Browsing Tag

electronic folk

Ulysse Zangs turned the pages of a grief chapter with his artful installation of ambient folk in ‘Gone in Lust’

Posted on 5 December 2024

The opening sequence to Ulysse Zangs’ single, Gone in Lust, rivals the chill-inducing talents of David Lynch; it’s a slice of sonic arthouse cinema in itself. After the haunting discordance of the synths, a gentle acoustic guitar melody rises within the ambient folk production against the singer-songwriter’s diaphanously sweet vocal lines, which are just as caressive as Elliott Smith’s, with a nuanced alt-country twang.

As the single progresses with ethereal semi-lucid candour, the jarring synths pick their moments to rush through the release, adding a palpable sense of unease to the reverie of the single.

With every release orchestrated in an intersection of sound, movement and nature, Ulysse Zangs’ is so much more than an aural architect chiselling their legacy into the airwaves one release at a time. By pulling inspiration from a myriad of phenomena, their sound is as cerebral as it is invitingly intimate.

Given the filmic qualities of Gone in Lust, it is no surprise that Ulysse Zangs also scores for performance pieces, art installations and film. Their recently released EP, Idle Hands Or, which features Gone in Lust, is an exploration of grief and recovery; after the passing of his grandmother, Zangs returned to their hometown, a small village in Normandy, and set up a studio in their grandmother’s former home.

Speaking on the EP, the artist reveals, “This album feels like an invitation to slow down and contemplate—both the external environment and the inner landscapes of emotion. It reflects my journey of letting go of the past and arriving fully in the present moment.”

Gone in Lust is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Surrender your senses to the spiritual sanctity within Catherine Grace & Mark Dwane’s electronic folk single, Broken Wide Open

Posted on 30 July 2024

Broken Wide Open by Mark Dwane / Catherine Grace

In the spirited soundscape of her childhood home, reverberating with the likes of Johnny Mathis, Fleetwood Mac and Barbra Streisand, Catherine Grace found her calling, which would eventually lead her to her collaborative partner, Mark Dwane. Their relationship, marked by seamless creativity and a deep mutual understanding, has culminated in scores of cultivated-with-soul releases, including their latest titularly poetic single, Broken Wide Open.

The track unfolds at a cathartically measured pace, not rushing to reveal its depths but rather allowing listeners to immerse themselves in its spiritual and soulful melodies. Catherine’s ethereal harmonies, when coupled with Dwane’s electronic folk underpinnings, create a profound sonic synergy that transcends mere musical collaboration. The duo has mastered the art of building a track that ebbs and flows with rhythmic magnetism, weaving together notes that resonate with an arresting affirmation of their unique artistic alchemy.

Amidst personal challenges and life’s unpredictable turns, music has been Catherine’s sanctuary, a theme that resonates powerfully throughout their latest offering. With Broken Wide Open” Catherine Grace and Mark Dwane invite the listener into a shared experience of renewal and revelation. Their collaborative spirit evokes comparisons to the iconic Enya, yet with a distinct identity that firmly roots them in the contemporary indie scene.

As you surrender to the lush, layered textures of Broken Wide Open, you’ll revel in the power of sound to soothe, inspire, and awaken.

Broken Wide Open is now available to stream and purchase on Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Dora Gola – The Last Tear (Ostatnia Lza): Electronic Folklore Has a New Eloquent Author

Posted on 10 October 2023

For her latest single, The Last Tear (Ostatnia Lza), the electronic folk artist Dora Gola tapped into the divinity of her femininity to create an innately spiritual Clannad-esque score of pure beguile.

With her ethereal vocal timbre scintillating the orchestration of awakening Eastern beats and the reverb-swathed synth lines which give the release an ambiently explorative energy, the Polish Ireland-residing singer-songwriter and dancer reached the pinnacle of transcendent folktronica soul.

