Hior Chronik - Taking The Veil

When I first listened to the Arovane & Hior Chronik demo many months ago, two things became clear regarding my understanding of Hior Chronik and his music: One, his touches are minimal but complimentary and powerful. And two, he seems to work extremely well with partners, or in collaboration.

Hior's most powerful work to date and his first 'solo' effort, stays true to those two observations. Taking The Veil, recently released by the esteemed Singapore/Tokyo based Kitchen Label, is a series of collaborations that place Hior's minimal, piano-focused compositions front and center alongside a number of talented partners. Included in the modest yet brimming lineup are: Field Rotation (Denovali Records), Aaron Martin, Sophie Hutchings (Preservation), Luup (Experimedia) and Japanese composers Yasushi Yoshida (noble) and Yoshinori Takezawa (Schole Records).

From such an extensive list of artists, you'd expect an album that spanned many styles as each artist took it upon themselves to shine. But here, the duos are never overly present and the album is a masterpiece in complementing Hior's core talent. Taking the Veil comes off in one fell swoop as an immersive journey into delicate and intricate tales told by a truly talented cast.

Hior's beautiful Piano-work is apparent throughout, adorning dreamy vocal tracks such as Between Two Rooms alongside Seiji Takahashi, and patiently backing Luup's enchanting Flute-work. The instrumentalists conjuring the paintings at-hand are unclear - Nest Of Autumn, alongside the uprising Sophie Hutchings (go check her free EP here) floats by so unassumingly that to think the two have only collaborated on this one track, is a crime. Hior makes it clear he has no intention of being the star of the show, but instead, has sought after the very best to help him along these vivid creations - an avid photographer, it's clear that Hior paints with music.

I'm a big fan of Field Rotation, and Oblivion is the defining piece of this album that would put some of the best Motion Picture Soundtrack pieces to shame. Oblivion could live amongst the likes of many Clint Mansell or James Newton-Howard scores - The Village  (a big favourite of mine) actually came to mind as this track unwound across the four, way-too-short-minutes.

Aaron Martin, who also stars on the upcoming ASIP release with Hior, pairs up in a similar manner to provide added texture to one of the most beautiful melodies on the album in Quiet Inside Your Chest. And if you thought the album would continue in a similar vein with the piano taking center-stage, Amber Ortolano provides a wistful and dreamy vocal across the tinkering bells of Sailing Away and Yoshinori Takezawa adds a child-like playful element to an otherwise very serious album in We Are All Snowflakes.

ASIP star Halo also graces us with another masterful composition. When similar talent like Pasquale and Hior collide, the roles in tracks like The Sense We Make become unclear, but as I mentioned earlier - this effect, most definitely intentional, is often hard to contain with such a long roster of collaborators. Hior's hand-picked roster has accentuated each of his productions, allowing every single track to shine in its own unique way - something single artists albums often struggle to do. The smallest of details from the producers featured here are given the room to grow.

What I love most about this album is that despite the intensity, the detail, and the assuming amount of effort gone into collaborating, Hior graces us with a couple of very magical unexpected moments: a short, but very sweet rendition of London Bridge Is Falling Down, and a cover of Little Dragon's track, Twice with album starlet Amber Ortolano giving her own spin on the unique vocals of Yukimi Nagano.

An irrelevant fact: Little Dragon's Twice was the very first track I posted here on ASIP some seven years ago - to see it recreated by Hior at the same time he prepares a release on ASIP gave me a small, token smile - and on a very personal note, sums up an absolutely brilliant album that touches on some of the finest moments of music I often seek. Taking The Veil presents us with thirteen delicate compositions and beautiful hand-crafted melodies, with each tracks' own unique, respected nuances left to shine and revel in the power of the multiple masters at hand. 

Taking the Veil CD available now at Kitchen Label which also includes the above pictured Art Book.

https://soundcloud.com/hiorchronik
Preview Hior's upcoming collaboration with Arovane.

NSI - A.R.T

Dancefloor techno, and flat-out drone, Tobias Freund and Max Loderbauer, also known as NSI (Non-standard Institute) are hard to pin down with their rare but sought-after partnerships.

