So when I received the press release for Medicine Show I will admit to feeling slightly nostalgic in recalling an overcast Sunday evening all of nine years ago when one of the greatest guitar riffs I ever heard crackled out of a now long lost analogue radio, bringing with it an air of medium wave mystery and introducing me to the work of some of the US indie world’s quite genuine mavericks. Just one of those moments, but only certain bands can really create those moments, and now in 2012, the producer of Universal Truths… and everything GBV has done since – Todd Tobias – presents us with an album of instrumentals that are as disturbingly captivating and downright twisted as anything Guided By Voices ever released.

A theme of sorts runs through Medicine Show: there is, according to my interpretation of the track titles, a story to tell, involving characters with names such as Clubfoot and Manatoc whose shadowy confrontations are left to the listeners imagination, and Todd Tobias provides more than ample musical backdrop to the images of primitive technologies that the track titles convey. Starting with “Night Of The Clubfoot” Tobias presents us some of the trademark twisted chord changes that anyone familiar with GBV will recognise instantly while the instrumentation holds the subtlest hints of foreboding and hidden challenge. Next track “Manatoc Is Born”, a sequence of keyboard glissandos that are suddenly broken apart by some thunderous effects that go some way towards conjuring a very different world to the one most of us inhabit, a pre-human wilderness of shambling creatures living lives of remorseless brutality. If this is starting to make Medicine Show resemble the soundtrack of some xBox dinosaur game then take it from me, it’d make for a good one if that was ever released. As the album progresses the music reveals a constantly building tension that can only end in some catastrophe or other, and track titles such as “Pre-Dawn Visitation” and “Shadows With Teeth” really do start to resemble the chapters of a fantasy novel.

If I’ve any actual criticism it’s that the album really could use some acoustic instrumentation to bring some added contrasts to Tobias’s almost entirely electronic soundscapes. Call an album Medicine Show and some music buffs might expect something very different to this 15 track exercise in edgy atmospherics and controlled noise, but it’s tribute to Todd Tobias’s skill as a producer and arranger that the pace never slackens and that he’s quite effectively produced the audio equivalent of a graphic novel, one that will keep you listening right up until its cataclysmic final moments.

Delusions of Adequacy

“Kramies Windt is on to something here. The songwriter’s debut five-track EP for Hidden Shoal marries wafting synth textures and an acoustic guitar bedrock to well-honed direct songcraft, making every cut a keeper… the chilly expanse of “Coal Miners Executive Club” and its comforting refrain of “We can pace ourselves” swirl inside the head, and “Antiquarian Days” evokes John Lennon at his most reflective… Mr. Windt’s grand sweeping gestures are never empty, and his hooks are never cheap. It’s no wonder that with each subsequent listen, I find myself enjoying The European more and more.” – PopMatters

The European, produced by Todd Tobias (Guided By Voices, Robert Pollard), is available now through Hidden Shoal Recordings in digital format as well as a numbered, limited edition of 100 CD postcards.

On is the second album in a triptych that began with the acclaimed recent release In, and ends with next January’s Off. On is released on 21 June, preceded by ‘Flaming Youth’ on 18 May, 2012. Check out all Markus Mehr releases, including free downloads, at the Hidden Shoal Store.

As a further progression from his acclaimed debut Somewhere Someone Else and his stunning sophomore album Close, But Not Too Close, Weapons Reference Manual features a varied and richly hued palette of visceral guitar tones, effects-warped textures and achingly beautiful piano work. Immersive and darkly emotive soundscapes, such as droning opener ‘Dreams and Schemes’ and the 15-minute epic ‘Quaaludes’, are counterbalanced by seductively melodic pieces, such as ‘People Disappear Everyday’ and closing track ‘Ashes’. Meanwhile, single ‘Consequences of Recklessness’ is Weapons Reference Manual’s shimmering centrepiece, setting icicles of delayed guitar amid an aching tapestry of drones and feedback. It sets the tone for the album as a whole, perhaps Willenbring’s most complex and satisfying release to date.

“a gorgeous ambient album … a serene, hypnotic and majestic soundscape suitable for daydreaming… hauntingly beautiful atmospheric compositions” – Delusion Of Adequacy on Close, But Not Too Close

“Absolutely gorgeous. Dreamy dark meandering melancholia for fans of Stars Of The Lid, Eluvium, Dead Texan, Tim Hecker, Godspeed and other purveyors of darkly dramatic, abstract moody minimalism” – Aquarius Records on Somewhere Someone Else

Weapons Reference Manual is available now on CD and digital download. The CD release comes as a numbered limited edition of 200. There are still CD units left after the initial pre-orders but be quick as numbers are limited. Check out the Hidden Shoal Store for all details.

Since starting up in Perth, Western Australia in 2006, Hidden Shoal has developed an enviable roster of genre-defying global and local recording artists. With 40+ acts from 10+ different countries, ranging from British ambient artist Antonymes through to American musical experimentalist Todd Tobias and beyond, the committed team at Hidden Shoal continues to play an integral role in promoting exciting new independent music.

Come join us and keep an eye on the Hidden Shoal Store for lots of cool special birthday deals!

While it’s impossible to convey the majesty of Will The Soft Curse Plague On? with a single song, ‘Little’s Jingle’ gives it everything it’s got. Scott Solter’s impeccable production frames a kick-ass fuzz riff and Andrew Hiller’s rallying cry of “Raise your hands!”, building into something devastatingly triumphant and impossibly addictive.

