For nearly 14 minutes, “Komo” emerges from a silent cocoon, gradually stretching and testing its boundaries with the aforementioned five-second string motif.  The sound is not unlike that of the recent Marta Mist production: languid and sweet, like a ballroom serenade.  But then the guitars and electronics make their entrance, balancing the barely-audible beginning with an abrasive end.  The string sample is folded back on itself, stuttered, and echoed.  A philosopher begins to speak about the “absence of good ideas”.  And then he – or more precisely, everything within sonic range, is smashed by a cudgel of sound.  And this violence is actually a very good idea, although it does move the last eight minutes of the 26 minute track outside of the ambient comfort zone.  It’s a safe bet to say that most listeners won’t hear this coming, but when they do (if they don’t spill their drinks), they will likely reassess their preliminary opinions.  Hidden Shoal calls the second track the “darker” one, but the label is dead wrong; “Komo” is Darth, while “Ostinato” is Luke.

This second track also excels at repetition, but its centre sample is less obvious, which helps it to blend in a bit better while hiding its primary appeal.  This time around, the electronics are present from the beginning, teeming around the strings like hungry beetles.  ”Ostinato” is more mood than movement, and never achieves the heights of its predecessor; it operates like a long, slow coda.  The horns of the fifth minute are the highlight, achieving a Caretaker-like grace.

In is the opening salvo of a Mehr triptych; the next installment, On, is scheduled for release in June. On‘s tunes are said to be shorter and more dronelike, which bodes well for the release.  After Off arrives in 2013, we may look back and understand If a bit better, but for now it’s an exercise in repetition that reaches its best heights when its patterns are broken.  (Richard Allen)“

A Closer Listen

Stream it and grab it here.

PopMatters

The European is available now as a limited edition CD postcard as well as all digital formats.

‘Antiquarian Days’ is lifted off Kramies gorgeous EP The European which is available now as a limited edition CD postcard as well as all digital formats.

Markus Mehr follows up his stunning debut album Lava with three new releases. In is the first part of the triptych, comprising two monumental tracks, ‘Komo’ and ‘Ostinato’, each of which clocks in at around 25 minutes, circling around and building upon hypnotic instrumental motifs. ‘Komo’ gradually emerges from silence, its distant, filtered throb reluctantly revealing its source material – a heartbreaking string part whose emotional impact intensifies as the loop clarifies. ‘Ostinato’ is an altogether darker, gnarlier experience, its string loops chewed into distorted knots which are highlighted by treated guitars and crafted electronics.

“In this blissful wanderlust Mehr succeeds in spades creating a completely engrossing, engaging and all together reliable album full of the most powerful ambient-drone tracks this year.” – Tome to the Weather Machine on Lava

“They’re ‘big’ compositions, the sheer scale of the sonic work is rather awe inspiring, but they never sound antagonistic or uncomfortable… it sounds like the ebb and flow of space itself – individual snippets of a grand, repeating, organic process that keeps the universe in balance…” – No Ripcord on Lava

In is  available for purchase  now in digital format and for CD pre-order. The CD version of the album comes as a limited edition two panel CD cardboard sleeve of 100 numbered units with artwork by Stuart Medley. Head to the Hidden Shoal Store for all availability details and read a full press release here.

Markus Mehr – In (excerpt)

Beat

Music Emissions

In keeping with the theme of We Don’t Look Back For Very Long, ‘The Colour Of Long Days’ is Antonymes’ reworking of music by fellow Hidden Shoal artist Slow Dancing Society. This time ‘The Red Summer Sun’ from “Priest Lake Circa ’88″ is transformed, the original’s shimmering waves of guitar forming a background against which plaintive piano chords resonate beautifully. Antonymes marries SDS’s glistening atmospheres to his own trademark ambient neo-classical minimalism, creating a completely mesmerising hybrid.

