Purl - Behind Clouds

The man behind Dewtone’s very first release three years ago, Ludvig Cimbrelius, aka Purl, is back with another slice of ethereal electronica that once again sets both himself and the label apart from the rest.

Titled ‘Behind Clouds’, and with a stunning photograph from Denmark’s Christopher Landin, it’s easy to get lost amongst the lengthy journeys depicted on this album. Starting with the slow lull of guitars on ‘Is’, the track quickly develops into the signature warm, dubby sound we’ve come to love.

You’ll find only subtle differences in tempo and melody amongst the first few tracks. Instead, you’re drawn to focus on the expansive washes and distant voices. Lush valleys touching the sky come to life as you peer through the detailed green landscape. Subtle bells, whispering voices and echoes of tribal-calls whisked away in times-gone-by amongst edgy dubs, tiny claps and soaring pads.

Whatever comes first, either the track-name or the music, you’re lulled into vivid stories with each one. The fifteen-minute title track ‘Behind Clouds’ is slow-burning, swaying and bubbling behind a skewed view as the light finds its way through breaks in the sky. ‘Mushrooms’ approaches with more power, perhaps to signify the rapid formation of unusual clouds, brought to life by a subtle swirling of wind throughout the 9 minutes.

Cutting through the rest, is ‘Eagles’. A simple, soaring combination of textures are all that’s needed to bring this beautiful beast to life. He’s in autopilot as the clouds above him swirl, casting shadows on the fields below – nothing else matters.  And like a rapid dive into the thriving lands beneath, ‘Forest Nightfall’ screams life, movement and agenda, as the beats pick up and more obvious elements come to the foreground.

Then, as the forest begins to sleep and the canopy opens, ‘The Stars WIll Have An End’ performs the final sing and dance of the day; an echoing kick-bass, the subtle reminder that you’re not alone down there, as you peer up into the washes of disappearing cloud.

Available on Dewtone through Bandcamp.

Segue - The Here And Now

Segue’s big announcement to us all came through Silent Season last year with ‘Pacifica‘ [review here]- one of my favourite albums of 2013 and probably my #1 when it came to the more dub-techno-orientated bunch.

It seems like Jordan is probably one of the only people I know who can add a slice of positivity into dub-techno nowadays. And by that I mean, it’s pretty easy to become very sad and reflective whilst listening to this kind of music. However, Jordan manages to combine a certain combination of pace, instrumentalism and uniqueness with his approach. Instead of peering out onto the world, I find myself peering in, thinking of good memories, summertime and friends.

As soon as that synth kicks-in off the first track ‘Turning Patterns’, i’m smiling. It’s like the smile you get from a euphoric drop in a big techno track, but this one is the paced-down, perfectly executed, mellowed-out younger brother.  And that unexpectedness seems to be the theme of this beautifully original album.

One thing that’s a little different to ‘Pacifica‘, or even his earlier work on ‘Blue‘, is Jordan’s confidence in letting the instruments play bigger parts within the tracks on this album. Instead of hiding behind washes of ambience, the looping layers and melodies form a much more defined electronica-style approach, with tracks like ‘Sometimes’ or ‘Flood’, echo-ing the colourful palettes of Milieu, ISAN or Freescha.

Their’s a multitude of approaches here and you can tell Jordan has done his best to keep each track a development from the last. New instruments are introduced at every opportunity and a slightly new vibe from each keeps you hooked throughout. From the grainy churning of ‘Flood’ to the searing washes and unsettling undercurrent in ‘Settle Down’, to the rolling dub-beats from ‘All At Once’, you never quite know where this album is about to take you.

‘The Here And Now’ is an evolution in Jordan’s sound and his confidence. Dub-techno often gets labelled as boring or formulaic and it’s people like Jordan who are pushing the boundaries and merging the lines between genres. And like I said before, he’s one of the only few producers that manages to capture the positivity of it all. I hate labelling music into genres and this is a perfect example of why – just absorb the brilliance that Jordan has to offer.

Available as digital and CD through SEM.