Wizards Of Time deftly unleash technicolour art-rock like lightning bolts from their nimble fingers. Progressive without being prog and pop without being pap, the Wizards’ debut release Will The Soft Curse Plague On? is a staggering and unique concept album that weaves a universe-enveloping tapestry of dizzying complexity and emotional depth. They are the music makers, the makers of music, the slingers of sound. They are the Wizards Of Time…

“I’m not even sure anyone, anywhere, ever has trodden upon the territory Wizards Of Time are treading upon” – Sounds Around Town

“every moment is attention grabbing” – Delusions of Adequacy

Wizards Of Time came together in 2008 with the mutual aim to explore unfamiliar songwriting territory. Over the next couple of years, the band wrote, arranged, and performed live the songs that would be found on their debut album. In 2010, WOT assembled with engineer/producer Scott Solter to call down Will The Soft Curse Plague On? The rest is mystery.

‘Little’s Jingle’ is available for free download from the Hidden Shoal Store. Wizards Of Time’s debut album Will The Soft Curse Plague On? is released in CD and digital formats in July.

Rave magazine 

Willenbring’s sophomore release was Close But Not Too Close (October 2009), and received more widespread acclaim. The composer’s years of piano instruction and technical chops were much more evident here, in the plainly-titled “My Ghostly Fingers” and the loose-stringed “A Half-Hearted Apology.” Hypnagogue wrote, “There’s nothing here that isn’t absolutely inherent, nothing wedged or crammed in where it doesn’t belong.” By May of the following year, Willenbring indulged Fluid readers with an excellent Mixcloud collection, including tracks by Six Organs of Admittance, Vincent Gallo and William Basinksi, among the more standard fare. A subsequent Future Sequence interview revealed him to be a film, literature, and baseball aficionado. He prefers guitar and piano over synthesizer, the latter of which tends toward lateral exploration, but not necessarily much forward progress.

So he has our attention, and the third album — named Weapons Reference Manual — is set for an April 12 pre-order.

Two cuts stand out immediately: the advance track “Consequences of Recklessness,” and the 15-minute, three-act drone presentation “Quaaludes.” The former hints at dulcimer prowess, warm, possibly eastern drone hardware, even the hoarse call of a wind instrument, although all three of the sound elements are likely guitar. Willenbring reports that his compositions begin with melody, and the ethic shows here: a three-note siren heard through the distance of processing. “Quaaludes” opens with a bow to the narcotic idealism of early hard rock: a sludgy, distorted guitar, minimal and dissonant, with cavernous echoes. The repetition becomes entrancing, if not downright obsessive-compulsive. The first ten minutes go by quickly: the accumulation of feedback is unrushed, even exhilarating, if on a more rational level. And at the moment where the reiteration becomes too much, the tumultuous sleep begins dissolving into light. Or overdose, depending on how you interpret the narrative.

It is difficult to pick a favorite out of Willenbring’s catalog: the vastness of Somewhere Someone Else, the intricacies of Close But Not Too Close, or the meeting of both that he offers with Weapons Reference Manual. The Andalusian guitar and light manufacturing rumble of “People Disappear Every Day” favors Close, while the slowly rousing, crystalline guitars and telegraphed production of “Scene Missing” more favors Somewhere. There is a lot to like about the smeared ink, low-throttle guitar distortion and shimmering, time-lapse sustain of Weapons, but more than this, it is an invitation to get to know his discography as a whole.

Fluid Radio 

Wes Willenbring’s superb third album Weapons Reference Manual has just received glowing reviews over at Fluid Radio and Rave magazine. The album can be streamed in full at the Hidden Shoal Store, and is available for pre-order, with CDs shipping on 4 May. Do it!

Todd Tobias’s ultra-awesome new solo album Medicine Show has just received a fantastic review over at Fluid Radio. What do you mean you don’t know who Todd Tobias is? He’s that dude who’s worked with Robert Pollard and Guided By Voices, and plays in Circus Devils! Sheesh! Get with the program!

Head over to the Hidden Shoal Store to stream the album in full and place your pre-order for the CD, which gives you an immediate download of the album, plus a free download of the bonus EP Night Above Ground. Get to it and we’ll forgive you for the whole ‘Who’s Todd Tobias?’ thing.

After years of producing Guided By Voices, playing in Circus Devils with Robert Pollard, and helping to create the music for Pollard’s solo albums, Todd Tobias is striking out on his own with his debut solo album. Defiantly unique and vividly realised, Medicine Show is a multi-faceted instrumental opus, evoking a shadowy steampunk dystopia. By turns nightmarish and hauntingly beautiful, the three-dimensional musical universe that Tobias conjures across 40 minutes is totally addictive. From the dark GBV-esque groove of ‘Night of the Club Foot’, through the gaseous synths of ‘Pre-Dawn Visitation’, evoking a hallucinogen-fuelled walk among a misty moon-lit forest, to the visceral lurch of single ‘Manatoc Enters The City / The Long Fall’, Medicine Show plays out like the soundtrack to a Terry Gilliam movie starring Tom Waits, each song a totally immersive scene, leading inexorably into the next.

“A psychedelic boat ride that leads to a poorly lit and wicked place, where even the nursery rhymes of youth become foreboding…” – AllMusic on Circus Devils’ Ringworm Interiors

Head to the Hidden Shoal Store to preview and order the album ahead of its official release on the 26th of April. The CD comes as a limited numbered edition of 200 in a beautiful Stuart Medley designed, 4 panel gatefold with insert. All CD orders come with an immediate download of the album as well as an exclusive  bonus download of the previously un-released Night Above Ground EP.

Visit Soundcloud to hear excerpts from In‘s two epic tracks, ‘Komo’ and ‘Ostinato’:

And, of course, visit the Hidden Shoal Store to purchase the album in CD and digital formats. Part two of the triptych, On, will be released on 21 June, with the final part, Off, coming in January 2013.

Other reviews have made mention of the length of the pieces, with the tracks ‘Komo’ and ‘Ostinato’ running roughly 26 and 24 minutes, respectively. Of course, in the ambient world that’s not really unusual. Instead, what stands out about In is not so much the length of the pieces as their depth. There’s something about the music that is not completely linear, as though the movement from the first droning pulse to the final burst of distortion is less significant than the studied exposition of each theme and texture. This strikes me as entirely in keeping with the title of the release. As a listener it becomes impossible to stand passively by – we instead become gradually situated ‘in’ the music. And like the anthropologist whose very presence compromises objective observation, the effect is one of seeing both too much and too little, of getting more than one asked for and being poorer for it. It is this immersive experience that makes In both a challenge and a revelation, an accomplishment which speaks powerfully of Mr. Mehr’s daring and engagement with his audience.

