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2LP
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MENGI 006LP
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Double LP version. Gatefold sleeve with printed inner sleeves. Includes download code. Amiina's latest adventure, Fantômas, was originally composed as a live score to a silent masterpiece from 1913. Amiina's members decided right from the start that the music would also be able to stand on its own, independent of the visual narrative. Fantômas is melancholic and ethereal, yet full of suspense, pounding rhythms, and haunting melodies; A sound world full of contrasts, from darkness and utter terror, to heavenly melodies. The music thoughtfully composed, reoccurring themes and lied-motives build up a delicate structure where the listener can experience the piece as one entity - and then again different tracks or songs can be enjoyed independently. Violin, cello, drums, percussion, metallophone, table harp, ukulele, and electronics are the source material for the sound world of Amiina here, but it is expanded upon with their intelligent and imaginative usage of the different instruments and their varied and endless textures. The score Fantômas premiered in Paris in 2013 at the prestigious, Théâtre du Châtelet, where Amiina, together with musicians James Blackshaw, Tim Hecker, Loney Dear, and Yann Tiersen, took part in a special Halloween event, celebrating the centenary of the Fantômas series, directed by the French film director Louis Feuillade in 1913-1914. The Fantômas series - in five parts - ran for six hours with every musician/band providing their new live score for the series, the music commissioned by Yann Tiersen who curated the event. A huge success right from the beginning, Fantômas is an early example of the interplay between avant-garde intellectual and emerging mass culture, highly regarded by the French avant-garde of the 1920s, especially the surrealists, e.g. René Magritte and Guillame Apollinaire, the latter stating that "from the imaginative standpoint, Fantômas is one of the richest works that exist." When the magical, somewhat fragile sound world of Amiina meets the lord of terror something, unexpected and truly magical happens. Mengi is an operation created and managed by artists in Reykjavik, Iceland.
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CD
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MENGI 006CD
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Amiina's latest adventure, Fantômas, was originally composed as a live score to a silent masterpiece from 1913. Amiina's members decided right from the start that the music would also be able to stand on its own, independent of the visual narrative. Fantômas is melancholic and ethereal, yet full of suspense, pounding rhythms, and haunting melodies; A sound world full of contrasts, from darkness and utter terror, to heavenly melodies. The music thoughtfully composed, reoccurring themes and lied-motives build up a delicate structure where the listener can experience the piece as one entity - and then again different tracks or songs can be enjoyed independently. Violin, cello, drums, percussion, metallophone, table harp, ukulele, and electronics are the source material for the sound world of Amiina here, but it is expanded upon with their intelligent and imaginative usage of the different instruments and their varied and endless textures. The score Fantômas premiered in Paris in 2013 at the prestigious, Théâtre du Châtelet, where Amiina, together with musicians James Blackshaw, Tim Hecker, Loney Dear, and Yann Tiersen, took part in a special Halloween event, celebrating the centenary of the Fantômas series, directed by the French film director Louis Feuillade in 1913-1914. The Fantômas series - in five parts - ran for six hours with every musician/band providing their new live score for the series, the music commissioned by Yann Tiersen who curated the event. A huge success right from the beginning, Fantômas is an early example of the interplay between avant-garde intellectual and emerging mass culture, highly regarded by the French avant-garde of the 1920s, especially the surrealists, e.g. René Magritte and Guillame Apollinaire, the latter stating that "from the imaginative standpoint, Fantômas is one of the richest works that exist." When the magical, somewhat fragile sound world of Amiina meets the lord of terror something, unexpected and truly magical happens. Mengi is an operation created and managed by artists in Reykjavik, Iceland.
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12"
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SHAKE 017EP
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Limited vinyl edition. 500 copies with printed inner sleeves. Includes download code. Originally a string quartet formed by four girls at the Reykjavík College of Music just before the turn of the century, Amiina went on to cut its teeth as Sigur Rós' string collaborators for the next decade. After releasing debut album Kurr and several EPs, the group's sonic palette was broadened by the contributions of drummer Magnús Trygvason Eliassen and electronic artist Kippi Kaninus, who have been permanent members of the group since late 2009. They released their second full-length album, Puzzle (SHAKE 011CD/LP), in 2010. About four years ago Amiina, then a four-piece band, set out on a journey across Iceland performing in lighthouses and other unusual locations. The music had been written especially for performances in small spaces, and in great proximity to the audience. The inspiration behind the journey came the first time the band performed in a lighthouse. A man in the audience described how he had experienced the music in those surroundings. Standing on the top floor of the lighthouse, he had felt the music travel up through the structure and out across the ocean, as if the lighthouse were now projecting music instead of light. The group set off in a big van packed with instruments, accompanied by a photographer, one spouse, one newborn baby and another about to be born, and together they drove over rugged roads, seemingly to the end of the world, to perform music. The songs were a mix of old and new, little nocturnes in simple arrangements. Among them was a cover of Lee Hazlewood's "Leather and Lace." Amiina had previously collaborated with Lee only weeks before he passed away, on a song that ended up being his last recording. On the flip-side was Amiina's arrangement, and cover, of "Leather and Lace." The simple arrangement of the song fit perfectly with the other songs and the spirit of The Lighthouse Project. In late 2012, Amiina decided to revisit The Lighthouse Project -- to record these songs in their original arrangements, and give the music the prospect to travel out and across forever. The band felt it was important to convey the intimacy of the original performances, so the songs were recorded "live" in the studio, as if at a concert.