Kaito - Less Time Until The End

If you’re familiar with 2013’s ‘Until The End of Time’, you may have been witness to the undercurrent of colour in Hiroshi Watanabe’s music, but by no means would you have been thinking about stripping it back. Yet here we are with an album that has found another layer. By mistake? I very much doubt it. ‘Less Time Until The End’ works perfectly, without any of the beats that were present before, and now stands on its own as Kompakt’s latest ambient offering in the midst of the more notorious Pop Ambient 2014.

Maybe it’s because I’ve come into this relationship without a great deal of listens on the original version. Revisiting it now, I have no excuse as to why – it’s brilliant. But this ‘beatless’ version is in every way just as good, if not better.

The start, is slow. “Smile” is perhaps the one track from the previous album that sounds much better with beats – but it sits nicely as an intro into what’s to come.

‘Sky Is The Limit” and “I’m Leaving Home” immediately envelope you into dusk over city lights with calm twinkling sounds, and a sense of intensity brought to life through swirling synths. The laws of a ‘beatless’ album are broken straight away in one track, with thuds of bass, but just enough to entice and tease the former lives of these big, complex techno tracks.

“Run Through The Road In The Fog” stands alone, with hypnotising patterns, strings and keys which overlap, dodge and melt into one another, whilst “Behind My Life” takes a lesson from Thomas Fehlmann – notorious Kompakt sounding synths wrapped in Kaito space and expansiveness. ‘Dear Friends’ is just plain and simple addictive.

This record is packed full or colourful journeys, built around subtle melodies and lush synths. It’s albums like this that helped me appreciate ambient music in the first place. Coming from an electronic background, it isn’t until you strip back some of the more complex productions that you realise the real value of a piece – the purist iterations and the beauty of simplicity that form many of today’s great musical journeys. Emotion, which was once partly hidden, is given the space and time to express itself.

Release on LP, CD and Digital on Kompakt, or iTunes.

Touched. Macmillan Cancer Support Compilation

123 tracks curated for a very good cause. Not just your ordinary curation though. This features an absolutely outstanding lineup of electronic artists from past and present. 808 State, Future Sound of London, Anders Ilar, Arovane, Bengalfuel, Brothomstates, Christian Kleine, Christ, Datasette, Digitonal, Goldmund, Ishq, Kettel, Maps & Diagrams, Marsen Jules, Milieu, Ochre, Olan Mill, Pub, Segue & Pleq, Sun Glitters, Ten & Tracer and Vector Lovers to name but a few familiars.

To name a any favourites at this stage would be unfair as i’ve barely made it all the way through, but needless to say there’s something in here for everyone. And at a minimum price of £6, even if you can’t stump up a little bit more to show your gratitude, it’s worth every penny. I’m looking forward to exploring many new artists and revisiting a few lost classics over the next few days.

Congratulations to curator Martin Boulton for an outsanding effort all for a very good cause – a great way to end the year.

Available on Bandcamp.

Pop Ambient 2014

It was just last night that I hit play on Pop Ambient 2007, and began to nod off before a swirl of melody forced me to check which track was providing a rather beautiful sleep song. It was no surprise to learn that it was the legendary Thomas Fehlmann and his track, ‘Next To The Field‘. That shift in pads at 3.53 is simply beautiful.

This is after all, one of the most successful and consistent ambient series of all time; a series that is nearly always packed full of many of the best ambient productions for the year that is to follow. 2014’s edition looks set to raise that bar just a little bit higher.

Starting at the most immediate point of interest – the return of GAS. For those unaware of the finer details us music geeks obsess over, Wolfgang Voigt; one-third owner of Kompakt; Pop Ambient curator; producer in his own right and of course, the man behind GAS, has kept his infamous ambient moniker dormant since 2008. His return comes in the form of a remix of none other than The Field – one of 2013 stand-out records and certainly one of Kompakt’s best. “Cupid’s Head” is deconstructed from it’s driving nature and forced into a swirling, hypnotising oblivion. The chord changes come in the form of the infamous GAS pads and the loops distorted into a pulsating wash of textures.

Wolfgang’s named production on the compilation is a reminder of the intensity he sometimes likes to reach with the likes of Mohn (his production duo with Jörg Burger / aka Triola ). Intense pads create a rush of wind, a tunnel of pressure and ultimately, the darker side of the release.