With regard to the tunes themselves, as stated above these are compositions of minutely detailed, classic ambience. Both pieces are reminiscient of Frippertronic soundscaping, with looping motifs receiving various treatments, disruptions and distortions. Yet where soundscapes tend to meander across some vague sonic landscape, the music of In drills down and takes root. String pad phrases are developed with patience and care, only to be intermittently interrupted and finally overcome by staccato bursts of heavy distortion. Spoken word, guitar and piano samples are employed to excellent effect, breaking up the deliberate rhythms of the music and injecting significant tension into otherwise patient grooves. Ultimately, whereas both ‘Komo’ and ‘Ostinato’ employ repetition to a degree beyond the average soundscape, they are also more musically complete and resonate with their creator’s intent. Mr. Mehr clearly has a point to make, and after several listens, I could probably be forgiven for interpreting the whole release as a reflection on entropy and the seemingly inevitable trend of mechanization within human interaction.

Unlike most of the other releases reviewed here, In is not a free download and can be purchased from the Hidden Shoal Recordings website. Yet however much I like to focus on Creative Commons releases, I believe In is worth an exception as one of the best releases so far this year and one which will absolutely be appreciated by fans of abstract ambient music and soundscapes. I look forward to hearing more from Markus Mehr and eagerly anticipate the forthcoming releases in the triptych.”

Petal

Opener ‘Komo’ begins as a vast, uncluttered soundscape consisting primarily of several looping string sections which emerge and entwine. From around half-way, less organic elements begin to creep in, by way of thick chords of near-pure distortion and skidding beats. The final element to be introduced is a sample of a Terence McKenna quote, which repeats as the track becomes increasingly more industrial in nature, the periods of distortion coming more frequently and with greater intensity before overtaking the track almost entirely.

‘Ostinato’, by comparison, begins with the string loops already distorted and a deep undercurrent of brooding electronic fuzz. Immediately darker, a recurring piano refrain and deep cello line emerge as dominant themes; but from beneath come a range of smaller elements – snippets of music-box chimes, a recurring trumpet solo and glitchy electronic pastiches. These lesser components contribute to an air of impermanence, even decay; like snatches of memory or glimpses of distant prosperity in a foreboding sonic wilderness.

Despite the unshakable ‘man-made’ feel of In, the progression of both tracks – and the album as a whole – feels surprisingly natural. Unforced, entropic even; the sheer scale at play is huge and Mehr manages to traverse it with barely a ripple. The knowledge that this is merely a third of what he has planned makes it all the more compelling.”

Reviewed Music

‘Komo’ is the first offering and for the initial minute or so it’s so quiet, it would be forgivable to check the volume control to know that it’s playing. However, after five minutes of scene setting, the cinematic string sample and bass rhythms merge together like a huge menacing creature of the sea getting nearer and nearer and becoming louder and louder until it starts to blur and distort. In terms of scope and doomed romance, it makes a fine bedfellow for Paddy McAloon’s ‘I Trawl The MEGAHERTZ’.

Yet whereas ‘Komo’ possesses a clear elegant beauty, ‘Ostinato’ seems more like an experiment in noise and drone. Soon the layers are stripped back to reveal a core lonely guitar melody and even though the sound is submerged like crashing waves by distant trumpets and warped effects, this track also reveals a serenity amongst the turbulence .

Far from being an exercise in endurance, In creates an atmosphere which evokes both the danger and the beauty of the sea. In is the first in a triptych of albums from Mehr, soon to be followed by On and Off. One can only hope that these records maximise their impact with similar levels of expert minimalism.”

Leonard’s Lair

‘Komo’ begins gently enough with strings playing faintly in the distance, the effect ghostly and ethereal and hardly suggestive of the coming storm. As the silken strings incessantly repeat their mournful motif, the material grows hypnotic as it swells in volume and intensity. The music’s to-and-fro motion evokes a ship’s gentle movement on relatively calm waters, until the piercing sting of a guitar appears halfway through, portending the imminent move into darker and more turbulent waters where the music starts breaking apart, growing more distorted in the process. A man’s pontificating drone briefly surfaces before being violently wiped out by a stabbing interjection, the string loops continuing in the background throughout until they too are all but obliterated by the crushing noise hammering away at the forefront.

The second piece, ‘Ostinato,’ immediately establishes itself as a much more raw and grime-infested piece than the other. String loops are again present (if darker and deeper in tone) but this time heard through a scrim of soot and static, and, with the addition of a trumpet, the music takes on a nocturnal, noir-like gloom that complements the sickly see-saw movements of the strings. Electronics also are more prominent, as a textural stutter can be heard skittering across the cellos and guitar fragments at various moments. ‘Ostinato’ plays like the queasy sibling to ‘Komo,’ an altogether more disease-ridden entity in need of medical attention. All things considered, In makes for a provocative if uneasy listen that makes one wonder how the next chapter will pick up from where this one leaves off.”

Textura

If anything, ‘Komo,’ the first half of Markus Mehr’s In is exactly that. It is a process of constant repetition and tension building with each tiny fragment or loop coming in to focus, one by one, little by little, to end up as an emphatically crushing work of art. The intricacy of the sounds and the amount of attention Mehr puts into this track shows on every listen; it never gets boring or old, even though the sum of its components wouldn’t exceed ten or twelve layers. It is minimalism that gives birth to the epic, intelligent music that takes over its listeners and engages them to its very dying moments. The sliced waves of reverb, the aggravated yet despairing speech sample that scorns the banality of present day human beings, and the gigantic noise chords (which I assume are guitar chords processed through an infinite loop of filters and bit crushers) come in to seal the deal and give the track its shock value, something that would pin the listener down under its mighty weight. The little dips in volume in the looping strings add anxiety and translate this uncertainty. “Komo” might as well be the first truly epic track of 2012 so far.

