50 Releases of Note in 2012 ... the top ten

There was a whole heap of great independent music released in 2012 ... and I've highlighted some of the very best so far. The final ten were my firm favourites. They may not be yours but they are mine:

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10. "Breathing May Surprise" & "Tonalchemy" - Daniel Robert Lahey

Truly breathtaking ambient electronic music. I have so many memories associated with these releases.




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09. "From These Hands" - I've Lost

When Bobby picks up his guitar... it's like poetry in motion. Simply sublime.


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08. "Songs" - Sima Kim

Simply extraordinary.


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07. "Even Though We Sleep" - Stray Theories

The soundtrack to a weekend away with Olly ... this is one heartbreakingly beautiful release  with possibly my favourite album cover of 2012 too.


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06. "Field Recordings" - Echelon Effect

Another page in a remarkable book ... "Field Recordings" adds to an already exemplary canon of work.



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05. "Passage" - Lowercase Noises

Whatever Andy Othling touches turns to musical gold ... exquisite.


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04. "on VHS" - The Fierce and The Dead

There music is wonderfully vibrant and even better in a live setting ... their's was my Gig of 2012. They deserve to 'make it' in the UK Rock Scene. Can't think of anyone more worthy.


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03. "The Seed" - Plum

The Seed is simply put ... *the* best electronica album of 2012! So varied and dense ... with vocals that draw you in. Her's was my runner-up Gig of 2012. I look forward to seeing her again in January '13 in King Tuts!


http://www.plumtunes.com/

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02. "Departure Songs" - Hammock

It really does not get much better than this ... truly engaging and wildly euphoric ... the post-rock album of 2012!


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01. "Underneath The Stars", "This Is As Good A Place As Any" & "Lights" - Good Weather for an Airstrike

I am a huge fan of Tom Honey's ambient project 'Good Weather for an Airstrike' and in 2012 he delivered not one ... but three awesome release. Simply breathtaking. These were, in my opinion, the ambient releases of 2012!






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Well that's that for 2012 ... it has been a great year for music and I am glad to have been able to contribute through listening ... attending gigs ... reviewing ... and participating to the wider scene with my netlabel - weareallghosts - and my podcast - circumambient.

I look forward to 2013. Independent music is alive and well!

Tx

50 Releases of Note in 2012 ... 20 - 11

The countdown continues ... with 20 - 11

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20. "Al Kemet" - Ketsa


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19. "Random Access Memory" - Pinklogik


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18. "There's A Ghost In Me" - The Narrows (from Detroit)


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17. "Skies" & "Seas" - Neil S. Milton




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16. "Mint and Marigold EP" - Tundravole


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15. "Little Battles" - She Makes War


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14. "The Shadows Left Me Alive" - Glowhouse


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13. "I have become overcome with thoughts of you" by Tim Bass



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12. "The Eve Of Invasion" - The Narrows (from UK)


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11. "The Republic Of Dreams" - Jeff Scott Townsend



My 'top 10' Releases of Note in 2012 will be posted tomorrow ... watch this space.
Tx

50 Releases of Note in 2012... 30 - 21

This is the third of 5 posts... highlighting 50 independent releases that are worthy of note in 2012.

30 - 21

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30. "That Remote and Awful Twilight" & "Clandestine" - Abominations of Yondo




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29. "The Hard Bargain" & "Do the Math" - Andre LaFosse




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28. "Sunprints" - Steve Brand


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27. "Before, After" - Endless Melancholy


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26. "Shadow District" - Har and Altus

http://earthmantra.com/release-detail.php?id=198

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25. "Respire" - Swartz_et


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24. "The Blue Nature of Everyday" & "A Long White Sleep" - Leonardo Rosado


http://archive.org/details/ALongWhiteSleep

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23. "Delays" - Fontaine


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22. "Allegories" - The Dwindlers


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21. "Asembulus" - Mender

50 Releases of Note in 2012... 40 - 31

Counting down my list of releases in 2012 that really caught my attention ... 40 - 31

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40. "the wind alive like a heart beating" & "京都/奈良 - Kyōto/Nara" by Orbit Over Luna




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39. "Continuo Trilogy" - Earlyguard







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38. "Complex Silence 22" + "the Sidereal Cycle 1-3" - Altus

http://archive.org/details/Complex_Silence_22






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37. "Bloom" - Chris Russell

http://relaxedmachinery.com/releases/chris-russell-bloom-rm_0027/

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36. "The Stars and Afterward" - Phil Wilkerson


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35. "All Our Dancing Days" - Hope and Social


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34. "The Last Projectionist" - Minion TV


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33. "That Grey Place We Go" - emptywhale

http://h-a-z-e.org/archives/542

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32. "Jasrup" - damn robot


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31. "en seier" - åpne sinn

50 Releases of Note in 2012 ... 50 - 41

Over the next few posts ... I'm going to list the 50 or so independent releases from 2012 that I think are worthy of note.