“seamlessly weds the neo-classical leanings of Antonymes to the luscious atmospheric soundsculpting specialized in by Slow Dancing Society, resulting in close to thirty minutes of ambient-classical splendour” – Textura on We Don’t Look Back For Very Long, voted one of their favourite EPs of the year

“This album is probably the most heartbreaking set of songs I’ve heard since Bon Iver’s For Emma Forever Ago, or I Am A Bird Now by Antony And The Johnsons. It’s Brian Eno meets a dagger to the heart….a record that deserves album of the year, even four months into 2011.” – Delusions of Adequacy on Antonymes’ The Licence To Interpret Dreams

‘The Colour Of Long Days’ is available as a free download from the Hidden Shoal Store. For all other Antonymes and Slow Dancing Society music (including free downloads, CD’s and digital releases) head to the Hidden Shoal Store. Read a full press release here.

Antonymes meets Slow Dancing Society – ‘The Colour Of Long Days’

On an album crammed to breaking point with hooks, ‘Supply Chins’ has perhaps the catchiest hooks of all. Alternating between a massive fist-pumping chorus and reflective verses, the song builds towards a breathtaking climax punctuated by sumptuous horns, weaving vocals and driving guitars. This is indie-rock at its most unashamedly anthemic.

Umpire combine sprawling indie-rock sounds with reflective melancholy, expertly wielding massive sun-drenched melodies, serpentine guitar parts and soaring vocals to spectacular effect. From singles ‘Green Light District’ and ‘Supply Chins’ through the chiming guitar surge of ‘The Canyon’ to gorgeous finale ‘Cyclones Into Sunshowers’, Now We’re Active is a stunning release, as expansive as it is propulsive, as heartbreaking as it is life-affirming.

‘Supply Chins’ is available now as a free download from the Hidden Shoal Store where you’ll also find Umpire’s amazing debut album Now We’re Active. For more info read a full press release here.

Umpire – ‘Supply Chins’

Oh and stay tuned as we still have free tracks from Umpire and Antonymes/Slow Dancing Society coming your way before the end of the year!

It’s a total win-win so head to the Hidden Shoal Store and check the specials on the front page. The sale ends on the 1st of Jan 2012 and some CD stock is very limited so do be quick.

“The outcome is stunning… With so many different remixers it is as expected some variations here, but it still feels like a wholesome album, tied nicely together by the underlining of City Of Satellites shoegazing dream-pop material… And in some parts, these mixes has not just made the tunes slightly different, or added another kind of quality, but actually turned the better part of them into something more, and by that; better.” – Luna Kafe

The second review appeared in the just out December edition for Kramies‘ The European,

“Kramies has with the aid of producer Todd Tobias (Circus Devil, Guided by Voices) and guitarist David Paolucci, made The European into a delicate melancholic and poetic swirl of pop-delight.” – Luna Kafe

Hopefully you own both these releases and are sitting there nodding your head in agreement. If not however then head straight to the Hidden Shoal Store where you can stream Remixed and The European in full as well as purchase.

City of Satellites -’Moon In The Sea (Slow Dancing Society Remix)’

The Caseworker – ‘Boats’

The first part of the triptych, In, will be released on 26 January 2012. It comprises two monumental tracks, ‘Komo’ and ‘Ostinato’, each of which clocks in at around 25 minutes, circling around and building upon hypnotic instrumental motifs. You can take a sneak peek at what’s in store by viewing some live footage of Mehr’s performing ‘Komo‘ live at the Maximilian Museum, Augsburg, with video artist Stefanie Sixt, who created the video to Mehr’s track ‘Cousteau‘.

The second part, On, released on 21 June 2012, takes a more experimental direction, with eight diverse tracks employing samples, field recordings and slathers of Mehr’s trademark distorted drones. And finally, Off, released on 24 January 2012, includes his most epic piece yet, ‘Transit’, which clocks in at 49 minutes and will be performed live, again in collaboration with Sixt.

Head to the Hidden Shoal Store to stream and buy Lava (CD version comes in custom Amaray packaging) as well as download two free tracks.