Alas, this doesn’t apply to the second half of the album. ‘Ostinato,’ which also clocks in at approximately twenty-five minutes, picks up on its predecessor’s intensity and starts promisingly, but it ends up being too static for its own good. Repetition and experimental music go hand in hand, especially when the music is on the more minimalistic side of the experimental spectrum. It works like a double edged sword; the results are either sheer elation with an almost unbreakable bond created between the music and its receiver that makes one want to listen to the same thing over and over again, or absolute boredom. ‘Ostinato’ lies in the grey area between both experiences. One is taken back by its strong, emotionally heavy beginnings, but with time the effect wanes and the track just becomes too long for its own good. It does have its moments of brilliance, though. The introduction of brass instruments at points and the buried clean guitar fiddling in the background would be the clear highlights. The element that doesn’t work, however, is in fact what made ‘Komo’ as brilliant as it is: timing. Whereas in the first track one can feel that each and every second of the song is meticulously crafted, the second seems hurried. Leaving the track to loop for ages unattended, even with brief stretches of modification, brings it, and thus the album, down.

In, which is supposedly the first of three themed releases, with the next two to follow in June (On) and January (Off), shows the facet of Mehr’s music that we had witnessed in his debut, Lava: the emphasis on thick layers of sound and repetition, the ability to take the audience’s attention hostage for a period of time only to let go when he feels like it. We see it here at its best thus far, but it still needs work. The upcoming two releases should be even more exciting as they promise to showcase even more experimental sides to his music, and that’s definitely worth waiting for.”

The Silent Ballet

As ‘Komo’ slowly clarifies in the air, a ravishing string-ensemble loop whirls and dips majestically. It is as romantic and seductive as swaying palms against the blue sky and blue sea of a south Pacific island. The dream idyll is however punctured with a quick, nasty blast of electric guitar, out of which somewhat incongruously emerges the voice of late American counterculture philosopher Terence McKenna. These lumpen guitar blasts proceed to engulf all the scenery. An unnecessarily brutal contrast, it’s not a good choice. In fact, it is a baffling one.

Savage distortion carries over onto ‘Ostinato’ before Mehr’s swaying orchestra shakes off all but a few grains of static caught in its strings and keys. Once again lofty, exalted loops are woven, but the space is now palpably indoors. A piano trill is delicately detourned and a trumpet player practicing over there in the corner provides an idea of the size and acoustics of the “in” Mehr is describing. As the piece wends its way a further twenty minutes, it exercises an increasingly hypnotic pull.

Mehr’s orchestral looping is not new, but it is executed with great dexterity. His treatment of it, though bold, is not necessarily always pleasing. The deep vinyl rumble crumbling to the repetitive toy-piano coda is a much more judicious use of distortion. As the rest of the trilogy unfolds, his big idea may become more apparent. On its own, In is a partial success.”

Igloo magazine

As a further progression from his acclaimed debut Somewhere Someone Else and his stunning sophomore album Close, But Not Too Close, Weapons Reference Manual features a varied and richly hued palette of visceral guitar tones, effects-warped textures and achingly beautiful piano work. Immersive and darkly emotive soundscapes, such as droning opener ‘Dreams and Schemes’ and the 15-minute epic ‘Quaaludes’, are counterbalanced by seductively melodic pieces, such as ‘People Disappear Everyday’ and closing track ‘Ashes’. Meanwhile, single ‘Consequences of Recklessness’ is Weapons Reference Manual’s shimmering centrepiece, setting icicles of delayed guitar amid an aching tapestry of drones and feedback. It sets the tone for the album as a whole, perhaps Willenbring’s most complex and satisfying release to date.

 “a gorgeous ambient album … a serene, hypnotic and majestic soundscape suitable for daydreaming… hauntingly beautiful atmospheric compositions” – Delusion Of Adequacy on Close, But Not Too Close

“Absolutely gorgeous. Dreamy dark meandering melancholia for fans of Stars Of The Lid, Eluvium, Dead Texan, Tim Hecker, Godspeed and other purveyors of darkly dramatic, abstract moody minimalism” – Aquarius Records on Somewhere Someone Else

Weapons Reference Manual is available now for CD pre-order and digital download. The CD release comes as a numbered limited edition of 200.  Official CD release and ship date is the 4th of May. Check out the Hidden Shoal Store for all details.

Blossoming into life like a field of neon flowers, ‘Se fosse per me’ is all eyes-wide and life-affirming. It imbues its wistful tones with light through buoyant beats and skittering horns, leading into a reflective textured coda. Elisa Luu’s trademark blend of digital manipulation with analogue warmth, chiming tones with immersive drones, is on virtuoso display, whetting the appetite for her upcoming second album Un Giorno Sospeso.

Though digitally crafted, Elisa Luu’s music is warm, inviting and uniquely human, betraying a vulnerability and sensitivity that is rarely found in the male-dominated sphere of electronica. With its sighing, lilting qualities, Elisa Luu’s music reawakens a sense of childlike wonder and adventure with every sprawling and sparkling track. This alchemical touch is in full bloom on long-awaited second album Un Giorno Sospeso, which takes the glorious blueprint of debut Chromatic Sigh and accentuates the highlights and shadows, making for a deliciously disorientating trip.

“fully-formed music-making that blends melody-based song structures and bold instrumental arrangements into a thoroughly satisfying whole” – Textura

“an astonishingly talented artist, crafting immersive and emotive soundfields with ease” – Luna Kafe

Head to the Hidden Shoal Store to grab the track and hear more from Elisa Luu ahead of her sophomore album Un giorno sospeso, out 1st June.