Please Note:
1) To keep things fair ... I haven't included any releases from my netlabel or any that I have worked on.
2) If an artist has released more than one release of note in 2012, I have tried to list them together.

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50. "Furniture Music" - the Sound of Rescue


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49. "I smiled because I knew death is but a door" - Silverchord



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48. "King of the Sugarcoated Tongues" - The Sunpilots


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47. "Kings EP" - The Sleep Design

http://www.comeandlive.com/CLD/SleepDesign-KingsEP/

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46. "Red Veil" - Greg Plummer


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45. "Summer Haze EP" - Oathless



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44. "all the fallen embers" - Arms of Tripoli


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43. "Kunstformen der Natur" - Valerinne


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42. "An Autumn Evening EP" - Loraine


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41. "The Geometry of Shadows" - Broken Harbour


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Please support independent music.
Tx

Four albums recently released on weareallghosts

In reverse chronological order...

"...ending the year on a high (waag_com001)"

A varied 22-track compilation featuring music from artists previously release on weareallghosts along with a number of exclusive tracks from friends of the label.

Free download.


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Ketsa's music is an utter joy to me and this album ... a tribute to his late wife, Gabrielle ... was a real coup for weareallghosts. His Far Eastern-infused electronica is simply divine and highly recommended.

Pay what you want ... with all profits going to the foundation formed in Gabrielle's memory.


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Back in early December Wolfgang Merx launched the third in his 'Vanguard Trilogy' ... a vibrant selection of progressive drones and improvisations that may challenge, unsettle and disorientate but will ultimately deliver a vision of imagination and foresight.


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What's more ... Merx allowed me to re-release "Vanguard" ... an utterly delightful progressive adventure:






Both we're 'pay what you want' with any profits going directly to Wolfgang.

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Things are heating up for weareallghosts and December was a particularly productive month. That said ... its not over yet! We have 2 more releases scheduled before the year is out ... one longform drone from Mystified and another super-special surprise.

Stay tuned ... and support independent music.

Tx

LEGO Hobbit House

I thought this was fascinating ... it could become my new obsession.

Thanks to my mate Kenny for sharing the link.

Tx

Intrigued by... “Verschluckbare Kleintelle” by Rainer Straschill

I consider myself very fortunate to be given early access to some amazing pieces of music. One such piece of music is “Verschluckbare Kleintelle” by Rainer Straschill. I’ve been lucky to have been included in Straschill’s creative process as he created what he dubbed “#secretalbum”.

The imagination that has been poured into this album is easy to see ... this is an album of variety ... where a large assortment of sounds ... from a number of talented contributors ... have been used to create something very special indeed: the use of a squeaky door, for example, in “bottom freezer” being one of the more leftfield sounds in use ... others being a church organ, bass, trombone, synths, and even distorted guitar. The use of such varied sounds give the release the feel of a soundtrack rather than an album ... each track designed to express an emotion or articulate a specific scene in some unknown narrative.

It is, in fact, this sense of purpose that really amazes me ... with each of the 16 separate tracks having its own sense of being. The fun for me as the listener is to imagine what these purposes are: the frantic nature of “shalom sister” sounds like the best chase sequence ever ... whereas the spookiness of “ursus maritimus” hints at being the background to a moment in the dark.

The ska of “wehgetan” is fascinating to me and definitely the stand-out track ... especially when you consider this is the only non-instrumental track on the release. It has a real heading-nodding dance-about-in-your-living-room-like-a-loon feel to it. It does, however, finish too soon.

I guess this is my main criticism of this release. It is way too short ... with the 16 separate tracks sitting just under 15 minutes in elapsed time. It is a criticism Straschill has sought, in part, to address by providing a 17th track that compiles the other tracks together into one continuous long-form track ... something I am grateful for.

Let my explain why this is a criticism ... the tracks are just so good! I am left wanting on 16 separate occasions ... I want more from each and every idea presented!

It's like trying to have a full meal on the samples given out at the local supermarket ... you can and do get a good taste but there isn't anything more to sustain you ... nothing other than to press repeat and let the album circulate in your psyche ... something I have done and would recommend. It is only when you approach this album like a salad ... viewing it as a whole made up of smaller elements ... then you will begin to understand it.