Their Resident Advsior episode sparked mixed-emotions, with some calling it out flat-out noise, but for those that can appreciate the industrial techno sound mixed with the unexpected (experimental), their latest collaboration should be just for you. 

The album takes a little while to warm-up, but eases you into ART V - an absolutely beautiful transition around the 3-minute mark reminiscent of Alva Noto. At this point, you realize why these guys specialize in live-sets as NSI - it took a while to get here, but it's the true 'a-ha!' moment. 

This is followed by ART VI - a darker, sci-fi inspired take on a Pop Ambient sound, whos style continues into ART VII  - rolling bells, arpeggios and clashes of sound - harmonious melodies dissected with a gritty, industrial approach that can only be enforced by such producers at the top of their game.  

If for some reason your faith in dark-ambient, or drone music has dwindled in recent years, then give this guy a try.

"The full length release is a true genre tourist, visiting regions of ambient and noise, with glimpses of industrial, along side both strange and familiar tones generated in the analog realm complimented by digital overtones from the artist's own custom Max MSP inventions"

Available on Bandcamp.

Motionfield - Luftrum

Carpe Sonum are a relatively new label, born out of an unusual inspiration following the death of Pete Namlook a few years back.  As the original North American distributor of Pete's legendary label, FAX, the Boulder (Colorado) based company looked to pay tribute to Pete with an 8-CD boxed set entitled Die Wel ist Klang, and since it couldn't be released on FAX, Carpe Sonum was born.

Scanning through the label's back-catalogue, they have a wealth of releases already under their belts. I've happened upon them a couple of times, now, but have never been drawn-in to the extent I have with this release by Motionfield, titled Luftrum.

Motionfield, real name Petter Friberg, has put together a brilliant ten-track album, rooted in lush electronics and varying from Boards of Canada-esque retro (in Luftrum 1), to Ultimae style psy-ambient we normally associate with the likes of Carbon Based Lifeforms (in Luftrum 3).  

Given the influence of the label and its origins in early 90's ambient music, it's an album unmistakably influenced by the likes of FAX, and the many early ambient pioneers of the time - subtle vocal samples, spacey-synths, and the consistent feeling of floating in space. This is a timeless album that will invoke nostalgia, and remind you that there's an ever expanding wealth of music that was born from the great, late Pete Namlook and his notorious FAX label.

Download on Bandcamp.

Big thank you to the always brilliant @sibear71 for the heads-up on this one.

Biosphere - Microgravity (Reissue)

Let’s go back to a time when electronic music was on the cusp of its defining years. A time when I wasn’t even really aware of electronic music (being just seven years old). A time when nobody knew that the artist they were listening to (probably in a chill-out room somewhere) would end up defining an entire genre, and 14 years later, still be pushing ahead.

in 1991, Geir Jenssen released his first ever album under his renowned Biosphere name. Inspired by the likes of Brian Eno, New Order, Depeche Mode and titled Microgravity, it would go on to be a cult classic. And it would be the first of many from Geir that did exactly that - define ambient music as we hear it today. Geir’s sound took techno, acid, and psychedelic /drug induced music to a whole new level; a deeper level; and was undoubtedly the spark to many of the greatest electronic musicians we hear today. 

The years surrounding Biosphere’s debut release in 1991 witnessed the likes of Global Communication, The Orb, The Future Sound of London, Autechre, and even Aphex Twin birth classic albums. That’s not to say that each of these artists were a result or influenced entirely by Biosphere’s sound, but I’d put a wager on it that Biosphere is respected as a pioneer for many of those guys. 

The relationship is more obvious in some than others. Take Global Communication for example and one of their aliases Reload, who remixed an entire Biosphere EP. Aphex Twin’s Selected Ambient Works is packed full of the sound you hear in Biosphere’s Microgravity too - the warped samples, the acid-lined bass and the warm analog sound. 