Markus Mehr – ‘Hubble’

City of Satellites Remixed is one of WRSU top 5 RPM adds and Kramies The European is one of the top 5 Radio 200 adds,  Salli Lunn’s A Frame of Reference and Kramies’ The European are in Bagel Radio’s top 5 CMJ adds this week,  The Caseworker’s Letters From The Coast continues its long term camp in the Bagel CMJ top 30 charts, Salli Lunn’s A Frame of Reference gets a top 5 CMJ rotation add at KJHK and City of Satellites and Kramies are both charting in the 3WK CMJ top 30. Nice!

Salli Lunn – ‘Parachutes Forever (Markus Mehr Remix)’

Many, many thanks to Textura for their support throughout 2011!

The album is available in CD and mp3 formats via the Hidden Shoal Store.

We Don’t Look Back For Very Long

The EP is now availble in MP3 and lossless formats and was also released as a limited edition CD package. If you missed out on the CD through Hidden Shoal there may still be limited stock available from Norman Records and Stashed Goods. Head here for digital as well as a full EP stream.

The European EP is available now from the Hidden Shoal Store in mp3 and limited edition CD postcard formats.

Produced by Todd Tobias (Guided By Voices, Robert Pollard, Circus Devils), The European sets Kramies’ gorgeous voice and acoustic guitar within a glowing tableau, epic in scope yet delicate in detail. The EP fades into view with ‘Intro’, a simple cyclical pattern of guitar, piano and vocals gradually subsumed by drones and distortion. This leads into the majestic, glacial sway of the title track, guaranteed to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. Then, ‘Inventors’ is the album’s dark, shadowy heart, a ballad of subtle intensity.

Single ‘Coal Miners Executive Club’ is an emotionally resonant vortex of swooning pop built around an absolutely heartbreaking chord progression on synthesizer, carried skyward as layers and layers of instruments build and build. And the closing ‘Antiquarian Days’ is a fitting fade towards a sepia horizon, burbling loops and chiming guitars accompanying Kramies’ gentle lament.

The European EP is  available digitally as well as a numbered limited edition of 100 cd postcards with artwork by Australian designer and illustrator Stuart Medley. All CD orders come with an immediate download of the album. The first single from the EP, ‘Coal Miners Executive Club’, is also available for free download here. Head to the Hidden Shoal Store to buy and stream the album in full. For more info grab the full press release here.

Kramies – ‘The European’

For the uninitiated, We Don’t Look Back For Very Long sees Antonymes reworking a track from each of fellow Hidden Shoal artist Slow Dancing Society’s four albums, casting radiant new light on the stunning originals. Across almost 30 minutes, Antonymes marries SDS’s glistening atmospheres to his own trademark ambient neo-classical minimalism, creating a completely mesmerising hybrid.

The EP is now availble in MP3 and lossless formats and was also released as a limited edition CD package. If you missed out on the CD through Hidden Shoal there may still be limited stock available from Norman Records and Stashed Goods. Head here for digital as well as a full EP stream.

Antonymes meets Slow Dancing Society – ‘The Grey Sea And The Long Black Land’

The Caseworker – ‘Boats’

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Delusions Of Adequacy

Lost At E Minor

Music Emissions

Produced by Todd Tobias (Guided By Voices, Robert Pollard, Circus Devils), The European sets Kramies’ gorgeous voice and acoustic guitar within a glowing tableau, epic in scope yet delicate in detail. The EP fades into view with ‘Intro’, a simple cyclical pattern of guitar, piano and vocals gradually subsumed by drones and distortion. This leads into the majestic, glacial sway of the title track, guaranteed to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. Then, ‘Inventors’ is the album’s dark, shadowy heart, a ballad of subtle intensity.