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CD
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SHAKE 017CD
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Limited edition CD EP in a book-style packaging with 22 pages of full-color photos and artwork. Originally a string quartet formed by four girls at the Reykjavík College of Music just before the turn of the century, Amiina went on to cut its teeth as Sigur Rós' string collaborators for the next decade. After releasing debut album Kurr and several EPs, the group's sonic palette was broadened by the contributions of drummer Magnús Trygvason Eliassen and electronic artist Kippi Kaninus, who have been permanent members of the group since late 2009. They released their second full-length album, Puzzle (SHAKE 011CD/LP), in 2010. About four years ago Amiina, then a four-piece band, set out on a journey across Iceland performing in lighthouses and other unusual locations. The music had been written especially for performances in small spaces, and in great proximity to the audience. The inspiration behind the journey came the first time the band performed in a lighthouse. A man in the audience described how he had experienced the music in those surroundings. Standing on the top floor of the lighthouse, he had felt the music travel up through the structure and out across the ocean, as if the lighthouse were now projecting music instead of light. The group set off in a big van packed with instruments, accompanied by a photographer, one spouse, one newborn baby and another about to be born, and together they drove over rugged roads, seemingly to the end of the world, to perform music. The songs were a mix of old and new, little nocturnes in simple arrangements. Among them was a cover of Lee Hazlewood's "Leather and Lace." Amiina had previously collaborated with Lee only weeks before he passed away, on a song that ended up being his last recording. On the flip-side was Amiina's arrangement, and cover, of "Leather and Lace." The simple arrangement of the song fit perfectly with the other songs and the spirit of The Lighthouse Project. In late 2012, Amiina decided to revisit The Lighthouse Project -- to record these songs in their original arrangements, and give the music the prospect to travel out and across forever. The band felt it was important to convey the intimacy of the original performances, so the songs were recorded "live" in the studio, as if at a concert.
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CD
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SHAKE 011CD
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Originally a string quartet formed by four girls at the Reykjavík College of Music in the 1990s, Amiina went on to cut their teeth as Sigur Rós' string section for the next decade. Now a sextet after a recent masculine infusion, Amiina presents their second full length album, Puzzle. Amiina's debut album, Kurr (2007), was performed on a disparate jumble of instruments -- musical saws, kalimbas, music boxes and seemingly anything that could be plucked, bowed or beaten on -- resulting in a work that ebbed and flowed "in a strange, powerful place between sophistication and innocence," according to The Guardian (UK). While the above is equally true of Puzzle, this time around the group's sonic palette is broadened by the contributions of drummer Magnús Trygvason Eliassen and electronic artist Kippi Kaninus, permanent members of the group since 2009. Accordingly, the songs on Puzzle are more rhythmically rugged than Amiina's previous work and feature heavier use of electronics. Amiina's long-standing fondness for zero-g melodies and open-minded instrumentation, however, continues.
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LP
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SHAKE 011LP
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LP version. Originally a string quartet formed by four girls at the Reykjavík College of Music in the 1990s, Amiina went on to cut their teeth as Sigur Rós' string section for the next decade. Now a sextet after a recent masculine infusion, Amiina presents their second full length album, Puzzle. Amiina's debut album, Kurr (2007), was performed on a disparate jumble of instruments -- musical saws, kalimbas, music boxes and seemingly anything that could be plucked, bowed or beaten on -- resulting in a work that ebbed and flowed "in a strange, powerful place between sophistication and innocence," according to The Guardian (UK). While the above is equally true of Puzzle, this time around the group's sonic palette is broadened by the contributions of drummer Magnús Trygvason Eliassen and electronic artist Kippi Kaninus, permanent members of the group since 2009. Accordingly, the songs on Puzzle are more rhythmically rugged than Amiina's previous work and feature heavier use of electronics. Amiina's long-standing fondness for zero-g melodies and open-minded instrumentation, however, continues. Includes MP3 download.
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