Don’t forget to download ‘Consequences of Recklessness‘, the free single from Weapons Reference Manual, while awaiting album pre-order availability on the 12th of April.

Wizards Of Time came together in 2008 with the mutual aim to explore unfamiliar songwriting territory. Over the next couple of years, the band wrote, arranged, and performed live the songs that would be found on their debut album. In 2010, WOT assembled with engineer/producer Scott Solter to call down Will The Soft Curse Plague On? The rest is mystery.

Will The Soft Curse Plague On? is released by Hidden Shoal on 26 June, preceded by single ‘Little’s Jingle’ on 23 April. In the meanwhile head over to FaceBook, join the Wizard Of Time clan and await the goodness!

We have still have some copies of The European in the beautiful limited edition mini CD postcard format which can order here, along with digital in all its various formats. Also keep an eye out for the new music video for the Kramies track ‘The Inventors’ which will be hitting your retinas in a few weeks.

‘Manatoc Enters The City / The Long Fall’ is a multi-part mini-epic that offers a tantalising taste of Medicine Show’s shadowy steampunk dystopia. The track kicks in like a panic attack, a dizzying flurry of organ and toms alternating with lurching guitar. The chaos soon calms, but builds in intensity again as a massive detuned riff pummels your ears into submission. The final coda is an exercise in unwinding as the song’s tight, muscular coils begin to lose their tension. The single comes with a bonus ‘B side’ called ‘Crystal Palace People’ taken from the soon to released bonus EP Night Above Ground. A lilting and intimate electro-folk ballad, ‘Crystal Palace People’ is a glimmering, soft-focus comedown after the A side’s rush – only to become unhinged in its closing moments as the recording is chewed and slurred.

“A psychedelic boat ride that leads to a poorly lit and wicked place, where even the nursery rhymes of youth become foreboding…” – AllMusic on Circus Devils’ Ringworm Interiors

‘Manatoc Enters The City / The Long Fall’ is available for free download from the Hidden Shoal Store, packaged with bonus track ‘Crystal Palace People’. Medicine Show is released in CD and digital formats on 26 April. Read a full press release here.

‘Consequences of Recklessness’ is Weapons Reference Manual’s shimmering centrepiece, setting icicles of delayed guitar amid an aching tapestry of drones and feedback. It sets the tone for the album as a whole, perhaps Willenbring’s most complex and satisfying release to date.

As a further progression from his acclaimed debut Somewhere Someone Else and his stunning sophomore album Close, But Not Too Close, Weapons Reference Manual features a varied and richly hued palette of visceral guitar tones, effects-warped textures and achingly beautiful piano work. Immersive and darkly emotive soundscapes, such as droning opener ‘Dreams and Schemes’ and the 15-minute epic ‘Quaaludes’, are counterbalanced by seductively melodic pieces, such as ‘People Disappear Everyday’ and closing track ‘Ashes’.

“a gorgeous ambient album … a serene, hypnotic and majestic soundscape suitable for daydreaming… hauntingly beautiful atmospheric compositions” – Delusion Of Adequacy on Close, But Not Too Close

“Absolutely gorgeous. Dreamy dark meandering melancholia for fans of Stars Of The Lid, Eluvium, Dead Texan, Tim Hecker, Godspeed and other purveyors of darkly dramatic, abstract moody minimalism” – Aquarius Records on Somewhere Someone Else

‘Consequences of Recklessness’ is available for free download from the Hidden Shoal Store. It is taken from Wes Willenbring’s forthcoming third album Weapons Reference Manual, which is released in CD and digital formats on 12 April 2012.

Todd Tobias and older brother Tim Tobias grew up in Northeast Ohio, USA, where the two played together in a string of bands, culminating in Clouds Forming Crowns and Circus Devils (the latter with Robert Pollard). Todd has been Pollard’s in-house record producer since 2002, beginning with Guided by Voices’ Matador release Universal Truths and Cycles. Todd has also produced many other indie-rock projects over the years, including the latest release from fellow Hidden Shoal Recordings artist Kramies (The European EP).

Medicine Show is released by Hidden Shoal on 26 April, preceded by single ‘Manatoc Enters The City / The Long Fall’ on 13 March. Read a full press release about the signing here.

‘50 Kisses (TV-Baby Remix)’ sees the previously unreleased track from the Heresy and Rite sessions reworked by Denmark’s TV-Baby as a driving, lo-fi chase scene. The track hurtles through your brain like a delirious late-night panic attack, rapid-fire beats ricocheting against woolly bass surge, disorientating echoes and electro squiggles. Then, in its closing seconds, a gorgeous coda of chiming interwoven guitars lulls you to a narcotized sleep, the chaos of the preceding minutes a distant dream.

‘50 Kisses (TV-Baby Remix)’ is taken from remix album A Frame of Reference, which also includes single ‘Mirror Girl (Scott Solter Remix)’ and remixes of Heresy and Rite tracks by Markus Mehr, City Of Satellites and Manual. Previously unreleased track ‘White Sight’ rounds out the album in fine style.

“The Danish noise rockers show on A Frame of Reference the hidden depth of many of their prior songs, as well as willingness to re-envision them on the fly… This is no stopgap release, but an extension of Salli Lunn’s growing confidence… The band’s blend of Krautrock, shoegaze, techno and straight on melodic rock is an addicting stew.” – Music Emissions on A Frame of Reference

‘50 Kisses (TV-Baby Remix)’ is available for free download from the Hidden Shoal Store. A Frame of Reference is available as an exclusive digital release through the Hidden Shoal Store and all good third party online stores. Album Heresy and Rite is also available worldwide in CD, vinyl and digital formats through Hidden Shoal Recordings.

Salli Lunn – ’50 Kisses (TV-Baby Remix)’

There are some walls I will never scale, but maybe Markus Mehr’s latest work, In, might be a good place to begin. It’s an undeniable beast of an album, and it’s not exactly easily digestible, yet there’s a wonderfully lucid quality to the ambience here that makes the experience compelling—and even a little enlightening.