I’m not writing this to compare, or to say who influenced who - that would be a never-ending debate I'm sure. Let's just say, Biosphere’s first album, Microgravity was a seminal and defining piece of electronic music. And I’ll get to the point... it’s now available to buy in all its remastered, extended, vinyl, CD and digital glory alongside a bunch of unreleased tracks, following a successful Kickstarter campaign.  

Not bad for an album which was originally rejected as unmarketable by Geir's original record label.

Satellites, baby, Satellites. 

Available on Bandcamp. 

You may also want to check out Patashnik 2, also available on Geir's Bandcamp - more unreleased greatness.

Alva Noto - Xerrox Vol.3

After a break of five years, Carsten Nicolai the data-centric mastermind returns with his third instalment of the Xerrox series. The Xerrox series deals with the manipulation of data by means of endless reproduction.

Alva Noto's live shows are often based on this data manipulation, incorporating partnerships with visual artists such as Japan's Ryoji Ikeda, leaving audiences in awe after colour inducing assaults and pixel-perfect manipulation. It's an approach which Carsten has coined, but in my opinion, sometimes at the cost of the listening experience when outside of the 20ft screens and surround sound. Weighing up these live experiences with personal listening sessions, you often wonder if they can ever live apart - and maybe they were never intended to.

When approaching Vol. 3 I wondered if the five years of data manipulation would impact his often minimal approach to the series and we'd be left with clicks and beeps. Tracks like Monophaser 2 are still at the very top for me, and as the series expanded, I had to remind myself of the narrative Carsten had put into play. Volume 1 referred to the old world, volume 2, to the new world. And now, Vol.3, towards space.

It's as if Carsten was inspired by one of my favourite unofficial videos for Monophaser 2 (see above). This video is the perfect match for this track, and as Vol.3 seeps through my headphones, I look back and realize in excitement that the epic-soundtrack style synths that break on Monophaser 2 as the rockets break-off, are just a taster of what we had in store for his next volume.

On Xerrox vol. 3, a new aspect enters the scene. Inspired by childhood film memories from the 1970s including Tarkovsky‘s adaption of “Solaris” and “La Isla Misteriosa y el Capitán Nemo” based on Jules Verne‘s “The Mysterious Island”, the record shows Alva Noto‘s private side. With its very intimate atmosphere, it's a personal reflection of dreams, an imaginary journey through emotional landscapes or, as he himself puts it, a "cinematographic emotion of a soundtrack to a film that actually, does not exist in reality". 

It's a study of the score to our favourite sci-fi film, beginning with an opening theme and subtly breaking into it's own components, chapters and moods. The feeling of expanse is almost palpable as the record sizzles and rumbles alongside expansive washes and tense, distant strings.

“I see Xerrox Vol. 3 as my most personal album so far. I have to admit that this emotional output is a surprise even for myself. it remains exciting how the last two albums of this series will sound like.”

— Alva Noto

Carsten gives each track the space to breathe, with slow melodies, subtle progressions and a recognisable suspense. You sit watching his imaginary film-score anticipating the next move, as the rumbles re-appear; the ship passes camera, voices muted by nothing but black on tracks within Xerrox 2ndevol2nd.

Carsten dances with romance and the longing-stares out into the void with Xerrox Isola. The falling debris, the uncontrollable spinning and changing colors of the horizon are seen in Xerrox Solphaer. And the gentle introduction of a piano on Xerrox Spiegel, spell an ending of hope, or perhaps an introduction to Part 4, as Xerrox Exosphere slowly dissipates - a white dot slowly getting smaller and smaller, the pixels digress, finally blending with the millions of surrounding stars.

Vol. 3 is available to buy and stream in full on Raster Noton - note the limited edition vinyl package!

Tracklist:

01 xerrox atmosphere 01 : 23
02 xerrox helm transphaser 06 : 45
03 xerrox 2ndevol 03 : 44
04 xerrox radieuse 05 : 60
05 xerrox 2ndevol2nd 05 : 05
06 xerrox isola 08 : 07
07 verrox solphaer 06 : 09
08 xerrox mesosphere 05 : 55
09 xerrox spark 06 : 10
10 xerrox spiegel 03 : 33
11 xerrox exosphere 03 : 48