Single ‘Coal Miners Executive Club’ is an emotionally resonant vortex of swooning pop built around an absolutely heartbreaking chord progression on synthesizer, carried skyward as layers and layers of instruments build and build. And the closing ‘Antiquarian Days’ is a fitting fade towards a sepia horizon, burbling loops and chiming guitars accompanying Kramies’ gentle lament.

The European EP will be available digitally as well as a numbered limited edition of 100 cd postcards with artwork by Australian designer and illustrator Stuart Medley. CD Pre-orders are available now through the Hidden Shoal Store ahead of the official release on the 22nd of November. All pre-orders come with an immediate download of the album. The first single from the EP, ‘Coal Miners Executive Club’, is also available for free download here. For more info grab the full press release here.

Kramies – ‘Coal Miners Executive Club’

Kramies – ‘Inventors’

Remixed sees tracks from City Of Satellites’ debut EP The Spook and album Machine Is My Animal receive the remix treatment from Manual, Syntaks, Tim Koch, Slow Dancing Society, Jatun, Tin Manzano and M-13. Tin Manzano’s remix of the title track from Machine Is My Animal is a gorgeously seductive instrumental, where restraint and space are as alluring as the sounds blooming across the stereo field. Syntaks bring their trademark wavering dream-gaze to ‘Victor! Burn City Lights’, resulting in a tantalising, sticky web of melody and beats. M-13’s take on ‘Stranger Than Fiction’ bitcrushes the original to produce an incredibly addictive slice of dreamy electroclash. Slow Dancing Society’s remix of ‘Moon in the Sea’ (from The Spook EP) is as epic and mesmerising as anyone familiar with the SDS catalogue would expect. Tim Koch’s restructuring of ‘BMX’ is masterful, rebuilt from the inside out into stunning avant-pop architecture. Jatun renders ‘Control’ as a fuzzed-out shoegaze surge, before Manual (Jonas Munk) closes the album with his remix of ‘Skeletons’, blurry and sensuous as a half-remembered dream.

“one long trip through a colorful cosmic cloud with a dreamy, mysterious flow and a lush underbelly of celestial sounds… swirling layers of enveloping orchestral harmonies and shooting stars of guitar bursts and cymbal crashes that add brilliant flairs of vaporous and heavenly ambience” – Delusions of Adequacy on Machine Is My Animal

Remixed is available as an exclusive digital release through the Hidden Shoal Store and all good third party online stores. Also be sure to check out the gorgeous music video for Tin Manzano’s remix of ‘Machine Is My Anmimal’ on YouTube or Vimeo. City of Satellites other releases can be streamed and purchased here. Read a full press release here.

City of Satellites -’Moon In The Sea (Slow Dancing Society Remix)’

We Don’t Look Back For Very Long sees Antonymes reworking a track from each of fellow Hidden Shoal artist Slow Dancing Society’s four albums, casting radiant new light on the stunning originals. Across almost 30 minutes, Antonymes marries SDS’s glistening atmospheres to his own trademark ambient neo-classical minimalism, creating a completely mesmerising hybrid.

The EP is now availble in MP3 and lossless formats as well as a limited edition CD package. There is only a handful of the CD packages left in the store after pre-orders so you’ll need to be quick to secure one if you haven’t already. The CDs come in a hand-numbered letterpress edition of 100 on beautiful 700gsm GF Smith board, custom made by Ian M. Hazeldine (AKA Antonymes) and expertly mastered by Wil Bolton. Included in the physical and digital packages is a printed copy of an essay on the release by acclaimed music writer Paul Morley. CD pre-orders also include an immediate digital download of the EP.  If you missed out on the CD through Hidden Shoal there is limited stock available from Norman Records and Stashed Goods.

Head here for Digital and CD purchase as well as a full EP stream.

Antonymes meets Slow Dancing Society – ‘The Grey Sea And The Long Black Land’

Fusing masterful songwriting with electronics and atmospherics, ‘Coal Miners Executive Club’ is an emotionally resonant vortex of swooning pop that simply demands repeat listens. Built around an absolutely heartbreaking chord progression on synthesizer, the song is carried skyward as layers and layers of instruments build and build, Kramies’ voice all the while intoning a timeless melody.