After her debut single, Dark Sand, saw her revered by Hot Press and The Irish Times Magazine as one of the most exciting acts to emerge from Ireland in recent years, expectations on the rhythmic seamstress were set high; with each new release, she’s surpassed all expectations.

Stream the official music video for The Last Tear by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Mosa melodically sculpted the twilight in his latest electronic score, The Night Sets In

Posted on 7 October 2023

Lose yourself in the dusky twilight of the latest electronic folk serenade by the Oxford-based sound designer Mosa. His scintillating single, The Night Sets In, is a plaintively compelling composition that could be easily compared to the artfulness of Radiohead, Mogwai, and Low; although those comparisons can allude to the diaphanously sonorous atmosphere of his sound, they don’t do Mosa’s intrinsic authenticity much justice.

His unique ability to infuse the dusty soul of blues into his sound design around the neo-classic keys and ethereal motifs establishes him as one of the most authentic artists around in 2023. We were hooked after hearing his single, Helicopter, earlier this year, after hearing The Night Sets In, which could easily rival the beguiling gravitas of any of the releases on the Westworld soundtrack, we are even more assured that Mosa is one to watch.

The Night Sets In will be officially released on October 7^th. Hear it on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Go into the wild with Joseph Lothian’s chamber pop release, Glacial and Spa

Posted on 23 February 2022

The South London songwriter and writer, Joseph Lothian, has recently released his sophomore album, which is a continuation of the wild and verdant chamber pop soundscapes in his 2020 debut album, Wilderness Music.

Wilderness Music Continued (Rain, Fire), is a meditatively artful infusion of electronic folk, indie and alt-pop which focuses on the act of songwriting, with a view to how it creates comfort and value in otherwise inhospitable environments. It’s hard to argue with that sentiment. Without the icons that have defined the culture in the UK, how disparate would our streets feel? How many outliers would know nothing of experimental expression or know how it feels to find their mindset tribe?

The standout single, Glacial and Spa, is just as evocative as an Angel Olsen release with the vibrato on the vocal. Yet, within the lush textures of the chamber pop single, there’s a nuanced reminder of our roots and the fact that we were never really supposed to endure post-industrialised isolation.

Joseph Lothian’s sophomore album is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Moose Wrench – an ‘Oasis Of Calm’

Posted on 30 March 2021

Opening up with a solo guitar before the vocal kicks in, ‘Oasis Of Calm’ is a flamenco-y, Spanish guitar-y, neo-classical-y acoustic-based guitar track with gravelly vocals courtesy of Moose Wrench – a.k.a. Leeds-based producer Craig Robertson – interjecting occasionally into the predominantly acoustic track.

The guitar rotates around a number of themes, ultimately returning to the same melodic motif, following the vocal line, interspersed with electronic sampled parts throughout the 8’38” of the track. Taken from Moose Wrench’s new five track EP ‘Dead Stars’, you can hear ‘Oasis Of Calm’ – and pre-order the EP – on BandCamp.

Review by Alex Holmes

Tobias Ben Jacob – a beautiful, haunting take on rootlessness, struggle, and hope inspired by a simple ‘Bird Made Out Of Clay’.

Posted on 7 December 2020

Tobias Ben Jacob is one half of the alt-folk duo Jacob and Drinkwater, and a former member of the acclaimed but sadly now-defunct Devonshire acoustic four-piece The Roots Union; with that kind of pedigree, any solo affair was always going to be a strong contender, and 2017’s ‘A Polyphonic Life’ was certainly a stormer of an album, including two songs which went on to feature in Martha Pinson and Martin Scorcese’s indie movie ‘Tomorrow’.

‘Refuge’, Jacob’s new album, is an entirely different affair, a vibrant collection of electronica-tinged narrative folk-tinged songs inspired by people at the heart of the global refugee crisis. ‘A Bird Made Out Of Clay’ is the first track (and lead single) is a beautiful, poignant take on how a single, random act of kindness can bring hope and charm to life even in what seems, at first, to be the bleakest and darkest of places, Jacob’s lifting, lilting voice carrying the track over a sparse arrangement of synth swells and sampled human choral voices. It’s melancholy yet hopeful, the gentle guitar line filling the space between Jacob’s story-telling vocal, the tale – like the rest of the album – created and jotted down in lay-bys and car-parks during Jacob’s six-day-week job as a delivery driver.