A Pop Ambient original also makes his return in this 2014 edition: Ulf Lohmann. The elusive German producer always delivers some of the more emotive beginnings to the series and Ulf’s first track ‘Sicht’ is a classic; straight from the Pop Ambient manual. Taught, looping strings dictate a morning’s beginnings and the classic sunshine feel.

Book-ending the compilation; Ulf’s second cut ‘PCC’ is yet another stand-out. Emotion takes over as a story unfolds and soundtrack-esque backings grow into a tear-jerker of a ending – this is one of those tracks that’ll be played time and time again.

A relatively minimal effort from Thomas Fehlmann this time around, the Orb maestro emphasis his organic approach to clicks and beats, with a bubbling flow of texture and distant piano. It’s a far distance from any Orb constellation we know, but the perfect incision to the Pop Ambient series.

Marking a welcome return for quite a few artists, Pop Ambient 2014 also sees The Bionaut’s debut on the series. Jörg Burger’s original moniker, with releases dating back to 1992, remixes the old with the new under the Triola name, in anticipation of a new album due out on Kompakt in the Spring. One of the very few Pop Ambient tracks to feature a vocal, Triola’s intense remix is one of those tracks that epitomises the Pop Ambient approach- simple, looping and focused, it draws you in only to leave you gasping for more.

The consistently expected, more ‘electronic’ side of the compilation comes from Mikkel Metal. No stranger to Pop Ambient, Mikkel’s deep and dubby approach to techno bursts through in this lush, spaced-out production that focuses on a spell-binding guitar and sporadic, computerized samples. I’m hoping someone takes on remix duties for this one, as I can feel a pretty awesome dub-techno track bubbling away somewhere.

Clashing bells, chimes and the synonymous Marsen Jules organics come out to play again in ‘The Philosophers Trap’. Shimmering like a flicker of light amongst a dark, intense chasm, Marsen is once again caught constructing an elaborate novel of instrumentation.

A new one for me – ‘Cologne Tape’ makes it’s debut on the compilation. A “Kraut electronics allstar live project that has been dreamed up for the modern era”, consisting of numerous Kompakt related artists including Axel Wilner (aka The Field), Jens-Uwe Beyer (aka Popnonanme) Jörg Burger, John Harten (aka Cato), Daniel Ansorge (involved in a few productions on Pop Ambient over the years), Michaela Dippel and Volker Pannes. ‘Moorpark’ gives a retro, analog feel to the release, with shuffling drums, a multitude of layered guitar loops and what feels like a bunch of geniuses jamming in a Cologne garage on a warm summers day.

Simon Scott’s beautiful gem, ‘Für Betty’ also makes a gracious appearance. Stripped of his drums, Simon opts for a rumbling bass amongst soaring guitar textures and paralleled, distant vocals. Yes, I’m going to say it – if you’re a fan of Slowdive you’ll relate with this track- there’s just something in there…

With a series that’s over then ten-year mark, it’s easy to lose what you started, or to fade into the distance, especially when trying to run one of the worlds biggest techno labels. But with the revival of classic sounds (GAS, Fehlmann, Marsen Jules, Ulf Lohmann for example) and the pioneering of new (Cologne Tape, Triola, The Field, Mikkel Metal), Wolfgang’s Pop Ambient will always remain one of my most anticipated releases of the year, and 2014’s edition is easily one of their best yet.

Available in all formats on January 27th through Kompakt. Stream the compilation on Kompakt.

Read an interview with Kompakt’s Thomas Fehlmann here.
Listen to Marsen Jules’ isolatedmix here.

Tracklist.

01/A1. ULF LOHMANN – SICHT
02/A2. THOMAS FEHLMANN – TREATMENT
03/A3. MIKKEL METAL – PATIENCE
04/A4. MARSEN JULES – THE PHILOSOPHERS TRAP
05/A5. COLOGNE TAPE – MOORPARK
06/B1. SIMON SCOTT – FÜR BETTY
07/B2. THE BIONAUT – AQUAMARINE / TRIOLA MIX
08/B3. WOLFGANG VOIGT – RÜCKVERZAUBERUNG 8
09/B4. THE FIELD – CUPID’S HEAD / GAS AMBIENT MIX (Preview here)
10/B5. ULF LOHMANN – PCC