But then ... it's not like Straschill is charging full price for this release ... he’s not. He is charging “based upon the planck lengh“ which is very generous indeed, in my view.

For me ... with any criticism of duration set aside ... this is a remarkably creative release and my kudos to Straschill and the myriad of contributors for making it happen.

As a mark of respect and a demonstration of how taken I am with it ... I intend to convert some of the tracks ... especially “shalom sister” ... to ringtones for my iPhone5. I doubt this is what was intended but I will be proud to have Straschill’s ideas representing me.

Well done Rainer well done!

I have embedded the release’s player below ... have a listen and support independent music:

Seven questions with ... Oleksii Sakevych ... the man behind Endless Melancholy

One of the highlights of 2012 is, for me, the 6 track EP from Endless Melancholy called "Before, After". It has something decidedly lovely about it... especially the last track "Carpe Diem".

I recently reviewed the EP and afterwards got speaking with Oleksii "Alex" Sakevych ... the young man behind Endless Melancholy. He's a lovely chap and readily agreed to answer my wee blog interview ... this is what he had to say:

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1) Who are you and what do you do?
First of all, I am a simple man! My name is Oleksiy Sakevych, I record melancholic tunes in dark corners of my bedroom and release them as Endless Melancholy and Moonshine Blues. I also run Hidden Vibes, at the very beginning a blog about lesser known artists, but now also functioning as a netlabel and preparing first physical release.


2) What are you working on at the moment?
There are several works in progress at the moment. Regarding Endless Melancholy, I am now in process of creation a new album for it, a full-length finally. No more EPs! I am not sure about when it is going to be done, the only thing I know is that I want it to be really well-produced, that's why there won't be any rush from my side. Also, we work on a collaborative EP with Lights Dim from Poland, and it will probably be done way faster than my solo album. This is an interesting experience working with someone from another country, sharing your thoughts on how music should sound and sending each other recordings via mail. Also, as I already mentioned, I am preparing to release a first physical release on my label, Hidden Vibes. This will be a debut album of a great musician and my good friend from Norway, and we hope to make it until January, 2013.


3) Who inspires you?

- Name an artist who has inspired you.
This is quite obvious for anyone who have ever listened to my tunes! And this will be a lie to say that I am not inspired by anyone. I love music of Ólafur Arnalds, Nils Frahm, Max Richter, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Dustin O’Halloran, Antonymes, A Winged Victory for the Sullen, Goldmund, Library Tapes, Dakota Suite, Fabrizio Paterlini, Clem Leek... could count endlessly.


- Name place that has inspired you.
Planet Earth, definitely.


- Name some "thing" that has inspired you.
Let me think... there is no any!


4) What drives you to do what you do?
First of all, this is my passion to music. I enjoy listening to other people's music but it also evokes a desire to create my own in me! Everything is simple - when you're enjoying some kind of music you start thinking of creating similar stuff, of fulfilling the genre by adding a bit of your own perception to it. Of course, people's attention is a serious incentive too. When you see people loving what you do and you hear positive feedback - it inspires to keep on.


5) What values do you wish your creativity to express?
Sincerity! When you make minimal music, that does not involve neither lyrics nor exceptionally high level of playing the instrument, it is very important your tunes to be emotionally fulfilled. I am most happy to see people feeling exactly same emotions after listening to my music, that I was trying to express when making it.


6) What role does community play in what you do?
I do not take anything from the community I currently live in. At least, at the moment. With Endless Melancholy I've been active only on internet so far, no live shows, that's why my various internet communities influence me times more. Having not much musical connections with other people around, at the same time I found numerous friends all over the world who share common interests with me. Talking to them, sharing music with them and sharing their music, collaborating with them and helping each other has become an important part of my everyday life. And this is the only community that plays some role in what I do, others do not.


7) What is next for what you do?
Stay tuned for the updates and you will hopefully listen to a new album and to a collaborative EP with Lights Dim as soon as possible!

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Thank you Alex! I really love your music and will watch as your career unfolds.

Please connect with Alex here...

http://www.facebook.com/emelancholy
http://twitter.com/bc_ranger
http://endlessmelancholy.bandcamp.com

Oh and have a listen to "Before, After" and, if you can, please support him by buying the EP.

The Hobbit - An Unexpected Journey ... posters

Some people think these posters are boring ... I don't!



































I am so excited to see 'The Hobbit - An Unexpected Journey' tomorrow ... so very excited.