Browsing Tag

Soundscape

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

Immerse yourselves in the radiant catharsis of Sound Animal’s ambient instrumental score, Dew of the Sea

Posted on 13 February 2022

“Dew of the Sea” is just one of the recently released instantly arresting ambient singles from the avant-garde US artist Sound Animal. Despite its quiescence, the panoramic release feels just as titanic as, well, Titanic.

Within the transient waves that pulsate with celestial timbre spilling from them, there are smoky jazz timbres that come up for air between the crescendos. Towards the outro, the intensity and urgency amplify – just don’t forget to breathe.

This stunning electro-acoustic score was orchestrated on an eclectic range of instruments, such as flutes, melodica, harmonica and a dulcimer played with a violin bow, giving the soundscape an organically meditative feel with just the slightest nuance of folk while being the epitome of radiant catharsis.

You can immerse yourselves in Dew of the Sea by heading over to SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

John Wilson composed disarming etherealism with his upcoming soundscape, Echoes.

Posted on 1 February 2022
John Wilson

The UK multi-instrumentalist, producer, composer, songwriter, artist, poet, author, tutor and CEO of Consciousness Productions Ltd, John Wilson, has given us a sneak preview of the etherealism that is to come in his upcoming 5-track EP by teasing us with ‘Echoes’.

The reverb-laden composition is a crystal-clear reflection of the artist’s influences that stretch far beyond music genres. For his eery yet consoling all the same soundscape, he found inspiration in spirituality, science, world culture, literature and videogames to deliver a phantasmally cathartic release. Echoes is simultaneously everything it says on the tin and so much more.

Check out the Consciousness Productions Ltd label yourselves on Facebook, Instagram, SoundCloud and YouTube. Follow John Wilson’s other endeavours via his Facebook and Insta artist accounts.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Sonophonix drive us ‘Crazy In Love’ with their latest single

Posted on 5 October 2020
https://vimeo.com/461511090

Commencing with a beautiful, arpeggiated piano motif before being joined by the deep, sonorous swell of cello, ‘Crazy In Love’ is a beautiful, haunting piece, an instrumental duet of resonant, musical artistry and elegance that showcases the talents of two incredible musicians.

Pianist Deborah Robb and cellist Xue Yang Liu met while students at the Mannes School of Music at the New School in New York City.  While attending Mannes they performed chamber music together and were members of the Mannes American Composers Ensemble (MACE) under the direction of composer Lowell Liebermann.  Their Sonophonix duo merges their composing, arranging and improvisation skills, and ‘Crazy In Love’ is a perfect example of their art, allowing each performer the personal space to breathe whilst intertwining their individual contributions into something altogether greater, a delicate, mellow, composition of refinement and elegance that transcends the classical genre and becomes something altogether of its own.

Crazy In Love can be heard from the Sonophonix website.

Review by Alex Holmes

Hervé Claude has released their exotically inviting instrumental soul single “Freeze”

Posted on 13 August 2020

Hervé Claude didn’t need lyrics or vocals to infuse plenty of soul into their exotically inviting soundscape “Freeze” which can be found on their dreamy 2020 album “Saturday Morning”

The hazy single plays with ambient EDM and instrumental Hip Hop textures to keep you guessing where the seamlessly mellifluous progressions are going to take you next. Spoiler: if you surrender to their tranquilly resolving vibes, you’ll be guided into a zen state of mind where it’s possible to forget the chaos of the external world and become one with this sublime feat of soulful ambience.

If you could use some aural catharsis, Hervé Claude’s 2020 album has you covered.

You can check out Hervé Claude’s single Freeze along with the rest of the album by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

J. Anthony Gomez has made their debut with the entrancingly trippy soundscape “Hypnagogia”

Posted on 13 July 2020

Electronica artist and producer J. Anthony Gomez has made their debut with their absorbingly mesmeric soundscape “Hypnagogia”

For those not in the know, Hypnagogia is the trippy part between wakefulness and sleep where you’re not quite in control of your consciousness and hallucinations can manifest.

J. Anthony Gomez paid a fitting ode to the mental state with the almost tribal explorative loops which meandered with no mind to traditional time signatures. Instead, they weaved through the ambiently multi-layered atmospheric soundscape arresting your pulses until the track succinctly fades to quiescent resolving close.