The first half is “Komo”, a twenty-six minute behemoth that doesn’t show many signs of life until around halfway through. The first character we’re introduced to is an ominous rumble, starting off distant before closing in on us. Soon enough, a mournful string motif seeps in slowly before slowly swelling up. It’s a solemn beginning, majestic in an almost frigid way. Mehr has a steady hand as he defrosts the ice around the core of the track as it melts into warmer shades, other voices waking from their hibernation and calling out to each other. The progression never feels as tightly constructed as it really is, though; the way the layers of the track burrow in and out of each other feels so organic that even when it shifts into a more malevolent gear and machinery takes over, the development isn’t at all jarring but eye-opening.

“Ostinato” is just as gigantic as its other half, at twenty-three minutes, but it’s a completely different piece of work altogether. In contrast to the thawing glacial beauty of “Komo”, this piece is layered with ominous synths and buzzing static. A lone guitar and a gloomy, dissonant trumpet fanfare can be heard faintly from behind the layers of smoke and ash they’re wrapped in. There’s a distinct vibe that we may be witnessing the aftermath of the ruins explored at the end of the first movement, as if these few instruments are all that remain of the fallout. As the track nears its finish, the war signals begin cutting in desperately, calling out to empty streets, looking for any fellow refugees it can find. The trumpet wails back in equal proportions of sorrow. We’re never told if anybody ever made it out of the destruction alive.

In isn’t quite beautiful, and it isn’t exactly pure. What it is, however, is refreshingly, unflinchingly honest about what it’s trying to say. And for that reason alone, I’d have to say it may be worth hearing Mehr out.”

AbsolutePunk

“Mehr has a steady hand as he defrosts the ice around the core of the track as it melts into warmer shades, other voices waking from their hibernation and calling out to each other. The progression never feels as tightly constructed as it really is, though; the way the layers of the track burrow in and out of each other feels so organic that even when it shifts into a more malevolent gear and machinery takes over, the development isn’t at all jarring but eye-opening.” – AbsolutePunk

Check out the rest of the review here and stream and buy the album on CD and Digital here.

For those unfamiliar with this ambient artist’s mantra, here’s a snippet from his Bandcamp:
‘Antonymes’ music emerges from the adjustments and erasures where music expresses nothing but itself, from the relationship between continuity and repetition rather than of contract and interplay, from secrecy, from quietness, from pause, from thought, from emptiness, from time, from far off, from itself, from where it is set and where it is setting off to..’

The Licence To Interpret Dreams largely reflects this emphasis on empty spaces. Save a few lively moments, Antonymes isn’t so much a party rocker as he is a philosopher—all twelve of these tracks are sparse compositions, deeply detached and yet completely personal. You, the listener, have been plucked from your spot in the bustling chaos of modern life, and all this dude wants is to take a walk with him into the forest of his—and your—mind.

Generally, the moments where Antonymes tries to step outside this backdrop are where the album suffers. Oradour-Sur-Glane is inches from submerging you completely with its bits of music box melodies floating in a bubbling lake of synths, yet the voice sample utilized here is a rare step into indulgence for Antonymes. As a result, instead of falling completely under his spell, you’re shocked awake at jilted, startling intervals. Doubt commits a bit more fully to the gimmick, thus coming closer to fooling you into assimilating it with the rest of the landscapes back here, but the voice sample just doesn’t fit in with the isolation at display here; it’s a slab of concrete amidst a forest of trees. The end of the track works the best, when the philosophical snippets aren’t spelled out for you but fade into the background, leaving you to find the stories behind them yourself.

When Antonymes lets the music speak for itself, though, this is an absolutely captivating dream. Womb Of The Great Mother begins slowly before gradually building, then whittling itself down until you can almost taste the melancholy. Even the shorter tracks are moving in their own little ways: A Light From The Heavens layers repetitions upon repetitions, the tension cresting until it hits a brutal peak.

Towards the end of your sojourn, you’re offered a few rays of sun: Endlessly is just as minimalistic as what came before it, but it’s a rare moment of peace in an environment full of angst. The Door Towards The Dream, too, is solemnly uplifting, replete with horns, strings, and a choir section. The sentiment isn’t awash in gaudy Hallmark-card sap, though, and after an album’s worth of deliberation, reaching the end of the tunnel is a worthy reward.

More and more, it seems like there simply isn’t any way for one to escape the spectacles of daily life. The value of silence—taking a few minutes to think about things, about the world, about yourself, even—has all but been forgotten. Sometimes, you have to tune everything out and find yourself again, though, and when you do so, Antonymes is the guy that’ll lead the way.”

AbsolutePunk

For such a measly, five song extended play, it feels like you’re strapped in on a long, emotional journey led by Kramies. His music is powerfully melancholy at times. Judging from three fifths of this record, you would take the man for a very musically inclined sad sack. Painting a picture of his sound is quite easy. Halfway through the title track, there’s strong echoes of Mercury Rev‘s Deserter’s Songs; particularly a blend of the blissful nature of “Holes” and the decaying harmony of “The Funny Bird.” This combination best describes Kramies’ EP; not to mention that his slightly raspy vocals mirror that of Jonathan Donahue.

Kramies doesn’t use standard tuning on his guitar, or at least it does not appear that way to the trained ear. What can safely be said about his guitar work is that his chord structures are rather unconventional, but in a good way. It isn’t something out of left field, but it’s enough to catch your attention, especially when backed by all the majestic production value that surrounds it. All the stops are pulled out, from shimmering and just-the-right-amount-of-atonal keyboards to well-executed, complimentary supporting vocals.