‘Coal Miners Executive Club’ is available for free download from the Hidden Shoal Store. It is taken from the forthcoming EP The European, produced by Todd Tobias (Guided By Voices, Robert Pollard) and featuring guitarist David Paolucci. The EP is released on 22 November in digital format as well as a numbered limited edition of 100 CD postcards.

Letters From The Coast has also received a bunch of glowing reviews and press over the last few weeks in such fabulous publications and blogs as DOA, Noise, Rave Magazine, Groovemine and The Pop! Stereo.

“Without leaning too heavily on foot pedals and production, and utilising some highly defined instrumental dynamics, Letters From The Coast has as much resonance and melodic energy as any of the bands and musicians whose work [The] Caseworker draw their influence from, and it succeeds fully as a complete album. Conor Devlin’s guitar playing can stand alongside that of Frank Black and Graham Coxon, also that of Ian McCulloch in its structured and sustained composition, making every note count and blending the country rock vibes and swirling powerchordage into new and kaliedoscopic shapes. Anyone whose album colllection is incomplete without Ocean Rain, Grand Prix and Park Life will find an equally prominent space in it for this twelve track masterpiece.” – DOA

Head to the HSR Store to download the single ‘National Runner’ for free and to buy the album on CD or in digital format!

[Th]e Caseworker – ‘Boats’

The track is taken from the forthcoming album Remixed, a digital exclusive released on 27 October. Remixed sees tracks from City Of Satellites’ debut EP The Spook and album Machine Is My Animal receive the remix treatment from Manual, Syntaks, Tim Koch, Slow Dancing Society, Jatun, Tin Manzano and M-13. Download the track for free here and watch the video in full HD at Youtube and Vimeo. Check out a full press release here.

We Don’t Look Back For Very Long sees Antonymes reworking a track from each of fellow Hidden Shoal artist Slow Dancing Society’s four albums, casting radiant new light on the stunning originals. Across almost 30 minutes, Antonymes marries SDS’s glistening atmospheres to his own trademark ambient neo-classical minimalism, creating a completely mesmerising hybrid.

We Don’t Look Back For Very Long comes as a limited hand-numbered letterpress edition of 100 on beautiful 700gsm GF Smith board, custom made by Ian M. Hazeldine (AKA Antonymes) and expertly mastered by Wil Bolton. Included is a printed copy of an essay on the release by acclaimed music writer Paul Morley. CD pre-orders also include an immediate digital download of the EP. Orders will start shipping on the 14th of October. The digital release of the EP will be available from the 20th of October.

Pre-order and stream the EP here.

Antonymes meets Slow Dancing Society – ‘The Grey Sea And The Long Black Land’

Now for some important info – we will be making pre-orders available on the 5th of October and we will be mailing out to the Hidden Shoal subscribers list before the public anouncement. So if you want to make sure you get yourself a copy then make sure you’re a subscriber. It’ll be tight as we have 60 of the available 100 units available via the store. We’ll give you a heads up on the other 40 after pre-orders have taken place.

If you have no idea as to what we’re talking about then read the following and listen to the SoundCloud stream below. We Don’t Look Back For Very Long sees Antonymes reworking a track from each of fellow Hidden Shoal artist Slow Dancing Society’s four albums, casting radiant new light on the stunning originals. Across almost 30 minutes, Antonymes marries SDS’s glistening atmospheres to his own trademark ambient neo-classical minimalism, creating a completely mesmerising hybrid.

Stream the first track from the album, ‘The Grey Sea And The Long Black Land’, below.

“Twins and Wives” will see a limited edition DVD release in the coming months.The One River album is available now on CD and digitally worldwide, through Hidden Shoal Recordings. Head to the Hidden Shoal Store for all availability details.

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Geeks Love To Maths Debate

Listen Dammit

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