BPM specifically designed for alpha brainwave-inducing flow-state within the work-from-home revolution.” Not sure about the work-from-home revolution with so many companies stipulating the minimum number of days people must be in the office. Presenteeism is back, baby.
OPENSTATE_ (James Beshara) is from the USA and has training in both classical and electronic genres. And that comes through in the quite precise, slightly formal nature of his work. Here’s Layout.
Layout is rather lovely. It starts very gently with beautiful melodies and strings set against pitter patter beats and children playing. All very tugging at the heart strings. And perhaps a little music for tear jerking tv drama. But that’s both a cheap shot by me and also unfair on the track.
As it goes on the track unfurls like a flower to show more colour, more drama, more emotion. Things start to soar. And then the track shows its full range as the kids return and the sounds get kaleidoscopic. There’s something brilliantly vivid about this track. It’s a bit too epic for working to but it is lovely.
On a dramatic day of election results, let’s take stock by chilling out to some Ambient drum and bass from Vitaliy Be.
Vitaliy Be is Беляков Виталий Алексеевич. Thus, as before, Slava Ukraini. Here’s a new track Abstraction from the album Amnesia.
It opens in a very Ambient style with synths and guitar intertwined in a delicate dance. Soft beats arrive late to the party and generate a bit of excitement.
There’s a sense of dancing on tip toes. It’s all very precise and like aural pirouettes. Beats are kept relatively far back so the chilled synths can occupy the foreground. The beats are just about drum and bass but are a bit more just lightly off kilter.
That sense of not quite chill and not quite drum and bass is, I guess, the sound of abstraction.
Bring me the head of the nearest right-winger In cosy shires and towns without glitter They complain of standards They complain of losing battles they won’t fight You won’t lose much sleep tonight (x3)
Bring me the head of light entertainment Happy nuclear families in the usual arrangement They complain of lovers They complain of single mothers who can’t fight You won’t lose much sleep tonight (x3)
Pray you lose your way You lose your way Every single day You lose your way Without anyone to say
Bring me the head of the nearest right-winger They closed down Vospers They closed down Singer They complain of sadness They complain of losing battles they won’t fight You won’t lose much sleep tonight (x6)
Normally, I’m used to study beats being chilled and cheery. They’re occasionally melancholic but never properly unsettling. That changed with Lost from Fentom.
Fentom is from the Netherlands. His biog offers that “Fentom loves old horror and sci-fi movies and wants to reproduce the feelings of disgust, surprise, anticipation and shock they represent.” That sense of dread you get from the early part of a horror film is the prevailing feeling here.
Have Lost from his new Bits and Pieces mixtape (available on “a super nintendo inspired cassette”). There’s a lovely cassette start sound to the opening.
What then hits is a thudding beat full of bass undertones and menace. Surrounding is a bit of weebling 8-bit sound and a wheezy organ.
There’s bit of old space movie sounds and a vague sense of being lost inside a bad dream or a bad trip. There’s such a cornucopia of sound that it’s almost overwhelming in the way it traps you inside its own dystopian universe.
Chilling with a slasher movie is where Fentom is at. Dare you enter his world?
Makes the most of summer with Anthony Church and Certain. A guitar driver summer chill track.
Anthony Church is a producer from northeast Ohio (active since 2016). His work is mainly in the Hip-Hop, R&B & Pop genres. On Certain we get a mix of Hip Hop and Pop.
Certain delivers what Church calls an “ode to the summer season” and it’s his first collective release with Good Vibes Only! Let’s hope for many more as this is a little chilled gem.
It mixes soft acoustic guitar and some lovely lush melodies. All of this sweet goodness is overlaid with a hip hop beat that doesn’t dominate but provides a lovely crispness to offset the sweetness.
Everything is so smooth and beautifully put together that this just makes you relax and chill. That guitar hook is fantastic.
Perfect for sundowns everywhere whether you’re in Ibiza with the beau monde or simply in your local park with the feral kids pre-loading and talking about ‘looking out for the ops’ or constantly shouting ‘not gonna lie / wallah”.
Sometimes you want subtle and sophisticated but this isn’t one of those. This is when you want something dirty, obvious and loud. Here’s FAPE with something that’s dirty and loud techno but manages not to be obvious.
FAPE is Fabio Pesci from Switzerland. His work tends to the minimal tech or techno. Here’s new track Fuck Up, which is definitely on the techno end of things.
No quiet intro here. This is dirty bass, a thudding eat and THAT title sample. It’s a menacing aggressive start. The track dares you to defy it.
The bass throbs with intent. But it’s also not the full on assault you might expect. There’s a clever sense of things being held back so there’s something in reserve.
It even manages a bit of unexpected melody in the chaos. This is properly clever, properly brutal techno. You deserve it.
I really hate watching England play. My footballing memories stretch back to 1970 and it’s nothing since then but disappointment scattered with the occasional good result to allow hope to return. Only to be dashed later. England are playing as I write and I can’t bear to watch, so something soothing from Benjamin Mauch x Micah Pick, and Philippe Deschamps x A.e.r.o.
Benjamin Mauch x Micah Pick are first up. Benjamin is a musician and teacher from Richmond, VA. He first appeared here just over a year ago. Micah is also a musician and teacher, so I’m going to mind my Ps and Qs.
Their track is Blueberry Jam from their forthcoming album Gloaming Gathering. I’m rather fond of blueberry jam, so it’s handy it’s easy to make. As for the track, it’s a light ambient house track.
There’s a spritely sense of deep house fluffiness and a bit of bubbling synth work. This manages to be uplifting and dreamy all at the same time. A little surface noise and light clatter gives the track a welcome texture.
Melodies are seemingly plucked from the ether. They glitter and jitter like butterflies. Captivating and then. Gone. They arrive in welcome waves. Hard to be sad when this is on.
The track gives you that lifted sense that everything will be alright. But every England football fan knows that’s not the case, so I’ll stick to the music instead.
Ok, so England have scored to level the match. To keep my blood pressure manageable here’s something positively horizontal and drone filled from Philippe Deschamps x A.e.r.o.
Philippe has appeared here a couple of times before. As a reminder Philippe Deschamps is a Paris based film music composer, electronic producer and multi-instrumentalist. He’s got a classical background and has written film scores. A.e.ro is Albert Sipov – chillout, ambient, downtempo, midtempo, synthwave and trance music producer from Belarus.
They’ve collaborated on Into the Blue Sleep. This is every bit as soporific as the title implies. And it’s beautifully executed.
There’s not a beat to be had. This is that smooth liquid ambient that reeks of space, the deep ocean and your dreams. And if you’re waiting for the obligatory Eno reference, insert your own here.
It opens gently and quietly. Things build up slowly until it moves from coma to gentle reverie. A slowly swirling set of sounds. Tones are held but always cut off before it descends into drone. This is quite a lovely dreamy piece.
There comes a point in the track when it becomes really hard to write about it. Everything is so relaxing that typing becomes too much of an effort. This is that good.
And England somehow have won. And I get to do this stress all over again. Gulp.
ACID TED 