Extended plays are wonderful things. They are small offerings from artists that often end up showcasing the scope of their palette. The most important aspect of The European is its fulfilling of this task. Over five tracks, the listener gets an indelible familiarity with Kramies and where his talents can take him. His record begins humbly with “Intro,” a pacifist’s bleak, acoustic guitar piece, and later builds up to the vastly different “Coal Miners Executive Club;” a song that relies largely on synths. No matter where Kramies ventures, the result is always heartfelt and hard-hitting.

Because The European is such an immersing experience, there isn’t much that will get stuck in your head or keep you humming on your way to work. This EP is best enjoyed and bears the punchiest impact when listened to as a whole, given its epic and commanding pretension. However, there is nothing outwardly pretentious about this release, it just so happens that Kramies packs a lot of songwriting and grandiose crescendos all into a little extended play. In short, what lies inside this release ends up being a lot more intimidating that you would assume.

The European isn’t your typical sampler of an EP, but Kramies isn’t necessarily your run-of-the-mill solo artist either. His music is one to be tackled with a mind that is willing to be taken on a trip; one that is as instrumentally engaging as it is deeply pensive in regards to its lyrical content. It is also no question that Todd Tobias and Kramies make a great recording team. Tobias does every justice to the ethereal and occasionally gloomy soundscape created by Kramies, producing a truly beautiful and diversified release. This kicks other solo artists like James Blunt and Edwin McCain to the curb. In fact, it doesn’t even belong in the same league of the likes of those two. He delivers at such a high caliber that exceeds the title of “solo artist,” and leaves it in the dust as nothing more than a misnomer.”

402 Productions

Antonymes put out The Licence To Interpret Dreams last April, and it was a transcendental experience, and a sheer beauty when it comes to quiet, slow floating music. We Don’t Look Back… was released some two months ago but I was to slow to check it out before a new year came. This EP holds, as his album of last year, delicate ear candy (or rather, head candy?) of the transcendental type. Ambient minimalism of the fragile kind. Slow-floating compositions working as mind-massage. We Don’t Look Back… is nearly 30 minutes of delicate compositions. Or, should they be called re-composition? Because this is far from being regular ‘cover versions’. Anyway, this is atmospheric stuff, trademark Antonymes. Meaning almost not of this earth. We Don’t Look Back For Very Long is the delicate sound of Antonymes meeting Slow Dancing Society in some secret, stardusted place, and the result is stellar. Nevermind the remade songs; they appear as new compositions. Or ‘soulmate songs’.”

Luna Kafe

In holds two tracks, or movements, “Komo” and “Ostinato”, each of them clocks in at about 25 minutes (give or take a minute). This is earphones music. Lay down. Listen in. Drift off. “Komo” circles and circles, slowly, slowly. It’s hard to decide if you’re doing a downward slope and are about to make a slow-motion landing. Or, you’re in the process of rising, soon to reach the surface from a submerged position. Which is quite cool. This is exploration with a blindfold, where Mehr’s soundscapes lead you around and about. There’s also a spoken word fragment, or speech/lecture (of philosophy, about the subconscious) coming in some 17 minutes into “Komo”, where a man is actually saying ‘You are an explorer’: “… You are an explorer. And you represent our species. And the greatest good you can do, is to bring back a new idea. Because our world is endangered by the absence of good ideas. Our world is in crisis because of the absence of consciousness…”. I then managed to trace the name of the man, the psychonaut philosopher from the sample. It’s no doubt Mehr travels the outskirts of the universe – and he dares you to follow. When “Komo”‘s starting to explode at 18.35 and outwards, it’s quite clear Mehr’s on a maybe-no-return mission. He’s out there for the truth. Or he’ll bring back good ideas.

Then it’s “Ostinato”. “In music, an ostinato (derived from Italian: “stubborn”, compare English: obstinate) is a motif or phrase, which is persistently repeated in the same musical voice. An ostinato is always a succession of equal sounds, wherein each note always has the same weight or stress. The repeating idea may be a rhythmic pattern, part of a tune, or a complete melody in itself.” (wikipedia.org) “Ostinato” is also a slow starter, with static noise gradually sidelined by melodic patterns. It’s the sound of a wave washing ashore repeatedly. You can just lay back and float back and forth. Imagine yourself in a big, big cradle filled with the softest cloths. This is indeed comfortable for a long time, but all of sudden I feel I’ve drifted off, giving me this feeling that I’ve lost control. That the music has taken me too far away. Way, way off, to mid sea. Or mid space? I’m feeling the nausea rising, as the angst of being left alone in the midst of the big, black, blue flake. Yet, it feels like Mehr’s guiding you and safeguarding you so that there’s nothing to worry about. Like a guardian angel.

Markus Mehr’s earlier works has been linked (as in related) to the 1970s Kosmische music of Klaus Schulze and Tangerine Dream. Parts of “Ostinato” is sort of cosmic Morricone soundtrack stuff. This is the sound of when grandiose sounds are done within a minimal framework. The result is an expression almost not of this earth.”

Luna Kafe

“In” features two long tracks, “Komo” and”Ostinato”, about 25 minutes each.
At first listen, two albums come to mind that explore a similar compositional process: Gavin Bryars’ “Jesus Blood Never Failed Me Yet” and William Basinski’s “Disintegration Loops”.
But the comparision fails, because Mehr chooses quite a different approach to ‘minimal loops repeating’.

The main similarity is the fact that the loop that is used has a distinct symphonic quality: you’ll find yourself humming along with it gradually, and you’ll remember it for a long time after.
But Gavin Bryars let the phrase unfold itself by just repeating it, and William Basinski dealt with the disintegration of cassette tape recordings by letting the loop ‘disintegrate’ too.

Compared to the ‘Disintegration Loops’, Markus Mehr reverses the process: he starts from a slow and quiet loop that gradually reveals itself, builds up to a climax, and he’s not afraid to break with the minimalism dogma by adding distorted accents, dissonant theme variatons, spoken word samples and even a lonely wandering jazz trumpet.
With impressive, dramatic effect!