Inspired partly by Zekria Farzad, an Afghan refugee and former journalist who set up the Wave For Hope For The Future School at the Moria Refugee Camp in Lesbos, and partly by the Ai Weiwei film ‘Human Flow’, which documents the crisis, ‘Refuge’ is a hugely important piece of work, a delicate, fascinating musical accomplishment with a deeply meaningful message for us all; ‘A Bird Made Out Of Clay’ is the perfect, sublime first single and introduction to Jacob’s oeuvre.

‘A Bird Made Out Of Clay’ – and the rest of the ‘Refuge’ album – is available on Soundcloud now. Follow Tobias Ben Jacob here, or on Instagram.

Review by Alex Holmes

Michael Golden gives us a glimpse into his psyche with captivating new single ‘The Rhine’

Posted on 29 November 2020

Bloomington, Indiana resident Michael Golden began his songwriting career at the age of 16; now, after twenty years of honing his craft, he drops his debut album ‘Some Kind Of Holiday’, a self-produced 12 tracks of classic, folk-rock inspired eclecticism in the singer-songwriter tradition of the 1970’s.

Raw and heartfelt, autobiographical in the Leonard Cohen way, new single ‘The Rhine’ is a vaguely psychedelic, folksy little three minutes of earnest, sincere whimsy; it’s profound, pretty, like a trip back into the world of Cat Stevens and Donovan, naked and laid bare and altogether truthful. Golden has assembled a stunning collection of musicians across ‘Some Kind Of Holiday’, with swelling cello, organ, and guitars all underpinning his deep, rich vocal.

‘Some Kind Of Holiday’ is out now; view the video for ‘The Rhine’ on YouTube, and follow Michael Golden on Facebook or via his website.

Review by Alex Holmes

Hourigan has released their optimism-invoking Indie RnB Folk Single “Fly Your Kite”

Posted on 6 July 2020

The word ‘arrestive’ may get thrown around a lot in reviews, but in the case of Hourigan’s Indie RnB Folk single “Fly Your Kite”, it’s more than justified.

The unfiltered soul which Hourigan projected into the Indie RnB mix has a way of crawling under your ribs as you drink in the organic accordant ecstasy in the sublimely serene soundscape.

If you could imagine what it would sound like if Jack Johnson, Hozier and Cosmo Sheldrake all collaborated on a single, you’d get an idea of how mesmerizingly transcendent Fly Your Kite is.

Lyrically, Fly Your Kite is a poignant message to the younger generations facing overwhelming levels of uncertainty. It’s a gentle optimism-invoking invitation to keep on going and to see past the crushing illusion society attempts to sell us.

You can check out Hourigan’s single Fly Your Kite for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Turning Landscapes into Soundscapes

Posted on 17 January 2018

Many artists claim to channel the sound of the past, to work with the echoes of past greats, to re-invent classic sounds, very few seem to actually channel the very land around them. With the track Boazu and the e.p. that it comes from Berga seems to be doing just that, making music which seems to be compiled by the sounds of nature, the harsh and still landscape that surrounds their north Norway home.

The music feels like a cross between ambient electronic folk music, more progressive soundtrack than actual song and the sound of nature itself. Ice cracks, winds blow and the hushed silence of a landscape without people fills the gaps. This is the sound of the beating heart of the earth, the Gaia principle as music, the sound of this harsh climate communicating with itself, music that only a few take the time to stop and listen to. There are two ways of experiencing this music. Either you fly to northern Scandinavia, trek out to the wilderness and meditate in the barren surroundings, or you listen to the music of Berga. Both are exciting things to do but only one comes without the risk of frost bite.