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CD
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CCO 035CD
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This is the second full-length release by London-based Donato Wharton. Citing the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Radiohead, Mogwai and Vladislav Delay as tacit influences on his work, Wharton has successfully distilled elements of each into his own oeuvre -- yet rather than come across as a copyist, these fragments instead serve to inspire the mood of the music and leave the gentle compositions in which he specializes to mature at their own pace. Taking its name from a contemporary dance term, Donato Wharton chose to call his new album Body Isolations in order to draw parallels with the manner in which an audience in any field can have their attention focused on a particular thing. "Basically it describes the movement of isolated body parts," Wharton explains, "and whether this be a hand, foot, arm, finger, or head -- it conspires so that the entire concentration of both dancer and audience is focused on that particular isolated detail." Taking this notion and applying it to his music, Wharton goes on to discuss how he sees this as translating to his work. "Each track exists as a concentrated expression -- representing a certain state that ranges from dreaming and inertia, through to yearning and aloofness." While this may all come across as somewhat cerebral, the truth is in the music and the music is stunning. Opening through the William Basinski-style sprawl of "Absentia," Wharton then goes on to present some of the most deep and gorgeous music imaginable -- with the likes of "Blue Skied Demon," (his first ever vocal track) a crumbling edifice of sun-bleached melodies and incremental atmospherics. From here, "Underwave" takes a pulsing electronic tide and matches it to some piquant soundscapes, "Sidereal" indulges his love of mealy hiss and hums for a gorgeous sliver of soapy melody, while "Transparencies" coaxes a dusty piano into life for a poignant journey down memory lane. Isolation has never been such an inviting prospect.
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12"
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BLOCK 023EP
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"Built around one of the core tracks of his highly acclaimed album Trabanten (CCO, Towerblock 017), 'Built To Fail', Wharton delivers three new tracks which take his musical visions one step further. 'My Orange Lifejacket' combines the crackles of a digital campfire with soulful, processed guitars, weeping for a better tomorrow with one of the most peaceful and brightest melodies around. 'Collision Stills' takes the sunshine for granted, introduces a bassdrum to those of us who prefer not to dance when listening to music and explores the beauties of high frequencies. not only twitchers will feel at home. 'Glazed', on the contrary, was obviously written and orchestrated in the small hours of the night, shifts back and forth between pulsating crackles, fragmented voices and repetitive guitars. Suddenly, all is blue ... all is unplugged ... all is calm ..."
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CD
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CCO 017CD
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"Debut album by Donato Wharton. At the age of 18, he signed his first record contract and moved to Cologne. There, he became interested in digital music and started producing hip hop instrumentals for the up-and-coming scene of Stuttgart. Trabanten is Donato's first real solo effort -- an important move away from supporting other artists to focusing completely on his own ideas and visions. Donato, for whom Hendrix's Electric Ladyland is as important an influence as the more recent work from musicians like Vladislav Delay, Radiohead, Mogwai or jazz and hip hop in general, allows his tracks a lot of time and space to develop. He masters the more than difficult task of combining very detailed sound design with an ability to write wonderful, deep, intense songs. Doing so, he is one of few tellers of digital stories. And those stories are full of ideas. Without trying to describe the tracks in detail and bring up boring overused metaphors, Trabanten is the perfect soundtrack the time of the day when you go offline, switch off your phone and concentrating on music is all you really want to do. Trabanten requires attention, but the listener is rewarded. The way Donato Wharton pastes his sounds together, the way he gets all those noises out of his machines and, most importantly, the way he combines them with acoustic fragments and his guitar-playing, is unique. The fact that he is busy composing music for theater pieces makes complete sense."
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LP
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CCO 017LP
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