Though “In” is a remarkable album that stands alone by itself, it also makes you wonder what the next two parts will sound like!”

Ambientblog

‘Sea Years’ is the follow-up to first single ‘National Runner’, showcasing another side to the band’s trademark guitar surge. The song’s insistent motorik beat, levitating guitar jangle and Eimer Devlin’s gorgeous airy vocals create a very special blend of dreamy, hypnotic pop minimalism. Light as a feather yet crammed full of gutsy guitar sounds, ‘Sea Years’ is another earworm from The Caseworker. The track is lifted from the band’s third album Letters From The Coast, which sees The Caseworker continue to deliver their own unique sonic magic. The album has the feel of a shoegazing Velvet Underground reared by the Flying Nun label, creating an enigmatic intimacy and atmosphere, which the band wrap around immaculately crafted pop songs like smoke. Perfectly intoxicating.

“a mellow, blissed out sequence of West Coast guitar pop, one that references Green On Red and Teenage Fanclub as much as it does the more abrasive Sonic Youth and monochromatic Velvet Underground whom The Caseworker acknowledge as influences… 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…. Anyone whose album collection is incomplete without Ocean Rain, Grand Prix and Park Life will find an equally prominent space in it for this twelve track masterpiece.” –  Delusions Of Adequacy

“The Caseworker extract darkness from inside whispery, ambient pop… completely enraptured and awesomely dazed” – Rolling Stone

Download ‘Sea Years’ for free from the Hidden Shoal Store and if you haven’t yet been educated in the ways of The Caseworker’s brilliant Letters From The Coast you can stream the whole thing here.

Ambient music is by nature intangible, meant to evoke sensations and feelings rather than the structure and explicitness of most music. I started listening to One River after visiting the Rothko Chapel in Houston, and I immediately saw the connection between Rothko’s monochromatic paintings and Solter’s washes of sound. Neither is meant to be appreciated in the same way as traditional art. There is no subject matter in Rothko’s paintings just as there is no verse-bridge-chorus structure in Solter’s piece. Instead, both artists are concerned with creating emotions in more subtle ways than does traditional art. What ambient music and abstract art offer is an opportunity to experience art that isn’t trying to define the listener/viewer experience. You aren’t distracted by the form, and so can better experience the sensation that the art evokes in you.

One River is meant to be listened to as one piece, and it slowly ebbs and flows over its 33-minute running time. There are processed guitars, synthesizers, and subtle percussive elements. It pulses and runs like the river it is named after, and the end result feels natural and organic despite the digital tools used to produce it. The overall mood is peaceful and reflective. It never veers into new age cheesiness, and doesn’t contain any unsettling or dissonant moments. I love Aphex Twin’s Selected Ambient Works Volume 2, but there are several tracks on that collection that are truly unsettling; and I was happy that One River avoids getting creepy.

Mark and Laura Solter created a film called Twins and Wives to accompany the re-release. While it is an interesting visualization of the music, I prefer to listen to One River without the visuals. Part of my enjoyment of the album is what images and feelings it brings up. It taps into an area of the brain that most music doesn’t touch.

I really enjoy this album, and I’m thankful that Perth-based Hidden Shoal Recording chose to reissue it. It’s gotten me to explore more ambient music, and has been a wonderful contrast to the majority of music that I listen to. One River is an excellent album that fans of ambient music won’t want to miss.”

BlogCritics

‘One River’ is a seven track album which presents itself as one long unfolding with the nominal indexing for motives not quite clear. However they can be considered as movements with a whole with ‘Tarn’ opening the affair as a slow build introducing the elements and developing the recurring motifs into longer cycles. The release to the aspects of lower bass tones to accompany the higher cyclical drones occurs late in ‘Tarn’ and is a focal aspect of ‘Ghost Trains’ along with subtle field recordings of trains and a few guitar flourishes. ‘The Great Cold‘ has an eerier feel with a haunting choral sound and the drones emptied of their melodic tones to almost suggest affect less expression or barren scapes, as the intermittent samples of bird cries sparsely populate the track. ‘Antique Brothers’ slows down the pace and gives nuance to the drones creating distinct tonal variations within the cycles and eliciting a melancholic feel eventually being stripped back to a low tone and stretched minimal renditions of the cycles. ‘Wave and Sepia Wire’ moves back towards a brighter aspects of the cycles which continues through ‘Cypress Road’ building a more solemn sound bespeaking portent which culminates in ‘The Palace Wedding’ and it’s long pristine versions of the drone cycles with upwardly moving effects and gleams shining through in a positive resolve.

‘One River’ has also been made into a video ‘Twins and Wives: a film for One River’ which is to see limited edition DVD release.”

Cyclic Defrost

Solter has built up an impressive CV as a producer and for having worked with artists such as Spoon, Pattern is Movement, Superchunk, Liam Singer, and St Vincent, but it’s another side of Solter that’s showcased on One River, the one that finds him acting as a member of both The Balustrade Ensemble and Boxharp, the latter with Wendy Allen (whose manipulated voice briefly appears on One River). Though, as mentioned, One River plays without interruption, distinct shifts in character do assert themselves as the material moves from one indexed track to the next. Whereas “Tarn” inaugurates the journey with a becalmed ebb-and-flow of delicate guitar shadings and soft bell percussion accents, “Antique Brothers” brings the ethereal breath of Wendy Allen aboard; elsewhere, cymbal shadings by Solter’s other guest, Desmond Shea, amplify the resonating character of “Cypress Road” before “The Palace Wedding” closes the album on a ever-so-graceful note. One River is like a single protracted sigh, a lyrical and and beautiful setting that stands head and shoulders above the standard ambient recording.”

Textura

Stream the album in full and buy it on CD or digital at the Hidden Shoal Store.

If you’ve not had the pleasure of wrapping your ears around Remixed yet then head to the Hidden Shoal Store and preview the album in full.

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