We will definitely be paying attention to future releases from J. Anthony Gomez, their ability to deftly craft hypnotic electronic textures.

You can check out J. Anthony Gomez’s single Hypnagogia for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud. Probably wouldn’t recommend listening to the mind-altering mix while driving.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Composer and Pianist JxPrezzo Has Released Their Tenderly Explorative 4-Track EP “Seven Years”

Posted on 26 June 2020

London-based composer and pianist JxPrezzo has crafted four delicately unique Neo-Classic soundscapes for their latest instrumental EP “Seven Years”.

After an intro track which is all too efficacious at pulling you into the release, you get to the title track which is the best example of how JxPrezzo’s tender melodies can tell a story. From tentative, explorative notes which ring with optimism to stabbing atmospheric dread, Seven Years is a deftly-orchestrated evocative rollercoaster.

As you listen to the light yet fluid textures in the soundscape, you can almost feel the tension in your body being replaced with the quiescently comforting tones. But if you’re as aurally sensitive as me, when the minor notes are hit, you won’t just hear them, you’ll feel them. My eyes may now sting a little, but that’s a small price to pay for experiencing such a gentle yet resounding release.

You can check out the Seven Years EP for yourselves by heading over to Apple Music or SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ryan Douglas Michelsen – Camaraderie: A Profoundly Evocative Neo-Classical Composition

Posted on 29 February 2020
https://soundcloud.com/ryanmichelsen/camaraderie

Strap on a pair of headphones and prepare yourselves to be consumed by Ryan Douglas Michelsen’s recently released orchestral composition “Camaraderie”.

The US-based songwriter and artist has demonstrated their ability to construct intensely emotive soundscapes in the past. Yet, Camaraderie stands as a testament to their virtuosic talent when it comes to making melodies bleed emotion.

With the unpredictable crescendos, expect tension to linger in the ethereally-composed instrumental Neo-Classical work. But with their distinctive improvisational style, the best way to understand Ryan Douglas Michelsen’s epically cinematic work is to indulge in it for yourself. It will probably be in a cinema near you before long. Until then, you can use your imagination to fill in the visual gaps by allowing the orchestral instrumentals to arrest your emotions through the long, tensile notes.

You can listen to Camaradereie for yourselves by heading over to SoundCloud now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Darren Wilson – Echoes: A Chilling Cinematic Debut

Posted on 4 January 2020

Artist and producer Darren Wilson made their discernible talents audible to the world with their debut EP “Echoes” on January 1st 2020. The title track stands as a true testament to just how much chilling emotion can be poured into an instrumental arrangement.

Their compositions vary from full orchestral scores to ambient soundscapes – which you can delve into if you press play on Echoes. It may be harsh, cold, and dystopian, yet, there’s an arrestive air to Echoes which makes every haunted progression feel meaningful.

It’s only a matter of time before you see Darren Wilson’s name in the credits to feature films worthy of their alchemic approach to creating soundscapes.

You can check out Darren Wilson’s EP for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Bruno Sanfilippo – InTRO Remastered: A Mesmeric Soundscape of Delicate Rhythmic Progression

Posted on 17 September 2018

Bruno Sanfilippo is set to relaunch his remastered highly acclaimed 2006 album InTRO which will soon be available to purchase via CD and digitally. With the lucidity of this soundtrack in your world, your life would become infinitely more cathartic.

Each of the 9 tracks on the release carry a completely different resonance yet have in common an almost primal progression of fluidity that will entrench you in the spaces around the sound which resound more than the deftly weaved electronic notes themselves.

InTRO explores the Italo Argentino-based composer’s cinematic style through an eclectic array of digital arrangements to provide a textured yet transparent sound which comes together soulfully and delicately. Whilst there is a diverse array of soundscapes included in the album, each of them fit together perfectly to provide over an hour of transiently orchestrated lucidity.

You’ll be able to check out InTRO Remastered & Expanded for yourselves from September 20th, 2018 via all digital platforms and on CD and via Bandacamp. In the meantime, why not check out some of his earlier compositions? http://bruno-sanfilippo.com/

Review by Amelia Vandergast